cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emotional appeal in recruitment advertising and applicant attraction: Unpacking national cultural differences

Summary We investigated the impact of the type of emotional appeal (ego-focused vs. other-focused) used in recruiting advertisements on applicant attraction to firms through two experimental studies across three countries (the United States, China, and Singapore). In Study 1, we made a traditional cultural comparison between the United States and China, whose dominant cultural values are characterized by individualism and collectivism, respectively. We found applicants in the United States were more strongly attracted to firms whose recruiting advertisements were based on an ego-focused emotional appeal, while applicants in China were more attracted to firms that used ads with an other-focused emotional appeal. Study 2 was conducted in bicultural Singapore. We primed bicultural applicants to be either the individualistic or collectivistic aspect of their cultural heritage. Applicants with individualist priming were attracted to recruiting advertisements with an ego-focused emotional appeal, whereas applicants with collectivist priming were attracted to advertisements with an other-focused emotional appeal. In addition, both studies revealed that a job applicant's regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) mediated the influence of national culture on the relationship between type of emotional appeal and applicant attraction to firms. Practical implications and suggestions for future research also are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Consumer Convenience and the Retail Structure of Cities

This article is based on a Charles Coolidge Parlin Memorial Lecture given under the auspices of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Marketing Association on May 27, 1958. On that same occasion...
A Comparison of the Tar Tumors of Rabbits and the Virus-Induced Tumors

By tarring the ears of domestic and cottontail rabbits tumors have been procured for comparison with others experimentally induced with the Shope virus.1 The tarred rabbits were strictly isolated.The growths caused by virus regularly developed from the surface epidermis and were papillomas varying little in structure, whereas not a few of those consequent on tarring originated from the skin appendages, with result in a wider morphological variety. The tar papillomas were scattered, discrete and often punctate in origin; so too were the papillomas due to virus when this had been appropriately inoculated. The growths due to tarring appeared only after it had been repeated often enough to cause general hyperplasia of the epithelium, together with complex connective tissue alterations; and many of them retrogressed after tarring was stopped. The virus tumors, on the other hand, arose on the basis of the slight epidermal trauma incident to inoculation, and their progression was followed, not preceded, by conne...
Nanoreactors by Programmed Enzyme Encapsulation Inside the Capsid of the Bacteriophage P22

The virus like particle (VLP) derived from bacteriophage P22 presents a unique platform for constructing catalytically functional nanomaterials by encapsulation of enzymes into its interior. Encapsulation has been engineered to be genetically programmed allowing "one pot" synthesis and incorporation of desired enzymes. The unique characteristic that separates P22 from other VLP systems is the ability to modulate the overall volume and porosity of the VLP structure, thus controlling substrate access to the encapsulated enzyme. The present study demonstrates incorporation of an enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase D, with the highest internal loading for an active enzyme by any VLP described thus far. In addition, we show that not only does encapsulating AdhD inside P22 affect its kinetic parameters in comparison with the "free" enzyme, but transformation of P22 to different morphological states, which changes the internal volume of the VLP, yields changes in the overall activity of the encapsulated enzyme as well. The findings reported here clearly illustrate that P22 holds potential for synthetic approaches to create nanoreactors, by design, using the power of highly evolved enzymes for chemical transformations.
Ion Beam Induced Graphitization of Phenolformaldehyde

We have studied MeV ion beam induced phase transformation in phenolformaldehyde cured at 170°C by both Raman microprobe spectroscopy and in situ resistance measurement of the irradiated area. Samples were irradiated using various doses of protons, alphas and nitrogen beams. Irradiated volumes in each sample were tested in situfor enhanced electrical conductivity and later on by Raman microprobe spectroscopy. The results have shown changes in the resistance as much as seven orders of magnitude by alpha particles, six orders by nitrogen bombardment and three orders by hydrogen. Raman microprobe spectroscopy of the darkened phase shows development of the D- and G-lines which are characteristic of the production of a carbonized resin. These spectra indicate that maximum carbonization was caused by the nitrogen beam.
Intravascular ultrasound imaging as a novel tool for the diagnosis of endofibrosis

Given the rise of high-intensity sport athletes and the paucity of literature on endofibrosis, we describe a novel adjunctive imaging technique to aid in diagnosis. A 41-year-old female triathlete presented with exercise-limiting claudication. Results of lower extremity magnetic resonance angiography, provocative Doppler, angiogram, and digital subtraction angiography with papaverine were nondiagnostic. Intravascular ultrasound imaging was able to delineate an abnormal segment of the proximal external iliac artery with intimal hypertrophy. We report intravascular ultrasound imaging as a superior imaging modality to definitively diagnose endofibrosis and assist proper planning and operative treatment of patients with endofibrosis.
Psychopathy and Criminal Offenders

The chapter examines the salience of psychopathy among various offender groups. The chapter explores how psychopathy accommodates the general overlap of antisocial behaviors among diverse populations. Probably the greatest strength of psychopathy is its predictive validity across a range of behavioral outcomes. It has tremendous generality and can be used as the unifying causal construct to explain the comorbidity of antisocial behaviors and broad forms of psychopathology. Psychopathy has shown empirical value in predicting antisocial outcomes among diverse populations and subpopulations selected from community, clinical, and correctional samples. The notion of noncriminal or successful psychopath is also reviewed and sharply critiqued.
Bone Marrow Biopsy Needle Design Influences the Bone Content of Recovered Specimens.

Abstract Introduction: The integrity and composition of bone marrow core biopsies may be influenced by many parameters including patient age, sex, bone density, operator experience, needle selection and biopsy technique. Biopsy needle design impacts on a needle's performance and the quality of recovered specimens. We studied the effect of modifying the Snarecoil bone marrow biopsy needle tip on the recovery of trabecular bone in core specimens. Methods: 7 patients, ages 35–92, M/F = 4/3, (2 leukemias, 1 lymphoma, 1 cytopenia, 1 anemia, 2 other) underwent a bone marrow biopsy using a 8 gauge Snarecoil needle with a new needle tip (TPNSP). The tip has a twin peak point and more distal Snarecoil position. As a control group, 7 patients biopsied with a standard 8 gauge Snarecoil needle (NTP) were retrospectively identified and matched for age and sex and were ages 37–87, M/F = 5/2, (3 cytopenias, 2 leukemias, 1 lymphoma, 1 other). All biopsies were completed using a minimally manipulative technique from the left posterior superior iliac spine with 2% lidocaine. The length of the specimen and attached clot was measured. The specimens were decalcified for 90 minutes and otherwise processed in the standard fashion. The percentage of bone per core biopsy was determined with computer-assisted morphometry using a BioGenex iVision V3.5 system. Results: The study and control groups were comparable, as the mean age and M/F distribution of the two groups and the mean lengths of the recovered specimens were not statistically significantly different. (TPNSP vs. NTP, 63.8±7.1 vs. 64.7± 6.4 p=0.93, 4/3 vs.5/2 p= 0.57, 2.32± 0.26cm vs. 2.21± 0.26cm p=0.761, respectively). Needle Age M/F Specimen Length % Bone TPNSP 63.8±7.1 4/3 2.32±0.26 (1.2–3.3) 16.3±1.5 (12.1–21.8) NTP 64.7±6.4 5/2 2.21±0.26 (1.3–2.9) 6.8±1.4 (2.9–12.5) However, the mean percentage of bone in the specimens recovered by the new TPNSP needle was greater than that recovered with the NTP needle. (16.3±1.5% vs. 6.8±1.4%, p= 0.0008). Grossly, the TPNSP specimens had a more linear edge than those of the NTP specimens. Also, more (5/7) of the NTP specimens had > 0.5 cm of attached clot then did the TPNSP specimens (0/7), p=0.005 suggesting that the twin peak needle produced less tissue hemorrhage. Conclusions: 1. 8 gauge Snarecoil needles having a sharper tip and more distal Snarecoil recover specimens with as much as 2.5 fold more bone for histopathologic study. 2. The twin peak needle may produce less tissue hemorrhage and disruption.
Chapter 8 – The 10 Hz Fulcrum

Abstract A 10 Hz rhythm is present in the occipital cortex when the eyes are closed (alpha waves), in the precentral cortex at rest (mu rhythm), in the superior temporal lobe (tau rhythm), in the inferior olive (projection to the cerebellar cortex), and in physiological tremor (underlying all voluntary movement). This rhythm is the “idle” or “resting” speed of the waking brain, which is replaced (not “blocked” or “suppressed”) by higher-frequency activity when the eyes are opened, a movement is executed, etc. This is the natural frequency of the waking brain at rest, which is modulated by higher frequencies in the conduction of more complex functions.
Predicting Undergraduate Student Retention in STEM Majors Based on Career Development Factors

A research gap exists with regard to examining the influence of career interventions and career readiness assessments on student retention in college majors related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). To address this gap, the authors examined 3 variables as potential predictors of retention in STEM-related majors: (a) a STEM-focused career planning intervention, (b) students' initial major declarations, and (c) changes in scores on a measure of career readiness. Results revealed that all 3 independent variables were significant predictors of STEM retention but did not accurately predict students who would not be retained. These results have implications for undergraduate STEM initiatives, college counselors and career advisors, and researchers investigating the predictors of STEM retention. Future research should include additional predictor variables.
Perpetrator Responses to Victim Confrontation: DARVO and Victim Self-Blame

Perpetrators of violence often use a strategy of Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender (DARVO) to confuse and silence their victims. Although some previous research has examined the individ...
Improving Urban Infrastructure Planning and Investment: The World Bank Experience

Urban development and the overall economic development of a country are interconnected. Cities make vital contributions to economic growth. Although the urban population of developing countries usually accounts for between 20 and 40 per cent of the population, well over 50 per cent of the gross national product is produced in cities and towns. By the year 2000, the average is projected to rise to 67 per cent, and 80 per cent of the annual increment to GNP is expected to be from urban areas. If a country’s cities and towns are inefficient, then the economy is inefficient, and economic recovery and longer-term development are limited.
Captivation with encapsulation: a dozen years of exploring uranyl peroxide capsules

Uranyl peroxide clusters containing from 16 to 124 uranyl ions self-assemble in aqueous solution and exhibit tremendous topological complexity. Most of these clusters are cages, with the inside and outside surfaces passivated by oxygen atoms that are triply bonded to U(VI) cations (yl oxygen). It has become increasing apparent that the counter cations associated with these anionic cage clusters impact their assembly, topologies, and behavior in solution, including aggregation and aqueous solubility. Here we review the chemical compositions and topologies of uranyl peroxide clusters. We focus attention on the role of counter cations in cluster assembly, the properties of clusters in solution including supramolecular assembly, thermodynamic studies, and endohedral encapsulation. We also review the most useful solution characterization techniques of the counter cations and counter cation-capsule interactions. Potential applications in nuclear fuel cycles are discussed, including exerting nanoscale control of actinides to revolutionize separation technologies and provide novel pathways to nuclear materials including fuels, and an improved understanding of the transport of uranium in various systems. Finally, we elucidate some future directions.
Refining the Risk Prediction of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Network Analysis: A Welcome and Needed Line of Inquiry

The value of ascertaining an individual’s cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is clear; a convincing body of evidence spanning several decades supports the importance of determining CRF in apparently healthy individuals, as well as those at risk for or diagnosed with ≥1 chronic diseases. In fact, CRF is now viewed as a vital sign, recognized as one of the most powerful prognostic markers for mortality and providing a window into one’s future health trajectory.1 CRF has traditionally been considered to be synonymous with peak aerobic capacity or oxygen consumption (Vo2), either estimated from treadmill speed/grade or ergometer Watts (ie, metabolic equivalents) or directly measured through ventilatory expired gas analysis. We have now come to appreciate the fact that CRF, from the perspective of an aerobic exercise stimulus, is ideally represented by a collection of measures that synergistically provide a multidimensional view of CRF. These exercise measures may be grouped into the following categories: (1) aerobic capacity or peak Vo2; (2) ventilatory efficiency, commonly assessed as the minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production (VE/Vco2) slope; (3) hemodynamics (ie, blood pressure); (4) electrocardiography, capturing both heart rate and rhythm; (5) pulmonary function and inspiratory muscle strength and endurance; and (6) symptomatology, including exertional dyspnea, leg fatigue, and angina. Traditional exercise testing on a treadmill or cycle ergometer, which entails hemodynamics, electrocardiography, and symptomatology monitoring, combined with ventilatory expired gas analysis, defines cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and provides an optimal multidimensional assessment of CRF. CPET consistently demonstrates diagnostic and prognostic utility, as well as the ability to gauge therapeutic efficacy. Scientific statements from the United States and Europe support the use of CPET in apparently healthy …
Developing a survivorship specific curriculum for an advanced practice provider fellowship.

14Background: Holistic oncology care combines cancer treatment with supportive care to meet the physical and psychosocial needs of the cancer survivor. Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) are prepared to deliver high-quality, comprehensive oncology care and are vital to survivorship care as the number of cancer survivors continues to rise. At a Midwest Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), an APP oncology-specific fellowship is an innovative year-long postgraduate clinical training program. For the first time, a 2 week rotation through this CCC’s survivorship department will be piloted to provide the fellow with a basic immersion into survivorship care. Methods: APP oncology fellowship graduates completed an open ended survey. They were asked to reflect on their experiences during the fellowship and provide feedback on how to improve course content, and resources that are essential to the delivery of survivorship care. APPs within the survivorship department and the APP fellowship lead educator were asked wha...
Constructive Effects of Noise in Hysteretic Systems

This chapter presents benefits of noise in hysteretic systems by using the framework developed in the previous chapters. While it is mostly seen as a disruptive effect, noise can also have a constructive role by helping a system to overcome a barrier in various activation processes, by providing some degree of randomness useful in audio or visual perceptions, or by activating some kind of resonance response in nonlinear systems. These aspects are introduced and intuitively explained while providing a short overview of key results obtained in this area. Although the applications of noise benefits spread over many areas, from climatology and signal processing to nanotechnology and neuroscience, most of the studies can be theoretically framed into two-state models or simple variants thereof, while complex multi-stable systems are rarely addressed. The major contribution of this chapter is to provide a unitary framework for studying constructive effects of arbitrary colored noise in complex hysteretic systems and its implementation in HysterSoft©. Several examples are discussed following the line of the recent articles published by our group.
Where Love Flies Free: Women, Home, and Writing in Cook County Jail

SUMMARY Several definitions of “home,” drawn from dozens provided by the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language underscore how a large urban county jail becomes many forms of home for the women detainees there. Drawing on the women's poetry and the mechanics of creative writing workshops facilitated by the author for the last seven years at Cook County Jail, this essay describes some of the realities of the criminal (injustice system and how the women's writing becomes a way of writing against the grain of official discourse, thus altering certain definitions of this “home.”
Injustice and Inequality in Health and Health Care

I chose the title of this essay in part because of the balanced alliteration between “injustice” and “inequality” on the one hand and “health” and “health care” on the other. But the parallelisms of sound in this case mirror analogies in the relations. In each pair, the first member is the more important and more general. Injustice is of obvious moral importance. Inequality is one source of injustice, though inequalities are not always unjust, and inequalities may have other ethically significant consequences. Similarly, health is much more important than health care, though health care obviously contributes to health and may have other morally significant effects on well-being and social solidarity.
Help is close at hand? Proximity and the effectiveness of peacekeepers:

How do the national origins of peacekeepers influence peacekeeping operations’ success? We argue that peacekeeping operations better protect civilians when a higher percentage of peacekeepers come ...
Monolithic and Scalable Au Nanorod Substrates Improve PEDOT-Metal Adhesion and Stability in Neural Electrodes

Poly(3,4-ethylenenedioxythiophene) or PEDOT is a promising candidate for next-generation neuronal electrode materials but its weak adhesion to underlying metallic conductors impedes its potential. An effective method of mechanically anchoring the PEDOT within an Au nanorod (Au-nr) structure is reported and it is demonstrated that it provides enhanced adhesion and overall PEDOT layer stability. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) stress is used to investigate adhesion and stability of spin-cast and electrodeposited PEDOT. The Au-nr adhesion layer permits 10 000 CV cycles of coated PEDOT film in phosphate buffered saline solution without delamination nor significant change of the electrochemical impedance, whereas PEDOT coating film on planar Au electrodes delaminates at or below 1000 cycles. Under CV stress, spin-cast PEDOT on planar Au delaminates, whereas electroplated PEDOT on planar Au encounters surface leaching/decomposition. After 5 weeks of accelerated aging tests at 60 °C, the electrodeposited PEDOT/Au-nr microelectrodes demonstrate a 92% channel survival compared to only 25% survival for spin-cast PEDOT on planar films. Furthermore, after a 10 week chronic implantation onto mouse barrel cortex, PEDOT/Au-nr microelectrodes do not exhibit delamination nor morphological changes, whereas the conventional PEDOT microelectrodes either partially or fully delaminate. Immunohistochemical evaluation demonstrates no or minimal response to the PEDOT implant.
Cashing out: digital payments and resilience post-demonetization

We explore how different segments of the population in India coped, in terms of business transactions, with the sudden decision of the government to stop accepting certain legal tender bills, popularly referred to as demonetization. The decision to demonetize was followed by a large-scale push for adoption of digital payments. Behavioral changes during such shocks do have specific nuances different from those during normal times. Using the concept of resilience, we examine the drivers of behavior change that differentiated those that were able to make the switch compared to those that weren't. Those technologically more adept were more resilient to the shock, in terms of being able to navigate through new means of exchange. Also, rural poor showed greater resilience than urban poor, a function of the level of homogeneity in those societies with respect to technology adoption and the ability to cope without changing cash practices. We also found that those who had bank accounts and relied largely on those accounts for daily transactions, without being aware of alternate modes, were impacted the most. From a policy perspective this research cautions against unintended consequences of purely access-driven incentives to behavior change, advocating instead a holistic approach.
Trial Sequential Analysis Comparing Bleeding and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Coronary Syndrome on Dual versus Triple Therapy

Objective To assess efficacy and safety of dual therapy (DT) and triple therapy (TT) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with or without percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and evaluate the quality of evidence with respect to said outcomes based on contemporary randomized trials (RCTs). The efficacy outcome taken was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) while safety outcome was major bleeding events. Introduction Appropriate anti-thrombotic therapy is still controversial in patients with AF and concomitant ACS or PCI. We conducted a conventional meta-analysis pooling data from major RCTs to assess the efficacy and safety of DT and TT. Additionally, we utilized advanced analytic properties of trial sequential analysis (TSA) to assess for quality of evidence in this realm. Methods and results A total of 8,732 patients from five major RCTs were enrolled in this study. There was a statistically significant reduction in major bleeding on the DT group compared to the TT group (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48, 0.86). The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was similar in both groups (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.8,1.17). The trial sequential analysis showed strong evidence supporting reduction in bleeding from current major RCTs while being inconclusive based on MACE outcome. Conclusion Sufficient quality evidence could be ascertained from contemporary RCTs on reduced incidence of bleeding in DT patients compared to TT patients. Further adequately powered RCTs are needed to ensure non-inferiority of DT over TT with respect to MACE outcome.
An overlay element method for accurate dynamic deflection prediction in knits subject to ballistic impact

Abstract Knit textiles constructed from continuous filament high-modulus fibers provide a unique combination of in-plane stretchability with resistance to ballistic penetration. A finite element model of ballistic impact for these materials is presented that uses beam elements overlaid on top of truss elements to capture both the tensile and bending response of the comprising knitted yarns. Accurate bending behavior, in particular, is of critical importance for knits because in-plane stretching in these materials is accommodated via bending of the multifiber yarns. Model comparisons of single layer knits impacted experimentally with spherical ballistic projectiles demonstrate improved dynamic deflection predictions compared to solid element or truss element yarn representations. Additionally, slip at the clamped fabric boundary, a common feature in ballistic experiments, is shown to be significant and is effectively represented using an elastic-plastic model at the perimeter of the simulation domain.
Evaluating Non-Technical Skills in Surgery

Non-technical skills are increasingly recognized as essential to providing safe and effective surgical care. In this chapter, we first review the policy context for studying surgeons’ non-technical skills. Next, we define the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) behavior rating system, including situation awareness, decision making, communication and teamwork, and leadership in the operating room. We review major domains of ongoing research on surgeons’ non-technical skills and discuss measurement considerations for researchers planning to study non-technical skills. Finally, we identify promising areas for future health services researchers to develop successful careers studying non-technical skills in surgery.
Braid Groups and Euclidean Simplices

When Daan Krammer and Stephen Bigelow independently proved that braid groups are linear, they used the Lawrence–Krammer–Bigelow representation for generic values of its variables q and t. The t variable is closely connected to the traditional Garside structure of the braid group and plays a major role in Krammer’s algebraic proof. The q variable, associated with the dual Garside structure of the braid group, has received less attention. In this article we give a geometric interpretation of the q portion of the LKB representation in terms of an action of the braid group on the space of non-degenerate euclidean simplices. In our interpretation, braid group elements act by systematically reshaping (and relabeling) euclidean simplices. The reshapings associated to the simple elements in the dual Garside structure of the braid group are of an especially elementary type that we call relabeling and rescaling.
Resources and Practices to Improve Diatom Data Quality

Environmental programs in the United States face technical challenges that inhibit the ability to use diatoms in water quality monitoring and assessment projects. Specifically, inconsistent taxonomy can obscure diatom responses to environmental variables. Problems are the result of (1) limited access to a common set of taxonomic references, especially those that are geographically relevant, (2) inefficient enumeration protocols, (3) lack of complete and transparent documentation of taxa, and (4) limited opportunities for continued education, training, and knowledge sharing. However, robust resources and practices are available to improve diatom data quality and interpretation. Several resources improve diatom data quality, including a publicly accessible taxonomic reference (diatoms.org) and recommended practices. These practices include adoption of the voucher floras, random sample assignment, replicate microscope slides, and improved quality control. Finally, the Society for Freshwater Science Diatom Taxonomic Certification Committee is developing educational materials and certification exams to support practitioner training and to increase the diatom research knowledge base. The resources and practices in this article are broadly applicable to improving basic and applied research on diatoms worldwide.
Mobile App Tasks with Iterative Feedback (MoTIF): Addressing Task Feasibility in Interactive Visual Environments.

In recent years, vision-language research has shifted to study tasks which require more complex reasoning, such as interactive question answering, visual common sense reasoning, and question-answer plausibility prediction. However, the datasets used for these problems fail to capture the complexity of real inputs and multimodal environments, such as ambiguous natural language requests and diverse digital domains. We introduce Mobile app Tasks with Iterative Feedback (MoTIF), a dataset with natural language commands for the greatest number of interactive environments to date. MoTIF is the first to contain natural language requests for interactive environments that are not satisfiable, and we obtain follow-up questions on this subset to enable research on task uncertainty resolution. We perform initial feasibility classification experiments and only reach an F1 score of 37.3, verifying the need for richer vision-language representations and improved architectures to reason about task feasibility.
3KG: Contrastive Learning of 12-Lead Electrocardiograms using Physiologically-Inspired Augmentations.

Self-supervised contrastive learning approaches leverage modality-specific context or invariances to pretrain models using unlabeled data. While contrastive learning has demonstrated promising on results in the image domain, there has been limited work on determining how to exploit modality-specific invariances in biosignals such as the electrocardiogram. In this work, we propose 3KG, a method to generate positive pairs for contrastive learning using physiologically-inspired 3D augmentations of the 12-lead electrocardiogram. We evaluate representation quality by fine-tuning a linear layer for the downstream task of 24-class diagnosis on the PhysioNet 2020 challenge training data, and find that models trained with physiologically-inspired augmentations both outperform and complement standard time-series augmentations. Our best performing strategy, which incorporates spatial rotation, spatial scaling, and time masking, achieves a performance increase of 0.16, .086, and .046 in mean AUROC over a randomly initialized baseline at 1%, 10%, and 100% label fractions respectively. Additionally, we show that the strength of spatial augmentations does not significantly affect the quality of the learned representations. Finally, we investigate the clinical relevance of how physiologically-inspired augmentations affect the performance of our classifier on different disease subgroupings. As expert annotations are often expensive and scarce for medical contexts, our approach highlights the potential of machine learning to tackle medical problems with large quantities of unlabeled biosignal data by exploiting their unique biological properties.
Timing of water limitations affects source to sink differences in δ13C composition in apple

Deficit irrigation is used to reduce vegetative vigor, increase fruit quality, and conserve water resources. However, physiological responses to deficit irrigation can vary depending on soil and environmental conditions. Although physiological measurements are often made at single points in time, responses are often longer lasting and a measurement that integrates responses over time would have greater value in assessing the effectiveness of deficit irrigation practices. Carbon isotope composition has long been used as a proxy measurement for water-use efficiency, stomatal conductance, and carbon dioxide exchange with the atmosphere and is heavily influenced by water status. Potentially, fruit, leaves, or other tissues could be used as samples for carbon isotope measurements. However, it is not well known how irrigation practices can influence both source and sink tissue carbon isotope composition in perennial systems. Here, we used two experiments to determine how irrigation timing affects both source and sink {delta}13C at the end of the season. Irrigation limitations were initiated after bloom for either the whole season or for early, middle, or late season and compared to a well-watered control. For both experiments, leaves were poor indicators of irrigation deficit treatments that were applied during the season. There were no significant differences in leaf {delta}13C between deficit treatments and the control for both experiments. However, all sink tissues including roots and stems in experiment one for both years and for fruits in experiment two for both years were significantly more enriched compared to the well-watered control. Environmental conditions during the season also appeared to influence the magnitude of difference in {delta}13C between deficit irrigation treatments and the control. These results indicate that the use of sink tissues are more sensitive for measuring signals associated with in-season water deficits. Carbon isotope composition can be an effective proxy to measure efficacy of irrigation treatments at the physiological level.
Saving Character

In his recent book Lack of Character, Jon Doris argues that people typically lack character (understood in a particular way). Such a claim, if correct, would have devastating implications for moral philosophy and for various human moral projects (e.g. character development). I seek to defend character against Doris's challenging attack. To accomplish this, I draw on Socrates, Aristotle, and Kant to identify some of the central components of virtuous character. Next, I examine in detail some of the central experiments in social psychology upon which Doris's argument is based. I argue that, properly understood, such experiments reveal differences in the characters of their subjects, not that their subjects lack character altogether. I conclude with some reflections on the significance of such experiments and the importance of character.
FRACTURE PROCESS ZONE FOR MODE I CONCRETE FRACTURE

Moire interferometry was used to record the crack opening displacement along stably growing cracks in single edge-notched (SEN), three-point bend concrete specimens of different tensile strengths. The experimental data was then used to drive a finite element model of the specimen in its generation mode which provided a constant crack closure stress versus crack opening displacement relations, the energy released and dissipation rates, and rising resistance curves throughout the stable crack growth.
Attitude Toward The Site II: New Information

ABSTRACT Two follow-up studies of scales that measure attitudes toward websites show that the scales remain reliable and robust across substantial changes in websites, respondents, and methods of administration. These studies suggest that adequate sampling of stimuli may be at least as important as, if not more than, adequate sampling of respondents.
When mobile objects' energy is not so tight: a new perspective on scalability issues of continuous spatial query systems

The two dominant costs in continuous spatial query systems are the wireless communication cost for location update, and the evaluation cost for query processing. Existing works address both of these scalability factors by employing the distributed computation strategy, in which some part of query processing is carried out by mobile objects. In this paper, we make one important assumption about mobile objects' energy; that is for many applications, mobile objects' energy is not limited, as opposed to the battery-powered objects assumed in existing works. Under this new assumption, we re-examine the scalability issues for continuous spatial query systems. Our examination points out that the major bottleneck of these systems is now the wide-area wireless uplink bandwidth, which has not been addressed adequately in the past. We attack the problem by leveraging the local-area wireless communication between mobile objects, leading to our proposal of a hybrid communication architecture to be used in these continuous spatial query systems. The hybrid communication architecture unifies the two communication paradigms, wide-area and local-area wireless networks. We then propose a proof of concept system, called P2MRQ (Peer-to-peer technique for Moving Range Queries), to answer continuous moving range queries over moving objects. While MobiEyes [1], an existing continuous range query system, only utilizes distributed computation, our P2MRQ is able to leverage both distributed computation and local-area wireless communication. Our performance study shows that the required widearea wireless uplink bandwidth from P2MRQ is consistently less than that of MobiEyes; for all considered cases, P2MRQ requires at most 50% of the wide-area wireless uplink bandwidth as MobiEyes does.
The Application of X-ray Computed Tomography for Characterization of Surface Crack Networks in Bentonite-Sand Mixtures

Development and evolution of desiccation cracks in bentonite-sand mixtures are strongly dependent on the physico-chemical boundary conditions. To investigate effects of solution chemistry and mixture bentonite content on cracking behavior, we conducted well- controlled dehydration experiments and applied X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) in conjunction with Mathematical Morphology to visualize and quantify geometrical features of evolving crack networks. Samples with varying bentonite content were saturated with 0.05 and 0.5 molar NaCl solutions, dehydrated under constant temperature, and scanned with X-ray CT at constant time intervals. Obtained 3-D images were analyzed based on Mathematical Morphology to quantify crack porosity, specific surface area, and aperture distributions of crack networks.
A Review of: “Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors”

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors is too modest a title for such an ambitious work. Given its expansive historical and global dimensions, the book is no mere tale but a veritable epic. To mista...
Institutions as Investments

In the 1980s, international capital markets nearly collapsed. In an effort to revive international lending, bankers and diplomats created new institutions and reformed old ones. And in an effort to become creditworthy, developing countries altered their economic policies and their structures of government.
Challenges of a lowered U.S. ozone standard

At Earth's surface, ozone is an air pollutant that causes respiratory health effects in humans and impairs plant growth and productivity ( 1 ). The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 mandates that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assess the ozone standard every 5 years and revise when necessary to protect human health. With a decision expected in October 2015 as to whether the standard will be toughened, we discuss limitations of ozone and precursor observations that hinder the ability of state and local air pollution–control agencies to accurately attribute sources of ozone within their jurisdictions. Attaining a lower standard may be particularly challenging in high elevations of the western United States, which are more likely to be affected by ozone that has been transported long distances or that originated in the stratosphere.
A Monist Supremacy Clause and a Dualistic Supreme Court: The Status of Treaty Law as U.S. Law

Hans Kelsen identified three possible relationships between the international and domestic legal orders. Dualism understands the international and domestic legal orders as separate and independent. Monism describes a single and comprehensive legal order but can operate with either domestic law or international law as a higher order law. Like many domestic legal orders, that of the United States has never fully worked out which of these three options specifies the status of international law in its domestic legal order. While the text of the United States Constitution suggests a form of monism in which international law is automatically part of the domestic legal order, the structure of the Constitution does not permit such automatic incorporation. In a 2008 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court articulated a theory that borders on dualism. The Court's decision makes sense of some recent U.S. practice, but it cannot be reconciled with either the text or the structure of the U.S. Constitution. Moreover, as a consequence of the Supreme Court's decision, the United States is in danger of re-enacting the de facto primacy of domestic law that the Constitution's Framers sought to address by according constitutional supremacy to treaty law.
The Prime Number Theorem

At the turn of the century, Hadamard and de la Vallee Poussin independently gave a proof of the prime number theorem, exploiting the theory of entire functions which had been developed by Hadamard. Here we shall give D.J. Newman’s proof, which is much shorter. I have also benefited from Korevaar’s exposition. See:
Automated Mobile System for Accurate Outdoor Tree Crop Enumeration Using an Uncalibrated Camera

This paper demonstrates an automated computer vision system for outdoor tree crop enumeration in a seedling nursery. The complete system incorporates both hardware components (including an embedded microcontroller, an odometry encoder, and an uncalibrated digital color camera) and software algorithms (including microcontroller algorithms and the proposed algorithm for tree crop enumeration) required to obtain robust performance in a natural outdoor environment. The enumeration system uses a three-step image analysis process based upon: (1) an orthographic plant projection method integrating a perspective transform with automatic parameter estimation; (2) a plant counting method based on projection histograms; and (3) a double-counting avoidance method based on a homography transform. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to count large numbers of plants automatically with no human effort. Results show that, for tree seedlings having a height up to 40 cm and a within-row tree spacing of approximately 10 cm, the algorithms successfully estimated the number of plants with an average accuracy of 95.2% for trees within a single image and 98% for counting of the whole plant population in a large sequence of images.
Preoperative Aspirin Therapy Is Associated With Improved Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Background— Aspirin is beneficial in the setting of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. There are limited data evaluating preoperative aspirin administration preceding coronary artery bypass grafting and associated postoperative outcomes. Methods and Results— Using prospectively collected data from 1636 consecutive patients undergoing first-time isolated coronary artery bypass surgery at our institution from January 2000 through December 2002, we evaluated the association between aspirin usage within the 5 days preceding coronary bypass surgery and risk of adverse in-hospital postoperative events. A logistic regression model, which included propensity scores, was used to adjust for remaining differences between groups. Overall, there were 36 deaths (2.2%) and 48 adverse cerebrovascular events (2.9%) in the postoperative hospitalization period. Patients receiving preoperative aspirin (n=1316) had significantly lower postoperative in-hospital mortality compared with those not receiving preoperative aspirin [1.7% versus 4.4%; adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.34; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.75; P =0.007]. Rates of postoperative cerebrovascular events were similar between groups (2.7% versus 3.8%; adjusted OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.32 to 1.50; P =0.31). Preoperative aspirin therapy was not associated with an increased risk of reoperation for bleeding (3.5% versus 3.4%; P =0.96) or requirement for postoperative blood product transfusion (adjusted OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.54; P =0.28). Conclusions— Aspirin usage within the 5 days preceding coronary artery bypass surgery is associated with a lower risk of postoperative in-hospital mortality and appears to be safe without an associated increased risk of reoperation for bleeding or need for blood product transfusion.
Learning and expressing

Of the rapid pace of change over the past decade, Mitchel Resnick said that there are two revolutions brewing. The first revolution is one of technology. The second revolution is one of learning. Taken together, it becomes clear that there is a third revolution, one of personal and interpersonal expression.
Endovascular management of external ventricular drain-associated cerebrovascular injuries.

Background: Placement of external ventricular drains (EVDs) is a common, life-saving neurosurgical procedure indicated across a variety of settings. While advances have made the procedure quite safe, the potential for iatrogenic morbidity and mortality continues. We document our experience with the endovascular management of three pseudoaneurysms associated with EVD placement and discuss the endovascular treatment options for EVD-associated cerebrovascular injury.
The Body Plan Concept and Its Centrality in Evo-Devo

A body plan is a suite of characters shared by a group of phylogenetically related animals at some point during their development. The concept of bauplane, or body plans, has played and continues to play a central role in the study of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). Despite the importance of the body plan concept in evo-devo, many researchers may not be familiar with the progression of ideas that have led to our current understanding of body plans, and/or current research on the origin and maintenance of body plans. This lack of familiarity, as well as former ties between the body plan concept and metaphysical ideology is likely responsible for our underappreciation of the body plan concept in its own right, as well as its role in evo-devo. My aim in this review is to outline how we have arrived at our modern definition of body plan, the controversies associated with the concept, its role in evo-devo, and how current research is informing us on body plans. To this end, I integrate concepts such as the nature of phyla, the Cambrian explosion, constraint, evolvability, and results from recent research on gene regulatory networks with the much older concept of the body plan.
Variability in True Protein, Casein, Nonprotein Nitrogen, and Proteolysis in High and Low Somatic Cell Milks

Monthly variation in milk protein (total nitrogen X 6.38) and milk fat was determined for 115 farms over 2 yr. Yearly average milk protein and fat tests in each year were 3.16 and 3.62%, respectively. The mean regression coefficient for milk protein with respect to milk fat was .47 for the entire period. Twenty-four farms were selected and grouped high or low based on their previous 2-yr somatic cell history. Monthly milk samples for each farm were tested for direct microscopic somatic cell count, total nitrogen, noncasein nitrogen, and nonprotein nitrogen. No differences in monthly nonprotein nitrogen, true protein, and casein were found between groups. Casein as a percent of total nitrogen was significantly higher for the low somatic group for seven of the 12 mo studied but was significantly higher for 9 mo when expressed as a percent of true protein. The average increase in tyrosine value for incubated preserved milk was significantly higher for the high somatic cell milk, indicating higher proteolytic activity in high somatic cell milk. Electrophoretic analysis of high and low somatic cell milk indicated that there was substantial proteolytic breakdown of alpha S-casein and beta-casein by proteases associated with elevated somatic cell counts.