cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Uncovering the Nuances of Referral Hiring: How Referrer Characteristics Affect Referral Hires’ Performance and Likelihood of Voluntary Turnover

The literature on employee referral hiring gives little attention to referrers. Synthesizing 2 theories in the literature (the better match and social enrichment accounts), through the lens of social resources theory, I provide a conceptual and empirical breakdown of the effects of referrer quality (referrer performance at hire and referrer tenure at hire) and posthire accessibility (referrer employment and referrer–referral hire job congruence) on referral hire performance and likelihood of voluntary turnover. I tested my hypotheses with longitudinal data from 386 referrer–referral hire pairs at the same job level in a U.S. call center over a 2-year period. Across analyses of 2 performance criteria (calls/hour and quality) and likelihood of leaving, I found a nuanced mix of benefits and liabilities that illuminate potential boundary conditions of the revised theories. Referral hires from high-performing referrers performed better but had higher turnover propensities than those from lower performing referrers. Longer-tenured employees also produced better performing referral hires, up to a point. Referral hires were less likely to leave, provided their referrer remained employed, but they performed less effectively under this condition. Similarly, referral hires performed worse when their job was congruent with their referrer's job. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed
Structure of the Entrainment Zone Capping the Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer

The authors use large-eddy simulation (LES) to investigate entrainment and structure of the inversion layer of a clear convectively driven planetary boundary layer (PBL) over a range of bulk Richardson numbers, Ri. The LES code uses a nested grid technique to achieve fine resolution in all three directions in the inversion layer. Extensive flow visualization is used to examine the structure of the inversion layer and to illustrate the temporal and spatial interaction of a thermal plume and the overlying inversion. It is found that coherent structures in the convective PBL, that is, thermal plumes, are primary instigators of entrainment in the Ri range 13.6 # Ri # 43.8. At Ri 5 13.6, strong horizontal and downward velocities are generated near the inversion layer because of the plume‐interface interaction. This leads to folding of the interface and hence entrainment of warm inversion air at the plume’s edge. At Ri 5 34.5, the inversion’s strong stability prevents folding of the interface but strong horizontal and downward motions near the plume’s edge pull down pockets of warm air below the nominal inversion height. These pockets of warm air are then scoured off by turbulent motions and entrained into the PBL. The structure of the inversion interface from LES is in good visual agreement with lidar measurements in the PBL obtained during the Lidars in Flat Terrain field experiment. A quadrant analysis of the buoyancy flux shows that net entrainment flux (or average minimum buoyancy flux wu min) is identified with quadrant IV w2u1 , 0 motions, that is, warm air moving downward. Plumes generate both large negative quadrant II w1u2 , 0 and positive quadrant III w2u2 . 0 buoyancy fluxes that tend to cancel. The maximum vertical gradient in potential temperature at every (x, y) grid point is used to define a local PBL height, zi(x, y). A statistical analysis of zi shows that skewness of zi depends on the inversion strength. Spectra of zi exhibit a sensitivity to grid resolution. The normalized entrainment rate we/w * , where we and w * are entrainment and convective velocities, varies as ARi21 with A 0.2 in the range 13.6 # Ri # 43.8 and is in good agreement with convection tank measurements. For a clear convective PBL, the authors found that the finite thickness of the inversion layer needs to be considered in an entrainment rate parameterization derived from a jump condition.
A prospective comparative study between differential moments and miniscrews in anchorage control

The purpose of this study was to measure the efficacy of anchorage control between differential moments mechanics and temporary anchorage devices in a clinical trial. Forty-six patients requiring extraction of maxillary first premolars were allocated into 2 treatment groups. The differential moments group (G1) received a nickel titanium (NiTi) intrusion arch and a 150g NiTi closing coil spring for separate canine retraction, followed by a continuous mushroom loop archwire for the retraction of the incisors. The TAD group (G2) received one miniscrew placed between maxillary second premolars and first molars with a 150 g NiTi closing coil spring connecting the miniscrew to a hook placed in the archwire between the lateral incisor and canine. Lateral cephalograms were taken before (T1) and after incisor retraction (T2). The ratio of molar protraction to incisor retraction was calculated and intragroup and intergroup changes in upper lip, maxillary incisor and molar position were analyzed by paired and independent t-tests. Twenty-eight patients were analyzed after 18 patients did not receive the intervention, were lost to follow-up, or discontinued treatment. The ratio of molar protraction to incisor retraction in G1 was 0.44 and in G2 was -0.11, which was significantly different. There was a statistically significant change in upper lip from T1 to T2 but no difference between the two groups. Moreover, there was a significant distal molar tipping and lingual incisor tipping in G2. There is a significant difference in the amount of anchorage control using differential moments mechanics compared to TADs. Although statistically significant retraction of upper lip was observed in both groups, there was no significant difference between the two groups.
The c-Myc Target Glycoprotein1bα Links Cytokinesis Failure to Oncogenic Signal Transduction Pathways in Cultured Human Cells

An increase in chromosome number, or polyploidization, is associated with a variety of biological changes including breeding of cereal crops and flowers, terminal differentiation of specialized cells such as megakaryocytes, cellular stress and oncogenic transformation. Yet it remains unclear how cells tolerate the major changes in gene expression, chromatin organization and chromosome segregation that invariably accompany polyploidization. We show here that cancer cells can initiate increases in chromosome number by inhibiting cell division through activation of glycoprotein1b alpha (GpIbα), a component of the c-Myc signaling pathway. We are able to recapitulate cytokinesis failure in primary cells by overexpression of GpIbα in a p53-deficient background. GpIbα was found to localize to the cleavage furrow by microscopy analysis and, when overexpressed, to interfere with assembly of the cellular cortical contraction apparatus and normal division. These results indicate that cytokinesis failure and tetraploidy in cancer cells are directly linked to cellular hyperproliferation via c-Myc induced overexpression of GpIbα.
Circadian system modeling and phase control

Circadian rhythms are biological processes found in all living organisms, from plants to insects to mammals that repeat with a period close to, but not exactly, 24 hours. In the absence of environmental cues, circadian rhythms oscillate with a period slightly longer or shorter than 24 hours. The 24-hour patterns of light and dark are the strongest synchronizer of circadian rhythms to the solar day. Circadian disruption resulting from lack of synchrony between the solar day and the internal master clock that regulates and generates circadian rhythms had been linked to a variety of maladies. Circadian disruption, as experienced by night shift workers or by those traveling multiple time zones can lead to lower productivity, digestive problems and decreased sleep efficiency. Long-term circadian disruption has been linked to serious health problems, such as increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Biochemical and empirical mathematical models describing the circadian clock and its response to light input have been developed by various research groups. Biochemical models describe the kinetics of the interaction between different proteins and may be of high order depending on the complexity of the model. Empirical models are based on nonlinear oscillators, such as the van der Pol oscillator, and are, therefore, much simpler. Though empirical models do not have a biochemical basis, it has been shown that they do represent the averaged asymptotic behavior of the biochemical models. In this paper, we analyze a simple empirical model proposed by Kronauer and colleagues and discuss how light control may be used to promote circadian entrainment. In contrast to most of the existing approaches, which are based on phase response curves, we propose a feedback-based system. Through simulation, we show that the recovery of a 12-hour jet lag can be shortened from 7 days to 2.5 days.
Fc epsilon R1-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple proteins, including phospholipase C gamma 1 and the receptor beta gamma 2 complex, in RBL-2H3 rat basophilic leukemia cells.

Abstract In basophils, mast cells, and the RBL-2H3 tumor mast cell line, cross-linking the high-affinity immunoglobulin E receptor (Fc epsilon R1) stimulates a series of responses, particularly the activation of phospholipase C (PLC), that lead to allergic and other immediate hypersensitivity reactions. The mechanism of activation of PLC, however, is not clear. Here, we show that cross-linking Fc epsilon R1 on RBL-2H3 cells causes the tyrosine phosphorylation of at least 12 cellular proteins, including PLC gamma 1 (PLC gamma 1) and the receptor beta and gamma subunits. 32P-labeled PLC gamma 1 can be detected by anti-phosphotyrosine antibody as early as 10 s after the addition of antigen. The tyrosine-phosphorylated 33-kDa beta subunit and 9- to 11-kDa gamma subunit of the Fc epsilon R1 are additionally phosphorylated on serine and theonine residues, respectively, and are found as complexes with other phosphotyrosine-containing proteins in antigen-stimulated cells. Our results indicate a means by which the Fc epsilon R1 may control PLC activity in RBL-2H3 cells and raise the possibility that other receptor-mediated signalling events in mast cells may also be controlled through protein tyrosine phosphorylation.
Acceptance of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2009

First, I express my appreciation to the MSA; this means a lot to me. Attention is often paid to scientists at the head and the tail of their careers. We think of young scientists as needing special attention and appreciation to help get their careers started. Giving tribute to our esteemed colleagues for a lifetime of research and service is also time honored and proper. But for the person still slogging through the middle of one’s career, fighting daily frustrations, always finding it difficult to make progress as rapidly as desired, daily facing technical and conceptual roadblocks, the appreciation of one’s colleagues is especially appreciated. The beginning of the journey is always exciting, though filled with trepidation, and the end is satisfying, one hopes, but the day-to-day trip can sometimes be grueling, and a little encouragement goes a long way. I hope MSA will consider this award for any deserving member of MSA, regardless of previous awards. I want to thank Russell Hemley for his kind words, and also for his guidance and encouragement over the years. I owe the direction my career and research has taken almost entirely to Rus. We were next-door neighbors in the graduate dorm at Harvard, and the day that Rus showed me phonon dispersion curves computed using the Gordon-Kim model, with no data, it opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities. Rus applied to the Naval Research Lab and the Geophysical Lab for post-doc positions, and went to the Geophysical Lab. I followed his lead and went the other way, to NRL to work and learn from Larry Boyer. I started as a geologist interested in fieldwork and experiments, under …
Maintenance and Operational Costs of Vacuum Sewerage Systems in East Anglia

Vacuum sewerage, as an alternative to conventional systems, is reasonably well known, and most civil engineers are aware that there can be significant capital savings on construction costs. These can be readily demonstrated on paper at the initial stages, but maintenance costs can only be determined from experience. This investigation into the maintenance costs of the first two public vacuum sewerage schemes constructed in the UK compares the operational costs which were established and recorded in 1982-83 by South Holland District Council with those recorded in 1992-93 by Anglian Water Services Ltd. The main body of evidence available is in the form of papers and reports prepared by Anglian Water's engineers who were taking a keen interest in this technology and monitoring its performance carefully.
Quasiexperimental Research in Organizations: A Critique and Proposed Typology

The experiment has been the hallmark of empirical science. In recent years, the impracticality and sometimes impossibility of conducting ex-periments in real organizations has led to the increased use of quasiex-perimental research designs. This paper begins with a review of the ad-vantages and disadvantages of traditional experiments. Two major categories of quasiexperimental designs are then presented. Constructive techniques are evolutionary and make improvements on the basis of prior experience. Accommodative techniques adjust to the demands of the research situation. The paper is concluded with a method of classifying and selecting quasiexperimental designs on the basis of the purpose of the research.
Cognitive Functional Status of Age-Confirmed Centenarians in a Population-Based Study

The New England Centenarian Study is a population-based study of all centenarians in 8 towns near Boston, MA. Age was confirmed for 43 centenarians all alive on a designated date. To determine prevalence of dementia in centenarians, the authors analyzed neuropsychological, medical, and functional status data for 34 (79%) of the centenarians. Definition of dementia was based on the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease criteria, and a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score was formulated for each participant. Seven (21%) had no dementia (CDR score 0), and an additional 4 (12%) were assigned a CDR score of 0.5, uncertain or deferred diagnosis. The remaining 22 (64%) had at least some degree of dementia. The authors calculated Barthel Index scores to determine ability to perform activities of daily living. There was a statistically significant correlation between CDR scores and Barthel Index scores (r = -0.73). Correlation was strongest for those with no or severe dementia, with the greatest range of function measured among those with moderate dementia.
Role of the PD-1 Pathway in the Immune Response

Understanding immunoregulatory mechanisms is essential for the development of novel interventions to improve long-term allograft survival. Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, have emerged as critical inhibitory signaling pathways that regulate T cell response and maintain peripheral tolerance. PD-1 signaling inhibits alloreactive T cell activation, and can promote induced regulatory T cell development. Furthermore, the upregulation of PD-L1 on nonhematopoietic cells of the allograft may actively participate in the inhibition of immune responses and provide tissue-specific protection. In murine transplant models, this pathway has been shown to be critical for the induction and maintenance of graft tolerance. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of the immunoregulatory functions of PD-1 and its ligands and their therapeutic potential in transplantation.
Symbolic Inversion, the Topology of El Mestizaje, and the Spaces of Las Razasin Ecuador

La met´fora de la topologia etnica se presta para una discusion de las inversiones simbolicas que cuestionan las dimensiones dominantes de la ideologia hegemonica del mestizaje, la mezcla de un cuerpo social nacional de ecuatorianos. El enfoque esta sobre espacios sociopoliticos selectos donde los conceptos de la raza sobresalen en ciertos contextos y escenarios. El mestizaje ideologico y sus multiples inversiones estin vinculados con los cambios en el poder estructural que nacen de la accion social motivada por el simbolismo. La din´mica de las inversiones simbolicas es fundamental para la politica y la poe'tica de la identidad local que contribuyen a la tranformacion de las representaciones colectivas. Estas representaciones, a la vez, pueden motivar a los movimientos sociales. Este articulo explica los contrastes entre los metatropos del mestizaje y del multiculturalismo
Border gateway protocol 4 (BGP4) performance over intermittent satellite links

We performed an investigation of the border gateway protocol 4 (BGP-4) (Y. Rekhter and T. Li, 1995) behavior in the presence of intermittent satellite channels. Specifically, we developed an analytic model of BGP-4 state transitions and use this model to estimate bandwidth consumption of BGP-4 over the intermittent channels. We compare our model's estimates with fidelity simulation results of bandwidth consumption of BGP-4. We briefly discuss this work in the context of the global information grid (GIG) and our ongoing efforts to develop a system wide simulation model of the GIG.
Ink limit control for ink-jet printer color calibration

Ink limit is an important parameter for printer color calibration, especially for inkjet printers. A GCR approach is often used to control the total ink amount for CMYK printers. However, a tradition GCR approach has the following limitations: 1) it can not reduce the total ink amount to less than 200 percent for CMYK printers; 2) it can not be applied to reduce ink for CMY printers; 3) to achieve highest image quality, ink amount may be limited to different values in different regions, in which the GCR approach fails. In this paper, a new approach is presented to control ink limit. It controls ink limit globally as well as locally. An algorithm was developed to construct a gamut boundary for gamut mapping that guarantees that the constructed gamut surface covers only colors within the ink limit. If the ink limit needs to be modified, the gamut surface is reconstructed based on the original measured data. Therefore redoing and remeasuring a target is avoided. It greatly simplifies the ink limit control and color calibration.
A compact 105–130 GHz push-push doubler, with 4dBm Psat and 18% efficiency in 28nm CMOS

A high power doubler design for F-band frequencies, which covers 105–130 GHz, has been designed in low voltage process 1.1 V, 28nm CMOS. A new approach for shorting the 2nd harmonic in the input network and balancing the input balun at the fundamental frequency have been proposed for shrinking the doubler size. The doubler shows a peak output power of +4 dBm at 120 GHz with 18% efficiency at a bias voltage of 0V, and a peak gain of −2.2 dB, and occupy a size of a 0.03mm2. First pass success was achieved by running full EM simulation with component extractions resulting in excellent measurement fit to simulations.
Clinical implications of positive margins following non-small cell lung cancer surgery

Positive margins following pulmonary resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) occur in approximately 5-15% of patients undergoing a curative procedure. The presence of positive margins negatively impacts long-term outcomes by setting the stage for local and potentially distant disease recurrence. Despite major clinical ramifications, there are very few dedicated reports that examine the implications of positive margins following surgery for NSCLC. Furthermore, published series are typically retrospective studies from single institutions. In this review we analyze published data with special consideration of four pertinent questions: (i) what are the long term outcomes of a positive margin following pulmonary resection?, (ii) is intraoperative margin assessment by frozen section reliable?, (iii) what is the optimal distance of the tumor margin to the surgical margin?, and (iv) should adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy be used in the setting of a positive surgical margin?
A SUFI TEACHING ON RESHAPING THE CONDITIONED MIND THROUGH MINDFULNESS AWARENESS: A KEY RESOURCE FOR PAYING ATTENTION TO RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN PASTORAL THEOLOGY

I began my journey into mysticism many years ago as a student at Garret Evangelical-Theological Seminary. It all began in Dr. James Ashbrook's classroom. Three days per week, before Dr. Ashbrook's lecture, he would turn off the lights and lead the class in guided medita­ tion. That particular semester was life changing for me because it was the first time I had ever practiced meditation, and because it was the first place in which I began my journey into the practice of mindfulness and mysticism.
Silicon nitride and silicon carbide-based ceramics

Publisher Summary Despite the excellent combination of thermal mechanical properties of Si 3 N 4 and SiC ceramics, the wide application of these materials is still hampered by their relatively low fracture toughness. Improvements in fracture toughness of Si 3 N 4 and SiC ceramics are mainly achieved by crack deflection and bridging mechanisms. To enhance crack deflection toughening, high aspect ratio acicular grains and a weak interface between the grains and grain boundary phases are desirable; to enhance crack bridging toughening, high aspect ratio grains with large diameters are required. However, weak interfaces and subsequently the debonding of large elongated grains result in the development of fracture origins and loss of strength of the material. Therefore, to develop a superior material with both high toughness and strength, optimization of the microstructure is essential. Sialon ceramics are genetically associated with Si 3 N 4 , but have greater phase complexity and more degrees of freedom for tailoring of microstructures. It offers an ideal system for studying the role of microstructure on erosion of advanced ceramics.
Cognitive complexity and affective value of literary stimuli.

31 undergraduate English students were asked to evaluate each of the 8 novels they had read on 8 bipolar adjective scales. The top four novels ranked by a student were considered to be novels with positive affect, the other four negative affect. Complexity scores were computed for the two groups of novels using the same method as scoring cognitive complexity for persons. Since it was felt that negative novels do not pose the same kind of threat as do live people, vigilance would not be as much of a factor for careful perception, and the complexity score for both sets of novels should be about the same. If justifying one's dislike for persons results in a more complex perception of these persons, a similar complex perception should be noted in responding to novels one does not like. The results showed that Ss gave more complex rating of the novels eliciting negative affect than those of positive affect, which supports justification as an explanation of complex perception of stimuli with negative affect.
Laminar Flame Speeds of Propane-Nitrous Oxide Mixtures

Mixtures of propane with nitrous oxide at various nitrogen dilution levels (N2O/(N2O + N2)) were studied to experimentally and numerically determine the adiabatic, laminar flame speed at atmospheric and near-atmospheric pressure (0.8 atm). Over virtually all equivalence ratios examined, a previously integrated chemical mechanism underpredicted the experimental results with the most significant differences occurring at fuel-lean and fuel-rich conditions. Based on flame speed sensitivity analyses as well as literature reviews of the rate constants of key steps, modifications to this chemical mechanism are examined to improve the agreement with measured hydrogenand hydrocarbon-nitrous oxide flame speed data.
Socialization to Heroism: Individualism and Collectivism in a Voluntary Search and Rescue Group*

In this paper I examine the tension between self-interested individualism and norms of self-sacrifice in a volunteer search and rescue group in the western United States. I draw on 3 1/2 years of ethnographic fieldwork to highlight how individuals were socialized to membership by conforming to the group norms along three general dimensions: the consciousness they displayed, the resources they provided, and the commitment they developed. Within each of these dimensions, I identify stages denoting members' change in status from new member to peripheral member to core member, and I show how those who achieved core membership were granted heroic status. I conclude by examining how the meanings of this symbolic reward, heroic status, guided members' behavior, producing a layered stage model of organizational socialization that helped them to reconcile their own interests with those of the group. The relationship between the individual
Simulation of Cellular Detonation Structures in Ethylene-Oxygen Mixtures

Regular and irregular cellular detonation structures for stoichiometric ethylene-oxygen mixtures are simulated and studied. The structure of both two-dimensional (2D) and threedimensional (3D) detonations are considered and simulated using a simplified chemical model with Arrhenius kinetics. The motion of the triple point lines on the detonation front and the occurrence of the “slapping waves”, in case of 3D simulations, is presented. The effect of turbulence-detonation interaction on the detonation front and the presence of finer scales and the distortion of the structures produced by detonation due to turbulence are discussed. Further more, the mass fraction of the reactant downstream of the detonation front is analyzed. The enhancement of mixing and the formation of unreacted gas pockets downstream of the front due to turbulence is addressed in particular.
Robust and Accurate Boolean Operations on Polygonal Models

We present a new sampling-based method for the efficient and reliable calculation of boundary surface defined by a Boolean operation of given polygonal models. We first construct uniform volumetric cells with sampling points for each geometric element of polygonal models. We then calculate an error-minimizing point in each cell based on a quadratic error function (QEF). Based on a novel adaptive sampling condition, we construct adaptive octree cells such that a QEF point in each cell can capture the shape of all the geometric elements inside the cell. Finally we reconstruct a polygonal model from the volumetric grids and QEF points for approximating the boundary of a solid defined by the Boolean operation. Our method is robust since we can handle different types of topological inconsistency including non-manifold configurations. It is also accurate since we guarantee the boundary approximation has the same topology as the exact surface, and the maximum approximation error from the exact surface is bounded by a user specified tolerance. The efficient hierarchical scheme based on octree enables using sufficient grid resolutions on a commodity PC. We demonstrate our algorithm for a number of test cases and report experimental results.© 2007 ASME
Nitric oxide regulates the low-conductance K+ channel in basolateral membrane of cortical collecting duct

Two types of K+ channels, low conductance (28 pS) and intermediate conductance (85 pS), have been previously identified in the basolateral membrane of the cortical collecting duct (CCD) of the rat kidney (31, 32). In the present study, we used the patch-clamp technique to explore further the mechanism by which the low-conductance K+ channel is regulated. The conductance of the low-conductance K+ channel is inward rectifying, with an inward slope conductance of 30 pS between 0 and -20 mV and an outward slope conductance of 16 pS between 0 and 50 mV in symmetrical 140 mM KCl in the bath and in the pipette. This K+ channel was not sensitive to ATP (10 mM), tetraethylammonium chloride (5 mM), and quinidine (1 mM). Addition of 100 microM N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or N omega-(imonoethyl)-L-ornithine (L-NIO), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), completely blocked channel activity in cell-attached patches. In contrast, addition of 200 microM-D-NAME, which does not block NOS, had no effect on channel activity. The inhibitory effect of L-NAME or L-NIO was fully reversible and completely overcome by addition of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) donors, such as 10 microM S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine or sodium nitroprusside. Furthermore, addition of 100 microM 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-BrcGMP) restored the activity of the channel when it had been inhibited by either L-NAME or L-NIO, indicating that the effect of NO on the channel activity was mediated by a cGMP-dependent pathway. In conclusion, NO plays a key role in the regulation of the basolateral 30-pS K+ channel and the effect of NO on channel activity is mediated by a cGMP-dependent pathway.
Bone structure and function in male C57BL/6 mice: Effects of a high-fat Western-style diet with or without trace minerals.

Abstract Purpose Osteoporosis occurs in both women and men, but most of what we know about the condition comes from studies in females. The present study examined bone structure and function over an 18-month period in male C57BL/6 mice maintained on either a rodent chow diet (AIN76A) or a high-fat, Western-style diet (HFWD). Effects of mineral supplementation were assessed in both diets. Methods Trabecular and cortical bone structure in femora and vertebrae were assessed by micro-CT analysis. Following this, bone stiffness and strength measurements were made. Finally, bone levels of several cationic trace elements were quantified, and serum biomarkers of bone metabolism evaluated. Results Bone loss occurred over time in both diets but was more rapid and extensive in mice on the HFWD. Dietary mineral supplementation reduced bone loss in both diets and increased bone stiffness in the femora and bone stiffness and strength in the vertebrae. Bone content of strontium was increased in response to mineral supplementation in both diets. Conclusions Bone loss was more severe in mice on the HFWD and mineral supplementation mitigated the effects of the HFWD. In comparison to previous findings with female C57BL/6 mice, the present studies indicate that males are more sensitive to diet and benefited from a healthy diet (AIN76A), while females lost as much bone on the healthy diet as on the HFWD. Male mice benefited from mineral supplementation, just as females did in the previous study.
Clinical Guide Introduction

Contact dermatitis (CD) is one of the leading reasons for patients to seek dermatology consultation, with an estimated 72 million people in the United States afflicted with this condition. There are two main types of CD, all of which result from contact of the skin or mucous membranes with an exogenous agent. The most common form of CD, accounting for ∼80 % of cases, is irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), followed by allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), which represents ∼20 % of cases and is the primary focus of this handbook [2–4]. Recent patch test studies in US-based populations, confirmed equal prevalence of contact allergy in pediatric and adult populations [5]. Furthermore, rates of contact allergy vary based on regional and social differences in allergen exposure, as well as differing referral patterns, selection criteria for patch testing, and the allergen tested [6]. Finally, much less commonly observed are contact urticaria (CU) and protein contact, which as they are beyond the scope of this handbook are mentioned briefly for completeness, and the reader is directed to key sources on these topics below.
Walking the Walk: An Integrated STEM Project for Elementary Teachers

Abstract Preparing effective STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education teachers has become a priority of national economic importance (National Research Council [NRC], 2007) and this goal depends on teachers who understand content and possess effective teaching practices that impact student learning true integration of STEM will require significant changes in classroom practices, shifting away from traditional instruction and begin with teacher preparation. The present article originates from an interdisciplinary STEM project within an elementary teacher preparation program that has a stated and explicit STEM focus for undergraduate pre-service elementary teachers, yet this investigation also applies to practicing teachers interested in STEM integration. The investigation aims to blur the rigid boundaries that traditionally separate school subjects. Here we highlight a unified investigation project that spans not only disciplines and courses but also pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) mindsets.
A frequency-selective, digitally implemented disturbed-channel simulator

The dispersive channel simulator (DCS), which was developed to evaluate the performance of adaptive-equalizer-based receiving equipment and mission data processing software in the presence of frequency-selective or flat ionospheric scintillation, is presented. It operates on digital input data to produce scintillated outputs on three independent channels. The time-varying channel effects consist of linear filtering, total-electron-content (TEC) envelope delay, TEC carrier frequency modulation, signal absorption loss, and additive noise including sky noise temperature. Parameters for a 1-h scenario are read from a cartridge tape. The channel convolvers contain 96 complex taps per diversity channel with a sample rate of 10 Msamples/s. Modulation is binary or quadrature phase-shift keying with selectable convolutional encoding. The simulator hardware is housed in a 15.75-in chassis and is controlled by a personal computer. >
Endocrinology of Bone Formation

Bone is a metabolically active, multifunctional tissue. The study of its endo- crine regulation is especially complicated because many calciotropic hormones and growth factors affect bone. These hormones and growth factors may have direct and indirect actions and may also elicit counterregulatory effects. For several, the different modes of action have not been clearly separated.
Healthy to Work: The Impact of Free Public Healthcare on Health Status and Labor Supply in Jamaica

This study examines whether Jamaica's free public healthcare policy affected health status and labor supply of adult individuals. It compares outcomes of adults without health insurance versus their insured counterparts, before and after policy implementation. The study finds that the policy reduced both the likelihood of suffering illnesses with associated lost work days and the number of lost days due to illnesses by 28.6 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Consistent with the absence of "employment lock", no effects are found on employment at the extensive margin. However, consistent with a reduced number of days lost due to illnesses, there is a positive effect of 2.15 additional weekly labor hours. This is primarily a labor supply effect as the study shows that both reported and imputed hourly wages decreased by 0.15 and 0.06 log-points respectively. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the policy added a yearly average of US$PPP 26.6 million worth of net real production to the economy during the period 2008-12.
Survival of Patients with Serous Uterine Carcinoma Undergoing Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping.

The aim of this study was to determine progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with serous uterine carcinoma undergoing sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping compared with patients undergoing standard lymphadenectomy. We retrospectively reviewed all uterine cancer patients treated at our institution from 2005 to 2015. Patients were separated into two cohorts: those who underwent SLN mapping at the time of staging (SLN) and those who underwent routine lymphadenectomy (the non-SLN group). SLN mapping was performed according to institutional protocol, incorporating a surgical algorithm and pathologic ultrastaging. Overall, 248 patients were identified—153 SLN mappings and 95 routine lymphadenectomies (pelvic and/or paraaortic lymph node dissection). No significant difference in age or body mass index was observed between the groups (p = 0.08 and p = 0.9, respectively). Minimally invasive surgery was utilized in 117/153 (77%) SLN patients and 30/95 (32%) non-SLN patients (p = <0.001). Stage distribution for the SLN and non-SLN cohorts demonstrated 106/153 (69%) and 59/95 (62%) patients with stage I/II disease, respectively, and 47/153 (31%) and 36/95 (38%) patients with stage III/IV disease, respectively (p = 0.3). The median number of nodes removed was 12 (range, 1–50) in the SLN cohort versus 21 (range, 1–75) in the non-SLN cohort (p = <0.001). Adjuvant chemotherapy alone or with radiation therapy was administered in 122/153 (80%) SLN patients and 79/95 (83%) non-SLN patients; radiotherapy alone was administered in 12/153 (8%) SLN patients and 7/95 (7%) non-SLN patients (p = 0.8). At a median follow-up of 40 months, the 2-year PFS rates were 77% (95% confidence interval [CI], 68–83%) in the SLN group and 71% (95% CI, 61–79%) in the non-SLN group (p = 0.3). Incorporation of the SLN mapping algorithm into the staging of uterine serous cancer is feasible and does not appear to compromise prognosis. PFS in patients with uterine serous carcinoma undergoing SLN mapping, followed by adjuvant therapy, was similar to PFS in patients undergoing standard lymphadenectomy and adjuvant therapy.
Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis: Revascularization

In patients with carotid stenosis, the most common cause of stroke is atheroembolization, and the risk is strongly related to stenosis severity and symptomatic status (stroke or transient ischemic attack within 6months). Carotid revascularization by carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid artery stenting (CAS) results in plaque "passivation" by lumen enlargement, plaque removal, or plaque coverage with subsequent endothelialization. While there is considerable circumstantial evidence linking a decrease in the risk of stroke to the use of "optimal medical therapy (OMT)", the components of OMT have not been defined, and such therapy has not been rigorously evaluated in any randomized clinical trial (RCT) compared with revascularization. Studies of other vascular patients suggest that statins decrease the risk of stroke by anti-inflammatory effects, rather than cholesterol reduction. The Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stent Trial (CREST-2) is currently randomizing standard-risk patients with asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis to OMT alone versus OMT plus CEA or CAS, but results are not expected until 2020. In the meantime, data from several "landmark" trials of CEA versus aspirin demonstrated 45-65% reduction in the 5-year risk of stroke after CEA. Several RCTs demonstrate superiority of CAS over CEA in high-risk patients (those at high-risk for CEA), and equivalence of CAS and CEA in standard-risk patients (those at acceptable risk for CEA). Compared with CEA, CAS is associated with significantly less periprocedural myocardial infarction, cranial nerve injury, and neurological injury (cranial nerve injury plus stroke); higher risk of minor stroke; and similar risk of long-term stroke. Features that increase the risk of CAS include complex aortic arch and carotid anatomy, and features that increase the risk of CEA include severe underlying cardiopulmonary disease and hostile neck anatomy; age>80years, especially those with baseline cognitive impairment, are at higher risk for stroke after CEA and CAS.
How Do Humans Teach: On Curriculum Design for Machine Learners

Existing machine-learning work has shown that algorithms can benefit from curricula---learning first on simple examples before moving to more difficult examples. While most existing work on curriculum learning focuses on developing automatic methods to iteratively select training examples with increasing difficulty tailored to the current ability of the learner, relatively little attention has been paid to the ways in which humans design curricula. This thesis aims to better understand the curriculum-design strategies followed by non-experts when teaching the agent, and leverage the findings to develop new machine-learning algorithms and interfaces that better accommodate natural tendencies of human trainers. We discuss completed work on this topic, including the definition of a curriculum-design problem in the context of sequential decision tasks, analysis of how different curricula affect agent learning in a Sokoban-like domain, and results of a user study that explores whether non-experts generate such curricula. Finally, we also present directions for future work.
Real estate, banking and war: The construction and reconstructions of Beirut

Abstract In urban studies scholarship, Beirut is often theorized on the frontiers of sectarian conflict as well as on the frontlines of neoliberalism. Entangling real estate, banking and transnational financial circulations, managed by the Banque du Liban, its political economy was – and still is – swayed by the fortunes of war. According to literature on the political economy of violence, profits are often made in times of conflict, a context appropriate to the civil war and postwar eras, during which the spoils of war enriched the pockets of warlords-turned-politicians. Yet as the fighting in Syria spills over the border, encumbering Lebanon's long paralyzed politics and straining Beirut's already deteriorated infrastructure, its political economy prospers – if only for a few – not because of violence but in spite of it. Beirut's skyline is covered in construction cranes erecting affluent, if empty, apartments; the banks are infused with deposits invested in the debt of a sovereign bankrupt in ways not simply financial. Both sectors are said to be resilient, a discourse so often repeated that resilience has become the dominant mode by which Beirut is understood. Excavating these discourses, this article presents Beirut's political economy as an assemblage of real estate investment, sovereign debt and emigration, and in so doing theorizes the Banque du Liban as a city builder fusing the political and the economic into an apparatus of transnational investment.
Securing Data Analytics on SGX with Randomization

Protection of data privacy and prevention of unwarranted information disclosure is an enduring challenge in cloud computing when data analytics is performed on an untrusted third-party resource. Recent advances in trusted processor technology, such as Intel SGX, have rejuvenated the efforts of performing data analytics on a shared platform where data security and trustworthiness of computations are ensured by the hardware. However, a powerful adversary may still be able to infer private information in this setting from side channels such as cache access, CPU usage and other timing channels, thereby threatening data and user privacy. Though studies have proposed techniques to hide such information leaks through carefully designed data-independent access paths, such techniques can be prohibitively slow on models with large number of parameters, especially when employed in a real-time analytics application. In this paper, we introduce a defense strategy that can achieve higher computational efficiency with a small trade-off in privacy protection. In particular, we study a strategy that adds noise to traces of memory access observed by an adversary, with the use of dummy data instances. We quantitatively measure privacy guarantee, and empirically demonstrate the effectiveness and limitation of this randomization strategy, using classification and clustering algorithms. Our results show significant reduction in execution time overhead on real-world data sets, when compared to a defense strategy using only data-oblivious mechanisms.
Spain: The Centre of the World, 1519‐1682. By Robert Goodwin. (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press, 2015. Pp. xvi, 587. $40.00.)

Though it has the heft of a survey text, this book is better understood as an impressionistic and engaging tour of the politics, culture, art, and literature of Habsburg Spain. Robert Goodwin, an a...
A dynamical-network model with hierarchical controls for cognitive military satellite communications

A modeling framework is developed that enables analysis and design of cognitive radio technologies for military satellite communication networks. The main components of the model are: 1) a multi-tiered queueing network that captures data transmission within the network; 2) access and routing models for primary and cognitive users, abstracted as mixed supervisory and bottom-up controls. A complete set of governing equations for the model are presented, as a starting point for simulation and formal evaluation. Finally, a specific use case is developed, on comparing static and dynamic bandwidth allocation (supervisory control) schemes in the military satellite backbone.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and soluble TNF-alpha receptor responses in young vs. middle-aged males following eccentric exercise.

Abstract Background Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been shown to be implicated in both muscle regeneration and muscle wasting. However, it remains unclear whether TNF-α is responsible for the age-related losses in muscle size and function. Also, due to the high clearance rate of TNF-α from circulation, analyzing the circulating levels of soluble TNF-α receptors 1 and 2 (STNFR1 and STNFR2) may provide a better indication of inflammatory events. The aim of this study was to examine changes in circulating concentrations of TNF-α, STNFR1, and STNFR2 following acute eccentric exercise in young (YA) and middle-aged (MA) men. Methods and materials Nine YA (N = 9, 21.8 ± 2.2 y, 179.5 ± 4.9 cm, 91.2 ± 12.2 kg, 21.8 ± 4.3% body fat) and ten MA (N = 10, 47.0 ± 4.4 y, 176.8 ± 7.6 cm; 96.0 ± 21.5 kg, 25.4 ± 5.3% body fat) men completed an acute muscle damaging protocol (MDP). Blood samples were obtained at baseline (BL), immediately (IP), 30-minute (30P), 60-minute (60P), 120-minute (120P), 24-hour (24H), and 48-hour (48H) post-MDP. Lower body performance was assessed via isokinetic dynamometer at BL, IP, 120P, 24H, and 48H. Results YA displayed higher values of peak torque (p = 0.023) and mean torque (p = 0.036) at BL. No significant group differences were observed for markers of muscle damage or TNF-α. Plasma concentrations of TNF-α were unchanged following MDP. STNFR1 concentrations were significantly higher in the YA group compared to MA (p = 0.036). Significant time effects were observed for STNFR1 (p Conclusions The pro-inflammatory response to muscle damage does not appear to decline at middle age when individuals are recreationally trained. However, young men showed significantly higher serum STNFR1 concentrations than middle age men. This may suggest that natural inhibitors of TNF-α decline as early as middle age.