cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vasectomy--discomfort and complications in 1,100 patients studied: the role of steroids in the prevention of swelling and discomfort.

Postoperative discomfort and swelling were evaluated by questionnaire in 3 groups of vasectomy patients: 210 patients who did not receive depo-medrol were considered as controls 100 patients received 200 mg depo-medrol mixed with 1% xylocaine injected directly into the scrotum and vas deferens on each side and 800 patients received depo-medrol and were evaluated for all complications. The results indicate that 1) 54% of the men who did not receive steroids experienced discomfort and for 5-7 days and 63% experienced moderate to severe swelling 2) 2% of the 100 patients who received steroids complained of pain and 8% of swelling and 3) 10 patients of the 800 (1.25%) complained of postoperative discomfort and swelling. It is concluded that vasectomy postoperative discomfort and swelling may be prevented by intraoperative steroids.
Scale-Driven Automatic Hint Generation for Coding Style

While the use of autograders for code correctness is widespread, less effort has focused on automating feedback for good programming style: the tasteful use of language features and idioms to produce code that is not only correct, but also concise, elegant, and revealing of design intent. We present a system that can provide real-time actionable code style feedback to students in large introductory computer science classes. We demonstrate that in a randomized controlled trial, 70i?ź% of students using our system achieved the best style solution to a coding problem in less than an hour, while only 13i?ź% of students in the control group achieved the same. Students using our system also showed a statistically-significant greater improvement in code style than students in the control group.
Prevalence odds ratio versus prevalence ratio: choice comes with consequences

Odds ratio, risk ratio, and prevalence ratio are some of the measures of association which are often reported in research studies quantifying the relationship between an independent variable and the outcome of interest. There has been much debate on the issue of which measure is appropriate to report depending on the study design. However, the literature on selecting a particular category of the outcome to be modeled and/or change in reference group for categorical independent variables and the effect on statistical significance, although known, is scantly discussed nor published with examples. In this article, we provide an example of a cross-sectional study wherein prevalence ratio was chosen over (Prevalence) odds ratio and demonstrate the analytic implications of the choice of category to be modeled and choice of reference level for independent variables. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electrochemical Sources and Devices

A solid-state electrochemical cell is especially convenient as a source for sulfur vapor deposition in surface science experiments. The cell was originally designed by Wagner in the 1950s, and variations on its design have been in use since.
DiscoverFriends: secure social network communication in mobile ad hoc networks

This paper presents a secure communication application called DiscoverFriends. Its purpose is to securely communicate to a group of online friends while bypassing their respective social networking servers under a mobile ad hoc network environment. DiscoverFriends leverages Bloom filters and a hybrid encryption technique with a self-organized public-key management scheme to securely identify friends and provide authentication. Additionally, DiscoverFriends enables anonymous location check-ins by utilizing a new cryptographic primitive called function secret sharing. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, DiscoverFriends implements and evaluates the first Android multi-hop WiFi direct protocol using IPv6. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Steamboat Archaeology on the Missouri River

Our trip in 1882 was made on the Red Cloud. There were nine in our party besides my father, mother, my brother and myself. There were Mrs. Sharp, her aunt, Miss Lees, son and daughter, and John Luke. It was on this trip on a very windy day that the steamer struck a snag at Wright Point, tearing a hole in her side forty feet long. The Captain was at the wheel. He put on full steam ahead and made two lengths of the boat running on to a sand bar where we stuck fast. All passengers were taken off and as much freight as was on the decks, nothing out of the hold. This happened at 9:00 a.m. The boys and men were up on the deck trying to shoot buffalo. Another boat was sighted by her smoke at a far distance around a bend in the river. Deck hands were sent in a row boat to tell them of our disaster. At 4:00 p.m. the boat came to our rescue. We were taken aboard and carried down the river until we met a boat going up the river to Fort Benton, twenty-four hours later (Flanagan, 1940).
Abstract WP190: Assessing The Performance Of The Framingham Stroke Risk Prediction Score In The REGARDS Cohort

INTRODUCTION: The most well-known stroke risk score is the Framingham Stroke Risk Score (FSRS). However, the FSRS was developed during the higher stroke risk period of the 1990’s, and has not been validated for African Americans. Methods: Among participants in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort, we compared expected annualized stroke rates predicted from the FSRS to observed stroke rates overall and within strata defined by FSRS risk factors (age, sex, systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medications, diabetes, smoking, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy and prevalent coronary heart disease). Results: Among 27,748 participants stroke-free at baseline, 715 stroke events occurred over 5.6 years of follow-up. FSRS-estimated incidence of stroke was 1.6 times higher than observed rates for black men, 1.9 times higher for white men (Table 1). This overestimation was consistent among most subgroups of FSRS factors including by categories of predicted FSRS level and blood pressure (Table 1). The overestimation was smaller for low predicted-risk blacks and among white females with higher SBP. Conclusions: While higher FSRS was associated with higher stroke risk, the FSRS overestimated observed stroke rates in this study, particularly in certain subgroups. This may be due to temporal declines in stroke rates, secular trends in prevention treatments, or differences in populations studied. More accurate estimates of event rates are critical for planning research, including clinical trials, and targeting health-care efforts. ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Quantitative Assessment of Population Variability in Hepatic Drug Metabolism Using a Perfused Three-Dimensional Human Liver Microphysiological System

In this work, we first describe the population variability in hepatic drug metabolism using cryopreserved hepatocytes from five different donors cultured in a perfused three-dimensional human liver microphysiological system, and then show how the resulting data can be integrated with a modeling and simulation framework to accomplish in vitro–in vivo translation. For each donor, metabolic depletion profiles of six compounds (phenacetin, diclofenac, lidocaine, ibuprofen, propranolol, and prednisolone) were measured, along with metabolite formation, mRNA levels of 90 metabolism-related genes, and markers of functional viability [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, albumin, and urea production]. Drug depletion data were analyzed with mixed-effects modeling. Substantial interdonor variability was observed with respect to gene expression levels, drug metabolism, and other measured hepatocyte functions. Specifically, interdonor variability in intrinsic metabolic clearance ranged from 24.1% for phenacetin to 66.8% for propranolol (expressed as coefficient of variation). Albumin, urea, LDH, and cytochrome P450 mRNA levels were identified as significant predictors of in vitro metabolic clearance. Predicted clearance values from the liver microphysiological system were correlated with the observed in vivo values. A population physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was developed for lidocaine to illustrate the translation of the in vitro output to the observed pharmacokinetic variability in vivo. Stochastic simulations with this model successfully predicted the observed clinical concentration-time profiles and the associated population variability. This is the first study of population variability in drug metabolism in the context of a microphysiological system and has important implications for the use of these systems during the drug development process.
Au–CsPbBr3 Hybrid Architecture: Anchoring Gold Nanoparticles on Cubic Perovskite Nanocrystals

A selective growth of gold (Au) nanoparticles on the corners of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs) is made possible with the treatment of Au(III) salts such as Au(III) bromide and Au(III) chloride in solution. The surface bound oleylamine ligands not only stabilize NCs but also facilitate reduction of the Au(III) salts followed by nucleation of the Au nanoparticles on the corners of the perovskite NCs. The luminescence quantum yield of NCs is decreased when Au nanoparticles are formed on the corners of CsPbBr3 NCs, suggesting interaction between the two systems. Formation of Au nanoparticles as well as an anion exchange is seen when Au(III) bromide was replaced with Au(III) chloride as a precursor. This simple strategy of designing perovskite–gold hybrid nanostructures with good colloidal stability offers new opportunities to explore their photocatalytic properties.
*Biomaterial-Guided Gene Delivery for Musculoskeletal Tissue Repair

Gene therapy is a promising strategy for musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration where local and sustained expression of proteins and/or therapeutic nucleic acids can be achieved. However, the musculoskeletal tissues present unique engineering and biological challenges as recipients of genetic vectors. Targeting specific cell populations, regulating expression in vivo, and overcoming the harsh environment of damaged tissue accompany the general concerns of safety and efficacy common to all applications of gene therapy. In this review, we will first summarize these challenges and then discuss how biomaterial carriers for genetic vectors can address these issues. Second, we will review how limitations specific to given vectors further motivate the utility of biomaterial carriers. Finally, we will discuss how these concepts have been combined with tissue engineering strategies and approaches to improve the delivery of these vectors for musculoskeletal tissue regeneration.
Improving unsaturated hydraulic conductivity estimation in soils via percolation theory

Accurate estimation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity K(Sw) in soils has been of great interest to soil physicists and hydrologists in the past several decades. Although various methods such as a “bundle of capillary tubes” conceptual approach were applied in the literature to theoretically model hydraulic conductivity in term of water saturation, in this study we invoke percolation theory, which quantifies the effect of the interconnectivity of pores on the macroscopic fluid flow. We incorporate the pore-solid interface roughness effect in the hydraulic conductance-pore radius (g-r) relationship, evaluate our K(Sw) model using 104 soil samples from the UNSODA database as well as another 20 soil samples from the Rijtema database, and compare it to the Ghanbarian-Alavijeh and Hunt (2012) model. Generally speaking, we experimentally demonstrate that K(Sw) estimations were improved over the entire range of water saturation when the surface roughness effect was incorporated. However, our model still underestimates the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at low water saturations (corresponding to K(Sw) < 10− 4 cm/day). We show that after eliminating the effect of non-equilibrium conditions in the measurements K(Sw) estimations were improved substantially. Other plausible sources for K(Sw) underestimation are also discussed.
Are Women More Opposed to Wife Beating than Men? An Empirical Study of 60 Countries

Wife beating, spousal abuse, domestic violence, or whatever else you want to call it, has been around for centuries, probably since the beginning of human existence. There are several reasons why this kind of behavior exists, but the present paper will not get into those reasons. For more on this aspect of the topic, see the items listed in the reference section of this paper. The goal of the present paper is more modest, to merely measure the extent of support for wife beating among men and women in 60 countries, and determine whether women’s views on the subject differ significantly from men’s views. The present paper is part of a series on wife beating. Studies in this series examine male and female views on wife beating to determine if women think differently about this issue than men; a longitudinal study to determine whether wife beating has become more or less popular over time; two studies that examine the relationship between religion and wife beating; a study that ranks the acceptability of wife beating in 60 countries; and a study of attitudes toward wife beating in the United States. Links to these studies are provided in the reference section of this paper.
Alcohol and Stress: Social and Psychological Aspects*

Studies of alcohol and stress suggest that drinking can reduce stress, though perhaps not as consistently as one might expect. A number of dispositional and situational factors appear to influence the relation between alcohol and stress. Individual difference variables such as a family history of alcoholism and the personality trait of impulsivity may lead to enhanced stress relief while drinking. Situational factors, such as the presence of pleasant distraction during drinking episodes, also affect the degree to which alcohol reliably reduces stress. Laboratory studies suggest that the timing of drinking and stress appraisal can also influence the effects of alcohol on stress. Studies using laboratory animals have shown that both physical and psychological stressors are associated with an increased tendency to develop a pattern of drug or alcohol use. Although results from human laboratory studies have been equivocal, findings from survey research suggest that increases in stress are associated with increased alcohol consumption.
Carlos Clavería, Temas de Unamuno. Editorial Gredas, Madrid, 1953; 158 pp. (Biblioteca Románica Hispánica). / S. Serrano Poncela, El pensamiento de Unamuno. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, 1953; 265 pp. (Breviarios, núm. 76).

Se resenaron: C. Claveria, Temas de Unamuno y S. Serrano Poncela, El pensamiento de Unamuno .
Direct Measurement of Silicon Strain in a Fine Pitch Flip Chip BGA Package

Abstract A method for directly measuring the silicon strain in a flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) package is disclosed. The method uses anisotropically etched holes in the die backside to reveal f...
Interfacial mechanical properties in ceramic matrix composites

ABSTRACT Single fiber pullout tests were used to measure the interfacial shear stresses between silicon carbide fibers and cordierite glass-ceramic matrices. The effect of fiber embedded length, processing schedule, and matrix toughening were investigated. An analytical model was developed to predict the interfacial stresses. The calculations show that the stresses are highly dependent on the specimen thickness and the method of testing.
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE AND THE DECLINE OF POSTMODERNISM

The emergence of postmodernism in the philosophy of the 20th century changed the evaluation of Friedrich Nietzsche fundamentally. His voluntarism â€“ subjectivism, perspectivism and moral nihilism â€“ appealed to a philosophy that rejected the analytical approach after the Frege-Russell legacy. Living in a Saussure world of webs of words, only de-construction could harness theoretical chaos. However, Nietzscheâ€™s theory of so- cial stratification sits very badly with postmodernism. Maybe the new humanitarianism in the making will reduce the admi- ration for him?
Confidence regions with applications to sensing and control

High volume of data are becoming increasingly common for modern sensors and control systems. In this paper, we propose new techniques for constructing confidence regions based on concentration inequalities. Such confidence regions can be used to represent large volume of data with high dimensionality. Moreover, such confidence regions can be used to analyze the performance of uncertain systems under uncertainties, especially the estimation of the average overshoot, rise time and settling time which are critical specifications of a control system.
Following the leader, for better or worse.

White storks ( Ciconia ciconia ) are highly social birds that migrate thousands of kilometers each year between breeding locations in Europe and overwintering grounds in Africa. The birds migrate during the day in large, seemingly disorganized flocks and rely on thermals to power their flight ( 1 ). On page 911 of this issue, Flack et al. ( 2 ) provide a glimpse into the behavioral interactions that white storks use to exploit atmospheric thermals in a migratory flock.
Short-Term Regeneration Dynamics of Wyoming Big Sagebrush at Two Sites in Northern Utah

Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) is a widespread shrub across the western United States, and there is great interest among scientists and land managers in its ecology and conservation, particularly with regard to maintaining structural heterogeneity of sagebrush stands for wildlife habitat and livestock forage. Yet little is known about its short-term regeneration dynamics and the implications of those dynamics for changes in stand structure. We examined changes among sagebrush size classes across 3 years, as well as emergence of sagebrush from seed bank and seed rain samples at 2 sagebrush shrubland sites in northern Utah: a lower-density site (1.4 plants/m2, SE 0.11) with no recent history of manipulation and a higher-density site (1.9 plants/m2, SE 0.21) that had recently been treated with herbicide to reduce sagebrush cover. On both sites, numbers of sagebrush plants in the largest size class decreased over the 3-year time period, while dead and medium-sized sagebrush plants increased. At the higher-density herbicide-treated site, this size class shift appeared to be driven by growth of small plants into the medium size class, likely associated with reductions in numbers of (and competition from) large plants. At the lowerdensity site, it appears that densities of large plants declined because the plants shrank in size, possibly due to herbivory. Sagebrush seed rain did not differ between fall and spring assessments. Forbs had the greatest representation in the seed bank, followed by grasses and then sagebrush, though the number of sagebrush seeds may be sufficient for seedling recruitment. These results illustrate that shifts among sagebrush size classes, especially transitions of small shrubs into the medium size class, may be a primary and immediate pathway of stand recovery, in addition to recruitment from seed. These findings underscore the importance of sagebrush stand structure to plant community health and may aid in anticipating responses to disturbances such as drought or herbivory.
Isolation of a high specific activity pink, monomeric nitrous oxide reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes.

Abstract Nitrous oxide reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes has been purified to homogeneity under aerobic conditions via DEAE-cellulose, phenyl-Sepharose, hydroxyapatite, and Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. It consists of a single polypeptide of MW 72 kDa, and contains 3.8 ± 0.1 copper atoms per molecule. The enzyme is pink as isolated, yet exhibits a specific activity (86 U/mg) that is ca. 40 times greater than that observed for other N2O reductases under similar conditions. Double integration of the anomalous EPR spectrum at 77K showed the presence of 2.0 ± 0.1 spins per molecule, implying the presence of EPR-silent copper atoms and/or spin-coupled mixed-valent centers.
Saturation of Ultraproducts

This section studies the two questions, which are related as it turns out, of the saturation properties of ultraproducts and of the characterization of elementary equivalence in terms of ultrapowers.
Leukocyte-leukocyte interactions mediated by platelet microparticles under flow

Platelet microparticles (PMPs) are released from activated platelets and express functional adhesion receptors, including P-selectin, on their surface. PMP concentrations are elevated in many disorders, and their role in accelerating coagulation has been studied. However, their role in leukocyte aggregation has not been defined. We hypothesized that P-selectin-expressing PMPs bridge leukocytes that express P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), thereby allowing them to interact under flow conditions. PMPs were isolated from platelet-rich plasma or were generated by activating washed platelets with calcium ionophore. PMPs increased transient adhesion of flowing HL-60 cells or neutrophils to HL-60 cells or neutrophils prebound to the surface of a parallel plate flow chamber. Homotypic neutrophil interactions are initiated by the binding of L-selectin to PSGL-1. However, even when L-selectin function was blocked, PMPs allowed flowing neutrophils to aggregate and to interact with PSGL-1-expressing cells prebound to the surface of the flow chamber. The microparticle-mediated cell interactions occurred at lower shear stresses than those mediated by L-selectin. PMPs may enhance leukocyte aggregation and leukocyte accumulation on selectin-expressing substrates, especially in diseases where the concentration of the particles is elevated. (Blood. 2000;95:1317-1323)
Computing the Symmetries and Exponents of Operator-Stable Laws

If X 1, X 2, X 3, … are i.i.d. random vectors and A n(X 1 + … + X n) - b n converges weakly to a nondegenerate limit Y, then Y is operator-stable. In other words there is a matrix B called an exponent of Y such that for all n = 1,2,3, … if Y1, Y2, Y3, … are i.i.d. with Y then exp(-.B log n)(Y 1 + … + Y n) is identically distributed with Y + a n for some a n. Computation of the norming matrices A n is complicated by the fact that Y may possess a complex symmetry structure. The set of symmetries of Y forms a compact group G with the property that exp(Bs)G exp(-Bs) = G for all real s. We use this fact to compute G. The computer algebra system Maple is used to perform the necessary matrix calculations.
Stock status and reference points for sharks using data‐limited methods and life history

Worldwide, many shark populations are classified as data poor, making it difficult to assess their status. However, for many sharks, their longevity, late maturation and low production of pups make them highly vulnerable to exploitation and highlight the need to assess their status. We compared reference points and stock status estimated from full stock assessments for 33 shark populations with those derived analytically, empirically or through simulation. There was excellent agreement between overfished status estimated from an assessment and determined from analytical methods using life history and an index of abundance; in 70% of cases, the analytical estimate of status was robust to assumptions of initial index depletion. We reviewed the ratio between fishing mortality at MSY (FMSY) and natural mortality (M) for chondrichthyans, from published studies and shark stock assessments. We then compared conclusions on overfishing status from the stock assessments to those derived with FMSY proxies and found very good agreement. Finally, we conducted a simulation study across representative life‐history parameters and different fishery selectivity patterns to explore the resulting range of FMSY to M ratios. As a rule of thumb, FMSY should not exceed 0.20M for low productivity stocks, 0.50M for stocks of intermediate productivity and 0.80M for the most productive shark stocks when immature individuals are harvested, which is the norm in the vast majority of cases examined. A triage method is proposed that provides a roadmap for using these data‐limited methods as an initial step towards assessment of stock status and sustainability of chondrichtyans.
Synthesis and optical properties of copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes of a highly fluorescent morpholine-derivative

Abstract A morpholine substituted methyl 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoate was synthesized. The morpholine derivative displayed an intense fluorescence. Owing to the presence of suitable donor atoms, it was employed for the detection of transition metal ions. The crystals of copper and nickel complexes of the fluorescence active ligand were grown via vapor diffusion method. The ligand structure and its metal complexes were characterized using 1H NMR, IR, HR-MS and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The synthesized ligand displayed selective turn-off fluorescence response in the presence of Cu2+ and Ni2+ ions. Fluorescence active letters were encoded successfully on filter paper utilizing metal complexes as a tool towards digital writing.
Predictors of Warfarin Time in Therapeutic Range after Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Introduction Patients with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) require anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist to prevent thromboembolic events. Fluctuations in the international normalized ratio are associated with both increased thrombotic and bleeding episodes. To date, risk factors for low time in therapeutic range (TTR) among ambulatory patients with a CF-LVAD have not been explored. Methods A retrospective single-center analysis of 121 patients implanted with a CF-LVAD was performed. International normalized ratios were systematically recorded from the initial postdischarge outpatient visit to 12 months of time on the device. Risk factors for low TTR were evaluated using a multivariable linear regression analysis. Each of the 21 independent variables was entered into a stepwise regression designed to minimize the Akaike information criteria. Results In the multivariable analysis, the model output revealed that every 1-year increase in age was associated with a 0.4% increase in TTR (p=0.008), and every 1 mile further from clinic was associated with a 0.08% increase in TTR (p=0.03). Female sex was associated with a 10.1% decrease in TTR (p=0.04), type 2 diabetes was associated with an 11.5% decrease in TTR (p=0.006), and prior warfarin use was associated with an 8.3% decrease in TTR (p=0.03). Conclusion In CF-LVAD recipients receiving warfarin, increasing age and distance from clinic are independent predictors of higher TTR. Female sex, type 2 diabetes, and prior warfarin use are independent predictors of lower TTR.
Second-Order Optimality Conditions in Locally Lipschitz Inequality-Constrained Multiobjective Optimization

The main goal of this paper is to give some primal and dual Karush–Kuhn–Tucker second-order necessary conditions for the existence of a strict local Pareto minimum of order two for an inequality-constrained multiobjective optimization problem. Dual Karush–Kuhn–Tucker second-order sufficient conditions are provided too. We suppose that the objective function and the active inequality constraints are only locally Lipschitz in the primal necessary conditions and only strictly differentiable in sense of Clarke at the extremum point in the dual conditions. Examples illustrate the applicability of the obtained results.
Overview of Nutritional Epidemiology

Nutritional epidemiology is the study of how diet affects health and disease in human populations, or the science of public health nutrition. The general approach to these studies consists of assessing dietary intake in groups of people and then examining disease rates. Statistical models are used to quantify the associations between diet and disease. A major challenge in nutritional epidemiology is that self-reported dietary intake is subject to random and systematic bias. In addition, people who adhere to healthy dietary patterns often have other healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as engaging in leisure physical activity; disentangling these exposures in relation to health outcomes is difficult. Although the complete elimination of error in dietary assessment methods is not a realistic objective, a better understanding of these errors (based on objective biomarkers) combined with statistical methods to address these errors may be an attainable goal. In addition, future research on diet and disease should focus on study designs that do not rely on self-reported diet as a measure of intervention adherence or an outcome. These research approaches include use of randomized trial designs, inclusion of dietary biomarkers, and use of disease biomarkers such as insulin resistance. Despite the challenges, nutritional epidemiology has made major contributions to general dietary recommendations as well as legislative and policy matters related to diet and health.
Sectoral activation of glia in an inducible mouse model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of blinding disorders caused by diverse mutations, including in rhodopsin (RHO). Effective therapies have yet to be discovered. The I307N Rho mouse is a light-inducible model of autosomal dominant RP. Our purpose was to describe the glial response in this mouse model to educate future experimentation. I307N Rho mice were exposed to 20,000 lx of light for thirty minutes to induce retinal degeneration. Immunofluorescence staining of cross-sections and flat-mounts was performed to visualize the response of microglia and Muller glia. Histology was correlated with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography imaging (SD-OCT). Microglia dendrites extended between photoreceptors within two hours of induction, withdrew their dendrites between twelve hours and one day, appeared ameboid by three days, and assumed a ramified morphology by one month. Glial activation was more robust in the inferior retina and modulated across the boundary of light damage. SD-OCT hyper-reflectivity overlapped with activated microglia. Finally, microglia transiently adhered to the RPE before which RPE cells appeared dysmorphic. Our data demonstrate the spatial and temporal pattern of glial activation in the I307N Rho mouse, and correlate these patterns with SD-OCT images, assisting in interpretation of SD-OCT images in preclinical models and in human RP.
Sinews of politics: State Grid Corporation, investment coalitions, and embeddedness in the Philippines

Abstract China's overseas energy projects have expanded significantly in the last decade . While there is considerable literature on C energy-related construction contracts and ownership of power generation projects, China's power grid investments have been underexamined. Power grid investments can arguably be more contentious not only due to the vexing security context that surrounds Chinese investments in strategic sectors, but also because of the geographic coverage of such projects, which cut across provinces in host countries . This paper examines the State Grid Corporation of China's (SGCC) investment during Philippine President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo's (2000–2010) administration, a strategic case to examine the completion or cancellation of Chinese investments in strategic sectors. This paper finds that the SGCC built an investment coalition with major Philippine economic elites in order to protect its investments from opposition politicians. Philippine economic elites or oligarchs hold considerable structural and instrumental powers, and thus exercise significant influence over political elites. In contrast, Chinese state-owned enterprises and private firms who worked with Philippine politicians - Arroyo herself, her administration, and mayors - experienced significant elite mobilization. These findings demonstrate that local gatekeepers and deeply embedded social relations are essential, contributing to the debates on the internationalization of Chinese capital in the world.
The Effect of Price Policies on The Most Important Economic Variables for The Potato Crop in Egypt

Potato occupies a distinguished position in the Egyptian agricultural economy, whether in terms of its contribution to agricultural income or in terms of cultivated area, in addition to being one of the important food crops in the Egyptian dietary pattern in addition to being one of the most important Egyptian agricultural exports. The research aims to measure the effect of price policies on the most important economic variables of the potato crop by identifying both the productive and economic indicators of the potato crop in Egypt. The extent of deviation of the price that producers get from the real price that they must obtain. The efficiency of using agricultural resources for the potato crop. The effect of the price policy of potato crop on the product's well-being and consumer and government revenues. It was found from the results of the research that the average area cultivated with the potato crop amounted to about 317.74 thousand feddans. The feddan productivity the total production amounted to about 10.82 tons, 3477.12 thousand tons, respectively, and that the average total costs. Total income, net revenue per feddan, and farm price reached about 9554 53, 13704.05, 4149.58, and 1147.68 pounds respectively, and the ratio of total revenue to total costs. The profitability of the produced ton, and the profit of the invested pound amounted to about 1.53, 0.53 and 381.87 pounds, respectively, during the period (2000-2018), as it turned out that. The value of production inputs, the added value amounted to about 8097.89, 5606.16 pounds, and the average consumption. The amount of waste, and the surplus of the potato crop in Egypt amounted to about 2,297.89, 425.32 and 1179.22 thousand tons, respectively, and the rate of self-sufficiency of the potato crop in Egypt reached About 152.99%, the average per capita consumption of the potato crop in Egypt was about 28.51 kg / year, and the average quantity and value of exports and imports of potatoes amounted to about 418.02, 106.44 thousand tons, 145.63 and 76.47 million dollars per ton respectively, and the trade balance of potatoes reached about 7469 million Dollars during the period Previous reference to it. The nominal protection coefficient and rate and the partial equilibrium model were also estimated in order to study the effect of price policies on both the producer. The consumer, foreign trade and government revenue as a result of following a certain policy based on the indicators of welfare, efficiency and government revenue. About 0.62, 0.38, respectively, during the period (2000- 2018), as it was found that the average net economic loss. The net economic impact on society and the state, producer surplus, government revenue, and the change in foreign exchange amounted to about 247.176, 426.96, 904.352, 1309.882, 829.035 thousand pounds, respectively, during the period (2000-2018).
The Value of Grocery Delivery and the Role of Offline Complements

The growth of the online economy can either reinforce or attenuate disparities in access to retail depending on the nature of its interaction with consumers’ offline vicinity. This paper measures the welfare value of new online grocery services and identifies the channels through which consumers benefit from this innovation. I construct a new dataset with the roll-out of two grocery delivery platforms to show how their different delivery logistics affect consumers. I combine this geographic entry information with scanner data to estimate a Revealed Preference model where consumers choose over bundles of products and retailers. I find the new services to be worth on average $120/year to users. If delivery logistics rely on partnerships with local stores, households that live close to multiple retail stores are the most likely to gain access to the new technology. This complementarity between the delivery service and the consumer’s geographic location benefits high income zip codes 34% more than low income zip codes due to differences in the supply of offline retail. On the other hand, distance to brick-and-mortar retail makes delivery a more valuable substitute to the offline economy. The value creation through this channel is 26% larger in low income zip codes compared to high income ones.
The differential relation of trauma types with negative and positive emotion dysregulation.

Background and Objectives: Research provides robust support for an association between traumatic exposure and emotion dysregulation. Less understood is the relation of emotion dysregulation stemmin...
Theorizing States’ Emotions

This article starts from the assumption that emotions are inherently part of life in the international system, but that this is not as well reflected in the discipline of International Relations. The study of emotions can be incorporated more systematically into the discipline through more rigorous theorizing about how states—as main actors in world politics—experience and act on emotions. To do so, I draw on intergroup emotions theory, an emerging area of research in social psychology. This approach points out the process by which groups come to have emotional reactions, and from there how emotions generate intergroup perceptions and intergroup behavior —or foreign policies in the case of states. Understanding states-as-groups addresses many of the criticisms mainstream IR scholars direct toward the study of emotions, including how individual-level factors such as emotions matter for intergroup relationships.
The theory and diagnostic promise of supernova gamma‐rays

The diagnostic power of gamma-ray and X-ray observations of supernovae of all types is reviewed. The basic features of supernova gamma-ray emission and the beginnings of a program to characterize the entire family of supernovae in gamma light are outlined.
Gene for Heat-Inducible Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase (lysU) Maps near cadA in Escherichia coli

Abstract A hybrid ColE1 plasmid from the Clarke-Carbon colony bank with a 7-kilobase insertion was found to encode the inducible lysyl-tRNA synthetase along with the catabolic enzyme lysine decarboxylase. The gene for the inducible synthetase, lysU, must lie within 0.3 min of the lysine decarboxylase gene, cadA, at 92 min on the Escherichia coli genetic map.
Phosphates and polyphosphates of the rare earth elements—II: Pyrophosphato and triphosphato complexes of neodymium and yttrium

Abstract The hydrogen ion displacement method has been employed to verify formation of the normal phosphate, pyrophosphate and triphosphate of yttrium when precipitation of these substances is effected by reaction of aqueous solutions adjusted to pH of 4·5. Titration of yttrium and neodymium salts with standard solutions of pyro- and triphosphates indicates (a) formation of the normal pyro- and triphosphates in the more acid solutions and (b) in the case of triphosphate, the formation of a soluble anionic species in which the ratio of rare earth metal ion to triphosphate is 1:2. Solution of rare earth pyrophosphates in excess of pyrophosphate can also be effected. Elution of these rare earths from a typical cation exchange agent (Amberlite IR-120) with triphosphate at pH of 8·5 affords additional evidence for formation of the bis-triphosphato rare earth complex. Larger ratios of pyrophosphate to rare earth are needed to effect elution with pyrophosphate. The absorption spectrum of a solution of the bis-triphosphato neodymium complex differs only slightly from that of an aqueous neodymium chloride solution.
A comparison of the postoperative pain experience in children with and without attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Summary Background Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may experience pain differently compared to other children, yet the evidence is equivocal regarding whether pain is heightened or dampened. This prospective observational study, therefore, was designed to compare the postoperative pain experiences in children with and without ADHD. Methods Children aged 7–17 years with a diagnosis of ADHD (n = 119) who were scheduled for a surgical procedure requiring postoperative pain management and a matched cohort of children without ADHD were recruited (n = 122). Postoperative pain scores and analgesic use were recorded for 1 week, as was parents’ estimate of their child's return to normal activity. Results There were no differences in highest pain scores between children with ADHD (3.3 ± 2.5, 0–10 numerical rating scale) and those without (2.8 ± 1.9). Postoperative opioid use was also similar on day 1 following surgery (0.12 ± 0.3 mg·kg−1 vs 0.08 mg·kg−1 ± 0.1 morphine equivalents, respectively). Children with ADHD, however, had a significantly longer return to normal activity (4.9 ± 3.8 vs 3.8 ± 3.0 days; P < 0.05). Conclusions Results suggest that there were no differences in the postoperative pain experiences of children with and without ADHD. However, the observation that children with ADHD took longer to return to baseline activity will be important in educating parents regarding their child's postoperative experience.
Chinese overt pronoun resolution: a bilingual approach

Much research has been done on the problem of English pronoun resolution, but there has been relatively little work on the corresponding problem of Chinese pronoun resolution. While pronoun resolution in both languages remains a challenging task, Chinese pronoun resolution is further complicated by (1) the lack of publicly available Chinese word lists or dictionaries that can be used to look up essential mention attributes such as gender and number; and (2) the relative dearth of Chinese coreference-annotated data. Existing approaches to Chinese pronoun resolution are monolingual, training and testing a pronoun resolver on Chinese data. In contrast, we propose a bilingual approach to Chinese pronoun resolution, aiming to improve the resolution of Chinese pronouns by leveraging the publicly available English dictionaries and coreference annotations. Experiments on the Onto Notes 5.0 corpus demonstrate that our bilingual approach to Chinese pronoun resolution significantly surpasses the performance of state-of-the-art monolingual approaches.
Causality vs. Correlation: Rethinking Research Design in the Case of Pedestrian Environments and Walking

This paper investigates the causal effect of pedestrian environments on walking behavior and focuses on the issue of research design. The paper differentiates between two types of research designs: treatment-based and traveler-based. The first approach emphasizes the variation of the treatment (pedestrian environments), and generally compares distinct neighborhoods, such as urban vs. suburban or transit-oriented vs. auto-dependent. The second approach emphasizes the homogeneity of subject (pedestrians), and aims at the same pedestrian under different environments normally due to home relocation, or the improvement of pedestrian environments. The first approach can easily identify a correlation between the pedestrian environment and walking, but proving it causal is a challenge. The second approach may not even find a correlation, but if it does, such a correlation is more likely to be causal. Which approach is better depends on whether the first approach can effectively control for the unobservable personal heterogeneity, and whether the second approach can find sufficient variation in the pedestrian environments experienced, arguably, by the same person. Most studies used the first approach but produced inconsistent results in terms of whether self-selection exists and if it does, whether it nullifies a causal relationship. This paper supports the second approach but argues that the few existing studies failed to capture sufficient variation of pedestrian environments in their research design. The paper then follows a traveler-based research design, and proposes a new method based on pedestrians’ path choice. By comparing the preference from the same pedestrian towards multiple walking paths with different pedestrian environments, this research is able to control the personal heterogeneity while still retain a sufficient variation in the pedestrian environments, thus represents a quasi-experimental design. It is able to do so because the path-based measure is sensitive enough to capture even minor differences in the pedestrian environment. More importantly, path choice is less likely to correlate with job and housing location choices, and therefore largely avoids the self-selection problem. In the empirical analysis, the paper targets subway commuters’ egress path choice from a station to their workplaces in downtown Boston. The results confirm a causal relationship and suggest that the pedestrian environment can significantly affect a person’s walking experience. The perceived utility change of walking, due to the sidewalk amenities, averages between 21 and 31 percent. In several street segments in downtown Boston, walking is actually perceived to have a positive utility instead of as a derived demand. Methodological issues regarding the method and generalizability of the findings are also discussed.
Universidad y ciudadanía

The formation of citizenship is meant to be forged in higher education. Thus, the academy is constantly challenged to contribute with the sociopolitical debate that supports this premise. Through a documentary research, the following essay contrasts the concept of citizenship with the State, the praxis of democracy and local development, as well as the university as the center for reflection and production of knowledge used in integral human development. It is concluded that science and technology, which are at the service of the construction of citizenship, represent a crucial component of public policies for the democratization and warranty of citizenship rights and the consolidation of democracy.
Effect of Filtrates from Transformable and Nontransformable Streptococci on the Transformation of Streptococci

Perry, Dennis (Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Ill.), and Hutton D. Slade. Effects of filtrates from transformable and nontransformable streptococci on the transformation of streptococci. J. Bacteriol. 91:2216-2222. 1966.-The nature of the transformation competence factor from a group H streptococcus was investigated. The activity of competence factor reached a maximum at the time that optimal competence was attained, the maxima of both occurring in the early log phase of growth. The decrease in competence factor was much more gradual than the decrease in number of competent cells. No inhibitor, however, was detected as being responsible for the decrease in either competent cells or competence factor activity. Efforts to induce transformation in other serological groups of streptococci with the use of group H competence factor were unsuccessful. The development of competence in group H when grown in the presence of nontransformable group A strains resulted in a significant increase in the number of transformants. Culture filtrates from early log phase group A cells also caused an increase in the number of transformants from the group H strain. The addition of 10(-4)m ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid to group A (or group H) culture filtrates caused significant increases in the number of transformants. These results thus indicate that group A streptococci, although nontransformable, produce low levels of "competence factor." Late culture filtrates from the group H streptococcus and several strains of group A streptococci possessed deoxyribonuclease-like activity which inhibited the transformation of the group H strain. This activity in the A filtrates, however, was not prevented by group A anti-deoxyribonuclease sera. Instead, these sera also inhibited transformation. Evidence indicates that the lack of transformation of group A streptococci is due to factors other than the production of deoxyribonuclease.