cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Changing Landscape Of Marketing Research: A Study Of Marketing Consultants

The field of marketing research is undergoing dramatic change as technology of various forms penetrates its realm. This study seeks to gather a snapshot of the U.S. marketing research industry in its current state of evolution. Specifically, this study examines the mix of data collection methods, analysis techniques, targeted research participants, and project topics emphasized by today’s working consultants. While findings confirm a rather expected major shift toward Internet-related means of collecting data, analysis techniques remain relatively unchanged over the last twenty years. Furthermore, findings reveal that research design decisions are to some degree formed based on consultants’ perceptions of their own Internet self-efficacy and their firms’ orientations toward either B2B or B2C clients. Implications for both practitioner and academic researchers are discussed.
Using palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental records to guide restoration, conservation and adaptive management of Ramsar freshwater wetlands: lessons from the Everglades, USA

The Everglades, the largest Ramsar wetland in the USA, is a spatially complex mosaic of freshwater habitats heavily impacted by agriculture, urban land use, and efforts to manage water resources in southern Florida. Restoration and conservation of these habitats is challenging because they experience different threats, and require different water levels, hydroperiods and disturbances. Historically, Everglades hydrology was maintained by seasonal precipitation and surface-water flows, but was significantly altered in the 20th century to foster agriculture and urban growth. Everglades palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental studies provide opportunities to examine spatial and temporal variability in wetland conditions, and document past climate and anthropogenic influences on plant succession and habitat persistence since the mid-Holocene. This paper summarises key Everglades palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental research, and highlights lessons learned about the evolution of the ecosystem, historical variability, and natural and anthropogenic influences. These lessons have been used in defining reference conditions and community targets in current efforts to restore the Everglades. Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological studies enhance our understanding about properties that define and contribute to the ecological character of wetlands, and they can identify criteria that are important for restoration and conservation projects in Ramsar-listed wetlands.
Independent and combined effects of aerobic and resistance training on blood pressure (ART-B)

The health benefits of aerobic exercise have been well established, with less data existing on the benefits of resistance exercise. Furthermore, most early studies on physical activity and hypertension investigated either aerobic or resistance training alone, and have primarily been done on healthy individuals. Therefore, data on individuals who are hypertensive, overweight or obese, sedentary, and at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease are scarce. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aerobic training only, resistance training only, and a combination of both on blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease risk factors compared with a non-exercising control group. Methods: Preor stage-1 hypertensive, overweight or obese, and sedentary men and women (ages 58 ± 7 years) were randomized to one of three 8-week exercise programs (aerobic only, resistance only, or a combination of both), or a non-exercise control group. The exercise programs were all 3 days per week for 1 hour. Results: Of the 69 randomized participants, 66 completed the protocol and all 69 were used in an intention-to-treat analysis. At baseline, the mean (SE) for systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 131 (13) mmHg and 91 (9) mmHg, respectively. Eight weeks of exercise did not significantly change systolic blood pressure in any of the groups (p > 0.05), and only the combination group saw a significant decrease in diastolic blood pressure (-3.7 mmHg, 95% CI -6.8, -0.6). Significant increases [mean (95% CI); p value] were also seen in treadmill time for the aerobic [72 seconds (38, 107); p <0.01] and combination groups [51 seconds (17, 86); p <0.01], whereas significant
Tesla Motors and the Rise of Non-ICT Patent Pledges

in good faith, wants to use our technology.” 2 Tesla’s pledge has met with both praise and cynicism, with some applauding the company’s ostensible desire to spur the development of eco-friendly technology, while others have dismissed the announcement as a mere publicity stunt lacking in real effect. Whatever the merits of Tesla’s patent pledge, it is only the most recent in a growing series of voluntary public commitments made by patent holders to refrain from exercising their patent rights to the fullest extent of the law. To date, most of these pledges have been made by companies in the information and communications technology (“ICT”) sector. For example, in 2004-05, a handful of firms publicly announced that they would not assert patents against use of the open source Linux operating system. 3 Some large patent holders have issued blanket assurances covering substantial portfolios of patents and products, including IBM’s public commitment not to assert approximately 500 patents against open source software products, 4 and Google’s more recent “Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge.“ 5 As I have written elsewhere, 6 these pledges are intended to assure the market that the pledged patents will not be used to disrupt or hinder the adoption of
Oscillatory Correlates of the Belief Bias Effect in Deductive Reasoning

Modern theories of human reasoning assume two systems are operative (Stanovich & West, 2000). System 1 is fast-acting, pre-attentive, and driven by prior knowledge and beliefs. System 2 is slower, demanding of visual attention, and resistant to belief-based errors. The belief bias task (Evans, Barnston, & Pollard, 1983) may be used to dissociate the systems’ contributions. Here, subjects evaluate the logical validity of syllogisms differing in their conclusions’ believability. Subjects tend to accept or reject conclusions as “Valid” or “Invalid” depending on their consistency with prior beliefs rather than their logical validity. Attention’s putative role in the operation of System 2 suggests alpha-band desynchronization as a measure System 2’s contribution. Yet, of the handful of imaging studies of belief bias (e.g., Goel & Dolan, 2003), none have considered the role of neural oscillations in the effect. We measured electroencephalography while subjects evaluated the conclusions of abstract problems, following which we administered the belief bias task. Spectral analysis revealed that individuals with higher levels of pre-stimulus alpha power in frontal and occipital electrodes were more susceptible to the influence of prior beliefs. Interestingly, the correlation between alpha and reasoning success in belief-laden stimuli was restricted to unbelievable arguments. A parallel effect was found for the neutral arguments, suggesting a similar attentional signature for reasoning with unbelievable and abstract content. These results suggest that the contribution of visual attention is reduced when reasoning with believable conclusions, and that System 2’s involvement in overriding belief bias is amplified in reasoning with unbelievable conclusions. We discuss these findings with respect to existing models of the belief bias effect.
A cyber-physical game framework for secure and resilient multi-agent autonomous systems

The increasing integration of autonomous systems with publicly available networks exposes them to cyber attackers. An adversary can launch a man-in-the-middle attack to gain control of the system and inflict maximum damages with collision and suicidal attacks. To address this issue, this work establishes an integrative game and control framework to incorporate security into the automatic designs, and take into account the cyber-physical nature and the real-time requirements of the system. We establish a cyber-physical signaling game to develop an impact-aware cyber defense mechanism and leverage model-predictive control methods to design cyber-aware control strategies. The integrative framework enables the co-design of cyber-physical systems to minimize the inflicted systems, leading to online updating the cyber defense and physical layer control decisions. We use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to illustrate the algorithm, and corroborate the analytical results in two case studies.
AN ELUTION TEST FOR THE VISUALIZATION OF HEMOGLOBIN S IN BLOOD SMEARS.

Abstract HEMOGLOBIN S in the reduced state has a lower solubility in concentrated buffer solutions than Hb A12 and most of its other variants. 2 , 3 The present report describes a technic which utilizes this characteristic for the demonstration of Hb S in blood smears.
Communicating the harmful effects of radiation exposure from medical imaging: malpractice considerations.

Abstract— Concerns about possible harmful effects of exposure to radiation arising from diagnostic radiologic procedures have existed in both the scientific and lay communities for many decades. There is, however, no question that the degree of concern over the past years has escalated to the “anxiety” if not the “fear” level. Potential exposure to radiation is not a new issue, but it is certainly a “hot” issue. Americans were exposed to more than six times as much ionizing radiation from diagnostic medical procedures in 2006 than they were in early 1980s. To what extent this increased exposure elevates the risk of genetic mutations and/or development of cancer is not known with any degree of certainty. The available data are subject to varying interpretations, often debatable and thus controversial. What should be communicated to the public? The medical and scientific communities must encourage public attention and discussion regarding radiologic imaging and associated radiation exposure. They must talk to the public sensibly about the uncertainty regarding the hazards of radiation exposure. Exposure to imaging involving radiation and the hazards related to such exposure has myriad medical/legal ramifications. There has never been a successful medical malpractice lawsuit that alleged development of cancer or genetic defects resulting from diagnostic x-ray examinations. However, there have been and continue to be lawsuits filed alleging soft tissue injury resulting from overexposure to diagnostic radiologic equipment and cancer caused by overexposure to radiation oncology equipment. It is quite likely that lawsuits alleging development of cancer arising from diagnostic imaging using standard levels of ionizing radiation will be forthcoming. How the courts will deal with these remains to be determined.
First-principles studies of spin-state crossovers of iron in perovskite

The discovery of spin crossovers in iron under pressure in ferropericlase and iron-bearing magnesium silicate perovskite, the major mineral phases of the Earth’s lower mantle, ignited in the last eight years intense discussions on the nature of this phenomenon and potential effects on the state and evolution of the Earth’s mantle and of the planet as a whole. The nature of spin crossover in ferropericlase is better understood, and consensus on the interpretation of experimental data has been essentially achieved. However, in perovskite numerous experiments and computations have been carried out, often giving different results or suggesting different interpretations. Perovskite is a much more challenging system to investigate for a couple of reasons: there are two types of iron, ferrous (Fe 2+ ) and ferric (Fe 3+ ), more than one site can be occupied by iron, the A and B perovskite sites (as in ABX 3 ), and experiments do not probe the spin state unambiguously. Calculations are also especially difficult. This type of problem has challenged condensed matter theorists for decades. In addition, novel density functional theory + Hubbard U (DFT+ U ) electronic structure techniques, sometimes previously untested, are being used to address this type of problem. In summary, the challenge is multi-faceted. Here we review a series of calculations that have succeeded in reproducing experimental data and have been essential for their interpretation. They used the recently developed DFT+ Usc method where the Hubbard U is obtained self-consistently by first principles. In particular, the electric field gradients (EFGs) at the nucleus of iron and thus quadrupole splittings (QSs) have been successfully computed, making direct comparisons between measured (via Mossbauer spectroscopy) and computed QSs for various spin states possible. This strategy led to unexpected findings in (Mg 1− x Fe x )SiO 3 and in (Mg 1− x Fe x )(Si 1− x Fe x )O 3 ( x = 0.125): in the pressure range of the lower mantle a) ferrous iron in the A site undergoes a site change, not a spin-state change and b) in ferric iron, spin crossover happens only in the B-site.
Interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) promotes retinol uptake and release by rat Müller cells (rMC-1) in vitro: implications for the cone visual cycle.

PURPOSE Interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein's (IRBP) role in facilitating the exchange of retinoids between rod and cone photoreceptors, RPE, and Muller cells in the visual cycle remains a mystery. Interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein's ability to bind the pericellular matrix of the cone outer segment and Muller cell villi suggests a function in all-trans and 11-cis retinol targeted trafficking in the cone visual cycle. We hypothesize that IRBP facilitates delivery and uptake of all-trans retinol to and release of 11-cis retinol from rat Muller cells (rMC-1). METHODS Rat Muller cells were incubated with all-trans retinol and BSA or bovine IRBP (bIRBP). Retinoids in the cell homogenates and conditioned media were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS Cells incubated with 10 μM retinol and BSA had 2100 pmol of all-trans retinol per milligram homogenate protein compared with 3450 pmol when retinol was delivered by bIRBP; these cells also had 450 pmol all-trans retinyl ester per milligram when retinol was delivered by BSA compared with 270 pmol when retinol was delivered by bIRBP. Conditioned media from cells incubated with retinol delivered by BSA did not contain11-cis retinol. However, cells with retinol delivered by bIRBP released 130 pmol/mL of 11-cis retinol into the cell media. Incubation with 5.0 mM deferoxamine (an iron chelator) reduced IRBP-dependent 11-cis retinol retrieval by 60%. CONCLUSIONS Promoting Muller cell uptake of all-trans retinol and release of 11-cis retinol is a previously unrecognized function of IRBP that may be critical to cone function and integrity.
Sonographic Diagnosis of Intestinal Malrotation in Children

abstract: To study the ultrasonographic manifestation of intestinal malrotation in children. Materials and Methods: Twenty cases of intestinal malrotation proved by surgery were studied by ultrasonography. The spatial relation of the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and artery (SMA) was observed. Results: Seventeen cases showed inversion of SMV and SMA, 2 showed mixed-density mass, and the other one negative sonographically. Conclution: ultrasonographic features of abnormal relation of SMV and SMA was of diagnostic value for intestinal malrotation. A “whirlpool” sign could be used to evaluate volvulus.
Structure of thermally activated TRP channels.

Temperature sensation is important for adaptation and survival of organisms. While temperature has the potential to affect all biological macromolecules, organisms have evolved specific thermosensitive molecular detectors that are able to transduce temperature changes into physiologically relevant signals. Among these thermosensors are ion channels from the transient receptor potential (TRP) family. Prime candidates include TRPV1–4, TRPA1, and TRPM8 (the so-called “thermoTRP” channels), which are expressed in sensory neurons and gated at specific temperatures. Electrophysiological and thermodynamic approaches have been employed to determine the nature by which thermoTRPs detect temperature and couple temperature changes to channel gating. To further understand how thermoTRPs sense temperature, high-resolution structures of full-length thermoTRPs channels will be required. Here, we will discuss current progress in unraveling the structures of thermoTRP channels.
A Guide to Assist New Jersey Consumer Selection of Health Insurance Plans for 2015

This consumer guide, targeted to community assisters, highlights issues consumers should consider when selecting a health insurance plan, including the scope of a plan’s network, how the plan tiers pharmacy prescriptions, and how cost-sharing varies for different services.
Breaking RAD: an evaluation of the utility of restriction site-associated DNA sequencing for genome scans of adaptation.

Understanding how and why populations evolve is of fundamental importance to molecular ecology. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), a popular reduced representation method, has ushered in a new era of genome-scale research for assessing population structure, hybridization, demographic history, phylogeography and migration. RADseq has also been widely used to conduct genome scans to detect loci involved in adaptive divergence among natural populations. Here, we examine the capacity of those RADseq-based genome scan studies to detect loci involved in local adaptation. To understand what proportion of the genome is missed by RADseq studies, we developed a simple model using different numbers of RAD-tags, genome sizes and extents of linkage disequilibrium (length of haplotype blocks). Under the best-case modelling scenario, we found that RADseq using six- or eight-base pair cutting restriction enzymes would fail to sample many regions of the genome, especially for species with short linkage disequilibrium. We then surveyed recent studies that have used RADseq for genome scans and found that the median density of markers across these studies was 4.08 RAD-tag markers per megabase (one marker per 245 kb). The length of linkage disequilibrium for many species is one to three orders of magnitude less than density of the typical recent RADseq study. Thus, we conclude that genome scans based on RADseq data alone, while useful for studies of neutral genetic variation and genetic population structure, will likely miss many loci under selection in studies of local adaptation.
Analysis of antioxidant in aged cables

Successful application of polyolefins as insulating materials for solid dielectric cable depends on their long-term stability against oxidation and electrochemical degradation. The usual method of stabilization is the addition of small quantities of antioxidants (AO), which act as radical scavengers in the oxidation process. The effectiveness of antioxidants depends not only on its capability for resonance stabilization but also on physical factors such as solubility, diffusivity, and volatility. The possibility of excess anti-oxidants accumulating and crystallizing in the voids and at interfaces of solid dielectric cable and acting as stress enhancers is important from service-life considerations.
Immunogenetic Factors Determining Evolution of T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia and Associated Cytopenias.

Abstract T cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia (T-LGL) is a chronic clonal lymphoproliferation of cytotoxic T cells (CTL). T-LGL presents with cytopenias, implying a relationship to other immune-mediated bone marrow failure states. T-LGL is often accompanied by autoimmune diseases, suggesting a clonal transformation in the context of an initially polyclonal autoimmune response. Immunogenetic predisposition factors have been described for both immune-mediated bone marrow failure as well as other autoimmune conditions and it is possible that some of these factors can promote evolution of T-LGL and/or the development of cytopenias. Here, we analyzed the association of T-LGL (and clinical variants) with a number of immunogenetic factors, including HLA and KIR genotype, KIR-L/KIR mismatch, CTLA4 (−658T/C, −318C/T, +49A/G) and cytokine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) including: TNF-a (−308G/A), TGF-b 1 (codons 10 C/T, 25 G/C), IL-10 (−1082 G/A, −819 T/C, −592 C/A), IL-6 (−174 C/G), and IFN-g (+874 T/A). We studied a large cohort of patients with T-LGL (N=79) systematically followed at our institution. Using molecular analysis of TCR utilization as previously described (Wlodarski et al, Blood 2005) we have determined the relative and absolute size of the clonal LGL population for each case. We performed HLA typing as certain alleles serve as KIR ligands and can determine quality of immune response. HLA-B37 and Cw-7 were over expressed in LGL patients (13 vs 2%, p 1900/uL; N=13 vs 45% in controls and 33% in patients with low LGL count; p
Mutation of a kinase allosteric node uncouples dynamics linked to phosphotransfer

Abstract The expertise of protein kinases lies in their dynamic structure, wherein they are able to modulate cellular signaling by their phosphotransferase activity. Only a few hundreds of protein kinases regulate key processes in human cells, and protein kinases play a pivotal role in health and disease. The present study dwells on understanding the working of the protein kinase-molecular switch as an allosteric network of “communities” composed of congruently dynamic residues that make up the protein kinase core. Girvan–Newman algorithm-based community maps of the kinase domain of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A allow for a molecular explanation for the role of protein conformational entropy in its catalytic cycle. The community map of a mutant, Y204A, is analyzed vis-a-vis the wild-type protein to study the perturbations in its dynamic profile such that it interferes with transfer of the γ-phosphate to a protein substrate. Conventional biochemical measurements are used to ascertain the effect of these dynamic perturbations on the kinetic profiles of both proteins. These studies pave the way for understanding how mutations far from the kinase active site can alter its dynamic properties and catalytic function even when major structural perturbations are not obvious from static crystal structures.
Truth & Tales: Cultural Mobility and Medieval Media. Edited by Fiona Somerset and Nicholas Watson. (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2015. Pp. xiv, 294. $69.95.)

This volume is a festschrift in honor of Richard Firth Green, with essays contributed by friends and students. The theme is the variety of ways that texts can recapture the mentality of different c...
The choice among aid donors: The effects of multilateral vs. bilateral aid on recipient behavioral support

Scholars studying foreign assistance differ over whether multilateral aid is preferable to bilateral aid for promoting development, but nearly all build their cases primarily on highly aggregated cross-national time-series data. We investigate this topic experimentally from the perspective of those whom the foreign aid directly affects: recipient citizens and elites. We thus report results of a survey experiment with behavioral outcomes on more than 3000 Ugandan citizens and over 300 members of Uganda’s Parliament. In spite of a large literature suggesting differences, the findings generally reveal few substantive differences in citizens’ and elites’ preferences and behavior toward the two types of aid. While no strong pattern of differences emerges, limited evidence suggests that the public evinces greater trust in multilateral institutions, and both masses and elites feel that multilateral aid is more transparent. Overall, these null results inform an ever-expanding literature, which is increasingly articulating distinctions between multilateral and bilateral aid. At least in the minds of the recipients, however, multilateral and bilateral aid may not in fact be all that different. This accords with the literature noting the strong overlap in aid organizations and bemoaning the fact that they do not specialize more. Our results raise the question about why have both multilateral and bilateral aid donors if they in effect do the same thing.
Precise calibration of optical fiber sensor for ammonia sensing using multivariate analysis

Detection in chemical sensing which needs to be carried out in a specific controlled environment, becomes complex in multivariate environment. This complication is caused by chemical interference, sensor degradation or drifting of the signals with time. A minute drifting or overlapping of the signals affects the calibration, especially in the detection of sub-ppm level of concentration of any chemical species. The presence of other compounds can well interfere providing false positive readings, deterring calibration of the system in precise quantification of any compound. This problem is known to also happen in our optical fiber sensor for the detection of ammonia. A clad-modified polymer optical fiber sensor for ammonia detection is explored in this work where oxazine 170 per chlorate dye is used as a recognition element to detect ammonia. The sensor was tested in water media and the sensitivity of the sensor we found was 0.0006 ppm-1cm-2. However, the lower sensitivity causes significant overlaps in between signals corresponding to different concentrations. To resolve this problem, multivariate analysis method, such as principal component analysis (PCA) was explored to interpret the datasets for precision of measurement and classification of each concentration. PCA generates unique regression curve which represents each concentration of ammonia considering principle components. The significance of this research lies in its versatility dealing with the existing challenge of calibration of sub-ppm level measurement of any volatile compound, such as ammonia.
LightPainter: Creating Long-Exposure Imagery from Videos

This article presents LightPainter, an interactive tool that promotes creative long-exposure photography through an intuitive drawing metaphor and flexible spatiotemporal mapping from videos to composite images. We discuss the power of software-defined exposure and the tools capability to facilitate creating sophisticated long-exposure effects in challenging scenarios.
Comparison of thermoregulatory devices used during anesthesia of C57BL/6 mice and correlations between body temperature and physiologic parameters

General anesthesia affects several body systems, including thermoregulation. Decreased body temperature during anesthesia has potential negative effects, including delayed recovery to consciousness. Thermoregulatory support devices are used to maintain temperature in anesthetized rodents. We analyzed 2 novel thermoregulatory devices, thermogenic gel packs and reflective foils, to compare their effectiveness in maintaining temperatures with that of a standard circulating-warm–water blanket (CWWB) in C57BL/6 mice. Mice were grouped randomly: control (no thermal support), reflective foil, gel pack, gel pack plus reflective foil, CWWB on medium setting, CWWB on high setting, and CWWB on high setting plus reflective foil. Mice were anesthetized with isoflurane for 30 min, and temperature and heart and respiratory rates were monitored. Results indicated that the temperatures of mice with reflective foil only (start temperature, 36.2 ± 0.38 °C; end temperature, 28.8 ± 0.78 °C) did not differ significantly from those of control mice; however, the inclusion of foil heightened thermogenic properties when combined with other devices. Thermogenic gel packs and CWWB on high setting, both with and without reflective foil, caused significant temperature increases (that is, 1.6 °C to 4.4 °C) in mice. CWWB on medium setting (blanket temperature, 37.5 °C) maintained mice at temperatures within 1 °C of the 36.1 °C baseline. Strong correlations existed between temperature, heart and respiratory rates, and recovery time to consciousness. This information provides guidance regarding the use of thermoregulatory devices in anesthetized rodents and demonstrates the effect of maintaining a consistent core temperature on physiologic parameters.
Correlation of pre-CAR CD19 expression with responses and relapses after CAR T cell therapy.

3051Background: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 have shown excellent responses in patients with relapsed/refractory B-ALL. However, a subset of patients either do not respond...
The Great Game in the North Caucasus

This article concerns imperial Russia’s foreign policy in Asia during the early nineteenth century, specifically the “Great Game” engaged in by Russia and Britain in the North Caucasus.
Desperately Seeking David: Authorship in the Early Works of David Foster Wallace

The power of David Foster Wallace’s narrative persona has only increased since his death in 2008; however, his early fiction presents alternate perspectives on authorial presence beyond the commonly accepted discourse on Wallace. A closer look at the authorial poses in The Broom of the System and Girl with Curious Hair challenges the tidiness of a narrative that privileges sincerity at the expense of a discussion of such a notion’s assumptions and blind spots. In contrast to this narrative, Wallace pursues modes of authorship based in concealment throughout Broom and Girl, hiding his presence via a variety of boundaries, masks, queer personas, crosswriting, and imitative voices, to wildly varying degrees of success. In place of an intimate sense of presence, readers of these works receive a very different conception of authorship that crafts a series of imperial personas that adopt totalizing and phallocentric authorial positions that linger throughout Wallace’s body of work. However, several stories in Girl not commonly discussed in Wallace scholarship experiment with another, more present and intimate mode of authorship that rejects gimmicky authorial masks and dead authors and instead develops an author figure whose persona is convex, reaching outward toward the reader in hope of colliding with them rather than absorbing them.
The Bush Hill Sugar Plantation: A West Indies Case Study in Developmental Capitalism

The Caribbean frontier was dominated by agro-industrial sugar production. Localized adaptations of European designs for colonization in the Caribbean generated unique plantation landscapes. Before 1650, efforts throughout the region to create wealth from plantations did not achieve the scale of production that unfolded in the latter half of the 17th century as capitalism emerged. While tobacco farms briefly reaped rich rewards, for an adventurous and entrepreneurial few the prosperity of the colonies was ultimately sustained through a combination an increasing and seemingly unlimited demand for sugar, protectionist economic policies from the core state, and institutionalized slavery. A case study of agro-industrialism on the Bush Hill sugar estate on Nevis during the period of capitalism’s ascendancy provides insights on the incremental integration of capitalism into the plantation system.
Thoracoscopic lung biopsy under regional anesthesia for interstitial lung disease

Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) management guidelines support lung biopsy-guided therapy. However, the high mortality associated with thoracoscopic lung biopsy using general anesthesia (GA) in patients with ILD has deterred physicians from offering this procedure and adopt a diagnostic approach based on high-resolution CT. Here we report that thoracoscopy under regional anesthesia could be a safer alternative for lung biopsy and effectively guide ILD treatment. Methods This was a single-center retrospective review of prospectively maintained database and consisted of patients who underwent thoracoscopic lung biopsy between March 2016 and March 2018. Patients were divided into two groups: (A) GA, and (B) regional anesthesia using monitored anesthesia care (MAC) and thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA). Results During the study period, 44 patients underwent thoracoscopic lung biopsy. Of these, 15 underwent MAC/TEA. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to pulmonary function test and clinicodemographic profile. However, operative time and hospital stay were shorter in MAC/TEA group (32.5±18.5 min vs 50.8±18.4; p=0.004, 1.0±1.3 days vs 10.0±34.7 days; p Conclusions Thoracoscopy using regional anesthesia might be a safer alternative to lung biopsy in patients with ILD.
The Impossibility Theorem of Machine Fairness - A Causal Perspective.

With the increasing pervasive use of machine learning in social and economic settings, there has been an interest in the notion of machine bias in the AI community. Models trained on historic data reflect the biases that exist in society and are propagated to the future through their decisions. A recent study conducted by ProPublica revealed that the COMPAS recidivism prediction tool was biased against the African-American community. There are three prominent metrics of fairness used in the community, and it has been statistically proved that it is impossible to satisfy them at the same time -- which has led to ambiguity about the definition of fairness. In this report, causal perspective to the impossibility theorem of fairness is presented along with a causal goal for machine fairness.
Microstructural stability and mechanical behavior of a Co–20Ni–7Al–7W–4Ti at.% superalloy

Abstract The temporal evolution of the microstructure and microhardness of a polycrystalline L12-strengthened Co-based superalloy (Co–19.6Ni–7.6Al–7.4W–4.1Ti, at.%) was investigated for an aging temperature of 900 °C. The γ(f.c.c.)/γ′(L12) structure remained stable throughout aging to the longest aging time of 2000 h (83 days), with no additional phases present. While the volume fraction of γ′(L12)-precipitates reached an almost constant value of 64% at 16 h, the temporal evolution of the γ′(L12)-precipitates’ mean-radius and their number density (temporal exponent of p = 3.49 ± 0.18 for the equivalent radius, and q = −0.74 ± 0.04 for the volumetric number density) deviated somewhat from the Lifshitz-Slyozov (LS) predictions ( p = 3 and q = −1), suggesting that the alloy had not achieved a true stationary-state at 2000 h. At ambient temperature, a peak Vickers microhardness of 3.80 ± 0.10 GPa was achieved after 240 h of aging. As the testing temperature was increased, an anomalous increase in flow-stress was also observed, with a peak flow-stress value of 705 MPa measured at 750 °C, 30 MPa higher than an archival literature value with about half the Ni concentration (10 at.%). Creep resistance at 850 °C was greater than an archival literature value for a ternary Co–9Al–9W alloy. After 200 h of compressive creep at 850 °C the microstructure evolved as follows: (i) the volume fraction of the γ′(L12)-phase increased from 64% to 79%; and (ii) some grains exhibited rafts of γ′(L12)-precipitates along ⟨100⟩-directions. While the first change is expected to improve creep resistance, the second one is deleterious, as evidenced by a comparison with the creep resistance of a sample without rafts of γ′(L12)-precipitates tested for the same conditions.
Be our guest

*[brackets denote speaker notes] [breathe] Distinguished audience, my name is Deanna Dannels and I have the honor of standing before you, for the last time, as Editor of Communication Education. I ...
Graph Mining for Cyber Security

How does malware propagate? How do software patches propagate? Given a set of malware samples, how to identify all malware variants that exist in a database? Which human behaviors may lead to increased malware attacks? These are challenging problems in their own respect, especially as they depend on having access to extensive, field-gathered data that highlight the current trends. These datasets are increasingly easier to collect, are large in size, and also high in complexity. Hence data mining can play an important role in cyber-security by answering these questions in an empirical data-driven manner. In this chapter, we discuss how related problems in cyber-security can be tackled via techniques from graph mining (specifically mining network propagation) on large field datasets collected on millions of hosts.
The ASL-LEX 2.0 Project: A Database of Lexical and Phonological Properties for 2,723 Signs in American Sign Language

ASL-LEX is a publicly available, large-scale lexical database for American Sign Language (ASL). We report on the expanded database (ASL-LEX 2.0) that contains 2,723 ASL signs. For each sign, ASL-LEX now includes a more detailed phonological description, phonological density and complexity measures, frequency ratings (from deaf signers), iconicity ratings (from hearing non-signers and deaf signers), transparency ("guessability") ratings (from non-signers), sign and videoclip durations, lexical class, and more. We document the steps used to create ASL-LEX 2.0 and describe the distributional characteristics for sign properties across the lexicon and examine the relationships among lexical and phonological properties of signs. Correlation analyses revealed that frequent signs were less iconic and phonologically simpler than infrequent signs and iconic signs tended to be phonologically simpler than less iconic signs. The complete ASL-LEX dataset and supplementary materials are available at https://osf.io/zpha4/ and an interactive visualization of the entire lexicon can be accessed on the ASL-LEX page: http://asl-lex.org/.
Neighborhood Evictions, Marital/Cohabiting Status, and Preterm Birth among African American Women.

Introduction: Housing stability is an impor­tant determinant of health, but no studies to our knowledge have examined the spill-over effects of neighborhood eviction rates on individual risk of preterm birth (PTB) among African American women. Objective: We assessed whether living in a neighborhood with high eviction rates was associated with risk of PTB among African American women, and whether marital/co­habiting status modified the association. Methods: We spatially linked interview, medical record, and current address data from the Life-course Influences on Fetal Environments Study (2009-2011, N=1386) of postpartum African American women from Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, to publicly available data on block-group level rates of eviction filings and judgements. PTB was defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation and occurred in 16.3% of the sample (n=226). Eviction rate vari­ables were rescaled by their interquartile ranges (75th vs 25th percentiles). Women self-reported whether they were married to, or cohabiting with, the father of their baby during the in-person interview. We used Modified Poisson regression with robust er­ror variance to estimate relative risks of PTB associated with each eviction variable sepa­rately and included an interaction term with marital/cohabiting status (P<.10 considered significant) in adjusted models. Results: In the overall sample, neighbor­hood eviction filings and judgements did not predict PTB, but the associations were modified by marital/cohabiting status (P for interaction = .02, and .06, respectively). Among women who were married/cohabit­ing, those who lived in neighborhoods with high eviction filings (adjusted relative risk: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.47) and eviction judgements (adjusted relative risk: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.33) had higher risk of PTB than women who did not. Little evidence of an association was observed for women who were not married/cohabiting. Conclusions: Future studies should examine the mechanisms of the reported associations to identify novel intervention targets (eg, addressing landlord discrimina­tion) and policy solutions (eg, ensuring a living wage and providing affordable hous­ing assistance to everyone who qualifies) to reduce the burden of PTB among African Americans. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(2):197-204; doi:10.18865/ed.31.2.197
Clinicopathologic Characterization of IgG4-Rich Pediatric Head and Neck Lesions.

Context.— Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease is rare but well characterized in adults; however, the clinical and histologic manifestations in children may differ. Objective.— To review the clinical and histologic features of IgG4-rich head and neck lesions in a pediatric population. Design.— Retrospective search for cases with IgG4 immunohistochemical staining performed at our institution from 2011 to 2019. Review of clinical courses, serology profiles, histologic patterns, and immunohistochemical staining patterns. Results.— Four pediatric IgG4-rich lesions were identified and showed distinct histologic patterns from adult IgG4-related disease, including absence of pathognomonic findings associated with the latter. One case showed intralesional immunoglobulin light-chain restriction. Clinical review showed serum IgG4 elevation in 2 of 4 cases, presence of additional autoantibody positivity, and a generally benign/treatment-responsive clinical course. Conclusions.— Pediatric IgG4-related disease shows distinct clinical, serologic, and histologic features from its adult counterpart. Pediatric IgG4-related disease involving the orbit has unique clinical characteristics, including frequently normal serum IgG4 levels and female predominance. Awareness and evaluation for these features may improve diagnosis and treatment.
Intranasal iloprost prevents tumors in a murine lung carcinogenesis model.

Lung cancer chemoprevention with the prostacyclin analogue iloprost is the most promising approach to date for intercepting progression of premalignant lung lesions in former smokers. Previous pre-clinical studies of iloprost used oral delivery, but a study modeling delivery directly to the target organ was needed. In vivo and in vitro studies have identified gene expression changes following iloprost treatment, including increased E-cadherin and PPAR𝛄 and decreased COX2 and Vimentin. We used tumor counts and gene expression to demonstrate the effectiveness of intranasal delivery of iloprost in a murine model of premalignant adenomas. Intranasal delivery of iloprost reduced adenoma multiplicity14 weeks after urethane exposure in FVB mice compared to untreated urethane controls. Intranasal iloprost reversed urethane-induced gene expression changes in tumors and whole lung. These results correspond to previous studies of oral iloprost and in vitro treatment of human bronchial epithelial cells. This study demonstrates that intranasal delivery of iloprost in a mouse model of lung premalignant lesions is effective chemoprevention. This will be an essential tool for exploring mechanisms and outcomes of iloprost chemoprevention, along with supporting ongoing clinical trials of inhaled iloprost chemoprevention.
Die Anzeige der Forderungsabtretung gemäß § 409 I BGB

Gemas § 409 I 1 BGB mus der Glaubiger, der seinem Schuldner die Abtretung der Forderung angezeigt hat, diese Anzeige auch dann gegen sich gelten lassen, wenn die Abtretung nicht erfolgt oder nicht wirksam ist. Einer derartigen Anzeige steht es nach § 409 I 2 BGB gleich, wenn der Glaubiger dem Zessionar eine Urkunde uber die Abtretung ausgestellt hat, in der der neue Glaubiger bezeichnet ist, und dieser die Urkunde dem Schuldner vorlegt. Eine Rucknahme der Anzeige ist gemas § 409 II BGB nur mit Zustimmung desjenigen moglich, der in der Anzeige als neuer Glaubiger bezeichnet worden ist.
Eliminating Aggregation Bias when Estimating Treatment Eects on Combined Outcomes with Applications to Quality of Life Assessment

Researchers are often interested in combined measures such as overall ratings, indices of physical or mental health, or health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) outcomes. Such measures are typically composed of two or more underlying discrete variables. I show that estimating the eect
Predictor Ranking using Modified Zhegalkin Functions

Inference of the underlying gene regulatory network structure (i.e. predictors and functions) from gene expression is an important challenge in genomics. With continuing improvements in microarray technology, the ability to measure expression levels of many genes has improved significantly, making available large amount of gene expression data for analysis. In previous chapters, all gene expressions have been assumed to be digital in nature. However, actual gene expressions (from microarrays for example) are continuous. On the other hand, many genes have been observed to exhibit switch-like or Boolean behavior. In this chapter, we utilize modified Zhegalkin polynomials to express the Boolean behavior of gene expression in an analog or continuous manner. Given gene expression data in the form of microarray measurements normalized to the unit interval, we present a method for ranking and selecting predictors which fits the data with the least mean square error according to the modified Zhegalkin function. Our methods are validated on synthetic gene expressions from a mutated mammalian cell-cycle network and then demonstrated on measured gene expressions from a melanoma network study. The results of our approach can be used to identify potential genes in future expression experiments or for possible targeted drug development experiments.
The Importance of the Virtues in General and Hospitality in Particular

This chapter introduces the key virtues cultivated and practiced by members of Hizmet movement. On a fundamental level, these virtues define the movement’s aspirational ideals as they inform the lives of its members and their initiatives. It situates this analysis broadly within an Islamic and Aristotelian discussion of the virtues. It outlines how the five pillars of Islam center on the aspiration of Muslims to live virtuous lives in the context of community and lead to a conception of Islam as primarily focused on orthopraxy (right action) rather than orthodoxy (right doctrine). It explores commonalities in the conception of the virtues found in the writings of Aristotle and Gulen and the value of cross-cultural dialogue on the virtues.
Chapter 11. Antibacterial Agents

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the new antibacterial agents, antimicrobial agents, and various aspects of antimicrobial chemotherapy. The orally active third generation cephalosporin FK 027 (FR 17027) continued to be extensively studied in vitro and in vivo . Oral administration of cefuroxime axetil, the 1-acetoxyethyl ester prodrug of cefuroxime, to human volunteers produced higher peak serum levels than an equivalent dose of ampicillin and urinary recovery of 35%. Novel oxacephem derivative (6315-S,7), exhibited broad, potent anti-bacterial spectrum with the exception of activity against Pseudornonas . The effect on antibacterial activity of α-substituents in the 2-(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)acetyl side chain of ceftizoxime had been of great interest to the researchers working on anti-bacteraial agents. Reviews and symposiums on this topic project penicillin as orally effective prodrug, delivering good blood levels of temocillin after oral administration to human volunteer. The chapter discusses the role of carbupenems, β-lactarnuse inhibitors, aminoglycosides, and other associated compounds and antibacterial agents. Interest remained high in the synthesis of nalidixic acid analogs. Rosoxacin derivative win 35,349 showed good activity in vitro and in vivo against strains of Staphylococcus aureus and epidennidus. Because of the improved potency and spectrum, most efforts were centered on 6-fluoro analogs of pipemidic acid. Pefloxacin (1589 RB, 39) penetrated inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid at effective anti-bacterial levels after oral or parenteral administration in patients with bacterial meningitis.