cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Fluid-Structure Interaction of Flexible Shelters under Blast Loading

The present work describes methods for defining and estimating blast loading over a tent and the resulting pressure loading inside the tent due to transmitted blast waves and proposes a new methodology for estimating such loadings on flexible structures. For this purpose, loading conditions and structural responses of a flexible tent with an interior Collective Protection System (CPS) that was subjected to an explosion were analyzed. This CPS tent protects personnel from biological and chemical agents with a pressurized liner inside the tent as an environmental barrier. Field tests for this structure showed unexpected damage to the liner, and most of the damage occurred on the tent's leeward side. To solve this problem, various tests and analyses using a commercial finite element method, ANSYS, to model the structural dynamics and a Computational Fluid Dynamics code, Fluent, to model the flow field were performed involving: material characteristics of the liner, canvas, and zip seals; modeling of the blast loading over the tent and inside the tent; and structural response of the tent to the blast loading. The results were compared with the field test data obtained by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The experimental pressure data were gathered from pressure gauges attached to the tent surfaces at different locations. The comparison showed that the proposed methods can provide a good design tool to analyze the loading conditions for rigid or flexible structures under explosive loads. Also, it was found that the blast loading and the structural response cannot be analyzed separately, due to the interaction between the flexible structure and the dynamic pressure loading. Therefore, the effect of fluid-structure interaction should be considered in the pressure load calculation on the structure when the structural deflection rate can influence the solution of the flow field surrounding the structure.
Aerodynamic Performace of a Notional Perching MAV Design

This paper describes a mechanized wing concept for a perching micro air vehicle, and the aerodynamic behavior of such a concept at wing angles of attack up to ninety degrees. The model has wings capable of rotating in pitch at two spanwise joints to simulate the motion of a bird’s wings during a perching maneuver. The advantage of a perching landing is that it allows the vehicle to land with approximately zero vertical and horizontal velocity on a tree branch, power line, or ledge. Wind tunnel tests are conducted to measure vehicle performance and ight control parameters for further development of a free-ying model. Static measurements of lift, drag, and pitching moments are correlated to wing section angles from zero to nearly ninety degrees angle of attack. Unsteady eects related to dynamic stall are also investigated by varying the speed at which the wing sections are actuated. In order to investigate actuation and mechanization designs for this concept, additional measurements are made to determine the amount of power required to achieve the wing motions.
Response to ‘Cardiac troponins and chronic kidney disease’

We thank Lamb et al.1 for bringing to our attention new data regarding the mechanism of elevated circulating troponin levels (cTnT) in patients with renal dysfunction. We were unaware of their recently published results. Their work indicates that it is the free-form cTnT that is being measured in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), identical in size to that of cTnT observed in non-renal disease patients, and not a smaller fragment of cTnT as suggested earlier by Diris et al.2 We agree that although the mechanism of altered cTnT levels in CKD is not fully understood, increased cTnT levels are consistently associated with an incremental change in morbidity and mortality, and cannot be dismissed as laboratory artifact.
Postoperative Myocardial Ischemia: Epidural versus Intravenous Patient-controlled Analgesia: A Pilot Project

Background and Objectives Continuous postoperative epidural analgesia with bupivacaine (BUP) and morphine (MS) may be associated with a decreased incidence of postoperative myocardial ischemia (ISCH) and infarction (MI). This study evaluated the incidence of ISCH and MI in patients with two or more risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) who were admitted to the ICU after upper abdominal surgery for cancer. Methods During a 1-year period, 198 patients were studied for the incidence of ISCH and MI in a prospective, nonrandomized fashion. The epidural group (EPI, n = 110) received continuous epidural anesthesia by injection at the T7-9 interspaces with 0.5% BUP/0.013% MS and light general anesthesia followed by 0.1% BUP/0.01% MS epidural analgesia for 5-7 days. The general anesthesia group (GEN, n = 88) received a balanced technique followed by intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with 0.1% MS for 5-7 days. All patients had preoperative and post-operative 12 lead ECGs every 6 hours on the first 3 postoperative days. Patients with ECG changes consistent with myocardial ischemia had creatine kinase levels with isoenzymes drawn every 8 hours. Results There were no differences in age, sex, number of cardiac risk factors, number taking anti-anginal medication, preoperative heart rate (75 ± 5 [EPI] vs. 73 ± 4 [GEN]), and incidence of preoperative or intra-operative ischemia between the two groups. All patients had adequate analgesia. Postoperatively, patients in the EPI group had a lower incidence of tachycardia (15 [14%] vs. 58 [65%], P Conclusions These preliminary results suggest that epidural anesthesia and analgesia may decrease the incidence of postoperative tachycardia, ischemia, and possibly infarction in patients undergoing upper abdominal procedures.
Exotic mice as models for aging research: polemic and prospectus.

Most gerontological research using rodent models employs inbred strains, or Fl hybrids derived from them, rather than populations of genetically heterogeneous individuals. This study presents the argument that reliance on genetically homogeneous rodents, though sanctioned by tradition, may not be ideal for many sorts of investigations, and that use of heterogeneous mice and rats would allow researchers to reach robust conclusions that were less likely to reflect strain-specific idiosyncrasies. Segregating stocks, bred by backcross, F2 cross, or four-way cross procedures, would be an improvement over inbred and Fl stocks, providing inexpensive, arbitrarily large, and reproducible populations of genetically diverse test subjects. These stocks would not, however, recapture allelic variations that are likely to have been lost when wild-trapped mice and rats are selected inadvertently over dozens of generations for breeding success in laboratory conditions. Development of specific pathogen free stocks from wild-trapped progenitors, particularly from populations selected for relevant evolutionary history and physiological characteristics, may be of great value for analysis of aging and late-life pathophysiology.
A INTERNACIONALIZAÇÃO DA FILOSOFIA EDUCACIONAL REGGIO EMILIA

This article presents the history and framework of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, an educational approach to early childhood education that places children as the main participants and protagonists of the curriculum. It also showcases the growing influence of the Reggio Emilia philosophy around the world, through key regional and national organizations. The association of the Emilia fundamental values of the Reggio Emilia with the globally competent soft skills helps this philosophy to overcome the growing need worldwide. Ultimately, the internationalization of this approach has inspired teaching practices all over the world. Within different nations, organizations that advocate the application of Reggio Emilia principles in various schools has grown, prompting a need to educate children to that they will develop emotionally and cognitively, in making thinking visible.
Mozambique 1992–1994

With the creation of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) in December 1992, the UN had established its thirteenth peacekeeping operation of the post-Cold War era. Thus, in only four years the UN had equaled the number of operations it had conducted during the previous 40. However, the optimism that had been generated in the initial post-Cold War period was now beginning to waver. As described in the previous chapter, democratic elections in Angola had been followed by a return to war and many analysts were blaming the UN’s failure to disarm UNITA for the ease with which it had resumed. At the same time, the refusal of the Khmer Rouge to disarm and participate in elections in Cambodia was placing that country’s whole peace process in jeopardy. It was to be in this climate of dejection and uncertainty that the peace negotiations for Mozambique were to conclude.
What Is Special About Dog Cognition

I review three domains in which it has been proposed that dogs possess unique cognitive abilities in understanding people. The ability of dogs to follow human pointing gestures is widely reported, but so too is evidence of this behavior in a range of other species. Several studies have investigated the ability of dogs to discriminate between people who can see them and others whose vision is obscured. Dogs’ successes and failures on this task are best accounted for by considering the conditions under which different populations of dogs live. I conclude by reviewing studies of dogs’ ability to select whether or not to imitate the actions of another dog depending on whether the demonstrator dog appeared to have a motive for behaving in a less-than-optimal fashion. In all three cases, the evidence for unique human-like cognitive skills in dogs is limited, either because of evidence that other species complete these tests successfully or because the evidence for success in dogs is modest. Dogs are better view...
Fast ion transport materials and batteries

Recently there has been an upsurge in the interest in batteries, in particular, those having high energy density and involving molten salts or solids as the electrolyte. It is the intention of this paper to show why there is an interest in batteries at the present time and what role solids that exhibit fast ion transport can play in the battery and energy conversion area.
Characterization of Excimer Relaxation via Femtosecond Shortwave- and Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy

Excimer formation plays a significant role in trapping excitons within organic molecular solids. Covalent dimers of perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PDI) are useful model systems for studying these processes as their intermolecular geometries can be precisely tuned. Using femtosecond visible-pump infrared-probe (fsIR) spectroscopy in the shortwave- and mid-infrared regions, we characterize two PDI dimers with a cofacial and a slip-stacked geometry that are coupled through a triptycene bridge. In the mid-infrared region, fsIR spectra for the strongly coupled dimers are highly blue-shifted compared to spectra for monomeric 1*PDI. The perylene core stretching modes provide a directly observable probe of excimer relaxation, as they are particularly sensitive to this process, which is associated with a small blue shift of these modes in both dimers. The broad Frenkel-to-CT state electronic transition of the excimer, the edge of which has previously been detected in the NIR region, is now fully resolved to...
Trajectories of organized activity participation among urban adolescents: Associations with young adult outcomes

Organized activity participation provides opportunities for adolescents to develop assets that may support favorable outcomes in young adulthood. Activity participation may be especially beneficial for marginalized youth as they are likely to face stressors that increase risk of negative outcomes. We used growth mixture modeling (GMM) to identify activity participation trajectories among African American adolescents in an urban, disadvantaged community (Wave 1: mean age=14.86 years, SD=0.64; 49% male, N=681). We also investigated if young adult outcomes differed by trajectory subgroups. Our results suggested a three-class model best fit the data: low, decreasing (74%), moderate, consistent (21%) and moderate, increasing participation subgroups (5%). Adolescents in the increasing subgroup reported higher life satisfaction and lower substance use in young adulthood compared to the decreasing subgroup. Youth who increase participation in activities over time may experience greater opportunities for building assets related to positive development that support health and well-being into young adulthood.
How Will India’s Urban Future Affect Social Identities?

Urbanisation is as much a social process as it is an economic and spatial process. Cities are sites of social change that offer possibilities for social mobility by disrupting the social stratifica...
Introduction to the First Edition

The major problems of modern software involve finding effective techniques and tools for organizing and maintaining large, complex programs. The key concept in modern programming for controlling complexity is abstraction, that is, selective emphasis on detail. This monograph discusses how the Ada programming language provides ways to support and exploit such abstraction techniques.
Mineralogic evidence for subglacial volcanism in the Sisyphi Montes region of Mars

Abstract Here we examine the mineral assemblages detected on possible glaciovolcanic edifices in the Sisyphi Planum region of Mars, a high-latitude region in the southern highlands nestled between the Argyre and Hellas impact basins. Minerals were identified utilizing visible/near-infrared spectra from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM). Analysis of eleven CRISM images located on the volcanic edifices revealed three distinct spectral classes in the region which are interpreted to be: gypsum-dominated, smectite–zeolite–iron oxide-dominated (possibly palagonite), and polyhydrated sulfate-dominated material. While sulfates can form under a variety of alteration conditions, palagonite-like mineral assemblages require low-temperature and high water-to-rock hydrothermal conditions typically found in subglacial or subaqueous volcanic eruptions. The possible palagonite detections on the volcanic edifices, the geomorphology of the region, and the analogous terrestrial mineralogy of subglacial eruptions strongly suggests the formation of these minerals during subglacial eruptions or associated hydrothermal systems. This implies that thick water ice sheets were present in this region in the late Noachian or early Hesperian, and that the subglacial hydrothermal systems could have supported habitable environments with excellent biosignature preservation potential.
Agriculture in the South, 1865–1900

The high price of cotton [after the Civil War] thus aided in establishing that credit system which has been the main feature of southern agriculture since the war, as slavery was previous thereto and which has been the chief cause retarding the economic development of the cotton states and the betterment of their agriculture. Had the price of cotton been low in 1865–6, the revival of the farming industry of the South would doubtless have been less rapid, but it would probably have taken a different direction, leading to the production of larger food crops, and a more moderate increase in the production of cotton, and would thus have prevented many farmers from falling into that state of peonage to factors and merchants in which the majority of the cotton growers are today to be found.
Calculation of Expectations

Many of the hardest problems in applied probability revolve around the calculation of expectations of one sort or another. On one level, these are merely humble exercises in integration or summation. However, we should not be so quick to dismiss the intellectual challenges. Readers are doubtless already aware of the clever applications of characteristic and moment generating functions. This chapter is intended to review and extend some of the tools that probabilists routinely call on. Readers can consult the books [34, 59, 60, 78, 80, 166] for many additional examples of these tools in action.
International digital government research: purpose, value, prospects

Research questions that cross the boundaries of nations are growing in number and importance. Many of these concerns involve information policies, tools, and strategies that need to take into account different cultures and languages, as well as separate or incompatible systems. As a consequence, comparative and transnational digital government (DG) research is becoming increasingly important, but the DG community has little experience and few guiding strategies or methods for conducting these kinds of investigations. This panel focuses on comparative and transnational digital government research through a discussion of motivation, design, methods, and lessons learned by experienced investigators. It concludes with an open dialogue between the panelists and dg.o2010 conference participants about future prospects for conducting international digital government research
A Handheld Haptic Robot for Large-Format Touchscreens

This paper presents a handheld surface robot built around a single steerable wheel that can direct the user's motion or modulate the interaction forces with the touchscreen. Steering control is used to render spatial constraints on a touchscreen surface in coordination with the displayed visual objects. A force sensor using flexures and Hall effect sensors is integrated into the device design for economic two-dimensional force sensing. The flexure array and device frame are built a single part out of nylon using the selective laser sintering additive manufacturing process. The position and orientation of the device are supplied by touchscreen eliminating the need for a grounded external frame and resulting in a more compact form. Potential applications include upper limb stroke therapy, gaming, and touchscreen accessibility for disabled individuals. The device exerts up to 10.6 ± 1.0 N of friction force and has a 90° peak-to-peak sine tracking bandwidth of 7.0 Hz. The embedded force sensor has a 6.5% full-scale force magnitude error with an average 4.0° load angle error. The device tracks force-sensitive compliant haptic boundaries with a stiffness range between 0.1 N/mm and 2.0 N/mm. Also demonstrated is stiffness tracking of a 0.175 N/mm boundary (near maximum stable deflections) with mean error 9.4% of the maximum desired deflection.
Adversarial Robustness May Be at Odds With Simplicity.

Current techniques in machine learning are so far are unable to learn classifiers that are robust to adversarial perturbations. However, they are able to learn non-robust classifiers with very high accuracy, even in the presence of random perturbations. Towards explaining this gap, we highlight the hypothesis that $\textit{robust classification may require more complex classifiers (i.e. more capacity) than standard classification.}$ In this note, we show that this hypothesis is indeed possible, by giving several theoretical examples of classification tasks and sets of "simple" classifiers for which: (1) There exists a simple classifier with high standard accuracy, and also high accuracy under random $\ell_\infty$ noise. (2) Any simple classifier is not robust: it must have high adversarial loss with $\ell_\infty$ perturbations. (3) Robust classification is possible, but only with more complex classifiers (exponentially more complex, in some examples). Moreover, $\textit{there is a quantitative trade-off between robustness and standard accuracy among simple classifiers.}$ This suggests an alternate explanation of this phenomenon, which appears in practice: the tradeoff may occur not because the classification task inherently requires such a tradeoff (as in [Tsipras-Santurkar-Engstrom-Turner-Madry `18]), but because the structure of our current classifiers imposes such a tradeoff.
Why self-translate? – An autobiographical author-translator’s perspective

Motivation has been studied in self-translation research rather extensively. Recent studies have indicated that many of those who choose to self-translate often describe their practice of self-tran...
Teaching and training in airway management: Time to evaluate the current model?

Management of the airway is central to the practice of anaesthesiology and yet surveys reveal that trainees frequently feel poorly trained in this area. Good skills in airway management include not only technical proficiency with an increasingly complex and wide range of equipment but also the clinical judgement and experience to use them appropriately. Lapses in judgement, education and training are leading causes of patient morbidity and mortality. It is now more imperative than ever for anaesthesiology training programmes to carefully review their curricula and evaluate the educational tools being used for effective advanced airway education of the next generation of airway specialists. Residency programmes have also seen the need to incorporate a formalised airway rotation into their curricula. One to 2-year long airway fellowships are now being advocated to provide the trainee a unique opportunity to master the advanced clinical knowledge and techniques necessary to successfully manage the most challenging clinical scenarios in airway management. It is essential for educators and practitioners alike to consider innovative models of training, advancing and retaining of skills. Such advanced skills can ensure the safe airway management and delivery of quality care to patients of all ages and medical complexity. Before preparation of the manuscript, a PubMed and Cochrane search of the scientific literature published in the past 10 years with the terms 'anesthesiology training', 'airway management education' and 'advanced airway management skills' was conducted.
Rethinking Viscosupplementation: Ultrasound‐ Versus Landmark‐Guided Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVES Viscosupplementation, intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA), for knee osteoarthritis has fallen somewhat out of favor, with studies failing to show consistent benefits in pain reduction. Hyaluronic acid must enter the joint space to be beneficial; however, landmark-guided injection can be substantially inaccurate, especially in obese patients. We aimed to determine whether ultrasound (US) guidance to ensure needle placement for HA knee injection resulted in improved outcomes as reflected by surgery-free survival compared to landmark-guided HA knee injection. METHODS All community-dwelling patients in 6 contiguous surrounding counties receiving HA knee injection either by landmark guidance (n = 647) or by US guidance (n = 500) were analyzed for the degree of arthritis, body mass index, follow-up injection, and subsequent need for knee arthroplasty. A subgroup analysis of obese patients was also performed. RESULTS The US- and landmark-guided HA injection cohorts were similar with respect to sex, body mass index, and the degree of arthritis. Of 1147 patients receiving knee HA injection, 462 subsequently underwent knee arthroplasty. Significantly fewer patients in the US-guided HA injection cohort went to surgery (33.2%) compared to the landmark-guided cohort (45.8%; P < .001). The subgroup analysis for obese patients showed even larger differences (34.8% versus 51.8%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Knee osteoarthritis treatment by viscosupplementation can be optimized by US guidance, ensuring intra-articular needle placement. Using an objective surgical outcome, our study shows that rethinking viscosupplementation to ensure intra-articular delivery improves effectiveness. Patients receiving US-guided knee HA injection were significantly less likely to undergo subsequent knee arthroplasty than patients receiving landmark-guided HA injection.
Use of Lignin-Based Materials in the Selective Inhibition of Microorganisms

Lignin, modified through reaction with organostannane halides, and SINS, formed through the co-reaction of lignin and poly(ethylene glycols), and block polymers of poly(ethylene glycol-co-dimetylsiloxane-co-ethylene glycol) with organostannane halides exhibit selective inhibition of C. albi-cans, the microorganism responsible for yeast infections.
Comparison between the Material Symmetry Approaches of Gurtin and Noll

The material symmetry condition of Noll is compared with that of Gurtin for elastic solids. (In this paper elastic solids refer to simply elastic solid materials.) We demonstrate that the difference between the two approaches is due to the fact that Gurtin's involves an additional rotation of the configuration. We show that the two ideas of material symmetry are equivalent for elastic solids in the context of finite elasticity theory. However, the procedures for applying these two approaches to classical linear elasticity theory are different. Also, we observe that both methods can be directly applied to the invariant infinitesimal theory of Casey and Naghdi without starting with the case of finite deformations.
Seismic analysis of polygonal fault systems in the Great South Basin, New Zealand

Abstract Polygonal fault systems (PFS) consisting of networks of layer-bound normal faults are analyzed for Eocene strata in the Great South Basin, New Zealand. An advanced fault enhancement and skeletonization method is applied to delineate faults using 3D seismic data from the Great South Basin. The process sharpens structural and stratigraphic discontinuities and smears the incoherent noise on coherence to obtain a skeletonized fault probability volume which can be directly used to extract and map fault geometries. The characteristics of the polygonal faults in cross-section, planform, and 3D space were studied. The faults dip approximately 50°, with displacements on a single fault ranging from tens of meters to a hundred meters. The fault planform patterns are polygonal but also related to the regional horizontal stress anisotropy caused by slope changes of the basal unit. The patterns vary from linear for high slopes, rectangular for moderate slopes and polygonal for low slopes. Two preferred orientations may reflect the superposition of deep Cretaceous trends on the polygonal system in the Eocene strata. A local concentric pattern with outward dipping normal faults is related to passive or active draping above a circular plutonic-volcanic structure. The genetic mechanism of the polygonal fault systems is interpreted to be related to volume loss and shear failure related to Opal A/CT transition within the sediments.
Relationship between the Number of Firms and Generic Drug Price Competition

The theoretical relationship between market structure (number of firms) and conduct (pricing behavior) of the generic drug industry was investigated. The effects of qualitative variables such as therapeutic category, duration of use, popularity, and market entry aggressiveness on the above-mentioned relationship were also analyzed. Regression analysis was performed using standardized average prices as the dependent variable and the number of firms and other qualitative variables as the independent variables. The results showed that the generic drug industry behaves as an oligopolistic competitive market tending toward a pure competitive market. The generic firms act as a fringe and compete on price. Generic firms enter all the markets irrespective of the therapeutic category, popularity, or duration of use of the drug product. The price erosion is directly proportional to the market entry aggressiveness in the first year. Although only a small number of products were studied over a short time span, the results clearly show that the postulated relationship holds.
Mycobacterial HflX is a ribosome splitting factor that mediates antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is typically conferred by proteins that function as efflux pumps or enzymes that modify either the drug or the antibiotic target. Here we report an unusual mechanism of resistance to macrolide-lincosamide antibiotics mediated by mycobacterial HflX, a conserved ribosome-associated GTPase. We show that deletion of the hflX gene in the pathogenic Mycobacterium abscessus, as well as the nonpathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis, results in hypersensitivity to the macrolide-lincosamide class of antibiotics. Importantly, the level of resistance provided by Mab_hflX is equivalent to that conferred by erm41, implying that hflX constitutes a significant resistance determinant in M. abscessus. We demonstrate that mycobacterial HflX associates with the 50S ribosomal subunits in vivo and can dissociate purified 70S ribosomes in vitro, independent of GTP hydrolysis. The absence of HflX in a ΔMs_hflX strain also results in a significant accumulation of 70S ribosomes upon erythromycin exposure. Finally, a deletion of either the N-terminal or the C-terminal domain of HflX abrogates ribosome splitting and concomitantly abolishes the ability of mutant proteins to mediate antibiotic tolerance. Together, our results suggest a mechanism of macrolide-lincosamide resistance in which the mycobacterial HflX dissociates antibiotic-stalled ribosomes and rescues the bound mRNA. Given the widespread presence of hflX genes, we anticipate this as a generalized mechanism of macrolide resistance used by several bacteria.
Present and Past Sea Surface Temperatures: A Recipe for Better Seasonal Climate Forecasts

AbstractMonthly tropical sea surface temperature (SST) data are used as predictors to make statistical forecasts of cold season (November-March) precipitation and temperature for the contiguous Uni...
The Conscription of Greek Ottomans into the Sultan's Army, 1908–1912

With the reinstatement of the parliament in 1908, the Ottoman state faced new challenges connected to citizenship. As a policy to finally make citizens equal in rights as well as duties, military conscription figured prominently in this new context. For the first time in Ottoman history, the empire's non-Muslims began to be drafted en masse. This article explores meanings of imperial citizenship and equality through the lens of debates over the conscription of Greek Ottomans, the largest non-Muslim population of the Ottoman Empire. In contrast to the widespread suggestion of the Turkish nationalist historiography on these matters, Greek Ottomans and other non-Muslim populations enthusiastically supported the military service in principle. But amidst this general agreement was a tremendous array of views on what conscription ought to look like in practice. The issue came to center on whether Greek Ottomans should have separate battalions in the army. All units would eventually come to be religiously integrated, but the conscription debates in the Ottoman parliament as well as in the Turkish and Greek language press reveal some of the crucial fissures of an empire as various actors were attempting to navigate between a unified citizenship and a diverse population.
Cascaded Stokes and anti-Stokes microlaser based on a surface-functionalized optical resonator with a self-assembled organic monolayer

In this work, a microresonator is modified with an organic monolayer, allowing four orders of CSRS to be observed with sub-mW input power. The SARS efficiency is also improved by three orders of magnitude.
Can White Guilt Motivate Action? The Role of Civic Beliefs

Limited research has investigated factors that shape White youth’s civic action aimed at social change. Investigating the relation between Whiteness and civic action is an essential step toward identifying and cultivating environments that encourage White youth to use their racial privilege to combat inequality through civic engagement. To address this gap in the literature, across two distinct samples, this study investigates the role of White guilt in motivating civic action and the moderating role of civic beliefs. Participants included all young adults who self-identified as White from two online survey studies (Study 1, N = 219 college students, 71.9% Women, 28.1% Men, mean age = 19.6; Study 2, N = 185, 50% current college students, 54.6% Women, 45.4% Men, mean age = 23.9). In Study 1, White guilt related to more civic action. In the context of high social responsibility, White guilt related to more civic action; in the context of low social responsibility, White guilt corresponded with less civic action. In Study 2, White guilt also related to more civic action, and civic efficacy emerged as a potential moderator. Collectively, these results highlight the potential for White guilt to be turned into meaningful civic action, particularly when coupled with civic beliefs.
In vivo electroretinographic studies of the role of GABAC receptors in retinal signal processing.

Abstract All three classes of receptors for the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (GABAR) are expressed in the retina. This study investigated roles of GABAR, especially GABA C R (GABA(A)-ρ), in retinal signaling in vivo by studying effects on the mouse electroretinogram (ERG) of genetic deletion of GABA C R versus pharmacological blockade using receptor antagonists. Brief full-field flash ERGs were recorded from anesthetized GABA C R −/− mice, and WT C57BL/6 (B6) mice, before and after intravitreal injection of GABA C R antagonists, TPMPA, 3-APMPA, or the more recently developed 2-AEMP; GABA A R antagonist, SR95531; GABA B R antagonist, CGP, and agonist, baclofen. Intravitreal injections of TPMPA and SR95531 were also made in Brown Norway rats. The effect of 2-AEMP on GABA-induced current was tested directly in isolated rat rod bipolar cells, and 2-AEMP was found to preferentially block GABA C R in those cells. Maximum amplitudes of dark (DA) and light-adapted (LA) ERG b-waves were reduced in GABA C R −/− mice, compared to B6 mice, by 30–60%; a-waves were unaltered and oscillatory potential amplitudes were increased. In B6 mice, after injection of TPMPA (also in rats), 3-APMPA or 2-AEMP, ERGs became similar to ERGs of GABA C R −/− mice. Blockade of GABA A Rs and GABA B Rs, or agonism of GABA B Rs did not alter B6 DA b-wave amplitude. The negative scotopic threshold response (nSTR) was slightly less sensitive in GABA C R −/− than in B6 mice, and unaltered by 2-AEMP. However, amplitudes of nSTR and photopic negative response (PhNR), both of which originate from inner retina, were enhanced by TPMPA and 3-APMPA, each of which has GABA B agonist properties, and further increased by baclofen. The finding that genetic deletion of GABA C R, the GABA C R antagonist 2-AEMP, and other antagonists all reduced ERG b-wave amplitude, supports a role for GABA C R in determining the maximum response amplitude of bipolar cells contributing to the b-wave. GABA C R antagonists differed in their effects on nSTR and PhNR; antagonists with GABA B agonist properties enhanced light-driven responses whereas 2-AEMP did not.
Hellenisms: Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity from Antiquity to Modernity

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2008 Pages: 492 Publisher: Ashgate Publishing ISBN: 978-0-7546-6525-0 (hard cover).
T cells: getting a GRP on Ras.

Activation of Ras is key for lymphocyte development and function. The understanding of Ras activation in T cells now takes an important step forward by the initial analysis of mice lacking the Ras activator RasGRP.
Iatrogenic prematurity due to elective termination of the uncomplicated pregnancy: A major perinatal health care problem

In a series of 1,000 newborn infants referred to a regional neonatal center, 32 iatrogenically preterm infants were identified. All had been delivered following elective termination of uncomplicated, apparently term pregnancies, without prior documentation of fetal lung maturity or ultrasonic determination of fetal biparietal diameter. Associated acute morbidity included asphyxia neonatorum in 10, respiratory distress syndrome in 24, and pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum in nine patients. One infant died. Hospital costs totaled $150,643, for a mean of $4,701 per patient. The unexpected premature births were associated with major parental grief reactions and alterations in their daily activities, Iatrogenic prematurity is a major regional health care problem which, when viewed on a national basis, may affect thousands of newborn infants and their families annually. Our data suggest the need for more accurate assessment of fetal maturity, before elective termination of pregnancy, by well-established techniques.
Life on the Outside: The Tamil Diaspora and Long‐Distance Nationalism

Life on the Outside: The Tamil Diaspora and Long-Distance Nationalism. Oivind Fuglerud. Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 1999.203 pp.
Veiling as self-disciplining: Muslim women, Islamic discourses, and the headscarf ban in Turkey

This article is an ethnographic and discursive analysis of women’s experiences of the headscarf ban in Turkish universities and public offices. Based on in-depth interviews, it examines how the headscarf ban, which continued until 2011–2013, affected Muslim women’s personalized understandings of self-discipline and Islam, as well as their production of new Islamic discourses. Analyzing discourses and subject formations, this article gives an insight into answering broader questions such as nature of women’s agency and the role of piety in a secularized public sphere.
Sloppy identity unbound

Reinhart (1983) claims that only pronouns whose antecedents c-command them may give rise to sloppy identity readings. This paper presents counterexamples to this claim; for instance, referring to the famous 1960 televised presidential debate, it is acceptable to say: "Kennedy looked good. People voted for him. Nixon looked bad. People didn't." Despite the fact that the antecedent "Kennedy" for the pronoun "him" is in a previous sentence, this pronoun allows a sloppy identity reading wherein the fourth sentence ("People didn't.") means that people didn't vote for Nixon. To analyze such cases, I first propose an extension to the ~ focus operator due to Rooth (1992), allowing this operator to alter the assignment function used to interpret pronouns. One construction where Rooth places ~ is in the answers to questions. My new meaning for ~ explains why pronouns are so constrained in answers, e.g., "Who does John like? He[=John] likes Mary." Next, I argue for the Question-Under-Discussion (QUD) model of discourse described in Roberts (1996), which theorizes that every sentence is the answer to an explicit or implicit question. Finally, I show that unbound sloppy identity can be analyzed as cases where pronouns are constrained by antecedents in implicit questions. Along the way, I argue that the QUD model is compatible with the coherence relation model of discourse due to Hobbs (1979), explaining how coherence can constrain pronoun reference as well.
Approximating strongly correlated wave functions with correlator product states

We describe correlator product states, a class of numerically efficient many-body wave functions to describe strongly correlated wave functions in any dimension. Correlator product states introduce direct correlations between physical degrees of freedom in a simple way, yet provide the flexibility to describe a wide variety of systems. We show that many interesting wave functions can be mapped exactly onto correlator product states, including Laughlin’s quantum Hall wave function, Kitaev’s toric code states, and Huse and Elser’s frustrated spin states. We also outline the relationship between correlator product states and other common families of variational wave functions such as matrix product states, tensor product states, and resonating valence-bond states. Variational calculations for the Heisenberg and spinless Hubbard models demonstrate the promise of correlator product states for describing both two-dimensional and fermion correlations. Even in one-dimensional systems, correlator product states are competitive with matrix product states for a fixed number of variational parameters.
Walkability and self-rated health in primary care patients.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived walkability and overall self-rated health among patients who use community-based clinics. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to a convenience sample in three community clinics. Forms were completed by 793 clinic patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis was to control for the effects of demographic variables and lifestyles. Perceiving the availability of places to walk was related to better self-rated health. The most important places were work (OR = 3.2), community center (OR = 3.12), park (OR = 2.45) and day care (OR = 2.05). Respondents who said they had zero (OR = .27) or one (OR = .49) place to walk were significantly less healthy than persons who said they had five or more places to walk. Persons who perceived that they had no place to walk were significantly less healthy than persons who thought they had at least one place to walk (OR = .39). Support for walkable neighborhoods and education of patients about options for walking may be in the best interests of community medicine patients.
The challenge of intelligent systems

Analyzes the meaning of intelligence within the domain of intelligent control. Because of historical reasons, there are varying and diverse definitions of what constitutes an intelligent control system. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of intelligent control, there are no good formal measures for what is an intelligent controller or for its performance. We argue that there are characteristics which can be used to categorize a controller as being intelligent. Furthermore, the measure of how intelligent a system is should take into account a holistic view of the system's operations and design requirements. Beginning with the definition of intelligence characteristics and performance measures, we can move towards a science of intelligent systems for control.
Middle-tier for multimedia synchronization

The gap between the synchronization specification and the synchronization model limits user interactions for a multimedia presentation. The middle-tier for multimedia synchronization handles the synchronization rules that are directly extracted from the specification. In addition to these rules, the middle-tier also manages implicit synchronization rules which are not specified but can be extracted from other rules. The synchronization rules generated by the middle-tier assists the synchronization model to provide user interactions while keeping the synchronization specification minimal. We give examples of how these rules are generated from SMIL expressions.
The use of ultrasound and shear oscillatory tests to characterize the effect of mixing time on the rheological properties of dough

This work examined the effect of mixing time on three different flour dough systems: bread-flour wheat dough, all-purpose flour wheat dough, and cake flour wheat dough. Both ultrasound and conventional rheology techniques were used to examine the effect of mixing on these dough systems. Fundamental ultrasound results were obtained at 3.5 MHz; velocity and attenuation showed peak values at the optimum mixing time. Similar results were observed by using conventional rheology, which showed peaks in both storage and loss shear moduli at the optimum mixing time. Thus, there was an agreement between the results obtained by conventional rheology and ultrasound measurements, which shows the potential of ultrasound as an on-line quality control technique for dough-based products. The results of this work were explained with respect to molecular changes in the dough system as the mixing process proceeded; particular emphasis was placed on the presence of free water and bound water.
Observations on immune mechanisms in otitis media with effusion.

Summary In this brief review of recent advances in immunological reactivity in otitis media, I have neither attempted to review the field from a historical perspective, nor attempted a critical analysis of the current status and future frontiers of this area. I have, rather, reviewed 5 areas that are being pursued in our laboratory and compare our investigations with those being performed throughout the country and abroad. It is my sincere hope that investigations into these areas will continue and will lead to potentially fruitful and meaningful data that will eventually unravel the mystery of persistent OME.
Chemoenzymatic formation of novel aminocoumarin antibiotics by the enzymes CouN1 and CouN7.

The aminocoumarin antibiotics novobiocin, clorobiocin, and coumermycin A 1 are highly potent inhibitors of the bacterial type II topoisomerase DNA gyrase. The key pharmacophore of both clorobiocin and coumermycin A 1 , the 5-methyl-2-pyrrolylcarbonyl moiety, targets the ATP-binding site of GyrB. The 5-methyl-2-pyrrolylcarbonyl group is transferred by the acyltransferases Clo/CouN7 from the carrier proteins Clo/CouN1 to the 3'-hydroxyl of the L-noviosyl scaffold during the late steps of clorobiocin and coumermycin A 1 biosynthesis. We first examined the substrate specificity of the purified thiolation domain protein CouN1 in becoming primed by the phosphopantetheinyltransferase Sfp using a variety of synthetic CoA analogues of the 5-methyl-2-pyrrolylcarbonyl moiety. The acyl-S-CouN1 thioesters were then assayed as donors to the 3'-OH group of descarbamoylnovobiocin by the acyltransferase CouN7, resulting in 21 novel variants with heterocyclic acyl groups installed on the noviosyl moiety of the aminocoumarin scaffold. Scaleup of a 5-methylthiophene derivative yielded a compound with activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentration found for the Gram-positive bacteria was comparable to that of novobiocin.
The effect of intervention on the speech and language of abused children

Child abuse is not a single faceted phenomenon. The effect of abuse on the speech and language development of children depends on the age of the child and the type of abuse that has occurred. Intervention must keep In mind the child's total condition as well as the environmental conditions which impinge on the child. The outstanding characteristic of the speech and language of abused children Is the style of their communication as a result of the emotional and physical trauma of the abuse.
Human ISCA1 Interacts with IOP1/NARFL and Functions in Both Cytosolic and Mitochondrial Iron-Sulfur Protein Biogenesis *

Iron-sulfur proteins play an essential role in many biologic processes. Hence, understanding their assembly is an important goal. In Escherichia coli, the protein IscA is a product of the isc (iron-sulfur cluster) operon and functions in the iron-sulfur cluster assembly pathway in this organism. IscA is conserved in evolution, but its function in mammalian cells is not known. Here, we provide evidence for a role for a human homologue of IscA, named IscA1, in iron-sulfur protein biogenesis. We observe that small interfering RNA knockdown of IscA1 in HeLa cells leads to decreased activity of two mitochondrial iron-sulfur enzymes, succinate dehydrogenase and mitochondrial aconitase, as well as a cytosolic iron-sulfur enzyme, cytosolic aconitase. IscA1 is observed both in cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions. We find that IscA1 interacts with IOP1 (iron-only hydrogenase-like protein 1)/NARFL (nuclear prelamin A recognition factor-like), a cytosolic protein that plays a role in the cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly pathway. We therefore propose that human IscA1 plays an important role in both mitochondrial and cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, and a notable component of the latter is the interaction between IscA1 and IOP1.
Motivations to quit cannabis use in an adult non-treatment sample: are they related to relapse?

Background The majority of cannabis smokers who quit do so without formal treatment, suggesting that motivations to quit are an important part of cessation process. However, little is known about how motivations relate to successful quitting.