cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Discriminating Criteria as a Consequence of Consumer Involvement With a Financial Service Decision

Although considerable progress has been made by consumer researchers in understanding the role of involvement in decision making, their scope of interest has been confined largely to the study of product and message involvement. In an effort to broaden the scope of interest, this paper focuses on service involvement. An empirical study is presented that identifies which criteria are the most discriminating as a consequence of varying levels of consumer involvement with a financial service decision.
Pelvic and perineal anatomy of the male Gorilla: Selected observations

The anatomy of parts of the pelvic outlet and perineum is described in an adult male gorilla. Two previously undescribed muscles are presented: (1) The puborectalis muscle, completely separated from the levator ani, arises from the region of the symphysis and forms a sling for the rectum while it also substitutes for the perineal membrane. (2) The puboampullaris muscle, a paired smooth muscle, arises from the pubis and inserts into the rectum to elevate the rectum while additionally providing support for the urogenital viscera. The levator ani muscle is recounted to point out its lack of attachment to the pelvic viscera while allowing a hiatus in which the rectum is exposed within the perineum. The sphincter urethrae muscle is presented emphasizing its true sphincteric characteristics, its absence of lateral attachments and its similarity to man. Other muscles of the pelvis and perineum as well as urogenital viscera are described or modified where necessary. The manner in which these structures enter into the support of the pelvic viscera is considered.
Editorial---It's the Findings, Stupid, Not the Assumptions

Observing reality is especially valuable. However, without models, every situation at every time on every variable would be unpredictable. Assumptions allow models and theories to assert constancy. Assumptions distill and simplify reality by dismissing the conspicuous but irrelevant. Criticizing assumptions as unrealistic is absurd. Abstraction is the precise virtue of an assumption. For example, seldom are we prisoners facing interrogation, yet the prisoner's dilemma remains relevant. The adage “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is relevant for more than birds. Unrealistic assumptions that deny current beliefs breed great new theories. Assumptions are analogous to the basic ingredients in a gourmet recipe. Only the final product of the recipe dictates whether the ingredients suffice. Similarly, assumptions are realistic when they produce good theories, satisfactory predictions, valuable implications, and correct recommendations. Output matters far more than input. Realism is only an issue when creatively diagnosing poorly performing models, not when judging model performance. Assumptions are the source of value in empirical analyses. If data sets were truly the source of value, empirical research studies would only greatly devalue the raw data by dramatically reducing rich observations to a few meager summary statistics or estimated parameters. Most empirical research makes a contribution by ignoring (assuming away) most information in the data. We must dramatically shift our attention far away from the hopeless pursuit and sophistry of realistic assumptions to the contribution those assumptions produce. There are scientific methods for evaluating model output (i.e., predictions, findings, implications, recommendation) on criteria such as accuracy, reliability, validity, robustness, and so on. No corresponding objective scientific methods exist for evaluating realism. Realism depends only on personal taste.
Paired Patch Clamp Recordings from Motor-neuron and Target Skeletal Muscle in Zebrafish

Larval zebrafish represent the first vertebrate model system to allow simultaneous patch clamp recording from a spinal motor-neuron and target muscle. This is a direct consequence of the accessibility to both cell types and ability to visually distinguish the single segmental CaP motor-neuron on the basis of morphology and location. This video demonstrates the microscopic methods used to identify a CaP motor-neuron and target muscle cells as well as the methodologies for recording from each cell type. Identification of the CaP motor-neuron type is confirmed by either dye filling or by the biophysical features such as action potential waveform and cell input resistance. Motor-neuron recordings routinely last for one hour permitting long-term recordings from multiple different target muscle cells. Control over the motor-neuron firing pattern enables measurements of the frequency-dependence of synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction. Owing to a large quantal size and the low noise provided by whole cell voltage clamp, all of the unitary events can be resolved in muscle. This feature permits study of basic synaptic properties such as release properties, vesicle recycling, as well as synaptic depression and facilitation. The advantages offered by this in vivo preparation eclipse previous neuromuscular model systems studied wherein the motor-neurons are usually stimulated by extracellular electrodes and the muscles are too large for whole cell patch clamp. The zebrafish preparation is amenable to combining electrophysiological analysis with a wide range of approaches including transgenic lines, morpholino knockdown, pharmacological intervention and in vivo imaging. These approaches, coupled with the growing number of neuromuscular disease models provided by mutant lines of zebrafish, open the door for new understanding of human neuromuscular disorders.
Increased Left Ventricular Mass as a Predictor of Sudden Cardiac Death: Is it Time to Put it to The Test?

With an annual incidence of 250 000 to 300 000 in the US, sudden cardiac death (SCD) is among the leading causes of death worldwide.1,2 The availability of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) makes SCD a preventable condition, but the burden lies on investigators and clinicians to identify the highest risk group for ICD implantation efficiently. There is increasing recognition that current risk-stratification methodology, largely reliant on measurement of the left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), is inadequate and requires significant enhancement.2–4 It is likely that additional variables can be considered both independently and in combination with the EF to improve the process of clinical SCD risk prediction.4,5 Although currently not used for prediction of SCD risk, LV hypertrophy (LVH) has significant potential for enhancing risk stratification algorithms. The association between LVH on the 12-lead ECG and overall mortality was first reported from the Framingham cohort.6 Since then, several studies have validated the link between LVH and overall mortality but few have reported an independent association with SCD.7 Recent findings from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (Oregon SUDS) confirmed the LVH–SCD association in the community, also showing that LVH and severe LV systolic dysfunction are independent predictors of SCD that may contribute to risk through distinct mechanistic pathways.8 This review will discuss studies that have linked LVH and SCD, compare LVH and LVEF as predictors of SCD, discuss the mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmogenesis in LVH, recap how regression of LVH reduces mortality, and discuss the potential role of LVH in risk stratification for SCD. For the purpose of this review, LVH is defined as hypertrophy of the LV distinct from the syndrome of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, a condition that is largely familial and known to impart a …
The Challenging World of Cytopenias: Distinguishing Myelodysplastic Syndromes From Other Disorders of Marrow Failure

Over the past decade, our understanding of bone marrow failure has advanced considerably. Marrow failure encompasses multiple overlapping diseases, and there is increasing availability of diagnostic tools to distinguish among the subtypes. Identification of genetic alterations that underlie marrow failure has also greatly expanded, especially for myelodysplastic syndromes. Molecular markers are increasingly used to guide the management of myelodysplasia and may distinguish this diagnosis from other marrow failure disorders. This review summarizes the current state of distinguishing among causes of marrow failure and discusses the potential uses of multiple diagnostic and prognostic indicators in the management of myelodysplastic syndromes and other bone marrow failure disorders.
Explorations in statistics: correlation

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This sixth installment of Explorations in Statistics explores correlation, a familiar technique that estimates the magnitude of a straight-line relationship between two variables. Correlation is meaningful only when the two variables are true random variables: for example, if we restrict in some way the variability of one variable, then the magnitude of the correlation will decrease. Correlation cannot help us decide if changes in one variable result in changes in the second variable, if changes in the second variable result in changes in the first variable, or if changes in a third variable result in concurrent changes in the first two variables. Correlation can help provide us with evidence that study of the nature of the relationship between x and y may be warranted in an actual experiment in which one of them is controlled.
Estimation of kinetic parameters associated with the curing of thermoset resins. Part I: Theoretical investigation

This is a two-part theoretical and experimental study on the estimation of kinetic parameters associated with the curing of a thermoset epoxy resin. In Part I, the estimation procedure is presented. This estimation procedure is based on a method referred to as the Box-Kanemasu method, which involves the minimization of a least squares function, and it represents a new application of this method. The kinetic parameters under consideration were the Arrhenius constants associated with two rate constants in a kinetic model used to describe the curing rate of an amine epoxy resin. The use of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric data assuming isothermal and dynamic experimental conditions was first investigated in a sensitivity study. It was determined that the degree of cure should be treated as the dependent variable and that data from isothermal experiments should be used. The estimation procedure was then used to estimate the Arrhenius constants from simulated degree of cure data with added errors. These results compared favorably with those found using a linear regression method.
Improving hepatitis B immunization among high-risk adolescents: a low-cost intervention on the Mexico-United States border

Objective. To analyze factors associated with hepatitis B immunization adherence among adolescents attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in El Paso, a city in Texas that is on the border between Mexico and the United States of America. Methods. In this cohort study with 248 adolescents we obtained data on demographics and health beliefs through personal interviews and medical record abstraction. We monitored each of the individuals for 8 months to determine whether the adolescents received a first, second, and third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Results. Overall, 32% of the adolescents received the first immunization, 9% the second, and 2% the third. The strongest predictor of receiving either one or two doses was providing the vaccine at the STD clinic as opposed to referring adolescents to a separate vaccination clinic (relative risk (RR) for receiving the first immunization = 7.3; RR for receiving the second immunization = 3.8). Several health beliefs were also associated with receiving vaccinations. Conclusions. The results of our study indicate that hepatitis B vaccination programs can be improved through such steps as providing vaccinations at a convenient site, educating adolescents about hepatitis B risk factors, and emphasizing the difficulty of treating hepatitis B infection.
Interactions between acidified dispersions of milk proteins and dextran or dextran sulfate.

Abstract Polysaccharides are often used to stabilize cultured milk products, although the nature of these interactions is not entirely clear. The objective of this study was to investigate phase behavior of milk protein dispersions with added dextran (DX; molecular weight=2 × 10 6 Da) or dextran sulfate (DS; molecular weight=1.4 × 10 6 Da) as examples of uncharged and charged polysaccharides, respectively. Reconstituted skim milk (5–20% milk solids, wt/wt) was acidified to pH 4.4, 4.6, 4.8, or 4.9 at approximately 0°C (to inhibit gelation) by addition of 3 N HCl. Dextran or DS was added to acidified milk samples to give concentrations of 0 to 2% (wt/wt) and 0 to 1% (wt/wt) polysaccharide, respectively. Milk samples were observed for possible phase separation after storage at 0°C for 1 and 24h. Possible gelation of these systems was determined by using dynamic oscillatory rheology. The type of interactions between caseins and DX or DS was probed by determining the total carbohydrate analysis of supernatants from phase-separated samples. At 5.0 to 7.5% milk solids, phase separation of milk samples occurred after 24h even without DX or DS addition, due to destabilization of caseins in these acidic conditions, and a stabilizing effect was observed when 0.7 or 1.0% DS was added. At higher milk solids content, phase separation was not observed without DX or DS addition. Similar results were observed at all pH levels. Gelation occurred in samples containing high milk solids (≥10%) with the addition of 1.0 to 2.0% DX or 0.4 to 1.0% DS. Based on carbohydrate analysis of supernatants, we believe that DX interacted with milk proteins through a type of depletion flocculation mechanism, whereas DS appeared to interact via electrostatic-type interactions with milk proteins. This study helps to explain how uncharged and charged stabilizers influence the texture of cultured dairy products.
Inverse Gaussian cumulative sum control charts for location and shape

SUMMARY Cumulative sum (CUSUM) control charts are very effective at detecting persisting special causes. The most common CUSUM chart assumes that the process measurement being monitored follows the normal distribution. Many industrial problems yield measures with skewed, positive distributions-examples are component reliabilities, times to completion of tasks and insurance claims. Non-normal measures such as these should not be monitored using procedures based on the normal distribution. The inverse Gaussian distribution provides a flexible distribution that can be used to model positive skew quantities, and therefore provides an effective framework for statistical process control on processes producing such measures. This paper defines the optimal CUSUM control chart schemes for location and shape of the inverse Gaussian distribution and evaluates its performance in detecting step changes in each of these parameters. The inverse Gaussian distribution has been shown to be a good fit to a long record of task completion times on a General Motors assembly line. We extend this application, showing how our CUSUMS may be used to detect changes in the distribution of these task completion times.
Evolution to Colorless and Directionless ROADM Architectures

Broad deployment of ROADMs based on wavelength selective switching has significantly improved optical network flexibility. This paper discusses opportunities to extend upon these advances with colorless and directionless add/drop switching and indicates technology advancements toward this end.
Preliminary Results from an Interferometric Post-Coronagraph Wave Front Sensor

In high contrast imaging system, semi-static, non-common path wave front errors not sensed by the active wave front sensor in an adaptive optics system will 'leak' around the coronagraph and lead to focal plane speckles that will mask exo-planets. Sensing and controlling these speckles is an absolute necessity for direct detection of planets from the ground. The next generation of AO systems that will enable direct detection of planets from the ground will become operational in the next couple of years. One of them, the Gemini planet imager, or GPI, will incorporate an interferometric wave front sensor, designed and developed at JPL, which will measure these errors. This talk will emphasis this novel sensor and describes how it is used to measure the non-common path amplitude and phase errors in the system that would otherwise limit the achievable contrast. We will describe the system error budget as well as simulations that model the system performance. The current status of the GPI calibration system will be detailed, along with initial wavefront measurement results. This system promises a rich combination of interferometry and large optical systems in support of cutting edge science research.
Simulation results of the capacity of cellular systems

We study the capacity of cellular systems with interference-adaptation dynamic channel allocation (DCA) through a set of heuristics that evaluate the required number of channels for some mobile traffic pattern. In particular, we evaluate the improvement in the reuse factor given the knowledge of the mobiles' locations. Assuming that the mobiles' locations are sampled from the uniform random distribution or are fixed on a uniform grid, we show the effect of a number of parameters, such as the number of mobiles per cell, the minimum allowable signal-to-interference ratio, and the limited knowledge of mobiles' locations. We also investigate the effect of shadow fading and signal-based power control. Although previous papers have proposed various heuristics with varying performance, we present heuristics that are shown to give the maximum packing results based on our assumptions. In particular, the single-interferer assumption, used throughout our work, is justified and the optimality of the square-root signal-based power control is proven.
Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease

Consider infants and young pre-school children as different from older children. The vomiting child is very obvious, but the consequences of reflux esophagitis can be marked with a lesser grade of reflux (GORD without vomiting) (Tables 23.1 and 23.2).
Two Dimensional Fourier Transform Electronic Spectroscopy: Evolution of Cross Peaks in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson Complex

Two dimensional femtosecond Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy is used to study the evolution of cross peaks in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complexes isolated from Chlorobium tepidum and Pelodictyon phaeum. Evidence for quantum beating is observed, and a technique for eliminating the signal from the main diagonal peaks using polarization rotation of the input pulses is demonstrated.
Abundance anomalies in tidal disruption events

The ~10% of tidal disruption events (TDEs) due to stars more massive than the Sun should show abundance anomalies due to stellar evolution in helium, carbon and nitrogen, but not oxygen. Helium is always enhanced, but only by up to ~25% on average because it becomes inaccessible once it is sequestered in the high density core as the star leaves the main sequence. However, portions of the debris associated with the disrupted core of a main sequence star can be enhanced in helium by factors of 2-3 for debris at a common orbital period. These helium abundance variations may be a contributor to the observed diversity of hydrogen and helium line strengths in TDEs. A still more striking anomaly is the rapid enhancement of nitrogen and the depletion of carbon due to the CNO cycle -- stars more massive than the Sun quickly show an increase in their average N/C ratio by factors of 3-10. Because low mass stars evolve slowly and high mass stars are rare, TDEs showing high N/C will almost all be due to 1-2Msun stars disrupted on the main sequence. Like helium, portions of the debris will show still larger changes in C and N, and the anomalies decline as the star leaves the main sequence. The enhanced [N/C] abundance ratio of these TDEs provides the first natural explanation for the rare, nitrogen rich quasars and also explains the strong nitrogen emission seen in ultraviolet spectra of ASASSN-14li.
Food Law in the United States: Regulation of Food Commerce

Introduction The distribution of food generates a number of issues, which are addressed in each of the chapters in this treatise; this chapter focuses solely on the economic regulation of food distribution or what may be called the regulation of food commerce. The laws that govern the commerce of food can be organized into two distinct categories: (1) laws that ensure the authenticity and integrity of food that is distributed to consumers and (2) the standards, rules, and laws that regulate the international trade of food. The complexities of problems that give rise to the adaptation of laws to regulate food commerce evidences the challenges of the modern, global food system. Regulation of Economically Motivated Adulteration (EMA) [1] Background [a] Perpetual Problem of Food Systems Ensuring the integrity of the commercial food supply invariably requires law to deal with a form of food fraud or cheating known as economic adulteration or economically motivated adulteration (EMA). EMA includes the padding, diluting, and substituting of food product for the purpose of economic gain, which may or may not compromise the safety of the product. Food fraud in the form of EMA has plagued food commerce throughout history. A brief accounting of this history demonstrates the role of law in ensuring the integrity of food and the food system from which the food is derived. Reports of EMA date back to the Greek and Roman eras. The Greek botanist Theophrastus (370–295 BC) reported on the use of artificial flavors in the food supply and on the use of adulterants for economic reasons in some items of commerce. The physician Galen (AD 131–201) listed food products in Rome that were particular targets of adulteration, including grains, spices, wine, and preservatives. In the Middle Ages, staple foods like meat, bread, and wine were targets for adulteration. The “medieval nose” was particularly sensitive to the smell of decay, and was used to catch suppliers of putrid meat. Bread was more difficult to manage, as catching a wily baker could be a challenge. Cheating bakers sold underweight bread, the price of a loaf being fixed in relation to its weight. Such cheating led to regulations like the “Assize of Bread and Ale,” which dictated what went into everyday food goods. Guilds comprising ale conners, pepperers, and garblers enforced these purity laws with considerable effectiveness.
Comparative data for the elementary composition and the heat of combustion of collagen and gelatin

Comparative elementary analyses, as well as determinations of the heat of combustion, of many samples of connective tissue collagen and gelatin, have indicated that there is a closer agreement between the mother substance and its derivative, on these two planes of comparison, than the prevalent idea of their chemical relationship would indicate. The following sample data show this quite clearly:These data were obtained before the experiments by Emmett and Gies1 were begun. The differences between the above figures for nitrogen and hydrogen contents harmonize with the observation by Emmett and Gies that nitrogen is eliminated as ammonia when collagen is converted into gelatin by treatment with hot water, and also strengthen their conclusion that gelatin is not a simple hydrate of collagen.
Probing the Adsorption/Desorption of CO2 on Amine Sorbents by Transient Infrared Studies of Adsorbed CO2 and C6H6

CO2 diffusion limitations and readsorption of desorbed CO2 during removal from immobilized amine sorbents could significantly reduce the effectiveness of CO2 capture processes. To decouple CO2 diffusion from desorption/readsorption on silica and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)/silica sorbents, a new transient diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) method was carried out by using benzene as a surrogate probe molecule. Comparison of the infrared intensity profiles of adsorbed CO2 and Si–OH (which adsorbs benzene) revealed that slow rates of CO2 uptake and desorption are a result of (i) CO2 diffusion through an interconnected network produced from CO2 adsorbed inside of the amine/silica sorbent pores and (ii) readsorption of CO2 on the amine sites inside of the pores and at the external surface of the sorbents. High rates of CO2 adsorption/desorption onto/from the immobilized amine sorbents could be achieved by sorbents with low amine density at the external surfaces and pore mouths.
DOSE-DEPENDENT NUMBER OF IMPLANTS AND IMPLICATIONS IN DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY

SUMMARY This paper proposes a method for assessing risk in developmental toxicity studies with exposure prior to implantation. The method proposed in this paper was developed to account for a dosedependent trend in the number of implantation sites per dam, which is a common problem in studies with exposure prior to implantation. Toxins may have the effect of interfering with the early reproductive process, which can prevent implantation in the uterine wall. An imputation procedure is presented for estimating the number of potential fetuses by sampling from the empirical distribution of the number of implants per litter in the control group. The marginal death outcomes and the joint malformation and survival outcomes for each potential fetus can be estimated using multiple imputation or the chained data augmentation algorithm. Logit models can then be fit and used to estimate the effect of dose on reducing the probability of a normal birth. These models accommodate multiple covariate effects and can be applied to low-dose extrapolation. A simulation study is done to evaluate the properties of model-based estimators of the mean response and the virtually safe dose level (VSD). It was found that both estimates were good approximations of the underlying dose effect. A dominant lethal assay data set (Luning et al., 1966, Mutation Research 3, 444-451) is analyzed, and the results are compared with those of Rai and Van Ryzin (1985, Biometrics 41, 1-9).
5'-aminolevulinate synthase activity is decreased in skeletal muscle of anemic rats

Expression of the rate-limiting heme biosynthetic enzyme 5'-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS) was investigated in skeletal muscle of 3-wk-old rats fed an iron-deficient diet. After 14 days, ALAS activity had declined 70% relative to control (2.1 +/- 0.2 vs. 0.6 +/- 0.1 nmol.h-1.g-1; P less than 0.005). Similar decreases were observed for blood hemoglobin (11.4 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.3 g/dl; P less than 0.005) and muscle cytochrome c (14.5 +/- 1.3 vs. 7.1 +/- 0.6 nmol/g; P less than 0.005). An iron-deficient diet decreased body and skeletal muscle growth by 15 (P less than 0.005) and 10% (P less than 0.05), respectively, whereas concentrations of protein, RNA, ALAS mRNA, and citrate synthase activity in muscle were not different from control. One mechanism by which heme biosynthesis may be slowed in muscle of young anemic rats is a decrease in ALAS activity. At a time when enzyme activity was decreased, ALAS mRNA expression was not affected by an iron-deficient diet, suggesting that steps after transcription of the ALAS gene may regulate the decrease in activity.
Investigation Of Hygienic Status Of Drinking Water In Rural Areas Of Huangshan City

Objective To learn the hygienic status of drinking water in rural areas of Huangshan city,and provide scientific basis for accelerating the development of safe drinking water in rural areas.Methods By general investigation method,the hygienic status of drinking water in rural areas at township level and the administrative villages of Huangshan city were investigated,and the results of the survey were analyzed.Results In rural areas of Huangshan city,the drinking water from centralized water supplied units accounted for 72.66%,and the main type of water resource was artesian water project which accounted for 82.78%.27.34% people drank water from distributed water supplies,and the main type of their water resource was shallow well which accounted for 64.26% among all people drinking distributed water.Conclusion In rural areas of Huangshan city,the drinking water from centralized water supplied units was mainly small artesian water project,so the development of water supply project should be accelerated.Meanwhile,the health management consciousness of the health administrators should be improved.
Research in Pediatric Practice

There is a tendency to think in terms of two populations of medical scientists: those who accumulate the information and those who use it in the care of the patient. However, medical history reminds us that excellent research has been done by the very people who see 30 patients a day, struggle with a sick premature baby at night, and deal with frantic telephone calls at all hours. Aspects of research in practice are detailed from selecting a subject and doing the study to publication.
Single-Molecule Assay Development for Studying Human RNA Polymerase II Promoter-Proximal Pausing

Promoter-proximal RNA Polymerase II (Pol-II) pausing has been shown to play a significant role in transcription regulation of elongating Pol-II complexes in a large number of metazoan and mammalian genes (1). The traditional understanding of transcription regulation in mammals involved controlling Pol-II recruitment to promoters and controlling initial steps at the promoter, including pre-initiation complex formation and promoter escape. Most works investigating promoter-proximal PolII pausing have employed chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing to determine Pol-II localization or in vitro transcriptional assays using nuclear extracts analyzed with radioactive gel electrophoresis. In order to gain greater mechanistic insight into the regulation of promoter-proximal Pol-II pausing, we use single molecule ALEX spectroscopy to monitor RNA transcripts production as function of composition and order of addition of transcription factors to an in vitro reconstituted human Pol-II system. The RNA transcripts are detected by complementary doubly dye-labeled single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probes. The human gene HSPA1B for heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is used as a model system due to its extensive characterization in drosophila. Our approach provides a rapid, sensitive and robust avenue for screening protein factors regulating promoter-proximal Pol-II pausing.1. H. Kwak, J. T. Lis, Control of transcriptional elongation. Annu. Rev. Genet. 47, 483-508 (2013).
Interventional Therapy for Varicoceles

This section provides a comprehensive procedural report for interventional therapy for varicoceles procedure with up-to-date explanatory notes, synopsis of the indications and contraindications, and potential complications in an organized and practical format.
Reward Training: Contrast Effects

Several important characteristics of reward training have been revealed by employing procedures in which animals are exposed to more than one value of the reward event. The present chapter reviews three of those procedures and the contrast effects they produce in instrumental performance. “Contrast effect” is a term borrowed from sensory psychology where it describes the fact that the perceived difference between two stimuli is exaggerated by the manner of their presentation. A contrast effect in reward training is characterized by performances which indicate that the influence of a given reward event is exaggerated by the nature of other reward events to which the animal is exposed. The procedures to be discussed here yield performances that have been designated successive-, simultaneous-, and behavioral-contrast effects. They have been an important stimulant for theoretical development.
Development of a Direct Spectrophotometric and Chemometric Method for Determining Food Dye Concentrations

An ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometric and partial least squares (PLS) chemometric method was developed for the simultaneous determination of erythrosine B (red), Brilliant Blue, and tartrazine (yellow) dyes. A training set (n = 64) was generated using a full factorial design and its accuracy was tested in a test set (n = 13) using a Box–Behnken design. The test set garnered a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.79 × 10–7 for blue, 4.59 × 10–7 for red, and 1.13 × 10–6 for yellow dyes. The relatively small RMSE suggests only a small difference between predicted versus measured concentrations, demonstrating the accuracy of our model. The relative error of prediction (REP) for the test set were 11.73%, 19.52%, 19.38%, for blue, red, and yellow dyes, respectively. A comparable overlay between the actual candy samples and their replicated synthetic spectra were also obtained indicating the model as a potentially accurate method for determining concentrations of dyes in food samples.
Fusion of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Land Cover Classification of High-Resolution Imagery

Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have recently emerged as a dominant paradigm for machine learning in a variety of domains. However, acquiring a suitably large data set for training DCNN is often a significant challenge. This is a major issue in the remote sensing domain, where we have extremely large collections of satellite and aerial imagery, but lack the rich label information that is often readily available for other image modalities. In this letter, we investigate the use of DCNN for land–cover classification in high-resolution remote sensing imagery. To overcome the lack of massive labeled remote-sensing image data sets, we employ two techniques in conjunction with DCNN: transfer learning (TL) with fine-tuning and data augmentation tailored specifically for remote sensing imagery. TL allows one to bootstrap a DCNN while preserving the deep visual feature extraction learned over an image corpus from a different image domain. Data augmentation exploits various aspects of remote sensing imagery to dramatically expand small training image data sets and improve DCNN robustness for remote sensing image data. Here, we apply these techniques to the well-known UC Merced data set to achieve the land–cover classification accuracies of 97.8 ± 2.3%, 97.6 ± 2.6%, and 98.5 ± 1.4% with CaffeNet, GoogLeNet, and ResNet, respectively.
The politics of pre-emption: mobilisation against LGBT rights in Liberia

AbstractResearch on political homophobia in contemporary African nations tends to focus on the legal, political and social consequences of such homophobia. However, this work remains limited in its treatment of the rise of political homophobia and mobilisation against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. This article redirects such research by concentrating on the indigenous origins of mobilisation against LGBT rights in Liberia. Focusing on the efforts of the New Citizens Movement (NCM), an antigay movement organisation, we outline how NCM pursued a ‘politics of pre-emption’ to prevent pro-LGBT rights legislation and organisation from taking root in the country. By ‘politics of pre-emption’, we mean mobilisation intended to ensure that another movement’s imagined future does not materialise. The politics of pre-emption captures a little-understood feature of the dynamics of opposing movements: mobilisation to pre-empt the rise of another social movement. We analyse semi-structured interv...
Introduction to phenomenology

Book Review: Dermot Moran, Introduction to Phenomenology. (London, Routledge, 2000), xx + 568pp. ISBN 0-415-18373-3 (hardback) ISBN 0-415-18373-1 (paperback)
How the Trump Administration's Use of Trade Sanctions Can Harm the States

The administration of President Donald J. Trump has promised to aggressively impose trade sanctions in the form of higher tariffs on imports from nations that engage in unfair trade practices against the United States. Trump argues that increased tariffs will help the states that have suffered losses from international trade and was able to propel himself to victory in the 2016 presidential election based at least in part on these claims. However, tariffs are a blunt instrument and ill-suited to achieve domestic policy goals. Imposing higher tariffs on imports can actually harm the states because (1) U.S. trading partners might impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports; (2) states may rely on imports as raw materials for use in manufacturing exports; and (3) jobs lost to overseas locations will not return to the United States and more job losses may result. As the states cannot evade the harmful effects of federal trade sanctions on their own, there is the need for a federal-state consultative mechanism through which the states can provide input to the federal government. With input from the states, the federal government can adjust federal policies to mitigate the unpredictable harms that the states may suffer as a result of those policies.
Opposing Post-transcriptional Control of InR by FMRP and LIN-28 Adjusts Stem Cell-Based Tissue Growth.

Summary Although the intrinsic mechanisms that control whether stem cells divide symmetrically or asymmetrically underlie tissue growth and homeostasis, they remain poorly defined. We report that the RNA-binding protein fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) limits the symmetric division, and resulting expansion, of the stem cell population during adaptive intestinal growth in Drosophila . The elevated insulin sensitivity that FMRP-deficient progenitor cells display contributes to their accelerated expansion, which is suppressed by the depletion of insulin-signaling components. This FMRP activity is mediated solely via a second conserved RNA-binding protein, LIN-28, known to boost insulin signaling in stem cells. Via LIN-28, FMRP controls progenitor cell behavior by post-transcriptionally repressing the level of insulin receptor (InR). This study identifies the stem cell-based mechanism by which FMRP controls tissue adaptation, and it raises the possibility that defective adaptive growth underlies the accelerated growth, gastrointestinal, and other symptoms that affect fragile X syndrome patients.
FIFA: Exploring a Focally Induced Fault Attack Strategy in Near-Threshold Computing

In this letter, we explore the emerging security threats of near-threshold computing (NTC). Researchers have shown that the delay sensitivity of a circuit to supply voltage variation tremendously increases, as the circuit’s operating conditions shift from traditional super-threshold values to NTC values. As a result, NTC systems become extremely vulnerable to timing fault attacks, jeopardizing trustworthy computing. Inspired by the operation of a polymorphic virus, we propose a novel threat model for NTC, referred to as a focally induced fault attack (FIFA). FIFA employs a machine learning framework to ascertain the circuit vulnerabilities and generates targeted software modules to cause a breach of end-user privacy. Our experimental results, obtained from a rigorous machine learning approach, indicate the efficacy of FIFA, in a low-power mobile platform.
Lorentz and Diffeomorphism Violations in Linearized Gravity

Abstract Lorentz and diffeomorphism violations are studied in linearized gravity using effective field theory. A classification of all gauge-invariant and gauge-violating terms is given. The exact covariant dispersion relation for gravitational modes involving operators of arbitrary mass dimension is constructed, and various special limits are discussed.
On the Divide: Analytic and Continental Philosophy of Music

On offer here is a tradition-neutral way of understanding the distinction between analytic and continental philosophy of music. The distinction is drawn in terms of methodology, rather than content, by identifying contrasting methodological tendencies of each tradition—initial maneuvers that frame an investigation, which are related to one another insofar as they involve, or do not involve, two kinds of methodological detachment. These maneuvers are extracted through a consideration of contrasting pairs of examples. The pairs consist of an analytic and a continental account of a core issue in the philosophy of music. The issues considered are musical experience, musical ontology, and the relationship between music and the emotions. The philosophers considered are Roger Scruton and Pierre Bourdieu, Jerrold Levinson and Lydia Goehr, Peter Kivy, and Andrew Bowie.
Can nonlinear electromechanical oscillation be analyzed using an equivalent SMIB system

Power engineers and researchers often use a single-machine-infinite-bus (SMIB) equivalent to study angular stability of a two-area power system especially the inter-area oscillation. However, for a general multi-machine power system, the effectiveness of such an SMIB assumption on the governing subsystem behind a dominant oscillation mode has not been fully investigated. This paper proposes a dissimilarity index to quantify how differently a power system behaves regarding the dominant oscillation mode from an equivalent SMIB system. If the index is small, the nonlinear modal dynamics is very close to what is observed from an SMIB system such that all analyses based on the SMIB assumption should work accordingly; otherwise, the subsystem governing the dominant mode is in a form different from an SMIB system, so significant errors may be incurred when using an SMIB-based analysis method. The proposed dissimilarity index is verified on the IEEE 9-bus power system and the New England 39-bus system respectively with classical and detailed generator models.
Using Earth's magnetic field as a power source

The Earth's magnetic field has not been mined as a source of energy for electrical power. With average field strength of .00005 Tesla around the world it is easy to understand why it has been overlooked. A disruptive technology is needed to mine the Earth's magnetic field as a power source. Such a technology, graphene, is now at an early stage of development with excellent properties in the form of high conductivity, low resistivity sheets that are durable, lightweight, and low cost. Electrical properties of multiple sheets of graphene provide a significant multiplier to Earth's weak magnetic field yielding a feasible source of ecologically clean power.
Similarity Metrics for SQL Query Clustering

Database access logs are the starting point for many forms of database administration, from database performance tuning, to security auditing, to benchmark design, and many more. Unfortunately, query logs are also large and unwieldy, and it can be difficult for an analyst to extract broad patterns from the set of queries found therein. Clustering is a natural first step towards understanding the massive query logs. However, many clustering methods rely on the notion of pairwise similarity, which is challenging to compute for SQL queries, especially when the underlying data and database schema is unavailable. We investigate the problem of computing similarity between queries, relying only on the query structure. We conduct a rigorous evaluation of three query similarity heuristics proposed in the literature applied to query clustering on multiple query log datasets, representing different types of query workloads. To improve the accuracy of the three heuristics, we propose a generic feature engineering strategy, using classical query rewrites to standardize query structure. The proposed strategy results in a significant improvement in the performance of all three similarity heuristics.
Is Age Trumping Genetic Profiling in Clinical Practice? Relationship of Chemotherapy Recommendation and Oncotype DX Recurrence Score in Patients Aged < 50 Years versus ≥ 50 Years, and Trends Over Time.

Oncotype DX (oDX) is used to predict recurrence and indicate response to chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer (BC). We evaluated the relationship between age ( 30), and compared demographics, tumor characteristics, and chemotherapy recommendations. Management trends were also assessed. From 2009 to 2014, a total of 377,725 cases met the eligibility criteria for oDX testing; 115,052 (30.5%) patients had oDX, and 60,804 (16.1%) were < 50 years of age. The majority had low RS and T1N0 disease. Patients < 50 years of age were more likely to be recommended chemotherapy than those ≥ 50 years of age, regardless of RS (p ≤ 0.001), and were more likely to ultimately undergo chemotherapy (p < 0.001). When stratified by year, oDX utilization increased. There was a decreasing trend in chemotherapy recommendations in both the low- and intermediate-RS groups for both age groups (all p = 0.001), with no change in the high-RS group (< 50 years: p = 0.52; ≥ 50 years: p = 0.67). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that patients < 50 years of age and those with a higher RS were more likely to be recommended chemotherapy (p < 0.001). The testing of oDX in BC has significantly increased since first implemented. Results from additional studies such as TAILORx will clarify the current discordant practice patterns between low oDX RSs and adjuvant chemotherapy recommendations.
The Circle Method

We mentioned in Chapter 1 that the number r s (n) of solutions of the Diophantine equation $$ \sum\limits_{{k = 1}}^s {x_i^2} = n $$ (12.1) is the coefficient of x n in the Taylor expansion of the function \( 1 + \sum\nolimits_{{n = 1}}^{\infty } {{r_s}(n){x^n}} \). Here, as in Chapter 8, we write θ(x) for θ3(1;x) and we shall suppress the first entry, which will always be z = 1. From (12.1); it follows, by Cauchy’s theorem, that $$ {r_s}(n) = \frac{1}{{2\pi i}}\int\limits_c {{x^{{ - n - 1}}}{\theta^s}(x)dx,} $$ (12.2) where, we recall, $$ \theta (x) = \sum\limits_{{ - \infty }}^{\infty } {{x^{{{n^2}}}}} = 1 + 2\sum\limits_{{n = 1}}^{\infty } {{x^{{{n^2}}}}} = \sum\limits_{{k = 0}}^{\infty } {{a_k}{x^k},\quad say,} $$ (12.3) and 𝓒 is a sufficiently small circle around the origin.
Nonparametric Inference—Genesis

In doing statistical inference, if you do not have to make assumptions about the underlying population being sampled, then it is best to not do so. Record-breaking data often arise in industrial settings, and therefore it seems natural to use the exponential, extreme value, or Weibull distributions as models for the underlying populations of interest. However, in general, there is no guarantee that the correct parametric model is being used in order to make inferences from the data. So, there was a real need to develop nonparametric inference from such data.
Numerical investigation of flame splitting phenomenon in upward flame spread over solids with a two-stage pyrolysis model

Upward flame spread over thin solids is numerically studied using an in-house three-dimensional transient numerical model with a two-stage solid pyrolysis. The simulation results reveal fundamental...