cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrode length, placement, and frequency allocation distort place coding for bilateral, bimodal, and single-sided deafened cochlear implant users

There is typically a mismatch between the frequency expected at a given cochlear angle and the frequency presented at that angle by a cochlear implant. The frequency mismatch may be particularly important for the population of cochlear implant users who are combining electric hearing across ears or who have electric hearing in one ear and acoustic hearing in the contralateral ear. If the place coding provided by a cochlear implant is misaligned with place coding in the contralateral ear, then the listener may be provided with inconsistent or even conflicting auditory cues. Due to plasticity, the auditory system may be able to compensate for these misalignments. However, data suggest that the ability of some listeners to fully adapt to the distorted or conflicting place maps is limited. The frequency mismatch from a cochlear implant can be adjusted by changing the electrode length, insertion depth, and frequency allocation. Additionally, changing these variables effect the relationship between a change in input frequency and the corresponding change in place pitch.There is typically a mismatch between the frequency expected at a given cochlear angle and the frequency presented at that angle by a cochlear implant. The frequency mismatch may be particularly important for the population of cochlear implant users who are combining electric hearing across ears or who have electric hearing in one ear and acoustic hearing in the contralateral ear. If the place coding provided by a cochlear implant is misaligned with place coding in the contralateral ear, then the listener may be provided with inconsistent or even conflicting auditory cues. Due to plasticity, the auditory system may be able to compensate for these misalignments. However, data suggest that the ability of some listeners to fully adapt to the distorted or conflicting place maps is limited. The frequency mismatch from a cochlear implant can be adjusted by changing the electrode length, insertion depth, and frequency allocation. Additionally, changing these variables effect the relationship between a change in ...
Three-point-based solution for automated motion parameter estimation of a multi-camera indoor mapping system with planar motion constraint

Abstract Accurate indoor 3D models have become a key prerequisite for various applications. Through state-of-the-art image processing techniques, 3D models can be generated from high quality images captured by off-the-shelf digital cameras. To acquire redundant data and produce real scale models, a multi-camera system can be used. However, dedicated approaches for image-based 3D reconstruction using mapping platforms equipped with multiple cameras have not been fully addressed. Assuming the availability of prior information regarding the platform trajectory, this paper presents a new approach for reliable estimation of system motion parameters between different data acquisition epochs of a multi-camera system. This approach, which assumes planar motion of the utilized platform, provides a three-point closed-form solution. The derived solutions are then incorporated within a modified RANSAC framework for outlier detection/removal. It is worth noting that, different from the existing General Camera Model (GCM)-based solutions, the proposed approach is based on a modified co-planarity model, which is essentially a direct extension of the classic stereo-based relative orientation. Moreover, since the proposed approach only provides a maximum number of four possible solutions for system motion parameters over different epochs, it has better computational efficiency when compared to other existing algorithms. Experimental results from real datasets acquired with different configurations have demonstrated the reliability of the proposed approach in motion parameter estimation for indoor multi-camera mapping systems.
Introducing parallel processing concepts

As demand for both speed and power in computing has increased, computer hardware designers have continued to improve individual processors. An alternate method of increasing overall computing speed and power, parallel processing is appearing more frequently. Parallel processors are frequently used to solve contemporary computing problems. To take advantage of this increase in power, programmers must design applications so that different parts of the task can be assigned to different processors. For the last five years, I have been evaluating and developing techniques for teaching parallel processing. This paper describes what I have learned.
A Park for the Borderlands: The Creation of the Iguaçu National Park in Southern Brazil, 1880-1940*

In 1939, the Brazilian government under Getulio Vargas created the country’s second national park around the Iguazu falls, at the border with Argentina. The new Iguacu National Park was located at a sparsely inhabited area in southwestern Brazil, a region that for decades had being a source of geopolitical concern to public officials and the military. The creation of a national park at Iguazu was part of a boom in conservationist measures promoted by the Vargas Regime—in the 1930s the Brazilian government created two other national parks and enacted a new set environmental laws. The creation of Iguacu was also concomitant to the “March to the West”, a major national campaign devised by the Vargas to open up the Brazilian hinterland for colonization. This article demonstrates that the creation of the Iguacu National Park cannot be understood without taking into account the contemporary efforts to colonize Brazil’s hinterland and nationalize the country’s borderlands.
A Gurwitschean Model for Explaining Culture or How to Use an Atlatl

Aron Gurwitsch’s general account of conscious life and its field has three specifications. It can be specified for ideal objects, it can be specified for natural objects, and it can be specified for cultural objects. Objects of the latter two sorts are real, i.e., in temporal and, in a broad signification that includes motivation, causal relations with one another. In the sort of consciousness necessary for the natural sciences, which appears best called ‘naturalistic,’ the values and purposes of objects, i.e., their cultural characteristics, are abstracted from and what are best called ‘naturalistic objects’ result and are then subdivisible into physical (astronomical, chemical, geological, etc.) and biological (botanical, zoological, ecological, etc.) objects. In the third sort fall what are often called ‘functional objects’ but are best called ‘cultural objects’. These objects retain their cultural characteristics and are constituted in the type of concrete life in which strata of valuing and willing are not abstracted from and which is best called ‘cultural life’. Cultural life takes many forms and provides the subject matters of what are best called ‘the cultural sciences’.
Idea Flows and Economic Growth

We review new theories of learning that posit specific, distinct roles for the learner or innovator and their intellectual environment. We consider applications to the dynamics of individual earnin...
Online Power Iteration For Subspace Estimation Under Incomplete Observations: Limiting Dynamics And Phase Transitions

We analyze the dynamics of an imputation-based online power iteration method for estimating a low-dimensional subspace from a stream of sample vectors with random missing entries. In the asymptotic regime, we show that the dynamic performance of the algorithm can be fully characterized by a finite-dimensional deterministic matrix recursion process. This limiting process provides an exact characterization of the relationship between estimation accuracy, sample complexity, and subsampling ratios. Further analysis of the limiting dynamics also reveals a sharp phase transition phenomenon, showing that there exist critical batch sizes below which the algorithm can perform no better than guessing. Although our analysis is asymptotic in nature, the theoretical results provide accurate predictions for the actual performance of the algorithm, even in moderate signal dimensions.
A framework for constraining image SNR loss due to MR raw data compression

Computationally intensive image reconstruction algorithms can be used online during MRI exams by streaming data to remote high-performance computers. However, data acquisition rates often exceed the bandwidth of the available network resources creating a bottleneck. Data compression is, therefore, desired to ensure fast data transmission. The added noise variance due to compression was determined through statistical analysis for two compression libraries (one custom and one generic) that were implemented in this framework. Limiting the compression error variance relative to the measured thermal noise allowed for image signal-to-noise ratio loss to be explicitly constrained. Achievable compression ratios are dependent on image SNR, user-defined SNR loss tolerance, and acquisition type. However, a 1% reduction in SNR yields approximately four to ninefold compression ratios across MRI acquisition strategies. For free-breathing cine data reconstructed in the cloud, the streaming bandwidth was reduced from 37 to 6.1 MB/s, alleviating the network transmission bottleneck. Our framework enabled data compression for online reconstructions and allowed SNR loss to be constrained based on a user-defined SNR tolerance. This practical tool will enable real-time data streaming and greater than fourfold faster cloud upload times.
Retreatment with obinutuzumab: An addition to the therapeutic landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Obinutuzumab is used for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. So far there are no data of using this for retreatment in patients who have received it previously. We introduced obinutuzuma...
Peering Among Content-Dominated Vertical ISPs

Content providers (CPs) typically control the digital content consumption services and are getting the most revenue by implementing an “all-you-can-eat” model via subscription or hyper-targeted advertisements. Revamping the existing Internet architecture and design, a vertical integration where a CP and access Internet service provider (ISP) will act as unibody in a sugarcane form seems to be the recent trend. In this letter, using the U.S. as a case study, we show the overlaps between access ISPs and CPs to explore the viability of a future in terms of peering between these new emerging content-dominated sugarcane ISPs and the healthiness of Internet economics.
Commentary on the February-March Special Issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work on “Self Direction in Long-Term Services and Supports”

Dear Editor:The February-March Special Issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work on “Self Direction in Long-Term Services and Supports” has generated a large amount of attention. Five fede...
Academic Detailing From Medical Students: Part of a Plan to Emphasize Feedback in One Clerkship.

Introduction Medical schools have an enduring need to provide ongoing faculty development and to foster educational alliances between teachers and learners, so that feedback provided to learners is both frequent and of high quality. We hypothesized that medical students trained as academic detailers with a mission to increase the emphasis on feedback could serve in this role during our clerkship, while still being evaluated as students in our clerkship rotation. Methods The family medicine clerkship at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine launched a revised curriculum in 2016 in which students were taught how they might build an educational alliance with preceptors, were taught characteristics of high-quality feedback, and practiced requesting more useful feedback when initial quality was poor. After utilizing a clerkship-specific curriculum with small group sessions on receiving feedback, and training students and preceptors on the SNAPPs model, students were then directed to request feedback from their preceptors and model successful feedback conversations for preceptors. The study evaluated the medical students' summative evaluations to compare the rate from the preintervention year (2015-2016) and the intervention year (2016-2017) at which preceptors added comments on students' use of feedback. Results Preceptors' written comments about students seeking feedback increased at about a four-fold rate (74.4% vs 18.8%, P<.001) after implementing a suite of changes to our clerkship curriculum. Conclusions Using medical students to change preceptor behaviors was an important part of our suite of interventions. This intervention directed preceptor attention toward our instructional goal of increased medical student feedback.
Study Abroad Otherwise

In this chapter, I argue that German language educators and learners often reelect monolingualism (Gramling 2019) despite the lived multilingual realities of language learners in study abroad (SA). By bringing together analyses of a number of interactions and oral reflections collected across two SA contexts—a short-term summer program and yearlong program—I show that the participants harness three ideological structures (i.e., of nativespeakerism, raciolinguicism, and neoliberalism) when negotiating talk about language choice abroad and being addressed in English vs. German in SA. The results demonstrate that talk about German language learning in SA is steeped in these ideological structures, something that allows participants to reproduce structural monolingualism even though they themselves are plurilingual subjects. This project lends strong support to scholarship that examines the ways in which foreign language education and German Studies are steeped in the recirculation of Whiteness, “or the ‘oneness’ without which otherness could not exist” (Reagan and Osborn 2019, p. 94; Weber 2016) and proposes that we reorient to German language education and SA as an experience that disturbs and unsettles prevailing discourses about language, culture, and race.
Environmental Justice as Decolonization: Political Contention, Innovation and Resistance Over Indigenous Fishing Rights in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States

This book corrects the tendency in scholarly work to leave Indigenous peoples on the margins of discussions of environmental inequality by situating them as central activists in struggles to achieve environmental justice. Drawing from archival and interview data, it examines and compares the historical and contemporary processes through which Indigenous fishing rights have been negotiated in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where three unique patterns have emerged and persist. It thus reveals the agential dynamics and the structural constraints that have resulted in varying degrees of success for Indigenous communities who are struggling to define the terms of their rights to access traditionally harvested fisheries, while also gaining economic stability through commercial fishing enterprises. Presenting rich narratives of conquest and resistance, domination and resilience, and marginalization and revitalization, the author uncovers the fundamentally cultural, political and ecological dynamics of colonization and explores the key mechanisms through which Indigenous assertions of rights to natural resources can systematically transform enduring political and cultural vestiges of colonization. A study of environmental justice as a fundamental ingredient in broader processes of decolonization, Environmental Justice as Decolonization will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, environmental studies, law and Indigenous studies.
Phrenic nerve injury secondary to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in pregnancy: A case report

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used to provide acute respiratory and/or hemodynamic support to patients with severe, refractory respiratory failure. Phrenic nerve injury with subsequent hemidiaphragm paralysis should be included in the differential diagnosis of pregnant women with persistent hypoxia after ECMO cannulation.
Chronic kidney disease and concomitant sleep apnea are associated with increased overall mortality: a meta-analysis

Sleep apnea (SA) is common in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. However, the association between CKD with concomitant SA and overall mortality remains inconclusive. Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible publications, including non-transplant CKD patients aged > 18 years with co-existing SA. CKD is defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Seven observational studies (n = 186,686) were included in the meta-analyses. 94.2% had end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) requiring hemodialysis (HD), 5.0% had ESKD requiring peritoneal dialysis (PD), and 0.8% had non-dialysis CKD. The mean age was 76.8 ± 2.2 years. Most patients were male (53.4%) and white (76.8%). Up to 39.3% had diabetes. The mean body mass index was 26.0 ± 0.6 kg/m2. Among patients with advanced CKD and SA, the pooled estimated odds ratios (OR) for overall mortality and cardiovascular events were 2.092 (95% CI, 1.594–2.744) and 1.020 (95% CI, 0.929–1.119), respectively, compared to patients with CKD alone. The OR was 2.145 (95% CI, 1.563–2.944) when studies with polysomnography-diagnosed SA were examined independently. No potential publication bias was detected. There were no significant differences in odds ratios for overall mortality, based on subgroup analyses. Co-existence between advanced CKD and SA is associated with increased overall mortality, but not cardiovascular (CV) events when compared with CKD alone. The analysis of CV events requires additional studies to confirm our findings. Moreover, clinical interventions aiming to prevent the progression of SA and CKD are encouraged.
Aromatase inhibitor–induced hair loss in two adolescents

Hair loss and thinning are possible complications in those undergoing endocrine therapies with aromatase inhibitors. Alopecia in pediatric patients undergoing endocrine therapy has not been previously reported. We describe two adolescents, 14 and 16 years of age, who developed androgenetic alopecia following treatment with anastrozole for idiopathic short stature. Accordingly, the possible adverse event of alopecia should be considered in the pediatric population undergoing treatment with aromatase inhibitors.
APLICAÇÃO DE REVESTIMENTO COMESTÍVEL PARA A CONSERVAÇÃO E VALORIZAÇÃO DE JABUTICABA ( Myrciaria cauliflora ) (Mart. O. Berg)

A jabuticaba apresenta elevado valor nutricional, porem e um fruto altamenteperecivel. Visando prolongar sua comercializacao, estudou-se o recobrimento com autilizacao de coberturas comestiveis contendo alginato de sodio, gelatina e cera deabelha. As jabuticabas foram selecionadas, higienizadas, imersas nas solucoesfilmogenicas, acondicionadas e armazenadas em temperaturas de 12oC e 20°Cdurante 21 dias. Foram analisados parâmetros fisico-quimicos: acidez titulavel, pH,solidos soluveis totais, ratio e perda de massa. Os resultados apontaram melhorpreservacao dos frutos revestidos com cera de abelha durante 14 dias,proporcionando melhor barreira as perdas qualitativas e/ou quantitativas, sem afetar aqualidade do fruto.
Proton affinity and gas-phase basicity of pyrogallol and phloroglucinol: a computational study

We report the proton affinities (PAs) and gas-phase basicities (GBs) of pyrogallol (1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene) and phloroglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene), as determined by high level quantum chemic...
Toward Decentralized Decision-Making for Interdependent Infrastructure Network Resilience

Interdependence among infrastructure and community networks is an important aspect to consider when planning for disruptive events. Further, decision-makers within different infrastructures often make decentralized decisions to protect and restore their own networks after a disruption. As such, a resilience-based optimization model is extended in various ways to depict different decentralized decision-making structures and hierarchies: divided budget, isolation assumption, and dominance assumption. Among others, social vulnerability scores are used to show the effect of community resilience, and different scenarios are analyzed to reveal the effect of decentralization. The model is illustrated with a system of interdependent electric power, water, and gas infrastructure networks in Shelby County, TN.
Revisiting the Habsburg Mausoleum in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

The Habsburg Mausoleum in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, designed and constructed in the second half of the sixteenth century by Alexander Colin from Mecheln in the Low Countries, is often noted in modern scholarship as an early manifestation of the influence in Bohemia of the Habsburg dynasty, which had ascended the Bohemian throne in 1527 and ruled without interruption until 1918. Bridging both art historical and social cultural scholarship, this article explores the location and spatial features of the mausoleum, as well as its reception by contemporaries. It argues that while the style and size of the mausoleum is modest, its central location changed the dynastic symbolism in the cathedral, placing the Habsburgs at its center. And while it is less visible than other Habsburg cultural projects of its day, it—more than any single cultural project of the early Habsburg dynasty—demonstrates and symbolizes Habsburg ambitions in and commitment to Bohemia and is an important element in both the transformation of Prague into a Habsburg residential city and in long-term Catholic renewal efforts.
Enhancing Multicultural Awareness: Understanding the Effect of Community Immersion Assignments in An Online Counseling Skills Course

Counselor education programs provide counselors-in-training (CITs) with courses focused on counseling skill development to increase the CITs’ interpersonal counseling abilities and increase multicultural awareness. The research study presents findings from the author’s exploration of online students’ experiences in an experiential community immersion assignment. For analysis, the data was divided into three timeframes: (a) pre-experience, (b) active-experience, and (c) post-experience. In the pre-experience timeframe two themes emerged: (a) overwhelming nervousness and (b) judgmental thoughts. In the active-experience timeframe two themes emerged: (a) welcoming environment and (b) normalization of the minority population. During the post-experience reflections three common themes emerged: (a) similarities between groups, (b) motivation to create relationships, and (c) increased empathy. The study concluded the participants reported an overall increase in multicultural awareness through their community immersion experiences.
The compressive, shear, biochemical, and histological characteristics of diabetic and non-diabetic plantar skin are minimally different.

Abstract Diabetes is associated with lower limb co-morbidities, including ulceration and subsequent amputation. As a systemic disease, diabetes affects the microstructure of soft tissues, and material microstructural changes are known to affect the macroscale mechanics. However, the associations between diabetes-related disruptions to essential microstructural components and mechanical changes in plantar skin with diabetes has not been thoroughly characterized. Plantar skin specimens were collected from four diabetic and eight non-diabetic donors at six plantar locations (hallux; first, third, and fifth metatarsals; lateral midfoot; calcaneus) from matched pairs. Mechanical testing was performed on fresh frozen specimens from one foot, and histomorphological measurement and biochemical quantification were performed on specimens from the other foot. Mechanical (compressive and shear moduli and viscoelastic slopes) and biochemical/histological (total quantity of collagen and elastin; dermal and epidermal thickness) parameters were correlated using linear mixed effects regression. There were no significant differences by disease state. Skin thicknesses were positively correlated with initial compression modulus and all three shear moduli. The final compressive modulus was significantly lower at the third metatarsal than the fifth metatarsal, lateral midfoot, and calcaneus, while the final shear modulus was significantly higher at the calcaneus than at the hallux, first, and third metatarsals. Epidermal thickness was significantly higher at the calcaneus compared to all other locations. While differences were not significant by disease state, the strong differences by locations and significant but weak correlations between skin thickness and mechanics can inform future research to understand the mechanism of ulcer formation in the diabetic foot.
How does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment and parenting behaviors? An analysis of the mechanisms

Children in low socioeconomic status (SES) families are five times more likely to experience child maltreatment relative to children in high SES families. To determine whether increasing the wages of working poor families can prevent maltreatment, we examine whether changes in the local minimum wage (MW) affect child well-being and parenting behaviors. Using data from a representative, longitudinal survey, we use a lagged dependent variable model to compare parenting behaviors in localities where the MW changed to localities where the MW did not change relative to before the MW change took place. We also explore heterogeneity by child’s age and a variety of potential mechanisms. We find that increasing the minimum wage reduces spanking by both mothers and fathers, as well as physical and psychological aggression by mothers. These results appear to be driven by changes in maternal employment; whereby mothers reduce their employment and change their weekend shifts. We find no significant effects for positive parenting behaviors, household income, or maternal mental health. Finally, older children exhibit fewer externalizing behaviors as a result of increases in the minimum wage. The results of this study help inform the conversation about income supports and employment policies with regard to their effects and pathways to child well-being.
Intensity standardization methods in magnetic resonance imaging of head and neck cancer.

Abstract Background and Purpose Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) poses challenges in quantitative analysis because voxel intensity values lack physical meaning. While intensity standardization methods exist, their effects on head and neck MRI have not been investigated. We developed a workflow based on healthy tissue region of interest (ROI) analysis to determine intensity consistency within a patient cohort. Through this workflow, we systematically evaluated intensity standardization methods for MRI of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Materials and Methods Two HNC cohorts (30 patients total) were retrospectively analyzed. One cohort was imaged with heterogenous acquisition parameters (HET cohort), whereas the other was imaged with homogenous acquisition parameters (HOM cohort). The standard deviation of cohort-level normalized mean intensity (SD NMIc), a metric of intensity consistency, was calculated across ROIs to determine the effect of five intensity standardization methods on T2-weighted images. For each cohort, a Friedman test followed by a post-hoc Bonferroni-corrected Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to compare SD NMIc among methods. Results Consistency (SD NMIc across ROIs) between unstandardized images was substantially more impaired in the HET cohort (0.29 ± 0.08) than in the HOM cohort (0.15 ± 0.03). Consequently, corrected p-values for intensity standardization methods with lower SD NMIc compared to unstandardized images were significant in the HET cohort (p 0.05). In both cohorts, differences between methods were often minimal and nonsignificant. Conclusions Our findings stress the importance of intensity standardization, either through the utilization of uniform acquisition parameters or specific intensity standardization methods, and the need for testing intensity consistency before performing quantitative analysis of HNC MRI.
Predictors and Outcomes of Cardiac Arrest in the Emergency Department and In-patient Settings in the United States (2016 - 2018).

Abstract Background Outcomes of cardiac arrest (CA) remain dismal despite therapeutic advances. Literature is limited regarding outcomes of CA in emergency departments (ED). Objective To study the possible causes, predictors, and outcomes of CA in ED and in-patient settings throughout the United States (US). Methods Data from the US national emergency department sample (NEDS) was analyzed for the episodes of CA for 2016-2018. In-hospital CA was divided into in-patient (IPCA) and in the ED (EDCA). Only patients who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within the hospital were included in the study (out-of-hospital were excluded). Results A total of 1,068,847 CA (mean age 63.7±19.4 years, 24%females), of whom 325,062(30.4%) EDCA and 177,104(16.6%) IPCA were included in the study. Patients without CPR, 743,785(69.6%), were excluded. Survival was higher among IPCA 55,821(31.6%) than the EDCA 32,516(10%). IPCA encounters had multifactorial associated etiologies including respiratory failure(73%), acidosis(38.7%) sepsis(36.8%) and ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI)(7.3%). Majority of ED arrests (67.1%) had no possible identifiable cause. The predominant known causes include intoxication(7.5%), trauma (6.4%), respiratory failure(5%), and STEMI(2.7%). Cardiovascular interventions had significant survival benefits in IPCA on univariate logistic regression after coarsened exact matching for comorbidities. IPCA had higher intervention rates than EDCA. For all live discharges, a total of 40% of patients were discharged to hospice. Conclusion Survival remains dismal among CA patients especially those occurring in the ED. Given that there are considerable variations in the etiology between the two studied cohorts, more research is required to improve the understanding of these factors, which may improve survival outcomes.
Heats of Formation of GaCl3 and Its Fragments

The heats of formation of GaC13 and its fragments are computed. The geometries and frequencies are obtained at the B3LYP level. The CCSD(T) approach is used to solve the correlation problem. The effect of Ga 3d correlation is studied, and found to affect the bond energies by up to 1 kcal/mol. Both basis set extrapolation and bond functions are considered as ways to approach the basis set limit. Spin-orbit and scalar relativistic effects are also considered.
Studying Bacterial Adhesion in the Urinary Tract

Bacterial adhesion is necessary for a bacterial infection to occur in either the urinary, respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. Adhesion to mucous membranes is the initial event in any infection other than those associated with urethral instrumentation or catheterization. The surface energy theory of bacterial adhesion, DLVO, attempts to explain the mechanism of bacterial adhesion, and the necessity of surface appendages for adhesion to occur in an energy efficient manner.7
Asset valuation with unhedgeable risks

We study a model of optimal portfolio choice for a single agent where investments take place between a bond and a stock account. The price of the bond is riskless as opposed to the price of the stock which is a diffusion process. The coefficients of the latter depend on another diffusion process which is driven by a Brownian motion correlated with the one driving the stock price. The agent's preferences are modelled via a CRRA utility function and his objective is to maximize the expected utility of terminal wealth. Employing a novel transformation, we are able to provide closed form solutions for the investor's value function and the optimal portfolio policies. Special cases of the model we develop are the models of portfolio management with stochastic volatility and with nonlinear stock dynamics.
Simplified Texture Unit: A~New Descriptor of the Local Texture in Gray-Level Images

In this work we propose a new descriptor of the local texture in gray-level images, named Simplified Texture Unit (STU). This descriptor is a version, with a smaller computational cost as much in its obtaining as in its later use, of the well-known Texture Unit descriptor (TU) 6. We have carried out a comparative study of the capacity to describe the texture of a region with the capacity provided by the TU descriptor and two other versions of the same one, known as Local Binary Pattern (LBP) and Local Binary Pattern with Contrast (LBP/C) 11. The results of the experiment allow to affirm that the new descriptor has a greater performance with small region sizes, what makes it suitable for unsupervised texture segmentation since it could allow a greater accuracy in the localization of the frontiers between textured regions.
Activation and Desensitization of Hippocampal Kainate Receptors

We have used whole-cell recordings and rapid agonist applications to characterize the physiological properties of kainate receptors expressed by rat hippocampal neurons in dissociated cell culture. Activation of NMDA and AMPA receptors was prevented by inclusion of the noncompetitive antagonists MK-801 (2 microM) and GYKI 53655 (100 microM), respectively. In the presence of these inhibitors, both kainate (EC50 = 23 microM) and glutamate (EC50 = 310 microM) evoked desensitizing currents. Maximal peak currents for kainate with GYKI 53655 were 15 +/- 3% as large as in control solutions without GYKI. In contrast to currents mediated by AMPA receptors, kainate currents recorded in GYKI were blocked potently by lanthanum (IC50 = 2 microM) and were desensitized by 1 microM 2S,4R-4-methylglutamate (SYM 2081). Coapplication of either 5 microM AMPA or 500 microM aspartate had little effect on responses to kainate, although AMPA alone elicited current at 1 mM. In most cells, the currents evoked by kainate, glutamate, and SYM 2081 varied linearly with membrane potential and reversed near 0 mV. Kainate elicited substantial current at steady state (approximately 30% of peak), whereas responses to glutamate and SYM 2081 desensitized almost completely within 0.2-2 sec. Inhibition produced by a 10 sec desensitizing prepulse was half-maximal at 0.22 microM for SYM 2081 and 13 microM for glutamate. Recovery from desensitization to kainate and glutamate was >80% complete within 60 sec but was three- to fourfold slower after exposure to SYM 2081. Exposure to Concanavalin A blocked desensitization of the currents but also reduced the peak current amplitudes. Collectively, these results confirm that kainate-preferring receptors underlie the currents evoked by kainate, glutamate, or SYM-2081 in the presence of GYKI 53655; they are not mediated by electrogenic transport or by AMPA-preferring receptors that are insensitive to GYKI. In contrast to previous work on embryonic hippocampal neurons, our results show that the properties of kainate receptors expressed by cells from older animals are distinct from those displayed by homomeric assemblies of the GluR6 subunit.
Sustained Microtubule Treadmilling in Arabidopsis Cortical Arrays

Plant cells create highly structured microtubule arrays at the cell cortex without a central organizing center to anchor the microtubule ends. In vivo imaging of individual microtubules in Arabidopsis plants revealed that new microtubules are initiated at the cell cortex and exhibit dynamics at both ends. Polymerization-biased dynamic instability at one end and slow depolymerization at the other end result in sustained microtubule migration across the cell cortex by a hybrid treadmilling mechanism. This motility causes widespread microtubule repositioning and contributes to changes in array organization through microtubule reorientation and bundling.
Regulation of gene expression in hippocampal neurons by distinct calcium signaling pathways

Calcium ions (Ca2+) act as an intracellular second messenger and can enter neurons through various ion channels. Influx of Ca2+ through distinct types of Ca2+ channels may differentially activate biochemical processes. N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and L-type Ca2+ channels, two major sites of Ca2+ entry into hippocampal neurons, were found to transmit signals to the nucleus and regulated gene transcription through two distinct Ca2+ signaling pathways. Activation of the multifunctional Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase) was evoked by stimulation of either NMDA receptors or L-type Ca2+ channels; however, activation of CaM kinase appeared to be critical only for propagating the L-type Ca2+ channel signal to the nucleus. Also, the NMDA receptor and L-type Ca2+ channel pathways activated transcription by means of different cis-acting regulatory elements in the c-fos promoter. These results indicate that Ca2+, depending on its mode of entry into neurons, can activate two distinct signaling pathways. Differential signal processing may provide a mechanism by which Ca2+ controls diverse cellular functions.
The Central Role of Suggestion in All Clinical Encounters Including Psychoanalysis

The title of the article by Raz & Wolfson implies that the role of suggestion in psychotherapeutic change is described as “copper” while change through psychoanalysis is described as “gold,” implying that suggestion has an inferior role compared to changes achieved by psychoanalysis. Some have stated that Freud himself considered his method of psychoanalysis to be a superior tool for therapeutic change compared to the supposedly unsophisticated method of suggestion. Recent studies of brain imaging have given suggestion a new importance since it has now been validated as a real and powerful phenomenon that has a biological foundation in the human brain. This has not yet happened for psychoanalytic concepts such as ego, id, transference, countertransference, etc. This commentary argues the point that Freud never truly divorced himself from recognizing the important role of suggestion in psychoanalysis. Moreover, I believe that suggestion has a central role in all clinical encounters including the practice o...
Cellular Epigenetic Modifications of Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

Emerging information indicates that epigenetic modification (i.e. histone code and DNA methylation) may be integral to the maintenance and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSC), but their actual involvements have not yet been illustrated. In this study, we demonstrated the dynamic nature of epigenetic marks during the differentiation of quiescent adult rat NSCs in neurospheres. A subpopulation of OCT4+ NSCs in the neurosphere contained Histone marks, trimethylated Histone 3 on lysine 27 (3me-H3K27), 2me-H3K4, and acetylated H4 (Ac-H4). A major decrease of these marks was found prior to or during differentiation, and was further diminished or reprogrammed in diverse subpopulations of migrated NSCs expressing nestin or β-III-tubulin. The DNA methylation mark 5-methyl-cytosine (5-MeC) and the DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 1 and 3a expression also correlated to the state of differentiation; they were highly present in undifferentiated NSCs but down-regulated in migrated populations. In contrast, the DNA methyl-CpG-binding protein (MBD1) was low in undifferentiated NSCs in neurospheres, but highly appeared in differentiating NSCs. Furthermore, we found a outward translocation of DNA-methylation marks 5-MeC, DNMT1, DNMT3a, and MBD1 in NSCs as differentiation began and proceeded; the 5-MeC from homogeneous nucleus to peripheral-nucleus, and DMNT1a and 3a from nuclear to cytoplasm, indicating chromatin remodeling. Treatment with DNA a methylation inhibitor, 5-aza-cytidine, altered DNA methylation and disrupted migration as indicated by a reduction of migrated neurons and differentiation. These results indicate that chromatin is dynamically remodeled when NSCs transform from the quiescent state to active growth, and that DNA methylation modification is essential for neural stem cell differentiation.
An application of set theory to model theory

We give a number of simple proofs of results in model theory using the set theoretical result of Levy thatH(μ) is a Σ-submodel of the Universe.
Shape changes inGloborotalia truncatulinoides as a function of ontogeny and paleobiogeography in the Southern Ocean

Abstract Morphological evolution of the planktonic foraminifer Globorotalia truncatulinoides in the southern Indian Ocean accompanied changes in the species' paleobiogeographic range during the late Quaternary. The first sustained migrational appearance of G. truncatulinoides in subantarctic waters during oxygen isotopic stage 13 (∼500,000 years ago) involved peripheral populations dominated by juvenile-sized kummerform types. The stage 13 colonization of subantarctic waters coincided with a southward migration of the Subtropical Convergence (STC). The first sustained appearance of the species in northern Antarctic waters during isotopic stage 7 (∼200,000 years ago) is followed by fluctuations in the species' paleobiogeographic range due to glacial-interglacial water mass changes and increasing tolerance to the colder waters of the subantarctic and Antarctic regions. Examination of allometric shape changes during the ontogenetic development of G. truncatulinoides reveals a statistically significant shape change from elongate, axially compressed juveniles to conical, axially extended adults in samples from isotopic stages 1 and 2 in core E48-28. The results provide evidence that the morphotype of a species which originally invades a new biogeographic area may rapidly take on shape characteristics which differ significantly from the original colonizing population.
The Republican ideal?: National minorities and the criminal justice system in contemporary France

In recent years, worsening economic conditions have led to growing tensions between native-born French and a rising tide of immigrants, largely from North Africa and other parts of the developing world. The French criminal justice system has responded to perceived levels of social disorder and delinquency in these ethnic neighborhoods by increasing police surveillance, widening court jurisdiction, and imposing harsher penalties for offenders. In part as a result, France's foreign and immigrant residents, who comprise only about six percent of the population overall, now represent nearly thirty percent of the French prison population. Though the rise in reported crime has no doubt influenced recent trends in crime control, there is reason to believe that the formal orientation toward crime control is more than simply a function of crime itself. Little attention has been given, however, to the broader social and political context in which crime control strategies are developed. In this project, I conduct a ...
Key Concepts of Vygotsky's Theory of Learning and Development

(1997). Key Concepts of Vygotsky's Theory of Learning and Development. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education: Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 16-22.
Acute ethanol/cannabinoid-induced ataxia and its antagonism by oral/systemic/intracerebellar A1 adenosine receptor antisense in mice.

Abstract Previous reports from our laboratory have demonstrated that ethanol- and cannabinoid-induced ataxia is modulated by cerebellar adenosine A 1 receptor because intracerebellar (i.c.b.) adenosine A 1 agonists potentiated and A 1 antagonist attenuated ataxia by these psychoactive drugs. In this study, the novel approach involving pretreatment with adenosine A 1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide via multiple routes provided further direct evidence of mouse cerebellar A 1 modulation of ethanol- and cannabinoid-induced ataxia. Animal groups were pretreated with A 1 antisense and its mismatch by oral (p.o.) (3.12, 6.25, 12.5, 50 μg/12 h; total three treatments/each dose), intraperitoneal (i.p.) (3.12, 5, 10, 50 μg/12 h; total three treatments/each dose), and i.c.b. (2 μg/12 h; total three treatments) routes. Based on our standard rotorod test, marked antagonism to ethanol (2 g/kg; i.p.) and Δ 9 -THC (15 μg; i.c.b)-induced ataxia was observed 12 h after the last antisense treatment. Pretreatment with A 1 receptor mismatch was without an effect. The antagonism following systemic (p.o.; i.p.) antisense pretreatment was dose-dependent. No change in the normal motor coordination was observed when the animals were pretreated with antisense or its mismatch followed by vehicle. Results of Western blotting using commercially available antibodies and cerebellar membranes from various animal groups which received antisense and its mismatch via three routes confirmed a significant decrease in the A 1 adenosine receptor protein. These results, for the first time, demonstrated an oral and systemic effectiveness of A 1 antisense towards adenosine receptors in the central nervous system.
Rate constant for H+H+Ar = H2 + Ar from 1300 to 1700 K

Shock tube experiments on the decay of OH-radical concentration after shock-initiated combustion of H2:O2:Ar = 10:1:89 mixtures were analyzed to give the rate constant 1 × 1015 cm6mol−2s−1for the reaction H + H + Ar = H2 + Ar overthe temperature range 1300 to 1700 K.
The “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2013 Update” and the Need for a National Cardiovascular Surveillance System

The “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2013 Update,” published by the American Heart Association (AHA) in this issue of Circulation ,1 and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “A National Framework for Surveillance of Cardiovascular and Chronic Lung Diseases,” published last year,2 attest to the importance and value of timely, high-quality, population-based data on the incidence of heart disease and stroke and their risk factors. The annual Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update is the authoritative source of annual estimates of incidence, prevalence, and risk factor distribution in the country. It is carefully crafted from a wide variety of separate federally and privately funded studies of various designs, reach, and sample size. In its breath, quality, and style it represents a national treasure of the best available information on the burden of heart disease and stroke events and risk factors that is a highly valued resource in the medical and public health communities. Indeed, the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update is cited nearly 2000 times each year in the scientific literature. However, even this compilation of the best data available does not have national representative or timely data on heart disease and stroke incidence at its disposal. It is our best guess at questions for which we should not be guessing. More comprehensive monitoring of the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which cause more death and disability than any other medical conditions, is important to the physical and economic health of the country. The IOM report is clear in its overall message and resolute in its vision; we need to strengthen our ability to monitor the cardiovascular health of the country and create a national system to capture information on heart disease and stroke. The Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update appearing in this issue is our best …
WantKnot: connecting organizations to improve their waste management practices

Commercial businesses represent a large portion of all waste generation; furthermore, their waste streams are large and consistent enough to provide a steady resource to other organizations that can use the waste as inputs for their own processes. However, businesses find it difficult to connect with other organizations, especially those in different industries. We conducted a user-centered design process in which we interviewed 17 local organizations, built an affinity diagram, and devised personas and scenarios. Using this information, we designed a social network, WantKnot, which allows businesses to find other local organizations interested in absorbing some of their waste streams. Based on a preliminary round of usability testing, we found that WantKnot connects businesses in valuable ways, and in doing so, reduces waste and transportation resources.