cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The ZM Grid: An Alternative to the Z Grid

Abstract Shallow-water equations discretized on a perfect hexagonal grid are analyzed using both a momentum formulation and a vorticity-divergence formulation. The vorticity-divergence formulation uses the unstaggered Z grid that places mass, vorticity, and divergence at the centers of the hexagons. The momentum formulation uses the staggered ZM grid that places mass at the centers of the hexagons and velocity at the corners of the hexagons. It is found that the Z grid and the ZM grid are identical in their simulation of the physical modes relevant to geostrophic adjustment. Consistent with the continuous system, the simulated inertia–gravity wave phase speeds increase monotonically with increasing total wavenumber and, thus, all waves have nonzero group velocities. Since a grid of hexagons has twice as many corners as it has centers, the ZM grid has twice as many velocity points as it has mass points. As a result, the ZM-grid velocity field is discretized at a higher resolution than the mass field and, t...
Immune Reactions in Aging Brain and Senile Dementia

The immune system which provides specific defense mechanisms in our body may prove destructive in senescence. Immunologic competence is a growth-related process and may undergo deteriorative changes during aging. Such a self-destructive immunological reaction, often referred to as an autoimmune phenomenon, may give rise to pathological changes and reduction of life expectancy. There is considerable evidence in the literature to indicate that autoimmune reactions occur with increased frequency in the aged (Comfort, 1963). Although controversy exists on the processes underlying these changes, it is generally believed to result from the emergence of new antigenic stimuli or from the loss of acquired immunologic tolerance associated with aging. The autoimmune theory was first proposed by Burnet (1959). He described these changes as being due to the formation of ‘forbidden clones of cells’ arising from the derranged stem cells located in the reticulo-endothelial system, lymph nodes, spleen or bone marrow. Burch (1968), the leading proponent of the autoimmune theory of aging, proposed that several factors acting throughout life may significantly alter the process of acquired immunologic tolerance resulting in the increase of forbidden clones and incidence of autoimmune disorders. Walford (1962, 1967 and 1970), on the other hand, hypothesized that aging may be due to long-term low-grade histo-incompatability reactions among the body’s population of cells resulting in cell death. The possible deterioration of the immune system during aging in mammals has been studied by Makinodan (1976) who suggested that this might be due to either intrinsic changes in T and B cells or their interaction, thus making them less efficient.
rule interchange format: logic programming's second wind?

Recent years have witnessed a strong upswing in the interest in rule systems technologies--both in their own right and in combination with existing Web standards. In particular, the Semantic Web is now seen as a vast playing field for rules within the academia as well as the industry. This renewed interest motivated the development of the Rule Interchange Format (RIF), a recent W3C Web standard for exchanging rules among different and dissimilar systems [1-5]. Despite its name, RIF is not merely a format: it is a collection of concrete rule languages, called RIF dialects, and a framework for defining new ones in harmony with each other. This includes formal specifications of the syntax, semantics, and XML serialization. In this talk we argue that RIF is a major opportunity to reintroduce rule based technologies into the mainstream of knowledge representation and information processing, and to rekindle the interest in logic programming. First, we will introduce the main principles behind RIF and then discuss the application landscape that could emerge if this standard is embraced by the relevant communities: Logic Programming, Semantic Web, and Knowledge Representation. We will also reflect on the past of logic programming and speculate on how it could benefit from and contribute to RIF in the future.
Mining social media data for opinion polarities about electronic cigarettes

Background There is an ongoing debate about harm and benefit of e-cigarettes, usage of which has rapidly increased in recent years. By separating non-commercial (organic) tweets from commercial tweets, we seek to evaluate the general public9s attitudes towards e-cigarettes. Methods We collected tweets containing the words ‘e-cig’, ‘e-cigarette’, ‘e-liquid’, ‘vape’, ‘vaping’, ‘vapor’ and ‘vaporizer’ from 23 July to 14 October 2015 (n=757 167). A multilabel Naive Bayes model was constructed to classify tweets into 5 polarities (against, support, neutral, commercial, irrelevant). We further analysed the prevalence of e-cigarette tweets, geographic variations in these tweets and the impact of socioeconomic factors on the public attitudes towards e-cigarettes. Results Opinions from organic tweets about e-cigarettes were mixed (against 17.7%, support 10.8% and neutral 19.4%). The organic—against tweets delivered strong educational information about the risks of e-cigarette use and advocated for the general public, especially youth, to stop vaping. However, the organic—against tweets were outnumbered by commercial tweets and organic—support tweets by a ratio of over 1 to 3. Higher prevalence of organic tweets was associated with states with higher education rates (r=0.60, p Conclusions The organic—against tweets raised public awareness of potential health risks and could aid in preventing non-smokers, adolescents and young adults from using e-cigarettes. Opinion polarities about e-cigarettes from social networks could be highly influential to the general public, especially youth. Further educational campaigns should include measuring their effectiveness.
FILM FESTIVALS: CULTURE, PEOPLE, AND POWER ON THE GLOBAL SCREEN By Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2011. 328 pp. $28.95 paper.

Despite abundant research on public spheres, reception theory, and media studies, the academic examination of film festivals remains relatively uncharted territory. Since 2008, scholars behind the ...
Twenty-four-hour packed red blood cell requirement is the strongest independent prognostic marker of mortality in ED trauma patients.

Abstract Background Injury severity score, serum lactate, and shock index help the physician determine the severity of injuries present and have been shown to relate to mortality. We sought to determine if an increasing amount of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) given in the first 24hours of admission is an independent predictor of mortality and how it compares to other validated markers. Methods A 6-year retrospective, observational study of adult trauma patients was conducted at a level 1 trauma center. Charts were reviewed for demographic data, amount of PRBC received in the first 24hours, injury severity score, shock index, and lactate levels. Subgroups were used to determine if each variable was an independent predictor of mortality. Correlation coefficients and linear regression were used to determine the strength of correlation between each variable and mortality. Results One hundred fifty-seven patients met criteria over a 6-year period. The average age was 28years, 93% were male, and 86% had penetrating injuries. The average injury severity score, serum lactate, and shock index were 18, 6.1, and 0.9, respectively. The average amount of blood given was 6.7 U. Conclusion Twenty-four-hour PRBC requirement is both a novel independent predictor of and has the greatest correlation to mortality in adult trauma patients when compared to injury severity score, shock index, and serum lactate.
Englishness and Narrative: New Perspectives of Literary and Historical Revisionism in Jane Austen's Love and Friendship.

Historical and literary narrative discourses from the 1790’s surrounding interpretations of English identity were symptomatic of the inherited Augustan and Johnsonian social customs that posited cultural reevaluation as a nation-wide identitive endeavor. Though part of the critically neglected juvenilia, in Love and Friendship (1790) Austen’s satiric portrayal of her heroine’s upbringing reveals a shrewd perspective that mocks her culture’s anxiety to be forward thinking about its past lessons. The text judges the conservative character celebrated in the fiction and values of her childhood, positioned alongside a developing model of progressive Englishness. I recommend that the story’s first-person narrator’s nonalignment with either the conservative or progressive societal prescriptions that permeate the novel validates Jane Austen as an agentive, not reactionary, participant in the culture war she inherited. I argue that the text offers modern readers a new perspective for literary and historical revisionism of both the eighteenth-century mores that informed early nineteenth-century literary trends, and of narrative’s social function within this re-evaluative cultural model.
WearCore: A Core for Wearable Workloads

Lately, the industry has recognized immense potential in wearables (particularly, smartwatches) being an attractive alternative/supplement to the smartphone. To this end, there has been recent activity in making the smartwatch ‘self-sufficient’ i.e. using it to make/receive calls, etc. independently of the phone. This marked shift in the way wearables will be used in future calls for changes in the core micro-architecture of smartwatch processors. In this work, we first identify ten key target applications for the smartwatch users that the processor must be able to quickly and efficiently execute. We show that seven of these workloads are inherently parallel, and are compute- and data-intensive. We therefore propose to use a multi-core processor with simple out-of-order cores (for compute performance) and augment them with a light-weight software-assisted hardware prefetcher (for memory performance). This simple core with the light-weight prefetcher, called WearCore, is 2.9× more energy-efficient and 2.8× more area-efficient over an in-order core. The improvements are similar with respect to an out-of-order core.
Reservoir Sustainability and Sediment Management

AbstractDespite mounting demand for a more sustainable worldwide water supply system, available reservoir capacity is relentlessly diminishing due to sedimentation. Neither sustainable reservoir life spans nor intergenerational equity is achieved through conventional cost-benefit analyses (CBAs), which render all benefits and costs projected to occur more than several decades into a project as negligible. Consequently, future costs, including dam decommissioning or retrofitting with sediment management facilities, would be regarded as nonfactors in an analysis. CBAs have also historically failed to account for infrastructure and environmental impacts of sedimentation over time. Alternatives to the traditional application of the CBA do exist, however, such as dam owners instituting retirement funds or insurance policies, beneficiaries paying for rehabilitation or maintenance, and economists incorporating infrastructure damages and potentially logistic discount rates into their analyses. A brief case study ...
Digital Technology and HIV/AIDS Prevention in Kenya

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are viewed as important tools in preventing global epidemics through facilitation of rapid collection and dissemination of information, interaction and communication between user groups and inter-agency collaborations. In the African context, use of ICTs for health purposes has become particularly critical due to disease burden and the significant erosion of healthcare infrastructure amidst limited human and financial resources, which makes most of the population vulnerable to health threats. When practiced appropriately and with the necessary guiding policies and resources in place, ICTs have great potential to improve health service efficiency, expand or scale up treatment delivery to thousands of patients in developing countries, and improve patient outcomes. The goal of this chapter is to explore the use of ICTs in HIV/AIDS Communication in Kenya, one of the most impacted countries in the African region.
So Far From Compassion: The U.S.-Centric and Exclusionary Framework of Current and Past Immigration Policy

Before examining the possibilities and sources for compassionate regional migration policy in later chapters, in the first set of chapters we lay the historical foundation of restrictive U.S. immigration law and its administration, both nationally and subnationally. In sum, U.S. immigration law has been patchwork, inconsistent, arbitrary, and demonstrably steeped in racism from at least the late nineteenth century forward.
Romeo and Juliet Online and in Trouble: Criminalizing Depictions of Teen Sexuality

As teenagers explore their sexuality and seek to memorialize and exchange information related to their sexual development, their instantaneous ability to memorialize and share images with others, via cell phones or the Internet, presents a host of new problems to which our society must respond intelligently. The recent trend of harshly punishing these teens under the child pornography regime is not an intelligent solution. In light of this wave of prosecutorial overreaching, state and federal child pornography laws should be revised to specifically exempt sexting by minors from the reach of such laws. Child pornography laws were created to punish and deter a far different class of conduct — the conduct of adult pedophiles creating and disseminating images that depict sexual abuse of their child victims in a commercial context — not the conduct of older minors using technology to explore their sexuality and voluntarily exchange images with one another. Non-obscene depictions of nudity or sexual conduct created by teens and exchanged voluntarily among themselves for noncommercial purposes should be specifically excluded from the applicable definitions of child pornography and similar crimes. Instances of sexting, however, should not necessarily go unpunished, as they may constitute harmful invasions of the subject’s privacy. In cases in which nude or sexually themed images of minors, which were initially created with the subject’s consent, are disseminated or otherwise made available without or beyond the scope of the subject’s consent, such conduct should be cognizable as actionable invasions of the subject’s privacy under the publication of private facts branch of this common law tort. The subject should be able to seek relief not only against the individual who made such images available without her consent, but also against a website that continues to host such images after being notified of their presence. Websites that continue to facilitate the hosting of such images after the subject requests their removal should lose their immunity for hosting such content and should be held liable for facilitating the invasion of the subject’s privacy.
Database Protection: Are Laws Threatening To Destroy Our Building Blocks Of Knowledge?

This paper examines the various regimes that are used to protect databases to suggest that the continued progress of science and technology that has enabled economic prosperity will be fostered by less regulation. The diversity between and within each of these regimes reflects fundamentally different views of intellectual property. Technology, specifically digitalization that has facilitated the creation, replication and easy dissemination of information has changed the value of information and threatens to create a striated society of information "haves" and "have-nots" due to enclosure mechanisms. As technology advances, the laws which we implement to build upon the existing intellectual property infrastructure must be developed with care to preserve the careful balance of the public good and private interest that has maintained the past 200 years of "progress of science and useful arts." The author suggests ways to structure a database to encourage or reward database developers while simultaneously fostering the advancement of science.
Abstract 13220: Distinct Disease Mechanisms Drive Pediatric and Adult Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Background: Numerous clinical studies have suggested that adult heart failure (HF) therapies are less effective in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The mechanistic basis for this phenomenon is poorly defined. Collectively, adult HF therapeutics target a process termed adverse remodeling, a common pathway by which the adult heart responds to injury. We hypothesized that pediatric and adult DCM comprise distinct pathological entities in that children do not undergo adverse remodeling. Methods: LV specimens were obtained from donor pediatric and adult controls (24), pediatric DCM (31) and adult DCM patients (33). Pathological evidence of adverse remodeling including myocardial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and gene expression was examined using immunostaining, electron microscopy and RNA sequencing. Results: Consistent with the established pathophysiology of adult HF, adults with DCM displayed marked increases in myocardial fibrosis compared to donor controls (both p Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that children with DCM display minimal evidence of adverse remodeling; suggesting pediatric and adult DCM may represent different pathological entities. Collectively, these data provide a mechanistic basis to understand why adult HF therapeutics may not work in children, and suggest the possibility that distinct therapies may be needed for pediatric DCM.
PHARMACODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF SWITCHING FROM TICAGRELOR TO CLOPIDOGREL IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: RESULTS OF THE PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED SWAP (SWITCHING ANTIPLATELET THERAPY)-4 STUDY

Although it is common to switch from ticagrelor (T) to clopidogrel (C), the pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of such switching, and if affected by the dose and timing of C administration, have been poorly explored. Patients (n=80) on chronic aspirin and C therapy underwent a 7-day run-in with T [(
A Case of Spice use with Subsequent Withdrawal and Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) (P5.046)

Objective: To discuss a case of synthethic marijuana use and subsequent withdrawal phenomenon that clinically resulted in PRES. Background: In the last decade synthetic marijuana has emerged as a new drug of abuse. Synthetic marijuana is colloquial known as “Spice,” which is typically composed of herbs, spices and other plant matter that are sprayed with at least one synthetic cannabinoid. They have diverse chemicals that are structurally distinct from THC. Given the heterogeneity of chemical composition, the intoxication effects are diverse. The presence of a withdrawal phenomenon following chronic use and clinical sequeale are not explored in the literature to date. Design/Methods: We discuss a case presentation of acute intoxication, withdrawal phenomenology and subsequent neurological complications of synthetic marijuana usage including PRES. Results: A 26yo man was found by police and paramedics to be confused and combative after he had smoked synthetic cannabinoids earlier in the evening. He was restrained by police and brought to the emergency department where he was noted to be febrile, combative and confused with normal heart rate and blood pressure. He had an unremarkable initial head computed tomography (CT) image. His labs were significant for hypernatremia, acute kidney injury and rhabdomyolysis. His LP showed no xanthochromia or pleocytosis. On days 2–4 of the hospitalization he exhibited autonomic instability following withdrawal of his daily consumption of synthetic marijuana. A MRI was eventually obtained following 8 days in the hospital because of unresolved encephalopathy. It showed evidence of PRES, right frontal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), small bilateral cortical and corpus collosum hemorrhages and superior cerebellar vermis subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The CT angiogram (CTA) showed no evidence of vasospasm or vasoconstriction or aneurysm. Conclusions: Our patient exhibited withdrawal phenomenon following 2 days cessation of daily synthetic marijuana. Clinically the patient exhibited autonomic instability and poor mentation resulting radiographically in PRES, ICH and SAH. Disclosure: Dr. Stack has nothing to disclose.
Victorian Dogs, Victorian Men: Affect and Animals in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture

Keridiana W. Chez’s book, Victorian Men and Victorian Dogs: Affect and Animals in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture, deftly draws on three theoretical traditions to demonstrate the crucial ...
Targeting the BAFF/APRIL Cytokine Network in Multiple Myeloma

The BAFF/APRIL cytokine network is intimately linked through three different receptors to the survival and fitness of B lineage cells, from the first expression of a complete B cell receptor to their differentiation to memory B and plasma cells. The specific, pervasive, and survival-linked nature of the relationship between B lineage cells and this cytokine network make it both a likely disease modifier and a tantalizing target for therapeutic intervention in humoral immune pathologies. Some current therapeutics directly targeting the BAFF/APRIL cytokine network have been developed and undergone clinical trials in the context of autoimmunity with some limited success. Despite a powerful rationale and a constantly deepening mechanistic understanding of the BAFF/APRIL cytokine network in normal and malignant plasma cells, trials of cytokine network-targeted therapeutics in multiple myeloma are still in their infancy and have shown only minor promise. There is significantly greater potential in inhibiting NF-kB, a downstream mediator of BAFF/APRIL signals.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Support of Cellular Therapies Regenerative Medicine

Scientific advances have provided new and unprecedented opportunities for the therapeutic use of stem, progenitor, and differentiated cells for the future treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Stem and progenitor cells have the potential to replace cells that are damaged or diseased, restore vital functions, and offer the promise of curing disease and ending disabilities. The potential for safe new treatments can only be realized if preclinical and clinical research programs provide the scientific and clinical basis to establish new therapies for regenerative medicine. NHLBI seeks to catalyze translational efforts in this area by supporting key efforts needed for the field’s development. This chapter discusses NHLBI support for cellular therapies and illustrates this support with descriptions of two key programs, one for research centers and the other providing key resources.
The Ecology of Caribbean Sea Anemones in Panama: Utilization of Space on a Coral Reef

Despite the predominance of scleractinian corals as the constructors and the matrix of coral reefs, there exists a high diversity of other organisms on the substratum provided by these corals. The reef structure is dynamic and areas of cleared substratum are continuously supplied by the forces of physical collapse, bioerosion, and predation; yet sufficient evidence exists (Loya 1972, Porter 1972c, Connell 1973, Grigg and Maragos 1974) to illustrate the importance of space as a limiting resource on coral reefs.
˓Al-Zajjājiy, Abu Al-Qasim (10th Century a.d.)

al-Zajjajiy is abu al-Qāsim Ibn ishāq al-Zajjajiy. He was born in saimarah, a town in Khuzistan, Persia. He is known by al-Zajjājiy as a reference to and in deference to his teacher al-Zajjāj (241–311H./855–923 a.d.). al-umal ‘The sentences’ is his most well known book and was much used as a textbook. His Maālisal- ulamā ‘Scholars’ Sessions’ is the source of the authenticity of the celebrated encounter between Sībawayh and al-kasāi. He was interested in the study of syntactic causes which he subcategorized: taliymiyyah, qiyāsiyyah, and adaliyyah, those that are concerned with teaching, analogy, and argumentation, respectively.
LMX, HR system strength, and HR attributions as antecedents to employee awareness of HR practices.

Using 40,992 responses from 90 separate units of a single large public sector organization managed through a uniform set of stated HR practices, we test a model predicting that HR system strength, ...
Losartan attenuates progression of osteoarthritis in the synovial temporomandibular and knee joints of a chondrodysplasia mouse model through inhibition of TGF-β1 signaling pathway.

Summary Objective Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is implicated in osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of Losartan to inhibit the inflammatory signaling pathway of TGF-β1 observed during osteoarthritic progression in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and knee joint using a genetic mouse model. Methods A murine OA model displaying the heterozygous chondrodysplasia gene (cho/+), a col11a1 mutation, was used to test this hypothesis. Following a 7-month treatment period with Losartan, the synovial joints were analyzed for histopathological improvement comparing two experimental groups. Tissues were fixed in paraformaldehyde, processed to paraffin section, and stained with Safranin O and Fast Green to visualize proteoglycans and collagen proteins in cartilage. Using the Modified Mankin scoring system, the degree of staining and OA progression were evaluated. Results Results show heterozygous animals receiving Losartan having diminished degeneration of TMJ condylar and knee joint articular cartilage. This was confirmed in the TMJ and knee by a statistically significant decrease in the Mankin histopathology score. Decreased expression of HtrA1, a key regulator to the TGF-β1 signaling pathway, was demonstrated in vitro as well as in vivo, via Losartan inhibition. Conclusion Using a genetic mouse model of OA, this study demonstrated the utility of Losartan to improve treatment of human OA in the TMJ and knee joint through inhibition of the TGF-β1 signaling cascade. We further demonstrated inhibition of HtrA1, the lowering of Mankin scores to wild type control levels, and the limiting of OA progressive damage with treatment of Losartan.
The X-linked histone demethylase Kdm6a in CD4+ T lymphocytes modulates autoimmunity

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a putative T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. As with many autoimmune diseases, females are more susceptible than males. Sexual dimorphisms may be due to differences in sex hormones, sex chromosomes, or both. Regarding sex chromosome genes, a small percentage of X chromosome genes escape X inactivation and have higher expression in females (XX) compared with males (XY). Here, high-throughput gene expression analysis in CD4+ T cells showed that the top sexually dimorphic gene was Kdm6a, a histone demethylase on the X chromosome. There was higher expression of Kdm6a in females compared with males in humans and mice, and the four core genotypes (FCG) mouse model showed higher expression in XX compared with XY. Deletion of Kdm6a in CD4+ T cells ameliorated clinical disease and reduced neuropathology in the classic CD4+ T cell-mediated autoimmune disease experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Global transcriptome analysis in CD4+ T cells from EAE mice with a specific deletion of Kdm6a showed upregulation of Th2 and Th1 activation pathways and downregulation of neuroinflammation signaling pathways. Together, these data demonstrate that the X escapee Kdm6a regulates multiple immune response genes, providing a mechanism for sex differences in autoimmune disease susceptibility.
Tools of the trade: a look at educators’ use of assessment systems

Test-based accountability policy in the US has resulted in increased availability and use of assessment systems to support instructional decision making. Though limited, literature to date suggests...
Middle school students’ understanding of energy in health and fitness

We used mixed methods to identify middle school students’ conceptions and misconceptions of energy in the domain of health and fitness. We selected a total of 24 middle schools from six school dist...
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring of T9-T10 fracture in a patient with morbid obesity and ankylosing spondylitis: A case report with literature review.

Abstract Introduction As the prevalence of obesity continues to rise, there is a growing need to identify practices that protect overweight patients from injury during spine surgery. Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) has been recommended for complex spine surgery, but its use in obese and morbidly obese patients is understudied. Case report This case report describes a patient with morbid obesity and ankylosing spondylitis who was treated for a T9-T10 3-column fracture with a planned, minimally invasive approach. Forty minutes after positioning the patient to prone, the IONM team identified a positive change in the patient’s motor responses in the bilateral lower extremities and alerted the surgical team in a timely manner. It turned out that the pressure exerted by gravity on the patient’s large pannus resulted in further dislocation of the fracture and narrowing of the spinal canal. The surgical team acknowledged the serious risk of spinal cord compression and, hence, immediately changed the surgical plan to an urgent, open approach for decompression and reduction of the fracture. The patient’s lower extremities’ motor responses improved after decompression. The patient was ambulatory on post-operative day 2 and pain-free at six-weeks with no other neurologic symptoms. Significance The use of IONM in this planned minimally invasive spine surgery for a patient with morbid obesity prevented potentially serious iatrogenic injury. The authors include a literature review that situates this case study in the existing literature and highlights a gap in current knowledge. There are few studies that have examined the use of IONM during spine surgery for morbidly obese patients. More research is needed to elucidate best practices for the use of IONM in spine surgery for morbidly obese patients.
Grizzly and BlackBear: Structural Component Aging Simulation Codes

The operating environment of nuclear reactors imposes extreme challenges on the materials from which the structures within and surrounding the reactor are constructed. Understanding the effects of ...
Strategic Protectionism? National Security and Foreign Investment in the Russian Federation

Russia recently joined the growing list of nations that formally control foreign investment in 'strategic' industries. The new law regulating foreign investment generated mixed reviews, ranging from harsh criticism in the media to restrained optimism from investors. In this note, I will argue that the new strategic industries law, though not perfect, is less restrictive than critics claim and helps establish the 'rules of the game' for foreign investors in sensitive industries. Most importantly, the law is generally consistent with standards promoted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and will likely help promote foreign investment in Russia.
Clinical features and outcomes of JAK2 V617F-positive polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia according to the JAK2 V617F allele burden

Background JAK2 mutation status is a well-known risk factor for thrombosis in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. However, the clinical usefulness of JAK2 allele burden is under investigation. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the impact of the JAK2 V617F allele burden on clinical characteristics and outcomes of JAK2 V617F-positive polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET). The JAK2 V617F allele burden was measured using sequencing. Results Altogether, 127 patients with JAK2 V617F mutation (PV, N=61; ET, N=66) were included in this study. JAK2 V617F allele burdens were positively correlated with white blood cell counts, hemoglobin values, lactate dehydrogenase levels, and platelet counts. The median values of JAK2 V617F allele burden in patients with PV and ET were 58% and 30%, respectively. A JAK2 V617F allele burden of ≥30%, older age, and a higher hemoglobin level were risk factors for thrombotic events in ET. In patients with PV, older age was the only thrombotic risk factor. The 8-year probabilities of overall survival (OS) were 82.9% in all patients. A high JAK2 V617F allele burden (≥58%) was associated with poor OS in patients with PV. For the patients with ET, the difference in 8- year OS based on the JAK2 V617F allele burden was not significant. Conclusion The JAK2 V617F allele burden was correlated with hematologic parameters and clinical outcomes. Assessing the JAK2 V617F allele burden can be helpful in predicting the thrombotic risk and disease course in patients with JAK2 V617F-positive PV and ET.
Beyond Neutrality: Knowing about the good

So far, I have criticized a number of attempts to ground neutralism in the demands of autonomy, and a number of others to ground it in the dangers posed by nonneutral states. But what, finally, of the third main class of arguments, which seek to ground neutralism in the impossibility (or the inordinate difficulty) of knowing the good? In the current chapter, I shall conclude my critique of neutralism by arguing that these arguments also fail. However, because the question of how we can know the good leads naturally to the question of what is good, the chapter also marks the transition to a more positive discussion of the values that governments should promote. Historically and conceptually, the epistemological defense of neutralism is less important than the others. The majority of neutralists either say nothing about whether we can know the good or else say or imply that we sometimes can. Rawls, for example, has written that “it would be fatal to the idea of a political conception to see it as skeptical about, or indifferent to, truth, much less as in conflict with it.” Similarly, Ronald Dworkin has observed that “skepticism seems exactly the wrong answer to make, because if… each person should be free to choose personal ideals for himself, then this is surely because the choice of one life over another is a matter of supreme importance, not because it is of no importance at all.”
The Central Height

When we began studying trigonometry in Chapter 7, we found the calculus of trigonometric functions to be made easier by the introduction of radian measure. The desire for simplicity brought about the adoption of a “natural” unit of measure—the radian.
Associations between Adiposity Measures and Taste Sensitivity Ratings

Body mass index (BMI) is often used to classify taste sensitivity study participants as lean, overweight, or obese. Compared to lean individuals, obese individuals have reduced taste sensitivity in...
Monitoring Banking Sector FragilityA Multivariate Logit Approach

This paper explores how a multivariate logit empirical model of banking crisis probabilities can be used to monitor banking sector fragility. The proposed approach relies on readily available data, and the fragility assessment has a clear interpretation based on in-sample statistics. The model has better in-sample performance than currently available alternatives, and the monitoring system can be tailored to fit the preferences of the decision maker regarding type I and type II errors. The framework can be useful as a preliminary screen to economize on precautionary costs.
Prognostic factors and survival in 1396 patients with uterine leiomyosarcomas: emphasis on impact of lymphadenectomy and oophorectomy.

BACKGROUND The objectives of the current study were to determine the prognostic factors associated with disease-specific survival (DSS) and to analyze the role of lymphadenectomy (LND) and oophorectomy in the management of uterine leiomyosarcomas (LMS). METHODS Data were abstracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (1988–2003). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used for analyses. RESULTS The median age of the 1396 patients was 52 years. There were 951 patients (68.1%) with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I disease, 43 patients (3.1%) with stage II disease, 99 patients (7.1%) with stage III disease, and 303 patients (21.7%) with stage IV disease. Distribution by tumor grade included 87 patients with grade 1 tumors, 208 with grade 2, and 509 patients with grade 3 tumors. The 5-year DSS rates for patients with stage I, II, III, and IV disease were 75.8%, 60.1%, 44.9%, and 28.7%, respectively. Lymph node metastases were identified in 23 of 348 patients (6.6%) who underwent LND. The 5-year DSS rate was 26% in patients who had positive lymph nodes compared with 64.2% in patients who had negative lymph nodes (P < .001). Of 341 patients aged <50 years with stage I or II disease, 240 (70.4%) underwent oophorectomy. There was no difference in 5-year DSS based on oophorectomy. On multivariate analysis, older age at diagnosis, more recent year of diagnosis, African-American race, higher tumor grade, higher stage of disease, and lack of primary surgical treatment all were associated significantly with worse survival. CONCLUSIONS Independent predictors of DSS in patients with uterine LMS included age, race, stage, grade, and primary surgery. Oophorectomy was not found to have an independent impact on survival. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.
On Sustaining Self

There are three approaches, I think, to sustaining the health of running systems: designed perfection, instinctual adaptation, and learning. For small programsand for increasingly large programs over time-designed perfection is a viable approach. Such software has been proved (rigorously) or rationally has come to be believed to be impervious to variations in its environment, which is itself assumed reliable using some mechanism. Software with designed perfection is typically the most efficient, because it does not waste resources on adaptation or learning. Experience has shown there is very little such software, but hopes remain high and research is active and fruitful.
Docile avatars: aesthetics, experience, and sexual interaction in Second Life

Second Life, a participant-created multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), gained sudden media acclaim in 2006. Prior to that, the world was developing many of the characteristics that have come into their own today, such as virtual fashion lines, a thriving virtual economy, scripted interactive furniture, vehicles, and toys. Perhaps not surprisingly, much of the early content was adult in nature, from cyberstrip clubs to kinky lingerie, sex animations, and interactive virtual genitalia. More surprising was the visibility and prevalence of the BDSM (bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism) subculture. In this paper, we report results from a two-year study of the BDSM subculture in Second Life, combining virtual ethnography and artifact analysis with recent HCI theories of experience design to understand how and why this complex phenomenon emerged from Second Life users. We contend that the participant-created world enables the construction of powerful aesthetic experiences, and that these experiences are made possible by the interweaving of visual, literary, and interaction aesthetics.
GINA, the ADA, and Genetic Discrimination in Employment

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) was signed into law on May 21, 2008, after a 13-year struggle in Congress. GINA prohibits genetic discrimination in employment and health insurance, thereby supplementing existing federal protections against genetic discrimination in employersponsored group health plans contained in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and state laws prohibiting genetic discrimination in employment and individual health insurance.
Myths and Mechanics of Deterrence: The Role of Lawsuits in Law Enforcement Decisionmaking

Judicial and scholarly descriptions of the deterrent power of civil rights damages actions rely heavily on the assumption that government officials have enough information about lawsuits alleging misconduct by their officers that they can weigh the costs and benefits of maintaining the status quo. Yet, few question whether or how governments gather and analyze information about suits brought against them. Drawing on extensive documentary evidence and over two dozen interviews, this Article finds that officials rarely have probative information about suits alleging misconduct by their officers. Some departments systematically ignore information from suits. Technological kinks, employee error, and blatant efforts to sabotage combine to undermine other departments’ limited efforts to gather information. It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that civil rights damages actions cannot deter government misconduct. Those law enforcement agencies with systems to gather and analyze probative data have strengthened the deterrent effect of lawsuits. Just as informational regulation has been used to improve corporate, medical, and financial behavior, more robust and effective information policies and practices can increase the impact of lawsuits on law enforcement behavior. In the meantime, however, descriptions of deterrence – and the normative implications that follow – must be recalibrated to reflect the current relationship between litigation, information, and decision-making.
Gas-bubble enhanced heating in rabbit thigh in vivo

In this study, we propose a focused ultrasound surgery protocol that induces and then uses gas bubbles at the focus to enhance the ultrasound absorption and ultimately create larger lesions in vivo. MRI and ultrasound visualization and monitoring methods for this heating method are also investigated. Larger lesions created with a carefully monitored single ultrasound exposure could greatly improve the speed of tumor coagulation with focused ultrasound. All experiments were performed under MRI (clinical, 1.5T) guidance with one of two eight-sector spherically curved piezoelectric transducers (1.1 and 1.7 MHz). An ultrasound detector ring was fixed with the therapy transducer to monitor gas bubble activity during treatment. FUS exposures were delivered to the thighs of seven New Zealand white rabbits. The experimental, gas bubble-enhanced heating exposures consisted of a high amplitude 300 acoustic watt, half second pulse followed by a 7 W, 14 W, or 21 W continuous wave exposure for 19.5 seconds. The respective control sonications were 20-second exposures of 14 W, 21 W, and 28 W. During the exposures, MR thermometry was obtained, and MR T2-enhanced imaging was used to evaluate the resulting lesions. Specific metrics were used to evaluate the differences between the gas-bubble enhanced exposures and their respective control sonications: temperatures with respect to time and space, lesion size and shape, and their agreement with thermal dose predictions. The bubble-enhanced exposures showed a faster temperature rise and higher overall temperatures than the sonications without bubble formation. The MRI derived spatial temperature and thermal dose maps closely correlated with the resulting lesion as examined by T2-wieghted imaging. The lesions created with the gas-bubble enhanced heating exposures were 3 times larger by volume, were consistently more spherical in shape, and closer to the transducer than the control exposures. The study demonstrates that gas bubbles can reliably be used to create significantly larger lesions in vivo.
Abstract 17694: Does High Intensity Endurance Training Increase the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation? A Longitudinal Study of Left Atrial Structure and Function

Background: Long-term endurance athletes have increased left atrial (LA) volumes and prolonged p-wave durations on signal-averaged electrocardiography (P-SAECG) which have been posited to confer an increased risk for lone atrial fibrillation. However longitudinal studies of atrial structure and function before and after an intense exercise training program are rare. Methods: 61 healthy sedentary middle-aged adults (52 ± 5 yr) were randomized to either high intensity exercise training (2-3 sessions of moderate intensity exercise + 2 high intensity interval sessions/ week) or to yoga. At baseline and 10-months, subjects underwent Doppler echocardiography, P-SAECG and maximal exercise testing. Data was analyzed for 27 participants that completed testing at 10-months (exercise n = 15, yoga n = 12). LA volume, E/A ratios and LA contractile contribution (A) to total diastolic filling (E + A+ DT) were assessed. P-SAECG was used to obtain filtered p-wave duration as a measure of LA electrical function. 10-month post-exercise data was compared with similar data from 3 accomplished triathletes (age 54 ± 5 yr; average training duration 18 ± 9 yr). Results: 10 months of exercise increased V•O2max by 21% (28.6 ± 6.0 to 33.8 ± 4.5 mL/kg/min; P = 0.02). It did not change LA volume or filtered p-wave duration but LA contractile contribution to diastolic filling significantly decreased with exercise (41 ± 6% to 37 ± 5%) vs yoga (40 ± 6% to 43 ± 6 %; P Conclusion: 10 months of high intensity exercise training does not change LA structure and function but it is enough to significantly improve cardiopulmonary fitness and to begin LV and perhaps LA remodeling. We speculate that it may take a longer duration or a more intensive “dose” of training to see changes in the LA that can increase the risk for exercise related atrial fibrillation.
The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being

From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness. The result is a groundbreaking approach to not simply mental health, but life in general, which shows readers how personal awareness and attunement can actually stimulate emotional circuits in the brain, leading to a host of physiological benefits, including greater well-being, resilience, emotional balance, and improved cardiac and immune function. For clinicians and laypeople alike, Siegel's illuminating discussions of the power of the focused mind provide a wealth of ideas that can transform our lives and deepen our connections with others, and with ourselves.
Robots Beyond the Factory

Field robots are mobile, perceptive, forceful robots for duty in unpredictable environments such as unstructured work sites and natural terrain. This paper lays out research issues for this class of robot. Programmed, teleoperated, and cognitive robots are defined and their relevance to field tasks is explored. Several representative application areas for field robots are discussed, including excavation, surface mining, demolition, and planetary exploration. Concluding remarks address future directions for this fledgling discipline.