cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rating Methodological Quality: Toward Improved Assessment and Investigation

Assessing methodological quality is considered essential in deciding what investigations to include in research syntheses and in detecting potential sources of bias in meta-analytic results. Quality assessment is also useful in characterizing the strengths and limitations of the research in an area of study. Although numerous instruments to measure research quality have been developed, they have lacked empirically-supported components. In addition, different summary quality scales have yielded different findings when they were used to weight treatment effect estimates for the same body of research. Suggestions for developing improved quality instruments include: distinguishing distinct domains of quality, such as internal validity, external validity, the completeness of the study report, and adherence to ethical practices; focusing on individual aspects, rather than domains of quality; and focusing on empirically-verified criteria. Other ways to facilitate the constructive use of quality assessment are to improve and standardize the reporting of research investigations, so that the quality of studies can be more equitably and thoroughly compared, and to identify optimal methods for incorporating study quality ratings into meta-analyses.
A multiple context reconfigurable functional unit

A design for a reconfigurable functional unit, based on dynamically programmable gate arrays, is proposed. The design provides multiple concurrent configuration contexts for the purpose of supporting multiple execution streams. A discussion of the impact of the reconfigurable functional unit on each processor pipeline stage is presented. The proposed design is simulated and the system performance is compared to other designs.
Qué es una competencia

El concepto de competencia desempena un papel importante dentro de la investigacion sociologica, desde estudios en torno al proceso laboral a debates sobre trabajo equitativo. Este articulo aporta un analisis teorico sobre las ambiguedades y dificultades presentes en las concepciones sociologicas actuales de competencia, contrastando cuatro enfoques diferentes de competencia: positivista, etnometodologica, weberiana y marxista. Se podria decir que algunos de los conflictos de la sociologia industrial provienen del hecho de que tradiciones opuestas estan empleando nociones de competencia muy distintas o de que ignoran sus propias preconcepciones respecto a la competencia. El articulo expone las implicaciones de esta nocion en la investigacion empirica. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The concept of skill plays an important role in sociological research, from studies of the labor process to debates over equal worth. This article provides a theoretical analysis of the ambiguities and difficulties involved in current sociological conceptions of skill, contrasting four distinct approaches to skill: positivist, ethnomethodological, Weberian and Marxist. Some of the impasses in industrial sociology arguably stem from the fact that opposed traditions are using very different notions of skill or are blind to their own preconceptions regarding skill. The article draws out the implications of this for empirical research.
Additional Pell Identities

In the preceding chapter, we studied some fundamental identities of the Pell family. We now present some additional ones. Again, for the sake of brevity, we will prove only some of them, but will add some comments on others when needed. We will revisit some of these results in Chapter 11, when we study generating functions for the Pell family.
Ocular dominance peaks at pinwheel center singularities of the orientation map in cat visual cortex.

Crair, Michael C., Edward S. Ruthazer, Deda C. Gillespie, and Michael P. Stryker. Ocular dominance peaks at pinwheel center singularities of the orientation map in cat visual cortex. J. Neurophysio...
Steady supercritical Taylor vortex flow

Experiments studying steady supercritical Taylor vortex flow have been made using pairs of long cylinders with two different radius ratios, three fluids of different viscosities and three different end boundaries for the fluid column. The emphasis in these experiments is on the determination of the wavelength of the Taylor vortices and the size of the end rings. The wavelength which one measures in a finite cylinder differs from the wavelengths found theoretically for infinitely long cylinders. Provided that the end effects were properly taken into account, the wavelength of singly periodic Taylor vortices in aninfinitely long cylinder was found to remain constant between T/Tc = 1 and T/Tc, ≈ 80 in experiments with radius ratios η = 0·505 and η = 0·727. Further studies of Taylor vortex flow at very high Taylor numbers, where the vortices are either doubly periodic or truly turbulent, showed that the wavelength increases under these conditions. However, the observed wavelengths were no longer unique but distributed statistically around a wavelength larger than the critical wavelength.
Effects of atmospheric conditions on wind profiles and aeolian sand transport with an example from white sands national monument

Quantifying aeolian sand transport rates relies upon the computation of the near-surface shear velocity (u*) determined from velocity profiles of the wind. While it has been recognized that various conditions, such as saltation, surface roughness, surface slope and atmospheric conditions, have an effect on the velocity profile, it is commonly assumed that measurements made above the surface will be representative of the near-surface shear velocity. Airflow and temperature data collected over a flat substrate at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, however, show the significant effects that atmospheric conditions have on velocity profiles. During the day, when solar insolation is heating the surface, atmospheric conditions in the lowest several metres become unstable, resulting in enhanced convection and vertical mixing so that the velocity gradient changes little with height. As a result, the shear stress in this region of vertical mixing lessens, while the near-surface shear stress is increased because the higher wind speeds are now nearer the surface. At night, the near-surface atmospheric conditions are stable, thereby reducing convection and vertical mixing, resulting in stratified airflow and increased shear velocity away from the surface. Unless this atmospheric effect is accounted for, estimates of sediment transport rates may be in error by as much as a factor of 15 times when wind speeds are near threshold velocity. At wind speeds approaching 10 ms1, at 5m above the surface, this error in computing sediment transport is reduced to a factor of only two to three times, and may be within the range of measurement error.
Phospho-Site-Specific Antibody Microarray to Study the State of Protein Phosphorylation in the Retina.

Neurodegeneration is an important component of diabetic retinopathy as demonstrated by increased neural apoptosis in the retina during experimental and human diabetes. Accumulation of sorbitol and fructose and the generation or enhancement of oxidative stress has been reported in the whole retina of diabetic animals. Aldose reductase (AR), the first and the rate limiting enzyme in the pathway reduces glucose to sorbitol and the diabetic complications are prevented by drugs that inhibit AR. In this study we examined the phosphorylation state of various retinal proteins in response to sorbitol-treatment by phospho-site-specific antibody microarray. Our results suggest that various retinal protein kinases and cytoskeletal proteins either activated or down regulated in response to sorbitol treatment. Further, our study also indicates the activation of retinal insulin and insulin growth factor 1 receptor and their downstream signaling proteins such as phosphoinositide 3-kinanse and protein kinase B (Akt). Understanding the regulation of retinal proteins involved in polyol (sorbitol) pathway would help to design therapeutic agents for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
Coupling of functional hydrogen bonds in pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-enzyme model systems observed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

We present a novel series of hydrogen-bonded, polycrystalline 1:1 complexes of Schiff base models of the cofactor pyridoxal-5‘-phosphate (PLP) with carboxylic acids that mimic the cofactor in a variety of enzyme active sites. These systems contain an intramolecular OHN hydrogen bond characterized by a fast proton tautomerism as well as a strong intermolecular OHN hydrogen bond between the pyridine ring of the cofactor and the carboxylic acid. In particular, the aldenamine and aldimine Schiff bases N-(pyridoxylidene)tolylamine and N-(pyridoxylidene)methylamine, as well as their adducts, were synthesized and studied using 15N CP and 1H NMR techniques under static and/or MAS conditions. The geometries of the hydrogen bonds were obtained from X-ray structures, 1H and 15N chemical shift correlations, secondary H/D isotope effects on the 15N chemical shifts, or directly by measuring the dipolar 2H−15N couplings of static samples of the deuterated compounds. An interesting coupling of the two “functional” OHN hy...
Administration of D-Alanine-[Ang-(1-7)] (A-779) Prior to Pregnancy in Sprague Dawley Rats Produces Antidiuresis in Late Gestation.

Abstract We previously demonstrated that angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)], which is increased in the kidney and urine during pregnancy, influences normal fluid expansion of pregnancy. These previous studies were completed by chronic administration of the Ang-(1-7) receptor antagonist D-Alanine-[Ang-(1-7)] (A-779) at a dose of 48 μg/kg/hour after the start of pregnancy (gestational days 11 to 19). To further explore the role of Ang-(1-7) on kidney function during early, middle, and late pregnancy, Sprague Dawley rats were chronically pretreated 8 days prior to pregnancy and throughout pregnancy (gestational days 0 to 19) with vehicle or A-779 at a dose of 24 μg/kg/hour. Metabolic studies were completed in virgin animals and throughout pregnancy (gestational days 4 to 5, 14 to 15, and 18 to 19). Chow consumption and water intake increased throughout pregnancy while the difference between intake and output (balance) was increased only at late (day 19) pregnancy with both vehicle and A-779 administration. Urine volume and urinary osmolality were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, throughout pregnancy in vehicle-treated rats only. In late (19 days) pregnancy, A-779 administration significantly decreased chow consumption and water intake. In virgin animals, A-779 administration significantly increased urine volume, while during late pregnancy (19 days), urine volume was significantly decreased with A-779 administration. These studies using pretreatment with a lower dose of A-779 prior to pregnancy confirm results of higher dose A-779 administration after the start of pregnancy. These studies show that Ang-(1-7) produces antidiuresis in virgin rats and diuresis in late gestation. Ang-(1-7) also contributes to the enhanced water intake during pregnancy allowing maintenance of the normal volume expanded state despite diuresis.
Understanding stress gradients in microelectronic metallization

The manufacture of ultra-large scale integration technology requires many thermal cycles that can impose significant strain within the constituent metallization due to the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between metallization and its surrounding environment. The resulting stress distributions can be large enough to induce voiding within Cu-based metallization, a key reliability issue that must be addressed. In particular, the interface between the Cu and overlying capping layers is a critical location associated with void formation. By combining conventional and glancing-incidence X-ray diffraction measurements, we can investigate depth-dependent stress distributions that develop in Cu films and patterned features. In-situ annealing and as-deposited measurements reveal that strain gradients are created in capped Cu structures, where an increased in-plane tensile stress is generated near the Cu / cap interface. The interplay between plasticity in the Cu and the constraint imposed by capping layers dictates the extent of the observed gradients. For example, Cu films possessing caps deposited in a temperature regime where the Cu experienced only elastic deformation did not exhibit depth-dependent stress distributions. However, all capped Cu samples exposed to temperatures high enough to induce plastic behavior developed greater tensile stress at the Cu / cap interface than in the bulk of the Cu film after cooling, representing a clear concern to the mitigation of metallization voiding.
Current Strategies for Endometriosis Management

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder that persists throughout the reproductive years. Although endometriosis is a surgical diagnosis, medical management with ovarian suppression remains the mainstay of long-term management with superimposed surgical intervention when needed. The goal of surgery should be excision or ablation of all visible disease to minimize risk of recurrence and need for repeat surgeries. When infertility is the presenting symptom, surgical therapy in addition to assisted reproductive technology can improve chances of conception; however, the treatment approach depends on stage of disease and other patient characteristics that affect fecundity.
A comparison of micro-mechanical modeling of asphalt materials using finite elements and doublet mechanics

A comparative study is given between two micro-mechanical models that have been developed to simulate the behavior of cemented particulate materials. The first model is a discrete analytical approach called doublet mechanics that represents a solid as an array of particles. This scheme develops analytical expressions for the micro-deformation and stress fields between particle pairs (a doublet). The second approach is a numerical finite element method that establishes a network of elements between neighboring cemented particles. Each element has been developed to model the local load transfer between particles. While the two modeling schemes come from very different beginnings, they have a fundamental similarity. However, they also have some basic differences. In order to pursue these similarities and differences, three example problems are investigated using each modeling approach. Even with the differences, the two model predictions of the micro-stress distributions for each example compared quite closely. These results also indicated significant micro-structural effects that differ from continuum elasticity theory and could lead to better explanations of observed failures of these types of materials.
Determining battery parameters by simple algebraic method

This paper derives simple and explicit formulas for computing the parameters of the Thevenin's equivalent circuit model for a discharging battery. The general Thevenin's equivalent circuit model has n pairs of parallel resistors and capacitors. The main idea behind the new method is to transform the problem of solving a system of high order polynomial equations into one of solving several linear equations and a single variable nth order polynomial equation, via some change of variables. Experimental and computational results are obtained for 3 types of batteries.
Confinement and Manipulation of Actin Filaments by Electric Fields

When an AC electric field was applied across a small gap between two metal electrodes elevated above a surface, rhodamine-phalloidin-labeled actin filaments were attracted to the gap and became suspended between the two electrodes. The variance of each filament's horizontal, lateral displacement was measured as a function of electric field intensity and position along the filament. markedly decreased as the electric field intensity increased. Hypothesizing that the electric field induces tension in the filament, we estimated the tension using a linear, Brownian dynamic model. Our experimental method provides a novel means for trapping and manipulating biological filaments and for probing the surface conductance and mechanical properties of single polymers.
Democracy and Education Spending: Has Africa's Move to Multiparty Elections Made a Difference for Policy?.

While it is generally recognized that electoral competition can have a major influence on public spending decisions, there has been little effort to consider whether the move to multiparty elections in African countries in recent years has led to a redistribution of public expenditures between social groups. In this paper I develop a hypothesis, illustrated with a simple game-theoretic model, which suggests that the need to obtain an electoral majority may have prompted African governments to devote greater resources to primary schools. I test this proposition using panel data on electoral competition and education spending in thirty-five African countries over the period 1981-1996. The results show that democratization has indeed been associated with greater spending on primary schools, and these findings are robust to controls for unobserved country effects. They are also supported by evidence from recent country cases. Though the reemergence of multiparty democracy in Africa has not led to a wholesale transformation of economic policies, these findings nonetheless suggest that it may be having a significant impact in individual policy areas.
Dyeing, Printing and Finishing of Fabrics Containing Lycra Elastomeric Fibre

The physical and chemical properties of Lycra (DuP) elastomeric yarn are described. The scouring, bleaching, fluorescent brightening, dyeing, printing and finishing of fabrics containing these yarns are discussed. Particular attention is paid to nylon-Lycra blends.
Regional Variations in Lethal and Nonlethal Assaults

Data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System are used to evaluate aspects of recent “culture of violence” theories. The results call into question the existence of a pervasive White code ...
Variable Responses to Rainfall by Breeding Tungara Frogs

Abstract Though many amphibians breed in response to rainfall, rainfall can create substantial risks as well as benefits. For species that breed in ephemeral ponds and puddles, heavy rainfall can create many “false” ponds that quickly desiccate, particularly in wet years. As a result, nightly responses to rainfall may vary depending on seasonal or yearly rainfall. I used two years of data and previous studies to demonstrate variation in response to rainfall by breeding Tungara Frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. In 1997, an unusually dry year, breeding tungara frogs were far more abundant on wet nights than on dry nights. In 1998, an average year for rainfall, tungara frogs exhibited no significant response to rainfall and even a trend toward greater abundance on dry nights. In addition, female frogs were more sensitive to the effects of rainfall than were males. As a result, mating system parameters were highly dependent on both nightly and yearly rainfall.
The University Next Door: Developing a Centralized Unit That Strategically Cultivates Community Engagement at an Urban University.

Using Kotter’s model of change as a framework, this case study will describe the structure and efforts of a centralized unit within an urban, research university to deepen and extend the institutionalization of community engagement. The change model will be described along with details about the implemented strategies and practices that fall within each of the eight steps. The paper concludes with reflections and future efforts.
Bear Raids by Short Sellers

In this paper, we examine bear raids by short sellers, which are defined as consecutive days of abnormal short-selling activity in a particular stock. Interestingly, we find that raids by short sellers occur after periods of positive returns instead of periods of negative returns suggesting that these types of raids do not target poor-performing stocks. Further, we find that raids occur after periods of abnormal volatility and trading activity. If volatility and trading volume approximate investors’ uncertainty (Berkman et al., 2009), then bear raids appear to target stocks that are increasing in price during periods of uncertainty about the stocks’ underlying value. This result is consistent with the theoretical implications in Miller (1977). Our final set of tests show that bear raids by short sellers impressively predict when prices reverse as returns become significantly negative the day after the raid ends.
Impact of Estrogen Therapy on Lymphocyte Homeostasis and the Response to Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in Post-Menopausal Women.

It is widely recognized that changes in levels of ovarian steroids modulate severity of autoimmune disease and immune function in young adult women. These observations suggest that the loss of ovarian steroids associated with menopause could affect the age-related decline in immune function, known as immune senescence. Therefore, in this study, we determined the impact of menopause and estrogen therapy (ET) on lymphocyte subset frequency as well as the immune response to seasonal influenza vaccine in three different groups: 1) young adult women (regular menstrual cycles, not on hormonal contraception); 2) post-menopausal (at least 2 years) women who are not receiving any form of hormone therapy (HT) and 3) post-menopausal hysterectomized women receiving ET. Although the numbers of circulating CD4 and CD20 B cells were reduced in the post-menopausal group receiving ET, we also detected a better preservation of naive B cells, decreased CD4 T cell inflammatory cytokine production, and slightly lower circulating levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6. Following vaccination, young adult women generated more robust antibody and T cell responses than both post-menopausal groups. Despite similar vaccine responses between the two post-menopausal groups, we observed a direct correlation between plasma 17β estradiol (E2) levels and fold increase in IgG titers within the ET group. These findings suggest that ET affects immune homeostasis and that higher plasma E2 levels may enhance humoral responses in post-menopausal women.
Concordance on zebra stripes is not black and white: response to comment by Caro & Stankowich (2015).

We agree that the results of Larison et al . [1] and Caro et al . [2] are largely congruent—however, we remain divided on their interpretation. Both papers assessed a number of variables for an association with striping. Larison et al . [1] found temperature, specifically isothermality and the coldest temperature of the coldest quarter, to be the primary predictor of the degree of striping in plains zebra, with other climate and habitat variables playing very minor roles. Caro et al . [2] purport to have found a strong correlation between tabanid abundance and the degree of striping across equids. Caro and Stankowich would like readers to believe that both sets of data strongly support the notion that the evolution of striping has been driven by tabanid flies. However, we believe both sets …
Green Governance: Building the Competencies Necessary for Effective Environmental Management

In this Article, LeRoy C. Paddock examines the issue of green governance by looking at several of the changes that are driving the need for new approaches, the long series of studies calling for reform in environmental governance, and four case examples involving impaired waters, urban ozone and particulate pollution, brownfields rehabilitation, and nanotechnology. He concludes with suggestions about how to more effectively integrate economics-based and values-based tools into the way government approaches environmental problem solving.
Finite Element Modeling and Analysis

This chapter summarizes the basic principles of Finite Element Modeling and Analysis. In more detail, it covers truss principle, mesh generation, governing equation development, and stiffness method for meshed solid analysis.
Expression of the bovine leukemia virus and its internal antigen in blood lymphocytes.

SummaryThe present study shows that the detection of the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in naturally infected cattle or experimentally infected sheep requires the in vitro cultivation of the peripheral blood lymphocytes. This indicates that the infected animals possess a “factor” that inhibits replication of the BLV or expression if its genome. Addition of phytohemagglutinin to the lymphocyte cultures increases the expression of the virus in most, but not all, cases.This work was supported in part by USPHS Grant 1-Pol-CA-14193-03, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Grant ME 4, and USDA Cooperative Agreement 12-14-100-10, 675(45). We also thank Mrs. Betty Thompson for her excellent secretarial help.
Gelling agent AM/DMDAAC in acid synthesis and characterization

A type of gelling agent of acid AM/DMDAAC have been synthesized in aqueous solution by a kind of monomer acrylamide (AM) and dimethy-diallyl-ammonium chloride (DMDAAC). The effect of synthesizing condition on molecule parameter was studied, and the performance of copolymer as gelling acid is evaluated in the lab.
Sustained activation of mTORC1 in macrophages increases AMPKα-dependent autophagy to maintain cellular homeostasis

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a well-conserved serine/threonine protein kinase that controls autophagy as well as many other processes such as protein synthesis, cell growth, and metabolism. The activity of mTORC1 is stringently and negatively controlled by the tuberous sclerosis proteins 1 and 2 complex (TSC1/2). In contrast to the previous studies using Tsc1 knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) cells, we demonstrated evidence that TSC1 deficient macrophages exhibited enhanced basal and mycobacterial infection-induced autophagy via AMPKα-dependent phosphorylation of ULK1 (Ser555). These effects were concomitant with constitutive activation of mTORC1 and can be reversed by addition of amino acids or rapamycin, and by the knockdown of the regulatory-associated protein of mTOR, Raptor. In addition, increased autophagy in TSC1 deficient macrophages resulted in suppression of inflammation during mycobacterial infection, which was reversed upon amino acid treatment of the TSC1 deficient macrophages. We further demonstrated that TSC1 conditional knockout mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, resulted in less bacterial burden and a comparable level of inflammation when compared to wild type mice. Our data revealed that sustained activation of mTORC1 due to defects in TSC1 promotes AMPKα-dependent autophagic flux to maintain cellular homeostasis.
Resignifying the Japanese father: Mediatization, commodification, and dialect

Abstract A new style of Japanese masculinity targeting the new middle class, specifically stereotypical salarymen, is highlighted in the 2013 Cannes Jury Prize Award winning movie, Soshite Chichi ni Naru ( Like Father, Like Son ). Belabored by the ongoing economic slump and ever-decreasing birthrates, masculinity is (re)presented both visually and audibly as a hands-on caregiving father who speaks a regional dialect. Through mediatization and language commodification, Osaka dialect is resignified and linked to an affective, hands-on fatherhood. The juxtapositioning of Standard language and dialect serves to underscore a distinction between a cold, distant father and a warm, affective one. The film provides valuable insight into the emergence of a new ideal of fatherhood that is indexed through language.
Unpacking Agrarian and Agri-business Contracts

Abstract. Analysis of contracts and contractual relations are among the most topical issues in modern management theories and practices. This paper incorporates the interdisciplinary New Institutional and Transaction Costs Economics (combining Economics, Organization, Law, Sociology, Behavioral and Political Sciences) and suggests a holistic framework for analysis of contracts in farming and agri-business sector. First, it specifies type and importance of different mechanisms of governance of agrarian and agri-business activity. Second, it defines the essence, and classifies types and features of agrarian and agri-business contracts. Next, it identifies technological, institutional, behavioral, dimensional, and transaction costs factors for contractual choice, and specifies effective modes for contractual arrangements in agriculture and agri-business. Finally, it determines the effective boundaries and sustainability of farming and agri-business organizations. Keywords. Contract management, Type of agrarian contracts, Factor and efficiency of contractual choice, Economic boundaries and sustainability of farm. JEL. Q10, Q56, R33.
Broadening our view of audience awareness: Writing for posthuman audiences

Posthuman theory encourages scholars and practitioners to look at human and non-human actors with equal weight, acknowledging that as humans and technology have become less distinguishable from each other, the boundaries between bodies, objects, and contexts blur. Though usability has long been dominated by human centered needs, non-human agents interact with digital content as well. This paper includes strategies to strengthen our pedagogy around non-human centric writing in a way that both assists technology in its job and strengthens the applicability of content for the human users that interact with it. It encourages teaching students to write with a multimodal perspective that accommodates alternate forms of reading, machine translation, and search engines.
Shifting Terrain: Styles of Liberalism, Periodization, and Levels of Analysis

The appraisal of background conditions is an important but often neglected element of political interpretation. Influential interpretations of American politics, such as Louis Hartz's The Liberal Tradition in America, dismiss the importance of changing political contexts. Set in terms of the debate over “American exceptionalism,” this article explores changes in political mood in the United States during the twentieth century. Hartz is not wrong to assert the persistence of a uniform underlying political culture in the United States, nor the lasting impact of Lockeanism in establishing boundaries to possibility—for the left and the right. But a finer-grained appraisal of the interaction between political-cultural ethos and activism is possible. As David Greenstone rightly argued, contestation still occurs within a predominantly liberal society. This article contends that the character of this contestation is determined by the nature of political periods produced by interpretations of the underlying Lockean bedrock by political actors. It makes explicit that Hartz and Greenstone were operating at different levels of analysis—Hartz established the persistence of dedication to Lockean liberal tenets in the deep structure of American politics, while Greenstone's interpretation established a meso-level of analysis, above this deep structure. The present article adds temporal periodization to this meso-level. Political actors make history upon a stage received from the past—in the United States, the Lockean bedrock—but they inflect this stage with crucial interpretations that set or stretch the limits of political expression in a new period. It discerns four varieties of liberalism—economic liberalism, social state liberalism, social movement liberalism and cold war liberalism—that have interpreted the deep structure differently since the 1920s. It also suggests that sensitivity to historical changes in political mood does not necessitate repudiation of Hartz's thesis of Lockean liberal predominance in the United States.
Awareness and Perceptions of Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors, Preventability, and Complications Among College Students in Visakhapatnam, India:

In India, often referred to as the "diabetes capital of the world," it is imperative to establish the level of knowledge among Asian Indians of Type 2 Diabetes (DM2) in order to plan effective public health programs aimed at prevention of DM2. Using an original survey of 983 college students in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, we evaluated individuals' knowledge of DM2 including prevalence, risk factors, and prevention. To date, there are only a few studies that look at awareness of diabetes on the community level, and no previous studies have involved sampling college students. Our findings show that although awareness of diabetes is high, only half of the students sampled were aware that DM2 could be prevented and 60% were unaware that little or no exercise was a risk factor. The results suggest that diabetes awareness programs are needed among the college age population in India to prevent DM2.
On generalizing driver gaze zone estimation using convolutional neural networks

The knowledge of driver distraction will be important for self driving cars in the near future to determine the handoff time to the driver. Driver's gaze direction has been previously shown as an important cue in understanding distraction. While there has been a significant improvement in personalized driver gaze zone estimation systems, a generalized gaze zone estimation system which is invariant to different subjects, perspective and scale is still lagging behind. We take a step towards the generalized system using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). For evaluating our system, we collect large naturalistic driving data of 11 drives, driven by 10 subjects in two different cars and label gaze zones for 47515 frames. We train our CNN on 7 subjects and test on the other 3 subjects. Our best performing model achieves an accuracy of 93.36% showing good generalization capability.
Deletion of Nampt in Projection Neurons of Adult Mice Leads to Motor Dysfunction, Neurodegeneration, and Death

Intracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (iNAMPT) is the rate-limiting enzyme of the mammalian NAD+ biosynthesis salvage pathway. Using inducible and conditional knockout (cKO) mice, we show that Nampt gene deletion in adult projection neurons leads to a progressive loss of body weight, hypothermia, motor neuron (MN) degeneration, motor function deficits, paralysis, and death. Nampt deletion causes mitochondrial dysfunction, muscle fiber type conversion, and atrophy, as well as defective synaptic function at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). When treated with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), Nampt cKO mice exhibit reduced motor function deficits and prolonged lifespan. iNAMPT protein levels are significantly reduced in the spinal cord of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, indicating the involvement of NAMPT in ALS pathology. Our findings reveal that neuronal NAMPT plays an essential role in mitochondrial bioenergetics, motor function, and survival. Our study suggests that the NAMPT-mediated NAD+ biosynthesis pathway is a potential therapeutic target for degenerative MN diseases.
The Internet and the Citrus Industry

The Internet is a worldwide connection of thousands of computer networks. All of them speak the same language, TCP/IP, the standard protocol. The Internet allows people with access to these networks to share information and knowledge. Resources available on the Internet are chat groups, e-mail, newsgroups, file transfers, and the World Wide Web. The Internet has no centralized authority and it is uncensored. The Internet belongs to everyone and to no one.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
Cardiovascular Side Effects of Breast Cancer Therapy

Each year, the world sees more than 1.6 million new breast cancer cases. While breast cancer therapy has greatly improved and is leading to increased cancer cure rates, side effects of breast cancer therapy are also common. This chapter serves as an introduction to cardiovascular sequelae of breast cancer treatment with anthracyclines, hormonal therapy, radiation therapy, and targeted anti-cancer therapies. While there is some knowledge of mechanisms by which cardiovascular side effects may occur, and a few potential intervention strategies have been identified, much is still unknown. This chapter provides a brief discussion of pre-clinical and clinical research into biological mechanisms and strategies for early detection and intervention. There are recent efforts to provide a more extensive cardiovascular follow-up of cancer patients in integrated cardio-oncology clinical teams. Improved methods of early detection and disease management will aid in these collaborative efforts to make breast cancer therapy more effective and safer.
Multiaxial Fatigue Damage Assessment

This paper presents method for multiaxial fatigue damage assessment which is based on the concept of a critical plane for crack nucleation and growth. In this method, both tensile and shear growth are considered to be important. Cyclic hardening cause by out-of-phase loading is included in the constitutive equations for the stress strain simulation. Rainflow counting is used to determine damaging events on each plane in the material. Failure is assumed to occur when the damage on any plane reaches a critical value.
DRAT-trim: Efficient Checking and Trimming Using Expressive Clausal Proofs

The DRAT-trim tool is a satisfiability proof checker based on the new DRAT proof format. Unlike its predecessor, DRUP-trim, all presently known SAT solving and preprocessing techniques can be validated using DRAT-trim. Checking time of a proof is comparable to the running time of the proof-producing solver. Memory usage is also similar to solving memory consumption, which overcomes a major hurdle of resolution-based proof checkers. The DRAT-trim tool can emit trimmed formulas, optimized proofs, and new TraceCheck + dependency graphs. We describe the output that is produced, what optimizations have been made to check RAT clauses, and potential applications of the tool.
OPTIMAL CONTROL OF A DIFFUSION PROCESS WITH REFLECTING BOUNDARIES AND BOTH CONTINUOUS AND LUMP COSTS

We study a controlled one dimensional diffusion process on a compact interval of the real line. Both boundaries are reflecting. In addition to the continuous movement costs depending on the state and action, we also allow lump costs incurred as a result of change in action. The controls are piecewise constant, with changes in action allowed only at countably many stopping times. For the discounted costs we study the properties of the cost function associated with a stationary policy. We also study the functional relations satisfied by the optimal cost function and use these relations to establish the existence of a stationary policy.
Stirrings at the Periphery: History, Archaeology, and the Study of Dian

Early Chinese texts speak of the Han state conquering the kingdom of “Dian” in southwest China in 109 B.C. The limited historical record is complemented by archaeolgical discoveries pointing to the presence in Yunnan province of a complex Bronze Age society whose association with the historical Dian has been generally accepted. Historiographic and “nonprocessual” in nature, archaeology in Yunnan has yet to generate the data needed for a deeper understanding of Dian social structure and change. Whatever its shortcomings, however, Dian archaeology plays a consistent and important role within a system of thought which gives preeminence to the historical record.
Odontogenic choristoma presenting as dermolipoma.

ABSTRACTA 5-year-old otherwise healthy girl presented to the oculoplastic service with a painless superotemporal subconjunctival mass in the left eye. Visual acuity was within normal limits, and th...
EXPERIENCES OF END-OF-LIFE CARE BY NON-WESTERN PATIENTS: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS.

Introduction The use of end-of-life services, including palliative care and hospice, is increasing worldwide. However, ethnic minority groups utilize end-of-life services at a lower rate than majority groups despite having greater morbidity and mortality associated with both malignant and non-malignant terminal conditions. Additionally, the quality of patient experience has been demonstrated to be lower among ethnic minority groups. While the field of palliative care has recognized the importance of a cross-cultural approach, the specifics regarding how this could be implemented are ill-defined. One major barrier is that no one provider can be familiar with the many cultural groups that they may encounter in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to summarize the evidence on the individual patient and family experiences of end-of-life services among non-Western cultures through a thematic analysis of the published literature. Methods The PubMed database was searched for qualitative studies on patient and family member experiences of end-of-life services among non-Western cultural groups. The outcome – end-of-life services – was defined as palliative care, hospice, or management by primary care medicine at the end of life. Results Of 392 abstracts identified in the initial search, the full-texts of 55 relevant articles were reviewed. The final yield amounted to 20 articles that met eligibility criteria. These 20 articles collectively represent the experiences of over 300 patients and family members. Multiple themes were identified. Themes include the role of language (including the use of professional interpreters, end-of-life vocabulary, use of family members for interpretation), the flow of information (use of alternative sources of medical information such as the internet, cultural healers, withholding of information by family members, and desire to know prognostic information), and the role of religion (religious interpretations of causation of illness, facing illness as a test of faith, fear of discussing religious beliefs with Western providers). Conclusions This review demonstrates the accumulating evidence supporting the importance of a cross-cultural approach to end-of-life care. Results indicate the benefits of including interpreters in medical communications, asking about patients’ religious beliefs, and providing medical information in a way that is individualized to the patient and family to improve the ethnic minority experience of Western end-of-life care. This research was funded by This work is supported by the Clinical and Translational Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders NIMH T32 (MH019986, PI: Aizenstein).
Capture of stereopsis and apparent motion by illusory contours

The removal of right-angle sectors from four circular black disks created the impression of a white “subjective” square with its four corners occluding the disks (“illusory contours”). The display in one eye was identical to that in the other except that for one eye a horizontal disparity was introduced between the edges of the cut sectors so that an illusory white square floated out in front of the paper. When a “template” of this stereogram was superimposed on a vertical squarewave grating (6 cycles/deg) the illusory square pulled the corresponding lines of grating forward even though the grating was at zero disparity. (Capture was not observed if the template was superimposed onhorizontal gratings; the grating remained flush with the background). Analogous effects were observed in apparent motion (“motion capture”). Removal of sectors from disks in an appropriately timed sequence generated apparent motion of anillusory square. When a template of this display was superimposed on a grating, the lines appeared to move vividly with the square even though they were physically stationary. It was concluded that segmentation of the visual scene into surfaces and objects can profoundly influence the early visual processing of stereopsis and apparent motion. However, there are interesting differences between stereo capture and motion capture, which probably reflect differences in natural constraints. The implications of these findings for computational models of vision are discussed.
The Time Between Disability Onset and Application for Benefits: How Variation Among Disabled Workers May Inform Early Intervention Policies

This article examines how much time typically passes between disability onset and application for disability-program benefits, by age at onset and diagnosis. Among eventual applicants, certain subgroups might be suitable targets for employment-support interventions. Using Social Security administrative data, the authors find that the median period from onset to application is 7.6 months. Younger applicants tend to have waited longer, particularly those diagnosed with back impairments or arthritis. Among both younger and older applicants, individuals diagnosed with intellectual disability or other mental disorders are potential targets for early intervention programs because those groups wait the longest to apply and are the most likely to continue working in the interim.
Cancer and the Immune System: The History and Background of Immunotherapy.

Abstract Objective This article will outline the link between the immune system and cancer, and provide a historical timeline of immunotherapy developmental milestones. Data Sources Published data and peer reviewed publications/manuscripts, and textbook chapters. Conclusion Science has provided a greater understanding of the interactions between cancer and the human immune system. As this knowledge has grown, there has been significant progress in the development of clinically effective cancer immunotherapies. Implications for Nursing Practice Nurses’ knowledge of the different types of immunity and the interaction of cancer cells with the immune system provides foundational knowledge for understanding cancer immunotherapy. Familiarity with the history of cancer immunotherapy will allow nurses to better comprehend why immunotherapy is now a pillar of cancer treatment that continues to develop. This knowledge will translate to better understanding and provision of care for patients receiving immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.
Tools for Assessing Effectiveness of Public Services as a Part of Digital Economy Development

Digitalization covers all areas of the society, including the process of interaction of public authorities with citizens. Therefore there is a current need of monitoring the quality and accessibility of public services, as well as a need to assess the efficiency of public services as a part of the development of the digital economy based on modern tools. The aim of the study is to synthesize the instrumentation that evaluates the effectiveness and ways to improve public services in the framework of the development of the digital economy. Methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative and graphic-analytical methods, methods of statistical processing of information have been used in the research. There has been conducted a statistical analysis of e-government and e-services in various countries, and the models of building e-government have been generalized. Moreover, the main problems of delivery of state and municipal services in electronic form have been systemized in the article. On the basis of the key indicators, which characterize the development of the Russian information society, the analysis of readiness for the formation of digital economy and delivery of public services in a digital format in all regions of the Russian Federation has been conducted. The research has shown that the delivery of high-quality public services based on digital technology contributes to the development of information society, openness from the authorities and the formation of an effective digital economy in many countries.
The Relevance and Pertinence of Sexuality Education in Seminary: The Explicit and Null Curricular Practices in Ministry Training:

In this consciousness-raising climate, religious leaders are confronted with opportunities to counsel on matters of sexuality. A curriculum audit was done for twenty evangelical U.S. seminaries to ...