cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Karl Polanyi’s environmental sociology: a primer

ABSTRACTDrawing upon The Great Transformation (1944), we outline Karl Polanyi’s environmental sociology by providing a primer for emerging and other scholars with little exposure to this major work. While best known for his critique of laissez-faire/liberal economics, particularly reflecting upon the works of the Austrian School of Economics, we believe his unique and broad insights give particular grounding to environmental sociology itself. In addition to illustrating Polanyi’s more well-known concepts of economic substantivism, fictitious commodities and the double movement, we highlight Polanyi’s deeper argument for morality in society-environmental affairs. Polanyi offers a critique of the market that is not Marxian. Rather, he focuses explicitly on the unnaturalness and immorality of an economy that does not place the needs of full society and the environment at its centre. Hence, Polanyi does not reflect on the growth or the eventual collapse of capitalism, but rather the importance of an activist ...
Post-traumatic cervical spine epidural hematoma: Incidence and risk factors.

Abstract Background The incidence and risk factors for post-traumatic cervical epidural hematoma are not well described in the current literature. Our aim was to determine the incidence and associated risk factors for post-traumatic cervical spine epidural hematoma (SEH). Methods We performed a retrospective review of our institution’s prospectively collected data submitted to the state trauma registry, using ICD-9 codes, for all patients activated as a trauma with cervical spine injuries, between the years 2010 and 2014. Patients with MRI available were classified based on the presence of cervical epidural hematoma (CEH) or no hematoma (NEH). For our second analysis, we classified patients with cord compression associated with an epidural hematoma (CC) and no cord compression (NCC). Potential risk factors evaluated included: INR, PTT, albumin and platelets levels, radiographic findings of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), and ISS. No conflicts of interest exist and/or funding was used for this study. Results 497 out of 1810 trauma activations met our inclusion criteria. 46 patients (2.5%) were found to have a post-traumatic cervical SEH (CEH). Of the CEH cohort, 76% were male, with 72% Caucasian, and a mean age of 55 years. 27 patients (5.4%) were found to have cervical cord compression at the level of the SEH. Of the CC arm, 78% were male, with 67% Caucasian, and a mean age of 56 years. A higher ISS and an elevated INR were found to be associated with epidural hematoma causing cord compression. Conclusions An incidence of 2.5% is reported for post-traumatic cervical spine epidural hematoma. Of these, 59% had associated spinal cord compression. Patients with a higher ISS and elevated INR levels are at a higher risk for developing this potentially devastating.
Long/Short-Term Orientation, Facework, and Organizational Relationships

Chapter 9 discusses long-term orientation versus short-term orientation otherwise known as Confucian dynamism as well as the concepts of ying and yang, and Protestant work ethic. Associated cooperative, indirect, and harmonious facework are applied to the concept. Related values such as perseverance, stability, thrift, deferred gratification, humility, hierarchy, shame, face, and giving face are discussed. Long-term orientation’s relationship to uncertainty avoidance is pointed out as well as its association to guanxi relationships, collectivism, and power distance. The concept of coopetition is also discussed with regard to how ying and yang is carried out in competitions between rivals with long-term orientations.
Rice cultivation in ancient Amazonia.

Emerging research suggests ancient Amazonians employed a range of cultivation practices to develop diversified diets, rich in both wild and domesticated plant and animal resources. Southwestern Amazonia is now understood as a major centre of plant domestication.
Painting Classification Using a Pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network

The problem of classifying images into different predefined categories is an important high-level vision problem. In recent years, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been the most popular tool for image classification tasks. CNNs are multi-layered neural networks that can handle complex classification tasks if trained properly. However, training a CNN requires a huge number of labeled images that are not always available for all problem domains. A CNN pre-trained on a different image dataset may not be effective for classification across domains. In this paper, we explore the use of pre-trained CNN not as a classification tool but as a feature extraction tool for painting classification. We run an extensive array of experiments to identify the layers that work best with the problems of artist and style classification, and also discuss several novel representation and classification techniques using these features.
Multiscale simulation of the interaction of calreticulin-thrombospondin-1 complex with a model membrane microdomain.

Cell surface calreticulin (CRT) binding to thrombospondin-1 (TSP1), regulates cell adhesion, migration, anoikis resistance, and collagen production. Due to the essential role of membrane microdomai...
A Review of Nanofiber Shish Kebabs and Their Potential in Creating Effective Biomimetic Bone Scaffolds

Synthetic scaffolds have emerged as a promising strategy in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their biocompatibility and resemblance of the extracellular matrix in tissues. Scaffolds can be tailored to specific architectures and have a controlled degradation based on their composition. However, one of the main drawbacks of synthetic scaffolds is that they are often limited due to their bioactivity. A novel technique that recently emerged for bone and mineralization applications has shown successful cellular bioactivity, which involves the polymer crystallization of nanofibers called nanofiber shish kebabs. These scaffolds allow for the formation of periodic kebab structure that is perpendicular to the nanofiber axis, which mimic mineralized collagen fibrils. They have attracted attention in bone tissue engineering because of their ability to direct biomimetic mineralization. Combined with block copolymer chemistry, the kebabs have the ability to attract Ca+2 and PO4−2 ions forming calcium phosphate minerals due to their negative charges. This review characterizes the nanofiber shish kebabs and similar systems in literature, investigates the biocompatibility and cellular response of these systems in vitro, and determines the ongoing and future research. Our purpose is to emphasize the potential and novelty of nanofiber shish kebabs as bone scaffolds, which closely mimic the hierarchical structure of bone. The current gold standard for bone tissue engineering is the use of autografts, the harvesting of the patient’s own healthy bone from a secondary location to replace the defect bone. This treatment is often painful and limited. This review discusses the potential of nanofiber shish kebabs as a bone scaffold for bone replacement. The purpose of this review is to summarize the research that have been done on nanofiber shish kebab scaffolds including material characterization and cellular behavior of different cell types on the scaffolds.
Uterine Artery Embolization for Fibroid Disease

Embolization of the uterine arteries has been the standard of care for management of acute bleeding after childbirth or after gynecologic surgery since the late 1970s (1,2). Through the 1980s, apparently no one in either the interventional radiology or gynecologic communities had thought of treating uterine fibroids by embolization. This may have been due to the minimal interaction between interventional radiology and gynecology practices.
Detecting Deception Using Ocular Metrics During Reading

We have proposed an innovative approach to detect deception that makes use of evoked pupillary response in conjunction with eye movements during reading. We first provide an overview of the psychophysiological bases of pupil dilation, describe how evoked pupillary responses have been used to detect deception, and describe how eye movements have been used to study reading behaviors. From this, a rationale is given for how pupillary response and eye movements during reading can be used to detect deception. We tested our approach in two laboratory and two field studies, in which we asked participants to read and respond to three types of statement: neutral, relevant to a crime not committed, and relevant to a crime committed. Measures of reading behaviors and evoked pupil responses were used in discriminant function analyses. Overall, over 85% of cases were classified correctly in the laboratory studies and 77.7% of cases were classified correctly in one of the field studies. The test was ineffective with poor readers in the other field study. The use of pupillary response and eye movements during reading has promise as a new tool for the detection of deception.
Aging characteristics of magnesium-lithium base alloys

Although magnesium lithium base alloys have several desirable properties, they also possess certain undesirable characteristics, one of which is the tendency to overage at 150° to 200°F. This problem is discussed in the paper. Recently developed alloys, described in the paper, have stability of properties at 200°F nearly equal to that of commercial magnesium alloys.
Habitat and Population Effects on the Germination and Early Survival of the Invasive Weed, Lythrum salicaria L. (purple loosestrife)

In this study, we examined how environmental factors and differences among populations of Lythrum salicaria L. (Lythraceae; purple loosestrife) influenced the establishment of this species into both its preferred wetland habitat and secondary upland habitat. Seeds and seedlings from five parents from each of the three populations were planted in each wetland and upland of two sites in both disturbed and undisturbed plots. More seeds germinated in wetland than in upland sites (31% as compared to 11%) and, although a disturbance resulted in greater germination (23% as compared to 17% in undisturbed plots), there was no interaction with habitats. The results of a simultaneous greenhouse germination study in which seeds were planted under saturated and drained conditions suggest that the higher germination observed in wetland sites was due to the higher moisture present at such sites (79% vs. 45% in saturated and drained conditions, respectively). Disturbance enhanced both germination and growth of L. salicaria and this was especially so for seedlings. Dry weights of seedlings from disturbed plots were five times greater than those from undisturbed plots ( $$x$$ =9.2 vs. 1.8 g in disturbed and undisturbed conditions, respectively). In addition to environmental factors, population differences are likely to play an important role in the spread of L. salicaria as we found differences between the populations in both life stages examined. One of the populations germinated equally well in both moisture treatments. In our seedling establishment experiment, one of the populations produced both the smallest plants and the most and earliest flowers, suggesting superior reproduction.
Coloring Planar Maps

Often a careful look at an old idea from a modern point of view can lead to some interesting developments. In this chapter, we use Mathematica to illustrate several aspects of the four-color theorem, for both maps and graphs. As a consequence, we obtain a randomized algorithm based on Kempe’s 1879 “proof” of the four-color theorem. The algorithm seems to work quite well; the illustration shows a 4-color-ing of the map consisting of 3093 U.S. counties.
Deer/Habitat Interactions on Coronation Island, Southeast Alaska

This study assesses the impact of forage quality and availability on deer body condition for a recovering population of Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sithensis) on Coronation Island. Wolves were introduced to Coronation in 1961 with a subsequent reduction in deer numbers. Since then, wolves have died out and deer numbers are rebounding. Comparisons are made with data from Klein’s 1959–1961 study when the population of deer was at a moderately high and sustained level in relation to food resources.
Biobased flame retardants from tartaric acid and derivatives

Abstract Biobased flame retardants represent attractive alternatives to traditional organohalogen compounds which are persistent in the environment, tend to bioaccumulate and may pose risks to human health. Tartaric acid is generated annually in great abundance as a by-product of wine making. It is nontoxic and widely used as a food ingredient. It is tetrafunctional which provides broad opportunity for conversion to a wide spectrum of useful materials. It has been used as a base for the generation of a variety of new compounds that display good flame retardancy in DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bis-phenol A) epoxy. These range from simple phosphinate and phosphonate esters to oligomeric materials containing bromine, in both saturated and unsaturated units, or bromine and phosphorus.
DVDI: A New Remotely Sensed Index for Measuring Vegetation Damage Caused by Natural Disasters

A new, simple, remotely-sensed index, the disaster vegetation damage index (DVDI), has been proposed to measure the vegetation/crop damage due to natural disasters. DVDI is based on measuring the difference of vegetation condition immediately before and after a natural disaster. Preliminary application of DVDI to two recent flood events has indicated that DVDI is an effective index to measure the degree of vegetation/crop damage due to natural disasters.
Research on Application and Configuration of SFCL in VSC-HVDC of CSG

VSC-HVDC(Voltage Sourced Converter Based HVDC) is an important means for large-scale access and large-scale interconnection of renewable energy in the future. Aiming at the problem of rapid removal of DC-side faults in VSC-HVDC, this paper proposes a method of SFCL(super-conducting fault current limiter) based on superconductor superconducting state/normal state fast transition characteristics, combined with DC circuit breakers to achieve DC fault isolation. Taking Shantou ±160kV Nanao VSC-HVDC as a typical case, PSCAD software is used to simulate and compare the suppression effect of SFCL on cut-off current and bridge arm current in different positions of the system. The research results show that SFCL with current limiting resistor of 10Ω and response time of 0.1ms at the negative lineof the ±160kV Qinghui line, can effectively reduce the rapid requirements of cut-off time for DC circuit breaker, improve converter fault ride-through capability of VSC-HVDC.
Neural Decoding and Applications in Bioelectronic Medicine

Neural decoding is a field involving the use of signal processing and machine learning methods to decode brain activity for various applications including assistive technology for people living with paralysis and diagnosing brain-related diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. The use of neural decoding, however, could be extended to applications in bioelectronic medicine, a field focused on the treatment and diagnosis of organ and other diseases through neurostimulation and neurosensing in the central and peripheral nervous system. Specifically, there is increasing evidence that neurostimulation can upregulate or downregulate the immune system, and, just as the nervous system innervates our organs and helps regulate their function, it also can modulate the immune system response and even affect acute inflammation response. Previous research in bioelectronic medicine has been focused primarily on open-loop neurostimulation without sensing methods or algorithms to automatically control the spatial and temporal characteristics of the stimulation. Research involving neural decoding methods has been conducted for other neurostimulation applications including the treatment of epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Introducing sensing and neural decoding methods into the bioelectronic medicine field could improve the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of diseases by closing the loop, which would allow automatic and adaptive neurostimulation that could increase its overall efficacy. There will be important related research questions and challenges to address as we attempt to place a control system on top of an already existing control system—a vast, complex and dynamic one—the human nervous system.
Palliative Care in Myocardial Infarction: Patient Characteristics and Trends of Service Utilization in a National Inpatient Sample.

Introduction:Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a leading cause of mortality. Palliative care (PC) has recently expanded in scope to include noncancer-related conditions. There is little data avail...
Neighborhood churches and their relationship to neighborhood processes important for crime prevention

ABSTRACTNeighborhood organizations are important aspects of the urban landscape that are increasingly being studied in relationship to crime. However, the neighborhood mechanisms through which orga...
Peripheral Embolism and PFO

Abstract Patent foramen ovale (PFO), an embryological remnant of the fetal circulation, is present in 20%–25% of the adult population. Several studies have established a link between PFO and cryptogenic stroke; however, the passage of thrombus through a PFO, as a potential mechanism for paradoxical peripheral embolism, remains poorly evaluated. Peripheral embolism occurs in ∼1%–7.5% of patients with PFO and may be asymptomatic (e.g., small subclinical renal or splenic infarction) or can present as acute limb ischemia or acute mesenteric ischemia. In this chapter, we review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of paradoxical peripheral embolism in patients with PFO.
Role of the Team Physician, Orthopedic Surgeon, and Rehabilitation Specialists

For athletes who desire a return to sport following ACL injury, there are numerous opportunities for the treating medical professionals to intervene and improve the likelihood of achieving this goal. The expertise needed to facilitate this goal is varied and best achieved with a concerted effort from a knowledgeable sports medicine team consisting of the orthopedic surgeon, team physician, physical therapists, and athletic trainers. Throughout the course of rehabilitation, the key themes are (1) effective communication between the athlete and the entire sports medicine team, (2) preparation of the athlete for the demands and potential disappointments of ACL rehabilitation, (3) ongoing adjustments to the rehabilitation plan based on the variability of progression among individual athletes, and (4) attention to the athlete’s mental state in addition to physical state. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the opportunities and explain the need for intervention on the part of the sports medicine team, with focus on the preoperative, early postoperative, late postoperative, and return to sport phases of rehabilitation.
Social media use in dermatology

Social media provides a readily accessible means to promote user-generated content, broaden interpersonal connections, and encourage social collaboration. In this paper, we will review the use of popular social media platforms within dermatology along with the potential benefits and harms of these platforms when used by dermatology providers and their patients. Social media has also found a place in medicine and presents new opportunities and challenges for health care professionals. In dermatology specifically, social media has become a platform for patient education, public outreach, and professional development and networking. Although there are many risks associated with social media use in dermatology, there is also opportunity to promote public health, patient education, and professional interactions.
Applying Item Response Theory Modeling to Identify Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder.

Purpose No diagnostic tools exist for identifying social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SPCD), a new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition category for individua...
The past the present and the future of face transplantation.

Purpose of review Face transplantation represents vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) organ and became one of the most rewarding reconstructive options for severely disfigured patients. This review summarizes the past, current and future challenges of face transplantation, based on our experience and literature reports. Recent findings In 2005, first partial face transplantation was reported by French team. In 2008, we have performed the US first near-total face transplantation. Currently, more than 40 face transplant cases were reported worldwide. Based on the outcomes of our three patients and the literature reports, face transplantation improved aesthetics, function and the quality of life of face transplant patients. However, there are still many challenges encountered including the side effects of immunosuppressive protocols, the psychological and social problems as well as the financial challenges which need to be address in the near future to maintain face transplantation in the armamentarium of reconstructive surgery. Summary Currently, feasibility of face transplantation was confirmed; however, the life-long immunosuppressive protocols bearing serious side effects are still required to prevent face rejection. Thus, for the future of face and other VCA, novel approaches of cell-based therapies or engineered scaffolds should be developed to make face transplantation safer.
A Theory of Aggregate Rationality

This paper develops a psychologically micro-founded model of economic learning. Contrary to intuition, it is shown that a large population of boundedly rational learners will, under certain circumstances, aggregate to a fully rational representative agent, even when no individual solves—or even considers—the entire inference problem on their own. The theory places conditions on the emergence of aggregately rationality and characterizes the information-processing frictions that arise when those conditions are not met. This economic implications of the model are developed in the context of a market for Arrow securities, where it is shown that market efficiency depends on the ability of prices to combine the information-processing capacity of many agents.
Integrating Mission-Centric Impact Assessment to Operational Resiliency in Cyber-Physical Systems

Developing mission-centric impact assessment techniques to address cyber resiliency in the cyber-physical systems (CPSs) requires integrating system inter-dependencies to the risk and resilience analysis process. Generally, network administrators utilize attack graphs to estimate possible consequences in a networked environment. Attack graphs lack to incorporate the operations-specific dependencies. Localizing the dependencies among operational missions, tasks, and the hosting devices in a large-scale CPS is also challenging. In this work, we offer a graphical modeling technique to integrate the mission-centric impact assessment of cyberattacks by relating the effect to the operational resiliency by utilizing a combination of the logical attack graph and mission impact propagation graph. We propose formal techniques to compute cyberattacks’ impact on the operational mission and offer an optimization process to minimize the same, having budgetary restrictions. We also relate the effect to the system functional operability. We illustrate our modeling techniques using a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) case study for the cyber-physical power systems. We believe our proposed method would help evaluate and minimize the impact of cyber attacks on CPS’s operational missions and, thus, enhance cyber resiliency.
Adding Value of MRI over CT in Predicting Peritoneal Cancer Index and Completeness of Cytoreduction

Background: This study aimed to investigate the adding value of MRI over CT for preoperative cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapies (CRS/HIPEC). Methods: Imaging and intraoperative peritoneal cancer index (PCI) were calculated in 62 patients with peritoneal metastasis. Predictive models for the completeness of cytoreductive score using PCI data were established using decision tree algorithms. Results: In gastric cancer patients, a large discrepancy and poor agreement was appreciated between CT and surgical PCI, and a nonsignificant difference was noted between MRI and surgical PCI. In colon cancer patients, a better agreement and higher correlation with a smaller error was observed in PCI score using MRI than in that using CT. However, the addition of MRI to CT was limited for appendiceal and ovarian cancer patients. For predicting incomplete cytoreduction, CT models yielded inadequate accuracy while MRI models were more accurate with fair discrimination ability. Conclusions: CT was suitable for estimating PCI and surgery outcome in appendiceal and ovarian cancer patients, while further MRI in addition to CT was recommended for colon and gastric cancer patients. However, for classifying patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis into complete and incomplete cytoreduction, MRI was more effective than CT.
Proteolysis of Amyloid β by Lysosomal Enzymes as a Function of Fibril Morphology

Aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) into extracellular plaques is a well-known hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Similarly, autophagic vacuoles, autophagosomes, and other residual bodies within dystr...
Harmonic Acoustic Emissions in the Earcanal Generated by Single Tones: Experiments and a Model

Harmonics of moderate-level single tones can be measured in the earcanals of gerbils with healthy ears. The same harmonic components measured in a cavity are as much as 20 to 40 dB below those measured in the earcanal. Earcanal harmonics, specifically the second and third, are generated largely within the cochlea and are physiologically vulnerable. Harmonic magnitudes rapidly decrease for primary frequencies above about 3 kHz. High-frequency masking tones can have dramatic suppression effects on the harmonic structure of low frequency primaries. For example, a 2 or 4 kHz masker at moderate levels can totally suppress the third harmonic of a 200 Hz tone. Many of these results can be simulated by a vector-sum model. In this model harmonic emissions can be thought of as very gross potentials that convey little information concerning specific regions of the cochlea.
Maximsuper: A Computer Program to Assist in the Design of Multifilamentary Superconducting Composites

Typical Nb3Sn multifilamentary superconducting composites produced by the bronze diffusion process have repetitive fiber elements of niobium embedded in a bronze matrix with an Nb3Sn reaction zone serving as the interfacial layer between the two. Clusters of these units are surrounded by tin diffusion inhibitors, such as tantalum, and placed inside a second external copper matrix. The strain degradation of critical current density, Jc, in an inversion of this configuration has been analytically and experimentally investigated. The new geometry consists of bronze filament cores inside of niobium tubes with the usual Nb3Sn interface. Since the niobium acts as a diffusion barrier, copper can be directly utilized as the embedding matrix, eliminating the motivation for the tantalum addition. Analytic results were obtained from a computer program (MAXIMSUPER) that evaluates the three-dimensional strain fields on the Nb3Sn zones in a cylindrical repeating element of the composite, owing to both residual (thermal contraction) and applied axial loading. The code then incorporates the calculated Nb3Sn strain values into appropriate scaling laws to predict the critical current density and its degradation with increasing axial strain. Critical parameters, such as upper critical magnetic field (H c2) and critical temperature (T c), are thought to vary according to a two-level state model that expresses the Nb3Sn cubic-to-tetragonal-martensitic phase transformation as strain sensitive. Experimental investigations conducted with the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) 12-T tensile-test facility on both the niobium-core and bronze-core geometries confirm the importance of the tangential strains (in addition to the axial strain) on the J c properties of the conductors. Particularly in the bronze-core geometry, the resulting higher radial and azimuthal strains yield lower J c values. Under applied axial loading, the increasing tangential strains exhibit contradistinc-tive behavior from that of the axial strain, which changes sign from compressive to tensile strains. Therefore, the zero intrinsic axial strain values that give the peak critical current coincide with nonnegligible tangential strains on the Nb3Sn layers. The magnitude of these tangential strains depends primarily on the composite geometry and configuration.
Transient expression analysis in plants using firefly luciferase reporter gene.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of transient expression analysis in plants. Reporter genes have been extensively used to study gene expression. Widely used reporter genes typically include those encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), β-galactosidase, and neomycin phosphotransferase. However, each of these suffers from one or more disadvantages including high backgrounds, costly and tedious assay procedures, and low signal-to-noise ratio. A new generation of reporter genes has been developed, including those encoding Escherichia coli β-glucuronidase GUS activity and bacterial and firefly luciferases. The chapter describes the use of the firefly luciferase gene as a reporter in plant transient expression assays. There are several advantages of luciferase over the commonly used CAT—detection is many times more sensitive, the assays are much cheaper and quicker, assays do not require hazardous radioactive chemicals, and there is no inherent background light production in cells. A disadvantage of using firefly luciferase is the cost of a luminometer, although some assay methods permit the use of a standard scintillation counter to monitor activity.
Comparative Physiology of the Kidney

The sections in this article are: 1 Morphological Relationships 2 Initial Process in Urine Formation 2.1 Filtration of Fluid by Glomeruli 2.2 Regulation of Number of Filtering Nephrons and of SNGFR 2.3 Secretion of Fluid by Tubules 3 Transport of Inorganic Ions By Tubules 3.1 Sodium and Chloride 3.2 Potassium 3.3 Calcium 3.4 Phosphate 3.5 Magnesium and Sulfate 4 Transport of Fluid by Tubules 4.1 Fluid Absorption 4.2 Fluid Secretion 5 Transport of Organic Substances by Tubules 5.1 Glucose 5.2 Amino Acids 5.3 Urea 5.4 Organic Acids and Anions (Other Than Amino Acids, Urate, and Lactate) 5.5 Urate 5.6 Lactate 5.7 Organic Cations 6 Diluting and Concentrating Processes 6.1 Range of Urine Osmolality 6.2 Process and Sites of Dilution 6.3 Regulation of Changes in Urine Osmolality 7 Integrative Summary of Some Renal Functions 7.1 Fishes 7.2 Amphibians 7.3 Reptiles 7.4 Birds
Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) and neogenin in bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) belong to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily. BMPs mediate a highly conserved signal transduction cascade through the type I and type II serine/threonine kinase receptors and intracellular Smad proteins. The BMP pathway regulates multiple developmental and homeostatic processes. Mutations in this pathway can cause various diseases in humans, such as skeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases and various cancers. Multiple levels of regulation, including extracellular regulation, help to ensure proper spatiotemporal control of BMP signaling in the right cellular context. The family of repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) and the type I trans-membrane protein neogenin, a paralog of DCC (Deleted in Colorectal Cancer), have been implicated in modulating the BMP pathway. In this review, we discuss the properties and functions of RGM proteins and neogenin, focusing on their roles in the modulation of BMP signal transduction.
Simple three oscillator universal probes for determining synchronization stability in coupled arrays of oscillators

K.S. Fink et al. (2000) described how a coupled array of three oscillators can serve as a universal probe of the synchronization properties in general coupled arrays of oscillators. However, the coupling topology in this probe can cause difficulties in experimental implementations. For instance, every oscillator is coupled to every other oscillator resulting in many coupling terms. Furthermore, the variable coupling weights at several coupling terms need to be set equal to each other. This means that some component values need to be varied over a range and be perfectly matched to each other in the experimental setup. We present simpler universal probes by utilizing the minimal number of coupling terms and by minimizing the constraint of having the coupling weights matched.
Dynamics of International Financial Networks: Modeling, Stability Analysis, and Computation

In this paper we turn to the domain of international finance and utilize for the first time in this application the methodologies of projected dynamical systems and network theory in order investigate questions of existence, stability, and computational procedures. In addition, we discover the underlying network structure of the individual sector’s portfolio optimization problems which then through the dynamics presented merge into a complete network representing the equilibrium state in which markets in both the instruments and in the currencies are shown to clear.
Oil, Agriculture, and the Public Sector: Linking Intersector Dynamics in Ecuador

In a recent paper, Fiess and Verner (2000) analyze sectoral growth in Ecuador and find significant long-run and short-run relationships between the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors. They take this as evidence against the dual economy model which rules out a long-run relationship between agricultural and industrial output and show further that a more detailed picture of the growth process can be discovered, once the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors are disaggregated further into intrasector components. Fiess and Verner extend their initial results and provide insight from a multivariate cointegration analysis of intrasector components. They are able to identify three cointegrating relationships, each of which has its own meaningful economic interpretation - two cointegration relationships capture the direct and indirect effects of the "petrolization" of the Ecuadorian economy. A third relationship clearly indicates a link between agriculture and industrial activity. Since this third cointegrating relationship seems to coincide in time with the trade liberalization at the end of the 1980s, promoting agriculture appears to be an important way to promote sustainable economic growth in Ecuador. This paper - a product of the Office of the Chief Economist and the Economic Policy Sector Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean Region - is part of a larger effort in the region to better understand intersectoral growth dynamics.
Spectroscopic and ion probe characterization of laser produced plasmas used for thin film growth

Laser ablation for in situ film growth of 1:2:3 superconductors requires high laser energy densities and results in a dense, multicomponent laser plasma which expands into high background pressures (-200 mTorr) of oxygen. The physics of the transport process in the film growth regime involves a variety of high-density collisional phenomena which one attempts to avoid in nearthreshold ablation studies: laser-plasma heating and acceleration, thermalization, attenuation and reactive scattering of the plume by background gas collisions, and shock formation. Three in situ techniques are employed and reviewed to characterize these effects: optical emission spectroscopy for viewing the excited states of atoms and molecules resulting from plasma kinetics, optical absorption spectroscopy for viewing the non-emitting ground states of atoms, ions, molecules, and fast ion probes for viewing the flux of positive ions in the plasma. In this paper, spatially- and temporally-resolved optical absorption and emission spectroscopy and fast ion probes are applied to study the formation and acceleration of the laser plasma formed by KrF laser irradiation of Y1Ba2Cu3Ox in vacuum and the propagation of the plume through background gases of oxygen And argon at pressures and laser energies typically used for thin film growth.
Alkali metal thermoelectric converter (AMTEC) electrode lifetime studies

Experimental studies are being conducted at JPL to identify long life, high area power density electrodes for AMTEC. Power versus time measurements are being made in a demountable electrode test cell and, for longer term experiments, a self-contained recirculating cell. The experimental apparatus and procedures are described in detail. The results show that thin film molybdenum electrodes can be designed to produce power near 0.5 W/sq cm for over two hundred hours. Also, platinum/tungsten electrodes exhibit power densities that are stable near 0.5 W/sq cm. If the performance of these electrodes is verified for longer periods (thousands of hours), then practical AMTEC systems will be possible.
Investment Opportunities, Free-Cash-Flow, and the Market Values of Foreign and Domestic Cash Holdings

It has been suggested that firms with foreign operations stockpile large amounts of cash, primarily in their foreign subsidiaries, because bringing the cash home involves paying a repatriation tax on foreign income. This implies that the stock market should value foreign-held cash less than domestically-held cash. But this effect may be moderated by the impact of investment opportunities abroad that would provide an outlet for the foreign cash and affect how the market values it. This paper empirically examines the difference between the market values of on-balance-sheet cash held domestically and that held abroad by US firms, and the impact of the interaction of the repatriation tax and investment opportunities on this difference. The results show that shareholders assign a higher value to cash held abroad than to cash held domestically, and that the marginal value of foreign-held cash is substantially higher than that of domestic cash for US firms with better foreign investment opportunities. This suggests that the effect of the differential investment opportunities for foreign and domestic cash swamps the repatriation-tax disadvantage of foreign cash. As further evidence, this paper also examines the effect of the exogenous shock provided by the tax repatriation holiday in 2004, and finds that firms with better investment opportunities abroad experienced lower abnormal returns following the passage of that legislation.
Use of Continuous Video Prompting to Teach a Student With a Significant Disability

Video prompting has been demonstrated to be a successful procedure for teaching students with various disabilities to complete a variety of tasks. Traditionally, a video clip is only shown once before the student has an opportunity to engage in the step. Recent research has demonstrated that continuously showing the video in a loop can be an effective approach to video-based instruction. In the current study, we used a multiple probe across tasks design to evaluate the effects of continuous video prompting to teach a student with significant disabilities to complete three vocational tasks. Results demonstrated that continuous video prompting paired with error correction and additional training procedures was effective, although fading of the video prompts was not achieved. Areas for future research are addressed.
Medea’s Fractured Self on the Jacobean Stage: Webster’s Duchess of Malfi as a Case Study in Renaissance Readership

The article presents a literary criticism of the book "The Duchess of Malfi," by John Webster. Topics covered include the focus of the literary work on the problems experienced by married peoples. Also mentioned is the effort of the author to complicate the characterization of protagonists in the story.
Liver regeneration 4: transcriptional control of liver regeneration.

Determining what factors are responsible for initiating regeneration following partial hepatectomy or toxic damage, and how the liver maintains differentiated functions while the hepatocytes are undergoing cellular proliferation are central issues in understanding the molecular bases of liver regeneration. Examination of the transcriptional milieu in the regenerating liver provides clues to the answers to these questions. Growth factor-generated intracellular signals that trigger liver regeneration result in activation via posttranslational modifications of latent, normally inactive transcription factors that preexist in the liver. Two transcription factors that are activated by this mechanism include posthepatectomy factor/nuclear factor-kappa B) and Stat3. Because cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-l (IL-1), and IL-6 can induce these factors in the liver, the finding of activated Stat3 and PHF/NF-kappa B suggests that these cytokines may play a role in some aspects of...
Re-evaluating preterm infants with the Bayley-III: Patterns and predictors of change

This study investigates the Third Edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III) and (1) mean difference scores, (2) test-retest correlation coefficients, (3) changes in rates of delay and classification from "delayed" to "not delayed," and (4) infant birth, neonatal and sociodemographic predictors of change in scores from the first to second year of life among 131 preterm infants. Cognitive, Receptive Language and Fine Motor Subscale scores decrease and mean Gross Motor Subscale scores remain consistent from the first to second year of life. Bayley-III test-retest reliability ranged from small/fair to moderate from 8 to 20 months corrected age. Classification of delay is not stable over the first two years of life. One in 6 infants' Language Index scores changed from a classification of not delayed at 8 months to delayed at 20 months. One in 10 infants' Gross Motor Subscale scores changed from a classification of delayed at 8 months to not delayed at 20 months. Small for gestational age status predicts improved to nearly consistent Bayley Language Index and Receptive Subscale scores. Public insurance and history of sepsis predict decline in Bayley Language Index and Receptive Subscale scores from 8 to 20 months. Lower gestational age, race, and history of necrotizing enterocolitis and/or intestinal perforation also predict decline in Bayley Cognitive Index from 8 to 20 months. Predictors of decline in performance confirm known neonatal risk factors, are consistent with emerging evidence of detrimental immune related processes, and highlight the importance of inclusion of sociodemographic variables in understanding development in preterm infants.
Molecular and mass spectral identification of the broadly conserved decapod crustacean neuropeptide pQIRYHQCYFNPISCF: the first PISCF-allatostatin (Manduca sexta- or C-type allatostatin) from a non-insect

The PISCF-allatostatins (Manduca sexta- or C-type allatostatins) are a family of pentadecapeptides characterized by a pyroglutamine blocked N-terminus, an unamidated-PISCF C-terminus, and a disulfide bridge between two internal Cys residues. Several isoforms of PISCF-AST are known, all from holometabolous insects. Using a combination of transcriptomics and mass spectrometry, we have identified the first PISCF-type peptides from a non-insect species. In silico analysis of crustacean ESTs identified several Litopenaeus vannamei (infraorder Penaeidea) transcripts encoding putative PISCF-AST precursors. Translation of these ESTs, with subsequent prediction of their putative post-translational processing, revealed the existence of as many as three PISCF-type peptides, including pQIRYHQCYFNPISCF (disulfide bridging between Cys(7) and Cys(14)). Although none of the predicted isoforms was detected by mass spectrometry in L. vannamei, MALDI-FTMS mass profiling identified an m/z signal corresponding to pQIRYHQCYFNPISCF (disulfide bridge present) in neural tissue from 28 other decapods, which included members of six infraorders (Stenopodidea, Astacidea, Thalassinidea, Achelata, Anomura and Brachyura). Further characterization of the peptide using SORI-CID and chemical derivatization/enzymatic digestion supported the theorized structure. In both the crab Cancer borealis and the lobster Homarus americanus, MALDI-based tissue surveys suggest that pQIRYHQCYFNPISCF is broadly distributed in the nervous system; it was also detected in the posterior midgut caecum. Collectively, our data show that members of the PISCF-AST family are not restricted to the holometabolous insects, but instead may be broadly conserved within the Pancrustacea. Moreover, our data suggest that one highly conserved PISCF-type peptide, pQIRYHQCYFN-PISCF, is present in decapod crustaceans, functioning as a brain-gut paracrine/hormone.
National Climate Assessment draft issued

The evidence for a changing climate has strengthened considerably since the last U.S. National Climate Assessment report, which was written in 2009, according to a draft report issued on 11 January that is expected to become the third National Climate Assessment after extensive review.
Anesthesiology resident personality type correlates with faculty assessment of resident performance.

Abstract Study Objective To study the association between anesthesiology residents' personality preference types, faculty evaluations of residents' performance, and knowledge. Design Convenience sample and prospective study. Setting Academic department of anesthesiology. Subjects Consenting anesthesiology residents (n = 36). Interventions All participants completed the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®). Measurements All residents' 6-month summation of daily focal evaluations completed by faculty [daily performance score (DPS); 1=unsatisfactory, 2=needs improvement, 3=meets expectations, 4=exceeds expectations], as well as a global assessment of performance (GAP) score based on placement of each resident into perceived quartile compared with their peers (ie,1 = first, or top, quartile) by senior faculty (n = 7) who also completed the MBTI, were obtained. The resident MBTI personality preferences were compared with the DPS and GAP scores, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) I and II scores, and faculty MBTI personality type. Main Results There was no association between personality preference type and performance on standardized examinations (USMLE I, II). The mean GAP score was better (higher quartile score) for Extraverts than Introverts (median 2.0 vs 2.6, P = 0.0047) and for Sensing versus Intuition (median 2.0 vs 2.6, P = 0.0206) preference. Faculty evaluator MBTI preference type did not influence the GAP scores they assigned residents. Like GAP, the DPS was better for residents with Sensing versus Intuition preference (median 3.5 vs 3.3, P = 0.0111). No difference in DPS was noted between Extraverts and Introverts. Conclusions Personality preference type was not associated with resident performance on standardized examinations, but it was associated with faculty evaluations of resident performance. Residents with Sensing personality preference were evaluated more favorably on global and focal faculty evaluations than those residents who chose the Intuition preference. Extraverted residents were evaluated more favorably on global but not focal assessment of performance.