cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Matrix games with payoffs of belief structures

Imprecise matrix games, such as interval-valued matrix games and fuzzy matrix games, have attracted much interest for a long time. Most of the previous studies on imprecise matrix games mainly focus on the fuzzy uncertainty of payoffs. However, the uncertainties of nonspecificity and discord involved in payoffs are not well addressed so far. The purpose of this paper is to study the matrix game with such types of uncertainties. In order to achieve that purpose, we present a matrix game model with payoffs of belief structures so as to integrate discord and nonspecificity. The proposed model can be used to express more imprecise interactions between players in the reality. Besides, as another main contribution of the study, an effective method for solving matrix games with belief structures payoffs is developed to help us find the equilibrium points of the kind of games. At last, an example is given to illustrate the proposed model and method.
Aquatic Photochemical Reactions in Atmospheric, Surface, and Marine Waters: Influences on Oxidant Formation and Pollutant Degradation

The kinetic characterizations of direct photolysis and indirect photoreactions in natural waters are described, including the reactions of multiple species in rapid reversible equilibrium. The photochemical sources, fates, and environmental effects of various photo-reactants are discussed. It is concluded that in the oceans, hydroxyl radical (*OH) and the aquated electron (eaq -) will ultimately oxidize and reduce, respectively, nearly all organic pollutants that are otherwise not degraded before transport to the oceans. In atmospheric, and surface waters (fresh and saline), Superoxide radical ion (•O2 -) can be involved in the oxidation of reduced forms of transition metals (e. g. Cu (I), Fe (II)), and for certain transition metals (e. g. Cu(I)) can also be the dominant source of the reduced form of the transition metal. In atmospheric waters and probably also in surface (fresh and saline) waters, hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) is a significant source of hydroxyl radical, through the iron photo-Fenton’s reaction. Hydrogen peroxide is the single most important oxidant for oxidizing sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid during periods of cloudiness. Excited state triplets and organic peroxyl radicals derived from natural organic chromophores play significant roles for the oxidation of phenols in natural waters.
IN-USE EMISSIONS WITH TODAY'S CLOSED-LOOP SYSTEMS

Closed-loop emission control systems were adopted by most motor vehicle manufacturers on a wide-spread basis in model year 1981, in order to meet the 1981 and later Federal exhaust emission standards. General Motors and the Environmental Protection Agency have conducted test programs to quantify the in-use performance of these closed-loop systems. Over 4000 vehicles (passenger cars and light duty trucks) have been evaluated covering the 1983 through 1988 model years at both low and high altitude locations. For model year 1986 and later, average emission levels, adjusted to the 50,000 mile point, are below the applicable EPA standards. The GM and EPA data indicate average emission levels have decreased during the 1980's and reflect the increased penetration of fuel injection, improvements in catalytic converter performance, and improved system and component reliability. Maintenance of the in-use fleet appears to offer the best opportunity for further reducing the mobile source contributions to atmospheric inventory and resulting pollution.
Does students’ heritage matter in their performance on and perceptions of historical reasoning tasks?

AbstractThis mixed methods study explores how high school students (N = 35) enrolled in a US charter school with a high Latino/a population perform on and perceive (in terms of interest and relevance) document-based type historical reasoning tasks: one about the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and the other about the experiences of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the 1920s. Students wrote essay responses and completed perception inventories about the tasks. We also interviewed 10 focal students to delve more deeply into students’ thinking regarding the tasks and their interest levels in the two topics. We scored students’ responses along the criteria of historical claims, substantiation of claims, use of evidence from documents, sourcing of documents and contextualization. Our hypotheses were that students would perform better on, and be more interested in, tasks that were culturally relevant to them. We found that although students did not perform differently on the two tasks overall, students’ perceptions of t...
The rationale for adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk prostate cancer.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW With the advent of prostate-specific antigen, stage migration has resulted in a shift towards early-stage prostate cancer at diagnosis. Although radical prostatectomy and radical radiotherapy can be curative in organ-confined disease, there remains a significant proportion of early-stage patients who go on to develop progressive, incurable disease. This review will highlight developments in the identification of high-risk patients, and summarize the results of investigations of adjuvant chemotherapy in this setting. RECENT FINDINGS The ability to identify patients at high risk of developing progressive disease is improving. Both preoperative and postoperative variables, as well as newer radiographic and molecular tools, can identify at-risk patients who may benefit from adjuvant therapy. Coupled with developments in chemotherapeutic agents for prostate cancer, this provides the rationale for investigating chemotherapy in this setting. Unfortunately, to date, reported trials involving adjuvant chemotherapy in prostate cancer are few, and generally involve small numbers of patients. Some of the studies confirm that certain populations of patients, such as those with node-positive disease, may benefit from systemic therapy. Definitive data, however, will be derived from ongoing randomized trials investigating adjuvant chemotherapy. SUMMARY Although definitive data regarding systemic chemotherapy in adjuvant therapy are scarce, the results of the available studies, and the increasing accuracy in delineating the population at risk, have laid the foundation for future and ongoing studies in this area.
Crystal structure of an RNA duplex r(gugucgcac)(2) with uridine bulges.

The crystal structure of a nonamer RNA duplex with a uridine bulge in each strand, r(gugucgcac)(2), was determined at 1.4 A resolution. The structure was solved by multiple anomalous diffraction phasing method using a three-wavelength data set collected at the Advanced Protein Source and refined to a final R(work)/R(free) of 21.2 %/23.4 % with 33,271 independent reflections (Friedel pairs unmerged). The RNA duplex crystallized in the tetragonal space group P4(1)22 with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. The unit cell dimensions are a=b=47.18 A and c=80.04 A. The helical region of the nonamer adopts the A-form conformation. The uridine bulges assume similar conformations, with uracils flipping out and protruding into the minor groove. The presence of the bulge induces very large twist angles (approximately +50 degrees) between the base-pairs flanking the bulges while causing profound kinks in the helix axis at the bulges. This severe twist and the large kink in turn produces a very narrow major groove at the middle of the molecule. The ribose sugars of the guanosines before the bulges adopt the C2'-endo conformation while the rest, including the bulges, are in the C3'-endo conformation. The intrastrand phosphate-phosphate (P-P) distance of the phosphate groups flanking the bulges (approximately 4.4 A) are significantly shorter than the average P-P distance in the duplex (6.0 A). This short distance between the two phosphate groups brings the non-bridging oxygen atoms close to each other where a calcium ion is bound to each strand. The calcium ions in molecule 1 are well defined while the calcium ions in molecule 2 are disordered.
Practicing What We Teach, Teaching What Theyll Practice: Developing Reflective Practitioners Through A Capstone Business Course

Business education is failing to prepare undergraduates for success in the 21st century workplace. In this paper we contribute one example of a course specifically designed to confront and close this gap between what we know and what we do as business educators. Our example is an innovative, student-centered, senior-level capstone course developed at the Girard School of Business and International Commerce at Merrimack College. To develop the course, Strategic Analysis and Decision Making, faculty drew from the time-tested pedagogical traditions of Oxford Universitys tutorial system as well as from the recent movement toward a pedagogy of peer-assisted learning. They conceived and implemented the course as a structure within which studentsas individuals and as team membersformulate appropriate questions for themselves in order to rise to the challenges they face during each weekly seminar with their faculty.
Congregationalism and the Social Order: John Goodwin's Gathered Church, 1640–60

In 1644 the Puritan lawyer and parliamentary pamphleteer, William Prynne, voiced a question much on the minds of moderate Puritans: Would not Congregationalism ‘by inevitable necessary consequence subvert…all settled…forms of civil government…and make every small congregation, family (yea person if possible), an independent church and republic exempt from all other public laws’? What made Congregationalism seem so threatening? The calling of the Long Parliament encouraged an efflorescence of Congregational churches throughout England. While differing in many other respects, their members were united in the belief that the true Church consisted of individually gathered, self-governing congregations of the godly. Such a Church was answerable to no other earthly authority. The roots of English Congregationalism extended back to Elizabethan times and beyond. Some Congregationalists, in the tradition of Robert Browne, believed in total separation from the Established Church; others, following the later ideas of Henry Jacob, subscribed to semi-separatism, believing that a godly remnant remained within the Established Church. For semi-separatists some contact with the latter was permissible, as was a loose confederation of gathered churches. During the English civil wars and Interregnum, the Church polity of most leading religious Independents actually was semi-separatist.
Educational Placement After Pediatric Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Abstract Background This study describes educational placement of school-aged children after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and examines whether educational placement is associated with severity of neurological deficits. Methods Children with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage presenting from 2007 to 2013 were prospectively enrolled at three tertiary children's hospitals. The Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure and parental interview gathered information about neurological outcome, school attendance, and educational placement. Results The cohort of 92 enrolled children included 42 school-aged children (6 to 17 years) with intracerebral hemorrhage. Four children died; one was excluded because of preexisting cognitive deficits. Thirty-seven children completed three-month follow-up, and 30 completed 12-month follow-up. At 12 months, 14 children (46.7%) received regular age-appropriate programming, 12 (40%) attended school with in-class services, three (10%) were in special education programs, and one child (3.3%) received home-based services because of intracerebral hemorrhage–related deficits. Of 30 children with three- and 12-month follow-up, 14 (46.7%) improved their education status, 13 (43.3%) remained at the same education level, and three (10%) began to receive in-class services. An increasing Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure score predicted the need for educational modifications at three months (odds ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 7.9; P = 0.007) and at 12 months (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.9; P = 0.025). Conclusions Most children returned to school within a year after intracerebral hemorrhage, and many had a reduction in the intensity of educational support. However, a great need for educational services persisted at 12 months after intracerebral hemorrhage with fewer than half enrolled in regular age-appropriate classes. Worse deficits on the Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure were associated with remedial educational placement.
SecureSwitch: BIOS-Assisted Isolation and Switch between Trusted and Untrusted Commodity OSes.

Protecting commodity systems running commercial Operating Systems (OSes) without significantly degrading performance or usability still remains an open problem. To make matters worse, the overall security depends on complex applications that perform multiple inter-dependent tasks with Internet-borne code. Recent research has shown the need for context-dependent trustworthy environments that can segregate different user activities to lower risk of cross-contamination and safeguard private information. In this paper, we introduce a novel BIOS-assisted mechanism for secure instantiation and management of trusted execution environments. A key design characteristic of our system is usability: the ability to quickly and securely switch between operating environments without requiring any specialized hardware or code modifications. Our aim is to eliminate any mutable, non-BIOS code sharing while securely reusing existing hardware: even when an untrusted environment is compromised, there is no potential for exfiltration or inference attacks. To safeguard against spoofing attacks, we can force the user to physically set a hardware switch, an action that cannot be reproduced by software. In addition, we provide visible indication to the user about the current running environment leveraging one of the front panel Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). In our prototype, the entire switching process takes approximately six seconds on average. This empowers users to frequently and seamlessly alternate between trusted and untrusted environments. ∗This work was supported in part by the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) through contract WF911NF-11-C-0048, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through contract FA8650-10-C-7024, NSF grant CNS-TC 0915291, and a research gift from Google Inc. Opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government and sponsoring agencies. †Kun Sun and Jiang Wang contributed equally to this work.
Expectancy Effect in Three Mind-Body Clinical Trials

Expectancy, arguably the prime component of the placebo effect, has been shown to significantly modify the effects of many treatments. Furthermore, various forms of mind-body interventions have demonstrated effective improvements in outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between pretreatment expectations and symptom reduction in a secondary analysis of 3 mind-body intervention programs. An adjusted correlation and regression analysis compared data from a 6-question expectancy questionnaire to a self-reported clinical impression of change score. Only 1 of the 6 expectancy questions in 1 of the 3 studies reached significance (B = 0.087; P = .025). The combined data from all 3 studies did not reveal significant expectancy effects. The positive effects of mindfulness meditation appear to be independent of an expectancy effect.
Immigrant children in transcultural spaces: language, learning, and love, by M. F. Orellana

The children of immigrants continue to be marginalized, amid anti-immigrant sentiment, through school practices that are closely associated with dominant cultural groups (e.g., Gallo & Link, 2015)....
Development and Foreign Aid: Theory and Practice

The outside world has grown weary of repeated agricultural crises in Africa. Grim prognoses of continued per capita agricultural decline make food security an increasingly elusive goal, and while the need has perhaps never been greater, ‘aid fatigue’ has dampened the willingness of outsiders to finance Africa’s agricultural development. Yet building agriculture remains central to Africa’s development. Few African countries have solved the critical challenge of ensuring food security, and most remain faced with an increasing gap between population growth and food production. Furthermore, few low-income countries whether inside or outside of Africa have found alternatives to the time-tested development strategy of basing their growth on the transfer of surplus resources from agriculture to other sectors of the economy.
Interaction of Laser Light with Biological Tissue

Various groups have reported photochemical, thermal and mechanical reactions as the result of irradiating tissue with a laser. Photochemical reactions have included non-thermal retinal damage produced by exposure at blue wavelengths[1,2] and photoradiation therapy, in which hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) is activated by visible light for the treatment of malignant tumors. Lasers provide the relatively high intensity narrow band light needed for the photochemical reaction to take place[3]. Primarily, lasers are widely used to generate heat through absorption of light by the different constituents of tissue. This process can produce photocoagulation or vaporization of tissue[4]. More recently, lasers have been used to induce optical breakdown and the creation of shock waves which disrupt the surrounding tissue. Plasma breakdown occurs when electric fields are strong enough to strip electrons from atoms, causing ionization of the medium and formation of a plasma. This phenomena is being used in ophthalmology to cut membranes in the eye[5].
Measurements of the attenuation coefficient of a lidar in the Southern California Bight

Measurements were made of the attenuation coefficient of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adrninistration (NOAA) lidar from a ship in the Southern California Bight in September 1995. The region from about 5 m to about 30 m in depth was covered. The laser was linearly polarized, and the receiver was operated with the same polarization, the orthogonal polarization, and a polarization angle of 45 degrees, so that the first three Stokes parameters of the scattered light can be estimated.
Using a knowledge-based security orchestration tool to reduce the risk of browser compromise

Today, web browsers are used to access and modify sensitive data and systems including intranets and critical control systems. Due to their computational capabilities and network connectivity, browsers are vulnerable to several types of attacks, even when fully patched. Browsers are also the main target of phishing attacks. Many browser attacks, including phishing, could be prevented or mitigated by using site-, user-, and device-specific security configurations in a diverse browsing ecosystem. However, in our research, we discovered that all major browsers expose disparate security configuration procedures, option names, values, and semantics. This results in an extremely hard to secure browsing ecosystem. We analyzed in detail more than a thousand browser security configuration options in three major browsers and found that only 17 had common names with common semantics. In this paper, we describe the results of this in-depth analysis. We also describe a knowledge-based solution, Open Browser GP, that would enable organizations to implement highly-granular secure configurations for their information and operational technology (IT/OT) browsing ecosystem.
Three decades later: investigating the rate of and risks for conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy.

Recent data suggest a wide range of conversion (4.9–20%) from laparoscopic (LC) to open cholecystectomy (OC) despite increasing surgeon familiarity and superior equipment. Previously identified risk factors for conversion include increased age, male gender, diabetes, and emergent surgeries. Recent studies also suggest that formal minimally invasive surgical training (MIST) reduces conversion rates. We sought to determine conversion rates in our population, a rural academic medical center, and identify any significant risks for conversion. We conducted a single-center retrospective review of 2810 cholecystectomies performed over a seven-year period (2009–2016). Our study included 837 (29.8%) males and 1973 (70.2%) females with a mean age of 49.2 years. Forty-two percent of cases were done by surgeons with MIST. A total of 139 (4.95%) cases were converted to OC. Univariate predictors of conversion to OC included male gender, age ≥65, urgent and emergent admissions, and MIST of the surgeon. In multivariate modeling, which included significant univariate predictors of conversion, independent predictors of conversion to OC included urgent or emergent admission, male gender, and age ≥65. MIST status was no longer a significant predictor. Our conversion rate from LC to OC falls within the lower range of recently published rates. This is likely multifactorial, and reflects increasing familiarity of the laparoscopic technique, improved quality of laparoscopic equipment, and/or prior knowledge of preoperative risk factors for conversion. Our results, consistent with previous literature, show a reduced conversion rate among surgeons with MIST. This finding, albeit not significant on multivariate analysis, may offer insight into a potential alterable preoperative risk factor for conversion and warrants further research. Further knowledge about the impact MIST has on conversion may provide a feasible preoperative approach to reducing conversion to OC, thereby reducing costs and overall patient morbidity.
Winnie-the-Conservationist: An Ecofeminist Reading of Tuck Everlasting

This article offers not only a theoretical reading of Natalie Babbit's canonical 1975 novel for children, but explores the viability of ecofeminism as a theoretical perspective and as a critical methodology for interpreting children's literature. I provide a survey of ecofeminism's tenets and its reception before moving into an analysis of Tuck Everlasting, which I posit is a key text of environmental literature for children, though such critical attention has been limited. In its emphasis on an independent female protagonist embracing an ethic of cooperation and respect toward the environment, Tuck Everlasting revises the individualism and imperialism of the 19th century boy's adventure story. Furthermore, it underscores the connectedness of women and of nature as beings patriarchy exploits and oppresses in its dominating execution. Though I offer strategies for the value of reviving ecofeminism, I also explore cruxes in the text where the proto-ecofeminist ethos falters.
Photochemically Mediated Linkages between Dissolved Organic Matter and Bacterioplankton

Publisher Summary One of the fundamental roles that dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays in aquatic environments is to serve as a source of carbon and energy to microbial food webs. This chapter summarizes the photochemically mediated trophic linkages between DOM and microorganisms. At least five DOM photoproducts are reported from both marine and freshwater environments (acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, glyoxylate, pyruvate, and amino acids). However, differences in analytical approach make it difficult to assess the significance of the additional 14 compounds found to be specific to either one or the other ecosystem type. Predicting the net effect on bacterial activity of DOM photoreactions is a much more tractable problem, and several regression models are already demonstrating that the composition/source of the DOM may have significant predictive power for understanding the transfer of photodegraded carbon to the microbial food web. The ecological effects of labile photoproducts on marine microbial food webs is generally agreed to be significant for sunlit surface waters. The long-term rates and kinetics of photoproduct formation, topics particularly relevant for systems— such as hydrologically isolated lakes and coastal ocean environments, are not well understood and requires future studies.
The Effect Of Advertising Content Control On Advertising Effectiveness In The Different Forced Exposure Circumstance

With advances in new technology, various formats of online advertising (e.g., in-stream video advertising) often force e-consumers to watch the advertisement during their goal-oriented activities, ...
Guillain-Barré Syndrome Trend of Hospital Length of Stay, Complication Rate and Mortality Depending from Method of the Treatment: IVIg vs. PLEX (P5.137)

Objective: To investigate trend of hospital length of stay (LOS) by method of the treatment: intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) vs. plasma exchange (PLEX). To examine whether trends in GBS treatment method, hospital LOC and mortality differ by teaching status of hospital Background: Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy with an incidence in Europe and North America ranging from 1.1 to 1.8 per 100,000. The GBS is the most frequent cause of acute flaccid paralysis worldwide and considered as a neurological emergency. It is established that Immune therapy with PLEX or IVIg is effective in patients with GBS. Design/Methods: Data source: Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS); time period from January 2000 to December 2011. Inclusion criteria: GBS; Age≥18 years old. Exclusion criteria: patients Primary outcomes: The primary outcomes of interest is hospital length of stay (LOS) and mortality rate over time. Results: Urban Teaching Hospitals: Total GBS cases from 2000–2011 were 38548; Hospital LOS decreased, from 12.57 in 2000 to 11.47 in 2011; PLEX use slightly decreased; IVIg use increased, from 8% in 2000 to 32% in 2011; Mortality decreased from 2% in 2000 to 1% in 2011. Urban non-teaching Hospitals: Total GBS cases from 2000–2011 were 26,024. Hospital LOC decreased - 13.1 days in 2000 and 9.28 days in 2011; PLEX use slightly decreased; IVIg use increased, from 4% in 2000 to 25% in 2011; Mortality decreased, from 4% in 2000 to 2% in 2011. Conclusions: Analysis of NIS data for GBS from 2000 to 2011 show following trends: PLEX use decreased; IVIg use increased; Hospital length of stay decreased; Mortality decreased. Trends in GBS treatment method, hospital length of stay and mortality is not differ in teaching and not-teaching hospital. Disclosure: Dr. Gevorgyan, M.D., Ph.D. has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sanossian has recieved personal compensation for activities with Covidien Inc., serving on the clinical events committee and from Genentech as a speak.. Dr. Beydoun has received personal compensation for activities with Baxalta, Grifols, and Xenoport as a consultant, speaker and/or advisory board member. Dr. Beydoun has received personal compensation from Alexion, CSL, Daiichi, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer.
Calcium-induced calcium release activates spontaneous miniature outward currents in newt medullary reticular formation neurons

The medullary reticular formation exerts a powerful influence on sensorimotor integration and subsequent motor behavior, yet little is known about the neurons involved. In this study, we identify a...
Effect of Physiological Activity in Goldfish Optic Axons on Axonal Transport of Protein and Nucleosides

Among its various contributions to neuronal function, axonal transport plays an essential role in the maintenance of physiological activity, primarily by supplying constituents required for synaptic transmission [6, 7]. It might therefore be anticipated that physiological activity would in turn have an influence on axonal transport. There is ample evidence that the velocity of fast axonal transport is unaffected by neuronal activity [7], but is there an effect on the amount of material that is transported? Such an effect might operate, for example, by a change in the synthesis or degradation of transportable material, or by a change in the proportion of available material that is loaded into the transport system, the loading being a process that has been shown to be regulated by a Ca++-dependent step [8, 9]. Thus far there have been only a few reports of alterations in the amount of fast-transported proteins in response to alterations in physiological activity [2, 16, 19, 22] or to electrical stimulation [14]. Some observations on the axonal transport of adenosine, on the other hand, suggest that physiological activity may have a significant influence ([21]; see also Schubert and Kreutzberg, this volume).
Glucagon-Like Peptide-1: An Insulinotropic Hormone With Potent Growth Factor Actions at the Pancreatic Islets of Langerhans

Identification of chemical mediators that support pancreatic (3-cell neogenesis, differentiation, growth, and survival offers the prospect for introduction of novel therapeutic strategies in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. One such chemical mediator is glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an intestinally-derived blood glucose-lowering hormone that is a potential therapeutic agent for use in treatment of adult-onset diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) (1-4). GLP-1 exerts a direct action at the pancreatic islets of Langerhans to stimulate biosynthesis and secretion of insulin, thereby lowering levels of blood glucose. Additional effects of GLP-1 at the islets include stimulation of DNA synthesis, increased cellular proliferation, and alterations in the pattern of gene expression that are critical to maintenance of a fully differentiated 13-cell phenotype. Such growth factor-like effects of GLP- 1 suggest its possible usefulness as a stimulus for de novo production of islets in diabetic subjects, or for ex vivo expansion of (3-cells in islets isolated for purposes of transplantation. It is also appreciated that GLP- 1 acts within the central nervous system as an appetite suppressant (5,6). This surprising finding suggests an additional beneficial action of GLP-1 for treatment of eating disorders, obesity, and/or adipogenic diabetes mellitus.
NORMAL MODES (DIRECT PRODUCT AND SELECTION RULES)

Now you shall hear how a man may become perfect, if he devotes himself to the work which is natural to him.
Role of Infectious Agents in Birth Defects

The origins of ill effects in the fetus include monogenic or chromosomal, multifactorial (genetic and environmental combined), or predominantly environmental influences (Scriver, 1976). Although infectious agents, primarily viruses, are among the most important known environmental insults to the fetus, many genetic overtones can be noted, suggesting that these effects may well be multifactorial. Thus the unfolding fields of developmental immunology and immunogenetics indicate that the genetic attributes of the pregnant woman and her conceptus influence fetal outcome as regards possible graft vs. host rejection and effects of transplacentally transmitted infectious agents (Cooper and Dayton, 1977; Gotze, 1977). Experimental studies also support the possibility that viruses can produce chromosomal and possibly even genetic alterations (Nichols, 1966), and the seasonal clustering of some aneuploidies (Pai et al., 1978) suggests possible infectious causes. Indeed, if vertically transmitted RNA retroviruses exist in the germ plasm of humans, as they do in other species, such chromosomally integrated viral genetic material might well affect embryogenesis (Temin, 1976). Furthermore, the possibility of treating genetic or chromosomal disorders with DNA recombinants using viruses and/or bacteria is receiving much attention today.
Inverse Photoemission at Semiconductor Surfaces

Inverse photoemission is used as a novel probe for unoccupied electronic states. We observe unoccupied surface states on silicon and study their dependence on crystallographic orientation. Critical points of the conduction bands of bulk silicon are determined, e.g., L1 C at 2.30 eV and L3 C at 4.15 eV above the valence band maximum. New high-resolution data from cleaved GaP(110) surfaces show a surface state located at 0.3 eV below the conduction band minimum. For Pd2Si the density of unoccupied antibonding states is determined.
Minimally invasive esophagectomy without the use of postoperative nasogastric tube decompression.

A nasogastric tube (NGT) is commonly used in the postoperative period after esophagectomy for decompression of the gastric conduit. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of a minimally invasive esophagectomy without the use of NGT decompression. We performed a retrospective review of 124 patients who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy. Ninety-eight patients had an NGT placed for postoperative decompression and 26 patients did not. The main outcome measure was postoperative complications in regard to the gastric conduit and esophageal anastomosis. There were 96 males with a mean age of 65 ± 11 years. Three (3%) of 98 patients with operative NGT placement developed postoperative complications directly related to the NGT, which included perforation of the gastric conduit (n = 1) and perforation of the anastomosis (n = 2). In the 26 patients without operative NGT decompression, one patient (3.8%) had distention of the gastric conduit requiring placement of a NGT under fluoroscopic guidance on postoperative Day 1. There was no significant difference in the leak rate between the groups with NGT decompression compared with the group without NGT decompression (9.2 vs 7.7%, respectively). In conclusion, the use of NGT decompression during minimally invasive esophagectomy can be safely omitted. In cases with postoperative gastric conduit distention, an NGTcan be safely placed under fluoroscopic guidance.
Bias dependent conductance in CoFeB-MgO-CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions as an indicator for electrode magnetic condition at barrier interfaces

Barrier interface condition is critical for spin-polarized tunneling and spin-transfer torque switching in CoFeB∣MgO∣CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions. The differential tunnel conductance gV contains information on CoFeB’s magnetic properties at tunnel interfaces. Experimentally, we find gV to follow a “cross-normalization” relationship between the parallel and antiparallel alignments. This we show originates from the leading order spin-flip scatter terms related to CoFeB interface magnetic properties such as its exchange-stiffness. By connecting the observable gV slopes to electrode-specific spin-flip scatter rates, we obtain an efficient measurement for mass-screening of junctions for interface magnetic differences. This provides valuable information for device and fabrication process optimization.Barrier interface condition is critical for spin-polarized tunneling and spin-transfer torque switching in CoFeB∣MgO∣CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junctions. The differential tunnel conductance gV contains information on CoFeB’s magnetic properties at tunnel interfaces. Experimentally, we find gV to follow a “cross-normalization” relationship between the parallel and antiparallel alignments. This we show originates from the leading order spin-flip scatter terms related to CoFeB interface magnetic properties such as its exchange-stiffness. By connecting the observable gV slopes to electrode-specific spin-flip scatter rates, we obtain an efficient measurement for mass-screening of junctions for interface magnetic differences. This provides valuable information for device and fabrication process optimization.
“J'aime to be Funny!”: Humor, Learning, and Identity Construction in High School English as a Second Language Classrooms

Creative manipulations of language have long been recognized as important aspects of second language development. Research has largely examined playful language within adult foreign language classrooms; however, less attention has been given to the pragmatic use of humor among adolescent multilingual learners of English. Drawing on oral interactional and interview data in racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse high school English as a second language (ESL) classrooms in the United States, this article examines humor and playful talk in the translanguaging practices of adolescent multilingual Central African immigrant and refugee students whose common languages are French and English. Data are analyzed through discursive identity frameworks that view identities produced through interaction, through heteroglossic perspectives on language use and development, and through a raciolinguistic lens. Findings reveal that everyday comedic classroom interaction afforded students opportunities to negotiate macro-processes of social, racial, and economic marginalization in and outside of school, and fostered group cohesion and metalinguistic awareness. This article concludes by presenting pedagogical implications of valuing and harnessing student-generated humorous interaction for meaningful language and content learning.
Vascular injuries—Blunt and sharp

Blood vessels in the head and neck region are usually protected by overlying skeleton, hence the incidence of injuries to these blood vessels is relatively less common. Traumatic injuries can be broadly divided into 2 groups based on the mechanism of injury: blunt traumatic injuries and penetrating injuries. Blunt trauma with massive impact is usually associated with injuries to multiple structures, while penetrating trauma leads to focal injuries to these blood vessels. Consequences of these injuries are serious and may lead to mortality from hemorrhage, stroke from cerebrovascular insufficiency or upper limb ischemia. Surgical exposures of these blood vessels can be very difficult technically, hence immediate vascular surgery consult should be obtained for prompt diagnosis and expeditious control of these injuries. With the rapid evolution of endovascular techno logy over the course of past few decades, many of these injuries can now be treated with minimally invasive options.
Revisiting interdependence in times and terms of crisis

Scholars and lawyers have long debated the meaning of the interdependence of human rights. Revisiting that question in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates both that the substantive en...
Toward a better monitoring statistic for profile monitoring via variational autoencoders

Variational autoencoders have been recently proposed for the problem of process monitoring. While these works show impressive results over classical methods, the proposed monitoring statistics ofte...
Global secular stagnation and the rise of intellectual property monopoly

Explanations for slow global growth (secular stagnation) correctly focus on income inequality and wage formation but are incomplete. They ignore the source of wages and fail to ask why a rising pro...
Detection of oxidized lipoproteins in blood by laser-induced fluorescence

Excess free radical production is known to cause tissue injury in a number of contexts such as coronary reperfusion, atherosclerosis, and lipopolysaccharide-induced endothelial cell injury. Free radicals have proved to be difficult to measure in vivo due to their low concentrations and short lifetime. Because free radicals readily oxidize lipoproteins, we propose to assess free radical production using the degree of oxidation of circulating lipoproteins as an index. An advantage of using oxidized lipoproteins as an indicator of free radical activity is that their half-lives in plasma are extremely long (minutes to hours depending on the extent of oxidation). In addition oxidized low density lipoprotein (o-LDL) has been shown to be toxic to various cells1 and is believed to be present in atherosclerotic plaques.2,3 Its level in plasma therefore may itself be an Important determinant of tissue damage. It has been demonstrated that when LDL is oxidized in vitro, its fluorescence emission spectrum is significantly altered.4 We measured LDL and o-LDL spectra in a fluorimeter with an excitation wavelength of 365 nm.
Lettrt To The Editor

Dr. David9s letter regarding potential problems of noncompliance and home follow-up in the use of outpatient intravenous antibiotics points out the need for this type of therapy to be instituted only in those centers in which these facets can be well controlled. Our patients had all been followed for a number of years, had been in the hospital previously, and were quite aware of the techniques and the benefits of intravenous medications. Mostly older patients, they were taught this procedure to our satisfaction.
Measuring the Damage from Financial Integration in the GCC: Lessons from the Global Crisis

In the wake of the global financial crisis, several leading countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experienced considerable economic slowdown. Equity prices tumbled, bank credit dried up, GDP growth rates came to a halt, spreads on sovereign bonds soared, and risk aversion increased dramatically. These events have demonstrated the negative consequences of financial integration which combined with financial innovation and deregulation have increased vulnerabilities in the GCC and created heightened systemic risks. Using data between 2001 and 2009, we calculate a measure of financial stress for GCC countries and estimate the harm caused by the financial crisis to the region’s real economy. Our results show that between 2008 and 2009, economic activity in the GCC slowed by 2.6% after controlling for a variety of factors such as oil and stock price movements. We discuss how policymakers can initiate countercyclical policies to stave off the damage from future financial crisis.
Flexible thermoelectric materials and device optimization for wearable energy harvesting

In this paper, we review recent advances in the development of flexible thermoelectric materials and devices for wearable human body-heat energy harvesting applications. We identify various emerging applications such as specialized medical sensors where wearable thermoelectric generators can have advantages over other energy sources. To meet the performance requirements for these applications, we provide detailed design guidelines regarding the properties of the material, device dimensions, and gap fillers by performing realistic device simulations with important parasitic losses taken into account. For this, we review recently emerging flexible thermoelectric materials suited for wearable applications, such as polymer-based materials and screen-printed paste-type inorganic materials. A few examples among these materials are selected for thermoelectric device simulations in order to find optimal design parameters for wearable applications. Finally we discuss the feasibility of scalable and cost-effective manufacturing of thermoelectric energy harvesting devices with desired dimensions.
Obtaining and Managing Answer Quality for Online Data-Intensive Services

Online data-intensive (OLDI) services use anytime algorithms to compute over large amounts of data and respond quickly. Interactive response times are a priority, so OLDI services parallelize query execution across distributed software components and return best effort answers based on the data so far processed. Omitted data from slow components could lead to better answers, but tracing online how much better the answers could be is difficult. We propose Ubora, a design approach to measure the effect of slow-running components on the quality of answers. Ubora randomly samples online queries and executes them a second time. The first online execution omits data from slow components and provides interactive answers. The second execution uses mature results from intermediate components completed after the online execution finishes. Ubora uses memoization to speed up mature executions by replaying network messages exchanged between components. Our systems-level implementation works for a wide range of services, including Hadoop/Yarn, Apache Lucene, the EasyRec Recommendation Engine, and the OpenEphyra question-answering system. Ubora computes answer quality with more mature executions per second than competing approaches that do not use memoization. With Ubora, we show that answer quality is effective at guiding online admission control. While achieving the same answer quality on high-priority queries, our adaptive controller had 55% higher peak throughput on low-priority queries than a competing controller guided by the rate of timeouts.
The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, by Tavis Smiley & Cornel West and So Rich, So Poor: Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America, by Peter Edelman

If the allusions to the 1960s in two recent books on poverty, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West's The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto and Peter Edelman's So Rich, So Poor: Why It's So Hard ...
Imaging the shallow crust with teleseismic receiver functions

SUMMARY Teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) represent an estimate of the site-response to incoming seismic energy. This technique has long been a staple of the global earthquake community, as RFs are sensitive to impedance contrasts associated with major discontinuities in the crust and upper mantle. However, there is substantial debate in the community concerning the lateral and vertical resolution limits possible using these methods due to limitations resulting from ambient noise and non-uniform spatial sampling of finite-frequency wave kernels. Here, we take advantage of data from the LaBarge Passive Seismic Experiment to examine these questions in more detail. We find (1) that RFs can provide a robust image of the near-surface (<5 km) structure; (2) that vertical resolution may exceed 500 m and (3) that our results compare favourably to nearby wells. These results indicate that RF analysis can provide high-resolution images of the shallow crust, which has potential value for hydrocarbon exploration.
CBT Intensity and Outcome for Panic Disorder in a Primary Care Setting

A hybrid efficacy-effectiveness design in which participants (n = 91/93) were retained in the study regardless of whether or not they received treatment enabled evaluation of CBT intensity in relation to panic disorder in the primary care setting. CBT intensity was operationalized as number of cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions, number of follow-up booster phone calls, and secondarily, as number of cognitive behavioral coping and exposure strategies. Baseline psychosocial and demographic predictors of CBT intensity were analyzed first. Severity of anxiety sensitivity predicted number of cognitive behavioral sessions, but no baseline variables predicted number of follow-up booster phone calls or number of coping and exposure strategies. Multivariate logistic and linear regressions were used to evaluate the degree to which treatment intensity predicted 3-month and 12-month outcomes (anxiety sensitivity, phobic avoidance, depressive symptoms, disability, and medical and mental health functioning) after controlling for potential confounding baseline variables. Number of cognitive behavioral therapy sessions predicted lower anxiety sensitivity at 3 and 12 months, and number of follow-up booster phone calls predicted lower anxiety sensitivity, less phobic avoidance, and less depression at 12 months. These findings indicate that "dose" of psychotherapy was an important predictor of outcome. The significance of follow-up booster phone contact is discussed as an index of continued self-management of panic and anxiety following acute treatment.
A weight-balanced branching rule for SAT

We analyze the search methods for the propositional satisfiability problem (SAT), and propose a branching rule that better balances the two factors, reaching a solution and simplifying the problem, when selecting the next value setting in the depth-first search. The results of computational experiments support our analyses and show effectiveness of our new branching rule on various problems.