cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a high-performance object reuse dynamic memory allocation policy for C++ programs

The importance of dynamic memory management has increased significantly as there is a growing number of developments in object-oriented programs. Many studies show that dynamic memory management is one of the most expensive components in many software systems. In C++ programs especially, it tends to have prolific object creation and deletion. These objects tend to have short life-spans. This paper presents a dynamic memory allocation strategy to reuse these objects to speed up the object management. This object reuse scheme is implemented through the overloading C++ operators, new and delete. The C++ allocation patterns are studied thoroughly in this paper. Over 90% of objects are not bigger than 512 bytes and allocated prolifically. The proposed scheme is made feasible by reuse of these small objects. Our allocation scheme is simple and fast because it requires no splitting and no coalescing, and reduces the number of malloc() calls. It maintains its own free-list which is used for object reuse. The experimented results, based on the proposed allocation scheme, show that allocation speed is increased up to four times compared to other well-known algorithms. Our scheme is purely source-code oriented and built on top of malloc. Therefore, this approach is portable for application to existing code and safe to use with different mallocs.
The Philosophy of Cusp Forms

There are four theories that deserve to be studied in parallel. These are: The representation theory of symmetric groups S k ; The representation theory of \(\mathrm{GL}(k, \mathbb{F}_{q});\) The representation theory of GL(k, F) where F is a local field; The theory of automorphic forms on GL(k).
Information processing as a paradigm for decision making.

For decades, the dominant paradigm for studying decision making—the expected utility framework—has been burdened by an increasing number of empirical findings that question its validity as a model of human cognition and behavior. However, as Kuhn (1962) argued in his seminal discussion of paradigm shifts, an old paradigm cannot be abandoned until a new paradigm emerges to replace it. In this article, we argue that the recent shift in researcher attention toward basic cognitive processes that give rise to decision phenomena constitutes the beginning of that replacement paradigm. Models grounded in basic perceptual, attentional, memory, and aggregation processes have begun to proliferate. The development of this new approach closely aligns with Kuhn's notion of paradigm shift, suggesting that this is a particularly generative and revolutionary time to be studying decision science.
Evaluation of the Indirect Influence of Courteous Service on Customer Discretionary Behavior.

This study determined whether courteous service communication may indirectly influence customer discretionary behavior (CDB). CDB was defined as any behavior a customer voluntarily performs, beyond purchasing products or services, which may be helpful or harmful to an organization. Specifically, it was hypothesized that courteous service would influence customer evaluations and mood, which, in turn, would influence CDBs. Observational and survey data were collected in two grocery stores. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that courteous service had an indirect influence on customer commitment behaviors. Specifically, as cashiers displayed more courtesy, customers provided more positive evaluations of service and were ultimately more likely to recommend the store to friends and shop at the store if other stores are closer. However, courteous service did not predict customer helpfulness. Courtesy also explained relatively little variation overall in outcome variables. Therefore, efforts to improve customer outcomes should extend beyond improving the courtesy of service. Additional research is proposed to further assess the role of communication in customer service encounters.
Fearfully Wonderfully Made: The Interconnectedness of Body-Mind-Spirit

This article describes the interconnection of body-mind, mind-spirit, and body-spirit from scientific, theological, and pastoral perspectives, and also from a Christian viewpoint, as exemplified in the words and actions of Jesus Christ. Using this background, the author, a physician, theologian, and lay pastoral minister, describes a course which she has developed for the ecumenical evening session of a local seminary.
ANT1, an Aromatic and Neutral Amino Acid Transporter in Arabidopsis

A new amino acid transporter was identified from the Arabidopsis expressed sequence tag cDNAs by expressing the cDNA in a yeast amino acid transport mutant. Transport analysis of the expressed protein in yeast showed that it transports aromatic and neutral amino acids, as well as arginine. This transporter (ANT1, aromatic and neutral transporter) also transports indole-3-acetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The cDNA is 1.6 kb in length with an open reading frame that codes for a protein with 432 amino acids and a calculated molecular mass of 50 kD. Hydropathy analysis showed ANT1 is an integral membrane protein with 11 putative membrane-spanning domains. Southern analysis and a BLAST search of the Arabidopsis genome database suggests that ANT1 is part of a small gene family containing at least five members. Phylogenetic comparisons with other known amino acid transporters in plants suggests that ANT1 represents a new class of amino acid transporter. RNA gel-blot analysis showed that this transporter is expressed in all organs with highest abundance in flowers and cauline leaves.
Divergence Times of Eutherian Mammals

In the continuing debate about the timing of the origin of major extant placental clades, both proponents of a divergence after the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary and those advocating divergence deep within the Cretaceous too often miss what the Late Cretaceous record of placentals actually
Cezanne Paints Inflammation by Regulating Ubiquitination

Hypoxia–reoxygenation can induce inflammation by activating nuclear factor (NF)-κB. In endothelial cells, this process is critical for the pathogenesis of many chronic inflammatory conditions, such as atherosclerosis and autoimmune disease. Recent publication from Evans’s laboratory shows the critical role of deubiquitinating enzyme Cezanne, regulating its extent of NF-κB activation and expression of inflammatory genes.1 In particular, they showed that the inhibition of polyubiquitination of TNF receptor associated factor (TRAF) 6 is a specific anti-inflammatory mechanism by Cezanne. In this editorial, we briefly review the TRAF6-mediated NF-κB signaling and other posttranslational modifications that play a key role in modulating endothelial cell inflammation. Article, see p 1583 NF-κB transcription factor complexes consist of a heterodimer of p65 (RelA) and p50 or p52.2 In most nonstimulated cells, p65-containing NF-κB complexes are kept in an inactive cytoplasmic form, bound to one family of inhibitor proteins, the inhibitory κBs (IκBs). Two IκB kinases, IKKα and IKKβ, target phosphorylation of IκB after hypoxia–reoxygenation, cytokine, or ultraviolet stress stimulation. Phosphorylation of IκBs promotes their ubiquitination and degradation by the proteasome, which releases the p65 complex, allowing it to translocate to the nucleus.3 An ubiquitin E2 conjugating enzyme of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (Ubc)4/5 family and the SCF-βTrCP E3 ligase (Skp1-Cul1-F-box ligase containing the F-box beta protein βTrCP) execute ubiquitination of IκB. Once IκB is phosphorylated, p-transducin repeat containing protein 1 (βTrCP1) and βTrCP2 associate with phosphorylated IκB.4,5 The polyubiquitinated IκB is selectively degraded by the 26S proteasome, and then mature p52 and p65 subunits translocate into the nucleus to increase NF-κB activity.4 It is now well established that NF-κB activation is a key event in inflammation-based cardiovascular pathogenesis, including atherosclerotic plaque formation, diabetes mellitus–mediated endothelial inflammation, and ischemia/reperfusion injury.6 The regulatory subunit NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO/IKKγ) of the cytoplasmic IκB …
Motion estimation architecture for video compression

A VLSI architecture which implements the full search block matching motion estimation algorithm in real time is proposed. The architecture consists of a 2D structure of basic cells (BCs), where each BC is capable of computing the mean absolute error. The interblock dependency is exploited and hence the architecture can meet the real-time requirement in various applications. Most importantly, the architecture is simple, modular, and cascadable. This makes possible VLSI implementation as a codec. >
The amygdala and the experience of affect

The current study examined the hypothesis that amygdala activation serves as a neural precondition for negative affective experience. Participants’ affective experience was measured by asking them to report on their momentary experiences several times a day over the course of a month using an electronic experience-sampling procedure. One year later, participants viewed backwardly masked depictions of fear while functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure their amygdala and fusiform gyrus activation. Negative affect, as measured during the experience-sampling procedure 1-year prior, was positively correlated with amygdala activation in response to these brief presentations of fear depictions. Furthermore, descriptive analyses indicated that fusiform gyrus activation and negative affective experience in the scanner were associated for participants reporting increased nervousness during the imaging procedure. The results are consistent with the interpretation that the amygdala contributes to negative affective experience by increasing perceptual sensitivity for negative stimuli.
Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms in Mothers of Young Children

Mothers of young children are at risk for depressive symptoms due to their gender and status as parents. The primary purposes of this study were (1) to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms in a sample of mothers with young children, (2) to identify sociodemographic correlates of depressive symptoms among the women, and (3) to determine if chronic stress is associated with depressive symptoms independent of other risk factors. In-home interviews were conducted with 196 mothers of 5- and 6-year-old children using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression (CES-D) Scale and the Everyday Stressors Index (ESI). High depressive symptoms (CES-D greater than or equal to 16) were reported by 49% of the mothers. They were highest among those who had never married, had less than a high school education, were under 25 years of age, were black, and had a low income. The ESI was a strong predictor of high depressive symptoms, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. In comparison to mothers reporting a low level of everyday stressors (score = 5), those scoring 15 were 3 times more likely to have high depressive symptoms; those scoring 35 were more than 30 times as likely to have high CES-D scores. The results suggest the importance of chronic daily stressors as correlates of depressive symptoms in mothers of young children and also point to the need for multivariate models when examining predictors of those symptoms.
Mathematical Models of Vertical Transmission of Infection

Many diseases that are important from the standpoint of public health, animal husbandry, and agriculture are passed from one individual to another by two distinct mechanisms that may be called horizontal transmission and vertical transmission. In horizontal transmission, susceptible individuals become infected by direct or indirect contact with other individuals who are infectious and who are living at the same time. Vertical transmission refers to direct transmission from infected parents to offspring before or during birth.
MATERNAL LITERACY MODIFIES THE EFFECT OF TOILETS AND PIPED WATER ON INFANT SURVIVAL IN MALAYSIA

The effect of toilets piped water and maternal literacy on infant mortality was analyzed using data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey collected in 1976-1977. The effect of toilets and piped water on infant mortality was dependent on whether or not mothers were literate. The impact of having toilets was greater among the illiterate than among the literate but the impact of piped water was greater among the literate than among the illiterate....The authors infer that literate mothers protect their infants especially in unsanitary environments lacking toilets and that when piped water is introduced they use it more effectively to practice better hygiene for their infants. (EXCERPT)
The Effects of a Dithiocarbamoylhydrazine Derivative Upon Ovarian Function and Structure in the Bonnet Monkey (Macaca radiata)

The effects of Methallibure a dithiocarbamoylhydrazine derivate upon ovarian structure and function were investigated in 8 adult female bonnet monkeys. The drug was administered parenterally for 30 days beginning during the follicular phase of the cycle in 3 animals and during the luteal phase in 5. Ovarian function was monitored by daily measurements of the urinary excretion of total estrogens vaginal cytology cervical mucus weight and ferning and sex skin reddening. 1 animal was subjected to hystero-salpine-oepherectomy at the end of 30 days for anatomic studies; the remainder were followed with daily observations until vaginal bleeding occurred whereupon laparotomy was performed. The systemic effects of methallibure consisted of listlessness and in all but 1 animal of anorexia and weight loss. The ovary of the treated monkey exhibited an almost complete suppression of follicular growth while the histologic appearance of the tube; endometrium and cervix were consistent with diminished estrogen stimulation. Animals started on the drug during the follicular phase of the cycle experienced a rapid decrease of ovarian function these started during the luteal phase exhibited little suppressive effect until the corpus luteum had waned. The post-treatment cycle proved in all instances to be anovulatory in character.(Authors modified)
Dangerously Biased: How the Texas Capital Sentencing Statute Encourages Jurors to Be Unreceptive to Mitigation Evidence

Whether the capital sentencing statute in Texas provides a vehicle for jurors to give effect to mitigation evidence has been a critical factor when the United States Supreme Court (the Court) has sought to determine its constitutionality. Unlike the majority of other jurisdictions which maintain capital punishment as a potential penalty, Texas utilizes “special issue questions” to determine the defendant’s sentence. In 1976, the Court approved the use of such questions provided they allowed jurors the opportunity to consider and give effect to potentially mitigating evidence. After initially holding that the Texas statute’s future dangerousness question was sufficiently broad to allow jurors to consider mitigation evidence in support of a lesser sentence than death, the Court then shifted from that position when it decided Penry v. Lynaugh in 1989. The Court in Penry identified an inherent constitutional deficiency within the Texas statute - its inability to guide jurors’ interpretation of evidence which both confirms a defendant’s dangerousness while also lessening his moral blameworthiness. In essence, the Texas capital sentencing statute had failed to provide a meaningful vehicle for jurors to express their endorsement of mitigating evidence. Although the Texas capital sentencing statute was changed after Penry in an effort to address this statutory deficiency, this article argues that the post-Penry sentencing instructions provided to Texas capital juries does not alleviate the Court’s concerns. Using data from the most recent efforts of the Capital Jury Project this article demonstrates how the current sentencing scheme in Texas fails to provide jurors with an adequate vehicle for considering mitigation evidence. Through an analysis of the jury selection process this article examines the various ways in which the mitigation special issue is reconstituted by trial judges and prosecutors into an extension of the future dangerousness question. What emerges through this analysis is that the interpretation of the special issue questions proves to be decisive in determining how jurors will view the evidence they are presented with throughout the trial as well as what factors they believe they are legally permitted to consider at sentencing. The findings of this study strongly suggest that the focus of the special issue questions on the defendant’s dangerousness inhibits jurors’ ability to view mitigation evidence as properly mitigating. Additionally, the lack of guidance provided by the statue results in jurors mistakenly believing that only mitigation related to the crime itself is legally relevant to their sentencing decision. Thus, the Texas capital sentencing statute prevents jurors from giving effect to personal mitigation, an essential element in a constitutionally satisfactory death penalty statute.
CMOS integrated Silicon Photonics - does it make sense?

CMOS integrated Silicon Photonics offers a compact solution for a fully functional optical engine. The interdependence of optical and electrical components is discussed and arguments for a co-optimization of these components are given.
Classifying Forest Vegetation Using Sub-region Classification Based on Multi-temporal Remote Sensing Images

It is very difficult to classify forest vegetation in mountain areas because of the impact of complex terrain.In this paper a new method,sub-region classification based on multi-temporal remote sensing images,is proposed to deal with the classification of forest vegetation.Firstly,sunshiny and shadowy region was classified using terrain factors and reflectance data.This technology could avoid the problem of "different spectrum with the same feature" and "different feature with the same spectrum" in some region.Secondly,the forest vegetation could get better classification precision by avoiding the interactions of different plants with multi-temporal images.So it was enhanced that the separability of coniferous forest and broadleaf forest.Finally,the classification result showed that accuracy could be greatly improved by using sub-region classification based on multi-temporal remote sensing images.The overall accuracy and kappa coefficient was 81.3% and 0.72,respectively.So the method delivered in this essay has obviously technological advantages and important application potentiality in forest vegetation classification.
Varieties of Pictorial Illusion

This article focuses on a potentially perplexing aspect of our interactions with pictorial representations (including film, paintings, pictures, drawings, photographs, even video games): in some cases, it seems that visual representations can play tricks on our cognitive faculties. We may either come to believe that objects represented in pictures are real or perhaps perceive them as such. The possibility of widespread pictorial illusions has been oft discussed, and discarded, in the aesthetics literature. I support this stance. However, the nature of the illusion is more complicated than is usually considered. I argue that there are five different types of potential illusions and present reasons for rejecting each. I also explore in detail the most persistent illusion: the “object recognition perceptual illusion thesis,” which states that we undergo a perceptual illusion while viewing pictorial representations simply in virtue of seeing objects in the representation. I contend that a rejection of this thesis depends on the nature of perceptual content, an issue with far-reaching consequences in aesthetics.
The Range of Knowledge

Each of us exists in a particular region of space and time, with every other region of space and time being more or less distant from our own. In addition, our knowledge of the world is pretty much as localised in space and time as is our existence: we know most about the here and now, and much less about the there and then. In order for us to be omniscient, we would have to know not only about our own particular region, but about every other region as well, that is, in order to be omnisicient, a being must have maximal knowledge. The issue of the range of knowledge is what regions, other than the here and now, exist to be known. The spacial issue is not pressing; there are many other places than where I am, and in order to be omniscient, a being must know about all (and all about) those places. The temporal issues are a bit more complex. In addition to the present, there is at least the past, and any omniscient being must know the past; but many have balked at allowing that the future has the same status. Worries over knowledge of the future can be either metaphysical or epistemological. One might think that there is literally nothing ‘there’ that can be an object of knowledge, or alternatively one might think that though there is a future which we can hope for, hold beliefs about, and ponder over, we can never achieve knowledge regarding it. In either case, the view being defended is that the future is of a different status than the past or present: whereas we can know the past and present, we cannot know the future.
Vision for Intelligent Vehicles & Applications (VIVA): Face detection and head pose challenge

Intelligent vehicles of the future are that which, having a holistic (i.e. inside and outside the vehicle) perception and understanding of the driving environment, make it possible for passengers to go from point A to point B safely and in a timely manner. This may happen by way of providing active assistance for drivers, giving full control to automated cars or some combination of the two. No matter how, a holistic perception and understanding of inside and outside the vehicle is absolutely necessary, and vision based techniques are expected to play an increasing role in this holistic view. The question is, how well do these vision techniques work in order to be used in time and safety critical driving situations? We introduce one part of the Vision for Intelligent Vehicles and Applications (VIVA), the face challenge. VIVA is a platform designed to share naturalistic driving data with the community in order to: present issues and challenges in vision from real-world driving conditions, benchmark existing vision approaches using proper metrics and progress the development of future vision algorithms. With a special focus on challenges from looking inside at the driver's face, this articles provides information on how the data is acquired and annotated, and how methods are compared.
Breast Cancer Prevention in Summary

In a consensus statement regarding breast cancer prevention, “preventive therapy” was the new term coined for “chemoprevention” [5]. The basics of this movement are founded on screening high-risk individuals and treating them with therapeutic measures in hopes of decreasing adverse outcomes. This has been compared to the successful demonstration in cardiology with screening lipid levels and treating with statins to prevent cardiovascular events [3].
Demystify Undesired Handoff in Cellular Networks

Handoff is a critical mechanism in cellular networks. When the mobile device moves out of the coverage of the serving cell (i.e., base station), a handoff is performed to switch its serving cell to another and thus to ensure seamless network access. To provide nice user experience, it is desirable to select the preferred cell (e.g., 4G rather than 3G/2G in most cases) among multiple candidate cells which all are around and able to serve the device if needed. In this paper, we examine the property of desired reachability in the current design and practice of handoff. We show that handoff is designated to be configurable in order to accommodate diverse requirements by users and operators. However, handoff misconfigurations exist and they make the device stuck in an undesired target cell (e.g., 2G when 4G available). We model the distributed mobility management as an iterative process and use a formal analysis to classify the causes. We further design a software tool to detect handoff misbehaviors and run it over operational networks. We validate the identified issues on two major US mobile carrier networks.
Digitalization of the myocardium in the intact animal by direct coronary arterial drug administration: II. Relation of the rate of administration to myocardial concentration and toxicity☆

Abstract Experiments were designed to study the relation of the concentration of 3 H digoxin perfusing the coronary vessels to the myocardial concentration of the drug. 3 H digoxin, in concentrations ranging from 1.27 to 20 μg/ ml, was perfused into the left anterior coronary artery of 25 anesthetized dogs at a constant infusion rate of 0.51 ml/min. At various times the dogs were sacrificed and the myocardium analyzed for radioactivity. The major determinant of the mean rate of myocardial uptake of tritiated digoxin appeared to be the concentration of the infused glycoside. The total uptake of 3 H digoxin was dependent upon concentration of coronary 3 H digoxin and the duration of infusion. These data elucidate some of the factors that determine the myocardial concentration of digoxin.
Laudato Si’ and the Papal View of Ecological Debt: An Empirical Exploration

In 2015, Pope Francis released his second papal encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home (Francis, 2015), the central idea of which is the Holy Father’s concern for the future of our planet, our common home, and to seek sustainable and integral development. The purpose of this article is to examine critically and empirically the specific notion of ecological debt as described in the encyclical (Francis, 2015: 51 and 52), beginning with a historical background on the origins and use of the term. We then touch upon the Pope’s discussion of ecological debt and his indictment of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Laudato Si’, which resonate with the so-called pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) which states that pollutionintensive industries in developed countries relocate their “dirty” industries to developing countries with relatively lax environmental regulations. In a similar vein, we propose that a rise in total greenhouse gases is associated with the resource extraction and commodity export-based activities of MNCs in developing countries where such activities and their resultant pollution are subject to less stringent regulations due to imperatives for economic growth. This creates an ecological debt when commodity exports from developing countries to more developed ones come at the cost of the environment in the former. Our article thus connects Laudato Si’ with PHH, enabling us to examine empirically the Pope’s statement that the “export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialized North has caused harm locally” (Francis, 2015: 51).
Increased Hippocampal ProBDNF Contributes to Memory Impairments in Aged Mice.

Memory decline during aging or accompanying neurodegenerative diseases, represents a major health problem. Neurotrophins have long been considered relevant to the mechanisms of aging-associated cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. Mature Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and its precursor (proBDNF) can both be secreted in response to neuronal activity and exert opposing effects on neuronal physiology and plasticity. In this study, biochemical analyses revealed that increased levels of proBDNF are present in the aged mouse hippocampus relative to young and that the level of hippocampal proBDNF inversely correlates with the ability to perform in a spatial memory task (water radial arm maze). To ascertain the role of increased proBDNF levels on hippocampal function and memory we performed infusions of proBDNF into the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus in male mice trained in the water radial arm maze paradigm: In well-performing aged mice, intra-hippocampal proBDNF infusions resulted in a progressive and significant impairment of memory performance. This impairment was associated with increased p-cofilin levels, an important regulator of dendritic spines and synapse physiology. On the other hand, in poor performers, intra-hippocampal infusions of TAT-Pep5, a peptide which blocks the interaction between the p75 Neurotrophin Receptor (p75NTR) and RhoGDI, significantly improved learning and memory, while saline infusions had no effect. Our results support a role for proBDNF and its receptor p75NTR in aging-related memory impairments.
Stress and Neural Involvement in Metabolism

Once the threshold for hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal responses to stressors has been reached, the central stress network is engaged and metabolic and behavioral responses occur that are a consequence of autonomic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral outflow from the recruited central stress response network. These responses include the maintenance of blood glucose concentrations, mobilization of lipid and amino acids, and increased thermogenesis through increased sympathetic and glucocorticoid outflows. The actions of increased stressor-induced glucocorticoid and epinephrine secretion on brain not only induce the central response network, but also affect learning and memory, feeding, and aggressive behaviors that usually enhance the survival of the individual under challenge.
Functional parameterization for hydraulic conductivity inversion with uncertainty quantification

Functional inversion based on local approximate solutions (LAS) is developed for steady-state flow in heterogeneous aquifers. The method employs a set of LAS of flow to impose spatial continuity of hydraulic head and Darcy fluxes in the solution domain, which are conditioned to limited measurements. Hydraulic conductivity is first parameterized as piecewise continuous, which requires the addition of a smoothness constraint to reduce inversion artifacts. Alternatively, it is formulated as piecewise constant, for which the smoothness constraint is not required, but the data requirement is much higher. Success of the inversion with both parameterizations is demonstrated for both one-dimensional synthetic examples and an oil-field permeability profile. When measurement errors are increased, estimation becomes less accurate but the solution is stable, i.e., estimation errors remain bounded. Compared to piecewise constant parameterization, piecewise continuous parameterization leads to more stable and accurate inversion. Moreover, conductivity variation can also be captured at two spatial scales reflecting sub-facies smooth-varying heterogeneity as well as abrupt changes at facies boundaries. By combining inversion with geostatistical simulation, uncertainty in the estimated conductivity and the hydraulic head field can be quantified. For a given measurement dataset, inversion accuracy and estimation uncertainty with the piecewise continuous parameterization is not sensitive to increasing conductivity contrast.
Statistical Computation with a Microcomputer

The development of microcomputer systems in recent years has given many individuals the capability for statistical computation that would have been previously impossible. The proper role of microcomputers and their advantages and limitations is discussed. The MICROSTAT system is described as an example of the capability of a microcomputer statistical package. Sample printouts illustrate the degree of computational accuracy that can be achieved with an 8-bit microprocessor.
Intervento sulla crisi con bambini maltrattati

Le crisi di tipo familiare non sono eventi insoliti nel campo della protezione infantile: la rivelazione, da parte di un bambino, di molestie sessuali, la nascita di un neonato tossicodipendente, la scoperta della dipendenza da sostanze in un adolescente, l’arresto di un genitore per comportamenti violenti, la minaccia di sfratto di una famiglia da una casa popolare o la condizione di un genitore sopraffatto dall’impossibilita di corrispondere ai bisogni di un bambino illustrano soltanto alcune delle crisi vissute dalle famiglie. Nonostante lo stato delle crisi sia di breve durata — generalmente di 4/6 settimane — questo e un periodo di accentuata vulnerabilita familiare e di squilibrio che richiede una risposta programmata adeguatamente; ovviamente, non tutte le famiglie in crisi si trovano ad affrontare casi di abuso minorile, ma problemi di abuso di sostanze, dinamiche familiari ed altri fattori stressanti possono, comunque, portare gli adulti a comportarsi in maniera abusiva nei confronti dei bambini.
Correlations between Time-Dependent and Cytochalasin B Affected Sperm Entry in Voltage-Clamped Sea Urchin Eggs

Sperm entry is only successful in approximately 15% of Lytechinus variegates eggs voltage-clamped at −70 mV, where as 100% of eggs voltage-clamped at −20 mV are penetrated by sperm (Lynn and Chambers 1984). Suppression of sperm penetration at −70 mV is reversible if the clamped egg membrane potential is stepped to −20 mV (a permissive potential for sperm entry). Sperm incorporation occurred in 50% of the eggs when the clamped potential was shifted at approximately 7.5s with an increasing percentage of penetrations as the time period from the sperm-initiated conductance increase to the time of the step was decreased. In the reciprocal experiments where the membrane potential was first clamped at −20 mV and then stepped to −70 mV at specific time points following a sperm-egg interaction, 50% of the eggs were penetrated at an average time of 10.4s with an increasing percentage of sperm incorporation occurring as the time to the step was increased. A similar failure of sperm penetration is induced by treating the sea urchin egg with cytochalasin B (cyto B) (Longo 1978; Schatten and Schatten 1980). Experiments with cyto B-pretreated eggs clamped at −20 mV (an otherwise permissive potential for sperm entry) revealed that not only is sperm entry blocked, but voltage-clamp current profiles associated with the failure of sperm entry at −70 mV were diagnostic of nonpermissive voltage-clamped potentials. In addition, localized FE elevation lifting the sperm from the surface of the egg was frequently observed (an event normally seen only at clamped potentials of −90 and −100 mV). One extended interpretation of these experiments is that microfilament polymerization is interrupted in both the cyto B experiments and in experiments where the egg is clamped at −70 mV and more negative potentials without cyto B treatments.
Financial Disclosure Transparency and Employee Wages

We test the hypothesis that less transparency in financial disclosures is an undesirable firm attribute that increases the amount of information and unemployment risk that employees bear, resulting in a wage premium. Using establishment-level wage data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we document that firms with less transparent disclosures pay their employees more, especially when employees bear greater information acquisition costs, have more influence in the wage-setting process, and own more stock in their firm. Our results also hold to utilizing instrumental variables and two quasi-natural experiments arising from the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as shocks to the transparency of a firm’s financial reporting environment. Overall, our results suggest that accounting disclosure choices can generate externalities on an important group of stakeholders.
Statistical Bus Ranking for Flexible Robust Unit Commitment

As the level of uncertain renewable capacity increases on power systems worldwide, industrial and academic researchers alike are seeking a scalable, transparent, and effective approach to unit commitment under uncertainty. This paper presents a statistical ranking methodology that allows adaptive robust stochastic unit commitment using a modular structure, with much-needed flexibility. Specifically, this paper describes a bus ranking methodology that identifies the most critical buses based on a worst-case metric. An important innovation is the ability to identify alternative metrics on which to rank the uncertainty set—for example, to minimize economic dispatch cost or ramping needs, to provide a customized robust unit commitment solution. Compared to traditional robust unit commitment models, the proposed model combines statistical tools with analytical framework of power system networks. The resulting formulation is easily implementable and customizable to the needs of the system operator. The method and its applications are validated against other established approaches, showing equivalent solution to the state-of-the-art approach. Case studies were conducted on the IEEE-30, IEEE-118, and the pegase-1354 networks. In addition, the flexibility of bus ranking formulation is illustrated through implementation of alternative definitions of worst-case metrics. Results show that the bus ranking method performs as well as the best of these methods, with the provision of additional flexibility and potential for parallelization.
A Learner Corpus of High-Stakes Placement Test Essays of Chinese Second Language Students Through a Corpus Analysis

Learner corpora—repositories of authentic texts produced by foreign/second language learners (Granger, 2009)—have widely been used in second language (L2) research due to authenticity and practical insight. This study involves a learner corpus of placement test essays to examine L2 students’ use of lexical bundles and explore their linguistic needs so that the learner corpus can be used as potential linguistic resources for L2 students with their perceived needs. 367 placement test essays from Chinese L2 students in a midwestern university were analyzed in the study. The results show the most frequent use of prepositional phrasal lexical bundles, less frequent use of discourse-organizing bundles, and frequent use of ‘I’ in stance bundles. This study revealed L2 students need to be aware of the use of discourse-organizing bundles for cohesion/logic in academic writing and implied the value of L2 students’ lexico-grammatical use as a resource and investment with pedagogical significance.
Nr4a1 (Nur77) regulates B cell survival and activation. (P1453)

NR4A1 (Nur77) is a member of the NR4A family of orphan nuclear receptors that function as transcription factors. Nur77 is expressed in immune cells, including macrophages, T cells and B cells. However, the role of Nur77 in B cells is not understood. In bone marrow, Nur77 is expressed in early lymphoid precursors and is nearly absent (or maintained at low level) in Pre-pro B cells and in all stages of development through small pre B cells. However, newly formed immature B cells in bone marrow start to express low levels of Nur77 and Nur77 expression increases during transitional stages of B cell development and is maximal in mature B cells in periphery. To investigate the role of Nur77 in B cells, we compared B cell functionalities from normal C57BL/6 and congenic Nur77-deficient mice. We found that Nur77-deficient mice have significantly elevated levels of all four classes of antibodies, which implicates autoimmunity. Nur77-/- mice have 10% more BAFFR+ T1 (transitional stage 1) B cells than WT. Nur77-deficient naive mice show a 3-fold increase of GL7+ germinal center B cells and a 60% increase of CD38hi memory B cells, compared to those from WT. Those data indicated Nur77-/- mice undergo autoimmunogenic B cells response. In addition, we found that Nur77-/- B cells that are stimulated by anti-IgM and anti-CD40 survived better than WT B cells. Our data suggest that Nur77 plays a primary role in B cell survival and activation.
Assessing Young Adults’ Beliefs Regarding the Importance of Romantic Relationships:

In the current study, we provided initial evidence for the factor structure and validity of the Brief Measure of Relationship Importance, a new measure of young adults’ beliefs about the values and...
Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTL) is a rare, mature peripheral T-cell lymphoma with predilection for affecting young men, and cases often have an aggressive, morbid, or fatal clinical course. Here we review the molecular/biologic basis as well as salient clinical features, diagnostic criteria, and current treatment pathways in this disease. Lastly, we describe potential ways forward for improving the outcome in this dreaded disease based upon ongoing basic and translational research in HSTL and extrapolation from experience with other T-cell lymphoma subtypes.
Teaching the historical context of computing

This paper describes the author's experience in creating and teaching a course on the history of science and technology within a computer science department. This course is suitable for general education, as an alternative to a programming or other quantitatively-oriented course. Its purpose is to show a progression of technological achievements and scientific discoveries that ultimately culminates in today's world dominated by the computer. Offering this history course to the broader university community reinforces the message that computer science is an interdisciplinary problem-solving field of study.
Motion of the residual femur within the socket during gait is associated with patient-reported problems in transfemoral amputees.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative description of residual femur motion within the socket during gait and to explore the relationship between residual femur motion and patient-reported comfort and function. It was hypothesized that increased residual bone movement would correlate to worse patient-reported comfort and function. The secondary goals were to assess within-subject step-to-step variability and between-subject variability in residual femur motion within the socket during gait. Dynamic biplane radiography, combined with conventional motion capture, was used to measure residual femur motion within the socket during treadmill walking for 10 unilateral transfemoral amputees. The questionnaire for persons with a transfemoral amputation (Q-TFA) was administered to assess prosthetic use, mobility, health problems, and global health. Increased femur pistoning (proximal-distal translation relative to the socket) correlated with worsening Q-TFA problem and global scores (ρ = 0.741, p = 0.04 and ρ = -0.783, p = 0.02, respectively). Average residual femur rotation ROMs were 7.3°±3.7°, 10.8°±4.4°, and 7.7°±4.8° for anterior tilt, internal-external rotation, and varus-valgus, respectively. Average residual femur translation ROMs were 8.6 mm ± 3.0 mm, 28.4 mm ± 13.9 mm, and 20.4 mm ± 7.2 mm for medial–lateral, pistoning, and anterior-posterior directions, respectively. Within-subject rotational and translational variability during gait averaged 2.8° and 2.0 mm or less, whereas the between-subject variability was up to 9.4° and 18.6 mm, which demonstrates residual femur motion relative to the socket is repeatable within subjects, but inconsistent across subjects during gait. The results suggest residual bone motion within the socket is a potential mechanism behind patient-reported problems and suggests a target for intervention aimed at improving transfemoral amputee quality of life.
Firing the canon: a history of women’s pioneering role in anthropology

In a black-and-white photograph on the cover of Andrew Bank’s Pioneers of the Field: South Africa’s Women Anthropologists, Hilda Beemer Kuper stands upright and chin forward, hands behind her back,...
Influence of ion site occupancies on the unit cell parameters, specific volumes, and densities of M 8 (AlSiO 4 ) 6 X 2 sodalites where M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and Ag and X = Cl, Br, and I

This paper discusses the effects of composition on the unit cell parameter (a), unit cell volume (V), specific volume (v), and density (ρ) of various sodalites including $${M}_{8}^{+}{\left({\mathrm{AlSiO}}_{4}\right)}_{6}{\mathrm{Cl}}_{2}$$ (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and/or Ag) and $${\mathrm{Na}}_{8}{\left({\mathrm{AlSiO}}_{4}\right)}_{6}{X}_{2}^{-}$$ (X = Cl, Br, and/or I). Compositional models were developed, and the results show that the models are successful at predicting a, V, and v (and thus ρ) within the compositional range available in the literature. Discussion is included on the correlation between the ionic radii of the alkali metals and halides in the sodalite β-cages and the measured values of a, V, v, and ρ. The data show linear increases in a and ρ with increases in the average ionic radii of the $${M}^{+}$$ and $${X}^{-}$$ constituents (data for v show a linear decrease).
Intrapartum Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Cephalic Malpositions and Malpresentations

Fetuses with malpresentation and malposition during labor represent important clinical challenges. Women with fetuses presenting with malpresentation or malposition are at risk of increased perinatal complications, such as cesarean delivery, failure of operative vaginal delivery, neonatal acidemia, and neonatal intensive care admission. Intrapartum ultrasound has been found to be more reliable than digital examination in assessing malpresentation and malposition. The use of intrapartum ultrasound to assess fetal position and presentation, in addition to fetal attitude, to predict and aid in decision making regarding delivery can help in improving management decision making. Cephalic malpresentation and malposition is a unique subset of fetal orientation and can benefit from intrapartum ultrasound identification and assessment for delivery.
Anesthetic management for the peripartum care of women with Fontan physiology.

Abstract Background As outcomes for surgical palliation have improved, women with single ventricle congenital heart disease are surviving into their reproductive years and may become pregnant. The cardiovascular changes of pregnancy may stress the Fontan circulation and pose significant risk to the mother and fetus. Methods Pregnant women with Fontan physiology were identified from the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center database. A total of 37 pregnancies were identified between 2000 and 2019. Twenty live births from 19 patients were reviewed and compared for cardiac history, obstetric history, anesthetic management and cardiovascular outcomes. Results Median gestational age at delivery was 35 weeks. Ten of 20 births were by cesarean delivery. An epidural technique was used as the primary anesthetic for 19 deliveries and general anesthesia was used for one cesarean delivery. An arterial line was placed in the peripartum period for three deliveries. Central venous access was established in the peripartum period for one patient. The mean blood loss for cesarean deliveries was 626 mL (range 240–1200 mL). The mean net peri-operative intake/output was positive 93.5 mL. Three patients were briefly transferred to the intensive care unit postpartum for higher level monitoring and care. Conclusion Epidural anesthesia is safe and effective for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Judicious fluid management is critical in minimizing postpartum cardiovascular complications. Many patients do not require a higher level of care, invasive monitoring or central venous access during the peripartum period.
Quality control and quality assurance in the apparel industry

Quality assurance and quality control is a complex area of the apparel industry. First off, quality assurance is not quality control, but quality control is an aspect of quality assurance. Quality assurance builds quality into each step of the manufacturing process including designing, production, and beyond. Quality control is generally understood as assessing for quality after products have already been manufactured and sorted into acceptable and unacceptable categories. Apparel garments, accessories, and other textile products are assessed for quality in the preproduction phase, during production, and with a final inspection after the product has been completed.