cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time domain analysis of generalized viscoelastic models

This paper examines the convolution integral method for the time domain analysis of viscoelastic models with complex parameters. Such models have been extensively used in soil dynamics and base isolation studies, because they can predict realistically the non-viscous behavior of practical materials such as soil, acrylic polymers, and silicone gels among others. Starting from the constant hysteretic model which was initially proposed to model the behavior of dry sands, it is shown that the basic response functions of complex-parameter viscoelastic models are complex valued functions. The classical relations between the basic response function and the dynamic modulus are extended for the case of these generalized viscoelastic models. Finally, the time domain response of practical constitutive models with complex parameters is investigated, and the limitations and advantages of the convolution integral method are discussed.
Growth factor messenger RNA expression by human breast fibroblasts from benign and malignant lesions

Breast tumors are a complex mix of epithelial, stromal, and vascular elements. We examined primary cultures of breast fibroblasts derived from benign and malignant lesions for expression of various growth factors. All fibroblast cultures, regardless of whether they were derived from benign or malignant lesions, expressed platelet-derived growth factor A chain, basic fibroblast growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 5, and transforming growth factor beta 1 mRNA. None expressed platelet-derived growth factor B chain or transforming growth factor alpha mRNA. However, examination of mRNA expression for the insulin-like growth factors revealed that 7 of 8 fibroblasts derived from benign lesions expressed insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) mRNA, while only 1 of 9 fibroblasts derived from malignancies expressed IGF-I mRNA. The opposite picture was seen for insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) mRNA expression, in which 1 of 9 benign-derived fibroblasts expressed IGF-II mRNA, while 5 of 9 malignant-derived fibroblasts expressed IGF-II. This correlated with previous in situ hybridization data, which showed IGF-I mRNA expression confined to the stroma of benign breast tissue. PDGF treatment of tumor fibroblasts resulted in a 3-fold increase in IGF-II mRNA. Thus there was an apparent dichotomy between IGF-I mRNA expression in the majority of fibroblasts derived from benign lesions and IGF-II mRNA expression in the majority of tumor-derived fibroblasts. Since the insulin-like growth factors are potent mitogens for breast tumor epithelial cells, this further supports the notion of a paracrine growth-promoting role for the insulin-like growth factors in breast lesions and suggests that IGF-II may be the more important growth promoter in malignant lesions.
The Hermes Transposon of Musca domestica Is an Efficient Tool for the Mutagenesis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Currently, no transposon-based method for the mutagenesis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe exists. We have developed such a system based on the introduction of the hermes transposon from the housefly into S. pombe. This system efficiently disrupts open reading frames and allows the insertion sites to be readily identified.
Effect of Dibutyryl Cyclic AMP on the Induction of Epstein-Barr Virus in Hybrid Cells

Abstract Treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) negative somatic cell hybrids with 5′-iododeoxyuridine (IUdR) induced synthesis of EBV antigens and virus particles. When dibutyryl cAMP (Bt2-cAMP) was present in medium after exposure of cultures to IUdR, the incidence of cells synthesizing EBV early and virus capsid antigens was increased. The time necessary for appearance of EBV particles after induction by IUdR was significantly reduced in the presence of Bt2-cAMP. This enhancement was evident to a lesser degree with 3′:5′ cAMP than with Bt2-cAMP and did not occur with any other of the related compounds tested. The response observed was dose dependent. Untreated (no IUdR) EBV negative hybrid cells exposed to Bt2-cAMP also synthesized EBV antigens. The concentration of intracellular cAMP may act as one of the control mechanisms selecting for gene expression in this system.
Difference image reconstruction from a few projections for nondestructive materials inspection.

The application of limited-view computed tomography to nondestructive materials testing is investigated. The approach uses filtered backprojection to reconstruct only the defects in objects where the ideal (unflawed) object is known.
Assessing the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and age at first police contact

Several types of pre- and perinatal risk factors, such as maternal cigarette smoking, are related to various manifestations of life-course-persistent criminal offending. Studies have reported evidence of a relationship between maternal prenatal cigarette smoking and antisocial/criminal behavior. All of these studies, however, used white male samles, thus limiting the generalizability of research findings. In an attempt to overcome this problem, we employ data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project to examine the possible link between maternal prenatal cigarette smoking and the age at first police contact in a cohort of African-American males and females followed through age 17. Logistic regression analysis indicates that maternal prenatal cigarette smoking has a significant effect on the age at first police contact, even with controls for a variety of other risk factors. Although maternal cigarette smoking significantly predicted early onset among males but not femal...
The C. elegans Tousled-like kinase (TLK-1) has an essential role in transcription.

Abstract Background: The Tousled kinases comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that have been previously implicated in chromatin remodeling, DNA replication, and DNA repair. Here, we used RNA mediated interference (RNAi) to determine the function of the C. elegans Tousled kinase (TLK-1) during embryonic development. Results: TLK-1-deficient embryos arrested with a phenotype reminiscent of embryos that are broadly defective in transcription, and the expression of several reporter genes was dramatically reduced in tlk-1(RNAi) embryos. Furthermore, posttranslational modifications of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and histone H3 that have been correlated with transcription elongation, phosphorylation of the RNAPII CTD at Serine 2, and methylation of histone H3 at Lysine 36 were found at significantly reduced levels in tlk-1(RNAi) embryos as compared to wild-type. Conclusions: These results reveal a surprising requirement for a Tousled-like kinase in transcriptional regulation during development, likely during the elongation phase. In addition, our results confirm that the link between RNAPII phosphorylation and histone H3 methylation previously observed in budding yeast is functionally conserved in metazoans.
Building a Protocol Expressway: The Case of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

Purpose Inconsistencies and errors resulting from nonstandard processes, together with redundancies, rework, and excess workload, lead to extended time frames for clinical trial protocol development. This results in dissatisfaction among sponsors, investigators, and staff and restricts the availability of novel treatment options for patients. Methods A team of experts from Mayo Clinic formed, including Protocol Development Unit staff and management from the three Mayo Clinic campuses (Florida, Minnesota, and Arizona), a systems and procedures analyst, a quality office analyst, and two physician members to address the identified deficiencies. The current-state process was intensively reviewed, and improvement steps were taken to accelerate the development and approval of cancer-related clinical trials. The primary goal was to decrease the time from receipt of a new protocol through submission to an approving authority, such as the National Cancer Institute or institutional review board. Results Using the D...
Fate of neptunium in an anaerobic, methanogenic microcosm.

Neptunium is found predominantly as Np(IV) in reducing environments, but Np(V) in aerobic environments. However, currently it is not known how the interplay between biotic and abiotic processes affects Np redox speciation in the environment. In order to evaluate the effect of anaerobic microbial activity on the fate of Np in natural systems, Np(V) was added to a microcosminoculated with anaerobic sediments from a metal-contaminated fresh water lake. The consortium included metal-reducing, sulfate-reducing, and methanogenic microorganisms, and acetate was supplied as the only exogenous substrate. Addition of more than 10{sup {minus}5} M Np did not inhibit methane production. Total Np volubility in the active microcosm, as well as in sterilized control samples, decreased by nearly two orders of magnitude. A combination of analytical techniques, including VIS-NIR absorption spectroscopy and XANES, identified Np(IV) as the oxidation state associated with the sediments. The similar results from the active microcosm and the abiotic controls suggest that microbian y produced Mn(II/HI) and Fe(II) may serve as electron donors for Np reduction.
Synthesis of [3H]‐labelled 4‐[Ethyl[2,5,6‐trimethyl‐7‐(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)pyrrolo[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4‐yl]amino]‐2,3‐[3H]‐butan‐1‐ol: a high affinity radioligand for the corticotropin‐releasing hormone type 1 receptor

[3H]-Labelled 4-[ethyl[2,5,6-trimethyl-7-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl]amino]-2,3-[3H]-butan-1-ol (3b) was prepared as a novel non-peptidic radiolabelled high affinity antagonist of the corticotropin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor (CRHR1) that could be useful as a more stable and receptor-selective alternative to the radiolabelled peptides now used to label the CRHR1 receptor for displacement studies in cell-based binding assays. The precursor (Z)-4-[ethyl[2,5,6-trimethyl-7-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl]amino]but-2-en-1-ol (2) was reduced with tritium gas using palladium as the catalyst. After HPLC purification 3b was obtained with a specific activity of 35 Ci/mmol in high radiochemical purity (>97%). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reasoning about reasoning by nested conditioning: Modeling theory of mind with probabilistic programs

A wide range of human reasoning patterns can be explained as conditioning in probabilistic models; however, conditioning has traditionally been viewed as an operation applied to such models, not represented in such models. We describe how probabilistic programs can explicitly represent conditioning as part of a model. This enables us to describe reasoning about others' reasoning using nested conditioning. Much of human reasoning is about the beliefs, desires, and intentions of other people; we use probabilistic programs to formalize these inferences in a way that captures the flexibility and inherent uncertainty of reasoning about other agents. We express examples from game theory, artificial intelligence, and linguistics as recursive probabilistic programs and illustrate how this representation language makes it easy to explore new directions in each of these fields. We discuss the algorithmic challenges posed by these kinds of models and describe how dynamic programming techniques can help address these challenges.
A Comphrehensive Networks-on-Chip Simulator for Error Control Explorations

Error control is imperative for reliable Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) design. In this demo session, we will present a CAD tool---a flexible and parallel NoC simulator. Our simulator evaluates the impact of different error control mechanisms on NoC performance and energy consumption in various noise and traffic injection scenarios. Our message passing interface language-based simulator can be executed on multiprocessors or server clusters. Multiple built-in blocks provide flexibility to evaluate different error control methods.
CGRA express: accelerating execution using dynamic operation fusion

Coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) present an appealing hardware platform by providing programmability with the potential for high computation throughput, scalability, low cost, and energy efficiency. CGRAs have been effectively used for innermost loops that contain an abundant of instruction-level parallelism. Conversely, non-loop and outer-loop code are latency constrained and do not offer significant amounts of instruction-level parallelism. In these situations, CGRAs are ineffective as the majority of the resources remain idle. In this paper, dynamic operation fusion is introduced to enable CGRAs to effectively accelerate latency-constrained code regions. Dynamic operation fusion is enabled through the combination of a small bypass network added between function units in a conventional CGRA and a sub-cycle modulo scheduler to automatically identify opportunities for fusion. Results show that dynamic operation fusion reduced total application run-time by up to 17% on a 4x4 CGRA.
On-line algorithms for combining language models

Multiple language models are combined for many tasks in language modeling, such as domain and topic adaptation. In this work, we compare on-line algorithms from machine learning to existing algorithms for combining language models. On-line algorithms developed for this problem have parameters that are updated dynamically to adapt to a data set during evaluation. On-line analysis provides guarantees that these algorithms will perform nearly as well as the best model chosen in hindsight from a large class of models, e.g., the set of all static mixtures. We describe several on-line algorithms and present results comparing these techniques with existing language modeling combination methods on the task of domain adaptation. We demonstrate that, in some situations, on-line techniques can significantly outperform static mixtures (by over 10% in terms of perplexity) and are especially effective when the nature of the test data is unknown or changes over time.
A Brief History of Central America

. Brief History of Central America. Hector Perez-Brignoli. Berkeley: University of California Press,1989 (First Spanish language edition published in 1985). 239 pp. $45.00 (cloth), $10.95 (paper). ISBN 0-520-06832-7, ISBN 0-520-06832-7.
Baroreceptor reflex gain is not diminished in spontaneous hypertension

The magnitudes of both spontaneous and hypothalamically evoked sympathetic nerve activity are greater in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) than in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Because the baroreceptor reflex influences the magnitude and time course of the sympathetic response to hypothalamic stimulation, we evaluated the role of the baroreceptor reflex in this sympathetic hyperresponsiveness. Changes in spontaneous nerve activity following comparable shifts in mean blood pressure (static reflex gain) were not different between the two strains. The effect of alterations in prestimulation blood pressure on the size of the evoked sympathetic response (response gain) was greater in SHR. Baroreceptor reflex inhibition resulting from the evoked blood pressure rise during hypothalamic stimulation (dynamic gain) was also greater in SHR. Expressing response magnitudes and gains as a percent of the spontaneous activity eliminated these strain differences. Interruption of the baroreceptor reflex resulted in equivalent percent increases in spontaneous and evoked activity in the two strains. Postdenervation levels of spontaneous and evoked nerve activity were greater in SHR. The results show that sympathetic hyperreactivity in SHR is not due to deficient baroreceptor reflex function.
Anatomical-Behavioral Analyses of Hindbrain Sound Localization Mechanisms

The representation of visual and somesthetic sensory hemifields on the contralateral side of the nervous system is an axiom of neurology. In sharp contrast to these rather strict contralateral representations, however, it is usually held that the representation of space in the central auditory system is bilateral. That is, stimulation of one ear alone, or stimulation by a sound source located in one hemifield, evokes activity on both sides of the brain. The bilaterality of this evoked activity is easily deducible anatomically and clearly demonstrable electrophysiologically (e.g., Held, 1893; Stotler, 1953; Rosenzweig, 1954; and see review by Brugge and Geisler, 1978). Recently, it has also become possible to visualize its distribution by means of the radioactively-labeled 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) technique for marking neural tissue of high metabolic activity (Sokoloff et al., 1977).
Book Review: American Indians, Time, and the Law: Native Societies in a Modern Constitutional Democracy (Charles F. Wilkinson)

This review examines critically, but with great admiration, Charles Wilkinson's book on the Supreme Court's performance in American Indian law cases. Wilkinson concluded that the Court had acted, at least until 1987, in a much more tribal-friendly way than many commentators had suggested, and that the Court had protected a policy of measured separatism in American Indian law and policy.
Provider attributes correlation analysis to their referral frequency and awards

There has been a recent growth in health provider search portals, where patients specify filters—such as specialty or insurance—and providers are ranked by patient ratings or other attributes. Previous work has identified attributes associated with a provider’s quality through user surveys. Other work supports that intuitive quality-indicating attributes are associated with a provider’s quality.
AIEE progress

In his address before the AIEE Winter General Meeting, President Quarles reviews some matters of current interest to the engineering profession, and to members of the Institute in particular.
Photoionization of C4H+8 isomers. Unimolecular and biomolecular reactions of C4H+8 ions

1-Butene, cis-2-butene, isobutene and methylcyclopropane have been photoionized with the resonance lines of krypton (10.0-10.6 eV) and argon (11.6-11.8 eV). We have determined that the internally excited 1-C4H8+ ion and, to a much lesser extent, the i-C4H8+ ion isomerizes to the 2-C4H8+ structure. In both cases the extent of isomerization increases, approximately by a factor of ten when the photon energy is increased from 10 to 11.7 eV. An inert gas, neon, quenches the isomerization of the i-C4H8+ ion and, to a much lesser rextent, that of the 1-C4H8+ ion. The unimolecular fragmentation of the C4H8+ isomeric ions has been examined at 11.61-11.8 eV. In this energy range the dissociative lifetime of i-C4H8+ was found to be at least 5 × 10-6 s, and collisional quenching of the dissociative process is already noticeable at pressures in the 10-3 torr range. The rate coefficients for the reaction C4H8+( thermal )+C4H8→(C8H16+)* occurring in the isomeric C4H8 systems have been determined under conditions where the structure of the reacting C4H8+ ion is established. The values in cm3/molecule · second are 1-C4H8 - 6.0 ± 0.5 × 10-l0, cis-2-C4H8 - 0.37 ± 0.1 × 10-10, i-C4H8 - 5.4 ± 0.4 × 10-10. At pressure below 10-3 torr, the internally excited (C8H16+)* produced in the reaction dissociates along various channels with relative probabilities depending upon the structure of both the ionic and neutral reactant. Above 10-3 torr collisional quenching of (C8H16+)* is noted.
Design and Cost Considerations in the Sampling of Northern and Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Eggs

Cost and design considerations for egg sampling of the northern and western corn rootworm, Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence (NCR) and D. virgifera virgifera LeConte (WCR), respectively, were examined by using sampling data collected in eight commercially grown cornfields. Considerable variability was found in horizontal and vertical distributions of NCR and WCR eggs. Therefore, sampling for NCR and WCR eggs should use a method that samples the entire inter-row width, and samples should be taken to a depth of at least 20 cm. Deeper sampling may be necessary when drought cracks allow females to oviposit more deeply. Sampling characteristics of the frame sampling method were examined. Indices of aggregation for the NCR and WCR did not differ significantly. The index of aggregation (1.49) calculated from pooled data (NCR + WCR) indicated aggregated egg populations. Sampling cost analyses show that the most efficient method to reduce sampling variability is to take one or two samples per frame from a large number of frames within a field. Sample size estimates for different sampling strategies are given.
"They Don't Know Anything!": Latinx Immigrant Students Appropriating the Oppressor's Voice.

This article discusses internalized oppression among Latinx1 communities through a revolutionary critical pedagogy. Data from a two-year ethnography of Latinx immigrant families show that students were developing deficit perspectives toward their parents, claiming that “they don't know anything,” based on their positioning as powerless and generationally and culturally out of touch. The article discusses that within-group conflicts support the interests of a transnational capitalist class by severing opportunities for class [and race] consciousness.
Genetic regulation of sex differences in songbirds and lizards

Sex differences in the morphology of neural and peripheral structures related to reproduction often parallel the frequency of particular behaviours displayed by males and females. In a variety of model organisms, these sex differences are organized in development by gonadal steroids, which also act in adulthood to modulate behavioural expression and in some cases to generate parallel anatomical changes on a seasonal basis. Data collected from diverse species, however, suggest that changes in hormone availability are not sufficient to explain sex and seasonal differences in structure and function. This paper pulls together some of this literature from songbirds and lizards and considers the information in the broader context of taking a comparative approach to investigating genetic mechanisms associated with behavioural neuroendocrinology.
Renal Calculus Disease

The management of urinary calculus disease has evolved dramatically. The introduction of percutaneous and ureteroscopic access to the upper tracts, along with the nearly simultaneous development of both extracorpo-real and intracorporeal lithotripsy, has relegated the role of open surgery to less than 1% of patients undergoing intervention for their stone disease. This chapter reviews the indications to intervene, the basic physics of the most frequently utilized devices for both extracorporeal and intracorporeal lithotripsy, and the respective roles of extracorporeal lithotripsy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), ureteroscopic stone removal, and open surgery. The results and complications associated with these forms of intervention are also be reviewed.
Methods for Catching Beetles Carlos Aguilar J.

Methods for Catching Beetles Aguilar J. Carlos Naturalia Scientific Collection, Montevideo-Asuncion 2010; 303 pages ISBN: 978-9-974-98133-1 Price: $76.00 (softcover) ![Graphic][1] Have you ever wondered what the best methods are for catching beetles in a mangrove forest? Methods for Catching Beetles is the book that will tell you how to plan and execute a collection trip focused on your beetle of choice, based on its habitat and family. This book is a unique first attempt by a coleopterist to summarize the current knowledge of beetle collecting methods for an audience of students, amateur collectors, and scientists. The book is organized into five chapters covering collection trip planning, environments, sampling methods and traps, a summary of known beetle superfamilies (including the number of taxa, habitat, and diet), and how to preserve and label beetles. Chapter 1 is only a few pages long and walks the reader through the requirements for planning a collecting trip, which are condensed into seven steps. It also … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Covert Channels through Random Number Generator: Mechanisms, Capacity Estimation and Mitigations

Covert channels present serious security threat because they allow secret communication between two malicious processes even if the system inhibits direct communication. We describe, implement and quantify a new covert channel through shared hardware random number generation (RNG) module that is available on modern processors. We demonstrate that a reliable, high-capacity and low-error covert channel can be created through the RNG module that works across CPU cores and across virtual machines. We quantify the capacity of the RNG channel under different settings and show that transmission rates in the range of 7-200 kbit/s can be achieved depending on a particular system used for transmission, assumptions, and the load level. Finally, we describe challenges in mitigating the RNG channel, and propose several mitigation approaches both in software and hardware.
"MNC Structure, Complexity and Performance: Insights from NK Methodology"

We introduce NK-simulation models to international business research and more specifically show how this methodology provides insights into the effects of MNC structure and internal complexity on p...
Multi-Channel Marketing with Budget Complementarities

Utility maximization under a budget constraint is a classical problem in economics and management science. It is commonly assumed that the utility is a "nice" known analytic function, for example, continuous and concave. In many domains, such as marketing, increased availability of computational resources and data has enabled the development of sophisticated simulations to evaluate the impact of allocating a fixed budget among alternatives (e.g., marketing channels) on outcomes, such as demand. While simulations enable high resolution evaluation of alternative budget allocation strategies, they significantly complicate the associated budget optimization problem. In particular, simulation runs are time consuming, significantly limiting the space of options that can be explored. An important second challenge is the common presence of budget complementarities, where non-negligible budget increments are required for an appreciable marginal impact from a channel. This introduces a combinatorial structure on the decision space. We propose to address these challenges by first converting the problem into a multi-choice knapsack optimization problem with unknown weights. We show that if weights (corresponding to marginal impact thresholds for each channel) are well approximated, we can achieve a solution within a factor of 2 of optimal, and this bound is tight. We then develop several parsimonious query algorithms for achieving this approximation in an online fashion. Experimental evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach.
Improved mechanism of polyester dyeing with disperse dyes in finite dyebath

A new sorption mechanism of polyester dyeing with disperse dyes in water is proposed. It is considered dye aggregates could not be sorbed unless they turn into single molecules. However, this theory could not explain numerous sorption phenomena: sorption continues when equilibrium dye concentration exceeds its solubility; dyeing at long liquor ratio, using microencapsulated or crystal-modified dyes do not change concentration of single dye molecules or dye solubility, but increase sorption rate and quantity in a fixed time. We demonstrate that both single and aggregated dye molecules could be sorbed using CI Disperse Blue 56. Because of the large size and low diffusion rate, dye aggregates could temporarily block sorption channel and prevent entry of other dyes. Therefore, only using extra more dyes could get a dark colour. Series of approaches could be proposed to reduce or eliminate the sorption problems caused by aggregates using the new sorption mechanism.
Intubating extremely premature newborns: a randomised crossover simulation study

Objective Determine whether tracheal intubation of extremely low birthweight (ELBW) neonates is more successful with a size-0 or size-00 Miller laryngoscope blade. Design Randomised crossover simulation study Setting Simulated neonatal intensive care unit environment Study subjects Neonatology physicians and nurse practitioners (n=55) Interventions Subjects performed four intubations in succession on a high-fidelity ELBW manikin with size-0 Miller and size-00 Miller blades from two different manufacturers. The intubation sequence was randomised. Intubations were recorded and scored for time analysis. Subjects completed surveys about blade preferences before and after completing the series of intubations. Main outcome measures Total laryngoscopy time and first attempt success in less than 30 s Results There was no difference in total laryngoscopy time (median 23.7 vs 20.6 s) or first attempt success in Conclusions Our findings support the Neonatal Resuscitation Program recommendation identifying the size-00 blade as optional equipment. Operators need to be aware of design variations between manufacturers and they may benefit from ‘just-in-time’ training with a manikin prior to intubating a live patient.
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Aphasia Therapy: Lessons from TMS and tDCS

Noninvasive brain stimulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has produced benefits in subjects with a variety of clinical disorders such as hemiparesis and chronic pain. Starting with the seminal investigations of Naeser and colleagues approximately 10 years ago, these methods have been used to treat subjects with aphasia. We review the growing literature in this domain and attempt to synthesize the results of the published experience with more than 200 subjects who received TMS and another 200 subjects treated with tDCS. Fundamental differences in subject selection, stimulation parameters, and adequacy of follow-up make formal comparisons difficult; nonetheless, there is compelling evidence that both TMS and tDCS may be of benefit in the treatment of aphasia without significant adverse effects. A randomized, controlled clinical trial involving subjects with multiple aphasia types with comprehensive language assessments and prolonged follow-up will be needed to assess the relative efficacy of the techniques and ascertain their place among therapies for aphasia.
Toward a unified multi-layered modeling and simulation paradigm for electric energy systems

In this paper we briefly describe the broad industry problem of solving the best infrastructures deployment comprising an overlay of energy, communications, control and regulatory networks. Solving this problem would provide key enablers for meeting the needs of very diverse social-ecological energy systems (SEES) across the world. As a way forward, we propose a unified modeling framework which is a formal description of a system in multi-disciplinary terms that allows research and results from different domains (engineering, economics, and environment) to interact and be incorporated into a cooperative solution. The framework is based on general laws of physics and economics defining interactions within an SEES. Interaction variables are technology- and policy-agnostic and are used to model mutual effects of different system participants (modules) expressed in terms of common: engineering variables (power, rate of change of power, energy, time); economic variables associated with the same physical variables (prices, time); and, environmental variables (pollutant mass). We describe how the proposed modeling can be used for deployment of cyber systems solutions at value. Simulation approach based on the same unified modeling is essential for educating ourselves regarding their potential technical impact on reliability and resiliency, economic and environmental impact on value created to different industry participants in different network architectures.
The evolution of the tattoo in defiance of the immutable definition of deviance: current perceptions by law enforcement of tattooed arrestees

ABSTRACTTattoos have made their way from prisons to fashion runways, but are they still perceived by law enforcement as marks of deviance? The purpose of this study is to examine law enforcement arrest patterns to determine the relationship between tattoos and offense charges. This study analyzes a random sample of arrestees from a large county in the Southern U.S. Using logistic regression models, the relationship between tattoos, tattoo location, number of offense charges, and severity of offense charges is examined.
Discovering the Genome-Wide Activity of CRISPR-Cas Nucleases

Originally discovered as part of an adaptive bacterial defense system against the invasion of foreign phages, programmable CRISPR-Cas nucleases have emerged as remarkable enzymes with transformative potential for both biological research and clinical application. CRISPR-Cas nucleases likely evolved in their natural context to tolerate imperfect specificity in order to recognize mutant bacteriophages. However, in the context of biological research and clinical applications, high specificity is generally preferred. For therapeutic applications in particular, it is important to carefully and empirically define the genome-wide activity of engineered nucleases, as hundreds of millions to billions of cells may be modified in a single therapeutic dose. Over the past several years, a number of both cell-based and in vitro sensitive and unbiased genome-scale methods to define CRISPR-Cas nuclease specificity have been developed. These methods will play important complementary roles in better understanding their glo...
Exploring Academic Performance Paths and Student Learning Strategies in a Large Foundational Engineering Course.

Situated in the second year of an engineering curriculum, undergraduate engineering mechanics courses represent a significant barrier to persistence in engineering. This study seeks to inform and improve these educational environments by examining academic performance paths over time in a course and explore how students in each path compare in the learning strategies they employ to engage with course content. Through online surveys, we gathered data on self-reported time spent engaging with course content before high-stakes testing in four large sections of a Statics course that were all taught by the same instructor. Cluster analysis identified groups exhibiting distinct performance paths, and one-way Welch’s F-tests with post-hoc comparisons explored differences between these clusters based on time spent engaging with course content through specific learning strategies. Differences across performance clusters were found primarily in the ways in which students spent time rather than total time spent. Solving problems independently was a strategy employed significantly more often by the highest-performing cluster of students. In contrast, a group of unsuccessful students in the course spent comparably less time solving problems independently but comparably more time solving problems with peers. From these results, we suggest how leveraging these findings might impact educational practice and guide future research.
Lymphocyte Transfer for Cancer Therapy

Tumor cells express surface antigens that can serve as targets for immunologic attack. It has long been known that T lymphocytes can respond to and specifically kill these cells in vitro. If such lymphocytes could be obtained in sufficient numbers, their adoptive transfer into a tumor-bearing host should provide berefit in tumor therapy.
Factors influencing independent oral feeding in preterm infants

OBJECTIVE: Determine the mean post-menstrual age when preterm infants attain independent oral feeding skills and whether gestational age, common neonatal morbidities, gender, race, delivery route, or birth year affects this reflex. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 2700 preterm infants, born before 37 weeks gestational age admitted to a level III NICU between January 1978 and July 2013, to determine the post-menstrual age when independent oral feedings occur. RESULTS: Mean post-menstrual age at achievement of independent oral feeding was 36 + 4/7 weeks ± 14 days. Gestational age under 29 weeks correlated with delayed post-menstrual age at achievement of independent oral feeding at 37 + 3/7 weeks versus 36 + 1/7 weeks for gestational age 29–33 weeks and 36 + 3/7 weeks for late preterm infants (p < 0.0001). Preterm infants with certain morbidities experienced a delay in independent oral feeding: necrotizing enterocolitis at 38 + 6/7 weeks (p < 0.0001), bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 38 + 1/7 weeks (p < 0.0001), severe intraventricular hemorrhage at 37 + 6/7 weeks (p < 0.001). Preterm infants born before the year 2000 achieved independent oral feeding two days later than preterm infants born since the year 2000 (p < 0.0001). Preterm infants delivered vaginally achieved independent oral feeding three days sooner than infants delivered via c-section (p < 0.0001). Female infants orally fed one day sooner than male preterm infants (p = 0.0008). CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants achieve independent oral feeding at 36 + 4/7 weeks. Factors negatively influencing when the preterm infant will achieve independent oral feeding include gestational age under 29 weeks and major morbidities, whereas vaginal delivery and ongoing advances in neonatal care may accelerate the transition to independent oral feeding.
Per aspirin ad astra...

Summary — Taking the 110th anniversary of marketing of aspirin as starting point, the almost scary toxicological profile of aspirin is contrasted with its actual use experience. The author concludes that we are lucky that, in 1899, there was no regulatory toxicology. Adding, for the purpose of this article, a fourth R to the Three Rs, i.e. Realism, three reality-checks are carried out. The first one comes to the conclusion that the tools of toxicology are hardly adequate for the challenges ahead. The second one concludes that, specifically, the implementation of the EU REACH system is not feasible with these tools, mainly with regard to throughput. The third one challenges the belief that classical alternative methods, i.e. replacing animal test-based tools one by one, is actually leading to a new toxicology — it appears to change only patches of the patchwork, but not to overcome any inherent limitations other than ethical ones. The perspective lies in the Toxicology for the 21st Century initiatives, which aim to create a new approach from the scratch, by an evidence-based toxicology and a global “Human Toxicology Programme”.
RNA in the Cell Periphery

All mammalian cells so far studied carry a net negative surface charge, at neutral pH, as measured by cell electrophoresis. However the nature of the fixed ionogenic groups responsible for the electrokinetic behavior of cells has not as yet been fully elucidated.
Unknown outcomes, no guarantees: Lawrence Grossberg and experimentation

This article explores notions of experimentation embedded in Lawrence Grossberg’s writings. It begins by proposing that experimentation is a particularly relevant expression of the stakes of Grossb...
Customer-to-Customer Interactional Justice: A New Challenge for Service Recovery via Social Media

The authors identify how customer-to-customer online incivility may negatively impact service recovery initiatives that take place via social media. In particular, the authors posit that such behavior necessitates the need to recognize and measure a new form of perceived justice: customer-to-customer interactional justice. Study 1 uses a content analysis to first examine the frequency of online incivility across multiple firms’ social media pages. Study 2 develops a new measure for the customer-to-customer interactional justice construct, which assesses the degree of fair treatment between customers when uncivil communications occur. Study 3 then models the new construct to evaluate its impact on other forms of organizational justice perceptions during a service recovery via social media. Theoretical implications include extending the perceived justice framework to include a customer-to-customer component. Managerial implications include the need for firms to manage customer-to-customer interactions when uncivil behavior occurs on corporate social media channels. Failure to do so may harm how customers perceive a company’s service recovery efforts.
A Perception of Change, A Change of Perception

v Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 Impermanence Imagination The Studio Process and Processed A Perception of Change, A Change of Perception Conclusion Bibliography 1 3 7 12 16 24 25
Passing the Buck and Firing Fibonacci: Adventures with the Stochastic Abacus

A “pass-the-buck” game begins with n players arranged as the vertices in a graph. One player has a dollar bill. The game is played in turns where, at random, the current bill-holder either wins out...
Opioid use following shoulder stabilization surgery: risk factors for prolonged use.

Hypothesis The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of opioid use before and after shoulder stabilization surgery for instability due to recurrent dislocation and assess patient factors associated with prolonged opioid use postoperatively. Methods Patients undergoing primary shoulder stabilization procedures for shoulder instability due to recurrent dislocation were accessed from the Humana administrative claims database. Patients were categorized as those who filled 1 or more opioid prescriptions within 1 month, those who filled opioid prescriptions between 1 and 3 months, and those who never filled opioid prescriptions before surgery. Rates of opioid use were evaluated preoperatively and longitudinally tracked for each group. Multiple binomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with opioid use at 3 months and 1 year after surgery. Results Overall, 4802 patients (45.9% opioid naive) underwent shoulder stabilization surgery for shoulder instability during the study period. Rates of opioid use significantly declined after the first postoperative month; however, at 1 year, the rate of opioid use was significantly greater in patients who filled opioid prescriptions preoperatively (13.4% vs. 1.9%, P Conclusions Patients who were prescribed opioids 1 to 3 months before surgery had the highest risk of prolonged opioid use following surgery. Obesity, tobacco use, and a preoperative diagnosis of fibromyalgia were independently associated with prolonged opioid use following surgery.
Heroines, Villains, and Barbarians in Other Medieval Incest Narratives

This chapter reviews a corpus of incest stories from late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, including that of the saintly Pope Gregorius, child of brother–sister incest, the birth of the antichrist as a consequence of incest, and a comparison of the role of incest in the Charlemagne tradition and the Arthurian legends. It also summarizes the Christianization of Hungary and its setting for La Manekine as a space and culture vulnerable to a regression to the pagan state.
Phylogenomic data reveal reticulation and incongruence among mitochondrial candidate species in Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus)

Abstract Gene flow between evolutionarily distinct lineages is increasingly recognized as a common occurrence. Such processes distort our ability to diagnose and delimit species, as well as confound attempts to estimate phylogenetic relationships. A conspicuous example is Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus), a common model-system for ecology, evolution, and behavior. Only 22 species are described, 7 in the last 40 years. However, mitochondrial datasets indicate the presence of up to 45 “candidate species” and multiple paraphyletic taxa presenting a complex history of reticulation. Some authors have even suggested that the search for species boundaries in the group may be in vain. Here, we analyze nuclear and mitochondrial data containing 161 individuals from at least 49 distinct evolutionary lineages that we treat as candidate species. Concatenated and species-tree methods do not estimate fully resolved relationships among these taxa. Comparing topologies and applying methods for estimating phylogenetic networks, we find strong support for numerous instances of hybridization throughout the history of the group. We suggest that these processes may be more common than previously thought across the phylogeography-phylogenetics continuum, and that while the search for species boundaries in Desmognathus may not be in vain, it will be complicated by factors such as crypsis, parallelism, and gene-flow.
Introductory Remarks on the film 'Thank You for Playing'

Video games have turned a corner. As with everything in the game world, it happened fast, faster than I expected. Every year I ask my class, Why don’t games make us cry? Films, plays, books, songs, and speeches make us cry. Why not games? Then I challenge students to come up with examples of emotionally powerful games, and they come up with a few weak examples (“I got so mad at the final boss in X, I wanted to cry”). This was how the class went...until this year. This year, just a week ago, I did this exercise with my students and they gave many solid examples of emotionally strong moments in games. Something has changed.
A Retrospective Cohort Study of Acute Epiglottitis in Adults.

Introduction Adult epiglottitis is a disease process distinct from pediatric epiglottitis in microbiology, presentation, and clinical course. While traditionally considered more indolent and benign than in children, adult epiglottitis remains a cause of acute airway compromise with a mortality rate from 1-20%. Our objective was to characterize the disease course and evaluate the rate and type of airway management in this population at a tertiary, academic referral center. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of all adult patients (age ≥ 18) who were definitively diagnosed with infectious "epiglottitis," "supraglottitis," or "epiglottic abscess" by direct or indirect laryngoscopy during a nine-year period. Double data abstraction and a standardized data collection form were used to assess patient demographic characteristics, presenting features, and clinical course. The primary outcome was airway intervention by intubation, cricothyroidotomy, or tracheostomy, and the secondary outcome was mortality related to the disease. Results Seventy patients met inclusion criteria. The mean age was 50.2 years (standard deviation ± 16.7), 60% of the patients were male, and 14.3% were diabetic. Fifty percent had symptoms that were present for ≥ 48 hours; 38.6% had voice changes, 13.1% had stridor, 12.9% had fever, 45.7% had odynophagia, and 47.1% had dysphagia noted in the ED. Twelve patients (17.1%) received an acute airway intervention including three who underwent emergent cricothyroidotomy, and one who had a tracheostomy. Two patients died and one suffered anoxic brain injury related to complications following difficult airway management. Conclusion In this case series the majority of patients (82.9%) did not require airway intervention, but a third of those requiring intervention (5.7% of total) had a surgical airway performed with two deaths and one anoxic brain injury. Clinicians must remain vigilant to identify signs of impending airway compromise in acute adult epiglottitis and be familiar with difficult and failed airway algorithms to prevent morbidity and mortality in these patients.