cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessment of global functioning in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: Utility of the Developmental Disability–Child Global Assessment Scale

Assessment of global functioning is an important consideration in treatment outcome research; yet, there is little guidance on its evidence-based assessment for children with autism spectrum disorders. This study investigated the utility and validity of clinician-rated global functioning using the Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale in a sample of higher functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and comorbid anxiety disorders enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (n = 30). Pretreatment Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale scores correlated with severity of autism spectrum disorders core symptoms (r = -.388, p = .034), pragmatic communication (r = .407, p = .032), and verbal ability (r = .449, p = .013) and did not correlate with severity of anxiety symptoms or with parent-reported adaptive behavior. Change in Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale scores during treatment was associated with autism spectrum disorders symptomatic improvement (r = .414, p = .040) and with improved general communication (r = .499, p = .013). Results support the importance of assessing global functioning in addition to symptom change and treatment response in clinical trials.
Thermal and nonthermal mechanisms of interaction of radio-frequency energy with biological systems

This paper reviews thermal and nonthermal mechanisms of interaction between radiofrequency (RF) fields and biological systems, focusing on pulsed fields with high peak power but low duty cycle. Models with simplified geometry are used to illustrate the coupling between external electromagnetic fields and the body, and with cellular and subcellular structures. Mechanisms of interaction may be linear or nonlinear with field strength, and thermal or nonthermal. Each mechanism is characterized by a threshold field strength (below which no observable response is produced) and time constant of response. Several classes of nonthermal mechanisms of interaction are well established; however, the anticipated thresholds for producing observable effects are expected to be very high. The bioeffects literature contains many open questions, including many reports of effects that are not clearly interpretable in terms of the mechanisms discussed in this paper.
Ignition and extinction of flames near surfaces: Combustion of CH4 in air

Ignition and extinction characteristics of homogeneous combustion of methane in air near inert surfaces are studied by numerical bifurcation theory for premixed methane/air gases impinging on planar surfaces with detailed chemistry involving 46 reversible reactions and 16 species. One-parameter bifurcation diagrams as functions of surface temperature and two-parameter bifurcation diagrams as functions of equivalence ratio and strain rate are constructed for both isothermal and adiabatic walls. Lean and rich composition limits for ignition and extinction, and energy production are determined from two parameter bifurcation diagrams. For a strain rate of 500 s[sup [minus]1], CH[sub 4]/air mixtures exhibit hysteresis from [approximately] 0.5% up to [approximately] 12.5% and from [approximately] 5.5% up to [approximately] 13.5% near isothermal surfaces and adiabatic walls, respectively. Ignition temperature rises with composition from 1,700 to 1,950 K, without a maximum around the stoichiometric ratio. Under some conditions multiple ignitions and extinctions can occur with up to five multiple solutions, and wall quenching, kinetic limitations, and transport can strongly affect flame stability. Flames near the stoichiometric ratio cannot be extinguished by room temperature surfaces for sufficiently low strain rates. The role of intermediates in enhancing or retarding ignition and extinction is studied, and implications of the effect ofmore » catalytic surfaces on homogeneous ignition and extinction are discussed. Removal of H atoms and CH[sub 3] radicals by wall adsorption can increase extinction and ignition temperature of 6% CH[sub 4] in air by up to 300 K for a strain rate of 500 s[sup [minus]1].« less
Mapping of globus pallidus and ventral pallidum lesions that produce hyperkinetic treading

The purpose of this study was to identify sites where striatopallidal lesions produce two distinct sensory-triggered hyperkinetic syndromes: (1) exaggerated forelimb treading alone to oral taste infusions and (2) sensorimotor exaggerated treading plus enhanced aversive reactions to taste infusions. The behavioral characteristics of these syndromes have been described previously (Berridge, K.C. and Cromwell, H.C., Behav. Neurosci., 104 (1990) 778-795). Bilateral excitotoxin lesions were made using quinolinic acid (10 /zg in 1 p.1) in the caudate/putamen, nucleus accumbens, globus pallidus or ventral pallidum/substantia innominata. In order to identify the precise center, borders, severity and size of lesion sites that caused these hyperkinetic treading syndromes, neuron counts (modified fractionator technique) and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity (GFAP-IR) densitometry were used in a stereological mapping analysis. The site of lesions that produced the hyperkinetic treading syndrome without enhanced aversion was found to be restricted to the globus pallidus (GP). Damage exceeding 60% neuron loss bilaterally within a 0.8 x 1.0 x 1.0 mm subregion of the ventromedial GP produced this syndrome. The site of lesions that produced the combined syndrome of hyperkinetic treading and aversive enhancement was ventral to the globus pallidus, within the ventral pallidum/substantia innominata (VP/SI). Damage exceeding 70% neuron loss bilaterally within a 1.0 x 0.5 x 1.0 mm diameter subregion of the ventromedial ventral pallidum/substantia innominata produced this syndrome. This subterritory was located immediately lateral to the border of the lateral hypothalamus. Bilateral lesions to the caudate/putamen or nucleus accumbens did not produce either hyperkinetic treading syndrome. These results are discussed in terms of the connectivity of the ventral pallidal/substantia innominata and globus pallidus regions and in terms of neuropathological models of hyperkinetic disorders.
Inside the permutation-scanning worms: propagation modeling and analysis

In recent years, both sophistication and damage potential of Internet worms have increased tremendously. To understand their threat, we need to look into their payload for signatures as well as propagation pattern for Internet-scale behavior. An accurate analytical propagation model allows us to comprehensively study how a worm propagates under various conditions, which is often computationally too intensive for simulations. More importantly, it gives us an insight into the impact of each worm/ network parameter on the propagation of the worm. Traditionally, most modeling work in this area concentrates on the relatively simple random-scanning worms. However, modeling the permutation-scanning worms, a class of worms that are fast yet stealthy, has been a challenge to date. This paper proposes a mathematical model that precisely characterizes the propagation patterns of the general permutation-scanning worms. The analytical framework captures the interactions among all infected hosts by a series of interdependent differential equations, which are then integrated into closed-form solutions that together present the overall worm behavior. We use the model to study how each worm/network parameter affects the worm propagation. We also investigate the impact of dynamic network conditions on the correctness of the model.
Effects of a traveling magnetic field on vertical gradient freeze growth of cadmium zinc telluride

The effects of a traveling magnetic field (TMF) on vertical gradient freeze (VGF) growth of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) are studied using a coupled model of magnetic induction, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer. Simulations are performed to determine the influences of current and frequency on melt flow and growth interface shape. A downward traveling electromagnetic wave drives flow downward at the wall, which tends to flatten the interface, whereas an upward traveling wave has the opposite effect. TMF makes a significant impact on interface shape in the absence of thermal buoyancy, but is ineffectual under realistic conditions in a 4 inch diameter ampoule, for which buoyancy dominates Lorentz force throughout the melt.
MoDE: a UIMS for Smalltalk

While the Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework has contributed to many aspects of user interface development in Smalltalk, interfaces produced with MVC often have highly coupled model, view, and controller classes. This coupling and the effort required to use MVC make user interface creation a less effective aspect of Smalltalk.The Mode Development Environment (MoDE) is a user interface management system (UIMS) which addresses the above issues. MoDE is composed of two major components: the Mode framework and the Mode Composer. The Mode framework accommodates an orthogonal design which decouples the user interface components and increases their reusability. The Mode Composer reduces the effort of using MoDE by providing a direct-manipulation user interface to its users. This paper discusses the importance of orthogonality and illustrates its incorporation into the design of MoDE. A comparison of the Mode framework and the MVC framework is included.
A 2-D and 3-D robot path planning algorithm based on quadtree and octree representation of workspace

This method is of particular interest for robotic systems which require both 2-D navigation to reach the work site and 3-D path planning for on-site manipulation and inspection. The approach of 2-D path planning is extended to 3-D with minimum effort. The quadtree and octree structures are used for 2-D and 3-D workspace representation, respectively. Quadtrees and octrees are generated from a brightness image of the workspace, obtained using a camera mounted on a robot. Path generation is based on the A algorithm. The spatial length and the clearance space available for the robot are used as constraints in the path generation. The results of this approach are illustrated by an experimental system set up on a robotic workstation. >
The Poet, the King and the Cardinal Virtues in Juan de Mena's Laberinto

FICTION, strictly speaking, begins in Juan de Mena's Laberinto the moment the poet is stolen away by Belona. Up to that point the poet had been dedicating his book (st. 1),1 invoking Apollo and the Muses to his aid (sts. 3 and 6), making certain references to his subject matter (sts. 3 to 6) and questioning in a rather violent tone the good sense of Fortuna's operations (sts. 7 to 12). Finally (st. 12), the poet, moved by his desire to observe "porque vea," the magnitude of Fortuna's inconsistencies, asks her to take him to the house where her wheel is kept "la casa me muestra do anda tu rueda." Hardly has he finished formulating his wish when Belona comes down and spirits him away in her dragon-pulled chariot. Belona's trip is short (one stanza) and yet, during it, Mena's role undergoes a serious transformation, for he becomes a character within his own fiction. Belona's dragons have taken him from the realm of his reality to the realm of his intensely imagined experience, an experience which in itself is an interpretation of history, an exploration of past and present with the hope, ardently felt, of influencing the future. The historical Mena, however, does not completely disappear after the goddess deposits the fictionalized one upon the "grand desierto" (st. 14): the progress of the fiction in the Laberinto is interrupted at periodic intervals by the voice of the author who, too heavy for the dragon's wings, is left on Castilian ground to give advice from there to his king, with the authority that his own poem, as it develops, keeps adding to his words. Two Menas then co-exist in the Laberinto: a historical one (the author) and a fictional one (the visionary), and to this double Mena there correspond two levels of truth within the poem which, kept on separate courses, will come together in the closing lines. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate this idea which, in my opinion, is basic to the organization and understanding of the Laberinto. It is its partial purpose, since in doing so I also hope to clarify some not well studied aspects of what is perhaps Mena's best known work. Let me first quickly point out that the famous house where the wheels of the past, present and future are located is not Fortuna's own. What the poet asks in stanza 12 is not to be taken to Fortuna's house, but to the house where her wheel is kept, "la casa me muestra do anda tu rueda" (st. 12f). Note that "wheel" is in the singular. El Brocense, commenting on stanza 56, says, "Estas tres ruedas declara adelante el poeta que son tres edades passada, presente y por venir. En la passada y por venir no obra la Fortuna en la de medio si, por tanto las dos no andavan."2 Only the wheel in the middle, the wheel of the present, moves and only in that wheel "obra" (operates) Fortuna. Only while on earth is
Physical Processes Governing the Rapid Deepening Tail of Maritime Cyclogenesis

AbstractThe positively skewed distribution of maritime cyclone maximum deepening rates is investigated for cyclones as a class rather than through individual case study, using a series of experiments employing perpetual January simulations from the global version of the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). The relative roles of latent heat release, baroclinic instability, and boundary layer friction in producing this tail behavior are elucidated. The experiments reveal that the strongest maritime storms are the result of the baroclinic dynamics of the relative few being preferentially enhanced through feedback with the available moisture. Strong baroclinic forcing, in the absence of this moisture availability and resultant latent heating, does not produce the skewed rapid deepening tail behavior. An increase in surface roughness and accompanying friction in the maritime region provides only a slight brake on cyclone development. The results support previous research t...
Evidence for the incompatibility of age-neutral overweight and age-neutral physical activity standards from runners

In contrast with earlier versions, the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans uses the same definition of overweight for both younger and older adults. These guidelines state that prevention of weight gain at any age is achievable by balancing food intake with physical activity. The purposes of our study were to assess 1) whether vigorous exercise prevents weight gain with age, and 2) whether weight maintenance and an age-neutral adult overweight standard are consistent with a constant activity level over time. These hypotheses were tested in a national cross-sectional survey of 4769 and 2150 male runners aged 18-49 y and > 49 y, respectively. Before age 50 y, the rates at which body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) and waist circumference increased in association with age were the same in shorter-distance ( 80 km/wk) runners. Regardless of weekly running distance, before age 50 y, BMI increased at (+/-SE) 0.045 +/- 0.006 kg.m-2.y-1 and waist circumference increased at 0.186 +/- 0.014 cm/y. The percentage of runners who were moderately overweight (BMI > or = 25) was 21.5% before age 30 y and 30.1% in those between 45 and 49 y old. Men who ran greater distances were nevertheless leaner because weekly running distance was inversely related to BMI (slope +/- SE: -0.033 +/- 0.002 kg/m2 per km/wk) and waist circumference (-0.083 +/- 0.004 cm.km-1.wk-1). To be consistent, guidelines should either 1) recommend substantial increases in physical activity over time when promoting an age-neutral adult overweight standard, or 2) accept an age-adjusted overweight standard when recommending a constant level of physical activity over time.
Monticello's Dumbwaiters

This article speculates on Thomas Jefferson's invention of dumbwaiters at his home at Monticello. Intended to allow dinner-table conversation to proceed uninterrupted by servants, these mechanisms traveled between the realm of the of the kitchen and that of the dining room. From the dining room, raised and set apart, guests could enjoy the fruits of Monticello Plantation and look out over the landscape, framed as a pastoral vista in large windows. The freedom to speculate in conversation and to survey the landscape as spectators was encouraged by an architectural separation from the household and from the land. Jefferson created and controlled this separation by design of the dumbwaiters and the view.
The straintronic spin-neuron

In artificial neural networks, neurons are usually implemented with highly dissipative CMOS-based operational amplifiers. A more energy-efficient implementation is a 'spin-neuron' realized with a magneto-tunneling junction (MTJ) that is switched with a spin-polarized current (representing weighted sum of input currents) that either delivers a spin transfer torque or induces domain wall motion in the soft layer of the MTJ to mimic neuron firing. Here, we propose and analyze a different type of spin-neuron in which the soft layer of the MTJ is switched with mechanical strain generated by a voltage (representing weighted sum of input voltages) and term it straintronic spin-neuron. It dissipates orders of magnitude less energy in threshold operations than the traditional current-driven spin neuron at 0 K temperature and may even be faster. We have also studied the room-temperature firing behaviors of both types of spin neurons and find that thermal noise degrades the performance of both types, but the current-driven type is degraded much more than the straintronic type if both are optimized for maximum energy-efficiency. On the other hand, if both are designed to have the same level of thermal degradation, then the current-driven version will dissipate orders of magnitude more energy than the straintronic version. Thus, the straintronic spin-neuron is superior to current-driven spin neurons.
Recent advances in phosphine ligands for palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions

Palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions have been a boon for organic synthesis over the past few decades (1). Reactions such as the Stille (1a,2), Suzuki (1a-b), and Heck (1a,3) are a few of the more notable carbon-carbon bond forming reactions that often employ a palladium catalyst with a phosphine ligand. Continuous improvements to the reaction conditions, catalysts and ligands have increased the versatility of these reactions, reduced the required temperatures, and greatly enhanced reaction efficiencies. In the past few years, particular attention has been focused on optimizing the phosphine ligand to increased catalyst turnover and efficiency. Due to these improvements, previously unsuccessful coupling reactions with unactivated and hindered substrates can now be realized. Among the most promising ligands to date are electron-rich, hindered phosphines: Buchwald ligands (1a-d), tri-tert-butylphosphine (2), di-1-adamantyl-n-butylphosphine (3), and di(alkylphosphino)ferrocenes (4a-c) (Scheme 1).
Influence of formulated glyphosate and activator adjuvants on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in glyphosate-resistant and-susceptible Glycine max

Abstract Two Glycine max near-isolines, GL2415 (glyphosate sensitive) and GL2600RR (glyphosate resistant), were compared for susceptibility to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the fungus that causes white mold disease (also known as Sclerotinia stem rot). A formulated isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (RU) at 840, 1,680, and 2,520 g ae ha−1; the RU formulation blank containing only adjuvants (RUFB) at 0.4% (v/v); organosilicone at 0.3% (v/v); a crop oil concentrate at 1.0% (v/v); and a nonionic surfactant at 0.5% (v/v) were evaluated for their influence on V5 G. max susceptibility to S. sclerotiorum in the field. The same treatments plus a formulated isopropylamine salt of glyphosate lacking adjuvants at 2,520 g ae ha−1 and a formulated trimethylsulfonium salt of glyphosate at 2,520 g ae ha−1 were applied to GL2600RR G. max in the greenhouse. Results from these studies indicated no differences in fungal growth, disease development, or G. max yield for any of these treatments. To determine if any interaction occu...
Urinary Tract Infections Caused by Aspergillus Species

Urinary tract aspergillosis is uncommon even in the era of increased frequency of invasive mycoses. Experience is largely a function of isolated case reports and rare case series or reviews. The majority of cases involve transplant recipients predominantly following renal transplantation but is also reported in other immunocompromised states such as AIDS and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Most cases represent haematogenous spread to renal parenchyma, often in the absence of recognized disseminated infection, presenting as small or large abscesses, infarcts, renal insufficiency or urinary drainage system fungal balls with obstructive uropathy. Diagnosis is usually made on the basis of renal tissue aspiration and urine cultures. Newer anti-Aspergillus drugs notably voriconazole offer less toxic therapeutic options and are quite successful in combination with drainage measures to relieve urinary stasis.
Conserving Living Natural Resources: Historical context – the commodification of resources and the foundations of utilitarian resource management

When we conserve biological, that is living, natural resources such as wild plants and animals, we make decisions about their use, management, or protection in order to prevent their depletion and insure that they will continue to be around in the future. In this chapter we will look at the historical conditions that created a need for a formal approach to natural resource conservation in the western world and its colonies. We will see how the disciplines of wildlife management, forestry, and range management arose in response to threats to living natural resources that followed the commodification of resources in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Australian region. These disciplines are utilitarian in their approach; they focus on the exploitation of economically valuable species. The word “exploitation” has several connotations. To exploit a resource is to use it, but the term often carries an implication of excessive use, unfair use, or use without appropriate compensation. In this book, the term exploitation is meant to be synonymous with utilization, without a connotation of exorbitant or inappropriate use. We will, however, see many cases of unregulated or excessive exploitation that resulted in resource depletion or environmental degradation. All societies, of course, use living natural resources, and thus they are utilitarian in their approach to those resources (although this is not necessarily the only way that they relate to the natural world).
Transnational Activities of Immigrant-Owned Firms and Their Performances in the United States

Using microdata from the U.S. Survey of Business Owners (SBO) released in 2012, this study examines transnational activities of immigrant-owned businesses in three aspects: whether they export, outsource jobs, and have overseas establishments. Results show that immigrant-owned firms have significantly higher tendency to be involved in transnational economic activities when compared to non-immigrant owned firms. Immigrant firms without transnational activities have significantly smaller size of employees, annual total sales and total payrolls than non-immigrant firms. However, immigrant owned firms with transnational activities fare significantly better than non-immigrant owned firms without transnational activities. These findings speak directly to the long-debated issues concerning different motivations and performance outcomes of immigrant business ownership.
TOPOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, ZONE WIDTH, AND THE STRENGTH OF REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION IN A ZONE OF OVERLAP AND HYBRIDIZATION.

Two closely related species of ground crickets, Allonemobius fasciatus and A. socius, overlap and hybridize in a contact zone in the eastern United States. In earlier work, Howard (1986) described geographic variation in the width of the zone and in the strength of reproductive isolation between the two ground crickets. The zone was wider in the hills and mountains of southeastern Ohio and West Virginia than along the eastern coastal plain, and reproductive isolation appeared to be stronger where the zone was wider. Howard attributed the greater width in the mountains to the wide intermingling and patchy distribution of habitats appropriate for a species adapted to a northern climate and for a species adapted to a southern climate. He also pointed out that the mosaicism and the increased breadth of the zone in the mountains enhanced the probability of occurrence of reinforcement. We tested three predictions that emerged from Howard's hypothesized links among topographic diversity, zone width, and the strength of reproductive isolation. The first two predictions were fulfilled. The northern cricket, A. fasciatus, occurred in the high mountains south of its previously known distributional limit; and the zone narrowed considerably in Illinois, an area of low topographic diversity. These results provide further evidence for the importance of the environment in determining the structure of the zone. The third prediction was falsified. Contrary to the prediction, the strength of reproductive isolation between the two species was as strong in Illinois as in the Appalachian Mountains. This result suggests that if reinforcement has occurred in the zone, the width of the zone has not been a major factor in the process.
Facing the Dragon: Black Mothering, Sequelae, and Gendered Necropolitics in the Americas

Anti-Black state violence across the Americas reflects a global gendered necropolitical logic. Yet, we often misread this violence by suggesting that the primary victims are men. Although state terror often results in the immediate physical death of young Black men, it is principally, yet tacitly, performed for Black women and impacts Black women disproportionately. This essay argues that the gendered necropolitics of trans-American anti-Black violence is expansive and includes the direct, immediate death of Black people and the lingering, slow death caused by sequelae. Within this calculus, Black mothers bear the particular weight of anti-Black state violence. Black mothers (social, biological, or otherwise) are scripted within the racial, hetero-patriarchal social order as enemies of the state. As such, they pose a unique political threat to the social order. Yet, while the intent of the state is to kill, instill fear and intimidate, the result has been the creation of new political knowledge and resilient political tactics. This paper considers the gendered necropolitics of anti-Black state violence in Brazil and the United States and Black mothers’ responses to this violence
Recalibration of the GASP geobarometer in light of recent garnet and plagioclase activity models and versions of the garnet-biotite geothermometer

The garnet-Al silicate-plagioclase (GASP) geobarometer has been recalibrated using four recent garnet activity models, four analogous garnet-biotite temperature models, and two recent plagioclase activity models. A typical sillimanite-bearing sample that formed at about 5.25 kbar, 575 °C shows a possible P range of ~0.7 kbar due to T error, ~1 kbar due to range of garnet activity model, ~0.9 kbar due to range of plagioclase activity model, and ~5.4 kbar due to range of experimental end-member reversals extended by one sigma. Calibrations were further constrained with the kyanite-sillimanite (K-S) phase boundary such that the best fit of 76 pelitic schist samples from 11 localities provides an individual end-member calibration for each of the eight possible combinations of garnet and plagioclase activity models with the appropriate geothermometer. Samples with low grossular or anorthite component were rejected. The end-member calibrations are constrained to pass through the the best-determined portion of the GASP experimental reversals at 1230 °C, 26.6 kbar. These individual end-member calibrations provide self-consistent models that tend to compensate for error in the garnet and plagioclase activity expressions. The models were also tested on a set of 59 samples from the Alps. The recommended calibration is the average garnet activity model and average garnet-biotite T model of Holdaway (2000), the Fuhrman and Lindsley (1988) plagioclase activity model, and H Grs = −6628521, S Grs = 258.76 to combine with the remaining phases in the Berman database to produce the optimum end-member GASP curve. These thermodynamic data are for the GASP geobarometer only. Error is about ±0.8 kbar absolute and about ±0.6 kbar relative. Geological error is the largest component of error in many of these samples. Care should be taken to be sure that analyzed plagioclase and biotite are near analyzed garnet, that the peak- T portions of garnet and plagioclase are selected, that the peak- T Al silicate is determined, and that the T calculated is the most accurate possible. These calibrations represent an improvement over previous published GASP calibrations. These eight models are available for distribution as three programs ( T , P , P - T intersection) for the DOS-based personal computer.
Private Lives and Anti-Administration

Much theory in public administration assumes that citizens are, or should be, deeply involved in public affairs. However, most people are not involved in public discourse, leaving them vulnerable to actions taken by the small percentage of the population who do participate. Public administrators are key actors in shaping perceptions of which problems should rise to the public agenda, what action alternatives are available, and how implementation of programmatic decisions affects members of the public. In this role, they are a remaining buffer between public action and potentially disruptive or damaging impacts on private lives. The paper suggests that in adopting an antiadministrative stance toward administrative action, public professionals might exercise imagination as a means of protecting private lives.
Independent Increments and Infinite Divisibility

Regularity and integral representation; Levy processes and subordinators; stable processes and first-passage times; infinitely divisible distributions; characteristics and convergence criteria; approximation of Levy processes and random walks; limit theorems for null arrays; convergence of extremes
The University of Michigan's M-STEM academies program: Examining the social community of future engineers

A social community framework is used to examine the program elements of the University of Michigan's (UM) M-Engin Program, an undergraduate engineering mentoring program, to provide insights about its social community elements. At this initial research stage, a methodical analysis of the program data (e.g., analytics, features, elements, and artifacts) was performed to create a portfolio to begin to understand the role of social community within the M-Engin Program. From this research, we can learn how to better serve members of various program communities by identifying opportunities for improvement. Future research will include conducting informal interviews with the program's coordinators and surveying and interviewing program participants.
Evidence-based medicine: a persisting desire under fire

Healthcare infrastructure and medical schools in Syria have been greatly compromised by military conflict and humanitarian disaster. Medical students and healthcare professionals reached out for remote learning opportunities. Surprisingly, they desired a curriculum in evidence-based medicine. We report on a curriculum that was delivered to 126 learners using an online remote delivery platform. This experience demonstrates the feasibility of this approach in disaster-stricken areas and underscores the importance of evidence-based medicine even under such conditions.
Death and the Afterlife in Byzantium: The Fate of the Soul in Theology, Liturgy, and Art

For all their reputed and professed preoccupation with the afterlife, the Byzantines had no systematic conception of the fate of the soul between death and the Last Judgement. Death and the Afterlife in Byzantium marries for the first time liturgical, theological, literary, and material evidence to investigate a fundamental question: what did the Byzantines believe happened after death? This interdisciplinary study provides an in-depth analysis and synthesis of hagiography, theological treatises, apocryphal texts and liturgical services, as well as images of the fate of the soul in manuscript and monumental decoration. It also places the imagery of the afterlife, both literary and artistic, within the context of Byzantine culture, spirituality, and soteriology. The book intends to be the definitive study on concepts of the afterlife in Byzantium, and its interdisciplinary structure will appeal to students and specialists from a variety of areas in medieval studies.
Method and structure to reduce leakage for ESD device

To fully enable and leverage the power of advanced processors, products must have abundant cache memory with much shorter access paths without increasing chip power for non-functional cells such as such as electrostatic discharge (ESD) circuits. It is very critical to have ESD circuits to protect the chip and module but also important to ensure that ESD circuits don't add significant power to the chip. A novel solution to meet higher ESD requirements during chip manufacturing, packaging, and test that can be “turned off” in system operation to reduce power is described.
Exercise as a Prevention for Substance Use Disorder: a Review of Sex Differences and Neurobiological Mechanisms

This report provides an update on clinical and preclinical findings for the efficacy of exercise to prevent substance use disorder with a focus on recent evidence for sex differences and neurobiological mechanisms. Exercise/physical activity is associated with decreased drug use in humans. Preclinical results further indicate that exercise decreases vulnerability to drug use and the development of features of substance use disorder, and suggest that females have an enhanced sensitivity to its reward-substitution effects. However, certain exercise conditions may sensitize the reward pathway and enhance vulnerability suggesting that parallel observations in humans (e.g., increased prescription opioid misuse and heroin use in high-school athletes) may be biologically based. Exercise is a promising prevention strategy for substance use disorder. Further work is needed to establish its efficacy as a sex-specific strategy using larger samples and to understand the exercise conditions that induce beneficial versus risk-enhancing effects.
Sexual Content in Music and Its Relation to Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors among Consumers: A Meta-Analytic Review

While previous research has documented a relation between sexual content in music and the sexual attitudes and behaviors of consumers, to date, there are no meta-analytic reviews of the literature, making our meta-analysis the first in this area. Results from 26 studies indicated that sexual content in music had a significant effect on sexual attitudes and behaviors, with both music format and genre being significant contributors. Additionally, participant ethnicity, sex, age, location, and study design were found to be significant moderators. Theoretical implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.
Genome-scale dissection of regulatory network dysfunction in tumors with high NRF2 activity

NRF2 is a cytoprotective transcription factor, yet NRF2 hyperactivating mutations promote oncogenesis. We used an integrative genomics approach to get an unbiased view of gene dysregulation in tumors with oncogenic NRF2 mutations and identified a set of 32 direct NRF2 targets that are consistently upregulated in these tumors. This NRF2 cancer signature includes canonical redox-related NRF2 targets (e.g., NQO1) as well as several genes not previously linked to NRF2; upregulation of this gene set is independent of the organ where the tumor developed. A key distinguishing feature of the NRF2 cancer signature genes is that they are regulated by high affinity NRF2 binding sites (antioxidant response elements) that fall within DNA regions with a ubiquitously permissive chromatin signature. This implies that the NRF2 cancer target genes are broadly responsive to oncogenic NRF2 because they lack the epigenetic restraints that restrict expression of most NRF2 targets. We used this NRF2 cancer signature to infer NRF2 activity across 9000 tumors and found that high NRF2 activity is associated with decreased survival in many cancer types. Additionally, network-based screening for drivers of this universal NRF2 cancer signature has identified several novel genetic modifiers of NRF2 activity.
The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

The global interaction of the solar wind with a comet as it orbits the Sun is reviewed. After a brief survey of the flow transition regions observed at comet Halley is presented, theoretical models are given for the cometocentric distance of the bow shock, the cometopause, and the ionopause. In addition, predictions are made as to what heliocentric distance these boundaries should form at. The results of these models are compared with the in situ observations at comet Halley.
Irreparable Harm to Whom? Parsing Utah's Odd Argument

In Kitchen v. Herbert, a federal judge in Utah struck down Amendment 3 to the state's constitution, which prohibited same-sex couples from marrying. Utah rushed to stay the decision pending appeal, which would prevent same-sex couples from marrying in the interim. Although both the District Court and Court of Appeals denied the state's request, the Supreme Court granted the stay — but not until nearly 1,300 same-sex couples had already married in Utah. In arguing in favor of a stay, Utah posited that same-sex couples would suffer an irreparable harm in the form of "dignitary losses" if they were to marry and then, when the District Court's decision was eventually overturned on appeal, have their marriage taken away from them. This article critiques the curious logic behind the state's argument, as well as the state's earnestness in its concern for dignitary losses considering its decision, after the Supreme Court granted the stay, not to recognize the legal validity of the 1,300 same-sex marriages that had taken place. In the recent wave of similar challenges to same-sex marriage prohibitions taking place in many states around the country, and due to the subsequent stay requests that will surely follow, the author hopes to provide guidance to both judges and the legal community as to how to approach "dignitary loss" arguments made by states.
Browser-based graphics programming

With today's more capable Web applications built using JavaScript, inevitably we want to develop cross-platform applications that programmatically manipulate graphics; examples of such Web applications include visualization tools and games. In this tutorial, we investigate three major techniques for JavaScript-based graphics manipulation. The tutorial includes examples illustrating each technique and contrasts the relative advantages.
Memory failure prediction using online learning

Occurring frequently in datacenters, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) errors are the leading cause of the failures among various hardware components. DRAM failure analysis is one of the most important topics in hardware reliability, availability, and serviceability. Though with comprehensive studies of DRAM failure modes in prior work, a mechanism of predicting future failures on DRAM components is not available today. In this paper we address the problem of predicting the failures on micro-level DRAM components including cells, rows, and columns. A DRAM failure is the combined effect of the wear level of a DRAM fault and the implicit runtime context. Correctly predicting DRAM failures quantifies the impact to DRAM reliability and enables advanced error-prevention mechanisms such as efficient page retirement or dynamic substitution with spare DRAM components. We propose an online learning method, repeatedly taking the historical memory failure data of an individual server as the input to predict its failure occurrences in the near future. The learning algorithm embeds a kernel function to evaluate how well the current error observation follows certain previous observations in its failure history. It then performs the prediction by discovering the implicit patterns online. The algorithm strengthens failure confidence with the history of repeated errors from hard faults while washing out occasional errors from soft faults. It also adapts to the unobservable time-varying context by penalizing the change in failure observations across cycles. We further augment the algorithm with a mechanism which propagates failure confidence scores to nearby cells including the ones without error history. Empirical evaluation demonstrates that the failure prediction approach consistently outperforms the baseline methods based on historical error statistics.
Abstract 524: Fibrinogen Depletion Attenuates Angiotensin II-induced Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Background: Fibrinogen and fibrin provide physical and biochemical support to a developing clot and is defined as one of the most crucial independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)...
Who benefits from ecosystem services? Analysing recreational moose hunting in Vermont, USA

Ecosystem services typically benefit multiple groups of people. However, natural resource management decisions aiming to secure ecosystem services for one beneficiary group rarely consider potential consequences for others. Here, we examine records of moose hunting in Vermont, USA, a recreational ecosystem service with at least two beneficiary groups: hunters, who benefit from recreational experiences and moose meat, and residents, who live in hunting areas and benefit from hunters' expenditures. We ask how the allocation of hunting permits has affected (1) the total number of hunters and therefore the benefits enjoyed by this group, (2) the benefits residents received, and (3) the spatial distribution of benefits for each group. We found that changes in the allocation of permits had heterogeneous effects on the beneficiaries. For example, increasing the number of hunting permits increased the total number of hunters, but not necessarily the number of residents who potentially benefit. Also, a more balanced distribution of permits across Vermont increased the total number of potentially benefiting residents, but not those from lower socio-economic groups. Understanding these differences and interactions between beneficiary groups is necessary to distribute benefits equitably amongst them.
The Link between Discrimination and Worst Point Suicidal Ideation among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults

Objective Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults often report a disproportionately high rate of suicidal ideation compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. The current study aimed to understand the relationship between discrimination for one's sexual orientation or gender identity and suicidal ideation. We hypothesized that discrimination would be associated with suicidal ideation at one's worst point through the indirect effects of hopelessness regarding thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Method A sample of 178 SGM adults (M age = 30.34, range 18-69; 76% white) completed an online questionnaire assessing minority-specific stressors and suicide-related thoughts and behaviors. Results A mediation model with bootstrapping indicated that greater discrimination was associated with more frequent suicidal ideation at one's worst point through the indirect effect of hopelessness regarding thwarted belongingness. Conclusions The current study provides evidence that the pathway between discrimination and worst point suicidal ideation may be partially explained by the perception that one will never belong. These findings support the utility of an understudied Interpersonal Theory of Suicide hypothesis for research among SGM adults.
Rumination and perceived social support from significant others interact to predict eating disorder attitudes and behaviors in university students.

Objective: University students are at a greater risk for eating disorder attitudes and behaviors (EDAB) compared to the general population. This study examined the roles of rumination and perceived...
Differences in leaf physiology among juvenile pines and oaks following high-severity wildfire in an Arizona Sky Island Mountain range

Abstract Recent increases in wildfire severity are converting pine-oak (Pinus-Quercus) woodland to oak shrubland in many sites in the southwestern United States. A key mechanism underlying this transition is the vigorous resprouting capacity of oaks compared to low regeneration rates in pines following wildfire. Differences among species in leaf physiological characteristics may also contribute to such vegetation type conversions, especially in the context of recent increased regional aridity. To that end, we evaluated variation in leaf functional traits in post-fire recruits five years after the 2011 Horseshoe Two in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA. We measured a suite of functional traits in two pines (Pinus engelmannii and P. leiophylla) and two oaks (Quercus hypoleucoides and Q. arizonica), including leaf gas exchange, leaf pigment concentrations, leaf spectral reflectance, and wood xylem δ13C, δ18O isotopes, and integrated water use efficiency (iWUE). The four study species displayed a range of plant functional traits tied to desiccation tolerance. P. engelmannii seedling recruits presented invariably low maximum photosynthetic rate (Amax), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration (E), and high relative leaf water content during the peak of the May-June drought, a response strongly indicative of a desiccation-avoidant leaf that prioritizes water conservation over carbon fixation in arid conditions. In contrast, resprouts of both oaks displayed leaf desiccation tolerance, with high levels of gs and E and low relative leaf water content. Gas exchange in P. leiophylla resprouts was more similar to the oaks, except for relative water content, which was similar to that of P. engelmannii. Compared to the other two species, P. engelmannii and Q. hypoleucoides exhibited significantly higher δ13C, δ18O and iWUE values—a pattern that appears to have arisen from different mechanisms in the two species. In desiccation-avoidant P. engelmannii, low instantaneous gs and high δ18O suggested that low stomatal conductance rather than high photosynthetic rates led to high iWUE, whereas lower δ18O and very high pigment concentrations in Q. hypoleucoides suggest a more important role for Amax in this species. Neither fire severity nor physiography influenced the physiological responses in any of the four species, suggesting that the expression of resprout and seedling functional traits is fixed. These results raise the possibility that differences in leaf physiological characteristics contribute to the regeneration success of some oak species and the poor seedling establishment of obligate seeder pines, such as P. engelmannii, after high-severity wildfire in the American Southwest.