cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New names for old things: the emergence of metaphoric language.

Criteria were devised to distinguish between literal and metaphoric word usage in early language. These criteria were applied to the spontaneous speech transcripts of one child between 2; 3 and 4; 10.15. All unconventional word uses were identified and were then scored as overextensions, anomalies, or metaphors. The majority of unconventional word uses proved to be metaphors. Moreover, a developmental sequence of types of metaphors produced was found: those metaphors predominant during year 2 were based on the pretend actions of symbolic play; those predominant at year 4 were based on perceptual grounds alone, without the support of action.
ICD-9 tobacco use codes are effective identifiers of smoking status

Objective To evaluate the validity of, characterize the usage of, and propose potential research applications for International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) tobacco codes in clinical populations. Materials and methods Using data on cancer cases and cancer-free controls from Vanderbilt's biorepository, BioVU, we evaluated the utility of ICD-9 tobacco use codes to identify ever-smokers in general and high smoking prevalence (lung cancer) clinic populations. We assessed potential biases in documentation, and performed temporal analysis relating transitions between smoking codes to smoking cessation attempts. We also examined the suitability of these codes for use in genetic association analyses. Results ICD-9 tobacco use codes can identify smokers in a general clinic population (specificity of 1, sensitivity of 0.32), and there is little evidence of documentation bias. Frequency of code transitions between ‘current’ and ‘former’ tobacco use was significantly correlated with initial success at smoking cessation (p<0.0001). Finally, code-based smoking status assignment is a comparable covariate to text-based smoking status for genetic association studies. Discussion Our results support the use of ICD-9 tobacco use codes for identifying smokers in a clinical population. Furthermore, with some limitations, these codes are suitable for adjustment of smoking status in genetic studies utilizing electronic health records. Conclusions Researchers should not be deterred by the unavailability of full-text records to determine smoking status if they have ICD-9 code histories.
Vibration control of plates through hybrid configurations of periodic piezoelectric shunts

Periodic arrays of hybrid-shunted piezoelectric actuators are used to suppress vibrations of an aluminum plate over broad frequency bands. Commonly, piezoelectric-shunted networks are used for individual mode control, through tuned, resonant resistive/inductive circuits, and for broadband vibration attenuation, through negative impedance converters. Periodically placed resonant shunts allow for broadband reduction resulting from the attenuation of propagating waves in frequency bands which are defined by the spatial periodicity of the array and by the shunting parameters considered on the circuit. Such attenuation typically occurs at medium–high frequencies, while negative impedance converter networks are effective in reducing the vibration amplitudes of the lower modes of the structure. In this article, the combination of periodic resonant shunts and negative impedance converter networks on the same aluminum panel is studied to verify the possibility of combining the advantages of the two concepts. Both ...
Quantitative Determination of Captopril in Blood and Captopril and Its Disulfide Metabolites in Plasma by Gas Chromatography

A sensitive, quantitative gas chromatographic-electron capture (GC-EC) method for the determination of captopril in blood and captopril and its disulfide metabolites (collectively) in plasma was developed. After addition of an internal standard and N-ethylmaleimide to the biological samples, excess N-ethylmaleimide and naturally occurring interfering substances were removed by extraction with benzene followed by acidification and extraction with hexane. The N-ethylmaleimide adducts of captopril and of the internal standard were then extracted with benzene and converted to their hexafluoroisopropyl esters. For the assay of captopril and its disulfide metabolites, tributylphosphine was used to reduce the disulfide metabolites to captopril prior to derivatization. The hexafluoroisopropyl esters of the N-ethylmaleimide adducts of captopril and of the internal standard, the 4-ethoxyproline analogue of captopril, were separated by GC on a column packed with 3% OV-101 on Chromosorb W-HP. The lower limits of sensitivity were 20 ng/mL for captopril in blood and 50 ng/mL for captopril and its disulfide metabolites in plasma. Linearity, precision, and accuracy were excellent. The method was validated by comparison of results obtained for total captopril in dog plasma by the GC-EC assay with results obtained by a published GC-MS method. The assay was applied to dog and human samples to explore its general utility.
Pluteus aurantipes sp. nov. from Wisconsin, United States

Pluteus aurantipes sp. nov. was discovered in Wisconsin, United States. This agaric species is characterized by its yellowish brown pileus, reddish orange stipe, pileipellis consisting of a trichoderm and lack of pleurocystidia.
Phylogeographic patterns of Hawaiian Megalagrion damselflies (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) correlate with Pleistocene island boundaries.

The Pleistocene geological history of the Hawaiian Islands is becoming well understood. Numerous predictions about the influence of this history on the genetic diversity of Hawaiian organisms have been made, including the idea that changing sea levels would lead to the genetic differentiation of populations isolated on individual volcanoes during high sea stands. Here, we analyse DNA sequence data from two closely related, endemic Hawaiian damselfly species in order to test these predictions, and generate novel insights into the effects of Pleistocene glaciation and climate change on island organisms. Megalagrion xanthomelas and Megalagrion pacificum are currently restricted to five islands, including three islands of the Maui Nui super-island complex (Molokai, Lanai, and Maui) that were connected during periods of Pleistocene glaciation, and Hawaii island, which has never been subdivided. Maui Nui and Hawaii are effectively a controlled, natural experiment on the genetic effects of Pleistocene sea level change. We confirm well-defined morphological species boundaries using data from the nuclear EF-1α gene and show that the species are reciprocally monophyletic. We perform phylogeographic analyses of 663 base pairs (bp) of cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene sequence data from 157 individuals representing 25 populations. Our results point to the importance of Pleistocene land bridges and historical island habitat availability in maintaining inter-island gene flow. We also propose that repeated bottlenecks on Maui Nui caused by sea level change and restricted habitat availability are likely responsible for low genetic diversity there. An island analogue to northern genetic purity and southern diversity is proposed, whereby islands with little suitable habitat exhibit genetic purity while islands with more exhibit genetic diversity.
Hypoxia tolerance of the mummichog: the role of access to the water surface

Low dissolved oxygen (DO) had a significant effect on specific growth rate (G s ), length increment (I L ) and haematocrit (Hct) of the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus. Regardless of access to the water surface, F. heteroclitus maintained high growth rates (G s and I L ) at DO concentrations as low as 3 mg O 2 l -1 . With access to the water surface, both G s and I L of F. heteroclitus decreased by c. 60% at 1.0 mg O 2 l -1 compared to all higher DO treatments. When denied access to the water surface, a further decrease in G s (c. 90%) and I L (c. 75%) was observed at 1 mg O 2 l -1 . There was no effect of diet-cycling DO (1-11 mg O 2 l -1 ) with or without surface access on G S I L or Hct of F. heteroclitus. Similar trends between G S and faecal production across DO treatments suggest that decreased feeding contributed significantly to the observed decrease in growth rate. Haematocrit was significantly elevated at 1 mg O 2 l -1 for fish with and without access to the water surface. Increased Hct, however, was not sufficient to maintain high G S or I L at severely low DO. When permitted to respire in the surface layer, however, F. heteroclitus was capable of maintaining moderate growth rates at DO concentrations of 1 mg O 2 l -1 (c. 15% saturation). Although aquatic surface respiration (ASR) was not quantified in this study, F. heteroclitus routinely swam in contact with the water surface and performed ASR at DO concentrations ≤3 mg O 2 l -1 . No hypoxia-related mortality was observed in any DO or surface access treatment for as long as 9 days. This study demonstrates that surface access, and thus potential for ASR, plays an important role in providing F. heteroclitus substantial independence of growth rate over a wide range of low DO conditions commonly encountered in shallow estuarine environments.
Generalizing About Trade Show Effectiveness: A Cross-National Comparison

Trade shows are a multibillion-dollar business in the United States and the United Kingdom, but little is known about the determinants of trade show effectiveness. The authors build a model that ca...
Universal Child Victims and Normal Guys: The Anti-CSEC Movement’s All-Inclusive Frames

This study builds upon the growing empirical literature on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and scholarship on framing strategies. Previous research has focused on the causes a...
Branch elimination by condition merging

Conditional branches are expensive. Branches require a significant percentage of execution cycles since they occur frequently and cause pipeline flushes when mispredicted. In addition, branches result in forks in the control flow, which can prevent other code-improving transformations from being applied. In this paper we describe profile-based techniques for replacing the execution of a set of two or more branches with a single branch on a conventional scalar processor. These sets of branches can include tests of multiple variables. For instance, the test if (p1 ! = 0 && p2 ! = 0), which is testing for NULL pointers, can be replaced with if (p1 & p2 ! = 0). Program profiling is performed to target condition merging along frequently executed paths. The results show that eliminating branches by merging conditions can significantly reduce the number of conditional branches executed in non-numerical applications.
PHYSICAL FINDINGS IN NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

Manifestations of deficiencies of protein, calories, vitamins, and trace elements are described. These findings are placed in the context of the functions, food sources, and causes of deficiency of each micronutrient.
Voyages d’Orient et d’Occident : Jean Léon l’Africain et Ahmad al-Hajarî dans la littérature de voyage

Cet article compare les oeuvres et les carrieres de Leon l’Africain, geographe marocain originaire de Grenade, et du Morisque Ahmad al-Hajari, et examine leurs contributions respectives a la litterature de voyage et au developpement des etudes orientales en Europe.
Merging the horizons of psychotherapeutic and religious worldviews: New challenges for psychotherapy in the global age

By collapsing the space that had previously separated conflicting worldviews, global trends force these worldviews into encounters that might not otherwise occur. This discussion examines the impact on the practice of psychotherapy of one of these encounters, namely, the encounter between the religious worldview of devout believers and the therapeutic worldview that heavily influences the Western practice of psychotherapy. In the face of the combined effects of immigration and the phenomenal worldwide growth of conservative religion, psychotherapy in the USA and Europe will increasingly be offered to religiously committed people who distrust the therapeutic viewpoint. Following an examination of the effects of global trends on the religiosity of the populations from which many Western psychotherapists draw their patients, we present a clinical vignette that demonstrates how these trends challenge therapists to become therapeutically engaged with their patients’ religious beliefs and values. The vignette i...
Author-generated Dublin Core Metadata for Web Resources: A Baseline Study in an Organization

This paper reports on a study that examined the ability of resource authors to create acceptable metadata in an organizational setting. The results indicate that authors can create good quality metadata when working with the Dublin Core, and that is in some cases they may be able to create metadata that is of better quality than what a metadata professional can produce. This research suggests that authors think metadata is valuable for resource discovery, that it should be created for web resources, and that they, as authors, should be involved in metadata production for their works. The study also indicates that a simple web form, with textual guidance and selective use of features (e.g., popup windows, drop-down menus, etc.) can assist authors in generating good quality metadata.
Sensor arrays from multicomponent micropatterned nanoparticles and graphene

A novel approach for multicomponent patterning metal/metal oxide nanoparticles on graphene was developed, which involves region-specific plasma treatment, followed by region-selective substrate-enhanced electroless deposition of Au nanoparticles and solution alkalization of ferrous chloride tetrahydrate in the presence of ammonia into Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The resultant Fe3O4/Au multicomponent micropatterned-graphene films were found to be highly selective sensor arrays for detecting low levels of chemical vapor molecules at ppm levels. This novel concept could be applied to the development of various multicomponent patterned nanomaterials for many potential applications, ranging from nanoscale region-specific chemical-/bio-sensor arrays to multifunctional optoelectronic devices.
Repetition is easy: why repeated referents have reduced prominence.

The repetition and the predictability of a word in a conversation are two factors that are believed to affect whether it is emphasized: Predictable, repeated words are less acoustically prominent than unpredictable, new words. However, because predictability and repetition are correlated, it is unclear whether speakers lengthen unpredictable words to facilitate comprehension or whether this lengthening is the result of difficulties in accessing a new (nonrepeated) lexical item. In this study, we investigated the relationship between acoustic prominence, repetition, and predictability in a description task. In Experiment 1, we found that repeated referents are produced with reduced prominence, even when these referents are unexpected. In Experiment 2, we found that predictability and repetition both have independent effects on duration and intensity. However, word duration was primarily determined by repetition, and intensity was primarily determined by predictability. The results are most consistent with an account in which multiple cognitive factors influence the acoustic prominence of a word.
The Interpersonal Maturity Level Classification System I-Level

The Interpersonal Maturity Level Classification System, more commonly known as I-level, is designed to increase treatment effectiveness with delinquent youths. Consisting of both a developmental classification and a response-style typology, it clarifies differences and similarities among youths in ways that permit matching of clients with treaters, treatment strategies, and treatment environments. Its central role in California's highly-publicized Community Treatment Project resulted in spread of its use within juvenile corrections as well as considerable acclaim and criticism from researchers and policy analysts. This article summarizes I-level's development, classification methods, current status, and future developments.
Techno-economic analysis of a lignocellulosic ethanol biorefinery with ionic liquid pre-treatment

Lignocellulose dissolution in ionic liquids is a relatively new biomass pre-treatment technology that is receiving growing interest from the biofuels community as a route to provide readily-hydrolyzable holocellulose. Despite its proven advantages over other pre-treatment technologies - including feedstock invariance, high mono- meric sugar yields over short saccharifi cation times, and extensive delignifi cation - there are several core issues that stand in the way of commercialization. These include the relative high cost of the ionic liquids themselves, a lack of knowledge in terms of process considerations for a biorefi nery based on these solvents, and scant information on the coproducts this pre-treatment technology could provide to the marketplace. We present an initial techno-eco- nomic model of a biorefi nery that is based on the ionic liquid pre-treatment technology and have identifi ed, through a comprehensive sensitivity analysis, the most signifi cant areas in terms of cost savings/revenue generation that must be addressed before ionic liquid pre-treatment can compete with other, more established, pre-treatment technolo- gies. This report evaluates this new pre-treatment technology through the perspective of a virtual operating biore- fi nery, and although there are signifi cant challenges that must be addressed, there is a clear path that can enable commercialization of this novel approach. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Minority perception of exclusion and promotion hurdles

Abstract This paper describes a model in which, due to social exclusion, a minority candidate perceives her track record to be a less precise indicator of her suitability for promotion. These beliefs imply that the minority candidate is disadvantaged in providing effort and can only be promoted if she can make up for the effort gap with a sufficiently superior track record than the majority candidate.
The Second Casualty of War: Civil Liberties and the War on Drugs

This article examines some of the erosions of civil liberties caused during the first decade of the 'War on Drugs.' The article discusses some of the history of the suspension of civil liberties and the Bill of Rights during various wars throughout American history and compares them with the 'War on Drugs.' The goal of the article is to show that by phrasing social issues in terms of 'war,' civil liberties are put in jeopardy.
Synchronous Renal Cell Carcinoma and Gastrointestinal Malignancies.

While renal cell carcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm of the kidney, its simultaneous diagnosis with a gastrointestinal malignancy is a rare, but well reported phenomenon. This discussion focuses on three independent cases in which each patient was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and a unique synchronous gastrointestinal malignancy. Case explores the diagnosis and surgical intervention of a 66-year-old male patient synchronously diagnosed with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and a carcinoid tumor of the small bowel. Case describes the diagnosis and surgical intervention of a 61-year-old male found to have clear cell renal cell carcinoma and a mucinous appendiceal neoplasm. Lastly, Case focuses on the interventions and management of a 36-year-old female diagnosed with synchronous clear cell renal carcinoma and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. This case series examines each distinct patient’s presentation, discusses the diagnosis, and compares and contrasts the findings while discussing the literature on this topic.
A prospective, interventional assessment of the impact of ustekinumab treatment on psoriasis-related work productivity and activity impairment.

AbstractBackground: The negative impact of psoriasis on quality of life is well documented. Psoriasis is also associated with impairments in work productivity and daily activities. Objectives: This study was conducted to prospectively measure the impact of ustekinumab treatment on work productivity and daily activity impairments due to psoriasis, using the Work Productivity and Activity Index: Psoriasis instrument. Methods: Thirty-two patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis received 36 weeks of ustekinumab and were followed every 4 weeks. During each visit, patients were evaluated using the Psoriasis Area Severity Index and Work Productivity and Activity Index: Psoriasis instrument. Results: Thirty-two patients completed the study. There was no change in unemployment rate after treatment. Twenty-two patients who were employed at both baseline and week 36 experienced a significant decrease in total work productivity impairment, presenteeism and a non-significant decrease in absenteeism. All patie...
8:The Spliceosome and Its Metal Ions

The spliceosome is a massive complex of 5 RNAs and many proteins that associate to catalyze precursor messenger RNA splicing. The process of splicing involves two phosphoryl transfer reactions that result in intron excision and ligation of the flanking exons. Since it is required for normal protein production in eukaryotic cells, pre-mRNA splicing is an essential step in gene expression. Although high resolution structural views of the spliceosome do not yet exist, a growing body of evidence indicates that the spliceosome is a magnesium-dependent enzyme that utilizes catalytic metal ions to stabilize both transition states during the two phosphoryl transfer steps of splicing. A wealth of data also indicate that the core of the spliceosome is comprised of RNA, and suggest that the spliceosome may be a ribozyme. This chapter presents the evidence for metal ion catalysis by the spliceosome, draws comparisons to similar RNA enzymes, and discusses the future directions for research into the mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing.
Securing untrustworthy software using information flow control

This dissertation shows that trustworthy applications can be built out of largely untrustworthy code, by using information flow control to reason about the effects of code execution. Using this technique we construct a scalable distributed web server, in which most application code is untrusted and there are no fully-trusted machines or components. Building secure applications from untrusted code requires safely executing arbitrary code on sensitive data, something that no current operating system provides satisfactory mechanisms for. To address this, we built a new operating system called HiStar that allows any user or application to specify precise data security policies. The HiStar kernel has a simple, narrow system call interface that enforces these policies by controlling information flow. HiStar provides a Unix-like environment with acceptable performance that is implemented in an untrusted user-level library but uses the kernel to enforce security, and runs a wide variety of Unix applications. The system has no notion of superuser and no fully trusted code other than the kernel. HiStar's features permit several novel applications, including an entirely untrusted login process, separation of data between virtual private networks, and privacy-preserving, untrusted virus scanners. In a distributed setting, controlling information flow between processes on mutually distrustful machines poses another technical challenge. We addressed this by developing DStar, a framework for controlling information flow in distributed systems. DStar describes information flow restrictions associated with network messages, and allows multiple machines to enforce an overall information flow policy. DStar separates policy from trust by using self-certifying information flow restrictions, which include a public key in their name. HiStar applications can use DStar to safely run untrusted code across multiple HiStar machines. For example, a highly privilege-separated HiStar web server can take advantage of multiple HiStar machines for performance scalability by only adding a small amount of trusted DStar code. Even a fully-compromised machine can only subvert the security of users that use or have recently used that machine. Finally, DStar eases incremental deployment, by allowing legacy systems to securely execute just the least-trusted code on HiStar.
Intraluminal oxygenation ameliorates ischemia/reperfusion-induced gut mucosal hyperpermeability in pigs.

We tested the hypothesis that intraluminal oxygenation can prevent increased gut mucosal permeability to a hydrophilic solute caused by mesenteric ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Studies were performed using pentobarbital-anesthetized immature pigs. Paired 20 cm segments of ileum were perfused intraluminally at 200 ml/hr with either nitrogenated or oxygenated 37 degrees C Ringer's lactate. Beginning at T = -90 min, fluorescein disodium acetate was infused intravenously (12.5 mg/kg bolus, then 12.5 mg/kg/hr). Permeability was assessed by calculating the plasma-to-lumen clearance of fluorescein. Five pigs were subjected to complete mesenteric ischemia (T = 0-120 min) followed by reperfusion (T = 120-270 min). In nitrogenated segments, I/R resulted in a 1015 +/- 195% increase in fluorescein clearance (P < 0.01 vs baseline). In contrast, the increase in fluorescein clearance induced by I/R in oxygenated segments was only 264 +/- 63% (P < 0.01 vs baseline). Intraluminal oxygenation afforded significant (P < .01) protection against I/R-induced mucosal hyperpermeability at all time points from T = 150-270 min. Histologic sections revealed complete villous epithelial denudation in nitrogenated segments, whereas the mucosal epithelium was largely intact in oxygenated segments. After reperfusion, mucosal ATP levels normalized in oxygenated segments, but there was only partial recovery of ATP levels in nitrogenated segments. These data indicate that intraluminal oxygenation ameliorates mucosal hyperpermeability induced by I/R.
Retrograde Diels–Alder Reactions

The retro Diels-Alder (Rda) reaction is a π2s + σ2s + σ2s electrocyclic process that, as the name implies, is the reverse of the familiar Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction. A kinetic study of the prototypical Rda reaction, conversion of cyclohexene to 1,3-butadiene and ethylene (equation 1), has been studied in the temperature range of 541–629 °C.1 Some early observations of Rda reactions were made in 1906 by Albrecht, who reported that the DA adducts of cyclopentadiene with benzoquinone dissociate at their melting points,2 and in 1929 by Diels and Alder, who reported the dissociation of a furan-maleic anhydride adduct at its melting point.3 Alder used the reaction as a test to differentiate between acetylenedicarboxylic ester adducts of cyclopentadiene and of cyclohexadiene;4 heating the latter adduct eliminates ethylene, while heating the former yields only the starting diene and dienophile (the Alder-Rickert rule). Perhaps the earliest use of the Rda reaction in a synthetic mode was in the preparation of acetylenedicarbonyl chloride,5 in which an anthracene adduct was used as a removable acetylene protecting group. Use of the Rda reaction in achieving selective synthetic conversions has been reviewed several times to date.
Polygonal ridge networks on Mars: Diversity of morphologies and the special case of the Eastern Medusae Fossae Formation

Abstract Polygonal ridge networks, also known as boxwork or reticulate ridges, are found in numerous locations and geological contexts across Mars. Distinguishing the morphologies and geological context of the ridge networks sheds light on their potential as astrobiological and mineral resource sites of interest. The most widespread type of ridge morphology is characteristic of the Nili Fossae and Nilosyrtis region and consists of thin, criss-crossing ridges with a variety of heights, widths, and intersection angles. They are found in ancient Noachian terrains at a variety of altitudes (between -2500 and 2200 m) and geographic locations and are likely to be chemically altered fracture planes or mineral veins. They occur in the same general areas as valley networks and ancient lake basins, but they are not more numerous where these water-related features are concentrated, and can appear in places where th morphologies are absent. Similarly, some of the ridge networks are located near hydrated mineral detections, but there is not a one-to-one correlation. Smaller, light-toned ridges of variable widths have been found in Gale Crater and other rover sites and are interpreted to be smaller versions of the Nili-like ridges, mostly formed by the mineralization of fractures. This type of ridge is likely to be found in many other places on Mars as more high-resolution data become available. Sinus Meridiani contains many flat-topped ridges arranged into quasi-circular patterns. The ridges are eroding from a clay-rich unit, and could be formed by a similar process as the Nili-type ridges, but at a much larger scale and controlled by fractures made through a different process. Hellas Basin is host to a fourth type of ridge morphology consisting of large, thick, light-toned ridges forming regular polygons at several superimposed scales. While still enigmatic, these are most likely to be the result of sediment-filled fractures. The Eastern Medusae Fossae Formation contains large swaths of a fifth, previously undocumented, ridge network type. The dark ridges, reaching up to 50 m in height, enclose regular polygons and erode into dark boulders. These ridge networks are interpreted to form as a result of lava flow embayment of deeply fractured Medusae Fossae Formation outcrops.
Contributions of the Stochastic Shape Wake Model to Predictions of Aerodynamic Loads and Power under Single Wake Conditions

The contribution of wake meandering and shape asymmetry to load and power estimates is quantified by comparing aeroelastic simulations initialized with different inflow conditions: an axisymmetric base wake, an unsteady stochastic shape wake, and a large-eddy simulation with rotating actuator-line turbine representation. Time series of blade-root and tower base bending moments are analyzed. We find that meandering has a large contribution to the fluctuation of the loads. Moreover, considering the wake edge intermittence via the stochastic shape model improves the simulation of load and power fluctuations and of the fatigue damage equivalent loads. These results indicate that the stochastic shape wake simulator is a valuable addition to simplified wake models when seeking to obtain higher-fidelity computationally inexpensive predictions of loads and power.
Internet as a Hope or a Hoax for Emerging Democracies: Revisiting the Concept of Citizenship in the Digital Age☆

Abstract This paper revisits the existing literature on the concept of citizenship in digital age. It provides a detailed discussion on the proponents and opponents of technological determinism. The paper should be read as an effort to reinitiate an important debate in the scholarship, which has been largely undermined while studying the Internet phenomenon in the information age. Thus, instead of offering a solution-oriented conclusion, the paper sets the stage to invite mass media and communication scholars’ attention back to revisit the important ideological concepts, so as to evolve and improve our existing theories on communication and change in the society.
Bilateral Superior Cerebellar Artery Embolic Occlusion with a Fetal-Type Posterior Cerebral Artery Providing Collateral Circulation

Bilateral infarction of the superior cerebellar arteries with sparing of the rest of the posterior circulation, particularly the posterior cerebral arteries, is an uncommon finding in neurological practice. Most commonly, the deficits of the superior cerebellar arteries and posterior cerebral arteries occur together due to the close proximity of their origins at the top of the basilar artery. A patient was transferred to the neurological intensive care unit with a history of recent-onset falls from standing, profound hypertension, dizziness, and headaches. The neurological exam revealed cerebellar signs, including dysmetria of the right upper extremity and a decreased level of consciousness. Computed tomography of the head and neck revealed decreased attenuation throughout most of the cerebellar hemispheres suggestive of ischemic injury with sparing of the rest of the brain. Further investigation with a computed tomography angiogram revealed a fetal-type posterior cerebral artery on the right side that was providing collateral circulation to the posterior brain. Due to this embryological anomaly, the patient was spared significant morbidity and mortality that would have likely occurred had the circulation been more typical of an adult male.
Model Predictive Path Integral Control: From Theory to Parallel Computation

In this paper, a model predictive path integral control algorithm based on a generalized importance sampling scheme is developed and parallel optimization via sampling is performed using a graphics...
Willingness to pay for mitigating human-elephant conflict by residents of Nepal

Human-elephant Conflict (HEC) is a significant problem in Nepal, with approximately two-thirds of households being impacted by elephants (Elephas maximus), particularly during the winter. In addition to elephant casualties, more than 10% of the households surveyed have had human casualties (injury or death) during the past 5 years. This study evaluates the economic viability of elephant conservation in Nepal within the context of current and proposed HEC mitigation scenarios. Face-to-face interviews were carried out using a structured questionnaire to elicit the residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for elephant conservation and HEC mitigation programs using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Residents’ WTP was found to be positively related to income and education, and negatively related to damage-related programs. Local stakeholders were willing to pay about 42% more to programs that were economically transparent and improved upon existing management. Residents’ WTP were also greater if they have had previous HEC-related injuries or deaths.
The center volume–outcome effect in pancreas transplantation: a national analysis

Abstract Background Although increased hospital volume has been correlated with improved outcomes in certain surgical procedures, the effect of center volume on pancreas transplantation (PT) is less understood. Our study aims to establish whether a volume-outcome effect exists for PT. Methods Through an established linkage between the University HealthSystem Consortium and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) databases, we performed a retrospective cohort analysis of adult PT recipients between 2009 and 2012. Surgical volume was divided equally into low volume (LV), middle volume (MV), and high volume (HV) tertiles for each year that was studied. Hospital outcomes were measured through University HealthSystem Consortium, and long-term outcomes were measured through Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Statistical analysis was performed using regression analyses and the Kaplan-Meier method. Median follow-up period was 2 y. Results Among the 2309 PT recipients included, 815 (35.3%) were performed at LV centers, 755 (32.7%) at MV centers, and 739 (32.0%) at HV centers. Compared with MV and LV centers, organs transplanted at HV centers were more frequently donation after cardiac death (5.1% versus 2.4% versus 3.3%, P = 0.01) and from older donors (2.8% [>50 y] versus 0.8% versus 0.1%, P 50 y] versus 20.9% versus 19.7%, P versus 9.7% versus 9.9%, P P > 0.05). Conclusions Short- and long-term outcomes after PT are not affected by hospital volume. Although LV centers confine their cases to low-risk patients, HV centers transplant a higher percentage of high-risk donor and recipient combinations with equivalent outcomes.
Learning From Student Retrospective Reports: Implications for the College Developmental Classroom

Retrospective reports gathered from developmental education students as part of a learning assessment revealed the use of several strategies for writing a summary based on a text. Participants were selected for the study based on the richness and variety of their verbal descriptions of task performance in structured, individualized interviews. Although students were not always able to articulate the nature of a summary, they all reported appropriate strategies. However, despite reporting useful strategies, students’ scores on the summary task were low. Based on the findings, it is suggested that developmental instructors may find it helpful to gather retrospective reports at the beginning of a course in order to sample and capitalize on strategy knowledge among students in a classroom as the basis of instructional planning.
Alcohol Dependence Disrupts Amygdalar L-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel Mechanisms

L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LTCCs) are implicated in several psychiatric disorders that are comorbid with alcoholism and involve amygdala dysfunction. Within the amygdala, the central nucleus (CeA) is critical in acute alcohol's reinforcing actions, and its dysregulation in human alcoholics drives their negative emotional state and motivation to drink. Here we investigated the specific role of CeA LTCCs in the effects of acute alcohol at the molecular, cellular physiology, and behavioral levels, and their potential neuroadaptation in alcohol-dependent rats. Alcohol increases CeA activity (neuronal firing rates and GABA release) in naive rats by engaging LTCCs, and intra-CeA LTCC blockade reduces alcohol intake in nondependent rats. Alcohol dependence reduces CeA LTCC membrane abundance and disrupts this LTCC-based mechanism; instead, corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptors (CRF1s) mediate alcohol's effects on CeA activity and drive the escalated alcohol intake of alcohol-dependent rats. Collectively, our data indicate that alcohol dependence functionally alters the molecular mechanisms underlying the CeA's response to alcohol (from LTCC- to CRF1-driven). This mechanistic switch contributes to and reflects the prominent role of the CeA in the negative emotional state that drives excessive drinking.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The central amygdala (CeA) plays a critical role in the development of alcohol dependence. As a result, much preclinical alcohol research aims to identify relevant CeA neuroadaptions that promote the transition to dependence. Here we report that acute alcohol increases CeA neuronal activity in naive rats by engaging L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) and that intra-CeA LTCC blockade reduces alcohol intake in nondependent rats. Alcohol dependence disrupts this LTCC-based mechanism; instead, corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptors (CRF1s) mediate alcohol's effects on CeA activity and drive the escalated alcohol intake of alcohol-dependent rats. This switch reflects the important role of the CeA in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence and represents a new potential avenue for therapeutic intervention during the transition period.
Traditional Equity and Contemporary Procedure

This Article offers extensive background on the development and eventual merger of the regimes of law and equity, and suggests that the procedural infrastructure of a unified system must be sufficiently elastic to accommodate the traditional jurisdiction of equity. As the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure become increasingly more elaborate and technical, strict application of those procedural rules can generate mischievous results and hardship. This Article suggests that equity remains a source of authority for district judges to avoid the application of a procedural rule when technical compliance would produce an inequitable result. A separate system of equity provided a forum for hardship created by the procedures of the common law system. Because the jurisdiction of equity was preserved by the procedural merger of law and equity, mischief and hardship created by the contemporary procedures of a unified system of law and equity need not be tolerated and may be corrected in a manner consistent with traditional principles of equity.
The Effect of Glass Transition on Maillard Browning in Food Models

Summary Maillard browning is influenced by the glass transition. In systems where the matrix crystallizes, an increase in browning is noticed as a consequence of crystallization, which in turn is a result of storing the system above the glass transition temperature. In other systems the browning kinetics is best described by including moisture and temperature considerations in addition to the glass transition temperature.
F. A. Bovey

The first studies of polymers by nmr were published only about a year after the first reports of the observation of the NMR phenomenon in bulk matter by Bloch and Purcell in 1946. This early work1 concerned the solid state, which for the following decade was the sole object of nmr investigations of polymers. By measurements of nuclear relaxation, involving for the most part protons, much important information concerning chain dynamics of a variety of polymers has been gathered.
US National Trends in Violent and Unintentional Injuries, 2000 to 2016

This study examines temporal patterns of injury fatalities in the United States from 2000 to 2016 by querying the WISQARS database for trends of fatal injuries, stratified by intent (homicides, suicides, or unintentional), major racial/ethnic groups, and injury mechanism.
Counterfactual normalization: proactively addressing dataset shift and improving reliability using causal mechanisms

Predictive models can fail to generalize from training to deployment environments because of dataset shift, posing a threat to model reliability and the safety of downstream decisions made in practice. Instead of using samples from the target distribution to reactively correct dataset shift, we use graphical knowledge of the causal mechanisms relating variables in a prediction problem to proactively remove relationships that do not generalize across environments, even when these relationships may depend on unobserved variables (violations of the "no unobserved confounders" assumption). To accomplish this, we identify variables with unstable paths of statistical influence and remove them from the model. We also augment the causal graph with latent counterfactual variables that isolate unstable paths of statistical influence, allowing us to retain stable paths that would otherwise be removed. Our experiments demonstrate that models that remove vulnerable variables and use estimates of the latent variables transfer better, often outperforming in the target domain despite some accuracy loss in the training domain.
The Role of Structure on Mechanical Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics

The mechanical properties, namely, tensile modulus, maximum stress in tension and elongation at maximum stress of thermally point-bonded nonwoven fabrics with different bonding temperature have bee...
Pilot Study on the Effect of Orally Administered Bisphenol A on Glucose and Insulin Response in Nonobese Adults.

Objective To determine the effects of varying doses of orally administered BPA on indices of glucose metabolism. Methods Eleven college students (21.0 ± 0.8 years; 24.2 ± 3.9 kg/m2) were randomized in a double-blinded, crossover fashion separated by >1 week to placebo (PL), deuterated BPA at 4 µg/kg body weight (BPA-4), and deuterated BPA at 50 µg/kg body weight (BPA-50). Total BPA, glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were assessed at baseline, minutes 15, 30, 45, 60, and every 30 minutes for 2 hours in response to a glucose tolerance test. Results There was a significant condition × time interaction for total BPA (P < 0.001) such that BPA increased more rapidly in BPA-50 than BPA-4 and PL (P = 0.003) and increased more rapidly in BPA-4 than PL (P < 0.001). There were no significant condition × time interactions on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide. Significant condition main effects were observed for glucose such that BPA-50 was significantly lower than PL (P = 0.036) and nearly lower for BPA-4 vs PL (P = 0.056). Significant condition main effects were observed such that insulin in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (P = 0.021), and C-peptide in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (t18 = 3.95; Tukey-adjusted P = 0.003). Glucose, insulin, and C-peptide areas under the curve for the 3-hour profile were significantly lower in BPA-50 vs PL (P < 0.05). Conclusion Orally administered BPA protocol appeared feasible and has immediate effects on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide concentrations.
Are wolves welcome? Hunters' attitudes towards wolves in Vermont, USA

The forests of the north-east USA were once home to the wolf Canis lupus, a species that played an important role in the ecology of this region. However, wolves were eradicated from the region more than a century ago, altering the species composition of the landscape and driving cascading changes in this ecosystem. Outdoor recreation is a major component of the economy of this region, and outdoor recreationists, including the hunting community, have a strong influence over decision-making related to policies on natural resources. Given their powerful position, hunters are important stakeholders whose views need to be taken into account when designing policies related to wildlife, in particular in relation to a controversial species such as the wolf. In this study, through expert interviews and an online survey, we gained a deeper understanding of the attitudes of hunters towards wolves, and how these attitudes could affect any future reintroduction programme or natural movement of wolves into the state. We found that the majority of hunters hold a suite of negative attitudes towards wolves, their role in the landscape and their potential impact on the region. However, for hunters who were able to recognize the ecological roles of wolves, these negative attitudes were mostly reversed.
Advances and limitations of drug delivery systems formulated as eye drops

Topical instillation of eye drops remains the most common and easiest route of ocular drug administration, representing the treatment of choice for many ocular diseases. Nevertheless, low ocular bioavailability of topically applied drug molecules can considerably limit their efficacy. Over the last several decades, numerous drug delivery systems (DDS) have been developed in order to improve drug bioavailability on the ocular surfaces. This review systematically covers the most recent advances of DDS applicable by topical instillation, that have shown better performance in in vivo models compared to standard eye drop formulations. These delivery systems are based on in situ forming gels, nanoparticles and combinations of both. Most of the DDS have been developed using natural or synthetic polymers. Polymers offer many advantageous properties for designing advanced DDS including biocompatibility, gelation properties and/or mucoadhesiveness. However, despite the high number of studies published over the last decade, there are several limitations for clinical translation of DDS. This review article focuses on the recent advances for the development of ocular drug delivery systems. In addtion, the potential challenges for commercialization of new DDS are presented.