cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selective Aluminum CVD for Sub-Micron VIA Plug Filling

We present a novel technique to metallize high-aspect-ratio, small-dimension contact holes and via plugs for application to integrated circuits and packaging. The technique uses a laser-assisted process to deposit a thin film of aluminum from DMA1H, which forms a seed layer for subsequent selective CVD. The resistivity of the deposited aluminum is nearly that of the bulk metal, the contact resistivity is good (∼0.03 μΩ-cm 2 ), and the morphology of the deposited film is comparable to that obtained with physical vapor deposition. This process has been used to fill via holes in a SiO 2 substrate, and small-diameter (0.7 μm), high-aspect-ratio (3:1), aluminum plugs have been repeatedly formed without the incorporation of voids. A custom-made via chain structure was used to determine the via resistance (plug and contact), which was found to be 0.1 -0.3 Ω. Our technique opens a new process window for void-free high-aspect-ratio via and contact hole filling, and is particularly interesting in that it offers the potential to use aluminum or aluminum-copper in plug metallization.
GETTING THE STORY STRAIGHT: GROUNDED THEORY, HERMENEUTICS, AND THE PRACTICE OF FIELDWORK ON THE PLAINS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

This article explores the ways in which the grounded theory methodology of Anselm Strauss provided the context for discovering the relationship between aspects of Mead's theory of self in symbolic action and aspects of Heidegger's phenomenology of being and practice. Through the grounded theory process of analyzing data gathered in a cross-cultural context, specific tensions between epistemology and ontology emerged that directed inquiry to the centrality of "practice" as a means of understanding the world of the other. The findings of the research point to ways in which Heidegger's hermeneutics extends Mead's construct of the self and as such enhances the general understandings of symbolic interactionist theory of the Chicago tradition. This work also illustrates the methodological salience of integrating analytic ontology with grounded theory analysis , particularly in the context of postcolonial cross-cultural studies. Anselm Strauss' s work is situated within intersecting arenas of sociology, social psychology, symbolic interactionism, pragmatism, and humanism. These influences are apparent in his prolific substantive, methodological, and theoretic writings. His practice as a teacher-mentor was an ongoing study in the dynamics of interaction with a careful eye toward conceptualizing "the conditions under which" things happen and then "with what consequences and for whom." Those consequences then became the conditions for further investigation and inquiry and the strategy for elaborating the complexities of the social world. The process led to further coding, integrative memos and theoretical sampling, more discussion and lengthy, productive analytic sessions. What was particularly helpful in the analysis of my fieldwork data was the focus on my role as fieldworker, the particularly problematic nature of cross-cultural research, and the variations in the degrees to which one can come to know the other. These methodological and epistemologi* Direct all correspondence to: Katarin Jurich, Department of Human Development, California State University at Hayward, Hayward, CA 94570; e-mail : kjurich@csuhayward.edu. Sociological Perspectives, Volume 43, Number 4, pages S149-S162. Copyright © 2000 by Pacific Sociological Association. All rights reserved. Send requests for permission to reprint to: Rights and Permissions, University of California Press, Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223.
The use of proteolysis with ficin, for immunostaining of paraffin sections. A study of lymphoid, mesenchymal, and epithelial determinants in human tissues

In order to maximize staining, modifications of immunostaining methods have included proteolytic enzyme digestion of tissue. The authors performed a study of the effect of ficin in 110 paraffinized specimens, including tonsil, lymph nodes, benign vascular and nerve sheath tumors, and various carcinomas and sarcomas. This agent was compared with pepsin and bromelain, as alternative proteases. A panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies was used, with and without previous digestion by ficin, pepsin, and bromelain. A score was assigned to each stain, based on the number and intensity of reactive cells. Ficin enhanced staining markedly in immunostains with antibodies to keratin and Factor VIII-related antigen (F8RAG). Conversely, it abolished staining for LN-2 (a lymphoid marker) and weakened reactivity for S-100 in nerve sheath tumors. Bromelain produced similar results, except that it enhanced S-100. Pepsin was comparatively less active than ficin and bromelain overall but did produce the greatest amplification of vimentin staining in sarcomas. Digestion with any of the three enzymes failed to influence reactivities of leukocyte common antigen, UCHL-1 (a lymphoid marker), alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, carcinoembryonic antigen, epithelial membrane antigen, and blood group isoantigens. These results may reflect a dissimilar recognition of peptide targets in some antigenic proteins, by ficin, bromelain, and pepsin. Hence, one enzymatic agent is unlikely to produce optimal staining for all determinants. With this proviso, however, ficin appeared to be the best general enhancer for antigens known to require vigorous digestion (e.g., keratin; F8RAG) for optimal reactivity in paraffin sections.
A Performance-Related Study of Reverse Mergers Using Private Investment in Private Equity (PIPE) Strategies

A “reverse merger” (RM) has become a popular transaction that allows a private company to take over a publicly traded firm and obtain their exchange listing. RMs have significantly outnumbered IPOs as a mechanism for going public in the U.S. since 2002. Moreover, foreign firms entering the U.S. have accounted for over 40% of RMs taking place on U.S. exchanges from 2008 - 2013, as compared to approximately 10% of all cross-listings and 7% of all IPOs during the same period. Chinese firms have been participants in 63% of all foreign RMs since 2008. This study is the first to focus on foreign and domestic RM’s use of PIPEs (Private Investment in Public Equity). When compared to RMs transacted between two U.S. firms, this analysis finds Chinese firms who engage in RMs through the use of PIPES (traditional and structured), on average, 1) raise over 400% more initial investment, 2) experience higher post-merger market capitalization valuations at closing and post-merger, 3) take place on higher level U.S. stock exchanges, 4) have a higher rate of survival (influenced by sector) and 5) experience significantly better short and long-term buy and hold returns.
Preparing for Launch

Measuring Knowledge Risk and Competitive Risk, as we are using the terms, is not easy. We have worked through a number of options over the years, applying an older database, and we have settled on a methodology that we believe yields the best picture of how firms measure up in terms of the two risks. From these metrics, one can get a sense of how important knowledge assets are to a particular firm, in a particular industry, relative to the entire population of organizations. Similarly, one can assess the level of competitive intelligence activity, and therefore risk, facing firms in an industry.
Ancient Persia: Forerunners of the Achaemenids: The First Half of the First Millennium BCE

IRANIANS INTO IRAN The Persians were one of many groups of Iranians, who were often demarcated by tribes. Based on assessment of archaeological evidence, scholars believe that Iranian migrations into western Iran may have begun as early as 1500 BCE. The kingdom of Elam was dominant during that time in western Iran, and we have little firm information on the Persians until several centuries later. Archaeologists emphasize how difficult it is to equate specific types of evidence (e.g., a particular style of pot) with specific groups of people. We can only generalize about the earliest migrations of Iranians into the land that would ultimately bear their name. Even some of the most basic questions remain contentious among specialists, such as which route or routes the Persians took into and through Iran. For much of twentieth century, it was held that Iranian migration occurred mainly through the Caucasus Mountains, west of the Caspian Sea. More recently, new discoveries in conjunction with reassessment of old evidence have identified an eastern route as more likely. Research in ancient Bactria – an area that encompassed modern northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and parts of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – has uncovered remnants of an advanced, Bronze Age society that flourished in the centuries around 2000 BCE. Various sites in this area provide evidence of irrigation farming and monumental architecture, markers traditionally associated with early urbanization. As a whole, this area is called the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) or the Oxus Civilization, for the Oxus River (the Amu Darya) that runs through the region. Margiana was the name of Bactria’s neighbor in ancient Iran. It is a matter of ongoing debate whether various Indo-Iranian groups were some of the original inhabitants of the BMAC; whether they simply passed through – over decades, if not centuries – on their way to the Indian subcontinent or to Iran; or whether they had nothing to do with any of it. The linguistic and cultural affiliation between the various Indo-Iranian groups is well-established, but specifics regarding their settlement in Iran remain obscure.
The effects of the glycation of transferrin on chromium binding and the transport and distribution of chromium in vivo.

Abstract Chromium (III) has been shown to act as a pharmacological agent improving insulin sensitivity in rodent models of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes. To act in beneficial fashion, chromium must reach insulin-sensitive tissues. Chromium is transported from the bloodstream to the tissues by the iron-transport protein transferrin. When blood concentrations of glucose are high (as in a diabetic subject), transferrin can be glycated, modifying its ability to bind and transport iron. However, the effects of glycation of transferrin on its ability to bind and transport Cr have not been examined previously. Storage of transferrin at 37 °C in the presence and absence of glucose has significant effects on the binding of Cr. Transferrin stored in the absence of glucose only binds one equivalent of Cr tightly, compared to the normal binding of two equivalents of Cr by transferrin. Glycated transferrin (stored in the presence of glucose) binds two equivalents of Cr but the changes in its extinction coefficient at 245 nm that accompany binding suggest that the Cr-bound transferrin possesses a conformation that deviates appreciably from untreated transferrin. These changes have dramatic effects, greatly reducing the ability of transferrin to transport Cr in vivo in rats. The results suggest that glycation of transferrin in subjects with high blood glucose concentrations should reduce the ability of Cr from pharmacological agents to enter tissues.
Behavioral Health Treatment Receipt Among a Community Sample of Young Adult Veterans

Young adult veterans are at risk for behavioral health problems such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance misuse. Despite this, studies of veterans within the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VA) indicate that about half of those warranting treatment receive it in any form, with few receiving an adequate dose of care. For this study, the behavioral health screening status and behavioral health usage (including care outside of VA settings) among a community sample of 812 young adult veterans recruited from the Internet is described. Although approximately 70% of the sample screened positive for behavioral health problems, only one fifth to three fifths of those screening positive reported any mental health or substance use treatment in the past year, with one third or less receiving a dose of minimally adequate psychotherapy or psychotropic care. Findings expand on prior work and suggest that more effort is necessary to engage young veterans in behavioral health services.
Copiotrophic marine bacteria are associated with strong iron‐binding ligand production during phytoplankton blooms

Although marine bacteria were identified nearly two decades ago as potential sources for strong iron-binding organic ligands detected in seawater, specific linkages between ligands detected in natural water and the microbial community remain unclear. We compared the production of different classes of iron-binding ligands, dissolved iron and macronutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton and bacterioplankton assemblages in a series of iron amended 6-d incubations. Incubations with high iron additions had near complete macronutrient consumption and higher phytoplankton biomass compared with incubations with low iron additions, but both iron treatments were dominated by diatoms. However, we only detected the strongest ligands in high-iron treatments, and strong iron-binding ligands were generally correlated with an increased abundance of copiotrophic bacteria, particularly Alteromonas strains. Ultimately, these robust correlations suggest a potential linkage between copiotrophic bacteria and strong iron-binding ligand production after iron fertilization events in the marine environment.
Radical-radical reactions, pyrene nucleation, and incipient soot formation in combustion

Abstract We present a combined experimental and probabilistic simulation study of soot-precursor. The experiments were conducted using aerosol mass spectrometry coupled with tunable vacuum ultraviolet radiation from the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Mass spectra and photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves of soot precursor species were measured at different heights in a premixed flat flame and in a counter-flow diffusion flame fueled by ethylene and oxygen. The PIE curves at the pyrene mass from these flames were compared with reference PIE scans recorded for pyrene. The results demonstrate that other C16H10 isomers than pyrene are major components among species condensed onto incipient soot in this study, which is in agreement with the simulations. Species with mass 202 u only have a high prevalence in incipient soot particles drawn from the premixed flame, but hydrocarbon species with sizes in the range 200–400 u are important to incipient-soot formation in both flames. The simulations predict that some species form through combination reactions involving relatively large radicals and bypass traditional molecular-growth pathways through addition of small hydrocarbon species. The experimental results support this prediction; they demonstrate that these species have higher relative abundances in particles formed close to the fuel outlet than smaller, lighter molecular species and indicate that these species are important to early formation of incipient-soot precursors. The results also imply that a leading role in incipient-soot precursor formation is played by species with lower thermal stability than the even-carbon numbered, unsubstituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons known as “stabilomers”.
Inflammation and Fibrosis in HIV: Getting to the Heart of the Matter.

The treatment and disease course of HIV infection have changed dramatically since the discovery of HIV in 1983. AIDS, once the axiomatic cause of early death in HIV-infected individuals, has now become an uncommon complication among individuals treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, with the success of ART comes new challenges for the HIV-infected, namely a substantial burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). HIV infection is associated with high rates of CVD complications, including acute myocardial infarction,1 sudden cardiac death,2 and heart failure.3 See Articles by Luetkens et al and Ntusi et al The mechanisms leading to CVD in HIV remain incompletely understood. HIV-infected individuals often have a greater burden of traditional cardiac risk factors, though such traditional risk factors alone do not nearly account for the observed increased risk. A wealth of research suggests that, paradoxically, chronic upregulation of inflammatory activity, which is present even among antiretrovirally treated and suppressed individuals, may play an important role in predicting mortality, CVD as well as other non-AIDS conditions.4–6 Although the hallmark of untreated HIV infection is an immunodeficient state, treated, virally suppressed HIV disease is associated with immune activation.7–9 Numerous potential causes are thought to contribute to this immune activation, including toxicity from ART, low-level viral replication, and disease-mediated shifts in inflammatory cell subsets, among other mechanisms. Delineation of the precise mechanisms underlying immune activation in HIV, as the driver of cardiovascular complications, is the focus of an increasing number of studies. In line with the inflammatory hypothesis of CVD complications in HIV, several studies have clearly established the predictive value of inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers for CV events and mortality in HIV. …
Coronary Heart Disease Attributable to Passive Smoking CHD Policy Model

Background Passive smoking is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), and existing estimates are out of date due to recent and substantial changes in the level of exposure. Objective To estimate the annual clinical burden and cost of CHD treatment attributable to passive smoking. Outcome measures Annual attributable CHD deaths, myocardial infarctions (MI), total CHD events, and the direct cost of CHD treatment. Methods A Monte Carlo simulation estimated the CHD events and costs as a function of the prevalence of CHD risk factors, including passive-smoking prevalence and a low (1.26) and high (1.65) relative risk of CHD due to passive smoking. Estimates were calculated using the CHD Policy Model, calibrated to reproduce key CHD outcomes in the baseline Year 2000 in the U.S. Results At 1999–2004 levels, passive smoking caused 21,800 (SE=2400) to 75,100 (SE=8000) CHD deaths and 38,100 (SE=4300) to 128,900 (SE=14,000) MIs annually, with a yearly CHD treatment cost of $1.8 (SE=$0.2) to $6.0 (SE=$0.7) billion. If recent trends in the reduction in the prevalence of passive smoking continue from 2000 to 2008, the burden would be reduced by approximately 25%–30%. Conclusions Passive smoking remains a substantial clinical and economic burden in the U.S.
Cessation of enzyme replacement therapy in Gaucher disease.

Purpose: Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is a promising therapeutic intervention for lysosomal storage diseases. Posttranslationally engineered human β-glucocerebrosidase (Ceredase®/Cerezyme®) is commercially available and is the standard ERT for Type I Gaucher disease. Cessation of therapy is sometimes necessary for personal or financial reasons, but the consequences of discontinuation are unknown. This study reports results of discontinuing therapy in four patients with Type I Gaucher disease with different genotypes and varying degrees of clinical involvement. Methods: Patient genotypes were as follows: N370S/L444P (Patients 1 and 2), K79N/K79N (Patient 3), and N370S/N370S (Patient 4). All were evaluated before, during, and after withdrawal from ERT. Patients 1, 2, and 3 were studied after reinstituting ERT. The following parameters were documented at 3- to 12-month intervals in all patients: hemoglobin, platelet count, angiotensin-converting enzyme, spleen volume, liver volume, femoral magnetic resonance imaging, bone density, and urinary pyridinium crosslinks. Results: After cessation of therapy, Patients 1, 2, and 3 had more dramatic regression in hematological and visceral parameters than Patient 4 and required reinstitution of ERT within 2 years. All three patients recovered posttreatment status within 4 years of reinstituting ERT. Patient 4 remained stable 6 years after cessation of ERT. Conclusions: Regression of disease status in patients with Type I Gaucher disease after cessation of ERT conformed to the genotype-phenotype relationships of disease onset. Careful monitoring and reinstitution of ERT enabled previously attained treatment status.
The mediation effects of achievement motivation and locus of control between academic stress and life satisfaction in undergraduate students

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the mediation effect of locus of control and achievement motivation between academic stress and life satisfaction. A total of 307 undergraduate students recruited from a Hispanic Serving Institution in South Texas participated in the study. In the frame of the study, two mediation models were tested by utilising PROCESS Procedure for SPSS (Hayes, 2013. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press). The results indicated that bivariate correlations among study variables ranged from −.24 to .32. The overall composite indicated that academic stress contributed to 6% of the variance in life satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.06), while the mediating effect of locus of control contributed to 10% of the variance in Life Satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.4).
Using Heterodyne-Detected Electronic Sum Frequency Generation to Probe the Electronic Structure of Buried Interfaces

Organic semiconductors (OSCs) are attractive optoelectronic materials due to their high extinction coefficients, processing advantages, and ability to display unique phenomena such as singlet exciton fission. However, employing OSCs as active electronic components remains challenging as this necessitates forming junctions between OSCs and other materials. Such junctions can distort the OSC’s electronic properties, complicating the transfer of energy and charge across them. To investigate these junctions, our group has employed the interface-selective technique, electronic sum frequency generation spectroscopy (ESFG), yet one complication in applying ESFG to thin OSC films is they necessarily have two interfaces that can each produce signals. In a conventional ESFG measurement, information regarding the phase of the ESFG signal is lost. However, this information can be recovered with heterodyne detection techniques (HD-ESFG). Here, we present experiments and model calculations that illustrate some key adva...
The MetaHistoReasoning Tool: Studying Domain-Specific Metacognitive Activities in an Intelligent Tutoring System for History

This chapter reviews empirical research on the MetaHistoReasoning (MHRt) tool, an intelligent tutoring system that aims to support students in regulating their own understanding of historical events in accordance with disciplinary-based practices. The design of the system is guided by a domain-specific account of the metacognitive activities involved in learning while performing inquiries into the causes of historical events. The system relies on modularization as a mechanism for delivering instruction and promoting the development of metacognitive skills. The Training Module supports skill acquisition from examples, while the Inquiry Module facilitates skill practice and refinement through problem-solving. Both modules fulfill complementary roles in skill development, since the learning outcomes for a module determines subsequent learning processes. The modular nature of the system also allows flexibility in implementing novel approaches for instruction and testing that impact towards several aspects of skill development. A pedagogical agent interacts with the learner to facilitate the transition across each module as skills become increasingly sophisticated. The aim of our research program is to improve the interactive capabilities of the agent by building assessment mechanisms that target critical aspects along this transition as a means to intervene and foster skill development. As such, we provide an overview of trace measures and analyses that are used to study how learners set goals, use strategies, and monitor the outcomes in the context of their investigations. We will review recent advances in building assessment mechanisms that target these disciplinary-based activities in order to recommend pedagogical strategies for the virtual agent embedded in the MHRt tool.
Identifying mechanisms of stance control: A single stimulus multiple output model-fit approach

Abstract Background Posture control models are instrumental to interpret experimental data and test hypotheses. However, as models have increased in complexity to include multi-segmental dynamics, discrepancy has arisen amongst researchers regarding the accuracy and limitations of identifying neural control parameters using a single stimulus. New method The current study examines this topic using simulations with a parameterized model-fit approach. We first determine if the model-fit approach can identify parameters in the theoretical situation with no noise. Then, we measure variability and bias of parameter estimates when realistic noise is included. We also address how the accuracy is influenced by the frequency bandwidth of the stimulus, signal-to-noise of the data, and fitting procedures. Results We found perfect identification of parameters in the theoretical model without noise. With realistic noise, bias errors were 4.4% and 7.6% for fits that included frequencies 0.02–1.2 Hz and 0.02–0.4 Hz, respectively. Fits between 0.02–1.2 Hz also had the lowest variability in parameter estimates compared to other bandwidths. Parameters with the lowest variability tended to have the largest influence on body sways. Results also demonstrated the importance of closely examining model fits because of limitations in fitting algorithms. Comparison with existing method The single-input model-fit approach may be a simpler and more practical method for identifying neural control mechanisms compared to a multi-stimulus alternative. Conclusions This study provides timely theoretical and practical considerations applicable to the design and analysis of experiments contributing to the identification of mechanisms underlying stance control of a multi-segment body.
Detection and qPCR quantification of seven Fusarium species associated with the root rot complex in field pea

Multiple plant pathogens cause root rot on field pea, including Aphanomyces euteiches, Rhizoctonia solani and numerous Fusarium spp. In North Dakota, root rot pathogens have been a contributing fac...
Localized plastic deformation and hardening in laser shock peened Inconel alloy 718SPF

Abstract Localized plastic deformation and hardening was studied in laser shock peened (LSP) Inconel 718 SPF (Super plastic forming), a fine grained Ni-Base superalloy, using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), nanoindentation, and micro pillar compression testing. 718SPF samples were LSP-treated with two different laser power densities. After LSP, the plastic deformation is manifested as increase in the fraction of low angle misorientations and the formation of sub-grain boundaries. EBSD was used to study plastic deformation as a function of distance from the peened surface for different laser intensities. Different approaches like image quality mapping and local misorientations analysis were used to study the in-depth distribution of the plastic strain. Results show that EBSD is effective in the qualitative characterization of localized plastic strain of the materials subjected to LSP.
ELK-1: A molecular substrate of depression

Converging data from depressed patients and rodent chronic stress models implicate ELK-1, a stress-related transcription factor, in the pathophysiology of depression.
Some Unsolved Challenges In Radio-Frequency Heating and Current Drive

AbstractSeveral unsolved challenges in radio-frequency heating and current drive are highlighted. These include current drive in magnetic geometries in which the toroidal magnetic field cannot be assumed to be dominant, current start-up with hyperresistivity, current drive with oscillating parameters, and synergistic effects between current drive and alpha channeling. These challenges are not necessarily straightforward to address, and it is possible that the challenges cannot even be met, but were they met, at least in some cases, there is the potential of significant consequence.
Imaging on the Nanoscale with THz Time-Domain, Emission and Pump-Probe Microscopy

We demonstrate an experimental platform based on an scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) with the ability to perform Laser Terahertz Emission Microscopy (LTEM), Terahertz Time-Domain Imaging (THz-TDI) and optical-pump terahertz probe back-to-back in the same configuration. We illustrate this by imaging a metal-semiconductor interface with all three methods.
A Review on the Management of Biliary Complications after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Orthotopic liver transplantation is the definitive treatment for end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinomas. Biliary complications are the most common complications seen after transplantation, with an incidence of 10–25%. These complications are seen both in deceased donor liver transplant and living donor liver transplant. Endoscopic treatment of biliary complications with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (commonly known as ERCP) has become a mainstay in the management post-transplantation. The success rate has reached 80% in an experienced endoscopist’s hands. If unsuccessful with ERCP, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography can be an alternative therapy. Early recognition and treatment has been shown to improve morbidity and mortality in post-liver transplant patients. The focus of this review will be a learned discussion on the types, diagnosis, and treatment of biliary complications post-orthotopic liver transplantation.
Meiji Restoration vacation: heritage tourism in contemporary Kyoto

Kyoto has become synonymous with heritage tourism on a mass scale. Most accounts emphasize the role of Kyoto as the ancient capital, the arts and crafts that developed in the service of the court, ...
Improving the CPC’s ENSO Forecasts using Bayesian model averaging

Statistical and dynamical model simulations have been commonly used separately in El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) prediction. Current models are imperfect representations of ENSO and each of them has strength and weakness for capturing different aspects in ENSO prediction. Thus, it is important to utilize the results from a variety of different models. The Bayesian model averaging (BMA) is an effective tool not only in describing uncertainties associated with each model simulation but also providing the forecast performance of different models. The BMA method was developed to combine the NCEP/CPC three statistical and one dynamical model forecasts of seasonal Ocean Nino Index (ONI) from 1982 to 2010. The BMA weights were derived directly from the predictive performance of the combined models. The highly efficient expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm was used to achieve numerical solutions. We show that the BMA method can be used to assess the performance of the individual models and assign greater weights to better performing models. The continuous ranked probability score is applied to evaluate the BMA probability forecasts. As an elaboration of the reliability diagram, the attributes diagram is used that includes the calibration function, refinement distribution, and reference lines. The combination of statistical and dynamical models is found to provide a more skillful prediction of ENSO than only using a suite of statistical models, a single bias-corrected dynamical model, or the equally weighted average forecasts from all four models. Probability forecasts of El Nino events based only on winter ONI values are reliable and exhibit sharpness. In contrast, an under-forecasting bias and less reliable forecasts are noted for La Nina.
Onna-Bugeisha 'Warrior Women' [University of Central Oklahoma]

For centuries, women in Japan have been cast as geishas, however, the history of onna-bugeisha or “warrior women” pose a contrasting shadow. These warrior women took up training focused on using the naginata, a sort of spear with a curved blade on the end and the kaiken, a sort of dagger. They trained to protect their homes and villages; in addition, some would even carry their training into battle. In the twelfth century, Hangaku Gozen and Tomoe Gozen, while Nakano Takeko in the nineteenth century were considered to be among the best of the onna-bugeisha. These women led their own armies into battle, some made up of only women and some of only men. Very little is written about these women as Japanese warriors. Tomoe is only briefly mentioned in the Heike Monogatari, a series of stories detailing the Genpei wars (1182-1185). The down play of their importance is evident in the lack of resources recording their lives. This is possibly because their warrior-like-actions threatened the natural masculinity of the samurai. Once the samurai become a rising class structure, the onna-bugeisha began to fall away in importance, second to their husbands. As they moved behind the scenes, their training emerged to represent a method of moral discipline rather than preparing for combat. Their natural warrior way of life faded from their daily lives and the Japanese history. Most of my sources are journal articles giving the base for this research concerning the Samurai and their lives. Other sources include Japanese Girls and Women, a book by Alice Mabel Bacon, published in 1891 and Samurai Women 1184-1877a book by Stephen Turnbull, published in 2010.
Gender inequality and intimate partner violence in Bolivia

Intimate partner violence against women is of particular concern in Bolivia, a country ranked second among ten Latin American countries in the prevalence of physical and sexual violence toward women (Hindin, Kishor, and Ansara, 2008). This study examines the correlation between intimate partner violence and the type of domestic decision making. Using factor analysis and structural equation modeling on a sample of 2,759 Bolivian heterosexual couples, this study finds that intimate partner violence is less likely to occur in families in which the decision making is egalitarian (female and male partners make decisions together) but more likely to occur when either the male partner or the female partner makes decisions alone. These findings support the hypotheses that the gender distribution of power may cause conflict between intimate heterosexual partners (Anderson, 1997; Dobash, Dobash, Wilson, and Daly, 1992; Jewkes, 2002). It also goes further in demonstrating that such distribution could lead to egalitarian, matriarchal, or patriarchal domestic decision making and that there are differential consequences for both intimate partner offending and victimization. In rural areas, Bolivian women are more vulnerable; men more often make decisions alone; and women are less educated and poorer than in urban areas. In the patriarchal-type family, men make decisions and may abuse their female partners physically and psychologically. This type of family is poorer and less educated, and it is inversely correlated with women’s and men’s education. Indeed, education seems to play a key role in heterosexual relationships; men's education is inversely correlated with females' physical victimization. However, these findings also support a) the status inconsistency theory: in wealthier, more educated households, the female partner made decisions alone but was still physically and psychologically abused by her intimate partner, and b) intimate partner violence is influenced by structural factors, such as patriarchal beliefs, social power structure, poverty, and social inequalities (Barak, 2003, 2006).
Maternal coffee intake and the risk of bleeding in early pregnancy: a cross-sectional analysis

Caffeine can easily cross the placenta, and maternal caffeine intake, thus, has an effect on fetal growth. However, it is still unclear whether coffee consumption is an independent risk factor for bleeding in early pregnancy. The objective of this study was to examine the association between pre-pregnancy coffee consumption patterns and the risk of bleeding in early pregnancy. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 3510 pregnant women from the Korean Pregnancy Outcome Study who underwent baseline examination and for whom the results of the pregnancy were available. Coffee consumption patterns before pregnancy were examined using a questionnaire. The participants were classified according to the frequency of coffee consumption into seldom (< 1 cup/week), light (< 1 cup/day), moderate (1 cup/day), and heavy coffee drinker (≥2 cups/day) groups. Bleeding in early pregnancy was defined as the occurrence of vaginal bleeding in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to examine the association between pre-pregnancy coffee consumption and the risk of bleeding in early pregnancy, after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption behavior, previous and current physical activity levels, stress levels, history of depression, antenatal depressive symptoms during the first trimester, type of emesis, parity, and the number of livebirths, stillbirths, miscarriages, and abortions. Women who were light, moderate, and heavy coffee drinkers before pregnancy had adjusted ORs of 1.086, 1.225, and 1.358, respectively, for bleeding in early pregnancy. In a fully adjusted model, heavy coffee drinkers showed a significantly higher risk of bleeding in early pregnancy, even in women aged 35 years and younger (OR 1.680) and in those with a normal body mass index (OR 1.389), who were at relatively low risk for pregnancy-related complications. Our results showed that heavy coffee drinking was independently associated with a higher risk of bleeding in early pregnancy among pregnant Korean women, suggesting that caffeine intake before conception and during pregnancy should be reduced. Our study highlights the need for nutritional interventions for healthy coffee drinking among pregnant women in Korea.
Unlimited Action: The Performance of Extremity in the 1970s: by Dominic JohnsonManchester: Manchester University Press, 2018, 232 pp, ISBN 9780719091605 (hardback)

In Unlimited Action, Dominic Johnson sees extremity – ‘existing at a limit, of art, the social, of bodily comfort and integrity’ – as written into existing accounts of what performance is and does ...
Emergency department cardioversion of acute atrial fibrillation.

I read with great interest the Article by Ian Stiell and colleagues.1Stiell IG Sivilotti MLA Taljaard M et al.Electrical versus pharmacological cardioversion for emergency department patients with acute atrial fibrillation (RAFF2): a partial factorial randomised trial.Lancet. 2020; 395: 339-349Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1) Google Scholar The findings of this well designed trial will add substantially to the literature on the topic of cardioversion for patients with acute atrial fibrillation presenting to an emergency department.
Connecting Software Reliability Growth Models to Software Defect Tracking

Traditional software reliability growth models only consider defect discovery data, yet the practical concern of software engineers is the removal of these defects. Most attempts to model the relationship between defect discovery and resolution have been restricted to differential equation-based models associated with these two activities. However, defect tracking databases offer a practical source of information on the defect lifecycle suitable for more complete reliability and performance models. This paper explicitly connects software reliability growth models to software defect tracking. Data from a NASA project has been employed to develop differential equation-based models of defect discovery and resolution as well as distributional and Markovian models of defect resolution. The states of the Markov model represent thirteen unique stages of the NASA software defect lifecycle. Both state transition probabilities and transition time distributions are computed from the defect database. Illustrations compare the predictive and computational performance of alternative approaches. The results suggest that the simple distributional approach achieves the best tradeoff between these two performance measures, but that enhanced data collection practices could improve the utility of the more advanced approaches and the inferences they enable.
Gamma-ray burst after-glow: Confirming the cosmological fireball model

The recent detection of delayed X-ray and optical emission, ``afterglow,'' associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) supports models, where the bursts are produced by relativistic expanding blastwaves, ``fireballs,'' at cosmological distances. The detection of absorption lines in the optical afterglow of the GRB of 8 May 1997 confirms that the sources lie at cosmological distance. We show here that the new features detected in GRB970508 afterglow, radio emission one week following the burst and a 2 day increase in optical flux, are consistent with the blastwave model. The fireball optical depth at radio frequencies is much smaller than previously estimated, which accounts for the observed radio emission. The initial suppression of optical flux is consistent with that predicted due to electron cooling. The combined radio and optical data imply that the fireball energy is $\sim10^{52}$erg, and that the density of the medium into which the blastwave expands is $\sim 1cm^{-3}$, a value typical for gas within galaxies. We predict the time dependence of the radio flux and the absorption frequency, which constitute tests of the fireball model as described in this paper.
Pulsed Ultraviolet Light Decontamination of Meat Conveyor Surfaces.

Contact with continuous belt conveyors during processing results in opportunities for pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms to contaminate meat products. The objective of this project is to invest...
“I always place my bet on Red”: Comrade Detective and the Spectre of Communism

The paper analyses the buddy cop TV show Comrade Detective in the light of Jacques Derrida’s Spectres of Marx (1994) to demonstrate how it launches a satiric critique of the American state and diplomatic machinery in the aftermath of the fall of the Second Bloc. I argue that this visual text, released in 2017, addresses three contemporary global concerns—the dominance of the USA in a unipolar world, the neoliberal celebration of consumerism, and finally, the rise of right-wing religious fanaticism—through a satiric recreation of the bygone regime of communist Romania of the 1980s.
Cognitive Case Conceptualization: A Guidebook for Practitioners

Contents: Foreword. Introduction to Case Conceptualization. The Cognitive Model. The Therapeutic Relationship. Assessment and Information Integration. Cognitive Therapy Interventions. Panic Disorder (PD) With Agoraphobia. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Chronic or Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder. Appendix: Blank Forms.
Reinforcement Requirements for Girder Web Openings

A method for determining the amount of, and the necessity for, reinforcement around large rectangular openings in the webs of wide-flange beams subjected to varying combinations of bending moment and shear is presented. The proposed method is based on the theory that a member having such openings located on the neutral axis acts as a Vierendeel truss in the vicinity of such openings and therefore has points of contraflexure above and below each opening at the center-line of the opening. Based on this theory, a number of sample beams of various geometric properties having various sizes of reinforced openings were fabricated and tested. The analytical investigations of laboratory data verified the analogy and suggested satisfactory configurations for the reinforcement of beams subject to varying combinations of bending moment and shear.
Thirty years of gender quotas in Germany : policy adoption between mainstreaming and minimal compliance

This paper reviews three decades of gender quota policies in Germany and assesses policy adoption in parties, public administration, as well as on corporate and public boards. Germany was an early adopter of quotas for women in political parties and in public administration. Even though both measures were controversial when first enacted in the 1980s and early 1990s, they have since become rather low-profile gender equality strategies. A recent initiative to adopt quotas for women on corporate and public boards, by contrast, produced substantial public discussion. The mainstreaming of positive action plans in public institutions that include decision quotas, fixed quotas and goal quotas has given gender advocates formally strong leverage to advance a gender equality agenda. At the same time, a culture of minimalist compliance has pervaded the public sector and parties. Male institutions and organizations tend to exhibit more passive resistance than vocal opposition, thus making it difficult for feminists to engage effectively with non-compliance. A lack of sanctions as well as intricate strategies to circumvent quota decisions add to a sense among German feminist activists that quotas are one, but by no means the only strategy for gender equality in public life.
Causes of Failure to Rescue

Failure to rescue (FTR) is death due to a complication in hospitalized patients. Although complications have varied causation, the common end manifestation prior to death is the development of physiologic instability manifested by abnormalities in vital signs evolving to compromise of end-organ perfusion and metabolic derangement due to tissue hypoperfusion. In order to prevent FTR, instability must first be detected by clinicians and then recognized as important before supportive or rescue action can be initiated. This chapter explores factors which contribute to FTR. They include patient-level factors (static and dynamic patient data and surveillance) and hospital- and system-level factors (staff education, staff-level and temporal variation, lack of consistent clinician exposure to instability, lack of situation and human factors awareness, barriers to care escalation). Understanding the complexity of the interrelationships impacting FTR may assist in developing and implementing interventions to improve clinician’s ability to utilize medical emergency team resources and decrease FTR.
2. La escuela como centro promotor de salud

The present work is the product of a qualitative study which had the goal of evaluating the achievements in a project called Extension Health Promoting Schools. It was applied in five schools of Iribarren and Palavecino townships at Edo. Lara . The onto-epistemological approach was hermeneutic and highly interpretive. The focus group was information gathering, a technique applied to a total of 79 teachers. Among the outstanding achievements of the project, it was found, a positive influence on the organizational school environment, increased participation of teachers and the education community as well as a learning and practice of new concepts on health area. The convergence between health and education that occurred in this study confirms that both fields share hopes and goals of human development proposed by the World Health Organization as 21st century goals.