cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
STATION-HOLDING BY THREE SPECIES OF BENTHIC FISHES

Station-holding performance was determined on a smooth substratum and on a grid substratum for three species of benthic fishes differing in body shape, surface texture, density, friction coefficient and behavioural repertoire. The grid was made of wires parallel to the flow, which raised fish into the free stream. Limited observations were also made on the benthopelagic cod. Station-holding performance was evaluated at two speeds. The first was defined as the slip speed, above which activities such as swimming, fin-beating, body arching, body clamping and gripping the substratum were required to hold position on the substratum. The second was defined as the swim speed, when fish began swimming out of ground contact. Cod and lasher started swimming when they began slipping, so that slip and swim speeds were the same, averaging 6cms −1 for cod and 32cms −1 for lasher on the smooth surface. Body postures and fin-beating delayed swimming from a slip speed of about 20cms −1 to swim speeds of 47–58cms −1 for plaice and rays. The grid had relatively little effect on slip and swim speeds of plaice and rays. Lasher grasped the grid with their pectoral fins, increasing swim speeds to 55cms −1 . Amputation of the posterior portion of the median fins of plaice reduced swim speeds on the smooth surface to 36cms −1 . Amputation of the pectoral fins of lasher reduced the swim speed on the grid to 38cms −1 . Estimates of drag coefficients for fish were made using published data for blisters. These were used to determine lift coefficients and the effects of grasping the substratum on the friction coefficient. Comparison of lift coefficients of rays on the smooth substratum with those on the grid showed that flow beneath the body reduced lift. Amputation of the posterior of the median fins of plaice and the rarity of body posturing by plaice and rays on the grid showed that the major role of this station-holding behaviour was reduction of lift through induction of flow beneath the body. Lashers were able to hold station at speeds comparable to plaice and rays when they could utilize the small amount of surface structure of the grid to increase friction. Benthic fishes tend to have either ‘flattened’ plaice- or ray-like forms with low drag coefficients but high lift coefficients, or more fusiform lasher-like forms with high drag coefficients and low lift coefficients. High-lift forms use behaviour to reduce lift coefficients, whereas high-drag forms use behaviour to increase friction.
Incorporating a Healthy Living Curriculum within Family Behavior Therapy: A Clinical Case Example in a Woman with a History of Domestic Violence, Child Neglect, Drug Abuse, and Obesity

Women reported to child protective service agencies frequently report problems that significantly interfere with the health and well-being of their children and themselves. Behavioral treatment programs appear to be effective in managing these co-existing problems, such as domestic violence and substance abuse. However, evidence-supported interventions are rarely exemplified in complicated clinical cases, especially within child welfare settings. Therefore, in this case example, we describe the process of adapting an evidence-supported treatment to assist in managing significant co-existing health-related problems in a mother who was referred due to child neglect and drug abuse. At the conclusion of therapy, the participant reported improvements in perceived family relationships, illicit drug use, child maltreatment potential, whereas other health-related outcomes were mixed. Most improvements were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Issues relevant to implementing evidence-based treatments within community contexts are discussed, including methods of increasing the likelihood of valid outcome assessment, managing treatment integrity, and adjusting standardized treatments to accommodate co-occurring problems. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1R01DA020548-01A1) awarded to Brad Donohue. The authors wish to thank Sally K. Miller, PhD, APN, FAANP and Associate Professor, UNLV School of Nursing for her work in completing the initial in-home health evaluation/physical for the current project.
Enhancement of SR 2508 (etanidazole) radiosensitization by buthionine sulphoximine at low-dose-rate irradiation.

SummarySR 2508 (etanidazole) (1 mm) or buthionine sulphoximine (BSO, 50 μm) or both drugs together did not radiosensitize oxic V79 Chinese hamster cells irradiated at either an acute dose rate (2·35 Gy/min) or at a low dose rate (0·117 Gy/min). BSO pretreatment (15 h at 37°C) depleted cellular glutathione (GSH) to ⩽ 1% of control level and radiosensitized hypoxic cells at both dose rates with an enhancement ratio (ER) of 1·2. SR 2508 alone radiosensitized hypoxic cells equally at both dose rates with an ER of 1·5. However, ER values of 2·2 and 2·5 were obtained with 1 mm SR 2508 in GSH-depleted cells at acute and low dose rate, respectively, with no significant difference between the two, i.e. there is no dose rate dependence for this potentiation. Since BSO increases SR 2508 radiosensitization and the combined BSO + SR 2508 treatment is extremely cytotoxic to hypoxic cells, our results suggest that combining BSO with SR 2508 will be useful in brachytherapy as well as external-beam therapy if the toxicity...
Another look at two phase I clinical trial designs

This note is a response to a recent paper by Korn et al. in which two phase I trial designs were compared, the designs in question being the standard design and the CRM design. The authors concluded that: (i) CRM designs will take longer to complete than standard designs; and (ii) CRM designs are less safe than the standard designs. These conclusions followed from a set of simulations for three different dose toxicity situations. The first purpose of this note is to point out that these conclusions lean on false assumptions. The claims are in error. In their comparisons Korn et al. never in fact used CRM, as defined in O'Quigley, Pepe and Fisher, but a modified version. The second purpose of this note is to look at the same cases studied by Korn et al. but this time using a correctly defined CRM model. Using the same comparison tools of Korn et al. we will see that for these situations, and indeed for a very wide class of other situations not presented here, not only are (i) and (ii) not true but that the exact opposite holds.
Application of the harmonic mean statistics to the end-to-end performance of transmission systems with relays

Closed-form expressions for the statistics of the harmonic mean of two independent and identically distributed gamma variates are presented. The probability density function of the harmonic mean of two F variates is also derived. These statistical results are then applied to study the performance of wireless communication systems with non-regenerative relays over flat Nakagami (1960) fading channels. It is shown that these results can either be exact or tight lower bounds on the performance of these systems depending on the choice of the relay gain. More specifically, outage probability formulas for noise limited systems as well as systems affected by interference are obtained. Furthermore, average bit error rate and outage capacity expressions are derived. Finally, comparisons between regenerative and non-regenerative systems are presented. Numerical results show that the former systems clearly outperform the latter ones for low average signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). They also show that the two systems have similar performance at high average SNR.
ISOLATION OF AXONAL VARICOSITIES (AUTONOMIC SYNAPTOSOMES) FROM THE ENTERIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Abstract— A subcellular fraction enriched with varicosities of autonomic axons was obtained from homogenates of strips of guinea-pig longitudinal muscle and adherent myenteric plexus using differential and sucrose-or Ficoll-density gradient ultracentrifugation. This fraction contained the marker, [G-3H]5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), taken up by serotonergic axon terminals present in the preparation during a period of incubation prior to homogenization. Electron microscopic examination showed that the isolated varicosities resembled CNS synaptosomes in containing vesicles and mitochondria but, as is characteristic of autonomic postganglionic terminals, they lacked synaptic membrane specializations. Quantitative electron microscopic radioautography revealed that [G-3H]5-HT was confined to isolated varicosities. Isolated varicosities were capable of taking up and sequestering 5-HT from the surrounding medium; this uptake was temperature-sensitive and blocked by fluoxetine. The subcellular distribution of [G-3H]l-tryptophan was also studied by subfractionation of strips in an attempt to determine which structures were responsible for the high-affinity uptake of that amino acid. Although most of the [G-3H]l-tryptophan was found in the high-speed supernatant, particulate [G-3H]l-tryptophan was most concentrated in the subcellular fraction containing isolated axonal varicosities. These studies indicate that a fraction containing functional serotonergic varicosities can be isolated from the gut. These varicosities are probably one of the elements responsible for the high-affinity uptake of l-tryptophan by the myenteric layer of the gut.
Measuring robustness of Feature Selection techniques on software engineering datasets

Feature Selection is a process which identifies irrelevant and redundant features from a high-dimensional dataset (that is, a dataset with many features), and removes these before further analysis is performed. Recently, the robustness (e.g., stability) of feature selection techniques has been studied, to examine the sensitivity of these techniques to changes in their input data. In this study, we investigate the robustness of six commonly used feature selection techniques as the magnitude of change to the datasets and the size of the selected feature subsets are varied. All experiments were conducted on 16 datasets from three real-world software projects. The experimental results demonstrate that Gain Ratio shows the least stability on average while two different versions of ReliefF show the most stability. Results also show that making smaller changes to the datasets has less impact on the stability of feature ranking techniques applied to those datasets.
Subsurface Precambrian Granite, Lafayette County, Mississippi: GEOLOGIC NOTES

Granite from a basement test well in north-central Mississippi has an age of 790 m.y. according to K/Ar dating of a whole sample of well cuttings. The granite consists primarily of microperthite, orthoclase, and quartz with small amounts of other minerals including oligoclase, hornblende, aegirine-augite, and chlorite. The granite may be metamorphosed and therefore its age is probably older than the stated 790 m.y. This granite penetration is important because it indicates that Precambrian rocks are present under the Gulf coastal plain province of north-central Mississippi.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis between the Fungal Plant Pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and S. trifoliorum Using RNA Sequencing

The fungal plant pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and S. trifoliorum are morphologically similar, but differ considerably in host range. In an effort to elucidate mechanisms of the host range difference, transcriptomes of the 2 species at vegetative growth stage were compared to gain further insight into commonality and uniqueness in gene expression and pathogenic mechanisms of the 2 closely related pathogens. A total of 23133 and 21043 unique transcripts were obtained from S. sclerotiorum and S. trifoliorum, respectively. Approximately 43% of the transcripts were genes with known functions for both species. Among 1411 orthologous contigs, about 10% (147) were more highly (>3-fold) expressed in S. trifoliorum than in S. sclerotiorum, and about 12% (173) of the orthologs were more highly (>3-fold) expressed in S. sclerotiorum than in S. trifoliorum. The expression levels of genes on the supercontig 30 have the highest correlation coefficient value between the 2 species. Twenty-seven contigs were found to be new and unique for S. trifoliorum. Additionally, differences in expressed genes involved in pathogenesis like oxalate biosynthesis and endopolygalacturonases were detected between the 2 species. The analyses of the transcriptomes not only discovered similarities and uniqueness in gene expression between the 2 closely related species, providing additional information for annotation the S. sclerotiorum genome, but also provided foundation for comparing the transcriptomes with host-infecting transcriptomes.
Cellular effects of acute exposure to high peak power microwave systems: Morphology and toxicology

Electric fields produced by advanced pulsed microwave transmitter technology now readily exceed the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) C.95.1 peak E-field limit of 100 kV/m, highlighting a need for scientific validation of such a specific limit. Toward this goal, we exposed Jurkat Clone E-6 human lymphocyte preparations to 20 high peak power microwave (HPPM) pulses (120 ns duration) with a mean peak amplitude of 2.3 MV/m and standard deviation of 0.1 with the electric field at cells predicted to range from 0.46 to 2.7 MV/m, well in excess of current standard limit. We observed that membrane integrity and cell morphology remained unchanged 4 h after exposure and cell survival 24 h after exposure was not statistically different from sham exposure or control samples. Using flow cytometry to analyze membrane disruption and morphological changes per exposed cell, no changes were observed in HPPM-exposed samples. Current IEEE C95.1-2005 standards for pulsed radiofrequency exposure limits peak electric field to 100 kV/m for pulses shorter than 100 ms [IEEE (1995) PC95.1-Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Electric, Magnetic and Electromagnetic Fields, 0 Hz to 300 GHz, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers: Piscataway, NJ, USA]. This may impose large exclusion zones that limit HPPM technology use. In this study, we offer evidence that maximum permissible exposure of 100 kV/m for peak electric field may be unnecessarily restrictive for HPPM devices. Bioelectromagnetics. 37:141-151, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Energy and Energy Cost Savings Analysis of the IECC for Commercial Buildings

The purpose of this analysis is to assess the relative energy and energy cost performance of commercial buildings designed to meet the requirements found in the commercial energy efficiency provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Section 304(b) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA), as amended, requires the Secretary of Energy to make a determination each time a revised version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 is published with respect to whether the revised standard would improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. As many states have historically adopted the IECC for both residential and commercial buildings, PNNL has evaluated the impacts of the commercial provisions of the 2006, 2009, and 2012 editions of the IECC. PNNL also compared energy performance with corresponding editions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 to help states and local jurisdictions make informed decisions regarding model code adoption.
Coagulant mixing revisited: theory and practice

Are rapid-mixing tanks with intense mixing necessary? Intense mixing applies to the coagulation mechanism of charge-neutralization of negatively-charged particles, but this is not a common coagulation method. More common is precipitation of aluminum or iron for coagulation of particles and natural organic matter, which is often called sweep-floc coagulation. Coagulation by precipitation is indifferent to mixing intensity. Energy and cost savings are realized by designing mixing systems for coagulation that do not use tanks with mechanical mixers. Systems examined are hydraulic methods (weirs, Venturi meters, others) including the non-mechanical systems of pipe and open-channel static mixers. These systems provide sufficient mixing intensity for sweep-floc coagulation and for certain conditions provide sufficient mixing intensity for charge-neutralization coagulation with much less energy input. Mixing systems designed specifically for coagulant addition, such as rapid-mixing tanks and pipe and open-channel static mixers, should be sized based on the average daily flow not on the plant capacity flow. This produces sustainable designs with lower capital costs for all systems and lower operating costs for rapid-mixing tanks.
Application of PML Absorbing Boundary Condition to Aeroacoustics Problems with an Oblique Mean Flow

For the case of uniform mean flow in an arbitrary direction, Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) absorbing boundary conditions are presented for both the linearized and nonlinear Euler equations. Perfectly matched side layers and stable corner layers are proposed. Stability issues are investigated by examining the dispersion relations of linear waves. For increased efficiency, a pseudo mean flow is included in the derivation of the PML equations for the nonlinear case. Numerical examples are given to support the validity of the proposed equations. Specifically, the linear PML formulation is tested for the case of entropy and vorticity waves traveling with oblique mean flow. The nonlinear formulation is tested with an isentropic vortex moving diagonally with constant velocity.
Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations.

PurposeStandards for reporting exist for many types of quantitative research, but currently none exist for the broad spectrum of qualitative research. The purpose of the present study was to formulate and define standards for reporting qualitative research while preserving the requisite flexibility
Colonialism's Role in the Success of the Filipino Skin Whitening Industry

In the Philippines and other developing countries, the skin whitening industry is prolific and expanding among native populations. However, this desire for white skin has dire health repercussions, both physical and psychological. Many researchers in the field of Filipino-American psychology attribute this desire for whiter skin to the American colonial rule of the Philippines, which began in 1898 and lasted for nearly fifty years. Historians often characterize the American occupation as cruel and demeaning, leading to colonial mentality that has continued into the post-colonial era. As a result, in order to ameliorate this dilemma, one must explore how the internalized oppression and psychological state of the Filipino people caused by America’s previous colonial rule of the Philippines contributes to the success of the Filipino skin whitening industry. To research this question, historical journal articles that contextualized the American treatment of the Filipino people were utilized in order to explore possible motives for occupying the Philippines. Articles in the field of Filipino-American psychology were also studied, thus exploring the psychological health of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in relation to colonial rule. Articles in the field of history and sociology showed the relationship between colonialism and skin whitening, both in the Philippines and in other countries. To explore other possible contributing factors, in the field of psychology and sociology were utilized. The success of the Filipino Skin Whitening Industry is greatly attributed to the damaged psychological state of the native people brought on by American colonial rule. This can be attributed to the mistreatment of the native population, and the subsequent development of internalized oppression, colonial mentality, and an ingrained preference for white skin. However, contemporary factors may also contribute to the industry’s success, such as the phenomenon of “cosmopolitan whiteness,” and Filipino-Americans’ tendency to conform to popular culture. Although colonialism plays a significant role in the success of the skin whitening industry, it is possible that many other factors come into play. As a result, it is imperative to explore colonial mentality more thoroughly, as well as its mental health implications. In addition, it would be valuable to explore the ways in which internalized oppression can be combated, thus decreasing the need for the skin whitening industry.
The oxalate/sulfate antiporter in lobster hepatopancreas: internal and external binding constants.

Utilizing a purified basolateral plasma membrane vesicle (BLMV) preparation containing a sulfate/oxalate antiporter, it was demonstrated that sulfate exhibited similar binding characteristics to the transporter whether bound internally or externally. It was also demonstrated that oxalate had similar binding characteristics to the antiporter whether it was bound internally or externally. Oxalate had a greater affinity to the transporter than did sulfate. Several organic anions affected binding and, therefore, overall transport by the antiporter. Most notably, sulfate was the only anion that stimulated oxalate uptake into BLMVs, which suggests a conservative binding specificity for the antiporter. 4-Acetamido-4′-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (SITS) and/or 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (DIDS) inhibited the transport rate, confirming the existence of oxalate/sulfate exchange by the transporter. These results suggest that oxalate, not sulfate, regulates the transport rate because of its greater affinity to the transporter.
Advances in the management of cervical cancer.

In the last decade a number of advances have occurred in the treatment of cervical cancer. These advances have resulted in a variety of benefits, including improved survival, improved quality of life and preservation of fertility in selected patients with early-stage disease. Because cervical cancer affects women earlier than does any other adult cancer, appropriate physician decisions can significantly affect longevity. This article reviews recent advances in the management of cervical cancer, including conservative surgery for microinvasive tumors, radical trachelectomy, adjuvant therapy for high-risk early-stage disease, use of chemotherapy as part of multimodality primary treatment and improvements in the management of recurrent disease. Recognition of these advances is important for the practicing obstetrician/ gynecologist.
Bradykinin regulates the expression of kininogen binding sites on endothelial cells.

The vasoactive compound bradykinin (BK) is liberated by proteolytic cleavage from high molecular weight kininogen (HK) and low molecular weight kininogen (LK). Expression of kininogens on cell surface receptors may affect the delivery of BK at sites of inflammation. Therefore, we investigated whether BK itself alters the expression of binding sites for its parent molecules, HK and LK, on the surface of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). 125I-LK and 125I-HK each bind to a single class of sites on HUVEC in reactions that are saturable, reversible, and zinc-dependent (Bmax = 9.7 +/- 0.2 x 10(5) sites/cell; kd = 43.3 +/- 8 nmol/L; n = 5 and Bmax = 10.3 +/- 0.4 x 10(5) sites/cell; kd = 40.3 +/- 0.9 nmol/L; n = 3 for LK and HK, respectively). HK and LK compete for the same binding site (Ki = 19.4 +/- 5 nmol/L HK v 125I-LK; Ki = 24.5 +/- 4 nmol/L LK v 125I-HK, n = 3). Moreover, 50-fold molar excess light chain of HK inhibits 125I-LK binding 51% and 50-fold molar excess LK and the heavy chain of HK inhibit 125I-light chain of HK binding 92% and 76%, respectively. Preincubation of HUVEC with BK produces a transient, concentration- dependent increase in the binding of HK and LK, reaching a maximum 3 to 4 hours after addition of BK (46% increase over control for HK; 57% increase over control for LK; P < .005 for each ligand). Des-Arg9- bradykinin, a B1 receptor agonist, increases kininogen binding to the same extent as BK; the upregulation of kininogen binding sites by BK is partially blocked by a B1 but not by a B2 receptor antagonist. The protein kinase C inhibitors (PKC), sphingosine and H7, completely block the induction of HK receptors by BK. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), which also activates PKC, stimulates the binding of HK and the purified light chain of HK to HUVEC as well. However, unlike HK and its light chain, binding of LK and the heavy chain of HK are increased by PMA only in the presence of added calcium ion. These studies show that BK upregulates a common binding site for HK, LK, and each chain of HK on HUVEC. Induction of kininogen receptors on endothelial cells by BK may modulate the generation of this vasoactive compound at sites of vascular injury.
Transvaginal sonography in evaluating ectopic pregnancy.

Transvaginal sonography (TVS) has become a part of many obstetrical and gynecological sonographic studies. Our purpose is to review first trimester gestational abnormalities, present TVS findings, and evaluate TVS as a supplement to or substitute for TAS. The potential contribution of TVS in furthering specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of diagnosis will be considered
A New View of Classification in Astronomy with the Archetype Technique: An Astronomical Case of the NP-complete Set Cover Problem

We introduce a new generic Archetype technique for source classification and identification, based on the NP-complete set cover problem (SCP) in computer science and operations research (OR). We have developed a new heuristic SCP solver, by combining the greedy algorithm and the Lagrangian Relaxation (LR) approximation method. We test the performance of our code on the test cases from Beasley's OR Library and show that our SCP solver can efficiently yield solutions that are on average 99% optimal in terms of the cost. We discuss how to adopt SCP for classification purposes and put forward a new Archetype technique. We use an optical spectroscopic dataset of extragalactic sources from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) as an example to illustrate the steps of the technique. We show how the technique naturally selects a basis set of physically-motivated archetypal systems to represent all the extragalactic sources in the sample. We discuss several key aspects in the technique and in any general classification scheme, including distance metric, dimensionality, and measurement uncertainties. We briefly discuss the relationships between the Archetype technique and other machine-learning techniques, such as the $k$-means clustering method. Finally, our code is publicly available and the technique is generic and easy to use and expand. We expect that it can help maximize the potential for astrophysical sciences of the low-S/N spectroscopic data from future dark-energy surveys, and can find applications in many fields of astronomy, including the formation and evolution of a variety of astrophysical systems, such as galaxies, stars and planets.
A Visual Attention Algorithm Designed for Coupled Oscillator Acceleration

We present a new top-down and bottom-up saliency algorithm designed to exploit the capabilities of coupled oscillators: an ultra-low-power, high performance, non-boolean computer architecture designed to serve as a special purpose embedded accelerator for vision applications. To do this, we extend a widely used neuromorphic bottom-up saliency pipeline by introducing a top-down channel which looks for objects of a particular type. The proposed channel relies on a segmentation of the input image to identify exemplar object segments resembling those encountered in training. The channel leverages pre-computed bottom-up feature maps to produce a novel scale-invariant descriptor for each segment with little computational overhead. We also introduce a new technique to automatically determine exemplar segments during training, without the need for annotations per segment. We evaluate our method on both NeoVision2 DARPA challenge datasets, illustrating significant gains in performance compared to all baseline approaches.
Optimization in wide-band-gap quantum dot solar cells

Quantum dots (QDs) have been under extensive study as a promising material to realize the concept of the intermediate band solar cell (IBSC). Because thermal escape is the dominant mechanism of carrier escape at room temperature, wide-band-gap (WBG) semiconductor can be used to suppress thermal escape by increasing barrier height for InAs quantum dots. Embedded InAs QD in the wide-bandgap matrix (InGaP and AlGaAs) is demonstrated with increased sub-band-gap carrier collection. The deeper confinement and larger activation energy is a move towards realizing an IBSC Additionally, activation energy extracted from temperature dependent external quantum efficiency (TDEQE) of InAs/AlGaAs is 324 meV, which is closer to the transition between IB to CB in an ideal IBSC.
Intimate Choices, Public Threats - Reproductive and LGBTQ Rights under a Trump Administration.

The way we structure our intimate lives — through decisions about partnering, parenting, gender identification, or acknowledgment of our sexual orientation — affects our health and well-being. What will Trump’s presidency mean for our freedom to make these decisions?
Relations in the Dyer-Laslof Algebra for Morava E-theory

In this paper, we prove that a map u between two polynomial rings, each with an associated Adem relation, is injective. We prove injectivity of u, by first finding formulas for elements within each ring polynomial, and then by computing the map with our associated formulas. After having computed the mapping of u, we then use our computations to show that the kernel of u only contains the zero vector, which proves that the map u is injective. Then having proved that the map u is injective, we then use it to find a basis for u∗, the dual map of u. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Mark Behrens for his mentoring and support while I took part in this research project. I would also like to thank Julie Wayzani. Page 176 RHIT Undergrad. Math. J., Vol. 13, No. 2
Perceptual Experience and Cognitive Penetrability

This paper starts by distinguishing three views about the phenomenal character of perceptual experience. ‘Low-level theorists’ argue that perceptual experience is reducible to the experience of low-level properties (textures, shapes, colors), ‘high-level theorists’ argue that we have perceptual experiences of high-level properties (functional properties, causal relations, etc.), while ‘disunified view theorists’ argue that perceptual seemings can present high-level properties. The paper explores how cognitive states can penetrate perceptual experience and provides an interpretation of cognitive penetration that offers some support for the high-level view.
De-policing and crime in the wake of Ferguson: Racialized changes in the quantity and quality of policing among Missouri police departments

Abstract Purpose This study explored whether police departments have engaged in “de-policing”—withdrawal from active police work—in response to unprecedented levels of negative attention, as well as the correlates of changes in police behavior. Methods Using data from 118 of the 121 police departments serving jurisdictions over 5000 residents in Missouri, we examined changes in both the quantity (rates of vehicle/traffic stops, searches, and arrests) and quality (“hit rates” from searches) of policing from 2014 to 2015 and whether de-policing corresponded with year-over-year changes in crime rates. Results The findings revealed a − 0.11 standardized change in stops (around 67,000 fewer stops in 2015 than 2014) and a 0.17 standardized change in hit rates (nearly 2 percentage points). Multivariate models indicated that departments serving larger African-American populations conducted fewer stops (β = − 0.44), searches (β = − 0.37), and arrests (β = − 0.27) in 2015 compared to 2014, although race was unrelated to changes in hit rates. Changes in police behavior had no appreciable effect on total, violent, or property crime rates. Conclusions The negative attention and increased scrutiny of law enforcement appears to have had an impact on traffic stops and hit rates in Missouri. Given the racialized findings, training and community-outreach programs should aim to increase mutual trust among the police and African-American communities. Also, increasing organizational justice within departments might be one way to improve officer morale and increase motivation in the current policing climate.
The Multidimensional Measurement of Death Attitudes: Construction and Validation of a Three-Factor Instrument

While the complexity of death attitudes has been recognized, the measurement of different dimensions of the concept is problematic. Through analysis of data collected from 587 undergraduate students, a 15-item instrument was developed which measures three attitudinal factors: avoidance of death symbols and the dead (death avoidance), reluctance to confront death processes (disengagement from death), and fear of personal death (death fear). Internal consistency reliabilities are adequate for each factor; alpha coefficients range from.71 to.76. Tests of discriminant and predictive validity indicate that the instrument may have research utility.
Linking Verbal Entries of Different Lexical Resources

In the field of Computational Linguistics, many lexical resources have been developed which aim at encoding complex lexical semantic information according to different linguistic models (WordNet, Frame Semantics, Generative Lexicon, etc.). However, these resources are often not easily accessible nor available in their entirety. Yet, from the point of view of the continuous growth of technology (Semantic Web), their visibility, availability and integration are becoming of utmost importance. ItalWordNet and PAROLE/SIMPLE/CLIPS are two resources which, tackling lexical semantics from different perspectives and being at least partially complementary, can profit from linking each other. In this paper we address the issue of the linking of these resources focusing on the most problematic part of the lexicon: the second order entities. In particular, after a brief description of the two resources, their different approaches to the verb semantics are described; an accurate comparison of a set of verbal entries belonging to Speech Act semantic class is carried out aiming at evaluate the possibilities and the advantages of a semiautomatic link.
Effects of Light Cement Stabilization on Properties of Fine-Grained Dredged Soils

Dredged soils often have very high moisture content and exhibit poor engineering properties. This article presents experimental results to assess index properties and strength development of lightly cemented soils with very high moisture content over time. A key objective was to show that very-high-moisture soils can be stabilized with low dosages of portland-limestone cement (PLC) or ordinary portland cement (OPC) and still achieve useful properties for some beneficial reuse applications. Key factors separating this effort from past efforts are the use of lower cement dosages and comparisons between traditionally used OPC and a more sustainable alternative (PLC). Dredged soils were collected from two disposal facilities near the ports of Memphis, Tennessee, and Mobile, Alabama. Mixtures were prepared at two levels of moisture content with two cement types and three levels of cement content. Results showed soils stabilized at 10 % cement meet the target unconfined compressive strength for low ground pressure construction applications (>140 kPa). Findings supported the position that lightly cemented soils with very high moisture, especially with PLC, are sustainable and can achieve suitable properties for some applications.
Using a Physical Activity Wearable Tracker: Older Latinos’ Perceptions

By 2050, more than 21 million older Latinos are expected in the U.S. The Latino population has been gaining access to technologies, which could aid adherence to PA, yet they have low levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). The purpose of this study was to identify older Latinos’ perceptions of tracking their PA during an intervention. Participants were enrolled in the 16- week BAILA TECH program that includes the BAILAMOS© dance program, the use of a wearable PA tracker and associated mobile application, text messages, and mobile technology education classes. Participants were asked to wear a wearable for 19 weeks. Classes were held twice a week for 2 hours each session. Focus groups were held at the beginning of each month of the program. Discussions were recorded, transcribed in Spanish, translated into English, and thematic analysis was conducted. Discussion 01 was held after 2 weeks of wearing the PA tracker, and participants reported concerns with overall use, such as the hazards of charging it overnight, getting the wearable wet or it being too tight. Discussion 02 was held 6 weeks of wearing the PA tracker, and participants had more specific questions about the PA tracker (e.g. how to track water consumption, why the wearable vibrates). Discussion 03 was held 10 weeks of wearing the PA tracker, and participants reported exploring various features on the device (such as sending friend requests). Discussion 04 was held 14 weeks of wearing the PA tracker, and participants reported the wearable as motivating them to finish their daily goal steps, most of them would look at their step count at the end of the day and finish the remaining steps needed to complete their goal. Future interventions should incorporate mHealth educational classes to increase engagement with mobile technology.
Recurrent Intestinal Obstruction after Radiation Therapy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Introduction. In patients who have undergone resection for rectal cancer after neoadjuvant radiotherapy, loop ileostomy is commonly performed with few serious complications. In rare cases, if this irradiated small bowel is strictured, reversal of the affected ileostomy can have dire consequences. We present a case of a 62-year-old male with recurrent intestinal obstruction after closure of his loop ileostomy. Case Report. RC is a 62-year-old male who initially presented with rectal cancer and underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiation prior to a laparoscopic low anterior resection with diverting loop ileostomy. He underwent elective reversal of his ileostomy and developed persistent postoperative obstruction. He underwent resection of the prior reversal site with normal-appearing dilated proximal bowel loops and collapsed distal bowel loops. He again developed an obstructive picture and underwent resection of the prior anastomosis with creation of an ileocolic anastomosis, after which he recovered well postoperatively. Conclusion. In patients who receive radiation adjuvant therapy for colon cancer, radiation-induced stricture should be considered as a cause of small bowel obstruction postoperative. In the setting of a longstanding ileostomy, evaluation of a defunctionalized distal ileum may be necessary to evaluate potential obstruction from radiation changes.
Crime Policy in the United States

The goal of anti-crime public policy is usually understood to be the interception of and/or prevention of criminal acts. At first impression, this statement is simple and straightforward. However, even a cursory overview of crime policy in operation presents a much more complicated picture.
Household Chaos Moderates Indirect Pathways Involving Domestic Violence, Parenting Practices, and Behavior Problems among Preschool Children.

This study examined the moderating role of household chaos in indirect pathways involving domestic violence (DV), parenting practices (punitive discipline and responsive), and preschool children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We hypothesized that high levels of household chaos would amplify links between domestic violence and parenting difficulties, and that parenting difficulties would in turn predict child behavior problems. Participants in this multimethod (survey, semi-structured interview, child protection records) study included 274 preschool children (Mage = 50.86 months) and their primary caregivers who were assessed in the home at two time-points spaced 6 months apart. Child welfare documentation of moderate-severe maltreatment within the last 6 months was present for 52% of children, 44% were in households characterized by DV, and most families qualified for public assistance. Hypotheses were tested using path analysis with manifest variables within a structural equation modeling framework. All models provided excellent fit to the data. DV was associated with punitive discipline practices only when household chaos was high. Punitive discipline practices in turn predicted greater child externalizing symptoms 6 months later. Follow-up analyses revealed that the moderating role of chaos was specific to DV, rather than general to other forms of adversity (child maltreatment, lifetime contextual stressors, traumatic events). This interaction between DV and chaos was salient even when controlling for exposure to other adversities and demographic covariates. Results point to multiple potential targets of intervention that may ultimately buffer children from the risk posed by experiencing DV in the home.
FDA Approval Summary: Calaspargase Pegol-mknl For Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Young Adults

On December 20, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved calaspargase pegol-mknl (CALASP), an asparagine-specific enzyme, as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in pediatric and young adult patients age 1 month to 21 years. Efficacy was determined on the basis of achievement and maintenance of steady-state nadir serum asparaginase activity (NSAA) above 0.1 U/mL when using CALASP, 2,500 U/m2 intravenously, every 3 weeks. In a randomized comparison to pegaspargase (PEGASP) every 2 weeks, treatment with CALASP every 3 weeks had a similar safety profile and no substantial impairment in event-free survival. The pharmacokinetics of CALASP were studied when administered in combination with multiagent chemotherapy in 124 patients with B-cell ALL in Study AALL07P4 and Study DFCI 11-001. The results showed that 123 [99%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 96%-100%] of the 124 patients maintained NSAA >0.1 U/mL at weeks 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 of post-induction phase. Maintaining adequate NSAA levels is critical to successful treatment of ALL. Herein, we describe the FDA review and approval of CALASP.See related commentary by Lew, p. 325.
Nurses' Finnegan Scoring of Newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Not Affected by Time or Day of the Week.

Objective Newborns exposed to drugs in utero are at risk of developing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), characterized by behavioral changes and physiologic instability. Finnegan scoring tool quantifies severity of symptoms and guides treatment. This article evaluates whether time of day and the number of shift hours affects modified Finnegan scores, and the subjective component of these scores. Study Design Institutional review board-approved, retrospective chart review of newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care or transitional nursery from 2011 to 2014. Inclusion criteria: > 35 weeks' gestation, known maternal substance use, positive maternal or newborn urine, or meconium drug screen, NAS treatment. Results A total of 101 charts were evaluated. Mean treatment duration was 31.8 days (standard deviation ±18.3). There was no significant relationship between observer shift hour and high scores (> 8) (p = 0.83). Highest scores occurred in the afternoon, decreased at night (p = 0.03), and throughout admission (p Conclusion Finnegan scores given by nurses were not influenced by shift hour. Time of day did not influence overall high scores or the proportion of objective to total Finnegan score. Inter-rater reliability was maintained regardless of time of day or day of the week.
A multi‐institutional comparison of mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine vs high‐dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia

Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) has a poor prognosis and is best treated with salvage chemotherapy as a bridge to allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT). However, the optimal salvage therapy remains unknown. Here we compared two salvage regimens; mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine (MEC) and mitoxantrone and high-dose Ara-C (Ara-C couplets). We analyzed 155 patients treated at three academic institutions between 1998 and 2017; 87 patients received MEC and 68 received Ara-C couplets. The primary endpoint was overall response (OR). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), duration of hospitalization, hematologic and nonhematologic toxicities, and success in proceeding to alloSCT. Baseline characteristics of the cohorts were well matched, though patients receiving Ara-C couplets had more co-morbidities (48.5% vs 33%; P = .07). OR was achieved in 43.7% of MEC and 54.4% of Ara-C couplets patients (P = .10). Ara-C couplets patients also trended towards a longer OS and PFS, more frequently proceeded to alloSCT (31% vs 54.4%; P = .003), and experienced less febrile neutropenia (94% vs 72%; P < .001) and grade 3/4 gastrointestinal toxicities (17.2% vs 2.94%; P = .005). No significant differences in other toxicities or median duration of hospitalization were noted. This is the first multi-institutional study directly comparing these regimens in a racially diverse population of R/R AML patients. Although these regimens have equivalent efficacy in terms of achieving OR, Ara-C couplets use is associated with significant reductions in toxicities, suggesting it should be used more frequently in these patients.
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) of Pipeline Ball Valves in the Offshore Industry

This article provides a practical method for applying failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) on oil export pipeline ball valves. These valves have been selected for analysis because they are the largest, heaviest, and most important valves on topside platforms in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. FMEA is a systematic approach for evaluation and identification of potential failures associated with the design and operation of pipeline valves. A literature review is included to provide more detailed information about the operation, components, and failure modes of pipeline ball valves. Five failure possibilities associated with pipeline ball valves have been identified, including leakage from the body and seat of a valve during operation; lack of a proper factory acceptance test; valve body damage due to pipeline loads because of insufficient thickness; missing the finite element analysis on the body of the valves; and seat damages as a result of wax ingress. The severity and possibility of occurrence have been defined and assigned to each possible failure. A risk priority number has been calculated for each failure mode on a scale of 1–100. Two risk items have been recognized as critical, with score values between 50 and 60. The outcome of FMEA shows that seats of pipeline valves are the most exposed components at risk of failure. The most critical identified failure related to the seats is accumulation of wax in the seat area. The proposed solution is to apply flushing ports and double-isolate them with modular valves to minimize the risk of leakage to the environment. The second critical failure is related to damage of the valve body due to pipeline loads. Valve wall thickness calculations according to ASME Sec. VII Div. 02, as well as stress analysis on the valve body based on different loads, are proposed to minimize the risk of the second failure.