cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Search for New Solutions

Conceptual development in social gerontology is overdue for infusions of innovative thinking. To date, theorizing has evolved in dialectical fashion from an emphasis on individual adaptation, to structural constraints, to interactive processes. Fruitful as these efforts have been, they have not adequately addressed issues of cross-cultural and subcultural diversity, heterogeneity, and nonlinear change. Also, much of what has been taken to be life-course development may be grounded in occupational trajectories. The discussion here sets the stage for a fuller explication of some of these issues, and, it is hoped, will point the way toward further innovative conceptual development in the field.
May the farce be with you: On Las Vegas and consumer infantalization

(2000). May the farce be with you: On Las Vegas and consumer infantalization. Consumption Markets & Culture: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 101-124.
Clinical and neurocognitive course in early-onset psychosis: a longitudinal study of adolescents with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Aim: Adolescents with psychotic disorders show deficits in IQ, attention, learning and memory, executive functioning, and processing speed that are related to important clinical variables including negative symptoms, adaptive functioning and academics. Previous studies have reported relatively consistent deficits with varying relationships to illness status and symptoms. The goals of this study were to examine these relationships in a larger sample at baseline, and also to examine the longitudinal course of these deficits in a smaller subset of adolescents. Method: Thirty-six subjects, aged 10 to 17 years, were included at baseline. All had Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder and psychosis – not otherwise specified, as determined by Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children structured interviews. Patients were administered a neuropsychological battery, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ratings were completed at baseline and again at 1 year (n = 14). Most participants were inpatients at baseline, and 13 of 14 were on atypical antipsychotic medication during both sessions. Results: At baseline, the patients demonstrated impairments in working memory, processing speed, executive function and verbal learning. No significant cognitive change was detected at 1-year follow-up. In contrast, clinical symptoms were variable across 1 year, with an improvement in positive symptoms at 1 year. No relationships between clinical and cognitive symptoms were observed, with the exception of baseline IQ predicting negative symptoms at 1 year. Conclusions: Young patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders displayed neurocognitive impairments at baseline. Despite measurable fluctuations in clinical symptoms over the year, no significant changes were measured in cognition. Lower IQ at baseline was predictive of more negative symptoms at 1 year.
Chemical probes that competitively and selectively inhibit Stat3 activation.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat) 3 is an oncogene constitutively activated in many cancer systems where it contributes to carcinogenesis. To develop chemical probes that selectively target Stat3, we virtually screened 920,000 small drug-like compounds by docking each into the peptide-binding pocket of the Stat3 SH2 domain, which consists of three sites—the pY-residue binding site, the +3 residue-binding site and a hydrophobic binding site, which served as a selectivity filter. Three compounds satisfied criteria of interaction analysis, competitively inhibited recombinant Stat3 binding to its immobilized pY-peptide ligand and inhibited IL-6-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat3. These compounds were used in a similarity screen of 2.47 million compounds, which identified 3 more compounds with similar activities. Examination of the 6 active compounds for the ability to inhibit IFN-γ-mediated Stat1 phosphorylation revealed that 5 of 6 were selective for Stat3. Molecular modeling of the SH2 domains of Stat3 and Stat1 bound to compound revealed that compound interaction with the hydrophobic binding site was the basis for selectivity. All 5 selective compounds inhibited nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation of Stat3, while 3 of 5 compounds induced apoptosis preferentially of breast cancer cell lines with constitutive Stat3 activation. Thus, virtual ligand screening of compound libraries that targeted the Stat3 pY-peptide binding pocket identified for the first time 3 lead compounds that competitively inhibited Stat3 binding to its pY-peptide ligand; these compounds were selective for Stat3 vs. Stat1 and induced apoptosis preferentially of breast cancer cells lines with constitutively activated Stat3.
SUSAN F. HIRSCH, Pronouncing and persevering: Gender and the discourses of disputing in an African Islamic court . (Language and legal discourse.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Pp. xiii, 360. Hb $48.00, pb $19.00.

According to feminist writings, Islamic women lack agency and power, and are oppressed compared to their Western female counterparts. A major site of such oppression is in Islamic courts, where husbands possess authority to pronounce divorce – while their subordinate wives humbly accept the decree and persevere, silently enduring the hardships that result. In stark contrast to such stereotypic images of gender relations in Islamic societies, Hirsch's beautifully written and powerful book focuses on the discursive production and reproduction of gender in Swahili Muslim courts. In so doing, it offers a quite different view of gender relations in Islamic society. In rich, fine-grained linguistic detail, Hirsch analyzes how legal processes in divorce cases not only reproduce but also undermine and transform dominant cultural images of gender.
Variable histone modifications at the Avy metastable epiallele

The ability of environmental factors to shape health and disease involves epigenetic mechanisms that mediate gene-environment interactions. Metastable epiallele genes are variably expressed in genetically identical individuals due to epigenetic modifications established during early development. DNA methylation within metastable epialleles is stochastic due to probabilistic reprogramming of epigenetic marks during embryogenesis. Maternal nutrition and environment have been shown to affect metastable epiallele methylation patterns and subsequent adult phenotype. Little is known, however, about the role of histone modifications in influencing metastable epiallele expression and phenotypic variation. Utilizing chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by qPCR, we observe variable histone patterns in the 5′ long terminal repeat (LTR) of the murine viable yellow agouti (Avy) metastable epiallele. This region contains 6 CpG sites, which are variably methylated in isogenic Avy/a offspring. Yellow mice, which are hypomethylated at the Avy LTR and exhibit constitutive ectopic expression of Agouti (a), also display enrichment of H3 and H4 di-acetylation (p = 0.08 and 0.09, respectively). Pseudoagouti mice, in which Avy hypermethylation is thought to silence ectopic expression, exhibit enrichment of H4K20 tri-methylation (p = 0.01). No differences are observed for H3K4 tri-methylation (p = 0.7), a modification often enriched in the promoter of active genes. These results show for the first time the presence of variable histone modifications at a metastable epiallele, indicating that DNA methylation acts in concert with histone modifications to affect inter-individual variation of metastable epiallele expression. Therefore, the potential for environmental factors to influence histone modifications, in addition to DNA methylation, should be addressed in environmental epigenomic studies.
Incidental gastric eosinophils in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis: do they matter?

ABSTRACTBackground and Aim:Some patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) (>15 eosinophils/high-power field on esophageal mucosal biopsies and lack of response to acid suppression and/or normal pH probe study) demonstrate incidental eosinophilic inflammation of the gastric mucosa. It is unclear wh
Chemical composition and cytotoxic activity of the leaf essential oil of Eugenia zuchowskiae from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The leaf essential oil of Eugenia zuchowskiae from Monteverde, Costa Rica, has been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC–MS. The principal constituents of E. zuchowskiae leaf oil were α-pinene (28.3%), β-caryophyllene (13.2%), α-humulene (13.1%), and α-copaene (8.1%). The leaf essential oil of E. zuchowskiae showed pronounced in-vitro cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, and UACC-257 human tumor cell lines. The major components showed cytotoxic activities comparable to doxorubicin (LC50 14–70 μg/ml).
Composition of Crude Fiber in Certain Roughages

Summary The lignin and cellulose contents of the dry matter of 11 roughages have been determined. These included two legume hays, five grass hays, oat straw, and oat silage made from plants harvested at the boot, milk, and dough stages of growth. The cellulose content of the grass hays and Korean lespedeza hay was higher than that of alfalfa hay. The lignin content of the roughages was quite variable, probably due to differences in stage of growth of the plants when harvested. The cellulose content of the crude fiber was much higher in the grass hays than in the legume hays. The lignin content in the crude fiber of the legume hays was greater than in the grass hays. The findings of earlier workers, that the composition of crude fiber varied as between species, have been confirmed. It has been shown that in the oat plant the crude fiber make-up is dependent on the stage of growth.
Loss given default of high loan-to-value residential mortgages.

This paper studies loss given default using a large set of historical loan-level default and recovery data of high loan-to-value residential mortgages from several private mortgage insurance companies. We show that loss given default can largely be explained by various characteristics associated with the loan, the underlying property, and the default, foreclosure, and settlement process. We find that the current loan-to-value ratio is the single most important determinant. More importantly, mortgage loss severity in distressed housing markets is significantly higher than under normal housing market conditions. These findings have important policy implications for several key issues in Basel II implementation. Published by Elsevier B.V.
New Research Directions in Neuroepidemiology

Many of the risk factors previously identified for disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, periventricular leukomalacia, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and acquired learning and attention disorders ultimately may be shown to damage the central and peripheral nervous systems through activation of inflammatory mediators. The challenge to epidemiologists in the future is to expand use of epidemiologic methods to explore how immune-mediated insults produce CNS disorders in human populations. Studies of the association of use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with risk of Alzheimer's disease and those of the association of immune parameters with risk of cerebral palsy are excellent examples of how epidemiology can contribute to our understanding of the causes of neurologic and/or neurodevelopmental disorders. Many of the immune parameters of interest have short half-lives and are difficult to measure outside of the laboratory setting. Questions also remain as to the proper timing of measurements in relation to the initial insult and, in some cases, which tissue is the most appropriate to sample. These measurement issues will need to be resolved before use of immune biomarkers in epidemiologic studies of the etiologies of neurologic disorders can be fully realized. Epidemiologists are most likely to help identify ways to prevent neurologic disorders if they are knowledgeable about the molecular biology of inflammation, modulators of CNS vulnerability, and genetic polymorphisms that influence both inflammation and CNS vulnerability and are prepared to become adept at biomarker epidemiology. This does not necessarily compel them to gain extensive knowledge of neurobiology. Rather, neuroepidemiology in the 21st century will require increased collaboration between epidemiologists, neurologists, and neurobiologists.
Sustained hyperoxia stabilizes breathing in healthy individuals during NREM sleep

The present study was designed to determine whether hyperoxia would lower the hypocapnic apneic threshold (AT) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Nasal noninvasive mechanical ventilation w...
China's New Remembering of World War II: The Case of Zhang Zizhong

General Zhang Zizhong, commander of the eight divisions that constituted the Chinese 33rd Army Group, was killed at approximately 4:00 P.M. on May 16, 1940, in fighting at Shilichangshan (‘Ten li mountain’) near Nanguadian in Northern Hubei. The battle was one engagement of the Zaoyang-Yichang campaign that rumbled through late spring of that year. Surrounded by the Japanese, his forces had refused either to retreat or to surrender. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, General Zhang had been wounded seven times in all, by grenade, bullet, and finally by bayonet. The victorious Japanese realized Zhang's identity only when a major discovered, in the left breast pocket of his blood-soaked yellow uniform, a fine gold pen engraved with his name. The major quickly summoned senior officers; they ordered a stretcher brought and the body was carried away from the battlefield. (This was observed, through half-opened eyes, by Zhang's long-time associate, the Chinese major Ma Xiaotang, who lay nearby, bleeding from a bayonet wound, and who later gasped out the story to Chinese as he died).
Use of larval stocking in restoration of Chesapeake Bay striped bass

After the collapse of striped bass Morone saxatilis stocks in the late 1970s, hatchery programs and release experiments were instituted to evaluate the potential to restore striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. Because survival of striped bass larvae to first feeding (7 d after hatch) is low in Chesapeake tributaries, ranging from 0.2 to 5.2% of eggs spawned, it is possible to enhance survival through hatchery propagation of eggs and yolk-sac larvae, and it may be feasible to supplement recruitment by stocking post-yolk-sac larvae. During 1991-1993, otoliths of 31.7 million hatchery-produced striped bass larvae (5-13 d after hatch) were chemically marked and released into two tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. In years of moderate to poor natural larval production (1991, 1992), stocked larvae contributed 20 to 30% to overall juvenile abundance. In 1993, a year of high natural production, stocked larvae contributed only 5% to juvenile abundance, although numbers contributed were higher than in previous years. Using field and hatchery estimates of larval and juvenile growth and mortality, enhancement strategies were compared in which fish were released at three different ages: larvae (7 d post-hatch), summer-stocked juveniles (55 d post-hatch), or fall-stocked juveniles (220 d post-hatch). Based upon hatchery records, reared larvae and juveniles experienced substantially higher rates of growth and survival than did wild larvae and juveniles of similar age. In years of low natural egg production, cohort biomass at 220 d post-hatch was highest when juveniles were stocked in summer or fall. When approximate costs were incorporated into the analysis, the efficacy of stocking 7-d-old larvae was higher than summer and fall stocking of juveniles if stocked larvae encountered favourable conditions. In years of poor natural recruitment, stocking post yolk-sac larvae into estuarine tributaries could supplement stocks of striped bass and possibly other anadromous species which experience high embryo and yolk-sac larva mortality.
Omeprazole Attenuates Pulmonary Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation and Potentiates Hyperoxia-Induced Developmental Lung Injury in Newborn Mice

Hyperoxia contributes to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in human preterm infants and a similar lung phenotype characterized by alveolar simplification in newborn mice. Omeprazole (OM) is a proton pump inhibitor that is used to treat humans with gastric acid related disorders. OM-mediated aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation attenuates acute hyperoxic lung injury (HLI) in adult mice. Whether OM activates pulmonary AhR and protects C57BL/6J newborn mice against hyperoxia-induced developmental lung (alveolar and pulmonary vascular simplification, inflammation, and oxidative stress) injury (HDLI) is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that OM will activate pulmonary AhR and mitigate HDLI in newborn mice. Newborn mice were treated daily with i.p. injections of OM at doses of 10 (OM10) or 25 (OM25) mg/kg while being exposed to air or hyperoxia (FiO2 of 85%) for 14 days, following which their lungs were harvested to determine alveolarization, pulmonary vascularization, inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular injury, and AhR activation. To our surprise, hyperoxia-induced alveolar and pulmonary vascular simplification, inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular injury were augmented in OM25-treated animals. These findings were associated with attenuated pulmonary vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 expression and decreased pulmonary AhR activation in the OM25 group. We conclude that contrary to our hypothesis, OM decreases functional activation of pulmonary AhR and potentiates HDLI in newborn mice. These observations are consistent with our previous findings, which suggest that AhR activation plays a protective role in HDLI in newborn mice.
Three-dimensional ultrasonic cardiac reconstruction: general aspects and application to finite element analysis of the left ventricle

Two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography is well suited to evaluate regional left ventricular dynamics because of its ability to depict wall motion and thickening in real time throughout the cardiac cycle. Recently, several investigative groups have combined the fine spatial and temporal resolution of 2-D echocardiography with a method of three-dimensional (3-D) spatial registration of individual images to produce 3-D geometric reconstructions of the intact heart. We have devised a method of finite element analysis of left ventricular myocardial elastic properties based upon 3-D echocardiographic reconstructions and simultaneous high-fidelity pressure measurements. The technique consists of predicting left ventricular cavity expansion and wall thinning during diastole, using; (1) an assumed myocardial elastic modulus, and (2) the measured change in cavitary pressure during diastole as the endocardial loading condition. The predicted cavity expansion is compared to that actually derived from echocardiographic data. An iterative algorithm is used to derive an ‘optimal’ elastic modulus for the myocardium- that elastic modulus which allows the closest prediction of chamber expansion during diastole. We have used this technique in preliminary studies in open-chest dogs to derive normal and abnormal regional and global left ventricular elastic modulus.
Effect of Guided Meditation and Massage Therapy for Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Autologous Tissue Reconstruction - A Pilot Study

Purpose:Massage therapy has been shown to be efficacious in the postoperative setting and is routinely offered in our institution. The purpose of this study was to explore whether massage therapy combined with meditation would be more effective than massage therapy alone in women recovering from autologous tissue reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer. Methods: Forty women who had undergone mastectomies for breast cancer and were scheduled to undergo reconstruction using autologous tissue were randomized to either massage therapy for 20minutes on postoperative days 13 (Group1) or massage therapy (20minutes) combined with meditation (an additional 15minutes) on postoperative days 1-3 (Group 2). Type of meditation used included paced breathing with a DVD for 15minutes prior to massage and positive imagery during massage. Outcome measures: Visual Analog Scales for stress, anxiety, relaxation, insomnia, alertness, fatigue, tension, pain, mood, and energy level (scores 0-10) prior to and after intervention on postoperative days 1-3 and at 3 weeks follow-up. Results: Of 40 accrued patients, 19 in each group finished the study. The mean age for all patients was 47.7+8.4 years with a range from 30 to 63. Preintervention and postinterventionmean total VAS scores assessed during days 1-3 improved significantly in both groups (p<0.001). However there was no significant difference in improvement between the 2 groups at day 1-3 post op and at 3 weeks follow-up. Satisfaction with the intervention measured on postoperative day 3 was high (very satisfied + satisfied 84% Group1; 89% in Group2) but not significantly different between the 2 groups (p= 0.63). Conclusion: In this pilot study the addition of meditation to already available massage therapy for the postoperative care of breast cancer patients undergoing autologous tissue reconstruction after mastectomy did not appear to add any measurable benefit. Contact: Dietlind Wahner-Roedler, wahnerroedler. dietlind@mayo.edu
Synthesis and Characterization of Paramagnetic Lanthanide Benzyl Complexes

The organometallic chemistry of paramagnetic lanthanides (Ln, from Ce to Yb) is far less developed compared to that of their diamagnetic counterparts (Sc, Y, La, and Lu). Lack of available starting materials and characterization methods are the major obstacles. Herein we report the synthesis and characterization of trisbenzyl complexes of neodymium, gadolinium, holmium, and erbium. In addition, we introduce a direct procedure for the synthesis of lanthanide benzyl and iodide complexes supported by a ferrocene diamide ligand starting from the corresponding oxides. All newly synthesized compounds were characterized by X-ray crystallography, 1H NMR spectroscopy (except for gadolinium compounds, which were NMR silent), and elemental analysis.
The Biology and Ecology of Anaphes flavipes (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an Exotic Egg Parasite of the Cereal Leaf Beetle12

Information acquired in France during the summer of 1965 relating to the biology and ecology of an egg parasite of Oulema melanopus (L.) is presented. Virgin females of the parasite Anaphes flavipes (Foerster) consistently produced male progeny, while both sexes emerged from eggs parasitized by mated individuals. Development occurred exclusively in pre-embryonated host eggs and required 8–9 days at 30°C and 10–11 days at 21°C. Of 87 parasitized Oulema eggs from which Anaphes were reared or dissected, an average of 3.3 parasites per egg was evidenced at an overall female:male sex ratio of 3:1. Parasitized Oulema ova, found in nearly all wheat and oats fields where significant populations of the beetle occurred, were obtained from early Alay through late July. The number of parasitized eggs gradually increased until, by the end of July, parasitization rates approaching 100% were common. Additional observations on Anaphes oviposition and mating characteristics, fecundity, development, longevity, European distribution, and progeny from parasitized eggs are included. The biology of Anaphes and other Mymaridae is discussed.
Constitutional Law as Political Spoils

This paper explores the interrelationship between the current legal realist climate and the divisive battles over judicial nominations now occupying Washington. Part I of provides the necessary background. I highlight some recent events that have served to inculcate the realist perspective into the current political and legal cultures. I should emphasize, however, that my purpose in this respect is only to explain why the realist perspective has achieved such dominance; it is not to defend, or attack, the validity of the legal realist account. Nor do I contend that all the current political and legal players in the nominations debates would describe themselves as realists. Indeed, I suspect many would not. All sides, however, appear to believe that the results in constitutional cases will inevitably turn upon the philosophical and political orientation of who is appointed to the judiciary, and in that sense everyone is at least a practicing realist, even if she does not consciously accept the realist theory.In Part II, I demonstrate that although the costs in the current nomination battles are high, any compromise or reform of the judicial nominations process is unlikely to occur in the current climate. So long as compromising over candidates is seen as tantamount to political concession over such issues as abortion, religious freedom, gun rights, or any other hot button issue, one must be skeptical about whether institutional reform is possible. I also address in Part II whether nominating and debating the merits of judicial candidates on the basis of their philosophical or political views should itself be considered a positive reform because it brings the ideological orientation issue to the fore. I contend that, while such an approach may be unavoidable in the current political climate, it is nevertheless not beneficial and may only serve to worsen the process because realist critiques and reactions tend to build upon themselves.Finally, in Part III, I argue that the best opportunity to abate the current nominations crisis depends on the statesmanship of the key political players in the process -- specifically the President and the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee. I conclude, however, that one should not hold out much hope that such leadership will be forthcoming.
Cyclic Stress-Strain Behavior of Inconel 718

An investigation of the cyclic stress-strain behavior of forged Inconel 718 is described. The study was conducted at 294, 616, and 839 K, and R, (∈ m i n /∈ m a x ) = 0, - 1. The material showed moderate amounts of cyclic strain softening, with the extent and rate of softening increasing as the temperature increased. It was expected that the cyclic stress-strain curve defined by the amplitude of the load-displacement hysteresis loops would be independent of R,; specimen-to-specimen scatter prevented such a conclusion, although the data tended to support it. A second cyclic stress-strain curve, defined by the locus of the tips of the hysteresis loops, incorporates the mean stress of the loop and was dependent on R,. The presence of the mean stress in this definition of the cyclic stress-strain curve produced a curve with a hump; after reaching a maximum value at about 0.8 percent strain range, the stress decreased as strain range increased further. This hump shape is not the result of transient behavior, but represents the stable cyclic curve. The transient behavior and the stable state reached by the material during the test is discussed.
Vasopressin contributes to the cardiovascular response to dynamic exercise

Vasopressin is a powerful vasoconstrictor that is released into the systemic circulation during exercise. We tested the hypothesis that this peptide contributes to the cardiovascular response durin...
Health Care Costs for Adults With Congenital Heart Disease in the United States 2002 to 2012

More adults than children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are alive today. Few studies have evaluated adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) health care utilization in the United States. Data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2012, using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision , codes for moderate and complex CHD were analyzed. Hospital discharges, total billed and reimbursed amounts, length of stay, and gender/age disparities were evaluated. There was an increase in CHD discharges (moderate CHD: 4,742 vs 6,545; severe CHD: 807 vs 1,115) and total billed and reimbursed dollar amounts across all CHD (billed: $2.7 vs $7.0 billion, 155% increase; reimbursed: $1.3 vs $2.3 billion, 99% increase) and in the ACHD subgroup (billed: $543 million vs $1.5 billion, 178% increase; reimbursed: $221 vs $433 million, 95% increase). Women comprised more discharges in 2002 but not in 2012 (men:women, 2002: 6,503 vs 7,805; 2012: 7,715 vs 7,200, p = 0.39). Gender-based billed amounts followed similar trends (2002: $263 vs $280 million; 2012: $845 vs $662 million, p = 0.006) as did reimbursements (2002: $108 vs $114 million; 2012: $243 vs $190 million, p = 0.008). All age subgroups demonstrated increased health care expenditures, including the >44 versus 18- to 44-year-old age subgroup (billed: $618 vs $347 million, p
Preventing Pediatric Readmissions: How Does the Hospital Fit In?

Pediatric readmission rates are increasingly used as a quality marker for pediatric hospitals. Yet, there is angst about the appropriateness of using readmission rates for payment given the lack of evidence regarding the potential preventability of these events.1–3 Previous studies have assessed the preventability of pediatric readmissions through medical record review4,5 and through application of proprietary software to administrative data.6 These studies yielded estimates of 20% (medical record review) and almost 50% (proprietary software) preventability. In addition, significant discrepancy exists in preventability assessments between medical record review and the use of preventability software in children with ventricular shunt readmissions.7 In this issue of Pediatrics , the analysis by Toomey et al8 identified 30% of 30-day readmissions as being potentially preventable. This study is the most comprehensive assessment of pediatric readmission preventability to date. The authors conducted >1000 interviews with parents, adolescent patients, inpatient nurses, attending physicians, social workers, case managers, subspecialist physicians, and primary care providers. The investigators ensured high fidelity in data collection, with response rates for the various … Address correspondence to Katherine A. Auger, MD, MSc, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 9016, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail: katherine.auger{at}cchmc.org
Anti-aliasing filters for deriving high-accuracy DEMs from TLS data

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), also known as ground-based Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), has been frequently applied to build bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) for high-accuracy geomorphology studies. The point clouds acquired from TLS often achieve a spatial resolution at fingerprint (e.g., 3cm3cm) to handprint (e.g., 10cm10cm) level. A downsampling process has to be applied to decimate the massive point clouds and obtain manageable DEMs. It is well known that downsampling can result in aliasing that causes different signal components to become indistinguishable when the signal is reconstructed from the datasets with a lower sampling rate. Conventional DEMs are mainly the results of upsampling of sparse elevation measurements from land surveying, satellite remote sensing, and aerial photography. As a consequence, the effects of aliasing caused by downsampling have not been fully investigated in the open literature of DEMs. This study aims to investigate the spatial aliasing problem of regridding dense TLS data. The TLS data collected from the beach and dune area near Freeport, Texas in the summer of 2015 are used for this study. The core idea of the anti-aliasing procedure is to apply a low-pass spatial filter prior to conducting downsampling. This article describes the successful use of a fourth-order Butterworth low-pass spatial filter employed in the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) software package as an anti-aliasing filter. The filter can be applied as an isotropic filter with a single cutoff wavelength or as an anisotropic filter with two different cutoff wavelengths in the X and Y directions. The cutoff wavelength for the isotropic filter is recommended to be three times the grid size of the target DEM. An anti-aliasing method for using TLS data has been introduced.A fourth-order Butterworth low-pass spatial filter is applied.The cutoff wavelength is three times the grid size of the target DEM.
From Africa to the Ocean Sea: Atlantic slavery in the origins of the Spanish Empire

Through examining the complex relationship of conquest, Catholicism, and enslavement that defined Iberian expansion into the Atlantic world, this article shows how slavery and the slave trade stood...
Human Perception of Animacy in Light of the Uncanny Valley Phenomenon

The uncanny valley hypothesis by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori posits a nonlinear relation between human replicas' human likeness and the emotional responses they elicit. In three studies, we corroborated the uncanny valley hypothesis, using the uncanny phenomenon as a vehicle to shed a new light on human animacy perception. In Study 1, 62 participants rated emotional responses and human likeness of 89 artificial and human faces. In Study 2, another 62 participants conducted a visual looming task with the same 89 faces allowing for the measurement of perceived threat. Results support the uncanny valley hypothesis, suggesting that the uncanny feeling may serve a function to wary humans of the potential danger of entities crossing the animate-inanimate boundary. In Study 3, 36 participants sorted faces as either real or unreal as quickly as possible in a reaction time sorting task allowing for the measurement of categorical uncertainty associated with animacy perception. Faces associated with longer sorting reaction times were also those associated with the highest ratings of negative emotions, suggesting that categorical uncertainty in animacy detection is related to the uncanny feeling. Results are discussed in light of human animacy perception and new directions for future research are suggested.
Hoffa Fragments in the Geriatric Distal Femur Fracture: Myth or Reality?

Background:Previous research reported the frequency of coronal plane (Hoffa) fractures in high-energy supracondylar femur fractures in a relatively young population. It is the purpose of this study...
Cu2I2Se6: A Metal-Inorganic Framework Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor for Photon Detection at Room Temperature.

Cu2I2Se6 is a new wide-bandgap semiconductor with high stability and great potential toward hard radiation and photon detection. Cu2I2Se6 crystallizes in the rhombohedral R3m space group with a density of d = 5.287 g·cm–3 and a wide bandgap Eg of 1.95 eV. First-principles electronic band structure calculations at the density functional theory level indicate an indirect bandgap and a low electron effective mass me* of 0.32. The congruently melting compound was grown in centimeter-size Cu2I2Se6 single crystals using a vertical Bridgman method. A high electric resistivity of ∼1012 Ω·cm is readily achieved, and detectors made of Cu2I2Se6 single crystals demonstrate high photosensitivity to Ag Kα X-rays (22.4 keV) and show spectroscopic performance with energy resolutions under 241Am α-particles (5.5 MeV) radiation. The electron mobility is measured by a time-of-flight technique to be ∼46 cm2·V–1·s–1. This value is comparable to that of one of the leading γ-ray detector materials, TlBr, and is a factor of 30 ...
SESTA and the Teachings of Intermediary Liability

This Stanford Center for Internet and Society White Paper uses proposed US legislation, SESTA, as a starting point for an overview of Intermediary Liability models -- and their consequences. It draws on law and experience from both the US and countries that have adopted different models, and recommends specific improvements for SESTA and similar proposed legislation. Intermediary liability law, which defines platforms' legal responsibility for content posted by Internet users, shapes our real-world exercise of free expression and information rights. Laws that disregard the teachings of intermediary liability -- like SESTA -- will hurt both online speech and small platforms. This harm isn't necessary. Better crafted laws could achieve SESTA's goals with far less collateral damage. * * * SESTA, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, would overhaul US intermediary liability law and potentially expose hundreds of thousands of US platforms to new civil and criminal claims. Its exact legal consequences are uncertain, because the bill is so badly drafted that no one can agree on its meaning. But SESTA’s confusing language and poor policy choices, combined with platforms’ natural incentive to avoid legal risk, make its likely practical consequences all too clear. It will give platforms reason to err on the side of removing Internet users’ speech in response to any controversy – and in response to false or mistaken allegations, which are often levied against online speech. It will also make platforms that want to weed out bad user generated content think twice, since such efforts could increase their overall legal exposure. SESTA would fall short on both of intermediary liability law’s core goals: getting illegal content down from the Internet, and keeping legal speech up. It may not survive the inevitable First Amendment challenge if it becomes law. That’s a shame. Preventing online sex trafficking is an important goal, and one that any reasonable participant in the SESTA discussion shares. There is no perfect law for doing that, but there are laws that could do better than SESTA -- and with far less harm to ordinary Internet users. Twenty years of intermediary liability lawmaking, in the US and around the world, has provided valuable lessons that could guide Congress in creating a more viable law.
Investigation of Microbiota Alterations and Intestinal Inflammation Post-Spinal Cord Injury in Rat Model

Although there has been a significant amount of research focused on the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), there is limited information on the consequences of SCI on remote organs. SCI can produce significant effects on a variety of organ systems, including the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with SCI often suffer from severe, debilitating bowel dysfunction in addition to their physical disabilities, which is of major concern for these individuals because of the adverse impact on their quality of life. Herein, we report on our investigation into the effects of SCI and subsequent antibiotic treatment on the intestinal tissue and microbiota. For that, we used a thoracic SCI rat model and investigated changes to the microbiota, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and bacterial communication molecule levels post-injury and gentamicin treatment for 7 days. We discovered significant changes, the most interesting being the differences in the gut microbiota beta diversity of 8-week SCI animals compared to control animals at the family, genus, and species level. Specifically, 35 operational taxonomic units were enriched in the SCI animal group and three were identified at species level; Lactobacillus intestinalis, Clostridium disporicum, and Bifidobacterium choerinum. In contrast, Clostridium saccharogumia was identified as depleted in the SCI animal group. Proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-12, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha were found to be significantly elevated in intestinal tissue homogenate 4 weeks post-SCI compared to 8-weeks post-injury. Further, levels of IL-1β, IL-12, and MIP-2 significantly correlated with changes in beta diversity 8-weeks post-SCI. Our data provide a greater understanding of the early effects of SCI on the microbiota and gastrointestinal tract, highlighting the need for further investigation to elucidate the mechanism underlying these effects.
A multi-factor GIS method to identify optimal geographic locations for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations

Abstract. Fuel-based transportation is one of the major contributors to poor air quality in the United States. Electric Vehicle (EV) is potentially the cleanest transportation technology to our environment. This research developed a spatial suitability model to identify optimal geographic locations for installing EV charging stations for travelling public. The model takes into account a variety of positive and negative factors to identify prime locations for installing EV charging stations in Wasatch Front, Utah, where automobile emission causes severe air pollution due to atmospheric inversion condition near the valley floor. A walkable factor grid was created to store index scores from input factor layers to determine prime locations. 27 input factors including land use, demographics, employment centers etc. were analyzed. Each factor layer was analyzed to produce a summary statistic table to determine the site suitability. Potential locations that exhibit high EV charging usage were identified and scored. A hot spot map was created to demonstrate high, moderate, and low suitability areas for installing EV charging stations. A spatially well distributed EV charging system was then developed, aiming to reduce “range anxiety” from traveling public. This spatial methodology addresses the complex problem of locating and establishing a robust EV charging station infrastructure for decision makers to build a clean transportation infrastructure, and eventually improve environment pollution.
Silicon Compilers For VLSI

Publisher Summary The automation of the diverse tasks in the design, manufacturing, and testing of integrated digital circuits continues to receive great attention. As progress in semiconductor technology made it possible to manufacture integrated circuits (ICs) containing many active devices, automatic tools that help designers in the different stages of the production of circuits became indispensable, creating an entire field of activities referred to today as design automation. The degree of sophistication of automatic tools has evolved accordingly; however, their capabilities have hardly been able to keep pace with the great complexity of the ICs. This chapter discusses systems reported in the literature as being in operation or development and it outlines the nature of silicon compilation and some of its benefits and problems. It discusses the process of silicon compilation, describing the main components of a compiler and different degrees of synthesis and automation. The chapter discusses some areas in which advances may be incorporated into future compilers.
Geoboard Activities for Primary Grades.

geoboard is a popular device for developing a variety of geometric and arithmetic patterns in mathematics. It frees the child from the static pictures and diagrams of the traditional paper-andpencil activities. When children are able to "stretch" a rectangle, form squares of many different sizes, and transform one shape into another, they have a feeling of creating their own geometry. With an aroused interest children are more apt to sense patterns and shapes that occur in their own explorations. Teaching with the geoboard is very much in keeping with the Piagetian notion that children should manipulate objects during the learning process. Through their manipulations of hands-on materials, the students will begin to perceive ideas that can be abstracted from the concrete devices. The discoveries that are made or at
Archaeogenomic evidence from the southwestern US points to a pre-Hispanic scarlet macaw breeding colony.

Hundreds of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) skeletons have been recovered from archaeological contexts in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico (SW/NW). The location of these skeletons, >1,000 km outside their Neotropical endemic range, has suggested a far-reaching pre-Hispanic acquisition network. Clear evidence for scarlet macaw breeding within this network is only known from the settlement of Paquime in NW dating between 1250 and 1450 CE. Although some scholars have speculated on the probable existence of earlier breeding centers in the SW/NW region, there has been no supporting evidence. In this study, we performed an ancient DNA analysis of scarlet macaws recovered from archaeological sites in Chaco Canyon and the contemporaneous Mimbres area of New Mexico. All samples were directly radiocarbon dated between 900 and 1200 CE. We reconstructed complete or near-complete mitochondrial genome sequences of 14 scarlet macaws from five different sites. We observed remarkably low genetic diversity in this sample, consistent with breeding of a small founder population translocated outside their natural range. Phylogeographic comparisons of our ancient DNA mitogenomes with mitochondrial sequences from macaws collected during the last 200 years from their endemic Neotropical range identified genetic affinity between the ancient macaws and a single rare haplogroup (Haplo6) observed only among wild macaws in Mexico and northern Guatemala. Our results suggest that people at an undiscovered pre-Hispanic settlement dating between 900 and 1200 CE managed a macaw breeding colony outside their endemic range and distributed these symbolically important birds through the SW.
Brief of Professors William Baude and Stephen E. Sachs as Amici Curiae in Support of Neither Party, Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt

This case presents the question whether to overrule Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979). That question requires careful attention to the legal status of sovereign immunity and to the Constitution’s effect on it, which neither Hall nor either party has quite right. The Founders did not silently constitutionalize a common-law immunity, but neither did they leave each State wholly free to hale other States before its courts. While Hall’s holding was mostly right, other statements in Hall are likely quite wrong—yet this case is a poor vehicle for reconsidering them. Hall correctly held that States lack a constitutional immunity in sister-state courts. The Founders viewed each State as immune from such suits under the common law and the law of nations. Before the Constitution’s enactment, this was plainly not a constitutional right, and nothing in the Constitution changed that. Thus, Hall properly rejected the argument that there is a “federal rule of law implicit in the Constitution that requires all of the states to adhere to the sovereign-immunity doctrine as it prevailed when the Constitution was adopted.” Hall went too far, however, in denying that “the Constitution places any limit on the exercise of one State’s power to authorize its courts to assert jurisdiction over another State,” and in reducing sister-state immunity to a “matter of comity.” In particular, Hall was likely wrong to assume that a State’s abrogation of immunity in its own courts could be projected outward so as to bind other state and federal courts. In an appropriate case, these principles might justify revisiting and narrowing portions of Hall. Yet this case is a poor vehicle for doing so. Because the case has been improperly framed by the parties and cannot be resolved properly without further briefing, the Court should dismiss the writ as improvidently granted. Alternatively, it should dismiss for lack of jurisdiction—or, if satisfied of its jurisdiction, should affirm.
Fifty-year history of Early/Lower Vertebrates symposia – An overview

Fourteen symposia on early/lower vertebrates have taken place over the last 50 years, usually at about four year intervals. An average 60 participants have taken part at these symposia, with over one hundred occasionally. The results of the symposia have been published in proceedings. The symposia started honoring E. A:son Stensio and E. Jarvik. Honors were taken up at the 11th symposium in Uppsala again. Since the 13th symposium a Stensio award is also given to young researchers in the field.