cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetics of paniceae (poaceae).

Paniceae demonstrate unique variability of photosynthetic physiology and anatomy, including both non-Kranz and Kranz species and all subtypes of the latter. This variability suggests hypotheses of independent origin or reversals (e.g., from C 4 to C3). These hypotheses can be tested by phylogenetic analysis of independent molecular characters. The molecular phylogeny of 57 species of Paniceae was explored using sequences from the grass-specific insert found in the plastid locus rpoC2. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed some long-recognized alliances in Paniceae, some recent molecular phylogenetic results, and suggested new relationships. Broadly, Paniceae were found to be paraphyletic with Andropogoneae, Panicum was found to be polyphyletic, and Oplismenus hirtellus was resolved as the sister group to the remaining ingroup species. A particularly well-supported clade in the rpoC2 tree included four genera with non-Kranz species and three with distinctively keeled paleas. As previously suggested, the PCK (phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase) C4 subtype arose once within Paniceae. All clades with non-Kranz species had Kranz ancestors or sister taxa suggesting repeated loss of the Kranz syndrome.
Genome wide co-expression among the starch debranching enzyme genes AtISA1, AtISA2, and AtISA3 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Each of four starch debranching enzymes (DBE) is distinct and highly conserved across the plant kingdom; however, the specific functions of these proteins in carbohydrate metabolism are not well understood. DBEs function in both biosynthesis and degradation of starch, and two have been shown to function as multimers in various quarternary structures that can contain one or more DBE proteins, i.e. ISA1 homomultimers and ISA1/ISA2 heteromultimers. This study characterizes potential functional relationships between the three isoamylase-type DBE proteins (ISA) of Arabidopsis using a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and promoter fusion approach to determine tissue-, subcellular-, and temporal specificity of gene expression. The results reveal complementary sets of expression patterns, in particular that AtISA1 (known to be involved in starch biosynthesis) and AtISA2 (a non-catalytic polypeptide) are co-expressed in some conditions in the absence of AtISA3 (known to be involved in starch degradation), whereas in other conditions AtISA2 is co-expressed with AtISA3 in the absence of AtISA1 (AtISA2 and AtISA3, but not AtISA1, are co-expressed specially in root columella cells and leaf hydathodes). Thus, AtISA2 may function in starch degradation, in addition to its role in starch biosynthesis. AtISA3 and several other potential regulatory genes, starch metabolic genes, and transcription factors, are specifically induced during cold acclimation; these transcription factors are candidates for involvement of cold-induced changes in starch metabolism. Finally, bioinformatics analysis using MetaOmGraph (http://www.metnetdb.org/MetNet_MetaOmGraph.htm) identifies Arabidopsis genes of unknown function that might be involved in starch metabolism in the cold.
Electrochemical properties of LixMn2O4 composite electrode in cells based on glass-polymer composite electrolytes

Electrochemical behavior of LixMn2O4 powders, prepared using different synthesis approaches, have been studied using LixC6LixMn2O4 cells based on glass-polymer composite electrolytes. Results indicate that the LixMn2 O4 powders prepared by a xerogel technique have much smaller particle size, larger capacity utilization and less capacity fading during cycling in comparison to the powders prepared by solid state reactions. The electrochemical behavior of a composite positive electrode based on LixMn2O4 is influenced not only by the microstructure of the LixMn2O4 powders but also by the volume fractions of other constituent phases.
RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES AFTER A HEAD INJURY

Presently there are no universally accepted definitions of the grades of concussion or criteria for when to allow the athlete to return to competition after a head injury. What is agreed upon is that in order to avoid cumulative brain damage and the second impact syndrome, no athlete still suffering post-concussion symptoms should return to competition. This article is meant to serve only as a guideline as the final decision in every instance is a clinical judgement.
The Individual, Society, or Both? A Comparison of Black, Latino, and White Beliefs about the Causes of Poverty

In a sample of southern Californians, three questions were investigated : (1) Are there race/ethnic differences in beliefs about the causes of poverty ? (2) Do two social psychological variables, namely internal and external self-explanations, significantly affect beliefs about poverty net of respondents' background characteristics ? and (3) Do the determinants of beliefs about poverty differ for blacks, Latinos, and whites ? Results indicate that in each case the answer is yes. First, blacks and Latinos are more likely than whites to view both individualistic and structuralist explanations for poverty as important. Second, respondents' self-explanations have significant effects on poverty beliefs. Lastly, the patterns of effects of several variables that predict beliefs about poverty differ across race/ethnic groups. Results confirm, contradict, and extend current knowledge of beliefs about poverty
Network analysis reveals multiscale controls on streamwater chemistry

By coupling synoptic data from a basin-wide assessment of streamwater chemistry with network-based geostatistical analysis, we show that spatial processes differentially affect biogeochemical condition and pattern across a headwater stream network. We analyzed a high-resolution dataset consisting of 664 water samples collected every 100 m throughout 32 tributaries in an entire fifth-order stream network. These samples were analyzed for an exhaustive suite of chemical constituents. The fine grain and broad extent of this study design allowed us to quantify spatial patterns over a range of scales by using empirical semivariograms that explicitly incorporated network topology. Here, we show that spatial structure, as determined by the characteristic shape of the semivariograms, differed both among chemical constituents and by spatial relationship (flow-connected, flow-unconnected, or Euclidean). Spatial structure was apparent at either a single scale or at multiple nested scales, suggesting separate processes operating simultaneously within the stream network and surrounding terrestrial landscape. Expected patterns of spatial dependence for flow-connected relationships (e.g., increasing homogeneity with downstream distance) occurred for some chemical constituents (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, sulfate, and aluminum) but not for others (e.g., nitrate, sodium). By comparing semivariograms for the different chemical constituents and spatial relationships, we were able to separate effects on streamwater chemistry of (i) fine-scale versus broad-scale processes and (ii) in-stream processes versus landscape controls. These findings provide insight on the hierarchical scaling of local, longitudinal, and landscape processes that drive biogeochemical patterns in stream networks.
Bacteremia Caused by Arcobacter butzleri in an Immunocompromised Host

Arcobacter butzleri is an emerging pathogen that has been implicated as the causative agent of persistent watery diarrhea. We describe a case involving a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who developed invasive A. butzleri bacteremia. This case illustrates the unique challenges involved in diagnosing infections caused by emerging gastrointestinal pathogens.
Determinants of expressed emotion in families of disturbed and normal children

Both high expressed emotion (EE) and psychiatric disorders were frequent in the parents of children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD, N = 34) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD, N = 49) compared to normal controls (NC, N = 41). Parental psychiatric diagnosis was significantly related to high-EE in fathers (p = .0002) and mothers (p = .0001) of all groups combined, and in parents of the ill groups (p = .03). Absence of diagnosis was associated with low-EE in fathers (p = .0006) and mothers (p = .04) of the controls. Psychiatric diagnosis was the only significant predictor for high-EE in fathers, while for mothers child's diagnosis was a stronger predictor.
Dynamic power gating with quality guarantees

Power gating is usually driven by a predictive control, and frequent mispredictions can counter-productively lead to a large increase in energy consumption. This energy vulnerability could be exploited by malicious applications such as a power virus, or it may be exposed by regular applications containing repetitive mispredictions patterns. We propose counteracting this vulnerability by using a guard mechanism to prevent power overruns.
Smart power grids

This paper aims at reviewing existing communication structure for the power grids, discusses the emerging smart grid initiatives and analyzes the cyber security threats to such smart grid systems. The 21st century world is more dependent on electrical power than ever. This dependency will increase manifold in the near future with more systems being computerized and a plethora of new electronic devices emerging for household, commercial and industrial applications. In such a scenario, the availability of secure, reliable and efficient power is crucial to sustaining current development and economic growth trends. With existing systems, power grids are not stable enough and can result in cascading failures.
Rapid and Specific Drug Quality Testing Assay for Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Using a Luminescent Reaction and Novel Microfluidic Technology

Globally, it is estimated that about 10–30% of pharmaceuticals are of poor quality. Poor-quality drugs lead to long-term drug resistance, create morbidity, and strain the financial structure of the health system. The current technologies for substandard drug detection either are too expensive for low-resource regions or only provide qualitative results. To address the current limitations with point-of-care technologies, we have developed an affordable and robust assay to quantify the amount of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to test product quality. Our novel assay consists of two parts: detection reagent (probe) and a microfluidic testing platform. As antimalarials are of high importance in the global fight against malaria and are often substandard, they are chosen as the model to validate our assay. As a proof-of-concept, we have tested the assay with artesunate pure and substandard samples (Arsuamoon tablets) from Africa and compared with the conventional 96-well plate with spectrophotometer to demonstrate the quantitative efficacy and performance of our system.
Genetics, the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, and the Future

Predicting the future is a daunting task that is typically reserved for visionaries or tarot card readers. Nonetheless, the challenge is set, and this brief essay will predict how genetics and molecular biology may affect diseases in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Stress and relationship quality in same-sex couples

This research focuses on the relationship between sources of minority stress and the quality of same-sex couples’ relationships. Interdependence theory and the minority stress model are used to examine actor-partner effects of internalized homophobia, discrimination, and perceived stress on perceptions of relationship quality in same-sex couples. Couples were recruited through web-based solicitations (N = 131). Path analysis and Kenny’s (1996) technique for examining interdependent relationships for exchangeable dyad members were used to identify between- and within-couple differences. Internalized homophobia and discrimination were found to impact couple members in unique ways. Higher levels of internalized homophobia and discrimination were predictive of less favorable perceptions of relationship quality. As hypothesized, the impact of perceived discrimination and/or victimization was mediated by perceived stress.
Cancer in older adolescents and young adults: Epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, survival, and importance of clinical trials

Cancer in adolescents and young adults has unique features in addition to the special medical, physical, psychological, and social needs of patients in this age group. The spectrum of malignant diseases is different from that in any other period in life, and it is strikingly different from the pattern in older persons. More people 15-25 years of age are diagnosed to have cancer than during the first 15 years of life. During the last 25 years, the incidence of cancer in this age range has increased faster while the increase in their cancer survival rates has been significantly lower than in younger or older patients, especially in comparison to results of the national pediatric cooperative cancer groups. Thus the 5-year outcome in 15-19 year olds with leukemias and sarcomas is not only worse than in younger patients, but also lower in this population at large than in patients of the same age treated at Children's Cancer Group institutions. In the United States, only approximately 5% of 15-25 year olds with cancer are entered onto clinical trials, in contrast to 60-65% of younger patients. Thus, cancer during adolescence and early adult life is an underestimated challenge that merits specific resources, solutions, and an international focus.
Impact of respiratory motion compensation in cardiac SPECT when attenuation maps are not motion-compensated

During normal breathing, heart motion is about 15 mm along the body axis in humans. In a previous work, we proposed a method to track and to correct this motion after a list-mode acquisition which involves the recording of a signal proportional to respiratory volume. The goal of this work is to investigate the impact of motion compensation on cardiac SPECT emission when transmission data used for attenuation correction is not compensated for such motion. We use the MCAT chest phantom to simulate 24 temporal frames regularly spaced during the respiratory cycle, for 60 projection angles over 360 degrees. A 15 mm respiratory translation motion is simulated for the heart, liver and spleen, in both emission projections and attenuation maps. We also acquire list-mode emission and transmission data of the DataSpectrum anthropomorphic torso phantom with its cardiac insert with our Irix gamma-camera during mechanical respiratory motions. Motion is tracked using a pressure sensor, and a method for motion compensation is applied. Simulations with the MCAT phantom indicate that attenuation maps blurred by respiratory motion yield slight artifacts in the inferior wall. Also, minimal artifact is obtained with nonmotion compensated attenuation maps when the frame at midrespiratory cycle is used as a reference for motion compensation of the projections. The results obtained with the anthropomorphic phantom show that the 1.5 and 3.0 cm axial motions simulated during emission acquisitions induce apparent low uptake in the inferior and anterior wall of the myocardium. When the liver contains as much activity as the myocardium, the apparent low uptake is less visible in the inferior part of the myocardium.
An advanced computer algorithm for determining morphology development in latex particles

A new algorithm is presented for the prediction of equilibrium morphology in latex particles. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations of the interfacial free energies associated with a large array of possible morphologies serve to create a continuous free-energy surface upon which the preferred morphology is located. When the computations are performed on a 486DX33 PC, the calculations are essentially instantaneous. The graphical output can be refreshed on the monitor screen in less than 2 s. The algorithm is applied to simulate the conversion-dependent morphology for several latex systems composed of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) and two very different surfactants. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
White matter structural integrity differs between people with schizophrenia and healthy groups as a function of cognitive control

A behavioral hallmark of schizophrenia is poor cognitive control. Recent evidence suggests that problems with cognitive control in schizophrenia are related to disconnectivity along major white matter fibers. Although deficits of cognitive control are common in schizophrenia, a proportion of otherwise healthy subjects show poor cognitive control performance. The present study sought to address this potential confound by comparing white matter integrity between a group with schizophrenia and otherwise healthy individuals with either high or low levels of cognitive control (based on working memory span performance). Diffusion tensor imaging was used to evaluate white matter integrity in 24 participants with schizophrenia, 24 healthy participants with high cognitive control (HCC), and 25 healthy participants with low cognitive control (LCC). To test for differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) across major white matter fiber tracts, a voxelwise region of interest analysis was conducted in standardized brain space. In a separate analysis, regions of interest were manually drawn in native brain space to isolate superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), a tract implicated in cognitive control performance. The voxelwise analysis demonstrated widespread lower FA in the schizophrenia group compared to the HCC group. With a high degree of concordance, the manual ROI analysis revealed lower FA in the schizophrenia group compared to the HCC group. Taken together, these results provide evidence to suggest that structural differences identified between healthy groups and schizophrenia may not be entirely specific to the disease process and can vary as a function of cognitive control capacity in the comparison group.
HCF Design Considerations

Factors of safety are applied in structural design to account for both variability and uncertainty. In high-cycle fatigue (HCF), the variability in the fatigue strength of a material is accounted for by considering the statistical variation and employing a −2σ or −3σ (for a normal distribution), or some other factor to account for the lowest value of a material variable within some statistical limits. These allowable values can then be plotted on a Haigh diagram or incorporated into some other design tool. The ignorance associated with not knowing the value of the applied load, such as from stresses due to some vibratory condition, can also be accounted for by further reducing the allowable stresses due to expected values of the applied loads. In addition to the alternating stress, the maximum allowable stress is also shown as a function of mean stress on this Haigh diagram. While the values shown are nominal, not statistically minimum values, these are considered material allowables for the sake of illustration in this chapter.
Sly civility and the paradox of equality/inequality in the nuclear order: a post-colonial critique

This paper presents a postcolonial critique of the problem of equality/inequality in the nuclear order. It tries to develop the concept of sly civility and illustrates through representative samples of writing how practices of sly civility have been historically embedded within the literature on arms control and disarmament. It questions these practices of sly civility circulating as colonial nonsense that is time and and again iterated to maintain the status-quo. The practices of sly civility induce a sense of humiliation and resistance among those discriminated in the nuclear order. These experiences of institutionalized humiliation cannot be addressed through techno-strategic practices of arms control and disarmament. This paper suggests the urgent need for decolonizing the nuclear order through negotiating hybridity in arms control and disarmament.
Courts, Congress, and Public Policy, Part II: The Impact of the Reapportionment Revolution on Urban and Rural Interests

Before the "reapportionment revolution," decades of precedent held that the legislative district boundaries were not justiciable, no matter how little the districts reflected population distributions. In Baker v. Carr, a majority of justices declared for the first time that courts could indeed address these disparities. This Article evaluates the impact of these decisions on legislative politics and policymaking. We examine three indicators of change. In the first, we test the impact of two key reapportionment cases, Reynolds v. Sims and Wesberry v. Sanders, on policies favoring rural and urban interests (using event study methodology). Our analysis shows that these decisions shifted the benefits of public policy toward urban interests and away from rural interests. The second effect of reapportionment that we study is the relationship of Southern Democrats to the rest of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate. In our third test, we examine the political changes wrought by a similar set of cases affecting the California legislature.
Nonlinear Spectroscopy of Excitons in CuCl

The sharp Z3 exciton level in CuCl which at liquid helium temperatures lies about 3.21 eV above the valence band has been investigated extensively by linear (One photon) absorption spectroscopy,1–3 by second harmonic generation,4 by two photon absorption spectroscopy,5,6 and by four wave light mixing.7 The first two methods require that ultra-violet radiation with an energy near that of the exciton be detected. Since the absorption depth in this wavelength region is about 10−5 cm, only excitons in the immediate vicinity of a surface can be probed. In general the surface of a CuCl crystal is apt to be chemically contaminated and physically imperfect. As a result, no reliable and precise data about exciton line shape and damping can be obtained with these methods.
Categorical Grants and the Local Community: The Delivery of Relocation Services

Governments have always provided some basic services to their citizens. These services have ranged from such essential needs as military protection and a sense of national origin to a host of social services which have resulted in the United States acquiring the name, the Welfare State. The amount of service provided the citizens varies from nation to nation and has been on the increase in almost all nations.
A Variational Principle for Unsteady Compressible Flow

A novel variational (weak) form of governing equations for nonlinear unsteady compressible flow is derived based on first physical principles. Mathematical proof of equivalence of the strong form and the weak form is presented. This variational form is derived with the goal of eventually coupling it with the structural dynamic governing equation to address fluid–structure interaction problems. Therefore, analogy with the weak form of structural dynamics equations is essential. In this regard, an important observation on the distinction between the variational form of the governing equations in fluid and structural mechanics is made. Developing a numerical solution from a variational form is less tedious than a strong form of equations. Finally, the numerical results based on the new variational formulation and the analytical solution for parallel flow are compared.
Quenching and Sensitizing Fullerene Photoreactions by Natural Organic Matter

Effects of natural organic matter (NOM) on the photoreaction kinetics of fullerenes (i.e., C60 and fullerenol) were investigated using simulated sunlight and monochromatic radiation (365 nm). NOM from several sources quenched (slowed) the photoreaction of C60 aggregates in water (aqu/nC60), but sensitized (accelerated) photoreaction of fullerenol. Kinetic studies indicated that the quenching occurred through a static mechanism involving NOM molecules adsorbed on the aqu/nC60 surface. Quenching constants for the photoreaction of aqu/nC60 correlated approximately with optical parameters related to the aromaticity and molecular size of the NOM. Association of aqu/nC60 particles with NOM was investigated indirectly via the study of the aggregation kinetics of colloidal C60 in the presence and absence of NOM as a function of NaCl strength at pH 7. In contrast to aqu/nC60, the photoreaction efficiencies of the hydrophilic fullerene, fullerenol, increased linearly with increasing NOM concentrations and kinetic p...
Possible Verwey-Type Transition in Pb3Rh7O15

Crystals of the mixed-valence compound Pb3Rh43+Rh34+O15 have been grown in a PbO flux. These hexagonal crystals show an isotropic electrical resistivity of about 1 × 10−3 ohm cm at room temperature. This resistivity slowly increases with decreasing temperature until 185 K, where the resistivity begins increasing more rapidly as temperature is further decreased. Specific heat measurements on polycrystalline Pb3Rh7O15 show a sharp, lambda-shaped peak at 185 K. Magnetic susceptibility and thermopower measurements on Pb3Rh7O15 also show a discontinuity at about 185 K. Structural analyses of X-ray diffraction data obtained above and below 185 K indicate that a change in space group has occurred at 185 K. It is likely that the transition at 185 K is related to a change in charge modulation. The phase transition at 185 K fades away as Bi is substituted for Pb in Pb3Rh7O15.
Pre-Case Analysis for Students:

Most students jump to recommendations and conclusions for cases almost before they have finished reading them for the first time. This article describes a way of forcing marketing students to do mo...
Crystal orientation and performance of laser directional cladding on DZ22

To repair a directionally solidified aero blade,laser cladding on DZ22 substrate using Ni-based alloy powder by Nd:YAG laser was carried out.The crystal orientation and performance of directional solidification of laser cladding in the open and normal temperature environment were researched.The results show that the directional solidification cladding layers on the preferred orientation of DZ22 substrate are obtained when the technological parameters are scanning speed of 8 10 mm/s,electric current of 100 140 A,pulse width of 6 8 ms and frequency of 12 19 Hz.There are developed first dentrites with no secondary branches and transverse grain boundaries.The transverse width is 4 8 μm.Different cladding layer macro-morphologies are gotten along the scanning direction at different technological parameters.The growth direction of the cladding layer grains is not clear on the(100) surface of DZ22 substrate and the non-directional solidification of GH710 of the same processing parameters and working environment.The cladding layer microhardness is improved obviously.The peak value of about 450HV is obtained near the surface of the cladding layer.The wear capacity of the cladding layer is obviously less than that of the substrate,which is 50% 60% of that of the substrate.The main abrasion form of the cladding layer is abrasive wear.There are some plough cut ditches on the surface of the cladding layer.
The early historical construction of journalism’s gatekeeping role:

This study analyzes journalistic discourse about journalism’s gatekeeping role in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The intent is to understand how the notions of newsworthiness, news selecti...
INFRARED DETECTION OF SELF-HEATING PROCESS DURING LOW CYCLE FATIGUE DAMAGE

Based on the infrared measurement of the self-heating process of 40CrNiMoA alloy steel specimens during low cycle fatigue, discussions were made of the cyclic variation of self-heating temperature increment as well as the relationship of their surface temperature distribution with cycles, controlled strain level and loading frequency. The energy dissipation during fatigue damage evolution in a cycle has also been analysed.
Abstract 2555: Promoter DNA methylation patterns in breast tumor and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues in the breast cancer family registry

Alterations in DNA methylation occur frequently in breast carcinogenesis, but little is known about the DNA methylation changes in familial breast tumors. To examine whether the DNA methylation profiles in breast cancer tissues from high risk women from breast cancer families are similar to breast tumor tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas project (TCGA), we measured DNA methylation by next generation sequencing in 48 genes identified in TCGA in 40 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissues, and the corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues from women with invasive breast cancer at the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR). We observed differences in DNA methylation patterns between tumor and normal adjacent tissue for five of the selected genes (RYR2, C1orf14, SLC7A14, SEPW1, and RPTOR). The methylation levels in tumor and adjacent tissues, respectively were 24% and 14% for RYR2, (p = 0.01), 55% and 29% for C1orf14 (p = 0.01), 32% and 21% for SLC7A14 (p = 0.002), 53% and 28% for RPTOR (p = 0.01) and 74% and 38% SEPW1 (p Citation Format: Hui-Chen Wu, Hanina Hibshoosh, Regina Santella, Mary Beth Terry. Promoter DNA methylation patterns in breast tumor and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues in the breast cancer family registry. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2555.
Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua); Construction of a Road in Costa Rica Along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica)

International Court of Justice decisions on competing claims to part of the border area and on due diligence regarding transboundary environmental harm
SIMULATIONS PRODUCE WEIRD WIRES

One of the main challenges in materials research is to understand the physical mechanisms behind the variation in material properties with size. Such an understanding is of fundamental and technological importance, particularly in the continuing effort to miniaturize electronic and mechanical devices. Recently, much research has focused on understanding the atomic structure of nanoscale materials such as clusters and nanowires.
“On the Whole We Don't:” Michel Foucault, Veena Das and Sexual Violence

Foucault's analysis of biopolitics has been appraised by Didier Fassin as successfully recognizing an essential trait of contemporary society: the attribution of an absolute value to abstract life and the emergence of political governmentalities managing life. Yet, claims Fassin, Foucault overlooked the need for paying close analytical attention to the everyday detail of lives differentially rendered worth living. Giving a focus to anthropologist Veena Das's work on sexual violence, this paper considers the surprising use by a number of contemporary post-Foucauldian theorists of the resources made available by philosopher Stanley Cavell's reading of Wittgenstein as an alternative for the analysis of everyday violence. Having discussed a further tenor of criticism of Foucault – suggestions that the articulation of biopolitics and its forms of indirect murder as a general phenomenon fail to describe the prior or framing conditions under which certain human lives are more vulnerable than others to becoming d...
Space Occupying Lesions in the Liver

Space occupying liver lesions usually present with abdominal pain or abnormal physical findings, such as a palpable abdominal mass or distention. Liver lesions identified in children include benign and malignant neoplasms, inflammatory masses, cysts and metastatic lesions. Two-thirds of liver lesions in children are malignant. Hepatoblastoma accounts for two-thirds of malignant liver tumors in children. Benign lesions of the liver in children include vascular lesions, hamartomas, adenomas, and focal nodular hyperplasia. Although benign and malignant liver masses share some clinical manifestations, however treatment and prognosis differ. Evaluation involves physical examination, imaging evaluation and laboratory investigations such as serological markers [alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)] for malignant liver lesions. Ultrasound is the initial imaging modality of choice because it can detect, characterize, and provide the extent of liver lesions. However, CT or MRI are often subsequently performed for further characterization, assessment of precise extent, and detection of associated metastatic disease in cases of malignant hepatic neoplasm. Serological markers (such as alpha fetoprotein) can be useful in narrowing the differential diagnosis when they are markedly elevated but a substantial number of patients unfortunately do not have high levels of these markers at the time of presentation or cautious interpretation is warranted as AFP level is frequently elevated in infants up to 6 mo of age and may be slightly elevated with benign tumors and with hepatic insult or regeneration. Therefore, a tissue diagnosis is often required to guide subsequent management. The histology and anatomy of a pediatric liver tumor guides the treatment and prognosis.
Resident and fellow participation in Thyroid and Parathyroid surgery: an ACS-NSQIP clinical outcomes analysis

Abstract Background The effect of decreased overall hours of training in surgical specialties is still being examined. Of particular interest is the safety of patients undergoing surgeries with trainee surgeons. The aim of this study was to identify if there were significant differences in outcomes of patients undergoing commonly performed thyroid and parathyroid surgeries when trainees were involved. Materials and methods Postoperative complication rates, length of stay (LOS), and total operation time (OT) data were gathered from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database. The cases were identified by CPT code and were divided based on the training level of the participating resident surgeon: Junior (postgraduate year [PGY] 1-2), senior (PGY 3-5), fellow (PGY >5), as well as an attending-only group where no resident was present. We compared the clinical outcomes, LOS, and OT in each trainee group to the attending-only group as the reference. Results A total of 84,711 cases were identified of which 45.33% involved trainee participation. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval for overall, neurologic, and bleeding complications were calculated. No difference in the odds of overall patient complications or neurologic complications was observed. A decrease in the odds of bleedings complications when a junior or senior trainee was present was observed. Overall complications in operations including a junior trainee (PGY 1-2) had an OR of 1.04 (0.85, 1.29), a senior trainee (PGY 3-5) had an OR of 1.00 (0.89, 1.13), and a fellow had an OR of 0.98 (0.74, 1.31). Mean OT was found to be significantly different between attending only and junior and senior trainees. There was no significant difference in OT between fellows and attending only. LOS did not meaningfully differ across groups. Conclusions In three commonly performed thyroid and parathyroid operations, there is not an increased overall or neurologic complication odds when a surgical trainee is involved; there are decreased odds of a bleeding complication.
”I wish I could rank my exam's challenge level!”: An algorithm of Bloom's taxonomy in teaching CS1

Designing course activities in harmony with class assignments and tests while providing both adequate challenges and appropriate content progression is critical in introductory programming courses (CS1). Such fine-tuned practices help students build the right mindset to perform better and prevent potential discouragement due to disharmonious test challenges. In this study, we apply levels of the cognitive domain of Bloom's Taxonomy to determine the appropriate challenge level of test questions in CS1. Bloom's Taxonomy has been widely referenced by researchers as a benchmark for assessment of students' learning. Our proposed approach serves two purposes: 1) exposing students to a well-defined set of assessment tests to challenge them based on different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy; and 2) identifying the student's, difficulty areas to redesign and/or reorganize the class activities accordingly. For this purpose, a rubric is developed to classify questions based on cognitive domains of Bloom's Taxonomy. We applied the developed rubric to evaluate three semester tests and design a final exam. In designing the final test, we aim to challenge students' skills in a predetermined proportion and combination that maps onto the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. After each test, students' problem areas were identified and related class activities were adjusted to address these weaknesses. Preliminary analysis of student grades shows the effectiveness of this method.
Observer visitation frequency and success of mourning dove nests: A field experiment

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National Policy Programming: A Prototype Model from Language Planning

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a linear programming formulation of a prototype model with national policy planning variables. A linear programming formulation provides an explicit statement of the inputs and expected outcomes of a planning problem, given specific weightings, to a diverse range of variables. Such a model is constructed to assist modern government planners in becoming more receptive to public needs and interests. A wide range of factors can serve as variables in a particular planning problem. In the present case, optimization analysis is used to bridge the gap between the subjective evaluation of social costs and benefits and the relatively objective financial and practical constraints of the administrative sector of policy planning. The outlines of government policy were laid down with the founding of the Republic. Government policies over time have been altered, often on a piecemeal basis. The planning situation itself has generated controversy. A linear programming formulation of a model is designed to make explicit that the knowledge of a situation that is taken into account by the planner and how a particular rank ordering of weights and priorities influences an outcome.
Anti-differentiating approximation algorithms:A case study with min-cuts, spectral, and flow

We formalize and illustrate the general concept of algorithmic anti-differentiation: given an algorithmic procedure, e.g., an approximation algorithm for which worst-case approximation guarantees are available or a heuristic that has been engineered to be practically-useful but for which a precise theoretical understanding is lacking, an algorithmic anti-derivative is a precise statement of an optimization problem that is exactly solved by that procedure. We explore this concept with a case study of approximation algorithms for finding locally-biased partitions in data graphs, demonstrating connections between min-cut objectives, a personalized version of the popular PageRank vector, and the highly effective "push" procedure for computing an approximation to personalized PageRank. We show, for example, that this latter algorithm solves (exactly, but implicitly) an l1-regularized l2-regression problem, a fact that helps to explain its excellent performance in practice. We expect that, when available, these implicit optimization problems will be critical for rationalizing and predicting the performance of many approximation algorithms on realistic data.
Electrical Characteristics of Polypropylene Mixed with Natural Nanoclay

Polypropylene has been used in radio-frequency capacitors and has also started to be employed in cables as insulation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the electrical properties of polypropylene filled with natural clay as a nano-material. Polypropylene samples having 0%, 2% and 6% natural clay by weight were exposed to 60-Hz sinusoidal voltages at two different rates of rise. The breakdown voltage of each sample was recorded at these different ramp rates. Also, the Root-mean-squared (rms) current was measured as the voltage was increased across the test samples. The important findings of this study were (a) the breakdown strength of the natural nanoclay-filled polypropylene was higher than the unfilled polypropylene, and the optimum concentration of nanoclay appeared to be 2% by weight; (b) the current density as a function of the electric-field intensity indicated a non-linear behavior with saturation, and the saturation onset took place at a higher electric-field intensity in nanoclay-filled polypropylene, wherein 2% nanoclay seemed to be the optimum concentration as well for the onset electric field of saturation.
IoT Service Store: A Web-based System for Privacy-aware IoT Service Discovery and Interaction

Internet of Things (IoT) services collect and analyze sensor data to provide users with intelligent functionality tailored to their needs. However, users are often unaware of privacy risks relating to sensor data collection and the inferences possible from this data. Even if aware of the data collection and possible inferences, users lack ways to manage the collection, processing, and transmission of the data. To address this problem, we designed and implemented a novel web-based system called IoT Service Store (ISS) that allows users to easily browse nearby IoT services, understand the privacy implications of these IoT services, and control the collection and usage of sensor data. To better inform users about the potential privacy risks in using IoT services, ISS displays detailed information on what personal information might be inferred from the sensor data being collected. ISS also allows each user to give a rating or to view other users’ ratings regarding the perceived utility-privacy tradeoff for each IoT service. ISS is designed to communicate with IoT services to modify those services’ data collection and usage practices, according to a user’s privacy preferences. Using the preferred privacy settings in the proposed system, users will be more confident in their decisions of whether to subscribe to IoT services and less concerned with privacy risks in using the services.
Altered NMDAR signaling underlies autistic-like features in mouse models of CDKL5 deficiency disorder.

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is characterized by epilepsy, intellectual disability, and autistic features, and CDKL5-deficient mice exhibit a constellation of behavioral phenotypes reminiscent of the human disorder. We previously found that CDKL5 dysfunction in forebrain glutamatergic neurons results in deficits in learning and memory. However, the pathogenic origin of the autistic features of CDD remains unknown. Here, we find that selective loss of CDKL5 in GABAergic neurons leads to autistic-like phenotypes in mice accompanied by excessive glutamatergic transmission, hyperexcitability, and increased levels of postsynaptic NMDA receptors. Acute, low-dose inhibition of NMDAR signaling ameliorates autistic-like behaviors in GABAergic knockout mice, as well as a novel mouse model bearing a CDD-associated nonsense mutation, CDKL5 R59X, implicating the translational potential of this mechanism. Together, our findings suggest that enhanced NMDAR signaling and circuit hyperexcitability underlie autistic-like features in mouse models of CDD and provide a new therapeutic avenue to treat CDD-related symptoms. Mouse models of CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) recapitulate multiple clinical symptoms of CDD, such as intellectual disability and autism. Here, the authors show that selective loss of CDKL5 from GABAergic neurons leads to social deficits and stereotypic behaviors, which can be ameliorated through inhibition of NMDAR signaling.
Rhetoric of affections: advertising, seduction and truth

Advertising frequently provokes pathos and elicits emotional reactions (e.g. fear, patriotism, guilt, pity, joy, satisfaction, etc.) to get what it wants. Considering the rhetorical ability and the proliferation of advertisements in the contemporary Western societies, this article analyzes these omnipresent, seductive and affective discourses. Following a theoretical and reflexive approach, the objective is to argue and understand the power of rhetoric developing seduction and provoking affections in advertising strategies.
Erdős Type Problems in Modules over Cyclic Rings

In the present paper, we study various Erdős type geometric problems in the setting of the integers modulo q, where \(q=p^l\) is an odd prime power. More precisely, we prove certain results about the distribution of triangles and triangle areas among the points of \(E\subset \mathbb {Z}_q^2\).
Diet, feeding behavior, and jaw architecture of Taï monkeys: Congruence and chaos in the realm of functional morphology.

We review feeding and mandibular anatomy in a community of West African monkeys. We use field observations, food material property data, and skeletal specimens from the Ivory Coast's Tai Forest to explore the factors that shape mandibular architecture in colobines and cercopithecines. Despite excellent geographic control across our sample, the fit between bone form (as conventionally described) and functional activity (as we perceive it) is not spectacular. We present a thought experiment to assess how well we could reconstruct diet in the Tai monkeys if we only had skeletons and teeth to study. This exercise indicated that we would be correct about half the time. Our analyses reinforce the notion that diet is anything but a monolithic variable and that better success at relating mandibular form to food must incorporate information on ingestive and processing behavior, geometric and material properties of foods, and both material and structural data on jaws themselves.
A Large Renal Mass: Dilemmas With Unusual Features on Imaging.

Abstract A 50-year-old man presented with palpable abdominal mass which on CT revealed a large tumor replacing the entire right kidney, filling the right hemi-abdomen and travelling down the ureter into the bladder with retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Urine cytology and metastatic workup were negative. Ultrasound guided renal biopsy revealed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and the patient was started on combination chemotherapy. Primary urinary tract lymphomas comprise