cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fear Revisited: Rejoinder to “Comment” by Sam Kernell

In his interesting comment on our article, Sam Kernell raises several searching objections to our analysis that throw some doubt on our central conclusion about the role of fear in black participation in the South; but then proceeds to demonstrate the usefulness of our analysis by extending its application over both time and space and confirming several of our hypotheses in the process. While we are somewhat jealous that Mr. Kernell did not have the same opportunity we had to have his results rendered slightly out of date by this Review's lengthy publication delays, we are nevertheless grateful to him for the support his research provides to several of our earlier findings and for the opportunity it affords us to revisit our hypotheses in the light of more recent elections and Census data. Despite the thoughtfulness of his criticisms, however, we believe that many of his objections to our analysis are misdirected and that his effort to replicate our analysis is seriously incomplete and hence misleading. To demonstrate this, we propose to consider each of his objections to our original article in turn, specify why his purported replication of our analysis falls short of a true replication, and finally, present the results of a true re-testing of our earlier hypotheses against more recent data. What we discover from this three-pronged effort is that our earlier conclusion-that fear has been a major determinant of black political participation in the Mississippi "black belt"survives both the scrutiny Mr. Kernell ably gives it and the updating to which we subject it ourselves. In the process, moreover, we are able to demonstrate the apparent utility of the models we developed earlier in measuring an important dimension of political change, a dimension we will refer to as the transition from "fearbased nonparticipation" to "apathy-based nonparticipation," and that we believe could be generally useful in examining the "opening" of political systems to real popular participation in the course of political modernization.
Bayes factors for independence in contingency tables

SUMMARY The null hypothesis of row-column independence in a two-way contingency table can be expressed as a constraint on the parameters in various standard statistical sampling models. Four sampling models are considered, which are related by nested conditioning. By having the prior distribution in any one model induce the prior distribution in each further conditioned model, it is shown that the Bayes factors for independence will factorize, and thereby expose the evidence residing in the marginal row and column of the table. Bounds on the marginal Bayes factors justify, in a weak sense, Fisher's practice of conditioning. A general theorem is given for factorized Bayes factors from a factorized likelihood function.
Controversies in the Treatment of Elderly Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma

Approximately half of all patients with glioblastoma are older than 65 years and nearly one-quarter are older than 70 years, with a rising incidence of this disease in the elderly population. The life expectancy of elderly patients with glioblastoma is significantly shorter than in younger patients. Potential explanations for this abbreviated survival include differences in tumor biology, reduced use of therapies, enhanced toxicity of treatment, or diminished efficacy of available therapies with increasing age. The current standard treatment of newly diagnosed, protocol-eligible, nonelderly patients with glioblastoma is based on the randomized prospective EORTC/NCIC study that included patients aged 18 to 70 years with a performance status of ECOG 0 to 2. Limited single-institution retrospective series suggest that clinically fit elderly patients may benefit from a similar treatment regimen. However, no randomized trial has been performed in the elderly population using this regimen. Available prospective randomized clinical trials in the elderly population with glioblastoma have shown that radiotherapy is superior to supportive care only, that single-modality hypofractionated radiotherapy (reduced dose and shorter treatment schedule) is an alternative to single-modality standard fractionated radiotherapy, and that single-agent temozolomide is equivalent to radiotherapy alone. This article summarizes published data of current patterns of care in elderly patients and reviews published evidence as it pertains to the benefit of different treatment modalities in elderly patients with glioblastoma. Notwithstanding the previously mentioned randomized trials, the optimal treatment of elderly patients with glioblastoma remains controversial.
IT/Science: Computer Modeling, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Probes/Sensors

This chapter describes three different but related applications of IT in the sciences: measurement, modeling and mapping. Participating students’ learning experiences for IT/Science include making location measurements using Geographic Positioning System (GPS) and integrating the measurements in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), using temperature and light sensors for scientific measurement and creating mathematically based models primarily using such applications as the isee Systems’ STELLA Modeling and Simulation Software in such a way as to incorporate measured quantities and make scientific predictions about natural outcomes. Included are a description of the workshops of the capacity-building first year as well as the project-related work during the second year for both cohorts of students in the project. Activities and visitations made to research laboratories served to understand the applications and importance of science in STEM related fields. The experiences of the IT/Science team of the FI3T project are presented here to provide ideas and suggestions for instructors interested in teaching non-traditional aspects of science. This chapter offers online resources and opportunities for students and instructors interested in the science area of STEM. It also provides information about career opportunities and how the workshop themes align with the high school Common Core Standards.
MRA Detection of Vascular Occlusion in a Child with Progeria

We report a case of progeria and the utility of visualizing the cerebrovascular anatomy by using MR angiography. A 4-year-old child with Hutchinson-Guilford syndrome developed symptoms of ischemia and MR angiography showed bilateral occlusion of internal carotid and vertebral artery origins; the anterior spinal artery was prominent.
A screening method for bridge scour estimation and flood adaptation planning utilizing HAZUS-MH 2.1 and HEC-18

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 Report Card for the Nation’s Infrastructure indicated that over 10 % of the roughly 670,000 bridges in the USA are structurally deficient with a $120 billion investment over the next 15 years required for mitigation. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that the frequency of severe precipitation events is increasing as well as associated flooding. These factors coupled with scour as a leading cause of bridge degradation demonstrate a need to develop screening methods for assessing and prioritizing bridges most deserving of adaptation measures. This paper proposes a method for utilizing FEMA’s HAZUS-MH software along with the United States Department of Transportation’s Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18 scour equations to predict the relative scour impact for a bridge to assist in adaptation prioritization. The estimation method develops a scour factor for a bridge using contraction, pier and abutment scour estimates for a base-year and future-year flood event. The scour factor is then used in conjunction with estimated bridge replacement cost to predict monetary damages for a future flood event. The method was validated using repair cost data for eight bridges located in Davidson County (Nashville), Tennessee, from a severe flooding event in May 2010. An extended case study application was also conducted by applying the methodology to a set of flood-prone bridges in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. The results of this research suggest that the proposed methodology may offer municipalities a useful screening tool for prioritizing bridges for adaptation planning.
Pediatric dermatology in black patients.

Black children often have dermatoses that do not occur in other patient populations. Alternatively, dermatoses that are not peculiar to black children often have unusual manifestations in these children. This article is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the dermatoses encountered in black children that are distinguished by their common occurrence, their unique clinical features, or both.
Relation of Wertheim association constants to concentration-based equilibrium constants for mixtures with chain-forming components

Abstract Several association modeling approaches have been developed to accurately describe the properties of polar solutions. Chemical theory and Wertheim's perturbation theory are among the most popular of these and they have been shown to yield similar functional forms for the contributions of association to Helmholtz energy and activity coefficients. In this paper, we study Flory polymerization theory through the work of Campbell and elucidate its correlation to Wertheim's theory. A simple key relationship between the concentration-based equilibrium constant and Wertheim's association constant is developed for systems in which all associating components have one acceptor and one donor site. Algebraic and numerical proofs are given for the equivalence of Flory's polymerization theory and Wertheim's perturbation theory for pure fluids and mixtures. Additionally, a new generalized activity expression is developed for Wertheim's theory.
Working with Siblings of Children with Autism: A Solution-focused Approach

The literature on how autism spectrum disorders (ASD) impact the family unit primarily focuses on the negative experiences of parents and neurotypical (NT) siblings. This unintentional focus may impact the therapist's ability to identify strengths within the family unit and further perpetuate the misconception that ASD is only a ‘problem.’ This paper reviews NT siblings’ experiences of living with an ASD sibling. A solution-focused brief therapy framework is used in order to alter the covert message that an ASD diagnosis is a ‘problem’ for the families. Recommendations are provided to assist family therapists in focusing on the positive experiences reported by the NT sibling in ASD families, especially the relationship with his or her diagnosed sibling and primary caregivers.
Cost‐effective approach to the diagnostic workup of B cell lymphoproliferative disorders via optimal integration of flow cytometric data

SummaryIntroduction The workup of lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) involves the combined use of flow cytometry (FC) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). This often results in duplicate immunophenotypic testing and adds costs that may not be eligible for reimbursement based on the Medicare National Correct Coding Initiative. We aimed to establish a cost-effective diagnostic algorithm based on initial FC categorization to reduce repetitive immunophenotyping. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 242 cases of suspected LPDs with concurrent FC and IHC testing over a 12-month period. We correlated FC with surgical diagnoses and evaluated the frequency of repeat IHC testing. Results Repetitive immunophenotyping was common; overall, 85% of cases had at least one marker repeated. Concordant cases were significantly less likely to have markers repeated than discordant cases. Of concordant B cell malignancies, 57% represented recurrent disease; however, repeat marker usage was not decreased as compared to new diagnoses. The most frequently repeated markers were CD3, CD5, CD10, and CD20. Conclusions We propose that in concordant cases, CD5 and CD10 should not be repeated by IHC; this would decrease the use of these markers by 80% and 76%, respectively. We developed an algorithmic approach to IHC usage that has improved incorporation of FC data at our institution and may reduce healthcare costs.
Intraoperative Conversions in Robotic Colorectal Surgery

Robotic colorectal surgery is quickly replacing laparoscopy as the primary vector of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The rising popularity of robotic colorectal surgery has drawn an increasing diversity of implementation as well as an increase in case complexity. As with laparoscopy, case complexity leads to an increase in the opportunity for complications, and while the integration of technology into robotic surgery has helped to overcome the shortcomings of laparoscopy and laparotomy, moving the surgeon away from the patient has resulted in a unique subset of problems. Some of these problems require conversion to laparoscopy and laparotomy to ensure a satisfactory safety profile. This chapter will review issues unique to robotic surgery, how they can impact case progression, and techniques to mitigate conversion while optimizing patient outcomes.
A semi-supervised method for multi-subject FMRI functional alignment

Practical limitations on the duration of individual fMRI scans have led neuroscientist to consider the aggregation of data from multiple subjects. Differences in anatomical structures and functional topographies of brains require aligning data across subjects. Existing functional alignment methods serve as a preprocessing step that allows subsequent statistical methods to learn from the aggregated multi-subject data. Despite their success, current alignment methods do not leverage the labeled data used in the subsequent methods. In this work we propose a semi-supervised scheme that simultaneously learns the alignment and performs the analysis. We derive a specific instance of the scheme using the Shared Response Model for alignment and Multinomial Logistic Regression for classification. In our experiments this method improves the average classification accuracy from 65.5% to 68.5%, and from 5.3% to 6.1% over the independently-trained methods. Furthermore, our method achieves similar prediction with almost half the samples used for alignment.
The Middle Years of the Accommodation Debate, 1790–1799

The Middles Years of the Accommodation Debate, 1790–1799 The middle point of the accommodation debate witnessed several shifts. First, the majority of writings espoused a Socinian definition. This decade was the height of Socinian accommodation. Second, many Socinian accommodationists coupled the doctrine with a Kantian understanding of religion. The Enlightenment was coming to an end with the close of the century, but the accommodation debate would continue into the nineteenth century.
Venipuncture procedure affects heart rate variability and chronotropic response.

BACKGROUND Heart rate variability (HRV) has been shown to be influenced by several factors such as noise, sleep status, light, and emotional arousal; however, little evidence is available concerning autonomic responses to a venipuncture. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes of HRV indexes and heart rate (HR) during and following a venipuncture procedure among healthy individuals. METHODS 33 healthy individuals (22.8 ± 0.56 years, 167 ± 1.56 cm, 69.5 ± 2.61 kg) participated. Testing included 10-minute HRV analysis prior to the venipuncture, a 1-minute venipuncture procedure followed by a 10-minute analysis of HRV, and a total recording of 21 minutes. The first 5 minutes of the 21-minute recordings were discarded, and the remaining 5 minutes of the resting segment was analyzed (PRE), and the last 5 minutes of the 21-minute recording (POST). The log transformation of the time domain root mean squared of successive differences (lnRMSSD) and the frequency domains of high frequency (lnHF) and low frequency (lnLF) and LF/HF ratio (lnLF/HF) were used to quantify autonomic activity. HR was measured in 1-minute segments at 2 minutes prior (PRE), venipuncture (STICK), and post (P1-5). RESULTS HR significantly increased at STICK (P = 0.002), and fell below resting at P-5 (P < 0.001). lnRMSSD and lnHF increased significantly by POST (P < 0.001, P = 0.005). lnLF/HF ratio significantly decreased at POST (P = 0.047), while no significant changes occurred for lnLF (P = 0.590). CONCLUSIONS HRV and HR are influenced for 10 minutes following the venipuncture procedure. Practitioners and researchers who are interested in collecting blood and measuring HRV need to account for the influence of the venipuncture.
Self-possessed and Self-governed: Transcendent Spirituality in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism

ABSTRACTAmong Tibetan Buddhist tantric practitioners, including in the U.S., visualisation and incorporation of mandala deities imparts a parallel world against which conventional reality is consid...
Modelling and forecasting daily surgical case volume using time series analysis.

Hospitals and outpatient surgery centres are often plagued by a recurring staff management question: “How can we plan our nursing schedule weeks in advance, not knowing how many and when patients will require surgery?” Demand for surgery is driven by patient needs, physician constraints, and weekly or seasonal fluctuations. With all of these factors embedded into historical surgical volume, we use time series analysis methods to forecast daily surgical case volumes, which can be extremely valuable for estimating workload and labour expenses. Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) modelling is used to develop a statistical prediction model that provides short-term forecasts of daily surgical demand. We used data from a Level 1 Trauma Centre to build and evaluate the model. Our results suggest that the proposed SARIMA model can be useful for estimating surgical case volumes 2–4 weeks prior to the day of surgery, which can support robust and reliable staff schedules.
Selective parts-based tracking through occlusions

Visual tracking is a difficult task due to numerous scale, occlusion, motion blur, and other deformation changes through-out a video sequence. While correlation filter trackers have recently shown promise, it still remains a challenge to account for the numerous different changes of an object during tracking. In this paper, we propose a selective parts-based approach, using correlation filters, that makes choices based on a consensus of the parts and global tracking to track through occlusions. In contrast to existing part-based methods, the proposed method does not dilute accurate tracking by averaging results over multiple parts at every frame. Instead, we only make location corrections when a part diverges and rely on these corrections to maintain an accurate appearance model. The proposed approach was evaluated for scenarios obtained from two different challenging benchmark datasets. Our approach has resulted in better overall precision and success rates compared to recent parts-based approaches, and has performed better especially in occlusion scenarios.
tHoops: A Multi-Aspect Analytical Framework for Spatio-Temporal Basketball Data

During the past few years advancements in sports information systems and technology has allowed the collection of a number of detailed spatio-temporal data that capture various aspects of basketball. For example, shot charts, that is, maps capturing locations of (made or missed) shots, and spatio-temporal trajectories for the players on the court can capture information about the offensive and defensive tendencies, as well as, schemes used by a team. Characterization of these processes is important for player and team comparisons, scouting, game preparation etc. Team and player tendencies have traditionally been compared in a heuristic manner, which inevitably can lead to subtle but crucial information being ignored. Recently automated ways for these comparisons have appeared in the sports analytics literature. However, these approaches are almost exclusively focused on the spatial distribution of the underlying actions (usually shots taken), ignoring a multitude of other parameters that can affect the action studied. In this study, we propose a framework based on tensor decomposition for obtaining a set of prototype spatio-temporal patterns based on the core spatio-temporal information and contextual meta-data. At the epicenter of our work is a 3D tensor $\tensor$, whose dimensions represent the entity under consideration (team, player, possession etc.), the location on the court and time. We make use of the PARAFAC decomposition and we decompose the tensor into several interpretable patterns, that can be thought of as prototype patterns of the process examined (e.g., shot selection, offensive schemes etc.). We also introduce an approach for choosing the number of components to be considered. Using the tensor components, we can then express every entity as a weighted combination of these components. Finally, the framework introduced in this paper has applications that go beyond purely pattern analysis. In particular, it can facilitate a variety of tasks in the work-flow of a franchise's basketball operations as well as in the sports analytics research community.
Upper Midwest Veterinarian Perceptions and Confidence Levels Regarding Equine Nutrition Topics

Abstract Veterinarians are a primary trusted source of information regarding equine nutrition. Thus, veterinarians need to know best practices for equine nutrition or have access to referral nutrition services. Previous literature has reported variable confidence levels of veterinarians regarding nutrition-related conditions. The objectives of this project were to determine the confidence level of veterinarians in the Upper Midwest regarding equine nutrition topics and to identify the preferred types of resources for receiving this information. A survey of 433 Upper Midwestern veterinarians was conducted. Respondents (n = 125) had an average confidence level ranging from 3.2 (obesity) to 2.1 (equine polysaccharide storage myopathy) on a five-point Likert scale (1 = not at all confident; 5 = very confident). The average likelihood of using information tailored for South Dakota audiences developed by an equine nutritionist was 6.8/10 (n = 122; 0 = never use, 10 = use on regular basis). Most respondents (57%) preferred that equine nutrition resources be written with wording for both veterinarians and horse owners side by side. Handouts/summaries, fact sheets, and email/newsletters were the preferred formats for receiving equine nutrition resources. Respondents identified equine nutrition topics of greatest benefit to serve their clientele including geriatrics (senior) horses, laminitis, and hard keepers. Respondent comments provided additional insight into needs for continuing education on equine nutrition and improving equine caregiver implementation of recommendations. The current findings detail specific, self-reported needs of equine practitioners in the Upper Midwest regarding equine nutrition.
Conversion of levulinic acid and cellulose to γ-valerolactone over Raney-Ni catalyst using formic acid as a hydrogen donor

The present study aimed to investigate the conversion of levulinic acid (LA) and cellulose (DP∼450) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) over Raney-Ni catalyst. In this process, hydrogenation was fulfilled usi...
A minimal ring extension of a large finite local prime ring is probably ramified

Given any minimal ring extension k ⊂ L of finite fields, several families of examples are constructed of a finite local (commutative unital) ring A which is not a field, with a (necessarily finite)...
Hearing the Other: Communication as Shared Life

In the phenomenological tradition, which took root in the first part of the twentieth century, the issue of intersubjectivity became prominent as a way of characterizing social life. But as seen in the work of Edith Stein, for example, this philosophy of intersubjectivity gives prominence to the subject, and as such it leaves open not only the question of the basic character of social life, but also the hermeneutic problem of understanding the other. The focus of my remarks in this paper will explore the way in which Gadamer moves beyond a philosophy of subjectivity in his effort to establish the conditions for communicative understanding. For Gadamer, communicative understanding only occurs through a genuine way of being with another. It requires not just being in relation to the other but a form of participation that amounts to an idea of shared life. Gadamer establishes the precise character of this shared life in relation to his critical encounter with Karl Lowith’s version of the I-Thou relation.
Autonomic dysfunction following mild traumatic brain injury.

Purpose of reviewBetween 1.6 and 3.6 million concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), occur each year, nearly half of which go unreported and untreated. Despite the high incidence, practitioners currently lack both objective gold-standard diagnostic tools and evidence-based treatments t
The Relations of Parental Emotion Dysregulation and Emotion Socialization to Young Adults’ Emotion Dysregulation

Parents’ own emotion dysregulation and their socialization of emotions have been found to predict offspring’s emotion dysregulation, but little is known about how these factors interact to predict young adults’ emotion dysregulation. Thus, we aimed to examine whether each of three forms of parental responses to their offspring’s negative emotions (i.e., supportive, harsh, distressed) predicted young adults’ emotion dysregulation, particularly for young adults whose parents did not present emotional difficulties. One hundred and twenty-two young adults (Mage = 22.37 years, SDage = 2.23, age range: 18–26 years) and their primary parents were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Young adults and their primary parents reported on their own emotion dysregulation, and primary parents reported their supportive, harsh, and distressed responses to young adults’ negative emotions. For distressed parental responses and supportive emotion-related socialization, the interaction effect between emotion dysregulation and their emotion socialization strategies was significantly related to young adults’ emotion dysregulation, Fs(6) = 6.70 and 6.58, ps < 0.001, for distressed responses and supportive socialization, respectively. When parents’ harsh responses to negative emotions were examined, only the main effects of harsh responses and parents’ own emotion dysregulation predicted young adults’ emotion dysregulation, F(5) = 4.55, p < 0.001. Results highlight that both specific socialization strategies and parents’ own regulatory characteristics are important in young adults’ emotional experience. Further, if parents are not well-regulated emotionally, changes in their responses to young adults’ negative emotions may not be effective.
Strategies To Valorize the Hydrothermal Liquefaction-Derived Aqueous Phase into Fuels and Chemicals

Valorization of the aqueous phase produced by hydrothermal liquefaction of terrestrial feedstocks is a potential strategy to decrease the minimum fuel selling price of biofuels. In this work, three...
Influence of subfertility and assisted reproductive technology treatment on mortality of women after delivery

Objective To compare incidence, risk factors, and etiology of women's deaths in fertile, subfertile, and undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the years after delivery. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting University hospital. Patient(s) Women who had delivered in Massachusetts. Intervention(s) This study used data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System linked to vital records, hospital stays, and the Massachusetts death file. Mortality of patients delivered from 2004-2013 was evaluated through 2015. The exposure groups, determined on the basis of the last delivery, were ART-treated (linked to Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System), subfertile (no ART but with indicators of subfertility including birth certificate checkbox for fertility treatment, prior hospitalization for infertility [International Classification of Disease codes 9 628 or V23], and/or prior delivery with checkbox or ART), or fertile (neither ART nor subfertile). Numbers (per 100,000 women-years) and causes of death were obtained from the Massachusetts death file. Main Outcome Measure(s) Mortality of women after delivery in each of the three fertility groups and the most common etiology of death in each. Result(s) We included 483,547 women: 16,429 ART, 11,696 subfertile, and 455,422 fertile among whom there were 1,280 deaths with 21.1, 25.5, and 44.7 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 women-years. External causes (violence, accidents, and poisonings) were the most common reasons for death in the fertile group. Deaths occurred on average 46 months after delivery. When external causes of death were removed, there were 19.1, 17.0, and 25.6 deaths per 100,000 women-years and leading causes of death in all groups were cancer and circulatory problems. Conclusion(s) The study presents reassuring data that death rates within 5 years of delivery in ART-treated and subfertile women do not differ from those in fertile women.
Occupational Health Psychology

Occupational health psychology (OHP) is an interdisciplinary specialty at the crossroads of psychology and public health within the organizational context of work environments. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1974 established that employees in the United States should have a safe and healthy work environment. Similar legislation has been enacted in The Netherlands, Sweden, and the European Union. OHP applies several specialties within psychology to organizational settings for the improvement of the quality of work life, the protection and safety of workers, and promotion of healthy work environments. Keywords: prevention; stress; at-risk employees; work-family interface; occupational health
Fire police: A statutory comparison of the operational nexus between law enforcement and the fire service in six states:

The disciplines of law enforcement and fire–rescue services have maintained a tradition of performing separately but together in terms of cohesion at the emergency scene. This can be attributed to ...
Internet Use and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: Focus on Asymmetric Effects and Contextual Factors.

Background and objectives Despite emerging literature linking Internet usage and cognitive functioning in later life, research seldom takes changes in older adults' Internet use into account. How changes in Internet use influence older adults' cognitive decline over time, particularly in the context of sociodemographic factors that shape Information and Communications Technology (ICT) use, remains an open question. Research design and methods Using nine waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2002-2018), we examined within-person asymmetric effects of transitioning into and out of Internet use on cognitive functioning, and whether the associations vary across birth cohorts and by living arrangement. Results Transitioning into Internet use (i.e., Internet use onset) was associated with improved cognitive functioning at a given wave and decelerated cognitive decline over time. Transitioning out of the Internet (i.e., Internet use cessation) was associated with worse cognitive functioning at a given wave and accelerated cognitive decline over time. Further, birth cohort and living arrangement moderated these associations. The detrimental effect of transitioning out of Internet use was worse for older adults born in 1941 or before. The cognitive benefits of transitioning into Internet use were greater for those older adults who live alone. Discussion and implications These findings highlight the interplay between technology, social environment, and cognitive functioning in later life. The salubrious effects of using the Internet, as well as the deleterious effects of ceasing to use such technology, underscores the importance of promoting digital literacy and access to ICT among the older adult population.
The effects of total and subtotal prefrontal cortex lesions on the timing ability of the rat

Two peak procedure experiments studied the effects of different prefrontal cortex lesions on temporal discrimination in rats. In Experiment 1, lesions were made to either the medial frontal cortex (including medial precentral, anterior cingulate, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortex) or the ventral frontal cortex (including orbital area and agranular insular area) to determine the contribution of each to time estimation. In Experiment 2, lesions were made to the entire prefrontal cortex (including the medial frontal cortex and the ventral frontal cortex). In both experiments, rats were trained with a 40-sec peak interval and tested for 14 postoperative sessions. In Experiment 1, peak time and response distributions showed timing behavior unaffected by either lesion. In Experiment 2, ablations of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) produced a leftward shift in the temporal discrimination functions, indicating that these animals expected the time of reinforcement to be early. Also, these discrimination functions were substantially flattened, which was interpreted as a general decline in timing ability. These results are inconsistent with those of earlier studies. It is concluded that PFC functions as a unit with respect to timing behavior.
Adjectival vagueness in a Bayesian model of interpretation

We derive a probabilistic account of the vagueness and context-sensitivity of scalar adjectives from a Bayesian approach to communication and interpretation. We describe an iterated-reasoning architecture for pragmatic interpretation and illustrate it with a simple scalar implicature example. We then show how to enrich the apparatus to handle pragmatic reasoning about the values of free variables, explore its predictions about the interpretation of scalar adjectives, and show how this model implements Edgington’s (Analysis 2:193–204,1992, Keefe and Smith (eds.) Vagueness: a reader, 1997) account of the sorites paradox, with variations. The Bayesian approach has a number of explanatory virtues: in particular, it does not require any special-purpose machinery for handling vagueness, and it is integrated with a promising new approach to pragmatics and other areas of cognitive science.
Altered Disposition of Naproxen by Cirrhotic and by Elderly Individuals

Naproxen is a drug almost exclusively eliminated by metabolism (1) and widely used for the treatment of arthritis, an ailment commonly afflicting the elderly. Thus, with practical as well as scientific objectives, naproxen pharmacokinetics were studied in 3 groups of 10 men each; normals, cirrhotics and elderly. Normal (22–39 years) and elderly (65–81 years) subjects were in good health (physical examination, blood screen, urinalysis) taking no medication. Cirrhotic subjects (31–58 years) had Stage I or II encephalopathy and Status A or B cirrhosis (Laennec’s) by Child’s classification (2), 6 with biopsy confirmation. Three took other drugs (aldactone, allopurinol, lactulose). In other respects (such as weight and ethnic mix) the 3 groups were similar. All volunteers took a single oral 375 mg naproxen dose on day 1 and blood was sampled serially for 48 hours. Doses were then taken every 12 hours for 6 days ending with the 13th dose at 8 a.m. on day 9, when serial blood sampling was reinstituted for 48 hours. Naproxen plasma protein binding was studied by equilibrium dialysis. Plasma and dialysate concentrations of naproxen were measured by a specific HPLC assay sensitive down to 2 ng/ml (3). Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by standard noncompartmental analyses.
Activated Protein C Resistance, Factor V Leiden, and Venous Thromboembolism

Factor V Leiden mutation is the most common inherited defect of coagulation currently known, with a prevalence between 3% and 6% in Caucasian populations. The result of a single adenine-for-guanine point mutation in the gene coding for coagulation factor V, factor V Leiden leads to a hypercoagulable state in part by rendering a key binding site on coagulation factor Va partially resistant to the anticoagulant effects of activated protein C. Clinically, this state is referred to as activated protein C resistance. Individuals affected by factor V Leiden appear to be at significantly increased risks of first and recurrent venous thrombosis, particularly those events not associated with cancer, surgery, or trauma. Moreover, risks of venous thrombosis among carriers of factor V Leiden dramatically increase in the presence of other acquired coagulation defects including hyperhomocysteinemia and oral contraceptive use. Screening programs for factor V Leiden must carefully consider the prevalence of mutation in a given population, the absolute as well as relative risks imparted by the mutation, and the benefit-to-risk ratio associated with any therapeutic intervention based upon a positive test finding. Ongoing clinical studies such as the Prevention of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism (PREVENT) trial will help to determine whether individuals who carry factor V Leiden and have had a first venous thrombosis should be considered for chronic, low-dose anticoagulation therapy.
Optimizing Array Distributions in Data-Parallel Programs

Data parallel programs are sensitive to the distribution of data across processor nodes. We formulate the reduction of inter-node communication as an optimization on a colored graph. We present a technique that records the run time inter-node communication caused by the movement of array data between nodes during execution and builds the colored graph, and provide a simple algorithm that optimizes the coloring of this graph to describe new data distributions that would result in less inter-node communication. From the distribution information, we write compiler pragmas to be used in the application program.
Conservation Agriculture: Global Environmental Benefits of Soil Carbon Management

Agricultural carbon (C) sequestration may be one of the most cost effective ways to slow processes of global warming. Numerous environmental benefits may result from agricultural activities that sequester soil C and contribute to environmental security. As part of no-regret strategies, practices that sequester soil C help reduce soil erosion and improve water quality and are consistent with more sustainable and less chemically dependent agriculture. While we learn more about soil C storage and its central role in direct environmental benefits, we must understand the secondary environmental benefits and what they mean to production agriculture. Increasing soil C storage can increase infiltration, increase fertility and nutrient cycling, decrease wind and water erosion, minimize compaction, enhance water quality, decrease C emissions, impede pesticide movement and generally enhance environmental quality. The sum of each individual benefit adds to a total package with major significance on a global scale. Incorporating C storage in conservation planning demonstrates concern for our global resources and presents a positive role for soil C that will have a major impact on our future quality of life.
Turnover of liver ribosomes in fed and in fasted rats.

Abstract Evidence from many sources indicates that the ribonucleic acid and protein of normal animal tissues are replaced more rapidly than are the cells themselves. However, the significance of this macromolecular turnover and the mechanisms that regulate synthesis in concert with catabolism to maintain cellular composition have remained obscure. In beginning a study of factors that influence protein and RNA turnover in mammalian cells, we have compared the rates of synthesis and degradation of liver cytoplasmic ribosomes in fed and in fasted animals. Synthesis was measured by labeling ribosomal protein and RNA and by measuring the rate at which the specific activities decreased owing to continuing synthesis from unlabeled precursors. In fed, nearly mature animals, degradation approximates synthesis. In fasting, degradation exceeds synthesis and was measured as the difference between rates of synthesis and of net loss of liver ribosomes. Our results indicate that ribosomal protein and RNA are replaced at the same rate. The normal kinetics are first order, with turnover half-times of 5 days. During starvation, the cellular ribosome content decreases steadily due to an increased degradative and a diminished synthetic rate.
Mapping Emerging News Networks: A Case Study of the San Francisco Bay Area

The news and information system in the United States is undergoing a significant transformation. From a limited number of professional, major metropolitan newspapers, television and radio stations to a networked system of hundreds of small and medium size information sources. Structural changes in news production and distribution are significantly altering the supply and flow of news to citizens. Using network analysis, we seek to map changes in the news ecology of the San Francisco Bay area. In this study, we graph the relationships between 143 locally based news sites to examine connections between news organizations, between journalists and their sources and between users of the news sites.
A heuristic model of the muon

A model of the muon is constructed in which a massless spin-1 wave, designated the wavon, orbits an electron on a null-geodesic path. The radius of the orbit is given by general-relativistic considerations: the wavon orbits where the effective gravitational force is zero. The mass of the muon is the mass of the electron plus the energy of the wavon derived from quantum mechanics. The resultmμ=me (1+3/2 1/α), where α is the fine-structure constant yields,mμ=me(206.554), in good agreement with the experimental mass ratio of 206.767.
Androgens regulate sex differences in signaling but are not associated with male variation in morphology in the weakly electric fish Parapteronotus hasemani

Sexually dimorphic signaling is widespread among animals and can act as an honest indicator of mate quality. Additionally, differences in signaling and morphology within a sex can be associated with different strategies for acquiring mates. Weakly electric fish communicate via self-generated electrical fields that transmit information about sex, reproductive state, and social status. The weakly electric knifefish Parapteronotus hasemani exhibits sexual dimorphism in body size as well as substantial within-male variation in body size and jaw length. We asked whether P. hasemani exhibits hormonally mediated sexual dimorphism in electrocommunication behavior. We also asked whether males with short versus long jaws differed significantly from each other in morphology, behavior, hormone levels, or reproductive maturity. Males produced longer chirps than females, but other signal parameters (electric organ discharge frequency; chirp rate and frequency modulation) were sexually monomorphic. Pharmacologically blocking androgen receptors in males reduced chirp duration, suggesting that this sexually dimorphic trait is regulated at least in part by the activational effects of androgens. Males sorted into two distinct morphological categories but did not differ in circulating 11-ketotestosterone or testosterone. Short-jawed males and long-jawed males also did not differ in any aspects of signaling. Thus, chirping and high levels of 11-ketotestosterone were reliably associated with reproductively active males but do not necessarily indicate male type or quality. This contrasts with other alternative male morph systems in which males that differ in morphology also differ in androgen profiles and signaling behavior.
Automatic retinal blood flow calculation using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Optical Doppler tomography (ODT) is a branch of optical coherence tomography (OCT) that can measure the speed of a blood flow by measuring the Doppler shift impinged on the probing sample light by the moving blood cells. However, the measured speed of blood flow is a function of the Doppler angle, which needs to be determined in order to calculate the absolute velocity of the blood flow inside a vessel. We developed a technique that can extract the Doppler angle from the 3D data measured with spectral-domain OCT, which needs to extract the lateral and depth coordinates of a vessel in each measured ODT and OCT image. The lateral coordinates and the diameter of a blood vessel were first extracted in each OCT structural image by using the technique of blood vessel shadowgram, a technique first developed by us for enhancing the retinal blood vessel contrast in the en face view of the 3D OCT. The depth coordinate of a vessel was then determined by using a circular averaging filter moving in the depth direction along the axis passing through the vessel center in the ODT image. The Doppler angle was then calculated from the extracted coordinates of the blood vessel. The technique was applied in blood flow measurements in retinal blood vessels, which has potential impact on the study and diagnosis of blinding diseases like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
The impact of economic globalization on work and family collectivism in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of economic globalization on work and family collectivism for young middle class Indians.Design/methodology/approach – The study surveys more than 1,000 individuals living in globalized and lesser‐globalized cities in India. The data are analyzed using factor analysis, independent sample t‐tests and multiple regressions.Findings – Results suggest that in an increasingly globalizing India, young Indians will strive to preserve traditional values of collectivity when it comes to family, but will loosen their reins on work‐place collectivism.Research limitations/implications – This paper is limited to examining the educated middle class in India as they are at the forefront of globalization. The intention of the study is not to assess national culture as a whole, but to predict cultural shifts in India.Practical implications – The results provide critical insight as to how values are changing in a nation that promises to be a prominent feature on t...
Identification of microsatellite markers in Plasmodium mexicanum, a lizard malaria parasite that infects nucleated erythrocytes

Reptile and bird hosts of malaria parasites (Plasmodium) have nucleated erythrocytes. Infected blood thus contains a mix of abundant host and scant parasite DNA which has prevented identification of Plasmodium microsatellites. We developed a protocol for isolation of microsatellite markers for Plasmodium mexicanum, a parasite of lizards. The ATT repeat was common in the genome of P. mexicanum, but most (87%) of these repeats were exceptionally long (50–206 + repeats). Seven microsatellite markers with polymerase chain reaction primers are described. The protocol should allow discovery of microsatellites of malaria parasites (with AT-rich genomes) infecting bird and reptile hosts.
Direct calculation of KT/V. A simplified approach to monitoring of hemodialysis.

KT/V, the normalized whole-body urea clearance, is becoming accepted as a standard measurement for monitoring the adequacy of hemodialysis. Current methods for its calculation are limited by inaccurat