cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novelties that change carrying capacity.

Comparative developmental studies have revealed a rich array of details about the patterns and processes of morphological change in animals and increasingly in plants. But, applying these insights to the study of major episodes of evolutionary innovation requires understanding how these novel morphologies become established and sufficiently abundant (either as individuals within a species or as a clade of species) to be preserved in the fossil record, and, in many cases, to influence ecological processes. Evolutionary novelties may: (1) disappear without changing the species; (2) be associated with the generation (through selection or drift) of a new species; and if the latter (3) may or may not become ecologically significant. Only the latter are commonly preserved in the fossil record. These alternatives mirror the distinction among historians of technology between innovation and invention. Here, I argue that specific sorts of evolutionary inventions drive ecological transformation, essentially constructing an environment for themselves and ancillary organisms through ecological spillover effects, increasing the “carrying capacity” of an ecosystem. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 318B:460–465, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modeling studies of cellular response to ultrashort, high-intensity electric fields

The dynamics of electroporation in biological cells subjected to nanosecond, high intensity pulses are studied based on a coupled scheme involving current continuity and Smoluchowski equations. A new distributed current model is presented for potential distribution to includes dynamic conductivities of cell membranes and substructures caused by pore formation. Different cell responses of normal and malignant (Farage) tonsillar B-cells are compared and discussed. It is shown that ultrashort, high-intensity electric pulses could selectively damage cancer cells.
The role of the intrinsic E2 matrix element between the first two 0+ states in their configuration mixing in 100Zr

Abstract Shape coexistence in 100Zr is a well-known phenomenon. However, a consistent description of the configuration mixing between two shapes with very different deformation has not been made. In this work, the B(E2,2+2→0+2) value in 100Zr has been inferred from the known γ-ray branching ratios between the intraband transition and the interband transitions to members of the ground-state band. The absolute scale of the latter was established under the assumption that adjustments to the interband transitions due to the coupling between the rotation and intrinsic motions can be approximated by a perturbation expansion of angular-momentum dependence. Correction terms up to the second order, which account for the deformation difference between two 0+ bands, were considered in the description. The intrinsic E2 matrix elements for the second 0+ state at 331 keV is derived to be ≈0.53 eb from the B(E2,2+2→0+2) value assuming a rotational relationship. This suggests that the weakly deformed 0+2 state coexists with the strongly deformed ground state of 〈01|E2|01〉≈1.06 eb. Configuration mixing between the two 0+ states has been studied using both the known E0 and the intrinsic E2 matrix elements derived from this work. A weak mixing of ≈7.7% was found, which is nearly a factor of two lower than suggested by a previous analysis. Quantitative evidence of the energy shift for the ground state, deduced from the systematics of transition energies for the yrast states, is consistent with this weak mixing scenario. Near-spherical and well-deformed shapes with the intrinsic E2 matrix elements of ≈0.37 eb and ≈1.14 eb, respectively, are identified as the basis states before the mixing takes place. The intrinsic E2 matrix element between those two unperturbed 0+ states, ≈0.19 eb, is required to describe their configuration mixing.
CLOPPE - educational software integration for effective classroom instruction

AbstractThe utilization of microcomputers in the public schools has increased the growth and development of computer-assisted instruction software. Educational software is improving in quality and quantity, but teachers and administrators continue to question the applicability and use of software, and its relationship to the objectives of the textbook, teacher’s lesson, and designed curriculum. A review of the literature reveals needed attention to effective software use in the classroom. CLOPPE is a software integration tool that enables the school official to align the objectives of the software with the objectives of the school curriculum. Cost-effectiveness for school officials and enhanced learning experiences for students and teachers will result from pre-assessment of the educational software through CLOPPE.
The evaluation of a patient with dizziness

Summary Dizziness is the quintessential symptom presentation in all of clinical medicine. It can stem from a disturbance in nearly any system of the body. Patient descriptions of the symptom are often vague and inconsistent, so careful probing is essential. The physical examination is performed by observing the patient at rest and following simple movements or bedside tests. In general, no special tools are required. The causes of dizziness range from benign to life-threatening disorders, and features that distinguish among these may be subtle. When diagnostic testing is considered, parsimony should be the rule. Identifying common peripheral vestibular disorders is a priority. Picking this “low hanging fruit” can be the key component to excluding more serious central causes of dizziness.
Regional variation in abundance and response to fire by Henslow's Sparrows in Louisiana

Wintering Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) are generally associated with open grasslands. Results of small-scale, regionally specific studies have not revealed larger-scale abundance patterns, but they have shown regional differences in habitat selection. Our objective was to quantify Henslow's Sparrow abundance and vegetation associations across Louisiana, an area that includes multiple types of grassland habitats. Bird densities in longleaf pine savannas of eastern and western Louisiana were over 1.5 times higher than in northern prairies and over 13 times higher than at a site in southwestern Louisiana. The responses of Henslow's Sparrows to fire differed between eastern and western savannas, with abundance increasing three fold over the first 3 yrs after fire in the west, and decreasing three fold over that interval in the east. In both areas, habitat became unsuitable by about 5 yrs after fire, probably due to woody encroachment and loss of herbaceous plants. For sites that contained Henslow's Sparrows at least once during our study, habitat modeling revealed that neither vegetation structure nor plant species composition was important in predicting the occurrence of Henslow's Sparrows within sites or abundance among sites throughout the state, perhaps due to the variety of habitats sampled. Our results suggest that longleaf pine savannas are the most important grasslands for wintering Henslow's Sparrows in Louisiana and that overwintering habitat is probably selected based on regionally specific vegetation features. Optimal fire intervals may vary regionally, particularly between mesic flatwoods savannas and drier upland savannas, perhaps due to different rates of biomass accumulation. Management for Henslow's Sparrows should be based on region-specific studies, recognizing that appropriate fire regimes may vary among regions.
Voluntary Intake of Forage by Holstein Cows as Influenced by Lactation, Gestation, Body Weight, and Frequency of Feeding

Abstract Relationships involving forage appetite and frequency of feeding forage were studied with high-producing Holstein cows, including 60 complete cow lactations and 49 records of the dry period. Significant correlation ( r = .59) was obtained between forage dry matter intake and 4% FCM yield in the lactation period. Patterns of forage DM intake were affected strongly by different stages of the lactation and dry periods. Infrequent periods of hot summer weather decreased intake and milk yield by about 10%. Individual cow differences, however, were the most important source of variation in forage DM intake. Age, body weight changes, body condition, and stage of gestation showed little relationship to forage DM intake; neither did body weight, either taken by itself or expressed to the powers of 0.84 or 0.73. There were no significant differences in milk yield or forage intake due to frequency of feeding, either in the dry period or when total lactation performance was studied. There was a period during mid-lactation, however, when the more frequently fed group consumed less forage (P
The intestinal microbiome and the leaky gut as therapeutic targets in alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) encompasses hepatic steatosis, which may progress to alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. It remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US and worldwide. The severity of liver disease correlates with plasma levels of bacterial products in patients, and experimental ALD depends on the level of gut derived bacterial products in rodents. Since intestinal decontamination and deficiency of bacterial product receptors or their downstream signaling molecules protect from alcohol-induced liver disease, bacterial translocation (BT), qualitative, and quantitative changes of the enteric microbiome are considered as being of fundamental importance in the pathogenesis of ALD. Recent enhancements in diagnostic technologies provide a better insight into these shifts. This review highlights vital events in ALD such as BT, the importance of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, intestinal bacterial overgrowth (IBO), and changes in the intestinal microbiome. Furthermore, a treatment trial section of patients reviews possible future options of therapy for ALD modifying the enteric microbiome.
MONITORING BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: STRATEGIES, TOOLS, LIMITATIONS, AND CHALLENGES

Monitoring is an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability in one or more ecosystem properties, and is an essential component of adaptive management. Monitoring can help determine whether mandated environmental standards are being met and can provide an early-warning system of ecological change. Development of a strategy for monitoring biological diversity will likely be most successful when based upon clearly articulated goals and objectives and may be enhanced by including several key steps in the process. Ideally, monitoring of bi- ological diversity will measure not only composition, but also structure and function at the spatial and temporal scales of interest. Although biodiversity monitoring has several key lim- itations as well as numerous theoretical and practical challenges, many tools and strategies are available to address or overcome such challenges; I summarize several of these. Due to the di- versity of spatio-temporal scales and comprehensiveness encompassed by existing definitions of biological diversity, an effective monitoring design will reflect the desired sampling domain of interest and its key stressors, available funding, legal requirements, and organizational goals.
A Large-scale and Decentralized Infrastructure for Content-based Publish/Subscribe Services

Publish/subscribe model has become a prevalent paradigm for building distributed event delivering systems. Content-based publish/subscribe allows high expresses in subscriptions and thus is more appropriate for content dissemination. However, the scalability has remained a challenge in the design of distributed content-based publish/subscribe systems due to the expensive matching and delivering cost of content-based events. In this paper we propose HyperSub, an infrastructure built on top of distributed hash table (DHT) for efficient content-based data distribution. Based on efficient subscription installation, event publication and event delivery mechanisms, Hyper- Sub can provide a scalable platform to simultaneously support any numbers of pub/sub schemes with different number of attributes. There are three key features in the design of HyperSub: (1) a locality-preserving hashing mechanism which partitions the content space into content zones. Subscriptions and events are mapped to the content zones for efficiently matching; (2) an efficient event delivery algorithm which exploits the embedded trees in the underlying DHT to deliver events to the corresponding subscribers; (3) light-weighted load balancing mechanisms to adjust the load among peers and ensure that no peer is unduly loaded.
Lactoferrin acts as an adjuvant during influenza vaccination of neonatal mice.

Health policy precludes neonatal vaccination against influenza. Hence, morbidity and mortality are high under 6 months of age. Lactoferrin may activate diminished numbers of dysfunctional dendritic cells and reverse neonatal vaccine failures. Aluminum hydroxide/ALUM recruits neutrophils that secrete lactoferrin at deposition sites of antigen. We theorized lactoferrin + influenza antigen initiates an equivalent antibody response compared to ALUM. Three-day-old mice received subcutaneously 30 μg of H1N1 hemagglutinin + 200 μg of bovine lactoferrin versus hemagglutinin + ALUM. Controls received hemagglutinin, lactoferrin, or ALUM. After 21 days, sera measured anti-H1N1 (ELISA) and neutralizing antibody (plaque assays). ELISA detected equal antibody production with lactoferrin + hemagglutinin compared to hemagglutinin + ALUM; both sera also neutralized H1N1 virus at a 1:20 dilution (p < 0.01). Controls had no anti-H1N1 antibody. Neonates given lactoferrin had no anaphylaxis when challenged four weeks later. Lactoferrin is a safe and effective adjuvant for inducing antibody against influenza in neonates.
Intrinsically disordered proteins: controlled chaos or random walk

Traditional conventions that a protein’s sequence dictates its definitive, tertiary structure, and that this fixed structure provides the protein with the ability to carry out its designated role(s) are still correct but not for all proteins. Research over the past decade discovered that several key proteins possess intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) that are crucial to their ability to perform specific functions and are observed clustered together within important classes of proteins. In this review, we aim to demonstrate how free energy landscapes, molecular dynamics simulations, and homology modeling are helpful in understanding key conformational dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Additionally, we use a list of predicted IDPs found in Arabidopsis to identify chromatin organizers and transcriptional regulators as being highly enriched in IDPs. Furthermore, we focus our attention to specific proteins within these families such as HAC5, EFS, ANAC019, ANAC013, and ANAC046. Future studies are needed to experimentally identify additional IDPs and their binding mechanisms.
Alternative Blood Glucose Monitoring Strips for the One Touch System

Quick-Check (Can-Am, Chazy, NY) and First Choice (Polymer Technology International, Issaquah, Wash) recently introduced strips for the One Touch self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) system (Johnson & Johnson, Lifescan, Milpitas, Calif). These brands are less expensive than the One Touch strips. Laboratory trials evaluated precision (coefficient of variation [CV]) and accuracy (slope of the regression line) of meter-determined vs reference standard glucose levels. Precision was within acceptable CVs of10% (One Touch, 2.7%; First Choice, 5.4%; and Quick-Check, 7.1%). All strips displayed similar accuracy slopes (One Touch, 0.883; First Choice, 0.920; Quick-Check, 0.971). In clinical trials, 35 subjects performed SMBG using each of the three strips in a random block design; errors within 10% of the simultaneous venous values were considered clinically reliable. Self-monitoring blood glucose values had errors of 12.0%) for One Touch, 16.7%) for First Choice, and 15.6% for Quick-Check (P=.04). The One Touch strips were significantly more reliable than the alternative strips, which might be relevant for patients receiving intensive insulin therapy.
Deformation mechanism and forming property of A2017 alloys during compression in semi-solid state

Semi-solid A2017 alloys were compressed in semi-solid state by means of Gleeble-1500 thermal-mechanical simulator. The microstructures and relationship between the true stress and the true strain were analyzed. The deformation mechanism and forming property of A2017 semi-solid alloys were studied. The results showed that fine and homogeneous non-dendrite microstructures of semi-solid A2017 alloy manufactured by shearing-cooling-rolling (SCR) technology could be obtained and transformed into semi-solid structure which was composed of spherical grains and eutectic liquid through reheating process. The resistance to deformation in semi-solid state decreases as deformation temperature increases or deformation rate decreases. The deformation process of semi-solid A2017 alloy may be divided into four stages. At steady thixotropic deformation stage, the deformation mechanism is liquid flowing, solid particles rotating or sliding, and the thixotropic property is steady. The maximum deformation range is about 60%.
Neuroanatomy of Penile Erection: Its Relevance to Iatrogenic Impotence

AbstractThe neuroanatomy of erection in men is not well defined. Recently, we isolated successfully the cavernous nerves for acute and chronic neurostimulation to induce penile erection in dogs and monkeys. We then investigated the anatomy of these nerves in humans by cadaveric dissection and serial histologic sectioning. Our experience in tracing the spinal nuclei responsible for vesical and urethral function by transportation of horseradish peroxidase enabled us to explore the location and organi;ation of the spinal center for erection. Thus, systemic knowledge of the neuroanatomy of erection was accumulated. The spinal nuclei for control of erection are located in the intermediolateral gray matter at the Sl to S3 and Tl2 to L3 levels in dogs, and the S2 to S4 and TlO to L2 levels in humans. From these sacral nuclei axons issue ventrally and join the axons of the nuclei for the bladder and rectum to form the sacral visceral efferent fibers. These fibers emerge from the anterior root of S2 to S4, and joi...
Effects of battery chemistry and performance on the life cycle greenhouse gas intensity of electric mobility

Abstract Lithium traction batteries are a key enabling technology for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Traction battery manufacture contributes to vehicle production emissions, and battery performance can have significant effects on life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for PEVs. To assess emissions from PEVs, a life cycle perspective that accounts for vehicle production and operation is needed. However, the contribution of batteries to life cycle emissions hinge on a number of factors that are largely absent from previous analyses, notably the interaction of battery chemistry alternatives and the number of electric vehicle kilometers of travel (e-VKT) delivered by a battery. We compare life cycle GHG emissions from lithium-based traction batteries for vehicles using a probabilistic approach based on 24 hypothetical vehicles modeled on the current US market. We simulate life-cycle emissions for five commercial lithium chemistries. Examining these chemistries leads to estimates of emissions from battery production of 194–494 kg CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per kWh of battery capacity. Combined battery production and fuel cycle emissions intensity for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is 226–386 g CO2e/e-VKT, and for all-electric vehicles 148–254 g CO2e/e-VKT. This compares to emissions for vehicle operation alone of 140–244 g CO2e/e-VKT for grid-charged electric vehicles. Emissions estimates are highly dependent on the emissions intensity of the operating grid, but other upstream factors including material production emissions, and operating conditions including battery cycle life and climate, also affect life cycle GHG performance. Overall, we find battery production is 5–15% of vehicle operation GHG emissions on an e-VKT basis.
Fluorescent Protein Fret as a Probe of Protein Conformation in Vivo and in Vitro

While methods for the determination of protein structure in vitro are highly advanced, the question always remains as to whether the observations are representative of the molecule in its native environment. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is widely used to probe protein structure both in vitro and in vivo. Because of their ease of use, in vivo FRET measurements frequently rely on the cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins (i.e. CFP donor and YFP acceptor). The severe spectral overlap and significant direct excitation of the acceptor complicate extraction of true FRET efficiency. Furthermore, the large size and poor photophysical properties of fluorescent proteins (FPs) make them a less than ideal FRET pair. To benchmark the reliability of FP-FRET as a probe of protein conformation in vivo, we characterized a series of CFP-YFP tandems with varying linker lengths. Ensemble and single molecule fluorescence were used to measure FRET in vitro. We then measured FRET in live cells with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Only by using a single filter cube with a ratiometric image splitter, were we able to get agreement between in vitro and in vivo measurements. However, measurements of the radius of hydration, using analytical ultracentrifugation and chromatography, revealed a much different size distribution than was suggested by the FRET dependence on the linker length between CFP and YFP. Our studies suggest that the conformation of our protein test set is the same in live cells and in solution. In vitro and in vivo measurements for each construct were in good agreement. Unfortunately, distances derived from FP-FRET appear to misrepresent the actual interchromophore distance.
Identification of SLIRP as a G Quadruplex-Binding Protein.

The guanine quadruplex (G4) structure in DNA is a secondary structure motif that plays important roles in DNA replication, transcriptional regulation, and maintenance of genomic stability. Here, we employed a quantitative mass spectrometry-based approach to profile the interaction proteomes of three well-defined G4 structures derived from the human telomere and the promoters of cMYC and cKIT genes. We identified SLIRP as a novel G4-interacting protein. We also demonstrated that the protein could bind directly with G4 DNA with Kd values in the low nanomolar range and revealed that the robust binding of the protein toward G4 DNA requires its RRM domain. We further assessed, by using CRISPR-Cas9-introduced affinity tag and ChIP-Seq analysis, the genome-wide occupancy of SLIRP, and showed that the protein binds preferentially to G-rich DNA sequences that can fold into G4 structures. Together, our results uncovered a novel cellular protein that can interact directly with G4 DNA, which underscored the complex r...
Increased Academic Productivity of Orthopaedic Surgery Residents Following 2011 Duty Hour Reform.

Background In 2003 and again in 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandated increasingly stringent resident duty hour restrictions. With less time required at the hospital, residents theoretically have more time for other academic activities, such as research. Our study seeks to examine whether the number of research publications by orthopaedic residents increased following implementation of the 2011 ACGME duty hour restrictions. Design Pubmed was queried using publicly available alumni lists from programs across the United States. The years 2008 to 2011 were included to assess pre-2011 productivity. The years 2012 to 2015 were included in the post 2011 group. Paired t tests were used to assess differences between groups. Statistical significance was set to p Setting A total of 10 orthopedic surgery residency programs across the United States. Participants The study group was composed of 5 of the 2015 top 20 National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded programs and 5 programs without NIH funding. Results When corrected for number of residents per year, there were 0.290 publications per resident/year from 2008 to 2011 increasing to 0.528 publications per resident/year from 2012 to 2015 following implementation of the 2011 work hour restrictions (p = 0.033). When corrected for number of residents per year, there remained no difference in publications per resident from 2008 to 2011 (p = 0.81) or from 2012 to 2015 (p = 0.10) between NIH and non-NIH funded programs. Conclusion There has been little data to support the theory that resident work hour restrictions have improved education or patient care in any meaningful way. In our study, there was a statistically significant increase in publications after 2011; however, the number of publications between NIH funded and non-NIH funded programs did not differ. Our study is the first to demonstrate that with increasing duty hour restrictions, orthopaedic surgery residents may be using more of their free time to conduct research.
An Interpretable Generative Adversarial Approach to Classification of Latent Entity Relations in Unstructured Sentences

We propose a generative adversarial neural network model for relation classification that attempts to emulate the way in which human analysts might process sentences. Our approach provides two unique benefits over existing capabilities: (1) we make predictions by finding and exploiting supportive rationales to improve interpretability (i.e. words or phrases extracted from a sentence that a person can reason upon), and (2) we allow predictions to be easily corrected by adjusting the rationales.Our model consists of three stages: Generator, Selector, and Encoder. The Generator identifies candidate text fragments; the Selector decides which fragments can be used as rationales depending on the goal; and finally, the Encoder performs relation reasoning on the rationales. While the Encoder is trained in a supervised manner to classify relations, the Generator and Selector are designed as unsupervised models to identify rationales without prior knowledge, although they can be semi-supervised through human annotations. We evaluate our model on data from SemEval 2010 that provides 19 relation-classes. Experiments demonstrate that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art models, and that our model is capable of extracting good rationales on its own as well as benefiting from labeled rationales if provided.
Diagnostic Medievalism: The Case of Leprosy's Stigma

This essay considers the longstanding stigma of leprosy diagnoses by looking at two case studies of leprosy in the modern era: a twentieth-century hagiography of Father Damien, a priest who contracted leprosy while caring for lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, and a historical study of Carville, Louisiana, the site of the continental United States' only leper hospital for many decades. The analytical approach looks carefully at forms of description that are especially "medievalist" in nature—for example, the label of "martyr" that the author places on Father Damien or the carnivalesque description of the Mardi Gras Masque held annually for Carville patients. In so doing, the essay argues that certain diseases and disabilities are prone to a kind of "diagnostic medievalism," or tendency to focus on the moralistic connotations rather than the medical causes of a disease, based on historical misconceptions and stereotypes.
Interleukin-13 drives metabolic conditioning of muscle to endurance exercise

Repeated bouts of exercise condition muscle mitochondria to meet increased energy demand-an adaptive response associated with improved metabolic fitness. We found that the type 2 cytokine interleukin-13 (IL-13) is induced in exercising muscle, where it orchestrates metabolic reprogramming that preserves glycogen in favor of fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial respiration. Exercise training-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis, running endurance, and beneficial glycemic effects were lost in Il13-/- mice. By contrast, enhanced muscle IL-13 signaling was sufficient to increase running distance, glucose tolerance, and mitochondrial activity similar to the effects of exercise training. In muscle, IL-13 acts through both its receptor IL-13Rα1 and the transcription factor Stat3. The genetic ablation of either of these downstream effectors reduced running capacity in mice. Thus, coordinated immunological and physiological responses mediate exercise-elicited metabolic adaptations that maximize muscle fuel economy.
The Weight Optimization Revamping Lifestyle using the Dietary Guidelines (WORLD) Study: Sustained Weight Loss Over 12 Months

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to compare two energy-restricted, nutrient-dense diets at the upper or lower ends of the dietary fat recommendation range (lower fat [20% energy from fat] versus moderate fat [35%]) on weight loss using behavioral theory-based nutrition education. METHODS A total of 101 premenopausal women with overweight or obesity were randomized to an energy-restricted lower-fat or moderate-fat diet for 1 year. Interventions included 28 behavioral theory-based nutrition education sessions plus weekly exercise sessions. RESULTS Both treatment groups experienced weight loss (-5.0 kg for lower fat and -4.3 kg for moderate fat; P < 0.0001), but there was no difference in weight loss or fat intake between groups. Total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased (-3. 4 mg/dL and -3.8 mg/dL; P < 0.05), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased (1.9 mg/dL; P < 0.05) in both groups at 12 months. Diet quality, assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, increased significantly at 4 months versus baseline (70.8 [0.9] vs. 77.8 [1.0]) and was maintained through 12 months. Higher Healthy Eating Index scores were associated with greater weight loss at 4 months (r = -0.2; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In the context of a well-resourced, free-living weight-loss intervention, total fat intake did not change; however, theory-based nutrition education underpinned by food-based recommendations resulted in caloric deficits, improvements in diet quality, and weight loss that was sustained for 1 year.
Cultural Considerations within Austrian Economics

Increasingly, economists realize that a deeper understanding of culture can improve their insights into the most important questions in economics. The Austrian school of political economy, which has always taken economics to be a science of meaning, and therefore, a science of culture, offers a unique approach to the study of culture in economic life. We consider three important differences between these Austrian and non-Austrian approaches: the Austrian focus on culture as meaning rather than culture as norms, beliefs, or attitudes; the Austrian emphasis on culture as an interpretative lens rather than as a tool or form of capital; and the Austrian insistence that cultural analysis be a qualitative exercise rather than a quantitative one. We also examine Geertz's description of culture, Gadamer's approach to hermeneutics, and Weber's interpretative sociology, demonstrating their connections to the Austrian approach and offering examples of what Austrian cultural economics can look like.
Understanding Cation Selectivity in Carbon Nanopores with Hybrid First-Principles/Continuum Simulations: Implications for Water Desalination and Separation Technologies

Understanding ion adsorption in porous carbons is critical for a wide range of technologies, including water desalination and energy storage. In this work, we combined density functional theory wit...
Linking emotional intelligence to professional leadership performance standards

This study traced Abu Dhabi public school leaders’ emotional intelligence within the context of professional standards. The study aimed at exploring the emotional intelligence exhibited by school l...
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF THE MODIFIED SIMPSON’S RULE FOR DISCRETE ORDINATES TRANSPORT APPLICATIONS

A new angular quadrature type termed Modified Simpson Trapezoidal (MST) is developed based on the conventional Simpson’s 1/3 rule where the angular pattern over polar levels has a trapezoid shape. An adaptive coefficient correction scheme is developed to enable our new quadrature to integrate the angular flux over subintervals separated by the interior jump irregularities. A two-dimensional test problem is employed to verify the angular discretization error in the uncollided SN scalar flux computed with our new quadrature sets, as well as conventional angular quadrature types. Numerical results show that the MST quadrature error in the point-wise scalar flux converges with second order against increasing number of discrete angles, while the error obtained with other conventional quadrature types converges slower than first order depending on the regularity of the exact point-wise uncollided angular flux. In order to reduce the number of discrete points needed, a variant of the MST quadrature, namely MSTP30, is developed by using the Quadruple Range [1] polar quadrature with fixed 30 polar angles and applying the MST quadrature to the azimuthal dependence in each polar level. The angular discretization error in the point-wise SN scalar flux obtained with MSTP30 sets converges with fourth order because the polar discretization error is sufficiently reduced that MSTP30 behaves like a one-dimensional quadrature. Furthermore, because MSTP30 computes the integral over subintervals that keep the true solution’s irregularity at the boundaries, this fourth order convergence rate is unaffected by such inevitable irregularities.
Linear and Sublinear Time Spectral Density Estimation.

We analyze the popular kernel polynomial method (KPM) for approximating the spectral density (eigenvalue distribution) of an $n\times n$ Hermitian matrix $A$. We prove that a simple and practical variant of the KPM algorithm can approximate the spectral density to $\epsilon$ accuracy in the Wasserstein-1 distance with roughly $O({1}/{\epsilon})$ matrix-vector multiplications with $A$. This yields a provable linear time result for the problem with better $\epsilon$ dependence than prior work. The KPM variant we study is based on damped Chebyshev polynomial expansions. We show that it is stable, meaning that it can be combined with any approximate matrix-vector multiplication algorithm for $A$. As an application, we develop an $O(n\cdot \text{poly}(1/\epsilon))$ time algorithm for computing the spectral density of any $n\times n$ normalized graph adjacency or Laplacian matrix. This runtime is sublinear in the size of the matrix, and assumes sample access to the graph. Our approach leverages several tools from approximation theory, including Jackson's seminal work on approximation with positive kernels [Jackson, 1912], and stability properties of three-term recurrence relations for orthogonal polynomials.
Judgments of learning reflect the Animacy advantage for memory, but not beliefs about the effect

People are more likely to recall animate (living) concepts than they are to recall inanimate (non- living) concepts. This finding is known as the animacy advantage in memory. Despite the frequent occurrence of this effect, we do not know if people are metacognitively aware of it, or how such knowledge relates to memory judgments such as judgments of learning (JOLs) for animate and inanimate memory materials. Across multiple experiments, participants studied and made JOLs for lists containing either animate and inanimate words for a free-recall test or for animate and inanimate word pairs for a cued-recall test. They also indicated their beliefs regarding whether they thought that animate items were more, less, or equally as memorable as inanimate items. Although we consistently obtained the animacy advantage for both free-recall and cued-recall tests, this advantage occurred regardless of participants’ stated beliefs about the effect. More important, participants mostly judged animate items to be more memorable than inanimate items, regardless of their beliefs. These results suggest that, in this context, participants do not use their beliefs as a determinant for their JOLs. Rather, some factor(s) related to the memory advantage for animate over inanimate items might have affected participants’ JOLs to produce this pattern. The results also demonstrate that researchers cannot infer people’s metacognitive beliefs directly from JOLs. Instead, we argue that in order to conclude that beliefs about a cognitive factor are a major basis of metacognitive judgments, those beliefs must moderate the effect of that factor on the judgments.
A survey on artificial intelligence assurance

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms are increasingly providing decision making and operational support across multiple domains. AI includes a wide (and growing) library of algorithms that could be applied for different problems. One important notion for the adoption of AI algorithms into operational decision processes is the concept of assurance. The literature on assurance, unfortunately, conceals its outcomes within a tangled landscape of conflicting approaches, driven by contradicting motivations, assumptions, and intuitions. Accordingly, albeit a rising and novel area, this manuscript provides a systematic review of research works that are relevant to AI assurance, between years 1985 and 2021, and aims to provide a structured alternative to the landscape. A new AI assurance definition is adopted and presented, and assurance methods are contrasted and tabulated. Additionally, a ten-metric scoring system is developed and introduced to evaluate and compare existing methods. Lastly, in this manuscript, we provide foundational insights, discussions, future directions, a roadmap, and applicable recommendations for the development and deployment of AI assurance.
Philosophical cosmology and religious polemic: The “worship of creation” in the writings of Philo of Alexandria and the Wisdom of Solomon:

This article treats Hellenistic Jewish literature that ridicules the alleged worship of the elements, the heavens, the heavenly bodies, or other “parts” of the cosmos, especially as developed in th...
Venous restrictive disease in cerebral arteriovenous malformations

In a review of 151 patients with cerebral anterovenous malformations we found venous stenosis or occlusion in 69 cases (46%); involving the deep or superficial systems with approximately equal frequency. Although patients with uniquely deep venous drainage tended to have bled, there was no clear evidence that venous restrictive changes promoted hemorrhage.
THE OBSESSIONAL DREAM WORLD OF GEORGES BERNANOS

HIS first book, Sous Ie solei! de Satan, contains, at least potentially, almost every idea and technique that Bernanos exploits in the seven following novels, from the setting of the action in his native Artois to the types of character so familiar to his readers: the rebellious adolescent, the priest, the doctors, the decadent nobleman, and so on. The deeper themes that characterize his work-revolt, anguish, death-are also there. From novel to novel, the problems he sets himself remain the same, he works them out through the same kinds of characters, for the most part in the same sort of country village in which he himself grew up. Why did he write more than one novel? Being assured of a public was surely one motive for continuing: Sous Ie soleil de Satan was a big enough commercial success to convince the author that he could make a living as a writer, and moreover the critics, in general, gave it a very favourable reception. But Bernanos had more substantial reasons. He was personally dissatisfied with his work, and just after he had finished it, he wrote to a friend: 'Qui! j'ai termine mon livre. La derniere lecture m'a 6creure. Non! je n'ai pas d6livre mon furieux reve! On voit sa face passer et repasser derriere les barreaux, ou sa grande ombre sur Ie mur infranchissable. '1 The dream world shut up inside him like some prisoner or wild animal demanding release is the key to the compulsive nature of his inspiration. It did not find its liberation in Sous Ie solei! de Satan, and Bernanos had to try again. Before examining the content of this dream world, we must note that Bernanos thought of it as an indivisible whole: it is the total dream that each book attempts to 'liberate'. L'[mposture and La !oie, for example, were to have been a single novel. Letters Bernanos wrote as he was beginning L' Inlposture and after finish-
Fatalism moderates the relationship between family history of cardiovascular disease and engagement in health-promoting behaviors among at-risk rural Kentuckians.

Purpose In rural communities that experience high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, family history education may enhance risk awareness and support engagement in healthy behaviors but could also engender fatalism. This study was conducted to assess if the relationship between family history and adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors is moderated by fatalism. Methods Baseline data were obtained from 1,027 adult participants in the HeartHealth in Rural Kentucky study. Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether fatalism moderated the relationship between high-risk family history of CVD and adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors, controlling for sociodemographic variables and CVD risk factors. The relationship between family history and healthy behaviors was assessed for subgroups of participants divided according to the upper and lower quartiles of fatalism score. Findings The relationship between high-risk family history of CVD and adherence to healthy behaviors was moderated by fatalism. Among those with the highest quartile of fatalism scores, high-risk family history predicted greater adherence to healthy behaviors, while among those in the lowest quartile, and among those with the middle 50% of fatalism scores, there was no association between family history and healthy behavior scores. Conclusions Family history education can provide people at increased risk for CVD important information to guide health practices. This may be particularly relevant for those with a high degree of fatalistic thinking. In rural communities with limited health resources, family history education, combined with assessment of fatalism, may support better targeted interventions to enhance engagement in healthy behaviors.
A community-based assessment of seafood consumption along the lower James River, Virginia, USA: potential sources of dietary mercury exposure.

The use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods to conduct environmental exposure assessments provides valuable insight about disparities in seafood consumption and contaminant exposure. Ninety-five community-specific seafood consumption surveys were administered to low-income African–American women (ages 16–49) residing in the Southeast community of Newport News, VA, USA, for the purpose of assessing potential dietary mercury exposure. Only the results of the seafood consumption surveys are presented in this manuscript. Approximately 65% of the women surveyed do not fish; however, 83% had consumed seafood within the last 7 days. Whiting, shrimp, and canned tuna were the three items most frequently consumed. Ninety-three percent of the women surveyed stated that grocery/seafood markets were the main sources of the seafood items generally consumed. The mean seafood consumption rate for the women surveyed was 147.8 g/day (95% CI: 117.6–185.8), a rate substantially higher than the mean seafood consumption rate reported for US women (1.8 g/day 95% CI: 1.51–2.04). Shrimp, croaker, and blue crab were the top three seafood items with the highest summed amount (g/day) consumed. There was no significant association between demographic variables (age, income, education, and weight) and total number of seafood items listed, ingestion rate (g/meal), exposure frequency (meals/year), and seafood consumption rate (g/day). By using CBPR to assess seafood consumption in this community, we learned that even though women in Southeast Newport News, Virginia are not subsistence fishers, they consume seafood at a subsistence fisher rate. Of the three seafood items most frequently consumed, canned tuna potentially plays a significant role in dietary mercury exposure for women in this community. Future work includes determining mercury concentrations in seafood items consumed and generating community-specific statements of dietary mercury risks.
Leptospirosis vaccines: Past, present, and future

It is well known that Leptospira vaccine prevents the disease. However specificity for serovars limits the efficacy of killed whole cell vaccines. Leptospiral antigens that induce cross-protective immunity to the various serovars are sought as new vaccine candidates. In this paper, we have summarized both past and current findings about leptospiral antigens that are conserved among pathogenic leptospires and that induce protective immunity in animal models. The full-length genome sequences of two Leptospira strains have been published and reverse vaccinology has been used to identify leptospiral vaccine candidates. Although humoral immunity is thought to be dominant in protection from leptospiral infection, a role for cell-mediated immunity is now being explored.
A 92MHz, 80dB peak SNR SC bandpass /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator based on a high GBW OTA with no Miller capacitors in 0.35/spl mu/m CMOS technology

An OTA with a feedforward compensation scheme uses positive phase shift of left half plane (LHP) zeros created by a feedforward path to cancel the negative phase shift of poles, thereby overcoming the limitations of traditional Miller compensation schemes. The OTA is used in the design of a fourth order switched capacitor bandpass /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator with the IF at one-fourth of the sampling frequency. The modulator uses a cascade of resonators in a feedback architecture, along with feedforward paths for stability. Experimental results for the bandpass modulator designed in TSMC 0.35 /spl mu/m CMOS technology show a peak SNR of 80 dB and 54 dB for 270 kHz and 3.84 MHz bandwidth at 92 MHz clock and consumes 19 mA from a /spl plusmn/1.25 V supply. The OTA has a DC gain of 80 dB, 1.4 GHz GBW, phase margin of 62/spl deg/ and 2 ns settling time for 2 pF load capacitor.
Coalescing Particles on an Interval

At time 0, we begin with a particle at each integer in [0, n]. At each positive integer time, one of the particles remaining in [1, n] is chosen at random and moved one to the left, coalescing with any particle that might already be there. How long does it take until all particles coalesce (at 0)?