cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The politics of coaching assistant principals: exploring principal control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how school principals influenced or controlled leadership coaches working with assistant principals in urban secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach – This longitudinal qualitative case study drew upon semi-structured interviews and program documents obtained from participants in a university-based leadership coaching program across three academic years. The study included 22 total participants, including ten assistant principals, nine leadership coaches, and three program staff. Findings – A thematic analysis of the data produced three themes. First, principals controlled coaches’ work with assistant principals both directly and indirectly. Second, the extent of principal control influenced how coaches developed a confidential relationship with the assistant principals and what strategies they used to preserve the confidential nature of the coaching relationship. Third, the focus of the coaching support evolved in response to the assignment of resp...
What Is the Rule of Law?: A Pragmatic Definition and a Synergistic Approach

THE RULE OF LAW: “I KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT”? The late Potter Stewart, a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, once famously remarked that there was no need for the court to define the term obscenity : when it came to obscenity, Stewart said, “I know it when I see it.” For many people, the phrase the rule of law often seems to have a similar quality. In its colloquial sense, the phrase the rule of law implies a rather vague cluster of concepts: fairness, justice, predictability, equality under law. When we think of the rule of law, we may think of the phrase first made famous by Aristotle and often cited by the founders of the American republic: the rule of law involves a “government of laws, not men.” More concretely, we may think of the rule of law as having something to do with certain kinds of institutions and structures: well-functioning, respected courts, judicial review, fair and adequate legal codes, well-trained lawyers, and so on. To some extent, we may also equate the rule of law with respect for basic civil and political rights. For the most part, even those of us who work on rule of law issues would be hard pressed to go beyond these intuitions and offer a precise definition of the rule of law. Yet like Justice Stewart, we are nonetheless pretty sure that we know it when we see it.
A25 Session 7: Advances in Thermal Medicine : Intrinsic and extrinsic cell death processes

Cell death results from structural damage to critical systems and from the initiation of intrinsic death processes. Damage to structural proteins at elevated temperatures consists of thermal denaturation; most often a disruption in one or more of the periodic constructs that typify these molecules. Structural proteins obtain their function from their chemical structure and periodic geometry. These processes at elevated temperatures are well described by first order reaction kinetics: an Arrhenius single-step irreversible reaction formulation. At temperatures below the freezing point of cell water, mechanical disruption is a primary mechanism. Functional proteins are another matter entirely. Enzymes obtain their function from their particular folded conformation as much as their molecular constituents. Activation of an enzyme usually results from a slight change in conformation, exposing a catalytic site that provides an alternate more favorable lower energy pathway for an otherwise unfavorable reaction. Intrinsic cell death processes; such as apoptosis, necroptosis, autophagy and pyroptosis; result from cascades of signaling, initiator and executioner functional proteins. They may result from intrinsic signals, such as the p53 pathway, or extrinsic signals, such as the FAS or TNF ligands. In either case the process results from the cell’s decision to die based on the strength of the input signals. Complex inter-related systems of dynamic state-space interaction differential equations are required to describe these protein cascade processes. Perhaps the best understood such process to date is apoptosis, and it will be used as an instructional example. The distinguishing feature of successful models of these processes is that they include a variable delay function, which is not possible to describe with an irreversible Arrhenius formulation. The minimum set of features required, in reaction kinetics terms, must contain association/dissociation (i.e. non linearities) in addition to the linear reaction features. Examples of experimental cell survival curves at elevated temperatures illustrate the necessary features for successful mathematical models.
Territorial Neutrality and Cultural Pluralism in American Federalism: Is the United States the Archenemy of Peripheral Nationalism?

This study examines accommodations of ‘national’ minorities in the context of territorial neutrality and territorial democracy in American federalism and critiques Kymlicka's criticism of the United States as the foe of peripheral nationalism. Aside from the imagined nationalism of the white American South, peripheral nationalism has not been politically viable in the United States. Territorial democracy permitted territorially based cultural pluralism that facilitated immigrant assimilation while asymmetrical territorial governance arrangements accommodated ‘national’ minorities not necessarily desiring statehood. Secession, therefore, is not a credible threat in American federalism.
Faculty Perceptions of Online Teaching Effectiveness and Indicators of Quality

Online education programs in nursing are increasing rapidly. Faculty need to be competent in their role and possess the skills necessary to positively impact student outcomes. Existing research offers effective teaching strategies for online education; however, there may be some disconnect in the application of these strategies and faculty perceptions of associated outcomes. Focus groups were formed to uncover how nursing faculty in an online program define and describe teaching effectiveness and quality indicators in an asynchronous online environment. A semistructured interview format guided group discussion. Participants (n = 11) included nurse educators from an online university with an average of 15 years of experience teaching in nursing academia and 6 years in an online environment. Teaching effectiveness, indicators of quality, and student success were three categories that emerged from the analysis of data. What materialized from the analysis was an overarching concept of a "dance" that occurs in the online environment. Effective online teachers facilitate, connect, lead, and work in synchrony with students to obtain indicators of quality such as student success, student improvement over time, and student application of knowledge to the professional role.
OpenSMART: Single-cycle multi-hop NoC generator in BSV and Chisel

The chip industry faces two key challenges today — the impending end of Moore's Law and the rising costs of chip design and verification (millions of dollars today). Heterogeneous IPs — cores and domain-specific accelerators — are a promising answer to the first challenge, enabling performance and energy benefits no longer provided by technology scaling. IP-reuse with plug-and-play designs can help with the second challenge, amortizing NRE costs tremendously. A key requirement in a heterogeneous IP-based plug-and-play SoC environment is an interconnection fabric to connect these IPs together. This fabric needs to be scalable — low latency, low energy and low area — and yet be flexible/parametrizable for use across designs. The key scalability challenge in any Network-on-Chip (NoC) today is that the latency increases proportional to the number of hops. In this work, we present a NoC generator called OpenSMART, which generates low-latency NoCs based on SMART1. SMART is a recently proposed NoC microarchitecture that enables multihop on-chip traversals within a single cycle, removing the dependence of latency on hops. SMART leverages wire delay of the underlying repeated wires, and augments each router with the ability to request and setup bypass paths. OpenSMART takes SMART from a NoC optimization to a design methodology for SoCs, enabling users to generate verified RTL for a class of userspecified network configurations, such as network size, topology, routing algorithm, number of VCs/buffers, router pipeline stages, and so on. OpenSMART also provides the ability to generate any heterogeneous topology with low and high-radix routers and optimized single-stage pipelines, leveraging fast logic delays in technology nodes today. OpenSMART v1.0 comes with both Bluespec System Verilog and Chisel implementations, and this paper also presents a case study of our experiences with both languages. OpenSMART is available for download2 and is going to be a key addition to the emerging open-source hardware movement, providing a glue for interconnecting existing and emerging IPs.
Research Gaps and Controversies in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Review.

Importance Scientific and lay interest in negative outcomes associated with exposure to repetitive brain trauma (RBT) continues to strengthen. Concerns about the association between RBT and dementia began more than a century ago, but have resurfaced in the last decade with the more recently described chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a tauopathy associated with RBT that has become inextricably linked to conversations about sport-related concussion and mild traumatic brain injury. Accordingly, specific populations such as collision sport athletes and certain military personnel are of particular interest owing to their unique exposure to RBT. The gaps and controversies in our understanding of the epidemiologic factors, mechanism, and clinicopathological correlates of CTE reflect the current reliance on postmortem case series investigations. This review discusses the state of the science of CTE and raises considerations for researching and interpreting cognitive changes in members of at-risk populations. Observations The recent development of pathological diagnostic criteria for CTE represented an important step for differentiating CTE from other neurodegenerative diseases. By comparison, defining the clinical syndrome(s) associated with CTE and the necessary and sufficient symptoms needed for its diagnosis lags behind. The absence of validated in vivo biomarkers of pathological characteristics of CTE and longitudinal tracking with neuropsychological evaluation remains a significant hurdle. Attribution of candidate symptoms in retired athletes to CTE is complicated by the presence of multiple premorbid and comorbid factors affecting cognitive reserve that influence normal or expected cognitive functioning. This is a critical issue in appropriately defining reference groups for normative comparisons. Conclusions and Relevance Available data, while limited and complicated by selection bias, indicate that exposure to RBT represents the greatest risk factor for CTE pathological features, although clinicopathological correlates and the nature of onset and progression of symptoms are largely unknown. Considering aspects of cognitive reserve is likely essential for both interpreting cognitive outcomes associated with CTE and for developing preventive treatment programs. Research on CTE would benefit greatly from incorporating principles established within other areas of neurodegenerative disease and the nuances of clinicopathological considerations.
Layer solutions for a one-dimensional nonlocal model of Ginzburg–Landau type

We study a nonlocal model of Ginzburg–Landau type that gives rise to an equation involving a mixture of the Laplacian and half-Laplacian. Our focus is on one-dimensional transition layer profiles that connect the two distinct homogeneous phases. We first introduce a renormalized one-dimensional energy that is free from a logarithmic divergence due to the failure of the Gagliardo norm to be finite on smooth profiles that asymptote to different limits at infinity. We then prove existence, uniqueness, monotonicity and regularity of minimizers in a suitable class. Lastly, we consider the singular limit in which the coefficient in front of the Laplacian vanishes and prove convergence of the obtained minimizer to the solutions of the fractional Allen–Cahn equation.
Reducing Surgical Revisions in Intracranial Complications of Pediatric Acute Sinusitis.

Objective(1) To describe the demographics and clinical course of children with intracranial complications of sinusitis. (2) To elucidate factors that predict revision surgery in this population, su...
Three decades of annual growth, mortality, physical condition, and microsite for ten tropical rainforest tree species.

In lowland tropical rainforest, hundreds of tree species typically occur within mesoscale landscapes (50-500 ha). There is no consensus ecological theory that accounts for the coexistence of so many species with similar morphologies and the same fundamental requirements of light, nutrients, water, and physical space. In part this is due to the limited understanding of post-establishment ecology for the vast majority of tropical tree species. Of even more concern is the lack of understanding of how these trees are responding to on-going atmospheric and climatic changes. Here we present long-term data on the post-establishment ecology of ten species of tropical rainforest trees that span a broad life-history spectrum. The study site was upland (non-swamp) old-growth tropical wet forest at the La Selva Biological Station (N.E. Costa Rica). Focal individuals from established seedlings to mature trees were assessed annually, with an emphasis on accuracy and long-term consistency of the observations. The annual time-step, rare for longterm studies in tropical rainforest, captures the typically abrupt changes in forest structure and light environments, the frequent instances of major physical damage, and the trees' responses to these events and to interannual and long-term climatic variation. With the completion of the study in 2016, the data for survivorship, growth, and microsite conditions span 4,499 individuals and 34 yr. The first ten years of these data were published as an Ecology/Ecological Archives data paper in 2000 (Clark and Clark 2000), with two subsequent update publications (Clark and Clark 2006, 2012). This final update adds the final six years of observations, digitized field comments, and histories of points of measurement on the trees. The metadata now include the scanned original field data-sheets for the entire study and a narrative detailing the annual qa/qc of the data. The data set is unique for its scope (years of continuous annual measurements, number of monitored individuals), the in-depth documentation, and the unrestricted data access. The data have been used to study life history patterns, tree ecology through ontogeny, and effects on tree performance from interannual and long-term climatic and atmospheric change. They have also contributed to numerous remote-sensing studies. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of the paper; the authors believe scientific data should be freely available for scientific use. The authors would appreciate notification of when and how data are used, but this is discretionary on the part of the data users and is in no sense mandatory.
The Cell Cycle and V(D)J Recombination

V(D)J recombination, the process by which lynnphocyte antigen receptor genes are assembled during lynnphocyte development, is the only known form of site-specific DNA rearrangement in vertebrates (Lewis 1994). V(D)J recombination is initiated by double-strand DNA cleavage at conserved recombinational signal sequences (Roth et al. 1992a,b,1993; Schussel et al. 1993; McBlane et al. 1995; vanGent et al. 1995), in this way resembling other DNA transactions such as yeast mating-type switch recombination (Herskowitz 1989). The involvement of double-strand cleavage in these processes is potentially deleterious, since introduction or persistence of double-strand breaks at recombinational signal sequences during M phase or S phase could interfere with faithful transmission of genetic information to daughter cells. Eukaryotic cells have evolved protective checkpoint mechanisms that sense the presence of double- strand DNA breaks and induce delays in cell cycle progression from Gl into S or from G2 into M. These delays mitigate against attempted replication of damaged templates and missegregation of damaged chromosomes.
Shock-Compression Processes in Solid State Chemistry

In this chapter: The background of shock-induced solid-state chemistry; conceptual models and mathematical models; chemical reactions in shock-compressed porous powders; sample preservation.
Measuring cell proliferation

Histopathology is based on the interpretation of features of the microscopic image. In recent years, there has evolved interest in assessing quantifiable data from these images, with the intent of providing more precise diagnostic and prognostic information. Proliferation characteristics of tumors are among the most important of these data. Methods for measuring cell proliferation are reviewed.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Defined Prostate-Specific Antigen Density Significantly Improves the Risk Prediction for Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer on Biopsy

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the predictive value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density and MRI interpretation for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed our institutional database of men who received prostate MRI prior to biopsy at our institution between September 2014 and December 2016, excluding those on active surveillance (n = 372). Logistic regression models to predict clinically significant PCa on biopsy were developed using (1) MRI-defined PSA density; (2) PSA alone; and (3) the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) risk calculator. Additional logistic regression models were then generated by combining the previous clinical variables with MRI interpretation (ie, prostate imaging reporting and data system [PI-RADS] classification): (1) MRI-defined PSA density + MRI interpretation; (2) PSA + MRI interpretation; and (3) PCPT + MRI interpretation. Receiving operator characteristic curves for each of the 6 models were generated, and the area under the curves (AUC) were compared. RESULTS MRI-defined PSA density (AUCPSAD = 0.77) significantly outperformed the PSA (AUCPSA = 0.66, P < .01) and PCPT models (AUCPCPT = 0.70, P < .01). When combined with MRI interpretation (ie, PI-RADS classification), the MRI-defined PSA density model (AUCPSAD + MRI = 0.80) significantly outperformed the PSA (AUCPSA + MRI = 0.75, P < .01) and PCPT models (AUCPCPT + MRI = 0.76, P = .01). CONCLUSION In addition to the PI-RADS classification, prebiopsy multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging also provides an accurate assessment of prostate volume. By utilizing this additional data to determine MRI-defined PSA density, we find that risk discrimination for clinically significant PCa on biopsy can be significantly improved.
Thrips Control Onion, 2013

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of insecticides for control of onion thrips (OT) and western flower thrips on dehydrator onions under desert growing conditions. Dehydrator onion “White Creole” was direct seeded into six row beds on 40-inch centers on 19 October 2012 at the University of California Desert Research and Extension Center, El Centro, CA. Stand establishment was achieved using overhead sprinkler irrigation initiated on 22 October 2012. Sprinklers were used until January 2013, and furrow irrigation was utilized thereafter. Plots were four beds 13.3 ft in width by 50 ft in length and bordered by one untreated bed. The experiment included 11 insecticidal treatments and an untreated check. Four replications of each treatment were arranged in an RCB design. Insecticidal compounds, formulations, and application rates, along with treatment dates, are provided in Table 1. All insecticide treatments were foliar sprays applied with a four-row sprayer (Lee Spider Spray TracTractor) with three TJ-60 11003VS nozzles per bed, a total of 12 nozzles that delivered 53 gpa at 30 psi. The adjuvant, DyneAmic (Helena Chemical Co.), was added to all insecticidal spray mixtures at 0.25% vol/vol. Thrips were sampled by …
Demonstrating continuous-variable Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering with a finite number of measurements

Here, we discuss the development of a new inequality in information theory; a Fano inequality suitable for continuous variables. With this inequality, we show how one can demonstrate Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering in the position-momentum statistics of entangled photon pairs from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). More importantly, we show how with sufficiently strong position and momentum correlations, we can demonstrate continuous-variable EPR steering without having to assume the photo-detectors have access to the entire joint intensity distribution. Moreover, we demonstrate this experimentally with the position and momentum statistics of entangled photon pairs in SPDC.
Sulfasalazine-induced generalized vitiligo in a patient with dermatitis herpetiformis and celiac disease

Vitiligo is an acquired idiopathic pigmentary skin disorder characterized by the development of white macules and patches due to the loss of functioning melanocytes. In this report, we describe a case of a patient with a longstanding history of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and celiac disease that developed rapidly progressing, biopsy-confirmed generalized vitiligo after 11 months of treatment with anti-inflammatory medication sulfasalazine, prescribed for the patient's DH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report which has demonstrated the possible biochemical pathways, triggered by sulfasalazine, in the development of vitiligo.
Paternal morphine exposure induces bidirectional effects on cocaine versus opioid self-administration.

Abstract The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic and is thus experiencing unprecedented levels of opioid exposure. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that this may have consequences on multiple generations. The current set of experiments examined the effect of male adolescent opioid exposure on cocaine and opioid self-administration in the F1 generation. Male Sprague Dawley rats were administered increasing doses of morphine (5–25 mg/kg, s.c.) for 10 days during adolescence (P30-39). Rats were then maintained drug free until adulthood (P70-80) at which point they were mated with drug-naive females. Male and female F1 offspring were first examined for cocaine self-administration during adulthood. Naive littermates were tested for morphine self-administration acquisition followed by a within subjects design progressive ratio test for morphine, oxycodone, and cocaine. Results show that male and female F1 rats have delayed acquisition and decreased intake of cocaine. In addition, they have blunted PR levels compared to Sal-F1 control rats. Female Mor-F1 rats also demonstrate increased levels of morphine intake during acquisition and increased PR responding for oxycodone. Surprisingly, even following acquisition of morphine self-administration, Mor-F1 males and females still demonstrate blunted effort for cocaine. There were no differences in sucrose self-administration in naive littermates. MorF0 seminiferous tubules demonstrated increased levels of acetylated histone H3 and there were increased levels of BDNF mRNA in the mPFC in male and female F1 offspring. Together, these data identify systems that are vulnerable to the impact of opioids in the F0 generation.
Cost‐effectiveness of integrating gut microbiota analysis into hospitalisation prediction in cirrhosis

Background Admissions in cirrhosis are expensive and often unpredictable based on purely clinical variables. Admissions could be related to complications associated with gut microbial changes, which can improve prognostication. However, the cost-effectiveness is unclear. Aims Determine cost-effectiveness of adding gut microbiota analysis to clinical parameters in prediction and subsequent reduction of admissions in cirrhosis. Methods Using a Markov model of 1000 cirrhosis patients over 90 days, we modeled microbiota testing using 16srRNA ($250/sample), low-depth ($350/sample) and high-depth ($650/sample) metagenomics added to standard-of-care (SOC) for prevention of admissions using standard outcome costs and rates of development. We generated quality of life years (QALY) and Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) for the base scenarios and performed sensitivity analyses by varying costs for outcomes (transplant, death, admission) and admission rates (40%, range 25%-60%). Results Using fixed costs of outcomes and outcome rates, microbiota analysis was cost-saving ($47K-$97K) at $250 and $350/sample if admissions were reduced by 5%over SOC and >10% with $650/sample. When costs of LT, death and admissions were varied, these cost-savings remained robust provided there was >2.1% reduction (range 1.3%-3.2%) for $250/sample, >2.9% (range 1.8%-4.4%) for $350/sample and >5.4% (range 3.3%-8.2%) for $650/sample. These cost-savings remained robust even when the assumed admission rate was varied for all sample cost values. Conclusions Gut microbiota analysis is cost-effective for predicting and potentially preventing 90-day admissions in cirrhosis over current standard of care. This cost-saving remained robust even after sensitivity analyses that varied the background admission rates.
TRENDS IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN THE UNITED STATES WOMEN WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: AN INSIGHT FROM THE NATIONAL INPATIENT SAMPLE, 1998–2013

Cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the leading cause of death in women in the United States. Over the last decade, an overall decline in CV disease related mortality among the US women has been reported. However, recent study suggested an increasing incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in
Plant-based diet trends in oncology patients.

e19224Background: Plant-based diets are beneficial in several cancers such as colorectal and prostate. However, their adoption among oncology patients is not well studied. We report trends in plant...
Cap and Trade and the Capture Theory of Regulation: Evidence from an Event Study

This paper examines the effect of carbon dioxide regulation on the stock price of U.S. firms. This paper looks to overcome what is considered the most significant obstacle in using such methodology to study regulation, timing when market expectations change, by taking advantage of a surprise announcement by President George W. Bush in 2001 that conveyed a sudden reversal in his position towards such regulation. Event studies on the day of this announcement find that industries that are highly “energy-intensive" experience statistically significant stock price reductions between 2 and 7 percent after controlling for marketwide variation. Most other industries display insignificant abnormal returns. These results support the capture theory of regulation.
Health beliefs as predictors of intentions toward prostate cancer screening among Nigerian immigrant men

Prostate cancer (PCa) globally impacts men of African descent disproportionately more than any other ethnicity. Studies focusing on PCa among the U.S.-based Nigerian immigrant men (NIM) are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of health beliefs on NIM’s prostate cancer screening intention using select constructs of two health behavior models. This study consisted of (N = 130) U.S. NIM, aged 40 years and older, who were recruited from local nonprofit associations in New Jersey. Pen-and-paper questionnaire data were gathered using the Behavioral Intention Scale and the modified version of the Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale for Prostate Cancer, along with demographic questions. Data were analyzed in SPSS 25.0. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how well perceived susceptibility, benefits, and barriers predicted the intention to undergo screening for prostate cancer. The model was significantly related to intention (R2 = 0.22, F (4,125) = 9.02, p < 0.001). Beta weights indicated that only perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit shared in the 22% of intention variability. Perceived susceptibility (β = 0.61, p < 0.001) and perceived benefits (β = 0.41, p < 0.001) were thus the variables that significantly contributed to the model. Continuous education and awareness of prostate cancer and the importance of screening, as well as a better understanding of health belief perceptions, remain strategies healthcare providers can utilize to reach at-risk minority populations.
Interaction of Calcium Carbonate with Nanobubbles Produced in an Alternating Magnetic Field.

Nanobubbles have been widely studied for their use in water treatments. Conventional methods for producing nanobubbles require significantly high levels of electric power. A system that involves in...
Cannabis users demonstrate enhanced neural reactivity to reward: An event-related potential and time-frequency EEG study.

Abstract Introduction Disruptions in neural measures of reward responsiveness are implicated in risk for and the development of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in general, but it is not clear if this is also true for Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD). To date, no studies have examined neural reward responsiveness in cannabis users using EEG. Methods Cannabis users (CU; n = 67) and non-users (n = 60) were drawn from larger studies of individuals with and without internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Groups were matched on current and lifetime psychopathology. Participants completed a validated monetary reward task during electroencephalogram (EEG). One-way between subject analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models examined group differences in four EEG indicators of reward responsiveness - the reward positivity (RewP) and feedback negativity (FN) event-related potentials and two time–frequency measures (reward-related delta and loss-related theta). Results CU demonstrated an enhanced RewP to the attainment of monetary reward compared to non-users (p = .004), even after controlling for relevant covariates. Secondary analyses found that occasional CU, but not current CUD or remitted CUD, showed enhanced RewP compared to non-users. There were no significant differences in FN, reward-related delta, or loss-related theta time–frequency measures between groups. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study to show preliminary evidence that CU have an enhanced RewP to reward and the extent of disruption may be related to CUD status. Our findings suggest that greater neural reward responsiveness may only be seen among occasional CU, not necessarily among CU with current or remitted CUD.
Edge Computing Approach to DEVOPS

Lagging or slow responsiveness is very common among Jenkins users, and you can find many reported issues on it. Slow Continuous Integration systems are frustrating, they increase the end to end Software development time. The combination of Edge Computing and Docker, a container-based technology could bypass these performance problems and increase the user experience. Our paper presents a way to use edge computing and docker approach for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery to run the Jenkins server on the local system/developer system and once the checks and builds are run successfully on it, the deployment will be done to target environment.
Defining Constitutional Parameters: The Forced Drugging of Civilly Committed Mental Patients

This Note explores the constitutional issues surrounding the forced administration of psychotropic drugs. This author discusses the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision, Washington v. Harper, on forced medication and criticizes the judicial system's present treatment of these issues. Ultimately, this author proposes a preferred analytic framework and standard of review for deciding such cases, focusing on First Amendment, rather than due process rights. Eds.
Big bangs in the universe

The explosions of supernovae are so powerful they can be seen with the naked eye. The physics behind them is harder to uncover, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
[Poster] Association between prenatal exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) and adverse birth outcomes in Nepal and Bangladesh using the prediction model for daily PM2.5 concentrations matched with demographic and health survey data: spatio-temporal analysis: Predicting PM2.5 in Nepal and Bangladesh using XGBoost, LightGBM, and deep learning with multisource satellite data including Sentinel-5P

There is growing evidence on associations of prenatal exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) with adverse birth outcomes including preterm birth and low birth weight; however, no previous studies have examined such associations in Nepal and Bangladesh due to the lack of resources that affect PM2.5 exposure data collection. This study aims at conducting a spatial-temporal analysis of an association between prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and preterm birth and term low birth weight in Nepal and Bangladesh by using the prediction model for PM2.5 daily concentrations that is geographically matched with Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. The main purpose of this poster is to introduce the overall picture of the study and present the materials, methods, and results of the first component of the study: (1) Develop a prediction model for daily PM2.5 concentrations in Nepal and Bangladesh. Contrary to traditional predictive models using satellite-detected Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) for PM2.5 predictions, our model used the satellite-detected air pollution data (Sentinel-5P). The model performed well overall (R2 = 0.79), for a post-monsoon period (R2 = 0.79), and winter (R2 = 0.74), but worked poorly for summer (R2 = 0.61) and a monsoon period (R2 = 0.46). The model can be further improved by adding input features such as distance to sources of air pollution, local traffic-related data, and ground-level air pollutants that can be statistically computed from relevant column values obtained from Sentinel-5P.
Retroviruses facilitate the rapid evolution of the mammalian placenta

The mammalian placenta exhibits elevated expression of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), but the evolutionary significance of this feature remains unclear. I propose that ERV-mediated regulatory evolution was, and continues to be, an important mechanism underlying the evolution of placental development. Many recent studies have focused on the co-option of ERV-derived genes for specific functional adaptations in the placenta. However, the co-option of ERV-derived regulatory elements could potentially lead to the incorporation of entire gene regulatory networks, which, I argue, would facilitate relatively rapid developmental evolution of the placenta. I suggest a model in which an ancient retroviral infection led to the establishment of the ancestral placental developmental gene network through the co-option of ERV-derived regulatory elements. Consequently, placental development would require elevated tolerance to ERV activity. This in turn would expose a continuous stream of novel ERV mutations that may have catalyzed the developmental diversification of the mammalian placenta.
X-Ray Absorption Spectrometers

X-ray absorption spectrometers are described with emphasis on synchrotron radiation beamlines for x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopic XAFS measurements. X-ray spectral requirements, sources, monochromators, mirrors, and detectors are briefly described with references to other resources.
The Use of Supplier Financing and Shareholder Wealth

We examine market value implications of managing liquidity via supplier financing. Results suggest a direct relation between shareholder wealth and use of trade credit. Further, the relation exhibits significant cross-sectional variation. In particular, industry affiliation influences the market value of trade credit, with respect to liquidity of goods sold and product market competition. Results also suggest the excess returns-supplier financing association strengthens with financial constraint, which supports the financing motive for trade credit. Findings also provide some support for the transactions cost motive. Overall, we conclude that shareholders acknowledge the strategic benefits associated with access to and use of supplier financing and that downstream firms’ characteristics influence from the value relevance of the strategic use of trade credit.
Oocyte comet assay of luteal phase sera from nonpregnant patients after assisted reproductive procedures.

Purpose: Serum factors in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA) inhibit mouse embryo development in vitro. Serum factors affecting DNA integrity remain to be tested. The null hypothesis was that patient sera do not affect DNA integrity. The objectives were (a) to use the oocyte comet assay to assess DNA damage after exposure to patient sera and (b) to determine the effect of sera from gravidity 0 parity 0 patients to induce DNA apoptosis. Methods: Luteal phase sera were drawn 1 week after embryo transfer following assisted reproductive procedures. Frozen–thawed hamster zona intact oocytes at metaphase II were incubated in groups of eight in either control medium or medium supplemented with 50% patient serum for 1.5 h at 37°C in room air. The oocytes were fixed, stained in acridine orange, embedded in agarose, lysed, and alkaline electrophoresis performed. The intensities of the digitized fluorescent images were analyzed. Results: The sera of nonpregnant patients (64%) caused significant fragmentation of hamster oocyte DNA when compared with pregnant patient sera. This difference was also observed when adjusted for patient age. Sera of patients that had never been pregnant also resulted in oocyte DNA fragmentation. Conclusions: The results suggested that sera from patients that did not conceive contained factors that did not support cell growth by causing DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. The level of the apoptotic factors varied from cycle to cycle. However, more studies are needed to determine if the sera factors actually reach the uterine environment to cause the undesirable effects.
Organized Crime: The Rise and Fall of the Mob

Seeking a single definition of “organized crime” is a futile quest. “Organized crime” is a social construct. Whatever the case with natural entities, it has no “essence” in the traditional sense of the term. Thus, the meaning of “organized crime” is a question of the purpose for which it is used. Various definitions work well or ill in varying circumstances. Using one definition in each circumstance is problematic. Forms of organized crime were present in the United States from its earliest days. Apart from Prohibition, organized crime, used in the sense of the Mafia or the Mob, did not come to national attention until the 1950’s, when its operations received widespread publicity, as the result of congressional investigations. Nevertheless, because we have traditionally thought of crime control as a local matter, the federal government did not at that time get into the fray in a major way. Even then, its responses had little impact on the Mob. In fact, the Mob reached its apex in the United States in the 1960’s. Following recommendations of the President’s Crime Commission in 1967, which studied organized crime, in particular the Mob, in detail, Congress acted in 1968 to authorize court-ordered electronic surveillance. In the 1970’s, it authorized other evidence gathering tools, set up the witness protection program, established sentencing guidelines, and enacted the anti-racketeering act, or RICO. Little happened in the efforts to control the Mob until the 1980’s, when the FBI finally learned how to use these new law enforcement tools. Today, the Mob, throughout the United States, is a shadow of its former self. The legal tools and administrative changes to control or eliminate it are in place. Its final elimination is a matter of the political will to continue to provide the necessary law enforcement resources. The sun has not set, but it is twilight for the Mob.
Diagnostic assays for defects in mtDNA replication and transcription in yeast and humans.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes several simple assays for the determination of relative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number (as a measure of mtDNA replication and stability) and steady-state levels of mitochondrial transcripts (as a measure of an intact mitochondrial transcription apparatus) in human and yeast cells. These diagnostic assays allow potential defects in mtDNA replication and transcription to be identified in a time- and labor-efficient manner. Once a defect of this type is postulated based on the preliminary assays described, the chapter encourages the use of more intensive in vitro and in organello methods to address the molecular nature of the defect more precisely. In general, the methodologies for assaying mitochondrial transcript levels are similar, if not identical, to those utilized to analyze nucleus-derived transcripts. For example, northern hybridization, nuclease protection (e.g., RNase protection), and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays have been successfully used to monitor steady-state levels of specific mitochondrial transcripts in cultured human and yeast cells. The assays described in this chapter provide an initial assessment of whether mtDNA replication or mitochondrial transcription is occurring normally in human or yeast cells. While these assays are helpful for initial diagnostic purposes, it is noted that a reduction in the steady-state level of mtDNA or mitochondrial RNA in a cell, which is the end point of all the assays described in the chapter, may be due to perturbations in the cell other than those that affect mtDNA replication.
Electromagnetic mass differences of baryons based upon the Reggeized tadpole model

A simple calculation, based upon a Reggeized tadpole model and upon Harari’s once-subtracted dispersion relation gives fair agreement of baryon, electromagnetic mass differences with experimental values.
Enacting acts of authentication in a robotics competition: An interpretivist study

While the science classroom primarily remains a site for knowledge acquisition through teacher directed experiences, other sites exist outside of the classroom that allow for student generation of scientific knowledge. These sites provide opportunities for linguistic and social interactions to play a powerful role in situating students' science learning experiences. Augmenting students' formal school science experiences with informal experiences outside of the classroom enables them to intersect their personal knowledge with canonical disciplinary knowledge. This allows for conditions of practice that are more relevant to the students. In this study we introduce the notion of acts of authentication to examine the nature of students' linguistic and social activities in an informal setting—a regional robotics competition. These acts of authentication are a) participating in talk (including everyday); b) participating in productive disciplinary engagement (by co-constructing and critiquing knowledge); and c) being a member of a community of practice. We used Critical Discourse Analysis to examine students' and mentor's dialogic language to gain insights into the nature of their robotics experiences. Our findings indicate that the robotics experience offered rich opportunities for students to engage in acts of authentication. Our study offers conceptual insights into how the culture of the robotics activities both constructs and is constructed by the linguistic and social experiences of the students and their mentors. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 268–295, 2015
Distributed communication/navigation robot vehicle network

This paper describes algorithms for forming a communication/navigation network of robotic vehicles inside a building. All ultrasound ranging system on each vehicle is used to determine the distance between vehicles in the network. This distance information is transformed into x,y position information using a steepest descent algorithm that minimizes the error between measured distances and estimated distances (determined from estimated x,y position). This same optimization function is also used to guide the vehicles into a desired formation specified by the desired distance between vehicles. When used for guidance, the gradient vector is used as the commanded input to each vehicle. Most importantly, the algorithm does not require knowledge of the distance between every vehicle node, only those closest to it. Therefore, the algorithm can be distributed amongst the vehicles, providing a global control for the entire system using only local control laws implemented on each vehicle.
Parallel-wire probes for measurement of thick liquid films

Abstract A method of calibration for parallel-wire film thickness probes is presented. This method allows calibration of probes made of fine wires with dimensions that are comparable to standard machining tolerances. The resulting probes yield accurate and continuous measurements of film thickness for thick (> 1 mm) films.
Transplantation of nuclei and mitochondria ofPhysarum polycephalum by plasmodial coalescence

Die Plasmodien des vielkernigen, mitotisch synchronen SchleimpilzesPhysarum polycephalum zeigen bei Beruhrung Fusionstendenz. Der so erfolgende Protoplasmaaustausch erlaubt die Transplantation der Zellkerne, Mitochondrien usw. von einem Plasmodium in das andere und, nach Vormarkierung, die weitere Verhaltensbeobachtung.
Feasibility of ultra-low radiation dose reduction for renal stone CT using model-based iterative reconstruction: prospective pilot study.

Abstract Purpose To compare dose, reader assessments, and noise between ultra-low-dose (ULD) and low-dose (LD) renal stone computed tomography (CT) using multiple reconstruction methods. Materials and methods Prospective study of 19 patients having noncontrast LD and ULD renal stone CT reconstructed using filtered back projection, adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR), and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR). Dose, noise measurements, and subjective image assessments were recorded. Results ULD volume CT dose index was 61% less. Noise was 50% less with ULD MBIR than with LD ASIR ( P Conclusion ULD MBIR is comparable to our standard of care, LD ASIR, with 61% lower dose and 50% less noise.
Laboratory testbeds for broadband x-ray interferometry

ABSTRACT NASAs Strategic Plan for Space Sciences currently envisions a mission capable of resolving the event horizonsof supermassive black holes, with imaging-spectroscopy capabilities at angular resolutions better than 0.1 mi-croarcsecond. To achieve this goal, the Micro-Arcsecond X-ray Imaging Mission (MAXIM), a broadband X-rayinterferometer, is currently under study. Ground-based proof-of-concept eorts include experiments to demon-strate the feasibility of X-ray interferometry with simple optics. We describe here recent advances in laboratorytestbeds, at the University of Colorado and at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, that essentially replicateYoungs double-slit experiment at X-ray energies. A typical apparatus employs four at mirrors arranged inperiscope pairs, with each pair illuminated at grazing incidence by a slit. We discuss the salient features of theseexperiments, technical hurdles such as metrology and line-of-sight issues, the successful detection of fringes atwavelengths as short as the Al Kalpha line at 8.35 Angstroms, and future upgrades of our facilities.Keywords: Interferometry, X-ray, grazing incidence, high-resolution imaging