40 research outputs found
Hippocampal scrapie infection impairs operant DRL performance in mice
No full textIn differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) tasks, animals are trained to respond for rewards that become available only after some set time has elapsed since the animal's previous response. DRL performance is impaired by hippocampal lesions regardless of their precise location, and can be measured using automated operant equipment, whereas spatial tasks are selectively impaired by dorsal, but not ventral hippocampal lesions, and are typically conducted by hand. Earlier studies of prion infection following dorsal hippocampal microinjections of scrapie have shown clear impairments of spatial alternation, but these occurred significantly later than dysfunction in hippocampus-dependent domestic tasks such as nesting or burrowing. In the present experiment, mice were trained to respond on an automated DRL schedule prior to dorsal hippocampal ME7 scrapie injection. Postoperative DRL performance was monitored, along with performance on domestic and other tests, which provided additional measures of disease progression. Animals with scrapie developed a clear DRL deficit at approximately the same time as their deficits on the other tests became apparent, and long before clinical signs were detectable. DRL deficits thus appeared earlier in the sequence of disease progression than previously reported for spatial alternation, suggesting that early signs of scrapie infection are caused in part by neuronal dysfunction extending beyond the dorsal hippocampal region of initial infection
Zeitgeschichtliche und theologisch-scholastische Aspekte im "Daniel von dem blühenden Tal" des Stricker
No full textPrimary and Secondary Effects of Gender on Educational Attainment: Toward a Better Understanding of the Academic Underachievement of Boys
No full textGender segregation in the labor market is closely related to gender-segregated educational choices. Male- and female-typed fields of study are typically associated with different educational requirements. Educational and occupational aspirations may therefore influence how boys and girls invest in education. The author investigates how gender-typed occupational aspirations and gender differences in educational expectations may help explain the gender gaps in academic performance and educational attainment in Norway. Educational attainment among 1,076 youth born in 1992 is examined using a longitudinal survey linked to register data. The findings show that educational expectations and male-typed occupational aspirations explain about one third of the gender gap in grade point average in 10th grade. Moreover, comparing boys and girls with similar grade point averages, expectations and aspirations account for 52 percent of the gender gap in college completion by 28 years of age. Notably, having male-typed occupational aspirations alone explain 37 percent to 43 percent of the gap, depending on whether educational expectations are accounted for
The Indestructible Woman In The Works Of Faulkner, Hemingway, And Steinbeck.
No full textAmerican male novelists, according to the critical commonplace, have difficulty creating fully human females. Critics indict Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck as prime examples of this deficiency. Though their works represent distinct styles, focuses, and subject matters, these three writers do have some striking similarities beyond their alleged inability to allow full humanity to their female characters. They all express a pervasive disillusionment with contemporary society and project generally pessimistic world images. However, each author has certain optimistic undertones: mankind’s ability to endure is one of them. A recurrent manifestation of this theme ls the indestructible woman.
The indestructible woman, a figure present in the works of all three men, functions positively as a symbol of hope for the future. She is, in part, a product of the primitivism and the naturalism present in Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck. But, more importantly, she illustrates their inability to come to terms with the Otherness of woman. The reaction to this Otherness results in highly ambivalent characterizations which are a mixture of attraction and repulsion.
The female characterizations of each author are studied separately. While the differences among the authors dictate a somewhat different methodology for studying each, the general thrust is to examine the mythic framework within which each artist operates.
Faulkner\u27 s characterizations of women are a result of the integration of regional and universal myths. His indestructible women are manifested in three patterns: earth goddess, Demeter-Persephone, indomitable crone. Hemingway \u27 s indestructible women are likewise mythic, corn goddesses and bitch goddesses; they reflect the mother figures in his life who became progressively less threatening. The indestructible women in Steinbeck \u27 s works are the nurturing and sustaining cells of the group animal which is Steinbeck\u27s biological conception of the human species. In all three authors the female \u27 s endurance suggests a positive force for human survival.
It is true that these authors seldom present really believable female characters. Many critics, however, give this deficiency undue significance. For, in fact, the mythic nature of their works makes unrealistic characterizations predictable and even pardonable
The Neglected Role of Adolescent Emotional Well-Being in National Educational Achievement: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Mental Health Policies
No full textWear modelling of diamond-like carbon coatings against steel in deionised water
No full textDiamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coatings are thin protective surface coatings used to reduce friction and minimise wear in a wide range of applications. The focus of this work is the use of DLC coatings within Rolls-Royce’s pressurised water reactors. A strong understanding of material behaviour in this environment is compulsory due to the stringent safety requirements of the nuclear industry. Wear testing of a range of commercial DLC coatings against steel in water, and the dependence of the tribology on normal load, sliding distance, and environmental species, was examined. Wear depth was observed to increase with normal load, and increase non-linearly with sliding distance. Uniquely, it was suggested that the tribology of a DLC coating in water was controlled by the velocity accommodation mode (VAM) of the transfer layer. When interfacial sliding was the dominant VAM, the carbonaceous transfer layer was present at all times, and a low specific wear rate was observed. When shear and recirculation of debris was the dominant VAM, the carbonaceous transfer layer initially present was replaced by iron oxide species, and a high specific wear rate was observed as a result of a three-body mechanism involving hematite.Two individual wear models were developed to predict the wear depth of a DLC coating sliding against steel in water. Each model represents a novel extension to the current literature regarding the modelling of wear. Firstly, an analytical differential equation was derived to predict the wear depth of a ball and a flat surface, in relation to any phenomenological law for wear volume. Secondly, a unique formulation of an incremental wear model for an arbitrary geometry was developed for a DLC coating which included the growth of a transfer layer. An efficient methodology was presented to allow fast integration of the equations whilst damping numerical instabilities. A comparison between the analytic and computational wear models showed a strong agreement in the model predictions, with a comparative error of less than 5%
Choosing to Cofinance: Analysis of Project-Specific Alliances in the Movie Industry
No full textWe use a movie industry project-by-project dataset to analyze the choice of financing a project internally versus financing it through outside alliances. The results indicate that project risk is positively correlated with alliance formation. Movie studios produce a variety of films and tend to develop their safest projects internally. Our findings are consistent with internal capital market explanations. We find mixed evidence regarding resource pooling, i.e., sharing the cost of large projects. Finally, the evidence shows that projects developed internally perform similarly to projects developed through outside alliances. The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected], Oxford University Press.
Digital engagement enhances dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist and GLP-1 receptor agonist efficacy:A retrospective cohort analysis of a digital weight loss service on outcomes and safety
No full textAimsWe evaluated the weight loss efficacy and safety of a national digital weight loss service (DWLS) and explored associations between digital engagement and outcomes in adults prescribed dual GIP/GLP-1RA and GLP-1RA.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis of adults prescribed dual GIP/GLP-1RA and GLP-1RA between August 2024 and July 2025 within the Voy DWLS in the United Kingdom (UK). Digitally engaged patients met all three criteria: (i) ≥1 coaching session; (ii) weekly weight logging (≥4/month); and (iii) ≥1 additional in-app interaction. Weight-loss trajectories were modelled using mixed models for repeated measures (MMRM). Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox models examined time to attain weight loss thresholds (≥5, ≥10, ≥15, ≥20, ≥25%). Safety events were summarised as rates per 1000 patient-months with 95% CIs.ResultsThe cohort included 106 653 adults (mean age 42.3 ± 12.7 years; 77.9% female; baseline BMI 35.2 ± 6.2 kg/m2). Whilst 79.7% (n = 84 955) used the digital application, 5.7% (n = 6086) met maximal engagement, with 100 567 classed as not engaged. Across 11 months, engaged patients achieved greater adjusted weight loss than not engaged (21.5% [95% CI −22.0 to −21.1] vs. 17.0% [−17.2 to −16.8]; absolute difference 4.5 percentage points; p < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier analyses showed consistently higher likelihood of milestone attainment for engaged participants (≥5%: HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.38–1.46; ≥10%: HR 1.46, 1.41–1.52; ≥15%: HR 1.53, 1.45–1.61; ≥20%: HR 1.62, 1.50–1.75; ≥25%: HR 1.86, 1.64–2.10; all p < 0.001). Safety analyses over 290 050 patient-months showed incidence 1.57 per 1000 patient-months, with no excess risk in engaged groups (IRR 0.83, 95% CI 0.60–1.15).ConclusionsDigital engagement was associated with 4.5 percentage points greater weight loss (21.5% vs. 17.0%), faster milestone achievement, and comparable safety profiles.</div
Book Review: Managing Congressional Collections
No full textWhether faced with that tractor-trailer of boxes from a congressional office at your institution’s loading dock (and a sinking feeling in your stomach) or merely thinking about contacting your state’s congressional representatives for potential donations, Managing Congressional Collections is for you. This easy read is practical and current, and also provides a succinct overview of the major issues archivists must consider when collecting and administering records generated by members of the United States Congress. The manual additionally provides guidelines for donors who are considering donating their collections to archival repositories. This publication emanates from the efforts of the Society of American Archivists' Congressional Papers Roundtable (CPR), behind author and founding member of CPR, Cynthia Pease Miller. Miller’s long career as a Capitol Hill archivist, in addition to the CPR Editorial Advisory Board’s backing, endorse this slim volume as the go-to book for handling congressional collections
How Laws Affect Contracts: Evidence from Yankee Bond Covenants
No full textWe examine how country-level legal and institutional differences in creditor and shareholder rights shape the use of bond covenants. Using comprehensive debt covenant information for a sample of Yankee bonds issued by firms from more than 50 countries, we find that bond contracts for firms incorporated in countries with stronger creditor rights use fewer restrictive covenants. This finding suggests that creditor rights laws substitute for debt covenants in reducing the agency cost of debt. On the other hand, bond contracts for firms incorporated in legal regimes with stronger shareholder rights include more covenants, suggesting that greater shareholder rights may actually increase the shareholder-bondholder agency conflict. These results are robust to alternative measures of creditor rights and shareholder rights. We also document that stronger firm-level corporate governance is positively related to the use of restrictive covenants even after controlling for country institutions.Covenants, contracts, creditor rights, shareholder rights, corporate governance
