Narratives that Software Nations Tell Themselves: An Exploration and Taxonomy

Looking at prominent centers of software activity across the globe we observe that software developers tell narratives about themselves to explain their identity and their successes. For example, the USA thinks in terms of the cowboy programmer, Ireland the Celtic Tiger, and Israel the commando programmer. These narratives provide insights into the mental world of individuals and groups in the global software industry. This paper collects and documents the narratives of software professionals in six nations: Russia, Israel, Ireland, USA, India, and Brazil. The country choice reflects a cross-section of prominent software nations. Using a taxonomy adapted from the political identity literature, we classify these narratives. The most frequently occurring narrative is the interplay between redemption, national suffering and heroism. Brazil, Russia, India, and Israel offer distinct narratives of redemption and suffering. Israel and the USA use distinct narratives of valor. Among the six nations\u27 narratives, we find that some narratives are collectively oriented while others are individualistically oriented. National narratives are important for reasons both academic and practical. The literature on comparative human capital focuses on readily measurable data. Therefore, there may be a gap in understanding global competition in software. Narratives influence important decisions, such as where to locate a new software R&D site or where to invest in start-ups. An understanding of narratives helps to shape them

Aminorex Identified in Horse Urine Following Consumption of \u3cem\u3eBarbarea vulgaris\u3c/em\u3e; a Preliminary Report

Background: Aminorex, (RS)-5- Phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-amine, is an amphetamine-like anorectic and in the United States a Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] Schedule 1 controlled substance. Aminorex in horse urine is usually present as a metabolite of Levamisole, an equine anthelmintic and immune stimulant. Recently, Aminorex identifications have been reported in horse urine with no history or evidence of Levamisole administration. Analysis of the urine samples suggested a botanical source, directing attention to the Brassicaceae plant family, with their contained GlucoBarbarin and Barbarin as possible sources of Aminorex. Since horsepersons face up to a 1 year suspension and a $10,000.00 fine for an Aminorex identification, the existence of natural sources of Aminorex precursors in equine feedstuffs is of importance to both individual horsepersons and the industry worldwide. Results: Testing the hypothesis that Brassicaceae plants could give rise to Aminorex identifications in equine urine we botanically identified and harvested flowering Kentucky Barbarea vulgaris, (“Yellow Rocket”) in May 2018 in Kentucky and administered the plant orally to two horses. Analysis of post-administration urine samples yielded Aminorex, showing that consumption of Kentucky Barbarea vulgaris can give rise to Aminorex identifications in equine urine. Conclusions: Aminorex has been identified in post administration urine samples from horses fed freshly harvested flowering Kentucky Barbarea vulgaris, colloquially “Yellow Rocket”. These identifications are consistent with occasional low concentration identifications of Aminorex in equine samples submitted for drug testing. The source of these Aminorex identifications is believed to be the chemically related Barbarin, found as its precursor GlucoBarbarin in Kentucky Barbarea vulgaris and related Brassicaceae plants worldwide

Measurement invariance of the pay satisfaction questionnaire across three countries

In recent years, pay satisfaction has been increasingly studied in an international con-text, prompting the importance of examining whether the Pay Satisfaction Question-naire (PSQ) is invariant across countries other than the United States. This study investigated the measurement invariance across three countries, namely, the United States (N 321), Belgium (N 301), and Cyprus (N 132). Results showed that the measurement structure of the PSQ was invariant across these different countries because there was no departure from measurement invariance in terms of factor form, factor pattern coefficients, factor variances, and factor covariances. These results show promise for the equivalence of PSQ ratings across different countries. Future research is needed to test the equivalence further across other countries and samples

Synthesis and Characterization of \u3cem\u3ed\u3c/em\u3e\u3csub\u3e5\u3c/sub\u3e-Barbarin for Use in Barbarin-Related Research

Based on structural similarities and equine administration experiments, Barbarin, 5-phenyl-2-oxazolidinethione from Brassicaceae plants, is a possible source of equine urinary identifications of aminorex, (R,S)-5-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-amine, an amphetamine-related US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controlled substance considered illegal in sport horses. We now report the synthesis and certification of d5-barbarin to facilitate research on the relationship between plant barbarin and such aminorex identifications. D5-barbarin synthesis commenced with production of d5-2-oxo-2-phenylacetaldehyde oxime (d5-oxime) from d5-acetophenone via butylnitrite in an ethoxide/ethanol solution. This d5-oxime was then reduced with lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) to produce the corresponding d5-2-amino-1-phenylethan-1-ol (d5-phenylethanolamine). Final ring closure of the d5-phenylethanolamine was performed by the addition of carbon disulfide (CS2) with pyridine. The reaction product was purified by recrystallization and presented as a stable white crystalline powder. Proton NMR spectroscopy revealed a triplet at 5.88 ppm for one proton, a double doublet at 3.71 ppm for one proton, and double doublet at 4.11 ppm for one proton, confirming d5-barbarin as the product. Further characterization by high resolution mass spectrometry supports the successful synthesis of d5-barbarin. Purity of the recrystallized product was ascertained by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to be greater than 98%. Together, we have developed the synthesis and full characterization of d5-barbarin for use as an internal standard in barbarin-related and equine forensic research

A Cluster of Trace-Concentration Methamphetamine Identifications in Racehorses Associated with a Methamphetamine-Contaminated Horse Trailer: A Report and Analysis

Three low concentration methamphetamine “positive” tests were linked to use of a methamphetamine-contaminated trailer to transport the affected horses. This incident establishes methamphetamine as a human-use substance that can inadvertently enter the environment of racing horses, resulting in urinary methamphetamine “positives;” an interim regulatory cut-off of 15 ng/mL for methamphetamine in post-race urine is proposed

Visual Fixations Duration as an Indicator of Skill Level in eSports

Using highly interactive systems like computer games requires a lot of visual activity and eye movements. Eye movements are best characterized by visual fixation - periods of time when the eyes stay relatively still over an object. We analyzed the distributions of fixation duration of professional athletes, amateur and newbie players. We show that the analysis of fixation durations can be used to deduce the skill level in computer game players. Highly skilled gaming performance is characterized by more variability in fixation durations and by bimodal fixation duration distributions suggesting the presence of two fixation types in high skill gamers. These fixation types were identified as ambient (automatic spatial processing) and focal (conscious visual processing). The analysis of computer gamers' skill level via the analysis of fixation durations may be used in developing adaptive interfaces and in interface design.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Molecular profiling of melanoma brain metastases compared to primary cutaneous melanoma and to extracranial metastases.

BACKGROUND: Brain metastases are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity for patients with melanoma. We hypothesize that the development of brain metastases may be explained by molecular heterogeneity between primary cutaneous melanoma (PCM) or extracranial (ECM) and brain (MBM) melanoma metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared next-generation sequencing, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and immunohistochemical staining for PD-L1 expression, among 132 MBM, 745 PCM, and 1190 ECM. RESULTS: The most common genetic alterations among MBM included: BRAF (52.4%), NRAS (26.6%), CDKN2A (23.3%), NF1 (18.9%), TP53 (18%), ARID2 (13.8%), SETD2 (11.9%), and PBRM1 (7.5%). Four genes were found with higher frequency among MBM compared to PCM or ECM: BRAF (52.4% v 40.4% v 40.9%), SETD2 (11.9% v 1.9% v 3.9%), PBRM1 (7.5% v 1.6% v 2.6%), and DICER1 (4.4% v 0.6% v 0.4%). MBM showed higher TMB ( CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a unique molecular profile for MBM, including higher rates of BRAF mutations, higher TMB and higher PD-L1 expression, and also implicate chromatin remodeling in the pathogenesis of MBM

Review: The Newsletter of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, volume 15, issue 2

Contents include: Shopping=Theatre: Re-Staging Retail in NYC, LMDA\u27s Prez On Our Upcoming Extravaganza in the Lone Star State, Confessions of an Early Career Dramaturg, Dramablog, Dramaturging Education, Educating Dramturgs, Henier Muller on 42nd Street, LMDA\u27s Dramaturg Driven Project Gets Under Way, LMDA Regional Updates Issue editors: D.J. Hopkins, Shelley Orr, Megan Monaghan, Madeleine Oldhamhttps://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1031/thumbnail.jp

Parsing the Undercontrol–Disinhibition Pathway to Substance Use Disorders: A Multilevel Developmental Problem

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88062/1/j.1750-8606.2011.00172.x.pd