Comparing the correlation length of grain markets in China and France

In economics comparative analysis plays the same role as experimental research in physics. In this paper we closely examine several methodological problems related to comparative analysis by investigating the specific example of grain markets in China and France respectively. This enables us to answer a question in economic history which has so far remained pending, namely whether or not market integration progressed in the 18th century. In economics as in physics, before being accepted any new result has to be checked and re-checked by different researchers. This is what we call the replication and comparison procedures. We show how these procedures should (and can) be implemented.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

Abnormal synergies and associated reactions post-hemiparetic stroke reflect muscle activation patterns of brainstem motor pathways

Individuals with moderate-to-severe post-stroke hemiparesis cannot control proximal and distal joints of the arm independently because they are constrained to stereotypical movement patterns called flexion and extension synergies. Accumulating evidence indicates that these synergies emerge because of upregulation of diffusely projecting brainstem motor pathways following stroke-induced damage to corticofugal pathways. During our recent work on differences in synergy expression among proximal and distal joints, we serendipitously observed some notable characteristics of synergy-driven muscle activation. It seemed that: paretic wrist/finger muscles were activated maximally during contractions of muscles at a different joint; differences in the magnitude of synergy expression occurred when elicited via contraction of proximal vs. distal muscles; and associated reactions in the paretic limb occurred during maximal efforts with the non-paretic limb, the strength of which seemed to vary depending on which muscles in the non-paretic limb were contracting. Here we formally investigated these observations and interpreted them within the context of the neural mechanisms thought to underlie stereotypical movement patterns. If upregulation of brainstem motor pathways occurs following stroke-induced corticofugal tract damage, then we would expect a pattern of muscle dependency in the observed behaviors consistent with such neural reorganization. Twelve participants with moderate-to-severe hemiparetic stroke and six without stroke performed maximal isometric torque generation in eight directions: shoulder abduction/adduction and elbow, wrist, and finger flexion/extension. Isometric joint torques and surface EMG were recorded from shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finger joints and muscles. For some participants, joint torque and muscle activation generated during maximal voluntary contractions were lower than during maximal synergy-induced contractions (i.e., contractions about a different joint), particularly for wrist and fingers. Synergy-driven contractions were strongest when elicited via proximal joints and weakest when elicited via distal joints. Associated reactions in the wrist/finger flexors were stronger than those of other paretic muscles and were the only ones whose response depended on whether the non-paretic contraction was at a proximal or distal joint. Results provide indirect evidence linking the influence of brainstem motor pathways to abnormal motor behaviors post-stroke, and they demonstrate the need to examine whole-limb behavior when studying or seeking to rehabilitate the paretic upper limb

The Effect of cold-chain re-introduction on the molecular integrity of rocuronium bromide

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fnc74HliOt37xUpPyKEWwSMqHW5-sNi-/view?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cmCcrZEfrPhL1J0pt4py-9qhYXnOlHn9?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_RCPybSRd1j9iE0G4y8G7Al7ECn74bLy?usp=sharin

The Impact of Second Step Implementation on Students’ Social-Emotional Skills in an Elementary School Setting

A positive classroom and a positive school environment are needed to best support students, especially those students with major behavioral concerns. The implementation of the Second Step curriculum is one way to support positive student behavior. This study examined the impact of Second Step implementation methods on students’ emotion management skills. Peer-to-peer, small-group teacher intervention, and whole-group implementation groups in kindergarten and fifth-grade classrooms were studied. Data collection methods included observational checklists, a district created formative assessment, and pre- and post-tests created by the Second Step curriculum. The data collected indicated that many students had an accurate understanding of social-emotional learning skills, but they did not implement emotion-management skills consistently. However, students participating in peer-to-peer emotion management teaching were more self-aware and applied emotion management skills more frequently when compared to students receiving small-group and whole-group instruction. Based on these results, peer-to-peer instruction methods are recommended to strengthen Second Step emotion management skill instruction and student self-awareness

Looking at the dark sun : aspects of death war and the power of stories in Markus Zusak and Terry Pratchett’s novels

In this article, the author argues that Markus Zusak and Terry Pratchett make use of metafictional strategies as well as their respective anthropomorphic figures of death to allow readers, particularly young ones, to confront difficult topics, providing them with a glimpse of truth as far as their own mortality is concerned. In Zusak’s The Book Thief (2005) and Pratchett’s The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001), death, war and the nature of evil are considered through a fictional lens, allowing a certain amount of distancing between the young reader and these painful realities. Without naively underplaying the actuality of death, Zusak and Pratchett show how stories can ameliorate the traumatic and anxiety-inducing aspects of such events. Zusak challenges people’s notions of what young adult literature can portray, while Pratchett focuses on what it means not only to be a human being, but an ethical sentient being.https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/LIS2018-08-01am2018Englis

E(5), X(5), and Prolate to Oblate Shape Phase Transitions in Relativistic Hartree Bogoliubov Theory

Relativistic mean field theory with the NL3 force is used for producing potential energy surfaces (PES) for series of isotopes suggested as exhibiting critical point symmetries. Relatively flat PES are obtained for nuclei showing the E(5) symmetry, while in nuclei corresponding to the X(5) case, PES with a bump are obtained. The PES corresponding to the Pt chain of isotopes suggest a transition from prolate to oblate shapes at 186-Pt.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, including 14 .eps figure

Chronic sleep reduction in adolescents - clinical cut-off scores for the Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (CSRQ)

The Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire is a validated questionnaire that measures symptoms of prolonged insufficient and/or poor sleep and therefore accounts for individuals’ sleep need and sleep debt. This study extends its psychometric properties by providing cut-off scores, using a matched sample of 298 healthy adolescents (15.38 ± 1.63 years, 37.9% male, mean Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire score: 32.98 ± 6.51) and 298 adolescents with insomnia/delayed sleep–wake phase disorder (15.48 ± 1.62 years; 37.9% male, mean Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire score: 42.59 ± 7.06). We found an area under the curve of 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.81–0.87). Cut-off scores for optimal sensitivity, optimal specificity and based on Youden's criterion are provided. These cut-off scores are highly relevant for use of the Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire in future studies and clinical practice