cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application of Image Processing Tools for Scene-Based Marine Debris Detection and Characterization

Pollution encompasses any substance that has a negative impact on the environment or the organisms that live within an affected area. Marine environmental pollution includes debris, which can be natural or man-made. In this paper, four distinct debris scenes are analyzed using image processing tools to detect man-made marine debris with different image and object properties. The scenes vary in their challenges from multiple floating surface and subsurface debris to single pieces of debris. A successful image processing chain is described that includes image preprocessing such as conversion to HSV color model, filtering, thresholding, and post-processing operations such as blob analysis and statistical computations to detect and characterize the man-made debris in each scene. We demonstrate detection of multiple debris and computation of its percent cover of the scene, its size distribution, as well as identification of single debris pieces. The applied methods demonstrate successful debris detection and characterization in each scene, which can be extended to other debris images for automated detection.
The Role of Career Choice in Understanding Job Mobility

This paper presents a simple model that explains how the likelihood of job changes and their complexity changes over a worker's career, and the empirical work presented here uses the life cycle patterns of mobility and their complexity to infer the relative importance of firm-specific versus career-specific concerns as determinants of mobility decisions. The estimates of the model indicate that the contemporaneous presence of two quality matches, one career-specific and one firm-specific, is necessary to understand the patterns of the data. The model also predicts that the welfare losses implied by a disappearance of a career can be on average twice as large as the losses implied by a plant closure.
Residual Urine in Children with Acute Cystitis and in Healthy Children: Assessment by Sonography

AbstractResidual urine was assessed by ultrasound in children with single attacks of symptomatic lower urinary tract infection and in healthy controls. Residual urine was found significantly more often in the 39 patients during acute illness as well as during a followup of 6 months, compared to 55 control children. Infections caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli were not more often associated with residual urine than infections with nonP-fimbriated Escherichia coli or other bacterial species. It is suggested that residual urine is a facilitating host factor among others in the pathogenesis of symptomatic urinary tract infection in childhood.
Electron energy distributions in uranium helium mixtures

The high energy portion of the electron energy distribution for mixtures of uranium and helium at 1 atm, 5000 K, and a neutron flux of 2x10 to the 12th power/sq cm-sec have been calculated. The addition of He improves the heat transport characteristics of the plasma and has the feature that the He energy levels lie in the high energy portion of the electron distribution, potentially allowing non maxwellian excitation. It is concluded, however, that the resulting reaction rates are marginal relative to achieving inversion in He.
The RWT Method for the Prediction of Adult Stature

The Roche- Wainer- Thissen (RWT) method estimates the adult stature of an individual from data recorded at a single childhood examination. The data required are recumbent length, nude weight, midparent stature, and hand-wrist skeletal age. If necessary, a measurement of the child's stature can be transformed to be approximately equivalent to recumbent length with little loss of accuracy. When applied to data from three longitudinal growth studies, the prediction errors with the RWT method were smaller than those with the method of Bayley and Pinneau.
Homicide and Work: The Impact of Mexico's Drug War on Labor Market Participation

We estimate the impact of the escalation of the drug war in Mexico on the mean hours worked among the general population. We focus on homicides and exploit the variation in the trajectory of violence across states to identify a relationship between changes in homicides and hours worked. Using fixed effects and instrumental variables regressions, we find the increase in homicides has reduced average hours worked by 1-2%. These impacts are larger for the self-employed, specifically those who work from home. This provides evidence that the fear of violence can lead to behavioral changes that lower economic activity.
Neutron crystallography: methods and information content

The application of the neutron-diffraction technique, which assigns H-atom positions in proteins and differentiates between H and D atoms, has been mainly focused on structural issues in three research areas: protein reaction mechanisms; protein dynamics; and protein–water interactions. Topics covered in this chapter include: diffraction geometries; the information content of neutron density maps; phasing models and evaluation of correctness; methodologies employed to refine neutron data; and D2O − H2O difference maps and their applications. Keywords: D2O − H2O difference maps; hydrogen/deuterium exchange; neutron density maps; neutron diffraction; phasing; quasi-Laue neutron diffraction; refinement; solvent structure; water molecules
Enhancements to the National Transonic Facility Semispan Force Measurement System

Recent wind-tunnel tests at the NASA Langley Research Center National Transonic Facility used high-pressure bellows to route air to the semispan model for evaluating aircraft circulation control testing techniques. The introduction of these bellows within the sidewall model support system impacted the performance of the sidewall mounted force measurement system. A capability has been developed to facilitate system-level calibrations that characterize the performance of the force measurement system under influence of static pressure tare and thermal effects. From the highest system-level perspective, the aerodynamic research being conducted using this system would benefit from a system-level calibration at conditions that most accurately simulate testlike operating conditions. Detail is given on the recent improvements and design modifications to improve performance and calibration of the system as well as recommendations for future improvements. Experimental data from recent testing using the force measur...
STATL: an attack language for state-based intrusion detection

STATL is an extensible state/transition-based attack description language designed to support intrusion detection. The language allows one to describe computer penetrations as sequences of actions that an attacker performs to compromise a computer system. A STATL description of an attack scenario can be used by an intrusion detection system to analyze a stream of events and detect possible ongoing intrusions. Since intrusion detection is performed in different domains (i.e., the network or the hosts) and in different operating environments (e.g., Linux, Solaris, or Windows NT), it is useful to have an extensible language that can be easily tailored to different target environments. STATL defines domain-independent features of attack scenarios and provides constructs for extending the language to describe attacks in particular domains and environments. The STATL language has been successfully used in describing both network-based and host-based attacks, and it has been tailored to very different environments, e.g., Sun Microsystems' Solaris and Microsoft's Windows NT. An implementation of the runtime support for the STATL language has been developed and a toolset of intrusion detection systems based on STATL has been implemented. The toolset was used in a recent intrusion detection evaluation effort, delivering very favorable results. This paper presents the details of the STATL syntax and its semantics. Real examples from both the host and network-based extensions of the language are also presented.
Molecular integrals Over Gaussian Basis Functions

Publisher Summary The major goal of quantum chemistry is to obtain solutions to atomic and molecular Schrodinger equations. The most uniformly successful family of methods begins with the simplest possible n-electron wave function satisfying the Pauli antisymmetry principle—a Slater determinant of one-electron functions χi(r,ω) called “spinorbitals.” Each spinorbital is a product of a molecular orbital and a spinfunction. The molecular orbital are found by the self-consistent-field (SCF) procedure. The Hartree-Fock (HF) and Kohn-Sham density functional (KS) theories are both of this type, as are their many simplified variants. The result of any quantum chemical procedure is the molecular energy, parametrically determined by the nuclear geometry. To locate equilibrium and transition structures, usually the first derivatives of the energy are computed with respect to nuclear motion; harmonic vibrational frequencies can be obtained if second derivatives are available and third and higher derivatives are needed for higher-level studies of potential surfaces. It is noted that the nth derivatives of the integrals are required to compute nth-derivatives of the energy. This chapter focuses on the efficient generation of integrals and their nth-derivatives.
Estimation of size of clonal unit for keratinocytes in normal human skin.

Abstract Objective.—It has been suggested that keratinocyte (KC) stem cells reside at the epicenter of a clonal population of cells. To estimate the territory or surface area covered by a single stem-cell–derived KC population in human skin, clonal skin maps were created from 3 healthy adult women and from normal skin of a psoriatic patient. Design.—Two hundred fifty-eight punch biopsy samples of various sizes (ranging from 2 to 8 mm in diameter) were analyzed for clonality employing X chromosome inactivation patterns at the human androgen receptor gene (HUMARA) locus. DNA was isolated and clonality established by significant decrease of either maternal or paternal X chromosome band patterns following restriction enzyme digestion, polymerase chain reaction amplification, and gel electrophoresis. Results.—Fifty-three (41%) of 128 two-mm biopsies were clonal, whereas only 6 (14%) of 43 three-mm, 5 (14%) of 36 four-mm, and 3 (8%) of 35 five-mm biopsies revealed a clonal population of KCs. By contrast, in 5 d...
Functional Analysis of In-frame Indel ARID1A Mutations Reveals New Regulatory Mechanisms of Its Tumor Suppressor Functions

AT-rich interactive domain 1A (ARID1A) has emerged as a new tumor suppressor in which frequent somatic mutations have been identified in several types of human cancers. Although most ARID1A somatic mutations are frame-shift or nonsense mutations that contribute to mRNA decay and loss of protein expression, 5% of ARID1A mutations are in-frame insertions or deletions (indels) that involve only a small stretch of peptides. Naturally occurring in-frame indel mutations provide unique and useful models to explore the biology and regulatory role of ARID1A. In this study, we analyzed indel mutations identified in gynecological cancers to determine how these mutations affect the tumor suppressor function of ARID1A. Our results demonstrate that all in-frame mutants analyzed lost their ability to inhibit cellular proliferation or activate transcription of CDKN1A, which encodes p21, a downstream effector of ARID1A. We also showed that ARID1A is a nucleocytoplasmic protein whose stability depends on its subcellular localization. Nuclear ARID1A is less stable than cytoplasmic ARID1A because ARID1A is rapidly degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the nucleus. In-frame deletions affecting the consensus nuclear export signal reduce steady-state protein levels of ARID1A. This defect in nuclear exportation leads to nuclear retention and subsequent degradation. Our findings delineate a mechanism underlying the regulation of ARID1A subcellular distribution and protein stability and suggest that targeting the nuclear ubiquitin-proteasome system can increase the amount of the ARID1A protein in the nucleus and restore its tumor suppressor functions.
Epigenetics: An Emerging Framework for Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing.

Purpose The aims of this paper are to synthesize and report research findings from neuroscience and epigenetics that contribute to an emerging explanatory framework for advanced practice psychiatric nursing. Conclusions Discoveries in neuroscience and epigenetics reveal synergistic mechanisms that support the integration of psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and psychoeducation in practice. Practice Implications Advanced practice psychiatric nurses will benefit from an expanded knowledge base in neuroscience and epigenetics that informs and explains the scientific rationale for our integrated practice.
RECENT ADVANCES IN MEMBRANE CHOLESTEROL DOMAIN DYNAMICS AND INTRACELLULAR CHOLESTEROL TRAFFICKING

AbstractCholesterol is distributed nonrandomly in and between biological membranes. Despite over two decades' investigation of these phenomena, the origin, regulation, and function of membrane cholesterol asymmetry are not known. Likewise, although pathways of cellular cholesterol absorptionhtilization as well as de novo synthesis have been investigated in depth, parallel progress in elucidating pathways of intracellular cholesterol trafficking and final deposition of cholesterol within membranes remains undefined. Understanding the nature and regulation of these processes is essential to resolving molecular mechanisms of cholesterol uptake, reverse cholesterol transport, steroidogenesis, and modulation of membrane function. Based on the fundamental observation that cholesterol is not distributed uniformly in the cell, three key concepts have contributed to recent advances in this field: First, cholesterol is asymmetrically distributed across the cell surface plasma membrane, wherein it translocates rapid...
The occlusion effect in unilateral functional hearing loss.

Bone-conduction tests were administered to subjects who feigned a hearing loss in the right ear. The tests were conducted under two conditions: With and without occlusion of the non-test ear. It wa...
A chemical kinetic model of vitrinite maturation and reflectance

Abstract A chemical kinetic model is presented that uses Arrhenius rate constants to calculate vitrinite elemental composition as a function of time and temperature. The model uses distributions of activation energies for each of four reactions: elimination of water, carbon dioxide, methane and higher hydrocarbons. The resulting composition is used to calculate vitrinite reflectance via correlations between elemental composition and reflectance. The correlations are derived from published measurements. The model is valid for %Ro values from slightly less than 0.3 to slightly greater than 4. Model calculations are compared to published vitrinite data from both laboratory experiments and sedimentary columns where adequate thermal histories are available. Calculated and measured %Ro values generally agree within 0.1 at low rank and 0.4 at high rank, which is comparable to uncertainties in the experimental values. This confirms our starting premise that vitrinite reflectance is properly described by standard chemical kinetics with activation energies that extrapolate from laboratory to geological maturation temperatures. The model indicates that the relationship between the extent of oil generation and vitrinite reflectance is nearly independent of heating rate.
The impact of interstate highways on land use conversion

Between 1945 and 2007, the United States lost 19.3 % of its agricultural land. Over the same time period, the construction of the 42,500 mile interstate highway system lowered transportation costs and opened large tracts of land for development. This paper assesses the impact of the interstate highway system on agricultural land loss in Georgia and uses the empirical estimates to simulate agricultural land loss resulting from the construction of additional interstate highways. Using a historical data set of agricultural land and interstate highway mileage, empirical estimates indicate that each additional mile of interstate highway reduces agricultural land by 468 acres. The impact of interstate highways is heterogeneous across initial level of county development. Urban counties convert 70 % more land than the full sample estimates. Simulation results show that additions to the interstate system create further loss of agricultural land. The results imply that future conservation programs need to consider how to mitigate the impact of the interstate highway system.
Data Fusion of Probabilistic Full-Field Measurements for Material Characterization

This paper presents a data fusion technique to model more certain probabilistic full-field strain/displacement measurements for stochastic energy-based characterization proposed by the authors. The proposed technique measures the full-field measurements by using multiple cameras, constructing a Gaussian probability density function (PDF) for each camera, fusing the PDFs and developing the total PDF of the full-field measurements. Since the certainty of measurements is magnified by the use of multiple cameras, the use of multiple well-calibrated cameras could achieve the accuracy which no single camera could attain. The validity of the proposed energy-based characterization and its superiority to the original formulation were investigated using numerical analysis of an anisotropic material, and the proposed technique was found to improve the accuracy significantly with the addition of cameras.
A quantum mechanical conformational search of 1-(3-mercaptopropionyl)-l-proline; the demethylated analogue of the potent angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril

Abstract Low-energy conformations of the potent angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor captopril were previously determined at the semiempirical AM1 level with a modified version of ampac (Version 2.2). This study uses the same technique to examine the demethylated analogue 1-(3-mercaptopropionyl)- l -proline in an attempt to understand why this compound is ten times less active than captopril. In particular, 216 initial conformations of captopril are optimized, generating 127 unique structures spanning an energy range of only 9.7 kcal mol − 1 . In contrast to captopril, where the lowest energy conformation is two-fold degenerate containing both a trans and a cis structure, the seven lowest energy conformations have a cis amide bond. All conformations are examined in detail, and a possible pharmacophore is determined.
Earth Observing System (Eos)/Noaa Candidate Propulsion System Assessment And Instrument Contamination Requirements

The instrumentation payloads of the Space Station polar platforms consist primarily of Earth Observing System (EOS) instruments and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) instruments. The accuracy, lifetime, and mission effectiveness of the instrumentation is adversely affected by the degradation of contamination sensitive surfaces. This paper describes the analysis and results of a study undertaken to select a propellant system for the polar platforms from a contamination standpoint, by evaluation of the potential contamination to three platforms, from three candidate propellant systems. In addition, this paper reports the results of a study which determined both the molecular and particulate contamination requirements for 37 EOS/NOAA instruments. These requirements provide an upper bound for acceptable levels of contamination.
Social contact elicits immediate-early gene expression in dopaminergic cells of the male prairie vole extended olfactory amygdala

Male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are a valuable model in which to study the neurobiology of sociality because, unlike most mammals, they pair bond after mating and display paternal behaviors. Research on the regulation of these social behaviors has highlighted dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in both pair bonding and parenting. We recently described large numbers of dopaminergic cells in the male prairie vole principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (pBST) and posterodorsal medial amygdala (MeApd), but such cells were very few in number or absent in the non-monogamous species we examined, including meadow voles. This suggests that DA cells in these sites may be important for sociosexual behaviors in male prairie voles. To gain some insight into the function of these DAergic neurons in male prairie voles, we examined expression of the immediate-early genes (IEGs) Fos and Egr-1 in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive (TH-ir) cells of the pBST and MeApd after males interacted or not with one of several social stimuli. We found that IEGs were constitutively expressed in some TH-ir neurons under any social condition, but that IEG expression in these cells decreased after a 3.5-h social isolation. Thirty-minute mating bouts (but not 6- or 24-h bouts) that included ejaculation elicited greater IEG expression in TH-ir cells than did non-ejaculatory mating, interactions with a familiar female sibling, or interactions with pups. Furthermore, Fos expression in TH-ir cells was positively correlated with the display of copulatory, but not parental, behaviors. These effects of mating were not found in other DA-rich sites of the forebrain (including the anteroventral periventricular preoptic area, periventricular anterior hypothalamus, zona incerta, and arcuate nucleus). Thus, activity in DAergic cells of the male prairie vole pBST and MeApd is influenced by their social environment, and may be particularly involved in mating and its consequences, including pair bonding.
Counteracting 'Not in My Backyard': The Positive Effects of Greater Occupancy within Mutual-help Recovery Homes.

Group homes sometimes face significant neighborhood opposition, and municipalities frequently use maximum occupancy laws to close down these homes. This study examined how the number of residents in Oxford House recovery homes impacted residents’ outcomes. Larger homes (i.e., 8 or more residents) may reduce the cost per person and offer more opportunities to exchange positive social support, thus, it was predicted that larger Oxford Houses would exhibit improved outcomes compared to smaller homes. Regression analyses using data from 643 residents from 154 U.S. Oxford Houses indicated that larger House size predicted less criminal and aggressive behavior; additionally, length of abstinence was a partial mediator in these relationships. These findings have been used in court cases to argue against closing down larger Oxford Houses. 125 words
MULTI‐VENDOR SOURCING IN A RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN*

This paper describes a methodology for managing capacity, inventory, and shipments for an assortment of retail products produced by multiple vendors. The vendors differ in lead times, costs, and production flexibility. Product demand is uncertain and fluctuates over time. We develop an optimization model to choose the production commitments that maximize the retailers expected gross profit, given demand forecasts and vendors capacity and flexibility constraints. The model has been incorporated into a decision support system, developed in collaboration with supply chain planners at a global retailer of seasonal and fashion merchandise. The software has been tested by two major retailers.
Infection and colonization of melon roots by Monosporascus cannonballus in two cropping seasons in Arizona and California

Although canopy collapse of melons (one of the above-ground symptoms of vine decline caused by Monosporascus cannonballus) occurred late in the growing season, the onset of root infection occurred much earlier. In three early winter-spring and two late winter-spring crops, the onset of root infection occurred 47–65 and 35–36 days after planting, respectively. In contrast, in four summer-autumn crops, the onset of root infection occurred within 9–17 days after planting. Vine decline occurred commonly in winter-spring crops, but did not occur in any of the summer-autumn crops. Following the onset of root infection, the percentage of plants infected increased at rates of 0·031–0·036 and 0·038–0·070 per unit per day for winter-spring and summer-autumn crops, respectively, based on the monomolecular disease progress model. Root lesions were first observed 14–42 days after the onset of infection in winter-spring crops, and 14–28 days after the onset of infection in summer-autumn crops. Pathogen reproduction occurred primarily at the end of each growing season.
A new model of experimental autoimmune keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) induced in Lewis rat by the autoantigen Klk1b22.

Purpose This study was designed to generate an inducible autoimmune model of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) for study of pathogenesis of the disease. Methods Lewis rats were immunized with a mixture of lacrimal and salivary gland extract or recombinant mouse protein kallikrein 1b22 (Klk1b22) emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). For disease induction by adoptive transfer of primed cells, donor rats were received with T-cell blasts. KCS were observed by either clinical signs or histology. Results The autoantigen Klk1b22, isolated from the lacrimal and salivary glands, readily induced Sjogren's syndrome (SS)-like KCS in the recipients. The diseased animals presented the clinical and pathologic symptoms that resemble related human disease. Most immunized rats showed an increase, then a decrease in tear volume, together with corneal opacity and ocular lesions. Histologic examination revealed that the rats displayed the cardinal signs of primary SS-like KCS, including marked lymphocytic infiltration of the lacrimal and salivary glands and destruction of the acinar cells. Immunofluorescence studies showed that both CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells were heavily infiltrated, with the former cells predominant in the damaged ducts. Finally, adoptive transfer of Klk1b22-reactive T cells induced more severe disease with earlier onset. Conclusions Klk1b22 is an autoantigen for inducing an experimental SS-like KCS in Lewis rats. The availability of this new and reproducible rat model should provide a new and needed tool for studying the pathogenesis of SS.
The enthalpies of combustion and formation of cyclopropylamine. The CN thermochemical bond energy

The standard enthalpy of combustion of liquid cyclopropylamine, ΔHoo(298.15 K), was found to be −(532.20 ± 0.10) kcal mol−1 by oxygen-bomb combustion calorimetry. The standard enthalpy of formation, ΔHof(298.15 K), of the liquid is (10.95 ± 0.12) kcal mol−1. The enthalpy of vaporization was derived from vapor pressure measurements, and the standard enthalpy of formation in the ideal gaseous state was calculated. The value of the thermochemical bond energy, E(C N), was estimated.
BEM modeling of damping forces on MEMS with thin plates

An incompressible fluid Stokes flow model is often useful for the determination of damping forces on Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEM) structures. Such structures in the shape of thin beams and plates are of primary interest in this work. Two difficulties arise with the standard Boundary Element Method (BEM) analysis of this problem. The first is that the usual Stokes kernel is singular; the second is numerical ill conditioning of the stiffness matrix owing to the plates being thin. A novel approach is proposed in this paper to take care of both these problems in a simple and effective manner. Sample numerical results for some simple illustrative problems are given in this paper.
How citizenship matters: narratives of stateless and citizenship choice in Estonia

The phenomenon of statelessness is most often studied as an issue of international and human-rights law. In contrast, this paper examines narratives of citizenship choice among initially stateless Russian-speaking residents of Estonia in order to explore the practical meanings of (non)citizenship in a context where the available options include both national citizenship and statelessness. While legal aspects of citizenship do explain many of the perceived benefits and disadvantages of various citizenship options, we find that deliberations about citizenship choice also reflect extra-legal normative and affective dimensions of civic belonging. The resulting multidimensional model of citizenship helps account for courses of action that would appear anomalous if citizenship choice were merely an instrumental matter of weighing the costs and benefits of different options. It also points to a growing disjuncture among citizenship as a source of legal rights and obligations, as a normative framework, and as a s...
Symptom perception and respiratory sensation: clinical applications

This article has described symptom perception and its relation to asthma management. Underestimation of airway obstruction in persons with asthma is a common and serious problem that is linked to fatalities in persons with asthma. Strategies to identify and manage the poor perceiver have been suggested.
Regular exercise prevents non-cognitive disturbances in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease.

Previously, we reported that in a rat model of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) generated by exogenous administration of Aβ1–42 (250 pmol/d for 2 wk) via mini-osmotic pump, the animals exhibited learning and memory impairment, which could be attributed to the deleterious alterations in the levels of cognition-related signalling molecules. We showed that 4 wk of treadmill exercise totally prevented these impairments. Here, we evaluated the effect of exercise on non-cognitive function and basal synaptic transmission in the Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA1) area using the same AD model. Our results indicated that the anxiety behaviour of Aβ-treated rats was prevented by 4 wk of treadmill exercise. Exercised/Aβ-infused rats spent a longer time in the centre area of the open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM) paradigms and the light area of the light-dark (LD) box, which were similar to those of control and exercise rats. Furthermore, under basal conditions the aberrant up-regulation of calcineurin (PP2B) and reduction of phosphorylated Ca2+/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (p-CaMKII) levels induced by AD-like pathology were normalised by the exercise regimen. We conclude that regular exercise may exert beneficial effects on both cognitive and non-cognitive functions in this AD model.
Feature grouping and selection over an undirected graph

High-dimensional regression/classification continues to be an important and challenging problem, especially when features are highly correlated. Feature selection, combined with additional structure information on the features has been considered to be promising in promoting regression/classification performance. Graph-guided fused lasso (GFlasso) has recently been proposed to facilitate feature selection and graph structure exploitation, when features exhibit certain graph structures. However, the formulation in GFlasso relies on pairwise sample correlations to perform feature grouping, which could introduce additional estimation bias. In this paper, we propose three new feature grouping and selection methods to resolve this issue. The first method employs a convex function to penalize the pairwise l∞ norm of connected regression/classification coefficients, achieving simultaneous feature grouping and selection. The second method improves the first one by utilizing a non-convex function to reduce the estimation bias. The third one is the extension of the second method using a truncated l1 regularization to further reduce the estimation bias. The proposed methods combine feature grouping and feature selection to enhance estimation accuracy. We employ the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and difference of convex functions (DC) programming to solve the proposed formulations. Our experimental results on synthetic data and two real datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
THE REHNQUIST COURT AND THE RELIGION CASES: UNSETTLED CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

In recent years the Rehnquist Court's interpretation of the religion clauses has been characterized chiefly by division and uncertainty. In numerous opinions, various members of the Court have defended and challenged traditional definitions and tests applied by earlier courts to First Amendment free exercise and establishment clause issues. By the mid-1990s the wide divergence of views revealed a fractured Court with little or no leadership on the part of the Chief Justice. The religion cases examined in this article illustrate how the Court has incrementally modified constitutional law. Selective analysis of judicial opinions supports the conclusion that the justices have often distinguished precedents and reevaluated Courtmade tests, producing results in individual decisions that adhere to no distinct pattern. The Rehnquist Court, while frequently challenging traditional interpretations, has nevertheless been reluctant to attempt basic doctrinal innovation in this area of First Amendment jurisprudence.
Experimental and Predicted Detonation Parameters for Liquid-Phase H2O2/H2O Mixtures

We report the measured failure diameter and a detonation speed for the liquid explosive mixture 90.5/9.5 wt % H2O2/H2O confined in thick seamless 304 stainless steel tubing and fired at ca. 30 °C. The detonation speed datum and knowledge of the diameter effect curves of other liquid explosives are used to estimate the infinite-medium (i.e., planewave) detonation speed of this material. Ambient condition sound speed measurements and the universal liquid Hugoniot form are used to obtain the unreacted Hugoniot of the 90.5/9.5 wt % H2O2/H2O mixture. This Hugoniot and the Rayleigh line obtained from the estimated infinite-medium detonation wave speed are used to predict the von Neumann spike pressure of the material. Estimates of the fully reacted (i.e., products) Hugoniot, the Chapman−Jouguet (CJ) detonation pressure, and CJ detonation speed for other H2O2/H2O mixtures are obtained using the CHEETAH equilibrium thermochemical code. Predictions of the infinite-medium detonation speed and the von Neumann spike ...
Controlled-Choice Desegregation Plans Not Enough Choice, Too Much Control?

Supporters of controlled choice argue that it is a superior desegregation tool and a superior educational reform. This author addresses the first of these claims in a sample of 20 school districts ...
Nanophysics and nanotechnology applied to sensors, part 1

Miniaturization is a reliable recipe toward higher efficiency and lower cost of sensors and has fortunately led to the discovery of entirely new devices. Quantum mechanical effects tend to appear as the size of devices decrease. In the development of higher performing computer chips, a deleterious quantum effect, tunneling leakage through the gate insulator, was circumvented, by use of "high kappa oxides". In a very important case, a new sensor, the magnetic tunnel junction, is an entirely "nanophysical" device. The magnetic tunnel junction MTJ or "tunnel valve" sensor has greatly improved disk drive performance and has had a large economic impact. Nano sized components, such as the carbon nanotube, permit novel sensors and can sense polar molecules. Even optical detection of single virus particles is possible and was described.
Effects of short term exposure to 60 Hz electromagnetic fields on interleukin 1 and interleukin 6 production by peritoneal exudate cells

The relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and human health is of increasing interest. Exposure to EMF has been linked to leukemia and brain tumors in some but not all epidemiological studies. The effects of separate and combined alternating electric and magnetic fields on interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) production were measured in this study. Helmholtz coils and parallel plate electrodes were used to create uniform field characteristics (300 V/in., 0.3 mT). Effects were studied at a combined field frequency of 60 Hz. This frequency did not elevate culture temperatures above ambient room temperature. Murine thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) were exposed to an electric field (E), magnetic field (M), combined electric and magnetic field (EM), or no field (control). Three samples of PEC from each mouse were cultured with lipopolysaccharide in each field. Using commercial ELISA kits, supernatants of cell cultures were tested in duplicate after 24 hours of exposure for IL-1 alpha levels and after 48 hours of exposure for IL-6 levels. Results were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a group, IL-1 production by the PEC from five mice and IL-6 production by the PEC from nine mice were unaffected by electric, magnetic, or combined electric and magnetic fields. Results from these experiments indicate that the 24-hour exposure to 60 Hz electric, magnetic, or combined electromagnetic fields had no effect on IL-1 production. Forty-eight hours of exposure to the same fields did not affect IL-6 production.
Au Adatoms in Self-Assembly of Benzenethiol on the Au(111) Surface

Self-assembly of benzenethiol at low coverage on Au(111) was studied using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Phenylthiolate species (PhS), formed by thermal dehydrogenation of the parent PhSH molecule, was found to self-assemble into surface-bonded complexes with gold adatoms. Each complex involves two PhS species and one gold adatom. The PhS species form either cis- or trans-geometry relative to each other. At a higher coverage, the complexes coalesce, most likely due to the formation of weak C−H···S hydrogen bonds facilitated by the spatial arrangement of the PhS groups. Our findings thus establish that the self-assembly of arenethiols on the Au(111) surface is driven by gold adatom chemistry, which has recently been found to be the key ingredient in the self-assembly of alkanethiols on gold.
Are Quantitative Bacterial Wound Cultures Useful

Determining if a nonhealing wound is infected can be difficult. The surface of a wound is not sterile and can be colonized with numerous commensal, environmental, and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Different types of wounds have various clinical presentations, with some signs and symptoms more likely to be present than others depending on the type and location of the wound. Clinicians often order microbiology wound cultures to assist in determining if a nonhealing wound is infected. This minireview briefly summarizes the clinical microbiology of wound cultures, with an emphasis on the history and utility (or lack thereof) of the quantitative wound culture.
Urban Form, Air Pollution, and CO2 Emissions in Large U.S. Metropolitan Areas

In this article we explore the relationships between urban form and air pollution among 86 U.S. metropolitan areas. Urban form was quantified using preexisting sprawl indexes and spatial metrics applied to remotely sensed land cover data. Air pollution data included the nonpoint source emission of the ozone (O3) precursors nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the concentration of O3, the concentration and nonpoint source emission of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) from on-road sources. Metropolitan areas that exhibited higher levels of urban sprawl, or sprawl-like urban morphologies, generally exhibited higher concentrations and emissions of air pollution and CO2 when controlling for population, land area, and climate.
Numerical study of vibration localization in disordered cyclic structures

A study of mode localization in disordered cyclic structures that have multi-degree-of-freedom substructures in presented. Particular emphasis is placed on the transition of the natural modes from being extended throughout the structure to being localized on a single substructure. A localization length scale is proposed as a measure of the spatial extent of a mode for the purpose of discussing the results of numerical experiments and comparing the localization of different modes. Different modes in the same mode group were found to have significantly different degrees of localization, and similar modes in different mode groups were found to be related to each other via a scaling parameter. Results also indicate that the particular set of random disorder introduced into the finite structure can have a significant effect on the degree of localization.
Numerical surface flow visualization

Surface oil flow is an experimental flow visualization technique that depicts the surface flow pattern near the body of the model. Traditionally, a particle tracking technique that generates streamlines near the model body is used to depict surface flows in CFD flow simulations. In this paper, we compared surface flows represented by streamlines with those represented by a texture technique known as Line Integral Convolution (LIC). We found that streamlines used to depict surface flows are discontinuous in general and the quality of the surface flow pattern is highly dependent on the placement of the streamlines. Whereas, the LIC technique clearly depicts surface flows that closely resemble surface oil flows. We also found that surface flows near regions of vortex structures and saddle points are not best shown using the streamline technique compared to the LIC technique. For unsteady flow simulations, we compared streaklines with a new texture synthesis technique called Unsteady Flow Line Integral Convolution (UFLIC) that we have recently developed. UFLIC accurately reveals the dynamic behavior of unsteady surface flows during animation.
Energy Band Structure of Copper

The $E(k)$ values were computed for the equivalent of 2048 points in the Brillouin zone and for energies ranging from the bottom of the $4s$-band to approximately 2 Ry above the Fermi energy. From these calculations the Fermi energy, Fermi surface, and density of states were determined. Comparison of results with experiment shows not only qualitative but in most cases quantitative agreement. Agreement with recent independent theoretical work by Segall suggests an accurate solution of Schr\"odinger's equation for the potential used has been obtained.
Absolute bremsstrahlung yields at 135° from 53 − keV electrons on gold film targets

Results are presented for the absolute bremsstrahlung yields at a backward angle of 135\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} from $53\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{keV}$ electrons on gold targets of thickness ranging from $66\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}28\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}976\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{g}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The target thicknesses range from thin enough for single collision conditions to apply to thick enough for the yield to be dominated by multiple interactions. The results for all thicknesses are found to be in very good agreement with the predictions of PENELOPE, a Monte Carlo program which is based on ordinary bremsstrahlung and does not include any contribution from polarization bremsstrahlung. Absolute doubly differential cross sections are computed for the thinnest targets. The results are compared with two theoretical free atom cross section models, one for ordinary bremsstrahlung only and the second, the stripping approximation, for total bremsstrahlung including a contribution from polarization bremsstrahlung. The results agree with the predictions of ordinary bremsstrahlung for radiated photon energies from $5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}53\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{keV}$ and do not agree with the predictions of the stripping approximation. The conclusion, in contrast with recent free gas atom results, is that the absolute yields from solid films are well described by ordinary bremsstrahlung and do not require any additional polarizational bremsstrahlung contribution.
Sphingosine Kinase Activity Is Not Required for Tumor Cell Viability

Sphingosine kinases (SPHKs) are enzymes that phosphorylate the lipid sphingosine, leading to the formation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). In addition to the well established role of extracellular S1P as a mitogen and potent chemoattractant, SPHK activity has been postulated to be an important intracellular regulator of apoptosis. According to the proposed rheostat theory, SPHK activity shifts the intracellular balance from the pro-apoptotic sphingolipids ceramide and sphingosine to the mitogenic S1P, thereby determining the susceptibility of a cell to apoptotic stress. Despite numerous publications with supporting evidence, a clear experimental confirmation of the impact of this mechanism on tumor cell viability in vitro and in vivo has been hampered by the lack of suitable tool reagents. Utilizing a structure based design approach, we developed potent and specific SPHK1/2 inhibitors. These compounds completely inhibited intracellular S1P production in human cells and attenuated vascular permeability in mice, but did not lead to reduced tumor cell growth in vitro or in vivo. In addition, siRNA experiments targeting either SPHK1 or SPHK2 in a large panel of cell lines failed to demonstrate any statistically significant effects on cell viability. These results show that the SPHK rheostat does not play a major role in tumor cell viability, and that SPHKs might not be attractive targets for pharmacological intervention in the area of oncology.
Constructing a correlated sequence of matrix exponentials with invariant first-order properties

In this paper, we demonstrate a method for developing analytic Markovian traffic sources in which the correlation structure can be arbitrarily constructed leaving the marginals invariant. We construct a simple model based on empirical data sets and show the effects of changing the autocorrelation on the behavior of network traffic.
Characteristics of a category of tropospheric waveguides in line-of-sight microwave propagation

The characteristics of a specific tropospheric scheme are examined, in a search for a possible explanation of some field types recorded in microwave line-of-sight paths. We deal with a category of waveguides consisting of a homogeneous atmospheric slab bounded by stratified layers with plane interfaces. The obtained numerical results justify a type of recorded field, characterized by rapid fluctuations around a median near the free space level.
Body and Bulimia Revisited: Reflections on “A Secret Life”

In 1996, the author published “A Secret Life in a Culture of Thinness: Reflections on Body, Food, and Bulimia” (Tillmann-Healy, 1996), an account of her struggle with binging and purging from ages 15 to 25. She came to understand bulimia as a communicative act, expressing fear, anxiety, and grief. From 25 to 35, her recovery from bulimia involved learning to “purge” emotion through other forms of communication (e.g., dialogue, writing, and teaching). At 35, separation and divorce pose the greatest challenge to the author's 10-year recovery, yet she does not return to bulimic expression. This article invites readers to sense and feel pathways in, through, and out of unhealthy relationships with our bodies and ourselves.
Linactants: surfactant analogues in two dimensions.

We report a new class of molecules, linactants, that partition at phase boundaries and reduce the line tension between coexisting two-dimensional phases in molecular monolayers. The line tension between hydrocarbon-rich and fluorocarbon-rich phases was determined by monitoring the relaxation kinetics of deformed domains. Two partially fluorinated linactant molecules (with one and two tails, respectively) were synthesized and tested; the more efficient single-tail variant reduced the line tension by more than 20% at a mole fraction of only $8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$.
Topographic distribution of refractive indices in bovine lenses.

Abstract The surface of the bovine lens was mapped for refractive indices by using the minimum of light scattered as a probe in different non-interacting media with different refractive indices. The highest refractive index is at the center and the refractive indices decrease symmetrically moving toward the corner of the lens along a horizontal axis. The same is true along the vertical axis. It seems that in order to provide a uniform refractive power of the whole lens the change in the curvature is compensated by a change in the refractive index.