cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can Sex and Seniority Predict the Quality of a Journal Reviewer's Manuscript Critique?

Purpose To evaluate reviewers’ timeliness and review quality for the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics (IJROBP) by sex and seniority. Methods and Materials The IJROBP editorial office provided data on 3962 individuals invited to review manuscripts from 2011 through 2014. We identified 1657 reviewers who had been invited to provide a review on at least 3 occasions during the study period and compared review timeliness and scoring between male and female reviewers. We confirmed the reviewers’ sex after having unblinded their names based on our personal acquaintance with them and via an Internet search on their department websites. We then did a subset analysis of 124 US-based reviewers who had returned a “major revision” decision. We used the Review Quality Instrument (RQI) to rate their reviews. We used odds ratios and t tests to look for differences in mean RQI scores and factors that might be associated with quality—in particular, Hirsch indices (h indices) and year of first certification. Results Of the 1657 reviewers of interest, 1245 (75.1%) were men and 412 (24.9%) were women. We found no statistically significant differences between men and women in the time to respond to invitations. There were no statistically significant differences in timeliness or review reminders based on sex. Our subset analysis showed no difference in quality (RQI scores) based on the reviewers’ sex, h index, or year of first certification. Conclusions Women and men render reviews of equal quality regardless of seniority and h index, yet women have been invited less frequently to review. This is likely because of the underrepresentation of women in radiation oncology. A more balanced academic population is needed to address this continuing disparity of women's representation in academic publishing.
Full-thickness macular holes after surgical repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments: incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes.

Full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) formation following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair may limit post-operative visual acuity and often requires a return to the operating room, but little is known about this phenomenon. This study included all patients with a FTMH that developed after RRD repair from January 1, 2015–July 31, 2020. The main outcome was the rate of FTMH formation following RRD repair as well as characteristics of FTMH following RRD repair that spontaneously close. There were 470 eyes with a diagnosis of both a FTMH and a RRD during the study period. Of these, 27 (0.28%) developed a FTMH following RRD repair. The median time to FTMH diagnosis was 91 days (25th, 75th quartiles 40, 204 days). The mean minimum hole diameter was 514.5 ± 303.6 microns. There were 4 FTMHs (14.8%) that spontaneously closed without surgical intervention. The spontaneous closure was noted from 4 to 12 weeks after the initial diagnosis of the FTMH. These holes were smaller than the holes that did not close spontaneously (mean minimum diameter 161.8 ± 85.2 vs 588.7 ± 279.3 microns, p = 0.0058). Of the 27 post-operative FTMHs, there were 23 eyes (85%) that underwent surgical intervention with pars plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling. Nineteen eyes (83%) closed with one surgery, 20 eyes (87%) ultimately closed, while 3 eyes (11.1%) did not close. FTMH is relatively uncommon to occur following RRD repair with a prevalence of 0.28% in our series with 87% of these holes achieving closure following surgery or spontaneously. Approximately 15% of FTMHs following RRD repair closed spontaneously and these holes were significantly smaller.
Is There a Liability of Foreignness in Global Banking? An Empirical Test of Banks’ X-Efficiency

When a company operates outside of its home country, it may suffer a ‘liability of foreignness.’ Does this a priori theoretical expectation hold in the global banking industry? Banks increasingly compete outside of their home countries, and operating environments often differ sharply across countries, both in terms of financial markets and credit risk. In this paper, we report the results of an empirical test of the liability of foreignness in the global banking industry, using Fitch–IBCA BankScope data for the period 1989–96. Our findings strongly support the liability of foreignness hypothesis. Further, the data show some evidence that the X-efficiency of a foreign-owned bank is strongly influenced by the competitiveness of its home country and the host country in which it operates. Lastly, we find that in some environments U.S.-owned banks are more X-efficient than other foreign-owned banks in some environments, but less X-efficient in others.
AI in medicine must be explainable.

AI algorithms used for diagnosis and prognosis must be explainable and must not rely on a black box.
Monitoring Reinforced Concrete Cracking Behavior under Uniaxial Tension Using Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing Technology

AbstractFiber-optic sensing (FOS) provides distributed strain measurement that can enhance both structural health monitoring (SHM) and laboratory testing capabilities. In particular, optical freque...
Land Data Management System for Resource Planning

Land and water resource planners are increasingly faced with the problem of working with a growing mass of natural resource and man-made features data. A digital computer-based Land Data Management System (Land DMS) intended to resolve this problem by providing an efficient means to store, retrieve, analyze, and display land data is described. “Land data” is comprehensive in that it denotes all those types of natural resources and man-made features data having an areal characteristic. A 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) cell is the basic unit in the Land DMS. Five practical applications of Land DMS are described—graphic and tabular display of data, delineation of environmental corridors, formulation of diffuse source pollution abatement alternatives, assembly of input data for hydrologic-hydraulic models, and preparation of report artwork. Systems such as the Land DMS can optimize the use of the available data base and thereby substantially contribute to the quality of the decision making process in land and water resources planning.
CD4+ T regulatory cell induction and function in transplant recipients after CD154 blockade is TLR4 independent.

Although the role of CD4 + T regulatory cells (Treg) in transplantation tolerance has been established, putative mechanisms of Treg induction and function in vivo remain unclear. TLR4 signaling has been implicated in the regulation of CD4 + CD25 + Treg functions recently. In this study, we first examined the role of recipient TLR4 in the acquisition of operational CD4 + Treg following CD154 blockade in a murine cardiac transplant model. Then, we determined whether TLR4 activation in allograft tolerant recipients would reverse alloimmune suppression mediated by CD4 + Treg. We document that donor-specific immune tolerance was readily induced in TLR4-deficient recipients by a single dose of anti-CD154 mAb, similar to wild-type counterparts. The function and phenotype of CD4 + Treg in both wild-type and TLR4 knockout long-term hosts was demonstrated by a series of depletion experiments examining their ability to suppress the rejection of secondary donor-type test skin grafts and to inhibit alloreactive CD8 + T cell activation in vivo. Furthermore, TLR4 activation in tolerant recipients following exogenous LPS infusion in conjunction with donor-type skin graft challenge, failed to break Treg-mediated immune suppression. In conclusion, our data reveals a distinctive property of CD4 + Treg in tolerant allograft recipients, whose induction and function are independent of TLR4 signaling.
Processes and design for manufacturing

Processes and Design for Manufacturing, Third Edition, examines manufacturing processes from the viewpoint of the product designer, investigating the selection of manufacturing methods in the early phases of design and how this affects the constructional features of a product. The stages from design process to product development are examined, integrating an evaluation of cost factors. The text emphasizes both a general design orientation and a systems approach and covers topics such as additive manufacturing, concurrent engineering, polymeric and composite materials, cost estimation, design for assembly, and environmental factors. Appendices with materials engineering data are also included.
Unsupervised MDP Value Selection for Automating ITS Capabilities.

We seek to simplify the creation of intelligent tutors by using student d ata acquired from standard computer aided instruction (CAI) in conjunction with educational data mining methods to automatically generate adaptive hints. In our previous work, we have automatically generated hints for logic tutoring by constructing a Markov Decision Process (MDP) that holds and rates historical student work for automatic selection of the best prior cases for hint generation. This method has promise for domain-independent use, but requires that correct solutions be assigned high positive values by the CAI or an expert. In this research we propose a novel method for assigning prior values to student work that depends only on frequency of occurrence for the component steps, and compare how these values impact automatic hint generation when compared to our MDP approach. Our results show that the utility metric outperforms a classic MDP solution in selecting hints in logic. We believe this method will be particularly useful for automatic hint generation for ill-defined domains.
Characterization of Minerals, Metals and Materials , edited by Jiann-Yang Hwang, S.N. Monteiro, Chen Guang Bai, John Carpenter, Mingdong Cai, Donato Firrao, and Byoung-Gon Kim

This impressive and neatly compiled bound volume represents a collection of several papers presented at the Symposium on Characterization of Minerals, Metals and Materials held during the 2012 TMS ...
Using ITK to obtain motion transform in anatomically guided PET motion correction for simultaneous PET/MR

We describe an investigation of the use of the Insight Toolkit (ITK), a widely used open-source image segmentation and registration software, to obtain the motion transform from the MR images for both rigid and deformable PET motion corrections for simultaneous PET/MR scans. A human brain PET/MR FDG study and two human cardiac PET/MR FDG studies were acquired on Siemens' Biograph-mMR. ITK's 3D-Versor registration was used to obtain the rigid motion transform of the brain from the moved and the reference T2 weighted MR images. Registrations based on B-Spline transform and Demons transform were used to obtain the deformable motion fields from the TWIST (Time-resolved angiography With Interleaved Stochastic Trajectories) and CINE MR images. The motion transforms derived from the registrations were then applied to the PET reconstructions. It has been observed that 3D-Versor registration produces accurate rigid motion transform. With regard to deformable motions, Demons transform performs slightly better than B-Spline transform in terms of %RMSE in the registered TWIST MR images. However, the motion field obtained from the TWIST MR images using Demons transform was observed to introduce irregular distortion in the PET image. On the other hand, Demons motion transforms obtained from the CINE images do not introduce any artifact in the PET image, whereas the B-Spline method does not register the CINE MR images very well. The motion corrected PET image has better signal-to-noise ratio than the gated PET image as expected.
Beyond Social Exchange Theory: A Theoretical Shift for Mentoring Relationships in the Federal Workplace

This paper examines the principles of social exchange theory associated with the application of mentoring for knowledge transfer in the federal workplace. Specifically, federal workplace is intended to mean any U.S. government agency defined by bureaucratic processes in its operations. Max Weber’s (1930) comparison of a bureaucracy to an iron cage is both classical and paramount to this discussion. Within the iron cage, Weber posed the further the organization perfects its operation, the more dehumanized the interaction between players (Farganis, 2011). Most important, due to the hierarchical structure and emphasis on career progression associated with the bureaucracy, mentoring relationships are often forged in a knowledge economy. Over time, mastery of skill is supported by a grasp of institutional history and organizational knowledge. Contemporary social work is aptly suited for investigating the barriers to, behavioral elements of, and best practices for fostering effective mentoring relationships in facilitating knowledge transfer between federal employees.
Climate‐driven population dynamics of a North American freshwater fish, Ictalurus furcatus: inference from the mitochondrial control region sequence data

– Using the Bayesian coalescent methodology and mitochondrial control region sequence data, the present study reconstructs the dynamics of effective population size of a temperature-driven seasonal migratory North American freshwater fish, Ictalurus furcatus, during the last glacial cycle. The trend in effective population size is directly associated with the trend in surface air temperature; it is inversely associated with the accumulation of ice sheets in North America during the contemporary period. The long-term decrease in effective population size during the cold period followed by rebound during the warmer period could be explained by this species’ preference for relatively warmer temperatures for its optimal growth and survival.
A high-performance Web-based system design for spatial data accesses

With the increasing use of geographical data in real-world applications, Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have recently emerged as a fruitful area for research. Nowadays, a GIS can be combined with World Wide Web (WWW) techniques to provide information to a multitude of users. A high-performance web-based GIS, called TerraFly, has been developed in order to provide web-based GIS accesses to the general public. The design of TerraFly considers three major aspects including system architecture, data structures, and networking. The system architecture utilizes the existing resources to achieve maximum performance by using the “Internally Distributed Multithreading (IDMT)” technique. A spatial access method, semantic R-trees, is used to search an object based on both spatial and semantic information. System performance results are presented and analyzed. Reducing network traffic to achieve faster response to users is also discussed.
Knowledge-based extraction of named entities

The usual approach to named-entity detection is to learn extraction rules that rely on linguistic, syntactic, or document format patterns that are consistent across a set of documents. However, when there is no consistency among documents, it may be more effective to learn document-specific extraction rules.This paper presents a knowledge-based approach to learning rules for named-entity extraction. Document-specific extraction rules are created using a generate-and-test paradigm and a database of known named-entities. Experimental results show that this approach is effective on Web documents that are difficult for the usual methods.
Age, criminal victimization and offending: changing relationships from adolescence to middle adulthood

Abstract The finding that Victims & Offenders are often the same individuals has led to attempts at explaining the positive correlation between victimization and offending. Much of the evidence for the positive relationship between victimization and offending, however, is based on samples of adolescents and young adults or on data with other limitations. In the present study, we use longitudinal self-report data on victimization and offending in a national probability sample to examine the impacts of victimization on offending and offending on victimization, controlling for sociodemographic and theoretical predictors of both, to see whether the relationship is consistent across the life course from adolescence to early middle age. The results suggest that the relationship between being a perpetrator and being a victim of crime changes over the life course, and that explanations for the victimization-offending relationship need to take this life course variation into account.
Interaction of primary amphipathic cell-penetrating peptides with phospholipid-supported monolayers.

The mesoscopic organization adopted by two primary amphipathic peptides, P(β) and P(α), in Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) films made of either the pure peptide or peptide−phospholipid mixtures was examined by atomic force microscopy. P(β), a potent cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), and P(α) mainly differ by their conformational states, predominantly a β-sheet for P(β) and an α-helix for P(α), as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. LB films of pure peptide, transferred significantly below their collapse pressure, were characterized by the presence of supramolecular structures, globular aggregates for P(β) and filaments for P(α), inserted into the monomolecular film. In mixed peptide−phospholipid films, similar structures could be observed, as a function of the phospholipid headgroup and acyl chain saturation. They often coexisted with a liquid-expanded phase composed of miscible peptide−lipid. These data strongly suggest that primary amphipathic CPP and antimicrobial peptides may share, to some ex...
Treatment processes and mediators of substance use disorders treatment effects: the benefits of side road excursions.

Background: This article provides some commentary on six brief presentations on treatment processes and mediators of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment effects that were made at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism Satellite Preconference on “The Search for Mechanisms of Change in Evidence-Based Behavioral Treatments.” Methods: Six presentations are discussed. Results: The foci of the presentations ranged from the linkages of intermediate outcomes of cognitive-behavioral and 12-step treatment (e.g., spirituality) to posttreatment substance use to the relationship between treatment completion of brief motivational interviewing and treatment outcome. None of the six presentations met all or even most of the criteria for analyses of mediation of intervention effects outlined by Kazdin and Nock. In fact, some did not examine mediation at all. However, the presentations were valuable in illustrating that important new knowledge can be gained from addressing SUD treatment processes and mechanisms of treatment change. Conclusions: Given the paucity of extant research on mediation of SUD treatment effects, correlational explorations of treatment processes and treatment mediators are useful at this point, even though most mediational analyses do not meet many of the criteria listed by Kazdin and Nock. More attention should be devoted to assessing mediators before the assessment of outcome variables (e.g., during treatment) in order to address temporal precedence. Only after reasonable evidence has accrued regarding statistical mediation (expected associations, temporal precedence, reduction in treatment effects when putative mediator is controlled) does it make sense to mount expensive studies with experimental designs to examine causal mediation effects.
Quantum state transfer and logic gates with two 3-level atoms in cavity QED

Abstract We present a new way to implement quantum controlled phase-shift gate, quantum exchange gate (SWAP gate), and quantum state transfer with two 3-level atoms in cavity QED. The method does not involve real excitation of a cavity photon during the operation, thus decoherence induced due to the cavity-photon decay is minimized. In addition, it is remarkable that for all present purposes, no auxiliary atoms or any measurement is needed. Therefore, the operation is significantly simplified.
Efficient closed pattern mining in the presence of tough block constraints

Various constrained frequent pattern mining problem formulations and associated algorithms have been developed that enable the user to specify various itemset-based constraints that better capture the underlying application requirements and characteristics. In this paper we introduce a new class of block constraints that determine the significance of an itemset pattern by considering the dense block that is formed by the pattern's items and its associated set of transactions. Block constraints provide a natural framework by which a number of important problems can be specified and make it possible to solve numerous problems on binary and real-valued datasets. However, developing computationally efficient algorithms to find these block constraints poses a number of challenges as unlike the different itemset-based constraints studied earlier, these block constraints are tough as they are neither anti-monotone, monotone, nor convertible. To overcome this problem, we introduce a new class of pruning methods that significantly reduce the overall search space and present a computationally efficient and scalable algorithm called CBMiner to find the closed itemsets that satisfy the block constraints.
Early feeding after cesarean: randomized trial

Objective: To study the rate of ileus symptoms and hospital course of women who are offered solid food shortly after cesarean delivery. Methods: This study involved women delivered by cesarean under regional anesthesia. Exclusion criteria included general anesthesia, magnesium sulfate, intra-operative bowel injury or bowel surgery, or other conditions that precluded early feeding. Early-fed women were offered regular diets within 8 hours of surgery, and controls were given nothing by mouth for 12–24 hours, advanced to clear liquids on the first postoperative day, and then given solid food on the second or third postoperative day. Results: Sixty women were assigned randomly to each method. Early-fed women received solid food sooner after surgery, 5.0 ± 1.2 hours versus 40.0 ± 10.6 hours. The incidences of mild ileus symptoms and postoperative complications were similar in both groups; however, the study did not have an adequate sample size to definitively assess safety concerns. Women in the early-fed group had shorter hospital stays (49.5 ± 12.7 hours versus 75.0 ± 12.3 hours, P < .001), and shorter time intervals from surgery to bowel movement, 34.5 hours (interquartile range 25.3–48.8) versus 51.0 (43.3–62.0) hours, P < .001. In the early-fed group, women whose operative times exceeded 40 minutes were more likely to have symptoms of mild ileus. Conclusion: Early initiation of solid food after cesarean delivery appears to be well tolerated and may be associated with a shorter hospital stay. Early-fed women whose operations exceed 40 minutes may be more likely to have mild ileus symptoms.
Application of Math-Based Marketing and Financial Tools in an Automated Parametric Design Framework

A suite of math-based marketing and financial tools has been deployed and exercised within an automated, multidisciplinary parametric design framework. This suite of tools includes a market share estimator based on Cook’s S-Model, a Technical Cost Model for estimating the variable and fixed costs of the vehicle’s body system, a database of cost estimates for other vehicle systems, and a profit estimator developed from a standard accounting template. Development of the S-Model market share estimator included completion of a Demand-Price analysis for the midsize sedan segment and collection of publicly available value curves predominantly covering the powertrain performance and interior roominess disciplines. A flexible input-output interface was developed for the Technical Cost Model to provide a means of propagating changes in body design parameters throughout the framework. A series of exercises including analysis of a baseline vehicle, optimization of a hypothetical vehicle concept for net income, and a hypothetical architectural parameter study were conducted to demonstrate the capabilities of a multidisciplinary parametric design framework enabled with marketing and financial tools. These exercises demonstrate that existing engineering and business discipline tools can effectively interoperate to design for profitability in a multidisciplinary parametric design environment. They also illustrate several key challenges in automated design for profitability, such as those encountered in defining the role of price as a design variable in a tightly coupled design-for-profit system and in generating cost estimates using a continuously variable design representation.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Social factors in schizophrenic, alcoholic, executive and prison populations†

Investigated factorial structure of social status in hospitalized schizophrenics, alcoholics, executives and prison populations totaling 965 Ss. Five major factors were derived from the data obtained by administration of a 200-item Social Status Study instrument: Factor I--Social Class Role; Factor II--Conservative Citizen Role; Factor II--Worker Status Role; Factor IV--Political Citizen Role, and Factor V--Political-Social Mobility. Description of the levels of integration along the personal-social dimension represented by the four clinical groups was proposed.
Minimal model for avalanches in granular systems

A nonlinear model for the dynamics of avalanches in granular systems is presented. It is based on mean-field equations for the particle velocity and the angle of the surface of the granular system. The friction force is discontinuous at zero velocity and increases monotonically with the square of the velocity. The model explains the main features of the dynamics of avalanches in analytical detail. It also explains the logarithmic decay behavior of the angle of the pile in the presence of vibrations as found experimentally by Jaeger et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 40 (1990)].
Long‐term efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid in the treatment of skeletal metastases in patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma and other solid tumors

BACKGROUND The authors previously reported the efficacy of a dose of 4 mg of zoledronic acid in reducing skeletal complications in patients with bone metastases secondary to lung carcinoma and other solid tumors (except carcinomas of the breast and prostate). In the current study, they update these results and report the long-term efficacy and safety of 21 months of treatment with zoledronic acid in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS A total of 773 patients were randomized to receive zoledronic acid (4 mg or 8 mg) or placebo via a 15-minute infusion every 3 weeks for 21 months. The 8-mg dose later was reduced to 4 mg (8/4-mg group). The primary efficacy endpoint was the percentage of patients at 21 months with ≥ 1 skeletal-related event (SRE) (pathologic fracture, spinal cord compression, radiation therapy to bone, or surgery to bone). Secondary analyses (time to first SRE, annual incidence of SREs, and multiple-event analysis) included hypercalcemia of malignancy. RESULTS Fewer patients treated with zoledronic acid developed at least 1 SRE at 21 months compared with patients treated with placebo (39% of those treated at the 4-mg dose [P =0.127] and 36% of those treated at the 8/4-mg dose [P = 0.023], compared with 46% of those treated with placebo). Furthermore, 4 mg of zoledronic acid significantly delayed the median time to first SRE (236 days with 4 mg vs. 155 days with placebo; P = 0.009) and significantly reduced the annual incidence of SREs (1.74 per year with the 4-mg dose vs. 2.71 per year with placebo; P = 0.012). Moreover, the 4-mg dose of zoledronic acid was found to reduce the risk of developing a skeletal event by 31% (hazard ratio of 0.693; P = 0.003). Zoledronic acid was found to be well tolerated with long-term use; the most commonly reported adverse events in all treatment groups included bone pain and the transient, acute-phase reactions of nausea, anemia, and emesis. CONCLUSIONS To the authors' knowledge, zoledronic acid is the first bisphosphonate to demonstrate long-term safety and efficacy in this patient population. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.
Peripheral and central components in variants of the Mueller-Lyer illusion

Illusion decrement with prolonged inspection was used as a technique to assess the relative amount of central component in seven variants of the Mueller-Lyer illusion. Results indicate that all of the variant forms share a common, central component, while the peripheral components, such as lateral inhibition, vary as a function of the presence of converging lines in the illusion configurations.
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES AND EXPORT INVOLVEMENT: AN INITIAL INQUIRY

This study is an exploratory investigation into the role of new product development practices in the internationalisation process. Specifically, the relationship among five identified new product development practices and three export involvement stages is explored. The analysis of survey data obtained from a national sample of U.S. manufacturing firms provide support for the contention that certain new product development capabilities must exist at all stages of the internationalisation process. The results further support the argument that a subset of new product development capabilities must exist for the firm to pursue strategies that will result in a higher degree of export involvement.
Abstinent chronic crack-cocaine and crackcocaine/alcohol abusers evidence normal hippocampal volumes on MRI despite persistent cognitive impairments

We measured hippocampal volumes and cognitive functioning in crack-cocaine and crack-cocaine/alcoholdependent subjects (abstinent approximately 10-12 weeks) compared to age-matched controls. Cognitive function was evaluated using the computerized MicroCog Assessment of Cognitive Functioning (which includes tests of explicit, declarative memory subserved by the hippocampus). The hippocampal volumes were quantified on T1-weighted MRIs and were expressed as a proportion of intracranial vault volume. Both subjects and controls showed the larger right versus left hippocampal volume expected in normal anatomy, but we found no differences in hippocampal volume between any of the groups. However, both abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects and abstinent cocaine/alcohol-dependent subjects showed persistent cognitive impairments, including deficits in explicit memory. Our results suggest that either: (1) the hippocampus is resistant to structural volume loss in young and middle-aged cocaine or cocaine/alcohol-dependent subjects, (2) the hippocampal volume loss suffered by young and middle-aged cocaine or cocaine/alcohol-dependent subjects resolves after approximately 3 months of abstinence, or (3) hippocampal atrophy is obscured by the process of gliosis. Further, the cognitive impairments persisting in these abstinent cocaine and cocaine/alcohol-dependent samples may (1) be unrelated to hippocampal function or (2) be associated with abnormal hippocampal function that is not reflected in MRI measures of overall hippocampal atrophy.
Chemical constituents and analytical approaches for hydraulic fracturing waters

Hydraulic fracturing fluids contain a mix of organic and inorganic additives in an aqueous media. The compositions of these mixtures vary according to the region or company use, thus making the process of identifying individual compounds difficult. The analytical characterization of such mixtures is important in order to understand the transport, environmental fate and ultimate potential health impact in various water compartments associated with hydraulic fracturing. Organic compound classes include solvents, gels, biocides, scale inhibitors, friction reducers, surfactants and other related compounds. These contaminants are usually present in trace amounts, so sophisticated analytical methodologies are needed in order to fully characterize the chemical composition of fracking fluids. The current state of knowledge of chemical components and approaches for their analysis is reviewed here. In recent years, modern analytical methodologies, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) have been specifically used to identify organic chemical components of fracking fluids and/or flowback and produced waters associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing. Other techniques such as liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) have not been explored in detail yet. In this review a detailed description of chemical constituents present in hydraulic fracturing waters will be given, as well as an evaluation of the analytical techniques used for their unequivocal determination.
The juxtaposition of a capillary telangiectasia, cavernous malformation, and developmental venous anomaly in the brainstem of a single patient: case report.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Capillary telangiectasias, cavernous malformations, and developmental venous anomalies are all vascular malformations that occur on the capillary-venous side of the cerebral circulation. The associations of capillary telangiectasias with venous malformations, cavernous malformations with venous malformations, and capillary telangiectasias with cavernous malformations have all been described; however, the association of all three lesions in a single patient is extremely rare. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 52 year-old Caucasian woman presented to our clinic with an extended history of confusion, distorted visual perceptions, photophobia, neck pain, swallowing problems, and poor balance. The patient's examination was remarkable for difficulty concentrating, mild rotatory nystagmus, subtle decreased sensation over the left side of the face and body, and brisk reflexes. Review of the patient's magnetic resonance imaging examination demonstrated a cavernous malformation, a capillary telangiectasia, and a developmental venous anomaly located adjacent to one another in the brainstem. INTERVENTION: Given the patient's complex constellation of symptoms and relatively mild neurological findings, it was difficult to ascribe any one of them to a specific vascular malformation. Conservative management of this patient's vascular malformations was decided upon. CONCLUSION: Juxtaposition of these three different vascular lesions in the brainstem of an otherwise normal individual suggests a relationship among them. Although there are several theories that link similar associations through physiological mechanisms such as venous hypertension, we propose that a developmental event disrupting local capillary-venous pattern formation is a plausible alternative.
Techniques for file system simulation

SUMMARY Careful simulation-based evaluation plays an important role in the design of file and disk systems. We describe here a particular approach to such evaluations that combines techniques in workload synthesis, file system modeling, and detailed disk behavior modeling. Together, these make feasible the detailed simulation of I/O hardware and file system software. In particular, using the techniques described here is likely to make comparative file system studies more accurate. In addition to these specific contributions, the paper makes two broader points. First, it argues that detailed models are appropriate and necessary in many cases. Second, it demonstrates that detailed models need not be difficult or time consuming to construct or execute.
Numerical phase algorithm for decompression computers and application

Abstract Present generation decompression computers employ a simplified algorithm, limiting dissolved gas build-up in tissue and blood according to a method proposed by Haldane 80 years ago. Such a model works well for single dives, but is usually liberal and theoretically incomplete for multiple exposures within 24 hr spans. Using the critical phase hypothesis in a bubble model, we have extended the classical model of Haldane to multi-exposures. This model is discussed, and a decomputer algorithm described for multi-diving. The focus is permissible bubble excess, not just dissolved gas per se , with phase constraints affecting all tissues, fast and slow, and requiring a systematic lowering of repetitive tissue tensions. Deep repetitive and shallow multiday exposures are impacted most by the procedure. Within nucleation theory deeper-than-first dives are also treated. A set of multi-diving fractions, kri; accounting for micronuclei excitation and regeneration, reduced bubble elimination in repetitive activity, and coupled effects on tissue tension, are proposed, with kri; representing a set of multiplicative factors (less than one) applied to critical tissue tensions for multi-exposures. These factors affect repetitive activity over short time spans, deeper-than-previous and continuous multi-day activities, compared to standard computer software, and are easily encoded into existing decompression meters, potentially extending their range and flexibility over exposure regimes.
Inferential Theory of Learning as a Conceptual Basis for Multistrategy Learning

In view of a great proliferation of machine learning methods and paradigms, there is a need for a general conceptual framework that would explain their interrelationships and provide a basis for their integration into multistrategy learning systems. This article presents initial results on the Inferential Theory of Learning that aims at developing such a framework, with the primary emphasis on explaining logical capabilities of learning systems, i.e., their competence. The theory views learning as a goal-oriented process of modifying the learner's knowledge by exploring the learner's experience. Such a process is described as a search through a knowledge space, conducted by applying knowledge transformation operators, called knowledge transmutations. Transmutations can be performed using any type of inference—deduction, induction, or analogy. Several fundamental pairs of transmutations are presented in a novel and very general way. These include generalization and specialization, explanation and prediction, abstraction and concretion, and similization and dissimilization. Generalization and specialization transmutations change the reference set of a description (the set of entities being described). Explanations and predictions derive additional knowledge about the reference set (explanatory or predictive). Abstractions and concretions change the level of detail in describing a reference set. Similizations and dissimilizations hypothesize knowledge about a reference set based on its similarity or dissimilarity with another reference set. The theory provides a basis for multistrategy task-adaptive learning (MTL), which is outlined and illustrated by an example. MTL dynamically adapts strategies to the learning task, defined by the input information, the learner's background knowledge, and the learning goal. It aims at synergistically integrating a wide range of inferential learning strategies, such as empirical and constructive inductive generalization, deductive generalization, abductive derivation, abstraction, similization, and others.
A Law-Observant Mission to Gentiles: The Background of Galatians

That the early church was intensely and passionately evangelistic is clear to every reader of the documents that make up the New Testament. Equally clear, or so it would seem, is the scholarly consensus that when Christian evangelists took the step of reaching beyond the borders of the Jewish people, they did so without requiring observance of the Jewish law. The work of these evangelists, in turn, is said to have sparked a reaction on the part of firmly observant Jewish Christians, who, seeing the growth of the Gentile mission, sought to require observance of the Law by its converts. Struggles ensued, and the outcome, to put the matter briefly, was victory for the mission to the Gentiles, for the Law-free theology characteristic of that mission, and for the churches produced by it.
Spectral alterations in Rhodobacter capsulatus mutants with site-directed changes in the bacteriochlorophyll-binding site of the B880 light-harvesting complex

Abstract Site-directed mutagenesis has suggested that conserved histidine and alanine residues in the α-subunit of the B880 (LHI) antenna complex of Rhodobacter capsulatus (αHis32 and αAla28) form part of the bacteriochlorophyll binding site (Bylina, E.J., Robles, S.J. and Youvan, D.C. (1988) Isr. J. Chem. 28, 73–78). Spectroscopic characterization of chromatophores from αAla28 mutants at 77 K revealed: (i) red shifts in B880 absorption and emission maxima of ∼ 6 and 10 nm, respectively, with a serine exchange; (ii) red shifts of 3 nm with a glycine exchange; (iii) and no significant shifts with a cysteine exchange, despite a reduction of ∼ 50% in B880 level. The strains with the serine and glycine exchanges showed characteristic fluorescence polarization increases over the red-edge of the B880 band, suggesting that the absorption red shifts arose from altered pigment-protein interactions rather than from increased oligomerization states that would be expected to show markedly diminished and red shifted rises in polarization (Westerhuis, W.H.J., Farchaus, J.W. and Niederman, R.A. (1993) Photochem. Photobiol. 58, 460–463). Excitation spectra of strains with αHis32 to glutamine and αAla28 to histidine exchanges, thought to be depleted in B880, revealed low levels of a ‘pseudo-B880’ complex with blue-shifted maxima and fluorescence polarization rises; when excited directly into this component, the former strain showed an emission spectrum similar to that of B880. An essentially wild-type electrochromic carotenoid response was observed only in the B880-containing mutants, since membranes isolated from the B880-depleted strains exhibited an increased permeability to ions.
Characterization of grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) embryo toxicity tests using the water soluble fraction of number 2 fuel oil

Abstract Toxicity test procedures using grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio exposed to water soluble fraction (WSF) of Number 2 fuel oil were modified to improve test utility and efficiency. The original test procedure, a 12-day embryo exposure period in glass tubes, was compared with modified 4-day and 12-day tests in plastic tissue culture plates. Comparison of LC 50 values, coefficients of variation and time to hatch indicated no significant change in test sensitivity due to the plastic containers. Sensitivity was slightly reduced by shortening the test to a 4-day exposure period initiated 9 days after oviposition. This exposure period encompassed sensitive life stages of the developing organism. Using the 4-day exposure in plastic plates, variability due to different broods and preparations of WSF was characterized.
Use of mercuric acetate addition to prepare unsaturated fatty ester concentrates

Mereuric acetate in methanol was reacted with unsaturated fatty acid esters in mixtures prepared from linseed, safflower and menhaden oils and pig liver and beef adrenal lipids. Methanol solutions retained predominantly the adducts of the more highly unsaturated esters when extracted with either n-pentane or commercial pentane (Skellysolve F). The free esters were recoverable from the adducts.
Graphene FETs for Zero-Bias Linear Resistive FET Mixers

In this letter, we present the first graphene FET operation for zero-bias resistive FET mixers, utilizing modulation of graphene channel resistance rather than ambipolar mixer operations, up to 20 GHz. The graphene FETs with a gate length of 0.25 μm have an extrinsic cutoff frequency fT of 40 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency fMAX of 37 GHz. At 2 GHz, the graphene FETs show a conversion loss of 14 dB with gate-pumped resistive FET mixing, with at least > 10-dB improvement over reported graphene mixers. The input third-order intercept points (IIP3s) of 27 dBm are demonstrated at a local oscillator (LO) power of 2.6 dBm. The excellent linearity demonstrated by graphene FETs at low LO power offers the potential for high-quality linear mixers.
The probable association of SN 1957d in NGC 5236(M83) with an unresolved radio source.

Astrometric measurements of the position of SN 1957d in the spiral galaxy NGC 5236 using archival plates indicate that it is within 2 arcsec of the position of a point radio source of approximately Cas A strength on a VLA map made by Cowan and Branch (1982). This coincidence strongly suggests that the radio source originated from the supernova. If further investigation shows this point source to indeed be a supernova remnant, then this would be the first reported detection of an intermediate-age supernova remnant.
Gene therapy in a murine model of methylmalonic acidemia using rAAV9-mediated gene delivery.

Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), an inherited metabolic disorder caused by deficient activity of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, carries a poor prognosis for long-term survival. While administration of a recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 8 vector (rAAV8) can rescue Mut−/− mice from neonatal lethality and provide sustained phenotypic correction, translation of gene therapy to human subjects will likely require multiple rounds of systemic administration and, ideally, the use of a vector that transduces the kidney. To examine the effectiveness of alternative rAAVs in the treatment of MMA, a serotype 9 rAAV expressing the Mut cDNA was constructed and delivered to newborn Mut−/− mice (n=11). rAAV9 gene therapy directed hepatic transgene expression within 24 h and effectively rescued the Mut−/− mice from lethality, conferred long-term survival, markedly improved metabolism and resulted in striking preservation of renal function and histology. Systemic readministration of the vector at a dose similar to that used in human clinical trials (2.5 × 109 GC of rAAV9 per gram) to older, treated Mut−/− mice (n=5) lowered circulating metabolites, increased in vivo propionate oxidative capacity and produced transgene expression in the kidney and liver. Our data support the use of an rAAV9 vector in the acute and chronic treatment of MMA, and highlight the renal tropism afforded by this novel serotype.
Senator opposition to supreme court nominations: reference dependence on the departing justice

Research indicates that senators evaluate U.S. Supreme Court nominations on two ideological dimensions: the distance between themselves and the nominee, and the potential effect confirmation would have on the Court median. My analysis of nominations from 1968 to 2006 provides evidence that senators are also influenced by the ideological contrast between the nominee and the departing justice.
The Measurement of Inter-Party Competition and Systemic Stability

The American two-party system is a constant object of study by many political scientists, yet there exists no adequate scale by which to measure inter-party competition and the stability of our two-party system. It is the purpose of this article to present a simple index by which the condition of any two-party system (national or state or foreign) can be determined in relation to its expected behavior.
Private lives, public places: Street photography ethics 1

In this essay, author‐educator‐photographer A.D. Coleman considers a number of dilemmas inherent in photographing private persons in public places. “Street photography”; is a genre whose ethical dimensions are often overlooked, despite the photographer's efforts to humanize and universalize a moment in time. According to the author, the dilemmas of street photography are imagistic, general, and philosophical, as well as pragmatic, specific, and legislative.