cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disparity, Shortfall, and Twice-Endogenous HARA Utility

We demonstrate that shortfall-minimizing portfolio selection based on the CressieRead family of divergence measures maps to the HARA family. This means that all HARA utility functions can be interpreted as “endogenous” in the sense described in Stutzer (2003), and that traditional HARA expected utility maximization has an analog to the behavioral notion that an investor seeks to organize their selection of assets to minimize the probability of realizing a return below some pre-determined target or benchmark rate. We show that not only do risk aversion parameters arise endogenously, given the choice set, but that the type of risk aversion, relative or constant, is also determined endogenously. We also connect this approach to portfolio selection to some topics in behavioral economics.
Ipsilateral femoral vein compression: A contraindication to thrombin injection of femoral pseudoaneurysms

Development of a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm occurs in 0.6% to 3.2% of interventional procedures. Nonsurgical treatment has consisted of ultrasound scan-directed compression and, more recently, direct thrombin injection into the pseudoaneurysm cavity to achieve thrombosis. Reported complications after thrombin injection are rare. We report two cases of femoral venous compression associated with pseudoaneurysm injection and review the literature. A 76-year-old man and an 86-year-old man both underwent thrombin injection of pseudoaneurysms compressing the ipsilateral common femoral vein. Both patients were diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis and subsequently needed surgical exploration for repair of the pseudoaneurysm and release of the venous compression. At exploration, both were found to have significant inflammation surrounding the femoral vessels, which made vessel exposure challenging. Because of the venous outflow obstruction involved in femoral pseudoaneurysms with secondary venous compression and the surgical difficulty caused by surrounding inflammation, avoidance of thrombin injection in favor of early surgical intervention is suggested.
Confocal fluorescence spectroscopy of subcutaneous cartilage expressing green fluorescent protein versus cutaneous collagen autofluorescence.

Optically monitoring the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the cartilage underlying the skin of a mouse allows tracking the expression of the chondrocyte phenotype. This paper considers how confocal microscopy with spectral detection can sense GFP fluorescence in the cartilage despite light scattering and collagen autofluorescence from the overlying skin. An in vivo experiment tested the abilities of a topical optical fiber measurement and a con- focal microscope measurement to detect GFP in cartilage under the skin versus the collagen autofluorescence. An ex vivo experiment tested the ability of a confocal microscope without and with its pin- hole to detect a fluorescent microsphere underneath an ex vivo skin layer versus the collagen autofluorescence. In both systems, spectro- scopic detection followed by linear analysis allowed spectral discrimi- nation of collagen autofluorescence (M C) and the subdermal green fluorescence (M G) due to either GFP or the microsphere. Contrast was defined as M G /(M G1M C). The in vivo contrast for GFP using optical fiber and confocal measurements was 0.16 and 0.92, respec- tively. The ex vivo contrast for a fluorescent microsphere using a con- focal system without and with a pinhole was 0.13 and 0.48, respec- tively. The study demonstrates that a topical optical fiber measurement is affected by collagen autofluorescence, while a con- focal microscope can detect subdermal fluorescence while rejecting collagen autofluorescence. © 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engi-
Fractures in amputees.

Fractures in the amputated extremities of fourteen amputees have been reported. Three of the patients had sustained amputations of the upper extremities; eleven, of the lower extremities. Healing of fractures in amputees does not differ materially from healing in persons who have not had amputations, with one possible exception: fractures of the upper part of the femur sustained by patients with above-the-knee stumps seemed to unite faster and better as a result of the shortened leverage of the distal fragment.
Choosing the Guardians: Politically-Motivated Appointments and Military Performance

The rulers of political regimes often recruit and promote military personnel on the basis of their political, economic, or social ties to the government in order to mitigate the risk of a coup d'etat. Scholars frequently claim that such practices have deleterious effects on the performance of the armed forces, thereby leaving the state exposed to other threats. I consider the competing imperatives that exist for the political leaders of coup prone states, and show that politically-motivated appointments allow rulers to increase the fighting ability of the armed forces in which they are implemented. Where rulers can reduce the willingness of military personnel to intervene in politics, they are freed from the need to implement measures that constrain the military's capacity to act. Military organizations that are led and manned by politically-reliable personnel can therefore be endowed with more coercive power than forces that lack political ties, a claim that I evaluate in the context of Iraqi actions during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88.
Graph Theory in the Approximation Theory of Fluid Dynamics

Consider a viscous incompressible flow governed by the Navier-Stokes equations. In a number of finite element schemes, one discretizes the flow equations within approximating “incompressibility subspaces.” We describe the previously missing theory of dimension and bases for those subspaces.
Eccentricity fault detection in multiphase permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor

This paper presents fault detection and its analysis for permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMa-SynRM). The PMa-SynRM has been increasingly studied for critical service application where high efficiency and reliability is required in industry. However, the research on the fault in a PMa-SynRM has been limitedly studied, and no study on the eccentricity fault diagnosis for multiphase PMa-SynRM has been documented so far. The three-phase and five-phase PMa-SynRM has been comparatively analyzed under eccentricity condition to identify a fault diagnosis index which is independent from phase numbers. The simulation model for PMa-SynRM has been developed using finite element method (FEM). Through FEM, static eccentricity (SE), dynamic eccentricity (DE) and mixed eccentricity (ME) are designed to evaluate the performance of the multiphase PMa-SynRM motors under faulty conditions. The fault features have been extracted through average torque, torque ripple, and back-EMF harmonics. Theoretical analysis with designed motors has been done to evaluate extracted features under eccentricity condition.
Effect of Porous Media Configuration on Combustion of Kerosene

Kerosene combustion using silicon-carbide coated carbon foam has been investigated in this study. Carbon foam serving as porous inert media (PIM) facilitates fuel pre-vaporization by promoting thermal feedback from the reaction zone. Fuel-air premixing is enhanced in the fine pore PIM (or preheating PIM) placed upstream of the PIM reaction zone to also prevent flashback. Different PIM configurations were evaluated to identify geometric parameters affecting fuel pre-vaporization and fuel-air premixing upstream of the reaction zone. CO and NOx emissions measurements were obtained by varying the equivalence ratio, inlet air temperature, injector location and heat release rate. Results show effectiveness of the PIM in reducing emissions by improving fuel vaporization and fuel-air premixing.
Seismic constraints on the water flux delivered to the deep Earth by subduction

For the first time, large quantities of water are identified throughout the length of a subducting plate, and an efficient pathway is defined for injecting water into the deep (>600 km) Earth, by the incorporation of water into the mantle of an oceanic plate as serpentine. Water is thought to facilitate plate tectonics, but the quantities of water involved, and thus its effect, are poorly known. Taking advantage of an anomalous seismic arrival recorded in the Tonga-Fiji subduction zone, the presence, volume, water content, and flux of serpentine and water associated with the subducting oceanic mantle at Tonga is quantified at 2 × 10 8 Tg/Ma H 2 O, many times larger than previous inferences based on surface observations. Water fluxes of this magnitude into the deep Earth will substantially increase the role of water in hypotheses of plate tectonic movements, mantle plumes, and flood basalt activity.
PML for FDTD calculation of fields generated by lightning return stroke

The finite-difference time-domain(FDTD) method was used in 2-dimensional cylindrical coordinates to calculate the fields radiated by lightning return stroke,and the PML absorbing boundary conditions was adopted to truncate the computational domain.The calculated horizontal electric fields were respectively compared with the results obtained by the use of the first order Mur absorbing boundary conditions and the accurate results obtained by Cooray-Rubinstein formula.The results of the comparison show that the absorbing efficiency of PML absorbing boundary conditions is higher than that of the first order Mur and that PML reduces the computational domain and computation time while getting the same accurate results compared with the first order Mur absorbing boundary conditions.
SU-F-T-51: Investigating the Effect of Eye Size and Eccentricity On Normal Tissue Doses From Eye Plaque Brachytherapy

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of eye size and eccentricity on doses to critical tissues by simulating doses in the Plaque Simulator (v. 6.3.1) software. Present OHSU plaque brachytherapy treatment focuses on delivering radiation to the tumor measured with ocular ultrasound plus a small margin and assumes the orbit has the dimensions of a “standard eye.” Accurately modeling the dimensions of the orbit requires a high resolution ocular CT. This study quantifies how standard differences in equatorial diameters and eccentricity affect calculated doses to critical structures in order to query the justification of the additional CT scan to the treatment planning process. Methods: Tumors of 10 mm × 10 mm × 5 mm were modeled at the 12:00:00 hour with a latitude of 45 degrees. Right eyes were modeled at a number of equatorial diameters from 17.5 to 28 mm for each of the standard non-notched COMS plaques with silastic inserts. The COMS plaques were fully loaded with uniform activity, centered on the tumor, and prescribed to a common tumor dose (85 Gy/100 hours). Variations in the calculated doses to normal structures were examined to see if the changes were significant. Results: The calculated dose to normal structures show a marked dependence on eye geometry. This is exemplified by fovea dose which more than doubled in the smaller eyes and nearly halved in the larger model. Additional significant dependence was found in plaque size on the calculated dose in spite of all plaques giving the same dose to the prescription point. Conclusion: The variation in dose with eye dimension fully justifies the addition of a high resolution ocular CT to the planning technique. Additional attention must be made to plaque size beyond simply covering the tumor when considering normal tissue dose
Technologies for High-Performance Computing in the Next Millennium

The environment for high-performance computing is changing rapidly. On the hardware side, chip-related advances such as copper metallization, siliconon-insulator, and high-resolution lithography will continue to contribute to rapid increases in device speed. Although the investments needed continue to grow, we don’t see any fundamental roadblocks during the next ten years. With higher levels of integration, the importance of packaging grows, and IBM has paid quite a bit of attention to this. On the software side, the changes brought about by an increased interest in Open Source promises to fundamentally lower the capital requirements for the introduction of new platforms and to affect the computer industry in many other ways as well.
The Most Peaceful Place on Earth

This reflexive non-fiction/autoethnographic account tells the story of the authors visit to Cheung Eeok Killing fields focusing on themes of peace, place, and the politics of cultural renewal in a country devastated by the Khmer Rouge. It offers a pedagogical vision of how such renewal is taking place through tourism (even of a dark kind) and the unsettling (but also inspirational) experience of walking through this liminal space of Cambodian history.
Rethinking College: Roles for School Psychologists in Transition Planning for Students with Intellectual Disability

Transition from high school to postsecondary education (PSE) and employment can be challenging for all youth, and particularly for youth with intellectual disability (ID) who are more likely to remain in poverty compared to their peers without disabilities (Mock and Love, J Policy Pract Intellect Disabil, 9:289-297, 2012; Siperstein et al., J Vocat Rehabil, 39:157-160, 2013). In the USA, the critical transition period from adolescence to adulthood for students with ID is receiving increased attention. There have been significant advances in educational programming and PSE options for students with ID targeting academic growth, personal adjustment, and career development goals. Increasing access to PSE for students with ID is a shared responsibility, involving collaboration across a variety of service providers, including school psychologists. This article reviews transition challenges and programming opportunities as well as describes the roles that school psychologists can assume in identifying and providing effective support strategies to meet the postsecondary transition needs of students with ID.
The Role of DNA Looping in the Search for Specific Targets on DNA by Multisite Proteins.

Many cellular processes involve simultaneous interactions between DNA and protein molecules at several locations. They are regulated and controlled by special protein–DNA complexes, which are known as synaptic complexes or synaptosomes. Because of the multisite nature of involved proteins, it was suggested that during the formation of synaptic complexes DNA loops might appear, but their role is unclear. We developed a theoretical model that allowed us to evaluate the effect of transient DNA loop formation. It is based on a discrete-state stochastic method that explicitly takes into account the free-energy contributions due to the appearance of DNA loops. The formation of the synaptic complexes is viewed as a search for a specific binding site on DNA by the protein molecule already bound to DNA at another location. It was found that the search might be optimized by varying the position of the target and the total length of DNA. Furthermore, the formation of transient DNA loops leads to faster dynamics if i...
Only the Shape of Men

Bernard Mandeville, in a gesture most indicative of his debt to the skepticism of Bayle and Nicole, argues that individuals in civil society never truly transcend their fundamental brute passionate existence and animal-like vice but attain “only the Shape of Men.” In this respect, Mandeville’s satirical-skeptical position is essentially iconoclastic, and reveals the socio-economic realities subtending an individual’s virtuous public image as “mere shape,” grounded on the fundamental incommensurability between the sacred public image produced by wealth and invisible private self-interest that gives life to this image.
A comparison of legal literacy among teacher subgroups

A COMPARISON OF LEGAL LITERACY AMONG TEACHER SUBGROUPS By Candace Partridge Mirabile, Ph. D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013 Charol Shakeshaft, Ph.D., Professor, Education Leadership, School of Education This study determined the level of legal literacy among classroom teachers in a suburban metropolitan division in Virginia. I have focused on aspects of the law that relate to student safety and student rights, and my operational definition of legal literacy is the understanding of these laws. The results from 239 respondents indicated that teachers in this division are not knowledgeable of essential legal content specific to student/teacher interactions. The mean percent of correct answers hovered at the 50% mark on a survey of 20 true/false questions related to landmark cases, important legislation, and Virginia law. I was unable to trace legal literacy to a particular demographic, and I concluded that more than half of the respondents had received no training in legal issues. I propose that Virginia’s licensure requirements be upgraded to include competence in legal literacy because knowledge of law is among the standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2008). Based on comments from respondents to my survey, teachers are interested in learning more about education law.
Cytochromes P450 1A2 and 3A4 Catalyze the Metabolic Activation of Sunitinib.

Sunitinib is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor associated with idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity. The mechanisms of this toxicity are unknown. We hypothesized that sunitinib undergoes metabolic activation to form chemically reactive, potentially toxic metabolites which may contribute to development of sunitinib-induced hepatotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to define the role of cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes in sunitinib bioactivation. Metabolic incubations were performed using individual recombinant P450s, human liver microsomal fractions, and P450-selective chemical inhibitors. Glutathione (GSH) and dansylated GSH were used as trapping agents to detect reactive metabolite formation. Sunitinib metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A putative quinoneimine–GSH conjugate (M5) of sunitinib was detected from trapping studies with GSH and dansyl–GSH in human liver microsomal incubations, and M5 was formed in an NADPH-dependent manner. Recombinant P450 1A2 gener...
PCR Amplification of a Locus with RFLP Alleles Specific to African Honey Bees

An anonymous honey bee locus, detectedpreviously with a cloned probe, has HhaI RFLP allelesspecific to African bees or common to both African andEuropean bees. To facilitate identification of thesealleles, this region, 1231, was made analyzable with thePCR. The two halves of the region, excluding thetermini, were amplified as two overlapping segments.Restriction sites were mapped, and the site differences responsible for the allelic RFLP patterns weredetermined. In the first half of the region, twopolymorphic HhaI sites are present in the commonalleles, whereas one, the other, or both of the sitesare absent in the African alleles. In the secondhalf, a third polymorphic HhaI site is present or absentin both common and African alleles. A short part of thesecond half of the region, including more of the terminus, was amplified as a third segment.Within this segment, close to this terminus, a fourthpolymorphic HhaI site is absent in some Africanalleles.
Transgenic Crops: Status, Potential, and Challenges

Since the commercialization of the first GM crop in mid-1990s, agricultural biotechnology has enjoyed remarkable growth in product development, commercialization, and global adoption. Areas planted with GM crops in the last 20 years have increased more than 100-fold, making crop biotechnology one of the fastest adopted agricultural technologies. World population is 7.3 billion today and is expected to reach 9.5 billion in 2050. To sustain this ever-growing population, we will be required to produce 70% more food than what we produce today (Headrick Res Technol Manag 59:3, 2016). Agricultural biotechnology has been and will continue to play an important role in meeting the challenge. This chapter covers a brief overview of agricultural biotechnology, starting with the development of Agrobacterium and gene gun-mediated transformation technologies. Input, output, and agronomic biotechnology traits are discussed with emphasis on the major crops being cultivated around the world. A brief overview of the next generation of precision transformation technologies is given with emphasis on site-specific nucleases, i.e., meganucleases, ZFNs (zinc finger nucleases), TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), and CRISPR/Cas (clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated). Specific examples of the use of these technologies resulting in commercially important traits are discussed. Lastly, challenges associated with further adoption of GM crops are discussed with an emphasis on risk assessment of GM crops and food, perception of risk and benefits, regulation of GM products and policy development, international trade concerns and policy decisions, and social concerns.
Science as radical knowledge

The view that science is typically a cumulative, progressive process, as suggested by some historians of science and some scientific realists, is undermined both by history and by evolutionary considerations about the nature of science. The attempts to use evolutionary biology to portray scientific development as continuous are based on unfortunate analogies to the evolution of life. A proper application of evolutionary biology, in combination with neuroscience, defeats the case for the realism in question and leads to the realization that science is not only open to radical transformation, as history indicates, but that it should be so. Non-evolutionary approaches for the historical continuity of science, such as Lakatos’, do not fare much better. As I will argue, science is a radical form of knowledge.
Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) as Reactive Matrix for Detection of Trace Levels of HCN in Air by Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LDI-MS)

Under direct laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric conditions, the irradiation of target spots made of gold nanoparticle residues generates a series of peaks at m/z 197, 394, 591… representing Aun− ions (n = 1–3). In contrast, spectra recorded from gold nanoparticles directly mixed with an alkali cyanide exhibited an additional peak at m/z 249, indicating an abundant generation of gaseous [Au(CN)2]− ions upon irradiation. The relative intensity of the m/z 249 peak surged when the amount of cyanide in the mixture was increased. Most remarkably, a peak at m/z 249 was observed even from neat AuNPs upon irradiation, if a nearby spot, which was not irradiated, happened to bear a cyanide sample. We postulated that traces of HCN emanating from the headspace of aqueous cyanide solution during the sample-plate preparation is sufficient to convert gold to AuCN, which is subsequently detected as [Au(CN)2]−. Further experiments demonstrated that the relative intensity of the m/z 249 peak diminishes exponentially as the AuNP spot becomes more distant from the putative HCN source. Eventually, the method was developed as an efficient procedure to detect HCN or alkali cyanides. Using KCN, the detection limits were determined to be below 10 pg of CN− per spot. The method also demonstrated that, upon crushing, the seeds or roots of certain fruits and vegetables such as apple, peach, radish, and cassava, but not carrot, release HCN in amounts detectable by this method.
Italian Narratives of Oppositional Identity: Hagiography and Affect in Distancing the Late Antique and Medieval Saracen, and the Modern Migrant

Drawing together scholarship on the late antique and medieval holy man, and modern theoretical work on affect and identity, this article seeks to analyze one method by which group identities in the Mediterranean region broadly, and in Italy specifically, have been defined trans-historically through rhetorical emphasis on the “invasion” of foreignized bodies. The discussion first focuses on late antique Near Eastern Passio texts commemorating Christians who faced persecution under Muslim Saracens, before then shifting to tenth- and eleventh-century southern Italy and Sicily, and to the corpus of Italo-Greek Vitae in which holy individuals regularly encountered the Saracen as a dangerous invader. Such discourses of opposition obscured the inter-reliance between populations, and reduced relations to inherited, primordial struggles, simultaneously shifting attention away from the heterogeneity of non-Muslim resident populations. A similar approach is pursued in modern Italian discourse on migrants, where a selective rhetoric of “invasion” forefront the risks posed by migrants in ways that create a sense of unity in an otherwise-fragmented nation. Urging academic dialogue that incorporates the pre-modern and modern, this article examines the construction of oppositional identity and explores how such narratives reveal collective fears amongst populations threatened by the destabilization of pre-established hierarchies.
Fertility treatment is associated with multiple meningiomas and younger age at diagnosis.

Meningiomas are more common in females and 70–80% express the progesterone receptor, raising the possibility that high­dose exogenous estrogen/progesterone exposure, such as occurs during fertility treatments, may increase the risk of developing a meningioma. The goal of this study was to report the incidence of prior fertility treatment in a consecutive series of female meningioma patients. A retrospective review (2015–2018) was performed of female patients with meningioma, and those with prior fertility treatment were compared to those without fertility treatment using standard statistical methods. Of 206 female patients with meningioma, 26 (12.6%) had a history of fertility treatments. Patients underwent various forms of assisted reproductive technology including: in vitro fertilization (50.0%), clomiphene with or without intrauterine insemination (34.6%), and unspecified (19.2%). Median follow up was 1.8 years. Tumors were WHO grade I (78.6%) or grade II (21.4%). Patients who underwent fertility treatments presented at significantly younger mean age compared to those who had not (51.8 vs. 57.3 years, p = 0.0135, 2­tailed T­test), and on multivariate analysis were more likely to have multiple meningiomas (OR 4.97, 95% CI 1.4–18.1, p = 0.0154) and convexity/falx meningiomas (OR 4.45, 95% CI 1.7–11.5, p = 0.0021). Patients in this cohort with a history of fertility treatment were more likely to present at a younger age and have multiple and convexity/falx meningiomas, emphasizing the importance of taking estrogen/progesterone exposure history when evaluating patients with meningioma. Future clinical studies at other centers in larger populations and laboratory investigations are needed to determine the role of fertility treatment in meningioma development.
Outcomes of Curative-Intent Treatment for Patients With Breast Cancer Presenting With Sternal or Mediastinal Involvement.

Purpose Optimal treatment of patients diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer limited to the mediastinum or sternum has never been delineated. Herein, we sought to determine the efficacy of multimodality treatment, including metastasis-directed radiation therapy, in curing patients with this presentation. Methods and Materials This is a single-institution retrospective cohort study of patients with de novo metastatic breast cancer treated from 2005 to 2014, with a 50-month median follow-up for the primary cohort. The primary patient cohort had metastasis limited to the mediastinum/sternum treated with curative intent (n = 35). We also included a cohort of patients with stage IIIC disease treated with curative intent (n = 244). Additional groups included a mediastinal/sternal palliative cohort (treatment did not include metastasis-directed radiation therapy; n = 14) and all other patients with de novo stage IV disease (palliative cohort; n = 1185). The primary study outcomes included locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS), which were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox multivariable models compared survival outcomes across treatment cohorts adjusted for molecular subtype, age, and race. Results For the mediastinal/sternal curative-intent cohort, 5-year LRRFS was 85%, RFS was 52%, and OS was 63%. After adjustment, there was no statistically significant difference in LRRFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.13-1.13; P = .08), RFS (HR, 0.87; 95% CI 0.50-1.49; P = .61), or OS (HR, 0.79; 95% CI 0.44-1.43; P = .44) between the stage IIIC cohort and the mediastinal/sternal curative-intent cohort (referent). In contrast, RFS was worse for the mediastinal/sternal palliative cohort (HR, 2.29; 95% CI 1.05-5.00; P = .04). OS was worst for the de novo stage IV palliative cohort (HR, 2.61; 95% CI 1.50-4.53; P Conclusions For select patients presenting with breast cancer metastatic to the sternum and/or mediastinum, curative-intent treatment with chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation yields outcomes similar to those of stage IIIC disease and superior to de novo stage IV breast cancer treated with palliative intent.
Coda: The Necessity of Thinking Geologically and Globally on Irish Grounds

Mulligan assesses the future possibilities for an anthropocenic aesthetics across genres and the value of “slow language” in both artistic and environmental terms. Such imaginative cartographies are a necessary mode for other contemporary writers, musicians, and artists to redraw biopolitical, affective, and gender boundaries. Creating Irish and diasporic “fifth provinces,” to borrow a phrase from The Crane Bag, permits adaptation and invention to reterritorialize Ireland as both real place and fantasy island, opening the symbolic field of what Partha Chatterjee has elsewhere called the “people-nation” to new possibilities of ideological and sociocultural actualization within and beyond geographical borders.
Crack Propagation in Aluminum Sheets Reinforced with Boron-Epoxy.

An analysis was developed to predict both the crack growth and debond growth in a reinforced system. The analysis was based on the use of complex variable Green's functions for cracked, isotropic sheets and uncracked, orthotropic sheets to calculate inplane and interlaminar stresses, stress intensities, and strain-energy-release rates. An iterative solution was developed that used the stress intensities and strain-energy-release rates to predict crack and debond growths, respectively, on a cycle-by-cycle basis. A parametric study was made of the effects of boron-epoxy composite reinforcement on crack propagation in aluminum sheets. Results show that the size of the debond area has a significant effect on the crack propagation in the aluminum. For small debond areas, the crack propagation rate is reduced significantly, but these small debonds have a strong tendency to enlarge. Debond growth is most likely to occur in reinforced systems that have a cracked metal sheet reinforced with a relatively thin composite sheet.
Interface structure and luminescence properties of epitaxial PbSe films on InAs(111)A

Epitaxial heterostructures of narrow-gap IV-VI and III-V semiconductors offer a platform for new electronics and mid-infrared photonics. Stark dissimilarities in the bonding and the crystal structure between the rocksalt IV–VIs and the zincblende III–Vs, however, mandate the development of nucleation and growth protocols to reliably prepare high-quality heterostructures. In this work, we demonstrate a route to single crystal (111)-oriented PbSe epitaxial films on nearly lattice-matched InAs (111)A templates. Without this technique, the high-energy heterovalent interface readily produces two populations of PbSe grains that are rotated 180° in-plane with respect to each other, separated by rotational twin boundaries. We find that a high-temperature surface treatment with the PbSe flux extinguishes one of these interfacial stackings, resulting in single-crystalline films with interfaces that are mediated by a monolayer of distorted PbSe. While very thin PbSe-on-InAs films do not emit light, hinting toward a type-III band alignment, we see strong room temperature photoluminescence from a 1.5 μm thick film with a minority carrier lifetime of 20 ns at low-excitation conditions and bimolecular recombination at high excitation conditions, respectively, even with threading dislocation densities exceeding 108 cm−2. We also note near-complete strain relaxation in these films despite large thermal expansion mismatch to the substrate, with dislocations gliding to relieve strain even at cryogenic temperatures. These results bring to light the exceptional properties of IV-VI semiconductors and the new IV-VI/III-V interfaces for a range of applications in optoelectronics.
Object Detection without Line of Sight using Leaky THz Waveguide

We demonstrate a 2D real-time object tracking system for the THz region using a leaky parallel-plate waveguide radar. Because the system is based on broadband excitation, it can locate multiple objects simultaneously, as well as objects for which there is no direct line-of-sight view.
#FreeBritney: Why Indefinite Conservatorships are Unconstitutional

Popstar Britney Spears, now in her 30s, has fewer legal rights than a child and far less than those of a woman. This article uses the case of Britney Spears to shine a light on conservatorships and reveal that a conservatorship can stifle the civil liberties of someone so young as Spears. Part 1 of this article is an overview of the facts of Spears’ case. Part II provides a synopsis of the legal purposes and basic operations of conservatorships. Part III argues that conservatorships which control so much of an individual’s life, as in the case of Spears, are unconstitutional because they not only deprive the person of their due process rights but also robs them of most of their inalienable rights. Part IV draws lessons from the unique context of criminal confinement and the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding life without parole for juvenile offenders. These criminal law procedures, specifically in the Miller factors from Miller v. Alabama, would reduce the likelihood of false positives (i.e., overly restrictive conservatorships and conservatorships imposed on those who are highly functioning). The proposal to limit conservatorships by applying the Miller factors will alleviate administrative burdens placed on courts and enhance individual liberties. Part IV connects Spears’ case and restrictive conservatorships to recent legal developments such as the intensifying abortion laws and recent Supreme Court decisions regarding criminal sentencing for young persons. This section looks at the trends in the law and the likelihood of change in a case like Spears’. Part V laments that despite the need for changes in cases like Spears’, the current legal atmosphere seems unwilling to embrace reform. Yet, with the public exposure to these legal issues and specifically, how Spears shows that these issues can happen to anyone, there is hope for change.
Non-dietary therapies for celiac disease

Abstract The gluten-free diet (GFD) has proven to be an imperfect treatment for celiac disease (CeD) for many subjects. Additional therapeutic options may be useful in combination with the GFD for persistent/recurrent CeD symptoms, for preventing acute symptomatic reactions, and decreasing disease burden by perhaps one day allowing CeD patients to include a certain amount of gluten in their diet. Therapeutic strategies include 1) decreasing intestinal mucosal exposure from gluten's toxic and immunogenic peptides (Glutenases [Latiglutenase and Kuma]), AGY, single chain variable fragment (scFv), polymer P(HEMA-co-SS), and probiotics 2) decreasing intestinal permeability (the Zonulin antagonist Larazotide) and 3) inhibiting the immune proinflammatory response (inhibitors/antagonists of tissue transglutaminase, IL-15, CCR9, γc Receptor, elafin, and cathepsin). Immune tolerizing techniques are a new, promising approach, for which CeD with its very well described antigen may be a perfect model; some of the therapies tested include the vaccine NexVax2, and the nanoparticle-based TIMP-Glia. This chapter further analyzes the advantages and pitfalls of these therapies, and details the broad principles for drug testing, including outcome measures, gluten challenge, use of gluten immunogenic peptide testing, animal testing, and clinical trial designs.
Transmission Lines and Waveguides

In antenna applications it is necessary to use some form of transmission line to connect the antenna to a transmitter or receiver. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the essential propagation characteristics of the more common forms of transmission lines.
Case 42: A Failed “Test Dose”

A 58-year-old morbidly obese patient is scheduled for an open gastric bypass. His past history is significant for hypertension and insulin-dependent diabetes with retinopathy. His medications include insulin, antihypertensive medication, and 0.5% timolol eye drops. You review the laboratory results and find them normal except that the blood glucose is elevated to 145 mg/dL. His EKG is normal. A dobutamine stress echocardiogram shows normal function of the left ventricle. His vital signs are normal and you place an IV in the preoperative area. The patient is taken to the OR and in a sitting position a single orifice epidural catheter is placed at a low thoracic level without difficulty. The catheter is estimated to be 5 cm in the epidural space. Initial aspiration reveals no cerebrospinal fluid (CFS) or blood. With the patient lying down, you administer a test dose (5 mL) containing 75 mg lidocaine with epinephrine 25 μg. The test dose is negative as there are no changes in the heart rate (HR) or ECG tracing. However, his BP increases from 165/78 to 185/88 mmHg. You aspirate the epidural catheter again and get back a tiny amount of blood-tinged fluid (<0.1 mL). You would like to use the epidural during the surgery but you are not sure if the catheter is intravascular. A repeat test dose gives the same result as above, no change in the ECG but a similar increase in BP. The surgeon is getting agitated and you decide to induce general anesthesia and not to use the epidural during surgery.
Spatially-resolved analyses of aerodynamic fallout from a uranium-fueled nuclear test

Five silicate fallout glass spherules produced in a uranium-fueled, near-surface nuclear test were characterized by secondary ion mass spectrometry, electron probe microanalysis, autoradiography, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Several samples display compositional heterogeneity suggestive of incomplete mixing between major elements and natural U ((238)U/(235)U = 0.00725) and enriched U. Samples exhibit extreme spatial heterogeneity in U isotopic composition with 0.02 < (235)U/(238)U < 11.84 among all five spherules and 0.02 < (235)U/(238)U < 7.41 within a single spherule. In two spherules, the (235)U/(238)U ratio is correlated with changes in major element composition, suggesting the agglomeration of chemically and isotopically distinct molten precursors. Two samples are nearly homogenous with respect to major element and uranium isotopic composition, suggesting extensive mixing possibly due to experiencing higher temperatures or residing longer in the fireball. Linear correlations between (234)U/(238)U, (235)U/(238)U, and (236)U/(238)U ratios are consistent with a two-component mixing model, which is used to illustrate the extent of mixing between natural and enriched U end members.
Attitudes of the Electorate Toward Political Advertising

Spending on political advertising has increased dramatically in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate public opinion toward such communication. Data obtained during the month of the 1988 Presidential election indicate that, basically, political advertising is a desirable phenomenon, yet is not perceived to be an influence on voting behavior. Political advertising was felt to be more deceptive than other types of advertising. Overall, Republicans reported that advertising is more undesirable than did Democrats or independents.
Genetic algorithms-based parameter optimization of a non-destructive damage detection method

The method of strain energy mode shapes allows the determination of changes in structural integrity from changes in the vibrational response of a structure. The modified method presented does not require knowledge of the undamaged state of the structure. Genetic algorithms (GA) are applied to produce a sufficiently optimized amplitude characteristic of a filter used to extract damage information from strain energy mode shapes. Finite element modeling has been used to produce a training data set with the known location of damages. The amplitude characteristic of the filter has been encoded as a genetic string where the pass coefficient for each harmonic of its discrete Fourier transform representation is a number between zero and one in 8-bit Gray code. The genetic optimization has been performed based on the minimization of the signal-to-distortion ratio. The amplitude characteristic of the filter was not limited to any specific configuration, i.e. either low-or high-pass or specific cut-off frequencies. The results obtained from the GA confirmed the theoretical predictions and allowed improvement in the method's sensitivity to damages of lower magnitude.
On the dilatation of univalent planar harmonic mappings

It is shown that if f is a univalent harmonic mapping of the unit disk onto a domain having a smooth boundary arc which is convex with respect to the domain, and if the dilatation has modulus 1 on the arc, then the arc must be a line segment.
Joining an Asset Building Program

Abstract United States anti-poverty efforts traditionally consist of income-based, means-tested policies while wealth promotion generally involves tax code initiatives. Long-established beliefs that underserved populations cannot save money have resulted in exclusionary asset building policies for the poor. Minimal changes in pre-transfer poverty rates have led social workers to examine alternative anti-poverty solutions. This study examined the effects of an Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program on social and economic well-being. Findings suggest that individuals do save when institutional structures are in place and that perceptions of economic strain decrease as savings increase. Implications for future policy, practice, and research are discussed.
Estimating facial pose from a sparse representation [face recognition applications]

We present an approach to estimate the poses off human heads in natural scenes. The essential features for estimating the head pose are the positions of the prominent facial features relative to the position of the head. We have developed a high-dimensional, randomly sparse representation of a human face using a simplified facial feature model. The representation transforms a raw face image into a vector, representing how well the image matches a large number of randomly-posed and shaped head models. This transformation is designed to collect salient features of the face image that are useful to estimate the pose, while suppressing any irrelevant variations of face appearance. The relation between the sparse representation and the pose is learned using SVR (support vector regression). The sparse representation combined with SVR is shown to estimate the pose more quickly and accurately than SVR applied to raw images.
Molecular size, shape and aggregation of soluble feather keratin.

The keratins are epidermal proteins which contain a high percentage of cystine and, in the solid state, can form macroscopic structures in which there is a high degree of order in the arrangement of the polypeptide chains. Because ofthe last characteristic they have been an invaluable material to study the structure of proteins by the diffraction, or scatter, of X-rays. It was considered that measurements of the size and shape of keratin in solution would be of value in the interpretation of the X-ray diagrams, and the present work was undertaken to provide such data for feather keratin. To some extent the interaction between keratin particles in solution has also been considered since feather keratin is a suitable material for forming regeneratedfibres (Lundgren, 1949), anda knowledge of the way keratin molecules can polymerize will be of value in devising ways of forming such fibres. It has been known from the work of those interested in the mechanical propcrties of keratin fibres that the stability of the protein in the solid state is due to cross-linking by the cystine residues, to hydrogen bonds and to salt linkages (Lundgren, 1949). The addition of reagents which break these bonds decreases the strength of the fibres, and it is possible to dissolve keratin by mixtures of substances which break the -S-Sbonds and the hydrogen bonds, as was first shown by Goddard & Michaelis (1934), and later by Jones & Mecham (1943). The latter work is of particular value since solution was achieved under conditions that do not cause irreversible changes to the cystine residues. In this study ofthe physical properties of featherkeratin solutions, the measurements of particle size and shape have been correlated with the cystine and cysteine content of the protein, the working hypothesis being that the keratin monomer would be a particle in which there is no crosslinking by -S-Sbonds. Mercer & Oloffson (1951) and Ward (1952) observed the behaviour in the centrifugal field of wool keratin dissolved in solutions of urea and bisulphite but did not record the extent to which cross-linking by -S-Sbonds was present.
Passive proton therapy vs. IMRT planning study with focal boost for prostate cancer

Exploiting biologic imaging, studies have been performed to boost dose to gross intraprostatic tumor volumes (GTV) while reducing dose elsewhere in the prostate. Interest in proton beams has increased due to superior normal-tissue sparing they afford. Our goal was to dosimetrically compare 3D conformal proton boost plans with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans with respect to target coverage and avoiding organs at risk. Treatment planning computer tomography scans of ten patients were selected. For each patient, two hypothetical but realistic GTVs each with a fixed volume were contoured in different anatomical locations of the prostate. IMRT and proton beam plans were created with a prescribed dose of 50.4 Gy to the initial planning target volume (PTV) including the PTV of the seminal vesicles (PSV), 70.2 Gy to the PTV of the prostate (PPS), and 90 Gy to the PTV of the gross tumor volumes (PGTVs). For proton plans, uncertainties of range and patient setup were accounted for; apertures were adjusted until the dose-volume coverage of PTVs matched that of the IMRT plan. For both plans, prescribed PTV doses were made identical to allow for comparing normal-tissue doses. Protons delivered more homogeneous but less conformal doses to PGTVs than IMRT did and comparable doses to PSV and PPS. Volumes of bladder and rectum receiving doses higher than 65 Gy were similar for both plans. However, volumes receiving less than 65 Gy were significantly reduced, i.e., protons reduced integral dose by 45.6 % and 26.5 % for rectum and bladder, respectively. This volume-sparing was also seen in femoral heads and penile bulb. Protons delivered comparable doses to targets in dose homogeneity and conformity and spared normal tissues from intermediate-to-low doses better than IMRT did. Further improvement of dose sparing and changes in homogeneity and conformity may be achieved by reducing proton range uncertainties and from implementing intensity modulation.