cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Minding the Gap: A Qualitative Study of Provider Experience to Optimize Care for Critically Ill Children in General Emergency Departments

Background Pediatric emergency care provision in the United States is uneven. Institutional barriers to readiness in the general emergency department (GED) are known, but little is understood about the frontline providers. Our objective was to explore the lived experiences of emergency medicine (EM) providers caring for acutely ill children in the GED and identify opportunities to optimize their pediatric practice. Methods This grounded theory study used theoretical sampling with snowball recruitment to enroll EM physicians and advanced practice providers from 25 Wisconsin GEDs. Participants completed one-on-one, semistructured interviews. Audio recordings were transcribed and coded by a multi-investigator team drawing on theory produced from comparative analysis. Results We reached theoretical saturation with 18 participants. The data suggested that providers felt competent managing routine pediatric care, but critically ill children outstripped their resources and expertise. They recognized environmental constraints on the care they could safely provide, which were intensified by unanticipated knowledge gaps and lack of awareness regarding pediatric practice guidelines. A fragmented medical network to support their pediatric practice was identified as a challenge to their care provision at critical junctures. Due to lack of guidance and feedback, providers internalized their experience with critically ill children with uncertainty, which limited learning and practice change. They benefited from meaningful relationships with pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists, targeted education, timely consults, and looped feedback about care provided and patient outcomes. Conclusions General ED providers struggled with critically ill children because they could not anticipate their pediatric-specific knowledge gaps and only realized them at critical junctures. EM providers were isolated and frustrated when seeking help; without guidance and feedback they internalized their experience with uncertainty and were left underprepared for subsequent encounters. The data suggested the need for provider-focused interventions to address gaps in pediatric-specific continuing medical education, just-in-time assistance, and knowledge transfer.
Resolving the Avian Tree of Life from Top to Bottom: The Promise and Potential Boundaries of the Phylogenomic Era

Reconstructing relationships among extant birds (Neornithes) has been one of the most difficult problems in phylogenetics, and, despite intensive effort, the avian tree of life remains (at least partially) unresolved. Thus far, the most difficult problem is the relationship among the orders of Neoaves, the major clade that includes the most (~95%) named bird species. This clade appears to have undergone a rapid radiation near the end Cretaceous mass extinction (the K-Pg boundary). On the other hand, if one embraces a “glass half full” view, the fact that most orders in Neoaves can be placed into seven clades, recently designated the “magnificent seven,” could be viewed as remarkable progress. We propose that the dawning era of whole-genome phylogenetics will only resolve the remaining relationships, if we improve data quality, exploit information from other sources (i.e., rare genomic changes), and learn more about the functional and evolutionary landscape of avian genomes. Of course, it is possible that the remaining unresolved relationships are unresolvable regardless of the data available, but we suggest that the community should avoid this conclusion until more data collection has been completed and improved analyses have been conducted. We say this because there is ample evidence that estimates of avian phylogeny based on large-scale datasets may be affected by well-characterized artifacts (e.g., long-branch attraction, heterotachy, and discordance among gene trees) and by subtle “data-type effects” that reflect poor fit to empirical data for available models of sequence evolution. Even if these analytical challenges can be addressed, we need to integrate phylogenomic and fossil data. Finally, we also emphasize that, regardless of the resolution (or lack thereof) for relationships among major avian clades, we are only at the dawn of the phylogenomics of birds. Large-scale molecular data remain unavailable for the vast majority of the ~10,000 named bird species, and those named bird species probably represent an underestimate of the true number of distinct evolutionary lineages of birds (whether or not those lineages are assigned the rank of species) by as much as threefold. A true biodiversity genomics effort in birds is likely to reveal many additional examples of cases where it is very difficult to resolve relationships; the effort to resolve as many of those relationships as possible will represent a major scientific achievement and provide lessons for phylogenomic studies in other parts of the tree of life.
Strategies for Cost Saving Through Social Determinants of Health.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Healthcare costs in the United States are the highest in the world and getting higher. To combat these rising costs, social determinants of health need to be addressed. Healthcare organizations can use one or more of three strategies to address these social determinants: (1) collaborating with community-based organizations to help maintain and improve health, (2) working with policymakers to implement public health interventions, and (3) building housing and communities that are focused on health.
Genius in a Bottle; Perfume, Copyright, and Human Perception

Since the establishment of modern copyright law nearly 300 years ago, national and international copyright regimes have accommodated political and technological developments not only by lengthening copyright’s term of protection, but also by expanding the sphere of works eligible for this protection. In recent years, in the U.S. and elsewhere, lawmakers have extended - or are considering extending - copyright protection to works like apparel designs, living gardens, computer programs, and stuffed animals. Those who established copyright law centuries ago never anticipated such works being protected by copyright. These works do, however, share with the books and similar works of authorship that were protected by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century copyright statutes, the basic attribute of being intelligible to humans through our senses of sight and hearing. Over the past thirty years courts in Europe have wrestled with the question whether works of fragrance should be eligible for copyright protection. The deliberations of these courts have produced a number of inconsistent opinions on the issue. In 2006 the Netherlands Supreme Court held unequivocally that perfume was eligible for copyright protection. This holding, along with those of several French courts over the past ten years have, for the first time, extended copyright protection to works that are neither visible nor audible. Rationalizing their pro-copyright decisions, the Dutch and French courts emphasized the role of the perfume creator, and how it is akin to that of musicians and artists whose works have been protected by copyright from time immemorial. These decisions, however, give short shrift to the role of the user in determining both whether a work should be considered copyrightable expression, and also two dependant issues of the scope of the protected work, and the constitution of an infringing work. Given the law’s increasingly catholic perspective as to works demonstrating copyrightable expression, the role of the user must be given as much weight as that of the author on this question if copyright law is to retain its legitimacy. This article proposes that works perceived through the chemical senses of smell or taste (as well as those perceived exclusively through the mechanical sense of touch) should not be deemed works of copyrightable expression. They should not because human olfaction and taste (and touch) are less acute than are vision and hearing to such an extent that we cannot perceive through these senses information that stimulates intellection, analysis, and synthesis that lead us to recognize this information as the expression of a particular creator or author. Extending copyright to works that we perceive by senses other than sight and hearing is, therefore, akin to providing copyright protection to a color, or a musical, or literary genre. Protecting colors and genres (and fragrances, flavors, or textures) by copyright would result in the monopolization of elemental tools of creativity, and inhibit those who might otherwise produce innovative and original works.
Abstract PR01: Developmental reprogramming via Hedgehog pathway activation in nonmyogenic endothelial progenitors drives fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children. Despite aggressive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, clinical outcomes for RMS have not improved for three decades, emphasizing the need to uncover the molecular underpinnings of the disease. RMS has been presumed to originate from derailed muscle progenitors based on the histologic appearance and gene expression pattern of the tumors, resembling embryonic developing skeletal muscle. However, an origin restricted to skeletal muscle does not explain RMS occurring in tissues devoid of skeletal muscle such as the prostate, bladder, salivary gland, biliary tree, and omentum. Previously, we described that activation of Sonic Hedgehog signaling through expression of a conditional, constitutively active Smoothened allele, SmoM2, under control of a presumed adipocyte-restricted adipose protein 2 (aP2)-Cre recombinase transgene in mice, gives rise to aggressive skeletal muscle tumors that display the histologic and molecular characteristics of human embryonal RMS (ERMS). With the short latency and anatomically restricted tumor location in the neck, we sought to leverage this model to explore the cell of origin of ERMS. Lineage tracing experiments identified aP2-Cre labeled cells are distinctly nonmyogenic and were identified as endothelial cells found in the interstitium between muscle fibers. We illustrate that aP2-Cre is not expressed in the quiescent or activated muscle stem cells or satellite cells. Expression of oncogenic SmoM2 with aP2-Cre results in proliferation and expansion of the aP2-Cre labeled muscle interstitial endothelial cells and myogenic transdifferentiation resulting in ERMS. Activation of the hedgehog pathway in aP2-Cre labeled endothelial progenitors results in expression of skeletal muscle specification factors specific in the head and neck development, including TBX1, PITX2, TCF21, and MSC. We illustrate that endothelium and skeletal muscle within the head and neck arise from KDR (VEFGR2)-expressing progenitors. Hedgehog pathway activation in committed KDR+ endothelial progenitors results in Tbx1 expression and subsequent MYOD1 expression driving a partially myogenic program characteristic of ERMS. Our work identifies reprogramming cell fate as a mechanism of transformation in pediatric sarcoma and illustrates that it is dangerous to assume the cell of origin from the characteristics of the tumor cell. Citation Format: Catherine J. Drummond, Kathrine E. Gadek, Madeline Bush, Matthew R. Garcia, Mark E. Hatley. Developmental reprogramming via Hedgehog pathway activation in nonmyogenic endothelial progenitors drives fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Evolving Landscape of Cancer Modeling; 2020 Mar 2-5; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(11 Suppl):Abstract nr PR01.
Remembering the 1857 Indian Uprising in Civic Celebrations

Between 1857 and the early twentieth-century Coronation Durbars held in Delhi, India, the events of the Indian Uprising were commemorated through poems, short stories, novels, political cartoons, histories, survival stories, newspaper articles, letters to the editor, souvenirs, and travelogues. British success during the Uprising was also celebrated during the durbars when spectators watched Indian men who had remained loyal to Britain march during the official proceedings. This recognition and remembrance of one of the most prominent instances of anti-colonial sentiment in the subcontinent at a Coronation celebration may seem strange because of the loss of both British and Indian lives and the stress it placed on the colonial government. Despite this conflict, the commemoration through imperial propaganda developed historical memories for Britons that reminded white imperial subjects of the importance of loyalty to the empire and the role they served in protecting its continuity.
Racial and Ethnic Variation Associated With Human Papillomavirus Genotype in Anal Dysplasia.

Abstract Background Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is known to cause dysplasia and cancer. In cervical disease, there are documented differences in prevalence of HPV genotypes among racial/ethnic groups. Little is known about prevalence of HPV genotypes in anal dysplasia. This study aimed to evaluate association between HPV genotypes and race/ethnicity in a racially heterogenous population with anal dysplasia. Methods This was a single-institution retrospective review of patients treated for anal dysplasia between 2008 and 2019. HPV genotype, obtained via anal swab testing, was recorded as HPV 16, HPV 18, or other non-16/18 high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between patient factors and HPV genotype. Results Of 517 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 46.8% identified as White, 37.1% as Black, 13.2% as Hispanic, and 2.9% as other/unknown. Race/ethnicity (P = 0.016) and sex (P Conclusions In a racially and socioeconomically diverse cohort of patients with anal dysplasia, Black race and male sex were associated with increased likelihood of infection with a non-16/18 HR HPV genotype. Many of these genotypes are not covered by currently available vaccines. Further study is warranted to evaluate anal HPV genotypes in a larger cohort, as this may have important implications in HPV vaccination and anal dysplasia screening efforts.
Considering COVID-19 kidney injury

Does SARS-CoV-2 infection have long-term effects on the kidney? SARS-CoV2 infection and the associated clinical disease, coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), have resulted in more than 20 million infections worldwide with an overall mortality rate of 3 9% Initially thought to be a disease of the respiratory system, the clinical syndrome of COVID-19 is actually multifaceted, also affecting the heart, vasculature, and neurological system Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication, affecting up to 40% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with 20% of these patients needing acute hemodialysis Along with the shortage of ventilators that has been amply discussed, hospitals suffered from an acute shortage of dialysis machines during case surges Although the epidemiology of in-hospital AKI has been shown before in reports from China, Europe, and the United States of America, Fisher et al delved deeper into the effects of COVID-19 on the kidney They retrospectively evaluated AKI incidence, risk factors, and outcomes for hospitalized adult patients with and without COVID-19 in a large New York City health system They showed increased AKI incidence, greater need for acute dialysis, and higher mortality in those with COVID-19 They also identified several factors that were significantly associated with AKI, regardless of COVID-19 status Critically, they also assessed how many individuals recovered kidney function during hospitalization after an AKI episode Only 42% of patients with COVID-19 and AKI recovered baseline kidney function compared to 70% without COVID-19 Considering the substantial evidence linking in-hospital AKI, and more importantly, non-recovery of kidney function after an acute episode, with long-term mortality and worse kidney function, this may herald the onset of a coming post-COVID kidney disease epidemic This may be worsened by the fact that regular physician visits have decreased during this pandemic, and as a result, many patients with chronic disease may not be monitored regularly Although the research and medical community's focus has been on the acute care of patients with COVID-19, the long-term effects of infection are slowly coming into focus Integrated research and clinical care approaches are urgently needed to better understand and address what is likely to be a growing at-risk population
Preoperative malnutrition increases odds of hospital admission and extended length of stay following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

Rotator cuff repair (RCR) is a common orthopedic procedure frequently performed in the outpatient setting. Malnutrition, as assessed by preoperative serum albumin <3.5 g/dL, has been independently ...
Optimization of target lifetime for production of 14 MeV neutrons

Abstract Two methods are examined for extending the life of tritium targets for production of 14 MeV neutrons by the 3H(2H,n)4He nuclear reaction. With thick film targets the neutron production rate decreases with time due to isotope exchange of tritium in the film with implanted deuterium. In this case, the target life is maximized by operating the target at elevated temperature where the implanted deuterium mixes by thermal diffusion throughout the entire thickness of the film. The number of neutrons obtained from a target is then proportional to the initial tritium content of the film. A novel thin-film target design was also developed and tested. With these thin-film targets, the incident deuterium is implanted through the tritide into the underlying substrate material. A thin permeation barrier layer between the tritide film and substrate, reduces the rate of tritium loss from the tritide film. Good thin-film target performance was achieved using W and Fe for the barrier and substrate materials respectively. Thin-film targets were fabricated and tested and shown to produce similar number of neutrons as thick-film targets while using only a small fraction of the amount of tritium.
Does corporate social responsibility affect auditor-client contracting? Evidence from auditor selection and audit fees

Abstract We find that firms with higher CSR performance are more likely to choose Big N auditors and less likely to switch to non-Big N auditors, consistent with socially responsible firms demanding higher audit quality. Furthermore, we provide robust evidence that firms with higher CSR performance pay lower audit fees using both levels and changes models, suggesting that higher CSR performance reduces auditor engagement risk. Our analysis based on the difference-in-differences approach indicates that it is higher CSR performance that leads to lower audit fees, not vice versa. Overall, the results highlight the important role of CSR performance in auditor-client contracting.
Do Fans Impact Sports Outcomes? A COVID-19 Natural Experiment

This paper studies the effect of fan attendance on home field advantage in top European soccer leagues. We exploit exogenous variation in the level of fan attendance driven by COVID-19 mitigation policies and find that the home field advantage, as measured by home goals minus away goals, is reduced by 57% across the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and Spanish La Liga. We find that this leads to a shift in match outcomes from wins to losses with no change in the probability that a match is a draw.
Planning and Presenting Workshops That Work: A Faculty Development Workshop.

Introduction Workshops are commonly used in higher education, although faculty often have little or no training in how to develop and deliver this type of teaching methodology. This publication can...
The Telltale Sign of Discrimination: Probabilities, Information Asymmetries, and the Systemic Disparate Treatment Theory

The systemic disparate treatment theory of employment discrimination is in disarray. Originally formulated in United States v. International B’hood of Teamsters, 431 U.S. 324, 360-61 (1977), the systemic disparate treatment theory provides plaintiffs with a method for creating an inference of unlawful discriminatory intent if plaintiffs can first present sufficient statistical evidence establishing that the employer was engaged in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination. While the Court and scholars have recently given substantial attention to the disparate impact theory, they have not adequately analyzed the contours of the systemic disparate treatment theory. For example, there are currently disputes about whether the systemic disparate treatment theory can be utilized by plaintiffs in (1) ADEA cases, (2) ADA cases, (3) hostile work environment cases, and (4) private individual (non-class) discrimination cases brought under any of the antidiscrimination statutes. The development of a coherent approach to systemic disparate treatment law is becoming increasingly important. Since 2006, the EEOC has made pursuit of its “Systemic Initiative” a top priority in its enforcement strategy. Thus, difficult questions about the application of the systemic disparate treatment theory will continue to surface. In this paper, I take a first step toward bringing order to the systemic disparate treatment theory. I return to the foundations of the systemic disparate treatment theory in order to formulate a set of guiding principles for resolving the issues listed above. Drawing upon economic models of optimal allocation of burdens of proof in civil litigation and an application of Bayesian probability analysis, I argue that the proper extent of the systemic disparate treatment theory depends on three critical considerations: (1) the background prevalence (or prior probability) of the type of discrimination alleged; (2) the relative strength of the evidentiary signal provided by the proffered statistical evidence; and (3) the parties’ relative access to evidence on the element of discriminatory intent. Applying the principles I develop in this article, I conclude that the Teamsters systemic disparate treatment theory should be available to plaintiffs in ADEA, ADA, and individual (non-class) cases, but not in hostile work environment cases.
Multihorizon Model Predictive Control: An Application to Integrated Power and Thermal Management of Connected Hybrid Electric Vehicles

In this article, we propose a multihorizon model predictive control (MH-MPC) approach with applications to integrated power and thermal management (iPTM) of connected hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The proposed MH-MPC leverages preview and optimization over a short receding and a long shrinking horizon, where the accuracy of preview, model, and integration can be different over different horizons. Compared with a conventional MPC-based approach with a short prediction horizon and terminal cost, the MH-MPC improves fuel consumption to a level comparable to dynamic programming (DP) while still being computationally affordable. A statistical sensitivity analysis over real-world city driving cycles is conducted to demonstrate the robustness of MH-MPC to moderate levels of uncertainty in the long-term preview.
Engineering the bilayer: Emerging genetic tool kits for mechanistic lipid biology.

Abstract The structural diversity of lipids underpins the biophysical properties of cellular membranes, which vary across all scales of biological organization. Because lipid composition results from complex metabolic and transport pathways, its experimental control has been a major goal of mechanistic membrane biology. Here, we argue that in the wake of synthetic biology, similar metabolic engineering strategies can be applied to control the composition, physicochemical properties, and function of cell membranes. In one emerging area, titratable expression platforms allow for specific and genome-wide alterations in lipid biosynthetic genes, providing analog control over lipidome stoichiometry in membranes. Simultaneously, heterologous expression of biosynthetic genes and pathways has allowed for gain-of-function experiments with diverse lipids in non-native systems. Finally, we highlight future directions for tool development, including recently discovered lipid transport pathways to intracellular lipid pools. Further tool development providing synthetic control of membrane properties can allow biologists to untangle membrane lipid structure-associated functions.
Detection and Identification of CPS Attacks with Application in Vehicle Platooning: a Generalized Luenberger Approach

This paper considers the security of distributed Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) under malicious attacks, where the CPS components interact over a communication network. We consider the deception attacks both at the individual component level as well as the network level. At the individual level, false-data-injection corrupts sensor measurements and/or actuator signals. While at the network level, the communication between CPS components may be altered by adversarial false-data. We develop a robust model-based detection and identification algorithm for a class of discrete Linear Time Invariant (LTI) systems with delays via a Luenberger-like observer termed Generalized Luenberger Observer (GLO). The optimal GLO provides a tight bound for the residue between the monitor signals and their estimation so that it could distinguish the attack signals from intrinsic bounded noises and modeling uncertainties. Furthermore, a structurally constrained optimal GLO could also identify the place where such CPS attacks take place. Finally, we apply it to an application of the longitudinal platoon with four vehicles.
Amanitas of North America

Britt A. Bunyard and Jay Justice. 2020. Amanitas of North America. (ISBN-13: 978-0-578-67572-5, hbk). The FUNGI Press, PO Box 98, Batavia, Illinois 60510-9998, U.S.A. (Orders: fungimag.com). $60.00 US, 340 pp., 120 color photos, glossary, bibliography, index, 10" × 8.5".
Education for Leisure

(1956). Education for Leisure. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 27, No. 8, pp. 16-29.
Index insurance and common property pastures

This paper presents a theoretical model to investigate the potential environmental consequences of weather index based insurance, a tool for mitigating weather risk that is gaining momentum in developing countries. We model potential effects of index insurance for pastoralists on animal stocking decisions and the resulting effects on common property resource quality. We find that although this proposed financial tool has the potential of significantly enhancing the welfare of pastoralists by enhancing expected payoffs and reducing the exit of pastoralists, under certain conditions the insurance can worsen overstocking problems in low rainfall states of nature. In these cases, the insurance has an unintended negative effect on pasture quality that can undermine the long run sustainability of the common pool resource. Model extensions show that low error seasonal climate forecasts and/or reduction in ex-post stock readjustment costs arising from market imperfections can help in mitigating this potential negative effect.
A Decision-Theoretic Algorithm for Bundle Purchasing in Multiple Open Ascending-Price Auctions

This paper presents an algorithm for decision-making where the buyer needs to procure one of possibly many bundles of complementary products, and items are sold individually in multiple open ascending-price (English) auctions. Auctions have fixed start and end times, and some may run concurrently. Expected utility of a bidding choice is computed by considering expected utility of choices at future decisions. The problem is modeled as a Markov decision process, and dynamic programming is used to determine the value of bidding/not bidding in each state. Three techniques for reducing the state space are given. Results show that a bidding agent using this algorithm achieves significantly higher utility on average when compared with one that does not consider the value of future choices.
Development of a Water Quality Model for the Patuxent Estuary

The Patuxent River (Figure 1) has been a major focal point for water quality management in Maryland for well over a decade. As the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas encroached on the Patuxent watershed, long-time residents made policy-makers increasingly aware of the river’s declining vitality and called for a reversal of declining aquatic resources and negative water quality trends. Substantial controversy concerning the choice of the best water quality protection strategy for the Patuxent prevented much progress until a consensus was reached in December, 1981.
Impulse Correlation Ratio in Solving Multiple Impact Problems

In this chapter we consider first the most basic multi-impact system, the so called “Newton’s Cradle”. The task of developing an analytical method to predict the post impact velocities of the balls in the cradle has baffed investigators in the field of impact research for many years. The impulse based rigid body as well as the alternative time based approaches have failed to produce valid solutions to this problem.
Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl derivatives of transition metals: VI. Carbonylation of metalmetal triple bonds: a high pressure infrared spectroscopic study

Reactions of appropriate metal carbonyl derivatives with pentamethylcyclopentadiene in boiling n-decane provide improved routes to the metalmetal triple bond compounds [(CH3)5C5M(CO)2]2 (M = Cr, Mo, and W) as well as (CH3)5C5M(CO)3 (M = Mn and Re) and [(CH3)5C5Ru(CO)2]2. Infrared spectroscopic studies at elevated pressures indicate that the ease of CO addition in n-tetradecane solution to the metalmetal triple bond in the analogous compounds [(CH3)5C5M(CO)2]2 (M = Cr, Mo, and W) to form the corresponding [(CH3)5C5M(CO)3]2 derivatives increases in the sequence Cr < W < Mo. These carbonylations have also been carried out on the preparative scale leading to the isolation of the three metalmetal single bonded [(CH3)5C5M(CO)3]2 derivatives (M = Cr, Mo, and W) in the solid state. The chromium derivative [(CH3)5C5Cr(CO)3]2, reported here for the first time, is the least stable of these compounds and is red-purple in contrast to the green [C5H5Cr(CO)3]2.
Partial Fraction Expansion and Reduced Order Modeling

A method for determining residue matrices from transfer functions with distinct eigenvalues is presented. The results are then used with the idea of dominance indices to develop a method for reducing system order which can be applied to unstable (as well as stable) systems. Possible error criteria is also presented.
Longitudinal Mode-partition Noise In Diode Lasers

Constant-current-driven diode lasers at high pumping often show noise (intensity noise) larger than the shot-noise contrary to the squeezing predicted by theory. Some researchers have speculated that the excess noise comes from the mode-partition noise that results from division of saturated gain into several different longitudinal modes.1 We, for the first time, we believe, have measured the mode-partition noise of the free-running as well as the injection-locked and external-cavity diode lasers using an interferometer. By comparing the mode-partition noise and the total noise in the three cases, we were able to demonstrate the relation between the two.
The World of Mike Royko by Doug Moe (Introduction by John Kass). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. 128 pp

(2002). The World of Mike Royko by Doug Moe (Introduction by John Kass). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. 128 pp. American Journalism: Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 92-93.
The X-Scale Challenge

The last few years have seen fast changes in the high performance computing field. Some of these changes are related to the computer hardware and architecture. Multi/many core architecture have become prevalent, with architectures more or less exotic and heterogeneous. The overall theoretical computational power of the new generation processors increased greatly, but their programmability still lacks confidence. The changes in shape of the newest architectures has come so rapidly, that we are still deficient in terms of high performance libraries and applications in order to take advantage of all these new features.
Complementary use of motion-activated cameras and unbaited wire snares for DNA sampling reveals diel and seasonal activity patterns of brown bears (Ursus arctos) foraging on adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

The seasonal and diel movements of predators to take advantage of shifts in prey availability are fundamental elements of their foraging ecology, and also have consequences for the prey populations. In this study, we used complementary noninvasive techniques (motion-activated cameras and hair snares) to investigate seasonal and diel activity of brown bears (Ursus arctos L., 1758) along six proximate streams supporting spawning populations of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) in southwestern Alaska. Camera records over 3 years showed a rapid increase in bear activity around the time salmon arrived in the streams, with differences among streams corresponding to differences in salmon phenology. Bears were active throughout the day and night, but there were clear crepuscular peaks when camera data were pooled. When wire snares (to collect hair samples) were paired with cameras, the data showed similar seasonal patterns, but each technique detected bears missed by the other. Roughly...
Perceived Movement in Depth as a Function of Stimulus Size

The ability of subjects to perceive movement in depth of flat, circular luminous objects of various angular subtenses in an otherwise stimulus free field has been studied. The stimulus object bad a...
Stable and unstable mutations in aberrant ratio stocks of maize.

ABSTRACT Aberrant Ratio (AR) stocks of maize were tested for transposition activity. Lines exhibiting AR and homozygous for the dominant alleles at the Sh Bz and Wx loci in the short arm of chromosome 9 were crossed as males to a sh bz wx tester. Among a population of 346,201 kernels, eight mutations of sh and two of bz were recovered. Eight of the ten mutations survived and none was as vigorous as its normal sibs. At least five of the sh mutants appear to be unstable in F 2 and subsequent generations. An unexpected observation was the high incidence of somatic loss of chromosome 9 markers ( Sh Bz and Wx ), indicating chromosome breakage or nondisjunction. Southern blot hybridization analysis of the sh alterations indicate that all but one mutant are associated with structural DNA rearrangements at the shrunken locus. Possible mechanisms by which these alterations arose are discussed.
The Underrepresentation of Women in Leadership Positions in Rural Russia

Numerous studies have documented the persistence of gender inequality in rural Russia, including the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions. A survey (N = 169) conducted in two rural Russian regions examined residents' explanations of gender inequality and their support for various remedies to ameliorate this situation. Both male and female respondents downplay outright discrimination in accounting for gender-based occupational inequalities. Instead, respondents are more likely to agree with explanations that are embedded in cultural notions of a traditional gender-based division of labor, in which the home responsibilities for women and a “natural” advantage of masculinity make it less likely that women become leaders. With respect to strategies for encouraging women to be leaders, both men and women support “more training” and “more husband help at home,” with women being slightly more positive on the latter item.
A contribution to the Kryloff-Bogoliuboff theory in nonlinear mechanics

An extension of the Kryloff-Bogoliuboff method in the theory of nonlinear oscillation has been developed.
Thyroid gland function and pituitary TSH reserve in patients with cystic fibrosis

In view of the reported enhanced sensitivity to iodide-induced hypothyroidism in patients with cystic fibrosis, studies were carried out to determine the possible mechanism of this abnormality. The intrathyroid organification of iodide, as assessed by the iodide-perchlorate discharge test, was normal in patients with cystic fibrosis, strongly suggesting that an organification defect was not present. The serum TSH response to TRH was not significantly different from the response in normal children and adolescents. Serum T4 concentration was normal whereas that of T3 was decreased in patients with cystic fibrosis, strongly suggesting decreased peripheral conversion of T4 to T3, as commonly occurs in nonthyroid illness. Our findings do not delineate the mechanism whereby patients with cystic fibrosis develop iodide-induced hypothyroidism.
Homicide-suicide and chronic pain.

Homicide-Suicide (H-S) is a form of dual death where the murder is closely followed by the suicide of the perpetrator. H-S is extremely rare and has not previously been described within the chronic pain patient population. Such a case is presented. Psychiatric examination data from the victims of H-S revealed a number of complex, psychiatric, social, vocational, and litigation problems. Demographically the case displays some characteristics associated with suicide pacts. Language: en
Interim reports for data monitoring committee review vs final reports for regulatory filing

Independent data monitoring committee is responsible for review of the ongoing safety of participants and the validity and integrity of data in clinical trials and for making recommendations to the sponsor whether the trial should continue as planned, be modified or be terminated because of safety concern, futility of the trial, or treatment benefit. Use of DMCs by government and industry sponsors has been growing steadily ever since the announcement by the US National Institutes of Health in 1998 and by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001 of policy and guidelines for data and safety monitoring. Since a statistical analysis plan serves as a benchmark for the final analysis and the final report for regulatory filing, it needs to be explicit about its contents including the specific statistical analyses to be used. An interim analysis plan, however, serves as a benchmark for the ongoing review of the safety and efficacy data by the DMC and therefore it cannot be codified as in an SAP as it needs to be flexible to address any concerns raised by the DMC during the trial and to evolve with the emerging issues in the monitoring of the study. More importantly it needs to summarize and present the interim safety and efficacy data in the most succinct way to facilitate the review of the ongoing risk-benefit of the trial and to help the DMC members comprehend the contents of the report in the most efficient way. Industry and contract research organization practices continue to be less than desirable in that there is a tendency to consider the interim analysis plan and resulting interim reports merely as a subset of the statistical analysis plan and the final report. This presentation will offer some thoughts on how the interim report should be prepared for DMC review and to improve the contents of the interim report.
Normalization and convergence of x-ray absorption sum rules

A procedure is developed for quantitative applications of the sum rules for x-ray absorption spectra, e.g., for x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The approach is based on theoretical atomic calculations of transformations relating various experimental spectra to corresponding operator-spectral densities. This approach overcomes the difficulties of background subtraction and hole-count normalization of other sum-rule analysis methods and yields quantitative values for spin and orbital moments from experimental absorption spectra.
Density estimation in the presence of noise

The problem of density estimation in the absence of noise has been widely studied and is well known. However if noise is added to the sample, the procedure must be modified by incorporating a deconvolution. In this paper we do so by using a procedure similar to empirical Bayes estimation which involves band-limited wavelets. Rates of mean square convergence are found under various hypotheses.
CREATING VALUE WITH MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

This report addresses two key questions for today's top executives: Do acquisitions create value for acquirers? And under what circumstances have acquisitions created the most value for acquiring shareholders? The authors' analysis of over 1,500 completed deals by non-financial companies in the United States over the past 12 years shows that, at announcement, acquirers' shareholders suffer small losses, on average, in the short term around the initial deal announcement. Over longer intervals, such as one or two years following the announcement of the transaction, acquirers tend to slightly outperform industry peers. The average or median market response hides tremendous variability in how the market has reacted to individual deals, however. This article provides evidence that the “right” M&A transaction can create substantial value for acquirers. One-quarter of the transactions lead to market-adjusted gains in excess of 5% for the acquirer and oneeighth of the transactions lead to gains in excess of 10% in the short term. However, some deals have also destroyed substantial shareholder value. Financing structure is a key driver of the stock market reaction. Stock-financed transactions, on average, have a negative stock market reaction, while cash-financed transactions have benefited acquirers in both the short term as well as the long term. Acquisitions of private companies or assets and units of public companies have consistently generated higher returns for acquirers than purchases of public companies. Moreover, EPS dilution is not a major driver of how the stock market reacts to a deal. Although “accretive” deals perform slightly better than “dilutive” ones in the short and long run, the difference is small and not statistically significant. Over the long run, acquiring shareholders have benefited the most from deals within the same industry and that avoid targets with relatively optimistic earnings growth projections.
Influence of Electrical Discharges in Oil and Combinations of Oil and Paper

Charge or RIV techniques for corona (partial discharge)have been used in factory tests of high-voltage oil-filled equipment.Such tests have also been used in the field. More recently, measurementsof evolved gas have been made as well.In the laboratory, the effect of corona in oil has been determinedlargely by measuring gas evolution using the Pirelli test, in whichdischarges take place in oil vapor. A new technique?the floating-electrodecell?has been developed to obtain controlled discharges in oil. Tomonitor the discharges, histograms of the number of pulses versusthe pulse magnitude are obtained periodically. Provision is made todetermine the amount and nature of evolved gas with both the"floating-electrode" and Pirelli cells. When paper or pressboard as wellas oil is used, the development of x wax has been observed with scanningelectron microscopy (SEM).Results are reported for conventional transforner oil and dodecylbenzeneand a naphthenic white oil from which all aromatic componentshave been removed.
Spectral measures, I: General theory in a topological vector space

Part I of this paper is devoted to the general theory of spectral measures in topological vector spaces. We extend the Hilbert space theory to this setting and generalize the notion of spectral measure in some useful ways to provide a framework for Part II, etc.
Effect of premedication regimen on infant pain and stress response to endotracheal intubation.

(1) Evaluate the effect of different medications on pain and stress in neonates during nonemergent endotracheal intubation; (2) determine whether gestational age affects medication use; (3) determine whether better sedation results in a decrease in the number of attempts and/or total time for the procedure. Prospective observational study. Infant responses were measured using a clinical pain scale and blood glucose, a biochemical marker of acute stress. A total of 166 infants were included, with adjusted gestational ages 24 to 44 weeks at the time of procedure. Premedication regimens included no medication (‘none,’ 27%), morphine (19%), morphine+midazolam (11%), fentanyl (14%), fentanyl+midazolam (19%) and midazolam alone (10%). Fentanyl+midazolam resulted in lower pain scores and less increase in blood glucose (both P<0.0001). No other regimen was different from ‘none’. The most immature infants were less likely to receive premedication (P=0.023), although their pain scores and blood glucose responses were similar to more mature infants. None of the medication regimens reduced the total procedure time (P=0.55) or the number of attempts (P=0.145). Only fentanyl+midazolam significantly attenuated both the clinical pain score and the increase in blood glucose. Less mature infants had responses similar to those of more mature infants, but were less likely to receive premedication. None of the regimens decreased the time or number of attempts required for successful intubation.
Relative detectability of greenhouse-gas and aerosol climate change signals

The use of pattern correlations to compare observed temperature changes with predicted anthropogenic effects has greatly increased our confidence in the reality of these effects. Here we use synthetic observed data to determine the expected behavior of the pattern correlation statistic, R(t), and hence clarify some results obtained in previous studies. We show that, for the specific case considered here (near-surface temperature changes), even with a perfectly-known signal, expected values of R(t) currently should be only of order 0.3–0.5, as observed; that R(t) may show markedly non-linear variations in time; that the CO2-alone signal pattern should be difficult to detect today primarily because of data coverage deficiencies; and why the signal due to combined CO2-aerosol forcing is easier to detect than either the CO2-alone or aerosol-alone signals. Finally, we show that little is to be gained at present by searching for a time-dependent signal compared with a representative constant signal pattern.
Effects of fabrication technique upon material properties and permeation characteristics of palladium-gold alloy membranes for hydrogen separations

This work highlights new research into the fundamental properties of palladium-gold alloy membranes. Two types of self-supported palladium-gold foils were studied; membranes produced by magnetron sputtering and membranes produced by cold-working. The cold-worked membranes had thicknesses of 25 microns and gold contents from 0-40 wt% Au, while the sputtered films ranged from 10-31 microns in thickness and 5-10 wt% Au. These films were characterized by single-gas permeation testing in the temperature range of 473-773K and at pressures of up to 772 kPa. Membranes were studied before and after testing by XRD, XPS, XRF, and SEM/EDS. Hydrogen permeability in the 0-20 wt Au% range was found to be a function of synthesis technique as much as alloy content, with no single alloy having superior permeability at all temperatures. Sputtered materials had generally higher permeability than cold-worked materials of equivalent composition, although the thicker sputtered membrane had reduced hydrogen permeability compared to its thinner counterparts.
Investigating Change in Intraindividual Factor Structure Over Time

The investigation of change in factor structure over time can provide new opportunities for the development of theory in psychology. The method proposed to investigate change in intraindividual fac...