cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 1, Introduction to Scholarly Writing, in Scholarly Writing: Ideas, Examples, and Execution (3d ed.)

In addition to a standard first-year legal writing curriculum, most law schools now require upper-level students to write a sophisticated legal research paper on a topic of their choice. Students often struggle through the scholarly writing process, from finding a topic to polishing a final paper, and many never fully develop and defend a thesis. Scholarly Writing: Ideas, Examples, and Execution offers a lifeline to students, guiding them through the process of constructing their legal research papers from start to finish. With over 20 years combined experience teaching scholarly writing to J.D. and LL.M. students, the authors identify common roadblocks for student writers, and offer advice and techniques for how to successfully overcome these roadblocks. The book walks students through a five-step process for researching and writing scholarly papers, and follows eight published student papers from idea to final execution as a method of illustrating the principles advocated in the text. This example-based approach sets this book apart from others — the authors not only tell students how to approach their papers, but through annotated excerpts of example papers, they show students how to approach their papers. There are also three full-length annotated student papers in the Appendix. The book includes up-to-date information about legal research and organizational tools. It also includes “bright ideas” and “tech talk” that supplement the text with practical tips and technology-based shortcuts for student writers. The text may be used as either a required text for a course in Scholarly Legal Writing or a companion guide for students working on scholarly legal writing projects independently.
Revisiting Eigenberg's prison rape model with criminal justice majors

Prison rape can result in profound physical and psychological damage to inmates. Despite the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act, prison rape incidents in the US have increased over 15 years. Previous...
Use of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents in Patients with Severe Renal Impairment. Absence of Risk Versus Caution: A Nephrologist’s Perspective

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) was initially reported in 2000 and was causally linked to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in 2006 (1,2). NSF with rare exceptions is limited to patients with severe CKD, with the vast majority on dialysis. The causal role of GBCAs has been confirmed in subsequent clinical and experimental studies, which led to restrictive policies about GBCA use in patients with severe CKD. As a result of these policies, reports of NSF have virtually disappeared. More recent clinical studies investigating the risk of NSF in severe CKD after exposure to GBCAs that bind gadolinium (Gd+3) more tightly to the chelate have not demonstrated a risk of NSF (3). These observations have resulted in recommendations by some organizations such as the American College of Radiology (ACR) that state that GBCAs with high Gd+3 -binding properties (termed group 2 GBCAs, Table 1) can be safely used without risk of NSF in patients with severe CKD (4). The ACR states that because the risk of NSF with group 2 GBCAs is very low or nonexistent, these GBCAs can be safely given to patients with severe CKD without informed consent, and assessment of renal function by laboratory testing or questionnaire pre-GBCA is optional. The ACR qualifies this recommendation by stating that GBCAs should be administered only when deemed necessary using the lowest dose needed for diagnosis, that the risk of administering a group 2 GBCA in a high-risk patient must be balanced against the risk of not performing a needed contrast-enhanced study, and in patients with no residual renal function it is reasonable to use a contrast-enhanced computed tomography study if the anticipated diagnostic yield is similar. The recommendations of the ACR and other professional societies with similar recommendations are opposite to the restrictive policies of GBCA use, …
An Overview of Emergency Medical Services Pandemic Response in the United States and Its Implications during the Era of COVID-19

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate and closely analyse Emergency Medical Services (EMS) pandemic and infection response in the United States in the twen
The Triangulation theorem

In Theorem 33.1, the hypothesis that K has no end-points was merely for convenience; we could have gotten along without it, at the price of a little extra trouble. Moreover, essentially the same argument works when K and K’ = h(K) lie in any triangulated 3-manifolds, provided that K is compact and N is orientable. To do without the latter hypotheses, however, we need new methods.
Increased adaptability to sudden environmental change can more than make up for the two-fold cost of males(a)

The famous "two-fold cost of sex" is really the cost of anisogamy – why should females mate with males who do not contribute resources to offspring, rather than isogamous partners who contribute equally? In typical anisogamous populations, a single very fit male can have an enormous number of offspring, far larger than is possible for any female or isogamous individual. If the sexual selection on males aligns with the natural selection on females, anisogamy thus allows much more rapid adaptation via super-successful males. We show via simulations that this effect can be sufficient to overcome the two-fold cost and favor anisogamy over isogamy in populations adapting to environmental change. The key quantity is the variance in male fitness – if this exceeds what is possible in an isogamous population, anisogamous populations can win out in direct competition by adapting faster. This advantage in adaptability is particularly effective at maintaining anisogamy against invasion by isogamy. We discuss the extensions to our simple model needed to determine how important this mechanism is to overcoming the two-fold cost in natural populations.
Review of Berman (2019): Talking like Children: Language and the Production of Age in the Marshall Islands

This article reviews Talking like Children: Language and the Production of Age in the Marshall Islands 978-01-908-7698-2
The Myth of Corporate Governance

Corporate law theory finds itself at an impasse, unable to explain or resolve the intense and frequent crises that beset modern capitalism. This impasse is currently expressed in a very public debate about the “purpose” of the corporation. Both sides of this debate – agency theory and stakeholder theory – trace their origins to the deeply problematic ninety-year-old claim of Berle and Means that there is a fundamental separation of ownership from control in the corporation. Both schools maintain that “corporate governance” can solve the problems that beset the modern corporation. Both schools, however, not only failed to anticipate the ongoing corporate crises but have also failed to explain them. They have certainly not managed to prevent them. The re-emerging debate about the purpose of the corporation offers an opportunity to reassess corporate law theory. Applying the insights of the Warwick School on strategic decision-making in firms, I test an alternative approach through a case study of Apple Inc.’s capital structure and dividend policy. I conclude that the corporation is governed by a relatively coherent capitalist class that carries out the dominant economic laws of the capitalist system.
Understanding the Current Role of Robotic-Assisted Bariatric Surgery

The role of robotic surgery in bariatrics remains controversial. Patient selection for robotic surgery is not well-studied. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with robotic surgery and its temporal trends. The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program database from 2015 to 2018 was used. Adult patients undergoing primary sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) using the laparoscopic or robotic approach were identified. Revisional, hybrid, or those with concomitant procedures were excluded. Logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with undergoing robotic-assisted surgery. Among 211,568 patients who underwent SG, 9.1% underwent a robotic SG; among 76,805 patients who underwent RYGB, 7.9% of patients underwent a robotic RYGB. During 2015-2018, robotics increased from 7.1 to 11.3% for SG and 7.4 to 8.6% for RYGB. After controlling for patient characteristics, there was still an increasing trend in the use of robotic surgery: SG (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio, aOR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.17–1.20) and RYGB (aOR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.03–1.08). For both robotic SG and RYGB, functional status and African American race were associated with undergoing robotic surgery, while races other than White or African American and Hispanic ethnicity were not. Pre-operative IVC filter was associated with robotic SG, while the presence of GERD, diabetes, and COPD were associated with robotic RYGB. Robotic bariatric surgery has increased over time. Our findings identified factors associated with the receipt of robotic surgery. Reasons for these factors require further investigation to better delineate indications for this technology.
Colloquium: The unexpected properties of alkali metal iron selenide superconductors

The iron-based superconductors that contain FeAs layers as the fundamental building block in the crystal structures have been rationalized in the past using ideas based on the Fermi surface nesting of hole and electron pockets when in the presence of weak Hubbard $U$ interactions. This approach seemed appropriate considering the small values of the magnetic moments in the parent compounds and the clear evidence based on photoemission experiments of the required electron and hole pockets. However, recent results in the context of alkali metal iron selenides, with generic chemical composition ${A}_{x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2\ensuremath{-}y}{\mathrm{Se}}_{2}$ ($A=\mathrm{\text{alkali}}$ metal element), have challenged those previous ideas since at particular compositions $y$ the low-temperature ground states are insulating and display antiferromagnetic order with large iron magnetic moments. Moreover, angle-resolved photoemission studies have revealed the absence of hole pockets at the Fermi level in these materials. The present status of this exciting area of research, with the potential to alter conceptually our understanding of the iron-based superconductors, is here reviewed, covering both experimental and theoretical investigations. Other recent related developments are also briefly reviewed, such as the study of selenide two-leg ladders and the discovery of superconductivity in a single layer of FeSe. The conceptual issues considered established for the alkali metal iron selenides, as well as several issues that still require further work, are discussed.
Association of Endocrine Therapy and Dementia in Women with Breast Cancer

Author(s): Thompson, Mikayla R; Niu, Jiangong; Lei, Xiudong; Nowakowska, Malgorzata; Wehner, Mackenzie R; Giordano, Sharon H; Nead, Kevin T | Abstract: PurposePrior studies have reported differing results regarding the association between endocrine therapy (ET) in the treatment of breast cancer and dementia risk. However, existing findings may be limited by common sources of bias and confounding. Here we investigate the association of ET utilized in the definitive setting to treat non-metastatic breast cancer with dementia risk accounting for multiple potential sources of bias and confounding.Patients and methodsWe conducted a retrospective study in SEER-Medicare of women aged ≥ 66 years with non-metastatic breast cancer. We examined the risk of all-cause dementia among ET users versus non-ET users using multivariable regression models, accounting for the competing risk of death, and using a start of the follow-up period as 12-months following breast cancer diagnosis for both groups to avoid immortal time bias.ResultsAmong 25,777 individuals there were 2,869 incident dementia cases. We found a statistically significantly decreased risk of any dementia among ET users in unadjusted and adjusted models that completely attenuated when accounting for the competing risk of death (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.07).ConclusionWhen accounting for common sources of bias and confounding we did not find evidence to support an association between ET in the definitive treatment of non-metastatic breast cancer and dementia risk. These results suggest that ET may not be associated with dementia risk.
Potential Whole-Cell Biosensors for Detection of Metal Using MerR Family Proteins from Enterobacter sp. YSU and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia OR02.

Cell-based biosensors harness a cell’s ability to respond to the environment by repurposing its sensing mechanisms. MerR family proteins are activator/repressor switches that regulate the expression of bacterial metal resistance genes and have been used in metal biosensors. Upon metal binding, a conformational change switches gene expression from off to on. The genomes of the multimetal resistant bacterial strains, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Oak Ridge strain 02 (S. maltophilia 02) and Enterobacter sp. YSU, were recently sequenced. Sequence analysis and gene cloning identified three mercury resistance operons and three MerR switches in these strains. Transposon mutagenesis and sequence analysis identified Enterobacter sp. YSU zinc and copper resistance operons, which appear to be regulated by the protein switches, ZntR and CueR, respectively. Sequence analysis and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that a CueR switch appears to activate a S. maltophilia 02 copper transport gene in the presence of CuSO4 and HAuCl4·3H2O. In previous studies, genetic engineering replaced metal resistance genes with the reporter genes for β-galactosidase, luciferase or the green fluorescence protein (GFP). These produce a color change of a reagent, produce light, or fluoresce in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light, respectively. Coupling these discovered operons with reporter genes has the potential to create whole-cell biosensors for HgCl2, ZnCl2, CuSO4 and HAuCl4·3H2O.
Everything I Need To Know I Learned from Fandom: How Existing Social Norms Can Help Shape the Next Generation of User-Generated Content

With the growing popularity of YouTube and other platforms for user-generated content, such as blogs and wikis, copyright holders are increasingly concerned about potential infringing uses of their content. However, when enforcing their copyrights, owners often do not distinguish between direct piracy, such as uploading an entire episode of a television show, and transformative works, such as a fan-made video that incorporates clips from a television show. The line can be a difficult one to draw. However, there is at least one source of user-generated content that has existed for decades and that clearly differentiates itself from piracy: fandom and “fan fiction” writers. This note traces the history of fan communities and the copyright issues associated with fiction that borrows characters and settings that the fan-author did not create. The author discusses established social norms within these communities that developed to deal with copyright issues, such as requirements for non-commercial use and attribution, and how these norms track to Creative Commons licenses. The author argues that widespread use of these licenses, granting copyrighted works “some rights reserved” instead of “all rights reserved,” would allow copyright holders to give their consumers some creative freedom in creating transformative works, while maintaining the control needed to combat piracy. However, the author also suggests a more immediate solution: copyright holders, in making decisions concerning copyright enforcement, should consider using the norms associated with established user-generated content communities as a framework for drawing a line between transformative work and piracy.
Attracting Dermatologists to Rural America

The challenge of attracting dermatologists to rural America is not unique to dermatology; rural professionals in many fields, and hospitals and clinics recruiting physicians in all specialties, face similar challenges. Barriers are multifactorial and center on real or perceived urban vs rural limitations in education and employment/practice opportunities. In addition, personal factors have an impact on the recruit including entertainment, diversity, social, or network proximity for the physician, spouse and family. The optimal way to overcome these perceived limitations is to identify and mentor local students, support them through the selection and educational process and bring them back to their local community. In addition, rural dermatologists should become involved in mentoring and educating medical students and residents with non-rural roots who might choose to practice rural dermatology once they are exposed to its advantages. Rural dermatologists are natural leaders who often want to invest in their communities, inspire, recruit and retain future dermatologists. In these ways, they share the purpose, joy and fulfillment engendered by a life committed to rural medicine.
The Jekyll and Hyde proteins

The weird prion proteins that cause horrifying brain diseases have another side to them, as neuroscientist Michel Brahic explains
An anatomical equivalence class based joint transformation-residual descriptor for morphological analysis

Existing approaches to computational anatomy assume that a perfectly conforming diffeomorphism applied to an anatomy of interest captures its morphological characteristics relative to a template. However, biological variability renders this task extremely difficult, if possible at all in many cases. Consequently, the information not reflected by the transformation, is lost permanently from subsequent analysis. We establish that this residual information is highly significant for characterizing subtle morphological variations and is complementary to the transformation. The amount of residual, in turn, depends on transformation parameters, such as its degree of regularization as well as on the template. We, therefore, present a methodology that measures morphological characteristics via a lossless morphological descriptor, based on both the residual and the transformation. Since there are infinitely many [transformation, residual] pairs that reconstruct a given anatomy, which collectively form a nonlinear manifold embedded in a high-dimensional space, we treat them as members of an Anatomical Equivalence Class (AEC). A unique and optimal representation, according to a certain criterion, of each individual anatomy is then selected from the corresponding AEC, by solving an optimization problem. This process effectively determines the optimal template and transformation parameters for each individual anatomy, and removes respective confounding variation in the data. Based on statistical tests on synthetic 2D images and real 3D brain scans with simulated atrophy, we show that this approach provides significant improvement over descriptors based solely on a transformation, in addition to being nearly independent of the choice of the template.
Time-Dependent Two-Dimensional Radiation Hydrodynamics of Accreting Matter onto Highly Magnetized Neutron Stars: The Evolution of Photon Bubbles

We present for the first time, the self-consistent solution of the two-dimensional, time-dependent equations of radiation-hydrodynamics governing the accretion of matter onto the highly magnetized polar caps of luminous x-ray pulsars. The calculations show a structure in the accretion column very different from previous one-zone uniform models. We have included all the relevant magnetic field corrections to both the hydrodynamics and the radiative transport. We include a new theory for the diffusion and advection of both radiation energy density and photon number density. For initially uniformly accreting models with super-Eddington flows, we have uncovered evidence of strong radiation-driven outflowing optically thin radiation filled regions of the accretion column embedded in optically-thick inflowing plasma. We follow the evolution of these photon bubbles for several dynamical timescales. The development of these photon “bubbles” indicates growth times on the order of a millisecond and show fluctuations on sub-millisecond timescales in agreement with a linear stability analysis. The photon bubbles are a consequence of the effect of radiative heat flux on the internal gravity waves in the strongly magnetized atmosphere and may result in observable fluctuations in the emitted luminosity leading to luminosity dependent changes in the pulse profile. This may provide important new diagnostics for conditions in accreting x-ray pulsars.
Electrides, Negatively Charged Metal Ions, and Related Phenomena

Mise au point. Preparation et caracterisation principalement des «electrures» et «alcalures» principalement. Nature des electrons et anions alcalins solvates en solution. Etude de leurs proprietes optiques, electriques, magnetiques structurales
Hepatitis B surface antigen in pancreatic and biliary secretions

Pure pancreatic juice (PPJ) and pure bile (PBJ) were obtained by endoscopic retrograde cannulation of the pancreatic duct and common bile duct in 26 patients with acute (15) and chronic (11) hepatitis B infections and the specimens were tested for HBsAg. HBsAg was detected in PPJ in 8 of 15 patients with acute infections and 3 of 10 with chronic infections. HBsAg was detected in PBJ in 7 of 10 with acute infections and only 2 of 5 with chronic type B infection. Since normal PPJ was shown to be inhibitory to the detection of HBsAg, it is suggested that the HBsAg-positive PPJ represents heavy viral excretion.
Interaction of synchronized dynamics in cortex and basal ganglia in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson’s disease pathophysiology is marked by increased oscillatory and synchronous activity in the beta frequency band in cortical and basal ganglia circuits. This study explores the functional connections between synchronized dynamics of cortical areas and synchronized dynamics of subcortical areas in Parkinson’s disease. We simultaneously recorded neuronal units (spikes) and local field potentials (LFP) from subthalamic nucleus (STN) and electroencephalograms (EEGs) from the scalp in parkinsonian patients, and analysed the correlation between the time courses of the spike–LFP synchronization and inter-electrode EEG synchronization. We found the (non-invasively obtained) time course of the synchrony strength between EEG electrodes and the (invasively obtained) time course of the synchrony between spiking units and LFP in STN to be weakly, but significantly, correlated with each other. This correlation is largest for the bilateral motor EEG synchronization, followed by bilateral frontal EEG synchronization. Our observations suggest that there may be multiple functional modes by which the cortical and basal ganglia circuits interact with each other in Parkinson’s disease: not only may synchronization be observed between some areas in cortex and the basal ganglia, but also synchronization within cortex and within basal ganglia may be related, suggesting potentially a more global functional interaction. More coherent dynamics in one brain region may modulate or activate the dynamics of another brain region in a more powerful way, causing correlations between changes in synchrony strength in the two regions.
Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan: A Biopsychosocial Perspective, by Carolyn Ambler Walter and Judith L. M. McCoyd

In their new text, Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan: A Biopsychosocial Perspective, Carolyn Walter and Judith McCoyd tackle one of the most complex and endemic issues faced by us all as individua...
RECOMBINATION IN THE VICINITY OF INSERTIONS OF TRANSPOSON Tn5 IN MYXOCOCCUS XANTHUS

ABSTRACT To test genetic recombination in the vicinity of insertions of the transposon Tn 5 , crosses were performed by transduction between M. xanthus strains carrying different insertions of Tn 5 . One member of each pair carried resistance to kanamycin (Tn 5 -Km); the other carried resistance to tetracycline (Tn 5 -Tc). The distance between each pair of Tn 5 insertions was also measured by restriction mapping. The physical distance corresponding to each recombination frequency was calculated from the transductional linkage and compared with distance on the restriction map. A good correspondence between the two measures of distance was obtained for a pair of Tn 5 insertions near the cglB locus and for another pair near the mgl locus. Correspondence between the two measurements of distance, the observed allelic behavior of Tn 5 -Km and Tn 5 -Tc at the same locus and the finding of the same frequencies of recombinants in reciprocal crosses implied that recombination in the vicinity of Tn 5 was normal.
Designing a Capstone Design Course to Achieve Student Outcomes

The assessment of Student Outcomes is an import component for program evaluation and improvement. Though not proposed as the only tool a program should employ to measure the achievement of outcomes, the capstone design course can be a valuable mechanism to measure performance with regards to Student Outcomes. Because of the expansive reach of the engineering design process, capstone design projects present a natural environment to structure assessment activities that directly map to Student Outcomes. This paper presents versions of the Mechanical Engineering capstone design course that have been specifically structured to assess achievement of Student Outcomes commonly included in engineering accreditation criteria. Typically the outcomes are assessed by assignments that guide the engineering design process.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Characterization of polymer materials by scattering techniques, with applications to block copolymers

The application of six techniques—static and dynamic light scattering, small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering, neutron and X-ray reflectivity—to the characterization of polymer materials is summarized. Emphasis is placed on the similarities and differences among the various techniques, and on recent advances in experimental practice. Twelve examples from the recent literature are described, most of which concern block copolymers. A brief introduction to block copolymer properties is also provided.
Activity of cecropin SB37 against protoplasts from several plant species and their bacterial pathogens

Abstract The lethal concentration of cecropin SB37 was determined for protoplasts from 11 plant cultivars or experimental lines representing 7 plant species and for 9 bacterial species that are pathogens of these plants. Lethal concentrations ranged from 4.5 μM for tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum cv Red Cherry) to 41 μM for sugarbeet ( Beta vulgaris REL 1). Cecropin SB37 exhibited potent antibacterial activity against all of the bacterial pathogens tested. Lethal concentrations ranged from 0.1–4.5 μM. The difference between the lethal concentrations of cecropin SB37 for protoplasts from certain plants and their respective bacterial pathogens suggests it may be feasible to protect against these pathogens by introducing a modified cecropin gene into the plant.
Spectral sensitivity of the newt Taricha granulosa, to visible and u.v. radiation

Abstract 1. 1. Using an electroretinographic technique, the eye of T. granulosa was found to be most sensitive to wavelengths of light in the vicinity of 600 nm, in both the dark- and light-adapted states. 2. 2. Ultra-violet sensitivity extends into the u.v.-B region (290–320 nm). 3. 3. The lens of the eye fluoresces in response to u.v. light in the range from 310 to 390 nm with an observed excitation maximum between 350 and 360 nm. 4. 4. Fluorescence of the lens may be a contributing factor in u.v. sensitivity.
JustSpeak: enabling universal voice control on Android

In this paper we introduce JustSpeak, a universal voice control solution for non-visual access to the Android operating system. JustSpeak offers two contributions as compared to existing systems. First, it enables system wide voice control on Android that can accommodate any application. JustSpeak constructs the set of available voice commands based on application context; these commands are directly synthesized from on-screen labels and accessibility metadata, and require no further intervention from the application developer. Second, it provides more efficient and natural interaction with support of multiple voice commands in the same utterance. We present the system design of JustSpeak and describe its utility in various use cases. We then discuss the system level supports required by a service like JustSpeak on other platforms. By eliminating the target locating and pointing tasks, JustSpeak can significantly improve experience of graphic interface interaction for blind and motion-impaired users.
A Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase with a Novel Domain Organization Is Essential for Siderophore Biosynthesis in Vibrio anguillarum

Anguibactin, a siderophore produced by Vibrio anguillarum, is synthesized via a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) mechanism. We have identified a gene from the V. anguillarum plasmid pJM1 that encodes a 78-kDa NRPS protein termed AngM, which is essential in the biosynthesis of anguibactin. The predicted AngM amino acid sequence shows regions of homology to the consensus sequence for the peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) and the condensation (C) domains of NRPSs, and curiously, these two domains are not associated with an adenylation (A) domain. Substitution by alanine of the serine 215 in the PCP domain and of histidine 406 in the C domain of AngM results in an anguibactin-deficient phenotype, underscoring the importance of these two domains in the function of this protein. The mutations in angM that affected anguibactin production also resulted in a dramatic attenuation of the virulence of V. anguillarum 775, highlighting the importance of this gene in the establishment of a septicemic infection in the vertebrate host. Transcription of the angM gene is initiated at an upstream transposase gene promoter that is repressed by the Fur protein in the presence of iron. Analysis of the sequence at this promoter showed that it overlaps the iron transport-biosynthesis promoter and operates in the opposite direction.
Lanthanide complexation with amino acids: Eu(III) with alanine in aqueous methanol

Abstract In water and aqueous methanol up to 90% methanol–10% water and an ionic strength of 1.0 M (perchlorate), europium(III) forms a 1:1 complex with alanine. As methanol is added to the solvent, the complexation constants increase by less than 50% by changing the solvent from water to 90% methanol. This is different from the Eu(III)–glycine complex where more than an order of magnitude increase in the complexation constant was observed. The results are consistent with inner sphere Eu(III)–glycine and outer sphere Eu(III)–alanine complexes.
Air-Gap Detection Circuit Using Equivalent Capacitive Changes for Inductive Micromotor

In this paper, we present an innovative capacitive gap-sensing readout circuit to replace the traditional gap sensor embedded in an inductive micromotor (IMM). Twelve equivalent capacitor pairs are constructed to detect the position deviation of the eccentric disc, which is rotating. As the position deviation of disc occurs, the capacitances of the corresponding capacitor pairs are altered due to air gap changes. The major functions of the proposed capacitive gap-sensing readout circuit are: 1) to amplify a micrometer-scale signal to be of millimeter scale; 2) to suppress the low-frequency noises caused by exerted three-phase ac power; 3) to rectify the induced ac gap-sensing signal into a dc output voltage; and 4) to eliminate the undesired dc bias caused by parasitic capacitances. In addition, by applying the effects of inertial force and centrifugal force, an innovative noncontact measurement method to quantify the unbalance degree of the microdisc, i.e., eccentricity, due to imperfect fabrication of IMM, is also proposed. By intensive computer simulations and intensive realistic experiments undertaken, the performance of proposed capacitive gap-sensing readout circuit and the unbalance degree of the disc have been successfully evaluated, respectively. From the simulation results, the minimum resolution of 1.22 mV/pF is obtained for the proposed capacitive gap-sensing readout circuit. The maximum sensitivity and bandwidth are ~118 mV/μm and 51.604 kHz, respectively.
Segmentation with shape and intensity priors

The purpose ofthis note is to present a novel techniquefor boundary determination that incorporates both a shape prior and a local intensity profile into a geometric active contour model. The basic idea of this model is to minimize an energyfunctional, which incorporates the information ofthe image gradient, the shape ofinterest, and the intensity profile across the shape into the search for the boundary of an object. The level set form of the proposed model is also provided. Experimental results on ultrasound images are presented, which indicate that this model provides close agreement with expert traced borders. These results indicate the effectiveness ofthe incorporation ofthe local intensity profile in the model.
Velocity Fields in Opto-Electrically Induced Fluid Flows

In this paper we demonstrate opto-electrothermal pumping in a very simple setup consisting primarily of parallel electrodes and explore the characteristics of such flows with different optical intensity patterns. For our parallel electrode configuration setup, ITO-coated electrodes were used to generate electric fields. The optical illumination system uses a focused laser beam 1,064nm, continuous mode. The experiments are analyzed in terms of existing analytical models for electrothermal flows. Microvortices created using the electric field and optical illumination resembles a sink/source type flow with the laser spot as the center of the sink/source. The flow velocity is characterized as a function of the AC signal frequency and the strength of electric field. At larger frequencies (f > 1 MHz), the velocity of the vortices decreases and around f > 5 MHz, Brownian motion is more dominant than the vortices. The line illumination is created by holographically stretching the point illumination. The line is about 28 μm in length. Result of this experiment is determined by means of visualization only. The creation of these vortices can not only be used to create microfluidic pumps but also also show immense promise as microfluidic mixers without utilizaing any invasive components.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Second And Third Order Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Conjugated Molecules And Polymers

Second- and third-order nonlinear optical properties of some newly synthesized organic molecules and polymers are reported. Powder second-harmonic-generation efficiencies of up to 200 times urea have been realized for asymmetric donor-acceptor acetylenes. Third harmonic generation chi(3)s have been determined for a series of small conjugated molecules in solution. THG chi(3)s have also been determined for a series of soluble conjugated copolymers prepared using ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The results are discussed in terms of relevant molecular and/or macroscopic structural features of these conjugated organic materials.
States confined in the barriers of type-III HgTe/CdTe superlattices

We present a theoretical study of states quasi-localized in CdTe barriers of HgTe/CdTe superlattices. We show that the quasi-localization of both electrons and holes will lead to strong Coulomb interaction, and thus to the formation of excitons. It is further demonstrated that such quasi-localized states, including excitons, exhibit confinement effect similar to those of loclaized states in quantum wells.
Better evidence, improved care.

As is hopefully true for all doctors, I am inspired by the opportunity to spend my professional lifetime trying to improve the health and welfare of humanity. How to achieve that goal is intensely personal, however. In deciding to be a clinical investigator, teacher, and, more recently, a medical administrator rather than a full time clinician, my inspiration goes beyond the desire to help individual patients in a series of one-on-one encounters. I believe that individual doctors can become an even more powerful force when they are informed, educated, stimulated, and even moulded to benefit from collective knowledge and to raise their standards of performance. Nevertheless, my decision to maintain an active clinical practice underscores the recognition that these other activities have little merit unless they can be transformed by practitioners into improvements in patient care. While in medical school I made the unusual decision simultaneously to pursue a masters degree in public health. My peers on each side were equally perplexed. The medical students and medical faculty saw public health, at least in the United States, as largely outside the realm of real patient care. My public health colleagues saw doctors as unable to recognise the big picture of what truly influences the course of human health. I vacillated between being hopelessly discouraged that the two sides would never meet and hoping that a potentially powerful alliance …
Fast detection of line features in large images

This paper addresses the automated detection of line features in large industrial inspection images. The manual examination of these images is labor-intensive and causes undesired delay of inspection results. Hence, it is desirable to automatically detect certain features of interest. In this paper we are concerned with the detection of vertical or slanted line features that appear at unpredictable intervals across the image. The line features may appear distorted due to shortcomings of the sensor and operator conditions. Line features are modeled as a pair of smoothed step edges of opposite polarity that are in close proximity, and two operators are used to detect them. The individual operator-outputs are combined in a non-linear fashion to form the line-feature response. The line features are then obtained by following the ridge of the line-feature response. In experiments on four datasets, over 98.8% of line features are correctly detected, with a low false-positive rate. Experiments also show that the approach works well in the presence of considerable noise due to poor operating conditions or sensor failure.
Abrasion resistance of silica-reinforced decorative laminates part 2 — deterioration of abrasive paper

Abstract Reinforcing silica particles in the overlay of decorative laminates were found to cause microcracking of Al2O3 abrasive grains during the standard test of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, U.S.A. (NEMA). This lowered the cutting ability of the abrasive paper. When the Al2O3 abrasive paper slid on silica-free overlays, the major change to the surface of the abrasive paper was dislodgment of abrasive grains. However, the cutting power of the abrasive paper remained reasonably constant in spite of dislodgment, which was attributed to repeated participation of those grains in the cutting action and subsequent weakening of the strength of the backing resin.
Modification of an evidence-based protocol for advanced appendicitis in children

Abstract Introduction We previously developed an evidence-based clinical pathway for children with advanced appendicitis. The pathway standardized the choice and duration of antibiotic therapy and established discharge criteria. Initially, the pathway led to a 50% decrease in the rate of superficial and deep surgical site infections and a significant decrease in hospital length of stay. Four years after implementation, we noted an increase in the infectious complication rate and the emergence of resistant bacteria to commonly used antibiotics. In this study, we prospectively collected peritoneal fluid cultures at the time of appendectomy in an effort to optimize our antibiotic therapy and decrease complication rates. Methods Microbiology analysis of peritoneal fluid cultures obtained at the time of appendectomy was performed in patients with an intraoperative diagnosis of advanced appendicitis. Clinical information, including demographics, laboratory data, and postoperative outcomes were collected and compared to the historic cohort. X2, Student’s t-test, and Fisher exact test were used where appropriate. Results The historic and prospective cohorts were similar with respect to clinical and demographic data. The postoperative intra-abdominal abscess rate remained unchanged (28% from 24%, P = 0.603). Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most commonly isolated aerobic bacteria from peritoneal fluid in the prospective cohort. Thirty-two percent of these patients had Pseudomonas spp., and 12% had Enterococcus spp. or Escherichia coli resistant to cefoxitin in their peritoneal fluid cultures. Discussion A significant proportion (40%) of children with advanced appendicitis had organisms either not susceptible or resistant to our first line antibiotic in their peritoneal fluid cultures. Our clinical pathway now recommends piperacillin-tazobactam as the most effective empiric therapy for advanced appendicitis in children. Microbiologic analysis of peritoneal fluid at appendectomy may be used to tailor antibiotic therapy in advanced appendicitis.
Alcohol brand appearances in US popular music.

Aims The average US adolescent is exposed to 34 references to alcohol in popular music daily. Although brand recognition is an independent, potent risk factor for alcohol outcomes among adolescents, alcohol brand appearances in popular music have not been systematically assessed. We aimed to determine the prevalence of and contextual elements associated with alcohol brand appearances in U.S. popular music.
FAMILY COURT IMPROVEMENT AND THE ART OF GRANTSMANSHIP: A JUDGE'S PERSPECTIVE

Many American courts face funding obstacles as they try to create and implement unified family court processes that have not been part of the traditional family court adversarial process. To create new staff positions, build and equip adequate facilities, and create and implement innovative programs, grant funding may be available to supplement what local and state governments provide. While social science research confirms that children are adversely affected by exposure to high-conflict family litigation and domestic violence, many communities have few affordable and available resources to address these issues. This article presents lessons and principles that one court learned as it applied for a grant to design programs for high-conflict families and families with domestic violence history.
Hydrogen storage by spillover on graphene as a phase nucleation process

Hydrogen chemisorption on graphene receptor-substrate is of great interest for energy storage. However, it is difficult to reconcile with a single H atom binding to carbon being weaker than it is within initial molecular ${\text{H}}_{2}$. This paradox is resolved by presenting the process as phase nucleation in the reaction ${\text{Rec}}^{\text{solid}}+{\text{H}}_{2}^{\text{gas}}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{(\text{H}\ensuremath{\cdot}\text{Rec})}^{\text{solid}}$, with the nucleus' energy separable into the Gibbs formation potential and the interface part. Atomistic calculations bridge remarkably with the macroscopic-continuum description and show a feasible path to $7.7\text{ }\text{wt}\text{ }%$ H content at nearly ambient conditions.
A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Economies of Vertical Integration: Comment

produced with specific points added to explain the weird nature of Logan's "lexicographic indifference surface." The space to the left of U4(Zi*) is not acceptable to a firm, as Logan said. Let Zi*= 15.0 percent, and Z, associated with Pi be 15.1 percent, it is really difficult to see why P1 associated with a very small sale (Z2), say one million dollars, is preferred to Po associated with a comparatively superior sale, say five million dollars. Logan's straight-line indifference curves (Z1 is a substitute to Z2) imply that P2 is indifferent (equivalent) to Pi (since they are both on Us) or P2 is preferred to Po. The unrealistic nature of this statement is obvious. No matter how high the expected rate of return is, if the sale is to be zero, such a position is never preferred by a rational firm to a position of a positive sale, i.e., Pi or Po. As a minimum conjecture, we may presume that indifference curves on the right hand side of U4 must not intersect Z, axis. Encarnacion and Ferguson used only the term L*-orderings (lexicographic ordering) of
Comparison of pregnancy rates for two embryo-transfer catheters

Objective To compare two flexible catheters and determine whether pregnancy rates (PRs) differed. Design Prospective, randomized pilot study. Setting Tertiary-care infertility practice. Patient(s) The subjects for this study were 100 women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles between September 2003 and October 2005. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure Clinical PR for Edwards-Wallace (Cooper Surgical, Shelton, CT) and Cook World (Cook Urological, Spencer, IN) embryo-transfer (ET) catheters. Result(s) The outcomes of pregnancy between the Edwards-Wallace and Cook World ET catheters were not significantly different. Use of the flare stimulation protocol resulted in a significantly lower PR compared to long luteal and antagonist protocols. No other variable affected PR. Conclusion(s) A 5% difference in PR was demonstrated between ET catheters; however, this study does not have the power to detect a significant difference in clinical PR between the two catheter groups. The pilot study demonstrates good design due to the lack of significant differences between the variables when stratifed by cather as well as pregnancy status. In a larger study, the flare protocol should be excluded.
Effects of Aging and Temperature on Respiratory Metabolism of Green Leaves.

It has been known since 1921 that the respiration rate of leaves declines during aging (7). Smillie (19, 20, 22) has shown that the amounts of some soluble respiratory enzymes of pea leaves decrease as they grow older and that young leaves are the best source of active mitochondria with high phosphorylating capacity. In addition, adverse effects of relatively high growing temperatures on the yield of active mitochondria have been reported (17) and the effects of exposure of normal tissues to high temperature may be due to a selective inhibition of the Krebs cycle ( 1, 14). In this work pea plants were grown at 10, 20 (optimal for growth) and at 300. At selected stages of growth, respiration rates of leaf tissue and the biochemical activities of mitochondria isolated from them were measured. The ability of leaf tissue to utilize acetate-C" and the activities of some mitochondrial enzymes were also determined. Declining respiratory rates during aging were correlated with striking decreases in mitochondrial activity. These in turn appeared to be related to increased disorganization of the internal structure of the mitochondria.
The role of the medium in sodium saccharin preference in rats

The acceptability curve for sodium saccharin mixed with powdered dry food was determined using 45 female saccharin-experienced rats. Concentrations of 0.00%, 0.04%, 0.10%, 0.16%, 0.20%, 0.30%, and 1.5% w/w were presented ad lib one per group for 7 consecutive days. The most highly preferred mixture was.2% saccharin. A second experiment was performed using 18 naive female rats to determine if moisture increases the palatability of the saccharin mixtures. Adding water did not further enhance the palatability of a.2% saccharin mixture any more than it enhanced intake of plain dry food.
Clostridium difficile Infection in the Elderly

Clostridium difficile-associated illness is an increasingly prevalent and morbid condition. The elderly population is at a disproportionate risk of developing symptomatic disease and associated complications, including progression to severe or fulminant disease, and development of recurrent infections. This article analyzes the factors that influence C difficile disease propensity and severity, with particular attention directed toward features relevant to the rapidly aging population.