cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measuring capital flight: A case study of Mexico

The authors show how the various methods commonly used to measure capital flight produce vastly different estimates (with a 100 percent difference between the lowest and the highest, in Mexico's case). They emphasize the importance of the conceptual approach to its measurement. First of all, they did not try to separate normal capital flows from capital flight. A capital shift outward because of expected taxation is as much a response to anticipated developments in rate of return as is a shift out in response to lower interest rates at home. Nor is it satisfactory to directly measure capital flight by taking short-term asset changes and the balance of errors and omissions from the balance of payments. Neither is necessarily related to the unreported private accumulation of foreign assets. They chose the residual approach, which assumes that capital inflows in the form of increases in external indebtedness and foreign direct investment should finance either the current account or reserve accumulation; any shortfall in reported use can be attributed to capital flight. Implementing the residual approach requires careful data selection and several adjustments. The authors contend that: introducing debt stock data into the analysis - instead of the changes in debt recorded directly in the balance of payments - requires many difficult adjustments and should be avoided; foreign asset changes of public corporations must be subtracted; rather than eliminate interest received on foreign assets from the current account, as some have done, earnings on private assets held abroad should be considered part of the flight capital that might have been repatriated, given different incentives and macroeconomic conditions; and the effect on capital flight of the faking of trade invoices should be assessed, since import overinvoicing and export underinvoicing can be used to channel capital abroad. They demonstrate the empirical importance of these choices with a new set of capital flight estimates for Mexico, based on the recommendations they present. They contrast the results of this approach with those of other approaches, to demonstrate the effect of conceptual choices.
The Mandelbaum Effect: Evidence for an accommodative bias toward intermediate viewing distances

Previous research has shown that ocular accommodation tends to correspond to an intermediate distance, the dark focus, in the absence of effective stimulation. The present experiments measured accommodative responses in the presence of two adequate, monocular stimuli superimposed optically at different distances. In Experiment I, observers attempted to maintain a matrix of letters in clear focus as a superimposed mesh screen was varied in distance. In experiment II, observers were instructed to focus the "easier" of two similar grating patterns that were presented over a range of distances with a constant separation of two diopters. The results of both experiments showed an accomodative response bias toward target distances near the observers' dark focus of accommodation. The implications of these findings for the theoretical resting state of accomodation and for practical problems of visual performance are discussed.
Effect of Treatment Success and Empathy on Surgeon Attributions for Back Surgery Outcomes

This study examined the effect of conservative and surgical treatment success/failure on attributions by surgeons for low back surgical outcomes. It also examined empathy as a moderator of these attributions. Forty surgeons attributed surgical outcome in a hypothetical patient to physical and psychological factors. Results indicated that surgeons were less likely to attribute the cause of surgical failure to physical factors when the patient had already failed conservative treatment for low back pain. Surgeons also were more likely to attribute failed surgery, relative to successful surgery, to patient psychological factors. An interaction effect indicated that the latter difference was significant only when the patient had previously succeeded at conservative treatment. Empathy moderated this effect: empathic surgeons were less likely to see the failed surgery patient as psychologically culpable. This self-serving attributional style, as moderated by empathy, is discussed regarding its potential impact on patient care and physician judgment processes.
Methodology for Selection of Rapid Tooling Process for Manufacturing Applications

Digital representation of geometry is transforming the methods for the manufacturing of products. Such transformations include a significant reduction in cost and leadtime to produce products and to increase the variety of products. The ability to produce tooling from material removal and additive processes has led to new methods to produce tooling from digital geometry representations. These include processes that are grouped together as fast-free-form-fabrication (FFFF) methods. In addition, other possibilities exist in modular tooling for generating variety and new processes/methods for producing such geometries. Also, conventional machining processes have improved significantly. As a result of these transformations, a tooling designer faces many choices of methods, materials, and lead-times to produce tooling. These decisions involve geometric reasoning coupled with other requirements based on production needs, cost constraints, and individual casting shop capabilities. This paper discusses a methodology for selection of rapid tooling (RT) processes based on a number of user-specified attributes and relative cost and lead-time comparisons across a wide spectrum of available RT processes. The method is based on a combination of weighted functionals and on the approximate mathematical models of metalcasting process costs and their lead-time. The method has been put on the Internet for easy access. It is currently limited to only several of the most common RT processes and materials. However, the database will be expanded in the future to include a majority if not all of the metalcasting processes.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Radiation and moisture effects in polymerized epoxy resin

The effects of moisture and rather large doses of reactor radiation (∼4 × 1011 ergs/gm) on the dynamic properties of polymerized epoxy resins have been investigated over the temperature range of 80°-450°K and at frequencies from 200 to 1400 cps. Data are presented for both unfilled and aluminum-filled systems of a bisphenol A based epoxy, (Epon 828) cured with metaphenylenediamine. Moisture absorption (0.88%) causes a shift of the main glass transition near 440°K to lower temperatures (∼25 degrees for unfilled epoxy). This is similar to the plasticizing action of small molecules absorbed in other polymers such as nylon 6-6. Irradiation to a dose of 4 × 1011 ergs/gm (4 × 109 rads) causes a shift to lower temperatures (∼50 degrees) of the onset of the main transition, and, in addition, results in both a shift to lower temperatures and a decrease in maximum height of the damping peak near 250°K. Chain scission, in a loosening of the structure and the breaking up of the partially flexible connecting groups, may be responsible for these radiation effects.
Games Theory and Software Defined Radios

The use of game theory in software designed radio networks is studied using OPNET. In order to model the spectrum usage, radio frequency interference avoidance, and distributed radio resource management, the behavior of software defined radios are predicted using game theory in an analytic mathematical framework. The wireless networks consist of devices that dynamically reconfigure themselves to respond to any air-interface or data format. Interfering radios however affect the adaptation schemes used on a link by link basis. Cognitive radio is an enhancement on traditional software radio design that can help establish a design model. Cognitive radios employ a cognition cycle to alter their actions in response to changes in the environment through the use of state machines. A smart network presents particularly difficult challenges to the analysis of radio resource management, as changes that one node makes may influence the decisions that other nodes make, so network planning remains a difficult task. The radios are the players in the game; the strategies in the game are based on the transmitter choosing the value of the adaptive link characteristic that maximizes the spectral efficiency, while meeting a BER constraint. The goal of the game is to maximize your winnings. Here the winnings would be for a radio to accrue the most bandwidth, or in our case, to achieve a particular performance target. Additionally, these approaches rest upon the assumption of higher-order rationality, i.e. the ability of a node to independently and recursively analyze a best response to other network nodes OPNET's pipeline processing can provide a solution path unavailable with other tools. We use OPNET to model changes in waveform appearance due to the interfering effects of neighboring communication links. In order to successfully model these networks, it will be necessary to determine if the network will eventually reach a steady state. With a game theoretic analysis, these network steady states can be identified from the Nash Equilibriums of its associated game. In other traditional approaches this is not possible and demonstrates the more rapid convergence of the game results to modeling and simulation
Wild-type Gross leukemia virus and the pathogenesis of the glomerulonephritis of New Zealand mice.

The pathogenesis of the spontaneous glomerulonephritis of NZB and (NZB x NZW) F1 hybrid mice is related at least in part to the formation of natural antibody against antigens of the G (Gross) system, and apparently to the deposition in the glomeruli of immune complexes of G natural antibody with G soluble antigen (GSA), type-specific antigen specified by wild-type Gross leukemia virus. G natural antibody and GSA are detectable in the acid-buffer eluate of the kidneys of NZB mice during the course of the glomerulonephritis. (NZB x NZW) F1 hybrid mice develop glomerulonephritis and produce GSA and free G natural antibody earlier in life than do NZB mice. The proteinuria manifestation of the gomerulonephritis of (NZB x NZW) F1 hybrid mice becomes increasingly prevalent as GSA undergoes immune elimination from the circulation. Gross leukemia virus-specified antigens together with bound immunoglobulins are located in the glomerular lesions of (NZB x NZW) F1 hybrid mice, both in the mesangium as observed in NZB mice and also in the wall of the peripheral capillary loops of the glomeruli.
A panchromatic imaging fourier transform spectrometer for the NASA Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events Mission

ABSTRACT This paper summarizes the design and development of the Panchromatic Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (PanFTS) for the NASA Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollut ion Events (GEO -CAPE) Mission. The PanFTS instrument will advance the understanding of the global climate and atmospheric chemistry by measuring spectrally resolved outgoing thermal and reflected solar radiation. With continuous spectral coverage from the near-ultraviolet through the thermal infrared, this instrum ent is designed to measure pollutants, greenhouse gases, and aerosols as called for by the U.S. National Research Council D ecadal S urvey; Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond 1 . The PanFTS instrument is a hybrid based on spectrometers like the Tropospheric Emissions Spectrometer (TES) that measures thermal emission, and those like the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) that measure scattered solar radiation. Simultaneous measurements over the broad spectral range from IR to UV is accomplished by a two sided interferometer with separate optical trains and detectors for the UV-visible and IR spectral domains. This allows each side of the instrument to be independently optimized for its respective spectral domain. The overall interferometer design is compact because the two sides share a single high precision cryogenic optical path difference mechanism (OPDM) and metrology laser as well as a number of other instrument systems including the line-of-sight pointing mirror, the data management system, thermal control system, electrical system, and the mechanical structure. The PanFTS breadboard instrument has been tested in the laboratory and demonstrated the basic functionality for simultaneous measurements in the visible and IR. It is set to begin operati ons in the field at the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS) observatory on Mt. Wilson measuring the atmospheric chemistry across the Los Angeles basin. Development has begun on a flight size PanFTS engineering model (EM) that addresses all critical scaling issues and demonstrates operation over the full spectral range of the flight instrument which will show the PanFTS instrument design is mat ure. Keywords: Imaging spectrometer, Fourier transform spectrometer, Michelson interferometer, air pollution monitoring, greenhouse gases, aerosols
Effects of estradiol on the levels of pyridine nucleotide coenzymes in the rat uterus.

NADP has been shown to induce the synthesis of a uterine enzyme, glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), a response which is also seen after administration of 17β- estradiol to the ovariectomized rat. The relative kinetics of cofactor and hormone induction suggest that estradiol might act first by induction of NADP synthesis which in turn might induce the synthesis of the enzyme. An enzymatic cycling technique with sufficient sensitivity to measure pmole amounts of NAD, NADH, NADP and NADPH was used to determine the levels of these coenzymes in the rat uterus at various times after administration of 17β-estradiol. The results of this study indicate that the levels of all 4 pyridine nucleotide coenzymes increase during the first 24 hr of the uterine response to estradiol. Control levels are 14,601, 1506, 620 and 1494 pmoles/uterus for NAD, NADH, NADP and NADPH, respectively. An initial rise is seen in the levels of NAD by 2 hr. NADP levels are constant for 2 hr and increase to 160 % of control levels b...
The effect of the prostaglandin F2α analogue ICI 81008 on uterine small arteries and on blood pressure

Abstract The effects of PGF2α and its analogue ICI 81008 * have been compared on the small arteries of the omentum uteri on the rat. The vessels measured 20–80 μm in diameter and were examined by intra-vital-microscopy. While the maximum responses of PGF2α and ICI 81008 were similar, the duration of the effect of ICI 81008 was significantly longer (P
Monte Carlo simulation of the nonlinear full peak energy responses for gamma-ray scintillation detectors

A Monte Carlo code has been developed, which predicts the nonlinear full peak energy responses of scintillation detectors to incident gamma-rays. It is illustrated here for the popular scintillation detectors, NaI and BGO. The full energy response can be determined by treating the detector as effectively infinite and assuming that all photons and electrons are fully absorbed within the detector. This assumption means that no geometrical direction or position tracking is required, only the selection of sequential photon interactions based on the appropriate energy-dependent interaction cross-sections. The full energy pulse-height response is determined by the sum of the pulse-height responses from all secondary electrons. Results from infinite NaI and BGO detectors indicate that even though the maximum difference in electron scintillation efficiency is about the same for the two scintillation detectors, the overall effect on the extent of the difference in pulse height is much less for BGO than NaI. This result is due to the larger density and effective atomic number of BGO, which causes significantly fewer Compton scattering events. Compton scattering interactions reduce the incident photon energy without absorption and therefore give more responses at reduced energy where the electron scintillation efficiency is most different.
Long life sensor head assembly for a magnetic hand scanner

Abstract Improvements in the technology used in a sensor head assembly enabled us to develop a magnetic hand scanner with a substantially longer life than those previously used. The previous assemblies presented three problems: gimbal wear, sensor wear and recessing of the gimbal. A harder material for the gimbal, a newly designed magnetoresistive sensor and a threaded ring to prevent the gimbal from recessing in the sensor head assembly together solved the major problems of earlier sensor head assembly designs. To correct the gimbal wear problem, the gimbal material was changed from a plastic to a much harder ceramic. Initial testing of the ceramic gimbal showed that the abrasiveness of the new material had caused yet another problem, magnetic medium wear. Polishing the gimbal to a very smooth surface eliminated this new problem. A new type of magnetoresistive sensor allowed us to increase the distance from the magnetoresistive element to the apex of the sensor, eliminating the sensor wear problem. In this design, a thin magnetic shim is used between the magnetoresistive element and the apex of the sensor. This shim shunts the magnetic flux from the flux transition on the encoded media to the magnetoresistive element. Without the magnetic shim, the output voltage was substantially reduced whenever the distance from the magnetoresistive element to the apex of the sensor was increased. The recessed gimbal problem was solved by using a threaded ring in the assembly. Before the change, an epoxy bond held the gimbal in place. Unfortunately, in a number of cases this bond broke, which resulted in the gimbal recessing in the assembly so that decoding capability was degraded. The threaded ring in the assembly assures us that the gimbal will not recess. The new sensor head assembly has been extensively tested and is currently in production for use in the IBM magnetic hand scanner.
Distributional impacts of oil and gas tax reforms

Abstract Tax preferences relating to exploration and production in the oil and gas industries received a great deal of attention during the enactment of the US Federal Tax Reform Act of 1986. One of the main arguments put forth in favour of the removal of these preferences was that they favoured higher income taxpayers, and, therefore, were inequitable. A multisector income distribution model is utilized to examine the direct, indirect and induced distributional impacts of the ensuing reforms. The results indicate that, while the direct impact of these reforms is an improvement in equity among those receiving income from the oil and gas industries, the overall impact throughout the economy is equity-neutral. The result stems from the secondary effects of the tax, which lead to net reductions in production in the oil and gas industries and their direct and indirect suppliers.
Serum Concentrations and Inhibitory Ratios During Amikacin Therapy of Gram-Negative Infections

The ratio of the peak serum concentration after a 500-mg dose of amikacin to the pathogen minimum inhibitory concentration was determined for 95 patients under treatment for serious Gram-negative infections. There were 113 such ratios. The relationship of this inhibitory ratio to the clinical effectiveness and side effects of treatment with this new aminoglycoside was also studied. Mean peak serum concentration of drug was 25.8 microgram/ml, and mean inhibitory ratio was 13.0. Ninety-six per cent of inhibitory ratios were greater than or equal to 1.0. Therapy was rated totally effective in 85% of patients clinically evaluated and partially effective in 3%. Signs of renal or eighth cranial nerve impairment attributable to drug administration were confined to only two patients, and there were no other side effects. The reliability of amikacin therapy appears to be related to dependable serum levels and high inhibitory ratios.
Cell-Penetrating RNAs: New Keys to the Castle

The plasma membrane represents the walls of the cellular fortress. It maintains cellular integrity by separating the insides from the outside, and the gatekeepers within these walls are very selective about which molecules are allowed in or kept out. Since the pioneering work on bacterial transformation by Griffith, Avery, and others more than half a century ago,1,2 a series of technologies has been developed to deliver payloads across membranes. In a forthcoming article in Molecular Therapy, Magalhaes et al. describe a new way to unlock one of the fortress gates in the form of aptamers they dub “c1” and “Otter.”3 These aptamers bind and penetrate into a diverse collection of mouse and human cells, including primary cells. Although there are many unanswered questions about the biology of these aptamers, it seems plausible that they could prove useful as tools for delivering molecular payloads for basic research and therapeutic applications.
A study on synthesis of diamond by capacitively coupled RF plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition

Abstract A capacitively coupled RF plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition reactor was used to synthesize diamond. A diamond phase (sp3C-C bonds) was detected in the deposits by Raman scattering spectroscopy. Its concentration, measured by core electron energy loss spectroscopy (CEELS), was estimated to be about 40%. The amount of hydrogen in the deposits measured by hydrogen profiling by helium ions was of the order of 1% regardless of the growth conditions. These results suggested a possibility of diamond synthesis by a capacitively coupled RF PACVD technique.
The Excretion and Fate of Androgens: Excretion of Injected Testosterone and its Various Derivatives.1

APRECEDING paper described (1) the fate in the animal body of urinary androgen extracts and a synthetic androgen, androstenedione. The results obtained with both products were similar; only 2 to 6 per cent of the activity of the injected hormone could be recovered in the urine. On the basis of the results obtained with androstenedione, it was ex-pected, because of the similarity in chemical structure, that an equivalent loss in activity would occur with testosterone. It was demonstrated that the free androgens whether saturated or unsaturated were inactivated in the body (I). The experiments to be reported here were designed to determine whether protection of the polar groups would either prevent or retard this inactivation.
Change in zooxanthellae and mucocyte tissue density as an adaptive response to environmental stress by the coral, Montastraea annularis

Results from controlled in situ experimentation conducted on the leeward reef tract of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, indicate that the coral Montastraea annularis exhibits a complex, yet consistent, cellular response to increasing sea surface temperature (SST) and decreasing irradiance. This was determined by simultaneously quantifying and tracking the tissue density of zooxanthellae and mucocytes using a novel technique that integrates the lectin histochemical stain wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) with high-resolution (200 nm) optical epifluorescence microscopy. Coral colonies growing at 6-m water depth (WD) and an irradiance of 100.2 ± 6.5 μmol m−2 s−1 were treated with a shading experiment for 11 days that reduced irradiance to 34.9 ± 6.6, 72.0 ± 7.0 and 90.1 ± 4.2 μmol m−2 s−1, respectively. While a significant decrease in the density of both zooxanthellae and mucocytes were observed at all shade levels, the largest reduction occurred between the natural non-shaded control (44,298 ± 3,242 zooxanthellae cm−2; 4,853 ± 346 mucocytes cm−2) and the highest shading level (13,982 ± 1,961 zooxanthallae cm−2; 2,544 ± 372.9 mucocytes cm−2). Colonies were also sampled during a seasonal increase in SST of 1.5°C, where the density of zooxanthellae was significantly lower (from 54,710 ± 1,755 to 34,322 ± 2,894 cells cm−2) and the density of mucocytes was significantly higher (from 6,100 ± 304 to 29,658 ± 3,937 cells cm−2). These observations of coral cellular response to environmental change provide evidence to support new hypotheses for coral survival and the complex role played by mucus in feeding, microbial associations and resilience to increasing SST.
Short-Circuit Testing of Medium Power Transformers by Southern California Edison Company Part II - Low Voltage Impulse Measurements

This paper, as a companion paper to another which describes testing procedures and results, summarizes Southern California Edison's experience with the low voltage impulse technique and measurements as a diagnostic tool in correlating electrical results with anticipated internal conditions within the test transformer.
MRI of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction : Dynamic True Fast Imaging with Steady-State Precession Versus HASTE

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to retrospectively compare the degree of pelvic organ prolapse shown on dynamic true fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) versus HASTE sequences in symptomatic patients.MATERIALS AND METHODS. Fifty-nine women (mean age, 57 years) with suspected pelvic floor dysfunction underwent MRI using both a sagittal true FISP sequence, acquired continuously during rest alternating with the Valsalva maneuver, and a sagittal HASTE sequence, acquired sequentially at rest and at maximal strain. Data sets were evaluated in random order by two radiologists in consensus using the pubococcygeal line (PCL) as a reference. Measurement of prolapse was based on a numeric grading system indicating severity as follows: no prolapse, 0; mild, 1; moderate, 2; or severe, 3. A comparison between sequences on a per-patient basis was performed using a Wilcoxon's analysis with p < 0.05 considered significant.RESULTS. Overall, 66.1% (39/59) of patients had more severe prolapse (≥ 1°) ba...
The Swine Flu Episode and the Fog of Epidemics 1

The 1918 influenza pandemic has shaped research and public health for nearly a century. In 1976, the specter of 1918 loomed large when a pandemic threatened the country again. Public health officials initiated a mass vaccination campaign, but the anticipated pandemic failed to occur. An examination of the available data in 1976 and the decision to vaccinate, as well as lessons learned from the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, may help shape an appropriate public health response to future threats from avian influenza or other infectious diseases.
Microwave Variable Attenuators and Modulators Using PIN Diodes

The PIN diode is a double diffused junction with an intrinsic layer separating the P and N regions. At frequencies above 100 Mc, the diode ceases to be a rectifier because of carrier storage and transit time effects. Its shunt capacitance is quite small because of the separation of the P and N regions by the I layer. Conductivity of the I region can be varied by a dc bias current and the device becomes an electrically variable resistor which can be used for microwave attenuators and modulators up to frequencies as high as 20 Gc. The PIN junctions are mounted on posts which are inserted in a 50-ohm strip transmission line as shunt elements, and a number of these elements, spaced a quarter wavelength apart at midband, are used to form an attenuator. At the appropriate bias current, yielding 50-ohm junction resistances, the diode elements are reactively compensated by choice of post dimensions so that they are effectively pure resistances, yielding an image attenuation of 4.2 db per element. Many elements can be used to attain any desired total attenuation and higher impedance end elements can be used to improve the SWR. Bandwidths of 4 to 1 with low SWR in both ON and OFF conditions are achievable. Maximum attenuation of 60 db, insertion loss of 1 db, and SWR of 1.5 are typical for a 12-diode attenuator and powers of the order of watts can be handled with negligible harmonic generation. When used as a pulse modulator, rise times of the order of 10 nsec are achievable.
BST-2/tetherin: viral tether, viral sensor or both?

In the fields of virology and innate immunity, BST-2/tetherin is well known for its ability to block the egress of enveloped viruses from infected cells. This appears to be accomplished by ‘tethering’ virions to the cell surface, thereby limiting virion release. In the past year, several groups have discovered that BST-2/tetherin can activate NF-κB, a transcriptional activator that leads to the rapid expression of both proinflammatory cytokines and proteins involved in cell survival. While this new BST-2 function has been interpreted as a possible viral-sensing mechanism, there may also be broader implications for HIV gene regulation. This article reviews the evidence for BST-2-dependent NF-κB activation, and explores the significance of these exciting new results.
Protecting Web usage of credit cards using One-Time Pad cookie encryption

The blooming e-commerce is demanding better methods to protect online users' privacy, especially the credit card information that is widely used in online shopping. Holding all these data in a central database of the Web sites would attract hackers' attacks, impose unnecessary liability on the merchant Web sites, and raise the customers' privacy concerns. We introduce and discuss in detail the secure distributed storage of sensitive information using HTTP cookie encryption. We are able to employ One-Time Pads to encrypt the cookies, because encryption and decryption are both done by the server, which is an interesting characteristic overlooked by the existing systems. We implemented this protocol and showed that it is simple, fast and easy to program with.
Comparison of microdissection testicular sperm extraction, conventional testicular sperm extraction, and testicular sperm aspiration for nonobstructive azoospermia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To investigate the relative differences in outcomes among microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE), conventional testicular sperm extraction (cTESE), and testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) in men with nonobstructive azoospermia. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Setting Outpatient academic and private urology clinics. Patients(s) Men with nonobstructive azoospermia. Intervention(s) Micro-TESE, cTESE, or TESA. Main Outcome Measure(s) Sperm retrieval (SR). Result(s) Fifteen studies with a total of 1,890 patients were identified. The weighted average age of the patients was 34.4 years, the follicular stimulating hormone level was 20.5 mIU/mL, the T was 373 ng/dL, and the testicular volume was 13.5 mL. In a direct comparison, performance of micro-TESE was 1.5 times more likely (95% confidence interval 1.4–1.6) to result in successful SR as compared with cTESE. Similarly, in a direct comparison, performance of cTESE was 2.0 times more likely (95% confidence interval 1.8–2.2) to result in successful SR as compared with TESA. Because of inconsistent reporting, evaluation of other procedural characteristics and pregnancy outcomes was not possible. Conclusion(s) Sperm retrieval was higher for micro-TESE compared with cTESE and for cTESE compared with TESA. Standardization of reported outcomes as well as combining all available SR data would help to further elucidate the SRs of these procedures.
Balitora eddsi, a new species of hillstream loach (Ostariophysi: Balitoridae) from Nepal

A new species of hillstream loach Balitora eddsi is described from the Karnali River drainage in south-western Nepal. The new species is distinguished from all its congeners by possessing the following combination of characters: six to seven unbranched pectoral-fin rays, pelvic-fin length 12-14% standard length (L(S)), dorsal surface without circular or irregular shaped dark blotches, snout pointed, median lobe between anterior rostral barbels pointed posteriorly, dorsal-fin origin posterior to pelvic-fin origin, lateral line scales 66-67, caudal peduncle length 22-23.2% L(S), caudal peduncle depth 4.1-4.2 times its length.
Limiting Spread of a Unicolonial Invasive Insect and Characterization of Seasonal Patterns of Range Expansion

Limiting dispersal is a fundamental strategy in the control of invasive species, and in certain situations containment of incipient populations may be an important management technique. To test the feasibility of slowing the rapid spread of two Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) supercolonies in Haleakala National Park, Hawaii, we applied ant bait and toxicant within an experimental plot situated along a supercolony boundary. The 120 × 260 m plot simulated a small section of what could potentially be a 120 m wide treatment encompassing the entire expanding boundaries of both supercolonies. Foraging ant numbers at baited monitoring stations decreased sharply within two weeks after treatment, and ant spread was completely halted within the plot for at least one year. In contrast, an adjacent untreated colony boundary advanced an average of 65.2 m over the course of 1 year. Most of this spread took place in the summer and fall, at the time of highest ant abundance at bait monitoring stations, while no outward dispersal occurred during the spring and early summer. These patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that local budding dispersal in this unicolonial species stems from density dependent pressure rather than inherent founding behavior associated with mating. Based on results from this experiment, we are investigating the effectiveness of annual boundary treatments in slowing the Argentine ant invasion at Haleakala National Park. The goals of this program are to protect populations of native arthropods and to keep options open for eventual attempts at eradication.
Alexithymia and Marital Quality: The Mediating Role of Relationship Maintenance Behaviors

The goal of the present study was to understand the relationships between alexithymia, relational maintenance, and relational quality. Data from 143 heterosexual married couples were analyzed utilizing the actor-partner interdependence model. Actors' levels of alexithymia exerted a negative effect on relational quality, while husbands' alexithymia was related to wives' relational quality. Each relational maintenance behavior at least partially mediated the actor effects of trait alexithymia on relational quality. In addition, task sharing, assurances, and positivity mitigated the effects of alexithymia on the partner's assessments of relational quality. Results reveal that relational maintenance can significantly minimize the negative effects that alexithymia plays in romantic relationships.
Fine-Scale Patterns of Soil and Plant Surface Temperatures in an Alpine Fellfield Habitat, White Mountains, California

Abstract Within alpine environments the interactions of air temperature, solar irradiance, wind, surface albedo, microtopography, and biotic traits all influence patterns of soil and plant canopy temperatures. The resulting mosaic of surface temperatures has a profound impact on ecosystem processes, plant survival, and ecophysiological performance. Previous studies have documented large and persistent variations in microhabitat temperatures over mesoscale alpine terrains. We have used a novel mobile system to examine changes in soil and plant canopy surface temperatures at spatial scales of centimeters and temporal scales of minutes in an alpine fellfield habitat in the White Mountains of California. In the middle of a summer day, the mean surface temperature differences between points 2, 5, and 10 cm apart were 2.9, 5.4, and 9.0 °C, respectively, and extreme differences of 18 °C or more were found over distances of a few centimeters. These thermal patterns are due not only to substrate material but also ...
An algorithm for reachability computations on hybrid automata models of protein signaling networks

Hybrid automata theory is an ideal mathematical framework for modeling biological protein signaling mechanisms. Reachability analysis of these models is essential, because the set of points backward reachable from a biologically feasible equilibrium contains all initial protein concentrations from which that steady state can be attained. This is useful for determining experimentally verifiable properties of the system under study. This paper proposes an algorithm for computing discrete abstractions of a class of hybrid automata with piecewise affine continuous dynamics, defined completely in terms of symbolic variables and parameters. These discrete abstractions are utilized to compute symbolic parametric backward reachable sets from the equilibria of the hybrid automata. The algorithm has been implemented and used to compute reachable sets for the biologically observed equilibria of multiple cell Delta-Notch protein signaling networks.
Approach to Dyslipidemia, Lipodystrophy, and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with HIV Infection

There is a significant prevalence (20%–80% depending on the population and the study) of lipid disorders and other cardiovascular risk factors in people living with HIV infection. This review focuses on HIV and HIV treatment–associated metabolic and cardiovascular concerns, including dyslipidemias, lipodystrophy syndromes, endothelial dysfunctions, and associated metabolic events such as insulin resistance. Emerging hypotheses of the underlying pathophysiology of these issues, with impact on selection of specific antiretroviral treatment (ART) strategies, therapy, and preventive approaches to decreasing cardiovascular risk and other problems associated with these syndromes are discussed. Screening for cardiovascular risk as part of the decision of starting antiretroviral therapy, and during care of patients with HIV regardless of ART therapy status, is suggested with particular areas of focus. Statins, other hyperlipidemic therapies, treatment for specific problems arising due to lipodystrophy, and implications on ART selection to avoid drug interactions and adverse effects are also discussed.
Differential evaluations of alcohol-related consequences among emerging adults

Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) to reduce drinking in college students often provide feedback about negative alcohol-related consequences experienced by students to motivate them to drink less. Yet, there is evidence which suggests that not everyone perceives consequences as negative and raises questions regarding the utility of consequence-specific feedback for some individuals. The purpose of the current study was to extend this research to examine salience of consequences among both college and non-college emerging adults, differences in ratings by sex, age, and frequency of experiencing consequences, and the relationship between salience measured in emerging adulthood and drinking patterns in young adulthood. Data were from an accelerated cohort study of males and females (N = 1,308), who were either age 18, 21, or 24 years at the time of consequence evaluation and followed-up 7 years later. Most experienced consequences were rated as at least a little bothersome. Regression analyses indicated that females, older participants, and those who experienced a consequence more often evaluated consequences as more bothersome but there were no differences by college status. Mean ratings of bother did not predict quitting drinking or alcohol problems 7 years later, whereas the number of consequences experienced did. Overall, the results suggest that most consequences are rated similarly by emerging adults regardless of college attendance but that feedback on consequences may be more salient for females and older emerging adults. PFIs may need to differ in the types of feedback they provide depending on demographic characteristics and baseline level of alcohol problems.
Four-dimensional structural dynamics of sheared collagen networks

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Preparation For Medical School via an Intensive Summer Program for Future Doctors: A Pilot Study of Student Confidence and Reasoning Skills.

A medical school conducted a summer pre-matriculation program. The program provided basic sciences content comparable to first year medical student instruction along with clinical and other learning experiences. The study purpose was to examine self-confidence levels and reasoning skills of a single cohort of students. We examined the association between students’ confidence, reasoning skills and performance measures. We also examined performance differences based on student gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds. 32 students were given two confidential surveys in a pre/post-test format. Student confidence was measured using a modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Student reasoning skills were measured using the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT). Student performance was measured via written exams. Survey item mean differences and inter-item correlations were examined using the T-test and Spearman procedures. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, with significance levels for all tests set at p=.05. Completed pre- and post-test surveys were returned from 29 students (91%) for the MSLQ and 18 students (56%) for the HSRT. A single item on the MMSLQ was significantly different on the post-test. Student race, gender and socioeconomic background were poor predictors of overall performance but were associated with selected measures of student confidence and reasoning skills. Students enrolled in medical school preparatory classes may be overly confident prior to experiencing medical school. Demographic variables deserve attention by medical school staff, particularly when the school’s mission focuses on successful performance by students from under-represented groups.
Using Published Student Writing to Enrich Pedagogy

An undergraduate course which required a long paper analyzing a Supreme Court opinion structured that writing assignment as a series of smaller writing tasks in order to teach students how to do rhetorical analysis and allow them to produce the complex paper over the course of the semester. When one student had her essay accepted for publication in Young Scholars in Writing, both she and the instructor had the opportunity for additional learning. This essay traces the impact of the student publication on subsequent versions of the course, on the instructor’s effort to provide more opportunities for students to learn rhetorical analysis and engage in original research, and on the instructor’s work with disciplinary faculty. The essay argues that YSW has an impact on students, faculty, and courses even where research about writing is not the focus.
Disparate Postnatal Ontogenies Do Not Add to the Shape Disparity of Infants

Integrating studies of ontogeny with analyses of disparity can reveal important and surprising insights into the origins of disparity and why it varies among groups. One such potentially surprising insight is that disparity could be constant over ontogeny even though species differ in both rates and timings of development and in their ontogenetic changes in shape. Several studies of both primates and rodents have concluded that disparity is generated prenatally although some have concluded that it arises postnatally. However, neither constancy nor an ontogenetic increase in disparity has been ever been rigorously documented for either primates or rodents. For a small sample of rodents, we show that species differ in their postnatal ontogenies but infants are neither more nor less disparate than adults and the major dimensions of disparity distinguishing the main clades also do not change. The constancy in both the level of disparity and its main dimensions does not result primarily from the subtlety of postnatal differences. Those differences are indeed subtle but the disparity in directions of ontogenetic shape change is nonetheless sufficient to increase shape disparity significantly. Disparity does not increase postnatally primarily because ontogenies are not strictly linear; disparity generated postnatally counteracts that produced earlier. What limits the progressive accumulation of disparity is the curvature of ontogenetic trajectories, a curvature presumably due to ontogenetic changes in the spatial distribution of rates of bone deposition and resorption.
Natural and Unnatural Paths

Adam Smith in Beijing is Giovanni Arrighis attempt to make sense of the rise of China and the fate of the neo-conservative Project for a New American Century, while at the same time speculating about the role of East Asia in the twenty-first century. In interpreting these current events Arrighi draws much from The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith classic of political-economy which proves to be surprisingly relevant despite being over two-hundred years old. One of the books unifying themes is Adam Smiths prediction that one day the inhabitants of all the different quarters of the world may arrive at that equality of courage and force, which by inspiring mutual fear, can alone overawe the injustice of independent nations into some sort of respect for the rights of one another (p. 3).
Designing a Network‐Based Earthquake Early Warning Algorithm for California: ElarmS‐2

The California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) is developing an earthquake early warning (EEW) demonstration system for the state of California. Within this CISN ShakeAlert project, three algorithms are being tested, one of which is the network-based Earthquake Alarm Systems (ElarmS) EEW system. Over the last three years, the ElarmS algorithms have undergone a large-scale reassessment and have been recoded to solve technological and methodological challenges. The improved algorithms in the new production-grade version of the ElarmS version 2 (referred to as ElarmS-2 or E2) code maximize the current seismic network's configuration, hardware, and software per- formance capabilities, improving both the speed of the early warning processing and the accuracy of the warnings. E2 is designed as a modular code and consists of a new event monitor module with an improved associator that allows for more rapid association with fewer triggers, while also adding several new alert filter checks that help minimize false alarms. Here, we outline the methodology and summarize the performance of this new online real-time system. The online performance from 2 October 2012 to 15 February 2013 shows, on average, ElarmS currently issues an alert 8:68 � 3:73 sa fter the first P-wave detection for all events across California. This time is reduced by 2 s in regions with dense station instrumentation. Standard deviations of magnitude, origin time are 0.4 magnitude units, 1.2 s, and the median location errors is 3.8 km. E2 successfully detected 26 of 29 earthquakes (MANSS >3:5) across California, while issuing two false alarms. E2 is now delivering alerts to ShakeAlert, which in turn distributes warnings to test users.