cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Verification of a scattering-based algorithm for estimating rainfall over the open ocean

An algorithm for estimating rainfall (based upon scattering of upwelling radiation at 85 GHz) using the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) 85 GHz sensor data has recently been developed at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Research and Applications (NOAA ORA). Spatial and temporal variability in the differences between simple areal-averaged rainfall estimates from a raingage and satellite-derived estimates are examined. These initial comparisons provide insight into the nature of the differences; however, due to substantial amounts of spatial sampling error in the raingage spatial averages, this approach is ineffective at identifying statistically significant differences. Thus, rainfall estimates for this algorithm are examined over the tropical Pacific using a statistical technique, called the “noncontiguous raingage method” (NCR), which minimizes spatial sampling error so that the statistical significance of relationships may be determined. The results indicate that, adjusted with calibration coefficients, the ORA algorithm could produce unbiased estimates of areal rainfall for the tropical Pacific region examined in this study.
On products of sln characters and support containment

Abstract Let λ, μ, ν and ρ be dominant weights of sl n satisfying λ + μ = ν + ρ . Let V λ denote the highest weight module corresponding to λ. Lam, Postnikov, Pylyavskyy conjectured a sufficient condition for V λ ⊗ V μ to be contained in V ν ⊗ V ρ as sl n -modules. In this note we prove a weaker version of the conjecture. Namely we prove that under the conjectured conditions every irreducible sl n -module which appears in the decomposition of V λ ⊗ V μ does appear in the decomposition of V ν ⊗ V ρ .
Dislocations and electrical characteristics of HgCdTe

Abstract The electrical characteristics of HgCdTe samples have been experimentally examined as a function of dislocation density. MIS measurements on samples with a graded dislocation density ranging from about 2×10 5 to 2×10 6 cm 2 showed the net doping concentration is independent of local dislocation density, but that MIS dark current varies linearly with dislocation density. No evidence for impurity segregation to dislocations was observed between the low and high dislocation density region. Hall measurements on n-type HgCdTe samples both before and after 2% plastic deformation showed that the net donor density increased slightly by (1−2)×10 14 cm -3 possibly from residual point defects generated by deformation. Conversely, the electron mobility at low temperatures decreased by about an order of magnitude due to increased scattering from charged dislocations whose density increased by a factor of more than 100. Deformed HgCdTe shows a larger decrease in the electron mobility after low temperature plasma hydrogenation than do undeformed samples. Dislocation density may influence the hydrogen solubility in these samples. Collectively, both the MIS and Hall results suggest dislocations themselves do not contribute to the carrier concentration in HgCdTe.
The Future of Empathy: Teaching the Millennial Generation

AbstractRecent research points to a 40% decline in college students’ capacity for empathy over the past 4 decades (Konrath, O’Brien, & Hsing, 2011). In this article, the author reflects on undergraduates’ reaction to the case study “Toys for Haiti,” which the author created and designed to foster empathy in her students. She provides an overview of the downturn in empathy among this generation, and discusses research that demonstrates that changing daily culture can substantially increase capacity for empathy and understanding. She concludes with a discussion of why empathy is a critical and necessary skill for both individual students and for the future of the planet.
Narrating ‘the modern’: Colonial-era southern Batak journalism and novelistic fiction as overlapping literary forms

As Lennard J. Davis (1997) points out in Factual fictions; The origins of the English novel, newspaper prose and novel writing had remarkably blurred boundaries throughout the late 1700s, the time when the early English novel was first gaining public currency on the popular print scene. Davis presents a complex argument. He first criticizes Ian Watt’s approach (1957) as set out in the latter’s classic The rise of the novel. Davis asserts that Watt relies on simplistic ‘evolutionary’ models about the ‘rise’ of genres. Davis goes on to observe that there was a generalized convergence of discursive forms in the English popular press and in storytelling in commercial print in the late eighteenth century.
Instrumental Variable Estimation of the Simple Errors-in-Variables Model

Abstract Alternative instrumental variable estimators for the slope in the simple errors-in-variables model are discussed. The maximum likelihood estimator is derived for the model in which the error covariance is known to be zero and for the model in which the error covariance is unknown. Modified maximum likelihood estimators and randomly weighted average estimators similar to those studied by Huntsberger are discussed. The limiting distributions of the estimators are presented and the estimators are compared in a Monte Carlo study.
Impact of hepatitis B vaccination among children in Guangdong Province, China

Summary Objective To evaluate the impact of the universal infant hepatitis B vaccination program on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Guangdong Province, China. Methods In 2006, a serosurvey was conducted in Guangdong Province among children aged Results A total of 1967 children aged Conclusions Guangdong Province has successfully integrated the hepatitis B vaccine into routine immunization programs and this has had a very significant impact on decreasing the HBsAg carrier rate among children.
A comprehensive haplotype analysis of the XPC genomic sequence reveals a cluster of genetic variants associated with sensitivity to tobacco-smoke mutagens

The impact of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the DNA repair gene XPC on DNA repair capacity (DRC) and genotoxicity has not been comprehensively determined. We constructed a comprehensive haplotype map encompassing all common XPC SNPs and evaluated the effect of Bayesian-inferred haplotypes on DNA damage associated with tobacco smoking, using chromosome aberrations (CA) as a biomarker. We also used the mutagen-sensitivity assay, in which mutagen-induced CA in cultured lymphocytes are determined, to evaluate the haplotype effects on DRC. We hypothesized that if certain XPC haplotypes have functional effects, a correlation between these haplotypes and baseline and/or mutagen-induced CA would exist. Using HapMap and single nucleotide polymorphism (dbSNP) databases, we identified 92 SNPs, of which 35 had minor allele frequencies ‡ 0.05. Bayesian inference and subsequent phylogenetic analysis identified 21 unique haplotypes, which segregated into six distinct phylogenetically grouped haplotypes (PGHs A‐F). A SNP tagging approach used identified 11 tagSNPs representing these 35 SNPs (r 2 5 0.80). We utilized these tagSNPs to genotype a population of smokers matched to nonsmokers (n 5 123). Haplotypes for each individual were reconstituted and PGH designations were assigned. Relationships between XPC haplotypes and baseline and/or mutagen-induced CA were then evaluated. We observed significant interaction among smoking and PGH-C (p 5 0.046) for baseline CA where baseline CA was 3.5 times higher in smokers compared to nonsmokers. Significant interactions among smoking and PGH-D (p 5 0.023) and PGH-F (p 5 0.007) for mutageninduced CA frequencies were also observed. These data indicate that certain XPC haplotypes significantly alter CA and DRC in
Phosphorus and nitrogen inputs to Florida Bay: The importance of the everglades watershed

A large environmental restoration project designed to improve the hydrological conditions of the Florida Everglades and increase freshwater flow to Florida Bay is underway. Here we explore how changing freshwater inflow to the southern Everglades is likely to change the input of nutrients to Florida Bay. We calculated annual inputs of water, total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to Everglades National Park (ENP) since the early 1980s. We also examined changes in these nutrient concentrations along transects through the wetland to Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. We found that the interannual variability of the water discharge into ENP greatly exceeded the interannual variability of flow-weighted mean nutrient concentrations in this water. Nutrient inputs to ENP were largely determined by discharge volume. These inputs were high in TN and low in TP; for two ENP watersheds TN averaged 1.5 mg l−1 (0.11 mM) and 0.9 mg l−1 (0.06 mM) and TP averaged 15 μg l−1 (0.47 μM) and 9 μg l−1 (0.28 μM). Both TP and DIN that flowed into ENP wetlands were rapidly removed from the water. Over a 3-km section of Taylor Slough, TP decreased from a flow-weighted mean of 11.6 μg l−1 (0.37 μM) (0.20 μM) and DIN decreased from 240 μg l−1 (17μM) to 36 μ l−1 (2.6 μM). In contrast, TN, which was generally 95% organic N, changed little as it passed through the wetland. This resulted in molar TN:TP ratios exceeding 400 in the wetland. Decreases in TN concentrations only occurred in areas with relatively high P availability, such as the wetlands to the north of ENP and in the mangrove streams of western ENP. Increasing freshwater flow to Florida Bay in an effort to restore the Everglades and Florida Bay ecosystems is thus not likely to increase P inputs from the freshwater Everglades but is likely to increase TN inputs. Based on a nutrient budget of Florida Bay, both N and P inputs from the Gulf of Mexico greatly exceed inputs from the Everglades, as well as inputs from the atmosphere and the Florida Keys. We estimate that the freshwater Everglades contribute <3% of all P inputs and <12% of all N inputs to the bay. Evaluating the effect of ecosystem restoration efforts on Florida Bay requires greater understanding of the interactions of the bay with the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent mangrove ecosystems.
Does action affect perception or memory

Current literature maintains that success or failure in the performance of an action can modify perception of the objects of that action. The tests of that modification, however, may have measured memory rather than perception. To address this issue, the current experiment had observers throw a marble into various sized holes and assess their size through either a haptic or verbal measure. They respond either before the throw while the hole is visible (control condition), after the throw while the hole is visible (perception condition), or after the throw while the hole is not visible (memory condition). It was found that observers judged the hole size to be different depending on their throwing success only during the memory condition. This casts doubt on the conclusion of an action-specific perception account (Witt, 2011), and instead we propose an action-specific memory account.
Nanotechnology for Cell-Substrate Interactions

In the pursuit to understand the interaction between cells and their underlying substrates, the life sciences are beginning to incorporate micro- and nanotechnology-based tools to probe and measure cells. The development of these tools portends endless possibilities for new insights into the fundamental relationships between cells and their surrounding microenvironment that underlie the physiology of human tissue. Here, we review techniques and tools that have been used to study how a cell responds to the physical factors in its environment. We also discuss unanswered questions that could be addressed by these approaches to better elucidate the molecular processes and mechanical forces that dominate the interactions between cells and their physical scaffolds.
Quantum computation via translation-invariant operations on a chain of qubits

A scheme of universal quantum computation is described that does not require local control. All the required operations, an Ising-type interaction and spatially uniform simultaneous one-qubit gates, are translation invariant.
Chronic HCV Infection Affects the NK Cell Phenotype in the Blood More than in the Liver

Although epidemiological and functional studies have implicated NK cells in protection and early clearance of HCV, the mechanism by which they may contribute to viral control is poorly understood, particularly at the site of infection, the liver. We hypothesized that a unique immunophenotypic/functional NK cell signature exists in the liver that may provide insights into the contribution of NK cells to viral control. Intrahepatic and blood NK cells were profiled from chronically infected HCV-positive and HCV-negative individuals. Baseline expression of activating and inhibitory receptors was assessed, as well as functional responses following stimulation through classic NK cell pathways. Independent of HCV infection, the liver was enriched for the immunoregulatory CD56bright NK cell population, which produced less IFNγ and CD107a but comparable levels of MIP1β, and was immunophenotypically distinct from their blood counterparts. This profile was mostly unaltered in chronic HCV infection, though different expression levels of NKp46 and NKG2D were associated with different grades of fibrosis. In contrast to the liver, chronic HCV infection associated with an enrichment of CD161lowperforinhigh NK cells in the blood correlated with increased AST and 2B4 expression. However, the association of relatively discrete changes in the NK cell phenotype in the liver with the fibrosis stage nevertheless suggests an important role for the NK response. Overall these data suggest that tissue localization has a more pervasive effect on NK cells than the presence of chronic viral infection, during which these cells might be mostly attuned to limiting immunopathology. It will be important to characterize NK cells during early HCV infection, when they should have a critical role in limiting infection.
ECCENTRIC, GIFTED, AND BLACK: THELONIOUS MONK REVEALED

Do not miss Robin D. G. Kelley's Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original , for it will stand as the definitive biography of the great American composer and pianist for many years to come. What distinguishes Kelley's treatment of Monk's complicated and enigmatic life is the sheer depth and breadth of primary research, including, for the first time, the active cooperation and involvement of Thelonious Monk's family. In his acknowledgments, Kelley describes a long process of convincing Thelonious Monk, III to grant permission culminating in a six-hour meeting in which his knowledge, credentials, and commitment were thoroughly tested and challenged. Once he had secured “Toot's” blessings, as well as that of his wife Gale and brother-in-law Peter Grain, Kelley was introduced to Nellie Monk, Thelonious Monk's wife, and a wide range of family and friends who shared their memories and personal archives of photos, recordings, and papers. This is not an authorized biography, however, since Thelonious Monk, Jr. never demanded the right to see drafts or dictate the content. Rather Kelley was admonished to “dig deep and tell the truth.”
Magnetic field effects on slab surface plasmons in the local limit

Abstract The local surface plasmon dispersion relation for a slab of plasma in a magnetic field (perpendicular to the slab faces) is analyzed. Magnetic field modifications of both antisymmetric and symmetric slab surface plasmon modes are determined in the local limit.
The ill-posed Navier-Stokes equation on connected sums of R3

We show that the Navier-Stokes equation on connected sums of R 3 with rotationally symmetric metric is ill-posed in the finite energy setting. †Dedicated to Professor Guochun Wen on the occasion of his 75th birthday
Sound transaction-based reduction without cycle detection

Partial-order reduction is widely used to alleviate state-space explosion in model checkers for concurrent programs. Traditional approaches to partial-order reduction are based on ample sets. Natural ample sets can be computed for threads that communicate with each other predominantly through message queues. For threads that communicate with shared memory using locks for synchronization, Lipton's theory of reduction provides a promising way to aggregate several fine-grained transitions into larger transactions. In traditional partial-order reduction, actions that are not in the ample set are delayed, thus avoiding the redundant exploration of equivalent interleaving orders. Delaying the execution of actions indefinitely can lead to loss of soundness. This is called the ignoring problem. The usual solution to the ignoring problem is by Cycle Detection. Explicit state model checkers usually use Depth First Search, and when a cycle is detected, disallow using a reduced ample set that closes the cycle. The ignoring problem exists in transaction-based reduction as well. We present a novel solution to the ignoring problem in the context of transaction-based reduction. We designate certain states as commit points and track the exploration to discover whether the reduced exploration guarantees a path from each commit point to a state where the transaction is completed. If such a path does not exist, we detect this at the time a commit point is popped from the stack, and schedule all threads at the commit point. This paper presents our algorithm, called Commit Point Completion (CPC). We have implemented both CPC and Cycle Detection in the Zing model checker, and find that the CPC algorithm performs better.
Deer mouse demography in burned and unburned forest: no evidence for source–sink dynamics

Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)) populations increase dramatically after wildfires. These increases are puzzling because there are no obvious food sources or vegetation cover in severely burned areas. We con- ducted a capture-mark-recapture study of deer mice in a mosaic of burned and unburned montane forests in western Mon- tana to determine if their postfire increase could be explained by source-sink dynamics, with burned areas acting as a sink. When overall mouse densities were very low, the vast majority of the population was found in burned areas. Mice appeared regularly in unburned forest only when the densities were high. This pattern is precisely opposite to the expected results if the sink hypothesis were correct. Moreover, mice in burned areas did not show decreased body mass, reproduc- tive performance, or survival when compared with mice in unburned areas. Age structure and sex ratio did not differ be- tween burned and unburned sites. We conclude that burned areas do not function as population sinks; rather, they represent high-quality habitat for deer mice. Resume´ : Les populations de souris sylvestres (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)) s'accroissent de facon consider- able apres un feu de brousse. Ces accroissements sont enigmatiques parce qu'il n'existe pas de source evidente de nourri- ture, ni de couverture vegetale dans les regions ayant subi un feu important. Nous avons meneune etude de capture- marquage-recapture de souris sylvestres dans une mosao¨que de forets de montagne brulees et intactes dans l'ouest du Mon- tana afin de determiner si l'accroissement qui suit le feu peut s'expliquer par une dynamique de type source-puits, dans la- quelle les surfaces brulees agissent comme puits. Lorsque les densites globales de souris sont tres basses, la vaste majorite ´ de la population se retrouve dans les zones brulees. Les souris frequentent regulierement la foret intacte seulement lorsque les densites sont fortes. Ce patron represente precisement l'inverse de la reaction attendue si l'hypothese du puits est cor- recte. De plus, les souris dans les zones brulees n'affichent pas de declin dans leur masse corporelle, ni leur performance reproductrice, ni leur survie par comparaison aux souris des sites intacts. La structure en ages et le rapport males :femelles ne different pas entre les sites brules et intacts. Nous concluons que les zones incendiees n'agissent pas comme puits pour la population; au contraire, elles representent un habitat de grande qualitepour les souris sylvestres. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Discovering body site and severity modifiers in clinical texts.

Objective To research computational methods for discovering body site and severity modifiers in clinical texts. Methods We cast the task of discovering body site and severity modifiers as a relation extraction problem in the context of a supervised machine learning framework. We utilize rich linguistic features to represent the pairs of relation arguments and delegate the decision about the nature of the relationship between them to a support vector machine model. We evaluate our models using two corpora that annotate body site and severity modifiers. We also compare the model performance to a number of rule-based baselines. We conduct crossdomain portability experiments. In addition, we carry out feature ablation experiments to determine the contribution of various feature groups. Finally, we perform error analysis and report the sources of errors. Results The performance of our method for discovering body site modifiers achieves F1 of 0.740–0.908 and our method for discovering severity modifiers achieves F1 of 0.905–0.929. Discussion Results indicate that both methods perform well on both in-domain and out-domain data, approaching the performance of human annotators. The most salient features are token and named entity features, although syntactic dependency features also contribute to the overall performance. The dominant sources of errors are infrequent patterns in the data and inability of the system to discern deeper semantic structures. Conclusions We investigated computational methods for discovering body site and severity modifiers in clinical texts. Our best system is released open source as part of the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System (cTAKES).
Subwavelength Radio Repeater System Utilizing Miniaturized Antennas and Metamaterial Channel Isolator

Implementation of a novel high gain miniaturized radio repeater for improving wireless network connectivity in complex environment is presented in this paper. Unlike existing repeater systems, this system utilizes two closely spaced low profile miniaturized planar antennas capable of producing omnidirectional and vertical radiation pattern as well as a channel isolator layer that serves to decouple the adjacent antennas. The metamaterial based channel isolator serves as an electromagnetic shield, thus enabling it to be built in a sub-wavelength size of 0.07λ02 × 0.014λ0, the smallest repeater ever built. A prototype of the small radio repeater is fabricated to verify the design performance through a standard free-space measurement setup. The feasibility of amplifying and re-transmitting the received signal is demonstrated through measurement which compares well with the numerical simulation results.
Coworking as a Career Strategy: Implications for the Work and Family Lives of University Employees

This study of 276 couples compares coworking couples, which means both partners work for the same university, with noncoworking couples, those couples in which only one partner is employed at a university. Among the employees at the two universities studied, one in seven dual-earner couples cowork. These couples are more educated and are less likely to prioritize one spouses' career over that of the other, as compared to noncoworking couples. Coworking is positively associated with work commitment and family success for husbands and with family and marital satisfaction for wives, especially for couples with graduate degrees. Findings suggest that employment of spouses can be beneficial to employees and institutions.
Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) reduce IGF-binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4) concentration and stimulate IGFBP-3 independently of IGF receptors in human fibroblasts and epidermal cells.

Recent studies have provided a consensus that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) stimulates IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in vivo and in vitro. While it also appears well established that IGFBP-1 is inversely related to insulin concentrations, evidence regarding regulation of other IGFBP is inconclusive. Using immunoprecipitation and Western ligand blot, we have characterized the IGFBPs released into conditioned medium (CM) by cells from the adult human fibroblast cell line N3652 and the human epidermal squamous cell carcinoma line SCL-1. N3652 cells expressed IGFBP-3, IGFBP-2, a 24-kilodalton (kDa) IGFBP presumed to be IGFBP-4, and IGFBPs at 30 and 28 kDa. SCL-1 expressed IGFBP-3 and a putative IGFBP-4, with intermediate bands at 34 and 30 kDa. As determined by ligand blot of CM from confluent cells 72 h after the addition of peptides to serum-free medium, IGF-I and IGF-II potently stimulated IGFBP-3 in both cell lines, but otherwise IGFBP regulation in the two cells diverged. In N3652 cells, IGFBP-3...
Trends in Supercritical Fluid Chromatography: 1997

The future of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) will focus more on the separation of moderately polar analytes with packed columns, modified CO 2 , and a host of detectors (e.g., universal, element-specific, and spectrometric). Consequently, SFC will become viewed more like high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and will, in fact, replace HPLC in a number of applications because supercritical fluids have both better mass transport properties than liquids and are less harmful to the environment than commonly used HPLC liquids. The same packed column used for HPLC can, for example, generally be used interchangeably for many SFC applications. The relatively poor solvating power of CO 2, however, has dictated in many cases the use of modifiers in the mobile phase. These additives may enhance the solvating power of the supercritical fluid and deactivate or modify the stationary phase. Packed columns that have much higher decompressed flow rates than open tubular columns will place new demands on the employment of postrestrictor detectors in SFC.
Functional immaturity in neonatal polymorphonuclear leukocytes of rhesus monkeys.

: Despite major advances in the management and care of critically ill and low-birthweight human and nonhuman primate infants over the past two decades, infection remains a major source of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Although the causes of enhanced susceptibility and dissemination of neonatal infections are incompletely defined in the literature, substantial evidence from this and other laboratories has implied that functional abnormalities of neonatal polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) may be a major contributor. Increased understanding of the functional characteristics of neonatal PMNs should, therefore, provide significant insight into the pathogenesis and possible therapy of infections in neonates. Our laboratory has been actively involved in evaluating the functional competence of PMNs in neonatal human and nonhuman primates. This report describes a study in which we have confirmed and characterized the functional compromises in neonatal PMNs of rhesus monkeys, including deficiencies in chemotaxis, membrane deformability, phagocytosis, and killing.
Planetary cratering: A probabilistic approach

[1] I develop several statistical indices of cratering on planetary surfaces based on Poissonian probability. These cratering formulas, being both analytic and probabilistic, have advantages over numerical or nonprobabilistic approaches in ease of calculation, clarity of interpretation, and evident flexibility. Specific indices developed include the fraction of a planet's surface expected to be cratered N occasions over a given time interval, expected uncertainty in crater coverage, the depth and distribution of developed megaregolith, and the evolution in crater population. For instance, under current conditions, 15% of the Earth's surface should have been cratered one or more times in the past 3 billion years. In the median case, ejecta from these impacts would have blanketed the planet to a depth of 313 m. These indices, of course, depend upon asteroid flux and the minimum asteroid size imposed by atmospheric filtering. Analytical formulas make it simple to account for such variations by feeding in their history from current conditions to those present on the early Earth. If, as is thought, Earth's bolide flux rate has decreased by a factor of 10,000 from its formation until now, then 99.99% of the Earth's surface should have been cratered one or more times in the past 3 billion years. In the first 100 Ma of the early Earth, 90% of its the surface would have suffered more than 50 impacts, even considering the protection of the atmosphere. Ramifications of these bombardment statistics pertain to the survivability of crustal fragments and early life forms.
Monitoring the retention of a protein antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant, alum, and pluronic F-127 gel formulations by X-ray fluorescence.

Adjuvants function by protecting antigens from rapid degradation or dispersal. The effectiveness of experimental adjuvants can be assessed by measuring antibody titers to the antigen of interest or, less frequently, by evaluating the retention and distribution of antigen at the application site. In this study, we used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to monitor the release of an iodinated protein (I-bovine serum albumin) from several adjuvant formulations after its subcutaneous injection in rats. The interaction of the tagged antigen with an external Am-241 source leads to the emission of iodine X-rays from the application site; the number of these X-rays is proportional to the concentration of the protein remaining at the injection site. The disappearance of the iodine X-rays, and hence the antigen, from the injection site followed first-order kinetics for all adjuvant formulations tested; mean half-life values were as follows: in 50% Freund's adjuvant, 17.1 ± 1.1 h; in 4-hour-old 25% Alum, 11.78 ± 0.08 h; in 4-...
Offensive Political Theory

Penn State's decision to eliminate political theory set off existential angst about the status of political theory in the discipline. The organized, defensive responses to that decision failed to answer the central question it posed: Is “political theory” social science, and if not, why does it belong? I argue that social scientific political theory is political science and its many strains—conceptual, normative, and explanatory—belong in the discipline on their own terms. Humanistic research, like dermatology or music theory, is not political science and as such it should find another home. By explaining why (and what kinds of) political theory is political science this article may wind up being offensive in both senses of the word. But it is meant to be in service to a more secure, stable, and productive interdisciplinary future for all kinds of political theory going forward.
Estimating prehistoric earthquake magnitude from point measurements of surface rupture

Abstract We have developed a method for estimating the magnitude of prehistoric earthquakes using displacement data that usually can be collected from paleoseismic investigations. This method is necessary because essentially all current magnitude estimates for prehistoric events rely on determining the total length of coseismic surface rupture, which is rarely measurable, or rely on segmentation scenarios, for which uncertainties cannot be quantified. Although surface rupture length is a better predictor of magnitude than displacement for historic earthquakes, paleoseismic investigations are better at providing measurements of the amount of displacement at a site along a fault. The key to our method is to incorporate the variability in displacement observed in 14 modern events, which allows a formal uncertainty in magnitude to be assigned to prehistoric ruptures. We show how multiple measurements along a preserved fraction of a rupture can be combined to reduce the uncertainty in the estimate of magnitude. Our analysis shows that uncertainty asymptotically approaches the natural variability of ruptures, so 5 to 10 displacement measurements are sufficient to characterize paleomagnitude. We conclude that sampling of scarps with lengths of even 10% of the original rupture can provide magnitude values that reasonably estimate the earthquake. Tests of the method, using randomly sampled data from the 1992 M w 7.3 Landers and 1954 M s 6.8 Dixie Valley earthquakes, provide close approximations of the actual magnitudes.
Damage to Rock Tunnels from Earthquake Shaking

Observation of rock-tunnel response to earthquake motions is compared with calculated peak surface motions for 71 cases to determine damage modes and indices. Damage, ranging from cracking to closure occurred in 41 of the observations. Peak surface motions serve as the principal variables in the study since shaking affects the greatest tunnel mileage, is nonsite specific and has the greatest likelihood of multiple occurrence. The peak motions, calculated from the Richter Magnitude and distance from tunnel to causative fault, and associated damage are campared internally and externally. The internal comparison of earthquake observations yields threshold values of peak motions associated with specific modes of tunnel damage. These thresholds are then externally compared with damaging motions from explosion-test studies to determine the relative conservatism of the threshold values. The results of the comparisons indicate that the damage thresholds are conservative and that tunnels are safer than above-ground structures for a given intensity of shaking.
Materials design at the interface of nanoparticles and innate immunity

Engineered nanoparticle platforms have been developed intensely in recent years, yielding significantly broadened applications from interrogating novel biology to new therapies. The mammalian immune system has emerged as perhaps the most powerful physiological system where nanoparticle design parameters have drastic implications for nanoparticle fate and function. In particular, the innate immune system is a major concern due to its role as the first-line defense against foreign invaders, responsible for initiating and maintaining the innate immune response as well as priming the adaptive immune response. Understanding how nanoparticles are perceived from a biological perspective is crucial to informing their design with different immunogenic, immunosuppressive, or stealth properties. Nanoparticles are particularly susceptible to innate immune responses such as opsonization and recognition by receptors that enable phagocytic uptake or evoke strong inflammatory responses due to the recognition of various “danger” signals. In this review, we will summarize some of the key advances in our understanding of how physical and biochemical parameters of nanoparticles interact with innate immunity, and note potential opportunities and emerging frontiers for controlling and evaluating nanoparticle–immune interactions.
Massed Refresh: An Energy-Efficient Technique to Reduce Refresh Overhead in Hybrid Memory Cube Architectures

This paper presents a novel, energy-efficient DRAM refresh technique called massed refresh that simultaneously leverages bank-level and sub array-level concurrency to reduce the overhead of distributed refresh operations in the Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC). In massed refresh, a bundle of DRAM rows in a refresh operation is composed of two subgroups mapped to two different banks, with the rows of each subgroup mapped to different sub arrays within the corresponding bank. Both subgroups of DRAM rows are refreshed concurrently during a refresh command, which greatly reduces the refresh cycle time and improves bandwidth and energy efficiency of the HMC. Our experimental analysis shows that the proposed massed refresh technique achieves up to 6.3% and 5.8% improvements in throughput and energy-delay product on average over JEDEC standardized distributed per-bank refresh and state-of-the-art scattered refresh techniques.
Objective Self

Humans have always been interested in understanding themselves and their environment. Understanding their relationship with the environment is important to survival as well as thriving in the present situation and planning for the future. With advances in technology, the 21st century has witnessed significant advances in storage, processing, sensing, and communication technologies. All these have resulted in the popularization of strong data-dependent approaches, leading to the rise in the popularity of scientism in almost all disciplines where data can be collected. As the availability of data has become widespread, the desire to understand the physical reality at different levels in different applications has also become possible and desirable.
Van inwagen and the possibility of gunk

We often speak of an object being composed of various other objects. We say that the deck is composed of the cards, that a road is the sum total of its sections, that a house is composed of its walls, ceilings, oors, doors, etc. Suppose we have some material objects. Here is a philosophical question: what conditions must obtain for those objects to compose something? In his recent book Material Beings, Peter van Inwagen addresses this question, which he calls the ‘special composition question’; his answer is:1
Evaluation and Miniaturization for Antioxidant Capacity Measurement

OBJECTIVE To evaluate and miniaturize the assays for antioxidant capacity measurement and screen of herb-derived antioxidants.METHODS Based on the studies of ferric reduction ability plasma(FRAP) and 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) assays,miniaturized 96-well FRAP and DPPH assays were developed.The parameters such as sensitivity and specificity of miniaturized assays were evaluated via the measurement of antioxidant capacity of different substances,including endogenous antioxidants(vitamin C,vitamin E,GSH,α-lipoic acid,and β-carotene) and exogenous antioxidants(resveratrol and tea polyphenols).RESULTS 96-well FRAP assay and DPPH assay demonstrated considerable quality of linearity,accuracy,and recovery.Comparing with traditional FRAP assay and DPPH assay,the 96-well assays were markedly convenient,rapid,and small sample consumption,which were proved with our test of trolox,resveratrol and tea polyphenols.Furthermore,the 96-well assay showed excellent sensitivity and specificity towards the antioxidant capacity of vitamin E,vitamin C and resveratrol.CONCLUSION ①The evaluation of antioxidative capacity of chemical substances or biological samples can be significantly benefited by 96-well FRAP assay and DPPH assay.②Compared to traditional UV assays,96-well FRAP assay and DPPH assay demonstrate comparable quality.③96-well FRAP assay and DPPH assay show excellent sensitivity and specificity toward endogenous and exogenous antioxidants.
LC-MS/MS determination of residual deoxycholate in split influenza vaccine

Objective:To establish a method for the detection of deoxycholate residues in split influenza virus vaccine. Method:The analytes were separated and detected by liquid chromatography - electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry(LC-ESI-MS/MS),mass spectral acquisition was done in the negative ion mode by Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The sample was processed by cleaned - up and concentrated by SPE on a HLB column, the chromatography was performed by reversed -phase HPLC on a C,s column with MRM detection ,the mobile phase was methanol-water (80: 20). Result: The LOD was 0. 005 mg·L~(-1), LOQ was 0.010mg·L~(-1), linear range was 0.005-1.00 mg·L~(-1), r=0.9998, the average recovery was above 98.0%, RSD4.0% (n=6). Conclusion: The method is efficient in detecting deoxycholate residues in split influenza virus vaccine, with high sensitivity, good reproducibility and selectivity, simple operation.
Laparoscopic removal of mullerian remnants in a woman with congenital absence of the vagina

Most women with mullerian agenesis do not have cyclic pain and therefore do not require surgery. When surgery is necessary, we recommend a laparoscopic approach as described in this report because of the decreased morbidity and cost compared with laparotomy. Results from this case suggest that outpatient laparoscopic treatment of this condition is safe and effective. Regardless of the surgical approach used, a preoperative IVP is essential to limit the risk of damage to the urinary tract.
Concluding Remarks on Peirce’s Non-Probabilistic Justification on Induction

Peirce’s non-probabilistic justification of induction as a method for discovering the real may be summarized into three important points. First, induction is a self-correcting method. Second, there are uniformities in our world for inductive method to discover. Third, the possibility of induction guarantees that we know some uniformity in our world. The first point is made by Peirce in his general argument for the trustworthiness of the inductive method. The second point is made by him in his arguments for the a priori impossibility of conceiving a chance-world and for the empirical unprovability of non-existence of any uniformity in our world. Finally, the third point is made by him in his argument for knowing the real on the basis of finite experience.
Women’s Educational Needs and Perceptions About Survivorship Following Bilateral Mastectomy

Background More women are choosing to have a bilateral mastectomy to treat unilateral breast cancer despite it not being considered the standard of care. Women are making this choice for various reasons, including anxiety of follow-up screening of the other breast, risk of cancer recurrence for the rest of their lives, and desire to maintain control over the localized cancer. Currently, evidence-based information is lacking regarding this treatment choice. In addition, the concept of survivorship has yet to be examined in this population of women. Objectives This study aimed to explore women's educational needs and perceptions about survivorship following bilateral mastectomy as a treatment for unilateral breast cancer. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 women using a semistructured interview guide. Data were elicited, coded, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings Two themes were identified that addressed education and survivorship.
Effects of lower limb electrical stimulation on trunk stability in persons with SCI during walking: A case series

The purpose of the present case series was to investigate whether three lower limb rehabilitation training approaches have any effects on trunk stability of persons with motor complete SCI during a 10-minute assisted walk. These trainings included electrical stimulation (ES), standing retraining (SRT), and a novel multi-modality approach that combined ES with SRT. We observed that multi-muscle ES directed at the lower limbs had a prominent, indirect effect on the upper and lower muscles of the trunk. More specifically, trunk muscle activations of the ES+SRT subject increased after training for the more distal muscles of the trunk. This study provides preliminary evidence that combining lower limb ES with SRT may provide beneficial effects in improving trunk control and stability.
Minimally invasive and remote-access thyroid surgery in the era of the 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines

Thyroid surgery has evolved throughout the years from being one of the most dangerous surgeries to becoming one of the safest surgical procedures performed today. Recent technologic innovations have allowed surgeons to remove the thyroid gland from a remote site while avoiding visible neck scars. There are many endoscopic approaches for thyroidectomy. The most common cervical approach is the minimally invasive video-assisted technique developed by Miccoli et al. The robotic transaxillary and axillary breast approaches avoid a neck scar and have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in international populations. Novel approaches under investigation include face-lift robotic thyroidectomy and the transoral approach. This article aims to provide the reader with an overview of the current minimally invasive and alternate-site approaches used and their capability to assist the surgeons in accomplishing remote-access thyroid surgery under the scope of the 2015 American Thyroid Association Guidelines.
War of perception: a Habermasian discourse analysis of human shield newspaper reporting during the 2014 Gaza War

ABSTRACTIn 2014, as Arabs and Israelis fought a deadly and destructive 50-day military battle in Gaza, a simultaneous war of perception was being waged in American news media. Israel claimed that Palestinian militants were using civilians as human shields. So far, however, no critical research has inquired as to whether these allegations were reported scrupulously in mainstream American news media. Thus, using a Habermasian critical discourse analysis, this study examined how five of the largest U.S. newspapers reported accusations of Palestinian human shielding. The findings herein reveal how fairly these media outlets cover one of the most enduring international struggles in modern times: the Middle East conflict. After all, as this paper will discuss, these publications play a potentially crucial role in explaining to the public the complexities of this highly destructive and deadly region of the world, which ultimately could allow citizens to participate more fully in an informed, democratic solution ...
Baseline and longitudinal plasma caveolin-1 level as a biomarker in active surveillance for early-stage prostate cancer.

Objectives To evaluate the role of caveolin-1 as a predictor of disease reclassification in men with early prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance. Patients and Methods We analyzed archived plasma samples prospectively collected from men with early prostate cancer in a single-institution active surveillance study. Of 825 patients enrolled, 542 had 1 or more years of follow-up. Baseline and longitudinal plasma caveolin-1 levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Tumor volume or Gleason grade increases were criteria for disease reclassification. Logistic regression analyses assessed associations between clinicopathologic characteristics and reclassification risk. Results In 542 patients, 480 (88.6%) had stage cT1c disease, 542 (100.0%) had a median prostate-specific antigen level of 4.1 ng/mL, and 531 (98.0%) had a median Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment score of 1. In all, 473 (87.3%) had a Gleason score of 3+3. After a median of 3.1 years’ follow-up, disease was reclassified in 163 (30.1%). Baseline caveolin-1 levels were 2.2±8.5 ng/mL (mean) and 0.2 ng/mL (range, 0–85.5 ng/mL) (median). In univariate analysis, baseline caveolin-1 was a significant predictor for risk of disease reclassification (OR, 1.82, 95% CI 1.24–2.65, p=0.002); in multivariate analysis, with adjustments for age, tumor length, group risk stratification, and number of positive cores, reclassification risk associated with caveolin-1 remained significant (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.28–2.84, p=0.001). Conclusion Baseline plasma caveolin-1 level was an independent predictor of disease classification. New methods for refining active surveillance and intervention may result. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.