cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cadaver-Based Simulation Increases Resident Confidence, Initial Exposure to Fundamental Techniques, and May Augment Operative Autonomy

Objective Surgical simulation is an important adjunct in surgical education. The majority of operative procedures can be simplified to core components. This study aimed to quantify a cadaver-based simulation course utility in improving exposure to fundamental maneuvers, resident and attending confidence in trainee capability, and if this led to earlier operative independence. Design A list of fundamental surgical procedures was established by a faculty panel. Residents were assigned to a group led by a chief resident. Residents performed skills on cadavers appropriate for PGY level. A video-recorded examination where they narrated and demonstrated a task independently was then graded by attendings using standardized rubrics. Participants completed surveys regarding improvements in knowledge and confidence. Setting The course was conducted at the Emory University School of Medicine and the T3 Laboratories in Atlanta, GA. Participants A total of 133 residents and 41 attendings participated in the course. 133 (100%) participating residents and 32 (78%) attendings completed surveys. Results Resident confidence in completing the assigned skill independently increased from 3 (2-3) to 4 (3-4), p 80%), p Conclusions A cadaveric skills course focused on fundamental maneuvers with objective confirmation of success is a viable adjunct to clinical operative experience. Residents were formally exposed to fundamental surgical maneuvers earlier as a result of this course. This activity improved both resident and attending confidence in trainee operative skill, resulting in increased attending willingness to grant a higher level of autonomy in the operating room.
A physician-scientist's wish list for the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates.

Supporting biomedical research is a bipartisan, patriotic act. The advances in our understanding of human health and disease funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and paid for by the American public represent our country’s greatest postwar domestic success story. Progress in the
Teacher-Created, Teacher-Centered Weblogs: Perceptions and Practices

This paper describes the findings of a qualitative research study examining the perceptions and practices of inservice teachers who blog. Open-ended interviews and electronic dialogues were conducted with 16 K–12 bloggers to identify emergent themes. A content analysis of each participant’s Weblogs was conducted to confirm these findings. Findings suggest that when used by teachers, Weblogs can promote 1) reflective practice, and 2) collaboration and social interaction among users. Ethical issues related to the use of Weblogs are discussed as well. Reporting of this data may assist in forming a deeper understanding of the perceptions and practices related to teacher created, teacher centered Weblogs.
Open Government Data Ecosystems: Linking Transparency for Innovation with Transparency for Participation and Accountability

The rhetoric of open government data (OGD) promises that data transparency will lead to multiple public benefits: economic and social innovation, civic participation, public-private collaboration, and public accountability. In reality much less has been accomplished in practice than advocates have hoped. OGD research to address this gap tends to fall into two streams – one that focuses on data publication and re-use for purposes of innovation, and one that views publication as a stimulus for civic participation and government accountability - with little attention to whether or how these two views interact. In this paper we use an ecosystem perspective to explore this question. Through an exploratory case study we show how two related cycles of influences can flow from open data publication. The first addresses transparency for innovation goals, the second addresses larger issues of data use for public engagement and greater government accountability. Together they help explain the potential and also the barriers to reaching both kinds of goals.
Novel VCSEL designs deliver high single-mode output power

Improvements in VCSEL technology have generated innovative designs for applications requiring high single-mode powers, including the selectively oxidized VCSEL and the I 2 -VCSEL.
Continuation Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics

Continuation methods are extremely powerful techniques that aid in the numerical solution of nonlinear problems. Their use in computational fluid dynamics has, until very recently, been minimal. This is somewhat surprising, since they are rather well known in solid mechanics. Furthermore, their mathematical foundations—homotopy methods—were laid by mathematicians very much concerned with fluid-dynamical problems and in particular with the construction of existence proofs for the Navier-Stokes equations. We shall attempt here to recall or expose some of these ideas and to indicate some of their current uses in computational fluid dynamics. Brief remarks on their relevance to the papers on numerical fluid dynamics in this meeting are made in Section 2.
Genotyping by PCR and High-Throughput Sequencing of Commercial Probiotic Products Reveals Composition Biases

Recent advances in microbiome research have brought renewed focus on beneficial bacteria, many of which are available in food and dietary supplements. Although probiotics have historically been defined as microorganisms that convey health benefits when ingested in sufficient viable amounts, this description now includes the stipulation “well defined strains,” encompassing definitive taxonomy for consumer consideration and regulatory oversight. Here, we evaluated 52 commercial dietary supplements covering a range of labeled species, and determined their content using plate counting, targeted genotyping. Additionally, strain identities were assessed using methods recently published by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. We also determined the relative abundance of individual bacteria by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the 16S rRNA sequence using paired-end 2x250bp Illumina MiSeq technology. Using multiple methods, we tested the hypothesis that products do contain the quantitative amount of labeled bacteria, and qualitative list of labeled microbial species. We found that 17 samples (33%) were below label claim for CFU prior to their expiration dates. A multiplexed-PCR scheme showed that only 30/52 (58%) of the products contained a correctly labeled classification, with issues encompassing incorrect taxonomy, missing species and un-labeled species. The HTS revealed that many blended products consisted predominantly of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis. These results highlight the need for reliable methods to qualitatively determine the correct taxonomy and quantitatively ascertain the relative amounts of mixed microbial populations in commercial probiotic products.
Emerging Potential Role for Pharmacist in Accountable Care Organizations

Medication therapy management (MTM) services which globally aim to optimize medication use are evident for its positive impact on health outcomes. This deemed necessary among high risk patients with poly pharmacy and chronic illnesses. The pharmacist role in managing patients’ medications is becoming crucially vital. However, this practice is highly limited to inpatient pharmacy services and to a very limited outpatient ambulatory care clinics. According to CDC, an estimate of about half of the population has used at least one prescription drug in the last 30 days. There is about 74-80% of all physician office, hospital outpatient, and emergency department visits may either result in a new drug prescription or require medication review.
Protecting Teachers or Protecting Children? Media Representations of Vergara v. California

Over the past five years, the laws governing teachers’ employment have been at the center of legal and political conflicts in state courts and elections across the United States. Vergara v. California challenged five California state statutes that provide employment protections for teachers. Drawing on the theory of political spectacle, we conducted a media content analysis of 42 print news media articles published prior to the court’s decision in June 2014. Two aspects of political spectacle, the use of metaphor and the illusion of rationality were the most salient and deployed in ways that were more closely aligned with the student plaintiffs’ claims than the statutes’ defenders. We conclude by highlighting how the framing of these and other similar stories may shape subsequent debates about public education in the United States.
Meta-analysis of the Risk of Infections After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction by Graft Type:

Background:An infection after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a relatively rare but challenging complication. There are no meta-analyses comparing the incidence of infections aft...
Evaluating the Stability of Test Score Means for the TOEIC® Speaking and Writing Tests

For educational tests, it is critical to maintain consistency of score scales and to understand the sources of variation in score means over time. This practice helps to ensure that interpretations about test takers' abilities are comparable from one administration (or one form) to another. This study examines the consistency of reported scores for the TOEIC® Speaking and Writing tests using statistical procedures. Specifically, the stability of the TOEIC Speaking score means from 431 forms administered in a 3-year period was evaluated using harmonic regression, and the stability of TOEIC Writing score means from 66 forms administered in a 3-year period was evaluated using analysis of variance. Results indicated that the fluctuations in the TOEIC Speaking or Writing score means mainly reflect changes in test takers' overall English speaking or writing ability levels instead of score inaccuracies. For both speaking and writing test scores, a large proportion of the variation in score means can be explained by seasonality (the rise or fall of score means associated with specific times of the year) and test takers' demographic information, which have been shown to be related to test-taker ability. As a result, this finding provides evidence for the consistency of the TOEIC Speaking and Writing score scales across forms.
Effect of Age on Nonmetric Cranial Traits for Sex Estimation in Adults

Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) standardized a set of commonly used nonmetric cranial traits, including the nuchal crest, mastoid process, supraorbital margin, glabella, and mental eminence, for sex estimation of unknown skeletal remains. Walker (2008) presented cranial trait scoring data from several populations and developed logistic regression equations to estimate sex from cranial trait scores, which has become a popular method in forensic anthropology. The aim of the present research is to evaluate the effect of age on the scoring of the five cranial traits examined by Walker. A large, uniformly age-distributed sample of adults (20–92 years; n = 272) of European-American and African-American ancestry from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection was examined by two observers. A third observer contributed data also from the Hamann-Todd Collection (20–85 years; n = 333). Ordinal logistic regression and pseudo-R2 tests revealed some significant effects of age on the mastoid process, supraorbital margin, glabella, and mental eminence, depending on the observer and data set. However, the magnitude of these effects is negligible, with age accounting for a maximum of only 5% of the variance in trait scores. Despite assertions in several commonly used texts that female skulls tend to become more masculinized with age, the results of the present research indicate that age does not play a significant role in the scoring of the five cranial traits evaluated by Walker (2008).KEYWORDS: forensic anthropology, age effect, Walker traits, skull, sex estimation
Calorimetric Techniques to Study Proton-Ligand and Metal-Ligand Interactions

The use of calorimetry in the field of solution chemistry has in the past few years expanded from primarily the measurement of heats of reactions to include the measurement of equilibrium constants of reactions involving weakly interacting species, the identification of species present in complex reaction mixtures, and the determination of concentrations of components present. These techniques have found applications in many fields including biochemistry, bacteriology, biology, microbiology, medicine and pharmacology. Many of these applications have come about through the use of calorimeters as thermometric titrimeters and titration calorimeters. In this talk, I will first discuss several commercially available solution calorimeters and their operating characteristics. This will be followed by a description of the techniques of titration calorimetry and the type of data that can be obtained using this method. Lastly, several typical applications of titration calorimetry to problems in coordination chemistry and biology will be presented.
Variation in mandible development and its relationship to dependence on parents across burying beetles.

Background In species with parental care, there is striking variation in offspring dependence at birth, ranging from feeding independence to complete dependency on parents for nutrition. Frequently, highly dependent offspring further evolve reductions or alterations of morphological traits that would otherwise promote self-sufficiency. Here, we examine evidence for morphological evolution associated with dependence in burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.), in which dependence upon parents appears to have several independent origins. In many species, precocial first instar larvae can survive without parenting, but several altricial species die at this stage on their own. We focused specifically on the mandibles, which are expected to be related to feeding ability and therefore independence from parents. Results We find no evidence that the size of the mandible is related to dependence on parents. However, we do find a developmental and phylogenetic correlation between independence and the presence of serrations on the inner edge of the mandible. Mandibles of independent species bear serrations at hatching, whereas dependent species hatch with smooth mandibles, only developing serrations in the second instar when these larvae gain the ability to survive on their own. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that serrations coincide with independence repeatedly. We note a single exception to this trend, a beetle with a serrated mandible that cannot survive without parents. However, this exception occurs in a species that has recently evolved the loss of independence. Conclusions We argue that the absence of mandible serrations occurs due to alternative selection pressures incurred in larvae dependent upon parents to survive. We suggest that this may have led to a variable function for mandibles, perhaps related to increased competitive ability among siblings or increased efficiency in receiving nutrition from parents. Furthermore, we propose that the phylogenetic pattern we see is consistent with the long-held evolutionary hypothesis that evolutionary change in behavior and physiology precede morphological change.
Overvalued Equity and Discretionary Accruals

This paper provides evidence consistent with the overvaluation hypothesis (Jensen 2005). We categorize firms as overvalued if they are in the top quintile based on beginning of year price-earnings ratio, prior year abnormal return, or a classification technique that uses both the lagged price-earnings ratio and abnormal return. Under the overvaluation hypothesis, overvalued equity provides a strong incentive for managers to present an earnings number that does not disappoint the market. Using annual data from 1990 to 2005, we find that overvalued firms have significantly higher discretionary current accruals in the year following their classification as overvalued. Moreover and again consistent with the overvaluation hypothesis, we find that (a) the negative association between discretionary accruals and operating cash flows is more pronounced for overvalued firms and (b) the positive association between discretionary accruals and an indictor variable that captures whether discretionary accruals were necessary to beat last year's earnings target is also more pronounced for overvalued firms. To reinforce our interpretation of the findings as evidence of reduced earnings quality for overvalued firms, we show that audit quality proxied by whether a firm uses one of the Big N auditors has the effect of diminishing rather than reinforcing the negative (positive) association between discretionary accruals and operating cash flows (earnings target indicator variable).
A method of processing nasopharyngeal swabs to enable multiple testing.

To develop a method to perform multiple tests on a single nasopharyngeal (NP) swab. We collected a NP swab on children aged 2–12 years with acute sinusitis and processed it for bacterial culture, viruses, cytokine expression, and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing analysis. During the course of the study, we expand the scope of evaluation to include RNA-sequencing, which we accomplished by cutting the tip of the swab. Of the 174 children enrolled, 126 (72.4%) had a positive bacterial culture and 121 (69.5%) tested positive for a virus. Cytokine measurement, as judged by adequate levels of a housekeeping enzyme (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase), appeared successful. From the samples used for 16S ribosomal sequencing we recovered, on average, 16,000 sequences per sample, accounting for a total of 2646 operational taxonomic units across all samples sequenced. Samples used for RNA-sequencing had a mean RNA integrity number of 6.0. Cutting the tip of the swab did not affect the recovery yield for viruses or bacteria, nor did it affect species richness in microbiome analysis. We describe a minimally invasive sample collection protocol that allows for multiple diagnostic and research investigations in young children.
What Is Underlying Resident Burnout in Urology and What Can Be Done to Address this

Physician burnout-a constellation of depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, reduced feelings of personal attachment, and a low sense of accomplishment-is a term that has been around since the 1980s. Burnout rates among residents and fellows are higher than medical students, attending physicians, and age-matched college graduates, with rates ranging from 40-80% of trainees across subspecialties. Unfortunately, burnout among residents and trainees has been linked to lower scores on in-service examinations for internal medicine residents as well as poorer overall health and exercise habits. The purpose of this review is to quantify the extent of burnout among urology residents and examine effective techniques and measures to prevent burnout and practically what can be done to combat this growing epidemic.
High-Risk Prescriptions for Aging Patients

The use of high-risk medications can have clinical consequences such as falls, cognitive impairment, and adverse drug events. Older adults are especially at risk due to age-related physiological change, and the presence of multiple concomitant diseases often leads to increased medication use and can potentiate side effects. Inadvertently this can lead to a cascade where medication side effects are treated with additional drugs. Medications can be considered high risk independent of disease or due to interacting diseases and medications. This chapter uses a case-based approach to identify high-risk medications and strategies to mitigate these risks.
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Borrowed from the Spice Rack of Hinduism?

I was born from humble beginnings and raised in a small township located on the outskirts of a City with Hindu religious importance in South India, Tiruchirappalli. Here, I grew up in a predominantly Hindu society along with its indigenous cultural values. Though I was never forced to learn Hindu scriptures at home, I grew up surrounded by its’ heavy influence all around me. In spite of not being very religious, I was reminded incessantly of certain Hindu teachings and beliefs by my teachers, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends on a daily basis. At their core, they convey the same meaning as some of the common phrases used in day-to-day life:
The new localism: How cities can thrive in the age of populism

Economic, demographic, social, and technological forces of the global economy are leading to drastic changes in the 21st century. Technology and the diffusion of production worldwide are resulting ...
Transit in flex: Examining service fragmentation of app-based, on-demand transit services in Texas

Abstract App-based, on-demand services are a nascent mode of public transportation, which can provide point to point transportation, first-last mile access to fixed route transit, or serve in place of paratransit, among other uses. First-last mile service has emerged as a dominant service model in the Federal Transit Administration's MOD Sandbox Program. However this service model also requires strong integration between app-based, on-demand services and the traditional fixed route lines they connect to. Following previous research identifying the role transit governmental institutions can play in creating barriers to service integration, this study examines whether and how governmental institutions known to impact fixed route services have a similar effect on app-based, on-demand modes. This study surveys cities and transit agencies across Texas. Interviews and archival analysis are used to identify fragmentation challenges and causes in app-based, on-demand services. This study finds that many of the jurisdictional challenges identified for fixed route services also apply to emerging app-based, on-demand services. However the need for integration of apps poses a challenge not seen before. Integration needs make app-based, on-demand services of limited suitability for first/last mile connectivity when provided by separate agencies or companies, when formal and informal coordination is poor, and when fixed route services are infrequent.
Abstract 3424: IL-18 immunotherapy is efficacious against checkpoint-immunotherapy refractory tumors by promoting the maturation of highly proliferative, polyfunctional NK cells

While immune-based therapeutic interventions have led to remarkable treatment responses in many patients, the majority of patients either fail to respond or acquire resistance to immunotherapy. Downregulation of MHC class I is a common feature of human cancers, confers resistance to T cell mediated killing, and can cause insensitivity to conventional immunotherapy, such as anti-PD-1 or anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Though decreased MHC class I expression triggers NK-mediated cytotoxicity, NK cells readily become exhausted when encountering MHC Class I deficient tumor cells. We observed that among intratumoral lymphocytes, NK cells display high levels of expression of the IL-18 receptor. We thus hypothesized that IL-18 pathway agonism could represent a potential strategy to reverse NK cell exhaustion and activate NK-mediated immunity in the setting of MHC class I loss. However, we and others have found that tumors frequently express high levels of the ultra-high affinity inhibitory decoy receptor of IL-18, IL-18BP. We therefore reasoned that IL-18BP could pose a major barrier to effective IL-18 therapy. To address this challenge, we used directed evolution with yeast surface display to engineer a “decoy-resistant” variant of IL-18 (DR-18), which is fully capable of activating the IL-18 receptor, but is impervious to inhibition by IL-18BP. To assess the activity of DR-18 on MHC class I deficient tumors, we generated B2m-deficient variants of both MC38 and YUMMER1.7 tumor models and observed that, compared to treatment with WT IL-18 or combined anti-CTLA4/anti-PD-1 therapy, only DR-18 treatment elicited tumor regression and a significant survival benefit. Similarly, we observed strong anti-tumor efficacy of DR-18 in additional NK cell sensitive tumor models including B16F10 melanoma and RMA-S lymphoma. Flow cytometric and sc-RNAseq analysis revealed DR-18 treatment promoted the functional maturation of highly proliferative NK cells with the polyfunctional capacity to produce effector molecules such as IFN-γ, Gzmb, and TRAIL. Finally, we observed that ablation of NK cells or neutralization of IFN-γ abrogated DR-18 mediated responses. Collectively our results highlight the ability of IL-18 pathway agonism to promote NK cell responses against checkpoint immunotherapy -refractory tumors that have lost MHC class I expression, which poses a major resistance mechanism that presently is not addressed by currently approved immunotherapeutic regimens. Citation Format: Orr-El Weizman, Ting Zhou, William Damsky, Meaghan McGeary, Marcus W. Bosenberg, Aaron M. Ring. IL-18 immunotherapy is efficacious against checkpoint-immunotherapy refractory tumors by promoting the maturation of highly proliferative, polyfunctional NK cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3424.
Onto-Generative Hermeneutics: Cheng Chung-Ying’s Philosophy of Understanding and Truth

The essay traces the origins, outlines the contents, and parses the meanings of Cheng Chung-Ying’s onto-generative hermeneutics as a systematic philosophy of interpretation and understanding that purposefully seeks to enrich and challenge the ancestral European version of the hermeneutic enterprise. It shows how Cheng, using his own creative and critical reading of the Yijing as the principal instrument of analysis and intervention, constructs an architectonic theory of interpretation that integrates ontology, epistemology, and ethics. To the extent that Cheng has consciously forged clear connections between his onto-hermeneutics and morality, via his redefinition of the Confucian notion of cheng (sincerity/earnestness/truthfulness) as an epistemic virtue, the essay ponders the implication and significance of such a theoretical stance as the point of departure for a philosophy of inculturality, wherein the self and the other must interpret and get to know each other.
Multiscale Simulation of Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Memory Enabled by van der Waals Heterojunction: Comparison to Experiment and Performance Projection

Atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions are investigated for ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) device application by combining multiscale simulations from atomistic ab initio to quantum transport device simulations with experimental studies. The simulation reveals that low quantum capacitance of graphene, weak electronic hybridization of vdW bonds, and high interface quality free of dangling bonds can lead to extremely large vdW interface barrier height modulation at the graphene-CuInP 2 S 6 ferroelectric (FE) interface. As a result, the simulated and experimental I-V characteristics show an unprecedented large tunneling electroresistance ratio. The vdW ferroelectric CIPS material further permits the tunneling barrier to be scaled down to atomic thickness. Quantum transport device simulations indicate that scaling of the FE layer thickness exponentially increases the ferroelectric tunneling ON current and reduces the read latency, leading to nanosecond read speed for the FTJs with CIPS bilayer or trilayer. The FTJ device also shows excellent endurance and retention characteristics.
Advocating for Minority Inclusion in Clinical Trials: A Call for Representation and Justice.

* Abbreviation: BPCA — : Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act Off-label prescribing of medications has been a long-standing practice in pediatric medicine because, in the types of studies regarding safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics needed for labeling, researchers often only enroll adult subjects.1 The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) and Pediatric Research Equity Act have significantly increased the number of pediatric trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for drug labeling in the past 10 years.1,2 Prioritizing minority enrollment in BPCA-funded clinical trials will increase the generalizability of scientific findings within the broader pediatric population.3 In this issue of Pediatrics , Abdel-Rahman et al4 present new findings on the representation of racial and ethnic minorities participating in federally BPCA-funded pediatric studies. Pediatric enrollment in BPCA-funded studies remained comparable to or higher than expected in all minority groups, except Asian Americans. Despite observing some racial and ethnic differences in enrollment on the basis of geography, study type, … Address correspondence to Jordee M. Wells, MD, MPH, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Drive, Columbus OH 43205. E-mail: jordee.wells{at}nationwidechildrens.org
Variable Structure Based Control for the Chemotherapy of Brain Tumor

Brain Tumor is an unwanted mass when cells grow abnormally. It puts pressure on certain areas of the brain which dangerously affects its functioning. For severe tumors like malignant, surgery is not a good option because they do not have definite boundaries and are closely attached with the other healthy tissues of the brain. So chemotherapy is preferable in this case to avoid damaging the healthy cells. The primary intention of this research is to suggest a controller for drug injection so that the tumor cells may reach the desired reference value of zero. In this paper, variable structure based nonlinear control algorithms: sliding mode control, integral sliding mode control, double integral sliding mode control and super-twisting sliding mode controllers have been proposed to reduce the tumor cells, maintain a safe number of healthy cells, keep the immune cells above a certain value and ensure suitable amount of chemotherapy drug. Lyapunov based stability theory has been used to prove stability of SMC, ISMC, DISMC and ST-SMC. MATLAB/Simulink environment has been used to analyze the performance of the proposed controllers on the basis of chattering, rate of convergence, undershoot/overshoot etc. and on the basis of these results drug through most suitable controller is advised. Among the proposed controllers, due to its better convergence, reduced chattering and less amount of drug used, ST-SMC is suggested for the chemotherapy of brain tumor.
Fruit odorants mediate co-specialization in a multispecies plant–animal mutualism

Despite the widespread notion that animal-mediated seed dispersal led to the evolution of fruit traits that attract mutualistic frugivores, the dispersal syndrome hypothesis remains controversial, ...
Addressing the Incoherency of the Preemption Provision of the Copyright Act of 1976

Section 301 of the Copyright Act of 1976 expressly preempts state law actions that are within the “general scope of copyright” and that assert claims that are “equivalent to” the rights conferred by the Act. The Act eliminated the previous system of common law copyright for unpublished works, which had prevailed under the prior 1909 Copyright Act. By federalizing copyright law, the drafters of the statute sought to achieve uniformity and to avoid the potential for state protection of infinite duration.The legislative history of § 301 stated that this preemption provision was set forth “in the clearest and most unequivocal language possible, so as to foreclose any conceivable misinterpretation . . . and to avoid the development of any vague borderline between State and Federal protection.” In fact, this goal has never been realized. Instead, there are literally hundreds of federal and state decisions interpreting this provision, which can charitably be described as inconsistent and even incoherent. And, despite the plethora of court of appeals decisions that have overruled district court decisions, and/or that have contained strong dissenting opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court has never decided a case under § 301. In short, it would not be an overstatement to describe this important provision in the Copyright Act as a “legislative failure.”This Article first reviews the background of the 1909 and 1976 Acts, including the rationales for copyright protection and the role played by the preemption provision in advancing those goals. This Article canvasses extensively the judicial treatment of § 301, including detailed critiques of many of these decisions. This Article also examines the constitutional aspects of preemption, including the role played by the Supremacy Clause. Most importantly, this Article seeks to provide ways to advance the original goal of the drafters of § 301, of federalizing copyright law, and of affording consistent interpretation of the preemption provisions. This Article continually returns to first principles — the goals of the drafters — and uses them to argue for expanded preemption of many state law claims.
Characterization of a Ring Optical Parametric Oscillator

We have studied a singly-resonant KTP ring OPO pumped by nanosecond pulses from a frequency- doubled Nd:YAG laser. We present measurements of the temporal and spatial intensity profiles of the incident pump beam and OPO output beams, including the depleted pump, as well as the output energy as a function of pump laser energy. These measurements have been carried out for both injection-seeded and unseeded operation of the OPO. The results of these measurements have been compared to the output of a computer model.
A Comparative Analysis of OHADA's Uniform Business Laws in West Africa: A French Civilian Structure's Impact on Economic Development

Sixteen West African, mostly francophone countries have entered into a treaty pursuant to which they have adopted uniform business laws. The treaty also provides a mechanism for adopting new uniform business laws and modifying existing ones, and for a single judicial interpretation of these laws across the treaty territory. The articulated purpose is to attract foreign investment. All these uniform business laws, the first of which came into effect in 1998, reflect a common heritage with the French legal system. Contrary to earlier literature, recent comparative studies assert that the civil-law system's business laws, and in particular business laws based on the French legal system, are indeed compatible with economic development. Interviews with legal professionals in the region suggest that local consumers of the new, uniform business laws are optimistic about the laws' contribution to both foreign and domestic investment in the region. Although it is too early to confirm the outcome, these uniform laws have already begun to be change the discussion. There is evidence that the sophistication of the new uniform business laws, together with the supranational legislature and judicial system can facilitate commerce by increasing predictability and transparency.
A Review of “Electronic Elsewheres: Media, Technology,and the Experience of Social Space”

This anthology, edited by Chris Berry, Soyoung Kim, and Lynn Spigel, is composed of theoretical engagements and case studies of media as space-making, or at minimum space-altering, cultural artifac...
Intraoperative Mitomycin in Primary Pterygium Excision: A Prospective, Randomized Trial

Abstract Purpose: Conjunctival autograft transplantation and postoperative mitomycin therapy are two adjuvant treatment methods shown to lessen the high pterygium recurrence rate seen with simple excision alone. The authors conducted a prospective, randomized study comparing these two techniques with a relatively new treatment method using intraoperative mitomycin application. Methods: Fifty patients with 56 primary pterygia were randomized to 1 of 3 treatment groups: conjunctival autograft (group 1), postoperative mitomycin 0.2 mg/ml four times a day × 7 days (group 2), and intraoperative mitomycin 0.4 mg/ml × 3 minutes (group 3). The mean follow-up time was 16 months (range, 6 to 28 months). Results: Recurrences developed in 4 (22.2%) of 18 eyes in group 1, 4 (21.1%) of 19 eyes in group 2, and 2 (10.5%) of 19 eyes in group 3. Complications developed in two patients from group 2, scleral thinning managed successfully with a scleral patch graft, and epithelial toxicity that resolved on discontinuation of mitomycin on postoperative day 6. There were no complications in the other two groups. Conclusions: Intraoperative mitomycin is a simple and effective alternative to postoperative mitomycin therapy, showing the lowest recurrence rate in their series with no toxicity during the study period. If the decision is made to use adjunctive mitomycin, the authors recommend intraoperative application over postoperative administration.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Housing Stocks 1935 to 1987: Crowding out and Cointegration

Crowding out arises in many economic contexts, from the macro concern that deficit spending might crowd out investment to the micro concern that increased employment of women might result in fewer jobs for men. Here I ask whether subsidized housing crowds out unsubsidized housing in the United States, applying the econometric tools of cointegration analysis. Such crowding out proves to require stringent restrictions on the coefficients of the cointegrating relationships that link housing stocks with one another and with other economic variables. These restrictions also apply to testing for other crowding out phenomena.
New vancomycin disk diffusion breakpoints for enterococci. The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards Working Group on Enterococci.

Since 1988, when the first vancomycin-resistant enterococcus was described, several descriptions of failures of disk diffusion breakpoints to detect low-level vancomycin resistance (MICs, 8 to 32 micrograms/ml) have been published. A four-laboratory collaborative study was undertaken to establish more accurate breakpoints for the disk test. Mueller-Hinton agar was used to perform dilution testing (in three laboratories) and disk diffusion testing (in all laboratories). Results were determined at 18, 24, and 48 h, and zones of inhibition were read using both transmitted and reflected light. One hundred organisms (35 Enterococcus faecalis, 55 E. faecium, and 10 E. gallinarum or E. casseliflavus isolates) were selected to represent vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant phenotypes. Interlaboratory agreement of agar dilution MICs was better at 24 h (91 to 94% within +/- 1 dilution) than at 18 h (76% within +/- 1 dilution). Therefore, 24-h agar dilution MIC results were used as the reference. For disk diffusion, it was critical to note the presence of a haze or colonies inside the zone when interpreting the test, since this correlated better with the results of the agar dilution test. The presence of a haze or inner colonies was best detected by reading the zones with transmitted light and incubating the plates for a full 24 h. When plotted against 24-h agar dilution MICs, breakpoints of /= 17 mm (susceptible) resulted in 58 minor errors (14.5% of total values) and 5 very major errors (2.2% of resistant values or 1.3% of total values). No major errors were seen. Results of repeat testing using a common lot of Mueller-Hinton agar showed 52 minor errors (13.3%) and 4 major errors (4.2% of susceptible values of 1.0% pf total values) but no very major errors. It is recommended that any haze or colonies within the zone be taken into account when determining zones of inhibition and that an MIC test be performed for strains with intermediate zones if vancomycin is being considered for treatment.
Short-wavelength electromagnetic wigglers for compact free-electron lasers

Recent progress in free-electron lasers (FELs) has been quite promising; coherent radiation generation can be generated at a wide range of frequencies from the microwave to the visible regions of the spectrum. Nevertheless, FEL operation in the visible and near-IR spectral regions still requires use of high-energy (>20-MeV) electron beams.
Dowel retention with glass-ionomer cement

The retentive capacity of the Whaledent Parapost system utilizing ASPA cement was compared at two lengths, three diameters, and with respect to the effect of both medication and citric acid pretreatment. The greatest single factor influencing retention was embedment depth into dentin. No significant differences were observed between the retention values for medicated and unmedicated teeth. Finally, no increase in retention was noted over previously reported values for zinc phosphate, carboxylate, and epoxy resin cements. The glass-ionomer cement tested offers no advantage for post retention.
New endfire radiator

The design, construction and experimental results of a corrugated surface plane antenna are described in the letter. The antenna operates over a frequency of 500–1000 MHz with increased gain and narrow beamwidth in both planes.
176Lu–176Hf geochronology of garnet I: experimental determination of the diffusion kinetics of Lu3+ and Hf4+ in garnet, closure temperatures and geochronological implications

The 176Lu–176Hf and 147Sm–143Nd decay systems are routinely used to determine garnet (Grt)–whole-rock (WR) ages; however, the 176Lu–176Hf age of garnet is typically older than the 147Sm–143Nd age determined from the same aliquots. Here we present experimental data for Lu3+ and Hf4+ diffusion in garnet as functions of temperature, pressure and oxygen fugacity and show that the diffusivity of Hf4+ in almandine/spessartine garnet is significantly slower than that of Lu3+. The diffusive closure temperature (T C) of Hf4+ is significantly higher than that of Nd3+, and although this property is partly responsible for the observed 176Lu–176Hf and 147Sm–143Nd Grt–WR age discrepancies, the difference between the T C-s of Lu3+ and Hf4+ could lead to apparent Grt–WR 176Lu–176Hf ages that are skewed from the age of Hf4+ closure in garnet. In addition, the slow diffusivity of Hf4+ indicates that the bulk of metamorphic garnets retain a substantial fraction of prograde radiogenic 176Hf throughout peak metamorphic conditions, a phenomenon that further complicates the interpretation of 176Lu–176Hf garnet ages and invalidates the use of analytical T C expressions. We argue that the diffusion of trivalent rare earth elements in garnet becomes much faster when their concentration level falls below a few hundred ppm, as in the experiments of Tirone et al. (Geochim Cosmochim Acta 69: 2385–2398, 2005), and further argue that this low-concentration mechanism is appropriate for modeling the susceptibility of 147Sm–143Nd garnet ages to diffusive resetting.
The effect of pseudorabies virus on the nucleic acid metabolism and on the nuclei of rabbit kidney cells.

Abstract The changes in nucleic acid were followed in rabbit kidney (RK) cells infected with pseudorabies (Pr) virus. Infected cells, which had been suspended with Versene, centrifuged, and resuspended before acid precipitation, showed an increase of 85% in the ratio of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to protein after 6 hours of incubation. This ratio was found to be overestimated by this method because of a loss of protein inherent in this technique. When the suspended cells were precipitated without previous sedimentation, the ratio of DNA to protein was 25% higher than that of the noninfected cells at 6 hours and 35% higher at 9 hours. Measurements of the absolute amount of DNA per sample showed that these increases are real. Pr virus appears to stimulate the proliferation of the nuclei of RK cells. This proliferation was demonstrated by an increase in the number of nuclei per sample by a factor of 1.93 in 6 hours and is reflected by the nuclei to cell ratio of 1.50 in 4 hours, a time when the cells have not yet coalesced to form syncytia. These results were corroborated by the finding that although there was an increase in the amount of DNA per cell, the amount per nucleus did not increase. Monolayers X-ray irradiated before infection showed no increase in DNA nor in the number of nuclei. The rate of virus synthesis, as well as the time of appearance of syncytia and of intranuclear inclusions, was the same as in the nonirradiated controls. These results suggest that the newly synthesized DNA may be cellular and not viral.
Modeling of transient and steady-state dark current in amorphous silicon p–i–n photodiodes

Abstract A theoretical model for describing the bias-dependent transient and steady-state behavior of dark current in hydrogenated amorphous silicon ( a -Si:H) p – i – n photodiode has been developed. An analytical expression for the bias-dependent steady-state thermal generation current is derived by solving the continuity equations for both electrons and holes. The model for describing transient dark current in a -Si:H p – i – n photodiode is developed by considering the depletion of electrons from the i -layer and carrier injection through p – i interface. For photodiodes that have very good junction properties, the high initial dark current decreases with time monotonously and reaches a plateau. However, in case of poor junctions, the injection current can be the dominating mechanism for transient leakage current at relatively high biases, the dark current decays initially and then rises to a steady-state value. The proposed physics-based dark current model is compared with published experimental results on several photodiodes. The comparison of the model with the experimental data allows an estimate of active dopant concentration in the p -layer and the defect density in the midgap of i -layer.
Novel epitope begets a novel pathway in type 1 diabetes progression

While CD8+ T cells are critical to diabetogenesis in NOD mice, evidence of their involvement in human type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been circumstantial. The existence of CD8+ T cells specific for beta cell peptides has been demonstrated, but functional data regarding the role of these cells in T1D have been lacking. In this issue of the JCI, Skowera et al. describe an unusual self-peptide epitope derived from the leader sequence of preproinsulin (PPI) and show that 50% of HLA-A2+ patients with new-onset T1D possessed circulating CD8+ T cells specific for this epitope, suggesting that PPI plays a critical role in the development of T1D (see the related article beginning on page 3390). They also report that beta cells upregulate PPI expression in the presence of high glucose levels, rendering these cells more susceptible to lysis and potentially accelerating disease. This suggests that interventions aimed at decreasing the PPI-specific CD8+ T cell response early after T1D diagnosis may be efficacious in ameliorating the disease process.
Proteinuria in renovascular hypertension and the effects of renal angioplasty

In 46 patients with renovascular hypertension who underwent renal angioplasty, proteinuria (more than 150 mg/24 hours) was more pronounced than in patients with essential hypertension. The highest levels were seen in patients in whom 1 renal artery was totally occluded. There was no difference between patients with unilateral vs bilateral renal artery stenosis. Proteinuria could not be correlated with serum creatinine level, and in 28% of the patients with renovascular hypertension, proteinuria was present despite a normal creatinine level. Renal angioplasty produced a significant diminution in proteinuria when it resulted in a cure of the hypertension, but no diminution was achieved if blood pressure did not decrease.
Commerce versus care: troubling trends in the ethics of esthetic dentistry.

Where is the professional and public outrage at the troubling trends in the marketing and selling of "cosmetic" dentistry that besiege our profession today? Although most dentists who concentrate on cosmetic enhancements are ethical and honest in their approach, the few who push the envelope of ethical responsibility and overtreat patients for financial gain are responsible for creating an environment where the commerce of dentistry is put first and patient care second.