cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Criminal Justice Contact and Indebtedness in Young Adulthood: Investigating the Potential Role of State-level Hidden Sentences:

Contact with the American criminal justice system is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and financial insecurity, but little research has explored the link between criminal justice contact ...
Congestion-minimal and Traffic-adaptive Platooning Evacuation

In this paper, we present generalized and flexible problem formulations for safe and optimal evacuation routing with contraflow in transportation network. Avoiding the timedependent formulation as seen in existing problem formulation, a more concise description of the evacuation routing is allowed. By considering the safe following distance and the travel speed as variables, a more flexible evacuation solution can be obtained. We present two problems in evacuation routing: to minimize the evacuation time and to determine contraflow for optimal evacuation and their mathematical formulations. We also show how the existing solutions can be used as the starting point of solving the new problems. We also briefly discuss one possible application of the proposed problems/solutions into another similar problem of mass transportation routing from an event parking.
Self-Care, Self-Care Agency, and Self-Rounding: A Descriptive Study Focusing on Self-Care Agency between Bedside Nurses and Nursing Students

This descriptive study provides data between two groups for the purpose of exploring differences and similarities of nursing students and nurses, while building a foundation of knowledge for further understanding on the topic of self-care agency. This project quantified the self-care agency between bedside nurses and nursing students, who represent comparable populations at different stages of professional development. Self-rounding is introduced to the sample group as a simple concept that prompts a nurse to frequently complete a self-assessment followed by a brief self-care activity. This study blends known nursing knowledge and nursing theory to create a functional application in the clinical setting. A quasi-experimental quantitative method was used for collecting descriptive data from first and second year nursing students and seasoned staff nurses. The use of the Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCA) measured the self-care agency in the areas of responsibility, motivation, self-esteem, and value of health priorities. The survey generated acceptable responses from 77 nursing students and 128 registered nurses. The statistical analysis demonstrated a near mirror image in self-care agency between nursing students and registered nurses. The results and conclusions created an interesting base from which to launch additional studies on the topic of self-care for nurses. The goal of this study was to provide foundational understanding that provides direction for further study and introduce the new concept of self-rounding.
Hybrid biexcitons in organic polymer aggregates: A case of Dr. Jekyl meeting Mr. Hyde

Frenkel excitons are the primary photoexcitations in organic semiconductors and are ultimately responsible for the optical properties of such materials. They are also predicted to form \emph{bound} exciton pairs, termed biexcitons, which are consequential intermediates in a wide range of photophysical processes. Generally, we think of bound states as arising from an attractive interaction. However, here we report on our recent theoretical analysis predicting the formation of stable biexciton states in a conjugated polymer material arising from both attractive and repulsive interactions. We show that in J-aggregate systems, JJ-biexcitons can arise from repulsive dipolar interactions with energies $E_{JJ}> 2E_J$ while in H-aggregates, HH-biexciton states $E_{HH} < 2E_H$ corresponding to attractive dipole exciton/exciton interactions. These predictions are corroborated by using ultrafast double-quantum coherence spectroscopy on a PBTTT material that exhibits both J- and H-like excitonic behavior.
Complementary and Alternative Information Resources for Anxiety

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2013), approximately 18.1 percent of American adults suffer from an anxiety disorder (NIMH 2013). This translates to about 40 million people wi...
Financial sector reforms and monetary policy

In recent years a number of countries have undertaken far-reaching reforms of their financial sectors. Generally speaking, financial sector reforms aim at achieving greater flexibility of interest rates, an enhanced role for market forces in credit allocation, increased independence for the central bank, and a deepening of money and securities markets. Such reforms, and the developments that follow, have important implications for the design and conduct of monetary policy. This paper provides an overview of the linkages between financial sector reforms and the monetary policy framework, focusing in particular on the objectives, instruments, and operating procedures of monetary policy.
Family enterprise in the Baltic estate economy: the nineteenth century.

During the nineteenth century, the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire exhibited characteristics of economic change typical of Eastern European rural areas where the landed estate and an enserfed peasantry were dominant forces. Family enterprise, other than agricultural enterprise was rare, even among estate owners. The number of estate “manufactories” remained small throughout the first half of the century, and estate owners discouraged peasant entrepreneurship of any kind. Only in the post-1850 decades, as a consequence of reforms enacted by the Imperial government, did rural economic differentiation become sufficiently pronounced to require notice in various census-type enumerations (1881, 1897). Still, family-based peasant entrepreneurship remained exceptional, and reports about it took anecdotal form.
Oxygen tension regulates H2S and NO bioavailability in reciprocal manner (885.3)

Nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide modulate several physiological and cellular functions including vasodilation, cell proliferation and redox cell signaling. Production and bioavailability of either...
A reliability study to evaluate new compliant designs used in high speed signal applications

As high-speed electronic packaging systems continue to drive to higher bandwidth a common approach to packaging such systems is to distribute signals and connect various components in a multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB). Methods to achieve the higher system bandwidth requirement can be broken down into two categories, faster signal speed and higher density interconnects. In order to increase the signal speed, the plated through hole (PTH) had to be reduced in order to minimize the capacitive discontinuity effects. A preferred termination method to these reduced PTH structures is the compliant pin because of its robustness, easy assembly methods, and repairability. However, the reduction of the PTH diameter size has forced component designers to miniaturize the compliant pin, therefore raising concerns about the reliability of the pin. This work discusses experimental and analytical results to show that the new compliant pin designs meet the electronic industry's reliability standards and requirement for higher bandwidth. Four types of compliant pin designs were analyzed and put through a series of environmental and test to failure groups. The contact resistance change was monitored throughout the test groups and used to assess the pins' reliability.
Privacy in the age of big data

Lately it seems that every month brings with it a new privacy breach. This can happen due to attackers breaking into a supposedly secure database, such as in the recent cases of Target, Home Depot, and the United States Postal Service, or because data has been released publicly after it has (purportedly) been anonymized. One of the most famous examples of this latter type of privacy compromise is the case of the Netflix Challenge, in which Netflix offered a million dollars to any individual or team who could use an anonymized dataset containing movies and ratings to improve the company's recommendation system by ten percent or more. Just days after the contest began, the anonymization algorithm was broken and the viewing habits of many individuals within the dataset were revealed [1].
SQUARE: A Benchmark for Research on Computing Crowd Consensus

While many statistical consensus methods now exist, relatively little comparative benchmarking and integration of techniques has made it increasingly difficult to determine the current state-of-the-art, to evaluate the relative benefit of new methods, to understand where specific problems merit greater attention, and to measure field progress over time. To make such comparative evaluation easier for everyone, we present SQUARE, an open source shared task framework including benchmark datasets, defined tasks, standard metrics, and reference implementations with empirical results for several popular methods. In addition to measuring performance on a variety of public, real crowd datasets, the benchmark also varies supervision and noise by manipulating training size and labeling error. We envision SQUARE as dynamic and continually evolving, with new datasets and reference implementations being added according to community needs and interest. We invite community contributions and participation.
On voluntary and volunteer government surveys in the United States

Although many US government surveys are mandatory, most are voluntary and more than a few can be considered volunteer, a number that is likely to increase in the future. We will discuss the repercussions of this on the quality of those surveys and discuss how calibration weighting can be used to limit the potential bias on resulting estimators.
Identification of urinary constituents isolated by anion-exchange chromatography.

High-pressure, anion exchange chromatography of urine has resolved more than 100 UV-absorbing urinary constituents. Three methods have been used to identify these constituents: (1) chromatographic properties of standards, (2) spectrometric analysis of isolated urinary constituents, and (3) chemical testing of the isolated urinary constituents.
Disparities in antiretroviral prescribing for blacks and whites in the United States

Purpose The health benefits for blacks on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) lags behind that of whites. We therefore investigated whether this discrepancy in health outcomes is attributable to disparities in the receipt of appropriate HAART between black and white human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. Method The 2000-2005 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys were used to identify patients receiving antiretrovirals. Regimens were evaluated for appropriateness according to national antiretroviral guideline recommendations. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess black race as a predictor for appropriate HAART. Results An estimated 4.1 million HIV-related visits with antiretroviral therapy were identified. Eighty-six percent of visits were associated with appropriate therapy; inappropriate therapy was often due to antiretroviral monotherapy. Interestingly, blacks were more likely to receive appropriate therapy in comparison to white patients (94% vs 83%, P 2 likelihood ratio, 12.3, P Conclusions Health outcome disparities between black and white HIV patients do not appear to be attributable to differences in receipt of appropriate HAART. Further investigations are warranted to identify factors responsible for these outcome disparities.
Synergistic False-Positive Coliform Reaction on M-Endo MF Medium

The reported occurrence of synergistic false-positive coliform reactions on M-Endo MF medium was investigated. The objectives of the study were (i) to isolate populations of bacteria which produced such false-positive reactions, (ii) to determine whether false-positive sheen reactions are a result of synergistic interaction, and (iii) to determine the metabolic intermediates involved in false-positive sheen production. Samples of river water were subjected to coliform analysis by the membrane filter technique with M-Endo MF medium. Suspect sheen-forming colonies were analyzed to determine purity and identity of cultures. Mixed cultures were separated, and individual isolates were examined for sheen production. The isolates not producing a sheen were recombined and tested further for sheen production. Those mixtures reproducing the sheen were characterized biochemically and tested to determine the metabolic intermediates involved. Chromatographic analysis of the metabolites showed that individual isolates produced an assortment of neutral organic compounds including 2-butanone, 2,3-butanedione, formaldehyde, and butyraldehyde, whereas acetaldehyde or propionaldehyde was produced only by the mixed cultures. Tests showed that both propionaldehyde and acetaldehyde could react to produce a sheen on M-Endo medium. The conclusion was reached that synergistic false-positive coliform reactions do indeed occur on M-Endo MF medium.
Salvaging the Failing Fontan: Lateral Tunnel Versus Extracardiac Conduit

Background Since Fontan revision has been demonstrated to provide hemodynamic and symptomatic improvement in select patients with failing Fontan circulations, we now believe it is important to determine if one type of revision (lateral tunnel [LT] or extracardiac conduit [ECC]) provides superior outcomes. Methods Thirty-five Fontan revisions were performed (Jun 1997 to Dec 2004): 19 ECC (54%) and 16 LT. Preoperative variables were similar: New York Heart Association (NYHA) IV (LT = 4 vs ECC=2, p = not significant [NS]), preoperative arrhythmias (LT = 13 vs ECC=16, p = NS) and systemic right ventricle (LT = 4 vs ECC=2, p = NS). Twenty-eight patients (80%) underwent a modified maze procedure (LT = 12 vs ECC=16, p = NS) and 29 (83%) had pacemaker placement (LT = 11 vs ECC=18, p Results There were no hospital deaths and no arrhythmias at hospital discharge. There were no differences in mean duration of intubation (LT 0.6 vs ECC 0.9 days, p = NS), inotropic support (LT 1.5 vs ECC 2.1 days, p = NS), intensive care unit stay (LT 2.6 vs ECC 3.5 days, p = NS), hospital stay (LT 8.8 vs ECC 9.7 days, p = NS), or episodes of acute postoperative arrhythmias (LT = 2 vs ECC=4, p = NS). On intermediate follow-up (29 ± 22 months), the overall cohort had 94% survival, 97% of survivors in NYHA class I/II, 91% freedom from late arrhythmias requiring medication, and no patient required cardiac transplantation. Follow-up revealed no differences in NYHA I/II (LT = 14 vs ECC=18, p = NS), mortality (LT = 2 vs ECC=0, p = NS), or late arrhythmia (LT = 4 vs ECC=4, p = NS). Conclusions Both the LT and ECC revisions provide symptomatic benefit for a failing Fontan connection and have equivalent early and intermediate results including arrhythmia recurrence.
Pulse Effects on Two-Photon Absorption

Two-photon absorption of a dissolved chromophore is studied by means of multi-photon absorption dynamics simulations. The simulated data confirm experimentally observed strong enhancement of two-photon absorption cross section under long-pulse excitation.
Reference services in digital collections and projects

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which digital library projects incorporated reference services to increase the value of the collections and support the use of information.Design/methodology/approach – After defining digital library service types, the study surveyed 60 digital collections/projects from the Digital Initiatives Database (DID) and analyzed what types of services have been offered and how they varied.Findings – Findings showed that digital collections scored high marks in offering services in two areas – search and digital reference; however, the findings also revealed that they have been limited in giving valuable information services in other areas.Originality/value – The study shows that the current practice of digital initiatives needs to integrate various services not only to help users find information, but also to instruct users to better utilize the library and its other services.
Discourse Prosody and Teachers' Stated Beliefs and Practices

Over the past few decades, research has demonstrated the important role that prosody (i.e., stress, rhythm, intonation) plays in the intelligibility of speakers of English as a second language (ESL). Yet the impact of this research on teacher cognition—the beliefs and knowledge that teachers possess in relation to their classroom practices—has received limited attention. This article explores how research into English prosody has influenced pronunciation instruction in the ESL classroom, teachers' knowledge and beliefs about this instruction, and what teachers believe to be the most effective way to improve their knowledge base in this area. In particular, the opinions of teachers of beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes are investigated. Through semistructured interviews with five instructors and the pronunciation journal of the author, these issues are examined. Results show that research into English pronunciation has clearly influenced the teaching and prioritization of features of pronunciation for instructors with graduate education that has included a course dedicated to pronunciation or pronunciation pedagogy. However, even with this education, teachers may lack confidence in teaching different aspects of pronunciation.
GitSonifier: using sound to portray developer conflict history

There are many tools that help software engineers analyze data about their software, projects, and teams. These tools primarily use visualizations to portray data in a concise and understandable way. However, software engineering tasks are often multi-dimensional and temporal, making some visualizations difficult to understand. An alternative for representing data, which can easily incorporate higher dimensionality and temporal information, is the use of sound. In this paper we propose the use of sonification to help portray collaborative development history. Our approach, GitSonifier, combines sound primitives to represent developers, days, and conflicts over the history of a program's development. In a formative user study on an open source project's data, we find that users can easily extract meaningful information from sound clips and differentiate users, passage of time, and development conflicts, suggesting that sonification has the potential to provide benefit in this context.
Caracterisation de la signature spectrale des unités de paysages tropicaux a l'aide de l'analyse en composantes principales (ACP)

Resume La distribution des valeurs radiometriques recalculees par l'Analyse en Composantes Principales (ACP), des points d'une image multispectrale, peut etre representee dans le plan des deux premiers axes (composantes ayant les plus fortes valeurs propres). On definit alors dans ce plan des domaines caracterisant les unites de paysage recherchees, afin de classer les points de l'image.
The synthesis of certain derivatives of methionic acid.

Six new derivatives of methionic acid possessing possible antibacterial value have been synthesized. These are: N, N′-bis-o-ethoxyphenyl methionamide; N, N′-bis-m-ethoxyphenyl methionamide; N, N′-bis-p-n-butylcarboxyphenyl methionamide; bis-α-naphthyl methionate; bis-β-naphthyl methionate; and bis-o-methoxyphenyl methionate.
Managing iOS mobile devices

Mobile devices are sweeping across campuses as students and faculty find new uses for them in learning, teaching, and research. At the University of Washington's Department of Surgery, a similar story is being told. There is great interest in deploying iPads in research and education among both faculty and staff. However, the tension between providing resources to meet faculty and staff interests and the requirement to meet institutional data security standards is difficult to manage. Similarly, the demands on IT staffs keep rising and it is difficult to find the financial and staffing resources to meet all requests. However, mobile devices make a strong use case in academia, and their use will continue to expand regardless if whether IT units are on board. At the Department of Surgery, managing the explosion of mobile devices could potentially be a complex and burdensome task, and iPad deployment could not proceed within the department until there was a security and management solution in place.There are a number of different mobile device management solutions in the marketplace that were identified and compared. However, the department had a pre-existing installation of Casper Suite by JAMF Software that was used to manage the department's fleet of Macintosh computers. JAMF Software recently rolled out an iOS management component to the Casper Suite; using this solution, iPads can be centrally managed and security standards strictly enforced. After an analysis of other potential solutions, costs, infrastructure requirements, and technician training requirements, the Department of Surgery determined that leveraging Casper Suite to manage iOS devices was the best choice. However, with budget concerns impacting the ability to purchase test iPad units and additional Casper Suite iOS licenses, the deployment project was postponed to Summer 2011. The current timeline calls for building the iOS management infrastructure in Casper Suite in July and August 2011, and iPad deployment to an initial research unit in September.
Controllable processes and the fuzzy controller

Abstract We show that any controllable process can be controlled by the scaled and averaged output of multiple elementary fuzzy controllers operating simultaneously.
Viral diversity and dynamics in an infant gut

Metagenomic sequencing of DNA viruses from the feces of a healthy week-old infant revealed a viral community with extremely low diversity. The identifiable sequences were dominated by phages, which likely influence the diversity and abundance of co-occurring microbes. The most abundant fecal viral sequences did not originate from breast milk or formula, suggesting a non-dietary initial source of viruses. Certain sequences were stable in the infant's gut over the first 3 months of life, but microarray experiments demonstrated that the overall viral community composition changed dramatically between 1 and 2 weeks of age.
Framework for multidisciplinary integrated modeling and analysis of space telescopes

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for integrated modeling, simulation and analysis of optical telescopes. This framework is called DOCS (Dynamics-Optics-Controls-Structures) and supports model development, model integration, analysis and multidisciplinary design optimization of this class of precision opto-mechanical systems. First the research background and literature in this young filed is discussed. Next the structure and nominal process of an integrated modeling, simulation and analysis study for a generic optical telescope using the DOCS framework is discussed in detail. The major steps include subsystems modeling, model assembly, model reduction and conditioning, initial performance assessment, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, redesign, design optimization and isoperformance analysis. Such a comprehensive analysis is demonstrated for the NEXUS Space Telescope precursor mission. This mission was designed as a technology testbed for the Next Generation Space Telescope. The challenge is to achieve a very tight pointing accuracy with a sub-pixel line-of-sight (LOS) jitter budget and a root-mean-square (RMS) wavefront error smaller than λ/50 despite the presence of electronic and mechanical disturbance sources. The framework suggested in this paper has the potential for becoming a general prescription for analyzing future, innovative telescope projects. Significant challenges remain in enabling fast simulations for large models, analytical sensitivity analysis for all sub-models, incorporation of slow-varying thermal or impulsive transient effects and the effective use of experimental results.
Studies of analytic evolution of two-photon generalized distribution amplitude in QCD

We extend our method of analytic ERBL evolution for the case of distribution amplitudes that have jumps at some points x = ζi inside the support region 0 < x < 1. As an application of the method, we use it for evolution of the two-photon generalized distribution amplitude. Our approach has advantages over the standard method of expansion in Gegenbauer polynomials, which requires infinite number of terms in order to accuretly reproduce functions in the vicinity of singular points, and over the method of straightforward iteration of initial distribution with evolution kernel which produces logarithmically divergent terms at each iteration. In our method, the logarithmic singularities are summed from the start, which immediately produces a continuous curve, with only one or two iterations needed afterwards in order to get precise results.
Regulation of Benzodiazepine Prescription

To the Editor. —In an Editorial 1 accompanying the study 2 on the New York State triplicate prescription program for benzodiazepines, Dr Glass uses the study's results to buttress the American Medical Association's (AMA) bias against such programs. Although the AMA's Board of Trustees opposes multiple prescription programs because of their "documented ineffectiveness in reducing prescription drug abuse and their adverse effect on the availability of prescription medications for therapeutic use," neither of these statements is supportable. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, "Within the first few years of instituting the multiple copy prescription programs, states have experienced reductions of up to 55% in the number of Schedule II prescriptions filled... due to the program's preventive effect on indiscriminate and over-prescribing, and prescription forgery, and its deterrent effect on illegal sales of drugs and various diversion methods." 3 Within the first 4 months of New York's triplicate program for benzodiazepines,
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium infections in a tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes) herd.

Between 2 August and 22 September 2000, 37 hunter-killed tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes) were evaluated at the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, California, USA, for evidence of paratuberculosis. Elk were examined post-mortem, and tissue and fecal samples were submitted for radiometric mycobacterial culture. Acid-fast isolates were identified by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that discriminates among members of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Histopathologic evaluations were completed, and animals were tested for antibodies using a Johne's enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and agar gel immunodiffusion. In addition, 104 fecal samples from tule elk remaining in the herd were collected from the ground and submitted for radiometric mycobacterial culture. No gross lesions were detected in any of the hunter-killed animals. Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) was cultured once from ileocecal tissue of one adult elk and was determined to be a strain (A18) found commonly in...
Reversible Oxidative Addition and Reductive Elimination of Fluorinated Disulfides at Gold(I) Thiolate Complexes : A New Ligand Exchange Mechanism

Reaction of HAuCl4·3H2O with excess HSAr (Ar = C6F5 or C6F4H) in ethanol, followed by addition of [Et4N]Cl, produced [Et4N][Au(SAr)4] (Ar = C6F5 (1a) or C6F4H (1b)) as red crystalline solids in high yield. These complexes are rare examples of homoleptic gold(III) thiolate complexes. The crystal structures 1 show square planar geometry at the gold center with elongated Au−S bonds. Both complexes undergo reversible reductive elimination/oxidative addition processes in solution via thermal and photochemical pathways. Equilibrium constant and photostationary state measurements indicate that the relative importance of the two pathways depends on the nature of the aromatic groups. The metal-containing reductive elimination products, [Et4N][Au(SAr)2] (Ar = C6F5 (2a) or C6F4H (2b)), were confirmed by both independent synthesis and crystallographic characterization. Cross-reactions between either 1 or 2 and various disulfides led to ligand exchange via an addition−elimination process, a previously unknown reaction...
Bio-Inspired, Adaptive Algorithms for 2- and 3-Channel Polarization Sensing under Various Polarization Statistics with Non-Uniform Distributions

For scenes with different polarization statistics with non-uniform distributions, we develop algorithms that adaptively determine the two or three optimal polarization channels using the principal component analysis and signal detection theory. This increases the sensitivity index for detection of a target against these scenes and is adaptive to scene statistics.
Active immunization of mice against Candida albicans.

SummaryMice were vaccinated by repeated subcutaneous inoculations of living, merthiolate-killed, or sonically-ruptured cells of C. albicans and were then challenged intravenously with 104 or 105 viable particles of a homologous strain. Although not all of the vaccinated mice survived challenge, a significant degree of resistance was conferred since fewer deaths occurred among vaccinated animals.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Sodium Chloride Anions With Two Excess Electrons

Photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of (NaCl)nNa− (n=1–13, except n=10) are reported. The observed electron energy spectra fall into three distinct types, reflecting different correlations between the two excess electrons and ions. Depending on the host clusters' structures, the experimental evidence indicates that the two excess electrons in these sodium chloride clusters could be spin paired, forming a bipolaron or a Na− anion. The two excess electrons could also be spin parallel, forming a double F-center state.
Performance Model for Parallel Matrix Multiplication with Dryad: Dataflow Graph Runtime

In order to meet the big data challenge of today's society, several parallel execution models on distributed memory architectures have been proposed: MapReduce, Iterative MapReduce, graph processing, and dataflow graph processing. Dryad is a distributed data-parallel execution engine that model program as dataflow graphs. In this paper, we evaluated the runtime and communication overhead of Dryad in realistic settings. We proposed a performance model for Dryad implementation of parallel matrix multiplication (PMM) and extend the model to MPI implementations. We conducted experimental analyses in order to verify the correctness of our analytic model on a Windows cluster with up to 400 cores, Azure with up to 100 instances, and Linux cluster with up to 100 nodes. The final results show that our analytic model produces accurate predictions within 5% of the measured results. We proved some cases that using average communication overhead to model performance of parallel matrix multiplication jobs on common HPC clusters is the practical approach.
Maximally entangled coherent states and strong violations of Bell-type inequalities

Recently, Wildfeuer et al. [Phys. Rev. A 76, 052101 (2007)] studied possible experiments demonstrating nonlocal correlation effects through the violation of various Bell-type inequalities by maximally path-entangled number states of the form $(|N⟩|0⟩+{e}^{i\ensuremath{\varphi}}|0⟩|N⟩)/\sqrt{2}$, the so-called $N00N$ states, and some strong violations were found. In this paper, we re-examine the same Bell-type inequalities with respect to maximally path-entangled coherent states of the form $\mathcal{N}({|\ensuremath{\alpha}⟩}_{a}{|0⟩}_{b}+{e}^{i\ensuremath{\Phi}}{|0⟩}_{a}{|\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{ }{e}^{i\ensuremath{\theta}}⟩}_{b})$. We find in many cases even stronger violations of the Bell-type inequalities than appear to be possible with the $N00N$ states.
Public Perceptions of the Midwest’s Pavements: Policies and Thresholds for Pavement Improvement on Rural Two-Lane Highways:

A 5-year, pooled fund study with the Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin departments of transportation assessed the public's perceptions of pavement improvement strategies and developed thresholds of satisfaction using the departments' physical indices, such as pavement ride and condition on rural, two-lane highways in the states. Approximately 3,600 drivers in the three states were involved in the three phases of the project, which included 18 focus groups, 400 statewide surveys in each state, and 2,300 targeted surveys across the three states. A multidisciplinary team from Marquette University and a mass media survey lab conducted the studies. A summary of focus group methods and purposes and a three-state summary of policy and improvement issues are provided. More than 450 highway segments were surveyed in Phase III, with input from 2,300 drivers through a two-step recruitment and postdrive interview. Thresholds of International Roughness Index and condition indices are summarized for the three states. The study found a high degree of trust in the three departments of transportation and public support for building longer-lasting pavements and minimizing delay. A three-step methodology is recommended for other state studies. Physical data thresholds using both public satisfaction and the agreement to improve are presented for each state's physical pavement indices (ride and condition).
Plasma androstenedione and oestrone levels in the climacteric syndrome

Plasma androstenedione (A) and oestrone (E1) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in a group of 78 healthy women who had undergone a natural menopause. Of this total, 23 were symptomless (Group 1), 39 presented with a moderate climacteric syndrome (Group 2) and 16 had a severe climacteric syndrome (Group 3). The average body weight was found to be significantly higher in Groups 2 (P < 0.01) and 3 (P < 0.05), than in Group 1, but the age distribution and number of years since the menopause were similar in all three groups. Nevertheless, significantly lower levels of A (0.75± 0.06 ng/ml, P < 0.01, in Group 2; 0.24 ± 0.05 ng/ml, P < 0.001, in Group 3) and E1 (20.80 ± 2.18 pg/ml, P < 0.05, in Group 2; 12.22 ± 1.65 pg/ml, P < 0.001, in Group 3) were observed in the women with climacteric symptoms than in those with no symptoms (A = 1.08 ± 0.08 ng/ml, E1 = 27.73 ± 2.22 pg/ml in Group 1). Since, after the menopause, the concentrations of A and E1 in the plasma represent the most important source of oestrogens, these results suggest that climacteric symptoms are related to oestrogen deficiency which is secondary to low A production.
An approach to the analysis of the interaction of surface waves with depth-varying current fields

Abstract An approach is developed for the analysis of the interactions of surface waves with depth-varying current fields. The approach is based on an approximate dispersion relation for wave-current interactions derived from the governing equations of the problem (the inviscid Orr-Sommerfeld equations) coupled with the wave kinematic-wave action formulation of surface wave propagation. The approach is particularly useful in that it focuses directly on the wave parameters of interest (the amplitude, frequency, direction, and wavelength of the wave) and eliminates the requirement to solve the inviscid Orr-Sommerfeld equations to derive these parameters. The validity of the approach is demonstrated by comparisons with exact Orr-Sommerfeld solutions.
Biological Progression from Adult Bone Marrow to Mononucleate Muscle Stem Cell to Multinucleate Muscle Fiber in Response to Injury

Adult bone marrow-derived cells (BMDC) are shown to contribute to muscle tissue in a step-wise biological progression. Following irradiation-induced damage, transplanted GFP-labeled BMDC become satellite cells: membrane-ensheathed mononucleate muscle stem cells. Following a subsequent exercise-induced damage, GFP-labeled multinucleate myofibers are detected. Isolated GFP-labeled satellite cells are heritably myogenic. They express three characteristic muscle markers, are karyotypically diploid, and form clones that can fuse into multinucleate cells in culture or into myofibers after injection into mouse muscles. These results suggest that two temporally distinct injury-related signals first induce BMDC to occupy the muscle stem cell niche and then to help regenerate mature muscle fibers. The stress-induced progression of BMDC to muscle satellite cell to muscle fiber results in a contribution to as many as 3.5% of muscle fibers and is due to developmental plasticity in response to environmental cues.
NNGD algorithm for neural adaptive filters

A novel normalised nonlinear gradient descent (NNGD) algorithm for training neural adaptive feedforward filters is presented. The algorithm is based on minimisation of the instantaneous prediction error for contractive activation functions of a neuron, and provides an adaptive learning rate. Normalisation is performed via calculation of the product of the tap input power to the filter and the squared first derivative of the activation function of a neuron. The NNGD algorithm outperforms a gradient based algorithm for use in a neural adaptive filter, as well as the standard least mean squares (LMS) and normalised LMS algorithms. To support the analysis, simulation results on real speech are provided.
Studies of the Formation of Poly(ester rotaxane)s from Diacid Chlorides, Diols, and Crown Ethers and Their Properties

The formation of poly(alkylene sebacate−crown ether pseudorotaxane)s by condensation of linear alkylene diols and sebacoyl chloride in the presence of crown ethers in the neat state has been studied. It was found that the average number of crown ether molecules per repeat unit in the polypseudorotaxane was a function of (a) the ring size and (b) the stoichiometric ratio of macrocycle to diol but independent of (i) the equilibration time of the diol and crown ether prior to addition of the diacid chloride, (ii) the length of the diol, and (iii) the temperature of equilibration and polycondensation. All of these observations are consistent with the involvement of hydrogen bonding between the diol and the crown ether as a driving force for threading, except the lack of temperature dependence. Dethreading of the isolated polypseudorotaxanes was shown to be extremely slow. Therefore, it was reasoned that the lack of temperature dependence was due to dethreading during the polymerization, inasmuch as once the e...
Differential Tuition: A Community College Budgetary Strategy

Community colleges are currently facing the perfect fiscal storm: historical reductions in state appropriations while at the same time experiencing significant enrollment growth. Community college leaders are pondering how to effectively compensate for unprecedented budget cuts while meeting the demands of student access and increasing levels of pressure and accountability with regards to improving student completion. If community colleges are to maintain or exceed their current level of performance and accommodate student access, they need to generate alternative sources of funding. In a national study of state community college systems, six state community college directors indicated that their state's community colleges would utilize a differential tuition model in order to compensate for the loss of state funds. The purpose of the study was to follow-up with those six states to learn how differential tuition models are being utilized among the public community colleges. The lessons from these states p...
Frequency and distribution in the United States of strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with plasmid-mediated, high-level resistance to tetracycline.

Dans cette etude on a caracterise des isolats par la classification en auxotypes/serovars, le taux de plasmides et les types de sensibilite aux bactericides afin d'etudier la distribution et la frequence des souches hautement resistantes a la tetracycline
Generation of high-peak-power 20-fs pulses from a regeneratively initiated, self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser

We report the generation and measurement of 804-nm pulses with durations as short as 20 fs and with peak powers as high as 500 kW from a regeneratively initiated, self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. Pulse duration is shown to decrease, and spectral content to increase, as intracavity power is increased. Control of intracavity focusing and a high-modulation-depth, acousto-optic modulator allow the intracavity power to be maximized. Cavity cubic phase error is minimized by correct design and placement of a group-velocity-dispersion-compensating prism pair.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS APPLICABILITY TO GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEM SOLVING

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be regarded as an attempt to understand the processes of perception and reasoning that underlie successful problem-solving and to incorporate the results of this research in effective computer programs. At present, AI is largely a collection of sophisticated programming techniques. Many of these techniques are based on the premise that the manner in which knowledge is acquired, organized, accessed and modified in both humans and machines provides the basis of “intelligent” decision-making. The techniques of AI are applicable to a wide variety of geographical problems, including the modeling of individual and aggregate decision-making, and the construction of expert systems and “intelligent” geographical information systems.
Eclipse kinetics as a probe of quaternary structure in bacteriophage φX174

The extracellular form of bacteriophage phi X174 consists of single-stranded DNA within an icosahedral capsid, which has short spikes at each of its vertices. Each spike is composed of gene G and H proteins, while the capsid itself consists of gene F protein. Since several molecules of gene H protein are injected into the cell along with the DNA, specific protein--protein and DNA--protein interactions must be broken when the genome exits and leaves an intact capsid structure at the receptor site. To demonstrate this we examined the eclipse (DNA ejection) reaction with two types of phi X174 mutants. The first contains missense mutations in a capsid or spike protein gene, and the second involves insertions or deletions in non-coding regions of the DNA. Using an improved procedure, the eclipse rate in vivo of the eclipse mutants Fcs70 has been redetermined over a larger temperature range than in previous studies. The three- to fivefold decrease in rate between 37 degrees C and 25 degrees C is due to an increase in both the enthalpy and entropy of activation when compared to the wild-type values of these kinetic parameters. This missence mutation also confers an increase in virus stability in 2 to 3 M-urea. In contrast to this, inserting 163 bases into the length of DNA packaged within the phi X174 capsid does not lead to a detectable change in eclipse rate over the same temperature range. yet this insertion into the J--F intercistronic region imparts a significant decrease in virus stability in urea. These results suggest that a specific set of non-covalent interactions is involved in phi X174 DNA ejection. This is supported by the small (50%), but significant, increase in eclipse rate that occurs when 27 bases are deleted from the J--F intercistronic region. The latter effect must be base-sequence-specific since no change in rate is observed when only seven of the 27 bases are deleted. Thus, the kinetics of the phi X174 eclipse reaction can be used as a sensitive probe of quaternary structure by correlating the change in reaction rate with alterations in amino acid and base sequences in the structural components of the virus.
Sleep and sadness: Exploring the relation among sleep, cognitive control, and depressive symptoms in young adults

Background: Sleep disturbance is a common feature of depression. However, recent work has found that individuals who are vulnerable to depression report poorer sleep quality compared to their low-risk counterparts, suggesting that sleep disturbance may precede depression. In addition, both sleep disturbance and depression are related to deficits in cognitive control processes. Thus we examined if poor sleep quality predicts subsequent increases in depressive symptoms and if levels of cognitive control mediated this relation. Methods: Thirty-five undergraduate students participated in two experimental sessions separated by 3 weeks. Participants wore an actigraph watch between sessions, which provided an objective measure of sleep patterns. We assessed self-reported sleep quality and depressive symptoms at both sessions. Last, individuals completed an exogenous cuing task, which measured ability to disengage attention from neutral and negative stimuli during the second session. Results: Using path analyses, we found that both greater self-reported sleep difficulty and more objective sleep stability measures significantly predicted greater difficulty disengaging attention (i.e., less cognitive control) from negative stimuli. Less cognitive control over negative stimuli in turn predicted increased depression symptoms at the second session. Exploratory associations among the circadian locomotor output cycles kaput gene, CLOCK, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs11932595, as well as sleep assessments and depressive symptoms also are presented. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that sleep disruptions may contribute to increases in depressive symptoms via their impact on cognitive control. Further, variation in the CLOCK gene may be associated with sleep quality.
Design and testing of a compact diode-laser-based differential absorption lidar (DIAL) for water vapor profiling in the lower troposphere

A compact, widely tunable semiconductor based water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL) has been built and tested at Montana State University (MSU). The laser transmitter uses a tunable external cavity diode laser (ECDL) with a center wavelength of 830 nm to injection seed two cascaded tapered semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), producing 1.5 micro joule pulses at a pulse repetition rate and pulse width duration of 20 kHz and 1000 ns respectively, allowing for water vapor number density retrievals up to approximately 4 km. Water vapor number density profiles collected with the MSU water vapor DIAL will be compared with co-located radiosonde measurements, demonstrating the instruments ability to measure daytime and nighttime water vapor profiles in the lower troposphere.
5.3.2 Design of the Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron for the U.S. Army's Interim Brigade Combat Team

The primary source of battlespace intelligence for the U.S. Army's proposed Interim Brigade Combat Team (BCT) is the Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) Squadron. The fundamental role of the RSTA Squadron is to provide detailed situational understanding to the BCT Commander facilitating freedom of maneuver and the concentration of combat power at the decisive time and place. Technologically advanced systems should substantially enhance RSTA Squadron operations. Among the proposed systems in the Squadron are the Future Scout and Cavalry System (FSCS), tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (TUAV), ground-based networked sensors (acoustic, seismic, magnetic, infrared, radio frequency), radio frequency (RF) detectors, and nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) reconnaissance systems. This paper outlines the process used to date for designing the RSTA Squadron and proposes an alternative approach: a systems engineering methodology to formulate, analyze and interpret RSTA Squadron design alternatives.