cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Behavioral economics: An overview

This article reviews the emerging literature in behavioral economics from the standpoint of discoveries of interest to business practitioners. Behavioral economics is a new branch of the discipline which has become prominent only within the last decade. In spite of its short life span, behavioral economics has already produced insights into consumer behavior, the behavior of labor, managerial behavior and business ethics. The major findings are covered in this article.
Considering individuals in the new genetic era

Abstract Genetics Society and Clinical Practice by Peter S. Harper and Angus J. Clarke Bios Scientific Publishers, 1997. £19.95 pbk (ix +253 pages) ISBN 1 85996 206 8
[14C]Glucose metabolism in sympathetic ganglia of chicken embryos and in primary cultures of neurons and of other cells from these ganglia.

: Metabolism of [1-14C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose was measured in sympathetic ganglia excised from chicken embryos 12–16 days old and in primary cultures of neurons or nonneurons prepared from these ganglia. Some metabolic rates tended to change with the tissue/medium ratio, so this variable had to be controlled. Less C-6 than C-1 of glucose was put out in CO2 by all three types of preparations, indicating operation of the hexosemonophosphate shunt. The C-6/C-1 ratio was greater for the neuronal cultures and for intact ganglia than for the nonneuronal cultures. The C-6/C-1 ratio for the neurons increased with the amount of tissue added to a given volume of incubation medium, in agreement with previous experiments on embryonic dorsal root ganglia (Larrabee, 1978). Per unit of protein, the output of C-1 of glucose in CO2 was higher in both the neuronal and the nonneuronal cultures than in intact ganglia, whereas that of C-6 was higher in the neuronal cultures and lower in the nonneuronal ones than in the ganglia. The rates of release in lactate of C-1 and C-6 of glucose were 3–5 times higher from both types of cultures than from intact ganglia. The average rates of incorporation of C-1 and C-6 of glucose into tissue constituents were lower in the cultures than in intact ganglia, significantly so for incorporation of C-6 in the nonneuronal cultures.
Parameterization of cirrus cloud formation in large‐scale models: Homogeneous nucleation

[1] This work presents a new physically based parameterization of cirrus cloud formation for use in large-scale models which is robust, computationally efficient, and links chemical effects (e.g., water activity and water vapor deposition effects) with ice formation via homogenous freezing. The parameterization formulation is based on ascending parcel theory and provides expressions for the ice crystal size distribution and the crystal number concentration, explicitly considering the effects of aerosol size and number, updraft velocity, and deposition coefficient. The parameterization is evaluated against a detailed numerical cirrus cloud parcel model (developed during this study), the equations of which are solved using a novel Lagrangian particle-tracking scheme. Over a broad range of cirrus-forming conditions, the parameterization reproduces the results of the parcel model within a factor of 2 and with an average relative error of −15%. If numerical model simulations are used to constrain the parameterization, error further decreases to 1 ± 28%.
Weak mass splittings

Abstract The lowest order contributions to weak mass splittings of soft pseudoscalar mesons are calculated using the SU(3) × SU(3) algebra. The most divergent terms cancel in all cases considered; in the special case of the Cabibbo theory, the mass splittings vanish identically.
Resistance Changes in Lipid Bilayers: Immunological Applications

The electrical resistance of a bimolecular lipid membrane in 0.1 molar NaCl decreases if antibody and complement are present on one side of the membrane and the homologous antigen is added to the other side. The reaction occurs within minutes and requires less than 0.1 microliter of antiserum.
Crystal to Crystal Guest Exchange in a Mixed Ligand Metal−Organic Framework

The occluded solvent in a mixed ligand metal−organic framework has been displaced by n-hexanol, chloroform, and nitrobenzene in a crystal to crystal guest exchange. The X-ray structures of the three new solvent adducts of Zn2NDC2DPNI2 reveal the complete replacement of N′,N-dimethylformamide with the new guest. Structural changes to the framework geometry in response to the size of the incoming guest are also exhibited. These new frameworks are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis coupled with infrared spectroscopy, and cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR.
Using liability insurance to manage risk

Librarians face considerable liability exposure, especially from employment actions, simple personal injury negligence actions, and from perceived violations of constitutional rights. Explains why and how liability insurance can be used in managing such risk, when liability insurance is needed, and compares four sample policies.
Constructing Community Through Refuse Disposal

Unlike archaeologists working in Europe, Southwest Asia, and North America, Africanists have been slow to explore links between culturally structured, everyday practices, and refuse disposal, remaining inclined to view all “midden” accumulations as undifferentiated deposits. However, African ethnographic cases and archaeological researches elsewhere demonstrate that such accumulations can be highly selective and culturally structured compositions. This paper reviews examples that have shown cultural structure in the disposition of spent items. It then explores African ethnographic and archaeological cases, one from Niger and three from East Africa, in which handling of culinary artifacts and products may reveal links between household and community through habitual acts of refuse placement.
Detecting Undesirable Interactions in Robust Design Experiments

Interactions among control factors in robust design experiments are generally thought to be undesirable. Measures are normally taken to avoid or accommodate interactions in these studies. However, this article depicts these measures to be insufficient a..
Least-Squares Penalty-Constraint Finite Element Method For Generating Strain Fields From Moire Fringe Patterns

An essential phase in moire techniques is the generation of strain fields from optical fringe patterns. In this effort we explore a finite element method based upon a new least-squares penalty-constraint variational principle, which will be shown to be extremely effective in producing accurate, two-dimensional displacement and strain fields over the full-fringe domain. The approach encompasses the full-field analyses of optical fringes, which include: (1) an effective and theoretically sound noise filtering/smoothing and differentiating of the optical intensity fringes, from which displacement fringes are accurately determined, (2) subsequent smoothing/differentiating of the displacement fringes, producing continuous displacement and strain fields of high quality, (3) computational efficiency, (4) the ability to routinely process distorted mismatch fields which occur, for example, with large fields of view, avoiding the need for any special care to eliminate such distortion, (5) ease of implementation within a conventional finite element program. Several examples are carried out which demonstrate the attractiveness of the methodology.
Mechanics of propulsion by multiple fins: kinematics of aquatic locomotion in the burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)

Locomotion in tetraodontiform fishes (puffers and relatives) involves the use of multiple fins for propulsion during swimming. A variety of tertraodontiform swimming modes have been defined, but the contributions of pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins to the propulsion in these fish remain largely unknown. We used video analysis to study swimming behaviour of the striped burrfish ( Chilomycterus schoepfi ). Burrfish swam in a flow tank at speeds of 0.5–6.3 standard body lengths per second, during which all fins oscillated at all speeds. The oscillation frequency range of all fins was 2.1–9.2 Hz, increasing with velocity. Pectoral fins were always out of phase, usually by 180 degrees (alternate left and right beats). Reduced frequency parameters for all fins were high (0.65–12.1) indicating that acceleration reaction is the dominant mechanism of thrust. Phase lag between anal and caudal fins assumed three distinct states which suggests that burrfishes alter the patterns of fin motion in discrete stages analogous to gaits. Rapid oscillation of five fins in various degrees of asynchrony is a mechanism to produce relatively constant thrust from multiple periodic motions.
The equivalence between the free bulging process and the uniaxial tensile test

Abstract Bulge forming, in which the material undergoes biaxial tensile stress, is the most widely applied superplastic forming method, whilst the uniaxial tensile test, in which the material undergoes only uniaxial tensile stress, is the most common material test-method. The superplastic parameters of the material as measured in the uniaxial tensile test cannot be used to establish the technological parameters for pneumatic bulge forming — for instance, the optimal variation in the pneumatic pressure during the process and the limit to which forming can be carried out — due to the differences in the two stress states. In this paper, the equivalent relationships between pneumatic bulge forming and the uniaxial tensile test are determined, from which relationships the limiting ratio of the current area to the original area of the component can be established. The experimental results in this paper show that theory and practice are in very good agreement.
Fundamentals of pain perception in animals

Abstract Pain is mediated by functionally distinctive components. It may involve acute high threshold afferent stimuli (thermal, mechanical or chemically damaged tissue), protracted afferent input (long-lasting hyperalgesia) or low-threshold input (allodynia as related to pain from light touch). Behavioral patterns will be associated with the effects of noxious stimulus on excitatory transmitters. Humane studies using mechanical, thermal (cold pressor test), audio-evoked potentials, or other noxious stimuli during anesthesia and analgesia provide clues to perception of pain in animals and help us determine guidelines for the clinical relief of animal pain. There is a better understanding of cutaneous somatosensory responses than for deep sensation (e.g., subcutaneous tissue, muscle, bone, viscera). The prevention or treatment of pain can best be accomplished when there is a diagnosis of the neuroanatomical distribution of the pain based on evidence of sensory dysfunction involving a peripheral nerve, plexus, nerve root or central pathway using different modalities for quantitative sensory testing. Anatomical studies have demonstrated that unmyelinated primary afferent fibers contain a variety of neuroactive substances which may be released by high-intensity peripheral stimulation. Fast depolarization of the dorsal horn nociresponsive neurons is mediated by tissue damage. These neuroreceptors may be activated by glutamate, substance P, and neurokinin A. The major ascending pathway relaying nociceptive information relating to pain is the spinothalamic tract. Most of the neurons in this tract are nociceptive or thermoreceptive. The thalamus is the final relay nucleus for all the sensory systems, except olfactory tissue. Injury or disease processes in deeper tissue or visceral areas with extensive innervation may result in pain thresholds not adequately controlled by current available analgesics or at their recommended dosage levels. These issues are complex and diagnosis is even more difficult due to species and breed differences in outward expression to painful insult. Medications can now be targeted for specific receptors.
Scent marking as resource defense by female Lemur catta.

Because ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) are a female-dominant, female-philopatric species in which the females provide the majority of parental care and troop defense, resource defense is a possible function of female lemur scent marking. To test this hypothesis, I conducted three studies. First, I presented captive, individually housed females with a series of samples of female scent, each from a different female, to determine whether they would respond to those samples and discriminate between them. Second, I reanalyzed data from a focal animal study of four females in two adjacent troops in Berenty Reserve, Madagascar, to determine female marking rates before, during, and after the mating season, and to clarify the relationship among positions of feeding, intertroop defense, and scent marking. The third study was based on ad libitum observations of the sniffing and marking behavior of a troop in Berenty Reserve during a year when they traveled far out of their home range. The females in study 1 investigated female scent samples but provided no evidence that they discriminated between them. In study 2 the wild females marked throughout the study and did not limit their marking to the mating season. They deposited significantly more of their marks in a zone of confrontation with adjacent troops, where they also did the majority of their feeding, and they increased their rate of marking during agonistic intertroop confrontations. The females determined the positions of their scent marks and deposited the first mark in the majority of countermarking sequences. When the females traveled out of their defended range in study 3, they significantly decreased their rate of marking and increased their rate of sniffing spots but not marking them. All evidence gathered so far supports the hypothesis that one function of female ring-tailed lemur scent marking is to provide intergroup information that is then used to reinforce the border of the defended resource. Am. J. Primatol. 68:605–621, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Time-dependent many-electron phenomena in quantum molecular dynamics

An overview of work on electronic rearrangement in molecular collisions and in particular on combining time-dependent many-electron theory and eikonal methods for nuclear motions is presented. Special attention is given to the time scales present in atomic interactions with kinetic energies from a fraction of an eV to 10 keV, of interest in molecular collisions, atomic collisions with surfaces and transient spectra of electronically excited atoms in a medium. The treatment uses basis sets of travelling atomic orbitals, also adapted for the study of magnetic effects in molecules as gauge origin invariant atomic orbitals. An efficient computational approach to the time evolution of the systems, the relax-and-drive propagation method, is described. Brief descriptions are given of the connection with other approaches suitable for transient phenomena in molecular interactions.
LaNb2O6Cl: A new lanthanum halo niobate

Abstract LaNb2O6Cl has been prepared by the interaction of LaOCl and Nb2O5. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with a = 9.752, b = 7.306, c = 8.365 A , and the structure was refined to an R value of 1.9%. The most unusual feature of the structure is the participation of one Cl atom in the octahedral environment of Nb(2) combined with one short NbO distance.
Electroluminescence from light-emitting polymer/ZnO nanoparticle heterojunctions at sub-bandgap voltages

Summary The turn-on voltage of a light-emitting diode is generally equal to or greater than its bandgap voltage (or the bandgap energy divided by the electron charge). In contrast, we have found that electroluminescence at sub-bandgap voltages can be observed in polymer light-emitting devices with a heterojunction based on ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). This sub-bandgap electroluminescence is attributed to an Auger-assisted energy up-conversion process at the polymer/ZnO NPs interface, the observation of which depends strongly on the size of the nanoparticles.
Avalanches and Incrementalism Making Policy and Budgets in the United States

Incrementalism is the dominant theory for explaining government decisions about policy and budgets, but it is of little use in explaining the large-scale budget changes and policy redirections that are actually observed. This article reviews recent efforts to explain both large and small changes in government decision making, and argues that punctuated equilibrium theory offers a better way of relating politics, government institutions, and policies. This new theory incorporates both incrementalism and large-scale changes into its view of government as a complex, interactive system. Extending the new theory specifically to budgeting produces the avalanche budget model, which traces how a government of different levels and processes generates both the stability and upsets found today in policies and budgets. Major changes are now and have been much more common in government policies and budgets than previously imagined, and this article examines some of the implications of that finding.
c-Fos protein expression is increased in cholinergic neurons of the rodent basal forebrain during spontaneous and induced wakefulness

It has been proposed that cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain (BF) may play a role in vigilance state control. Since not all vigilance states have been studied, we evaluated cholinergic neuronal activation levels across spontaneously occurring states of vigilance, as well as during sleep deprivation and recovery sleep following sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation was performed for 2 h at the beginning of the light (inactive) period, by means of gentle sensory stimulation. In the rodent BF, we used immunohistochemical detection of the c-Fos protein as a marker for activation, combined with labeling for choline acetyl-transferase (ChAT) as a marker for cholinergic neurons. We found c-Fos activation in BF cholinergic neurons was highest in the group undergoing sleep deprivation (12.9% of cholinergic neurons), while the spontaneous wakefulness group showed a significant increase (9.2%), compared to labeling in the spontaneous sleep group (1.8%) and a sleep deprivation recovery group (0.8%). A subpopulation of cholinergic neurons expressed c-Fos during spontaneous wakefulness, when possible confounds of the sleep deprivation procedure were minimized (e.g., stress and sensory stimulation). Double-labeling in the sleep deprivation treatment group was significantly elevated in select subnuclei of the BF (medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band, horizontal limb of the diagonal band, and the magnocellular preoptic nucleus), when compared to spontaneous wakefulness. These findings support and provide additional confirming data of previous reports that cholinergic neurons of BF play a role in vigilance state regulation by promoting wakefulness.
Continuous Operation of Microfabricated Electrophoresis Devices for 24 Hours and Application to Chemical Monitoring of Living Cells

Microchip electrophoresis is an emerging analytical technology with several useful attributes including rapid separation time, small sample requirements, and automation. In numerous potential applications, such as chemical monitoring or high-throughput screening, it may be desirable to use a system for many analyses without operator intervention; however, long-term operation of microchip electrophoresis systems has received little attention. We have developed a microchip electrophoresis system that can automatically inject samples at 6 s intervals for 24 h resulting in collection of 14 400 assays in one session. Continuous operation time of a prototype of the device was limited to 2 h due to degradation of reagents and electrophoresis buffers on the chip; however, modification so that all reagents were continuously perfused into reservoirs on the device ensured fresh reagents were always used for analysis and enabled extended operating sessions. The electrophoresis chip incorporated a cell perfusion chamb...
p75 neurotrophin receptor and fenretinide-induced signaling in neuroblastoma.

Purpose Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. The retinoic acid analogue, fenretinide (4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide; 4-HPR), induces apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells in vitro and is currently in clinical trials for children with refractory neuroblastoma. We have previously shown that expression of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) enhances apoptosis induction and mitochondrial accumulation of reactive oxygen species by 4-HPR in neuroblastoma cells. We now examine the signaling events that underlie this effect.
Ketorolac suppresses postoperative bladder spasms after pediatric ureteral reimplantation.

UNLABELLED We evaluated the efficacy of ketorolac in suppressing postoperative bladder spasms after ureteroneocystostomy (ureteral reimplantation). Twenty-four pediatric patients undergoing intravesical ureteroneocystostomy were enrolled prospectively to receive either ketorolac or placebo via double-blinded randomization. Twelve patients in each group shared similar preoperative characteristics. All were maintained on an epidural infusion of bupivacaine (0.1%) with fentanyl (2 microg/mL) throughout the study. Patients were given either ketorolac (0.5 mg. kg(-1). dose(-1)) or placebo (equivalent volume saline) IV after surgery and every 6 h thereafter for 48 h. Parents were instructed to record bladder spasm episodes prospectively by using a standardized time-flow diary. Three patients (25%) in the ketorolac group experienced bladder spasms, compared with 10 patients (83%) in the placebo group (two-sided P < 0.05). The median severity score for the ketorolac group was 1.2 (mild = 1.0, severe = 3.0), compared with 2.6 for the placebo group (P = 0.003). We conclude that IV ketorolac reduces the frequency and severity of postoperative bladder spasms after intravesical ureteroneocystostomy. IMPLICATIONS We studied the efficacy of ketorolac, a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, in the treatment of bladder spasm after ureteroneocystostomy (antireflux operation). Patients were randomized in a double-blinded manner to receive either ketorolac or placebo after the surgery. We demonstrate that ketorolac reduces the frequency and severity of postoperative bladder spasm.
Excito-oscillatory dynamics as a mechanism of ventricular fibrillation

Background The instabilities associated with reentrant spiral waves are of paramount importance to the initiation and maintenance of tachyarrhythmias, especially ventricular fibrillation (VF). In addition to tissue heterogeneities, there are only a few basic purported mechanisms of spiral wave breakup, most notably restitution. Objective We test the hypothesis that oscillatory membrane properties act to destabilize spiral waves. Methods We recorded transmembrane potential ( V m ) from isolated rabbit myocytes using a constant current stimulation protocol. We developed a mathematical model that included both the stable excitable equilibrium point at resting V m (−80 mV) and the unstable oscillatory equilibrium point at elevated V m (−10 mV). Spiral wave dynamics were studied in 2-dimensional grids using variants of the model. Results All models showed restitution and reproduced the experimental values of transmembrane resistance at rest and during the action potential plateau. Stable spiral waves were observed when the model showed only 1 equilibrium point. However, spatio-temporal complexity was observed if the model showed both excitable and oscillatory equilibrium points (i.e., excito-oscillatory models). The initial wave breaks resulted from oscillatory waves expanding in all directions; after a few beats, the patterns were characterized by a combination of unstable spiral waves and target patterns consistent with the patterns observed on the heart surface during VF. In our model, this VF-like activity only occurred when the single cell period of V m oscillations was within a specific range. Conclusion The VF-like patterns observed in our excito-oscillatory models could not be explained by the existing proposed instability mechanisms. Our results introduce the important suggestion that membrane dynamics responsible for V m oscillations at elevated V m levels can destabilize spiral waves and thus may be a novel therapeutic target for preventing VF.
Representation in design: data from engineering journals

Since Fall 2000, mechanical engineering students at Montana State University (USA) have been required to keep design journals of their senior design projects. The journals are being used now to investigate student design processes. of particular interest is the representations students use to reason about their design problems at different levels of abstraction. The faculty developed a scheme to code the journal data by three design levels (concept, system, and detail) and have applied it to six the team projects (21 individual journals). They then performed a frequency analysis of the different representational forms for design information found in the students' design journals. This paper describes the coding scheme and development, and reports some preliminary findings from the analysis.
Proper and Improper Use of Statistics in Geophysics

A discussion of some of the peculiarities of the geophysical sciences together with their implications for statistical methods, particularly for the correlation coefficient, is given. The discussion is illustrated by an analysis of a recently published paper. In conclusion some advice on the use of correlations is offered. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1957.tb01897.x
An Empirical Study on Estimating Motions in Video Stabilization

The objective of video stabilization is to remove undesirable motion effects so that only intentional motion effects are retained. The primary benefit of video stabilization is to improve video quality. We present an empirical study that addresses some important practical issues on estimating motions in the development of video stabilization applications. Specifically, we use synthetic test data to investigate the performance of the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi algorithm. Our contributions include the following. First, We propose a measure, "average pixel deviation" (APD), to directly assess the accuracy of estimated motion parameters in comparison to true motion parameters, which is capable of overcoming some shortcomings of measures used in previous performance studies. Second, a practical issue of error accumulation often arises during the estimation of motion between frames, which has not been addressed in the previous studies to the best of our knowledge. We propose a novel periodic correction strategy, which is capable of effectively reducing error accumulation.
Modeling and analysis of power in multicore network processors

With the emergence of multicore network processors in support of high-performance computing and networking applications, power consumption has become a problem of increasing significance. Lower-power multicore processors, such as the Intel IXP network processors, have been employed in network devices to try to address this problem; however, effective tools are still needed to assist in the exploration of the "performance versus power" design space. In this paper, we present a composite power model that simultaneously leverages three existing power-modeling tools (Cacti, Wattch, and Orion) to model the power consumption of Intel IXP2400. This model is then integrated with an open-source Intel IXP2400 NP simulator called NePSim2 and validated against its datasheet to within 5% of actual power consumption. We utilize the simulator and power model to explore how architectural parameters affect the performance and power consumption of a set of high-performance security applications, thus delivering valuable insights to chip architects for designing energy-efficient multicore network processors.
Measuring Teaching Effectiveness—or Not

Faculty in the present-day academic medicine environment are expected to perform multiple functions, notably, the provision of high-quality teaching to the medical professionals of tomorrow. However, evaluating the effectiveness of this teaching is particularly difficult. Student evaluations of teaching, despite their many flaws, are widely used as a convenient tool to measure teaching effectiveness. Administrators continue to routinely use student evaluation of teaching surveys in faculty retention/promotion and merit pay decisions. This practice should be reevaluated since it may have unintended consequences, such as grade inflation and content debasement, and may contribute to faculty leaving the institution and even the profession. A more valid, reliable, and formative protocol for the evaluation of genuine teaching effectiveness needs to be developed as a matter of some urgency. In this review, alternatives to the student evaluation of teaching are explored to better measure true teaching effectiveness.
Sole-Search: an integrated analysis program for peak detection and functional annotation using ChIP-seq data

Next-generation sequencing is revolutionizing the identification of transcription factor binding sites throughout the human genome. However, the bioinformatics analysis of large datasets collected using chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput sequencing is often a roadblock that impedes researchers in their attempts to gain biological insights from their experiments. We have developed integrated peak-calling and analysis software (Sole-Search) which is available through a user-friendly interface and (i) converts raw data into a format for visualization on a genome browser, (ii) outputs ranked peak locations using a statistically based method that overcomes the significant problem of false positives, (iii) identifies the gene nearest to each peak, (iv) classifies the location of each peak relative to gene structure, (v) provides information such as the number of binding sites per chromosome and per gene and (vi) allows the user to determine overlap between two different experiments. In addition, the program performs an analysis of amplified and deleted regions of the input genome. This software is web-based and automated, allowing easy and immediate access to all investigators. We demonstrate the utility of our software by collecting, analyzing and comparing ChIP-seq data for six different human transcription factors/cell line combinations.
An Ethical Framework for Engineering Faculty: Motivation, Examples & Discussion

Engineering faculty address ethics from two perspectives. The first is as required content related to the ABET outcome that engineering graduates will have an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility. The second is as practitioners who face a range of ethical dilemmas and challenges, from plagiarism to “passenger” team members to professional relationships with colleagues to responsible conduct of their own research. As faculty members and professionals, we have multiple guides, including the recently adopted ASEE Code of Ethics (http://www.asee.org/member-resources/resources/Code_of_Ethics.pdf), however, there is still a need to examine frameworks and develop skills in both practicing and teaching professional and ethical responsibility. This presentation and paper will present a framework used at multiple institutions and previously presented at the national conference by Bates & Loui (2013). The approach starts with identifying stakeholders, gathering information and considering alternative actions and consequences. These actions are then evaluated with a series of tests related to basic ethical values: Harm test: Do the benefits outweigh the harms, short term and long term? Reversibility test: Would this choice still look good if I traded places? Common practice test: What if everyone behaved in this way? Legality test: Would this choice violate a law or a policy of my employer? Colleague test: What would professional colleagues say? Wise relative test: What would my wise old aunt or uncle do? Mirror test: Would I feel proud of myself when I look into the mirror? Publicity test: How would this choice look on the front page of a newspaper? Interactive discussion will include ways this approach has been used in multidisciplinary STEM classes and ways it can be used by faculty to support reflection on their own practice. The paper and presentation will also include links to supporting resources such as NAE’s growing Online Ethics Center and the Ethics CORE (Collaborative Online Resource Environment) portal.
A CREDIBLE PATHWAY FOR HEAVY ION DRIVEN TARGET FABRICATION AND INJECTION

The Target Fabrication Facility (TFF) of an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant must supply about 500,000 targets per day. The target is injected into the target chamber at a rate of 5-10 Hz and tracked precisely so the heavy ion driver beams can be directed to the target. The feasibility of developing successful fabrication and injection methodologies at the low cost required for energy production (about $0.25/target, approximately 10 4 times less than current costs) is a critical issue for inertial fusion energy. A significant program is underway to develop the high-volume methods to supply economical IFE targets. This article reviews the requirements for heavy ion driven IFE target fabrication and injection, and presents the current status of and results from the development program. For the first time, an entire pathway from beginning to end is outlined for fabrication of a high-gain, distributed radiator target. A significant development and scale-up program will be necessary to implement this pathway for mass production of IFE targets.
Outcome of unplanned right ventricular assist device support for severe right heart failure after implantable left ventricular assist device insertion.

Background The use of a right ventricular assist device (RVAD) becomes necessary for severe right ventricular (RV) failure after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) insertion. Although temporary support could lead to successful RVAD weaning in certain patients, the data remain scarce. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 398 patients who underwent implantable LVAD insertion between January 2000 and December 2012. Of these patients, 44 (11%) required unplanned RVAD support due to severe RV failure after LVAD insertion. For comparison, 37 patients who underwent planned biventricular assist device (BiVAD) insertion were identified during the same study period. We analyzed the early and late outcomes in these patients. Results The mean duration of RVAD support was 21 ± 23 days. Of the 44 patients, 21 (49%) were weaned from the RVAD (weaning group), whereas 23 (51%) required continued biventricular support (failure group). The failure group had ongoing end-organ dysfunction after RVAD insertion. Hospital mortality was significantly lower in the weaning group (24%) and in the planned BiVAD group (30%) as compared to the failure group (74%, p = 0.0009). The 6-month actuarial survival rate was 75% in the weaning group, 62% in the planned BiVAD group and 13% in the failure group ( p p = 0.03). On multivariate logistic regression analyses, pre-operative white blood cell (odds ratio [OR] 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04 to 1.50, p = 0.016) and creatinine (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.079 to 0.88, p = 0.03) levels were significant predictors for RVAD removal. Conclusions Among patients who developed acute RV failure after LVAD insertion, only half could be weaned from the temporary RVAD support. An alternative strategy is necessary in patients who require continuous RVAD support.
Phenotypic plasticity in adult life-history strategies compensates for a poor start in life in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata).

Abstract: Low food availability during early growth and development can have long‐term negative consequences for reproductive success. Phenotypic plasticity in adult life‐history decisions may help to mitigate these potential costs, yet adult life‐history responses to juvenile food conditions remain largely unexplored. I used a food‐manipulation experiment with female Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to examine age‐related changes in adult life‐history responses to early food conditions, whether these responses varied across different adult food conditions, and how these responses affected overall reproductive success. Guppy females reared on low food as juveniles matured at a later age, at a smaller size, and with less energy reserves than females reared on high food as juveniles. In response to this setback, they changed their investment in growth, reproduction, and fat storage throughout the adult stage such that they were able to catch up in body size, increase their reproductive output, and ...
Social-mobile applications

Mobile communications devices and applications are primarily designed to increase efficiency and productivity for professionals on the go. However, users invariably appropriate such technology to meet their social needs as well. For many people, particularly younger users, BlackBerry devices, Hiptops, and other handhelds primarily have a social function. A few small companies are beginning to exploit the growing demand for social-mobile applications, also known as mobile social-software services. One of the most popular MoSoSos applications is dodgeball, a New York-based social-mobile network. Dodgeball users also can broadcast messages, or "shout," to those in their network.
Revisiting the Divergence Minimization Feedback Model

Pseudo-relevance feedback (PRF) has proven to be an effective strategy for improving retrieval accuracy. In this paper, we revisit a PRF method based on statistical language models, namely the divergence minimization model (DMM). DMM not only has apparently sound theoretical foundation, but also has been shown to satisfy most of the retrieval constraints. However, it turns out to perform surprisingly poorly in many previous experiments. We investigate the cause, and reveal that DMM inappropriately tackles the entropy of the feedback model, which generates highly skewed feedback model. To address this problem, we propose a maximum-entropy divergence minimization model (MEDMM) by introducing an entropy term to regularize DMM. Our experiments on various TREC collections demonstrate that MEDMM not only works much better than DMM, but also outperforms several other state of the art PRF methods, especially on web collections. Moreover, unlike existing PRF models that have to be combined with the original query to perform well, MEDMM can work effectively even without being combined with the original query.
Potential Vorticity Diagnosis of the Severe Convective Regime. Part III: The Hesston Tornado Outbreak

Nonlinear balance potential vorticity (PV) inversion is used to diagnose the sensitivity of the severe convective parameter space to the amplitude of a subsynoptic-scale PV anomaly on 13 March 1990, a day on which a significant tornado outbreak impacted the Great Plains. PV surgery is used to both amplify and remove the PV anomaly, and the contemporaneous impact on various convective parameters is subsequently quantified by using piecewise PV inversion to compute the changes in those parameters attributable to each PV alteration. It is found that amplifying the anomaly increases the CAPE by amounts typically ranging from 20% to 30% within the atmospheric columns experiencing the maximum PV increase. Ascent is increased slightly downshear of the PV anomaly, consistent with extant conceptual models governing synoptic-scale forcing for vertical motion. Amplifying the PV anomaly increases deep-layer shear over the southern half of the outbreak region and reduces storm-relative helicity over the northern half, primarily through changes in the estimated storm motion vector. Removing the anomaly produces complementary changes of the opposite sign. Thresholds of several commonly used convective parameters are chosen on the basis of prior empirical studies, and the horizontal displacement of these threshold contours produced by the PV alterations reveals that relatively modest subsynoptic-scale PV changes would not likely change the predominant convective mode during the Hesston outbreak.
Introduction: The Second Annual International Conference Promoting Business Ethics

The articles in this special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics were selected from papers presented at the Second Annual International Conference Promoting Business Ethics sponsored by DePaul University (Chicago), Niagara University (Niagara) and St. John’s University (New York). Hosted by St. John’s at the Warwick Hotel in Manhattan, November 3–4, 1995, the conference reflected a diversity of disciplines and approaches to research, study, and teaching business ethics: philosophy, accounting, theology, marketing, management, finance. Its national and international character was reflected by scholars from Japan, Italy, Australia, Finland, and throughout the United States, discussing business ethics in formal meetings and informal gatherings.
Interprofessional approach to ethical issues

Most of us in the academic world and even in the professional world, no matter what our field of expertise, are accustomed to first elaborating our theory and then spelling out its implications for practice. However, many professionals actively engaged in practice recognize that experience and insight gained in practice frequently modify the theoretical assumptions under which they operate. Indeed, in an interprofessional course on ethical issues, which brings together representatives of various helping professions in a discussion of certain human dilemmas, the development of thought and insights begins with at least a simulation of practice. As interprofessional groups gather around case studies and struggle for an ethical response to human need, they experience insights that force them to clarify their own assumptions both as persons and as professionals. This kind of experience in the simulation of practice also forces clarification of how we formulate ethical theory in general. The ensuing clarification of personal beliefs, professional perspectives, and ethical theory should, in turn, have an impact on future practice. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how this dialectic plays itself out in an interprofessional approach to ethical issues and how this constitutes a benefit both to
Venocclusive Disease of the Liver after Bone Marrow Transplantation: Diagnosis, Incidence, and Predisposing Factors

Venocclusive disease (VOD) of the liver, a fibrous obliteration of small hepatic venules, can be caused by chemoradiation therapy. We reviewed 255 consecutive patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation for malignancy during 1978 to 1980 in order to determine the incidence of VOD and the predisposing factors. Fifty-three of 255 patients met our criteria for VOD, for an incidence of 21%. Multivariate analysis showed that the most significant risk factors for VOD were age over 15, an underlying malignancy other than acute lymphocytic leukemia and hepatitis prior to transplantation. Patients with hepatitis had a 3.4-fold risk of developing VOD, as compared to patients with normal SGOT values (p = 0.0004). Hepatitis in this setting is probably of non-A, non-B viral etiology and represents a relative contraindication to marrow transplantation because of enhanced toxicity from conditioning chemoradiotherapy.
Antiplane of elastic symmetry

In this chapter we show how the presence of an antiplane of elastic symmetry (6.5) permits the reduction of antiplane problems concerning anisotropic material to corresponding problems concerning isotropic material.
Registries and Randomized Trials in Assessing the Effects of Bevacizumab in Colorectal Cancer: Is There a Common Theme?

Results (SEER) – based analysis of bevacizumab in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Given the large number of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have been treated with bevacizumab— on and off clinical trials—there is now the potential to compare outcomes among multiple data sets. To the authors’ credit, SEER data sets can now be added to that list. These findings are particularly important if they truly reflect patients who are treated in everyday practice. The authors evaluated a large SEER-Medicare database that links patient diagnostic codes with billing records and clinical information, including survival. The key finding of this study was that, in the overall population, there was a statistically significant benefit from the addition of bevacizumab to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. However, this benefit was felt to be “modest” and “no more than marginally effective.” Moreover, subset analyses found little to no benefit in patients treated with oxaliplatin. These findings, or at least the conclusions, seem to depart from the majority of previously published data from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs), registries, and meta-analyses, including those that have focused on elderly patients. 2-13 How can this discordance be reconciled? First, the primary end point of the current SEER-Medicare anal
Bit-rate allocation control and quality improvement for color channels in HMVQ image compression

Medical images usually require higher fidelity than commonly used natural images, especially with respect to detail preservation. Color medical images also require a higher degree of color preservation. In this paper, we present the extension of the novel gray-scale image compression technique, hybrid multi-scale vector quantization (HMVQ) to color image compression. Limitations of common color image compression methods in controlling bit-rate allocation for color channels are discussed, and the ability of HMVQ in overcoming such limitations while improving the color quality is demonstrated.
Prediction of High Temperature Metallic Phase Diagrams

The Engel Correlation and the Brewer Predictions are reviewed. Multicomponent phase diagrams for the 30 metallic elements of K through Ni, Rb through Pd, and Cs through Pt are discussed.
The Implementation of State Sponsored Retirement Plans

State sponsored retirement plans have been proposed and implemented to provide people with new access to defined contribution retirement opportunities. Many of these people have no other options and typically have low income and are less educated. We study optimal plan implementation in a theoretical model and analyze how the right menu of portfolio options and default option should be chosen based on the financial sophistication of the participants, their behavioral biases, the prevalent political philosophy, and the political economy. The paper provides several novel positive and normative implications, which appear to be empirically plausible.