cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Detector Optimization for Flash X-Ray Measurements

Charge trapping, resulting in a decreased and spatially dependent electric field, has long been a concern for wide bandgap semiconductor detectors. While significant work has been performdto characterize this degradation at varying temperatures and radiation environments, this work concentrates upon examining the event-to-event response in a flash X-ray environment. The following workinvestigates if charge trapping is a problem for CZT detectors, with particular emphasis on flash X-ray radiation fields at cold temperatures. Results are compared to a non-flash radiation field, using an Am-241 alpha source and similar temperature transitions. Our ability to determine if a response change occurred was hampered by the repeatability of our flash X-ray systems; a small responsechange was observed with the Am-241 source. Due to contrast of these results, we are in the process of revisiting the Am-241 measurements in the presence of a high radiation environment. If the response change is more pronounced in the high radiation environment, asimilar test will be performed in the flash X-ray environment.
Neurologic outcomes in pediatric cardiac arrest survivors enrolled in the THAPCA trials

Objective To implement a standardized approach to characterize neurologic outcomes among 12-month survivors in the Therapeutic Hypothermia after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest (THAPCA) trials. Methods Two multicenter trials enrolled children age 48 hours to 18 years who remained comatose after cardiac arrest (CA) occurring out-of-hospital (THAPCA-OH, NCT00878644) or in-hospital (THAPCA-IH, NCT00880087); patients were randomized to therapeutic hypothermia or therapeutic normothermia. The primary outcome, survival with favorable 12-month neurobehavioral outcome (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales [VABS-II]), did not differ between treatment groups in either trial. Neurologists examined 181 12-month survivors, described findings using the novel semi-quantitative Pediatric Resuscitation after Cardiac Arrest (PRCA) form, and rated findings in 6 domains; scores ranged from 0 (no deficits) to 21 (maximal deficits). PRCA scores were compared with 12-month VABS-II scores and cognitive scores. Results Neurologic outcome PRCA scores were classified as no/minimal impairment, PRCA 0–3, 81/179 (45%); mild impairment, PRCA 4–7, 24/179 (13%); moderate impairment, PRCA 8–11, 15/179 (8%); severe impairment, PRCA 12–16, 20/179 (11%); profound impairment, PRCA 17–21, 39/179 (21%) (2/181 incomplete). VABS-II scores correlated strongly with PRCA category ( r = −0.88, p r = −0.72, p Conclusion The PRCA provides a robust method for depicting neurologic outcomes after acute encephalopathy caused by CA in children. It provides a global semiquantitative rating of neurologic impairment and domain-specific impairment. The strong correlation with well-established neurobehavioral outcome measures supports its validity over a broad age range and wide spectrum of outcomes.
A rare case of immune mediated meningoencephalitis presenting with bilateral ear swelling and progressive mental deterioration. (P2.392)

Objective: To report a case of rapidly progressive immune mediated meningoencephalitis caused by relapsing polychrondritis Background: Relapsing polychronditis (RP) is a uncommon autoimmune disorder that manifests as systemic inflammatory lesions involving mainly cartilages. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in RP is rare but can lead to serious complications. The prognosis of patients with RP complicated with meningoencephalitis is poor. Early identification might be beneficial for its prognosis and may prevent subsequent disability secondary to irreversible brain damage. Design/Methods: A 22 year old previously healthy man developed progressive cognitive decline over six months period, characterized by behavioral changes, anxiety, hallucinations and paranoia. He had sustained weight loss, tachycardia, chest pain and recurrent fevers. He had received antibiotics and antipsychotics for presumed throat infection, schizophrenia and illegal drug use with UDS negative. He presented to our hospital with bilateral ear swelling, conjunctiva injection, inability to verbal communication and self care. No abnormal neurological examination was shown; however neuropsychology testing demonstrates severe difficulty on memory, attention, sequencing, word definition and verbal and spatial reasoning. He later progressed to akinetic mutism, hydrocephalus and seizures. Results: MRIs showed progressive multiple lesions consistent with demyelinating disease, pachymeningial enhancement and hydrocephalus. Serial CSF analysis only showed mild pleocytosis with intrathecal antibody production but not bands. EEG demonstrated bilateral slowing without epileptiform activity. Extensive laboratory testing for infectious, systemic and metabolic disease including malignancy and CJD were negative. Ear biopsy showed cartilage loss and inflammatory infiltrate with plasma cells, lymphocytes, histocytes and neutrophil; subsequent brain and dura biopsies demonstrated similar findings most consistent with RP. Unfortunately slow disease progression but not resolution was noted after high dose of IV steroids, cyclophosphamide and maintenance low dose of steroids. Conclusions: Our case illustrates the rapidly progressive nature of meningoencephalitis in RP and emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis to prevent consequence on treatment delays. Disclosure: Dr. Londono has nothing to disclose. Dr. Upadhyaya has nothing to disclose. Dr. Parker has nothing to disclose. Dr. Blume has nothing to disclose.
Study and comparison of genetic algorithms when applied to lego mindstorms robots

Genetic algorithms simulate the process of natural selection in order to solve a given problem. In this case the problem to be solved was the ability of a Lego Mindstorms robot to navigate in a confined space without colliding with obstacles. The robot was equipped with proximity sensor and touch sensors to provide it with information about its environment. Two programs were coded: one in Not-Quite-C and the other in LeJOS. The ability of the programs to "evolve" working solutions to the problem was tested, and the results of the two programs were compared to each other in order to determine the relative effectiveness of each.
Improving VLSI test engineer productivity through software

VLSI device test programming is a labor intensive task. A logic simulator can reduce the amount of time required to construct a device test program. A logic simulator is not, however, the only software tool which can improve a VLSI device test engineer's productivity. This paper describes three software tools which have been used in addition to a logic simulator to help the test engineer develop functional test programs.
Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the cannabis use disorders identification test - revised among college students.

Abstract Objective Cannabis use is common among college students and is associated with a variety of negative consequences. The Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test Revised (CUDIT-R) is an 8-item screening instrument designed to identify potentially problematic or harmful recent cannabis use. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the internal consistency and validity of the CUDIT-R in a sample of college students who reported recent cannabis use (past 30 day). Methods Participants (n = 229) completed the CUDIT-R and measures of smoking behavior (Daily Smoking Questionnaire; DSQ), cannabis related consequences (Marijuana Problem Index; MPI), and problematic cannabis use (self-reported DSM-5 Cannabis Use Disorder Criteria). Results The CUDIT-R showed good internal consistency and concurrent validity with cannabis related outcome measures including; frequency of use, cannabis related consequences, and total DSM-5 criteria endorsed. The CUDIT-R also showed evidence of discriminant validity across DSM-5 severity classifications, achieved high levels of sensitivity (0.929) and specificity (0.704), and excellent area under the receiver operating characteristics curve when using a cutoff score of six. All items displayed high levels of discrimination and varied in terms of difficulty and information provided. Conclusions Overall, the CUDIT-R appears to be a reliable and valid screening measure when used to identify college students at risk for cannabis related problems. Future research should further evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the CUDIT-R threshold scores with more rigorously established DSM-5 diagnoses, and across a range of populations. Research on the utility of using the CUDIT-R for measuring treatment outcomes is also warranted.
Mathematics Attitudes of Elementary Education Majors

The descriptive data presented here were collected from a sample of eighty-one elementary education majors enrolled in a required mathematics course and seventy-one students enrolled in a general astronomy course at a large state university. The dents were omitted, leaving a total of seventy-seven items. Although Fennema and Sherman (1976) report a high correlation between confidence and anxiety, both scales were used here because of the particular interest in anxiety. Reliability coefficients on the seven scales ranged from 0.64 to 0.90, which indicates a reasonable consistency in students' responses to each scale.
A TO ZOO

A to Zoo is a supplement to the seventh edition of A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books printed in 2006 and was compiled as a response to requests for more frequent publishing; gene...
Quantity and quality of water percolating below the root zone of three biofuel feedstock crop systems

Abstract Biofuel demand is on the rise, yet there is limited information available about the likely implications of increased planting of cellulosic biofuel crops on water and nutrient fluxes. To help address this gap, this study quantifies subsurface water, nitrate, and dissolved phosphorus fluxes below feedstock crops managed for biofuel production on naturally well drained soils in southern Wisconsin. Automated equilibrium tension lysimeters were used to measure subsurface (below root zone) fluxes of water and nutrients below continuous corn (CC), monoculture switchgrass (SG), and hybrid poplar (HP) cropping systems for three years. Average water fluxes below SG were nearly double those below CC and HP. Most of this difference can be linked to seasonal events, particularly during late winter and early spring when subsurface water fluxes and increased soil moisture were observed below SG plots, likely due to enhanced macropore flow. Nitrate fluxes were approximately 14 times higher below CC than the 37.4 kg NO3-N/ha three year annual average observed for SG; the nitrate fluxes were negligible below HP despite similar nitrogen application rates. The high flux in one of the two CC plots is likely due to excessive manure applications prior to the study period; however, the nitrate loss potential from CC is much higher than the perennial crops. Dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) concentrations were very low below all three cropping systems (average of 0.076, 0.083, 0.034 mg/L in SG, CC, and HP respectively). For the cropping systems evaluated, nitrate fluxes were driven by concentration differences in leachate and not influenced by nominal differences in N fertilizer inputs, whereas DRP fluxes were mainly driven by water fluxes and therefore independent of phosphorus inputs and soil test phosphorus. The data in this paper provide a foundation to better understand differences in fluxes below different biofuel cropping systems.
Adolescents and Young Adults with Breast Cancer have More Aggressive Disease and Treatment Than Patients in Their Forties

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs; age < 40 years) account for less than 2% of breast cancer patients. Therefore, little is known about the tumor characteristics and care provided to AYA patients. This study sought to describe demographic, tumor, and treatment variables among AYA patients. The study identified patients ages 15 to 49 years with breast cancer between 2010 and 2015 from the National Cancer Database. Patient and tumor factors were compared using Chi-square tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the effect of age group on treatment while adjusting for confounding variables. The study identified 46,265 AYA patients with stages 0 to 3 breast cancer and compared them with 169,423 breast cancer patients ages 40 to 49 years. A greater proportion of the AYA patients presented with clinical stage 2 or 3 disease than the adult patients 40 to 49 years old (stage 2 disease: 44.3% vs 29.9%, respectively; stage 3 disease: 14.0% vs 7.7%, respectively; both p < 0.001). A greater proportion of the AYA patients had triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) cancer than the adult patients (TNBC: 21.2% vs 13.8%, respectively; HER2+: 26.0% vs 18.6%, respectively; both p < 0.001). Among the AYA patients, the very young (ages 15–29 years) had more advanced disease and TNBC or HER2+ disease than the older youth (ages 30 to 39 years). The multivariable analysis showed that the AYA patients were more likely to undergo mastectomy (odds ratio [OR] 2.1) and receive chemotherapy (OR 1.9) than patients in their forties (both p < 0.001). A greater proportion of the AYA breast cancer patients had more advanced disease and TNBC and HER2+ disease. The AYA patients had higher rates of mastectomy and use of chemotherapy than the adult breast cancer patients, reflecting that more aggressive therapy is recommended or chosen for women in this age group.
Earle Raymond Hedrick

(1943). Earle Raymond Hedrick. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 50, No. 7, pp. 409-411.
The Battle for Customer Loyalty: An Examination of Customer Loyalty in the Goods and Services Domain

Through an empirical study, an interpersonal relationship theory from social psychology, known as the investment model is used to develop a better understanding regarding the drivers of why customers stay loyal with product and service firms.
Paddle lead trial in the case of a prior fusion

Abstract A 49-year-old woman is referred for placement of a spinal cord stimulator from a physiatrist who sees many patients with persisting back pain and failed back surgery syndrome in general. Although this physician does place trial leads in some patients, he typically is comfortable only with fairly straightforward placements and does not do any permanent placements or implantable pulse generator (IPG) replacements. In this patient, there had been three previous surgeries. Initially, approximately 8 years before, she had a microdiscectomy, somewhat successfully at L5-S1 on the left. Unfortunately, she developed further problems within a year, back and leg pain with degenerative changes at L45 as well, and this led to a fusion from L4-S1. The patient did reasonably well for several years, although she began having more back pain and some bilateral leg symptoms 3 years ago when she was involved in a major motor vehicle accident, wherein she subsequently had a significant burst fracture and instability at T11, requiring fusion from T8 extending down to and including the L4-S1 fusion. Although this stabilized her spine and the construct appeared reasonable by all imaging since then, she remained compromised with worsening low back pain and bilateral leg pains, left worse than right.
Arterial Stiffness and Central Hemodynamic Assessment by Novel Portable Device.

Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are leading cause of mortality and arterial stiffness is a very important risk marker. It can be obtained by non-invasive measurements of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), recommended as a gold-standard marker of CV risk by European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Previous works proved that arterial stiffness’s increase with ageing, sedentary lifestyle, smoking habits, etc. Central aortic pressure (CAP) is an important marker to evaluate blood pressure, in order to prevent cerebral vessels diseases, the most frequent causes of stroke and dementia. The present work reports a CAP and cfPWV data in order to characterize profile on different cohorts of Portuguese population: young adults with no associated diagnosis (NAD), adults with diagnosed axSpA and elderly with Sarcopenia. All measurements were performed using a novel, portable and low-cost device and developed protocol.
A relationship between stellar metallicity gradients and galaxy age in dwarf galaxies

Author(s): Mercado, FJ; Bullock, JS; Boylan-Kolchin, M; Moreno, J; Wetzel, A; El-Badry, K; Graus, AS; Fitts, A; Hopkins, PF; Faucher-Giguere, CA; Gurvich, AB | Abstract: We explore the origin of stellar metallicity gradients in simulated and observed dwarf galaxies. We use FIRE-2 cosmological baryonic zoom-in simulations of 26 isolated galaxies as well as existing observational data for 10 Local Group dwarf galaxies. Our simulated galaxies have stellar masses between 105.5 and 108.6 MO. Whilst gas-phase metallicty gradients are generally weak in our simulated galaxies, we find that stellar metallicity gradients are common, with central regions tending to be more metal-rich than the outer parts. The strength of the gradient is correlated with galaxy-wide median stellar age, such that galaxies with younger stellar populations have flatter gradients. Stellar metallicty gradients are set by two competing processes: (1) the steady 'puffing' of old, metal-poor stars by feedback-driven potential fluctuations and (2) the accretion of extended, metal-rich gas at late times, which fuels late-time metal-rich star formation. If recent star formation dominates, then extended, metal-rich star formation washes out pre-existing gradients from the 'puffing' process. We use published results from ten Local Group dwarf galaxies to show that a similar relationship between age and stellar metallicity-gradient strength exists among real dwarfs. This suggests that observed stellar metallicity gradients may be driven largely by the baryon/feedback cycle rather than by external environmental effects.
Is Arbitration Under Attack?: Exploring the Recent Judicial Skepticism of the Class Arbitration Waiver and Innovative Solutions to the Unsettled Legal Landscape

Courts have become increasingly likely in recent years to find class arbitration waivers in consumer product sales unenforceable due to the lack of incentives for consumers and their attorneys to recover for “low-value” claims. This Article explores the history of the unconscionability and vindication-of-statutory rights doctrines invoked by those courts. It then analyzes the progression of the class arbitration waiver in the consumer products industry, with emphasis on the third-generation “incentivizing” agreement. This “incentivizing” agreement, if viewed at the time of the purchase agreement, can be mutually beneficial to seller and consumer. Some consumers may wish to forego the option for class representation of classic “low-value” claims in turn for inexpensive and swift arbitration of more substantial claims. Further, the “third generation” class arbitration waiver cures the concerns traditionally identified by courts by providing incentives to the consumer for pursuing low-value claims, in that the consumer is afforded a windfall premium if the seller/manufacture does not “pay up” on valid claims prior to arbitration.
The Dissemination and Implementation of Islam within the African American Community

The United States may be the most racially diverse and religiously pluralistic nation-state today. However, it is also arguably the most societally biased, one where many religious communities are frequently divided along distinct lines predicated upon race, color, ethnicity, and faith tradition. The sociohistorical displacement and dissemination of Islamic power away from indigenous African American Muslims to the newly disembarked post-1965 immigrant Muslims underscore the nascent religio-racial origins of how Islamic identity, membership, community, and consciousness within America has now become unusually conflated with race, culture, and ethnicity within our nation’s social imaginary. That is, what it contextually means to be a Muslim in the United States has now become a highly contested, problematic, and racialized category within American Islam—a segregated Islamic reality and existence that is being renegotiated and challenged by modern-day Black Muslims dissatisfied with their oppressed, marginalized and subaltern condition as Muslim Americans within the umma.
Performance Exploration on Pre-implemented CNN Hardware Accelerator on FPGA

As the complexity of FPGA architectures increases, there is a raising need to improved productivity and performance in several computing domains such as image processing, financial analytics, edge computing and deep learning. However, vendor tools are mostly general-purpose as they attempt to provide an acceptable quality of result (QoR) on a broad set of applications, which may not exploit application/domain-specific characteristics to deliver higher QoR. In this paper, we present a divide-and-conquer design flow that enables application/domain-specific optimization on the design of convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures on Xilinx FPGAs. The proposed approach follows three fundamental steps; Step 1: Break the design down into components, Step 2: Implement these separate components, and Step 3: Efficiently generate the final design by assembling pre-built components with minimal QoR lost. Recent research has even demonstrated that such approaches may provide better QoR than that of the traditional Vivado flow in some instances [1], [2]. By pre-implementing specific components of a design, higher performance can be achieved locally and maintained to a certain extent when assembling the final circuit. This approach is supported by two main observations [1]: (1) vendor tools such as Vivado tend to deliver high performance results on small modules in a design. (2) Computing applications such as machine learning designs increase in size by replicating modules. CNN inference refers to the forward propagation of $M$ input images through $L$ layers. The repetition of components within CNN architectures make them suitable candidates for RapidWright implementation as the CNN sub-modules can be optimized for performance in standalone, and the achieved performance can be preserved when replicating and relocating the modules across the FPGA.
Levinas and education : at the intersection of faith and reason

INTRODUCTION Denise Egea-Kuehne 1. Emmanuel Levinas school master and pedagogue Catherine Chalier and Ami Bouganim 2. Levinas's quest for justice: Of faith and the "possibility of education" Denise Egea-Kuehne QUESTIONING EDUCATION 3. The Importance of enjoyment and inspiration for learning from a teacher Clarence W. Joldersma 4. Levinas's language and the language of the curriculum Paul Standish 5. Emmanuel Levinas, literary engagement, and literature education Claudia Eppert 6. Other than the Other: Levinas and the educational questioning of infinity Ian McPherson 7. Teaching our way out when nobody knows the way: A Levinasian response to modern hope Julian Miles Edgoose 8. Thinking the Other - The other thinking: Remarks on the relevance of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas for the philosophy of education Michael Wimmer FIRST PHILOSOPHY 9. The Priority of ethics over ontology, the issue of forgiveness and education: Levinas's face-to-face ethics Marianna Papastephanou 10. Thinking educational ethics with Levinas and Jonas Eirick Prairat 11. Welcoming and difficult learning: Reading Levinas with education Sharon Todd 12. Autonomy and heteronomy: Kant and Levinas Zdenko Kodelja 13. Pedagogy with empty hands: Levinas, education, and the question of being human Gert J. J. Biesta BETWEEN ETHICS AND POLITICS 14. How hospitable can dwelling be? The folds of spatiality in Levinas Zelia Gregoriou 15. Justice in the name of the Other: Levinas on rights and responsibility Ann Chinnery and Heesoon Bai 16. Peace as being taught: The philosophical foundations of a culture of peace Jeffrey Dudiak 17. Dehiscence: A dispersal of Levinas in the South Pacific Betsan Martin 18. Ethical obligation and avoiding self-sacrifice in caring for the Other: Reflections on Levinas Jim Garrison
A prototype dipole septum magnet for fast high current kicker systems

A dipole "septum" magnet without a material septum has been designed and tested as part of a fast beam kicker system for use in intense, electron-beam induction accelerators. This septum magnet is a simple, iron-based electromagnet with two static, oppositely oriented dipole field regions used to provide further separation of beam centroids given a small angle kick by a fast beam kicker. The magnet geometry includes removable pole pieces to allow experimental flexibility. Field errors experienced by the beam depend crucially on the magnitude of the initial kick that provides displacement of the beam centroids from the transition region between the two dipole field regions. Results of simulations are reported.
The highway concession system in Italy : history, regulation and politics

This paper contains a critical discussion of the opening of the highway concession to the private sector in Italy over the past 20 years. It describes the political context, legal mechanisms and regulatory settings; offers an analysis of the changes in the equity composition of concessionaires after the introduction of public-private partnerships, quality standards, and tariff dynamics; and provides some examples. The Italian experience reflects the typical problems of the"build-now-regulate-later"approach recognized in the highway public-private partnership literature. The Italian model is also characterized by the existence of an overly complex regulatory framework, as well as the lack of a single agent in charge of contract enforcement and independent data collection.
Ions in flames: Evaluation and prognosis

This paper comprises a review of the current status of knowledge concerning the elementary reactions of charged species in flames. A description is given of the nature and origins of ions in hydrocarbon flames, cyanogen flames, and combustion systems containing a variety of additives. Some presently outstanding areas of uncertainty and gaps in the existing body of information are identified and experiments to obtain missing data or to resolve discrepancies in interpretation are suggested. The emphasis is on work performed since 1964—the date at which this field was last reviewed in symposium proceedings. A description of many of the practical ramifications of this work, including electric-field effects on flames, applications to analytical chemistry, and the effects of charged species on particulate formation and removal in flames is also given.
Sub-band spectral variance feature for noise robust ASR

The goal of this work is to improve automatic speech recognition (ASR) performance in very noisy and reverberant environments. The solution is based on extracting sub-band spectral variance normalization based features, which are capable of estimating the relative strengths of speech and noise components both in presence and absence of speech. The advanced ETSI-2 frontend, RASTA-PLP, MFCC alone and in combination with spectral subtraction are tested for comparison purposes. Speech recognition evaluations are performed on the noisy standard AURORA-2 and meeting recorder digit (MRD) subset of AURORA-5 databases, which represent additive noise and reverberant acoustic conditions. The results reveal that the proposed method is robust and reliable for both low SNR and reverberant scenarios, and provide considerable improvementswith respect to the traditional feature extraction techniques.
Effect of pH and ionic strength on the physical stability of adenovirus type 5

The thermal stability of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) was investigated over the pH range 3-8 employing a variety of biophysical techniques under conditions of low and high ionic strength. Analysis of the structural stability of Ad5 by dynamic light scattering, intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence, and second derivative UV absorption spectroscopies suggest that the capsid stability of Ad5 increases with decreasing pH under both ionic strength conditions. Significant aggregation, however, was observed at pH < or = 5 under conditions of low ionic strength. These studies also suggest that the physical stability of Ad5 is significantly enhanced under acidic conditions in the presence of 1 M NaCl. Evaluation of the quaternary structural stability of Ad5 by dynamic light scattering and extrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy suggest that the Ad5 capsid undergoes a two-step dismantling process wherein the viral particles initially expand in size near 50 degrees C and the DNA core is at least partially exposed to the surrounding solvent. Complete capsid disassembly and total exposure of the DNA core follows at higher temperatures. Data generated during these studies were combined employing a multidimensional eigenvector approach that combines data from numerous techniques into a colored representation. This picture, or "empirical phase diagram," provides an intuitive representation of the physical stability of Ad5 over the pH range 4-8 from 10 degrees C to 85 degrees C.
Refractive height fields from single and multiple images

We propose a novel framework for reconstructing homogenous, transparent, refractive height-fields from a single viewpoint. The height-field is imaged against a known planar background, or sequence of backgrounds. Unlike existing approaches that do a point-by-point reconstruction — which is known to have intractable ambiguities — our method estimates and optimizes for the entire height-field at the same time. The formulation supports shape recovery from measured distortions (deflections) or directly from the images themselves, including from a single image. We report results for a variety of refractive height-fields showing significant improvement over prior art.
Design Considerations for a Portable Raman Probe Spectrometer for Field Forensics

Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be a viable method for explosives detection. Currently most forensic Raman systems are either large, powerful instruments for laboratory experiments or handheld instruments for in situ point detection. We have chosen to examine the performance of certain benchtop Raman probe systems with the goal of developing an inexpensive, portable system that could be used to operate in a field forensics laboratory to examine explosives-related residues or samples. To this end, a rugged, low distortion line imaging dispersive Raman spectrograph was configured to work at 830 nm laser excitation and was used to determine whether the composition of thin films of plastic explosives or small (e.g., ≤10 μm) particles of RDX or other explosives or oxidizers can be detected, identified, and quantified in the field. With 300mW excitation energy, concentrations of RDX and PETN can be detected and reconstructed in the case of thin Semtex smears, but further work is needed to push detection limits of areal dosages to the ∼1 μg/cm 2 level. We describe the performance of several probe/spectrograph combinations and show preliminary data for particle detection, calibration and detection linearity for mixed compounds, and so forth.
The Decrease in Hypothalamic Dopamine Secretion Induced by Suckling: Comparison of Voltammetric and Radioisotopic Methods of Measurement*

Previous in situ voltammetric microelectrode measurements of median eminence dopamine release during mammary nerve stimulation of anesthetized lactating rats revealed a transient (1–3 min) 70% decline of dopamine concentrations. This dopamine was believed to be destined for secretion into the hypophysial portal circulation, but direct experimental support for this supposition was lacking. Thus, in the present study, [3H]dopamine release into brief sequential samples of hypophysial portal blood was compared with dopamine release in the median eminence measured by voltammetry. Lactating female rats were urethane anesthetized, and the median eminence pituitary region was exposed. [3H]Tyrosine was injected into a jugular cannula (100 μCi) followed by continuous infusion (5 μCi/min). In a preliminary experiment, this regimen produced a steady state level of [3H]dopamine in the portal blood within 45 min. In subsequent experiments, portal blood was collected as sequential 3-min samples, and electrochemical samp...
Intimate Partner Violence Identification and Response: Time for a Change in Strategy

BACKGROUND While victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) present to health care settings for a variety of complaints; rates and predictors of case identification and intervention are unknown.
Is there a Difference in Van Der Waals Interactions between Rare Gas Atoms Adsorbed on Metallic and Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes?

The differences in the polarizabilities of metallic (M) and semiconducting (S) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) might give rise to differences in adsorption potentials. We show from experiments and van der Waals--corrected density functional theory that the binding energies of Xe adsorbed on M- and S-SWNTs are nearly identical. Temperature programed desorption experiments of Xe on purified M- and S-SWNTs give similar peak temperatures, indicating that desorption kinetics and binding energies are independent of the type of SWNT. Binding energies computed from vdW-corrected density functional theory are in good agreement with experiments.
Stabilization and activation of Pluronic micelles for tumor-targeted drug delivery

Abstract In order to be used as drug carriers, Pluronic micelles require stabilization to prevent degradation caused by significant dilution accompanying IV injection. This article studies three routes of Pluronic micelle stabilization. The first route was direct radical crosslinking of micelles cores which resulted in micelle stabilization. However, this compromised the drug loading capacity of Pluronic micelles. In the second route, a small concentration of vegetable oil was introduced into diluted Pluronic solutions. This decreased micelle degradation upon dilution while not compromising the drug loading capacity of oil-stabilized micelles. The third route was a novel technique based on polymerization of the temperature-responsive LCST hydrogel in the core of Pluronic micelles. The hydrogel phase was in a swollen state at room temperature, which provided a high drug loading capacity of the system. The hydrogel collapsed at physiological temperatures which locked the core of micelles thus preventing them from fast degradation upon dilution. This new drug delivery system was called Plurogel®. Phase transitions in Plurogel® caused by variations in temperature or concentration were studied by the EPR. The effect of Pluronic concentration in the incubation medium on the intracellular uptake of two anti-cancer drugs was studied. At low Pluronic concentrations, when the drugs were located in the hydrophilic environment, drug uptake was increased, presumably due to the effect of a polymeric surfactant on the permeability of cell membranes. In contrast, when the drugs were encapsulated in the hydrophobic cores of Pluronic micelles, drug uptake by the cells was substantially decreased. This may be advantageous in the prevention of undesired drug interactions with normal cells. Ultrasonication enhanced intracellular drug uptake from dense Pluronic micelles. These findings permitted the formulation of a new concept of a localized drug delivery.
Microfluidics enhanced control of the microstructure and flow of complex fluids

Abstract Microfluidic devices enable rapid fluid transport, well-controlled flow manipulation for small sample volumes, and facilitate high shear and extension rates regimes with ease. These features are critical to the study of fast self-assembly process and interfacial dynamics of complex fluids, and have opened up many exciting possibilities in areas such as biology, physics, chemistry and their technological applications. As the dimensions of the microdevices decrease, the interaction between the intrinsic length-scales of the fluid and the microdevice emerges. In this article, we provide a review on confinement and flow induced rheological and microstructure changes for complex fluids flowing inside microfluidic devices.
Empirical tests of the Marshall‐Lerner condition: a literature review

Purpose – The Marshall‐Lerner (M‐L) condition, which stipulates that a devaluation or depreciation of its currency will improve a country's trade balance only if the sum of the absolute values of a country's import and export price elasticities are greater than one, is a fundamental tenet of international economics. The purpose of this study is to survey the literature that has tested the M‐L condition, examining in particular whether previous studies' results are statistically significant. The authors then conduct their own estimation of 29 countries' trade elasticities, over the past few decades.Design/methodology/approach – While mostly a review paper, the paper also applies statistical techniques in two ways. First, the authors use t‐tests on previously‐published statistical results to see if the sums of their elasticities are significantly greater than one. The authors also apply the recently developed ARDL cointegration method, which has a number of attractive statistical properties, to estimate 29 ...
Childhood Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Maltreatment in Outpatients with Binge Eating Disorder: Frequency and Associations with Gender, Obesity, and Eating‐Related Psychopathology

GRILO, CARLOS M., AND ROBIN M. MASHEB. Childhood psychological, physical, and sexual maltreatment in outpatients with binge eating disorder: frequency and associations with gender, obesity, and eating-related psychopathology. Obes Res. 2001;9:320-325. Objective: To examine rates of reported childhood maltreatment in binge eating disorder (BED), and to explore associations with obesity, gender, eating disorder features, and associated functioning. Research Methods and Procedures: Subjects were 145 consecutive outpatients with BED as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 edition. Subjects were interviewed and they completed questionnaires to assess eating disorder features and functioning. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was given to assess childhood maltreatment in five domains (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect). Results: A total of 83% of BED patients reported some form of childhood maltreatment. A total of 59% of BED patients reported emotional abuse, 36% reported physical abuse, 30% reported sexual abuse, 69% reported emotional neglect, and 49% reported physical neglect. There were no differences in the distribution of any form of childhood maltreatment by gender or by obesity status. The different forms of maltreatment were not associated with variability in current body mass index, binge eating, or in the attitudinal features of eating disorders. Only one of the five forms of maltreatment (physical neglect) was associated with dietary restraint in women. Emotional abuse was significantly associated with greater body dissatisfaction, higher depression, and lower self-esteem in men and women and sexual abuse was associated with greater body dissatisfaction in men. The different forms of maltreatment were unrelated to the age at onset of overweight, dieting, or binge eating. Discussion: BED outpatients reported a wide range of childhood experiences of maltreatment that do not differ by gender or obesity status. Different forms of maltreatment were not associated with the onset of overweight, dieting, or binge eating, or with variability in current body mass index or eating disorder features (except for one association between physical neglect and dietary restraint). Reports of emotional abuse were associated with greater body dissatisfaction and depression and lower self-esteem in men and women and sexual abuse with greater body dissatisfaction in men.
An iris segmentation algorithm based on edge orientation for off-angle iris recognition

Iris recognition is known as one of the most accurate and reliable biometrics. However, the accuracy of iris recognition systems depends on the quality of data capture and is negatively affected by several factors such as angle, occlusion, and dilation. In this paper, we present a segmentation algorithm for off-angle iris images that uses edge detection, edge elimination, edge classification, and ellipse fitting techniques. In our approach, we first detect all candidate edges in the iris image by using the canny edge detector; this collection contains edges from the iris and pupil boundaries as well as eyelash, eyelids, iris texture etc. Edge orientation is used to eliminate the edges that cannot be part of the iris or pupil. Then, we classify the remaining edge points into two sets as pupil edges and iris edges. Finally, we randomly generate subsets of iris and pupil edge points, fit ellipses for each subset, select ellipses with similar parameters, and average to form the resultant ellipses. Based on the results from real experiments, the proposed method shows effectiveness in segmentation for off-angle iris images.
High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis

Cavernous sinus thrombosis is an important but difficult clinical diagnosis to confirm by most imaging modalities. 1,2 Until the advent of highfield magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the imaging method of choice for evaluating thrombus formation in the cavernous sinus was transarterial or intravenous digital subtraction angiography. This article discusses the MRI findings in the diagnosis of cavernous sinus thrombosis. REPORT OF A CASE A 73-year-old woman noticed pain around her left eye ten days before examination. Over the next four days, her left upper eyelid drooped, and she experienced double vision. She was hospitalized elsewhere, and computed tomography (CT) showed a mass in the left anterior cavernous sinus. A cerebral arteriogram was normal. The patient was treated with systemic corticosteroids (prednisone, 80 mg/d), with no resolution of the pain or ocular motility disturbance. Five years prior to admission, the patient had an episode of painful ophthalmoplegia that was described
Modeling light fluence rate distribution in optically heterogeneous prostate photodynamic therapy using a kernel method

To accurately calculate light fluence rate distribution for light dosimetry in prostate photodynamic therapy (PDT), heterogeneity of optical properties has to be taken into account. Previous study has shown that a finite-element method (FEM) can be an efficient tool to deal with the optical heterogeneity. However, the calculation speed of the FEM is not suitable for real time treatment planning. In this paper, two kernel models are developed. Because the kernels are based on analytic solutions of the diffusion equation, calculations are much faster. We derived our extensions of kernel from homogeneous medium to heterogeneous medium assuming spherically symmetrical heterogeneity of optical properties. The kernel models are first developed for a point source and then extended for a linear source, which is considered a summation of point sources uniformly spaced along a line. The kernel models are compared with the FEM calculation. In application of the two kernel models to a heterogeneous prostate PDT case, both kernel models give improved light fluence rate results compared with those derived assuming homogeneous medium. In addition, kernel model 2 predicts reasonable light fluence rates and is deemed suitable for treatment planning.
Brain electrode preparation for the gross EEG monitoring of large chick samples

Abstract This report suggests a procedure for EEG monitoring of large chick samples where post-operative healing and electrode cement hardening permit recording to begin 24 h after surgery and implantation of 7 day post-hatched chicks. The electrographic results are shown to be artifact free for repeated EEG monitoring for 132 h after implantation. The data confirmed earlier reports of the relative maturity and stability of the young chick gross EEG.
The laser oscillator with an external signal

The problem considered is that of a laser oscillator with an externally applied signal. Calculations are made 1) to determine the conditions for quenching the natural oscillation, 2) to evaluate the frequency pulling and pushing effects, and 3) to determine the power gain at the forcing frequency.
Triggered human mucosal T cells release tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma which kill human colonic epithelial cells

T cell activation can lead to local tissue injury in organ culture studies of human fetal jejunum, either directly through cytotoxicity or indirectly by the release of cytotoxic cytokines. The goal of this study was to establish in vitro whether cytotoxic cytokines can be released by isolated colonic T cells and what cytokine interactions are required for killing of human colonic epithelial cells. Cytokine-containing supernatants were induced by incubating unseparated lamina propria lymphocytes (LPL) or mucosal T cell subpopulations (separated by indirect panning) with anti-CD3 and/or K562 target cells for 18 h at 37 degrees C. Cytokines were measured by cytotoxicity assays using L929 (murine fibroblast) and HT-29 (human colonic tumour) lines as target cells in combination with blocking anti-cytokine antibodies. Supernatants derived from unseparated, CD4+ (greater than 95% pure) and CD8+ (greater than 90% pure) LPL were cytotoxic to L929 targets (350 U/ml, 230 U/ml and 100 U/ml tumour necrosis factor-alpha, respectively). All or nearly all of the cytotoxicity was due to the presence of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (little or no tumour necrosis factor-beta was detected). These same supernatants were cytotoxic (up to 32% lysis at 1/4 dilution) to HT-29 targets in a 48-h 111In release assay. Recombinant tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma alone produced minimal killing of HT-29, but together killed the HT-29 target cells. Anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha or anti-interferon-gamma alone blocked killing of HT-29 target cells by LPL-derived supernatants, although anti-tumour necrosis factor-beta had no effect upon killing of HT-29. These results demonstrate that human LPL T cells, triggered by addition of anti-CD3 and target cells, produce tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma, both of which are required for optimal killing of HT-29. Simultaneous release of these cytokines in the vicinity of epithelial cells during immune responses could play an important role in the mucosal damage in chronic inflammatory states such as inflammatory bowel disease.
Society of the quarter: the rich (and often free) literature of agricultural and applied economics associations.

If you hear or see an expert quoted about ethanol or other alternative fuels, he or she could very well be an agricultural economist—ditto if the topic is microfinance or the Farm Bill. Researchers...
Achievement Test Scores and Scholastic Aptitude Test Scores As Predictors of College Level Examination Program Scores

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive validity of the College Entrance Examination Board Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and the College Entrance Examination Board Achievement Test scores in the prediction of scores earned by 300 students who took various subject area College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests at Longwood College. Data consisted of SAT-Verbal (V), SAT-Mathematics (M), SAT-Total (T) scores, College Entrance Examination Board Achievement Test scores, and the various subject area CLEP test scores earned by 300 students from 1973 to 1978. The SAT-V scores yielded correlations of (1) .46 with CLEP Subject Area test scores in English Composition, (2) .45 with the CLEP Subject Area test scores in American History, (3) .49 with the CLEP Subject Area test scores in English Literature, and (4) .90 with the CLEP Subject Area test scores in the Analysis and Interpretation of Literature. The SAT-M scores furnished correlations of (1) .79 with the CLEP Subject Area test scores...