cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model-based control system design and evaluation for continuous tablet manufacturing processes (via direct compaction, via roller compaction, via wet granulation)

Abstract The real-time control of pharmaceutical manufacturing process is required to achieve the desired predefined Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs), satisfy precisely the tight regulatory constraints and high product quality expectations and thereby to improve product efficacy and patient safety. The control system also optimizes the resources involved in manufacturing, reduces the offline lab-based testing, and facilitates the real-time release (RTR) of the pharmaceutical products. The continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing together with PAT (Process Analytical Technology) provides a suitable platform for automatic control of the end-product quality as desired by QbD (quality by design)-based efficient manufacturing. The process model is an important “virtual experimentation tool” that can be effectively used to design and evaluate a control system for continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. In this book chapter, the model-based design of control system for continuous pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing process has been described. The control system has been designed for three continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing routes, namely, via direct compaction, via roller compaction, and via wet granulation. The performance of different control strategies and algorithms has been evaluated to identify the best control options for continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing process. The precise control of the quality of the pharmaceutical product requires corrective actions on the process/raw material variability before they can influence the product quality. Therefore, a combined feedforward/feedback control system is more effective.
Tracheal acid or surfactant instillation raises alveolar surface tension.

We demonstrate in situ in isolated lungs that surface tension is elevated in an acid-aspiration acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) model. Following tracheal liquid instillation, also in iso...
Co-transfer of tumor-specific effector and memory CD8+ T cells enhances the efficacy of adoptive melanoma immunotherapy in a mouse model

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) is a promising cancer immunotherapeutic strategy that remains ineffective for a large subset of patients. ACT with memory CD8+ T cells (Tmem) has been shown to have superior efficacy compared to traditional ACT with effector CD8+ T cells (Teff). Teff and Tmem have complementary physiological advantages for immunotherapy, but previous publications have not examined ACT using a combination of Teff and Tmem. Splenocytes harvested from Ly5.1+/C57BL/6 mice during and after infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were used to generate bona fide effector and memory CD8+ T cells specific for the LCMV epitope peptide GP33. Congenic Ly5.2+/C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with B16F10 melanoma cells transfected to express very low levels of GP33, then treated with ACT 7 days later with GP33-specific Teff, Tmem, or a combination of Teff + Tmem. Inhibition of melanoma growth was strongest in mice receiving combinatorial ACT. Although combinatorial ACT and memory ACT resulted in maximal intratumoral infiltration of CD8+ T cells, combinatorial ACT induced stronger infiltration of endogenous CD8+ T cells than Tmem ACT and a stronger systemic T cell responsiveness to tumor antigen. In vitro assays revealed rapid but transient melanoma inhibition with Teff and gradual but prolonged melanoma inhibition with Tmem; the addition of Tmem enhanced the ability of Teff to inhibit melanoma in a manner that could be reproduced using conditioned media from activated Tmem and blocked by the addition of anti-IL-2 blocking antibody. These findings suggest that a novel combinatorial approach that takes advantage of the unique and complementary strengths of tumor-specific Teff and Tmem may be a way to optimize the efficacy of adoptive immunotherapy.
Phylogenetic Analysis of Amyloid a Protein

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is the precursor of human reactive amyloid (AA). In addition, most forms of amyloid in other species whether spontaneous or induced by chronic inflammatory stimuli have been shown to be composed chiefly of protein AA. SAA is an apolipoprotein which has been identified in many mammalian species. To date the rat is the only mammal that has been found to lack SAA. Structural analyses have shown a strikingly high degree of sequence identity among the SAA and AA proteins of various species. All of the AA proteins examined thus far, which include those from human, monkey, mouse, mink, guinea pig, and duck, have exactly the same sequence from residue 33 through residue 45 (1). The amino and carboxyl regions of these proteins, however, are clearly more heterogeneous than their middle portions (residues 33–63).
Synthesis of Native Mode Self-Test Programs

Recent studies show that at-speed functional tests are better for finding realistic defects than tests executed at lower speeds. This advantage has led to growing interest in design for at-speed tests. In addition, time-to-market requirements dictate development of tests early in the design process. In this paper, we present a new methodology for synthesis of at-speed self-test programs for microprocessors. Based on information about the instruction set, this high-level test generation methodology can generate instruction sequences that exercise all the functional capabilities of complex processors. Modern processors have large memory modules, register files and powerful ALUs with comprehensive operations, which can be used to generate and control built-in tests and to evaluate the response of the tests. Our method exploits the functional units to compress and check the test response at chip internal speeds. No hardware test pattern generators or signature analyzers are needed, and the method reduces area overhead and performance impact as compared to current BIST techniques. A novel test instruction insertion technique is introduced to activate the control/status inputs and internal modules related to them. The new methodology has been applied to an example processor much more complex than any benchmark circuit used in academia today. The results show that our approach is very effective in achieving high fault coverage and automation in at-speed self-test generation for microprocessor-like circuits.
A Systematic Review of Trials to Improve Child Outcomes Associated With Adverse Childhood Experiences

Context The purpose of this systematic literature review was to summarize current evidence from RCTs for the efficacy of interventions involving pediatric health care to prevent poor outcomes associated with adverse childhood experiences measured in childhood (C-ACEs). Evidence acquisition On January 18, 2018, investigators searched PubMed, PsycInfo, SocIndex, Web of Science, Cochrane, and reference lists for English language RCTs involving pediatric health care and published between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2017. Studies were included if they were (1) an RCT, (2) on a pediatric population, and (3) recruited or screened based on exposure to C-ACEs. Investigators extracted data about the study sample and recruitment strategy, C-ACEs, intervention and control conditions, intermediate and child outcomes, and significant associations reported. Evidence synthesis A total of 22 articles describing results of 20 RCTs were included. Parent mental illness/depression was the most common C-ACE measured, followed by parent alcohol or drug abuse, and domestic violence. Most interventions combined parenting education, social service referrals, and social support for families of children aged 0–5years. Five of six studies that directly involved pediatric primary care practices improved outcomes, including three trials that involved screening for C-ACEs. Eight of 15 studies that measured child health outcomes, and 15 of 17 studies that assessed the parent–child relationship, demonstrated improvement. Conclusions Multicomponent interventions that utilize professionals to provide parenting education, mental health counseling, social service referrals, or social support can reduce the impact of C-ACEs on child behavioral/mental health problems and improve the parent–child relationship for children aged 0–5years.
When You Have More Satellites than People: The Evolution of CYGNSS Flight Operations

The flight operations of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), a constellation of eight microsatellites built and operated by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), designed to improve the intensity forecasts of Tropical Cyclones, has seen a litany of changes to its concept of operations, software, processes, and personnel. In this paper, we detail how the operations team responded to several challenges such as the reduction in personnel after the Launch and Early Orbit Operations phase, the addition of a downlink antenna in Japan, high-fidelity collection requests during the unusually active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, and the increased demands of team members from other projects. These pressures forced the CYGNSS operations team to innovate their way to efficient operations. These innovations were enabled by embracing modern open-source tools such as Django, Bokeh, Git, the various libraries available in the Python programming language, and the capabilities that come with all of our operations engineers being competent in software development. The CYGNSS team took the approach of automating the most time-intensive tasks first, which freed up time to carefully design and test more elaborate automation solutions. We utilized the spirit of the Agile Methodology to make incremental improvements to our software suite which further enabled more sophisticated automation. Finally, we chart a path forward to fully closing the automation loop between our mission planning, and real-time Command and Control.
The European Encyclopedia: From 1650 to the Twenty-First Century

First taking shape during the seventeenth century, the European encyclopedia was an alphabetical book of knowledge. For the next three centuries, printed encyclopedias in the European tradition were an element of culture and peoples' lives, initially just among Europe's educated elite but ultimately through much of the literate world. Organized around themes such as genre, economics, illustration, and publishing, The European Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive survey of encyclopedias to be written in English in more than fifty years. Engaging with printed encyclopedias, now largely extinct and the object of nostalgia, as well as the global phenomenon of Wikipedia, Jeff Loveland brings together encyclopedias from multiple languages (notably English, French, and German, amongst others). This book will be of interest to anyone, from academics in the humanities to non-academic readers, with an interest in encyclopedias and their history.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Resected Brain Metastases: Single-Institutional Experience of Over 500 Cavities.

Purpose Postoperative stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has less detrimental effect on cognition and quality of life compared with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) and is increasingly used for resected brain metastases (BMs). Postoperative SRS techniques are not standardized, and there is a concern for a different pattern of failure after postoperative SRS compared with WBRT. We aim to study the efficacy, toxicity, and failure pattern of postoperative SRS. Methods and Materials We retrospectively reviewed outcomes of patients with resected BMs treated with postoperative SRS between 2007 and 2018. Overall survival and cumulative incidences of local failure, overall distant intracranial failure (distant parenchymal failure, nodular leptomeningeal disease [nLMD], classical leptomeningeal disease [cLMD]), and adverse radiation effect were reported. Neurologic death was determined for patients with leptomeningeal disease (LMD). Results A total of 442 patients with 501 resected BMs were treated over 475 total SRS courses. Median clinical follow-up and overall survival after SRS were 10.1 months (interquartile range, 3.6-20.7 months) and 13.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.8-15.2 months), respectively. At 12 months, event rates were 7% (95% CI, 5%-10%) for local failure, 9% (95% CI, 7%-12%) for adverse radiation effect, 44% (95% CI, 40%-49%) for overall distant intracranial failure, 37% (95% CI, 33%-42%) for distant parenchymal failure, and 13% (95% CI, 10%-17%) for LMD. The overall incidence of LMD was 15.8% (53% cLMD, 46% nLMD). cLMD was associated with shorter survival than nLMD (2.0 vs 11.2 months, P Conclusions We report the largest clinical experience of postoperative SRS for resected BMs, showing excellent local control and low toxicity. Intracranial failure was predominantly distant, with a rising incidence of LMD.
Hardware-Backed Heist: Extracting ECDSA Keys from Qualcomm's TrustZone

Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) such as ARM TrustZone are in widespread use in both mobile and embedded devices, and they are used to protect sensitive secrets while often sharing the same computational hardware as untrusted code. Although there has been limited research in the area, the threat of microarchitectural attacks against ARM TrustZone has not been thoroughly studied. This is not the case for other TEEs, such as Intel SGX, where the security promises of the TEE have been violated numerous times by the academic community, showing that it is possible to use side-channel attacks to gain detailed insight into the microarchitectural behavior of trusted code. In this work, we show that TrustZone is susceptible to similar attacks, and we demonstrate the ability to achieve cache attacks with high temporal precision, high spatial precision, and low noise. These tools make it easy to monitor the data flow and code flow of TrustZone code with great resolution, and we apply our techniques to investigate the security of a real-world application. We examine ECDSA signing in Qualcomm's implementation of Android's hardware-backed keystore and identify a series of vulnerabilities that leak sensitive cryptographic information through shared microarchitectural structures. By using the powerful attacks developed in this paper, we are able to successfully extract this sensitive information and fully recover a 256-bit private key from Qualcomm's version of the hardware-backed keystore.
The positive effects of explaining the underlying mechanisms (how it works) when promoting healthy behaviors.

Health-care providers, governments, and countless organizations struggle, often unsuccessfully, to convince the public to adhere to healthier and safer lifestyles. Through three experiments, our re...
Assets and Job Choice: Student Debt, Wages and Job Satisfaction

Higher student debt causes college students to take jobs with higher wages and lower job satisfaction. We arrive at this finding using representative samples of college graduates and exploiting variation in financial aid policies to identify the causal effect of debts on job choices. When we extend the search with asset framework of Lise (2013) to accommodate non-pecuniary amenities the model matches our empirical findings: higher debt tilts acceptance policies toward high wage, low satisfaction jobs. In a quantitative extension we identify the utility value of amenities through observed search behavior conditional on reported satisfaction and income, finding that high satisfaction jobs are valued at 6 percent of lifetime consumption relative to low satisfaction jobs. This trade-off is large enough that computing welfare gains in a counterfactual income-based repayment policy using only wages leads to a mistaken inference that students prefer a fixed repayment policy.
Blind Interactive Learning of Modulation Schemes: Multi-Agent Cooperation Without Co-Design

We examine the problem of learning to cooperate in the context of wireless communication. In our setting, two agents must learn modulation schemes that enable them to communicate across a power-constrained additive white Gaussian noise channel. We investigate whether learning is possible under different levels of information sharing between distributed agents which are not necessarily co-designed. We employ the “Echo” protocol, a “blind” interactive learning protocol where an agent hears, understands, and repeats (echoes) back the message received from another agent, simultaneously training itself to communicate. To capture the idea of cooperation between “not necessarily co-designed” agents we use two different populations of function approximators — neural networks and polynomials. We also include interactions between learning agents and non-learning agents with fixed modulation protocols such as QPSK and 16QAM. We verify the universality of the Echo learning approach, showing it succeeds independent of the inner workings of the agents. In addition to matching the communication expectations of others, we show that two learning agents can collaboratively invent a successful communication approach from independent random initializations. We complement our simulations with an implementation of the Echo protocol in software-defined radios. To explore the continuum of co-design, we study how learning is impacted by different levels of information sharing between agents, including sharing training symbols, losses, and full gradients. We find that co-design (increased information sharing) accelerates learning. Learning higher order modulation schemes is a more difficult task, and the beneficial effect of co-design becomes more pronounced as the task becomes harder.
Complexity and Class: A Review of Kent Greenfield’s Corporations Are People Too (And They Should Act Like It)

Kent Greenfield has graced us with a new book that is novel, nuanced, and accessible. Dispensing with rhetoric at odds with both the nature of the corporation and his view of its normative role, Greenfield makes a two-pronged argument: corporations should have speech rights, albeit of a more limited form than individuals, and the relevant issues are first and foremost issues of corporate governance. Regarding corporate governance, Greenfield would have us dispense with the business judgment rule and extend fiduciary duties to non-shareholder stakeholders. Greenfield’s recommendations in the areas of both speech law and corporate governance have some attraction but do not take into account the cost that comes with additional complexity. In particular, forcing fiduciary obligation into a stakeholder framework goes against the very nature of fiduciary obligation. Greenfield also misses an opportunity to reassess the role of the corporation in society increasingly divided by professional and educational class: corporations are uniquely situated to serve as mediating institutions at the center of debates that will rage in the coming years.
Recent breeding range expansion of the endangered Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) in Florida

The Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) is a wetland-dependent raptor that feeds primarily on aquatic apple snails (Pomacea sp.). In the United States, Snail Kites are endangered and breed exclusively in south and central Florida. Here we report that in 2018 and 2019, Snail Kites bred approximately 175 km north-northwest of the current northernmost breeding range. We combine historical and present information to interpret this new breeding event. Breeding occurred at Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park, an isolated wetland in Alachua County, Florida, USA, that was impacted in 2017 by high water levels due to Hurricane Irma and invasion of exotic apple snails (P. maculata). Counts of Snail Kites within the area rose steadily throughout 2018 and 2019 from 1 to a high of 84 individuals. We discovered 3 nests with eggs or chicks in 2018, and 75 nests in 2019, with nest success rates of 100% and 40%, respectively. To our knowledge, sightings within the county from 1968 to 2017 occurred on only 7 occasions, and nesting was observed only once, in 1919. From 2005 to 2019, the extent of Snail Kite breeding in counties across Florida was greater than previous years. However, long-term range expansion may depend on maintenance of wetland conditions as well as a number of factors including snail availability, drought, hydrology, predation, and temperature.
A novel 3D-printed centrifugal ultrafiltration method reveals in vivo glycation of human serum albumin decreases its binding affinity for zinc.

Plasma proteins are covalently modified in vivo by the high-glucose conditions in the bloodstreams of people with diabetes, resulting in changes to both structure and function. Human Serum Albumin (HSA) functions as a carrier-protein in the bloodstream, binding various ligands and tightly regulating their bioavailability. HSA is known to react with glucose via the Maillard reaction, causing adverse effects on its ability to bind and deliver certain ligands, such as metals. Here, the binding between in vivo glycated HSA and zinc (Zn2+) was determined using a novel centrifugal ultrafiltration method that was developed using a 3D-printed device. This method is rapid (90 minutes), capable of high-throughput measurements (24 samples), low-cost (<$1.00 USD per device) and requires lower sample volumes (200 μL) compared to other binding techniques. This device was used to determine an equilibrium dissociation constant between Zn2+ and a commercially obtained normal HSA (nHSA) with a glycation level of 11.5% (Kd = 2.1 (±0.5) × 10−7 M). A glycated fraction of the nHSA sample was enriched (gHSA, 65.5%) and isolated using boronate-affinity chromatography, and found to have a 2.3-fold decrease in Zn2+ binding-affinity (Kd = 4.8 (±0.8) × 10−7 M) when compared to the nHSA sample. The level of glycation of HSA in control plasma (13.0% ± 0.8, n = 3 donors) and plasma from people with diabetes (26.9% ± 6.6, n = 5 donors) was assessed using mass spectrometry. Furthermore, HSA was isolated from plasma obtained in-house from a person with type 1 diabetes and found to have a glycation level of 24.1% and Kd = 3.3 (± 0.5) × 10−7 M for Zn2+, revealing a 1.5-fold decrease in binding affinity compared to nHSA. These findings suggest that increased levels of glycated HSA result in reduced binding to Zn2+, which may have implications in complications associated with diabetes.
Synthetic Cholesterol-Ester Antigens in Experimental Atherosclerosis

It seems fairly well established, as the result of previous reports [1, 2, 3] and of work reviewed elsewhere in this symposium, that stimulation of the RES can influence some aspects of lipid metabolism. Early work by Weinhouse and Hirsch [4] on the composition of atherosclerotic plaques showed that the principal sterol fraction was the esterified form. In a similar study we found that the progression of atherosclerotic lesions in the thoracic aorta of cholesterol-fed rabbits was much more closely linked to increases in tissue cholesterol esters than to free cholesterol itself. Thus, after 12–14 weeks on cholesterol diets, when the plaques covered from 50100% of the surface of the aorta, the ester cholesterol content of the aorta had increased to 23 times the normal levels as compared to only 2- to 3- fold increase in the free cholesterol content (Table I). It was of interest, therefore, to study the influence on the atherosclerotic process of immunization with antigens directed specifically against the cholesterol ester fraction of the serum lipoproteins. The feasibility of coupling steroid-type molecules as haptens to specific carrier proteins has been demonstrated for progesterone, desoxycorticosterone, and estrone by Erlanger and Borek et al. [5].
Postpartum Medicaid Extension to Address Racial Inequity in Maternal Mortality

The US pregnancy-related mortality ratio, defined as the number of deaths of women while pregnant or up to one year after delivery from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, has increased from 14 5 pregnancy-related deaths per 100 000 live births in 2007 to 16 9 per 100 000 in 2016 1 Nearly a quarter of pregnancyrelated deaths occur between 43 days and one-year postpartum, with cardiovascular conditions being the leading cause of death Expansion states decreased the uninsured rate among women who gave birth in the past year, increased preconception Medicaid enrollment among low-income women, reduced racial disparities in preterm birth and low birth weight,6 and decreased infant mortality Research examining differences in maternal and perinatal outcomes after the implementation of postpartum Medicaid extension as well as the impact of innovative health care delivery mechanisms on inequities in postpartum care will provide critical data that can guide the state-level adoption and implementation of postpartum Medicaid extension Other proposed solutions-including improved maternal death reporting, sustainable support for perinatal quality collaboratives and maternal mortality review committees, increased pregnancy and postpartum support (e g , doulas, patient navigators, breastfeeding peer counselors, home visits, and case management), pregnancy-centered medical homes, and implicit bias training-have been well characterized in the literature 7 Increased access to postpartum health care via Medicaid extension could allow safer birth spacing via improved access to contraception, increased provision of mental health care, improved access to medication-assisted treatment and recovery services, and longer follow-up for medical complications that occur during pregnancy as well as chronic diseases
Presenting Open Forest Ecosystems, Loss, and Consequences for Biodiversity †

Temperate open forest ecosystems of savannas and woodlands that were maintained by understory disturbances of fire and browsing have been lost. Here, I will describe the alternative state of open forests, which span the continuum between grasslands and forests, using structure, composition, function, and management of open pine and oak forests in the eastern United States as an example. Open forests are characterized by simple internal stand structure consisting of a single stratum of overstory trees and limited midstory, allowing co-existence of grasslands in the groundlayer. Current forests contain greater tree densities, which take growing space from herbaceous plants. Loss of open forests remains largely unrecognized due to transition to closed successional forests comprised of diverse tree species, which are the current baselines. Yet open forest loss comes at considerable conservation costs to herbaceous plants, fungi, insects including pollinators, and ‘successional’ and grassland birds and mammals. Open forests with a grasslands understory will impart another management option for forestry and wildlife. Open forest management includes maintaining the tree overstory and herbaceous understory rather than the focus of harvest and regeneration of traditional silviculture. Open old growth forests should be recognized as distinct ecosystems with unique biodiversity and associated management practices, similarly to recognition of closed old growth forests.
Network and Transport Layers

End-to-end IPv6 connectivity between devices and applications is a requirement in many IoT scenarios. However, most physical and link layer protocols presented in Chap. 3 are taken and derived from proprietary stacks that do not natively support IP communication. Moreover, transmission rate, latency, and power consumption of these protocols introduce limitations that prevent direct support of IPv6. This chapter explores the network layer adaptation mechanisms that serve to overcome these issues. Moreover, the chapter also focuses on discussing IoT transport layer characteristics and security implications.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in multiple sclerosis: A cross-sectional survey.

Background:Vaccine willingness among people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) requires assessment following the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccines, since there remains uncertainty on multi...
Democratizing cellular access with CellBricks

Markets in which competition thrives are good for both consumers and innovation but, unfortunately, competition is not thriving in the increasingly important cellular market. We propose CellBricks, a novel cellular architecture that lowers the barrier to entry for new operators by enabling users to consume access on-demand from any available cellular operator — small or large, trusted or untrusted. CellBricks achieves this by moving support for mobility and user management (authentication and billing) out of the network and into end hosts. These changes, we believe, bring valuable benefits beyond enabling competition: they lead to a cellular infrastructure that is simpler and more efficient. We design, build, and evaluate CellBricks, showing that its benefits come at little-to-no cost in performance, with application performance overhead between -1.6% to 3.1% of that achieved by current cellular infrastructure.
Association of self-reported hearing loss severity and healthcare utilization outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries.

Abstract Purpose Understanding health utilization trends in the elderly population is pivotal for Medicare and policymakers. This study evaluates the association between hearing status and health utilization outcomes in a representative sample of elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Materials and methods We employed the 2017 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), which includes self-reported hearing loss data and weighted health utilization information. Analyses were limited to Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older without hearing aids. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess association between self-reported hearing loss and health utilization outcomes. Results Of 7160 respondents, 55.1%, 39.9% and 4.9% reported no trouble hearing, little trouble hearing, and a lot of trouble hearing, respectively. On multivariable logistic regression, both a little and a lot of trouble hearing were associated with trouble accessing care (little trouble hearing: odds ratio [OR] = 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33–2.40, p Conclusions Increasing reported hearing loss severity is associated with decreased access to and avoidance of routine medical visits, and increased utilization of ER visits. These findings have important implications for Medicare, clinicians and policymakers. Further studies should evaluate if hearing aids can mitigate these outcomes.
Landing Site Selection Using a Geometrically Conforming Footprint on Hazardous Small Bodies

In recent years there has been a great deal of research and development pertaining to the landing of spacecraft on small bodies, such as asteroids. The capabilities to identify and avoid large rock...
Theories of Choice and the Stimulus-Response Framework

Publisher Summary The notion implicited in most Stimulus–Response (S–R) theories is that a response of an organism when it is performing some action is the outcome of stimulation at a preceding moment. By this it is meant that when an organism makes any sort of movement, then the movement is caused by something that the organism sees, hears, and smells at an instantly preceding moment. The philosopher and economist interested in psychological theories of choice have probably noticed that many of the mathematically elaborated approaches to this subject share certain presuppositions that are not discussed within the framework of these theories. These presuppositions are inherited from the now classical S–R theories. In addition, the chapter also discusses the implications of a simple experiment for the statistical learning theory. This theory shares the S–R assumptions of its predecessors. It not only does not evade the general objections to the S–R class of theories, but it also encounters fresh difficulties of its own.
On the Drift Rate in Pseudo-Inverse Control of Redundant Robots

Redundant robots which are kinematically controlled using Jacobian pseudo-inverses may not have repeatable joint motions. This problem has been observed and analysed by Klein and Huang[4]. Shamir and Yomdin[8] also analysed this problem using differential geometric approach. Klein and Kee[5] observed through numerical experiments that the drift had predictable properties. Previously Ahmad and Luo[7] presented a measure for the manipulator drift motion (in planar work spaces), which proved useful for drift stability analysis. The mathematical method developed in Luo and Ahmad's paper[7] can predict the properties observed by Klein and Kee. This paper presents a generalisation of the measure of drift in [6] and [7] into arbitrary dimensional workspace and joint space for redundant robots.
Perspectives for the genetic engineering of hydrocarbon oxidizing bacteria.

Hydrocarbons have many different structures, but these microbial substrates have two general characteristics which influence the nature of oxidation pathways. (1) Hydrocarbons are usually hydrophobic molecules, and oxidizing activities are consequently located in cellular membranes. (2) Hydrocarbons are composed of several basic structural units (such as aromatic rings and aliphatic chains). In order to break down these composite substrates, oxidation pathways are organized into segments that are conveniently labeled “throats” and “stomachs”. Throats contain the initial activities which convert a specific hydrocarbon substrate into one of a few common intermediates, such as fatty acids or catechols. Stomachs contain the subsequent activities which transform the intermediates into the organic acid substrates of central metabolic pathways. Typical stomachs include β-oxidation and catechol ring fission pathways. Detailed genetic analysis has been carried out for a few hydrocarbon oxidation pathways, including the plasmidborne alk and xyl systems for oxidation of n-alkanes and of toluene or xylenes. In both cases, there is duplication of plasmic-and chromosome-encoded activities at certain steps of the oxidation pathway. Induction specificities in both systems are often more important than enzyme specificities in determining growth phenotypes on different substrates. Oxidation of halogenated aromatic substrates, such as chlorobenzoic acid or the pesticide 24D, has been the subject of less detailed genetic study, but haloaromatic pathways illustrate the same basic principles as those for non-halogenated substrates: (i) the need to match throats and stomachs, and (ii) the importance of proper pathway regulation to ensure substrate catabolism. The use of broad host-range cloning vectors means that recombinant DNA methods are available for use with hydrocarbon-oxidizing gram-negative bacteria. However, detailed consideration of the possible rate-limiting steps in hydrocarbon oxidation indicates that cloning and overproduction of particular enzymes may often not be successful in strain improvement for specific biodegradations or bioconversions. A particular problem can be the toxicity of membrane hydrocarbon-oxidizing proteins when they are produced at very high levels.
Intellectual Functioning and Ectodermal Dysplasia

In Reply.— Tanner raises some interesting points with respect to the ectodermal dysplasias which deserve further comment: "Ectodermal dysplasia" is not a specific diagnosis. Malformations of ectoderm are frequent manifestations of a host of multiple malformation syndromes. An accurate, specific overall diagnosis is essential for the dysmorphologist or pediatrician to discuss prognosis and recurrence risks with parents in a knowledgeable fashion. Therefore, of paramount importance is the assignment of an accurate diagnosis in a child with an ectodermal dysplasia.
The Language of Autobiography and Fiction: Gide, Barthes, and Robbe-Grillet

Andre Gide's Journals, Roland Barthes's Barthes, and Alain Robbe-Grillet's Le miroir qui revient are autobiographical works. However, each author challenges the authority of the biographical mode by alluding directly or indirectly to the ways in which life and art overlap. This study analyzes autobiography as fiction in the works of these three writers and the degree to which the two genres overlap.
The Israeli Palestinian Conflict: Is There a Zone of Possible Agreement ('Zopa')?

Is a negotiated resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict possible? Can the parties fashion a comprehensive permanent status agreement at the bargaining table that puts an end to the dispute? To put the question in the jargon of negotiation theory: is there a Zone of Possible Agreement, or “ZOPA”? The article seeks to determine whether there is a ZOPA in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and if so, the manner in which it can be emphasized and utilized. The first part uses a simple example to define ZOPA, along with other basic negotiation terms. The second part refers to the feasibility of a ZOPA in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the final section identifies the barriers to an agreement.
The Static Stability of a Two-Dimensional Curved Panel in a Supersonic Flow, with an Application to Panel Flutter

An elementary analysis is given for the problem of steady-state stability, in a supersonic flow, of a two-dimensional curved panel, hinged at two opposite edges, with the distance between the hinges held fixed. The variation of the panel shape with increasing dynamic pressure of the flow is studied. The existence of a critical supersonic speed of flow, above which it is impossible for a bent panel to maintain static equilibrium, is confirmed. Application of the solution to the panel flutter of a flat panel of supersonic aircraft due to thermal buckling is discussed. The critical dynamic pressure of static instability is an upper bound to that of panel flutter. Since this upper bound approaches zero at the initial stages of thermal buckling, it is concluded that if panel flutter is to be avoided, then, in general, thermal buckling of a flat plate cannot be tolerated.
The cognitive tax of self- objectification; Examining sexually objectifying music videos and female emerging adults' cognitive processing of subsequent advertising

Objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206) posits that a consequence of living in a sexually objectifying culture is self-objectification, a cognitively taxing preoccupation with one’s appearance. The present study investigated the effects of exposure to sexual objectification of female artists in music videos, on female emerging adults’ self-objectification and their ability to cognitively process subsequent television commercials. Results indicated that exposure to music videos high in sexual objectification induced self-objectification and hindered participants’ subsequent performance in encoding visual information from commercials, but did not diminish participants’ ability to allocate resources to, or to recall factual information from, the commercials.
Las dos caras de Jano

Los antiguos romanos practicaban la sabia costumbre de mirar hacia el pasado para avizorar mejor el porvenir. Esta actitud estaba simbolizada en el dios bifronte, Ianus o Jano, una de cuyas caras mira hacia atras en tanto que la otra enfrenta el futuro. Y - como este rito se cumplia entre el fin de cada ano y el inicio del siguiente, el dios Jano a daba su nombre al primer mes del ano.
Truly non-blocking writes

Writing data within user or operating system memory often encounters the classic read-before-write problem whereby the page written to must first be read from the backing store, effectively blocking the writing process before modifications are made. Unfortunately, the large gap between memory and storage access performance adversely affects workloads that require substantial read-before-write operations when accessing memory. In this paper, we present techniques thatmake writes to memory truly non-blocking. The basic approach involves absorbing writes immediately in temporary buffer pages and asynchronously merging the updates after reading in the on-disk version of the page. Doing so improves system performance by first, reducing blocking of processes and second, improving the parallelism of data retrieval from the backing store leading to better throughput for read-before-write operations. We analyze the potential benefits of our approach using full-system memory access traces for several benchmarkworkloads and present techniques that commodity operating systems can employ to implement non-blocking writes.
Henry A. Kissinger as Negotiator: Background and Key Accomplishments

Following a brief summary of Henry A. Kissinger’s career, this paper describes three of his most pivotal negotiations: the historic establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, the easing of geopolitical tension with the Soviet Union, symbolized by the signing of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (“SALT I”), and the mediation of the agreement on Sinai disengagement between Egypt and Israel. An appendix lists other important negotiations in which Kissinger played key roles. In a subsequent paper (forthcoming), the authors will examine these and other major events in which Henry Kissinger played leading roles in order to extract their most important insights into the principles and practice of effective negotiation.
The Lived Experience of MRKH: Sharing Health Information with Peers.

Abstract Study Objective To examine the process and emotional effect of disclosing a personal diagnosis of Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH) to peers during adolescence and young adulthood. Design and Setting Qualitative study using semistructured telephone interviews. Participants Nine women diagnosed with MRKH, aged 21-31 years, recruited via patient support groups. Interventions and Main Outcome Measures Motivators and barriers to self-disclosure of a diagnosis of MRKH to peers and partners. Results Motivators to tell peers about a diagnosis included significant trust in the relationship (whether platonic or romantic), needing to unload the experienced burden of diagnosis, and a sense of responsibility to be forthcoming if a long-term romantic future was desired. The most common barrier to telling others was fear of rejection or being labeled a “freak.” Although most participants did not receive guidance from a health care provider regarding approaches to sharing diagnostic information with others, almost all participants reported wishing they had received such counseling. Conclusion A diagnosis of MRKH elicits recurring anxieties about disclosure and the effect on relationships that are inadequately addressed by health care providers. Guidance and support on disclosure to friends and romantic partners should be provided whenever possible.
A cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-based composite films were prepared as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and silica gel hybrid were used to bind the CNCs to form a robust composite film. The mass ratio (i.e., 1 : 1, 1 : 2) of PVA and silica gel was tuned to control the hydrophobicity of the resulting films. Composite films with a range of CNC contents (i.e., 20–60%) were prepared to demonstrate the impact of CNCs on the performance of these materials as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Different from previously reported cross-linked polymer films, CNC-based composite films with 40% hydrophobic binder (i.e., PVA : silica gel = 1 : 2) exhibited simultaneous low water swelling (e.g., ∼5%) and high water uptake (e.g., ∼80%) due to the hydrophilicity and extraordinary dimensional stability of CNCs. It also showed a conductivity of 0.044 and 0.065 S cm−1 at 20 and 60 °C, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the film with 60% CNC and 40% binder is characterized by the lowest hydroxide conductivity-normalized swelling ratio. Decreased CNC contents (i.e., 40 and 20%) resulted in comparable hydroxide conductivity but a greater swelling ratio. These results demonstrate the advantage of CNCs as a key component for a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells over conventional polymers, suggesting the great potential of CNCs in improving the dimensional stability while maintaining the conductivity of existing anion exchange membranes.
Quantitative assessment of hemoglobin-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction.

Hemoglobin (Hb)-based O2 carriers (HBOC) are undergoing extensive development as potential “blood substitutes.” A major problem associated with these molecules is an increase in microvascular perme...
How strong metamerism disturbs color spaces

Systems for arranging and describing color include “color spaces” and “color order systems.” In a color space, tristimulus values R, G, and B are computable for every light (every point in the space). In familiar color spaces, such computation makes use of three functions of wavelength (the color-matching functions that define one of the CIE Standard Observers), one function corresponding to each of R, G, and B. In the presence of strong metamerism (marked spectral difference between the spectral power distributions of a pair of visually matching lights), the color-matching functions may report that one light of the pair has an entirely different color from that of the other member of the visually matching pair of lights. The CIE Standard Observer embodying those color-matching functions “sees” the two visually matching lights as entirely different in color, that is, it reports entirely different sets of R, G, and B for the two visually matching lights, and, thus, an entirely different chromaticity. In an example given here, each of the CIE Standard Observers assigns a strong green color to lights that are seen by normal human observers as a visual match to a hueless reference white. On the other hand, color order systems comprising sets of real objects in a specified illuminant, and which are assembled (visually arranged) by normal observers, as are the Munsell and OSA sets, do not suffer from the type of trouble discussed here. Color spaces depending on mathematical functions of R, G, and B are at risk: both Standard Observers are shown to plot visually identical lights at widely varying points in familiar color spaces (e.g., delta E*ab = 40–50). © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 23: 402–407, 1998
In vitro glucosylation of 1-naphthol by insects

Glucosylation in insects was investigated using tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta) as the primary test insect and 1-naphthol-14C as the substrate. Of 6 common co-factors tested, only UDPG was utilized by the conjugating enzyme system. Neither the hornworm nor housefly enzymes could form the glucuronic acid derivative of 1-naphthol using UDPGA. Centrifugal fractionation of the hornworm homogenates showed that the glucosyltransferase activity was in the 105,000 g soluble fraction. In the housefly, the enzyme activity was associated with the 15,000 g pellet and to a lesser extent with the 105,000 g pellet. In vitro inhibition of the glucosyltransferase by sulphoxide, piperonyl butoxide, and other insecticide synergists was demonstrated.