cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cell-Cycle Controls in G 1 and G 0

The process of cellular division is divided into four phases, termed G1 phase, S phase, G2 phase and M phase. In the G1 phase, two critical processes are performed. First, the cell undergoes extensive increase in mass. Second, it makes the decision to cross the growth factor-dependent restriction point, a critical checkpoint. Tumor cells select for genetic mutations that disrupt the important decisions performed at the restriction point and, this is, in fact, one of the hallmarks of cancer. One of the key negative regulators of the restriction point is the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb). Rb is regulated by a group of serine/threonine-specific protein kinases called cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks). The balance between Rb and Cdks determined by the extent of extracellular growth factor stimulation of receptors ultimately decides if the cell will divide or not.
The Production of Clouds Containing Supercooled Water Droplets or Ice Crystals Under Laboratory Conditions

The basic laboratory experiment in which a supercooled cloud may be seeded and converted to ice crystals is described in considerable detail. Such information is given as type and preparation of th...
Promoting quality-of-life and well-being research in hospitality and tourism

There is an increasing interest in quality-of-life/well-being research in hospitality and tourism. The goal of this paper is to further promote the development and use of quality-of-life/well-being...
Copyright Reform and Copyright Market

Policymakers around the world are working to unlock copyrighted works from substantial transaction costs in the digital environment. Copyright reform initiatives largely follow one of two directions. Policymakers may change copyright from an opt-in regime into an opt-out or all-in regime (e.g., extended collective licenses and compulsory licenses) to eliminate the necessity of copyright transactions and allow downstream users to exploit copyrighted works without authorization. Alternatively, policymakers may streamline private transactions in the marketplace, create incentives for authors to provide licensing information, and eventually allow market players to innovate on efficient business models. In comparison to the market approach, compulsory licenses have a number of drawbacks (e.g., divesting authors of exclusive rights in copyrighted works, resulting in wasteful rent seeking, and setting arbitrary prices for copyright royalties). However, the fundamental concern is that compulsory licenses would undermine the incentives for collecting societies and other market players to improve their services in order to decrease transaction costs. While the United States and the rest of the world are at a crossroads in copyright reform, the road taken (and the road not taken) by Chinese policymakers provides a valuable lesson: We cannot, in the name of lowering transaction costs, completely sidestep transactions and sidestep the market as the principal mechanism to allocate social resources for intellectual creation.
A Highly Efficient and Scalable Model for Crossbar Arrays with Nonlinear Selectors

A scalable crossbar array model is proposed to solve arrays with various sizes and device characteristics. Computation is accelerated >1000× by array reduction, enabling array scaling analysis and extensive design space exploration. Computation errors can be reduced by extrapolation from calculations with different array reduction ratios. The impact of selectors on array performance is analyzed with this model, which can be applied to nonlinear, threshold switch, and rectifying selectors.
Nonthermal rate constants for CH4* + X → CH3 + HX, X = H, O, OH, and O2

Quasiclassical trajectories are used to compute nonthermal rate constants, k*, for abstraction reactions involving highly-excited methane CH4* and the radicals H, O, OH, and O2. Several temperatures and internal energies of methane, Evib, are considered, and significant nonthermal rate enhancements for large Evib are found. Specifically, when CH4* is internally excited close to its dissociation threshold (Evib ≈ D0 = 104 kcal/mol), its reactivity with H, O, and OH is shown to be collision-rate-limited and to approach that of comparably-sized radicals, such as CH3, with k* > 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. Rate constants this large are more typically associated with barrierless reactions, and at 1000 K, this represents a nonthermal rate enhancement, k*/k, of more than two orders of magnitude relative to thermal rate constants k. We show that large nonthermal rate constants persist even after significant internal cooling, with k*/k > 10 down to Evib ≈ D0/4. The competition between collisional cooling and nonthermal reactivity is studied using a simple model, and nonthermal reactions are shown to account for up to 35%–50% of the fate of the products of H + CH3 = CH4* under conditions of practical relevance to combustion. Finally, the accuracy of an effective temperature model for estimating k* from k is quantified.
Azithromycin treatment in children hospitalized with asthma: a retrospective cohort study

Objective: Azithromycin has anti-inflammatory properties in the lungs and decreases the duration of asthma-like episodes in children. We sought to evaluate length of stay (LOS) and readmission rate...
A Picture is Worth 1000 Messages: Investigating Face and Body Photos on Mobile Dating Apps for Men Who Have Sex with Men.

The present study investigated the way men visually self-present on MSM-specific mobile dating app profiles, as well as the connection between visual self-presentation strategies, demographic varia...
224G Package Interconnect Design Study - Based on Artificial Neural Network Modeling Approach

a new modeling methodology for package interconnect study based on abstraction from physical model to circuit model to Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is proposed here. The mapping between circuit model and physical model is done through S-parameter correlation and the training data for ANN is generated through sweeping variables of the circuit model. The trained network is used to explore design space of package interconnect and to predict its electrical performance. The methodology is applied to 224G PAM4 package interconnect design study. 15 variables are defined for the circuit model and 74K data points are generated for training the neural network. The trained network gives good predictions for the differential insertion loss of package interconnect with a testing Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.004 at 56GHz and prediction results can be generated instantly for any variable combinations defined in the circuit model. The proposed modeling methodology has demonstrated effectiveness and good accuracy.
A Real-Time Optimal Eco-driving Approach for Autonomous Vehicles Crossing Multiple Signalized Intersections

This paper develops a methodology for obtaining an optimal acceleration/speed profile for a single autonomous vehicle crossing multiple signalized intersections without stopping in free flow mode. We aim to minimize an objective function that involves a trade-off between travel time and energy consumption of autonomous vehicles. Our design approach differs from most existing approaches based on numerical calculations: it begins with identifying the structure of the optimal acceleration profile and then showing that it is characterized by several parameters, which are used for design optimization. Therefore, the infinite dimensional optimal control problem is transformed into a finite dimensional parametric optimization problem, which enables a real-time online analytical solution. We include simulation results to show quantitatively the advantages of considering multiple intersections jointly rather than dealing with them individually. Based on mild assumptions, the optimal eco-driving algorithm is readily extended to include interfering traffic.
Consistency of the Hill Estimator for Time Series Observed with Measurement Errors

We investigate the asymptotic and finite sample behavior of the Hill estimator applied to time series contaminated by measurement or other errors. We show that for all discrete time models used in practice, whose non‐contaminated marginal distributions are regularly varying, the Hill estimator is consistent. Essentially, the only assumption on the errors is that they have lighter tails than the underlying unobservable process. The asymptotic justification however depends on the specific class of models assumed for the underlying unobservable process. We show by means of a simulation study that the asymptotic robustness of the Hill estimator is clearly manifested in finite samples. We further illustrate this robustness by a numerical study of the interarrival times of anomalies in a backbone internet network, the Internet2 in the United States; the anomalies arrival times are computed with a roundoff error.
Metal-Organic-Framework-Supported and -Isolated Ceria Clusters with Mixed Oxidation States.

The formation of oxygen vacancies via reversible transitions between Ce(IV) and Ce(III) plays a crucial role in the propensity of cerium oxide to act as a supporting promoter in oxidative heterogeneous catalysis. An open challenge is, however, preparation of high-porosity, supported arrays of isolated ceria(IV, III) clusters with high porosity. Herein, we report two examples of oxy-Ce(IV, III) clusters supported and spatially isolated on an oxy-zirconium MOF, NU-1000. The clusters are introduced using either of two Ce complexes (precursors): CeIV(tmhd)4 (tmhd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate) or CeIII(iPrCp)3 (iPrCp = tris(isopropyl-cyclopenta-dienyl), via SIM (solvothermal installation in MOFs). The prepared materials are named Ce-l-SIM-NU-1000 and Ce-n-SIM-NU-1000, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization shows that the ratio of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) oxidation states can be modulated. Difference envelope density analyses of X-ray scattering show that CexOyHz clusters in Ce-n-SIM-NU-1000 are located between pairs of Zr6 nodes, whereas in Ce-l-SIM-NU-1000, they are sited on MOF linkers throughout the micropores of NU-1000. Cluster size differences were further evaluated by pair function distribution (PDF) analyses of total X-ray scattering reveal that the node sited clusters contain of only a few cerium ions, whereas the linker-sited clusters each contain ∼90 cerium ions. The observed size appears to be defined by the size of NU-1000s triangular pores, that is, cluster formation appears to be pore templated. The Ce-SIM functionalized materials are catalytically active for hydrolysis of DMNP (dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate), a nerve-agent simulant. Conversion of a small fraction of the Ce(IV) ions in which the presence of small fractions of the cerium(IV) ions in Ce-l-SIM-NU-1000 to cerium(III) significantly enhances catalytic activity-perhaps by labilizing aqua ligands and facilitating simulant binding to the clusters Lewis-basic metal ions. While not explored here, the larger clusters, when partially reduced, are, we believe, candidate catalysts for O2 activation and subsequent selective oxidation of organic substrates.
Successful Treatment of Cosmetic Oral Mucosal Tattoos Using QS 694-nm Ruby Laser and 755-nm Alexandrite Picosecond Laser.

Background and objectives Q-switched (QS) and picosecond lasers can effectively and safely remove unwanted tattoo pigments. Cosmetic mucosal tattoos are rare and there are only a handful of cases of successful laser tattoo removal, all with QS 1064-nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser. Study design/materials and methods A 19-year-old Fitzpatrick skin-type II female presented for treatment of a 6-month-old, black tattoo on the mucosal surface of her lower lip. She underwent six treatment sessions with a QS 694-nm ruby laser on months 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 12. A 30-year-old Fitzpatrick skin-type IV male presented for treatment of a 10-year-old black tattoo on his left buccal mucosa. He underwent one treatment with 755-nm alexandrite picosecond lasers. Results One month after last treatment, both patients demonstrated marked improvement to the treatment area without scarring or dyspigmentation. Conclusions Given the excellent results seen in the patients presented here, the authors recommend that lasers should be the first-line treatment for the removal of unwanted cosmetic mucosal tattoos, which are typically easier to remove than cutaneous tattoos and can be accomplished with various wavelengths in the picosecond and nanosecond domains. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Restructuring Lebanese Sovereign Debt: Tackling the Holdout Problem

Lebanon can threaten to take the following three actions to restructure its debt and weaken the position of a potential holdout creditor, such as the Ashmore Group, that holds more than 25% of the outstanding debt. First, unilaterally amend the terms of the Fiscal Agency Agreement pursuant to Para. 23.1 to allow bondholders representing a simple majority of the outstanding debt to amend non-core terms, contrary to the 75% required to pass an extraordinary resolution. Second, initiate the debt restructuring through a debt exchange program with an exit consent that requires participating bondholders to vote to amend the two non-core terms in the Fiscal Agency Agreement: (1) amend the forum selection clause to ensure that in the event of default, the creditor may only bring a lawsuit against the debtor in a Lebanese court (para. 8.3); (2) remove the pari passu clause (para. 3). Third, the Lebanese Parliament enacts a law effectively accomplishing that (1) the New bonds are senior to the Old Bonds; (2) the government may make selective payments on its senior debt until they are paid in full without resulting in default on junior claims; (3) successful creditor-litigants have the obligation to apply the proceeds of a successful judgment against Lebanon to senior creditors. In the event that Lebanon fails in these three actions, Lebanon can still rely on the necessity doctrine as an affirmative defense.
Microscale electrokinetic assessments of proteins employing insulating structures

Microscale electrokinetic systems have offer attractive characteristics for the analysis of proteins; in particular, systems that rely on both, linear and nonlinear electrokinetic effects, have proven to be effective platforms for sensing, sorting and purifying protein particles. The present contribution is focused on the assessment of protein samples (protein solutions, exosomes, protein nanocrystals) in devices that contains insulating structures for the generation of nonlinear EK fields. Such devices combine several electrokinetic phenomena that enable effective particle manipulation, especially when suspending medium and applied potential characteristics are carefully fine-tuned. An analysis of the latest findings on protein manipulation in microscale electrokinetic devices is presented and discussed, highlighting the valuable findings obtained by several leading research groups.
Exposing the Fingerprint: Dissecting the Impact of the Wireless Channel on Radio Fingerprinting

Radio fingerprinting uniquely identifies wireless devices by leveraging tiny hardware-level imperfections inevitably present in off-the-shelf radio circuitry. This way, devices can be directly identified at the physical layer by analyzing the unprocessed received waveform – thus avoiding energy-expensive upper-layer cryptography that resource-challenged embedded devices may not be able to afford. Recent advances have proven that convolutional neural networks (CNNs) – thanks to their multidimensional mappings – can achieve fingerprinting accuracy levels impossible to achieve by traditional low-dimensional algorithms. The same research, however, has also suggested that the wireless channel may negatively impact the accuracy of CNN-based radio fingerprinting algorithms by making device-unique hardware imperfections much harder to recognize.In spite of the growing interest in radio fingerprinting research by academia and DARPA, the wireless research community still lacks (i) a large-scale open dataset for radio fingerprinting collected in diverse environments and rich, diverse, channel conditions; and (ii) a full-fledged, systematic, quantitative investigation of the impact of the wireless channel on the accuracy of CNN-based radio fingerprinting algorithms. The key contribution of this paper is to bridge this gap by (i) collecting and sharing with the community more than 7TB of wireless data obtained from 20 wireless devices with identical RF circuitry (and thus, worst-case scenario for fingerprinting) over the course of several days in (a) an anechoic chamber, (b) in-the-wild testbed, and (c) with cable connections; and (ii) providing a first-of-its-kind evaluation of the impact of the wireless channel on CNN-based fingerprinting algorithms through (a) the 7TB experimental dataset and (b) a 400GB dataset provided by DARPA containing hundreds of thousands of transmissions from thousands of WiFi and ADS-B devices with different SNR conditions. Experimental results conclude that (i) the wireless channel impacts the classification accuracy significantly, i.e., from 85% to 9% and from 30% to 17% in the experimental and DARPA dataset, respectively; and that (ii) equalizing I/Q data can increase the accuracy to a significant extent (i.e., by up to 23%) when the number of devices increases significantly.
Back of the queue: Brexit, status loss, and the politics of backlash:

Status anxiety is not a necessary condition for backlash movements, and yet, both are highly complementary. Across political levels, from the community and state to the international system, status...
Sensitive Sharing on Social Media: Exploring Willingness to Disclose PrEP Usage Among Adolescent Males Who Have Sex With Males:

Self-presentation, the process by which people disclose information about themselves to others, is fundamental to online interaction and research on communication technology. Technology often media...
Discrete-Space Metamaterials for Optical Signal Processing

Optical signal processing (OSP) has recently received renewed interest as digital computers are approaching the processing limits dictated by Moore’s law. Here, inspired by digital filters, we propose a new type of OSP metamaterials based on discretization of optical waves in space and subsequent implementation of the desired mathematical operation on the discretized wave. A first order differentiator (subtractor) metasurface in transmission mode is designed as a proof of concept. Compared to other techniques, our approach is characterized by modularity, adaptivity to different forms of operations, broader bandwidth and lower loss.
The potential value of dual time point FDG-PET imaging for the detection of locoregional and distant metastasis from primary breast cancer

1634 Objectives: We have noted delayed imaging with FDG reveals higher degree of uptake at the sites of malignancy on later time points. The aim of this prospective study is to determine whether dual time point imaging increase the sensitivity of FDG-PET imaging for the detection of locoregional and distant metastatic lesions from the primary breast cancer. Methods: Newly diagnosed 224 breast cancer (mean age=52±11 y) patients underwent two sequential PET scans (dual time point imaging) for preoperative staging. The mean times from the iv administration of FGD (5.2 Mbq/kg of body weight) to the first and the second scans were 63 minutes (range:45-114) and 105 minutes (range:80-158), respectively. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of FDG was measured from the region of interest (ROI), which was placed at the site of the lesion on the PET scans from both time points (SUVmax1 and SUVmax2). The percent change in SUVmax between time points 1 and 2 (Δ%SUVmax) was calculated. Except for the patients who had distant metastatic lesions, all patients underwent sentinel node biopsy and axillary dissection during the mastectomy operation. Results: Dual time FDG-PET findings were positive for locoregional and distant metastatic lesions in 37 patients. All these lesions except for those in the lung were confirmed by histopathology or conventional radiological technique and clinical follow up. Lung lesions which did not show an increase in SUV over time were proven to be benign inflammatory lesions. In one patient, there were 3 liver metastatic lesions which showed decreased uptake in dual time point imaging. All lesions other than those in the liver showed increased uptake on delayed image with the highest changes seen in the mediastinal and the internal mammary lymph nodes. The SUVmax1, SUVmax2 and Δ%SUVmax of 92 metastatic lesions were shown in the table below. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that metastatic breast cancer lesions show increased FDG uptake on delayed images except for those in the liver. This increased uptake may be of help in differentiating benign abnormalities from malignant metastatic lesions and increase the sensitivity as well as the specificity of the detection of metastases. This may substantially improve the management of these patients.
Optimal Design of Bipolar Power Pad for Dynamic Inductive EV Charging System Application

This paper proposes a multi-objective design optimization of bipolar power pads (BPP) of dynamic inductive electric power transfer (IPT) with application in electric vehicles. Minimization of IPT's design cost, power loss, and maximization of the IPT system's tolerance against horizontal/vertical misalignment are considered as objective functions during optimization process. The proposed design variables of the proposed algorithm are the shield plate length and width, ferrite bar length and width, the overlapping length of the coils, the coil width and inner length of the coil. Power electronic limitations, maximum allowable electromagnetic field exposure, minimum efficiency (≤ 80%), and upper/lower limits of design parameters are considered as the constraints of this optimization problem. The time harmonic electromagnetic physics model of the BPP is analyzed using an FEMM software coupled with MATLAB. A Non-Dominated Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) is employed as the optimization method, in which, the electromagnetic magnetic measurements from the FEMM software is used to evaluate the fitness values of the proposed objectives. The proposed BPP design optimization is applied on a 10-kW IPT system as a case study. The optimization results produced 15 Pareto optimal solutions which allows the designer to select the best design parameters based on the objectives of highest priority. The experimental setup of the dynamic IPT system based on one of the Pareto solution parameters is constructed and illustrated with details.
Capped Nanojars: Synthesis, Solution and Solid-State Characterization, and Atmospheric CO2 Sequestration by Selective Binding of Carbonate.

Nanojars are a class of supramolecular anion-incarcerating coordination complexes that self-assemble from Cu2+ ions, pyrazole, and a strong base in the presence of highly hydrophilic anions. In this work, we show that if the strong base (e.g., NaOH or Bu4NOH) is replaced by a weak base such as a trialkylamine, capped nanojars of the formula [{Cu3(μ3-OH)(μ-pz)3L3}CO3⊂{Cu(μ-OH)(μ-pz)}n] (pz = pyrazolate anion; L = neutral donor molecule; n = 27-31) are obtained instead of the conventional nanojars. Yet, to obtain capped nanojars, the conjugate acid side product originating from the weak base must be separated by transferring it to water either by precipitation of the water-insoluble capped nanojars or by liquid-liquid extraction. Full characterization using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-vis and variable-temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy in solution, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and solubility studies in the solid state reveals similarities as well as drastic differences between capped nanojars and nanojars lacking the [Cu3(μ3-OH)(μ-pz)3L3]2+ cap. Acid-base reactivity studies demonstrate that capped nanojars are intermediates in the pH-controlled assembly-disassembly of nanojars. During the self-assembly of capped nanojars, CO2 is selectively sequestered from air in the presence of other atmospheric gases and converted to carbonate, the binding of which is selective in the presence of NO3-, ClO4-, BF4-, Cl-, and Br- ions.
Proscribed informality features in published research: A corpus analysis

Abstract Some linguistic features are proscribed in academic writing as they are considered too informal. However, from a descriptive perspective, the extent to which academic writers follow popular proscriptions is an empirical question. Although previous studies present important findings about the frequency of proscribed informality features in academic writing, they do not explore how many academic writers use these features because frequencies were typically not calculated per text (i.e., per article). Additionally, previous research may have included quotes in frequency counts. These methodological limitations are addressed in the current study, which examines (a) whether proscribed informality features are commonly used by a wide range of academic writers, (b) whether disciplines differ in their use of these features, and (c) whether the use of these features has changed over time. The findings show that academic writers tend to avoid many of the proscribed informality features, but some features such as initial conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs, first-person pronouns, and unattended references have higher frequency rates, which corroborates the findings of previous research. Unlike previous research, the current study shows that these high frequencies come from a few academic authors as most authors either use these features minimally or completely avoid them.
Security in Emergency Departments: Spatial Analysis of the Physical Environment

Emergency departments (EDs) are one of the most complex clinical areas in the healthcare system and one of the most dangerous workplaces. Evidence shows that healthcare professionals who work in EDs are more prone to violence from patients and visitors than those working in other healthcare settings. While many studies have highlighted organizational and operational policies to minimize the risk of violence against healthcare workers, very few studies have focused on the role of facility design. This research aimed to (1) gain an understanding of environmental design features in EDs that may impact the occurrence of violet events, and (2) propose potential environmental design scenarios for future examination of ED design through primary research. Peer-reviewed and gray literature on ED design were reviewed, and case examples of ED facility design projects were identified from online sources and were spatially analyzed. Findings from the literature suggested that entry zones of EDs, including entrance doors and vestibules for walk-in patients, reception areas/desks, and waiting areas are associated with the most security issues. Based on this finding, the spatial analysis was limited to the entry zones. The design examples were categorized based on their spatial patterns and visibility properties. This typology of entry layouts helped with developing three design scenarios with different levels of visibility. The design scenarios represent the most common layouts of entry design in ED facilities. A walk-through video of each scenario is developed for future research. A future study can identify the perceived security level of each scenario by presenting them to healthcare workers and security professionals working in EDs. This research highlights the importance of interior environmental design in improving security and reducing the risk of violent behavior against healthcare workers in EDs.
Ptolemy: a framework for simulating and prototyping heterogeneous systems

Ptolemy is an environment for simulation and prototyping of heterogeneous systems. It uses modern object-oriented software technology (C++) to model each subsystem in a natural and efficient manner, and to integrate these subsystems into a whole. Ptolemy encompasses practically all aspects of designing signal processing and communications systems, ranging from algorithms and communication strategies, simulation, hardware and software design, parallel computing, and generating real-time prototypes. To accommodate this breadth, Ptoloemy must support a plethora of widely differing design styles. The core of Ptolemy is a set of object-oriented class definitions that makes a few assumptions about the system to be modeled; rather, standard interfaces are provided for generic objects and more specialized, application-specific objects are derived from these. A basic abstraction in Ptolemy is the Domain, which realizes a computational model appropriate for a particular type of subsystem. Current examples of domains include synchronous and dynamic dataflow, discrete-event, and others appropriate for control software and embedded microcontrollers. Domains can be mixed as appropriate to realize and overall system simulation. Some current applications of Ptolemy include networking and transport, call-processing and signaling software, embedded microcontrollers, signal processing (including implementation in real-time), scheduling of parallel digital signal processors, board-level hardware timing simulation, and combinations of these.
Postpartum Unit Modifies Delivery of Care to Enhance Readiness

Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program New mothers and their families have multiple learning needs, starting in the prenatal period and progressing through labor into the postpartum phase. Nurses are accountable for facilitating the necessary learning by identifying and addressing the specific needs of the family unit. Before discharge it is the responsibility of the nurse and health care team to ensure that the patient and family receive consistent and reliable information. Recognizing an opportunity to improve patient perception of readiness for discharge, our mother/infant unit decided to revise our care delivery model. Proposed Change Modifications to practice included development of a blue discharge folder to be originated upon admission and serve as a living document to record education and follow the woman throughout her stay. This folder served as a reference for the interprofessional team as well as a continuous resource for home. Additionally by incorporating a designated discharge nurse, providing an in‐patient daily Baby Care Class, developing and utilizing a Postpartum Resource Reference Guide , and incorporating specific medication use/side effect information cards, efforts were established to reinforce patient education throughout the hospital stay. Additional resources were implemented for women after discharge, including 24‐hour help‐lines, follow‐up phone calls, home health visits, breastfeeding support groups, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation For a 12‐month period we have tracked patient responses to the following specific Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey questions. These data were used to measure the effectiveness of the modifications implemented. Specific questions and corresponding results included Staff described possible side effects of their medicine (preintervention 55, postintervention 73.7); Nurses and physicians explained things in a way patients could understand (preintervention 84.2 postintervention 91.50); Patients received information in writing about symptoms or health problems to look out for after leaving the hospital (preintervention 87.3, postintervention 98.3); and Extent to which you felt ready for discharge (preintervention 85.9, postintervention 92.7). The patient response has been overwhelmingly positive to these changes as evidenced by patient comments. Implications for Nursing Practice By providing consistent and individualized education to all patients, our unit was able to provide thorough and accurate discharge education and to increase patient readiness for discharge.
Simplified fuel cycle tritium inventory model for systems studies-an illustrative example with an optimized cryopump exhaust system

It is desirable to incorporate safety constraints due to fuel cycle tritium inventories into tokamak reactor design optimization. An optimal scenario to minimize tritium inventories without much degradation of plasma performance can be defined for each tritium processing component. In this work, the computer code TRUFFLES is used exclusively to obtain numerical data for a simplified model to be used for systems studies. As an illustration, the cryopump plasma exhaust subsystem is examined in detail for optimization purposes. This optimization procedure will then be used to further reduce its window of operation and provide constraints on the data used for the simplified tritium inventory model.
TOPICS IN OCEAN ACOUSTIC INVERSE PROBLEMS

This paper discusses topics that have recently been of interest in ocean acoustic inverse problems, including remote sensing and localization problems. A technique for navigating parameter landscapes is useful for solving high-dimensional optimization problems involving long valleys. Localization techniques have been developed for handling multiple sources, interference from ambient noise, and other complications. Efficient techniques have been developed for solving forward problems, which often involve large domains and are nonseparable. Ocean sediments may be modeled as poro- elastic media, which support three types of waves. Global-scale acoustic experiments have been proposed for monitoring global warming. Techniques for solving global-scale acoustics problems have been adapted to Jovian acoustics problems.
"Humanity on the Ballot": The Citizen Intiative and Oregon's War over Gay Civil Rights

The citizen initiative, a form of "direct democracy" by which citizens both draft and enact their own law, is often described by its supporters as the truest and most representative form of democratic government. As Constitutional framers recognized by the creation of the Guarantee Clause, however, the pure expression of the people's will must always be tempered by legislative compromise and judicial constraint. Unchecked, individual voters' fears and private biases come to be memorialized as state code and as constitutional amendments. In this Note, the author highlights the discriminatory nature of the citizen initiative process both generally, and as it targets gay men and lesbians in cities and states across America. Particular attention is paid to the situation of gay men and lesbians in Oregon, where a series of failed citizen initiatives has nonetheless succeeded in creating a climate of hostility and intolerance. The author urges the Supreme Court to accept jurisdiction in cases where citizen initiatives target minority rights, upholding a constitutional scheme that explicitly favors representative state government. In September of 1992, Lon Mabon, founder and chairman of the Oregon Citizen's Alliance (OCA) , walked among the aging trailers at his headquarters in an industrial park off of Oregon's Interstate 5.1 "These are the first units of the cultural war meeting on a political battlefield," he portended.2 "It's about a lot of citizens concerned at the direction the culture's going. "3 Since then, Mabon's battle has been all that he foretold, and it continues to rage today.4 The "war" is over the political and social * Senior Articles Editor, BOSTON COLLEGE THIRD WORLD LAw JOURNAL (2001-2002). 1 John E. Yang, Lines Drawn in Oregon Gay Rights Battle; Votm to Decide if Constitution WiU Declare Homosexuality 'Abnorma~ Wrong, Unnatura~' WASH. POST, Sept. 27, 1992, at A21. 2 [d.
Marcel's Testimony in Existential Psychotherapy with Couples and Families

In recent years a number of family therapists and teachers of family therapy have questioned the direction of the family therapy movement into relationship-distant and procedurally based treatment orientations. The purpose of this article is to outline Gabriel Marcel's concept of “testimony” and to show how this concept can be utilized to facilitate an increased emphasis upon the treatment relationship during marital and family psychotherapy.
The costs of antimerger lawsuits

Abstract This paper presents tests of the hypothesis that the relief imposed in antimerger cases is costly for defendant firms' stockholders. Previous research on this subject suggests that defendants' case-related losses are due entirely to legal expenses and the disruption of productive activity. In this paper it is shown that two out of five portfolios of defendant firms earn abnormal losses when final decisions in antimerger cases are announced. These losses are consistent with the imposition of costly constraints on some defendants by government antitrust enforcers. The tests also show that when acquisitions are canceled following antimerger complaints, the losses to the target firms are substantial and completely offset the gains generated when the acquisitions are proposed.
Vitamin D is Necessary for Reproductive Functions of the Male Rat

The effect of vitamin D deficiency on the fertility and reproductive capacity of male rats was investigated. Male weanling rats were fed vitamin D-deficient or vitamin D-replete diets until maturity, and mated to age-matched, vitamin D-replete females. Vitamin D-deficient males were capable of reproduction. However, successful matings, i.e., presence of sperm in the vaginal tract of the female, by vitamin D-deficient males were reduced by 45% when compared to matings by vitamin D-replete males. Fertility (successful pregnancies in sperm-positive females) was reduced by 73% in litters from vitamin D-deficient male inseminations when compared to litters from females inseminated by vitamin D-replete males. These results demonstrate that vitamin D and its metabolites are necessary for normal reproductive functions in the male rat.
Quasi-Analytical Shape Modification for Neighboring Steady-State Euler Solutions

Aerodynamic inverse design methods which are governing equation consistent are generally limited to the Full Potential equations. Consistent design methods use identical governing equations for all fluid dynamic segments of the algorithm, including shape modification. This ensures that all relevant physical information is included within each design estimate, and therefore, a minimum number of analysis/design iterations are required. This report presents a new, and consistent, shape modification method for future use within a direct-iterative inverse design algorithm. The method is simple, being developed from a truncated quasi-analytical Taylor’s series expansion of the global governing equations. The method is general, since it may use either the Euler or Navier-Stokes equations, any combination of numerical techniques, and any number of spatial dimensions. The proposed method also includes a unique iterative algorithm, and new geometry/grid constraints, to solve the over-determined design problem. An upwind, cell-centered, finite-volume formulation of the two-dimensional Euler equations is used within the present effort. The method is evaluated within a symmetric channel where the design variable is a mid-channel ramp angle which is nominally θ = 5°. Tests were conducted for three target ramp angle perturbations, Δθ = 2%, 10%, and 40%, and three inlet Mach numbers, M = 0.30, 0.85, and 2.00. For a single design estimate, using design-like test conditions, the new method is demonstrated to accurately predict geometry shape changes. This includes the transonic test case with an extreme 40% design variable perturbation where the target geometry was predicted with 95% accuracy.
Echo canceller design for high speed modems

The authors outline the development of a single-chip echo canceller for high-speed modem applications. The device was designed using standard-cell, compiler, and custom design methodologies. The device implements an algorithm in silicon and is capable of 36-million 32-bit arithmetic operations per second at a 12-MHz clock rate. The design consists of 73931 transistors, resulting in a die size of 8.3 mm*8.1 mm, in a 2.0- mu m CMOS process. >
Performance of parallel bit-reversal with cilk and UPC for fast fourier transform

Bit-reversal is widely known being an important program, as essential part of Fast Fourier Transform If not carefully and well designed, it may easily take large portion of FFT application's total execution time In this paper, we present a parallel implementation of Bit-reversal for FFT using Cilk and UPC Based on our previous work of creating parallel Bit-reversal using OpenMP in SPMD style from an unparallelized and sequential algorithm, we could note that keeping the existing parallelism by reorganizing the same program using Cilk and UPC libraries is possible yet achieving good performance Experimental results were obtained by executing these parallel codes on two multi-core SMP platforms, and they show to be very promising.
Party System Decline in Colombia: A Subnational Examination of Presidential and Senate Elections from 1994 to 2006

While many Latin American party systems are experiencing new levels of volatility, the Colombian case allows us to examine the effects of performance factors such as violence and unemployment, while controlling for the consequences of structural change. What best explains changes in the Colombian party system? In the 1980s and 1990s, national level institutional changes created a uniform shock to the party system. Meanwhile, the country faced crucial problems of political violence and economic crisis. Have these challenges undermined the stability of the party system? We test two hypotheses. First, high levels of political violence will increase support for nontraditional parties. Second, economic crisis will increase support for nontraditional parties.
Quantification of Doxorubicin and metabolites in rat plasma and small volume tissue samples by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectroscopy

The anthracycline Doxorubicin (DXR) is used widely for the treatment of human malignancies, and drug delivery technologies are under investigation to enhance antitumor selectivity and effectiveness. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to identify and quantify DXR and key metabolites in small-volume biological samples. The assay was linear over the therapeutically relevant concentration range (0.125-10,000 nM); in brain tissue, the lower limit of quantification was 0.247 nM and the sensitivity was 1.4 pg. The ability to quantify DXR and detect metabolite formation may provide insight into the toxicity and bioavailability of drug incorporated into carriers such as liposomes.
Spacelab Mission 2 pallet-only mode verification flight

The first two flights of Spacelab are intended to verify the utility and flexibility of all elements of the Spacelab inventory, incorporating an array of interchangeable components including pressurized manned laboratories, unpressurized platforms, and related support systems, which can be assembled in several different configurations of pallets and pressurized modules depending on the specific requirements of the mission. System performance will be monitored by flight instrumentation. Attention is given to Mission 2's unique payload-integration equipment and the general problem of mission planning.
Midgap electroabsorption in amorphous silicon-based schottky diodes

Abstract Midgap electroabsorption induced by the injection of electrons in forward biased amorphous silicon-based Schottky diodes is used to estimate an optical transition matrix element.
First principles calculations of the adsorption properties of CO and NO on the defective TiO2(110) surface

First-principles calculations based on spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) have been used to study the adsorption of CO and NO molecules ...
ETERNAL SERUM ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN (AFP) SCREENING FOR NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS (NTDS)

About 90% of NTDs occur without a history of an affected sibling or parent. From available data, routine screening of all 2nd trimester maternal sera has the potential of early prenatal detection of 60-80% of anencephaly and 30-50% of spina bifida. Me have done radioimmunoassays on 1608 maternal sera collected mainly from patients attending for routine antenatal care in early-mid pregnancy. Among 1060 women (pregnancy outcome known in 399 thus far) between 10-24 weeks gestation, there were 48 with fetal loss or major malformation. Of these, 16 had AFP levels > +3 S.D. above the mean (anencephaly (8), fetal loss (4), encephalocele (1), cong. nephrosis (i), fetal growth retard. (1), myelomeningocele (1). Raised AFP levels were noted in twins (2) and 5 normal pregnancies. Pregnancies with an untoward outcome which were not signaled by a raised serum AFP conc. included an open myelomeningocele (1), fetal death (1), Siamese twins (10), spontaneous abortion (18), fetal growth retard. (1), chromosomal abnormalities (2), and others. Assays were done on a research and not a clinical basis, while normal ranges were established. Even in retrospect the number of unnecessary amniocenteses because of falsely elevated serum AFP appears small. Maternal serum AFP screening warrants continuing evaluation.
The amino acid sequence of bovine thymus prothymosin α

Prothymosin alpha has been purified from calf thymus and its amino acid sequence determined. It contains 109 amino acid residues and closely resembles human prothymosin alpha, with only two substitutions, glutamic acid for aspartic acid at position 31 and alanine for serine at position 83. This is in contrast to six differences between rat and bovine prothymosins, including four substitutions and two deletions. The structural similarity of the bovine and human polypeptides makes the former a good candidate for studies on the evaluation of the biological activities of prothymosin alpha in human systems.
The Sense of an Ending in Katherine Mansfield's MARRIAGE À LA MODE

At the end of Katherine Mansfield's “Marriage a la Mode,” Isabel finds herself at a crossroads. Having just received a love letter from her husband after a weekend he feels was spoiled by her self-...
On the combinatorics of B×B-orbits on group compactifications

Abstract It is shown that there is an order isomorphism ϕ ′ from the poset V of B × B -orbits on the wonderful compactification of a semi-simple adjoint group G with Weyl group W to an interval in reverse Chevalley–Bruhat order on a non-canonically associated Coxeter group W (in general neither finite nor affine). Moreover, ϕ ′ preserves the corresponding Kazhdan–Lusztig polynomials. Springer's (partly conjectural) construction of Kazhdan–Lusztig polynomials for the analogues of V for general Coxeter groups W is completed by reducing it by a similar order isomorphism to known results involving a “twisted” Chevalley–Bruhat order on W .