cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and Evaluation of Seismic Stability of Free-Standing EPS Embankment for Transportation Systems

This paper summarizes a simplified method for evaluating the interlayer sliding potential of free-standing, rectangular, prismatic-shaped EPS geofoam block embankments subjected to strong ground motion associated with major earthquakes. The steps of the method are: (1) estimate the fundamental period of the embankment, (2) determine the design horizontal acceleration for the design earthquake, (3) determine the horizontal inertial force acting at each interface (4) estimate the sliding resistance and factor of safety against sliding at each interfaces and (5) evaluate the need for countermeasures, if necessary. The methods and evaluations summarized herein suggest that interlayer sliding may initiate if free-standing embankments are exposed to pulses of horizontal acceleration exceeding about 0.5–0.6 g. They further suggest that sliding is generally initiated at the lowermost interlayer and propagates upwards through the embankment to its crest. In severe cases, shear keys, adhesive bonding or other restraint mechanical mechanisms may be appropriate to locally disrupt potential sliding planes as a preventative countermeasure against interlayer sliding or excessive block movement near the outer edges of the embankment. Also, results of numerical modeling suggest that the basal edges of the EPS embankment may begin to experience overstressing due to horizontal sway of the embankment when the design horizontal acceleration values are large. For such cases, consideration should be given to using higher modulus EPS blocks at the outer edges of the basal layer to reduce the potential for overstressing.
Positron Annihilation as a Probe of Localized States in Fluids

This paper concerns the properties of localized states of a light particle (e.g. electron, positron or positronium atom) thermalized in a fluid. In contrast with the more familiar Anderson localization which occurs in solids, in a fluid the atoms are free to rearrange their positions in the vicinity of the light particle and therefore participate in the formation of the average quantum state. Because electron localization affects the mobility of the charge carrier more than any other single factor, it has important consequences for charge transfer. In the following I will describe the experimental evidence for the existence of localized states and how positron annihilation provides a useful window for observing their properties. I will then introduce the theoretical models which have proven helpful for predicting the equilibrium structures and compare their relative merits. As an example, I will conclude with new results obtained from an application of the path integral to the behavior of a positron in Xenon.
Advances in Enteroclysis

Diagnostic radiologists currently assume the primary responsibility for the imaging evaluation of the small bowel. While the modalities of ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are utilized to provide unique information, their role in small bowel evaluation remains complementary to the primary demonstration of small bowel details by barium contrast studies.
Is Desirability of the Trait a Boundary Condition of the Proteus Effect? A Pilot Study

Although previous research has shown that individuals take on aspects of the avatars they embody in virtual environments, studies have not yet tested whether this phenomenon, known as the Proteus e...
Performance estimates for a multicube retroreflector design

Abstract We describe a novel type of retroreflector, which we call a “multicube” retroreflector, optimized to provide improved optical power return when a large number of retroreflectors are dispersed through a volume or on a surface. While it does not match the performance of a “multiplane cross” type retroreflector on an individual level, it offers improved performance compared to a standard corner cube while retaining the corner cube’s advantages: fabrication via stamping, and the ability to densely pack the retroreflectors. When dispersed as part of a cloud of retroreflectors, the multicube design provides significant performance improvements over both simple corner cubes and “multiplane cross” retroreflectors.
Tissue Engineering for Transoral Reconstruction of Large Mandibular Continuity Defects

Reconstruction of maxillomandibular defects is met with unique challenges due to the polymicrobial environment of the oral cavity and poor native tissue regenerative potential. The lack of dynamic stimulation and functional use and the resorption rate of these defects without immediate tissue preservation or augmentation can accelerate as early as the first year after surgery. Autogenous bone graft is the material of choice in maxillofacial reconstruction, although it is extremely vulnerable to intraoral bacterial contamination. Furthermore, a donor harvest site for autogenous graft increases complication rate and hospitalization cost and often requires staged surgical approach. Due to the combination of infection risks to the recipient bed and the limited availability of autogenous donor sites and morbidity associated with the harvesting, traditional autogenous grafting is limited to staging the surgery into two parts. The first stage is the creation of the surgical defect with adequate healing time, followed by the second stage which applies the use of a transcervical approach to bone graft to allow for an isolated recipient bed from the oral cavity. The advancement of tissue engineering has allowed surgeons to offer patients alternative reconstructive options, with excellent, evidence-based outcomes compared to the gold standard set by autogenous bone grafting. In this chapter, we will explore how tissue engineering using bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), recombinant human morphogenic protein (rhBMP-2), and allogenic bone graft fulfills the three basic principles of osteoregeneration and its application in immediate, one-staged surgery with a transoral approach.
Applying sequential surveillance methods that use regression adjustment or weighting to control confounding in a multisite, rare-event, distributed setting: Part 2 in-depth example of a reanalysis of the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella combination vaccine and seizure risk.

Abstract Objective In-depth example of two new group sequential methods for postmarket safety monitoring of new medical products. Study Design and Setting Existing trial-based group sequential approaches have been extended to adjust for confounders, accommodate rare events, and address privacy-related constraints on data sharing. Most adaptations have involved design-based confounder strategies, for example, self-controlled or exposure matching, while analysis-based approaches like regression and weighting have received less attention. We describe the methodology of two new group sequential approaches that use analysis-based confounder adjustment (GS GEE) and weighting (GS IPTW). Using data from the Food and Drug Administration's Sentinel network, we apply both methods in the context of a known positive association: the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine and seizure risk in infants. Results Estimates from both new approaches were similar and comparable to prior studies using design-based methods to address confounding. The time to detection of a safety signal was considerably shorter for GS IPTW, which estimates a risk difference, compared to GS GEE, which provides relative estimates of excess risk. Conclusion Future group sequential safety surveillance efforts should consider analysis-based confounder adjustment techniques that evaluate safety signals on the risk difference scale to achieve greater statistical power and more timely results.
A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Chromosomal Pathogenicity Islands Co-opt Phage Capsids to Facilitate Horizontal Spread

Fillol-Salom et al. describe a mechanism by which an Escherichia coli pathogenicity island is preferentially packaged into a phage particle, thus promoting the spread of pathogenic traits among Gram-negative bacteria while protecting them from lytic infection.
Neurosyphilis Presenting as Intermittent Explosive Disorder and Acute Psychosis.

We present a case of a patient with tertiary syphilis, manifesting as acute psychosis, auditory hallucinations and intermittent explosive disorder with pending legal ramifications for physical violence. Our patient had been seen and treated by a psychologist with Aripiprazole for his erratic and aggressive behavior coupled with his new found psychosis over a one-year period with no avail. Prior accounts of interaction with the patient described him as "easy going", "laid back", and cooperative. Our patient had a complete return to baseline mentation and functionality post treatment with 4 Million Units every four hours of penicillin for two weeks. Neurosyphilis is a disease that greatly affects the mental functioning capacity of those infected. While treatment of syphilis has become greatly straightforward, those living in impoverished conditions and without a continual access to the health care system can progress through the stages of syphilis. It is of vital importance to keep syphilis on our differential for patients with rapidly progressing and broadly encompassing psychiatric disturbances especially in patients that have a lower socioeconomic status.
Republished: Tyrosine kinase inhibitor induced rapidly progressive vasculopathy after intracranial stent placement

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been associated with progressive peripheral arterial disease and, more recently, rare cases of intracranial vascular stenosis have been reported. We report the fourth case of TKI treatment associated intracranial vasculopathy and rapid progression of intracranial vascular stenosis following intracranial stent placement. This was a 49-year-old woman who developed right-sided weakness, paresthesias, numbness, and speech difficulties 7 years following TKI treatment for CML. Cerebral catheter angiography demonstrated 90% stenosis of the left supraclinoid internal carotid artery, for which the patient underwent intracranial stent placement with no residual stenosis and improved distal blood flow. Approximately 1 month following the procedure, the patient returned with similar symptoms. Catheter angiography demonstrated 70% and 50% stenosis just distal and proximal to the stent construct, respectively. Rapid disease progression and non-atherosclerotic vasculopathy may argue against endovascular therapy.
Stages in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Peopling of Lake Bolshoye Ushkovskoye Shore, Kamchatka

This article outlines the findings from excavations at the Ushki sites (four multi-layered and one single-layered), near Lake Bolshoye Ushkovskoye, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The sites were discovered and excavated by N.N. Dikov and M.A. Dikova in 1961-1990. Multidisciplinary studies conducted at Ushki V in 2004-2011 by Northeastern State University extended our knowledge of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene peopling of the peninsula. Information about the chronology of the site and the technological and typological characteristics of lithics are provided. The results suggest that the habitation history of the sites included at least eight stages. Each one is described, and their absolute dates are provided: early stage of the Paleolithic to Neolithic transition (~13,320-12,022 cal BP), late stage of the Paleolithic to Neolithic transition (12,225-10,131 cal BP), Initial Neolithic (~8608-8297 cal BP), Early Neolithic (~6679-4406 cal BP), Middle Neolithic (~2809-1516 cal BP), Late Neolithic (~1059-996 cal BP, or 960-1020 AD), First Old Itelmen Period (~806-597 cal BP, or 1200-1400 AD), and Second Old Itelmen Period (~564-55 cal BP, or 1650-1700 AD). Lithics from the first habitation stage are bifacial arrowheads and stemmed projectile points, those of the second stage are tools on microblades, made with the Yubetsu technique. In the Initial Neolithic, tools on blades appear, inserts become common, and, possibly, dogs begin to be bred as draft animals. The distinctive traits of the Early Neolithic are pottery, prismatic and conical cores, and projectile points and burins on blades. The Tarya culture of the Middle and Late Neolithic is marked by trihedral arrowheads and wooden vessels; crude unifacial adzes give way to polished ones, and labrets appear. The seventh and eighth stages represent the Old Itelmen culture. The findings suggest that the earliest inhabitants of Ushki played an important role in the migratory processes connecting Northeast and Southeast Asia with northwestern America. On the basis of more accurate dates, a new nomenclature for stages 1-4 of Ushki is proposed.
Methoxy groups reduced the estrogenic activity of lignin-derivable replacements relative to bisphenol A and bisphenol F as studied through two in vitro assays.

Abstract Bisguaiacols are promising lignin-derivable alternatives to bisphenol A (BPA), but limited bioassay data are available on their estrogenic activity (EA). Herein, we investigated the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-mediated EA of six newly synthesized bisguaiacols, which differed in the number and location of methoxy substituents, through in vitro assays: MCF-7 cell proliferation and VM7Luc4E2 transactivation. The six bisguaiacols had undetectable EA at concentrations less than 10−7 M, most importantly, with significantly lower EA than BPA over an environmentally relevant range of 10−10–10−7 M. Adding a single methoxy group led to significant reduction in EA in all cases, relative to BPA and one petroleum-derived BPA analogue (bisphenol F, BPF), and the incorporation of more methoxy groups had subtler, but pronounced, impacts on either ERα binding or MCF-7 cell proliferation. In short, the six lignin-inspired bisguaiacols presented herein are viewed as promising sustainable alternatives to BPA and BPF.
Ignacio Ellacuría y el horizonte del bien común de la humanidad

I carry out in this work a genealogical reading and, at the same time, an update and projection of the ethical-political criterion ofthe common good in the context of today's global society. To do this, I maintain a critical dialogue about the meaning of this criterion in the classical authors of the western tradition, and about the way in which they have been used and resignijied in the successive times until today. In this dialogue and for this reconstruction, I pay special attention to the civilizing and normative sense that the common good plays in Jesuit thinkers in the globalized world that emerged from the 16th century; such as Francisco Suarez (1548-1617), and particularly from the conscience crisis and unsustainability of the dynamisms that rule in this global world, and which is analyzed in the work of Ignacio Ellacuria (1930-1989). Thus, I show the critical and ethical relevance of the criterion of the common good of humanity from our historical challenges, as a normative element to ethically evaluate, guide and rebuild the interactions and plural practices and social institutions that perate in world society. Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No. 155, 2020: 105-129
Residential Construction Risk Management: Does It Happen in Real Life?

Risk management is a key component to successfully operate a residential construction company, whether it is a spec builder, custom home builder, or a specialized subcontractor. With each type of contractor, there are many risks that exist but differ greatly between each type of contractor. With differing risks and business strategies, methods of mitigation are also expected to vary. The research was conducted where several residential contractors were interviewed to discuss their businesses, the most important risks, and their risk management process. This was an exploratory study and did not pose a hypothesis or test relationships between variables. This research presents the thoughts and habits of homebuilders as they relate to risk management. This small sample size is not sufficient to conclude with any confidence how a specific type or size of the builder is likely to see and respond to identified risks but gives insights into the processes companies go through in evaluating risks, how they perceive certain risks, their response, and factors that go into the allocation of these risks.
Improved Water, Sanitation and Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Services in South Asia—An Analysis of Demographic Health Surveys

Globally, many millions of people still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. Here, we examined associations between household availability of improved drinking water and sanitation, respectively, and use of maternal and child health (MCH) services in South Asian countries. Demographic and Health Survey population-based data from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan were used, restricted to women with a child aged 0–36 months (n = 145,262). Types of households’ water source and sanitation facilities were categorized based on the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s definitions of “improved” and “unimproved”. We applied logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for improved water and sanitation, respectively, and reported antenatal care visits, having a skilled attendant at birth, and infant vaccination coverage, stratified by maternal education. Among lower educated women, access to improved water source was associated with greater ORs for presence of a skilled attendant at delivery and their children having up-to-date immunizations (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.42). Among lower and higher educated women, improved sanitation (vs. unimproved) was associated with greater ORs for having had adequate antenatal care visits (OR: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.62, 1.88; OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.62, 1.80), and similarly for having had a skilled attendant at birth, and children with up-to-date immunizations. Approaches addressing water/sanitation and MCH services across sectors could be a suggested public health strategy.
A qualitative analysis of third-year medical students' reflection essays regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their education.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed every aspect of healthcare delivery and training. Few studies have reported on the impact of these changes on the experiences, skill development, and career expectations of medical students. Method Using 59 responses to a short reflection essay prompt, 3rd year medical students in Philadelphia described how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their education in mid-2020. Using conventional content analysis, six main themes were identified across 14 codes. Results Students reported concerns regarding their decreased clinical skill training and specialty exposure on their career development due to the loss of in-person experience during their family medicine clerkship. A small number felt very let down and exploited by the continued high cost of tuition while missing clinical interactions. However, many students also expressed professional pride and derived meaning from limited patient and mentorship opportunities. Many students developed a new sense of purpose and a call to become stronger public health and patient advocates. Conclusions The medical field will need to adapt to support medical students adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from an educational and mental health standpoint. However, there are encouraging signs that this may also galvanize many students to engage in leadership roles in their communities, to become more empathetic and thoughtful physicians, and to redesign healthcare in the future to better meet the needs of their most vulnerable patients.
ON-DEMAND EDUCATION TO MEET MARINE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

There is both the need and opportunity to create an environment to share knowledge that will help the maritime industry grow and compete. Technology helps break away from traditional education, which is both synchronous and location-dependent. The freedom to be asynchronous and location-independent lets the instructor and the students plan and control their participation and use of resources to suit their own schedules and preferences. In this learning model, the instructor still determines what is to be learned, but instead of simply presenting information, he or she creates a learning environment that encourages the student to be more self-directed, in fact, the learning experience itself becomes student-centered. In addition to gaining formal, degree-related education, current technologies also provide the possibility of just-in-time education in which a student learns what is needed at the moment to do his or her job. This paper describes the underlying concepts of education on demand, provides some examples of some online programs available today, both generic and marine-industry specific, and presents the authors' views of the future of online education for marine-related organizations and businesses.
Group Characters and Representations 1896–1897

Having now established the great appeal to Frobenius of Dedekind’s suggestion that he study Θ and its factorization, let us consider, with the aid of his correspondence with Dedekind, how he progressed. His first progress report to Dedekind came in a letter dated 12 April 1896, just nine days after Dedekind had finished writing his letter to Frobenius.
Adult Learning Education and Civilization Crises

This chapter addresses how adult learning education may contribute to our modern societies, signaling what I have termed the crises of our modern civilization. There is no question that we are facing a profound set of intertwined crises, and that they seem to feed to each other. In facing this challenge we need to delve into the richest pedagogical and political contributions of adult learning education’s historical legacies.
Autocorrelated error in stock assessment estimates: Implications for management strategy evaluation

Abstract Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is often used in fisheries science to evaluate the effects of different management options. MSE models typically include a stock assessment component to estimate population size and management reference points based on data generated using the model, but including a full assessment within an MSE can be computationally intensive. A commonly used alternative to the full assessment approach is to simulate the error about the stock assessment outcomes as a stochastic process with an assumed level of autocorrelated estimation error. There is little guidance on what might be a reasonable assumed amount of autocorrelation, and what factors might influence this amount. We estimate the amount of temporal autocorrelation in errors of estimated biomass and recruitment from statistical catch at age stock assessment models over a series of scenarios spanning life histories, exploitation levels, recruitment variability, and data quality. Autocorrelation in the error in biomass estimates ( ϕ S ) was positive and relatively high, with median estimates ranging between 0.7 and 0.9. Estimates were highest for the long-lived life history and lowest for the short-lived life history. Exploitation level also affected the amount of autocorrelation, with higher values for lightly exploited populations. On average, however, estimates of ϕ S did not change over time as more data were included in the assessment, and were independent of whether or not a harvest policy was applied. Recruitment variability and data quality had relatively minor effects on autocorrelation of errors.
Making it Real: A Practice-Based Early Childhood Teacher Education Program

In early childhood teacher education programs, the reality of educational systems must be understood and teacher candidates must be ready to deal with the current challenges schools face. The rationale and application of the principles of practice based teacher education are presented in this article. Practice-based teacher education programs offer experiences for candidates to begin to understand the complexities of teaching and integrate knowledge from learning and developmental theories into practice. Grossman et al. (Teach Teach Theor Pract 15(2):273–289, 2009) identify three key concepts in how teaching candidates understand the complex practice of teaching: representations of practice, decomposition of practice, and approximations of practice. In this practice-based teacher education program, the epistemic practices are experienced in conjunction with one another, allowing candidates to explore and question a particular phenomenon about teaching or learning (focused inquiry), observe the teaching or learning about the phenomenon (directed observation), participate in planning and enacting teaching (guided practice), deconstruct experiences and create meaning (focused inquiry) followed by directed observation and/or opportunities to reenact (Hollins in J Teach Educ 62(4):395–407, 2011). High leverage practices were focused on through the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, Pianta et al. in Classroom assessment scoring system manual Pre-K. Brookes Publishing Co., Baltimore, 2008a). Benefits and drawbacks of a practice-based program are discussed.
Axial pertubations on the electronic and magnetic properties of ferric porphyrins: II. Solvent effects on the proton NMR spectra of low-spin cyano complexes

The proton NMR spectra of a series of low-spin bis-cyano ferric complexes of tetraarylporphyrins and octaethylporphyrin in a variety of solvents have been recorded and analyzed. The hyperfine shifts are shown to be very sensitive to the solvent, experiencing an overall downfield bias as the solvent hydrogen-bonding donor strength increased. The characteristic pattern of the contact and dipolar shifts for the meso-aryl group in tetraarylporphyrin complexes are shown to permit a quantitative separation of the dipolar and contact contributions to the hyperfine shift. The separated components indicate that increased solvent hydrogen bonding strength significantly decreases the magnetic anisotropy of the iron and diminishes porphyrin replaced by iron pi bonding. The changes in anisotropy with solvent are shown to be consistent with the coordinated cyanide acting as a proton acceptor. Although similar solvent effects are found to be absent in bis-imidazole complexes, a downfield bias of half the magnitude of the bis-cyano complexes is observed in mixed cyano/imidazole complexes. Hence, the heme hyperfine shifts in cyano-metmyoglobins and -hemoglobins may serve as probes for the protonation of the distal histidyl imidazole.
Early ultraviolet spectroscopy from space

The period starting around 1950 and extending into the twenty-first century will probably ultimately be remembered as the golden age of discovery in observational astronomy. This is because of the simultaneous occurrence of three technological advances: the ability to observe the entire electromagnetic spectrum, by combining observations from the ground and from above the absorbing effects of the Earth’s atmosphere; the creation of efficient and high-precision detectors of electromagnetic radiation; and the development of computers for processing and manipulating large electronic data sets. The field of ultraviolet (UV) astronomical spectroscopy at wavelengths shorter than 3100 A has benefited from all three of these technological revolutions and has required access to space for its very existence.
Intergenerational transmission of alloparental behavior and oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distribution in the prairie vole

Variation in the early environment has the potential to permanently alter offspring behavior and development. We have previously shown that naturally occurring variation in biparental care of offspring in the prairie vole is related to differences in social behavior of the offspring. It was not, however, clear whether the behavioral differences seen between offspring receiving high compared to low amounts of parental care were the result of different care experiences or were due to shared genetics with their high-contact or low-contact parents. Here we use cross-fostering methods to determine the mode of transmission of alloparental behavior and oxytocin receptor (OTR) and vasopressin V1a receptor (V1aR) binding from parent to offspring. Offspring were cross-fostered or in-fostered on postnatal day 1 and parental care received was quantified in the first week postpartum. At weaning, offspring underwent an alloparental care test and brains were then collected from all parents and offspring to examine OTR and V1aR binding. Results indicate that alloparental behavior of offspring was predicted by the parental behavior of their rearing parents. Receptor binding for both OTR and V1aR tended to be predicted by the genetic mothers for female offspring and by the genetic fathers for male offspring. These findings suggest a different, sex-dependent, role of early experience and genetics in shaping behavior compared to receptor distribution and support the notion of sex-dependent outcomes.
Topics in matrix sampling algorithms

We study three fundamental problems of Linear Algebra, lying in the heart of various Machine Learning applications, namely: (i) Low-rank Column-based Matrix Approximation, (ii) Coreset Construction in Least-Squares Regression, and (iii) Feature Selection in k-means Clustering. A high level description of these problems is as follows: given a matrix A and an integer r, what are the r most “important” columns (or rows) in A? A more detailed description is given momentarily. 1. Low-rank Column-based Matrix Approximation. We are given a matrix A and a target rank k. The goal is to select a subset of columns of A and, by using only these columns, compute a rank k approximation to A that is as good as the rank k approximation that would have been obtained by using all the columns. 2. Coreset Construction in Least-Squares Regression. We are given a matrix A and a vector b. Consider the (over-constrained) least-squares problem of minimizing ||Ax − b||2, over all vectors x ∈ D . The domain D represents the constraints on the solution and can be arbitrary. The goal is to select a subset of the rows of A and b and, by using only these rows, find a solution vector that is as good as the solution vector that would have been obtained by using all the rows. 3. Feature Selection in K-means Clustering. We are given a set of points described with respect to a large number of features. The goal is to select a subset of the features and, by using only this subset, obtain a k-partition of the points that is as good as the partition that would have been obtained by using all the features. We present novel algorithms for all three problems mentioned above. Our results can be viewed as follow-up research to a line of work known as “Matrix Sampling Algorithms”. Frieze et al. [59] presented the first such algorithm for the Low-rank Matrix Approximation problem. Since then, such algorithms have been developed for several other problems, e.g. Regression [47], Graph Sparsification [131], and Linear Equation Solving [128]. Our contributions to this line of research are: (i) improved algorithms for Low-rank Matrix Approximation and Regression (ii) algorithms for a new problem domain ( K-means Clustering).
Review of observational results on gamma ray background

Recent observations in the X- and γ-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum have given strong evidence for the existence of an extragalactic intensity with a slowly steepening power law spectrum in the region 103 to 108 eV. Further data from the OSO-III high energy γ-ray detector are in agreement with earlier published reports, and suggest that the γ-rays from high galactic latitudes have a softer spectrum than those from the galactic plane.
The Law and Economics of Street Layouts: How a Grid Pattern Benefits a Downtown

People congregate in cities to improve their prospects for social and economic interactions. As Jane Jacobs recognized, the layout of streets in a city’s central business district can significantly affect individuals’ ability to obtain the agglomeration benefits that they seek. The costs and benefits of alternative street designs are capitalized into the value of abutting lots. A planner of a street layout, as a rule of thumb, should seek to maximize the market value of the private lots within the layout. By this criterion, the street grid characteristic of the downtowns of most U.S. cities is largely successful. Although a grid layout has aesthetic shortcomings, it helps those who frequent a downtown to orient themselves and move about. A grid also is conducive to the creation of rectangular lots, which are ideal for siting structures and minimizing disputes between abutting landowners. Major changes in street layouts, such as those accomplished by Baron Haussmann in Paris and Robert Moses in New York City, are unusual and typically occur in bursts. Surprisingly, the aftermath of a disaster that has destroyed much of a city is not a propitious occasion for the revamping of street locations.
Third-party social interaction and word learning from video.

In previous studies, very young children have learned words while “overhearing” a conversation, yet they have had trouble learning words from a person on video. In Study 1, 64 toddlers (mean age = 29.8 months) viewed an object-labeling demonstration in 1 of 4 conditions. In 2, the speaker (present or on video) directly addressed the child, and in 2, the speaker addressed another adult who was present or was with her on video. Study 2 involved 2 follow-up conditions with 32 toddlers (mean age = 30.4 months). Across the 2 studies, the results indicated that toddlers learned words best when participating in or observing a reciprocal social interaction with a speaker who was present or on video.
Prenatal Detection of a Pericardial Teratoma

A17-year-old gravida II, para I woman was referred for a fetal echocardiographic evaluation at 28 weeks of gestation because of the finding of hydrops fetalis on an obstetrical scan. The study demonstrated a large, complex, anterior mediastinal mass resulting in rotation of the heart leftward and posterior with compression of the right heart chambers (Figure 1⇓). The intracardiac anatomy was normal, with no significant inflow or outflow obstruction identified. Intrauterine removal of the mass was considered but declined by the parents. Preterm labor developed at 32 …
The composition of atmospheric coarse particles at an urban and non-urban site

Abstract The composition of four samples of atmospheric coarse particles (> 6 μm diameter) was determined by morphology using an optical microscope. Two samples were from a rural site and two from an urban site in the midwestern United States. The urban samples represented a heavily industrial sector and a commercial sector of the urban area. The contributions of various sources to total mass concentration were compared. Results indicate that limestone and silicates were the main source of material at the non-urban site. Anthropogenic sources, represented by flyash and coal, were present in the industrial sector sample and rubber tire was present in the commercial sector sample. The mass median diameters (MMD) for different components were as follows: limestone (20 μm), silicates (12 μm), coal, flyash and iron oxide (12 μm) and rubber tire (25 μm).
Benthic exchange of nutrients in Galveston Bay, Texas

Nutrient regeneration rates were determined at three sites increasing in distance from the Trinity River, the main freshwater input source, to Galveston Bay, Texas, from 1994 through 1996. Diffusive fluxes generally agreed in direction with directly measured benthic fluxes but underestimated the exchange of nutrients across the sediment-water interface. While the fluxes of ammonium and phosphate were directed from the sediment into the overlying waters, the fluxes of silicate and chloride changed in both magnitude and direction in response to changing Trinity River flow conditions. Oxygen fluxes showed benthic production during both summer 1995 and winter 1996, while light-dark deployments showed production-consumption, respectively. Benthic inputs of nutrients were higher at either the middle or outer Trinity Bay regions, most likely due to a higher quality and quantity of the autochthonous organic matter deposited. This feature is consistent with and gives evidence for previously observed non-conservative mixing behaviors reported for nutrients in this region of Galveston Bay. Calculated turnover times, between 7 to 135 d for phosphate, 4 to 56 d for silicate, and 0.3 to 10 d for ammonium were significantly shorter than the average Trinity Bay water residence time of 1.5 yr for the period September 1995 through October 1996. During periods of decreased Trinity River flow and increased residence times, benthic inputs of ammonium and phosphate were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude greater than Trinity River inputs and were the dominant input source of these nutrients to Trinity Bay. The sediments, a sink for silicate when overlying water column concentrations of silicate were elevated, became a source of silicate to the overlying waters of Trinity Bay under reduced flow, high salinity conditions.
Intrinsic states in atomic shell theory

The use of intrinsic states to resolve multiplicity difficulties in nuclear shell theory has been extended to the atomic case. If Slater determinantal product states are cast in the role of intrinsic states, it is often possible to produce final states that approximate to the physical states better than those determined by the group-theoretical procedures of Racah. The standard multiplicity separations for electrons of various azimuthal quantum numbersl can also be reproduced in many cases by a judicious choice of an intrinsic state. The usefulness of the method is limited principally by the fact that orthogonal intrinsic states do not necessarily yield orthogonal final states.
The impact of task properties feedback on time series judgmental forecasting tasks

Abstract This study evaluates the impact of task properties feedback on the time series forecast accuracy of four different judgmental forecasting processes. Specifically, we test the impact of providing information on time series data patterns amd degree of noise level to knowledgeable subjects to interpret this information. Ninety eight subjects were used as the source of the individual and three-person group forecasts for eight artificial time series with varying patterns and noise levels. Our findings show that such task properties feedback leads to improvements in forecast accuracy for all forecasting processes tested, particularly for high noise series. This is true for both individual and group judgmental forecasting processes, as well as combination forecasts. These findings have important implications for business practitioners who continue to rely on judgmental forecasting processes. The information provided to subjects in our study is such that it could readily be obtained as output from most statistical software packages. Our findings imply that all judgmental forecasting processes could benefit by relying on this type of cognitive aid as an input to their judgments.
Vertebrate class distribution of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine acetylhydrolase in serum☆

Abstract 1. 1. Serum from numerous mammals and lower vertebrates contains an enzyme activity that is specific for the hydrolysis of the acetate moiety of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (PAF, platelet activating factor). 2. 2. Acetylhydrolase (EC 3.1.1.47, 1-alkyl-2-acetyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine acetohydrolase) was found in all mammalian sera with activity ranging from 11 (fetal calf) to 178 (rabbit) pmol acetate liberated/μl serum/min. 3. 3. The enzyme is not present in avian serum but is a constituent of reptiles and bony fishes.
Light Scattering from Nematic Liquid Crystals in a Nonuniform Velocity Field

Abstract Fluctuations about a nonequilibrium steady state of a nematic liquid crystal subject to small, linear shear, are studied by means of a generalized Langevin method. We find a symmetric broadening of the director power spectrum and estimate the numerical size of the effect for a typical material.
Diagnosis and management of HIV drug hypersensitivity

Drug hypersensitivity reactions are an important cause of morbidity in HIV-infected patients who take complex medication regimens. Correct diagnosis and management of these reactions are essential in the clinical care of HIV disease. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, abacavir, nevirapine, atazanavir, and enfuvirtide can all cause hypersensitivity rashes. In this review, we discuss the evidence for immunologic mechanisms of hypersensitivity reactions to HIV medications, the clinical characteristics of these reactions, and guidelines that currently exist for their identification and management.
Hotel Employee Work Engagement and Its Consequences

Although the popularity of employee engagement among business operators has inspired many practitioner studies, theory-based academic research from the organizational behavior perspective has been relatively limited, especially regarding how employee work engagement benefits employees themselves as well as their organizations. This study empirically tested a theoretical relationship model using the potential consequences of employee engagement in the hotel setting: intrinsic rewards, leader–member exchange (LMX), job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Results of structural equation modeling showed that employee engagement was directly associated with all hypothesized consequences. This study also demonstrated that LMX mediated the relationships of employee engagement with job satisfaction and organizational commitment, while job satisfaction mediated the relationships between employee engagement and organizational commitment and between LMX and organizational commitment.
Real-Time Classification of Multiunit Neural Signals Using Reduced Feature Sets

Classification of characteristic neural spike shapes in multi-unit recordings is performed in real time using a reduced feature set. A model of uncorrelated signal-related noise is used to reduce the feature set by choosing a subset of aperiodic samples which is effective for discrimination between signals by a nearest-mean algorithm. Initial signal classes are determined by an unsupervised clustering algorithm applied to the reduced features of the learning set events. Classification is carried out in real time using a distance measure derived for the reduced feature set. Examples of separation and correlation of multiunit activity from cat and frog visual systems are described.
Observations on Mammary Growth in Parabiotic Rats.

Discussion and conclusionsSince estrogen does not stimulate mammary growth in hypophysectomized rats of the age and size of those used in these experiments,4,5,6 it may be concluded that some pituitary gland substance must have crossed from the partner with hypophysis intact to the hypophysectomized partner and there made possible the mammary growth observed. In this respect the hormone which possesses mammogenic potency is shown to resemble other known pituitary hormones of protein nature. Such passage between parabiotic animals of gonadotropic, adrenotropic and growth hormones has been previously described7,8,9 and was also observed in the present experiments. The steroid hormone estrogen, on the contrary, failed to be transferred to the partner.8 If the pituitary mammotropic substance has a lipoid character as is reported by Lewis and Turner10 it is perhaps surprising that its behavior in parabiosis seems to link it more with the protein hormones than with the chemically more similar estrogen.Since the...
Effects of ligand and metal on the reductive elimination of dihydrogen by dinuclear complexes of chromium and manganese

Six new dinuclear complexes of the form (η6,η6- C6H5C6H4R)Cr2(CO)4-μ-L2, where R  H, L2  (CH3)4P2, [(CH3)2]2CH2, [(CH3O)2P]2NCH3, (F2P)2NCH3, [(CF3CH2O)2P]2CH2 and R  CH3, L  [(C6H5)2P]2CH2 have been prepared and are fully characterized by their elemental analyses and spectral properties. The reactions of several dinuclear chromium compounds and (η5,η5-C5H4C5H4)Mn2- (CO)4-μ-[(C6H5)2P]2CH2 with strong acids have been examined. Dihydrogen evolution has been observed with all but one of the dinuclear chromium compounds. The relative rate of dihydrogen formation by the chromium compounds was found to be dependent upon the metal basicity which is dictated by the electronic character of the diphosphine ligand. The manganese derivative slowly eliminates dihydrogen under strong acid conditions. Deuterated acids have been shown to react with the dinuclear compounds to liberate mostly, but not exclusively, D2 suggesting that some hydrogen exchange with either the arene rings or with the ligands is occurring prior to dihydrogen elimination. In no case has it been possible to recover the dinuclear compound intact after the reductive elimination of dihydrogen.
The Changing Face of Power Plant Statistics: New Changes to IEEE 762 and GADS

For the last three years, GADS Services of the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) has worked with other members of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) to review and improve the IEEE Standard 762, “Definitions for Reporting Electric Generating Unit Reliability, Availability and Productivity.” IEEE 762 is the basis of equations and definitions for the NERC Generating Availability Data System (GADS). With the help of North American, European and South African colleagues, the IEEE 762 has moved closer to that used in other parts of the world. This paper explains several major changes to IEEE 762 to bring about the compatibility. It also mentions some applications that are used by NERC GADS.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
The pharmacist's role in promoting preconception health

Abstract Objective To review the pharmacist's role in preconception health. Data sources PubMed search using the terms preconception, immunizations, epilepsy, diabetes, depression, tobacco, asthma, hypertension, anticoagulation, pharmacist, pregnancy, and current national guidelines. Data synthesis Preconception health has become recognized as an important public health focus to improve pregnancy outcomes. Pharmacists have a unique role as accessible health care providers to optimize preconception health by screening women for tobacco use, appropriate immunizations, and current medication use. Counseling patients on preconception risk factors and adequate folic acid supplementation as well as providing recommendations for safe and effective management of chronic conditions are also critical and within the scope of practice for pharmacists. Conclusion Pharmacists play an important role in medication screening, chronic disease state management, and preconception planning to aid women in preparing for healthy pregnancies.
In advertising we trust: : Religiosity's influence on marketplace and relational trust

Trust is a critical component of marketing for both brands and consumers. Competing theories suggest that high-religiosity consumers could be either more or less trusting of marketing. Thus, this article explores religiosity's influence on broad marketplace trust that influences more specific relational trust in the context of advertising messages. Study 1 shows that marketplace and relational trust positively mediate the relationship between religiosity and product evaluations. Studies 2 and 3 test moderators to this relationship based on three dimensions of religiosity: affective, behavioral, and cognitive.