cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SCARF: Detecting Side-Channel Attacks at Real-time using Low-level Hardware Features

Side-Channel Attacks (SCAs) are powerful attacks compromising the security of modern computer systems by exploiting hardware vulnerabilities. Prior studies on detection of SCAs based on low-level microarchitectural features captured from processors’ hardware performance counter (HPC) registers have considered collecting hardware events of both victim applications (cryptographic application, e.g. RSA, AES and etc.) and attack applications. However, in such techniques the attack HPCs data can be easily manipulated and/or corrupted resulting in misleading the SCA detection mechanism. Furthermore, the prior works have explored the suitability of a limited number of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in detecting SCAs without examining the instance level false alarm rate that as we show in this work is a more important evaluation metric for SCA detection techniques. In response, in this paper, we propose SCARF, a machine learning-based real-time side-channel attack detection methodology using low-level hardware features. To this aim, we first only monitor the victim applications’ behavior using the HPC features and analyze the captured low-level traces of the victim applications under no attack and attack conditions to avoid manipulation of attackers’ HPCs. Next, a wide range of ML classifiers with customized HPC features are implemented to determine the most effective ML technique for detecting SCAs at real-time, while improving accuracy and reducing instance-level false alarm rate of ML-based SCA detectors. Lastly, the False Alarm Minimization (FAM) technique is proposed to further reduce the instance level false positive rate of the ML-based SCA detectors. The experimental results indicate that the SCARF methodology can obtain up to 100% attack detection accuracy with 0% instance level false alarm rate for detecting SCAs.
Teleconference Accessibility and Guidelines for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users

In this experience report, we describe the accessibility challenges that deaf and hard of hearing users face in teleconferences, based on both our first-hand participation in meetings, and as User Interface and Experience experts. Teleconferencing poses new accessibility challenges compared to face-to-face communication because of limited social, emotional, and haptic feedback. Above all, teleconferencing participants and organizers need to be flexible, because deaf or hard of hearing people have diverse communication preferences. We explain what recurring problems users experience, where current teleconferencing software falls short, and how to address these shortcomings. We offer specific recommendations for best practices and the experiential reasons behind them.
Longitudinal melanonychia and skin hyperpigmentation associated with hydroxychloroquine therapy

Antimalarials, including hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), may cause hyperpigmentation of the skin, mucous membrane, joints, and cartilage.1, 2, 3 Longitudinal melanonychia, a linear brown-black nail plate band, is rarely reported with HCQ treatment, and histologic confirmation has not been previously published. HCQ is widely used for the treatment of various rheumatic and dermatologic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, cutaneous lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. It inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro4 and has been used to treat COVID-19. Herein, we present a case of skin hyperpigmentation and longitudinal melanonychia with a histology associated with HCQ therapy.
Binary Central Stars

Only a handful of binary central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) are known today, due to the difficulty of detecting their companions. Preliminary results from radial velocity surveys, however, seem to indicate that binarity plays a fundamental, rather than marginal role in the evolution of PNe and that the close binary fraction might be much larger than the currently known value of 10-15%. In this review, we list all the known binary central stars, giving an updated census of their numbers and selected characteristics. A review is also given of the techniques used to detect binaries as well as selected characteristics of related stellar classes which might provide constraints (or additional puzzles) to the theory of PN evolution. Finally, we will formulate the conjecture that all PNe derive from binary interactions and suggest that this is not inconsistent with our current knowledge.
What’s at Stake: Evaluating a Run-Hide-Fight® Intervention Video through the Lens of Vested Interest Theory

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have encouraged colleges and universities to create emergency preparedness interventions that prepare students, faculty, ...
Targeted Wellness Initiatives Are Most Effective for Reducing Otolaryngology Resident Burnout.

Objective:Investigate the effect of a targeted wellness program on burnout in Otolaryngology residents.Methods:Residents and faculty collaboratively developed a program aimed at improving resident ...
The Real Merger Gains: Correcting for Partial Anticipation

Assuming mergers are unpredictable, previous studies find they create no value for acquirers, while targets gain a hefty bid premium. This paper proposes a new approach to account for partial anticipation, which allows the parameters of the asset pricing model to change in response to anticipation signals. I find that pre-offer alphas capture signals, and so should be part of merger gains. Using matched-control samples, I rule out that marketwide movements and firms’ ability to time takeovers may drive these findings. Overall, the gains are larger than a traditional market model indicates, and mergers create substantial value for both firms.
Automated production of [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 for the Glucagonlike Peptide 1 Receptor imaging

1056 Objectives Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) has been demonstrated to be an important cell surface marker for imaging of pancreatic islets and insulinoma. [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 displayed very high specific binding to GLP-1R expressed on pancreatic islets in rodent and nonhuman primates and in one clinical case of insulinoma. The ability to automate the synthesis process for this probe, although challenging, is a prerequisite for clinical application. To our knowledge, we are the first to report an automated synthesis process of this probe that is reproducible and can be used in future clinical studies. Methods [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 was synthesized using an Eckert & Ziegler Modular-Lab PharmTracer system starting with DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 precursor (50 ug, 10.5 nmol) and 68Ga eluted from Eckert & Ziegler 68Ge/68Ga generator systems. The final product was purified by C-8 cartridge after the reaction in ammonium acetate buffer (pH = 4.6 ± 0.4) at 75 °C for 15 min. Results nbsp;[68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 synthesized by automation achieved ~70% radiochemical yield (RCY), > 99% radiochemical purity (RCP), and high specific activity (> 51 GBq/µmol) with total synthesis time of 30 min. We have demonstrated the ability to synthesize[68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-Exendin-4 reproducibly using an automated synthesis systems that resulted in good RCY, high RCP and high specific activity that can be utilized in future clinical studies. Research Support: This work was supported by the grant from Larry L. Hillblom Foundation (2015-D-007-SUP)
A History of Anti-Asian Animus in America

Chinese immigrants were greeted with racism as soon as they arrived in California in the late 1840’s. San Francisco and California led the West in discriminating against the Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The culmination was the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II. Congress enacted the Chinse Exclusion Act and the Japanese Exclusion Act. Asian Americans faced discrimination in education, employment, housing, immigration, law enforcement, marriage, property rights, and voting. They still face discrimination in college admissions.
Chemical Vapor Deposition of Transparent, p-Type Cuprous Bromide Thin Films

The semiconductors CuX (X = Cl, Br, or I) are high-mobility p-type transparent conductors, promising for use in thin film optoelectronic devices such as perovskite photovoltaics. These devices requ...
Next-Day Discharge vs Early Discharge After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract With the growing utilization of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as an alternative option to surgical valve replacement (SAVR) in patients considered to be suboptimal for surgery, there is a need to explore the possibility of next day discharge (NDD) and its potential outcomes. The aim of our study is to compare outcomes and complications following NDD vs the standard early discharge (ED) (less than 3 days). A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane to identify relevant trials. Summary effects were calculated using a DerSimonian and Laird random effects model as odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals for all the clinical endpoints. Studies comparing same-day or next-day discharge vs discharge within the next three days were included in our analysis. 6 studies with 2,672 patients were identified. The risk of bleeding and vascular complications was significantly lower in patients with NDD compared to ED (OR 0.10, P
Calligram: Essays in New Art History from France

Art as semiological fact, Jan Mukarovsky time and the timeless in quattrocento painting, Yves Bonnefoy Giotto's joy, Julia Kristeya the trompe-l'oeil, Jean Baudillard towards a theory of reading in the visual arts - Poussin's "The Arcadian Shepherds", Louis Marin "Las Meninas", Michel Foucault the world as object, Roland Barthes ambrosia and gold, Michel Serres in black and white, Jean-Claude Lebensztejn Turner translates Carnot, Michel Serres the wisdom of art, Roland Barthes.
Effect of 2-hydroxybenzoate on the maintenance of naphthalene-degrading pseudomonads in seeded and unseeded soil.

The addition of specific nontoxic inducers of catabolic operons to contaminated sites is an approach that may enhance the efficiency of in situ biodegradation. The authors determined the genetic response of six pseudomonads to salicylate (also known as 2-hydroxybenzoate) added directly to 50 g of nonsterile soil samples. The strains, isolated from a polyaromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated soil, metabolized naphthalene as the sole source of available carbon, and their DNA sequences show significantly homology to the nahAB genes of the degradative plasmid NAH7. Experimental soil cultures were seeded with naphthalene-degrading strains originally isolated from the soil and amended with salicylate. Soil samples were analyzed periodically for the population density of heterotrophic bacteria and naphthalene degraders and for the abundance of the naphthalene-degradative genotype in the bacterial community. At 160 {mu}g g{sup {minus}1}, salicylate sustained the density of naphthalene degraders at the introduced density for 30 days in addition to producing a two- to sixfold increase in the occurrence in the bacterial community of DNA sequences homologous to the nah operon. No change in recoverable bacterial population densities was observed when soil samples were amended with 16 {mu}g of salicylate g{sup {minus}1}, but this population densities was observed when soil samples were amendedmore » with 16 {mu}g of salicylate g{sup {minus}1}, but this concentration of salicylate induced a significant increase in the level of nah-related genes in the population.« less
Acid Runoff Caused Fish Loss as an Early Warning of Forest Decline

Sulfate, nitrogen, and hydrogen ion deposition in the Laurel Hill region of the Appalachian Plateau province in Pennsylvania has been very high. Records indicate that losses of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) first occurred about 1960, although unrecorded losses probably preceded that date. Research has also attributed loss of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in this region to chronic and episodic stream acidification. Relatively recently, mortality of northern red oak has become a problem in parts of the region with mortalities as high as 60 percent of standing trees evident in some areas. Preliminary analysis indicates that soil acidification may play a significant role in the observed mortality. If this is the case, it would appear that fish losses due to watershed acidification in the region were evident about 30 years prior to the current mortality of northern red oak. Therefore, fish loss caused by acidification may be a prelude to more widespread ecosystem damage as a consequence of chronic deposition of acidifying elements.
Robust 3-D Reconstruction and Analysis of Microstructures from Serial Histologic Sections, with Emphasis on Microvessels in Prostate Cancer

We have developed a technique to reconstruct 3-D microstructures from serial histologic section, and demonstrated the robustness of the method on microvessels associated with prostate cancer and bile ducts in liver specimens. The method is critically based on image coregistration techniques, particularly two dimensional surface matching between extracted image features. The reconstruction paradigm allows 3-D regions of information in several locations throughout a block of tissue to be obtained at different magnifications while maintaining proper spatial relationship to the original data. The reconstructed objects have a generally unmapped and unknown topography. Visualizing anatomic microstructures in 3-D and analyzing their topography will help physicians to better understand and correctly interpret changes in disease.
Elevation of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate potentiates activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase by growth factors in LNCaP prostate cancer cells

Prostate cells are simultaneously exposed to a variety of peptide growth factors and neuropeptides that elevate cAMP. Both the growth factors and cAMP have large effects on the growth, differentiation, and movement of many cell types. Because mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is central to these effects, we analyzed the ways in which these agonists interact in regulating MAPK in prostate cancer cells. We show that, in LNCaP prostate cancer cells, elevation of intracellular cAMP can potentiate the ability of epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin 6, and serum to activate MAPK and that this potentiation depends on protein kinase A and Rap1. The response to cAMP is different in the androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC-3, where elevation of cAMP slightly inhibits MAPK activation by EGF. We also show that treatment of LNCaP with the calcium ionophore A23187 or the phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate activates MAPK, but the activation of MAPK by these agonists is inhibited rather than potentiated by increasing cAMP. Finally, we show that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and interleukin 6 can potentiate the signaling activity of EGF. We conclude that neuroendocrine factors that elevate cAMP sensitize LNCaP prostate cancer cells to signaling by peptide growth factors and that low levels of mixtures of growth factors can activate intracellular signaling to a greater degree than would be predicted from the activity of the individual agonists.
WE-EF-210-05: Diagnosis and Quantification of Liver Steatosis with Quantitative Ultrasound Backscatter Technique

Purpose: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the United States, affects 30% of adult Americans and may progress to more serious diseases. Liver biopsy is the standard method for diagnosing NAFLD. MRI can accurately diagnose and quantify hepatic steatosis but is expensive. Sonography with qualitative interpretation by radiologists is lower cost, more accessible but less sensitive for detection. The objective of this study, using MRI proton density fat fraction (PDFF) as reference, is to assess the accuracy for diagnosing and quantifying steatosis with two quantitative US parameters-- backscatter coefficient (BSC) and attenuation coefficient (AC)--derived from RF signals using the calibration phantom technique. Methods: We performed a prospective, cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of adults (n=204) with NAFLD (MRI-PDFF≥5%) and without NAFLD (controls). Subjects underwent MRI-PDFF and BSC and AC US analyses of the liver on the same day. Patients were randomly assigned to training (n=102, mean age 51±17 years, mean body mass index 31±7 kg/m2) and validation (n=102, mean age 49±17 years, body mass index 30±6 kg/m2) groups; 69% of patients in each group had NAFLD. Results: BSC provided AUC 0.98 (95% CI 0.95–1.00, p<0.0001) for diagnosis of NAFLD; the optimal BSC cut-off provided sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) of 87%, 91%, 95%, and 76%, respectively. AC provided AUC 0.89 (95% CI 0.81–0.96, p<0.0001) for diagnosis of steatosis; the optimal AC cut-off provided sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of 80%, 84%, 92%, and 66%, respectively. BSC and AC both correlated significantly with MRI-PDFF (P<0.0001). Conclusion: QUS BSC and AC can accurately diagnose and quantify hepatic steatosis, using MRI-PDFF as reference. With further validation, QUS may emerge as an inexpensive, widely available tool for NAFLD assessment. General support: NIH R01 CA111289, K23 -DK090303, AmerGastroAssoc Found, TF Williams Scholarship, S3000 scanner loaned by Siemens, Sucampo, JA Hartford Found, Atlantic Philanthropies Amer Gastroenterological Assoc. Agencies had no role in design/conduct of study, collection, management, analysis or interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
Structure and Development of Viruses as Observed in the Electron Microscope VIII. Entry of Influenza Virus

It is suggested that, after attachment of influenza virus to the cell, the viral coat disintegrates. With fusion of virus to the cytoplasmic membrane, the latter undergoes dissolution. Rupture of the viral core permits release of nucleoprotein directly into the cytoplasm. Stages in the process are illustrated.
Quantum Monte Carlo simulation of molecular vibrations

The many-body Schrodinger equation for the vibrational states of H2CO and several of its isotopomers is solved by the diffusion quantum Monte Carlo algorithm. We report exact simulations for the energies and selected properties of the ground state and the out-of-plane vibrations, and simulations for other states using approximate nodal schemes. An importance sampling scheme based on a modular construction of guiding functions is used to reduce statistical noise.
When F-actin Becomes Too Much of a Good Thing

An excess of a protein that regulates actin assembly in white blood cells unexpectedly kills the cell by altering mitochondrial function.
Analysis of machine degradation using a neural network based pattern discrimination model

Abstract Machines degrade as a result of aging and wear, decreasing performance reliability and increasing the potential for faults and failures. The effect of machine faults and failures on factory productivity is an important concern for manufacturing industries. Economic effects relating to machine availability and reliability, as well as corrective (reactive) maintenance costs, have prompted facilities and factories to improve maintenance techniques and operations to monitor machine degradation and detect faults. This paper presents an innovative methodology to change maintenance practice from breakdown reaction to breakdown prevention, thereby reducing maintenance costs and improving productivity. To analyze machine behavior quantitatively, a pattern discrimination model (PDM) based on a cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network was developed. A PUMA 560 robot was used to study the feasibility of the developed technique. Experimental results have shown that the developed technique can analyze machine degradation quantitatively. This methodology can help operators set up machines for a given criterion, determine whether the machine is running correctly, and predict problems before they occur. As a result, maintenance hours can be used more effectively and productively.
Expression, folding, and thermodynamic properties of the bovine oxytocin-neurophysin precursor: Relationships to the intermolecular oxytocin- neurophysin complex

Earlier thermodynamic studies of the intermolecular interactions between mature oxytocin and neurophysin, and of the effects of these interactions on neurophysin folding, raised questions about the intramolecular interactions of oxytocin with neurophysin within their common precursor. To address this issue, the disulfide-rich precursor of oxytocin-associated bovine neurophysin was expressed in Escherichia coli and folded in vitro to yield milligram quantities of purified protein; evidence of significant impediments to yield resulting from damage to Cys residues is presented. The inefficiency associated with the refolding of reduced mature neurophysin in the presence of oxytocin was found not to be alleviated in the precursor. Consistent with this, the effects of pH on the spectroscopic properties of the precursor and on the relative stabilities of the precursor and mature neurophysin to guanidine denaturation indicated that noncovalent intramolecular bonding between oxytocin and neurophysin in the precursor had only a small thermodynamic advantage over the corresponding bonding in the intermolecular complex. Loss of the principal interactions between hormone and protein, and of the enhanced stability of the precursor relative to that of the mature unliganded protein, occurred reversibly upon increasing the pH, with a midpoint at pH 10. Correlation of these results with evidence from NMR studies of structural differences between the precursor and the intermolecular complex, which persist beyond the pH 10 transition, suggests that the covalent attachment of the hormone in the precursor necessitates a conformational change in its neurophysin segment and leads to properties of the system that are distinct from those of either the liganded or unliganded mature protein.
Resource Competition During Seasonal Succession Toward Dominance by Cyanobacteria

An annual replacement of eucaryotic algae by nostocalean cyanobacteria was studied by monitoring the algal and zooplankton communities as well as various nutrient components during three growing seasons in Pleasant Pond, Minnesota. Short-term factorial experiments consisting of nitrogen and phosphorus enrichments and macrograzer removal were performed, and algal population growth was observed to determine whether nitrogen, phosphorus, or both were potentially limiting to different phytoplankton taxa. The algal taxa that were consumed by the dominant grazer, Daphnia pulex, were also determined. Competition for nitrogen together with grazing on the inferior competitors occurred. Several other potential mechanisms -a changing nitrogen-to-phosphorus supply ratio, in- creasing grazing pressure, and competition for silicon-did not appear to be important. Nitrogen was more limiting than phosphorus. At least some nonheterocystous species were nitrogen limited in every experiment. During the transition to dominance by Nos- tocales, Nostocales did not usually respond to nitrogen additions, whereas many other species did. This taxonomic difference in nutrient limitation suggests that some of the species unable to produce heterocysts were being outcompeted for nitrogen. Daphnia grazers consumed Anabaenaflos-aquae, Fragilaria sp., gelatinous greens, pen- nate diatoms, and Scenedesmus spp. Algal responses to added nitrogen and to grazers were often interdependent. A behavioral indirect effect via the grazers' functional response could explain this dependence.
PREDICTING DRAG COEFFICIENT OF PNEUMATIC CAPSULE

This research compares various methods for determining the drag coefficient of a capsule moving through a pneumatic capsule pipeline. A theoretical drag coefficient equation is derived using the 1D energy equation, continuity equation, and momentum equation. The equation contains the orifice coefficients of the end disks, which cannot be predicted accurately without knowing the curvature of the edge of the end disks. The equation is compared with other equations and experimental data found in literature. Using the sharp-crested orifice coefficient published in textbooks overpredicts experimental data by >30%. Calibrating the equation to match individual sets of experimental data yields a maximum 14% error. Finally, using the equation and an empirical formula to correct the orifice coefficient as a function of the diameter ratio of the end disks can predict the drag coefficient within 20% of the experimental data. Achieving greater accuracy requires more accurate determination of the ratio of pipe to disk diameter, curvature of the disk edge, or direct measurement of the drag of individual capsules through model or prototype tests.
CLUSTER FORMULATION OF THE EXACT EQUATION FOR THE EVOLUTION OF A CLASSICAL MANY-BODY SYSTEM

An exact non-Markoffian equation is derived for the evolution of an infinite homogeneous system. This equation, which may be viewed as a time- dependent analog of the equilibrium virial expansion, may be readily applied when the forces between particles include infinite repulsions. The derivation of this equation from Liouville's equation is analogous to Mayer's derivation of the virial expansion from the partition function. In this way the formal development of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics is placed on a similar footing to that of equilibrium statistical mechanics, and a many-body problem is reduced to understanding the dynamics of isolated groups of particles. Fourier expansions and expansions in powers of the interaction potential are avoided by dealing with s-body Green functions (propagators), which are always convergent functions of the interaction potential. These functions correspond to multiplet collisions in ordinary configuration space between s isolated particles and are timedependent analogs of the irreducible clusters well known in equilibrium statistical mechanics. The kernel (memory) of the equation of evolution consists of a linear sum of the time-dependent irreducible clusters. The non-Markoffian behavior of the equation of evolution is, thus, directly given by the time dependence of these clusters, and is explicitly related to incompleted collisions.more » The equation of evolution is solved in the asymptotic limit of long times. In this limit it is found (because the kernel rapidly vanishes) that the equation reduces to a Markoffian master equation involving a scattering operator for both completed and incompleted collisions in configuration space. (auth)« less
Networks in engineering: an emerging approach to project organization studies

The field of social science has introduced a number of qualitative and quantitative approaches that have been adopted in the engineering project organization research domain. One such approach that is receiving increasing attention is social network analysis (SNA). Introduced in the 1930s and refined in multiple domains since the introduction, SNA has become a fundamental tool for social scientists over the past eight decades. Recently, engineering project organization researchers have begun to explore the application of this tool within the engineering project domain. This paper introduces both the historical development of SNA within the social science community and the recent adoption of this approach within the engineering community. The paper traces the recent trend in papers published by the engineering community to illustrate the increasing attention paid to SNA by researchers and the evolution of its use. This background is used to propose several paths forward for future researchers to expand and...
Evaluation of Southern Hemisphere influenza vaccine recommendations.

In 1999, the World Health Organization switched from annual to semiannual recommendations for influenza vaccine composition. We compared the antigenic match between recommendations and circulating viruses before and after 1999. Vaccine match proportion for A/H3N2 viruses increased from 31% to 59% in the Southern hemisphere (P<0.05), and is now comparable to that in the Northern hemisphere. Vaccine match for influenza B decreased from ~100% to 33–54% in both hemispheres (P<0.05), following the unexpected resurgence of influenza B/Victoria in 1997. No estimate was available for influenza A/H1N1. We conclude that semi-annual vaccine recommendations are useful overall and discuss potential ways forward, including a recommendation for the improvement of vaccination policy and influenza surveillance in tropical areas.
On the relationship between extension and anisotropy: Constraints from shear wave splitting across the East African Plateau

Received 28 October 2003; revised 2 April 2004; accepted 21 May 2004; published 6 August 2004. [1] East Africa is a tectonically complex region owing to the presence of a rigid craton, paleothrust belts and shear zones, active magmatism and rifting, and possibly even a mantle plume. We present new splitting results of teleseismic shear phases recorded by 21 broadband seismic stations in Tanzania, seven broadband stations in Kenya, and three permanent broadband Global Seismic Network stations in Kenya and Uganda. Inconsistent apparent splitting is observed beneath the craton and along its southern and southeastern flank in Tanzania. Splitting at stations elsewhere in the rifts and orogenic belts is more consistent. We test between different models of anisotropy for stations with inconsistent splitting (single layer with horizontal fast axis, single layer with dipping fast axis, and two layers with horizontal fast axes). However, we show that these more complicated models do not reasonably explain the data. The data are explained better by a laterally (and/or in some places vertically) varying single-layer model with a horizontal fast axis. We arrive at a conceptual model of anisotropy in Tanzania and Kenya that is controlled by (1) active shear along the base of the plate associated with asthenospheric flow beneath and around the moving craton keel, (2) asthenospheric flow from a plume north of central Kenya, (3) fossilized anisotropy in the lithosphere due to past orogenic events, and possibly (4) aligned magma-filled lenses beneath the rifts. Our most robust conclusion is that we can rule out an extension-induced lattice preferred orientation of olivine as a dominant factor, which is surprising given the long history of extension in the region. This indicates that mantle-lithospheric extension in East Africa occurs via dikeintrusion and/or ductile thinning within narrow rift zones and is possibly facilitated by a mechanical lithospheric anisotropy imparted by fossilized north/south structural or mineralogical fabrics. INDEX TERMS: 7203 Seismology: Body wave propagation; 7218 Seismology: Lithosphere and upper mantle; 8109 Tectonophysics: Continental tectonics—extensional (0905); 8120 Tectonophysics: Dynamics of lithosphere and mantle—general; 8121 Tectonophysics: Dynamics, convection currents and mantle plumes; KEYWORDS: anisotropy, shear wave splitting, extension
Superconducting undulator research at LBNL

(2004). Superconducting undulator research at LBNL. Synchrotron Radiation News: Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 33-37.
Prospects for the evolution of life on Mars: Viking 20 years later

Abstract During the summer of 1976 the two Viking spacecraft arrived at Mars. Their primary objective was to determine if there was life on Mars. The results of the three life detection experiments aboard the two landers, while not definitive, did not show the presence of extant life. In addition, the GC-MS analyses did not find any organic matter in the Martian regolith at either landing site. Although Viking found no life, it provided data to help explain why no extant life was found at the Martian surface: The surface of Mars is an oxidizing, desiccated environment devoid of liquid water. However, data from the chemical analyses of the regolith conducted during the Viking mission as well as recent analyses of SNC meteorites suggests that all of the chemical elements necessary for life to arise occur on Mars. Further, Mars and Earth accreted from the same interplanetary material suggesting that the early chemical and physical environments of the two planets may have been similar. If this is true then the prospects for the evolution of life on Mars rests on the degree and the duration of similarity between Earth and Mars. Data gathered to date suggests that if liquid water existed on the surface of Mars for sufficient time the probability for life to have arisen is quite reasonable.
Comparison of incisional bursting strength of simple continuous and inverted cruciate suture patterns in the equine linea alba.

Objective To determine the bursting strength of ventral median abdominal incisions closed by either simple continuous or inverted cruciate suture patterns. Study Design Experimental. Animal or Sample Population Twelve equine cadavers. Methods A 25 cm ventral median incision was made through the linea alba and a 200 L polyurethane bladder was placed within the abdomen. Either a simple continuous or an inverted cruciate pattern using 3 polyglactin 910 with a bite size and suture interval of 1.5 cm was used to close linea incisions. Closure time was recorded for each pattern. The bladder was inflated with air at 40 L/min, and the pressure at body wall failure recorded. The length of suture used for wound closure and the wound failure modes were recorded. Deviation from the linea (cm), total suture length (cm), suture length to wound length ratio (SL:WL), closure time (min), bursting pressure (mm Hg), and failure modes were compared between groups using Welch-Aspin t-tests. The effects of independent subject variables were assessed for possible effects on bursting strength using analysis of covariance. Results Mean bursting pressure was significantly greater for the simple continuous pattern than for the inverted cruciate pattern (P= .01). Significantly less suture material (P= .0002) was required with the continuous pattern than with the inverted cruciate pattern. Mean closure time, SL:WL, deviation from the linea, and failure modes were not significantly different between groups. No significant effects were noted for independent variables in both groups on bursting strength. Conclusions In this model, a simple continuous closure pattern for ventral median abdominal incisions was stronger than an inverted cruciate pattern. A simple continuous pattern leaves less foreign material in the wound, which may be of benefit in reducing incisional complications. Clinical Relevance Use of a continuous closure pattern for the linea alba may offer greater wound security during episodes of increased intra-abdominal pressure in horses.
Activation of accumbens cell firing by stimuli associated with cocaine delivery during self-administration

Electrophysiological recording procedures were used in behaving rats (n = 11) to examine the responsiveness of nucleus accumbens (Acb) neurons to stimuli associated with intravenous cocaine delivery during self-administration sessions. Of 208 Acb neurons recorded during cocaine (0.33 mg/inf) self-administration sessions, 78 cells exhibited one of four types of patterned discharges (increases and/or decreases in firing rate) immediately before and/or following the cocaine-reinforced response. All phasically active Acb cells were examined in test sessions consisting of "probe" trials (18-20 per session) during which either the drug only was delivered (0.33 mg/inf cocaine, 6 sec) or the stimulus only (tone-houselight, 20 sec) was randomly presented by the computer, interspersed between reinforced lever press responses. Results show that Acb cells that exhibit postresponse changes in firing rate within seconds of the reinforced response appear to be controlled, at least in part, by the stimulus paired with cocaine delivery during the self-administration session and not via a direct pharmacological action of cocaine. In contrast, neurons displaying exclusively preresponse activity do not appear to be influenced by presentation of the drug-associated stimulus or by a direct pharmacological action of the cocaine, but may be related to initiation of the operant response. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of the Acb in mediating conditioned responses associated with drug reinforcement.
Risk Modeling Using Direct Solution of Nonlinear Approximations of the Utility Function

A risk model is developed which involves direct solution of the expected utility maximization problem utilizing nonlinear programming. The model permits the use of utility functions exhibiting increasing, constant, and decreasing absolute risk aversion. Demonstrations are done using functions exhibiting such properties over normal, uniform, and triangular data sets. The desire to reflect uncertainty of future events within decision-making problems has led to a number of risk models. Many of these risk models attempt to reflect the decision maker's expectations of possible outcomes and their probabilities, along with the decision maker's attitude toward assuming risk. Methodological approaches to risky decision problems range from using conservative estimates for the uncertain elements (e.g., a pessimistic price), through methods which explicitly include probability density functions for the uncertain parameters. A class of the latter models has arisen within the mathemat
THE CHARACTER OF VIRTUE: ANSWERING THE SITUATIONIST CHALLENGE TO VIRTUE ETHICS

Neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics makes essential reference to the notion of a stable, robust character-trait. It also claims to be constrained by at least a minimal degree of psychological realism. Recent developments in empirical psychology have drawn into question the evidence for the existence of such robust traits, arguing that it rests on what has been called a ‘fundamental attribution error’. Virtue ethics has thus seemingly been made vulnerable to criticisms that it is essentially dependent on an erroneous, folk-psychological, notion of character and, so, must either abandon their characteristic notion of virtue or forego any pretensions to psychological realism. I develop a two-pronged response to this objection. First, I argue that there is reason to question much of the empirical evidence and that such evidence as does exist can easily be accommodated by virtue ethics. Next, I argue that even if we allow that neo-Aristotelian virtue ethical theories does sometimes presuppose a stronger conception of character-traits than is warranted by the evidence, this does not significantly undermine the virtue ethicist's project.
Genotypic, Phenotypic, and Modeling Studies of a Deletion in the β3-β4 Region of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Reverse Transcriptase Gene That Is Associated with Resistance to Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

Point mutations and inserts in the β3-β4 region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) are associated with resistance to nucleoside analog inhibitors. This report describes HIV-1 strains from seven patients that were found to have a 3-bp deletion in the β3-β4 region of the RT gene. These patient strains also had a mean of 6.2 drug resistance-associated mutations in their RT genes (range, 3 to 10 mutations). The deletion was most frequently found in strains with the Q151M mutation. Nonnucleoside RT inhibitor mutations were found in six of seven strains. Culture-based drug sensitivity assays showed that deletion-containing isolates had reduced susceptibility to four to eight RT inhibitors. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments showed that the deletion alone conferred reduced susceptibility to nucleoside analogs. Changes in the three-dimensional models of the RT deletion mutants were consistently observed at the β3-β4 loop and at helices C and E in both the presence and the absence of dTTP. Loss of hydrogen bonds between the RT and dTTP were also observed in the RT deletion mutant. These results suggest that the deletion in the RT gene contributes to resistance to several nucleoside analogs through a complex interaction with other mutations in the RT gene.
Allowed and forbidden character in the π* ← n band in symmetric alkyl ketones

Abstract The polarized excitation spectra using the T 1 ( nπ * ) → S 0 emission, and oscillator strengths of π * ← n for several symmetric alkyl ketones have been measured. The interpretation of the excitation spectra assumes that the triplet state is distorted and that the T 1 → S 0 emission has a transition moment up to 35° out-of-the average molecular plane and along the C O bond in the triplet state conformation. The results indicate that the formaldehyde vibronic mechanism dominates except where adjacent carbon atoms to the carbonyl carbon provide a low symmetry field, as in diisopropyl or dicyclohexylketones. The hydrogen atoms seem to play only a minor role in giving electronically allowed character to π * ← n .
A Male-Producing Strain of the House Fly

An autosome inherited by male offspring only and a temperature-sensitive lethal factor have been combined in a house fly strain which produces both male and female progeny when reared at 25.6°C but only male progeny when reared at 33.3°C.
Opposite direction of transport across the blood-brain barrier for Tyr-MIF-1 and MIF-1: Comparison with morphine

Tyr-MIF-1 (Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) and MIF-1 (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) are endogenous peptides that can exert opiate-related actions on the CNS after peripheral administration. We found that Tyr-MIF-1 radioactively labeled at the tyrosine was transported across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the direction of brain to blood by a saturable system. Transport occurred equally well when the tetrapeptide was labeled with 125I or when it was labeled with 3H. [3H]MIF-1 and [3H]morphine were not transported out of the CNS but were retained by the brain after intracerebroventricular injection. Both [3H]MIF-1 and [3H]morphine entered the brain after IV injection, with [3H]MIF-1 crossing the BBB by a mechanism that was partially saturable. The entry rate and accumulation of radioactivity by the brain was 50–100 times greater after the IV injection of [3H]MIF-1 than after [3H]morphine. The results show that Tyr-MIF-1 labeled with either 3H or 125I can serve equally well for the measurement of transport across the BBB, that MIF-1 has relatively substantial and rapid access from the blood to the CNS by directly crossing the BBB, and that the BBB can differentially regulate the exchange of related substances between the CNS and blood.
Divalent cation effects on the binding of human anti-phospholipid antibodies.

Abstract (1) Anti-phospholipid antibodies from sera of subjects with documented syphilis were measured as a result of their individual interactions with cardiolipin, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid, each impregnated in nitrocellulose paper from chloroform solution, followed by reaction with a labelled second antibody. Binding curves generated by increasing the cardiolipin concentration over a standard area of nitrocellulose paper showed saturation. (2) The presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+ during the antibody binding step resulted in a complex pattern of binding as a function of the cation concentration. When the extent of binding was normalized to percent of maximum bound, virtually superimpossible patterns were seen with different sera. These patterns were distinctive for both the phospholipid and the cation. (3) The speculation is presented, albeit without any direct evidence, that the extent of antibody binding is sensitive to a variety of intermediate phospholipid phase structures which may be initiated by the presence of the specific divalent cation at a particular concentration.
Thin-layer cell with a rapidly dropping mercury electrode for liquid chromatographic detection

A thin-layer cell with a horizontally positioned, rapidly dropping mercury electrode (TL-RDME) was developed for use in electrochemical detection in liquid chromatography. A specific application to electrosorptive detection based on the measurement of differential doublelayer capacitance, Cd, is detailed. The construction is of both Kel-F and acrylic materials, the latter chosen for ease of viewing. Interchangeable capillaries of varying internal diameter combined with gasket-determined channel thickness allows for a variation in drop times from below 10 ms to more than 200 ms. A drain solution flowing past the reference electrode, which is positioned upstream of the working electrode, provides a convenient electrolyte make-up stream. Typical Cd responses are compared to those obtained using a largevolume wall-jet cell/electrode geometry.
Grading Degradation in an Institutionally Managed Repository

It is not unusual for digital collections to degrade and suffer from problems associated with unexpected change. In an analysis of the ACM conference list, we found that categorizing the degree of change affecting a digital collection over time is a difficult task. More specifically, we found that categorizing this degree of change is not a binary problem where documents are either unchanged or they have changed so dramatically that they do not fit within the scope of the collection. It is, in part, a characterization of the intent of the change. In this work, we examine and categorize the various degrees of change that digital documents endure within the boundaries of an institutionally managed repository.
Matrix-Based Decision Support Tools for Construction Activities on High-Volume Roadways

The Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Transportation Institute recently sponsored a research project to determine the most effective strategies, or combination of strategies, related to construction, traffic management, or public information when initiating pavement preservation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction activities in high-traffic environments. To assist state highway administrators (SHAs) in utilizing the information from this investigation, a series of decision-support matrices was created: (a) a preliminary strategy selection matrix; (b) more detailed matrices focused on construction, traffic management, and public information strategies; and (c) an interdependency matrix that considers synergy among multiple strategies. Application of these matrices is a three-step process. First, based on existing or anticipated local conditions and priorities, the preliminary strategy selection matrix supports selection of initial construction, traffic management, and public information strategie...
CFD Analysis of Personal Ventilation with Volumetric Chemical Reactions

This article studies the concentration distribution in the microenvironment of a person and inhalation exposure in a typical office space when modeling first- and second-order reactions. First, wall adsorption of ozone and d-limonene and the resulting volumetric reaction are validated, and 2D computational concentration profiles are compared to the experimental results from Ito (2007b) with reasonable agreement. The validated model is then implemented in a 3D simulation of a typical office space with a seated thermal manikin, floor diffuser, desk, and optional personal ventilation (PV) system. Three cases were modeled: (1) no PV, (2) a PV system consisting of a single round jet, and (3) a novel low-mixing co-flow nozzle that directs fresh air toward the breathing zone (BZ). All concentration distributions showed significant differences compared to the traditional well-mixed assumption. The inhalation exposure was analyzed as an intake fraction (iF) and compared for the three cases. The co-flow nozzle was ...