cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Internet of Things: Moving toward a Use-Based Model for Information Privacy

Currently, privacy law takes a collection-based approach to restricting how companies acquire information from consumers. Whether we actually read them or not, we often see this approach manifested in the privacy policies that we consent to in order to use services like Google. However, data use and the privacy implications created by the IoT have the potential to obscure even the longest privacy policies. Instead, we should adopt a more flexible approach to the information created by the Internet of Things. Specifically, this change should take the form of a context-specific, use-based approach, rather than the current collection-based approach.
Acupuncture for reduction of symptom burden in multiple myeloma patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a randomized sham-controlled trial.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is potentially curative for a number of hematologic malignancies, but is associated with high symptom burden. We conducted a randomized sham-controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate efficacy and safety of acupuncture as an integrative treatment for managing common symptoms during HCT. Adult patients with multiple myeloma undergoing high-dose melphalan followed by autologous HCT (AHCT) were randomized to receive either true or sham acupuncture once daily for 5 days starting the day after chemotherapy. Patients and clinical evaluators, but not acupuncturists, were blinded to group assignment. Symptom burden, the primary outcome was assessed with the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) at baseline, during transplantation, and at 15 and 30 days post transplantation. Among 60 participants, true acupuncture produced nonsignificant reductions in overall MDASI core symptom scores and symptom interference scores during transplantation (P = .4 and .3, respectively), at 15 days (P = .10 and .3), and at 30 days posttransplantation (P = .2 and .4) relative to sham. However, true acupuncture was significantly more efficacious in reducing nausea, lack of appetite, and drowsiness at 15 days (P = .042, .025, and .010, respectively). Patients receiving sham acupuncture were more likely to increase pain medication use posttransplantation (odds ratio 5.31, P = .017). Acupuncture was well tolerated with few attributable adverse events. True acupuncture may prevent escalation of symptoms including nausea, lack of appetite, and drowsiness experienced by patients undergoing AHCT, and reduce the use of pain medications. These findings need to be confirmed in a future definitive study. NCT01811862
Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and the Care of Older Adults

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a promising model for transforming the organization and delivery of comprehensive, cost-effective primary care. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the PCMH encompasses five major functions and attributes: comprehensive care, patient centered, coordinated care, accessible services, and quality and safety. The PCMH model of care has the potential to improve the health of older Americans, as it is uniquely aligned with the values of geriatric medicine to deliver primary care for high-cost, high-need older adults with complex health needs. Given the demographic imperative of an aging society, the PCMH enhanced for older adults is an ideal model to strengthen the care of all populations as primary care becomes the focal point of complex care coordination.
Ultracompact Silicon-Conductive Oxide Nanocavity Modulator with 0.02 Lambda-Cubic Active Volume

Silicon photonic modulators rely on the plasma dispersion effect by free carrier injection or depletion, which can only induce moderate refractive index perturbation. Therefore the size and energy efficiency of silicon photonic modulators are ultimately limited as they are also subject to the diffraction limit. Here we report an ultra-compact electro-optic modulator with total device footprint of 0.6 × 8 µm2 by integrating voltage-switched transparent conductive oxide with one-dimensional silicon photonic crystal nano-cavity. The active modulation volume is only 0.06 um3, which is less than 2% of the lambda-cubic volume. The device operates in the dual mode of cavity resonance and optical absorption by exploiting the refractive index modulation from both the conductive oxide and the silicon waveguide induced by the applied gate voltage. Such metal-free, hybrid silicon-conductive oxide nano-cavity modulator also demonstrates only 0.5 dB extra optical loss, moderate Q-factor above 1,000 and high energy effi...
High-temperature strengthening mechanisms of Laves and B2 precipitates in a novel ferritic alloy

Abstract Precipitates of the Laves and B2 phases were engineered in a newly-designed advanced ferritic alloy. Under creep test at 650 °C with 120 MPa, the material showed a steady-state minimum creep rate of 1 × 10−4 h−1, about one order of magnitude lower than T91. Microstructural characterization of the ferritic alloy revealed primarily ductile and partially brittle fractures after the creep test. Coarse Laves phase (~ 1 µm) was observed associating with the brittle fracture, resulting in reduced creep ductility. However, fine Laves phase precipitates (~ 100 nm) helped the dimple-ductile fracture and strengthened the material through impeding the motion of dislocations and boundaries. Unlike the B2 precipitates remained coherent exerting the classic Orowan bypassing mechanism at the brittle location, some of the B2 precipitates at the ductile location became incoherent and can develop an attractive interaction with dislocations. This coherency change of B2 precipitates, together with the nucleation of ultrafine (~ 40 nm) Laves phase precipitates during the creep test, would compensate for the coarsening-induced loss of Orowan strengthening of coherent B2 precipitates.
Association between sella turcica bridging and palatal canine impaction: Evaluation using lateral cephalograms and CBCT.

Summary Introduction The purpose of this study was to find a correlation between sella turcica bridging and the presence of a palatal impacted canine, using lateral cephalograms and CBCT. Material and method We selected the lateral cephalograms and CBCTs of 60 patients meeting specific criteria. The radiographs were analysed to study the relationship between sella turca bridging and several factors. The presence or absence of a partial or total bridging was deducted by measuring the dimensions of the sella turcica and by using an accurate scoring system. Results and conclusion Our study did not show any statistically significant association between sella turcica bridging as diagnosed on the lateral cephalogram and the CBCT images and the following factors: age, gender, facial type, skeletal class and the presence of an impacted canine. We found a significant difference for the classification of the sella turcica between these two radiographic methods.
The Effect of Education on Information Systems Success: Lessons from Human Resources

Research into the relationship between education and information systems (IS) success (use, satisfaction, and impact) has produced mixed results. Such results seem counterintuitive, given the many benefits that education brings to the workplace. However, workplace research from Human Resources (HR) has similarly found that education has little direct effect on job performance. Instead, education has indirect effects on job performance through job expertise, which is what drives behavior and job performance. The present research integrated the Delone & McLean IS Success Model with the Job Performance Model, and found similar results: in a survey of 465 professionals working in business analytics (BA), user education level had no direct effect on IS success (BA tool use, satisfaction, and impact). Instead, education level had a positive effect on expertise with the BA tool, which in turn positively affected BA tool use. These results build upon those from HR, and suggest that education has an indirect effect on IS success, rather than a direct effect.
The Quest for Better Biomarkers of Bone Turnover in CKD.

Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) is a complex heterogeneous disorder of bone that results from abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism, decreased calcitriol synthesis, increased parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, metabolic acidosis, and defective bone mineralization. Specifically, ROD is the bone
Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of an Infiltration Experiment in a Semiarid Deep Vadose Zone

Over the past 15 years, the University of Arizona has carried out four controlled infiltration experiments in a 3, 600 m2, 15 m deep vadose zone during which the evolution of moisture content and matric potential was monitored and the subsurface stratigraphy, texture, and bulk density were characterized. This chapter will first provide a brief overview of the site characteristics and the available data. Subsequently a geospatial analysis using old and recently acquired data will be carried out to demonstrate that a vertical domain trend due to alluvial layering must be accounted for. The resulting model for subsurface texture is used to reanalyze a neutron probe calibration set, such that unbiased texture-dependent estimates of soil moisture become possible. The resulting models are applied to the third infiltration experiment conducted at the site (January 2001 to February 2002) and interpreted with moment analysis based on depth-mean moisture contents. The work presented here is a first step towards a full reanalysis of the site’s data, which in future publications will also include flow and transport modeling and an assessment how much data and of what kind are needed to build an acceptable vadose zone model.
Weaving a Web of Service: Academic and Civic Life at Florida State University

The roots of service learning at Florida State University reach back several decades. They have begun to bear institutional fruit over the last ten years. The model that has evolved — a web of service opportunities surrounding students and faculty with multiple avenues for relating university and community — took shape over this period through a mixture of administrative intention and individual initiative. Despite real successes, the program is still undergoing decided growing pains that are rich in lessons learned.
The Lattice of Completions of an Ordered Set

For any ordered set P, the join dense completions of P form a complete lattice K(P) with least element O(P), the lattice of order ideals of P, and greatest element M(P), the Dedekind–MacNeille completion P. The lattice K(P) is isomorphic to an ideal of the lattice of all closure operators on the lattice O(P). Thus it inherits some local structural properties which hold in the lattice of closure operators on any complete lattice. In particular, if K(P) is finite, then it is an upper semimodular lattice and an upper bounded homomorphic image of a free lattice, and hence meet semidistributive.
The Isolation of the Surface Membranes of Animal Cells: A Survey

At present we are witnessing a rapidly growing interest in the cell surface structure. While some investigators are examining the essential nature of the membrane itself, others, such as virologists, developmental biologists, immunologists, and oncologists are studying the role of the surface membrane in processes relevant to their special interests. Although surface structure of the intact cell can be profitably studied in situ,invaluable information can often be obtained only after removal of the surface structure from the cells. It should be remembered, however, that the vigorous methods employed to remove the structure from the cell and to separate it from other cellular components may alter the membrane; i.e., there may be losses, additions by adsorptive processes, or enzymatic degradation of membrane components and even significant changes of protein configuration. Therefore, use of the isolated membrane should be approached with caution.
Acoustic Remote Sensing

The use of conventional instrumentation to measure mean winds, temperature, humidity, and turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer, coupled with advances in numerical modeling methods, has led to great improvements in our understanding of this region of the atmosphere. Coincident with these advances has been the development of a variety of remote-sensing devices. Exploiting the interaction of acoustic, radio, and light waves with the atmosphere’s turbulent microstructure, these devices have provided a new means to measure and visualize the physical processes that govern the structure and evolution of the lower atmosphere. In this article, we describe the development and application of acoustic sounding methods to these studies.
Lack of Emotional Awareness is Associated with Thwarted Belongingness and Acquired Capability for Suicide in a Military Psychiatric Inpatient Sample

Objective To examine potential links between facets of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation to components of the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability) among U.S. military personnel. Method The current study performed secondary data analysis from a randomized control trial testing the efficacy of a cognitive therapy for 134 service members (71.64% male, 68.66% Caucasian; mean age: 30.14) admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit for a suicide-related crisis. We utilized the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale, and the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire. Results All emotion dysregulation dimensions and one impulsivity facet (attentional) were positively correlated with perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Lack of emotional awareness was positively associated with acquired capability. After controlling for depression, hopelessness, and demographic covariates, lack of emotional awareness was significantly associated with both thwarted belongingness and acquired capability, but not perceived burdensomeness, and impulsivity dimensions did not link to any variable of interest. Conclusions Findings imply that individuals with reduced emotional awareness may have difficulty cultivating interpersonal bonds and be more vulnerable to elevated acquired capability. Lack of emotional awareness may be a potential contributor to both suicidal desire and capability.
Banning the Beatles: ‘A Day in the Life’ at the BBC and the creation of Radio 1

By 1967, the BBC had lost a significant number of listeners to offshore 'pirate' radio stations such that its administrators developed a plan to split the Light Programme into two channels, one of which would feature pop-music recordings to recapture some of that audience. With legislation moving through Parliament to eliminate the 'pirates', Associate Director of Sound BroadcastingRichard Marriott convinced the Board of Governors to establish what would become Radio 1. In the context of the 'Summer of Love', he moved to reassure the board that the BBC's traditional standards would be maintained. Against a backdrop of drug arrests and a history of songs slipping drug references past censors, Marriott chose the Beatles' 'A Day in the Life' as one of his vehicles for proving that the new channel would uphold the mission to inform, to educate, and to entertain. The decision not to broadcast 'A Day in the Life' coincided with a conservative political rejection of the social changes that have come to characterize the 1960s.
The loop of relativistic velocities as a deformation of the menhir loop

The algebra of the relativistic composition of velocities is shown to be isomorphic to an algebraic loop defined on division algebras. This makes calculations in special relativity effortless and straightforward, unlike the standard formulation, which consists of a rather convoluted algebraic equation. The elegant appearance of the new formula brings about an additional value.
Reduced-order H/sub /spl infin// compensator design for nonstandard problems

This paper presents reduced-order H/sub /spl infin// compensator design methods for three different nonstandard cases. These design methods are developed based on the bounded real lemma, and the resultant design algorithms are two Riccati inequalities which are not mutually coupled.
Insights from bitcoin trading

We examine commonality in returns and volume for Bitcoin–fiat currency pairs, each trading in a country with a single time zone. Bitcoin has substantial volume and obeys the theory related to commonality, liquidity, and price discovery. We find evidence that one common factor explains 68% of the variance in hourly volume. Though trading is higher on weekdays, there is substantial weekend trading, reflecting high retail participation. Volume is higher on exchanges during local working hours, as seen in forex markets, supporting the view that trading patterns depend on the location of trade rather than the location of the asset traded.
Arrhythmias During Pregnancy and Postpartum

The incidence of cardiac arrhythmias during pregnancy is increasing, and the distribution of presenting arrhythmias is changing with an evolving maternal population. Atrial fibrillation is now the most common arrhythmia in pregnancy, but all types of arrhythmia and structural heart disease may be encountered. These arrhythmias may be associated with worse maternal and fetal outcomes. There are minimal data to guide management and decision-making in this patient population, and therapy should be reserved for those with severe symptoms. Diagnostic and therapeutic interventions should be avoided, if possible, during the first trimester. Antiarrhythmic drugs with the longest safety record should be used first. In the case of refractory arrhythmias, catheter ablation and device therapy can be performed utilizing techniques to minimize ionizing radiation.
The influence of secondary wrong wiring of voltage transformer on measurement error

In this paper, the influence of mutual opposition error between the standard secondary line at the end of the test bench and the tested secondary line in the error test of voltage transformer is analyzed, and the corresponding solutions are proposed for the wrong wiring.
The Impact of Diabetes on Outcomes and Health Care Costs Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objectives:Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is commonly used to treat an array of cervical spine pathology and is associated with good outcomes...
Háblame de tí: Latino mobilization, group dynamics and issue prioritization in the 2020 Election

What motivated Latinos to turnout in 2020 in the middle of a global health pandemic that has devastated their community financially, physically and mentally? How might we explain Latino support for each one of the Presidential candidates in the context of these crises? In this paper, we tackle these questions through an investigation of the factors that drove Latino turnout in 2020 and what might explain Latino favorability for Joe Biden and Donald Trump To contextualize these findings, we compare these results to the 2016 election We find that the most predictive factors of Latino turnout in 2020 were perceived group discrimination and mobilization efforts by campaigns and other organizations We also find that Latino candidate preference in 2020 can be best explained by issue prioritization Latinos for whom the economy was the most important issue were more likely to support Donald Trump However, Latinos for whom COVID-19 and racism towards the Latino community were the top pressing political priorities were more likely to favor Joe Biden These findings continue to shed light on the diversity and heterogeneity of the Latino vote and speak to the significance of outreach efforts by political parties, candidates and community organizations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Forum (2194-6183) is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )
Modeling Cell Survival Fraction and Other Dose-Response Relationships for Immunodeficient C.B-17 SCID Mice Exposed to 320-kV X Rays.

US homeland security concerns related to potential misuse of γ-ray-emitting radiation sources employed in radiobiological research (eg, shielded cesium-137 irradiators) led to recommendations by th...
Be Careful When Learning Against Adversaries: Imitative Attacker Deception in Stackelberg Security Games

One of the key challenges in the influential research field of Stackelberg security games (SSG) is to address the challenge of uncertainty regarding the attacker’s payoffs, capabilities and other characteristics. An extensive line of recent work in SSGs has focused on learning the optimal defense strategy from observed attack data. This however raises the concern that the strategic attacker may mislead the defender by deceptively reacting to the learning algorithms, which is particularly nature in such competitive strategic interactions. This paper focuses on understanding how such attacker deception affects the equilibrium of the game. We examine a basic deception strategy termed imitative deception, in which the attacker simply pretends to have a different payoff given that his true payoff is unknown to the defender. We provide a clean characterization about the game equilibrium under unconstrained deception strategy space as well as optimal algorithms to compute the equilibrium in the constrained case. Our numerical experiments illustrate significant defender loss due to imitative attacker deception, suggesting the potential side effect of learning from the attacker.
Using Network Analysis on Twitter Data to Identify Threats on Indonesian Digital Activism

In this study, we tried to see and characterize potential threats to digital activism in the internet-active nation of Indonesia by doing network analysis on a recent digital activism event on Twitter, which protested against a recent law related to alcoholic beverage investment. We hoped insights from the study can help the nation moving forward as public discourses are likely to stay online post-COVID. From this study, we found that threats in form of hashtag hijackings happen often in digital activism, and there were traces of a systematic information campaign in our observed case. We also found that the usage of bots is prevalent in and they showed significant activity, although the extent to which they influenced the conversation needs to be followed through more. These threats are something to think about as activism goes increasingly digital after COVID-19 as it can imbue unwanted messages, sow polarization, and distract the conversation from the real issue.
Climate education in secondary science: comparison of model-based and non-model-based investigations of Earth’s climate

In this mixed method study, we analyse the effectiveness of two pedagogical approaches – one model-based and another non-model-based – for developing secondary students’ understanding of the phenom...
Detection of Fruit Meals Within Laboratory-Raised and Field-Trapped Adult Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Guts

The feeding habits of adult Brachycera are understudied and may provide important context for understanding invasive pest biology, as with the polyphagous small fruit pest Drosophila suzukii. We developed molecular methods to study adult D. suzukii gut content in order to understand its feeding habits. We designed and verified two primer pairs specific for either blueberries or blackberries and used a qPCR melt curve analysis to determine whether we can detect the presence or absence of berry feeding by adult flies. In a laboratory assay, the blueberry fly meal DNA can be detected for longer periods than the blackberry meal DNA. Generally, female gut contents are less variable than male gut contents. We also tested recently emerged flies that were not fed as adults but developed as larvae in either blueberries or blackberries. Some adult flies from each fruit had detectable fruit DNA in their gut, which could be due to pupal meconium feeding after emergence. Next, we aimed to test the primers in the field to develop techniques to track fruit feeding by D. suzukii in its natural field environment. First, to identify the most appropriate collection method, we determined how long we could detect fruit DNA, using previously developed primers within D. suzukii gut preserved in four types of trap fluid in the laboratory. The likelihood of detecting blackberry DNA differed by day, trap fluid, and between sexes. For the blueberry primer, the possibility of detecting blueberry DNA differed by trap fluid only. Based on those results, we used RV antifreeze with a Scentry SWD lure in field trials at two research station locations, one containing blackberries and one with blueberries. We established transects away from each fruit planting and collected up to 120 total flies at each point along transects. There were no significant differences in the number of flies containing berry DNA among collection points along the transect in both locations. These results suggest that adult flies move between crop and non-crop habitats and may not be highly dependent on fruit food resources.
Capturing the Production of Innovative Ideas: An Online Social Network Experiment and “Idea Geography” Visualization

Collective design and innovation are crucial in organizations. To investigate how the collective design and innovation processes would be affected by the diversity of knowledge and background of collective individual members, we conducted three collaborative design task experiments which involved nearly 300 participants who worked together anonymously in a social network structure using a custom-made computer-mediated collaboration platform. We compared the idea generation activity among three different background distribution conditions (clustered, random, and dispersed) with the help of the “doc2vec” text representation machine learning algorithm. We also developed a new method called “Idea Geography” to visualize the idea utility terrain on a 2D problem domain. The results showed that groups with random background allocation tended to produce the best design idea with the highest utility values. It was also suggested that the diversity of participants’ backgrounds distribution on the network might interact with each other to affect the diversity of ideas generated. The proposed idea geography successfully visualized that the collective design processes did find the high utility area through exploration and exploitation in collaborative work.
Animals, Rights and Reason in Plutarch and Modern Ethics

1. Introduction: The Ancients and the Moderns 2. The Nature of the Beast: The Search for Animal Rationality 3. Just Beasts: Animal Morality and Human Justice 4. Feeling Beastley: Pain, Pleasure, and the Animal Estate 5. Beauty in the Beast: Cooperation, Altruism, and Philanthropy among Animals 6. Animal Appetites: Vegetarianism and Human Morality 7. Conclusion
Stevens–Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are variants of a single disease because of their manifestations and pathomechanisms. Stevens–Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis is a severe condition within the spectrum of diseases, including erythema multiforme major, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and Stevens–Johnson syndrome, and it is characterized by extensive epidermal death and widespread blisters and erosive lesions. Two challenging cases of toxic and epidermal necrolysis and several case study questions of the Stevens–Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis disease spectrum are discussed.
Wave Front Sets, H-Measures

In the summer of 1972, I listened to a conference on partial differential equations in Jerusalem, Israel. It was the first time that I heard Lars HONORMANDER talk,1 and his work was related to lacunas,2 which is about identifying the exact support of the elementary solution E of an hyperbolic equation having support in t ≥ 0; he introduced a new notion, the wave front set of a distribution T Є D’(Ω),3 denoted WF(T ) and also called the essen- tial singular support of T , for which he proved propagation results, which enabled him to identify WF(E) (but not the support of E).4
ApoA-I(Milano)/phospholipid complex: clinical implications of dose-response studies in rabbit atherosclerosis with intravascular ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging.

Parolini et al. ([1][1]) report in this issue of the Journal on the effects of recombinant apoA-IMilano/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine complexes (ETC-216) on injury-induced carotid atherosclerotic plaques in cholesterol-fed New Zealand White rabbits ([2][2]). The rabbits received 1 of 5
Mitochondrial DNA repair pathways

It has long been held that there is no DNA repair in mitochondria. Early observations suggested that the reason for the observed accumulation of DNA damage in mitochondrial DNA is that DNA lesions are not removed. This is in contrast to the very efficient repair that is seen in the nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA does not code for any DNA repair proteins, but it has been observed that a number of repair factors can be found in mitochondrial extracts. Most of these participate in the base excision DNA repair pathway which is responsible for the removal of simple lesions in DNA. Recent work has shown that there is efficient base excision repair in mammalian mitochondria and there are also indications of the presence of more complex repair processes. Thus, an active field of mitochondrial DNA repair is emerging. An understanding of the DNA repair processes in mammalian mitochondria is an important current challenge and it is likely to lead to clarification of the etiology of the common mutations and deletions that are found in mitochondria, and which are thought to cause various human disorders and to play a role in the aging phenotype.
The who, what, and how of managed care.

Since the early 1970s, policy makers and researchers alike have been eagerly watching and evaluating the growth of so-called managed care plans. Many expected prepaid group practice plans (PGPs), then individual practice associations (IPAs), then preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and a host of other insurance arrangements under the managed care label, to result in a more efficient allocation of resources. Others predicted that these changes from the traditional indemnity insurance plans would lead to the denial of needed care and a reduction in the freedom of choice, both for providers and patients. It is a major problem to determine whether either change has taken place because most policy makers and researchers have been less than clear about who or what these plans are supposedly managing, much less how they are managing it. What is this phenomenon called managed care that has elicited so much hope and fear? The confusion exists in part because researchers have used managed care as “the shorthand label for a wide variety of health plans” (Prologue 1999) with “little consensus regarding labels and few accepted criteria for categorization” (Weiner and de Lissovoy 1993: 75). Some might argue that the label is unimportant. However, without knowing what the term managed careis encompassing, how do we know what it is that physicians are presumably revolting against? (see, e.g., Rosenberg 1998; and Ginsburg 1997). Is it “the entire range of utilization control tools that are applied to manage the practices of physicians and others, regardless of the setting in which they practice?” (Weiner and de Lissovoy 1993:
Management of Benign Biliary Strictures

There are a variety of causes of benign biliary strictures including chronic pancreatitis, surgery, and primary sclerosing cholangitis, amongst others. The general treatment of these strictures is dil
Vertical methylmercury distribution in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean

Abstract Humans are exposed to toxic and bioaccumulative monomethylmercury (MMHg) principally by consuming seafood. However, knowledge of the sources of MMHg to surface-dwelling marine organisms has been hampered by a paucity of information on its vertical distribution in the open ocean. Here, we report the first complete high-resolution profile of MMHg, from sea surface to bottom water, in the Pacific Ocean. Filtered water and suspended particles were sampled at the SAFe station (140°W, 30°N) during the U.S. GEOTRACES Intercalibration. Distributions of MMHg and dimethylmercury suggest that both are synthesized in low-oxygen and oxic strata of the water column and that deep-sea sediments are not an important source. Scaling estimates imply that a majority of MMHg in phytoplankton and, by extension, the pelagic food web at this location results from production in the mixed layer, which is impacted by anthropogenic mercury inputs and thus may be affected by future changes in emissions to the atmosphere.
Evolving subcenters: employment and population densities in Chicago, 1970–2020

Abstract The number of subcenters identified for the Chicago metropolitan area rises from nine in 1970 to a forecasted 24 in 2020. Existing subcenters are becoming larger, and are particularly likely to expand along major expressways. OLS and semiparametric estimates suggest that employment density rises whereas population density falls near subcenters.
Adaptive data fusion using the expected output membership function

Fuzzy set methods can improve the fusion of uncertain sensor data. The expected output membership function (EOMF) method uses the fuzzified inputs and possible fuzzy outputs to estimate the fused output. The most likely fuzzy output comes from fusability measures which are calculated using the degrees of the intersections of the possible fuzzy outputs with the fuzzified inputs. The support lengths of the fuzzified inputs can be set proportional to the sensor variance in the fixed case. However, individual measurements can deviate widely from the true value even in accurate sensors. The support length of input sets can be varied by estimating the variation of the input. This adaptation helps deal with occasional bad or noisy measurements. The variation is defined as the absolute change rate of the input with respect to previous output estimates. The variation is defined as the absolute change rate of the input with respect to previous output estimates. The EOMF can also be too wide or too narrow compared to the fuzzified inputs. Adaptive methods can help select the size of the EOMF. An example from the control of automated vehicles shows the effectiveness of the adaptive EOMF method, compared to the fixed EOMF method and the weighted average method. The EOMF method shows robustness to outlying measurements when the average fusion operator is used.
Retrospective Assessment of Prepubertal Major Depression with the Kiddie-SADS-E

The Kiddie-SADS-E is a structured psychiatric interview designed to elicit and record past episodes of child and adolescent psychiatric disorder. In order to test the accuracy of retrospective diagnoses made with this instrument, a blind interviewer reassessed 17 children. The children had been initially evaluated with a parallel instrument, the K-SADS-P (present episode), between 6 months and 2 years prior to reassessment. Diagnostic agreement between the two different assessments of the same episode of disorder was high. Although this is only a pilot study, it does suggest that the retrospective assessment of child psychopathology based on interviews with parent and child may be a technique capable of yielding reliable information.
Experimental and Computational Analysis of Laser Melting of Thin Silicon Films

Recrystallization of thin semiconductor films can yield improved electrical and crystalline properties. The recrystallization is often effected by using a laser source to melt the semiconductor that has been deposited on an amorphous insulating substrate. This paper describes detailed experimental observations of the associated phase-change process. A computational conductive heat transfer model is presented. The numerical predictions are compared to the experimental results and good agreement is obtained.
Regulatory initiatives for natural latex allergy: US perspectives.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory authority over foods, human drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, radiological products, biologics, and veterinary products. Among these products, FDA believes that the use of medical devices, including medical gloves, condoms, catheters, and breathing bags, represents the greatest source of natural latex proteins to exposed individuals. A medical device is defined in the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) as an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, etc., that is intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of disease or is intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of a human or other animal, and that does not achieve any of its principal intended purposes through chemical action in the body. This article provides some brief, general background about FDA's medical device regulatory process and then addresses the issue of natural latex allergy. Finally we discuss the steps the Agency has taken to evaluate the magnitude and nature of the problem, and FDA's efforts to assist manufacturers, health professionals, and others in minimizing exposure and sensitization to natural latex proteins in medical devices.
Capillary interactions between nearby interfacial objects

We develop a general method to study the capillary interactions between objects of arbitrary shape which float close to each other on an interface, a regime in which multipole expansion is not useful. The force is represented as a power series in the small distance between the objects, of which the leading order is finite. For objects with size a much larger than the capillary length lc, the force scales as and the prefactor depends on the mean radius of curvature R at the closest points. After contact the objects roll and/or slide with respect to each other to locally maximize R and therefore the force. For smaller objects (, the force scales as , and the prefactor depends only weakly on the shape and relative orientation of the objects.
A compressive piezoelectric front-end circuit for self-powered mechanical impact detectors

Linear self-powering using a piezoelectric transducer is not well suited for detecting high-velocity mechanical impacts where the level of strain inside the structure could vary by orders of magnitude. In this paper we present a novel compressive self-powering technique that uses a non-linear impedance circuit to dynamically load the output of a piezoelectric transducer and in the process reduce the magnitude of the output voltage at large levels of mechanical strain. Measured results obtained from prototypes fabricated in a 0.5-μm standard CMOS process validate the proposed compressive powering technique.
A method for producing unbiased histograms of neuronal profile sizes

An important goal in neuroscience is to produce frequency distribution curves or histograms that relate numbers of cells to their sizes. Unfortunately such histograms, which are extremely common, are biased. Some of the reasons are inadequate attention to sampling paradigms, the lack of assurance that the section through the center of the cell is measured, and that large cells will have more profiles than small cells. The first goal of this paper is to illustrate these biases for dorsal root ganglion cells by showing significant statistical differences between histograms prepared the classic way and histograms produced by unbiased methods. The differences are particularly dramatic for plastic embedded material. The second goal of the paper is to describe an unbiased method for obtaining these histograms. The procedure is 2-fold. Cells are chosen in an unbiased way (unbiased in this sense means that every cell has an equal chance of being chosen), and then the largest profile of the cell is measured. We further suggest that these histograms be accompanied by analyses of cell volume, since volumes of cells rather than diameters or areas of cell profiles, will be the future measure of choice when considering the sizes of cells (or any other particles of biologic interest).
Vacuum apparatus for a photovoltaic device fabrication laboratory

Abstract When fabricating photovoltaic cells, the final processing steps include depositing conducting metal layers and anti-reflective (AR) coatings on the cell. Conductors deposited include aluminium, titanium, palladium, silver, and metal nitrides and silicides. AR coatings include oxides of silicon, tantalum, aluminium, and titanium. In order to obtain maximum cell efficiency, the vacuum system must be designed to maintain the highest possible purity of deposited materials and to prevent cells from being exposed to energetic radiation. Thermally evaporated source materials in vacua approaching UHV are preferred for this application. The design of vacuum system, optimized for producing photovoltaic cell applications and automated using a computer is described.
Strategic Accounting Disclosure

Introduction. Persuasion Games. Costless Signaling Games. Costly Reporting Games. Conclusion. Appendix. References.
As others see us? The medieval multi-purpose inquiry.

MEDIEVAL MULTI-PURPOSE INQUIRY 1. I have had periods when I just let my armor rust. 2. Sometimes my sword is too heavy to lift. 3. I often become nervous when slaying dragons. 4. Sometimes I think I would like the work of a damsel-rescuer. 5 . I do not worry about falling into moats. 6. I am a special agent of Robin Hood. 7. The king is a fink. 8. Sometimes I talk to my horse. 9. I am always disgusted with the Crusades when the pagans get away. 10. The king made a mistake by not inviting me to the round table. 11. Troubadours are only parasites on society. 12. Someone is plotting my marriage. 13. Some days I feel I could slay all the world's dragons. 14. The world is really round. 15. I can joust as well as the next knight. 16. Macbeth was a good thane. 17. Occasionally I find witches attractive. 18. I have never met a frog who was really a king. 19. It is wise to stay on the good side of the wizard
Tablet Personal Computer Integration in Higher Education: Applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use Technology Model to Understand Supporting Factors.

Many educational institutions have implemented ubiquitous or required laptop, notebook, or tablet personal computing programs for their students. Yet, limited evidence exists to validate integration and acceptance of the technology among student populations. This research examines student acceptance of mobile computing devices using a modification of the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) recently developed by leading researchers in the technology acceptance field. The objective of the study is to identify the variance of selected acceptance elements that contribute to the overall behavioral intent to use Tablet PCs (TPC). These outcomes are then used as a means to forecast, explain, and improve integration of the technology in the higher education context. The research also contributes to UTAUT’s theoretical validity and empirical applicability and to the management of information technology (IT) based initiatives in education.
The Impact of Internal and External Controls in Enhancing Hospitals’ Supply Chain Efficiency

Efficiency in supply chain operations is increasingly a key strategic goal as organizations focus on containing cost. This is especially the case for hospitals where supply chain costs account for a substantial portion of operating budgets. In this study, we examined control mechanisms for internal stakeholders and external partners relative to their impact on supply chain efficiency in the hospital industry. Specifically, we examined incentive structures for internal stakeholders and negotiating capability with suppliers based on agency, stewardship, and power theories. We use data from over 300 California hospitals in a five year period (pooled data) to estimate regression models using GEE. We find that physician employment and contract management enhance supply chain efficiency. Surprisingly, negotiating leverage from GPO participation and system affiliation are not necessarily associated with supply chain efficiency. The results have important theoretical and managerial implications for supply chain m...
Field evaluation of slow-release mosquito larvicides.

Selected concentrations of Abate® ( O, O -dimethyl phosphorothioate O, O -diester with 4,4'-thiodiphenol), Dursban® ( O, O -diethyl O- (3,5,6-trichloro-2 pyridyl) phosphorothioate), fenthion, and naled formulated in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and of Dursban formulated in polyethylene and in charcoal were evaluated as mosquito larvicides in polyethylene-lined field pools. Initial doses of 0.5. 1.0. and 2.5 ppm were replicated 3 times for all formulations. In addition, effectiveness of Dursban in polyethylene and Dursban in charcoal was compared with Dursban emulsifiable concentrate at 0.1 lb active ingredient per acre. All doses were calculated on a theoretical immediate release. Effectiveness of test materials was determined by weekly sampling of natural larval populations and by periodic in-pool bioassays using populations and by periodic in-pool bioassays using laboratory-reared larvae of southern house mosquito laboratory-reared larvae of southern house mosquito Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say. Treatments of Dursban in polyethylene and Dursban in charcoal at rates of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 ppm gave effective charcoal at rates of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 ppm gave effective control for 20 to 26 weeks of the test period. Fenthion in PVC at 2.5 ppm provided control for 20 weeks. Control obtained with other formulations did not exceed 8 weeks. At 0.1 lb AI/acre, charcoal and emulsifiable formulations of Dursban were more effective than Dursban in polyethylene.
Regulation of the cross-bridge cycle: the effects of MgADP, LC17 isoforms and telokin.

This review summarizes the role of MgADP in force maintenance by dephosphorylated cross-bridges in smooth muscle and a potential physiological role for telokin. In tonic, compared with phasic, smooth muscles the affinity of cross-bridges is =5 times higher for MgADP and the apparent second-order rate constant for MgATP is 3 times lower. This gives rise to a large population of dephosphorylated cross-bridges in tonic smooth muscle. Such cross-bridges are thought to be major determinants of the different relaxation kinetics of the two types of smooth muscle and contribute to force maintenance at low levels of MLC 20 phosphorylation, termed 'catch-like state' (Somlyo & Somlyo 1967) or 'latch' (Dillon et al. 1981). The molecular basis of the different affinities for MgADP and MgATP between tonic and phasic smooth muscle myosin was explored by exchange of essential myosin light chain (LC 17 ) isoforms. In phasic bladder smooth muscle the exchange of LC 17b for LC 17a caused a significant decrease in the unloaded shortening velocity of non-phosphorylated, slowly cycling cross-bridges, suggesting that the LC 17 isoforms contribute to the nucleotide affinity of latch bridges. The role of telokin in Ca 2+ -desensitization in phasic smooth muscle is reviewed. Telokin, the independently expressed C-terminus of myosin light chain kinase, is extensively phosphorylated during forskolin- and 8-br-cGMP-induced relaxation in situ. Telokin accelerated dephosphorylation of the regulatory myosin light chain and relaxed rabbit ileum smooth muscle. The results suggest that telokin contributes to cAMP and/or cGMP kinase-mediated Ca 2+ -desensitization of phasic smooth muscles.