cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Revision of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement: To What Extent Might it Contribute to the Expansion of Current Membership?

The WTO Government Procurement Agreement signed on 1994 (GPA 1994) is currently undertaking a revision as provided for by Art.XXIV:7(b) and (c), intended to improve and simplify the Agreement, expand its coverage and eliminate discriminatory measures and practices. Underlying such review is the aim of making the Agreement more accessible for WTO Members which are still not parties to the GPA 1994,1 through the creation of incentives for the expansion of membership of the Agreement. Since most parties to the GPA 1994 are developed countries and expansion of membership requires that the Agreement become more accessible to non-parties, that is to say, a high percentage of developing countries, this paper will analyse the Agreement from this perspective. It will assess some of the reasons why developing countries have not demonstrated interest in joining the Agreement, as well as whether the current efforts undertaken for the substantial revision of the GPA will effectively facilitate adhesion of other WTO Members to the Agreement. The purpose of this paper is to identify the gaps and flaws existing in the GPA 1994 that have caused most developing countries to refrain from acceding to it; to evaluate whether the existing problems have been addressed by the revised GPA, which issues still remain and to which extent, in order to assess whether it is likely to achieve the goal of increasing membership to the Agreement. For this purpose, the second section shows that limited membership has been an issue in the GPA from its early days; in the third section, reference is made to the composition of current membership to the GPA 1994; and, in the fourth section, there is reference to initiatives outside the scope of the WTO that led countries to adopt domestic procurement reforms even if they did not accede to the GPA. Section five takes this fact as a parameter in analysing the reasons why those same countries do not wish to join the GPA 1994. Section six takes the previous analysis into account to assess how and whether the existing flaws and gaps in the GPA 1994 that discourage developing countries from acceding to the Agreement have been successfully addressed by the revised GPA. Section seven complements this analysis by verifying that there still remains a lack of incentives in the GPA, both in the current and revised versions, to promote the aimed increase of membership. Finally, some suggestions are made.
“Translated, it is: …” — An Ethics of Transreading

Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of philology and William Gass's concept of transreading, Huiwen (Helen) Zhang employs “transreader” to suggest the integration of four roles in one: reader, translator, writer, and scholar. “Transreader” recognizes that close reading, literary translation, creative writing, and cultural hermeneutics are interdependent activities with intertwined goals: to transfer, transvalue, transform, and transcend the canon. From this perspective, Lu Xun, China's Nietzsche, is a twentieth-century transreader of the canon, and his prose poem “Revenge (The Second)” delivers a self-referential ethics of transreading. Zhang's transreading of this poem shows why slow reading is today more necessary than ever, in what sense translation is a universal dilemma, how humanity grows when its expression grows more subtle, and that transreading opens a space for genuine communication.
Adenosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate Primes the Secretion of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone

We investigated whether cAMP acts as a mediator for LHRH in either its immediate FSH release action or its self-priming action. Pituitary pieces from cyclic female rats were superfused in vitro in the presence of Bu2cAMP, 8-bromo-cAMP, or forskolin or used as controls. For pituitary pieces from proestrous rats, the first significant increase in the baseline FSH secretion rate occurred after approximately 90 min of exposure to elevated cAMP resulting from forskolin treatment. By comparison, in the same system LHRH caused a 3-fold increase in FSH secretion during a 10-min exposure to the peptide. In contrast to its ineffectiveness as a secretagogue, cAMP elevation resulted in a several-fold augmentation of both LHRH- and elevated K+-stimulated FSH secretion from pituitary pieces from proestrous, but not estrous, rats; for these experiments, superfusion with a cAMP analog or forskolin for varying times preceded a 10-min pulse of either 8 nM LHRH or 47 mM K+. Augmentation of K+-stimulated secretion was eviden...
A Cross-National Analysis of Advertisement Content

ABSTRACT The children's segment of the consumer marketplace has grown substantially in the last couple of decades. Advertisers have been allocating significant amounts of money to tap into this market. This study provides an in-depth analysis of television commercials shown during times and on television channels children watch in India and the U.S. The two countries are distinctly different in their level of industrialization, consumer culture, and advertising maturity. Empirical evidence is provided on execution-related concepts such as message structures and types of messages, among others. Significant differences as well as commonalities that might be related to economic environment, consumption culture, and advertising maturity are found between the two countries. Potential explanations for the findings are offered.
The slaving capital of the world: Liverpool and national opinion in the age of abolition

(1988). The slaving capital of the world: Liverpool and national opinion in the age of abolition. Slavery & Abolition: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 128-143.
The canine parvovirus empty capsid structure

The structure of empty canine parvovirus capsids shows that residues 37 to the carboxy-terminal residue 584 (VP2 numbering) are ordered in each of the 60 subunits. The central structural motif of each subunit is the eight-stranded antiparallel beta-barrel that has been found in many other virus structures. Five beta-hairpin turns form a beta-cylindrical structure at each icosahedral 5-fold axis. The N-terminal glycine-rich sequence can be accommodated within this cylinder without excessive steric hindrance, consistent with the electron density distribution. By far the largest conformational differences between the full and empty virus were found in the region where some ordered DNA has been observed to bind in canine parvovirus full particles. Extensive interactions among 3-fold related subunits indicate that a trimeric subunit might be a viral assembly intermediate.
Ultrasonic NDE Guided Wave Mode Selection Principles

A countless number of ultrasonic NDE mode and frequency selection techniques are available. Each technique has its own generation, penetration, reception, resolution, sensitivity, cost benefits, advantages and disadvantages. Modes and particular frequencies must be selected to optimize detection, location, sizing and classification potential for particular structural geometry and practical environmental boundary conditions. A brief review of guided wave mode selection considerations is outlined.
Alternative Therapies for Chronic Bronchitis

Alternative therapies for chronic bronchitis are therapies in which clinical efficacy is not well established. These can be broadly divided into expectorants, mucolytics, mucokinetics, antiproteases, antioxidants, and immunostimulants. Data supporting these therapies may be present in disorders clinically similar to chronic bronchitis, such as cystic fibrosis. Alternatively, these therapies may be based on clinical observations or in vitro studies that suggest a potential therapeutic benefit. Establishment of these therapies is likely to require more extensive investigation before their use is routinely recommended. Until such data is available, the clinician can only use his or her clinical judgement regarding the likely risk-benefit ratio.
Experimental Studies in Epilepsy: Immunologic and Inflammatory Mechanisms

In this article, we review the literature based on experimental studies lending credence to a relationship between epilepsy and immune-mediated mechanisms linked to central nervous system innate immunity. The brain innate immunity responses to neuronal injury or excessive neuronal activity are mediated by resident microglia and astroglia, but also neurons play an immunomodulatory role. Antigens or antibodies applied to the brain trigger an epileptogenic and inflammatory response. Furthermore, seizure activity and status epilepticus elicit the production and release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The immune pathogenesis of epilepsy involves complex cell-to-cell interactions including a cross talk between astrocytes and neurons, between astrocytes and brain microvascular endothelial cells, as well as reciprocal leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the context of disruption of the blood-brain barrier. There is a large body of literature from experimental studies showing that seizures can initiate a cascade of innate and adaptive immune responses from various cellular sources and perpetuate neuroinflammation through mechanisms involving transcription of inflammatory genes or posttranslational changes in cytokine release machinery. These inflammatory processes could also possibly contribute to the pathogenesis of comorbidities often associated with epilepsy. This opens exciting possibilities for the development of disease-modifying drugs aimed at mitigating neuroinflammation as a means of ameliorating epileptogenesis and lessening or preventing postictal brain injury.
Imaging of Brown Fat Associated with Adrenal Pheochromocytoma

The association of adrenal pheochromocytoma and brown fat has been described in the pathology literature and scantily in the radiology literature. We present a case of diffuse collection of brown fat in both perinephric spaces associated with left adrenal pheochromocytoma, and describe the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings.
Efficient multi-viewpoint acquisition of 3D objects undergoing repetitive motions

Computer graphics applications such as movie effects, video gaming, and product demonstration demand 3D models of dynamic objects. For this purpose, numerous methods, such as light fields, stereo reconstruction and visual hulls have been extended to model dynamic objects. These methods use multiple cameras to acquire images simultaneously and use the synchronized samples to reconstruct the model for each time instance. However, a large number of cameras are required to obtain compelling results. We introduce an efficient acquisition and modeling schema for dynamic objects with repetitive motions. Our method requires as few as two cameras. The key idea is that repetitive motions can be described by a finite number of states. Images capturing the same state can be grouped together and fed to the later modeling phase as if they are captured from multiple cameras simultaneously. Our work includes an acquisition system with interactive feedback, a graph traversal algorithm to help obtain a near minimum subset of images to sample the object and its motion, and a space-time image optimization method. We demonstrate this system using several datasets with different complexity of motion, and different number of desired viewpoints.
FUNCTIONAL AND STYLISTIC VARIABILITY IN PALEOINDIAN AND EARLY ARCHAIC PROJECTILE POINTS FROM MIDCONTINENTAL NORTH AMERICA

Early projectile points from Midcontinental North America vary significantly in size and shape. Understanding the functional and stylistic aspects of this variability on a large spatial scale is a precursor to using this class of artifacts to evaluate and refine models of the social interaction of early hunter-gatherers in this region. Metric data from a sample (n = 1771) of Early Paleoindian (ca. 11,050-10,800 RCYBP), Late Paleoindian (ca. 10,300-10,000 RCYBP), and Early Archaic (ca. 10,000-8000 RCYBP) projectile points are analyzed to partition elements of functional and stylistic variability. Changes in the coefficient of variation of specific attributes are compared to expectations about how functional and stylistic variability should be manifest in these tools. Variability in hafting width and thickness appear to be constrained by functional considerations. The mixture of variables most closely related to hafting width shifts during the transition from lanceolate to notched points.
A nested game-based optimization framework for electricity retailers in the smart grid with residential users and PEVs

In the smart grid, real-time pricing policy is an important mechanism for incentivizing the consumers to dynamically change or shift their electricity consumption, thereby improving the reliability of the grid. Retailers are incorporated to the smart grid with distributed control mechanism in order to reduce the amount of communication overhead associated with the direction interaction between utility companies and consumers. The retailer procures electricity from both traditional and renewable energy sources, and sells it to its consumers. The consumers include residential users that can only consume power, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) that can either consume power or supply power stored in its battery to the grid. In this work, a novel four-stage nested game model is proposed to model the interaction of the electricity retailer, utility companies, and consumers. The objective of the retailer is to maximize its overall profit as well as perform frequency regulation, whereas the goal of each consumer is to maximize a predefined utility function. In the game theoretic framework, the retailer should decide the amounts of electricity purchased from the renewable and traditional energy sources, respectively, as well as the real-time pricing scheme for its consumers. The consumers will react to the pricing mechanism and maximize their utility functions by adjusting the electricity demand. The optimal solution of the nested game is provided through: (i) finding the subgame perfect equilibrium (SPE) of all the consumers, and (ii) optimizing the retailer's action using the backward induction method. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed game theoretic modeling and optimization framework.
Variations of undamped rotor blade frequencies subjected to transient heat flux

In the present work, the variation of rotor blade natural frequencies due to the radiative heat flux has been studied. The dynamic equations of motion have been obtained using curved, 20 node, solid, isoparametric finite elements. The effect of the variation of the pretwist angle on the natural frequencies also has been studied. 14 refs.
Near-infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy of proteins.

Abstract A major problem encountered with the use of electronic spectroscopy in the analysis of biological materials in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared region involves the limited range of the physical state of samples that can be examined. In an attempt to expand this range, photoacoustic spectra of both solid- and solution-state proteins have been obtained in the near-infrared region. Solid proteins generate detailed spectra in the region 1.0–2.6 μm, resulting primarily from hydrogenic overtone and combinational modes. Harmonics and combinations of amide group frequencies which display significant spectral complexity are observed between 1.4 and 1.7 μm, although they appear to manifest only limited conformational sensitivity. Solution spectra in D2O are of much lower resolution. Assignments of peaks for both solution- and solid-state proteins are presented and the advantages and disadvantages of the use of near-infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy with proteins are discussed.
Haptens and Monoclonal Antibodies for Immunoassay of Imidazolinone Herbicides

A set of haptens structurally resembling the herbicide imazethapyr (PURSUIT) was synthesized and used to derive monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and direct and indirect competition enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) which could detect imazethapyr, imazaquin (SCEPTER), imazapic (CADRE), and imazamox (RAPTOR) in the 3−30 ng/mL (parts per billion) range, and imazapyr (ARSENAL) and imazamethabenz-methyl (ASSERT) in the 300−500 ppb range. Two MAbs, 3A2 and 3A5, had affinities of 10−75 nM for imazethapyr. MAbs 1A5, 1D2, and 3A5 were specific for the S isomers of the herbicides. Some MAbs were stable in solutions containing up to 15% methanol and 5% acetonitrile in indirect EIAs. Plates coated with hapten conjugates for indirect EIA could be stored frozen. Selectivity for the imidazolinones by some MAbs varied with different coating conjugates. These MAbs and haptens should prove useful in immunochemical analysis and residue recovery methods for imazethapyr and other imidazolinone herbicides. Keywords: Immunoassay; immunoaf...
Carbon Nitride Films Using a Filtered Cathodic ARC

In this study a high N2 pressure has been used to enhance the N incorporation into CN films produced by a shock plasma deposition method. auger spectroscopy indicates that increasing the nitrogen pressure from 0.1 atm to 10 atm results in an increase of nitrogen incorporation into CN films to a maximum of 43 at.%. Nitrogen distribution varies across the surface of the deposit, showing an increase of nitrogen content with depth in the center of the deposition and a decrease with depth at points away from the center. SEM and optical microscopy indicate that under increased nitrogen pressure the grain structure becomes finer. Raman spectra contain sharp peaks characteristic of a distinct crystalline CN phase. TEM diffraction patterns for the films produced under N2 pressure in the range of 0.05-0.1 atm unambiguously show the presence of micron-sized crystals displaying a cubic symmetry, and not the predicted β-Si3N4 type structure. PEELS data suggest that in the crystalline phase a significant fraction of the nitrogen atoms have sp2 trigonal bonds and there is a significant degree of sp3 character for the carbon atoms.
New class of layered materials

A new class of layered materials has been prepared by alternate deposition of two dissimilar metals. Strong experimental evidence is shown that coherent structures with layer thicknesses approaching interatomic spacing can be prepared in this fashion. The experimental x-ray measurements are found to be in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with model calculations.
Probing the enantioselectivity of chiral pesticides.

Enantiomer-specific formulatins could decrease pesticide use and protect the environment from unintended effects.
Responses of the tropospheric ozone and odd hydrogen radicals to column ozone change

The response of tropospheric ozone to a change in solar UV penetration due to perturbation on column ozone depends critically on the tropospheric NO x (NO+NO2) concentration. At high NO x or a polluted area where there is net ozone production, a decrease in column ozone will increase the solar UV penetration to the troposphere and thus increase the tropospheric ozone concentration. However, the opposite will occur, for example, at a remote oceanic area where NO x is so low that there is net ozone destruction. This finding may have important implication on the interpretation of the long term trend of tropospheric ozone. A change in column ozone will also induce change in tropospheric OH, HO2, and H2O2 concentrations which are major oxidants in the troposphere. Thus, the oxidation capacity and, in turn, the abundances of many reduced gases will be perturbed. Our model calculations show that the change in OH, HO2, and H2O2 concentrations are essentially independent of the NO x concentration.
Column performance and stability for high-speed vacuum-outlet GC of volatile organic compounds using atmospheric pressure air as carrier gas.

The development of lightweight, portable GC instrumentation is handicapped by the need for compressed carrier gas to drive the separation. The use of air as carrier gas eliminates the need for compressed gas tanks. If a vacuum pump is used to pull carrier gas and injected samples through the column, atmospheric pressure air can be used as carrier gas. Vacuum outlet operation also improves performance for high-speed separations by reducing detector dead time and by shifting optimal carrier gas velocity to higher values. Under vacuum outlet conditions using atmospheric pressure air as carrier gas, a 6-m-long, 0.25-mm-i.d. capillary column can generate ∼12 500 theoretical plates, and a 12-m-long column can generate ∼44 000 plates but with a 3−4-fold increase in separation time. The principal issues in column selection for high-speed GC with air as a carrier gas are efficiency and stability. Several bonded and nonbonded stationary phases were evaluated for use with air as carrier gas in the analysis of volati...
Comment on ``Slightly massive photon''

Suzuki has proposed a model in which the photon acquires a small mass dueto a charged Higgs field acquiring a vacuum expectation value. An assumption inhis model is that the critical temperature of the phase transition which breakselectromagnetism is above 2.7 K. I consider the effects on his model of theopposite assumption: that the critical temperature is below 2.7 K, and that thephoton, which would thus be massless today, will acquire a mass at lowtemperature.
Numerical solution of dynamic oligopoly games with capital investment

This paper discusses how numerical techniques may be used to solve the simultaneous functional equations that arise in general dynamic stochastic games. Unlike the conventional linear-quadratic approach, our methods may be used to address general model specifications that may include non-quadratic objective functions, non-linear equations of motion, and constraints on decision variables. As an illustration, we apply our methods to a dynamic duopoly game in which competing firms play short-run quantity game subject to production cost that can be lowered through investment in capital stock in the long run.
Does the need for noncardiac surgery during ventricular assist device therapy impact clinical outcome

Background The role of the ventricular assist device (VAD) in the management of heart failure is expanding. Despite its success, the clinical course for patients requiring noncardiac surgery (NCS) during VAD support is not well described. The objective of this study was to identify VAD patients requiring NCS (+NCS) and compare outcomes with those not requiring NCS (–NCS). Methods Patients undergoing VAD implant from 2000 to 2007 were reviewed. NCS procedures, survival, and complications were collected. Survival at 1 year from implant, overall survival at the study conclusion, survival time from implant, and outcome of VAD therapy were compared between groups. Results We enrolled 142 subjects. Demographics did not differ between groups. Twenty-five subjects (18%) underwent 27 NCS procedures. Perioperative survival was 100% and 28-day survival was 64%. Survival to discharge was 56%. Bleeding occurred in 48%. Infection occurred in 33%. Estimated blood loss was 355 mL, and the international normalized ratio at time of NCS was 1.9. Laparoscopy was performed in 3 cases. There was no difference in 1-year survival (59% vs 54%), survival at study conclusion (44% vs 46%) or survival time (517 vs 523 days) between +NCS subjects and –NCS subjects. There were similar causes of death in both groups. The +NCS group was on VAD support longer (245 vs 87 days; P Conclusion NCS is not uncommon during VAD therapy. Bleeding and infection were common complications. Despite this, NCS seems to be feasible and safe and does not seem to increase mortality in the VAD population.
Detection and Prevention of Ocular Phototoxicity of Ciprofloxacin and Other Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics

Fluoroquinolone (FLQ) drugs are a potent family of antibiotics used to treat infections including ocular infections. To determine if these antibiotics may be phototoxic to the eye, we exposed human lens epithelial cells to 0.125-1 mm FLQs (ciprofloxacin [Cipro], lomefloxacin [Lome], norfloxacin [Nor] and ofloxacin [Ofl]), the precursor quinolone nalidixic acid (Nalid) and UVA radiation (2.5 J cm(-2)). Based on fluorescence confocal microscopy, FLQs are diffused throughout the cytoplasm and preferentially located in the lysosomes of lens epithelial cells. Neither FLQ exposure alone nor UVA exposure alone reduced cell viability. However, with exposure to UVA radiation the FLQs studied (Cipro, Nor, Lome and Ofl) induced a phototoxic reaction that included necrosis, apoptosis, loss of cell viability as measured by MTS, and membrane damage as determined by the lactate dehydrogenase assay. Both Nalid and all FLQs studied (Cipro, Nor, Lome and Ofl) photopolymerized the lens protein alpha-crystallin. Phototoxic damage to lens epithelial cells and/or alpha-crystallin will lead to a loss of transparency of the human lens. However, if precautions are taken to filter all UV radiation from the eye while taking these antibiotics, eye damage may be prevented.
Qualitative differences in concrete and formal operational tasks

Abstract Five concrete and five formal tasks were administered to 64 second-, fourth-,sixth, and eighth-grade subjects. A significant grade effect ( p ⩽ .01) but no significant sex effect or interaction was found. A cluster analysis indicated that four of the five formal tasks grouped together, two of the five concrete tasks grouped together, and the rest of the tasks remained isolated. These results were interpreted as supporting both Piaget's qualitative hypothesis and the structural characteristics of the concrete and formal stages.
AFM images of dissolution and growth on a calcite crystal

We present atomic-force-microscope (AFM) images of aqueous dissolution and growth of monolayers on the cleavage plane of calcite. These processes were observed in real time and in situ. Dissolution in 0.015N NaOH occured primarily by faceting and expansion of pre-existing surface pits and by removal of islands. No new dissolution sites were observed to nucleate during this process. We also observed a simple growth sequence wherein CaCO3 monolayers were deposited on the calcite surface by uniformly advancing steps. Atomic resolution was readily obtained, even at larger-scale features such as steps and etch pits. This shows the potential of the AFM to study deposition and removal of individual molecules on a crystal surface in solution.
Rotating gels: Why, how, and what

Gel electrophoresis performed by use of an electrical field that varies temporally in either magnitude or direction (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE) has been used to (a) improve the fractionation by length of linear, double-stranded DNA and (b) prevent arrest of particles that become sterically trapped in the network of fibers in a gel; these particles include open circular DNA and DNA-protein complexes. The procedure initially developed for pulsing the electrical field was varying the electrical potential on electrodes. Alternatively, pulsing can be achieved by rotating the gel. The following advantages were originally achieved by using rotation of the gel: simplified apparatus, unrestricted field-gel angle, more uniform pH and temperature, and accessibility of modes of PFGE that depend on continuous change of the field-gel angle. More recently, advances in equipment have yielded the following: temperature control that is improved (±0.2°C), less expensive, and less space-consuming; electrical potential gradient that is more accurate (±2%); control of rotation that is completely user-programmable; and monitoring of temperature during electrophoresis.
Metaphorical Singular Reference. The Role of Enriched Composition in Reference Resolution

It is widely accepted that, in the course of interpreting a metaphorical utterance, both literal and metaphorical interpretations of the utterance are available to the interpreter, although there may be disagreement about the order in which these interpretations are accessed. I call this the dual availability assumption. I argue that it does not apply in cases of metaphorical singular reference. These are cases in which proper names, complex demonstratives or definite descriptions are used metaphorically; e.g., ‘That festering sore must go’, referring to a derelict house. We are forced to give up dual availability in these cases because a process of predicate transfer happens in the restriction clauses of such metaphorically used definite phrases (DPs), so that a denotation-less definite concept is never constructed. A process of enriched composition yields only a metaphorical referent/denotation. I compare cases of metaphorical reference both to cases of metonymic reference and to uses of epithets of the ‘That N of an N’ form. Reflection on the former is helpful in getting clear about the kind of property transfer involved in referential metaphors. Such transfer happens directly at the level of properties and is not mediated via a correspondence between objects, as is the case with metonymic reference. Reflection on epithets such as ‘that festering sore of a house’ is helpful since these are a sort of intermediate case between cases of literal and metaphorical reference. They provide support for my claim that in cases of metaphorical reference there is only a single referent (the metaphorical Metaphorical Singular Reference 2 one). Moreover, constraints on the use of these epithets suggest that referential metaphors are similarly constrained. In particular, I argue that referential metaphors can only be used when the implicit category restriction (e.g., house in the case of the example ‘That festering sore must go’) is highly salient, and that the evaluative information conveyed by the metaphor serves primarily to indicate the speaker’s attitude towards the referent rather than being intended to help the hearer identify the referent.
Capturing the dynamics of attention control from individual to distributed systems: the shape of models to come

New technology presents opportunities for enhancing the performance of human systems that are tasked to meet multiple, often competing demands. Yet, mistakes in designing and deploying these technologies can create complexities that make human systems more brittle. To many stakeholders, the answer to this challenge is increase situation awareness. But what these advocates refer to when they talk about enhancing situation awareness varies tremendously. Over 15 years ago, the authors commented on how the label was ill defined. Today, the label is more popular than ever but the range of situations and the kinds of awareness are now so diverse that the label is better referred to as multiply defined. This paper returns to basic concepts and findings about human perception and the control of attention and the critical role that these processes play in individual as well as joint and distributed activity–how people know where to focus next in changing situations. This paper also briefly reviews recent studies o...
RQ-Tech, A Strategic-Level Approach for Conceptualizing Enterprise Architectures

Abstract The purpose of this study is to present a system-theoretic based methodology and corresponding model for Enterprise Architecture development. Enterprise Architecture models can assist managers by illustrating the systemic relationships of their business and the impact their decisions can make. Unfortunately, today's modeling practices are proprietary, time-consuming, and generally ineffective as tools for communicating strategic-level planning across and down all levels of the enterprise. This research explored the most significant factors that must be considered when translating authoritative text and rich pictures of business doctrine into semantic models. An ontology, namely RQ-Tech, was used to parse and tag representative samples of strategic, operational, and tactical Department of Defense Joint doctrine publications and the results were analyzed with respect to how well the data could represent a holistic model of the business enterprise. The results of this research have the potential to add to the existing body of knowledge in systems theory, systems-based methods, and software engineering by expanding the domain of systems methodologies useful for assessment and evaluation of complex systems. This generalizable and transportable framework, the RQ-Tech methodology, was found to be useful for focusing attention on solving the right business enterprise problems.
"You're not a Freudian, are you?" Secret identities in the lives of working clinicians.

INTRODUCTION: MEETING THE QUESTION The woman and I are meeting for the first time to discuss whether or not she might like to pursue psychotherapy with me. She is a woman in her forties, with three teenage children and two insane men, her ex-husband and her live-in boyfriend. As the men have become more and more insane, and her concerns about her children have grown accordingly, she has begun to wonder if she, too, is insane. She is having episodes of blind rage in which she smashes things in the house. She thinks she might want to take poison. She is afraid she might need to kill her boyfriend to prevent being killed by him. ‘‘Holy cow,’’ I say to myself. ‘‘Do I need this?’’ She has been referred, as so many of my patients are, by a friend, or a friend of a friend’s friend. So she knows very little about me, about how I work, except that I am rumored to be a good therapist. Toward the end of this first hour, then, I give her the opportunity to get to know me a little better before we begin. ‘‘In order to help you decide whether you want to work with me,’’ I say mildly, ‘‘is there anything you need to know about me?’’ She fixes me with a glassy stare and says, ‘‘What kind of therapist are you?’’ ‘‘Well. I’m not sure what you want to know, but in terms of clinical practice, I describe myself as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist.’’ She leans forward. ‘‘Psychoanalytic? You’re not a Freudian, are you?’’
A layer cyber security defense strategy for smart grid programmable logic controllers

Ongoing communication technology integration into the national energy infrastructure increases near realtime information exchange contributing to a smarter grid. The national energy infrastructure's incremental evolution into a smarter grid simultaneously provides opportunities for efficiency, reliability, and security improvements while exposing existing security failures. We examine current programmable logic control (PLC) security vulnerability exploitations and offer a layered cyber defense strategy as an information security solution to address the dynamic and unique challenge of securing the energy grid.
Decreased secretion of ApoB follows inhibition of ApoB-MTP binding by a novel antagonist

Apolipoprotein B (apoB) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) are essential for the efficient assembly of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Evidence has been presented for physical interactions between these proteins. To study the importance of apoB-MTP binding in apoB secretion, we have identified a compound, AGI-S17, that inhibited (60-70% at 40 microM) the binding of various apoB peptides to MTP but not to an anti-apoB monoclonal antibody, 1D1, whose epitope overlaps with an MTP binding site in apoB. AGI-S17 had no significant effect on the lipid transfer activity of the purified MTP. In contrast, another antagonist, BMS-200150, did not affect apoB-MTP binding but inhibited MTP's lipid transfer activity. The differential effects of these inhibitors suggest two functionally independent, apoB binding and lipid transfer, domains in MTP. AGI-S17 was then used to study its effect on the lipid transfer and apoB binding activities of MTP in HepG2 cells. AGI-S17 had no effect on cellular lipid transfer activities, but it inhibited coimmunoprecipitation of apoB with MTP. These studies indicate that AGI-S17 inhibits apoB-MTP binding but has no effect on MTP's lipid transfer activity. Experiments were then performed to study the effect of inhibition of apoB-MTP binding on apoB secretion in HepG2 cells. AGI-S17 (40 microM) did not affect cell protein levels but decreased the total mass of apoB secreted by 70-85%. Similarly, AGI-S17 inhibited the secretion of nascent apoB by 60-80%, but did not affect albumin secretion. These studies indicate that AGI-S17 decreases apoB secretion most likely by inhibiting apoB-MTP interactions. Thus, the binding of MTP to apoB may be important for the assembly and secretion of apoB-containing lipoproteins and can be a potential target for the development of lipid-lowering drugs. It is proposed that the apoB binding may represent MTP's chaperone activity that assists in the transfer from the membrane to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum and in the net lipidation of nascent apoB, and may be essential for lipoprotein assembly and secretion.
Effect of PEG Molecular Weight on Stability, T2 contrast, Cytotoxicity, and Cellular Uptake of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs)

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are currently unavailable as MRI contrast agents for detecting atherosclerosis in the clinical setting because of either low signal enhancement or safety concerns. Therefore, a new generation of SPIONs with increased circulation time, enhanced image contrast, and less cytotoxicity is essential. In this study, monodisperse SPIONs were synthesized and coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) of varying molecular weights. The resulting PEGylated SPIONs were characterized, and their interactions with vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were examined. SPIONs were tested at different concentrations (100 and 500 ppm Fe) for stability, T2 contrast, cytotoxicity, and cellular uptake to determine an optimal formulation for in vivo use. We found that at 100 ppm Fe, the PEG 2K SPIONs showed adequate stability and magnetic contrast, and exhibited the least cytotoxicity and nonspecific cellular uptake. An increase in cell viability was observed when the SPION-treated cells were washed with PBS after 1h incubation compared to 5 and 24h incubation without washing. Our investigation provides insight into the potential safe application of SPIONs in the clinic.
Shock-Wave Exploration of the High-Pressure Phases of Carbon

The high–energy density behavior of carbon, particularly in the vicinity of the melt boundary, is of broad scientific interest and of particular interest to those studying planetary astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion. Previous experimental data in the several hundred gigapascal pressure range, particularly near the melt boundary, have only been able to provide data with accuracy capable of qualitative comparison with theory. Here we present shock-wave experiments on carbon (using a magnetically driven flyer-plate technique with an order of magnitude improvement in accuracy) that enable quantitative comparison with theory. This work provides evidence for the existence of a diamond-bc8-liquid triple point on the melt boundary.
Efficient Gradient-Based Optimization of Process Capability with Multiple, Potentially Nonnormal Outputs

A process output has multiple performance measures (response variables) that are related to multiple input variables (both controllable and noise variables). The input variables are modeled as random variables and the relationships are modeled by transfer functions that may be known functional relationships or response surfaces that have been estimated from experimental data. The performance measures have specification limits. The goal is to select the target (or mean) values for the controllable input variables to minimize the weighted probabilities that the response variables will have values outside their specification limits without making distributional assumptions on the response variables. A single set of simulation replications is used to efficiently estimate derivatives of the weighted probability of defectives with respect to the parameters of the probability distributions of each input variable. These derivative estimates are used in a gradient-based optimization algorithm to select the mean va...
A syntax and semantics for set-oriented production rules in relational database systems

We propose incorporating a production rules facility into a relational database system. Such a facility allows definition of database operations that are automatically executed whenever certain conditions are met. In keeping with the set-oriented approach of relational data manipulation languages, our production rules are also set-oriented—they are triggered by sets of changes to the database and may consequently perform sets of changes. The condition and action parts of our production rules may refer to the current state of the database as well as to the sets of changes triggering the rules. We define a syntax for production rule definition as an extension to SQL. A model of system behavior is used to give an exact semantics for production rule execution, taking into account externally-generated operations, self-triggering rules, and simultaneous triggering of multiple rules.Due to space constraints, some details and discussion are omitted, and only a few examples are included. See [19] for a more extensive description.
Dissimulation and social desirability in the assessment of fears

The contribution of dissimulation and social desirability responding to the assessment of fears was investigated by means of the Wolpe Fear Survey Schedule and two widely used measures of dissimulation and social desirability, utilizing a sample of male and female college students. No significant dissimulation and social desirability variance was demonstrated in the fear inventory total score suggesting that noncontent responding is not impairing the validity of such fear assessment.
Comment on oscillations in the cross section of Ar+ - Ar charge transfer

Abstract It is pointed out that an approximate theory of charge transfer predicts incorrectly oscillations in cross sections if extended beyond its region of validity.
Use of the AN/AQS-20A tactical mine-hunting system for on-scene bathymetry data

Abstract The effectiveness of mine countermeasures is dependent, in part, on how well warfighters know the ocean environment. Often, knowledge is outdated, in error or absent, requiring rapid environmental assessment on-scene. One way to obtain this assessment is to make dual use of the tactical data from military sensors to extract environmental information. Here, we discuss calibration and data uncertainty associated with using the multibeam volume search sonar onboard a AN/AQS-20A towed mine hunting system to extract multibeam bathymetry data based on data sets obtained from five demonstration flights conducted off the coast of Panama City, Florida. We compare the extracted bathymetry to overlapping data sets from dedicated multibeam echo-sounder systems and find a bias correction for the system. We also identify inaccurate knowledge of the sound velocity profile as a source of measurement error, discuss mitigation of it where possible, and assess how this error affects the uncertainty of the bias correction.
The Fortunate Dimensions of Taiwanese Traditional Architecture

Taiwanese traditional architecture has been classified as belonging to the Southern style of Chinese architecture. Owing to geographical and climatic conditions, and to its own history, Taiwanese architecture has diversified from mainstream Chinese architecture. This diversification has given rise to styles of buildings that were (and are) quite distinct from their Chinese origin. The authors begin with a comparison of Taiwanese and Chinese traditional architectures highlighting their differences. The authors go on to describe the different systems used for measuring key dimensions in Taiwanese traditional buildings, and the procedure for their determination.
Case report 305. Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (Trevor disease) of left ankle with an associated osteochondral (post-traumatic) fracture fragment, probably arising from talus.

Dysplasie epiphysaire hemimelique de la cheville gauche avec fragment osseux provenant probablement de l'astragale
Purification, crystallization and halide phasing of a Streptococcus agalactiae backbone pilin GBS80 fragment

The Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus agalactiae or group B streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of bacterial septicemia, pneumonia and meningitis among neonates around the world. The pathogen assembles two types of pili on its surface, named PI-1 and PI-2, that mediate bacterial adherence to host cells. The GBS PI-1 pilus is formed by the major pilin GBS80, which forms the pilus shaft, and two minor pilins GBS104 and GBS52, which are incorporated into the pilus structure. While considerable structural information exists on Gram-negative pili, the structural study of Gram-positive pili is an emerging area of research. Here, the purification, crystallization and initial phasing of the 35 kDa major fragment of the backbone pilin GBS80 are reported. Crystals were obtained in two different space groups: P21 and C2. SAD data collected from an iodide-derivative crystal at the home source were used to obtain initial phases and interpretable electron-density maps.
Recruitment screams of pigtail monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) : ontogenetic perspectives

In several species of nonhuman primates screams given by victims of attack elicit interventions from allies in the social group. In the present study, the screams of 16 pigtail macaques (M. nemestrina) under three years of age were assessed with respect to production and contextual usage. Data obtained from these animals three years later were compared with those from the previous period for evidence of changes in usage and production. It was hypothesized that these monkeys (8 males and 8 females), when three years older, would show patterns of contextual usage and production for agonistic screams that were more similar to those of adult animals. For control and comparison, 10 monkeys (9 females and 1 male) who had been older than three years of age during the earlier study were also sampled during the subsequent period. Calls of all subjects were assigned to one of four agonistic contexts (defined by the severity of the aggression and the dominance rank of the opponent) using discriminant functions that had been generated from the earlier data. While the successful classification rate improved for the 16 subjects that were originally three years of age or younger, no significant change was found for screams of the 10 older control monkeys. The probabilities with which screams of the 16 younger subjects were assigned correctly to context (a measure of call production) also were significantly higher during the second period. No such change was evident in the calls of the 10 control subjects. Data from the earlier study period had suggested that, among juveniles, females appeared to be more proficient than males in both the production and usage of these calls. During the second period of study, the proportion of calls that was classified correctly increased significantly for both males and females. The results of tests comparing the proportion of correctly classified calls for individuals revealed no differences between males and females during the second period, confirming similar results for pooled data analyses. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between males and females in the assignment probabilities with which calls were correctly classified. These results suggest that, with age, the younger monkeys became more proficient in the contextual usage and production of screams.
Gradual Changes in Hippocampal Activity Support Remembering the Order of Events

The hippocampus is thought to contribute to episodic memory in part by binding stimuli to their spatiotemporal context. The present study examined how hippocampal neuronal populations encode spatial and temporal context as rats performed a task in which they were required to remember the order of trial-unique sequences of odors. The results suggest that a gradual change in the pattern of hippocampal activity served as a temporal context for odor-sampling events and was important for successful subsequent memory of the order of those odors.