cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immediate versus delayed control demands elicit distinct mechanisms for instantiating proactive control

Cognitive control is critical for dynamically guiding goal-directed behavior, particularly when applying preparatory, or proactive, control processes. However, it is unknown how proactive control is modulated by timing demands. This study investigated how timing demands may instantiate distinct neural processes and contribute to the use of different types of proactive control. In two experiments, healthy young adults performed the AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) or Dot Pattern Expectancy (DPX) task. The delay between informative cue and test probe was manipulated by block to be short (1s) or long (~3s). We hypothesized that short cue-probe delays would rely more on a rapid goal updating process (akin to task-switching), whereas long cue-probe delays would utilize more of an active maintenance process (akin to working memory). Short delay lengths were associated with specific impairments in rare probe accuracy. EEG responses to control-demanding cues revealed delay-specific neural signatures, which replicated across studies. In the short delay condition, EEG activities associated with task-switching were specifically enhanced, including increased early anterior positivity ERP amplitude (accompanying greater mid-frontal theta power) and a larger late differential switch positivity. In the long delay condition, we observed study-specific sustained increases in ERP amplitude following control-demanding cues, which may be suggestive of active maintenance. Collectively, these findings suggest that timing demands may instantiate distinct proactive control processes. These findings suggest a reevaluation of AX-CPT and DPX as pure assessments of working memory and highlight the need to understand how presumably benign task parameters, such as cue-probe delay length, significantly alter cognitive control.
Victimization and Desistance from Crime

Victimization is a negative life experience that tends to occur in the context of one’s own offending. Although a great deal of literature shows that victimization often leads to increases in criminal behavior, there are also reasons to believe that, for some offenders, victimization can serve as a turning point that marks the end of criminal careers. The problem, however, is that little is known about why some victims desist from crime and others do not. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to identify the processes that lead to changes in crime over time among victimized offenders. A subset of data from the Pathways to Desistance Study is used, which is a multi-site, 7-year longitudinal study of serious juvenile offenders. Multilevel models are estimated to determine the behavioral, cognitive, and social sources of changes in crime among 190 victimized male offenders (N = 1540 person-waves). The results suggest that victimized offenders who reduce their affiliations to deviant peers (i.e., peers who hold attitudes favorable to crime) engage in less crime over time. These changes to peer affiliations are preceded by victims’ reductions in binge drinking and transitions into fatherhood. There is variability in offending among victims of crime that is not often explored. Future work would benefit from focusing not only on whether victimization increases offending, but for whom.
Innovation for Generic Drugs: Science and Research Under the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012

Regulatory science is science and research intended to improve decision making in a regulatory framework. Improvements in decision making can be in both accuracy (making better decisions) and in efficiency (making faster decisions). Science and research supported by the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (GDUFA) have focused on two innovative methodologies that work together to enable new approaches to development and review of generic drugs: quantitative models and advanced in vitro product characterization. Quantitative models faithfully represent current scientific understanding. They are tools pharmaceutical scientists and clinical pharmacologists use for making better and faster product development decisions. Advances in the in vitro product comparisons provide the measurements of product differences that are the critical input into the models. This paper outlines four areas where science and research funded by GDUFA support synergistic use of models and characterization at critical decision points during generic drug product development and review.
Multicenter distorted wave approach for electron-impact ionization of molecules.

We have previously used the molecular three-body distorted-wave model to examine electron-impact single ionization of molecules. One of the possible weaknesses of this approach lies in the fact that the continuum electron wave functions do not depend on the orientation of the molecule. Here we introduce a model called the multicenter molecular three-body distorted-wave (MCM3DW) approach, for which the continuum electron wave functions depend on the orientation of the molecule at the time of ionization. The MCM3DW results are compared with experimental data taken from work by Dorn and colleagues [Ren et al., Phys. Rev. A 91, 032707 (2015); Phys. Rev. A 93, 062704 (2016); Phys. Rev. A 95, 022701 (2017); Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 123202 (2012); Gong et al., Phys. Rev. A 98, 042710 (2018)] in which they measured triple differential cross sections for single ionization of molecular hydrogen while simultaneously determining the orientation of the ${{\mathrm{H}}_{2}}^{+}$ ion at the time of ionization. Comparisons are also made with previous theoretical calculations. It is found that orientation effects are important for low incident energy electrons. Very nice agreement with experiment and the time-dependent close coupling results is found for an incident electron energy of 26 eV. Orientation effects become relatively unimportant by the time the incident electron energy is 54 eV.
NDNizing existing applications: research issues and experiences

A major challenge to potential ICN/NDN deployment is the requirement of application support, namely, applications need to be rewritten or modified in order to run on NDN networks and receive the full benefits. Using a proxy to translate between an application-level protocol and NDN offers a viable solution that balances between development cost and architectural benefits. In this paper, we study on the questions of how to facilitate and incentivize the development and deployment of such protocol translation proxies. We propose to enable existing applications to communicate "off the grid", i.e., using only local network connectivity without the global Internet, by translating between conventional clientserver protocols and NDN. This provides deployment incentives by enabling a useful feature with no or minimal changes to existing applications. By giving the experience of a few protocols, we hope to abstract out some common design patterns that can be reused in developing other application-level proxies. This paper reports our work on IMAP/NDN translation for local email access and XMPP/NDN translation for local group chat. Based on this work, we identify and discuss a number of common design issues including application-level framing, namespace design, application protocol semantics, multiparty synchronization, security and privacy, and real-world deployment challenges.
My Life So Far as a Young Immigrant

Learning and adjusting to a new culture can often be an exciting and challenging experience. Young people experiencing new cultures hold a unique set of experiences that influence their transition into adulthood. The following essay highlights the experiences of a college freshman who recently immigrated from Kenya. The author tackles issues surrounding adjusting to new cultures and obstacles he has faced and highlights important life lessons that have helped his success.
Adopting Markov Logic Networks for Big Spatial Data and Applications.

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. January 2020. Major: Computer Science. Advisor: Mohamed Mokbel. 1 computer file (PDF); 140 pages.
Medical adjustment counseling: An evidence-based neuropsychological approach in the care of medical patients.

BACKGROUND Today, there exists a need for a practical counseling approach for patients with brain disorders based on an empirical measure that can be used to objectify procedural adequacy. Clinical neuropsychology, which focuses on developing knowledge about human brain-behavioral relationships and applying this information to clinical problems, is the ideal discipline to address this issue. Unlike other methods of appraisal and current counseling approaches, medical adjustment counseling (MAC) for patients with cognitive and behavioral changes due to brain disorders is based on the application of neuropsychological principles and evidence-based practices. OBJECTIVE In this review, I discuss the neuropsychological principles underlying MAC, differentiation from conventional clinical psychology systems, and the specifics of the treatment stages. Transtheoretical analytic points of inclusion and a clinical case example are also discussed. METHODOLOGY MAC involves an interactive exchange between the neuropsychologist and patient based on the neuropsychological examination (NPE). The resulting neuropsychological profile facilitates the conversion of empirical objective evidence into practical biopsychosocial adaptive strategies that can be modified according to each patient's diagnosis and level of impairment. MAC is delivered in four stages (validation, education, accommodation, and reintegration) that require an understanding of the ecological applicability of the NPE to the real-life situation of the patient, a knowledge base of the neurobehavioral consequences of the medical diagnosis, integration of medical disciplines regarding additional diagnostics, psychological crisis systems and patient/family reactions. CONCLUSION Without the objective neuropsychological evidence provided by the NPE and MAC, the clinical judgment of the psychologist is based on something more akin to witchcraft and magic than science.
Complicity and hypocrisy

This article offers a justification for accommodating claims of conscience. The standard justification points to the pain that acting against one’s conscience entails. But that defense cannot make ...
Trump Is Not a (Condorcet) Loser! Primary Voters’ Preferences and the 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination

Many commentators argued that if elites and voters had coordinated on an alternative candidate, Donald Trump could have been defeated for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. This claim rests on the implicit assumption that Trump would have been defeated in a head-to-head contest against another candidate—that he was a Condorcet loser. Conventional pre-election polls, however, do not provide enough information about voters’ preferences to assess the plausibility of this claim. Relying on novel data to construct individuals’ complete preferences over the set of leading Republican candidates, we find that no other candidate strictly defeats Trump in pairwise majority-rule comparisons and—far from being a Condorcet loser—that Trump is a member of the majority-rule core. Our results question the plausibility of the coordination narrative because Trump’s support was wider than political observers believed: it came from a broad base of the Republican primary electorate rather than a small but intense minority.
Pulse shape discrimination performance of stilbene coupled to low-noise silicon photomultipliers

Abstract Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) techniques can be used to discern between neutron and gamma-ray interactions in certain organic scintillators. Traditionally, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have been used in organic-scintillator assemblies. However, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have great potential to be used in many applications in which PMTs have been predominantly used, including those utilizing PSD techniques. To evaluate the current state of the art of the SiPM technology, SensL׳s 6-mm B-Series and C-Series SiPMs were compared to a fast Hamamatsu PMT in conjunction with a 6×6×6-mm3 stilbene organic scintillator to assess the PSD performance of the detector assemblies. Measurements with a Cf-252 source were performed and a figure of merit (FOM) for discriminating between neutron and gamma-ray pulses between 100 keVee and 200 keVee was calculated for each assembly. A digital charge-integration PSD technique was used to process all measured data. The FOM for the B-Series SiPM, PMT, and C-Series SiPM was 1.37, 1.93, and 2.13, respectively. The C-Series SiPM was shown to perform as well as the PMT in the experiments.
Multiphysics modeling and uncertainty quantification of tribocorrosion in aluminum alloys

Abstract Past research in tribocorrosion mainly relies on costly and trial-and-error experimental methods to study the materials’ deformation and degradation under extreme conditions. This work developed a finite element based multiphysics model, validated by existing tribocorrosion experiments of two Al alloys, to analyze the synergistic effects of mechanical and corrosion properties on the material degradation mechanisms of tribocorrosion. During consecutive passes of the counter body, significant residual stress was found to develop near the edge of the wear track, leading to highly concentrated corrosion current than elsewhere. Such non-uniform surface corrosion and stress-corrosion coupling led to variations of tribocorrosion rate over time, even though testing conditions were kept constant. Tribocorrosion rate maps were generated to predict material loss as a function of different mechanical and electrochemical properties, indicating a hard, complaint metal with high anodic Tafel slope and low exchange current density is most resistant to tribocorrosion. Finally, two surrogate models, Gaussian process and neural network with dropout, were used for uncertainty quantification of the finite element model.
From Student to Professional: Teaching Professionalism in the Marketing Classroom.

Developing professionalism skills in the classroom is vital to the business college experience as educators strive to ensure preparedness and success of their graduates. Marketers especially need e...
A Comparative Analysis of Ophthalmology Resident Physician Performance Based on Use of Parental Leave

Background Taking parental leave during ophthalmology residency may be perceived to negatively affect resident surgical volume and educational outcomes. However, limited data exist on whether taking parental leave is associated with objective measures of resident performance. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between taking parental leave and key measures of resident performance. Methods Educational records of ophthalmology resident physicians who graduated from 2015 to 2019 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Wilmer Eye Institute were reviewed. Measures of resident performance assessed were Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program scores, number of publications during residency, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones scores, and surgical volumes. These outcomes were compared for residents who took parental leave compared with their peers who did not take parental leave. Results Twenty-five residents were included in the study. Four female residents (16%) took parental leave 8 weeks in duration. There were no significant differences between residents who did and did not take parental leave when considering mean Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program scores (p = 0.27), number of publications during residency (p = 0.19), milestone scores (p-value range 0.09–0.40), and surgical volume by subspecialty category (p-value range 0.11–0.45). Conclusion Parental leave did not negatively influence any of the studied measures of resident performance.
Justifying Effects-Based Venue in Federal Criminal Cases

In a world where smartphones, social media, online banking, and relentless emails are ubiquitous, criminal actors increasingly find ways to exploit modern society’s reliance on technology. Identity theft, financial fraud, and cybercrime all present unique challenges for an evolving world. An underestimated challenge is determining where such crimes should be prosecuted. The U.S. Constitution requires defendants to be tried in the district in which their alleged crime occurred. But in a modern, technologically advanced world, the U.S. Supreme Court’s framework for deciding where a crime occurred has become increasingly inadequate. By modestly reforming this framework, the Court can solve this problem. Adopting the Second Circuit’s four-factor “substantial contacts” test will better enable courts to identify the location of complex, multi-district crimes. This test considers, among other factors, the effects of an offense, enabling prosecutors to better vindicate communities’ interests in justice and accountability. Finally, to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between modernizing its criminal venue framework and protecting the rights of federal criminal defendants, the Court should analogize to its 1984 personal jurisdiction case, Calder v. Jones, and hold that venue based solely or primarily on the effects of an offense is only permissible when defendants intentionally direct their conduct at the district of prosecution, and not when the harm imposed was merely foreseeable.
Interaction of a golf ball with the flagstick and hole

Changes to the Rules of Golf for 2019 allow a golfer to make a stroke from the putting green with the flagstick unattended in the hole. Such an action would previously incur a penalty. This work provides a model framework for the interaction among the ball, hole, and flagstick. The model is based in part on earlier work by Holmes, who examined the ball without the flagstick as allowed under the former rules. The interaction of the ball with the hole/flagstick area is evaluated for whether the ball is holed and for the final distance from the hole in the case of a miss. The flagstick is found to be of mixed benefit, performing more as a backstop as the impact with the flagstick becomes more central (head-on). Glancing blows at higher input angles are found to cause missed shots at lower velocities. Putts that are too fast to be made whether the flagstick is in or out of the hole are found to rest closer to the hole with the flagstick present. The implications are that shots for which the line of putt is better known (increasing the odds of central impact) and where speed may not be well controlled (e.g., greenside pitch shots) benefit from having the flagstick in the hole.
Structure and function at the lipid-protein interface of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel

Although it has long been proposed that membrane proteins may contain tightly bound lipids, their identity, the structure of their binding sites, and their functional and structural relevance have remained elusive. To some extent, this is because tightly bound lipids are often located at the periphery of proteins, where the quality of density maps is usually poorer, and because they may be outcompeted by detergent molecules used during standard purification procedures. As a step toward characterizing natively bound lipids in the superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs), we applied single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy to fragments of native membrane obtained in the complete absence of detergent-solubilization steps. Because of the heterogeneous lipid composition of membranes in the secretory pathway of eukaryotic cells, we chose to study a bacterial pLGIC (ELIC) expressed in Escherichia coli's inner membrane. We obtained a three-dimensional reconstruction of unliganded ELIC (2.5-A resolution) that shows clear evidence for two types of tightly bound lipid at the protein-bulk-membrane interface. One of them was consistent with a "regular" diacylated phospholipid, in the cytoplasmic leaflet, whereas the other one was consistent with the tetra-acylated structure of cardiolipin, in the periplasmic leaflet. Upon reconstitution in E. coli polar-lipid bilayers, ELIC retained the functional properties characteristic of members of this superfamily, and thus, the fitted atomic model is expected to represent the (long-debated) unliganded-closed, "resting" conformation of this ion channel. Notably, the addition of cardiolipin to phosphatidylcholine membranes restored the ion-channel activity that is largely lost in phosphatidylcholine-only bilayers.
IDENTIFYING CORRELATES OF ACCIDENT INVOLVEMENT FOR THE OLDER DRIVER

Most older adults rely on the automobile to maintain their mobility and independence, in spite of the fact that age-related behavioral and biomedical changes may make driving more difficult. Indeed, accident and fatality rates begin to rise after age 55. One research goal, therefore, is to identify functional measures that differentiate older adults who drive safely from those who do not. This paper discusses conceptual and methodological issues involved in addressing this question, considers why earlier research has been largely unsuccessful, presents a working model for approaching the problem, and argues the need for large-sample, prospective research in this area.
Baseline Behavior of Pilot Whales and their Responses to Playback of Anthropogenic and Natural Sounds

Abstract : This project investigated the social ecology and baseline behavior of long-finned pilot whales as part of a broad multi-investigator research program that seeks to understand how cetaceans are affected by mid-frequency sonar and other sources of anthropogenic noise. The study of how noise affects large delphinids is important since results so far have suggested that they have different responses to anthropogenic noise sources compared to beaked whales. However, studies have been hindered by high inherent variability in acoustic and diving behavior and a lack of understanding of the underlying factors shaping this variation. Our goal is to develop new field and analytical methods for studying the baseline behavior and effects of noise on group-living cetaceans, where social responses to noise such as changes in group cohesion likely constitute important predictors of disturbance. We aim to gather data to design, conduct and interpret controlled exposure experiments to social delphinids such as pilot whales, with the ultimate goal of understanding responses to naval sonar and improving Navy environmental analyses.
Treatment of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease With Clofazimine

Clofazimine (Lamprene) is an antimycobacterial drug that has antiinflammatory activity in a number of chronic autoimmune skin disorders. We report 22 patients treated with clofazimine for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The initial dose was 300 mg orally in a single daily dose for 90 days. After 90 days, the dose was lowered to 100 mg orally each day and the medication continued indefinitely as tolerated. Treatment courses lasted 7 to 835 days and were generally well tolerated. Gastrointestinal side effects occurred in eight of 22 patients (36%) and hyperpigmentation was noted in 12 of 22 patients (55%), which resolved upon decrease or discontinuation of the drug. Over 50% of patients with skin involvement, flexion contractures, or oral manifestations achieved complete or partial responses. Seven of 22 patients (32%) were able to reduce other immunosuppressive medications. Thus, clofazimine is safe and has encouraging efficacy in cGVHD, particularly if sclerodermatous skin, joint contractures, or oral manifestations are present. The mechanism by which clofazimine induces a response is unknown, but might be secondary to suppression of alloreactive T-cell function in cGVHD target organs. Clofazimine deserves further study for the treatment of cGVHD.
Ownership, Takeovers and EU Law: How Contestable Should EU Corporations Be?

In this paper, I draw on economic theory of ownership structure; empirical research on ownership, value and takeovers; and comparisons to US law to argue that the proposed break through rule (BTR) is not clearly better than the status quo, from either a political perspective, or an economic perspective, with implications for any directive on takeover bids (DTB). The good (a step toward an integrated EU capital market) cannot wait on the perfect (ideal takeover rules), but neither should it be pursued without regard for the difference between the two. This suggests that if the BTR is adopted, it should be kept flexible with a mixture of regulatory tools - sunsets, opt-outs, and industry-based exemptions - that reflect the fact that regulation will inevitably be both imperfect and difficult to modify once adopted. The best rationale for the BTR - that many ownership structures in EU reflect historic national market structures and may increasingly impede achievement of economies via cross-border mergers - would be better addressed by rules requiring control of such firms be made contestable on a periodic rather than a continual basis.
Why markets could (but don't currently) solve resource allocation problems in systems

Using market mechanisms for resource allocation in distributed systems is not a new idea, nor is it one that has caught on in practice or with a large body of computer science research. Yet, projects that use markets for distributed resource allocation recur every few years [1, 2, 3], and a new generation of research is exploring market-based resource allocation mechanisms [4, 5, 6, 7, 8] for distributed environments such as Planetlab, Netbed, and computational grids. This paper has three goals. The first goal is to explore why markets can be appropriate to use for allocation, when simpler allocation mechanisms exist. The second goal is to demonstrate why a new look at markets for allocation could be timely, and not a re-hash of previous research. The third goal is to point out some of the thorny problems inherent in market deployment and to suggest action items both for market designers and for the greater research community. We are optimistic about the power of market design, but we also believe that key challenges exist for a markets/systems integration that must be overcome for market-based computer resource allocation systems to succeed.
A simple criterion for determining the dynamical stability of three-body systems

Coplanar, prograde three-body systems (TBS) are discussed, emphasizing the specification of general criteria for determining whether such systems are dynamically stable. It is shown that the Graziani-Black (1981) criteria provide a quantitatively accurate characterization of the onset of dynamic instability for values of the dimensionless mass ranging from one millionth to one million. Harrington's (1977) general criterion and the Graziani-Black criterion are compared with results from analytic work that spans a 12-orders-of-magnitude variation in the mass ratios of the TBS components. Comparison of the Graziani-Black criteria with data for eight well-studied triple-star systems indicates that the observed lower limit for the ratio of periastron distance of the tertiary orbit to the semimajor axis of the binary orbit is due to dynamical instability rather than to cosmogonic processes.
Flexible coordinator design for modeling resource sharing in multi-agent systems

One approach to modeling multi-agent systems (MASs) is to employ a method that defines components which describe the local behavior of individual agents, as well as a special component, called a coordinator. The coordinator component coordinates the resource sharing behavior among the agents. The agent models define a set of local plans, and the combination of local plans and a coordinator defines a system's global plan. Although earlier work has provided the base functionality needed to synthesize inter-agent resource sharing behavior for a global, conflict-free MAS environment, the lack of coordination flexibility limits the modeling capability at both the local plan level and the global plan level. In this paper, we describe a flexible design method that supports a range of coordinator components. The method defines four levels of coordination and an associated four-step coordinator generation process, which allows for the design of coordinators with increasing capabilities for handling complexity associated with resource coordination. Colored Petri net based simulation is used to analyze various properties that derive from different coordinators and synthesis of a reduced coordinator component is discussed for cases that involve homogeneous agents.
Effect of intrastriatal injection of diisopropylfluorophosphate on acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin metabolism.

: Diisopropylfluorophosphate (81.5 nmol) was injected directly into the striata of rats to study changes in striatal metabolism of acetylcholine (ACh), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) at early time points following acute irreversible inhibition of cholinesterase. Twenty minutes following the intrastriatal injection of diisopropylfluorophosphate, levels of striatal acetylcholine were elevated by 50%, but a decrease in KACh compensated for this change. At 1 h, levels of ACh were still elevated, but not significantly different from control values. However, KACh and, hence, ACh turnover were greatly enhanced at this time. Finally, at 24 h, striatal ACh content was only slightly elevated and KACh and the turnover rate of ACh had returned to control values. Striatal cholinesterase activity remained significantly inhibited at all three times. At none of these times was ACh content or turnover affected in the parietal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, or medulla/pons. Neither dopamine and its metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid nor serotonin and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were significantly affected at any of the three times by intrastriatal diisopropylfluorophosphate treatment. Possible mechanisms of the changes in cholinergic parameters are discussed.
Production of 6.13-MeV gamma rays from the 16 O(p,p'γ) 16 O reaction at 23.7 and 44.6 MeV

We have measured the cross sections for production of the astrophysically prominent 6.13-MeV gamma ray from the $^{16}\mathrm{O}$($p$,${p}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\gamma}$)$^{16}\mathrm{O}$ reaction at ${E}_{\mathrm{lab}}^{p}=23.7 \mathrm{and} 44.6$ MeV to be 58.9 and 40.4 mb, respectively. Our results are compared to earlier measurements.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{16}\mathrm{O}$($p$,${p}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\gamma}$)$^{16}\mathrm{O}$. $E=23.7 \mathrm{and} 44.6$ MeV. Measured gamma-ray angular distributions and production cross sections. Implications for gamma-ray astronomy.
A multihospital survey of radiation exposure and image quality in pediatric fluoroscopy.

Background. Traditionally, pediatric radiologists have been advocates of fluoroscopy systems that provide diagnostic images at the lowest possible radiation dose to the pediatric patient. Manufacturers of fluoroscopic equipment vary as to their claims of “low radiation“ exposures.¶Objectives. To obtain comparative data on radiation exposure and image quality from four pediatric hospitals, across variants of fluoroscopic equipment (such as pulsed versus continuous fluoroscopy).¶Materials and methods. Images were acquired from phantoms that simulated the size of a 3-year-old child. Phantom results, both stationary and rotating dynamic, were evaluated for radiation exposure and for image resolution of high- and low-contrast objects.¶Results. Radiation exposure from the four fluoro units varied widely; the lowest-dose selectable fluoro mode produced exposures varying between 34 and 590 mrads/min among the four fluoro units, and the highest-dose selectable fluoro mode produced 540–2230 mrads/min. The lowest radiation exposures were produced by pulsed fluoro units, and the very lowest radiation exposure was produced by a fluoroscope that had been especially optimized for pediatric imaging. There was only a small variation in image quality among the hospitals for visualization of stationary objects. A wide variability was noted for detection of objects on the moving phantom.¶Conclusions. The variability in the number of detected objects was considerably smaller than the variability in radiation exposure. Pulsed fluoroscopy provides improved resolution for moving objects. Optimization of one hospital's fluoroscope especially for pediatric imaging produced the best ratio of image quality to radiation exposure.
Lifetime, stability and accelerator developments at NSLS

Abstract In the past two years, the accelerator developments which have had a major impact on operations of the VUV and X-ray storage rings have been twofold. On the VUV ring a fourth harmonic rf cavity lengthens the electron bunch and thereby increases the Touschek limited lifetime. This results in a significant improvement in integrated current over a fill. Secondly, global analog orbit feedbacks, based on an harmonic correction scheme, have been implemented on both the VUV ring and the X-ray ring to reduce beam motion. The stabilization is done in the vertical plane in the VUV ring and in both planes in the X-ray ring. In addition, three local feedbacks are operating for X-ray ring insertion beamlines and three are being commissioned. We discussed orbit stability improvement on both rings, lifetime improvement on the VUV ring, and briefly a few selected projects under way.
The Afghanisation of Chechnya

(2003). The Afghanisation of Chechnya. The International Spectator: Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 137-145.
Macroinvertebrate and periphyton response to streambed agitation for release of substrate-trapped hydrocarbons

Following a spill of more than 94.4 m3 of unleaded gasoline into Wolf Lodge Creek in northern Idaho, impacted areas were mechanically agitated to release substrate-trapped hydrocarbons by dragging a bulldozer blade with a tightly wound chainlink fence attached to it backward over the substrate. Portions of two riffles were left unagitated to determine if differential recovery of benthic macroinvertebrates and periphyton in cleaned vs uncleaned areas of the stream would occur. Chlorophyll a concentrations and densities of most macroinvertebrates were significantly lower (P ⩽ 0.05) in raked areas 12 days after stream cleaning. However, macroinvertebrate and periphyton community compositions were very similar 1 month after stream cleaning and for the remainder of the study. In spite of similar recovery times of macroinvertebrates and periphyton in raked and nonraked areas, the cleaning process is viewed as beneficial because it minimized possible chronic effects on the biota without causing substantial additional impact.
Observed Inner-Core Structural Variability in Hurricane Dolly (2008)*

AbstractHurricane Dolly (2008) exhibited dramatic inner-core structural variability during a 6-h rapid intensification and deepening event just prior to making landfall in southern Texas at 1800 UTC 23 July. In particular, the eyewall was highly asymmetric from 0634–1243 UTC, with azimuthal wavenumber m = 4–7 patterns in the eyewall radar reflectivity and prominent mesovortex and polygonal eyewall signatures. Evidence is presented that the most likely cause of the high-wavenumber asymmetries is a convectively modified form of barotropic instability of the thin eyewall potential vorticity ring. The rapid intensification and deepening event occurred while Dolly was in a favorable environment with weak deep-layer vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures; however, the environmental conditions were becoming less favorable during the period of rapid intensification. Therefore, it is plausible that the internal vortex dynamics were dominant contributors to the rapid intensification and deepening.
Acid-Producing Activity of Lyophilized Lactic Streptococcal Cheese Starter Concentrates

Abstract Freeze-dried concentrates of lactic streptococcal starter bacteria (single and mixed strains) were prepared in different lyophilization media and stored under vacuum and several gases. The concentrates were tested for survival and acid-producing activity after storage for up to a year by rehydration with water to the original prelyophilization volume. Acid production was measured during incubation at 30 C for up to 6 h and 22 C for up to 18 h. Lyophilization media included 11% nonfat milk, nonfat milk containing 15% sodium glycerophosphate, nonfat milk containing 10% maltose, and sucrose-peptone (10%-5%) solution. Storage conditions included vacuum-sealing and storage under atmospheres of air, argon, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Best results were with commercial mixed strain starter cultures of unknown strain composition which were purchased as direct vat set Cheddar cheese starters. Freeze dried concentrates of these cultures were active and stable at ambient temperatures (25 C) for several months when vacuum-sealed and stored in amber containers filled with argon and when lyophilized in 11% nonfat containing 15% sodium glycerophosphate. For example, freeze dried concentrates of 10 such cultures when stored for 5 to 8 months at 25 C produced an average percent titratable acidity of .97 (range .86 to 1.03) at 22 C in 18 h when inoculum was made into steamed (95 C for 40 min) nonfatmilk; when incubated at 30 C for 6 h, the average was .60% (range .35 to .80%) for freeze dried concentrates stored 3 to 4 mo. The apparent enhanced acid production by rehydrated concentrates incubated at 22 C as compared to 30 C suggests that such preparations may have greater application for direct inoculation of bulk starter milk than for cheese vat milk.
[3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements: short, stereocontrolled syntheses of functionalized vitamin D3 side-chain units

Abstract Enantiomerically pure C,D-ring allylic alcohol 4 stereospecifically undergoes five types of [3,4]-sigmatropic rearrangements to give C-23 functionalized 16-ene vitamin D 3 side-chain units with natural C-20( S ) stereochemistry.
Optical measurements of porosity and fluid motion in packed beds

A marker tracking method is used to measure the radial distributions of porosity and fluid motion in transparent packed beds of equilateral cylinders. Data are given for particle Reynolds numbers from 5 to 280 in beds with D/Dp = 10.7 and L/Dp = 20.6. Spatial oscillations with period ∼ Dp are observed for the smoothed porosity e(r), interstitial axial velocity u(r), and local superficial velocity u(re(r). The latter velocity attains its global maximum and minimum at distances near 0.2Dp and 0.5Dp from the wall. The frequency distributions of the marker displacements are also analysed and compared with a smoothed diffusion model.
Empirical evidence on the natural rate hypothesis and Fisher effect for the U.S. 1953–1978

Abstract A joint study of the natural rate hypothesis and Fisher effect is conducted using an errors-in-variables model. The model accommodates both measurement errors in the survey data on price expectations and an autoregressive formulation for the same. It is estimated by various methods for the United States for the period 1953–1978. The following are the conclusions: 1. 1. The results on the Phillip's relation are mixed and inconclusive. 2. 2. There is a strong relationship between nominal interest rates and the expected rate of inflation except during 1953–1960.
A transmigratory cup in leukocyte diapedesis both through individual vascular endothelial cells and between them

The basic route and mechanisms for leukocyte migration across the endothelium remain poorly defined. We provide definitive evidence for transcellular (i.e., through individual endothelial cells) diapedesis in vitro and demonstrate that virtually all, both para- and transcellular, diapedesis occurs in the context of a novel “cuplike” transmigratory structure. This endothelial structure was comprised of highly intercellular adhesion molecule-1– and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1–enriched vertical microvilli-like projections that surrounded transmigrating leukocytes and drove redistribution of their integrins into linear tracks oriented parallel to the direction of diapedesis. Disruption of projections was highly correlated with inhibition of transmigration. These findings suggest a novel mechanism, the “transmigratory cup”, by which the endothelium provides directional guidance to leukocytes for extravasation.
Electrophysiological monitoring during basilar aneurysm operation.

Intraoperative brain stem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) monitoring was evaluated in 16 patients each undergoing intracranial operation for basilar artery aneurysm. The 16 patients had 18 posterior circulation aneurysms, including 2 patients with 2 aneurysm
Carbon-burning nucleosynthesis with convection

The effect of convection on carbon-burning nucleosynthesis is explored with a limited network of reactions. Convection is simulated by a series of networks at fixed mass points in the core of an evolving 15 solar mass star. Complete mixing is always assumed. Comparison to single network calculations show that the 'half-energy' approximation of Arnett yields reasonable results, although the abundances of nuclei which are created by beta-decays of unstable nuclei tend to be underestimated, by this approximation.
Type II diabetes mellitus is associated with decreased measures of lung function in a clinical setting

Summary Aims Type II diabetes mellitus has been associated with reduced forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV 1 ) and forced vital capacity (FVC). We investigated if this relationship is maintained in a clinical setting, independent of respiratory infections and heart failure. Methods Pulmonary function tests and discharge summaries of 639 adults 18–80 years of age, of different races/ethnicities, seen at an urban hospital during a two years period were reviewed. After selection of patients based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, 286 patients were included in our analysis. Using multivariable linear regression we examined cross-sectional differences of FEV 1 and FVC between patients with and without diabetes, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, smoking and respiratory symptoms. Results Patients with diabetes were older (63 ± 1 vs. 56 ± 1), more likely to be African-Americans (30% vs. 25%) and Hispanics (40% vs. 31%), have respiratory symptoms (79% vs. 68%), and a higher BMI (34.2 ± 1.0 vs. 30.1 ± 0.6), compared to patients without diabetes. The distribution of women and smoking among the two groups were similar. The mean unadjusted percent predicted values of FEV 1 and FVC in patients with diabetes were lower than in those without diabetes, and remained significantly reduced after adjustment (77.3 ± 0.5 vs. 82.0 ± 0.3, p 1 and 73.8 ± 0.6 vs. 82.8 ± 0.3, p Conclusions In a clinical setting, patients with diabetes have decreased lung function compared to their non-diabetic counterparts, independent of respiratory infections and heart failure.
Update on tanning: More risks, fewer benefits

The tanning response, classically defined as increased cutaneous pigmentation after solar ultraviolet light exposure, encompasses a variety of protective, reparative, and cosmetic issues. The tanning story is continuously evolving as basic science, clinical research, and public health studies shed light on topics involving: the physiologic mechanisms of tanning, the medical benefits of tanning, the role of sunscreens, the development of "sunless" self-tanners, the use of photocarcinogenic indoor tanning services, and the relatively recent development and promulgation of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogues. High-risk tanning behaviors have become increasingly popular and the incidence of melanoma has risen more rapidly than any other cancer. This review will focus on the risks and benefits of each type of tanning, with an emphasis on issues pertinent to dermatologists who care for adolescents and young adults.
An “anvil” for sliding‐caliper repair

This note presents working drawings and a photograph of a tool that facilitates immediate repair of sliding calipers damaged during anthropometric surveys.
Effects of Fe particle irradiation on human endothelial barrier structure and function

Abstract Space travel involves exposure to biologically effective heavy ion radiation and there is consequently a concern for possible degenerative disorders in humans. A significant target for radiation effects is the microvascular system, which is crucial to healthy functioning of the tissues. Its pathology is linked to disrupted endothelial barrier function and is not only a primary event in a range of degenerative diseases but also an important influencing factor in many others. Thus, an assessment of the effects of heavy ion radiation on endothelial barrier function would be useful for estimating the risks of space travel. This study was aimed at understanding the effects of high LET Fe particles (1 GeV/n) and is the first investigation of the effects of charged particles on the function of the human endothelial barrier. We used a set of established and novel endpoints to assess barrier function after exposure. These include, trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER), morphological effects, localization of adhesion and cell junction proteins (in 2D monolayers and in 3D tissue models), and permeability of molecules through the endothelial barrier. A dose of 0.50 Gy was sufficient to cause a progressive reduction in TEER measurements that were significant 48 hours after exposure. Concurrently, there were morphological changes and a 14% loss of cells from monolayers. Gaps also appeared in the normally continuous cell-border localization of the tight junction protein – ZO-1 but not the Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1) in both monolayers and in 3D vessel models. Disruption of barrier function was confirmed by increased permeability to 3 kDa and 10 kDa dextran molecules. A dose of 0.25 Gy caused no detectible change in cell number, morphology, or TEER, but did cause barrier disruption since there were gaps in the cell border localization of ZO-1 and an increased permeability to 3 kDa dextran. These results indicate that Fe particles potently have impact on human endothelial barrier function and represent a risk for degenerative diseases in the space environment.
Identification of Critical Security Issues for Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a new service style with many significant advantages and becoming a trend in the world nowadays. Although cloud computing can provide many significant advantages, it also brings us new security problems which present strong barriers for individuals/enterprises to adapt into cloud computing. Including European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), many international organizations have issued their reports on the issue of cloud computing security. However, the identification of risks the cloud computing faces also mix with traditional security problems. In this paper, we aim at identifying the critical security issues which are cloud computing-designated. The results of our identification are divided into three categories, namely, policy and organizational, technical, and legal issues, which were adopted by ENISA. We also carefully analyzed the literature on cloud computing security to identify critical cloud computing-designated risk items for each category. Detailed explanations about how the risk items were identified as the critical cloud computing-designated ones are also given to show the adequacy of the proposed identifications. Most of the cloud computing-designated security issues pointed out in this paper is still open and can be taken into consideration for cloud computing service providers when designing a new cloud computing technique.