cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Foundations of validity: Meaning and consequences in psychological assessment.

The traditional conception of validity divides it into three separate and substitutable types — namely, content, criterion, and construct validities. This view is fragmented and incomplete, especially in failing to take into account evidence of the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and of the social consequences of test use. The new unified concept of validity interrelates these issues as fundamental aspects of a more comprehensive theory of construct validity. That is, unified validity integrates considerations of content, criteria, and consequences into a construct framework for empirically testing rational hypotheses about score meaning and theoretically relevant relationships, including those of both an applied and a scientific nature. The essence of unified validity is that the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of score-based inferences are inseparable and that the unifying force behind this integration is the trustworthiness of empirically grounded score interpretation. Thus, construct validity conceived comprehensively becomes the whole of assessment validity for both scientific and applied purposes. In turn, assessment validation becomes scientific inquiry into score meaning and the consequences of score use.
Population impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants with enhanced transmissibility and/or partial immune escape

Summary SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern exhibit varying degrees of transmissibility and, in some cases, escape from acquired immunity. Much effort has been devoted to measuring these phenotypes, but understanding their impact on the course of the pandemic – especially that of immune escape – has remained a challenge. Here, we use a mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of wildtype and variant strains of SARS-CoV-2 in the context of vaccine rollout and nonpharmaceutical interventions. We show that variants with enhanced transmissibility frequently increase epidemic severity, whereas those with partial immune escape either fail to spread widely, or primarily cause reinfections and breakthrough infections. However, when these phenotypes are combined, a variant can continue spreading even as immunity builds up in the population, limiting the impact of vaccination and exacerbating the epidemic. These findings help explain the trajectories of past and present SARS-CoV-2 variants and may inform variant assessment and response in the future.
Factors associated with inguinal hernia repair in premature infants during neonatal admission.

Abstract Introduction Timing of inguinal hernia repair (IHR) in premature infants is variable and influenced by surgeon preference and complication profile. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors related to early IHR, defined as hernia repair during initial neonatal admission, in premature infants. Methods Neonatal hospitalizations of premature infants (gestational age at birth Results Overall, 30,298 neonatal hospitalizations of premature infants with inguinal hernia were identified; 13,228 (43.3%) underwent early IHR. Early IHR was more likely with older gestational age at birth (35–36 weeks vs Conclusions Using a nationally representative database, early IHR in premature neonates was more commonly performed in non-Hispanic White, female neonates and at urban teaching hospitals. Patient race and hospital type were determinants of early IHR in premature neonates. There is a need to further evaluate the impact of race and socioeconomic factors on outcomes of common pediatric operations like inguinal hernia repairs. Level of Evidence Level III.
Bayesian MEG time courses with fMRI priors

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) records brain activity with excellent temporal and good spatial resolution, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers good temporal and excellent spatial resolution. The aim of this study is to implement a Bayesian framework to use fMRI data as spatial priors for MEG inverse solutions. We used simulated MEG data with both evoked and induced activity and experimental MEG data from sixteen participants to examine the effectiveness of using fMRI spatial priors in MEG source reconstruction. For simulated MEG data, incorporating the prior information from fMRI increased the spatial resolution of MEG source reconstruction by 3 mm on average. For experimental MEG data, fMRI spatial information reduced the spurious clusters for evoked activity and showed more left-lateralized activation pattern for induced activity. The use of fMRI spatial priors greatly reduced location error for induced source in MEG data. Our results provide empirical evidence that the use of fMRI spatial priors improves the accuracy of MEG source reconstruction. The combined MEG and fMRI approach can provide neuroimaging data with better spatial and temporal resolutions to add another perspective to our understanding of the neurobiology of language. The potential clinical applications include pre-surgical evaluation of language function for epilepsy patients and evaluation of language network for children with language disorders.
Inadequacy inequality: the distribution and consequences of part-time underemployment in the US

Despite some attention devoted to part-time employment with insufficient or inadequate work hours, research is still too limited on how the burden of underemployment is distributed disproportionate...
An Optimal Algorithm for Triangle Counting in the Stream

We present a new algorithm for approximating the number of triangles in a graph G whose edges arrive as an arbitrary order stream. If m is the number of edges in G, T the number of triangles, Δ_E the maximum number of triangles which share a single edge, and Δ_V the maximum number of triangles which share a single vertex, then our algorithm requires space: O(m/T⋅(Δ_E + √{Δ_V})) Taken with the Ω((m Δ_E)/T) lower bound of Braverman, Ostrovsky, and Vilenchik (ICALP 2013), and the Ω((m √{Δ_V})/T) lower bound of Kallaugher and Price (SODA 2017), our algorithm is optimal up to log factors, resolving the complexity of a classic problem in graph streaming.
Projection-free nonconvex stochastic optimization on Riemannian manifolds

We study stochastic projection-free methods for constrained optimization of smooth functions on Riemannian manifolds, i.e., with additional constraints beyond the parameter domain being a manifold. Specifically, we introduce stochastic Riemannian Frank-Wolfe methods for nonconvex and geodesically convex problems. We present algorithms for both purely stochastic optimization and finite-sum problems. For the latter, we develop variance-reduced methods, including a Riemannian adaptation of the recently proposed Spider technique. For all settings, we recover convergence rates that are comparable to the best-known rates for their Euclidean counterparts. Finally, we discuss applications to two classic tasks: The computation of the Karcher mean of positive definite matrices and Wasserstein barycenters for multivariate normal distributions. For both tasks, stochastic Fw methods yield state-of-the-art empirical performance.
Secure Planning Against Stealthy Attacks via Model-Free Reinforcement Learning

We consider the problem of security-aware planning in an unknown stochastic environment, in the presence of attacks on control signals (i.e., actuators) of the robot. We model the attacker as an agent who has the full knowledge of the controller as well as the employed intrusion-detection system and who wants to prevent the controller from performing tasks while staying stealthy. We formulate the problem as a stochastic game between the attacker and the controller and present an approach to express the objective of such an agent and the controller as a combined linear temporal logic (LTL) formula. We then show that the planning problem, described formally as the problem of satisfying an LTL formula in a stochastic game, can be solved via model-free reinforcement learning when the environment is completely unknown. Finally, we illustrate and evaluate our methods on two robotic planning case studies.
An efficient continuous data assimilation algorithm for the Sabra shell model of turbulence

Complex nonlinear turbulent dynamical systems are ubiquitous in many areas of research. Recovering unobserved state variables is an important topic for the data assimilation of turbulent systems. In this article, an efficient continuous-in-time data assimilation scheme is developed, which exploits closed analytic formulas for updating the unobserved state variables. Therefore, it is computationally efficient and accurate. The new data assimilation scheme is combined with a simple reduced order modeling technique that involves a cheap closure approximation and noise inflation. In such a way, many complicated turbulent dynamical systems can satisfy the requirements of the mathematical structures for the proposed efficient data assimilation scheme. The new data assimilation scheme is then applied to the Sabra shell model, which is a conceptual model for nonlinear turbulence. The goal is to recover the unobserved shell velocities across different spatial scales. It is shown that the new data assimilation scheme is skillful in capturing the nonlinear features of turbulence including the intermittency and extreme events in both the chaotic and the turbulent dynamical regimes. It is also shown that the new data assimilation scheme is more accurate and computationally cheaper than the standard ensemble Kalman filter and nudging data assimilation schemes for assimilating the Sabra shell model with partial observations.
ScrewNet: Category-Independent Articulation Model Estimation From Depth Images Using Screw Theory

Robots in human environments will need to interact with a wide variety of articulated objects such as cabinets, drawers, and dishwashers while assisting humans in performing day-to-day tasks. Existing methods either require objects to be textured or need to know the articulation model category a priori for estimating the model parameters for an articulated object. We propose ScrewNet, a novel approach that estimates an object’s articulation model directly from depth images without requiring a priori knowledge of the articulation model category. ScrewNet uses screw theory to unify the representation of different articulation types and perform category-independent articulation model estimation. We evaluate our approach on two benchmarking datasets and three real-world objects and compare its performance with a current state-of-the-art method. Results demonstrate that ScrewNet can successfully estimate the articulation models and their parameters for novel objects across articulation model categories with better on average accuracy than the prior state-of-the-art method.
Deep Parallel Characterization of AAV Tropism and AAV-Mediated Transcriptional Changes via Single-Cell RNA Sequencing

Engineered variants of recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are being developed rapidly to meet the need for gene-therapy delivery vehicles with particular cell-type and tissue tropisms. While high-throughput AAV engineering and selection methods have generated numerous variants, subsequent tropism and response characterization have remained low throughput and lack resolution across the many relevant cell and tissue types. To fully leverage the output of these large screening paradigms across multiple targets, we have developed an experimental and computational single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) pipeline for in vivo characterization of barcoded rAAV pools at high resolution. Using this platform, we have both corroborated previously reported viral tropisms and discovered unidentified AAV capsid targeting biases. As expected, we observed that the tropism profile of AAV.CAP-B10 in mice was shifted toward neurons and away from astrocytes when compared with AAV-PHP.eB. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that this neuronal bias is due mainly to increased targeting efficiency for glutamatergic neurons, which we confirmed by RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization. We further uncovered cell subtype tropisms of AAV variants in vascular and glial cells, such as low transduction of pericytes and Myoc+ astrocytes. Additionally, we have observed cell-type-specific transitory responses to systemic AAV-PHP.eB administration, such as upregulation of genes involved in p53 signaling in endothelial cells three days post-injection, which return to control levels by day twenty-five. The presented experimental and computational approaches for parallel characterization of AAV tropism will facilitate the advancement of safe and precise gene delivery vehicles, and showcase the power of understanding responses to gene therapies at the single-cell level.
Fidelity and entanglement entropy for infinite-order phase transitions

We study the fidelity and the entanglement entropy for the ground states of quantum systems that have infinite-order quantum phase transitions. In particular, we consider the quantum O(2) model with a spin-$S$ truncation, where there is an infinite-order Gaussian (IOG) transition for $S=1$ and there are Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transitions for $S\ensuremath{\ge}2$. We show that the height of the peak in the fidelity susceptibility (${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{F}$) converges to a finite thermodynamic value as a power law of $1/L$ for the IOG transition and as $1/ln(L)$ for BKT transitions. The peak position of ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{F}$ resides inside the gapped phase for both the IOG transition and BKT transitions. On the other hand, the derivative of the block entanglement entropy with respect to the coupling constant (${S}_{vN}^{\ensuremath{'}}$) has a peak height that diverges as ${ln}^{2}(L)$ for $S=1$ and ${ln}^{3}(L)$ for $S\ensuremath{\ge}2$ and can be used to locate both kinds of transitions accurately. We include higher-order corrections for finite-size scalings and obtain the value of the central charge consistent with $c=1$ predicted by conformal field theory. The crossing point of ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{F}$ between different system sizes is at the IOG point for $S=1$ but is inside the gapped phase for $S\ensuremath{\ge}2$, while those of ${S}_{vN}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ are at the phase-transition points for all $S$ truncations. Our work elaborates on how to use the finite-size scaling of ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{F}$ or ${S}_{vN}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ to detect infinite-order quantum phase transitions and discusses the efficiency and accuracy of the two methods.
The Emergence of the Shape Bias Results from Communicative Efficiency

By the age of two, children tend to assume that new word categories are based on objects’ shape, rather than their color or texture; this assumption is called the shape bias. They are thought to learn this bias by observing that their caregiver’s language is biased towards shape based categories. This presents a chicken and egg problem: if the shape bias must be present in the language in order for children to learn it, how did it arise in language in the first place? In this paper, we propose that communicative efficiency explains both how the shape bias emerged and why it persists across generations. We model this process with neural emergent language agents that learn to communicate about raw pixelated images. First, we show that the shape bias emerges as a result of efficient communication strategies employed by agents. Second, we show that pressure brought on by communicative need is also necessary for it to persist across generations; simply having a shape bias in an agent’s input language is insufficient. These results suggest that, over and above the operation of other learning strategies, the shape bias in human learners may emerge and be sustained by communicative pressures.
Trinity by the Numbers: The Computing Effort that Made Trinity Possible

Utilizing rarely used source materials and identifying points of bias among more commonly used sources, this critical review provides a more complete representation of wartime Los Alamos computing ...
Iterative Threshold Decoding of Spatially Coupled, Parallel-Concatenated Codes

Spatially coupled, parallel concatenated codes (SC-PCCs) have been shown to approach channel capacity when decoded using optimal iterative methods. However, under complexity constraints such decoding strategies can result in unacceptable power and latency costs. In this work, we employ convolutional self-orthogonal component codes along with low-complexity, suboptimal a posteriori probability (APP) threshold decoders with SC-PCCs to reduce decoding complexity. The proposed code design is faster, more energy efficient, and easier to implement than optimal methods, while offering significant coding gain over existing threshold decodable, turbo-like constructions of similar latency and complexity. The design also serves to further illustrate the advantages spatial coupling can provide to existing code constructions and decoder implementations.
Does SLOPE outperform bridge regression

A recently proposed SLOPE estimator (arXiv:1407.3824) has been shown to adaptively achieve the minimax $\ell_2$ estimation rate under high-dimensional sparse linear regression models (arXiv:1503.08393). Such minimax optimality holds in the regime where the sparsity level $k$, sample size $n$, and dimension $p$ satisfy $k/p \rightarrow 0$, $k\log p/n \rightarrow 0$. In this paper, we characterize the estimation error of SLOPE under the complementary regime where both $k$ and $n$ scale linearly with $p$, and provide new insights into the performance of SLOPE estimators. We first derive a concentration inequality for the finite sample mean square error (MSE) of SLOPE. The quantity that MSE concentrates around takes a complicated and implicit form. With delicate analysis of the quantity, we prove that among all SLOPE estimators, LASSO is optimal for estimating $k$-sparse parameter vectors that do not have tied non-zero components in the low noise scenario. On the other hand, in the large noise scenario, the family of SLOPE estimators are sub-optimal compared with bridge regression such as the Ridge estimator.
Distributed State Estimation over Time-Varying Graphs: Exploiting the Age-of-Information

We study the problem of designing a distributed observer for an LTI system over a time-varying communication graph. The limited existing work on this topic imposes various restrictions either on the observation model or on the sequence of communication graphs. In contrast, we propose a single-time-scale distributed observer that works under mild assumptions. Specifically, our communication model only requires strong-connectivity to be preserved over non-overlapping, contiguous intervals that are even allowed to grow unbounded over time. We show that under suitable conditions that bound the growth of such intervals, joint observability is sufficient to track the state of any discrete-time LTI system exponentially fast, at any desired rate. We also develop a variant of our algorithm that is provably robust to worst-case adversarial attacks, provided the sequence of graphs is sufficiently connected over time. The key to our approach is the notion of a ``freshness-index" that keeps track of the age-of-information being diffused across the network. Such indices enable nodes to reject stale estimates of the state, and, in turn, contribute to stability of the error dyna
Neutrino interactions in the late universe

The cosmic neutrino background is both a dramatic prediction of the hot Big Bang and a compelling target for current and future observations. The impact of relativistic neutrinos in the early universe has been observed at high significance in a number of cosmological probes. In addition, the non-zero mass of neutrinos alters the growth of structure at late times, and this signature is a target for a number of upcoming surveys. These measurements are sensitive to the physics of the neutrino and could be used to probe physics beyond the standard model in the neutrino sector. We explore an intriguing possibility where light right-handed neutrinos are coupled to all, or a fraction of, the dark matter through a mediator. In a wide range of parameter space, this interaction only becomes important at late times and is uniquely probed by late-time cosmological observables. Due to this coupling, the dark matter and neutrinos behave as a single fluid with a non-trivial sound speed, leading to a suppression of power on small scales. In current and near-term cosmological surveys, this signature is equivalent to an increase in the sum of the neutrino masses. Given current limits, we show that at most 0.5% of the dark matter could be coupled to neutrinos in this way.
Method, Social Science, and Social Hope

Galileo and his fellowers discovered, and subsequent centuries have amply confirmed, that you get much better predictions by thinking of things as masses of particles blindly bumping each other than by thinking of them as Aristotle thought of them — animistically, teleologically, anthromorphically. They also discovered that you get a better handle on the universe by thinking of it as infinite and cold and comfortless than by thinking of it as finite, homey, planned, and relevant to human concerns. Finally, they discovered that if you view planets or missiles or corpuscles as point-masses, you can get nice simple predictive laws by looking for nice simple mathematical ratios. These discoveres are the basis of modern technological civilization. We can hardly be too grateful for them. But they do not, pace Descartes and Kant, point any epistemological moral.
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

Of the positive attributes of model building with T, rigidity ranks high on the list. The ability to mirror the structural features of our physical reality with flexible mathematics bespeaks more the talents of the model builder than any fundamental connection of the mathematics to reality. To lay claim to such a connection a mathematical idea must, in my opinion, satisfy at least the three qualities that so distinguish T: selectness; inflexibility; and consistency with those aspects of physical reality it is intended to explicate. This chapter should highlight these qualities.
Parents-CARE: a suicide prevention program for parents of at-risk youth.

TOPIC: Families play an important role in youth suicide prevention, as both a source of protection and a source of risk, and thus are an important target for adolescent suicide prevention programs. PURPOSE: This article describes in detail Parents-CARE, a brief youth suicide prevention program for parents, for which effectiveness has been demonstrated. Engaging parents in preventive intervention can be challenging; therefore, the feasibility, acceptability, and relevance of the program to parents are examined. SOURCES USED: A total of 289 households participated in Parents-CARE. Parent attendance data and parent and interventionist process data are utilized to demonstrate the positive response by parents to the program. CONCLUSION: The Parents-CARE program was highly attended, and ratings demonstrate that parents were engaged in the program. Ratings show parents found the program both acceptable and relevant. Hence, the program described is promising for clinicians working with at-risk youth as they seek brief, accessible, and effective interventions that include parents in order to amplify the effects of an individual intervention approach. Language: en
Charge transferred doping and electroluminescence in carbon nanotube transistors

We report an unconventional chemical p- and n- doping scheme utilizing novel materials and a charge transfer mechanism to obtain self-aligned, unipolar, stable carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET). This scheme introduces the tunability of the threshold voltage Vth, increases the drive current 2-3 orders of magnitude, transforms CNTFETs from ambipolar to unipolar, suppresses minority carrier injection and yields an excellent I/sub on//I/sub off/ ratio of 106. We utilize the ambipolar conduction in CNTFETs for optoelectronic applications, and demonstrate spatially-resolved electron-hole recombination in long channel transistors. This allows us to probe the carrier transport processes under varying bias conditions in nanotubes, determine the recombination lengths and recombination times, observe defects, etc.
The making of Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals

Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals are a series of paintings on canvas commissioned by Harvard University and created in the early 1960s. The present study investigates Rothko's creative process, materials, and technique with ultraviolet and infrared imaging, analytical chemistry, cross-sectional analysis, and comparisons with the literature. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy imaging of cross sections help with the chemical mapping of the paint stratifications. A comparison of paper studies, studies on canvas, and the final five works installed give a detailed insight into Rothko's editing process. The intimate relationship between works on paper and canvas is traced by uncovering a back and forth between the two media, and the mixing of dry pigment with binder is a common theme for works on both supports. Motif developments, changes, and distinct painting campaigns become apparent with ultraviolet induced visible fluorescence imaging and infrared reflected infrared digital photography. Color measurements and mic...
Body fat deposition in adult obese women. II Changes in fat distribution accompanying weight reduction

This study examined changes in body fat distribution in 68 women who lost an average of 12.3 kg from an initial weight of 103.6 kg. Weight reduction was accompanied by a small but statistically significant reduction of 1.2% in the waist-to-hip ratio, suggestive of a reduction in upper-body obesity. Subjects with greater upper-body obesity tended to achieve greater reductions in the waist-to-hip ratio. Changes in five circumference measures were highly correlated with losses of fat and showed that subjects with lower-body obesity tended to lose large amounts of fat from both their upper and lower fat depots while subjects with upper-body obesity lost fat primarily from their upper depots. Women with lower-body obesity tended to lose more total body fat than did women with upper body obesity (r = -0.26, p less than 0.04).
The biosynthesis of poliovirus in cell cultures.

Publisher Summary This chapter considers the recent findings of poliovirus with respect to its biosynthesis. Results of quantitative significance concerning the biosynthesis of poliovirus have come almost exclusively from the use of dispersed mammalian cells, either in primary culture, exemplified by monkey kidney epithelium or in serially propagated cultures, such as the HeLa cell. Either of these cell lines can be used for both the production of virus and its quantitative plaque assay. The particular value of poliovirus is that it is an RNA-containing virus, the replication of which can be studied under experimental conditions approximating those of the coliphage system. The detailed study of the chemical and biophysical properties of the virus particle promises to be rewarding in itself. There is preliminary evidence for free sulfhydryl groups in the protein coat of poliovirus. This should allow attachment of heavy atoms such as mercury to yield a product that would be of aid to the X-ray crystallographer in studies on the structure of the particles.
A quantitative computer-assisted analysis of disc displacement in patients with internal derangement using sagittal view magnetic resonance imaging

Forty patients diagnosed clinically as having internal derangement of one or both temporomandibular joints underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Seventy-three films were obtained: 26 films from 13 patients with bilateral symptoms; 40 films from 20 patients with unilateral symptomatic joints; and seven films from only the symptomatic joint in the remaining seven patients. Disc positions were evaluated in all of these films, and also in 17 films obtained from 10 asymptomatic volunteers. A system for quantitative measurement of disc position relative to the condyle in the closed-mouth position was used in two ways: manually, with an operator locating reference points and measuring them; and computer-assisted, with a special program developed to locate and measure these points. There was no significant difference in the results produced by these two methods. Important findings of this study were as follows: 1) 35% of the joints in the asymptomatic volunteers were found to have moderately or severely displaced discs; 2) only 75% of the joints diagnosed clinically as having an internal derangement were found to have significant disc displacement, which suggests that the other 25% must have had a different pathologic basis for the symptoms; and 3) the contralateral disc in the unilateral patients was found to be displaced as often as the disc on the symptomatic side (75%).
Chencha's gait

Myrta Silva (Puerto Rico, 1923–87) is known as one of the all-time best singers of Cuban guarachas. This article explores the psychoanalytic object-voice and queer performance by looking at the “before and after” of a humorous song created jointly by Silva and the Cuban composer Nico Saquito (Antonio Fernandez), “Camina como Chencha” (“Chencha's gait”). This song and its performance fused the real-life Silva with the fictive Chencha. Silva, who had embodied sexual desire as both “Myrta” and “Chencha” in a brilliant career, is remembered only as the “Chencha” of the end of her career, seen as a disgusting object. The article takes the reader back into Silva's beginnings as a musician to examine the status of the voice as Lacanian part-object prior to this hit song, and analyzes what happened after two signifiers, first joined by metonymy, became involved in a struggle ultimately won by metaphor.
The software-cache connection

This paper describes an adaptation of standard Fourier analysis techniques to the study of software-cache interactions. The cache is viewed as a "black box" boolean signal generator, where "ones" correspond to cache misses and "zeros" correspond to cache hits. The spectrum of this time sequence is used to study the dynamic characteristics of complex systems and workloads with minimal a priori knowledge of their internal organization. Line spectra identify tight loops accessing regular data structures, while the overall spectral density reveals the general structure of instruction localities.
Comparison of phase diversity and curvature wavefront sensing

We compare phase diversity and curvature wavefront sensing. Besides having completely different reconstruction algorithms, the two methods measure data in different domains: phase diversity very near to the focal plane, and curvature wavefront sensing far from the focal plane in quasi-pupil planes, which enable real-time computation of the wavefront using analog techniques. By using information- theoretic lower bounds, we show that the price of measuring far from the focal lane is an increased error in estimating the phase. Curvature wavefront sensing is currently operating in the field, but phase diversity should produce superior estimates as real-time computing develops.
Pervasive power: a radioisotope-powered piezoelectric generator

A long-lasting radioisotope micropower generator for self-powered sensor microsystems promises to make pervasive computing systems more reliable. Its higher energy conversion efficiency enables microsystems with small amounts of radioactivity to realize sensor and basic computation operations. The goal is to achieve power sources that operate over a wide temperature range and for extended time periods with high reliability. To reach this goal, researchers have investigated technologies for miniature micropower applications and developed radioisotope power generators. We've created a power source employing radioactive thin films and piezoelectric unimorphs, using a nonthermal energy conversion cycle that enables much higher energy conversion efficiency.
A Convincing, Not-So-Modest Proposal for Classroom Transformation

Today's faculty face pressure from a number of directions: tenure committees and chairs expect regular grant awards and publications; administrators demand continued excellence in research while increasing teaching loads and responsibilities; students (and future donors) seek enjoyable classroom experiences and more personal interactions with faculty (despite growing class sizes); and educational policy makers and employers want improved student performance and better prepared employees. These demands on faculty are large and, when taken together, looming.
Aspiring Leaders Academy: Responding to the Principal Shortage:

This article presents an overview of the principal shortage and discusses one approach undertaken to address that issue, the Aspiring Leaders Academy. Describes the goals and activities of the Academy, examines results from preand postacademy surveys, and offers recommendations for improvement.
Intermediate results of percutaneous endovascular therapy of femoropopliteal occlusive disease: a contemporary series.

Background Percutaneous endovascular therapy is becoming a primary option for managing infrainguinal occlusive disease. This study examined the results of femoropopliteal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with intermediate (mean, 24 months) follow-up in a contemporary series of patients presenting with critical limb ischemia or claudication. Methods Femoropopliteal PTA was performed on 238 consecutive limbs (208 patients) from January 2002 to July 2004. Study end points, including primary patency, assisted patency, and limb salvage (Society of Vascular Surgery reporting standards), were assessed by Kaplan-Meier life-table analysis, and factors predictive of hemodynamic or clinical failure, or both, were evaluated by univariate and multivariate methods. Results Clinical and demographic features included a mean age, 72 years; male (62%); critical limb ischemia (46%); diabetes mellitus (49%); and renal insufficiency (creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dL) (29%). Lesions were classified as TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) A (11%), B (43%), C (41%), and D (5%). PTA was confined to the femoropopliteal segment in 77 patients (33%), and 161 (67%) underwent concurrent interventions in other anatomic locations. Femoropopliteal interventions included angioplasty only in 183 (78%), and the remaining 53 (22%) received at least one stent. Technical success was achieved in 97% of patients, with no deaths and a major morbidity rate of 3%. The 36-month actuarial primary patency was 54.3%, and assisted patency was 92.6% (37 peripheral reinterventions), resulting in a limb preservation rate of 95.4% in all patients regardless of clinical presentation. Interval conversion to bypass surgery occurred in 19 patients (8%). Comparison between critical limb ischemia and claudication revealed a primary patency of 40.8% vs 64.8%, assisted patency of 93.8% vs 92.6%, and limb salvage of 89.7% vs 100%, respectively. Negative predictors of primary patency determined by multivariate analysis included history of congestive heart failure ( P = .02) and TASC C/D ( P = .02). However, further evaluation of TASC C/D vs A/B revealed an assisted patency of 89.7% vs 94.3% ( P = .37) and limb salvage of 94.3% vs 96.4% ( P = .58). Conclusions Femoropopliteal PTA can be performed with a low perioperative morbidity and mortality. Intermediate primary patency is directly related to TASC classification. Although secondary intervention is often necessary to maintain patency in TASC C/D lesions, these data suggest that it would be appropriate to use PTA as initial therapy for chronic femoropopliteal occlusive disease regardless of clinical classification at presentation or TASC category of lesion severity.
Design integration of liquid surface divertors

Abstract The US Enabling Technology Program in fusion is investigating the use of free flowing liquid surfaces facing the plasma. We have been studying the issues in integrating a liquid surface divertor into a configuration based upon an advanced tokamak, specifically the ARIES-RS configuration. The simplest form of such a divertor is to extend the flow of the liquid first wall into the divertor and thereby avoid introducing additional fluid streams. In this case, one can modify the flow above the divertor to enhance thermal mixing. For divertors with flowing liquid metals (or other electrically conductive fluids) MHD (magneto-hydrodynamics) effects are a major concern and can produce forces that redirect flow and suppress turbulence. An evaluation of Flibe (a molten salt) as a working fluid was done to assess a case in which the MHD forces could be largely neglected. Initial studies indicate that, for a tokamak with high power density, an integrated Flibe first wall and divertor does not seem workable. We have continued work with molten salts and replaced Flibe with Flinabe, a mixture of lithium, sodium and beryllium fluorides, that has some potential because of its lower melting temperature. Sn and Sn–Li have also been considered, and the initial evaluations on heat removal with minimal plasma contamination show promise, although the complicated 3D MHD flows cannot yet be fully modeled. Particle pumping in these design concepts is accomplished by conventional means (ports and pumps). However, trapping of hydrogen in these flowing liquids seems plausible and novel concepts for entrapping helium are also being studied.
An assessment of anxiety in instrumental and vocal performances

Musicians tend to agree that performing in public stimulates performer anxiety. How musicians respond to anxiety in musical performance can vary. Although musicians may agree that anxiety is present in public performance and that anxiety can help or hinder performance skills, thus affecting the quality of the performance, there is little empirical research in music to support either of these beliefs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of anxiety in musical performance. Ninety music students, five graduates and 85 undergraduates, studying privately at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, served as subjects. There were 42 male and 48 female subjects. Criteria for subject selection were based on each subject's ability and willingness to perform and record a musical composition in two performance situations within a five-day span.
On Hopf algebras of dimension 4p

Abstract In this paper, we prove that a non-semisimple Hopf algebra H of dimension 4 p with p an odd prime over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero is pointed provided H contains more than two group-like elements. In particular, we prove that non-semisimple Hopf algebras of dimensions 20, 28 and 44 are pointed or their duals are pointed, and this completes the classification of Hopf algebras in these dimensions.
Distributed generator and load-side secondary frequency control in power networks

We design a distributed secondary frequency control scheme for both generators and controllable loads. The proposed scheme operates via local sensing and computation, and neighborhood communication. Equilibrium and stability analysis of the closed-loop system is performed with a power network model including turbines and governors of generators and nonlinear AC power flows. After a change in power supply or demand, the proposed scheme is able to stabilize the system, restore bus frequencies and net inter-area power exchanges, and minimize total generation cost minus user utility at equilibrium.
Communication competence among teachers: The Ohio solution

This article describes a summer instructional program for elementary and secondary teachers modeled after a West Virginia program. A set of workshops treats basic communication concepts, nonverbal communication, organizational communication, listening, and small group communication. The program is responsive to the teachers’ communicative needs and legislators’ demands for improved instruction in the K‐12 Ohio classrooms. Four special concerns are marketing the program, defending its academic validity, separating the program from educational philosophy, and decreasing the gap between the ideal and the actual classroom.
Negative interference dominates collective transport of kinesin motors in the absence of load

The collective function of motor proteins is known to be important for the directed transport of many intracellular cargos. However, understanding how multiple motors function as a group remains challenging and requires new methods that enable determination of both the exact number of motors participating in motility and their organization on subcellular cargos. Here we present a biosynthetic method that enables exactly two kinesin-1 molecules to be organized on linear scaffolds that separate the motors by a distance of 50 nm. Tracking the motions of these complexes revealed that while two motors produce longer average run lengths than single kinesins, the system effectively behaves as though a single-motor attachment state dominates motility. It is proposed that negative motor interference derived from asynchronous motor stepping and the communication of forces between motors leads to this behavior by promoting the rapid exchange between different microtubule-bound configurations of the assemblies.
MEDIA BIAS IN COVERAGE OF THE DIES COMMITTEE ON UN‐AMERICAN ACTIVITIES, 1938‐1940

(1992). Media Bias in Coverage of the Dies Committee on Un‐American Activities, 1938–1940. The Historian: Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 37-52.
On a boundary condition for pressure‐driven laminar flow of incompressible fluids

We prove in Theorem 1 a new relationship between the stress, pressure, velocity, and mean curvature for embedded surfaces in incompressible viscous flows. This is then used to define a corresponding modified pressure boundary condition for flow of Newtonian and generalized Newtonian fluids. We describe some of the implementation issues for inflow and outflow boundaries in this context and give details for a penalty treatment of the associated tangential velocity constraint. This is then implemented and applied in high-resolution 3D benchmark calculations for a representative generalized viscosity model
Silicon excretion from bioactive glass implanted in rabbit bone

Bioactive glass granules were implanted in the tibiae of rabbits in order to determine the pathway of the silicon released from bioactive glass in vivo. We traced and quantified the silicon released by obtaining 24-h urine samples and blood samples for up to 7 months after implantation. Bone tissue as well as the following organs were resected for chemical and histopathological analyses: kidney, liver, lung, lymph nodes, and spleen. The urinary silicon of the implanted group was significantly higher than in the control group. From the data, the calculated average excretion rate was approximately 1.8 mg/day, and as such, the amount of implanted silicon was excreted within statistical bounds in 24 weeks. At this point, only elevated concentrations of silicon were found at the implant site and not in the other organs. The concentrations of silicon measured in the urine were well below saturation. Since no significant increase in silicon was found in any of the organs including the kidney, the increased silicon excretion rate was within the physiological capacity of rabbits. Therefore, it can be concluded that the resorbed silica gel is harmlessly excreted in soluble form through the urine.
Towards a theory of a solution space for the biplane imaging geometry problem.

Biplane angiographic imaging is a primary method for visual and quantitative assessment of the vasculature. In order to reliably reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) position, orientation, and shape of the vessel structure, a key problem is to determine the rotation matrix R and the translation vector t which relate the two coordinate systems. This so-called Imaging Geometry Determination problem is well studied in the medical imaging and computer vision communities and a number of interesting approaches have been reported. Each such technique determines a solution which yields 3D vasculature reconstructions with errors comparable to other techniques. From the literature, we see that different techniques with different optimization strategies yield reconstructions with equivalent errors. We have investigated this behavior, and it appears that the error in the input data leads to this equivalence effectively yielding what we call the solution space of feasible geometries, i.e., geometries which could be solutions given the error or uncertainty in the input image data. In this paper, we lay the theoretical framework for this concept of a solution space of feasible geometries using simple schematic constructions, deriving the underlying mathematical relationships, presenting implementation details, and discussing implications and applications of the proposed idea. Because the solutionmore » space of feasible geometries encompasses equivalent solutions given the input error, the solution space approach can be used to evaluate the precision of calculated geometries or 3D data based on known or estimated uncertainties in the input image data. We also use the solution space approach to calculate an imaging geometry, i.e., a solution.« less
Standalone relativistic continuum wavefunction solver

Abstract A modification of the relativistic continuum wavefunction solver [W.F. Perger et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 76 (1993) 250] is described. The additional angular structure needed for some open shell systems is now read from an extra input file to enhance the set of treatable systems. The convergence behavior is significantly improved by choosing a hydrogenic continuum wavefunction as starting point for the self-consistent field process. Results of the calculated Hg 6 sϵsJ =1 continuum are compared to the results of the original code.
Correlation of sedative effects with brain levels of barbiturates in LS and SS mice.

Long-sleep (LS) and short-sleep (SS) mice, genetically selected for their differential CNS sensitivity to ethanol, have also been shown to differ in their response to other sedative-hypnotics, including the barbiturates. We have applied a gas-chromatographic method of analysis of brain barbiturate concentrations following IP administration of either the water-soluble barbiturate diethylbarbital (DB) or the lipid-soluble barbiturate secobarbital (SB). Brain barbiturate levels were assessed at loss of righting response, and at regaining righting response (waking). In addition, latency to loss of righting response and duration of loss of righting response were measured following IP barbiturate administration. We have observed a differential sensitivity of LS and SS mice to the sedative effects of DB, with LS mice having greater sensitivity compared to SS. This differential sensitivity to DB, as measured by a lower concentration of DB which caused loss of righting in LS, was accompanied by an equal rate of water-soluble barbiturate brain distribution and elimination in the two lines. With the lipid-soluble barbiturate SB, LS and SS mice did not differ in brain SB concentration at loss of righting response or at waking. However, sleep time was much longer in SS mice than LS due to slower brain clearance of the barbiturate in SS. Therefore, duration of loss of righting (sleep time) did not adequately reflect central sensitivity to the lipid-soluble barbiturate. These data suggest the importance of quantifying brain concentrations at loss of righting reflex when assessing central sensitivity to sedative-hypnotic agents. Furthermore, it appears important to consider differences in physico-chemical properties of a particular pharmacological agent before generalizing findings to an entire class of such agents.