cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with decision making on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among college students in South Carolina.

COVID-19 vaccination could be a promising approach in controlling the pandemic, but its success relies on the vaccine acceptance among various populations including young adults who are vulnerable to COVID-19 due to active lifestyle and perceived invulnerability. Vaccine acceptance decisions can be influenced by multiple factors and people may weigh these factors differently in decision making. The current study aimed to explore COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among college students in South Carolina and examine how they weigh these factors according to their COVID-19 vaccine acceptance levels (i.e. acceptance, hesitance, refusal). Online survey data were collected from 1062 college students in South Carolina between September and October 2020. Multinomial logistic regresssion was used to compare perceived importance of 12 factors affecting levels of vaccine acceptance, controlling for demographic variables. About 26.1% of participants reported they would definitely take COVID-19 vaccines when available. Compared to acceptance group, refusal and hesitance groups considered side effects and vaccine characteristics (e.g. where the vaccine is produced) as important. Hesitance group considered authoritative advice from school/college as important. Acceptance group considered authoritative advice from government/doctors and local availability of the vaccines and local availability of the vaccines as important. Our findings suggest relatively low vaccine acceptance among college students in South Carolina and different factors were considered in their vaccination decision according to their acceptance levels. Tailored vaccine promotion messages should address specific concerns among the refusal and hesitancy groups. Schools should attend to valid communication strategies in vaccine campaign since the hesitancy group considered school's advice as important. College health educators also need to pay attention to the refusal group who do not value duration of protection or authoritative advice as much as their counterparts in vaccine decision making.
On the Complexity of Anonymous Communication Through Public Networks.

Onion routing is the most widely used approach to anonymous communication online. The idea is that Alice wraps her message to Bob in layers of encryption to form an "onion," and routes it through a series of intermediaries. Each intermediary's job is to decrypt ("peel") the onion it receives to obtain instructions for where to send it next, and what to send. The intuition is that, by the time it gets to Bob, the onion will have mixed with so many other onions, that its origin will be hard to trace even for an adversary that observes the entire network and controls a fraction of the participants, possibly including Bob. In spite of its widespread use in practice, until now no onion routing protocol was known that simultaneously achieved, in the presence of an active adversary that observes all network traffic and controls a constant fraction of the participants, (a) fault-tolerance, where even if a few of the onions are dropped, the protocol still delivers the rest; (b) reasonable communication and computational complexity as a function of the security parameter and the number of participants; and (c) anonymity. In this paper, we give the first onion routing protocol that meets these goals: our protocol (a) tolerates a polylogarithmic (in the security parameter) number of dropped onions and still delivers the rest; (b) requires a polylogarithmic number of rounds and a polylogarithmic number of onions sent per participant per round; and (c) achieves anonymity. We also show that to achieve anonymity in a fault-tolerant fashion via onion routing, this number of onions and rounds is necessary. Of independent interest, our analysis introduces two new security properties of onion routing -- mixing and equalizing -- and we show that together they imply anonymity.
COVID-19 Economic Policy Effects on Consumer Spending and Foot Traffic in the U.S

Abstract To battle with economic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government implemented various measures to mitigate economic loss. From issuance of stimulus checks to reopening businesses, consumers had to constantly alter their behavior in response to government policies. Using anonymized card transactions and mobile device-based location tracking data, we analyze the factors that contribute to these behavior changes, focusing on stimulus check issuance and state-wide reopening. Our finding suggests that stimulus payment has a significant immediate effect of boosting spending, but it typically does not reverse a downward trend. State-wide reopening had a small effect on spending. Foot traffic increased gradually after stimulus check issuance, but only increased slightly after reopening, which also coincided or preceded several policy changes and confounding events (e.g., protests) in the US. We also find differences in the reaction to these policies in different regions in the US. Our results may be used to inform future economic recovery policies and their potential consumer response.
Online Directed Spanners and Steiner Forests.

We present online algorithms for directed spanners and directed Steiner forests. These are well-studied network connectivity problems that fall under the unifying framework of online covering and packing linear programming formulations. This framework was developed in the seminal work of Buchbinder and Naor (Mathematics of Operations Research, 34, 2009) and is based on primal-dual techniques. Specifically, our results include the following: - For the pairwise spanner problem, in which the pairs of vertices to be spanned arrive online, we present an efficient randomized algorithm with competitive ratio O(n^{4/5}) for graphs with general edge lengths, where n is the number of vertices of the given graph. For graphs with uniform edge lengths, we give an efficient randomized algorithm with competitive ratio O(n^{2/3+e}), and an efficient deterministic algorithm with competitive ratio O(k^{1/2+e}), where k is the number of terminal pairs. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first online algorithms for directed spanners. In the offline version, the current best approximation ratio for uniform edge lengths is O(n^{3/5 + e}), due to Chlamt{a}c, Dinitz, Kortsarz, and Laekhanukit (SODA 2017, TALG 2020). - For the directed Steiner forest problem with uniform costs, in which the pairs of vertices to be connected arrive online, we present an efficient randomized algorithm with competitive ratio O(n^{2/3 + e}). The state-of-the-art online algorithm for general costs is due to Chakrabarty, Ene, Krishnaswamy, and Panigrahi (SICOMP 2018) and is O(k^{1/2 + e})-competitive. In the offline version, the current best approximation ratio with uniform costs is O(n^{26/45 + e}), due to Abboud and Bodwin (SODA 2018). To obtain efficient and competitive online algorithms, we observe that a small modification of the online covering and packing framework by Buchbinder and Naor implies a polynomial-time implementation of the primal-dual approach with separation oracles, which a priori might perform exponentially many calls to the oracle. We convert the online spanner problem into an online covering problem and complete the rounding-step analysis in a problem-specific fashion.
Double Barrel Stenting for Endovascular Repair of a Superior Mesenteric Artery Dissecting Aneurysm

Abstract The patient was a 58-year-old man with a history of hypertension who had incidentally been found to have a 2.7-cm dissecting fusiform superior mesenteric artery aneurysm involving a long segment of a proximal to distal superior mesenteric artery. Double-lumen anatomy was present, with the true lumen perfusing the proximal and mid-small bowel and the false lumen perfusing the distal small bowel and the ileocolic artery. The patient elected to undergo endovascular repair using double-barrel stenting with self-expanding and balloon-expandable covered stents, as described. Computed tomography angiography after 1 year demonstrated patent stents.
Vibrational Properties of a Naturally Occurring Semiconducting van der Waals Heterostructure

We present vibrational properties of Franckeite, which is a naturally occurring van der Waals heterostructure consisting of two different semiconducting layers. Franckeite is a complex layered crystal composed of alternating SnS$_2$ like pseudohexagonal and PbS-like pseudotetragonal layers stacked on top of each other, providing a unique platform to study vibrational properties and thermal transport across layers with mass density and phonon mismatches. By using micro-Raman spectroscopy and first-principles Raman simulations, we found that the PbS-like pseudotetragonal structure is mostly composed of Pb$_3$SbS$_4$. We also discovered several low-frequency Raman modes that originate from the intralayer vibrations of the pseudotetragonal layer. Using density functional theory, we determined all vibrational patterns of Franckeite, whose signatures are observed in the Raman spectrum. By studying temperature dependent Raman spectroscopy (300 K - 500 K), we have found different temperature coefficients for both pseudotetragonal and pseudohexagonal layers. We believe that our study will help understand the vibration modes of its complex heterostructure and the thermal properties at the nanoscale.
Automated quality assessment of cognitive behavioral therapy sessions through highly contextualized language representations.

During a psychotherapy session, the counselor typically adopts techniques which are codified along specific dimensions (e.g., ‘displays warmth and confidence’, or ‘attempts to set up collaboration’) to facilitate the evaluation of the session. Those constructs, traditionally scored by trained human raters, reflect the complex nature of psychotherapy and highly depend on the context of the interaction. Recent advances in deep contextualized language models offer an avenue for accurate in-domain linguistic representations which can lead to robust recognition and scoring of such psychotherapy-relevant behavioral constructs, and support quality assurance and supervision. In this work, we propose a BERT-based model for automatic behavioral scoring of a specific type of psychotherapy, called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), where prior work is limited to frequency-based language features and/or short text excerpts which do not capture the unique elements involved in a spontaneous long conversational interaction. The model focuses on the classification of therapy sessions with respect to the overall score achieved on the widely-used Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS), but is trained in a multi-task manner in order to achieve higher interpretability. BERT-based representations are further augmented with available therapy metadata, providing relevant non-linguistic context and leading to consistent performance improvements. We train and evaluate our models on a set of 1,118 real-world therapy sessions, recorded and automatically transcribed. Our best model achieves an F1 score equal to 72.61% on the binary classification task of low vs. high total CTRS.
Disintegration of dust aggregates in interstellar shocks and the lifetime of dust grains in the ISM

We have studied to influence of grain porosity on the dust destruction mechanism in interstellar shocks. Our results show, that fluffy aggregates of dust grains can be broken up easily in shocks.
Penrose process for a charged black hole in a uniform magnetic field

Spinning black holes create electromagnetic storms when immersed in ambient magnetic fields, illuminating the otherwise epically dark terrain. In an electromagnetic extension of the Penrose process, tremendous energy can be extracted, boosting the energy of radiating particles far more efficiently than the mechanical Penrose process. We locate the regions from which energy can be mined and demonstrate explicitly that they are no longer restricted to the ergosphere. We also show that there can be toroidal regions that trap negative energy particles in orbit around the black hole. We find that the effective charge coupling between the black hole and the superradiant particles decreases as energy is extracted, much like the spin of a black hole decreases in the mechanical analogue. While the effective coupling decreases, the actual charge of the black hole increases in magnitude reaching the energetically-favored Wald value, at which point energy extraction is impeded. We demonstrate the array of orbits for products from the electromagnetic Penrose process.
Expanding IceCube GPU computing into the Clouds

The IceCube collaboration relies on GPU compute for many of its needs, including ray tracing simulation and machine learning activities. GPUs are however still a relatively scarce commodity in the scientific resource provider community, so we expanded the available resource pool with GPUs provisioned from the commercial Cloud providers. The provisioned resources were fully integrated into the normal IceCube workload management system through the Open Science Grid (OSG) infrastructure and used CloudBank for budget management. The result was an approximate doubling of GPU wall hours used by IceCube over a period of 2 weeks, adding over 3.1 fp32 EFLOP hours for a price tag of about $58k. This paper describes the setup used and the operational experience.
Q-factor optimization for high-beta 650 MHz cavities for PIP-II

High Q-factors are of utmost importance to minimize losses of superconducting radio-frequency cavities deployed in continuous wave particle accelerators. This study elucidates the surface treatment that can maximize the Q-factors in high-beta 650 MHz elliptical niobium cavities. State-of-the-art surface treatments are applied in many single-cell cavities, and surface resistance studies are performed to understand the microwave dissipation at this unexplored frequency. The nitrogen doping treatment is confirmed to be necessary to maximize the Q-factors at medium RF fields. We applied this treatment in five-cell high-beta 650 MHz cavities and demonstrated that extremely high Q-factors were obtained at medium RF fields with this treatment. We also demonstrated that adding a cold electropolishing step after N-doping is crucial to push the quench field of multicell cavities to higher gradients.
Erlang mixture modeling for Poisson process intensities

We develop a prior probability model for temporal Poisson process intensities through structured mixtures of Erlang densities with common scale parameter, mixing on the integer shape parameters. The mixture weights are constructed through increments of a cumulative intensity function which is modeled nonparametrically with a gamma process prior. Such model specification provides a novel extension of Erlang mixtures for density estimation to the intensity estimation setting. The prior model structure supports general shapes for the point process intensity function, and it also enables effective handling of the Poisson process likelihood normalizing term resulting in efficient posterior simulation. The Erlang mixture modeling approach is further elaborated to develop an inference method for spatial Poisson processes. The methodology is examined relative to existing Bayesian nonparametric modeling approaches, including empirical comparison with Gaussian process prior based models, and is illustrated with synthetic and real data examples.
Expedient Synthesis of Bis(imidazolium) Dichloride Salts and Bis(NHC) Complexes from Imidazoles Using DMSO as a Key Polar Additive

A general approach for the synthesis of bis(imidazolium) dichloride salts from imidazoles and dichloroalkanes is reported. Typical limitations of this reaction for the formation of methylene-bridge...
A coupled discontinuous Galerkin-Finite Volume framework for solving gas dynamics over embedded geometries

Author(s): Gulizzi, Vincenzo; Almgren, Ann S; Bell, John B | Abstract: We present a computational framework for solving the equations of inviscid gas dynamics using structured grids with embedded geometries. The novelty of the proposed approach is the use of high-order discontinuous Galerkin (dG) schemes and a shock-capturing Finite Volume (FV) scheme coupled via an $hp$ adaptive mesh refinement ($hp$-AMR) strategy that offers high-order accurate resolution of the embedded geometries. The $hp$-AMR strategy is based on a multi-level block-structured domain partition in which each level is represented by block-structured Cartesian grids and the embedded geometry is represented implicitly by a level set function. The intersection of the embedded geometry with the grids produces the implicitly-defined mesh that consists of a collection of regular rectangular cells plus a relatively small number of irregular curved elements in the vicinity of the embedded boundaries. High-order quadrature rules for implicitly-defined domains enable high-order accuracy resolution of the curved elements with a cell-merging strategy to address the small-cell problem. The $hp$-AMR algorithm treats the system with a second-order finite volume scheme at the finest level to dynamically track the evolution of solution discontinuities while using dG schemes at coarser levels to provide high-order accuracy in smooth regions of the flow. On the dG levels, the methodology supports different orders of basis functions on different levels. The space-discretized governing equations are then advanced explicitly in time using high-order Runge-Kutta algorithms. Numerical tests are presented for two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems involving an ideal gas. The results are compared with both analytical solutions and experimental observations and demonstrate that the framework provides high-order accuracy for smooth flows and accurately captures solution discontinuities.
Experimental Methods II. The Defect Closure Rule

Anatomically well-defined wounds (termed defects) in organs are considered to close by just three modes: contraction, scar (or neuroma) formation, and regeneration. Methodology for quantitative determination of relative contribution for each mode to defect closure is described. The experimental evidence is concisely summarized by the defect closure rule, which states that the percentages of initial defect area closed by each of the three closure modes add up to 100, i.e., %Contraction + %Scar + %Regeneration = 100, or C + S + R = 100. The rule describes the configuration of the final state (outcome) of defect healing by three numbers only, each corresponding to the relative contribution of a closure mode. It is a convenient quantitative summary of the outcome of a healing process independently of anatomical site.
General Considerations for Pediatric Oral Drug Formulation

In pediatrics, the absorption of a perorally administered drug depends on the ability of the formulation to overcome the chemical, physical, mechanical, and biological barriers of the developing gastrointestinal tract. The differences between the pediatric and adult digestive systems are subtle, but physiologically important, and encompass organs from mouth to anus. Although the exact age of GI function maturation remains to be defined, clinically relevant developmental changes that influence drug absorption occur primarily during early childhood. This chapter reviews the developmental changes in gastrointestinal physiology that occur throughout childhood and discusses their relevance to formulation development and drug delivery.
Chapter 72 Human organ donor adrenals: fine structure, plasticity and viability

Publisher Summary This chapter describes and analyzes the properties of the human adrenal medulla using tissue obtained from kidney organ donors. The present report covers five case studies of adrenals obtained from organ donors. The original rationale for using adrenal medullary tissue for transplants is that the chromaffin cells within the medulla may provide sufficient titers of catecholamines, especially dopamine and norepinephrine, to compensate for deficient dopamine levels in the striatum. However, in evaluating the potential of the adrenal medulla for transplantation, it is important to consider the other cell types that are grafted along with chromaffin cells. The observations discussed in the chapter provides evidence that neurotrophic effects on the host CNS may be an important mechanism by which adrenal medulla implants promote recovery in the parkinsonian patient. At present, adrenal medullary cells have many desirable characteristics and deserve continued attention for use as neural implants. However, whether adrenal medulla implants will prove to be efficacious remains to be determined.
Duck populations as indicators of landscape condition in the Prairie Pothole Region.

The Prairie Pothole Region of the northern Great Plains is an important region for wa- terfowl production because of the abundance of shallow wetlands. The ecological significance of the region and impacts from intensive agriculture prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to select it as one of the first areas for developing and evaluating ecological indicators of wetland condition. We examined hypothesized relations between indicators of landscape and wetland condi- tions and waterfowl abundance on 45 40 km 2 study sites in North Dakota for 1995-1996. Landscape condition was defined ap riorias the ratio of cropland area to total upland area surrounding wetlands. Measures of waterfowl abundance included estimated numbers of breeding pairs (by species and total numbers) and , a species-specific correction factor which effectively adjusts breeding pair estimates for annual or area-related differences in pond size. Landscape indicators and waterfowl measures varied among regions. Results indicated that most areas in the Coteau region are of much higher quality for ducks than those in the Drift Plain, and areas in the Red River Valley are of the poorest quality for ducks. Regression models demonstrated the impact of agricultural development on breeding duck populations in the Prairie Pothole Region. The most consistent landscape indicators of waterfowl abundance were percent of cropland and grassland. Models were inconsistent among years and species. The potential biotic indicators of landscape and wetland condition examined here would be appropriate for temporal trend analyses, but because of inherent geographic variability would not be appropriate for single-year geographic trend analyses without more extensive evaluations to improve explanatory models.
Ann Sharp's contribution: a conversation with Matthew Lipman

The recent passing of Ann Sharp, Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, at the age of 68, has left many of us involved in the movement of philosophy for/with children bereft, no doubt in many different ways. The warmth and intensity of her personal and professional focus, the simple clarity of her thinking, and her boundless energy in the work of international dissemination of the concept and practice of philosophizing with children, resonate even more sonorously in her death. We thought it appropriate to try following at least one pathway backwards in her life story through the memory and testimony of her chief collaborator over a period of 35 years, Matthew Lipman. I interviewed Lipman, age 87, in the single room of the eldercare center in New Jersey that has become the site for his dogged and tenacious struggle with Parkinson’s Disease, and asked him to reflect on their long partnership. The transcript ends suddenly, not because we stopped talking, but because I stopped taping, sensing his fatigue, and suggesting that we return for another round, at which point we turned to other, less somber matters. Keywords: Ann Sharp; Matthew Lipman; philosophy for children
A Matching Process Modulo a Theory of Categorical Products

We present a matching algorithm modulo axioms of categorical products. This infinitary matching returns what we call selector-solved forms in which sets of equations have been simplified as much as possible. Although the selector-solved form is weaker than the fully solved form, it is sufficient for application to program transformation.
An Efficient NC Algorithm for Finding Hamiltonian Cycles in Dense Directed Graphs

Let G be a directed graph with n vertices such that whenever there is no arc from any vertex u to another vertex v, then the sum of the outdegree of u and the indegree of v is at least n. It is known that such a graph G always contains a Hamiltonian cycle. We show that such a cycle can be computed with a linear number of processors in O(log3n) time on a CREW PRAM.
A Review of 3He Resources and Acquisition for Use as Fusion Fuel

This paper reports that a combination of man-made and natural resources on earth could provide sufficient {sup 3}He fuel for the technological development of D-{sup 3}He fusion reactors. Helium exists in natural gas wells; however, at the current rate of natural gas usage, this resource would provide {lt}5 kg/yr of {sup 3}He. The radioactive decay of {sup 3}H produced in fission production reactors could yield 110 kg of {sup 3}He by the year 2000 if it were retained. Apparently, a large amount of {sup 3}He exists within the earth's mantle, but it is inaccessible. A significant quantity of {sup 3}He, which could be imported to supply a fusion power industry on earth for hundreds of years, exists on the moon. The solar wind has deposited {gt}1 million tonnes of {sup 3}He in the fine regolith that covers the surface of the moon. The presence of this solar wind gas was confirmed by analyses of the lunar regolith samples brought to earth. A strong correlation is noted between the helium retained and the TiO{sub 2} content of the regolith; consequently, remote-sensing data showing high-titanium-bearing soils in the lunar maria areas have been used to locate potentially rich sites for helium extraction.more » Surface photographs of Mare Tranquillitatis have shown that nearly 50% of this mare may be minable and capable of supplying {approximately}7100 tonnes of {sup 3}He. A mobile mining vehicle is proposed for use in the excavation of the soil and the release of the helium and other solar wind gases. The evolved gases would be purified by a combination of permeators and cryogenic techniques to provide a rich resource of H{sub 2}, helium, CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O, and N{sub 2}, followed by helium isotopic separation systems.« less
Contemporary outcomes of civilian lower extremity arterial trauma

Objective Lower extremity arterial injury may result in limb loss after blunt or penetrating trauma. This study examined outcomes of civilian lower extremity arterial trauma and predictors of delayed amputation. Methods The records of patients presenting to a major level I trauma center from 2004 to 2014 with infrainguinal arterial injury were identified from a prospective institutional trauma registry, and outcomes were reviewed. Standard statistical methods were used for data analysis. Results We identified 149 patients (86% male; mean age, 33 ± 14 years,). Of these, 46% presented with blunt trauma: 19 (13%) had common femoral artery, 26 (17%) superficial femoral artery, 50 (33%) popliteal, and 54 (36%) tibial injury. Seven patients underwent primary amputation; of the remainder, 21 (15%) underwent ligation, 85 (59%) revascularization (80% bypass grafting, 20% primary repair), and the rest were observed. Delayed amputation was eventually required in 24 patients (17%): 20 (83%) were due to irreversible ischemia or extensive musculoskeletal damage, despite having adequate perfusion. Delayed amputation rates were 26% for popliteal, 20% for tibial, and 4.4% for common/superficial femoral artery injury. The delayed amputation group had significantly more ( P Conclusions Individualized decision making based on age, mechanism, pulseless presentation, extent of musculoskeletal trauma, and location of injury should guide the intensity of revascularization strategies after extremity arterial trauma. Although patients presenting with vascular trauma in the setting of multiple negative prognostic factors should not be denied revascularization, expectations for limb salvage in the short-term and long-term periods should be carefully outlined.
Rapunzel Loves Merida: Melodramatic Expressions of Lesbian Girlhood and Teen Romance in Tangled, Brave, and Femslash

This article explores the melodramatic expression of lesbian girlhood and teen romance in Disney's Tangled (2010) and Disney Pixar's Brave (2012), as well as "Meripunzel" femslash, fan-authored romantic pairings of the animations' female protagonists. First, Anne Sexton's poem, "Rapunzel," offers a literary precedent for exploring lesbian themes in the fairy tale. The next section shows how Tangled and Brave invoke the narrative conventions of the family melodrama. This generic association reveals the films' uses of rhetoric familiar to youth coming-out narratives, as well as other visual and aural coding suggestive of queer styles. The last section shows how Meripunzel femslash taps into the films' existing melodramatic narrative forms and visual aesthetics, rehearsing their coming-out rhetoric while addressing the pleasures of and problems facing lesbian teen romance. I conclude by problematizing the often conventional expressions of lesbian girlhood in femslash, ultimately arguing for their empowering potential, especially as they indicate revised definitions of "princess."
Surfable Surveys: Using Web-Based Technology to Reach Newsroom Respondents:

This study deconstructs some of the challenges and successes in using Web-based tools to survey three groups of broadcast news personnel: news directors, producers, and show directors. In conducting two recent newsroom-based research projects, we found that Web-based survey methods offer many conveniences, including ease of design, the elimination of the data-entry phase of the project, and flexibility in question type, question order, and skip patterns.Although broadcast news personnel use a great deal of technology in their day-to-day work and are comfortable with Web interface, the use of this method in survey research didn't result in higher response rates. Significant follow-up communication to nonrespondents was still necessary. Another primary difficulty in the use of Web-based survey methods in newsrooms was the inability to easily access e-mail and contact information for potential respondents. The unspoken obstacle in newsroom survey research is the reluctance of industry professionals to dedica...
A fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance study of cyclized natural rubber

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H NMR, and 13C NMR have been used to characterize the structure of natural rubber cyclized with p-toluenesulfonic acid. The samples studied were only partially cyclized. The cyclized portions contained both mobile and rigid domains. Crosslinking occurred during the cyclization reaction. The cyclized samples showed a distribution of functionalities including some oxidation products. All three types of olefinic segmented end groups were formed during cyclization (di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted olefins). The loss of the exocyclic species leads to the formation of cross-linked networks.
What is Risk Neutral Volatility

Under Black-Scholes (BS) assumptions, empirical volatility and risk neutral volatility are given by a single parameter, which captures all aspects of risk. Inverting the model to extract implied volatility from an option's market price gives the market's forecast of future empirical volatility. But real world returns are not lognormal, volatility is stochastic, and arbitrage is limited, so option prices embed both the market's estimate of the true returns distribution and also investors' risk attitudes, including possibly different preferences over specific volatility-related aspects of the returns process, such as tail risk. Using options with a dense set strikes, we can obtain the entire risk neutral density (RND) which reflects all of these influences without requiring restrictive assumptions from a pricing model.We compute daily RNDs for the SP others are meant to reflect risk attitudes, such as the level of investor confidence and the size of recent volatility forecast errors. As a forecast of future volatility, RND volatility fully impounds the information in historical volatility, but not a more sophisticated GARCH forecast, and its forecasting power seems greatest in the range of 1 to 2 weeks ahead.
Cisplatin-mediated sensitivity to TRAIL-induced cell death in human granulosa tumor cells.

Abstract Objectives. The goal of the present study was to determine the efficacy of combinatorial treatment using cisplatin and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis including ligand (TRAIL) to promote apoptosis in granulosa cell tumor (GCT) lines, in vitro. Methods. Two human GCT lines (COV434 and KGN) were treated with cisplatin or TRAIL, alone or in combination. The cytotoxic effects of each treatment were evaluated using a methyl tetrazolium salt (MTS) assay. Initiation of TRAIL-induced apoptosis was verified by PARP- and FLIP-cleavage. Overexpression and knockdown studies were conducted to evaluate the role of p53 in TRAIL-induced cell death. Real-time PCR was used for gene expression analysis of the TRAIL receptor dr5 and the pro-apoptotic bax following treatment with cisplatin. Results. Treatment with TRAIL (100–200 ng/ml) led to a slight, but significant, loss of cell viability following an 18-h culture. This effect was enhanced following pre-treatment with cisplatin (25 μM) for 2 or 18 h. Moreover, pre-treatment with cisplatin decreased the maximal effective dose of TRAIL from 100 ng/ml to as low as 3 ng/ml in both cell lines. GCT lines overexpressing or deficient in p53 were used to determine the requirement for p53 on TRAIL-induced apoptosis. While the level of p53 expression enhanced both the death-inducing and TRAIL-sensitizing effects of cisplatin, TRAIL-induced cell death was found to occur independent of p53. Conclusions. These data suggest that the efficacy of cisplatin in GCT cells can be enhanced through combinatorial treatment with TRAIL. This result is due to both p53-dependent (cisplatin) and -independent (TRAIL) mechanisms. Combinatorial treatment of GCTs with cisplatin and TRAIL may provide an efficacious addition to cisplatin-based regimens.
Men Versus Women: Outcome Differences on Cyclosporine and Tacrolimus

Purpose Several registry studies have shown gender differences in outcomes after heart transplantation. The change from cyclosporine (CSA) to tacrolimus (TAC) has improved some outcomes but it is not clear as to its impact on gender differences. In our single center experience with a standardized post heart transplant protocol, we sought to compare the outcomes of men versus women on CSA vs TAC. Methods and Materials Between 1994 and 2009, we evaluated 250 heart transplant patients and divided them into male and female gender groups on CSA vs TAC. The end points included 1-year rejection and 5-year survival, CAV, NF-MACE, nephropathy, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and malignancy. Results Antibody mediated rejection (AMR) was significantly higher in women on CSA but not on TAC. Serum creatinine was significantly higher in men on TAC but not on CSA but overall (men + women) lower on TAC (p= Conclusions There appears to be gender differences for outcome depending on CSA or TAC immunosuppression. Choice of CSA or TAC for men and women may depend on concern for antibody mediated rejection, renal function and malignancy risk. Men on CSA/MMF (n=71)Women on CSA/MMF (n=15)p-valueMen on TAC/MMF (n=118)Women on TAC/MMF (n=46)p-value5-Year Actuarial Survival, n (%)56 (79%)13 (87%)0.49799 (84%)38 (83%)0.843Creatinine at 1 year, Mean ± SD1.7 ± 0.71.5 ± 0.40.2891.4 ± 0.51.1 ± 0.4
CBRN Attack Perpetrators: An Empirical Study

Based on zero-inflated negative binomial regressions applied to the Monterey weapons of mass destruction data, this article assesses the future risks from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism. Once the threshold for CBRN attacks is surpassed, further attacks arise: the expected number of CBRN incidents is over one and a half times higher than past events. Religious cults and groups with a transnational orientation pose the largest CBRN threat to society. Other things constant, nationalists/separatists and religious fundamentalists are not more apt to engage in CBRN terrorism than compared to “other groups.” Democratic and corrupt regimes are the likely venues for CBRN incidents. Based on past incidents, rich countries are especially vulnerable to CBRN terrorism. Thus, recent actions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to put more resources into guarding against CBRN attacks appear sound. This study indicates that nonfundamentalist terrorists also present CBRN risks to democracies. From a foreign policy viewpoint, CBRN terrorism is not a problem that rich democratic countries can confront alone, because the terrorists will move to where there is the least vigilance. Our study indicates the likely perpetrators and types of attacks that nations must cooperate to avoid.
Effects of prior social experience on agonistic responding by Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)

The role of prior social experience in maleBetta agonistic behavior was investigated in two experiments. Fish were either paired with an opponent until dominance was established naturally (Experiment 1) or given prior combat experience with a known aggressive or nonaggressive opponent (Experiment 2). The effects of prior social experience were then observed both in additional paired encounters and in some noncombat agonistic situations. The paired-encounter data indicate thatBetta attack aggressive opponents more than nonaggressive ones and rarely attack opponents once they have submitted. In contrast to attacking, these fish do not show a significant decrease in displays once their opponent has submitted, nor do they display differentially to aggressive and nonaggressive opponents. The noncombat agonistic-situation data indicate that prior social experience affects both the preference of fish for viewing other conspecifics and the waning of display behaviors. These results suggest that submissive and nonaggressive behaviors can inhibit attacks but not displays byBetta, and they emphasize the necessity of controlling for prior social experience when studying aggressive behavior.
Remote avian monitoring system for wind turbines

A radar and IR based avian monitoring system for an offshore wind turbine application has been designed. The avian monitoring system is capable of capturing radar and IR data. The data is synchronized and sent to a remote computer via 3G system. The IR camera needs to be synchronized with the radar view from a remote location. The system was constructed and successfully tested for remote synchronization of radar and IR camera and transfer of data over the internet. The system is designed to monitor avian activity around offshore wind turbines.
The Effects of Joint Posture and Segment Lengths on the Thumb-Tip Force Produced by Flexor Pollicis Longus

The ability to hold an object between the thumb and the lateral aspect of the index finger (lateral pinch) is an important aspect of hand function. Previous studies suggest that current biomechanical models of the thumb do not accurately predict lateral pinch force [1, 2]. These studies modeled the thumb using simplified joint descriptions based on orthogonal and intersecting axes of rotation. A detailed anatomical study indicates that the axes of rotation of the thumb are actually both non-intersecting and non-orthogonal [3]. It has also been reported that the anatomical variability observed in the data support four different representations of thumb kinematics, all with non-intersecting and non-orthogonal axes [4].Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The subliminal channel and digital signatures

In a paper entitled "The Prisoners' Problem and the Subliminal Channel" [1], the present author showed that a message authentication without secrecy channel providing m bits of overt communication and r bits of message authentication could be perverted to allow an l < r bit covert channel between the transmitter and a designated receiver at the expense of reducing the message authentication capability to r-l bits, without affecting the overt channel. It was also shown that under quite reasonable conditions the detection of even the existence of this covert channel could be made as difficult as the underlying cryptoalgorithm was difficult to "break." In view of this open -- but indetectable -- existence, the covert channel was called the "subliminal" channel. The examples constructed in [1], although adequate to prove the existence of such channels, did not appear to be feasible to extend to interesting communications systems. Fortunately, two digital signature schemes have been proposed since Crypto 83 -- one by Ong-Schnorr-Shamir [2] based on the difficulty of factoring sufficiently large composite numbers and one by Gamal [3] based on the difficulty of taking discrete logarithms with respect to a primitive element in a finite field -- that provide ideal bases for implementing practical subliminal channels. This paper reviews briefly the essential features of the subliminal channel and then discusses implementations in both the Ong-Schnorr-Shamir and Gamal digital signature channels.
The reasonably unreasonable police officer: A paradox in police civil liability jurisprudence

Qualified immunity is a defense available to law enforcement officials in Section 1983 lawsuits alleging constitutional violations. Whether qualified immunity is granted hinges on the objective reasonableness of the officer’s actions; that is, on what a reasonable officer would have done under the circumstances. However, when a plaintiff alleges a Fourth Amendment violation, another objective reasonableness test is used. The result can be a paradoxical finding of reasonably unreasonable conduct. The present study examines this quizzical feature of civil liability law and seeks to clarify the role that both objective reasonableness tests play. In doing so, it examines the varying definitions of objective reasonableness, reviews a number of court decisions where the Fourth Amendment and qualified immunity have collided, and makes recommendations for minimizing future confusion.
Investigation of the heterogeneously catalyzed hydrolysis of organophosphorus pesticides

The hydrolysis of four organophosphorus pesticides (demeton S, diazinon, disulfoton, and thiometon) in the presence or absence of three iron oxides (hematite, goethite, and ferrihydrite) and aluminum hydroxide has been investigated. Metal oxide surfaces can catalyze as well as inhibit the hydrolysis of organophosphorus insecticides and thus significantly affect the fate of these compounds in the environment. Adsorption of the organophosphorus pesticides onto the metal oxides seems to take place at specific binding sites, and the fraction adsorbed can be as high as 0.4. Activation parameter studies show that the rate-determining step of the mechanism of surface catalysis is complex formation between the pesticide and the oxide when the catalysis takes place only at low temperatures. Product studies show that hazardous, persistent compounds can be formed. An example is 1,2-bis(ethylthio)ethane, a previously unreported and persistent product of insecticide hydrolysis. The research also shows that different products can be formed depending on the reaction conditions (e.g., dissolved oxygen and pH), especially when the reactants contain alkyl sulfide moieties as their primary leaving group.
Emerging Information Technologies and Agricultural Structure

The role of information in firm decision making has become increasingly conspicuous in microeconomics over the past several years. However, relatively few microeconomic models treat information as an explicit variable (Bullock, Eisgruber, Pasour and Bullock). Exacerbating this situation are few quantifiable linkages among various exchange arrangements and decision making under uncertainty for individual firms. The theoretical foundation for the role of information in markets and marketing has progressed steadily since Stigler's important article which explicity recognized information as a scarce and costly resource to individual firms. Stigler's foundation has been extended over time so that the role of information may be viewed as a general problem of maximizing profits through optimal information search. Important contributions by McCall, Arrow, Wilson, and others have provided search criteria for optimality. For example, McCall's work provides optimal stopping rules in the context of job search. This paper focuses on emerging information technologies and their potential structural impact on agricultural marketing. A major share of the discussion relates to the producer-first handler level for agricultural commodities. Initial attention is on the nature and relative importance of various exchange arrangements and their relationship to private and public information. Next, emerging technologies for both the collection and dissemination of information are assessed. The final portion addresses the potential impact of these technologies on some structural aspects. Exchange Arrangements and Information
Latent risks and dangers in the state of climate model software development

As the importance of climate modeling dramatically increases due to concerns about global climate change, the quality of model software will come under ever more intense scrutiny. Software defects that alter model predictions could negatively impact important climate policy decisions, and even if detected in time could reduce policy makers' confidence in the science. Effective protection against software defense against errors requires the anticipation of vulnerabilities for every facet of this important work. Unfortunately, existing climate model implementations and associated software engineering practices are inadequate to defend properly against some concerns over defects and untested parameter regimes. Organizations that wish to avoid scrutiny, whether deserved or not, should ensure that appropriate software engineering practices are established with all due haste. In this paper we examine some of the inadequacies of existing software development methodologies and suggest strategies for fundamentally changing the established culture.
Demonstration of the ground substance of cartilage, bone, and teeth.

A slab of bone about 5 mm. thick is decalcified in 5% HCl, washed, and placed for several days to 2–3 weeks in 3% KOH in 20% glycerin (if the bone is medium sized); for small bones the KOH should be decreased to 1%, and for large bones it may be increased to 5%. The solution is changed frequently. When the bone begins to dissociate, it should be removed and washed in water till all traces of alkali are removed. The specimen is passed through 3 changes of dioxane into paraffin, and then through a second paraffin bath into the final paraffin. Sections are cut at 10–12 μ and stained with VanGieson's picro-fuchsin or with orcein.
Consultation with children with autistic spectrum disorders about their experience of short-term residential care

Summary Consultation with children receiving services from social services departments is required by international and national legislation. Research has been undertaken examining the experience of children with disabilities receiving short-term care. However, none of these studies has focused on autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). The present paper suggests that this condition's characteristics affect the ability of children with ASDs to participate in consultation. Case studies were undertaken investigating the impact of the characteristics of autism upon researchers' abilities to elicit children's opinions about their experience of short-term residential care. Factors which maximized the children's input and the accuracy of results are identified.