cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abortion, Eugenics and Personhood in the Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ushered a dark new front in the abortion wars on May 28, 2019, defending sweeping restrictions as a bulwark against “eugenic manipulation.” It’s a shrewd rhetorical move: The specter of eugenics provokes shame and revulsion, whereas 58% of Americans would allow abortion in all or most cases. But the equivalence that Justice Thomas draws between these practices is false and pernicious. It threatens to dangerously distort the national debate over abortion. Indiana is one of eight states to outlaw abortions based on fetal particulars like biological sex or genetic anomaly. Yet all of these states leave prospective parents free to pick and choose among those same offspring traits in all kinds of other ways that many do all the time—like testing embryos for serious disease and opting to match a sperm or egg donor’s ethnicity. This discrepancy makes it look disingenuous at best for Justice Thomas to suggest that “this law and other laws like it” reflect fears about “controlling the population and improving its quality.” If that were true, then restrictions on selection wouldn’t focus on fetuses and pregnancies alone, and exempt every other prevailing method of genetic influence. When hopeful parents screen for debilitating ailments, and opt to end an otherwise wanted pregnancy, they aren’t trying to weed out people with disabilities from the next generation, or to propagate a superior race. Most are making heart-rending decisions about whether their family unit has the expected wherewithal they'd need to care for a child with potentially serious medical needs. This is a far cry from America's shameful eugenics past. Justice Thomas urges the Court to act soon to let states criminalize selective abortion. Anything less, he warned, “would constitutionalize the views of the 20th-century eugenics movement.” He invites his colleagues to chart a dangerous new course at a time when reproductive rights are under threat as never before. Justice Thomas supposes that fetuses qualify as constitutional persons with equal rights against discriminatory treatment. This gesture toward personhood reveals that laws like Indiana’s aren’t really about eugenics. They’re about the moral status of unborn life and the ability of a woman to terminate her pregnancy in the United States.
“Maybe What We’ve Done Here in Antigua Is Just the Thing to Combat Global Inequity”: Developing Teachers for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms Through Study Abroad

Utilizing Fairclough (2014) and Alim’s (2010) notion of critical language awareness (CLA), this chapter shares data from a twelve-week summer study abroad (SA) program that took undergraduate education students from Texas to Antigua, Guatemala. The program was designed to prepare preservice teachers to teach in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. We drew on the Guatemalan immersion context to support teachers’ development of robust understandings of bi/multilingual language practices and interactional dynamics in diverse classrooms. We argue that the immersion context supported the development of the preservice teachers’ appreciation for language varieties and the societal power dynamics imbued in language practices in and outside of education, both of which are fundamental to preparing prospective teachers for increasingly diverse classrooms.
Improvement to Patient Retention and Experience of Asthma Education Using Visual/Audio Tools Appropriate for Learners With Diverse Levels of Health Literacy

Background: The primary goal of asthma management is to achieve and maintain control of the asthma condition. Respiratory therapists (RT) partner with the patient and family to achieve self-management through education. It is essential to maximize every learning opportunity and to engage patients and families in a way that supports retention and motivation. The newly adopted tools included interactive color videos, a color comic book, character stickers, and trading cards given for enhanced learning and incentive. The videos were shown during the wait of the visit, prior to the physician encounter when clinic flow allowed. The RT educator reviewed the video and other details after the physician visit. The new tools in this study have been evaluated using health literacy and plain language best practices. Methods: This study was not deemed human subject testing by the local IRB. Using a survey, participants were requested to rate the quality of the education tools presented during asthma education. Responses were collected using a Likert Scale to assess the impact on patient experience. In addition, this survey evaluated the patient/family9s ability to recall information presented during asthma education. The first question was a health literacy screener. The health literacy question was presented to families/caregivers of asthma patients. Results: The new tools were introduced to 100 families and surveys were administered. Ninety surveyed felt extremely or quite a bit comfortable with reading and understanding asthma. Only 3 reported a little comfortable or not at all. The new tools were rated by 87 families as good or loved it. Only 3 reported they did not like it. Compared to past education, 84 rated it better or somewhat better. No ratings for somewhat worse or worse. Eighty-five families could verbalize understanding of bronchodilators and controller medications after education. Conclusions: As the association between literacy and health outcomes have become more apparent over the last two decades, it is an ethical obligation and best practice to seek ways to provide clear, concise communication with patients and families dealing with complex chronic disease processes. Adopting asthma tools that address diverse health literacy, that are appealing and engage families, and provide clear and concise communication produce improved results in families9 feedback and retention of asthma information.
Has the Supreme Court Sounded the Death Knell for Jury-Assessed Punitive Damages? A Critical Re-Examination of the American Jury

LAST TERM, the United States Supreme Court drastically altered the balance of power between judge and jury, and the legal community barely noticed. Although Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. is remarkable for what it does overtly - it changes the standard of review in punitive damages cases from an abuse of discretion review to de novo review; it is even more remarkable for what it does covertly - it arguably takes the right to assess punitive damages in the first instance entirely out of the hands of the jury. According to the Court, [u]nlike the measure of actual damages suffered, which presents a question of historical or predictive fact, the level of punitive damages is not really a 'fact' 'tried' by the jury.
Sharing Vulcan’s Secrets: State Transfer of Advanced Military Technology

Why do states choose to share advanced military technology with other states? Scholars agree military technology is a key component of a state’s power. Understanding what leads states to share technology has implications for key foreign policy issues. The United States seeks to maintain its dominant military position through continued technological innovation but also supports its friends though arms sales. Some future weapons (particularly computer-based weapons) may be more difficult to “black box” to protect advanced components. As a result, selling advanced weapons is becoming more likely to require sharing technology. Additionally, some have advocated sharing U.S. technology with rising powers, like India, to enable them to better balance China. First-rank technological powers’ decisions to share advanced military technology (i.e. transfer the knowledge required to produce systems or components) is a function of the sharing state’s perceptions of (1) the present benefit it gains from the recipient possessing the technology, (2) the recipient’s potential to be future threat, and (3) the discount rate of the technology. The paper evaluates the theory using in-depth process of British technology sharing with Japan after the First World War.
Beam trajectory studies of diurnal refraction effects for a near-ground path involving numerical weather prediction and time-lapse imaging measurements

The performance of free space optical applications depends on accurate estimation of the trajectory of optical beams through the atmosphere. In situations where a signal at the wavelength of interest is not available at the target, the propagation path of an optical beam may be predicted based on the refractive index gradient profile of the atmosphere, typically using standard models such as the 1976 US Standard Atmosphere. However, the actual refractive conditions evolve with time and the formation of features, such as inverse temperature layers and ducts, can introduce strong refractive index gradients. We present ray tracing studies involving modeling and measurements of the effects of near-ground atmospheric refraction on near-horizontal beam propagation during daytime along a desert path at the Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, NM. The amplitude of the diurnal deviation of the ray trajectory of a 1550-nm source is observed in simulation results where the refractivity profile was generated from numerical weather prediction. Visible time-lapse camera measurements of diurnal differential image effects (compression/stretch) are also compared with results predicted by numerical weather modeling. Additionally, a duct-like refractivity profile occurring in the morning at the site and whose parameters are estimated from time-lapse imagery, is imposed on the US standard atmosphere and the resulting differential trajectory effects are demonstrated.
Mental Retardation and ADHD

In Reply.— We wholeheartedly agree with the cautions cited by Drs Voigt, Johnson, and Brown. Practitioners must be especially cautious in considering the diagnosis of ADHD among individuals who are mentally retarded, as deficits in attention, impulsivity, and activity level may be inappropriate for chronological age but appropriate for developmental level. Additionally, the need for nonpharmacologic treatment interventions to address social skill and learning deficits also must be considered carefully. Children with mental retardation may be at greater risk than nonretarded children for the inappropriate use of stimulant medication.
Blood out of a stone

Almost 50 years ago, astronomers provided evidence for powerful radio emissions localized in two giant "lobes" on opposite sides of elliptical galaxies. These lobes are now known to be powered by jets emanating from black holes at the centers of the galaxies. In his Perspective, Blandford discusses how the black hole may generate the jets. He highlights the report by Koide et al., who have simulated one mechanism for supplying the jets with energy via a magnetic connection to the gas just outside the black hole's event horizon.
A Schrödinger's Onion Approach to the Problem of Secure Internet Communications

The laws governing privacy in electronic communications have developed as a statutory response to a problem of constitutional magnitude. Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) to extend constitutional norms to emerging contexts. Congress did so after the absence of such statutes caused confusion and uncertainty, obviated post hoc decision-making by the courts, and chilled rights. The age of the Internet has transformed our social conditions respecting the freedoms of speech and privacy, as well as our public needs respecting security. But the ECPA has not been amended to be Internet regarding. Those modifications which have been implemented have been in response to changes in politics and not to changes in technology. Emerging technologies highlight the failures of our present statutory scheme. One such technology, the Tor network, employs onion routing to enable anonymous Internet communication at the socket level. Anonymity as such frustrates the extension of property law into the privacy context. Privacy doctrine derived from the law of real property fills our caseand codebooks and chills our actions by retrofitting previously inconceivable modes of communication into ancient analogies. Further, these technologies themselves have both the power to legislate human activity as well as dictate statutory and constitutional capabilities. Understanding that technology will present us with ever more complex issues, we require new, creative solutions to animate old constitutional principles. Much of the debate has focused on institutional competence to adapt to a changed landscape. I propose that, before we reach the question of institutional competence, we decide some basic presumptions. I advocate a baseline shift in the form of a Schrodinger’s Onion approach. In the absence of knowledge, we should presume the object of our inquiry demands the highest protection. U.S. citizens engaged in lawful acts are entitled to heightened protection against their constitutional rights’ deprivation by surveillance or disclosure of their electronic communications or records to governmental 1. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510–2521, 2701–2711, 3121–3127 (2006). Washington University Open Scholarship p 103 Altman book pages.doc12/12/2007 104 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GLOBAL STUDIES LAW REVIEW [VOL. 7:103 entities. The reach of those fundamental rights has been limited to statutory protection when information is electronically transmitted to a third party. The review afforded non-citizens engaged in the same transactions is still uncertain. Determining to whom Internet packets and records relate—whether they relate to U.S. citizens and are thus entitled to a high standard of scrutiny for subpoena or they relate to non-citizens and thus could require something less—invites a Schrodinger’s Onion approach: without examining the unencrypted packets in full, one must presume they relate at once to both U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike.
Interleukin-1β, Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist, and Soluble Interleukin-1 Receptor Type II Secretion in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that affects women in disproportionate numbers, and that is often exacerbated in the premenstrual period and following physical exertion. The signs and symptoms, which include fatigue, myalgia, and low-grade fever, are similar to those experienced by patients infused with cytokines such as interleukin-1. The present study was carried out to test the hypotheses that (1) cellular secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II (IL-1sRII) is abnormal in female CFS patients compared to age- and activity-matched controls; (2) that these abnormalities may be evident only at certain times in the menstrual cycle; and (3) that physical exertion (stepping up and down on a platform for 15 min) may accentuate differences between these groups. Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy women, but not CFS patients, exhibited significant menstrual cycle-related differences in IL-1β secretion that were related to estradiol and progesterone levels (R 2 = 0.65, P < 0.01). IL-1Ra secretion for CFS patients was twofold higher than controls during the follicular phase (P = 0.023), but luteal-phase levels were similar between groups. In both phases of the menstrual cycle, IL-1sRII release was significantly higher for CFS patients compared to controls (P = 0.0002). The only changes that might be attributable to exertion occurred in the control subjects during the follicular phase, who exhibited an increase in IL-1β secretion 48 hr after the stress (P = 0.020). These results suggest that an abnormality exists in IL-1β secretion in CFS patients that may be related to altered sensitivity to estradiol and progesterone. Furthermore, the increased release of IL-1Ra and sIL-1RII by cells from CFS patients is consistent with the hypothesis that CFS is associated with chronic, low-level activation of the immune system.
IFI16 is a novel WT1-associated protein identified by expression profiling in syndromic versus sporadic wilms tumors

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 3966 The Wilms tumor gene ( WT1 ) is mutated in syndromic Wilms tumors (Denys-Drash, Frasier and WAGR syndromes) but such mutations are rare in sporadic Wilms tumors. Our prior comparison of gene profiles between syndromic and sporadic Wilms tumors identified sets of genes, including PAX8 , GPR39 and IFI16, that are differentially expressed in WT1-replete versus WT1-null cases (Li et al ., AJP 2004). Here, we focused on IFI16, a transcriptional modulator, which was over-expressed in 70 percent of the WT1-replete Wilms tumors but was not highly expressed in any of the WT1-null cases. To follow up the Wilms tumor data, we utilized tetracycline-repressible Saos-2 cell lines carrying either the wild-type WT1 (-KTS isoform) or a missense mutant of WT1, which is incapable of activating gene transcription. Using the HG-U95A microarrays and Northern blot analysis, we verified that IFI16 showed the strongest response to WT1. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that nuclear IFI16 and WT1 were widely co-expressed in WT1-replete Wilms tumors, while IFI16 was undectable in WT1-null Wilms tumors and in normal human mid-gestation fetal kidneys. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays performed in a Wilms tumor cell line and 293 kidney cells suggested that IFI16 is not a direct target gene of WT1. However, in transient reporter assays, WT1 activated a promoter sequence consisting of 1.6 kb of DNA upstream of the IFI16 transcriptional initiation site, suggesting that IFI16 represents an indirect transcriptional target of WT1. Endogenous IFI16 and WT1 interacted in vivo in two Wilms tumor cell lines, with the interaction mapped predominantly to the four C-terminal zinc fingers of WT1, while weak interaction was detected with the N-terminal effector domain of the protein. In transient reporter assays, IFI16 augmented WT1-mediated transcriptional activation of an artificial promoter containing consensus WT1-binding sites, as well as that of the Sprouty1 and IFI16 promoters. Interestingly, the augmentation of WT1-mediated transactivation by IFI16 correlated with a dose-dependent increase in the protein levels of WT1 in the presence of increasing amounts of IFI16. To determine the biological importance of IFI16 in Wilms tumors, we repressed expression of the protein using RNAi. Strikingly, knockdown of IFI16, as well as WT1, led to decreased growth of a Wilms tumor cell line. These data suggest that IFI16 and WT1, in the context of sporadic Wilms tumors, may represent oncoproteins that co-operate to contribute to tumor growth.
Electronic Properties of Water Clusters by an Effective Hamiltonian Treatment

A computationally efficient semi-empirical effective Hamiltonian method1–3 for treating molecular clusters was recently developed. This treatment led to reliable intermolecular binding energies and electronic properties for hydrogen-bonded water clusters in agreement with ab initio calculations4, while other semi-empirical theories failed.5
Wissenschaft im Kinderfernsehen: Von Fach-zu Sachgeschichten

Die Maus ist der groste Promi Deutschlands — in manchen Umfragen schneidet sie besser ab als ein Bundeskanzler: Ihr Bekanntheitsgrad liegt bei uber 95 Prozent der in Deutschland lebenden Personen.50 Diese Zahl spiegelt auch eine andere Tatsache wider: Die Halfte bis zwei Drittel der Zuschauer sind Erwachsene. Das Zielpublikum ist quasi zwischen 3 und 103 Jahre alt — was ungewohnlich ist, da insbesondere Kindersendungen sonst sehr spezifisch auf die Zielgruppe zugehen: Man konzipiert heute beispielsweise gezielt eine Sendung fur sechsbis neunjahrige Jungen, die zudem einige Madchen anspricht, indem man herausfindet, was die Zielgruppe will. Erst dann beginnt die Produktion. Die Maus hingegen hatte ihren ersten Fernsehauftritt im Marz 1971 im Vorschulkinder-Magazin Lach- und Sachgeschichten, das 1972 in Sendung mit der Maus umbenannt wurde. Erst im Laufe der Jahre hat sich dieses Magazin zum Familienprogramm entwickelt. Das ist international einzigartig — was es umgekehrt schwer macht, das Format im Ausland zu vermarkten.
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in relation to blood pressure: a study in middle‐aged men with normal and elevated blood pressure

In order to investigate the potential role of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in mild to moderate essential hypertension, a study was conducted in groups of normotensive and hypertensive middle-aged men born in 1926 and 1927. Venous plasma concentrations of immunoreactive ANP (irANP) were studied in relation to measurements of cardiac structure and function, urinary electrolytes as well as some cardiovascular hormones. Plasma irANP did not differ between normotensive controls (31 +/- 14 pmol l-1) and borderline or untreated hypertensive patients. However, irANP concentrations were slightly but significantly (P less than 0.05) lower in the borderline (26 +/- 8 pmol l-1) compared to the untreated established hypertensives (35 +/- 14 pmol l-1). No relationships were found between irANP and blood pressure, indices of left ventricular structure and function or hormone parameters in subgroups or the whole study group. Our data do not support the view that plasma irANP is increased in uncomplicated essential hypertension, since our groups of borderline or established hypertensive middle-aged men without major cardiac involvement did not differ in irANP concentrations compared to normotensive controls. Thus, during the development or in the early stages of essential hypertension, ANP secretion does not seem to be abnormal.
Novel Vanilloid Receptor-1 Antagonists: 3. The Identification of a Second-Generation Clinical Candidate with Improved Physicochemical and Pharmacokinetic Properties

Based on the previously reported clinical candidate, AMG 517 (compound 1), a series of related piperazinylpyrimidine analogues were synthesized and evaluated as antagonists of the vanilloid 1 receptor (VR1 or TRPV1). Optimization of in vitro potency and physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties led to the discovery of (R)-N-(4-(6-(4-(1-(4-fluorophenyl)ethyl)piperazin-1-yl)pyrimidin-4-yloxy)benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)acetamide (16p), a potent TRPV1 antagonist [rTRPV1(CAP) IC50 = 3.7 nM] with excellent aqueous solubility (≥200 μg/mL in 0.01 N HCl) and a reduced half-life (rat t1/2 = 3.8 h, dog t1/2 = 2.7 h, monkey t1/2 = 3.2 h) as compared to AMG 517. In addition, compound 16p was shown to be efficacious at blocking a TRPV1-mediated physiological response in vivo (ED50 = 1.9 mg/kg, p.o. in the capsaicin-induced flinch model in rats) and was also effective at reducing thermal hyperalgesia induced by complete Freund's adjuvant in rats (MED = 1 mg/kg, p.o). Based on its improved overall profile, compound 16p (A...
Increasing frequency of esophageal cancer among black male veterans

Between the years of 1975 and 1979, the frequency of diagnosis of esophageal cancer has doubled at the Baltimore VA Medical Center due to a rapid increase of esophageal cancer among black males. This increase was not related to increased yearly hospital admission rates, percentage of black patients admitted yearly, or increased use of the hospital for chronic disease processes. Detailed chart review and comparison with consecutive medical admissions as controls revealed heavy alcohol use and urbanization to be risk factors experienced more frequently by black than white male veterans. A serious question needs to be quickly answered: Does the rise of esophageal cancer at the Baltimore VAMC reflect a rise among black males only in Baltimore or does it reflect a rise nationwide among black males with a history of previous employment in the armed forces?
Structure and specific binding of trypsin: Comparison of inhibited derivatives and a model for substrate binding

Abstract The high-resolution structure of bovine trypsin inhibited with DFP † was determined by Stroud et al. (1971 and R. M. Stroud, L. M. Kay, A. Cooper & R. E. Dickerson, Abstr. 8th Int. Congr. Biochem. 1970). The experiments reported here were designed to study the specific side-chain binding pocket of trypsin using benzamidine, which is a competitive, specific inhibitor of trypsin. High-resolution electron density syntheses and difference syntheses unambiguously identify the side-chain binding pocket, which normally recognizes and binds the side chains of arginine or lysine during proteolysis. Several important conformational differences in the protein structure are apparent between DIP- and BA-trypsins, and these are discussed with particular reference to inhibition, the binding of lysine and arginine, subsequent orientation of the target at the active site, and the enhancement of tryptic activity towards non-specific substrates seen on binding small alkyl amines or guanidines in the specific binding pocket. The BA-trypsin structure provides a good model for the binding of real substrate side chains to trypsin during catalysis, explaining the sharp trypsin specificity for lysine or arginine side chains (Weinstein & Doolittle, 1972) and the lack of specificity for stereochemically different basic side chains. Benzamidine is shown to inhibit trypsin by steric interference with the inferred position of good substrates, even when they do not carry any side chain. Apart from the substitution of benzamidine and DIP, the most significant differences between DIP-trypsin and BA-trypsin involve complete repositioning of the side chain of Gln192, alterations in the side chains of Asp102, His57 and Ser195 at the active site, and changes in the solvent structure around this region. The carboxyl group of Asp189, which is responsible for trypsin specificity, shows no movement on binding benzamidine. The amidinium cation of benzamidine forms a salt bridge with Asp189 in BA-trypsin; a similar salt bridge can be constructed between the side chains of model substrates with lysyl or arginyl side chains and Aspl89. The γ-oxygen of Ser190 is displaced by a 120 ° rotation about its αβ bond on binding benzamidine and the binding pocket closes to sandwich the inhibitor ring between the peptide planes of 190–191 and 215–216. These contacts are presumably found in the enzyme-substrate complex with specific substrates. The active site structure at pH 8.0 is discussed with particular reference to the microscopic pKa values of Asp102 and His57, the pKa of the Asp-His system, and the mechanistic consequences of these assignments.
Accessible advertising for visually‐disabled persons: the case of color‐deficient consumers

Successful advertising must attract attention, communicate clearly, and ideally be memorable for optimum impact. The basic processes of encoding and decoding underlie successful communication, but advertisers often neglect to test for accessibility by visually‐disabled persons. The present paper will present a framework for detecting information‐processing problems and illustrate the use of this framework by analyzing the responses of color‐deficient consumers.
Ring-Opening Polymerization of γ-bromo-ε-caprolactone : A novel route to functionalized aliphatic polyesters

The synthesis, characterization, and polymerization of a new cyclic ester, γ-bromo-e-caprolactone (γBrCL), are reported. The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of this new monomer initiated from Al(OiPr)3 as initiator in toluene at 0 °C was found to be living and proceeds by a coordination−insertion mechanism. Random and block copolymerizations of this γBrCL with e-caprolactone (eCL) were also found to be living as evidenced by the experimental molecular weight which is consistent with that expected from the monomer to initiator molar ratio, the narrow polydispersity, and the good agreement between the comonomers molar fraction in the comonomer feed and the copolymer. The thermal transitions (Tg and Tm) in the eCL/γBrCL random copolymers depend strongly on the γBrCL content. Increasing the γBrCL content in the copolymer (FBrCL) increased the Tg of the copolymer from −61 °C for poly(e-caprolactone) to −16.5 °C for the PγBrCL homopolymer but decreased the Tm of the PCL to contents of ∼ 30 mol % of γBrCL (FBr...
Computer simulations of ion scattering and recoiling blocking patterns for surface structure analysis

A three-dimensional classical ion trajectory simulation code has been developed and applied to ion scattering and recoiling patterns on a large-area detector. The test systems used for the patterns were as follows: (1) Pt{110})-(1 × 2) and −(1 × 3) as an example of a reconstructed metal surface; (2) Ni{100}, {110}, and {111} surfaces as an example of different crystal faces: and (3) Ni{110}−(2 × 1)−O as an example of adsorbate recoiling. The optimum experimental configurations for collecting data for structural analysis have been considered. Three configurations have been identified; these include collection of both in- and out-of-plane scattering and recoiling data. The anisotropic patterns obtained for the scattered IS, and recoiled IR flux in azimuthal δ and exit β angle space are produced by blocking cones and are unique for the specific substrate and adsorbate structures. Critical exit βc and azimuthal δc angles can be identified from these patterns. The interatomic spacings d along specific azimuths are determined from measurements of βc and δc. Simulated patterns for the three test systems listed above are presented and their features are analyzed in terms of the surface structures. The advantages and new features available through the use of large-area detectors are described and compared to conventional ion scattering spectrometry (ISS). In the case of Pt, for which comparable experimental scattering data are available, the agreement between simulations and experimental results is good.
Single attosecond pulse and xuv supercontinuum in the high-order harmonic plateau

It is proposed that single attosecond pulses be generated by gating high-order harmonic emission with fields whose ellipticity varies rapidly with time. The laser pulse with a time-dependent ellipticity is created from two 5-fs laser pulses centered at 750 nm and separated by 5 fs. One of the laser pulses is left-circularly polarized and the other is right-circularly polarized. Numerical simulations show that when neon atoms are driven by such laser pulses, the generated high-order harmonic spectrum in the 25th to the 85th orders are a supercontinuum that corresponds to single attosecond pulses. A simple analytical expression is derived for estimating the high-harmonic radiation time.
Psychophysical evaluation of document visual similarity

Applications that classify and search documents based on their visual appearance need to recognize what document features are the most critical to human perception when humans compare the documents. This paper presents the results of a psychophysical experiment where subjects were asked to group the documents based on their visual similarity. Results from 15 subjects were saved into similarity matrices, and tested for inter-rater agreement. The similarity matrix averaged across the subjects was analyzed using agglomerative hierarchical clustering to identify the clusters. The humans' clustering was approximated with the weighted sum of four distance matrices that we calculated based on four document features. We identified the relative importance of the document features using an optimization method. Then, we tested the approximation using K-fold cross validation and the K-nearest neighbor algorithm. The results of the testing confirm the effectiveness of our approach.
New photoimageable dielectric insulating copolyester thin films: Synthesis and characterization

In this article, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a new family of photoimageable dielectric insulating polymer films. Four different photoimageable thin films have been prepared from all-aromatic and aromatic/aliphatic copolyesters, which exhibit good photospeed (10–180 s, 15.5 mW/cm2 intensity), resolution and line width (10 μm), thermal stability (330–400°C), adhesion on different substrates, mechanical strength, and reasonable glass transition temperature (120–150°C). One feature of the new photoimageable copolyester is the formation of a low dielectric constant film (2.5 at 1 kHz, 25°C) upon curing at temperatures up to 280°C. The low dielectric constant is a result of foaming arising from evolution of by-products during curing. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1199–1211, 1997
Turbo equalization in an LTE uplink MIMO receiver

Utilization of maximum likelihood and similar algorithms in the LTE uplink MIMO receiver is not practical due to high complexity. An alternative is the application of turbo equalization which has been proven to enhance the performance of MIMO receivers at a reasonable implementation cost. There has been a lot of research on turbo equalization in general and some work related to the LTE uplink in particular. The turbo equalization principle relates to the cooperative operation of the channel decoder and the channel equalizer in an iterative fashion. Some of the approaches are based on using the turbo decoder output to reconstruct QAM symbols for each of the transmitted data streams. These symbols are in turn used to reduce the interstream interference. After this “interference cancellation” phase the MMSE MIMO equalizer operates on a “cleaner” signal compared to the first pass when there was no feedback from the turbo decoder. This collaboration between the turbo decoder and the MMSE MIMO equalizer may be iterated a few times. This paper provides general foundation for this turbo equalization approach and includes simulation results demonstrating significant performance gain. Tradeoff discussions and guidelines for practical implementation of this scheme on a Texas Instruments TMS320C66x multicore digital signal processor are provided.
A DTA instrument based on optical measurement of temperature

Abstract A DTA instrument has been designed around the Acufiber Model 100C temperature measurement and control system. The temperature of the sample and reference materials are determined by their black body radiation. This radiation is conveyed through single crystal sapphire light-pipes that also act as supports for the sample and reference. The ΔT signal is determined by subtraction and the temperature of the reference material is used to control the furnace temperature. These preliminary investigations on the optical differential thermal analysis (ODTA) have been encouraging and considerations of the effects of emissivity are being explored.
Enantioselective synthesis of pure (R,R)-2,3-butanediol in Escherichia coli with stereospecific secondary alcohol dehydrogenases

We characterized the activity and stereospecificity of four secondary alcohol dehydrogenases (sADHs) towards acetoin reduction and constructed synthetic pathways in E. coli to produce enantiomerically pure (R,R)-2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) from glucose with a titer of 6.1 g/L (enantio purity >99%), and yield of 0.31 g product/g glucose (62% of theoretical maximum).
Pleuropneumonectomy in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Study objectives Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)is predominantly a local/regional disease that results in a survivaltime that ranges from 4 to 12 months without treatment. Single-modalitytherapy using surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy alone is largelyineffective. The objective of the study was presentation of the use ofpleuropneumonectomy in a multimodality treatment setting and theresults. Design Didactic presentation. Setting Academic tertiary-care hospital. Patients One hundred eighty-three patients who underwentmultimodality therapy. Interventions Of all thesingle-modality treatment approaches, pleuropneumonectomy has beenassociated most consistently with long-term disease-free survival andhas provided the greatest amount of tumor cytoreduction. The techniqueof pleuropneumonectomy traditionally has been linked with highperioperative mortality and morbidity when compared with that of othercytoreductive techniques such as pleurectomy/decortication. Recently, improvements in operative mortality ( Results Outcomes were presented for 183patients with MPM who underwent multimodality therapy. Conclusions With the development of multimodality therapy, pleuropneumonectomy followed by sequential chemotherapy andradiotherapy has demonstrated a significant survival benefit, especially for patients who have epithelial tumor histology, tumor-freeresection margins, and tumor-free extrapleural nodestatus.
The Stopping of Heavy Ions in Gases

The extrapolated ionization range for the ions ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{N}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{+}$, and ${\mathrm{A}}^{+}$ in the stopping gases He, ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$, air, and A has been determined as a function of energy in the energy range from $\mathrm{ca}$ 20 kev to $\mathrm{ca}$ 250 kev, using monoenergetic heavy ions produced in a Cockcroft-Walton accelerator. A collimated beam of heavy ions is admitted to the range chamber via a three-stage differential pumping system so as to avoid the use of foil windows. The range was determined using a parallel plate ionization chamber mounted so as to permit translation parallel to the axis of the beam. It has been found that the range as measured at a pressure $P$ is not inversely proportional to $P$, and an interpretation of this pressure effect has been given in terms of large angle scattering of the ions into regions outside of the volume swept out by the ionization chamber. A method of correcting for this pressure effect has been developed and applied to the data to yield range-energy curves which are independent of the ionization chamber size. The space distribution of ionization produced in a gas by a collimated beam of heavy ions has been determined for the same combinations of incident ion, stopping gas, and energy as above. The attenuation of the beam of ions is found to be approximately exponential in the axial direction and approximately Gaussian in the lateral direction. A method has been developed for computing the shape and size of a given ionization density contour at a given pressure if it is known at another pressure and the same energy.
Structured statistical models of inductive reasoning.

Everyday inductive inferences are often guided by rich background knowledge. Formal models of induction should aim to incorporate this knowledge and should explain how different kinds of knowledge lead to the distinctive patterns of reasoning found in different inductive contexts. This article presents a Bayesian framework that attempts to meet both goals and describe 4 applications of the framework: a taxonomic model, a spatial model, a threshold model, and a causal model. Each model makes probabilistic inferences about the extensions of novel properties, but the priors for the 4 models are defined over different kinds of structures that capture different relationships between the categories in a domain. The framework therefore shows how statistical inference can operate over structured background knowledge, and the authors argue that this interaction between structure and statistics is critical for explaining the power and flexibility of human reasoning.
Analytical ultracentrifugation reborn

Analytical ultracentrifugation is still the best method for quantitative studies of the interactions between macromolecules. There will soon be a modern alternative to the ancient Beckman Model E.
Electroencephalographic studies of the effect of pervitin (isophen) in epilepsy

An genuinen Epileptikern wurden die EEG-Veranderungen, die 1. unter der Einwirkung einmaliger intravenoser oder subcutaner Pervitingaben, 2. unter einer sich uber 4 Wochen hinziehenden Dauermedikation mit Isophen (= Pervitin) per os in steigenden (bis zu 10 Tabletten taglich) und wieder absinkenden Dosen auftraten, in zahlreichen Ableitungen mit gleichzeitiger 4 fach unipolarer Schreibung von einem frontalen, prazentralen, zentralen und occipitalen Punkt einer Hirnseite registriert. Die bemerkenswertesten Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchungen sind folgende: 1. Nach einer intravenosen oder subcutanen Einzelgabe von Pervitin erfolgt innerhalb der ersten 4 min pro Injektion eine deutliche zahlenmasige Verminderung der spontan auftretenden Krampfpotentiale. Durch Sinnesreize innerhalb der ersten Minuten post Injektion kommt es zu einer leichteren Auslosbarkeit von KS-Gruppen. 2. Der Grundrhythmus erfahrt eine masige Steigerung, vor allem hinsichtlich der occipitalen α-Gruppen. 3. Ein bereits ausgesprochen trager Rhythmus (1–3 Hz) wird durch Pervitin kaum mehr beeinflust. 4. Die Wirkung des Augenschlusses nach Lichtreiz und Hyperventilations-effekt unter Pervitin scheinen wesentlich von der Ausgangslage abhangig zu sein. 5. Bei einer niedrigen fortlaufend gegebenen peroralen Isophen (= Pervitin-)Dosis von 1–4 Tabletten findet sich eine Verminderung der Krampfpotentiale, die Krampfstromanfalle werden kurzer, die einzelnen Krampfpotentiale nahmen an Zahl ab. 6. Unter hohen taglichen Isophendosen (8–10 Tabletten) tritt wieder eine zahlenmasige Zunahme der Krampfpotentiale auf, es kommt aber nicht zur Bildung von Krampfstromanfallen. 7. Bei Dosen uber 5 Tabletten zeigt sich uber allen Ableitepunkten eine Tendenz zur zeitweiligen Synchronie.
Biomass distribution in boreal forest using SAR imagery

In this paper a hybrid technique of image classification, modeling, and inversion algorithm is introduced in order to extract vegetation biomass from polarimetric SAR data. The development of the hybrid technique has evolved from SAR data analysis and the mere fact that the SAR signal, being correlated with vegetation type and moisture content, saturates as the biomass increases. The technique consists of the following steps: (1) classification of the image to land cover map, (2) classification of the SAR image into scattering mechanisms, (3) formulation of a multilayer forest backscatter model, (4) piecewise inversion of the model to estimate the vegetation water content for various components of the forest canopy, and (5) estimation of the forest biomass by combining the inversion and classification results. This technique has been tested over the boreal forest in Canada by using the multipolarization, multifrequency AIRSAR data. The results indicate that the use of the hybrid technique enhances the estimation of the forest biomass. The general form of the technique and its various components can be regarded as a basic approach to resolve the problem of biomass estimation with SAR data. The modification of this technique into more sophisticated forms can improve the biomass estimation in particular over dense tropical forests.
Immuno-affinity purification of heparinase

Polyclonal IgG rabbit antibodies were prepared against a purified heparinase from Flavobacterium heparinum. Immuno-affinity purification of crude and partially purified heparinase is described. The resulting enzyme was of comparable purity to that prepared using the standard multistep purification scheme. The antibodies prepared were found to increase the activity of bound heparinase.
Wave collapse and instability of solitary waves of a generalized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

Abstract The solutions of a family of generalized Kadomtsev-Petviasvili equation in two diemnsions, u t + u m u x + u xxx x = σ 2 u yy , are studied with appropriate boundary conditions and constraints on the initial data for m in a dense set m ≥ 0 and for σ 2 = 1. If m ≥ 4, then the solution can blow up in finite time. We show that if 1 ≤ m ≤ 4, a solitary wave so exists which is unstable if m > 4 3 . In this and related problems, th e instability of solitary waves is associated with onset of wave collapse. We give numerical evidence to support this.
Symmetric Extensions of Quantum States and Local Hidden Variable Theories

While all bipartite pure entangled states violate some Bell inequality, the relationship between entanglement and nonlocality for mixed quantum states is not well understood. We introduce a simple and efficient algorithmic approach for the problem of constructing local hidden variable theories for quantum states. The method is based on constructing a so-called symmetric quasiextension of the quantum state that gives rise to a local hidden variable model with a certain number of settings for the observers Alice and Bob.
Calcification in benignadrenal adenoma

Abstract Clinical and radiographic data of an unusual case of calcification in a benign adrenaltumor are presented. Selective arteriography and venography as well as histologic examination revealed a cystic adenoma with areas of calcification, hemorrhage, and necrosis.
EFFECT OF AN ELECTRONIC ORDERING SYSTEM ON ADHERENCE TO AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY GUIDELINES FOR CARDIAC MONITORING

Telemetry monitoring is often over-utilized in the inpatient setting. This has led to overcrowding of telemetry beds, increased wait times in the emergency room, and inefficient allocation of hospital resources. ACC guidelines exist to guide appropriate utilization of cardiac monitoring. We sought
Sound Propagation Around Arrays of Cylinders

Sound propagation through sonic crystals has been widely studied through predictions and laboratory experiments, because of its potential applications in many areas such as environmental noise barriers and sound cloaking. In this paper, a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulation coupled with the immersed boundary method is used to investigate the transmission properties of sonic crystals. The sonic crystals in this study are modeled as arrays of cylinders with their axes parallel to a ground boundary. Compared with semi-analytical solutions, the numerical scheme is validated with cases of simple arrays of rigid cylinders. The locations of cylinders, different porous materials for cylinders, and the ground effect are taken into account in our simulation. The results are presented with discussions on achieving optimized sonic crystals.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
The Advent of Sun Myung Moon: The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church

Examining the evidence Unificationist doctrines the Korean religious heritage the advent of Christianity Korea's new Christians Jesus in Unification thought the blessing rites and festivals the future agenda some personal reflections. Appendix: the numerological significance of the blessings.
Alternative strategies for designing stabilizing model predictive controllers

In this article, we propose two stabilizing discrete-time model predictive control (MPC) strategies, which are alternatives to other classical (e.g. terminal cost/constraint-based) approaches. Both proposed strategies take advantage of a known stabilizing controller and its associated Lyapunov function. The first strategy allows optimization of an arbitrary cost function at each stage, but guarantees stability by enforcing a decrease in the known Lyapunov function at the first step of each MPC state. The second strategy uses an averaged/summed Lyapunov function as the objective function. A combined strategy that enforces a decrease in a summed Lyapunov function while optimizing an arbitrary cost is also considered. The proposed strategies are applied to an example drawn from the class of linear systems subject to actuator saturation constraints.
Significance of Incomplete Release of The Distal Portion of The Flexor Retinaculum: Implications for endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release has been shown in recent studies to result in a significant number of incomplete releases of the distal aspect of the flexor retinaculum. The significance of this complication is unknown. To address this question, we measured the amount of carpal arch widening after incomplete and complete release. The mean amount of change in carpal arch width in five cadaveric hands after partial release (all but the distal 4 mm) was 0.74 mm, which was statistically significant. The mean additional change after release of the remaining 4 mm of the flexor retinaculum was 0.12 mm, which was not significant. Incomplete release of the distal 4 mm of the distal aspect of the flexor retinaculum allows carpal arch widening that is no different from that of complete sectioning of the flexor retinaculum in the cadaver limb.