cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contrarian Technical Trading Rules: Evidence From Nairobi Stock Index

We apply several popular technical trading rules in the normal way and a contrarian way to daily data of the Nairobi Stock Index from 9/12/2006 to 4/18/2013. The contrarian usage of popular technical trading rules implies that when a technical trading indicator emits buy (sell) signals, we do the opposite and sell (buy) the index. Results from the study support the predictive power of contrarian technical trading rules. We also investigate whether a trader can use the predictive power of contrarian technical rules to beat the profitability of the buy-and-hold strategy considering both transaction costs and risk. Designing four strategies of various contrarian trading rules, we conclude that it is possible to beat the buy-and-hold strategy even considering transaction costs and risk.
Preclinical development of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for ovarian cancer

Meeting abstracts Immunotherapy has become an effective cancer therapy, particularly in the case of checkpoint blockade and adoptive T cell therapy (ACT). ACT exploits the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) by exponentially expanding their numbers ex vivo and re-infusing them into the
Educational Policy: Comparative Perspective

This article lays the foundation for a comparative analysis of educational policies in terms of sets of relationship between tiers of governmental authority and levels of educational provision. This approach appraises morphological symmetry between government tiers and educational provision by comparing, for example, the roles of local governments in staffing and financing primary education. Switzerland is selected as an example of isomorphism, where the various government tiers play proportionate roles at the various educational levels. The German Federal Republic is identified as a case of anisomorphism, because there the governmental state tier dominates education policy at all three levels. Japan and the USA are incorporated into the analysis largely in accord with their public education financing sources and the autonomy of their subnational education policy instruments. Sweden is given special attention because of the way it has accompanied a shift in educational policy goals with structural changes in the direction of isomorphism.
Hardware Implementation of Hash Functions

Hash algorithm is a type of cryptographic primitives that is widely used in many security protocols for the purposes like data integrity, digital signature, and authentication. In this chapter, we summarize some techniques to improve the hardware implementation of two commonly used hash algorithms MD5 and SHA-2. We also give an overview of the hardware implementation of the five candidates in the last round of SHA-3 competition.
Science Signaling Podcast for 5 January 2016: New directions in signaling research

Abstract Science Signaling editor Nancy Gough and Chief Scientific Editor Michael Yaffe discuss open questions, emerging topics, and new techniques in signal transduction research. As Science Signaling continues to fulfill its mission of publishing papers elucidating basic mechanisms of signal transduction, the editors are particularly interested in new research that takes principles learned from cell culture systems back into the organism to benefit health and agriculture. Other topics of interest include host-microbe interactions, stress tolerance in plants and animals, interactions between the innate and adaptive immune systems, and stem cell biology. The editors explain how Science Signaling can serve the signaling community, highlighting the fields of systems biology and synthetic biology in particular. Listen to Podcast
Preliminary Computational Experience with Modified Log-Barrier Functions for Large-Scale Nonlinear Programming

The paper considers Polyak’s modified logarithmic barrier function for nonlinear programming. Comparisons are made to the classic logarithmic barrier function, and the advantages of the modified log-barrier method, including starting from nonfeasible starting points, inclusion of equality constraints, and better conditioning are discussed. Extensive computational results are included which demonstrate that the method is clearly superior to the classic method and holds definite promise as a viable method for large-scale nonlinear programming.
Protecting Personally Identifiable Information When Using Online Geographic Tools for Public Health Research

This article discusses the methods for protecting personally identifiable information during the use of online geographic tools in public health research. The author comments on the concept of Big Data, or complex data sets, in terms of medical research. He also considers appropriate and inappropriate methods in the collection of data online.
AptaGUI-A Graphical User Interface for the Efficient Analysis of HT-SELEX Data.

To the Editor: Revolutionizing the traditional Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment (SELEX), high-throughput SELEX (HT-SELEX) has become the method of choice for the identification of aptamers—synthetic, single-stranded (ribo)nucleic molecules that bind to a given molecular target.1 In contrast to traditional SELEX, in which only data from the last selection cycle is obtained, HT-SELEX allows for sequencing of every round (including control cycles) which are then jointly analyzed and interpreted.
RELATION OF HOME ENVIRONMENT TO COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN

Experiences in May; for the second group (N = 75) the order was reversed. For the total group, Pearson product-moment correlations with scores on the home survey were: Animal Crackers (.25, p < .01), followed by Tests of Basic Experiences Social Studies (.21, p < .05 ) , Science (.I5 ), Language (.14), and Mathematics (.13), all non-significant. A step-wise multiple regression procedure entered Animal Crackers first, and Social Studies second (R = .33). Addition of variables did not significantly increase the explained variance. Therefore, when both pre- and posttest measures were pooled, the affective measure appeared to correlate somewhat higher than the cognitive measures although individual values were low and there was considerable overlap of predictors. Relationships prior to and following effects of the kindergarten program were examined. In September, correlations with scores on the home survey were: for Animal Crackers .32 (fi < .01), and Language .17, Mathematics .16, and Science .15; Social Studies .30 (0 < .01). In May, correlations were for Animal Crackers only .15 and for Language .39, Mathematics .32, Science .43, and Social Smdies .38 (ps < .01). Prior to kindergarten, there was greater positive covariarion of home-environmental conditions with affective than cognitive performance, but after a remedial program, the pattern was reversed. Although children were randomly assigned, systematic differences between the two groups might have been present. The study should be replicated with ocher groups including non-disadvantaged children.
Neurosurgical Management in Traumatic Brain Injury

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most complex and diverse pathologic medical conditions. Each year, approximately 100,000 patients require neurosurgical evacuation of an intracranial hematoma in the United States. It is essential, early in the clinical course, to distinguish those patients with severe TBI who require operative intervention from those who can be managed with only conservative measures. The surgical technique employed is determined primarily by the specific underlying pathology in conjunction with the patient's other comorbidities.
Evolution of thermophilic DNA polymerases for the recognition and amplification of C2ʹ-modified DNA

The PCR amplification of oligonucleotides enables the evolution of sequences called aptamers that bind specific targets with antibody-like affinity. However, in many applications the use of these aptamers is limited by nuclease-mediated degradation. In contrast, oligonucleotides that are modified at their sugar C2' positions with methoxy or fluorine substituents are stable to nucleases, but they cannot be synthesized by natural polymerases. Here we report the development of a polymerase-evolution system and its use to evolve thermostable polymerases that efficiently interconvert C2'-OMe-modified oligonucleotides and their DNA counterparts via 'transcription' and 'reverse transcription' or, more importantly, that PCR-amplify partially C2'-OMe- or C2'-F-modified oligonucleotides. A mechanistic analysis demonstrates that the ability to amplify the modified oligonucleotides evolved by optimizing interdomain interactions that stabilize the catalytically competent closed conformation of the polymerase. The evolved polymerases should find practical applications and the developed evolution system should be a powerful tool for tailoring polymerases to have other types of novel function.
Pipeline Filtering Method Based on Feature Analysis of Local Grey Level of Small Infrared Target

A novel pipeline filtering method was proposed and used to detect small infrared target in infrared image sequence in this paper.First,potential targets in one of frame in infrared image sequence were detected by feature analysis of local grey level.Then,the pipelines were built for every potential target.The filter course in later frames of the infrared image sequences was: judging whether there was still existing target feature in every pipeline;if yes,held the pipeline;if no,cleared the pipeline.True targets were detected in those pipelines with enough length.With this method,it is unnecessary to build,hold or clear pipelines in every frame in infrared image sequence,and this has strong re-capture ability when target is lost.The efficiency and anti-jamming ability of this method are testified by experiments.
Value of Nasopharyngeal Lateral Film in Diagnosis of Adenoid Hypertrophy in Children

Objective To investigate the value of nasopharyngeal lateral film in diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy in children.Methods Fifty-five cases were diagnosed with adenoid hypertrophy and 30 cases were collected as normal control group.Nasopharyngeal lateral film were taken for both groups.Results The A/n ratios in normal group were≤0.60.In study group,all their A/n ratios were ≥0.65.24 cases of them were 0.65~0.75 and 31 cases were 0.75.Conclusion Nasopharyngeal lateral film is a simple and effective examination in diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy in children.
Long-term Results of Cystolysis (supratrigonal Denervation) of the Bladder for Intractable Interstitial Cystitis

AbstractCystolysis (supratrigonal denervation) of the bladder has had enough reported success to encourage clinical use. We performed cystolysis in 11 patients with long-term followup, Only 1 patient has remained free of symptoms, 3 had improvement in pain but continue to have frequency and nocturia, and 7 failed treatment. The poor long-term results are discussed.
Basic Toughness: Helplessness and Cold

The lead story in the November 2005 National Geographic asked, “What if I said you could add up to ten years to your life?” The lead article in the July 24, 2013, Newsweek was even more audaciously titled: “You can life forever: Is immortality plausible? Or is it quack science?” Well, perhaps we can extend our lives, even by 10 years or so, but immortality seems a bit of a stretch.
Design of scenario-based early warning system for process operations

Alarm flooding is a significant problem in the process industries. To solve this problem, a scenario-based early warning system design methodology is proposed. It comprises three steps: (i) scenario identification: events are identified by HAZOP analysis, variables are allocated to the scenario-based group, and the variables states correlated to the scenarios are identified; (ii) model development: Bayesian network of all variables is learned from the process data, and the events nodes are appended according to expert knowledge to construct the Bayesian network model of a scenario-based early warning system; (iii) model implementation: the model is applied online to monitor process, the monitored variables continuously produce evidence, update the events probabilities, find the root causes, and give an events warning message together with the root cause to operators. The methodology implementation and salient points are explained with the help of an easy to follow simple case study.
Epileptic Palatal Myoclonus

A 14 year old girl with epilepsia partialis continua complicated by palatal myoclonus of focal cortical origin is reported from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Graduate Hospital; and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
Random Difference Inequalities

Several random difference inequalities are derived for a sequence of random variables and for stochastic difference systems.
Not an ‘iron pipeline’, but many capillaries: regulating passive transactions in Los Angeles' secondary, illegal gun market

California has strict firearm-related laws and is exceptional in its regulation of firearms retailers. Though evidence suggests that these laws can reduce illegal access to guns, high levels of gun violence persist in Los Angeles (LA), California. This research seeks to describe the sources of guns accessed by active offenders in LA, California and reports offenders' motivations for obtaining guns.Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) system (four facilities).Random sampling from a screened pool of eligible participants was used to conduct qualitative semistructured interviews with 140 incarcerated gun offenders in one of four (LACJ) facilities. Researchers collected data on firearm acquisition, experiences related to gun violence, and other topics, using a validated survey instrument. Grounded theory guided the collection and analysis of data.Respondents reported possession of 77 specific guns (79.2% handguns) collectively. Social networks facilitate access to illegal guns; the majority of interviewees acquired their illegal guns through a social connection (85.7%) versus an outside broker/unregulated retailer (8.5%). Most guns were obtained through illegal purchase (n=51) or gift (n=15). A quarter of gun purchasers report engaging in a passive transaction, or one initiated by another party. Passive gun buyers were motivated by concerns for personal safety and/or economic opportunity.In LA's illegal gun market, where existing social relationships facilitate access to guns across a diffuse network, individuals, influenced by both fear and economic opportunity, have frequent opportunities to illegally possess firearms through passive transactions. Gun policies should better target and minimise these transactions.
Noise Reduction Method for Quantifying Nanoparticle Light Scattering in Low Magnification Dark-Field Microscope Far-Field Images

Nanoparticles have become a powerful tool for cell imaging and biomolecule, cell and protein interaction studies, but are difficult to rapidly and accurately measure in most assays. Dark-field microscope (DFM) image analysis approaches used to quantify nanoparticles require high-magnification near-field (HN) images that are labor intensive due to a requirement for manual image selection and focal adjustments needed when identifying and capturing new regions of interest. Low-magnification far-field (LF) DFM imagery is technically simpler to perform but cannot be used as an alternate to HN-DFM quantification, since it is highly sensitive to surface artifacts and debris that can easily mask nanoparticle signal. We now describe a new noise reduction approach that markedly reduces LF-DFM image artifacts to allow sensitive and accurate nanoparticle signal quantification from LF-DFM images. We have used this approach to develop a “Dark Scatter Master” (DSM) algorithm for the popular NIH image analysis program Im...
Rethinking Revascularization in Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction.

Patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) now have multiple therapeutic options, including oral medications and cardiac devices, that improve quality of life, reduce the risk of readmission, and improve mortality. In the span of only decades, the goals of treatment have moved dramatically upstream from supportive care toward HF stabilization, reversal, and prevention. Those caring for HF patients now face new challenges of integrating sophisticated genetic, biomarker, and imaging information in the pursuit of patient-centered care while delivering guideline-directed therapies across an increasingly fragmented healthcare landscape for HF patients who are likely to have multiple comorbidities and an expanded treatment time horizon. See Article by Wolff et al For one, consider the number of oral medications available to patients. A recent study examined the difference between a patient’s medication regimen at hospital admission for HF and that recommended by HF quality measures at discharge.1 Among patients with HFrEF discharged between 2008 and 2013, 82% of patients needed to start at least 1 medication to meet HF quality measures and 55% need to start >1 medication. These numbers do not include additional medications indicated for non-HF comorbidities such as coronary artery disease, and with the recent update on new pharmacological therapy,2 2 more oral medications have been added to guideline recommendations. Second, some of the art in managing chronic HFrEF today involves the careful avoidance of medication stacking and polypharmacy. Many oral medications in chronic HFrEF modulate maladaptive neurohormonal pathways, such as the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone axis, and tolerance of all the available therapies for this pathway is limited …
Paradise Regained: A Non-Reductive Realist Account of the Sensible Qualities

ABSTRACTThis paper defends a non-reductive realist view of the sensible qualities—roughly, the view that the sensible qualities are (i) really instantiated by the external objects of perception, and (ii) not reducible to response-independent physical properties or response-dependent relational properties. I begin by clarifying and motivating the non-reductive realist view. I then consider some familiar difficulties for the view. Addressing these difficulties leads to the development and defence of a general theory, inspired by Russellian Monist theories of consciousness, of how the sensible qualities (especially the so-called ‘secondary qualities’) relate to physical reality. I conclude by showing how this theory, which I call ‘Secondary Quality Russellian Monism’, resolves the most significant difficulties for the non-reductive realist view of the sensible qualities.
Hollow amphiphilic crosslinked nanocapsules from sacrificial silica nanoparticle templates and their application as dispersants for oil spill remediation

Hollow amphiphilic crosslinked nanocapsules were synthesized by sequential grafting-from of crosslinked hydrophobic polycaprolactone (PCL) via ring-opening polymerization and grafting-to of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) onto 70 nm silica nanoparticles, followed by removal of the silica core. To accomplish the crosslinking of the PCL layer a bis-caprolactone monomer was used. The effects on the brush properties of PCL grafted silica nanoparticles with crosslinker were investigated. Incorporation of only 0.25 mol% crosslinker in the bulk grafting reaction resulted in dramatic effects, such as significantly enhanced brush length and high molecular weight dispersities. Hollow PCL nanocapsules were synthesized by performing the grafting reaction of PCL with 2.5 mol% crosslinker under dilute conditions. Upon removal of the silica core, a significant increase in hydrodynamic radius was observed due to the relief of constrain of surface tethered chain ends and swelling in a good solvent. PEG was then coupled to particles grafted with crosslinked PCL to yield amphiphilic block polymer grafted silica nanoparticles, which displayed excellent dispersibility in water, and resulted in a contraction of the PCL layer, as determined by dynamic light scattering. Core removal of the amphiphilic block polymer grafted silica nanoparticles gave hollow amphiphilic crosslinked nanocapsules which displayed significant swelling in good, non-selective solvent conditions, and a collapsed hydrophobic core block in aqueous conditions. Finally, the amphiphilic materials, both before and after core removal, were determined to be effective at stabilizing hydrocarbons in water, with the hollow nanocapsules having ca. 15 times greater uptake capacity.
Energetics of rotary-wing exploration of Titan

Rotary-wing vehicles have the potential to enable exploration of Titan at scales ranging from hundreds of kilometers to millimeters. This paper examines the flight power demands of multi-rotor vehicles (e.g. quadcopters or co-axial helicopters), considering both hover and forward flight. Specifically, this paper examines power demands of a small (1 kg) co-axial helicopter as well as a larger (350 kg) multi-rotor vehicle. In both cases the power requirements are well within the capabilities of current batteries and electric motors: the 350 kg vehicle requires 1.87 kW aerodynamic power for hover and 1.32 kW aerodynamic power for cruise at an airspeed of 9.5 m/s; the 1 kg vehicle requires 3.63 W aerodynamic power for hover and 3.17 W aerodynamic power to cruise at 4 m/s. Energy requirements of the 1 kg vehicle are driven mainly by thermal management and power required by avionics: this has a significant influence on range, endurance, and optimal flight speeds. The flight performance characteristics of both vehicles are capable of fulfilling meaningful scientific goals.
Effect of Health Plan Financial Incentive Offering on Employees with Prediabetes.

Abstract Background Prediabetes may be improved or reversed with lifestyle interventions. A worksite wellness program offering financial incentives for participation may be effective in improving the health of employees with prediabetes. We studied the effect of employee health plan financial incentives on health outcomes for employees with prediabetes. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic medical record data from January 2008 to December 2012. Our study participants were employees with prediabetes and propensity-matched non-employees with prediabetes and commercial health insurance, all receiving care within one health system. Exposures included fixed annual financial incentives for program participation and later a premium discount divided between program participation and achievement of goals. We used longitudinal linear mixed models to assess yearly changes in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), weight, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in employees versus non-employees. We also compared outcomes of employees by ever- versus never- program participant status. Results Our study population included 1005 employees and 1005 matched non-employees. The yearly reduction in HbA1c for employees versus matched non-employees did not differ in 2008-2010 but was greater in 2010-2012, when incentives were tied to program participation as well as achievement of goals (−0.10% vs −0.08 %, respectively; P for difference in change [DIC] = .01 from 2010 to 2012). Analyses from both periods showed that employees lost more weight per year than matched non-employees (−1.85 vs −0.21 lb [1 lb=0.45 kg] from 2008 to 2010; P for DIC P for DIC P for DIC Conclusion A worksite wellness program offering health plan financial incentives for participation and outcomes was associated with improvements in weight and HbA1c.
A Review and Critical Examination of the System of Least Prompts

We systematically reviewed more than 25 years of applied research examining the system of least prompts response prompting procedure with individuals with disabilities. We identified 123 peer-revie...
Disentangling the Stress Process: Race/Ethnic Differences in the Exposure and Appraisal of Chronic Stressors Among Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES Exposure to stressors is differentially distributed by race/ethnicity with minority groups reporting a higher stress burden than their white counterparts. However, to really understand the extent to which some groups bear a disproportionate stress burden, we need to consider race/ethnic differences in stress appraisal, specifically how upsetting stressors may be, in addition to stress exposure. We examine racial/ethnic differences in both the number of reported chronic stressors across five domains (health, financial, residential, relationship, and caregiving) and their appraised stressfulness among a diverse sample of older adults. METHOD Data come from 6,567 adults ages 52+ from the 2006 Health and Retirement Study. RESULTS Results show older blacks, U.S. and foreign-born Hispanics report more chronic stress exposure than whites and are two to three times as likely to experience financial strain and housing-related stress. Socioeconomic factors fully explain the Hispanic-white difference in stress exposure, but black-white differences remain. Despite experiencing a greater number of stressors, blacks and U.S.-born Hispanics are less likely to be upset by exposure to stressors than whites. U.S.-born Hispanics are less upset by relationship-based stressors specifically, while blacks are less upset across all stress domains in fully-adjusted models. Foreign-born Hispanics are only less upset by caregiving strain. DISCUSSION The distinction between exposure and appraisal-based measures of stress may shed light on important pathways that differentially contribute to race/ethnic physical and mental health disparities.
Organotin-119m Mössbauer Spectroscopy: The First Quarter Century

The first observation of the Mossbauer effect in tin1 was published in 1960, and was soon followed by an application of tin-119m Mossbauer spectroscopy to a chemical problem.2 The Mossbauer effect stands as a lonely exception to the general rule in science history that phenomena never bear the names of their true discoverers. Delivery to the scientific community is far more frequently honored, and in tin-Mossbauer spectroscopy the rules were first worked out and the news brought forward by V. I. Goldanskii in the USSR, N. N. Greenwood in the UK and in the USA by the editor of this volume.
Chagas Disease: Global Epidemiology and Evolving Methods for Control

Chagas disease, caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Central and South America. Also known as American trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease was discovered in 1909 by Dr. Carlos Chagas and is characterized by chronic cardiac and gastrointestinal manifestations.
Sampling-Based Uncertainty Quantification: Monte Carlo and Beyond

This chapter covers sampling methods beginning with Monte Carlo sampling and before proceeding to more sophisticated sampling procedures. In Sect. 7.1 the basic Monte Carlo methods are detailed and how to use the samples from a quantity of interest (QoI) is discussed, including maximum likelihood estimation, and the method of moments. Section 7.2 uses design of experiments techniques to produce Monte Carlo estimates based on stratified sampling, space-filling designs, and orthogonal arrays. Monte Carlo based on pseudo-random numbers is discussed in Sect. 7.3. The different methods are compared in Sect. 7.4
Neural Machine Translation For Paraphrase Generation

Training a spoken language understanding system, as the one in Alexa, typically requires a large human-annotated corpus of data. Manual annotations are expensive and time consuming. In Alexa Skill Kit (ASK) user experience with the skill greatly depends on the amount of data provided by skill developer. In this work, we present an automatic natural language generation system, capable of generating both human-like interactions and annotations by the means of paraphrasing. Our approach consists of machine translation (MT) inspired encoder-decoder deep recurrent neural network. We evaluate our model on the impact it has on ASK skill, intent, named entity classification accuracy and sentence level coverage, all of which demonstrate significant improvements for unseen skills on natural language understanding (NLU) models, trained on the data augmented with paraphrases.
Which Duties of Beneficence Should Agents Discharge on Behalf of Principals? A Reflection through Shareholder Primacy

Scholars who favor shareholder primacy usually claim either that managers should not fulfill corporate duties of beneficence or that, if they are required to fulfill them, they do so by going against their obligations to shareholders. Distinguishing between structurally different types of duties of beneficence and recognizing the full force of the normative demands imposed on managers reveal that this view needs to be qualified. Although it is correct to think that managers, when acting on behalf of shareholders, are not required to fulfill wide duties of charity, they are nevertheless required to fulfill a variety of narrow duties of beneficence. What is more, the obligation to fulfill these duties arises precisely because they are acting on behalf of shareholders. As such, this article 1) refines our understanding of the duties of corporate beneficence and 2) helps to identify which duties of beneficence are imposed on managers when they are acting on behalf of shareholders.
Function of mammalian M-cones depends on the level of CRALBP in Müller cells

Cone photoreceptors mediate daytime vision in vertebrates. The rapid and efficient regeneration of their visual pigments following photoactivation is critical for the cones to remain photoresponsive in bright and rapidly changing light conditions. Cone pigment regeneration depends on the recycling of visual chromophore, which takes place via the canonical visual cycle in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the Muller cell-driven intraretinal visual cycle. The molecular mechanisms that enable the neural retina to regenerate visual chromophore for cones have not been fully elucidated. However, one known component of the two visual cycles is the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP), which is expressed both in the RPE and in Muller cells. To understand the significance of CRALBP in cone pigment regeneration, we examined the function of cones in mice heterozygous for Rlbp1, the gene encoding CRALBP. We found that CRALBP expression was reduced by ∼50% in both the RPE and retina of Rlbp1+/- mice. Electroretinography (ERG) showed that the dark adaptation of rods and cones is unaltered in Rlbp1+/- mice, indicating a normal RPE visual cycle. However, pharmacologic blockade of the RPE visual cycle revealed suppressed cone dark adaptation in Rlbp1+/- mice in comparison with controls. We conclude that the expression level of CRALPB specifically in the Muller cells modulates the efficiency of the retina visual cycle. Finally, blocking the RPE visual cycle also suppressed further cone dark adaptation in Rlbp1-/- mice, revealing a shunt in the classical RPE visual cycle that bypasses CRALBP and allows partial but unexpectedly rapid cone dark adaptation.
The Distribution of Collisionally Induced Blue Stragglers in the Color-Magnitude Diagram

A primary production mechanism for blue stragglers in globular clusters is thought to be collisionally induced mergers, perhaps mediated by dynamical encounters involving binary stars. We model the formation and evolution of such blue stragglers and produce theoretical distributions of them in the color-magnitude diagram. We use a crude representation of cluster dynamics and detailed binary-single star encounter simulations to produce cross sections and rates for a variety of collisions. The results of the collisions are determined on the basis of smoothed-particle hydrodynamics simulations of realistic star models. The evolution of the collision products are then followed in detail using the Yale stellar evolution code. We present our results in the form of distributions in the observed color-magnitude diagram. We use our results to explore the effects of a variety of input assumptions on the number and kind of blue stragglers created by collisions. In particular, we describe the changes in the blue straggler distribution that result from using realistic collision products rather than the fully mixed assumption, and from changes in assumptions about the number and orbital-period distribution of the primordial binary population. We then apply our models to existing data from the core of M3, where the large blue straggler population is thought to be dominated by collision products. We find that we have difficulty successfully modeling the observed blue stragglers under a single consistent set of assumptions. However, if three particularly bright blue stragglers are considered to be part of a different observed population (as has been suggested previously for other clusters) and left out of the population, the remainder can be successfully modeled using realistic encounter products and assuming a 20% binary fraction with a plausible period distribution. Finally, we suggest a variety of routes toward a more comprehensive understanding of the blue straggler phenomenon.
Estimating nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions for the Los Angeles Megacity using mountaintop remote sensing observations

Abstract Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas contributing both to global radiative forcing and ozone depletion. Though N2O emissions are largely derived from agricultural activities, urban sources of N2O also contribute significantly to anthropogenic emissions, but are not well understood and difficult to quantify. This study employs a top-down approach to derive urban N2O emissions for the Los Angeles megacity using a unique dataset from a mountaintop remote sensing instrument, which has been observing greenhouse gas mixing ratios in LA since 2011. CLARS-FTS observations yield a weighted mean of 15.0 ± 0.1 ppb excess XN2O above background in the LA basin from 2013 to 2019. Time series of XN2Oxs show a seasonal cycle with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 5.6 ± 2.5 ppb, where greater XN2Oxs values are observed during the winter/spring and minima occur in late summer/early fall. A tracer-tracer ratio method is applied using XN2Oxs and XCO2,xs observations to estimate top-down N2O emissions for the LA basin during 2013–2018. Estimated monthly emissions range from 6 to 19 Gg N2O per month and exhibit a similar seasonal cycle to that observed in XN2Oxs. Estimated annual emissions fall within the range 124–144 Gg per year for the years 2014–2018. These top-down annual estimates are roughly 3 times the official statewide bottom-up inventory for the same time period, but consistent considering uncertainties with other top-down estimates for the LA basin. The discrepancy between top-down emission estimates and the statewide bottom-up inventory highlights the difficulty in constraining N2O emissions, especially for an urban environment.
Bearing failure in a mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: an uncommon presentation of an implant-specific complication

We present two cases of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) bearing failure in this report—one case of bearing dislocation and one case of bearing fracture. The causes of failure in both cases are evaluated in depth and recommendations are provided regarding intraoperative technique to reduce risk of bearing failure in mobile bearing UKAs. In the first case, intraoperative evidence of metallosis and chronic pain preceding the traumatic event may indicate that the patient had attenuation of her collateral ligaments that precipitated the instability event. In the second case, the relatively atraumatic nature of the bearing fracture-dislocation and intraoperative evidence of extensive poly wear suggest that the bearing fracture was likely due to a 3-mm bearing selection in the initial surgery. This case report shows that late bearing in mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty can often be a multifactorial event and treatment must address all the risk factors that led to bearing dislocation. Bearing fracture is a very rare complication associated with mobile bearing UKA and patients with thin polyethylene inserts are at risk for bearing fracture even in the absence of poly wear.
Midair Refueling for Sensation Seeking? Pilot CEOs and Corporate Debt Contracting

We examine the relation between chief executive officer (CEO) sensation seeking, which captures the desire for varied, novel, and complex personal sensations and experiences, and corporate debt contracting. Using pilot certificates as a proxy for the personality trait of sensation seeking, we find that firms with pilot CEOs use longer maturity debt financing even when long-term debt is more costly than short-term debt. Our findings are robust to controlling for the endogenous matching between firms and CEOs. Our evidence indicates that CEOs with sensation-seeking personality traits prefer long-term debt financing to avoid the liquidity risk associated with short-term debt financing that may hamper other corporate activities motivated by their sensation seeking.
Prediction of Seismic Site Coefficients for Northeast Arkansas (NEA)

About 25% of bridges in Craighead County, a part of Northeast Arkansas (NEA) in the United States of America, are in a poor condition. The NEA region is situated within a major seismic zine called the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). In recent years, several new bridges have been proposed for new highways or improvement of existing highways within this zone. With the existing vulnerability due to the presence of the nearby active fault and higher seismic design force requirements, future investment in the repairment of bridges and new construction are critical issues. The main objectives of this study are to estimate seismic site coefficients for this zone by ground response analysis and compare them with coefficients recommended by researchers and agencies such as the American Association of State Highway Official (AASHTO). The shear wave velocity profiles (SWVP) of this zone have been collected from historical construction projects in the NEA and Mississippi Embayment (ME) areas. The seismic hazard analysis (SHA) has been carried out for different locations within this zone. Using a unified 1-D (one-dimension) equivalent linear (EQL) and nonlinear (NL) site response analyses platform called DEEPSOIL (Version 7.0), a series of ground response analyses has been carried out to evaluate possible variabilities of SWVPs, dynamic soil properties, and SHA results. Finally, seismic acceleration site coefficients have been estimated for selected locations within this zone. The findings of this study are expected to help the city and state highway design engineers to calculate design forces for existing and new bridges that will lead to the avoidance of expensive field investigations.
Procedural skill maintenance: Perspectives and motivations of pediatric emergency medicine faculty.

Background Pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians receive training in critical procedures, but these procedures are rare in practice. The literature on maintenance of procedural skills focuses on ways to practice (e.g., via simulation) and pays little attention to motivation's role. Understanding what motivates PEM physicians to maintain procedural skills can inform the design of supportive policies and interventions. Our study explores how PEM physicians conceptualize maintenance of procedural skills, what motivates them to maintain procedural skills, and barriers to procedural skill maintenance. Methods This was a qualitative study of 12 PEM faculty guided by the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation. SDT describes a typology that distinguishes extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, with intrinsic motivation based on autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Interviews were transcribed and coded using constant-comparative technique, and interviews continued until thematic sufficiency was achieved. Results Participants had difficulty defining procedural skill maintenance by specific criteria and expressed ambivalence about external standards for competence, noting the need to account for individual and local practice factors. Three themes characterizing participants' motivation for procedural skills maintenance included: (1) desire to provide optimal patient care and fear of unsuccessful performance (competence), (2) procedural competence as part of the identity of a PEM physician who teaches and performs procedures (competence and relatedness), and (3) desire for accessibility and choice of options in maintaining procedural skills (autonomy). Participants identified lack of opportunities, time, and support as barriers to motivation and skills maintenance. Conclusion SDT concepts were integral to understanding faculty motivation, and this highlights the need for prioritizing faculty autonomy, competence, and relatedness in designing supports for procedural skill maintenance. Our findings regarding the difficulty in defining maintenance of skills emphasize the need for further discussion and study of this topic.
A Restatement of Federal Indian Law

This short paper is a description of the ongoing restatement project on the law of American Indians being conducted by the American Law Institute.
Technical Considerations in the Recording and Interpretation of the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential for Neonatal Neurologic Diagnosis

(1981). Technical Considerations in the Recording and Interpretation of the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential for Neonatal Neurologic Diagnosis. American Journal of EEG Technology: Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 31-54.
Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are mathematical simulations of physiological processes that determine the rate and extent of xenobiotic chemical absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Such models can be used for predicting internal doses at target organs and tissues due to their conformity to actual organs, tissues, and physiological processes. In veterinary toxicology, PBPK methods can be used to improve the accuracy of predictions of toxicity across species by applying data obtained in one species to predictions in another species. PBPK models provide a continuously evolving new frontier in toxicokinetic modeling. As the understanding of the systems and processes involved in toxicokinetics improves and expands, so does the ability to use new knowledge in PBPK models. It allows for the adaptability needed to simulate varied physiological processes and biological system conditions. PBPK models are likely to assume an ever more important role in one's efforts to understand and predict the consequences of exposure to toxins, and its application in veterinary toxicology can be expected to expand.
“But it's not my job … ”: The role librarians play in library development

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of librarians and library staff in a successful development program.Design/methodology/approach – Narrative article to emphasize that successful library development programs require the input and support from librarians and library staff.Findings – Library development programs do not operate in a vacuum and in fact draw upon the talents of many key personnel throughout the library.Originality/value – Practical suggestions for incorporating the whole library organization into development and fundraising efforts.
Direct simultaneous measurement of intraglottal geometry and velocity fields in excised larynges.

Objectives/Hypothesis Current theories regarding the mechanisms of phonation are based on assumptions about the aerodynamics between the vocal folds during the closing phase of vocal fold vibration. However, many of these fundamental assumptions have never been validated in a tissue model. In this study, the main objective was to determine the aerodynamics (velocity fields) and the geometry of the medial surface of the vocal folds during the closing phase of vibration. The main hypothesis is that intraglottal vortices are produced during vocal fold closing when the glottal duct has a divergent shape and that these vortices are associated with negative pressures. Study Design Experiments using seven excised canine larynges. Methods The particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) method was used to determine the velocity fields at low, mid-, and high subglottal pressures for each larynx. Modifications were made to previously described PIV methodology to allow the measurement of both the intraglottal velocity fields and the position of the medial aspects of the vocal fold. Results At relatively low subglottal pressures, little to no intraglottal vortices were seen. At mid- and high subglottal pressures, the flow separation vortices occurred and produced maximum negative pressures, relative to atmospheric, of −2.6 to −14.6 cm H2O. Possible physiological and surgical implications are discussed. Conclusions Intraglottal vortices produce significant negative pressures at mid- and high subglottal pressures. These vortices may be important in increasing maximum flow declination rate and acoustic intensity. Level of Evidence N/A. Laryngoscope, 124:S1–S13, 2014
University Tenure and the Legal System: Procedures, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Abstract To better understand the increasing legal presence in cases and disputes involving tenure, the authors analyzed materials from court cases, employment law, and higher education. This analysis yielded knowledge about ways in which tenure as a contract, credentials as evidence, and due process contribute to orderly tenure procedures, thereby averting some legal conflicts. Academic, legal, and ethical perspectives were used to explore these concepts and to consider their implications for social work faculty confronted by the dual demands of academia and tenure review. Guidelines are provided to assist faculty in dealing with tenure review and dispute resolution in appeal and dismissal.
A simplified control strategy to balance dc-link capacitor voltage for multi-level diode clamped VSI based on discontinuous SVPWM

This paper proposes a simplified control strategy to balance dc-link capacitor voltage for multi-level diode clamped voltage source inverter (DCVSI) based on discontinuous space vector pulse width modulation (DSVPWM). Currents flowing into the neutral point of dc-link capacitors cause fluctuations of dc-link capacitor voltages in the diode-clamped inverter. Performance of the multi-level inverter system is affected by imbalances of the dc-link capacitor voltages. On the basis of a simplified SVPWM algorithm for multi-level inverter and discontinuous modulation, simplified DSVPWM methods are proposed here to balance the dc-link capacitor voltages. The proposed control method changes the path and duration time of the neutral point currents, making the voltages of series connected dc-link capacitors equal. While maintaining low switching losses and achieving effective voltage balancing, this method does not adopt any additional hardware or complicated calculations. Its feasibility and effectiveness are both confirmed by simulation results.
Learning task-specific trust decisions

We study the problem of agents locating other agents that are both capable and willing to help complete assigned tasks. An agent incurs a fixed cost for each help request it sends out. To minimize this cost, the performance metric used in our work, an agent should learn based on past interactions to identify agents likely to help on a given task. We compare three trust mechanisms: success-based, learning-based, and random. We also consider different agent social attitudes: selfish, reciprocative, and helpful. We evaluate the performance of these social attitudes with both homogeneous and mixed societies. Our results show that learning-based trust decisions consistently performed better than other schemes. We also observed that the success rate is significantly better for reciprocative agents over selfish agents.