cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Challenge to Business Leaders to End Earnings Management

It is time for users of corporate financial statements to demand an end to abusive earnings management (EM). EM has persisted for decades as Accrual-based and Real EM. Both flourish inside vague accounting principles and under the veil of corporate secrecy. The existence of EM is irrefutable; it is well-documented in professional and academic literature. What is missing from the literature are simple, commonsense strategies for eliminating EM or rendering it harmless. EM is bad for our financial system for many reasons. When business leaders abandon EM or use it sparingly, financial reporting will increase in quality.
Hierarchical Modeling of Structural Coefficients for Heterogeneous Networks with an Application to Animal Production Systems

Understanding the interconnections between performance outcomes in a system is increasingly important for integrated management. Structural equation models (SEMs) are a type of multiple-variable modeling strategy that allows investigation of directionality in the association between outcome variables, thereby providing insight into their interconnections as putative causal links defining a functional network. A key assumption underlying SEMs is that of a homogeneous network structure, whereby the structural coefficients defining functional links are assumed homogeneous and impervious to environmental conditions or management factors. This assumption seems questionable as systems are regularly subjected to explicit interventions to optimize the necessary trade-offs between outcomes. Using a Bayesian approach, we propose methodological extensions to hierarchical SEMs that accommodate structural heterogeneity by explicitly specifying structural coefficients as functions of systematic and non-systematic sources of variation. We validate the inferential properties of our proposed approach using a simulation study and show that networks can be consistently identified as homogeneous or heterogeneous. We apply the proposed methodological extensions to a dataset from a designed experiment in swine production consisting of six interrelated reproductive performance outcomes to explore physiological links that differed by parity, while accounting for data architecture due to experimental design. Overall, our results indicate that explicit hierarchical SEM-based modeling of heterogeneous functional networks can be used to advance understanding of complex systems in animal production agriculture. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.
5 – Peripheral Autonomic Nervous System

Publisher Summary This chapter describes roles of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS ensures the survival and the procreation of species. These complex roles require complex responses and depend on the integration of the behavioral and physiologic responses that are coordinated centrally and peripherally. The role of the ANS at multiple interfaces in normal and abnormal physiology is emerging as a key mediator of pathophysiology in a range of complex disorders—such asanxiety and panic, chronic fatigue syndrome, regional pain syndromes, and autonomic failure—and as a critical substrate underpinning the field of neurocardiology. The peripheral ANS is well structured to provide the physiologic responses critical for homeostasis and acute adaptations to stressful, perhaps life-threatening, circumstances. Because of its relatively simple anatomic architecture, the peripheral ANS serves as a model system to understand neuronal development, structural and functional linkages among neurons and their targets, and the integrative role(s) these “little brains” (6,000–30,000 neurons) serve.
Examining the Safety and Efficacy of Supplemental Regional Anesthesia After Iliac Crest Harvest During Cleft Alveolar Bone Grafting

Background: The optimal prevention and treatment of pain associated of iliac crest bone graft donor sites for the treatment of cleft alveolus defects has not been well characterized. The aim of thi...
CEO Political Leanings and Store-Level Economic Activity during COVID-19 Crisis: Effects on Shareholder Value and Public Health

Maintaining economic output during COVID-19 pandemic can result in benefits for a firm’s shareholders but comes at a potential cost to public health. Using store-level data, we examine how a CEO’s political leanings, measured by political donations, impacts this tradeoff. We document that firms with Republican-leaning CEOs experience a relative increase in store visits compared to firms with Democratic-leaning CEOs. The increase in store visits is associated with positive abnormal stock returns. However, we also document higher COVID-19 transmission rates and more employee safety complaints in communities where establishments with higher store traffic are managed by Republican-leaning CEOs.
A Novel Toroidal Permanent Magnet Motor Structure with High Torque Density and Enhanced Cooling

This paper presents a novel toroidal motor configuration designed to achieve high torque density. The motor utilizes ring-shaped magnets and toroidal concentrated windings with an SMC core to enable 3D flux path. The proposed design is simulated using 3D FEA and compared to conventional PMSMs. The simulation results show that the proposed design can achieve at least 30% higher output torque compared to radial and axial flux PMSMs. In addition, thermal analysis of the motor shows the potential for a highly efficient magnet cooling that can enhance the motor reliability at high loading conditions and enable the possibility of using lower grade magnets.
United States Congressional Record Honors the Discovery of Hernando De Soto's 1539 Encampment and the Lost Native American Town of Potano

US Congressional Record honors the discovery of Hernando de Soto's 1539 Encampment and the lost Native American town of Potano, by the University of Florida professors, Dr. Fred A. White and Dr. Michele C. White, and University of Florida Anderson Scholar Ethan A. White.
Patients benefit from recording postoperative instructions after ankle fracture surgery

Abstract We initiated a prospective study to assess patient comfort level and perceived utility of an audiovideo recording of post-operative instructions given that many patients demonstrate poor comprehension and retention of this information. Twenty-five adult patients who underwent surgical treatment for ankle fractures were invited to record their fracture care instructions with smartphones at their 2-week post-operative visit and administered a survey at the 6-week post-operative visit to assess their experiences. Patients rated their comfort with fracture care instructions at 9.6 ± 0.6 / 10 points and usefulness of audiovideo recording at 8.7 ± 2.1 / 10 points. All 25 patients indicated that recorded instructions made them feel more confident with their fracture care. Twenty-two (88%) reviewed their instructions after their 2-week visit. Fifteen (60%) of patients shared their instructions with someone else and 22 (88%) believe physicians should allow patients to record care instructions. Patients were comfortable recording their instructions with their surgeons and felt it was useful, increasing their confidence to properly follow their postoperative fracture care plans. Given the importance of patient adherence to post-operative instructions, surgeons should consider incorporating patient-generated recordings into their practice as an effective, efficient, and inexpensive way to improve patient care.
Pulmonary Thrombosis and Thromboembolism in COVID-19.

COVID-19, the disease responsible for the devastating pandemic that began at the end of 2019, has been associated with a significantly increased risk of pulmonary thrombosis, even in patients receiving prophylactic anticoagulation. The predilection for thrombosis in COVID-19 may be driven by at least two distinct, but interrelated, processes: a hypercoagulable state responsible for large-vessel thrombosis and thromboembolism and direct vascular and endothelial injury responsible for in situ microvascular thrombosis. The presence of pulmonary thrombosis may explain why hypoxemia is out of proportion to impairment in lung compliance in some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Because pulmonary embolism (PE) and COVID-19 pneumonia share many signs and symptoms, diagnosing PE in patients with COVID-19 can be challenging. Given the high mortality and morbidity associated with severe COVID-19 and the concern that aspects of the disease may be driven by thrombosis, many hospital systems have instituted aggressive anticoagulation protocols above standard VTE prophylaxis. In this review, the epidemiologic and pathophysiologic features, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19 pulmonary thrombosis and thromboembolism are discussed.
Intuitive knowledge

In this paper I assume that we have some intuitive knowledge—i.e. beliefs that amount to knowledge because they are based on intuitions. The question I take up is this: given that some intuition makes a belief based on it amount to knowledge, in virtue of what does it do so? We can ask a similar question about perception. That is: given that some perception makes a belief based on it amount to knowledge, in virtue of what does it do so? A natural idea about perception is that a perception makes a belief amount to knowledge in part by making you sensorily aware of the concrete objects it is about. The analogous idea about intuition is that an intuition makes a belief amount to knowledge in part by making you intellectually aware of the abstract objects it is about. I expand both ideas into fuller accounts of perceptual and intuitive knowledge, explain the main challenge to this sort of account of intuitive knowledge (i.e. the challenge of making sense of intellectual awareness), and develop a response to it.
PMLB v1.0: An open-source dataset collection for benchmarking machine learning methods.

PMLB (Penn Machine Learning Benchmark) is an open-source data repository containing a curated collection of datasets for evaluating and comparing machine learning (ML) algorithms. Compiled from a broad range of existing ML benchmark collections, PMLB synthesizes and standardizes hundreds of publicly available datasets from diverse sources such as the UCI ML repository and OpenML, enabling systematic assessment of different ML methods. These datasets cover a range of applications, from binary/multi-class classification to regression problems with combinations of categorical and continuous features. PMLB has both a Python interface (pmlb) and an R interface (pmlbr), both with detailed documentation that allows the user to access cleaned and formatted datasets using a single function call. PMLB also provides a comprehensive description of each dataset and advanced functions to explore the dataset space, allowing for smoother user experience and handling of data. The resource is designed to facilitate open-source contributions in the form of datasets as well as improvements to curation.
Clinical Experience with a Microcomputer-Based Intensive Care Data Management System

The creation of appropriate man-machine interfaces is critical if computers are to aid clinicians through high speed, highly flexible data organization. In theory, the computer, through data management approaches, could display the critical data for one or more patients on a single CRT. The same management scheme that provides instantaneous review for immediate therapy could provide answers to long range research questions. Data would not be duplicated nor would it exist on multiple forms. Communication between clinician and computer must be developed to provide smooth and reliable exchange of information. The overall approach in this work is to analyze the requirements of clinicians in clinical data management. Creation of computer systems and training in their use should provide enhancement of care delivery.
Testing and Analyzing Surface Water Quality of Yue-Guan Canal in Yueqing, China

The rapid industrialization in eastern China has made great contributions to the growth of the country’s economy while also degrading the environmental quality. Yet the government is reluctant to release the environmental information to the public, resulting in a barrier for concerned citizens to participate. This study focuses on the water quality of Yue-Guan Canal in Yueqing, Zhejiang, where private rural enterprises have mushroomed since the 1980s. The objective of this study is to 1) test the water quality of the canal based on pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), copper (Cu), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and hexavalent chromium (Cr VI); 2) determine the relation between water quality and land use and land cover (LULC), and model the water quality of the whole canal based on LULC; and 3) make the information available to the public via an online geographic information system (GIS) platform. I chose six sampling sites along this 27 km canal, and collected samples on 3 workdays and 3 non-workdays in December 2012 and January 2013. I found an excess of NH3-N made the water samples of all sites fail to meet the national standards for Class V water. I created regression models for pH, TDS and Cu in relation to LULC, but all resulted in low R values, which may suggest point sources contribute more pollutants than non-point sources. I published the map and the data as a web application for the public.
Inference of Reference Immutability

Javari is an extension of Java that supports reference immutability constraints. Programmers write readonly type qualifiers and other constraints, and the Javari typechecker detects mutation errors (incorrect side effects) or verifies their absence. While case studies have demonstrated the practicality and value of Javari, a barrier to usability remains. A Javari program will not typecheck unless all the references in the APIs of libraries it uses are annotated with Javari type qualifiers. Manually converting existing Java libraries to Javari is tedious and error-prone. We present an algorithm for inferring reference immutability in Javari. The flow-insensitive and context-sensitive algorithm is sound and produces a set of qualifiers that typecheck in Javari. The algorithm is precise in that it infers the most readonly qualifiers possible; adding any additional readonly qualifiers will cause the program to not typecheck. We have implemented the algorithm in a tool, Javarifier, that infers the Javari type qualifiers over a set of class files. Javarifier automatically converts Java libraries to Javari. Additionally, Javarifier eases the task of converting legacy programs to Javari by inferring the mutability of every reference in a program. In case studies, Javarifier correctly inferred mutability over Java programs of up to 110 KLOC.
Probabilistic opaque quorum systems

Byzantine-fault-tolerant service protocols like Q/U and FaB Paxos that optimistically order requests can provide increased efficiency and fault scalability. However, these protocols require n ≥ 5b+1 servers (where b is the maximum number of faults tolerated), owing to their use of opaque Byzantine quorum systems; this is 2b more servers than required by some non-optimistic protocols. In this paper, we present a family of probabilistic opaque Byzantine quorum systems that require substantially fewer servers. Our analysis is novel in that it assumes Byzantine clients, anticipating that a faulty client may seek quorums that maximize the probability of error. Using this as motivation, we present an optional, novel protocol that allows probabilistic quorum systems to tolerate Byzantine clients. The protocol requires only one additional round of interaction between the client and the servers, and this round may be amortized over multiple operations. We consider actual error probabilities introduced by the probabilistic approach for concrete configurations of opaque quorum systems, and prove that the probability of error vanishes with as few as n > 3.15b servers as n and b grow.
Design and development of two component hydrogel ejector

The purpose of this project is to design and develop a novel device which is capable of quickly extruding and injecting hydrogels, preferably capable of live cell entrapment, from the input of two solutions—one containing horseradish peroxidase and a modified chitosan, the other with hydrogen peroxide and modified chitosan. Several designs were drafted in SketchUp, 3D printed, and tested to assess the degree of homogeneity of the ejected hydrogel film.
IL-1R signaling enables bystander cells to overcome bacterial blockade of host protein synthesis

The innate immune system is critical for host defense against microbial pathogens, yet many pathogens express virulence factors that impair immune function. Here, we used the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila to understand how the immune system successfully overcomes pathogen subversion mechanisms. L. pneumophila replicates within macrophages by using a type IV secretion system to translocate bacterial effectors into the host cell cytosol. As a consequence of effector delivery, host protein synthesis is blocked at several steps, including translation initiation and elongation. Despite this translation block, infected cells robustly produce proinflammatory cytokines, but the basis for this is poorly understood. By using a reporter system that specifically discriminates between infected and uninfected cells within a population, we demonstrate here that infected macrophages produced IL-1α and IL-1β, but were poor producers of IL-6, TNF, and IL-12, which are critical mediators of host protection. Uninfected bystander cells robustly produced IL-6, TNF, and IL-12, and this bystander response required IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling during early pulmonary infection. Our data demonstrate functional heterogeneity in production of critical protective cytokines and suggest that collaboration between infected and uninfected cells enables the immune system to bypass pathogen-mediated translation inhibition to generate an effective immune response.
Institutional Perspectives on Shareholder Nominations of Corporate Directors

This paper applies the cost-benefit framework for shareholder activism, utilized by most institutional investors, to the five alternative approaches to shareholder participation in director elections suggested by the ABA Task Force on this subject. I show that none of them would likely generate benefits exceeding its costs, although there are worthwhile components of several alternatives suggested by the ABA. I argue that some of the problems involved in the alternatives under considerations could be avoided by allowing institutional investors to cumulate their votes for one director nominee. However, cumulative voting is not permitted by most company charters, which may be changed only if the company's directors put forward a charter amendment for a vote by its shareholders.
Analytical and computer model of a Doppler weather radar system

With advances in Doppler weather radar, severe storm and tornado detection has improved greatly. However, the resolution limitations of deployed radar systems can still limit severe storm detection. In the case of larger tornadoes, characteristic abrupt changes in wind direction can usually be detected between adjacent range-angle bins. However for smaller tornadoes, the rotating cell may be contained within one bin. In this case, a wind directional change cannot be detected, and the tornado may go undetected. The purpose of this research is to develop analytical and computer simulation models of typical Doppler weather radar measurements. These models can be used to determine how various factors affect the reflectivity, velocity, and spectrum width measurements that are commonly used in storm detection algorithms. The models account for convolution in azimuth due to the radar antenna pattern, convolution in range due to the radar pulse shape, randomness of the weather events and measurements, variations in the measurements between radar pulses, and the addition of noise to the measurements. Using both analytical and simulation models allows for simulated data to be generated, as well as equations that predict the behavior of the data. Therefore, the analytical and simulation models can be used to test the other's accuracy. Additionally, the analytical model can be used to create future algorithms (e.g. resolution enhancement), and the simulated data can be used as a test for these algorithms.
Cocaine withdrawal reduces group I mGluR-mediated long-term potentiation via decreased GABAergic transmission in the amygdala

Cocaine relapse can occur when cocaine-associated environmental cues induce craving. Conditioned place preference (CPP) is a behavioral paradigm modeling the association between cocaine exposure and environmental cues. The amygdala is involved in cocaine cue associations with the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and central amygdala (CeA) acting differentially in cue-induced relapse. Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors induces synaptic plasticity, the mechanism of which is thought to underlie learning, memory and drug-cue associations. The goal of this study was to examine the neural alterations in responses to group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists in the BLA to lateral capsula of CeA (BLA-CeLc) pathway in slices from rats exposed to cocaine-CPP conditioning and withdrawn for 14 days. mGluR1, but not mGluR5, agonist-induced long-term potentiation (mGluR1-LTP) in the BLA-CeLc pathway was reduced in rats withdrawal from cocaine for 2 and 14 days, and exhibited an altered concentration response to picrotoxin. Cocaine withdrawal also reduced γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic synaptic inhibition in CeLc neurons. Blocking cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB(1) ) reduced mGluR1-LTP in the saline-treated but not cocaine-withdrawn group. Response to CB(1) but not CB(2) agonist was altered after cocaine. Additionally, increasing endocannabinoid (eCB) levels abolished mGluR1-LTP in the saline but not cocaine-withdrawn group. However, CB(1) and CB(2) protein levels were increased in the amygdala of cocaine-withdrawn rats while mGluR1 and mGluR5 remained unchanged. These data suggested that the mechanisms underlying the diminished mGluR1-LTP in cocaine-withdrawn rats involve an altered GABAergic synaptic inhibition mediated by modulation of downstream eCB signaling. These changes may ultimately result in potentiated responses to environmental cues that would bias behavior toward drug-seeking.
Use of Evaluation to Improve Energy Conservation Programs: A Review and Case Study

Program evaluation is a powerful tool available to social scientists as they address the multifaceted problems in the field of environmental management. This article focuses on one area of environmental concern—energy conservation—and provides a brief review of the history of social science contributions in that area, together with a detailed case study centering on the very successful Michigan Residential Conservation Service home energy audit program. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate how the Michigan effort emphasized use of evaluation results both to cut program costs and to revise and improve program services. The successes described in this case study suggest that this type of pragmatic evaluation approach might be beneficially applied to other areas of environmental management as well.
Customer response to day-ahead market hourly pricing: Choices and performance

Abstract Real-time pricing (RTP) has been advocated to address extreme price volatility and market power in electricity markets. This study of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation's largest customers analyzes their choices and performance in response to day-ahead, default-service RTP. Overall price response is modest: 119 customers are estimated to reduce their peak demand by about 10% at high prices. Manufacturing customers are most responsive with a price elasticity of 0.16, followed by government/education customers (0.11), while commercial/retail, healthcare and public works customers are, at present, relatively unresponsive. Within market segments, individual customer response varies significantly.
Temptations of theory, strategies of evidence: P. M. S. Blackett and the earth's magnetism, 1947–52

In the late spring of 1947, the experimental physicist P. M. S. Blackett succumbed to the temptations of theory. At this time, Blackett (1897–1974) was fifty years old. He was a veteran of the Cavendish tradition in particle physics and he was on his way to an unshared award of the 1948 Nobel Prize for his experimental researches in nuclear physics and cosmic-ray physics. His photographs of cloud-chamber tracks of alpha particles, protons, electrons and positrons were well known to practitioners of particle physics, even as they now grace the pages of physics textbooks.Blackett's turn toward theory in 1947 involved some risk for a well-established experimental physicist. The 3 May 1947 issue of Nature carried an announcement of his forthcoming lecture at the Royal Society:Professor P. M. S. Blackett, Langworthy Professor of Physics in the University of Manchester, will deliver a lecture on ‘The Magnetic Field of Massive Rotating Bodies’ at a meeting of the Royal Society on May 15, at 4:30 p.m.Blackett circulated a preliminary draft of his paper among colleagues in several different fields, including the geophysicist Sydney Chapman and the astrophysicist Harry Plaskett.
A comparison of different intensity modulation treatment techniques for tangential breast irradiation.

Abstract Purpose: Several intensity modulation (IM) treatment techniques for tangential breast irradiation were evaluated in terms of dose uniformity in the treated breast volume, contralateral breast dose, and treatment irradiation time. Methods and Materials: Contralateral breast dose was measured via TLD chips, and the dose uniformity was calculated on two anthropomorphic phantoms. IM was applied to all beams or to the lateral-medial (LM) beam only. The techniques evaluated include (a) IM via “step & shoot” multileaf collimator (MLC), (b) IM via intensity modulator (compensator), (c) virtual wedge, and (d) physical wedge. A dose optimization algorithm was used for the first two techniques. Results: Collimator-generated IM techniques (MLC-IM and the virtual wedge) produced 50% (average) less contralateral breast dose than the conventional two-wedge technique. When the compensator or the physical wedge was used, contralateral breast dose was reduced 30% (average) by leaving the ML beam open. Conclusion: The treatments generated by dose optimization algorithm and delivered via the compensator and MLC techniques offered superior dose uniformity. Single-beam IM techniques in general use less irradiation time without significant degradation of dose uniformity. The MLC-IM technique in this study required the longest treatment irradiation time, while the virtual wedge and compensator IM techniques required the least.
Evolution of magnetic properties and microstructure of Hf2Co11B alloys

Amorphous Hf2Co11B alloys produced by melt-spinning have been crystallized by annealing at 500–800 °C, and the products have been investigated using magnetization measurements, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results reveal the evolution of the phase fractions, microstructure, and magnetic properties with both annealing temperature and time. Crystallization of the phase denoted HfCo7, which is associated with the development of coercivity, occurs slowly at 500 °C. Annealing at intermediate temperatures produces mixed phase samples containing some of the HfCo7 phase with the highest values of remanent magnetization and coercivity. The equilibrium structure at 800 °C contains HfCo3B2, Hf6Co23, and Co, and displays soft ferromagnetism. Maximum values for the remanent magnetization, intrinsic coercivity, and magnetic energy product among the samples are approximately 5.2 kG, 2.0 kOe, and 3.1 MGOe, respectively, which indicates that the significantly higher values observed in crystalline, melt-spun Hf2Co11B ribbons are a consequence of the non-equilibrium solidification during the melt-spinning process. Application of high magnetic fields during annealing is observed to strongly affect the microstructural evolution, which may provide access to higher performance materials in Zr/Hf-Co hard ferromagnets. The crystal structure of HfCo7 and the related Zr analogues is unknown, and without knowledge of atomic positions powder diffraction cannot distinguish among proposed unit cells and symmetries found in the literature.
Rapid Reduction and Return of Surface Insulin Receptors After Exposure to Brief Pulses of Insulin in Perifused Rat Hepatocytes

Hepatic receptors are normally exposed to discrete pulses of insulin and glucagon at intervals of 8 to 16 min. Using a multicolumn system for perifusing hepatocytes, we investigated the effect of this pattern on the normal processing of the insulin receptor. Surface-receptor binding was measured in acid-washed cells harvested from individual columns. The number of high-affinity surface receptors fell to a nadir 1 min after the end of a 3-min square-wave pulse of insulin. The maximum reduction reached 45% of baseline at amplitudes of 1000 μU/ml or above. The number of surface binding sites returned to baseline 15 min after the end of the pulse, but the affinity constant of the high-affinity receptor was unchanged. The reduction of surface binding was dose dependent, with an ED 50 , of 251 ± 34 μU/ml. Prolonging the pulse to 60 min did not affect the nadir or the rate of restoration of the surface-receptor population. The change in surface binding was reduced at 15°C and abolished at 4°C. After a pulse, the pattern of change was a period of rapid decline to a nadir (t 1/2 ≤ 1 min) that persisted for 3–5 min, followed by restoration of surface binding that reached baseline in 10–15 min. This same pattern was present after six ED 95 pulses delivered at intervals of 15 min. These data indicate that the internalization of hepatocyte surface receptors and their recycling and reinsertion into the plasma membrane can be entrained to pulses at the physiologic pulse frequency.
Cardiovascular biology: Switched at birth.

Exposure to atmospheric oxygen in the days after a mammal's birth causes its heart muscle cells to stop proliferating. The finding may explain why zebrafish, which live in a hypoxic environment, can regenerate their hearts as adults.
Apoptosis mediates cell death following traumatic injury in rat hippocampal neurons

Abstract A model of in vitro traumatic injury with dissociated rat hippocampal neurons was studied to explore the mechanism of cell death. The neurotoxicity induced by traumatic injury to the cell culture can be transferred to a naive uninjured culture by media exchange. This toxicity is attenuated by dimethylsulfoxide or superoxide dismutase, suggesting that this toxicity is mediated by a free radical generation. Ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists had no effect. This toxicity was effectively blocked by the pretreatment of the naive uninjured recipient cultures with cycloheximide or with actinomycin D. The DNA fragmentation could be illustrated with in situ nick translation in the cells which seem to have lost their cytoplasm. The nuclear morphology of neurons labeled by a neurofilament-specific antibody, SMI-31, demonstrated chromatin condensation and nucleosome formation. Traumatic injury induces release of an unknown toxin into the extracellular space. These observations suggest that a traumatized neuronal culture can propagate cell death of naive uninjured cells by releasing a neurotoxin that causes apoptosis.
Effects of interface conditions and volume fraction on the apparent stiffness of surrogate multicellular constructs

A common theme in tissue engineering and cell and tissue biomechanics is how the mechanical properties of individual tissue components or embedded cellular structures influence the continuum mechanical behavior of a tissue or construct. Meshless methods provide a useful and convenient computational framework for answering these questions [1], allowing predictions of both the effective mechanical properties of constructs and the local stresses and strains at the level of the cell. Our research focuses on understanding the mechanics of angiogenic microvessels embedded in surrogate extracellular matrix (ECM) materials [1–4]. As a first step toward understanding the interface interactions between microvessels and the ECM, the objectives of this study were to use the material point method (MPM) to analyze models of surrogate microvessels embedded in collagen gel and investigate the effects of microvessel volume fraction and interface conditions between the surrogate vessels and the collagen gel.© 2007 ASME
Three-dimensional echocardiography can simulate intraoperative visualization of congenitally malformed hearts.

Background. The new technique of three-dimensional echocardiography can display the studied anatomy in any desired view plane. We sought to establish whether the reconstructions produced could provide views of the heart comparable with those obtained by the surgeon in the operating room. Methods. Ninety-four patients, aged 1 day to 19 years (mean, 4.3 years), were examined. The ultrasound probe was placed either on the chest or subcostally and acquired 80 to 100 perpendicular parallel images of the heart with electrocardiographic and respiratory gating. Any plane, in particular oblique planes, within the data set can be analyzed. Whenever possible, the arrangement as seen by the surgeon was photographed, or heart specimens with similar intracardiac lesions were cut to simulate the view of the surgeons, to validate the echocardiographic reconstructions. Results. Three-dimensional reconstruction of perimembranous ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects, or anomalies of the atrioventricular valves could be displayed as viewed through an atriotomy. In similar fashion, reconstructions of muscular or doubly committed ventricular septal defects, along with obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract, could be prepared as seen through a right ventriculotomy. Obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract was shown as viewed through an aortotomy. Transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiography provided additional information in the prospective diagnosis of supravalvar mitral membrane, doubly committed subarterial ventricular septal defect, and subaortic stenosis caused by a restrictive ventricular septal defect in double inlet left ventricle. Conclusions. Three-dimensional echocardiography can simulate the display of the heart as seen by the surgeon in the operating room, and therefore can aid in better planning of surgical repair.
Introduction to special issue on transportation infrastructure management

Transportation infrastructure provides mobility, and thus access to people, goods, services and resources. The availability and level of service of these systems determine quality of life and the continuity of economic and business growth, and, in turn, have served as motivation to develop models to support their management. In the last two decades, there have been significant developments in technologies to collect data related to infrastructure condition, as well as in theoretical and computational capabilities enabling the solution of ever more sophisticated and realistic resource allocation problems. As in other areas, these advances have, in turn, spurred research to improve models, for example to better capture alternatives and their impact (on users), and to address technical issues, such as accounting for serial dependence or unobserved heterogeneity. The motivation for the special issue is to show how researchers from around the world are addressing these issues. Specifically, the special issue includes papers that present interdisciplinary quantitative methods to address problems arising in monitoring, evaluating, repairing, and renewing transportation infrastructure systems with the objective of ensuring that they are capable of performing the functions for which they were designed and built in a reliable, sustainable and equitable fashion.
Engineering p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase to a p-Hydroxymandelate Synthase and Evidence for the Proposed Benzene Oxide Intermediate in Homogentisate Formation†

p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPD) plays a key role in the normal catabolism of tyrosine. An Fe2+/oxygen-dependent enzyme, it converts p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into homogentisate and is part ...
Minority Carrier Lifetime in Beryllium-Doped InAs/InAsSb Strained Layer Superlattices

Minority carrier lifetimes in undoped and Beryllium-doped Type-2 Ga-free, InAs/InAsSb strained layer superlattices (SLS) with energy gaps as low as 0.165 eV were determined from photoluminescence kinetics. The minority carrier lifetime of 450 ns at 77 K in the undoped SLS confirms a high material quality. In similarly-grown structures that were p-doped to N A = 6 × 1016 and 3 × 1017 cm−3, electron lifetimes of τ n = 45 ns and 8 ns were measured. The 6 × 1016 cm−3 doping level is a factor of 6 greater than the typical background doping level in long-wave infrared (LWIR) Ga-containing InAs/GaSb SLS with similar bandgap and electron lifetime. This suggests that LWIR photodetectors with InAs/InAsSb SLS absorbers can be designed with smaller minority carrier concentrations and diffusion dark current densities. A relatively slow decrease of the lifetime with doping suggests a minor role of Auger recombination in the studied Ga-free SLS at T = 77 K with p-doping up to mid-1017 cm−3 level.
Are We Ignoring Youths with Disabilities in Foster Care? An Examination of Their School Performance

This study examined the extent to which the academic achievement of adolescents receiving both foster care and special education services differs from the performance of youths involved in only foster care, special education, or general education. Extant school data were collected on 327 students, ages 13 through 21, who attended school in a large urban school district in Oregon. The study also collected information about students' general foster care experiences, such as length of time in care and type and number of placements. Analyses revealed that foster care youths in special education typically demonstrated lower performance on academic variables in contrast to one or more of the comparison groups. These youths also appeared to experience more restrictive special education placements than youths in special education only. Although foster care or special education status alone appears to place a student at risk of academic difficulties, the negative impact of interfacing with both systems appears multiplicative. Greater attention, commitment, and time must be given to the educational needs of foster care youths with disabilities by both education and child welfare professionals.
The Terms of Engagement: Warfare, White Locality, and Abolition:

This essay attempts to contextualize and theoretically resituate the state and state-ordained violences of different modalities of ‘warfare’ have been rendered mundane, acceptable, and banal within...
Nanopipelining of NML using multiferroic single-domain nanomagnets

A recent technology, multiferroic single-domain nanomagnets are very promising for energy efficient nanomagnetic logic (NML) applications with benefits of ultra-low energy consumption and inherent non-volatility. In this paper we evaluate pipelined signal propagation in fundamental nanomagnetic logic elements using a four phase local clocking scheme. We demonstrate that low energy consuming operation is possible with this technology at single nanomagnet level reaching clock frequency of ∼100 MHz while still maintaining ultra-low energy consumption.
Second-harmonic generation in absorptive media.

The solution of the coupled-wave equations for second-harmonic generation in a near-resonant three-level system is extended to include absorption. It is shown, within second-order perturbation theory, that double resonance is the optimal conversion condition, despite absorption enhancement. We extend the solution numerically, using nonperturbative susceptibilities derived within the rotating-wave approximation, to saturating intensities and discuss the modifications to the perturbative conclusions as well as the regimes of validity for the various approximations.
Stabilization of amphiphilic block copolymer nanotubes and vesicles by photopolymerization

We create long polymer nanotubes by directly pulling on the membrane of polymersomes using either optical tweezers or a micropipette. The polymersomes are composed of amphiphilic diblock copolymers and the nanotubes formed have an aqueous core connected to the aqueous interior of the polymersome. Stabilized membranes of nanotubes and vesicles were formed by the directed selfassembly of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polybutadiene, followed by photopolymerization, initiated by UV light, to a maximum double bond conversion of 15%. The photopolymerized nanotubes are extremely robust. The applicability of photopolymerization for biophysics and bioanalytical science is demonstrated by electrophoresing DNA molecules through a stabilized nanotube with an integrated vesicle reservoir.
A Foot in Each Sphere: Christine Frederick and Early Twentieth‐Century Advertising

The American advertiser has taught the American housewife to think constructively of her job.1 Christine Frederick, 1929 As we enter the twenty-first century, Martha Stewart's web page proclaims her multi-million-dollar company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, to be a “leading creator of original‘how to’content and related products for homemakers and other consumers.”2 Over the last 20 years, Stewart's enterprise, which targets primarily women consumers, has grown from a television show to an empire that includes books, magazines, radio broadcasts, a newspaper column, and Martha Stewart product lines sold in retail stores, through catalogs, and over the Internet.
Heat-mediated, ultra-rapid electrophoretic transfer of high and low molecular weight proteins to nitrocellulose membranes

Here, we report an ultra-rapid method for the transfer of high and low molecular weight proteins to nitrocellulose membranes following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In this procedure, the electro-transfer was performed with heated (70-75 degrees C) normal transfer buffer from which methanol had been omitted. Complete transfer of high and low molecular weight proteins (a purified protein, molecular weight protein standards and proteins from a human tissue extract) could be carried out in 10 min for a 0.75-mm, 7% SDS-PAGE gel. For 10% and 12.5% gels (0.75 mm), the corresponding time was 15 min. In the case of 1.5-mm gels, a complete transfer could be carried out in 20 min for 7%, 10% and 12.5% gels. The permeability of the gel is increased by heat, such that the proteins trapped in the polyacrylamide gel matrix can be easily transferred to the membrane. When the heat-mediated transfer method was compared with a conventional transfer protocol, under similar conditions, we found that the latter method transferred minimal low molecular weight proteins while retaining most of the high molecular weight proteins in the gel. In summary, this procedure is very rapid, avoids the use of methanol and is particularly useful for the transfer of high molecular weight proteins.
Pediatric Vaccination and Vaccine-Preventable Disease Acquisition: Associations with Care by Complementary and Alternative Medicine Providers

This study investigated provider-based complementary/alternative medicine use and its association with receipt of recommended vaccinations by children aged 1-2 years and with acquisition of vaccine-preventable disease by children aged 1-17 years. Results were based on logistic regression analysis of insurance claims for pediatric enrollees covered by two insurance companies in Washington State during 2000-2003. Primary exposures were use of chiropractic, naturopathy, acupuncture, or massage practitioner services by pediatric enrollees or members of their immediate families. Outcomes included receipt by children aged 1-2 years of four vaccine combinations (or their component vaccines) covering seven diseases, and acquisition of vaccine-preventable diseases by enrollees aged 1-17 years. Children were significantly less likely to receive each of the four recommended vaccinations if they saw a naturopathic physician. Children who saw chiropractors were significantly less likely to receive each of three of the recommended vaccinations. Children aged 1-17 years were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a vaccine-preventable disease if they received naturopathic care. Use of provider-based complementary/alternative medicine by other family members was not independently associated with early childhood vaccination status or disease acquisition. Pediatric use of complementary/alternative medicine in Washington State was significantly associated with reduced adherence to recommended pediatric vaccination schedules and with acquisition of vaccine-preventable disease. Interventions enlisting the participation of complementary/alternative medicine providers in immunization awareness and promotional activities could improve adherence rates and assist in efforts to improve public health.
A rat model of severe neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is a common problem with severe neurological sequelae. In this report we describe in detail a simple model of hypoxia-ischemia in the neonatal rat that gives rise to severe neocortical infarction and to selective hippocampal neuronal necrosis.Seven-day-old Simonsen Wistar rat pups underwent bilateral carotid artery ligation under methoxyflurane anesthesia and, after a 4 to 6-hour recovery, were exposed to 60 minutes of hypoxia (6.5% O2); they were perfusion-fixed 3 days later for histological study. Brain temperature was monitored throughout this treatment.We found that 64 +/- 3% of neocortex above the rhinal sulcus was infarcted; this infarction was evenly distributed through the cerebral hemispheres. In the hippocampus, neuronal necrosis was selective for the internal (hilar) layers of granule cells of the dentate gyrus, with relative sparing of CA1 pyramidal cells. In addition, brain temperature was tightly controlled throughout the experimental manipulations.The...
The Ethics of Entering and Leaving Organizations

How much time do we commit to thinking about our approach to constructing and maintaining positive ethical climates within our institutions? If it is our goal to be seen as honest, ethical, caring, and civil individuals, we must project those qualities from our earliest interactions with an organization. We send messages about the quality of our character from the time we first interact with a prospective employer. Those early interactions set the tone for ways in which others will see us and the expectations student and professional colleagues will have for how we will comport ourselves. It is extremely important to pay attention to how we enter the organization environment.
Generalized formulation of yield, variability, minimax and Taguchi circuit optimization problems☆

Abstract A generalized formulation of several circuit design problems, such as manufacturing yield optimization, circuit performance variability minimization, deterministic and statistical minimax design, Income Index maximization, Taguchi approach, etc., is developed. Several other “intermediate” problems can be defined in a sense similar to the one used in Zadeh's fuzzy set theory. A specific problem is identified by the selection of a generalized membership function ω(·) of the acceptability region, and a sequence of the values of the “smoothing” parameter β. Generalized gradient formulas are developed, and various possible algorithmic implementations discussed. As a result, trade-offs between different design strategies can be investigated by circuit designers, within one coherent methodology.