cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exchange Controls and Economic Development

The expressions economic development and economic development policies are used today with a variety of meanings.2 Here, having in mind the economic structure of most Latin American countries, economic development will be understood to mean the raising of the level of real income per capita, mainly through direct and indirect measures aiming at an increase in the rate of capital formation. There are three basic elements in the concept thus interpreted: first, a certain degree of state intervention, in order to promote objectives which would not be attained by the free play of economic forces: second, the direction of intervention more towards the increase of real production than towards its redistribution; and third, the position of paramount importance assigned to changing the institutional factors, political, administrative, legal, social, educational, or economic, which in a growing and developed economy can be taken as given, but which in an undeveloped economy have to be changed if economic development is to be possible. Recourse to intervention by the state does not necessarily imply regimentation of the economy, the public ownership of enterprises, or even socialism in the conventional meaning of the word. State intervention or direction can be made effective by indirect instruments of policy, which are quite compatible with capitalism or private enterprise. Fiscal, monetary, commercial, exchange, investment, and other policies may be used as instruments for this purpose.
EL LUNFARDO EN LA EVOLUCIÓN DEL ESPAÑOL ARGENTINO

En este articulo se analizaran informes contemporaneos de periodicos, asi como estudios criminologicos y sociologicos basados en la vida del submundo de Buenos Aires, Argentina desde la decada de 1870 hasta comienzos de 1900 para evaluar la relacion del lunfardo con el lenguaje del hampa, asi como el espanol imperfecto de los inmigrantes italianos, y su influencia en la evolucion del espanol argentino.
Poor sleep in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury: associations with pain, health, and activity

Objective: To investigate medical complications that increase risk for poor sleep in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury (SCI) and explore the relation of poor sleep to psychosocial outcomes.Method: This was a cross-sectional study of individuals with pediatric-onset SCI interviewed between 2011–2015. Participants were recruited from a pediatric specialty hospital and answered questions about demographics, injury characteristics, pain, and medical complications and completed standardized outcome measures, including: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, SF12v2 Health Survey, Craig Handicap Assessment and Recording Technique (CHART), and Subjective Happiness Scale.Results: The study included 180 participants between the ages of 19 and 51 (M=34.20 y; SD=7.28) who sustained their SCI before the age of 19 (M=13.48y; SD=4.59). Participants were predominantly male (62%) and Caucasian (84%). A majority had tetraplegia (56%) and complete injuries (74%). Poor sleep occurred with greater frequency in those wit...
Analytical limits to maximum RF performance of spin torque nano-oscillators

Spin torque oscillators (STO) have drawn significant attention from the research community as potential replacements for electrical oscillators due to their simple and compact structure.
RotoStep: A Chromosome Dynamics Simulator Reveals Mechanisms of Loop Extrusion

ChromoShake is a three-dimensional simulator designed to explore the range of configurational states a chromosome can adopt based on thermodynamic fluctuations of the polymer chain. Here, we refine ChromoShake to generate dynamic simulations of a DNA-based motor protein such as condensin walking along the chromatin substrate. We model walking as a rotation of DNA-binding heat-repeat proteins around one another. The simulation is applied to several configurations of DNA to reveal the consequences of mechanical stepping on taut chromatin under tension versus loop extrusion on single-tethered, floppy chromatin substrates. These simulations provide testable hypotheses for condensin and other DNA-based motors functioning along interphase chromosomes. Our model reveals a novel mechanism for condensin enrichment in the pericentromeric region of mitotic chromosomes. Increased condensin dwell time at centromeres results in a high density of pericentric loops that in turn provide substrate for additional condensin.
Transparent Conductive Adhesives for Tandem Solar Cells Using Polymer-Particle Composites.

Transparent conductive adhesives (TCAs) can enable conductivity between two substrates, which is useful for a wide range of electronic devices. Here, we have developed a TCA composed of a polymer–particle blend with ethylene-vinyl acetate as the transparent adhesive and metal-coated flexible poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres as the conductive particles that can provide conductivity and adhesion regardless of the surface texture. This TCA layer was designed to be nearly transparent, conductive in only the out-of-plane direction, and of practical adhesive strength to hold the substrates together. The series resistance was measured at 0.3 and 0.8 Ω cm2 for 8 and 0.2% particle coverage, respectively, while remaining over 92% was transparent in both cases. For applications in photovoltaic devices, such as mechanically stacked multijunction III–V/Si cells, a TCA with 1% particle coverage will have less than 0.5% power loss due to the resistance and less than 1% shading loss to the bottom cell.
Posthuman policies for creative, smart, eco-cities? Case studies from China:

Policies promoting creative, smart, sustainable cities continue to dominate global urban policy scripts. This article explores how posthuman assumptions embedded in such scripts render the socially...
Education Production Functions: Developed Country Evidence

The estimation of education production functions has provided direct evidence about the effectiveness of various educational policies. Most specifically, the existing analyses that explain differences in student outcomes by the influences of families, peers, and schools strongly indicate that the current provision of schooling is very inefficient. Commonly purchased inputs to schools – class size, teacher experience, and teacher education – bear little systematic relationship to student outcomes, implying that many conventional input policies are unlikely to improve achievement. At the same time, differences in teacher quality, defined in terms of effects on student performance, have been shown to be very important, even if not closely related to salaries or readily identified attributes of teachers.
A Psychoanalytic Case Study

When she first came into therapy, Sally was young, lovely, and starting to disentangle herself from an ungratifying marriage. I was just finishing analytic training and was newly pregnant. It was a hopeful time in both our lives.
The Cognitive Model

This chapter discusses that case-based reasoning derives from a view of understanding as an explanation process. Schank and Abelson proposed that the general knowledge about situations is recorded in scripts and that scripts allow one to set up expectations about what one will hear about, which, in turn, allows him or her to infer the relationships between the things he or she hears. However, scripts provide only one kind of knowledge to one as he or she understands, and he or she also uses knowledge about goals, plans, interpersonal relationships, the roles people play, character traits, and so on in their understanding. The premise in Schank's dynamic memory is that remembering, understanding, experiencing, and learning cannot be separated from each other. A dynamic memory changes as a result of its experiences. It understands by attempting to find the closest thing in memory to what it is trying to understand and then adapting its understanding of the old item to fit the new one.
A Feminist-Informed Narrative Approach: Treating Clients Who Have Experienced Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Image-based sexual abuse is the non-consensual sharing of private sexual images or videos. Although image-based sexual abuse has been described in various forms, the appropriate, universal term sho...
The Impact of Parental Presence on Trainee Education During PICU Rounds: A Brief Report

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of parental presence on the number and types of educational questions asked of and by medical trainees during PICU rounds. METHODS: An investigator joined bedside rounds in a 14-bed medical-surgical PICU on 20 weekdays between December 2016 and June 2017. For each patient, the investigator recorded the time devoted to education. Educational questions were recorded verbatim. Questions were categorized as “teaching” (senior team member to a trainee) or “learning” (trainee to a more senior team member) and by content (eg, physiology, imaging, prognosis). Two blinded investigators independently assigned codes to each educational question; discrepancies were resolved to the satisfaction of both. RESULTS: Data include 151 patient-specific rounding events, involving 92 patients. At least 1 parent attended the entirety of 59/151 rounding events (39%). There were no significant differences between the duration of education or the number of educational questions asked when parents were present (1 minute; 2 questions) versus absent (2 minutes; 2 questions). When parents were present, 20% questions were learning versus 25% when parents were absent. Zero percent of rounding events included ≥1 question about prognosis when parents were present versus 9% when absent (P = .02). There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of questions related to complications of management or social factors. CONCLUSIONS: Parent participation in rounds did not impact the quantity of education during rounds but did impact the type of educational questions asked, specifically restricting the discussion of patient prognosis.
Adaptive model reference control method for real-time hybrid simulation

Abstract The real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) methodology is an experimental technique involving substructuring of a full-scale experiment into numerical and experimental partitions. It offers a cost-effective solution and is highly practical in confined laboratory settings. Successful implementation of RTHS is dependent on successful tracking control and robustness of the hybrid simulation loop. This paper addresses the benchmark problem in RTHS, which intends to assess available actuator tracking controllers and other advanced computational frameworks for successful RTHS implementation. Most existing control algorithms tend to instability when faced with challenges of plant uncertainty and nonlinearity. Stability has been at odds with excellent tracking, where controllers with rigorous tracking have had poor stability performance and robust controllers have had poor tracking performance. This paper introduces an Adaptive Model Reference Control (aMRC) method for displacement tracking of actuators, which offers an excellent tracking ability and maintains robustness under unmodeled dynamics and uncertainties. The proposed controller is composed of feedforward and feedback links, a reference model, and an adaptation law. The tracking and robustness performance of the proposed algorithm are evaluated through a numerical RTHS of the three-story steel frame building described in the benchmark problem statement. The benchmark problem defines different mass and damping configurations while partitioning the structure. Additionally, the experimental substructure is made uncertain by modeling several actuator and stiffness parameters probabilistically, per the benchmark problem. The performance of the proposed controller is compared to several commonly employed control techniques and assessed using the evaluation criteria described in the benchmark problem statement. The results show that the proposed aMRC algorithm tracks the desired reference signal well while maintaining robustness.
Mental Imagery in Mathematics.

642 The Arithmetic Teacher w uld s rv just as well, for all of the processes have their roots in the world of objects and in common sense. The learning of a new concept usually begins with a child's senses. He forms "pictures" or mental images of things perceived by those senses. These images provide the foundation for insight. When the child receives firsthand experiences that help him build the necessary images, learning becomes deeper and more penetrating. On the other hand, when these initial experiences are omitted, learning becomes rote and superficial. To illustrate this point, try the following exercise with pencil in hand. Suppose that each of the diagrams shown in figure 1 represents a dozen eggs. Shade in a part of each diagram as indicated. (It is really necessary to do this in order to get the impact of our point. ) Where shading is already indicated, what part of the diagram is filled in? Do you find yourself adding and subtracting fractions by counting parts of dozens? Many adults are astonished to find that these operations can be per-
Current Perceptions of the Aesthetically Ideal Position and Size of the Male Nipple-Areola Complex.

BACKGROUND The dimensions of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) and its location on the chest wall are important aesthetic factors in male breast surgery. OBJECTIVES This study examines the perceptions of aesthetic surgeons and the general population for the aesthetically ideal position and size of male NAC. METHODS An online survey was distributed to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) members and to the general population. Parameters queried included demographics for all participants and academic details for ASAPS members. Both surveys included a male model picture with 16 separate choices for the NAC position from a frontal view, 5 choices for the NAC position from a lateral view, and 6 choices for the NAC dimensions. For all 3 sets of images, the participants were asked to rank the top 3 images they considered most "aesthetically pleasing" in descending order. A weighted scoring rule was created to quantitatively evaluate image choices. Standard statistical methods were employed for analysis. RESULTS The survey was completed by 272 ASAPS members and 4909 participants from the general population. The top 3 choices for NAC location on frontal view were the same for ASAPS members and the general population. The most popular NAC location on lateral view was the same for both groups, but the preferred locations differed between the 2 groups for the second and third choices. The most popular dimensions of the NAC were 2 cm (vertical) × 3 cm (horizontal) followed by 2 cm × 2 cm for both groups. Comparison of the 3 top image choices scores between different ethnic groups and individuals with different gender or sexual orientation demonstrated similar trends. CONCLUSIONS This survey identified the preferred position and dimensions of the NAC on the male breast for plastic surgeons and the general population. These parameters should be considered when counseling males undergoing breast surgery.
LeafSpec: An accurate and portable hyperspectral corn leaf imager

Abstract Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology has been widely applied in industry and academia for plant phenotyping. However, most HSI systems are large and expensive, making it challenging to benefit more people. The overall goal of this study was to develop a portable and low-cost hyperspectral imaging handheld device (named LeafSpec) with even improved measurement quality compared with traditional HSI systems for crop leaves imaging. The hardware of LeafSpec device was comprised of a push-broom hyperspectral camera (HSC), leaf scanner with an encoder system for leaf position information, a lightbox as an intensive and uniform beam lighting source, and an ARM-based microcontroller. In each scanning, a smooth and clear hyperspectral image of the entire leaf was obtained by quickly sliding LeafSpec across the leaf from the beginning to tip. Each measurement was geo-referenced by sending processed data to a smartphone and combining it with the GPS location and time information before uploading to a Geography Information System (GIS) with Digital Ag Map Services and internet connection. After calibration, the HSC’s imaging results were highly consistent with a commercialized hyperspectral camera. In the field test in the summer of 2018, LeafSpec was able to detect the difference between two nitrogen treatments of corn plants in each genotype, as well as the differences between three genotypes in high nitrogen treatment, and the difference between two genotypes in low nitrogen treatment before it was visible to human eyes. In the greenhouse test in the spring of 2019, LeafSpec predicted nitrogen content and relative water content with R2 of 0.880 and 0.771, RMSE of 0.265 and 0.049, respectively. Generally, LeafSpec is an easy-to-use and low-cost crop phenotyping sensor with improved measurement accuracy, which could benefit more people in plant science research and agriculture production.
Life histories and niche dynamics in late Quaternary proboscideans from Midwestern North America: evidence from stable isotope analyses

ABSTRACT Stable isotopes of mammoths and mastodons have the potential to illuminate ecological changes in late Pleistocene landscapes and megafaunal populations as these species approached extinction. The ecological factors at play in this extinction remain unresolved, but isotopes of bone collagen (δ13C, δ15N) and tooth enamel (δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr) from the Midwest, USA are leveraged to examine ecological and behavioral changes that occurred during the last interglacial-glacial cycle. Both species had significant C3 contributions to their diets and experienced increasing levels of niche overlap as they approached extinction. A subset of mastodons after the last glacial maximum (LGM) exhibit low δ15N values that may represent expansion into a novel ecological niche, perhaps densely occupied by other herbivores. Stable isotopes from serial and micro-sampled enamel show increasing seasonality and decreasing temperatures as mammoths transitioned from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e to glacial conditions (MIS 4, MIS 3, MIS 2). Isotopic variability in enamel suggests mobility patterns and life histories have potentially large impacts on the interpretation of their stable isotope ecology. This study further refines the ecology of midwestern mammoths and mastodons demonstrating increasing seasonality and niche overlap as they responded to landscape changes in the final millennia before extinction.
Metadiscourse across three varieties of English: American, British, and advanced learner English

This chapter focuses on the pervasive phenomenon of metadiscourse, or reflexivity in language, looking at argumentative essay writing by university students. It presents a study of three varieties of English, using two corpora of native-speaker writing (British and American) and one corpus of advanced learner writing (L1 Swedish). Considerable differences are shown to exist in the use of metadiscourse, not just between the learners and the native speakers, but also between the British and American writers. The differences are evident both in general frequencies across corpora and in the functions the metadiscourse serves. Four factors are identified as potentially accounting for the variation found: genre comparability, cultural conventions, register awareness and general learner strategies.
Comparative Discourse Analysis Using Topic Models: Contrasting Perspectives on China from Reddit

In this study, we conduct a comparative analysis of the linguistic features that differentiate two China-focused discussion communities with contrasting perspectives from Reddit. We utilize probabilistic topic modeling to represent submissions from both communities as distributions of latent patterns of word-usage. Using information theoretic measures, we conduct a series of quantitative comparisons between the language patterns of each community and identify salient features that distinguish the two communities relative to each other. We describe the rhetorical techniques and discursive frames implied by these features and how they are utilized by each community in discussions surrounding the Hong Kong protests during 2019. Additionally, we contribute a novel method for representing collections of documents that preserves interdependencies between topics at the document level.
Deportation Arrest Warrants

The common conception of a constitutionally sufficient warrant is one reflecting a judicial determination of probable cause, the idea being that the warrant process serves to check law enforcement. But neither the Constitution nor the Supreme Court has fully defined who can issue arrest warrants within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment; the constitutional significance of arrest “warrants” that are not; or when (if ever) warrants of any type are constitutionally required for deportation-related arrests. In that void, the largest federal law enforcement agency—the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—is on pace to issue over 150,000 administrative “warrants” annually, authorized by only its own enforcement officers. More than sixty years ago, in Abel v. United States, the Supreme Court recognized that administrative warrants authorizing arrest for deportation proceedings—“warrants” issued not by neutral magistrates, but immigration enforcement officers—give rise to a significant constitution-al question. The Court went on to muse in dicta that “deportation arrests” pursuant to this type of authorization have the “sanction of time” and the constitutional validity of this practice is “confirmed by uncontested historical legitimacy.” DHS and lower courts have relied heavily on this “forceful” dicta in the years since. But Abel missed and misunderstood critical aspects of the relevant history. This Article takes a closer look at expulsion laws from the framing era, including likely the most broadly shared removal laws in the Early Republic. This examination shows that, in widely shared and deeply rooted expulsion laws of the time, arrest for purposes of civil removal proceedings—including for expulsion beyond sovereign borders—was not left to the unfettered discretion of the officers responsible for enforcement; these removal laws only authorized arrest pursuant to warrants, and those warrants were issued by magistrates or tribunals with judicial power. Ultimately, this Article argues that Abel’s dicta may be forceful, but it should no longer persuade. This excavation is important in correcting the record, but has significant practical implications as well. It undermines the centerpiece of DHS’s defense of arrests pursuant to these warrants—Abel’s affirmation of uncontested historical legitimacy and the subsequent case law that has relied on it. More broadly, it gives courts a reason to consider the constitutional issue anew and casts doubt on the constitutional validity of a significant portion of interior immigration arrests.
Authoritarianism, Conspiracy Beliefs, Gender and COVID-19: Links Between Individual Differences and Concern About COVID-19, Mask Wearing Behaviors, and the Tendency to Blame China for the Virus

The present study investigated variables potentially associated with a lack of concern about COVID-19 and belief in the conspiracy theory that China is responsible for the virus. In particular, the study looked at Authoritarianism, Conspiracy Beliefs, gender, and consistency of handedness as predictors of nine Likert-type items gauging attitudes, behavior, and beliefs regarding the virus. Initial analyses showed that Authoritarianism predicted less concern about the impact of the virus on health, less mask wearing, and a stronger belief in China's responsibility for the illness. Conspiracy Beliefs were associated with a stronger belief in China's responsibility. Women expressed greater degrees of concern about their own and others' health and about the financial wellbeing of others. In order to reduce the number of dimensions, and thus the number of tests that could yield a type one error, the nine items were then submitted to a principal components analysis which yielded a "Concern about COVID" factor and a "Blame for China" factor. Authoritarianism is generally associated with less concern about the virus. In addition, men showed less concern about the virus overall than women. Both Authoritarianism and Conspiracy Beliefs accounted for unique variance in blame on China for the virus.
Anaerobic Production of Isoprene by Engineered Methanosarcina Species Archaea.

ABSTRACT Isoprene is a valuable petrochemical used for a wide variety of consumer goods, such as adhesives and synthetic rubber. We were able to achieve a high yield of renewable isoprene by taking advantage of the naturally high-flux mevalonate lipid synthesis pathway in anaerobic methane-producing archaea (methanogens). Our study illustrates that by genetically manipulating Methanosarcina species methanogens, it is possible to create organisms that grow by producing the hemiterpene isoprene. Mass balance measurements show that engineered methanogens direct up to 4% of total carbon flux to isoprene, demonstrating that methanogens produce higher isoprene yields than engineered yeast, bacteria, or cyanobacteria, and from inexpensive feedstocks. Expression of isoprene synthase resulted in increased biomass and changes in gene expression that indicate that isoprene synthesis depletes membrane precursors and redirects electron flux, enabling isoprene to be a major metabolic product. Our results demonstrate that methanogens are a promising engineering chassis for renewable isoprene synthesis. IMPORTANCE A significant barrier to implementing renewable chemical technologies is high production costs relative to those for petroleum-derived products. Existing technologies using engineered organisms have difficulty competing with petroleum-derived chemicals due to the cost of feedstocks (such as glucose), product extraction, and purification. The hemiterpene monomer isoprene is one such chemical that cannot currently be produced using cost-competitive renewable biotechnologies. To reduce the cost of renewable isoprene, we have engineered methanogens to synthesize it from inexpensive feedstocks such as methane, methanol, acetate, and carbon dioxide. The “isoprenogen” strains we developed have potential to be used for industrial production of inexpensive renewable isoprene.
Multiple roles of parental caregivers of children with complex life-threatening conditions: A qualitative descriptive analysis.

Abstract Purpose Children born with Complex Life-Threatening Conditions (CLTCs) often require complex and specialized services. Parents of children with CLTCs balance the role of caregiver with other responsibilities of employment, education, relationships, and self-care. The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges for parents serving as caregivers of children with CLTCs and their intersection with health care provider expectations through utilization and adaptation of the role theory framework. Design/methods We employed a qualitative descriptive design, secondary analysis of a longitudinal study on parent and provider decision making for children with CLTC. There were 218 interviews from sixty-one parents of 35 infants with prematurity, bone marrow transplant, and/or complex cardiac disease, followed for one year unless death occurred. Content analysis and thematic generation were performed capturing the various parental roles embedded within provider expectations of informal parental caregiving. Results Results showed that parents of children with CLTCs serve multidimensional roles, including that of informal nurse and care coordinator, while maintaining additional personal roles as parent and family provider. Parents experienced challenges as caregivers that were shaped by perceived expectations of health care providers as well as lack of support, often leading to role strain, conflict, overload, and sometimes exit. Conclusions Parents of children with CLTCs experience both common and unique challenges inn balancing multiple roles as an informal caregiver. Despite utilizing positive coping mechanisms, their status as parent caregiver carries significant risk for role strain and overload. We recommend the implementation of strategies for increasing parental support and family-centered care.
The Life Cycle of Businesses and Their Internal Organization

We document new stylized facts on the occupational mix of businesses in the United States and how their internal organization evolves over their life cycles. Our main empirical finding is that younger businesses have fewer hierarchical layers and lower span of control than comparable older businesses do. Our results suggest that businesses become simultaneously more hierarchical and increase their managerial span of control over their life cycles. We show that this pattern is not entirely driven by selection or differences in size and is pervasive across cohorts and sectors.
Density functional theory study of chemical pressure in multicaloric MTX compounds

The MTX-based compounds are promising rare-earth-free candidates for multicaloric applications due to the proximity of their structural and magnetic phase transitions. In this paper, we use first principles calculations to study how chemical pressure affects the energetics, saturation magnetization, and volume change. Our calculations reveal the presence of a complex interplay between the M-, T-, and X-site elements in tuning the properties. The choice of elements for rational alloy design should be informed by the site-specific response. Our work motivates future synthesis and characterization efforts to focus on uncovering site-specific data to tailor strategies for maximizing the caloric response and bridge the knowledge-gap.
What Attendings and Residents Look For

As a medical student on clinical rotations, one of the most burning questions is, “what do my evaluators look for?” Evaluations are not the most important aspect of why students strive to do well on rotations but it is, for better or worse, a significant variable that shapes and determines our future careers. These evaluations (as part of the dean’s letter or recommendation letters) are among the most important elements for residency applications, so students should work hard to achieve excellent evaluations.
Optimal signal and reference strengths for a digital-holography wavefront sensor

This paper uses wave-optics simulations with weak-to-strong scintillation conditions to model the performance of a digital-holography wavefront sensor (DH-WFS). Via Monte Carlo analysis, these simulations predict the optimal signal and reference strengths of a DH-WFS in the off-axis pupil plane recording geometry (PPRG). Incidentally, the Monte Carlo analysis shows that, despite conventional knowledge, we cannot directly relate the signal-to-noise ratio and the field-estimated Strehl ratio to the hologram fringe visibility. Such results are directly inform ongoing experimental efforts on how to design and build a DH-WFS in the off-axis PPRG to properly handle weak-to-strong scintillation conditions.
Incidental Findings on Thoracic and Cardiac CT

With the ever-increasing use of computed tomography (CT) for imaging, there is always the possibility of finding something on the exam that was not anticipated and is not related to the primary indication for obtaining the exam. These unanticipated findings have been labeled “incidentalomas” and, depending on their significance, a cascade of additional imaging exams can result. Care must be taken to limit unnecessary downstream imaging due to these unanticipated findings. In a patient with an incidental finding, the first task of the radiologist is to determine its stability. An active search of the patient’s prior imaging exams in the picture archiving and communication systems is critical. Appropriate comparison exams may include prior abdominal, renal, or virtual colonoscopy CT exams, magnetic resonance (MR) or ultrasound exams of the liver or biliary tree, or a thoracic or cardiac CT in which the organs of the upper abdomen were incidentally included. For lesions of the thoracic inlet, a prior neck or cervical spine CT may be helpful. If the patient is new to your institution, comparison exams from other institutions can often be electronically transferred and thus obtained with relatively little effort, and are of great value. Obtaining prior exams can save the patient the significant cost, radiation exposure, and anxiety associated with repeat exams. If the “incidentaloma” is new or there are no comparisons to determine stability, a decision must be made regarding the overall significance of the finding, which often has yet to be fully assessed. We have included some of the incidental findings that may be encountered on routine thoracic and cardiac CT imaging, with a focus on their management.
UV Disinfection—Theory to Practice

Background Effectiveness of UV Disinfection Factors Effecting UV System Performance Important Considerations in UV System Design Acknowledgments Keywords: ultraviolet, use in disinfection; UV, use in disinfection; disinfection, ultraviolet (UV)
Regulation of brain mitochondrial H2O2 production by membrane potential and NAD(P)H redox state

Mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at Complex I of the electron transport chain is implicated in the etiology of neural cell death in acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. However, little is known regarding the regulation of mitochondrial ROS production by NADH-linked respiratory substrates under physiologically realistic conditions in the absence of respiratory chain inhibitors. This study used Amplex Red fluorescence measurements of H2O2 to test the hypothesis that ROS production by isolated brain mitochondria is regulated by membrane potential (DeltaPsi) and NAD(P)H redox state. DeltaPsi was monitored by following the medium concentration of the lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium with a selective electrode. NAD(P)H autofluorescence was used to monitor NAD(P)H redox state. While the rate of H2O2 production was closely related to DeltaPsi and the level of NAD(P)H reduction at high values of DeltaPsi, 30% of the maximal rate of H2O2 formation was still observed in the presence of uncoupler (p-trifluoromethoxycarbonylcyanide phenylhydrazone) concentrations that provided for maximum depolarization of DeltaPsi and oxidation of NAD(P)H. Our findings indicate that ROS production by mitochondria oxidizing physiological NADH-dependent substrates is regulated by DeltaPsi and by the NAD(P)H redox state over ranges consistent with those that exist at different levels of cellular energy demand.
THE SERMON ON MOUNT MORIAH: FAITH AND THE SECRET IN THE GIFT OF DEATH

This essay is an investigation of three attempts to think faith. I find my starting place in Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death,1 one of the most important treatments of Christianity in Derrida's later thought, which was increasingly insistent in its engagement with religious questions up until his death in 2004. This reading of The Gift of Death will focus particularly on the question of secrecy and its relationship with faith, leading necessarily to an account of Derrida's reading of two of his primary references in this text: the second essay of Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals2 and Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling.3 Rather than simply rendering a judgment on Derrida's reading, I will endeavor to read these texts together, extending (or expanding upon) Derrida's reading while questioning some of the positive formulations he makes in his own name – all the while remaining attentive to the gambles involved in thinking faith.
A 'propagative' approach to sensitivity analysis

It is shown that the computational cost of traditional approaches to sensitivity analysis is logically unnecessary and can be largely avoided by propagating and combining sensitivities during a computation, rather than recomputing them. This propagative approach to sensitivity analysis is described and the algorithm implemented to explore its potential is presented. Initial results indicate that this approach has tremendous potential, reducing a combinatorial process to a linear one. In addition, it is noted that the approach has implications beyond sensitivity analysis: it suggests a novel computational paradigm in which functions replace themselves by approximations when they are first called and these approximations are used for the remainder of a computation, e.g. to improve performance. Sensitivity analysis is simply one instance of this approach, using linear approximations based on partial derivatives; however, the approach and the computational environment implemented allow arbitrary approximations to be used. >
Item exposure control for multidimensional computer adaptive testing under maximum likelihood and expected a posteriori estimation.

Item bank stratification has been shown to be an effective method for combating item overexposure in both uni- and multidimensional computer adaptive testing. However, item bank stratification cannot guarantee that items will not be overexposed—that is, exposed at a rate exceeding some prespecified threshold. In this article, we propose enhancing stratification for multidimensional computer adaptive tests by combining it with the item eligibility method, a technique for controlling the maximum exposure rate in computerized tests. The performance of the method was examined via a simulation study and compared to existing methods of item selection and exposure control. Also, for the first time, maximum likelihood (MLE) and expected a posteriori (EAP) estimation of examinee ability were compared side by side in a multidimensional computer adaptive test. The simulation suggested that the proposed method is effective in suppressing the maximum item exposure rate with very little loss of measurement accuracy and precision. As compared to MLE, EAP generates smaller mean squared errors of the ability estimates in all simulation conditions.
Specification of syntax directed editors for visual languages: a syntax-directed approach

Specification methods for describing programming languages have been traditionally geared towards facilitating compiler generation. Such techniques usually involve context-free grammars that describe programming languages as sets of strings over their alphabet. Consequently the rate of progress in the development of tools supporting program creation has been relatively slow-programs are not text and their development requires tools that understand their structures and present the programmer with a visual view of such structures. This paper provides an overview of a specification technique for programming languages that yields to the automatic generation of programmer support tools providing the programmer with the needed visualization and allowing the visual creation and modification of the programs. The implementation of the generator system and a formal specification of its interface allowing specification of any target language is discussed. >
Intelligent Transportation System as Evaluation Tool in a Regional Demand Modeling Environment: Implementation in Florida Standard Urban Transportation Model Structure

A number of tools have been developed to support the evaluation of intelligent transportation system (ITS) alternatives. However, the methodologies and some associated parameters in these tools were developed and selected before widespread deployments of ITSs. Significant experience gained with ITS in recent years warrants a new assessment of the evaluation methodologies and parameters of these systems. There are also advantages to incorporating the evaluation of ITS deployments as part of existing regional demand forecasting modeling environments rather than using external tools to perform this functionality. This paper discusses the development and implementation of a tool and methodologies to estimate the benefits and costs of these systems as part of a travel demand forecasting modeling environment. It also presents an application of the developed tool to evaluate two of the most widely deployed types of ITS: incident management and advanced traveler information systems. Case study results indicate th...
On the application of the generalized Newton-Raphson method in radiative transfer problems

Abstract The simulataneous excitation and transfer of radiation in a plasma gives rise to non-linear operator equations for the atomic occupation numbers. An iterative method for solving such equations, based on a generalized Newton-Raphson scheme, is described and applied to the problem of the formation (under the condition of complete redistribution) of a resonance emission line interacting with two associated subsidiary lines (the three level atom or (Lα, Lβ, Hα) problem).
Differential expression of PTEN-targeting microRNAs miR-19a and miR-21 in Cowden syndrome.

Germline mutations in the gene encoding phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN [MIM 601728]) are associated with a number of clinically distinct heritable cancer syndromes, including both Cowden syndrome (CS) and Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS). Seemingly identical pathogenic PTEN mutations have been observed in patients with CS and BRRS, as well as in patients with incomplete features of CS, referred to as CS-like (CSL) patients. These observations indicate that additional, unidentified, genetic and epigenetic factors act as phenotypic modifiers in these disorders. These genetic factors could also contribute to disease in patients with CS, CSL, or BRRS without identifiable PTEN mutations. Two potential modifiers are miR-19a and miR-21, which are previously identified PTEN-targeting miRNAs. We investigated the role of these miRNAs by characterizing their relative expression levels in PTEN-mutation-positive and PTEN-mutation-negative patients with CS, CSL, or BRRS. Interestingly, we observed differential expression of miR-19a and miR-21 in our PTEN-mutation-positive patients. Both were found to be significantly overexpressed within this group (p < 0.01) and were inversely correlated with germline PTEN protein levels. Similarly, the relative expression of miR-19a and miR-21 was differentially expressed in a series of PTEN-mutation-negative patients with CS or CSL with variable clinical phenotypes and decreased full-length PTEN protein expression. Among PTEN-mutation-positive patients with CS, both miRNAs were significantly overexpressed (p = 0.006–0.013). Taken together, our study results suggest that differential expression of PTEN-targeting miR-19a and miR-21 modulates the PTEN protein levels and the CS and CSL phenotypes, irrespective of the patient's mutation status, and support their roles as genetic modifiers in CS and CSL.
CMOS low-voltage class-AB operational transconductance amplifier

The authors present a new low-voltage class-AB operational transconductance amplifier (OTA). The proposed OTA achieves a fast non slew-rate limited settling time with low power consumption. The circuit is power efficient when driving large capacitive loads. The OTA circuit is well suited for low-voltage low-power switched capacitor applications. Experimental results of the proposed circuit are included.
Post-transcriptional action of ACTH in the control of P450c17 expression in rabbit adrenal glands

Abstract Stimulation of transcription of the CYP17 gene by ACTH has been demonstrated previously by others using cultures of adrenal tissue from several species. In the present investigations we have demonstrated from measurements in pooled rabbit adrenal glands that after 4 or 6 days of ACTH injections no difference in amounts of CYP17 mRNA per μg of total adrenal RNA was observed between ACTH and control animals. While the total amount of CYP17 mRNA per adrenal increased 1.4- to 1.7-fold over the injected and non-injected controls due to an increase in total RNA in the ACTH-stimulated adrenals, Western analysis of adrenal microsomal protein demonstrated that the amount of adrenal P 450c17 protein, the product of the CYP17 gene, increased over 50-fold. The data show that ACTH is acting at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional loci to increase the amount of rabbit adrenal P 450c17 and that the greater effect is post-transcriptional.
Oral azithromycin combined with topical anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment of blepharokeratoconjunctivitis in children.

We report 3 children referred for recurrent blepharokeratoconjunctivitis, despite the application of topical antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatments. Oral azithromycin combined with anti-inflammatory treatment was effective in controlling the disease.
Patterns of failure after concurrent bevacizumab and hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy for recurrent high-grade glioma.

Purpose Concurrent bevacizumab with hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy (HSRT) is safe and effective for the treatment of recurrent high-grade gliomas (HGG). The objective of this study was to characterize the patterns of failure after this treatment regimen. Methods and Materials Twenty-four patients with recurrent enhancing HGG were previously treated on an institutional review board-approved protocol of concurrent bevacizumab and reirradiation. Patients received 30 Gy in 5 fractions to the recurrent tumor with HSRT. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed every 2 cycles, and bevacizumab was continued until clinical or radiographic tumor progression according to the criteria of Macdonald et al. MRI at the time of progression was fused to the HSRT treatment plan, and the location of recurrence was classified on the basis of volume within the 95% isodose line. Outcomes based on patient characteristics, tumor grade, recurrence pattern, and best response to treatment were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Twenty-two patients experienced either clinical or radiographic progression. Recurrent tumor was enhancing in 15 (71.4%) and nonenhancing in 6 (28.6%) patients. Eleven patients (52.4%) had recurrence within the radiation field, 5 patients (23.8%) had marginal recurrence, and 5 patients had recurrence outside the radiation field. Pattern of enhancement and location of failure did not correlate with overall survival or progression-free survival. Radiographic response was the only variable to significantly correlate with progression-free survival. Conclusions Despite the promising initial response seen with the addition of HSRT to bevacizumab as salvage treatment for recurrent HGG, approximately half of patients ultimately still experience failure within the radiation field. The rate of local failure with the addition of HSRT seems to be lower than that seen with bevacizumab alone in the salvage setting. Our data underscore the radioresistance of HGG and the need for better salvage treatments.
PP And PS Interferometric Images of Near-seafloor Sediments

I present interferometric processing examples from an ocean-bottom cable (OBC) dataset collected at a water depth of 800 m in the Gulf of Mexico. Virtual source and receiver gathers created through cross-correlation of full wavefields show clear PP reflections and PS conversions from near-seafloor layers of interest. Virtual gathers from wavefield-separated data show improved PP and PS arrivals. PP and PS brute stacks from the wavefieldseparated data compare favorably with images from a noninterferometric processing flow.
Optical Resolution of the Lamb Shift in Atomic Hydrogen by Laser Saturation Spectroscopy

This article describes a successful attempt to resolve the single fine structure components of the hydrogen line Hα. The Lamb shift has been observed directly in the optical absorption spectrum.