cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 38 – Homeland Security

Publisher Summary The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks permanently changed the way the United States and the world's other most developed countries perceived the threat from terrorism. Massive amounts of resources were mobilized in a very short time to counter the perceived and actual threats from terrorists and terrorist organizations. In the United States, this refocus was pushed as a necessity for what was called homeland security. The homeland security threats were anticipated for the IT infrastructure as well. It was expected that not only the IT at the federal level was vulnerable to disruptions due to terrorism-related attacks but, due to the ubiquity of the availability of IT, any organization was vulnerable. Within about a year after the terrorist attacks, Congress passed various new laws, such as The USA PATRIOT Act, Aviation and Transportation Security Act, Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, Public Health Security, Bioterrorism Preparedness & Response Act, Homeland Security Act, and E-Government Act, and introduced sweeping changes to homeland security provisions and to the existing security organizations. The executive branch of the government also issued a series of Homeland Security Presidential Directives to maintain domestic security. These laws and directives are comprehensive and contain detailed provisions to make the United States secure.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Subconjunctival Injection to Direct Scleral Application of Mitomycin C in Trabeculectomy

Purpose To compare the efficacy of intraoperative scleral application with subconjunctival injection of mitomycin C (MMC) in trabeculectomy. Design Prospective, randomized, interventional study. Methods This study took place in a single clinical practice in an academic setting. Patients had medically uncontrolled glaucoma as indicated by high intraocular pressure (IOP), worsening visual field, or optic nerve head changes in whom primary trabeculectomy was indicated. Patients were older than 18 years with medically uncontrolled glaucoma and no history of incisional glaucoma surgery. Patients were randomized to MMC delivered by preoperative subconjunctival injection or by intraoperative direct scleral application using surgical sponges during trabeculectomy. Comprehensive eye examinations were conducted at 1 day, 1 week, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Subconjunctival 5-fluorouracil injections were given postoperatively, as needed. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who demonstrated IOP of Results Participants (n = 100) were randomized into groups matched for baseline demographics, glaucoma status, and baseline IOP. At 6 months, there were no significant differences between the injection (n = 38) and sponge (n = 40) groups in surgical success (P = .357), mean IOP (P = .707), number of glaucoma medications (P = 1.000), bleb height (P = .625), bleb extension (P = .216), bleb vascularity (P = .672), or complications rates. Conclusion Both techniques of MMC delivery (subconjunctival injection and direct scleral application) resulted in comparable surgical outcomes and bleb morphologies.
Acceptance of Non-Abstinence as an Outcome Goal for Individuals Diagnosed With Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative Review of Published Research

Objective:Natural recovery and treatment outcome studies published over the past four decades indicate that some individuals with substance use problems moderate their consumption of alcohol and ot...
Conciliatory metaontology, permissive ontology, and nature’s joints

According to the conciliatory view in metaontology, there are multiple possible languages corresponding to the popular positions in ontology. In each of these languages, the term ‘exists’ expresses a distinct “existence-like” property, and consequently the claims associated with each of the rival ontological positions come out true in some such language. Species of the conciliatory view can be distinguished based on claims about how the various existence-like properties are related vis-a-vis metaphysical naturalness. On some versions, all of the existence-like properties are held to be equally natural, such that there is no “metaphysically privileged” language. However on others, there is held to be a most natural existence-like property and hence a most fundamental ontological language. In this paper I defend two views, one metaontological and one ontological. I first defend a version of the conciliatory view according to which there is exactly one perfectly natural existence-like property, but the rest are still “reasonably” natural. I then argue that, assuming this metaontological view, we should accept a permissive ontological view in the fundamental language (i.e. one with a very expansive domain).
Atelectrauma Versus Volutrauma: A Tale of Two Time-Constants.

Objectives Elucidate how the degree of ventilator-induced lung injury due to atelectrauma that is produced in the injured lung during mechanical ventilation is determined by both the timing and magnitude of the airway pressure profile. Design A computational model of the injured lung provides a platform for exploring how mechanical ventilation parameters potentially modulate atelectrauma and volutrauma. This model incorporates the time dependence of lung recruitment and derecruitment, and the time-constant of lung emptying during expiration as determined by overall compliance and resistance of the respiratory system. Setting Computational model. Subjects Simulated scenarios representing patients with both normal and acutely injured lungs. Measurements and main results Protective low-tidal volume ventilation (Low-Vt) of the simulated injured lung avoided atelectrauma through the elevation of positive end-expiratory pressure while maintaining fixed tidal volume and driving pressure. In contrast, airway pressure release ventilation avoided atelectrauma by incorporating a very brief expiratory duration () that both prevents enough time for derecruitment and limits the minimum alveolar pressure prior to inspiration. Model simulations demonstrated that has an effective threshold value below which airway pressure release ventilation is safe from atelectrauma while maintaining a tidal volume and driving pressure comparable with those of Low-Vt. This threshold is strongly influenced by the time-constant of lung-emptying. Conclusions Low-Vt and airway pressure release ventilation represent markedly different strategies for the avoidance of ventilator-induced lung injury, primarily involving the manipulation of positive end-expiratory pressure and , respectively. can be based on exhalation flow values, which may provide a patient-specific approach to protective ventilation.
'Pride Ignorance and Knavery': James Madison's Formative Experiences with Religious Establishments

Judicial interpretations of the First Amendment’s religion clauses have purported to rely heavily on the history of the American Founding era. Today, it seems no Founder carries more weight in religion clause opinions than James Madison, a seminal figure the Supreme Court has repeatedly credited as “the leading architect of the religion clauses of the First Amendment” — most recently in January 2012, as it relied heavily on Madison’s views in deciding the Hosanna-Tabor case. But courts citing Madison have tended to focus on the short period beginning with his “Memorial and Remonstrance” in 1785 and ending with the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Less frequently, a court might refer to particular subsequent events or writings from Madison’s life. But to this point, both scholars and judges have paid relatively little attention to his early, formative years, the years leading to his interest in church-state issues and his entry into politics. This Article posits that his early experiences with the Anglican religious establishment in colonial Virginia played an instrumental role in shaping his lifelong thought on church and state, in particular his interest in religious liberty and his opposition to religious establishments, religious persecution, and laws that strayed into the sphere of religion. Accordingly, the Article examines Madison’s formative experiences with religious establishments in order to provide a fuller understanding of his views of the natural right of religious liberty.
Equilibrium of an arbitrary bunch train in the presence of multiple resonator wakefields

A higher harmonic cavity (HHC), used to cause bunch lengthening for an increase in the Touschek lifetime, is a feature of several fourth generation synchrotron light sources. The desired bunch lengthening is complicated by the presence of required gaps in the bunch train. In a recent paper the author and Venturini studied the effect of various fill patterns by calculating the charge densities in the equilibrium state, through coupled Ha\"{\i}ssinski equations. We assumed that the only collective force was from the beam loading (wakefield) of the harmonic cavity in its lowest mode. The present paper improves the notation and organization of the equations so as to allow an easy inclusion of multiple resonator wakefields. This allows one to study the effects of beam loading of the main accelerating cavity, higher order modes of the cavities, and short range geometric wakes represented by low-$Q$ resonators. As an example these effects are explored for ALS-U. The compensation of the induced voltage in the main cavity, achieved in practice by a feedback system, is modeled by adjustment of the generator voltage through a new iterative scheme. Except in the case of a complete fill, the compensated main cavity beam loading has a substantial effect on the bunch profiles and the Touschek lifetimes. A $Q=6$ resonator, approximating the effect of a realistic short range wake, is also consequential for the bunch forms.
Option Returns, Risk Premiums, and Demand Pressure in Energy Markets

We study energy futures option returns for crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, and gasoline. Average call and put returns are negative at short maturities, more so for OTM options, and increase with maturity. Put returns are less negative than call returns, but this is not the case for delta-hedged returns, indicating that the aggregate risk of the underlying energy futures is priced in the raw option returns. Moneyness patterns in raw and delta-hedged returns are similar to patterns for index option returns. Significant differences between the four commodities remain after removing the effect of the underlying futures returns, with natural gas as the main outlier. Variance risk premiums are negative and explain some maturity patterns in returns, but they cannot account for return differences across markets. Energy producers are net short the underlying through their option positions, and speculators net long. The larger the net long position of the speculators, the lower the returns on call options, which suggests that demand from speculators may affect option returns in energy markets.
RCVS: Symptoms, Incidence, and Resource Utilization in a Population-Based US Cohort.

Objective To estimate the incidence of hospitalization for reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), we identified RCVS-related hospital admissions across 11 US states in 2016. Methods We tested the validity of ICD-10 code I67.841 in 79 patients with hospital admissions for RCVS or other cerebrovascular diseases at 1 academic and 1 community hospital. After determining that this code had a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82%–100%) and a specificity of 90% (95% CI, 79%–96%), we applied it to administrative data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project on all hospital admissions across 11 states. Age- and sex-standardized RCVS incidence was calculated using census data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze associated diagnoses. Results Across 5,067,250 hospital admissions in our administrative data, we identified 222 patients with a discharge diagnosis of RCVS in 2016. The estimated annual age- and sex-standardized incidence of RCVS hospitalization was 2.7 (95% CI, 2.4–3.1) cases per million adults. Many patients had concomitant neurologic diagnoses, including subarachnoid hemorrhage (37%), ischemic stroke (16%), and intracerebral hemorrhage (10%). In the 90 days before the index admission, 97 patients had an emergency department (ED) visit and 34 patients a hospital admission, most commonly for neurologic, psychiatric, and pregnancy-related diagnoses. Following discharge from the RCVS hospital admission, 58 patients had an ED visit and 31 had a hospital admission, most commonly for neurologic diagnoses. Conclusions Using population-wide data, we estimated the age- and sex-standardized incidence of hospitalization for RCVS in US adults as approximately 3 per million per year.
Northernness and the Global South Novel: Sunjeev Sahota's The Year of the Runaways

Direction can function equally as a short-hand for power-relations or hierarchies: North versus South; East versus West. But such forms of ordering are not often stable, and they change depending on place or scale. The relationship between global North and South is not always the same as that between a national north and south. Sunjeev Sahota’s The Year of the Runaways (2015) adds another layer of complexity by bringing its characters from the north of India in the global South to the north of England in the global North. The essay asks how the multiple kinds of northernness signaled in the novel transform the idea of the North from a cardinal direction to a shifting, indexical sign. In doing so, it shows how critical attention to northernness enables a reimagining of the global South.
Governing People or Governing Property? How Dartmouth College Assimilated the Corporation to Liberalism by Treating it as a Trust

Prior to Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), all commentators on corporate law in England and America emphasized the governing powers of corporations as the primary advantage of incorporation. Corporate charters put associations under constitutional government with authority to make and enforce rules beyond the law of the land. This governing authority—along with all other corporate rights, such as holding property, contracting, and appearing in court as a single “person”—was granted by the public authority via the charter, and placed in private hands. Corporations were thus neither public nor private, but, like medieval fiefs, a blend. Bringing Dartmouth under the protection of the Contracts Clause, however, required treating the charter not as the constitution of a government, but as a contract about property. To turn this trick, Marshall reinterprets the charter as, in effect, a trust contract, and the college as a charitable trust. First, the in loco parentis authority of schools, whether incorporated or not, allowed Marshall to deny that incorporation brought the college any new governance powers over people. It is, he asserts, just a device for more easily preserving and managing property. Next, he denies that the trustees received their right to control the property from the king’s charter. Instead, Marshall argues (in a way that follows the logic of trust contracts), they received it from the donors. The donors gave their property to the trustees, who stand in the stead of the donors, with rights, powers, and purposes from the donors (not from the state). It is thus a wholly private institution focused on managing and dispensing property. This is a university reduced not just to a charitable college, but to a charitable trust. Though inaccurate, it allowed the Court to place Dartmouth and, by extension, all other “private” corporations under the protection of the Contracts Clause. The effect, however, was to place a spotlight on the corporation’s property powers while putting its governance powers in shadow. The longer-term consequences are then noted. First, moving corporations to the normative category of the private legitimated corporate activities previously discountenanced and waived corporate responsibilities previously assumed. Second, theorizing corporations as private property vessels rather than as governments, primed corporations to received further constitutional rights protecting property. And third, this theorization suppressed a strong argument in favor of granting corporate subordinates—whether these be professors or industrial and service workers—a voice in the management of the corporate governments they are under, as part of the constitutional promise of republican government.
Business and Technology Methods

This chapter discusses business and technology methods. It reveals the cleaner model that transforms human industry from a system that takes, makes, and wastes into one that integrates economic, environmental, and ethical concerns. The goal of this cleaner model of industrialization is to release less pollution, think long term, reduce regulations, produce fewer toxic materials, reduce wastes, and improve the condition of the earth's ecosystem. This chapter describes the four steps for improving business practices: increase productivity, recycle or use elsewhere, improve quality and extend life, and reinvest in natural capital. The first step increases the productivity of the business process in order to reduce the use of natural resources and to reduce waste. The second step involves recycling used materials and components within the production system or using them as inputs to another production process. The third step is to improve the product or service, its quality, and its utility, and to extend their lives. The fourth step involves reinvesting in natural capital by recycling compostable waste, and investing financially in the natural resource base and the maintenance of natural capital.
The Impact of Boundary Spanning on the Turnover Intention of State Information Systems Employees.

Boundary spanning activities are a major component of information systems (IS) professionals’ job tasks. To date, little research in the IS field has explored the influence of these activities on individual level outcomes and none within the public sector context. This study explores the influence of boundary spanning on state IS employees perceptions of their workload, work exhaustion and turnover intention. While boundary spanning activities did not influence workload perceptions, they were found to alleviate state IS employees work exhaustion. In addition, work exhaustion mediated the effect of perceived workload and boundary spanning activities on turnover intention. A post hoc analysis indicated significant gender differences. These findings pave the way for future researchers to explore the influence of other key job characteristics on work exhaustion and turnover intention within the public sector.
Changing Initial Answers on Multiple-Choice Achievement Tests.

Through the technique of multiple regression analysis, this ex post facto study investigated the problem of changing answers on multiple choice achievement tests. The net number of correct answers ...
Degree Ramsey Numbers of Closed Blowups of Trees

The degree Ramsey number of a graph $G$, denoted $R_\Delta(G;s)$, is $\min\{\Delta(H)\colon\, H\stackrel{s}{\to} G\}$, where $H\stackrel{s}{\to} G$ means that every $s$-edge-coloring of $H$ contains a monochromatic copy of $G$. The closed $k$-blowup of a graph is obtained by replacing every vertex with a clique of size $k$ and every edge with a complete bipartite graph where both partite sets have size $k$. We prove that there is a function $f$ such that $R_\Delta(G;s) \le f(\Delta(G), s)$ when $G$ is a closed blowup of a tree.
Characterizing anemia due to malnutrition in roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery patients (47.8)

Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) is effective for weight loss, but is commonly associated with anemia. Anemia may be caused by decreased dietary intake and intestinal absorption of nutrients...
Unusual central nervous system toxicity in a phase I study of N1N11 diethylnorspermine in patients with advanced malignancy.

The objectives of this study were to determine the dose limiting toxicity (DLT) and other major toxicities, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the human pharmacokinetics of N1N11 diethylnorspermine (DENSPM), a new polyamine analog which in experimental systems inhibits the biosynthesis of intracellular polyamines and promotes their degradation by inducing the enzyme spermine/spermidine N-acetyl transferase. These objectives were incompletely achieved because of the occurrence of an unusual syndrome of acute central nervous system toxicity which forms the basis of the present report. Fifteen patients with advanced solid tumors were entered into a phase I study of DENSPM given by a 1 h i.v. infusion every 12 h for 5 days (10 doses). The starting dose was 25 mg/m2/day (12.5 mg/m2/dose) with escalation by a modified Fibonacci search. Doses of 25 and 50 mg/m2/day were tolerated with only minor side effects of facial flushing, nausea, headache and dizziness (all grade I). At doses of 83 and 125 mg/m2/day, a symptom complex of headache, nausea and vomiting, unilateral weakness, dysphagia, dysarthria, numbness, paresthesias, and ataxia, was seen in 3 patients, one after 2 courses of 83 and 2 after 1 course of 125 mg/m2/day. This syndrome occurred after drug administration was complete and the patients had returned home. Lesser CNS toxicity was seen in 2 other patients at lower daily doses. Preliminary pharmacokinetics of DESPM measured in plasma by HPLC in 8 patients showed linearity with dose and a rapid plasma decay with a t1/2 of 0.12 h. We conclude that great caution is warranted in administering DENSPM on this schedule at doses of > or = 83 mg/m2/day.
Deriving Topological Relationships Between Simple Regions with Holes

Topological relationships between objects in space are of great importance in many disciplines. Due to the lack of local topological information between components, i.e. faces, in the model of topological relationships between complex regions, recently, localized topological relationships have been defined for complex regions based on the relationships between simple regions with holes. However, unlike for simple regions, topological relationships between simple region with holes are not widely implemented. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an approach to derive topological relationships between simple regions with holes based on well known topological relationships between the simple regions as their components. This will allow localized topological predicates between complex regions to be implemented using only topological relationships between simple regions. Furthermore, localized topological predicates between complex regions can be used to implement topological relationships between complex regions. Therefore, this work allows topological relationships between complex regions to be implemented using only topological relationships between simple regions.
Cryptography between wonderland and underland

Cryptography is a very broad field, interdisciplinary in nature, and connected to many other areas (in mathematics, computer science, computer systems and engineering). On the one hand, in theoretical cryptography many new notions have been defined, constructed and improved, especially new protocols and cryptosystems that are very powerful and surprising, including solving challenging and even seemingly paradoxical problems. On the other hand, cryptography is often required in actual computing systems, where the computing and communication infrastructure is very dynamic and evolves in a very fast pace. Thus, actual systems may need solutions that are highly constrained, non trivial, and not covered by merely combining existing cryptographic tools and protocols in a black-box fashion. These solutions are the subject of industrial development of specific cryptographic systems that are much less known than their theoretical counterparts. We discuss the interplay between theory of cryptographic protocols and actual industrial cryptographic systems, the differences in specifying, analyzing, modeling, designing and validating in each sub-area, as well as the similarity and the mutual influence between the two sub-areas.
It only happens once every hundred years : making the most of the centennial opportunity

Clemson University celebrated its centennial in 1988-89, an event that served as the catalyst for transforming the university's archives. The author discusses how the Special Collections department capitalized on centennial-related reference requests, publications and oral history projects, exhibits, and time capsule activities to reach new audiences and win support for program expansion. Important elements in the successful strengthening of this program were the support of key university administrators, start-up funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the identification of viable, high-visibility projects for its various constituencies.
Uniformly Nanopatterned Graphene Field-Effect Transistors with Enhanced Properties

We have successfully fabricated and characterized highly uniform nanopatterned graphene (NPG). Thin anodized aluminum oxide nanomask was prepared by facile self-assembly technique without using polymer buffer layer, which was utilized as a direct-contact template for oxygen plasma etch to produce near-periodic, small-neck-width NPG. The NPG exhibits a homogeneous mesh structure with an average neck width as small as ~11 nm. The highly uniform 11-nm neck width creates a quantum confinement in NPG, which has led to a record bandgap opening of ~200 meV in graphene for the given level of neck width. Electronic characterization of single-layer NPG field-effect transistors (FETs) was performed, which demonstrated a high on-off switching ratio. We found that the NPG allows for experimental confirmation of the relationship between electrical conductance and bandgap. This work also demonstrates that our direct-contact, self-assembled mask lithography is a pathway for low-cost, high-throughput, large-scale nanomanufacturing of graphene nanodevices.
Effects of weight-reducing chronic vagal nerve stimulation on cardiovascular, autonomic, and respiratory functions (1126.12)

We assessed potential cardiovascular, autonomic, and respiratory adverse effects of chronic vagal nerve stimulation (VNS). In normotensive rats on standard diet, cervical vagal nerve stimulators were turned on 24 h after surgical implantation or remained off (sham) for the remainder of the study (up to 29 days). After one week of VNS, body weight was reduced by 27% while sham-treated rats had restored pre-surgical weight. Chronic VNS caused bradycardia that turned into tachycardia when the stimulators were temporarily turned off. VNS also resulted in hypertension that persisted when the stimulators were turned off. Compared to sham rats, high frequency heart rate variability (parasympathetic cardiac modulation) was markedly increased and low frequency systolic blood pressure variability (sympathetic modulation of vascular tone) was reduced when the stimulators were on, but not when they were off. In rats with chronic VNS a gasping-like breathing pattern was occasionally noted. Furthermore, respiratory eff...
‘First things first, I'm the realest’: Linguistic appropriation, white privilege, and the hip-hop persona of Iggy Azalea†

The ‘hip-hop nation’ is a multiethnic, transnational community that originates from and privileges urban African American experiences. Scholars have explored ways that non-African Americans worldwide use linguistic features of African American English (AAE) as a way of constructing hip-hop affiliated identities. The current paper ties these strands together in a study of the linguistic patterns of white Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who makes use of AAE in her music, but not in other public speech. Our study presents a variationist analysis of copula absence in her lyrics. Findings show that her rates of this hallmark feature of AAE are extremely high, when compared to similar analyses of other rappers. We argue that her overzealous application of AAE features in her music, in order to create a specific linguistic style, enables a success that rests ultimately on the appropriation of African American language and culture, and the privilege that whiteness affords.
Strategies to Discourage Brain Drain

Building health research expertise in developing countries often requires personnel to receive training beyond national borders. For research funding agencies that sponsor this type of training, a major goal is to ensure that trainees return to their country of origin: attaining this objective requires the use of proactive strategies. The strategies described were developed under the extramural acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) International Training and Research Program (AITRP) funded by the Fogarty International Center (FIC) at the National Institutes of Health, United States. This programme supports universities in the United States that provide research training to scientists from developing countries to enable them to address the global epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS and the related tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. This paper describes the strategies employed to discourage brain drain by the principle investigators (PIs) of five of the longest-funded AITRPs (funded for 15 years). Long-term trainees in these programmes spent from 11 to 96 months (an average of 26 months) studying. Using scientific, political and economic strategies that address brain drain issues, PIs working in AITRPs have attained an average rate of return home for their trainees of 80%.
Active structural acoustics control of beams using active constrained layer damping through loss factor maximization

Vibration and acoustic control of beams with classical boundary conditions using active constrained layer damping is presented. The control input that maximizes the loss factor of the active constrained layer damping is determined through taking the first variation of the loss factor with respect to the control input. Although the loss factor is a positive definite quantity, the first variation yields control input that maximizes the factor. The resulting control input significantly reduces the vibration and acoustic response of the beams at their resonant frequencies.
Induction of specific-locus mutations in male germ cells of the mouse by acrylamide monomer

Abstract Acrylamide monomer (AA), injected into male mice at the maximum tolerated dose of 5× 50 mg/kg (24-h intervals), significantly increased the specific-locus mutation rate in certain poststem-cell stages of spermatogenesis, but not in spermatogonial stem cells. Germ-cell stages in which the treatment induced dominant lethals — namely, exposed spermatozoa and late spermatids (number of surviving offspring only 3% and 27%, respectively, of those in concurrent controls) — jointly yielded the highest frequency of specific-locus mutations. AA thus conforms to Pattern 1 in our earlier classification of chemicals according to the spermatogenic stage at which they elicit maximum response (Russell et al., 1990). No specific-locus mutations were observed among 17,112 offspring derived from exposed spermatogonial stem cells, a result which rules out (at the 5% significance level) an induced mutation rate greater than 2.3 times the historical control rate. A sustained high productivity in matings made for severalmonths following week 3 indicates that there is no significant spermatogonial killing and that cell selection is presumably not the explanation for the negative result. On the basis of genetic and/or cytogenetic evidence, the mutations induced postmeiotically by AA were ‘large lesions’ (multi-locus), while one of 2 recovered from exposure of differentiating spermatogonia is probably a small lesion. An earlier survery of mammalian mutagenesis results led us to conclude that, regardless of the classification of a chemical according to the stage at which it elicits its maximum response, the nature of mutations is determined by the germ-cell stage in which they are induced (Russell et al., 1990). The AA results on lesion size and on distribution of mutations among the loci fit the general pattern.
Humean motivation and Humean rationality

L'A. defend la these selon laquelle M. Smith ne parvient pas a defendre la theorie de la motivation de Hume en introduisant l'idee d'une explication teleologique des desirs qui motivent l'action intentionnelle. L'A. conclut a l'ineliminabilite de la rationalite normative malgre le caractere rationnel des explications de la raison motivante
Enabling advanced environmental management via remote and distributed visual data exploration and analysis

We present a methodology that has proven useful in surmounting technical obstacles encountered while producing mobile-enabled, remote visual data exploration and analysis capabilities. Our results focus on a environmental remediation case study. Using a desktop or mobile device, a scientist is able to perform subset selection of a large collection of time-varying observational, well-log data, then to view this data in 3D from arbitrary orientations, and to view output from visualizations of a time-varying 3D fluid flow simulation showing the spread of analytes over time through the same spatial region as the observational data. This infrastructure is capable of delivering imagery to handheld devices at (modestly) interactive rates, supports a variety of different types of mobile devices, and is useful to scientists who may need to access this kind of capability from field locations.
Staphylococcus aureus sinus infections in children.

Abstract Objective Staphylococcus aureus can cause sinusitis in children. The predominant MRSA clone in the United States, USA300, has been associated with skin and soft tissue as well as invasive diseases. USA300 has increased among CA methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (CA-MSSA) isolates. We describe the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with S. aureus cultured from sinus specimens, treated at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH), and characterized their isolates by molecular methods. Methods This was a retrospective study of children with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) cultures positive for S. aureus between 01/2005 and 12/2008 at TCH. Medical records were reviewed and associated S. aureus isolates were characterized by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Data were analyzed by Mann–Whitney U, Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-square for trend. Results We identified 56 patients with S. aureus sinus infections; 12 (21%) were MRSA. Seven of 12 (58%) MRSA vs. 5/44 (11%) MSSA were USA300 (p Conclusion MSSA was more commonly isolated than MRSA from sinus cultures of children who underwent ESS at TCH. The majority of ESS cultures positive for S. aureus, were mixed with other respiratory pathogens, principally H. influenzae. USA300 was the major clone among the MRSA sinusitis isolates, but was not associated with more complications than other S. aureus isolates.
Natural radioactivity in bottled mineral waters. A survey in Northern Italy

A natural radioactivity on 21 best sold bottled mineral waters produced in Lombardia (Northern Italy) has been monitored. Gross alpha- and beta-activities were first evaluated; subsequently 226Ra and uranium were measured, by emanometric technique and ICP-MS, respectively. In order to assess with higher accuracy the dose contribution due to uranium isotopes in most active waters, 234U, 235U and 238U were determined by alpha spectrometry on electrodeposited samples. 234U/238U ratios were found to be higher than 1 in most cases. A correlation with chemical parameters of waters has also been attempted. Dose calculation for different classes of age was finally performed.
Selective stamp bonding of PDMS microfluidic devices to polymer substrates for biological applications

Abstract Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is one of the most common polymer materials for fabricating microfluidic devices for biological applications because of its unique properties. The hybrid micro devices made from PDMS and other polymer substrate materials are preferred due to their rapid prototyping, low cost, surface properties, and mechanical strength. However, the bonding between PDMS and other polymers is challenging because of the hydrophobic nature and low surface energy of PDMS. Here, we presented an approach to form a permanent and leakage free bond between PDMS microfluidic devices and polymer substrates using a PrimeCoat-Epoxy adhesive layer by selective stamp bonding. The enclosed cell adhesion and growth regions in the microfluidic device were kept intact without introducing adhesive bonding coatings. Additionally, the microfluidic devices can provide the flexibility to spatially and temporally control the cell microenvironment. The polymer substrate materials we chose are rigid polystyrene (PS) and flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, which are two common polymers used for cell cultures and biosensor applications. Our results demonstrated that the PrimeCoat-Epoxy bonding layer can withstand high flow rates and shear stresses and exhibited good biocompatibility. The cells growing inside the devices showed similar viability compared with conventional cell culture in dishes. In addition, the PrimeCoat-Epoxy adhesive bonding layer can bond to both hard and flexible polymer substrates, which is potentially important for developing large-scale integrated microfluidic assays.
Chemical reaction dynamics part II: Reaction networks

The notion of a chemical reaction network is made precise in terms of electrical network theory by demonstrating that the mathematical formulation of chemical reactions can be viewed as a subset of abstract circuit theory. An algorithm is presented for constructing linear graph and bond graph representations of chemical reaction systems. Input-output considerations are treated, using a network model of open reaction systems. Network and graphical models are also employed to elucidate the mathematical structure of cellular transport and cellular transport-reaction systems.
Parental Involvement in School and the Role of School Security Measures

Over the past three decades, the United States has experienced a significant increase in the use of security measures in public and private secondary schools. Measures including police officers, metal detectors, and security cameras are becoming more common in the hallways of American schools. Following this surge, a number of academics have become interested in understanding how these measures effect outcomes for students, yet little research has sought to explore the impact of security measures on parents. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (2002), the current project explores the relationship between formal and informal parenting involvement with the school and the presence of school security measures utilizing Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) regression. Results indicate the presence of a security guard and metal detectors is related to lower levels of formal parental involvement, all else equal. Security measures were not found to effect informal parental involvement occurring outsi...
Anomalous spin splitting of two-dimensional electrons in an alas quantum well

We measure the effective Land\'e g-factor of two-dimensional electrons in a modulation-doped AlAs quantum well by tilting the sample in a magnetic field and monitoring the evolution of the magnetoresistance oscillations. The data reveal that $|g|=9.0,$ which is much enhanced with respect to the reported bulk value of 1.9. Surprisingly, in a large range of magnetic field and Landau level fillings, the value of the enhanced g-factor appears to be constant.
The buffer capacity of the pancreatic juice.

An investigation was conducted on the properties of the pancreatic juice collected from pancreatic fistulas every half hour during fasting and after the ingestion of protein, carbohydrate, and fat test meals. A continuous secretion of pancreatic juice was noted at all times, provided there was no infection or leakage present. Protein diets stimulated a greater flow of secretion than any of the other test meals used. The amount of secretion depended largely on the size of the animal and the kind and quantity of food ingested. The buffering capacity of the pancreatic juice reached its maximum one to three hours after the ingestion of food and gradually diminished as the acidity in the duodenum decreased. The secretion was always alkaline and even possessed slight buffering power during fasting. When the buffering capacity was highest, 1 c.c. of pancreatic juice was capable of practically neutralizing an equal quantity of tenth-normal hydrochloric acid.
Novel History : Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past (and Each Other)

Historical fiction is a contradiction in terms. History is what happened; fiction, what did not. Yet great novelists have often disregarded this logical difficulty, taking up the tools of the historian to explore the shadowy recesses of the past. Their labors have brought forth many literary treasures. But how accurately do these masterpieces of the imagination reflect the past? In "Novel History, " twenty accomplished historians consider this question in relation to some of our most important historical novels. Their essays are followed in most instances by a response from the novelist. These dialogues illuminate one of the most fascinating and perplexing issues of our time -- the relation between the "real" past and our finest imaginative renderings of it. "Novel History" includes essays by distinguished historians such as John Demos, Michael Kammen, Joan D. Hedrick, John Lukacs, Eugene D. Genovese, Richard White, and Tom Wicker, and responses from notable novelists, including Gore Vidal, John Updike, Russell Banks, Don DeLillo, Larry McMurtry, Jane Smiley, Madison Smartt Bell, William Styron, T. Coraghessan Boyle, William Kennedy, Charles Frazier, Thomas Fleming, and Tim O'Brien. "Novel History" is both a uniquely compelling perspective and a superb collection of literary history.
Toward long-term and accurate Augmented-Reality display for minimally-invasive surgery

Augmented-Reality (AR) displays increase surgeon's visual awareness of high-risk surgical targets (e.g., the location of a tumor) by accurately overlaying pre-operative radiological 3-D model onto the intra-operative laparoscopic video. Existing AR systems lack in accuracy and robustness against frequent illumination changes, camera motions, and organ occlusions, which rapidly cause the loss of image (anchor) points, and thus the loss of the AR display after a few seconds. In this paper, we present a new AR system, which represents the first step toward long term and accurate augmented surgical display. Our system leverages feature matching to automatically recover the overlay by predicting the image locations of a high number of anchor points that were lost after a sudden image change. Additionally, a weighted sliding-window least-squares approach is also used to increase the accuracy of the AR display over time. The effectiveness of the proposed system in maintaining a long term, stable, and accurate augmentation has been tested over a set of real partial-nephrectomy laparascopic monocular videos from a DaVinci surgical robot.
Fakability of two different role-play methodologies for assessing assertion

The fakability of two methodologically different role-play tests of assertion was examined, 30 undergraduates low in assertiveness were tested and retested on the Behavioral Assertiveness Test--Revised and the Idiographic Role-play Test. Half of the testees were instructed to fake assertion during the second testing. Analysis indicated that both tests were fakable; however, testees reported more difficulty faking the latter test than the former. The detection of faking may be possible, particularly on role-play tests employing an idiographic methodology.
A 10-year experience with Steven Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis at a tertiary burn center☆

Abstract Rationale Steven Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are life-threatening conditions often caused by medications. We conducted a retrospective review to assess patient demographics, causative drug if applicable, and severity of SJS and TEN at the Parkland Memorial Hospital burn unit. Methods Charts of patients diagnosed with SJS or TEN admitted to the Parkland burn unit over a ten year period were obtained. Charts were reviewed to determine age, gender, race, percent body surface area affected and offending drug. Comorbidities, previous drug allergy and treatment were also reviewed. Results Forty patients with SJS or TEN were admitted between 1992 and 2002. Twenty-seven patients were female and thirteen were male. Patients ranged in age from twenty months to 84 years. Fifty-five percent were Caucasian, 33% African American, 10% Hispanic, with 1 Asian patient. Total body surface area (TBSA) affected ranged from 7% to 100% with mean TBSA of 50%. All cases were associated with recent use of medications. Forty-five percent were due to antibiotics, 30% due to anticonvulsants, and twenty percent due to analgesics. Allopurinol was implicated in one patient and imatinib mesylate in another being treated for metastatic sarcoma. The overall mortality rate was 18%. Thirty-eight percent of cases were treated with corticosteroids. Three patients received IVIG and one patient received cyclosporine. Conclusions Our ten-year experience with TEN and SJS is consistent with previous published reports. Most notably at our institution, all cases were associated with medications and a significant portion were treated with corticosteroids.
Synovial fluid features and their relations to osteoarthritis severity: new findings from sequential studies.

Abstract Objective Many factors are involved in the osteoarthritic process. It is not yet known which are initiators, promoters or simply results. Thus, we have evaluated some of those potentially important factors in osteoarthritis (OA) as observed sequentially for the first time in synovial fluids. Design Synovial fluids (SF) obtained between 1992–2002 were all routinely evaluated for gross appearance, leukocyte counts and microscopic examination of wet drop preparations. We used regular and polarized light and alizarin red s stains. We separated out all OA patients, then we looked for patients who had more than two synovial fluid analyses to get sequential information. Time between first and final aspiration ranged from 2 to 7 (3.6±1.6) years and number of analyses per patients from 3 to 6 (3.3±0.7). We related synovial fluid crystals, fibrils and white blood cell count (WBC) to age, sex, disease duration and radiographic assessment according to the Kellgren–Lawrence radiographic rating system. Results Of 4523 synovial fluid examinations, we found 855 in patients with knee OA; 330 patients with adequate clinical details for comparison were included in our study. Twenty-six patients (one woman and 25 men) had sequentially examined SF. We found that 52% of those OA patients with effusions studied had crystals identified in their synovial fluid. Twenty-one percent of all the patients had CPPD crystals, 47% had hydroxyapatite, also called basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals and 16% had both types of crystals. Microscopically identifiable fibrils were found in 60% of SF. In sequentially examined patients, CPPD crystals and apatite (BCP) were found in 19% and 23%, respectively, at the first aspiration and, in 34% and 58% at the final aspiration. Fibrils were seen in 54% at first examination and 85% later. Apatite and fibrils showed more significant correlation with time ( r =0.51, r =0.92) than did CPPD ( r =0.32). SF WBC correlated only with CPPD crystals and did not increase with OA duration or severity. CPPD, apatite and fibrils all correlated with higher radiographic grades of OA. Conclusions As noted before CPPD and apatite crystals were more common in patients with more severe OA. New findings are that our sequential cases showed that there were some patients with no crystals at onset but that crystals appeared with progression of the disease. Fibril presence in SF also correlated with progression of the disease. Copyright 2003 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.