cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Embracing Errors: Examining How Context of Use Impacts Blind Individuals' Acceptance of Navigation Aid Errors

Prevention of errors has been an orienting goal within the field of Human-Computer Interaction since its inception, with particular focus on minimizing human errors through appropriate technology design. However, there has been relatively little exploration into how designers can best support users of technologies that will inevitably make errors. We present a mixed-methods study in the domain of navigation technology for visually impaired individuals. We examined how users respond to device errors made in realistic scenarios of use. Contrary to conventional wisdom that usable systems must be error-free, we found that 42% of errors were acceptable to users. Acceptance of errors depends on error type, building feature, and environmental context. Further, even when a technical error is acceptable to the user, the misguided social responses of others nearby can negatively impact user experience. We conclude with design recommendations that embrace errors while also supporting user management of errors in technical systems.
Transport properties of disordered two-dimensional complex plasma crystal

In this work, we investigate numerically the transport properties of a 2D complex plasma crystal using diffusion of coplanar dust lattice waves. In the limit where the Hamiltonian interactions can be decoupled from the non-Hamiltonian effects, we identify two distinct types of wave transport: Anderson-type delocalization and long-distance excitation. We use a recently-developed spectral approach to evaluate the contribution of the Anderson problem and compare it to the results of the simulation. The benefit of our approach to transport problems is twofold. First, we employ a highly tunable macroscopic hexagonal crystal, which exhibits many-body interactions and allows for the investigation of transport properties at the kinetic level. Second, the analysis of the transport problem in 2D is provided using an innovative spectral approach, which avoids the use of scaling and boundary conditions. Thus, the combination of theoretical calculation with simulation results allows for the study of important characteristics of this open system. The major deviation between the predicted and observed wave dynamics is a long-distance lattice excitation, which occurs even when the initial perturbation does not spread from the center to the exterior of the crystal. In the decoupled Hamiltonian regime, this effect can be contributed to the dust lattice interaction with the plasma environment.
Maternal Experience of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization: Trauma Exposure and Psychosocial Responses

For mothers in the postpartum period, admission of their newborn to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is often an unanticipated experience that can be shocking and traumatic, and can elevate maternal risk for psychiatric symptoms, including posttraumatic stress. In this chapter, the NICU experience, psychosocial implications, mental health consequences, and screening tools that have been used to identify maternal psychiatric symptoms in this setting will be reviewed. Psychosocial interventions and programs addressing the stress and psychological reactions of mothers with an infant in a NICU will be introduced, as will recently developed interdisciplinary recommendations for the support of NICU families and a nurse training program to promote optimal communication between NICU nurses and parents. The chapter concludes with future clinical and research directions to continue improving maternal adjustment and mental health during a child’s NICU hospitalization.
“If they are useful, why expel them?” Las Hermanas de la Caridad and Religious Medical Authority in Mexico City Hospitals, 1861–1874

The expulsion of las Hermanas de la Caridad was a highly contentious battle in Mexico’s nineteenth-century war between Church and State. Las Hermanas—who staffed and administrated Mexico City’s hospitals for three decades (1844–1874)—are generally portrayed as the adventitious victims of President Lerdo de Tejada’s attacks on religion. Using records from Mexico City’s Secretary of Health archive, this article argues that public health officials were a major force behind the expulsion, and that the sisters were ultimately ousted not just because they symbolized the rising influence of Vincentians in Mexico, but also because their medical and administrative autonomy represented a threat to scientific and state authorities. En la guerra decimononica mexicana entre la Iglesia y el Estado, la expulsion de las Hermanas de la Caridad genero una contienda sumamente disputada. Las Hermanas—que habian administrado y conformado el personal de los hospitales de la ciudad de Mexico durante tres decadas (1844–1874)—suelen ser presentadas como las victimas adventicias de los ataques del presidente Lerdo de Tejada contra la religion. Con base en registros del archivo de la Secretaria de Salud de la ciudad de Mexico, este articulo sostiene que los funcionarios publicos del campo de la salud constituyeron una fuerza importante detras de la expulsion y que, en ultima instancia, se echo a las Hermanas no solo porque simbolizaban la influencia creciente de los vicentinos en Mexico, sino tambien porque su autonomia medica y administrativa representaba una amenaza para las autoridades cientificas y estatales.
Rating Scales in Bipolar Disorder

Various standardized measures are used to evaluate clinical status in bipolar disorder (BD), and application of these measures, particularly when applied longitudinally, can help to evaluate status or outcomes in patients who have a condition that is inherently dynamic. Knowledge of available standardized rating scales for the assessment of patients with BD can help clinicians and researchers to choose the most appropriate instruments for their specific needs. This chapter will discuss standardized rating scales that are specific to BD or general scales that are commonly used in the assessment of patients with BD. We will review published reports of standardized rating in BD mania and BD depression as well as clinical criteria that are based upon the use of standardized rating scales. The chapter includes a focus on selected instruments originally developed for use in populations with diagnoses other than BD that are commonly used in BD research studies, as well as use of rating scales in individuals with BD across the lifespan. Finally, the chapter will conclude with a summary of anticipated future directions in applications of rating scales in BD clinical trials and recommendations for future research.
Momentum Transport by Organized Convection

Basic aspects of the transport of momentum by organized convection are presented. Included are the relationship between the momentum flux and mean state, a formal distinction between eddy mixing and organized transport and key quantities arising from energy considerations. Integral properties provide general dynamical constraints and a framework for parameterizing the momentum transport by organized convection in global models.
Accessibility Theory: Guiding the Science and Practice of Test Item Design with the Test-Taker in Mind

Test accessibility is defined as the extent to which a test and its constituent item set permit the test-taker to demonstrate his or her knowledge of the target construct (Beddow, Elliott, & Kettler, 2009). The principles of accessibility theory (Beddow, in press) suggest the measurement of achievement involves a multiplicity of interactions between test-taker characteristics and features of the test itself. Beddow argued achievement test results are valid to the degree the test event controls these interactions and yields scores from which inferences reflect the amount of the target construct possessed by the test-taker. Test score inferences typically are based on the assumption that the test event was optimally accessible; therefore, the validity of an achievement test result depends both on the precision of the test score and the accuracy of subsequent inferences about the test-taker’s knowledge of the tested content after accounting for the influence of any access barriers. In essence, the accessibility of a test event is proportional to the validity of test results.
Ferromagnetic Nanowires for Nonreciprocal Millimeter-Wave Applications: Investigations of Artificial Ferrites for Realizing High-Frequency Communication Components

As far back as the 1850s, workers applying decorative and anticorrosive coatings of metallic surfaces used a technique [1] that would later be referred to as anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) synthesis. About 100 years later, the morphologies of such coatings were investigated and found to consist of highly ordered/quasiregular arrays of high aspect ratio nanopores [2]. During the same decade, nuclear scientists detected the tracks of energetic heavy ions in polymer membranes, and, by the 1960s, chemical etching of ion tracks was used as a standard nuclear diagnostic [3], [4]. Although track-etched polymer membranes offer arrays of nanopores with uniform diameters, the nanopore spacing is random. In the mid-1970s, ferromagnetic nanowires (FMNW
Association between Access to Electronic Devices in the Home Environment and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Children.

This study examined the association between access to electronic devices in the home and cardiorespiratory fitness in children. Participants were children aged 8–12 years from a local elementary school (n = 106, mean age = 9.7 + 1.1 years, male = 50). Child access to electronic devices was measured with a 37-item parent-reported questionnaire. Estimated maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 Peak) was calculated from The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) using a validated algorithm. The association between access to electronic devices in the home and cardiorespiratory fitness was explored by employing hierarchical ridge regression, using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, controlling for the covariates of sex, age, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Controlling for sex, age, and BMI, the number of electronic items in a child’s bedroom was significantly inversely related to the estimated VO2 Peak (b = −1.30 mL/kg/min, 95% C.I.: −2.46 mL/kg/min, −0.15 mL/kg/min, p = 0.028) and PACER laps (b = −3.70 laps, 95% C.I.: −6.97 laps, −0.41 laps, p = 0.028) However, the total number of electronic items in the home and total number of electronic items owned did not significantly relate to the estimated VO2 Peak (p = 0.847, 0.964) or the number of PACER laps (p = 0.847, 0.964). Child health behavior interventions focused on the home environment should devote specific attention to the bedroom as a primary locus of easily modifiable intervention.
Editorial: Grief in Children: Phenomenology and Beyond.

Millions of children throughout the world are exposed to adversity including war and mass trauma resulting in parental death and the death of loved ones. Childhood parental death has a negative impact on children's mental health, results in complicated or prolonged grief reactions in a subset of children, and affects overall functioning, reducing children's potential for normative development.1-4 We thank Geronazzo-Alman et al.5 for their important contribution in this issue, in which they have demonstrated the distinctiveness of grief reactions from major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a large representative sample of youth exposed to a unique mass trauma (9/11, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States).
Allogeneic HSCT for Hematologic Malignancies in 145 Patients - Identical Biologic Prognostic Factors Affect Outcome Despite Different Conditioning Regimen Intensities.

Analysis of pre-transplant variables affecting the outcome of allogeneic HSCT after 100 mg/m 2 melphalan (± 50 mg/kg cyclophosphamide depending upon prior autograft) in 91 adult patients with hematologic malignancies identified refractory disease, poor performance status (ECOG 2/3), elevated LDH, and donor age >45 years as significant adverse prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS) (Mehta et al. ASH 2006, BMT 2006). GVHD prophylaxis comprised cyclosporine-mycophenolate (HLA-matched siblings) or tacrolimus-mycophenolate (other donors). The patients were treated at NU. The outcome of 54 patients with hematologic malignancies treated at UIC with more intensive conditioning regimens was studied to see if the prognostic factors identified at NU were applicable to them. The conditioning regimens at UIC comprised 12.8 mg/kg IV busulfan + 120–160 mg/m 2 fludarabine (n=36) or 140 mg/m 2 melphalan + 150 mg/m 2 fludarabine (n=18). Tacrolimus and methotrexate were used for GVHD prophylaxis. While the characteristics of the two patient populations were significantly different (especially diagnosis), transplant-related mortality and relapse rates were not significantly different for the two centers. As the table below shows, chemorefractory disease, poor performance status, and elevated LDH were adverse risk factors for OS in both groups of patients. However, donor age >45, an adverse risk factor in the NU population, appeared to be a borderline favorable factor in the UIC population. HLA mismatch was found to be an additional significant adverse risk factor in the combined population when it did not reach statistical significance in either group individually. The figures below shows the effect of the number of adverse risk factors (excluding donor age) on DFS and OS in the entire group of 145 patients (P
Significance of Rising Levels of Minimal Residual Disease in Patients with Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (Ph+ CML) in Complete Cytogenetic Response (CGCR)

Background . Patients with Ph+ CML receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are frequently monitored for response by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) studies for minimal molecular disease. The clinical significance of rising levels of QPCR in CGCR is uncertain. Study Aims . To evaluate the relevance of increases of QPCR levels in patients with CML in CGCR on therapy. Study Group and Methods . Of 258 patients on imatinib therapy for newly diagnosed CML, 116 patients in durable CGCR on imatinib therapy for at least 18 months had significant QPCR increases (documented at least twice) as defined by literature reports. These were analyzed by the achievement of major molecular response (MMR; QPCR Results. The outcome of patients by disease status (still in MMR vs. loss of MMR vs. never in MMR) and by the QPCR level increase are shown in the Table. Only 13 of 116 patients (11%) with significant QPCR increases had CML progression; 11 of them were among 44 patients (25%) who either lost a MMR or never had a MMR, and had > 1 log increase of QPCR. The 5-year survival of all 116 patients was 92%, suggesting the minimal relevance of QPCR increases in patients in CGCR. Conclusion . Most patients with significant QPCR increases remain in CGCR. Patients who lose a MMR or never achieve a MMR, and have > 1 log increase of QPCR, should be monitored more closely, and may be evaluated for mutations of BCR-ABL kinase domain and considered for investigational therapeutic interventions. Allogeneic stem cell transplant should not be considered in view of the excellent survival. Outcome of Patients in CGCR by QPCR Increases
A Second-Order Saddle Point Method for Time-Varying Optimization

Time-varying optimization studies algorithms that can track solutions of optimization problems that evolve with time. A typical time-varying optimization algorithm is implemented in a running fashion in the sense that the underlying optimization problem is updated during the iterations of the algorithm, and is especially suitable for optimizing large-scale fast varying systems. In this paper, we propose and analyze a second-order method for time-varying optimization. Each iteration of the proposed method can be formulated as solving a quadratic-like saddle point problem that incorporates curvature information. Theoretical results on the tracking performance of the proposed method are presented, and discussions on their implications and comparison with existing second-order and first-order methods are also provided.
Dose and Dose-Rate Effects in a Mouse Model of Internal Exposure to 137Cs. Part 1: Global Transcriptomic Responses in Blood

Internal contamination by radionuclides may constitute a major source of exposure and biological damage after radiation accidents and potentially in a dirty bomb or improvised nuclear device scenario. We injected male C57BL/6 mice with radiolabeled cesium chloride solution (137CsCl) to evaluate the biological effects of varying cumulative doses and dose rates in a two-week study. Injection activities of 137CsCl were 5.71, 6.78, 7.67 and 9.29 MBq, calculated to achieve a target dose of 4 Gy at days 14, 7, 5 and 3, respectively. We collected whole blood samples at days 2, 3, 5, 7 and 14 so that we can publish the issue in Decemberfrom all injection groups and measured gene expression using Agilent Mouse Whole Genome microarrays. We identified both dose-rate-independent and dose-rate-dependent gene expression responses in the time series. Gene Ontology analysis indicated a rapid and persistent immune response to the chronic low-dose-rate irradiation, consistent with depletion of radiosensitive B cells. Pathways impacting platelet aggregation and TP53 signaling appeared activated, but not consistently at all times in the study. Clustering of genes by pattern and identification of dose-rate-independent and -dependent genes provided insight into possible drivers of the dynamic transcriptome response in vivo, and also indicated that TP53 signaling may be upstream of very different transcript response patterns. This characterization of the biological response of blood cells to internal radiation at varying doses and dose rates is an important step in understanding the effects of internal contamination after a nuclear event.
Public Works and Children’s School Attendance: Evidence from Rural India:

Rural public works programmes offer a guarantee of temporary employment to any household upon request. This article examines household survey data from India and measures the effect of public works...
Status, Plans, and Initial Results for Crew Launch Vehicle Aerodynamics

Following the completion of NASA's Exploration Systems Architecture Study in August 2004 for the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), the Exploration Launch Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was assigned project management responsibilities for the design and development of the first vehicle in the architecture, the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), which will be used to launch astronauts to low earth orbit and rendezvous with either the International Space Station or the ESMD s earth departure stage for lunar or other future missions beyond low Earth orbit. The primary elements of the Ares I CLV project are the first stage, the upper stage, the upper stage engine, and vehicle integration. Within vehicle integration is an effort in integrated design and analysis which is comprised of a number of technical disciplines needed to support vehicle design and development. One of the important disciplines throughout the life of the project is aerodynamics. This paper will present the status, plans, and initial results of Ares I CLV aerodynamics as the project was preparing for the Ares I CLV Systems Requirements Review. Following a discussion of the specific interactions with other technical panels and a status of the current activities, the plans for aerodynamic support of the Ares I CLV until the initial crewed flights will be presented.
Direct Narrow line Tuning of a High Power CO 2 Pump Laser

A high power, narrow line CO 2 pump laser for submillimeter laser applications has been constructed by direct grating tuning of an unstable resonator oscillator and injection tuning to a single longitudinal mode. The oscillator produces 200-400 joule pulses on the 9R(22) line with a line width of less than 20 MHz.
Evaluating ambulatory function as an outcome following treatment for spinal metastases: a systematic review

Abstract BACKGROUND CONTEXT Studies regarding treatment of spinal metastases are critical to evidence-based decision-making. However, variation exists in how a key outcome, ambulatory function, is assessed. PURPOSE To characterize the sources and tools investigators have used to evaluate ambulatory function as an outcome following treatment of spinal metastases. We also sought to understand the ways ambulatory function has been conceptualized in prior studies. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review of the literature. PATIENT SAMPLE We identified 44 published studies for inclusion. Samples within these investigations ranged from 20 to 2,096 subjects. OUTCOME MEASURES We describe the methods investigators have used to evaluate ambulatory function following treatment for spinal metastases. METHODS We conducted a systematic review through PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science following PRISMA guidelines. We included studies that consisted of adult patients receiving operative or non-operative treatment for spinal metastases. We also required that study investigators specified post-treatment ambulatory function as an outcome. We recorded year of publication, study design, types of spinal metastases included in the study, treatments employed, and sample size. We also described the source (medical record, study-specific observer and/or provider, patient and/or participant), tool (standardized measure, quantitative, qualitative) and concept (eg, ambulatory vs. non-ambulatory; independent ambulation vs. ambulatory with assistance vs. non-ambulatory) used to assess ambulatory function. RESULTS We found the plurality of studies relied on medical record documentation as their source. Amongst prospective studies, only a minority used a quantitative measure (eg, prespecified degree of walking ability) to assess ambulatory function. Most studies conceptualized ambulatory function as a dichotomized outcome, typically ambulatory versus non-ambulatory or a similar equivalent. CONCLUSIONS Wide variation exists in how ambulatory function is defined in studies involving patients with spinal metastases. We suggest several improvements that will allow a more robust assessment of the quality and quantity of ambulatory function among patients treated for spinal metastases.
Chemical aposematism

Discussions of aposematism traditionally have focused on the visual displays of prey that denote unpalatability or toxicity to predators. However, the construct of aposematism accommodates a spectrum of unprofitable traits signaled through various sensory modalities, including contact and distance chemoreception. Aposematism, involving learned aversions by signal receivers or selection for their unlearned avoidances, arises in predator–prey or other interspecific interactions where a mutually beneficial avoidance of signal emitters by signal receivers exists. Aposematism evolves by selection against signal receivers, e.g., predators, imposed by signal emitters, e.g., unprofitable prey, and vice versa, where both nondiscriminating signal receivers and unrecognized signal emitters are imperiled. Chemical aposematism entails concurrent reciprocal selection where signal emitters select for chemosensory avoidance responses in signal receivers, and where signal receivers select for the emission of identifiable (distinctive) chemicals in signal emitters.
Inner child of the past: long-term protective role of childhood relationships with mothers and fathers and maternal support for mental health in middle and late adulthood.

Purpose National longitudinal studies that investigate the long-term association between early family life and mental health in middle and older adulthood are limited. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the protective effect of positive childhood relationships with mothers and fathers and parental support against depression among women and men in middle and late adulthood. Methods The sample of 12,606 adults (7319 females; 5287 males) from the US Health and Retirement Study was nationally representative with the inclusion of 7 depression measures from 2008 to 2018. Two depression measures, CESD-8 scale and binary indicators of severe depressive symptoms, were used. Generalized estimation equations (GEE)-negative binomial models were estimated for CESD-8 and GEE-logit models were estimated for the binary indicator of severe depression. This study aimed to assess how positive parent-child relationships and maternal support protect the mental health of women and men in adulthood. Other risk and psychosocial factors, such as childhood depression, traumatic life events, stressful life events, marital status, and social support in adulthood were adjusted for. Results Positive childhood relationships with mothers, fathers, or both parents and increased maternal support were associated with a lower risk of depression among both females and males from middle to old age, even if they experienced trauma, stressful life events, divorce, singlehood, widowhood, or little social support. Females benefited more psychologically than males from positive mother-daughter relationships and high-quality relationships with both parents. However, compared to mother-child relationships, positive father-child relationships protected men better psychosocially than females. Conclusion Findings underscore the importance of fathers' roles in promoting their children's, especially sons', emotional well-being. Interventions in early mother-child and father-child relationships and parental support are crucial for healthy aging in mental development.
Sunlight inactivation of fecal indicator bacteria in open-water unit process treatment wetlands: Modeling endogenous and exogenous inactivation rates.

A pilot-scale open-water unit process wetland was monitored for one year and found to be effective in enhancing sunlight inactivation of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). The removal of Escherichia coli and enterococci in the open-water wetland receiving non-disinfected secondary municipal wastewater reached 3 logs and 2 logs in summer time, respectively. Pigmented enterococci were shown to be significantly more resistant to sunlight inactivation than non-pigmented enterococci. A model was developed to predict the inactivation of E. coli, and pigmented and non-pigmented enterococci that accounts for endogenous and exogenous sunlight inactivation mechanisms and dark processes. Endogenous inactivation rates were modeled using the sum of UVA and UVB irradiance. Exogenous inactivation was only significant for enterococci, and was modeled as a function of steady-state singlet oxygen concentration. The rate constants were determined from lab experiments and an empirical correction factor was used to account for differences between lab and field conditions. The model was used to predict removal rate constants for FIB in the pilot-scale wetland; considering the variability of the monitoring data, there was general agreement between the modeled values and those determined from measurements. Using the model, we estimate that open-water wetlands at 40° latitude with practical sizes can achieve 3-log (99.9%) removal of E. coli and non-pigmented enterococci throughout the year [5.5 ha and 7.0 ha per million gallons of wastewater effluent per day (MGD), respectively]. Differences in sunlight inactivation rates observed between pigmented and non-pigmented enterococci, as well as between lab-cultured and indigenous wastewater bacteria highlight the challenges of using FIB as model organisms for actual pathogens in natural sunlit environments.
Multipoles and Surmacs II: Engineering

Though the engineering of multipoles is in many ways simpler than for toruses with strong toroidal and poloidal fields, the feasibility of multiple floating rings in a reactor environment is of great concern, since it has never been demonstrated even in theory. Recent work by the group at TRW, Inc. and the groups led by R. W. Conn at Wisconsin and UCLA has greatly expanded our data base on the engineering aspects of multipoles. These studies are by no means commensurate with the studies of the physics problems, which have a long history. Nonetheless, there is much more known than can be covered here. The brevity of Part II is due partly to the nature of the calculational results, which are hard to condense, and partly to the necessity to design for specific devices, a process whose results may not be of general or timeless value. A summary of these results already exists1.
The Scr Circuit in Vibrio parahaemolyticus Modulates Swarming and Sticking

The role of c-di-GMP in determining the switch between motile and sessile lifestyles appears to be an emerging theme in many bacteria; in some bacteria, one important consequence is an impact on virulence. Scr (swarming and capsular polysaccharide gene regulation) genes influence the lifestyle adaptation between swarming and sticking by modulating the cellular nucleotide pool. Fractionation experiments localize ScrA to the cytoplasm, ScrB in the periplasm, and ScrC with the cell membrane. Curiously, overproduction of ScrC without coproduction of ScrA and ScrB does not simply result in loss of increased laf expression but rather recapitulates the ScrABCΔEAL phenotype. In contrast, both the GGDEF and the EAL domains of ScrC possess catalytic activity: by itself (in the absence of ScrA and ScrB), ScrC can synthesize c-di-GMP (in Vibrio parahaemolyticus as well as in Escherichia coli), whereas in the context of functional ScrA and ScrB, ScrC is capable of degrading this secondary messenger. In comparison, the activity of ScrC seems to be modulated by ScrA and ScrB. The enzymes controlling the level of c-di-GMP include proteins with GGDEF and EAL domains as well as the phosphohydrolase-associated HD-GYP domain. In possessing a multiplicity of cell types appropriate for life under different circumstances, the swimmer, swarmer, and sticky cell types, the ubiquitous marine bacterium and human pathogen V. parahaemolyticus must make certain critical lifestyle determinations. c-di-GMP plays a key role by influencing this decision-making process.
Comparison of marine sampling methods for organic contaminants: Passive samplers, water extractions, and live oyster deployment

Abstract Laboratory and field trials evaluated the efficacy of three methods of detecting aquatic pesticide concentrations. Currently used pesticides: atrazine, metolachlor, and diazinon and legacy pesticide dieldrin were targeted. Pesticides were extracted using solid-phase extraction (SPE) of water samples, titanium plate passive samplers coated in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and eastern oysters (Crassostrea viginica) as biosamplers. A laboratory study assessed the extraction efficiencies and precision of each method. Passive samplers yielded the highest precision of the three methods (RSD: 3–14% EVA plates; 19–60% oysters; and 25–56% water samples). Equilibrium partition coefficients were derived. A significant relationship was found between the concentration in oyster tissue and the ambient aquatic concentration. In the field (Housatonic River, CT (U.S.)) water sampling (n = 5) detected atrazine at 1.61–7.31 μg L−1, oyster sampling (n = 2 × 15) detected dieldrin at n.d.–0.096 μg L−1 SW and the passive samplers (n = 5 × 3) detected atrazine at 0.97–3.78 μg L−1 SW and dieldrin at n.d.–0.68 μg L−1 SW.
Centipede graphs and visibility on a cylinder

We present a complete characterization of the class of graphs that admit a cylindric visibility representation, where vertices are represented by intervals parallel to the axis of the cylinder so that the edges of the graph correspond to visible intervals. Moreover, we give linear time algorithms for testing the existence of and constructing such a representation.
Organizing for Global Competition

Global information technology (i.e., computer hardware, software, and data communications shared across country boundaries) can support the multinational firm as it seeks to coordinate global operations, diffuse innovations worldwide, or provide integrated service to a global corporate customer. The current study uses information processing theory as the basis for examining alternative organizational designs for information technology in a globally competing firm. Mail survey data gathered from information technology managers in 109 multinationals provide evidence that multinational firms use different and distinct ways of organizing their global information technology activities. The survey data also reveal that in nearly half of the organizations, the way information technology activities are organized is inconsistent with the way the organization is reportedly structured. A follow-up interview-based study sought explanations for these misfits. Several contingency variables were identified that may shed some light to the misfits. These included factors from both the firm's internal and external environments.
Evidence Regarding the Usefulness of Accounting in Managers' Bonus Contracts

In designing an executive bonus compensation contract, a compensation committee, usually with help from a professional executive compensation consulting firm, uses measures of short--term accounting performance as proxies for executive cash bonuses [Foulks, 1991]. Two measures commonly used are cash flows (CF) and accrual accounting income (INC). We show, analytically, that an implication of the Feltham, Ohlson framework is that the relationship between CF and INC differs depending on whether cash investment is growing, constant or declining over some time period. Through simulation, we provide evidence of this differential relationship. We also provide evidence through simulation that the relationship between CF and INC differs depending on whether the variance of the shocks is low, medium or high. We argue that executive cash bonuses can be excessive depending on these properties. Finally, we find evidence suggesting that economic income (E) may be a poor measure of earnings for which to base executive cash bonuses.
Breaking Through the Noise: Presidential Leadership, Public Opinion, and the News Media, by Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha and Jeffrey Peake

With the advent of the 24-hour news cycle and the increase in non-news programming, it has become increasingly difficult for presidents to impact public opinion through their speeches and travel. W...
Wireless Networking Testbed and Emulator (WiNeTestEr)

Repeatability, isolation and accuracy are the most desired factors while testing wireless devices. However, they cannot be guaranteed by traditional drive tests. Channel emulators play a major role in filling these gaps in testing. In this paper we present an efficient channel emulator which is better than existing commercial products in terms of cost, remote access, support for complex network topologies and scalability. We present the hardware and software architecture of our channel emulator and describe the experiments we conducted to evaluate its performance against a commercial channel emulator.
Neural Control of Assistive Technology

For severely paralyzed individuals, controlling various assistive devices is rapidly becoming a reality. Direct neural control requires tapping into a person's intended actions either directly by decoding brain activity or indirectly by tapping into remaining peripheral nerves or muscles to deduce the desired movements of the person. These neural command signals can be used to drive a wide range of assistive technologies including computer-based communication programs and environmental controls, assistive robots, and even Functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems designed to restore movement to paralyzed limbs. Both field potentials, such as electroencephalograms (EEGs), and multiunit activity (i.e., action potentials detected from many individual neurons via intracortical microelectrodes) have been used for direct brain control of various devices. Field potentials can be measured noninvasively via large scalp electrodes or invasively via implanted electrode (e.g., imbedded in the skull, placed on the brain surface). The firing patterns of individual neurons as well as the power spectra of recorded field potentials naturally have characteristic changes that accompany attempted or imagined movements. These native movement-related patterns in the brain signals can be decoded in real-time and used to command an assistive device. However, with practice, subjects can learn to modulate their recorded brain activity in new ways that can potentially convey a desired device command more effectively than by using the naturally occurring signals alone. This ability to retrain the brain to produce more reliable assistive device commands has been successfully demonstrated with both field potentials and multiunit activity. Keywords: brain-machine interface (BMI); brain-computer interface (BCI); neuroprosthesis; neuroprostheses; assisitve technology; neural control; functional electrical stimulation (FES); motor cortex
Making Work Pay: Changes in Effective Tax Rates and Guarantees in U.S. Transfer Programs, 1983-2002.

In the 1990s, many states liberalized statutory rules regarding the tax treatment of earned and unearned income for welfare program eligibility and benefit levels. I use quality control data from the AFDC/TANF program over 1983–2002 to document changes in the corresponding effective tax rates and benefit guarantees. After welfare reform I find that effective tax rates fell by 50 percent on earned income and by at least 70 percent on unearned income. States that aggressively reformed their welfare programs, especially those that implemented a stringent sanctions policy on benefits, experienced more rapid reductions in effective tax rates and guarantees.
Fluctuational electrodynamics calculations of near-field heat transfer in non-planar geometries: A brief overview

Abstract Near-field electromagnetic heat transfer is of interest for a variety of applications, including energy conversion, and precision heating, cooling and imaging of nano-structures. This past decade has seen considerable progress in the study of near-field electromagnetic heat transfer, but it is only very recently that numerically exact methods have been developed for treating near-field heat transfer in the fluctuational electrodynamics formalism for non-trivial geometries. In this paper we provide a tutorial review of these exact methods, with an emphasis on the computational aspects of three important methods, which we compare in the context of a canonical example, the coupled dielectric sphere problem.
Information, Incentives, and Commitment: An Empirical Analysis of Contracts Between Government and State Enterprises

The authors analyze experience with written performance contracts between developing country governments and the managers of their state-owned enterprises. Such contracts have been a vogue since the mid-1980s, and substantial resources have been sunk into their design and enforcement, yet the few assessments to date show mixed results. Using a simple agency model, they identify how problems of weak incentives sthemming from information asymmetry, lack of government commitment, and lack of managerial commitment can lead to shirking. They apply the model to a sample of 12 contracts with monopoly enterprises in six developing countries (Ghana, India, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, and Senegal). All suffer from serious contracting problems. They find no pattern of improved performance that can be attributed to the contracts. Only three of the 12 case-study companies showed a turnaround in total factor productivity after contracts were introduced, six continued past trends, and three performed substantially worse under contracts than they had before. Labor productivity improved at a faster pace in four cases, and deteriorated in none, but the improvement predated the contract. Performance contracting assumes that government's objectives can be maximized, and performance improved, by setting targets that take into account the constraints placed on managers. For this to occur, the principals must be willing to explicitly state their objectives, assign to them priorities and weights, translate them into performance improvement targets, provide incentives to meet those targets (or monitor the agents without incurring significant costs), and credibly signal their commitment to the contract. These conditions failed to materialize. Why would governments adopt contracts to which they were notcommitted or that were politically unrealistic? Sometimes because it enabled them to get foreign assistance. How explain the managers' lack of commitment? Not surprisingly, managers with information advantages and bargaining power, and with no strong incentives or commitment from the government, used their advantages to manipulate the targets so as to ensure that their performance would be judged satisfactory. The authors outline the conditions under which performance contracts might succeed in improving performance.
Baseball as the national pastime: a fiction whose time is past.

This article argues that ‘baseball-as-the-national-pastime' is a fine example of the ‘narrative construction of reality' concept advanced by psychologist Jerome Bruner. That is, baseball's endlessly self-pronounced, fictional claim to being the American ‘national-pastime' has run its course. By this late date, it is exhausted but not dead, sacked by the National Football League and many other sports and pastimes in an increasingly fragmented, heterogeneous culture.
STM-Induced Desorption of Polydiacetylene Nanowires and Reordering via Molecular Cascades

The desorption of polydiacetylene nanowires has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy at both solid−air and solid−vacuum interfaces. Langmuir-Schaefer films of 10,12-pentacosadiyonic acid on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite can be polymerized to form well-ordered polydiacetylene nanowires in ambient and ultrahigh vacuum conditions. These nanowires can either fully desorb or be cut into shorter segments depending on the strength of the interaction with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip. A single disruption usually causes the nanowire to completely desorb. In both desorption cases, the surrounding monolayer order is fully restored within a single line acquisition (approximately 100 ms). The subsequent monolayer reordering, though expected in a solid−liquid interface experiment, is unexpected at solid−air and solid−vacuum interfaces and may be due to a molecular cascade of the diacetylene derivative molecules. Desorption has been observed over numerous sample imaging conditions on both ...
Algorithmic approach to the consecutive retrieval property

Ghosh's consecutive retrieval property (CR property) not only represents an elegant file organization, but also raises the problem of how to construct such a file with this property. Ghosh used ann ×m 0–1 incidence matrix, wheren is the number of records andm is the number of queries, as a tool for constructing a file with the CR property. In this paper the rows and columns of the incidence matrix are restricted to unique 0–1 patterns. It is found that such a unique incidence matrix cannot have the CR property if the number of rows is greater than 2m−1. This upper bound can be used to generatem(2m−1) columns, which form all the matrices with the CR property that may correspond to the given matrix. Two algorithms are presented which map the columns of the given incidence matrix to these columns with consecutive l's. A proposed implementation in terms of data base design is also presented.
Quantification of PVC–PMMA polymer blend compositions by XPS in the presence of x-ray degradation effects

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is widely used for the quantitative surface analysis of polymer blends. The compositions of some polymers can change under x-ray exposure, influencing peak intensities and positions in survey spectra and, in addition, the peak shapes in high-energy resolution spectra. In order to quantify spectra acquired after prolonged (>15 min) x-ray exposure, polymer decomposition may need to be taken into account. Calculating the surface composition of a polymer blend using survey and high-resolution core-level spectra is thus not always straightforward. Halogenated compounds, especially chlorinated, are known to degrade with x-ray exposure, resulting in a decrease in the Cl 2p photopeak intensity and an increase in C 1s intensity. In this work, 50:50 PVC-PMMA blends are used to evaluate quantitative methods that correct for PVC degradation, based upon either survey or high-resolution spectra. For survey quantification, degradation data were acquired from both blends and pure polymers in order to measure the rate of change of the photoelectron signal intensity. Correction factors were developed based on changes in C 1s, O is and Cl 2p intensities as a function of analysis time. High-resolution C 1s spectra were curve-fit using photopeak shapes acquired from PVC and PMMA standards. After degradation, an additional peak attributed to hydrocarbon (HC), which is the product of PVC dehydrochlorination, is required in the curve-fit. Non-uniform HC contamination present initially in some of the PVC-PMMA blends complicates the quantification. The determination of PVC and PMMA concentrations based upon different approaches to the C 1s curve-fitting is presented. The influence of PVC degradation on image appearance and analysis has also been investigated. Principal component analysis (PCA) and classification methods are used to extract maps of the pure components from a degradation image data set. The maps are compared with elemental XPS images and maps of the pure components extracted from an images-to-spectra data set. Analysis of the image data provides insight into the difficulties in basing quantification on the C 1s photopeak curve-fits.
A skill refinement learning model for prioritized rule-based expert systems

Abstract This work presents an automated skill refinement learning model in rule-based expert systems. The learning methodology is based on both probability and possibility theories. We investigate a very general knowledge base representation where each rule in the knowledge base contains a five-element tuple. Elements in the tuple are confidence factor of a rule, rule's priority, two accumulators, and a value generated from a learning function. The proposed learning model is characterized by two closely coupled mechanisms: a rule-selection mechanism and an award/penalty-assignment mechanism.
Conservation planning in the west, problems, new strategies and entrenched obstacles ☆

Abstract The United States is often considered the progenitor of conservation planning in the world, the first to establish a vast public domain, for example. But with continued population growth, conservation planning on private lands—rural and at the urban fringe—continues to be a substantial challenge due to a tradition of local home rule in land use planning and strong private property protection afforded by the US Constitution. New “bottom-up” collaborative approaches, as well as other innovative strategies seem to be emerging. How effective these will be given pressures for growth and high property values remain to be seen without a rethinking of ideas of nature, a rebalancing of the role of property in American local fiscal regimes, and of private property rights.