cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Verification of Darcy's Law

First-year engineering students at Virginia Tech are required to take an introduction to engineering course, EngE 1024 Engineering Exploration, in their first semester. One major objective of the course is to introduce the students to basic engineering principles and skills using hands-on projects. Each week the students attend a fifty minute lab, and one particular lab's purpose is to introduce students to data collection and analysis. This paper describes a lab that uses the derivation of Darcy's Law to demonstrate data collection, graphing, and curve fitting. A challenge in providing hands-on experiences to 1,300 students is the lack of proper lab space, heavy use of graduate teaching assistants, and time constraints. The project described by this paper has been designed to meet those challenges. The research described in this paper will replicate the development of the equation formulated by Henri Darcy in the nineteenth century. This will be done by repeating the experiment of Mr. Darcy, which will demonstrate to first-year engineering students the development of an empirical equation through an experiment.
Elemental Causal Learning from Transitions.

Much research on elemental causal learning has focused on how causal strength is learned from the states of variables. In longitudinal contexts, the way a cause and effect change over time can be informative of the underlying causal relationship. We propose a framework for inferring the causal strength from different observed transitions, and compare the predictions to existing models of causal induction. According to this framework, transitions where the cause and effect change simultaneously are the most informative about the underlying causal strength. The predictions of this framework are tested in an experiment where subjects observe a cause and effect over time, updating their judgments of causal strength after observing different transitions. The results are largely consistent with the proposed framework, showing that causal learning in longitudinal contexts relies on patterns of transitions – a previously overlooked source of information from which causal strength can be learned.
Influence of load cycling and tubule orientation on ultimate tensile strength of dentin

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of mechanical load cycling and tubule orientation on the ultimate tensile strength of crown and root dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty bovine teeth were cleaned and their incisal surfaces reduced, resulting in a flat surface 4 mm above the cementoenamel junction. The teeth were divided into 4 groups: G1 = control (no mechanical load cycling); G2 = 1,000,000 load cycles at 50 N; G3 = 1,000,000 load cycles at 100 N; G4 = 1,000,000 load cycles at 200 N. Sections of 0.5+/-0.1 mm thick were cut mesiodistally and the slabs further trimmed to 0.5+/-0.1 mm in an hourglass shape, according to the tubule orientation (parallel and/or perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth) in the root and crown, with a fine diamond bur to produce a cross-sectional surface area of 0.25 mm2. All specimens were then subjected to ultimate tensile strength testing at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Means and standard deviations were expressed in MPa. The bond strength data were analyzed with three-way ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD test (p < 0.05). RESULTS Ultimate tensile strength values did not differ statistically significantly between the loaded group and the control. However, statistical differences existed between root and coronal dentin (p < 0.001) and between parallel and perpendicular orientation of tubules (p < 0.001), where root and sections parallel to the tubules presented higher values than coronal and perpendicular, respectively. These differences were not related to mechanical loading. CONCLUSION There was no effect of in vitro load cycling on ultimate tensile strength of dentin. Differences presented between ultimate tensile strength of crown vs root dentin and parallel vs perpendicular to the tubule orientation can be influenced by differences in the amount of organic and inorganic content as well as composition of the dentin matrix. It is important to consider these aspects when predicting the quality and durability of restorations according to the types of dentin and tubule orientation to be restored.
Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the development of essential job functions for family practice residents.

BACKGROUND Family practice residency program directors and faculty are frequently faced with residents who sustain a temporary illness or become disabled during residency. In addition, disabled applicants are seeking positions in medical schools and residencies. Program directors and faculty have an obligation to understand the laws that apply to disability and illness to develop fair and workable policies within their programs. This article explores the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act that apply to family practice residency programs and residents with illness and disability. One of the key requirements for dealing with resident illness or disability is the development of essential job functions. We present a strategy to enable individual residency programs to develop a list of essential job requirements for family practice residents. An example of essential job requirements is given.
Promoting Greater Acceptance of and Skills to Teach Young Children with Disabilities: Blended Training of Early Childhood Educators

Promoting greater acceptance of and skills to teach young children with disabilities within early childhood education teacher preparation programs involves collaborative teaming, understanding the benefits and challenges involved in delivering inclusive supports, and appreciating the diverse and unique needs of all children. In this chapter, we present families, educators, researchers, academics, related service personnel, and other professionals the process and outcomes our university faculty experienced when creating a blended early childhood teacher preparation program. The chapter concludes with a list of key resources.
Generating educational tourism narratives from wikipedia

We present a narrative theory-based approach to data mining that generates cohesive stories from a Wikipedia corpus. This approach is based on a data mining-friendly view of narrative derived from narratology, and uses a prototype mining algorithm that implements this view. Our initial test case and focus is that of field-based educational tour narrative generation, for which we have successfully implemented a proof-of-concept system called Minotour. This system operates on a client-server model, in which the server mines a Wikipedia database dump to generate narratives between any two spatial features that have associated Wikipedia articles. The server then delivers those narratives to mobile device clients.
Sea ice draft observations in Nares Strait from 2003 to 2012

Time series observation of sea ice draft and velocity from Nares Strait between 2003 and 2012 provides new insights on the statistical properties of sea ice leaving the Arctic for the Atlantic Oceans. Median ice draft is 0.8 m, but it varies annually from 1.5 m in 2007–2008 to 0.5 m in 2008–2009. Probability density distributions of sea ice draft depend on location across the channel with thicker ice near Canada and thinner ice near Greenland. Nevertheless, sea ice motion stops seasonally due to arching land-fast ice that spans the 30–40 km wide channel for up to 190 days per year such as during the 2011–2012 winter. In contrast, the 2006–2010 period exhibits a single ice arch lasting 47 days in April/May 2008. Hence sea ice statistics are weighted by space not by time, using sea ice velocities estimated from colocated velocity observations. Multiyear sea ice with drafts exceeding 5 m constitute between 9% (2003–2004) and 16% (2007–2008) of the observed sea ice. The probability g(D) of this thick, ridged, multiyear ice decays exponentially with draft D at an e-folding scale D0 of 3.0 ± 0.2 m. The trend of D0 with time is statistically indistinguishable from zero. This observation suggests a steady export of multiyear sea ice at decadal time scales. We speculate that our observations document the draining of the last reservoir of thick ice from the Arctic Ocean found to the north of Ellesmere Island and Greenland.
AN AUTOMATIC METHOD OF DISCRIMINATING ROCK OUTCROPS USING LANDSAT DATA

A method of discriminating rock outcrops has been developed using Landsat data. The method, based on a hierarchical classification scheme, has been calibrated and tested in the Coppermine River area of the Northwest Territories of Canada. Maps showing outcrop locations have been prepared using this method. These maps were compared with the published geological maps, field notes, and aerial photos. The study shows that rock outcrops can be uniquely identified and that discrimination among different rock types is possible. Further, the results indicate that the Landsat data are as good as aerial photos for locating rock outcrops.
Forest structure retrieval from EcoSAR P-band single-pass interferometry

EcoSAR is a single-pass (dual antenna) digital beamforming, P-band radar system that is designed for remote sensing of dense forest structure. Forest structure retrievals require the measurement related to the vertical dimension, for which several techniques have been developed over the years. These techniques use polarimetric and interferometric aspects of the SAR data, which can be collected using EcoSAR. In this paper we describe EcoSAR system in light of its interferometric capabilities and investigate forest structure retrieval techniques.
Small livestock and aquaculture programming impacts on household livelihood security: a systematic narrative review

Small livestock and aquaculture production is thought to positively impact the livelihood security of poor rural households in low-income economies. A systematic narrative review conducted for evid...
Abstract 19831: Local Myocardial Intensity on Cardiac Computed Tomography is Associated With Scar Substrate in Post-Infarct Ventricular Tachycardia

Introduction: Catheter ablation of post-infarct ventricular tachycardia (VT) reduces risk of recurrent ICD shocks but long-term success rates are suboptimal. Contrast enhanced CT (CE-CT) can identi...
Learning From the Evolving Conversation on Firearms: A Public Health of Consequence, July 2018.

An editorial is presented which addresses a potential firearms-related public health crisis in the U.S. as of 2018, and it mentions a section of the current issue of the journal which features articles dealing with gun violence protection. According to the article, close to 100 people in America die each day from firearms. High-profile shootings at places such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are assessed, along with firearms research and population health science research.
Hormonal Therapy of Acne

Among the various factors known to be involved in the pathogenesis of acne, hormonal influences are of considerable importance. Androgens have been implicated as the principal class of substances responsible for the elicitation of acne, with the target tissue in the skin for this response being the androgen-sensitive sebaceous gland. Endocrine therapy of the disorder has been used for many years in the treatment of women not responsive to other therapy. The oral administration of estrogens has proved to be helpful and is generally administered in the form of oral contraceptive pills. Their mechanism of action, dosage, and complications are discussed.
A finite element analysis of fracture initiation in ductile/brittle periodically layered composites

A near-tip plane strain finite element analysis of a crack terminating at and normal to the interface in a laminate consisting of alternate brittle and ductile layers is conducted under mode-I loading. The studies are carried out for a system representing steel/alumina composite laminate. The Gurson constitutive model, which accounts for the ductile failure mechanisms of microvoid nucleation, growth and coalescence, is employed within the framework of small deformation plasticity theory. Evolution of plastic zone and damage in the ductile layer is monitored with increasing load. High plastic strain localization and microvoid damage accumulation are found to occur along the brittle/ductile interface at the crack-tip. Fracture initiation in the ductile phase is predicted and the conditions for crack renucleation in the brittle layer ahead of the crack are established for the system under consideration. Ductile fracture initiation has been found to occur before plasticity spreads in multiple ductile layers. Effects of material mismatch and yield strength on the plastic zone evolution are briefly discussed.
CE: Telehealth A Case Study in Disruptive Innovation

Overview: Technologic advances in health care have often outpaced our ability to integrate the technology efficiently, establish best practices for its use, and develop policies to regulate and evaluate its effectiveness. However, these may be insufficient reasons to put the brakes on innovation—particularly those “disruptive innovations” that challenge the status quo and have the potential to produce better outcomes in a number of important areas. This article discusses the concept of disruptive innovation and highlights data supporting its necessity within health care in general and nursing in particular. Focusing on telehealth as a case study in disruptive innovation, the author provides examples of its application and reviews literature that examines its effectiveness in both nursing practice and education.
A Review of Triple Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndromes

This review provides a summary of the new literature surrounding the concomitant use of anticoagulation with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and antiplatelet agents following acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and percutaneous intervention (PCI). The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (ACC/AHA) and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) provide weak recommendations for clinical situations in which patients require anticoagulation and dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor, also known as triple therapy. Recent investigations have compared double therapy regimens with a DOAC and P2Y12 inhibitor to triple therapy to provide insight into the optimal regimen that balances safety and efficacy. The PIONEER AF-PCI and RE-DUAL PCI trials compared double therapy regimens with rivaroxaban and dabigatran, respectively, to triple therapy regimens with warfarin following PCI. Both studies found that double therapy with a DOAC and P2Y12 inhibitor was associated with less bleeding and similar rates of thromboembolic events as compared to the warfarin triple therapy regimen. Apixaban and edoxaban are currently being evaluated in similar randomized trials.
The role of input assumptions and model structures in projections of variable renewable energy: A multi-model perspective of the U.S. electricity system

Abstract Recent wind and solar deployment in the United States has grown at unprecedented rates, but the extent to which this growth will continue is a key question. Energy-economic planning models are often used to develop future projections of these technologies, and although it is well-understood that model outcomes are sensitive to assumptions about technology developments and market conditions, it is less clear how underlying model structures might impact outcomes. For wind and solar technologies, model structures might be an even larger driver due to the complexity required to represent their variability, uncertainty, and location-dependence. Here, we apply three state-of-the-art electric sector planning models to evaluate variable renewable generation under different conditions with both harmonized and native input assumptions to isolate the impact that model structures might have on deployment outcomes. We find growth in wind and solar deployment in all models under a business-as-usual scenario (without new policies), where the median value for variable renewable energy generation share is found to be 27% by 2050—but with a wide range of estimates (18–43%), types of renewable technologies deployed, and regional distributions across models. With harmonized assumptions about technology costs and market conditions the range narrows slightly, but a large range in penetration outcomes remains (24–41% by 2050) suggesting that model representations play significant roles in projections of future wind and solar deployment. We also assess the implications of achieving 55% wind and solar penetration by 2050—to assess potential challenges at higher penetration levels—and the magnitude of variable generation under a carbon-constrained future. Finally, we identify research needs to better assess the future deployment of variable renewable energy.
On the fixing sets of dihedral groups

Abstract The fixing number of a graph Γ is the minimum number of labeled vertices that, when fixed, remove all nontrivial automorphisms from the automorphism group of Γ . The fixing set of a finite group G is the set of all fixing numbers of graphs whose automorphism groups are isomorphic to G . Previously, authors have studied the fixing sets of both abelian groups and symmetric groups. In this article, we determine the fixing set of the dihedral group.
Power and Data Integrity in Monolithic 3D Integrated SIMON Core

Monolithic 3D ICs have vertical interconnects that are comparable in size to local vias, thereby permitting extremely fine-grained vertical integration. SIMON, a lightweight block cipher, is designed and characterized at the Graphic Database System (GDS) level in two types of monolithic 3D design styles: transistor-level, where nMOS and pMOS transistors are split between tiers, and gate-level, where individual gates are partitioned among the tiers. The two 3D implementations as well as a 2D implementation are compared and characterized in terms of area and power. Furthermore, the effect of monolithic intertier vias (MIVs) on power and data integrity is analyzed for each custom 3D design. It is shown that power delivery for transistor-level monolithic 3D design is more challenging since all of the pMOS transistors (that are connected to the supply voltage) are located in the bottom tier where there are limited metal resources due to technology constraints.
Experimental and analytical studies of base pipe pin connections under direct tension

Abstract Base pipe pin connections were developed to simulate a hinge behavior at the base of cast-in-place or precast bridge columns. Base pipe pins are composed of two steel pipes: one pipe is embedded in the column and the other in the adjoining member. Shear force is transferred through contact of the pipes and friction. The uplift force is resisted by a tension member and welded studs on the surface of the column pipe. To investigate the behavior and failure mode of base pipe pins under direct tension and to determine the ultimate tensile capacity of the pins, two scaled pipe pin connections were tested under direct tension. Elaborate nonlinear finite element (FE) studies of the pipe pins were also conducted to explore the effects of different parameters on the response of the pins. There are many possible failure modes that could occur under tension. Test results depicted that rupture of the pin tension member with no damage to the connection was the dominant failure mode in pure tension. The FE models accurately estimated the response of the test models and the observed failure mode. The analytical results showed that decreasing the pipe height alters the failure mode but does not affect the ultimate capacity of the connection significantly. Furthermore, reducing the pipe height or increasing the number of stud layers has a small effect on the ultimate capacity and stiffness of the connections.
“Wild Nature” and the Lure of the Past: The Legacy of Romanticism Among Young Pagan Environmentalists

From the 1970s through the 1990s, backward-looking environmentalists in North America and the U.K. who identified as Wiccans or Pagans drew on the legacy of Romanticism in their idealisation of a historical past in which nature is primal and pristine. By reclaiming the wild (feminine) Earth, they contributed to a particular style of environmentalism that is nostalgic for childhood and a past lived closer to an idealised nature. However, there are two competing images that characterised environmentalism during these decades: the earth as nurturing Mother who takes care of her human children and wild nature as dangerous and unpredictable, unconcerned about human life. These two ways of imagining “nature” were prominent among young Pagan environmental activists in the late twentieth century and played an important role in the broader environmental movement’s conflicted attitudes towards “rewilding” and the appropriate relation between humans and the more-than-human world.
Abstract P1118: The Role of Lateral Hypothalamic Leptin Circuitry in Autonomic Control of Cardiovascular Function

Obesity is commonly associated with sympathetic overactivity and elevated blood pressure, and accumulating evidence suggests that an adipocyte-derived metabolic hormone, leptin, may plays an import...
Modeling of Lifeline Infrastructure Restoration Using Empirical Quantitative Data

Disaster recovery is widely regarded as the least understood phase of the disaster cycle. In particular, the literature around lifeline infrastructure restoration modeling frequently mentions the lack of empirical quantitative data available. Despite limitations, there is a growing body of research on modeling lifeline infrastructure restoration, often developed using empirical quantitative data. This study reviews this body of literature and identifies the data collection and usage patterns present across modeling approaches to inform future efforts using empirical quantitative data. We classify the modeling approaches into simulation, optimization, and statistical modeling. The number of publications in this domain has increased over time with the most rapid growth of statistical modeling. Electricity infrastructure restoration is most frequently modeled, followed by the restoration of multiple infrastructures, water infrastructure, and transportation infrastructure. Interdependency between multiple infrastructures is increasingly considered in recent literature. Researchers gather the data from a variety of sources, including collaborations with utility companies, national databases, and post-event damage and restoration reports. This study provides discussion and recommendations around data usage practices within the lifeline restoration modeling field. Following the recommendations would facilitate the development of a community of practice around restoration modeling and provide greater opportunities for future data sharing.
Development and evaluation of a point-of-use UV appliance for fresh produce decontamination.

Abstract In-house treatment strategy for fresh produce decontamination has not been emphasized as much as industrial washing. The most common treatment for fresh produce decontamination and cleaning at home and other point-of-use places such as cafeteria is rinsing and/or soaking in a sink. In this study, an appliance utilizing UV and agitated water to decontaminate fresh produce was developed and its effectiveness was investigated in an aim to identify optimum processing parameters. Grape tomato and spinach representing two different surface smoothness were dip-inoculated in a four-strain Salmonella cocktail to reach a final population of 5–8 log CFU/g and air-dried. The produce samples were then washed in 1 gallon tap water under varying conditions, water agitation speed (0–190 RPM), sample size (50–400 g), UV intensity (0–30 mW/cm2) and treatment time (2, 5 and 10 min). In general, increasing the agitation speed and UV intensity enhanced Salmonella inactivation for both grape tomato and spinach. Sample size significantly affected the UV inactivation of Salmonella on grape tomato, but not on spinach. The effect of extending treatment time from 2 to 10 min was insignificant for almost all the UV treatments and the controls. The effect of UV intensity and treatment time on inactivation of Salmonella on spot-inoculated grape tomato and spinach was also determined. The most severe treatment used in this study, 30 mW/cm2 UV for 10 min, resulted in >4 log reductions of Salmonella dip- or spot-inoculated on grape tomato (200 g sample size and 190 RPM agitation speed) and 3.5 log reductions of Salmonella dip- or spot-inoculated on spinach (100 g sample size and 110 RPM agitation speed). We foresee that the UV appliance developed and evaluated in this study could be further fine-tuned and optimized to eventually construct a point-of-use UV appliance that can be used at home, cafeteria, restaurants, and hospitals for fresh produce decontamination and cleaning. The UV appliance could be an inexpensive and effective tool to improve fresh produce safety.
CryptoEmu: An Instruction Set Emulator for Computation Over Ciphers.

Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) allows computations over encrypted data. This technique makes privacy-preserving cloud computing a reality. Users can send their encrypted sensitive data to a cloud server, get encrypted results returned and decrypt them, without worrying about data breaches. This project report presents a homomorphic instruction set emulator, CryptoEmu, that enables fully homomorphic computation over encrypted data. The software-based instruction set emulator is built upon an open-source, state-of-the-art homomorphic encryption library that supports gate-level homomorphic evaluation. The instruction set architecture supports multiple instructions that belong to the subset of ARMv8 instruction set architecture. The instruction set emulator utilizes parallel computing techniques to emulate every functional unit for minimum latency. This project report includes details on design considerations, instruction set emulator architecture, and datapath and control unit implementation. We evaluated and demonstrated the instruction set emulator's performance and scalability on a 48-core workstation. CryptoEmu has shown a significant speedup in homomorphic computation performance when compared with HELib, a state-of-the-art homomorphic encryption library.
Review of galectin-3 inhibitors in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a β-galactoside binding protein associated with many disease pathologies, including chronic inflammation and fibrogenesis. It has been implicated in the disease severity of NA...
A Decade of U.S. Natural Disasters and Household Food-at-Home Expenditures and Quality: A Quasi-Experimental Study

This study exploits spatial and temporal variation in natural disasters in the United States via a generalized differences-in-differences approach to identify the impact of natural disasters on households’ food-at-home (FAH) spending and quality from 2005 to 2016. We use two datasets: (i) the Storm Events Database to identify U.S. counties that experience severe economic losses as a result of droughts, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, and (ii) the Nielsen Consumer Panel Data for grocery data. We find that only floods and hurricanes affect FAH spending. Floods (Hurricanes) have a persistent (immediate) effect on FAH spending. On average, highly damaging floods (hurricanes) decrease 15-day FAH spending by about $2 ($7) in 90 days (30 days) after the events. The FAH quality effect of the four natural disasters is either inconsequential or nonexistent. We provide indirect evidence that the FAH spending effect of natural disasters works through both income and price channels. We also find that hurricanes have an anticipation effect on total grocery spending which starts 15 days before the disaster date. Our results are robust to an alternative specification that controls for county-specific linear trends. We add to the growing body of literature on the effects of natural disasters on household finances and financial decisions. Our findings could be of particular interest to post-disaster relief organizations and their programs.
Interessengruppen und Wirtschaftsräte

Die Interessen- und Machtgruppen sind die lebendige „Offentlichkeit“ hinter den Parteien. In der Vergangenheit hat man solche Gruppen mit sittlicher Entrustung und Besorgnis betrachtet, und sie wurden nicht nur von den sog. „muckrakers“ oder Sensationsliteraten, sondern auch von gemasigten Staatswissenschaftlern verachtlich gemacht. Sie galten als die unheilvollen Krafte, die die Grundlagen der modernen Demokratie und der reprasentativen Regierung unterwuhlten, und der Begriff „lobby“ umfaste angeblich ein ganzes Konglomerat von Misbrauchen, Korruption, betrugerischen Machenschaften und ahnlichen Dingen. Unterstellungen dieser Art enthalten gewis viel Wahrheit. Die Tatigkeit dieser „Interessen“ hat auserdem offensichtlich den Glauben an den Volksstaat geschwacht; denn sie hat das Vertrauen in ein geeintes Volk untergraben. Wilsons Angriff auf die Kongresregierung mit ihrem Ausschussystem (siehe oben Kapitel XVII, S. 375f.) stutzte sich zum Teil auf Feststellungen uber die Macht, die die Interessengruppen sich angemast hatten. „In den Ausschuszimmern endet die Gesetzgebung, die von den ‚Interessen‘ nicht gewunscht wird. In den Ausschuszimmern wird die von den ‚Interessen‘ gewunschte Gesetzgebung gestaltet und abgefast1.“ Schon vorher hatte Bryce in einem Anhang zu seinem American Commonwealth den lobbies eingehende Betrachtungen gewidmet.
Hodge Theory, Complex Geometry, and Representation Theory

This monograph presents topics in Hodge theory and representation theory, two of the most active and important areas in contemporary mathematics. The underlying theme is the use of complex geometry to understand the two subjects and their relationships to one another--an approach that is complementary to what is in the literature. Finite-dimensional representation theory and complex geometry enter via the concept of Hodge representations and Hodge domains. Infinite-dimensional representation theory, specifically the discrete series and their limits, enters through the realisation of these representations through complex geometry as pioneered by Schmid, and in the subsequent description of automorphic cohomology. For the latter topic, of particular importance is the recent work of Carayol that potentially introduces a new perspective in arithmetic automorphic representation theory. The present work gives a treatment of Carayol's work, and some extensions of it, set in a general complex geometric framework. Additional subjects include a description of the relationship between limiting mixed Hodge structures and the boundary orbit structure of Hodge domains, a general treatment of the correspondence spaces that are used to construct Penrose transforms and selected other topics from the recent literature.
How Should the Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence Be Determined in a Female Population

The International Continence Society defines urinary incontinence (UI) as the ‘‘involuntary leakage of urine’’ [1]. The implication of this simple statement for the global health care system is immense. In the year 2000, approximately $19.5 billion was spent on UI [2] in the United States alone, and in 2005, a multinational study including Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden estimated that s7 billion was spent on urge incontinence only [3]. As the total costof spendingonhealth care continues to rise, it is important that we continue to perform studies to better understand the true prevalence of this disease. The true prevalence lies not only in the patients seen in offices around the globe but also in the number of people in the general population experiencingepisodes of leakage.Howdo we identify these people, andwhat populations shouldwebe screening? In this month’s issue of European Urology, Bedretdinova et al presented an important study highlighting key issues in the field of incontinence [4]. Throughout the literature, multiple authors have attempted to better quantify and understand the prevalence of UI in varying demographics [5–7]. A distinctive strength of the study by Bedretdinova et al lies in the surveydata obtained fromanumberof unique French populations, using a variety of survey tools and definitions for UI across similar time periods to draw informative conclusions. An important limitation of the study, however, was the lack of ability to determinewhether the prevalence of UI was predominantly urge incontinence, stress incontinence, or mixed incontinence. Although the authors were able to estimate the prevalence of UI overall, this distinction is crucial for all future studies, as the pathophysiology and treatments are drastically different.
Dynamics of high-radiance visible-laser beam interaction with metals

Summary form only given. We have investigated laser-material coupling, laser-plasma interaction, and material removing mechanisms with high-power copper vapor lasers (CVL). It is found that material coupling with high-radiance visible laser light improves quickly as material undergoes rapid temperature and phase changes during the 50 to 70 ns laser pulse. The measurements of vapor expansion on aluminum and steel reveal that strong plasma-absorption-induced ignition starts at a laser intensity of 1-2 GW/cm/sup 2/. This plasma ignition induces a detonation wave that travels with a speed of a few tens of km/s. Hydrodynamic relations indicate that the vapor density at the end of a laser pulse is 3(10/sup 10/)-1(10/sup 11/) cm/sup -3/ with a pressure of a few thousand atmosphere near the target surface.
Images from Headache: Resolution of trigeminal mediated nasal edema following greater occipital nerve blockade.

A 45-year-old man with a history of hypertension and no tobacco exposure presented with a 13-year history of daily strictly right-sided continuous headache that began 2 months after concussion. His headache was associated with mild photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and rare episodes of emesis as well as constant right-sided nasal stuffiness for “years.” Additionally, the patient would experience severe exacerbation of headache with associated right-sided trigeminal autonomic features including ptosis, lacrimation, rhinorrhea, and agitation lasting 20-30 minutes. Although a diagnosis of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania was considered, the patient did not respond to indomethacin at 150 mg/day. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) per
Government Benefits and the Rule of Law: Toward a Standards-Based Theory of Due Process

Under the Supreme Court's current due process jurisprudence, due process applies only when government actors deprive a person of a protected interest in life, liberty, or property, and government benefits are property only when has an entitlement to the benefit. Thus, Congress or a state legislature can preclude the application of the Due Process Clause simply by declining to create an entitlement to a government benefit. Given the centrality of rule of law principles to the constitutional order, it is disquieting that such a basic rule of law safeguard as due process is dependent upon political discretion, just because the interest at issue is a governmentally created one. Early due process decisions suggest an alternative approach to due process that has the potential to solve the seemingly intractable dilemma of how to extend due process to government benefit decisions without implicating a substantive constitutional right to them. This approach, which we call the standards-based approach, encompasses two fundamental principles. First, the Constitution requires due process whenever the allocation of government benefits is constrained by legal standards whether or not there is a legal entitlement to the benefit, although the scope of procedural requirements will vary with the nature of the decision and the interest involved. Second, the legislature may decide whether or not to provide government benefits, but once it chooses to provide benefits, it is constitutionally compelled by the rule of law to provide statutory standards for the allocation of those benefits, except in limited circumstances controlled by the political question doctrine. The standards-based approach provides solid constitutional foundations for the rule of law. Except in narrow areas where the Constitution permits standardless political discretion, governmental regularity requires legal standards that guide and control the execution of the law. Once legal standards are in place, it is the duty of all government officials to comply with them, regardless of the character of the right at issue. Due process is a crucial constitutional mechanism for ensuring compliance with legal standards and therefore should apply whenever there are legal standards.
Probing protein function in cells using CALI

Chromophore-assisted laser inactivation (CALI) is a method utilizing dye-labeled antibodies combined with light of specific wavelengths for acute knockdown of protein function at the cellular and tissue level with high spatial and temporal resolution. In recent years, the techniques of CALI have evolved, although the goal of direct knockdown of the protein function remains the same. This article will examine the utility, applications, and derivations of CALI as a tool to probe in vitro and in vivo protein function. Keywords: chromophore; laser; inactivation; protein; proteomic; laser; antibody; antibody labeling; protein inactivation; free radicals; malachite green isothiocyanate; fluorescein isothiocyanate
Fetal Diaphragmatic Hernia: Echocardiography and Clinical Outcome

It is difficult to predict survival of fetuses diagnosed prenatally with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Some studies suggest that left heart underdevelopment is associated with poor outcome, but fetal echocardiographic variables have not been conclusively proven to be good predictors of postnatal survival. The authors reviewed detailed fetal echocardiographic studies in twelve fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Ten echocardiographic variables, including left and right ventricular width, left ventricular volume, and left ventricular mass, were examined from a four-chamber view, corrected for gestational age, and compared with normal data. The results of this study showed no significant differences between survivors and nonsurvivors in the ten variables analyzed. Although left heart dimensions and left ventricular volume in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia were below the expected normal range, these results did not predict postnatal outcome.
Numerical Simulation of Ethanol-Water-NaCl Droplet Evaporation.

A quantitative description of droplet evaporation is important to aerosol research for nanofabrication, spray drying, fuel combustion, pollution control, and respiratory medical treatments. Evaporation is a moving-boundary problem with coupled mass and heat transport. An explicit finite-difference methodology and computer code has been developed for simulation of an evolving droplet, property data for size, and profiles for various compositions and temperature. The code accurately predicts the evaporation of pure water and pure ethanol droplets. To understand aerosol-assisted evaporation-induced self-assembly and the formation mechanism for single-crystal NaCl core/hexagonally ordered mesoporous silica shell particles, evaporation of ethanol−water−NaCl droplets in N2 has been investigated by numerical simulation. The extended universal quasichemical (UNIQUAC) model with a Debye−Huckel term is used to describe the vapor−liquid phase equilibrium. For 1−2-μm-radius droplets with a number density of 107∼108/c...
Manycore performance-portability: Kokkos multidimensional array library

Large, complex scientific and engineering application code have a significant investment in computational kernels to implement their mathematical models. Porting these computational kernels to the collection of modern manycore accelerator devices is a major challenge in that these devices have diverse programming models, application programming interfaces APIs, and performance requirements. The Kokkos Array programming model provides library-based approach to implement computational kernels that are performance-portable to CPU-multicore and GPGPU accelerator devices. This programming model is based upon three fundamental concepts: 1 manycore compute devices each with its own memory space, 2 data parallel kernels and 3 multidimensional arrays. Kernel execution performance is, especially for NVIDIA® devices, extremely dependent on data access patterns. Optimal data access pattern can be different for different manycore devices --potentially leading to different implementations of computational kernels specialized for different devices. The Kokkos Array programming model supports performance-portable kernels by 1 separating data access patterns from computational kernels through a multidimensional array API and 2 introduce device-specific data access mappings when a kernel is compiled. An implementation of Kokkos Array is available through Trilinos [Trilinos website, http://trilinos.sandia.gov/, August 2011].
Quantitative analysis of the calcium-sensing receptor messenger RNA in parathyroid adenomas.

Abstract Background. In primary hyperparathyroidism, hypercalcemia fails to suppress adequately secretion of parathyroid hormone by the parathyroid gland, which may result from failure of the cell-surface calcium receptor (CaR) to sense calcium correctly. Quantification of mRNA concentrations should provide important information on the role of expression of CaR in primary hyperparathyroidism. Methods. We have developed a quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay with a competitive template (CaR-M). Amplified cDNAs for CaR and CaR-M are quantified, and the concentration of CaR mRNA is determined from the ratio of CaR-M/CaR versus known CaR-M concentrations. Results. In parathyroid adenomas (n = 12) the CaR mRNA was 19.2 ± 2.4 (mean ± SE) fg/ng total RNA (range, 7.4 to 32.8 fg/ng). Extracellular ionized calcium levels ranged from 1.38 to 1.74 mmol/L (normal, 1.19 to 1.31 mmol/L) and parathyroid hormone from 69 to 345 pg/ml (normal, 14 to 65 pg/ml). In spite of the wide variability in CaR expression in the various adenomas, there was no correlation between mRNA and either extracellular ionized calcium (r 2 = 0.013) or parathyroid hormone levels (r 2 = 0.001). Normal human parathyroid glands gave values of 8.0 and 16.6 fg/ng, whereas normal bovine parathyroid glands had a mean of 20 ± 0.6 fg/ng (n = 4). Conclusions. There is no apparent relationship between CaR mRNA levels in adenomas and preoperative Ca and PTH levels. Our findings suggest that defective Ca sensing in adenomas may involve post-translational modification or signal transduction distal to the receptor. Our highly sensitive assay for CaR mRNA should prove useful in examining further the role of CaR in Ca sensing in parathyroid tissue.
The Rac1-GEF Tiam1 Couples the NMDA Receptor to the Activity-Dependent Development of Dendritic Arbors and Spines

NMDA-type glutamate receptors play a critical role in the activity-dependent development and structural remodeling of dendritic arbors and spines. However, the molecular mechanisms that link NMDA receptor activation to changes in dendritic morphology remain unclear. We report that the Rac1-GEF Tiam1 is present in dendrites and spines and is required for their development. Tiam1 interacts with the NMDA receptor and is phosphorylated in a calcium-dependent manner in response to NMDA receptor stimulation. Blockade of Tiam1 function with RNAi and dominant interfering mutants of Tiam1 suggests that Tiam1 mediates effects of the NMDA receptor on dendritic development by inducing Rac1-dependent actin remodeling and protein synthesis. Taken together, these findings define a molecular mechanism by which NMDA receptor signaling controls the growth and morphology of dendritic arbors and spines.
On the equivalence of angular force for lattice dynamics of b.c.c. metals

Abstract All angular force models developed for the study of lattice dynamics of b.c.c. metals are bound to give identical results. The recent model of Rani and Gupta is not an exception from this rule.
Effects of the cognitive organization of route knowledge on judgments of macrospatial distance.

The effects of route segmentation were examined in a series of three experiments, Subjects in Experiment 1 divided an actual route into segments. Subjects in Experiment 2 performed corresponding proximity-judgment and distance-estimation tasks involving locations selected on the basis of the route segments identified in Experiment 1. Subjects in Experiment 3 performed a simple unidirectional distance-estimation task. Results from these experiments indicated that subjects can readily divide a route into segments and that these segments significantly bias judgments of macrospatial distance. These findings suggest a similarity between route segmentation in macrospatial cognition and categorization in other cognitive-task domains.
An Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Employment Tenure of Federal Political Executives

The issue of tenure among political executives has been hypothesized to be important in understanding the ability of presidents to implement policy. While it has been demonstrated that these executives remain in their appointed position for a very short period of time and theories have been developed to explain this short tenure, previous work has not tested these hypotheses statistically. This article uses data from a 1985 National Academy of Public Administration survey of political appointees and, using multiple regression methods, addresses the specific factors that have been theorized to influence the tenure of these executives. Specifically, two key factors are found to negatively impact tenure: poor relations with the career bureaucracy and the lure of greater private sector salaries. Other hypotheses are tested as well. The results provide a clearer picture of the motivations of these officials and may be of assistance in promoting an increased length of service through better recruitment and rete...
A positive theory of immigration amnesties

Abstract We suggest that border patrols, the apprehension of illegal aliens, and the offering of immigration amnesties may be viewed as different facets of the same policy. A rich country can use this policy mix to attract cheap foreign workers while avoiding low ability migrants, who, once amnestied, become a burden on the public purse.
Influences of wave stretching on the response of wave-excited offshore platforms

Abstract Critical examinations are reported for the effects of wave stretching on realistic representations of the wave forces that act on offshore structures. Examinations are also made for the importance of such effects on the corresponding structural responses, and it is demonstrated that the effects of stretching on the governing wave forces and the resulting structural responses are small, indicating that they can be ignored in design practice. Valuable insight is further provided into the definition of the wave excitation, and physical interpretations are made which show that the actions of stretching cannot materially influence the governing excitation and the corresponding structural response.