cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
County-level Predictors of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases and Deaths in the United States: What Happened, and Where Do We Go from Here?

BACKGROUND: The United States has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding microlevel patterns in US rates of COVID-19 can inform specific prevention strategies. METHODS: Using a negative binomial mixed-effects regression model, we evaluated the associations between a broad set of US county-level sociodemographic, economic, and health status-related characteristics and cumulative rates of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths between 22 January 2020 and 31 August 2020. RESULTS: Rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths were higher in US counties that were more urban or densely populated or that had more crowded housing, air pollution, women, persons aged 20-49 years, racial/ethnic minorities, residential housing segregation, income inequality, uninsured persons, diabetics, or mobility outside the home during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this study provides results from the most comprehensive multivariable analysis of county-level predictors of rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths conducted to date. Our findings make clear that ensuring that COVID-19 preventive measures, including vaccines when available, reach vulnerable and minority communities and are distributed in a manner that meaningfully disrupts transmission (in addition to protecting those at highest risk of severe disease) will likely be critical to stem the pandemic.
An Overview of Islamic Feminist Paradigms and Methodologies in the light of Islamic Feminist Discourses

Islamic feminism’ is a comparatively latest stream of thoughts and discourses developed by a network of transnational, educated and urban settled men and women activist around the world, who aim to re-interpret the Holy Qur’ān and other religious texts to draw inspiration and to recover religious teachings from the patriarchal interpretations and practises, to endorse and promote equality of genders. Islamic feminists challenge the patriarchal setup and norms, which are ingrained within our cultural, societal, economic and political domains, by arguing that these notions and conceptions have nothing to do with the truest sense of Islam, but are only related with the traditional setup of society. The primary objective of this system is to change the ideas and practices that leads to marginalization, speaking against the canons related to male superiority which are manifested within the patriarchal cultures. This article explores the several scopes of Islamic feminism, along with investigating the important works of prominent Islamic feminists around the globe. It also aims to elaborate the standpoints of different school of thoughts of Islamic feminism. Moreover, this article explains the methodologies of Islamic Feminists in interpreting Qur’ān and Hadith and how these methodologies transform the classical interpretations of Qur’anic verses to meet the gender justice program.
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Studies of Giaever Immunology Slide

Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to study the dielectric response of indium film evaporated on a glass substrate, as well as that of indium film adsorbed with monolayers of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and Rabbit Antiserum on BSA (RABSA). It is found that the position of the e2 peak (or the peak of the imaginary part of the complex dielectric function) shifts to longer wavelengths and also increases in height as monolayers of BSA and RABSA are successively adsorbed onto it. The observed peak changes are due to the adsorption of BSA and RABSA on the surface of prolate indium clusters, which in effect increases the effective refractive index of voids between indium islands from 1.0 to 1.075 (BSA) and 1.15 (BSA + RABSA).
Building Machine learning datasets for oil-immersed service transformer health assessment using Fuzzy logic method

This paper proposed a low-cost method to build the machine learning training dataset for assessing service transformer health by using fuzzy logic method. The training dataset is tested on a stimulated 50kVA server transformer. The monitoring data is collected from the real-time energy monitoring device which is installed near the transformer to measure ambient temperature, current, and voltage. The condition of transformer is evaluated by using Support Vector Machine algorithm. The data generation proposed in this paper has high feature continuity and good scalability that can be used as a training data for machine learning, deep learning models.
Assumption-free derivation of the Bell criteria of contextuality/nonlocality

Traditional Bell criteria of contextuality/nonlocality can be derived without any falsifiable assumptions, such as context-independent mapping (or local causality), free choice, or no-fine-tuning. This is achieved by deriving Bell criteria for systems with disturbance, based on the generalized definition of contextuality in the Contextuality-by-Default approach, and then specializing these criteria to systems with no disturbance. Context-independent mapping and no-fine-tuning are derived rather than assumed, and free choice follows from context-independent mapping. KEYWORDS: Bell criteria; contextuality; context-independent mapping; free choice; local causality; no-fine-tuning; nonlocality.
Conservative Management of Placenta Previa-Accreta in a First Trimester Missed Abortion.

The incidence of placenta accreta has been increasing along with the incidence of caesarean sections. There have only been a few case reports of placenta accreta diagnosed in the first trimester, and none in association with a missed abortion in a woman without risk factors. At a routine prenatal visit, a 33 year old G2P0101 at 12+6 weeks had an ultrasound demonstrating a fetus with a crown-rump length of 8+0 weeks, no fetal heart tones, a placenta previa, and a morbidly adherent placenta. The patient requested conservative management to help preserve her fertility. Imaging demonstrated an anterior placenta previa with extension of the placenta past the inner endometrium into the superficial myometrium wall and the myometrium adjacent to the superior surface of the bladder. Consultation with Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) at another institution similarly demonstrated a suspicion of vascular invasion of the uterine wall with no increased vascularity extending to the maternal bladder using color flow Doppler. The opinion from this second MFM team recommended expectant management with serial beta-hCG, ultrasounds, and serial physician visits as well. Her beta-hCG levels declined serially from 55262 to 4874 mIU/mL over eight weeks. Her serial ultrasounds showed involution of the placenta and reasborption of the fetus during that time. After nine weeks of conservative management, the patient underwent an uncomplicated suction dilation and curettage. Postoperatively, the patient did well and did not have any complications. A first trimester missed abortion with a placenta previa and accreta can be managed conservatively in the attempt to preserve future fertility.
Improving Hexahedral-FEM-Based Plasticity in Surgery Simulation

Collecting, stretching and tearing soft tissue is common in surgery. These repeated deformations have a plastic component that surgeons take into consideration and that surgical simulation should model. Organs and tissues can often be modeled as curved cylinders or planes, offset orthogonally to form thick shells. A pair of primary directions, e.g., axial and radial for cylinders, then provides a quadrilateral mesh whose offset naturally yields a hexahedral mesh.
Curating COBRA Models of Microbial Metabolism.

Constraint-based reconstruction and analysis (COBRA) methods have been used for over 20 years to generate genome-scale models of metabolism in biological systems. The COBRA models have been utilized to gain new insights into the biochemical conversions that occur within organisms and allow their survival and proliferation. Using these models, computational biologists can conduct a variety of different analyses such as examining network structures, predicting metabolic capabilities, resolving unexplained experimental observations, generating and testing new hypotheses, assessing the nutritional requirements of a biosystem and approximating its environmental niche, identifying missing enzymatic functions in the annotated genomes, and engineering desired metabolic capabilities in model organisms. This chapter details the protocol for developing curated system-level COBRA models of metabolism in microbes.
Optimal well placement and brine extraction for pressure management during CO2 sequestration

Large-scale pressure increases resulting from carbon dioxide (CO2) injection in the subsurface can potentially impact caprock integrity, induce reactivation of critically stressed faults, and drive CO2 or brine through conductive features into shallow groundwater. Pressure management involving the extraction of native fluids from storage formations can be used to reduce such pressure increases. However, dealing with large volumes of extracted brine can be technically challenging and expensive. Selection of optimal well locations and pumping rates are critical for maximizing CO2 storage and minimizing brine extraction during geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS). Robust and efficient computerized algorithms combining reservoir models and optimization methods are needed to make proper decisions on well placement and pumping rates. This study presents a constrained differential evolution (CDE) algorithm for solving global optimization problems involving pressure management of GCS projects. Application of the CDE optimization methodology was demonstrated for a hypothetical CO2 storage scenario in a deep sandstone reservoir in the Southern San Joaquin Basin in California, USA. Industrial-scale storage of CO2 would generate significant pressure buildup in this formation, which in turn would raise concerns about induced seismicity due to presence of multiple faults surrounding the injection site. Through the CDE optimization algorithm coupled to a vertically-averaged reservoir simulator, we successfully estimated optimal solutions for brine extraction wells in the reservoir that would limit the local pressure along the faults to a prescribed threshold. Multiple realizations of the reservoir permeability field were created to understand the impact of reservoir heterogeneity on optimization results. Our results indicate that the reservoir slope and heterogeneity have significant impact on optimum extraction rates. Reservoir heterogeneity is also a significant factor for extraction well locations, suggesting that in practice decisions about extraction well placement through optimization should be made at later project stages when data from a few years of CO2 injection have allowed iterative updating and refining of the reservoir forward models. Although the study focused on optimization of brine extraction, the CDE optimization methodology presented in this paper has also potential to solve other complex optimization problems related to GCS, such as increasing storage efficiency by enhancing injectivity and capillary and dissolution trapping.
THE LANDSCAPE REPUTATION: TOURISM AND IDENTITY IN THE CARIBBEAN

Since the time of the European explorers who traversed the Caribbean Sea in the fifteenth century, visitors' written descriptions and illustrations of the islands were extraordinarily influential in forming the region's reputation. The principal component of these descriptions and illustrations, and the core of this reputation, was the tropical island landscape and the first impressions formed from onboard a ship as islands were approached from the sea. Because of the highly competitive nature of the tourism industry, this longstanding reputation was maintained. While this strategy has been effective, there has been increasing interest in diversifying the Caribbean tourism product and creating a sense of distinction between destinations. The islands' identities have the potential to form the basis of this distinction, but this has largely been prevented by the ongoing reliance on the externally-oriented reputation. This paper examines the legacy of the Caribbean's longstanding reputation based on landscape as characterised in modern tourism promotions.
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

History Hubble Operations Hubble Science Black Holes Stellar Environments Comets Galaxies Nebula Nova Stars Planets Jupiter Mars Neptune Saturn Uranus Keywords: Hubble Space Telescope (HST); fireworks show
Nicotinic Receptor Activation Excites Distinct Subtypes of Interneurons in the Rat Hippocampus

We examined the function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in interneurons of area CA1 of the rat hippocampus. CA1 interneurons could be classified into three categories based on nicotinic responses. The first class was depolarized by alpha7 nAChRs, found in all layers of CA1 and as a group, had axonal projections to all neuropil layers of CA1. The second class had both fast alpha7 and slow non-alpha7 nAChR depolarizing responses, was localized primarily to the stratum oriens, and had axonal projections to the stratum lacunosum-moleculare. The third group had no nicotinic response. This group was found in or near the stratum pyramidale and had axonal projections almost exclusively within and around this layer. Low concentrations (500 nM) of nicotine desensitized fast and slow nAChR responses. These findings demonstrate that there are distinct subsets of interneurons with regard to nicotinic receptor expression and with predictable morphological properties that suggest potential cellular actions for nicotinic receptor activation in normal CNS function and during nicotine abuse.
'Veni, VD, Vici'.?: Reassessing the Ila Syphilis Epidemic*

The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub‐Saharan Africa has stimulated renewed interest in the social, cultural, and epidemiological history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) under colonialism. Several authors have already challenged the evidence behind colonial era narratives on syphilis and sexuality by noting that European observers often vastly overestimated the incidence of this STD among Africans by misdiagnosing common manifestations of yaws as syphilis. Yet few researchers have explored the epistemological basis of pronouncements on the link between syphilis and widespread infertility in rural African society. This essay does so by re‐examining the historical origins of a well‐known syphilis epidemic among the Ila‐speaking peoples of Northern Rhodesia's Namwala District. It argues that the epidemic was largely a colonial construction based on a misinterpretation of the role of sex in Ila exchange relations and an underassessment of other factors that may have contributed to the perception that population ...
SU-E-J-28: Assessment of Rotational Misalignment in Cervical Spine Treatments and Potential for 6DOF Couch Corrections

Purpose: To quantify the magnitude of angular misalignments that may arise during spinal radiosurgery for metastases to cervical vertebrae and assess the ability of six-degree of freedom (6DOF) alignment systems to apply appropriate corrections. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the distributions of rotational misalignments of cervical vertebrae based on planning CT and CBCT acquired for verification of patient positioning was performed. Fifteen patients being treated for cancers of the head and neck were immobilized using Type-S head-only thermoplastic masks mounted to an overlay board. Rigid registration was performed using commercially available software for individual vertebrae of each patient. Distributions of rotations were tabulated across all patients and vertebrae, modeled with a normal distribution, and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Dosimetric consequences of maximal and 6DOF correctable misalignments are simulated. Results: Across all patients and vertebrae, 2/105 pitch rotations were >3° (1.9%), including 2/15 (13%) patients. Upper and lower 95% confidence intervals for pitch, yaw, and roll misalignments were [−2.3°, 3.3°], [−1.8°, 1.4°], and [−2.6°, 2.2°], respectively. Rotations for each vertebra were also considered. The greatest need for rotation appears to be for pitch correction of vertebra C4, with misalignment of 0.2° ± 1.9° observed, which predicts that a rotation >3° would be necessary 11.5% of the time that this vertebra is of interest. Conclusion: Empirical and model data presented here suggest that approximately 2–4% of vertebrae would require a rotation >3° in the sagittal plane, with some vertebrae more prone to rotational misalignments than others. Uncorrected rotational misalignment has the potential to alter dose distributions with respect to both treatment volumes and organs at risk and rotations >3° may require physical repositioning of the patient. Implementation of six-degree of freedom couch systems may facilitate clinical flow after rotational misalignment is detected, and allow expeditious, automated setup corrections. Varian and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are parties to a customer acceptance evaluation agreement regarding the Varian 6 degree of freedom couch.
Pulmonary edema and death induced by sinoaortic denervation in fastigial nucleus-lesioned rats

When adult male rats with lesions of the cerebellar fastigial nucleus were subjected to sinoaortic denervation and instrumented for aortic pressure recording, their elevated mean arterial pressure was found to rise no higher than that of rats with sinoaortic denervation alone; however all of the doubly operated rats died or became moribund within 4 days. Pulmonary edema and gastric ulcers were frequently seen. When the order of operations was reversed, all animals survived. The possible mechanism and involvement of other brain nuclei, catecholamines and vasopressin in these pathological changes is discussed.
Risk of development of medication overuse headache with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy for migraine: a critically appraised topic.

Background:The development of medication overuse headache (MOH) is associated with frequent use of analgesics, especially opiates, for treatment of primary headache disorders, particularly migraine. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to treat migraine.Objective:To critic
The circulatory effects produced in a patient with pneumopericardium by artificially varying the intrapericardial pressure

Abstract 1. 1. Observations on changes in pulse rate, respiratory rate, arterial pressure, venous pressure, and circulation time were made with artificially produced changes in intrapericardial pressure in a patient with pneumopericardium. These relationships have been illustrated graphically. 2. 2. The intrapericardial pressure fluctuated with respiration, and, as higher pressures were reached, these fluctuations decreased. 3. 3. The intrapericardial pressure fluctuated with systole and diastole. Kymographic tracings were made of the fluctuations in intrapericardial pressure caused by respiration and the heartbeat. With the higher intrapericardial pressures, the changes in pressure produced by systole and diastole were less marked. 4. 4. Significant changes in pulse rate, arterial pressure, venous pressure, and circulation time did not occur until the intrapericardial pressure was elevated to, or above, 145 mm. of water. 5. 5. In order to maintain the circulation, it was necessary that venous pressure exceed intrapericardial pressure by at least 35 to 40 mm. of water.
Content-addressable-memory-based single-stage optical modified-signed-digit arithmetic

Using a novel nonholographic optoelectronic content-addressable memory in a free-space angular multiplexing geometry, a single-optical-stage compact parallel optical modified-signed-digit arithmetic processing architecture is proposed. Some spatial light modulator based experimental results are also presented.
Divine omnipotence and impossible tasks: An intensional analysis

Atheists are frequently content to argue God's nonexistence using contingent premises concerning the existence of evil or, more plausibly, concerning the enormous quantity of evil in the world. But sometimes they are more aggressive. They may try to argue that God cannot exist because the very concept God (taken here as including the properties of being omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good) is logically self-contradictory or inconsistent. This takes some doing since the conception is certainly not obviously inconsistent. One collection of arguments in this vein focuses on the concept of omnipotence and attempts to show that it is incoherent to suppose the conception actually applies to something. A typical example of this sort is the "Paradox of the Stone." Can God make a stone which even He cannot lift? Yes? Then there is something which He cannot do, viz., lift said stone. No? Then there is something which He cannot do: make such a stone. In either case, God is not omnipotent. Hence, of necessity, God cannot be omnipotent. Hence, He cannot exist. Well, what is or at least should be the standard reply is that omnipotence does not require the impossible and creating a stone which an omnipotent being cannot lift is impossible. This is pretty much the answer given by St. Thomas Aquinas ([26], Question 25, Article 3), George Mavrodes ([13]), Alvin, Plantinga ([19]) and others. Actually the argument as stated contains a logical gap (see Section I below), so that if the theist wanted to be strict about it, he could reject the thing after pointing out its invalidity. However, it is relatively easy to fill the lacuna and give the atheist his due. But when this is done, the reasoning is still subject to the objection just explained.
Pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic modeling of methotrexate‐induced toxicity in mice

The prediction of chemotherapeutic efficacy is complicated by "protocol dependencies" in dose-effect and dose-toxicity relationships. It has been proposed that pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic mathematical models may allow characterization of chemotherapeutic protocol dependencies, and may facilitate the prediction of chemotherapeutic efficacy; however, few demonstrations exist in the literature. The present study examines the pharmacokinetics and toxicodynamics of methotrexate (MTX), a commonly used anticancer agent, after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration to mice. MTX was administered via bolus or infusion (24, 72, and 168 h), at doses of 2.5-1000 mg/kg. MTX plasma and peritoneal pharmacokinetics were characterized through standard noncompartmental and compartmental techniques. Body weight loss was used as a measure of MTX-induced toxicity. We found that MTX pharmacokinetics were independent of dose (over a range of 3-600 mg/kg) and independent of dosing mode (i.e., i.p. bolus vs. i.p. infusion). However, MTX-induced toxicity was shown to be highly dependent on the dosing protocol used. For example, the maximally tolerated dose (i.e., the dose related to a mean body weight loss of 10%) was 200-fold greater after bolus administration relative to that observed for 72-h infusion (760 mg/kg vs. 3.8 mg/kg). This profound protocol dependence in the relationship between MTX-induced toxicity and MTX exposure was characterized through the use of a time-dissociated pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model (median prediction error: 3.9%).
Photovoltaic arrays for Martian surface power

Missions to Mars will require electric power. A leading candidate for providing power is solar power produced by photovoltaic arrays. To design such a power system, detailed information on solar-radiation availability on the Martian surface is necessary. The variation of the solar radiation on the Martian surface is governed by three factors: (1) variation in Mars-Sun distance; (2) variation in solar zenith angle due to Martian season and time of day; and (3) dust in the Martian atmosphere. A major concern is the dust storms, which occur on both local and global scales. However, there is still appreciable diffuse sunlight available even at high opacity, so that solar array operation is still possible. Typical results for tracking solar collectors are also shown and compared to the fixed collectors. During the Northern Hemisphere spring and summer the isolation is relatively high, 2-5 kW-hr/sq m-day, due to the low optical depth of the Martian atmosphere. These seasons, totalling a full terrestrial year, are the likely ones during which manned mission will be carried out.
Microbiological Agar Diffusion Assay for Metronidazole Concentrations in Serum

Abstract An agar diffusion method using paper disks on plates seeded with Clostridium perfringens and incubated anaerobically to assay serum levels of metronidazole is described. The lowest serum metronidazole concentration that could be measured was 0.7 μg/ml, and the average error was 4% for 5 μg/ml. This assay could measure metronidazole in the presence of gentamicin or in the presence of penicillin, with the use of penicillinase incorporated into the assay plates, or in presence of penicillin, methicillin, and cephalothin with prior exposure of the specimen to beta-lactamase.
Can poor countries surmount high maternal mortality

Does poverty bind developing countries to high levels of maternal death in childbirth? Or, as safe-motherhood advocates claim, do public health and social policy interventions have the potential to accelerate maternal mortality transitions? Globally, almost one in 200 live births leads to the death of the mother, making maternal mortality an issue of critical international import. This article presents an analysis of the determinants of national maternal mortality levels with a view to shedding light on these questions. A cross-national regression of 64 countries shows that wealth indicators explain only a portion of the variance in national maternal mortality levels. Other determinants, including women's educational levels and the proportion of deliveries attended by trained health personnel, are more clearly associated with national maternal mortality levels than are measures of wealth. The results offer grounds for optimism concerning the potential for global safe-motherhood efforts to induce maternal mortality transitions.
VizCraft (case study): a multimensional visualization tool for aircraft configuration design

We describe a visualization tool to aid aircraft designers during the conceptual design stage. The conceptual design for an aircraft is defined by a vector of 10-30 parameters. The goal is to find a vector that minimizes an objective function while meeting a series of constraints. VizCraft integrates the simulation code that evaluates the design with visualizations for analyzing the design individually or in contrast to other designs. VizCraft allows the designer to easily switch between the view of a design in the form of a parameter set, and a visualization of the corresponding aircraft. The user can easily see which, if any, constraints are violated. VizCraft also allows the user to view a database of designs using parallel coordinates.
The Bayes Sequential Procedure for Estimating the Arrival Rate of a Poisson Process

Abstract Let Wn, n = 0, 1, …, be the time until the nth arrival of a Poisson process with rate θ. Using loss L (θ, ) = θ−2(θ − )2 and sampling costs involving cost per arrival and cost per unit time, the Bayes sequential procedure is derived. The large-sample properties of the procedure are then studied in the classical framework, and the optimal stopping time N* is shown to be asymptotically equivalent to n*, that function of θ which minimizes the expected total cost given θ. Asymptotic normality of the optimal sequential estimator is also shown. Finally, the asymptotic saving in expected total cost from using the Bayes sequential procedure instead of the Bayes fixed sample size procedure is computed.
Ways to leave your lover: A conversational analysis of literature

A conversational analysis of lovers’ exiting dialogues in contemporary fiction revealed three metacommunicative strategies used to terminate a romantic relationship: (1) suspension of the conversational rule of “let it pass;”; (2) zero‐sum strategizing; and(3) consensus on dissensus (i.e., agreement to disagree). The study suggests that fiction is a viable source for conversational data. Particularly germane to research on disengagement strategies, fictive dialogue permits examination of the interactive work of communicators as they accomplish relationship termination.
Parallel optimal choropleth map classification in PySAL

In this article, we report on our experiences with refactoring a spatial analysis library to support parallelization. Python Spatial Analysis Library PySAL is a library of spatial analytical functions written in the open-source language, Python. As part of a larger scale effort toward developing cyberinfrastructure of GIScience, we examine the particular case of choropleth map classification through alternative parallel implementations of the Fisher-Jenks optimal classification method using a multi-core, single desktop environment. The implementations rely on three different parallel Python libraries, PyOpenCL, Parallel Python, PP and Multiprocessing. Our results point to the dominance of the CPU-based Parallel Python and Multiprocessing implementations over the Graphical Processing Unit GPU-based PyOpenCL approach.
Control Strategy for Load Sharing in Distributed Generation System in Parallel Operation

Abstract- This paper presents a control strategy for parallel operation of distributed generation system. The proposed control technique, is based on the modified droop control method without any interconnection. This method is usually applied to achieve proper active and reactive power sharing when communication between each of distributed generation is difficult due to its physical location. In this paper investigate active and reactive power sharing of parallel operation. The power sharing is achieved by adjusting the frequency and voltage amplitude of each unit. Each unit has its own controller then the total active and reactive power can be shared by each unit in proportion with their rated power. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective in displaying a reliable and control performance. A system consisting of three distributed generation represented by inverters has been simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. Different cases of power rating and load condition are verified by the simulation results.
WAVE-MODE MODIFICATION IN LIQUID HELIUM WITH PARTIALLY CLAMPED NORMAL FLUID

When the equations of first and second sound are modified to correspond to wave propagation in the presence of viscous forces on the normal fluid, two wave modes result. In the limit of large viscous forces, second sound becomes an overdamped thermal mode with zero velocity, and first sound becomes an undamped (acoustic) mode with wave velocity $v$ given to first order by ${v}^{2}={(\frac{{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s}}{\ensuremath{\rho}})}^{2}{{c}_{1}}^{2}+{(\frac{{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{n}}{\ensuremath{\rho}})}^{2}{{c}_{2}}^{2}$ in terms of usual symbols. In this investigation, the onset of wave-mode modification has been examined as degradation of pure second-sound pulses and standing waves in the presence of barriers. Normal fluid was partially clamped in the interstices of emery powder or rouge, with viscous drag controlled by employing several packing densities. The velocity of thermal signals sent through chambers filled with these small particles decreases, and the damping increases with smaller interstices. The theoretical wave velocities of the thermal and acoustic modes are obtained, as functions of temperature and a viscosity coefficient, from the modified wave equations. For suitably chosen constant values of the viscosity coefficient, the theoretical velocity of thermal waves is in approximate quantitative agreement with the observed pulse velocities, and the observations are interpreted in this way. Qualitatively observed attenuation is shown to be in agreement with the same theory. The effect of capacitive thermal losses to the barrier particles, and consequent possible degradation of incipient wave modes to thermal diffusion, is also analyzed.
Extravascular obstruction of the superior vena cava by hematoma after open-heart surgery and diagnosis by scintigraphy

thrombus formation. The short runs of atrial fibrillation in this patient, lasting only 5 to 6 beats at maximum, were likely of too short a duration to produce sufficient stasis for clot formation . The presence of such an unusual complication of both acute myocardial infarction and right-sided cardiac catheterization raises the possibility that streptokinase administration may in some way have permitted thrombus formation . Experience with this patient raises the question of whether patients should be anticoagulated after streptokinase administration, irrespective of achievement of clot lysis .
Public Health Data Collection and Sharing Using HIPAA Messages

Public health information has significant value for doctors, public health officials, epidemiological researchers, the general public, and government agencies. Unfortunately, these data are difficult to obtain and are typically collected on as-needed basis and maintained locally. This localized process unavoidably limits the access to important public health data by its users. Moreover, the diversity of data transmission standards and collection techniques make the collected data less usable. This paper proposes a new standardized public health information system based on the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) messages, which are the standard transactions between hospitals and insurance companies. In particular, this paper explores the applicability of HIPAA messages as a data source and transmission standard, and proposes a prototype design of a new system to collect and share public health data using HIPAA messages.
Microwave-optical spectroscopy of glyoxal at low temperature

The zero-field magnetic resonance spectra of the lowest triplet state of glyoxal in neat crystals and in a 3-methylpentane glass were studied. Microwave double resonance and action spectroscopy were employed to identify and characterize the emitting triplet species to be two x-traps of trans-glyoxal. The T 1 └ S 0 absorption of glyoxal was found to play a major role in the population of its lowest triplet state. This is attributed to the existence of an intersystem crossing bottleneck.
Dynamics of MBE growth surface roughening of Ge (001) - A Stochastic model study

A stochastic model for the MBE growth of Ge is developed based on the master equation approach with solid-on-solid restriction and quasi-chemical approximation. The surface kinetic processes included are: adsorption, evaporation and intralayer and interlayer migrations. The growth rate, the average surface roughness and the average intensity of reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) (using kinematical theory of electron diffraction-were obtained for the MBE growth of Ge with the temperature in the range 100-500°C and a typical flux of 1 A/sec. The average surface roughness and the growth rate are found to be independent of substrate temperature below 150°C and above 400°C. In the intermediate temperature range, the growth rate increases and the surface roughness decreases with increasing temperature. The kinetic roughening temperature above which a smooth surface remains smooth, is identified from the temperature depen-dance of the average surface roughness and RHEED intensity, as 400°C. The temperature dependance of the average RHEED intensity and the kinetic roughening temperature obtained from this study compare favorably with the experimental results. At low substrate temperature, the surface migration rate is negligible irrespective of the temperature and therefore, the surface roughness and the growth rate become independent of the growth temperature. At high substrate temperatures, the surface roughness and the growth rate attain the limiting values for the flux chosen, owing to the saturation of the available sites for the interlayer migration process. Thus, these parameters become independent of the growth temperature.
Computed tomography of the kidneys

Abstract Computed tomography has assumed an important role in evaluating renal disorders. It is especially suited to the study of masses suspected of containing fat, parapelvic masses, displacement or malposition of the urinary tract and kidneys which are poorly visualized by other means. The need for correlation with clinical findings and other imaging methods is stressed.
Phase separation of binary fluids confined in a cylindrical pore: A molecular dynamics study.

Phase separation of a binary Lennard-Jones fluid confined in a cylindrical pore is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The wetting interaction of the fluid molecules with the walls of the single pore is derived from the Lennard-Jones potential. Existence of long-lived metastable states is found even in the presence of hydrodynamic modes. Other effects of the hydrodynamic interactions on the formation of wetting layers are discussed. Our results are consistent with recent experimental observations.
Preventable Hospitalizations And Socioeconomic Status

"Preventable" hospitalizations have been proposed as indicators of poor health plan performance. In this study of elderly Medicare beneficiaries, however, we found that preventable hospitalizations are also more common among elders of lower socioeconomic status (SES). The relationship persisted even when an up-to-date severity-of-illness adjustment system was used. To the extent that indicators of health plan "performance" reflect enrollees' characteristics, plans will be rewarded for marketing their services to wealthier, healthier, and better-educated patients. Further work is needed to clarify issues of accountability for preventable hospitalizations and other putative indices of health plan performance.
Reflection of nonlinear shock waves in a lattice

An analysis is made of the longitudinal shock response of a finite one‐dimensional elastic lattice with a step jump in velocity applied at one end and the remaining end free. For linearly elastic interactions between nearest‐neighbor particles, an exact solution is obtained using transform theory. For nonlinear elastic interactions, an asymptotic solution is obtained for the head of the pulse response near the free end, in terms of incident compression wave and reflected tension wave contributions. Nonlinear solutions for particle velocity and strain response near the free end are presented and discussed when the incident shock wave that has evolved in a lattice is of oscillatory form or is a sequence of solitary waves. On reflection of an incident shock wave at a free end, the strain response of a lattice behind the reflected wave rapidly alternates between compression and tension rather than behaving as an elastic continuum with a strain‐free response. The cumulative effect of nonlinear elastic interaction is to accentuate these changes near the free end and noticeably increase the difference between lattice and continuum responses.
Correspondence of brightness enhancement to cortical alpha rhythm.

A test was conducted of Bartley's hypothesis that the dominant cortical alpha rhythm is the mediating mechanism for brightness enhancement phenomena. Alpha rhythm samples were obtained periodically...
Investor perceptions of an auditor’s adverse internal control opinion

Abstract In response to recent corporate scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) which, among other things, requires that the auditor render an opinion as to the effectiveness of a company’s system of internal controls. The assumption implicit in this requirement is that the new internal control opinion provides investors with value-relevant information. Our evidence suggests that an adverse audit opinion on internal control over financial reporting provides incremental value-relevant information to investors beyond that contained in the financial statement audit opinion alone. Specifically we find that an adverse audit opinion on internal controls over financial reporting relative to an unqualified opinion is significantly associated with investors assessing a higher risk of financial statement misstatement, higher risk of a future financial statement restatement, higher information asymmetry, lower financial statement transparency, higher risk premium, higher cost of capital, lower sustainability of earnings, and lower earnings predictability. Overall, our empirical results support our hypotheses that the auditor’s opinion on the internal controls over financial reporting provides financial statement users with value-relevant information.
The future of online journalism: Mediamorphosis or mediacide?

Looks at how the news media is making use of, and adapting to, the Web and whether any of the media has found a language that is better than traditional print. Recommends that the newspaper business has to reinvent itself right away or, in a short time, it could disappear for good.
Cytochrome-P450-cytochrome-b5 interaction in a membrane environment changes 15N chemical shift anisotropy tensors.

It has been well realized that the dependence of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensors on the amino acid sequence, secondary structure, dynamics, and electrostatic interactions can be utilized in the structural and dynamic studies of proteins by NMR spectroscopy. In addition, CSA tensors could also be utilized to measure the structural interactions between proteins in a protein–protein complex. To this end, we report the experimentally measured backbone amide-15N CSA tensors for a membrane-bound 16.7 kDa full-length rabbit cytochrome-b5 (cytb5), in complexation with a 55.8 kDa microsomal rabbit cytochrome P450 2B4 (cytP4502B4). The 15N-CSAs, determined using the 15N CSA/15N–1H dipolar coupling transverse cross-correlated rates, for free cytb5 are compared with those for the cytb5 bound to cytP4502B4. An overall increase in backbone amide-15N transverse cross-correlated rates for the cytb5 residues in the cytb5–cytP450 complex is observed as compared to the free cytb5 residues. Due to fast spin–spin rela...
Buckling pathways in spherical shells with soft spots

Thin elastic spherical shells are known to exhibit a buckling instability at a finite external pressure. We study how this buckling is influenced by a weak region in an otherwise uniform shell, focusing on the case of a single small circular soft spot that is thinner than the rest of the shell. Using numerical simulations and theoretical arguments, we show that the soft region fundamentally alters the buckling behavior of the shell. The soft spot influences both the pressure at which the shell buckles, and the postbuckling shape of the shell. Depending on the properties of the soft spot, we find either a single buckling transition or two separate transitions as the external pressure is increased. We analyze the dependence of these buckling transitions on the size and thickness of the soft region. Besides contributing to our fundamental understanding of buckling transitions in inhomogeneous shells, our results can be applied to designing capsules with tunable shapes.
Individual differences in attentional modulation of cortical responses correlate with selective attention performance.

Many studies have shown that attention modulates the cortical representation of an auditory scene, emphasizing an attended source while suppressing competing sources. Yet, individual differences in the strength of this attentional modulation and their relationship with selective attention ability are poorly understood. Here, we ask whether differences in how strongly attention modulates cortical responses reflect differences in normal-hearing listeners’ selective auditory attention ability. We asked listeners to attend to one of three competing melodies and identify its pitch contour while we measured cortical electroencephalographic responses. The three melodies were either from widely separated pitch ranges (“easy trials”), or from a narrow, overlapping pitch range (“hard trials”). The melodies started at slightly different times; listeners attended either the leading or lagging melody. Because of the timing of the onsets, the leading melody drew attention exogenously. In contrast, attending the lagging melody required listeners to direct topedown attention volitionally. We quantified how attention amplified auditory N1 response to the attended melody and found large individual differences in the N1 amplification, even though only correctly answered trials were used to quantify the ERP gain. Importantly, listeners with the strongest amplification of N1 response to the lagging melody in the easy trials were the best performers across other types of trials. Our results raise the possibility that individual differences in the strength of topedown gain control reflect inherent differences in the ability to control topedown attention.
A synthetic analogue of the biomineralization process : Formation of novel lead sulfide phases

A biomimetic in-situ synthesis of PbS in PEO has been devised, which produces composites in which the inorganic phase can display regularity of morphology and crystallographic orientation. This in-situ synthesis of PbS in a PEO film has also produced two previously unknown phases of lead sulfide, one of which can be described as “compressed” galena (PbS), the other is a new form of lead disulfide (PbS2).
The Indian Reorganization Act and Federal Withdrawal

American anthropologists have been mainly concerned with studying Indians, since America has supplied abundant Indians but no other primitives for them to study. In the United States, a minute Indian minority is cooped up on reservations where it can be studied easily – an ethnic laboratory of nearly 300 tribes. Reams of literature have been written about aboriginal patterns, yet when the Indian Bureau announces that its long-term policy is one of withdrawal of federal supervision of Indians, anthropologists are largely unaware of the significance of this statement.
Synthesis of zeolites by water—organic vapor-phase transport

Abstract Zeolites are crystallized by a method that involves vapor-phase transport of organics and/or water. Amorphous powders obtained by drying Na2O·Al2O3·SiO2 gels of various compositions are transformed into zeolites by contact with vapors of amines and water, or water alone. It is shown that water and a sufficiently high pH in the reacting, hydrous solid are necessary for the crystallization to proceed. Amines can participate in the crystallization process by absorbing into the reacting, hydrous oxide phase and elevating the pH. In some cases, the amine may also serve as a structure-directing agent. Implications from this novel method of crystallizing zeolites towards the study of zeolite crystallization mechanisms and the synthesis of new materials are discussed.
On the use of Morse eigenfunctions for the variational calculation of bound states of diatomic molecules

Morse eigenfunctions for variational calculation of diatomic molecules vibrational-rotational energy level analysis, showing better convergence than harmonic oscillator basis