cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The value of experiential approaches to evaluation training

Abstract The training of evaluators is an important task—important because of the good that well trained evaluators can do and because of the mischief that poorly trained evaluators can cause. There is broad agreement on the importance of producing evaluators who are methodologically versatile and organizationally savvy. To accomplish these educational ends it is necessary to supplement classroom based instruction with experiential approaches. This paper describes a theoretical model of an effective experiential educational program for training evaluators, assesses two operating programs against the requirements of the model, and reports the results of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs in producing important educational outcomes.
Consensus in a multi-expert system

Most existing expert systems contain a single rule base. Any extension of this model to group decision-making must account for the possibility of conflicting rules encoded by different group members. The inability to reconcile conflicts, however, is one of the most clearly established shortcomings of rule-based knowledge representations [4] [11]. Thus, multi-expert rule-bases are likely to be inelegant and confusing at best, incorrect and useless at worst. The creation of advisory systems whose recommendations are based on the input of multiple experts, then, calls for an alternative knowledge representation.Despite their preeminence in the artificial intelligence (AI) community, production systems are not the only models of expertise. Several graphical models, including influence diagrams [10] [14] and Bayesian networks [11], have recently been introduced as paradigmatic bases for expert systems, with rather encouraging results; preliminary tests on PATHFINDER [9] demonstrate their latent power. These models graphically represent a domain's objects as nodes and the interactions among them as arcs and arc values. In PATHFINDER, for example, the graph's nodes represent diseases and symptoms, the arcs indicate dependence between diseases and symptoms, and the arc weights specify the degree of probabilistic dependence. PATHFINDER has only one disease node, which consists of a mutually exclusive and exhaustive set of hypotheses; any patient diagnosed by the system is assumed to have exactly one of the candidate diseases. The task of the diagnostician is to collect evidence that discriminates among them. Thus, at any point in time, PATHFINDER's partial diagnosis may be represented as a probability distribution over the N hypotheses. A diagnosis is complete when the probability of one of the diseases equals or approaches 1.0.The output provided by a belief network is easily extensible to multiple experts; any number of experts may encode their own knowledge bases and generate their own diagnoses, which will be combined into a single group diagnosis. Such combination has long been discussed by researchers concerned with mathematical aggregation for group decision making. It is important to note, however, that mathematical aggregation, as an arbitration scheme, will only strengthen a system's performance if the contributors share a general perspective as well as a common goal.A variety of aggregation functions have been proposed [6] [7] [13]. Of these proposals, the simplest is the linear opinion pool [6] [13], in which the consensus probability assigned to hypothesis Hj, (denoted pj), is a weighted sum of the probabilities assigned to Hj by each of the i = 1,…,M group members, or pj=bM S i=1 wijpij, where pij denotes the probability assigned to Hj by member i, wij is the weight assigned to member i (for Hj), and b is a normalizing constant. The sum of each hypothesis' wij's is 1, and all wij's are non-negative. The weight wij is introduced to reflect the relative expertise or credibility assigned to individual i; at any given point, some experts could have more exposure than have others.
Toward Professionalization: Fund Raising Norms and Their Implications for Practice

This article outlines the core traits of professions and discusses the extent to which fund raising possesses these traits. Three inviolable and six admonitory normative patterns of fund-raising behavior are described and their implications for the practice of fund raising are discussed. This article reexamines the fund-raising profession in comparison with the markers of true professions as suggested in the sociological literature. First, the core traits of professions and their relationship to fund raising is examined. Second, professional self-regulation is discussed. Third, the informal norms that fund raisers use to self-regulate are described. Finally, the importance of these norms to the profession and their use for practitioners is outlined.
DEUTERON--DEUTERON INTERACTIONS AT SIX LABORATORY MOMENTA FROM 680 TO 2120 MeV/c.

The elastic and total cross sections for deuteron-deuteron interactions at 680, 920, 1180, 1500, 1750, and 2120 MeV/c are presented. The data are compared with theoretical calculations and shown to be in qualitative agreement with predictions based on the Glauber multiple-scattering formalism. In particular the existence of large-angle deuteron-deuteron elastic scattering provides evidence for the "simultaneous" scattering amplitudes predicted by the Glauber theory.
Context Processing in Aging: Older Mice Are Impaired in Renewal of Extinguished Fear

Fear conditioning, extinction, and renewal were evaluated in adult (6-month-old) and aging (17-month-old) male C57Bl/6 mice. Mice were subjected to five tone-shock trials and later exposed to 150 tone-alone trials. Thereafter, all mice showed little fear in the extinction context. Adult mice demonstrated return of fear in a distinct context (renewal) but aging mice did not. Aging mice showed normal shock sensitivity, tone fear learning, and extinction. Aging mice thus exhibited a very selective deficit in the contextual gating of extinguished fear. This contextual gating deficit may reflect age-related pathology in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
Specific Heat of a Degenerate Electron Gas at High Density

The methods of the preceding paper of Gell-Mann and Brueckner are generalized so that not only the ground state but also the low excited states of an electron gas can be discussed. The energy levels relative to the ground state are the same as those of a gas of independent particles where the energy of each particle (in rydbergs) is a certain function W(p) of its momentum (expressed in units of the Fermi momentum). The specific heat of the gas at low temperature is proportional to the density of single particle levels at the surface of the Fermi sea, or inversely proportional to (dW/dp)p=1. This last quantity is calculated for high density (small rs, where density is proportional to rs-3) and compared to the corresponding quantity for a free electron gas. The ratio is found to be 1+0.083rs[-lnrs-0.203]+higher terms in rs. The expansion is exact and may be compared with the approximate result of Pines, who finds 1+0.083rs[-lnrs+1.47]+….
Comparative Validation of Quantitative Coronary Angiography Systems Results and Implications From a Multicenter Study Using a Standardized Approach

Background Computerized quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) has fundamentally altered our approach to the assessment of coronary interventional techniques and strategies aimed at the prevention of recurrence and progression of stenosis. It is essential, therefore, that the performance of QCA systems, upon which much of our scientific understanding has become integrally dependent, is evaluated in an objective and uniform manner. Methods and Results We validated 10 QCA systems at core laboratories in North America and Europe. Cine films were made of phantom stenoses of known diameter (0.5 to 1.9 mm) under four experimental conditions: in vivo (coronary arteries of pigs) calibrated at the isocenter or by use of the catheter as a scaling device and in vitro with 50% contrast and 100% contrast. The cine films were analyzed by each automated QCA system without observer interaction. Accuracy and precision were taken as the mean and SD of the signed differences between the phantom stenoses, and the measured minimal luminal diameters and the correlation coefficient ( r ), the SEE, the y intercept, and the slope were derived by their linear regression. Performance of the 10 QCA systems ranged widely: accuracy, +0.07 to +0.31 mm; precision, ±0.14 to ±0.24 mm; correlation ( r ), .96 to .89; SEE, ±0.11 to ±0.16 mm; intercept, +0.08 to +0.31 mm; and slope, 0.86 to 0.64. Conclusions There is a marked variability in performance between systems when assessed over the range of 0.5 to 1.9 mm. The range of accuracy, intercept, and slope values of this report indicates that absolute measurements of luminal diameter from different multicenter angiographic trials may not be directly comparable and additionally suggests that such absolute measurements may not be directly applicable to clinical practice using an on-line QCA system with a different edge detection algorithm. Power calculations and study design of angiographic trials should be adjusted for the precision of the QCA system used to avoid the risk of failing to detect small differences in patient populations. This study may guide the fine-tuning of algorithms incorporated within each system and facilitate the maintenance of high standards of QCA for scientific studies.
Three dimensions mental health professionals emphasize when judging levels of functioning of the severely mentally disabled in the community

Ratings of the level of functioning of severely disabled clients collected from staff of mental health agencies, while attractive as outcome measures, lack specificity and, at times, consistency. Three multidimensional scaling (MDS) studies were conducted to identify the dimensions staff emphasize when they compare clients as to their level of functioning. Analogues of clients were created to serve as stimuli, dissimilarity judgments of pairs of stimuli were collected, and an individual differences MDS model was applied in each study to distinguish client variance from the judges' perspectives. Ratings along specified dimensions also were collected and compared to the MDS solutions. One dimension emerged as pre-eminent, but it corresponded to many of the pre-selected dimensions, such as competence with daily living tasks, clarity of thinking, appearance and manner, and overall functioning. The other two dimensions were belligerence and openness to psychological intervention or distress with one's problems. Differences among judges were sizable; nevertheless, considerable support for emphasizing these three dimensions was found upon reviewing the contents of other assessments of functioning. Concentrating on these three dimensions of functioning may promote greater agreement among raters, highlight where functional improvements occur, and expand the coverage of functional differences without markedly increasing the costs of assessment.
Comparison of dural repair techniques

Abstract Background context Incidental durotomy occurs in 1% to 17% of lumbar spine surgery. This is treated with watertight suture repair, often combined with a sealant. Purpose To compare the hydrostatic strength of dural repair using various suture sizes, closure techniques, and adhesives. Study design A novel in vitro hydrostatic calf spine model. Outcome measures Dural leakage as a function of hydrostatic pressure and leak area. Methods We compared surgical repair between 5-0 surgilon and 6-0 prolene suture, continuous locked versus interrupted suture, and the effectiveness of three adhesives hydrogel, cyanoacrylate, and fibrin glue. The leakage flow rate was compared among suture groups using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The percent reduction of leak area was determined for the sealants and compared using ANOVA. The study was funded from an intramural departmental grant. Results 6-0 Prolene was found to have significantly decreased leakage flow rate than 5-0 surgilon. We found no significant differences in the flow rate between the interrupted and continuous locked sutures. In most cases, leakage occurred from the needle holes around sutures. There was an 80% reduction in leak area with the hydrogel and cyanoacrylic sealants compared with only a 38% reduction with fibrin glue; however, there was no statistical difference between the leak rates using any of the sealants. Conclusion 6-0 Prolene using either interrupted or locked techniques was the best at creating watertight closure of an incidental durotomy. If a watertight seal cannot be obtained, a hydrogel or a fibrin sealant will immediately improve the strength of repair. Newer sutures that have a larger diameter of suture relative to needle should be developed for use in dural repair.
Internal rotation in succinic acid N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyldihydrazide

A conformational study has been done on succinic acid N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyldihydrazide, where it has been found informative to combine the NOESY method with NMR line shape analysis in order to give a correct description of the multipositional chemcal exchange.
GaN nanowire coated with atomic layer deposition of tungsten: a probe for near-field scanning microwave microscopy.

GaN nanowires were coated with tungsten by means of atomic layer deposition. These structures were then adapted as probe tips for near-field scanning microwave microscopy. These probes displayed a capacitive resolution of ?0.03 fF, which surpasses that of a commercial Pt tip. Upon imaging of MoS2 sheets with both the Pt and GaN nanowire tips, we found that the nanowire tips were comparatively immune to surface contamination and far more durable than their Pt counterparts.
Observations of the inner F and K coronas below λ2220

The inner coronal continuum has been observed and measured below λ2220 on the slitless spectra obtained by Speer et al. (1970) at the 7 March 1970 eclipse. These observations set some constraints on the brightness of the inner F corona and hence on the scattering efficiency of the inner interplanetary dust cloud particles in the far ultraviolet. They neither confirm nor reject the possibility that the inner dust cloud has the same sharp upturn in scattering efficiency below λ2000 observed in the zodiacal light and in the interstellar medium.
Meropenem-Clavulanate Is Effective Against Extensively Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

β-lactam antibiotics are ineffective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, being rapidly hydrolyzed by the chromosomally encoded blaC gene product. The carbapenem class of β-lactams are very poor substrates for BlaC, allowing us to determine the three-dimensional structure of the covalent BlaC-meropenem covalent complex at 1.8 angstrom resolution. When meropenem was combined with the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanate, potent activity against laboratory strains of M. tuberculosis was observed [minimum inhibitory concentration (MICmeropenem) less than 1 microgram per milliliter], and sterilization of aerobically grown cultures was observed within 14 days. In addition, this combination exhibited inhibitory activity against anaerobically grown cultures that mimic the “persistent” state and inhibited the growth of 13 extensively drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis at the same levels seen for drug-susceptible strains. Meropenem and clavulanate are Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs and could potentially be used to treat patients with currently untreatable disease.
Effects of Strain Rate on Tensile Deformation Behavior of Quenching and Partitioning Steel

The effects of strain rate on the tensile deformation behavior of quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steel applied to the auto industry were investigated. The results indicated that the strength of Q&P steel raised with increasing strain rate. The variation of elongation which presented the trend of declining (10-4 s-1~101 s-1) followed by rising to the peak (8×101 s-1) then falling again (102 s-1~103 s-1), is mainly caused by the transformation from retained austenite to martensite, namely the TRIP effect.
Altered regulatory function of two familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy troponin T mutants.

Mutations in the gene encoding human cardiac troponin T can cause familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that is characterized by ventricular hypertrophy and sudden, premature death. Tropo...
Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgical radical prostatectomy: Proof of concept

Abstract Background and Purpose: Innovations in minimally invasive surgery have led to the proposal of incision-free natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES™). The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the initial technique of natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgical radical prostatectomy (NOTES-RP). Materials and Methods: NOTES-RP was performed on four male cadavers in a surgical simulation laboratory setting. The 100 W holmium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser, 550 μm end-firing laser fiber, 26F resectoscope, 7F laser stabilizing catheter, and continuous irrigation were used to radically resect and deliver the prostate of each cadaver into the bladder. The neurovascular bundles were preserved bilaterally, as well as the dorsal venous complex, bladder neck, and external sphincter. The entire resection was performed with the laser, while a rigid offset 27F nephroscope was used to perform the vesicourethral anastomosis using a laparoscopic suture device and knot pusher in an interrup...
NSET molecular beacon analysis of hammerhead RNA substrate binding and catalysis.

Nanometal surface energy transfer (NSET), which describes an energy transfer event from optically excited organic fluorophores to small metal nanoparticles, may be used as a molecular beacon/ruler ...
Purification and preliminary characterization of a monomeric glutathione S-transferase from Tetrahymena thermophila

Abstract Cell extracts of the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila contain high levels of glutathione S -transferase (EC 2.5.1.18). The level of the enzyme varied with the growth cycle, increasing in early stationary phase. It was localized in the cytoplasm. Only one major molecular form of the enzyme was detected by ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography and isoelectric focusing (p I 7.0), and it was purified to homogeneity. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 35,000 from gel filtration and 33,000 from sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, indicating the enzyme is a monomer. The enzyme was specific for glutathione as the thiol substrate, and was most active with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as the electrophilic substrate. It also exhibited glutathione peroxidase activity. The apparent K m values for glutathione and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene were 3.2 and 1.5 m m , respectively. The enzyme catalyzed an S -aryltransfer with pentachloronitrobenzene ( K m = 7.2 μ M) consistent with the view that this pesticide is metabolized in part via S -conjugation pathways in T. thermophila .
Work in progress - peer review from a student perspective

Writing can be a unique way for students to learn topics in physics and engineering. A unique writing activity for students in a second-level physics course at American University and a freshman engineering course at the University of Pittsburgh involves having students prepare a formal research paper for presentation at a student conference. The activity began with submission of an abstract followed by the preparation of a draft paper which went through a formal peer review process. Following the peer review, students prepared a final paper which was then presented at a formal conference held at the end of the semester. In this paper we look at the peer review process and its value as a learning tool in physics and engineering. The current paper will focus specifically on studentspsila perception of the peer review process. To this end, a discussion of survey data collected from both past and present students will be shared.
Absent aortic arch and other variants of coarctation

E XCISION of the narrowed segment with anastomosis of the aorta has come to be the accepted technic for rehef of coarctation. EarIy in the history of the operation there were recommendations for mobilization of the Ieft subclavian artery, swinging it downward in some instances to effect an anastomosis [r-2]. The Iiterature aIso has carried suggestions that grafts occasionahy are required to achieve restoration of vascuIar continuity. Such precautions came to seem Iess and Iess pertinent to us in the course of operating upon approximately sixty patients. Adequate exposure, carefu1 mobiIization of the vesseIs, and occasionaIIy obIique section at the site of anastomosis in order to secure a suffrcientIy wide Iumen seemed to be the soIe requirements to be met. More experience and more ingenuity in shaping the vessels indicated a greater and greater appIicabiIity of the basic operation. Even in four instances in which there were coexistent coarctation and patent ductus arteriosus there was no insuperabIe surgicaI probIem. The onIy matter of rea1 concern was the eIevation in puImonary arteria1 pressure to which the patient had been subject. Grafting is also not easy to accept without quaI&cation. It may be considered an undesirabIe compIication to the operation, both on the basis of mortaIity [j] and because, especiaIIy in children and in adolescents, one has a strong desire to use the patient’s own tissues rather than take a chance on homoIogous human tissue or synthetics which may not endure for a Iong span of life. In the next ten cases in a consecutive series there were three instances in which it became a11 too evident that dependence on a singIe surgica1 technic wouId not suffice. It was established aIso that the acceptance of the findings from a routine physica examination and roentgenogram of the chest might require considerabIe ampIification if there was any suspicion of an extraordinary abnormaIity. The purpose of this paper is to report what seemed to be two important variations in the over-a11 picture which have not been encountered wideIy and which resuIted in a fata outcome in the management of these patients. The third is presented briefly to indicate how a more thorough preoperative investigation and a modification of anesthesia and surgica1 technic resuIted in an entireIy satisfactory recovery. Both failures with subsequent mortaIity occurred in patients in whom the distal aortic segment anastomosed to the proximal aorta proved inadequate to the great pressure which was estabIished by open communication. In retrospect, the simpie fact is that such thin, fragile vesse1 waIIs shouId not have been expected to be equa1 to the pounding which the puIse pressure necessarily causes when there is direct communication with the aorta. The fundamenta1 evaIuation of the tissue strength was IargeIy one dependent on the surgeon’s judgement and did not require laboratory confirmation.
Incorporating measures of sleep quality into cancer studies

Sleep disturbance may influence the development of cancer and responses to treatment. It is also closely tied to recovery and quality of life in cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, and recent studies have begun to show beneficial effects of sleep-promoting interventions. Despite the importance of sleep to cancer and its treatment and the availability of numerous tools for measuring sleep quality and quantity, sleep measurements are underutilized in cancer studies. This review, written for cancer researchers interested in incorporating sleep measures into their studies, is designed to raise awareness about the importance of sleep and suggests strategies for including sleep evaluation in cancer studies. Inclusion of readily available sleep measures may ultimately improve cancer care by facilitating studies that lead to a greater understanding of how sleep and sleep disturbance influence all aspects of cancer care and the patient experience.
Dose Coverage Beyond the Gross Tumor Volume for Various Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Planning Techniques Reporting Similar Control Rates for Stage I Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose To investigate the dose falloff region for various stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) planning techniques used in the treatment of Stage I non–small-cell lung cancer reporting similar control rates. Methods and Materials The SBRT plans were constructed on five patient data sets using seven different planning regimens. These regimens varied in the number of beams, number of fractions, prescription target, and prescribed dose used. For each case all regimens were planned using a common gross tumor volume (GTV). To compare dose falloff for the various regimens, resulting physical dose grids were converted into normalized total dose (NTD) grids. Furthermore, to determine the potential coverage of microscopic extension of the various regimens minimal peripheral NTD (NTD-MP 100 ) were calculated and plotted as a function of incremental volume expansions of the GTV. Results Average values for NTD-MP 100 varied over a range of 174 Gy at the GTV periphery, but this range fell to 10 Gy at a distance of 14 mm from the GTV. Of 35 plans, 23 resulted in potential microscopic extension coverage of 78% to 95%. Averages for five of seven regimens fell within the range of 80% to 85%. Results were negligibly affected when intrafraction motion effects were accounted for. Conclusions Although average NTD-MP 100 varied dramatically at the GTV, periphery values became similar at a distance of 14 mm from the GTV. With the exception of two, potential coverage of microscopic extension was similar for all planning techniques, with averages falling within a 5% range.
Single-surgeon simultaneous versus staged anterior and posterior spinal reconstruction: a comparative study.

Background: Complex three-column disease of the thoracic or thoracolumbar spine often requires anterior and posterior surgical approaches for complete decompression and reconstruction. Although this has traditionally beenaccomplished with staged procedures, recent reports describe treatment with simultaneous anterior-posterior procedures, typically utilizing two spinal surgical teams. This study compares the surgical treatment of 14 patients, all with three-column disease of the thoracic or thoracolumbar spine, treated at a single institution. Methods: Half were treated by the author with single-surgeon simultaneous anterior-posterior surgical reconstruction, whereas half were treated by another surgeon with staged anterior and posterior approaches. The indications, operative details, hospital course, neurologic outcome, complications, and degree of deformity correction were compared through prospective and retrospective analysis. Conclusions: Single-surgeon simultaneous anterior-posterior reconstruction represents a safe and practical approach to the treatment of three-column complex pathology of the thoracic or thoracolumbar spine and may allow better correction of deformity than staged procedures.
Curvature-based energy for simulation and variational modeling

Curvature-based energy and forces are used in a broad variety of contexts, ranging from modeling of thin plates and shells to surface fairing and variational surface design. The approaches to discretization preferred in different areas often have little in common: engineering shell analysis is dominated by finite elements, while spring-particle models are often preferred for animation and qualitative simulation due to their simplicity and low computational cost. Both types of approaches have found applications in geometric modeling. While there is a well-established theory for finite element methods, alternative discretizations are less well understood: many questions about mesh dependence, convergence and accuracy remain unanswered. We discuss the general principles for defining curvature-based energy on discrete surfaces based on geometric invariance and convergence considerations. We show how these principles can be used to understand the behavior of some commonly used discretizations, to establish relations between some well-known discrete geometry and finite element formulations and to derive new simple and efficient discretizations.
Very Low Affinity B Cells Form Germinal Centers, Become Memory B Cells, and Participate in Secondary Immune Responses When Higher Affinity Competition Is Reduced

To understand the relationship between the affinity of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) and the immune response to antigen, two lines of immunoglobulin H chain transgenic (Tg) mice were created. H50Gμa and T1(V23)μa mice express μ H chain transgenes that associate with the λ1 L chains to bind the (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)acetyl hapten with association constants ( K as) of only 1.2 × 105 M−1 and 3 × 104 M−1, respectively. Both lines mounted substantial antibody-forming cell (AFC) and germinal center (GC) responses. H50Gμa Tg mice also generated memory B cells. T1(V23)μa B cells formed AFC and GCs, but were largely replaced in late GCs by antigen-specific cells that express endogenous BCRs. Thus, B lymphocytes carrying BCRs with affinities previously thought to be irrelevant in specific immune responses are in fact capable of complete T cell–dependent immune responses when relieved of substantial competition from other B cells. The failure to observe such B cells normally in late primary responses and in memory B cell populations is the result of competition, rather than an intrinsic inability of low affinity B cells.
The safety of clopidogrel.

Importance of the field: Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet prodrug widely used in acute coronary syndromes and after intravascular stent placement. Acute or chronic use can cause bleeding, a major adverse effect, which can lead to drug discontinuation or noncompliance with therapy.Areas covered in this review: The mechanism of action of clopidogrel, safety of different loading doses of clopidogrel, its use as a solitary antiplatelet agent and concomitant use with other antiplatelet agents such as aspirin and warfarin are discussed. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare but important adverse event, has also been reviewed. Literature searches including randomized controlled trials were conducted in Medline.What the reader will gain: Clinicians will be able to understand the safety profile of using different doses of clopidogrel and the incidence of bleeding when used alone or in combination with other antiplatelet agents.Take home message: Compared to aspirin, clopidogrel when taken alone causes less sev...
Are Incentives the Bricks or the Building

The efforts of economists to emphasize the importance of incentives as determinants of organizational performance, while successful to some degree, may have left the mistaken impression that “getting the incentives right” is the only task requiring the attention of senior executives when designing corporate organizations. The author identifies the incentive-intensive companies envisioned by economists as “mercenary organizations” (or MOs), or companies whose distinguishing feature is near-complete reliance on financial rewards and controls. Citing the difficulties of devising an effective incentive system that cannot be gamed (which he calls the organizational equivalent of “an anti-gravity machine”), the article questions whether such organizations are likely to yield superior performance. As an alternative to paying more attention to incentive design, the author suggests devoting more corporate resources to seeking and attracting individuals with low “monitoring costs.” After holding up examples of top executives who appear committed to that search, the author posits a “character-rich” organization (CRO) as an alternative to the MO of the economists. Then, viewing all companies as occupying points on a continuum with the MO and CRO as its poles, the author argues that all companies combine elements of both kinds of organizations. And perhaps most important, the CEOs of many of the most successful large organizations, without minimizing the importance of incentives, pay even greater attention to the search for trustworthy individuals and the creation of a culture of teamwork and accountability.
Ship Design Using Heuristic Optimization Methods

Preliminary ship design is currently more art than science, heavily dependent on highly experienced naval architects. The use of genetic algorithms is proposed as a method for improving ship design through more effective exploration of the design space. Three main points are advanced in this paper. First, genetic algorithms (GA) are a highly effective tool for the exploration of large-scale, nonlinear design spaces and, when combined with gradient based search techniques, may provide a more computationally efficient means of identifying near optimal designs. Second, GA methods may provide a high utility tool that can enhance the ship design process. Third, the current design choice method of weighted objective measures of effectiveness can mask potentially useful areas of the design space.
Estimating the essential parameter space of the robot manipulator dynamics

A method is presented for estimating the dynamic parameters of a robot manipulator. Based upon the theorem of conservation of energy, the method is equally applicable to serial link manipulators and graph structured manipulators. The study is composed of four major tasks: formulation of the equations for the energy content of the manipulator; identification of a set of basis vectors which span the parameter space; formulation of the estimation equation; and simulation and testing of the method. The method is shown to be conceptually simple, computationally efficient, and easy to implement. In particular, motor torques and joint positions and velocities are the only inputs to the estimation algorithm. >
Poverty and the Daily Lives of Infants

It has been amply demonstrated that poor children suffer disadvantages as compared to their more advantaged peers. This paper examines important aspects of infants’ daily experiences in a southeastern city in the United States in order to illustrate differences between poor and non-poor infants. “Poor” infants were compared to their “non-poor” counterparts on the quality of parenting they received; quality of their home environments; relative health and safety; stability, structure, and predictability of their daily lives; and exposure to diverse experiences in the community. Findings reveal that poor infants are at a consistent disadvantage across all domains when compared to their more affluent counterparts. These daily deficiencies might be conceptualized as the mechanisms through which poverty exerts its negative effects. This paper shifts the focus from macro-level variables such as larger economic and social factors to the cumulative effect of deficiencies at the micro-level. Intervening to ameliora...
A SURVEY OF WILD SWINE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR EVIDENCE OF HOG CHOLERA

The results of surveillance for hog cholera (HC) in wild swine (Sus scrofa) collected from throughout the United States from 1979 to 1987 are presented. Sera collected from 1,218 wild swine and tissues from 637 were evaluated for HC antibodies and virus, respectively. Included within this surveillance were samples from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, California, where HC virus had been deliberately introduced into wild swine during the 1950's in attempts to eradicate these animals. All evaluations were considered negative for HC. It appears that the HC virus does not maintain itself in dispersed swine populations and that wild swine have not remained a reservoir of HC since its eradication in domestic swine in the United States.
The Importance of Apocalypse: The Value of End-Of-The-World Politics While Advancing Ecocriticism

This essay argues that successful ecocriticism must focus on the tangible political consequences of environmental policy that are undoubtedly destroying the planet. I begin with an overview of how some ecocritics use poststructuralist thought to minimize apocalyptic rhetoric and its subsequent call to arms. Afterwards I outline how ecocriticism can become effective in influencing people to abandon environmentally destructive practices in coalition with the thinkers I take issue with. They may do so by not giving up on images of collective omnicide. I conclude by showing how metaphors of apocalypse enable ecocriticism to forge a tethering principle of interconnectedness that overcomes the risk of co-optation. Embracing such interconnectedness goes beyond the idea of the individual self and awakens a sense of collective responsibility that can truly change our world.
Peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor overexpression and knockdown in human breast cancer cells indicate its prominent role in tumor cell proliferation

The peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), an 18-kDa high affinity drug and cholesterol binding protein, is expressed at high levels in various cancers. Its expression is positively correlated with aggressive metastatic behavior in human breast cancer cells. To determine the role of PBR in tumor progression, two human mammary carcinoma cell lines were utilized: the non-aggressive MCF-7 cell line, which expresses extremely low PBR levels, and the highly aggressive MDA-MB-231 cell line, which has much higher PBR levels. We have generated stably transfected lines of the tetracycline-repressible MCF-7 cell line (MCF-7 Tet-Off) with inducible human PBR cDNA. Induction of PBR expression in MCF-7 Tet-Off cells increased PBR ligand binding and cell proliferation. Transfection of MDA-MB-231 cells with multiple siRNAs complementary to PBR (PBR-siRNAs) led to different levels of PBR mRNA knockdown. Lentiviral-mediated PBR RNA interference in MDA-MB-231 cells decreased PBR levels by 50%. Decreased PBR expression was associated with cell cycle arrest at G2 phase, decreased cell proliferation, and significant increases in the protein levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF/CIP1). These changes were accompanied by p53 activation seen as increased p53 phosphorylation (Ser15). In parallel, increased proteolytic activation of caspase-3 was also observed. Taken together these results suggest that PBR protein expression is directly involved in regulating cell survival and proliferation in human breast cancer cells by influencing signaling mechanisms involved in cell cycle control and apoptosis.
The Electronic Passport and the Future of Government-Issued RFID-Based Identification

Passports and other identification documents may be enhanced using recent advancements in technology. Various national and international bodies are pursuing machine-readable approaches with biometric information. In particular, the international civil aviation organization (ICAO) has adopted standards whereby passports can store biometric identifiers. Countries that participate in the visa waiver program (VWP) began issuing electronic passports in 2006. However, the selection of technologies remains questionable due to privacy and security concerns. This paper examines policy regarding these electronic approaches and developments toward electronic data storage and transmission. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices for electronic passports and other existing identity documents are discussed.
Chronically endurance-trained individuals preserve skeletal muscle mitochondrial gene expression with age but differences within age groups remain

Maintenance of musculoskeletal function in older adults is critically important for preserving cardiorespiratory function and health span. Aerobic endurance training (ET) improves skeletal muscle metabolic function including age‐related declines in muscle mitochondrial function. To further understand the underlying mechanism of enhanced muscle function with ET, we profiled the gene transcription (mRNA levels) patterns by gene array and determined the canonical pathways associated with skeletal muscle aging in a cross‐sectional study involving vastus lateralis muscle biopsy samples of four subgroups (young and old, trained, and untrained). We first analyzed the sedentary individuals and then sought to identify the pathways impacted by long‐term ET (>4 years) and determined the age effect. We found that skeletal muscle aging in older sedentary adults decreased mitochondrial genes and pathways involved in oxidative phosphorylation while elevating pathways in redox homeostasis. In older adults compared to their younger counterparts who chronically perform ET however, those differences were absent. ET did, however, impact nearly twice as many genes in younger compared to older participants including downregulation of gene transcripts involved in protein ubiquitination and the ERK/MAPK pathways. This study demonstrates that in individuals who are chronically endurance trained, the transcriptional profile is normalized for mitochondrial genes but aging impacts the number of genes that respond to ET including many involved in protein homeostasis and cellular stress.
On the curvature and torsion of an isolated vortex filament

We consider a very thin vortex filament in an unbounded, incompressible and inviscid fluid. The filament is not necessarily plane. Each portion of the filament moves with a velocity that can be approximated in terms of the local curvature of the filament. This approximation leads to a pair of intrinsic equations giving the curvature and the torsion of the filament, as functions of the time and the arc length along the filament. It is found that helicoidal vortex filaments are elementary solutions, and that they are unstable.The intrisic equations also suggest a linear mechanism that tends to produce concentrated torsion and a non-linear mechanism tending to disperse such singularities.
Postdischarge outcomes after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Objective Perioperative outcomes after endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) have been rigorously studied; however, inpatient and postdischarge outcomes have not been separately analyzed. The objective of this study was to examine postdischarge 30-day outcomes after elective EVAR. Methods Patients who underwent an elective EVAR for AAA (n = 11,229) were identified from the American College of Surgeons 2005-2010 National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Results The median length of hospital stay was 2 days (interquartile range, 1-3 days). Overall 30-day mortality was 1.0% (n = 117), with 31% (n = 36) of the patients dying after discharge. Overall 30-day morbidity was 10.7% (n = 1204), with 40% (n = 500) of the morbidities being postdischarge. The median time of death and complication was 9 and 3 days, respectively, after surgery. Eighty-eight percent of the wound infections (n = 205 of 234), 33% of pneumonia (n = 44 of 133), and 55% of venous thromboembolism (n = 36 of 65) were postdischarge. Multivariable analyses showed age, congestive heart failure, admission from nursing facility, postoperative pneumonia, myocardial infarction, and renal failure were independently associated with postdischarge mortality, and peripheral arterial disease, female gender, previous cardiac surgery, age, smoking, and diabetes with postdischarge morbidity ( P Conclusions Patient characteristics associated with a higher risk for postdischarge adverse events after EVAR were identified. Whether improved predischarge surveillance and close postdischarge follow-up of identified high-risk patients will further improve 30-day outcomes after EVAR needs to be prospectively studied.
2D invariant object recognition using Log-Polar transform

Object recognition is an essential task in many image processing applications. Although object appears as three-dimensional in real world, they are usually perceived as two-dimensional in digital image or video. In most cases, major problems in recognizing objects lie on the two-dimensional geometry changes in object appearances. This paper presents an innovative template matching based object recognition method that is invariant to rotation and scale changes as well as resistant to noise. The approach is achieved by combining feature based search strategy and object matching in Log-Polar domain. Translation of the object is recovered with the new Gabor feature extraction method applied in the Cartesian coordinate. The multi-resolution Log-Polar search method is invented to reduce the number of feature point for Log-Polar matching in the target image. The new similarity measure for classification and verification is also proposed. The innovative combination of these techniques yields robustness in object recognition for fast computation without any rescaling in the target image. Comparisons of the repeatability factor of the new Gabor feature extraction with other well-known techniques such as SIFT and Harris-Laplacian is presented to evaluate the two-dimensional invariant and noise resistant properties of the proposed feature extraction. Experiments with still images and noisy images are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach in practice.
Fundamentals of large-molecule protein therapeutic bioanalysis using ligand-binding assays

This article provides an overview of ligand-binding assays, including the origin and evolution of the primary concepts, in addition to reviewing commonly used assay formats. The birth of ligand-binding assays began with a radioimmunoassay developed to measure insulin in 1960. Fundamental to ligand-binding assay design is the requirement of at least one protein that interacts with the analyte of interest. Enzyme immunoassay has largely supplanted radioimmunoassay as the ligand-binding assay of choice in today's laboratory environment. This article illustrates various assay formats such as competitive, sandwich and bridging, in addition to, describing critical reagents necessary for their design. The utility of ligand-binding assays in therapeutic protein development and comparison to alternative bioanalysis platforms is discussed.
Automated Metadata Construction to Support Portable Building Applications

Commercial buildings consume nearly 19\% of delivered energy in the U.S, nearly half (42%) of which is consumed in buildings with digital control systems comprised of wired sensor networks. These sensors have scant metadata, and are represented by ``tags'' which are obscure, building-specific and not machine parseable. We develop a human-in-the-loop synthesis technique which uses syntactic and data-driven steps to parse these sensor tags into a common namespace, which can enable portable building applications. We show that our technique allows an expert to fully parse a large fraction (~70%) of the tags with 24, 15 and 43 examples for three large commercial buildings comprising 1586, 2522 and 1865 sensors respectively, and deploy three portable applications on two buildings with less than 30 examples.
Pathologic physiology of valvular regurgitation.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Kreislaufforschung for their kind invitation to me, and for allowing me to participate in this Symposium on valvular regurgitation. My colleagues and I, at the National Heart Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A., have been interested in both the physiologic and clinical aspects of valvular heart disease, but I shall restrict myself to a summary of our studies on the hemodynamic changes which occur during valvular regurgitation. Although this work was carried out in collaboration with a large number of investigators, the efforts of Drs. A. G. Morrow, J. Ross, Jr., and S. J. Sarnoff deserve particular mention.