cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Black markets, transplant kidneys and interpersonal coercion

One of the most common arguments against legalising markets in human kidneys is that this would result in the widespread misuse that is present in the black market becoming more prevalent. In particular, it is argued that if such markets were to be legalised, this would lead to an increase in the number of people being coerced into selling their kidneys. Moreover, such coercion would occur even if markets in kidneys were regulated, for those subject to such coercion would not be able to avail themselves of the legal protections that regulation would afford them. Despite the initial plausibility of this argument, there are three reasons to reject it. Firstly, the advantages of legalising markets in human kidneys would probably outweigh its possible disadvantages. Secondly, if it is believed that no such coercion can ever be tolerated, markets in only those human kidneys that fail to do away with coercion should be condemned. Finally, if coercion is genuinely opposed, then legalising kidney markets should be supported rather than opposed, for more people would be coerced (ie, into not selling) were such markets to be prohibited.
PHENOLOGY, MOVEMENT, AND WITHIN-FIELD DISTRIBUTION OF THE GRAPE BERRY MOTH, ENDOPIZA VITEANA (CLEMENS) (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE), IN NEW YORK VINEYARDS

From 1976 to 1986, the average date of first male pheromone trap catch of grape berry moth was 20 May with an average degree-day (DD) accumulation (base 10 °C) of 150.1 (SE = 13.2). Fifty percent cumulative trap catch of the first generation of males averaged 334.1 (SE = 7.8) DD with an average date of 11 June. Degree-day accumulation was a more accurate method for predicting peak male trap catch than predictions based upon vine phenology and calendar date. Within-field distribution and levels of berry moth infestation were markedly affected by the surrounding habitat. Wooded edges or hedgerows were closely associated with an increase in the level of damage along vineyard borders and higher levels of overall infestation when compared with vineyards without wooded edges. Egg and larval infestation levels in wild hosts (Vitis spp.) were greater than those within adjacent commercial vineyards. Early in the season, male berry moth were trapped in high numbers in wooded areas adjacent to vineyards. After mid-July, males were trapped predominantly within vineyards and few were trapped in wooded edges. Movement of adults from wooded areas into vineyards is not suggested by observed patterns of female oviposition. Females oviposited primarily on wild hosts within the wooded areas and within the adjoining vineyard edges throughout the season.
Asynchronous Video Coding for Wireless Transport

Wireless access to continuous-medis services such as video, voice, and audio is becoming increasingly prevalent. Interactive video services such as video conferencing and multimedia editing is one such service, but existing compression standards (designed for wired, circuit-switclrcd services) are unsatisfactory for wireless packet-video services. We propose a novel strategy for video transport using a layered source coder in conjunction with a variableQOS, multiple-substream abstraction for the transport. This abstraction addresses specifically the need to obtain simultaneously high spectral efficiency, good subjective quality, and low perceptual delay on awireless channel. It also addresses the heterogenous transport resulting from the concatenation of a wireless access link with a broadband backbone network. We use asynchronous video (ASV) reconstruction, running counter to current techniqucs, which use strictly synchronous (frame-by-frame ) video processing. By doing so we hope to achieve a perceptual delay that is much lower than the worst-cese tronsport delay. (By "perceptual delay" , we refer to the effective end-to-end latency observed by the user,for example es represented by the audio delay required to maintain lip synchronization.) By identifying packets to the transport with relaxed reliability andlor delay requirements (through the subsream identifier), the transport (particularly wireless) can achieve high traffic capacity. Reasonable and promising simulation results are achieved, although much work remains on achieving significant video compression in this environmcnt.
Interferometric noise reduction in fiber-optic links by superposition of high frequency modulation

The reduction of interferometric noise by superposition of high frequency modulation is analyzed. It is shown that the nature of this reduction is due to a redistribution of noise energy from baseband to higher frequencies where it can be discarded by low-pass filtering. Detailed analysis revealed the dependence of the noise reduction factor on the product f/sub 0 tau /, and the modulation index of the high frequency superimposed modulation. The proper choice of parameters can lead to complete elimination of the converted phase noise from the system. >
High resolution microwave spectroscopy of the isomeric pair vinylcyanoacetylene and cyanovinylacetylene

The carbon chain molecules vinylcyanoacetylene and cyanovinylacetylene have been investigated between 8 and 41 GHz by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy of a supersonic molecular beam. Owing to the high spectral resolution of the present technique, significantly more accurate rotational and centrifugal distortion constants have been derived for both molecules. In addition, the dipole moments have been calculated at the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level of theory. Because these carbon chains are similar in structure and composition to known astronomical molecules and because of their high polarity, both species are good candidates for radioastronomical detection.
A Simulation Model for Understanding Propagating Brush Discharges: Comparison of Theory and Experiments

Propagating brush discharges can release large amounts of energy. From the point of view of safety, this feature makes them among the most destructive electrical discharges. This paper provides a survey of recent work in the modeling of propagating brush discharges. Experimental data from various authors are compared with a discharge model in which areas of a charged surface are modeled as capacitive cells, and bridges between cells are modeled as spark gaps driven by the tangential electric field between cells. A theory that explains the physics of this particular type of discharge is presented. Charge transfer and post-discharge charge distributions are compared between the theory and the experimental data of several authors.
A technique for stereotaxic recordings of neuronal activity in awake, head-restrained mice

Neurophysiological recordings of brain activity during behavior in awake animals have traditionally been performed in primates because of their evolutionary close relationship to humans and comparable behavioral skills. However, with properly designed behavioral tasks, many fundamental questions about how the brain controls behavior can also be addressed in small rodents. Today, the rapid progress in mouse neurogenetics, including the development of mouse models of human brain disorders, provides unique and unparalleled opportunities for the investigation of normal and pathological brain function. The development of experimental procedures for the recording of neuronal activity in awake and behaving mice is an important and necessary step towards neurophysiological investigation of normal and pathological mouse brain function. Here we describe a method for stereotaxic recordings of neuronal activity from head-restrained mice during fluid licking. Fluid licking is a natural and spontaneous behavior in rodents, which mice readily perform under head-restrained conditions. Using a head-restrained preparation allows recordings of well-isolated single units at multiple sites during repeated experimental sessions. Thus, a large number of neurons can be tested for their relationship with behavior and detailed spatial maps of behavior related neuronal activity can be generated as exemplified here with recordings from lick-related Purkinje cells in the cerebellum.
Aphid behavioral responses to virus‐infected plants are similar despite divergent fitness effects

We compared the settling preferences and reproductive potential of an oligophagous herbivore, the peaaphid,AcyrthosiphonpisumHarris(Hemiptera:Aphididae),inresponsetopeaplants,Pisumsativum L. cv. ‘Aragorn’ (Fabaceae), infected with two persistently transmitted viruses, Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV) and Bean leaf roll virus (BLRV), that differ in their distribution within an infected plant. Aphids preferentially oriented toward and settled on plants infected with PEMV or BLRV in comparison with sham-inoculated plants (plants exposed to herbivory by uninfected aphids), but aphids did not discriminate between plants infected with the two viruses. Analysis of plant volatiles indicated that plants inoculated with either virus had significantly higher green leaf volatile-to-monoterpeneratios. Timeuntilreproductivematuritywasmarginallyinfluencedbyplant infectionstatus,withatrendtowardearliernymphproductiononinfectedplants.Therewereconsistent age-specific effects of plant infection status on aphid fecundity: reproduction was significantly enhanced for aphids on BLRV-infected plants across most time intervals, though mean aphid fecundity did not differ between sham and PEMV-infected plants. There was no clear pattern of agespecific survivorship; however, mean aphid lifespan was reduced on plants infected with PEMV. Our resultsareconsistent withpredictionsofthehost manipulationhypothesis,extended toincludeplant viruses:non-viruliferousA. pisumpreferentially orient tovirus-infected host plants,potentially facilitating pathogen transmission. These studies extend the scope of the host manipulation hypothesis by demonstrating that divergent fitness effects on vectors arise relative to the mode of virus transmission.
Mineralogy of Fixed-Bed Gasification Ash Derived from North Dakota Lignite

The mineralogy of nine ash samples derived from North Dakota lignite and gasified in three different fixed-bed producers was determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The gasifiers had maximum temperatures in the 1100–1250°C range, but included several differences in ash residence time, oxidizing gas and pressure, and ash handling conditions. The lignite gasified came from the same geologic formation, but the mines were separated by 20 km. Despite these differences, all of the ash specimens had the same basic mineralogy: glass at the 15–30 wt.% level; a crystalline phase assemblage of ortho- and pyro-silicates (merwinite, dicalcium silicate (C2S), C2S-like phases, and melilite), network aluminosilicates (nepheline, carnegieite, and a sodalite-structure phase), oxides (ferrite spinel, hematite, and periclase), and calcite along with residual lignite minerals (quartz and felspar). SEM morphologies and XRD comparisons of the amounts of crystalline phases in size fractions both indicated that some of the phases (particularly merwinite and carnegieite) crystallized during cooling of portions of the ash that had melted during gasification.
Continuous Speech Recognition by Linked Predictive Neural Networks

We present a large vocabulary, continuous speech recognition system based on Linked Predictive Neural Networks (LPNN's). The system uses neural networks as predictors of speech frames, yielding distortion measures which are used by the One Stage DTW algorithm to perform continuous speech recognition. The system, already deployed in a Speech to Speech Translation system, currently achieves 95%, 58%, and 39% word accuracy on tasks with perplexity 5, 111, and 402 respectively, outperforming several simple HMMs that we tested. We also found that the accuracy and speed of the LPNN can be slightly improved by the judicious use of hidden control inputs. We conclude by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the predictive approach.
Altered orbitofrontal sulcogyral pattern in schizophrenia

Orbitofrontal alteration in schizophrenia has not been well characterized, likely due to marked anatomical variability. To investigate the presence of such alterations, we evaluated the sulcogyral pattern of this 'H-shaped' sulcus. Fifty patients with schizophrenia (100 hemispheres) and 50 age- and gender-matched control subjects (100 hemispheres) were evaluated using 3D high-spatial resolution MRI. Based on a previous study by Chiavaras and Petrides (2000), the sulcogyral pattern of the 'H-shaped' sulcus, which forms the boundaries of major orbitofrontal gyri, was classified into three types (Type I, II and III, in order of frequency) within each hemisphere. Chi-square analysis was performed to compare the sulcogyral pattern, and categorical regression was applied to investigate clinical/cognitive associations. The control data replicated the orbitofrontal sulcogyral pattern reported by Chiavaras and Petrides (P = 0.90-0.95), where the distribution was significantly different between the left and right hemisphere (Type I: right > left, Type II, III: left > right, chi2 = 6.41, P = 0.041). For schizophrenics, the distribution differed significantly from controls (chi2 = 11.90, P = 0.003), especially in the right hemisphere (chi2 = 13.67, P = 0.001). Moreover, the asymmetry observed in controls was not present in schizophrenia (chi2 = 0.13, P = 0.94). Specifically, the most frequent Type I expression was decreased and the rarest Type III expression was increased in schizophrenia, relative to controls. Furthermore, patients with Type III expression in any hemisphere evinced poorer socioeconomic status, poorer cognitive function, more severe symptoms and impulsivity, compared to patients without Type III expression. In contrast, patients with Type I in any hemisphere showed better cognitive function and milder symptoms compared to patients without Type I. Structurally, patients with Type III had significantly smaller intra-cranial contents (ICC) volumes than did patients without Type III (t(40) = 2.29, P = 0.027). The present study provides evidence of altered distribution of orbitofrontal sulcogyral pattern in schizophrenia, possibly reflecting a neurodevelopmental aberration in schizophrenia. Such altered sulcogyral pattern is unlikely to be due to secondary effects of the illness such as medication. Moreover, the structural association between Type III and small ICC volume, observed in the patient group, may suggest that Type III expression could be part of a systematic neurodevelopmental alteration, given that the small ICC volume could reflect early reduction of cranial growth driven by brain growth. The observed contrasting association of Type III expression with poorer outcome, and that of Type I expression with better outcome, further suggests clinical heterogeneity, and possible differences in treatment responsiveness in schizophrenia.
Understanding negotiation in airtime sharing in low-income microenterprises

Shared access to airtime is a prominent mode of connectivity access in the developing world. We seek to understand airtime sharing among low-income microenterprises in India (small, low-capital businesses, such as flower sellers and milkmen), that constitute 90% of the total enterprises in India. We introduce social negotiation as the foundation of airtime sharing. We highlight negotiation mechanisms in the microenterprise, showing how shared resources are used towards personal interests amidst tensions and value conflicts, by adapting, modifying, subverting, and repurposing airtime. We then explore the design space of airtime and bandwidth sharing in low-income communities, including designing for negotiation and improving readability of airtime.
Transcarceration: A Constitutive Ethnography of Mentally Ill “Offenders”

This article investigates how the language and logic of transcarceration renders mentally ill offenders captives of confinement. Both the conceptual tools of constitutive theory and the ethnographic experiences of the researcher are used. Background on three psychiatrically disordered participants and the social and organizational forces they helped to fashion are presented. The manner in which both agency and structure coproduced the discourse of transcarceration is described. The article concludes by speculating on the implications of the analysis for future research on the confinement of mentally ill offenders.
The Collapse of the Bering Strait Ice Dam and the Abrupt Temperature Rise in the Beginning of the Holocene

This paper focuses on the abrupt increase in the oceanic and atmospheric temperature in the Northern Hemisphere at the beginning of the Holocene, approximately 11 000 yr before the present. De Boer and Nof hypothesized that, at that time, the Bering Strait (BS) opened up abruptly because of the breakup of an ice dam (by rising sea levels). It is proposed further here that this sudden opening caused an abrupt increase in the mean temperature of the Northern Hemisphere. An analytical, coupled ocean–atmosphere model is applied to the North Atlantic in an attempt to quantify the temperature change resulting from the opening of the BS. Heat, salt, and mass are all conserved within a box in the North Atlantic. A convection condition allows water to enter the deep layer and the island rule relates the wind field to the mass fluxes. The conventional approach that the meridional overturning cell (MOC) was not operating during the Younger Dryas because of an overwhelming freshwater flux is adopted here. Opening the BS in the early Holocene allowed these freshwater anomalies to be flushed out into the Pacific, reviving convection and the transport of heat northward. Restarting convection with an open BS increases mean oceanic and atmospheric temperature by 3° and 23°C, respectively. These values are comparable to those found in both the Centre Europeen de Recherche et d’Enseignement des Geosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE) alkenone and Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP 2) ice core records. Of course, restarting convection increases the temperature even with a closed BS, but in the closed BS case the oceanic increase is slightly higher (4°C instead of 3°C), whereas the atmospheric is much lower (17.5°C instead of 23°C). This is because, by requiring a continuous sea level around the Americas, an open BS allows the wind field to limit the amount of Southern Ocean water that enters the South Atlantic. This controlled volume flux (8 Sv) is considerably smaller than that allowed into the Atlantic in the no-wind control closed BS case (17 Sv).
Beyond the Niche: Tissue-Level Coordination of Stem Cell Dynamics

Adult animals rely on populations of stem cells to ensure organ function throughout their lifetime. Stem cells are governed by signals from stem cell niches, and much is known about how single niches promote stemness and direct stem cell behavior. However, most organs contain a multitude of stem cell–niche units, which are often distributed across the entire expanse of the tissue. Beyond the biology of individual stem cell–niche interactions, the next challenge is to uncover the tissue-level processes that orchestrate spatial control of stem-based renewal, repair, and remodeling throughout a whole organ. Here we examine what is known about higher order mechanisms for interniche coordination in epithelial organs, whose simple geometry offers a promising entry point for understanding the regulation of niche number, distribution, and activity. We also consider the potential existence of stem cell territories and how tissue architecture may influence niche coordination.
Identification of the Tctex‐1 regulatory element that directs expression to neural stem/progenitor cells in developing and adult brain

Previous studies showed that Tctex-1 immunoreactivity is selectively enriched in the germinal zones of adult brain. In this report we identify a regulatory region of the Tctex-1 gene that is capable of directing transgenic expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter that recapitulates the spatial and temporal expression pattern of endogenous Tctex-1. This construct specifically targeted expression to the nestin(+)/Pax6(+)/GLAST(+) radial glial cells and Tbr2(+) intermediate progenitors when the reporter construct was delivered to developing mouse neocortex via in utero electroporation. Characterization of mice transgenically expressing GFP under the same regulatory element showed that the GFP expression is faithful to endogenous Tctex-1 at the subgranular zone (SGZ) of dentate gyrus, ventricular/subventricular zone of lateral ventricles, and ependymal layer of 3rd ventricle of adult brains. Immunolocalization and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation studies of adult SGZ in four independent mouse lines showed that Tctex-1:GFP reporter selectively marks nestin(+)/GFAP(+)/Sox2(+) neural stem-like cells in two mouse lines (4 and 13). In two other mouse lines (17 and 18), Tctex-1:GFP is selectively expressed in Type-2 and Type-3 transient amplifying progenitors and a small subset of young neuronal progeny. The P/E-Tctex-1 reporter mouse studies independently confirmed the specific enrichment of Tctex-1 at adult SGZ stem/progenitor cells. Furthermore, these studies supported the notion that an analogous transcriptional program may be used to regulate neurogenesis in embryonic cerebral cortex and adult hippocampus. Finally, the genomic sequences and the reporter mouse lines described here provide useful experimental tools to advance adult neural stem cell research.
Ut pictura poesis: le cas de La Chanson de Roland

For a long time, students of the Chanson de Roland—G. Paris, G. Lanson, E. Faral, P. Le Gentil, G. Moignet, to name a few—have indicated that the work is highly visual, and that the reader has the impression of seeing the actions being described. In other words, the Chanson is an excellent example of the figure of speech classical rhetoricians call hypotyposis, a lively description used for creating the illusion of reality. Unfortunately the aforementioned scholars have not explained which stylistic devices produce such an effect in the Chanson (and neither have the rhetoricians who defined the trope). The goal of this article is to take stock of these various means: concrete vocabulary, neutral narration, paratactic construction, use of the present tense, montage etc., all of which contribute to rendering this composition highly visual. The analysis makes use of data produced by cognitive psychologists who study contexts in which verbal information lends itself to visualization. An unexpected consequence of the analysis of the Chanson de Roland from this perspective is the revelation of its stylistic ‘modernity’, since scholars associate the birth of the ‘modern novel’, in the 19th century, with the generalization of such techniques.
Low-energy (<10keV) electron ionization and recombination model for a liquid argon detector

Abstract Detailed understanding of the ionization process in noble liquid detectors is important for their use in applications such as the search for dark matter and coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. The response of noble liquid detectors to low-energy ionization events is poorly understood at this time. We describe a new simulation tool which predicts the ionization yield from electronic energy deposits ( E 10 keV ) in liquid Ar, including the dependence of the yield on the applied electric drift field. The ionization signal produced in a liquid argon detector from 37Ar beta decay and 55Fe X-rays has been calculated using the new model.
Role of N- and O-glycans in polarized biosynthetic sorting.

The maintenance of proper epithelial function requires efficient sorting of newly synthesized and recycling proteins to the apical and basolateral surfaces of differentiated cells. Whereas basolate...
The dosimetric impact of image guided radiation therapy by intratumoral fiducial markers.

Abstract Purpose Pancreatic fiducials have proven superior over other isocenter localization surrogates, including anatomical landmarks and intratumoral or adjacent stents. The more clinically relevant dosimetric impact of image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) using intratumoral fiducial markers versus bony anatomy has not yet been described and is therefore the focus of the current study. Methods and materials Using daily orthogonal kV or cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and positional and dosimetric data were analyzed for 12 consecutive patients treated with fiducial based IGRT and volumetric modulated arc therapy to the intact pancreas. The shifts from fiducial to bone (ΔFid-Bone) required to realign the daily fiducial-matched pretreatment images (kV, CBCTs) to the planning computed tomography (CT) using bony anatomic landmarks were recorded. The isocenter was then shifted by (ΔFid-Bone) for 5 evenly spaced treatments, and the dosimetric impact of ΔFid-Bone was calculated for planning target volume coverage (PTV 50.4 and PTV 47.9 ) and organs at risk (liver, kidney, and stomach/duodenum). Results The ΔFid-Bone were greatest in the superoinferior direction (ΔFid-Bone anteroposterior, 2.7 ± 3.0; left-right, 2.8 ± 2.8; superoinferior, 6.3 ± 7.9 mm; mean ± standard deviation; P = .03). PTV 50.4 coverage was reduced by 13% (fiducial plan 95 ± 2.0 vs bone plan 82 ± 12%; P = .005; range, 5%-52%; >5% loss in all; and >10% loss in 42% of patients), and to a lesser degree for PTV 47.9 (difference, -8%; range, 1%-30%; fiducial plan 100 ± 0.3% vs bone plan 92 ± 7.6%; P = .003; with reductions of >5% in 66% and >10% in 33% of patients). The dosimetric impact of ΔFid-Bone on the organs at risk was not significant. Positional shifts for kV- and CBCT-based realignments were nearly identical. Conclusion Compared with matching by fiducial markers, IGRT matched by bony anatomy substantially reduces the PTV 50.4 and PTV 47.9 coverage, supporting the use of intratumoral pancreatic markers for improved targeting in IGRT for pancreatic cancer.
Revisiting Claim and Issue Preclusion in Washington State

When it comes to the law of claim and issue preclusion, Washington courts and practitioners encounter rules and precedent that tend to be unnecessarily complicated, overly broad, and even — in some instances — simply wrong. Three decades ago, Professor Philip Trautman urged Washington courts to clarify and modernize the doctrine. A fresh look at the topic suggests that while courts have been receptive to the professor’s advice, the goal of a clear and usable body of preclusion law will require more work. Specifically, Washington courts should address three problems. First, they should simplify the test for claim preclusion, eliminating redundant and confusing elements to make the test more consistent with prevailing modern rules. Instead of clinging to a four-element test that includes a four-factor subtest, the courts should simply examine identity of parties and claims, and should use a transactional test to determine claim-identity. Second, Washington courts should abandon the discredited doctrine of virtual representation, which has bound nonparties to the results of actions in which they either testified or had an advisory role. This use of nonparty preclusion violates litigants’ due process rights, and wastes resources by encouraging litigants to argue the theory even though it is rarely a successful defense. While it might be defensible to preclude nonparties when the earlier action involved an assertion of public rights, courts should proceed with caution, and ensure that Washington’s current rule applies only in the most limited circumstances. Third, Washington courts need to consider Full Faith and Credit principles in every case that involves a judgment from another state or federal court. Ignoring these principles has led courts to apply the wrong preclusion law to judgments of other courts, a practice that harms litigants and undermines the legitimacy of the courts’ decisions.
In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball

In a modern era, where anyone can be the general manager of a Major League Baseball team (if only in a fantasy league), In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball examin...
U.S. Experience with Futures Transactions Taxes: Effects in a Highly Intermediated Market

The transactions tax on futures sharply reduced trading volume on wheat and corn contracts during the 1920s and 1930s but had no apparent effect on volatility or market quality. I find no evidence of a tax effect on open interest: I hypothesize this is because the relative magnitude of the tax was significantly higher for intermediaries than for other participants. Instead, the tax appears to have substantially reduced intra-day trading but not longer-term positioning. Volume-related proxies of liquidity therefore exhibit a strong relation with tax rates, but other measures of market quality show no relation to tax rates. In the long-run, however, exchange members doubled the minimum tick size in order to retain a large number of market makers and offset the impact of the tax.
Great Moments in Financial Economics: Ii. Modigliani-Miller Theorem

Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller are almost universally credited with the theorem that bears their name. In fact, the theorem was stated and proven 20 years earlier by John Burr Williams, to which he gave the name: the Law of the Conservation of Investment Value. However, Modigliani-Miller deserve credit for clearly laying out a formal arbitrage proof and popularizing the subsequent use of arbitrage arguments in financial economics. Even after their work (1958) and subsequent simplified proof (1969), there were still issues that needed to be clarified which lead finally to more modern proof of the theorem based on state-prices.
Privacy-Preserving Database Assisted Spectrum Access: A Socially-Aware Distributed Learning Approach

In this paper, we study a privacy-preserving spectrum sharing system to protect secondary users' location privacy while enhancing spectrum access. The location privacy of secondary users can be compromised by an external adversary via the received signal strength (RSS)-based localization technique. To mitigate such privacy threat, we employ a random power perturbation approach that allows each secondary user to judiciously obfuscate the RSS captured by the adversary. While it can protect users' location privacy, the power perturbation approach would inevitably degrade the system performance and bring challenges to the design of the spectrum allocation algorithm. In this work, we adopt a socially-aware database assisted spectrum access system and cast the spectrum allocation under users' power perturbation as a stochastic channel selection game played among the users. To tackle the challenge brought by the privacy protection, we develop a two time-scale distributed learning algorithm, which is shown to converge almost surely to a socially-aware e-Nash equilibrium. The numerical results show that the higher the privacy protection level is, the more signiﬁcant the degradation of the network throughput would be.
Toward the Development of Antibacterial Vaccines: Report of a Symposium and Workshop

On 26 and 27 October 1998, the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), hosted a symposium and workshop on bacterial vaccines. The symposium featured invited speakers who are internationally recognized authorities in their fields and who discussed selected topics related to specific pathogens or specific principles of bacterial vaccine development. The workshop, held on the day following the symposium, brought together the invited speakers and members of the organizing committee, who came from UCSF and the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss 4 specific topics and to define priorities for future vaccine development. Considerable knowledge has been gained from successful and unsuccessful vaccine development efforts, and large gains in knowledge relevant to vaccine development have resulted from studies of basic immunology and microbial pathogenesis. This report summarizes the presentations at the symposium and the discussions of the workshop sessions.
Prevalence of bilateral JOCD of the knee and associated risk factors

Purpose: Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) of the knee affects cartilage and subchondral bone surface. Multifocal JOCD is described as multiple lesions within the knee or presence of lesions in other joints. The true prevalence of bilaterality of JOCD is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of bilateral JOCD and to identify potential risk factors for bilateral disease. Methods: We evaluated 108 consecutive patients presenting for JOCD at a single pediatric hospital system. If an OCD lesion of the knee was found, contralateral knee x-rays were performed. Lesion location was documented according to Cahill and Berg, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) grading documented according to Dipaola, and if surgical treatment was undertaken, intraoperative grading performed according to Guhl. Patients with unilateral JOCD were compared with those with bilateral disease. Statistical analysis of categorical data was performed utilizing likelihood ratio w 2 test or Fisher exact test and continuous data compared using nonparametric Wilcoxon 2-sample test. Results: There were 85 male (79%) and 23 females (21%) with an average age of 12.3 years (range, 6 to 18 y). Sixty-three percent of lesions were located on the medial femoral condyle and 33% on the lateral femoral condyle. Ninety percent of all lesions were considered weight-bearing lesions. Eighty percent were considered stable on MRI evaluation. Of those lesions that underwent surgical intervention, 61% were either grade I or II lesions. Seventy-three of 108 patients (68%) underwent some form of surgical intervention. Thirty-one patients (29%) were found to have contralateral JOCD lesions. Thirty-nine percent of contralateral lesions found on contralateral radiographs were asymptomatic at presentation and nearly all of those evaluated with MRI (16 of 18) were stable. Sixty-nine percent of contralateral lesions were located on the medial femoral condyle, 27% on the lateral femoral condyle, and 94% were considered weight-bearing lesions. Twelve of 31 contralateral lesions (39%) underwent surgical intervention. Comparing patients with unilateral and bilateral disease, female patients (P < 0.05) and younger age at presentation (P < 0.009) were risk factors for bilateral JOCD. No statistical difference among other variables was seen with regard to location, MRI or operative stability of lesion, or presence of symptoms. Conclusions: In our consecutive series of 108 patients with JOCD, we found a 29% incidence of bilateral disease. Almost 40% of contralateral lesions were asymptomatic upon presentation. Female sex and younger age at presentation were significant risk factors for bilateral disease. Lesion location, stability, and pain were not statistically significant variables. The authors recommend bilateral radiographic knee evaluation for all patients found to have JOCD. Level of Evidence: Level IV—retrospective case series.
Silicon in organic synthesis—17 : Cyclopentannulation by thermolysis of (1-trimethylsilylcyclopropyl)ethylenes—the 1-trimethylsilylcyclopropyl anion

Abstract Several alternatives for preparing (1-trimethylsilylcyclopropyl)ethylenes have been examined. Although 1-lithio-1-(trimethylsilyl)ethylene does add satisfactorily to carbonyl compounds and the subsequent Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation provides the desired cyclopropyl carbinols, shorter routes involving the 1-trimethylsilylcyclopropyl anion were sought. The sequence based upon reductive lithiation of 1-(trimethylsilyl)-1-phenyl-thiocyclopropane proved less than satisfactory. In contrast, metalation of 1-bromo-1-(trimethylsilyl)cyclopropane leads efficiently to the desired carbinols which dehydrate without rearrangement. Pyrolysis of the resulting (1-trimethylsilylcyclopropyl)ethylenes affords silyl substituted cyclopentenes in high yield. Subsequent reaction of these products with varied electrophiles forms the basis of a new and versatile 5-ring annulation sequence. An intramolecular competitive study of the vinylcyclopropane rearrangement is documented as are other attempts to induce ring expansion of the Si-substituted 3-membered ring by ionic pathways.
From Graphite to Porous Carbon Containing Nanoparticles through Chemical Reactions

Porous carbon containing large quantities of separated individual nanoparticles (2–100 nm) was produced. The chemical process includes fluorination or oxygenation of graphite, and then exposing the product (graphite fluoride or graphite oxide) to metal chlorides. The nanoparticles were metal halides or metal oxides, which could contain dopants if they were added during the synthesis process. The metal to carbon atomic ratio was in the range of 1 (3–6). The chlorides used in this research include those of Pd, Zn, Al and Li. Depending on the synthesis process, the carbon pores could be either filled with the nanoparticles, resulting in near-zero surface area and high metal concentration, or partially filled with nanoparticles, resulting in large surface areas. In this report, near zero surface areas were observed for a product of LiCl in carbon, and a surface area of 75 m2/g was observed for the product of γ- Al2O3 in carbon. Heating these products in 1 atm air allowed the nanoparticles to become fuse together in the form of metal oxide while the carbon was oxidized, producing metal oxides which have the same shape as the carbon precursors (fibers, fabrics, or powder) and large surface areas. These products are potentially useful in the area of batteries, high temperature gas sensors, and catalysts. Also, these products could be used to examine individual nanopartidles, whose electrical, optical, and chemical properties differ from those of their single crystal or amorphous counterparts
Verantwortung. Grundbegriffe der Kommunikations- und Medienethik (Teil 3)

D er Begriff der Verantwortung spielt in der allgemeinen wie auch der angewandten Ethik eine zentrale Rolle. Er bezieht sich auf eine der moralischen Grundfragen des menschlichen Lebens, namlich die Frage, ob die Folgen unseres Handelns als ethisch akzeptabel gelten konnen.
Assumed Stress Function Finite Element Method: Towards Unification

The assumed stress function finite element method (ASFFEM) theoretical formulation is recast as a variant of the method of weighted residuals for the solution of partial differential equations (PDEs). As such, the method is seen as a generic technique applicable in other disciplines. To reinforce this notion, an analog of the ASFFEM in the thermal conduction context is presented, along with details regarding its implementation and numerical examples. This thermal code is considered a testbed facilitating further research regarding such issues as curved and 3D element technology in the simplified scalar field problem. This formulation could be called the assumed flux function finite element method (AFFFEM), or more generally an assumed response gradient function finite element method. The accuracy of the primary and secondary quantities in the AFFFEM implementation are compared with results from a standard finite element code. Attention is also drawn to a number of past ASFFEM concerns. This study thus allows a re-characterization of ASFFEM as not restricted to structural mechanics, thus unifying it within the overall family of finite element analysis techniques.
Experimental verification of distance and energy optimal motion planning on a skid-steered platform

Mobile robots operating in the field need to be aware of the terrain and use this information to select the proper motion planning modality. For example, in very benign terrain it might be desirable to navigate to a goal following the shortest path. However, on challenging terrains, such maneuvers may be prohibitively expensive in terms of energy consumption. This paper summarizes field experiment results corresponding to a comparison between distance optimal and energy optimal motion planning for a skid-steered robot on different terrains. The results show that on average there is substantive energy savings associated with energy optimal motion planning.
A Study of the Gulf of Mexico: Learning in a High School Marine Biology Laboratory

Florida's high school marine biology curriculum requires a study of the ocean currents. In addition to the traditional method of supplying maps to label current names and temperatures, students participated in "The Bottle Lab." This experiment required students to write messages to include the month/year bottles were placed at one mile intervals in the Gulf of Mexico. When possible, students wrote in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, Creole and German). The bottles were labeled and paraffin sealed. Bottles were retrieved west to Texas, east to the French coast, and south to Cuba's north shore. Students learned the concepts of dedication to education and commitment to learning when listening to the Skipper who sailed the bottles into the Gulf of Mexico and communicating with soldiers in the Gulf War.
Parametric Insensitivity of Equilibria in Multi-Stage Dynamic Games

Abstract In a multi-person decision problem. derivation of incentives which induce the agents at the lower level of hierarchy to act in a desired predetermined manner has been considered earlier under the hypothesis that the corresponding objective functions are known accurately. Recently. this assumption has been relaxed by letting these functionals depend on an uncertain parameter vector. and incentive policies insensitive to the above are constructed by exploiting either the high dimensionality of the decision variable or the private information of the authority who designs the incentives. In this paper. we consider a multi-stage dynamic game wherein the objective function of the agent depends on an uncertain parameter. We obtain incentive schemes which are insensitive against variations in the uncertain quantity about its nominal value. using strategies involving past values of the state measurements made during the course of the decision process. One conclusion we arrive at as a result of this study is that the use of memory has a similar effect as the one of the private information or the high dimensionality of the decision variable of the authority who designs the incentives
Flange Gastroenterostomy Results in Reduction in Delayed Gastric Emptying after Standard Pancreaticoduodenectomy: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Delayed gastric emptying (DGE) is a common serious problem after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Flange gastrojejunostomy (FL-GE) is a previously described technique that creates an internal flange in a hand-sewn gastroenterostomy. Results of FL-GE on incidence and severity of DGE after PD are presented. Study Design Data were extracted from a prospective database of PD. Standard PD with antrectomy were performed with flange gastroenterostomy (FL-GE) or other techniques (NonFL-GE) at a single institution. The International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) definition of DGE was used, and DGE severity was graded based on the ISGPS grading system and the Modified Accordion Grading System (MAGS). Results There were 215 standard PDs performed. Sixty-eight (32%) were FL-GE and 147 (68%) were NonFL-GE. Delayed gastric emptying rates in FL-GE and NonFL-GE were 9% and 23%, respectively (p = 0.012). Differences in severity of DGE were even more prominent: 29% of DGEs in the NonFL-GE group were ISGPS grade C vs 0% in FL-GE. Also, 35% of DGEs in the NonFL-GE group were MAGS 3 vs 0% in FL-GE. Because of some differences in sex and inflammatory complications between groups, a propensity score analysis was performed, creating 57 matched patients in the FL-GE and NonFL-GE groups. The incidence of DGE remained significantly different in the groups (5% in FL-GE vs 18% in NonFL-GE; p = 0.039). Conclusions In this cohort study, the flange technique was associated with a marked reduction in the incidence of DGE after PD.
Predicting student success in nurse practitioner programs

Background and purpose Criteria for admission to nurse practitioner (NP) and other professional programs provide a snapshot of students’ potential for success in those programs. Critical examination of admission criteria is a vital component of ensuring timely matriculation and completion of NP programs. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between admission criteria and student progression and completion of NP programs. Methods A retrospective review of 150 randomly selected student records from a total of 232 available records was conducted. A predictive correlational design was used to examine factors that influence success in NP programs. Conclusions Statistically significant relationships existed among type of admission status, change in program concentration, age, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) verbal score, GRE quantitative score, total GRE scores, and program progression and completion. Implications for practice Data collection from this and related research is paramount in developing information infrastructures that support consistent evaluation and revision of admission criteria and program curricula. Leaders in academia can use these data to achieve instructional excellence, improve education systems, and ensure timely matriculation through NP programs. This facilitates workforce planning and supports efforts to meet the expanding need for primary care providers.
Evolving Role of PET/CT in the Diagnosis and Management of Gynecologic Malignancies

1320 Objectives 1. To present the current role of PET/CT in the diagnosis, and management of patients with gynecologic malignancies as well as monitoring response to treatment. 2. To discuss the available evidence and evolving horizons related to PET/CT imaging with their potential role in the patients with gynecologic malignancies. Ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers are the most common gynecologic malignancies encountered in clinical practice. Diagnosis of gynecologic malignancies is generally very challenging due to very nonspecific symptoms specially in ovarian cancer. For many malignancies, FDG PET/CT currently is used for evaluating local extent as well as distant metastasis (staging). However, in gynecologic malignancies, staging is mostly surgical (ovarian and endometrial cancer) or clinical (cervical cancer). However, FDG PET/CT can provide very useful information in these groups of patients if used appropriately. In this presentation, the evolving role of PET/CT in the gynecologic malignancies according to the most recent available evidence will be reviewed: 1. The current role of FDG PET/CT in initial diagnosis, staging, monitoring response to therapy and restaging in different gynecologic malignancies. 2. Novel PET radiotracers and their evolving role in the management of gynecologic malignancies. Methods - Results - Conclusions - Research Support: -
Construction of Gender and Gender Ideology

This chapter discusses the construction of gender in Chandhara. It also reflects the informants’ understanding of masculinity and femininity and the relationship of these notions with power and prestige. In this chapter, readers will find a clear difference between the textual versions of some aspects of Islamic religious tradition with those of the oral versions, and how both of these versions affect the daily lives of the rural people, especially rural women. The roles of myths, rituals, beliefs, and other practices, such as marriage, funeral, and prayers are also discussed in this chapter. It also analyzes how women’s and men’s discourses on the construction of gender differ. It argues that religious discourses and practices in many ways help rural women increase their status in the family and community, and at the same time, decrease their position and bargaining capacity.
Can broadcasting help achieve social reform

It will be quickly apparent that the following paper is Commissioner Cox's, response to the theoretical views of Commissioner Loevinger that appear on pages 97 through 116 of this issue of the Journal. This article is based upon a speech titled “Broadcasting: Theory or Practice”; that originally was delivered before the National Association of Broadcasters’ Fall Regional Conference in Los Angeles on November 17, 1967.