cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Important is the Doctrine of Double Effect for Moral Theology? Contextualizing the Controversy

One's conception of the conditions and applicability of the principle of double effect derive from one's broader convictions about moral methodology. Developed in a Catholic context which presumed the existence of moral absolutes, the principle of double effect was originally a conceptual tool to aid priests in being skilled confessors. In recent decades, as the practice of moral theology has become less connected with its earlier ecclesial and sacramental context, the principle of double effect has fallen into an epistemological crisis. Contemporary moral theological discussion of the principle of double effect usually operates in one of the following four contexts: interpretation of Aquinas; in relation to manualist casuistry; as understood within proportionalist methodology; as defended within the new natural law methodology. The essay argues that juridicallyoriented methodologies do not adequately sustain the principle of double effect. To be sustained, it must be viewed as a theological achievement based upon the meaning of our redemption in Christ and the concomitant possibilities regarding our actions in pursuit of our true good and true end.
CLINICAL DILEMMAS: Therapists Treating Therapists

Psychotherapists who treat therapist-patients confront a range of intense, often unexpected, countertransferential feelings that threaten to intrude on the course of treatment. The experience of the treating therapist is examined and discussed with particular attention to implications for clinical practice.
Phase Behavior Measurement and Modeling of Gas-to-Liquids and Alaska North Slope Crude Oil Blends

The feasibility of transporting gas-to-liquids (GTL) products (natural gas chemically converted to liquid hydrocarbons) through an existing oil pipeline—the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)—for bringing value to Alaska's vast stranded natural gas resources is currently being investigated. As part of this major project, the phase behavior measurement and modeling of GTL and Alaska North Slope crude (ANSC) oil blends have been carried out. The saturation pressures for various types of GTL and ANSC oil blends were measured in a conventional windows based PVT apparatus. The phase behavior of GTL and ANSC oil blends were also modeled by the Peng-Robinson and Soave-Redlich-Kwong equations-of-state. The measured and modeled saturation pressures were found to be in close agreement. The results also indicated that the GTL and ANSC oil blends would always exist as single-phase liquid under the current TAPS operating conditions.
Detection by counterimmunoelectrophoresis of pneumococcal antigen in synovial fluid from septic arthritis

Pneumococcal antigen type 20 has been identified by counterimmunoelectrophoresis in synovial fluid of a case of septic arthritis in a patient with underlying rheumatoid arthritis. The titer of antigen was high: 1:400. Implications of this finding in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of septic arthritis are discussed.
A method of determining unknown rate constants in a chemical reaction in the presence of diffusion

Abstract The implicit function theorem is employed in developing a method for determining unknown rate constants in the chemical reaction A + B ⇌ C in the presence of diffusion. Some numerical experiments were conducted and tables and graphs of the results of the experiments are presented.
IGBT convertor with active snubber for soft switching

This full bridge dc-dc convertor with IGBTs uses zero voltage switching (ZVS) for one leg of the bridge and zero current switching (ZCS) for the other. It is shown that an active snubber greatly improves the performance over previous methods. Experimental results are shown for a 6 kW circuit switching at 20 kHz.
Atrial myocardial blood flow during acute right ventricular pressure load and adenosine infusion in late gestation fetal sheep.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate atrial myocardial blood flow in the fetus under conditions of acute right ventricular pressure load and adenosine infusion. Late gestation fetal sheep were instrumented for acute right ventricular pressure loading or adenosine infusion, and regional myocardial blood flow was measured at rest and under experimental conditions with radiolabeled microspheres and standard reference sample technique. Resting myocardial blood flow to the atria was less than half of ventricular flow per gram tissue. During the maximum tolerated pulmonary artery pressure load, right atrial peak systolic pressure rose significantly, and atrial blood flow increased 3-fold. The percentage of total myocardial blood flow received by the right atrium during maximal pressure loading increased from 4.3 ± 1.4% to 5.9 ± 1.6%, p < 0.05. Adenosine infusion was associated with a 4-fold increase in atrial myocardial blood flow and a 3-fold increase in ventricular and septal blood flow. The percentage of total myocardial blood flow to both atria also increased with adenosine infusion (right atrium, 3.8 ± 0.4% to 5.4 ± 1.3%, and left atrium, 4.2 ± 0.8% to 6.9 ± 2.0%, p < 0.05). We conclude the following: 1) at rest, fetal atrial myocardial blood flow is less than one half of ventricular myocardial blood flow per gram tissue; 2) fetal atrial blood flow increases more than ventricular blood flow with acute right ventricular pressure load or adenosine infusion; and 3) these data suggest that fetal atrial blood flow is regulated independently from ventricular blood flow and may be influenced by atrial work.
Fractal Heteroaggregation of Oppositely Charged Colloids

Floc structures resulting from selective heteroaggregation of positively and negatively charged colloids are investigated as a function of number ratio and shear conditions at pH 6. Negatively charged silica and positively charged alumina-coated silica undergo rapid aggregation due to attractive electrostatic interactions. At either extreme in number ratio, growth is terminated at an early stage, presumably because the aggregates acquire the same sign of charge, eliminating the driving force for further aggregation. For intermediate number ratios, extensive growth occurs, since the distribution of positive and negative charges is more uniform. Structure evolution of large heteroaggregates is assessed by static light scattering. Shear strongly influences the packing geometry and the tendency for the aggregates to undergo restructuring. At high shear (N(Re)>2000), heteroaggregates show relatively dense packing and do not restructure. Fractal dimension D(f) decreases from 2.64 to 2.26 as the number of positive particles is increased. At low shear (N(Re)<200), packing of the particles is more open and restructuring occurs. The lowest observed fractal dimension is 1.79. In the absence of applied shear, heteroaggregates with D(f)=1.79 rearrange to more compact structures with D(f)=1.88. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Canadian Dominion-Provincial Relations

Introduction: the problem, the Commission, provincial attitudes, 584. — Historical and constitutional background, 588. — Depression and provincial grievances, 593. — The recommendations: reallocation of functions, 596; reallocation of revenues and debt, 600; subsidies, 603. — Conclusions, 609.
Reader‐text interaction

(1986). Reader‐text interaction. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 25, Building Literacy, pp. 91-96.
All Against All: How Beliefs about Human Nature Shape Foreign Policy Opinions

Although the American public's increasingly cynical views about human nature have drawn considerable attention from scholars, existing research says little about how interpersonal trust shapes mass foreign policy opinions. This study analyzes survey data to test the claim that citizens use their beliefs about human nature to reason about international affairs. The results indicate that cynical citizens are more likely than trusting citizens to endorse the principle of isolationism and to oppose cooperative forms of intervention in other nations' problems. Citizens' use of interpersonal trust as an information shortcut helps them to make inferences regarding a topic about which they typically know little, but such inferences are not necessarily realistic ones.
Defective neutrophil actin polymerisation and chemotaxis in stressed newborns

Abnormalities of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) function contribute to high rates of postoperative infection in the newborn and to the vulnerability of newborns to overwhelming bacterial and fungal sepsis. The authors investigated (1) the effects of major surgery and sepsis on PMN chemotaxis in the newborn and (2) the role of cytoskeletal rearrangements in regulating chemotaxis. The subjects studied included newborns with sepsis (n = 16), newborns who underwent major surgery (n = 7), healthy full-term newborns (n = 21), and healthy adult volunteers (n = 28). Peak actin polymerisation was diminished in all newborns (relative to the adults) after stimulation with formyl methionyl leucyl phenylalanine (FMLP) (10 nmol/L), and with zymosan activated serum (ZAS) (10%). Major surgery and sepsis in newborns caused no further reduction in actin polymerisation. Changes in PMN shape after stimulation with FMLP were reduced in the newborns. PMN chemotaxis was significantly lower in healthy newborns than in adults (17 +/- 4 microns v 24 +/- 5 microns; P < .0001) and was even lower in septic newborns (11 +/- 4 microns; P < .005). Surgery and anaesthesia did not alter chemotaxis.
Use of a monoclonal antibody in structural investigations of the 49-kDa polypeptide of photosystem II.

Abstract A monoclonal antibody, FAC2, was isolated by immunization of mice with a Photosystem II core preparation followed by spleenic fusion and standard monoclonal antibody screening and production techniques. This antibody recognizes the 49-kDa polypeptide of Photosystem II which is the apoprotein of CPal. The antigenic determinant recognized by this antibody lies on a cyanogen bromide fragment which appears as a doublet with an apparent molecular mass of 14.5 kDa. FAC2 was used to follow the effects of trypsin on the 49-kDa polypeptide in a membrane environment. Our results indicate that the extrinsic polypeptides of Photosystem II which are known to be involved in oxygen evolution protect the 49-kDa polypeptide from tryptic attack. Additionally, Photosystem II membranes which are treated with alkaline Tris exhibit a large increase in the ability to bind FAC2. This increase is not observed with membranes treated with calcium chloride or sodium chloride. These results indicate that the 49-kDa polypeptide may be at least structurally associated with the component(s) responsible for oxygen evolution.
Professionalism and clinical excellence among anesthesiology residents.

BACKGROUND: During a decade of evaluating the clinical performances of anesthesiology residents at several hospitals, a consistently low frequency of faculty members' comments regarding residents' unprofessional behavior was observed. METHOD: To identify the population of residents who behave unprofessionally and the predictive categories and performance patterns associated with unprofessional behavior, an examination was undertaken of 24 months of clinical performance records regarding the behaviors of 71 residents for 15 negative categories and overall performance. The residents were in training from 1982-83 through 1989-90 at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. The performance records consisted of narrative comments from faculty that were converted into z-scores. These performance scores were evaluated by using percentage distributions, stepwise regression, and neural networks. RESULTS: Of the 71 residents, 15 (21%) received comments about unprofessional behavior, for a total of 27 comments (1% of all negative comments). Primarily, the residents' unprofessional behaviors involved unacceptable behavior (33%), abdication of responsibility (38%), and frank fabrications (15%). The 15 residents experienced significant problems in the areas of eagerness to learn, conscientiousness, composure, critical incidents, efficiency/organization, taking instruction, and knowledge. Problems with unprofessional behavior were not found for the 21 residents whose scores for overall performance were excellent. CONCLUSION: The results expose a pattern of performance associated with unprofessional behavior, and suggest that clinical excellence and unprofessional behavior rarely coexist.
Unsavory Problems at Tasty's: A Role-Play about Whistle-Blowing.

This article presents a role-play exercise to make the topic of whistle-blowing personally salient to undergraduates. Students identify with the prospective whistle-blower, whose decision affects several stakeholders. The protagonist merely suspects her manager of stealing, until she hears concrete evidence of his thefts from her assistant manager, who does not want to take action. The exercise helps prepare students to decide how to act if they observe workplace wrongdoing, demonstrates that different ethical frameworks may point to different decisions, promotes examination of possible consequences of whistle-blowing, and highlights how organizational factors affect employees’ ethical behavior and the outcomes of their behavior.
A psychiatric consultation service for hospitalized children

Abstract The authors describe the organization of the child psychiatric consultation service of the Massachusetts General Hospital. They review the conceptual framework of consultation to pediatric inpatients and analyze a nine-month study of 72 consultations by categorizing them according to the type of request for consultation. The largest number of requests (38%) reflected the children's concerns about their illnesses and hospitalization. Liaison activities, designed to provide information and to help the staff tolerate stress, are exemplified in five brief case reports
Peer review and the planning process

ACM's Special Interest Group on University Computer Centers (SIGUCC) has instituted a program to foster peer reviews among computing centers. That program is conceived as giving external advice and guidance to computer center directors, and is an appropriate mechanism for certain classes of need. However, at SUNY - Albany peer or external review is used in quite a different way--one integrally bound to the planning process. This paper describes our strategy and methodology in that context.
Review: General Practitioners at the Deep End: The Experience and Views of General Practitioners Working in the Most Severely Deprived Areas of Scotland

GENERAL PRACTITIONERS AT THE DEEP END: THE EXPERIENCE AND VIEWS OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS WORKING IN THE MOST SEVERELY DEPRIVED AREAS OF SCOTLAND GRAHAM WATT Occas Pap R Coll Gen Pract 2012 May; (89): i–viii, 1–40 GPs at the Deep End, conceived of by academic and community GPs as a method of addressing the 40-year challenge of the inverse care law, acknowledged that the way forward for doctors practising in the most deprived and challenging social situations should come from the doctors themselves. The Deep End framework respected the GPs in those communities by putting them front and centre with academics and health service personnel acting as consultants to the process. The resulting Occasional Paper is an authentic and inspiring work that serves as a foundation for organising all of general practice, not just practices in communities which are most at risk. While each of the short chapters of the report merit reading and discussing, a few ideas stood out for me. We need to be continually reminded that general practice, at its heart, is about relationships built over time that require commitment and openness on the part of both doctor and patient. That long journey is …
Fluoride accumulation and bone strength in wild black-crowned night-herons.

Fluoride was measured in femurs of black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) living adjacent to a phosphate processing complex near Pocatello, Idaho. Fluoride (ash wt.) in femurs ranged from 540 μg/g to 11,000 μg/g and increased (P=0.0001) with age, but with no difference (P=0.80) between sexes. Adult males (⩾4 years) contained 5,409 μg/g compared to 6,042 μg/g for adult females. The tibiotarsus (=tibiae in text) increased in diameter with age (P=0.015) in this study; fluoride was nearly related (P=0.065) to the increase. As the diameter increased with age, wall thickness decreased (P=0.011) suggesting excessive internal bone resorption, but fluoride concentrations were not implicated in the relationship (p= 0.64). The apparent increase in diameter and decrease in wall thickness may have partially neutralized each other's effects on strength. Although significantly higher concentrations of fluoride were present in adults than in Third Year herons, no significant change in bone strength (maximum load or modulus of rupture) was detected between the two age classes, but three of the four comparisons showed adults with less strength (i.e., a hint of diminished strength with age). The tibiae of Hatch Year birds were significantly weaker than documented in older age classes, but incomplete growth was thought responsible. The strong relationship between age and fluroide concentrations reduced our ability to separate a “fluoride effect” from an “age effect.” Other authors believed fluoride was responsible for an increase in bone diameter and the fluoride residues encountered in adults were within the range indicative of poisoning in cattle. In addition, the adult night-herons had about 1.6 times higher fluoride concentrations than owls which showed reduced reproductive success under laboratory conditions.
The perils of psophageal prosthesis placement in malignant tracheoesophageal fistula

Endoesophageal prostheses are sometimes used in palliative therapy of esophageal carcinoma. Placement or subsequent manipulation of these devices may require general anesthesia, and these anesthetics are fraught with potential complications, both from the patient's illness and from the prosthesis itself. The two patients in our report presented anesthetic challenges, including acute upper airway obstruction occurring outside the operating theater and management of malignant tracheoesophageal fistula.
HLA-restricted NY-ESO-1 peptide immunotherapy for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer

Background Given the immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 peptides in prostate cancer, a phase I clinical trial was designed to evaluate HLA class-I and class-II restricted NY-ESO-1 peptides in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Methods Patients with progressive mCRPC, Zubrod Performance Status ≤2, PSA ≥10 ng/ml who had appropriate HLA class I (A2) and class II haplotypes (DR4, DP4) were eligible. Three groups with 3 patients each received the vaccine subcutaneously every 2 weeks for 6 doses. Group 1 received a peptide presented by an HLA class I haplotype (HLA-A2), Group 2 with a peptide presented by HLA class II haplotype (DR4, DP4), and Group 3 with peptides presented by both Class I and II haplotypes. Androgen-deprivation was continued. Owing to a myocardial infarction, the protocol was amended to omit the use of GM-CSF. Results Fourteen patients were evaluable for toxicities and 9 received all 6 doses and were evaluable for efficacy. One death from myocardial infarction following GM-CSF occurred in a patient with generalized myalgias. After omitting GM-CSF, no grade >2 toxicities were observed. Among 9 patients evaluable for efficacy, the median PSA doubling time pre-therapy and during therapy were 3.1 and 4.92 months, respectively. NY-ESO-1 specific T-cell response observed by ELISPOT appeared more frequent in docetaxel-naive patients (4 of 4) than docetaxel-pretreated patients (2 of 5). Conclusion In men with mCRPC, individualized HLA class-I and/or class-II restricted NY-ESO-1 peptides were tolerable, appeared to slow PSA doubling time and yielded antigen-specific T-cell responses more often in chemonaive patients.
Geophysics could explain Ancient Maya Myth

According to Maya mythology, the splendor of the principal entity, the Feathered Serpent, is exalted at Lake Atitlan in southwestern Guatemala. A chance look at a phenomenon in the natural environment reveals the possible geophysical basis of this myth. More than poetic fancy, the flight of the Feathered Serpent could refer to the dissipation of a soliton wave formed in the 130-km2 caldera lake. In the myth, recounted in the sixteenth century document los anales de los caqchiqueles, the newly acceded leader of the Kaqchikel-speaking Maya tribe rises from the lake transformed as the Feathered Serpent [Recinos and Goetz, 1953, p. 76]. Residents claim a gigantic serpent, Xocomil, still lives in the waters.
Energy transfer and bond strength in ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics

This paper describes an investigation into some fundamental aspects of ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics. A simple model was developed to characterize the temperature rise at the weld interface up to the glass transition temperature. Beyond this point, the temperature increases more rapidly and almost directly proportional to weld time. The rate of temperature rise increases with increase of amplitude of vibration. The correlation between weld strength and interface temperature was established using the method of dimensional analysis. It was found that the process can be optimized in terms of weld strength by monitoring the power input. There is an optimal load one can apply to achieve high weld strength. The overall efficiency of the process is rather low in terms of energy usage.
Ampeometric determination of formate with a nickel electrode

Abstract Comparison of the amperometric response of platinum and nickel electrodes for formate showed that the sensitivity of the Pt electrode changed with time while that for Ni did not. The nickel electrode was used in a flow-injection system to monitor formate and other single-carbon species and to study the kinetics of selected reactions that produce formate. The detection limit for formate in a 30 μl sample was 0.02 mM with linear response to 7.0 mM. Rate constants for hydrolysis and hydration of chloroform, carbon monoxide, and dimethylformamide in 0.10 M NaOH solution were found to be 2.30 ± 0.05 × 10 −4 , 8.5 − 0.05 × 10 −4 , and s −1 , respectively, at 25°C. Advantages of this technique are direct detection of reaction product, low detection limits, fast measurements, reduced exposure to air, and low sample volumes.
Prediction of Maximal Exercise Capacity in Obstructive and Restrictive Pulmonary Disease

We evaluated the predictive value of resting pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in the determination of maximal exercise capacity in patients with obstructive and restrictive ventilatory disease. We performed resting PFTs and an incremental exercise study on a bicycle ergometer in 146 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 68 patients with restrictive disease. The patients with obstructive disease were further subdivided into mild, moderate, and severe based on the severity of their airway obstruction (mean±SD:FEV 1 , 2.78±0.77, 2.12 ±0.74, and 1.06±0.47, respectively). Correlation coefficients for PFTs vs V ˙ o 2 max and V ˙ Emax in restricted patients was generally low (D I . = 0.67 and 0.34, IC=0.58 and 0.35, FVC=0.57 and 0.35, TLC=0.35 and 0.18). In patients with COPD, the maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) was the single best predictor of V ˙ o 2 in all groups with correlation coefficients of 0.75, 0.69, and 0.89 in the mild, moderate, and severe subgroups, respectively. Similarly, the MW was the best predictor of V ˙ Emax in all groups with correlation coefficients of 0.59, 0.64, and 0.89 in the three subgroups. The correlation with FEV 1 was slightly less for both V ˙ o 2 max (0.69, 0.65, and 0.87) and V Emax (0.52, 0.64, 0.64) in the mild, moderate, and severe subgroups, respectively. Our findings show that PFTs are unreliable in predicting V ˙ Emax and V ˙ o 2 max in restricted patients. In patients with obstruction, the MW is the single best predictor of V ˙ o 2 max and V ˙ Emax in all three categories, but was not significantly improved by stepwise multiple regression with additional PFT variables. Higher correlations were obtained in the severe group in whom the correlation with V ˙ o 2 max and V ˙ Emax was 0.89. However, the 95 percent confidence interval of the estimate for V ˙ o 2 and VE was relatively large (±0.16 L/min and ± 6.6 L/min, respectively). We conclude that although several PFTs correlate significantly with maximum exercise, the large variance precludes their use to accurately predict maximum performance in individual patients with COPD.
Fighting City Hall: Entry Deterrence and Technology Upgrades in Cable TV Markets

This article investigates how private firms respond to potential entry from public firms. This paper uses a data set of over 3,000 U.S. cable TV systems to present evidence consistent with entry deterrence. Incumbent cable TV firms upgrade faster when located in markets with a potential municipal entrant. However, the same systems are then slower to offer new products enabled by the upgrade, suggesting upgrades in these markets occur for strategic reasons. Incumbent cable systems also upgrade faster in response to municipal entry threats than to private entry threats. Understanding how private firms respond to potential entry from public firms is especially important in light of recent U.S. government entry into several industries. This paper was accepted by Bruno Cassiman, business strategy.
Effects of reserpine on the surface structure of chromaffin cells in the rat adrenal medulla.

Reserpine, which depletes the adrenal medulla of its catechol amine content, has been injected into adult rats in varying doses, and the ultrastructure of medullary chromaffin cells has been studied at varying time intervals after injection. After heavy reserpine treatment, the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane shows regions where small patches of very dense material are formed. The patches are about 300 A in width and 500 A in length. Smaller equally dense attachments are seen at the inner surface of the plasma membrane in cells from less heavily reserpinized animals. They are never found in nontreated animals. In all the cells where patches are observed, there are signs of more or less pronounced degranulation of the chromaffin granules. Some of the plasma membrane regions where dense material has accumulated protrude into the extracellular space in which membrane-bound granulated vesicles often are observed close to the plasma membrane. These observations have been interpreted to indicate that the protrusions bud off to form the extracellularly located granulated vesicles. The latter process might be one by which material is released from the medullary cells.
Dielectric properties of amorphous Zr–Al–O and Zr-Si-O thin films

We have systematically studied the composition dependence of the dielectric properties of Zr1-xAlxO2-x/2 and Zr1-xSixO2. An essentially linear variation of the static dielectric constant, es, was observed as a function of composition, x, for compositions rich in the p-block element, i.e., x > 0.4, for both chemical systems. However an abrupt change in es is found near x ≈ 0.35, associated with the onset of crystallinity in as-deposited films. Breakdown fields do not show a comparable composition dependence. Measurements of the index of refraction at optical frequencies, combined with a simple Clausius–Mossotti interpretation, indicates that low-frequency (ionic) contributions to the polarizability exhibit systematic deviation with respect to values linearly interpolated from the endmembers. These trends are not consistently affected by the presence of crystalline order, but are related to changes associated with heterogeneous local oxygen coordination and bonding.
Size-based scheduling policies with inaccurate scheduling information

Size-based scheduling policies, such as shortest remaining processing time (SRPT), have been studied since the 1960s and have been applied in various areas, including packet networks and Web server scheduling. SRPT has been proven to be optimal in the sense that it yields - compared to any other conceivable strategy - the smallest mean value of occupancy and therefore also of waiting and delay time. One important prerequisite to applying size-based scheduling is to know the sizes of all jobs in advance, which are unfortunately not always available. No work has been done to study the performance of size-based scheduling policies when only inaccurate scheduling information is available. We study the performance of SRPT and fair sojourn protocol (FSP) as a function of the correlation coefficient between the actual job sizes and estimated job sizes. We have developed a simulator that supports both M/G/l/m and G/G/n/m queuing models. The simulator can be driven by trace data or synthetic data produced by a workload generator we have developed that allows us to control the correlation. The simulations show that the degree of correlation has a dramatic effect on the performance of SRPT and FSP, and that a reasonably good job size estimator makes both SRPT and FSP outperform processor sharing (PS) in both mean response time and slowdown.
eXtreme chirped pulse amplification-beyond the fundamental energy storage limit of semiconductor optical amplifiers

In this paper, we propose a novel method, called "eXtreme chirped pulse amplification (X-CPA)," to overcome the fundamental energy storage limit of a semiconductor optical amplifier. The method is studied numerically and experimentally. Based on the X-CPA concept, 1.4-kW record peak power is generated from an all-semiconductor X-CPA system. Prior to an extreme pulse compression stage, greater than microjoules output energies of 20 ns extremely stretched pulses are extracted from a flared semiconductor optical amplifier.
Torsional Design of Hybrid Concrete Box Girders

Hybrid concrete box-girder bridges that include prestressed slabs and corrugated steel webs provide a major improvement over traditional prestressed concrete box-girder bridges. To reduce the self-weight, high strength concrete is used for the top and bottom slabs and corrugated steel webs are employed for the webs. Because the weight of the girders has been reduced, the span length can be increased for more cost-effective design. A series of systematic tests on hybrid concrete box girders subjected to torsion has been performed. According to the test results, an analytical model was developed. Using the developed analytical model, a step-by-step procedure for torsional design of such bridges is presented in this article. Based on the design procedure proposed, a girder is designed by the analytical model and checked to satisfy structural codes.
Investigation of Selenium Sources Associated with Chronic Selenosis in Horses of Western Iowa

Chronic selenosis (alkali disease) was diagnosed in horses in the loess hills of western Iowa, 21 a region associated with marginal to adequate soil selenium and not previously reported to produce seleniferous crops. 6 Subsequent field investigations confirmed normal selenium levels in the soils sampled but elevated dietary intake. Locally produced seleniferous alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa L.) from 2 sites were identified as the primary sources. Drought-stimulated root development may have enabled long alfalfa taproots to extract selenium from deeper glacial subsoils. This communication describes the investigation of potential selenium sources associated with the horses and hays. Clinical signs of chronic selenosis began during the late summer of 1989 in 3 mares, 2 studs, and 2 yearlings at site A and 5 mares and geldings at site B. Affected horses all developed moderate to severe tail and mane alopecia. One stud (site A) had moderate corrugated hoof lesions on the forelimbs, and progressed to mild lameness. At site B, all horses reportedly developed hoof wall deformities and pronounced lameness. Prior to investigation, another horse had been euthanized because of pain, lameness, and hoof sloughing. All affected horses recovered after changing to lower selenium hay. During a previous drought in 1983, 3 mares on farm A developed signs compatible with chronic selenosis. Ranges of selenium concentration in samples (ppm wet weight), excluding site B, were hair coat, 0.30-7.1; mane hair, 055-1.0; tail hair, 0.55-1.0; blood, 0.44-1.1; serum, 0.280.49; hoof wall, 0.8-2.2; and hoof sole, 0.5-2.8. 21
Crossing the Real Chasm in Technical Development Work

The history of humanitarian technology is replete with mismatched expectations between the practitioner and the community intended to benefit from the provided technology. Recent work examining the failures that result from this mismatch shows promise, but few actionable recommendations for closing the chasm between practitioner and community have emerged. There are frameworks and checklists to help promote "correct" community engagement, but these typically require the technologist to be as well-versed in social science methodologies as technology. While this combination is at the core of a handful of academic programs, the majority of humanitarian technologists do not have the time or resources to learn relevant social science theory and practice. From practical experience and research, we suggest five strategies and corresponding tactics to help address this problem.
One Picture Is Worth a Dozen Connectives: A Fault-Tree Representation of NPATRL Security Requirements

In this paper, we show how we can increase the ease of reading and writing security requirements for cryptographic protocols at the Dolev-Yao level of abstraction by developing a visual language based on fault trees. We develop such semantics for a subset of NRL protocol analyzer temporal requirements language (NPATRL), a temporal language used for expressing safety requirements for cryptographic protocols, and show that the subset is sound and complete with respect to the semantics. We also show how the fault trees can be used to improve the presentation of some specifications that we developed in our analysis of the group domain of interpretation (GDOI) protocol. Other examples involve a property of Kerberos 5 and a visual account of the requirements in Lowe's authentication hierarchy.
CO2 seasonality indicates origins of post-Pinatubo sink

was observed in the early 1990’s (http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccgg/). In 1992, the year that followed the eruption ofMount Pinatubo (June, 1991), the growth rate was thelowest for the period 1983–2003 indicating an enhancedcarbon sink of 2PgC/yr [Bousquet et al., 2000]. Thisenhanced sink has been linked to the climatic effects ofthe eruption. Global temperatures dropped by 0.4 Cin1992. Superimposed over the global cooling, was additionalcooling over most of North-America, and warming andcooling over different regions of Eurasia [Hansen et al.,1996]. These climatic anomalies are believed to result fromthe injection of 20Mt of SO
A Global Model of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silicon Dioxide by Direct-Current Corona Discharges in Dry Air Containing Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane Vapor

A model of the electron distribution in direct current corona plasmas is combined with a global chemistry model and a two-dimensional transport model to predict the rate of chemical vapor deposition of silicon dioxide on the discharge wire in both positive and negative discharges in dry air containing octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. The gas-phase chemistry includes reactions to form atomic oxygen (O) and additional global reactions to form gaseous silicon dioxide precursors by the impact reactions of electrons and atomic oxygen with silicone molecules. Surface chemistry is approximated by a single step global reaction from gaseous to solid silicon dioxide. The rate coefficient between atomic oxygen and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane is estimated from prior experiments to be on the order of 10 −12 cm 3 /molecule-s. The effects of discharge polarity, current, wire radius and air velocity (Peclet number for mass transfer) on the deposition rate are considered. Deposition rates can be minimized by using positive coronas instead of negative coronas for Peclet number less than 18.5. At higher Peclet numbers, the deposition rate is slightly higher in positive corona discharges, but devices used indoors should continue to use the positive corona in order to minimize the production of ozone. The deposition rate in the positive corona is relatively insensitive to air velocity for velocities from 0.044 to 10 m/s −1 . However,it may be minimized by operating the corona with the lowest current that provides adequate performance (e.g., particle charging) and the smallest wire that provides adequate mechanical strength.
Royalty Systems, Government Revenues, and Forest Condition: An Application from Malaysia

Royalty structure has been linked to deforestation through non-sustainable harvesting and high grading. Yet royalties are an important rent generation mechanism for governments. In this paper, a dynamic model of government policy choice is used to compare different royalty systems with respect to government revenue generation and high grading. Empirical analyses of the various royalty systems is then undertaken for forest concessions in Malaysia. One unique aspect of our study is an examination of how different royalty systems impact harvesting of highand low-valued timber species, government rent capture, and concessionaire profits. The results should help with future royalty design.
Fracture-based micro- and nanofabrication for biological applications

While fracture is generally considered to be undesirable in various manufacturing processes, delicate control of fracture can be successfully implemented to generate structures at micro/nano length scales. Fracture-based fabrication techniques can serve as a template-free manufacturing method, and enables highly-ordered patterns or fluidic channels to be formed over large areas in a simple and cost-effective manner. Such technologies can be leveraged to address biologically-relevant problems, such as in the analysis of biomolecules or in the design of culture systems that imitate the cellular or molecular environment. This mini review provides an overview of current fracture-guided fabrication techniques and their biological applications. We first survey the mechanical principles of fracture-based approaches. Then we describe biological applications at the cellular and molecular levels. Finally, we discuss unique advantages of different systems for biological studies.
Characteristics of Health Educators Desired by Inner-City Health Clinic Patients: A Case Study.

Abstract A group (n=170) of inner-city, predominantly African American, health clinic patients were asked to identify the characteristics they desired in a new clinic health educator. A plurality (44%) of the patients perceived a bachelor’s degree would be a sufficient level of education. The vast majority of patients claimed the sex of the health educator (84%) and the race of the educator (82%) did not matter. Additionally, a majority of patients perceived that the age of the educator (53%) and whether the educator was a parent (62%) did not matter. However, the majority of patients (52%) did believe that a new health educator should be a role model for healthful living Such findings stand in stark contrast to similar studies on patient preference for health care provider congruence for selected demographic characteristics.
Electronic Billing for the Primary Care Physician

Jimmy comes in for his well-child check. He needs his kindergarten immunizations—tetanus-diptheria (DT), polio, and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). He also needs a follow-up hemoglobin to see if the iron supplement that he is taking has resolved his anemia. The care Jimmy will get is both routine and complex, and his encounter with his caregivers starts in motion a series of events and creates a cascade of records all in the name of getting the caregivers paid for their services. The office team will do the work to get the practice paid; the provider may never see any of the billing paperwork and may have little understanding of what her office team does. Is that reasonable delegation of a clerical task, or is it a dangerous dereliction of responsibility?
Giving Life to the Right to Not Conceive: What the Law and Society in the Philippines Must Do for its Women

This paper views discrimination as the restraint on women from making meaningful decisions with regard to their fertility which exposes them to several health risks, prevents them from maximizing their potential, and adversely affects the quality of their participation in and contribution to society and the economy. There exists an “unequal protection of the laws” where the fundamental needs of women are not given proper attention and they are prevented from exercising vital rights. Such restriction, in turn, contributes in causing, or oftentimes aggravates, poverty --- a condition that also causes a number of people to be vulnerable to discrimination. In the Philippines there is presently no statute concerning reproductive health and rights, and that void is detrimental to and discriminatory against women. A “reproductive health care act,” it is suggested, would not only eliminate discrimination but could also form part of a solution to the current global food crisis.
Density, Viscosity, Speed of Sound, Surface Tension, and Flash Point of Binary Mixtures of n-Hexadecane and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-Heptamethylnonane and of Algal-Based Hydrotreated Renewable Diesel

The physical properties of algal hydrotreated renewal diesel (algal HRD) and several binary mixtures of n-hexadecane and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane were measured in this work. The density and viscosity were measured at temperatures ranging from (293.15 to 393.15) K and the pure components values fell within the range of previously reported values. Speed of sound data were measured at temperatures ranging from (293.15 to 323.15) K and ranged from (1170 to 1360) m·s–1. The bulk modulus was calculated from the density and speed of sound data, and its values ranged from (1050 to 1425) MPa. For the pure n-hexadecane and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane and their mixtures, the flash point values ranged from (367 to 408) K and the surface tension values ranged from (24.1 to 27.3) mN·m–1. The values of viscosity and flash point (360 K) for the algal HRD did not fall within the range of values for the mixtures of n-hexadecane and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane, but the values of density, speed of sound, bulk ...
Penetration, Metabolism, and Elimination of Amitraz and N'-(2,4-Dimethylphenyl)-N-methylformamidine in Southwestern Corn Borer Larvae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Penetration, metabolism, and elimination of amitraz and its toxic metabolite N' -(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-methylformamidine (BTS-27271) were examined in larvae of Diatraea grandiosella (Dyar). Penetration and elimination were faster with BTS-27271 than with amitraz; the reverse relationship existed with regard to metabolism. The major oreganosoluble amitraz metabolite was BTS-27271, whereas the major BTS-27271 metabolites were 2,4-dimethylformanilide and 2,4-dimethylaniline. In addition to 2,4-dimethylformanilide and 2,4-dimethylaniline, other metabolites common to both formamidines included 4-formamino-3-methylbenzoic acid, 4-amino-3-methylbenzoic acid, and 2-amino-5-methylbenzoic acid.
The Added Value of Neuroscience Methods in Organizational Research

Historically, the lack of availability and prohibitive expense of brain imaging technology have limited the application of neuroscience research in organizational settings. However, recent advances in technology have made it possible to use brain imaging in organizational settings at relatively little expense and in a practical manner to further research efforts. In this article, we weigh the advantages and disadvantages of neuroscience applications to organizational research. Further, we present three key methodological issues that need to be considered with regard to such applications: (a) level of assessment, (b) intrinsic versus reflexive brain activity, and (c) the targeting of brain region(s) or networks. We also pose specific examples of how neuroscience may be applied to various topical areas in organizational behavior research at both individual and team levels.
The Breeding of New Cotton Variety Hanmian 802 with Bt Gene

According to the theory of additive-dominance genetic model,making use of complex hybrid,a new germ plasm,97-S.710,was created,that is prematurity,high yield and good quality.Then,a new cotton variety,hanmian 802,was developed by hybrid method with 97-S.710 as maternal parent and handan 109 that bearing Bt insect resistant gene as paternal parent.The characteristics of this variety are high yield,good quality,prematurity without premature senescence and insect resistance.This variety is suitable for the intercroping of wheat and cotton in Yellow River area.
Automatically hardening a self-adaptive system against uncertainty

A self-adaptive system (SAS) can reconfigure to adapt to potentially adverse conditions that can manifest in the environment at run time. However, the SAS may not have been explicitly developed with such conditions in mind, thereby requiring additional configuration states or updates to the requirements specification for the SAS to provide assurance that it continually satisfies its requirements and delivers acceptable behavior. By discovering both adverse environmental conditions and the SAS configuration states that can mitigate those conditions at design time, an SAS can be hardened against uncertainty prior to deployment, effectively extending its lifetime. This paper introduces two search-based techniques, Ragnarok and Valkyrie, for hardening an SAS against uncertainty. Ragnarok automatically discovers adverse conditions that negatively impact an SAS by searching for environmental conditions that explicitly cause requirements violations. Valkyrie then searches for SAS configurations that improve requirements satisficement throughout execution in response to discovered adverse environmental conditions. Together, these techniques can be used to improve the design and implementation of an SAS. We apply each technique to an industry-provided remote data mirroring application that can self-reconfigure in response to unknown or adverse conditions, such as network message delays, network link failures, and sensor noise.
Managing HR in the Small and Medium Enterprise: The Impact of Professional Employer Organizations

Due to their limited size, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cannot justify full-time HR professionals in their organizations. Thus, the complex and time-consuming nature of many HR activiti...
Why Ukraine and Russia Need Each Other

The West’s focus on corruption in Ukraine is largely misplaced. The main impediment to stability and economic growth is the government’s suicidal choice to cut the country off from its main investor – Russia. This article looks at the economic and political costs of pursuing such a policy, and concludes that there is no alternative to Russian investment. Given the political and economic constraint imposed upon the European Union, the West and Russia need to work together to develop a comprehensive economic strategy that can promote Ukraine’s economic development.
The week we almost went to war

Newly declassified materials suggest that the Cuban missile crisis may not have been necessary and that in achieving a momentary victory the United States may have learned the wrong lesson