cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application of integrated catheter to match high pressure syringe in the pediatric multi-spiral CT enbancement scans

Objective:To assess the effective of the intravenous cannula combined with high pressure syringe in the pediatric enhanced spiral CT scanning. Methods: 216 intravenous cannulas were used in the pediatric enhanced spiral CT scanning combinded with high pressure syringe,214 cases was used scalp acupuncures.There are compared with the contrast agent intravenous extravasation and repuncture before scanning. Results: Contrast agent extravasation using intravenous cannulas were predominantly lower than using scalp acupunctures,and none of the cases was repunctured. Conclusion: The intravenous cannula combined with high pressure syringe is preferred in pedi atric enhanced spiral CT scanning.
Progress in Preparing Technology of Isophthalic Acid

Isophthalic acid,an intermediate with wide developing prospects,is mainly used for unsaturated polyester resin,PET polyester resin and alkyd resin.Six kinds of preparing technology of isophthalic acid,such as m-xylene sulfur oxidation process,isophthalonitrile hydrolytic method,nitric acid oxidation process,Chevron process,potassium permanganate oxidation process,air oxidation process,and their mechanisms in liquid phase are reviewed.A method that green oxidant potassium ferrate oxidizes m-xylene to synthesis isophthalic acid is also put forward.
Palliative care intervention in the intensive care unit: comparing outcomes among seriously ill Asian patients and those of other ethnicities.

BACKGROUND The literature describing the attitude of Asians toward palliative care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is scarce. AIM The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of Asians and people of other ethnicities after palliative care intervention in the ICU. METHODS A retrospective chart review was conducted of all ICU patients evaluated by palliative care; the outcomes measured were incidence of life-sustaining treatments, institution of advance care directives, and preferences for end-of-life care. RESULTS The palliative care team evaluated 119 patients (46.2 percent Caucasian, 27.2 percent Asian, and 26.1 percent other ethnicities). There were no differences in demographics or clinical variables. Thirty-six percent of the Asians, 49 percent of the Caucasians, and 28.6 percent of the patients of other ethnicities (p = 0.19) had healthcare proxies. The palliative care team increased advance care directives by more than 40 percent in all groups (p < 0.001). There were no differences in the use of life-sustaining treatments or preferences for comfort measures among ethnic groups. CONCLUSION Asians are as likely as people of other ethnicities to decide on advance care directives, life-sustaining treatments, and comfort measures after palliative care evaluation in the ICU.
Sleep and Substance Use among US Adolescents, 1991-2014.

OBJECTIVES To examine associations between sleep and alcohol, amphetamine, cigarette, marijuana, and non-heroin narcotic use among US middle and high school students, trends in associations over time, and the comparative impact of select covariates on association strength. METHODS Data from the 1991-2014 nationally representative Monitoring the Future study of 8(th)-, 10(th)-, and 12(th)-grade US students were used to estimate standardized correlations between the frequency of getting at least 7 hours of sleep (7+ sleep) and substance use frequency while simultaneously regressing both outcomes on key covariate domains. RESULTS As 7+ sleep frequency increased, substance use frequency significantly decreased and vice versa. Overall, association strength was inversely associated with grade. Associations were generally modest, varied across substances, and weakened over the historical period examined for 8(th)- and 10(th)- graders. Associations showed little variance by sex and racial/ethnic subgroups. Controlling for deviance, psychosocial and general health covariates significantly attenuated association strength. CONCLUSIONS Among US secondary students, 7+ sleep/substance use associations were largely explained by individual deviance, psychosocial, and general health characteristics. Awareness and exploitation of these shared associations may be useful in improving substance use prevention and/or treatment efforts.
Thermal and mechanical properties of mechanically alloyed 304LSS-CNT metal matrix composites

A methodology for the creation of 304LSS-CNT metal matrix composites using the mechanical alloying approach is presented. Planetary ball milled powders were both melted and hot pressed and achieved...
The Unpublished Author, 1801–1809

Most biographers have presented this period of Austen’s life, from 1801 to 1809, as a dark one, personally painful and unproductive creatively. The only writing we have consists of the revised version of Susan, later retitled Northanger Abbey, sold to a publisher in the spring of 1803, and the uncompleted draft of The Watsons, usually dated 1804. Sometime after 1805, Austen made a fair copy of Lady Susan, and she may have written most of the dramatic version of Sir Charles Grandison at this time.1 This literary activity seems minimal by comparison to the drafting of three novels between 1796 and 1799.
The Role of Government

Chapter 7 examines the role of group purchasing as a form of health insurance policy. This chapter describes the role of government in terms of health insurance policy. The chapter begins with a description of the goal of government, which is to move the health insurance system to providing optimal health insurance arrangements. A beneficent “social planner” could, in theory, implement a set of prices that would maximize the utility of health insurance to society. However, many of the implied policy solutions may be infeasible. As a result, health insurance policy is concerned with “second best” policies that optimize health insurance subject to constraints facing policymakers and markets. These policies can improve health insurance by addressing market failures in the health insurance market. Policymakers have a number of policy and regulatory tools that they can use to improve health insurance. Ultimately, any health insurance policy implemented by the government relies on the benefits of scale and scope if it is to make society better off. The trade-off for any governmental intervention are the costs arising from crowd out and deadweight loss. That trade-off leads to a consideration of universal group coverage and, in particular, full group coverage provided by the government. These are two types of single payer approaches to health insurance, which is an approach with both benefits and costs. As a result, policymakers may want to consider the wider menu of health insurance policy options that fall short of a single payer approach. Finally, this chapter assesses the meaning of public health insurance. How does the federal government operate as a group purchaser? How can group insurance for large populations account for diversity and heterogeneity in preferences and the variation in prices paid by different individuals within a public system? The answers to these questions imply an ongoing role for the private sector in any governmental approach to health insurance. That conclusion also provides a segue to Chap. 9, which considers the broader range of public policy choices with respect to health insurance in the United States.
Fabrication of Microcellular HDPE Foams in a Sub-Critical CO2 Process:

In this paper processing conditions are presented to fabricate HDPE foams with a microcellular structure. The conventional microcellular foams are normally produced by heating a gas-saturated thermoplastic to a foaming temperature near the glass transition of the gas-polymer system. Efforts to foam HDPE in the conventional process have largely been unsuccessful, due to the low glass transition temperatures and low gas solubility in these polymers. We have found that HDPE can be successfully foamed with a microcellular structure at foaming temperatures above the melting point. Density reductions of up to 65% were obtained using sub-critical carbon dioxide as blowing agent. A unique bimodal structure was observed, consisting of closed microcells with an interconnected nanoporous interior.
THE STATIC-DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF RAILWAY BRIDGES

Software is developed to research into vibrations and the stressed-deformed state of the carrying elements of bridge structures at various speeds of a rail vehicle movement.
Rituxan-HCVAD in Mantle Cell Lymphoma: To Transplant or Not To Transplant: The University of Pennsylvania Experience.

Abstract Mantle cell lymphoma is a difficult disease entity with no standard therapy. The best reported results for treatment of de novo patients has been from the MD Anderson Cancer Center with long term remission rates reported of 77%, using the HCVAD regimen in combination with autologous stem cell transplantation. (Khouri, ASH 1998) In later reports, the addition of Rituximab to the HCVAD regimen appears to obviate the need for additional consolidative auto-PBSCT. (Romaguera, ASH 2005) In a retrospective analysis of patients treated at the University of Pennsylvania between 1999 and 2006, we seek to compare patients receiving the R-HCVAD regimen without transplant to those who received auto-PBSCT in the same time period. Patients were stratified by their transplant status. Survival data, disease status, and secondary malignancy information were assessed. Twenty-five patients were identified, with an age range of 41–76 years at diagnosis. All but one patient had advanced disease at diagnosis (stage III or IV) There were 18 men and 7 women. 17 patients received R-HCVAD alone, and 8 patients went on to Cyclophosphamide/TBI autologous stem cell transplant. Survival in the patients treated with R-HCVAD alone was 82.3% with a median follow-up of 3 years, with all deaths due to progressive disease. Of surviving patients in this group, 1 out of 14 has had additional therapy but remains in second complete remission. Survival of patients post-transplant was 75%, with one death due to disease and one death due to secondary malignancy (lung cancer). One additional case of secondary MDS was also reported in the transplant group. In summary, our series reveals that the R-HCVAD therapy can provide excellent long-term remission rates with no additional survival advantage gained from autologous transplant. An increased risk for secondary malignancies was observed in patients undergoing autologous PBSCT. Further prospective studies of consolidative therapy are warranted in this population.
Paranoids in the legal system. The litigious paranoid and the paranoid criminal.

An overview of the paranoid person in the legal system is presented. The litigious paranoid and the paranoid criminal are described both in terms of their psychopathology and presentation in a number of legal contexts. The relationship between paranoid symptomatology and both litigiousness and criminality is explored. Landmark legal cases and clinical cases are analyzed. Paranoid delusion as the classic paradigm of the insanity defense is examined.
Methods of Computation of Critical Points of Nonlinear Functionals

In this paper the method of transformation of the objective functional is presented as a general approach to a problem of finding critical points of nonlinear functionals. Particular attention is given to non-convex problems, and constrained problem. Specific applications are discussed including numerical solution of the minimal surface obstacle problem, computation of periodic solutions of nonlinear Hamiltonian sustems and solving semilinear boundary value problems. Different aspects of numerical implementation of the method of transformation of the objective functional, such as global convergence, mesh refinement for nonlinear problems, etc., are discussed.
Fringing in MonoCam Y4 filter images

We study the fringing patterns observed in MonoCam, a camera with a single Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) CCD sensor. Images were taken at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona (NOFS) employing its 1.3 m telescope and an LSST y4 filter. Fringing occurs due to the reflection of infrared light (700 nm or larger) from the bottom surface of the CCD which constructively or destructively interferes with the incident light to produce a net ``fringe'' pattern which is superimposed on all images taken. Emission lines from the atmosphere, dominated by hydroxyl (OH) spectra, can change in their relative intensities as the night goes on, producing different fringe patterns in the images taken. We found through several methods that the general shape of the fringe patterns remained constant, though with slight changes in the amplitude and phase of the fringes. We also found that a superposition of fringes from two monochromatic lines taken in the lab offered a reasonable description of the sky data.
Improved Representation of Surface Spectral Emissivity in a Global Climate Model and Its Impact on Simulated Climate

AbstractSurface longwave emissivity can be less than unity and vary significantly with frequency. However, most climate models still assume a blackbody surface in the longwave (LW) radiation scheme of their atmosphere models. This study incorporates realistic surface spectral emissivity into the atmospheric component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM), version 1.1.1, and evaluates its impact on simulated climate. By ensuring consistency of the broadband surface longwave flux across different components of the CESM, the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) energy balance in the modified model can be attained without retuning the model. Inclusion of surface spectral emissivity, however, leads to a decrease of net upward longwave flux at the surface and a comparable increase of latent heat flux. Global-mean surface temperature difference between the modified and standard CESM simulation is 0.20 K for the fully coupled run and 0.45 K for the slab-ocean run. Noticeable surface temperature differences between th...
Multi-scale modeling of an upper respiratory airway: Effect of mucosal adhesion on Eustachian tube function in young children.

Abstract Background The Eustachian tube is a collapsible upper respiratory airway that is periodically opened to maintain a healthy middle ear. Young children, Methods Multi-scale finite element models were used to simulate the muscle-assisted opening of the Eustachian tube in healthy adults and young children. Airflow during opening was quantified as a function of adhesion strength, muscle forces and tissue mechanics. Findings Although Eustachian tube function was sensitive to increased mucosal adhesion in both adults and children, young children developed Eustachian tube dysfunction at significantly lower values of mucosal adhesion. Specifically, the critical adhesion value was 2 orders of magnitude lower in young children as compared to healthy adults. Although increased adhesion did not alter the sensitivity of Eustachian tube function to tensor and levator veli palatini muscles forces, increased adhesion in young children did reduced the sensitivity of Eustachian tube function to changes in cartilage and mucosal tissue stiffness. Interpretations These results indicate that increased mucosal adhesion can significantly alter the biomechanical mechanisms of Eustachian tube function in young children and that clinical assessment of adhesion levels may be important in therapy selection.
Empirical Support for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders

The available research suggests that the etiology of eating disorders (EDs) is multifactorial and individually variable, with risk conferred from personality pathology, family history, developmental history, sociocultural phenomena, comorbid disorders, and genetic endowment [1–5]. The treatment of EDs is complicated by characteristic problems in interpersonal relationships, resistance to change in symptomatic behavior, and difficulty in accessing emotional experience [6, 7]. Psychotherapy for EDs must target not only overt symptoms, but also motivation, emotion regulation, insight, and resistance [8]. Among the various forms of “talk therapy,” psychodynamic psychotherapy arguably has the most techniques for addressing the complex problems characteristic of individuals with EDs.
The central nervous system as a low and high level control system

The division of the central nervous system into high and low level control systems has long been recognized. How these two systems are interconnected and how they influence each other is one of the great mysteries of modern science. Recent attempts to produce intelligent behavior in robots and computer integrated manufacturing systems have produced insights as to how high level goals can be decomposed into low level actions, and how knowledge about the environment can be acquired, stored, and accessed by task decomposition processes to produce sensory-interactive goal directed behavior.
“Fallings from us, Vanishings …”: Composition and the Structure of Loss

What follows is elliptical, often hesitant, searching out a track of thought: the pure naming of poetry and the loss which inscribes it. Reflection strays beyond the borders of the known, identifiable self, into a half-lit realm exquisitely evoked by Milosz as the place where “The clothes of my name fall away and disappear.”1
Ion Mobility–Mass Spectrometry Using a Dual-Gated 3D Printed Ion Mobility Spectrometer

Described herein is the development of a 3D-printed drift-tube ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) which operates in the open air and is capable of being coupled to any mass spectrometer. The IMS possesses one electrospray focusing electrode, 31 drift electrodes with 7 mm inner diameters, and 2 ion gates at opposite ends of the IMS, totaling 109 mm in length. The second ion gate was timed with respect to the first ion gate to transmit portions of the separating ion packets to the MS at specified time intervals. By scanning the second ion gate and acquiring mass spectra during each time interval, we reconstructed ion mobility chronograms using mass spectra. Resolving powers of up to 45 were acquired using tetraalkylammonium cations. Separation is also demonstrated for solutions of amphetamines, opioids (fentanyls/fentanils), and bradykinin and angiotensin II. The highest mobility resolving powers were obtained when the injection times of the first and second ion gates were 0.3 and 1.0 ms, respectively. Experim...
Conformation dynamics of cyclic disulfides and selenosulfides in CXXC(U) (X = Gly, Ala) tetrapeptide redox motifs.

Thioredoxin fold proteins often contain a Cys-(Xxx)n -Cys(Sec) or CXn C(U) motif, where the active cysteine (C) or selenocysteine (U) is bridged by X residues, which vary with protein function. The effect of the X residues on the conformation space of the oxidized disulfide and selenosulfide forms of the CXXC(U) motif has been investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory. Multi-microsecond-length MD simulations of the CGGC, CGAC, and CAGC cyclic peptides show that CGGC rings readily exchange between several conformations over the course of the simulation, but steric interactions with the methyl group of Ala limit the conformation space available to the cyclic peptide, especially for CGAC. The potential for the motif to be reduced, as measured by the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals, is dependent upon the ring conformation. These results suggest that control of available conformations by the bridging residues and the protein tertiary structure may be important for defining the function of the CXXC motif. Theoretical 77 Se chemical shifts of the selenosulfide moiety are dependent upon the conformation and/or intramolecular Se···O interactions with the backbone carbonyl group of the C-terminal U residue.
DVBOO — a general-purpose driver for the 12966A ASCII interface card

ABSTRACT In order to fill a number of requirements for communications with a variety of ASCII-type devices, a general-purpose driver has been written for the HP12966A Buffered ASCII Communications Interface Card. This driver, called DVBOO, in many ways emulates DVROO although it has a number of extended capabilities not available in DVROO. Full control of the 12966A interface is given to the user to provide a a powerful tool for controlling communications between almost any ASCII device and the host computer at baud rates up to 9600.
Partitioning sources of CO2 emission after soil wetting using high-resolution observations and minimal models

Abstract Wetting dry soil triggers a pulse of microbial respiration. Respiration pulses after wetting can be complex, evolving through several stages before subsiding—possibly reflecting contributions from multiple carbon (C) sources. We hypothesized that respiration after wetting combines C from cellular sources (notably trehalose, a cellular osmo-protectant) and soluble extracellular C made available by the physical effects of wetting, with cellular sources contributing early during the pulse and extracellular C dominating later. We tested this hypothesis by making measurements of soil respiration, microbial biomass, trehalose, and water extractable organic C after wetting dry soil in the laboratory. We then devised several alternative minimal models to evaluate the potential contributions of trehalose and extracellular C to the respiration pulse. We found that the chloroform-labile fraction of the microbial biomass was comprised of 50% trehalose in dry soil. Both trehalose and water extractable organic C pools declined rapidly after wetting; trehalose disappeared within 3 h of water addition. Chloroform-labile glucose increased 3 h after water addition and then declined, suggesting rapid hydrolysis of trehalose and consumption of the resulting glucose. Respiration dynamics after wetting could be best explained by models that included two C sources, combining rapid metabolism of trehalose with slower consumption of extracellular soluble C. These results suggest that pulses of respiration after wetting reflect both osmolyte consumption within the microbial biomass and enhanced extracellular C availability; hence, models of microbial drought response must account for both processes to fully resolve soil C dynamics.
Queer in Residence: Exploring the On-Campus Housing Experiences of Queer College Students.

Queer college students experience microaggressions and macro-aggressive behaviors that may diminish positive effects of on-campus housing. This longitudinal, qualitative study examined the narrativ...
Resilience and post-traumatic growth following late life polyvictimization: A scoping review

Abstract Late life polyvictimization occurs when an older adult experiences multiple types of abuse, including elder abuse, either simultaneously or sequentially, and impacts roughly 1 in 4 elder abuse cases. Although the effects of late life polyvictimization can include mental and physical health disorders, some older adults demonstrate post-traumatic growth following trauma both earlier and later in life. However, to date, our understanding of resilience and post-traumatic growth following lifelong trauma and late life polyvictimization has not been systematically explored. As such, the current scoping review examines resilience, post traumatic growth, and mental health in late life. Although sparse, identified articles did provide significant links between resilience, post-traumatic growth, and PTSD in late life in line with the resilience portfolio framework. Recommendations and guidelines to guide future research are discussed.
Workplace cyberbullying exposed: A concept analysis

Purposes (1) To understand the concept of workplace cyberbullying, (2) to develop a conceptual definition of workplace cyberbullying, and (3) to examine evidence on workplace cyberbullying in nursing. Method Walker and Avant's eight-step approach to concept analysis was used. Data source Fifteen articles were derived from search of five databases using key terms and factored as cyber, bullying, work, place, and combined terms with nursing or harassment. Findings Four defining attributes of workplace cyberbullying identified are persistent unwanted act stemming from the work environment, delivered through digital technology, faceless perpetrator, and boundaryless. A new conceptual definition of workplace cyberbullying is developed. Conclusion Developing a new conceptual definition of workplace cyberbullying is critical, which may be the starting point to theory and new instrument development to test the operational concepts. More research such as using a hybrid approach to develop the concept of workplace cyberbullying.
Nematode Identification Techniques and Recent Advances

Nematodes are among the most diverse but least studied organisms. The classic morphology-based identification has proved insufficient to the study of nematode identification and diversity, mainly for lack of sufficient morphological variations among closely related taxa. Different molecular methods have been used to supplement morphology-based methods and/or circumvent these problems with various degrees of success. These methods range from fingerprint to sequence analyses of DNA- and/or protein-based information. Image analyses techniques have also contributed towards this success. In this review, we highlight what each of these methods entail and provide examples where more recent advances of these techniques have been employed in nematode identification. Wherever possible, emphasis has been given to nematodes of agricultural significance. We show that these alternative methods have aided nematode identification and raised our understanding of nematode diversity and phylogeny. We discuss the pros and cons of these methods and conclude that no one method by itself provides all the answers; the choice of method depends on the question at hand, the nature of the samples, and the availability of resources.
Metastability in Superconducting Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) Logic

Superconducting digital electronics, especially Single Flux Quantum (SFQ), has emerged as a promising beyond-CMOS technology with Josephson junctions (JJ) as the active device. It has the potential to meet the booming demands of lower power consumption and higher operation speeds in the electronics industry and future exascale supercomputing systems. Despite these promises, scaling SFQ circuits remains a serious challenge that motivates the support of multiple SFQ clock domains. Towards this end, this paper analyzes the impact of setup time violations and metastability in SFQ circuits comparing the derived analytical models to their CMOS counterparts. It also proposes new techniques to reduce the average latency in metastability-tolerant SFQ synchronizers, and evaluates their effects on the layout and critical margin of the design. It further extends the proposed model to estimate the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of flip-flop-based synchronizers and shows that their MTBF with the current feature sizes is unaffected by noise, similar to CMOS. Finally, it curve fits this model to simulations using the state-of-the-art SFQ5ee process and shows that a two-flop SFQ synchronizer with a clock frequency of 25 GHz has an estimated MTBF of ~106 years.
All-mail voting in Colorado increases turnout and reduces turnout inequality

Abstract The COVID-19 crisis has generated interest in all-mail voting (AMV) as a potential policy solution for avoiding in-person elections. However, the quality of AMV implementation has varied greatly across states, leading to mixed results in previous research. We exploit the understudied 2014 implementation of AMV in Colorado to estimate the effect on turnout for all registered voters, along with age, racial, education, income and wealth, and occupational subgroups. Using large voter file data and a difference-in-differences design within individuals, we find a positive overall turnout effect of approximately 8 percentage points—translating into an additional 900,000 ballots being cast between 2014 and 2018. Effects are significantly larger among lower-propensity voting groups, such as young people, blue-collar workers, voters with less educational attainment, and voters of color. The results suggest that researchers and policymakers should look to Colorado's AMV approach as an effective model for boosting aggregate turnout and reducing voting disparities across subgroups.
A Mesoscopic Oblique Plane Microscopy (OPM) Platform for Centimeter Scale Volumetric Imaging

We implemented a novel optical design to allow using low numerical aperture objective lens in OPM and achieved centimeter-scale volumetric imaging. It has great potential in large specimen imaging such as whole-brain imaging of mice.
INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS OF GEOLOGIC MEDIA FOR THE DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES

ABSTRACT Nations confronted with the safe disposal of high-level radioactive wastes expect to solve that problem by using subsurface repositories in deep ( in-situ and laboratory methods. Subsurface disposal of radioactive wastes has gained increased acceptance from twelve years of favorable experience at the converted salt mine at Asse, Federal Republic of Germany. That nation has also selected the Gorleben salt dome in which to develop the first repository for high-level wastes. Considerable research has been conducted on bedded salt at the WIPP site in the United States, on the granite at Stripa, Sweden under a joint Swedish-American program, and on Tertiary clays at Mol, Belgium, and Trisaia, Italy. Collective developments from fourteen national programs are summarized and include additional applications of “subsurface space” for the disposal of radioactive wastes other than high-level. Les pays qui confrontent le probleme du stockage securitaire de dechets radioactifs a haute activite esperent trouver une solution dans l'utilisation de cavernes souterraines dans des couches geologiques a une profondeur de moins de 1,000 metres. Les principaux materiaux geologiques utilises sont le sel en couches ou en domes, les massifs granitiques, les sediments argileux, le basalte, les tufs volcaniques, et l'anhydrite. On fait des etudes geologiques et hydrologiques de ces materiaux a une echelle regionale et a des endroits bien definis. On poursuit aussi des etudes thermiques, geochimmiques et mecaniques de ces differents types de roches en laboratoires et in situ . La popularite du stockage souterrain de dechets radioactifs a augmente beaucoup par suite des douze annees d'experience a l'ancieene mine de sel Asse en Allemagne. Ce pays a aussi choisi le dome de sel Gorleben pour le premier stockage de dechets radioactifs a haute activite. On a fait beaucoup de travaux de recherche sur les depots de sel stratiformes au WIPP aux Etats-Unis, sur les granites a Stripa en Suede dans le cadre d'un programme conjoint Suede-Etats-Unis, et sur les argiles tertiaires a Mol, en Belgique, et a Trisaia en Italie. On presentera aussi un resume des travaux qui se poursuivent dans quatorze pays et des applications additionelles des entrepots souterrains pour le stockage de dechets radioactifs autres que les dechets a haute activite.
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials (BAEPs)

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) are the electrical signals produced by the nervous system within the first 10 ms following a transient acoustic stimulus. They are used for neurodiagnostic testing, intraoperative monitoring, hearing screening/audiometry, and neurophysiological research. This article describes the techniques for recording BAEPs, including the stimuli that can be employed and the use of masking noise. The BAEP components and their anatomic generators are described. This article also describes how BAEPs are interpreted and presents examples of BAEPs that are abnormal due to several different etiologies. It concludes with a section on intraoperative BAEPs monitoring.
Conceptual Data Models for Engineering Information Modeling and Formal Transformation of EER and EXPRESS-G

Nowadays computer-based information systems have become the nerve center of current manufacturing systems. The requirement on engineering information modeling is hereby potential [8]. Viewed from database systems, engineering information modeling can be identified at two levels: conceptual data modeling and logical database modeling, which result in conceptual data models and logical database models respectively. Engineering information modeling generally starts from conceptual data models which are then mapped into logical database models. Since conceptual data models can capture and represent richer and more complex semantics in engineering applications at a high abstract level, much attention has been paid to the conceptual data modeling of engineering information and some conceptual data models have been used for this purpose, e.g., ER/EER [3], IDEF1X [5], and EXPRESS [9].
Peacemaking and Constitution-Drafting: A Dysfunctional Marriage

A recent trend in conflict resolution is to use the process of constitution-drafting as a peacemaking tool and the resultant constitution as a peace treaty, such as in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Nepal. Historically, peacemaking and constitution-drafting were separate processes; today, warring parties and/or peacemakers often demand their merger. Rarely does the literature on constitution-drafting during conflict question whether this merger is appropriate.1 Instead, it typically adopts a comparative
Eating Behaviors, Mental health, and Food Intake are Associated with Obesity in Older Congregate Meal Participants

The relationship between eating behaviors, food intake, and mental health and the occurrence of obesity in older adults has rarely been investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to e...
Performance Evaluation and Optimization of Math-Similarity Search

Similarity search in math is to find mathematical expressions that are similar to a user's query. We conceptualized the similarity factors between mathematical expressions, and proposed an approach to math similarity search MSS by defining metrics based on those similarity factors [11]. Our preliminary implementation indicated the advantage of MSS compared to non-similarity based search. In order to more effectively and efficiently search similar math expressions, MSS is further optimized. This paper focuses on performance evaluation and optimization of MSS. Our results show that the proposed optimization process significantly improved the performance of MSS with respect to both relevance ranking and recall.
An Assessment of the Impact of Earthquakes on Global Capital Markets

This paper examines how major earthquakes affected the returns and volatility of aggregate stock market indices in thirty-five financial markets over the last twenty years. Results show that global financial markets are resilient to shocks caused by earthquakes even if these are domestic. Our analysis reveals that, in a few instances, some macroeconomic variables and earthquake characteristics (gross domestic product per capita, trade openness, bilateral trade flows, earthquake magnitude, a tsunami indicator, distance to the epicenter, and number of fatalities) mediate the impact of earthquakes on stock market returns, resulting in a zero net effect. However, the influence of these variables is market-specific, indicating no systematic pattern across global capital markets. Results also demonstrate that stock market volatility is unaffected by earthquakes, except for Japan. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Constitutional Limitations on Closing the Gender Gap in Employment

Although discrimination on the basis of sex in employment and education has been prohibited for over forty years, essentially two generations, women lag behind men in workplace achievement by almost every measure. The most prestigious and well-paying jobs continue to be held predominantly by men, and at nearly every level, women’s pay is less than men’s pay. When race is also taken into account, the disparities are shocking. And at least some gap remains when every variable but sex is controlled for. Study after study has attempted to measure the cause of these disparities, finding some explanatory value in the number of hours worked, consistent attachment to the workplace, and gender segregation in the labor market. These three factors have been attributed to choices women have made, and thus, as not a proper subject for law or government programs to address. Even accounting for those factors, however, persistent pay and achievement gaps remain that can only be explained by sex discrimination – in other words, that employers are considering sex when they make decisions that affect hiring, promotion, or pay. Regardless of the reasons, the legal structures we have employed have not worked to eliminate this achievement gap. And just at a time when we might want to consider new ways to approach it, the Supreme Court, in cases such as Ricci v. DeStefano, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, and National Federation of International Businesses v. Sebelius, is suggesting that the Constitution may impose limits on how we might use the law
Equity REIT Property Acquisitions: Do Apartment REITs Pay a Premium?

Negotiation theory and implied agency costs provide the foundation for the research hypothesis that equity real estate investment trusts (EREITs) may have paid premiums when making real property ac...
Feature analysis for automatic classification of HEp-2 florescence patterns : Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Auto-immune diseases

Indirect ImmunoFluorescence (IIF) is currently the recommended method for the detection of antinuclear autoantibodies(ANA). It is an effective technique to reveal the presence of auto immune diseases; however, it is a subjective method and hence dependent on the experience and expertise of the physician. Moreover, inter-observer variability limits the reproducibility of IIF reading. To this end, we propose feature extraction methods for automatic recognition of staining patterns of HEp-2 images (provided as a part of the ICPR 2012 HEp-2 Cells Classification Contest) to develop a Computer-Aided Diagnosis system and support the specialists' decision. We compare the performances of various individual and combined features and show that a combination of HOG(Histogram of Oriented Gradients), Texture and ROI(Region of Interest) features are best suited for our task achieving an overall accuracy of 91.13% using a Support Vector Machine as classifier.
ILP: Just Do It

Inductive logic programming (ILP) is built on a foundation laid by research in other areas of computational logic. But in spite of this strong foundation, at 10 years of age ILP now faces a number of new challenges brought on by exciting application opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to interest researchers from other areas of computational logic in contributing their special skill sets to help ILP meet these challenges. The paper presents five future research directions for ILP and points to initial approaches or results where they exist. It is hoped that the paper will motivate researchers from throughout computational logic to invest some time into "doing" ILP.
Executive Privilege Since United States v. Nixon: Issues of Motivation and Accommodation

The events that dominate our national consciousness on this twenty-fifth anniversary of United States. v. Nixon underscore the value of a review of executive privilege. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's inclusion in his impeachment referral of President Clinton's very assertion of executive privilege both evidences and contributes to the vulnerability of the privilege - and to the vulnerability of Presidents willing to assert it. Clearly motive matters. Where a President asserts executive privilege in order to hide evidence of illegal acts or other wrongdoing by high level executive officials, the assertion is illegitimate. Unlike situations where requested information would reveal executive branch wrongdoing, the fact that release of a deliberative communication to the President likely would embarrass the President typically should not defeat an otherwise legitimate claim of privilege. Difficult cases may arise where the information sought not only would prove embarrassing to the President but arguably would reveal presidential wrongdoing, or where the assertion of the privilege itself otherwise may be viewed as an abuse of power. For reasons I will discuss, I believe that direct presidential involvement in responding to congressional requests for information should be avoided whenever possible. Only Presidents may assert executive privilege in disputes with Congress, but they should do so only when absolutely necessary, only as a last resort, typically late in the process. Other executive branch officials first should seek to accommodate Congress's legitimate needs and exhaust alternatives, which requires them to express to Congress their concerns about confidentiality in terms other than assertions of executive privilege.
Practice Advisory : The Use of Felbamate in the Treatment of Patients with Intractable Epilepsy : Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society

Background/justification. Epilepsy is a common condition, affecting up to 1% of the population. Until recently, there were only a handful of effective medications to treat this condition, many of which produced unwanted side effects or were capable of producing serious adverse events in some people. Despite these drawbacks, from 1978, when valproate was introduced, until 1993, no new therapies emerged. In 1993, felbamate was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At that time, it represented a significant advance for many patients with inadequately controlled seizures or with significant side effects for whom no options had been available. The substantial need for a new agent was evidenced by the fact that within 1 year, felbamate had been prescribed for 126,000 patients with epilepsy.1 Many of these patients experienced complete seizure control for the first time. Others found that felbamate, which does not have the central nervous system depressant effect of many other agents, provided significant improvements in quality of life. In September 1994 the FDA issued a “dear doctor” letter, warning of a higher than expected incidence of aplastic anemia and hepatic failure among patients receiving felbamate.2 In all, 33 US cases of aplastic anemia occurred between January and October of 1994. Eighteen patients experienced hepatic failure.3 This prompted most physicians to remove most or all of their patients from felbamate therapy. Of the original cohort, only 12,000 remained on felbamate. A similar number have continued to the present. Of interest, no new cases of aplastic anemia have been reported in patients who remained on felbamate, or among the smaller cohort who have initiated therapy since that time. Some have argued that the initial high incidence of serious adverse events may have overestimated the magnitude of the problem, as many of the affected patients had other …
The Long-Run Effects of Trade on Income and Income Growth

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between trade and income. While most economists agree that increased trade leads to an increase in average income, economic theory is ambiguous about the possible effects on the long-run growth rate of the economy. Using a dynamic panel data model, the hypotheses of no long-run effects of trade on income and on income growth are tested explicitly. The possibility of endogeneity is addressed by constructing an instrument for trade by extending Frankel and Romer`s (1999) cross-sectional approach to the case of a panel data model. The empirical results indicate that trade has a large and significant effect on the level of income, but the effect on income growth is small and non-robust to model specification.
Do U.S. paintings follow the CAPM? Findings disaggregated by subject, artist, and value of the work

Abstract This paper investigates to what extent paintings by U.S. artists born before WWII can be treated like capital assets, and whether the findings are specific to artist, subject matter, and value of the work. The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) in its standard static form is applied to painting returns from 1971 to 1996. Price indices and returns for various groupings of paintings derived from large sample hedonic regressions are used to test alternative forms of the standard CAPM. In the first stage time series estimation, betas for various data groupings are computed to test the degree to which the CAPM explains returns. In general the CAPM signals no factors other than market risk which might explain painting returns. Betas generally are found to be below one with high priced works having betas close to zero and sometimes negative. U. S. paintings appear to have little systematic risk, and thus may provide useful diversification. In a second stage test of the CAPM the computed betas are treated as a long run characteristic accounting for excess returns of the asset. In this cross sectional re-estimation, little support is found for the consistency of the CAPM although high priced paintings show some support. U. S. paintings appear to follow the CAPM to a degree similar to that of traditional capital assets, and thus behave like capital assets regardless of investment desirability. For high value works the CAPM conformity is strongest and diversifications value the highest.
The distribution of gaps between summands in generalized Zeckendorf decompositions

Zeckendorf proved any integer can be decomposed uniquely as a sum of non-adjacent Fibonacci numbers, F n . Using continued fractions, Lekkerkerker proved the average number of summands of an m ? F n , F n + 1 ) is essentially n / ( ? 2 + 1 ) , with ? the golden ratio. This result has been generalized by many, often using Markov processes, to show that for any positive linear recurrence the number of summands in decompositions for integers in G n , G n + 1 ) converges to a Gaussian distribution. Below we instead follow and further develop the combinatorial approach of Miller and Wang, and show its power in handling related questions. Specifically, we prove that the probability of a gap larger than the recurrence length converges to decaying geometrically, and that the distribution of the smaller gaps depends in a computable way on the coefficients of the recurrence. These results hold both for the average over all m ? G n , G n + 1 ) and almost surely for the gap measure associated to individual m. These techniques also determine the distribution of the longest gap between summands, which we prove is similar to the distribution of the longest gap between heads in tosses of a biased coin. It is a double exponential strongly concentrated about the mean, and is on the order of log ? n with computable constants depending on the recurrence.
Deficiency Payments and Market Power: Effects of Imperfect Competition on Welfare Distribution and Decoupling

Despite the increasing importance of market power in the food industry, most policy models assume perfect competition. Ignoring market power may lead economists to make incorrect, or at least misleading, policy recommendations. In this paper I develop a theoretical model in which market power can alter conclusions regarding the welfare effects of a specific policy change: replacing deficiency payments with decoupled payments to farmers, and apply it to the U.S. wheat market and milling industry. The main conclusions of the theoretical model are that, middlemens market power may cause i) an increase in public expenditure, ii) an extraction of policy rents from the taxpayers by the middlemen, and iii) a reduction of the social benefit from decoupling deficiency payments. I develop an econometric model to investigate if the U.S. wheat milling industry is gaining a rent from the federal loan deficiency payment program, using its market power. The results suggest that the wheat milling industry exhibit a moderate degree of oligopsony power and no oligopoly power. Due to the inelastic demand and supply, even a low level of market power has relevant effects. In the average year, the per-unit increase of public expenditure for the deficiency payments reaches 14.5% of the wheat price, and the potential benefits from removing the policy are reduced by 21.3%.