cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estate Taxes and Asset Accumulation

This paper describes changes in the estate tax over the last few decades in the United States and analyzes its motivation and effects on tax revenue and asset accumulation. Utilizing both aggregate and individual data for the last four decades, we find evidence of individuals responding to higher estate tax rates by shifting away from asset accumulation. We also find some weaker evidence that much of it occurs through reductions in the most liquid forms of assets.
High-affinity activators of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride conductance identified by high-throughput screening.

Abstract Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein that reduce cAMP-stimulated Cl− conductance in airway and other epithelia. The purpose of this investigation was to identify new classes of potent CFTR activators. A collection of 60,000 diverse drug-like compounds was screened at 10 μmtogether with a low concentration of forskolin (0.5 μm) in Fisher rat thyroid epithelial cells co-expressing human CFTR and a green fluorescent protein-based Cl− sensor. Primary screening yielded 57 strong activators (greater activity than reference compound apigenin), most of which were unrelated in chemical structure to known CFTR activators, and 284 weaker activators. Secondary analysis of the strong activators included analysis of CFTR specificity, forskolin requirement, transepithelial short-circuit current, activation kinetics, dose response, toxicity, and activation mechanism. Three compounds, the most potent being a dihydroisoquinoline, activated CFTR by elevating cellular cAMP, probably by phosphodiesterase inhibition. Fourteen compounds activated CFTR without cAMP elevation or phosphatase inhibition, suggesting direct CFTR interaction. The most potent compounds had tetrahydrocarbazol, hydroxycoumarin, and thiazolidine core structures. These compounds induced CFTR Cl− currents rapidly ( 10 μm). When added for 10 min, none of the compounds activated ΔPhe508-CFTR in transfected cells grown at 37 °C (with ΔPhe508-CFTR trapped in the endoplasmic reticulum). However, after correction of trafficking by 48 h of growth at 27 °C, tetrahydrocarbazol andN-phenyltriazine derivatives strongly stimulated Cl− conductance with Kd < 1 μm. The new activators identified here may be useful in defining molecular mechanisms of CFTR activation and as lead compounds in CF drug development.
Fluorescence resolved hole burning of squaraines in polymer matrices

Abstract Hybrid hole-burning/fluorescence line-narrowing techniques are used to obtain vibrationally well-resolved emission spectra of squaraine chromophores in polymer matrices at 1.4 K. Standard fluorescence line-narrowing spectra of these strongly inhomogeneously broadened systems are complicated by overlapping emission from zero-phonon line (ZPL) and phonon-sideband excited molecules. The ZPL-excited contribution can be reduced either by preferential nonphotochemical hole-burning with narrow-band cw excitation or by partial saturation of the absorption with picosecond pulsed excitation. Subtracting the emission spectra of the ZPL-depleted samples from the initial spectra leaves predominantly ZPL-excited spectra exhibiting enhanced vibrational resolution. These techniques have been used to analyze the vibrational spectra of centrosymmetric squaraines, examine their phonon sideband structures in different polymers, and explore the temperature dependence of the width. We also probe the origin of the low-...
Fixed Abrasive Diamond Wire Saw Slicing of Single Crystal SiC Wafers

This paper investigates the slicing of single crystal SiC with a fixed abrasive diamond wire. A spool-to-spool rocking motion diamond wire saw machine using a 0.22 mm nominal diameter diamond wire with electroplated bond and 20 μm average size diamond grit is used. The effect of wire downfeed speed on wafer surface roughness and subsurface damage is first investigated. The surface marks due to the loose diamond and stagnation of the wire during the change in wire cutting direction are studied. A scanning acoustic microscope is explored as a non-destructive evaluation method to identify the level of subsurface damage. Another set of tests investigates the effects of using a new diamond wire on the cutting forces and surface roughness. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is applied to examine the machined surfaces and the diamond wire wear. This study demonstrated the feasibility of fixed abrasive diamond wire cutting of SiC wafers and the usage of a scanning acoustic microscope to study the machining subsurface damage.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
ROBUST LINEAR PROGRAMMING AND OPTIMAL CONTROL

Abstract The paper describes an efficient method for solving an optimal control problem that arises in robust model-predictive control. The problem is to design the input sequence that minimizes the peak tracking error between the ouput of a linear dynamical system and a desired target output, subject to inequality constraints on the inputs. The system is uncertain, with an impulse response that can take arbitrary values in a given polyhedral set. This problem can be formulated as a robust linear programming problem with structured uncertainty. The presented method is based on Mehrotra's interior-point method for linear programming, and takes advantage of the problem structure to achieve a complexity that grows linearly with the control horizon, and increases as a cubic polynomial as a function of the system order, the number of inputs, and the number of uncertainty parameters.
How Does Change Occur: A Microgenetic Study of Number Conservation

Abstract Microgenetic methods can illuminate the path, rate, breadth, variability, and sources of change. The present study illustrates the types of information the method can yield in the context of number conservation. Five-year-olds whose pretest performance showed that they had not mastered number conservation were presented four training sessions. Some were just given feedback on their number conservation performance; others were given feedback and asked to explain their reasoning; yet others were given feedback and asked to explain the reasoning that led to the experimenter′s judgment. Being asked to explain the experimenter′s reasoning produced considerably more learning than either of the other two procedures. The learning involved two distinct realizations: that relative length did not predict which row had the greater number of objects and that the type of quantitatively relevant transformation did. Individual children generated multiple types of reasoning about conservation, both on the pretest and throughout the training procedure; understanding the importance of the type of transformation did not lead to immediate rejection of less advanced forms of reasoning, even for a single problem presented several times during the experiment. This variability was positively associated with learning; children who showed greater variability of reasoning on the pretest, both within and across trials, learned more. Educational and theoretical implications of children′s efforts to understand other people′s reasoning were discussed.
Development of a Real-Time Reverse-Transcription PCR for Detection of Newcastle Disease Virus RNA in Clinical Samples

A real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RRT-PCR) was developed to detect avian paramyxovirus 1 (APMV-1) RNA, also referred to as Newcastle disease virus (NDV), in clinical samples from birds. The assay uses a single-tube protocol with fluorogenic hydrolysis probes. Oligonucleotide primers and probes were designed to detect sequences from a conserved region of the matrix protein (M) gene that recognized a diverse set (n = 44) of APMV-1 isolates. A second primer-probe set was targeted to sequences in the fusion protein (F) gene that code for the cleavage site and detect potentially virulent NDV isolates. A third set, also directed against the M gene, was specific for the North American (N.A.) pre-1960 genotype that includes the common vaccine strains used in commercial poultry in the United States. The APMV-1 M gene, N.A. pre-1960 M gene, and F gene probe sets were capable of detecting approximately 103, 102, and 104 genome copies, respectively, with in vitro-transcribed RNA. Both M gene assays could detect approximately 101 50% egg infective doses (EID50), and the F gene assay could detect approximately 103 EID50. The RRT-PCR test was used to examine clinical samples from chickens experimentally infected with the NDV strain responsible for a recent epizootic in the southwestern United States. Overall, a positive correlation was obtained between the RRT-PCR results and virus isolation for NDV from clinical samples.
Data level fault tolerance in demultiplexer filter banks

An efficient method for demultiplexing frequency slotted channels employs multirate filter banks which contain fast Fourier transform processing. All numerical processing is performed at a lower rate commensurate with the small bandwidth of each baseband channel. The paper demonstrates methods for protecting the integrity of the demultiplexing operations by using real number convolutional codes to compute comparable parity values which detect errors at the data sample level. High-rate, systematic convolutional codes produce parity values at a much reduced rate, and protection is achieved by generating parity values in two ways and comparing them. Parity values corresponding to each output channel are generated in parallel by a subsystem, operating even slower and in parallel with the demultiplexer that is virtually identical to the original structure. These parity calculations may be time-shared with the same processing resources because they are so similar. >
Rethinking Scale: Moving Beyond Numbers to Deep and Lasting Change

The issue of “scale” is a key challenge for school reform, yet it remains undertheorized in the literature. Definitions of scale have traditionally restricted its scope, focusing on the expanding number of schools reached by a reform. Such definitions mask the complex challenges of reaching out broadly while simultaneously cultivating the depth of change necessary to support and sustain consequential change. This article draws on a review of theoretical and empirical literature on scale, relevant research on reform implementation, and original research to synthesize and articulate a more multidimensional conceptualization. I develop a conception of scale that has four interrelated dimensions: depth, sustainability, spread, and shift in reform ownership. I then suggest implications of this conceptualization for reform strategy and research design.
Interactions Between Angiotensin II and Baroreflexes in Long-Term Regulation of Renal Sympathetic Nerve Activity

There is considerable evidence that the sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension.1–3 However, the factors that chronically influence sympathetic activity and the precise mechanisms that mediate neurally induced hypertension are unclear. Topics of long-standing interest, but of considerable uncertainty, relate to the potential impact of the renin-angiotensin system and baroreflexes on sympathetic activity in hypertension. Numerous studies have demonstrated that baroreflex function is impaired in hypertension and that angiotensin II (Ang II) acutely stimulates the sympathetic nervous system.3–6 Despite this wealth of information, it is still unclear whether baroreflex dysfunction and elevated plasma levels of Ang II lead to chronic increases in sympathetic activity that promote hypertension. This uncertainty, in large part, has been due to technical limitations that prevent determination of long-term changes in sympathetic activity, particularly sympathetic activity to the kidneys (as discussed below). In this regard, the study by Barrett et al7 in this issue of Circulation Research is especially important for two reasons. First, it establishes a novel experimental technique for directly monitoring renal sympathetic nerve activity, 24 hours per day. Thus, for the first time, an experimental tool has been developed for assessing the critical neural signal from the brain to the kidneys that leads to long-term changes in body fluid volumes and arterial pressure. Second, by clearly establishing the time-dependent changes in renal sympathetic nerve activity during the induction of Ang II hypertension, this study brings to focus the complex interactions between Ang II and the sympathetic nervous system that are important in the long-term regulation of arterial pressure. Clearly, these interactions cannot be predicted from acute studies. Indeed, the most important finding in this study—that renal sympathetic nerve activity is chronically suppressed in Ang II hypertension—is diametrically opposite to what one might predict from …
Diagnosis and Management of Upper Aerodigestive Tract Foreign Bodies

Although often listed together in review articles and case series, tracheobronchial and esophageal foreign bodies can be dissimilar. Airway foreign bodies can range widely in the severity of presentation. When to proceed with a diagnostic bronchoscopy is not always obvious and is based on three diagnostic tools: clinical history, physical examination, and radiography. Radiography plays a more central role in the diagnosis of an esophageal foreign body. In either condition, a delay in diagnosis leads to a greater complication rate. This article provides diagnostic and treatment guidelines in the management of aerodigestive foreign bodies.
Power output is linearly related to MyHC content in rat skinned myocytes and isolated working hearts

The amount of work the heart can perform during ejection is governed by the inherent contractile properties of individual myocytes. One way to alter contractile properties is to alter contractile p...
CHROMOSOME MICROMANIPULATION : III. Spindle Fiber Tension and the Reorientation of Mal-Oriented Chromosomes

Kinetochore reorientation is the critical process ensuring normal chromosome distribution. Reorientation has been studied in living grasshopper spermatocytes, in which bivalents with both chromosomes oriented to the same pole (unipolar orientation) occur but are unstable: sooner or later one chromosome reorients, the stable, bipolar orientation results, and normal anaphase segregation to opposite poles follows. One possible source of stability in bipolar orientations is the normal spindle forces toward opposite poles, which slightly stretch the bivalent. This tension is lacking in unipolar orientations because all the chromosomal spindle fibers and spindle forces are directed toward one pole. The possible role of tension has been tested directly by micromanipulation of bivalents in unipolar orientation to artificially create the missing tension. Without exception, such bivalents never reorient before the tension is released; a total time "under tension" of over 5 hr has been accumulated in experiments on eight bivalents in eight cells. In control experiments these same bivalents reoriented from a unipolar orientation within 16 min, on the average, in the absence of tension. Controlled reorientation and chromosome segregation can be explained from the results of these and related experiments.
Polarized growth and organelle segregation in yeast the tracks, motors, and receptors

In yeast, growth and organelle segregation requires formin-dependent assembly of polarized actin cables. These tracks are used by myosin Vs to deliver secretory vesicles for cell growth, organelles for their segregation, and mRNA for fate determination. Several specific receptors have been identified that interact with the cargo-binding tails of the myosin Vs. A recent study implicates specific degradation in the bud of the vacuolar receptor, Vac17, as a mechanism for cell cycle-regulated segregation of this organelle.
Meeting the Challenge of Mathematics Reform for Students with LD

The purpose of this article was to examine the sustained effort to reform K through 12 mathematics instruction in this country over the last 10 years and the implications of this reform for students with learning disabilities. We begin by describing three forces that have driven mathematics reform: shifting theoretical paradigms, disappointing levels of mathematics performance of students in the United States, and the impact of rapidly changing technologies. We then discuss concerns about this reform from the special education community. In the second half of the article, we provide synthesized special education research relevant to mathematics reform, along with thoughts about future directions in mathematics education for students with learning disabilities.
Q-V curve interpretations of energy measures for voltage security

Energy methods have shown promise as measures for quantifying the vulnerability of power systems to problems of voltage instability and collapse. However, to make such measures more useful as a security assessment tool in an operational environment. It is important to provide physical interpretations of the quantitative measure. This paper demonstrates that for certain basic load models, the energy based security measure is equal to the area enclosed by a familiar Q-V curve, with a change of scale on the voltage axis. This interpretation has the added benefit of providing easily computed approximations to the maximum real and reactive power loadability both at individual buses and for the system as a whole. Results are demonstrated in detail on the IEEE 118 bus system, with additional tests on a 415 bus sample system. >
Weekly Cycles in Daily Report Data: An Overlooked Issue

Announcement The Jeffrey S. Tanaka Occasional Papers in Quantitative Methods for Personality With the publication of this issue's lead article, “Weekly Cycles in Daily Report Data: An Overlooked Issue,” the Journal of Personality continues an ongoing series devoted to the memory of Jeffrey S. Tanaka. The goal of this series, exemplified by the Liu and West article, is to continue the spirit of Jeff Tanaka's work by illustrating how innovative methodological and statistical approaches can improve our understanding of personality phenomena. Proposals for the Occasional Papers series are welcomed and should follow the guidelines in the solicitation that appeared in the December, 1993 (Volume 61, Number 4) issue of the Journal. Howard Tennen, Editor Daily diaries and other everyday experience methods are increasingly used to study relationships between two time-varying variables X and Y. Although daily data potentially often have weekly cyclical patterns (e.g., stress may be higher on weekdays and lower on weekends), the majority of daily diary studies have ignored this possibility. In this study, we investigated the effect of ignoring existing weekly cycles. We reanalyzed an empirical dataset (stress and alcohol consumption) and performed Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the impact of omitting weekly cycles. In the empirical dataset, ignoring cycles led to the inference of a significant within-person X–Y relation whereas modeling cycles suggested that this relationship did not exist. Simulation results indicated that ignoring cycles that existed in both X and Y led to bias in the estimated within-person X–Y relationship. The amount and direction of bias depended on the magnitude of the cycles, magnitude of the true within-person X–Y relation, and synchronization of the cycles. We encourage researchers conducting daily diary studies to address potential weekly cycles in their data. We provide guidelines for detecting and modeling cycles to remove their influence and discuss challenges of causal inference in daily experience studies.
Dietary Intake and Food Behavior Practices: Long‐Term Effects of the Georgia Expanded Food and Nutrition Program

Homemakers' food behavior practices and diet scores were compared at entrance to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, at graduation whenever their diets met the minimum daily nutritional requirements level, and one year following graduation. Program factors studied were type of teaching method and frequency of visits of teachers. Characteris tics of subjects studied were place of residence, educational level, age of homemaker, and age of children. The population included 225 homemakers. Food behavior practices and diet scores were maintained for all subjects after graduation. No differences occurred between entrance and graduation for subjects taught by the group method, for farm subjects, or for subjects having children in one particular age category.
Storm Track Variations As Seen in Radiosonde Observations and Reanalysis Data

Abstract The interannual variations in the Northern Hemisphere storm tracks during 1949–99 based on unassimilated radiosonde data are examined and compared to similarly derived quantities using the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis at sonde times and locations. This is done with the motivation of determining the extent to which the storm track variations in reanalysis data are real. Emphasis is placed on assessing previous findings, based on NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data, that both storm tracks intensified from the 1960s to the 1990s with much of the intensification occurring during the early 1970s, and that the Atlantic and Pacific storm tracks are significantly correlated. Sonde data suggest that the Atlantic storm track intensified during the 1960s to 1990s, but the intensification was weaker than the reanalysis suggests. The larger trend in reanalysis is due to an overall decrease in biases with time. In the Pacific storm track entrance and exit regions, sonde data show notable decadal timescale oscillations, similar ...
“Congratulations, You Have Been Randomized Into the Control Group!(?)”: Issues to Consider When Recruiting Schools for Matched‐Pair Randomized Control Trials of Prevention Programs

BACKGROUND: Recruiting schools into a matched-pair randomized control trial (MP-RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of a school-level prevention program presents challenges for researchers. We considered which of 2 procedures would be most effective for recruiting schools into the study and assigning them to conditions. In 1 procedure (recruit and match/randomize), we would recruit schools and match them prior to randomization, and in the other (match/randomize and recruitment), we would match schools and randomize them prior to recruitment. METHOD: We considered how each procedure impacted the randomization process and our ability to recruit schools into the study. After implementing the selected procedure, the equivalence of both treatment and control group schools and the participating and nonparticipating schools on school demographic variables was evaluated. RESULTS: We decided on the recruit and match/randomize procedure because we thought it would provide the opportunity to build rapport with the schools and prepare them for the randomization process, thereby increasing the likelihood that they would accept their randomly assigned conditions. Neither the treatment and control group schools nor the participating and nonparticipating schools exhibited statistically significant differences from each other on any of the school demographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment of schools prior to matching and randomization in an MP-RCT may facilitate the recruitment of schools and thus enhance both the statistical power and the representativeness of study findings. Future research would benefit from the consideration of a broader range of variables (eg, readiness to implement a comprehensive prevention program) both in matching schools and in evaluating their representativeness to nonparticipating schools.
IL-6/STAT3 promotes regeneration of airway ciliated cells from basal stem cells

The pseudostratified airway epithelium of the lung contains a balanced proportion of multiciliated and secretory luminal cells that are maintained and regenerated by a population of basal stem cells. However, little is known about how these processes are modulated in vivo, and about the potential role of cytokine signaling between stem and progenitor cells and their niche. Using a clonal 3D organoid assay, we found that IL-6 stimulated, and Stat3 inhibitors reduced, the generation of ciliated vs. secretory cells from basal cells. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies with cultured mouse and human basal cells suggest that IL-6/Stat3 signaling promotes ciliogenesis at multiple levels, including increases in multicilin gene and forkhead box protein J1 expression and inhibition of the Notch pathway. To test the role of IL-6 in vivo genetically, we followed the regeneration of mouse tracheal epithelium after ablation of luminal cells by inhaled SO2. Stat3 is activated in basal cells and their daughters early in the repair process, correlating with an increase in Il-6 expression in platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha+ mesenchymal cells in the stroma. Conditional deletion in basal cells of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3, encoding a negative regulator of the Stat3 pathway, results in an increase in multiciliated cells at the expense of secretory and basal cells. By contrast, Il-6 null mice regenerate fewer ciliated cells and an increased number of secretory cells after injury. The results support a model in which IL-6, produced in the reparative niche, functions to enhance the differentiation of basal cells, and thereby acts as a “friend” to promote airway repair rather than a “foe.”
Accurate, predictive modeling of soft error rate due to cosmic rays and chip alpha radiation

We report here the development of a unique and comprehensive computer program (SEMM) to calculate the probability of soft fails in integrated circuits due to alpha particles emanating from the chip materials and due to terrestrial cosmic rays. This model treats all failure modes on an event by event basis allowing for all nuclear reactions and pulse shape effects. It is a three-dimensional design tool that takes the detailed chip layout and profile information to compute the soft error rate and is used without any parameter fitting. SEMM has been extensively tested with hot sources, high energy proton beams, and high elevation cosmic ray tests. Applications of SEMM to bipolar and CMOS chips and considerations for building in reliability for radiation induced soft fails are also discussed. >
Covalent stabilization of nanostructures: Robust block copolymer templates from novel thermoreactive systems

Structurally robust block copolymer templates with feature sizes of approximately 10 nm were prepared from functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-polystyrene block copolymers. By the inclusion of benzocyclobutene crosslinking groups in the polystyrene block, the covalent stabilization of thin films to both thermal treatment and solvent exposure became possible. In addition, the crosslinking of the poly(styrene-benzocyclobutene) domains at 220 °C, followed by the removal of poly(methyl methacrylate), provided a robust, crosslinked nanostructure with greater processing and fabrication potential. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1028–1037, 2005
Medical conditions in geriatric hoarding disorder patients

Hoarding disorder (HD) in late life is associated with increased risk for fire, falling, poor sanitary conditions, disability, and health risks. However, research on the health status of individuals with HD is limited. Hoarding symptoms and the resulting clutter may exacerbate health conditions and lead to improper management of medical illnesses.Objective: The purpose of this study is to characterize the health status of older adults with hoarding. The rates of medical conditions will be compared to a non-psychiatric peer group.Method: 72 older adults with HD and 25 age matched normal controls, completed a medical conditions checklist, symptom severity measures (i.e., UCLA Hoarding Severity Scale, UHSS; Saving Inventory-Revised, SI-R) and a measure capturing activities of daily living (activities of daily living-hoarding, ADL-H).Results: Older adults with HD (n = 72) reported significantly more health conditions compared to their non-psychiatric peers (n = 25). Hoarding severity significantly predicted t...
Biochemical Measures of Nicotinic Receptor Desensitization

Exposure to either nonactivating (nM) or activating (µM) concentrations of nicotine desensitized nicotine-stimulated [3H]dopamine release from striatal synaptosomes and 86Rb+ efflux from thalamic synaptosomes, but the kinetics of desensitization were not identical. Although nicotine-stimulated 86Rb+ efflux was completely inhibited by exposure to either low or high concentrations of nicotine, a significant fraction of [3H]dopamine release persisted. The kinetics of functional desensitization was similar to that for high affinity [3H]nicotine binding.
In vivo cardiac reprogramming using an optimal single polycistronic construct

Direct cardiac reprogramming holds great promise for cardiac regeneration and disease modelling.1–15 We recently reported that stoichiometry of Gata4 (G), Mef2c (M), and Tbx5 (T) influences the efficiency and quality of induced cardiomyocyte (iCM) reprogramming.16 We generated a full set of polycistronic vectors to manipulate the relative levels of G, M, and T protein expression. Among the six combinations, MGT that expresses a relative high expression of M and low expressions of G and T resulted in the most efficient in vitro iCM reprogramming.16 Here, we performed genetic lineage tracing in a murine myocardial infarction (MI) model to determine whether MGT could improve in vivo iCM reprogramming efficiency and result in a further improvement in ventricular contractile function compared with the traditional separate G, M, and T (G/M/T) delivery. We took advantage of the unique feature that retrovirus infects only dividing cells to deliver MGT, G/M/T, or dsRed into actively dividing cardiac fibroblasts, but not CMs, in MI hearts.3 We prepared retrovirus encoding the single-triplet MGT as well as G/M/T and dsRed control viruses. These viruses were subjected to ultracentrifugation and were concentrated at 1 × 1010 p.f.a./mL. According to the previously established protocol,3 8–12 week old male mice were treated with 10 μL of ultra-high-titre retrovirus (∼1010 p.f.a./mL) by injection into the myocardial wall immediately following coronary artery ligation. To determine whether MGT enhances reprogramming of non-myocytes into iCMs in vivo , we performed genetic lineage tracing experiments using Periostin-Cre; R26R-lacZ mice3 to quantify the number of iCMs that had a fibroblast origin. Consistent with previous reports,3 we did not detect any β-galactosidase activity in the CMs of control …
Inflation adjustments for defense acquisition

This paper describes recent research on cost indexes by the Institute for Defense Analyses. It was performed at the request of the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense to assist in meeting the requirement in the 2009 Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act to assess and update the cost deflators the Defense Department uses to adjust for price growth in costing and budgeting major systems. The paper’s focus is on aircraft procurement. The research analyzes deflator algorithms and data to determine the source of the wide differences in aircraft cost growth rates calculated by (a) the Gross Domestic Product deflator for the entire US market basket of goods and services, (b) the national defense index for military aircraft published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and (c) the Producer Price Index for civilian aircraft published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study demonstrates an alternative hedonic approach for calculating price indexes by usi...
A History of Childhood Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Among Native American Adults

This study examined the association between childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among Native American adults. Based on Riggs's theoretical model of the long-term effects of childhood abuse, we also examined the mediating roles of insecure attachment patterns and depressive symptoms. The current study was a secondary data analysis using the 2013 General Well-Being Among Native Americans dataset ( N = 479). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized relationships among key constructs. Consistent with existing literature of revictimization, our findings showed that the experience of childhood maltreatment was positively associated with IPV victimization. Mediation analyses indicated that depression was a significant mediator in the association between childhood maltreatment and IPV victimization. In addition, all the paths linking childhood maltreatment, fearful attachment, depressive symptoms, and IPV victimization were statistically significant, although the overall mediation effect was not significant. The results of this study suggest that Riggs's model can serve as a useful theoretical framework for understanding the long-term effects of childhood maltreatment among Native American adults. Practitioners in the area of IPV should include maltreatment history and current attachment patterns in client assessments, which could help address conflict and violence within intimate relationships.
An Extractables/Leachables Strategy Facilitated by Collaboration Between Drug Product Vendors and Plastic Material/System Suppliers

Leaching of plastic materials, packaging, or containment systems by finished drug products and/or their related solutions can happen when contact occurs between such materials, systems, and products. While the drug product vendor has the regulatory/legal responsibility to demonstrate that such leaching does not affect the safety, efficacy, and/or compliance of the finished drug product, the plastic's supplier can facilitate that demonstration by providing the drug product vendor with appropriate and relevant information. Although it is a reasonable expectation that suppliers would possess and share such facilitating information, it is not reasonable for vendors to expect suppliers to (1) reveal confidential information without appropriate safeguards and (2) possess information specific to the vendor's finished drug product. Any potential conflict between the vendor's desire for information and the supplier's willingness to either generate or supply such information can be mitigated if the roles and responsibilities of these two stakeholders are established up front. The vendor of the finished drug product is responsible for supplying regulators with a full and complete leachables assessment for its finished drug product. To facilitate (but not take the place of) the vendor's leachables assessment, suppliers of the materials, components, or systems can provide the vendor with a full and complete extractables assessment for their material/system. The vendor and supplier share the responsibility for reconciling or correlating the extractables and leachables data. While this document establishes the components of a full and complete extractables assessment, specifying the detailed process by which a full and complete extractables assessment is performed is beyond its scope.
A Context-Based Approach to Engineering Design Negotiation

Complex and large-scale engineering design problems require a collaborative approach in order to be completed in a timely manner. Designers involved in such work are making collaborative design decision, and often have to negotiate to address intricate problems and resolve their discrepancies while exploring the design space, generating new ideas and compromising for agreement. Advances in negotiation research have been made in social psychology, distributed artificial intelligence, and decision theory, but few have been applied to design. We advocate that design context information is of paramount importance in the decision-making process. In this paper, an argumentation-based negotiation model is introduced to support collaborative design decision-making. This model relies on clear design context model, argument model, negotiation protocol and strategies. In this paper, we successively detail each of these components and conclude with a discussion on a real-world case example and our future research direction.© 2005 ASME
Human chorionic somatomammotropin in normal adolescent primiparous pregnancy: I. Effect of smoking☆

Abstract Human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS) measurements were made on a well-defined normal smoking and nonsmoking population comprising 136 primiparous teenagers ranging in age from 12 to 18 years. The smoking population was divided into the following groups: deep and shallow inhalers, long and short puffers, high and low tar, and high and low nicotine. Shallow inhaling and low nicotine exposure patients were found to have a later age at menarche as compared to the nonsmokers (13.2 vs. 12.3 years), and the mean baby weight of the mothers who smoked was slightly less (61 Gm.) than that of nonsmoking mothers. Over all, smokers had significantly lower HCS values throughout pregnancy than nonsmokers. Quantitative analysis of the smoking data by trimester revealed that in the second trimester both high and low smoking exposure groups had lower average HCS values than nonsmokers. In the third trimester, patients with the lowest smoking exposures had the lowest HCS values and the heavier smokers had slightly higher mean values than nonsmokers. These preliminary data suggest that HCS production may be more sensitive to low tar and nicotine exposure with possible tolerance or even stimulation occurring in larger doses.
JFK, FBI, and CIA: playing hardball over an intelligence leak to the New York Times

AbstractOn 26 July 1962, the New York Times published a front-page story by reporter Hanson Baldwin which, among many things, showed the vulnerability of Soviet land-based missiles, in the event of a first strike by the US. Drawing at least indirectly from a National Intelligence Estimate, it also showed how US intelligence had obtained that information. The story infuriated President John F. Kennedy, who believed it harmed the security of the United States. This article details an aggressive FBI investigation of who had leaked to Baldwin, as well as an initiative at the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct its own future leak investigations inside the US, both authorized by President Kennedy.
Breast reconstruction after mastectomy and breast implants. Current status in the USA

L'auteur fait le point, tenant compte des evolutions techniques et problematiques vis-a-vis des protheses mammaires au cours de ces vingt dernieres annees, sur la reconstruction mammaire apres mastectomie pour cancer. La reconstruction mammaire immediate (RMI) est devenue de pratique courante. Les techniques de reconstruction : prothese d'expansion provisoire, prothese d'expansion permanente, lambeau musculo-cutane de grand dorsal associe a une prothese, lambeau musculo-cutane pedicule de grand droit de l'abdomen, lambeaux libres, sont presentees concernant leur principe, leurs indications et leurs complications.
Segmentation in the Market for Television News

This study investigates the viability of using marketing research techniques to segment the market for television newscasts. Six sets of variables were examined for their relationship to segments based on preferred time and channel for news broadcasting. Measures representing several aspects of viewership provided the best explanation for selection of a particular newscast.
Bright Type II Quantum Dots

It is a paradigm that the exciton splitting characteristics of type II quantum dots (QDs) result in low quantum yield materials. However, reported herein is the synthesis of ZnSe/CdS/ZnS type II QDs with quantum yields as high as 61%. Most interesting is the fact that the enhancement in brightness is due to an increase in the radiative rate, rather than the suppression of surface trap-related nonradiative processes, which was found to be minimal. These QDs have been water-solubilized using two different methods and retain a substantial fraction of their brightness. The water-soluble type II QDs were conjugated to a dye to examine their potential as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donors. A significant FRET efficiency of 61 ± 3% was measured using time-correlated single photon counting, which demonstrates the potential for these materials to be used in FRET-based chemical and biological sensing applications.
Comparison of Outcomes of Extended Dwell/Midline Peripheral Intravenous Catheters and Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters in Children

Abstract Background Insertion of extended dwell/midline peripheral intravenous (EPIVs) catheters is not common practice in pediatric hospitals. An interdisciplinary team in 1 pediatric hospital developed a venous access decision tree based on current standards that included EPIVs. The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the process and pediatric patient outcomes associated with use of EPIVs and with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). Methods A retrospective record review over 22 months was conducted for 375 patients who received either a PICC (67.5%) or EPIV (32.5%). Data collected included patient demographic characteristics, diagnosis category, type and purpose of the line, insertion and removal dates, catheter size, placement location, and complications encountered. Results EPIVs were inserted with a 1.9F or 3F catheter, whereas PICCs generally used a 3F or 4F catheter. EPIVS were more commonly inserted in children younger than age 1 year, whereas children aged ≥ 11 years more often had a PICC inserted. EPIVs remained in place an average of 9 days compared with 20 days for PICC lines. Significantly more complications occurred during the placement of PICCs, whereas EPIVs had more complications during use such as leakage, dislodging, and infiltration. Conclusions EPIVs were a successful alternative to PICC or peripherally inserted venous catheters for children in an inpatient acute-care facility who need 30 days or fewer of nonvesicant intravenous therapy. The venous access decision tree provided useful guidance in determining the appropriate venous access device for pediatric patients and the decision tree was adhered to by the vascular access team.
The effects of noncoding aquaporin-4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms on cognition and functional progression of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract Introduction The glymphatic system is a brain-wide perivascular network that facilitates clearance of proteins, including amyloid β, from the brain interstitium through the perivascular exchange of cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid. The astrocytic water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is required for glymphatic system function, and impairment of glymphatic function in the aging brain is associated with altered AQP4 expression and localization. In human cortical tissue, alterations in AQP4 expression and localization are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) status and pathology. Although this suggests a potential role for AQP4 in the development or progression of AD, the relationship between of naturally occurring variants in the human AQP4 gene and cognitive function has not yet been evaluated. Methods Using data from several longitudinal aging cohorts, we investigated the association between five AQP4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the rate of cognitive decline in participants with a diagnosis of AD. Results None of the five SNPs were associated with different rates of AD diagnosis, age of dementia onset in trial subjects. No association between AQP4 SNPs with histological measures of AD pathology, including Braak stage or neuritic plaque density was observed. However, AQP4 SNPs were associated with altered rates of cognitive decline after AD diagnosis, with two SNPS (rs9951307 and rs3875089) associated with slower cognitive decline and two (rs3763040 and rs3763043) associated with more rapid cognitive decline after AD diagnosis. Discussion These results provide the first evidence that variations in the AQP4 gene, whose gene product AQP4 is vital for glymphatic pathway function, may modulate the progression of cognitive decline in AD.
First-Principles Fe L2,3-Edge and O K-Edge XANES and XMCD Spectra for Iron Oxides

X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopies are tools in widespread use for providing detailed local atomic structure, oxidation state, and magnetic structure information for materials and organometallic complexes. Analysis of these spectra for transition metal L-edges is routinely performed on the basis of ligand-field multiplet theory because one- and two-particle mean field ab initio methods typically cannot describe the multiplet structure. Here we show that multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations can satisfactorily reproduce measured XANES spectra for a range of complex iron oxide materials including hematite and magnetite. MRCI Fe L2,3-edge XANES and XMCD spectra of Fe(II)O6, Fe(III)O6 and Fe(III)O4 in magnetite are found to be in very good qualitative agreement with experiment and multiplet calculations. Point charge embedding and small distortions of the first shell oxygen ligands have only small effects. Oxygen K-ed...
Stabilizing environments to facilitate planning and activity: an engineering argument

An underlying assumption of research on learning from planning and activity is that agents can exploit regularities they find in the world. For agents that interact with a world over an extended period of time, there is another possibility: the exploited regularities can be created and maintained, rather than discovered. We explore the ways in which agents can actively stabilize the world to increase the predictability and tractability of acting within in it.
Reachable Set Analysis of Vehicular Platooning in Adversarial Environment

In this paper, we propose a method based on reachable set theory to investigate adversarial behavior in automated vehicle platoons. Vehicular platoons have been developed to increase highway throughput and safety, and to enhance driving comfort. The resulting deployment of cyber-physical technology in critical infrastructure is increasingly attractive to both hackers and security researchers. To ensure safety and privacy of vehicle occupants, it is essential to identify the vulnerabilities of platoon systems. In this paper, we study the attacker's capabilities under input constraints during two types of attack: motion modification and integral attacks. Using ellipsoidal techniques, we investigate the extent of an attacker's ability to manipulate the control variables and states of a platoon resulting in oscillatory motion or collision. The outcomes of our analysis are demonstrated by an example.
Unstructured High-Dimensional Time-Phase QKD

Conventional QKD systems require generation and detection of quantum states in two different bases, one of which is used to generate a secret key and the other is used to monitor the presence of an eavesdropper. The quantum states can be prepared in any d-dimensional Hilbert space, which means a two-basis QKD system requires generation and detection of d quantum states in the monitoring basis. Recently, Tamaki et al. (Phys Rev A 90:052314, 2014) showed that, for a qubit-based (d = 2) QKD system, the protocol can be secured by transmitting two states in the information basis and only one state in the monitoring basis, while maintaining the same error tolerance against a general coherent attack as a complete setup. Here, I extend this result beyond d = 2 to a generic family of d-dimensional QKD protocols and show that such a system can be secured by transmitting only one state in the monitoring basis. As examples, I apply these findings to investigate the d = 4 time-phase QKD system demonstrated in Chap. 3 and to a d = 7 QKD system realized using the spatial modes of a photon (Mirhosseini et al., New J Phys 17:033033, 2015), illustrating the applicability of this technique to various QKD schemes (Islam et al., Phys Rev A 97:042347, 2018).