cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Consistency thresholds for Hierarchical Decision Model

The objective of this research is to establish consistency thresholds linked to alpha (α) levels for HDM's (Hierarchical Decision Model) judgment quantification method. Measuring consistency in order to control it is a crucial and inseparable part of any AHP/HDM experiment. The researchers on the subject recommend establishing thresholds that are statistically based on hypothesis testing, and are linked to the number of decision variables and a level. Such thresholds provide the means with which to evaluate the soundness and validity of an AHP/HDM decision. The linkage of thresholds to a levels allows the decision makers to set an appropriate inconsistency tolerance compatible with the situation at hand. The measurements of judgments are unreliable in the absence of an inconsistency measure that includes acceptable limits. All of this is essential to the credibility of the entire decision making process and hence is extremely useful for practitioners and researchers alike. This research includes distribution fitting for the inconsistencies. The superb fits obtained give confidence that all the statistical inferences based on the fitted distributions accurately reflect the HDM's inconsistency measure.
Comparison of Clinical Laboratory Assays for Measuring Serum Infliximab and Antibodies to Infliximab.

Background: Infliximab (IFX) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting tumor necrosis factor-α, used for the management of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Immunogenicity to this protein drug may lead to therapeutic failure. Laboratory testing for serum IFX and antidrug antibodies (ADAs) is available for the evaluation of clinical nonresponsiveness. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of testing methodologies used by 2 clinical reference laboratories for the quantification of IFX and detection of ADAs. Methods: Deidentified serum samples submitted for clinical testing were selected (n = 120) and tested at both sites. A trypsin-based LC-MS/MS assay for IFX and a bridging electrochemiluminescent immunoassay (ECLIA) for ADAs (Mayo Clinic) and a functional cell-based reporter gene assay (RGA) to measure both bioactive drug concentrations and neutralizing ADAs (ARUP Laboratories) were compared. Results: In all, 105 samples had measurable concentrations of IFX by both methods and yielded a correlation coefficient ( r ) = 0.917, slope = 1.028, and intercept = −0.377. One outlier measured Conclusion: Although there are substantial methodological differences in the assays used for detecting IFX and ADAs, results show significant concordance between the clinically validated methodologies performed in different laboratories.
Chronic Nicotine Effects on Memory and Nicotine Self-Administration: Age of Exposure is Key

Abstract The neurotoxic and neuropharmacologic effects of nicotine vary substantially with the age during which organisms are exposed. During early development nicotine causes neurotoxicity impacting processes of neurodevelopment. During adolescence, nicotine administration causes greater self-administration which can lay the foundation for tobacco addiction. During adulthood, nicotine is self-administered and causes considerable toxicity from tobacco addiction. In adults, nicotine also enhances memory function. This may provide therapeutic benefits which deserves further investigation. Nicotine has greatly differing toxicological and pharmacological effects depending on the age of the organism. Considering the age-effect function is key in determining the regulation and possible therapeutic use of nicotine and related nicotinic compounds.
Introduction: Modern Marriage and the Lyric Sequence

Invented to celebrate an extra-marital passion, the lyric sequence has been used by modern poets to track the vicissitudes of a daily love within marriage. Three key dimensions that have been retained but transformed in this context are the poet-lover’s war with Time, the lyric’s cultivation of an “I-you” relation that is virtual rather than actual, and the contradictions involved in opening an intensely private relationship to public scrutiny.
Effects of Rotenone Treatment on Mayfly Drift and Standing Stocks in Two Norwegian Rivers

In Norway, the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salars, has spread to 40 rivers and caused a drastic reduction in the stocks of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). In order to eradicate the parasite, a total of 24 rivers has so far been treated with rotenone (0.5-1.0 ppm roten-one solution). Drift and standing stocks of Ephemeroptera from stretches treated with rotenone were compared with untreated stretches and with the faunal composition before rotenone treatment.
Measuring hand intrinsic muscle strength: normal values and interrater reliability.

Background: The intrinsic musdes of the hand are of interest in spinal cord injury (SCI) and other myelopathies, because they are innervated by the most caudal cord segments innervating the upper l...
Dynamic Labeling of Protein-Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Complexes for Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Detection on Microchips

In order for protein separations to be performed on microchips, it is often necessary to covalently label the proteins prior to separation with fluorescent tags for laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. This is necessary due to the difficulties in implementing UV detection on microchips. These tagging techniques are often labor-intensive and time-consuming. We present a method for dynamic labeling of protein-SDS complexes for LIF detection on microchips for the purpose of protein sizing.
STUDIES ON THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF LYMPHOCYTIC CHORIOMENINGITIS VIRUS

Publisher Summary The genome of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) comprises two single-stranded RNA segments of negative polarity, which exist as ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes within both purified virions and infected cells. The LCMV virion also contains varying numbers of host ribosomes, but it has been suggested that these ribosomes are not required for normal virus replication. This chapter describes experiment for the DNA cloning of LCMV (1) to evaluate the full genetic potential of LCMV, (2) to generate hybridization probes for the study of LCMV gene expression and gene regulation, (3) to examine sequence relatedness between different LCMV strains and other arenaviruses, and (4) to investigate the molecular basis of LCMV-induced disease. Bacterial colonies containing cDNA inserts were screened by colony hybridization using purified and partially hydrolyzed LCMV L or S virion RNAs as probes.
Economics and Ecology

There are two ways in which either of the two disciplines, economics and ecology, influences the other. First, methods of economic analysis may be applied to ecological systems. It is the purpose of such studies to interpret ecosystems from an economic viewpoint and to provide well-developed economic tools for the description and analysis of ecosystems (Hannon 1985a). Moreover, applications of economic methods to ecosystems offer an opportunity for economists to test empirically some of their behavioral models in well-monitored systems under laboratory conditions or selected and controlled influences (Hannon 1985b).
Unemployment among Land-Losing Farmers in China: Evidence from the 2010 Census

How widespread is unemployment among land-losing farmers in China and what explains regional variations in unemployment? Using census data, this article shows that there were only roughly 1.7 milli...
Differential anharmonicity and thermal expansion coefficient in 3 C -SiC nanowires

Surface and core are two essential but distinct structural parts of a nanowire---but their individual effects on overall thermal expansion coefficient of a nanowire have never been quantified. Here we present an average bond-length based framework to determine the effects of the surface and core regimes of $3C$-SiC nanowires on their effective volumetric thermal expansion coefficient over a wide range of temperatures. Our results suggest that the surface and core atoms exhibit differential anharmonic response at finite temperatures, which makes the surface regime exhibit disparate expansion behavior compared to the core. While at lower temperatures the differential anharmonicity is negligible, at temperatures higher than the room temperature there is a pronounced differential anharmonicity in the nanowire. Furthermore, temperature-dependent expansion coefficients of the nanowire and the surface and core regimes qualitatively follow the behavior of the bulk---but they vary substantially quantitatively, with the maximum coefficient exhibited by the surface at higher temperatures. The diameter-dependent expansion coefficients follow inverse power laws with their exponents varying from 0.95 to 2.5. In thinner nanowires the expansion coefficient is controlled by an intricate combination of mass inertia and bond stiffness at the surface and core, whereas the expansion of thicker nanowires is dominated by the anharmonic motion of the core atoms alone. The surface effects saturate with increasing diameter, but the core effects decay nonlinearly with increasing diameter and approaches the bulk value as $d\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$.
S/N Optimized, Programmable 1–10 MHz Bandwidth and 0–20 dB Gain, Precision I-Q Communication Channel for Digital Video Applications

An analog part of a digital-video quadrature demodulation scheme is built using a 7 GHz, 0.8 μm biCMOS process. The scheme provides for 1–10 MHz cutoff frequency and 0–20 dB gain controls and dissipates 250 mW from a power supply of 5 V. The channel filtering is realized by two identical 4th Order Butterworth lowpass filters built with the g_m - C technique. They are equipped with cutoff programming and in-package trim tuning for cutoff adjustment. A programmable gain amplifier is placed in front of each filter for better joint noise and intermodulation performance. Such an arrangement allows to operate the filter at a maximum signal level improving the worst-case channel S/N by 6.5 dB. For the in-band components the worst case S/N is better than 41 dB, whereas THD and IMD are less than - 48 dB. This single-ended channel achieves PSRR of 42 dB.
Randomized experiments by government institutions and American political development

Are the methods of causal inference and, in particular, randomized controlled trials, compatible with the study of political history? While many important questions regarding political institutions and American political development cannot be answered with randomized controlled trials, scholars can and should be using the many instances of randomized experiments conducted by and within government institutions to further our understanding of institutions and political behavior. We argue that a surprising abundance of opportunities are available for scholars to utilize methods of random audits as natural experiments. Public and administrative officials have engaged in randomized interventions or audits to test for policy effects, to encourage compliance with the law, or to distribute government resources or personal risk to citizens fairly. With rare exceptions, such audits have not been leveraged by scholars interested in American political development or political history. Examples of randomized controlled trials conducted by agencies or institutions throughout US history are offered, and a historical random audit of members of the US Congress by the Federal Election Commission is highlighted. We conclude with limitations and advice on how to analyze the effects of randomized controlled trials conducted by governments. Scholars can use historical randomization to enhance causal inference and test theoretical implications, though deep knowledge of descriptive historical data and events are required to discover historical randomizations within political and legal institutions.
DeepAR: Probabilistic Forecasting with Autoregressive Recurrent Networks

Abstract Probabilistic forecasting, i.e., estimating a time series’ future probability distribution given its past, is a key enabler for optimizing business processes. In retail businesses, for example, probabilistic demand forecasts are crucial for having the right inventory available at the right time and in the right place. This paper proposes DeepAR, a methodology for producing accurate probabilistic forecasts, based on training an autoregressive recurrent neural network model on a large number of related time series. We demonstrate how the application of deep learning techniques to forecasting can overcome many of the challenges that are faced by widely-used classical approaches to the problem. By means of extensive empirical evaluations on several real-world forecasting datasets, we show that our methodology produces more accurate forecasts than other state-of-the-art methods, while requiring minimal manual work.
Treatment of severe symptomatic hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality seen in the hospital. Severe symptomatic hyponatremia is associated with grave consequences including cerebral edema, brain herniation, seizures, obtundation, coma, and respiratory arrest. However, rapid correction of chronic severe hyponatremia may lead to osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) and even death. Given the serious consequences of severe hyponatremia or its inadvertent overcorrection, it is of paramount importance for the clinician to be aware of the various scenarios in which hyponatremic patients can present and tailor the management strategies accordingly. We present here a case of severe hyponatremia of unknown duration with the presenting plasma sodium level of 95 mmol/L and use it to illustrate the various treatment strategies - proactive, reactive, or rescue therapy - along with the physiological basis to support these approaches.
Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - Comparing the Automated LUCAS-2 Device and Manual CPR.

Introduction Competency in and understanding of the factors impacting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are key to emergency medicine. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the automated LUCAS-2 device on survival to emergency department (ED) compared to manual CPR as part of the EMS response using a large data set collected in a mostly rural U.S. state. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of South Dakota's electronic Patient Care Reports (ePCR) collected from Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2015. The primary outcome measure was survival to ED. Results A mechanical piston device (LUCAS-2), was utilized in 260 (15 percent) of 1,781 total cases during this period. The odds for survival to ED were calculated and compared between manual and LUCAS-2-assisted CPR. The odds ratio for survival to ED using compressions alone was 3.94 compared to LUCAS-2 and those results persisted after adjusting for significant covariates. Discussion Despite hemodynamic benefits associated with the LUCAS-2 device in the laboratory and in other settings, this and other studies indicate that compression-only CPR outperforms automation-assisted CPR during OHCA. However, the data also suggest that enhanced training of emergency providers to improve response times and levels of expertise with the equipment may improve the outcomes associated with the LUCAS-2 and it is recommended that further training should be pursued.
Kommentare zu den keramischen Wärmemaschinen-Technologie-Programmen der Vereinigten Staaten

Die U.S. Programme, die sich mit Waermemaschinen befassen, die auf keramischen Komponenten aufgebaut sind, werden in einer kurzen Uebersicht besprochen. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird den Unternehmen der Armee auf diesem Gebiete gegeben. Die relativen Proportionen des gesamten Programmes, die generelle Struktur der einzelnen Aufgaben und die letzten Ergebnisse werden diskutiert. Auf dem Gebiete der Dauerhaftigkeitspruefung von stationaeren Gas-Turbinen ist bedeutender Fortschritt zu verzeichnen. Fuer niedrige Turbineneintrittstemperaturen (1900°F) sind tausende von Betriebsstunden angesammelt worden. Programme, die kuerzlich vom U.S. Department of Energie begonnen wurden, erfordern jedoch wesentlich hoehere Turbineneinlasstemperaturen. Eine Uebersicht ueber die Arbeiten auf den Gebieten der Dauerhaftigkeitspruefungen und der Material und Fabrikationsentwicklung zeigt, dass trotz der Fortschritte der vergangenen Jahre noch eine erhebliche Menge Arbeit getan werden muss, um die Materialien, die fuer den Dauerbetrieb bei 1370°C (2500°F) benoetigt werden, zu verbessern. Fuer den Erfolg laufender und kuerzlich begonnener Arbeiten ist die kontinuierliche Entwicklung der Material- und Entwurfstechnologie und das gruendliche Verstaendnis der Degradierungs-und Versagensmechanismen unentbehrlich.
Advancements in Low-Chill Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum L. Tissue Culture Practices

The demand for blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum L. (and hybrids) plants has significantly increased in the last 30 years due to its market expansion. In vitro propagation of sterile plants are required for commercial purposes but also for research applications such as plant transformation. Thus far, tissue culture characteristics of the tropical-adapted blueberry have been scarcely studied. In this study we present the following findings: (i) zeatin, a hormone used to promote plant growth, should be used in the 1–2 mg/L range to promote plant architecture optimal for transformation experiments; (ii) red-blue LED lights induce more production of meristems and biomass than white LED or fluorescent lights; (iii) levels as high as 1000 mg/L of decontamination agents (the antibiotics timentin and cefotaxime) can be used to eliminate Agrobacterium overgrowth without inhibiting plant growth during plant transformation experiments; (iv) kanamycin, paromomycin, and geneticin, which are widely used antibiotics to select transgene-carrying transformants, cannot be efficiently used in this system; (v) glufosinate, a widely used herbicide, shows potential to be used as an effective selectable marker for transformed plants.
Silicon in turfgrass: A review

Silicon (Si) is a ‘quasi-essential’ element that helps plants to overcome various abiotic and biotic stresses. This review summarizes research which examined application of Si in turfgrass management and its impact on plant health. Research on inclusion of Si in turfgrass has largely centered upon three areas: plant disease suppression, improvement in wear tolerance, and reductions in drought/salinity stress. Of these, the ability of Si to reduce turf diseases has received the most attention, with applications of Si often reducing various diseases (including gray leaf spot, dollar spot and brown patch) in creeping bentgrass, bermudagrass, perennial ryegrass, and St. Augustinegrass. One potential constraint to its’ effectiveness is that Si application rates for disease reduction are often quite high (rates as high as 400 to 2,000 kg Si ha–1). Responses were also variable with turfgrass species, soil type and soil Si content, and the measured response was often not great enough to produce turf of desirable quality, without additional use of fungicides. More research is needed in the area of Si and turf wear, as the use of Si to ‘harden’ turfgrass and improve wear and ball roll is widely marketed in turfgrass maintenance. Further research is also needed to identify best soil extractants for measuring soluble Si, and to calibrate this extractable Si for the determination of critical levels of soil Si across soil types and turfgrass species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Enhancing performance and user convenience of multi-biometric verification systems

A multi-biometric verification system lowers the verification errors by fusing information from multiple biometric sources. Information can be fused in parallel or serial modes. While parallel fusion gives a higher accuracy, it may suffer from a serious problem of taking a longer verification time. Serial fusion can alleviate this problem by allowing the users to submit a subset of the available biometric characteristics. Unfortunately, several studies show that serial fusion may not reach the level of accuracy of parallel fusion. In this paper, we propose a fusion framework which combines the advantages of both parallel and serial fusion. The core of the framework is a new concept of “confident reject region” which incurs nearly zero verification error. We evaluate our framework by performing experiments on two multi-biometric verification systems built with NIST biometric scores set release 1. The experimental results show that our framework achieves a lower equal error rate and takes a shorter verification time than standard parallel fusion.
Effects of Peripheral Arterial Disease Interventions on Survival: A Propensity-Score Matched Analysis Using VQI Data.

Abstract Background Atherectomy is currently being used extensively for occlusive peripheral artery disease (PAD) interventions without proven benefits. This analysis examines the effects of atherectomy and other endovascular interventions on patient survival. Objectives The aim of this study is to compare overall survival for patients undergoing PAD endovascular interventions, such as plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA), stent deployment and atherectomy. Methods Propensity score matched cohorts were constructed to conduct pairwise comparisons of overall survival in patients who underwent stenosis and occlusive PAD interventions between May 2011 and February 2020 using Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) regional registry data. Inverse probability treatment weighting method was used to compare secondary outcomes of in-hospital mortality, length of stay, complications and major amputations. Comparative analysis was performed for POBA vs stenting, POBA vs atherectomy, and stenting vs atherectomy. Results A total number of 15281 eligible cases were identified. After propensity score matching, 6094, 4032 and 3312 cases were used to compare POBA vs stent deployment, POBA vs atherectomy and stent vs atherectomy, respectively. Stent deployment had significantly better overall survival compared with POBA and atherectomy (P Conclusions Stent deployment was significantly superior to POBA and atherectomy in terms of overall survival with comparable complication and amputation rates. The natural history of PAD patients presenting with claudication is associated with an extremely low annual mortality risk. Therefore, further examinations of outcomes, especially in regards to mortality rates, both POBA and atherectomy on the management of PAD patients especially those presenting with claudication is warranted.
The Post-9/11 Federal Homeland Security Paradigm and the Adoptive Capacity of Public Administration Theory and Practice

THE POST-9/11 FEDERAL HOMELAND SECURITY PARADIGM AND THE ADOPTIVE CAPACITY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THEORY AND PRACTICE By Chaya R. Jain, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. Major Director: William W. Newmann, Ph.D., Committee Chairman Associate Professor and Director, Undergraduate Programs L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Virginia Commonwealth University The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks redefined the federal approach to disaster planning. Prior to 9/11, disaster and emergency management meant preparedness for and response to natural and man-made emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, fires, and civil discord. The post-9/11 paradigm shift, a multi-pronged approach called “homeland security” strategy, now incorporates a multitude of manand nature-made disasters to include border and transportation security; emergency preparedness, response and recovery against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats; as well as information analysis and infrastructure protection. These new priorities were communicated to the state and local governments. The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study is two-fold: to analyze the post-9/11 federal homeland security (FHS) priorities’ acceptance among the Virginia’s
Microcomputers: Applications, Problems, and Promise

Publisher Summary This chapter examines microcomputer applications. The chapter describes the present scenario and explores future advances. The chapter evaluates microcomputer applications under certain criteria of suitability or acceptability. In specific, it is noted that microcomputer is small in price, size, weight, power consumption, heat production, and probability of malfunction. The miniaturization of the microcomputer allows it to be incorporated in objects that are very small. The future of microcomputers and digital communications is interconnected; it is only through the joint success of each that the true promise of this era can be realized. The chapter considers and emphasizes on the concept of integration in context to computing and communications. In order for a computer to be most effective it should be integrated into its total environment, which includes the electronic, physical, and human spheres. There is a strong potential for microcomputers to have a revolutionary impact upon human society. The rapidity of the integration of these computers into society can be controlled by economics, human attitudes, and the characteristics of particular applications.
The Gap Within: Differences between Approaches in Qualitative Methods

Since the debate between qualitative and quantitative research began, most scholars have treated qualitative methods as a homogeneous entity. This homogenization of the "qualitative methodologist" is both harmful and unwarranted. In this article, we seek to rectify this burgeoning assumption before it becomes further entrenched in the field. Rather than a "tale of two cultures," we argue that the practice of qualitative methods within the social sciences is actually a tale of many sub-cultures, and that these dissimilarities emerge as a result of differences in ontological and epistemological assumptions. Specifically, we argue that there are four "ideal types" represented within qualitative methods: Quantitative Emulation, Eclectic small-N research, Set-theory, and Empirical Interpretivism.
MM-wave tapered slot antennas on micromachined photonic bandgap dielectrics

Dramatic improvements in the radiation properties of tapered slot antennas (TSA) integrated on high dielectric constant substrates have been achieved through micromachining techniques. A periodic hole structure was micromachined into the substrate converting it into a photonic bandgap material. The measured directivity of a 4/spl lambda//sub 0/ TSA on a 50 mil (1.27 mm) thick Duroid substrate (/spl epsiv//sub r/=10.5) was increased by 240% using micromachined holes with a hexagonal geometry. A similar improvement was observed when the process was performed at 30 GHz on a 14 mil (350 /spl mu/m) silicon wafer. We believe the technology can be scaled to 60 GHz and 94 GHz for communication systems, low-cost millimeter wave imaging arrays, and power combining systems.
Diversity Work in Organizations

The globalization of business and business practices blended with legislation and human resources requirements have transformed the face of today's workplace. In response to this, there has emerged a group of diversity practitioners who work to address these opportunities and challenges. These practitioners are often called upon to help organizations understand the impact that differences have in the boardroom and in the marketplace. Interviews with 20 exemplary external diversity practitioners were conducted and then analyzed using the Lieblich, Rubal-Mashiach, and Zilber (1998) categorical content analysis procedure. Through these conversations, the work of these practitioners was described according to its definition, by its objectives (conduct), and in its content. Study participants made an important distinction between the definition of “diversity” and that of “diversity management.” The respondents described “diversity” as a construct of variety, of difference, and of the tension that occurs as a result of differences. The respondents described “diversity management” as a process of facilitating change in a system. The diversity practitioners' work was described as resulting from the way they mix their passion for social responsibility and for meeting organizational requirements with their focus on a system, on the individuals in the system, or both.
Abstract 19488: Disparities in Care After Establishment of DNR in Female Survivors of Cardiac Arrest

Introduction: Women have poor cardiac arrest characteristics (ie. nonshockable initial rhythm, low rate of bystander CPR), have comparable rates of hospital admission after return of spontaneous circulation, but have worse rates of survival to hospital discharge. Hypothesis: Women will have higher rates of “do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders, and therefore, have less aggressive care after establishment of this order. Methods: We identified adult hospital admissions with a diagnosis of cardiac arrest (ICD-9 427.5) from the 2010 California State Inpatient Database. Demographics, procedures and hospital disposition were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to test for associations. The primary outcome was early DNR, characterized as within the first 24 hours of admission. Results: We analyzed 7,703 patients who suffered cardiac arrest and survived to hospital admission. More women had establishment of a DNR during the first 24 hours of their admission (22.5% vs. 17.8%; p Conclusion: Female survivors of cardiac arrest have a higher risk of having a DNR established within the first 24 hours of care, and this results in fewer procedures than individuals who do not have a DNR established. There are no differences in the procedures received for women vs. men after the establishment of a DNR.
An ultralow power single-chip CMOS 900 MHz receiver for wireless paging

Describes a low power CMOS wireless receiver. Its performance is summarised and its performance compared with integrated bipolar paging receivers. Some parameters have been normalized to enable meaningful comparison. This receiver's sensitivity is comparable, and its linearity is superior. Its power consumption is close to the lowest. Yet the final implementation bears little resemblance to the bipolar predecessors, and has been arrived at by uniquely CMOS considerations.
Managed care and ERISA: synopsis and case law review

Managed care organizations (MCOs) have become the predominant health care model in the United States. Through cost containment arrangements with providers, incentives for patients to pursue less costly care and reductions in the provision of unnecessary care, MCOs are more intimately involved in the delivery of health care than their former fee-for-service insurance company counterparts. However, this new role has not implied increased liability, largely because of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This article provides an overview of ERISA and a review of the important legal cases in this area, including the three most recent Supreme Court cases. Courts have struggled with interpreting ERISA, and decisions have been difficult to reconcile. Frustration with this statute and the failure of the U.S. Congress to amend it, has led to more liberal interpretations of ERISA in recent years.
The radioactive (I131 tagged) rose bengal uptake-excretion test for liver function using external gamma-ray scintillation counting techniques.

Abstract Laboratory studies in rabbits indicate the potential clinical applicability, high sensitivity, and relative safety of the radioactive rose bengal liver uptake-excretion test for determining the presence of liver and biliary tract diseases. The techniques employed in rabbits and the modification required for application in clinical medicine are described. Preliminary clinical results demonstrate that patients with some of the common diseases of the liver have fairly typical uptake-excretion patterns which are readily distinguishable from those recorded in normal individuals. Need for additional clinical investigation is stressed, and some possible advantages from further modifications in technical procedures are suggested.
Atlas reliability analysis

Key elements of the 36 MJ Atlas capacitor bank have been evaluated for individual probabilities of failure. These have been combined to estimate system reliability which is to be greater than 95% on each experimental shot. This analysis utilizes Weibull or Weibull-like distributions with increasing probability of failure with the number of shots. For transmission line insulation, a minimum thickness is obtained and for the railgaps, a method for obtaining a maintenance interval from forthcoming life tests is suggested.
Visual aftereffects and the consequences of visual system lesions on their perception in the rhesus monkey.

This study examined the consequences of visual system lesions on visual aftereffects produced by achromatic stimuli of various luminance contrasts and chromatic stimuli of various wavelength compositions. The effects of repeated exposure to such adapting stimuli were assessed using probes whose luminance contrast and wavelength composition were systematically varied using both detection and discrimination paradigms. Interocular tests revealed that both peripheral and central mechanisms contribute to the visual aftereffects produced by the adapting stimulus arrays used in this study. Contrary to the hypothesis according to which the midget system of the retina is the conveyor of visual afterimages, we found that blocking this system with lesions of parvocellular lateral geniculate nucleus, through which the midget cells make their way to the striate cortex in primates, did not eliminate the visual aftereffects. It appears therefore that the parasol system of the retina, which courses through the magnocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus to cortex, can convey the necessary signals for the generation of visual aftereffects. Lesions of areas V4 and MT did not have significant effects on the visual aftereffects studied suggesting that the central factors that contribute to the visual aftereffects occur either already in area VI or are conveyed to higher centers through regions other than areas V4 and MT.
The portrayal of older characters in Disney animated films

Abstract Stereotypes arise in children's lives from their direct experience and also from the media. Today, television and movies serve as an important socializing function supplying many children with images that can form, change, and reinforce stereotypes. Researchers have found that by the time children enter elementary school, they have already developed negative views of older adults. This research examines the representation of older people in Disney animated film in terms of their gender, race, appearance, role, personality, and physical characteristics of older characters. Disney films hold a prominent position in children's media consumption and children today come to know Disney's characters and stories just as their parents and grandparents. The findings indicate that while the majority of older characters are portrayed as positive characters, there is still a large percentage that is portrayed in a negative manner. These results help explain why children have negative feelings toward older people.
A chemical and physical characterization of alumina-supported Rh6(CO)16

The decarbonylation and carbonylation reactions of the metal cluster carbonyl Rh6(CO)16 supported on Al2O3 were investigated using volumetric gas adsorption measurements, ir spectroscopy, isotopic measurements, transmission electron microscopy, and EPR spectroscopy. Complete decarbonylation by O2 and subsequent recarbonylation to Rh6(CO)16 could be achieved at room temperature provided sufficient physically adsorbed H2O was present. A two-step reaction scheme is presented which accounts for the experimental data; it is suggested that the Rh6 cluster remained intact during these reactions. When heated, in vacuo, above 250 °C, the catalyst lost its ability to undergo the reversible carbonylation/decarbonylation cycle, and the resulting material resembled a highly dispersed conventional Rh catalyst. TEM data showed that no larger crystallites (>10 A) of Rh are formed even when heated in vacuo to 450 °C.
Empathy and justice motivation

Empathic distress is defined as an aversive feeling contingent on another's physical, emotional, or economic distress. The paper (1) summarizes a developmental scheme consisting of four stages of empathic distress; (2) suggests that causal attributions may partly transform empathic distress into sympathy, empathic anger, feeling of injustice, and guilt feeling; (3) notes the evidence that these empathic affects often serve to motivate moral behavior, and therefore that they qualify as moral motives; (4) points up limitations of these affects/motives and the need to embed them in justice principles; (5) discusses links between empathic affects/motives and principles of distributive justice/ (6) argues that Rawls' theory of justice, which excludes empathy, may nevertheless require it for the “difference principle” to influence behavior in real life; (7) hypothesizes a functional equivalence between empathy and the “veil of ignorance”; and (8) speculates that the conjunction of empathic affect and justice-principle thinking — in life and in abstract didactic contexts like Rawls' “original position” — may produce a principle having the motivational and stabilizing properties of a “hot cognition.”
An Inquiring Look at Antibiotic Residue Control

Summary The great differences in recommendations between extension services about retention of milk from treated cows; the lack of good data on the effect of minute concentrations of antibiotic residues on public health, and the inconsistency of federal laws which insist on zero tolerance but which have not been able to eliminate all commercial drugs leading to infractions of zero tolerance principles are all there for us to ponder. A solution to these problems, perhaps, lies in the bringing together of the divergent groups, followed by the formulation of uniform and realistic control proposals that are acceptable to the dairy industry and to regulatory groups.
The reaction of reference commercial nuclear waste glasses during gamma irradiation in a saturated tuff environment

The effects of gamma irradiation on groundwater and the reaction between groundwater and glass have been investigated at radiation exposure rates of 2 × 105 1 × 103 and 0 R/h. These experiments, which bound the conditions that may occur in a high-level nuclear waste repository located in tuff, have been performed using the actinide-containing glasses ATM-lc and ATM-8, and have been performed for time periods up to 278 days. The experimental results indicate that when only the repository groundwater is present, the pH of the system remains near-neutral, regardless of the radiation field, due to the buffering capacity of the solution. When glass is added to the system, the subsequent reaction is governed by the solution chemistry, which results from a complex interaction between radiolysis products, glass reaction products, and groundwater components. While no long-term reaction trends have been extracted from the current data, it is noted that there are no outstanding differences in the reaction of the glasses as measured by the release of the soluble components B, Mo, and Na, as a function of radiation exposure rate. However, there is a marked difference in the amount of U, Np, and Pu released from the glasses as a function of radiation exposure rate. This difference can be correlated with the pH values of the leachate, with more basic solutions resulting in lower actinide release.
Ultimatum Bargaining with a Group: Underestimating the Importance of the Decision Rule

Abstract The three experiments presented here modified the standard ultimatum game by having a committee of five people either accept or reject offers made by one allocator. Although the decision rule the committee used to decide whether to accept or reject the offer had a large effect on the optimal allocation strategy, we hypothesized that allocators would have difficulty incorporating the implications of the committee's decision rule into their allocation decisions. Experiment 1 found subjects to be very insensitive to decision rule. In fact, decision rule had no effect on allocation decisions. Experiment 2 made the decision rule and its implications more obvious to subjects, but allocations stilldeviated from the strategies that would have maximized winnings. Experiment 3 provided convincing evidence that the reasons for these deviations from the maximizing strategy have to do with insensitivity to the implications of the group's decision rule and with the difficulty in thinking accurately about the cognitions of others.
Dialect density in bilingual Puerto Rican Spanish-English speaking children

It is still largely unknown how the two phonological systems of bilingual children interact. In this exploratory study, we examine children’s use of dialect features to determine how their speech sound systems interact. Six monolingual Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking children and six bilingual Puerto Rican Spanish-English speaking children, ages 5–7 years, were included in the current study. Children’s single word productions were analyzed for (1) dialect density and (2) frequency of occurrence of dialect features (after Oetting & McDonald, 2002). Nonparametric statistical analyses were used to examine differences within and across language groups. Results indicated that monolinguals and bilinguals exhibited similar dialect density, but differed on the types of dialect features used. Findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of the Dual Systems Model (Paradis, 2001) of language acquisition in bilingual children.
An excimer-laser-based nanosecond thermal diffusion technique for ultra-shallow pn junction fabrication

Abstract In this paper we review the development of nanosecond thermal diffusion (NTD), a new doping technology which utilizes excimer-laser-induced heating to incorporate and diffuse impurities in silicon wafers. With thermal anneals less than 200 ns in duration, the new laser-based method permits simple, low-temperature fabrication of the ultrashallow p-n junctions necessary for deep-submicrometer MOS and bipolar transistors. In a multifaceted research effort, we are building advanced equipment, developing accurate simulation tools, and designing effective process flows to demonstrate the viability of the NTD technique for manufacturing applications. To date we have fabricated p+-n and n+-p diodes with 300 A junction depth, submicrometer PMOS transistors, and narrow-base regions in bipolar devices. Included in our results are: ultra-shallow diodes with ideality factors of 1.01–1.10 over seven decades of current, reverse leakage currents less than 10 nA/cm2 at 5 V reverse bias, and breakdown voltages in excess of 100 V, MOS devices that demonstrate excellent short channel behavior and no threshold voltage shift at submicrometer gate lengths, and bipolar transistors that incorporate base widths which range from 700 A to 1200 A and exhibit current gains between 50 and 200.
Opportunities and Challenges in the Use of Innovation Prizes as a Government Policy Instrument

Inducement prizes have been long used to stimulate individuals and groups to accomplish diverse goals. Lately, governments have become more and more interested in these prizes and sought to include this kind of incentives within the set of policy tools available to promote science, technology, and innovation. To date, however, there has been little empirically-based scientific knowledge on how to design, manage, and evaluate innovation prizes. This note discusses aspects of the prize phenomenon and the opportunities and challenges related with the use of innovation prizes as a government policy instrument. Compared to other incentive mechanisms, prizes are likely to present advantages to, for example, accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies that are held back for diverse reasons and help to leverage public money with external ideas, collaborative efforts, and the participation of diverse individuals and organizations. Still, despite these advantages and other interesting features of prizes, there are key questions that policy-makers and scholars must address to better understand this kind of incentives and further improve prize designs and implementations before governments move forward to a more widespread use of innovation prizes in science and technology policies.
Foreign exchange market regularities in a developing economy

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the ‘empirical regularities’ observed for exchange rates in the major foreign exchange markets apply equally to the case of a developing economy such as Singapore.
A Plasma Membrane Sucrose-binding Protein That Mediates Sucrose Uptake Shares Structural and Sequence Similarity with Seed Storage Proteins but Remains Functionally Distinct

Photoaffinity labeling of a soybean cotyledon membrane fraction identified a sucrose-binding protein (SBP). Subsequent studies have shown that the SBP is a unique plasma membrane protein that mediates the linear uptake of sucrose in the presence of up to 30 mM external sucrose when ectopically expressed in yeast. Analysis of the SBP-deduced amino acid sequence indicates it lacks sequence similarity with other known transport proteins. Data presented here, however, indicate that the SBP shares significant sequence and structural homology with the vicilin-like seed storage proteins that organize into homotrimers. These similarities include a repeated sequence that forms the basis of the reiterated domain structure characteristic of the vicilin-like protein family. In addition, analytical ultracentrifugation and nonreducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrate that the SBP appears to be organized into oligomeric complexes with a Mr indicative of the existence of SBP homotrimers and homodimers. The structural similarity shared by the SBP and vicilin-like proteins provides a novel framework to explore the mechanistic basis of SBP-mediated sucrose uptake. Expression of the maize Glb protein (a vicilin-like protein closely related to the SBP) in yeast demonstrates that a closely related vicilin-like protein is unable to mediate sucrose uptake. Thus, despite sequence and structural similarities shared by the SBP and the vicilin-like protein family, the SBP is functionally divergent from other members of this group.
Shared Meaning and Public Relations Writing

Public relations writing has been neglected as a research topic in professional communication. This article uses rhetorical theory from a number of fields to examine a topic of recent concern-shared, or negotiated, meaning-in relation to two very different samples of public relations writing: the public relations texts produced by political-advocacy organizations involved in the midwestern farm crisis of the 1980s and an entry from an organizational newsletter. More specifically, the article studies the role of four rhetorical element―exophoric and intertextual references, metaphors, and narratives―in generating a shared meaning. In doing so, the article develops the thesis that narratives were particularly important to this public relations writing because they provided a comprehensive , compelling frame work for belief and thus contributed greatly to the shared meaning created by writers and readers