cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cryogenic Design Considerations of Solid Argon Calorimeters and Performance of a Solid Argon Test Cell

This paper presents the cryogenic design and discusses the operation of a small test cell with a 20.6 L cryostat, built to demonstrate the feasibility of Solid Argon Calorimeters (SAC) for possible use in high energy physics experiments. In addition, design considerations for a large SAC are described. The test cell froze argon in a solid block around the particle detector assembly reaching temperatures more than 6 K below the argon freezing temperature. Aspects of the test cell design can be used for a large SAC including the use of two liquid nitrogen cooling circuits; one for condensing argon gas and controlling the argon pressure, another for freezing the argon around the detector assembly with gravity fed liquid nitrogen at 77 K. An insulated open-top box surrounding the detector assembly separated the solid argon from warmer liquid argon restricting the growth of the solid argon. A generalized look is taken at the heat transfer problems of a SAC.
Food Stamps and SNAP: History, Policy and Politics

The program known as food stamps and SNAP serves over 45 million people. After a brief incarnation in the 1930s, the Food Stamp Program was revived in the 1960s and in 1973 was authorized under the Farm Bill, allowing it to continue in part due to logrolling between urban and rural lawmakers. In the past two decades, food stamps and SNAP has endured despite massive changes to the welfare system. Three factors have allowed the program to continue without major changes: authorizing the program within the Farm Bill, the characterization of the program as a safety net of last resort and the construction of the program as benefiting the deserving poor. Each of these factors has preserved food stamps and SNAP in an often difficult policy environment.
Performance of a Small Photovoltaic Power Supply with Ni-Cd Storage

The high cost of photovoltaic panels dictates that particular care be exercized in the matching of the photovoltaic array to storage and to the load under given conditions of illumination and temperature. In the present work we have investigated the use of nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries as storage elements in a photovoltaic system. Based on daily observations of actual system performance over several months using different combinations of panel area and loading, we have developed a simulation model to describe long-term performance. This model has revealed interesting relationships between the useful yearly electrical energy yield from the system and storage capacity and loading. The yield-load curves for a photovoltaic system can form the basis for economic optimization and be used to develop convenient rules of thumb for practical design.
Rehabilitation of Sandstone Wells

"Reprinted from: Jorunal / American Water Works Association, Vol. 38, No. 1, January 1946."
Pathophysiology of ROP

It is difficult to study mechanisms involved in normal or pathologic human retinal vascular development because vascularization occurs before term birth. It is impossible to ethically study the mechanisms in human infants and observational analyses of infant eyes are also difficult since the growth of retinal vessels occurs before term birth in the human. However, studies in animals that vascularize their retinas after birth provide opportunities to learn about the effects of various stressors that premature human infants experience on the ongoing vascuarlization of retina. Nonetheless, species differences must be accounted for. This chapter will review pathophysiology in ROP based on careful analyses that account for different cell type interactions in the retina on physiologic or pathologic angiogenesis. However, most studies are in non-human species because it is in part difficult to obtain quality human fetal tissue.
Cervical Spondylodiscitis: Presentation, Timing, and Surgical Management in 59 Patients.

Background Cervical spondylodiscitis is thought to carry a significant risk for rapid neurologic deterioration with a poor response to nonsurgical management. Methods A retrospective surgical case series of the acute surgical management of cervical spondylodiscitis is reviewed to characterize the neurologic presentation and postoperative neurologic course in a relatively uncommon disease. Results 59 patients were identified (mean age 59 yrs, range 18-83yrs, SD ±13.2yrs) from a single-institution neurosurgical database. The most common level of radiographic cervical involvement was C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7, in descending order. Overall, statistically significant clinical improvement was noted following surgery (p Conclusions Cervical spondylodiscitis is a rare disease, typically presenting with preoperative motor deficits. Surgery was associated with a significant improvement in motor score by hospital discharge. Significant predictors of neurologic improvement were not observed. Prolonged symptomatic duration was correlated with a significantly lower likelihood of motor score improvement.
Extended flammability limits of n-heptane/air mixtures with cool flames

Abstract A numerical and theoretical investigation has been conducted on the flammability limits of n- heptane/air mixtures by considering the role of the cool flame chemistry. It is found that the existence of the cool flame can substantially extend the lean and rich limits of the conventional high-temperature flame. Different levels of kinetic criteria based on the controlling branching and termination reactions at low temperatures are derived and shown to agree well with the numerical results at normal and elevated pressures. Furthermore, the critical temperature of cool flame flammability limits at normal pressure is found to be around 600 K and is insensitive to pressure variations.
Building Naturalistic Emotionally Balanced Speech Corpus by Retrieving Emotional Speech from Existing Podcast Recordings

The lack of a large, natural emotional database is one of the key barriers to translate results on speech emotion recognition in controlled conditions into real-life applications. Collecting emotional databases is expensive and time demanding, which limits the size of existing corpora. Current approaches used to collect spontaneous databases tend to provide unbalanced emotional content, which is dictated by the given recording protocol (e.g., positive for colloquial conversations, negative for discussion or debates). The size and speaker diversity are also limited. This paper proposes a novel approach to effectively build a large, naturalistic emotional database with balanced emotional content, reduced cost and reduced manual labor. It relies on existing spontaneous recordings obtained from audio-sharing websites. The proposed approach combines machine learning algorithms to retrieve recordings conveying balanced emotional content with a cost effective annotation process using crowdsourcing, which make it possible to build a large scale speech emotional database. This approach provides natural emotional renditions from multiple speakers, with different channel conditions and conveying balanced emotional content that are difficult to obtain with alternative data collection protocols.
Pleistocene climatic fluctuations drive isolation and secondary contact in the red diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) in Baja California

Aim Many studies have investigated the phylogeographic history of species on the Baja California Peninsula, and they often show one or more genetic breaks that are spatially concordant among many taxa. These phylogeographic breaks are commonly attributed to vicariance as a result of geological or climatic changes, followed by secondary contact when barriers are no longer present. We use restriction-site associated DNA sequence data and a phylogeographic model selection approach to explicitly test the secondary contact hypothesis in the red diamond rattlesnake, Crotalus ruber. Location Baja California and Southern California. Methods We used phylogenetic and population clustering approaches to identify population structure. We then used coalescent methods to simultaneously estimate population parameters and test the fit of phylogeographic models to the data. We used ecological niche models to infer suitable habitat for C. ruber at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Results Crotalus ruber is composed of distinct northern and southern populations with a boundary near the town of Loreto in Baja California Sur. A model of isolation followed by secondary contact provides the best fit to the data, with both divergence and contact occurring in the Pleistocene. We also identify a genomic signature of northern range expansion in the northern population, consistent with LGM niche models showing that the northern-most portion of the range of C. ruber was not suitable habitat during the LGM. Main conclusions We provide the first explicitly model-based test of the secondary contact model in Baja California and show that populations of C. ruber were isolated before coming back into contact near Loreto, a region that shows phylogeographic breaks for other taxa. Given the timing of divergence and contact, we suggest that climatic fluctuations have driven the observed phylogeographic structure observed in C. ruber and that they may have driven similar patterns in other taxa.
Das Krankheitsbild der genuinen Hypertension. (Die Blutdruckkrankheit.)

Dem Problem des arteriellen Hochdrucks hat sich in den letzten Jahren das Interesse wissenschaftlicher Forschung und damit auch arztlicher Praxis immer mehr zugewandt. Dabei ist durch die Zunahme unserer Erkenntnis das Problem keineswegs einfacher geworden, wie die beiden Referate Durigs vom Standpunkt des Physiologen und Volhards von dem des Klinikers auf dem Kongres fur innere Medizin des Jahres 1923 mit aller Deutlichkeit gezeigt haben. Auch die Nauheimer Tagung Pfingsten 1926, unter dem gemeinsamen Thema „Hypertension“ abgehalten, stand neben vielem Neuem und Wertvollem doch immer noch unter dem Zeichen ungeloster Probleme. Vieles ist trotz mancher verheisungsvoller Ansatze zur Klarung noch dunkel, so der ganze Fragen-komplex nach den Entstehungsbedingungen eines pathologisch erhohten Blutdrucks. Es kann daher von der folgenden Darstellung neuerer Anschauungen und Erkenntnisse auch nicht erwartet werden, das sie unser Wissen um den Hochdruck durch neues Tatsachenmaterial bereichere, sie will nur sammeln und was uns in den letzten Jahren — etwa seit 1923 — gesicherter Besitz geworden ist, ordnend zusammenstellen. Dabei soll nicht so sehr von der Blutdrucksteigerung die Rede sein, die uns als Kardinalsymptom etwa einer genuinen oder sekundaren Schrumpfniere gelaufig ist, als vielmehr von der anderen, die wir mehr als ein Symptom einschatzen, die wir fur praktisch-arztliche Zwecke am Krankenbett wenigstens als ein ens morbi, eine Krankheitseinheit, auffassen durfen, etwa so wie es v. Bergmann meinte, als er den Ausdruck „Blutdruckkrankheit“ pragte.
Conduction-Cooled, Continuous Wave, Diode-Laser-Pumped, Nd:YAG Mini-Slab Laser

We have designed a low loss mounting scheme for zigzag slab lasers. This scheme includes a Teflon® AF coating to protect the slab total internal reflection (TIR) surfaces. In addition, the slab is conduction cooled through a window to isolate the water flow from the slab surfaces. This design was initially tested on a line-pumped slab laser which operated with 5 watts of output power at a pump power of 28 watts. The laser operated in a TEM00 mode at all powers. The low loss protective coating allowed this laser to operate on the lower gain line of Nd:YAG at 1.32, with 1.1 watt of output power at the same pump power. Since that time, a higher power laser has been built. This laser operates with a 20% slope efficiency, with an output power of 30 watts at a pump power of 160 watts.
Development initiatives and transboundary water politics in the Talas waterscape (Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan): Towards the Conflicting Borderlands Hydrosocial Cycle

Inspired by contemporary scholarship on political ecology, this chapter critically explores international development policies, state politics and hydrosocial transformation interactions. By focusing on borderlands, it aims to analyse how the establishment of the Chu-Talas Commission (2006), supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and other donors, has reworked the hydrosocial cycle in the Talas transboundary waterscape, shared by Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The hydrosocial cycle was analysed through a focus on the role of water institutions, their political discourses and the management of transboundary infrastructures. By advancing the notion of the Conflicting Borderlands Hydrosocial Cycle, this contribution reflects on the lack of success of development initiatives in reconfiguring hydrosocial relations. Moreover, it aims at conceptualising a borderlands setting where the hydrosocial cycle is deeply transformed and fragmented by conflicting state politics, logics and practices.
Seasonality of Decomposers

The largest portion of the biomass, once produced, is remineralized by decom posers after a shorter or longer time. In strongly seasonal climates, where large amounts of litter are produced within a short period, the activity of the decomposers is also seasonal. At the present, too little is known about the decomposers to say how they act in endogenous seasonal pulses. We summarize what is known about decomposer phenology in general, with special emphasis on the soil fungi.
Racism, Sociology of

By the end of the twentieth century, the concept of racism has been expanded to the point that it has lost any of the analytical use it may once have had. Originally racism meant the belief that the physical appearance of people and groups had a bearing on their behavior or abilities. Now, ‘racism’ is widely used as an epithet to stigmatize any belief, practice, or social policy of which one disapproves, including universal norms that do not take ‘race’ into account, if these norms result in something short of proportional representation of all groups. It is suggested that the term be dropped from the social science lexicon.
Opioid prescriptions after breast cancer surgery: Perception and reality.

e18799Background: Post-operative analgesia requirements vary, but no guidelines exist for opioid prescription (Rx) after breast surgical oncology (BSO) procedures. Given the national opioid epidemi...
Effects from structure of Metabarcode Sequences on Lossy Analysis of Microbiome Data

The advent of next-generation barcode sequencing has allowed for more high-throughput determination of which species live within an area. Relationships, which are a computed distance, are determined by inferred occupancy of the species in one location relative to another. Here we establish that two analysis methods, namely the established Operational Taxonomic Unit approach and a method commonly found in alignment, kmers, are affected by latent effects within real data. We then analyze these latent effects using simulated data and show that the presence of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (i.e., SNPs) within the data and the number of sequences obtained from each species affect inferred correlations.
Bad News Bearers: The Negative Tilt of the Financial Press

We show the financial press is more likely to cover firms with deteriorating performance. Our main tests illustrate the nature of the media's story selection process (i.e., what events to cover) and the usefulness of this selection process for forecasting firms' future earnings news and returns. We first show the media is approximately 11-to-19 percent more likely to cover a firm's earnings announcements if they convey poor performance. Similarly, in forecasting tests, greater media coverage predicts subsequently announced declines in firms' profitability and negative analyst-based earnings surprises. A simple long-short strategy betting against firms with high media coverage yields an average return of roughly 40 basis points per month, suggesting media coverage helps forecast future returns because the story selection process is titled toward novel negative events. Together, our findings highlight the usefulness of the media's coverage decisions in estimating expected returns, as well as a potential inference problem when researchers use media coverage to measure the extent of information dissemination and/or whether an information event occurred.
The Priority List: An Evidence-Based Approach to Selecting Patients for Chaplain Visits.

This paper examines three methods chaplains have historically used to identify patients they should see: rounding, referral, and protocol-based systems. Mercy Health is in the initial stages of ado...
Diagnosing periodontal and dental indicators with horizontal and vertical bitewing radiographs.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to compare information provided by the 2 orientations of bitewing radiographs, horizontal (HBW) and vertical (VBW) taken in a dental school. METHODS AND MATERIALS Radiographic records were reviewed at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) for patients showing posterior bone loss who had both HBW and VBW. 320 records were reviewed with 6 criteria: visibility of crestal bone from the distal of the cuspids to the distal of the most posterior tooth, visibility of horizontal or angular bone loss, the crestal density of bone, visibility of interproximal contact areas, visibility of the entire anatomical crown, and visibility of furcations. RESULTS Significantly higher number of VBW compared with HBW (P < 0.0001) showed the levels of alveolar bone loss (52.81% vs. 3.75%), the type of loss (angular or horizontal) (50.94% vs. 3.75%), the crestal bone density (28.75% vs. 0.63%), the contact areas (20.63% vs. 14.38%), and the furcations (43.44% vs. 1.25%). A greater number of HBW showed the entire anatomical crown compared with VBW. No significant difference was detected in the number of radiographs taken per HBW and VBW set. CONCLUSION For patients with alveolar bone loss, VBW are superior to HBW when assessing bone levels, density, morphology, tooth furcations, and evaluating interproximal contact areas for caries. It is recommended that the vertical bitewing technique be taught as a standard in dental, dental hygiene, and dental assisting schools for adult patients showing evidence of posterior interdental bone loss.
Graphical Analyses in the Regulatory Evaluation of Gene Therapy Applications

The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates gene therapies, among other products. The approval of four gene therapy products since 2017 represents a significant milestone for a new class of treatments with the potential to treat or cure diseases, particularly rare diseases, that were previously considered incurable. Several factors have contributed to the recent rapid development of gene therapies including advances in genetics to facilitate target-detection, advances in vectors, and regulatory incentives such as breakthrough therapy designation, priority review and market exclusivity. The patient population affected by a rare disease is typically small, heterogeneous and geographically dispersed. As a result, clinical trials on a rare disease have unique features in terms of study design, subject enrollment, data analyses and interpretation of study results. Given that the patient population affected is small for rare diseases, providing substantial evidence of effectiveness and evidence of safety in trials for rare disease presents challenges. In this paper, we share our experiences in the statistical review of three gene therapy products that have been approved by FDA CBER. Our motivation in writing this paper is to encourage the use of appropriate analysis strategies for other similar small trials, with a focus on data visualization strategies.
When Counting Sheep Doesn’t Help: The Effects of Cocaine on Sleep

Cocaine addiction is a fairly prevalent disorder. Cocaine is a stimulant that affects monoamine neurotransmitters. Substance-induced sleep disorders are diagnosed when sleep is significantly impaired following substance use and in the absence of other potentially causative factors. Substance-induced sleep disorders are further specified into insomnia type, daytime sleepiness type, parasomnia type, and mixed type. Sleep disturbances may be associated with poorer cognitive function and increased cravings for the drug and hence risk for relapse. In the case of cocaine, the most common sleep disturbances include acute insomnia and decreased sleep during intoxication, hypersomnia during cocaine withdrawal, and a phenomenon known as occult insomnia, associated with a subjective improvement in sleep without concomitant improvement in cognitive function. No approved treatment for cocaine-induced insomnia exists yet though several agents, discussed in this chapter, have promising effects.
Law, Morality and Everything Else: General Jurisprudence as a Branch of Meta-Normative Inquiry

The part of legal philosophy that is standardly known as general jurisprudence is often glossed as the study of “the nature of law”. General jurisprudence isn’t about the nature of any particular legal system: it is about the nature of law in general. While this description conveys the gist of general jurisprudence, taken literally it is deeply misleading. For when one looks at the leading works in general jurisprudence one finds a broad range of claims, not only metaphysical ones about the nature of law, but also including conceptual (e.g., about the concept LAW), semantic (e.g., about the meaning of legal statements), and epistemological ones (e.g., about our knowledge of the law). This paper proposes a different account of general jurisprudence, one which seeks to explain the philosophical unity of the field given the diversity of its questions. The account situates general jurisprudence within the broader philosophical project of metanormative inquiry and shows how general jurisprudence is parallel to another well-known sub-part of that project — a core subset of metaethics. The paper argues that these projects all center on the same task: explaining how a certain part of thought, talk, and reality fit into reality overall. Metalegal inquiry aims to explain how legal thought, talk, and reality fit into reality. In turn, general jurisprudence is the part of metalegal inquiry that focuses on universal legal thought and talk. The paper concludes by illustrating how this framework for characterizing general jurisprudence makes sense of both actual and possible positions within the field and provides directions for future research.
Predictors of pulmonary function at 6 years of age in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Rationale Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a major complication of premature birth and the most common cause of chronic lung disease in infancy. Previous studies have shown that children with a history of BPD have impaired lung function in childhood compared to their term counterparts. However, little is known about potential modifiable factors that alter lung function trajectories and subsequent respiratory morbidity in this population. Objectives To identify potential modifiable risk factors for the development of impaired lung function in patients with a history of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Methods Growth parameters (birth, 2 years old, 6 years old) and pulmonary function testing (6 years old) were retrospectively reviewed for subjects (n = 598) recruited from an outpatient BPD clinic who were born ≤36 weeks gestation and were ≥5 years of age. Results Of the 598 recruited subjects, 88 (14.7%) performed adequate pulmonary function testing at approximately 6 years of age. The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s global lung initiative (GLI) Z-score was -1.31 with lower values associated with Nissen fundoplication. The mean forced vital capacity GLI Z-score was -0.72 with lower values associated with higher amounts of oxygen required at time of initial hospital discharge and Nissen fundoplication. Conclusion Our study found that children with BPD have lower predicted lung function values. Although growth parameters at age 2 and 6 years did not correlate with lung function values at 6 years of age; use and greater requirement for supplemental oxygen and the presence of a Nissen fundoplication at discharge were associated with lower lung function. Prospective studies should focus on identifying modifiable risk factors that could minimize the impact of BPD on later lung function.
A CTSA One Health Alliance guidance on institutional review of veterinary clinical studies.

Harmonized institutional processes and reviewer training are vital to maintain integrity and ethical rigor of the veterinary clinical research pipeline and are a prerequisite to future work that might establish centralized or single-site ethical and regulatory review to ease initiation of multi-center studies. Funded by a CTSA One Health Alliance (COHA) pilot award, a diverse working group of veterinary clinicians and institutional representatives was convened in February 2020 to develop a guidance document detailing broadly agreed upon practices for ethical review and approval of veterinary clinical studies conducted in the United States. The working group defined key areas of need for consensus, developed a set of associated guidelines, and circulated these for review by COHA’s fifteen member institutions. Six focus areas were identified by the working group and included vital items of protocol review, composition of the review committee, post-approval monitoring and adverse event reporting, consideration of special circumstances such as satellite sites and the use of healthy veterinary subjects in research, and the informed consent process. This document outlines a broadly agreed-upon framework through which to approach vital items associated with veterinary clinical study protocol review and approval. These approaches represent current best practice in the review and approval of veterinary clinical studies, and can serve as a guidance for veterinary clinician-scientists and regulatory experts, to ensure robust and ethically conducted studies that can contribute to the advancement of both animal and human health.
Application of Nullors in Symbolic Single Port Transfer Functions Using Admittance Method

This article has two objectives. The first one is to develop an Admittance Method (AM) for active circuits, which is a replacement for the Sum of the Tree Products (STP) used for symbolic analysis of circuits. A similar but very limited method is developed earlier (1976) for passive circuits. The second objective is to replace the active devices (mainly VCCS) in circuits with nullors, and prepare them for a smooth application of the AM. The method is replacing the well-known 2-graph methodology, and it is ideal for symbolic representation of circuits, especially for low component density. The core of the AM technique is based on parallel and series (P/S) operations that continuously combines the components until it is reduced to a single element. In case the P/S operations are exhausted but the circuit is still not a single element, we leave the P/S and remove as many elements from the circuit to regenerate new P/S operations. We continue it until the circuit terminates with a single element. It is shown that the admittance of the final element represents a port transfer function (admittance) with the numerator being the determinant of the Nodal Admittance Matrix (NAM). In case of active circuits, with g m , the method works when the dependent sources are replaced with nullors.
Acute and Chronic Management of Ocular Disease in Stevens Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in the USA

Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are on a spectrum of a severe, immune-mediated, mucocutaneous disease. Ocular involvement occurs in the vast majority of cases and severe involvement can lead to corneal blindness. Treatment in the acute phase is imperative in mitigating the severity of chronic disease. Advances in acute treatment such as amniotic membrane transplantation have shown to significantly reduce the severity of chronic disease. However, AMT is not a panacea and severe chronic ocular disease can and does still occur even with aggressive acute treatment. Management of chronic disease is equally critical as timely intervention can prevent worsening of disease and preserve vision. This mini-review describes the acute and chronic findings in SJS/TEN and discusses medical and surgical management strategies.
Refining the Application of Construal Level Theory: Egocentric and Nonegocentric Psychological Distances in Climate Change Visual Communication

Recent studies have found mixed evidence about the role of psychological distance of climate change in people’s engagement with the issue. To gain more clarity in the application of construal level...
Framing the (in)sensible in Egypt’s post-2011 satirical novels in The Queue and Cats of the Eluded Year

After Egypt’s 2011 Revolution and the trials and tribulations that led to the re-ascendancy of the old regime to state control, policies of repression intensified to silence dissidents and limit th...
MiR-218 steps down to a threshold of motor impairment.

In this issue of Neuron, Amin et al. (2021) generate genetic tools to titrate down levels of miR-218, a motor neuron-enriched microRNA, in vivo. Varying miR-218 dose alters target selection, results in distinct dose-response curves reflecting 3′ UTR features, and reveals a miR-218 threshold below which motor neuron deficits emerge.
Ebstein's Anomaly, Left Ventricular Noncompaction and Gerbode-Like Defect Triad (Fetal Diagnosis and Neonatal Course).

Ebstein’s anomaly is characterized by the apical displacement of the septal and posterior leaflets of the tricuspid valve with atrialization of the right ventricle (RV). It is commonly associated with other heart defects including left ventricular noncompaction. We describe a case of prenatally diagnosed Ebstein’s anomaly in association with left ventricular noncompaction and a septal defect between the left ventricle and the atrialized portion of the RV (Gerbode-like defect). The patient underwent a modified Blalock−Taussig shunt followed by Glenn procedure because of severe RV hypoplasia and RV outflow tract obstruction. The patient tolerated both procedures and is doing clinically well in anticipation of Fontan procedure for single ventricle palliation.
Investment Agreement Claims under the 2004 Model U.S. Bit: A Challenge for State Police Powers

Countering current practice in investment treaty arbitration, the 2004 U.S. Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”) authorizes investors to raise a claim in investment treaty arbitration using direct recourse arbitration for a breach of a category of contracts called “investment agreements,” corresponding to natural resource and public service concessions and infrastructure projects. I analyze the consent clause for investment agreement claim arbitration in the context of the evolution of dispute resolution of transnational contracts between States and investors with particular emphasis on the recent controversy in investment treaty arbitration over contract claims, and discuss some of the implications for States which commit to the investment agreement provisions of the consent clause. A wide range of government administrative actions affecting foreign investment, including nondiscriminatory regulations for public welfare purposes, could become forms of compensable liability that are currently not considered to be international wrongdoing under customary international law or in contemporary BIT practice under the investment agreement arbitration consent clause. Given the theoretical problems with the judicial administration of contract claims in treaty arbitration and the potential conflict with States’ rights to regulate, particularly in the field of environmental law, I advocate a narrow construction of the investment agreement provisions to reconcile them with customary international law and investment arbitration practice. * Lecturer, Graduate School of Law, Yonsei University, Seoul. 1 Henry: Investment Agreement Claims under the 2004 Model U.S. Bit: A Chal Published by Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository, 2014 936 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. [Vol. 31:3
Toward automated large-scale information integration and discovery

The high cost of data consolidation is the key market inhibitor to the adoption of traditional information integration and data warehousing solutions. In this paper, we outline a next-generation integrated database management system that takes traditional information integration, content management, and data warehouse techniques to the next level: the system will be able to integrate a very large number of information sources and automatically construct a global business view in terms of “Universal Business Objects”. We describe techniques for discovering, unifying, and aggregating data from a large number of disparate data sources. Enabling technologies for our solution are XML, web services, caching, messaging, and portals for real-time dashboarding and reporting.
SO(10) marshals the particles

By unifying quarks and leptons into a single class, the most important properties of these particles can be summarized in a set of rules for dealing with symmetrical symbols. The appropriate mathematical structure (the 16-dimensional spinor representation of SO(10)) is formidable, but some appreciation of the scheme can be conveyed fairly simply.
Practice of Primary Elective Cesarean Upon Maternal Request in the Commonwealth of Virginia

ABSTRACT Objectives To evaluate the practice of on‐demand elective cesarean delivery in Virginia. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Hospital based. Participants Nurse managers or labor and delivery charge nurses of all 55 hospitals in Virginia that provide obstetric services. Methods Interviews were conducted with participants to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. Results 71.7% of hospitals reported that they would allow and have performed on‐demand cesarean delivery. The prevalence of this practice did not vary substantially according to hospital size and type or characteristics of providers of obstetric care. The only criterion that all hospitals mandated before allowing on‐demand cesarean delivery was that pregnancy must have completed 39 weeks of gestation. Conclusions The perception of labor and delivery managers in Virginia is that on‐demand elective cesarean delivery is a patient‐driven practice that does not appear to be influenced by hospital characteristics.
Computer‐Assisted Language Testing

Technological advancements that occurred since the late 1980s have revolutionized many aspects of human life including second language (L2) education. Language learners and teachers are now presented with a plethora of technology-enhanced instructional materials and resources varying from simple electronic dictionaries to full-fledged online language programs. The ubiquity of technology has also affected language assessment and engendered the field of computer-assisted language testing (CALT), dedicated to exploring how computers and technology can be utilized for evaluating different language skills of non-native speakers. Computers have had a significant impact on language testing. First, Web-based L2 tests have created new opportunities for measuring the L2 proficiency of multiple students anywhere in the world without a need for them to be physically present at a language test center. In addition, progress in natural language processing (NLP) techniques have made it possible for test takers to receive immediate assessment of their L2 abilities. Technological advances have also resulted in the development of more secure and reliable language tests. Nowadays one can either choose from a variety of computer-based language tests designed for different groups of users and different purposes or develop customized language assessment using available tools and applications. However, even though technology appears to have promising potential for language testing, its use is not without challenges and problems. This chapter begins with a brief introduction of the field and presents a framework for the description of computer-assisted language tests. Next, it includes a description of major existing language tests and platforms for test development and delivery. The following discussion focuses on the principal recent developments in CALT and reports on the main trends in research. The last section of the chapter concludes by outlining the key challenges and future directions for CALT. Keywords: Assessment evaluation; Assessment methods; ESL/EFL
Demand-Driven Evaluation on Dataflow Machine

G. Kahn in his IFIP's 1974 paper gave a straightforward denotational semantics of dataflow graphs by treating the history of an arc as a stream value, and a dataflow operator as a monotonic and continuous function from streams to streams. Operationally, a datadriven evaluation of dataflow graphs does not, in general, compute the total history of output arcs. We describe a program transformation technique whereby a data-driven evaluation of the transformed graph will perform exactly the same computation as a demand-driven evaluation of the original program. More importantly, the transformation technique suggests a simple denotational characterization for demand-driven evaluation. We hope this characterizationwill prove to be useful in designingefficient "lazy" interpreters.
Distributions, Statistical: Approximations

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 6, pp. 3784–3787, © 2001, Elsevier Ltd, with an updated Bibliography section supplied by the Editor.
Computing technology: frontiers and beyond

A brief history is given of the status and some recent developments in computing technology. Discussion focuses on recent advances in microelectronics, high-performance computing, adaptive/configurable computing, and user-interface hardware and software. Moore's law and the fundamental physical limits of computation are outlined. The emerging paradigms of grid computing, ubiquitous/pervasive computing and autonomic computing are described. Future computing environment and novel non-silicon computing paradigms are outlined.
Relationships between social organization and behavioral endocrinology in a monogamous mammal

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the features of reproduction, which may play important roles as determinants of population fluctuations. It is assumed that the physiological analysis of reproductive mechanisms will be more meaningful, if formulated in the context of natural history and knowledge of mating systems. For these and a number of other reasons given in the chapter, the prairie vole presents an attractive laboratory-compatible animal model for the analysis of the interaction of social and physiological substrates of behavior. Salient features of reproduction in the prairie vole seem to follow patterns observed in other monogamous mammals including taxa as diverse as canids and primates.
The evolution of marketing research

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide a domain statement for hospitality marketing research. The objectives of the study are to analyze the evolution of hospitality marketing research over the past 25 years, determine how the research paradigms changed over time in hospitality marketing relative to mainstream marketing and provide scholars with suggestions for developing and managing a marketing research agenda. The findings of this study help not only scholars involved in marketing research but also hospitality scholars across all disciplines. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of > 1,700 marketing articles is provided, with articles published in three leading hospitality journals and one mainstream marketing journal over a 25-year period. Additionally, the authors consulted leading hospitality scholars to solicit their views and suggestions on hospitality marketing research. Findings – The results show the evolution of hospitality marketing over a 25-year period. This provides ...
Video games challenge and motivate data structure students

At North Carolina Central University, our computer science majors complete one year of introductory programming before tackling more advanced data structures such as queues, stacks, heaps and graphs. Because of their lack of proficiency, the kinds of programs they have written in the past have been limited to simple problems such as computing grade point averages, and calculating the value of fictional inventories - pretty dry stuff. We set out to motivate our second year students with challenging, but fun programming assignments. Our work resulted in three video game projects that use many of the fundamental data structures, but are straightforward to implement in about two weeks, by a prepared student.
The Toxicokinetics of 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Mammalian Systems

(1982). The Toxicokinetics of 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Mammalian Systems. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 355-385.
Do monkeys choose to choose

Both empirical and anecdotal evidence supports the idea that choice is preferred by humans. Previous research has demonstrated that this preference extends to nonhuman animals, but it remains largely unknown whether animals will actively seek out or prefer opportunities to choose. Here we explored the issue of whether capuchin and rhesus monkeys choose to choose. We used a modified version of the SELECT task—a computer program in which monkeys can choose the order of completion of various psychomotor and cognitive tasks. In the present experiments, each trial began with a choice between two icons, one of which allowed the monkey to select the order of task completion, and the other of which led to the assignment of a task order by the computer. In either case, subjects still had to complete the same number of tasks and the same number of task trials. The tasks were relatively easy, and the monkeys responded correctly on most trials. Thus, global reinforcement rates were approximately equated across conditions. The only difference was whether the monkey chose the task order or it was assigned, thus isolating the act of choosing. Given sufficient experience with the task icons, all monkeys showed a significant preference for choice when the alternative was a randomly assigned order of tasks. To a lesser extent, some of the monkeys maintained a preference for choice over a preferred, but computer-assigned, task order that was yoked to their own previous choice selection. The results indicated that monkeys prefer to choose when all other aspects of the task are equated.
Cassini's Scientist for a Day program

Abstract NASA's Cassini project has conducted a series of innovative “Scientist for a Day” outreach sessions with great success. Individual students and classrooms are presented, via the Cassini web site, with a selection of images that could be taken by the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. Student essays are submitted indicating their preferred image, along with a detailed description of why that image was selected, often drawing heavily from material found elsewhere in the Cassini web resources. Winners from different age categories are chosen, and the selected images are sequenced. Very soon after the images reach the ground, winning classrooms are invited to participate via tele- and video-con with key Cassini scientists and engineers, where interactive discussions take place. This program has been very successful and is considered a key outreach highlight of Cassini and JPL in general. It reaches a significant number of students, involves them directly in image planning, and engages them in a highly interactive and inspirational environment requiring detailed study and creative thought.
Diminished Pancreatic β-Cell Mass in Securin-Null Mice Is Caused by β-Cell Apoptosis and Senescence

Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) encodes a securin protein critical in regulating chromosome separation. PTTG-null (PTTG−/−) mice exhibit pancreatic β-cell hypoplasia and insulinopenic diabetes. We tested whether PTTG deletion causes β-cell senescence, resulting in diminished β-cell mass. We examined β-cell mass, proliferation, apoptosis, neogenesis, cell size, and senescence in PTTG−/− and WT mice from embryo to young adulthood before diabetes is evident. The roles of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and DNA damage in the pathogenesis of diabetes in PTTG−/− mice were also addressed. Relative β-cell mass in PTTG−/− mice began to decrease at 2–3 wk, whereas β-cell proliferation rate was initially normal but decreased in PTTG−/− mice beginning at 2 months. Apoptosis was also much more evident in PTTG−/− mice. At 1 month, β-cell neogenesis was robust in wild-type mice but was absent in PTTG−/− mice. In addition, the size of β-cells became larger and macronuclei were prominent in PTTG−/− animals. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase was also active in PTTG−/− β-cells at 1 month. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 was progressively up-regulated in PTTG−/− islets, and p21 deletion partially rescued PTTG−/− mice from development of diabetes. mRNA array showed that DNA damage-associated genes were activated in PTTG−/− islets. We conclude that β-cell apoptosis and senescence contribute to the diminished β-cell mass in PTTG−/− mice, likely secondary to DNA damage. Our results also suggest that ductal progenitor β-cells are exhausted by excessive neogenesis induced by apoptosis in PTTG−/− mice.
Soybean cultural practices: effects on populations of green cloverworm, velvetbean caterpillar, loopers and Heliothis complex.

Insects were monitored in soybean of early-, medium-, and late-maturity groups planted April through July in several row spacings at four locations in Mississippi for 1 to 3 years. Nondamaging populations of the green c1overworm, Plathypena scabra (F.), were present from June through September, and damaging populations were observed at one location after a drought. Green cloverworm populations were generally higher in late plantings, in late-maturing cultivars, and in narrow-row plantings. Damaging populations of the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner, occurred in August or September. In 1976 and 1978 only the June and July plantings were seriously defoliated, but in 1977 all but the early-maturing April and May plantings were seriously defoliated. Velvetbean caterpillar populations were highest in late plantings, late-maturing cultivars, and in narrow-row plantings. Populations of loopers, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker) and Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), were generally less than 1/m2, but populations up to 3.2/m2 occurred at one location after insecticide treatment. Effects of planting date, cultivar, and row spacing were not consistent. Populations of the Heliothis complex larvae were generally less than 0.05/m2, but populations as high as 3.74/m2 were observed in blooming soybean. Populations of the Heliothis larvae were about equal in narrow- and wide-row plantings. In wide-row plantings, populations of Heliothis larvae averaged 0.98/m2 in closed canopy and 0.24/m2 in open canopy soybean.
Decency Means More than “Always Low Prices”: A Comparison of Costco to Wal-Mart's Sam's Club

Executive Overview Wal-Mart's emphasis on “Always low prices. Always” has made it the largest retail operation in history. However, this unrelenting mission has also created a way of doing business that draws substantial criticism regarding the company's employment practices, relationships with suppliers, and the company's impact on local economies. This paper focuses on a company that delivers low prices to consumers, but in a fundamentally different way than its competitor, Wal-Mart. That company is warehouse-retailer Costco. In the following sections we will begin by providing some background on the company, including its history, its business model, its ethical principles, core beliefs, and values. Then we will consider some typical Wall Street analysts' assessments of this approach, followed by a systematic comparison of the financial performance of Costco with that of Sam's Club, a warehouse retailer that is part of Wal-Mart.