cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rats: Hypertension and sympathoexcitation driven by increased NaCl levels

Using deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)–salt rats, we tested the hypothesis that increased plasma NaCl concentration supports sympathetic activity and blood pressure (BP) during salt-sensitive hypertension. One day before experimentation, femoral catheters and an electrode for measurement of lumbar sympathetic nerve activity (LSNA) probe were surgically positioned in DOCA-salt and Sham-salt rats. DOCA-salt rats exhibited increased ( P 1 vasopressin blockade (Manning compound, 5 μg IV), infusion (0.12 mL/min) of 5% dextrose in water decreased NaCl concentrations, BP (−28±7 mm Hg), and LSNA (−39±5%) in DOCA-salt but not Sham-salt rats. To explain how such small (≈2%) increases in plasma NaCl could underlie the hypertension, we hypothesized that DOCA augments the pressor and sympathoexcitatory actions of NaCl. To address this hypothesis, animals with equally elevated NaCl but no DOCA (Sham-1.7% salt) and animals with increased DOCA but normal NaCl levels (DOCA-water) were prepared and administered the infusion of 5% dextrose in water. BP and LSNA were not altered in DOCA-water rats. In the Sham-1.7% salt rats, BP fell ( P
Nonhelical Acquisition CT Angiogram after Aneurysmal Clipping: In Vitro Testing Shows Diminished Artifact

Imaging of the cerebral vessels with use of CT angiogram (CTA) after placement of aneurysmal clips is often limited by clip artifacts. We used a phantom to demonstrate a visible reduction in metal artifact when using the axial technique, compared with the usual CTA helical acquisition. This approach may have some advantage when used for CTA with 64-section scanners in the specific circumstance of immediate postoperative imaging after placement of cerebral aneurysmal clips.
An update on microRNAs as colorectal cancer biomarkers: where are we and what's next?

miRNAs are abundant classes of small, endogenous non-coding RNAs, which inhibit the expression of target gene via post-transcriptional regulation. In addition to an important functional role miRNAs play in carcinogenesis, emerging evidence has demonstrated their feasibility as robust cancer biomarkers. In particular, the recent discovery of miRNAs in the body fluids provides an attractive opportunity for the development of non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and predictive response to cancer therapy. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and accumulating data provides a compelling case for the potential exploitation of miRNAs as CRC-biomarkers. This review summarizes the current state of literature in the field, focusing on the clinical relevance of miRNAs as potential biomarkers for CRC treatment and discussing the forthcoming challenges to further advance this exciting field of ‘academic research’ into ‘bedside clinical care’ of patients suffering from CRC.
Experimental Determination of the Frequency Ratio of Optical Harmonics

The frequency ratio of the fundamental 6940-A radiation from a pulsed ruby optical maser and the second harmonic generated in piezoelectric crystals has been investigated by comparing the wavelengths of the first and second harmonics with known thorium spectral lines on photographs taken with a 15 000 lines-per-inch grating spectrometer. Two piezoelectric crystals, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and quartz, and one ferroelectric crystal, triglycine sulfate, were used to generate the second harmonic. In each case the generated second harmonic is twice the frequency of the primary radiation to within the limits imposed by the linewidth of the primary radiation and the resolution of the instrument. These restrictions limit the accuracy of the experiment to ±3 parts per million (ppm) for KDP, ±6 ppm for quartz, and ±4 ppm for TGS. Some spectral characteristics of high-energy pulses from the ruby optical maser as they might affect this experiment are given.
Ion Implantation and Annealing of Crystalline Oxides

The crystallization of amorphous surface layers produced by ion implantation of single-crystal α-Al2O3 and CaTiO3 are discussed. During annealing, amorphous Al2O3 converts first to the γ-phase. The crystallized γ then transforms to the α-phase by the motion of a well-defined planar interface. The temperature dependence of the velocity of the γ/α interface has been measured and is characterized by an activation energy of ∼3.6 eV. In CaTiO3, crystallization of the amorphous phase takes place by solid-phase epitaxy. The velocity of the amorphous/crystal interface is characterized by an activation energy of 1.3 eV.
On the fairness delay trade-off in wireless packet scheduling

We consider the problem of downlink packet scheduling in a time-slotted wireless communication system when a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) re-transmission strategy is adopted. User level fairness and average delay per packet are two important metrics used for evaluating the performance of a scheduling policy. However, these are two competing objectives. A good scheduling policy must be flexible enough so that it can be tuned to trade-off one objective for another. We propose one such scheduling policy characterized by a single parameter that can be varied to capture points on the trade-off curve. Our approach is to study two reduced versions of the original problem and construct delay and fairness optimal scheduling policies based on the optimal solutions to these reduced problems. We then leverage intuition from these optimal policies to design a heuristic scheduler that captures the fairness v/s delay trade-off. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed scheduler over benchmark schedulers like round-robin (RR), maximum SNR or C/I and proportional fair (PF) via link level simulations. The proposed policy offers a superior fairness and delay performance and is also low complexity from an implementation perspective
Rapid Thermal Annealing of Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon (a-C:H) Films

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films were deposited on silicon and quartz substrates by a 30 kHz plasma discharge technique using methane. Rapid thermal processing of the films was accomplished in nitrogen gas using tungsten halogen light. The rapid thermal processing was done at several fixed temperatures (up to 600 C), as a function of time (up to 1800 sec). The films were characterized by optical absorption and by ellipsometry in the near UV and the visible. The bandgap, estimated from extrapolation of the linear part of a Tauc plot, decreases both with the annealing temperature and the annealing time, with the temperature dependence being the dominating factor. The density of states parameter increases up to 25 percent and the refractive index changes up to 20 percent with temperature increase. Possible explanations of the mechanisms involved in these processes are discussed.
Bestimmungen der Kräfte im Triebwerk der Einzylindermaschine. Anwendung auf Mehrzylindermaschinen

In jeder Kolbenkraftmaschine kommen zwei Arten von Kraften zur Auswirkung: a) Die primaren Krafte sind diejenigen, die vom Gas- oder Dampfdruck auf den Kolben herruhren. b) Die sekundaren Krafte sind jene, die durch die Tragheitswirkung der in Bewegung befindlichen Triebwerksteile hervorgerufen werden.
Ethical issues for human nutrition in the context of global food security and sustainable development

Abstract One of the great dilemmas of our time is how we will secure and provide plentiful, healthy and nutritious food for all, do so in an environmentally sustainable and safe manner, while addressing the multiple burdens of undernutrition, overweight and obesity and micronutrient deficiencies. The food security directive focuses predominantly on ensuring the world is producing and consuming enough calories in bulk to reduce hunger and safeguard survival, as opposed to a goal that includes nutrition for well-being and development. To advance the dialogue, it is necessary to consider the ethical questions that swirl around integrating nutrition into the food security paradigm. The health, environmental, economic, and societal costs will be substantial if we do not change our course of action when it comes to feeding the world. Yet solving this problem is riddled with ethical and moral implications. Key ethical issues to consider include how to make societal decisions and define values about food security that impact nutrition outcomes, and the ethical trade-offs between environmental sustainability and ensuring that individual dietary and nutritional needs are met. Such complex issues underscore the need to articulate the broader ethical landscape of the nutrition debate within global food security.
Time Resource Networks

The problem of scheduling under resource constraints is widely applicable. One prominent example is power management, in which we have a limited continuous supply of power but must schedule a number of power-consuming tasks. Such problems feature tightly coupled continuous resource constraints and continuous temporal constraints. We address such problems by introducing the Time Resource Network (TRN), an encoding for resource-constrained scheduling problems. The definition allows temporal specifications using a general family of representations derived from the Simple Temporal network, including the Simple Temporal Network with Uncertainty, and the probabilistic Simple Temporal Network (Fang et al. (2014)). We propose two algorithms for determining the consistency of a TRN: one based on Mixed Integer Programing and the other one based on Constraint Programming, which we evaluate on scheduling problems with Simple Temporal Constraints and Probabilistic Temporal Constraints.
Albanian Local Government Finance on the Eve of Territorial Consolidation

This paper reviews local government finances in Albania on the eve of the government’s plan to decrease the number of municipalities from 373 to 61. The paper argues that without changes in the current intergovernmental finance system, territorial consolidation is unlikely to be accompanied by improved service delivery. This is because Albanian local governments are underfunded and receive less revenue than their counterparts in the region measured both as a percentage of total public revenues and of GDP. The current intergovernmental finance regime is also “over-equalizing” and is depriving the country’s larger jurisdictions -- particularly Tirana -- of the resources they need to build network infrastructure. These problems cannot be resolved by the efficiency gains that should come from consolidation. Nor is better property tax collection fix likely to transform the situation. Instead, the national government needs to provide municipalities with new grants and transfers. One possibility here is to introduce income tax sharing, a reform that would also make it possible to anchor the equalization system in an objective measure of relative wealth. Eventually, income tax shares could be transformed into local surcharges.
Reactions of Resin Formers in Dry Bonding Rubber Systems

Abstract An unusual two step viscosity change was observed during the Mooney scorch test of some dry bonding stocks of a NR/SBR blend. This behavior was found to involve the resin formation and resin crosslinking of rubber. The effects of the resin formers, hexamethylenetetramine as the methylene donor and resorcinol, m-aminophenol or m-phenylenediamine as the acceptor, were analyzed by the application of a prevulcanization inhibitor. The merits of m-phenylenediamine as an adhesion promoter are described.
A Principal Ideal Ring that is not a Euclidean Ring

(1973). A Principal Ideal Ring that is not a Euclidean Ring. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 34-38.
Backscattering of Nonlinear Acoustic Impulses from Buried Inclusions in Granular Beds

Nonlinear acoustic impulses travel as weakly dispersive bundles of energy through 3-D, dry, granular assemblies. Such impulses can therefore be exploited to probe for buried objects in 3-D granular assemblies. In this article, we shall discuss the details of propagation of an impulse generated at the surface of a granular bed. The role of polydispersity will be briefly addressed. The calculations suggest that backscattered data, as received at predetermined locations at the surface, may be helpful in reconstructing an approximate image of the buried inclusion, as viewed from above.
A Nonlinear Viscous Model for Sn-Whisker Growth

Based on the mechanism of the grain boundary fluid flow, a nonlinear viscous model for the growth of Sn-whiskers is proposed. This model consists of two units, one with a stress exponent of one and one with a stress exponent of n −1. By letting one of the constants be zero in the model, the constitutive relationship reduces to a linear flow relation or a power–law relation, representing the flow behavior of various metals. Closed-form solutions for the growth behavior of a whisker are derived, which can be used to predict the whisker growth and the stress evolution.
Introducing Interprofessional Education in Nursing Curricula

Abstract Promoting positive outcomes is a primary focus of providers when treating patients in all health care settings. Interprofessional education is an integral and necessary practice that must take place to ensure that positive outcomes are achieved and to promote patient safety. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the Institute of Medicine, and the National League of Nursing have prioritized interprofessional collaboration as a crucial component of education necessary to improve the quality of health care in the United States. Curricular development in nursing is a principle setting where interprofessional education can be developed.
Gender Differences in Risk Markers for Perpetration of Physical Partner Violence: Results from a Meta-Analytic Review

There is a lack of consensus on whether the use of intimate partner violence (IPV) is distinctly different between men and women, or if men and women share similar risk markers for perpetrating IPV. In this study, we compared 60 different risk markers for IPV perpetration for men and women using a meta-analysis. We found three out of 60 risk markers significantly differed between men and women. Our results suggest that there are more similarities between men and women than there are differences in risk markers for IPV perpetration.
Aboveground biomass of naturally regenerated and replanted semi-tropical shrublands derived from aerial imagery

Rapid assessment of plant size and population densities is important for estimating biomass over large areas, but it has often been limited by methods requiring intensive labor and resources. In this study, we demonstrate how shrub biomass can be estimated from fine-grained aerial photographs for a large area (23,000 ha) located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA. Over the past 30 years, refuge land management has included the replanting of native shrubs to promote the restoration of wildlife habitat and carbon sequestration. To assess shrub regrowth, we developed a method to estimate individual shrub canopy areas from digital aerial imagery that was used to calculate biomass from allometric equations. The accuracy of the automated delineation of individual canopies was 79 % when compared to that of hand-digitized shrub canopies. When applied to photographs across the refuge, we found higher shrub densities for older naturally regenerated sites (174 individuals ha−1) compared to those of younger replanted sites (156 individuals ha−1). In contrast, naturally regenerated sites had less biomass (3.43 Mg ha−1) than replanted sites (4.78 Mg ha−1) indicating that shrubland restored for habitat conservation has the potential to sequester more carbon in a shorter period. There was an inverse relationship between aridity and aboveground shrub biomass for replanted sites in the drier west (p < 0.05). We found a difference in predicted biomass among shrub species in replanted sites that was also associated with climate (p < 0.05). We conclude that the canopy of individual shrubs detected from remote sensing can be used to estimate and monitor vegetation biomass over large areas across environmental gradients.
Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease by Boosted Neural Networks

A boosting by filtering technique for neural network systems with back propagation together with a majority voting scheme is presented in this paper. Previous research with regards to predict the presence of Parkinson’s Disease has shown accuracy rates up to 92.9% [1] but it comes with a cost of reduced prediction accuracy of the minority class. The designed neural network system boosted by filtering in this article presents a significant increase of robustness and it is shown that by majority voting of the parallel networks, recognition rates reach to > 90 in a imbalanced 3:1 imbalanced class distribution Parkinson’s Disease data set.
Understanding Cleaner Efficiency for BARC (“Bottom Anti-Reflective Coating”) After Plasma Etch in Dual Damascene Structures Through the Practical Use of Molecular Modeling Trends

This work describes the surface energy and reactivity modeling of the Honeywell cleaner technology that has demonstrated an inorganic Bottom Anti-Reflective Coating removal solution with significantly higher removal rates and etching selectivity compared to currently available products. We will show how molecular modeling helped to influence the development of the cleaner formulation and the impact on experiments.
Control of immune cell homeostasis and function by lncRNAs

The immune system is composed of diverse cell types that coordinate responses to infection and maintain tissue homeostasis. In each of these cells, extracellular cues determine highly specific epigenetic landscapes and transcriptional profiles to promote immunity while maintaining homeostasis. New evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in epigenetic and transcriptional regulation in mammals. Thus, lncRNAs have emerged as key regulatory molecules of immune cell gene expression programs in response to microbial and tissue-derived cues. We review here how lncRNAs control the function and homeostasis of cell populations during immune responses, emphasizing the diverse molecular mechanisms by which lncRNAs tune highly contextualized transcriptional programs. In addition, we discuss the new challenges faced in interrogating lncRNA mechanisms and function in the immune system.
Uptake, Accumulation, and in Planta Distribution of Coexisting Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Cadmium in Glycine max (L.) Merr. .

Agricultural soils are likely to be polluted by both conventional and emerging contaminants at the same time. Understanding the interactions of coexisting engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and trace elements (a common source of abiotic stress) is critical to gaining insights into the accumulation of these two groups of chemicals by plants. The objectives of this study were to determine the uptake and accumulation of coexisting ENPs and trace elements by soybeans and to gain insights into the physiological mechanisms resulting in different plant accumulation of these materials. The combinations of three cadmium levels (0 [control] and 0.25 and 1 milligrams per kilogram of dry soil) and two CeO2 NPs concentrations (0 [control] and 500 milligrams per kilogram of dry soil) were investigated. Measurements of the plant biomass and physiological parameters indicated that CeO2 NPs led to higher variable fluorescence to maximum fluorescence ratio, suggesting that CeO2 NPs enhanced the plant light energy use efficien...
Trusting in Jesus

The New Testament exhorts people not to faith in the modern sense but to trust or have confidence in Jesus’ powers and hence in his divinity. Such trust may involve love or affection, but it is more like a disposition than an emotion; it is cognitive in nature and based on a mutual recognition of trustworthiness.
Voice of the Clergy Wife: A Phenomenological Study:

The clergy wife is an understudied and silenced population. While the minister himself is well represented in the literature concerning burnout, psychological distress, and diminishing years of service, his wife remains unheard and desperate for her needs to be understood and addressed. The lived experience of nine Wesleyan pastors' wives was investigated using a qualitative methodology and phenomenological approach. Themes arose surrounding both protective factors (faith, calling, support) and stressors (performance expectations and loss of identity, loneliness, low income, sacrifice of time). The theoretical underpinnings of Kanter's (1977) Work-Family Agenda are applied in relation to the occupation of one family member affecting the entire family system. Kanter claims work and family as mutually exclusive entities is a myth. Her framework, including five concepts (rewards/resources, absorption, time/timing, occupational cultures/worldview, emotional climate), allowed for exploration of the results. Interestingly, the stressors in the role of pastor's wife far outweighed the protective factors; yet, clergy wives remain positive and even willing to continue apparent hardships. This is discussed and future research is suggested.
Short Drug-Light Intervals Improve Liposomal Chemophototherapy in Mice Bearing MIA PaCa-2 Xenografts.

Chemophototherapy (CPT) is an emerging tumor treatment that combines phototherapy and chemotherapy. Long-circulating (LC) liposomes can stably incorporate 2 mol % porphyrin-phospholipid (PoP) in the bilayer and load doxorubicin (Dox) to generate LC-Dox-PoP liposomes, for single-agent CPT. Following intravenous administration to mice, LC-Dox-PoP liposomes (2 mg/kg Dox) circulated with similar blood concentration ranges produced by a typical human clinical dose of DOXIL (50 mg/m2 Dox). This dosing approach aims to achieve physiologically relevant Dox and PoP concentrations as well as CPT vascular responses in mice bearing subcutaneous human pancreatic MIA PaCa-2 xenografts. Phototreatment with 2 mg/kg LC-Dox-PoP induced vascular permeabilization, leading to a 12.5-fold increase in Dox tumor influx estimated by a pharmacokinetic model, based on experimental data. Shorter drug–light intervals (0.5–3 h) led to greater tumoral drug deposition and improved treatment outcomes, compared to longer drug–light interv...
Resolving the Energy of γ-Ray Photons with MAPbI3 Single Crystals

Halide perovskites exhibit remarkably high-performance as semiconductors compared to conventional materials because of an unusually favorable combination of optoelectronic properties. We demonstrate here that solution-grown single-crystals of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3), implemented in a Schottky-type device design, can produce outstanding hard radiation detectors with high spectral response and low dark current for the first time. Schottky-type MAPbI3 detector achieves an excellent energy resolution of 6.8% for 57Co 122 keV gamma ray. The high detector performance is achieved due to the balanced charge collection efficiency for both electrons and holes, reflected in the high mobility-lifetime (μτ) products of both carriers (∼0.8 × 10–3 cm2/V). MAPbI3 also demonstrates remarkably long electron and hole lifetimes (τe = 10 μs and τh = 17 μs) and impressive operational stability over time. Furthermore, dual-source detection of α particle (5.5 MeV) and γ-ray (59.5 keV) from the 241...
Congressional districts: How “equal” are they?

Congressional redistricting is the process of delineating boundaries for districts in which voters elect members to the United States (U.S.) House of Representatives. Currently, state legislative bodies and committees may consider up to eight criteria when determining the boundaries of districts and this paper focuses on one of those criteria, equal population. Congressional districts (CDs) are drawn to provide quality representation for a large population and are often redrawn due to changes in population reflected by the decennial census. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that equal population refers to the total population of a state, rather than any subgroups (e.g. registered voters, voting eligible population) but did not dictate that states could not evenly distribute any subgroups as well. This paper discusses how eligible voters may be defined and their distributions in each state for the 113th Congress. States with a large proportion of children or prisoners were expected to have CDs with eligible voting populations deviated from the equal population counts, but the results show that populations of children and prisoners were not significant factors related to the deviations from equal population counts at the state level. However, the changes in population between 2000 and 2010, and the non-citizen and Hispanic populations were strongly and significantly associated with the deviations from the ideals.
Firm Motivations for Shareholder Co-creation:

AbstractThe present article, from corporate leader’s points of view, explores and provides a framework for the reasons a firm will engage and co-create with shareholders. Although the practice of f...
The axes of random infinitesimal rotations and the propagation of orientation uncertainty

Abstract Perception systems can measure the orientation of a solid 3D object; however, their measurements will contain some uncertainties. In many robotic applications, it is important to propagate the orientation uncertainties of a rigid object onto the uncertainties of specific points on its surface. The orientation uncertainty can be reported as a 3 × 3 covariance matrix. We show that the off-diagonal elements of this matrix provide important clues about the angular uncertainties of points on the object’s surface. Specifically, large off-diagonal elements correspond to a highly concentrated distribution of axes of random infinitesimal rotations which causes large variability in the angular uncertainties of surface points. In particular, experimental data indicate that the ratio of maximum to minimum angular uncertainties can exceed three. In contrast, small off-diagonal elements correspond to a uniform distribution of axes which causes the angular uncertainty of all points on the object’s surface to be almost constant.
Measurement of EJ-228 plastic scintillator proton light output using a coincident neutron scatter technique

Abstract The light output function of the fast plastic scintillator EJ-228 was measured using a coincident neutron scatter measurement system and quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams produced by the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The measurement of scintillator light output using neutron scatter kinematics provides a model-independent determination of the light output function with quantifiable sources of uncertainty. Consequently, light output measurements performed using this method have a key advantage compared to other techniques: the characterization of the scintillating material depends only on the material itself and not on the size of the detector. This advantage is realized if the light output is defined as the absolute neutron light output relative to the absolute electron light output and two conditions are met: (1) the scintillator volume is fully illuminated and edge effects can be neglected during energy calibration measurements and light output measurements, and (2) the light attenuation length for scintillation photons in the material is long enough that the lowest energy interaction of interest produces a statistically significant number of scintillation photons for an interaction at any position in the scintillator volume. Commonly implemented measurement and analysis techniques for light output characterizations are explored and evidence of bias is provided for characterizations performed by analyzing the full-energy deposition edge of a light output spectrum.
Nonuniform growth and surface friction determine bacterial biofilm morphology on soft substrates

During development, organisms acquire three-dimensional (3D) shapes with important physiological consequences. While basic mechanisms underlying morphogenesis are known in eukaryotes, it is often difficult to manipulate them in vivo. To circumvent this issue, here we present a study of developing Vibrio cholerae biofilms grown on agar substrates in which the spatiotemporal morphological patterns were altered by varying the agar concentration. Expanding biofilms are initially flat but later undergo a mechanical instability and become wrinkled. To gain mechanistic insights into this dynamic pattern-formation process, we developed a model that considers diffusion of nutrients and their uptake by bacteria, bacterial growth/biofilm matrix production, mechanical deformation of both the biofilm and the substrate, and the friction between them. Our model shows quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of biofilm expansion dynamics, and it accurately predicts two distinct spatiotemporal patterns observed in the experiments-the wrinkles initially appear either in the peripheral region and propagate inward (soft substrate/low friction) or in the central region and propagate outward (stiff substrate/high friction). Our results, which establish that nonuniform growth and friction are fundamental determinants of stress anisotropy and hence biofilm morphology, are broadly applicable to bacterial biofilms with similar morphologies and also provide insight into how other bacterial biofilms form distinct wrinkle patterns. We discuss the implications of forming undulated biofilm morphologies, which may enhance the availability of nutrients and signaling molecules and serve as a "bet hedging" strategy.
Aspirin: A Suicide Inhibitor of Carbonic Anhydrase II

Carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) is a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the reversible hydration/dehydration of CO2/HCO3-. In addition, CAII is attributed to other catalytic reactions, including esterase activity. Aspirin (acetyl-salicylic acid), an everyday over-the-counter drug, has both ester and carboxylic acid moieties. Recently, compounds with a carboxylic acid group have been shown to inhibit CAII. Hence, we hypothesized that Aspirin could act as a substrate for esterase activity, and the product salicylic acid (SA), an inhibitor of CAII. Here, we present the crystal structure of CAII in complex with SA, a product of CAII crystals pre-soaked with Aspirin, to 1.35A resolution. In addition, we provide kinetic data to support the observation that CAII converts Aspirin to its deacetylated form, SA. This data may also explain the short half-life of Aspirin, with CAII so abundant in blood, and that Aspirin could act as a suicide inhibitor of CAII.
UNITARY SYMMETRY AND THE K$Yields$2$pi$ DECAY

It is shown that all the $K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi}$ decays are forbidden in the limit of complete S${\mathrm{U}}_{3}$ symmetry of strong interactions, provided only (a) that both $K$ and $\ensuremath{\pi}$ mesons belong to the same octet and (b) that the nonleptonic decay interactions belong to the $\mathrm{CP}$-invariant representation (the irreducible representation whose $Y=Q=0$ members are $\mathrm{CP}$-invariant). This is more general than the conclusion of Cabibbo and Gell-Mann. In their proof, the nonleptonic decay Lagrangian is assumed to belong to a $\mathrm{CP}$-invariant octet. This result suggests that the observed large decay rate of ${{K}_{1}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi}$ decay is due to the symmetry-breaking interactions and its large $Q$ value. Finally, a brief comment is given concerning the $({{K}_{1}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi})\ensuremath{-}({K}^{+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi})$ puzzle in the $\ensuremath{\Delta}I=\frac{1}{2}$ rule. It is shown that, if one assumes the $\ensuremath{\Delta}I=\frac{1}{2}$ rule in addition to the above hypothesis (b), the ${K}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2\ensuremath{\pi}$ decay can occur only through the electromagnetic corrections and its effective decay Lagrangian should belong to the representations 10 and $\overline{1}\overline{0}$.
Characterization of hydrogel structural damping

Abstract Gels are composed of crosslinked polymer networks and solvent molecules imbibed into the networks. Gels are both ubiquitous in nature and important engineering materials widely used in many applications. Due to their biocompatibility, stimuli-responsiveness, and compliance, gels gain an edge over traditional materials, such as metals and composites in many modern engineering applications. In the past, the static and kinetic properties of gels have been widely studied. However, the dynamic properties of gels, particularly their structural damping, remain largely unknown even though gels are often under dynamic conditions in various applications. The literature of soft materials is lacking both damping data for hydrogels and a standard testing method to that end. This work reports experimentally identified structural damping data for a set of hydrogel samples via resonant vibration tests for the first bending mode. Beam-shaped samples of rectangular cross-section are clamped vertically at both ends and tested under linear base excitation. An analysis of the frequency response functions based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory is conducted to extract Young’s modulus and structural damping values. In the experiments, polyacrylamide gels of three different compositions and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers of two different compositions are prepared and tested. The remarkable result is that the hydrogels have 80% less damping than PDMS, even though hydrogels are an order of magnitude softer than PDMS. The molecular origins of the damping in hydrogels and PDMS are discussed. The low damping of gels may open new avenues of research and applications of soft materials in structural dynamics and wave propagation, such as metamaterials and topological insulators, among others.
Disclosure of Medical Injury to Patients: An Improbable Risk Management Strategy

Pressure is increasing for physicians and hospitals to be more open with patients about medical errors and adverse events. An oft-heard view in policy discussions is that fuller disclosure will reduce malpractice litigation, because many patients will come to understand that their injury was not due to negligence, or will feel less anger towards a provider who deals with them honestly. Additionally, some patients who do sue may be willing to settle their claims for less money. However, two lines of research suggest that disclosure may also prompt some patients to sue: the vast majority of patients who sustain medical injury currently do not sue; and an important reason why aggrieved persons do not seek legal redress is that they fail to recognize their condition or attribute it to an external cause. We modeled the litigation consequences of disclosure by combining existing data on the epidemiology of medical injuries and malpractice claims with expert opinion about likely patient reactions to disclosure. We used Monte Carlo simulations to incorporate uncertainty around the experts' judgments of the proportion of patients who would be prompted to sue and the proportion who would be deterred from suing. The model computed a 5% chance that total claim volume would decrease or remain unchanged and a 95% chance that it would increase. The distribution also indicated a 60% chance that comprehensive disclosure of severe injuries would at least double the annual number of claims nationwide, and a 33% chance that volume would increase by threefold or more. Under the assumption that average payments would not change, the model predicted a 6% chance that total direct costs of compensation would decrease or remain unchanged under routine disclosure and a 94% chance that they would increase. Under the assumption that disclosure reduced average payments by 40%, a net increase in costs remained more likely than a decrease or no change, and there was a 34% chance that costs would at least double. We found that under nearly any set of assumptions, the chances that disclosure would decrease either the frequency or cost of malpractice litigation were remote. An increase in the number and costs of claims was highly likely. The key driver of the model's findings is the well-established fact that only a tiny proportion of seriously injured patients sue, creating a huge reservoir of potential claims. An e-print of the paper is available from the first or second author.
Utilizing (and Designing) Modern Hardware for Data-Intensive Computations: The Role of Abstraction

Modern information-intensive systems, including data management systems, operate on data that is mostly resident in RAM. As a result, the data management community has shifted focus from I/O optimization to addressing performance issues higher in the memory hierarchy. In this keynote, I will give a personal perspective of these developments, illustrated by work from my group at Columbia University. I will use the concept of abstraction as a lens through which various kinds of optimizations for modern hardware platforms can be understood and evaluated. Through this lens, some "cute implementation tricks" can be seen as much more than mere implementation details. I will discuss abstractions at various granularities, from single lines of code to whole programming/query languages. I will touch on software and hardware design for data-intensive computations. I will also discuss data processing in a conventional programming language, and how the data management community might contribute to the design of compilers.
Improvisation as Model for Real-Time Decision Making

This work explores the concept of improvisation as a framework for understanding real-time dynamic decision making (RTDDM) and systems support for it. The contexts for RTDDM and those in which agents improvise are remarkably similar according to several parameters. The foundations of improvisation are built on management theory, practice, and education. The work provides a rich definition of improvisation and a typology of different improvisational contexts based on two key dimensions. This framework illustrates how seemingly diverse contexts such as emergency management and jazz performance are related. The work then explores the antecedents of improvisation, degrees of improvisation, the elements for individual and team improvisation, and effective improvisation. The work then explores the design of Real-Time dynamic decision support systems (DSS). These are broken into pre- and postperformance support, as well as Real-Time support. The conclusion is that our knowledge of improvisational contexts can shed new light on RTDDM systems design and development.
Bifurcations in Steady State Solutions of a Class of Nonlinear Dispersive Wave Equation

We consider the damped externally excited KdV and BBM equations and use an asymptotic perturbation method to analyze the stability of solutions. We consider the primary resonance by defining the detuning parameter. External-excitation and frequency-response curves are shown to exhibit jump and hysteresis phenomena (dis-continuous transitions between two stable solutions) for both KdV and BBM equations.
Knots and Orbit Genealogies in Three Dimensional Flows

We present a survey of methods and results in the application of knot and link theory to the study of periodic orbit structures in three dimensional flows. In particular, we examine the genealogy of periodic orbits in the “natural” suspension of the horseshoe diffeomorphism on R 2. By collapsing along strong stable manifolds, we obtain the template, a branched two-manifold carrying a semiflow which preserves the knot and link data of the original flow. With the additional tools of one-dimensional kneading theory and Hamiltonian bifurcation theory, we indicate how results concerning horseshoe knots can be used to study bifurcations in a two-parameter family of Henon maps.
Institutions, Geography and Trade: A Panel Data Study 1

A number of recent papers study the impact of institutions, trade and geography known as “deep determinants” of economic development using cross-section data. This paper instead employs a panel data approach to examine the impact of these three determinants on per capita income. Our approach enables us to account for unobserved heterogeneity across countries, an issue that cannot be addressed in a crosssection framework. Moreover, employing the Hausman and Taylor (1981) approach allows us to obtain direct parameter estimates of the time invariant explanatory variables like geography or some institutional measures, making our results comparable to the existing cross-section literature. Also, by using lagged explanatory variables whenever possible we can account for contemporaneous correlation between these variables and the idiosyncratic error term. We find that the quality of institutions and openness to trade both have positive and statistically significant coefficient estimates throughout most specifications, while geography, captured by malaria ecology measure, has negative estimates that are often, but not always statistically significant. In terms of their economic impact, institutional measures appear to have the strongest impact, followed by openness to trade measures. In comparison, geography measures have rather small elasticity estimates. JEL: O1, N1, H1, F1
Modern Restlessness, from Hobbes to Augustine

Only with difficulty do modern readers grasp the full import of Augustine’s confession, “Restless is our heart, until it rests in you”, or seriously consider that it might be true. An unexpected remedy is to be found in reading Thomas Hobbes, who introduces and defends the view of happiness that is now commonly accepted without argument. According to Hobbes, human beings find their happiness not in a single, supreme good but in many objects, the securing of which requires a lifelong quest for power. But this teaching, influential and revealing though it is, fails to satisfy. Meditating on that dissatisfaction is a first step towards more serious engagement with Augustine.
A stochastic model for beaconless IEEE 802.15.4 MAC operation

IEEE 802.15.4 is a popular choice for MAC/PHY protocols in low power and low data rate wireless sensor networks. In this paper, we develop a stochastic model for the beaconless operation of IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol. Given the number of nodes competing for channel access and their packet generation rates, the model predicts the packet loss probability and the packet latency. We compared the model predictions with NS2 simulation results and found an excellent match between the two for a wide range of the packet generation rates and the number of competing nodes in the network.
The right balance: restructuring the parallel and scientific computing course

This paper outlines material presented in the revised offering of the Parallel and Scientific Computing course at Iona College, NY. The course pursues a balanced approach between parallel computing topics and their scientific computing application. The paper describes a number of projects assigned to students throughout the semester which serve to emphasize this balance while developing students' parallel algorithmic and problem solving skills. Finally, the paper discusses some of the challenges and benefits of offering the Parallel and Scientific Computing course.
NULL HYPERSURFACE INITIAL DATA FOR CLASSICAL FIELDS OF ARBITRARY SPIN AND FOR GENERAL RELATIVITY

A form of initial value problem is considered in which the initial hypersurface is not spacelike but null. This approach has the striking advantage over the more usual Cauchy problem that all constraints (initial data equations) are eliminated from the theory, for a wide class of interacting fields in special relativity and also for general relativity. The theory is most naturally described in terms of the two-component spinor calculus, for which an elementary introduction is given here. A general scheme for interacting fields, which holds both in special and general relativity, is presented which describes all fields in terms of sets of irreducible spinors. The concept of an exact set of such spinors is introduced and it is shown that this concept is the appropriate one for an initial value problem on a null cone without constraints. The initial data can be expressed in the form of a complex number, called a null datum, defined at each point of the null cone, one corresponding to each spinor. There is the curious feature of these null data that apparently it is sufficient here, to have onehalf as much information per point as in the corresponding Cauchy problem. The classical Maxwell-Dirac theory and the Einstein-Maxwell theory are two examples that can be put into the form of exact sets. The Einstein empty-space equations are also of particular note, and in this case the null datum describes essentially the intrinsic geometry of the null cone. The argument given here as applied to a general exact set is incomplete in two important respects. Firstly it depends on the null data being analytic, and secondly the initial hypersurface must be a cone. However, both these restrictions are removed in the case of certain elementary fields called basic free fields, examples of which are the Weyl neutrino field, the free Maxwell field, and the linearized gravitational field. For these cases a simple explicit formula is introduced which expresses the field at any point in terms of the null datum, as an integral taken over the intersection of the initial null hypersurface with the null cone of the point.
Statistical Machines for Trauma Hospital Outcomes Research: Application to the PRospective, Observational, Multi-Center Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study

Improving the treatment of trauma, a leading cause of death worldwide, is of great clinical and public health interest. This analysis introduces flexible statistical methods for estimating center-level effects on individual outcomes in the context of highly variable patient populations, such as those of the PRospective, Observational, Multi-center Major Trauma Transfusion study. Ten US level I trauma centers enrolled a total of 1,245 trauma patients who survived at least 30 minutes after admission and received at least one unit of red blood cells. Outcomes included death, multiple organ failure, substantial bleeding, and transfusion of blood products. The centers involved were classified as either large or small-volume based on the number of massive transfusion patients enrolled during the study period. We focused on estimation of parameters inspired by causal inference, specifically estimated impacts on patient outcomes related to the volume of the trauma hospital that treated them. We defined this association as the change in mean outcomes of interest that would be observed if, contrary to fact, subjects from large-volume sites were treated at small-volume sites (the effect of treatment among the treated). We estimated this parameter using three different methods, some of which use data-adaptive machine learning tools to derive the outcome models, minimizing residual confounding by reducing model misspecification. Differences between unadjusted and adjusted estimators sometimes differed dramatically, demonstrating the need to account for differences in patient characteristics in clinic comparisons. In addition, the estimators based on robust adjustment methods showed potential impacts of hospital volume. For instance, we estimated a survival benefit for patients who were treated at large-volume sites, which was not apparent in simpler, unadjusted comparisons. By removing arbitrary modeling decisions from the estimation process and concentrating on parameters that have more direct policy implications, these potentially automated approaches allow methodological standardization across similar comparativeness effectiveness studies.
New Table Design for the Equation: (- log %T) x 1O3

\TE ARE PROPOSING a new table design to be used for converting percent transmittance to absorbance. The factor 1000 is simply to eliminate decimals. In order to evaluate the time saved, we timed (with a stopwatch) six laboratorians while they translated 12 percent-transmission values with tile following average results Conventional New Lime Time saved table (Sec.) (Sec.)