cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strong quantum-confined Stark effect in germanium quantum-well structures on silicon

Silicon chips dominate electronics while optical fibres dominate long-distance information transfer. Recent work, in search of the best of both worlds, has led to silicon devices capable of modulating light; these show promise but still rely on weak physical mechanisms found in silicon itself. Now a team working at Stanford University and at Hewlett-Packard's Palo Alto labs has developed thin germanium ‘quantum well’ nanostructures grown on silicon that generate a strong quantum-mechanical effect capable of turning light beams on and off. Their performance rivals the best seen in any material. This development may allow silicon/germanium chips to handle both electronics and optics, uniting computing and communications at the integrated chip level. Silicon is the dominant semiconductor for electronics, but there is now a growing need to integrate such components with optoelectronics for telecommunications and computer interconnections1. Silicon-based optical modulators have recently been successfully demonstrated2,3; but because the light modulation mechanisms in silicon4 are relatively weak, long (for example, several millimetres) devices2 or sophisticated high-quality-factor resonators3 have been necessary. Thin quantum-well structures made from III-V semiconductors such as GaAs, InP and their alloys exhibit the much stronger quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) mechanism5, which allows modulator structures with only micrometres of optical path length6,7. Such III-V materials are unfortunately difficult to integrate with silicon electronic devices. Germanium is routinely integrated with silicon in electronics8, but previous silicon–germanium structures have also not shown strong modulation effects9,10,11,12,13. Here we report the discovery of the QCSE, at room temperature, in thin germanium quantum-well structures grown on silicon. The QCSE here has strengths comparable to that in III-V materials. Its clarity and strength are particularly surprising because germanium is an indirect gap semiconductor; such semiconductors often display much weaker optical effects than direct gap materials (such as the III-V materials typically used for optoelectronics). This discovery is very promising for small, high-speed14, low-power15,16,17 optical output devices fully compatible with silicon electronics manufacture.
‘Pet ke waaste’: Rights, resistance and the East Indian Railway Strike, 1922:

At its peak, the East Indian Railway strike of 1922 affected more than 1500 kilometres of rail and involved tens of thousands of workers. The strike was an exemplary moment in Indian worker politic...
Study design and analysis in neuroradiology : A practical approach

As neuroradiologists, we often emphasize the importance of new imaging technologies as worthwhile and appropriate diagnostic tests for our patients. Through advanced imaging methods, we are able to study in depth the anatomic and physiological changes that affect the body as a result of disease.
Synthesis and Study of a Sulfur Heterocycle Fused p-Phenylene Vinylene Conducting Polymer

Abstract Poly(benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-diyl vinylene) (1) has been prepared by the pyrolysis of the precursor polymer 2 and studied. Quantum mechanical calculations on the aromatic and quinoid monomers, oligomers and polymers indicate that 1 is a planar aromatic polymer.
Prediction of Vapor Pressures and Enthalpies of Vaporization Using a COSMO Solvation Model

We have developed a general predictive method for vapor pressures and enthalpies of vaporization based on the calculation of the solvation free energy that consists of three components; the electrostatic, dispersion, and cavity formation contributions. The electrostatic contribution is determined using the quantum mechanical COSMO solvation model. Thermodynamic perturbation theory for hard-core molecules is used for the cavity term, and the dispersion term is modeled using a mean field term proportional to the density and molecular surface area. The proposed model uses one set of van der Waals atomic radii to describe molecular shape, two universal interaction parameters for the electrostatic interaction, one set of atom-specific dispersion coefficients, one universal parameter to scale the atomic exposed surface area, and a single universal parameter for the ratio of the hard-core to atomic radii. The model parameters have been determined using 371 pure substances of varying molecular structure, functionality, and size. The average accuracy of the model for vapor pressures and enthalpies of vaporization at the normal boiling temperature is found to be 76% and 4.81 kJ/mol, respectively, with temperature-independent parameters. The average error in the normal boiling temperature is found to be 16 K for species whose boiling points range from 191 to 610 K.
Scenario methodology for teaching principles of emergency management

Scenarios are discussed in terms of their various uses in emergency planning and management. Their function in teaching programs is assessed with respect to various sorts of curricula for training emergency personnel. The format of scenarios is discussed and the potential for using the methodology creatively is explored. It is concluded that scenario methods are useful in developing such skills as time management, cognitive mapping, mediation, team management, and decision making under stress. A brief example of an emergency training scenario is presented and evaluated in terms of its teaching potential. Finally, scenarios are assessed in relation to other forms of modelling and simulation, such as table‐top games and field exercises, which are commonly used for training emergency managers.
Male Germline Transmits Fetal Alcohol Adverse Effect on Hypothalamic Proopiomelanocortin Gene Across Generations

Background Neurons containing proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides, known to control stress axis, metabolic, and immune functions, have a lower function in patients with a family history of alcoholism, raising the possibility that alcohol effects on the POMC system may transmit through generations. Here we describe epigenetic modifications of Pomc gene that transmit through generation via male germline and may be critically involved in alcoholism-inherited diseases. Methods Whether an epigenetic mechanism is involved in causing a Pomc expression deficit in fetal alcohol-exposed rats is studied by determining Pomc gene methylation, expression, and functional abnormalities and their normalization following suppression of DNA methylation or histone acetylation. Additionally, transgenerational studies were conducted to evaluate the germline-transmitted effect of alcohol. Results Fetal alcohol-exposed male and female rat offspring showed a significant deficit in POMC neuronal functions. Associated with this was an increased methylation status of several CpG dinucleotides in the proximal part of the Pomc promoter region and altered level of histone-modifying proteins and DNA methyltransferases levels in POMC neurons. Suppression of histone deacetylation and DNA methylation normalized Pomc expression and functional abnormalities. Fetal alcohol-induced Pomc gene methylation, expression, and functional defects persisted in the F2 and F3 male but not in female germline. Additionally, the hypermethylated Pomc gene was detected in sperm of fetal alcohol-exposed F1 offspring that was transmitted through F3 generation via male germline. Conclusions Trangenerational epigenetic studies should spur new insight into the biological mechanisms that influence the sex-dependent difference in genetic risk of alcoholism-inherited diseases.
Sigma-Pi Learning: On Radial Basis Functions and Cortical Associative Learning

The goal in this work has been to identify the neuronal elements of the cortical column that are most likely to support the learning of nonlinear associative maps. We show that a particular style of network learning algorithm based on locally-tuned receptive fields maps naturally onto cortical hardware, and gives coherence to a variety of features of cortical anatomy, physiology, and biophysics whose relations to learning remain poorly understood.
A Multistate Survey of Special Education Teachers' Perceptions of Their Transition Competencies:

Adult outcomes for students with disabilities continue to remain below their peers without disabilities, and such poor postsecondary outcomes may be due to special education teachers who are unprep...
Flow Cytometric Analysis of Feline Reticulocytes

Hemolytic anemia was induced in five Domestic Shorthair cats (four adult males and one spayed female obtained from a breeding colony at Colorado State University, CO), and blood samples were analyzed from five other cats (two castrated male Domestic Shorthairs, one castrated male Domestic Longhair, one castrated male Persian, and one spayed female Siamese presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University for miscellaneous problems). Blood samples taken from these cats had percentages of aggregate reticulocytes that ranged from 0% to 14.5% as determined by manual counting and were used to identify the best technique for staining cat reticulocytes for flow cytometric analysis. The best technique was mixing a blood sample (112,000 dilution) with 0.2 J.lg thiazole orange in 1 ml of diluent and incubating the mixture in the dark at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. The percentage of reticulocytes determined by flow cytometry correlated well (r = 0.88) with manually determined aggregate reticulocyte percentages; no significant differences were observed between the two techniques (P > 0.05). For the conditions used, punctate reticulocytes were not detected by flow cytometry. Samples with very high platelet numbers and very low packed cell volumes may show falsely elevated percentages of reticulocytes as determined by flow cytometry. The reproducibility of the flow cytometric technique was good; the coefficient of variation ranged from 4.8% to 17.9% in two samples with two different times of incubation. Staining of cat aggregate reticulocytes with thiazole orange and use of flow cytometric quantification is a reproducible technique that has a good correlation with the manual reticulocyte counting method.
Infection Risk with Bolus versus Maintenance Iron Supplementation in Hemodialysis Patients

Intravenous iron may promote bacterial growth and impair host defense, but the risk of infection associated with iron supplementation is not well defined. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hemodialysis patients to compare the safety of bolus dosing, which provides a large amount of iron over a short period of time on an as-needed basis, with maintenance dosing, which provides smaller amounts of iron on a regular schedule to maintain iron repletion. Using clinical data from 117,050 patients of a large US dialysis provider merged with data from Medicare’s ESRD program, we estimated the effects of iron dosing patterns during repeated 1-month exposure periods on risks of mortality and infection-related hospitalizations during the subsequent 3 months. Of 776,203 exposure/follow-up pairs, 13% involved bolus dosing, 49% involved maintenance dosing, and 38% did not include exposure to iron. Multivariable additive risk models found that patients receiving bolus versus maintenance iron were at increased risk of infection-related hospitalization (risk difference [RD], 25 additional events/1000 patient-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16 to 33) during follow-up. Risks were largest among patients with a catheter (RD, 73 events/1000 patient-years; 95% CI, 48 to 99) and a recent infection (RD, 57 events/1000 patient-years; 95% CI, 19 to 99). We also observed an association between bolus dosing and infection-related mortality. Compared with no iron, maintenance dosing did not associate with increased risks for adverse outcomes. These results suggest that maintenance iron supplementation may result in fewer infections than bolus dosing, particularly among patients with a catheter.
Whose Right to Know? The Subjectivity of Mothers in Mandatory Paternity Testing

Although anonymous gamete donation is the norm in the United States (US), recent scholarship has queried whether Western European prohibitions on anonymity could or should be applied in the states (Cohen 2012, Cahn 2012). Most recently, An Ravelingien and Guido Pennings’ “The Right to Know Your Genetic Parents: From Open-Identity Gamete Donation to Routine Paternity Testing,” uses the argument for open-identity sperm donation as the premise for broader social policy regarding paternity identification. The authors argue that if anonymous sperm donation is forbidden, then anonymous or misattributed paternity in coital reproduction should also be forbidden. Ravelingien and Pennings recognize that paternity testing concerns the rights of all of the members of a family unit, yet they assert that potential benefits for a child—in genetic information and potential family formation—outweigh any incursions on other individuals’ rights. While we agree that knowledge of one’s genetic origins should not be dependent on the mode of conception, we argue that Ravelingien and Pennings’ analysis of rights creates a problematic hierarchy of interests as their analysis fails to locate a central subject in mandatory paternity testing: the mother. This absence of the mother is especially troubling in light of institutional enforcement of paternity identification in welfare programs in US political history.
Geometric BVPs, Hardy spaces, and the Cauchy integral and transform on regions with corners

Abstract In this paper we give a new perspective on the Cauchy integral and transform and Hardy spaces for Dirac-type operators on manifolds with corners of codimension two. Instead of considering Banach or Hilbert spaces, we use polyhomogeneous functions on a geometrically “blown-up” version of the manifold called the total boundary blow-up introduced by Mazzeo and Melrose [R.R. Mazzeo, R.B. Melrose, Analytic surgery and the eta invariant, Geom. Funct. Anal. 5 (1) (1995) 14–75]. These polyhomogeneous functions are smooth everywhere on the original manifold except at the corners where they have a “Taylor series” (with possible log terms) in polar coordinates. The main application of our analysis is a complete Fredholm theory for boundary value problems of Dirac operators on manifolds with corners of codimension two.
Diets of short-tailed shearwaters in the southeastern Bering Sea

Abstract In the late 1990s, the southeastern Bering Sea exhibited a number of anomalous conditions, including a major die-off of short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris), a trans-equatorial migrant that constitutes a major portion of the marine bird biomass in the southeastern Bering Sea. As part of a larger study of the ecological role of the inner or structural front over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, in 1997–1999, we collected short-tailed shearwaters to determine diet composition. In spring 1997, we found that short-tailed shearwaters were consuming predominately the euphausiid Thysanoessa raschii, a diet expected on the basis of past studies. However, in subsequent years, short-tailed shearwater diets in spring contained increasingly larger proportions of fish, in particular, sandlance (Ammodytes hexapterus), as well as other species of euphausiids (T. inermis in 1999). In summer and fall collections, short-tailed shearwater diets were more varied than in spring, and included both fish (age-0 gadids, 21–35% by weight) and a wider variety of euphausiid species (T. inermis and T. spinifera). In summer and fall, crab zoea (August 1998) and copepods (August 1999) were eaten by shearwaters collected while feeding within the inner front. Diets in 1997–1999 were broader than those found in previous studies of short-tailed shearwaters over the inner shelf and Bristol Bay, which had documented diets composed almost solely of T. raschii. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that euphausiids were less available to short-tailed shearwaters foraging over the middle and coastal domains of the southeastern Bering Sea in 1997–1999 than has previously been true. Our results are also consistent with hypothesis that the inner front can affect the availability of prey to shearwaters.
Correlation of Rat Pituitary Prolactin Messenger Ribonucleic Acid and Hormone Content with Serum Levels During the Estrogen-Induced Surge*

The model of the serum PRL surge generated in the ovariectomized rat after estradiol benzoate (EB) treatment was used to study the relationship between serum and pituitary PRL levels and pituitary PRL mRNA levels. Adult ovariectomized rats were injected sc with 7 μg EB or vehicle at noon on day 0. Three days later (day 3), the rats were decapitated every 4 h over a 24-h period (0800 h on day 3 to 0400 h on day 4) for determination of serum and pituitary PRL and GH levels by RIA. In addition, PRL and GH mRNA content was determined using dot blot hybridization with cDNAs. Administration of EB resulted in a significant rise in serum PRL levels at 1200, 1600, and 2000 h on day 3 compared to control values. At other times, serum PRL levels in the EB group were the same as control values. EB treatment also elicited a marked increase in pituitary PRL content at all time periods examined except during (1600 and 2000 h) and after the PRL surge (2400 h on day 3) when there was a significant reduction in stored pitu...
EGF receptor function is required in late G1 for cell cycle progression induced by bombesin and bradykinin

We examined the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase activation in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) agonist-induced mitogenesis in Swiss 3T3 and Rat-1 cells. Addit...
Barton-McCombie deoxygenation reaction

Deoxygenation of alcohols by means of radical scission of their corresponding thiocarbonyl intermediates.
Determination of Position and Azimuth by Simple and Accurate Methods

Determination of latitude, longitude, and azimuth by stellar observations is outlined in this paper by simplified methods employing only the secant and cosecant functions. Also presented is a discu...
PERSPECTIVE: CHASE-AWAY SEXUAL SELECTION: ANTAGONISTIC SEDUCTION VERSUS RESISTANCE.

A model of sexual selection that leads to the evolution of exaggerated male display characters that is based on antagonistic coevolution between the sexes is described. The model is motivated by three lines of research: intersexual conflict with respect to mating, sensory exploitation, and the evolution of female resistance, as opposed to preference, for male display traits. The model generates unique predictions that permit its operation to be distinguished from other established models of sexual selection. One striking prediction is that females will frequently win the coevolutionary arms race with males, leaving them encumbered with costly ornaments that have little value except that their absence understimulates females. Examples from the literature suggest that the model may have broad application in nature. The chase-away model is a special case of the more general phenomenon of Interlocus Contest Evolution (ICE).
SEEFT: Planned Social Event Discovery and Attribute Extraction by Fusing Twitter and Web Content

Social events comprise some of the most popular topics in social media. Automatically identifying planned social events and extracting structured information, such as event title, date, and location, would enable more effective index, display and search for social events. However, the informal and noisy nature of language used in social media can degrade the quality of event extraction, resulting in broken titles, incorrect or absent attributes - making the resulting event databases not suitable for realistic applications. Previous work mostly focused on event identification and categorization in Twitter. Yet, event title extraction, arguably one of the most useful and difficult tasks in this domain, has never been investigated. In this paper, we address the task of identifying and extracting structured information (titles, dates, locations) for planned social events, and introduce SEEFT 1 , a social event extraction system, which uses social media content to discover events. To extract the event title and other attributes, SEEFT fuses the original social media content and the content of other Tweets and webpages. Experiments over multiple popular event types and more than a thousand of event instances show that SEEFT significantly outperforms the previous state-ofthe-art system in event identification. Moreover, by fusing information from multiple sources, SEEFT is able to extract event titles with high accuracy, providing the foundation for practical applications such as event discovery, search, and recommendation.
Perceived Support and Social Interaction Among Friends and Confidants

In this paper we will review the research we have been doing over the last few years attempting to differentiate among the various facets of the social support construct. We will cite both correlational questionnaire studies as well as behavioral studies, and will conclude with the opinion that the effects of support are much more complicated than the original proponents of the concept had imagined. In all probability, we will raise more questions than we answer, and will offer the hypothesis that the effectiveness of support may not reside in any particular behavior of significant others, but in how that behavior and ensuing relationships are perceived. We also will suggest that individuals are not simply passive recipients of support, but in part, determine the nature of the supportive behavior they receive from others.
Entry pathways, academic performance, and persistence of nontraditional students in engineering by transfer status

This study uses longitudinal, student record level data from eleven public research universities in the United States over a period of twenty-eight years to investigate nontraditional and traditional undergraduate students who ever declared engineering as a major. A nontraditional student is defined as a person who is older than 24 years of age or attends college part-time for at least part of the academic year. A traditional student is defined as a student who matriculates into a baccalaureate degree program in the summer or fall after high school graduation, is younger than 25 years of age, and pursues college on a continuous, full-time basis during the academic year. The research questions addressed in this paper are: How do nontraditional students enter the engineering curriculum? Are there differences with traditional students' entry into engineering by transfer status? Are there differences in precollege academic preparation? Is the collegiate academic performance of nontraditional students different than traditional students by transfer status? Is there a difference in the graduation or withdrawal rates between nontraditional and traditional students by transfer status? Nontraditional students are very similar to traditional students. Once students choose engineering as a major, there are no differences in mean engineering grade point average (GPA) or final cumulative GPA between nontraditional and traditional students. Nontraditional and traditional students have similar SAT scores, similar high school GPAs, choose an engineering major in similar patterns, and have similar six-year graduation rates. Being a transfer student plays a larger role than being a nontraditional student.
Redefining Cultural ReProduction: A Tactical Report

Cultural ReProducers is an ongoing creative platform initiated in 2012 in collaboration with an evolving group of artists, critics, and curators raising young children. As a community Cultural ReProducers explore the intersection of artmaking and family life through a diverse range of projects that include an online resource, a childcare-supported art event series, a speculative certification program, and a risographed zine of experiments in artist-parenthood. These activities propose new models for institutional support while building networks of exchange, visibility, and dialogue to realize our collective needs and desires.
Fifty years of surgery of the liver, pancreas, and biliary tract

In addressing this comprehensive subject, one might elect to record a chronology of major milestones in the evolution of surgery of these diverse but intimately related organ systems. A Herculean task would encompass the detailed development of both major and minor surgical procedures along with the running controversies that attend almost every subject in this arena. I have elected to base this presentation essentially on my personal experience.
All Things Death and Dying: Health Professional Students Participating in the Death Café Model

Abstract Death and dying remains a taboo topic in many social settings, and is underrepresented in health profession training. This report describes the use of the Death Cafe model as a forum for engaging students in discussion of death and dying with their peers and other health professionals. A Death Cafe is an opportunity for individuals to gather in an informal environment to exchange thoughts about issues associated with death, dying, loss, and illness. This report outlines the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of a Death Cafe event hosted at a nursing school as part of an academic health center. Twenty-four participants from five disciplines participated in discussions, reported positive experiences, and desired to learn more about issues surrounding death and dying. Findings from this event suggest that this approach may be useful for institutions seeking to provide additional learning opportunities for students and/or healthcare professionals on palliative and end-of-life care in a suppo...
Effects of the Electrode Wettability on the Deep Discharge Capacity of Li-O2 Batteries.

The wettability of customized Li–O2 battery electrodes is altered by mixing acetylene black carbon particles with various binders. The wettability of the electrode can be characterized by the static contact angles between the electrode surface and nonaqueous electrolyte, which is 1 M bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium salt (LiTFSI) dissolved in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and the double-layer capacitance measured by the cyclic voltammetry. Results show that electrodes containing poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) binder are lyophilic and increasing the fraction of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) increases the lyophobicity of electrodes. Li–O2 batteries are discharged at 0.1 mA/cm2 with the cut-off voltage of 2.0 V. The discharge capacity of the electrode with 15% PVDF (36.5°) carbon coatings is 1665.8 mAh/g, whereas the customized electrode with 15% PTFE (128.4°) carbon coatings obtains the discharge capacity of 4160.8 mAh/g. However, the discharge capacity decreases to 3109.5 and 2822.9 m...
Spontaneous but not voluntary eye blinks during spatial working memory are associated with successful performance

Spontaneous eye blink rate (SBR) has been associated with central dopamine (DA) levels, raising the intriguing possibility that SBR is related to cognitive functions dependent on DA, such as spatial working memory (WM). We tested this hypothesis in two behavioral experiments, examining the relationship between SBR, WM load and individual differences in spatial WM performance in 126 young adults. In Experiment 1, we examined the temporal profile of SBR during a spatial delayed recognition task requiring maintenance of 1, 2, 4, 6 or 7 dot locations. We observed a suppression in SBR during dot- and recognition probe-presentation, and a significant increase in SBR afterwards. High performers showed significantly lower SBR than low performers during the first 500 ms of the delay period. In Experiment 2, we used a similar spatial WM task as Experiment 1 to test whether an instructed voluntary blink during the early delay would directly dampen WM performance. While the temporal dynamics of SBR across task events were comparable to Experiment 1, WM performance was not significantly different between the voluntary blink and no blink conditions. Together, these results suggest that spontaneous but not voluntary eye blinking is closely linked to spatial WM, and that lower SBR during WM encoding and early phase of maintenance is associated with better WM task performance.
The Mathematics of Chaînes Opératoires

The decision-making processes underlying core reduction are often framed in terms of the execution of different complex, integrated technological designs. This chapter adopts an alternative approach of specifying simple, independent technological decisions deployed during reduction. These are used to develop three mathematical models of core reduction of increasing complexity. The modeled technologies are labeled as Bernoulli, Markov, and Price cores after their fundamental mathematical properties. Expectations concerning core reduction intensity are derived and tested using data from Paleolithic sites in Africa and Asia.
Psychological Aspects of Forensic Identification Evidence.

Forensic scientists are often asked to compare two items of evidence to determine whether they have (or might have) a common source. Testimony about such comparisons is called forensic identification evidence. This type of evidence frequently plays a crucial role in criminal trials by helping to link the defendant to the crime. This chapter focuses on expert testimony that purports to make a 'source attribution', that is, a determination that two physical items have (or might have) a common source. Forensic scientists distinguish two types of matches: those in which the items share class characteristics, features that place them in the same category or class; and those in which the items share individual characteristics, a unique combination of features. The standards promulgated by latent print and toolmark examiners, which require experts to express conclusions with absolute certainty, are excellent examples of the disconnect that can arise between standards and science.
Motivation and the communication processes

THE ASSUMPTION THAT HUMAN BEHAVIOR is "motivated" is common. Workers in such diverse fields as education, advertising, and politics stress the importance of analyzing men's motives and the value of devising ways to utilize motives to foster desired changes in behavior. The notion of motivation seems so intuitively obvious that questioning its scientific or practical utility would appear temerarious. Yet Cofer, in a critical review of recent literature on motivation, concludes that, "if present trends continue, motivation as a distinct concept, coordinate to other psychological concepts, may well disappear (3:194)." Irwin, however, in a comparable review only two years later, while agreeing "on the nearly useless status of the word 'motivation' " cannot agree with these diognoses and prognoses (11). The non-psychologist may well be surprised by the lack of agreement among psychologists on a concept that seems obvious and that is an integral part of common-sense psychology. Such disagreements cannot comfortably be dismissed as scientific games; they have arisen as psychologists have attempted to make sense out of an enormous array of experimental data. Hopefully stated, the experimentation and theorizing that will eventuate in an attempt to resolve these disagreements will result in more comprehensive explanations of human behavior. Should the journeyman construct "motivation" disappear from the
Enhanced X-RAYS degradation of methylene blue in the presence of gold microspheres

Abstract Promising alternatives to increase the degradation of dyes in polluted water are radiation and the addition of particulate materials as catalysts. Specifically, gold particles have demonstrated an enhancement of dye degradation in the presence of UV light and/or reducing agents by increasing the rate at which reactive oxygen species are produced. Herein, the enhanced decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under ionizing radiation, X-rays, in the presence of gold particles was investigated. The influence of X-ray operating voltage, gold particle size distribution, and gold concentration in the degradation of MB was studied. Irradiation of MB was performed at a dose rate of ~35 Gy/min and X-ray irradiator operating voltages of 50 kV, 100 kV, and 225 kV. The presence of spherical gold microparticles enhanced the reaction rate of MB up to 61.7%. Results showed that dye degradation combining ionizing radiation and a catalyst such as gold particles is a promising methodology to accelerate the clean-up process of polluted water resources.
Nonoperative Treatment of Medial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries in the Throwing Athlete: Indications, Evaluation, and Management.

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries are common in overhead throwing athletes, particularly baseball players. Appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation are important in order for athletes to return to their preinjury condition.Many patients, including the noncompetitive athletes and t
Deception-As-Defense Framework for Cyber-Physical Systems

We introduce deceptive signaling framework as a new defense measure against advanced adversaries in cyber-physical systems. In general, adversaries look for system-related information, e.g., the underlying state of the system, in order to learn the system dynamics and to receive useful feedback regarding the success/failure of their actions so as to carry out their malicious task. To this end, we craft the information that is accessible to adversaries strategically in order to control their actions in a way that will benefit the system, indirectly and without any explicit enforcement. When the information of interest is Gaussian and both sides have quadratic cost functions, we arrive at a semi-definite programming problem equivalent to the infinite-dimensional optimization problem faced by the defender. The equivalence result holds also for the scenarios where the defender can have partial or noisy measurements or the objective of the adversary is not known. Under the solution concept of Stackelberg equilibrium, we show the optimality of linear signaling rule within the general class of measurable policies in communication scenarios and also compute the optimal linear signaling rule in control scenarios.
Electronic states and interband tunneling conditions in type-II quantum well heterostructures

Type-II quantum well (QW) heterostructures based on the InAs/GaSb/AlSb material system have important applications in interband tunneling and midinfrared optoelectronic devices. From the perspective of interband tunneling conditions in widely used type-II QWs such as N-QW, W-QW, and M-QW structures, this work studies how energy levels for electronic and light-hole states are varied with various combinations of semiconductor material layers. Using a two-band model, analytical expressions are derived for the transition well widths that correspond to the critical layer thicknesses for bound- or quasibound states to appear in the interband tunneling region in type-II heterostructures, which provide meaningful connections to semiconductor material parameters. Calculations of transition well widths are carried out for several InAs/GaSb/AlSb-based type-II QW structures. The results and understanding gained from the study may be helpful in designing and developing midinfrared optoelectronic devices such as interband cascade lasers, photodetectors, and thermophotovoltaic cells.
Effects of Dark Mode Graphics on Visual Acuity and Fatigue with Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays

Current virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) are characterized by a low angular resolution that makes it difficult to make out details, leading to reduced legibility of text and increased visual fatigue. Light-on-dark graphics modes, so-called "dark mode" graphics, are becoming more and more popular over a wide range of display technologies, and have been correlated with increased visual comfort and acuity, specifically when working in low-light environments, which suggests that they might provide significant advantages for VR HMDs.In this paper, we present a human-subject study investigating the correlations between the color mode and the ambient lighting with respect to visual acuity and fatigue on VR HMDs. We compare two color schemes, characterized by light letters on a dark background (dark mode), or dark letters on a light background (light mode), and show that the dark background in dark mode provides a significant advantage in terms of reduced visual fatigue and increased visual acuity in dim virtual environments on current HMDs. Based on our results, we discuss guidelines for user interfaces and applications.
Young men of color in privately-owned public spaces: unexpected findings

Much has been written about privately-owned public space. Most of the literature focuses on whether these spaces are used, the design of the spaces, and how the spaces can be improved. Researchers ...
Female CEO Leadership and the Likelihood of Corporate Diversity Misconduct: Evidence from S&P 500 Firms

Abstract Large-scale discrimination lawsuits-as major types of corporate diversity misconduct-pose significant challenges for the reputation and financial well-being of firms. This study explores the role female CEOs play in reducing the likelihood of such lawsuits. Drawing from social role theory, we propose that female CEOs, given their high-profile position, past career experiences and general sensitivity to diversity misconduct, play a critical role in minimizing the occurrences of discrimination lawsuits. We tested our predictions using a panel data from S&P 500 U.S. firms between 2010 and 2015. The findings indicate that firms that are led by female CEOs have a reduced likelihood of discrimination lawsuits. Furthermore, female CEOs can be particularly effective in reducing such lawsuits in firms with more frequent past diversity misconduct. Finally, our findings show that female CEO-led firms with favorable diversity ratings experience reduced likelihood of large-scale discrimination lawsuits. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Evaluation of Racial Disparities in Hospice Use and End-of-Life Treatment Intensity in the REGARDS Cohort.

Importance Although hospice use is increasing and patients in the US are increasingly dying at home, racial disparities in treatment intensity at the end of life, including hospice use, remain. Objective To examine differences between Black and White patients in end-of-life care in a population sample with well-characterized causes of death. Design, Setting, and Participants This study used data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, an ongoing population-based cohort study with enrollment between January 25, 2003, and October 3, 2007, with linkage to Medicare claims data. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine racial and regional differences in end-of-life outcomes and in stroke mortality among 1212 participants with fee-for-service Medicare who died between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015, owing to natural causes and excluding sudden death, with oversampling of Black individuals and residents of Southeastern states in the United States. Initial analyses were conducted in March 2019, and final primary analyses were conducted in February 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes of interest were hospice use of 3 or more days in the last 6 months of life derived from Medicare claims files. Other outcomes included multiple hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and use of intensive procedures in the last 6 months of life. Cause of death was adjudicated by an expert panel of clinicians using death certificates, proxy interviews, autopsy reports, and medical records. Results The sample consisted of 1212 participants (630 men [52.0%]; 378 Black individuals [31.2%]; mean [SD] age at death, 81.0 [8.6] years) of 2542 total deaths. Black decedents were less likely than White decedents to use hospice for 3 or more days (132 of 378 [34.9%] vs 385 of 834 [46.2%];P Conclusions and Relevance Despite the increase in the use of hospice care in recent decades, racial disparities in the use of hospice remain, especially for noncancer deaths. More research is required to better understand racial disparities in access to and quality of end-of-life care.
Expenditures of the Aged Chartbook, 2015

Expenditures of the Aged Chartbook, 2015 examines the spending patterns of the population aged 55 or older, focusing mainly on the expenditures of those aged 65 or older. Policymakers and researchers are concerned about the adequacy of economic resources of the elderly. Income tells part of the story with regard to adequacy, but it is also useful to seek out other measures of standards of living, such as expenditures. The goal of this chartbook is to improve the availability of statistics on expenditures. This chartbook is based on data from the 2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey Public-Use File, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It contains many comparisons of the expenditures of the aged population (65 or older) with those of the near aged (55–64). Many charts include additional detail for those aged 65–74 and those aged 75 or older. Some charts in this book use box plots to show distributions of expenditures by presenting the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile values for expenditure amounts or the percentages of total expenditures allocated to various components. The box plots are described on page 4.
Returning to a normal life via COVID-19 vaccines in the USA: a large-scale agent-based simulation study

Abstract Background In 2020, COVID-19 has claimed more than 300,000 deaths in the US alone. While non-pharmaceutical interventions were implemented by federal and state governments in the USA, these efforts have failed to contain the virus. Following the FDA approval of two COVID-19 vaccines, however, the hope for the return to normalcy is renewed. This hope rests on an unprecedented nation-wide vaccine campaign, which faces many logistical challenges and is also contingent on several factors whose values are currently unknown. Objective We study the effectiveness of a nation-wide vaccine campaign in response to different vaccine efficacies, the willingness of the population to be vaccinated, and the daily vaccine capacity under two different federal plans. To characterize the possible outcomes most accurately, we also account for the interactions between non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccines, through six scenarios that capture a range of possible impact from non-pharmaceutical interventions. Methods We use large-scale cloud-based agent-based simulations by implementing the vaccination campaign using Covasim, an open-source ABM for COVID-19 that has been used in several peer-reviewed studies and accounts for individual heterogeneity as well as a multiplicity of contact networks. Several modifications to the parameters and simulation logic were made to better align the model with current evidence. We chose six non-pharmaceutical intervention scenarios and applied the vaccination intervention following both the plan proposed by Operation Warp Speed (former Trump administration) and the plan of one million vaccines per day, proposed by the Biden administration. We accounted for unknowns in vaccine efficacies and levels of population compliance by varying both parameters. For each experiment, the cumulative infection growth is fitted to a logistic growth model, and the carrying capacities and the growth rates are recorded. Results For both vaccination plans and all non-pharmaceutical intervention scenarios, the presence of the vaccine intervention considerably lowers the total number of infections when life returns to normal, even when the population compliance to vaccines is as low at 20%. We noted an unintended consequence: given the vaccine availability estimates under both federal plans and the focus on vaccinating individuals by age categories, a significant reduction in non-pharmaceutical interventions results in a counterintuitive situation in which higher vaccine compliance then leads to more total infections. Conclusions Although potent, vaccines alone cannot effectively end the pandemic given the current availability estimates and the adopted vaccination strategy. Non-pharmaceutical interventions need to continue and be enforced to ensure high compliance, so that the rate of immunity established by vaccination outpaces that induced by infections.
Measuring Performance of Small-and-Medium Sized Enterprises: the Grounded Theory Approach.

Using the procedures stipulated by the grounded theory, this study reports the findings of in-depth semi-structured interviews with five owners-managers of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)on how performance is being measured. The findings reveal that the owners-managers use a hybrid approach combining both the financial and non-financial measures to evaluate performance against the predetermined goals and time. Time axis is based on the duration of completing a project. The findings have implications to both the SMEs and large organizations.
Pedigree Analysis of Photoperiod-thermo Sensitive Genic Male Sterile Rice

A great progress has been made in two-line hybrid rice in China. Up to 2010, a total of 427 two-line hybrid combina- tions (cultivars) had been registered. In recent years, two-line hybrid rice has become an important type in rice production in China. Photoperiod-thermo sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) lines are the basis of two-line hybrid rice. In this paper, the rela- tionship of 130 PTGMS lines used as parents of registered hybrid combinations and/or with the right of protection of new varieties was analyzed, and 126 of 130 PTGMS lines that the relationship defined were traced back to their original PTGMS lines as a starting point. The pedigree of the 73 PTGMS lines used for producing hybrid combinations with large scale planting and/or the right of protection of new varieties was analyzed in detail, and the breeding methods of the 126 PTGMS lines were analyzed. The relationship between the photoperiod-thermo response type and the pedigree of the PTGMS lines was discussed. We also pro- posed that selecting the proper PTGMS materials by pedigree analysis is as important as photoperiod and temperature controlling for studying the molecular mechanism of photoperiod-thermo response in PTGMS lines. Open sharing of the PTGMS resources has the great significance for accelerating the breeding of new practical PTGMS lines and minimizing the adverse environmental impact on seed production of two-line hybrid rice.
Robust Zero-Change Self-Configuration of the Rectangular Mesh

We propose an algorithm to self-configure the rectangular mesh [Clements et al., Optica, vol. 3, p. 1460, 2016] using only external sources and detectors. This procedure is robust to hardware imperfections and leads to significant accuracy improvements for optical neural networks on realistic hardware.