cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Male contraception and family planning: a social and historical review.

Men have historically been ignored by family planners. The technologic and societal reasons for this lack of involvement of men in the family planning process are examined. Even the structure of medical education and the organization of medical institutions of biomedical research did not foster interest in male reproduction. Males worldwide do take responsibility for contraception and they are showing greater interest in it all the time a fact illustrated by the rising number of vasectomies performed annually. Despite the need for and interest in new research in the field of male contraception funding so far has been low. There is a clear need for greater support for development of an improved male contraceptive. Feminists are demanding that men share responsibility in this area.
Codechella: Multi-user program visualizations for real-time tutoring and collaborative learning

An effective way to learn computer programming is to sit side-by-side in front of the same computer with a tutor or peer, write code together, and then discuss what happens as the code executes. To bring this kind of in-person interaction to an online setting, we have developed Codechella, a multi-user Web-based program visualization system that enables multiple people to collaboratively write code together, explore an automatically-generated visualization of its execution state using multiple mouse cursors, and chat via an embedded text box. In nine months of live deployment on an educational website - www.pythontutor.com -people from 296 cities across 40 countries participated in 299 Codechella sessions for both tutoring and collaborative learning. 57% of sessions connected participants from different cities, and 12% from different countries. Participants actively engaged with the program visualizations while chatting, showed affective exchanges such as encouragement and banter, and indicated signs of learning at the lower three levels of Bloom's taxonomy: remembering, understanding, and applying knowledge.
Pluripotent and Multipotent Domestic Cat Stem Cells: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects

The domestic cat is a mammalian species of particular importance due to their evolutionary history, role as companion animals and as a research model. Stem-cell-based therapies have been developed to improve health and well-being in domestic cats, as an alternative approach for the conservation of genetically valuable animals and preservation of endangered animals, and as an efficient method to produce genetically engineered cats for modeling human diseases. Successful application of stem-cell-based therapies in cats is dependent on development of robust methods to efficiently isolate stem cells and a better understanding of the mechanisms that control stem cell fate to differentiate these cells into specific phenotypes. This chapter describes recent progress on the isolation, culture, and characterization of pluripotent and multipotent stem cells and preliminary trials in regenerative medicine in domestic cats and prospects for applications to conservation and veterinary care of endangered felids.
Bernoulli Equation with Noninertial References

It is not widely recognized that an extended form of the Bernoulli equation exists that may be used with certain noninertial references, although some theoreticians have considered the matter before in a different manner. Such an equation is simple and useful. It is the purpose of this paper to derive this form of the Bernoulli equation and to illustrate its usefulness in engineering.
Cell-based Microfluidic Assays in Translational Medicine

Microfluidics is the study and use of fluid flow at small volumes (typically microliter and below). Microfluidic principles have great potential utility in many engineering and medical arenas, including point-of-care diagnostics tests. The home pregnancy test is an early example of a “microfluidic” diagnostic assay that utilized a colorimetric readout to detect human chorionic gonadotropin. More recently, microfluidics has been used to study and quantify cellular characteristics. Two areas where microfluidic cell-based assays have been used for clinical applications are chemotaxis (gradient-dependent cell migration) and the isolation and analysis of rare cells such as circulating tumor cells. This chapter will review current translational research studies, integrating microfluidics with chemotaxis and rare cell analysis, as well as future research directions in these emerging fields.
Happy Birthday ACS Central Science

On March 23, 2015, ACS Publications staff together with an intrepid team of scientific editors, writers and reporters launched a new journal of unprecedented scope, reach and potential impact. Our audacious goal was to provide a venue for the most exciting research in the chemical and allied sciences, alongside more general content that would fascinate a broad readership within and outside the chemistry community. Thus was born ACS Central Science and we are proud to celebrate our one year anniversary this month, complete with a celebratory symposium at the National ACS Meeting in San Diego.
Codling Moth: Effects of Releasing Irradiated Mixed Sexes or Females or Males Only on Reproductive Potential of a Native Population

Separate releases of sterile Laspeyresia pomonella (L.) were made throughout the growing season of 1973 in three 31-acre blocks (separated by 500 ft) of a large commercial orchard in the Wenas Valley, WA. Releases consisted of males and females irradiated with 25 krad, females only irradiated with 15 krad, and males only irradiated with 25 krad. A 35-acre control block that was treated with standard applications of insecticide was used as a control. Infestations in each release area during the season and at harvesttime were compared with conservative estimates of infestations projected in the absence of control. These comparisons showed the area treated with insecticide with a theoretically calculated 99.7% suppression of the population vs. 91.5, 89.7, and 88.5% suppression due to releases of males and females, females only, and males only, respectively. When the infestations in 1972 were compared with those in 1973, there was a net of 69 and 27% less damaged fruit in the areas treated with releases of females only and mixed sexes, respectively, and a 100% increase in damaged fruit in the area treated with releases of males only.
Places Only Solar Sails Can Go

Solar sails are a near term, low thrust, propellantless propulsion technology suitable for orbital maneuvering, station keeping, and attitude control applications for small payloads. Furthermore, these functions can be highly integrated, reducing mass, cost and complexity. The solar sail concept is based on momentum exchange with solar flux reflected from a large, deployed thin membrane. Thrust performance increases as the square of the distance to the sun. In comparison to conventional chemical systems, there are missions where solar sails are vastly more and less economical. The less attractive applications involve large payloads, outer solar system transfers, and short trip times. However, for inclination changes and station keeping at locations requiring constant thrust, the solar sail is the only economical option for missions of more than a few weeks duration. We compare the location and energies required for these applications between solar sails, advanced electric propulsion, and conventional rockets. We address the effect on mass fraction to understand solar sail mission cost and capability. Finally, the benefit of potential applications to near term science missions is reported.
Regional and network relationship in the intracranial EEG second spectrum

Abstract Objective We examined low-frequency amplitude modulations of band power time-series, i.e. the second spectrum, of the intracranial EEG (icEEG) for evidence of support for spatial relationships between different parts of the brain and within the default mode network (DMN). Methods We estimated magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) of the running power in the delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands for one-hour background icEEG epochs recorded from 9 patients. We isolated two test areas within the DMN and one control area outside it. We tested if the relationship between DMN areas was stronger than the relationship between each of these areas and the control location, and between all intrahemispheric contact pairs with similar intercontact distance. Results We observed very low values of second spectrum relationship between different parts of the brain, except at very short distances. These relationships are strongest in the delta band and decrease with increasing frequency, with gamma band relationships being the weakest. Our DMN-specific analysis showed no enhanced connectivity in the second spectrum in DMN locations in any frequency band. Conclusions Though we observed significantly nonzero relationships in lower frequency bands, second spectrum relationships are consistently very low across the entire brain in every frequency band. Significance This study suggests a lack of support for the DMN in the icEEG second spectrum.
CLASSIFICATION OF PAINTINGS BY ARTIST, MOVEMENT, AND INDOOR SETTING USING MPEG-7 DESCRIPTOR FEATURES

Image classification is an essential problem for content based image retrieval and image processing. Visual properties can be extracted from images in the form of MPEG-7 descriptors. Statistical methods can use these properties as features and be used to derive an effective method of classifying images by evaluating a minimal number of properties used in the MPEG-7 descriptor. Classification by artist, artistic movement, and indoor/outdoor setting is examined using J48, J48 graft, best first, functional, and least absolute deviation tree algorithms. An improved accuracy of 11% in classification of artist and 17% in classification of artistic movement over previous work is achieved using functional trees. In addition classification by indoor/outdoor setting shows that the method can be applied to new categories. We present an analysis of generated decision trees that shows edge histogram information is most prominent in classification of artists and artistic movements, while scalable color information is most useful for classification of indoor/outdoor setting.
MusicMapper: Interactive 2D Representations of Music Samples for In-Browser Remixing and Exploration

Much of the challenge and appeal in remixing music comes from manipulating samples. Typically, identifying distinct samples of a song requires expertise in music production software. Additionally, it is difficult to visualize similarities and differences between all samples of a song simultaneously and use this to select samples. MusicMapper is a web application that allows nonexpert users to find and visualize distinctive samples from a song without any manual intervention, and enables remixing by having users play back clusterings of such samples. This is accomplished by splitting audio from the Soundcloud API into appropriately-sized spectrograms, and applying the t-SNE algorithm to visualize these spectrograms in two dimensions. Next, we apply k-means to guide the user's eye toward related clusters and set k=26 to enable playback of the clusters by pressing keys on an ordinary keyboard. We present the source code (https://github.com/fatsmcgee/MusicMappr) and a demo video (http://youtu.be/mvD6e1uiO8k) of the MusicMapper web application that can be run in most modern browsers.
Death and dialysis risk after transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Background: Progression to renal replacement therapy (RRT) is a common concern for chronic kidney disease patients undergoing TAVR. Shared decision making requires accurate estimates on the need for RRT following TAVR; however, this information is unknown. We sought to quantify the need for RRT
Hierarchical approaches to mathematics of technological change

Technological change is an enormously complex and diverse phenomenon. To deal with it quantitatively, a classification scheme is needed that reflects this complexity and yet permits separate aspects of technological change to be described. In this paper, a hierarchical approach is presented that is suitable for describing many kinds of technological change. The hierarchy is three dimensional and connects technologies in time, in function and to each other. The virtues of this classification are that it clearly defines the objects of study, it can limit the scale of the analysis by treating particular members of the hierarchies and it can progressively extend the analysis by including more members of the hierarchies. The study of technological change should then start with a systems analysis to determine the structure of the hierarchies of interest for a particular technology or set of technologies. Once this is done, a member or members of the hierarchy are selected for analysis and the time evolution can be described in terms of systems of equations for the parameters defining the members of the hierarchy. The structure of the hierarchy determines the relation of the equations among various technological systems. For technologies considered as sets of devices, this procedure leads to nested sets of coupled equations. The evolution of performance parameters and the capture of market share by a new product are known to follow logistic type equations. Thus, while the overall complexity of the mathematics reflects the complexity of technological change, the individual parts of the mathematical structure are straightforward.
Limb Regeneration in Amphibians

Abstract Among vertebrates, many amphibians have the unique ability to regenerate complete and fully functional limbs following amputation. The early events characterizing this process have some similarity to wound healing in terrestrial animals but with more tightly regulated inflammation and other differences that allow the limb stump to avoid scarring and establish tissue interactions that lead to a regeneration blastema, a self-organizing structure out of which the new limb develops. In addition to the activities of an epithelial–mesenchymal interaction and growth factor gradients, axons entering the early blastema from nerves of the limb stump are also required for blastema growth, a requirement not present during the development of the embryonic limb bud. This review summarizes the major features of the limb regeneration process and discusses briefly the decline of regenerative capacity in higher vertebrates.
Acoustic wireless power transfer with receiver array for enhanced performance

Achieving wireless power transfer through airborne acoustic/ultrasonic waves has been previously shown to be a feasible alternative when the charging distance is above several times the transducer size. In order to further increase the receiver efficiency, constructing the receiver out of an array of transducer elements to increase the receiver effective area is desirable. In this work, a study on the power combining through series or parallel interconnections of the receiver elements is done to understand the benefits of both cases and the conditions required to maximize receiver efficiency, with measurements and modeling results presented. With a seven element receiver array, a factor of 4.25 increase in receiver efficiency was achieved compared to only using the receiver center transducer.
Exposing high-energy surfaces by rapid-anneal solid phase epitaxy

The functional design of transition metal oxide heterostructures depends critically on the growth of atomically flat epitaxial thin films. Often, improved functionality is expected for heterostructures and surfaces with orientations that do not have the lowest surface free energy. For example, crystal faces with a high surface free energy, such as rutile (001) planes, frequently exhibit higher catalytic activities but are correspondingly harder to synthesize due to faceting transitions. Here we propose a broadly applicable rapid-anneal solid phase epitaxial synthesis approach for the creation of nanometer thin, high surface free energy oxide heterostructures that are atomically flat. We demonstrate its efficacy by synthesizing atomically flat epitaxial RuO2(001) and TiO2(001) model systems. The former have a superior oxygen evolution activity, quantified by their lower onset potential and higher current density, relative to that of more common RuO2(110) films.
Arbitrators and the Interpretation of Contacts

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a presentation made at the IBA 2018 Conference in Rome, as part of a panel devoted to the subject, “How Do International Arbitrators Interpret International Contracts?” I suspect that most issues of “contract interpretation” call for the application of what Stefan Vogenauer has termed “universal hermeneutic truths” ---that is, the search for meaning by going no further than “common sense” and how language is “commonly and naturally deployed.” The arbitrator does this not only by “worrying” the text of the agreement, but more broadly by attempting to identify the underlying narrative---“the sense of the transaction.” These are universal “lawyerly skills.” And should an agreement run out of guidance for settling a dispute, a further step would ask us to move from “interpretation,” as commonly understood, to the process of “filling a gap” in a responsible way. When we are in the realm of “default rules,” or “presumptions,” or “burden of proof”---similar if not identical notions---recourse has to be made to the contract law of the legal system governing the contract. After first dispensing with some lingering red herrings [for example, the supposed dichotomy between “subjective” and “objective” standards of interpretation, on which so much ink has been spilled, or the supposed preference in some legal systems for a “textual” or “literal” rather than purposive style], I turn to the main event, which is the particular ethos and peculiar contribution of arbitral justice. However framed, the questions we are addressing begin very much to look as if they belonged to the realm of appreciation of context and of commercial reality----questions that arbitrators are thought particularly well placed to answer and which are routinely entrusted to them. As they are not organs of the state in which they sit, arbitral tribunals are liberated, first, in their choice of the appropriate governing law. Second, (and a far more interesting subject), is their freedom in the appreciation and application of “the law.” To suggest that arbitral tribunals are to be mediums channeling the voice of state courts, or parrots mimicking them---applying “the law” “strictly in the manner of the courts” of a particular jurisdiction--- is I believe misguided: How naive it would be to take as a self-evident premise the unfailing and continuing ability of judges (let alone juries) to produce, over time, reliable results, which remain responsive to the needs either of participants in the market or of the general polity? It may in fact be the peculiar contribution of arbitrators to test these rules of law, questioning and qualifying them, reconstructing commercial law incrementally by realigning arbitral decisions with changing practices. By contrast, distinguished commentators have written that the arbitral tribunal’s “insulation from consequences is not the same thing as conferral of discretion.” But I fear that such a proposition could only be seriously advanced by those quite untouched by any notion of Legal Realism.
Finding charm at RHIC

Dileptons produced by hard scatterings, such as heavy quark decays and the Drell-Yan mechanism, probe the gluon and sea quark distributions in hadrons. In nucleus-nucleus collisions, these processes are the thermal ‘back-ground’. To determine the magnitude and behavior of this background, we calculate the hard scattering contribution to next to leading order in perturbative QCD at RHIC. We compare these results to optimistic estimates of thermal dilepton production and find that initial charm production is dominant. However, experimental cuts can reduce the charm background, enhancing thermal information.
Iris Murdoch as Educator

In this chapter, I address the central and vital role of education in Iris Murdoch’s philosophy. Beginning with her (Platonic) idea of life as a spiritual pilgrimage, I consider two aspects of her thinking. First, I examine her belief in the unavoidable nature of morality and explain that it is implied by her commitment to the progressive character of consciousness. Good can be learnt through everything because human experience is formative. Thus, life forces the concept of value upon us. Second, I expand upon Murdoch’s argument that we find evidence, or a kind proof, for the necessity and sovereignty of the Good in our truth-seeking activities. For Murdoch, these activities are analogues of, and exercises in, moral improvement, and they inspire us to recognise an absolute dimension to life.
Carnivore space use shifts in response to seasonal resource availability

Estimating spatial and temporal resource use and partitioning among carnivore species varies based on life history and is critical to understanding ecological relationships of sympatric carnivores and their prey. Temporal variation in food availability can have a substantial influence on distribution, foraging behavior, prey selection, and population dynamics of carnivores. We investigated shifts in space use of black bears (Ursus americanus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans), and gray wolves (C. lupus) in response to seasonal availability of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns in Michigan, USA, May–August 2009–2011. We used generalized linear mixed models to identify whether probabilistic fawn space use resulted in shifts in carnivore space use from deer pre‐parturition (PPP, 1 May–24 May) to fawn limited mobility (LMP, 25 May–30 June) and social mobility (SMP, 1 July–31 August) periods. We developed a rule‐based algorithm to identify “clusters” of carnivore GPS locations and investigated carnivore clusters to identify fawn predation sites. Carnivores shifted space use among periods, but responses varied among species regarding fawn space use. Black bears selected against areas with greater fawn use during LMP and selected areas with greater fawn use during SMP. We suggest black bear space use was unrelated to fawn space use and reflected availability of vegetative forage. Bobcats selected areas with greater fawn use during LMP and SMP. Coyotes were indifferent to areas where fawns occurred during LMP but selected against areas with greater fawn use during SMP, likely foraging on alternative prey. Coyotes were spatially constrained by wolves, selecting against areas with greater wolf use during LMP and SMP. Wolves selected against areas with greater fawn use during LMP and SMP and selected areas near habitat edges and areas containing livestock carcasses. Carnivore responses to fawn white‐tailed deer distribution and vulnerability were congruent with life history strategies, resulting in space use shifts in response to temporarily abundant resources. Carnivores did not overall rely predominantly on fawns, likely shifting their space use to maximize intake of other seasonal resources. These events provide additional insight into life history strategies among co‐occurring species and dynamics of multi‐species predator–prey systems.
The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism

How do we understand illicit violence? Can we prevent it? Building on behavioral science and economics, this book begins with the idea that humans are more predictable than we like to believe, and this ability to model human behavior applies equally well to leaders of violent and coercive organizations as it does to everyday people. Humans ultimately seek survival for themselves and their communities in a world of competition. While the dynamics of 'us vs. them' are divisive, they also help us to survive. Access to increasingly larger markets, facilitated through digital communications and social media, creates more transnational opportunities for deception, coercion, and violence. If the economist's perspective helps to explain violence, then it must also facilitate insights into promoting peace and security. If we can approach violence as behavioral scientists, then we can also better structure our institutions to create policies that make the world a more secure place, for us and for future generations.
Lessons from September 11 about the post-conflict threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters

As the Islamic State’s hold on territory was gradually diminished in Iraq and Syria, countries around the world expressed concern that the group’s large contingent of foreign terrorist fighters (FT...
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Child-Pugh B or C Cirrhosis.

Abstract Purpose Our purpose was to report outcomes in patients with Child-Pugh B or C (CP B/C) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods and Materials Patients with HCC suitable for SBRT were prospectively enrolled in the study from 2012 to 2018. Outcomes in patients with CP B/C were analyzed. Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare survival outcomes between baseline CP score and post-SBRT CP score. Results Twenty-three patients with CP B/C with a total of 29 HCC tumors were treated with SBRT. Eighty-seven percent of patients were CP B8-C10. Median tumor size was 3.1 cm (range, 1-10 cm). Median dose delivered was 40 Gy in a median of 5 fractions. Eighteen of 23 patients (78.3%) had been previously treated with transarterial chemoembolization. Median follow-up was 14.5 months. Rates of 6- and 12-month local control were 100% and 92.3%, respectively. Six- and 12-month survival rates were 73.9% and 56.5%, respectively. Median survival was 14.5 months overall and 9.2, 22.5, 14.5, and 14.4 months for patients with CP B7, B8, B9, and C10, respectively. No patients exhibited symptoms of classic radiation-induced liver disease. However, 10 patients had CP score progression, with 4 patients (17%) having a ≥2-point increase in CP score by 6 months (or time of censor). There were 7 liver-related deaths, and based on independent review by a hepatologist, 1 of these deaths may have been attributable to SBRT-related liver injury. Fifteen of 23 patients were listed for liver transplant (LT) at the time of SBRT and 9 went on to receive LT with a pathologic complete response rate of 63.6%. Median survival, excluding patients who received LT, was 7.3 months. Conclusions SBRT is a reasonable treatment option for carefully selected patients with CP B7-C10. In our small cohort, there was no detectable difference between local control or overall survival and baseline CP score.
“The Cat’s Paw of Dictatorship”: Police Intelligence and Self-Rule in the Gold Coast, 1948–1952

In 1948, British authorities in the Gold Coast implemented a series of security reforms aimed at resisting future disruptions resulting from growing discontent with colonial rule. These reforms inc...
Was Jesus an assisted suicide

Summary Christianity is largely and strongly against suicide. In fact, there seems to be an absolute proscription on self-destructive activities in this and other religions, although martyrdom is acceptable. The seeming philosophical inconsistency is whether or not Jesus's crucifixion is actually a form of suicide – assisted or not. Perhaps, the closest analogy to Jesus’ Biblical death is a human being's “death by cop”. At the very least, there must be a rejection of an absolute ban on taking one's own life. In response to this apparent assisted or otherwise suicide, philosophical apologists have to provide an argument for why Jesus's death has all the hallmarks of a human person's suicide, but cannot be labeled as such nor can it have the same moral classifications as any mortal's self-killing. In the end, it might be that only pure, sacrificial suicides are permissible. With more people facing dire choices in their lives, the difficult conversation as to Jesus's demise's status and what it says about the human condition is worth the controversy.
E-169 Institutional experience from 750 neuroendovascular procedures using transradial approach – a prospective observational study

Background More evidence is emerging in the last two years regarding the feasibility of using transradial approach (TRA) for most neuroendovascular procedures. In addition, TRA has better safety profile and patient satisfaction compared to the traditional transfemoral approach. In this study, we present our experience in transitioning the ‘radial-first’ approach over a course of one year. Methods We prospectively collected demographic and procedural variables of all patients who underwent neuroendovascular procedure using the TRA between starting from March 2019. Exclusion criteria included: 1) known vasoocclusive disease such as Raynaud disease, Takayasu arteritis, or thromboangiitis obliterans; 2) known complex radial or brachiocephalic anatomy such as aberrant right subclavian artery or situs inversus; 3) procedures that require the use of devices that are larger than 8-French. Predefined interim analyses were planned at 500, 750 and 1000 patients. Results A total of 750 patients included in this analysis (615 underwent cerebral angiogram and 135 underwent an interventional procedure). Mean age was 55.8 (±15.1), 442 (58.9%) were females, and 434 (57.9%) underwent the procedure in outpatient setting. The right radial artery was used in 730 (97.3%) cases, ulnar artery in 16 (2.1%), and left radial artery in 4 (0.5%) cases. A 4/5-French slender sheath was used for cerebral angiograms and a 5/6 or 6/7-French slender sheath was used for interventional procedures. Interventional procedures included flow diversion in 27 cases, 25 cerebral aneurysm primary coiling cases, 17 stent-assisted coiling cases, 11 balloon-assisted coiling cases, 26 tumor and middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization cases, and 7 mechanical thrombectomy cases. The overall success rate was 94.8% (711/750): 95.4% (587/615) for cerebral angiograms and 91.9% (124/135) for patients who received an intervention. Overall success rate improved from 93.3% in the first 3 months of the study to 98.3% in the last 3 months (P=0.049). Complications related to access sites were seen in 7 (0.9%) patients: 5 patients had forearm hematoma and 2 had prolonged vasospasm/arm pain that resolved with conservative management. Other complications included post-procedural stroke in 2 patients and sent thrombosis in 1 patient. Conclusion Incorporation of radial-first approach for neuroendovascular procedures is safe and feasible. TRA is associated with learning curve and success rate improved during the study period. Disclosures E. Almallouhi: None. S. Al kasab: None. S. Pai: None. J. Lena: None. A. Spiotta: 1; C; Penumbra. 2; C; Penumbra, Stryker, Cerenovus, Terumo.
The Rationale and Implementation of Model-Based Precision Medicine for Inflammatory Diseases

The contents of this book represent a new way of looking at the role of inflammation in the balance between health and disease and present a series of advanced computational methods applied with an awareness of system-level consequences toward an explicit translational goal. Grounded in the fundamentals of scientific investigation, Translational Systems Biology brings with it the reminder that the quest to improve human health involves being able to effectively intervene on the processes that generate health and disease. Furthermore, the foundational properties of inflammation that challenge the traditional and neo-traditional research community, namely complexity and nonlinearity of structure and dynamics, also necessarily scale to the level of that community itself. As a result, the implementation of Translational Systems Biology not only provides a pathway toward discovering and engineering new and better therapies for specific disease processes but also represents a therapeutic paradigm shift for an increasingly ailing and insufficient biomedical research structure. We call this paradigm shift model-based Precision Medicine in order to contextualize this approach within the prevailing notions of how to implement Precision Medicine.
Academic, social, and well-being goals in the classroom: The dynamic interplay between multiple goals and self-regulatory processes

Abstract Much attention has been given to investigating specific self-regulatory processes within a single goal context, yet little is known about how students manage to pursue multiple goals. We adopted a multi-method approach to examine the content of college students’ (N = 365) multiple goals, interrelations of goals in a goal network, and the role of self-regulatory processes during multiple goal pursuit. First, using thematic coding of qualitative data, we identified different types of academic, social, and well-being goals that students pursue within a particular college course. Second, using data visualization, we illustrated how these goals are dynamically connected to each other within a goal network. Finally, using mediation analysis of quantitative data, we found that students’ perceptions of the interrelations of goals were associated with academic, social, and well-being outcomes, either directly or indirectly through the use of motivational regulation strategies.
Over The Top

A common homework problem in many introductory physics courses is similar to the following.
Promotion and Tenure Perceptions of University Aviation Association (UAA) Collegiate Aviation Administrators and Faculty: Administration Perceptions versus Faculty Perceptions

This article reports on a study undertaken to compare the perceptions of faculty members and administrators of the value placed on promotion and tenure. The authors discuss factors including the value of publishing in various aviation publications, sole versus multi-authorship, the geographic venue for presenting scholarly research, and service. They used a database created from a survey administered by Dr. Ruiz of Southern Illinois University (see Pavel, Legier, and Ruiz, 2012). The database contains responses to 20 multiple-choice questions (with additional comments) of 19 department chairs, 10 full professors, 29 associate professors, and 24 assistant professors from four-year collegiate UAA member institutions. Department chairs were considered to be administrators because they have more supervisory duties than faculty and may have a smaller teaching load. The responses were divided by employment classification and institution type (research versus non-research). The authors of the current study found that there was generally little difference between administration and faculty perceptions to the survey questions at similar institution types. Survey responses differed more when comparing research to non-research institutions, specifically responses on the value of scholarship in the promotion and tenure process. However, teaching and service perceptions were generally similar for all groups of respondents; most respondents (87%) considered teaching to be vital.
Design and use based on long-term measurements of analog floating-gate array circuits

Presented are handling and use issues to consider when using floating-gates in analog circuits, such as where to set bias voltages to reduce long-term effects and conditions to avoid when powering up and down the system. Designs to compensate for long-term changes resulting from global disturbances are presented, both for computational blocks as well as bias currents using floating-gates. Lastly, long-term data from an array of floating-gates is presented demonstrating their ability to hold charge over time.
Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Pain Distress Tolerance: A Preliminary Study

Objective Pain remains a critical medical challenge. Current treatments target nociception without addressing affective symptoms. Medically intractable pain is sometimes treated with cingulotomy or deep brain stimulation to increase tolerance of pain-related distress. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may noninvasively modulate cortical areas related to sensation and pain representations. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that cathodal (“inhibitory”) stimulation targeting left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) would increase tolerance to distress from acute painful stimuli vs anodal stimulation. Methods Forty healthy volunteers received both anodal and cathodal stimulation. During stimulation, we measured pain distress tolerance with three tasks: pressure algometer, cold pressor, and breath holding. We measured pain intensity with a visual-analog scale before and after each task. Results Mixed ANOVA revealed that mean cold pressor tolerance tended to be higher with cathodal vs anodal stimulation (P = 0.055) for participants self-completing the task. Pressure algometer (P = 0.81) and breath holding tolerance (P = 0.19) did not significantly differ. The pressure algometer exhibited a statistically significant order effect irrespective of stimulation polarity (all P < 0.008). Pain intensity ratings increased acutely after cold pressor and pressure algometer tasks (both P < 0.01), but not after breath holding (P = 0.099). Cold pressor pain ratings tended to rise less after cathodal vs anodal tDCS (P = 0.072). Conclusions Although our primary results were nonsignificant, there is a preliminary suggestion that cathodal tDCS targeting left dACC may increase pain distress tolerance to cold pressor. Pressure algometer results are consistent with task-related sensitization. Future studies are needed to refine this novel approach for pain neuromodulation.
Pointing the way toward target selection.

Hahnloser and colleagues propose a computational model in which top-down inputs, such as attention, act by modulating the strength of recurrent connectivity in a neuronal circuit.
Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home

Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home, DAVID HALLE. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993, xvi. 261 pp. 66 halftones; appendix, notes, index. $29.95 (cloth).
Synthesis of nanostructured TiN using a two-step transition metal halide approach

A two-step transition metal halide approach has been developed for synthesizing uniform ultra-fine titanium nitride (TiN) nano-crystallites (<10 nm) at relatively low temperatures of 400°C. The nano-sized TiN crystallites were obtained by reacting liquid titanium tetrachloride dissolved in anhydrous chloroform with anhydrous NH3 gas at room temperature followed by heat treatment under ultra-high-purity Ar, N2, and anhydrous NH3 atmosphere. The synthesized TiN nano-crystallites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, pycnometer, differential thermal analysis/thermo-gravimetric analysis, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The effect of the heat treatment temperature and atmosphere (Ar, N2, and NH3) on the specific surface area, density, crystal structure, and composition is discussed.
Abnormal eating and dissociative experiences

A total of 656 male and female college students completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and a modified version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (M-DES). There were significant correlations between dissociative experiences and each of the EDI subscales, especially for women. Even among women, however, dissociation was more strongly related to aspects of ego dysfunction than to abnormal eating per se. This finding sets limits on the hypothesized association between dissociative disorder and eating disorder.
Complete experimental characterization of the quantum state of a light mode via the Wigner function and the density matrix: application to quantum phase distributions of vacuum and squeezed-vacuum states

We have used the recently demonstrated method of optical homodyne tomography (OHT) to measure the Wigner quasiprobability distribution (Wigner function) and the density matrix for both a squeezed-vacuum and a vacuum state of a single spatial-temporal mode of the electromagnetic field. This method consists of measuring a set of probability distributions for many different Hilbert-space representations of the field-quadrature amplitude, using balanced homodyne detection, and then using tomography to obtain the Wigner function. Once the Wigner function is obtained, one can acquire the density matrix, including its complex phase. In the case of a pure state, this technique yields an experimentally determined complex wavefunction, as demonstrated here for the vacuum. The density matrix represents a complete quantum mechanical characterization of the state. From the measured density matrix we have obtained the Pegg–Barnett optical phase distribution, and from the Wigner function, the Wigner optical phase distribution.
AN INPUT-OUTPUT REPRESENTATION FOR IMPLICIT LINEAR TIME-VARYING SYSTEMS

Abstract The need to describe the input-output behavior of implicit differential systems arises in many contexts, including computer-aided modeling and the analysis of dynamical control systems. For a linear time-varying singular control system with real analytic coefficients in state space form, we produce an external (input-output) description of the system behavior in the form of a set of higher order differential equations in the inputs and outputs. The component of the state vector that affects the input-output relation is identified by a projection matrix which is computable from the original system coefficient matrices. The resulting input-output equations involve redundancy, but the input-output representation is obtained using computations on the original system without applying coordinate transformations.
The flutter instability in granular flow

Abstract I n the flutter instability (so-named by Rice), the dynamic partial differential equations of continuum mechanics become ill-posed in the sense of Hadamard because the wave speed turns complex. Both real and imaginary parts of the wave speed are nonzero, meaning that waves propagate as they are amplified. For over a decade there was uncertainty whether any viable constitutive law led to the flutter instability. In this paper it is proved that the flutter instability does occur in widely accepted, two-dimensional models for granular flow.
Thorium-232 in the eastern Caribbean Sea

The radiogenic Th isotopes (234Th, 230Th and 228Th) are produced in situ in the ocean from their dissolved progenitors (238U, 234U and 228Ra, respectively). These parent–daughter pairs have extensively been used to study the rate and mechanism of chemical scavenging, a process that is believed to be important in controlling the distributions and concentrations of many trace metals, such as Be, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Pb and the rare earths1–12. However, it is difficult to make useful direct comparisons between the distributions of the radiogenic Th tracers and those of trace metals, because their input pathways to the ocean are very different. To provide a link, one needs to determine the water-column distribution of the dominant isotope 232Th, which is non-radiogenic and is thus delivered to the ocean by the same fluvial and aeolian pathways as most trace metals. However, with the exception of the mar-bottom measurements recently reported by Nozaki and Horibe13, little is known of the concentration level of 232Th or its distribution pattern in the ocean. We report here the first profile showing the complete distribution of 232Th in an oceanic water column from the Venezuelan Basin. The data were obtained by a sensitive neutron activation analysis method newly developed for this project. The profile shows relatively high concentrations in the upper 200 m with a maximum of 87 d.p.m./106 kg near the base of the mixed layer. Average concentrations in deeper water (2.7 d.p.m./106 kg) are uniform and a typically low compared with open-ocean deep waters, perhaps because of unusually rapid scavenging in the restricted basin. The source of the 232Th in the surface waters is not known, but rivers appear to be more likely candidates than the atmosphere.
Basal Plasma Growth Hormone Levels in Man: New Evidence for Rhythmicity of Growth Hormone Secretion*

Circulating GH levels in man fluctuate widely due to pulsatile GH secretion by the pituitary gland. During much of the time, plasma GH is undetectable by current assays. This is punctuated by occasional secretory episodes, resulting in plasma GH peaks of varying height. The principal diurnal secretory event for GH is that associated with early slow wave sleep, but little is known about the prevailing level and dynamics of GH during the day. We used a new ultrasensitive immunoradiometric assay for GH (Boots-Celltech IRMA; limit of detection, 20 ng/L) to measure plasma GH in the previously undetectable range and to assess its diurnal pattern. Plasma GH was measured every 20 min over a 24-h period in 12 normal subjects (6 men and 6 women, aged 20–47 yr) under physiological conditions. Time series analysis of plasma GH patterns was performed by the Cluster algorithm, autocorrelation, and spectral analysis. Plasma GH, as measured by IRMA, was detectable at all time points and ranged from 40–19,695 ng/L. Dynami...
A finite element method for the quantum hydrodynamic model for semiconductor devices

Abstract A finite element method for numerical simulation of the transient quantum hydrodynamic model for semiconductor devices is presented. This model treats electron flow in a semiconductor device in the same manner as the classical hydrodynamic model, but the energy density and stress tensor include additional quantum terms, which allow particles to tunnel through potential barriers and to build up in potential wells. The finite element method under consideration is based on use of a mixed method for the approximation of the electric field and a shock-capturing Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method for the quantum hydrodynamic conservation laws. Numerical simulations of a resonant tunneling diode are presented, which show charge buildup in the quantum well and negative differential resistance and a hysteresis in the current-voltage curve. A comparison between the present method and a finite difference method is given.
ARE WE THERE YET? INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF DESIGN PROCESS ARCHITECTURE IN CONVERGENCE TIME

In distributed design individual designers have local control over design variables and seek to minimize their own individual objectives. The amount of time required to reach equilibrium solutions in decentralized design can vary based on the design process architecture chosen. There are two primary design process architectures, sequential and parallel, and a number of possible combinations of these architectures. In this paper a game theoretic approach is developed to determine the time required for a parallel and sequential architecture to converge to a solution for a two designer case. The equations derived solve for the time required to converge to a solution in closed form without any objective function evaluations. This result is validated by analyzing a distributed design case study. In this study the equations accurately predict the convergence time for a sequential and parallel architecture. A second validation is performed by analyzing a large number of randomly generated two designer systems. The approach in this case successfully predicts convergence within 3 iterations for nearly 98% of the systems analyzed. The remaining 2% highlight one of the approach’s weaknesses; it is susceptible to numerically ill conditioned problems. Understanding the rate at which distributed design problems converge is of key importance when determining design architectures. This work begins the investigation with a two designer case and lays the groundwork to expand to larger design systems with multiple design variables.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Solution Theory for Systems of Bilinear Equations

Bilinear systems of equations are defined, motivated and analysed for solvability. Elementary structure is mentioned and it is shown that all solutions may be obtained as rank one completions of a linear matrix polynomial derived from elementary operations. This idea is used to identify bilinear systems that are solvable for all right-hand sides and to understand solvability when the number of equations is large or small.