cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rape, Truth, and Hearsay

Though known among Evidence scholars, Stephens v. Miller is not a ground-breaking case, In applying a rape shield to the “she said, he said” facts before it — she said her acquaintance attempted to rape her, he said they had consensual sex — and in wrestling with whether the application of the rape shield deprived the defendant of his constitutional right to present a defense, the Seventh Circuit en banc opinion forged no new law. Instead, the plurality engaged in a rather straightforward, even predictable, analysis. The opinion’s references to “doggy fashion” sex may give the case some singularity. But as far as cases go, Stephens v. Miller is not canonical. One could even say the case is non-exceptional, at least insofar as any sexual assault case can be described as non-exceptional. However, it is its very non-exceptionalism that makes Stephens v. Miller an interesting case, and ultimately a curious one. To be sure, Stephens v. Miller is a reminder of the stories courts tell, and that court opinions are never “innocent.” The case also serves as a reminder that a host of problems continue to plague rape shields. But Stephens v. Miller is also a curious case insofar as it signals a missed opportunity, one that could have addressed two of the most intractable problems with rape shields: the sense that they are often over-inclusive, and the sense that they sometimes get in the way of the right rape judgment. By looking beneath the surface of Stephens v. Miller, this article offers a way to rethink rape shields by borrowing from another branch of evidence law: hearsay. The mark of the solution is that it can result in better rape judgments not only in cases like Stephens v. Miller but in an array of other rape cases as well, including a particularly challenging category of cases — cases in which the defendant claims that he made an honest but reasonable mistake as to whether consent existed.
Exploring exploratory programming

In open-ended tasks where a program's behavior cannot be specified in advance, exploratory programming is a key practice in which programmers actively experiment with different possibilities using code. Exploratory programming is highly relevant today to a variety of professional and end-user programmer domains, including prototyping, learning through play, digital art, and data science. However, prior research has largely lacked clarity on what exploratory programming is, and what behaviors are characteristic of this practice. Drawing on this data and prior literature, we provide an organized description of what exploratory programming has meant historically and a framework of four dimensions for studying exploratory programming tasks: (1) applications, (2) required code quality, (3) ease or difficulty of exploration, and (4) the exploratory process. This provides a basis for better analyzing tool support for exploratory programming.
A Political Ecology of Healing

Political ecology has expanded in multiple new directions since Piers Blaikie's explanation of the manifestations of political economy and ecology in the "problem" of soil erosion in the 1980s. In this article, I try to extend political ecology to engage with ethnic studies literature on coloniality, and indigenous perspectives on intergenerational trauma and healing. Drawing on historic and contemporary examples of Maidu governance and resource development in the Maidu homeland, California, USA, I extend the concept of intergenerational trauma in Native American communities from the individual and ethnic group levels to include the community's relationship with the land, and the concept of itself as a sovereign civic, governing body. I place specific manifestations of trauma, de-colonizing, and healing, as exemplified by Maidu natural resource activism, in dialogue with political ecology approaches to better understand the relationships between historically colonized people, governance, and land. I argue that the relationships between people and resources that political ecology focuses on cannot be adequately understood in historically colonized communities dealing with neo-colonial resource and political policies, without attention to perspectives on coloniality/de-coloniality, and trauma/healing. These perspectives come from both survivors of colonialism, and from ethnic studies and indigeneity scholars.
Innovation Tensions: Chaos, Structure, and Managed Chaos

Abstract: This chapter presents a framework for understanding the tensions that underlie an organization's ability to manage innovation effectively in the face of a turbulent competitive environment: (1) the fundamental tension between the desire for structure and need for creative chaos, and (2) the on-going tension between technology-push and market-pull approaches to innovation. We explore the nature and boundaries of these tensions and characterize them as four distinct ‘innovation contexts’. Using one high-technology organization's struggle as an example, we discuss the notion of ‘managed chaos’, a concept that helps understand the role of innovation in the maintenance and change of an organization's identity.
Design and Use of Biological Safety Cabinets

A large body of data has appeared in publications throughout the last 20 years showing that most of the sources of potential contamination of research materials and laboratory-acquired infections are aerosols of the contaminant or infectious agent (102, 209, 216, 293, 355, 357, 390, 397, 448, 476, 499, 500). In order to minimize the researcher’s risk of being exposed to infectious or other hazardous agents, special ventilated enclosures, called “biological safety cabinets,” have been designed. These units evolved from the laminar air flow clean benches that were developed for the aerospace and electronics industries in the late 1960s. The clean bench, also called a horizontal laminar flow bench (Figure 9.1), is suitable only for media preparation, where sterility of the work rather than protection of the worker must be assured. Although media solutions can be prepared in a clean bench, the researcher should not use it for the preparation of biological materials and especially not for the preparation of cultures (primary isolation, suspension, monolayer, etc.). This is because aerosols of antigens produced by this kind of manipulation are dispersed into the cabinet airstream, and the airstream is directed out toward the operator. Continued exposure to such aerosols can elicit a strong allergic response (see Chapter 20).
Effect of fiber lay-up configuration on the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of continuous carbon fiber polymer-matrix composite

Abstract Continuous carbon fiber polymer-matrix multifunctional structural composites capable of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding are needed for electronics and radiation sources. The laminate's fiber lay-up configuration affects the shielding effectiveness, as shown in this work for unmodified conventional carbon fiber polymer-matrix composite laminates with high-strength PAN-based carbon fiber and a polyamide thermoplastic matrix. The radiation is normal-incidence unpolarized plane wave, as commonly used. The shielding is dominated by absorption rather than reflection – more so for crossply composites than unidirectional composites. Due to the electrical conductivity longitudinal-to-transverse ratio of 930 for a lamina, the absorption-loss/thickness longitudinal-to-transverse ratio is 30 at 1.0 GHz. This factor of 30 means that the contribution of the fibers transverse to the electric field to absorption is negligible compared to that of the fibers parallel to the electric field. The ratio of absorption-loss/thickness for the crossply composite to that for the unidirectional composite with the same number of laminae is ∼4, and the ratio of the reflection loss for the crossply composite to that for the unidirectional composite is ∼2. The values of these ratios are consistent with electromagnetic theory for unpolarized radiation. This work strengthens the science base for the design of continuous fiber composites for shielding.
CO Adsorption on Gold Nickel Au–Ni(111) Surface Alloys

The adsorption behavior of a saturated single layer of CO on a Au–Ni(111) random surface alloy at 80 K is probed by vibrational spectroscopy as a function of Au coverage. The effect of Au on the occupancy of the Ni-bridge CO site, characterized by internal stretch frequencies of 1860–1960 cm–1, is observed to extend beyond geometric site blocking, while that of the Ni-atop-bound CO site, 2060–2120 cm–1, is well described by an ideal site blocking model up to 0.51 monolayers (ML) of Au. Gold coverages beyond 0.51 ML support nonclassically bound CO, which has a frequency (2150–2160 cm–1) above that of gas phase CO. Its adsorption site is assigned to the atop site of Ni surrounded by six Au atoms, Au6Ni. These observations naturally lead to a contemporary, physical picture of the dominant electronic interactions, combining elements from the Blyholder and d-band models, including 3d/5d, 2π*, and 5σ orbital mixing as well as CO dipole–dipole coupling, that determine the progressively nonadsorptive nature of CO...
Iterative Mechanism for Two-Sided Electricity Markets with Variable Renewable Energy Sources

The objective of this work is to develop an iterative bidding mechanism for wholesale electricity markets with variable renewable energy sources and investigate the performance of the mechanism under various scenarios. Built upon DC optimal power flow model in previous studies, this paper extends the model to two-sided markets with uncertainties in both generation and load. The convergence of the solution to the efficient Nash equilibrium is discussed and improved, which enables further studies on the dynamic behavior of the mechanism under different levels of renewable penetration and different trading schedules (day-ahead or hour-ahead). In addition, this work shows that by adding ramp rate constraint on actual generation powers, the mechanism can embrace higher uncertainties while maintaining grid reliability.
Low-Cost Wireless Modular Soft Tensegrity Robots

Completely soft robots are emerging as a compelling new platform for exploring and operating in unstructured, rugged, and dynamic environments. Unfortunately, the very properties which make soft robots so appealing also make them difficult to accurately model, scalably design, and robustly control. One of the outstanding obstacles to exploring these challenges is the relative lack of low-cost entry-level investigative model systems. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a low-cost entry-level soft robotics platform based upon modular tensegrity structures. This modular platform can scale across a variety of shapes and sizes and is capable of untethered control. We then demonstrate how unsupervised learning algorithms can be used to produce vibration-based locomotion.
Direct Evidence for O−H···NC Hydrogen Bonding in a Cyanide-Bridged Lanthanide−Transition-Metal Complex (H2O)6(DMF)6Ho2[Ni(CN)4]3: An Eight-Coordinated Holmium Center with a Bicapped (Square Face) Trigonal Prismatic Geometry†

The lanthanide−transition-metal complex (H2O)6(DMF)6Ho2[Ni(CN)4]3, 1, was prepared from the reaction of Ho(NO3)3·6.5H2O with K2[Ni(CN)4] at a 2:3 molar ratio in DMF (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide). This compound is a model compound for studying the effects of H2O ligands on the coordination geometry of lanthanide centers and the tendency to form oligomers rather than extended arrays with cyanide bridges. The presence of multiple hydrate water molecules appears to inhibit the formation of an extended array complex containing cyanide bridges but favors intermolecular hydrogen bonds between oligomers. The Ho centers are trans-bridged through a [Ni(CN)4]2- unit. Each Ho center also forms an isocyanide linkage with a terminal [Ni(CN)4]2- unit. Holmium is eight-coordinated. It is bound to three DMF molecules and three H2O molecules in addition to two [Ni(CN)4]2- units. The coordination geometry of Ho is a distorted bicapped (square face) trigonal prism. The X-ray crystal structure and IR spectra support the prese...
Using the WTO to Facilitate the Paris Agreement: A Tripartite Approach

Climate change is undeniably the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, and its challenges can only be addressed through multilateral means. Lacking in accountability and enforcement mechanisms, however, the Paris Agreement requires additional support to achieve its full effect. This paper proposes a novel approach for refocusing the multilateral trading system and facilitating the Paris Agreement. Although not perfectly aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the WTO’s multilateral framework could provide the necessary flexibilities to work towards meeting the Paris Agreement’s targets. There are three prongs to using the WTO as a vehicle to achieve progress on climate change. First, the preamble to the Agreement Establishing the WTO explicitly recognizes sustainable development as a goal, seeking to protect and preserve the environment. It also recognizes the need for developing countries to share in the growth in international trade. Giving meaning and effect to sustainable development is key to facilitating the Paris Agreement. The second prong recognizes that certain types of climate change mitigation measures may require violating WTO rules. In such circumstances, limited carve-outs in the mold of the Public Stockpiling Exception relating to food security, with additional built-in sunset provisions, would provide support for countries working to meet their targets, allowing them the ability to break from WTO rules to support domestic industries. Finally, the third prong envisions the negotiation of a multilateral or plurilateral agreement to help give effect to the Paris Agreement, much as the WTO already works in tandem with WIPO in relation to TRIPS and with the WCO in relation to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Key to this agreement would be special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions. The TFA contains next generation S&DT provisions, which could be leveraged in the context of a future plurilateral or multilateral agreement to help give effect to the Paris Agreement.
Three-dimensional optical tomographic brain imaging in small animals

We have developed a brain imaging system that uses continuous back-reflected light intensities to obtain spatially resolved, volumetric maps of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin in small animals. We report on numerical results as well as experimental studies performed on rats. The numerical study verified the ability to spatially localize changes in the optical properties. The preliminary experimental results focused on visualizing the three-dimensional hemodynamic changes in a rat brain in response to perturbations in the inspired CO2 concentration.
Operation optimization of a cryogenic NGL recovery unit using deep learning based surrogate modeling

Abstract In this work, the operation of a cryogenic expansion unit for the extraction of NGL is optimized through the implementation of data-driven techniques. The proposed approach is based on an optimization framework that integrates dynamic process simulations with two deep learning based surrogate models. The first model discloses the dynamics involved in the process using a long short-term memory (LSTM) layout with bidirectional recurrent neural network (RNN) structure and attention mechanism. The error maximization sampling strategy is adopted to improve the model accuracy. The second regression model is built to generate profit predictions of the process. Results from two case studies show the capabilities of the proposed optimization framework in terms of optimizing a cold residue reflux (CRR) NGL recovery unit.
Special Screening Resources: Strategies to Identify Substance Use Disorders, Including Opioid Misuse and Abuse

The prescription drug crisis has affected all sectors of the population, and so it is inevitable that dentists will increasingly see at-risk patients or those with substance use disorders in the course of their professional activities. Recognizing these patients and the special needs that they may have is now part of the standard of care for the profession. Screening for substance misuse involves a thorough history and review of the patient's medical record and, as appropriate, reviewing prior records and use of available screening tools.
5 – Einstein equations

Publisher Summary To account for how the perturbations to the particle distributions affect the gravitational field, one needs the Einstein equations of general relativity. The calculation expands the Einstein equations perturbatively around the zero-order homogeneous solution. Far from being subtle or complex as one might expect from general relativity's reputation, this calculation is completely straightforward, although a bit long. The fundamental equation of general relativity is a 4D tensor equation, so in principle it represents 16 separate equations. However, because both sides of the equation are symmetric tensors, only 10 of these are distinct. The chapter focuses only on two out of these 10. The Einstein equations relate perturbations in the metric to perturbations in the matter and radiation. Taking two components of the Einstein equations Gμv = 8πGTμv, one can found equations governing the evolution of the two functions that describe scalar metric perturbations, Ф and Ѱ. It is easiest to write these equations in the Fourier space.
Phase Change-Driven Negative Activation Energies in Pd/Carbon-Based/Organic Getter Hydrogenation Reactions.

The hydrogenation of 1,4-diphenylbutadiyne (DPB) blended with carbon-supported Pd (DPB–Pd/C) in the form of pellets was investigated by isothermal–isobaric experiments at 1333 Pa of H2 and in the t...
Mithramycin 2'-Oximes with Improved Selectivity, Pharmacokinetics, and Ewing Sarcoma Antitumor Efficacy.

Mithramycin A (MTM) inhibits the oncogenic transcription factor EWS-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma, but poor pharmacokinetics (PK) and toxicity limit its clinical use. To address this limitation, we report an efficient MTM 2'-oxime (MTMox) conjugation strategy for rapid MTM diversification. Comparative cytotoxicity assays of 41 MTMox analogues using E-twenty-six (ETS) fusion-dependent and ETS fusion-independent cancer cell lines revealed improved ETS fusion-independent/dependent selectivity indices for select 2'-conjugated analogues as compared to MTM. Luciferase-based reporter assays demonstrated target engagement at low nM concentrations, and molecular assays revealed that analogues inhibit the transcriptional activity of EWS-FLI1. These in vitro screens identified MTMox32E (a Phe-Trp dipeptide-based 2'-conjugate) for in vivo testing. Relative to MTM, MTMox32E displayed an 11-fold increase in plasma exposure and improved efficacy in an Ewing sarcoma xenograft. Importantly, these studies are the first to point to simple C3 aliphatic side-chain modification of MTM as an effective strategy to improve PK.
Does long-term dual-language immersion affect children's executive functioning?

Abstract Dual-language immersion (DLI) experience has been linked to enhanced reading and math skills in minority- and majority-language elementary school children. However, it remains unclear whether DLI experience can also enhance executive functioning. The current study took a longitudinal approach to this question and examined the effect of DLI experience on the development of executive function skills in majority-language children over a 1-year period. In total, 33 monolingual children attending English-only classrooms (Mage = 9.17 years, SD = 1.03) and 33 English–Spanish bilingual children attending DLI classrooms (Mage = 9.27 years, SD = 0.94) matched on age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and socioeconomic status were tested twice, 1 year apart, on nonverbal measures of inhibition, shifting, switching, and monitoring. Results revealed a significant interaction between group and year only on the response inhibition task, with bilinguals showing superior inhibition in Year 1 but not in Year 2. The two groups performed equivalently on all other measures at both time points. Results suggest that classroom DLI has a minimal impact on executive functions, at least as tested in the current study.
Strategies to Build Women Leaders Globally: Think Managers, Think Men; Think Leaders, Think Women

The purpose of this chapter is to inspire women to smash through the glass ceiling to achieve gender equality globally. It debunks myths about women leaders. It differentiates between men’s and women’s leadership and their communication styles. It draws a blueprint for women to fast-track their careers by equipping them with soft skills, networking skills, and negotiation skills. It encourages to overcome queen bee syndrome and implores successful senior women leaders to handhold young and ambitious women leaders. It emphasizes work-life integration. It explains closing the gender pay gap with examples of countries including Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. It advises humanizing brands with examples of global companies including Google, Apple, Facebook, Nike, Coca-Cola, South West Airlines, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. It reminds that cooperation between men and women is essential to build gender equality globally. It implores men to support women wholeheartedly to build a prosperous world. It calls upon women to smash through the glass ceiling. Women must not shy away from shouldering responsibilities. They must stay in the game by learning and leading. They must break structural obstacles; build knowledge, skills, and abilities; and network to fast-track their careers.
Faster Fashion: The Piracy Paradox and its Perils

Fashion today is faster than ever and knockoffs more common, but fashion copying is nothing new. For over a century the fashion industry has bemoaned the ubiquity and ease of copying. Writing in 1916, one industry observer explained the problem: Despite “the expense of thousands of dollars to create a design…copies appeared within forty-eight hours. The only recourse was multiplicity and rapidity of design at such frequent intervals that competitors would lag behind.” Copyists could not be defeated in the marketplace or in court. They could only be outraced. The story is unchanged today. Seeking to explain how the fashion industry curiously survives, and even thrives, in the face of extensive copying that IP theory suggests should destroy the incentive to create, in 2006 we introduced the concept of the “piracy paradox.” The legal freedom to copy designs paradoxically helps, not harms, the fashion industry and makes the industry more, not less, creative. In the years since we published The Piracy Paradox, others have pointed out the ill consequences of ever-faster fashion cycles--firms such as Fashion Nova introduce 600–900 new items per week--including environmental destruction, the exploitation of labor, and the wasteful status competition. In this article, part of a special symposium on The Piracy Paradox published by the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Review, we offer some general comments about these critiques of fast fashion and their connection to foundational questions of intellectual property in the apparel industry.
Temporary Ligation of the Bilateral Uterine Arteries During Laparoscopy Combined with Hysteroscopy in the Treatment of Caesarean Scar Pregnancy: Experience at a Chinese Teaching Hospital

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of temporary ligation of the bilateral uterine arteries during laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy in the treatment of caesarean scar pregnancy (CSP). Patients and methods This study was a retrospective analysis of 83 patients who had initially undergone laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy for CSP between 2012 and 2018 at Xiamen Women and Children's Hospital. Patients were assigned to the ligation group or the no ligation group according to whether they underwent temporary ligation of the bilateral uterine arteries. Factors extracted from the database included general preoperative information, surgical indicators (intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and blood transfusion), postoperative recovery indicators (β-hCG on day 3 after surgery, time to β-hCG normalization), and postoperative complications (decrease in menstrual bleeding, alteration in the menstrual cycle) and were compared between the two groups. Results The intraoperative blood loss of patients in the ligation group was significantly less than that of patients in the no ligation group (P=0.027), especially in patients with higher serum β-hCG level (P=0.030). No significant differences in the operation time, blood transfusion, decline ratio of hCG on day 3 after surgery, reduction in haemoglobin and haematocrit value, decrease in menstrual bleeding, or alteration in the menstrual cycle were observed between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion For CSP patients, temporary ligation of the bilateral uterine arteries during laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy achieved better clinical outcomes than laparoscopy combined with hysteroscopy without ligation with respect to intraoperative blood loss. This approach offers effective and safe surgical management for CSP in clinical practice.
Weak Mixing and the Structure of Charged Currents

The knowledge of the quark mixing matrix and experimental implications from the Kobayashi-Maskawa model are presented. Nonleptonic decays, neutral particle-antiparticle mixing and CP violations in heavy quark systems are discussed.
Chapter 10 Immunofluorescent Techniques in the Analysis of Chromosomal Proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on immunofluorescent techniques in the analysis of chromosomal proteins. Progress in the analysis of the nonhistone chromosomal proteins (NHC proteins) has been slow because of the complexity of this class of proteins and the fact that many of the major NHC proteins apparently play structural roles for which no direct assay is available. The use of specific antibody techniques appears likely to assist in resolving these problems. Specific antibodies against chromosomal proteins can be used to determine the distribution of these proteins in situ using indirect staining techniques. The in situ distribution patterns obtained can suggest as well as test hypotheses concerning structural and active roles of these proteins. Specific antibodies can also be used for rapid purification of components from complex mixtures and as probes in enzyme assays. The chapter discusses the production of antibodies against chromosomal proteins of Drosophila and their use in an indirect immunofluorescent assay to determine the in situ distribution of these proteins. The chapter discusses the preparation of antigens and antisera and the characterization of antiserum by indirect immunofluorescent staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels.
Action of Colchicine on a Transplanted Malignant Lymphoid Neoplasm in Mice of the C3H Strain

Colchicine is one of the alkaloids obtainable from the bulb, seeds, and leaves of Colchicum autumnale, Linnaeus. This plant, commonly called “false saffron,” “bastard saffron,” “dog-killer,” and “floating-light,” is a bulbous liliaceous plant which blooms during the fall in the wet meadows of Central and Southern Europe, the leaves and seeds appearing the following spring. Its use as a quasi-specific remedy against the acute crises of gout dates back to ancient times, perhaps to the Byzantines. By these people, the Arabs, Salernitians, and others it was called “hermodact.” This name, however, includes three botanical species: quintofolium, or long hermodact, Egyptian colchicum, or small hermodact, and Colchicum autumnale , which was imported from the East. The first formula for this drug we owe to Jacques Psychriste, physician and counsellor of Emperor Leon the Great (457–475 A.D.). The physicians of that time prescribed it mixed with large doses of scammony or alternated with Persian pills of aloe, for they attributed evacuant and cathartic properties to the drug. The irritating effect on the digestive tract was to be soothed by aromatics and sweetmeats. Colchicum was declared to be deadly by Dioscorides and its use was abandoned for centuries. The first scientific works on colchicum were contributed by Sennert (17th century), Stoerck (1763), Armstrong, Haden, Scudamore, Want and Williams (19th century). Colchicine was isolated by Houde in 1887. It occurs in the form of a yellow powder or thin yellow flakes; it is odorless and more soluble in cold than in warm water. The aqueous solution is yellowish, levorotatory, unstable in the light, and very bitter to the taste. The alkaloid is soluble, also, in ethyl alcohol and in chloroform, but only slightly so in ether. It has no well defined melting-point and is decomposed by heat. Its empirical formula is given by Windaus (1924) as C22H25NO6; its structural formula as To quote from Fieser (13), it is a “phenanthrene alkaloid, for it has been degraded to a tetramethoxymethylphenanthrene and to 9-methylphenanthrene.”
A Simulation Study on the Impact of Mobility Models on the Network Connectivity, Hop Count and Lifetime of Routes for Ad hoc Networks

The high-level contribution of this paper is a simulation-based analysis of the network connectivity, hop count and lifetime of the routes determined for ad hoc networks under the following four mobility models: Random Waypoint model, Gauss-Markov model, City Section model and the Manhattan model. Two kinds of routes are determined: routes with the minimum hop count and routes with the longest lifetime. Extensive simulations have been conducted for different conditions of network density and node mobility for each of the four mobility models and also for different values of the degree of randomness parameter for the Gauss-Markov mobility model. We arrive at rankings of the mobility models with respect to network connectivity, hop count of minimum hop routes, lifetime of minimum hop routes, lifetime of stable routes and the hop count of stable routes. We also observe a route lifetime–hop count tradeoff for all the four mobility models. The general trend of the results is: the more realistic and constrained is a mobility model, the larger is the number of hops in the minimum hop routes and smaller is the lifetime of the stable routes determined under the mobility model. Povzetek: Opisana je analiza mre s stirimi modeli mobilnosti: Random Waypoint, Gauss-Markov, City Section in Manhattan.
Credit Unions: Fringe Suppliers or Cournot Competitors?

Recent work has demonstrated the competitive relationship between credit unions and banks in consumer financial services. One issue underlying the nature of competition between the two, however, concerns the most appropriate way to model their interactions.Two possible approaches are the dominant-firm price-leadership model and the generalized Cournot model. In the former model, credit unions act as fringe suppliers who are price-takers in a homogeneous product market. In the latter, they possess (limited) market power. Oneway to distinguish the two is by examining the impact of credit union market shares on their pricing, as the two models imply differing effects. Our results are more consistent with the ``credit unions as fringe suppliers'' view. Using a pooled cross-section time seriesof 77 small local consumer lending markets throughout the U.S., each with 10 observations over 5 years, the focus is on a loan product ex ante thought to be sold in local markets, unsecured (non-credit card) loans. For this product, increasing credit union market sharesreduces credit union loan rates, consistent with a fringe supplier hypothesis.
Viking 23-zero emissions in the city, range and performance on the freeway

The design team for Viking 23 decided that a solar electric, parallel hybrid vehicle would be a realistic replacement for today's car. A range of up to 100 Km at an average urban speed of 50 kph in zero emission mode was set as a goal. An attempt will be made to do this with no power drawn from the existing electric power grid by utilizing solar cells to charge the battery. For inter-city use a target range of 500 km at an average speed of 100 kph was set. The parallel configuration was chosen because mechanical drive-line efficiency is greater than that possible for a series hybrid. One disadvantage of a parallel hybrid is that a larger more powerful internal combustion (IC) engine is required for hill climbing and maximum performance than would be needed for the series configuration. On the other hand, no large generator is needed to collect the IC engine power to charge the battery and run the electric motors.
Prevalence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus infections in a Saudi Arabian hospital

Summary Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a two-component toxin associated with the toxicity and virulence of Staphylococcus aureus . The presence of PVL is well documented in community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) and is observed in methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) with variable prevalence. We assessed the prevalence of PVL in a sample of 93 MSSA patients in a healthcare facility in Eastern Saudi Arabia using real-time PCR for lukSF-PV genes. The presence or absence of PVL was correlated with age, gender, hospitalization status, infection site and antibiotic resistance. PVL was detected in 28 (30%) patient samples. PVL was associated with a greater likelihood of resistance to trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (a resistance of 39.2% of PVL-positive isolates compared to 6.1% of PVL-negative isolates) ( p
Gallstone Dissolution In Vitro Using Methyl tert-Butyl Ether: Radiologic Selection Criteria

Methyl tert-butyl ether dissolves cholesterol gallbladder stones when infused through a percutaneous transhepatic catheter. All gallstones, however, contain noncholesterol components that are insoluble in lipid solvents and may be too large to be aspirated through a small catheter or flushed from the gallbladder. To identify which patients have gallstones that are most likely to completely dissolve, we evaluated the ability of methyl tert-butyl ether to dissolve gallstones in vitro based on their radiodensity and size. Radiodensity influenced completeness of dissolution (p less than 0.01), but size did not (p greater than 0.5). Twenty-six of 32 radiolucent stones (81%) dissolved completely, leaving residual debris less than 2 mm in diameter. Only 2 of 32 radiopaque stones (6%) dissolved completely. Insoluble radiolucent and radiopaque stones less than 0.5 cm in diameter were black pigment stones. Four radiolucent and 19 of 22 radiopaque stones (86%) greater than 0.5 cm in diameter underwent partial dissolution leaving residual debris 2 mm or larger. By infrared spectroscopy, calcium bilirubinate and calcium carbonate were identified as the principal components of this methyl tert-butyl ether-insoluble debris. Until methods for dissolving or fragmenting noncholesterol components of gallstones are available, only patients with radiolucent gallstones should be treated with methyl tert-butyl ether.
EXTENSIONS OF CODIMENSION ONE IMMERSIONS

We give a method for constructing all of the extensions of an immersion, and determine the CW structure and diffeomorphism type of each.
Intersubband transitions to minigap-confined states in doped quantum wells

Abstract We have demonstrated a new type of infrared photodetector based on infrared intersubband transitions in doped quantum wells in which the excited state is confined by the minigap between two minibands in surrounding superlattice barrier layers. Sharp peaks in the infrared photocurrent spectra were observed at 78 K in the 2.7–3.6 μm wavelength region corresponding to transitions in which the excited state energy is substantially above the conduction band edge of the higher-bandgap component of the superlattice. This indicates that the excited state is strongly confined within the well layer by the forbidden-energy minigap region between two allowed minibands. Broader, longer-wavelength photocurrent features corresponding to transitions into the lower-lying miniband states were also observed. The spectral features in the photocurrent spectra are well described by calculations of the optical absorption cross-section, and the relative magnitudes of these features are shown to be strongly affected by bias-dependent photocarrier transport.
Periodic solutions of nonlinear boundary value problems

ONE OF the well known techniques in the theory of nonlinear boundary value problems (BVP) is the method of differential inequalities or the method of upper and lower solutions. The method of “Alternative Problems”, a global variant of the Lyapunov-Schmidt method, has been used in the study of problems at resonance. The investigation of periodic BVP’s forms an important subclass of problems at resonance. Our aim is to combine the two approaches to discuss nonlinear problems at resonance. We restrict ourselves in this paper to the discussion of periodic boundary value problems. In Section 1, we shall indicate the method of upper and lower solutions. The results for systems are given in a general way so as to include known results and also offer new directions. Section 2 deals with the abstract existence results at resonance in the desired framework. In Section 3, we consider the scalar periodic BVP’s by combining the two techniques namely alternative methods and the method of differential inequalities.
Scattering and Attenuation of Seismic Waves in Northeastern North America

Abstract The energy-flux model of seismic coda, developed by Frankel and Wennerberg (1987), is used to derive path-averaged estimates of scattering () and intrinsic attenuation () for northeastern North America. The model predicts the amplitude of the coda wave versus time as a function of frequency, , and . A nonlinear inversion scheme is developed that allows for the estimation of and as a function of frequency by fitting the model to a narrow band-pass-filtered envelope of the seismic coda for each seismogram at discrete frequency points, namely, 1, 5, 10, and 20 Hz. The inversion is performed on seismograms from earthquakes recorded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology New England Seismic Network over a 15-year period between 1981 and 1995. Preliminary results indicate that scattering is the dominant mechanism of energy dissipation and that the effects of intrinsic attenuation are secondary. The scattering is strongest at 1 Hz and decreases with increasing frequency. The scattering is also strongest at shorter propagation distances and decreases substantially as the propagation distance increases. For example, at a frequency of 1 Hz, the value of is approximately 0.22 at an epicentral distance of 10 km and decreases rapidly to a value of approximately 0.05 at an epicentral distance of 50 km. Conversely, intrinsic attenuation is negligible at shorter propagation distances and increases as the propagation distance increases, and it does not show a strong frequency dependence. One interpretation of these results is the presence of a strong scattering region at shallow depth, with the scattering decreasing with increasing depth, and with a subsequent increasing of intrinsic attenuation at greater depth. Possible mechanisms for the scattering include the presence of a weathering layer near the surface, the presence of fractures in the shallow crust, and topography.
Chlorpyrifos in the Air and Surface Water of Chesapeake Bay: Predictions of Atmospheric Deposition Fluxes

A 1993 survey including eight stations down the center of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem, four times during the year, resulted in detection of chlorpyrifos in 100% of air and water samples. Water concentrations were higher in March and April, coinciding with the spring flush from the Susquehanna River (1.67−0.25 ng L-1). The lowest water concentrations were found in September (0.25−0.045 ng L-1). Air concentrations were lowest in March (2−3 pg m-3). Air concentrations were highest in June in the southern Bay region (95 pg m-3). Atmospheric loadings of chlorpyrifos to the Chesapeake Bay mainstem were estimated for the four sample collection periods using fugacity-based equations. Net volatile loss of chlorpyrifos across the surface area of the Bay was predicted in March and April at 147 and 145 g day-1, respectively, while net deposition was predicted for June and September at 85 and 56 g day-1, respectively. A comparison of atmospheric loadings to the Bay with total load within the surface water illustrates ...
The passivity of gallium arsenide

Abstract Both p- and n-type gallium arsenide in aqueous electrolytes display the phenomenon of passivity once sufficiently high prepassive cds are attained. This can be achieved for the n-type by illumination, whereby a transition is observed from hole-limited anodic dissolution to passive film formation as the light intensity is increased. Ellipsometric studies reveal that the passive film on either n- or p-GaAs dissolves at a comparatively high rate, and so reaches a steady-state thickness in a rather short time. Coulometric measurements indicate that the passive film contains gallium and arsenic in their +3 oxidation states. The ionization of Ga and As at the GaAs/film interface is shown to require holes, in like manner to anodic dissolution in the absence of a passive film. The electrical and optical properties of the passive film suggest uniformity of composition for thickness greater than about 50 A, whereas thinner films show higher conductivity and refractive index. The passive film on GaAs supports typically large electric fields and exhibits negligible electronic conductivity and porosity. Under proper conditions a non-passive anodic film can be formed at potentials in the active region. It is much less soluble than the passive film, continues to thicken indefinitely, and therefore appears to be porous.
Pornography: Research Review and Implications for Counseling

The author reviews the current definitions, models, and research literature available on pornography. The influence of the media on attitudes toward women and sexual aggression are discussed. Suggestions are made for educational and counseling interventions.
Political manipulation of a public firm’s objective function

Abstract In the context of a government-owned public firm that competes with a private firm, this paper demonstrates how the government can maximize its true objective by assigning the public firm a different objective function. Interestingly, this assigned objective function need bear no resemblance to the actual objective being sought, enabling the government to disguise a politically unpopular agenda and/or outside influence.
An animal model to examine the response to environmental stress as a factor in sudden cardiac death

Abstract Sudden cardiac death is the leading mode of death in adults in the United States. While it appears intimately associated with coronary artery disease, the factors that render some subjects vulnerable to sudden cardiac death, while others with the same coronary disease do not die suddenly, are unknown. An approach is described which considers that sudden cardiac death represents a separate syndrome of coronary artery disease within certain vulnerable subjects. It is suggested that the response to psychosocial stress in vulnerable subjects results in deleterious cerebral cortical influences on the autonomic control of the heart which render it more vulnerable to ischemia-induced ventricular fibrillation. Studies in the pig, an animal known to be susceptible to sudden death resulting from an environmental stress, demonstrate that cerebral cortical influences on autonomic centers play a central role in vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation after coronary artery occlusion. In this model, the incidence of ventricular fibrillation can be reduced by psychologic adaptation of the animal to his environment, crypblockade of frontal cortical brain stem pathways and by central administration of propranolol. The relative role of adrenergic and cholinergic innervation of the heart is an important consideration.
Cumulative Effects of Aging and Mechanical Ventilation on In Vitro Diaphragm Function

Study objective: Unloading the diaphragm, via mechanical ventilation (MV), results in significant diaphragmaticatrophy, contractile dysfunction, and oxidative stress in young adult animals. Since aging increases skeletal musclesusceptibility to atrophy and injury, we tested the hypothesis that MV-induced diaphragmatic contractiledysfunction would be exacerbated in aging rats.Methods: Fisher 344/Brown Norway hybrid rats (4 months old [young] and 30 months old [old]) were assigned toeither control or MV groups. MV rats were anesthetized, tracheostomized, and ventilated with 21% O2 for 12 h.Arterial BP, pH, and blood gas homeostasis were maintained in the MV animals throughout the experimental period. Animals in the control group were acutely anesthetized, and the diaphragms were immediately removed.Muscle strips from the mid-costal diaphragm were removed from each experimental animal, and contractile properties were studied in vitro.Results: Compared to young control animals, aging (old control animals) was associated with a 13% decrease inmaximal isometric tension (24.5 N/cm2 vs 21.3 N/cm2). Although, MV induced similar relative losses (24%) indiaphragmatic isometric tension in both young and old animals receiving MV, the combined effects of aging andMV resulted in a 34% decrement in diaphrag- matic isometric tension compared to young control animals (24.5N/cm2 vs 16.1 N/cm2).Conclusions: These data do not support the hypothesis that aging exacerbates the relative MV-inducedimpairment in diaphragmatic isometric tension. Nonetheless, the additive effects of aging and MV have dramaticeffects on diaphragmatic force reserve. This could exacerbate weaning difficulties in older individuals receivingMV
Multilateral Export Decompositions

We analyze exports along five margins to observe the changes of newly exported products, products removed from the export market, and continuously traded products to new, old, and exited destinations on export growth. We find export shares differ between developing and developed countries: 1) entering and exiting products are an important source of export value, but more so for developing than developed countries, 2) that continuously exported products to new destinations are a more important source of export value for developing than developed countries, 3) that though the removal of exiting products has a large impact on export value, the removal of products from one destination that continue to be exported elsewhere results in little loss to total export value, and 4) that larger and richer exporting countries have less opportunity to increase exports from new destinations than smaller and poorer exporting countries. Understanding the change in these margins across different types of countries may be important for formulating trade agreements and targeting of new trade partners.
Method to estimate bioenergy crop feedstock supply curves

Abstract This paper describes a partial equilibrium method that has been used to estimate national bioenergy crop supply curves in the US. The method requires information about the number of hectares (acres) suitable for bioenergy crop production by land type and region, bioenergy crop yields and production costs for the corresponding land types and regions, and the profitability of the land in alternative uses. We describe how this information can be integrated to create supply curves and discuss the limitations and weaknesses of the approach.