cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation of in-water 3D radiative transfer using DIRSIG

Sensor reaching radiance in coastal ocean-water environments contains contributions from the air-water interface, in-water objects, and the participating volume itself. If rendered by a forward-modeling synthetic image generation program, the imagery must account for several interesting phenomenon, including, but not limited to; volumetric scattering, shadows, skyfraction, background reflections, and capillary and gravity wave glints and caustics. DIRSIG models the radiative transfer process in this complex environment using a combination of sophisticated raytracing and photon mapping techniques. This research illustrates a subset of our validation efforts associated with the forward radiometric modeling process used by DIRSIG when rendering coastal environments with significant contributions from in-water objects. The results exemplify DIRSIG's ability to render spectrally independent (elastic) and radiometrically accurate hyperspectral imagery of participating media.
Muscarinic receptor subtypes are differentially distributed in the rat cochlea

Five different genes encode the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. The muscarinic receptor subtypes M1, M3, and M5 are typically coupled to activation of the Galpha(q/11)-phosphatidyl inositol pathway, whereas the M2 and M4 subtypes are typically linked to Galpha(i) and adenylyl cyclase inhibition. In order to localize muscarinic receptors in the rat cochlea, we applied polyclonal antibodies for subtypes M1, M2, M3, and M5, and monoclonal antibody for subtype M4 to paraffin sections. In the organ of Corti, outer hair cells exhibited strong immunoreactivity for M3 and weak immunoreactivity for M1. Deiters' cells were strongly immunoreactive to antibodies for the M1 and M2 subtypes, with weak staining observed for M3, and weaker yet for M5. Inner hair cells showed moderate immunoreactivity for the M1 subtype, weaker staining for the M5 subtype, and slight staining for the M3 subtype. Among the spiral ganglion neurons, weak to moderate immunoreactivity was detected for M3 and M5 subtypes and weak staining was observed for the M1 subtype. The efferent fibers of the intraganglionic spiral bundle were positive for M2 and M5. In the lateral wall, weak to moderate staining was detected for M5 in the stria vascularis corresponding in position to the basolateral extensions of marginal cells. Staining for M3 was observed associated with capillaries. Fibrocytes of the spiral ligament exhibited limited but selective subtype immunoreactivity. No immunoreactivity was detected in the cochlea for the M4 subtype. From the present findings we suggest that M3 is the primary muscarinic receptor subtype in outer hair cells mediating a postsynaptic response to the medial olivocochlear cholinergic efferent input. The muscarinic receptor subtypes M1, M3, and M5 appear to subserve the action of cholinergic lateral olivocochlear efferent stimulation on postsynaptic responses in type I afferents. Whether M1, M3, and M5 protein in inner hair cells indicates constitutive or vestigial expression remaining from development is unknown. M2 and M5 muscarinic receptors expressed presynaptically may modulate the efferent signal. Finally, expression by Deiters' cells of several muscarinic subtypes raises the possibility that cholinergic efferents couple to these non-sensory cells through muscarinic receptors.
Summary of an International Symposium on Phenytoin-Induced Teratology and Gingival Pathology

Phenytoin has been the preferred drug for treating grand mal epilepsy for more than 40 years. The metabolism of this drug, its teratogenic potential, and its role in the pathogenesis of gingival overgrowth are discussed.
Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay caused by a frameshift mutation in a large kindred of type 2 long QT syndrome.

Background Nonsense and frameshift mutations are common in congenital long QT syndrome type 2 (LQT2). We previously demonstrated that hERG nonsense mutations cause degradation of mutant mRNA by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) and are associated with mild clinical phenotypes. The impact of NMD on the expression of hERG frameshift mutations and their phenotypic severity is not clear. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the role of NMD in the pathogenesis of a hERG frameshift mutation, P926AfsX14, identified in a large LQT2 kindred and characterize genotype–phenotype correlations. Methods Genetic screening was performed among family members. Phenotyping was performed by assessment of ECGs and LQTS-related cardiac events. The functional effect of P926AfsX14 was studied using hERG cDNA and minigene constructs expressed in HEK293 cells. Results Significant cardiac events occurred in carriers of the P926AfsX14 mutation. When expressed from cDNA, the P926AfsX14 mutant channel was only mildly defective. However, when expressed from a minigene, the P926AfsX14 mutation caused a significant reduction in mutant mRNA, protein, and hERG current. Inhibition of NMD by RNA interference knockdown of up-frameshift protein 1 partially restored expression of mutant mRNA and protein and led to a significant increase in hERG current in the mutant cells. These results suggest that NMD is involved in the pathogenic mechanism of the P926AfsX14 mutation. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the hERG frameshift mutation P926AfsX14 primarily results in degradation of mutant mRNA by the NMD pathway rather than production of truncated proteins. When combined with environmental triggers and genetic modifiers, LQT2 frameshift mutations associated with NMD can manifest with a severe clinical phenotype.
Size distribution of unburned carbon in coal fly ash and its implications

Abstract A set of nine coal fly ashes, obtained from various US utilities, were fractionated by standard dry-sieving techniques. The carbon contents of the different size fractions were measured, and the nature of the carbon particles was microscopically examined. Significant differences were found in the distribution of carbon in class F and class C ashes. The ‘foam index’ test is commonly used for quick evaluation of the suitability, with respect to air entrainment, of pozzolanic additives for concrete. This test measures adsorption of air entraining admixtures (AEAs) by the carbon in the fly ash. Application of this test to the different ash fractions confirmed that the smallest particle size fractions of ash make the major contribution to AEA adsorption. The carbon from class F ash has a comparable capacity for AEA adsorption as carbon from class C ash, when compared on a surface area basis. What makes the class C carbons apparently ‘worse’ is the fact that they have much higher surface areas than class F carbons (and it is only by virtue of the low carbon mass in most class C ashes that problems with these ashes are not more common). The importance of accessibility of the surface is also clearly seen from these results.
Psychophysical "blinding" methods reveal a functional hierarchy of unconscious visual processing.

Abstract Numerous non-invasive experimental “blinding” methods exist for suppressing the phenomenal awareness of visual stimuli. Not all of these suppressive methods occur at, and thus index, the same level of unconscious visual processing. This suggests that a functional hierarchy of unconscious visual processing can in principle be established. The empirical results of extant studies that have used a number of different methods and additional reasonable theoretical considerations suggest the following tentative hierarchy. At the highest levels in this hierarchy is unconscious processing indexed by object-substitution masking. The functional levels indexed by crowding, the attentional blink (and other attentional blinding methods), backward pattern masking, metacontrast masking, continuous flash suppression, sandwich masking, and single-flash interocular suppression, fall at progressively lower levels, while unconscious processing at the lowest levels is indexed by eye-based binocular-rivalry suppression. Although unconscious processing levels indexed by additional blinding methods is yet to be determined, a tentative placement at lower levels in the hierarchy is also given for unconscious processing indexed by Troxler fading and adaptation-induced blindness, and at higher levels in the hierarchy indexed by attentional blinding effects in addition to the level indexed by the attentional blink. The full mapping of levels in the functional hierarchy onto cortical activation sites and levels is yet to be determined. The existence of such a hierarchy bears importantly on the search for, and the distinctions between, neural correlates of conscious and unconscious vision.
Managing Information Technology Investment Risk: A Real Options Perspective

Past information systems research on real options has focused mainly on evaluating information technology (IT)investments that embed a single, a priori known option (such as, deferral option, prototype option). In other words, only once a specific isolated option is identified as being embedded in a target IT investment, does this research call upon using real options analysis to evaluate the option. In effect, however, because real options are not inherent in any IT investment, they usually must be planned and intentionally embedded in a target IT investment in order to control various investment-specific risks, just like financial risk management uses carefully chosen options to actively manage investment risks. Moreover, when an IT investment involves multiple risks, there could be numerous ways to reconfigure the investment using different series of cascading (compound) options. In this light, we present an approach for managing IT investment risk that helps to rationally choose which options to deliberately embed in an investment so as to optimally control the balance between risk and reward. We also illustrate how the approach is applied to an IT investment entailing the establishment of an Internet sales channel.
Photodynamic inactivation of arbor viruses by neutral red and visible light.

SummarySix Group “B” and 2 Group “A” arbor viruses were found to be highly susceptible to inactivation by neutral red in the presence but not in the absence of visible light.Inactivation kinetics with Japanese encephalitis virus were first order and proceeded for more than 8 log units when high titer stocks were investigated.The possible application of this method of inactivation to the production of killed virus vaccines was discussed.
Changing majors at Bucknell: An update

The common first semester and a required interdisciplinary engineering course open to nonengineering students have since 1988, helped stablize engineering enrollment at Bucknell as the pool of available students remains significantly smaller. The course and a policy change that allows first-year students to enroll as engineering undecided have created an environment in which significant numbers of arts and sciences students transfer into engineering and students transferring out of engineering seem more confident about their abilities and plans. >
Interleaved trellis coded modulation and decoding for 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper

It is highly likely that 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper (10GBASE-T) transceivers will use a 10-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM 10) as well as a 4D trellis code as in 1000BASE-T. The traditional trellis coded modulation scheme, as in 1000BASE-T, leads to a design where the corresponding decoder with a long critical path needs to operate at 833 MHz. It is difficult to meet the critical path requirements of such a decoder. To solve the problem, two interleaved trellis coded modulation schemes are proposed. The inherent decoding speed requirements are relaxed by factors of 4 and 2, respectively. Parallel decoding of the interleaved codes requires multiple decoders. To reduce the hardware overhead, time-multiplexed or folded decoder structures are proposed where only one decoder is needed and each delay in the decoder is replaced with four delays for scheme 1 and two delays for scheme 2, respectively. These delays can be used to reduce the critical path. Compared with the conventional decoder, the folded decoders for the two proposed schemes can achieve speedups of 4 and 2, respectively. Simulation results show that the error-rate performances of the two schemes are quite close to that of the conventional scheme.
Quantitative Analysis of the Fate of Gold Nanocages In Vitro and In Vivo after Uptake by U87-MG Tumor Cells

Not always equal: When a mother cell that contains Au nanocages divides, the nanoparticles are unequally distributed between the two daughter cells. This unequal distribution of nanoparticles as well as their clearance from the cells (see picture) is quantitatively analyzed both in vitro and in vivo using two-photon microscopy and photoacoustic microscopy, respectively.
Robert Dahl and the Right to Workplace Democracy

Do employees possess a moral right to democratic voice at work? In A Preface To Economic Democracy and other writings over the past two decades, Robert Dahl has developed a neo-Kantian proof for the existence of such a right. Even if we accept the norm of distributive justice upon which Dahl founds his proof, voluntary subjection to authoritarian power in firms does not violate the legitimate entitlements of employees. While adult residents of territorial associations do possess a moral right to political equality, polities and firms are qualitatively different types of associations in which the entitlements of subjects are distinct. Subjection to power is acquired in different ways in the two kinds of associations, and this difference deprives employees—but not residents—of a right to democratic voice as a matter of moral desert.Throughout his career, Robert Dahl has been troubled by the different ways in which those who govern polities and firms are chosen in modern society. While democracy is the norm in the state, at least in the advanced industrial nations, authoritarianism prevails in the economy. Most employees are subject to managers they did not elect and to rules in which they had little or no say. They are subordinates, a role manifestly at odds with the ideal of the democratic citizen. Given the “contradictions between our commitment to the democratic ideal and the theory and practice of hierarchy in our daily lives,”
Interaction design for improved analytics

In this paper, we explain a portion of the design research process that we used to develop the learning analytics for a manipulative-based fractions intervention program. In particular, we highlight a set of qualitative interviews that we conducted with individual students after a short study in which students in three classes at the same school learned to use virtual manipulatives to compare pairs of proper fractions and order groups of 3 proper fractions. These qualitative interviews provided us with considerable information that helped us improve the interactions students have with the virtual manipulatives and produce more sophisticated and informative analytics. We emphasize the importance of using mixed-methods during the iterative cycles of development that define design research.
Cough Productive of Casts

Plastic bronchitis is a rare disorder characterized by the formation and, sometimes dramatic expectoration of long, branching bronchial casts. DIsorders associated with bronchial casts either produce an increase in the volume or viscosity of secretions, such as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, and chronic bronchitis; or there are obstructions or structural abnormalities that decrease mucous clearance, such as bronchiectasis. The diagnostic evaluation should include serum laboratory studies, specimen cultures, skin tests, chest radiograph and CT scan, pulmonary function tests, and bronchoscopy. Therapy should be directed towards the underlying disorder and should also include maneuvers to facilitate removal of casts to prevent complications, such as secondary pneumonia.
Probing the Transcription Mechanisms of Reovirus Cores with Molecules That Alter RNA Duplex Stability

The mammalian reovirus (MRV) genome comprises 10 double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) segments, packaged along with transcriptase complexes inside each core particle. Effects of four small molecules on transcription by MRV cores were studied for this report, chosen for their known capacities to alter RNA duplex stability. Spermidine and spermine, which enhance duplex stability, inhibited transcription, whereas dimethyl sulfoxide and trimethylglycine, which attenuate duplex stability, stimulated transcription. Different mechanisms were identified for inhibition or activation by these molecules. With spermidine, one round of transcription occurred normally, but subsequent rounds were inhibited. Thus, inhibition occurred at the transition between the end of elongation in one round and initiation in the next round of transcription. Dimethyl sulfoxide or trimethylglycine, on the other hand, had no effect on transcription by a constitutively active fraction of cores in each preparation but activated transcription in another fraction that was otherwise silent for the production of elongated transcripts. Activation of this other fraction occurred at the transition between transcript initiation and elongation, i.e., at promoter escape. These results suggest that the relative stability of RNA duplexes is most important for certain steps in the particle-associated transcription cycles of dsRNA viruses and that small molecules are useful tools for probing these and probably other steps.
Are there identifiable risk factors and causes associated with unplanned readmissions following total knee arthroplasty

We conducted a retrospective review of 3218 primary total knee arthroplasties (TKA) performed over two years at an urban academic hospital network using clinical and administrative data. Increased length of stay (LOS) was associated with readmission (P < 0.001). Readmission was not associated with age (P = 0.100), gender (P = 0.608), body mass index (P = 0.329), or staged bilateral procedures (P = 0.420). The most common readmitting diagnoses were post-operative infection (22.5%), hematoma (10.1%), pulmonary embolus (7.9%) and deep vein thrombosis (5.6%). Of readmissions, 53.9% were for surgical reasons and 46.1% were for medical reasons. Certain interventions described in previous literature may be more successful in minimizing unplanned readmissions by focusing on patients with extended LOS, elevated infection risk and low socioeconomic status.
Neural Network Control of Spark Ignition Engines with High EGR Levels

Research has shown substantial reductions in the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) concentrations by using 10% to 25% exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in spark ignition (SI) engines (Dudek and Sain, 1989). However under high EGR levels the engine exhibits strong cyclic dispersion in heat release which may lead to instability and unsatisfactory performance. A suite of neural network (NN)-based output feedback controllers with and without reinforcement learning is developed to control the SI engine at high levels of EGR even when the engine dynamics are unknown by using fuel as the control input. A separate control loop was designed for controlling EGR levels. The neural network controllers consists of three NN: a) ANN observer to estimate the states of the engine such as total fuel and air; b) a second NN for generating virtual input; and c) a third NN for generating actual control input. For reinforcement learning, an additional NN is used as the critic. The stability analysis of the closed loop system is given and the boundedness of all signals is ensured without separation principle. Online training is used for the adaptive NN and no offline training phase is needed. Experimental results obtained by testing the controller on a research engine indicate an 80% drop of NOx from stoichiometric levels using 10% EGR. Moreover, unburned hydrocarbons drop by 25% due to NN control as compared to the uncontrolled scenario.
Particle Scale Dynamics in Granular Impact

We perform an experimental study of granular impact, where intruders strike 2D beds of photoelastic disks from above. High-speed video captures the intruder dynamics and the local granular force response, allowing investigation of grain-scale mechanisms in this process. We observe rich acoustic behavior at the leading edge of the intruder, strongly fluctuating in space and time, and we show that this acoustic activity controls the intruder deceleration, including large force fluctuations at short time scales. The average intruder dynamics match previous studies using empirical force laws, suggesting a new microscopic picture, where acoustic energy is carried away and dissipated.
Bivariate Exponential Distributions

Abstract A bivariate distribution is not determined by the knowledge of the margins. Two bivariate distributions with exponential margins are analyzed and another is briefly mentioned. In the first distribution (2.1) the conditional expectation of one variable decreases to zero with increasing values of the other one. The coefficient of correlation is never positive and lies in the interval –.40≤ρ≤0, and the correlation ratio varies from –.48 to zero. In the second distribution (3.4) the conditional expectation of one variable increases or decreases with increasing values of the other variable depending on the sign of the correlation. The coefficient of correlation lies in the interval –.25≤ρ≤.25, and the correlation ratio is proportional to the coefficient.
Morphology predictions for ternary polymer blends undergoing spinodal decomposition

Abstract Spinodal decomposition has been simulated in two spatial dimensions for ternary polymer mixtures over a wide range of volume fractions and Flory-Huggins interaction parameters. A great wealth of morphologies was observed: some closely approximate morphologies seen in cast film experiments, while others invite experimental confirmation. A taxonomy of phase structures is proposed.
Aspects of underspecification theory

An evaluation metric in Universal Grammar provides a means of selecting between possible grammars for a particular language. The evaluation metric as conceived in Chomsky & Halle (1968; henceforth SPE) prefers the grammar in which only the idiosyncratic properties are lexically listed and predictable properties are derived. The essence of underspecification theory is to supply such predictable distinctive features or feature specifications by rule. Viewed in this way, the general idea of underspecification has always been a part of any theory of phonology that includes such an evaluation metric.
Superthreshold behavior and threshold estimation of ultrasound-induced lung hemorrhage in pigs: Role of age dependency

Age-dependent threshold and superthreshold behavior of ultrasound-induced lung hemorrhage were investigated with 116 2.1 /spl plusmn/ 0.3-kg neonate crossbred pigs (4.9 /spl plusmn/ 1.6 days old), 103 10 /spl plusmn/ 1.1-kg crossbred pigs (39 /spl plusmn/ 5 days old), and 104 20 /spl plusmn/ 1.2-kg crossbred pigs (58 /spl plusmn/ 5 days old). Exposure conditions were: 3.1 MHz, 10-s exposure duration, 1-kHz pulse repetition frequency (PRF), and 1.2-/spl mu/s pulse duration. The in situ (at the pleural surface) peak rarefactional pressure ranged between 2.2 and 10.4 MPa with either eight or nine acoustic pressure groups for each of the three pig ages (12 pigs/exposure group) plus sham exposed pigs. There were no lesions in the shams. Pigs were exposed bilaterally with the order of exposure (left then right lung, or right then left lung) and acoustic pressure both randomized. Pig age was not randomized. Individuals involved in animal handling, exposure, and lesion scoring were blinded to the exposure condition. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the dependence of the lesion incidence rates on in situ peak rarefactional pressure, left versus right lung exposure, order of exposure (first versus second), and age in three age groups. Likewise, lesion depth and lesion root surface area were analyzed using Gaussian tobit regression analysis. A significant threshold effect on lesion occurrence was observed as a function of age; younger pigs were less susceptible to lung damage given equivalent in situ exposure. Overall, the oldest pigs had a significantly lower threshold (2.87 /spl plusmn/ 0.29 MPa) than middle-aged pigs (5.83 /spl plusmn/ 0.52 MPa). The oldest pigs also had a lower threshold than neonate pigs (3.60 /spl plusmn/ 0.44 MPa). Also, an unexpected result was observed. The ultrasound exposures were bilateral, and the threshold results reported above were based on the lung that was first exposed. After the first lung was exposed, the pig was turned over and the other lung was exposed to the same acoustic pressure. There was a significant decrease (greater than the confidence limits) in occurrence thresholds: 3.60 to 2.68, 5.83 to 2.97, and 2.87 to 1.16 MPa for neonates, middle-aged, and oldest pigs, respectively, in the second lung exposed. Thus, a subtle effect in lung physiology resulted in a major effect on lesion thresholds.
Effects of early language, speech, and cognition on later reading: a mediation analysis

This longitudinal secondary analysis examined which early language and speech abilities are associated with school-aged reading skills, and whether these associations are mediated by cognitive ability. We analyzed vocabulary, syntax, speech sound maturity, and cognition in a sample of healthy children at age 3 years (N=241) in relation to single word reading (decoding), comprehension, and oral reading fluency in the same children at age 9 to 11 years. All predictor variables and the mediator variable were associated with the three reading outcomes. The predictor variables were all associated with cognitive abilities, the mediator. Cognitive abilities partially mediated the effects of language on reading. After mediation, decoding was associated with speech sound maturity; comprehension was associated with receptive vocabulary; and oral fluency was associated with speech sound maturity, receptive vocabulary, and syntax. In summary, all of the effects of language on reading could not be explained by cognition as a mediator. Specific components of language and speech skills in preschool made independent contributions to reading skills 6 to 8 years later. These early precursors to later reading skill represent potential targets for early intervention to improve reading.
Axillary artery injury associated with subpectoral biceps tenodesis: a case report.

Tenotomy or tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon can be used to treat anterior shoulder pain believed to be related to biceps tendinopathy.The rationale for tenodesis rather than tenotomy is primarily based on improved aesthetics and maintenance of the functional length of the muscle for higher-demand patients. 14-16 Open subpectoral biceps tenodesis (OSPBT) fixes the long head of the biceps tendon relatively distally, removing it from the bicipital groove where it might continue to produce symptoms. 9 The long head of the biceps is immediately adjacent to major neurovascular structures in this area. 4 A surgeon operating through a small incision might get disoriented and veer too medially, especially when the patient is in lateral decubitus. Retractors may also place these structures at risk. There are several reports of iatrogenic brachial plexus injury using subpectoral biceps tenodesis. 3,8,10,11 It makes sense that the artery (transitioning from axillary to brachial at this level) might also be at risk (Fig. 1). The present report describes a patient with axillary artery injury during OSPBT.
A high-resolution mid-Pleistocene temperature record from Arctic Lake El'gygytgyn: a 50 kyr super interglacial from MIS 33 to MIS 31?

Abstract Previous periods of extreme warmth in Earth's history are of great interest in light of current and predicted anthropogenic warming. Numerous so called “super interglacial” intervals, with summer temperatures significantly warmer than today, have been identified in the 3.6 million year (Ma) sediment record from Lake El'gygytgyn, northeast Russia. To date, however, a high-resolution paleotemperature reconstruction from any of these super interglacials is lacking. Here we present a paleotemperature reconstruction based on branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 35 to MIS 29, including super interglacial MIS 31. To investigate this period in detail, samples were analyzed with an unprecedented average sample resolution of 500 yrs from MIS 33 to MIS 30. Our results suggest the entire period currently defined as MIS 33–31 (∼1114–1062 kyr BP) was characterized by generally warm and highly variable conditions at the lake, at times out of phase with Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, and that cold “glacial” conditions during MIS 32 lasted only a few thousand years. Close similarities are seen with coeval records from high southern latitudes, supporting the suggestion that the interval from MIS 33 to MIS 31 was an exceptionally long interglacial ( Teitler et al., 2015 ). Based on brGDGT temperatures from Lake El'gygytgyn (this study and unpublished results), warming in the western Arctic during MIS 31 was matched only by MIS 11 during the Pleistocene.
Deriving Option Prices from Characteristic Function

We describe an optimal numerical procedure for computing Fourier inversion integrals necessary for pricing vanilla options in models where the characteristic function is known in closed form. Our approach is motivated by a need for a procedure that works across all model parameters and all maturities. The procedure consists of regularizing the pricing integrand to render it finite in the region where the characteristic function is known to be analytic and then choosing the integration contour which is optimal for inverting Fourier integrals. Regularization of the pricing integrand is achieved by subtracting the Black-Scholes model with a specifically chosen volatility parameter.
Sharing Tourism Experiences The Posttrip Experience

Social media changes how travelers see and experience their trip. This study first proposes a framework which describes the relationships between social media and the tourism experience. Based upon this framework, it then examines the impact of social media when travelers share their emotions and perceptions after the trip. The results of the study confirm that sharing positive experiences post trip increases travelers’ positive affect while decreasing negative affect and therefore leads toward more positive overall evaluations. Further, we find that sharing unsatisfactory travel experiences through social media helps to reduce negative perceptions of the trip, which, in turn, enhances posttrip evaluations.
Culturally Competent Assessment: More Than Nonbiased Tests

The persistent and unresolved issue of minority disproportionality in special education provides a strong rationale for ensuring that assessment is culturally appropriate and sensitive. An extensive literature on test bias has failed to find evidence of bias sufficient to fully explain disproportional representation of minorities in special education. Yet minorities in this nation, most especially African Americans, have been exposed to a long history of unequal opportunity and oppression, and these inequities continue to be played out in educational settings. In the face of inadequate cultural and educational opportunity, unbiased tests provide an accurate estimate not only of individual capability, but also of the inhospitable conditions that depress that capability. A failure to take differential educational opportunity into account when considering minority test performance may lead to serious errors of test score interpretation. In the face of unequal educational opportunity, culturally competent assessment thus means more than manipulating the content of tests. Rather, it represents a comprehensive process that uses the results of assessment to identify and remedy educational conditions that systematically disadvantage students of color.
Small Business Trade-offs to Maximize Cost Recovery in Hawaii: Tax Credit Versus Section 179

This paper examines the optimal use of tax incentives relating to the Hawaii sales, use and excise tax. While many states offer exemptions to these taxes, Hawaii is the only known state that ties its excise tax credit to the depreciation method used on the state income tax return. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use the Hawaii business tax context to illustrate the complex trade-offs and year-by-year analyses that small businesses often must employ in the presence of shifting federal tax policy that indirectly influences state tax structures because of tax coupling. Federal and Hawaii taxpayers can elect to expense depreciable property using the 179 expensing provision or to depreciate using the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS). We develop a model that will help non-corporate small businesses in Hawaii determine their optimal tax cost recovery strategy: (1) Utilize Hawaii Section 179 immediate expensing on purchases of tangible personal property, or alternatively (2) Employ MACRS depreciation on these purchases combined with the Hawaii Capital Goods Excise Credit. Our modeling separately considers the possibility that the proprietor jointly makes the federal and Hawaii cost recovery decision, as well as the alternative possibility that these cost recovery decisions are made independently. The study illustrates that the interaction of federal and state law differences exacerbated by frequent tax changes may cause significant tax compliance complexity and resulting confusion for small non-corporate business taxpayers who are generally not equipped to wrestle with such issues. From a policy perspective, states may wish to minimize complexity using coupling efforts with federal law or otherwise routinely revisit outdated state tax statutes that indirectly cause unintended tax consequences. States must be cognizant, however, that their own budget constraints may worsen if they fully couple with recent generous federal Section 179 expensing limits.
The genetic prediction of risk for gynecologic cancers

Salient to the intent of personalized medicine, hereditary cancer syndromes present significant opportunities in the treatment and prevention of some gynecologic cancers. Mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and DNA mismatch repair genes: MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 are important causal agents in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and Lynch syndromes. Though they only account for an estimated 10-18% of ovarian, tubal, peritoneal, and endometrial cancer cases, inherited cancers are imminently preventable if mutation carriers are identified in a timely manner. Population level screening is currently impractical due to low prevalence of disease, cost of testing, and ethical issues associated with testing, so diagnosis of these mutations is limited. Being affected by one of the heritable gynecologic malignancies is a logical entry point into the genetic counseling and testing pipeline for the patient and her family members. Thus, gynecologic cancer providers are uniquely positioned to diagnose germline mutations that can inform prognosis and treatment for their patients in addition to enabling prevention for patients' cancer-unaffected blood relatives, or "previvors". The purpose of this review is to describe our current perspective on testing for and implications of heritable cancer syndromes in the women with ovarian, tubal, peritoneal, and endometrial cancers.
On the Area of Curved Surfaces

It is a common impression that if one is to say anything rigorously correct about the area of a surface he must first spend several months of his life with some of the most difficult books in the mathematical library. Be that as it may, certainly there are no textbooks of calculus, or of advanced calculus, which present more than a heuristic account of the subject even for nonparametric surfaces. It would seem worthwhile, therefore, to present a simple account of the basic theory of surface area, and it is to this end that the paper is devoted. Starting from Lebesgue's definition of area, we shall show that the fundamental results of tne theory (for surfaces of the form z=f(x, y)) follow at once from a single inequality whose geometric intent is rouglhly that integral smoothing is an area shrinking operation. The inequality itself is due to Rado, but our proof is a considerable simplification of his, and at the same time gives the result in a somewhat more general form. It is hoped that the treatment will be within the ability of an honors class in advanced calculus. If so, then the theory of surface area can take a place alongside arc length as a possible part of the curriculum.
Navigating Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Launch Through Primary Science Orbit

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launched on 12 August 2005 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After seven months of cruise, MRO reached Mars and successfully performed the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) maneuver. Only two Trajectory Correction Maneuvers were required during interplanetary cruise, this achievement is unprecedented. Shortly after the arrival at Mars, MRO started its most intensive operation, aerobraking, which brought the post-MOI 35-hour orbit to a 2-hour near circular orbit. The final primary science orbit was established at 3:02 pm LMST in a 255km x 320km orbit after five orbit-adjust maneuvers were executed flawlessly during the transition phase. This paper describes the navigation operation from launch through the primary science phase. A robust and precise navigation enabled MRO to accomplish the objectives set by the Mars Exploration Program.
IMMUNOGENICITY OF ENTEROTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI GENETIC VACCINE IN MOUSE

Objective To observe the antigenicity of genetic engineering vaccine of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC),so as to screen out the effective strains of it for prevention and cure of ETEC diarrhea.Methods Select the recombinant plasmids pZCF16,pZHY22, and transform them separately into the carrier of FWL101,then the engineering vaccine strains with different antigen of FE3,and FE16 were composed.Immune the mice using the vaccine from alive,and dead bacteria of FE3,and FE16 respectively in coequal dosage grade both by taking orally,and by feeding through nose,detect the immune effect in given times.Results Serum specific anti-IgG antibody could be detected in the blood of all the immune mice.Secreted antibody IgA in the intestine in alive bacteria immunized groups could be found too.IgG antibody began to rise after one week and reach peak value after 8 weeks.The generation pattern of IgA was similar to that of IgG.Conclusion FE3,and FE16 have relatively strong immunogenicity,and the multivalent vaccine constructed from them is effective,thus it provides the possibility for the prevention and cure of specific immunity of ETEC diarrhea.
Operator description for thermal quantum field theories on an arbitrary path in the real time formalism

We develop an operator description, much like thermofield dynamics, for quantum field theories on a real time path with an arbitrary parameter $\ensuremath{\sigma}\text{ }(0\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\beta})$. We point out new features which arise when $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\ne}\frac{\ensuremath{\beta}}{2}$ in that the Hilbert space develops a natural, modified inner product different from the standard Dirac inner product. We construct the Bogoliubov transformation which connects the doubled vacuum state at zero temperature to the thermal vacuum in this case. We obtain the thermal Green's function (propagator) for the real massive Klein-Gordon theory as an expectation value in this thermal vacuum (with a modified inner product). The factorization of the thermal Green's function follows from this analysis. We also discuss, in the main text as well as in two appendices, various other interesting features which arise in such a description.
Ferricyanide-based analysis of aqueous lignin suspension revealed sequestration of water-soluble lignin moieties

This study describes the application of a ferricyanide-based assay as a simple and inexpensive assay for rapid analysis of aqueous lignin samples. The assay measures the formation of Prussian blue from the redox reaction between a mixture of potassium ferricyanide and ferric chloride, and phenolic hydroxyl groups of lignin or lignin-derived phenolic moieties. This study revealed that soluble lignin moieties exhibited stronger ferricyanide reactivity than insoluble aggregates. The soluble lignin moieties exhibited higher ferricyanide reactivity because of increased access of the phenolic hydroxyl groups to the ferricyanide reagents. Ferricyanide reactivity of soluble lignin moieties correlated inversely with the molecular weight distributions of the molecules, probably due to the involvement of phenolic hydroxyl groups in bond formation. The insoluble lignin aggregates exhibited low ferricyanide reactivity due to sequestration of the phenolic hydroxyl groups within the solid matrix. The study also highlighted the sequestration of polydispersed water-soluble lignin moieties by insoluble aggregates. The sequestered moieties were released by treatment with 0.01 M NaOH at 37 °C for 180 min. The redox assay was effective on different types of lignin extracts such as Klason lignin from switchgrass, ionic-liquid derived lignin from Eucalyptus and alkali lignin extracts. The assay generated a distinct profile for each lignin sample that was highly reproducible. The assay was also used to monitor consumption of syringic acid by Sphingobium sp. SYK-6. The simplicity and reproducibility of this assay makes it an excellent and versatile tool for qualitative and semi-quantitative characterization and comparative profiling of aqueous lignin samples.
Lipogranulomatosis of the Genitalia Caused by Topical Application of “Baby Oil”

Abstract A case is reported of lipogranulomatosis of the genitalia caused by topical application of “baby oil”. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported in the English literature. The chemical nature of the lipid in question was analyzed by sophisticated procedures, including gas liquid chromatography, thin layer chromatography and mass spectrometry. After the etiologic agent was defined retrospective questioning of the patient confirmed the diagnosis.
Changes in Society and Changes in Approaches to Disability: The Need for a New Paradigm

Congratulations to all of you and ASORC on your 25th Anniversary. It is great to be able to be here with you at this historic time. I want to express my appreciation to organizers of this conference, ASORC and each of you here. I want to thank Trevor Hawkins for inviting me, and also to acknowledge Bert Biggs who gave me the opportunity to be involved with the Journal during the past few years. I also want to thank you for the honor of being able to share a few thoughts with you about rehabilitation counseling. It is particularly pleasing to me to be here, in that this presentation is on the eve, as some of you may know, of my leaving Australia, having been here for three years. It has been a wonderful time both personally and professionally — an opportunity not many have to practice their profession in a different country and culture — albeit not one that was totally foreign in that you all use English. I want to share a few thoughts today related to the rehabilitation and rehabilitation counseling profession and think a bit about what I see as happening as we stand on the brink of a new millennium. It is not new thinking nor particularly original, borrowing as I have from many sources, though I must take full responsibility for what I say. Also, I should emphasize that it is not offered as advice but rather a reinforcement of what many of you already know. As an educator and university professor, I do get stuck in one mode sometimes overemphasizing what I consider important. My remarks are based on my obviously American background but hopefully tempered with some of my experiences and observations here in Australia.
Functional system architectures towards fully automated driving

The functional system architecture of an automated vehicle plays a crucial role in the performance of the vehicle. When considered as a backbone, it does not only transmit information between distinct layers, but rather serves as a feedback mechanism coordinating the degradation between them and thereby regulates the behavior of the system against failures. Hence, the design of robust functional architectures is essential to cope with the uncertainties of the world. This paper summarizes existing system architectures and investigates them regarding their robustness against measurement inaccuracies, failures, and unexpected evolution of traffic situations. After illustrating their strengths and deficiencies, we derive the requirements and propose a structure for future, robust system architectures.
Impact of solar forecasting on power system planning

Solar generation resources are being deployed at an unprecedented rate in modern power grids. The unpredictability of solar energy demands systematic investigation of impact of solar penetration on power system operation and planning. Modern power grids have tackled solar uncertainty by building solar farms in locations with consistent solar irradiance, and less successfully by solar forecasting. Solar forecasting has remained a challenging process in modern power grids. This paper aims to understand the impact that solar forecasting can have on power system operation and planning. A variety of probabilistic models that can estimate solar irradiance and identify their performance using real-world data are investigated. Results presented in this paper show that the heavily used normal or log-normal distributions are not suited for solar irradiance prediction. These probabilistic estimates are utilized to compute probabilistic power flows (PPF). PPF result show how sensitive calculated line flows are to forecast method, in particular where lines are closer to photovoltaic installations. Also by using the PPF of accurate forecast, we identify the conditions under which the modern power grid can operate reliability or in need of mitigations.
Literature in the University: Giambattista Vico’s Ideal Type

This article re-evaluates the place of literature within Giambattista Vico’s ideas about education. It examines his orations De mente heroica (1732) and De nostri temporis studiorum ratione (1709) ...
Dam diplomacy? China’s new neighbourhood policy and Chinese dam-building companies

This analysis examines whether the Chinese state has transformed state dam-construction firms engaged abroad into agents of ‘hydro-diplomacy’ to reflect larger diplomatic initiatives to improve relations with neighbouring countries. It concludes that there is little evidence of strengthened direct oversight over Chinese dam-building companies in the region, which remain principally profit-seeking actors. In implementing projects, they prioritize the standards of host countries over the strategic concerns of the Chinese state. This suggests that either the ‘agency costs’ of hydropower firms’ behaviour remain acceptable to Beijing or there are other impediments to policy change.