cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colorado's Voucher Law: Examining the Claim of Fiscal Neutrality

Colorado's voucher law was declared unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court on June 28, 2004. Voucher supporters have begun drafting revised legislation designed to address the legal problem. This article calls into question the key financial claim of revenue neutrality'a claim that was central to the promotion and passage of the departing voucher law. The author concludes that the voucher law was not revenue neutral, even though it attempts to exclude from eligibility those children already enrolled in private schools. In fact, this law, as well as any revised law with similar eligibility provisions, would actually cost taxpayers an additional $10 million per year once fully implemented because the eligibility provision provides little more than a short-term damper on the law's long-term fiscal impact.
Understanding the Costs and Benefits of Deepwater Oil Drilling Regulation

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding how analysis of costs and benefits might be incorporated into an assessment of regulatory policies affecting deepwater drilling. We begin by providing a framework for analyzing the life-cycle impacts of oil drilling and its alternatives, including onshore drilling and importing oil from abroad. We then provide background estimates of the different sources of oil supplied in the United States, look at how other oil supply sources might respond to regulations on deepwater drilling, and consider the economic costs of these regulations. After providing a comprehensive description of the potential costs and benefits from various types of drilling - including, when possible, estimates of the magnitude of these benefits and costs - we discuss the extent to which these costs and benefits may already be taken into account (or reinforced) through the legal, regulatory, and tax systems and through market mechanisms. We conclude by presenting a framework and simple example of how a cost-benefit analysis might be used to inform regulation of deepwater drilling, and sum up the policy implications of our work.
Multidisciplinary long-term follow-up of congenital diaphragmatic hernia: A growing trend

This literature review discusses the growing trend toward multidisciplinary long term follow-up for congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
Kinetics of Heterogeneous Nucleation in Supersaturated Vapor: Fundamental Limits to Neutral Particle Detection Revisited

We examine the nucleated (with barrier) activation of perfectly wetting (zero contact angle) particles ranging from essentially bulk size down to approximately 1-nm mass diameter. While similar studies trace back to the pioneering work of Fletcher, we present here a novel approach to the analysis based on general area constructions that enable key thermodynamic properties, including surface and bulk contributions to nucleation work, to be interpreted geometrically with reference to the Kelvin curve. The kinetics of activation are described in more detail in terms of the mean first passage time (MFPT) for barrier crossing. MFPT theory and benchmark calculations are used to develop and test a new approximate-but-simpler-to-use analytic expression for the barrier crossing rate. The present study is motivated by recent condensation particle counter (CPC) studies that appear to finally establish the long-predicted detection of “sub-Kelvin” particles in the nano-size regime. Corresponding states thermodynamic a...
Custom selection of aspheric intraocular lenses after wavefront-guided myopic photorefractive keratectomy

Purpose To determine the optimum amount of spherical aberration in an intraocular lens (IOL) to maximize optical quality after previous wavefront-guided myopic photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Setting Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Methods Aspheric IOL implantation was simulated in 102 eyes of 77 patients. The amount of spherical aberration in the IOL was varied to produce residual ocular spherical aberration from −0.50 to +0.50 μm. Using ZernikeTool software, the polychromatic point-spread function with Stiles-Crawford effect was calculated for residual ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) (3rd to 6th order) for 4.0 mm and 6.0 mm pupils and defocus of 0.00 diopter (D), −0.50 D, and +0.50 D. The IOL spherical aberration at which maximum image quality was achieved was determined. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the predictors of optimum IOL spherical aberration. Results With 0.00 D, −0.50 D, and +0.50 D defocus, respectively, the mean optimum IOL spherical aberration (6.0 mm) ranged from −0.49 to −0.42 μm, −0.22 to −0.18 μm, and −0.75 to −0.64 μm (6.0 mm pupil) and from −0.34 to −0.20 μm, +0.08 to +0.44 μm, and −1.12 to −0.83 μm (4.0 mm pupil). Of the Zernike terms that significantly predicted optimum IOL spherical aberration, 4th-order spherical aberration Z(4,0) made the greatest contribution, followed by the 6th-order spherical aberration Z(6,0). Conclusion The amount of IOL spherical aberration producing the best image quality after previous myopic wavefront-guided PRK varied widely and could be predicted based on the full spectrum of corneal HOAs. Financial Disclosure No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Additional disclosures are found in the footnotes.
Real-time tracking for managing suburban intersections

The goal of this project is to develop a passive vision-based sensing system capable of monitoring an intersection by observing the vehicle and pedestrian flow, and predicting situations that might give rise to accidents. A single camera mounted at an arbitrary position looking at an intersection is used. However, for extended applications multiple cameras will be needed. Some of the key elements are camera calibration, motion tracking, vehicle classification, and predicting collisions. In this paper, we focus on motion tracking. Motion segmentation is performed using an adaptive background model that models each pixel as a mixture of Gaussians. The method used is similar to the Stauffer method for motion segmentation. Tracking of objects is performed by computing the overlap between oriented bounding boxes. The oriented boxes are computed by vector quantization of blobs in the scene. The principal angles computed during vector quantization along with other cues of the object are used for classification of detected entities into vehicles and pedestrians.
Metal accumulation by heterotrophic marine bacterioplankton

Radioisotopes of six metals (54Mn, 55Fe, 65Zn, 109Cd, 137Cs, and 241Am) were used to assess the accumulation of these metals by five species of heterotrophic marine bacteria in laboratory cultures exposed to environmentally realistic metal concentrations in natural seawater. Typically, uptake proceeded rapidly for the first 24 h and slowed down over the following 72–96 h. At steady state, the bioconcentration of metals in cells was Fe . Am . Mn . Cd . Zn . Cs. Concentration factors were 0.6–2.8 3 106 for Fe, 0.6–3.5 3 104 for Mn and Am, 0.2–4.8 3 104 for Cd, 0.5–1.6 3 103 for Zn, and 1.9 3 102 for Cs. Rinsing with oxalate did not result in significantly lower Fe concentrations, but rinsing the cells with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid resulted in significantly lower concentration factors for Mn and Am in one species. Interspecific differences in metal uptake were small under the conditions tested and were proportional to surface : volume ratios of the cells. The Q10 of Zn uptake in two bacterial species examined was about 1, suggesting passive uptake. The Q10 of Mn uptake was in the range of 1.8– 3.6, indicating active uptake and transport into the cells. Given typical bacterial biomass in surface waters, we calculate that , 1% of most metals, but , 20% of Fe, should be associated with bacterial cells; they may serve as enriched sources of some metals for those organisms that consume them.
Significance of the insula for the evolution of human awareness of feelings from the body

An ascending sensory pathway that underlies feelings from the body, such as cooling or toothache, terminates in the posterior insula. Considerable evidence suggests that this activity is rerepresented and integrated first in the mid-insula and then in the anterior insula. Activation in the anterior insula correlates directly with subjective feelings from the body and, strikingly, with all emotional feelings. These findings appear to signify a posterior-to-anterior sequence of increasingly homeostatically efficient representations that integrate all salient neural activity, culminating in network nodes in the right and left anterior insulae that may be organized asymmetrically in an opponent fashion. The anterior insula has appropriate characteristics to support the proposal that it engenders a cinemascopic model of human awareness and subjectivity. This review presents the author's views regarding the principles of organization of this system and discusses a possible sequence for its evolution, as well as particular issues of historical interest.
Enfield’s Brucker and Christian Anti-scepticism in Enlightenment Historiography of Philosophy

William Enfield published an abridgement of Jacob Brucker’s Historia Critica Philosophiae (1742–4) in 1791. It was not an accurate abridgement, but written rather as a tool of Christian apologetics, replacing Brucker’s sympathy for skepticism with Enfield’s hostility. Enfield’s purposes included both Dissenter confessionalism and revolutionary politics. Joseph Priestley, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson each drew on it for their own purposes, surely unaware of its departures from the original.
Synthesis and Phase Stability in Ultra-thin Solid Electrolytes: The Case of Zirconia Thin Films

Phase stability in 9.5 mol % yttria doped zirconia (YDZ) and pure zirconia thin films have been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through detailed in-situ TEM analysis, we found that phase stability in nanoscale zirconia thin film depends on film thickness, grain size, and annealing ambient. Pure zirconia thin films of ~ 52 nm thickness were stabilized without any dopants at room temperature, while it transformed into a tetragonal phase upon heating to 400 oC. On the other hand, 9.5 % Yttria doping enables stabilization of the cubic structure regardless of grain growth. Annealing of poor crystalline YDZ films in air (oxygen rich) leads to tetragonal phase formation, while ultra-high vacuum (oxygen-deficient) annealed samples display cubic phase at high temperature.
Estimation of Anterior Pituitary-like Hormone in Cord Blood

In order to study the presence or absence of the anterior pituitary-like hormone in the fetal and placental circulations, and perhaps its effect on the fetal ovary determinations of the hormone were made upon the cord blood.The blood specimens were obtained from the umbilical cords of 2 women immediately after the birth of the babies by severing the cords and allowing the blood from each of the cut ends to flow into separate vessels. The specimens obtained from the fetal side of the cut cords were considered to be fetal blood, and that from the maternal side, placental blood, or blood going from the mother to the fetus. The bloods thus obtained were allowed to clot and the serum only was used for the hormonal determinations. As relatively small quantities of serum could be obtained by this method, especially from the fetal side of the cord, the total quantities of serum obtained were injected. The immature rat was used as the test object, and a total of 4 rats were injected with the serum. In the first ca...
Frequency Domain Wave Equation Based Angular Hessian For Amplitude Correction

We present an angular Hessian decomposition method based on the wave equation in the frequency domain in order to do the amplitude correction for the prestack depth migration. By the explicit and fast wave equation seismic forward modeling using either the one-way wave-equation or the full-wave equation, we can get the Green’s function. After the local angle domain decomposition, we introduce the angular Hessian directly produced by the angular components of the Green’s function. This implementation avoids the huge inversion calculation on the space-domain exact Hessian in the least-squares migration. Dip-angle domain common image gathers are produced by this method. We apply the angular Hessian operator to the SEG/EAGE salt2d data set, where better subsalt images with higher resolution and dip-angle domain common image gathers are obtained. We also compare the angular Hessians using the Green’s function generated by the oneway wave equation method and the full-wave equation method using a simple salt model.
Grammar and Meaning in Poetry

The year 1960 produced a number of interesting statements in widely divergent scholarly contexts calling for a closer scrutiny of the contribution of grammar—of syntax, word order, morphology—to poetic effect. In a journal concerned largely with the teaching of English appeared Harry Warfel's contention that “the significant differences in literature lie in an author's syntactical maneuvering,” and his further suggestion that the characterization in plays, in Shakespeare's at any rate, is subtly indicated by different syntactic patterns in the speeches of the dramatis personae. In a journal devoted to aesthetics, meanwhile, Francis Utley was appealing to the linguistic concept of immediate constituents to suggest the possibility of a “tension of ambiguities” in poetry. Referring specifically to Arnold's the Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds …
P5.065 Evaluation of Three Different Diagnostic Systems For the Detection of Chlamydia Trachomatis and Neisseria Gonorrhoeae from Oral Specimens

Background To assess the performance characteristics of the Abbott m 2000 ( m 2000), BD ProbeTec CT/GC Qx Amplified DNA Assay (Viper Q x ), and COBAS 4800 (c4800) using oropharyngeal swabs (OP). This study may lead to additional diagnostic testing options for the identification of CT and GC using OP. Methods De-identified, residual OP from a sequential convenience sample of patients attending an STD clinic for routine diagnostic testing was used for this comparison. Samples were collected using a BD culturette swab, and eluted into M4-equivalent culture medium (CTM) in the laboratory. Two-hundred ul of residual sample was added into each manufacturer’s collection device, which was subsequently tested on the Viper Q x , m 2000, and c4800 systems per the package insert. A patient was considered infected if 2 of the 3 amplified test results were positive (PIS). The distribution of results across all three systems was assessed by Cochran’s Q test and between systems by McNemar’s chi-square. Agreement between each system and the PIS was assessed using Kappa statistics. Results Two hundred and twenty one residual specimens were available for Viper Q x and m 2000 testing; 216 for c4800. There was no statistical difference in performance between the three systems for GC (p = 0.174). For CT, there was a difference observed for both sensitivity and specificity when comparing all three systems (p = 0.018). However, there were no statistical differences in the distribution of results between systems in pair-wise comparison (all p > 0.125). Agreement was excellent for both CT and GC with κ-scores > 0.85 for CT and ≥ 0.95 for GC. Conclusions There was no statistical difference in performance between the three systems for the detection of CT or GC using OP. All systems had very good agreement with the PIS, are user friendly, and will provide additional testing options for OP.
Shape Distributions of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems for Video-Based Inference

This paper presents a shape-theoretic framework for dynamical analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems which appear frequently in several video-based inference tasks. Traditional approaches to dynamical modeling have included linear and nonlinear methods with their respective drawbacks. A novel approach we propose is the use of descriptors of the shape of the dynamical attractor as a feature representation of nature of dynamics. The proposed framework has two main advantages over traditional approaches: a) representation of the dynamical system is derived directly from the observational data, without any inherent assumptions, and b) the proposed features show stability under different time-series lengths where traditional dynamical invariants fail. We illustrate our idea using nonlinear dynamical models such as Lorenz and Rossler systems, where our feature representations (shape distribution) support our hypothesis that the local shape of the reconstructed phase space can be used as a discriminative feature. Our experimental analyses on these models also indicate that the proposed framework show stability for different time-series lengths, which is useful when the available number of samples are small/variable. The specific applications of interest in this paper are: 1) activity recognition using motion capture and RGBD sensors, 2) activity quality assessment for applications in stroke rehabilitation, and 3) dynamical scene classification. We provide experimental validation through action and gesture recognition experiments on motion capture and Kinect datasets. In all these scenarios, we show experimental evidence of the favorable properties of the proposed representation.
Ice shedding and vibration suppression of a transmission line system

Here,a three dimensional finite element model of a tower-conductor-ground wire-insulator-interphase spacer system was established with ANSYS software,and the dynamic responses of ice shedding for typical five-span transmission line sections of the transmission tower-line system under different working cases were analyzed.Many factors were considered in the ice shedding simulating analysis,including the core diameter of the interphase spacer,the quantity and location of conductor phases,the thickness of the accreted ice,the length of the ice-shedding span as well as the elevation difference.The dynamic responses with different jumping heights,unbalanced tension and vertical load at the end of the insulator,and the forces of the transmission tower were obtained.Influences of all the factors on the suppressing efficiency of the interphase spacers were mainly studied.For the case of ice shedding of the single phase conductor,four arrangement schemes of the interphase spacers were compared to find the optimal scheme when considering the suppressing efficiency and the economical efficiency comprehensively.Lastly,the optimal arrangement scheme was determined to suppress the ice-shedding responses.
IQ imbalance decorrelation in digital array radars

Digital array radars (DAR) with element-level digital transmission and reception present new opportunities for more advanced radar functionality and performance. In order to reduce RF front-end complexity while also reducing the need for high sample rates, the analog IQ demodulation receiver, or homodyne, is proposed so that only a single local oscillator (LO) is needed per element. An important homodyne receiver architecture impairment is IQ imbalance and its mitigation is the focus of this article. We introduce a new approach to IQ imbalance compensation, which leverages the digital array architecture to decorrelate these errors and significantly reduce their impact at the digital beam-formed output. As a result, we show that the image rejection ratio, defined as the ratio of the desired-signal power level to that of the image after digital beamforming is significantly higher than at any individual channel output. We derive a single compensation factor from the imbalance statistics estimated across all array elements. The compensation technique is then applied to measured data from a 32-element X-band homodyne DAR test bed.
The Triple Helix: Time, Love, and Memory

Bioethicists of both cults delight in discourses over what some term “human life at the margins”. While they decry clones and chimera and similar byproducts of the medical technologies they lament, however, their writings teem with extra-corporeal embryos, PVS patients, and like products of their moral imperatives. The latter in particular, after all, are less the creations of biotechnology than of the moral insistence that human life be sustained regardless of its empirical quality. That imperative exhibits how both cults aver such technologies for the maintenance of human life, but not for its enhancement. Both cults, despite the ostensible culture wars so often associated with them, are nearly unanimous in their opposition to eugenics, for example — maintaining instead that human persons are not only good enough in their biological estates, but absolutely good as persons. Any efforts at human enhancement, then, moral or material, would prove not merely practically impossible, but morally nonsensical. Moreover, our bodies’ fortunes no more qualify the empirical quality of our lives than do our moral characters qualify our moral worth. Their goodness, rather, resides in the bare fact of their existence, and can neither be augmented nor diminished through human agency.
Octave-Style Scripting Using Java

This chapter gives a brief introduction to the Octave-style language supported by DMelt. The high-level interpreted language based on Octave-style syntax is not tightly integrated with the Java platform, unlike other Java scripting languages which can import external Java libraries. But, as discussed in Chap. 6, you can easily integrate Octave-like code with symbolic calculations inside Java programs or Java-supported scripting languages, such as Jython, Groovy, JRuby, and BeanShell.
Exploring the Impacts of Interdependent Relationships on IOS Use: The Roles of Governance Mechanisms

Existing studies have empirically tested the impacts of interdependence on the use of inter-organizational systems (i.e., IOS) by many firms to deal with inter-firm coordination requirements. It is also proposed that proper governance mechanisms are necessary for firms to really benefit from their inter-firm coordination. However, the roles of governance mechanisms in inter-firm relationships have not been fully integrated into the studies about the impacts of interdependence on IOS use for better inter-firm coordination. To fill this gap, this study developed a conceptual model and using survey data, it empirically tested the roles of governance mechanisms in mediating the impacts of interdependence on IOS use. The model test shows that various governance mechanisms indeed play important roles. Limitations of this study and future research are also discussed at the end.
Prevalence and correlates of marijuana use among HIV-seropositive and seronegative men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), 1984–2013

ABSTRACTBackground: Marijuana use is common among HIV+ individuals, but few studies have examined long-term trends in prevalence and correlates of use. Methods: We evaluated trends (1984–2013) in the annual prevalence of current (past 6-month use) and daily (among current users) marijuana use and determined correlates of use among 2742 HIV-seropositive (HIV+) and 3172 HIV-seronegative (HIV−) men who have sex with men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios of marijuana use separately for the men who were enrolled before 2001 (early-cohort) and after 2001 (late-cohort). Results: Over the 29 years of the study, the prevalence of current marijuana use declined significantly, whereas daily use among users increased among all men in the early and late-cohorts. A HIV+ status was associated with higher prevalence of marijuana use among the men in the early-cohort (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.42, 1.64...
Murine Models of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma: A Role for Cav1?

Dozens of murine models of indolent and aggressive B-cell lymphomas have been generated to-date. These include those manifesting chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as xenografts of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). These models have led to an improved understanding of disease etiology, B-cell biology, immunomodulation, and the importance of the tumor microenvironment. Despite these efforts in CLL, DLBCL, and MCL, considerably little progress toward a model of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) has been accomplished. Herein, we describe the similarities and differences between CLL, MCL, and SMZL, and highlight effective murine models that mimic disease in the two former, in hopes of informing a potential model of the latter. At the time of writing this review, the precise molecular events of SMZL remain to be determined and a treatment regimen remains to be identified. Therefore, based on the efforts put forth in the B-cell lymphoma field throughout the past 3 decades, the established role of caveolin-1 in B- and T-cell biology as an oncogene or tumor suppressor, and the recurrent deletion or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of 7q in many cancers, we make recommendations for a murine model of SMZL.
Analysis of the effect of microsphere-lens material spectral absorption on the overall FTIR spectral response sensitivity of MWIR (3μm-5μm) microsphere-lens-enhanced SLS photo detectors

Relatively recently, it has been shown that the addition of microsphere lenses to mid wave infrared (MWIR) strained layer super lattice single (SLS) photo detectors, has exhibited an increase in detector sensitivity. In this work we present a signal processing and data analysis method to characterize, estimate and analyze the effect of microsphere material absorptions on the overall microsphere-lens-enhanced MWIR detector sensitivity. Our findings show that the spectral absorptions of the detector without-microsphere-lens-enhancement are removed and/or relatively significantly reduced by the microsphere-lens, as a function of the wavelengths. Our findings also show that, at this scale, the resulting integrated microsphere-lens-enhanced detector overall FTIR absorptions depend dominantly on the microsphere selected material and generally not on the detector material.
Evaluation of information available on the internet regarding reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

Background Prior studies have analyzed the quality of information available on the Internet regarding common orthopaedic surgical procedures. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the quality of information available for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA). Methods Websites were identified using the search term 'reverse total shoulder arthroplasty' and the first 50 websites from three separate search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) were selected for evaluation of authorship and quality of information using the DISCERN instrument (www.discern.org.uk). After disregarding duplicated or overlapping websites within and among search engines, 90 of the total 150 websites were evaluated. A one-way analysis of variance test was used to compare differences in DISCERN scores between three categories of authorship (academic, private, other). Results The majority of the websites evaluated were authored by academic (43%) and private institutions (36%). These were the most credible sources, providing overall better quality and reliability than other sources. DISCERN reliable (p = 0.017) and overall scores (p = 0.020) were significantly higher for academic institutions compared to other websites. Conclusions The information available on the Internet pertaining to reverse total shoulder arthroplasty is highly variable and provides moderate quality information about treatment choices with some limitations based on the DISCERN instrument.
Ovarian and Breast Cancer Migration Dynamics on Laminin and Fibronectin Bidirectional Gradient Fibers Fabricated via Multiphoton Excited Photochemistry.

Migration mis-regulation is a hallmark of cancer, and remains an important problem in cancer biology. We postulate the need for better in vitro models to understand the details of cell–matrix interactions. Here, we utilized multiphoton excited (MPE) photochemistry to fabricate models to systematically study migration dynamics operative in breast and ovarian cancer. Gradients are a convenient means to modulate concentration and also have been implicated in metastases. We specifically pattern sub-micron structured gradients from laminin and fibronectin whose up-regulation is associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis. We developed a new continuous linear bi-directional gradient design, permitting exploration of the underlying cell–matrix interactions of migration, including speed, directness, and f-actin cytoskeleton alignment as a function of concentration. These new models provide both contact guidance and ECM binding cues, and provide a more relevant environment than possible with existing technologies such as flow chambers or 2D printed surfaces. We found an overall increase in these processes with increasing concentration on both laminin and fibronectin gradients for a series of ovarian and breast cancer lines. Moreover, directness was higher for more metastatic cells, indicating that epithelial or mesenchymal state of the cell type governs the dynamics. However, the specifics of the speed and directedness depend on both the cell type and protein, thus we found that we must consider these processes collectively to obtain a self-consistent picture of the migration. For this purpose, we performed a linear discriminate analysis (LDA) and successfully classified the different cell types on the two protein gradients without molecular biology analysis. The bi-gradient structures are versatile tools to performing detailed studies of cell migration, specifically haptotxis. We further suggest the can be used in assessing efficacy of drug treatments targeted at specific matrix components.
Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Arterial Stiffness and Central Blood Pressure Indexes: Demystifying the Evidence.

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent, with potentially significant consequences for human health.[1][1] Numerous epidemiological studies have associated vitamin D deficiency with cardiovascular disease and hypertension.[2][2] However, randomized controlled studies have shown no effect of vitamin
Standard Versus Simplified Consent Materials for Biobank Participation: Differences in Patient Knowledge and Trial Accrual.

Replacing standard consent materials with simplified materials is a promising intervention to improve patient comprehension, but there is little evidence on its real-world implementation. We employ...
Spirituality and dialogue revisited

This essay introduces the second and final ethics symposium on spirituality and dialogue. The first symposium, edited by Thomas D. Lynch, Ph.D., focused on individual spirituality. In this, the second symposium, our attention expands to organizations and institutions and now turns to dialogue. Our theme however remains unchanged, for both spirituality and dialogue revolve around a more basic core of ethics that is global in scope. Readers of the dozen papers of the two symposia should look upon them collectively as their overall ethical theme, however loosely coupled, provides a powerful commentary on the emerging role that both spirituality and dialogue will play in a new ethically focused millennium. With little disagreement, the dozen scholars contributing to the two symposia argue that future challenges will require a much higher and more global ethical level in public administration than exists today. In a society where spirituality and dialogue will flourish, a higher ethical level is not only a goal but a reachable one. To some, a higher ethical level is inevitable while to others it is reachable only through the difficult process of individual, institutional and global moral improvement.
High-energy mid-infrared sub-cycle pulse synthesis

We present the carrier-envelope phase-stable mid-infrared sub-cycle pulses, synthesized from an optical parametric amplifier covering the 2.5–9.0 micron range. We also demonstrate the high-harmonic generation is thin solid materials using this mid-infrared source.
GAP ACCEPTANCE AND WAIT TIME AT UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS

The primary purpose of this study is to determine if driver gap acceptance behavior changes as the time spent waiting for an acceptable gap increases. We propose three hypotheses dealing with this issue and present a sample of results pertaining to the first two hypotheses. Special attention is given to the methods used to collect the data used in the study and to define the key events involved in driver behavior at unsignalized intersections.
Accessible software for early maths education: focusing on content, strategies, interface

Students presenting learning disabilities may have trouble accessing some educational tools, including software. In this paper we analyse what accessibility might mean when referred to content, strategies and interface of educational software. We point out how a very precise analysis of these components should be made in order to allow learning-disabled pupils to make good use of them. Based on this discussion, we conclude that the accessibility of a software application does not only depend on its characteristics, but also on how it is used in relation with each pupil's learning objectives and current cognitive level, as well as the whole educational setting.
Physical Limit of Stability in Supercooled Liquids

The kinetic spinodal (KS) in supercooled liquids, similar to the KS in superheated and stretched liquids, has been introduced as a locus where the mean time of formation of a critical nucleus becomes shorter than a relaxation time to local equilibrium. If the surface tension of the solid–liquid interface is known, the kinetic spinodal is completely determined by the equation of state of the supercooled liquid. The theory was tested against experimental data for the surface tension and the homogeneous nucleation limit for supercooled water. Reasonably good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data was observed. A prediction of the high-temperature limit for glass transitions is also discussed.
Therapist Reports of EBP Client Engagement Challenges in Sessions with Diverse Youth and Families in Community Mental Health Settings

The implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in community settings appears to result in reduced benefit relative to controlled trials. This difference in outcomes may be attributable in part to engagement challenges therapists encounter when delivering EBPs to low-income ethnic minority youth and families. The current study sought to identify therapist, client, and session characteristics associated with therapist-reported engagement challenges in therapy sessions, as well the associations between two types of client engagement challenges and therapists’ self-reported ability to deliver the EBP in sessions within a system-driven implementation in public children’s mental health services. One hundred and three therapists reported on two types of engagement challenges—Limited Client Engagement and Expressed Client Concerns—in 702 sessions with 274 clients. Results indicated that therapists reported a higher frequency of Limited Client Engagement in sessions with male clients and in sessions where the youth was present, and by therapists with smaller caseloads. No variables significantly predicted Expressed Client Concerns. Both types of engagement challenges were negatively associated with therapists’ report of their ability to carry out intended activities in the same session. Findings suggest that therapists may benefit from learning strategies to address these two distinct types of engagement challenges encountered in implementation of EBPs with diverse families in community settings.
Evaluation of Swab and Related Tests as a Bioassay for Assessing Responses by Squamate Reptiles to Chemical Stimuli

The ability of squamates to detect chemical cues from adaptively important sources including prey, predators, and conspecifics has been tested frequently by presenting stimuli on cotton-tipped swabs or ceramic tiles. In many such studies the primary response variable is tongue-flicking, which is widely interpreted to indicate sampling for vomerolfaction. I review the basic experimental method and consider limitations regarding its application and interpretation and ways to overcome them. Effects of experimenter proximity and the assumed invisibility of chemical stimuli are considered, as are use of cologne as a pungency control, senses used in making chemical discriminations, and interpretation of results when there are no significant response differences among stimulus classes. Although the assumption that tongue-flicking reveals vomerolfactory sampling and the necessity of an intact vomeronasal system for normal responses to pheromones have been demonstrated where tested, very few species have been examined. In some squamates for which these assumptions have not been examined experimentally, especially eublepharid geckos, attacks on swabs bearing prey chemicals and performance of antipredatory displays in response to predator chemicals occur with no prior tongue-flicking. Not only are assays based on tongue-flicking useless in such cases, but the discriminations are likely based on olfaction. Issues specific to the study of responses to prey chemicals, predator chemicals, and pheromones are discussed. For many purposes, swab tests provide rapid, conclusive assays of ability to respond differentially to biologically relevant stimuli. However, other methods may be superior for studying some responses, and swab tests are not always applicable.
Linking crude oil prices and Middle East stock markets

This study investigates the effects of oil prices (OPs) on stock markets in the Middle Eastern (ME) economies. The focus is on the dynamic relationship between crude OPs and stock market capitalisation (MC) in the ME. We use daily data from nine countries between the years 2001 and 2015 to examine the relationships based on Vector Autoregression (VAR), Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and Impulse Response Function (IRF). VECM results indicate that there are long‐run linkages between OP and MC in seven ME economies from 2001 to 2015, three countries in the pre‐shale (2001–2008) and four countries in the post‐shale (2009–2015) periods. The VAR models show short‐run causality running from OP to MC in two countries from 2001 to 2015, five countries in pre‐shale and six countries in post‐shale periods. The IRFs verify the relationships between OPs and stock market value for most of the ME markets.
Intraoperative suprachoroidal hemorrhage during Xen gel stent implantation.

Abstract Purpose To report a rare case of intraoperative suprachoroidal hemorrhage during Xen gel stent implantation with accompanying surgical video and subsequent 6-month follow-up. Observations Our patient required incisional glaucoma surgery after inadequate pressure reduction with four classes of topical medication, methazolamide, and selective laser trabeculoplasty. The patient underwent Xen gel stent implantation and developed an intraoperative suprachoroidal hemorrhage, which was managed in the operating room. The patient recovered his baseline visual acuity with a functioning bleb out to 6 months postoperatively. Conclusions and Importance Micro-invasive glaucoma surgeries offer a new repertoire of surgical options, purportedly with safer and less invasive techniques. Xen gel stent implantation may be a promising alternative to traditional trabeculectomies and tube shunt implants, providing similar IOP lowering results with potentially lower risk for complications. However, rare and severe complications such as suprachoroidal hemorrhage may still occur. Recognizing a suprachoroidal bleed, particularly intraoperatively, will still be necessary to help minimize the potential vision threatening sequelae often associated with this severe complication.
Tyranny and Music: edited by Joseph E. Morgan and Gregory N. Reish, Lanham, MD, Lexington Books: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018, xviii, 263 pp., $105.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-4985-4681-2

As timely as ever, the myriad ways that music resists oppression has increasingly been at the center of musicological and ethnomusicological discourse. These examinations (usually tethered by focus...
Search for the shortest intermetallic Tl—Tl contacts: Synthesis and characterization of Thallium(I) coordination polymers with several mono- and bis-cyanoximes

Abstract Five new Tl(I) coordination compounds based on aryl monocyanoximes, such as phenylcyanoxime – HPhCO, 1, 2-fluorophenylcyanoxime – H(2F-PhCO, 2, 3-fluorophenylcyanoxime – H(3F-PhCO), 3, of TlL composition, and aryl biscyanoximes, such as 1,3-cyanoxime (benzene) – H2(1,3-BCO, 4 and 1,4-cyanoxime (benzene) – H2(1,4-BCO), 5 of Tl2L stoichiometry were synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic methods, thermal stability studies, and X-ray analysis. All obtained complexes represent coordination polymers of different complexity, ranging in dimensionality from 1D in Tl(2F-PhCO) to 3D in Tl2(1,3-BCO). The most interesting feature of all synthesized complexes is the formation of Tl2O2 rhombs: non planar and non-centrosymmetric in Tl(PhCO), and planar and centrosymmetric in the other three compounds. These rhombi are interconnected, forming zigzag and ladder-type polymers in which very short thallophilic Tl---Tl distances were observed. Thus, in the structure of Tl2(1,3-BCO) the closest distance between metal centers was found to be 3.670 A. This is the second shortest on-record intermetallic contact in non-organometallic and non-cluster, but Werner type complexes, and is close to that in metallic thallium: 3.456 A. In all five new coordination polymers the central atom has a stereo-active 6 s2 lone pair that significantly distorts the shape of the coordination polyhedron of Tl(I). The first time, Tl–O vibrations in Tl2O2 rhombs were observed in Raman spectra of the obtained complexes. Thermal analysis studies evidenced stability of all complexes, but Tl(PhCO), to ∼200 °C. The Tl2(1,3-BCO) compound demonstrates properties of the high energy compound, and violently exothermically decomposes at ∼255 °C with the release of a significant amount of kinetic energy. The final product of anaerobic decomposition of all studied Tl-cyanoximates is metallic thallium sponge.
Influencing Education Policy Discussions: A Case Study.

This article is a report of one effort to directly influence state education policy discussions through a coordinated plan. The report is presented as a case study. The case study includes a descri...
A Modified Semisolid Clonal Culture for Identification of B-1 and B-2 Progenitor Colony Forming Ability of Mouse Embryonic Hemogenic Endothelial Cells

The search for the origin of the first hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the mouse embryo has been a hot topic in the field of developmental hematopoiesis. Detecting lymphoid potential is one of the supportive evidence to show the definitive hematopoietic activity of HSCs. However, the first B-lymphoid potential in the mouse embryos are reported to be biased to innate-like B-1 cell lineage that can develop from hemogenic endothelial cells (HECs) independently of HSCs. On the other hand, conventional adaptive immune B cells (B-2) cells are considered to be exclusively derived from HSCs. Therefore, segregating B-1 and B-2 progenitor potential is important to understand the developmental process of HSCs that are also produced from HECs through intermediate precursors referred to as pre-HSCs. Both HECs and pre-HSCs show endothelial surface phenotype and require stromal support to detect their hematopoietic activity. The method utilizing stromal cell culture followed by modified semisolid clonal culture enables us to detect the number of colony forming units for B-1/B-2 progenitors originally derived from HECs/pre-HSCs, which will reflect the potential of B-1 biased or multi-lineage repopulating HSCs.
Identification of Generalized Convulsive Status Epilepticus from Emergency Medical Service Records: A Validation Study of Diagnostic Coding.

Generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE) is a neurologic emergency demanding prehospital identification and treatment. Evaluating real-world practice requires accurately identifying the tar...
Nuclear power plant cybersecurity

Abstract Digitalization of instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is in progress. Along with the benefits of accurate and economic control of these digital I&C systems comes the challenges of cybersecurity. Especially with the growth of industry-targeted cyber-attacks in both numbers and capabilities, an overall understanding of the current cybersecurity status is important for further cybersecurity research and deployment improvement. This chapter summarizes the different aspects of NPP cybersecurity, including regulation requirements, NPP deployment, cyber-incidents, and current research directions.
Isosteric heat of adsorption from thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm

The recently developed thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm model is used to estimate the isosteric heat of adsorption for pure component adsorption. Specifically, pure component adsorption isotherms at different temperatures are first correlated with the thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm model. Then the pure component isosteric heat of adsorption is calculated with the Clausius–Clapeyron equation. We show the thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm model correctly estimates the isosteric heat of adsorption as a function of surface loading for pure component adsorption.
Noninvasive Patient-Specific Simulations of Mitral Valve Surgical Repair Using a High-Fidelity Functionally Equivalent Chordae Representation

Objective: Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is a highly prevalent heart valve disorder affecting over 1.6 million people in the United States. Its treatments often have high rates of failure whi...
The breast is yet to come: current and future utility of circulating tumour DNA in breast cancer

Advances in genomic strategies and the development of targeted therapies have enabled precision medicine to revolutionise the field of oncology. Precision medicine uses patient-specific genetic and molecular information, traditionally obtained from tumour biopsy samples, to classify tumours and treat them accordingly. However, biopsy samples often fail to provide complete tumour profiling, and the technique is expensive and, of course, relatively invasive. Advances in genomic techniques have led to improvements in the isolation and detection of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), a component of a peripheral blood draw/liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsy offers a minimally invasive method to gather genetic information that is representative of a global snapshot of both primary and metastatic sites and can thereby provide invaluable information for potential targeted therapies and methods for tumour surveillance. However, a lack of prospective clinical trials showing direct patient benefit has limited the implementation of liquid biopsies in standard clinical applications. Here, we review the potential of ctDNA obtained by liquid biopsy to revolutionise personalised medicine and discuss current applications of ctDNA both at the benchtop and bedside.