cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impacts of paper properties on matrix effects during paper spray mass spectrometry analysis of prescription drugs, fentanyl and synthetic cannabinoids

Abstract Designer drugs, drugs synthesized in a lab that mimic other drugs of abuse, have become a major cause of death in the United States. Limitations in either speed, sensitivity or selectivity of current analytical techniques hinders rapid detection of designer drugs. Paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) is a rapid ambient pressure technique capable of detecting analytes in complex matrices. However, due to a lack of sample cleanup and chromatography, matrix effects can have a significant impact on the detection limits. Previous work has shown that the paper spray substrate has an impact on matrix effects, but the current literature lacks a systematic approach to studying different properties of paper with regards to matrix effects. In this work, the effect of pore size, flow rate, and thickness on ionization efficiency and recovery was assessed. Cellulose thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates were made along with a universal spray cartridge to provide a porous spray substrate similar to paper but with easily controllable properties. It was found that substrates with the highest filtration properties (thicker, slower flow rate, or smaller pore sizes) exhibited lower analyte recovery but improved ionization efficiency. This trend was verified with an offline extraction conducted with a 3D printed centrifuge extractor. Paper/solvent combinations were tested with urine samples to determine if selecting a paper and solvent with better ionization efficiency could improve detection limits. While for some drugs minimizing ionization suppression improved detection limits, other drug targets, like those that were charged at physiological pH, were largely unaffected. For analytes that showed improvement, both the paper and the solvent had an impact, although most of the improvement was due to the solvent.
The President as Legislative Leader: The Use of Veto Power in Environmental Policy Making

AbstractPresidents use legislative powers in many ways to influence environmental policy. The relationship between partisanship and the use of these powers is an open question. Previous research ha...
GEST-DC: Unifying Transportation and Air Quality Information in an mHealth Application

Several mobile applications exist to inform users about air quality conditions for Android in Google Play and for iOS in iTunes. Many dedicated applications also exist to inform users about traffic routes, considering tolls, and transportation means. Air quality and transportation are relevant for users in their daily lives in general, and especially important for vulnerable populations, including older adults, pregnant women and individuals with respiratory diseases. Despite its importance, there is no mobile application that combines information about pollution and transportation. For vulnerable populations, this information enables them to avoid environments that exacerbate their conditions and pose health risks. From a visualization perspective little has been done to assess graphic representations for user interfaces that convey information about pollution levels in geographic information systems. To address these challenges, this paper presents the design, development and evaluation of GEST-DC, an mHealth app that informs air quality levels for commuting routes.
Course reserves: An enabler in the textbook affordability crisis?

This is a curious piece for me to write. Consider, I began my academic library career while in graduate school at Drexel University as the course book room clerk at the Hagerty Library. There I cat...
Meta-Learning Biologically Plausible Semi-Supervised Update Rules

The question of how neurons embedded in a network update their synaptic weights to collectively achieve behavioral goals is a longstanding problem in systems neuroscience. Since Hebb9s hypothesis that cells that fire together strengthen their connections, cellular studies have shed light on potential synaptic mechanisms underlying learning. These mechanisms have directly driven the careful hand design of biologically plausible models of learning and memory in computational neuroscience. However, these hand designed rules have yet to achieve satisfying success training large neural networks, and are dramatically outperformed by biologically implausible approaches such as backpropagation. We propose an alternative paradigm for designing biologically plausible learning rules: using meta-learning to learn a parametric synaptic update rule which is capable of training deep networks. We demonstrate this approach by meta-learning an update rule for semi-supervised tasks, where sparse labels are provided to a deep network but the majority of inputs are unlabeled. The meta-learned plasticity rule integrates bottom-up, top-down, and recurrent inputs to each neuron, and generates weight updates as the product of pre- and post-synaptic neuronal outputs. The way in which the inputs to each neuron are combined to produce a learning signal, however, is itself a meta-learned function, parameterized by a neural network. Critically, the meta-learned update rule integrates only neuron-local information when proposing updates--that is, our learning rule is spatially localized to individual neurons. After meta-learning, the resulting synaptic update rule is capable of driving task-relevant learning for semi-supervised tasks. We demonstrate this capability on two simple classification problems. In general, we believe meta-learning to be a powerful approach to finding more effective synaptic plasticity rules, which will motivate new hypotheses for biological neural networks, and new algorithms for artificial neural networks.
Clinical features of pituitary stalk interruption syndrome in neonates and infants

Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is characterized by a thin or absent pituitary stalk, hypoplasia of the adenohypophysis, and ectopic neurohypophysis.The occurrence of PSIS is associated with perinatal abnormalities and congenital gene mutations.PSIS manifestations include a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes and pituitary hormone deficiencies of variable degree and timing of onset.The phenotype in children and adolescents includes short stature and abnormal sexual development.However, the manifestations of PSIS in neonates and infants are not specific.The phenotype in the neonatal period includes hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, micropenis, cryptorchidism, malformations, jaundice, constipation and poor appetite.Great importance should be attached to the prognostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in pituitary region, and the pituitary characteristics indicated by MRI are closely associated with the clinical phenotypes of PSIS.Once PSIS is diagnosed, hormone replacement therapy should be performed in early stage and subsequent long-term follow-up is demanded. Key words: Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome; Infant, newborn; Infant; Clinical characteristics; Diagnosis; Therapy
Striving to Rollback or Protect Roe: State Legislation and the Trump-Era Politics of Abortion

Abortion’s centrality to the Christian Right, together with that movement’s importance to Republican Party politics, as well as the policy realities of abortion, have all combined to make regulating abortion a fixture within U S state politics for decades While the levels and forms of state activity have varied since the 1980s, the Trump presidency has produced strategic changes in the content and perceived importance of abortion policy Notably, recent changes in the state politics of abortion have not just been on the side of Republican states restricting abortion access, the most traditional and highest profile form of policy activity in this area, but have also taken the form of Democratic states actively defending abortion access This article provides an overview of the interrelated changes in party politics, perceptions of political opportunities, and the content of state abortion regulations It concludes that the frequency of state abortion laws has increased modestly during the Trump presidency, but substantive shifts in recent policies create the potential to fundamentally reorganize state and national abortion politics
Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy

While lesions at the tail of the pancreas may be benign or malignant, they often require resection. When performing a distal pancreatectomy, one can preserve the spleen or perform a combined distal pancreatectomy/splenectomy. Preservation of the spleen is more technically challenging. One common complication is leak from the transected pancreatic duct. This chapter discusses a laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy.
Basic Immunology: An Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused certain immunological concepts to enter the public consciousness, as the scientific and health care communities, and the population in general, seek a path forward in this extraordinary time. Nephrology nurses are uniquely situated to assist their patients in understanding these concepts but may not feel confident in their own knowledge. The following is a high-level overview of basic immunology that can assist the nephrology nurse in the care and education of patients with kidney failure, as well as those in the community who may seek guidance and clarification of the issues that are inherent in the global response to COVID-19.
Co-Occurring Psychopathology Moderates Social Skills Improvement in a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Collaborative School-Home Intervention for Children with ADHD.

Children with ADHD often exhibit marked impairment in their social skills, but evidence-based psychosocial interventions for ADHD have shown limited efficacy in remediating these deficits. Co-occur...
Predictors of Out-of-Class Mindfulness Practice Adherence During and After a Mindfulness-Based Intervention.

OBJECTIVE Out-of-class mindfulness meditation practice is a health behavior that is considered to be a crucial ingredient in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), yet participant adherence to practice recommendations is often inconsistent. Furthermore, MBIs may enhance factors that lead to greater adherence to medical regimens in other contexts. This study examined baseline factors previously found to relate to adherence to medical regimen, MBI-related changes in these baseline factors, and treatment-related factors as predictors of meditation adherence in an 8-week MBI. METHODS Baseline traits (personality, depressive symptoms, and executive function) were entered into regression models (n = 96) to predict intervention and postintervention out-of-class meditation adherence. Trait changes and treatment-related factors were entered into models to predict postintervention meditation adherence. RESULTS Baseline conscientiousness (β = 0.33, p = .002), openness (β = 0.23, p = .019), and depressive symptoms (β = 0.19, p = .042) predicted intervention meditation adherence, whereas conscientiousness (β = 0.21, p = .044) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.22, p = .020) predicted postintervention meditation adherence. Although all trait variables except for agreeableness changed significantly pre-to-post intervention, these changes did not predict postintervention meditation adherence. Retreat attendance (β = 0.38, p = .029) and instructor/group-related therapeutic factors collectively predicted postintervention meditation adherence (R2 = 0.21, p = .019). CONCLUSIONS The identified baseline trait factors could be used to increase adherence in these interventions as a method of increasing their effectiveness. An emphasis on the MBI retreat and social factors during the intervention may be important for participant out-of-class practice postintervention.Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.govNCT01831362.
The Aggregation/Culpability Puzzle

In this short piece, I demonstrate that even if wrongs don't aggregate, culpability for those wrongs does.
A multi-agent simulator for generating novelty in monopoly

Abstract Despite impressive advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based gameplaying in recent years, many such systems still lack the capability of robustly dealing with novelty in a sufficiently rich environment. Novelty may be operationally described as the states or situations that violate (implicit or explicit) assumptions about agents, the environment, and agent–agent and agent–environment interactions. In this article, we describe a simulation platform called GNOME (Generating Novelty in Open-World Multi-agent Environments) that was developed to support the development, training and evaluation of AI agents designed to play the strategic four-player board game of Monopoly. Specifically, GNOME evaluates the ability of these agents to detect and react to novelty that is potentially unanticipated by agent developers, and is one of the first gameplaying simulators to treat novelty as a first-class citizen. We hope that its introduction will lead to both practitioner-oriented and fundamental research on the nature of novelty and its impacts on AI gameplaying.
Addressing oral health barriers to care in head and neck cancer patients using a novel collaborative care approach

With appropriate interprofessional collaboration, dental schools have the capacity to facilitate the dental management of patients with head and neck cancer who are facing multiple barriers to care.
Fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) regulates invasive behavior of breast cancer cells

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 3520 The multi-step process of breast tumor progression involves perturbations in mechanisms affecting cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion, migration and angiogenesis. Dissecting molecular events linked to disease progression is critical to understanding the genetic and molecular basis of tumor progression and to the development of novel effective targeted therapeutics. Specifically, the TNF family member fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) was shown to promote invasion in some cancers as well as alter mammary epithelial cell morphology. Although a variety of growth promoting agents including phorbol esters are known to induce expression of Fn14, there has been little research investigating the role of Fn14 in breast cancer progression. Our laboratory has been investigating the role of phorbol ester-induced invasive phenotypes in breast cancer cell lines, and hypothesized a possible correlation between regulation of Fn14 and invasive cell behavior. To investigate this hypothesis, we have examined the role of Fn14 in modulating invasive behavior in a variety of breast cancer cell lines in vitro. Here, we showed high levels of Fn14 expression in myo-epithelial, highly invasive subtypes, and low levels of Fn14 expression in luminal epithelial-derived, weakly invasive cell lines. siRNA-mediated inhibition Fn14 in breast cancer cells expressing high levels of Fn14 resulted in dramatic loss of invasive capability through matrigel in a boyden chamber assay. Conversely, constitutive expression of Fn14 in weakly invasive MCF-7 cells, which express minimal endogenous Fn14, resulted in a 6.5 fold increase in invasive capability. Consistent with previous literature, stimulation of MCF7 cells with phorbol ester TPA resulted in de novo expression of Fn14, and a corresponding 12 fold increase in invasion of MCF7 cells. TPA-mediated Fn14 induction and increased invasion were both completely blocked in the presence of Fn14-specific siRNA, or MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126, suggesting a key role for the MAPK pathway in regulation of Fn14 expression and invasion in MCF7 cells. Modulation of Fn14 expression and the impact on downstream effectors that play a role in invasion is currently being investigated using array-based expression profiling, followed by in situ validation in a progression series of breast tumors. Together, our data strongly supports a pivotal role for Fn14 in regulation of invasive behavior of breast cancer cells, and implicates this molecule or associated effectors as potential progression biomarkers and candidates for therapeutic intervention in invasive breast tumors.
A Review of Pocket Guide for Crime Scene Investigators

This handy little booklet is just what the title states. It is a pocket guide for those charged with on-the-scene investigation of crimes. It is not intended as a complete monograph on the subject. It is not a textbook of criminal investigation. Nevertheless, it could serve as a workable text for a short course in crime scene investigation.
Interval Preservation in Group- and Graph-Theoretical Music Theories: A Comparative Study

Interval preservation—wherein intervals remain unchanged among varying musical objects—is among the most basic means of manifesting coherence in musical structures. Music theorists since (1960) seminal publication of “Twelve-Tone Invariants as Compositional Determinants” have examined and generalized situations in which interval preservation obtains. In the course of this investigation, two theoretical contexts have developed: the group-theoretical, as in (1987) Generalized Interval Systems; and the graph-theoretical, as in (1991) K-net theory. Whereas the two approaches are integrally related— the latter’s being particularly indebted to the former—they have also essential differences, particularly in regard to the way in which they describe interval preservation. Nevertheless, this point has escaped significant attention in the literature. The present study completes the comparison of these two methods, and, in doing so, reveals further-reaching implications of the theory of interval preservation to recent models of voice-leading and chord spaces (Cohn 2003, Straus 2005, Tymoczko 2005, among others), specifically where the incorporated chords have differing cardinalities and/or symmetrical properties.
Complex Litigation: RICO Class Actions

This paper is a commentary and analysis of creative efforts of plaintiffs class action attorneys to pursue relief under the federal RICO statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68, (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act). Congress enacted RICO originally to address provide sanctions for criminal enterprise activities, but class counsel have imaginatively employed RICO statutes to create massive civil litigation against entire industries, pleading various fraud claims. This article explores the potential advantages to pleading RICO claims and pursuing relief under this statute. Pursuing RICO claims provides a basis for certifying a class action that otherwise might not be certifiable if pursued solely under state-based fraud theories. There is a conflict among federal courts concerning whether, in pleading a federal RICO fraud claim, the plaintiffs’ need to prove individual reliance defeats the ability to certify a class under the Rule 23(b)(3) predominance requirement. The article discusses the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance Nat’l Indemnity Inc. Co., 319 F.3d 205 (5th Cir. 2003), in which the court concluded that a RICO claim does not permit presumed reliance to overcome the predominance requirement of Rule 23(b)(3), and the conflicting Eleventh Circuit decision in which the court has held to the contrary Klay v. Humana Inc., 382 F.3d 1241 (11th Cir. 2004).
Discovering Extended Action-Rules (System DEAR)

Action rules introduced in [3] and investigated further in [4] assume that attributes in a database are divided into two groups: stable and flexible. In general, an action rule can be constructed from two rules extracted earlier from the same database. Furthermore, we assume that these two rules describe two different decision classes and that our goal is to re-classify some objects from one of these decision classes to the other one. Flexible attributes provide a tool for making hints to a business user what changes within some values of flexible attributes are needed. for a given object to re-classify this object to another decision class. In [3], we suggested what changes are needed to classification attributes listed in both rules but we did not consider situations when such an attribute is listed only in one of these rules. Also, neither in [3] nor [4] we provide a way to compute support and confidence of action rules. ! In this paper, we show how system DEAR is discovering extended action rules which give better strategies for re-classifying objects than strategies provided by action rules. Also, the confidence of extended action rules is much higher than confidence of corresponding action rules. System DEAR, implemented in KDD Laboratory at UNC-Charlotte, requires Windows 95 or higher. It does not discretize numerical attributes which means some discretization algorithm has to applied before DEAR is used
Plagiarism and the news media

Lack of attribution and plagiarism can create a special problem for journalists. As numerous examples indicate, there is confusion about the sometimes fine line between lack of attribution and plagiarism. But there is even more confusion over how to solve the problem. Short of restructuring the journalism profession to create an overall governing body similar to the law bar, there is no way to create a set of national guidelines on when lack of attribution might become plagiarism. The only place to deal with the ambiguity of this issue is at the level of the individual papers.
Silica Gel and its Derivatization for Liquid Chromatography

In this article, we review the preparation and use of silica and hybrid packings and their derivatives in liquid chromatography (LC). First, the properties of the carrier that are important for its application in LC are examined and then bonded phases and coated phases based on silica and hybrid packings are considered. The current state of the art of the preparation of bonded phases and coated phases is surveyed, and the properties that are relevant for the chromatographer are discussed. Owing to the popularity of reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), most of the emphasis is placed on phases used in this technique; however, other chromatographic techniques are not ignored. A detailed characterization of reversed-phase packings is provided.
Multifilamentary Superconducting Composites

Certain materials lose all resistance to the flow of electricity when cooled to within a few degrees of absolute zero. The phenomenon is called superconductivity, and the materials exhibiting this phenomenon are called superconductors. Superconductors can carry a high current density without any electrical resistance; thus, they can generate the very high magnetic fields that are desirable in many applications: magnetic resonance imaging, high-energy physics, and fusion energy programs. Other fields of application include magnetic levitation vehicles, magneto hydrodynamic generators, rotating machines, and magnets in general. Kamerlingh Onnes discovered the phenomenon of superconductivity in mercury in 1911. Since then, some 27 elements and hundreds of solid solutions or compounds have been discovered that show this phenomenon of total disappearance of electrical resistance below a critical temperature, Tc. Figure 9.1 shows the variation of electrical resistivity with temperature of a normal metal and that of a superconducting material, Nb3Sn. The critical temperature is a characteristic constant of each material. Kunzler et al. (1961) discovered the high critical field capability of Nb3Sn and thus opened up the field of practical, high-field superconducting magnets. It turns out that most of the superconductors came into the realm of economic viability when techniques were developed to put the superconducting species in the form of ultrathin filaments in a copper matrix as described below. A similar development route is used for the newer oxide superconductors.
Dose-related alterations in growth and mineral disposition by chronic oral cadmium administration in the male rat.

Abstract The effect of cadmium (1, 10, or 100 ppm) administered to male rats in drinking water for 13 weeks on body weight and mineral disposition (Cd, Mg, P, and Zn) in several body tissue was examined. Most alterations observed in these parameters occured only at the 100 ppm dose of Cd. Terminal body weight was decreased . by 10% in rats ingesting Cd at 100 ppm resulting from decreased food intake since weight gain/food consumption ration was the same for all treatment groups. In serum, cadmium ingestion resulted in an inhibition of alkaline phosphatase activity at all concentrations and phosphorous was elevated only in animals receiving 100 ppm Cd. No changes were observed in Ca in urea. In bone, Cd decreased zinc content, increased Ca content, but did not influence bone ash, Mg or P and roentgenorgraphic examination revealed no bone abnormalities. In both liver and kidney, cadmium ingestion did not influence intestinal absorption of Ca, Mg, P, or Zn or the renal excretion of Ca, P, or urea. The results of this study indicate that alterations in body weight and tissue mineral disposition resulting from chronic Cd ingestion are dose-related.
Residential Conservation Program Impacts Methods of Reducing Self-Selection Bias

Participants in utility-sponsored residential conservation programs are systematically different from nonparticipants. As a result self-selection is an important validity threat in studies of conservation program impact. Three approaches to dealing with this self- selection bias are reviewed: (1) designs that use participants as a control group, (2) construction of a matched sample on the basis of predicted energy consumption values, and (3) multiple regression analysis. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed.
Exactly solvable models in supersymmetric quantum mechanics and connection with spectrum-generating algebras

Analytic expressions for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of nonrelativistic shape-invariant Hamiltonians can be derived using the well-known method of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Most of these Hamiltonians also possess spectrum-generating algebras and are hence solvable by an independent group theory method. We demonstrate the equivalence of the two solution methods by developing an algebraic framework for shape-invariant Hamiltonians with a general parameter change involving nonlinear extensions of Lie algebras.
Two-thirds is sharp for affine scaling

Tsuchiya and Muramatsu recently proved that the affine-scaling algorithm for linear programming generates convergent sequences of primal and dual variables whose limits are optimal for the corresponding primal and dual problems as long as the step size is no more than two-thirds of the distance to the nearest face of the polytope. An important feature of this result is that it does not require any nondegeneracy assumptions. In this paper we show that Tsuchiya and Muramatsu's result is sharp by providing a simple linear programming problem for which the sequence of dual variables fails to converge for every step size greater than two-thirds.
High- and low-dose OPG–Fc cause osteopetrosis-like changes in infant mice

Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) inhibitors are being considered for use in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). We sought to assess efficacy of two doses of a RANKL inhibitor, osteoprotegerin–immunoglobulin Fc segment complex (OPG–Fc), in a growing animal model of OI, the col1α2-deficient mouse (oim/oim) and its wild-type controls (+/+). Treated mice showed runting and radiographic evidence of osteopetrosis with either high- (20 mg/kg twice weekly) or low-dose (1 mg/kg/week) OPG–Fc. Because of this adverse event, OPG–Fc treatment was halted, and the mice were killed or monitored for recovery with monthly radiographs and assessment of serum osteoclast activity (tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b, TRACP-5b) until 25 wk of age. Twelve weeks of OPG–Fc treatment resulted in radiographic and histologic osteopetrosis with no evidence of bone modeling and negative tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining, root dentin abnormalities, and TRACP-5b activity suppression. Signs of recovery appeared 4–8 wk post-treatment. Both high- and low-dose OPG–Fc treatment resulted in osteopetrotic changes in infant mice, an outcome that was not seen in studies with the RANKL inhibitor RANK–immunoglobulin Fc segment complex (RANK–Fc) or in studies with older animals. Further investigations of RANKL inhibitors are necessary before their consideration for use in children.
State-feedback control of the SpaceHawk Earth-based lunar hopper

The SpaceHawk is an Earth-based model spacecraft designed to navigate the surface of the moon in a series of “hops”. By design, the nonholonomic dynamics of the SpaceHawk allow the use of full-state feedback linearization. The position and attitude states are decoupled via exact feedback linearization before being stabilized via proportional-derivative (PD) control. As a computationally inexpensive alternative to the exact linearization controller, an approximate linearization controller is designed to exclude the highly nonlinear attitude dynamics. Simulations show the approximate linearization controller performing comprably to the exact linearization controller despite the initial conditions being far from the origin. Satisfactory results are obtained for stability and tracking in the position and attitude states.
Creating an Imperial Frontier: Archaeology of the Formation of Rome's Danube Borderland

For investigating the formation of frontier zones, study of changes in small communities that constituted the majority of earlier populations provides a different perspective from a focus on major centers. A network model applied to settlement and cemetery sites on Rome’s Danube River frontier in Bavaria, Germany, shows that many communities, through participation in regional and long-distance circulation systems, played significant roles in creating the dynamic and culturally heterogeneous character of that landscape. This approach offers a model applicable to analysis of the formation and functioning of frontier regions in all cultural contexts.
Intelligence and the modern world of work

Abstract Research has clearly established that intelligence is one of the most important individual differences in human resource management (HR) and industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology. Despite its importance and the dramatic changes that have occurred in the world of work, the conceptualization and use of intelligence in workplace processes have changed very little over the past sixty years. In many other fields (e.g., cognitive and developmental psychology, and the neurosciences) researchers have made considerable progress in understanding this critical and complex construct and its role in the modern world. These developments have not only propelled our thinking about intelligence forward, but have also led to the reconsideration of a number of “truths” about intelligence. However, this modern research and thinking has minimally impacted the fields of HR and I/O psychology. The goal of this special issue is to introduce HR and I/O researchers and practitioners to modern thinking on intelligence as well as some of the innovations and developments in the conceptualization, use, and measurement of intelligence that have the potential to impact practice and research in the workplace.
The GEANT-CALOR interface and benchmark calculations of ZEUS test calorimeters

Abstract The simulation of large scale high energy physics experiments is based mainly on the GEANT package. In the current version 3.15 the simulation of hadronic interacting particles is based on GHEISHA or FLUKA. Both programs miss an accurate simulation of the interaction of low energetic neutrons ( E kin
Office Design and Organizations: 1. Theoretical Basis

This paper is the first of two which taken together will give an account of some research on the relationship between one kind of designed environment, the office interior, and one kind of social group, the office organization. This first paper reviews some attempts to describe the nature of this kind of relationship. The question of criticality is discussed and doubt is cast on the advisability of seeking direct evidence of effects of the environment on behaviour. Instead, a simpler approach is advocated which, by giving equal attention to people and buildings and by measuring both in a quantitative way, attempts to test whether correspondences exist between them.To this general approach is added an important idea from organization theory—that structural variations make it possible to categorize types of organization. Two current idees regus in office design—that layout should reflect patterns of interaction and be as egalitarian as possible—are attacked in the light of this view of organization theory. ...
Reaction-diffusion fronts in periodically layered media

We compute the effective wavefront speeds of reaction-diffusion equations in periodically layered media with coefficients that have small-amplitude oscillations around a uniform mean state. We compare them with the corresponding wavefront speeds in the uniform state. We analyze a one-dimensional model where wave propagation is along the layering direction of the medium and a two-dimensional shear flow model where wave propagation is othogonal to the layering direction. We find that the effective wave speed is smaller in the one-dimensional model and is larger in the two-dimensional model for both bistable cubic and quadratic nonlinearities of the Kolmogorov-Petrovskii-Piskunov form. We derive approximate expressions for the wave speeds in the bistable case.
Social Civility in the United States

The existence of social civility is explored in terms of the components of social responsibility, social concern, and social involvement. Social civility is viewed as consisting of the degree to which people have a sense of duty or obligation to society, the extent of their concern for the welfare of others as well as themselves, and whether they help others through voluntary activities. The purpose of this article is to describe the level and distribution of the components of social civility in the population. Data are from a 1995 random digit–dialing sample of U.S. adults between the ages of 25 and 74. The findings fail to support the hypothesis of social incivility in the U.S. Adults report high levels of social responsibility and invest a great deal of thought and effort into their life and their contributions to others’ welfare. Social civility is found to be higher among more educated, married, female, and older adults. Regular religious attendance, which predicts greater social civility, mediates the relationship of the key demographic variables with social civility.
Empirical case studies of combining software quality classification models

The increased reliance on computer systems in the modern world has created a need for engineering reliability control of computer systems to the highest possible standards. This is especially crucial in high-assurance and mission critical systems. Software quality classification models are one of the important tools in achieving high reliability. They can be used to calibrate software metrics-based models to detect fault-prone software modules. Timely use of such models can greatly aid in detecting faults early in the life cycle of the software product. Individual classifiers (models) may be improved by using the combined decision from multiple classifiers. Several algorithms implement this concept and have been investigated. These combined learners provide the software quality modeling community with accurate, robust, and goal oriented models. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative evaluation of three combined learners, Bagging, Boosting, and Logit-Boost. We evaluated these methods with a strong and a weak learner, i.e., C4.5 and Decision Stumps, respectively. Two large-scale case studies of industrial software systems are used in our empirical investigations.
Photoelectron spectroscopy of radical anions

Abstract The photoelectron spectroscopy of a number of radical anions has been investigated. We find the following electron affinities: EA(C3) =1.981 ±0.020 eV, EA(C3H) = 1.858 ±0.023 eV, EA(C3H2) = 1.794 ± 0.025 eV, EA(C3O) = 1.34±0.15 eV, EA(C3O2) = 0.85±0.15 eV, EA(C4O)= 2.05±0.15 eV, and EA(CS2) = 0.895± 0.020 eV. The structure and bonding for each of these ions is discussed.
Acute Pulmonary Edema Associated with the Use of Oral Ritodrine for Premature Labor

We describe a patient who developed acute pulmonary edema while taking oral ritodrine for the treatment of premature labor and recovered after its discontinuation. The mechanism of development of pulmonary edema associated with β-sympathomimetic agents is still not fully understood. Patients taking oral ritodrine should be observed for cardiopulmonary signs and symptoms. (Chest 1989; 95:479-81)
Bound constrained bundle adjustment for reliable 3D reconstruction

Bundle adjustment (BA) is a common estimation algorithm that is widely used in machine vision as the last step in a feature-based three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction algorithm. BA is essentially a non-convex non-linear least-square problem that can simultaneously solve the 3D coordinates of all the feature points describing the scene geometry, as well as the parameters of the camera. The conventional BA takes a parameter either as a fixed value or as an unconstrained variable based on whether the parameter is known or not. In cases where the known parameters are inaccurate but constrained in a range, conventional BA results in an incorrect 3D reconstruction by using these parameters as fixed values. On the other hand, these inaccurate parameters can be treated as unknown variables, but this does not exploit the knowledge of the constraints, and the resulting reconstruction can be erroneous since the BA optimization halts at a dramatically incorrect local minimum due to its non-convexity. In many practical 3D reconstruction applications, unknown variables with range constraints are usually available, such as a measurement with a range of uncertainty or a bounded estimate. Thus to better utilize these pre-known, constrained, but inaccurate parameters, a bound constrained bundle adjustment (BCBA) algorithm is proposed, developed and tested in this study. A scanning fiber endoscope (the camera) is used to capture a sequence of images above a surgery phantom (the object) of known geometry. 3D virtual models are reconstructed based on these images and then compared with the ground truth. The experimental results demonstrate BCBA can achieve a more reliable, rapid, and accurate 3D reconstruction than conventional bundle adjustment.
Microcolumns in the cerebral cortex

Neuroanatomists from Cajal on (1) have searched in the cerebral cortex for units of structural organization that transcend the laminar pattern visible even to the untutored eye in Nissl-stained preparations. Many have commented on the vertical column-like arrays of cell bodies running orthogonal to the horizontal laminae that are particularly conspicuous in the temporal cortex of humans and other primates (Fig. 1). These columns have been promoted in the past as the morphological correlates of the functional columnarity of the cortex, known from physiological studies (2). The hypothesis of the column as the fundamental processing unit of the cerebral cortex was formulated by Mountcastle (3) from studies of cells responding to tactile stimuli in the somatosensory cortex of the cat. The hypothesis requires that nerve cells in middle layers of the cortex, in which thalamic afferents terminate, should be joined by narrow vertical connections to cells in layers lying superficial and deep to them, so that all cells in the column are excited by incoming stimuli with only small latency differences. The columns form a series of repeating units across the horizontal extent of the cortex. Figure 1 Nissl-stained section of the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus from a human brain, showing microcolumns of nerve cells (×40). The verticality of cell–cell connections in the cortex has never been in doubt, but determining the minimal unit of such connectivity and the extent to which it is based on morphologically definable arrays of cells continues to exercise investigators. One problem inherent in the different experimental models customarily invoked as demonstrative of cortical columns is that they differ in scale. A column defined by neurons responding to peripheral stimulation as a vertically oriented microelectrode descends through the cortical layers, is narrower than the layer IV barrels of the rodent somatosensory cortex, and the …
Low-dose cyclosporine therapy in the treatment of birdshot retinochoroidopathy.

Introduction: Birdshot retinochoroidopathy is an uncommon uveitic syndrome of presumed autoimmune etiology. Therapy with systemic and periocular steroids is of inconsistent efficacy, attendant with numerous potential long-term side effects. Steroidsparing strategies with more specific agents such as cyclosporine (Cyclosporin A, CSA) have been suggested as the first line treatment for this disease. Patients and Methods: The records of 19 patients (35 eyes) with the clinical diagnosis of birdshot retinochoroidopathy were examined. Age at onset ranged from 33 to 69 years (mean, 46.1 years) in nine men and ten women. The median follow-up from disease onset was 36 months. Eight patients were treated with low-dose (2.5–5 mg/kg daily) CSA alone, six required the addition of azathioprine (1.5–2 mg/kg daily), and six received no systemic immunosuppressive therapy. Results: HLA-A29 was positive in 94% (16 of 17) of patients tested. Vitreous inflammation was controlled in 23 (88.5%) treated eyes, with fewer bouts of recurrent inflammation, and a corresponding improvement or stabilization of visual acuity in 20 (83.3%) eyes. In contrast, intraocular inflammation never was controlled fully in untreated eyes, and visual acuity decreased in six (54.5%) eyes by an average of 2.5 Snellen lines. Nephrotoxic side effects of low-dose CSA therapy were not observed, but hypertension developed in two patients. Conclusion: Although the definitive strategy for the management of birdshot retinochoroidopathy is unknown, control of intraocular inflammation with a favorable visual outcome, together with a lack of demonstrable CSA-associated nephrotoxicity and secondary side effects in these patients with birdshot retinochoroidopathy indicate that vision preservation is possible with low-dose CSA alone or in combination with other steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents as an alternative to the long-term use of corticosteroids.
Precarious Work and Flexibilization in South and Southeast Asia

This article briefly recapitulates the social, economic, and political factors that led to the rise and consolidation of precarious work in various countries in Asia and the definition of “precarious work.” The article then considers the utility of precarious work for describing the growth of work that is uncertain and insecure and in which risks are shifted from employers to workers for several countries in South and Southeast Asia, namely, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India.
Immunoassays for carbodiimide modified DNA-detection of unpairing transitions in supercoiled ColE1 DNA

Abstract The water soluble reagent N-cyclohexyl-N'-beta-(4-methylmorpholinium) ethyl carbodiimide-p-toluene sulphonate (CMC) can be used to probe for unpaired and mismatched sites in DNA. Polyclonal antibodies for CMC modified DNA were produced in order to develop immunological assays for the localization and quantitation of CMC adducts. Immunoslot blot analysis of modified DNA exhibited antibody binding proportional to the extent of CMC modification with adduct detection in the femtamole range. Unmodified DNA did not cross react under the conditions of the assay. The distribution of CMC reactivity for supercoiled ColE1 DNA modified at 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl was determined by immunoanalysis of EcoRI-Hae2-NruI restriction fragments Southern transferred to nylon membranes. Reactivity above random expectation occurred in the A2-II fragment which can be accounted for by its high A-T content of 71.3%. Reactivity below random expectation occurred in the C fragment which can be accounted for by its low AT content of 43%. CMC modification for the other restriction fragments appeared random.
On Non-Parametric Field Estimation using Randomly Deployed, Noisy, Binary Sensors

We consider the problem of reconstructing a deterministic data field from binary quantized noisy observations of sensors randomly deployed over the field domain. Our focus is on the extremes of lack of control in the sensor deployment, arbitrariness and lack of knowledge of the noise distribution, and low-precision and unreliability in the sensors. These adverse conditions are motivated by possible real-world scenarios where a large collection of low-cost, crudely manufactured sensors are mass-deployed in an environment where little can be assumed about the ambient noise. We propose a simple estimator that reconstructs the entire data field from these unreliable, binary quantized, noisy observations. Under the assumption of a bounded amplitude field, we prove almost sure and mean-square convergence of the estimator to the actual field as the number of sensors tends to infinity. For fields with bounded-variation, Sobolev differentiable, or finite-dimensionality properties, we derive specific mean squared error (MSE) decay rates. The analysis techniques used herein expose the effects of field ";smoothness"; properties, location randomness, and noise on the MSE scaling behavior.
Masculinidades en atribulación, ansiedad y transición en Carne trémula (1997) de Pedro Almodóvar

Abstract No es una noticia nueva que el universo cinematografico del director espanol Pedro Almodovar se haya regido casi obsesivamente por discurrir sobre la multidiscursividad que produce, y en mucbos casos regula, la experiencia generica de los individuos. En Carne Tremula ( 1997), Almodovar se focaliza en una experiencia generica particular, la ejecucion de la masculinidad, para bablar asi de la todavia pendiente democratizacion de la sociedad espanola de la decada de los noventa. En este trabajo propongo que la atribulacion, la ansiedad y una mirada bacia la transicion de los modelos masculinos tradicionales y violentos son los ejes discursivos que dirigen el desarrollo de este filme. A traves de Carne Tremula Almodovar propone agudas reflexiones sobre los val ores que rig en la masculinidad en una Espana inserta en plena era de globalizacion y en lucba por trascender los discursos provenientes de la dictadura de Francisco Franco tales como la urgencia de mostrar la espanolidad—emblematicamente mascu...
Improved virtual bronchoscopy using a multislice helical CT scanner

Virtual bronchoscopy reconstructions of the airway noninvasively provide useful morphologic information of structural abnormalities such as stenoses and masses. To date, virtual bronchoscopy has been mainly applied to the central airways. In this paper, we show how virtual bronchoscopy can be applied to more peripheral airways by making use of the capabilities of a multi-slice helical CT scanner.