cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EXECUTING THE INNOCENT AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY

Research Summary: The issue of whether innocent people have been executed is now at the center of the debate concerning the legitimacy of capital punishment. The purpose of this research was to use data collected by the Gallup Organization in 2003 to investigate whether Americans who believed that an innocent person had been executed were less likely to support capital punishment. We also explored whether the association varied by race, given that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the death penalty. Our results indicated that three-quarters of Americans believed that an innocent person had been executed for a crime they did not commit within the last five years and that this belief was associated with lower levels of support for capital punishment, especially among those who thought this sanction was applied unfairly. In addition, our analyses revealed that believing an innocent person had been executed had a stronger association with altering African American than white support for the death penalty. Policy Implications: A key claim of death penalty advocates is that a high proportion of the public supports capital punishment. In this context, scholars opposing this sanction have understood the importance of showing that the public's support for executing offenders is contingent and shallower than portrayed by typical opinion polls. The current research joins this effort by arguing that the prospect of executing innocents potentially impacts public support for the death penalty and, in the least, creates ideological space for a reconsideration of the legitimacy of capital punishment.
Developments in Gridded Ion Lenses

For most applications, the use of grids in focusing elements can improve beam current densities per unit solid angle by a factor of 10 or more. The coupled problems of high grid transparency and long grid life have limited their usefulness in accelerator systems. The development of machined grids with a 10 fold increase in life expectance will be described. These grids are for the Einzel lens of the ORNL Nanosecond Pulser in which wire mesh grids had an average life to failure of 75 hrs. The grids were machined by electrical discharge (Elox) techniques in a sheet of tungsten or molybdenum. Transparencies as high as 84% have been obtained. The sheets can be pre-shaped to compensate for residual spherical aberrations in the lens. Shaped grids have shown further increases of beam brilliance of 30-40%. For fast pulsing operating in which there is no space charge neutralization, beam brilliance figures of 1 amp per sq cm per steradian have been obtained with beam currents up to 3 mA.
Molecular-based electronically switchable tunnel junction devices.

Solid-state tunnel junction devices were fabricated from Langmuir Blodgett molecular monolayers of a bistable [2]catenane, a bistable [2]pseudorotaxane, and a single-station [2]rotaxane. All devices exhibited a (noncapacitive) hysteretic current−voltage response that switched the device between high- and low-conductivity states, although control devices exhibited no such response. Correlations between the structure and solution-phase dynamics of the molecular and supramolecular systems, the crystallographic domain structure of the monolayer film, and the room-temperature device performance characteristics are reported.
Increasing Access to Nonprescription Medicines: A Global Public Health Challenge and Opportunity

As escalating health-care costs continue to be a focus of public discourse, the populace has become increasingly attentive to its own health and lifestyle choices. Nonprescription (over-the-counter, OTC) medicines represent an important option in this evolving environment and, through novel "Rx-to-OTC" switch efforts, could expand beyond their traditional role in symptomatic relief of common conditions such as minor pain, coughs, colds, heartburn, and allergy. This is certainly not a new concept. In fact, the self-care movement has roots reaching into the past century. Pharmaceutical companies and their consumer-product subsidiaries or partners have long considered and, when feasible, invested in difficult OTC switch development programs.
Classification Made Simple: 2nd ed

Concluding with the thought that “classification is a means to an end, not an end in itself,” Eric Hunter neatly ties up his discussion of the basic principles, structures and potential uses of cla...
Bursting Hodgkin---Huxley model-based ultra-low-power neuromimetic silicon neuron

This paper presents a compact, ultra-low-power implementation of the bursting Hodgkin---Huxley model-based silicon neuron. The Hodgkin---Huxley model is a neuron imitation that consists of two calcium current channels, a potassium current channel and a leakage current channel. In the proposed architecture, the calcium and the potassium current channels have been implemented using a sigmoid-function structure, a log-domain filter, and a linear transconductor. Different neuronal signals can be generated by changing the value of the capacitor in the log-domain filter. The proposed silicon neuron is capable of generating four different outputs, namely, spiking, spiking with latency, bursting, and chaotic signals. Ultra-low-power consumption is achieved by current-reuse technique and subthreshold region operation of MOSFETs. The circuit is designed using 0.13 μm standard CMOS process. The entire design uses 43 transistors, with a total power consumption of only 43 nW.
CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells control the progression from periinsulitis to destructive insulitis in murine autoimmune diabetes.

Abstract Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice develop spontaneous T-cell responses against pancreatic β-cells, leading to islet cell destruction and diabetes. Despite high genetic similarity, non-obese resistant (NOR) mice do not develop diabetes. We show here that spleen cells of both NOD and NOR mice respond to the islet cell antigen glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 in IFN-γ-ELISPOT assays. Moreover, NOR-T cells induce periinsulitis in NOD SCID recipient mice. Thus, a potentially pathogenic islet cell-specific T-cell response arises in NOR and NOD mice alike; the mechanism that prevents the autoimmune progression of self-reactive T cells in NOR mice presumably acts at the level of effector function. Consistent with this hypothesis, CD4 + CD25 + cell-depleted spleen cells from NOR mice mediated islet cell destruction and overt diabetes in NOD SCID mice. Therefore, islet cell-specific effector cells in NOR mice appear to be under the control of CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells, confirming the importance of regulatory cells in the control of autoimmune diabetes.
Modernism without Women: The Refusal of Becoming-Woman (and Post-Feminism)

Just as becoming-woman is a divided concept, looking back to a seemingly redemptive figure of the feminine beyond rigid being, but also forward to a positive annihilation of fixed genders, so modernism was also a doubled movement. But modernism was a pulverisation of ‘the’ subject for the sake of a plural and multiplying point of view, and like ‘becoming-woman’, should be read as a defiant and affirmative refusal.
A rhetoric of retribution and redemption: Burke's terms for order in the drama of child sexual abuse

Law consists of a series of stories, narratives that embody the values and integrity of a culture. We define crimes, and label the individuals who commit them, along a continuum that moves from the merely unacceptable to the monstrous. One of the most heinous crimes in American society is considered to be child sexual abuse. The sexual abuser of children is firmly established in the public imagination as a modern-day bogeyman, and approaches to prevention and punishment reflect this artificially accelerated panic. Although public policies and correctional measures ostensibly are geared at preventing the crime, they reflect a fundamental misunderstanding as to the motivation of many offenders and the way in which child sexual abuse is perceived as a source of social anomie. This paper uses Kenneth Burke's interpretative framework to examine the social and legal perceptions and treatment of child sexual abusers. First discussed are Burke's conceptions of identity and orientation, which form the basis of human motivation and thus can illuminate the source of offenders' impulses. Next, Burke's "terms for order" are used to show the ways in which the dominant hierarchy compels us to scapegoat and sacrifice in the quest for social redemption.
Mercury decreases the frequency of induced but not spontaneous clustering of acetylcholine receptors

Studies with environmental levels of various metals typically focus on observable neurological symptoms in newborns and adults. Use of the C2C12 skeletal muscle cell line as a developmental model enabled us to test whether environmental insults prevented myotube formation or the assembly of the postsynaptic component of the neuromuscular synapse. Specifically, we asked whether the inorganic metal mercury interfered with the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes, acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering, or the agrin signaling events that precede AChR clustering. C2C12 myotubes grown in culture medium containing 10 μM mercuric chloride were morphologically indistinguishable from control myotubes at the light-microscopic level, and myoblasts fused into myotubes normally. However, myotubes pretreated with mercury demonstrated a decreased frequency of AChR clustering induced by agrin and other experimental manipulations. Furthermore, mercury pretreatment decreased the agrin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR β subunit, thus inhibiting the agrin signal transduction pathway. In contrast, mercury failed to decrease the frequency of spontaneous AChR clustering, suggesting that spontaneous AChR clustering differs from agrin-induced AChR clustering in some significant way.
Properties of electrostatic aggregates and their possible presence on Mars

Abstract Experiments indicate that at the high wind velocities characteristic of portions of the Martian surface, sand-sized particles will break down to silt and clay, which will then inevitably form sand-sized aggregates. Basalt and olivine aggregates held together by electrostatics were produced in an eolian abrasion device and their mass properties studied. It was difficult to examine aggregates after formation, as they separate and reform with very little handling, since electrostatic binding forces are quite weak. It is shown that aggregates range from 60 to more than 600 μm in diameter, that they generally are spheroidal in shape and become more elongate with increasing size, and that they tend to be layered with the inner portions more tightly bound than outer layers. After about one-and-one-half years, some aggregates lose their charge which is replaced with moisture; the aggregates retain their original sizes and shapes. None of the properties of electrostatic aggregates so far investigated are incompatible with the presence of these materials on Mars.
Hip Arthroscopy: What Problems Does It Solve?

Hip arthroscopy has provided a new opportunity to visualize, understand, and treat intraarticular hip pathology that was previously only accessible through open techniques. Treatment of labral pathology by open techniques had been described in the literature before the wider use of hip arthroscopy, but it was the advent of hip arthroscopy that brought renewed focus on the association of labral tears with articular cartilage pathology. The relationship of intraarticular cartilage damage and extraarticular deformity of the skeleton is now receiving more attention. Critics of hip arthroscopy opine that it is a technology still looking for a defined role. Nevertheless, the procedure is now used successfully for excision of isolated labral tears, removal of loose bodies and osteochondritis dissecans lesions, and treatment of chondral injury. Like arthroscopy of any joint, hip arthroscopy cannot fully address extraarticular issues such as malalignment, major abnormalities in bone morphology, and advanced arthritic conditions. Hip arthroscopists have demonstrated that the technique can be applied to treatment of both cam and pincer type impingement. The results of this approach are controversial and preliminary. Similarly, arthroscopic procedures such as labral repair, chondral surface treatment, and thermal capsulorraphy have been demonstrated technically possible, but the outcome of these interventions is not proven in the peer review literature.
Geopolitics and the Vietnam War: Pyrrhic Victory's Antonym

If pyrrhic victory had an antonym, it would describe a loss with dramatic yet unanticipated benefits, a victory disguised as defeat. This essay's central assertion is the Vietnam War was a geopolitical victory for the United States. The war was a victory disguised as defeat. Nicholas Spykman's analysis of the United States' geopolitical position in America's Strategy in World Politics is applied along with older and post–Cold War Vietnam War historiography. Saul Cohen's maritime conception of the Cold War is also employed. The 1965 American ground force intervention in Vietnam geopolitically secured Indonesia in the Western strategic-economic orbit in the Cold War. The unanticipated benefit, making the Vietnam War pyrrhic victory's antonym, is the intervention's role in the movement of the Sino-American relationship from that of enemy to rapprochement to tacit alliance in the 1970s. This movement illustrates a recent historiographical assertion the war intensified communist bloc fractures beyond repair, r...
HIVE-hexagon: high-performance, parallelized sequence alignment for next-generation sequencing data analysis.

Due to the size of Next-Generation Sequencing data, the computational challenge of sequence alignment has been vast. Inexact alignments can take up to 90% of total CPU time in bioinformatics pipelines. High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE), a cloud-based environment optimized for storage and analysis of extra-large data, presents an algorithmic solution: the HIVE-hexagon DNA sequence aligner. HIVE-hexagon implements novel approaches to exploit both characteristics of sequence space and CPU, RAM and Input/Output (I/O) architecture to quickly compute accurate alignments. Key components of HIVE-hexagon include non-redundification and sorting of sequences; floating diagonals of linearized dynamic programming matrices; and consideration of cross-similarity to minimize computations.
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS ADJUSTMENT IN A DISEQUILIBRIUM SYSTEM

SUMMARY A balance of payments adjustment mechanism should be defined as ‘any balance of payments disturbance which can be deliberately initiated in order to correct some other disturbance’. The traditional mechanisms, based on changes in exchange rates, prices and incomes, can no longer be applied effectively because they are domestically impalatable. Consequently, governments have come to rely on new ways of initiating countervailing disturbances, among them (a) pressures on surplus countries; (b) changes in foreign tastes; (c) stimulating economic growth; and (d) forming or joining a customs union. In the present disequilibrium system, new adjustment mechanisms like these are being widely used, and are in fact becoming the only effective means for maintaining international equilibrium.
Antenatal diagnosis of 45,X/48,XYYY

A diagnosis of 45,X/48,XYYY was made antenatally. Counseling this case was hampered by the paucity of literature describing the phenotype of patients with this chromosome constitution. The fetus had ambiguous external genitalia, a horseshoe kidney, a cerebral cortical cyst and arachnodactyly.
Simultaneous prediction of acetic acid/ethanol concentrations in their binary mixtures using metalloporphyrin based opto-electronic nose for meat safety applications

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the simultaneous prediction of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in their binary mixtures (acetic acid and ethanol) using partial least square regression (PLSR) and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP-NN). A metalloporphyrin based opto-electronic nose was developed to record the reflectance from metalloporphyrin sensing film. A ruthenium based metalloporphyrin, 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H, 23H-porphine ruthenium(II) carbonyl (RuOEPCO), was used as sensing material. The percent change in the reflectance (%ΔR) before and after exposure to different combinations of analyte concentrations were used as the input to the prediction models. The relative standard error of prediction (RSEP, %) of the PLS model was found to be 18.51 and 21.77% for acetic acid and ethanol prediction validated using independent test set, respectively. On the other hand, neural network (multilayer perceptron) produced an average RSEP of 7.27 and 9.13% for acetic acid and ethanol prediction validated using independent test set, respectively. Neural networks produced comparatively lower prediction errors using independent test set validation method and shows potential for further investigation and validation on larger dataset.
2008 Special Issue: Classifier performance estimation under the constraint of a finite sample size: Resampling schemes applied to neural network classifiers

In a practical classifier design problem the sample size is limited, and the available finite sample needs to be used both to design a classifier and to predict the classifier's performance for the true population. Since a larger sample is more representative of the population, it is advantageous to design the classifier with all the available cases, and to use a resampling technique for performance prediction. We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation study to compare the ability of different resampling techniques in predicting the performance of a neural network (NN) classifier designed with the available sample. We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve as the performance index for the NN classifier. We investigated resampling techniques based on the cross-validation, the leave-one-out method, and three different types of bootstrapping, namely, the ordinary, .632, and .632+ bootstrap. Our results indicated that, under the study conditions, there can be a large difference in the accuracy of the prediction obtained from different resampling methods, especially when the feature space dimensionality is relatively large and the sample size is small. Although this investigation is performed under some specific conditions, it reveals important trends for the problem of classifier performance prediction under the constraint of a limited data set.
Intensity variations of >70‐Mev cosmic rays measured by Pioneer 10, Voyager 1 & 2 and IMP in the heliosphere during the recovery period from 1992–1995

Using data from the >70-MeV channel on the Pioneer 10 and Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft we have examined the gradients and intensities of cosmic rays in the outer heliosphere between 1992 and 1995. During this time there is a slow increase of intensity towards the next maximum in ∼1997 and the radial gradient is small - decreasing to ∼0.8%/AU at the end of this period. The latitude gradient has also decreased to only ∼0.1-0.2%/AU but remains negative as it was in the previous 11-year cycle. These gradients are similar to those for >70-MeV particles reported recently in the inner heliosphere but quite different from the positive gradients observed at this time throughout the heliosphere by the Ulysses and Voyager spacecraft for anomalous cosmic rays. Overall the cosmic ray intensity is almost uniform in radius, azimuth and latitude at this time in the outer heliosphere - and far lower than the estimated interstellar intensity. The intensities are, in fact, much lower than would be expected based on data from the previous cycle. This, along with the very slow increase that is observed, suggests that, at the same radial distance, the intensity in 1977 will be much less than in the previous cycle in 1987 - resulting in a large 22-year modulation wave. The data show some features which suggest that large scale drift patterns, which change when the solar magnetic polarity changes every 11 years, play a important role in the overall intensity distribution in the outer heliosphere - but specific details, particularly in the present positive polarity cycle beginning in 1990 are not well predicted by current models.
Tools for documenting digital designs on the Web

Modern embedded system designs include elements described using schematics, hardware description languages, timing diagrams, and various programming languages. We have developed a set of Java applets that facilitate the documentation of designs for dissemination over the Web. These tools enable the specification of multiple layers of active regions on diagrams and on text so that different mouse-over comments and/or hyper-text links can be attached to elements on each layer. This layering supports multiple hierarchical views of the same design. The tools, thus provide a highly expressive and modular system for navigating design documentation. These same tools can be used to provide a medium for delivering comments on students' work. We would expect such functionality to eventually be directly supported by EDA tool vendors.
Influence of the Amsterdam/St. Paul hot spot along the Southeast Indian Ridge between 77° and 88°E: Correlations of Sr, Nd, Pb, and He isotopic variations with ridge segmentation

The submarine Amsterdam-St. Paul (ASP) Plateau, bisected by the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR), is a bathymetric high rising ∼2 km above the surrounding seafloor that includes the islands of Amsterdam and St. Paul; this excess volcanism is attributed to a mantle hot spot. We obtained new Sr, Nd, and Pb (n = 37) and He isotopic (n = 10) ratios for basalt glasses from 11 SEIR segments on and adjacent to the plateau and from three seamounts on the plateau. The results show systematic spatial variations in these isotopic ratios that correlate with physical segmentation of the ridge. Specifically, lavas from the four ridge segments on the ASP Plateau have higher 208Pb/204Pb at a given 206Pb/204Pb than SEIR basalts distant from ASP Plateau. Surprisingly, lavas from the ridge segment 100 km north of the ASP Plateau are distinguished by the most radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb (up to 19.4) and highest 3He/4He ratios (up to 14.1 RA). These are characteristics of lavas erupted at Amsterdam and St Paul Islands. The isotopic data for SEIR basalts erupted on or adjacent to the ASP Plateau provide equivocal evidence for a mantle component derived from the distant Kerguelen hot spot. Overall, the Pb-Nd-Sr-He isotope variations within this data set are explained well by three mantle end-members: (1) depleted mantle having relatively low 206Pb/204Pb and 87Sr/86Sr and high 143Nd/144Nd, which has been variably mixed with (2) material having relatively high 208Pb/204Pb and 87Sr/86Sr and low 143Nd/144Nd, a signature commonly ascribed to detached or eroded metasomatized continental lithosphere, and (3) hot spot–related mantle having elevated 3He/4He and 206Pb/204Pb but intermediate 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd, similar to the common or C material observed in hot spots globally. These results suggest either that the ASP hot spot is isotopically heterogeneous or that the shallow mantle or lithosphere beneath the ASP Plateau contains more continentally derived material than the SEIR mantle ≥500 km away. Perhaps, like the 39°–41°E section of the Southwest Indian Ridge, beneath the ASP Plateau there are rafts of continental material stranded within a local “tectonic corridor,” possibly present since the opening of the Indian Ocean basin.
Reflections on success in multidisciplinary, translational science: working together to answer the right questions.

Team science is becoming a norm in modern cancer research. The National Cancer Institute encourages multidisciplinary team science through Cancer Center Support Grants, SPOREs, and other funding opportunities. As an epidemiologist who conducts team science, I am often asked what are the attributes
Lifts of partial characters with cyclic defect groups

We count the number of lifts of an irreducible π-partial character that lies in a block with a cyclic defect group.
Models linking nutritional deficiencies to maternal and child mental health

The primary goal of this article was to illustrate how nutritional deficiencies can translate into adult or child mental health problems. Whereas brain development and function play an essential role in the etiology and maintenance of mental health problems, what is required are models that go beyond nutrition-brain relations and integrate the contributions of nutritionally related contextual and behavioral characteristics. Four such models are presented. The multiple risks model derives from evidence showing covariance between nutritional deficiencies and other life stressors. Given that poorly nourished adults may be less able to actively cope with stressors, nutritional deficiencies may accentuate the negative impact of stress exposure on mental health. The cross-generational model is based on evidence showing less adequate patterns of mother-child interactions when mothers are poorly nourished. Impairments in mother-child interactions increase the likelihood of child mental health problems and the risk of subsequent child nutritional deficiencies. The attachment model derives from evidence showing that poorly nourished infants may be less likely to elicit the types of maternal child-rearing patterns that translate into secure infant-mother attachments. Insecure attachments in infancy are associated with an increased risk of both short-term and long-term child mental health problems. The temperament model is based on evidence documenting that certain patterns of infant temperament are related to an increased risk of later behavioral problems. Infant nutritional deficiencies can influence the development of temperament, and certain temperament patterns can contribute to an increased risk of infant nutritional deficiencies.
Word reading and reading comprehension: stability, overlap and independence

Longitudinal twin data were analyzed to investigate the etiology of the stability of genetic and environmental influences on word reading and reading comprehension, as well as the stability of those influences on their relationship. Participating twin pairs were initially tested at a mean age of 10.3 years, and retested approximately five years later. Both word reading and comprehension were found to be highly stable, and genetic influences were primarily responsible for that stability. In contrast to studies with younger participants, no unique genetic influences were observed at follow-up testing in this older sample. High genetic correlations were obtained between word reading and reading comprehension at both ages, indicating common genetic influences. However, significant genetic influence on comprehension was also observed, independent of that on word reading. Although the phenotypic relation between the two measures appeared to decline across time, the genetic etiology of this relation was highly stable.
Rise and fall of the Plummer‐Vinson syndrome

Three hypotheses have been proposed for the decreased incidence of Plummer-Vinson disease: non-existence, identity with inlet gastric mucosa of the oesophagus and disappearance of the predisposing condition(s). We examined these possibilities by reviewing our understanding of the syndrome. The early framers disagreed on the cause, but many thought it was a precursor for upper oesophageal carcinoma. Four explanations arose to account for the pathogenesis: iron deficiency; nutritional deficits; autoimmunity; and gastric lesion. We believe the decline in recognition paralleled the improve of dietary status and the treatment of sideropenic anaemia with inorganic iron salts.
In vitro activity of ertapenem: review of recent studies

Ertapenem is a long-acting, 1beta-methyl parenteral Group 1 carbapenem antibiotic that has a broad antibacterial spectrum and once-a-day dosing supported by clinical studies. Ertapenem is active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and most species of anaerobic bacteria. Isolates from a variety of infections (intra-abdominal infections, skin/soft-tissue infections, community-acquired pneumonia, pelvic infections and urinary tract infections) are inhibited by ertapenem. It has restricted activity against nosocomial pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter species, methicillin-resistant staphylococci and enterococci. Ertapenem has potent activity against the majority of anaerobic isolates from intra-abdominal infections, and against most of the aerobes isolated from these infections, with the exceptions of the nosocomial pathogens mentioned above. MIC(90)s for most species of Enterobacteriaceae were <1 mg/L, significantly lower than those of imipenem. MIC(90)s for most Bacteroides fragilis group isolates ranged from 1 to 4 mg/L, and MIC(90)s were species specific for Clostridium, ranging from 0.06 mg/L for Clostridium perfringens to 4 mg/L for Clostridium clostridioforme. Ertapenem was equivalent to or better than piperacillin-tazobactam in activity against most anaerobic species isolated from these infections, and was more potent than piperacillin-tazobactam and ceftriaxone against the most common skin pathogens (e.g. methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus). Ertapenem was highly active against most of the pathogens isolated from patients with community-acquired pneumonia, except for isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (which are infrequent causes of community-acquired infection); these isolates were also resistant to ceftriaxone. Resistance to ertapenem is most commonly attributable to a variety of mechanisms including alterations in penicillin-binding proteins in Gram-positive organisms, and combinations of potent metallo-beta-lactamase enzymes, porin protein defects and efflux pumps in Gram-negative organisms.
Language extensions to SystemC: process control constructs

The SystemC language has established itself as a popular choice for both modeling and verification at the system level. A well known deficiency in SystemC is the lack of process control constructs - e.g., suspend-resume, kill, reset - that are necessary in many applications domains. This paper identifies and describes a fundamental set of general purpose SystemC kernel extensions that fulfills this deficiency. Effective application of our language extensions are demonstrated in testbench and abstract hardware modeling scenarios.
Mechanical embolectomy for treatment of large vessel acute ischemic stroke in children

Background and purpose The three largest adult stroke trials investigating mechanical embolectomy retrieval devices in acute stroke (the Merci, Multi Merci and Penumbra Pivotal Stroke Trials) excluded children. There is a need to expand the literature on mechanical embolectomy in large vessel pediatric arterial ischemic stroke. This paper reports the use of two mechanical embolectomy devices cleared by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in four consecutive cases. Methods Our pediatric stroke database from 2002 to the present was reviewed retrospectively. Patients were included if they were diagnosed with an acute large vessel occlusion, were Results Four patients aged 4–17 years with a PedNIHSS score at presentation ranging from 2 to 17 points underwent mechanical embolectomy for reperfusion of the basilar artery (n=3), M1 segment of the right middle cerebral artery (n=1) and right internal carotid artery terminus (n=1). Thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) grade 3 was achieved in four vessels and TICI grade 2A was achieved in one vessel; there was one asymptomatic intraparenchymal hemorrhage. Intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator was administered in two vessels. The PedNIHSS score at discharge ranged from 0 to 16 points and the Ped-mRS score at approximately 90 days ranged from 0 to 3 with 75% achieving a Ped-mRS score of ≤2. Conclusion Mechanical embolectomy using the Merci and Penumbra systems may be a feasible therapeutic option in the treatment of large vessel pediatric arterial ischemic stroke.
The effects of a single exposure to uncontrollable stress on the subsequent conditioned place preference responses to oxycodone, cocaine, and ethanol in rats

Acute stress has been shown to facilitate the rewarding effects of a number of commonly abused drugs, although the stressor typically must be administered either immediately before or during drug administration and often in the same environment. We have previously reported that a single session of an uncontrollable (inescapable tailshock, IS), but not controllable (escapable tailshock, ES), stressor can enhance the conditioned place preference (CPP) response to morphine, even when stressor and drug administration are separated temporally and spatially. However, this persistent, trans-situational enhancement did not occur to amphetamine CPP. The following experiments were conducted to determine whether the long-term effects of IS on drug reward are specific to opioids. Adult, male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to a single session of IS or remained in their home cages (HC). Twenty-four hours later, using an unbiased procedure, CPP conditioning was conducted with either oxycodone (0, 2, or 5 mg/kg, sc), cocaine (0, 1, 5, or 10 mg/kg, ip), or ethanol (0.3, 1, or 2 g/kg, ip). Another group of rats were exposed to IS, ES, or HC treatment and conditioned with oxycodone (5 mg/kg, sc) 24 h later. IS enhanced the subsequent CPP response to oxycodone, but not cocaine or ethanol. This enhancement was dependent on the controllability of the stressor, as ES did not affect oxycodone CPP. These results indicate that the long-term, trans-situational enhancing effect of uncontrollable stress on drug reward is specific to opioids.
DanteR: an extensible R-based tool for quantitative analysis of -omics data

Motivation: The size and complex nature of mass spectrometrybased proteomics datasets motivate development of specialized software for statistical data analysis and exploration. We present DanteR, a graphical R package that features extensive statistical and diagnostic functions for quantitative proteomics data analysis, including normalization, imputation, hypothesis testing, interactive visualization and peptide-to-protein rollup. More importantly, users can easily extend the existing functionality by including their own algorithms under the Add-On tab. Availability: DanteR and its associated user guide are available for download free of charge at http://omics.pnl.gov/software/. We have an updated binary source for the DanteR package up on our website together with a vignettes document. For Windows, a single click
The Mispricing of Cash Flows and Accruals at Different Life‐Cycle Stages

This paper employs the firm life-cycle concept to extend our understanding of the mispricing of accrual and cash flow information by the stock market. We find that accruals and free cash flows are strongly (negatively) correlated in the maturity and decline stages of a firm's life cycle but not in the growth stage, suggesting that they capture unique information in the growth stage of the firm's life cycle but more correlated information in the later stages. Consistent with this finding, we show that the cash flows anomaly subsumes the accruals anomaly in maturity and decline stages, but not in the growth stage. Our findings contribute to the debate regarding the overlap between the two anomalies
A procedure for estimating pore volume and area distributions from sorption isotherms

Abstract An improved procedure for estimating the distribution of the pore volume and area of a porous material as a function of pore size is presented. In this procedure, which is a rigorous application of the concept of simultaneous capillary condensation and multilayer adsorption, the volume adsorbed is first expressed as a function of pore size; then a generalized equation derived by mathematical induction is used to convert the volume adsorbed to pore volume. The procedure has been readily applied using both the cylindrical and parallel plate pore models and can be used to calculate distributions from either adsorption or desorption isotherms. Its most significant advantages are the simplicity of its use and the speed with which a distribution may be calculated. Eight distributions previously calculated by the Barrett, Joyner, and Halenda method have been calculated by this procedure and the results agree quantitatively.
A sparse gaussian processes classification framework for fast tag suggestions

Tagged data is rapidly becoming more available on the World Wide Web. Web sites which populate tagging services offer a good way for Internet users to share their knowledge. An interesting problem is how to make tag suggestions when a new resource becomes available. In this paper, we address the issue of efficient tag suggestion. We first propose a multi-class sparse Gaussian process classification framework (SGPS) which is capable of classifying data with very few training instances. We suggest a novel prototype selection algorithm to select the best subset of points for model learning. The framework is then extended to a novel multi-class multi-label classification algorithm (MMSG) that transforms tag suggestion into the problem of multi-label ranking. Experiments on bench-mark data sets and real-world data from Del.icio.us and BibSonomy suggest that our model can greatly improve the performance of tag suggestions when compared to the state-of-the-art. Overall, our model requires linear time to train and constant time to predict per case. The memory consumption is also significantly less than traditional batch learning algorithms such as SVMs. In addition, results on tagging digital data also demonstrate that our model is capable of recommending relevant tags to images and videos by using their surrounding textual information.
Reliable control during current loop failure using ETF for position servo system including disturbance observer

A reliable control method is proposed for multiple loop control systems. If a feedback loop fails (e.g., as a result of a sensor breakdown), the control system develops an unstable fluctuation. To cope with this problem, the proposed method uses an equivalent transfer function (ETF) for active redundancy compensation after loop failure. The ETF is used to maintain the transfer function of the entire system the same before and after loop failure. In this study, the characteristics of a reliable control system that uses an ETF were examined experimentally. A position servo system including a disturbance observer is used in the experiment. In case of feedback loop failure, the control system could not be stabilized using the disturbance observer alone; however, the ETF stabilized the control system after feedback loop failure.
RFI Suppression for Synchronous Impulse Reconstruction UWB Radar Using RELAX

This paper focuses on suppression of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) for ultra-wideband (UWB) radar signals, sampled using the synchronous impulse reconstruction (SIRE) time equivalent sampling scheme. This equivalent sampling scheme is based on the Army Research Lab’s (ARL) efforts to build an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar in forward looking mode that samples returned radar signals using low rate and inexpensive analog-to-digital (A/D) converters. The cost effectiveness off this SIRE UWB radar makes it plausible for actual ground missions for detecting buried explosive devices. However, the equivalent time sampling scheme complicates RFI suppression as the RFI samples are aliased and irregularly sampled in real time. In this paper, the RELAX and multi-snapshot RELAX algorithms are presented as an intermediate step to the previously proposed averaging scheme by the Army Research Laboratory, in order to enhance RFI suppression for this sampling scheme. The proposed suppression technique involves modelling the narrowband RFI signals as a sum of sinusoids and applying the aforementioned algorithms. The RELAX algorithm improves the RFI suppression performance without altering the target signatures compared to AR modelling. The multi-snapshot RELAX algorithm which provides a more accurate sinusoidal model than the RELAX algorithm, improves on the RELAX algorithm in terms of suppression. However, the target signatures are suppressed as the number of sinusoids increases. The analysis of the algorithmsis was performed by using collected sniff (passive) data using the SIRE radar in addition to simulated wide-band echo signals (point target signatures).
Kinetics of the CN + CS2 and CN + SO2 reactions.

Diode infrared laser absorption spectroscopy was used to measure the rate constant (k1) of the CN + CS2 reaction for the first time. k1 was determined to be substantially pressure dependent with a value k1 = (7.1 ± 0.2 to 41.9 ± 2.9) × 10−12 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 over 2−40 Torr at 298 K. The potential energy surface (PES) of the reaction was calculated using an ab initio method at B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p)//CCSD(T)/6-311++G(d, p) level of theory. Both experimental and computational results suggest that collision stabilization of the adduct NCSCS may dominate the reaction. The rate constant of the CN + SO2 reaction was measured to be very slow with an upper limit of k2 ≤ 3.1 × 10−14 cm3 molecule−1 s−1, in disagreement with an earlier reported measurement. The PES of this reaction reveals an entrance barrier against formation of the low energy adduct NCOSO, in agreement with the experimental result.
Molecular Rectifying Diodes Based on an Aluminum/4'-Hydroxy-4-biphenyl Carboxylic Acid/p+-Silicon Junction

An aluminum/4'-hydroxy-4-biphenyl carboxylic acid/p + -silicon junction (Al/HBPCA/p + -Si) has been fabricated and electrically characterized. A self-assembled monolayer of HBPCA is prepared from the reaction of hydrogen-terminated, hydrophobic p + -Si (Si-H) with HBPCA. The contact angle measurements and reflectance absorption-IR spectra are consistent with an aryl-O-Si SAM containing a free carboxylic acid (-COOH) end group that yields the top contact, in a subsequent step, with Al deposited in high vacuum by thermal and e-beam evaporation techniques. In contrast to metal-semiconductor devices, which show linear I-V characteristics, the Al/HBPCA/p 1 -Si device acts as a rectifier in the range of 1 to -1 V, with rectification ratios in the range of 6-32. The turn-on voltages for different devices are observed in the range of 1.8-2.5 V. Barrier heights and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that the rectifying behavior is of molecular nature. In addition, DFT calculations show a close agreement with experimental results obtained from the conductive characteristics of the metal—molecule—semiconductor heterostructure and predict that conduction for both bias directions takes place through the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) of the aromatic molecule.
Intermediate outcomes with ex-vivo allograft perfusion for heart transplantation.

Background The Organ Care System, an ex-vivo heart perfusion platform, represents an alternative to the current standard of cold organ storage that sustains the donor heart in a near-physiologic state. It is unknown whether using the Organ Care System influences 2-year outcomes after heart transplantation. We reviewed our institutional experience to compare 2-year outcomes for patients randomized to the Organ Care System or standard cold storage. Methods Between 2011 and 2013, heart transplant candidates from a single tertiary-care medical center enrolled within the PROCEED II trial were randomized to either standard cold storage or the Organ Care System. Outcomes assessed included 2-year survival, freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), non-fatal major cardiac events (NF-MACE), biopsy-proven cellular rejection (CMR) and biopsy-proven antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Results Thirty-eight patients were randomized to the Organ Care System ( n = 19) or cold storage group ( n = 19). There was no significant difference in 2-year patient survival (Organ Care System: 72.2%; cold storage: 81.6%; p = 0.38). Similarly, there were no differences in freedom from CAV, NF-MACE, CMR or AMR. The Organ Care System group had significantly longer total ischemia time (361 ± 96 minutes vs 207 ± 50 minutes; p p Conclusion The Organ Care System did not appear to be associated with significant differences in intermediate results compared with conventional strategies. These results suggest that this ex-vivo allograft perfusion system is a promising and valid platform for donor heart transportation.
Your Brain and Law School (Introduction)

Building on the latest scientific research, Professor Marybeth Herald's practical yet entertaining book, "Your Brain and Law School" (Carolina Academic Press, 2014), offers law students a formula for success in law school, on the bar exam, and as practicing attorneys. Mastering the law, either as a law student or in practice, becomes much easier if one has a working knowledge of the brain’s basic habits. Before you can learn to think like a lawyer, you have to have some idea about how the brain thinks.The first part of this book (the Introduction to which is available for free download here on SSRN) translates the technical research, explaining learning strategies that work for the brain in law school specifically, and calling out other tactics that are useless, explaining why they lead to dead ends. This book is unique in explaining the science behind the advice.The second part of the book explores the brain’s decision-making processes and cognitive biases. These biases affect the ability to persuade, a necessary skill of a successful lawyer. The book explains the art and science of framing, the seductive lure of the confirmation and egocentric biases, and the egocentricity of the availability bias. This book uses easily recognizable examples from law, and life generally, to illustrate the potential of these biases to lead people to mistaken judgments. Understanding these biases is critical to becoming a successful attorney, proficient at fashioning arguments that appeal to the sometimes quirky processing of the human brain.
Multispectral imaging of aircraft exhaust

Aircraft pollutants emitted during the landing-takeoff (LTO) cycle have significant effects on the local air quality surrounding airports. There are currently no inexpensive, portable, and unobtrusive sensors to quantify the amount of pollutants emitted from aircraft engines throughout the LTO cycle or to monitor the spatial-temporal extent of the exhaust plume. We seek to thoroughly characterize the unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions from jet engine plumes and to design a portable imaging system to remotely quantify the emitted UHCs and temporally track the distribution of the plume. This paper shows results from the radiometric modeling of a jet engine exhaust plume and describes a prototype long-wave infrared imaging system capable of meeting the above requirements. The plume was modeled with vegetation and sky backgrounds, and filters were selected to maximize the detectivity of the plume. Initial calculations yield a look-up chart, which relates the minimum amount of emitted UHCs required to detect the presence of a plume to the noise-equivalent radiance of a system. Future work will aim to deploy the prototype imaging system at the Greater Rochester International Airport to assess the applicability of the system on a national scale. This project will help monitor the local pollution surrounding airports and allow better-informed decision-making regarding emission caps and pollution bylaws.
A Survey on Psychosocial Factors in Valium Misuse Among Children

Objective: To survey the psychosocial factors in valium misuse among children. Methods: The children were assessed for their behaviors, social adjustment, learning ability, and personality characteristics. Results: Children excessively misusing valium came mostly from ordinary schools (78.9%), achieved medium or low academic scores (90.4%), and took valium excessively by group (71.2%). They also showed significantly higher scores on EPQ-P and EPQ-N subscales. Conclusion: Valium misuse constitutes a severe psychosocial problem among children and should warrant serious attention from parents, teachers and psychologists.