cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Method for the Calculation of Neutron-Capture Gamma-Ray Spectra

A model suitable for the prediction of gamma-ray spectra subsequent to the capture of neutrons into nuclear states of identifiable spin and parity has been developed. The dependence of radiative tr...
Celestial Experience of Life

“If the whole of history is in one man, it is all to be explained from individual experience. There is a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time. As the air I breathe is drawn from the great repositories of nature, as the light on my book is yielded by a star a hundred millions of miles distant, as the poise of my body depends on the equilibrium of centrifugal and centripetal forces, so the hours should be instructed by the ages, and the ages explained by the hours” (Emerson www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/…/emerson/history.htm/).
Metastable phase formation in undercooled liquid lead alloys

During non-equilibrium processes metastable phases are formed instead of stable phases due to the operation of various kinetic or structural constraints. By removing the most effective nucleation sites for the stable phase using emulsified droplet samples, stable phase formation can be prohibited in a broad range of undercooling and the phase space available in the metastable regime can be mapped out. With this method the thermodynamic properties of the undercooled liquid and the metastable phase boundaries corresponding to reversible metastable (solid + liquid) phase equilibria are examined from experimental data. The analysis reveals important implications for the nucleation kinetics and the choice of the kinetically most favored solidification path.
Ductal carcinoma in situ on core needle biopsy only with no residual disease at surgery

BACKGROUND The treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) remains controversial and may be particularly difficult for patients with minimal disease. There is a dearth of information regarding patients who have been diagnosed with DCIS on core needle biopsy (CNB), who have no residual disease in the lumpectomy specimen. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency of this presentation and short-term outcomes in these patients. METHODS Our institutional Breast Cancer Database was queried for all women who were diagnosed with pure DCIS from 2010 to 2016 and treated with lumpectomy. Variables included patient and tumor characteristics, adjuvant treatment, and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR). Statistical analyses included Pearson's chi-square, Fisher's exact tests, and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS Of 547 patients with pure DCIS, 50 (14%) had DCIS on CNB only. Of the patients with DCIS on CNB only, 15 were treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy (RT), while 35 underwent lumpectomy without RT. At a median follow-up of 4 years, there were 3 (6%) IBTR all within the same quadrant as the original lumpectomy site. None of the patients who recurred received adjuvant RT or hormonal therapy. CONCLUSIONS Despite the minimal extent of disease exhibited in these cases, 6% of patients with DCIS on CNB only had IBTR at a median follow-up of 4 years. These data suggest that even minimal DCIS represents a significant risk of recurrence to the patient. Size and margins are not sufficient criteria to stratify risk and guide decisions for adjuvant therapies.
Non-atopic rhinitis at age 6 is associated with subsequent development of asthma.

Background It has been postulated that the association between allergic rhinitis and asthma is attributable to the progressive clinical expression of respiratory inflammation during childhood. The role of non-allergic rhinitis in early life in relation to subsequent asthma has not been extensively explored. Objective We sought to determine whether rhinitis in early life was associated with risk of asthma development into adulthood, and whether this relationship is independent of allergic sensitization. Methods Participants were identified from the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study, a non-selected birth cohort. Allergy skin prick testing was performed at age 6 years using house dust mix, Bermuda, mesquite, olive, mulberry, careless weed, and Alternaria aeroallergens. Atopy was defined as ≥1 positive tests. Physician-diagnosed active asthma from age 6 to 32 and physician-diagnosed rhinitis at age 6 were determined by questionnaire. Participants with asthma or active wheezing at age 6 were excluded from analyses. Risk estimates were obtained with Cox regression. Results There were 521 participants who met inclusion criteria. The hazard ratio for subsequently acquiring a diagnosis of asthma between the ages of 8 and 32 for those with non-atopic rhinitis was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.4, P = 0.005), compared with the non-atopic no rhinitis group, after adjusting for sex, ethnicity, maternal asthma, maternal education and smoking, and history of 4+ colds per year at age 6. Among the atopic participants, both the active and no rhinitis groups were more likely to develop and have asthma through age 32. The relation between non-atopic rhinitis and asthma was independent of total serum IgE levels at age 6. Conclusion and clinical relevance Childhood rhinitis, even in the absence of atopy, confers significant risk for asthma development through adulthood. These findings underscore the importance of non-allergic mechanisms in the development of asthma.
A qualitative study of the feasibility and acceptability of a smoking cessation program for people living with HIV and emotional dysregulation.

Despite high rates of co-occurring tobacco use and anxiety among persons living with HIV, evidence-based interventions for these individuals are limited. An existing cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol for smoking cessation and anxiety (Norton, P. J., & Barrera, T. L. (2012). Transdiagnostic versus diagnosis-specific CBT for anxiety disorders: A preliminary randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Depression and Anxiety, 29(10), 874-882. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.21974) was modified to address transdiagnostic constructs, such as anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and depressive symptomatology (Labbe, A. K., Wilner, J. G., Kosiba, J. D., Gonzalez, A., Smits, J. A., Zvolensky, M. J., … O'Cleirigh, C. (2017). Demonstration of an Integrated Treatment for Smoking Cessation and Anxiety Symptoms in People with HIV: A Clinical Case Study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 24(2), 200-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2016.03.009). This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention as determined from qualitative data from structured exit interviews from 10 participants who completed treatment. Results demonstrated that participants were very motivated to quit smoking and enrolled in the program for health-related reasons and to be able to quit. Participants found nearly all the treatment components to be useful for reaching their smoking cessation goal and in managing emotional dysregulation. Last, all participants stated that they would strongly recommend the treatment program. This qualitative study provides initial evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of a modified smoking cessation treatment protocol for HIV+ individuals with anxiety and emotional dysregulation. Future research will focus on evaluating the efficacy of the protocol in a full-scale randomized controlled trial, as well as working to collect qualitative data from participants who discontinue treatment to better understand reasons for treatment attrition.
Select Legal Considerations for Shared Automated Driving

This discussion paper introduces several legal considerations for shared automated driving with a view toward grounding a broader policy discussion. It begins by discussing likely implementations of shared automated driving. It next considers the kinds of legal actions that developers and regulators of these automated driving systems might take to promote or police them. It then connects these potential actions to existing law by describing three ways of adapting that law to automated driving. Finally, it provides specific perspectives and recommendations on this and any legal change.
Association of Medication Adherence and Clinical Outcomes in Sarcoidosis.

Background Sarcoidosis, one of the most common interstitial lung diseases, has significant health disparities. Approximately 50% of individuals affected with sarcoidosis will undergo spontaneous remission, but those who do not undergo remission often require long-term or lifelong treatment to prevent disease progression. We sought to assess the association between medication adherence and clinical outcomes in sarcoidosis. Methods Adult patients in the Johns Hopkins Sarcoidosis Clinic diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis on treatment were eligible for enrollment. Questionnaires were administered to assess medication adherence, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health-care utilization, and sociodemographic information. Clinical information was abstracted from medical charts including lung function, disease duration, comorbidities, and sarcoidosis organ involvement. Results A total of 117 participants were enrolled (57% women; 55% black; median age, 57 years). Within the cohort, 66% of individuals reported at least one nonadherent behavior. Higher medication adherence was associated with better HRQoL (P Conclusions This is the first observational study of medication adherence in sarcoidosis. We found that higher medication adherence was associated with better HRQoL, with blacks more likely to report nonadherence. Medication adherence may be an important target to improve patient-reported outcomes and health disparities in sarcoidosis.
Software Engineering for Data Scientists

Software is one of the three key pillars in the emerging field of data science, the other two being statistics and domain knowledge. With software engineering having matured into a full-fledged discipline, can it inform data science projects through its extensive knowledgebase? Data scientists of today are experiencing what software engineers experienced around 1970s. We are at the cusp of a new era with many promising opportunities, but we have yet to find a process-centric approach that could guide our data science ventures. Software development methodologies evolved from a structured waterfall to an iterative exploration. They transitioned from trying to create products that are built-to-last to products that are built-to-change. Data science projects, coming from the other end of the spectrum, need to shift from being ever-changing short-lived experiments to long-term sustainable organizational capabilities without losing the ability to explore and adapt. To make this shift, software engineers need to re-articulate their learning in the context of the emerging data science paradigm. Software engineering needs to develop its data science lens. Many tools such as programming languages, database systems, and infrastructural platforms are common across the two worlds, so which of the underlying principles can benefit data scientists? These are the questions that will be explored in this talk and those interested in joining this exploration are welcome to share their thoughts.
Wing-pattern-specific effects of experience on mating behavior in Heliconius melpomene butterflies

Many animals have the ability to learn, and some taxa have shown learned mate preference. This learning may be important for speciation in some species. The butterfly Heliconius melpomene is a model system for several areas of research, including hybridization, mate selection, and speciation, partially due to its widespread diversity of wing patterns. It remains unclear whether these butterflies can learn to prefer certain mates and if social experience shapes realized mating preferences. Here we test whether previous experience with a female influences male mate preference for two different H. melpomene subspecies, H. m. malleti and H. m. rosina. We conducted no-choice behavioral assays to determine if latency to court and whether males courted (vs no courtship) differed between naive males and males with previous exposure to a young, sexually mature, virgin female. To test whether assortative courtship preference is learned in H. melpomene, males were either paired with a female who shared their phenotype or one who did not. Naive H. m. malletti males courted assortatively, while naive H. m. rosina males did not. Experienced H. m. malleti males reduced their courting relative to naive males, suggesting that social experience with a sexually mature female that does not result in copulation may be perceived as a negative experience. In contrast, experienced H. m. rosina males exhibited similar courting rates to naive H. m. rosina males. Our results suggest that social experience can influence male mating behavior in H. melpomene and that behavioral plasticity may differ across populations in this species.
APOE4 genetic polymorphism results in impaired recovery in a repeated mild traumatic brain injury model and treatment with Bryostatin-1 improves outcomes

After traumatic brain injury (TBI), some people have worse recovery than others. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Apolipoprotein E (APOE) are known to increase risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, however there is controversy from human and rodent studies as to whether ApoE4 is a risk factor for worse outcomes after brain trauma. To resolve these conflicting studies we have explored the effect of the human APOE4 gene in a reproducible mouse model that mimics common human injuries. We have investigated cellular and behavioral outcomes in genetically engineered human APOE targeted replacement (TR) mice following repeated mild TBI (rmTBI) using a lateral fluid percussion injury model. Relative to injured APOE3 TR mice, injured APOE4 TR mice had more inflammation, neurodegeneration, apoptosis, p-tau, and activated microglia and less total brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cortex and/or hippocampus at 1 and/or 21 days post-injury. We utilized a novel personalized approach to treating APOE4 susceptible mice by administering Bryostatin-1, which improved cellular as well as motor and cognitive behavior outcomes at 1 DPI in the APOE4 injured mice. This study demonstrates that APOE4 is a risk factor for poor outcomes after rmTBI and highlights how personalized therapeutics can be a powerful treatment option.
Tocilizumab for the Treatment of COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Patients: A Matched Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Background There is currently no single treatment that mitigates all harms caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 antagonist, may have a role as an adjunctive immune-modulating therapy. Methods This was an observational retrospective study of hospitalized adult patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The intervention group comprised patients who received tocilizumab; the comparator arm was drawn from patients who did not receive tocilizumab. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality censored at 28 days; secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality at discharge, time to clinical improvement, and rates of secondary infections. Marginal structural Cox models via inverse probability treatment weights were applied to estimate the effect of tocilizumab. A time-dependent propensity score-matching method was used to generate a 1:1 match for tocilizumab recipients; infectious diseases experts then manually reviewed these matched charts to identify secondary infections. Results This analysis included 90 tocilizumab recipients and 1669 controls. Under the marginal structural Cox model, tocilizumab was associated with a 62% reduced hazard of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.70) and no change in time to clinical improvement (aHR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.87). The 1:1 matched data set also showed a lower mortality rate (27.8% vs 34.4%) and reduced hazards of death (aHR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.88). Elevated inflammatory markers were associated with reduced hazards of death among tocilizumab recipients compared with controls. Secondary infection rates were similar between the 2 groups. Conclusions Tocilizumab may provide benefit in a subgroup of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have elevated biomarkers of hyperinflammation, without increasing the risk of secondary infection.
Dissidence, Dissidance: Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore's Visions and/in Oxana Chi's Motions

Here German dancer-choreographer Oxana Chi can be seen in her dance performance Killjoy, a tribute to the French artist-activists duo Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.1 Figure 1. Oxana Chi dances Kill...
Natural selection on a carbon cycling trait drives ecosystem engineering by Sphagnum (peat moss)

Sphagnum peat mosses have an extraordinary impact on the global carbon cycle as they control long-term carbon sequestration in boreal peatland ecosystems. Sphagnum species engineer peatlands, which...
Treatment Effects in Strategic Management: With an Application to Choosing Early Stage Venture Capital

This paper uses the Rubin Causal Model to formalize the treatment effects of a firm choice on its performance. Building from Porter, a firm choice can shape profitability through both strategy and operational effectiveness, but they are distinct in how they do so. The strategic treatment effect is the benefit that is predictable from a firm's characteristics (i.e., resources) and their joint configuration. The strategic determinant function is a mapping of resources to treatment effects, and the role of resource interactions in it determines the importance of coherence for a strategy. Under unconfoundedness, the strategic treatment effect, strategic determinant function, and coherence can be estimated in high-dimensional observational data using machine learning. I present an application estimating the gains from choosing venture capital as early stage financing versus other forms of capital. The results highlight the advantage of considering strategic benefits in this choice. For equity outcomes, there is no average treatment effect of early stage VC, but there is significant heterogeneity: some entrepreneurs can benefit substantially from raising early stage VC, while others be negatively affected. This heterogeneity is predictable from founder, industry and location characteristics. The estimated role of coherence in this choice is moderate. The formalizations in this paper also show that several additional assumptions are required when assessing strategic benefits compared to the usual causal inference. R code to replicate these functions will be included.
Proximal junctional kyphosis

Abstract Proximal Junctional Kyphosis (PJK) is defined as a proximal junctional sagittal Cobb angle of ≥ 10° or a proximal junctional sagittal Cobb angle at least 10° greater than the preoperative measurement. There are several risk factors for the development of PJK identified in literature using univariate analysis. Majority of these risk factors are no longer significant after multivariate analysis. Pointing to the fact that proximal junction kyphosis arises from a multifactorial etiology, further studies with long term follow-up are needed for patients with PJK to elicit risk factors in terms of patients, spinopelvic parameters, and surgical techniques.
Community based fishery management within the Menai Bay conservation area: A survey of the resource user

Abstract Management strategies are challenging to implement in Zanzibar's fisheries because the local people depend upon these resources for basic subsistence. This difficulty epitomizes the vital need for sustainable management: the more people need a fishery, the harder it is to limit fishing to allow regeneration. Comparing fisheries management strategies in two coastal villages in Unguja, the largest island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, this paper confirms the results of existing scholarship that communitybased strategies provide the most promising solutions to this challenge. Interviews with officials from the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Village Fishermen Committees, and 51 fishermen in the villages of Kizimkazi Dimbani and Jambiani reveal the efficacy of strategies where local fishermen are centrally involved. The fishermen interviews reveal ignorance of existing fishing regulations and a lack of enforcement while fishermen at both sites noted that many illegal methods of fishing are still in use and expressed concern that such methods damage fish stocks. The Village Fishermen Committees, a recently implemented community-based initiative, are well attended by fishermen, and constitute a management strength that this paper concludes should be the foundation of future policy. To be successful, these committees need additional educational and financial resources.
Conditions for Production of Microbial Cell Flocculant by Aspergillus sojae AJ7002

Cultivation is reported on Aspergillus sojae AJ7002 which synthesized an extracellular bio-flocculant. Growth studies in shaking flasks and fermentors were conducted to obtain higher flocculant production. The highest level of polymer accumulation was attained after 48–72 hr cultivation at 30–34°C. The favorable substrates for polymer formation were casein, yeast extract, polypepton and amino acids, such as glutamic acid and alanine. The addition of saccharides to the medium was found to reduce the pH of the culture broths, and hence inhibit the accumulation of flocculant in the culture broth. The finding that the product was a single substance from the early stage of fermentation suggested that the polymer was not a product of cell autolysis. The components of the polymer which were produced by Asp. sojae did not vary even if the medium composition or culture condition changed. The addition of 2-ketogluconic acid, which is one of the constituents of the polymer increased the flocculating activity of the ...
Innate and adaptive cellular phenotypes contributing to pulmonary disease in mice after respiratory syncytial virus immunization and infection

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major leading cause of infantile viral bronchiolitis. However, cellular phenotypes contributing to the RSV protection and vaccine-enhanced disease remain largely unknown. Upon RSV challenge, we analyzed phenotypes and cellularity in the lung of mice that were naive, immunized with formalin inactivated RSV (FI-RSV), or re-infected with RSV. In comparison with naive and live RSV re-infected mice, the high levels of eosinophils, neutrophils, plasmacytoid and CD11b(+) dendritic cells, and IL-4(+) CD4(+) T cells were found to be contributing to pulmonary inflammation in FI-RSV immune mice despite lung viral clearance. Alveolar macrophages appeared to play differential roles in protection and inflammation upon RSV infection of different RSV immune mice. These results suggest that multiple innate and adaptive immune components differentially contribute to RSV disease and inflammation.
THE IMPACT OF TIME BETWEEN COGNITIVE TASKS ON PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS

Students are often required to perform several mental tasks in a short period of time, and their performance is likely to depend on how closely the tasks are scheduled. We examine this phenomenon in a particular context: Advanced Placement (AP) exams in the United States. We exploit variation in the AP exam schedule from year to year which results in a student who takes two exams in one year having more or less time between the exams than a student who takes the same two exams in a different year. We find evidence that more time between exams results in higher scores, particularly on the second exam, and that this effect varies across different types of students. Our estimates suggest that a student taking two exams ten days apart is 6–8% more likely to pass them both than a student taking the same exams only one day apart.
Marginal lobbying cost and the optimal amount of rent seeking

In some ideal world in which information was free and the desire to promote the public interest prevailed, the results developed in this paper would have no relevance. The efficient amount of publicly provided goods and services would be known costlessly and the public interest motivation would assure that these quantities were provided. In our less than ideal world, however, things are far different. Costly lobbying activities provide useful, though incomplete, information on the relative value of different public outlays. But with private interest rather than public interest dominant, this lobbying will also be used by special interests as a means of acquiring socially excessive quantities of government services. Once the potential for lobbying to be both efficiency increasing and efficiency decreasing has been recognized, we are led to consider the efficient amount of lobbying, or (when the private cost of lobbying can be adjusted at the margin) the efficient marginal cost to impose on lobbyists. When this is done, it is found that efficiency can call for imposing a marginal cost on lobbyists that results in either more or less of a government service than would be efficient in the absence of lobbying cost. In other words, when we explicitly recognize that lobbying cost has to be added to production cost when determining the efficient provision of a government service, it is possible that the quantity considered efficient will increase. When this is the case, a positive amount of rent seeking, as conventionally defined, becomes an essential part of the efficient solution.
Central giant cell granuloma or cherubism: Report of a case

Central osseous tumors, which are radiographically multilocular and have multinucleated giant cells microscopically, present the surgeon and the pathologist with a diagnostic dilemma. In the case presented here the histologic diagnosis of central giant cell granuloma conflicts with the presentation of an atypical case of cherubism. Central giant cell granuloma and cherubism are discussed briefly, and the necessity of basing the final diagnosis on clinical presentation is demonstrated.
Beyond discontent: National and diasporic imaginings in contemporary Afro-Brazilian women's writing

In 1990, Carolyn Richardson Durham, an American scholar researching the portrayal of Afro-Brazilian women in literature, traveled to Sao Paulo where she met Miriam Alves, a poet and an activist. At that time, Alves had been compiling an anthology of black women writers that, because of a lack of funds, she was unable to complete. Soon after, they decided to turn this project into a collaborative endeavor and, as a result, published the first anthology of black Brazilian women writers as a bilingual edition in 1994 (all the poems were translated by Richardson Durham). The anthology, entitled Enfim . . . Nos: Escritoras negras brasileiras contemporâneas/Finally . . . Us: Contemporary Black Brazilian Women Writers, presents seventeen women poets, most of whom belong to the Quilhomboje literary movement (Alves decided to distance herself from the movement in 1994). With its monthly publication, Cadernos Negros, Quilhomboje inscribes itself into the tradition of Afro-Brazilian cultural production and political resistance, alongside movements such as the Frente negra brasileira and the Movimento negro unificado.1 Alves felt that the movement was heavily inflected by male voices and that female voices needed additional platforms for expression. The collection deals with a great variety of topics, from representations of the black female body and the monotony of everyday life to the Brazilian myth of racial democracy and the imagining of a transnational African diasporic consciousness. In the introduction to the anthology, Alves expresses the generative idea behind the project:
Global inequality and athlete labour migration from Kenya

This article sets out to contextualize the growing phenomena involving migration of athletes from Kenya to other countries. It is argued that Kenya has made a mark in track athletics at world championships, Olympic and other invitation meets particularly in middle and distance running. But the dominance by Kenyan athletes and the scarcity of talent in other countries that would want to gain international recognition have created a new dispensation. The new dispensation is that of sports labour migration from Africa to the oil-rich but talent-starved countries of the Middle East and other countries keen on raising their international profiles. The unbalanced nature of global wealth and sporting corporate power has created movement of sporting talent from less paying to higher paying clubs and now nations. It is recommended that further research be undertaken to establish the level of satisfaction and acceptance of the immigrant athletes in the new countries.
When does a T-junction require a left-turn lane?

A four-state, ergodic Markov chain is used to model a T-junction on a narrow, two-lane, major road. The states are defined more realistically than by previous authors. A formula is obtained for the proportion of traffic configurations in which cars travelling one way are brought to a halt by those turning left onto the minor road. This formula is obtained as a function of four parameters: the mean traffic flows in each direction, the probability that a car on the major road will turn left at the junction and the minimum time gap, in the oncoming flow of traffic, which that manouevre requires. If this proportion is higher than is deemed acceptable, then a left-turn is needed.
The “Scientific Linguist” Goes to War: The United States A.S.T. Program in Foreign Languages

During World War II there arose in the United States an urgent need for intensive foreign language instruction that emphasized the spoken language. Beginning in April, 1943, the U. S. Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) established approximately 500 intensive speaking courses in over 30 languages in fifty-five United States universities. After a single year, the program was suddenly abandoned, owing to combat personnel needs. The present study proposes to describe the sources, implementation, content, materials development, and methods of the ASTP in foreign languages. The study analyzes the ASTP Spanish language materials, explores the attempts at assessing the speaking proficiency of trainees of the program, and evaluates the program’s contributions to subsequent pedagogical approaches and assessment in the United States.
Stereochemical Constraints on the Catalytic Hydrolysis of Organophosphate Nerve Agents by Phosphotriesterase

The chiral specificity of the bacterial phosphotriesterase for enantiomeric substrates has been examined. Paraoxon (diethyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate) is the best substrate for this enzyme but this protein is quite tolerant of significant alterations to this structure. One or both of the two ethyl groups in paraoxon can be replaced with various combinations of methyl, isopropyl, or phenyl substituents. The individual enantiomers, as well as racemic mixtures, were tested as substrates for the phosphotriesterase. The enantiomeric preference of the phosphotriesterase depends on the absolute configuration at the phosphorus center and the steric bulk of the alkyl substituents. The kinetic constants for the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the Sp-(−)-enantiomer of ethyl phenyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate were 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than those for the corresponding Rp-(+)-enantiomer. Similar differences were also obtained for other pairs of enantiomers.
Technique for in situ measurement of free spectral range and transverse mode spacing of optical cavities

Length and g-factor are fundamental parameters that characterize optical cavities. We developed a technique to measure these parameters in situ by determining the frequency spacing between the resonances of fundamental and spatial modes of an optical cavity. Two laser beams are injected into the cavity, and their relative frequency is scanned by a phase-lock loop, while the cavity is locked to either laser. The measurement of the amplitude of their beat note in transmission reveals the resonances of the longitudinal and the transverse modes of the cavity and their spacing. This method proves particularly useful to characterize complex optical systems, including very long and/or coupled optical cavities, as in gravitational-wave interferometers. This technique and the results of its application to the coupled cavities of a 40 m-long gravitational-wave interferometer prototype are presented here.
The virtues of blurring boundaries in BODY WORLDS.

The older I get, the less inclined I am to accept the restrictions of borders, categories and disciplines. Thus, I found Burns' article (2007) hard to read because he seemed so intent on keeping sc...
Fortresses built upon sand

The current “trusted system” paradigm is built upon the notion of a Reference Monitor that assumes the existence of a well-defined security policy, a bounded system entity, and a centralized reference validation mechanism with knowledge of and control over the system entity. The “trusted system” paradigm is hierarchical: management defines the policy, the hardware and system software that comprise the trusted computing base enforce the policy, and applications must conform to the policy. This paradigm acknowledges that applications depend upon the hardware and operating system on which they run, and that assurance that they will execute safely is derivedfiom the strength of this “trusted computing base. ”
Work in progress — Diversity harnessing in a general education course on digital information technology

Our general education course in digital information technology draws many students from academic disciplines outside science and mathematics. These students often struggle with the relevance of the course topics. To promote student motivation, we are modifying the course to better engage the students in the course topics via a method we term diversity harnessing. Diversity harnessing refers to the diversity in the students' personal interests and chosen academic disciplines. From the students' interests, we intend to gather applications and ideas and to quickly integrate this diverse student-driven subject matter back into the lectures, homework assignments, and examinations. Through diversity harnessing, we expect to find that students are more engaged in the course and that they apply the course content more effectively to their lives and careers beyond the end of the semester. We are assessing the effectiveness of diversity harnessing using both individual interviews and a standard course engagement questionnaire.
Asymmetric “Min” Condition and Estimation for Disequilibrium Markets: Comment

The fact that output is seldom limited by demand in centrally planned economies may, as Chang (1992) rightly stresses, simplify the task of modeling non-clearing markets. However, there are two grounds for skepticism about Chang's model of the market for consumption goods in China. First, his use of unadjusted output as a proxy for supply is suspect. Second, his consumption function and his disequilibrium indicator function are consistent only under restrictive and unverifiable conditions on variables determined outside of the model.
Measurement of continuum radiation from an argon plasma

Abstract The continuum radiation of atmospheric argon plasma generated by a free burning arc has been investigated over the spectral range of 1000–9000 A. Validity of Kramers-Unsold model for the continuum radiation is investigated, and Biberman's ξ functions are obtained and compared with theory. The experimental technique used in this study required only relative intensity measurements.
Variation tolerant buffered clock network synthesis with cross links

Clock network synthesis is a key step in the ultra deep sub-micron (UDSM) VLSI Designs. Most existing clock network synthesis algorithms are designed for nominal operating condition, which are insufficient to address the growing problem of process, voltage and temperature (PVT) fluctuations. Link based clock networks have been suggested as a possible way of reducing skew variability [1-3]. However, [1,2] deal with only unbuffered clock networks, making them impractical. In [3], the problem of constructing a link based buffered clock network has been addressed . But [3] requires special kind of tunable buffers, which might consume more area/power and might not be available for all designs. Also, [3] uses SPICE for tuning the locations of internal nodes and buffer delays, thereby making it slow even for clock networks with a few hundred sinks. In this paper, we propose a unified algorithm for synthesizing a variation tolerant, balanced buffered clock network with cross links. Our approach can make use of ordinary buffers and does not require SPICE for clock network synthesis. SPICE based Monte Carlo simulations show that our methodology results in a buffered clock network with 50% reduction in skew variability with minimal increase in wire-length, buffer area and CPU time.
A three-dimensional electron pencil-beam algorithm

Describes the implementation of a three-dimensional electron-dose algorithm based on a Gaussian pencil-beam model. The algorithm calculates dose to an arbitrarily distributed set of points in a heterogeneous volume. Multiple non-coplanar beams can be positioned relative to the volume. The algorithm consists of three basic components: (i) the transport of a pencil-beam through a heterogeneous volume, (ii) the evaluation of the pencil-beam fluence at a given depth in the volume in the presence of irregular fields, and (iii) the matching of points in the volume receiving a significant fluence contribution from a pencil-beam at a given depth in the volume and the calculation of dose to those points. An efficient point-matching algorithm reduces the computation time to the level of conventional two-dimensional implementations. The algorithm uses an optimised subdivision for irregular fields, and accurately predicts output factors for irregular fields placed between the final collimators and the patient. The authors show comparisons between the new algorithm and conventional two-dimensional calculations using measurements and calculations for finite heterogeneities, irregular fields and output factors.
Wavelet-based higher-order neural networks for mine detection in thermal IR imagery

An image processing technique is described for the detection of miens in RI imagery. The proposed technique is based on a third-order neural network, which processes the output of a wavelet packet transform. The technique is inherently invariant to changes in signature position, rotation and scaling. The well-known memory limitations that arise with higher-order neural networks are addressed by (1) the data compression capabilities of wavelet packets, (2) protections of the image data into a space of similar triangles, and (3) quantization of that 'triangle space'. Using these techniques, image chips of size 28 by 28, which would require 0(109) neural net weights, are processed by a network having 0(102) weights. ROC curves are presented for mine detection in real and simulated imagery.
Understanding academic attitudes and achievement in mexican-origin youths: ethnic identity, other-group orientation, and fatalism.

University at Albany, State University of New YorkThis study tested the relationships among ethnic identity, other-group orientation, fatalism,and 2 dependent variables: attitude toward education and school, and grade point average(GPA). Mexican-origin adolescents (N 222) completed the Multigroup Ethnic IdentityMeasure (J. S. Phinney, 1992), the fatalism scale of the Multiphasic Assessment of CulturalConstructs—Short Form (I. Cue´llar, B. Arnold, & G. Gonza´lez, 1995), and the attitudescale of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory—High School (C. E. Weinstein &D. R. Palmer, 1990a). Other-group orientation was positively related to attitude and GPA,and a negative relationship between fatalism and attitude was demonstrated. No relation-ship emerged between ethnic identity and the dependent variables.Keywords: ethnic identity, academic achievement, attitude, education, school, Mexican-origin adolescents
NANOTECHNOLOGY IN BIOLOGICAL DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION

Nanotechnology has achieved incredible milestones in the roughly 25 years that it has been recognized as an independent eld of scholarship, but perhaps none has been as signi cant as the tectonic shift it has brought about toward interdisciplinary science. It is now hard to believe that physicists, engineers, chemists and biologist once occupied their own spheres and rarely crossed boundaries to work cooperatively. This is because we are living in an age where all of these disciplines are studied in tandem under the banner of \nano." As a result, each eld has grown: physics has entered a world where quantum mechanics has become an observable; the overcoming of engineering challenges at the nanoscale has enabled precise control of matter and an understanding of how molecular machines might work; chemistry, which has always occurred at these scales, is being understood in new and exciting ways; and biology has undergone a sea change in both understanding and scope. It is the last of these that has inspired the theme of this special issue of Nano LIFE, which focuses on the development and use of nanotechnology for fundamental investigations of biological systems. The tools and techniques o®ered by nanotechnology allow for structures to be created on the same size scale as individual cells and biomolecules, instigating a new \bottom up" approach to sensing and characterization that was impossible to envision before. Advances in this emerging eld of \nanobiotechnology" are presented in the pages that follow, describing new materials and methods that o®er insight into the basic functions of biology and/ or aid in the transition from fundamental studies to diagnostic and clinical applications. Two articles in this issue look at new nanomaterials with properties designed to enhance biological imaging capabilities. Vance et al. present a new method for producing carbon-coated nanoparticles. The resulting material has potential to overcome the toxicity of conventional quantum dots, which has been an important barrier to their widespread utility. Dorcena et al., on the other hand, demonstrate a new synthesis method for carbon dots Nano LIFE Vol. 3, No. 1 (2013) 1302001 (2 pages) © World Scienti c Publishing Company DOI: 10.1142/S1793984413020017
Exocytosis from large dense cored vesicles outside the active synaptic zones of terminals within the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis: a possible mechanism for neuropeptide release.

Abstract It has been hypothesized that chemical interactions between neurons in the central nervous system can occur in the absence of well defined synaptic complexes, but morphological correlates have been difficult to find. The present study demonstrates exocytotic release from large (70–130nm) dense cored vesicles at structurally nonspecialized areas along the plasmalemma of structurally different categories of terminals and occasionally from dendrites and axons within the neuropil of the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis. In rats, the marginal (lamina I) and substantia gelatinosa (lamina II) layers contain the central terminals of primary afferent fibers from the infraorbital nerve that supply the skin and whiskers (vibrissae). Different types of interneurons are also present and may modify the input being relayed to higher centers. While exocytotic profiles were present in control animals, they increased significantly (P The increase in large vesicle exocytosis and the decrease in substance P are interpreted to reflect functional adjustments of different neurons in response to the lesion. The exocytosis involving large dense cored vesicles may serve to deliver transmitters and/or neuropeptide modulators to appropriate receptors in a wider area than release into a specialized synaptic cleft would allow.
Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication by phosphonoformate esters of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine.

Summary The water-soluble ammonium salt of 3′-azido-5′-(O-ethoxycarbonylphosphinyl)-3′-deoxythymidine (ECP-AZT), the prototype of a novel class of compounds incorporating two active antiretroviral agents, in this case 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) and phosphonoformic acid (PFA), within the same structure, was synthesized and tested as an inhibitor of the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in Jurkat cells, a CD4 + human T-lymphocyte cell line. The corresponding 5′-(O-methoxycarbonylphosphinyl) derivative (MCP-AZT) was also prepared. The rationale for the synthesis of ECP-AZT and MCP-AZT was that they may be cleaved intracellularly to AZT and PFA via hydrolysis of the phosphate ester bond or to AZT 5′-monophosphate by oxidative cleavage of the carbon-phosphorus bond. ECP-AZT was found to block viral replication at a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of ca. 10 −6 M as measured by reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in supernatants from cultures of infected cells. Little or no inhibition of cell growth was observed at this concentration, and there was −4 M. AZT itself was a more potent inhibitor of HIV-1 replication than ECP-AZT, but was also more cytotoxic. The antiviral selectivity of ECP-AZT, defined as the ratio IC 50 (virus inhibition)/IC 50 (cell growth inhibition), was in the range considered to be therapeutic for anti-AIDS nucleosides.
Centroid-moment tensor solutions for January-March 1999

Abstract Centroid-moment tensor solutions are presented for 240 earthquakes that occurred during the first quarter of 1999. The solutions are obtained using corrections for aspherical earth structure represented by a whole mantle shear velocity model SH8/U4L8 of Dziewonski and Woodward [Dziewonski, A.M., Woodhouse, J.H., 1983. An experiment in the systematic study of global seismicity: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 201 moderate and large earthquakes of 1981. J. Geophys. Res. 88, 3247–3271]. A model of anelastic attenuation of Durek and Ekstrom [Durek, J.J., Ekstrom, G., 1996. A radial model of anelasticity consistent with long-period surface wave attenuation. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 86, 144–158.] is used to predict the decay of the waveforms.
Identification of a unique VP4 serotype that is shared by a human rotavirus (69M strain) and an equine rotavirus (H-2 strain).

A cDNA clone representing the VP4-encoding gene of human rotavirus strain 69M(VP7 serotype 8) was constructed and inserted into a baculovirus expression vector. Baculovirus recombinants that expressed the 69 M VP4 protein inSpodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells were screened by immunofluorescence with hyperimmune antiserum to the 69M strain and purified by terminal dilution. The expressed VP4 was detected by Coomassie blue staining of PAGE-separated proteins. The antigenic relationships between the VP4 of the 69M strain and those of various human and other animal rotavirus strains representing ten established VP4 serotypes were examined by plaque reduction neutralization. Hyperimmune antiserum produced in guinea pigs following immunization with a lysate of Sf9 cells infected with a 69M gene 4-baculovirus recombinant neutralized the infectivity of the homologous human rotavirus 69M strain as well as heterologous equine rotavirus H-2 strain to a high titer. The anti-69M VP4 hyperimmune antiserum did not neutralize significantly other rotavirus strains of human, simian, porcine, bovine, or murine origin. It thus appears that the human rotavirus 69M strain has a distinct VP4 serotype (designated as P serotype 4) which is closely related antigenically to equine rotavirus H-2 VP4.