cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of the Use of Nanoparticles on Electric Field Distribution during Irreversible Electroporation Treatments: Can the Lesion be Enhanced Beyond IRE Margin?

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is the phenomenon in which cell transmembrane potential is increased by exposure to short, high intensity electric fields. When a certain threshold is reached, damage to the cell and homeostasis disruption is too great for recovery and cell death occurs. IRE has gained a lot of attention as a cancer ablation technique to treat otherwise inoperable tumors due to its non-thermal mechanism to induce cell death. This characteristic makes it particularly attractive to treat pancreatic tumors since it is often claimed that in contrast with thermal ablation techniques, irreversible electroporation decreases damage to large blood vessels, such as the superior mesenteric artery, and neighboring bile ducts. Furthermore, recent studies on the use of nanoparticles with IRE show great potential for an increased selectivity to ablate cancer cells while sparing a higher percentage of healthy tissue. The goal of the study presented here is to numerically analyze the relevance of such increase in treated volume in a 3D in vitro tumor model and how it compares to experimental results and its translation to the clinical setting. A 3D tumor model was implemented for numerical simulations to make predictions of lesion enhancement after IRE treatment with nanoparticles (NPs). Results were compared to those obtained through in vitro experiments in 3D hydrogel tumor constructs. These comparisons indicate that a lesion volume increase can be obtained through enhanced sensitization of cancer cells beyond IRE margin. This can be clinically significant for the use of IRE to treat tumors with intricate morphologies such as those with infiltrative fingering margins, and those near or engulfing critical structures.
Throughput and Rate Region for Quasi-Static Multiple Access Channels with Channel Estimation Errors

In this paper, bounds on the individual outage rate regions are obtained for quasi-static fading multiple access channels (MAC), with no channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) and with channel estimation errors at the receiver. This paper extends earlier work on individual outage regions by modeling the effects of channel estimation errors. The bounds are derived for heterogeneous users who have different outage requirements to ensure a required quality of service (QoS) and also different path losses. The effect, of the number of training symbols used for channel estimation, is also studied and the training time is determined to maximize the total throughput. Based on these results, training preambles can be designed for packet transmission in quasi-static MAC.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characteristics of Hyperacute Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain is highly sensitive for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Understanding of the imaging characteristics of hyper-acute ICH is limited secondary to availability and increased time to scan relative to other imaging modalities. In this report we present the MRI characteristics of two patients who developed ICH while on the MRI table. Results: Hyperacute Inracerebral hemorrhage has a characteristic appearance on MRI. The morphology of the hyper-acute ICH we presented confirms an asymmetric growth pattern. It also showed that the area of hemorrhage appeared to consist of multiple distinct compartments. These features suggested that expansion of ICH may be compounded by mechanical disruption of secondary blood vessels as the hematoma expanded. We can also confirm that hyperacute intraventricular hemorrhage can be revealed by gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Conclusion: Magnetic Resonance Imaging is able to detect hyper-acute ICH and our findings demonstrate an asymmetric pattern of hematoma evolution. MRI with contrast is sensitive to detect hyperacute intraventricular hemorrhage.
Angioedema Spotlight: A Closer Examination of Sacubitril/Valsartan Safety Results

Incorporation of neprilysin inhibition into heart failure pharmacotherapy regimens has recently been recommended by U.S. guidelines, based on results from the PARADIGM-HF trial comparing sacubitril/valsartan to enalapril. While most of the discussion has focused on efficacy, a closer examination of the safety results, particularly the incidence of angioedema during the run-in and double-blind periods, is also warranted. Although no major safety concerns were identified, an angioedema risk comparable to enalapril was found, primarily in the black population. Therefore, despite combination with an angiotensin receptor blocker, which historically has a lower incidence of angioedema, the addition of neprilysin inhibition yields an angioedema risk profile comparable to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Clinicians should recognize this safety risk when prescribing sacubitril/valsartan and remain vigilant in counseling patients regarding the signs and symptoms of angioedema. As recommended by the guidelines, avoiding sacubitril/valsartan use concurrently or within 36 hours of the last dose of an ACE inhibitor or in patients with a history of angioedema is also crucial to minimize angioedema risk and prevent patient harm.
Early age of e-cigarette use onset mediates the association between impulsivity and e-cigarette use frequency in youth.

Abstract Background Identifying risk factors for youth e-cigarette use is critical, given high rates of e-cigarette use and unknown health effects of long-term use. The current study examined whether an early age of onset of e-cigarette use mediates the association between impulsivity and e-cigarette frequency. Methods Cross-sectional survey data of e-cigarette users (n = 927) were collected from 8 high schools in southeastern Connecticut. The sample was 44.7% female (mean age 16.2 [SD = 1.2], mean age of e-cigarette onset 14.7 [SD = 1.6]). Two domains of self-reported, trait impulsivity were assessed using the abbreviated Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: impaired self-regulation (e.g., problems with concentration or self-control) and behavioral impulsivity (e.g., doing things without thinking). Mediation was tested with Mplus, and the model included school as a cluster variable and controlled for covariates related to e-cigarette use (i.e., sex, age, race, peer use, and other tobacco products ever tried). Results The hypothesized mediation was supported for both domains of impulsivity (impaired self-regulation a 1 b = 0.09, SE = 0.02, 95%CI [0.03–0.14], p = .002; behavioral impulsivity a 2 b = 0.07, SE = 0.03, 95%CI [.01–.14], p = 0.03). Specifically, impaired self-regulation ( B = −0.33, SE = 0.06, p 0.001) and behavioral impulsivity ( B = −0.26, SE = 0.11, p = 0.02) predicted trying e-cigarettes at an earlier age, and earlier initiation was associated with more days of e-cigarette use in the past month ( B = −0.28, SE = 0.08, p 0.001). Conclusions Adolescents who endorse aspects of impulsivity, such as acting without thinking, are at greater risk for more frequent e-cigarette use through an early age of e-cigarette initiation. Further research is needed to evaluate these relationships longitudinally and to develop targeted e-cigarette interventions for impulsive youth.
Habits and goals: a motivational perspective on action control

Two distinct systems govern the motivational control of action: first, cue-driven, outcome-insensitive habits, and second, value-based, goal-directed behaviors. These separate but interactive systems are based in distinct neural circuits — habitual behaviors are driven by a circuit of putamen-thalamic-motor regions, whereas value-based decision making relies on a top-down PFC-caudate network. This review highlights the recent advancements in behavioral science that investigate the motivational underpinnings of habits, situates contemporary behavioral methods into a framework of motivation, and identifies motivational aspects of habit-based pathologies. We also contextualize the recent literature on habits to highlight the necessity of improving our methods and promoting future research attempts to yield translational value (e.g. restoring flexibility in rigid habits).
The Potential of Tax Surprises to Affect Measures of Tax Avoidance and Researchers' Inferences

ABSTRACT While not explicitly stated, many tax avoidance studies seek to investigate tax avoidance that is the result of firms' deliberate actions. However, measures of firms' tax avoidance can als...
Properties of Feshbach and “shape”-resonances in ozone and their role in recombination reactions and anomalous isotope effects

Computational modelling of recombination reactions that form ozone require the inclusion of several quantum mechanical effects such as symmetry, zero-point energy, scattering resonances and tunneling. Major elements of theory for rigorous description of this process are reviewed, with emphasis on interpreting the famous anomalous isotope effect due to substitutions of 18O. Three reaction pathways, for the formation of symmetric and asymmetric isotopologues of ozone, are introduced and a hierarchy of theory levels is outlined. Lower levels of theory are used to account for the effects of symmetry, isotope mass, rotational excitations and vibrational zero-point energy differences. They happen to be equivalent to statistical descriptions of the process and do not show anomalous isotope effects. Properties of scattering resonances should be included at the next level of theory, and may finally explain the isotope effect. Shape resonances, trapped behind the centrifugal barrier and populated by tunneling, can be studied by neglecting couplings between the diabatic ro-vibrational states of the system. Inclusion of these couplings enables the formation of Feshbach resonances. Accurate calculations using hyper-spherical coordinates are performed to obtain resonance energies, lifetimes and wavefunctions. Differences between the shape resonances and Feshbach resonances are emphasized.
Lumped Mass Model of a 1D Metastructure with Vibration Absorbers with Varying Mass

This work examines the distribution of vibration absorber mass for a lumped mass metastructure model designed to suppress vibrations in the axial direction. Metastructures, a metamaterial inspired concept, are structures with distributed vibration absorbers. In automotive and aerospace industries, it is critical to have low levels of vibrations while also using lightweight materials. Previous work has shown that this design can effectively reduce vibrations by comparing the response of the metastructure to a structure with no vibration absorbers but with equal mass. Previous work constrained the vibration absorber masses to be the same throughout the structure. This work looks at the added performance that can be realized by allowing these masses to varying throughout the length of the metastructure. Additionally, the performance of the metastructure is also compared a host structure with a single tuned mass damper to show how this new technology differs from traditional vibration suppression methods.
Evaluation of CBT Authoring Systems: Need a Data Base

A computer-based training (CBT) authoring system is a special kind of software tool-kit for training developers with no programming skills and limited instructional design experience to use in developing CBT materials (i.e.,courseware). Many authoring systems have taken into account the needs of computer-naive users so that the learning requirements for using the systems is supposed to be minimal. However, the selection of the best authoring system for a given purpose requires a systematic evaluation because many systems have been developed to serve basically the same purpose with different procedural approaches, functional features and power. The purposes of this paper are: (a) to discuss evaluation methods for selecting an authoring system; (b) to examine important evaluation criteria; (c) to propose a set of evaluation procedures; (d) to discuss the need for developing a CBT authoring tool data base and provide initial inputs for the development of the data base.
The incidence of multiple gestations after in vitro fertilization is dependent on the number of embryos transferred and maternal age

Objective To determine if the incidence of multiple gestations after IVF differs significantly depending on the number of embryos transferred and maternal age. Design Retrospective analysis of IVF database. Setting Tertiary care academic center. Patients One thousand eight hundred sixty-seven patients undergoing IVF with up to four embryos transferred during 1986 through 1993. Main Outcome Measures The rate of singleton and multiple gestations >20 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA). Results The incidence of triplet gestations >20 weeks EGA among patients ≤34 years of age with three versus four embryos transferred was 0.3% (1/335) versus 2.4% (15/662), respectively. The incidence of twin gestations >20 weeks EGA among patients ≤34 years of age with two versus four embryos transferred was 1.3% (3/234) versus 7.4% (46/622), respectively. Also among patients ≤34 years of age, the incidence of singleton gestations >20 weeks EGA with two versus three embryos transferred was 12.8% (30/234) versus 15.8% (53/335); with two versus four embryos was 12.8% (30/234) versus 17.2% (107/622); and with three versus four embryos was 15.8% (53/335) versus 17.2% (107/622), respectively. Conclusions In women ≤34 years of age undergoing IVF-ET, the transfer of four versus three and four versus two embryos significantly increased the incidence of triplet and twin gestations, respectively, without significantly improving the chance of singleton conception. This implies that a policy of transferring only three embryos should be considered in this age group (realizing that such a policy may merit modulation if pretransfer embryo selection is used.)
Theories in the Flesh and Flights of the Imagination: Embracing the Soul and Spirit of Critical Performative Writing in Communication Research

This critical essay describes and demonstrates the uses and unique contributions of performative writing as a form of inquiry into the materialities and mobilities of sociocultural communicative ph...
Increasing Chlamydia Testing Rates via Targeted Outreach.

Background and Objectives Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. Annual chlamydia screening of asymptomatic, sexually active women age 16 to 24 years and in older women who are at increased risk for infection is recommended. This study built on prior work in which our university-based family medicine clinic implemented quality improvement (QI) interventions in 2016 and 2017 to increase our chlamydia screening rate. Our primary aim in the current study was to increase the screening rate by 10%. Our secondary aim was to determine the number of patient contacts that yielded maximum test rates. Methods For the most recent QI cycle, we conducted a prospective cohort study from December 2017 through March 2018. Using the FOCUS-PDSA model, a resident-led, interdisciplinary QI team developed the aims and implemented an intervention to streamline patient outreach. We also retrospectively analyzed data from the previous QI cycle to determine the number of tests obtained after each patient contact. Results Chlamydia testing increased from 54% to 56.3% between December 2017 and March 2018. The majority of tests were completed by four patient contacts; additional contacts yielded few additional tests. Conclusions Persistent outreach increases chlamydia screening rates. This QI project could be replicated in other clinical settings to improve the screening of chlamydia or other diseases.
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques Used to Confirm an Unusual Case of BAPoma

Study ObjectiveBAP1 (BRCA1-associated protein 1) is a critical tumor suppressor that promotes genome stability and DNA damage response, in addition to other cellular processes. BAP1 maps to 3p21 an...
California’s 48th Congressional District: Sunset for Reagan Country

Long-time incumbent Dana Rohrabacher lost his bid for reelection in 2018 as Democrats successfully flipped seven seats in California, the epicenter of anti-Trump sentiment. The primary featured a serious Republican opponent and several Democratic candidates. Harley Rouda, a former Republican, was endorsed by national Democrats and narrowly advanced to the general election. Rohrabacher, a former Reagan speechwriter representing a region long known as Reagan Country, was relabeled as Putin’s Favorite Congressman and as being out of touch on immigration, healthcare, and climate change. Shifting demographics, high turnout, and high spending also contributed to a surprisingly comfortable win for Rouda.
Ion irradiation induced changes in defects of iron thin films: Electron microscopy and positron annihilation spectroscopy

Abstract Single crystal Fe thin films (∼250 nm) were grown on MgO substrates and irradiated with 2.0 MeV Fe+ ions at 10 and 50 dpa, and the defect evolution was studied using high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) and Doppler Broadening Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS). It was shown that irradiation induced or exacerbated a thin oxide layer at the outer interface and produced substantial Fe/Mg mixing at the film/substrate interface, particularly for the higher dose. Modeling of the PAS data allowed interpretation of the defect types at different distances from the Fe surface, and included several types of MgO substrate damage and annihilation condition changes, indicative of damage due to ballistic effects of the Fe atoms as well as chemical changes due to implantation and subsequent diffusion. This detailed PAS study compared with TEM and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) provides significant insight into depth-dependent defect creation. These results will be useful for predicting defect creation in Fe-based materials under irradiation conditions, for extension to neutron irradiated structural materials.
Intellection and Intuition: On the Epistemology of S.R. Ranganathan

The Indian librarian and library theorist S.R. Ranganathan (1892-1970) is generally recognized as a seminal figure in the development of facet analysis and its application to classification theory. In recent years, commentators on the epistemology of knowledge organization have claimed that the methods of facet analysis reflect a fundamentally rationalist approach to classification. Yet, for all the interest in the epistemological bases of Ranganathan’s classification theory, little attention has been paid to his theory of how human beings acquire knowledge of the world – i.e., his epistemology proper – or to the question whether this theory reflects a rationalist outlook. This paper examines Ranganathan’s statements on the origins of knowledge to assess if they are congruent with rationalist epistemology. Ranganathan recognized two different modes of knowledge – intellection (i.e., intellectual operations on sense data) and intuition (i.e., direct cognition of things-in-themselves) -- and it is in virtue of the latter that his epistemology can be considered to fall within the ambit of rationalism. Intuition as a source of knowledge plays a role in Ranganathan’s classification theory, most notably in his model of scientific method underlying classification development, his vision of the organization of classification design, and his conceptualization of seminal mnemonics and a reduced number of fundamental categories as important elements in the design of classification notation. Not only does intuition subtend the rationalism of Ranganathan’s epistemology but it also serves as a bridge to another often-neglected aspect of his thought, namely his valorization of mysticism. Indeed, Ranganathan’s theory of knowledge is best characterized as mystical rationalism
zD: a scalable zero-drop network stack at end hosts

Modern end-host network stacks have to handle traffic from tens of thousands of flows and hundreds of virtual machines per single host, to keep up with the scale of modern clouds. This can cause congestion for traffic egressing from the end host. The effects of this congestion have received little attention. Currently, an overflowing queue, like a kernel queuing discipline, will drop incoming packets. Packet drops lead to worse network and CPU performance by inflating the time to transmit the packet as well as spending extra effort on retansmissions. In this paper, we show that current end-host mechanisms can lead to high CPU utilization, high tail latency, and low throughput in cases of congestion of egress traffic within the end host. We present zD, a framework for applying backpressure from a congested queue to traffic sources at end hosts that can scale to thousands of flows. We implement zD to apply backpressure in two settings: i) between TCP sources and kernel queuing discipline, and ii) between VMs as traffic sources and kernel queuing discipline in the hypervisor. zD improves throughput by up to 60%, and improves tail RTT by at least 10x at high loads, compared to standard kernel implementation.
CHAPTER VIII – VECTORS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents definitions of vector and scalar quantities, geometrical representations of vectors, and differentiation of vectors. Any given vector may be regarded as the sum of any one of infinitely many pairs of vectors. Thus, a vector V may be regarded as the sum of each of the pairs of vectors, and each of the vectors in a given pair is called a component of V. Of the infinitely many ways of resolving a given vector into pairs of components, the most useful is the one that resolves it into components parallel to the x- and y-axes of the rectangular coordinate system. Such components are called rectangular components.
Perioperative opioid prescriptions associated with stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse surgery.

Abstract Background There is an opioid epidemic in the United States with a contributing factor being opioids prescribed for post-operative pain following surgery. Objectives Among women who underwent stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse surgeries, our primary objective was to determine the proportion of women who filled perioperative opioid prescriptions and to compare factors associated with these opioid prescriptions. We also sought to assess the risk of prolonged opioid use through one year after SUI and POP surgery. Study Design Using a population-based cohort of commercially insured individuals in the 2005-2015 IBM Marketscan® databases, we identified opioid naive women ≥ 18 years who underwent SUI and/or POP procedures based on CPT codes. We defined the perioperative period as the window beginning 30 days before surgery extending until 7 days after surgery. Any filled opioid prescription in this window was considered a perioperative prescription. For our primary outcome, we report the proportion of opioid naive women who filled a perioperative opioid prescription and report the median quantity dispensed in the perioperative period. We also assessed demographic and perioperative factors associated with perioperative opioid prescription fills. Prior studies defined prolonged use as the proportion who fill an opioid prescription between 90 - 180 days after surgery. We report this estimate, as well as continuous opioid use, defined as the proportion of women with ongoing monthly opioid prescriptions filled through one-year after SUI and/or POP surgery. Results Among the 217,460 opioid naive women who underwent urogynecologic surgery, 61,025 (28.1%) had a POP and SUI surgery, 85,575 (39.4%) had SUI without POP surgery and 70,860 (32.6%) had POP without SUI surgery. Overall, 167,354 (77.0%) filled a perioperative opioid prescription, and the median quantity was 30 pills (interquartile range 20, 30). In a multivariate regression model, younger age, POP surgery with or without SUI, abdominal route, hysterectomy and mesh use remained significantly associated with opioid prescriptions filled. Among those with a filled perioperative opioid prescription, the risk of prolonged use, defined as an opioid fill between 90 - 180 days, was 7.5% (95% CI 7.3%,7.6%). However, the risk of prolonged use, defined as continuous use with at least one monthly opioid prescription filled after surgery was significantly lower with the following rates: 1.2% (1.13%, 1.24%), 0.32%(0.29%, 0.35%), 0.06%(0.05%, 0.08%) and 0.04%(0.02%,0.05%) at 60, 90, 180 and 360 days after surgery, respectively. Conclusions Among privately insured, opioid naive women undergoing SUI and/or POP surgery, 77% of women filled an opioid prescription with a median of 30 opioid pills prescribed. For prolonged use, 7.5% (95% CI 7.3,7.6) filled an opioid within 90-180 days after surgery but the rates of continuously filled opioid prescriptions are significantly lower at 0.06% (95% CI 0.05,0.08) at 180 days and 0.04% (95%CI 0.02,0.05) at 1 year after surgery.
The diachronic threshold problem

The paper introduces a new problem for fallibilist and infallibilist epistemologies—the diachronic threshold problem. As the name suggests, this is a problem similar to the well-known threshold problem for fallibilism. The new problem affects both fallibilism and infallibilism, however. The paper argues that anyone who worries about the well known problem for fallibilism should also worry about this new, diachronic version of the problem.
Formulating a gene signature for diagnosis of autoimmune and infectious diseases

When patients with an underlying autoimmune condition such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis or lupus report life-threatening symptoms, physicians need to quickly determine whether these symptoms are caused by an acute infection or a complication of their autoimmune condition. As immunosuppressive drugs are harmful to someone undergoing an infection, accurate and timely diagnosis is critical. In recent years, host-response-based diagnostics have shown promise in accurately and non-invasively diagnosing a number of infectious and autoimmune diseases. Here, we collected and curated blood transcriptome profiles of 14,587 patients from 42 countries across 122 independent datasets and grouped them into infectious, autoimmune, and healthy control categories. Using a novel statistical framework, we created two gene signatures from this data: one to differentiate patients with autoimmune or infectious diseases from healthy individuals and another to differentiate between patients with autoimmune or infectious diseases. Both signatures achieve an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) of >0.87 on completely independent datasets. Because our training and testing data included heterogeneity across many factors, these gene signatures can be utilized in diverse clinical populations. Furthermore, these signatures can aid physicians across a broad range of clinical scenarios, where existing diagnostics are invasive, expensive, or non-specific.
Ligand efficiency indices for effective drug discovery: a unifying vector formulation

The area of ligand efficiency indices (LEIs) in drug discovery has developed significantly since the initial publications nearly 20 years ago. A large number of different LEIs have been defined and...
Maternal Separation Anxiety

One clear conclusion from the research on the effects of maternal employment is that the relationships among employment, maternal beliefs, attitudes and practices, and child development are complex and require consideration of many factors. Stolz (1960), in one of the first reviews of the topic, concluded that a striking characteristic of the research on maternal employment was the number of different and often contradictory findings, an observation shared by Hoffman (1974) when she reviewed the literature more than a decade later. Bronfenbrenner and Crouter (1982) made perhaps the most critical observation by stating, “Taken by itself, the fact that a woman works outside the home has no universally predictable effects on the child” (p. 51). The failure to obtain consistent and interpretable results is due in part to the substantial differences among women within each employment status category (Hoffman, 1961, 1984; Lamb, 1982). For example, employed women may differ in their reasons for working, peer and spouse support of their employment, numbers of hours they are employed, and type of job they hold; the list is endless. Consequently, the simple model of comparing employed and nonemployed women and their children cannot be used to examine the effects of employment, and a more complex model must be proposed (Hoffman, 1984). Researchers must identify the differences that exist within the groups of employed and nonemployed women and determine how these differences impact the effects of employment status (Hoffman, 1961, 1984; Lamb, 1982).
Chapter 11 – Security Issues and Measures: Protecting Electronic Commerce Resources

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses security issues and measures in the e-commerce environment. E-commerce security is an important managerial and technical issue, and all e-businesses must be aware of the underlying factors. E-commerce security is concerned with unauthorized access to important data resources. Different types of e-commerce threats are identified as natural, intentional, and unintentional. Insiders or outsiders intentionally create some security threats, for example, the spreading of a computer virus by a hacker or disgruntled web master. Some security threats are unintentional. For example, an employee may erase a computer file or format a data disk unintentionally. Some security threats (such as earthquakes) are natural. The damage from natural disasters is somewhat controllable. Buildings with special designs for earthquake protection are now available, and flood damage usually can be controlled. A comprehensive security system should allow only authorized employees to have access to e-commerce facilities. Firewalls, intrusion-detection systems, and data encryption—three popular security measures in the e-commerce environment are discussed. Frequently, computer rooms are designed separately from the rest of a structure to minimize potential hazards. Wiring, air conditioning, and fire protection should be of special concern. Locks and physical deterrents should prevent most computer thefts. The chapter presents guidelines for establishing a comprehensive security system, and concluded with guidelines for disaster preparation, including steps to be taken if a disaster strikes.
What's Property Got to Do With It?

This essay reviews Daniel Cole's "Pollution & Property," a recent book on property rights regimes for pollution control. It questions the utility of property rights typologies as a means of understanding pollution control regimes. The review provides a detailed analysis of the shift of rights that occurs in going from a traditional regulatory program to an emissions trading program. It finds that the shift does not create a fundamentally different property regime and explains precisely what changes. This analysis also explains the meaning of calls to perfect property rights in this context. The review concludes that Professor Cole's book does a good job of refuting free market environmentalists' case for "private property" solutions to environmental problems, in spite of the awkwardness of a property rights approach to pollution control problems.
A multiscale measure for mixing and its applications

In spite of a large amount of research on the problem of fluid mixing and its control, there is no consensus on a proper measure for quantifying mixing. We present a measure of mixing that is based on the concept of weak convergence and is capable of probing the "mixedness" at various scales. This new measure, called the mix-norm, resolves the inability of the L/sub 2/ variance of the scalar density field to resolve various stages of contour-level rearrangement by chaotic maps. In addition, the mix-norm succeeds in capturing the efficiency of a mixing protocol in the context of a particular initial density field, wherein Lyapunov-exponent based measures fail to do so. The mix-norm is a pseudo-norm for checking weak convergence on the space of scalar density fields, which turns out to be a critical link in justifying its validity as a measure for mixing. We demonstrate the utility of the mix-norm by showing how it measures the efficiency of mixing due to diffusion and to various discrete dynamical systems.
From retrospective verification to forward-looking development

One obstacle in applying program verification is coming up with specifications. That is, if you want to verify a program, you need to write down what it means for the program to be correct. But doesn't that seem terribly wrong? Why don't we see it as "one obstacle in program design is coming up with code"? That is, if you want to realize a specification, you need to write down how the machine is supposed do it. Phrased this way, we may want to change our efforts of verification into efforts of what is known as correct-by-construction or stepwise-refinement. But the choice is not so clear and there are plenty of obstacles on both sides. For example, many programs are developed from specifications, but the specifications are not in a form suitable for refinement tools. For other programs, the clearest specifications may be given by pseudo-code, but such specification may not be suitable for some verification tools. In this talk, I will discuss verification tools and refinement-based tools, considering how they may be combined.
Urbanización y valor de la tierra en países en desarrollo

Land values have become extremely controversial in many developing countries. In part, the reason is simply that land prices have been increasing rapidly, specially in and near urban areas. In part, however, controversy stems from the special characteristics of land. Being a non produced input, land should not yield a return to its owners in the view of many people. For these two reasons, governments have intervened more in land markets than in any other market in most countries. This paper attempts to sort out some key issues regarding land values, land use and government intervention, specially as they relate to urbanization in developing countries.
MetPetDB: A database for metamorphic geochemistry

We present a data model for the initial implementation of MetPetDB, a geochemical database specific to metamorphic rock samples. The database is designed around the concept of preservation of spatial relationships, at all scales, of chemical analyses and their textural setting. Objects in the database (samples) represent physical rock samples; each sample may contain one or more subsamples with associated geochemical and image data. Samples, subsamples, geochemical data, and images are described with attributes (some required, some optional); these attributes also serve as search delimiters. All data in the database are classified as published (i.e., archived or published data), public or private. Public and published data may be freely searched and downloaded. All private data is owned; permission to view, edit, download and otherwise manipulate private data may be granted only by the data owner; all such editing operations are recorded by the database to create a data version log. The sharing of data permissions among a group of collaborators researching a common sample is done by the sample owner through the project manager. User interaction with MetPetDB is hosted by a web-based platform based upon the Java servlet application programming interface, with the PostgreSQL relational database. The database web portal includes modules that allow the user to interact with the database: registered users may save and download public and published data, upload private data, create projects, and assign permission levels to project collaborators. An Image Viewer module provides for spatial integration of image and geochemical data. A toolkit consisting of plotting and geochemical calculation software for data analysis and a mobile application for viewing the public and published data is being developed. Future issues to address include population of the database, integration with other geochemical databases, development of the analysis toolkit, creation of data models for derivative data, and building a community-wide user base. It is believed that this and other geochemical databases will enable more productive collaborations, generate more efficient research efforts, and foster new developments in basic research in the field of solid earth geochemistry.
Enabling transnational collection, notification, and sharing of information

We describe efforts towards, and results of, a transnational collaboration between universities, government agencies, and an international organization in applying information technology (IT) to a problem of international concern: detecting and monitoring activities related to the transnational movement of illicit drugs. Starting from a general vision of how IT could assist in achieving this objective, we have agreed on likely user scenarios, infrastructure requirements and specifications for a prototype system whose initial focus is on collecting and sharing information related to the migration of individuals across borders. Albeit on a reduced scale, this system concretely exemplifies how information about potentially drug-related activities can be collected and accessed in different languages by privileged users through natural dialogue communication, and how it can be shared in a timely fashion to promote regional and international cooperation on solving the drug problem.
Motor Vehicle Driving Competencies and Risks in Teens and Young Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

PURPOSE: To evaluate the motor vehicle driving knowledge, skills, and negative driving outcomes of older teens and young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). LOCATION: A university medical center clinic for adult ADHD. SUBJECTS: A total of 25 young adults with ADHD and 23 young adults without ADHD 17 to 30 years old drawn from the community and equated for age, gender, and educational level. MEASURES: Structured interview, behavior ratings by self- and others, video test of driving knowledge, computer simulated driving test, and official motor vehicle records. RESULTS: ADHD young adults were cited more often for speeding, were more likely to have had their licenses suspended, were involved in more crashes, were more likely to have had crashes causing bodily injury, and were rated by themselves and others as using poorer driving habits. Official driving records corroborated these negative outcomes. Although no group differences in driving knowledge were evident, young adults with ADHD had more crashes, scrapes, and erratic steering during the computer-stimulated driving test than did the control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Findings supported previous research suggesting that greater driving risks are associated with ADHD and suggested that ADHD does not interfere with driving knowledge so much as with actual performance (motor control) during vehicle operation. Language: en
Physical Processes Contributing to Localized, Seasonal Hypoxic Conditions in the Bottom Waters of Smithtown Bay, Long Island Sound, New York

ABSTRACT Swanson, R.L.; Bauer, C.L.; Wilson, R.E.; Rose, P.S., and O'Connell, C., 2016. Physical processes contributing to localized, seasonal hypoxic conditions in the bottom waters of Smithtown Bay, Long Island Sound, New York. Summertime hypoxia regularly occurs in the bottom waters of Smithtown Bay, Long Island Sound, New York. Hypoxia is plaguing many coastal estuaries and can be detrimental to aquatic organisms. A generally accepted model for the cause of coastal hypoxia in temperate regions is seen in the introduction of anthropogenic nutrients, which fuels excessive primary production, leading to oxygen depletion exacerbated by seasonal water-column stratification. No major point sources of anthropogenic nitrogen discharge directly into the bay. Groundwater nitrogen discharge is somewhat more than double that of a small sewage treatment plant. Despite great efforts to reduce nitrogen loading into Long Island Sound, summertime hypoxia is a continuing occurrence in Smithtown Bay. Hydrographic cruise...
Developing the Model: A Perspective from the Developed World

Thirty years ago, as a second-year medical student, I spent a summer working with WHO in an isolated Indian community in Guatemala. I soon realised that not only was I ignorant, but misdirected. The main issues there were not medical care, but primary and public health; the lack of clean water or adequate sanitation, no immunisation programmes or contraception and inadequate nutrition. I decided to train in family medicine and public health and went to Seattle to ioin a new programme callcd VAMI, which hoped to address the problems of under-served rural populations in the vast rural areas of the nofthwestern United States.
Pre-infusion expectations predict post-treatment nausea during repeated adjuvant chemotherapy infusions for breast cancer

Objectives. To examine the relations between expectations of post-treatment nausea (PTN) and experience of post-treatment nausea beginning at the first infusion and continuing across a series of subsequent infusions in order to assess the influence of patients' expectations on a non-volitional outcome in a clinical setting. Design. The study utilized a prospective, longitudinal design to capture the development of relations between expectations and experiences of post-treatment nausea. Methods. Fifty-two women with breast cancer scheduled to receive standard outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy were studied. Study questionnaires included measures of chemotherapy-related side effects, patient expectations, emotional distress and mood disturbance. Results. Significant relations between expectations and incidence of post-treatment nausea at Infusions 2-7 were found (p < .05). To explore the possibility that expectations were simply based on patients' most recent experience of post-treatment nausea, we statistically controlled for that experience. Expectations of post-treatment nausea made a unique contribution to the prediction of post-treatment nausea at Infusions 4-7 (p < .05) in that analysis. No support was found for the possibility that the relations between expectations and post-treatment nausea were due to patients' emotional distress at the time of the assessments. Conclusions. These results provide the first indication in the literature that the influence of expectations on post-treatment nausea changes as patients gain experience with chemotherapy.
Successful treatment of a left ventricular assist device infection with daptomycin non-susceptible methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: case report and review of the literature.

Recipients of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are highly susceptible to the development of infections with multidrug- resistant (MDR) organisms. We describe the case of a patient with an LVAD who developed a device-related, daptomycin non-susceptible, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, highlighting this patient population as highly vulnerable to the development of such antimicrobial resistance. This report includes a thorough review of the literature on the mechanisms of development of daptomycin non-susceptibility and suggests ways to prevent its emergence. We also provide and underscore the appropriate guidelines to abide by when attempting to control infections with such resistant isolates. This case also demonstrates the importance of definitive treatment with LVAD removal and transplantation as a component of appropriate management of invasive LVAD infections. In addition, we suggest that even infections with MDR organisms may not adversely affect post-transplant outcomes.
Effects of acute intermittent anoxia upon urinary volume, specific gravity and chloride.

SummaryThe first hour exposure of rats to 258 mm Hg barometric pressure resulted in a 3 to 11 (average 7) fold increase in urine production. This increase in volume was accompanied by a marked fall in specific gravity (1.004 to 1.012, average 1.008). At the end of the third hour of intermittent anoxia the urinary volume and specific gravity approached normal sea level values. The chloride content, on the other hand, was greatest in the very dilute and abundant urine of the first hour and the chloride content decreased on repeated exposures until the more concentrated urine of the third hour contained practically no chloride.
Quantifying Spatial Trend of Sediment Parameters In Channelized Turbidite, West Africa

In this paper, our goal is to identify spatial trends of sedimentological parameters in rock physics plane. The spatial trends of quartz:clay ratio and sorting are obtained for channelized turbidite facies at Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. The quartz:clay ratio and sorting are important sediment parameters that affect seismic impedance and porosity. These trends are validated and quantified by the patterns of P-impedance vs. porosity trends predicted by rock models. Our results can be directly applied to improve quantitative prediction of sediment parameters from seismic impedance, away from well locations.
Recirculation injection by nonlinear gating for high-power laser pulses

The average power and efficiency of processes that exhibit low interaction cross section and low optical loss can often be enhanced by recirculating the laser pulse in the cavity. Inverse Compton scattering of the photon pulse on an electron bunch, harmonic generation, and spectroscopy represent examples of such processes. Methods for laser recirculation that enhance the interaction efficiency have been proposed in the past, based on resonant cavity coupling, intracavity amplification, or electro-optical switching. Those methods exhibit limitations such as interferometric alignment accuracies, complexity, and nonlinear phase accumulation. A novel scheme for energetic short laser pulse recirculation, termed recirculation injection by nonlinear gating (RING), is described. RING is based on intracavity nonlinear frequency conversion for optical switching, does not exhibit interferometric alignment constraints, and is scalable to extreme peak power. Initial demonstration of the RING technique is presented at a 1-mJ level, with cavity enhancement factors exceeding 25 in a simple unstable resonator cavity. Applications of the RING technique in biomedical and other applications are outlined.
Fault Tolerant Three Dimensional Environment Monitoring using Wireless Sensor Networks

One important application for wireless sensor networks is environment monitoring, which may include military facility security monitoring, industrial working field monitoring or wild fire monitoring. Fault tolerance is one of the primary objectives of current research for the environment monitoring oriented sensor network. To ensure the fault tolerance of the monitoring task in the three-dimensional settings, one way is to provide safe modes using redundancy. Beside redundancy, the sensor network deployment method is also an important factor to fault tolerance. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between fault tolerance and the randomness of deployment methods and examine the tradeoff between the sensor network lifetime and the equipment cost.