cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Does Saving Lives Win Votes? Evaluating the Electoral Consequences of Providing Clean Water in Mexico

Politicians often struggle to claim credit for programmatic policies and therefore use personalized benefits to win elections. Non-programmatic strategies that target individual voters provide a greater electoral return, even if the technocratic provision of public goods would better serve citizens’ needs. Mexico’s PRI historically relied on such targeting to win elections and used social welfare spending to reinvigorate this practice after its poor 1988 electoral results. Thus, claims that Programa Agua Limpia (PAL), a clean water program, was technocratic merit skepticism. This paper assesses such claims and whether the resulting health improvements had electoral consequences. Analysis indicates that electoral considerations did not influence PAL. Furthermore, this program increased support for the PRI. A dollar spent on PAL may have yielded better electoral returns then larger particularistic social welfare programs concurrently implemented by the PRI. Our analysis illuminates the conditions under which politicians can garner electoral returns for providing public goods.
A Pragmatic Approach to the Estimation Problems Encountered In Lease-Purchase Analyses

The lease-purchase problem has provided the basis for a staggering volume of academic research, with theorists from finance, accounting, and economics each making their respective contributions. The net result of these combined efforts has been the development of a number of very complex models.1 The primary differences in the more recent models relate to (1) the choice of appropriate discount rates and (2) the treatment accorded the differential leverage effects of leasing versus purchase financing. In this paper, we address a problem shared by all these models. This problem is that of estimation errors related to both cash-flow items and discount rates.
Variations in 129I/127I ratios in recent marine sediments: evidence for a fossil organic component

Abstract The value of the pre-bomb 129 I / 127 I ratio in the hydrosphere is important for the use of this isotope system for dating and tracing purposes. In order to determine this value and to examine spatial variability, 129 I / 127 I ratios were measured in 25 sediment samples from five cores taken at geographically distinct coastal areas. The results indicate a pre-anthropogenic 129 I / 127 I ratio of 1500×10−15, in good agreement with values derived from previous sediment and groundwater studies. Results from shallow sediments show that the layer of bioturbation is dominated by the addition of anthropogenic 129 I . The good agreement between results for this layer from different cores supports the understanding that marine iodine is isotopically homogeneous and associated with organic material which is actively remineralized at the sediment–water interface. Lower ratios (down to 354×10−15, corresponding to an age of 32.5 Ma) and larger variations than expected were found in sections of the cores below the layer of bioturbation. These observations can be explained by the presence of refractory fossil organic material, transported by rivers to the sediments from uplifted, continental shales. The results suggest that marine iodine is present in two forms, a labile component which is isotopically homogeneous, and a refractory component which is associated with kerogen (or other fossil organic compounds) whose 129 I / 127 I ratio reflects the age of these compounds. 129 I / 127 I ratios can be used to identify and date fossil organic material in Recent sediments, the presence of which can alter the assumptions underlying models of the global carbon cycle.
Bioengineering: the fifth traditional engineering discipline?

To begin, I will provide a general definition of BIOENGINEERING; “The Application of Engineering Principles and Fundamentals to Engineering Problems that Require A Basic Understanding of Biology and/or Living Systems”, which will be the basis for the remainder of this paper. After all, if engineering problem analysis or solution does not require a knowledge of biology or living systems then the existing traditional disciplines that deal specifically with non-living systems would be appropriate.
Editorial: refining the estimation of fitness for surgery

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women and remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80% to 85% of new cases of lung cancer (1), with surgical resection serving as a potentially curative treatment for patients with early stage disease.
Notes on scrambling in conformal field theory

The onset of quantum chaos in quantum field theory may be studied using out-of-time-order correlators at finite temperature. Recent work argued that a time scale logarithmic in the central charge emerged in the context of two-dimensional conformal field theories, provided the intermediate channel was dominated by the Virasoro identity block. This suggests a wide class of conformal field theories that exhibit a version of fast scrambling. In the present work we study this idea in more detail. We begin by clarifying to what extent correlators of wave packets built out of superpositions of primary operators may be used to quantify quantum scrambling. Subject to certain caveats, these results concur with previous work. We then go on to study the contribution of intermediate states beyond the Virasoro identity block. We find that at late times, time-ordered correlators exhibit a familiar decoupling theorem, suppressing the contribution of higher dimension operators. However this is no longer true of the out-of-time-order correlators relevant for the discussion of quantum chaos. We compute the contributions of these conformal blocks to the relevant correlators and find they are able to dominate in many interesting limits. Interpreting these results in the context of holographic models of quantum gravity, sheds new light on the black hole information problem by exhibiting a class of correlators where bulk effective field theory does not predict its own demise.
Weird Cinema and the Aesthetics of Dread

Hauser provides a much-needed translation of the definition of the weird from H.P. Lovecraft’s 1927 treatise Supernatural Horror in Literature to the medium of cinema. He shows how the discussion of weird cinema has previously been hampered by the imprecise use of the term “Lovecraftian” and then explains how filmmakers have used the specific strengths of the cinematic medium to convey the crucial components of the weird: seriousness, the supernatural, and dread. Hauser references several films as examples of weird cinema and focuses particular attention on the aesthetics of dread in two cases: Angel Heart (1987) and It Follows (2014).
Accommodation System: Self

Abstract A domain within the accommodation system (AS) model, the Self represents the innate qualities an individual brings to employment. The Self is one of five domains comprising the AS which also includes Others, Environment, Accommodations, and Situated Experience. Each of the domains reciprocally interacts with the others. The Self is delineated in relation to employment task engagement using the conceptual frameworks of the Great 8, vocational competence, disability, and functional limitations that provide an overview of what a person with a disability brings to the employment process. The AS sets the stage for the provision of accommodation services within the context of the employment of people with disabilities.
OCT-guided integrated multimodal photoacoustic microscopy for fast scanning speed and large scanning area (Conference Presentation)

Acquiring more comprehensive information of biological samples requires imaging multiple optical contrasts, which is not typically offered by a single imaging modality. Different optical imaging modalities providing absorption, scattering and molecular information of biological tissues, have been developed and used in many biomedical investigations in the past decades. Large field-of-view (FOV) and high imaging speed are desired for all these imaging techniques. Uneven surface of a sample can lead to uneven depth focus, resulting in images with non-uniform resolution and signal intensity especially in large FOV imaging. Here, we report on our newly developed OCT-guided opto-mechanical scanning multimodal imaging system with the capability of dynamic focusing. By taking advantage of the depth resolving capability of OCT, we developed a novel OCT-guided surface contour scanning methodology for dynamic focusing during entire scanning of an uneven sample. To achieve this, we combined a fully motorized three-dimensional mechanical stage with an X-Y galvanometer optical scanner which made the imaging system suitable for fast scanning of large area. This imaging system integrates photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence microscopy in one platform providing absorption, structural and molecular information of biological tissue, respectively. Phantom, ex vivo, and in vivo imaging studies demonstrated the performance of the OCT-guided surface contour scanning scheme as well as the capability of our multimodal imaging system to provide comprehensive microscopic information on biological tissues with large FOV and fast scanning. We believe this novel multimodal imaging system has promising potential for preclinical research and clinical practice in the near future. Keywords: Multimodal optical imaging, optical microscopy, photoacoustic microscopy, optical coherence tomography, fluorescence microscopy, dynamic focusing
Plasticity and Constraints of tRNA Aminoacylation Define Directed Evolution of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases

Genetic incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) has become a powerful tool to enhance existing functions or introduce new ones into proteins through expanded chemistry. This technology relies on the process of nonsense suppression, which is made possible by directing aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) to attach an ncAA onto a cognate suppressor tRNA. However, different mechanisms govern aaRS specificity toward its natural amino acid (AA) substrate and hinder the engineering of aaRSs for applications beyond the incorporation of a single l-α-AA. Directed evolution of aaRSs therefore faces two interlinked challenges: the removal of the affinity for cognate AA and improvement of ncAA acylation. Here we review aspects of AA recognition that directly influence the feasibility and success of aaRS engineering toward d- and β-AAs incorporation into proteins in vivo. Emerging directed evolution methods are described and evaluated on the basis of aaRS active site plasticity and its inherent constraints.
Motor Cortex Stimulation

The surgical treatment of pain has many facets. Motor cortex stimulation for the treatment of chronic, neuropathic pain is effective for a specific subpopulation of patients, but overall results have been highly variable in the published literature. This chapter serves as a review for the surgical indications for motor cortex stimulation and reviews the pertinent evidence on its clinical efficacy. While it may not be appropriate for all patients, motor cortex stimulation should be considered in the repertoire for practitioners in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.
American Prophets: Seven Religious Radicals and their Struggle for Social and Political Justice: by Albert J. Raboteau, Princeton, NJ, and Oxford, UK, Princeton University Press, 2016, 224 pp., $29.95 (hb), ISBN 978-0-691-16430-4

If you develop the habit of reading broadly enough, every so often you will encounter a work that is so appealing, instructive, and still readable that you will wish that you yourself had written i...
Patients' expectations for and experiences with primary healthcare services received from a patient centered medical home

Abstract Objective Expectations for and experiences with healthcare services are summarized for 1143 patients receiving care in a statewide demonstration of Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH). Methods Patients were recruited from 91 primary care clinics for semi-structured interviews to determine what patients expect, what they plan to do and how they intend to execute their plans in partnership with their healthcare team. Results The majority (78%) of patients defined the patient-team partnership as a collaborative and problem-solving effort. Overall, 68% defined responsibility for own health as a personal responsibility; 55% defined listening to patient’s concerns and answering questions as a responsibility of their healthcare team. Diet and exercise came up most frequently whether as a personal responsibility, issues for receiving additional help from their clinic, or plans for personal change. Conclusion Patients’ preferred a collaborative, problem-solving healthcare team partnership but also had boundaries for what additional services they wanted from this team. Practice Implications: Patients’ expectations for a collaborative partnership, acceptance of personal responsibility and interest in diet and exercise expands opportunities for patient education and teamwork. Clinics’ engagement with broader resources would be needed to address patients’ many and varied challenges to taking care of their health.
Simulation study and comparative evaluation of viral contiguous sequence identification tools.

Viruses, including bacteriophages, are important components of environmental and human associated microbial communities. Viruses can act as extracellular reservoirs of bacterial genes, can mediate microbiome dynamics, and can influence the virulence of clinical pathogens. Various targeted metagenomic analysis techniques detect viral sequences, but these methods often exclude large and genome integrated viruses. In this study, we evaluate and compare the ability of nine state-of-the-art bioinformatic tools, including Vibrant, VirSorter, VirSorter2, VirFinder, DeepVirFinder, MetaPhinder, Kraken 2, Phybrid, and a BLAST search using identified proteins from the Earth Virome Pipeline to identify viral contiguous sequences (contigs) across simulated metagenomes with different read distributions, taxonomic compositions, and complexities. Of the tools tested in this study, VirSorter achieved the best F1 score while Vibrant had the highest average F1 score at predicting integrated prophages. Though less balanced in its precision and recall, Kraken2 had the highest average precision by a substantial margin. We introduced the machine learning tool, Phybrid, which demonstrated an improvement in average F1 score over tools such as MetaPhinder. The tool utilizes machine learning with both gene content and nucleotide features. The addition of nucleotide features improves the precision and recall compared to the gene content features alone.Viral identification by all tools was not impacted by underlying read distribution but did improve with contig length. Tool performance was inversely related to taxonomic complexity and varied by the phage host. For instance, Rhizobium and Enterococcus phages were identified consistently by the tools; whereas, Neisseria prophage sequences were commonly missed in this study. This study benchmarked the performance of nine state-of-the-art bioinformatic tools to identify viral contigs across different simulation conditions. This study explored the ability of the tools to identify integrated prophage elements traditionally excluded from targeted sequencing approaches. Our comprehensive analysis of viral identification tools to assess their performance in a variety of situations provides valuable insights to viral researchers looking to mine viral elements from publicly available metagenomic data.
Discovery of the Class I Antimicrobial Lasso Peptide Arcumycin.

Lasso peptides are a structurally diverse superfamily of conformationally constrained peptide natural products, of which a subset exhibits broad antimicrobial activity. Although advances in bioinformatics have increased our knowledge of strains harboring the biosynthetic machinery for lasso peptide production, relating peptide sequence to bioactivity remains a continuous challenge. To this end, genome mining investigation of Actinobacteria-produced antimicrobial lasso peptides was performed to correlate predicted structure with antibiotic activity. Bioinformatic evaluation revealed eight putative novel class I lasso peptide sequences. Fermentation of one of these hits, Streptomyces NRRL F-5639, resulted in the production of a novel class I lasso peptide, arcumycin. Arcumycin exhibited antibiotic activity against Gram-positive bacteria including Bacillus subtilis (4 μg/mL), Staphylococcus aureus (8 μg/mL), and Micrococcus luteus (8 μg/mL). Arcumycin treatment of B. subtilis liaI-β-gal promoter fusion reporter strain resulted in upregulation of the liaRS system by the promoter liaI, indicating arcumycin interferes with lipid II biosynthesis. Cumulatively, the results illustrate the relationship between phylogenetically related lasso peptides and their bioactivity as validated through the isolation, structural determination, and evaluation of bioactivity of the novel class I antimicrobial lasso peptide arcumycin.
Relationships between β-amyloid and tau in an elderly population: An accelerated failure time model.

Using positron emission tomography (PET)-derived amyloid and tau measurements from 1,495 participants, we explore the evolution of these values over time via an accelerated failure time (AFT) model. The AFT model assumes a shared pattern of progression, but one which is shifted earlier or later in time for each individual; an individual's time shift for amyloid and for tau are assumed to be linked. The resulting pattern for each outcome consists of an earlier indolent phase followed by sharp progression of the accumulation rate. APOE e4 shifts the amyloid curve leftward (earlier) by 6.1 years, and the tau curve leftward by 2.6 years. Female sex shifts the amyloid curve leftward by 2.4 years and the tau curve leftward by 2.6 years. Per-person shifts (i.e., the individual's deviation from the population mean) for the onset of amyloid accumulation ranged from 13 years earlier to 13 years later (10th to 90th percentile) than average and 11 years earlier to 14 years later for tau, with an estimated correlation of 0.49. The average delay between amyloid increase and tau increase was 13.3 years.
About Similarity-Based Logical Systems

Similarity is the basic tool in at least three cognitive tasks: classification, case-based reasoning and interpolation. In classification tasks, objects are put in the same class insofar as they are indistinguishable with respect to suitable criteria. Similarity is meant to describe indistinguishability. Case-based reasoning [Kolodner, 1993; Aamodt and Plaza, 1994] exploits the similarity between already solved problems and a new problem to be solved in order to build up a solution to this new problem. Interpolation mechanisms can be understood as reasoning methods to adapt solutions of already solved problems taking into account the proximity (similarity) between the new problem and the solved ones. Then, it is worthwhile to formalize the similarity based reasoning underlying these cognitive tasks by means of Logical Systems.
3-D maximum likelihood reconstructions of viruses from cryo electron microscope images and parallel computation

A statistical method for computing 3-D reconstructions of virus particles from cryo electron microscope images and minimal prior information - particle symmetry and radii - is described. Two different approaches for parallel implementation of the algorithm are described based on parallel processing of different images and based on parallel numerical integration and numerical results showing nearly linear speedup are presented.
The Incompatibility Problem and Religious Pluralism Beyond Hick

Religious pluralism is the view that more than one religion is correct, and that no religion enjoys a special status in relation to the ultimate. Yet the world religions appear to be incompatible. How, then, can more than one be correct? Discussions and critiques of religious pluralism usually focus on the work of John Hick, yet there are a number of other pluralists whose responses to this incompatibility problem are importantly different from Hick’s. This article surveys the solutions of Hick, Harrison, Heim, Byrne, and Knitter to the incompatibility problem. I conclude that, while none of these views is without weakness, there are several promising pluralist solutions to this problem. Moreover, confessionalists (i.e. exclusivists and inclusivists) must also address issues related to incompatibility.
Skill or Luck? Biases of Rational Agents

This paper shows why, in a world with differing priors, rational agents tend to attribute their own success more to skill and their failure more to bad luck than an outsider. It further shows why each agent in a group might think he or she is the best, why an agent might overestimate the control he has over the outcome, and why two agents' estimated contributions often add up to more than 100%. Underlying all these phenomena is a simple and robust mechanism that endogenously generates overoptimism about one's own actions. The paper also shows how these biases hinder learning and discusses some implications for organizations.
Masking and Dual-Rail Logic Don't Add Up

Masked logic styles use a random mask bit to de-correlate the power consumption of the circuit from the state of the algorithm. The effect of the random mask bit is that the circuit switches between two complementary states with a different power profile. Earlier work has shown that the mask-bit value can be estimated from the power consumption profile, and that masked logic remains susceptible to classic power attacks after only a simple filtering operation. In this contribution we will show that this conclusion also holds for masked pre-charged logic styles and for all practical implementations of masked dual-rail logic styles. Up to now, it was believed that masking and dual-rail can be combined to provide a routing-insensitive logic style. We will show that this assumption is not correct. We demonstrate that the routing imbalances can be used to detect the value of the mask bit. Simulations as well as analysis of design data from an AES chip support this conclusion.
The Twenty-First Century Jury: Worst of Times or Best of Times?

In thinking about legal developments, new research findings, and the continuing swirl of controversy over this venerable American institution, I observe the same paradoxical condition that Charles Dickens found in 18th Century London: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." There is evidence of both the expansion of jury trial rights, yet contraction of jury trials. Research evidence indicates that juries perform well, yet the 21st Century jury confronts more complex decision making tasks and continuing doubts about its fairness and competence.
Panel 1: Are Adequate Legal Frameworks in Place at the Domestic Level?Torture as a Specific Criminal Offense in Domestic Laws

the main “evidentiary basis” for my remarks, which has been made available to conference ParticiPants, includes an academic study of decisions of the committee against torture under relevant provisions of the UN Convention,1 as well as excerpts from the other relevant jurisprudence and treaties to which I will be referring. The topics I will address are: first, where does the obligation to make torture a specific offense in domestic law come from? Second, what is the scope of jurisdiction that has to be established for that offense in domestic law? Third, a description of ancillary obligations designed to ensure that torture is criminalized in practice, including mandatory investigation and arrest, as well as prosecution and extradition. In terms of the obligation itself, and the sources of the obligation, the first and perhaps oldest source is the 1949 Geneva Conventions. As you probably know, each of the Geneva Conventions includes provisions on “grave breaches.”2 Among other things, “torture” and “inhuman treatment” of prisoners, and “unlawful confinement” of civilians, are covered by those grave breaches provisions. The Conventions require that alleged perpetrators of “grave breaches” be searched for by the state, and then (in a manner that, as we will see, is similar to that eventually enacted for “torture” under the UN Convention against Torture) requires that they are either prosecuted or extradited. On the plus side, the Geneva Conventions have essentially been ratified by every country in the world. So in that sense, they are a good source. On the other hand, on their face, the grave breaches provisions only apply to international armed conflicts. Now, as regards non-international armed conflicts – whether as interpreted under U.S. Supreme Court decisions in this country or otherwise – there are other arguments for criminalization of torture under international humanitarian law in those contexts.3 But the other major limitation is that on its face, again, those grave breaches provisions apply only to the “protected persons” under each Convention, and you have to look under the Convention for the definition.4 So, as a source of obligation, the Geneva Conventions do not apply all the time, everywhere, and they do not necessarily apply to everyone. The relevant part of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights simply states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Human Rights Committee established under the treaty has, however, interpreted that provision as incorporating a requirement to bring perpetrators to justice.5 In fact, in Panel 1: Are Adequate Legal Frameworks in Place at the Domestic Level?
Sodium-induced embrittlement of an aluminum grain boundary

Primary aluminum produced industrially by electrolysis inevitably contains some sodium which is an undesired impurity element in aluminum alloys as it promotes intergranular fracture. However, the physical origins of Na-induced intergranular embrittlement in aluminum are still unclear. This work provides a comprehensive investigation of the nature of the Na-induced grain-boundary embrittlement in aluminum by means of first-principles calculations with the highly precise full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave method within the framework of the Rice-Wang thermodynamic model and within the method of ab initio tensile test. We introduce a free-surface slab model and determine the grain-boundary and free-surface energies, the most energetically favorable segregation site of Na along the Al grain boundary, its segregation energy to the Al grain boundary, and the possible fracture modes of the grain boundary with Na in the different sites and their corresponding fracture energies. We establish that Na has a large driving force $(\ensuremath{-}0.84\text{ }\text{eV}/\text{atom})$ to segregate from Al bulk to the symmetrical grain-boundary core site, and its segregation significantly reduces grain-boundary strength. We show that the method using the Rice-Wang thermodynamic model and the method of ab initio tensile test are essentially equivalent and both confirmed that Na is a strong intergranular embrittler with a potency of $+0.62\text{ }\text{eV}/\text{atom}$. Na segregation leads to grain-boundary expansion and a significant charge density decrease over the whole grain boundary. Analysis in terms of the relaxed atomic and electronic structures and bonding characters shows that the aluminum-sodium bond has ionic character and is weak in both grain-boundary and free-surface environments.
Differential gender response produced by meal and ad lib feedings of a high-fat diet in Osborne-Mendel rats.

Uhley, V. E., S. Zhong, F. Guo, A. Buison, L. Savona, A. Watkins and K-L. C. Jen. Differential gender response produced by meal and ad lib feedings of a high-fat diet in Osborne-Mendel rats. Physiol Behav 62(3) 617–622, 1997.—We investigated if there were gender differences in metabolic consequences produced by meal feeding of a high-fat (HF) diet in male and female Osborne-Mendel rats. An HF diet was fed either ad lib (AL) or in 1 meal (MF) during the last 3 h of the dark cycle for 4 weeks (lights off from 2400 h to 1200 h). All rats were sacrificed at 1 of 3 time-points: prior to MF rats receiving their food at 0900 h, after food was taken from MF groups at 1200 h or 1500 h. Food intake, body weight, body fat weight, retroperitoneal adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity, plasma cholesterol, or HDL-cholesterol levels did not differ between MF- and AL-fed groups, but were higher in male than in female rats. There were no differences between the male and female groups in plasma levels of insulin and glucose or systolic blood pressures. Plasma triglyceride levels at 1200 h were significantly different between MF and AL Groups within either gender, but this was not observed at 0900 h or 1500 h. Body weights were correlated with internal fat weights and plasma cholesterol levels in both males (r = 0.57, p < 0.05) and females (r = 0.59, p < 0.05). Hence, it is the amount of HF diet ingested, rather than the pattern of meal feeding, that was the most significant factor related to gender differences in weight gain, increases in fat mass, and metabolic differences.
Modeling Of The Venting Of A Gassy System Under Runaway Conditions

Exothermic reactions that undergo uncontrolled self-heating as a result of loss of cooling lead to a thermal runaway. Such reactions can present a serious hazard in the petrochemical (e.g. polymerisation processes) and chemical industries. They can reach excessively high rates of temperature increase, either due to production of gaseous reaction products, or the boiling of reactor contents. This temperature rise in effect leads to a pressure increase higher than the process equipment is made to withstand. Since the temperature rate rapidly increases (several hundred degrees per minute), a thermal explosion may occur followed by the release of toxic and flammable gases, if there is no venting mechanism to relieve the system of the excess pressure. The heat produced by a reaction is proportional to the volume of reaction mixture, while the cooling capacity however is a function of surface area. This has larger implications for industrial scaling, and is said to be the cause of accidents involving thermal runaways as in the well-known cases of Seveso in 1976, Bhopal in 1984 and more recently the T2 Laboratories in 2007. The prediction of the consequences of a runaway reaction in term of temperature and pressure evolution in a reactor vessel requires the knowledge of the reaction kinetics, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics inside the vessel during venting. Such phenomena and their interaction are complex and still to be fully understood, especially for those reactions in which the pressure generation is totally or partially due to the production of permanent gases (gassy or hybrid systems). Moreover, they cannot be easily determined by laboratory scale experiments. Computer modeling is a growing field of research necessary to develop methods capable of predicting the onset of a runaway reaction. Also, adequate vent sizing calculation methods are widely investigated for relief vent sizing emergency actions. The work described in this poster presents a dynamic model that simulates the behavior of a gassy system, specifically the decomposition of an 80% Cumene Hydro-Peroxide solution in aryl hydrocarbon during venting. The model provides the temperature, pressure, mass inventory and conversion profiles throughout the reaction. A sensitivity study of the model was performed in order to study the effect of various parameters on the resulting behaviour of the system before and after venting. The outcomes of this model provide a deeper insight into the improvement of emergency relief systems design for hybrid and gassy systems, where significant progress is still to be made both in the experimental and modeling areas.
P 119. Design and initiation of a department of veterans’ Affairs Cooperative Study on the use of repetative Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in treatment resistant depression

Most large studies of rTMS have targeted carefully selected populations of patients with major depression without significant comorbidities. This multi-site study (Cooperative Studies Program 556) was conceived to test the usefulness of rTMS in Veterans with treatment resistant depression as well as several medical and psychiatric comorbidities. The target population will have over 80% comorbidity for post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. The study was designed over a several year period and initiated in October 2012. A total of 360 patients at nine sites will be studied. Major concerns have included patient safety, feasibility of recruitment, and compliance with treatment. Several countermeasures designed to reduce the risk of suicide attempts, identification of potential candidates for entry into the study, and encouragement with compliance for the lengthy (at least 4-week) treatment have been developed. The study will also explore the use of nurse practitioners as the primary clinicians delivering rTMS and a full examination of the cost effectiveness of treatment will be conducted.
Compliance behaviors of elderly patients with advanced heart failure.

Although compliance behaviors of heart failure (HF) patients have become the focus of increasing scrutiny in the last decade, the prevalence of noncompliance among elderly patients with HF is poorly understood. We conducted this study to describe and compare the compliance behaviors of elderly patients (> or = 65 years) and younger patients (< 65 years) with HF on 6 prescribed activities: medical appointments, medications, diet, exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol abstinence. Data from a sample of 140 older (50%) and younger (50%) HF patients matched for genderand disease severity were collected with the HF Compliance Questionnaire and analyzed via descriptive statistics, chi-square, paired t-tests, and Pearson correlations. We found that elderly patients were more compliant with diet (77% vs 65%, p = .001) and exercise (67% vs 55%, p = .021) than were their younger counterparts. There was no difference in the other health care behaviors. Of the 70 elderly patients, 51% reported some degree of difficulty complying with exercise while 37%, 24%, and 23% had difficulty following diet, keeping follow-up appointments, and taking medications, respectively. A smaller percentage of elders continued to smoke (9%) and drink alcohol (18%). Patients were asked why they had difficulty following their health care regimens; responses varied by prescribed activity. Lastly, we found inverse relationships between perceived difficulty following and compliance with all of the 6 behaviors measured (p < .001); as difficulty increased, compliance decreased. Strategies to help older patients minimize perceived difficulties associated with health care regimens may improve compliance and long-term morbidity and mortality from HF. Assumptions about older age being related to noncompliance appear invalid in patients with HF.
Electron microscopic autoradiography in a magnetic field.

THE feasibility of electron microscopic autoradiography was suggested to us by the report of O'Brien and George1. We have tried a similar technique with tritiated thymidine in tissue culture and have found that recognition of reacted grains in the nuclear track emulsion may be greatly facilitated by their distinctive filamentous appearance, and that the intensity of labelling may be increased by exposing the grids in a strong magnetic field.
Case report 427

This 42-year-old man with a 10 year history of psychiatric disorders presented with acute changes in his mental status. Physical examination demonstrated masses over the Achilles tendons, the left knee and on the eyelids. Laboratory data demonstrated a normal serum cholesterol, normal serum uric acid, elevated serum triglycerides, and elevated cholestanol levels in the serum und urine. EEG findings were consistent with a metabolic encephalopathy. CT and M R studies were performed after a plain film study of the right ankle (Figs. 1-5). A biopsy of a tendon was performed.
Determination of birefringence and absolute optic axis orientation using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography with PM fibers

A novel polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) system was developed using polarization maintaining (PM) optical fibers and fiber coupler to measure birefringence properties of samples. Polarization distortion due to PM fibers and coupler can be calibrated with different polarization states during two consecutive A-scans. By processing the analytical interference fringe signals derived from two orthogonal polarization detection channels, the system can be used to measure phase retardation and optic axis orientation. Standard wave plates with different orientation and retardation were used as samples to test the system and calibrating method. We have also applied this system to image biological sample such as beef tendon.
Preparing Undergraduates for Paraprofessional Positions: What, Where, When, and How are Ethical Issues Taught?

Many undergraduate faculty members are concerned about what their students do after graduation. Because numerous students enter the work force after completing bachelor's degrees in psychology, individual schools have begun to survey their alumni to obtain a clearer picture of the types of jobs available to them. Although many different jobs have been reported, psychology majors are employed in a variety of human service settings. This article raises questions about undergraduate preparation in ethical issues, discusses appropriate paraprofessional roles, and suggests what should be taught, where and when it might be included in the curriculum, and how it might be covered.
Distributed adaptation algorithms for rate-controlled video multicast over shared infrastructure networks

We consider a wide-area video conferencing application where the video sources can adapt their send rates according to the available bandwidth in the network paths. We advocate a joint rate control of the sources to relieve the congestion, instead of running multiple instances of a single-source adaptation algorithm and additively superposing their results. The existing techniques work nicely with single-source trees, but do not work optimally in the case of multi-source trees with shared QoS goals. Using the well-known AIMD-based adaptation procedures, we incorporate the topology inferencing mechanism into a coordinated rate adaptation algorithm executed by the loss-experiencing sources. The paper provides a simulation based evaluation of our algorithm to corroborate the benefits.
Assessment of nondestructive measurement techniques to quantify material property degradation due to aging in light water reactor environments

Abstract The materials used in nuclear reactors are inspected periodically during the service life of the power plant to detect any degradation that might occur. These inspections follow the rules specified in Section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. These inspections are designed to detect service-induced failure mechanisms. This program is designed not to look at the detection of defects but the making of nondestructive measurements to quantify the material properties that a defect may reside in or the incipient condition(s) that may initiate a defect.
The safety of ECT in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) involves the administration of general anesthesia and assisted ventilation while the patient is apneic. Objective Care must be taken to screen for significant pulmonary dysfunction before treatment. Very little has been written about the safety and management strategy of ECT patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Method In this retrospective chart review, authors describe their experience with patients in recent years who had this disorder and were treated with ECT. Results Authors list recommendations for the pre-ECT work up and anesthetic management during and after the treatments. Conclusion Recent guidelines recommend administration of patients' prescribed inhalers on the morning of ECT treatment. Also, caution is recommended when using ECT in patients taking theophylline because this drug has been associated with prolonged seizures and status epilepticus in these patients.
Parameters and sites of brainstem stimulation capable of eliciting the rabbit nictitating membrane response.

Abstract One hundred and thirty-five different combinations of pulse amplitude, pulse width, pulse train duration, and pulse frequency were delivered to either pars oralis of the spinal trigeminal nucleus, the accessory abducens nucleus, the abducens nucleus, or the reticular formation at the level of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. The percentage of occurrence, amplitude, and latency of the rabbit nictitating membrane response were shown to be lawfully related to the parameters of stimulation. Moreover, the electrode sites were ordered from reticular formation to abducens to accessory abducens to pars oralis in terms of the increasing efficacy with which stimulation elicited the nictitating membrane response.
IL-17 signaling in host defense against Candida albicans

The discovery of the Th17 lineage in 2005 triggered a major change in how immunity to infectious diseases is viewed. Fungal infections, in particular, have long been a relatively understudied area of investigation in terms of the host immune response. Candida albicans is a commensal yeast that colonizes mucosal sites and skin. In healthy individuals, it is non-pathogenic, but in conditions of immune deficiency, this organism can cause a variety of infections associated with considerable morbidity. Candida can also cause disseminated infections that have a high mortality rate and are a major clinical problem in hospital settings. Although immunity to Candida albicans was long considered to be mediated by Th1 cells, new data in both rodent models and in humans have revealed an essential role for the Th17 lineage, and in particular its signature cytokine IL-17.
Contributions of Survey Research to Political Science

15% of those published in the American Journal of Political Science.' No other method for understanding politics is used more,2 and no other method has so consistently illuminated political science theories with political facts. Like telescopes in astronomy, microscopes in biology, and seismic, weather, and environmental sensors in the geosciences, surveys have features that make them a fundamental data collection
Tracking with two frequency-modulated reticles

A typical reticle tracker includes a single frequency-modulated (FM) reticle to encode target location. This system is not useful for tracking multiple or large targets. A system, using two FM frequency-versus-radius reticles, is presented that allows tracking of these type targets. Results of computer simulations for both the single- and double-reticle tracking systems are presented and their performance is compared and contrasted.
Thermal-based techniques for land cover change detection using a new dynamic MODIS multispectral emissivity product (MOD21)

Abstract Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) data determine the amount of net longwave radiation emitted from the Earth's surface and are therefore critical variables for studying a variety of surface–atmosphere processes over land such as evapotranspiration, land cover change, and surface composition. Because emissivity is an intrinsic property of the surface, multispectral thermal infrared emissivity data have the potential for enhancing our ability to monitor landscape changes in environmentally sensitive zones beyond what is currently possible from standard practices used today. The most common of these practices is the use of visible to short-wave infrared data, in particular the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Two algorithms are currently used to generate the LST&E products from MODIS data, but studies have identified several issues with both these algorithms that limit their usefulness for land cover change detection. These issues have been recently addressed by applying the ASTER Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm to MODIS thermal infrared data to generate LST and a dynamically varying multispectral emissivity product for bands 29, 31, and 32 at 1-km resolution. The new product (MOD21) will be released with MODIS Collection 6 during fall 2013. This study demonstrates the utility of the dynamic MOD21 multispectral emissivity product to detect land cover changes over a broad range of different Earth surface domains including land degradation in dryland regions, snow melt characteristics on glaciers and ice sheets, extreme ecosystem disturbances, and agricultural activities. The MOD21 spectral emissivity provided increased sensitivity to land cover change in a more consistent manner than is currently possible with other emissivity products and, depending on the application, standard visible to near infrared (VNIR) data. The results suggest that synergistic use of thermal and VNIR data will help us to better identify and understand changes in the Earth surface system, and reduce uncertainties in estimating their magnitudes and trends.
Isolating and engineering human antibodies using yeast surface display

This protocol describes the process of isolating and engineering antibodies or proteins for increased affinity and stability using yeast surface display. Single-chain antibody fragments (scFvs) are first isolated from an existing nonimmune human library displayed on the yeast surface using magnetic-activated cell sorting selection followed by selection using flow cytometry. This enriched population is then mutagenized, and successive rounds of random mutagenesis and flow cytometry selection are done to attain desired scFv properties through directed evolution. Labeling strategies for weakly binding scFvs are also described, as well as procedures for characterizing and 'titrating' scFv clones displayed on yeast. The ultimate result of following this protocol is a panel of scFvs with increased stability and affinity for an antigen of interest.
Long-term consequences of congenital hypothyroidism in the era of screening programmes

Newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism (CH), is one of the major achievements of medicine because early diagnosis and treatment has resulted in normal development in the vast majority of cases. However, all studies on outcome report up to 10% of patients with residual problems regarding mental development and neurological symptoms despite early diagnosis. Factors clearly associated with a less favourable outcome are late onset and an inadequate dosage of thyroid hormone substitution, a poor social-economic environment and compliance problems, while the impact of severity of CH at diagnosis on outcome is not completely settled, although most studies demonstrate a correlation between severity of hypothyroidism and poorer outcome. More recently in a few cases the molecular basis of CH has been clarified. It has become evident that, in some patients with persistent mental retardation and neurological symptoms, defects in transcription factors which are expressed in the thyroid gland as well as in the central nervous system (CNS) during embryonic development cause both defective thyroid and CNS development. The clarification of further molecular defects which affect the thyroid gland and brain development will help us to understand the poor outcome of patients with CH in the era of newborn screening and these diagnostic advances will ensure adequate counselling and care for these patients.