cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Judicial Disqualification after Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company: What's Due Process Got to Do With it?

This Essay asks and answers the question: What is the difference between the due process test for judicial disqualification established in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., and the “more rigorous” ABA disqualification test incorporated into state and federal disqualification rules?According to Caperton, the Due Process Clause mandates judicial disqualification when the circumstances offer a temptation to the average judge to abandon his or her impartiality. The ABA-based state and federal disqualification rules require that a judge avoid proceedings in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The focus of both tests is whether a “serious risk” of actual bias exists. Under the ABA test, whether a serious risk of partiality exists is gauged through the eyes of the ordinary lay person. If the due process test is also administered by the ordinary lay person, then the due process and ABA standards are identical. But that cannot be the case for the simple reason that the Supreme Court says that the tests are different. Caperton describes the ABA test as more rigorous and teaches that the ABA standard may often require the removal of a judge when due process does not. The difference between the two tests must lie in the identity of the hypothetical individual charged with assessing the likelihood that the circumstances present a serious risk of judicial bias. The average lay person is in the best position to protect the interest served by the ABA recusal standard - the public’s perception that impartial justice will be done. But when it comes to assessing the probability that a judge will actually forego his or her sworn obligation and succumb to extraneous temptations, it is the average judge who is best fitted for the job. The person on the street can assess appearances, but only a person skilled in the art of judging is in a position to evaluate what the Due Process Clause protects - the probability that actual partiality will infect the decision-making process.After establishing that the hypothetical average judge rather than the hypothetical average lay person determines disqualification issues under the Due Process Clause, the Essay illustrates how and why the average judge will view a potentially disqualifying circumstance differently than the ordinary, reasonable non-judge.
Variability of index of refraction from Large Eddy Simulations

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is able to resolve the variability of the elevated trapping layer on top of the atmospheric boundary layer and hence can be used as a tool to study the uncertainties of using refractive profiles from a mesoscale model that is normally volume averaged within the mesoscale model grid. The variability within a stratocumulus-topped boundary layer is quantified here using LES simulated thermodynamic fields. Comparisons are also made between the LES field and aircraft measurements.
Complications in common general pediatric surgery procedures

Complications related to general pediatric surgery procedures are a major concern for pediatric surgeons and their patients. Although infrequent, when they occur the consequences can lead to significant morbidity and psychosocial stress. The purpose of this article is to discuss the common complications encountered during several common pediatric general surgery procedures including inguinal hernia repair (open and laparoscopic), umbilical hernia repair, laparoscopic pyloromyotomy, and laparoscopic appendectomy.
Economic Sanctions, Procedural Rights and Judicial Scrutiny: Post-Kadi Developments

The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Kadi is of defining constitutional importance. The Court understood the EU Treaties (at the time, the EC Treaty) as establishing their own constitutional space, asserted the autonomy of EU law vis-a-vis international law and held that responses to emergencies should be handled through, rather than outside, the bounds of the EU Treaties. The judgment is predicated on liberal democratic ideals and views respect for legality as a sine qua non in times of emergency. This chapter seeks to discuss selected case law developments after Kadi. It focuses on the effect of invalidity of sanctions on third parties, issues pertaining to the validity and interpretation of Council Regulation 881/2002/EC, economic sanctions against nuclear proliferation and corresponding developments in the case law of the UK Supreme Court. It does not deal exhaustively with post-Kadi case law. Section I provides a brief introduction to the judgment in Kadi. Section II explores the effect of the ruling on third parties. Section III discusses a selection of recent case law of the Court of Justice and the General Court, and section IV explores in some detail the judgment of the UK Supreme Court in Jabar Ahmed.
Recursive formulae for the solution of simultaneous parabolic differential equations

Recursive formulae have been developed for the solu tion of the algebraic equations which result when an implicit finite difference scheme is applied to two simultaneous parabolic differential equa...
Autonomous or driver-less vehicles: Implementation strategies and operational concerns

Abstract Autonomous vehicles are expected to shift not only the driving paradigms but also the notion of vehicle ownership. Although autonomous vehicles are believed to introduce many safety, mobility, and environmental benefits, they will be initially priced relatively highly. This paper assesses the potential for circumventing this barrier by promoting a shared ownership program in which households form clusters that share the ownership and ridership of a set of autonomous vehicles. Such a program will increase the utilization rate of vehicles, making ownership of autonomous vehicles more economical. We study parameters that affect the benefits expected from autonomous vehicles, and introduce policy directions that can boost these benefits.
Cassava bread in Nigeria: the potential of 'orphan crop' innovation for building more resilient food systems

Achieving global food security sustainably is a great challenge in the 21st century. This paper proposes that orphan crop innovation has the potential to help address this need. Using the case study of cassava bread in Nigeria, it demonstrates the barriers to and mechanisms for developing innovation systems for orphan crops. It finds that the goal-oriented search for cassava bread was successful, but the wider systemic weakness that its invention was supposed to address required further interventions. Furthermore, when the benefits of a specific product do not accrue directly to the end-users, but are felt further up the supply chain, it is difficult to incentivise the private sector to invest in these types of innovation because there is no clear target market. This requires collaboration and trust between public and private sector actors, which is especially important due to ethical concerns in bridging formal technological innovation with traditional knowledge systems.
Reference ranges for rotational thromboelastometry in male Sprague Dawley rats.

A functional coagulation assay was used to investigate the extrinsic pathway of coagulation on citrated whole blood samples from healthy adult male Sprague Dawley rats using the mini cup and pin system. Reference values for coagulation parameters from forty-three animals were calculated using data obtained from the ROTEM® delta hemostasis analyzer with the EXTEM test. The following ranges, presented as the 2.5–97.5 percentiles, were established: CT [18–77], CFT [20–80], α [73–86], MCF [53–70], and ML [1–22], along with others. These reference ranges can be used in future studies in rats to identify clinically significant coagulopathies.
Local tuning biases in mouse primary visual cortex

Populations of cortical neurons responding to the same part of the visual field are shown to have similar tuning. Such local biases are consistent with the hypothesis that cortical tuning, in mouse...
Knowledge embedding in the description system omega

Omega is a description system for knowledge embedding which combines mechanisms of the predicate calculus, type systems, and pattern matching systems. It can express arbitrary predicates (achieving the power of the ω-order quantificational calculus), type declarations in programming systems (Algol, Simula, etc.), pattern matching languages (Planner, Merlin, KRL, etc.). Omega gains much of its power by unifying these mechanisms in a single formalism. Omega is based on a small number of primitive concepts. It is sufficiently powerful to be able to express its own rules of inference In this way Omega represents a self-describing system in which a great deal of knowledge about itself can be embedded. The techniques in Omega represent an important advance in the creation of self-describing systems without engendering the problems discovered by Russell Meta-descriptions (in the sense used in mathematical logic) are ordinary descriptions in Omega. Together with Jerry Barber we have constructed a preliminary implementation of Omega on the MLT. CADR System and used it in the development of an office workstation prototype.
Comparing geostatistical analyses for the identification of neighborhoods, districts, and social communities in archaeological contexts: A case study from two ancient Maya centers in southern Belize

Abstract Ancient communities are composed of social units at varying scales although these units and the geospatial methods used to define them are rarely discussed in the archaeological literature. Recent studies emphasize the presence of neighborhoods and districts in low density urban communities, increasing the need for more discussion on how these units are defined and measured. We use new and previous field and remote sensing settlement survey data of two Classic Period (AD 300–900) Maya centers located in southern Belize, Uxbenka and Ix Kuku'il, and compare several geostatistical and geospatial methods to identify the presence of neighborhoods and districts. We found that results vary based on the method and linkages they use, therefore the methods used in similar analyses will significantly impact the archaeological interpretations of settlement distributions. Using multiple methods for the identification of neighborhoods, districts, and social units within archaeological contexts enables more holistic interpretations of settlement distributions.
THE MEASUREMENT ACT IN QUANTUM PHYSICS

Until the advent of modern quantum theory with its profoundly statistical nature, most uncritical scientists probably espoused a doctrine of epistemological realism which presumed, rather boldly, that the mechanistic world described by the classical theories constituted quite literally a model, a facsimile, of ontological reality. With the empirical failures of mechanism and the striking successes of the irreducibly probabilistic quantum theory, the prevailing philosophical inclinations of physical theorists shifted during the 1920s toward epistemological idealism. Unfortunately, the considerable critical merits of the latter, an enlightened approach to science founded by Kant centuries before, were almost lost as physicists of the so-called Copenhagen school extrapolated idealism into solipsism until the orthodox natural philosophy of quantum physics had degenerated to a subjectivistic blend of physics and psychology wherein physical states of physical systems could be altered by the mere deliverance of information into the consciousness of the experimenter.
Stabilization of the hypoxia-inducible transcription Factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) in thiamine deficiency is mediated by pyruvate accumulation

Vitamin B1, or thiamine is a critical enzyme cofactor required for metabolic function and energy production. Thiamine deficiency (TD) is common in various diseases, and results in severe neurological complications due to diminished mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity and inflammation. These pathological sequelae result in apoptotic cell death in both neurons and astrocytes in distinct regions, in particular the thalamus and mammillary bodies. Comparable histological injuries in patients with hypoxia/ischemia (H/I) have also been described, suggesting a congruency between the cellular responses to these stresses. Analogous to H/I, TD stabilizes and activates Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α (HIF-1α) even without changes in physiological oxygen levels. However, the mechanism of HIF-1α stabilization in TD is currently unknown. Using a pyruvate assay, we have demonstrated that TD induces pyruvate accumulation in mouse primary astrocytes which correlates to an increase in HIF-1α expression. Additionally, we utilized an enzymatic assay for pyruvate dehydrogenase to demonstrate a reduction in catalytic activity during TD due to lack of available thiamine pyrophosphate cofactor, resulting in the observed pyruvate accumulation. Finally, a pyruvate kinase inhibitor which limited pyruvate accumulation was utilized to demonstrate the role of pyruvate accumulation in HIF-1α stabilization during TD. These results reveal that stabilization of HIF-1α protein in TD centralizes on pyruvate accumulation in mouse primary astrocytes due to metabolic disruption of PDH.
Interaction between invasive plant leaf litter and NaCl on two model amphibians

Human activities are rapidly changing natural environments, often with harmful consequences for native communities. The introduction of invasive species is particularly damaging to native communities, especially when invasive species alter the chemical environment and create novel, stressful conditions. These abiotic conditions are predicted to favor other stress-tolerant organisms, potentially shifting community abundance and diversity over time. However, few environments are free of other anthropogenic stressors (i.e., chemical contaminants), which can also influence patterns of abundance and diversity. Therefore, to understand the impacts of invasive species, we need to consider their potential interactions with other anthropogenic stressors. Towards this goal, we tested how leachates from invasive plants and road salt impacted a model amphibian that is native to the U.S. (northern leopard frog, Lithobates pipiens) and a model amphibian that is non-native to the U.S. and considered invasive in some localities (African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis). We examined the effects of native and invasive leaf litter leachate and sublethal NaCl concentrations on amphibian development, size, and tolerance to a lethal concentration of NaCl. Exposure to invasive leaf litter and sublethal NaCl both accelerated hatching time in leopard frogs, but neither affected hatching time in Xenopus. Exposure to invasive leaf litter also led to reduced mass and tolerance to lethal NaCl concentrations in the leopard frog, but had no effect on mass and led to increased tolerance to lethal NaCl concentrations in Xenopus. These findings suggest that invasive leaf litter leachate impacts these amphibian species differently, being more stressful to the leopard frog than Xenopus. Further, we demonstrate that the presence of a pollutant may augment the effect of invasive leaf litter on amphibians, highlighting the need to consider concurrent stressors in invasive species management.
Assessing the physical validity of highly-resolved simulation benchmark tests for flows undergoing phase change

Abstract Highly-Resolved Simulation (HRS) studies aimed at solving flows undergoing phase change commonly make the following two assumptions: (i) a constant interface temperature and (ii) an incompressible flow treatment in both the gas and liquid regions, with the exception of the interface. The physical validity of these assumptions is examined in this work by studying a canonical, spherically symmetric bubble growth configuration, which is a popular validation exercise in HRS papers. The reference solutions that are used to examine HRS results are based on a compressible saturated treatment of the bubble contents, coupled to a generalized form of the Rayleigh–Plesset equation, and an Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian solution of the liquid phase energy equation. Results show that HRS predictions are inaccurate during the initial period of bubble growth, which coincides with the inertial growth stage. Furthermore, this initial period becomes more significant with increasing Jakob number. A closed-form expression for a threshold time, tthreshold, is derived, beyond which the commonly employed HRS assumptions hold. Based on this threshold time, a corresponding bubble radius is obtained, namely 2 β α L t t h r e s h o l d . This radius together with a corresponding Scriven-based temperature profile provide appropriate initial conditions such that HRS treatment based on the aforementioned assumptions remains valid over a broad range of operating conditions.
Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Heineke-Mikulicz Ureteroplasty for Congenital Mid-Ureteral Stricture and Ipsilateral Distal Megaureter Repair in a Child.

Abstract Background: Congenital mid-ureteral stricture (CMUS) is a rare diagnosis almost exclusively repaired with ureteroureterostomy in infancy or early childhood. Case Report: We describe a uniq...
The future of a mourner: Seamus Heaney’s late work

ABSTRACTThroughout his career, Seamus Heaney’s poetry was often inspired by his memory of people and things that have passed away. In his late work, however, memory takes the form of mourning, and ...
BARTweb: a web server for transcriptional regulator association analysis.

Identifying active transcriptional regulators (TRs) associating with cis-regulatory elements in the genome to regulate gene expression is a key task in gene regulation research. TR binding profiles from numerous public ChIP-seq data can be utilized for association analysis with query data for TR identification, as an alternative to DNA sequence motif analysis. However, integration of the massive ChIP-seq datasets has been a major challenge in such approaches. Here we present BARTweb, an interactive web server for identifying TRs whose genomic binding patterns associate with input genomic features, by leveraging over 13 000 public ChIP-seq datasets for human and mouse. Using an updated binding analysis for regulation of transcription (BART) algorithm, BARTweb can identify functional TRs that regulate a gene set, have a binding profile correlated with a ChIP-seq profile or are enriched in a genomic region set, without a priori information of the cell type. BARTweb can be a useful web server for performing functional analysis of gene regulation. BARTweb is freely available at http://bartweb.org and the source code is available at https://github.com/zanglab/bart2.
Metastable materials discovery in the age of large-scale computation

Computational materials discovery has been successful in predicting novel, technologically relevant materials. However, it has remained focused almost exclusively on finding ground-state structures. Now that the lower-hanging fruit has been found in many fields of application, materials exploration is moving toward metastable materials: higher energy phases that are stable at practical time scales. Because of the challenges associated with predicting which phases are realistic, this class of materials has remained relatively unexplored, despite numerous examples of metastable structures with unmatched properties (e.g., diamond). This article highlights recent advances in developing computational and theoretical methods for predicting useful and realizable metastable materials. Topics discussed cover (1) the latest strategies for identifying potential metastable phases, (2) methodologies for assessing which phases can be realized experimentally, and (3) current approaches to estimate the lifetime of metastable materials.
Delayed Surgery for Acute Aortic Dissection

This chapter explores situations in which Type A dissection, which is usually and rightly considered an immediate surgical emergency, may benefit from interval or permanent sole medical management. Medical management comprises a combination of B-blockade along with afterload reduction—to decrease both blood pressure and the force of the contractile wave (dp/dt). Patients who present more than 48 h after onset of pain can safely be treated as a first morning case rather than being done in the middle of the night. Some frail patients with comorbidities, especially those over age 80 or 85, may do just as well with medical management as with high-risk urgent aortic replacement. Patients presenting with a completed stroke may do just as well or better by delaying aortic replacement until they have recovered from the stroke. So, while truly a surgical disease, Type A aortic dissection may, in very specific situations, appropriately be treated medically.
Wisconsin Institutionalism, National Planning, and Expert Authorities

This paper considers the extent to which Wisconsin Institutionalist visions of the economic role of government, of economic planning, and of expert authorities may have contributed to their marginalization and decline in the 1940s. The arc of Wisconsin thinking on the role of the state and of the economic expert is considered from Richard T. Ely through Edwin Witte. I argue that the Wisconsin economists missed an important transition in economic thought that occurred in the 1930s, when the economic-expert saviors of Progressivism gave way to the economic engineers of planning.
FastSpec: Scalable Generation and Detection of Spectre Gadgets Using Neural Embeddings

Several techniques have been proposed to detect vulnerable Spectre gadgets in widely deployed commercial software. Unfortunately, detection techniques proposed so far rely on hand-written rules which fall short in covering subtle variations of known Spectre gadgets as well as demand a huge amount of time to analyze each conditional branch in software. Moreover, detection tool evaluations are based only on a handful of these gadgets, as it requires arduous effort to craft new gadgets manually. In this work, we employ both fuzzing and deep learning techniques to automate the generation and detection of Spectre gadgets. We first create a diverse set of Spectre-V1 gadgets by introducing perturbations to the known gadgets. Using mutational fuzzing, we produce a data set with more than 1 million Spectre-V1 gadgets which is the largest Spectre gadget data set built to date. Next, we conduct the first empirical usability study of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in the context of assembly code generation without any human interaction. We introduce SpectreGAN which leverages masking implementation of GANs for both learning the gadget structures and generating new gadgets. This provides the first scalable solution to extend the variety of Spectre gadgets. Finally, we propose FastSpec which builds a classifier with the generated Spectre gadgets based on a novel high dimensional Neural Embeddings technique (BERT). For the case studies, we demonstrate that FastSpec discovers potential gadgets with a high success rate in OpenSSL libraries and Phoronix benchmarks. Further, FastSpec offers much greater flexibility and time-related performance gain compared to the existing tools and therefore can be used for gadget detection in large-scale software.
Modern shock-capturing schemes

This paper discusses some of the strategies employed for shock-capturing calculations, especially of highly compressible transient flows. In most such cases, the cost of achieving given resolution can be reduced by an order of magnitude or more by employing a grid that adapts dynamically to the evolving solution. Such a grid implies a need for data structures that are not of the simple matrix type. Advantages and disadvantages of unstructured and partly structured meshes are discussed, as well as some of the requirements for flow algorithms able to perform well on such grids.
Medical history of the pericardium. The hairy hearts of hoary heroes

Abstract The pericardium has interested outstanding physicians from the biblical past to the current era. Early observers held romantic notions about pericardial pathology, describing fibrinous pericarditis as “hair” and associating it with heroic death. Between the Renaissance and the eighteenth century, accurate observation provided the basis for recognizing the clinical signs of pericardial disease and also the pathology of cardiac tamponade and constrictive pericarditis. Modern understanding of these was established in the nineteenth century.
Load tests on drilled shaft foundations in moderately strong to strong limestone

AbstractThree drilled shaft foundations (DSFs) were constructed in moderately strong to strong limestone at the Siloam Springs Arkansas Test Site (SSATS). The embedment lengths within the limestone were 3·0, 1·5 and 2·1 m for the DSFs with diameters of 1·2, 1·8 and 1·2 m, respectively. The DSFs were instrumented to facilitate cross-hole sonic logging testing and full scale load testing using bidirectional load cells (BLCs). Lessons learned from construction included the: (1) proper concrete pouring techniques; (2) ability to retrofit improperly installed telltale instrumentation; and (3) influence of rock socket length within moderately strong to strong limestone. Recommended design, construction and testing techniques in moderately strong to strong limestone are presented. Based on the full scale testing, t–z model recommendations for weathered limestone and moderately strong to strong limestone are presented and discussed. Comparisons between measured unit side resistance and current design recommendati...
Fully automatic acquisition of taxonomic knowledge from large corpora of texts: limited-syntax knowledge representation system based on natural language

The paper presents a new method for fully automatic knowledge acquisition from large corpora of unseen texts. The approach exploits simple, efficiently, fast and reliably extractable, parsable and indepth interpretable constructs of natural language specialized to convey taxonomic knowledge. It allows one to acquire large quantities of high quality general-purpose knowledge and practically eliminates costly and error-prone human pre&post-processing. Examples of the systemacquired concepts are discussed.
Eleonore Stump: Wandering in darkness: narrative and the problem of suffering

Ivan Karamazov’s statement in The Brothers Karamazov of his “rebellion” against God has become a canonical text in modern discussions of theodicy. In that passage, Ivan’s approach to the problem of evil is marked by a few key elements. First, he focuses on particular narratives of human suffering. Second, the narratives he refers to all involve the suffering of young children. Third, the stories all end tragically after the children are unspeakably mistreated by adults. Finally, on the basis of these stories, Ivan rejects any divine plan for the universe that requires such suffering on the part of children. One could think of Eleonore Stump as, in most ways, the antithesis of Ivan Karamazov in her recent major work on the problem of suffering, Wandering in Darkness. In this book, she does follow Karamazov in making the use of narratives central to her discussion. However, she omits children from her account of human suffering, and instead focuses on stories about mentally fully functional adult human beings. These narratives all involve significant kinds of human suffering and loss, but the stories conclude positively, not tragically. Then, on the basis of such endings, Stump argues in defense of there being a justified divine purpose behind such suffering. While Ivan Karamazov rebels against God in light of specific narratives of child suffering, Stump seeks to convince her readers that God’s love and providential care is behind all cases of unwilling, innocent suffering that come to mentally fully functional adults. Before turning to the heart of her view of the problem of suffering (it is specifically the problem of suffering, rather than the problem of evil, that is her concern,) a few preliminary items need to be mentioned. Stump emphasizes that her book is, using Alvin Plantinga’s distinction, a defense and not a theodicy. She does not claim that she is articulating the “actual intentions and reasons for allowing evil on the part of God”
Abstract 12281: Matrix Remodeling in Native Atrioventricular Valves’ Leaflets in Response to Mechanical Loading

Introduction: One of the key determinants in functionality of natural heart valves is their matrix ability to properly remodel in response to the constantly varied physiological load. Any disruption in this capacity would cause improper orientation of the matrix fibers with respect to the blood flow and may result in leaflet stiffening, shortening, matrix degradation, and finally early failure of the valve. In this study, we have characterized the effect of mechanical loading on native valves’ leaflets microstructure using Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy. Methods: Fresh natural porcine tricuspid and mitral valves’ leaflets were cut and prepared for SHG microscopy. The specimens were imaged live during the relaxed and loading phases for uni- and bi-axial states. SHG images were acquired by a Zeiss laser microscope excited with 900nm laser and filtered from 450nm to 465nm. Image analysis was performed on the data using a Fourier decomposition method to mathematically seek changes in fiber orientation. Results: Figures 1A to 1C show the matrix map of a fresh porcine mitral leaflet tissue at the 40μ depth prior to loading, under uniaxial and biaxial loadings, respectively. Figures 1D to 1F show a fresh porcine tricuspid leaflet at the same depth in relaxed, uniaxial, and biaxial loadings, respectively. Figures 1G and 1H are the comparison of changes in fiber orientation versus depth in which the image was taken for mitral and tricuspid leaflets, respectively. For the mitral anterior leaflet, the fibers arrange almost in line with uniaxial load in all different depths; however, for tricuspid valve, they align with the load only in deeper layers. Both valves’ biaxial responses were similar with fibers aligning in between the two principal axes of the loads. Conclusions: This study suggests that the characteristics and the alignment of the matrix fibers in mitral and tricuspid leaflets vary in response to uniaxial but not to bi-axial mechanical loading conditions.
The IRS-signalling system: a network of docking proteins that mediate insulin action.

New molecules discovered during the past ten years have created a rational framework to understand signalling transduction by a broad range of growth factors and cytokines, including insulin. Insulin action is initiated through the insulin receptor, a transmembrane glycoprotein with intrinsic protein tyrosine kinase activity. The tyrosine kinase mediates the insulin response through tyrosine phosphorylation of various cellular substrates, in particular the IRS-proteins. During insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation, the IRS-proteins mediate a broad biological response by binding and activating various enzymes or adapter molecules. Although we are far from a complete understanding of the insulin signalling system and its failure, enough pieces of the puzzle are falling into place that mechanism-based solutions to insulin resistance encountered with type II diabetes may soon be attainable. (Mol Cell Biochem 182: 3-11, 1998)
The Relevance or Irrelevance of Weights for Confidentiality and Statistical Analyses

Sample survey weights represent a standard part of the survey statistician's repertoire, but they remain a mystery for many of those who work with survey data. They also pose a potential challenge for confidentiality protection. Much has been written about how to use weights in statistical analyses since the basic idea of weighted estimates|weighting units inversely proportional to their probability of selection|emerged from the classic paper by Horvitz and Thompson. Very little has been written about the effect of releasing survey weights on the confidentiality of survey data. The two topics are inextricably intertwined. This paper discusses both, largely from the model-based perspective, and explains what is claimed and/or known about the issue of confidentiality protection. The paper also provides a prescription for ways to deal with weights both for analysis and for disclosure limitation.
A radial basis function method for direct trajectory optimization

This paper presents a radial basis function (RBF) method to directly solve an optimal control problem with state and control constraints. The proposed method transcribes the optimal control problem into a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem via RBF parameterization of states and controls along with unequal discretization at shifted Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto (LGL) nodes. The advantage of the method is its flexibility to choose among various RBF functions for parameterization. In fact, regardless of the number of nodes and how they are selected, any RBF with invertible Gram matrix (coefficient matrix) can be arbitrarily chosen for the unique approximation of states and controls. Numerical results are provided to verify the efficiency of the method.
Man-made space weather

[1] Major geomagnetic storms produce dramatic gradients in the ionosphere's total electron content (TEC) that cause errors in GPS-dependent navigation systems, such as those used by the U. S. Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration. Here we describe the first use of GPS signals to detect large-scale gradients in TEC very similar to those found during ionospheric storms but produced instead by the exhaust gases of a large Titan rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center. The severe ionospheric perturbations of 30 April 2005, observed simultaneously by optical emission from the thermosphere and by GPS diagnostics of the ionosphere, describe a unique type of space weather effect caused by nonnatural sources.
Research Genres: “Getting done”: The Ph.D. dissertation

Introduction This and the following chapter deal with the culminating genres of doctoral education – the Ph.D. dissertation (or thesis) and its defense (or oral examination or “viva”). Interesting questions arise about the communicative purposes or use-values (Beebee, 1994) of the two genres and thus provide another opportunity to assess the merits of the genre-repurposing proposals discussed in the previous chapter. More specifically, is it more appropriate to view these communicative events (differentially) as final elements in a chain of examination genres, or to envision them as making new contributions to human knowledge and understanding? In this chapter, I do not give separate treatment to the “prior” genre of master's degree dissertations/theses. This decision does not at all derive from a belief that this genre is somehow not worthy of treatment in a volume devoted to real research genres; rather, it follows from a sense that, for a majority of master's students, the dissertation/thesis is the most sustained and complex piece of academic writing (in any language) they will undertake. As often as not, such students are uninterested in going on to write for publication but rather are looking forward, once having completed their fifty- to one-hundred-page documents, to entering or returning to a professional career in teaching, nursing, business, and so on. Of course, there are exceptions, since a minority do move on from a master's to a Ph.D. program, and another (though declining) minority achieve an academic, scholarly, or research career with a terminal master's, as is often the case in Sri Lanka (Mendis, personal communication).
On the Derivatives of Radial Positive Definite Functions

Abstract A radial positive definite function ϕ(‖ · ‖) on R d which is 2k times differentiable at zero has 2k + [(d − 1)/2] continuous derivatives away from zero, and the estimate is sharp. Furthermore, ϕ(iv)(0) ≥ 3d|ϕ″(0)|2/(d + 2) if the derivatives exist; this proves a conjecture of Paul Switzer and has implications on the smoothness of isotropic random fields and their local averages. The techniques used have evolved in geostatistics, and side results refer to Matheron's turning bands operator and the montee.
Polymorphisms of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) and peptide transporter 2 (PEPT2) genes in children with low-level lead exposure

Low-level lead exposure during early childhood has long been associated with altered neurocognitive development and diminished cognitive functions. Over nine thousand U.S. industrial facilities annually emit significant amounts of lead, creating exposure risk particularly for minority children. The mechanisms by which low-level lead exerts neurotoxic effects are poorly understood. Once absorbed, the only intervention is source removal, thus primary prevention is key. Genetic biomarkers could provide an efficient means of identifying children at greatest risk. Common functional variants of genes that alter lead's neurotoxic potential have been identified and include delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD2) and peptide transporter 2 (PEPT2*2). These polymorphisms have not been examined previously in Hispanic minority samples, or with regard to lowest level lead exposure. In 116 children of Mexican-American/Hispanic descent residing in zip codes previously designated as “high risk” for lead exposure (mean age = 8.1, S.D. = 1.9), blood lead level was measured at three time points over a 3-month period and averaged. DNA extraction was completed using buccal swab samples. The frequencies of the ALAD2 and PEPT2*2 polymorphisms observed in this sample closely approximated those previously reported for Anglo, European and Asian samples. As compared to children heterozygous for the PEPT2*2 polymorphism, and without the PEPT2*2 polymorphism, the geometric mean blood lead level of children homozygous for the PEPT2*2 polymorphism was significantly higher. In contrast to past studies, mean blood lead level of children heterozygous and homozygous for the ALAD2 polymorphism in this sample did not differ from that of children without the ALAD2 polymorphism. Higher blood lead burden in children with the PEPT2*2 mutation may suggest that this common genetic variant is a biomarker of increased vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects of lowest level lead exposure.
Listeria monocytogenes Colonization of Broiler Chickens

Abstract In three trials, a total of 108 broiler chickens were unchallenged or challenged orally with either 102 or 106 cells of Listeria monocytogenes at 1, 14, or 35 days of age. The birds were kept in separate wire-floored brooders and growout batteries, fed unmedicated broiler-starter rations ad libitum, and killed 7 days postchallenge. The ceca, duodenum, spleen, liver (including gall bladder), and a cloacal swab were sampled from each bird and were analyzed for the presence of L. monocytogenes. In Trial 1, L. monocytogenes was recovered on all sampling days, but most frequently from birds challenged when 1 day old. In Trials 2 and 3, recovery was only from birds challenged at 1 day of age. The L. monocytogenes organism was not recovered from any uninoculated control birds. There was a dose-related colonization response (106 > 102); and more recoveries were obtained from the ceca, spleen, and cloacal swabs than from the duodenum and liver.
Through the lens of race: Black and white women's perceptions of womanhood

The intersection of race and gender may create unique experiences for Black and White women in terms of work, family, domestic roles, and interpersonal relationships. Dissimilar gender-role norms may foster different perceptions of gender for these two groups of women. In the current study, we examined similarities and differences in Black and White women's perceptions of their gender using qualitative focus group methodology and grounded theory data analysis. The results identified five themes that were common to Black and White women: Gender-Based Mistreatment, Perceived Advantage, Friendships and Community, Caretaking, and Work and Family Options. One additional theme, Inner Strength, emerged only for Black women. Although many of the broad perceptions of womanhood were similar for Black and White women, analysis of the content within each theme highlighted important differences. We discuss the results in terms of how they may reflect socio-historical factors, gender discrimination, stereotypes, and gender-role norms.
Prolonged mating in the milkweed leaf beetle Labidomera clivicollis clivicollis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): a test of the “sperm-loading” hypothesis

Female milkweed leaf beetles (Labidomera clivicollis clivicollis) frequently mate with more than one male, and pairs form mating associations which last for up to 42 h in the field. I tested the hypothesis that males remaining with females for long periods of time benefit by numerically overwhelming the sperm of their competitors. Male L.c.clivicollis copulated intermittently with females throughout an 11 hour period in the laboratory. When virgin females were allowed a single copulation, 94.3% of the sperm they received were located in the spermatheca immediately afterward. Males were not sperm-depleted, for they had large numbers of sperm available after one copulation (mean=230,000±43,200); the maximal number of sperm a male transferred to a female in 24 h was 30,500. There was a positive linear relationship between the number of sperm transferred and time up to 24 h after mounting (r2=0.178, P<0.003). These data suggest that males transfer increasing numbers of sperm throughout a 24-h-period. Mating duration was the most important determinant of paternity when females were placed with one male for 24 h and another male for 6 hours. Females whose first matings were longer showed first male sperm predominance (as determined by starch-gel electrophoresis), while females whose second matings were longer showed last male sperm predominance. In view of these data, it is puzzling that males do not inseminate with large numbers of sperm immediately after mounting the female. It is possible that female refractory behaviors make insemination difficult and favor prolonged mating by male milkweed leaf beetles.
Relationship between direct and converse piezoelectric effect in a nanoscale electromechanical contact

Linear piezoelectric coupling between mechanical and electrical phenomena is extremely common in inorganic and biological materials and constitutes the basis for multiple applications. In the macroscopic case, the coupling coefficients between electric displacement and strain (direct piezoeffect) and stress and electric field (converse piezoeffect) are equal, the symmetry stemming from the existence of the corresponding thermodynamic potential. Hence, studies of electromechanical coupling provide information on strain-induced polarization change, and vice versa. This is not necessarily the case for the electromechanical coupling (or any other cross-coupled property) in the contact geometry of a scanning probe microscopy or nanoindentation experiment. In this local case, the hypothetical (unknown) thermodynamic potential $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{G}(P,\ensuremath{\psi},\dots{})$ depends not only on conventional variables (e.g., load $P$ and bias $\ensuremath{\psi}$), but also on additional free length parameters, e.g. radius of contact, $a$, or indentation depth, $h$. Here we derive the relationship between the direct and converse piezoelectric effects in the contact geometry. The implications of the established relationships for nanoscale electromechanical and piezoelectric measurements are analyzed.
Experiments on Chimney-Enhanced Free Convection

Experimental results are presented for thermal systems consisting of a vertical, parallel-plate, isothermal heat sink and a chimney. A ridge of maximum total heat transfer is observed with respect to the plate spacing and heat-sink height. The magnitude of heat transfer and the location of optima confirm prior theoretical predictions by Fisher et al. (1997) to within 11 percent. Averaged velocity measurements closely match theoretical predictions of mean velocity. Cold inflow at the chimney exit is quantified and shown to decrease overall heat transfer by approximately four percent.
Hidden Epidemic of Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Mortality and Injury From Crashes a Case of Societal Neglect?

From 1975 to 2001, the average annual number of vehicle miles driven by women of reproductive age increased from 3,721 to 8,258. This increase resulted from a combination of factors, including increased employment, population growth, urban sprawl, inadequate mass transportation, and rising affluence. Unfortunately, this boost in motor vehicle use among young women has had a major unintended consequence: it has led to a substantial increase in maternal and fetal exposure to the violence of motor vehicle crashes. Tragically, along with the higher levels of exposure of pregnant women to motor vehicle crashes have come the increasingly better understood impacts of pregnancy-related crash-associated deaths, injuries, and other adverse outcomes on pregnant women, fetuses, and infants. From a mortality perspective alone, it has been estimated that the rate of fetal deaths due to motor vehicle crashes now exceeds the rate of infant deaths due to motor vehicle crashes by a factor of 7. Yet, despite the documented risks and concerns from empirical studies, few crash and injury data systems accurately track and capture the magnitudes and trends of these events and their outcomes. This paper focuses on (a) societal changes that have led to the problem, (b) deficiencies in crash and transportation data systems that have led to its neglect, (c) the magnitude of the problem and the nature of related adverse fetal outcomes derived from recent research, and (d) steps that need to be taken to improve the tracking of pregnancy-related crashes so that they become more visible and a higher priority for transportation research and safety.
A reduced kinetic mechanism for premixed CH3Cl/air flames

Abstract A reduced kinetic consisting of nine global steps is derived to describe freely propagating flames burning mixtures of methyl chloride and methane in air. The fuel blend contains two fuels with distinct (methyl chloride and methane) thermochemical properties, whose contribution to the radical pool in the flame is different. Our objective is to (1) obtain predictions of flame speeds, particularly for rich flames, and (2) describe the gross chemistry by predicting the concentration profiles of the (a) fuels, (b) oxidizer, (c) products, in particular the C2-containing species (since halogenated flames are generally sooting), and (d) the significant atomic/radical species in the flame. Chlorine atoms available from methyl chloride inhibit the flames, resulting in lower flame speeds. The mechanism is able to predict flame speeds for flames burning rich mixtures of equal molar amounts of methyl chloride and methane in air, and for stoichiometric flames burning methyl chloride and air in the range 30%–67% methyl chloride in the methane/methyl chloride mixture. These predictions are in good agreement with simulations and measurements made in our laboratory, though large discrepancies exist in the measured flame speeds when data due to other investigators is included. The species concentration profiles obtained by using the reduced mechanism are in agreement with those predicted by the detailed mechanism from which it is derived.