cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Imaging performance of advanced QWIP focal plane arrays

Since the first demonstration of the quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) in the 1980s, there has been much progress in the application of QWIPs to the production infrared (IR) imaging systems. At this time, focal plane arrays (FPAs) made from QWIPs are readily available for insertion in IR cameras with formats as large as 640 × 480 pixels. Several organizations now have commercially available IR camera systems using QWIPs. In spite of the low single-pixel quantum efficiency relative to MCT, excellent IR imagery has been demonstrated with large format (640 × 480 pixels) single-band and moderate format (256 × 256 pixels) dual-band FPAs. With a large-format staring FPA, one can integrate the signal current for a relatively long time to produce images of similar quality to that from a scanned line array run at the same frame rate. In fact, it can be shown that due to the nature of the noise in a QWIP device, the noise performance of a QWIP FPA can be better than that of MCT FPA as long as the conversion efficiency (the product of the quantum efficiency and the photoconductive gain) is high enough for the read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) integration capacitor to be filled in a frame time. In this chapter the results of laboratory and field tests on large-format single-color QWIP FPAs operating in the LWIR band and dual-band FPAs operating in both the MWIR and LWIR bands simultaneously will be shown. Single-color and dual-band arrays will be shown to give excellent imaging performance and that dual-band FPAs offer unique capabilities to investigate the phenomenology of targets and backgrounds. The performance of the FPAs will be presented from a system performance perspective over a wide range of operating conditions (temperature, bias, integration time, etc.). Results of measurements of noise-equivalent temperature difference (NEΔT), minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD measured as a function of target spatial frequency), responsivity, and dark current will be reported. Imagery collected in the field will show the utility of large-format LWIR FPAs for increasing the range at which targets can be identified over previous-generation scanning imagers. Dual-band imagery collected using a QWIP FPA will show how such an array as part of a future imaging system may be able to exploit differences in the IR signatures of targets and backgrounds in the MWIR and LWIR bands to enhance the visibility of targets in cluttered environments. We also show how such an array can be used to make accurate remote temperature measurements. Finally, we will compare the performance of state-of-the-art FPAs made from QWIPs and MCT.
Improving the model development process: expanding our horizons in verification, validation, and accreditation research and practice

Many different types of modeling and simulation (M&S) applications, consisting of a combination of software, hardware, and humanware, are used in dozens of disciplines under diverse objectives including acquisition, analysis, education, entertainment, research, and training. Certification of sufficient accuracy of an M&S application by conducting verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A) requires multifaceted knowledge and experience, and poses substantial technical and managerial challenges for researchers, practitioners, and managers. The challenges can only be met by using a very broad spectrum of approaches and expanding our horizons in VV&A. This paper presents 13 strategic directions to meet those challenges. The strategic directions provide guidelines for successful VV&A research and practice.
Child Support Guidelines Will They Make a Difference

This article uses data from the Current Population Survey to examine the extent to which the new child support guidelines being developed by the states in response to the Child Support Amendments of 1984 and the Family Support Act of 1988 can be expected to increase child support awards and payments. The analysis focuses on the guidelines being developed in Wisconsin, Colorado, and Delaware, which are representative of those being implemented nationwide. The results suggest that the new guidelines will increase child support payments by somewhere between 47% and 54%. Child support awards are predicted to increase by between 77% and 88%, depending on the guideline being considered. Compliance with the new guidelines is predicted to be modest, averaging 61% across marital status groups, but this evidence on compliance is very tentative because it is based on an analysis of the current system and the results may not carry over to the new system.
Dynamic optical turn-off control of a high-voltage SiC MOSFET

This paper presents a novel self-contained optical turn-off control method for high-voltage SiC MOSFETs, used in the next generation high-power and high-frequency power-electronics applications. Turn-off control decreases the turn-off voltage overshoot and ringing caused by adverse current slope and controls turn-off dv/dt to reach the optimal or desired point in terms of electro-magnetic interference (EMI), switching losses, and device stress. In contrast to other works, the proposed control method dynamically and independently controls the turn-off dv/dt as well as turn-off voltage overshoot and ringing in different operating conditions using a single circuit. The moment of transition between dv/dt and voltage overshoot control is accurately initiated by a delay compensation circuit based on turn-off dv/dt. Another feature of the presented work is using a high-frequency laser driver, laser and optical link to send the control signal to a hybrid package consisting of a SiC MOSFET being triggered using two optically-trigged power transistors (OTPTs). The direct optical link precludes the possibility of signal corruption by external EMI. Further, optical (intensity) modulation of the OTPTs, which charge and discharge the SiC MOSFET's gate, enable variable charging and discharging response times for the SiC MOSFET. The proposed control circuit operation and advantages are presented and verified by experimental and numerical results.
Inhibiting mild steel corrosion from sulfate-reducing and iron-oxidizing bacteria using gramicidin-S-producing biofilms

A gramicidin-S-producing Bacillus brevis 18-3 biofilm was shown to reduce corrosion rates of mild steel by inhibiting both the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfosporosinus orientis and the iron-oxidizing bacterium Leptothrix discophora SP-6. When L. discophora SP-6 was introduced along with D. orientis to a non-antimicrobial-producing biofilm control, Paenibacillus polymyxa ATCC 10401, a corrosive synergy was created and mild steel coupons underwent more severe corrosion than when only D. orientis was present, showing a 2.3-fold increase via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and a 1.8-fold difference via mass-loss measurements. However, when a gramicidin-S-producing, protective B. brevis 18-3 biofilm was established on mild steel, the metal coupons were protected against the simultaneous attack of D. orientis and L. discophora SP-6. EIS data showed that the protective B. brevis 18-3 biofilm decreased the corrosion rate about 20-fold compared with the non-gramicidin-producing P. polymyxa ATCC 10401 biofilm control. The mass loss for the protected mild steel coupons was also significantly lower than that for the unprotected ones (4-fold decrease). Scanning electron microscope images corroborated the corrosion inhibition by the gramicidin-S-producing B. brevis biofilm on mild steel by showing that the metal surface remained untarnished, i.e., the polishing grooves were still visible after exposure to the simultaneous attack of the sulfate-reducing bacterium and the iron-oxidizing bacterium.
Creation of Dipolar Vein Graft from Bifid Saphenous Vein System

The fabrication of a vein graft suitable for distal reconstruction of the lower extremity utilizing a section of bifid saphenous vein system is described. The configuration of the graft resembles a dipole antenna when splayed open, and hence, the name dipolar vein graft
iRobot: an intelligent crawler for web forums

We study in this paper the Web forum crawling problem, which is a very fundamental step in many Web applications, such as search engine and Web data mining. As a typical user-created content (UCC), Web forum has become an important resource on the Web due to its rich information contributed by millions of Internet users every day. However, Web forum crawling is not a trivial problem due to the in-depth link structures, the large amount of duplicate pages, as well as many invalid pages caused by login failure issues. In this paper, we propose and build a prototype of an intelligent forum crawler, iRobot, which has intelligence to understand the content and the structure of a forum site, and then decide how to choose traversal paths among different kinds of pages. To do this, we first randomly sample (download) a few pages from the target forum site, and introduce the page content layout as the characteristics to group those pre-sampled pages and re-construct the forum's sitemap. After that, we select an optimal crawling path which only traverses informative pages and skips invalid and duplicate ones. The extensive experimental results on several forums show the performance of our system in the following aspects: 1) Effectiveness - Compared to a generic crawler, iRobot significantly decreases the duplicate and invalid pages; 2) Efficiency - With a small cost of pre-sampling a few pages for learning the necessary knowledge, iRobot saves substantial network bandwidth and storage as it only fetches informative pages from a forum site; and 3) Long threads that are divided into multiple pages can be re-concatenated and archived as a whole thread, which is of great help for further indexing and data mining.
Analysis of Spatial Similarities Between NEXRAD and NLDAS Precipitation Data Products

Precipitation is one of the key inputs for hydrological modeling. Although the Multisensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) from NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar) and the NLDAS (North American Land Data Assimilation System) precipitation data have been extensively used in various hydrological and climatic studies, there has been no systematic investigation of the spatial similarities and differences between them, based on long-term time series data over a large spatial region. In this study, six years of hourly and daily precipitation time series data from NEXRAD and NLDAS were investigated for their spatial similarities, over a subregion of the Ohio River basin. Three spatial metrics were used: Cohen's Kappa coefficient, Forecast Quality Index (FQI), and displacement-based Forecast Quality Measure (FQM). The three metrics were also applied to the two data products after stratification by season (warm, cold). Results show that significant differences exist between NEXRAD MPE and NLDAS. Analyses and discussions are presented on possible causes of the dissimilarities. In addition, results show that a single metric cannot adequately represent their spatial characteristics. The three metrics are complementary to each other and, when used jointly, can provide a more complete picture of the similarities and differences between the two precipitation products. However, if a single metric is desired, then a more comprehensive one needs to be developed to effectively account for magnitude, distance, shape, and neighborhood effects.
Survival of Adult Female Elk in Yellowstone Following Wolf Restoration

Counts of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming and adjacent Montana, USA, have decreased at an average rate of 6–8% per year since wolves (Canis lupus) were reintroduced in 1995. Population growth rates of elk are typically sensitive to variations in adult female survival; populations that are stable or increasing exhibit high adult female survival. We used survival records for 85 radiocollared adult female elk 1–19 years old to estimate annual survival from March 2000 to February 2004. Weighted average annual survival rates were approximately 0.83 (95% CI = 0.77–0.89) for females 1–15 years old and 0.80 (95% CI = 0.73–0.86) for all females. Our estimates were much lower than the rate of 0.99 observed during 1969–1975 when fewer elk were harvested by hunters, wolves were not present, and other predators were less numerous. Of 33 documented deaths included in our analysis, we attributed 11 to hunter harvest, 14 to predation (10 wolf, 2 unknown, 1 cougar [Puma concolor], and 1 bear [Ursus sp.]), 6 to unknown causes, and 2 to winter-kill. Most deaths occurred from December through March. Estimates of cause-specific annual mortality rates were 0.09 (0.05–0.14) for all predators, 0.08 (0.04–0.13) for hunting, and 0.07 (0.03–0.11) for wolves specifically. Wolf-killed elk were typically older (median = 12 yr) than hunter-killed elk (median = 9 yr, P = 0.03). However, elk that winter outside the park where they were exposed to hunting were also younger (median = 7 yr) than elk that we did not observe outside the park (median = 9 yr, P < 0.01). Consequently, differences in ages of elk killed by wolves and hunters may reflect characteristics of elk exposed to various causes of mortality, as well as differences in susceptibility. Unless survival rates of adult females increase, elk numbers are likely to continue declining. Hunter harvest is the only cause of mortality that is amenable to management at the present time.
A statistical model for microarrays, optimal estimation algorithms, and limits of performance

DNA microarray technology relies on the hybridization process, which is stochastic in nature. Currently, probabilistic cross hybridization of nonspecific targets, as well as the shot noise (Poisson noise) originating from specific targets binding, are among the main obstacles for achieving high accuracy in DNA microarray analysis. In this paper, statistical techniques are used to model the hybridization and cross-hybridization processes and, based on the model, optimal algorithms are employed to detect the targets and to estimate their quantities. To verify the theory, two sets of microarray experiments are conducted: one with oligonucleotide targets and the other with complementary DNA (cDNA) targets in the presence of biological background. Both experiments indicate that, by appropriately modeling the cross-hybridization interference, significant improvement in the accuracy over conventional methods such as direct readout can be obtained. This substantiates the fact that the accuracy of microarrays can become exclusively noise limited, rather than interference (i.e., cross-hybridization) limited. The techniques presented in this paper potentially increase considerably the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), dynamic range, and resolution of DNA and protein microarrays as well as other affinity-based biosensors. A preliminary study of the Cramer-Rao bound for estimating the target concentrations suggests that, in some regimes, cross hybridization may even be beneficial-a result with potential ramifications for probe design, which is currently focused on minimizing cross hybridization. Finally, in its current form, the proposed method is best suited to low-density arrays arising in diagnostics, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection, toxicology, etc. How to scale it to high-density arrays (with many thousands of spots) is an interesting challenge.
Modeling of a helicon plasma source

Summary form given only, as follows. The helicon plasma discharge has proven to be a robust and efficient plasma source, which has been extensively studied. However, recent experiments with the space propulsion-oriented helicon source show new interesting data. VX-10 experiment demonstrates different performance of the discharge for pure hydrogen, deuterium and helium. Even more puzzling behavior was observed for two-gas mixtures. To study the helicon discharge we have developed zero dimensional models, which allow calculating main parameters of neutral gas and plasma species. Each of these models includes a set of dozen strongly coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations, which account for important plasma chemistry in the volume and for wall/boundary effects. This model is bundled with a separate 1D-model for a mixed collisional neutral gas flow in the volume of the helicon source. We use both models to explain various experimental observations and scans, to identify of the channels of mass and energy loss, and to give recommendations for the performance gain of the plasma source. Finally, we will present further improved fully kinetic model for the collisional gas and plasma dynamics in the discharge during continuous RF heating in the non-uniform magnetic field. Its results demonstrate importance of the kinetic corrections due to strong deviation of the distribution functions of all species from the Maxwellian, in agreement with the RPA data.
Reversal of β cell de-differentiation by a small molecule inhibitor of the TGFβ pathway

Dysfunction or death of pancreatic β cells underlies both types of diabetes. This functional decline begins with β cell stress and de-differentiation. Current drugs for type 2 diabetes (T2D) lower blood glucose levels but they do not directly alleviate β cell stress nor prevent, let alone reverse, β cell de-differentiation. We show here that Urocortin 3 (Ucn3), a marker for mature β cells, is down-regulated in the early stages of T2D in mice and when β cells are stressed in vitro. Using an insulin expression-coupled lineage tracer, with Ucn3 as a reporter for the mature β cell state, we screen for factors that reverse β cell de-differentiation. We find that a small molecule inhibitor of TGFβ receptor I (Alk5) protects cells from the loss of key β cell transcription factors and restores a mature β cell identity even after exposure to prolonged and severe diabetes.
Prospects for Managing Turfgrass Pests with Reduced Chemical Inputs

Turfgrass culture, a multibillion dollar industry in the United States, poses unique challenges for integrated pest management. Why insect control on lawns, golf courses, and sport fields remains insecticide-driven, and how entomological research and extension can best support nascent initiatives in environmental golf and sustainable lawn care are explored. High standards for aesthetics and playability, prevailing business models, risk management–driven control decisions, and difficulty in predicting pest outbreaks fuel present reliance on preventive insecticides. New insights into pest biology, sampling methodology, microbial insecticides, plant resistance, and conservation biological control are reviewed. Those gains, and innovations in reduced-risk insecticides, should make it possible to begin constructing holistic management plans for key turfgrass pests. Nurturing the public's interest in wildlife habitat preservation, including beneficial insects, may be one means to change aesthetic perceptions an...
Reconsidering Wilderness: Prospective Ethics for Nature, Technology, and Society

In this paper I seek to reconsider wilderness against recent critiques that portray it as necessarily contributing to a separation between nature and society. By examining the historical and contemporary contexts for designating wilderness areas in the United States, I propose that these wilderness lands and their particular constraints on the use of certain technologies may in fact present integrative, open spaces for considering how to live ethical, technological lives in contemporary society. An examination of actual wilderness practices illustrates how wilderness regulations may support a more democratic politics of technology and help develop an ethic grounded in fairness, humility, and restraint.
The Transuranium Analytical Laboratory's Support for Production of Transcurium Isotopes during Campaign 74 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the production, storage, and distribution center for the heavy-element research program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The REDC and the neighboring High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) were built to produce quantities of transuranium elements for use in national and international research programs and since 1966 has been the main center of production for transcurium elements in the United States. In 2009, REDC successfully completed Campaign 74, its latest Bk-249/Cf-252 production campaign. The Transuranium Analytical Laboratory (TAL), located within REDC, provides the needed chemical and radiochemical analyses on a wide variety of nuclear matrixes in support of these production campaigns of transcurium isotopes. Titrations, dissolutions, separations, and dilutions of high activity samples are completed in hot-cells and glove-boxes in preparation for analytical radiochemistry determinations completed at the TAL ...
Metagenomic Analysis of Apple Orchard Soil Reveals Antibiotic Resistance Genes Encoding Predicted Bifunctional Proteins

ABSTRACT To gain insight into the diversity and origins of antibiotic resistance genes, we identified resistance genes in the soil in an apple orchard using functional metagenomics, which involves inserting large fragments of foreign DNA into Escherichia coli and assaying the resulting clones for expressed functions. Among 13 antibiotic-resistant clones, we found two genes that encode bifunctional proteins. One predicted bifunctional protein confers resistance to ceftazidime and contains a natural fusion between a predicted transcriptional regulator and a β-lactamase. Sequence analysis of the entire metagenomic clone encoding the predicted bifunctional β-lactamase revealed a gene potentially involved in chloramphenicol resistance as well as a predicted transposase. A second clone that encodes a predicted bifunctional protein confers resistance to kanamycin and contains an aminoglycoside acetyltransferase domain fused to a second acetyltransferase domain that, based on nucleotide sequence, was predicted not to be involved in antibiotic resistance. This is the first report of a transcriptional regulator fused to a β-lactamase and of an aminoglycoside acetyltransferase fused to an acetyltransferase not involved in antibiotic resistance.
Indentation of elastically anisotropic half-spaces by cones and parabolae of revolution

Indentation of ceramic materials with smooth indenters such as parabolae of revolution and spheres can be conducted in the elastic regime to relatively high loads. Ceramic single crystals thus provide excellent calibration media for load-and depth-sensing indentation testing; however, they are generally anisotropic and a complete elastic analysis is cumbersome. This study presents a simplified procedure for the determination of the stiffness of contact for the indentation of an anisotropic half-space by a rigid frictionless parabola of revolution which, to first order, approximates spherical indentation. Using a similar approach, a new procedure is developed for analysing conical indentation of anisotropic elastic media. For both indenter shapes, the contact is found to be elliptical, and equations are determined for the size, shape and orientation of the ellipse and the indentation modulus.
USE OF FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION DETECTION FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF FLUOPEPTIDE™ BINDING TO G PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTORS

ABSTRACTG protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the single largest molecular target of therapeutic drugs currently on the market, and are also the most common target in high throughput screening assays designed to identify potential new drug candidates. A large percentage of these assays are now formatted as radioligand binding assays. Fluorescence polarization ligand binding assays can offer a non-rad alternative to radioligand binding assays. In addition, fluorescence polarization assays are a homogenous format that is easy to automate for high throughput screening. We have developed a series of peptide ligands labeled with the fluorescent dye BODIPY® TMR whose binding to GPCRs can be detected using fluorescence polarization methodology. BODIPY® TMR has advantages over the more commonly used fluorescein dye in high throughput screening (HTS) assays due to the fact that its excitation and emission spectra are red-shifted approximately 50 nm relative to fluorescein. Assays based on BODIPY® TMR ligan...
Studies of the enzymic mechanism of the metabolism of diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphorothionate (parathion) by rat liver microsomes

Abstract 1. The metabolism of parathion by rat liver microsomes is affected by various enzyme inhibitors in a manner quite typical of the `mixed-function oxidase' enzyme systems. 2. With many of these inhibitors (p-chloromercuribenzoate, Cu2+, 8-hydroxyquinoline) the conversion of parathion into diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate is less inhibited than conversion into diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (paraoxon). 3. Compounds containing reduced sulphur stimulate the overall metabolism of parathion. However, the conversion of parathion into diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate is stimulated more than its conversion into paraoxon. 4. The metabolism of parathion to diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate is also stimulated by EDTA, Ca2+ and Ba2+, but these stimulatory effects are not additive. 5. The electron acceptors FAD, riboflavine, menadione and methylene blue exhibit a concentration-dependent differential inhibition of the metabolism of parathion to diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate and to paraoxon. 6. The concentration of parathion required for the half-maximal rate of production of diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate is significantly different from the concentration required for half-maximal rate of production of paraoxon. 7. The results are discussed in terms of either two separate enzyme systems metabolizing parathion to diethyl hydrogen phosphorothionate and to paraoxon or two different binding sites for parathion, which share a common electron-transport pathway.
THREE DIMENSIONAL FLOW SEPARATION

Separation of three-dimensional flow, although much more common than its two-dimensional counterpart, has defied precise description and definition in spite of numerous attempts. Here, we briefly review the grammar that is used to describe various facets of the phenomenon, and use some recent numerical and experimental results to illustrate the outstanding difficulties of the subject.
Investigation of n-pentane pyrolysis at elevated temperatures and pressures in a variable pressure flow reactor

Abstract Thermally cracking fuel in a fuel processing facility or undergoing pyrolysis in the anode channel of a fuel cell can lead to coke deposition. The formation of coke occurs via chemical kinetic pathways that are largely dependent on poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The formation of PAH⿿s largely depends on species which include ethylene, acetylene, butadiene, benzene and toluene. Pentane is a relatively simple structure for modeling purposes, yet large enough that it produces some of the relevant chemistry of real fuels. Experiments were conducted in a newly designed variable pressure flow reactor (VPFR) built to process both liquid and gaseous reactants at pressures to 4.0 MPa and temperatures to 1373 K. The VPFR was initially validated via ethane pyrolysis experiments and comparing the results with existing literature data. Pentane experiments were done over a range of temperatures (923⿿1073 K), pressures (1⿿2.0 MPa) and residence times (30 ms⿿40 s). The product selectivity appeared to be greatest influenced by pressure and level of fuel conversion. Pressure increases ethylene production but has an inverse effect on ethane production. Soot precursors appeared at higher levels of conversion. The results of the experiments were compared to an existing chemical kinetic mechanism with good agreement.
Property Tax Initiatives in the United States

This study reviews the history of property tax initiatives in the United States. Major initiatives include California's Proposition 13, Florida's "Save Our Homes" amendment, and Massachusetts' Proposition 2½. Enacting some type of limitation is most appealing when taxpayers feel overtaxed and underserved. There is some evidence to show that tax and expenditure limitations do bring local governments more in line with voter preferences. Tax limitation initiatives are often funded by vested special interests and are not pure grassroots movements. Studies show that tax limitation initiatives have a negative effect on education through lower teacher salaries and lower student test scores. Studies also show that other public service areas such as fire protection are also negatively affected.
Interactive model of Purcell-Dicke enhancement

We compute the design parameters that maximize the cooperative decay rate (CDR) from a nanosphere of identical two-level atoms phased to radiate coherently (Dicke enhancement), encased in a shell of a noble metal (Purcell effect), the whole suspended for mechanical support in a dielectric medium extending to infinity. Both the radiating core and the metallic shell are described internally by their respective frequency-dependent dielectric functions. (In previous papers one or the other medium was given a fixed dielectric constant.) The solution is noticeably altered, and the enhancement increased, when both media respond interactively to one another.
OII-A-4

BACKGROUND Conventional parametric estimates to assess dose proportionality (DP) are sometimes unreliable due to outliers and/or variability from model assumptions. A confidence interval (CI)-based approach using FDA bioequivalence criteria (0.80–1.25) has been proposed to assess DP in contrast to the power-law method (Smith, et al, 2000). Evaluation of robust methods was performed to determine if they improved estimation reliability and statistical inference. METHODS Conventional methods of ordinary least squares regression (OLS) for independent data and mixed-effects procedure for longitudinal data, and robust methods including Huber's Estimation, Least Trimmed Regression (LTS) and Least Absolute Deviation Regression (L1) for independent data and the recently developed Robust Estimation Equations (REE) (Hu, et al, 2001) for longitudinal data were applied to area under the curve (AUC) data from a parallel-group study and a fixed-sequence study. Monte Carlo simulation was used to compare the power in detecting dose proportionality for different estimation approaches. RESULTS The results are shown in Table 1 and Table 2. Table 1. Parallel-group design evaluated by different estimation approaches Methods Slope 90% CI: Lower limit 90% CI: Upper limit Dose proportionality (DP) Note: Acceptance interval for slope is (0.8219, 1.1781). OLS 1.1910 1.0194 1.3680 DP is suggested Huber 1.1002 0.9974 1.2030 DP is suggested LTS 1.1054 0.9895 1.2214 DP is suggested L1 1.1499 1.0427 1.2573 DP is suggested Table 2. Fixed-sequence design evaluated by different estimation approaches Methods Slope 90% CI: Lower limit 90% CI: Upper limit Dose proportionality (DP) Note: Acceptance interval for slope is (0.8219, 1.1781). PROC MIXED 1.2487 1.1829 1.3145 non-DP is documented %REE Macro 1.1451 1.0714 1.2188 DP is suggested CONCLUSIONS Robust methods based on CI estimation tend to lessen the impact of outliers or other departures from normality and could improve dose proportionality assessment. Further research is ongoing to study the magnitude of the power reduction in detecting dose proportionality of conventional (power-law) estimation against robust methods. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 79, P4–P4; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2005.12.013
ECLOUD in PS2, PS+, SPS+

We present a preliminary but broad assessment of the ecloud build-up for the various proposed upgrades of the LHC and its injectors. The study pertains only to the ecloud in bending dipole magnets, and does not shed any light on the effects of the electrons on the beam. We focus on the ecloud heat load, although we have computed many other quantities of interest. The basic variable used to classify our results is the bunch spacing tb, whose values are 12.5, 25, 50 and 75 ns. The ecloud heat load follows an inverse relation to tb both for the LHC and for the injectors, with tb = 12.5 ns being by far the least favorable case. Although tb = 75 ns is the most favorable case, the 50-ns option comes closely behind. A simulated comparison of copper vs. stainless steel shows a clear advantage of the former over the latter. Somewhat surprisingly, a comparison of gaussian vs. flat longitudinal bunch profile does not show a clear winner, at least for the LHC at tb = 50 ns. We describe the strengths and limitations of our calculations.
Topics of conflict and patterns of aggression in romantic relationships

This study examined the association between conflict and aggression over time in romantic, heterosexual relationships. Interviews were conducted with 31 individuals who reported experiencing aggression during conflicts. By employing the Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) and a qualitative approach, the data analysis revealed that “problematic behavior of partner” was the most frequently reported of the nine topics of conflict associated with the use of aggression. Additionally, five patterns of aggression (escalating, declining, stable, cyclical, and oscillating) were inductively derived from the participants’ RIT graphs. The conclusion discusses the theoretical and practical importance of a processual conflict model of interpersonal aggression.
Confusion in the Cockpit: Typology, Antecedents, and Sources

Persistent and pervasive, pilot confusion reigns as the most frequently reported, yet under-investigated, human factor in aviation mishaps. Using Aviation Safety Reporting System incident reports with pilot self-appraisal of confusion, the current study analyzed pilot confusion, and the relationships of confusion-related antecedents, conditions, and events. Results indicated that types and patterns of pilot confusion exist, and these can be classified in the context of operational-specific conditions and the nature of the confusing events. Results further revealed that when both pilots experienced confusion during the same event, it was not inherently shared confusion. Crew configuration and phase of flight were associated, as well as phase of flight and type of confusion. Significant differences were revealed in the human factors, contributing factors, and primary problems associated with incidents of pilot confusion. A novelty matrix for classifying incidents was evaluated, and revisions recommended for...
Robotic repositioning of human limbs via model predictive control

Robots that effectively manipulate the human body could potentially be useful in a wide variety of applications, including assistive applications for people with disabilities. Toward this end, we present a method to enable robots to compliantly manipulate human limbs. Our approach uses model predictive control (MPC). Given an action by the robot, the model predicts how the human body will move and what forces the robot will apply to the human body. The robot uses this model to optimize its actions to achieve desired motions of the human body while controlling applied forces. This optimization is subject to various constraints, including constraints to avoid hyperextension of the human's joints and to avoid slipping of the robot's end effectors. In this paper, our controller uses a quasistatic model of the human limb in contact with the robot's end effectors, which have linear Cartesian stiffness with respect to Cartesian equilibrium positions. We evaluated our approach in simulation with the specific task of lifting the leg of a human body in a supine position (i.e., lying down). In our tests, we varied the goal configuration for the human leg, the stiffness of the robot's two end effectors, and the model error (i.e., the difference between the controller's model of the human body and the actual human body). Our evaluation demonstrates the feasibility of our approach, since our controller performed well in terms of the forces the robot applied to the human leg and the human leg's motions.
Semiconductor optical amplifiers at 2.0-μm wavelength heterogeneously integrated on silicon

We report the first semiconductor optical amplifiers at 2.0-μm wavelength, heterogeneously integrated by bonding an InP-based active region to silicon. On-chip gain larger than 10 dB is observed at 20°C over a 40-nm bandwidth.
Mandatory Medical Arbitration: The Wrong Answer to the Rising Cost of Health Care in Utah

Few pieces of legislation draw attention from the public, and in the increasingly hurried Utah legislative process legislators themselves have little time to analyze each bill. In 2003, the Utah State Legislature passed Senate Bill 138, which allowed physicians to deny care to patients that refused to sign a mandatory and binding arbitration agreement. In passing the legislation, legislators relied heavily on claims that increasing medical malpractice insurance premiums were due to skyrocketing medical malpractice lawsuits, and inordinate awards from â€œrunawayâ€ juries. In doing so, the true scope and cause of the increasing insurance premiums were overlooked. Just months later Intermountain Health Care adopted mandatory arbitration for more than 170,000 of its patients. The public response to IHCâ€™s policy was swift and severe, resulting in the repeal of mandatory arbitration only one year later during the 2004 Legislative Session. While the Legislature should be commended for their quick repeal of mandatory arbitration, given the rushed environment of the Utah legislative process the public can expect such legislative errors to occur in the future
A semantic model for action-based adaptive security

This paper presents a semantic model to represent topology-based security requirements, recommend measures to address any possible security violations, and thus make the underlying systems compliant with its security requirements. The proposed action-based model is capable of adaptively adjusting the topological model of a given system in response to changes in the structure of its operational environment. The proposed framework benefits from non-monotonic reasoning to reason about possible execution paths and hence recommend actions to prevent security requirements violations. The results of our case studies show that using the proposed approach to enforce security measures, not only can we detect possible security violations caused by changes in the structure of operational environment, but also recommend actions to address possible violations.
Abstract SY24-01: High-throughput CTC detection for noninvasive cancer monitoring

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) provide a noninvasive source of patient-derived material to repeatedly sample cancer cells during the course of therapy, assessing changes in tumor burden, genetic composition, and transcriptional and RNA-based abnormalities. While some CTCs are viable and tumorigenic ex vivo, the majority of these cells die in the circulation, and some localized cancers with vascular invasion appear to shed CTCs long before the initiation of metastatic lesions. CTC detection therefore also offers an opportunity for early cancer detection. Two major technologic hurdles have limited the broad clinical application of CTC analyses: 1) the capture of these rare cells, estimated at approximately one tumor cell per billion normal blood cells in the circulation; and 2) the complex imaging criteria required for scoring rare and heterogeneous tumor cells using antibody-dependent staining. To address the primary challenge of capturing rare CTCs admixed with large numbers of normal blood cells, we have previously described a microfluidic device, the CTC-iChip, capable of high throughput depletion of normal hematopoietic cells, producing an output that is highly enriched for CTCs. This negative-depletion strategy enables isolation of CTCs across most types of cancer, independent of cell surface markers, and it ensures the highest quality of cellular RNA for downstream molecular analyses. To address the secondary challenge of imaging CTCs using accurate and high throughput platforms, we took advantage of the intact cancer cell–derived transcriptome within microfluidically enriched cancer cells to establish digital PCR platforms, capable of highly sensitive, reliable, and robust detection of CTCs from different cancer types. As proof of principle, we tested the application of such a digital CTC detection in patients with hepatocellular cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma, demonstrating accurate measurement of tumor burden and associated RNA-based alterations and genotypes, as well as cancer cell–derived predictive markers of drug response. Taken together, the digital scoring of CTCs from microfluidically enriched blood cell populations provides a high throughput and highly quantitative platform for serial noninvasive monitoring of cancer. For future early cancer detection applications, the use of intact cancer cells in the circulation as a source of molecular markers may help distinguish invasive from indolent cancers. Citation Format: Shyamala Maheswaran, Mark Kalinich, Irun Bhan, David Miyamoto, Yu Zheng, Xin Hong, Tanya Todorova Kwan, Ravi Kapur, Lecia Sequist, Ryan Sullivan, Aditya Bardia, Richard Lee, David Ting, Mehmet Toner, Daniel A. Haber. High-throughput CTC detection for noninvasive cancer monitoring [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr SY24-01. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-SY24-01
Empathy as an Antecedent of Social Justice Attitudes and Perceptions

At the same time that social justice concerns are on the rise on college campuses, empathy levels among US college students are falling (Konrath et al. 2016). Social injustice resulting from organizational decisions and actions causes profound and unnecessary human suffering, and research to understand antecedents to these decisions and actions lacks attention. Empathy represents a potential tool and critical skill for organizational decision-makers, with empirical evidence linking empathy to moral recognition of ethical situations and greater breadth of understanding of stakeholder impact and improved financial success. This study explores the potential relationship between empathy and social justice, using a multifaceted operationalization of social justice, which includes management actions (corporate social responsibility and socially responsible attitudes) and social sympathies (distributive justice in US society and agreement with the goals of Occupy Wall Street). Results broadly support the positive empathy and social justice relationship and suggest higher education interventions to develop empathy in college business students.
Fast Heuristics for Resolving Weakly Supported Branches Using Duplication, Transfers, and Losses

Weak branch supports in a gene tree suggest that the signal in sequence data is insufficient to resolve a particular branching order. One approach to reduce uncertainty takes the topology of the species tree into account. Under a maximum parsimony model, the best resolution of the weak branches is the binary tree that minimizes the cost of duplications, transfers, and losses. However, this problem is NP-hard, and the exact algorithm is limited to small, weakly supported areas.
Marketing’s identity crisis: insights from the history of marketing thought

For almost half a century the broadening and generic concepts of marketing have been the dominant paradigm in the marketing discipline. However, ambiguities in that paradigm have hindered development of a general theory of marketing. This research takes a fresh look at these concepts that some academics regard as causing an identity crisis in marketing. Historical analysis reveals many practical applications, which arise from the broadening/generic paradigm, result in unresolvable theoretical anomalies. Consequently, a new paradigm is proposed. Marketing systems, we argue, provides a logically coherent foundation for building a general theory of marketing.
Urban Education Differentials and Marginalization: The Case of Educating the Youth in Nairobi's Informal Settlements

In this chapter, I will discuss an array of issues; the most pertinent being the disillusionment of many of Kenya’s urban poor who, like the majority of rural-urban migrants, moved to the city with the hope of finding jobs and improving their economic wellbeing as well as achieving new optimized opportunities. I will also look at how this hope for improved lives has been elusive for the parents and now for the children through a process of unrealized education objectives, massive drop-outs or push-outs, un-conducive learning environment due to area violence, dirt and filth, and lack of family support. This will provide some understanding of the plight of the many poor in urban areas and particularly in the informal settlements (slums) of Nairobi, Kenya. Other questions to be dealt with here include how the informal settlements themselves came about in a city that was originally planned for Europeans; how has the presence of these informal settlements perpetuated socio-economic inequalities in Kenya’s urban areas, and particularly in Nairobi, Kenya’s largest city; and what is being done and what should be done to bring about some form of social justice in the goals of “education for all” especially the youth from poor families – most of them in the large informal settlements of Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru? I will argue that a holistic approach to the problem of the youth in poor areas need to be addressed going beyond the recently celebrated “free education for all” introduced by President Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government in 2003. Whereas this introduction of free primary education is a welcome partial solution to the issue of differentials and marginalization of city youth in the informal settlement as pertains to their search for modern education, there are still many socialhistorical problems that need to be addressed. I will discuss how, for example, one non-governmental organization, the Undugu Society of Kenya, has been dealing with this problem, well before the government gave it as much serious thought. There are some lessons to learn from the example of the Undugu Society, particularly because
Case 76: Transient Language Disturbance Following General Anesthesia

A 70-year-old lady (ASA1) with weight of 160 lbs and height of 5′8″ has had an uneventful general anesthetic for an arthroscopy of her left knee. Several general anesthetics in the past have also been unproblematic. She is healthy and does not take any medications. She was given midazolam 1 mg IV, fentanyl 50 microgram, and propofol 150 mg and had an LMA. Her anesthetic maintenance was with sevoflurane in N2O 70% in oxygen. The operation lasted 30 min.
Circulation Gatekeepers: Unbundling the Platform Politics of YouTube's Content ID

Abstract This article explores how circulation flows are shaped by the politics of digital platforms. The author introduces the concept circulation gatekeepers to consider the infrastructures (people, institutions, technologies, discourses, etc.) that control and direct the flow of how, or if, matter moves in particular rhetorical ecologies. Focusing on YouTube's Content ID as a case in point, the article explores how YouTube exercises circulation gatekeeping power by blocking some circulation flows and boosting others. It traces how Content ID aligns itself—materially through its computational procedures, economically through its monetization practices, and rhetorically through its published legal positions and community guidelines—with a view of copyright that privileges the interests of corporate rightsholders and neglects those of everyday users. The author shows how these interests are embedded in copyright discourses and regimes of property control, suggesting systems such as Content ID have broader implications for digital writing in an age where platform infrastructures determine authorship and ownership status. In addition to discussing why rhetoric and writing scholars should care about circulation practices on YouTube (and other corporate platforms), the article closes by calling for more work that considers the role other circulation gatekeepers play in networked economies.