cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Overview of Chain of Custody Options for LETTERPRESS.

This purpose of this document is to provide an overview of Chain of Custody (CoC) technology options that could be made available for the LETTERPRESS exercise as part of the Quad Working Group. The Quad Working Group comprises five sub-working groups (Management, Protocol, Simulation, Technology, and Training) with members from the U.S., U.K., Norway, and Sweden having the goal of providing a repeatable, realistic arms control exercise (dubbed LETTERPRESS) to be executed in representative facilities and using non-proliferative but representative treaty items. The Technology Working Group is responsible for supporting the technology requirements of the LETTERPRESS exercise and as such the technologies presented here are possible options to meet those requirements.
Presidential Debates, the Access Hollywood Tapes, and Donald the Deplorable

Guy Debord described a “society of the spectacle” in which the economy, politics, social life, and culture were increasingly dominated by forms of spectacle. Donald Trump lived the spectacle from the time in New York as a young entrepreneur and man about town he performed his business and personal life in gossip columns, tabloids, and rumor mills.
A systematic coupling balance scheme to enhance amplitude and phase matches for long traveling multi-phase signals

This paper presents a systematic coupling balance technique to enhance signal matches for long traveling N-pair differential signals. The analysis is conducted on 2N lines with closed-form expressions to indicate the three causes of mismatches. Then, a systematic method is presented to address the three factors to realize balanced coupling for signal matches by using twisting schemes. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated on FR4 printed-circuit board (PCB) for I Q traces, which shows great suppression of I Q imbalances with well-matched simulation and measurement results. The bandwidth with 1° mismatch is boosted from 75MHz to 360MHz, or from 135MHz to 680MHz considering the overall effects of the four signals. This technique requires no power consumption or complex circuits or algorithms, and can be extended to high frequencies with the scaling of the structure size.
Exploring How Workplace Factors Are Associated With Role Strain Among Jail Staff: A Replication and Expansion Study

Role strain has many negative outcomes. While the majority of role strain research has focused on its effects, this study explored possible antecedents of role strain among staff at a large, urban ...
Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation to Compare the Physical Health of Non-Caregivers to Caregivers of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract In this chapter, we use the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a national longitudinal dataset, to compare the physical health of caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to those who are not caregivers of individuals with IDD. The vast majority of individuals with IDD live with their families. Family members (usually parents) of individuals with IDD fulfill the majority of caregiving roles. With the aging of the population, the importance of caregiving over the lifespan assumes greater prominence in both practice and policy. If the health of the caregiver declines, so may their caregiving abilities and, relatedly, the quality of life for the individual with IDD and our capacity to support them outside of the long-term care system. To date, however, we have little research comparing the physical health of non-caregivers and caregivers of individuals with IDD. Using the SIPP, we compare caregiver and non-caregiver health through the use of national estimates of American households with and without a member with an IDD. Caregiving was imputed indirectly by focusing on the health status of the head of the household and spouse or partner. Findings illustrate large and consistent disparity in self-reported health between the household heads of families with and without a member with IDD. We end by discussing implications for policy and research.
Protein levels in beef cattle finishing diets: industry application, university research, and systems results.

Consulting nutritionists were surveyed to determine current formulation and management practices for finishing beef cattle. Among the six consultants surveyed, percentage of CP in finishing diets ranged from 12.5 to 14.4%, with urea levels ranging from .5 to 1.5% of DM. Finishing diets were based primarily on highly processed, rapidly fermented grains (steam-flaked and high-moisture grain), with roughage levels ranging from 3 to 11% of DM. All six consultants considered feed bunk management to be a critical factor affecting feed intake and performance; five of the six consultants used aggressive implant programs based on estrogen + trenbolone acetate. Recent university research was reviewed with respect to CP level and source in finishing diets. Finishing cattle managed on aggressive implant programs seem to respond to higher levels of CP better than would be expected from the factorial calculation approach. Moreover, improvements in performance noted in recent research seemed to be more consistent when supplemental CP was derived from ruminally degraded vs undegraded sources. Calculation of protein requirements with a metabolizable protein (MP) system yielded estimates of protein needs by finishing cattle that agreed more closely with current industry practices than did calculation based on the factorial method. The difference between the MP system and the factorial method was primarily a result of accounting for microbial N needs in the MP system. Reasons for production responses to CP levels that are greater than those calculated by the factorial method include increased accretion of protein by rapidly growing, implanted cattle, particularly during the initial phase of the finishing period, alleviation of a microbial N deficiency, and ruminal and systemic effects of ruminally degraded N on acid-base balance of beef cattle fed rapidly fermented, high-grain diets. Reasons for production responses to supplemental CP need further research.
A look at representations of $$SL_{2}({\mathbb {F}}_{q})$$ S L 2 ( F q ) through the lens of size

How to study a nice function on the real line? The physically motivated Fourier theory technique of harmonic analysis is to expand the function in the basis of exponentials and study the meaningful terms in the expansion. Now, suppose the function lives on a finite non-commutative group G, and is invariant under conjugation. There is a well-known analog of Fourier analysis, using the irreducible characters of G. This can be applied to many functions that express interesting properties of G. To study these functions one wants to know how the different characters contribute to the sum? In this note we describe the $$G=SL_{2}({\mathbb {F}}_{q})$$ case of the theory we have been developing in recent years which attempts to give a fairly general answer to the above question for finite classical groups. The irreducible representations of $$SL_{2}({\mathbb {F}}_{q})$$ are “well known” for a very long time (Frobenius in Sitzber Preuss Akad Wiss 985–1021, 1896; Jordan in Am J Math 29:387–405, 1907; Schur in Journal fur die reine und angewandte Mathematik 132:85–137, 1907) and are a prototype example in many introductory courses on the subject. We are happy that we can say something new about them. In particular, it turns out that the representations that were considered as “anomalous” in the “old” point of view (known as the “philosophy of cusp forms”) are the building blocks of the current approach.
New Spirometry Indices for Detecting Mild Airflow Obstruction

The diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) relies on demonstration of airflow obstruction. Traditional spirometric indices miss a number of subjects with respiratory symptoms or structural lung disease on imaging. We hypothesized that utilizing all data points on the expiratory spirometry curves to assess their shape will improve detection of mild airflow obstruction and structural lung disease. We analyzed spirometry data of 8307 participants enrolled in the COPDGene study, and derived metrics of airflow obstruction based on the shape on the volume-time (Parameter D), and flow-volume curves (Transition Point and Transition Distance). We tested associations of these parameters with CT measures of lung disease, respiratory morbidity, and mortality using regression analyses. There were significant correlations between FEV1/FVC with Parameter D (r = −0.83; p < 0.001), Transition Point (r = 0.69; p < 0.001), and Transition Distance (r = 0.50; p < 0.001). All metrics had significant associations with emphysema, small airway disease, dyspnea, and respiratory-quality of life (p < 0.001). The highest quartile for Parameter D was independently associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 3.22,95% CI 2.42–4.27; p < 0.001) but a substantial number of participants in the highest quartile were categorized as GOLD 0 and 1 by traditional criteria (1.8% and 33.7%). Parameter D identified an additional 9.5% of participants with mild or non-recognized disease as abnormal with greater burden of structural lung disease compared with controls. The data points on the flow-volume and volume-time curves can be used to derive indices of airflow obstruction that identify additional subjects with disease who are deemed to be normal by traditional criteria.
INTERPERSONAL AGGREGATION AND COMPARABILITY

This chapter discusses the interpersonal aggregation and comparability. Each individual had a unique cardinal scale of utility, and this for everyone had been put together in a gigantic book, published in heaven. One wanted to use these cardinal utility indicators in a social choice involving two alternative social states, x, and y. After adding up the differences in the utilities between x, and y for the individuals, the sum came out positive, and using utilitarianism one declared x to be socially preferred to y. People started feeling a change in their utility scales. It was announced in heaven that people's utility scales had changed.
Extracellular vesicle concentration and procoagulant activity of canine haemoperitoneum fluid and packed red blood cells.

OBJECTIVES To compare the concentration of phosphatidylserine-positive extracellular vesicles and phosphatidylserine-derived procoagulant activity of canine haemoperitoneum fluids and packed red blood cell units. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ten dogs with haemoperitoneum (neoplasia = 7; trauma = 1; other = 2) were recruited, and five non-leukoreduced packed red blood cell units purchased. Supernatants were collected from haemoperitoneum samples and packed red blood cell units using a consistent centrifugation protocol. Phosphatidylserine-positive extracellular vesicle concentrations were measured by flow cytometry and phosphatidylserine-mediated procoagulant activity by a commercial thrombin generation assay. RESULTS Phosphatidylserine-mediated procoagulant activity was significantly higher for supernatants collected from packed red blood cell units (median 54 nM, range 53 to 60 nM) than haemoperitoneum samples (median 43 nM; range 7 to 51 nM; P = 0.0007). By flow cytometry, the concentration of phosphatidylserine-positive extracellular vesicles was not significantly different between packed red blood cell (median: 415/μL, range 173 to 1331/μL) and haemoperitoneum samples (median: 314/μL, range 132 to 3880/μL; P = 0.77). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE This study does not suggest that shed abdominal blood contains more extracellular vesicles with phosphatidylserine-mediated procoagulant activity than donor packed red blood cell units. Clinical studies to compare the effects of autologous transfusion of shed abdominal blood and packed red blood cell units on coagulation status and clinical outcome are required.
Chromosomes and Mammalian Phylogeny

Morphologically, the Indian muntjac and Chinese muntjac are very much alike, but their chromosomes are drastically dissimilar (Chapter 11). The chromosomal differences emphatically suggest that the two species are so completely isolated that no fertile hybrid can be expected even if the two species had an opportunity to produce offspring. However, if the karyotypes of related forms are always as vastly different as the two muntjacs, then cytogenetic characteristics are useless phenotypes for phylogenetic studies because not much information can be extracted in tracing relationships. Fortunately, such instances are not common. In fact, in a number of cases, related species possess identical or nearly identical chromosome constitutions. For example, the karyotypes of many vole species belonging to genus Clethrionomys, which inhabit both the Eurasian and the North American continents, are indistinguishable. Similarly, most cat species possess the same karyotype. Therefore, when a traceable change in the karyotype occurs, cytogeneticists can then use the chromosome phenotype as an additional set of criteria to interpret phylogeny. Most cats have a diploid number of 38, but the ocelot has a diploid number of 36. The karyotypes clearly indicate that a centric fusion has occurred between two pairs of acrocentrics of the cat karyotype to form a pair of metacentrics of the ocelot karyotype.
Intercostal artery hemorrhage with hemothorax following combined lateral and posterior lumbar interbody fusion: a case report

Lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) is a safe treatment for degenerative spine conditions. However, risk of complications such as vascular injuries remains. We report a unique case of an intercostal artery (ICA) hemorrhage with hemothorax following LLIF. One hour after a right-sided LLIF L3-4 with posterior decompression L2-4 and L3-5 instrumentation, the patient became hypotensive, anemic and required vasopressor support. Evaluation revealed a right-sided hemothorax, which was caused by a bleeding intercostal artery, laterally at the 10th intercostal space. A lateral thoracotomy was performed to stop the bleeding. After vessel ligation and placement of two chest tubes, the patients’ hemodynamics improved. The patient remained intubated overnight and was extubated on the first postoperative day. Vascular injury is a rare complication of LLIF procedures. Most vascular injuries are segmental vessel lacerations, which resolve postoperatively. This is the first case description of ICA bleeding associated with LLIF surgery. Spontaneous ICA bleeding exists, but surgeons should be aware of careful handling in patients with vascular risk factors, especially with regard to patient positioning required in certain spinal surgical approaches. Timely vascular injury identification is critical for hemostasis and clinical management.
The expanding use of simulation for undergraduate preclinical medical education

Simulation as a tool for medical student education has long been valued for its ability to provide realistic standardized experiences to learners in a controlled environment without exposing patients to harm. Consequently, the use of simulation-based medical education (SBME) has greatly expanded over the last decade. While traditional simulation for medical education has been limited to procedural training, increasingly its scope has expanded to include instruction for preclinical curricular elements. Technological advances in health-care simulation have allowed for activities that can enhance or even replace traditional basic science content. This has coincided with a shift in medical school curricula to include early clinical experiences, which only further increases the demand for medical student simulation. This article is the result of both the authors' experiences as well a synopsis of a literature search of both reviews as well as original research related to SBME for preclinical medical students. Different simulation modalities including partial task trainers, standardized patients, virtual patient, and high-fidelity simulation are all discussed. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Patient care, Medical knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement, and Interpersonal and communication skills.
Electromagnetic Education Module: Introductory Transmission Line Simulation and Experiment

An educational module is developed to provide students with a tangible introduction to the fundamental principles of electromagnetic propagation along a transmission line. This module implements an active-learning approach, with both simulated and experimental elements, to demonstrate such concepts as incident and reflected waves, propagation delay, attenuation, and impedance mismatch. This module is designed to be implemented using only standard laboratory equipment and time-domain simulation software.
The Paradox of Consent for Capacity Assessments

The use of decision-making capacity assessments (DMCA) in clinical medicine is an underdeveloped yet quickly growing practice. Despite the ethical and clinical importance of these assessments as a ...
Patient-Specific Characterization of Breast Cancer Hemodynamics Using Image-Guided Computational Fluid Dynamics

The overall goal of this study is to employ quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to constrain a patient-specific, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of blood flow and interstitial transport in breast cancer. We develop image processing methodologies to generate tumor-related vasculature-interstitium geometry and realistic material properties, using dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and diffusion weighted MRI (DW-MRI) data. These data are used to constrain CFD simulations for determining the tumor-associated blood supply and interstitial transport characteristics unique to each patient. We then perform a proof-of-principle statistical comparison between these hemodynamic characteristics in 11 malignant and 5 benign lesions from 12 patients. Significant differences between groups (i.e., malignant versus benign) were observed for the median of tumor-associated interstitial flow velocity ( ${P} =0.028$ ), and the ranges of tumor-associated blood pressure ( P = 0.016) and vascular extraction rate ( P = 0.040). The implication is that malignant lesions tend to have larger magnitude of interstitial flow velocity, and higher heterogeneity in blood pressure and vascular extraction rate. Multivariable logistic models based on combinations of these hemodynamic data achieved excellent differentiation between malignant and benign lesions with an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 1.0, sensitivity of 1.0, and specificity of 1.0. This image-based model system is a fundamentally new way to map flow and pressure fields related to breast tumors using only non-invasive, clinically available imaging data and established laws of fluid mechanics. Furthermore, the results provide preliminary evidence for this methodology’s utility for the quantitative characterization of breast cancer.
Concussion Diagnostic Imaging Options

Diagnostic imaging in concussion is not generally recommended, and this is supported by multiple national and international concussion guidelines. There are, however, complicating factors that may be present where imaging may be helpful. The most commonly available imaging modalities available are X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While X-ray and MRI are not indicated in the acute setting, there may be certain clinical scenarios where a head CT may be indicated, and there are multiple head CT decision support tools available for use to help facilitate this decision-making. Additionally, there are many other imaging modalities being investigated to determine what role each may play in the diagnostic evaluation of concussion, but more research is needed before these are recommended clinically.
Shakespeare, Technicity, Theatre

This urgent and provocative study explores contemporary Shakespeare performance to bring a sense of theatre as technology into view. Rather than merely using technologies, the theatre's distinctively intermedial character is essential to its complex technicity; the changing function of gesture and costume, of written documents in the making of performance, of light and sound, and of the interplay of live and recorded acting complicate the sense of theatre as a medium. In a series of probing discussions, Worthen interrogates the interaction of live and mediated acting onstage, the impact of written media from the handwritten scroll to the small-screen app in acting as a technē, the work of Original Practices as an interactive modern theatre technology, the economies of theatrical immersion, and the consequences of an emerging algorithmic theatre, providing a richly theoretical reading of the stakes of theatre as an always-emerging technology.
A Merged-Two-Stage LEGO-PoL Converter with Coupled Inductors for Vertical Power Delivery

This paper presents a merged-two-stage hybrid-switched-capacitor converter featuring the Linearly Extendable Group Operated Point-of-Load (LEGO-PoL) architecture with coupled inductor-enabled vertical power delivery for ultra-high-current microprocessors. By merging a switched-capacitor stage with a multiphase buck converter stage, the proposed converter achieves reduced device stress, minimized magnetics size, and soft charging. A systematic way of designing coupled inductors in multiphase buck converters, based on an inductance dual model which links the geometry of the magnetic core to a lumped circuit model, is introduced. Coupled inductors in the multiphase buck stage reduce the steady-state per-phase current ripple and improve the transient performance of the system. By delivering power vertically from the motherboard to microprocessors, a high current and power density prototype is designed to minimize the parasitic resistance and enable fast transient with low output current ripple. A 48 V to 1.5 V LEGO-PoL converter rated to deliver 750 A of output current with 100 A/cm2 current area density and 1125 W with 1725 W/in3 power density is designed and simulated with customized four-phase coupled inductors.
Continuum Mechanics Modeling of Complex Fluid Systems Following Oldroyd's Seminal 1950 Work

Abstract We present a review of some key developments in the continuum mechanics – based macroscopic modeling of complex fluid flows, following the pioneering work of Oldroyd in the 1950s. We start by reviewing the major developments achieved by Oldroyd, namely how his work established rules for consistency in developing continuum stress constitutive models extending the material into objective time derivatives for tensor quantities, with first application the stress tensor in viscoelastic constitutive relationships. We then show how the impact of his work to viscoelastic fluid flows has been amplified from the kinetic theory work of Bird and others who established a firm macromolecular structural connection. The use of objective time derivatives was then extended to include second order conformation tensors and through them the connection was made to internal deformation energy by Marrucci. We then further demonstrate the impact of this work by analyzing the models through the microstructural descriptions offered within the non-equilibrium thermodynamics formalism. We then conclude with a brief mentioning of direct applications of the original Oldroyd-B model (through stability analyses, etc.) towards bettering our understanding of the rheological behavior of complex fluid systems.
Assessing the recognition of female orthopaedic surgeons in Castle Connolly's "America's Top Doctors" from 2000 to 2020.

Background The field of orthopaedic surgery has one of the lowest percentages of practicing female physicians. Studies have shown disparities in various academic societies' award recipients by sex. Given the recent increased use of physician rating platforms by patients and focus on consumer-driven healthcare, our aim was to assess the recognition of female orthopaedic surgeons. Methods A twenty-year quantitative analysis was performed comparing the rate of top female orthopaedic surgeons listed on Castle Connolly's "America's Top Doctors" to the percentage of practicing female orthopaedic surgeons as reported by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Results From 2000 to 2020, there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of top female orthopaedic surgeons listed on Castle Connolly (1.3%-5.3%), as well as an increase in overall practicing AAOS female members (2.7%-5.8%). When comparing the rate of top female orthopaedic surgeons listed on Castle Connolly to the proportion of practicing female AAOS members from 2000 to 2020, there were no statistically significant differences. Conclusions The increase in the rate of top female orthopaedic surgeons recognized by Castle Connolly was proportionate to the increase in percentage of practicing female AAOS members over the past 20 years. This study highlights the persistence of a gender discrepancy in the academic sector of orthopaedic surgery.
Broken ergodicity in spin glasses

The nature of the frozen spin glass phase is discussed, paying particular attention to the methods of statistical mechanics needed to treat it. A phenomenological approach is advocated. Suggestions are made for the characterization of the possible frozen components and their time, temperature, field, and system-size (N) dependence. The paper is based on reference 1 but some discussion and Monte Carlo results are new.
ESTIMATING FATALITIES INDUCED BY THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF REGULATIONS

Regulatory costs are paid by individuals, which leaves them with less disposable income. Since individuals on average use additional income to make their lives safer and healthier, the regulatory costs lead to higher mortality risks and fatalities. Based on data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study relating income to the risk of dying, approximately each $5 million of regulatory cost induces a fatality if costs are borne equally among the public. If costs are borne proportional to income, approximately $11.5 million in regulatory costs induces a fatality. Cost-induced fatalities disproportionally burden the poor and minorities, particularly blacks.
Mechanical and neural contributions to hysteresis in the cardiac vagal limb of the arterial baroreflex.

According to conventional wisdom, hysteresis in cardiac vagal baroreflex function exhibits a specific pattern: pressure falls are associated with longer heart periods and a smaller linear gain. A similar pattern occurs in the pressure–diameter relationship of barosensory vessels, and therefore it has been suggested that baroreflex hysteresis derives solely from vascular behaviour. However, we hypothesized that mechanical and neural baroreflex components contribute equally to baroreflex hysteresis. Blood pressure, carotid diameter and the electrocardiogram were recorded continuously during two trials of sequential bolus injections of nitroprusside and phenylephrine in 14 young healthy subjects. Baroreflex gain and its mechanical and neural components were estimated for falls and rises in pressure and diameter. The position or set point of the relations was quantified at the mean pressure and mean diameter. Gains were determined via piecewise linear regression. Set points and gains for falls versus rises in pressure and diameter were compared with the Chow test. Hysteresis was observed in all individuals, but not in every trial. In most, but not all, trials pressure falls were associated with longer heart periods and smaller linear gain, as conventional wisdom would predict. However, the pattern of hysteresis derived from the interaction of both mechanical and neural components. The two components most often acted in opposition to determine differences in set point, but in conjunction to determine differences in baroreflex gain. Therefore, we conclude that hysteresis is not solely determined by barosensory vessel behaviour but by the complex interaction of mechanical and neural aspects of the arterial baroreflex.
Proven strategies that increase participation of high school students in computing

Much has been written about the decrease in the number of students pursuing computing in colleges. Unfortunately, most students form their (usually negative) opinions of computing long before they reach college [1], so it is beneficial for university faculty who want to increase college enrollment to do outreach promoting aimed at a younger audience. To help encourage high-school/university interactions, the Development Committee of the Advanced Placement Computer Science A Course has proposed and organized this and similar sessions for several regional and national meetings in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. This session will present ideas on how colleges can work with high school teachers and others to promote computer science to high schools students.
Blood concentration of mepivacaine and lidocaine in mother and baby after epidural anesthesia

Abstract The concentration of mepivacaine and lidocaine in mother and neonate was assayed by means of gas liquid chromatography. There was a rapid appearance of the drug in the maternal circulation, mean peak concentration being attained within 5 minutes. In 19 cases of mepivacaine anesthesia the mean maternal blood concentration was 2.2 μg per milliliter, whereas in the neonate the mean concentration was 1.6 μg per milliliter. In 13 cases of lidocaine anesthesia the mean maternal blood concentration was 2.2 μg per milliliter and in the neonate 1.55 μg per milliliter. Three neonates required resuscitation and in these cases the duration of anesthesia was greater than 6 hours with a total dosage of anesthetic agent greater than 600 mg. The mothers showed no side effects attributable to the anesthetic agents.
Effect of Long Term Anticholinergic Therapy on Gastric Acid Secretion, with Observations on the Serial Measurement of Peak Histalog Response

Ulcer patients and normal subjects were randomly allocated for long term oral therapy with placebo, poldine (Nacton), or glycopyrrolate (Robinul). At specified intervals treatment was interrupted temporarily for 48 hr, so that the functional parietal cell mass could be assessed by means of the peak secretory response to histalog. There was no statistically significant effect of 6 to 18 months of anticholinergic therapy on the peak histalog response. Furthermore, long term therapy with anticholinergic drugs did not potentiate the antisecretory effect of these agents when given shortly before patients were stimulated with histalog. Serial observations in individual subjects suggest that the functional parietal cell mass in some ulcer patients and in some normal subjects may change drastically over a relatively short period of time; these variations appear to be unrelated to anticholinergic therapy.
Interagency Collaboration on the High Seas

Maritime threats are increasingly sophisticated, lethal and transnational. The response to Somali piracy underscores the necessity of collaboration, though partnering is equally valuable to address, among other threats, weapons smuggling, drug traffickers and fishing incursions occurring globally. Coordination in the maritime domain is particularly crucial because illicit activity unfolds in an environment that is complex and enormous, with overlapping national authorities, gaps in jurisdiction and the involvement of multiple agencies. The development of frameworks that facilitate information sharing and coordinated responses recognizes that few issues and even fewer solutions fall under the ambit of a single agency or nation. In the United States, the Maritime Operational Threat Response (MOTR) Plan created a process for interagency coordination and has been used more than 1,000 times.
On-chip super-robust all-dielectric zero-index material

The robustness of the modal degeneracy for photonic Dirac-cone can be engineered by designing all-dielectric pillar arrays giving on-chip platform of zero index material for any wavelength regime. We demonstrate this concept for telecom regime.
Diagnosis of Wilson's disease presenting as fulminant hepatic failure.

The clinical course, results of standard laboratory tests, parameters o f copper metabolism, and hepatic morphology in 9 cases (3 of our own and 6 from the literature) of Wilson's disease presenting as fulminant hepatic failure were compared with the findings in 5 cases of idiopathic fulminant hepatic failure. Patients with Wilson's disease were usually younger, and 7 of the 9 patients had Kayser-Fleischer rings. Patients with idiopathic fulminant hepatic failure had elevated 24-h urinary copper, decreased ceruloplasmin, and low or normal serum copper. Fulminant hepatic failure with Wilson's disease differed from idiopathic fulminant hepatic failure by the following biochemical findings: (a) higher copper levels in serum, urine, and liver; (b) less pronounced elevations of transaminase levels; (c) higher concentrations of total bilirubin; and (d) lower hemoglobin values. Serum copper was the most useful biochemical test in diagnosing Wilson's disease before death. At autopsy, only hepatic copper concentrations clearly separated the two groups. Serial serum copper levels (antemortem) and quantitative analysis of hepatic copper (after recovery or postmortem) in patients with fulminant hepatic failure should help to exclude Wilson's disease.
Protein–Ligand Interactions: Thermodynamic Basis and Mechanistic Consequences

It is difficult to imagine any biological process that is not initiated by the binding of some chemical entity (or ‘ligand’) to a protein. Thus, enzymatic catalysis, signal transduction, ion channel activity, immune responses and the various events involved in genetic expression are all obvious examples of events which, at the molecular level, must begin with the binding of some ligand to a specific binding site on a protein molecule. Furthermore, as each one of these processes proceeds along its reaction pathway, modulation of the affinities of such ligands, positive and negative interactions caused by the binding of other ligands and the release of these ligands either in their original or in altered form constitute obligatory steps in the driving forces and controlling restraints that adapt them to their specific tasks. We extend the basic conceptions set forth in this article to a more detailed level focused on the fundamental nature of ligand–ligand interactions of a protein–ligand complex and the energetic mechanistic consequences to which they lead. Key Concepts: Every biological reaction is initiated by a protein–ligand binding step. Such reactions never involve the binding of only a single ligand or a single step. The binding of two ligands to the same protein always involves a mutual interaction. The product of a ligand-binding reaction is a new entity in itself; its structure and its properties may differ substantially from the simple sum of those of its initial components. The concept of G Weber's ‘thermodynamic square’ permits the evaluation of a variety of interaction parameters. Patterns of interaction parameters provide a basis for exploring ligand-binding energy transduction. Measurement of ligand-binding heat by techniques using higher levels of mathematical integration provide more detailed dissection into parameters such as enthalpy, entropy, heat capacity and their corresponding interaction terms. The ‘fluctuating protein’ concept suggests that protein reactions proceed as multiple traces on multidimensional free-energy landscapes. Consequences of the thermodynamic complexity of ligand binding suggest new views of such processes as enzymatic catalysis, signalling events and evolutionary aspects. Keywords: proteins; ligands-binding; thermodynamics; cooperativity; free energy; enthalpy; entropy; heat capacity; enzymes
Regulation of muscle GLUT-4 transcription by AMP-activated protein kinase

Skeletal muscle GLUT-4 transcription in response to treatment with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), a known activator of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), was studied...
Intronic miR-3151 Within BAALC Drives Leukemogenesis by Deregulating the TP53 Pathway

The BAALC/miR-3151 locus on chromosome 8q22 contains both the BAALC gene (for brain and acute leukemia, cytoplasmic) and miR-3151, which is located in intron 1 of BAALC. Older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with high expression of both miR-3151 and the BAALC mRNA transcript have a low survival prognosis, and miR-3151 and BAALC expression is associated with poor survival independently of each other. We found that miR-3151 functioned as the oncogenic driver of the BAALC/miR-3151 locus. Increased production of miR-3151 reduced the apoptosis and chemosensitivity of AML cell lines and increased leukemogenesis in mice. Disruption of the TP53-mediated apoptosis pathway occurred in leukemia cells overexpressing miR-3151 and the miR-3151 bound to the 3' untranslated region of TP53. In contrast, BAALC alone had only limited oncogenic activity. We found that miR-3151 contains its own regulatory element, thus partly uncoupling miR-3151 expression from that of the BAALC transcript. Both genes were bound and stimulated by a complex of the transcription factors SP1 and nuclear factor κB (SP1/NF-κB). Disruption of SP1/NF-κB binding reduced both miR-3151 and BAALC expression. However, expression of only BAALC, but not miR-3151, was stimulated by the transcription factor RUNX1, suggesting a mechanism for the partly discordant expression of miR-3151 and BAALC observed in AML patients. Similar to the AML cells, in melanoma cell lines, overexpression of miR-3151 reduced the abundance of TP53, and knockdown of miR-3151 increased caspase activity, whereas miR-3151 overexpression reduced caspase activity. Thus, this oncogenic miR-3151 may also have a role in solid tumors.
Using Semantic Inference for Software Understanding and Design Recovery

Software understanding is often refers to the processes and activities undertaken by software engineers to fully comprehend complex software systems. Capturing software design can certainly enable a better environment for software understanding and reuse. This paper extends our previous work[1] on automatic design pattern recovery and details our vision towards a comprehensive environment for software understanding. Our approach utilizes Semantic Web technologies to provide a formal and explicit semantic-based representation of software systems. Through extended case studies and tool evaluations, we show that this software representation enables a detection mechanism that is both effective and usable.
HARDBALL: Local Government’s Foray Into Sports Franchise Ownership

Smaller cities seeking new economic development vehicles have embraced the growth of minor league sports. In an attempt to eliminate the threat of competition and maintain a sense of stability, four local governments purchased their respective minor league baseball franchise. This action may serve as a model for local governments that have invested heavily in professional sports as an economic development strategy. This study investigates the benefits of ownership in terms of stability for development, economic gain, and increased civic spirit. The study finds that publicly owned teams can be successfully used to anchor comprehensive plans for economic development, and that public ownership provides a way to pay the costs of the sports facilities and the debt service. There is little evidence to show that publicly owned teams increase civic spirit. However, this model presents some challenges that may prevent its widespread utilization
Classification of adverse reproductive effects can be improved by measurements of multiple biomarkers for ovarian toxicity and early fetal loss.

Hormone assays have been developed and applied for monitoring reproductive function using self‐collected urine samples in non‐clinical populations of women. Early pregnancy loss, menstrual dysfunction, reduced fertility as well as the site of toxicity can now be assessed using daily early morning urine samples. The understanding of the specific limitations of individual assay systems is important, however, to make the best use of these systems. The use of multiple end‐points and computer algorithms is suggested to avoid misclassification of adverse reproductive events.
Integrating Analysis and Communication Skills into the Decision Science Curriculum

The teaching of decision sciences presupposes that careful attention is directed toward improving students' critical thinking and analytical skills. This paper presents an approach to teaching quantitative methods classes that focuses on developing student skills in the areas of analytical and critical thinking through written and oral communication. The approach requires very little additional instructor preparation time and does not require the instructor to make major changes in either the content or organization of the course. While the instructor's investment is minimal, the benefits to the students appear to be substantial.
T cell receptor–instructed αβ versus γδ lineage commitment revealed by single-cell analysis

αβ and γδ T cell lineages develop in the thymus from a common precursor. It is unclear at which stage of development commitment to these lineages takes place and in which way T cell receptor signaling contributes to the process. Recently, it was demonstrated that strong TCR signals favor γδ lineage development, whereas weaker TCR signals promote αβ lineage fate. Two models have been proposed to explain these results. The first model suggests that commitment occurs after TCR expression and TCR signaling directly instructs lymphocytes to adopt one or the other lineage fate. The second model suggests that commitment occurs before TCR expression and that TCR signaling merely confirms the lineage choice. By tracing the fate of single T cell precursors, this study shows that there is no commitment to either the αβ or γδ lineage before TCR expression and that modulation of TCR signaling in progeny of a single TCR-expressing cell changes lineage commitment.
Combined Approximation Reanalysis Coupled With Finite Element Stress Analysis for Multiple Geometric Changes in Early Design Stage

In this work a new graphically driven interactive stress reanalysis finite element technique has been developed so that an engineer can easily carry out manual geometric changes in a machine element during the early design stage. The interface allow an engineer to model a machine element in the commercial finite element code ANSYS® and then modify part geometry graphically to see instantaneous graphical changes in the stress and displacement contour plots. A reanalysis technique is used to enhance the computational performance for solving the modified problem; with the aim of obtaining results of acceptable accuracy in as short a period of time in order to emphasize the interactive nature of the design process. Two case studies are considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the prototype graphically driven reanalysis finite element technique. The finite element type considered is a plane stress four-node quadrilateral based on a homogenous, isotropic, linear elastic material. Each case study considered multiple redesigns. A combined approximation reanalysis method is used to solve each redesigned problem. The first case study considers a plate with a hole with the goal to determine the hole shape that will minimize the stress concentration. The second case study considers a support bracket. The goal is to design the cantilever portion of the bracket to have uniform strength and to minimize the stress concentration at the fillet.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
The development of a content analysis model for assessing students' cognitive learning in asynchronous online discussions

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a content analysis model for assessing students’ cognitive learning in asynchronous online discussions. It adopted a fully mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative methods were employed sequentially for data analysis and interpretation. Specifically, the design was a “sequential exploratory” (QUAL → quan) design with priority given to qualitative data and methods. Qualitative data were 800 online postings collected in two online courses. Quantitative data were 803 online postings from the same two courses but from different discussion topics and different weeks. During the qualitative process, a grounded theory approach was adopted to construct a content analysis model based on qualitative data. During the quantitative process, χ2 tests and confirmative factor analysis (CFA) which used online postings as cases or observations and was the first of its kind were performed to test if the new model fit the quantitative data.
YAG laser photoresection of lesions obstructing the central airways.

Some patients with cancer and others with benign lesions which obstruct the central airways (larynx, trachea, major bronchi) can be treated with a laser. Ninety-nine patients were considered for treatment during the first 18 months of experience with a YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser at Henry Ford Hospital; 55 patients were treated 82 times. Results were satisfactory (surgery was avoided) in eight of ten patients with benign lesions. Satisfactory results (doubling of airway size with relief of dyspnea/drainage of obstuctive pneumonia) were obtained in 12 of 13 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma managed initially with the laser, and in 22 of 32 (69 percent) patients with recurrent malignancies. There were five minor and seven major complications, including two deaths. We conclude that laser treatment can relieve central airways obstruction with its associated symptoms of dyspnea and infection. Avoidance of complications requires a skillful approach, careful anesthetic management, and availability of back-up posttreatment intensive care.
Measuring Dark Matter Power Spectrum from Cosmic Microwave Background

We propose a method to extract the projected power spectrum of density perturbations from the distortions in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The distortions are imprinted onto the CMB by the gravitational lensing effect and can be extracted using a combination of products of CMB derivatives. Future CMB experiments such as the Planck satellite experiment will be able to extract the power spectrum with high statistical significance over 2 orders of magnitude in angle. The method proposed here directly traces dark matter in the linear regime to higher redshift (up to $z\ensuremath{\sim}1100$) and larger scale (a few Gpc) than any other currently known method.
Cost analysis of mobility protocols

Increasing demand for mobility in wireless data network has given rise to various mobility management schemes. Most of the analysis on mobility protocols used Random Waypoint mobility model However, the analysis done earlier ignored some major costs, resulting in an incomplete estimation and used random waypoint model which fails to represent realistic movement pattern. In this paper, we have developed an analytical cost model considering all possible costs related to mobility management, and have used city section mobility model, a realistic mobility model, to compute the total costs of two mobility protocols: HIMPv6 and SIGMA. We have defined two novel performance metrics, normalized overhead and efficiency, for mobility protocols based on the signaling costs and used them to evaluate the performance of SIGMA and HMIPv6 protocols varying network size, mobility rate and traffic rate. Results show that the total cost of SIGMA is much less than HMIPv6 due to the higher cost of packet tunneling, even though the mobility signaling cost of SIGMA is higher than HMIPv6. Moreover, mobility signaling costs of both the protocols using city model and random waypoint model are found to be much different, demonstrating the fact that random waypoint model cannot be used as an approximation to a realistic scenario. The analytical framework presented in this paper can be used by the network professionals to estimate amount of load on the network due to mobility protocols and compare them based on the proposed performance metrics to select the best protocol.