cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Second-order nonlinear polarization and harmonic generation in [11l]-oriented III–V heterostructures

Abstract An analysis of the induced bulk second-order nonlinear polarization as a function of crystallographic orientation for the III–V compound semiconductors is presented. It is shown that for the 11 l family of planes, the largest nonlinear polarization that could act as a source for the generation of second-harmonic fields is for structures prepared on the (112) surface. The input fundamental fields that interact nonlinearly in the media considered here are transverse electric or s -polarized with respect to the ( l 10) surface — which is an orthogonal natural cleavage plane for the (112) surface.
Practical high-order adaptive optics systems for extrasolar planet searches

Direct detection of photons emitted or reflected by an extrasolar planet is an extremely difficult but extremely exciting application of adaptive optics. Typical contrast levels for an extrasolar planet would be 109 - Jupiter is a billion times fainter than the sun. Current adaptive optics systems can only achieve contrast levels of 106, but so-called extreme adaptive optics systems with 104 -105 degrees of freedom could potentially detect extrasolar planets. We explore the scaling laws defining the performance of these systems, first set out by Angel (1994), and derive a different definition of an optimal system. Our sensitivity predictions are somewhat more pessimistic than the original paper, due largely to slow decorrelation timescales for some noise sources, though choosing to site an ExAO system at a location with exceptional r0 (e.g. Mauna Kea) can offset this. We also explore the effects of segment aberrations in a Keck-like telescope on ExAO; although the effects are significant, they can be mitigated through Lyot coronagraphy.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Lipid droplets purified from drosophila embryos as an endogenous handle for precise motor transport measurements

Molecular motor proteins are responsible for long-range transport of vesicles and organelles. Recent works have elucidated the richness of the transport complex, with multiple teams of similar and dissimilar motors and their cofactors attached to individual cargoes. The interaction among these different proteins, and with the microtubules along which they translocate, results in the intricate patterns of cargo transport observed in cells. High-precision and high-bandwidth measurements are required to capture the dynamics of these interactions, yet the crowdedness in the cell necessitates performing such measurements in vitro. Here, we show that endogenous cargoes, lipid droplets purified from Drosophila embryos, can be used to perform high-precision and high-bandwidth optical trapping experiments to study motor regulation in vitro. Purified droplets have constituents of the endogenous transport complex attached to them and exhibit long-range motility. A novel method to determine the quality of the droplets for high-resolution measurements in an optical trap showed that they compare well with plastic beads in terms of roundness, homogeneity, position sensitivity, and trapping stiffness. Using high-resolution and high-bandwidth position measurements, we demonstrate that we can follow the series of binding and unbinding events that lead to the onset of active transport.
Wishful thinking and source monitoring.

Memory distortions sometimes serve a purpose: It may be in our interest to misremember some details of an event or to forget others altogether. The present work examines whether a similar phenomenon occurs for source attribution. Given that the source of a memory provides information about the accuracy of its content, people may be biased toward source attributions that are consistent with desired accuracy. In Experiment 1, participants read desirable and undesirable predictions made by sources differing in their a priori reliability and showed awishful thinking bias—that is, a bias to attribute desirable predictions to the reliable source and undesirable predictions to the unreliable source. Experiment 2 showed that this wishful thinking effect depends on retrieval processes. Experiment 3 showed that under some circumstances, wishes concerning one event can produce systematic source memory errors for others.
Structure, heat capacity, and high-temperature thermal properties of Yb 14Mn 1-xAl xSb 11

A series of compounds, Yb_(14)Mn_(1−x)Al_xSb_11 with (0 < x < 1), was prepared via Sn flux and the structures investigated. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the volume of the unit cell increases with increasing Al content. Bond-distance changes are less than 2% and the increase in volume of the unit cell is associated with the decreasing distortion of the tetrahedron with increasing Al content. The specific heat, C_p, was measured from 300 to 1100 K. The measured C_p for these compounds is 19% higher than the Dulong-Petit value at the peak zT temperature (1223 K). These measured values permit a recalculation of thermal conductivity, revealing an extremely low lattice thermal conductivity of approximately 0.3−0.4 W/(m K) at 1223 K. The maximum zT of Yb_(14)Mn(1−x)Al_xSb_11 is approximately 0.8 and 1.1 for the x = 0 and x = 0.6 compositions, respectively.
Interstellar reddening and distance of Nova Cygni 1978

THE interstellar feature of KI (λ7699 A) has been observed in the direction of Nova Cygni 1978 with an equivalent width of Wλ≃116 mA and has been used here to deduce a colour excess of E(B−V) = 0.38 ± 0.08 mag. The distance–reddening law to the nova is derived from a sample of stars in the nearby field surrounding the nova. The nova seems to be at a distance of r≃3.3±0.6 kpc with a corresponding absolute visual magnitude at maximum light of MVo≃−7.5±0.5 mag. Nova Cygni 1978 is classified as a fast galactic nova on the basis of its absolute magnitude at maximum light and the rate of decline towards minimum light.
Lamellar membrane encircled viruses in the erythrocytes of Rana pipiens.

In the erythrocytes of adult leopard frogs, viral particles were identified by the electron microscope. These viruses were identified in the inclusion seen previously by conventional blood staining methods in the light microscope. The viruses, whose nucleoid probably contained DNA, were usually polygonal, primarily hexagonal, rarely circular and consisted of two electron lucent zones enclosing an electron dense zone between them. In relation to the cytoplasm, the viruses exhibited an unusual lamellar phenomenon composed of stacked membranes.
Reducing Academic Related Anxiety

This paper discusses anxiety from psychological and educational perspectives, with emphasis upon developing and implementing interventions in school settings. Definitions and characteristics of anxiety are presented, followed by discussion of anxiety as a problem in academic and personal-social functioning. Discussion occurs about identification, assessment, and the development of specific intervention techniques. Included are suggestions of how special services providers can assist in working with academic related anxiety in regular and special education.
The Relationship Between Career Pathways of Internal and Citizen Complaints

This study explores the career pathways and their related linkages of officer problem behaviors from two sources: complaints filed by citizens and complaints filed internally by other officers. Using retrospective longitudinal data from a large cohort of officers, results indicate that while both citizen and internal complaints are patterned differently at the aggregate level over officer experience, both contain multiple pathways at the individual level. Analyses further demonstrate a small group of officers in both complaint types who account for a disproportionate amount of deviance, and officers belonging to one group tend to belong to the other. Implications are discussed.
The effect of dam methylation on the expression of glnS in E. coli

The wild type glnS promoter contains a dam methylation site. In dam strains, the expression of glnS is enhanced 2.6-fold. A mutated form of the promoter has been isolated in which the dam methylation site is lost. Expression of this promoter is insensitive to dam methylation.
PLIF imaging of NO and O 2 in high-pressure flames

We report new models for the absorption, excitation, and fluorescence spectra for excitations within both the A $IMP X (0,0) band of NO and the B $IMP X bands of O2 together with supporting measurements obtained from the burned regions of flames operated in pressure from 1 to 10 atm. As developed through these models, a strategy appropriate for imaging planar laser-induced fluorescence is proposed that, for lean combustion environments, would afford sensitive, single-shot measurements of NO concentration despite the photolytic interference from O2 that intensifies with increasing pressure and temperature.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Transient Virus Infection: Spontaneous Recovery Mechanism of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus-infected Cells

SOME viruses can elude the suppressive devices of the host and achieve long-term tolerance, confronting us with an unexplained phenomenon and a new group of disorders, the slow virus infections. My results may provide a partial explanation of virus persistence by showing that a major persistent virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM), neither kills nor persists in the cell, but induces a cyclical series of transient self-limited cell-to-cell infections. When it was noticed1,2 that immunofluorescent staining3 demonstrated a shutdown of LCM antigen synthesis a few days after infection of cells in vitro with LCM virus, it seemed likely that LCM virus was able to induce a state of specific resistance in cells in which the virus infection was regulated in some way4. The shutdown mechanism was therefore studied in more detail.
Measurement performance testing for nonsinusoidal environments

A comparative study of the measurement accuracy capabilities of solid state watthour meters and other commercially available measurement instruments was performed. This study proposes a set of mathematically designed "waveforms" that could be used as a standard for the uniform, meaningful and reproducible evaluation testing of solid state watthour meters designed for use in nonsinusoidal environments. The test waveforms were theoretically developed based on an extensive database of field captured distorted waveforms that, in most cases, were monitored and recorded during power quality investigations over the last five years. Experimentation was performed using both the theoretically developed waveforms and the field captured waveforms.
Revisiting the Rules of Procedure and Evidence Applicable in Adversarial Adversarial Administrative Deportation Proceedings: Lessons from the Department of Labor Rules of Evidence

This article addresses the concern over the state of deportation proceedings in the United States. Professor Kidane argues that a lack of formal rules of procedure and evidence is the main factor contributing to the unpredictability, and inconsistency inherent in our system of immigration law. The argument is placed in context by reviewing the growth of the administrative agencies up through the adoption of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Kidane notes that the APA embodies one approach as a compromise between those advocating strict formal rules of procedure and evidence and those supporting a more relaxed system for administrative proceedings. However, Professor Kidane continues by stating that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) effectively made many of the evidentiary and procedural provisions of the APA inapplicable to immigration proceedings. Kidane argues that, by adopting more relaxed evidentiary standards and informal procedural rules, the INA violates basic principles of due process and fundamental fairness; resulting in a system that lacks uniformity and integrity. After reviewing the main problems inherent in the INA's lax evidentiary standards, such as free admission of hearsay and administrative notice of adjudicative facts, Professor Kidane argues that important lessons could be learned from the more formal system of evidentiary and procedural rules adopted by the Department of Labor (DOL). By noting the similarity between DOL proceedings and deportation proceedings, Kidane draws the conclusion that the DOL provisions would make a good substitute for the rules currently in place in the immigration arena. Professor Kidane concludes by arguing that these formal rules must be adopted for deportation proceedings in order to restore integrity and predictability to the system.
Novel feature vector for image authentication

As the dissemination of images grows across the Internet, authentication of images is becoming an important research issue. Image watermarking techniques are the most used forms to authenticate an image, however they introduce distortions in the original image and are vulnerable to a multitude of attacks. In this paper we present a novel method to authenticate images. We propose that instead of watermarking images, we can authenticate an image by calculating an invariant feature vector which models the image based on its shape and illumination characteristics. We propose an algorithm to calculate such a robust feature vector which withstands a variety of attacks and hence can be a good alternative to watermarking techniques.
Unique optical properties of organic semiconductor lasers

We have studied the optical properties of two different organic semiconductor laser (OSL) structures: a waveguide edge-emitting OSL and an organic vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (OVCSEL). The optically pumped edge-emitting OSL consists of a 3000 /spl Aring/ thick organic film vacuum-deposited onto a [100] InP substrate precoated with a 2-/spl mu/m thick layer of SiO/sub 2/. The organic films were grown in high vacuum by thermal coevaporation of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq/sub 3/) and DCM molecules at mass ratios from 10:1 to 200:1. The organic film forms a slab optical waveguide with the SiO/sub 2/ cladding layer on one side and air on the other. The laser optical cavity is formed by the 7% reflective facets of the as-deposited organic film, which conforms to the cleaved parallel edges of the substrate. Unique optical and electronic properties of these OSLs such as thermal stability of emission wavelength, lasing threshold and output power, extremely narrow linewidth combined with a low material cost, and ease of integration of amorphous organic films with other optoelectronic devices make these lasers attractive for a number of applications, such as optical communication, optical sensing, and memory.
Slouching Towards Exascale

One question before the high-performance computing community is âHow will application developers write code for exascale machines?â At this point it looks like they might be riding a rough beast indeed. This paper is a brief assessment of where we stand now with respect to writing programs for our largest supercomputers and what we should do next. MPI is likely to remain a critical part of the programming infrastructure as we move towards exascale, but more is needed, in particular a robust, portable, and effective standard for parallel programming within a single address space, perhaps for heterogeneous processors. Formal methods provide the only truly scalable approach to developing correct code in this complex programming environment.
Does the addition of involved field radiotherapy to high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation improve outcomes for patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma?

Purpose To evaluate the value of adding involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) to patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) undergoing high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and stem cell transplantation (SCT). Methods and Materials Ninety-two patients with relapsed/refractory HL undergoing HDCT and SCT from 1995 to 2008 were analyzed in a case-control design. Forty-six HL patients treated with IFRT within 2 months of SCT were matched to 46 HL patients who did not receive IFRT based on age, stage at relapse, timing of relapse, histology, and year of SCT. All were evaluated for response, survival, and toxicity with a median followup of 63.5 months. Results There was a trend for better disease control in patients receiving IFRT. Specifically, 10/46 IFRT patients (22%) relapsed/progressed after SCT compared with 17/46 control patients (37%). Of the failures after IFRT, 70% were inside the radiation field, all in sites of bulky disease. In patients with nonbulky disease, IFRT also resulted in significantly improved outcomes (failure rate 6% vs. 33%, respectively). When stratified by disease bulk, the use of IFRT was found to significantly improve DFS ( p = 0.032), but did not affect OS. In addition, IFRT and nonbulky disease were found to be positive prognostic indicators for DFS with hazard ratios of 0.357 ( p = 0.032) and 0.383 ( p = 0.034), respectively. Grade IV/V toxicities were significantly higher in the IFRT vs. non-IFRT group (28% vs. 2%; p Conclusion Patients with refractory or relapsed HL undergoing HDCT and SCT have a high risk of relapse in sites of prior disease involvement, especially in sites of bulky disease. The use of IFRT is associated with a lower risk of disease progression in these sites; however bulky disease sites are still difficult to control. Toxicity risk is significant, particularly when busulfan-based conditioning is combined with IFRT, and alternative chemotherapy conditioning regimens should be considered.
Globalisation and the Size Distribution of Firms

The implications of globalisation on the size distribution of firms and returns to individuals are studied in a general equilibrium model in which individuals with different managerial skills choose to become managers or workers. The return to managerial skill as a convex function of managerial skill arises naturally when firms engage in oligopolistic competition. Globalisation affects a firm’s output and the price level. The change of the price level leads to the exit of less efficient firms and an increase of average firm size. Even though countries are identical and there is no fixed cost of production, globalisation can be beneficial to all countries. Impact of globalisation between countries with different endowments is also studied.
So Help Me Allah: An Historical and Prudential Analysis of Oaths as Applied to the Current Controversy of the Bible and Quran in Oath Practices in America

The administration of justice in American courts depends upon truth. Witnesses must provide truthful testimony, and those holding certain offices must perform their official functions with a view toward upholding the truth: jurors must decide the facts and render verdicts, and judges must apply the law to particular circumstances, guided by what is true. Throughout American history, courts have attempted to safeguard truth, and thereby achieve justice, by requiring judges and jurors to take an oath or affirmation prior to assuming their duties and witnesses before testifying. Following English and early American customs, the form of oaths in the United States has traditionally included an explicit reference to God while placing one’s hand on a Bible. In light of the growing religious pluralism present in modern American society, however, the question arises whether to revisit these customs. In the recent case ACLU of North Carolina v. North Carolina, a Muslim woman contested a judge’s refusal to allow her to swear a witness oath using the Quran. This Article considers whether religious artifacts, such as the Bible and the Quran, should be permitted when taking an oath in an American court. It concludes that although allowing Christians to swear on the Bible and Muslims to swear on the Quran is consistent with the purposes and rationales for oaths generally, such an accommodation is unnecessary and, on balance, unwise given the competing policy considerations.
Midlife as a pivotal period in the life course: Balancing growth and decline at the crossroads of youth and old age

We provide evidence for multidirectionality, variability, and plasticity in the nature and direction of change in physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being during the middle years of the life course. The picture of well-being in midlife based on longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study is a more positive one than portrayed in previous cross-sectional studies. We present middle age as a pivotal period in the life course in terms of balancing growth and decline, linking earlier and later periods of life, and bridging younger and older generations. We highlight the role of protective factors and multisystem resilience in mitigating declines. Those in middle age play a central role in the lives of those who are younger and older at home, in the workplace, and in society at large. Thus, a focus on promoting health and well-being in middle age can have a far-reaching impact.
Angiotensin II induces apoptosis in renal proximal tubular cells

ANG II has been demonstrated to play a role in the progression of tubulointerstial injury. We studied the direct effect of ANG II on apoptosis of cultured rat renal proximal tubular epithelial cell...
Essential Air Service in the United States: Exploring Strategies to Enhance Spatial and Operational Efficiencies

The Essential Air Service (EAS) program continues to receive federal funding to provide air travel access to rural communities in the United States. Regular assessment and evaluation of the performance of this program are important, given limited federal resources and fiduciary duties. In fact, this program has garnered significant attention through the years because it was originally conceived to offer temporary financial bridging for maintaining commercial air service in rural and remote communities following deregulation in 1978, yet has continued to be funded at increasing rates for over thirty-five years. This article undertakes a systematic analysis of the EAS program in terms of access and intended goals and objectives. A spatial optimization model is used to examine service performance of the existing system. Program insights as well as ways system efficiency that could be enhanced are highlighted for rural air transportation service in the United States.
Activation of acetylcholine receptors on clonal mammalian BC3H-1 cells by high concentrations of agonist.

The patch-clamp technique was used to examine the activation of single acetylcholine receptor channels of clonal BC3H-1 mouse muscle cells. Single-channel currents were activated by low concentrations of the strong agonists acetylcholine (ACh, 50-100 nM), carbamylcholine (1-2 microM), and suberyldicholine (30-50 nM). At low agonist concentrations channel openings occur as isolated short-duration openings and as bursts of longer duration openings separated by brief closed periods. Two distinct types of brief closed periods separate long duration openings: brief closures (mean duration, 50 microseconds) and intermediate closures (mean duration, 0.5-1.0 ms). The kinetic properties of intermediate closures depend on the agonist, suggesting that they reflect receptor reopening from the closed state leading to the open state. Properties of brief closures, in contrast, are independent of the agonist, indicating that they result from an additional closed state leading away from the pathway producing the open state. A receptor activation scheme is proposed which accounts for the observed closed states, and transition rate estimates are presented for steps within the proposed scheme. The channel opening rate, beta, differs several-fold for the agonists studied (200-1400 s-1) and is comparable to the dissociation rate, k-2 (900 s-1). The dissociation rate is similar for the three agonists studied. The channel closing rate, alpha, is much slower than the opening rate (20-60 s-1). The probability is high that a doubly liganded channel is in the open state and depends on the agonist (0.75-0.97). Beta increases and alpha decreases at more negative membrane potentials, whereas k-2 shows little potential dependence.
THE p-ADIC VALUATIONS OF SEQUENCES COUNTING ALTERNATING SIGN MATRICES

The p-adic valuations of a sequence of integers counting alternating sign symmetric matrices are examined for p = 2 and 3. Symmetry properties of their graphs produce a new proof of the result that characterizes the indices that yield an odd number of matrices.
Intense ion beams for inertial confinement fusion

Intense beams of light and heavy ions are being studied as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers for high yield and energy. Heavy and light ions have common interests in beam transport, targets, and alternative accelerators. Self-pinched transport is being jointly studied. This article reviews the development of intense ion beams for ICF. Light-ion drivers are highlighted because they are compact, modular, efficient and low cost. Issues facing light ions are: (1) decreasing beam divergence; (2) increasing beam brightness; and (3) demonstrating self-pinched transport. Applied-B ion diodes are favored because of efficiency, beam brightness, perceived scalability, achievable focal intensity, and multistage capability. A light-ion concept addressing these issues uses: (1) an injector divergence of /spl les/24 mrad at 9 MeV; (2) two-stage acceleration to reduce divergence to /spl les/12 mrad at 35 MeV; and (3) self-pinched transport accepting divergences up to 12 mrad. Substantial progress in ion-driven target physics and repetitive ion diode technology is also presented. Z-pinch drivers are being pursued as the shortest pulsed power path to target physics experiments and high-yield fusion. However, light ions remain the pulsed power ICF driver of choice for high-yield fusion energy applications that require driver standoff and repetitive operation.
Faster implementation of introducing new processes in production at RTC

The introduction of new processes is critical for the photomask industry and with it comes the challenge of integrating these processes in production. This paper is an attempt to analyze some of these issues and propose different ways adopted by other industries to help with faster implementation of new processes in a production environment.
Leveraging social networks to detect anomalous insider actions in collaborative environments

Collaborative information systems (CIS) enable users to coordinate efficiently over shared tasks. They are often deployed in complex dynamic systems that provide users with broad access privileges, but also leave the system vulnerable to various attacks. Techniques to detect threats originating from beyond the system are relatively mature, but methods to detect insider threats are still evolving. A promising class of insider threat detection models for CIS focus on the communities that manifest between users based on the usage of common subjects in the system. However, current methods detect only when a user's aggregate behavior is intruding, not when specific actions have deviated from expectation. In this paper, we introduce a method called specialized network anomaly detection (SNAD) to detect such events. SNAD assembles the community of users that access a particular subject and assesses if similarities of the community with and without a certain user are sufficiently different. We present a theoretical basis and perform an extensive empirical evaluation with the access logs of two distinct environments: those of a large electronic health record system (6,015 users, 130,457 patients and 1,327,500 accesses) and the editing logs of Wikipedia (2,388,955 revisors, 55,200 articles and 6,482,780 revisions). We compare SNAD with several competing methods and demonstrate it is significantly more effective: on average it achieves 20–30% greater area under an ROC curve.
Ulcerative colitis-linked antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody in the cotton-top tamarin model of colitis.

Abstract The presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic anti-bodies (ANCA) in serum has recently been shown to be a good disease marker for ulcerative colitis. An animal model of colitis expressing serum ANCA would allow prospective studies of the relationship between ANCA expression and development of colitis. The cotton-top tamarin model of spontaneous colitis was investigated for presence of ANCA to evaluate its potential as a model for the study of the immune response in human ulcerative colitis. Results show that cotton-top tamarin neutrophils have antigens recognized by immunoglobulin G (IgG) from the ANCA-positive serum of patients with ulcerative colitis. However, cotton-top tamarins do not generate serum IgG reactive to cotton-top tamarin or human neutrophils even when equal amounts of IgG are used for antigen detection. As new animal models of spontaneous and induced chronic colitis are developed, the presence of ANCA in serum, using the species' neutrophils, will be useful in relating the immune response of the model to that in human ulcerative colitis.
Long-term visual acuity results of treated and untreated radiation retinopathy (an AOS thesis).

Results: Eighty-seven eyes (78 [89.7%] treated with external beam irradiation and 9 treated with local plaques) were studied. Fiftynine (67.8%) and 28 (32.2%) eyes had nonproliferative and proliferative retinopathy, respectively; macular edema developed in 42 nonproliferative eyes (71.2%) and 24 proliferative eyes (85.7%). Initial VAs (median) were 20/40 and 20/65 for nonproliferative and proliferative eyes, respectively, and final VA was 20/80 and 20/400. Initial VA (median) in eyes with macular edema was 20/50 compared to 20/25 in eyes without edema; final VAs were 20/200 and 20/30. Comparing treated (19 [45.2%]) and untreated (23[54.8%]) macular edema in 42 eyes with nonproliferative retinopathy, initial median VA (20/40 and 20/50) and final VA (20/100 and 20/200) were better in treated eyes. Regression analysis showed significant treatment effect (P = .003) when initial VA (logMAR) and months of follow-up were kept constant; treated eyes had mean final VA (logMAR) 0.36 (95% CI, 0.12-0.60) better than untreated eyes. Conclusions: The presence of macular edema and proliferation indicates more severe retinopathy and worse visual prognosis than for eyes without macular edema and proliferation. Although these VA results suggest macular photocoagulation is beneficial, eyes with macular edema continue to lose vision despite treatment. Better prevention and treatment methods are needed for radiation retinopathy.
After the Break-up Institutional Design in Transitional States

This article integrates historical and rational choice approaches to institutional origin and change to explain the establishment of electoral systems in three former Soviet Central Asian republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It argues that institutions designed under transitional circumstances are products of the interaction between the preceding historical and institutional setting and the dynamic uncertainty that surrounds them. Strategic actors engaged in the process of institutional design use both contexts in order to assess the degree to and direction in which their relative power is changing. They then negotiate accordingly so as to attain their preferred institutional outcomes. Central Asia's electoral systems in particular can be best understood as the product of very similar and long-standing regional power struggles being played out under varying dynamic and uncertain conditions.
Fracture toughness concept applied to methyl methacrylate.

Polymethyl methacrylate bone cement is tested at the Institute of Fracture and Solid Mechanics Laboratory, Lehigh University. Standard tensile coupon and compact tension specimens are molded under varying conditions of temperature and pressure. Test results are obtained for the strength and toughness of bone cement involved in total hip replacement operations.
Delineating Neural Structures of Developmental Human Brains with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

The human brain anatomy is characterized by dramatic structural changes during fetal development. It is extraordinarily complex and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Revealing detailed anatomy at different stages of brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered process, but also provides clues to detect abnormalities caused by genetic or environmental factors. However, anatomical studies of human brain development during the fetal period are surprisingly scarce and histology-based atlases have become available only recently. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures water diffusion to delineate the underlying neural structures. The high contrasts derived from DTI can be used to establish the brain atlas. With DTI tractography, coherent neural structures, such as white matter tracts, can be three-dimensionally reconstructed. The primary eigenvector of the diffusion tensor can be further explored to characterize microstructures in the cerebral wall of the developmental brains. In this mini-review, the application of DTI in order to reveal the structures of developmental fetal brains has been reviewed in the above-mentioned aspects. The fetal brain DTI provides a unique insight for delineating the neural structures in both macroscopic and microscopic levels. The resultant DTI database will provide structural guidance for the developmental study of human fetal brains in basic neuroscience, and reference standards for diagnostic radiology of premature newborns.
Mining Clinical Information in the Utilization of Social Services: Practitioners Inform Themselves

When fully invested in applied studies regarding their own clinical and programmatic concerns, social work practitioners find that "mining" clinical information enriches their performance and services.
Practical Application of Insect Attraction in the Use of Light Traps

The ultimate usefulness of all the insect responses being discussed in this symposium can be achieved only by applying them in practical devices. One example of such an application is the use of the attraction of insects to near-ultraviolet “blacklight” radiation in the development of electric-light traps. It is hoped that this portion of the discussion may serve to increase mutual understanding between entomologists and engineers of current uses for light traps and of some of the considerations and problems involved in their design and installation.
3D ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY ENHANCED AREA MEASUREMENTS OF THE LEFT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW TRACT IMPROVES ASSESSMENT OF STROKE VOLUME: COMPARISON WITH 2D ECHO

2D echo derived linear measurement and Doppler derived velocity information from the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) is frequently used to compute stroke volume (SV), which is subject to errors due to geometrical assumptions. We tested feasibility of using 3D echo derived area measurements for
The Ideological Architecture of Whiteness as Property in Educational Policy

In this article, I follow federal policy mandates and educational policy narratives to trace the resolution to inequality that was constructed post-Brown v. Board of Education, and what this resolu...
Sparsity-based extrapolation for direction-of-arrival estimation using co-prime arrays

In this paper, we employ a sparsity-based imputation technique to extend the usable portion of the difference coarray of a co-prime array for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. The degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) offered by a co-prime array cannot be fully utilized for subspace-based DOA estimation due to the presence of holes in the corresponding difference coarray. The proposed imputation approach is first employed to fill the holes in the difference coarray, thereby increasing the available DOFs. MUSIC with spatial smoothing is then applied to the combined set of actual and imputed measurements for direction finding. Supporting numerical results are provided that validate the performance enhancements offered by the proposed approach.
Utility evaluations for Markov states of lung cancer for PET-based disease management.

BACKGROUND Utilities for the health outcomes states (Markov states) of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) should be measured to evaluate management options for patients because patients are key participants in the process of care, and their assessment of diagnostic and therapeutic value in the options presented to them ultimately impacts their net health outcomes. This investigation sought to measure utilities for stage-dependent outcomes states of NSCLC. METHODS Persons (n = 23) with suspected NSCLC based on physical findings and computed tomography completed a short utilities survey. Utility valuations were obtained according to severity of morbidity and varied considerably. Respondents rated these health states according to accuracy measures for 18flurodeoxyglucose (18FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and medastinoscopy. RESULTS The results demonstrate that stage-dependent morbidity is an important consideration for patients with NSCLC and should be included in any decision analysis regarding the evaluation or treatment of NSCLC. Respondents valued the quality of information obtained from non-invasive PET and invasive mediastinoscopy comparably. The utilities obtained from this investigation are useful in clinical decision-making based on Markov processes because they provide an initial estimation of utility assessment for 18FDG-based diagnostic evaluation of lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS Consequently, these utilities will be useful in future decision analyses that require patient preference in the assignment of the evaluation of decision options (branches).
Etiologies and Short-Term Mortality in Patients with Ultraelevated Serum Ferritin.

Objectives Hyperferritinemia is common in states of iron overload, inflammation, and malignancy. There is evidence that higher ferritin levels may be associated with worse outcomes in several clinical conditions. Available data have been drawn primarily from cases of serum ferritin between 1000 and 5000 ng/mL and from relatively few cases of serum ferritin >5000 ng/mL. In addition, most studies have allowed for the assignment of only a single etiology per case of hyperferritinemia, when many cases may result from a combination of multiple etiologies. This study evaluates the distribution of etiologies and short-term mortality in patients with ultrahyperferritinemia (defined as a serum ferritin concentration >5000 ng/mL). Methods We retrospectively identified 405 patients older than 18 years who had serum ferritin concentrations >5000 ng/mL measured within the Geisinger Health System between 2004 and 2014. For each patient, we evaluated demographics, serum ferritin concentration, contributing etiologies, and mortality at 30 days and 6 months following index serum ferritin measurement. Results Ultrahyperferritinemia was caused by a combination of multiple etiologies in 51% of cases, a single etiology in 44% of cases, and an undetermined etiology in 5% of cases. The majority of all cases were the result, at least in part, of chronic blood transfusions (48%), acute liver injury (44%), malignancy (33%), myelodysplastic syndrome (11%), or end-stage renal disease (ESRD;10%). Acute liver injury accounted for the majority of cases (73%) of ultrahyperferritinemia caused by a single etiology, whereas neither myelodysplastic syndrome nor ESRD was the sole etiology for a single case. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and macrophage activation syndrome were associated with the highest mean serum ferritin levels by far, but acute liver injury remained the most common cause of single-etiology cases across all ferritin levels and accounted for 92% of cases >20,000 ng/mL. Mortality increased substantially between 30 days and 6 months for patients with ultrahyperferritinemia caused by malignancy (from 64% to 93%) but only modestly for patients with ultrahyperferritinemia caused by acute liver injury (from 33% to 39%). Conclusions Many cases of ultrahyperferritinemia are caused by a combination of multiple distinct etiologies. Cases of ultrahyperferritinemia among patients with ESRD and myelodysplastic syndrome may be partially explained by their often concomitant chronic blood transfusions. Acute liver injury is by far the most common cause of ultrahyperferritinemia caused by a single etiology, even at the most astronomically elevated serum ferritin concentrations. Finally, patients with ultrahyperferritinemia caused by malignancy appear to have poor 30-day survival and abysmal 6-month survival.
A FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRICITY MARKET MONITORING

The experiences to date with the im- plementation of electricity markets are indicative of less than true competition. Such results are symp- toms of flaws in market design which allow market players to behave strategically by exercising market power and, in some extreme cases, manipulating markets. Such behaviors impede the attainment of vibrant competition, which was a key goal in re- structuring electricity. The market monitoring no- tions used in securities and commodity markets can be adapted to electricity markets to minimize the impacts of such misconducts. However, due to the uniqueness of electricity and its markets, market monitoring needs to explicitly take into account the salient features of electricity including its extreme perishability as a commodity and the reliable system operations in parallel with market operations. This paper's objective is to describe a framework for market monitoring that takes explicitly into account the unique characteristics of electricity and electric- ity markets, the interrelationships of these markets and time-dependent nature of market participants' behaviors. The modular structure of the framework provides good flexibility and sufficient generality in allowing the incorporation of particular models and metrics appropriate for specific jurisdictions. We apply the proposed market monitoring framework for comparatively assessing existing monitoring structures. We discuss some of the associated chal- lenges, including seams issues and effective metric requirements for electricity markets.
Faith and the Illative Sense

F. H. BRADLEY once spoke of metaphysics as the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct.1 Cardinal Newman would have approved this dictum. He was deeply conscious of the fact that our more fundamental convictions are reached, not by the intellect alone, but by the whole man functioning as a thinking, feeling, and willing unity. There is a passage in his account of his gradual conversion to Roman Catholicism which gives expression to this view. “For myself,” he says, “it was not logic, then, that carried me on; as well might one say that the quicksilver in the barometer changes the weather. It is the concrete being that reasons; pass a number of years, and I find my mind in a new place; how? the whole man moves; paper logic is but the record of it.”2
Harbor Lines: Connecting the Histories of Borderlands and Pacific Imperialism in the Making of the Port of Los Angeles, 1858–1908

The nationalization of space following the U.S. conquest of California became troubled and unconsolidated in its encounter with complex natural land and waterscapes like the San Pedro estuary, located on the Los Angeles coast. Here a new borderlands emerged beginning in the 1850s, when conficting land laws and ambiguous surveys entrenched both Mexican and U.S. forms of property, and persisted until the Supreme Court settled litigation in 1897. These land disputes entwined the legacies of continental expansion with the imperatives of imperial expansion into the Pacific world, embedded a local history within national and global scales, and shaped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' transformation of the estuary into the Port of Los Angeles, the modern West's gateway to the world.
An experimental phylogeny to benchmark ancestral sequence reconstruction

Methods for ancestral sequence reconstruction are currently tested with computer simulations, since true biological phylogenies are unknown. Here, Randall et al. build an experimental phylogeny to benchmark the performance of alternate ancestral sequence reconstruction algorithms in inferring ancestral genotypes and phenotypes.
Deletion of Calponin 2 in Mouse Fibroblasts Increases Myosin II-Dependent Cell Traction Force.

Cell traction force (CTF) plays a critical role in controlling cell shape, permitting cell motility, and maintaining cellular homeostasis in many biological processes such as angiogenesis, development, wound healing, and cancer metastasis. Calponin is an actin filament-associated cytoskeletal protein in smooth muscles and multiple types of non-muscle cells. An established biochemical function of calponin is the inhibition of myosin ATPase in smooth muscle cells. Vertebrates have three calponin isoforms. Among them, calponin 2 is expressed in epithelial cells, endothelial cells, macrophages, myoblasts, and fibroblasts and plays a role in regulating cytoskeleton activities such as cell adhesion, migration, and cytokinesis. Knockout (KO) of the gene encoding calponin 2 (Cnn2) in mice increased cell motility, suggesting a function of calponin 2 in modulating CTF. In this study, we examined fibroblasts isolated from Cnn2 KO and wild-type (WT) mice using CTF microscopy. Primary mouse fibroblasts were cultured o...
Color of interference and joint encoding and medium access in large wireless networks

We address the problem of resource allocation in extended wireless networks in the presence of user dynamics. We first characterized the first two order statistics of the interference in such networks where users arrive according to a spatio-temporal Poisson process where each user has a certain amount of information to transmit, specified by a probability distribution. We show that, user dynamics and single user behavior dominate the auto-covariance function. We then formulated an optimization problem in order to develop a joint power and rate allocation scheme for systems in which users transmit simultaneously up on arrival, without any collision avoidance or scheduling. We then provide an iterative algorithm to solve the optimization problem, thereby obtaining the rate and power allocation strategy, taking into consideration the correlation of interference and the energy constraints. We also observe that our scheme leads to an interference averaging phenomenon as the transmission duration becomes large, which reduces the outages in the packet transmissions. Our scheme is a low overhead and completely asynchronous over users.
Ferroelectric Nanoparticles Tailored for Electro-optical and Nano-imaging Applications

This paper reports an implementation of the high energy ball milling method to produce stable colloids of ferroelectric nanoparticles tailored for electro-optical and nano-imaging applications. Optical and ferroelectric properties of the produced nano-colloids are discussed.
Microbes that Meddle with Metals: Microorganisms depend on numerous metal cofactors; these requirements in turn depend on microbial species, type of metabolism, and environmental conditions

Metals present a double-edged sword to microorganisms—they are essential micronutrients at low concentrations, but toxic above specific thresholds. Microorganisms depend on numerous metal cofactors to carry out diverse metabolisms, with those requirements in turn depending on the microbial species, type of metabolism, and environmental conditions.