Common Graphics Library (CGL). Volume 1: LEZ user's guide

Users are introduced to and instructed in the use of the Langley Easy (LEZ) routines of the Common Graphics Library (CGL). The LEZ routines form an application independent graphics package which enables the user community to view data quickly and easily, while providing a means of generating scientific charts conforming to the publication and/or viewgraph process. A distinct advantage for using the LEZ routines is that the underlying graphics package may be replaced or modified without requiring the users to change their application programs. The library is written in ANSI FORTRAN 77, and currently uses a CORE-based underlying graphics package, and is therefore machine independent, providing support for centralized and/or distributed computer systems

Administrative Proxies for Judicial Review: Building Legitimacy from the Inside-Out

Judicial review is considered an indispensable legitimizer of the administrative state. Not only is it a hallmark feature of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), but the various standards of review reinforce democratic norms, promote accountability, and act as a check against arbitrariness. Unreviewable agency actions, therefore, must find their legitimacy elsewhere. This article evaluates the promise of “inside-out” legitimacy as an alternative or complement to judicial review. We theorize, based on insights from the administrative law and procedural justice literatures, that administrative process design can do much to advance legitimacy without the need to rely on judicial review to check administrative decisionmaking. Next, we connect the theoretical conceptions of legitimacy to administrative behavior by offering metrics for testing intrinsic legitimacy. To demonstrate how these metrics might be applied, we present an empirical study of an innovative administrative fire-alarm process that enables interested parties to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to withdraw states’ authorization to administer the major environmental statutes. While this process may trigger a variety of responses by EPA, there is generally little recourse to the courts for citizens dissatisfied with the process or its outcomes. Our findings suggest that, even without external checks, EPA engages in numerous behaviors indicative of intrinsic legitimacy. In addition, the process itself produces real substantive outcomes. Armed with these findings, we conclude with an assessment of institutional design features that may contribute to inside-out legitimacy

Administrative Proxies for Judicial Review: Building Legitimacy from the Inside-Out

Judicial review is considered an indispensable legitimizer of the administrative state. Not only is it a hallmark feature of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), but the various standards of review reinforce democratic norms, promote accountability, and act as a check against arbitrariness. Unreviewable agency actions, therefore, must find their legitimacy elsewhere. This article evaluates the promise of “inside-out” legitimacy as an alternative or complement to judicial review. We theorize, based on insights from the administrative law and procedural justice literatures, that administrative process design can do much to advance legitimacy without the need to rely on judicial review to check administrative decisionmaking. Next, we connect the theoretical conceptions of legitimacy to administrative behavior by offering metrics for testing intrinsic legitimacy. To demonstrate how these metrics might be applied, we present an empirical study of an innovative administrative fire-alarm process that enables interested parties to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to withdraw states’ authorization to administer the major environmental statutes. While this process may trigger a variety of responses by EPA, there is generally little recourse to the courts for citizens dissatisfied with the process or its outcomes. Our findings suggest that, even without external checks, EPA engages in numerous behaviors indicative of intrinsic legitimacy. In addition, the process itself produces real substantive outcomes. Armed with these findings, we conclude with an assessment of institutional design features that may contribute to inside-out legitimacy

L'Expressió al testicle de la proteïna transportadora d'esteroides sexuals humana (SHBG) té lloc a les cèl·lules germinals i no a les cèl·lules de Sertoli

El gen de la proteïna transportadora d'esteroides sexuals humana (hSHBG) conté dues unitats de transcripció diferents. Una d'aquestes unitats de transcripció fa aproximadament 4,3 kb, i codifica un precursor polipeptídic que és processat i secretat pels hepatòcits, i que donarà lloc a la SHBG plasmàtica. La seqüència promotora humana d'aquesta unitat de transcripció és diferent de la seqüència dels promotors dels altres mamífers que expressen el gen de la SHBG a les cèll. ules de Sertoli. Concretament, el promotor humà de la SHBG conté un lloc d'unió per a uns factors de transcripció anomenats USF, que s'uneixen al promotor i inhibeixen la seva expressió a les cèll. ules de Sertoli. Tot i que el gen de la SHBG humana no s'expressa a les cèll. ules de Sertoli, es poden detectar transcrits per a la SHBG al testicle humà. Aquests transcrits contenen un exó 1 alternatiu, es troben a les cèll. ules germinals i són producte d'una altra unitat de transcripció que conté una regió promotora que es troba a unes 2 kb de la primera regió promotora. Els transcrits d'aquesta segona regió promotora codifiquen una isoforma de la SHBG que és uns 5 kDa més petita que la SHBG plasmàtica. Aquesta isoforma de la SHBG s'acumula als espermatozoides entre la membrana exterior de l'acrosoma i la membrana plasmàtica, i s'allibera al medi durant la reacció de capacitació. Aquestes diferències tan importants en l'expressió del gen de la SHBG al testicle entre l'humà i els altres mamífers ens obliguen a reconsiderar la funció de la SHBG en el testicle en relació a la reproducció masculina.The human sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) gene contains at least two transcription units. A 4.3 kb human SHBG transcription unit encodes the precursor polypeptide, which is processed and secreted by hepatocytes as plasma SHBG. The proximal promoter of this transcription unit differs from the corresponding sequence in other mammals, in which it is also expressed in Sertoli cells. In particular, its proximal promoter sequence contains a binding-site for USF transcription factors that represses its activity in Sertoli cells. Although human SHBG is not expressed in Sertoli cells, human SHBG transcripts containing an alternative exon 1 sequence are present in testicular germ cells. These are the products of an ~8 kb human SHBG transcription unit, and they appear to encode an SHBG isoform that is 4-5 kDa smaller than plasma SHBG. This sperm SHBG isoform accumulates between the outer acrosomal membrane and the sperm plasma membrane, and it is released during the capacitation reaction. These remarkable differences in the expression of human SHBG in the testis, when compared to other mammals, force us to reconsider the functional significance of SHBG expression in the testis in relation to male reproduction

Predictive and External Validity of a Pre-Market Study to Determine the Most Effective Pictorial Health Warning Label Content for Cigarette Packages

INTRODUCTION: Studies examining cigarette package pictorial health warning label (HWL) content have primarily used designs that do not allow determination of effectiveness after repeated, naturalistic exposure. This research aimed to determine the predictive and external validity of a pre-market evaluation study of pictorial HWLs. METHODS: Data were analyzed from: (1) a pre-market convenience sample of 544 adult smokers who participated in field experiments in Mexico City before pictorial HWL implementation (September 2010); and (2) a post-market population-based representative sample of 1765 adult smokers in the Mexican administration of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey after pictorial HWL implementation. Participants in both samples rated six HWLs that appeared on cigarette packs, and also ranked HWLs with four different themes. Mixed effects models were estimated for each sample to assess ratings of relative effectiveness for the six HWLs, and to assess which HWL themes were ranked as the most effective. RESULTS: Pre- and post-market data showed similar relative ratings across the six HWLs, with the least and most effective HWLs consistently differentiated from other HWLs. Models predicting rankings of HWL themes in post-market sample indicated: (1) pictorial HWLs were ranked as more effective than text-only HWLs; (2) HWLs with both graphic and "lived experience" content outperformed symbolic content; and, (3) testimonial content significantly outperformed didactic content. Pre-market data showed a similar pattern of results, but with fewer statistically significant findings. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests well-designed pre-market studies can have predictive and external validity, helping regulators select HWL content

Indium In-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy: Application to carotid body tumors

AbstractPurpose: This study was conducted to investigate and illustrate the use of Indium In-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy as it applies to carotid body tumors (CBT). Localization has relied primarily on ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging with angiographic confirmation. These methods only assess the cervical bifurcation without providing an evaluation of metastasis in patients without symptoms or recurrence in patients after surgery.Methods: Indium In-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy was used in five patients with a diagnosis of CBT. Four patients were evaluated after surgical excision for evidence of tumor recurrence. One patient was evaluated before excision for diagnostic confirmation.Results: No evidence of tumor recurrence was demonstrated in the four patients who had undergone previous CBT excision. One of these patients had increased activity in the pituitary, later confirmed as an enlarged pituitary without evidence of an adenoma with computed tomography. The diagnosis of CBT was confirmed in the patient evaluated before surgery. This patient also had increased activity in the occipital region, confirmed as the site of previous ischemia on computed tomography.Conclusion: Indium In-111 pentetreotide scintigraphy is a new innovative method for viewing neuroendocrine tumors. Its potential lies not only in tumor localization but also in identification of recurrent tumor at the operative site and metastatic disease. (J Vasc Surg 1997;25:905-8.

Measurement of the fracture energy in mode I of atmospheric ice accreted on different materials using a blister test

Atmospheric ice is formed when supercooled water droplets strike an object such as a tree, aircraft or wind turbine. Its microstructure and properties vary widely according to the flow and thermal conditions prevailing. The present work was conducted in the Cranfield Icing Wind Tunnel for a european project called STORM (efficient ice protection Systems and simulation Techniques Of ice Release on propulsive systeMs). It aimed at collecting data on the fracture energy of atmospheric ice on four different materials - AL2024-T3, Ti-6Al-4V, Platinum and Alexit-411 - using a blister test. This particular test, firstly introduced by Andrews and Lockington (1983), have been adapted by Cranfield University to be able to test the ice adhesion in situ while ice is still accreting on the surface making it closer to real situation. The second part of the paper will focus on the influence of different parameters like the materials ice is accreted on, the total ambient temperature, the tunnel wind speed and the cloud liquid water content which have been investigated over a few icing condition

XUV Frequency Combs via Femtosecond Enhancement Cavities

We review the current state of tabletop extreme ultraviolet (XUV) sources based on high harmonic generation (HHG) in femtosecond enhancement cavities (fsEC). Recent developments have enabled generation of high photon flux (1014 photons/sec) in the XUV, at high repetition rates (>50 MHz) and spanning the spectral region from 40 nm - 120 nm. This level of performance has enabled precision spectroscopy with XUV frequency combs and promises further applications in XUV spectroscopic and photoemission studies. We discuss the theory of operation and experimental details of the fsEC and XUV generation based on HHG, including current technical challenges to increasing the photon flux and maximum photon energy produced by this type of system. Current and future applications for these sources are also discussed.Comment: invited review article, 38 page