Louisiana Tech University

Over the past decade, many laboratories have begun to explore brain-computer interface (BCI) technology as a radically new communication option for those with neuromuscular impairments that prevent them from using conventional augmentative communication methods. BCI's provide these users with communication channels that do not depend on peripheral nerves and muscles. This article summarizes the first international meeting devoted to BCI research and development. Current BCI's use electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded at the scalp or single-unit activity recorded from within cortex to control cursor movement, select letters or icons, or operate a neuroprosthesis. The central element in each BCI is a translation algorithm that converts electrophysiological input from the user into output that controls external devices. BCI operation depends on effective interaction between two adaptive controllers, the user who encodes his or her commands in the electrophysiological input provided to the BCI, and the BCI which recognizes the commands contained in the input and expresses them in device control. Current BCI's have maximum information transfer rates of 5-25 b/min. Achievement of greater speed and accuracy depends on improvements in signal processing, translation algorithms, and user training. These improvements depend on increased interdisciplinary cooperation between neuroscientists, engineers, computer programmers, psychologists, and rehabilitation specialists, and on adoption and widespread application of objective methods for evaluating alternative methods. The practical use of BCI technology depends on the development of appropriate applications, identification of appropriate user groups, and careful attention to the needs and desires of individual users. BCI research and development will also benefit from greater emphasis on peer-reviewed publications, and from adoption of standard venues for presentations and discussion.

Many researchers who use same-source data face concerns about common method variance (CMV). Although post hoc statistical detection and correction techniques for CMV have been proposed, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding their efficacy. Because of disagreement among scholars regarding the likelihood and nature of CMV in self-report data, the current study evaluates three post hoc strategies and the strategy of doing nothing within three sets of assumptions about CMV: that CMV does not exist, that CMV exists and has equal effects across constructs, and that CMV exists and has unequal effects across constructs. The implications of using each strategy within each of the three assumptions are examined empirically using 691,200 simulated data sets varying factors such as the amount of true variance and the amount and nature of CMV modeled. Based on analyses of these data, potential benefits and likely risks of using the different techniques are detailed.

A measurement of the Higgs boson mass is presented based on the combined data samples of the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN LHC in the H→γγ and H→ZZ→4ℓ decay channels. The results are obtained from a simultaneous fit to the reconstructed invariant mass peaks in the two channels and for the two experiments. The measured masses from the individual channels and the two experiments are found to be consistent among themselves. The combined measured mass of the Higgs boson is m_{H}=125.09±0.21 (stat)±0.11 (syst) GeV.

In 2009-2010, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
\n(LIGO) operated together with international partners Virgo and GEO600 as
\na network to search for gravitational waves (GWs) of astrophysical
\norigin. The sensitivity of these detectors was limited by a combination
\nof noise sources inherent to the instrumental design and its
\nenvironment, often localized in time or frequency, that couple into the
\nGW readout. Here we review the performance of the LIGO instruments
\nduring this epoch, the work done to characterize the detectors and their
\ndata, and the effect that transient and continuous noise artefacts have
\non the sensitivity of LIGO to a variety of astrophysical sources.

The goal of the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is to detect and study gravitational waves (GWs) of astrophysical origin. Direct detection of GWs holds the promise of testing general relativity in the strong-field regime, of providing a new probe of exotic objects such as black holes and neutron stars and of uncovering unanticipated new astrophysics. LIGO, a joint Caltech-MIT project supported by the National Science Foundation, operates three multi-kilometer interferometers at two widely separated sites in the United States. These detectors are the result of decades of worldwide technology development, design, construction and commissioning. They are now operating at their design sensitivity, and are sensitive to gravitational wave strains smaller than one part in 10(21). With this unprecedented sensitivity, the data are being analyzed to detect or place limits on GWs from a variety of potential astrophysical sources.

Although ‘valuing diversity’ has become a watchword, field research on the impact of a culturally diverse workforce on organizational performance has not been forthcoming. Invoking a resource-based framework, in this study the author examined the relationships among cultural (racial) diversity, business strategy, and firm performance in the banking industry. Racial diversity interacted with business strategy in determining firm performance measured in three different ways, as productivity, return on equity, and market performance. The results demonstrate that cultural diversity does in fact add value and, within the proper context, contributes to firm competitive advantage.

We present an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of the rates for all types of compact binary coalescence sources detectable by the Initial and Advanced versions of the ground-based gravitational-wave detectors LIGO and Virgo. Astrophysical estimates for compact-binary coalescence rates depend on a number of assumptions and unknown model parameters, and are still uncertain. The most confident among these estimates are the rate predictions for coalescing binary neutron stars which are based on extrapolations from observed binary pulsars in our Galaxy. These yield a likely coalescence rate of 100 per Myr per Milky Way Equivalent Galaxy (MWEG), although the rate could plausibly range from 1 per Myr per MWEG to 1000 per Myr per MWEG. We convert coalescence rates into detection rates based on data from the LIGO S5 and Virgo VSR2 science runs and projected sensitivities for our Advanced detectors. Using the detector sensitivities derived from these data, we find a likely detection rate of 0.02 per year for Initial LIGO-Virgo interferometers, with a plausible range between 0.0002 and 0.2 per year. The likely binary neutron-star detection rate for the Advanced LIGO-Virgo network increases to 40 events per year, with a range between 0.4 and 400 per year.

Combined ATLAS and CMS measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates, as well as constraints on its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The combination is based on the analysis of five production processes, namely gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a W or a Z boson or a pair of top quarks, and of the six decay modes H → ZZ, W W , γγ, ττ, bb, and μμ. All results are reported assuming a value of 125.09 GeV for the Higgs boson mass, the result of the combined measurement by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The analysis uses the CERN LHC proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to integrated luminosities per experiment of approximately 5 fb$^{−1}$ at $\sqrt{s}$=7 TeV and 20 fb−1 at $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV. The Higgs boson production and decay rates measured by the two experiments are combined within the context of three generic parameterisations: two based on cross sections and branching fractions, and one on ratios of coupling modifiers. Several interpretations of the measurements with more model-dependent parameterisations are also given. The combined signal yield relative to the Standard Model prediction is measured to be 1.09 ± 0.11. The combined measurements lead to observed significances for the vector boson fusion production process and for the H → ττ decay of 5.4 and 5.5 standard deviations, respectively. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions for all parameterisations considered.

Halloysite is an alumosilicate tubular clay with a diameter of 50 nm, an inner lumen of 15 nm and a length of 600-900 nm. It is a natural biocompatible nanomaterial available in thousands of tons at low price, which makes it a good candidate for nanoarchitectural composites. The inner lumen of halloysite may be adjusted by etching to 20-30% of the tube volume and loading with functional agents (antioxidants, anticorrosion agents, flame-retardant agents, drugs, or proteins) allowing for formulations with sustained release tuned by the tube end-stoppers for hours and days. Clogging the tube ends in polymeric composites allows further extension of the release time. Thus, antioxidant-loaded halloysite doped into rubber enhances anti-aging properties for at least 12 months. The addition of 3-5 wt% of halloysite increases the strength of polymeric materials, and the possibility of the tube's orientation promises a gradient of properties. Halloysite nanotubes are a promising mesoporous media for catalytic nanoparticles that may be seeded on the tube surface or synthesized exclusively in the lumens, providing enhanced catalytic properties, especially at high temperatures. In vitro and in vivo studies on biological cells and worms indicate the safety of halloysite, and tests for efficient adsorption of mycotoxins in animals' stomachs are also carried out.

Halloysite aluminosilicate nanotubes with a 15 nm lumen, 50 nm external diameter, and length of 800 +/- 300 nm have been developed as an entrapment system for loading, storage, and controlled release of anticorrosion agents and biocides. Fundamental research to enable the control of release rates from hours to months is being undertaken. By variation of internal fluidic properties, the formation of nanoshells over the nanotubes and by creation of smart caps at the tube ends it is possible to develop further means of controlling the rate of release. Anticorrosive halloysite coatings are in development and a self-healing approach has been developed for repair mechanisms through response activation to external impacts. In this Perspective, applications of halloysite as nanometer-scale containers are discussed, including the use of halloysite tubes as drug releasing agents, as biomimetic reaction vessels, and as additives in biocide and protective coatings. Halloysite nanotubes are available in thousands of tons, and remain sophisticated and novel natural nanomaterials which can be used for the loading of agents for metal and plastic anticorrosion and biocide protection.

Recent research on job embeddedness has found that both on- and off-the-job forces can act to bind people to their jobs. The present study extended this line of research by examining how job embeddedness may be integrated into a traditional model of voluntary turnover. This study also developed and tested a global, reflective measure of job embeddedness that overcomes important limitations and serves as a companion to the original composite measure. Results of this longitudinal study found that job embeddedness predicted voluntary turnover beyond job attitudes and core variables from traditional models of turnover. Results also found that job embeddedness interacted with job satisfaction to predict voluntary turnover, suggesting that the job embeddedness construct extends beyond the unfolding model of turnover (T. R. Mitchell & T. W. Lee, 2001) it originated from.

We present five new satellites of the Milky Way discovered in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data, four of which were followed up with either the Subaru or the Isaac Newton Telescopes. They include four probable new dwarf galaxies-one each in the constellations of Coma Berenices, Canes Venatici, Leo, and Hercules-together with one unusually extended globular cluster, Segue 1. We provide distances, absolute magnitudes, half-light radii, and color-magnitude diagrams for all five satellites. The morphological features of the color-magnitude diagrams are generally well described by the ridge line of the old, metal-poor globular cluster M92. In the past two years, a total of 10 new Milky Way satellites with effective surface brightness muv>~28 mag arcsec-2 have been discovered in SDSS data. They are less luminous, more irregular, and apparently more metal-poor than the previously known nine Milky Way dwarf spheroidals. The relationship between these objects and other populations is discussed. We note that there is a paucity of objects with half-light radii between ~40 and ~100 pc. We conjecture that this may represent the division between star clusters and dwarf galaxies. Based in part on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

A method is presented for numerically inverting a Laplace transform that requires, in addition to the transform function itself, only sine, cosine, and exponential functions. The method is conceptually much like the method of Dubner and Abate, which approximates the inverse function by means of a Fourier cosine series. The method presented here, however, differs from theirs in two important respects. First of all, the Fourier series contains additional terms involving the sine function selected such that the error in the approximation is less than that of Dubner and Abate and such that the Fourier series approximates the inverse function on an interval of twice the length of the corresponding interval in Dubner and Abate's method. Second, there is incorporated into the method in this paper a transformation of the approximating series into one that converges very rapidly. In test problems using the method it has routinely been possible to evaluate inverse transforms with considerable accuracy over a wide range of values of the independent variable using a relatively few determinations of the Laplace transform itself.

A search for ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ oscillations has been conducted at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility by using ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ from ${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}$ decay at rest. The ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ are detected via the reaction ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{+}n$, correlated with a $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ from $\mathrm{np}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}d\ensuremath{\gamma}$ ( $2.2\mathrm{MeV}$). The use of tight cuts to identify ${e}^{+}$ events with correlated $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays yields 22 events with ${e}^{+}$ energy between 36 and $60\mathrm{MeV}$ and only $4.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.6$ background events. A fit to the ${e}^{+}$ events between 20 and $60\mathrm{MeV}$ yields a total excess of ${51.0}_{\ensuremath{-}19.5}^{+20.2}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}8.0$ events. If attributed to ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ oscillations, this corresponds to an oscillation probability of ( $0.31\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.12\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05$)%.

The use of network technology to deliver training is the latest trend in the training and development industry and has been heralded as the ‘e‐learning revolution.’ In an effort to separate hype from reality, this paper reviews practitioner and research literature on e‐learning, incorporating unpublished information from interviews with managers and consultants directly involved in e‐learning initiatives. Specific attention is given to why organizations use e‐learning, what the potential drawbacks to e‐learning are, what we know from research about e‐learning and what the future of e‐learning may hold.

In this article, we review applications of covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) in the Journal of Advertising (JA) starting with the first issue in 1972. We identify 111 articles from the earliest application of SEM in 1983 through 2015, and discuss important methodological issues related to the following aspects: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), causal modeling, multiple group analysis, reporting, and guidelines for interpretation of results. Moreover, we summarize some issues related to varying terminology associated with different SEM methods. Findings indicate that the use of SEM in the JA contributes greatly to conceptual, empirical, and methodological advances in advertising research. The assessment contributes to the literature by offering advertising researchers a summary guide to best practices and a reminder of the basics that distinguish the powerful and unique approach involving structural analysis of covariances.

During 2015 the ATLAS experiment recorded [Formula: see text] of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text]. The ATLAS trigger system is a crucial component of the experiment, responsible for selecting events of interest at a recording rate of approximately 1 kHz from up to 40 MHz of collisions. This paper presents a short overview of the changes to the trigger and data acquisition systems during the first long shutdown of the LHC and shows the performance of the trigger system and its components based on the 2015 proton-proton collision data.

This article investigates in two ways the use and reporting of marker variables to detect common method variance (CMV) in organizational research. First, a review of 398 empirical articles and 41 unpublished dissertations that employ marker variables indicates that authors are not reporting adequate information regarding marker variable choice and use, are choosing inappropriate marker variables, and are possibly making errors in their assessment of CMV effects. Second, two data sets are presented that investigate the properties of six prospective markers to assess the degree to which they capture specific, measurable causes of CMV and the conclusions these markers produce when applied to substantive relationships. Results from the review and empirical investigation are used to expand the set of conditions scholars should consider when determining whether to employ a marker technique over other alternatives for detecting and controlling CMV and how best to do so.

A search for ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}$ oscillations has been conducted with the LSND apparatus using ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ from ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}$ decay in flight. Two analyses observe a total of 40 beam-on high-energy (60--200 MeV) electron events consistent with the ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}\mathrm{C}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}X$ inclusive reaction. This number is significantly above the $21.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.1$ events expected from the ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}$ contamination in the beam and the beam-off background. If interpreted as an oscillation signal, the observed oscillation probability of $(2.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ is consistent with the previously reported ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ oscillation evidence from LSND.

Because forgiveness theory has tended to neglect the role of dispositional factors, the authors present novel theorizing about the nature of vengefulness (the disposition to seek revenge following interpersonal offenses) and its relationship to forgiveness and other variables. In Study 1, vengefulness was correlated cross-sectionally with (a) less forgiving, (b) greater rumination about the offense, (c) higher negative affectivity, and (d) lower life satisfaction. Vengefulness at baseline was negatively related to change in forgiving throughout an 8-week follow-up. In Study 2, vengefulness was negatively associated with Agreeableness and positively associated with Neuroticism. Measures of the Big Five personality factors explained 30% of the variance in vengefulness.