cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intrathecal Hydromorphone and Bupivacaine Combination Therapy for Post-Laminectomy Syndrome Optimized with Patient-Activated Bolus Device.

Background . Intrathecal (IT) pumps have become a valuable tool in managing intractable non-cancer pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using a rigorous treatment algorithm for trialing and implanting IT pumps with hydromorphone and bupivacaine in managing a more homogeneous population of post-laminectomy syndrome or failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) patients. Methods . This is a retrospective analysis of FBSS patients with chronic intractable back pain implanted with IT pumps delivering hydromorphone and bupivacaine. Results . A cohort of 57 (26 males, 31 females) consecutively implanted FBSS patients was analyzed. The average age at implant was 65.4 years. Average pain scores were 8.4 ± 0.2 (pre-implant), 4.9 ± 0.4 (6 months), 5.2 ± 0.5 (12 months), and 4.3 ± 0.5 (24 months). Average oral opioid doses in morphine equivalents were 56 ± 10 mg/day (pre-implant), 12.0 ± 3.5 mg/day (12 months), 15 ± 6 mg/day (24 months). Average IT hydromorphone doses were 79 ± 6.8 mcg/day (at implant), 184 ± 22 mcg/day (6 months), 329 ± 48 mcg/day (12 months), and 487 ± 80 mcg (24 months). IT hydromorphone dose escalation from baseline was 133% (6 months vs baseline), 78% (12 months vs 6 months), and 48% from 12 months to 24 months. Average IT bupivacaine doses were 5.8 ± 0.3 mg/day (implant), 9.5 ± 0.6 mg/day (6 months), 12.2 ± 0.7 mg/day (12 months), and 12.6 ± 0.9 mg/day (24 months). Conclusion . IT hydromorphone and bupivacaine are effective in treating chronic pain of FBSS, as demonstrated by the reduction of pain intensity and oral opioid consumption. However, an IT dose escalation phenomenon was observed, although at a reduced rate compared with what had been previously reported in the literature. It is possible that the local anesthetic combination delivered via a patient-activaed bolus device is an important factor. Despite demonstrating effectiveness, the clinical utility of myPTM-optimized IT therapy remains limited by a lack of prospective, placebo-controlled trials and comparative effectiveness research.
Returns to parental investment in children in Benguet Province Philippines.

Household survey data and family histories from three highland Philippine communities are analyzed in terms of the contributions adult children living apart from parents make to parents. Differentials among the contributions of adult children are related to developmental variation within sibling sets and to occupational diversity promoted by differential educational attainment. This diversity within the sibling set is treated as a reflection of family and household strategies to reduce economic risk. These household and family strategies can be expected to vary among communities and may run counter to the aims of national educational and family planning policies. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)
NATURAL SELECTION IN LABORATORY POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA.' II. COMPETITION BETWEEN A WHITE-EYE GENE AND ITS WILD TYPE ALLELE

their natural ends, are easy to assemble and maintain.- Their effectiveness was demonstrated by a study of the selective advantage possessed by an inversion heterozygote over the two related homozygotes in Drosophila melanogaster, and reported in the paper cited above. The data to be presented here include the results of a competition between a sex-linked gene causing white eyes and its wild type allele in Drosophila melanogaster. The gene for white eyes is recessive to its wild type allele which causes
Quantifying Coulombic and Solvent Polarization-Mediated Forces Between DNA Helices

One of the fundamental problems in nucleic acids biophysics is to predict the different forces that stabilize nucleic acid tertiary folds. Here we provide a quantitative estimation and analysis for the forces between DNA helices in an ionic solution. Using the generalized Born model and the improved atomistic tightly binding ions model, we evaluate ion correlation and solvent polarization effects in interhelix interactions. The results suggest that hydration, Coulomb correlation and ion entropy act together to cause the repulsion and attraction between nucleic acid helices in Mg2+ and Mn2+ solutions, respectively. The theoretical predictions are consistent with experimental findings. Detailed analysis further suggests that solvent polarization and ion correlation both are crucial for the interhelix interactions. The theory presented here may provide a useful framework for systematic and quantitative predictions of the forces in nucleic acids folding.
Intestinal bypass operation for massive obesity.

The patient who has had an intestinal bypass operation may seek help from the family physician for a related or unrelated problem. Knowledge of the procedure itself, the postoperative adaptation and clinical problems, and the expected benefits are essential to good patient care.
Agglomeration, Productivity and Regional Growth: Production Theory Approaches

Agglomeration Economies, or production cost savings due to geographic clustering of firms and industries, can enhance the growth and development of firms, industries, regions and cities. We provide an overview of the theory and empirical literature of agglomeration, and highlight several applications from the cost function perspective. These applications include cost savings from density in the U.S. food manufacturing industry (Cohen and Morrison Paul, 2005); transportation infrastructure and costs for the overall manufacturing sector in the U.S. (Cohen and Morrison Paul, 2007); and hospital locations and costs in the State of Washington (Cohen and Morrison Paul, forthcoming). In all of these applications, the authors find significant evidence of various forms of agglomeration economies.
Tumor stroma interaction is mediated by monocarboxylate metabolism

Human breast tumors contain significant amounts of stromal cells. There exists strong evidence that these stromal cells support cancer development and progression by altering various pathways (e.g. downregulation of tumor suppressor genes or autocrine signaling loops). Here, we suggest that stromal carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), shown to be generated from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, may (i) recycle tumor-derived lactate for their own energetic requirements, thereby sparing glucose for neighboring glycolytic tumor cells, and (ii) subsequently secrete surplus energetically and biosynthetically valuable metabolites of lactate oxidation, such as pyruvate, to support tumor growth. Lactate, taken up by stromal CAFs, is converted to pyruvate, which is then utilized by CAFs for energy needs as well as excreted and shared with tumor cells. We have interrogated lactate oxidation in CAFs to determine what metabolites may be secreted, and how they may affect the metabolism and growth of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. We found that CAFs secrete pyruvate as a metabolite of lactate oxidation. Further, we show that pyruvate is converted to lactate to promote glycolysis in MDA-MB-231 cells and helps to control elevated ROS levels in these tumor cells. Finally, we found that inhibiting or interfering with ROS management, using the naturally occurring flavonoid phloretin (found in apple tree leaves), adds to the cytotoxicity of the conventional chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. Our work demonstrates that a lactate-pyruvate, reciprocally-supportive metabolic relationship may be operative within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to support tumor growth, and may be a useful drug target.
"Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll," and the Media-Are the Media Responsible for Adolescent Behavior?

The old controversy about the role of the media in violent behaviors of adolescents can be combined with another unsettled question-Does the media simply reflect the violent, aggressive, and sexually oriented society, or does it actually cause some of the behaviors it depicts? This chapter reviews existing studies on the exposure of adolescents to media-derived violence, sexual behaviors, and use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and the influences that such images have on this population.
Addition of GM-CSF to Imatinib Results in Major Cytogenetic Response in Patient with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).

Abstract Imatinib mesylate, an inhibitor of BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase, has remarkable activity in CML resulting in up to 87% major cytogenetic response, but further treatment is needed for the remaining 13% of patients and others who progress on therapy. Studies suggest that hematopoietic growth factors (HGF) induce the selective terminal differentiation of CML progenitors at concentrations that allow optimal growth of normal progenitors. Treatment with HGF may be able to stop the expansion of BCR/ABL positive cells while promoting the expansion of non-leukemic myeloid cells, thereby encouraging a cytogenetic response. Initially, these HGF were used to improve the safety of chemotherapies but had not been studied specifically to improve cytogenetic response. Our institution has an open phase II study of GM-CSF in patients with chronic phase CML who have not achieved a complete cytogenetic remission after at least 9 months of therapy. Our first patient on study was a woman originally diagnosed in 4/1996 with a variant Philadelphia chromosome [t(9;9;22)] positive CML. She was initially started on hydroxyurea and was then switched to interferon-α for approximately 5 ½ years. When imatinib became available her interferon was discontinued and she was treated with imatinib at 400 mg daily. Bone marrow biopsy 5/2003 was morphologically normal but on cytogenetic analysis all cells contained the same aberrant karyotype. Her imatinib therapy was complicated by pancytopenia requiring frequent transfusions. She had received approximately 22 units of packed red blood cells over 11 months. Her white count had been running in the 1,500 to 2,500/μL range and her platelet count had dropped to 64,000/μL. She presented to us 1/2004 at the age of 56 and was evaluated for a reduced-intensity allogeneic transplant but did not have any donors available in her family. She was not felt to be a candidate for an unrelated donor transplant because of co-morbid risks. Given her continued cytogenetic abnormalities and lack of transplant candidacy she was enrolled in our GM-CSF trial March 2004. At the time of entry onto study she had been on imatinib for 2 1/2 years with no cytogenetic improvement. She began treatment with daily GM-CSF 100 μg/m2 in addition to her imatinib. Cytogenetic studies revealed a gradual increase in percentage of normal cells from start, 4 months, 9 months, and 15 months at 0%, 10%, 55%, and 85% respectively. She also had reversal of her pancytopenia and has not required transfusion of blood or platelets since enrollment. She developed an eosinophilia which we attribute to GM-CSF. Clinical studies have examined the use of GM-CSF in addition to interferon alpha. However, with imatinib becoming the new standard of care it is more relevant to examine the combined effect of imatinib and GM-CSF. The use of GM-CSF with imatinib in CML still needs more evaluation, but it appears to be a promising approach to improve cytogenetic response.
Real-Time Fuzzy Control of Electric Power Systems

Abstract In this paper, the application of a real-time fuzzy controller is presented in order to improve the power system stability. The above is done with the means of the fuzzy membership functions whose values are computed depending on the measured generator frequency and voltage. The controller was tested in real time for different loads on the generator. For comparison a proportional crisp controller was also design and tested under the same circumstances.
Recentering Centers of Calculation: Global companies and the geography of knowledge production

The formation of the first chartered companies during the seventeenth century created organizations of unprecedented scope, size and complexity. While numerous studies have explored the economic an...
Review of Multilevel Modeling Using Mplus, by W. Holmes Finch & Jocelyn E. Bolin

Multilevel models have become a commonly used statistical method in the educational, social, and behavioral sciences. Combining multilevel models with latent variable models leads to a variety of i...
Factors associated with portomesenteric venous thrombosis after total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis or end ileostomy.

Abstract Background Porto-mesenteric venous thrombosis (PMVT) is an uncommon but serious complication. Data on the risk factors for PMVT following total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis or end ileostomy (TC/IRA or EI) is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with PMVT after TC/IRA or EI. Methods Patients who underwent elective TC/IRA or EI between January 2010 and December 2014 were identified from institutional database. Patients who had CT proven PMVT within 30 days of surgery were included in the PMVT positive group. Demographics and perioperative/postoperative 30-day outcomes were compared between groups. Results Out of 832 patients, 34 patients (4.1%) were diagnosed with PMVT. PMVT positive group were younger (35.8vs.41 years, p = 0.03). Postoperative organ-space surgical site infection (17.6% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.007), deep venous thrombosis (8.8%vs.1.5%, p = 0.02), ileus (38.2%vs.20.8%, p = 0.018), and readmission (50.0%vs.12.7%, p Conclusions PMVT after TC/IRA or EI may occur in non-IBD patients. PMVT should be included in differential diagnosis after TC/IRA or EI in patients with intraabdominal infection or ileus, especially in younger patients.
Transient Receptor Potential Channels TRPM4 and TRPC3 Critically Contribute to Respiratory Motor Pattern Formation but not Rhythmogenesis in Rodent Brainstem Circuits.

Transient receptor potential channel, TRPM4, the putative molecular substrate for Ca2+-activated nonselective cation current (ICAN), is hypothesized to generate bursting activity of pre-Botzinger complex (pre-BotC) inspiratory neurons and critically contribute to respiratory rhythmogenesis. Another TRP channel, TRPC3, which mediates Na+/Ca2+ fluxes, may be involved in regulating Ca2+-related signaling, including affecting TRPM4/ICAN in respiratory pre-BotC neurons. However, TRPM4 and TRPC3 expression in pre-BotC inspiratory neurons and functional roles of these channels remain to be determined. By single-cell multiplex RT-PCR, we show mRNA expression for these channels in pre-BotC inspiratory neurons in rhythmically active medullary in vitro slices from neonatal rats and mice. Functional contributions were analyzed with pharmacological inhibitors of TRPM4 or TRPC3 in vitro as well as in mature rodent arterially perfused in situ brainstem-spinal cord preparations. Perturbations of respiratory circuit activity were also compared with those by a blocker of ICAN. Pharmacologically attenuating endogenous activation of TRPM4, TRPC3, or ICANin vitro similarly reduced the amplitude of inspiratory motoneuronal activity without significant perturbations of inspiratory frequency or variability of the rhythm. Amplitude perturbations were correlated with reduced inspiratory glutamatergic pre-BotC neuronal activity, monitored by multicellular dynamic calcium imaging in vitro. In more intact circuits in situ, the reduction of pre-BotC and motoneuronal inspiratory activity amplitude was accompanied by reduced post-inspiratory motoneuronal activity, without disruption of rhythm generation. We conclude that endogenously activated TRPM4, which likely mediates ICAN, and TRPC3 channels in pre-BotC inspiratory neurons play fundamental roles in respiratory pattern formation but are not critically involved in respiratory rhythm generation.
How Do We Know when Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy Really Tests Single Bonds?

Abstract Single-molecule force spectroscopy makes it possible to measure the mechanical strength of single noncovalent receptor-ligand-type bonds. A major challenge in this technique is to ensure that measurements reflect bonds between single biomolecules because the molecules cannot be directly observed. This perspective evaluates different methodologies for identifying and reducing the contribution of multiple molecule interactions to single-molecule measurements to help the reader design experiments or assess publications in the single-molecule force spectroscopy field. We apply our analysis to the large body of literature that purports to measure the strength of single bonds between biotin and streptavidin as a demonstration that measurements are only reproducible when the most reliable methods for ensuring single molecules are used.
Social Media and Committed Relationships: What Factors Make Our Romantic Relationship Vulnerable?

Many competing social networking websites (SNSs) have gained popularity among Internet users. SNSs offer a new way of communicating with known and unknown connections under the umbrella of “friends...
Book review: Pamila Gupta, The Relic State: St. Francis Xavier and the Politics of Ritual in Portuguese India:

Pamila Gupta, The Relic State: St. Francis Xavier and the Politics of Ritual in Portuguese India. Series: Studies in Imperialism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2014, 280 pp., ₤75.00 (Har...
Sulfate in Coloured Waters. I. Evaluation of Chromatographic and Colorimetric Data Compatibility

Abstract The compatibility and reliability of colorimetric and chromatographic SO 4 data were evaluated. the multiple standard addition technique was applied to numerous natural and humic acid fortified waters. a total of more than 20 different waters was used, in which the colour ranged from 50 to 440 H. U. and the organic carbon from 0.7 to 20 ppm. for the first time, it was demonstrated that Ion Chromatography (IC) data on organic-contaminated coloured waters are reliable. It was also confirmed that the Methyl Thymol Blue (MTB) colorimetric data were biased high. An approach for salvaging historical colorimetric data was found and briefly discussed.
Formal Specification and Synthesis of Mission Plans for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

As unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions become increasingly complex, automated tools are needed to assist UAV operators in mission planning and execution. Formal methods such as model checking have recently been used for similar purposes, e.g. motion planning for ground robots. Here, we review applications of formal methods to problems in robot control and multi-agent planning and discuss how related techniques can be expanded to serve as the foundation for improved human-automation UAV intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission planning systems.
USING A RELATIONAL DBMS IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

This paper reports examples of use of the relational DBMS FRAMIS in a scientific environment. FRAMIS was developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory specifically to address data handling needs of scientists and engineers. It is used directly in a timesharing system by users who are not necessarily computer professionals. Several examples of FRAMIS usage are described. In order to identify the types of problems for which FRAMIS is best suited, successful applications are characterized with regard to mode of use, type of data, volume of update, and other factors. The relational approach is judged to be very effective for a broad range of scientific applications.
The Legacy of Professor Mildred S. Dresselhaus

Millie was born in Brooklyn in 1930 and raised in Bronx, NY. She went to Hunter College High School in New York and continued to pursue her undergraduate degree at Hunter College, where she was introduced to physics research by Rosalyn Yalow, a future recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Yalow recognized Millie’s talents and encouraged her to continue further education in physics. Upon graduating from Hunter College in 1951, Millie continued her postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge on a 2-year Fulbright Fellowship and then at Harvard University, where she received her MA from Radcliffe College. In 1958 she received her PhD degree from the University of Chicago under physics Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi and then spent 2 years at Cornell University as a postdoc before moving to the Lincoln Laboratory as a staff member. She became a visiting professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1967, was offered a tenured professorship in 1968, and then became a professor of physics in 1983. In 1985, she was appointed the first female institute professor at MIT.
Evaluating Effect Size in Psychological Research: Sense and Nonsense:

Effect sizes are underappreciated and often misinterpreted—the most common mistakes being to describe them in ways that are uninformative (e.g., using arbitrary standards) or misleading (e.g., squa...
Story Circles: Supporting Boys' Social and Emotional Worlds in School

Story circles are a small group storytelling activity which were implemented in four preschool classrooms serving lower socioeconomic status (SES), multilingual children in the United States of America (U.S.). Results show that story circles serve as a promising activity for supporting boys of color in the early years of schooling, primarily because story circles position boys to talk about ideas, relationships, and ways of being that are significant to them. Boys of color in the U.S. face disproportionate rates of suspension, expulsion, and retention from the outset of schooling, a problem that has its origins in teacher’s implicit bias as well as the need for a greater sense of socially and emotionally strong classroom communities. Oral storytelling activities like story circles offer the potential to shift boys’ behavior as well as school personnel’s perspective of boys, creating a more inclusive space for young children.
Comparison of Unused Water and Year-Old Used Water for Production of Channel Catfish in the Biofloc Technology System

Abstract Since excreted feed nitrogen is bio-transformed efficiently in a fully functional mixotrophic biofloc technology production system, re-using this biofloc water over multiple production cycles should be beneficial. The present study, conducted in an outdoor biofloc technology production system, evaluated impacts on fish production characteristics and mineral status, common microbial off-flavors, and water quality dynamics for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) reared in one-year-old waters with low or high total suspended solids used previously for two consecutive catfish biofloc studies or in unused (new) water. Total suspended solids were maintained at 300 to 400 mg/L in the unused and low total suspended solids used water treatments and allowed to accumulate in the high total suspended solids used water treatment. Tanks (18.6 m2, 15.7 m3) were stocked with fingerlings (47.5 ± 0.8 g/fish) at 13.5 fish/m2 (16 fish/m3) and grown for 181 days. Channel catfish production characteristics did not differ significantly among treatments. Overall, gross fish yield averaged 10.2 kg/m3 and fish averaged 642 g/fish. Nitrate accumulation rate was affected by total suspended solids concentration with a significant reduction observed at the highest discharge of solids from the system, suggesting wash-out of nitrifiers. Treatment effects on water quality dynamics, macro- and trace-mineral status of water, feed, and fish, 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin off-flavors and associated phytoplankton populations also are discussed. Results of this study suggest that one-year-old biofloc water can be used without adverse impact for a second year of channel catfish production in the biofloc system.
Are migratory waterfowl vectors of seagrass pathogens

Migratory waterfowl vector plant seeds and other tissues, but little attention has focused on the potential of avian vectoring of plant pathogens. Extensive meadows of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in southwest Alaska support hundreds of thousands of waterfowl during fall migration and may be susceptible to plant pathogens. We recovered DNA of organisms pathogenic to eelgrass from environmental samples and in the cloacal contents of eight of nine waterfowl species that annually migrate along the Pacific coast of North America and Asia. Coupled with a signal of asymmetrical gene flow of eelgrass running counter to that expected from oceanic and coastal currents between Large Marine Ecosystems, this evidence suggests waterfowl are vectors of eelgrass pathogens.
Joint Beamforming and Reverberation Cancellation Using a Constrained Kalman Filter With Multichannel Linear Prediction

The performance of speech processing systems degrades significantly in far-field scenarios where the distance between the user and microphones increases, leading to low signal-to-noise and signal-to-reverberation ratios. To address this challenge, combining the denoising and dereverberation techniques in both parallel and cascade configurations has been widely studied. However, a parallel or cascade combination may not be efficient while imposing a large computational complexity. We propose a constrained Kalman filter based multichannel linear prediction method to jointly perform denoising and dereverberation efficiently using an online processing algorithm. In contrast to previously proposed methods which utilize steering vectors based on the relative early transfer function, our algorithm is implemented using a direct relative transfer function based steering vector, which aims at extracting the direct sound as opposed to preserving the early reflections. We show that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing online implementations of integrated beamformer and linear prediction methods on the REVERB challenge speech enhancement task while being computationally less complex.
Green, greener, greenest: Eco-label gradation and competition

Abstract This paper analyzes two common features of markets in which eco-label programs certify that products are “green”: gradation—single programs offering multiple certification standards (e.g., platinum, gold, silver)—and competition—multiple programs vying to certify to their respective standards. We find that, depending on whether programs are sponsored by industry, environmental groups, or a government, they have strikingly different incentives to grade or compete. Industry sponsors are indifferent about both; environmentalist sponsors optimally grade or compete with other environmentalist sponsors only if consumer preferences for green consumption are skewed in a specific way; and government sponsors׳ decisions depend on the relative importance of private vs. public benefits generated by the green market. We find also that it is no accident that green markets frequently have an environmentalist program competing with an industry one. For each of the cases examined, our analysis is consistent with casual empirical evidence.
Measurement and Correlation of the Thermal Conductivity of cis-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene.

New experimental data for the thermal conductivity of cis-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene (R-1336mzz(Z)) are reported for vapor, liquid, and supercritical states. These data were obtained with transient hot-wire apparatus over the temperature range from 192 K to 498 K and at pressures from 0.05 MPa to 69 MPa. These data were used to develop a wide-range correlation for the thermal conductivity of the vapor, liquid, and supercritical fluid. The experimental data reported here have an uncertainty of 1 % for the liquid and supercritical regions (densities above 600 kg·m−3), 1.5 % for vapor and supercritical regions (pressures greater than or equal to 1 MPa and densities less than 200 kg·m−3), 3 % for supercritical states (densities between 200 kg·m−3 and 600 kg·m−3), and 3 % for vapor and supercritical states (pressures below 1 MPa). The thermal-conductivity correlation developed in this work is estimated to have an expanded relative uncertainty, at a 95 % confidence level, ranging from approximately 1.4 % to 4.2 % depending on the temperature and pressure, with larger uncertainties in the critical region.
Utility of bone marrow aspirate and biopsy in staging of patients with T-cell lymphoma in the PET-Era - tissue remains the issue.

The role of 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography combined with computerized tomography (PET-CT) in evaluation of bone marrow involvement (BMI) in patients with T-cell lymphoma ...
Optical and Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Knot D in the Vela Supernova Remnant

We present spectra of optical filaments associated with the X-ray knot D in the Vela supernova remnant. It has been suggested that knot D is formed by a bullet of supernova ejecta, that it is a breakout of the shock front of the Vela supernova remnant, and also that it is an outflow from the recently discovered remnant RX J0852.0� 4622. We find that knot D is a bow shock propagating into an interstellar cloud with normal abundances and typical cloud densities (nH � 4 11 cm � 3 ). Optical long-slit spectra show that the (S ii) �� 6716, 6731 to Hline ratio is greater than unity, proving that the optical filaments are shock excited. The analysis of far-ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope and with the Far Ultravio- let Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) LWRS aperture show that slower shocks (� 100 km s � 1 ) produce most of the low-ionization lines such as O iii) � 1662, while faster shocks (� 180 km s � 1 ) produce the O vi �� 1032, 1038 and other high-ionization lines. C iii and O vi lines are also detected in the FUSE MDRS aperture, which was located on an X-ray-bright region away from the optical filaments. The lines have two velocity components consistent with � 150 km s � 1 shocks on the near and far sides of the knot. The driving pressure in the X-ray knot, P=kB � 1:8 � 10 7 cm � 3 K, is derived from the shock properties. This is over an order of mag- nitude larger than the characteristic X-ray pressure in the Vela supernova remnant. The velocity distribution of the emission and the overpressure support the idea that knot D is a bow shock around a bullet or cloud that originated near the center of the Vela remnant. Subject headings: ISM: individual (Vela Supernova Remnant) — shock waves — supernova remnants — ultraviolet: ISM
Improving parent-child relationships: Effects of the your family, your neighborhood intervention

Abstract Your Family, Your Neighborhood (YFYN) was developed to strengthen parent-child relationships among families living in low-income and subsidized housing communities, using a dual-generation approach. Few, if any, family-based interventions with a primary focus of enhancing parent-child relationships target parents and their children between the ages of seven to 12 years living in subsidized housing communities. This study aimed to fill this gap and examine the effects of the YFYN intervention on parent-child relationships. This mixed-methods study was conducted in three low-income neighborhoods, in a city in the western United States. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was conducted on the entire quasi-experimental sample (N = 101) and a repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the per protocol sample (N = 70). ITT analysis indicated no significant group by time differences. However, results of the two-way ANOVA on the per protocol sample revealed a significant group by time effect, with treatment families demonstrating improvements in the parent-child relationship from pre-assessment to post-assessment compared to the control group. Focus groups were conducted with parent participants in the treatment group, in which they indicated their parent-child relationships improved after participating in YFYN, including feeling closer to their children, improving communication, spending more time together, and eating dinner together as a family more often. This study offers preliminary findings regarding the effects of the YFYN intervention on the parent-child relationship for families living in low-income and subsidized housing communities. Future directions for family-based and neighborhood interventions are discussed.
Cost-Effectiveness of Primary Liver Transplantation Versus Hepatoportoenterostomy in the Management of Biliary Atresia in the United States.

Biliary atresia (BA) is the leading indication to perform a pediatric liver transplantation (LT). Timely hepatoportoenterostomy (HPE) attempts to interrupt the natural history and allow for enteric bile flow; however, most patients who are treated with HPE require LT by the age of 10 years. We determined the cost-effectiveness of foregoing HPE to perform primary LT (pLT) in children with BA compared with standard-of-care HPE management. A Markov model was developed to simulate BA treatment over 10 years. Costs were measured in 2018 US dollars and effectiveness in life-years (LYs). The primary outcome was incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between treatments. Model parameters were derived from the literature. In the base model, we assumed similar LT outcomes after HPE and pLT. Sensitivity analyses on all model parameters were performed, including a scenario in which pLT led to 100% patient and graft survival after LT. Children undergoing HPE accumulated $316,692 in costs and 8.17 LYs per patient. Children undergoing pLT accumulated $458,059 in costs and 8.24 LYs per patient, costing $1,869,164 per LY gained compared with HPE. With parameter variation over plausible ranges, only post-HPE and post-LT costs reduced the ICER below a typical threshold of $100,000 per LY gained. On probabilistic sensitivity analysis, 93% of iterations favored HPE at that threshold. With 100% patient and graft survival after pLT, pLT cost $283,478 per LY gained. HPE is more economically favorable than pLT for BA. pLT is unfavorable even with no graft or patient loss. The ability to predict those patients who may experience high costs after HPE or low costs after LT may help identify those patients for whom pLT could be considered.
Word retrieval difficulty in adult females with the FMR1 premutation: Changes over time and across contexts

Abstract Individuals with a premutation of the fragile X mental retardation (FMR1) gene are at risk for a variety of psychological, physical, and cognitive issues, including difficulty with word retrieval. The present study examined three indicators of word retrieval difficulty; reduced productivity, reduced lexical diversity, and increased errors in word retrieval in a group of 38 female premutation carriers during standard-length speech samples collected over a period of eight years. Our results revealed that as women aged, they produced fewer words, produced fewer different words, and had greater word retrieval errors. In addition, the rate of word retrieval errors was highly correlated between two speaking contexts, indicating that this difficulty was pervasive and not solely the result of speaking in monologue. Our results suggest that subtle areas of cognitive decline emerge at a much earlier age among female premutation carriers than would be expected during healthy aging.
Photoelectron photofragment coincidence spectroscopy of aromatic carboxylates: benzoate and p-coumarate.

Photoelectron–photofragment coincidence spectroscopy was used to study the dissociation dynamics of the conjugate bases of benzoic acid and p-coumaric acid. Upon photodetachment at 266 nm (4.66 eV) both aromatic carboxylates undergo decarboxylation, as well as the formation of stable carboxyl radicals. The key energetics are computed using high-level electronic structure methods. The dissociation dynamics of benzoate were dominated by a two-body DPD channel resulting in CO2 + C6H5 + e−, with a very small amount of stable C6H5CO2 showing that the radical ground state is stable and the excited states are dissociative. For p-coumarate (p-CA−) the dominant channel is photodetachment resulting in a stable radical and a photoelectron with electron kinetic energy (eKE) <2 eV. We also observed a minor two-body dissociative photodetachment (DPD) channel resulting in CO2 + HOC6H4CHCH + e−, characterized by eKE <0.8 eV. Evidence was also found for a three-body ionic photodissociation channel producing HOC6H5 + HCC− + CO2. The ion beam contained both the phenolate and carboxylate isomers of p-CA−, but DPD only occurred from the carboxylate form. For both species DPD is seen from the first and second excited states of the radical, where vibrational excitation is required for decarboxylation from the first excited radical state.
Distribution of Four–horned Antelope in Rajasthan

Population of Four – horned Antelope is relatively better in Pholwari- ki- Nal, Sitamata, Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh – Roali Wildlife Sanctuaries. Besides these locations, this species is dotted in the forests of Jhalawar, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, Alwar, Kota and Sirohi districts. Earlier this species was present in the forests of Baran, Bundi and Banswara districts also but now it is not there. It needs quick and intensive measures to conserve the species in the wild in the state. If we fail to do so, this species may face extermination in Rajasthan.
Approaching translation at atomic resolution

Atomic resolution structures of 50S and 30S ribosomal particles have recently been solved by X-ray diffraction. These ribosomal structures show often unusual folds of ribosomal RNAs and proteins, and provide molecular explanations for fundamental aspects of translation. In the 50S structure, the active site for peptide bond formation was localized and found to consist of RNA. The ribosome is thus a ribozyme. In the 30S structures, tRNA binding sites were located, and molecular mechanisms for ribosomal fidelity were proposed. The 30S subunit particle has three globular domains, and relative movements of these domains may be required for translocation of the ribosome during protein synthesis. The structures are consistent with and rationalize decades of biochemical analysis of translation and usher in a molecular age in understanding the ribosome.
Reaction Selectivity in Heterogeneous Catalysis

The understanding of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis is of paramount importance to our society today. In this review we outline the current state of the art in research on selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis. Current in-situ surface science techniques have revealed several important features of catalytic selectivity. Sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy has shown us the importance of understanding the reaction intermediates and mechanism of a heterogeneous reaction, and can readily yield information as to the effect of temperature, pressure, catalyst geometry, surface promoters, and catalyst composition on the reaction mechanism. DFT calculations are quickly approaching the ability to assist in the interpretation of observed surface spectra, thereby making surface spectroscopy an even more powerful tool. HP-STM has revealed three vitally important parameters in heterogeneous selectivity: adsorbate mobility, catalyst mobility and selective site-blocking. The development of size controlled nanoparticles from 0.8 to 10 nm, of controlled shape, and of controlled bimetallic composition has revealed several important variables for catalytic selectivity. Lastly, DFT calculations may be paving the way to guiding the composition choice for multi-metallic heterogeneous catalysis for the intelligent design of catalysts incorporating the many factors of selectivity we have learned.
Excitation stand for spectrographic analysis: A new design

Abstract An excitation stand for spectrographic analysis is described which possesses the following features: (a) a symmetrical-action electrode-jaw system which supports electrodes varying in diameter from 0.3 cm to 0.9 cm in self-centred alignment; (b) isolation of control and adjustment system, electrode water-cooling system, and electrical terminals from the excitation chamber to facilitate cleaning and decontamination; (c) mounting of electrode jaws toward the operator rather than toward the apectrograph for easier loading; and (d) use of a novel kinematic linkage for operation of the electrode jaw system.
Non-Markoffian excitation-relaxation processes

It is shown that the Mori theory of relaxation provides a suitable theoretical framework for the study of excitation-relaxation processes of a non-Markoffian kind, provided that the point of view of Nordholm and Zwanzig be adopted. According to their interpretation of the generalized Langevin equation, it is indeed possible to describe the back reaction of an excited thermal bath on the time evolution of a subsystem of interest. Since the equilibrium distribution of the thermal bath of a non-Markoffian system is significantly affected in the course of excitation of the subsystem, it is then possible to evaluate the time evolution subsequent excitation processes of such a system by pulses of finite duration. In other words, the limitations of linear-response theory leading to the second fluctuation-dissipation theorem can be avoided. A general approach, valid even in the case of non-Hermitian dynamical operators and which allows us to build up a generalized equation, is developed. This approach shows, furthermore, that it is possible to replace the thermal bath of a non-Markoffian variable with a chain of variables undergoing relaxation processes of a Markoffian nature. Since in the new Markoffian system, considered in its totality, the relaxation process is completely independent of the excitation one, the time evolution of any variable of the chain can be evaluated for any intensity of the excitation field. This means that even the limitations of the linear response involved by the first fluctuation-dissipation theorem can be avoided. Owing to the formal similarity between the Schrodinger equation and the equation of motion for operators, it is possible, once suitable scalar products among operators are defined, to apply the one approach both to the quantum-mechanical time evolution of an isolated molecule system and to the classical Brownian motion of molecules in liquids. In the former case, the theory developed in the present paper allows us to build up in a rigorous way a “reduced” effective Hamiltonian which results in a wide range of free-relaxations behaviours, including the damped oscillatory and biexponential types. It is then possible to describe in a realistic way the whole excitation-relaxation process and evaluate both the effects of pulse duration and intensity on any kind of decay behaviour.
1 The Fundamental Agency Problem and Its Mitigation: Independence, Equity, and the Market for Corporate Control

A central tenet of agency theory is that there is potential for mischief when the interests of owners and managers diverge. In those circumstances, and for a variety of reasons, managers may be able to exact higher rents than are reasonable or than the owners of the firm would otherwise accord them. While that foundational element of agency theory is secure, other elements derived directly from agency theory are far less settled. Indeed, even after some 75 years of conceptualization and empirical research, the three principal approaches that have long been proposed to mitigate the fundamental agency problem remain contentious. Accordingly, we provide a review of the fundamental agency problem and its mitigation through independence, equity, and the market for corporate control.
A truly concurrent semantics for the K framework based on graph transformations

This paper gives a truly concurrent semantics with sharing of resources for the $\mathbb{K}$ semantic framework, an executable (term-)rewriting-based formalism for defining programming languages and calculi. Akin to graph rewriting rules, the $\mathbb{K}$ (rewrite) rules explicitly state what can be concurrently shared with other rules. The desired true concurrency is obtained by translating the $\mathbb{K}$ rules into a novel instance of term-graph rewriting with explicit sharing, and then using classical concurrency results from the double-pushout (DPO) approach to graph rewriting. The resulting parallel term-rewriting relation is proved sound, complete, and serializable with respect to the jungle rewriting flavor of term-graph rewriting, and, therefore, also to term rewriting.
Mechanical analysis of heterogeneous, atherosclerotic human aorta.

Abstract An experimental technique was developed to determine the finite strain field in heterogeneous, diseased human aortic cross sections at physiologic pressures in vitro. Also, the distributions within the cross sections of four histologic features (disease-free zones, lipid accumulations, fibrous intimal tissue, and regions of calcification) were quantified using light microscopic morphometry. A model incorporating heterogeneous, plane stress finite elements coupled the experimental and histologic data. Tissue constituent mechanical properties were determined through an optimization strategy, and the distributions of stress and strain energy in the diseased vascular wall were calculated. Results show that the constituents of atherosclerotic lesions exhibit large differences in their bilinear mechanical properties. The distributions of stress and strain energy in the diseased vascular wall are strongly influenced by both lesion structure and composition. These results suggest that accounting for heterogeneities in the mechanical analysis of atherosclerotic arterial tissue is critical to establishing links between lesion morphology and the susceptibility of plaque to mechanical disruption in vivo.
Cytokinesis, cell expansion, and the potential for cytokinin-autonomous growth in tobacco pith.

Pith tissue from Nicotiana tabacum L. cv ;Maryland Mammoth' or ;Wisconsin 38' was isolated, free of vascular tissue, and cultured on a medium containing auxin but no cytokinin. Explants from the apical 1 cm of stem, within the pith rib meristem, initiated callus growth with 100% efficiency. Macroscopically visible callus was evident 5 days after the tissue was isolated, and the cultures grew persistently in the absence of cytokinin. Heat treatment, sometimes used to initiate cytokinin habituation, was not required. Explants from tissue basipetal to the pith rib meristem declined in the frequency of habituation with increasing distance from the shoot apex. Although pith tissue which was growing, in vivo, was more prone than mature tissue to establish cytokinin-habituated callus, the basipetal decline in habituation frequency extended well beyond the zone of cell expansion. Explants from mature pith 40 centimeters or more from the shoot apex grew in the absence of cytokinin with 18% frequency, although the response required at least 2 weeks of culture. Further analysis demonstrated that tissue near the periphery of mature pith was more prone to cytokinin-habituation than tissue from the pith center.
Rerandomization tests for analyzing correlated data from dental studies

Dental research studies often produce relatively small data sets in which observations are serially or spatially correlated. Rerandomization tests are presented as alternatives to analysis of variance and multivariate analysis for assessing group differences using such data. Rerandomization tests are particularly useful when the investigator is unwilling to make strong assumptions about the nature of the serial correlation or the distribution of the data. Two examples are discussed that demonstrate these techniques.