cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolated intraperitoneal fluid on abdominal computed tomography in children with blunt trauma.

Objective: To determine the frequency of isolated intraperitoneal fluid (IIF) on abdominal com- puted tomography (CT) in pediatric blunt trauma pa- tients and the association between IIF and clinically identifiable intra-abdominal injuries (IAIs) in these patients. Methods: The authors conducted a prospec- tive observational study of consecutive children <16 years old with blunt torso trauma who underwent ab- dominal CT scanning while in the emergency depart- ment (ED). All patients were evaluated by a faculty emergency physician who documented the patient's physical examination. All CTs were interpreted by a single faculty radiologist masked to clinical data. The volume of intraperitoneal fluid was quantified (small, moderate, large) and the presence of organ injury vis- ible on CT was noted. Patients were considered to have IIF if the CT demonstrated intraperitoneal fluid and no solid organ injury. Patients with IIF were fol- lowed through their hospitalizations or telephoned in one week if discharged home from the ED. Results: Five hundred twenty-seven children with blunt trauma were enrolled into the study. The mean age (6SD) was 7.4 6 4.7 years, and the median pediatric trauma score was 10 (range 22 to 12). Eighty-eight patients (17%; 95% CI = 14% to 20%) had intraperi- toneal fluid on CT scan and 42 (48%; 95% CI = 37% to 59%) of these patients had IIF. Of the 42 patients with IIF, five patients (all without abdominal tender- ness and with a small amount of IIF on CT scan) were discharged to home from the ED and were well at telephone follow-up; the remaining 37 patients were hospitalized. Of the 42 patients with IIF, 7 patients (17%, 95% CI = 7 to 31%) had IAIs subsequently iden- tified (all gastrointestinal injuries) during their eval- uations. Six of the seven patients with IIF and sub- sequently identified IAIs had abdominal tenderness on examination in the ED. The remaining patient had a decreased level of consciousness. Conclusions: Iso- lated intraperitoneal fluid occurs in 8% of pediatric blunt trauma patients undergoing abdominal CT, and IAIs are subsequently identified in 17% of these pa- tients. Patients with a small amount of IIF on CT who lack abdominal tenderness and have a normal level of consciousness are at low risk for subsequently identified IAIs. Key words: isolated intraperitoneal fluid; abdominal computed tomography; pediatrics; blunt trauma; intra-abdominal injuries. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2000; 7:335-341
Melting of a wire anode followed by solidification: A three-phase moving interface problem

A fine metallic wire electrode is heated from below (by an electric discharge) causing melting and roll-up into a ball by surface tension. After the heating is terminated, a solidification front progresses through the melt until a solid ball is formed and cooled to ambient conditions. In this paper we numerically simulate the heating, melt motion and roll up and subsequent cooling and solidification. This is a three-phase problem (solid, liquid, and the ambient medium-plasma/gas) with two simultaneously moving phase interfaces, the outer one tracked by orthogonal grid generation conformal with the evolving boundary surface at each time interval A novel observation in this study is that the wire end first drops until the melt radius equals the wire radius and then it begins to roll up into a ball consuming the wire. In other words, the inter-electrode gap first reduces and subsequently increases during an electronic flame off (EFO) discharge heating/phase-change process.
Self-Praising through Reporting: Strategic Use of Two Reporting Practices in Mandarin Conversation.

Drawing on a corpus of 35 hours of videotaped face-to-face conversations collected in Beijing and Hebei, China, this conversation analytic study examines self-praising behavior of Mandarin speakers in everyday social interaction. Focusing on two reporting practices—reporting another's words and reporting “just the facts”—the investigation explores how these practices are used strategically by the speakers in the course of reporting some past event to tacitly achieve a positive presentation of themselves in the current interaction. Analysis of a collection of instances shows several key features shared by these two practices that enable such an interactional task. A discussion of the fit between the practices and the designed action, as well as a possible account for this interconnection, is offered at the end.
A note on the interaction between internal gravity waves and currents

Abstract Experiments are described on the propagation of lowest mode internal waves and their amplification by a local adverse current, generated by a moving contraction in a labortory tank. In the absence of any current, the wavelength, frequency relation was found to agree well with the theoretical form. In an adverse current, the wavelength reduces and the amplitude increases, but rather less rapidly than is predicted. The difference is apparently the result of the observed partial breakdown of the waves to less regular (turbulent) motion. When the adverse current speed exceeds approximately one quarter of the initial phase speed of the waves, a kinematic limit is attained and it was observed that the waves no longer propagated.
In vitro activity of meropenem (SM-7338), imipenem, and five other antibiotics against anaerobic clinical isolates

The in vitro susceptibility of 513 recent anaerobic clinical isolates was evaluated against meropenem (SM-7338), a new carbapenem, and six other antibiotics. Virtually all Gram-positive and Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria tested were susceptible to meropenem (defined as MICs less than or equal to 8 micrograms/ml) with 99.8% of the isolates inhibited by less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml. The activity of meropenem was comparable to imipenem for most clinical isolates. Minor differences were observed for Clostridium and Veillonella (meropenem more active) and other Gram-positive bacilli (imipenem more active). Meropenem inhibited all anaerobes resistant to clindamycin and metronidazole. Bactericidal tests performed with meropenem demonstrated killing activity against all isolates except Clostridium and Lactobacillus.
The formation of coarse intermetallics in rapidly solidified AlCo alloys

Rapidly solidified hypereutectic AlCo alloys cast by melt spinning may contain coarse intermetallic Al9Co2, fine Al9Co2 or primary aluminum dendrites with cobalt segregated interdendritically. A metallographic investigation of as-cast ribbons indicated that the volume fraction and size of the intermetallics are determined by the cooling rate and the solute content; decreasing the cooling rate and increasing the solute content tended to increase the fraction of Al9Co2 precipitates. The intermetallic Al9Co3 does not appear to result from a breakdown of primary aluminum solidification as has been previously proposed but rather from the direct nucleation of Al9Co2 from the melt followed by subsequent growth.
Registration of K1639-2 Soybean Germplasm Resistant to Soybean Cyst Nematode and Soybean Aphid

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] germplasm line K1639-2 (Reg. No. GP-365, PI 658491) was developed and released by the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, KS, as resistance to both soybean aphid (SBA) (Aphis glycines Matsumura), and soybean cyst nematode (SCN) (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe). K1639-2 was developed by crossing R93-174 × ‘Northrup King S59-60’. The line was a reselection in the F 8 generation from a heterogeneous F 4 –derived line. K1639-2 has a relative maturity of 5.2, purple fl owers, gray pubescence, yellow seed coats, dark buff hila, tan pod walls, and determinate growth habit. K1639-2 is resistant to SCN HG Type 7 (race 3) and moderately resistant to HG Type 1.2.3.5.6.7 (race 4), and resistant to soybean aphid (Illinois biotype). K1639-2 may be useful for breeders and researchers interested in developing new germplasm with resistance to SBA and SCN.
Effects of Somatostatin on the Hepatic Adenylate Cyclase System in the Rat

The effects of somatostatin (SRIF) on the adenylate cyclase system in rat liver and myocardial membranes and porcine renal cortical membranes have been studied. SRIF at 1 μg/ml or less did not alter hepatic adenylate cyclase activity (ACA). At higher concentrations, SRIF significantly inhibited basal, sodium fluoride and glucagon-stimulated ACA by 5–8 (SRIF—10 μg/ml) and 20–25 (SRIF—100 μg/ml) per cent. SRIF inhibition of hormone-stimulated hepatic ACA occurred at all concentrations of glucagon. Similar inhibitory effects of SRIF (100 μg/ml) on ACA were also observed in rat myocardial sarcolemma and partially purified porcine renal cortical membranes. Studies of the mechanism(s) whereby SRIF affects hepatic cyclic nucleotide metabolism indicated no alteration in [125I ]iodoglucagon binding to liver membranes at concentrations of SRIF which significantly inhibited ACA. Similarly, SRIF was without effect on hepatic phosphodiesterase activity. These studies suggest that 1) SRIF at concentrations known to alt...
Learning from Diversity: A Theoretical Exploration

Public-sector organizations tend to be more racially and ethnically diverse than private-sector organizations, leading to the challenge of enhancing heterogeneous work group effectiveness. Recent work suggests that a group's “diversity perspective,” or set of beliefs about the role of cultural diversity, moderates diverse group performance. One perspective, the integration and learning perspective, argues that heterogeneous groups function better when they believe that cultural identities can be tapped as sources of new ideas and experiences about work. However, simply holding the integration and learning perspective may not be sufficient. Research on general group learning has shown that it requires particular behaviors and cognitive frames. This article integrates recent work on diversity perspectives with long-standing research on team learning to propose a conceptual model of learning in culturally diverse groups. It suggests that both the integration and learning perspective and more generic learning frames and skills must be present.
Ion pairing in molecular simulations of aqueous alkali halide solutions

Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we study ion−ion interactions in water. We study the potentials of mean force (PMF) for the full set of alkali halide ion pairs, and in each case, we test different parameter sets for modeling both the water and the ions. Altogether, we compared 300 different PMFs. We also calculate association equilibrium constants (KA) and compare them to two types of experiments. Of additional interest here was the proposition of Collins called the “law of matching water affinities”, where the relative affinity of ions in solution depends on the matching of cation and anion sizes. From observations on the relative depths of the free energies of the contact ion pair (CIP) and the solvent-shared ion pair (SIP), along with related solvent structure analyses, we find a good correlation with this proposition: small−small and large−large should associate in water, and small−large should be more dissociated.
Patterns of child care subsidy receipt and the stability of child care

Abstract Previous studies have found that child care subsidy spells are often short and that multiple spells are common. Such instability in subsidy use may lead to instability in child care arrangements, yet we have little evidence of the relationship between them. This article focuses on a cohort of young children in Wisconsin and follows their patterns of the receipt of child care subsidies and subsidized care arrangements up until the age of 5. The study estimates the extent to which the patterns of subsidy use is associated with the stability of subsidized child care arrangements. It also examines variation in the degree of instability in the receipt of child care subsidies and subsidized care arrangements and factors related to such variation. The study finds a positive association between the number of subsidy-receipt spells and the number of subsidized child care providers that children experience. The study also finds that children from the most disadvantaged families are the ones who experience the highest degree of instability of care and subsidy receipt.
PROSPECTS FOR RUN II BEAUTY PHYSICS AT DØ

In the spring of 2001, the upgraded Fermilab Tevatron will begin its collider physics run with collisions at , where it is expected to deliver an integrated luminosity of 2 fb-1 in the first two years. The DO detector is undergoing an extensive upgrade in order to take full advantage of the high luminosity running conditions. The upgraded detector's new silicon vertex detector, fiber tracker, and lepton trigger capabilities make a rich B physics program possible at DO. This paper describes the prospects for several DO B physics measurements, including CP violation in decays, Bs mixing and lifetime.
SU-E-J-99: Reconstruction of Cone Beam CT Image Using Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Exit Beams

Purpose: To test the possibility of obtaining an image of the treated volume during volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with exit beams. Method: Using a Varian Clinac 21EX and MVCT detector the following three sets of detector projection data were obtained for cone beam CT reconstruction with and without a Catphan 504 phantom. 1) 72 projection images from 20 × 16 cm{sup 2} open beam with 3 MUs, 2) 72 projection images from 20 × 16 cm{sup 2} MLC closed beam with 14 MUs. 3) 137 projection images from a test RapicArc QA plan. All projection images were obtained in ‘integrated image’ mode. We used OSCaR code to reconstruct the cone beam CT images. No attempts were made to reduce scatter or artifacts. Results: With projection set 1) we obtained a good quality MV CBCT image by optimizing the reconstruction parameters. Using projection set 2) we were not able to obtain a CBCT image of the phantom, which was determined to be due to the variation of interleaf leakage with gantry angle. From projection set 3), we were able to obtain a weak but meaningful signal in the image, especially in the target area where open beam signals were dominant.more » This finding suggests that one might be able to acquire CBCT images with rough body shape and some details inside the irradiated target area. Conclusion: Obtaining patient images using the VMAT exit beam is challenging but possible. We were able to determine sources of image degradation such as gantry angle dependent interleaf leakage and beams with a large scatter component. We are actively working on improving image quality.« less
A Tool to Advance the Effectiveness and Dissemination of Empirically Supported Psychotherapies and the NIMH Public Health Research Agenda

Carroll and Nuro's (this issue) stage model will likely hasten the availability of more educationally effective and clinically complete therapy manuals for both research and practice. The model is an important and concise tool for broadly disseminating knowledge about psychotherapy manual development that has accrued over the 20 years since manuals became required for federally funded therapy outcome research. The current paradigm shift to a public health research agenda, spearheaded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is evident in the model's specifications for stage III manuals. The immense challenge for researchers to truly meet the scientific demands of stage III manuals (and the NIMH's research charge) is briefly discussed. An autobiographical case report is also presented to illustrate that manuals for empirically supported therapies are not, in all cases, as “unfriendly” to practice and practitioners as much contemporary literature suggests, and as the stage model is intended to remedy.
Electrical effects on the vibrational transitions of hydrogen fluoride due to hydrogen bonding and applied fields

Abstract Derivative Hartree-Fock (DHF) theory has been used to study the transition dipole moment of hydrogen fluoride in several hydrogen-bonded complexes and in the presence of applied fields. DHF is an open-ended, analytical means for finding energy derivatives with respect to any number of parameters, and large basis set calculations going through the seventh dipole hyperpolarizability (ninth derivative) are reported. Using multipole moments, multipole polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities, the intermolecular electrical influence on vibrational transitions is analyzed.
Early Caregiving: Perceived Parental Relations and Current Social Support

There is very little research on the effects of early caregiving on adult development. The purpose of the present study was to: (1) provide descriptive information on young caregivers, and (2) determine if there is a relation between early caregiving experiences, early parent–child relations and their current (adult) social support. Early caregiving was defined as providing assistance with basic and/or instrumental activities of daily living to parents or adult relatives, while under the age of 21. Thirty-eight individuals (33 females, 5 males) completed measures of their early caregiving experiences, the Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI), and the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Individuals who began caregiving at older ages (adolescence) perceived their father’s as more warm and caring than those who began caregiving at younger ages (early to middle childhood). Smaller amounts of care provided to care recipients were associated with more perceived current affectionate support and emotional and informational support available to young caregivers in adulthood. The smaller the duration of the caregiving experience, the more perceived affectionate support available to young caregivers in adulthood. The higher the reports of father’s warmth and caring toward the young caregiver, the more perceived tangible support available to them in adulthood. Warmth from father’s during the first 16 years of life is also associated with reports of a greater amount of relatives and friends available to provide support.
A study of dynamic measurements made in the settling chamber of the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

Tests have been conducted in a cryogenic wind tunnel settling chamber using a fast response instrumentation to measure the possible existence of temperature fronts due to a sudden or step change in the rate of liquid nitrogen injection into the circuit. No indications of such fronts were obtained using three different techniques to change the rate of nitrogen injection. The normalized pressure and velocity fluctuations at two total temperatures and over a large range of Mach numbers and Reynolds numbers were about 2 x 10 to the -7th to 2 x 10 to the -6th and about 1.8 to 3 percent, respectively. There was no evidence of liquid nitrogen droplets in the flow down to a total temperature of 140 K. The pressure fluctuation power spectra from a pressure transducer correlated with the fan blade passage through the eighth harmonic of the fundamental frequency.
Acceptability of mobile mammography among community-dwelling older women.

OBJECTIVE: To test the acceptability of mobile mammography among community-dwelling older women and to identify factors predictive of mobile mammography acceptance. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Twelve community meal sites sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Area on Aging. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred fifty-five volunteers aged 60 to 84 years who attended community meal sites. INTERVENTION: On-site mammography offered to women who had not had a mammogram within the last year. MEASUREMENTS: Mammography acceptance rates, reasons for accepting or declining the mammogram, and breast cancer knowledge, beliefs, and intentions. MAIN RESULTS: One hundred seven of the 255 (42%) women were ineligible because they had received mammograms within the last year. Of the 148 women eligible, 57% accepted the mammograms and 43% declined; moreover, 20 of the 42 (48%) women who had not had a mammogram within the last 5 years or who never had a mammogram also accepted on-site mammography in the mobile van. Variables identified as predictive of mammogram acceptance included Asian American status, not being an HMO member, being married, a reported willingness to accept a screening mammogram if recommended by a physician, and previous mammogram screening history. CONCLUSION: Mobile mammography is acceptable to many older community-dwelling women. Although mobile mammography does not eliminate all barriers that inhibit a woman from receiving a mammogram, it may substantially increase screening for some groups. J Am Geriatr Soc 45:1365–1370, 1997.
Emergency medical services (EMS) communications: Conservation of time

Although adequate means for emergency communications are available, their utilization in daily emergencies and during medical disasters is amazingly inefficient. This phase of emergency health services is undergoing rapid expansion and improvement. These changes will narrow the time gap between the onset of an acute illness or injury and the implementation of techniques of monitoring and skilled management and care. The communications problems which have caused the medical field to lag far behind other emergency services can mostly be solved by existing knowledge and techniques. No longer should communications systems be designed for the exclusive use of one service or agency. First the emergency medical services (EMS) system must precede the communications subsystem. Only after the community has clearly defined its emergency medical needs and has designed a system to meet those needs should it look for the communication equipment that will serve to tie together the various elements of the system. This article defines the functions of communication, identifies communications systems requirements, and recommends means of implementing EMS communication networks. When these recommendations and plans are put into effect the emergency medical communications system will be the most widely utilized, coordinated, and sophisticated emergency communications systems within the area it serves.
Regional limb perfusion with erythromycin for treatment of septic physitis and arthritis caused by Rhodococcus equi.

EQUINE pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi can be a herd problem and the infection can be endemic on breeding farms ([Chaffin and others 2008][1]). The causal organism is a Gram-positive bacterium in the soil, and infection occurs in the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems during the first
When Immigrant Is Synonymous with Terrorist: Culturally Responsive Teaching with English Learners

The authors examined the effects of inquiry-based teaching by undergraduate preservice teachers in an elementary school composed of low-income Hispanic children for whom English was a second language. Initially, focus was an analysis of preservice teachers’ use of best practices for teaching social studies content to English Learners (ELs). The study explored the impact of a diverse field setting on interns’ willingness to adopt culturally relevant pedagogy techniques in social studies teaching. This study ultimately examined the impact of culturally responsive teaching among preservice teachers with limited exposure to multicultural ideals or critical pedagogies working with English Learners. Future direction in social studies methods courses to emphasize greater inclusion of global interconnectedness is also discussed.
The Dynamics Of Secretion-associated Plasma Membrane Changes Visualized With Polarized TIRFM

The morphological dynamics of the plasma membrane were visualized in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells using polarized total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). This method is based on monitoring the fluorescence of an oriented membrane probe (the carbocyanine dye, DiI) excited by a polarized evanescent field created by TIR illumination. DiI has been shown to embed in the membrane with its transition dipole moments nearly in the plane of the membrane. Thus, by monitoring the pixel-by-pixel ratio of the membrane-embedded DiI fluorescence excited by the two polarizations (p - perpendicular to substrate; s - parallel to substrate) over time, regions of membrane curvature are vividly highlighted. To relate the orientation of the membrane with exocytosis, granules were labeled with the marker neuropeptide (NPY) - cerulean. In response to high KCl depolarization, fusion of granules coincided with 15-20% increases in DiI-membrane p/s values at locations of NPY-Cer release. The p/s values then often declined over several seconds to approximately pre-fusion levels. In other instances, the p/s values declined more slowly providing evidence of longer-lasting membrane curvature. Some granules were associated with areas of the membrane with increased curvature (larger p/s values) prior to stimulation. These granules were significantly more likely to undergo exocytosis than those without such associations. When endocytosis was inhibited with Dynasore (inhibitor of dynamin 1 and 2), membrane p/s changes following fusion were long-lived (10s of seconds). This is consistent with endocytosis occuring at the site of exocytosis. These experiments are the first to directly visualize plasma membrane changes occuring with secretion. They reveal an association of the granule and plasma membrane for seconds before exocytosis and provide direct evidence for maintained curvature of the plasma membrane after exocytosis.
An adaptive protocol for reliable multicast in mobile multi-hop radio networks

In this paper we propose a new protocol for reliable multicast in a multi-hop mobile radio network. The protocol is reliable, i.e., it guarantees message delivery to all multicast nodes even when the topology of the network changes during multicasting. The proposed protocol uses a core based shared tree. The multicast tree may get fragmented due to node movements. A notion of forwarding region is introduced which is used to glue together fragments of a multicast trees. The gluing process involves flooding of the forwarding region of the nodes which witness topology change due to node movements. Delivery of multicast messages to mobile nodes is expedited through (i) pushing of the message by witness nodes in their forwarding regions and (ii) pulling of messages by a mobile node during the (re)joining process. Hence, the protocol conserves network bandwidth by using a combination of the push-pull approach and limiting network flooding to only minimal parts of the network that is affected by topology change. The protocol adapts to both topology change and the distribution of the multicast group members to minimize the use of system resources.
Crossing over the bounded domain: from exponential to power-law inter-meeting time in MANET

Inter-meeting time between mobile nodes is one of the key metrics in a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) and central to the end-to-end delay and forwarding algorithms. It is typically assumed to be exponentially distributed in many performance studies of MANET or numerically shown to be exponentially distributed under most existing mobility models in the literature. However, recent empirical results show otherwise: the inter-meeting time distribution in fact follows a power-law. This outright discrepancy potentially undermines our understanding of the performance tradeoffs in MANET obtained under the exponential distribution ofthe inter-meeting time, and thus calls for further study on the power-law inter-meeting time including its fundamental cause, mobility modeling, and its effect. In this paper, we rigorously prove that a finite domain, on which most of the current mobility models are defined, plays an important role in creating the exponential tail of the inter-meeting time. We also prove that by simply removing the boundary in a simple two-dimensional isotropic random walk model, we are able to obtain the empirically observed power-law decay of the inter-meeting time. We then discuss the relationship between the size of the boundary and the relevant time scale of the network scenario under consideration. Our results thus provide guidelines on the design of new mobility models with power-law inter-meeting time distribution, new protocols including packet forwarding algorithms, as well as their performance analysis.
Human Metapneumovirus Induces a Profile of Lung Cytokines Distinct from That of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Lung cytokine and chemokine production by BALB/c mice infected with human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was compared to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-infected mice. hMPV infection induced lower levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha but was a more potent inducer of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and triggered a more sustained production of the CXC chemokine KC compared to RSV. hMPV was a stronger inducer of both alpha interferon (IFN-α) and IFN-γ responses than RSV. In regard to immunomodulatory cytokines, hMPV failed to induce detectable IL-10 or IL-12p70 but was a potent inducer of IL-12 p40 subunit. The implications for hMPV pathogenesis are discussed.
Mycorrhizal fungi effects on nutrient composition and yield of soybean seeds

Abstract Nutrient composition and yield of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] seeds are heritable traits affected by environmental factors. This study determined the effects of arbuscular‐mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on seed protein, lipid, and phosphorus (P) composition and yield in soybean grown under a high nitrogen (N) regime. Plants were grown in pot cultures without AM fungi in P‐fertilized (+P) or unfertilized (‐P) soil, or in ‐P soil inoculated with one of the AM fungi Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerd, and Trappe (Gm), Glomus etunicatum Becker and Gerd.(Ge), or Gigaspora rosea Nicol. and Schenck (Gr). Seed yields of+AM plants, as a group, were halfway between those of the +P and ‐P plants. Seed size was highest in Gm plants. Differences in protein concentrations between Ge and Gr and the other treatments were highly significant. Seed P and protein concentrations were not significantly correlated (p=0.162), but a highly significant (r =‐0.949) negative correlation between seed P and lipid concentrations...
Effect of Price Limits: Initial Public Offerings versus Seasoned Equities*

In this paper, we examine the effect of price limits on initial public offerings (IPOs) using Taiwanese data. On average, it takes 6.24 days for IPOs to reach their equilibrium prices in the presence of a 7% price limit. We compare IPOs with their industry- and size-matched seasoned equities (MSEs) and observe higher volatility levels on subsequent days for IPOs than for MSEs. However, the higher volatility decays within 2 days. Lower price limits interfere with trading and lead to higher trading activity on subsequent days for IPOs than for MSEs. We also observe delayed price discovery for both IPOs and MSEs. Overall, our results provide evidence about the effect of price limits on IPOs and generate important regulatory implications for countries imposing price limits on IPOs.
Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels and Statin Treatment by HIV Status Among Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study Men

Abstract Treating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including dyslipidemia, is important in HIV care. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) target achievement is a readily available benchmark for dyslipidemia control, although use of this target is not uniformly endorsed by professional societies. We examined whether HIV serostatus is associated with not achieving LDL-c target. Among Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) participants completing visit 56 (10/1/2011–3/31/2012), we categorized each man as on or off statin therapy and used NCEP ATP III guidelines to determine if each man was at LDL-c target or not at target. We compared proportions of men not at target and determined predictors using multivariate logistic regression. Sixty of 543 (11.1%) HIV-infected men and 87 of 585 (14.9%) HIV-uninfected men not receiving statin therapy were not at target (p=0.07), while 31 of 230 (13.5%) HIV-infected and 29 of 204 (14.2%) HIV-uninfected men receiving statin therapy were not at target (p=0.82...
Optimization of a Goal Maintenance Task for Use in Clinical Applications

Background: We sought to develop a Dot Pattern Expectancy task (DPX) to assess goal maintenance for use in clinical trials. Altering the standard task created 5 versions of the DPX to compare—a standard version and 4 others. Alterations in the interstimulus interval (ISI) length and the strength of a learned prepotent response distinguished the different tasks. These adjustments were designed to decrease administration time and/or improve reliability of the data. Methods: We determined participant eligibility in an initial session (the first of 3) using clinical interviewing tools. The initial session also included a demographic assessment and assessments of community functioning and symptom severity. All versions of the DPX were administered, across 3 sessions. Specific deficits on the context processing compared with difficulty control condition were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression within a hierarchical linear model. Results: We analyzed the data from 136 control participants and 138 participants with schizophrenia. Relative to a difficulty control condition, patients performed worse than controls on context processing conditions that required goal maintenance. ISI did not predict errors. Stronger prepotency was associated with increased errors in the difficulty control relative to context processing condition for controls, which improved the interpretability of findings for patients. Reliability was acceptable for a version of the task with a 10-minute running time. Conclusions: The best compromise between task duration and interpretability occurred on a version with a short ISI and a strong prepotency.
Redundant roles of PRDM family members in zebrafish craniofacial development.

Background: PRDM proteins are evolutionary conserved Zn-Finger transcription factors that share a characteristic protein domain organization. Previous studies have shown that prdm1a is required for the specification and differentiation of neural crest cells in the zebrafish. Results: Here we examine other members of this family, specifically prdm3, 5, and 16, in the differentiation of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton. prdm3 and prdm16 are strongly expressed in the pharyngeal arches, while prdm5 is expressed specifically in the area of the forming neurocranium. Knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 results in a reduction in the neural crest markers dlx2a and barx1 and defects in both the viscerocranium and the neurocranium. The knockdown of prdm3 and prdm16 in combination is additive in the neurocranium, but not in the viscerocranium. Injection of sub-optimal doses of prdm1a with prdm3 or prdm16 Morpholinos together leads to more severe phenotypes in the viscerocranium and neurocranium. prdm5 mutants have defects in the neurocranium and prdm1a and prdm5 double mutants also show more severe phenotypes. Conclusions: Overall, our data reveal that prdm3, 5, and 16 are involved in the zebrafish craniofacial development and that prdm1a may interact with prdm3, 5, and 16 in the formation of the craniofacial skeleton in zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics 242:67–79, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Glycosylated Hemoglobin for Diagnosis of Prediabetes in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Background Prediabetes (PD) is an independent risk factor for stroke. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has recently published new guidelines recommending glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) as a marker to diagnose diabetes and PD. Diagnosis of diabetes Mellitus (DM) is often made at the time of hospitalization for stroke. Less is known about identifying PD in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. We aim to investigate the frequency of new-onset PD in the hospitalized AIS patients using the new ADA guidelines. Methods We retrospectively studied 362 AIS patients from our local database. Stroke risk factors, type of stroke, and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) were all collected. Based on the 2010 ADA guidelines, patients were classified as prediabetics, with HbA1c levels of 5.7%-6.4%; diabetics, with HbA1c levels more than 6.5%; and normoglycemic, HbA1c levels less than 5.7%. We used SAS 9.3 for analysis. Results On admission, 279 (78%) AIS patients had HbA1c values collected. Stratifying by HbA1c, 113 (31%) AIS patients were given the diagnosis of DM and 109 (30%) were given the diagnosis of PD. From the 166 patients with no DM history, 53% had PD and 15% had DM. Patients with DM and PD were more likely to have hypertension ( P P = .05). The likelihood of new-onset PD increased with age ( P Conclusion Diabetes and PD are highly prevalent in the hospitalized ischemic stroke (IS) patients. Our results suggest a need for routine HbA1c testing in all patients with IS. Further larger studies need to confirm these findings.
Some ideas about future air traffic control systems — theoretical and experimental investigations in a simulated environment

It seems evident that a gradual and systematic computerization of the major tasks of Air Traffic Control (ATC) must be investigated and, if found feasible, introduced in routine operations. We have explored an area of Distributed Artificial Intelligence, called Distributed Planning and Problem Solving, as a reliable and effective methodology for future ATC. We discuss in this paper some basic concepts and terminology, and describe the Coordinator-Coworker Control Mechanism that can dynamically reorganize the planning system in response to the task at hand. The information structure supporting the control mechanism is a set of hierarchically organized Distributed Scratch Pads. This also provides the basis for self-repair in case individual nodes fail to operate, and allows for a graceful degradation of the whole system. We analyze the problems of Air Traffic Control and describe the kernel design of the airborne processors and explain the simulation-based planning process as well as its timing and selection considerations. The vehicle of our empirical studies, the Distributed Air Traffic Control Testbed is then introduced. We compare in it performance measures of three organizational structures: the Local Centralized Architecture, and the Location-Centered Cooperative Planning System with one- and two-level Coordinator-Coworker hierarchies. Finally, we present the results of a series of experiments performed in the Distributed Air Traffic Control Testbed.
Steering Transforms the Cortical Representation of Self-Movement from Direction to Destination.

Steering demands rapid responses to heading deviations and uses optic flow to redirect self-movement toward the intended destination. We trained monkeys in a naturalistic steering paradigm and recorded dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) cortical neuronal responses to the visual motion and spatial location cues in optic flow. We found that neuronal responses to the initial heading direction are dominated by the optic flow9s global radial pattern cue. Responses to subsequently imposed heading deviations are dominated by the local direction of motion cue. Finally, as the monkey steers its heading back to the goal location, responses are dominated by the spatial location cue, the screen location of the flow field9s center of motion. We conclude that MSTd responses are not rigidly linked to specific stimuli, but rather are transformed by the task relevance of cues that guide performance in learned, naturalistic behaviors. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Unplanned heading changes trigger lifesaving steering back to a goal. Conventionally, such behaviors are thought of as cortical sensory-motor reflex arcs. We find that a more reciprocal process underlies such cycles of perception and action, rapidly transforming visual processing to suit each stage of the task. When monkeys monitor their simulated self-movement, dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) neurons represent their current heading direction. When monkeys steer to recover from an unplanned change in heading direction, MSTd shifts toward representing the goal location. We hypothesize that this transformation reflects the reweighting of bottom-up visual motion signals and top-down spatial location signals, reshaping MSTd9s response properties through task-dependent interactions with adjacent cortical areas.
Golomb rectangles

There are a number of communications problems involving two-dimensional arrays with constrained correlation functions. Golomb's two classes of radar arrays and sonar arrays are examined. Improved bounds, optimal cases, and computational procedures are reported.
Analysis of U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Allergen Recalls after Implementation of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

To avoid potentially life-threatening reactions, food allergic consumers rely on information on food labels to help them avoid exposure to a food or ingredient that could trigger a reaction. To help consumers in the United States obtain the information that they need, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 defined a major food allergen as being one of eight foods or food groups and any ingredient that contains protein from one of these foods or food groups. A food that contains an undeclared major food allergen is misbranded under the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and is subject to recall. Food allergen labeling problems are the most common cause of recalls for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated food products. To help understand why food allergen recalls continue to occur at a high rate, information on each food allergen recall that occurred in fiscal years 2007 through 2012 was obtained from the FDA recall database. This information was analyzed to identify the food, allergen, root cause, and mode of discovery for each food allergen recall. Bakery products were the most frequently recalled food type, and milk was the most frequently undeclared major food allergen. Use of the wrong package or label was the most frequent problem leading to food allergen recalls. These data are the first reported that indicate the importance of label and package controls as public health measures.
The Influence of Foreign Scripts on the Acquisition of a Second Language Phonological Contrast.

Recent studies in the acquisition of a second language (L2) phonology have revealed that orthography can influence the way in which L2 learners come to establish target-like lexical representations (Escudero et al., 2008, 2014; Escudero and Wanrooij, 2010; Showalter, 2012; Showalter and Hayes-Harb, 2013). Most of these studies, however, involve language pairs relying on Roman-based scripts. In comparison, the influence of a foreign or unfamiliar written representation on L2 phonological acquisition remains understudied. The present study therefore considers the effects of three L2 scripts on the early acquisition of an Arabic consonantal contrast word-initially (e.g. /ħal/–/χal/). Monolingual native speakers of English with no prior knowledge of Arabic participated in a word-learning experiment where they were instructed to learn six pairs of minimally contrastive words, each associated with a unique visual referent. Participants were assigned to one of four learning conditions: no orthography, Arabic scr...
Oxidation of Fatty Acids by Cell Suspensions of Spicaria Violacea

Spicaria violacea can grow in a mineral-salts solution with saturated fatty acids as the sole carbon source. Since the growth response varies with the different acids (5), attempts have been made to test the effect of these substrates on 02 uptake by the mold. The organism was grown in a Czapek-Dox medium (temperature, 30° C; pH, 7.2; carbon source, 5% glucose or glycerol; other conditions, as indicated below). Cultures were harvested by filtration, ground in a mortar with distilled water, pressed through coarse cheesecloth, and washed by centrifugation. The sediment was then taken up in distilled water to form a cell suspension which was then used for O0-uptake studies employing conventional manometric techniques. Preliminary experiments indicated the optimum temperature for endogenous 02 uptake by glucose-grown cells to be approximately 30° C; optimum uptakes were obtained at slightly higher temperatures with cells grown on glycerol. Glucose-grown cells showed high and fairly uniform endogenous rates between pH 5.8 and 7.2; glycerol-grown cells gave highest readings in a slightly alkaline range (7.2-7.6). Hence the fatty-acid effects were examined at a temperature of 30° and a pH of 7.2. Each Warburg vessel contained 1.0 ml cell suspension and 1.0 ml 0.2 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.2. The side arms contained 0.8 ml 0.1 M substrate (pH 7.2) and the center well 0.2 ml 6N NaOH. Substrates were commercial preparations of the highest available purity. The fatty acids were converted to the potassium soap with KOH in absolute alcohol, precipitated and washed with anhydrous ether, and dried in a vacuum desiccator. Cups were oxygenated for three minutes and equilibrated for fifteen minutes before the substrate was tipped into the main well.
Endobronchial Management of Advanced Lung Cancer

Background: Patients with lung cancer often have bulky endobronchial disease, endobronchial extension, or airway compression. Many endobronchial treatment modalities are available to supplement traditional therapies for advanced lung cancer. Methods: The author reviews the use of several endobronchial treatment modalities that can augment standard antitumor therapies for advanced lung cancer, including rigid and flexible bronchoscopy, laser therapy, endobronchial prosthesis, and photodynamic therapy. Results: Since the early 1980s, technical advances in interventional techniques have enhanced symptom-free survival and quality of life for patients with lung cancer. Although interventional procedures are not definitive therapies, they often relieve the strangling sensation produced by airway occlusion. Conclusions: Endobronchial interventions are important adjuncts in the multimodality management of lung cancer and should become standard considerations in the management of patients with advanced lung cancer. For patients with respiratory symptoms associated with their disease, these interventions provide symptom palliation and improved quality of life.
Analysis of malaria prevalence in Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City,2005-2011

Fifty malaria cases were reported in Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City from 2005-2011.Of these,34 cases were P.vivax,4 were P.falciparum,and 12 were malaria of an unknown type.There were 35 cases involving males and 15 involving females.Patients ranged from 2 to 48 years of age.In terms of occupation,most patients were farmers,migrant workers,or children.Of the 50 cases,39 were autochthonous and 11 were imported.The cases were distributed in 19 communities and towns.Cases mainly occurred between June and October.The Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City has a low level of malaria infection and most cases are sporadic.