cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parity, breastfeeding and breast cancer risk by hormone receptor status in women with late age at first birth - A case-control study

2610 Early age at first term pregnancy and increasing parity (number of term pregnancies) are consistently associated with a reduced risk of estrogen and progesterone receptor (ERPR) positive breast cancer, whereas breastfeeding reduces the risk of both receptor positive and receptor negative cancers. The protection afforded by an early first term pregnancy is more clearly observed after completion of women’s reproductive years. We investigated whether age at first term pregnancy and breastfeeding modify the effect of parity on risk of ERPR-positive and ERPR-negative breast cancer in postmenopausal women to gain greater understanding of these associations. We used data collected from 995 incident invasive breast cancer case patients (728 ERPR-positive, 267 ERPR-negative) and 1498 control subjects aged 55 years or older who participated in the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (CARE) Study, a multicenter case-control study of breast cancer in White and African American women. We stratified parous women by age at first birth ( The protective effect of ever having a term pregnancy on ERPR-positive tumors was observed among women who gave birth before age 25 years (OR =0.59, 95% CI=0.42-0.82), but not among women with first birth at age 25 years or later (OR=1.05, 95% CI=0.73-1.51). Further, among women who first gave birth after age 25 years, ever having a term pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of ERPR negative cancers (OR=2.07, 95% CI=1.03-4.16). Additional pregnancies after the first further increased this risk (p trend=0.03). Breastfeeding was protective for both receptor subtypes regardless of when women first gave birth. Further, the protective effect of parity on ERPR-positive cancers was only observed among women who breastfed (p-trend 0.001), but not among those who never breastfed (p-trend 0.29). Among those with a first birth at age 25 years or later who never breastfed, parity was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, both for ERPR positive (p-trend 0.04) and ERPR negative breast cancer (p trend 0.02). No such statistically significant increased risk was observed among women who had ever breastfed. These findings suggest that the effect of parity on a woman’s long-term risk of ERPR-positive and ERPR-negative breast cancer is modified by age at first birth and by breastfeeding. In women with delayed childbirth who do not benefit substantially from the protective effects of an early pregnancy, breastfeeding may offer broad benefits.
Doing "Good" with Data? Understanding and Working Around Data Doubles in Human Services Organizations

This research examines the challenges of constructing and using digital representations (data doubles) that stand-in for individual clients in the human services fields of homelessness and HIV/AIDS. By focusing on the multi-stakeholder context of often-stigmatized human services, this research develops a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in using data doubles for collaborative decision-making. In an era of extensive data collection and analysis in many areas of society, this research contributes more broadly to the design and use of information systems to support equitable decisions.
Pilot study establishing a nomogram of yolk sac growth during the first trimester of pregnancy.

AIM The yolk sac (YS) has been reported as a reliable predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes, however, it has always been evaluated cross-sectionally with a single ultrasound per patient. We sought to validate the use of YS dimensions in serial ultrasounds throughout the first 10 weeks of singleton and multiple gestations. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study where YS diameters were serially obtained with 2D ultrasound in singleton and multiple gestations from 5 to 11 weeks. Nonparametric test were used for comparisons with P < 0.05 indicating significance. RESULTS One hundred ninety-three patients were included, 42 twins (3 monochorionic and 39 dichorionic), 2 triplets (monochorionic twins plus a singleton) and 148 singleton pregnancies (238 total fetuses). There was no difference in YS dimensions in singleton versus multiple pregnancies. Starting at 5 weeks' gestation, the YS increased 0.4 mm (95% CI 0.3-0.5 mm) per week until 10 weeks' gestation. Forty-five fetuses were lost in the first trimester. The risk of pregnancy loss was higher with a large YS until 8 weeks (P ≤ 0.001), while after 8 weeks it was higher with a small YS (P < 0.005). CONCLUSION We established a nomogram of YS development during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The YS reliably detected pregnancies that ended in loss as early as 6 weeks' gestation. The YS was either smaller or larger than in ongoing pregnancies. While all pregnancies with large YS were lost within 10 weeks, those with smaller YS were lost beyond the first 10 weeks.
Treatment of stage I-III rectal cancer: Who is refusing surgery?

Background and objectives Surgical resection is a cornerstone in the management of patients with rectal cancer. Patients may refuse surgical treatment for several reasons although the rate of refusal is currently unknown. Methods The National Cancer Database was utilized to identify patients with stage I-III rectal cancer. Patients who refused surgical resection were compared to patients who underwent curative resection. Results A total of 509 (2.6%) patients with stage I and 2082 (3.5%) patients with stage II/III rectal cancer refused surgery. In multivariable analysis for stage I disease, older age, Black race, and Medicaid/no insurance were independent predictors of surgery refusal. Patients were less likely to refuse surgery if they had a higher income or lived further distances from the treatment facility. In multivariable analysis for stage II/III disease, older age, Black race, insurance other than private, and rural county were independent predictors of surgery refusal. Patients were less likely to refuse surgery if they had higher Charlson comorbidity scores, lived further distances from the treatment facility, or underwent chemoradiation. There was a significant decrease in survival for patients refusing surgery compared to patients undergoing recommended surgery. Conclusions A small proportion of patients refuse surgery for rectal cancer, and this treatment decision significantly affects survival.
Shared decision making and prostate-specific antigen based prostate cancer screening following the 2018 update of USPSTF screening guideline

Previous study reported shared decision making was underused in PSA-based prostate cancer screening. In mid-2018, the US Preventive Service Task Force recommended shared decision making (SDM) before PSA-based prostate cancer screening among men aged 55–69 year while remained against PSA testing in men aged 70 or older. The objective of this study is to examine recent changes in SDM and prostate cancer screening following recent USPSTF recommendations. A retrospective cross-sectional study among men aged 50 years or older were conducted using 2015 and 2018 National Health Interview Survey data (n = 10,926). Outcomes included self-reported PSA testing for prostate cancer screening last year, and if yes, whether respondent ever had a discussion with the healthcare provider about its advantages and disadvantages. Analyses were stratified by respondent’s age (50–54 vs. 55–69 vs. 70+). Routine PSA screening rates remained stable from 34.3% in 2015 to 35.4% in first half of 2018, and 36.0% in second half of 2018 (p trend = 0.57). A similar pattern was found in men ≥70 years (p trend = 0.98). Receipt of SDM increased in men aged ≥50 years from 30.5% in 2015 to 33.6% in first half of 2018, and 36.7% in second half of 2018 (p trend = 0.002). The increase was most prominent in men aged 55 to 69 years (31.6, 36.9, and 40.2% in 2015, first half of 2018 and second half of 2018 respectively; p trend = 0.001). Between 2015 and 2018, there was no significant increase in the PSA-based prostate cancer screening. However, a significant increasing trend in SDM was observed, especially in men aged 55–69 years.
A Proposal for the Mathematics Methods Course.

THE twentieth century has witnessed the establishment of numerous commis sions and committees whose purpose has been to study the optimum preparation that colleges and universities should pro vide future teachers of secondary school mathematics. Generally these study groups recognized the existence of two basic problems. The first problem was to determine the type of mathematics courses the future teachers should study while attending college, and the second was to determine how the individual can best be prepared pedagogically to teach mathe matics. In response to the first problem, the groups were quite diligent in outlining their recommendations concerning an appropriate sequence of mathematics courses and the content of those courses. In response to the second problem, how ever, the groups either omitted making recommendations or made them in very general terms. The structure of the meth ods course in mathematics has, therefore, remained undefined in comparison with the content courses in mathematics. This study was designed to determine what the leaders in mathematics and mathematics education felt the content of the methods course, offered the semester prior to the student teaching experience, should be; to evaluate experimentally their recommendations in the classroom; and to suggest an appropriate structure for the methods course based on this experimentation.
Sexual and social networks, venue attendance, and HIV risk among young men who have sex with men.

Objective: This study used a Social network analysis (SNA) approach to describe HIV transmission and venue affiliations among social and sexual networks of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in...
Use of Stimulants in Patients with Comorbid Anorexia Nervosa and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Structured Inpatient Setting.

OBJECTIVE Clinicians may be concerned about using psychostimulant medications in patients in whom weight gain is desired because of their potential side effects of appetite suppression and weight loss. This report depicts the successful treatment of 2 adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in an inpatient eating disorders unit. METHOD A report of 2 clinical cases (ages 19 and 20 years) was used to describe the management of comorbid AN and ADHD. Tolerance to stimulants, meal completion, and ability to restore weight were assessed over the course of hospitalization. RESULTS Behaviorally focused refeeding combined with psychostimulants notably improved symptoms of AN and comorbid ADHD without adverse effects. CONCLUSION Psychostimulant medications may be used successfully in patients with AN and ADHD in the context of structured behavioral treatment designed for weight restoration.
Risks to the stratospheric ozone shield in the Anthropocene : This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Ozone Layer.

Crutzen (1974) and Crutzen and Ehhalt (1977) presented two key papers in Ambio that in Ambioexemplify how science first revealed to humankind the potential for damage to our ozone shield in the Anthropocene. Crutzen’s (1974) review is a sweeping summary of the risks to the ozone layer from supersonic aircraft, chlorofluorocarbons, as well as nuclear weapons testing and nuclear war. Crutzen and Ehhalt (1977) described how the nitrous oxide produced from fertilizers could pose another threat to the stability of the stratospheric ozone layer. The two papers are part of a body of influential scientific work that led to the pioneering Montreal Protocol to Protect the Earth’s Ozone Layer to phase out production of chlorofluorocarbons (in 1987), as well as national decisions that slowed or stopped production of supersonic planes (in the 1970s). They remain guideposts today for ongoing international negotiations regarding reducing emissions from fertilizer and limiting nuclear testing.
Balmer- α and Balmer- β emission cross sections for H + + Ar collisions

Absolute cross sections for the emission of Balmer-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and Balmer-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ radiations from ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ + Ar collisions between about 50- and 2500-eV proton energy and the polarizations of the emitted radiations are reported. For proton energies above 300 eV, the contributions to these radiations from decay of the long-lived $3s$ and $4s$ excited states of hydrogen are resolved. The Balmer-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ emission cross section exhibits a maximum at about 1-keV proton energy. No such dominant feature is present at the $n=4$ level of excitation. The experimental techniques used to make the measurements are described, and the results are compared with the work of other investigators and discussed on the basis of the interaction between these colliding species.
Pericardial Effusion Is Associated with Longer Length Of Stay And Higher Risk Of Readmission In Children With Kawasaki Disease: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study From The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS)

Background: Pericardial effusion (PCE) can be associated with Kawasaki disease. Little is known about the effect of PCE on Kawasaki disease outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of the Pediatric Health Information System of children admitted with Kawasaki disease. Multivariate logistic regression was …
Ex Post Consequentiality and Willingness to Accept: A Case Study of a Payment for Ecosystem Services Program

Ex Post Consequentiality and Willingness to Accept: A Case Study of a Payment for Ecosystem Services Program
Sexual Selection of Male Song in Free-Living Sagebrush Crickets, Cyphoderris Strepitans

Measures of lifetime mating success in the sagebrush cricket, Cyphoderris strepitans, have revealed that most males succeed in obtaining only 1 mating, while many males fail to attract a female at all and a small minority mate 2 to 4 times. Relative to their abundance in the population, virgin males have a greater likelihood of obtaining a mating than non-virgin males have of securing additional matings, a phenomenon known as the virgin male mating advantage. Previous studies of sagebrush crickets have focused primarily on determining the proximate mechanisms responsible for the virgin male mating advantage, but little work has been done to identify the factors that influence male attractiveness in the first place. Because song plays a central role in mate attraction, itâs likely that variability in song parameters among males could account for the observed differences in mating success. Song is an energetically costly signal to produce and could serve as an honest indicator of male quality. Consequently, males that are able to invest greater amounts of energy into singing should be more attractive to females. In a previous field season, we recorded and analyzed the songs of virgin and non-virgin males and indeed found some evidence that females prefer males which invest greater energy into calling. In the present study, we synthesized artificial sagebrush cricket songs and directly measured female song preference with an arena playback experiment. Females were shown to consistently prefer song characteristics that would require greater energy expenditure by males. Males that sing with long pulse duration, long train duration, and at an intermediate dominant frequency were found to be highly attractive to females.
Regulation of the Liver Fatty Acid-binding Protein Gene by Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1α (HNF1α) ALTERATIONS IN FATTY ACID HOMEOSTASIS INHNF1α-DEFICIENT MICE

Abstract Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α(HNF1α)-null mice have enlarged fatty livers and alterations in the expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in the synthesis, catabolism, and transport of fatty acids. Elevations in the expression of genes encoding fatty acid synthetic enzymes (fatty acid synthase and acyl-CoA carboxylase) and peroxisomal β-oxidation enzymes (CYP4A3, bifunctional enzyme, and thiolase) were observed in the livers of HNF1α-null mice, whereas hepatic mitochondrial β-oxidation gene (medium and short chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase) expression levels remain unchanged relative to HNF1α-heterozygous controls. An elevation in the levels of fatty acid transporter gene expression was also observed. In contrast, there was a marked reduction of liver fatty acid-binding protein (l-FABP) gene expression in the livers of HNF1α-null mice. Isolation and sequence analysis of the 5′-flanking region of the mouse l-FABP gene revealed the presence of two HNF1α regulatory elements. The results of transient transfection studies indicate that HNF1α is required to trans-activate the expression of the l-FABP promoter. Taken together, these data define a critical role for HNF1α in the pathogenesis of a phenotype marked by fatty infiltration of the liver and in the regulation of the l-FABP gene, the expression of which may have a direct impact on the maintenance of fatty acid homeostasis.
Chapter 9 Family Support Interventions for Families of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract Though families are considered the primary provider of support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), only a small amount of I/DD funding in the United States goes toward offering assistance to these families. In addition, formal interventions typically target families of children with I/DD, which are no longer available when the individual enters adulthood. This chapter reviews the literature on family support interventions for families caring for adults with I/DD. It first examines the impact of lifelong caregiving and the support needs of these families. It then draws attention to various interventions currently available for these families, including systemic federal and state family support public policies (such as cash subsidies, and consumer-directed supports), as well as group level psychosocial interventions (such as support groups, future planning interventions, and support coordination). The review calls attention to the need for more intervention research that is methodologically sound and that addresses not only the perspective of parents but also that of other family members (such as siblings) and the person with disabilities.
Randomized controlled pilot study of mindfulness-based stress reduction for persistently fatigued cancer survivors.

Objective Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common, persistent, and disabling symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. Evidence-based treatments that are acceptable to patients are critically needed. This study examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for CRF and related symptoms. Method A sample of 35 cancer survivors with clinically significant CRF was randomly assigned to a 7-week MBSR-based intervention or wait-list control group. The intervention group received training in mindfulness meditation, yoga, and self-regulatory responses to stress. Fatigue interference (primary outcome) and a variety of secondary outcomes (e.g., fatigue severity, vitality, disability, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Bonferroni correction was employed to account for multiple comparisons. Controls received the intervention after the 1-month follow-up. Participants in both groups were followed for 6 months after completing their respective MBSR courses to assess maintenance of effects. Results Compared to controls, the MBSR group reported large post-intervention reductions as assessed by effect sizes (d) in the primary outcome, fatigue interference (d = −1.43, p < 0.001), along with fatigue severity (d = −1.55, p < 0.001), vitality (d = 1.29, p < 0.001), depression (d = −1.30, p < 0.001), and sleep disturbance (d = −0.74, p = 0.001). Results were maintained or strengthened at 1-month follow-up, the point at which significant improvements in disability (d = −1.22, p < 0.002) and anxiety (d = −0.98, p = 0.002) occurred. Improvements in all outcomes were maintained 6 months after completing the course. MBSR adherence was high, with 90% attendance across groups and high rates of participant-reported home practice of mindfulness. Conclusions Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a promising treatment for CRF and associated symptoms. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Congestion pricing overlaid on edge-to-edge congestion control

One of the biggest obstacles for implementing congestion pricing is the pricing-time scale. The Internet traffic is highly variant and hard to control without a mechanism that operates on very low time-scales, i.e. on the order of round-trip-times (RTTs). However, pricing naturally operates on very large time-scales because of human involvement. So, in order to put tight control on congestion through pricing, new implementation methods and architectures are needed for congestion pricing. In order to solve this problem, we propose a novel approach pricing over congestion control (POCC). The essence of POCC is to overlay congestion pricing on top of an underlying congestion control scheme which enforces a much tighter control than pricing. This way congestion in the interior network is controlled very tightly, while pricing is done at time-scales large enough to incorporate human involvement.
Die Relevanz von Venenerkrankungen im Bereich der Gefäßchirurgie

Venous disease has for too long been the stepchild in the vascular disease family. Venous disease kills more than 100,000 Americans every year because of pulmonary embolism; chronic venous disease affects more than 20% of the adult population; venous ulcers are a major cause of work disability and cost more than $1 billion each year in the United States; and venous disease affects 10 times more people than peripheral arterial disease. But the long-term effects are highly preventable by early diagnosis and treatment. Despite apparent negligence, progress has been made in understanding and managing acute and chronic venous disease. In an effort to provide direction for the future, the American Venous Forum organized a Venous Summit in Hawaii in January 2006, with the objective of reviewing the current state of knowledge with respect to acute and chronic venous disease. An international group of 60 recognized experts representing five continents, different specialities, and different medical industries was invited. The proceedings of the summit were published in a supplement of the Journal of Vascular Surgery in December 2007. This paper reviews this landmark publication.
Karush-Kuhn-Tucker Theory

In the current chapter, we study the problem of minimizing a real-valued function \(f(\boldsymbol{x})\) subject to the constraints $$\displaystyle\begin{array}{rcl} g_{i}(\boldsymbol{x})& =& 0,\quad \quad 1 \leq i \leq p \\ h_{j}(\boldsymbol{x})& \leq & 0,\quad \quad 1 \leq j \leq q.\end{array}$$ All of these functions share some open set U ⊂R n as their domain. Maximizing \(f(\boldsymbol{x})\) is equivalent to minimizing \(-f(\boldsymbol{x})\), so there is no loss of generality in considering minimization. The function \(f(\boldsymbol{x})\) is called the objective function, the functions \(g_{i}(\boldsymbol{x})\) are called equality constraints, and the functions \(h_{j}(\boldsymbol{x})\) are called inequality constraints. Any point \(\boldsymbol{x} \in U\) satisfying all of the constraints is said to be feasible.
Modeling the interaction between propagating cardiac waves and monophasic and biphasic field stimuli: the importance of the induced spatial excitatory response.

Field-Induced Excitatory Responses Across Propagating Waves. Introduction: Biphasic (BP) defibrillation waveforms have been shown to be significantly more efficacious than equivalent monophasic (MP) waveforms. However, when defibrillation falls, it tends to do so first in distal regions of the heart where induced field gradient magnitudes are lowest. We tested the hypothesis that the improved efficacy of BP waveforms results from their enhanced ability to prevent the initiation of new postshock activation fronts behind preexisting; wavetails, rather than from any significantly improved ability to terminate preexisting wavefronts. Methods and Results: An idealized computer model of a one-dimensional cardiac strand was used to investigate the spatial and temporal interactions between an underlying propagation front (or tail) and uniform MP or BP field stimuli of various intensities. Axial discontinuities from intercellular junctions induced sawtooth patterns of polarization during such field stimuli, enabling the shocks to interact directly with all cells. MP and BP diastolic thresholds were essentially equal. All suprathreshold MP and BP field stimuli successfully terminated preexisting wavefronts by directly depolarizing tissue ahead of those fronts, thus blocking their continued progression. However, the postshock response at the wavetail was significantly dependent on the shape and strength of the administered field. Low-strength MP stimuli induced an all-or-none excitation response across the wavetail, producing a sharp spatial transmembrane voltage gradient from which a new sustained anterogradely propagating wavefront was initiated. In contrast, low-strength BP field stimuli induced a spatially graded excitatory response whose voltage gradient was insufficient to initiate such a wavefront. Higher-strength MP and BP stimuli both produced graded excitatory responses with no subsequent propagation. Conclusions: Shock-induced spatial “all-or-none” excitatory responses facilitate, and graded excitatory responses prevent, the postshock initiation of new propagating wavefronts. Moreover, BP field stimuli can induce such graded excitatory responses at significantly lower stimulus strengths than otherwise equivalent MP stimuli. Therefore, these results support an alternative “graded excitatory response” mechanism for the improved efficacy of BP over MP field stimuli in low gradient regions.
Signal transduction cascades regulating mating, filamentation, and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycetous fungal pathogen that infects the central nervous system. The organism has a defined sexual cycle involving mating between haploid MATα and MATa cells. Recent studies have revealed signaling cascades that coordinately regulate differentation and virulence of C. neoformans . One signaling cascade involves a conserved G-protein a subunit and cAMP, and senses nutrients during mating and virulence. The second is a conserved mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade that senses pheromone during mating, and also regulates haploid fruiting and virulence. Interestingly, some of the MAP kinase components are encoded by the MAT locus itself, which may explain the unique association of the MATα locus with physiology and virulence.
Analysis of privacy and security in HTML5 web storage

There is no doubt that the web has evolved from a simple media consumption device to an extremely complex programming platform over the past couple of decades. With the exponential growth of Internet use, web applications are becoming increasingly popular: they are easy to distribute, simple to update, and widely accessible. However, a uniform programming method for developing web applications does not currently exist. Developers must be experts in and juggle a combination of different languages in order to create fully functional web applications. W3C's introduction of HTML5 attempts to alleviate this problem [8]. Their Web Storage specification offers a method for storing client-side data as an alternative to the use of cookies in web applications. In this paper, the Web Storage specification is analyzed through an in-depth discussion of the privacy, security, and performance of current and future web technologies. The advantages and disadvantages of the localStorage and sessionStorage attributes are discussed, with special consideration given to their impact on privacy and security. Analysis is done in the context of a custom web application, offering a suggested framework for applications utilizing HTML5 Web Storage.
Saturated amplification on Xe(L) transition arrays at 2.9 angstroms from hollow atom states

Summary form only given, as follows. The findings presented experimentally demonstrate at λ∼2.9 A the operation of a new concept capable of producing the ideal conditions for amplification of multikilovolt X-rays and prove the feasibility of a compact X-ray illuminator that can cost-efficiency achieve the mission of X-ray biological microholography and likewise serve an array of other applications involving the fabrication and measurement of solid state nanostructures.
Symptom Management in Palliative Care and End of Life Care

There is a need for generalist- and specialist-level palliative care clinicians proficient in symptom management and care coordination. Major factors contributing to this need include changed disease processes and trajectories, improved medical techniques and diagnostic testing, successful screening for chronic conditions, and drugs that often prolong life. The rapid progressive illnesses and deaths that plagued the first half of the twentieth century have been replaced in the twenty-first century by increased survival rates. Conditions that require ongoing medical care beyond a year define the current chronic illness population. Long years of survival are often accompanied by a reduced quality of life that requires more medical and nursing care and longer home care. This article reviews the management of selected symptoms in palliative and end of life care.
The effect of calcium nutrition on the sterol content of tobacco roots and their susceptibility to Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae

Abstract The influence of nutrient solutions containing low (25 mg/1) and high (250 mg/1) calcium (Ca) concentrations on the total lipid, free sterol, sterol glycoside and steryl ester content and on the subsequent susceptibility of three flue‐cured tobacco cultivars to black shank, incited by Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae was investigated. The total lipid, total sterol and free sterol content differed appreciably among root systems of the three cultivars grown at high Ca. Roots of plants grown at low Ca contained relatively higher proportions of steryl glycosides and lower proportions of free sterols than roots of plants grown at high Ca, although the absolute sterol concentrations also differed significantly among the roots of cultivars grown at low Ca. Black shank disease development was significantly lower in roots of susceptible plants grown at low Ca than in roots of the same cultivar grown at high Ca. The innate susceptibility of the cultivars were not related to the lipid or sterol conte...
Construction management strategy and developer performance

Purpose – Construction and development firms are going through major reorganizations in trying to define a profitable structure – including deciding whether to include construction operations as part of the firm or to outsource it. This paper aims to analyze the relationship between firm size, construction management strategy and performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews relevant strategic management literature and reports the results of an empirical survey research study of 80 US real estate developers.Findings – The results showed that there was no significant performance difference between firms that performed construction activities in‐house as opposed to those that outsourced it. However, the impact of construction strategy on performance may occur through its effect on size and size was negatively associated with performance. In addition, among the smaller firms, the ones that outsourced construction outperformed those that did construction in‐house.Research limitations/implication...
Middle and Upper Ordovician conodonts from the Fågelsång GSSP, Scania, southern Sweden

Abstract Based on Haddding's (1913) conodont collection supplemented by much larger recent collections, about 20 conodont taxa have been identified from the Fagelsang GSSP and nearby outcrops, which include a stratigraphic interval from the Eoplacognathus lindstroemi Subzone of the Pygodus serra Zone to the Baltoniodus variabilis Subzone of the Amorphognathus tvaerensis Zone. The base of the global Upper Ordovician Series, and that of the Sandbian Stage, is located in the middle part of the Pygodus anserinus Zone, apparently very close to the base of the Amorphognathus inaequalis Subzone. Each of the nine conodont species introduced by Hadding (1913) is discussed and interpreted in terms of modern multielement taxonomy.
Examining Racial Disproportionality in Child Protective Services Case Decisions.

Abstract Using a national sample of 1461 child protective services (CPS) investigations in the United States, we examine differences between black and white families with regard to caseworker ratings of risk and harm to the child, as well as the probability that a case is substantiated for maltreatment. We employ difference-in-difference methods to identify whether gaps in outcomes for black and white families are equivalent when black and white CPS workers conduct the investigation, and Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition methods to identify the portion of the black–white difference in outcomes that is attributable to differences in case characteristics (risk factors) versus differences in associations between these characteristics and the outcomes by race (differential treatment). We find no differences in outcomes by child race after adjusting for case characteristics. At the same time, we find that, relative to white caseworkers, black caseworkers are more likely to rate black children at subjectively higher risk of harm than white children and are also more likely to substantiate black families for maltreatment. The decomposition results suggest that—even after accounting for caseworker race—differences in outcomes for black and white children are primarily explained by differences in family and case circumstances rather than differential treatment. Thus, our analyses suggest that interventions addressing maltreatment-related risk factors that disproportionately affect black families may have greater utility for reducing racial disparities in CPS involvement than current emphases on cultural competence training.
Empirical Support for Winnow and Weighted-MajorityAlgorithms: Results on a Calendar Scheduling Domain

This paper describes experimental results on using Winnow and Weighted-Majority based algorithms on a real-world calendar scheduling domain. These two algorithms have been highly studied in the theoretical machine learning literature. We show here that these algorithms can be quite competitive practically, outperforming the decision-tree approach currently in use in the Calendar Apprentice system in terms of both accuracy and speed. One of the contributions of this paper is a new variant on the Winnow algorithm (used in the experiments) that is especially suited to conditions with string-valued classifications, and we give a theoretical analysis of its performance. In addition we show how Winnow can be applied to achieve a good accuracy/coverage tradeoff and explore issues that arise such as concept drift. We also provide an analysis of a policy for discarding predictors in Weighted-Majority that allows it to speed up as it learns.
Cryptococcus gattii: Clinical Importance and Emergence in North America

Cryptococcus gattii is an emerging fungal pathogen in the Pacific Northwest of North America, where it has caused more than 50 human infections since its emergence in 2004. Among residents of British Columbia, where the disease emerged in 1999 on Vancouver Island, many infections have occurred in immunocompetent persons. The cause for the emergence is currently unknown. The pathogenic profile of Cryptococcus gattii in North American patients appears to be different from that seen previously for C. gattii and from the profile of infection among patients with Cryptococcus neoformans. Treatment duration and the need for patient follow-up may be different between patients infected with C. gattii and C. neoformans. For this reason, physicians treating atypical patients with Cryptococcal spp infection, particularly HIV-uninfected patients, should obtain a travel history and obtain a species identity for Cryptococcus isolates.
Career paths of physicians who received an american cancer society regular clinical fellowship

The authors conducted a survey of American Cancer Society Regular Clinical Fellowship recipients from 1975 to 1976 and 1985 to 1986 and directors whose programs were awarded fellowships in 1985 to 1986. The survey ascertained the career paths taken or planned by the surveyed fellows, program directors' estimates of the career paths chosen by their programs' fellows from the last 5 years, and to elicit opinions on the role of the fellowship program. Response rates exceeded 70% across the three groups. The survey found that there has been a shift toward full-time academic oncologic practice and away from community oncologic practice by fellows. Program directors indicated the fellowship program afforded more benefits to fellows than fellows perceived, with the exception of the contribution to fellows' salaries. Program directors and fellows agreed on the most important aspects of a fellowship program (support a year of otherwise unavailable training and require exposure to research) but were in less agreement on other characteristics.
Comparative ultrastructure of leukotoxic and non-leukotoxic strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Fourteen strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) have been examined by transmission electron microscopy. The cells, which grow as coccobacillary forms on agar medium, have a cell periphery ultrastructurally compatible with that of other Gram-negative species. However, the cell membrane and peptidoglycan layer are not readily visualized following standard processing. Of particular interest was the finding of numerous extracellular membranous vesicles in A. actinomycetemcomitans strains known to have leukotoxic activity, while non-leukotoxic strains demonstrated few or no extracellular vesicles. Similar findings were noted whether cells were grown on blood agar plates or in thioglycollate broth. Antisera were obtained in rabbits against whole cells of leukotoxic strain Y4. The resulting antisera successfully labeled vesicles associated with 4 separate leukotoxic strains. The label was completely retained on the vesicles after absorption of the antisera with non-leukotoxic strain ATCC 29523. Non-leukotoxic strains showed some patchy surface labeling with non-absorbed antiserum to Y4 and no labeling after absorption with ATCC strain 29523. These observations suggest that extracellular membranous vesicles are associated with leukotoxic activity and may serve as a useful source of leukotoxic factor. These conclusions are strengthened by the observation of a strong correlation between the concentration of extracellular vesicles in strains grown on agar and their relative leukotoxicity as reported by other investigators.
Underexpression of beta cell high Km glucose transporters in noninsulin-dependent diabetes

The role of defective glucose transport in the pathogenesis of noninsulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) was examined in Zucker diabetic fatty rats, a model of NIDDM. As in human NIDDM, insulin secretion was unresponsive to 20 mM glucose. Uptake of 3-O-methylglucose by islet cells was less than 19% of controls. The beta cell glucose transporter (GLUT-2) immunoreactivity and amount of GLUT-2 messenger RNA were profoundly reduced. Whenever fewer than 60% of beta cells were GLUT-2-positive, the response to glucose was absent and hyperglycemia exceeded 11 mM plasma glucose. We conclude that in NIDDM underexpression of GLUT-2 messenger RNA lowers high Km glucose transport in beta cells, and thereby impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and prevents correction of hyperglycemia.
Forced Response of a Swirling, Premixed Flame to Flow Disturbances

This paper presents measurements of the nonlinear response of a premixed flame to harmonic oscillations. These measurements were obtained to improve understanding of nonlinear flame dynamics in unstable combustors. Simultaneous measurements of CH ∗ and OH ∗ chemiluminescence, pressure, and velocity were obtained over a range of forcing amplitudes and frequencies. These data show that the flame chemiluminescence response to imposed oscillations saturates at pressure and velocity amplitudes on the order of p � /p0 ∼ 0.02 and u � /u0 ∼ 0.3. The value of the fluctuating to the mean chemiluminescence signal at saturation varied with equivalence ratio. The phase between the chemiluminescence and acoustic signal also exhibits substantial amplitude dependence, even at driving levels where their amplitude ratios are nearly linear. In contrast, the pressure-velocity relationship remains linear with constant phase over the entire amplitude range. Thus, these results suggest that the nonlinear dynamics of premixed combustors are controlled by the acoustics-heat-release relationship, as opposed to gas dynamical processes. The mechanism for saturation of the flame response appears to be caused by nonlinear interactions between the flow forcing and the parametric flame instability, possibly through their impact on the fluctuating flame position. This parametric instability occurs at half the forcing frequency and is caused by the oscillating flow acceleration in the presence of the density jump at the flame. To our knowledge, this observation of the parametric instability is the first in a turbulent, swirl-stabilized flame. Interactions between the nonlinear heat release and linear combustor acoustics were characterized by sweeping the driving frequency through a resonant combustor frequency. With increasing driving amplitude, the resulting frequency response curves began to saturate in amplitude and bend over toward lower frequencies. Similar to the classical nonlinear Duffing oscillator, this bending of the frequency response curves manifests itself as a subcritical bifurcation in combustor response, whose gain and phase exhibited jumps and hysteresis. The bifurcation structure was measured in detail over a range of conditions and shown to have a two-dimensional dependence upon both amplitude and frequency.
Estimating functions of probability distributions from a finite set of samples

This paper addresses the problem of estimating a function of a probability distribution from a finite set of samples of that distribution. A Bayesian analysis of this problem is presented, the optimal properties of the Bayes estimators are discussed, and as an example of the formalism, closed form expressions for the Bayes estimators for the moments of the Shannon entropy function are derived. Then numerical results are presented that compare the Bayes estimator to the frequency-counts estimator for the Shannon entropy. We also present the closed form estimators, all derived elsewhere, for the mutual information, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{2}$ covariance, and some other statistics. (c) 1995 The American Physical Society
Cyclooxygenase-2 expression is induced in rat brain after kainate-induced seizures and promotes neuronal death in CA3 hippocampus.

Abstract Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is the predominant isoform of cyclooxygenase in brain. COX-2 activity produces oxidative stress and results in the production of prostaglandins that have many injurious effects. COX-2 transcription is induced by synaptic activity; therefore, COX-2 activity could contribute to epileptic neuronal injury. To address this hypothesis, COX-2 protein expression and PGE2 production were determined after kainate-induced limbic seizures in rats. The effects of a specific COX-2 inhibitor, SC58125, on neuronal survival and PGE2 concentration in the hippocampus were also determined. COX-2 protein expression was increased in CA3, dentate gyrus, and cortex at 18–24 h after seizures. Hippocampal PGE2 levels were increased at 24 h following seizures, and treatment with the selective COX-2 inhibitor SC58125, 3 mg/kg p.o., attenuated the increase in PGE2 concentration. The survival of CA3 neurons at 7 days after seizures was increased in rats treated with SC58125 compared to vehicle controls. There was no effect of drug treatment on body or brain temperature, nor on the duration or rate of Type IV EEG activity. These results suggest that COX-2 activity can contribute to epileptic neuronal injury and that selective COX-2 inhibitors are neuroprotective.
Ballot Structure, Political Corruption, and the Performance of Proportional Representation

What is the relationship between ballot structure (the manner in which citizens cast their votes) and corruption related to the financing of politics? The author develops a principal agent—model which considers how differences in ballot structure may facilitate or impede attempts by parties to utilize the public administration as a source of electoral resources. Electoral systems which concentrate political career control in the hands of party leaders, such as closed-list proportional representation (CLPR) facilitate the use of the bureaucracy in this manner, whereas electoral systems that undermine party leader control, such as preferential-list proportional representation (PLPR), make it more difficult. The difference in the two systems rests with the degree of leverage enjoyed by party leaders vis-a-vis politically oriented bureaucrats. The capacity for favoritism under CLPR permits party leaders to reward militants who have engaged in risky behavior for the party; PLPR undercuts similar attempts to re...
Environmental enrichment and the behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol in rats

Animals exposed prenatally to alcohol (4 g/kg/day) via maternal peroral intubation or control offspring were reared after weaning either alone in standard steel/wire cages or in groups of eight, for 6 weeks. Rats exposed prenatally to alcohol and reared in isolation had a dysmetric stride length indicative of an ataxic gait. However, following postweaning environmental enrichment, prenatal alcohol-exposed rats showed no evidence of ataxia. In addition, the prenatal alcohol-exposed rats showed the same magnitude of improved Morris maze performance after enrichment as did the control offspring. These preliminary results suggest that postnatal environment can influence the expression of alcohol-related birth defects in rats, that rats exposed prenatally to alcohol can benefit from the effects of enriched postweaning environment and that postnatal factors can attenuate some of the deficits due to prenatal alcohol exposure.
Factors affecting growth of streptococcus agalactiae in milk.

Abstract Factors that might affect the growth of Streptococcus agalactiae in milk were studied. Raw or pasteurized milk was serially diluted in steamed milk (100C, 30min) and acid production used to measure the growth of S. agalactiae 660 by determining the pH of the samples after incubation at 37C for 24 hr. The inhibitory titer, represented by the reciprocal of the highest dilution of milk showing maximum inhibition of acid production, was lowered when the milk used for diluent was heated for 30min at 80 or 90C, for 10min at 100C, or 15min at 121C, and when the incubation period of the test was increased to 48 hr. The inhibitory titer was progressively increased when 5 to 30 μ g of ammonium thiocyanate per ml of milk was added to pasteurized milk and the diluent. A stimulatory substance that counteracted the inhibitory activity of milk for S. agalactiae could be removed from whey by dialysis and ultrafiltration. Based on a comparison of the inhibitory activity curves, 20 colostrum samples tested had more stimulatory substance but less lactoperoxidase than milk. The inactivation of the inhibitory activity of milk by cysteine, glutathione, catalase, and horse-radish peroxidase confirmed the work of others who used organisms other than S. agalactiae .