cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nurses' perceptions of evidence-based nursing practice.

Title. Nurses’ perceptions of evidence-based nursing practice. Aim. This paper is a report of a study to investigate Registered Nurses’ perceptions, attitudes and knowledge/skills associated with evidence-based practice. Background. Evidence-based practice has emerged as a marker for healthcare quality. Previous studies have primarily used researcher-developed descriptive surveys to examine nurses’ perceptions, as well as facilitators and barriers, related to evidence-based practice. Research suggests the value of understanding the organizational context prior to taking steps to implement evidence-based practice. Methods. This study, conducted in 2006, had a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design using a psychometrically-validated measure of evidence-based practice. All Registered Nurses (n = 1031) employed by a large medical centre in the United States of America were asked to complete the questionnaires. The final response rate was 40·9% (n = 422). Findings. Participants had moderate scores on practice and attitudes towards evidence-based practice. The knowledge/skills mean scores were somewhat lower. Statistically significant differences were found for attitudes between those with baccalaureate and higher education compared to those with associate and diploma education. The two most cited barriers to implementing evidence-based practice were time and knowledge. Conclusion. The findings suggest the value of a methodical assessment when developing a systematic plan for implementing an institutional culture of evidence-based practice.
Coherent flows with near zero potential vorticity

Abstract The dynamics of small, intense inviscid fluid vortices rotating near the local Coriolis are examined through numerical experiments. These vortices have near zero potential vorticity (which is conserved) and are inherently nonlinear. Solutions for a quasigeostrophic vortex with no external forcing are contrasted with solutions where this balance was violated in specific ways. It was found that departure from quasigeostrophy can produce a rich variety of superinertial oscillations in the hydrodynamic fields. The effects of time-dependent external forcing are also considered. An initially circular vortex with zero potential vorticity was forced at its natural frequency (the inertial frequency). The vortex developed an elliptical structure and was stable, even when the magnitude of the forcing deformation was comparable to that of the unforced vortex. Of course, as the forcing amplitude was increased, the solution became unstable. These results are discussed in light of recent observations of small, coherent structures. It is suggested that these structures may contribute to the superinertial variability previously observed (and not fully explained) in several internal wave observations.
Urban accidental hypothermia: 135 cases

We retrospectively reviewed 135 presentations (114 patients) of urban hypothermia treated at the discretion of the emergency department staff over a nine-year period from February 1971 to March 1980. Rewarming treatment options included passive external, active external, and heated oxygen aerosol administered by mask or intubation. The rates of rewarming were statistically similar for passive external (0.71 C/hr) and heated aerosol via mask (0.74 C/hr). The rate of rewarming for active external methods was 0.90 C/hr. Heated oxygen aerosol using intubation rewarmed the patient at a significantly greater rate than the passive external method (1.22 C/hr) ( P P P = 0.01). Active core rewarming with heated aerosolized oxygen via nasotracheal tube is a safe technique for the rapid rewarming of selected hypothermic patients. The arrival temperature and the presence of serious underlying disease, in addition to the method of rewarming, appear to be major determinants of prognosis.
The Political Perfection of Original Judaism: Pedagogical Governance and Ecclesiastical Power in Mendelssohn's Jerusalem

Moses Mendelssohn famously penned his Jerusalem; or, On Religious Power and Judaism in response to a public challenge. Mendelssohn had declared “ecclesiastical power” to be a contradiction in terms, and had thus come out strongly against the use of coercion in religious life, and against the ban of excommunication by rabbinic authorities, in particular. In the anonymously published The Search for Light and Right, August Cranz defies Mendelssohn to explain how he could reconcile this liberal view of religion with his continued commitment to—and his insistence that Jews were still obligated to observe—Jewish law. “As reasonable as all you say [about religious power] may be, to just that degree it contradicts the faith of your fathers . . . and the principles of its church . . . expressly set down in the books of Moses,” Cranz argues. “The theocratic ruling staff drove the whole people . . . with force and punishment.” True, Cranz concedes, exile reduced the capacity of Jewish authorities to enforce Jewish law, “but these ecclesiastical laws are there even if their exercise is no longer a must.” Cranz challenges Mendelssohn to explain his apparently irreconcilable commitments: “How can you persist in the faith of your fathers and shake the whole structure by clearing away its cornerstones, dear Mr. Mendelssohn, when you contest the ecclesiastical law given as divine revelation through Moses?”
Peripheral Nerve/Field Stimulation for Neuropathic Pain

Peripheral nerve stimulation and peripheral nerve field stimulation are emerging as a viable neuromodulatory therapy in the treatment of refractory pain. Although the technology of percutaneous stimulation has been available for decades, recent advancements have broadened the number of indications. Success of treatment revolves around identifying the correct patient population, and the selection and placement of the appropriate electrodes and implantable pulse generators. Most results to date have come from case reports and retrospective studies. However, given the promising outcomes in reducing otherwise medically refractory pain, future randomized controlled studies are needed to assess this emerging technology.
Metabolism of ingested ammonium-15N by premature infants.

Extract: In premature infants receiving high protein diets (3.2–5.1 g/kg/24 h) and given oral trace doses of 15NH4Cl, [ammonia-15N] was initially higher than [urea-15N] in the urine. Isotope concentrations were equal at the time of maximum urea-15N concentration,suggesting that the pool of nitrogen sampled as ammonoa-15N in urine was the precursor for urea-15N under these conditions. In premature infants receiving low protein diets (1.5 and 1.0 g protein/kg/24 h), this precursor-product relation was lost, [ammonia-15N] remaining higher than [ura-15N] after the time of maximum urea-15N concentration. This was also true for an infants receiving 1.5 g protein/kg/24 h when glycine-15N was administrated, suggesting that the alteration in the relation between [urea-15N] and [ammonia-15N] in urine, under conditions of lowered protein intake, was a result of a change in the relation of the metabolic pool of nitrogen to urea and not to a specific alteration in the metabolism of ingested ammoniumion. As protein intake was progressively restricted, overall excretion of urea was reduced as well as excretion of urea-15N, in response to a trace dose of 15NH4Cl. No evidence was found to indicate that the mode of metabolism of ammonium-15N by premature infants receiving a high protein diet was necessitated by a lack of capacity for urea synthesis. The size (P) and turnover rate (B) of the pool of nitrogen reflected by [ammonia-15N] in urine was evaluated after ingestion of glycine-15N. The rate of metabolism, P×B, declined with decreasing protein intake. In one infant who received both glycine-15N and 15NH4Cl on a high and a low protein diet, estimations of size and rate of turnover of the pool of metabolic nitrogen were by analyzing [NH3-15N] and by using method of SAN PIETRO and RITTENBERG. The results were similar when 15NH4Cl was the test compound and dissimilar when glycine-15N was the test compound. Speculation: The data presented suggest that the nitrogen of ammonia absorbed via the portal vein is incorporated into the active metabolic pool of nitrogen, thus providing a flexible mechanism for both the conservation of ammonia nitrogen and its incorporation into urea.
Automatic Enforcement of Data Use Policies with DataLawyer

Data has value and is increasingly being exchanged for commercial and research purposes. Data, however, is typically accompanied by terms of use, which limit how it can be used. To date, there are only a few, ad-hoc methods to enforce these terms. We propose DataLawyer, a new system to formally specify usage policies and check them automatically at query runtime in a relational database management system (DBMS). We develop a new model to specify policies compactly and precisely. We introduce novel algorithms to efficiently evaluate policies that can cut policy-checking overheads to only a few percent of the total query runtime. We implement DataLawyer and evaluate it on a real database from the health-care domain.
Mature Socialism: Design, Prerequisites, Transitions

Stadial (stage-based) theory clarifies the relation between the evolving conception of mature socialism, on the one hand, and historical experiences of central planning and “market socialism,” on the other. The core of mature socialism is a system of multilevel democratic iterative coordination (MDIC), involving mutually supportive and mutually defining roles for a central authority and enterprises. This conception clarifies the relations between the socialist core and various precursor forms in existing transitional societies.
Fractal Description of Interlaminar Contact Development during Thermoplastic Composites Processing

Fabrication of layered thermoplastics and thermoplastic-matrix composites using processes such as tow placement, tape laying, and resistance welding, is fundamentally based on the principle of fusion bonding, which involves applying heat and pressure to contacting thermoplastic surfaces. One of the important processing steps—intimate contact—is considered in this paper. Interlaminar intimate contact development is a strong function of thermoplastic surface geometry. Profilometric measurements of thermoplastic prepreg tows show that surface roughness features can be found at several length scales, which implies that the surfaces have a fractal structure. In this paper, principles of fractal geometry are used to describe prepreg surfaces. Based on this description, an axisymmetric squeeze flow model is developed to relate degree of intimate contact to the process parameters—pressure, temperature, and time—and the fractal parameters of the surface. The model development and comparisons with available experim...
Resident involvement is associated with worse outcomes after major lower extremity amputation

Background Despite the recent major changes in vascular and general surgery training, there has been a paucity of literature examining the effect of these changes on training and surgical outcomes. Amputations represent a common cross-section in core competencies for general surgery and vascular surgery trainees. This study evaluates the effect of trainee participation on outcomes after above-knee and below-knee amputations. Methods The American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database (2005 to 2010) was queried using Current Procedural Terminology codes (American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill) for below-knee amputation (27880, 27882) and above knee-amputation (27590, 27592). Resident involvement was defined using the NSQIP variable and was narrowed to postgraduate year 1 to 5. Variables associated with resident involvement were identified, and mortality, morbidity, intraoperative transfusion, and operative time (75th percentile vs the bottom three quartiles) were evaluated as distinct categoric end points in logistic regression. Included in the model were variables with a P value Results Residents were involved in 6587 of 11,038 amputations (62%). After adjustment for preoperative and intraoperative factors on logistic regression, there was a significant increase in major morbidity (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.42; P Conclusions Resident involvement was associated with increased odds of major morbidity after amputation and also with increased operative time and risk for intraoperative transfusions.
Differences in vascular reactivity between men and women.

The purpose of this study was to compare the gender- and age-related differences in vascular reactivity in healthy men and women across a wide age range. Fifty-seven men and 61 women between 20 and 89 years of age, free of cardiovascular disease and risk factors, were categorized into younger (20-39 years), middle-aged (40-59 years), and older (60-89 years) age groups. Subjects were characterized on body weight and height, body mass index (BMI), and calf blood flow under resting, postocclusive reactive hyperemic (PORH), and maximal hyperemic conditions in the lower extremity with use of venous occlusion mercury strain-gauge plethysmography. Similar baseline characteristics were observed among age groups, whereas men had greater body weight (p 0.05). Furthermore, the percentage change in calf blood flow from rest to PORH was negatively related to body weight (r = -0.30, p 0.05) in the calf blood flow measures were observed among the age groups. In a healthy cohort free of cardiovascular disease, increased BMI accounted for poorer vascular reactivity in men compared to women regardless of age.
Under Microscopes the Poly(styrene/butadiene) Nanoparticles

There has been considerable interest, both academic and industrial, in developing synthesis processes for making polymeric nanoparticles. Our effort relied on the nanoassembly concepts of block macromolecules in solutions to prepare particles with a hard core made of crosslinked plastics and a soft shell made of low T(g) elastomer. By a suitable variation of the composition, polymer molecular weight and solute concentration, we were able to produce spherical, ellipsoidal, cylindrical, and chain-like nanoparticles. Under microscopes, the chain-like nanoparticles displayed very rich conformational features in diluted and dense states. Our observation on the conformation characters of the nanochains in 3D diluted state agreed well with the proposition of the self-avoid coil model. However, in 2D dense state, our observation on the nanochains appeared to be in contradiction with the segregated globule model proposed by de Gennes.
The Influence of Family Environment Factors on Self-Acceptance and Emotional Adjustment Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Adolescents

Abstract The quality of an adolescent's family environment has been shown to contribute to their self-acceptance and emotional adjustment. Studies suggest that sexual minority adolescents face unique challenges while negotiating family relationships but few studies have specifically examined the relationships between these family environments and the adolescent's psychological adjustment. This study examined general aspects of family functioning (family cohesion, family expressiveness, family conflict, parental support) and parental attitudes toward homosexuality as predictors of self-acceptance of sexual orientation identity and emotional adjustment among 102 gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents ages 15 to 19 years. Family variables did not predict a significant amount of variance in self-acceptance of sexual orientation identity. However, measures of general family functioning and parental attitudes toward homosexuality accounted for significant amounts of variance in emotional adjustment.
COMPARISON OF TWO STABLE HYDROGEN ISOTOPE-RATIO MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES ON ANTARCTIC SURFACE-WATER AND ICE SAMPLES

Abstract A comparison of the new hydrogen isotope-ratio technique of Vaughn et al. ([Vaughn, B.H., White, J.W.C., Delmotte, M., Trolier, M., Cattani, O., Stievenard, M., 1998. An automated system for hydrogen isotope analysis of water. Chem. Geol. (Isot. Geosci. Sect.), 152, 309–319]; the article immediately preceding this article) for the analysis of water samples utilizing automated on-line reduction by elemental uranium showed that 94% of 165 samples of Antarctic snow, ice, and stream water agreed with the δ 2 H values determined by H2–H2O platinum equilibration, exhibiting a bias of +0.5‰ and a 2−σ variation of 1.9‰. The isotopic results of 10 reduction technique samples, however, gave δ 2 H values that differed by 3.5‰ or more, and were too negative by as much as 5.4‰ and too positive by as much as 4.9‰ with respect to those determined using the platinum equilibration technique.
Determining the Future Costs of Lifetime Warranties

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method for determining the expected discounted future costs incurred from a lifetime warranty. Distributions of phase type are used to model the useful life of the good under warranty. The costs realized from the warranty are assumed to be both fixed and variable in nature. Under relatively general stochastic assumptions, a computationally tractable expression for the total expected discounted future cost is derived.
Power at the workplace: The resolution of worker-management conflict in Cuba

Abstract This contribution examines the distribution of power at the Cuban workplace by analyzing how overt conflicts between workers and managers concerning discipline and workers' rights are resolved. Variations in dispute resolution mechanisms and processes over the last quarter century are discussed in order to elucidate the degree to which they have either reinforced power inequalities between workers and managers or mitigated them. The paper demonstrates that the procedures employed to resolve worker-management conflict during this period have granted significant powers to workers. Yet no matter how egalitarian their form , workers' ability to take full advantage of the empowerment opportunities provided by these procedures has depended, in large measure, on the overall strength of the Cuban unions.
Inclusion of the CSSS magnetic field calculation into the UCSD tomographic solar wind model

Tomographic techniques developed at UCSD over the last few years incorporate a kinematic model of the solar wind to determine and forecast the large-scale three-dimensional extents of velocity and density using interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations or Thomson scattering brightness data. In this paper, we introduce magnetic field calculations from the Stanford Current-Sheet Source Surface (CSSS) model into our kinematic model. The CSSS model is used to extrapolate the photospheric magnetic field to a source surface at 15 solar radii (Rs). The UCSD kinematic model convects magnetic field from 15 Rs out to and beyond Earth. We compare the results with in situ data near Earth. The spatial relationship between the heliospheric current sheet and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is shown in remote views of the inner heliosphere
The fragile X syndromes

Fragile X syndrome is a leading cause of mental retardation worldwide, with an incidence of approximately one case in 2000 live births. It is amongst the most common of human genetic diseases, and was the first to be associated with an unstable trinucleotide (CGG) repeat sequence. It is also characterized by a chromosomal fragile site which was the first of (now) four such sites to be identified at the molecular level. Each shows very similar features suggesting that other representatives of this type of fragile site will likely involve similar sequences. As with the other unstable trinucleotide repeats, the sequence at the fragile X locus is found to be remarkably unstable upon genetic transmission, however many features differ from the other repeats. As repeat expansion at the fragile X locus results in loss of expression of the co-resident FMR1 gene, the basis for clinical features is best understood in this disorder. Two additional fragile sites in the vicinity have been identified, and at least one of these is associated with mental retardation.
N-Protonated Isomers as Gateways to Peptide Ion Fragmentation

According to the popular “mobile proton model” for peptide ion fragmentation in tandem mass spectrometry, peptide bond cleavage is typically preceded by intramolecular proton transfer from basic sites to an amide nitrogen in the backbone. If the intrinsic barrier to dissociation is the same for all backbone sites, the fragmentation propensity at each amide bond should reflect the stability of the corresponding N-protonated isomer. This hypothesis was tested by using ab initio and force-field computations on several polyalanines and Leu-enkephalin. The results agree acceptably with experimental reports, supporting the hypothesis. It was found that backbone N-protonation is most favorable near the C-terminus. The preference for C-terminal N-protonation, which is stronger for longer polyalanines, may be understood in terms of the well known “helix macrodipole” in the corresponding helical conformations. The opposite stability trend is found for peptides constrained to be linear, which is initially surprising but turns out to be consistent with the reversed direction of the macrodipole in the linear conformation.
Tools for mapping applications to CCMs

We report on our ongoing work in the development of automated CCM mapping and scheduling tools. We seek efficient methods to assign a high-level computational description across the processing elements of a target CCM. Such an assignment requires both a partitioning in space (the task map) and a partitioning in time (the execution schedule). We embrace a number of algorithmic design techniques, spanning the spectrum from the hugely theoretical to the extremely applied. Our goal is to produce suites of tools that meet a variety of design objectives.
The Doppler Probe for planning septofasciocutaneous advancement flaps on the plantar aspect of the foot: Anatomical study and clinical applications

A 5-MHz Doppler probe was utilized to identify the perforating septofasciocutaneous vessels on the plantar aspect of the right and left feet of 10 healthy subjects. Each audible perforator was marked, and each foot was photographed, scanned into a personal computer, and standardized to 8 inches high by 4 inches wide. All 20 feet were then stacked together to create a composite average of all markings. Loupe aided (2.5 x magnification) dissection of a latex cast of the perforating septofasciocutaneous vessels from a fresh frozen cadaveric foot revealed similar location and distribution as the composite average described above. The Doppler probe is capable of accurately identifying the septofasciocutaneous perforating vessels, thereby, creating a vascular map of the plantar aspect of the foot useful for precise planning of advancement flap coverage for full thickness defects. Two representative case examples are presented.
The effect of magnesium pemoline on learning an active avoidance-passive avoidance discrimination

Magnesium pemoline failed to facilitate the learning of an active avoidance — passive avoidance discrimination. The sensitizing and stimulant properties of the drug disrupted learning of the discrimination when a buzzer was used as the cue for passive avoidance.
Receiver functions from regional P waves

SUMMARY P waves from regional-distance earthquakes are complex and reverberatory, as would be expected from a combination of head waves, post-critical crustal reflections and shallow-incident P waves from the upper mantle. Although designed for steeply-incident teleseismic P waves, receiver functions (RFs) can also retrieve information about crustal structure from regional P. Using a new computation method based on multiple-taper spectral analysis, regional-distance RFs for GSN stations RAYN and ANTO show broad agreement with teleseismic RFs. At RAYN the moveout of the Moho-converted Ps phase, relative to direct P, follows the predictions of the IASP91 earth model well. The Moho-converted Ps phase shows complexity associated with the transition-zone triplications near Δ=20° and constant delay (zero moveout) as Δ0, consistent with conversion from Pn. Similar behaviour is seen for ANTO for events that arrive from the west. For eastern backazimuths the ANTO RFs show features whose moveout is negative as Δ0. This moveout is poorly fit by reverberations in flat layers or by direct scattering from a dipping interface, but is consistent with a topographic scatterer 20–30 km eastward of the ANTO site. Regional receiver functions may therefore be useful in judging whether teleseismic RFs at a particular station are suitable candidates for a 1-D velocity structure inversion. Synthetic seismograms of regional P phases, computed with a locked-mode reflectivity approach in a 1-D structure, confirm several gross features of the RAYN and ANTO regional receiver functions.
Metabolism of Ascorbic Acid and ASCORBIC-2-SULFATE in Man and the Subhuman Primate

Man does not catabolize ascorbate to CO2, whereas the monkey does catabolize ascorbate and ascorbate sulfate to CO2 when these compounds are given orally. However, it takes the same length of time to produce frank scurvy in both man and the monkey, thus indicating that the comparative storage, rate of use, and mode of metabolism of ascorbate is similar in both species. Preliminary feeding and isotope studies conducted on monkeys are in agreement with the fact that only a small amount of labeled ascorbate or ascorbate sulfate equilibrated with body stores. These results are in agreement with published ascorbic acid requirements of 10 mg/kg body weight. In our experiments, 250 mg/day had to be fed to a 10-kg monkey to completely clear all signs of scurvy and return blood ascorbate levels to normal. Ascorbic acid administered intravenously to monkeys appears to equilibrate completely with the ascorbate pool(s). Ascorbate sulfate was found to be a urinary metabolite of both ascorbic-1-14C acid and ascorbic-6-14C acid fed orally to monkeys.
On asymmetric information channels

The application of Shannon's coding theorem for noisy channels has been extensively studied in the literature in connection with symmetric channels. However, certain methods of modulation exist which endow the transmission channels with asymmetric properties. In the present paper, the capacity of asymmetric channels has been studied in terms of the probability of the possible errors. The theory sheds interesting light on pulse code modulation using amplitude keying.
Polypeptide multilayer films: role of molecular structure and charge.

The role of molecular structure, charge, and hydrophobicity in polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer assembly (LbL) of thin films has been studied using the model polypeptides poly-l-glutamatic acid (PLGA) and poly-l-lysine (PLL), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD). The adsorption behavior of PLGA and PLL has been compared with the structure of these molecules in aqueous solution under the same conditions. The data show that the deposition of polypeptide per adsorption step scales with average secondary structure content, whether α helix or β sheet. This is contrary to the expectation based on the view that hydrogen bonds are crucial to polypeptide film assembly, because secondary structure formation in a polypeptide reduces its intermolecular hydrogen-bonding potential. The data also show that polypeptide adsorption scales with ionic strength and chain length. Taken together, the results increase knowledge of polypeptide-based LbL thin film fabrication and will help to p...
Innovative practices session 1C: Innovative practices in RF test

Test costs continue to rise as designs become more complex, the controllability and observability points at the chip boundary reduce, defects become more subtle making it harder to detect them, and reliability requirements become stringent. While several techniques have been developed and deployed to contain test costs to remain within acceptable limits, new technologies tend to generate excursions where the costs once again become prominent. Digital circuits have benefitted from structured test methodologies (involving DFT, ATPG and BIST) wherein different optimizations have been incorporated to reduce test costs. Analog circuits have also received wide attention due increasing analog content in today's chips. DFT techniques for them have evolved to provide additional controllability and observability through additional on-chip / off-chip instrumentation. Digitization of the analog stimuli and response have also been considered adequate to ascertain the correctness of analog circuits. RF circuits, on the other hand, have a few characteristics which have rendered such simplification so far inadequate. (i) The stimuli and response can be greatly deformed due to attenuation at the high frequencies at which the transmission occurs over the tester channels. (ii) Multiple RF modules in a chip cause further interference, thereby impairing the measurement resolution attainable for test. (iii) While on-chip instrumentation for test and measurement is even more important, providing it itself largely uneconomical. (iv) There is virtually little automation (EDA tools, etc.) available today to address these issues. Hence, though RF circuits are just an extension of analog / mixed-signal circuits in the high frequency range, their test poses several new challenges, which have hitherto not been adequately solved.
Semiconductor Diode Laser Photocoagulation in Retinal Vascular Disease

Abstract The authors successfully performed clinical transpupillary retinal photocoagulation in 30 eyes of 26 patients with retinal vascular disease using a gall ium-aluminum-arsenide (GaAIAs) diode laser emitting at 805 nm. Retinal photocoagulation was performed at treatment powers of 300 to 1300 mW and exposure durations of 0.2 to 0.5 seconds with a 200-µm diameter treatment spot. Patients treated with both diode and argon green lasers required 4.5 ± 1.8 times greater mean laser energy with diode compared with argon to create ophthalmoscopically similar lesions. Parallel experimental retinal photocoagulation in Chinchilla rabbits required 3.1 ± 0.9 times more power to create ophthalmoscopically similar lesions with the diode laser than with the argon laser. Intraoperative subretinal hemorrhage occurred rarely in patients with an incidence of 4 (0.044%) of 9021 treatment spots. Patients complained of moderate-tomarked pain in 10 (43%) of 23 treatments initiated under topical anesthesia. A transpupillary diode laser may be used clinically to perform therapeutic retinal photocoagulation.
Ab initio calculations of the excitonic spectra of the alkali iodides including relativistic effects

We extend our previous studies of local excitons in the alkali halides to include relativistic effects such as spin-orbit, mass-velocity, and Darwin corrections. We examine the alkali iodide series and certain features in the optical absorption spectra which are due to local excitons. We find that we must include relativistic effects, as well as an appropriate number of neighboring-ion shells, if we are to compute the excitonic energies accurately.
Low-temperature magnetization and susceptibility of an amorphous ferromagnet

Abstract The zero temperature magnetization and susceptibility are considered for an amorphous ferromagnet in which the local anisotropy field H A has random directions. Results are used to estimate H A from existing data in amorphous TbFe 2 .
The Heart Failure Epidemic

Heart failure has been singled out as an emerging epidemic, which could be the result of increased incidence and/or increased survival leading to increased prevalence. Knowledge of the responsibility of each factor in the genesis of the epidemic is crucial for prevention. Population-based studies have shown that, over time, the incidence of heart failure remained overall stable, while survival improved. Therefore, the heart failure epidemic is chiefly one of hospitalizations. Data on temporal trends in the incidence and prevalence of heart failure according to ejection fraction and how it may have changed over time are needed while interventions should focus on reducing the burden of hospitalizations in hear failure.
MYOSIN ISOZYMES DURING THE REGRESSION OF CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY

An early, transient decrease in cardiac function occurs during regression (R) of pressure overload (P) left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in rats. This may occur because of a mismatch between the LVP and the form of myosin isozymes. We compared myosin isozymes using native gel electrophoresis in control (C), hypertrophy (H), and regression (R), rat hearts. LVH was induced by partial occulsion (O) of the ascending aorta. O was released in a group of the H rats allowing R to occur, C, H, and R rats were studied 1-4 wks. after release of O. C rats had 85% V1 myosin in all groups. H had 45% V1, 33% V2, 22% V3 at R-1 wk. (3 wk of H) and 48, 32 and 20%, respectively at R-4 wk (6 wk of H). In the 1 wk R rats the relative amounts of V1, V2 and V3 remained unchanged (43, 30, 27%, respectively). However, after 4 wk of R, rather than the isozymes forms returning to that of controls, the relative amount of V3, actually increased, 36% V1, 32% V2, 32% V3. At no time was there a shift back to V1 despite complete relief of P which occurs immediately upon release of O. Regression of LVH is nearly complete by 1 wk LV/body weight C-2,67, H-4.06, R-2.80. In this study, we found an increase in the relative amount of V3 in the absence of pressure overload in young rats after the regression of LVH. This unusual mismatch between myosin isozyme and physiologic status could be explained by an undetermined anomaly in the cardiac function during regression. A change affecting the responsive expression of V3 could also occur.
Experiences of parents of children with congenital limb differences with health care providers: a qualitative study.

UNLABELLED This article describes a qualitative, participatory action research study based in grounded theory, in which an online survey was developed and utilized to explore and generate suggestions for further research about the needs and health care experiences of parents of children with congenital limb differences (CLD) during the first year of the child's life. PARTICIPANTS Fifty parents completed an online survey that was developed through review of themes in the literature and input from people with CLD and their families. Primarily with open-ended questions, the survey targeted the respondents' perceptions of the attitudes and approaches of health care providers. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results indicate that parents consistently commented on three main areas of interaction with health care providers: attitudes, information, and emotional or psychological support. Research hypotheses generated from the data are presented. Implications and suggestions for future directions are discussed.
Myonectin (CTRP15), a Novel Myokine That Links Skeletal Muscle to Systemic Lipid Homeostasis *

Skeletal muscle plays important roles in whole-body glucose and fatty acid metabolism. However, muscle also secretes cytokines and growth factors (collectively termed myokines) that can potentially act in an autocrine, a paracrine, and/or an endocrine manner to modulate metabolic, inflammatory, and other processes. Here, we report the identification and characterization of myonectin, a novel myokine belonging to the C1q/TNF-related protein (CTRP) family. Myonectin transcript was highly induced in differentiated myotubes and predominantly expressed by skeletal muscle. Circulating levels of myonectin were tightly regulated by the metabolic state; fasting suppressed, but refeeding dramatically increased, its mRNA and serum levels. Although mRNA and circulating levels of myonectin were reduced in a diet-induced obese state, voluntary exercise increased its expression and circulating levels. Accordingly, myonectin transcript was up-regulated by compounds (forskolin, epinephrine, ionomycin) that raise cellular cAMP or calcium levels. In vitro, secreted myonectin forms disulfide-linked oligomers, and when co-expressed, forms heteromeric complexes with other members of the C1q/TNF-related protein family. In mice, recombinant myonectin administration reduced circulating levels of free fatty acids without altering adipose tissue lipolysis. Consistent with this, myonectin promoted fatty acid uptake in cultured adipocytes and hepatocytes, in part by up-regulating the expression of genes (CD36, FATP1, Fabp1, and Fabp4) that promote lipid uptake. Collectively, these results suggest that myonectin links skeletal muscle to lipid homeostasis in liver and adipose tissue in response to alterations in energy state, revealing a novel myonectin-mediated metabolic circuit.
Ambiguity as persuasion: The Vietnam Veterans memorial

Visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial generally are deeply moved by it—regardless of their positions on the Vietnam War itself. In this essay, five visual features of the memorial are identified that enable it to appeal to virtually all visitors: (a) It violates the conventional form of war memorials; (b) It assumes a welcoming stance; (c) It provides little information to the visitor; (d) It focuses attention on those who did not survive the war; and (e) It generates multiple referents for its visual components. The effectiveness of the memorial suggests that it may serve as a model for contemporary anti‐war rhetoric.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TMAO DEGRADING SYSTEMS IN ATLANTIC SHORT FINNED SQUID (ILLEX ILLECEBROSUS)

The decomposition of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) to dimethylamine (DMA) was studied in the mantle of squid, Illex illecebrosus. The production of DMA in either whole or ground mantle stored at – 20°C was low or nonexistent. However, significant DMA was produced from TMAO during heating of squid or squid extracts. Conversion of TMAO to DMA was shown to reside in the soluble fraction of the squid mantle which catalyzed the breakdown of TMAO in an assay system consisting of FeCl2 and ascorbate at room temperature. On the average, some 10–15% of the activity was accounted for by a high molecular weight, thermolabile substance, presumably an enzyme. The rest of the activity was in a small molecular weight, thermostable fraction. The low molecular weight fraction produced significant quantities of TMA as well as DMA, had low activity with flavin-NADH, and was not activated by methylene blue.
Aging Successfully until Death in Old Age: Opportunities for Increasing Active Life Expectancy

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of having no disability in the year prior to death in very old age and to examine factors associated with this outcome. Participants were men and women aged 65 years and older who were followed prospectively between 1981 and 1991 from three communities: New Haven, Connecticut; Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa; and East Boston, Massachusetts. Persons who died in late old age with known disability status within 15 months of death (n = 1,097) were studied for predictors of dying without disability at the last follow-up interview prior to death. The probability of a nondisabled 65-year-old man's surviving to age 80 and then being nondisabled prior to death was 26% and, for a 65-year-old woman, the probability of surviving to age 85 and being nondisabled before death was 18%. Physical activity was a key factor predicting nondisability before death. There was nearly a twofold increased likelihood of dying without disability among the most physically active group compared with sedentary adults (adjusted odds ratio = 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.24-2.79). These findings provide encouraging evidence that disability prior to death is not an inevitable part of a long life but may be prevented by moderate physical activity.
Security parallels between people and pervasive devices

Unique and challenging security problems arise due to the scarcity of computational, storage, and power resources in the low-cost pervasive computing environment. Particularly relevant examples of resource-constrained systems are low-cost radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. Surprisingly, the computational abilities of low-cost pervasive devices like RFID tags are similar to another pervasive, weak computing "device": people. Neither low-cost pervasive devices nor people can efficiently perform public-key or even symmetric cryptographic operations. Neither can store long random strings nor devote too much time or energy to security protocols. Both may need to authenticate themselves over a public channel to an untrusted terminal, without any outside help or external devices. Because of these similarities, pervasive security may benefit by adapting techniques from human-computer security, or vice versa. This article treats RFID tags as a model for other low-cost pervasive devices, and describes some of their practical constraints. Several parallels between the pervasive and human-computer security settings are discussed. Finally, this article highlights one particular human-computer authentication protocol, due to Hopper and Blum, that is immediately adaptable to low-cost RFID. Borrowing techniques from Hopper and Blum, or other human-computer protocols could lead to practical pervasive security protocols.
Capital Constructions: Newspaper Reporting in Death Penalty Cases

This study evaluates aspects of newspaper reporting about death penalty cases and capital defendants. In a content analysis of newspaper coverage of a representative sample of 26 death penalty-eligible defendants who were brought to trial in California, we found that articles tended to cite primarily from law enforcement and prosecutorial sources, focused very heavily on the characteristics of the crime, and omitted or de-emphasized most other aspects of the case. News coverage generally failed to place the criminal behavior of the defendant in any social historical or contextual framework from which readers (as potential voters and jurors) could grasp the potential mitigating elements of the case. We conclude that newspaper coverage of capital crimes may influence public support for the death penalty, and undermine public appreciation of the role of social contextual factors in crime causation in general. It also may bias the perspective with which potential jurors approach specific capital trials and even contribute to the lack of instructional comprehension that has been found to plague the death sentencing process.
Study of the Relationship between Mus musculus Protein Sequences and Their Biological Functions

The central challenge in post-genomic era is to characterize the biological functions of newly discovered proteins. Sequence similarity based approaches infer protein functions based on the homology between proteins. We present the similarity relationship between protein sequences and their functions for mouse (Mus musculus) proteome in the context of gene ontology (GO) slim. The similarity between protein sequences is computed using a measure based on the BLAST alignment scores. The similarity between protein functions is characterized using GO terms. We present the sequence similarity distributions at different levels of the GO tree. The similarities of protein sequences in GO groups residing on different branches of the GO tree are shown. Our results indicate that proteins with similar amino acid sequences tend to have similar biological functions. The posterior probabilities for correct function predictions were also computed. The result reveals certain limitations of the function prediction approaches that are solely based on sequence similarities.
Mantle Convection in the Earth and Planets: Thermal History of the Earth

Introduction Mantle convection plays an essential role in determining the evolution of the Earth's temperature through geologic time because it is the primary mechanism by which the Earth transfers heat from its deep interior to its surface. Once the internally generated heat reaches the surface it is transferred to the ocean–atmosphere system by a variety of processes including conduction and hydrothermal circulation through the oceanic crust and is eventually radiated to space. From the perspective of studying the changes in the Earth's interior temperature over geologic time, we can ignore the relatively rapid transport of internal heat through the atmosphere and oceans and assume that all heat delivered to the Earth's surface from below immediately escapes the Earth. The heat lost through the Earth's surface tends to cool the interior, and heat produced within the Earth by the decay of radioactive elements tends to warm it. The thermal evolution of the Earth is a consequence of the competition between internal energy sources producing heat and mantle convection removing it. A quantitative description of the Earth's thermal history is the application of basic energy conservation in a convecting mantle. While the basic approach to modeling the Earth's thermal history is straightforward, its implementation is a major challenge because of the complexity of a realistic model and available computer resources that limit detailed numerical calculations of three-dimensional, time-dependent convection at the very high Rayleigh numbers applicable to the Earth's present mantle and at the even higher Rayleigh numbers appropriate to the Earth's early mantle.
Individual and Institutional Predictors of School Disorder

Using survey responses from 5,203 students, this article explores the effects of school climate (e.g., clarity and fairness of rules) and individual student characteristics (e.g., age, sex, race, and dimensions of bonding) on two different measures of school disorder: students' self-reported Offending and less serious Misconduct at school. Between-school factors and within-school factors were examined using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques. Schools varied significantly on both measures of disorder, but individual-level variables explained greater portions of variance in Offending than Misconduct. School climate variables explained a larger percentage of variance in Misconduct. Implications for theory and prevention are discussed.
Questionable Thymic Nurse Cell

Since their discovery in 1980, thymic nurse cells (TNCs) have been controversial. Questions pertaining to the existence of the TNC as a “unit” cell with thymocytes completely enclosed within its cytoplasm were the focus of initial debates. Early skeptics proposed the multicellular complex to be an artifact of the procedures used to isolate TNCs from the thymus. Since that time, TNCs have been found in fish, frogs, tadpoles, chickens, sheep, pigs, rats, mice, and humans. Their evolutionary conservation throughout the animal kingdom relieved most speculations about the existence of TNCs and at the same time demonstrated their apparent importance to the thymus and T-cell development. In this review we will discuss and debate reports that describe (i) the organization or structure of TNCs, (ii) the thymocyte subset(s) found within the cytoplasm of TNCs and their uptake and release, and (iii) the function of this fascinating multicellular interaction that occurs during the process of T-cell development. Discussions about the future of the field and experimental approaches that will lead to answers to remaining questions are also presented.