cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Targeting Youth to Prevent Later Substance Use Disorder: An Underutilized Response to the US Opioid Crisis

The evolving US opioid crisis is complex and requires myriad different interventions. These include reducing opioid overprescribing and curtailing the supply of illicit opioids, overdose rescue interventions, and treatment and recovery support services for those with opioid use disorders. To date, more distal primary prevention strategies that have an evidence base are underutilized. Yet, the impact of early environments on later substance use disorder risk is increasingly well understood, including knowledge of the mechanistic linkages between brain development and subsequent risk behaviors. Applying this developmental framework to prevention shows promise, and some middle-school interventions have demonstrated significant reductions in prescription opioid misuse. Reducing these risks of initial misuse of opioids may be the "ounce of prevention" that makes a substantial difference in a society now reeling from the worst drug crisis our country has seen. The challenge is to continue to develop and test promising distal interventions and to support implementation fidelity through frameworks that ensure their cultural appropriateness and sustainability. In addition, research is needed to develop new prevention strategies for adults, including patients with pain at risk for transitioning from prescription to illicit opioids.
A closed-loop and sustainable approach for the fabrication of plastic-free oil- and water-resistant paper products

The current open-loop practices employed to render paper substrates water- and oil-repellent for packaging and non-packaging applications have generated ocean pollution and have placed daunting burdens on landfills. In this study, we report a green, unique and facile approach for the fabrication of grease- and water-resistant paper products with 100% recyclability of the paper pulp. Low surface energy polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was grafted onto a biobased chitosan polymer via urea linkages to prepare the graft copolymer chitosan-graft-polydimethylsiloxane (chitosan-g-PDMS). Chitosan-g-PDMS was then applied as a coating onto an unbleached Kraft paper substrate from an aqueous solution. The coated paper substrates exhibited good hydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of 120.53 ± 0.96° and a Cobb 60 value of 9.89 ± 0.32 g m−2. The coated paper substrates also showed good oil-resistance as evident from the kit rating value of 11.7/12. The tensile strength, crushing resistance, bending stiffness, and internal tearing resistance of the paper before and after coating treatment was determined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to characterize changes in the porosity of the paper before and after the coating. The pulp recyclability of the coated paper was validated by subjecting the coated paper samples to repulping and washing treatment. This novel and practical approach can provide significant environmental benefits by offering plastic-free, fluorine-free and fully-recyclable water- and grease-resistant paper; thus promoting sustainability due to its unique closed-loop nature.
Use of Very High-Resolution Optical Data for Landslide Mapping and Susceptibility Analysis along the Karnali Highway, Nepal

The Karnali highway is a vital transport link and the only primary roadway that connects the remote Karnali region to the lowlands in Mid-Western Nepal. Every year there are reports of landslides blocking the road, making this area largely inaccessible. However, little effort has focused on systematically identifying landslides and landslide-prone areas along this highway. In this study, landslides were mapped with an object-based approach from very high-resolution optical satellite imagery obtained by the DigitalGlobe constellation in 2012 and PlanetScope in 2018. Landslides ranging from 10 to 30,496 sq.m were detected within a 3 km buffer along the highway. Most of the landslides were located at lower elevations (between 500–1500 m) and on steep south-facing slopes. Landslides tended to cluster closer to the highway, near drainage channels and away from faults. Landslides were also most prevalent within the Kuncha Formation geologic class, and the forested and agricultural land cover classes. A susceptibility map was then created using a logistic regression methodology to highlight patterns in landslide activity. The landslide susceptibility map showed a good prediction rate with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.90. A total of 33% of the study arealies in high/very high susceptibility zones. The map highlighted the lower elevated areas between Bangesimal and Manma towns with the Kuncha Formation geologic class as being the most hazardous. The banks of the Karnali River, its tributaries and areas near the highway were also highly susceptible to landslides. The results highlight the potential of very high-resolution optical imagery for documenting detailed spatial information on landslide occurrence, which enables susceptibility assessment in remote and data scarce regions such as the Karnali highway.
Prospects for Cell-Directed Curative Therapy of Phenylketonuria (PKU).

Phenylketonuria (PKU) due to recessively inherited phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency is among the most common inborn errors of metabolism. Dietary therapy begun early in infancy prevents t...
Limb functional recovery is impaired in fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) deficient mice despite chronic ischaemia-induced vascular growth.

FGF2 is a potent stimulator of vascular growth; however, even with a deficiency of FGF2 (Fgf2-/-), developmental vessel growth or ischaemia-induced revascularization still transpires. It remains to...
A Higher Order Internalizing Dimension Predicts Response to Partial Hospitalization Treatment

Mental disorders may be best represented by dimensional constructs that span traditional diagnostic boundaries. There is evidence that empirically derived dimensional phenotypes improve nosology an...
Sport policy in Colombia

This article analyses Colombian sport policy from the late nineteenth century to the present. The text evaluates how policies were connected to the ebbs and flows of Colombian politics and the clie...
Deep Dive into Denervation: Institutional Experience with Selective Denervation in Nonflaccid Facial Palsy.

Background: Selective denervation of facial nerve branches (“Modified Selective Neurectomy”) improves smile dynamics in patients with nonflaccid facial palsy, but functional morbidity such as oral ...
Interstates of Infection: Preliminary Investigations of Human Mobility Patterns in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated various heterogeneities between urban and rural environments in public health. The SARS-CoV-2 virus initially spread into the United States from international ports of entry and into urban population centers, like New York City. Over the course of the pandemic, cases emerged in more rural areas, implicating issues of transportation and mobility. Additionally, many rural areas developed into national hotspots of prevalence and transmission. Our aim was to investigate the preliminary impacts of road travel on the spread of COVID-19. This investigation has implications for future public health mitigation efforts and travel restrictions in the United States. METHODS: County-level COVID-19 data were analyzed for spatiotemporal patterns in time-to-event distributions using animated choropleth maps. Data were obtained from The New York Times and the Bureau of the Census. The arrival event was estimated by examining the number of days between the first reported national case (January 21, 2020) and the date that each county attained a given prevalence rate. Of the 3108 coterminous US counties, 2887 were included in the analyses. Data reflect cases accumulated between January 21, 2020, and May 17, 2020. FINDINGS: Animations revealed that COVID-19 was transmitted along the path of interstates. Quantitative results indicated rural-urban differences in the estimated arrival time of COVID-19. Counties that are intersected by interstates had an earlier arrival than non-intersected counties. The arrival time difference was the greatest in the most rural counties and implicates road travel as a factor of transmission into rural communities. CONCLUSION: Human mobility via road travel introduced COVID-19 into more rural communities. Interstate travel restrictions and road travel restrictions would have supported stronger mitigation efforts during the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced transmission via network contact.
Global change differentially modulates coral physiology and suggests future shifts in Caribbean reef assemblages

Global change driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions is altering ecosystems at unprecedented rates, especially coral reefs, whose symbiosis with algal endosymbionts ise particularly vulnerable to increasing ocean temperatures and altered carbonate chemistry. Here, we assess the physiological responses of the coral holobiont (animal host + algal symbiont) of three Caribbean coral species from two reef environments after exposure to simulated ocean warming (28, 31 {degrees}C), acidification (300 - 3290 atm), and the combination of stressors for 93 days. We used multidimensional analyses to assess how multiple coral holobiont physiological parameters respond to ocean acidification and warming. Our results demonstrate significantly diminishing holobiont physiology in S. siderea and P. astreoides in response to projected ocean acidification, while future warming elicited severe declines in P. strigosa. Offshore S. siderea fragments exhibited higher physiological plasticity than inshore counterparts, suggesting that this offshore population has the capacity to modulate their physiology in response to changing conditions, but at a cost to the holobiont. Plasticity of P. strigosa and P. astreoides was not clearly different between natal reef environments, however, temperature evoked a greater plastic response in both species. Interestingly, while these species exhibit unique physiological responses to ocean acidification and warming, when data from all three species are modeled together, convergent stress responses to these conditions are observed, highlighting the overall sensitivities of tropical corals to these stressors. Our results demonstrate that while ocean warming is a severe acute stressor that will have dire consequences for coral reefs globally, chronic exposure to acidification may also impact coral physiology to a greater extent than previously assumed. The variety of responses to global change we observe across species will likely manifest in altered Caribbean reef assemblages in the future.
"I Know It Is Going to Ruin Their Life:" Fortune-Telling, Agency, and Harm Reduction in Narratives Concerning Injection Initiation Assistance.

Considering most people who inject drugs (PWID) received help with the first injection, understanding the perspective of potential ‘initiators’ is a priority to inform harm reduction interventions....
Seven-pinhole versus Single-pinhole SPECT for Thyroid Imaging

To compare 7-pinhole and single-pinhole SPECT thyroid imaging under conditions of equal total detector area. A phantom was generated using XCAT software. Trajectories of 7-pinhole and single-pinhole detectors were developed for 2 scenarios: (i) minimum radius of rotation (D_PH) for fully viewing a target imaging sphere containing the thyroid and (ii) minimum radii of rotation for fully viewing the target imaging sphere and avoiding collision with the patient. Projection data were computer-simulated and images were reconstructed modeling attenuation, spatial resolution, and Poisson noise. Seven-pinhole and single-pinhole systems were compared for a range of lesion-activity concentrations, pinhole diameters, and half opening angles. Comparison metrics included system resolution, geometric sensitivity, and image quality. In the absence of collision constraints, 7-pinhole systems show potential to provide better trade-offs between geometric sensitivity and spatial resolution. However, when pinhole trajectories are constrained to avoid patient collision, 7-pinhole systems may be affected more adversely than single pinhole systems. The study points to the potential of 7-pinhole systems and to the importance of addressing collision constraints.
Coating-substrate interface stress management in wear protection of light alloy components

Hard coating light alloys for wear protection presents an interface stress problem due to mismatch in elastic constants across the film-substrate interface. The displacement formulation method is used in this work to calculate interface stresses as a function of contact parameters, coating/substrate properties, and coating thickness. Quantitative results obtained suggests that interface stresses can be managed with a judicious choice of coating materials, film thickness, contact parameters, and film deposition conditions.
Mortgage Banking in the United States, 1870-1940

Taken in concert with two previously written volumes on the mortgage industry that highlight the immediate post-World War II era and the 1963-1972 period, this study accounts for nearly a century of mortgage banking progress and activity in America. What emerges is a picture of a highly differentiated industry in the 1920s that began to focus more narrowly on federally sponsored mortgage products and a single funding channel during the 1930s and in the immediate post-World War II period, and then transitioned yet again to a more diverse business model by the mid-1960s. During their early pre-federal intervention periods, farm and urban mortgage bankers focused on three similar elements: •The use of informal guarantees or explicit mortgage insurance to protect and attract investors in the markets for whole mortgage loans; •The development of correspondent relationships with life insurance companies; and •A failed experimentation with European-style mortgage banking structures. The Federal Farm Loan Bank system and the FHA mortgage insurance programs that restructured both the farm and urban mortgage banking sectors shared three common features: •They each encouraged the widespread adoption of long-term, amortized mortgage loans; •They each created mechanisms to stimulate the inter-regional transfer of mortgage credit and the convergence of mortgage rates and lending terms across regions; and •They each established federal chartering systems for privately financed European-style mortgage banks to create active secondary markets for long-term, amortized loans.
Leave It to Badger: Allan W. Eckert's Incident at Hawk's Hill

Kenneth Kidd's discussion of feral tales in the context of Allan W. Eckert's novel illustrates the complexities of feral tales and situates the ideas of human, Other, and nature within them. The veracity of the actual episode may be questioned but Eckert's story seems all the more realistic, it is suggested, because it operates within a specific established folkloric tradition, one in which science and mythology are entangled.
Chapter 6 The role of fluoro-deoxy glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the role of fluoro-deoxy glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer. More than 70% of the deaths occur in individuals whose initial histology is well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. The current prognostic scoring systems, which utilize clinical and pathological information obtained at the time of initial diagnosis, have been very useful. The major limitation is their inability to predict the outcome of patients when, years later, they are discovered to harbor metastases. This is particularly important as it is well known that there is a highly variable trajectory of disease in such patients. The use of FDG-PET scanning for evaluating patients with DTC has added to the understanding of this protean disease. Metastatic lesions that contain predominantly well-differentiated clones have functional sodium–iodide symporter (NIS) and transport radioactive iodine (RAI). The less well-differentiated clones cannot effectively trap iodine but have much higher metabolic activity and have high FDG-avidity. Sensitivity of FDG-PET lesions to RAI therapy is also explained in the chapter.
Chapter 12 - Special Banach Lattices and their Applications

This chapter discusses certain Banach lattices of importance in analysis, particularly, the Lorentz and Orlicz spaces. Special Banach lattices arise naturally in probability theory and in many areas of analysis, for example, in interpolation theory, in Fourier analysis, and in functional analysis in the theory of absolutely summing operators. The theory of stable Banach spaces initiated by Krivine and Maurey provides the machinery for extending Aldous' theorem to a large class of Banach and quasi-Banach spaces. One area of analysis in which Orlicz and Lorentz norms arise frequently is probability theory. Indeed, a useful way of studying the integrability of a random series is to determine its closed linear span in an appropriate function space. Banach discussed the question of the linear dimension of the classical Banach spaces—that is, the question of the existence (or nonexistence) of an isometric or an isomorphic embedding from one space into another.
A Counterpart to Pain

Pain is not the only defense mechanism that alerts us to a physical hazard — the other is itch, an unpleasant sensation that is distinct from pain because it provokes the desire to scratch. Although pain and itch feel different, these two sensations share many qualities. Both are aversive sensations that evolved to protect us. Moreover, both can become pathological, developing into chronic debilitating conditions that ruin one’s quality of life.
A Review of “Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To”

Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To examines how knowledge of the brain aids the understanding of the complex phenomenon of “choking.” Choking, as co...
Narcissism and Performance on Behavioral Decision-making Tasks

Three studies examined narcissism and behavioral decision making. Decision-making tasks included the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Studies 1–3), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (Studies 1–3), Columbia Card Task (CCT; Studies 2 and 3), and Game of Dice Task (Study 3). To tease apart the contributions of grandiose narcissism (i.e., narcissism found in the general population), pathological narcissism, and narcissistic traits (i.e., grandiosity, entitlement, and exploitativeness) in decision making, we assessed grandiose narcissism in Studies 1 (n = 380) and 2 (n = 244), pathological narcissism in Study 2, and the narcissistic traits in Study 3 (n = 312). Grandiose and pathological narcissism failed to predict decision making regardless of whether or not decision making included immediate feedback. In Study 3, the narcissistic trait of grandiosity (i.e., having an inflated sense of self-importance) was associated with greater risk taking on the CCT-hot (i.e., provided immediate feedback), and entitlement was associated with greater risk taking on the IGT. Measurement and applied implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The action of 1 α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on rat small intestine: Changes in translatable mRNA species

The time course of changes in translatable mRNA from small intestinal mucosa was studied in vitamin D-deficient rats following an intrajugular dose of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. L-[35S]Methionine-labeled translation products were analyzed by high-resolution one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis. Changes were detected in two distinct proteins, Mr 14,000/pI 6.24 (Band I), and Mr 5,200/pI 4.86 (Band II). These increased to maxima of 1-2% each of the total in vitro-synthesized protein at 12 h after dosing. This represented a 3- and 10-fold increase, respectively, over control values. The time course of these changes suggests that regulation of the levels of the mRNAs coding for these proteins is not involved in the initial (6 h) peak of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-stimulated intestinal calcium transport in the rat.
Randomized controlled screening trials for prostate cancer using prostate-specific antigen: a tale of contrasts

Objectives This article aims to review the merits of the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as a screening tool in the detection of prostate cancer and the evidence presented by the US and European population-based, randomized controlled trials evaluating screening. Many studies have attempted to ascertain whether PSA screening is beneficial with respect to cancer-specific mortality. This report aims to clarify the issues specific to the PSA test, prostate cancer, sources of bias, and the future of screening.
Rheo-photoacoustic FTi.r. and morphology studies of molecular weight–strain dependence in poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Abstract The influence of molecular weight on the strain-dependent permeability of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is investigated. Permeability measurements were performed on spherulitic and fibrous PVDF at various concentration levels of ethyl acetate (EtAc). Rheo-photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (RPA FTi.r.) was used as a quantitative measure of the desorption diffusion coefficient. Polymer molecular weight, crystallite size and the number of tie molecules in the network have a significant effect on the morphological changes as a result of plastic and elastic deformations. The head-to-head and tail-to-tail defect content also plays a significant role on the mechanism of plastic deformation. By reducing the stability of crystallites, higher defect contents appear to diminish the yield stresses in PVDF which result in transition to the fibrous morphology without void formation.
Resource management and task partitioning and scheduling on a run-time reconfigurable embedded system

There are many design challenges in the hardware-software co-design approach for performance improvement of data-intensive streaming applications with a general-purpose microprocessor and a hardware accelerator. These design challenges are mainly to prevent hardware area fragmentation to increase resource utilization, to reduce hardware reconfiguration cost and to partition and schedule the tasks between the microprocessor and the hardware accelerator efficiently for performance improvement and power savings of the applications. In this paper a modular and block based hardware configuration architecture named memory-aware run-time reconfigurable embedded system (MARTRES) is proposed for efficient resource management and performance improvement of streaming applications. Subsequently we design a task placement algorithm named hierarchical best fit ascending (HBFA) algorithm to prove that MARTRES configuration architecture is very efficient in increased resource utilization and flexible in task mapping and power savings. The time complexity of HBFA algorithm is reduced to O(n) compared to traditional Best Fit (BF) algorithm's time complexity of O(n^2), when the quality of the placement solution by HBFA is better than that of BF algorithm. Finally we design an efficient task partitioning and scheduling algorithm named balanced partitioned and placement-aware partitioning and scheduling algorithm (BPASA). In BPASA we exploit the temporal parallelism in streaming applications to reduce reconfiguration cost of the hardware, while keeping in mind the required throughput of the output data. We balance the exploitation of spatial parallelism and temporal parallelism in streaming applications by considering the reconfiguration cost vs. the data transfer cost. The scheduler refers to the HBFA placement algorithm to check whether contiguous area on FPGA is available before scheduling the task for HW or for SW.
Antenna-system design of the ISIS-A scientific satellite

ISIS-A is the first scientific satellite of the ISIS programme equipped with sufficient instrumentation for simultaneous measurements of almost all ionospheric parameters. An antenna complement of 13 radiators is used for telemetry, command, beacon and experimental purposes. This paper describes trends, and techniques used, in the design of the antenna systems on board the satellite.
Farm Acreage Shocks and Crop Prices: An SVAR Approach to Understanding the Impacts of Biofuels

The last 10 years have seen tremendous expansion in biofuels production, particularly in corn ethanol in the United States, at the same time that commodity prices (e.g., corn) have experienced significant spikes. While supporters claim that biofuels are renewable and carbon-friendly, concerns have been raised about their impacts on land use and food prices. This paper analyzes how US crop prices have responded to shocks in acreage supply; these shocks can be thought of as a shock to the residual supply of corn for food. Using a structural vector auto-regression framework, we examine shocks to a crop’s own acreage and to total cropland. This allows us to estimate the effect of dedicating cropland or non-crop farmlands to biofuels feedstock production. A negative shock in own acreage leads to an increase in price for soybeans and corn. Our calculations show that increased corn ethanol production during the boom production year 2006/2007 explains approximately 27% of the experienced corn price rise.
A soft-core Thomas-Fermi pseudopotential for total energy calculations

Abstract We present a modification of the “Thomas-Fermi pseudopotential” developed by Chelikowsky for the calculation of cohesive energies of solids. In the original work, the pseudopotential was singular at the origin, owing to a cusp in the pseudowavefunction. We derive here a “Thomas-Fermi pseudopotential” based on the form of pseudowavefunction introduced by Kerker, which is smooth and nonvanishing at the origin. This pseudopotential was tested in cellular calculations of the total binding energy and equilibrium cell size of bcc Na, both of which were in excellent agreement with experiment. The precision of the variationally determined charge density n(r) was checked by calculating the corresponding chemical potential μ(r), which was virtually uniform except in a small neighborhood of the origin. An LCAO parametrization of the charge density is outlined that would be appropriate for 3D problems such as a point defect.
Neutrino processes in dense matter

Expressions for the source and collision terms of the neutrino transport equation relevant to the neutrino transport supernova model are derived in the framework of the theory of neutral currents. In particular we study the capture and emission of neutrini (and anti-neutrini) by free nucleos, the inelastic scattering by free nucleons, the coherent scattering by nuclei, as well as the corresponding muonic processes.
Altered antigenic expressions of human C3 and C5, their subunits and fragments following exposure to denaturing conditions.

Abstract The present study deals with the antigenic nature of the subunit polypeptide chains of C3 and C5. The purified proteins were reduced and dissociated in 0.01 M dithiothreitol and 6 M guanidine-HCl (GuHCl). Their subunits were separated by filtration over a Biogel A-15 beaded agarose gel bed (width × efficient length = 2.5 × 450 cm) equilibrated with the same reducing-dissociating agents. A comparative analysis using rabbit antisera raised against native C3 or C5 (anti-native C3-C5 antisera) or against the isolated subunits (anti-subunit antisera) gave the following general reaction pattern: anti-subunit antisera formed specific immune precipitates against isolated C3α, C3β and C5β [solubilized in GuHCl or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)] but failed to recognize the native unreduced parent proteins; anti-native C3-C5 antisera showed a reversed reactivity with specificities restricted to the native parent proteins and with no reactivity against the isolated subunits; upon pretreatment with SDS, sodium desoxycholate (DOC) or glycine buffer of a pH of 2.8, unreduced C3 and C5 underwent profound antigenic alterations leading to the full reactivity with the homologous anti-subunit antisera and the concurrent partial loss of reactivity against anti-native C3-C5 antisera. Like the parent protein, various fragments generated from C3 by the ‘aging’ of whole serum at 37°C or by trypsin digestion proved to be susceptible to a similar antigenic transition in the presence of SDS. The subunit origin of these fragments could therefore be identified immunochemically with the aid of anti-C3α-β antisera. The observed immunochemical modification of C3-C5 was apparently effected by detergent binding. Full antigenic transition occurred when C3 was exposed to SDS to yield a maximal binding of approximately 1000 molecules of SDS per molecule of C3, but also under conditions yielding binding at only 5% of this level. The fact that DOC had the same effect as SDS on C3-C5 suggests that these complement proteins possess hydrophobic binding sites in their native state.
Ginsengs: A Review of Safety and Efficacy

Both Korean and Siberian ginseng are used extensively for the enhancement of mental and physical performance. However, results from recent randomized, controlled clinical trials do not substantiate the purported ergogenic effects of ginseng in healthy individuals. Nevertheless, there is some evidence (both human and animal studies) to suggest that Korean and Siberian ginseng may have health promoting effects by stimulating the immune response. The recommended daily dose for Korean ginseng is 0.5 to 2 g per day of dried root or 100 to 300 mg per day of a standardized extract containing 1.5 to 7% ginsenosides and, for Siberian ginseng, 2 to 3 g per day of dried root or equivalent preparations. Patients should be cautioned not to exceed these dosages, as adverse reactions such as hypertension, diarrhea, nervousness, and insomnia are associated with excessive ingestion. For Korean ginseng, drug interactions have been reported with both phenelzine and warfarin. There is a single case report of an interaction between Siberian ginseng and digoxin; however, the clinical significance has not been established. The use of ginseng is contraindicated for children and women who are pregnant or lactating, while Siberian ginseng should also be avoided by those patients with cardiovascular disease or hypertension (BP>180/90 mmHg).
Scattering of 14 MeV neutrons from nitrogen and oxygen

Abstract The differential cross sections for elastic scattering of 14 MeV neutrons from nitrogen and oxygen have been measured in the angular range from 17 to 140°, using liquid targets and annular ring geometry. Inelastic scattering to the 2.31 and 3.95 MeV levels in N14 and to the levels near 6 and 7 MeV in O16 has been investigated over a more restricted angular range. The 2.31 MeV level in N14 is not excited appreciably, in disagreement with previously reported results. For both elements, the elastic scattering cross sections (determined to an accuracy of 10%) were found to be appreciably higher than the optical model predictions by Bjorklund and Fernbach for scattering angles larger than 70°. The inelastic cross sections measured are, within experimental accuracy, the same as the corresponding (p,p') cross sections.
Mexiletine for refractory chronic daily headache: a report of nine cases.

Objective.— To describe the use of mexiletine in the treatment of chronic daily headache in a refractory headache population. Background.— Intravenous lidocaine is a novel treatment for chronic daily headache with medication overuse and SUNCT syndrome. Mexiletine is a similar but orally active anti-arrhythmic that has been demonstrated to be an effective analgesic in various types of neuropathic pain. We looked at mexiletine as a preventative treatment for headache in refractory patients. Methods.— We reviewed the medical records of all patients with an order for mexiletine. For each patient, we determined diagnosis, presence of medication overuse on initial evaluation, pain scores, and if the patient received intravenous lidocaine before starting the medication. We then contacted patients by phone to confirm their dose, to review side effects and current pain scores, and to obtain a global impression of effectiveness. Results.— We identified 9 patients with a chronic daily headache, including chronic migraine or new daily persistent headache, with significant clinical improvement while using mexiletine as a headache preventative. Each patient had failed to respond to multiple preventative and acute treatments. Seven of the 9 rated mexiletine “much more effective” and 2 “more effective” than previous preventative headache medications. The daily dose ranged from 600 mg/day to 1500 mg/day. Side effects were common and occurred in 7 patients. The majority of patients with an order for mexiletine did not respond to treatment or had intolerable side effects. Discussion.— The preliminary study suggests mexiletine is a useful preventative treatment for some patients with chronic daily headache, including refractory patients with medication overuse or those who have failed multiple preventatives in the past.
Metabolic pathways as enzyme complexes: evidence for the synthesis of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids on membrane associated enzyme complexes.

Abstract In earlier studies [ G. Hrazdina, G. J. Wagner, and H. W. Siegelman (1978) , Phytochemistry , 17 , 53–56; G. J. Wagner and G. Hrazdina (1984) Plant Physiol. , 74 , 901–906], evidence was obtained suggesting that the endoplasmic reticulum was a site for phenylpropanoid and flavonoid metabolism in petal tissue, and that (a) multienzyme complex(es) might be involved in this metabolism. Now, the possible role of membrane-bound multienzyme complexes in phenylpropanoid and flavonoid metabolism in three tissues has been investigated by (1) correlating enzyme induction kinetics and rates, (2) examining the molecular weight of putative complexes, (3) channeling of substrates, (4) determining the susceptibility of bound activities to trypsin digestion, and (5) investigating the structurally linked latency of bound activities. Results suggest that at least a part—and possibly the entire pathway—from phenylalanine to flavonoids is membrane (endoplasmic reticulum) associated, and that this metabolism is facilitated by a multienzyme complex. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase, the first enzyme of the biosynthetic sequence, and a flavonoid glucosyltransferase, the last, appear to be located in the lumen of the membranes. Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase is membrane embedded, while other enzyme activities appear to be weakly associated with the cytoplasmic face of endoplasmic reticulum membranes.
The antegrade colonogram: extending the small bowel follow through for children suspected of having colonic disease.

Fifty pediatric pateints suspected of having colonic disease were evaluated by antegrade barium study (“antegrade colonogram”) and by colonoscopy with multiple biopsy specimens. Radiographic patterns of mucosal irregulariry, nodularity, or ulceration, haustral asymmetry or edema, and narrowing of the colonic lumen were easily recognized. Correlation between colonographic patterns, biopsy findings, and gross appearance at colonoscopy showed the colonogram to have an overall accuracy of 77–88%. The antegrade colonogram is easily performed and often provides information regarding areas of the colon not seen by the endoscopist. In some cases it may also be useful in the evaluation of response to therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.
Simple and Exact Empirical Likelihood Ratio Tests for Normality Based on Moment Relations

The empirical likelihood (EL) technique is a powerful nonparametric method with wide theoretical and practical applications. In this article, we use the EL methodology in order to develop simple and efficient goodness-of-fit tests for normality based on the dependence between moments that characterizes normal distributions. The new empirical likelihood ratio (ELR) tests are exact and are shown to be very powerful decision rules based on small to moderate sample sizes. Asymptotic results related to the Type I error rates of the proposed tests are presented. We present a broad Monte Carlo comparison between different tests for normality, confirming the preference of the proposed method from a power perspective. A real data example is provided.
Incidence and risk factors for biliary and pancreatic stent migration

Endoprostheses are commonly used in the treatment of biliary and pancreatic disorders. The frequency of and potential risk factors for stent migration, however, remain largely unknown. From January 1986 to June 1990, 807 biliary and pancreatic stents were placed at our institution. Our study analyzed the occurrence of stent migration among the 589 stents for which follow-up data were available. Results demonstrated incidence rates of 4.9 and 5.9% for proximal (into the duct) and distal (out of the duct) biliary stent migration, respectively. Likewise, incidence rates of 5.2 and 7.5% were observed for proximal and distal pancreatic stent migration, respectively. Malignant strictures, larger diameter stents, and shorter stents were significantly associated with proximal biliary stent migration. Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and longer stents were associated with proximal pancreatic stent migration. Migration of stents out of the common bile duct occurred more frequently in papillary stenosis. No other significant risk factors for distal migration were found. These results indicate that stent migration is an important complication. Multiple risk factors were associated with stent migration and need to be considered in the development of new stent types.
Surface Plasmon Enhanced Transmission with Self-assembled Hexagonal Nanohole Arrays

The optical properties of hexagonal nanohole arrays in gold films are investigated. Nanosphere lithography combined with reactive ion etching has been applied as a low cost method to fabricate nanohole arrays with hexagonal symmetry where the size and spacing of the holes can be independently controlled. In this study, the spacing between the nanoholes is 600 nm with the hole diameter varied between 450 and 250 nm. The transmission spectra of the surface patterns with different film thickness are collected with normally incident light. The color of the reflected light from the nanohole array was found to change from green to red as the diameter of the holes was reduced. One application of these films is to study cell adhesion to small areas with controlled size. We explore the possibility of making isolated cell adhesion dots by chemically modifying the nanohole area. Swiss 3T3 cells were adhered onto the patterned surface and imaged using environmental SEM and fluorescent microscopy.
Effects of Intravenous Amphotericin B Infusion on Hemodynamics and Airway Mechanics in Awake Sheep

To gain a better understanding of the adverse pulmonary response to amphotericin B administration reported in humans, we examined the effects of this agent in the chronically instrumented awake sheep. We measured pulmonary artery and left atrial pressures (Ppa and Pla), lung lymph flow (Qlymph), dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn), resistance to airflow across the lung (RL), lymph thromboxane B 2 (TxB 2 ), lymph 6-keto-PGF 1α , peripheral leukocyte counts, and arterial blood gases. After at least one hour of stable baseline (BL) observation, amphotericin B (Fungizone, Squibb, 1 mg/kg) was infused intravenously over 1 h. Measurements were continued for 3 h after the start of infusion. Amphotericin caused an immediate decrease in Cdyn nadiring at 55 percent of BL and an increase in Ppa from 21 ± 1 mm Hg at BL to 44 ± 4 at 30 minutes. RL increased to 5.5-fold over BL by 30 minutes into infusion, and lung lymph TxB 2 concentrations were increased tenfold compared with BL by the end of the 1-h infusion (p 1α concentrations did not reach maximum until 2 h after the start of infusion. There was a decrease in peripheral leukocyte count and PaO 2 (80 ± 3 mm Hg at BL to 69 ± 4 at 1 h) that returned to BL over the remaining 2 h. The temporal relationship of the TxB 2 peak with these pathophysiologic changes and previous data describing the effects of thromboxane in the sheep lung suggest that a component of these alterations is due to thromboxane release. We conclude that several pulmonary system abnormalities occur following amphotericin infusion in sheep and that these findings provide a better physiologic basis for explaining the human pulmonary response to amphotericin.
Ninth graders' use of a shared database in an internet research project: issues of collaboration and knowledge-building

In a student Internet research project, 82 ninth-grade students created and used a shared bibliographic database of resources which they found on the World Wide Web. This paper analyzes the students' use of the database in terms of two dimensions: 1) how much students were involved in collaboration as opposed to individually-oriented activities, and 2) how much they were oriented toward knowledge-building as opposed to focusing on completing discrete tasks. Although students used the database in various ways during the project, we saw little evidence of knowledge-oriented activities. We discuss challenges and issues related to supporting greater knowledge orientation in collaborative student Internet projects.
Five cases of interferon-alpha-induced depression treated with antidepressant therapy.

Received February 10, 1999; revised April 27, 1999; accepted May 12, 1999. From the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Practice, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Tulsa Campus. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Gleason, Department of Psychiatry, 2808 South Sheridan Road, Tulsa, OK 74129; e-mail: ondriagleason@ouhsc.edu. Copyright 1999 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. The number of side effects associated with interferonalpha has complicated treatment of hepatitis C with this drug. Among these effects are psychiatric symptoms including depression, anxiety, irritability and suicidal ideation. Additionally, there appears to be an increased prevalence of depression in patients with hepatitis C, even before treatment with interferon-alpha. Yokoyama et al. found that interferon therapy was stopped in two-thirds of the patients who developed psychiatric symptoms while being treated with this antiviral therapy. Renault et al. identified psychiatric side effects as the number one reason for altering interferon therapy. Otsubo et al. reported that in a series of 85 patients, 37% developed depression while being treated with interferon. Completed and attempted suicides have been reported in several cases. Understanding, and effectively treating, the potential psychiatric complications of interferon therapy is important given the high rate of morbidity and mortality associated with hepatitis C. Appropriate management of psychiatric symptoms can increase the chance of completing therapy with interferon. Gastroenterologists and psychiatrists are confronted with the dilemma of assessing the individual risk of interferoninduced depression and its subsequent management, if present. Unfortunately, there is little literature on the effective use of antidepressants in patients with hepatitis C treated with interferon. Goldman reported a successful case of using nortriptyline to treat an interferon-induced mood disorder. Similarly, Levenson and Fallon reported successful use of fluoxetine in another case. We now report five additional cases of depression that developed during treatment with interferon-alpha. The cases were identified by chart review of all patients seen over a 2-year period (1995–1997) by the psychiatry consultation-liaison service at the University of Iowa. During that time, 76 patients with hepatitis C were referred to the consultation-liaison service and of these, 14 were receiving interferon-alpha. Thirteen received the standard dose of 3 million units intramuscular (IM) three times per week. One received 5 million units IM three times per week. Seven of the 14 patients on interferon were diagnosed with a depressive disorder at the time of consultation, and 5 of these were treated with an antidepressant and described next. Three of the patients demonstrated a positive response to the therapy. Of the responders, one received imipramine, one received sertraline, and the other was treated with paroxetine.
A network queuing approach for evaluation of performance measures in autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems

A network queuing approach is used to estimate performance measures for Autonomous Vehicle Storage and Retrieval (AVS/R) Systems using opportunistic interleaving. The model exploits the distribution of cycle types and random storage assumptions to estimate the proportion of single and dual command cycles in a system. Comparable in accuracy and computational efficiency to procedures based on standard queuing models, the proposed technique provides the additional advantage of flexibility for modeling the interfaces between a storage system and the overall material flow system in a facility. The procedure is demonstrated for a range of problem scenarios.
Agent-Based Modeling: A New Approach for Theory Building in Social Psychology

Most social and psychological phenomena occur not as the result of isolated decisions by individuals but rather as the result of repeated interactions between multiple individuals over time. Yet the theory-building and modeling techniques most commonly used in social psychology are less than ideal for understanding such dynamic and interactive processes. This article describes an alternative approach to theory building, agent-based modeling (ABM), which involves simulation of large numbers of autonomous agents that interact with each other and with a simulated environment and the observation of emergent patterns from their interactions. The authors believe that the ABM approach is better able than prevailing approaches in the field, variable-based modeling (VBM) techniques such as causal modeling, to capture types of complex, dynamic, interactive processes so important in the social world. The article elaborates several important contrasts between ABM and VBM and offers specific recommendations for learning more and applying the ABM approach.
Photochemical and radiation chemistry techniques in the study of colloidal systems

Abstract The use of radiation chemical and photochemical techniques in the chracterization and understanding of the mechanistics and dynamics of colloidal systems is described through recent examples from our own studies. Determination of thermodynamic properties, such as ion exchange capacity of polyelectrolytes and charged colloids, the number of pendent groups that bind to each metal ion, redox potentials of solubilizates in micelles and flat band potentials of colloidal semiconductors, and kinetic determinations of particle sizes, using these techniques are described in detail. More commonly, these techniques are utilized to unravel mechanistic questions of colloidal processes. These include rates of entrance/exit into/out of the colloidal aggregate, redox catatlysis by metallic colloids, reductive dissolution of transition metal oxide colloids, free radical reactions on chalcogenide colloids, and growth processes of metallic, metal-oxide and silver halide colloids. Recent specific examples include: interactions of actinide ions with polycarboxylic acids, formation of layered semiconductor iodides of quantum size dimensions, dissolution of iron (III) and Mn (IV) oxides, dissolution of CdS and As2S3 through reactions of S . , 02 . and MV+ radicals and growth of silver halide colloids.