cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Locating Decision-Making Circuits in a Heterogeneous Neural Network

In the process of collective decision-making, many individual components exchange and process information until reaching a well-defined consensus state. Existing theory suggests two phases to this process. In the first, individual components are relatively free to wander between decision states, remaining highly sensitive to perturbations; in the second, feedback between components brings all or most of the collective to consensus. Here, we extend an existing model of collective neural decision-making by allowing connection strengths between neurons to vary, moving toward a more realistic representation of the large variance in the behavior of groups of neurons. We show that the collective dynamics of such a system can be tuned with just two parameters to be qualitatively similar to a simpler, homogeneous case, developing tools for locating a pitchfork bifurcation that can support both phases of decision-making. We also demonstrate that collective effects cause large and long-lived sensitivity to decision input at the transition, which connects to the concept of phase transitions in statistical physics. We anticipate that this theoretical framework will be useful in building more realistic neuronal-level models for decision-making.
An empirical assessment of local autonomy and special district finance in the US

In this article, we interpret local autonomy as a dimensional concept that includes local government importance, local government discretion, and local government capacity. Using longitudinal data ...
Caroline Robbins: An Anglo-American Historian

Caroline Robbins was an Anglo-American historian whose major book, The Eighteenth-Century Commonwealthman, and numerous articles transformed our understanding of the relationship between seventeenth-century English and eighteenth-century American political ideas. Born in England in 1903, Robbins emigrated to the United States where she taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1929 to 1971. The American historical community recognized her work with several national awards. Robbins and a few other contemporary women historians established that professionally trained women were worthy of professorial appointment and scholarly recognition. Together, they marked a change in the position of women historians in the United States. Robbins died in 1999.
Sleep, resilience, and psychological distress in United States military Veterans.

Sleep problems are prevalent among Veterans. Left untreated, such problems may elevate psychological distress and increase risk of subsequent mental health disorders. Psychological resilience may b...
The Casson invariant and the word metric on the Torelli group

Abstract We bound the value of the Casson invariant of any integral homology 3-sphere M by a constant times the distance-squared to the identity, measured in any word metric on the Torelli group I , of the element of I associated to any Heegaard splitting of M. We construct examples which show this bound is asymptotically sharp. To cite this article: N. Broaddus et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 345 (2007).
Interstellar Abundances in the Magellanic Clouds

We summarize recent studies of the predominantly neutral gas in the Magellanic Clouds (MC), based on combinations of high-resolution optical spectra and UV spectra obtained with IUE, HST, and FUSE. Similarities in relative gas-phase abundances for Galactic and MC sightlines with relatively low N(H) had suggested that the depletion patterns might be similar in the three galaxies -- at least where the depletions are relatively mild. New STIS spectra of one higher N(H) SMC sightline, however, have revealed significant differences, relative to the Galactic patterns, for SMC clouds characterized by more severe depletions.
Inter-Rater Reliability of Washington State’s Kindergarten Entry Assessment

This study explores the inter-rater reliability of WaKIDS, Washington State’s kindergarten entry assessment (KEA). Specifically, we analyze (1) the extent to which teachers’ assessments are in agre...
The Two Koreas: The Armistice and the Boundary

The North Koreans issued a statement carried by its official news agency, KCNA, that they “no longer feel bound by the armistice” that ended the fighting in the Korean War of 1950-53. Many media commentators have leaped to the conclusion that the North Korean statement means that the North and South are still at war. It is technically true that the 38th Parallel that forms the line between the two states was artificially created back in 1950 and, in the absence of any peace treaty, may appear to be something less than an actual boundary between two sovereign states. But international law, I suggest, has a very different take on this issue.
Multifunctional Biobased Benzoxazines Blended with an Epoxy Resin for Tunable High-Performance Properties

Biobased polybenzoxazines incorporate natural phenolic structures to produce polymers with near-zero shrinkage, high char yields, and high chemical and thermal resistances, garnering great interest as sustainable high-performance polymers. Herein, difunctional and trifunctional benzoxazine monomers, bisguaiacol-furfurylamine (BG-f) and triguaiacol-furfurylamine (TG-f), respectively, were synthesized from renewable guaiacol, vanillin, and furfurylamine using solventless procedures. Benzoxazines were blended with varying weights of epoxy resin and thermally cured to produce benzoxazine-epoxy (BG-f-E and TG-f-E) polymers. These polymers displayed glass transition temperatures ranging from 130 to 157 °C (peak of the loss modulus), thermal stabilities from 299 to 329 °C in both N₂ and air, and char yields ranging from 35% to 58%. BG-f-E and TG-f-E with greater benzoxazine content produced stiffer materials exhibiting glassy storage moduli values upward of 3.48 and 3.69 GPa, respectively. BG-f-E polymers displayed higher molecular weight between cross-link values (646 g mol–¹ to 981 g mol–¹) compared to TG-f-E polymers (316 g mol–¹ to 465 g mol–¹) and exhibited fracture energies upward of 404 J m–². These investigations demonstrate the utility of incorporating biobased benzoxazines into benzoxazine-epoxy resin formulations to design sustainable polybenzoxazines with tunable thermal and mechanical properties for high-performance polymer applications.
Hybrid Quantum-Classical Neural Network for Incident Detection.

The efficiency and reliability of real-time incident detection models directly impact the affected corridors' traffic safety and operational conditions. The recent emergence of cloud-based quantum computing infrastructure and innovations in noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices have revealed a new era of quantum-enhanced algorithms that can be leveraged to improve real-time incident detection accuracy. In this research, a hybrid machine learning model, which includes classical and quantum machine learning (ML) models, is developed to identify incidents using the connected vehicle (CV) data. The incident detection performance of the hybrid model is evaluated against baseline classical ML models. The framework is evaluated using data from a microsimulation tool for different incident scenarios. The results indicate that a hybrid neural network containing a 4-qubit quantum layer outperforms all other baseline models when there is a lack of training data. We have created three datasets; DS-1 with sufficient training data, and DS-2 and DS-3 with insufficient training data. The hybrid model achieves a recall of 98.9%, 98.3%, and 96.6% for DS-1, DS-2, and DS-3, respectively. For DS-2 and DS-3, the average improvement in F2-score (measures model's performance to correctly identify incidents) achieved by the hybrid model is 1.9% and 7.8%, respectively, compared to the classical models. It shows that with insufficient data, which may be common for CVs, the hybrid ML model will perform better than the classical models. With the continuing improvements of quantum computing infrastructure, the quantum ML models could be a promising alternative for CV-related applications when the available data is insufficient.
Assessing the impact of geo-targeted warning messages on residents’ evacuation decisions before a hurricane using agent-based modeling

The increasing frequency and intensity of hurricane hazards have raised the urgency of improving hurricane warning effectiveness, especially in terms of motivating the evacuation of people living in high-risk areas. Traditional warnings for hurricanes have limitations of sending a general message for coarse spatial scales (e.g., county level) and do not include specific risks and orders for residents in distinct areas of finer scales. To overcome these limitations, geo-targeted hurricane warning systems have been proposed, but in practice, the existing systems have low accuracy because they neglect environmental factors when defining warning zones. Extant literature has focused on optimizing the geo-delivering process of warnings with limited efforts on geo-defining warning zones. It is still unclear to what extent the geo-targeted warnings motivate residents to evacuate from high-risk areas before a hurricane. Therefore, we developed an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate residents’ evacuation decision-making under geo-targeted warnings, which were generated based on characteristics of both hurricane hazards and the built environment. We used forecasted information of Hurricane Dorian as a case study; then conducted the ABMs under geo-targeted warnings, a general warning, and warnings based on storm surge planning zones; then we compared the three outcomes. The research finds an effective way to geo-define warning zones using the built environment data. The result suggests that geo-targeted warnings can motivate more residents in high-risk areas to evacuate. These findings contribute to the understanding of the effect of geo-targeted warning on evacuation and suggest the importance of warnings with more specific contents for finer spatial scales.
Reversible sequin fabrics as variable emittance surfaces

Abstract This study demonstrates, for the first time, the use of reversible sequin fabrics as inexpensive, scalable, and durable variable emittance surfaces. First, the spectral normal-hemispherical reflectance's of commercially available gold/black and silver/black reversible sequin fabrics were measured at room temperature for wavelength between 0.25 and 20 μm. The surface roughness and material composition of the sequins were also characterized. The dynamic range of the total hemispherical emittance of the gold/black sequin fabric at room temperature was found to be 0.8, exceeding the performance of other variable emittance surfaces reported to date. The use of reversible sequin fabrics for thermal management was demonstrated experimentally by achieving different equilibrium temperatures of the fabric exposed to simulated solar radiation by simply adjusting the sequin pattern. The experimental measurements were in good agreement with a first order transient thermal model. Finally, thermal infrared images were taken of the sequin fabrics to illustrate their capabilities for thermal camouflage, illusion, and messaging.
The Relationship between Changes in Fixed Plant Investment and the Likelihood of Emergence from Corporate Financial Distress

Companies experiencing financial distress can attempt to mitigate financial distress through changing the investment in the fixed asset base. Management may choose to expand the asset base in hopes of increasing sales. Alternatively, management may choose to contract the asset base in order to eliminate and/or reduce investment in unprofitable or risky ventures, improve liquidity, reduce earnings volatility, and reduce the need for operating capital. In this study, we examined how observed changes in the investment base affect the likelihood of emergence from a financially distressed condition. We find that, when management chooses to contract the investment in property, plant, and equipment, the likelihood of emergence from financial distress is significantly improved. On the other hand, when management chooses to expand property, plant, and equipment in the face of distress, the distress is only intensified. Our explanation is that companies that choose to contract their fixed asset base in times of trouble are taking steps that will most likely improve their financial condition—they are less likely to need working capital, and can better tolerate increased levels of long-term debt. Conversely, increasing the fixed asset base amplifies the need for working capital, and borrowing money to facilitate the expansion simply increases the necessary uses of that working capital because the debt must be serviced. As a result, companies descend even deeper into financial distress and decrease the likelihood that they will emerge therefrom.
Identification and micro-stratigraphy of hyperpycnites and turbidites in Cretaceous Lewis Shale, Wyoming

Sandy hyperpycnal flows and their deposits, hyperpycnites, have been documented in modern environments and, more recently, in Cretaceous and Tertiary strata; they may be more common in the rock record, and within petroleum reservoirs, than has been previously thought. Muddy hyperpycnites also occur within the rock record, but these are more difficult to document because of their finer-grained nature and lack of common sedimentary structures. This paper documents the presence of submarine slope mudstone and siltstone hyperpycnites (and muddy turbidites) in the delta-fed, Upper Cretaceous Lewis Shale of Wyoming; based on field measurements, analyses of rock slabs and thin sections, and laser grain-size distributions. Four lithofacies comprise laminated and thin-bedded mudstones that are associated with leveed channel sandstones: (L1) grey, laminated, graded mudstone with thin siltstone and sandstone interbeds; (L2) dark grey to tan, laminated mudstone with very thin siltstone and sandstone stringers; (L3) light grey, laminated siltstones; and (L4) laminated mudstones and siltstones with thin sandstone interbeds. Two styles of mudstone grain-size grading have been documented. The first type is an upward-fining interval that typically ranges in thickness from 2·5 to 5 cm. The second type is a couplet of a lower, upward-coarsening interval and an upper, upward-fining interval (sometimes separated by a micro-erosion surface) which, combined, are about 3·8 cm thick. Both individual laminae and groups of laminae spaced millimetres apart exhibit these two grain-size trends. Although sedimentary structures indicative of traction-plus-fallout sedimentary processes associated with sandier hyperpycnites are generally absent in these muddy sediments, the size grading patterns are similar to those postulated in the literature for sandy hyperpycnites. Thus, the combined upward-coarsening, then upward-fining couplets are interpreted to be the result of a progressive increase in river discharge during waxing and peak flood stage (upward increase in grain-size), followed by waning flow after the flood begins to abate (upward decrease in grain-size). The micro-erosion surface that sometimes divides the two parts of the size-graded couplet resulted from waxing flows of sufficiently high velocity to erode the sediment previously deposited by the same flow. Individual laminae sets which only exhibit upward-fining trends could be either the result of waning flow deposition from either dilute turbidity currents or from hyperpycnal flows. The occurrence of these sets with the size-graded couplets suggests that they are associated with hyperpycnal processes.
Tracking Time-Varying Power Harmonic Distortions

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Method description Synthesis filter banks Extracting even harmonics Simulation results Final consideration and future work Conclusions Acknowledgments References ]]>
Making Sense of Citizenship: Urban Immigrant Middle and High School Students' Experiences with and Perspectives on Active and Engaged Democratic Citizenship

This study focuses on how a diverse group of 1.5- and second-generation immigrant youth in urban public schools conceptualized active and engaged democratic citizenship. The findings revealed three themes: community and family as primary influence, participatory notions of citizenship, and moving toward enactment. This study contributes to the growing literature on how urban immigrant youth make meaning of their experiences with citizenship education and how these experiences are shaped by contemporary political, socio-economic, and educational contexts, such as disenfranchisement of poor and minority youth, and resegregation of schools. Findings illuminate immigrant students’ conceptions of citizenship and how these perceptions may affect their current and future civic engagement.
The involvement of nitric oxide in the cutaneous vasoconstrictor response to local cooling in humans

Cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) declines in response to local cooling (LC). Previous work indicates that at least part of the vasoconstrictor response to LC may be through an inhibitory effect on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. In this study we further tested that notion. A total of eight (6 male, 2 female) subjects participated (Part 1 n = 7; Part 2 n = 5, 4 of whom participated in Part 1). Skin blood flow was monitored by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Control of local skin and body temperatures was achieved with Peltier cooler/heater probe holders and water perfused suits, respectively. Microdialysis fibres were inserted aseptically. Saline, L-NAME (20 mM; to inhibit NOS activity) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP 10 microM) were infused by microdialysis. Bretylium tosylate (BT), to block adrenergic function, was administered by iontophoresis. CVC was calculated from blood flow and blood pressure. Part 1 was designed to determine the relative roles of the NO and the adrenergic systems. The infusion of L-NAME elicited a 35 +/- 4% decrease in CVC at the L-NAME and BT + L-NAME sites (P 0.05). Part 2 was designed to test whether LC influences were specific to the NOS enzymes. Two sites were pretreated with both BT and L-NAME. After 50 min, SNP was added as an NO donor to restore baseline CVC at one site. The same LC process as in Part 1 was applied. There was a 24 +/- 10% decrease (P 0.05) at sites treated with BT + L-NAME only. These data suggest that the vasoconstriction with slow LC is due to a combination of increased noradrenaline release and decreased activity of both NOS per se and of process(es) downstream of NOS.
Impact of regional pre-hospital emergency medical services in treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke

Stroke is a major public health concern afflicting an estimated 795,000 Americans annually. The associated morbidity and mortality is staggering. Early treatment with thrombolytics is beneficial. The window for treatment is narrow and minimization of the time from symptom onset to treatment is vital. The general population is not well informed as to the warning signs or symptoms of stroke, leading to substantial delays in emergency medical services (EMS) activation. Ambulance transport of stroke patients to the hospital has demonstrated improvements in key benchmarks such as door to physician evaluation, door to CT initiation, and increased thrombolytic treatment. Pre-hospital notification of the impending arrival of a stroke patient allows for vital preparation in the treating emergency department, and improving timely evaluation and treatment upon arrival of the stroke patient. EMS systems are a vital component of the management of stroke patients, and resources used to improve these systems are beneficial.
p-Coumaroyl and feruloyl arabinoxylans from plant cell walls as substrates for ruminal bacteria

Growth of the ruminal bacteria Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD1, Selenomonas ruminantium HD4, and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens 49 was limited by ester-linked feruloyl and p-coumaroyl groups. The limitation of growth on phenolic acid-carbohydrate complexes varied with individual bacteria and appeared to be influenced by ability to hydrolyze carbohydrate linkages.
Maternal Consequences of the Detection of Fragile X Carriers in Newborn Screening

OBJECTIVES: The possibility of newborn screening for fragile X syndrome is complicated by the potential for identifying premutation carriers. Although knowing the child’s carrier status has potential benefits, the possibility of late-onset disorders in carrier children and their parents raises concerns about whether such information would be distressing to parents and potentially more harmful than helpful. This study sought to answer this question by offering voluntary fragile X screening to new parents and returning results for both the full mutation and premutation FMR1 gene expansions. We tested the assumption that such information could lead to adverse mental health outcomes or decision regret. We also wanted to know if child age and spousal support were associated with the outcomes of interest. METHODS: Eighteen mothers of screen-positive infants with the premutation and 15 comparison mothers completed a battery of assessments of maternal anxiety, postpartum depression, stress, family quality of life, decision regret, and spousal support. The study was longitudinal, with an average of 3 assessments per mother. RESULTS: The premutation group was not statistically different from the comparison group on measures of anxiety, depression, stress, or quality of life. A subset of mothers experienced clinically significant anxiety and decision regret, but factors associated with these outcomes could not be identified. Greater spousal support was generally associated with more positive outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although we did not find evidence of significant adverse events, disclosure of newborn carrier status remains an important consideration in newborn screening policy.
Enhancement of the cytotoxicity of cisplatin by the cholecystokinin antagonist MK-329 in a human pancreatic cancer cell line.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is an important trophic hormone for the pancreas, and CCK receptors are present on pancreatic carcinoma cells. We sought to determine whether either CCK itself or an antogonist of CCK could modulate the sensitivity of the human pancreatic cell line MIA-PaCa2 to cisplatin (DDP). The IC50 for a 1-h exposure to DDP was 35.3±3.2(SD) μM. Exposure to CCK8 octapeptide at physiologic and supra-physiologic concentrations did not alter the sensitivity of MIA-PaCa2 cells to DDP. The CCK receptor antagonist MK-329 was directly cytotoxic to the MIA-PaCa2 cells on a constant exposure schedule with an IC50 of 9.5±1.4 (SD) μM. MK-329 enhanced the sensitivity of MIA-PaCa2 cells to DDP by a factor of 3.5, and the interaction between DDP and MK-329 was shown to be synergistic by median-effect analysis. At a level of 50% cell kill, the combination index was 0.58±0.10. The ability of MK-329 to sensitize cells to DDP was schedule-dependent and required prolonged exposure to the antagonist following a 1-h exposure to DDP. MK-329 had no effect on the uptake of a radiolabeled analog of cisplatin ([3H]-dichloro(ethylenediamine)platinum) and did not affect intracellular glutathione content. MK-329 had no effect on the cell-cycle-phase distribution of MIA-PaCa2 cells and did not alter the DDP-induced cell-cycle perturbations. The cytotoxic effect of MK-329 and its ability to interact synergistically with DDP could not be reversed by CCK. We conclude that MK-329 is directly cytotoxic to pancreatic carcinoma cells and can enhance their sensitivity to DDP by a mechanism not related to its ability to antagonize the CCK receptor.
Fractionally integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity

Abstract The new class of Fractionally Integrated Generalized AutoRegressive Conditionally Heteroskedastic (FIGARCH) processes is introduced. The conditional variance of the process implies a slow hyperbolic rate of decay for the influence of lagged squared innovations. Unlike (I(d) processes for the mean, Maximum Likelihood Estimates (MLE) of the FIGARCH parameters are argued to be T 1 2 - consistent . The small-sample behavior of an approximate MLE procedure is assessed through a simulation study, which also documents how the estimation of a standard GARCH model tends to produce integrated, or IGARCH, like estimates. An empirical example with daily Deutschmark — U.S. dollar exchange rates illustrates the practical relevance of the new FIGARCH specification.
Optimizing communication networks: Incentives and multipath transfers

The past ten years have seen dramatic changes in networking. For example, wireless and the Internet have overtaken traditional telecommunication networks. Yet some of the economic incentives and standardspsila policies that have enabled such growth have also inhibited other forms of evolutionary development. For instance, the fundamental architecture of the Internet has changed little. This has led to flurry of interest in ldquoClean Slaterdquo approaches to next-generation networks. Instead, we ask how far it is possible go without re-architecting networks, by exploiting some current research ideas.We discuss control strategies for communication networks such as the Internet, or multihop networks where the aim is to optimize network performance in some sense. We address some key issues concerned with economics, bandwidth guarantees and security, using content distribution as a motivating example. We describe how welfare maximization can be used as a paradigm for network resource allocation, and also be used to derive practical rate-control algorithms. We apply this to the case of multipath transfers, where multiple paths are used to transfer data, and where we can use decentralised protocols to effectively load-balance across the network. We discuss how this, coupled with a dynamic path selection scheme can lead to an efficient ldquosocial welfarerdquo optimum, and how some current peer-to-peer systems embody elements of this approach. The benefit to the users is better performance, while offering simpler and more robust engineering for ISPs. We comment on incentives and pricing issues for both users and providers.
Special Tubules for Sperm Storage in Female Lizards

SPECIAL sperm storing glands occur at the base of the infundibulum of the oviduct of colubrid1 and viperid2 snakes, and are probably characteristic of all snakes3, No structure of similar function has been described in other reptiles. I have detected the presence of sperm in small tubular outgrowths of the vagina of the green anole, Anolis carolinensis.
Metabolism and fate of neutral lipids of fetal lung fibroblast origin

Fetal rat lung fibroblasts characteristically increase their triacylglycerol (TG) stores during development. Both fibroblasts and alveolar type II (TII) cells can synthesize TG de novo, but only fibroblasts can absorb TG from culture medium, and retain the TG in a stable state. When fibroblasts pre-labelled with [3H]triolein are recombined with TII cells in organotypic culture the radiolabel appears in TII cell disaturated phosphatidylcholine (disatPC). When fibroblasts are preloaded with increasing amounts of TG there is a commensurate increase in TII cell disatPC following organotypic culture. Comparison of [3H]triacylglycerol and [14C]glucose incorporation into type II cell phospholipids revealed preferential use of TG for the surface-active phospholipids disatPC (10-fold greater) and phosphatidylglycerol (23-fold greater). These in vitro data suggest that fibroblasts provide lipid substrate for TII cell surfactant phospholipid synthesis.
Prognosis for paralysis in myelomeningocele.

SUMMARY A study of muscle function before and after early closure of the spinal lesion in myelomeningocele confirmed the previous finding of an overall improvement. A method of assessing muscle function using percutaneous faradic stimulation is described. Comparative tests showed that faradic testing was usually superior to clinical testing in making a positive forecast but that clinical testing was more accurate in making a negative forecast. RESUME Pronostic de paralysie dans le myelomeningocele Une etude du fonctionnement du muscle avant et apres la fermeture precose de la lesion spinale dans le myelomenigocele a confirme les precedentes observations d'une amelioration generale. Une methode pour evaluer le fonctionnement du muscle au moyen d'une stimulation faradique percutanee est decrite. Des essais comparatifs ont montre que les tests faradiques etaient superieurs aux tests cliniques dans les previsions positives et que les tests cliniques etaient plus exacts dans les previsions negatives. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Prognose fur Paralyse bei Myelomeningozele Eine Untersuchung der Muskelfunktion vor und nach einer baldigen Schliessung der spinalen Lesion bei Myelomeningozele bestatigte den fruheren Befund einer allgemeinen Verbesserung. Eine Methode zur Bewertung der Muskelfunktion durch perkutane faradische Stimulation wird beschrieben. Vergleichende Tests zeigten dass faradische Tests meistens klinischen Tests uberlegen waren bei der Herstellung einer positiven Veraussage, wobei klinische Tests wiederum genaur waren bie der Herstellung einer negativen Voraussage.
Enhanced survival of ultraviolet-irradiated herpes simplex virus in human cytomegalovirus-infected cells

Abstract Infection of primary rabbit kidney cells and Vero cells with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) enhanced survival of uv-irradiated herpes simplex virus. In PRK cells, maximal enhancement was observed when cells were preinfected with HCMV at multiplicities of 1 to 10 PFU/cell and when HCMV-infected cells were used to assay for uv-irradiated HSV within 2 days postinfection. HCMV-Enhanced reactivation was sensitive to uv-irradiation, although virus reactivation was much more resistant to irradiation than infectivity. Furthermore, the enhancement process was sensitive to caffeine and pretreatment of cells with cycloheximide augmented the enhancement induced by HCMV infection.
Impact of a palliative care consult service.

Established hospital palliative care consult services (PCCS) have been associated with reduced costs and length of stay, decreased symptom burden, and increased satisfaction with care. Using a retrospective case–control design, we analyzed administrative data of patients seen by PCCS while hospitalized at the Rochester, Minnesota Mayo Clinic hospitals from 2003 to 2008. The PCCS patients were matched to 3:1. A total of 1477 patients seen by the PCCS were matched with 4431 patients not seen. Costs for patients seen and discharged alive were US$35 449 (95% confidence interval [CI] US$34 157-US$36 686) compared to US$37 447 (95% CI US$36 734-US$38 126), without PCCS consultation. Costs for PCCS patients that died during hospitalization were US$54 940 (95% CI US$51 483-US$58 576) and non-PCCS patients were US$79 660 (95% CI US$76 614-US$83 398).
PATHOGENESIS OF VITAMIN D-RESISTANT RICKETS AND THE RESPONSE TO A HIGH CALCIUM INTAKE.

Four patients with vitamin D-resistant rickets underwent simultaneous calcium47 kinetic and calcium, phosphorus and nitrogen balance studies before and after the institution of a high calcium intake. The renal tubular transport of phosphorus was evaluated by the response to a 9-hr calcium infusion. Bone formation and resorption were 2–5 times normal in all patients. Oral calcium supplements produced a 20–30% reduction in bone resorption, but little initial change in bone formation. Long-term supplements in all patients produced a gradual and parallel fall of the skeletal turnover and serum alkaline phosphatase. The intestinal absorption of calcium was subnormal in the presence of probable secondary hyperparathyroidism. No defect in the renal tubular transport of phosphorus could be demonstrated with calcium infusion.
Exercise and bone mass in young and premenopausal women

The studies that investigate exercise effects on bone mass in young and premenopausal women are sparse. This population of women represents three distinct subgroups: the young woman just at the end of longitudinal growth, the adult woman who is beginning to lose bone, and the competitive female athlete. The majority of research has focused on the female athlete and most investigators report lower than normal bone mass among women who experience exercise-associated oligo- and amenorrhea. More recent investigations have reported that the type of exercise has a profound effect on bone mineral density and activities that deliver high loads appear to offset the effects of low reproductive hormones. Information gleaned from these studies has important implications for the design of exercise programs to build bone mass in the young adult woman and offset bone loss in the older premenopausal woman.
Effect of digitalis on norepinephrine kinetics in congestive heart failure

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that digitalis glycosides would reduce sympathetic activity as reflected by forearm venous norepinephrine kinetics in patients with congestive heart failure. Background. Digitalis glycosides have been reported to decrease sympathetic nervous system activity with baroreceptor sensitization in experimental animals. Such effects could be of therapeutic importance in congestive heart failure. Methods. Double-blind randomized assessment was made of the effects of low dose intravenous deslanoside (Cedilanid-D, 0.002 mg/kg body weight) and vehicle on heart rate, arterial pressure, forearm blood flow, plasma norepinephrine, norepinephrine clearance and norepineporine spillover in nine patients with stable congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association functional class II or III. Open label assessment of the responses to 0.6 mg of deslanoside was made in an overlapping group of seven patients. All measurements were made 30 and 60 min after intravenous injection of drug or vehicle and after 15 min of 30 ° head-down tilt as a test of the sympathetic response to baroreceptor loading. Results. Heart rate, arterial pressure and forearm blood flow were unchanged by low dose deslanoside. Heart rate decreased slightly with the 0.6 mg dose with the patients in the supine position. Norepinephrine spillover and clearance decreased with time on each study day in the supine position, but no effect was attributable to digitalis. Plasma norepinephrine and norepinephrine clearance and spillover all remained unchanged during head-down tilt on each study day. Conclusions. Nonpressor doses of deslanoside do not suppress sympathetic activity as reflected by venous norepinephrine and norepinephrine spillover in patients with congestive heart failure. Further, deslanoside did not normalize the sympathetic response to mild baroreceptor loading produced by head-down tilt. These data do not support sympathoinhibition through baroreceptor sensitization as a likely effect of digitalis in congestive heart failure.
Adsorption of Water on Copper, Nickel, and Iron

Abstract In atmospheric corrosion of copper, nickel, and iron, adsorption of water affects corrosion rates. Knowledge of water adsorption and metal oxyhydroxide formation is important in understand...
Intracoronary pharmacotherapy in the management of coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Although percutaneous coronary intervention restores optimal epicardial blood flow in most cases, abnormal myocardial perfusion may still persist. This might be as a result of macro and microembolization, neutrophil plugging, vasoconstriction, myocyte contracture, local intracellular and interstitial edema, intramural haemorrhage, and endothelial blistering. Local delivery of intracoronary pharmacotherapy via the coronary arteries may increase local drug concentration several fold, and may improve drug efficacy. Several pharmacological agents such as adenosine, calcium channel blockers, α blockers, β2 receptor activators, vasodilators, antithrombotics, and antiplatelet agents have been used to treat coronary microvascular dysfunction. This article reviews the results of trials of intracoronary pharmacotherapy to date.
CORRELATES OF BATTERED WOMEN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS: SEVERITY OF ABUSE AND DURATION OF THE POSTABUSE PERIOD '

Although psychological disturbances among abused women are well documented, it is unclear whether such disturbances are a reaction to the abusive experience. The present study hypothesized that, if the disturbances are a reactive state, the severity of disturbance would be related to the time since the relationship ended as well as the severity of the psychological and physical abuse experienced. Participants were 50 abused women who completed valid MMPI-2s and revised Conflict Tactic Scales. The results indicated that MMPI-2 scores were significantly correlated with both types of abuse but not with duration of time since the abusive relationship was terminated. The MMPI-2 profiles of abused women and suggestions for research are discussed.
SU-E-T-426: Dose Delivery Accuracy in Breast Field Junction for Free Breath and Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Techniques

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to verify the accuracy of the dose distribution along the field junction in a half beam irradiation technique for breast cancer patients receiving radiation to the breast or chest wall (CW) and the supraclavicular LN region for both free breathing and deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) technique. Methods: We performed in vivo measurements for nine breast cancer patients receiving radiation to the breast/CW and to the supraclavicular LN region. Six patients were treated to the left breast/CW using DIBH technique and three patients were treated to the right breast/CW in free breath. We used five microMOSFET dosimeters: three located along the field junction, one located 1 cm above the junction and the fifth microMOSFET located 1 cm below the junction. We performed consecutive measurements over several days for each patient and compared the measurements to the TPS calculation (Eclipse, Varian™). Results: The calculated and measured doses along the junction were 0.97±0.08 Gy and 1.02±0.14 Gy, respectively. Above the junction calculated and measured doses were 0.91±0.08 Gy and 0.98±0.09 Gy respectively, and below the junction calculated and measured doses were 1.70±0.15 Gy and 1.61±0.09 Gy, respectively. All differences were not statistically significant. When comparing calculated and measured doses for DIBH patients only, there was still no statistically significant difference between values for all dosimeter locations. Analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney Rank-Sum Test. Conclusion: We found excellent correlation between calculated doses from the TPS and measured skin doses at the junction of several half beam fields. Even for the DIBH technique, where there is more potential for variance due to depth of breath, there is no over or underdose along the field junction. This correlation validates the TPS, as well an accurate, reproducible patient setup.
Usage and abusage

Value-Free Science? Purity and Power in Modern Knowledge. By Robert N. Proctor. Harvard University Press: 1991. Pp. 352. $34.95, £27.95.
Docking Two Models of Insurgency Growth

The use of agent-based simulations ABS in social science applications presents validation challenges. In this study, the authors use two theories for the growth of rebellion, one an ABS and the other implemented as a system of ordinary differential equations ODEs. Epstein's 2001 theory for the rise of rebellion serves as one conceptual model. The authors implement this theory in NetLogo, with several modifications. The second conceptual model likens the spread of an insurgency to that of an infectious disease, specifically the susceptible-infected-removed-susceptible SIRS model. The authors find that the similarity of the ODE model results to those obtained from certain parameters of the ABS implementation serves as a form of model validation. The term used for this type of validation is docking. In addition, other results obtained from the ABS-not directly attainable from the ODE model but which match observed phenomenon in socio-political systems-also demonstrates operational validity.
Experimental evidence of the Coulomb gap in a high-mobility 2D electron system in silicon

In some intermediate temperature range, for low electron densities and zero magnetic field, the resistivity of a two-dimensional electron system in silicon was found to follow the form ρ= ρ 0 exp[(T 0 /T) 1/2 ] for at least four orders of magnitude. In addition, in this same region, it was found that in the low T limit, the resistivity follows ρ = ρ 1 exp[(E 0 /E) 1/2 ], where E is the electric field. These dependencies are characteristic of a Coulomb gap in the 2D density of states. We see no evidence of a temperature-dependent or electric-field dependent prefactor. A comparison with the theory shows that there exists a specific set of conditions which are necessary in order to observe this Coulomb gap.
Clinical studies on parasystole.

Abstract 1. 1. The definition of the parasystole is reviewed and the criteria for the diagnosis of this arrhythmia are given. 2. 2. Two cases of parasystole with unusual features are reported. These consist in appearance of the undisturbed ectopic rhythm during carotid sinus pressure in both patients and reappearance of parasystole during carotid sinus pressure in one patient. In one patient an ectopic ventricular rhythm with fixed coupling changed into a parasystolic rhythm spontaneously. 3. 3. A discussion of vagal influence on this arrhythmia is presented.
Prospects for prevention of HPV-driven oropharynx cancer

Prevention of HPV-associated cancers can take two forms-one through prevention of infection via prophylactic HPV vaccination, and one through interruption of disease progression through early identification (i.e.: screening) and treatment. Primary prevention via vaccination seems promising, as a proof-of-principal study demonstrated high vaccine efficacy against one-time detection of oral HPV16/18 infection. In addition to the direct benefit of vaccination, indirect protection from reduced genital HPV infection should also reduce oral HPV exposure at the individual level. Yet, for the current unvaccinated cohorts who will bear the burden of non-cervical HPV-associated cancers for the foreseeable future, no secondary prevention opportunities exist, as the field has not yet validated any screening methods for non-cervical HPV associated cancers. Serum HPV16 E6 antibody data suggest that this test might one day be able to detect many of the at-risk patients prior to tumor development. For any biomarker that proves valid and reliable, transitioning into clinical practice will require additional research focused on (1) diagnostics, (2) effective intervention, and (3) observed reductions in cancer mortality.
Intergroup Prejudice in Multiethnic Settings

This article examines how out-group perceptions among Asian Americans, blacks, Latinos, and whites vary with the racial composition of their surroundings. Previous research on the contextual determinants of racial attitudes offers mixed expectations: some studies indicate that larger percentages of proximate out-groups generate intergroup conflict and hostility while others suggest that such environments promote interracial contact and understanding. As most of this research has been directed at black-white relations, the applicability of these theories to a multiethnic context remains unclear. Using data that merge the 1992–1994 Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality and 1990 Census, we find that in neighborhood contexts, interethnic propinquity corresponds with lower levels of out-group prejudice and competition, although intergroup hostility is higher in metropolitan areas with greater minority populations. Further tests suggest that these results do not occur from individual self-selection; rather ethnic spatial and social isolation bolster negative out-group perceptions. These findings suggest the value of residential integration for alleviating ethnic antagonism.
The effect of ursodeoxycholic acid on the florid duct lesion of primary biliary cirrhosis

The frequency with which florid duct lesions are seen in needle-biopsy specimens of the liver was assessed in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) enrolled in a 2-year randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) versus placebo. Paired biopsy specimens obtained at entry and after 2 years on medication were reviewed blindly and mostly simultaneously by a panel of 5 hepatopathologists who, earlier, had characterized the florid duct lesion, which has been well described in the pathology literature. Florid duct lesions at entry were identified in approximately 36%. Patients with earlier disease showed florid duct lesions much more frequently than those with more advanced disease. The prevalence of florid duct lesions in 60 patients receiving placebo medication fell from 38.3% to 21.7%, P = .025, over the period of 2 years. The prevalence of florid duct lesions also decreased in the 55 patients receiving UDCA, from 32.7% to 18.2%, P = .046. The prevalences of these lesions in the placebo and UDCA patients at entry and at 2 years were not significantly different from each other. The findings suggest that UDCA does not prevent ongoing bile duct destruction in patients with PBC. Instead, they support the impression that UDCA exerts its beneficial effects by protecting against the consequences of bile duct destruction.
Trends in Appropriate Adult Functioning and Biasing Risks in Longitudinal Follow-Ups of Boys With Conduct Disorders

Multiple telephone follow-up interviews have been conducted for a number of years for boys with conduct disorders treated at the Saint Francis Academy. These follow-ups are done 2 years and 5 years after treatment completion and again after the boy's 24th birthday. An overall appropriate adult functioning (AAF) score is obtained for each boy contacted. Because the attrition rate is very low, these data provide an opportunity to investigate the stability of treatment effects over time. A substantial attempt was made to investigate the possibility that mean group changes in AAF over time might be due to differential attrition effects. Two separate analyses indicated that an attrition effect was not a major influence in AAF score changes. AAF was relatively stable between the 2- and 5-year follow-ups and showed some improvement.
Erbium Surface-Enriched Silicon Nanowires

The synthesis of silicon nanowires containing erbium in a discrete layered structure has been achieved. These wires are prepared by the pyrolysis of silane and a volatile erbium complex on a gold catalyst surface, with the relative size of the wire and sample crystallinity affected by the timing in which erbium is introduced into the reactant stream. Products were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Given their ability to demonstrate the desired near-infrared luminescence at 1540 nm, the synthesis of these erbium surface-enriched Si nanostructures provides a synthetic strategy for new types of optically active layered platforms for studies in fundamental photophysics, carrier transport, and nanophotonics.