cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spinal versus general anesthesia for patients undergoing outpatient total knee arthroplasty: a national propensity matched analysis of early postoperative outcomes.

BACKGROUND A comparison of different anesthetic techniques to evaluate short term outcomes has yet to be performed for patients undergoing outpatient knee replacements. The aim of this investigation was to compare short term outcomes of spinal (SA) versus general anesthesia (GA) in patients undergoing outpatient total knee replacements. METHODS The ACS NSQIP datasets were queried to extract patients who underwent primary, elective, unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between 2005 and 2018 performed as an outpatient procedure. The primary outcome was a composite score of serious adverse events (SAE). The primary independent variable was the type of anesthesia (e.g., general vs. spinal). RESULTS A total of 353,970 patients who underwent TKA procedures were identified comprising of 6,339 primary, elective outpatient TKA procedures. Of these, 2,034 patients received GA and 3,540 received SA. A cohort of 1,962 patients who underwent outpatient TKA under GA were propensity matched for covariates with patients who underwent outpatient TKA under SA. SAE rates at 72 h after surgery were not greater in patients receiving GA compared to SA (0.92%, 0.66%, P = 0.369). In contrast, minor adverse events were greater in the GA group compared to SA (2.09%, 0.51%), P < 0.001. The rate of postoperative transfusion was greater in the patients receiving GA. CONCLUSIONS The type of anesthetic technique, general or spinal anesthesia does not alter short term SAEs, readmissions and failure to rescue in patients undergoing outpatient TKR surgery. Recognizing the benefits of SA tailored to the anesthetic management may maximize the clinical benefits in this patient population.
Relations among nonmonotonic formalisms

Our book has two main themes: nonmonotonic formalisms based on the language of propositional logic (default logic and logic programming and its extensions fall into this category) and modal nonmonotonic logics. Until now we have not discussed the question of interconnections between them. We will do so in this chapter. First, we will show that several modal nonmonotonic logics studied in Chapter 7 can be regarded as generalizations of default logic. An important consequence of this result is yet another semantical characterization of extensions. Even stronger results can be obtained for logic programming and, in particular, new characterizations of stable models for logic programs and stable answer sets for logic programs with classical negation are presented. Next, we show that default logic with weak extensions naturally corresponds to autoepistemic logic (that is, the nonmonotonic logic kd45). Finally, we introduce the notion of truth maintenance and briefly discuss its relation to logic programming and modal nonmonotonic logics.
Conceptualizing Elderly Buyer Behavior

The statement personifies a renewed strategic interest in one of the fastest growing segments of the market — the elderly. As the teen and early-20’s segments shrink in size because of population attrition, many marketers have begun to re-examine their target segment strategies. This paper examines that growth segment with the objective of bringing together a conceptual framework for further research.
America is in the Heart as a Colonial-Immigrant Novel Engaging the Bildungsroman

Carlos Bulosan’s America is in the Heart, the first Filipino American novel, has held a special place as one of the first of Asian American literary writing, but its craft has also been questioned because of the plainness of its language and its repetitious, tortuous plot. Through an evaluation and analysis of the novel as a Bildungsroman, this paper argues that the seeming failure of the plot to provide a coherent narrative of development is in itself the literary manifestation of the frustrating socio-economic realities in which the first Filipinos in America lived. Bulosan’s novel is therefore not so much a failed Bildungsroman but a twentieth-century Filipino American engagement of a nineteenth-century form in which the encounter not only uncovers the myth of universality of the form but also asserts the self-representation of the heretofore unrepresented. As such, America is in the Heart needs to be read not only as a record of but as an involvement in the Filipino American struggle in the mid-twentieth century.
Application of a process methodology and a strategic decision model for business process outsourcing

The objectives of this case study are to explore the strategy of business process outsourcing with focus on the service sector industry, and present a toolkit for deciding what and when to outsource in order to optimize a company's process metric, profitability or productivity while minimizing risks and exposures. The recommended process methodology for outsourcing features life cycle phases with go-no-go decisions in each phase. This assumes a mature, highly competitive company wanting to leverage the global outsourcing market opportunities. Emphasis was given on the strategy creation and business analysis activities, which highlighted use of strategy formulation tools and business decision modeling. The software-based model was vetted against a fictitious company modeled after an existing e-commerce company, faced with an outsourcing decision for its website maintenance and call center operations. Decision modeling was conducted in two stages: 1) Using Decision Matrix and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), compare the attractiveness and risk numbers among three locations assessed - USA, India, and South Africa, and 2) Using @Risk software, perform a statistical/financial analysis and modeling. India turned out to be the best choice, where the company would expect to realize a significant increase in cash flow per year. This paper outlines a roadmap for managers contemplating an outsourcing strategy. Leveraging a business decision model will assist in choosing from among various alternatives and forecasting expected financial benefits. The authors also incorporated industry best practice of making go-no-go decisions for each phase of the project, serving as gates to the next phase. This will allow management to tightly manage resources and control cost of outsourcing. An original element of this paper is the business decision model for the service sector.
Face Detection and Recognition

Two of the most important aspects in the general research framework of face recognition by computer are addressed here: face and facial feature detection, and face recognition — or rather face comparison. The best reported results of the mug-shot face recognition problem are obtained with elastic matching using jets. In this approach, the overall face detection, facial feature localization, and face comparison is carried out in a single step. This paper describes our research progress towards a different approach for face recognition. On the one hand, we describe a visual learning technique and its application to face detection in complex background, and accurate facial feature detection/tracking. On the other hand, a fast algorithm for 2D-template matching is presented as well as its application to face recognition. Finally, we report an automatic, real-time face recognition system.
Palaeontology: Clearing the Heads of Cambrian Arthropods

Understanding the identity of segments and the evolution of their appendages is a prime concern of arthropod evolution studies. This has been challenging for long extinct stem-groups. Now, Cambrian fossils offer insights that will help further evolutionary considerations.
A Review of “Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II”: Mukerjee, Madhusree, New York: Basic Books, 319 pp., $28.95, ISBN 0-4650-0201-3, Publication Date: August 2010

Madhusree Mukerjee has written a devastating book that is sure to be controversial. The focus of Churchill's Secret War is the role of Britain's iconic prime minister in the exploitation of India's...
WebFlow: A Framework for Web Based Metacomputing

We developed a platform independent, three-tier system, called WebFlow. The visual authoring tools implemented in the front end integrated with the middle tier network of servers based on CORBA and following distributed object paradigm, facilitate seamless integration of commodity software components. We add high performance to commodity systems using GLOBUS metacomputing toolkit as the backend.
Doubly-Feller Process with Multiplicative Functional

Despite the common use of the term “Feller property”, there are variations in its definition. In the early literature on Markov processes, there are discussions of this and related properties, often under sets of bewildering assumptions. The coast should now be clear, but certain neat formulations may have been overlooked. In §1 of this note, some old results are reviewed in more general forms and an apparently new one is derived. In §2, the results are extended to include a multiplicative functional, of which the prime example is that of Feynman-Kac, properly generalized.
The second brain in autism spectrum disorder: could connexin 43 expressed in enteric glial cells play a role?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous group of developmental disorders that present with persistent deficits in social communication/interaction and repetitive/restricted patterns of behavior, interests, or activities that cannot be better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay (DSM-5 APA, 2013). The recent estimate for ASD in 8-year old children in the United States is one in 68 (Baio and Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2010 Principal Investigators, 2014). Although a genetic cause can be identified in 20–25% cases (reviewed in Miles, 2011), the etiology of ASD still remains largely unclear. Several possible factors have been investigated to explain the etiology of ASD, i.e., immune dysregulation and inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and environmental factors (Rossignol and Frye, 2012).
Limiting early mortality: Do's and don'ts in the management of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Abstract In the era of novel biological agents, multiple myeloma (MM) is often approached as a chronic condition. While survival continues to improve, population-level data indicates that early mortality remains a substantial barrier to advances in MM outcomes. Here we provide "do's and don'ts" management recommendations that may minimize the risk of early mortality and ensure that patients have the opportunity to benefit from the long term impact of new effective MM agents. Such recommendations encompass the early introduction of novel agents even in the presence of comorbidities and advanced age and aggressive management of MM-related complications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Coumestrin a coumestan derivative from soybean roots

Abstract A new coumestrol glycoside, coumestrin, has been isolated from soybean roots together with its aglycone, coumestrol, and the known isoflavones genistin, genistein, daidzin and daidzein. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic technique ( 1 H NMR, UV, IR, EIMS, CIMS and FDMS) and by some chemical transformations.
Abnormal Wnt signaling and stem cell activation in reactive lymphoid tissue and low-grade marginal zone lymphoma.

The variable natural history of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma poses a challenge in predicting clinical outcome. Since Wnt signaling, as indicated by nuclear localization of β-catenin, is believed to be key in stem cell activation and stem cell self-renewal, we explored the possibility that it might have a predictive value in marginal zone lymphoma. We chose to analyze pβ-catenin-S552 because its nuclear localization by immunohistochemistry appears to coincide with Wnt signaling-initiated tumorigenesis in intestinal and hematopoietic tissues. Wnt signaling and activation was studied in 22 tissue samples of extranodal marginal zone lymphoma, atypical lymphoid hyperplasia, reactive lymphoid hyperplasia, and normal lymphoid tissue to determine whether Wnt signaling could help distinguish MALT lymphoma from benign lesions. Compared to normal or reactive lymphoid tissue, we found increased nuclear expression of localized pβ-catenin-S552 in atypical lymphoid hyperplasia and extranodal margina...
Prenatal development of serotonin binding protein in relation to other transmitter-related characteristics of central serotonergic neurons.

Abstract Serotonin binding protein (SBP) is a neuron-specific protein that binds serotonin (5-HT) with high affinity and is concentrated in synaptic vesicles. 5-HT has been shown to be stored in situ in a macromolecular complex with SBP. We have now investigated the ontogeny of SBP in the rat CNS. The time course of the appearance of SBP was related to the appearance of tryptophan hydroxylase, endogenous 5-HT and monoamine oxidase (MAO; types A and B). Binding of [3H]5-HT by SBP was assayed using molecular sieve chromatography. SBP had appeared by day E16; its activity then rose rapidly and reached adult levels (150 nmol [3H]5-HT/g protein) at days E18–E19. Tryptophan hydroxylase activity was measured by following the accumulation in vivo (30 min) of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in the brains of rat embryos whose mothers were treated with the aromatic l -amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor, NSD-1015, (100 mg/kg; i.p.). Tryptophan hydroxylase activity was first detectable at E15, remained present but at a low level through day E20 and then rapidly increased to reach 75% of the adult level at birth (747 pmol/g brain wet wt.). The development of stores of endogenous 5-HT paralelled the time course of development of tryptophan hydroxylase rather than that of SBP. 5-HT was first detected at E15, remained low until the end of intrauterine life and at birth was 50% of the adult level (2640 pmol/g brain wet wt.). MAO activity was determined in crude mitochondrial fractions by measuring 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid produced from 5-HT as substrate. This activity was already present prior to day E15 (the activity of type B MAO was higher than that of type A) and reached adult levels at day E20 (55 pmol/mg protein/min; A, B). It is concluded that the potential of neurons to store 5-HT, as measured by the activity of SBP, develops more rapidly than their ability to produce 5-HT. Moreover, although the ratio of its two forms changes, MAO activity appears very early in development.
The role of childhood sexual victimization in the occupational choice of adults

Numerous studies have found that survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) suffer as adults from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, and other mental illnesses. As such, the effect of experiencing traumatic events during childhood including sexual abuse can be long lasting. The lasting effects of CSA may have economic as well as psychological implications. This article examines the relationship between CSA and future labour market outcomes for men and women. In particular, we examine whether the occupations of abuse survivors differ from those who were not subject to sexual abuse, focusing on the gender composition of the occupation. In addition, we determine whether there are gender differences in the consequences of CSA, and whether incomes of CSA victims vary across male and female occupations.
Porous silicon photoluminescence and quantum confinement

Abstract Images obtained from scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy reveal nanoscale features on hydrogen-passivated porous silicon surfaces. These surface features are altered by varying the chemical etching procedure, resulting in shifts in the wire size and consequent variations in the photoluminescence spectra. The morphology consists of wires with associated nodules. Consistent with the quantum confinement model, the widths of these features range from 1 to 7 nm, and the size distribution and photoluminescence peaks agree with theoretical predictions based on a second-neighbour, empirical tight-binding approximation. In toto, these observations demonstrate that such novel surface features are necessary for the photoluminescence of porous silicon and are consistent with the requirements of the quantum confinement model of porous silicon.
Conflict at Pierce College

This case was written for use in courses in higher education leadership. It is particularly useful for examining the environment in which decisions are made in higher education institutions. In the case, a young administrator is confronted with an ethical dilemma. She initially receives the support of her superiors in handling the situation, but after she acts she discovers that this support has eroded. The case illustrates the importance of coalition-building as well as the necessity of understanding institutional politics. The case also provides an opportunity to examine and discuss ethics in higher education administration.
Associative spread as a mediating variable in the generation effect.

Abstract Memory retention is greater for information that is subject-produced rather than experimenter-provided; this enhancement has been labelled the generation effect. One explanation of this phenomenon, the Lexical Activation Hypothesis, assumes that lexical representation is a necessary condition for emergence of the effect. A corollary to this hypothesis, the Lexical Spread Hypothesis (Nairne, Pusen, & Widner, 1985), emphasises associative spread as a mediating variable. This single-factor explanation has relied for its support exclusively on recognition performance. In the present study, four experiments examined the viability of this hypothesis, under recognition and free-recall conditions. A two-factor explanation is proposed to account for the findings of the present study. It appears that associative spread does not mediate the generation effect, when a recognition test is administered, but may mediate free-recall performance, where retrieval networks play a more significant role in memory perf...
HELICAL SURFACE WAVES ON A DIELECTRIC ROD

Abstract The conventional formulation of the electromagnetic field solution for a cylindrical dielectric rod is re-interpreted in a novel fashion in order to show the presence of surface waves which propagate over the rod's surface along helical paths. The solutions of the characteristic equation of the rod are interpreted in terms of the resonances at which these helical surface waves azimuthally match phases after each circumnavigation of the rod, effectively forming resonating standing waves around the rod. This interpretation permits us to obtain the pitch angle of the helix, and the dispersion curves (phase velocity as a function of frequency) of the helical surface waves.
Abnormal white matter tractography of visual pathways detected by high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) corresponds to visual dysfunction in cortical/cerebral visual impairment

Cortical (cerebral) visual impairment (CVI) is characterized by visual dysfunction associated with damage to the optic radiations and/or visual cortex. Typically it results from pre- or perinatal hypoxic damage to postchiasmal visual structures and pathways. The neuroanatomical basis of this condition remains poorly understood, particularly with regard to how the resulting maldevelopment of visual processing pathways relates to observations in the clinical setting. We report our investigation of 2 young adults diagnosed with CVI and visual dysfunction characterized by difficulties related to visually guided attention and visuospatial processing. Using high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI), we characterized and compared their individual white matter projections of the extrageniculo-striate visual system with a normal-sighted control. Compared to a sighted control, both CVI cases revealed a striking reduction in association fibers, including the inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus as well as superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculi. This reduction in fibers associated with the major pathways implicated in visual processing may provide a neuroanatomical basis for the visual dysfunctions observed in these patients.
Laparoscopic infrared imaging.

Background: As an adjunct to direct visual imaging, an infrared endoscope was developed to assist in the identification of various anatomic structures and to assess tissue viability during laparoscopic procedures. A camera sensitive to emitted energy in the mid-infrared range (3 to 5 μm) was incorporated into a two-channel visible-light laparoscope. Methods and Materials: Laparoscopic procedures were performed in a porcine model, inexperienced laparoscopists being asked to localize and differentiate structures before dissection using the visible-light system and then the infrared system. To determine clinical utility, nine laparoscopic urologic procedures were performed with the assistance of the infrared system. Results: In the clinical evaluation, infrared imaging proved to be useful in differentiating between blood vessels and other anatomic structures. In contrast to the experience with the conventional endoscope, vessel identification, assessment of organ perfusion, and transperitoneal localization o...
Modeling and distributed simulation of a broadband-ISDN network

A distributed approach to communication network simulation using a network of workstations configured as a loosely coupled parallel processor to model and simulate the broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) is proposed. In a loosely coupled parallel processor system, a number of concurrently executable processors communicate asynchronously using explicit messages over high-speed links. Since this architecture is similar to that of B-ISDN networks, it constitutes a realistic testbed for their modeling and simulation. The authors describe an implementation of this approach on 50 Sun workstations at Brown University. Performance results, based on representative B-ISDN networks and realistic traffic models, indicate that the distributed approach is efficient and accurate. >
University Challenges: Explaining Institutional Change in Higher Education

Higher education policy has been subject to considerable reform in OECD states over the past two decades. Some states have introduced tuition fees, others have massively increased public funding for higher education, and still others remain in stasis, retaining the elitist model with which they began the postwar era. This article develops the argument that higher education policy in the OECD is driven by a set of partisan choices within a trilemma between the level of enrollment, the degree of subsidization, and the overall public cost of higher education. The author develops a formal model of the micromechanisms underlying movements within this trilemma, noting the importance of partisan politics, existing enrollment, tax structure, and access. These propositions are tested statistically on a sample of twenty-two OECD countries and through case histories of higher education reform in England, Sweden, and Germany.
Description of Deconfinement at Finite Matter Density in a Generalized Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model

Recent years have seen extensive applications of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model in the study of matter at high density. There is a good deal of interest in the predictions of diquark condensation and color superconductivity, with suggested applications to the study of the properties of neutron stars. As the researchers in this field note, the NJL model does not describe confinement, so that one is limited to the study of the deconfined phase, which may set in at several times nuclear matter density. Recently, we have extended the NJL model to include a covariant confinement model. Our model may be used to study the properties of the full range of light mesons, including their radial excitations, in the 1--3 GeV energy domain. Most recently we have used our extended model to provide an excellent fit to the properties of the $\ensuremath{\eta}(547)$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}(958)$ mesons and their radial excitations. The mixing angles and decay constants are given successfully in our model. In the present work our goal is to include a phenomenological model of deconfinement at finite matter density, using some analogy to what is known concerning ``string breaking'' and deconfinement at finite temperature. Various models may be used, but for this work we choose a specific model for the density dependence of the parameters of our confining interaction. We perform relativistic random-phase-approximation (RPA) calculations of the properties of the \ensuremath{\pi}(138), $K(495),$ ${f}_{0}(980),$ ${a}_{0}(980),$ and ${K}_{0}^{*}(1430)$ mesons and their radial excitations. In the model chosen for this work, there are no mesonic states beyond about $2{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{\mathrm{NM}},$ where ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{\mathrm{NM}}$ is the density of nuclear matter. (The density for deconfinement in our model may be moved to higher values by the change of one of the parameters of the model.) This inability of the model to support bound hadronic states at large values of the density is taken as a signal of deconfinement. In addition to the density dependence of the confining interaction, we use the density-dependent quark mass values obtained in either the SU(2)- or SU(3)-flavor versions of the NJL model. We stress that other assumptions for the density dependence of the confinement potential, other than that used in this work, may be considered in future work, particularly if we are able to obtain further insight in the dynamics of deconfinement at finite matter density.
Radiation Effects in a Virtual Phase CCD Imager

CCD imagers fabricated using a single gate process have been subjected to total dose ?-ray exposures of 1 megarad. The devices are operational after the test. The effect of the radiation on the performance is discussed.
Density of Cream at Low Temperatures

Abstract The densities of a variety of creams were determined at low temperatures by the pycnometer method to supplement the limited existing data which have been the basis for calculating volume-weight relationships. Linear relationships were found between density and fat, density and total solids, and density and nonfat solids, for cream containing from about 20 to 50% fat. Regression analysis showed that density can be estimated from a simple linear equation based on the percentage of fat in cream almost as accurately as from a multiple regression equation based on the percentages of fat and nonfat solids. The equation for estimating density from the percentage of fat at 9.85C (based on 57 samples) was: Density=1.03123−[.000770×(milk fat percentage)].
Chemical genetics reveals bacterial and host cell functions critical for type IV effector translocation by Legionella pneumophila.

Delivery of effector proteins is a process widely used by bacterial pathogens to subvert host cell functions and cause disease. Effector delivery is achieved by elaborate injection devices and can often be triggered by environmental stimuli. However, effector export by the L. pneumophila Icm/Dot Type IVB secretion system cannot be detected until the bacterium encounters a target host cell. We used chemical genetics, a perturbation strategy that utilizes small molecule inhibitors, to determine the mechanisms critical for L. pneumophila Icm/Dot activity. From a collection of more than 2,500 annotated molecules we identified specific inhibitors of effector translocation. We found that L. pneumophila effector translocation in macrophages requires host cell factors known to be involved in phagocytosis such as phosphoinositide 3-kinases, actin and tubulin. Moreover, we found that L. pneumophila phagocytosis and effector translocation also specifically require the receptor protein tyrosine phosphate phosphatases CD45 and CD148. We further show that phagocytosis is required to trigger effector delivery unless intimate contact between the bacteria and the host is artificially generated. In addition, real-time analysis of effector translocation suggests that effector export is rate-limited by phagocytosis. We propose a model in which L. pneumophila utilizes phagocytosis to initiate an intimate contact event required for the translocation of pre-synthesized effector molecules. We discuss the need for host cell participation in the initial step of the infection and its implications in the L. pneumophila lifestyle. Chemical genetic screening provides a novel approach to probe the host cell functions and factors involved in host–pathogen interactions.
Wind sedimentation tunnel experiments on the origins of aeolian strata

The origins and sedimentary features of grainfall-, avalanche-, and ripple-produced strata have been studied experimentally in a wind sedimentation tunnel. Rate of deposition, wind velocity and wind duration have been shown to control specific sedimentary features of these types of strata. Grainfall-produced strata were deposited on a horizontal surface, and surfaces sloping up to the angle of initial yield for dry sand (about 34°). Thickness of a grainfall-produced stratum depended upon rate of deposition and duration of a specific wind event. Grainfall-produced strata were both non-graded and graded. Graded strata were produced by changes in wind velocity which controlled size of sand in transport and flying distances of individual grains. Distinctive features of grainfall-produced strata are: (a) gradual thinning, or tapering downwind (e.g. down the simulated slipface and across the simulated interdune; (b) extreme variability of thickness from less than 1 mm (wind gusts of a few seconds) to 10 cm or more (sustained gusts). Aeolian avalanche-produced strata were formed when grainfall-produced strata steepened above the angle of initial yield and sheared downslope. A rapid transition in sedimentary features from top to bottom of the slipface characterized avalanche-produced strata of the slump degeneration type in dry sand derived from grainfall deposition. Fadeout laminae formed near the top of the simulated slipface and about 1 m farther down the slipface were flame structures and drag folds. Near the base of the slipface, the avalanche truncated and then overrode grainfall-produced deposits. Distinctive features of avalanche-produced strata for a 2.5 m long slipface are the deformation structures, a thickness of 1 or 2 cm, sandflow toes, and steep dip (34°). Each avalanche-produced stratum was roughly tabular in cross-section parallel to wind direction, with gradual pinchout upslope. Aeolian ripple-produced strata were deposited on horizontal surfaces, and surfaces sloping to as much as 28°. Thickness of a ripple-produced stratum depended upon rate of deposition, morphology of the ripple, and rate of ripple migration. A maximum thickness of several centimetres was observed for a single ripple-produced stratum. Shape and attitude of ripple foresets was controlled by ripple morphology. Distinctive features of aeolian ripple-produced strata are: (a) presence of ripple foresets; (b) abrupt changes in thickness of a stratum or pinchout over downwind distances of a few centimetres; (c) low average foreset-to-diastem angle (10–15°); (d) low ripple-climb angle (<10°).
Long-term survival in acute arsenic encephalopathy. Follow-up using newer measures of electrophysiologic parameters

A 20-year-old man survived acute massive arsenic ingestion. The resultant severe encephalopathy and peripheral neuropathy showed limited long-term recovery over the following two years. The patient's clinical course was followed using visual and auditory evoked potentials, computed tomography, electroencephalography, and electromyography.
Military applications of lithium batteries

Abstract Practically every weapon system requires a battery to provide electrical power for various functions. The lithium battery is becoming the “power source of choice” for a large number of these military systems. Lithium technology offers unique solutions to the combination of requirements imposed by military systems — low weight, low volume, long storage life, low life cycle cost, and immediate readiness over the full military environmental condition spectrum.
Catalytic conversion of cyclohexylhydroperoxide to cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol

Abstract The low-conversion air oxidation of cyclohexane yields a mixture of cyclohexylhydroperoxide, cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol. The cyclohexyl-hydroperoxide is converted to additional cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol before the mixture is concentrated. Cobalt octoate is an active but short-lived catalyst for this transformation. Using a combination of pulse calorimetry and chemical luminescence techniques, a new family of long-lived catalysts has been discovered. These catalysts, based upon the (bis(2-pyridyl-imino)isoindolinato) ligand, are very active and long-lived, allowing cyclo-hexylhydroperoxide to be converted in a selective, low temperature process. The structure of one of these active catalysts, bis[bis((3-methyl-2-pyridyl)-imino)isoindolinato]cobalt(II), has been determined crystallographically. Under reaction conditions, it is likely that the active form of the catalyst has lost one ligand.
Iterative Multi-AttRibute Multi-Unit Reverse Auctions

This article studies iterative multi-attribute auctions for multi-unit procurement. Order splitting among suppliers is allowed in auctions to improve efficiency and take advantage of suppliers' cos...
A quantitative method to examine large numbers of soil samples for Synchytrium endobioticum, the cause of potato wart disease.

Resting sporangia were collected from dried soil on 37-μm mesh, extracted with chloroform, and deposited on grid, marked membrane filters. The technique gives consistent figures, a rapid estimate of the inoculum potential of a soil, and is suited for analysis of large volumes of soil samples.
Keeping Current with Electronic Resources and Libraries

Those seeking to understand current trends in serials and collection development often gather at established conferences such as the Charleston Conference and the North American Serials Interest Group. A relative newcomer, Electronic Resources & Libraries, brings together technical services personnel, public services personnel, web developers, systems librarians, vendors, policy makers, and standards experts, forming lively communities of professionals working together to develop, deliver, and evaluate e-resources.
Natural Chagas disease in four baboons

Background Chagas disease is common in Central and South America and the southern United States. The causative agent is Trypanosoma cruzi (T cruzi, Order Kinetoplastida, Family Trypanosomatidae), a kinetoplastid protozoan parasite of humans and other vertebrates. It is a serious public health issue and the leading cause of heart disease and cardiovascular death in Central and South America. In 1984 a colony baboon was discovered to be infected with T cruzi.
Alternant hydrocarbon selection rules in the two-photon spectroscopy of perturbed benzene

Abstract Pariser's (+,−) pseudo-parity labels for the electronic states of alternant hydrocarbons provide explicit selection rules governing perturbations of multiphoton forbidden optical transitions. One principal finding is that inductive substituent effects in benzene derivatives should significantly enhance the two-photon 1 L a transition, but ought to have little influence on the two-photon 1 L b transition. The two-photon fluorescence excitation spectra of benzene and monofluorobenzene are seen to confirm these predictions.
Disambiguation of Proper Names in Text

Identifying the occurrences of proper names in text and the entities they refer to can be a difficult task because of the many-to-many mapping between names and their referents. We analyze the types of ambiguity --- structural and semantic --- that make the discovery of proper names difficult in text, and describe the heuristics used to disambiguate names in Nominator, a fully-implemented module for proper name recognition developed at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Accident and emergency medicine

Emergency medicine is rapidly evolving as a medical specialty. It provides immediate and universal care to over 90 million patients a year in the United States alone. In addition to life saving treatment, the emergency department provides a safety net, giving unrestricted care to people with little or no access to other types of health care. Recent developments reflect the varied nature of emergency medicine. These include improvements in emergency management of acute cardiac ischaemia, identification of victims of domestic violence, and the use of diagnostic tools such as ultrasound examination by specialists in emergency medicine. Topics were chosen after reviewing articles published during the past two years in those peer reviewed journals commonly referred to by specialists in emergency medicine. Selection was based on the number of quality studies published on a particular topic and the topic's actual or potential impact on clinical practice in emergency medicine. A Medline search was performed using the terms cardiac markers, domestic violence, ultrasound, and emergency medicine. In the United States alone, over six million patients each year present to the emergency department with chest pain. The goals of the doctor are to identify rapidly those patients who are candidates for thrombolytic treatment; to differentiate between patients with chest pain caused by acute coronary ischaemia and chest pain from other causes in order to avoid unnecessary admission to hospital; and to stratify those patients with possible ischaemic chest pain into risk groups. In addition to the routine medical history, physical examination, and 12 lead electrocardiography, the specialist in emergency medicine now has access to a growing number of ancillary tests and technologies that can help in the management of patients with chest pain. Those which seem particularly promising include new markers of cardiac ischaemia, stress testing, and acute perfusion imaging with technetium-99m labelled …
Tomasch-oscillation amplitude decay in single-crystal lead films

The dependence of the amplitude of Tomasch oscillations on energy is measured for several different orientations of single-crystal lead films. Anisotropy in this amplitude is observed. Comparison is made between experiment and the predictions of several theories. In general the observed decay in amplitude with energy is more rapid than theoretical predictions. The best fit occurs with the McMillan-Anderson model and the Wolfram model with proximity effects.
The volcanic history of Syria Planum, Mars

Abstract A field of small (10s of km in diameter) volcanoes in the Syria Planum region of Mars is mapped to determine abundance, distribution, and alignments of vents. These data are used to assess possible variations in eruption style across space and time. Each eruption site is assigned a point location. Nearest neighbor and two-point azimuth analyses are conducted to assess the spacing and orientations between vents across the study area. Two vent fields are identified as unique volcanic units along with the previously identified Syria Mons volcano. Superposition relationships and crater retention rates indicate that these three volcanic episodes span ~ 900 Ma, beginning in the early Hesperian and ending in the Early Amazonian. No clear hiatus in eruptive activity is identified between these events, although a progression from eruptions at Syria Mons, to regionally distributed eruptions that form the bulk of the Syria Planum plains, to a final migration of dispersed eruptions to Syria's northwest is identified. Nearest neighbor analyses suggest a non-random distribution among the entire population of Syria Planum, which is interpreted as resulting from the interaction of independent magma bodies ascending through the crust during different stress regimes throughout the region's eruptive history. Two-point azimuth results identify three orientations of enhanced alignments, which match well with radial extensions of three major tectonic centers to the south, east, and northwest of the study area. As such, Syria Planum volcanism evolved from a central vent volcano to dispersed shield field development over several hundred million years, during which the independent magma bodies related to each small volcano interacted to some extent with one or more of at least three buried tectonic patterns in the older crust. These results show a strong relationship between independent mapping efforts of tectonic and volcanic features. Continued integration of volcano-tectonic mapping should provide direct constraints for future geodynamic models of magma production and thermal evolution of the Tharsis province.
Clinically relevant imaging in tuberous sclerosis.

Tuberous sclerosis (TS), also known as Bourneville disease or Bourneville–Pringle disease, is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder classically characterized by the presence of hamartomatous growths in multiple organs. TS and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are different terms for the same genetic condition. Both terms describe clinical changes due to mutations involving either of the two genes named TSC1 and TSC2, which regulate cell growth. The diagnosis of TSC is established using diagnostic criteria based on clinical and imaging findings. Routine screening and surveillance of patients with TSC is needed to determine the presence and extent of organ involvement, especially the brain, kidneys, and lungs, and identify the development of associated complications. As the treatment is organ specific, imaging plays a crucial role in the management of patients with TSC.
The usefulness of teachers' characteristics in predicting teachers' ratings of racially and linguistically different students

Abstract The study was designed to determine whether professional experiential characteristics or stereotyped expectations best predict teachers' ratings of racially and linguistically different children. Sixty-eight white elementary school teachers rated 12 speakers who differed in race and dialect. Biographical information concerning teachers' training experience teaching black students was collected as were stereotyped expectancies. Results of maximum R 2 improvement techniques revealed that professional characteristics were unrelated to teachers' ratings, but that stereotyped attitudes predicted the teachers' performance. The results are discussed with reference to the implication for success of disadvantaged children in the educational system and for future in-depth research.
Effect of lithium chloride in coyote pup diet

Four experiments were aimed at detecting the possible influence of lithium on coyote pup growth and behavior when lithium chloride was fed to the parent coyotes in jackrabbit flesh. In experiment 1, milk samples from two lactating coyotes fed lithium chloride showed a maximum of 12.04 ppm lithium. In experiment 2, hand-raised coyote pups required a concentration of 262 ppm lithium, or more, in bottle fed milk to influence their feeding and weight. In experiment 3, nursing coyote pups showed no lasting influence on weight or nursing behavior when their parents were fed lithium chloride in jackrabbit flesh. In experiment 4, 40-day-old coyote pups showed no lasting effects on body weight or food soliciting behavior after feeding on lithium chloride-treated jackrabbit flesh provided by their parents in the form of regurgitate. Seven months later, the pups showed no avoidance of jackrabbit flesh, nor preference for an alternate food. The results indicated no lasting influence on coyote pup growth or feeding behavior when the pups were fed lithium chloride-contaminated food or milk provided by their parents. The results suggested that placing sheep-flesh baits treated with lithium chloride on ranches in efforts to reduce coyote predation on sheep would cause no lasting, detrimental influence on the pups of adult coyotes that fed on the baits.
The suppression of mouse spontaneous locomotor activity by the ingestion of deuterium oxide.

The spontaneous locomotor activity of the laboratory mouse is significantly depressed by the ingestion of deuterium oxide. The response, which is reversible, is a rectilinear one with up to 70% reduction in activity with the administration of 25% heavy water.
Long-term variability in short-wavelength automated perimetry compared to standard perimetry in glaucoma patients and normal subjects.

Aims: To compare long-term variability (LTV) in short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) with that of standard white-on-white (W-W) perimetry, in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and normal subjects and to determine its clinical significance. Patients and Methods: The sample comprised 30 patients of stable POAG (group 1) and 20 age-matched normal controls (group2) who performed both SWAP and W-W perimetry thrice at monthly intervals. Long-term variability at each location in the visual field was calculated as the standard deviation of three threshold decibel values taken from the three visual fields performed. Mean LTV was then calculated for the entire field for each subgroup and compared. Results: Mean LTV in SWAP and W-W perimetry in glaucoma patients was 3.01 ± 0.74 dB and 2.73 ± 1.07dB respectively. In normal subjects mean LTV of SWAP and W-W perimetry was 2.69 ± 0.91 db and 1.97 ± 1.34 dB respectively. Intra group analysis revealed that mean LTV of SWAP was greater compared to W-W perimetry in normal subjects and glaucoma patients. In the latter, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Inter group analysis showed that mean LTV in both SWAP and W-W perimetry was greater in glaucoma patients than in normal subjects. Factors other than POAG that could influence LTV, including progression of cataract and change in pupil size due to use of pilocarpine were excluded. Mean examination time for SWAP per sitting was 7.65% longer than that for W-W perimetry. Conclusions: Higher mean LTV of SWAP as compared to W-W perimetry needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating serial visual fields for change. Use of rapid threshold algorithms e.g. SITA (Swedish interactive test algorithm) SWAP should be encouraged as these will reduce the patient fatigue and increase the reliability of the test.
Effects of combined robotic therapy and repetitive-task practice on upper-extremity function in a patient with chronic stroke.

OBJECTIVE. This article describes the effect of a robotic device combined with repetitive-task practice (RTP) on upper-extremity function in a patient with chronic stroke. METHOD. The client was a 32-year-old woman, 11 months after stroke, with minimal wrist and finger movement. She received approximately 48 hr of intervention split evenly between a robotic device (Hand Mentor) and RTP during 3 weeks. RESULTS. Favorable scores in the Wolf Motor Function Test were observed from pre-to postevaluation. Active range of motion, from pre-to postintervention, increased by 35° in the shoulder, 65° in the wrist, and 70° in the thumb. Kinetic analysis of a bimanual dexterity task indicated improved specification of grasping forces for both limbs. CONCLUSION. Improvements in upper-extremity motor functioning and functional performance in daily tasks followed this client's engagement in distal initiation of movement during an RTP exercise regimen that was robotically reinforced