cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
1112 Consecutive Bilateral Neck Explorations for Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Bilateral neck exploration has been the standard approach for patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Improved localization studies and the availability of intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring have challenged the necessity of four-gland exploration. In this series we report a single surgeon’s experience with bilateral neck exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism in an effort to establish benchmark outcomes from which to evaluate minimally invasive protocols. The charts of 1112 consecutive patients who underwent neck exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism by a single surgeon over a 17-year period were reviewed. All patients underwent bilateral neck exploration under either general (n = 264) or local (n = 848) anesthesia. The overall cure rate was 97.4% with a complication rate of 3.4%. Morbidity included recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (0.2%), postoperative bleeding (0.8%), and transient hypocalcemia (1.8%). There was no mortality. Overall mean operating time was 52.5 ± 30.2 minutes. A single gland was removed in 78.4% of patients, and 22.3% of patients underwent concomitant thyroidectomy. The cure rate was lower for patients undergoing reexploration (89.2% vs. 97.9%, p < 0.05). Choice of anesthetic approach did not affect the cure or complication rate. The overall conversion rate from local to general anesthesia was 1.5%. Patients undergoing general anesthesia were operated on earlier in the series and were less likely to be managed on an ambulatory basis (local 87.5% vs. general 38.4%, p < 0.05). During the last 5 years of the series, more than 90% of patients underwent exploration under local anesthesia. This large modern series of neck explorations for primary hyperparathyroidism confirms the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of the bilateral approach. It further demonstrates that individual surgeons can achieve outcomes equivalent to those with four-gland explorations under local anesthesia.
Parametric and time resolved studies of autoignition and flameholding in a clean-air supersonic combustor

A model scramjet combustor was tested using transverse sonic injection of gaseous hydrogen behind a rearward facing step. It was found that ignition in the constant area duct initiates well downstream and propagates upstream with velocities ranging from 300 to nearly 1,000 m/s in the laboratory frame. The downstream ignition develops into a detonation wave prior to reaching the region of observation. A number of parameters including fuel flow rate, air stagnation temperature and pressure, and the operating conditions of the downstream air ejector affected ignition conditions.
The Application of a Thermal Efficiency Maximizing Control Strategy for Ignition Timing and Equivalence Ratio on a Natural Gas-Fueled Hercules G1600

A two-dimensional optimization process, which simultaneously adjusts the spark timing and equivalence ratio of a lean-burn, natural gas, Hercules G1600 engine, has been demonstrated. First, the three-dimensional surface of thermal efficiency was mapped versus spark timing and equivalence ratio at a single speed and load combination. Then the ability of the control system to find and hold the combination of timing and equivalence ratio that gives the highest thermal efficiency was explored. NO{sub x}, CO, and HC maps were also constructed from the experimental data to determine the tradeoffs between efficiency and emissions. The optimization process adds small synchronous disturbances to the spark timing and air flow while the fuel injected per cycle is held constant for four cycles. The engine speed response to these disturbances is used to determine the corrections for spark timing and equivalence ratio. The control process, in effect, uses the engine itself as the primary sensor. The control system can adapt to changes in fuel composition, operating conditions, engine wear, or other factors that may not be easily measured. Although this strategy was previously demonstrated in a Volkswagen 1.7 liter light duty engine (Frankling et al., 1994b), until now it has not been demonstrated inmore » a heavy-duty engine. This paper covers the application of the approach to a Hercules G1600 engine.« less
The Impact of Violence on Urban Adolescents Longitudinal Effects of Perceived School Connection and Family Support

This longitudinal school-based study examined school connection and family support as protective factors for adolescent mental health in the context of exposure to violence. After controlling for seventh grade functioning, recent exposure to violence uniquely predicted worsening of functioning from seventh to eighth grade across multiple self- and teacher-reported measures including self-reported internalizing symptoms, self-reported aggression, and teacher-reported competencies. Adolescents who felt more connected to school showed decreased psychological problems from seventh to eighth grade. Perceived school connection, however, did not moderate the relationship between exposure to violence and psychological functioning. Findings highlighted family support as a moderator of the relationship between exposure to violence and adolescent mental health. Implications for interventions to promote healthier adolescent functioning under stress are discussed.
Optimal Management of Game and Forage Resources in a Private Fee-Hunting Enterprise

The paper formulates a bioeconomic model of a private fee‐hunting enterprise to examine the optimal management of this agroecological system under a wide range of bioeconomic circumstances. An empirical application demonstrates that the economic viability of the enterprise (concerning managers) and the sustainability of the underlying biological resources (concerning public regulators) depend critically on the initial endowment of resources and on the existence of publicly‐mandated or self‐imposed restrictions on maximum allowable hunting rates. Perhaps surprising is the implication that in some circumstances regulators may be able to promote resource sustainability by relaxing hunting controls.
How XCS deals with rarities in domains with continuous attributes

Michigan-style learning classifier systems solve problems by evolving distributed subsolutions online. Extracting accurate models for subsolutions which are represented by a low number of examples in the training data set has been identified as a key challenge in LCS, and facetwise analysis has been applied to identify the critical elements for success in unbalanced domains. While models for these elements have been developed for XCS with ternary representation, no study has been performed for XCS with interval-based representation, which is most often used in data mining tasks. This paper therefore takes the original design decomposition and adapts it to the interval-based representation. Theory and experimental evidence indicate that XCS with interval-based representation may fail to approximate concepts scarcely represented in the training data set. To overcome this problem, an online covering operator that introduces new specific genetic material in regions where we suspect that there are rarities is designed. The benefits of the online covering operator are empirically analyzed on a collection of artificial and real-world problems.
Review of "DECset-8000 System User's Guide, Vol #1, #2, by Vincent Manis, Peter van den Bosch"

When it comes to designing software for people not used to dealing with computers, manufacturers of hardware are frequently the worst offenders in producing complex, inconsistent and frustrating systems. The problem is that they tend to think of all people as potential programmers. Now, a programmer, though he may grumble, will put up with almost any inconvenience thrown in his way, but a typist is not a programmer, nor is a bank clerk, nor is a journalist. Yet these people, and others in every aspect of business and industry, are expected to deal, in increasing numbers, with software designed for programmers and other members of the computer culture. They too will adjust themselves, since it is their livelihood, but they will not grumble, because they too often do not realize that matters could be better. When "the computer" makes a mistake it will afford them a moment of bitter pleasure during coffee-breaks, but in general they will feel frustrated, inadequate and oppressed, and their working lives will be made just a little more unpleasant because of it.
Octree skeleton: An efficient tool for shape and topology analysis of digital models

Analyzing the topology and shape of a digital model has wide applications ranging from CAD to bio-medical imaging. For example, identifying shape components, such as tubes and plates, can reveal the structure of a CAD model or a protein molecule. Identifying topological components, such as handles, is the first step in repairing incorrect topology as a result of reconstruction from noisy point clouds or medical images. A classical tool for describing the shape and topology of a solid model is the skeleton, a discrete approximation of the medial axis. However, existing representations and computations of skeletons on digital models have mostly been restricted to uniform grids, making efficient applications to large models difficult. We present algorithms for representing, computing and utilizing skeletons of digital models on adaptive octree grids, allowing efficient topology and shape analysis on large inputs. These algorithms are based on a new representation of octree grids that gives rise to simple criteria for preserving topology and shape during skeleton generation. The resulted octree skeletons can be used in a range of topological and shape operations, including removing topological errors and identifying shape components.
Multimodal detection of highlights for multimedia content

We present a multimedia information analysis framework for content-based browsing of video. Specifically, we develop algorithms for the automated extraction of video highlights in sports video that are based on audio, text, and image features. The extracted annotations are used to build applications for selective browsing of sports videos. Such summarization techniques enable content-based indexing of multimedia documents for efficient storage and retrieval. In addition, in the context of the newly emerging standard MPEG-7, these methods will enable applications that use MPEG-7 descriptions. As this standard provides only the syntax for representing such descriptions and not specific algorithms for extracting them, these algorithms are of great value for establishing MPEG-7 as an accepted standard. We provide experimental results for the proposed algorithms on several hours of sports programs that prove the feasibility of efficient video access techniques in a multimedia environment.
Improving WCET by applying worst-case path optimizations

It is advantageous to perform compiler optimizations that attempt to lower the worst-case execution time (WCET) of an embedded application since tasks with lower WCETs are easier to schedule and more likely to meet their deadlines. Compiler writers in recent years have used profile information to detect the frequently executed paths in a program and there has been considerable effort to develop compiler optimizations to improve these paths in order to reduce the average-case execution time (ACET). In this paper, we describe an approach to reduce the WCET by adapting and applying optimizations designed for frequent paths to the worst-case (WC) paths in an application. Instead of profiling to find the frequent paths, our WCET path optimization uses feedback from a timing analyzer to detect the WC paths in a function. Since these path-based optimizations may increase code size, the subsequent effects on the WCET due to these optimizations are measured to ensure that the worst-case path optimizations actually improve the WCET before committing to a code size increase. We evaluate these WC path optimizations and present results showing the decrease in WCET versus the increase in code size.
Acute angiographic and clinical outcome of high speed percutaneous rotational atherectomy (rotablator

Percutaneous rotational atherectomy (Rotablator), a high speed (greater than 100,000 RPM) rotational burr, was used successfully in 38 of 43 patients (88%) (mean age: 65 +/- 7 years) with 82 lesions (71 stenoses and 11 occlusions). The clinical indications were claudication (84%), nonhealing ulcer (7%), and renovascular hypertension (7%). Rotablation was successful in 78 of 82 lesions (95%): 68 of 71 (96%) stenoses (12 of 12 iliac, 11 of 11 femoral, 7 of 8 popliteal, 36 of 37 tibial, and 2 of 3 renal arteries; 60% of lesions were diffuse, i.e., greater than or equal to 4 cm in length), and 10 of 11 (91%) occlusions (5 of 6 femoral, 1 of 1 popliteal, 3 of 3 tibioperoneal, 1 of 1 brachial artery). The Rotablator significantly (p less than 0.001) reduced the arterial obstruction (stenoses: 85 +/- 11% to 12 +/- 12%); occlusions: 100% to 25 +/- 10%). The effective final burr size for arteries varied at 3.5-4.5 mm for renal, 3.0-3.5 mm for femoral, and 2.0-3.0 mm for brachial and tibial. Complications included gross hemoglobinuria without sequelae in 27 patients (63%), groin hematoma in 10 (23%), arterial spasm in 10 (23%), and arterial bypass in 2 (5%). The Rotablator was successfully used, without concomitant conventional balloon angioplasty, to open arterial lesions with excellent angiographic results in both diffuse and segmental peripheral vascular disease. There was gratifying patient clinical improvement.
Rhodococcus equi in fecal and environmental samples from Kansas horse farms.

Abstract Horse farms in Kansas were surveyed for the incidence of Rhodococcus equi . Fecal specimens and soil or cobweb samples were collected from each farm and cultured on selective media. One control farm (with no history of R. equi infection), one farm which had an outbreak 3 and 4 years previously and 2 farms which had R. equi -infected foals that season were surveyed. In addition, fecal samples from 21 horses hospitalized in the Kansas State University Veterinary Hospital were cultured. There was no significant difference in the incidence of R. equi in fecal samples from the 2 farms with recent disease problems. The farm with a history of disease had a significantly higher percentage of positive fecal cultures than the 2 farms with a more recent history of disease. Neither ration composition nor sex of the horses appeared to affect the fecal culture results. Fecal samples from 2 birds on 1 farm were positive for R. equi .
A Fast Fourier Transform Technique Applied to Subnanosecond Laser Fusion Diagnostics

A fast Fourier transform technique is described which when applied to streak-camera data may make possible the first direct experimental determination of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the context of laser-pellet fusion. This technique has been successfully applied to computer-generated streak-camera data.
Fibrin Networks Sustain Large Extensions Due to Unfolding Proteins

Blood clots and thrombi consist primarily of a mesh of branched fibers made of the protein fibrin. We show how these networks give rise to the remarkable extensibility and elasticity of blood clots by determining structural and mechanical properties of the clot at the network, fiber, and molecular levels. The force required to stretch a clot initially rises almost linearly and is accompanied by a dramatic decrease in the clot volume. These macroscopic changes are accompanied by fiber alignment and bundling following forced protein unfolding. We develop constitutive models to integrate observations at spatial scales that span six orders of magnitude and indicate that fibrin clot extensibility and shrinkage are both manifestations of protein unfolding, which is not apparent in other matrix proteins such as collagen.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The Use of IQ as a Measure of Learning Rate with Minority Children.

The purpose zf this study was to investigate the use of IQ as a measure of learning rate with children of similar ethnic origin but different socioeconomic backgrounds. The theoretical basis for this experiment was Jensen and Rohwer's distinction between developmental rate and learning rate. Specifically, a dimensionabstracted oddity task was Presented to 180 Mexican-American children with different IQs from lower and middle socioeconomic backgrounds. They were matched on MA. The results support the Jensen and Rohwer hypothesis as IQ was found to determine the rate of learning the task. Also, middle -SE'S children learned the task faster than their low-SES peers.
Validation of Results from Knowledge Discovery: Mass Density as a Predictor of Breast Cancer

The purpose of our study is to identify and quantify the association between high breast mass density and breast malignancy using inductive logic programming (ILP) and conditional probabilities, and validate this association in an independent dataset. We ran our ILP algorithm on 62,219 mammographic abnormalities. We set the Aleph ILP system to generate 10,000 rules per malignant finding with a recall >5% and precision >25%. Aleph reported the best rule for each malignant finding. A total of 80 unique rules were learned. A radiologist reviewed all rules and identified potentially interesting rules. High breast mass density appeared in 24% of the learned rules. We confirmed each interesting rule by calculating the probability of malignancy given each mammographic descriptor. High mass density was the fifth highest ranked predictor. To validate the association between mass density and malignancy in an independent dataset, we collected data from 180 consecutive breast biopsies performed between 2005 and 2007. We created a logistic model with benign or malignant outcome as the dependent variable while controlling for potentially confounding factors. We calculated odds ratios based on dichomotized variables. In our logistic regression model, the independent predictors high breast mass density (OR 6.6, CI 2.5–17.6), irregular mass shape (OR 10.0, CI 3.4–29.5), spiculated mass margin (OR 20.4, CI 1.9–222.8), and subject age (β = 0.09, p < 0.0001) significantly predicted malignancy. Both ILP and conditional probabilities show that high breast mass density is an important adjunct predictor of malignancy, and this association is confirmed in an independent data set of prospectively collected mammographic findings.
Cloud variations and the Earth's energy budget

[1] The question of whether clouds are the cause of surface temperature changes, rather than acting as a feedback in response to those temperature changes, is explored using data obtained between 2000 and 2010. An energy budget calculation shows that the radiative impact of clouds accounts for little of the observed climate variations. It is also shown that observations of the lagged response of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) energy fluxes to surface temperature variations are not evidence that clouds are causing climate change.
Toward consistent definitions for preload and afterload

Significant differences exist among textbook definitions for the terms preload and afterload, leading to confusion and frustration among students and faculty alike. Many faculty also chose to use i...
Nanosecond, high-intensity pulsed electric fields induce apoptosis in human cells

Electroporation by using pulsed electric fields with long durations compared with the charging time of the plasma membrane can induce cell fusion or introduce xenomolecules into cells. Nanosecond pulse power technology generates pulses with high-intensity electric fields, but with such short durations that the charging time of the plasma membrane is not reached, but intracellular membranes are affected. To determine more specifically their effects on cell structure and function, human cells were exposed to high intensity (up to 300 kV/cm) nanosecond (10-300 ns) pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) and were analyzed at the cellular and molecular levels. As the pulse duration decreased, plasma membrane electroporation decreased and appearances of apoptosis markers were delayed. NsPEF induced apoptosis within tens of minutes, depending on the pulse duration. Annexin-V binding, caspase activation, decreased forward light scatter, and cytochrome c release into the cytoplasm were coincident. Apoptosis was caspase- and mitochondria-dependent but independent of plasma membrane electroporation and thermal changes. The results suggest that with decreasing pulse durations, nsPEF modulate cell signaling from the plasma membrane to intracellular structures and functions. NsPEF technology provides a unique, high-power, energy-independent tool to recruit plasma membrane and/or intracellular signaling mechanisms that can delete aberrant cells by apoptosis.
Rehabilitation of Degraded Areas of Central Amazonia Using Direct Sowing of Forest Tree Seeds

Deforestation in the Amazon Basin is still increasing, and the rehabilitation of these lands continues to be a challenge. Autoecological studies of most Amazonian species are rare, and efficient techniques for restoration of forested habitats have yet to be developed. The aim of this study was to test direct sowing as a rehabilitation technique for sites with different degrees of disturbance: bare soil, pasture, and secondary and mature forests in Central Amazonia, Brazil. At each site, we sowed seeds of 11 native tree species. Throughout the following year we evaluated germination and seedling survival. The germination differed according to the study site and species. Seedling survival in degraded sites was higher than in other areas. After 1 year in the bare soil site, 33% of the sown seeds of eight species developed seedlings; in the pasture the establishment was 23%, in secondary forest 15%, and in mature forest 12% of only four species. The only widespread survivor with more than 45% emergence in all perturbed sites was Caryocar villosum. No pioneer seedlings remained after 1 year. There was a positive correlation between seed size and survival. Large-seeded non-pioneer species seem to be more suitable for direct sowing than small-seeded species. We recommend a combination of direct sowing and planting of seedlings as an appropriate means to accelerate the rehabilitation of degraded areas in Central Amazonia.
Taphonomy and preservation of burrowing thalassinidean shrimps

Thalassinidean shrimp constitute six or seven families of highly specialized burrowing decapod crustaceans. Adaptations to a deep infaunal mode of life, exemplified by the ghost shrimps Callichirus and Callianassa, include an elongate subcylindrical body differentially sclerotized and divided into units functional for life in tubular burrows (i.e., burrowing, locomotion, flexion, pumping, and sealing). Death or molting within burrows may lead to positive biases of preservation of the more heavily sclerotized parts consisting of burrow buttons preserving chelipeds, anterior cephalothoracic regions, posterior abdomen, and walking legs. Thalassinidean chelipeds, particularly the fingers, are among the most common of decapod crustacean body fossils. Illustrations and examples are given to document the full range of fossil remains, including body fossils and trace fossils. An exceptional whole-body thalassinid, Axiopsis eximia, was described by Kensley and Williams (1990) from the Middle Eocene of South Carolina. The specimen is a silicified body fossil preserving virtually the entire animal except distal appendages. This specimen remains the only described silicified thalassinid. This paper is presented as a tribute to Brian Kensley and as closure for the Bishop-Williams collaborations spanning 25 years.
Acute Monocytic Leukemia (French-American-British classification M5) Does Not Have a Worse Prognosis Than Other Subtypes of Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Report From the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

Purpose Acute monocytic leukemia is a distinct subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with characteristic biologic and clinical features. This study was designed to compare the outcome of patients with M5 to that of other subtypes of AML, and to identify differences in M5a and M5b. Patients and Methods We reviewed all patients with AML M5 entered in three clinical trials for newly diagnosed AML conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group between 1989 and 1998. Eighty-one patients, 21 with M5a and 60 with M5b, were identified. Results The complete remission rate was 62% for all patients with M5; 52% for patients with M5a and 65% for patients with M5b (P = .3), and 60% for the 1,122 patients with non-M5 AML entered on the same clinical trials (P = .8 for M5 v non-M5). The 3-year disease-free survival was 26% for all M5 patients; 18% for M5a and 28% for M5b (P = .31), and 33% for non-M5 patients (P = .13 for M5 v non-M5). The 3-year overall survival was 31% for all M5 patients; 33% for M5a and 30% f...
Building Bridges to Evidence-based Practice: The MacArthur Foundation Child System and Treatment Enhancement Projects (Child STEPs)

The papers in this special issue describe research undertaken by the MacArthur Foundation-funded Research Network on Youth Mental Health. The project is designed to understand the challenges of implementing evidence-based treatments in community-based mental health practices. This Introduction and the following articles describe the impetus and conceptual framework underlying one cluster of the Network’s activity—i.e., the Clinic Systems Project (CSP). The CSP studies examined the organizational and service system environments in a large national sample of community mental health and affiliated organizations that provide services to children. The main goal is to identify leverage points for, and barriers to, the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices for children.
An Internet-based platform for testing generation scheduling auctions

The paper describes the uses and architecture of a network-centered computing-rich software platform called PowerWeb. PowerWeb was designed and built as a simulation environment for experimentally testing various power exchange auction markets through tournaments. It is designed to host simulations of a competitive "day-ahead" electric energy market in the content of a restructured electric power industry. The PowerWeb environment is meant to be flexible so as to accommodate different "rules of the game". The authors describe its interactive, distributed and Web-based character.
Static analysis of medical device software using CodeSonar

Post-market investigators at the United States Food and Drug Administration may need to review medical device software to assess its integrity. They have to do this with little or no prior knowledge of the software. Historically, the only way to perform such a review has been to manually search the code for potential sources of error --- a process that is both tedious and error-prone.Static analysis tools can improve this process by providing a means for automated error detection. By using symbolic execution techniques to explore execution paths of the software, static analysis provides complete, or almost complete, coverage of the code, and helps detect potentially fatal errors that may not easily be detected through conventional testing methods. Using automated static analysis tools can help reduce the effort involved in analysis and provide a more accurate assessment of the software.In this paper, we discuss CodeSonar, a whole-program interprocedural static analysis tool for C/C++ programs, and illustrate how it was used to facilitate error detection during a post-market investigation.
Islands of fear: effects of wooded patches on habitat suitability of the striped mouse in a South African grassland

Summary 1. As a fundamental unit within a landscape, habitat patches create spatial heterogeneity. On a gradient of habitat patch size, one sees patches of denser vegetation cover occurring in otherwise open habitats (e.g. bushes in the desert, forest fragments in grasslands). 2. The resulting habitat fragmentation and consequent edge effects continue to concern conservation biologists, landscape ecologists, and wildlife managers due to their role in influencing wildlife abundance and distribution on broad geographic scales. 3. Although ecological processes near habitat edges often differ from processes away from edges, an animal’s suitable habitat may increase or decrease by ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ edge effects. Such effects can be measured using behavioural indicators and experiments based on the costs and benefits of foraging under diminishing returns. 4. We used live trapping, giving-up densities [amount of food left behind in experimental food patches – giving-up density (GUD)] and geographic information system (GIS) analyses to test for spatial and temporal habitat selection by the four-striped grass mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) inhabiting a grassland containing distinct ‘islands’ of woody vegetation (500 m 2 of average area). We investigated how these woody islands influence the quality of the grassland in terms of activity patterns, feeding opportunities, predation risk and habitat suitability. We used R. pumilio’s GUDs to explicitly map and measure habitats of varying quality using GIS. 5. Our results showed that R. pumilio perceived the wooded patches as habitats with no opportunities and yet highly risky when opportunities are provided. Furthermore, the wooded patches had a negative edge effect, their unsuitability extended for 1–3 m into the otherwise suitable habitats. 6. The combination of live-trapping and giving up densities provided an unbiased and controlled measure of a prey’s perception of habitat use and foraging costs when equal opportunities are simultaneously provided. These techniques and concepts should be broadly applicable by conservationists and ecologists interested in understanding and managing edge effects. 7. This approach aims to effectively quantify edge effects and extrapolate predation risk on a landscape scale, thereby developing recommendations for managers to improve the quality or amount of edges for wildlife.
Adhesion Mechanisms in Platelet Function

Platelet adhesion is an essential function in response to vascular injury and is generally viewed as the first step during which single platelets bind through specific membrane receptors to cellular and extracellular matrix constituents of the vessel wall and tissues. This response initiates thrombus formation that arrests hemorrhage and permits wound healing. Pathological conditions that cause vascular alterations and blood flow disturbances may turn this beneficial process into a disease mechanism that results in arterial occlusion, most frequently in atherosclerotic vessels of the heart and brain. Besides their relevant role in hemostasis and thrombosis, platelet adhesive properties are central to a variety of pathophysiological processes that extend from inflammation to immune-mediated host defense and pathogenic mechanisms as well as cancer metastasis. All of these activities depend on the ability of platelets to circulate in blood as sentinels of vascular integrity, adhere where alterations are detected, and signal the abnormality to other platelets and blood cells. In this respect, therefore, platelet adhesion to vascular wall structures, to one another (aggregation), or to other blood cells, represent different aspects of the same fundamental biological process. Detailed studies by many investigators over the past several years have been aimed to dissect the complexity of these functions, and the results obtained now permit an attempt to integrate all the available information into a picture that highlights the balanced diversity and synergy of distinct platelet adhesive interactions.
Atresia of the external acoustic meatus in prehistoric populations

A case of atresia of the external acoustic meatus is presented from a prehistoric Late Woodland site in Iowa. The affected individual was a female aged 30 to 40 years. The left temporal bone displayed a thin bony plate occluding the external acoustic canal. No evidence of middle ear or inner ear malformation was observed on the axial tomographs, although the external canal was shortened. The individual is diagnosed as having a mild case of congenital atresia. The report extends the geographical and temporal distributions of this archaeologically rare condition.
The logic of university students' misunderstanding of natural selection

Misunderstanding of the idea of evolution (natural selection) was assumed to occur because students were basing their explanations on the following mistaken assumptions: (1) variations in a population have little importance in its change process; (2) when nature changes, it is not at random. From these assumptions, hypotheses were developed and tested by analyzing the responses of 322 university sophomores (education majors) on an evolution problem “How could the bat have evolved wings?”. A classification system that was developed required judgments on whether a population or typological focus was used, whether the change process was open or closed to environmental information and how the selection process functioned. The contention that misunderstanding is logical was supported by acceptance of the following hypotheses: (1) students adopting a population focus also used a closed-change process; (2) students seeing change as more directed used less functional selection processes, with one exception; (3) students using acquired traits did not use a functional idea of selection.
Culturally Competent Family Interventions: Review and Case Illustrations

Family therapy is often the treatment of choice for culturally diverse clients. This article provides a critical review of culturally competent assessment and intervention strategies for use with ethnic minority families in the U.S. A culturally informed view of the definition of family health and dysfunction is presented, basic structure and goals of family therapy are delineated, and family therapy process and techniques are addressed. Clinical vignettes are provided to illustrate critical points.
Fluorinations with sulfur tetrafluoride and HF. 1. A reactor design for safe, routine handling of SF4 and HF

Abstract A reactor has been designed and built to handle anhydrous HF and SF 4 safely for routineuse in organic synthesis. The system described is completely contained and remotelyoperated so as to minimize any possible exposure to these dangerous materials. Furthermore,it features controls that allow the experimentalist to accurately add HF andSF 4 , monitor the reaction progress and sample ff necessary, as well as allowing flexibilityin the work-up of the reaction.
Labor Market Dynamics During a Period of Structural Change: California inEarly 1990s

This paper contributes to the literature on labor market dynamics in four ways. First, unlike most of the existing literature, it uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This panel survey, with a 32-month window of observation, allows a more precise measure of employment flows than other data sources. It was found that one out of three workers experiences a job transition during the observation period. Second, it focuses on the state of California during an economic cycle. According to these estimates, the net decline in employment represents just 2.6 percent of all job rotations (separations offset by accessions), and gross job flows were as important during the downturn as they were during the economic expansion. Third, it estimates gross flows by sector, and finds significant variation in gross flows relative to employment across sectors of economic activity. Fourth, it examines the coexistence of cyclical and structural changes of California in the early 1990s. The results suggest a labor market link between structural changes and economic cycles.
Higher Cognitive Abilities (Toward a Physical Theory of the Mind)

Higher cognitive abilities of the mind are described mathematically. Few "first principles" are elucidated, including the knowledge instinct, an inborn drive to increase the knowledge. It leads to understanding of higher cognitive abilities of the mind, including conceptual thinking, emotional evaluation, consciousness and unconscious, intuition, imagination, experiences of beautiful and sublime. The mathematical descriptions correspond to intuition, psychological and neural data, philosophical analyses. We discuss theoretical predictions and testing of the theory.
VARIABLE COST FRONTIERS AND EFFICIENCY: AN INVESTIGATION OF LABOR COSTS IN HOSPITALS

Health economists recognize that the rising cost of hospital services is due, at least in part, to features of the industry which create costly resource misallocation that decreases productivity. Organizational structure, lack of competition in the market for health care in some areas, imperfections in factor markets, and government regulation have all been hypothesized to effect the cost minimizing performance of hospitals. A growing body of empirical research which seeks to investigate cost inefficiencies in the health care industry and these predications of the effect of industry structure on performance has resulted. Most of this work has followed one modeling approach: (1) measuring either total cost or technical efficiency with aggregate measures of non- physician labor (2) without examining the technical and allocative components of cost inefficiency (3) and using statistical techniques to estimate a parametric cost or production frontier. In this study additional empirical evidence on inefficiency of hospitals is provided using a different modeling approach.
Stem cell therapy for myocardial repair: is it arrhythmogenic?

Transplantation of both skeletal myoblasts and stem cells into the region of infarcted myocardium results in improved myocardial function in both the murine and porcine infarct models. Intravenous injection of stem cells and bone marrow stimulating cytokines also improves cardiac function [(1–4)][
Theory of mind impairment in patients with behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD) increases caregiver burden

Background: Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. Setting: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. Subjects: bv-FTDp (n = 28), a subgroup of their caregivers (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 32). Methods: we applied a faux-pas (FP) task as a ToM measure in bv-FTDp and healthy controls and the Zarit Burden Interview as a measure of burden in patients' caregivers. Patients underwent structural MRI; we used voxel-based morphometry to examine relationships between regional atrophy and ToM impairment and caregiver burden. Results: FP task performance was impaired in bv-FTDp and negatively associated with caregiver burden. Atrophy was found in areas involved in ToM. Caregiver burden increased with greater atrophy in left lateral premotor cortex, a region associated in animal models with the presence of mirror neurons, possibly involved in empathy. Conclusion: ToM impairment in bv-FTDp is associated with increased caregiver burden.
Adverse events after surgery for nonmalignant colon polyps are common and associated with increased length of stay and costs.

Background and Aims Endoscopic resection (ER) is a safe and effective treatment for nonmalignant complex colorectal polyps (complex polyps). Surgical resection (SR) remains prevalent despite limited outcomes data. We aimed to evaluate SR outcomes for complex polyps and compare SR outcomes to those of ER. Methods We performed a single-center, retrospective, cohort study of all patients undergoing SR (2003-2013) and ER (2011-2013) for complex polyps. We excluded patients with invasive carcinoma from the SR cohort. Primary outcomes were 12-month adverse event (AE) rate, length of stay (LOS), and costs. SR outcomes over a 3-year period (2011-2013) were compared with the overlapping ER cohort. Results Over the 11-year period, 359 patients (mean [± SD] age 64 ± 11 years) underwent SR (58% laparoscopic) for complex polyps. In total, 17% experienced an AE, and 3% required additional surgery; 12-month mortality was 1%. Including readmissions, median LOS was 5 days (IQR 4-7 days), and costs were $14,528. When an AE occurred, costs ($25,557 vs $14,029; P P P = .09). ER costs (including rescue SR, when required) were lower than those of primary SR ($2152 vs $15,264; P Conclusions AEs occur in approximately one-sixth of patients after SR for complex polyps. ER—accounting for rescue SR caused by malignancy, AEs, or incomplete resection—is associated with markedly lower costs than SR. These data should be used when counseling patients about treatment options for complex polyps.
Military R&D and the civilian economy

Although the economic effects of large military R&D programs have been mixed, there is evidence that they have stymied U.S. productivity growth and contributed to the decline of U.S. performance in world commercial markets.
Localization of seminal plasma transforming growth factor-β1 on human spermatozoa: an immunocytochemical study

Objective To localize immunocytochemically transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF- β 1 ) in human spermatozoa. Design Incubation of spermatozoa with anti-TGF- β 1 antiserum at various pH. Setting Human volunteers in an academic research institute. Patients Young healthy fertile men. Interventions Semen specimens were collected. Results At neutral pH and at physiological pH of seminal plasma, TGF- β 1 immunostaining was detected predominantly at the postacrosomal region of the head, at the neck, and at the middle piece of the tail. Transforming growth factor- β 1 also was found occasionally at the axial filament complex of the connecting piece and the ring. The acrosomal cap section of the head, the principal piece, or the end piece of the tail were immunocytochemically negative for TGF- β 1 . The TGF- β 1 immunostaining pattern at acidic pH was similar to that at neutral pH and at physiological pH of seminal plasma, but a greater intensity of immunostaining was found at acidic pH than that at neutral pH. Conclusion These results suggest that an in vivo activation of seminal plasma latent TGF- β 1 may take place in the acidic environment of vagina, which results in a greater amount of activated TGF- β 1 and, in turn, with an enhanced "coating" of TGF- β 1 to spermatozoa.
A Scalable, Non-Parametric Method for Detecting Performance Anomaly in Large Scale Computing

As computer systems continue to grow in scale and complexity, performance problems become common and a major concern for large-scale computing. Performance anomalies caused by application bugs, hardware or software faults, or resource contention can have great impact on system-wide performance and could lead to significant economic losses for service providers. While many detection methods have been presented in the past, the newly emerging challenges are detection scalability and practical use. In this paper, we propose a scalable, non-parametric method for effectively detecting performance anomalies in large-scale systems. The design is generic for anomaly detection in a variety of parallel and distributed systems exhibiting peer-comparable property. It adopts a divide-and-conquer approach to address the scalability challenge and explores the use of non-parametric clustering and two-phase majority voting to improve detection flexibility and accuracy. We derive probabilistic models to quantitatively evaluate our decentralized design. Experiments with a suite of applications on production systems demonstrate that this method outperforms existing methods in terms of detection accuracy with a negligible runtime overhead.
Ensemble View of RNAs and Proteins: Loops, Knots, Territories, and Evolution

Thereisanoldjokeaboutalazydoctorwho, instead of looking at each patientindividually, requested informationabout average body temperature of allpatients in the hospital. The joke pre-tends to be funny because an ensembleview of patients is absurd. But in someother cases, including in the life sci-ences, an ensemble view is not onlynot absurd, but the right instrument,and Liu and Hyeon (1) in this issueof the Biophysical Journal offer anice example: not only do they lookat ensembles, they compare twodifferent ones—ensemble of proteinsand ensemble of RNAs. Their ﬁndingsare remarkably thought-provoking.Their main technical tool is thestudyofcontactprobability—theprob-ability that two monomers of a speciﬁcpolymer chain, separated by a contourdistance of s monomers, are found incontact in three dimensions (Fig. 1).In polymer physics, a similarlydeﬁned quantity P(s) is widely usedto distinguish between differentphases of a polymer chain. In partic-ular, for various fractal conformations,P(s)decaysas apower lawPðsÞ s
Enterovirus 71 CNS Infection and ADHD

ADHD symptoms as long-term sequelae of virus-confirmed enterovirus 71 infection were evaluated in 86 children, aged 4 to 16 years, followed at National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, and Chang Gung Children’s Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Creating a water-saver self-identity reduces water use in residence halls

Water scarcity is a pressing social problem. Attempts to increase conservation that focus on education or attitudes produce limited success. Installing efficient appliances reduces water use, but can be costly. Drawing from research that links identity to pro-social behavior, we reduce water use by creating a conservation self-identity using an existing collective identity. Students in apartment-style residence halls (n = 303) experienced a “water saver” identity-building campaign, received retrofitted fixtures that limited water use, received both, or received neither intervention. Appliance retrofits reduced actual water consumption. By itself, the identity-building campaign also reduced actual water use, but only for those who successfully internalized a water-saver self-identity. In isolation, the identity-building campaign produced as much actual water conservation as installing retrofits. Interestingly, combining retrofits and the identity-building campaign cancelled out conservation efforts, producing no change in water use. Thus, residents may exhibit reactance when interventions simultaneously target structural and personal factors.
Euclid and Normal Forms

Romans used letters to denote natural numbers. Language of modern computers utilizes binary representation. Here we describe different ways to represent natural numbers, ending the chapter with an important theorem about prime numbers, already known to Euclid (300 BC).
¿Quedan indios en Colombia? El movimiento indigenista de 1940 a 1950

Un grupo de intelectuales colombianos, influenciados por las ideas de Manuel Gamio sobre la integracion y asimilacion a la sociedad de los pueblos amerindios y las discusiones del Primer Congreso Interamericano en Patzcuaro, Mexico, 1940, decidieron seguir los pasos del Instituto Indigenista Interamericano y crear el Instituto Indigenista de Colombia en 1942. Aunque eran diferentes los contextos de Mexico y Colombia durante este tiempo, los intelectuales colombianos intentaron aplicar las ideas indigenistas mexicanas en el pais sin mucho exito, porque las elites gobernantes estaban divididas sobre el tema de los grupos indigenas en la nacion. Mi trabajo argumenta que el fracaso del Instituto colombiano se debio a una combinacion de violencia, escasos recursos y la falta de conciencia de los politicos y las elites blancas sobre el problema indio en el pais. Como resultado, el Instituto cerro temporalmente hasta 1958. Este texto subraya las influencias del movimiento indigenista mexicano en los proyectos indigenistas colombianos entre 1940 y 1950. Basada en periodicos y revistas colombianas, las cartas de los indigenistas colombianos encontradas en la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogota, y documentos encontrados en la Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection de la Universidad de Texas en Austin, discuto por que el indigenismo colombiano de la decada 1940-1950 no prospero.