cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of face-to-face consultation in emergency radiology

To assess the impact of face-to-face exchange of clinical information between the radiologist and the emergency physician, a study was made of all plain films and computed tomograms (CTs) ordered in the Ohio State University Emergency Department between 11 am and 11 pm over a 4-week period. For each case, interpretations at three different times were recorded: (1) initial interpretation upon reception of the images, (2) interpretation after face-to-face discussion of clinical information with the emergency resident or attending physician, and (3) final interpretation after conferring with the attending radiologist. If any of the three interpretations differed in a given case, the case was flagged for review by a third attending radiologist to determine the clinical significance of the discrepancy. Cases which deviated from the standard model as described were excluded from the study. In total, 519 cases were ordered during the study period. Of which 231 (44.5 %) occurred in the standard order as described in the Methods section. Of these 231 cases, changes in diagnosis were observed in 31 (13 %) cases. In 12 (5.2 %) cases, the changes were judged to be clinically significant. In 19 (6 %) cases, the changes were judged to be clinically insignificant. The remaining 288 (55.5 %) cases diverged from the standard model described in our Methods section and were not included in our study. Of these, 93/519 (18 %) cases had only one interpretation because the resident radiologist, the emergency physician (resident and/or attending), and the attending radiologist were present for a single, simultaneous discussion. 77 (15 %) cases, there were only two interpretations because the initial interpretation occurred in the presence of both the resident radiologist and the emergency physician. In 69 (13 %) cases, there were two interpretations because the initial interpretation occurred in the presence of both the resident radiologist and the emergency physician. In 49 (9 %) cases, no face-to-face exchange between the resident radiologist and the emergency physician was recorded. Our data suggest that teleradiology's lack of face-to-face communication between the radiologist and the emergency physician may have an impact on the radiologic diagnosis, but only infrequently. Information contained in the images and the limited clinical history on the consult sheet appear to be sufficient for most purposes of radiologic interpretation.
Functional MRI of migraine

Migraine is a disabling neurological condition manifesting with attacks of headache, hypersensitivities to visual, auditory, olfactory and somatosensory stimuli, nausea, and vomiting. Exposure to sensory stimuli, such as odours, visual stimuli, and sounds, commonly triggers migraine attacks, and hypersensitivities to sensory stimuli are prominent during migraine attacks, but can persist with less magnitude between attacks. Functional MRI (fMRI) has been used to investigate the mechanisms that lead to migraine sensory hypersensitivities by measuring brain responses to visual, olfactory, and painful cutaneous stimulation, and functional connectivity analyses have investigated the functional organisation of specific brain regions and networks responsible for sensory processing. These studies have consistently shown atypical brain responses to sensory stimuli, absence of the normal habituating response between attacks, and atypical functional connectivity of sensory processing regions. Identification of the mechanisms that lead to migraine sensory hypersensitivities and that trigger migraine attacks in response to sensory stimuli might help to better understand neural dysfunction in migraine and provide new targets for migraine prevention, and could provide fMRI biomarkers that indicate early responses to preventive therapy.
Long-distance commuting and population change in Georgia, 1960-80.

The authors investigate counter-urbanization and population change in Georgia between 1960 and 1980 by examining commuting patterns. "The immediate objective is to construct the entire set of commuting fields of both large metropolitan areas to metropolitan and nonmetropolitan employment centers. We then proceed to the relationship between commuting from nonmetropolitan areas to all levels of Georgias urban hierarchy and population change in these nonmetropolitan settings. By matching population growth and decline areas with explicit employment ties...the nature of the population changes is much better understood." Data from the 1960 1970 and 1980 censuses for 581 Census County Divisions (CCDs) in Georgia are analyzed. It is concluded that "most nonmetropolitan growth taking place in Georgia is associated with intensification of metropolitan commuting fields along with growth of nonmetropolitan centers and their influence along the very periphery of metropolitan spheres of employment influence. However a significant share of Georgias nonmetropolitan population revitalization is explained by growth independent of direct metropolitan influence. It would appear then that nonmetropolitan growth centers are an important part of the basis for population decentralization in Georgia. Metropolitan spill-over alone cannot account for counterurbanization on this portion of the American economic landscape." (EXCERPT)
From Casta to Californio: Social Identity and the Archaeology of Culture Contact

In culture contact archaeology, studies of social identities generally focus on the colonized–colonizer dichotomy as the fundamental axis of identification. This emphasis can, however, mask social diversity within colonial or indigenous populations, and it also fails to account for the ways that the division between colonizer and colonized is constructed through the practices of colonization. Through the archaeology of material culture, foodways, and architecture, I examine changing ethnic, racial, and gendered identities among colonists at El Presidio de San Francisco, a Spanish-colonial military settlement. Archaeological data suggest that military settlers were engaged in a double material strategy to consolidate a shared colonial identity, one that minimized differences among colonists and simultaneously heightened distinctions between colonists and local indigenous peoples.
Confidence, knowledge, and skills at the beginning of residency: a survey of pathology residents

Objectives: To document the pathology learning experiences of pathology residents prior to residency and to determine how confident they were in their knowledge and technical skills. Methods: An online survey was distributed to all pathology residency program directors in the United States, who were requested to forward the survey link to their residents. Data were obtained on pathology electives, grossing experience, and frozen section experience. Likert scale questions assessed confidence level in knowledge and skills. Results: In total, 201 pathology residents responded (8% of residents in the United States). Prior to starting residency, most respondents had exposure to anatomic pathology through elective rotations. Few respondents had work-related experience. Most did not feel confident in their pathology-related knowledge or skills, and many did not understand what pathology resident duties entail. Conclusions: Respondents gained exposure to pathology primarily through elective rotations, and most felt the elective experience prepared them for pathology residency. However, elective time may be enhanced by providing opportunities for students to increase hands-on experience and understanding of resident duties.
Radical changes to chlamydial taxonomy are not necessary just yet

We, the undersigned, strongly object to the proposed reclassification of the order Chlamydiales (Everett et al., 1999). It should not be accepted at this stage. That Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia trachomatis each comprised a heterogeneous group of organisms lumped into two species was recognized when those species were first designated. However, these organisms were placed into a single genus based on DNA homology, and a set of convenient, relatively easily assayed biological properties. The need for further speciation in the future was recognized, but workers in the field delayed reclassification waiting for identification of taxonomically significant biological properties. This was the basis for classifying Chlamydia pneumoniae as a separate species. One of our major concerns is that this new classification scheme, based almost exclusively on minor sequence dierences in 16S and 23S rRNA genes, has no new biological markers for genus or species dierentiation. Some of the new species include too few isolates to be confident that these small dierences will be maintained as more isolates are evaluated. There is increasing agreement among microbial taxonomists that while 16S rRNA is useful for evolutionary studies, it is not always the best choice for speciation. Genus-specific genes would be better.
Iraq's role in the 1973 Arab‐Israeli War

The events of the 1973 Arab‐Israeli War serve as an early indicator of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's willingness to use military power to address foreign policy concerns. In that war, Iraq intervened on the Syrian front with an armored division, other supporting units, and over 100 aircraft. This intervention, which occurred despite severe political and military difficulties, was larger than any previous Iraqi contribution to the anti‐Israeli struggle. Baghdad later asserted that Iraqi forces had saved Damascus from possible Israeli occupation, and these claims have been widely repeated by a variety of authors of different nationalities with various degrees of agreement or skepticism. Nevertheless, Iraqi claims to have saved Damascus from Israeli capture are false since the Israelis did not view the seizure of the city as important to their strategy for victory. Rather, the Iraqi presence on the Golan Heights was useful to the Arab war effort as one of many factors helping to delay the Israeli advance and...
Spectrum Pricing Games with Spatial Reuse in Cognitive Radio Networks

In Cognitive Radio Networks (CRN), there are multiple primary and secondary users in a region, and primaries can lease out their unused bandwidth to secondaries in exchange for a fee. This gives rise to price competition among the primaries, wherein each primary tries to attract secondaries by setting a lower price for its bandwidth than the other primaries. Radio spectrum has the distinctive feature that transmissions at neighboring locations on the same channel interfere with each other, whereas the same channel can be used at far-off locations without mutual interference. So in the above price competition scenario in a CRN, each primary must jointly select a set of mutually non-interfering locations within the region (which corresponds to an independent set in the conflict graph representing the region) at which to offer bandwidth and the price at each location. In this paper, we analyze this price competition scenario as a game and seek a Nash Equilibrium (NE). We identify a class of conflict graphs, which we refer to as mean valid graphs, such that the conflict graphs of a large number of topologies that commonly arise in practice are mean valid. We explicitly compute a symmetric NE in mean valid graphs and show that it is unique.
An alternate formulation of blood vessel mechanics and the meaning of the in vivo property

In an effort to bridge the gap between theoretically based vascular mechanics and simpler, clinically relevant compliance models, an alternative complementary energy formulation as well as an improved experimental method are proposed. This formulation generalizes the uniaxial compliance models to multiaxial stretch and twist and clarifies the role of the total in vivo force (measured in biaxial vascular testing) in vessel stability. The measurement of wall thickness when incompressibility is assumed, and the assumption of the existence of an unloaded state are unnecessary. Scattered results from both clinical and mechanical literature are reinterpreted in view of this new understanding of vascular mechanics. Canine saphenous veins (4-5 mm in diameter) conform to the behavior expected from the analysis. Their in vivo property is shown to be a passive property, independent of smooth muscle tone. Redundant particle tracking, control of force and pressure values and the use of papaverine, result, respectively, in strain measurements accurate to within 0.002, experimental control accurate to 0.5% of full range, and repeatable experiments over a few days. The validated system and the new formulation show great potential for exploiting the benefits of innovative experimental design and statistically reliable data analysis.
A new architecture for direct drive robots

A practical architecture, using a four-bar-linkage, is considered for the University of Minnesota direct-drive robot. This statically-balanced direct-drive robot has been constructed for stability analysis of the robot in constrained manipulation. As a result of the elimination of the gravity forces (without any counterweights), smaller actuators and consequently smaller amplifiers were chosen. The motors yield acceleration of 5g at the end point without overheating. High torque, low speed, brushless AC synchronous motors are used to power the robot. Graphite epoxy composite material is used for the construction of the robot links. A four-node parallel processor is used to control the robot. The dynamic tracking accuracy with the computed torque method as a control law has been derived experimentally. >
Effect of Physician Participation in a Multi-element Health Information and Data Exchange Program on Chronic Illness Medication Adherence.

Background: The Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) includes a network of more than 10,000 physicians across New York City focusing on improving the quality of patient care through the use of health information technology and data exchange. Methods: We assessed adherence, defined as the percentage with a medication possession ratio (MPR) >80%, across 2 time periods for union members whose primary care providers participated in the PCIP compared with those whose providers did not participate. Using prescription claims data from 2008 and 2011, the MPR was calculated for disease-specific categories of drugs among patients with diabetes, hypertension, and both conditions. Results: Greater improvements in the number of adherent members were observed for the PCIP patients with diabetes who were taking diabetes-specific medications (odds ratio [OR], 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08‐3.83 for PCIP, versus OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.81‐1.60 for non-PCIP) and patients with diabetes who are taking lipid-controlling medications (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.73‐3.65 for PCIP versus OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.55‐1.32 for non-PCIP). However, the magnitude and significance of these associations were diminished when practices providing reduced prescription co-pays were excluded from the analyses. Conclusion: Access to primary care providers participating in a public health initiative was associated with some improvement in medication adherence. However, reducing prescription co-pays may be a stronger factor for higher medication adherence among union members. (J Am Board Fam Med 2015; 28:742‐749.)
Conspiracy and information flow in the Take-Grant protection model

The Take Grant Protection Model is a theoretic model of access control that captures the notion of information flow throughout the modelled system. This paper analyzes the problem of sharing information in the context of paths along which information can flow, and presents the number of actors necessary and sufficient to share information, in this model. The results are applied to information flow in a network to reduce the size of the set of actors who could have participated in the theft.
AM-FM image filters

We introduce a multicomponent invertible AM-FM image transform and use it to define new nonlinear AM-FM filters for performing modulation domain image processing. The key elements of the transform are analysis and synthesis filterbanks based on the steerable image pyramid and perfect reconstruction demodulation algorithms based on analytic differentiation of continuous cubic tensor spline models fit to the unwrapped phase samples of a digital image. We demonstrate spatially and spectrally localized orientation and frequency selective filtering, simple image restoration, and image fusion in the modulation domain. These results are also among the first to demonstrate high fidelity image reconstructions from computed multicomponent AM-FM models.
An approach to verification and validation of a reliable multicasting protocol

This paper describes the process of implementing a complex communications protocol that provides reliable delivery of data in multicast-capable, packet-switching telecommunication networks. The protocol, called the Reliable Multicasting Protocol (RMP), was developed incrementally using a combination of formal and informal techniques in an attempt to ensure the correctness of its implementation. Our development process involved three concurrent activities: (1) the initial construction and incremental enhancement of a formal state model of the protocol machine; (2) the initial coding and incremental enhancement of the implementation; and (3) model-based testing of iterative implementations of the protocol. These activities were carried out by two separate teams: a design team and a VV and (2) three example problems found during the development of RMP.
Height Assessments in Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Previous studies have suggested that children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are shorter than their unaffected counterparts. Unfortunately, these reports did not consider other contributing factors that might also influence short stature. The purpose of the current study was to characterize the genetic influence of NF1 on the growth of children. Height data were measured and recorded for 170 patients, whereas parental measurements were obtained for 61 patients to calculate sex-corrected mid-parental target heights. Children with NF1 had population mean height and mid-parental height z scores statistically different from the general population. Importantly, these differences were pronounced when neither parent had NF1 but were not significant when one of the parents had NF1. Moreover, height z scores for children with NF1 were also statistically different than their unaffected siblings. Collectively, these data establish a clear effect of a germline NF1 gene mutation on stature in children with NF1.
Requirements-related risks in critical systems

This talk considers some of the roles that requirements engineering plays in computer system development, with particular emphasis on systems with critical requirements such as security, reliability, safety, and survivability. The RISKS archives are littered with cases attributable to requirements problems that propagate throughout development, from which many lessons need to be learned. Various possible remedies are discussed.
Effects of Caponization on Body Weight, Atherosclerosis, and Cardiovascular Variables in Hypertensive and Hypotensive Turkey Lines

Abstract Effects of caponization and blood pressure selection on serum lipids, severity of atherosclerosis, body weight, hematocrit, and relative ventricular weight in hypertensive and hypotensive lines of turkeys were evaluated in two trials. At 8 weeks of age, half the turkeys from each line were caponized. Body weights, blood pressure, and blood samples were obtained from each treatment at 8, 20, and 30 weeks of age. A total of 56 and 72 birds were used in Trials 1 and 2, respectively. Birds were necropsied at 30 weeks of age. Hypertensive turkeys had significantly greater serum cholesterol and total lipid than hypotensive turkeys only at 30 weeks of age in Trial 1. Lower relative ventricular weights were observed in hypotensive turkeys within both trials. Hypertensive birds exhibited a more severe degree of atherosclerosis and higher relative heart weight than hypotensive turkeys. Caponization significantly increased total serum lipid only at 20 weeks of age in Trial 2. Average body weight of caponized turkeys was significantly lower (1.2) than the control turkeys at 30 weeks of age. Caponized turkeys exhibited lower relative ventricular weight in Trial 1 but not Trial 2 and an increase in blood pressure only in Trial 2. Caponization suppressed body weight, decreased hematocrit values, and had no significant effect upon plaque severity. The presence or absence of male sex hormones had virtually no effect on proposed atherogenic stimuli thereby suggesting another mechanism by which the female is afforded a higher degree of protection.
An experimental investigation of the steady separated flow past a circular cylinder

The steady separated flow past a circular cylinder was investigated experimentally. By artificially stabilizing the steady wake, this system was studied up to Reynolds numbers R considerably larger than any previously attained, thus providing a much clearer insight into the asymptotic character of such flows at high Reynolds numbers. Some of the experimental results were unexpected. It was found that the pressure coefficient at the rear of the cylinder remained unchanged for 25 [les ] R [les ] 177, that the circulation velocity within the wake approached a non-zero limit as the Reynolds number increased, and that the wake length increased in direct proportion to the Reynolds number.
A Transnational Gaze

In the decade since this journal was founded, major demographic shifts caused shifts in migration studies. Against this backdrop, the questions migration schol ­ ars ask and the analytical and methodological tools we use to answer them have changed dramatically. In this essay, I take an idiosyncratic look at these develop­ ments and propose directions for the future. I focus on the analytical rewards of using a transnational perspective to study migration, on the importance of con­ sidering space and scale in our work, and on bringing culture more centrally back into our conversations. I highlight opportunities at interdisciplinary intersections
Integrated in-system storage architecture for high performance computing

In-system solid state storage is expected to be an important component of the I/O subsystem on the first exascale platforms, as it has the potential to reduce DRAM requirements, to increase system reliability, and to smooth I/O loads.This paper describes the design of a prototype, integrated in-system storage architecture that we are developing to serve the diverse needs of high performance computing. Our container abstraction will provide lightweight management of in-system storage devices, as well as methods to access containers remotely and to transfer them within the storage hierarchy. We are also working on a storage hierarchy abstraction API to provide portable HPC I/O software with the critical information on the configuration of the system on which it is running. As currently available large-scale HPC systems lack in-system storage, we are developing a solid state storage simulator backed by DRAM. We are integrating these efforts around an I/O-intensive workload provided by the scalable checkpoint/restart (SCR) library. We expect our efforts to reduce the overheads of checkpointing and data movement across the system and thus to improve the scalability and reliability of HPC applications.
On-body Packet Routing Algorithms for Body Sensor Networks

This paper presents a location based store-and-forward packet routing algorithm for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) with frequent postural partitioning. A prototype WBAN has been constructed for experimentally characterizing on-body topology disconnections in the presence of ultra short range radio links, unpredictable RF attenuation, and human postural mobility. A location based packet routing protocol is then developed. The performance of the proposed protocol is evaluated experimentally, and is compared with a generic probabilistic routing protocol and a specialized on-body packet flooding mechanism that provides the routing delay lower-bounds. It is shown that via successfully leveraging the node location information, the proposed algorithm can provide better routing delay performance compared to existing probabilistic routing protocols in the literature.
A hybrid agent-based and differential equations model for simulating antibiotic resistance in a hospital ward

Serious infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria are pervasive, and of particular concern within hospital units due to frequent interaction among health-care workers and patients. Such nosocomial infections are difficult to eliminate because of inconsistent disinfection procedures and frequent interactions among infected persons, and because ill-chosen antibiotic treatment strategies can lead to a growth of resistant bacterial strains. Clinical studies to address these concerns have several issues, but chief among them are the effects on the patients involved. Realistic simulation models offer an attractive alternative. This paper presents a hybrid simulation model of antibiotic resistant infections in a hospital ward, combining agent-based simulation to model the inter-host interactions of patients and health-care workers with a detailed differential equations and probabilistic model of intra-host bacterial and antibiotic dynamics. Initial results to benchmark the model demonstrate realistic behavior and suggest promising extensions to achieve a highly-complex yet accurate mechanism for testing antibiotic strategies.
Effects of an iPad-Supported Phonics Intervention on Decoding Performance and Time On-Task

Despite their recent popularity in schools, there is minimal consensus in the educational literature regarding the use of mobile devices for reading intervention. The word box intervention (Joseph Read Teach 52:348–356, 1998) has been consistently associated with improvements in student decoding performance. This early efficacy study examined an iPad-supported approach to the word box intervention. The participants were three students from the same first grade classroom, all of whom lacked basic decoding skills and two of which were English language learners. The research question was evaluated with a multielement single-case experimental design that compared the standard materials to an equivalent iPad application. Results did not reveal a clear pattern on measures of decoding across the participants. Time on-task was high for both conditions for all three participants. Results indicated a need for future study of mobile-supported reading interventions in similar contexts.
GATA-3 Is an Important Transcription Factor for Regulating Human NKG2A Gene Expression

CD94/NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor expressed by most human NK cells and a subset of T cells that recognizes HLA-E on potential target cells. To study the transcriptional regulation of the human NKG2A gene, we cloned a 3.9-kb genomic fragment that contains a 1.65-kb region upstream of the exon 1, as well as exon 1 (untranslated), intron 1 and exon 2. Using deletion mutants, we identified a region immediately upstream from the most upstream transcriptional initiation site that led to increased transcriptional activity from a luciferase reporter construct in YT-Indy (NKG2A positive) cells relative to Jurkat and K562 (both NKG2A negative) cells. We also localized a DNase I hypersensitivity site to this region. Within this 80-bp segment, we identified two GATA binding sites. Mutation of GATA binding site II (-2302 bp) but not GATA binding site I (-2332 bp) led to decreased transcriptional activity. Pull-down assays revealed that GATA-3 could bind oligonucleotide probes containing the wild type but not a mutated GATA site II. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we showed that GATA-3 specifically binds to the NKG2A promoter in situ in NKL and primary NK cells, but not in Jurkat T cells. Moreover, coexpression of human GATA-3 with an NKG2A promoter construct in K562 cells led to enhanced promoter activity, and transfection of NKL cells with small interfering RNA specific for GATA-3 reduced NKG2A cell surface expression. Taken together, our data indicate that GATA-3 is an important transcription factor for regulating NKG2A gene expression.
Thermal transport in bent graphene nanoribbons

This work reports on a study of the phonon behavior and thermal transport in bent graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). Three peculiar phenomena are observed in bent GNRs during thermal transport. First, due to the high thermal conductivity of flexural mode (ZM) phonons in GNRs, energy separation is observed between the in-plane and out-of-plane phonon modes after a steady state heat flux is imposed on the system. Such energy separation can hold for about 50 nm from the heating region. Second, a thermal resistance is observed in the bending region of a 90° bent GNR system. This phenomenon is explained by the phonon energy scattering/reflection and the compressive strain in the bending structure. Different bending angles are investigated and it is proved that the bending resistance decreases with increasing bending angle. Finally, upon crossing the bending structure in GNRs, phonon packages preserve their vibrating mode instead of vibrating directions.
Performance evaluation of differential pi /4-QPSK systems in a Rayleigh fading/delay spread/CCI/AWGN environment

An experimental study and performance evaluation results are presented of differential pi /4 quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) systems ( pi /4-DQPSK) in a Rayleigh fading and delay spread channel corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and cochannel interference (CCI). The effect of time delay spread and the CCI on the bit error rate (BER) performance and the residual error floor of differential pi /4-QPSK systems is evaluated. The spectral spreading of bandlimited pi /4-QPSK systems due to nonlinear amplification is investigated. The beneficial effect of a hardlimiter in the receiver is investigated. The experimental results show that in a Rayleigh-faded channel, CCI and delay spread have significant impact on the BER performance and the residual error floor of differential pi /4-QPSK systems. >
Optimization of signal detection in SPECT

Parallel-hole collimators of varying design are discussed, using the display signal-to-noise ratio of R.F. Wagner et al. (Med. Phys., vol.6, p.83-94, 1979) to obtain contrast-detail diagrams and analytical expressions for the signal-to-noise ratio in SPECT (single-photon-emission computed tomography). It is concluded: (1) that the detectability of deeply embedded small objects (more than approximately 10 cm deep) may be improved only slightly by improvements in the resolution and geometric efficiency of parallel-hole collimators; (2) that a long-bore collimator outperforms a low-energy general-purpose collimator for objects smaller than approximately 2 cm, but only to a minor degree; and (3) that for improvement of small object detectability by SPECT, the most fruitful technological pursuit would probably involve development of focused collimators. >
Mixed solutions for the deadlock problem

Mixtures of detection, avoidance, and prevention provide more effective and practical solutions to the deadlock problem than any one of these alone. The individual techniques can be tailored for subproblems of resource allocation and still operate together to prevent deadlocks. This paper presents a method, based on the concept of the hierarchical operating system, for constructing appropriate mixtures and suggests appropriate subsystems for the most frequently occurring resource allocation problems
A comparative study of substance use before and after establishing HIV infection status among people living with HIV/AIDS.

Objective: To determine if significant differences exist in substance use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) before and after establishing their HIV infection status.Method: The study participants are HIV positive clients of a community based HIV/AIDS outreach facility located in Montgomery, Alabama. The questionnaire includes demographics, substance use and risky sexual behaviors pertaining to HIV transmission. Each participant completed an anonymous questionnaire. A total of 341 questionnaires were distributed and 326 were fully completed and returned, representing a response rate of 96%.Results: Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in alcohol consumption before sex among PLWHA before and after establishing their HIV infection status (p = .001). No significant differences were observed among participants who reported as having used drugs intravenously (p = .89), and among those sharing the same syringe/needle with another person (p = .87) before and after establishing their HI...
Mothers' support for voluntary provision of HPV vaccine in schools

HPV vaccination rates among adolescents in the United States lag behind some other developed countries, many of which routinely offer the vaccine in schools. We sought to assess mothers’ willingness to have their adolescent daughters receive HPV vaccine at school. A national sample of mothers of adolescent females ages 11–14 completed our internet survey (response rate = 66%). The final sample (n = 496) excluded mothers who did not intend to have their daughters receive HPV vaccine in the next year. Overall, 67% of mothers who intended to vaccinate their daughters or had vaccinated their daughters reported being willing to have their daughters receive HPV vaccine at school. Mothers were more willing to allow their daughters to receive HPV vaccine in schools if they had not yet initiated the vaccine series for their daughters or resided in the Midwest or West (all p < .05). The two concerns about voluntary school-based provision of HPV vaccine that mothers most frequently cited were that their daughters’ doctors should keep track of her shots (64%) and that they wished to be present when their daughters were vaccinated (40%). Our study suggests that most mothers who support adolescent vaccination for HPV find school-based HPV vaccination an acceptable option. Ensuring communication of immunization records with doctors and allowing parents to be present during immunization may increase parental support.
Immunosuppressive monocytes: possible homeostatic mechanism to restrain chronic intestinal inflammation

Chronic colitis is accompanied by extensive myelopoiesis and accumulation of CD11b+Gr-1+ cells in spleens and secondary lymphoid tissues. Although cells with similar phenotype have been described in cancer, chronic infection, or autoimmunity, where they were associated with suppression of T cell responses, little is known regarding how these cells affect CD4 T cell responses in the context of chronic intestinal inflammation. Therefore, we undertook this study to characterize the interplay between colitis-induced myeloid cells and CD4 T cell. Within the CD11b+Gr-1+ population, only monocytes (Ly6GnegLy6Chigh) but not other myeloid cell subsets suppressed proliferation and production of cytokines by CD4 T cells. Suppression was mediated by cell-contact, NO and partially by IFN-γ and PGs. Interestingly, Ly6Chigh MDCs, isolated from colitic colons, showed up-regulation of iNOS and arginase-1 and were more potent suppressors than those isolated from spleen. On a single-cell level, MDCs inhibited Th1 responses but enhanced generation of foxp3+ T cells. MDCs, cocultured with activated/Teffs, isolated from inflamed colons under hypoxic (1% O2) conditions typical for the inflamed intestine, suppressed proliferation but not their production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Taken together, expansion of monocytes and MDCs and activation of their suppressive properties may represent a homeostatic mechanism aimed at restraining excessive T cell activation during chronic inflammatory settings. The contribution of immunosuppressive monocytes/MDCs to chronic colitis and their role in shaping T cell responses in vivo require further investigation.
Epidural bupivacaine/sufentanil therapy for postoperative pain control in patients tolerant to opioid and unresponsive to epidural bupivacaine/morphine

BACKGROUND Opioids are thought to have equal analgesic effects when equivalent doses are used. However, sufentanil may achieve maximum effect while occupying fewer spinal opioid receptors (higher intrinsic efficacy). Therefore, sufentanil may be more effective than morphine when administered intraspinally in opioid-tolerant patients. METHODS This study evaluated 20 chronic cancer pain patients who underwent abdominal surgery for tumor resection. All patients used large doses of morphine (> 250 mg/day-1) preoperatively for 3 months or longer. Intraoperatively, patients received combined general-epidural anesthesia with 0.5% bupivacaine and 0.02% morphine at 8 ml/h-1. Postoperative continuous epidural analgesia with 0.1% bupivacaine and 0.02% morphine at 5 ml/h-1 plus intravenous patient-controlled analgesia morphine (3 mg every 6 min) was given. Epidural infusions were increased every 30 min by 1 ml/h-1 to achieve a dynamic (during coughing) visual analog pain score (VAPS) of less than 5/10. If the desired VAPS was not achieved after 6 h or the epidural morphine infusion was increased to 2 mg/h-1, 50 micrograms of sufentanil in 10 ml of normal saline was given as an epidural bolus dose. The epidural infusion then was switched to 0.0002% sufentanil (2 micrograms/ml-1) and 0.1% bupivacaine (1 mg/ml-1) at 7 ml/h-1. Further titration to maintain a dynamic VAPS of less than 5/10 occurred every 4 h. RESULTS Mean preoperative daily oral morphine use was 380 +/- 97 mg (range 290-490) for 4 +/- 1 months. Before the switch to sufentanil, patients had received a mean maximum morphine dose of 8.8 +/- 0.2 mg intraoperatively plus 9.0 +/- 1.2 mg during 4.2 +/- 0.3 h postoperatively (1.8 +/- 0.4 mg/h-1), at which point VAPS ranged between 7-10/10. All patients experienced adequate analgesia within 1 h of starting sufentanil therapy. The mean sufentanil dose during the first 4 h of treatment was 17 +/- 0.2 micrograms/h-1. At this time, VAPS ranged from 0-3/10. Satisfactory analgesia was achieved with sufentanil at a lower than a calculated equally potent dose of morphine (23 micrograms/h-1 vs. 17 micrograms/h-1, P < 0.01). Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia morphine requirements were also lower (7.8 mg/h-1 vs. 2.0 mg/h-1, P < 0.01). Length of morphine and sufentanil therapies were 5 +/- 3 h and 10 +/- 2 days, respectively. No patient experienced signs or symptoms of opioid withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that sufentanil can be used successfully in opioid-tolerant patients who do not experience adequate pain control in the early postoperative period despite a large dose of epidural morphine. Moreover, sufentanil should be considered an effective alternative therapy for postoperative pain control in chronic opioid users using high doses of oral opioids before surgical intervention.
What's the right price? pricing tasks for finishing on time

Many practitioners currently use rules of thumb to price tasks on online labor markets. Incorrect pricing leads to task starvation or inefficient use of capital. Formal pricing policies can address these challenges. In this paper we argue that a pricing policy can be based on the trade-off between price and desired completion time. We show how this duality can lead to a better pricing policy for tasks in online labor markets. This paper makes three contributions. First, we devise an algorithm for job pricing using a survival analysis model. We then show that worker arrivals can be modeled as a non-homogeneous Poisson Process (NHPP). Finally using NHPP for worker arrivals and discrete choice models we present an abstract mathematical model that captures the dynamics of the market when full market information is presented to the task requester. This model can be used to predict completion times and pricing policies for both public and private crowds.
Comparing international and American students: involvement in college life and overall satisfaction

Using longitudinal survey data, this study compares 191 international and 409 American students’ involvement in college life, the extent to which the involvement is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, and language background, and the extent to which the involvement influences overall satisfaction. Major findings include: International and American students had similar amount of interactions with faculty, and student–faculty interactions had the biggest, positive impact on overall satisfaction for both groups; international students had more frequent positive and negative cross-racial interactions than American students, and negative cross-racial interactions decreased international students’ overall satisfaction; international students felt lonely more frequently than American students, yet loneliness did not decrease international students’ overall satisfaction. Implications for research provide recommendations for studying international students’ cross-racial interactions in relation to overall satisfaction, and for adapting and revising the conceptual model developed in this study in further research on what makes international students satisfied. Implications for practice focus on improving cross-racial interactions and student–faculty interactions, recommending concrete actions that can be offered to all students as well as special interventions targeting international students. The practical significance of conducting comparative institutional self-study between international and American students is also discussed in the context of how services for international students are structured on college campuses.
Mental Health in Namibia Connecting Discourses on Psychological Distress, Western Treatments and Traditional Healing

Psychological distress is inherently constructed within contexts and the unique, cultural meaning systems that have developed to understand mental illness. Moreover, cultures naturally develop their own systems of healing, grounded in traditional practices. Western psychology and psychiatry have, through globalisation and colonial histories, imposed systems of mental health care and definitions of mental illness. In doing so, local understandings and ways of being regarding mental health have often been eclipsed. This is no less true in Namibia. However, much of the existing mental health literature from Namibia explores mental illness from a Western lens of psychopathology. This article discusses the relevant research about mental illness in Namibia and situates this within related literature from other Southern African countries. Several cultural factors across diverse groups in Namibia are important to more fully understand what mental illness and treatment are throughout this country. The cultural rol...
Concepts and Controversies in Salicylate Toxicity

Despite efforts to minimize its occurrence, salicylate poisoning continues to confound physicians and kill patients. The primary problems involve recognition of salicylate poisoning and lack of aggressive early management. The use of sodium bicarbonate and early hemodialysis should prevent mortality in most patients. Language: en
Supplemental B-Vitamins Necessary to Rear Heliothis zea on a Wheat Germ-based Diet

A solution of B-vitamins was added to supplement a synthetic diet for the corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie). Vitamin deletion tests showed that only 6 of the 8 vitamins which had previously been used in practice were necessary for optimum development through 6 consecutive generations. The reduction of the vitamin amounts by 80% still permitted development through 5 consecutive generations. This work helps clarify the dietary requirements of the corn earworm and will simplify and reduce costs in the diet preparation for future mass rearing programs.
Age differences in letter and color matching : selective attention or internal noise ?

We tested healthy young and older adults on a letter-matching task that varied letter identity and letter color (Experiment 1) and on a color matching task that varied letter color and letter identity (Experiment 2). The goal of this investigation was to empirically disentangle the theoretical concepts of internal noise and selective attention. The results from Experiment 1 indicated that both young and older adults exhibited "fast-same" effects for reaction time and "false-different" effects for errors, and older adults exhibited a relatively larger "false-different" effect. However, letter color did not affect performance. The data from Experiment 2 indicated that older adults, compared with young adults, evidenced greater interference from "different-similar" letter pairs than "different-dissimilar" letter pairs even though the task was color matching. These data suggest that older adults evidenced greater levels of internal noise, and that this factor may modulate age differences in selective attention.
Nitrogen and energy metabolism and serum constituents in lambs given broiler poultry litter processed by three deep-stacking methods

Poultry litter has been used as an economical nitrogen (N) source in ruminant diets. However, litter must be processed to eliminate pathogens. Broiler poultry litter was processed by three different deep-stack methods: (1) uncovered, (2) covered with 0.1524 mm clear polyethylene, and (3) aerated by placing perforated pipe 1 m apart within the stack. Stack temperature was measured for 28 days. The litter was used to formulate experimental diets (186 g litter per kg), while the control diet contained urea as the N source. All diets contained 100 g/kg cottonseed hulls, 16 to 17 g/kg limestone, varying amounts of cracked maize and added retinol. The control diet contained 131 g/kg crude protein (CP) while the litter diets contained 125 g/kg CP. The diets were offered to 16 crossbred wether lambs (37 (s.e. 6·1) kg) in individual metabolism crates for 16 days. Blood was collected at the initiation and termination of the trial. Covering litter with plastic decreased temperature ivithin the stack ( P 0·05) among the diets. Apparent digestibility for N was less ( P 0·05). Covering deep-stacked broiler poultry litter improved N digestibility by proportionately 0·15 compared with uncovered litter. Serum chloride was decreased while serum urea was increased ( P
Pathway of H2 desorption from dihydride Si(100).

In the present paper, the pathway of H 2 desorption from a dihydride species -SiH 2 on the Si(100) surface, -SiH 2 →Si+H 2 (-Si represents a surface Si atom site), is investigated. This pathway involves the recombination of two H atoms bonded to the same surface silicon atom. A three-layer cluster that consists of 12 silicon atoms and 20 hydrogen saturators is used to simulate the Si(100) surface and ab initio self-consistent-field and configuration-interaction theory is used to treat the cluster and desorption reactions. With the correction of zero-point vibrational energies, the H 2 desorption energy and activation barrier are computed to be 48 and 53 kcal/mol, respectively