cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diverting and Abdicating Judicial Discretion: Cultural, Political, and Procedural Dynamics in California Juvenile Justice

Although tensions between substantive and formal rationality in the adult criminal justice system have received a great deal of attention, the existence of these tensions in the juvenile justice system has received little scholarly consideration. I seek to remedy this gap by exploring how punitive policies associated with the war on crime impact the formal and informal process of justice, the court community and work group, and the exercise of discretion in the juvenile courts. Drawing on qualitative data collected in three juvenile courts in Southern California, I identify the mechanisms by which prosecutors divert judicial discretion from the traditional rehabilitation-oriented bench officers to bench officers who are more accepting of the criminalization of juveniles. In addition, I investigate how and why rehabilitation-oriented bench officers at times abdicate their decisionmaking authority and make rulings that contradict their own assessments. My findings suggest that as the war on crime is extended to youth, the juvenile courts increasingly share the criminal courts' emphasis on offense rather than offender, enhanced prosecutorial power, and adversarial relationships within the court.
A Theoretical Morphologic Analysis of Ecomorphologic Variation in Archimedes Helical Colony Form

Abstract In this contribution theoretical morphospace techniques are demonstrated to be particularly useful in the analysis of ecomorphologic variation; that is, the detection of repetitive morphologies that consistently reoccur in similar environments. Although at least six distinct species of Archimedes occurred in the mid-Carboniferous shallow seas of North America, the distribution of a sample of 116 of their helical colony morphologies within theoretical morphospace forms two clouds of points that correspond to two paleoenvironmental settings: basinal versus back-shoal. It is argued that the distribution of the two Archimedes ecomorphologic colony types in morphospace is a function of the vertical extent of the quiet-water zone above the sea floor in back-shoal versus basinal environments, and not of differences in colony-type feeding efficiencies. It also is argued that the observed tendency of back-shoal colonies to form geographically distinct morphologic populations in morphospace is a function o...
Human T lymphotropic virus type III infection of human alveolar macrophages.

The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) is the etiologic agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and preferentially infects T4 lymphocytes. Other cell types, notably B lymphocytes and other nonlymphoid cells, also have been reported to be infected in vitro by HTLV-III. We now report on the susceptibility of human pulmonary macrophages to infection with HTLV-III in vitro. Alveolar macrophages infected with HTLV-III produced low levels of virus that could be transferred to allogeneic human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes as long as 2 weeks after initiation of infection. Unlike HTLV-III infection of T lymphocytes, macrophages appeared more resistant to viral-mediated cytopathic effects. Primary cultures of pulmonary macrophages from two of four patients with AIDS spontaneously produced low levels of virus detected as precipitable reverse transcriptase activity, suggesting that these cells were infected in vivo. Because tissue macrophages are long-lived cells, they may act as a reservoir of HTLV-III, capable of transmitting the virus to other susceptible cells such as T lymphocytes, causing periodic low- level viremia. Macrophage infection with HTLV-III may be one mechanism for the establishment of viral persistence in infected hosts.
Medicine's Wild West — Unlicensed Stem-Cell Clinics in the United States

Many stem-cell clinics have capitalized on public confusion by selling treatments that are not approved by the FDA, supported by clinical studies, or covered by insurers. Given ambiguous FDA guidelines, these clinics have in effect been operating without regulation.
WHAT'S MORALITY GOT TO DO WITH IT? MAKING THE RIGHT DISTINCTIONS

INTRODUCTION I will be arguing against a school of thought and an epistemology. The school of thought is ‘scientific neorealism’, as it is called in the study of international relations. This perspective is shaped by the insistence that ethics and international politics have nothing to do with one another, save insofar as morality is brought in as window dressing in order to disguise what is really going on: the clash of narrowly self-interested powers. The world of international relations is construed as a zone of self-help in a Hobbesian clash of a war of all against all. For more than twenty-five years now, I have argued that, to the contrary, ethics does not stop at the water's edge and morality is not silent during war. The epistemology that I will contest is not so much argued against up front as challenged by a narrative that makes an antipositivist case. Contrary to the presuppositions of the political science in which I was trained, description and evaluation are not entirely separate activities. We do not layer evaluations onto a neutral description; rather, moral evaluation is embedded in our descriptions. How we describe is itself often a moral act. This is a case made eloquently in a book that seems to have disappeared from view, Julius Kovesi's Moral Notions . The argument against positivism is also an argument against an account of moral evaluation named ‘emotivism’, which holds, roughly, that our moral evaluations are not rationally defensible and bear no serious cognitive content.
Life-Cycle Stages

All oil and gas properties pass through the same life-cycle stages from discovery to depletion and are driven by strategic considerations specific to each stage. The capital expenditures associated with drilling wells, fabricating and installing infrastructure, and producing during the early years are gradually replaced by a decreasing revenue stream, higher operating costs, fewer upside opportunities, and, eventually, production that is worth less than the cost to operate and maintain the asset. The objective of this chapter is to provide a summary overview of the activities and logistical requirements involved in offshore development with special attention paid to work flows and the manner service and construction vessels are utilized. Differences in shallow water and deepwater development requirements are distinguished.
Maintenance of spontaneous activity within the cerebellum.

SummaryEvidence is presented to show: (a) that the fast electrical activity of the cerebellum is intrinsically maintained within this structure; (b) that it is not due to reverberating circuits through the cerebellar nuclei and back to the cerebellar cortex; (c) that it is probably due to the spontaneous activity of Purkinje cells and/or the granulebasket cell combination.
The use of antibiotics, vitamin analogues and other compounds in experimental gas gangrene.

the therapy of bacterial infections. The first group consists of the antibiotics, naturally occurring products of microorganisms which apparently function in the economy of the soil.1 Many of them are available in crystalline form and their action against certain animal diseases is known. The discovery and use of some, such as penicillin and streptomycin, has been heralded as a medical triumph. The other group includes the antimetabolites, compounds related structurally to biologically important substances. Some of these compounds, such as the sulfonamide drugs can inhibit the growth of certain bacteria while others can, in addition, cause deficiency diseases in animals.2 Both of these actions can usually be reversed by adequate amounts of the related metabolite. Such reversal led to the now
Clinical residency training: Is it essential to the Doctor of Nursing Practice for nurse practitioner preparation?

Abstract Background The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree positions nurse practitioners (NPs) and other advanced practice registered nurses, with clinical competencies similar to other disciplines requiring doctoral education (medicine, physical therapy, psychology, and pharmacy). In addition, all these disciplines also offer residencies. However, nursing is the only discipline that does not require a doctoral degree and/or have a systematic approach to residency training for advanced practice roles. The authors posit that there are critical policy issues to resolve within the nursing profession to clarify the role that clinical residencies should play in transition to DNP practice specifically related to NPs. Purpose The purpose of this article was to (a) describe the context of NP residency models within NP curricula that strengthen the DNP Essentials with an emphasis on Essential VIII and a focus on distinctive clinical specialization, (b) describe the history and policy implications of NP residency programs as well as existing programs that assist transition to practice, and (c) recommend policies for consideration related to DNP NP residencies. Methods Literature on nurse practitioner residencies was reviewed. Discussion While nurse practitioner residencies continue to grow, research is needed regarding outcomes of job satisfaction, clinical competencies, and patient satisfaction. Conclusion The first year of practice for nurse practitioners is a critical period of professional development. It is important to further clarify the need, direction, and program standards. Academically affiliated residencies will facilitate the development and standardization of curricula and competencies to enhance clinical rigor. The partnership between academic units and clinical agencies will pool resources and strengthen nursing in both settings.
Pulmonary Transplant Pathology

Lung allograft transplantation remains the only potential curative treatment for a number of life-threatening diseases. However, lung transplantation is an arduous approach due to the propensity of the immune system to reject allografts.
Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion in Adolescent and Young Adults with Peritoneal Metastases

Background Several studies suggest that young patients may derive less oncologic benefit from surgical resection of cancers compared with older patients. We hypothesized that young patients may have worse outcomes following cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (CRS/HIPEC) for peritoneal metastases.
Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Apoptotic Activities of Activated Protein C Are Independent of Anticoagulant Activity.

Abstract Activated protein C (APC), a well known anticoagulant enzyme, reduces mortality in severe sepsis patients and exhibits beneficial effects in multiple animal injury models, including neuroprotective activity in rodent ischemic stroke, attenuation of inflammatory lung injury, and survival benefits in rodent sepsis models. For these in vivo benefits, the relative importance of APC's anticoagulant activity vs. APC's direct cytoprotective effects on cells is unclear. APC anticoagulant activity involves inactivation of factors Va and VIIIa whereas cytoprotection by APC involves two receptors, Endothelial Protein C Receptor (EPCR) and Protease Activated Receptor-1. To distinguish the cytoprotective from the anticoagulant activities of APC, we made recombinant human wild type (wt) APC and a protease domain mutant, 5A-APC (RR229/230AA + KKK191−193AAA), a Gla domain mutant, PTGla-APC (APC with prothrombin residues 1–46)(Smirnov et al JBC 1998) and an active site mutant, S360A-APC. Active site titration and chromogenic assays showed that wtAPC, 5A-APC and PTGla-APC had full enzymatic activity while S360A-APC had none. 5A-APC had almost no anticoagulant activity ( 300 nM ). We then compared the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities of the hypo-anticoagulant 5A-APC and the hyper-anticoagulant PTGla-APC to those of wtAPC. To assay APC anti-inflammatory activity, APC-mediated inhibition of LPS-induced TNFα secretion from U937 monocytic cells was determined. The ability of 5A-APC to inhibit LPS-induced TNFα secretion was indistinguishable from that of wtAPC with half-maximum inhibition at 5.4 nM and 6.5 nM, respectively. Neither the enzymatically inactive S360A-APC not the protein C zymogen inhibited LPS-induced TNFα secretion, indicating that a functional APC active site was required. Anti-EPCR antibodies blocking APC binding prevented the anti-inflammatory activity of wtAPC, indicating binding of APC to EPCR on U937 cells was required. The anti-apoptotic activity of each APC species was determined in staurosporine-induced endothelial cell apoptosis assays. Dose-dependent inhibition of apoptosis by 5A-APC was indistinguishable from that by wt-APC with half-maximum inhibition at 0.70 and 2.0 nM, respectively. In contrast to this potent anti-apoptotic activity of wtAPC and 5A-APC, the hyper-anticoagulant PTGla-APC required a 24-fold higher concentration for half-maximal inhibition of endothelial apoptosis. As expected, S360A-APC showed no significant inhibition of endothelial apoptosis. Hence, the 5A-APC variant with
Estimating the Number of Microorganisms

An important aspect of food microbiology is the examination of food or other materials for microorganisms.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database: 2017 Update on Research.

Containing more than 6 million cumulative operative records and accounting for 90% to 95% of adult cardiac surgery performed in the United States, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database is an invaluable resource for performance assessment, quality improvement, and clinical research. This article reviews the seven major research efforts published in 2016 that utilized the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. Two studies evaluated national trends in clinical practice, three assessed the effect of several risk factors on postoperative morbidity and mortality, and two developed new models to evaluate quality of care. The findings of these studies have enhanced clinical practice and delineated areas for future quality improvement research.
Two-dimensional simulations of displacement accumulation incorporating shear strain

Accumulating a sequence of incremental displacement estimates is a common technique in ultrasonic motion tracking, but the statistical relationships between these incremental estimates are not well understood. Using simple 2D simulations of a scattering medium under normal and axial shear strain, it is shown that the covariance between estimation steps has significant effects on the final accumulated estimate. Displacement estimation errors induced by strain are positively correlated, while errors induced by electronic noise are negatively correlated. Normal and axial shear strain share these statistical properties but differ in their dependency on tracking kernel size.
Defining Chaos for Real, Noisy Data: Local Lyapunov Exponents and Sensitive Response to Perturbations

It’s a noisy world after all. A recent literature survey Hairston et al. 1996) found that recruitment success of long-lived iteroparous adults could vary from one year to the next by factors of up to 333 in plants, 591 in marine invertebrates, 38 in terrestrial vertebrates and 2200 in birds; that of dormant propagules (seeds or eggs) varied by up to 1150 in plants and 31,600 in terrestrial insects. The optimistic hypothesis that all of this could be deterministic chaos has gradually evolved into the less convenient recognition that various forms of unpredictable “noise” (climate, external disturbance, habitat modification by other species, etc.) coexist with the nonlinearities produced by competition, predation, parasites, pathogens and their potentially complex interactions.
The cellular basis of epithelial morphogenesis.

The definitive trait of an epithelium is that its cells form cohesive cell sheets with little acellular material interposed between the cells. Nature has employed this relatively simple arrangement to fashion tissues of enormous functional and morphological diversity. In adult organisms, epithelia cover and protect the body, line the surfaces that absorb nutrients and metabolites from the environment (as in the lung and intestine), and form the tubes, ducts, and acini of glandular organs. They engage in transport, filtration, endocrine and exocrine synthetic functions, and the maintenance of chemical and electrical differentials between body compartments. Epithelia also play the lead roles in morphogenesis. During development, epithelial movement in gastrulation is responsible for much of the reorganization that lays down the overall body plan, and the folding, spreading, budding, cavitation, and delamination of epithelia produce the basic structure of most organs. In the course of morphogenesis, epithelia can form clusters, cords, or tongues of cells. They can also disperse, giving rise to mesenchymal cells, which in turn either form nonepithelial structures or reaggregate to form new epithelia. The means by which epithelial cells produce this wealth of form and function is the subject of this chapter.
Chapter 15 – Prostate Cancer Treatment Outcomes between African Americans and Caucasians

This chapter provides a comparison of the treatment outcomes between African Americans and Caucasians. Two factors determined differences and similarities of outcomes between African Americans and Caucasians. One is the stage at diagnosis and treatment and the other is age. The earlier the stage at diagnosis and treatment, the greater will be the similarity in outcome. However, as prostate cancer advances in stage at diagnosis and treatment, the differences in survival outcomes between African Americans and Caucasians become greater. This suggests that the natural history of prostate cancer may be more progressive among African Americans compared to Caucasians. It has been reported that older Caucasians have more aggressive prostate cancer at diagnosis than younger Caucasians and that age is a predictor of poor outcome among this cohort. However, among African Americans, this finding is not apparent. In fact, young African Americans (<65 years of age) present with equally, if not more, aggressive prostate cancer as do older African Americans. These findings and concepts imply that the biological factors responsible for the phenotypic presentation of the prostate may be ethnically/racially associated and different or more enhanced at an earlier age. Even though there may be biological factors responsible for what may be a rapidly growing prostate cancer among African Americans, early detection can eliminate outcome differences between African Americans and Caucasians.
Administration of the Academic Department of Surgery

This chapter discusses some of the challenges faced by modern academic departments and some of the ways to overcome those challenges, as well as the opportunities provided by modern technology, and ways to maximize their potential. Emphasis is placed on optimizing administration and resources to create a dynamic environment that fosters inquiry and original research and to produce academic surgical leaders in a constantly changing world.
Experimental tractional retinal detachment in rabbits. Clinical picture and histopathologic features.

A simple reproducible model for the creation of tractional retinal detachments in rabbits is presented. This model comprises retinal membranes composed of different cell types derived from ocular tissues, and eliminates the need for lengthy and expensive tissue culturing procedures. The injected cell bolus rapidly migrates to the optic disc and forms surface retinal membranes. These lead to tractional retinal detachment confined to the area of the vascular medullary rays. The rapidity and severity of the clinical process seems to be directly dependent upon the number of cells injected. Good visibility of the posterior pole is maintained throughout the course of the development of detachment.
Derivative-free robust optimization by outer approximations

We develop an algorithm for minimax problems that arise in robust optimization in the absence of objective function derivatives. The algorithm utilizes an extension of methods for inexact outer approximation in sampling a potentially infinite-cardinality uncertainty set. Clarke stationarity of the algorithm output is established alongside desirable features of the model-based trust-region subproblems encountered. We demonstrate the practical benefits of the algorithm on a new class of test problems.
Monolithic coupling of the implicit material point method with the finite element method

Abstract A monolithic coupling between the material point method (MPM) and the finite element method (FEM) is presented. The MPM formulation described is implicit, and the exchange of information between particles and background grid is minimized. The reduced information transfer from the particles to the grid improves the stability of the method. Once the residual is assembled, the system matrix is obtained by means of automatic differentiation. In such a way, no explicit computation is required and the implementation is considerably simplified. When MPM is coupled with FEM, the MPM background grid is attached to the FEM body and the coupling is monolithic. With this strategy, no MPM particle can penetrate a FEM element, and the need for computationally expensive contact search algorithms used by existing coupling procedures is eliminated. The coupled system can be assembled with a single assembly procedure carried out element by element in a FEM fashion. Numerical results are reported to display the performances and advantages of the methods here discussed.
Document reordering for faster intersection

A lot of research has studied how to optimize inverted index structures in search engines through suitable reassignment of document identifiers. This approach was originally proposed to allow for better compression of the index, but subsequent work showed that it can also result in significant speed-ups for conjunctive queries and even certain types of disjunctive top-k algorithms. However, we do not have a good understanding of why this happens, and how we could directly optimize an index for query processing speed. As a result, existing techniques attempt to optimize for size, and treat speed increases as a welcome side-effect.In this paper, we take an initial but important step towards understanding and modeling speed increases due to document reordering. We define the problem of minimizing the cost of queries given an inverted index and a query distribution, relate it to work on adaptive set intersection, and show that it is fundamentally different from that of minimizing compressed index size. We then propose a heuristic algorithm for finding a document reordering that minimizes query processing costs under suitable cost models. Our experiments show significant increases in the speed of intersections over state-of-the-art reordering techniques.
A Census of the Factor Zoo

The rate of factor production in the academic research is out of control. We document over 400 factors published in top journals. Surely, many of them are false. We explore the incentives that lead to factor mining and explore reasons why many of the factors are simply lucky findings. The backtested results published in academic outlets are routinely cited to support commercial products. As a consequence, investors develop exaggerated expectations based on inflated backtested results and are then disappointed by the live trading experience. We provide a comprehensive census of factors published in top academic journals through January 2019. We also offer a link to a Google sheet that has detailed information on each factor, including citation information and download links. Finally, we propose a citizen science project that allows researchers to add to our database both published papers as well as working papers. Here is the updated analysis:
Abstract P3049: A Novel Mobile App’s Reliability, End User Satisfaction, and Changes in Dash Diet Eating Patterns Over 8 Weeks

Objective: To promote adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet (DASH) using a novel mobile app. Methods: The theory-grounded WHEELS for DASH app is designed to build enduring c...
Anti IL-17 in psoriasis

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated disease with significant associated comorbidities. Its pathogenesis is likely multifactorial, however, the interleukin-23/T helper 17 pathway has been identified as a critical axis in its pathogenesis. Interleukin-17A is the primary effector of this pathway and overexpression of IL-17A results in epidermal hyperplasia and an overly robust inflammatory response, resulting in the skin plaques and systemic inflammation seen in psoriasis. Targeted anti IL-17 therapies have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.Areas covered: A PubMed search was conducted for relevant literature. Secukinumab, ixekizumab, and brodalumab are anti IL-17 inhibitors currently approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The efficacy and safety data from key phase III clinical trials are reviewed here.Expert opinion: By targeting a key mediator of the interleukin-23/T helper 17 pathway, IL-17 antagonists are an effective treatment for plaque psoriasis. It has demonstrated efficacy and a favorable safety profile in key phase III clinical trials. In addition to efficacy, IL-17 antagonists have also shown long-term maintenance of treatment response and a quick onset of action. The efficacy of IL-17 inhibitors in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis underscores the importance of the IL-23/Th17 pathway in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
The Interaction of Smoking Cessation Norms and Nicotine Dependence on Quit Attempts: Gender-Stratified Results for Low-Income Smokers in Baltimore, MD

Background: Declines in smoking prevalence among low-income adults lag behind national samples. Understanding the influence of social context factors such as gender, and normative influence on smoking attitudes and behaviors, can inform smoking cessation interventions. Objective: This study explored how gender, smoking dependence, and cessation norms influenced the likelihood of current quit attempts among urban-dwelling, predominately African American adults. Methods: Participants answered questions about their current quit attempts, smoking dependence (heaviness of smoking index [HSI]), and cessation norms (descriptive: having friends who quit smoking; injunctive: friends disapproving of smoking) as a part of a parent study exploring social and environmental factors in tobacco use. Logistic regression stratifying by gender and adjusting for demographics examined main and interaction effects of norms and HSI on odds of having a current quit attempt. Results: Among men, having a higher smoking dependence was associated with a reduced likelihood of trying to quit (AOR = 0.30 [0.15-0.59]), but this effect was moderated by having friends who had quit smoking (AOR = 2.40 [1.20-4.78]). When accounting for the effect of friends quitting smoking, men were not influenced by friends disapproving of smoking. Among women, currently attempting to quit was predicted by neither smoking dependence nor norms. Conclusions/Importance: Cessation norms and smoking dependence influenced the likelihood of quit attempts for men, but not women, in this study. This highlights the importance of conducting gender stratification in smoking cessation research so as to better understand how social and environmental factors differently impact cessation outcomes for men and women.
Factors driving olfactory loss in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis: a case control study.

BACKGROUND Olfactory dysfunction (OD) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is common. It is likely that numerous factors such as sex, race, age, allergies, asthma, smoking, and other comorbidities play a role in CRS-related OD. In order to determine which aspects of OD are due solely to CRS and which are associated with other confounders, control populations are needed to allow appropriate risk assessments. METHODS Prospective, multi-institutional enrollment of patients with CRS and control subjects without CRS was performed. Demographic information, comorbidities, and olfactory testing (Sniffin' Sticks) of threshold (T), discrimination (D), and identification (I) scores (TDI) was collected. RESULTS A total of 224 patients with CRS and 164 control subjects were enrolled. Olfaction was worse in CRS patients compared to controls (mean ± standard deviation (SD) TDI = 22.4 ± 9.5 vs 28.8 ± 7.0, respectively, p < 0.001). Only 27% of CRS patients were normosmic compared to 49% of controls (p < 0.001). When stratifying by nasal polyp (NP) status, CRSwNP patients had significant impairments in TDI, T, D, and I compared to controls with mean differences of 11.2, 3.3, 3.5, and 4.4 points, respectively (all p < 0.001). In contrast, CRSsNP patients only had impaired T when compared to controls with a mean difference of 2.2 points (p < 0.001). Multivariate modeling of TDI scoring showed that OD was driven by polyps, asthma, diabetes, and age. CRSsNP was not independently associated with worse TDI scores. CONCLUSION OD in CRS patients is multifactorial. Independent drivers appear to be polyp status, asthma, diabetes, and age. OD in patients with CRSsNP is similar to controls with the exception of impaired thresholds.
4-D OCT, Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy, and Optogenetic Pacing of the Embryonic Mouse Heart

We present optical approaches for live, high-resolution imaging and manipulation of mouse embryo cardiodynamics through OCT, second harmonic generation microscopy, and optogenetics.
Continuous gradient temperature Raman spectroscopy of polyunsaturated fish lipids provides detailed vibrational analysis and rapid, nondestructive graphical product authentication

Gradient Temperature Raman spectroscopy (GTRS) applies the temperature gradients utilized in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to Raman spectroscopy, providing a straightforward technique to identify molecular rearrangements that occur at or near phase transitions. 20 Mb threedimensional data arrays with 1.0 or 0.2°C increments allow complete assignment of solid, liquid and transition state vibrational modes, including low intensity/frequency vibrations that cannot be readily analyzed with conventional Raman. We compared GTRS and DSC data for commercial fish oil supplements that are excellent sources of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3). Krill oils and whole fish and shellfish have nearly all their PUFA contained within phospholipids (PL). Development of any fast-throughput optical identification system for seafood products will require improved PL Raman data. We also analyzed molecularly hydrated PL with DHA and other unsaturated lipids. Each fish oil and PL have a unique, distinctive response to the thermal gradient, which graphically and spectroscopically differentiates them. The entire set or any subset of the any of the contour plots, first derivatives or second derivatives can be utilized to create a graphical standard to quickly authenticate a given product or source material.
Gambling activity and stock price volatility: A cross-country analysis

Abstract Shiller (2000) contends that gambling activity might promote risk-taking by individuals in other areas, such as firm decision making or in financial markets. In this study, we test the hypothesis that favorable attitudes towards gambling impact country-level stock price volatility. Using American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to control for differing market structures, we find that countries with more gaming institutions, higher gambling losses per adult, and legalized online gambling have less stable stock prices. These results are robust to different measures of volatility and controls for both firm-specific characteristics and macroeconomic conditions. These findings support the idea that a country’s culture toward gambling might generate greater levels of volatility in the country’s financial markets.
Arterial Gas Emboli Secondary to Portal Venous Gas Diagnosed With Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Case Report and Literature Review.

Abstract Background Portal venous gas (PVG) is a rarely observed clinical finding generally associated with intestinal ischemia. The proper clinical response to the finding of PVG depends somewhat on the setting in which it is observed. Here we describe a case in which extensive arterial gas emboli (AGE) were encountered during point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and subsequent computed tomography (CT) identified PVG secondary to gastric wall ischemia as the likely source. Case Report A 69-year-old woman with history of metastatic colon cancer presented to the emergency department (ED) with altered mental status. On arrival, she was hypotensive, hypothermic, cachectic, and with abdominal distension. POCUS was performed to evaluate the source of the patient's hypotension, revealing the presence of PVG, as well as gas bubbles in all four chambers of the heart and the aorta. CT scan revealed gastric wall ischemia and confirmed the presence of significant air emboli throughout the portal venous system. Given the overall poor prognosis, the decision was made to forego further chemotherapy or surgery and the patient died later that week while under hospice care. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? AGE can occur in the setting of PVG. This may cause multi-organ failure by disrupting blood flow to organs, especially in patients with circulatory dysfunction, such as shock. Depending on the setting in which it is diagnosed, early detection of PVG may expedite earlier assessments of a patient's negative prognosis or initiation of attempted life-saving treatment. In this case report, we show that POCUS can be used to obtain an expedited diagnosis in a critically ill patient.
Financial Fragilities in Latin America: The 1980s and 1990s

In late 1994, several Latin American economies, particularly Mexico and Argentina, experienced sharp reversals of international capital inflows that had characterized the previous four years. The immediate cause of the reversals was the loss of international investor confidence in these countries' ability to defend their exchange rate and in the authorities' ability to service their external debt on a timely basis. Short-term interest rates rose to extraordinarily high levels. Because many borrowers could not afford to service their debts at these high interest rates, the credit quality of domestic banks' loan portfolios deteriorated dramatically, creating concerns about the solvency of the banking systems in these economies. The current crisis has occurred during a period of economic and financial reform in Latin America. After almost a decade of macroeconomic and financial difficulties, since the last part of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, many Latin American countries have undertaken major transformations of their economic structures. These efforts have included not only comprehensive stabilization programs aimed at correcting macroeconomic imbalances but also deep structural reforms designed to improve the efficiency of market mechanisms in pricing and allocating resources among the different sectors of these economies. In addition, the paper analyzes policy issues associated with the long-run health of the financial system: (1) the proper design of policies to respond to large and volatile flows of capital having the complementary objectives of maintaining long-run macroeconomic stability and a healthy financial system; and (2) the effect on bank soundness of increased competition from recent developments in domestic capital markets.
An interactive computer-based tutor for LISP

This paper describes an intelligent computer-based tutor for LISP that incorporates some of the ingredients of good private tutoring. The tutor consists of a problem-solver that generates steps toward a solution and an advisor that compares the problem-solver's steps to the student's steps. Our system can interact with students in a number of different problem spaces for algorithm design and coding. The tutor reduces memory demands by displaying relevant contextual information and directs problem-solving by immediately intervening when a student generates an unacceptable partial answer. Initial experiments indicate that our tutor is approximately twice as effective as classroom instruction.
Multiple Bronchogenic and Gastroenteric Cysts Arising from the Stomach in a Patient with Abdominal Pain

Bronchogenic cysts arising from the stomach are uncommon. We discuss a young female patient with presumed enteric duplication cysts who was found to have three bronchogenic and gastroenteric cysts upon pathologic review. We discuss the pathophysiology of bronchogenic cysts and their malignant potential.
School District Implementation of Microcomputers for Instruction

AbstractTo understand how innovation is introduced into an educational setting it is necessary to examine the stages of the process at the school district level. In this study the mobilization and implementation stages of introducing microcomputers into a majority adopter school district are described. The research was conducted as an ethnographic, multiple-size case study using structured and informal interviews, naturalistic observations, content analysis of historical documents, computer usage statistics, and stages-of-concerns data The institutional context, characteristics of the innovation, and concerns of individuals are examined in the central office, schools, and classrooms of a school district. The characteristics of the implementation that contributed to and detracted from institutionalization of the innovation in the school district are discussed.
Design criteria and numerical simulation of an antenna system for one-dimenional limited scan

Abstract : An analytical and numerical study was performed on a novel design scheme for an antenna for limited one-dimensional scan. The system has a number of control elements approximately equal to the minimum that are theoretically compatible with the aperture size and field of view (FOV). The radiating structure consists of a 'boot lace' lens with linear outer and circular inner profiles. This geometry plays a basic role in determining excellent scan performance over a moderate frequency band. A linear array whose size depends critically upon scan requirements and the lens focal length is located on the focal plane and is focussed onto the inner lens profile. The array is fed by a Hybrid Network (HN) performing a spatial Fourier transformation. The input ports of the HN are fed by the output ports of a Beam Forming Network (BFN) through a set of variable phase shifters. The BFN has separate input ports for the sum and difference patterns controlled independently. The system works as follows. The antenna illumination is synthesized as the weighted superposition of components illuminations or 'overlapping subarrays', each of which is due to the excitation of one of the ports of the HN. The amplitudes of the subarray excitations are fixed and determined by the power divisions provided by the BFN. Their phases are controlled by the set of variable phase shifters. A desirable feature of the scheme is that for fixed phase shifter settings, neither the beam scans nor the width changes for a moderate frequency variation.
Homesharing for the Elderly

Elderly people often have needs which younger people do not have, for financial assistance, security, companionship, and help with activities of daily living These needs can be met in a variety of ...
Effect of prostaglandin and dietary fats on lipolysis and esterification in rat adipose tissue in vitro

Abstract 1. 1. A possible role of prostaglandin (PGE 1 ) in lipid metabolism was investigated. It was found to inhibit the release of free fatty acids and glycerol from adipose tissue of fat-fed rats, the amount depending upon the nature of the fat ingested. The release of less glycerol and free fatty acids from tissue of rats fed a polyunsaturated fat (corn oil), as compared to those fed lard, was in effect similar to that in the presence of prostanlandin. 2. 2. Preincubation of tissue with prostaglandin produced a similar response suggesting that prostaglandin may have entered the adipose tissue cells during preincubation causing an inhibition of lipolysis. There was also a greater incorporation of [1- 14 C]palmitic acid into the lipids and triglycerides of this tissue in the corn oil-fed rat and in prostaglandin-treated tissues. 3. 3. An inhibition of lipolysis and increased rate of removal of fatty acids from the medium by adipose tissue in the presence of prostaglandin or by this tissue of corn oil-fed rats, both associated with an increased esterification of fatty acids in the tissue, suggests the possibility that the effect of the latter may be the promotion of the formation by these rats of greater amounts of prostaglandin from the unsaturated fatty acids ingested.
Sketching the City: A GIS-Based Approach:

The use of municipal administrative data for performing urban design tasks is explored. The author describes a research project that uses geographic data, GIS-bascd algorithms, and mapping techniques to generate sketch plans. The nodes described by Kevin Lynch in 1960 in his book The Image of the City are generated. As well as the fact that the analysis is computer based the data used in the study were intentionally chosen to support further research into the suitability of a distributed GIS analysis model.
Toxic contaminants in rainfall in Canada: 1984

Replicate rain samples for most of the 1984 wetfall season were collected from four widely separated sites in Canada, and concentrations and loadings of a number of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides were determined for each location. Comparisons were made among the sites and with results from other years. The major contaminants in 1984 were, in order of concentration, α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH or α-BHC), lindane and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Found at lower levels were dieldrin, methoxychlor (in the Lake Superior area), DDT residues, endrin (especially at Kouchibouguac), heptachlor epoxide and hexachlorobenzene. The loading of the α-HCH/lindane pair was higher at the Atlantic coastal site than at the other locations, possibly because of the greater precipitation there. No geographic trend for PCBs was apparent. For the other substances, no significant pattern to the differences between sites can be discerned. The qualitative similarities of concentrations and loadings at the widely separated locations, however, suggest long-range atmospheric transport. A comparison between results from two Lake Superior sites indicated no shoreline effect on the concentrations of over-lake versus shoreline samples. The differences observed were in accord with those observed in 1983 and were attributed to lack of replenishment from the lake surface.
Disaster assessment with parallel image processing for GIS based local area disaster decision support system

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes cause huge loss of life, enormous amounts of property damage, and lengthy recovery times. Although it is impossible to avoid the costs of disasters, human sufferings can be minimized through effective disaster management and decision support system that can facilitate and expedite the resource distribution process more efficiently and effectively. This paper is to present the design of GIS based disaster data management, visualization and decision support system for North West Indiana region utilizing grid computing and visualization resources at Purdue University Calumet (PUC). One of the key factors in the disaster management system is to provide damage assessment maps in timely manner. We propose a parallel image processing algorithm utilizing computational grid to compute the disaster damage assessment map from pre- and post- disaster satellite images. Disaster decision support system will compute the effective resource distribution strategy and prioritize the rescue areas by utilizing disaster specific geospatial information system. This research will lay a foundation for disaster preparedness, management and decision support system at local government agency level.
A digital gain stabilizer for a multiparameter pulse-height-recording system

Abstract A digital gain stabilizer is developed for use with a multiparameter pulse-height-recording system. Corrections are made for gain drifts of any origin in the spectrometer system. Stability of peak channel numbers to 0.1% or better is obtained over extended periods of time without significant loss in resolution. A method for stabilizing on a peak at any location in the spectrum is described. This method requires only four decimal switches as compared to the many switches normally used. Three decimal switches select the channel location of the stabilizing peak and another switch selects the number of channels adjacent to the peak to be included for stabilization. Gain corrections are introduced into the system by means of a variable-gain amplifier. This provides an inexpensive method for controlling the gain without requiring any alterations to the existing equipment.
High altitude test of radio-equipped cosmic ray meter

Abstract A high altitude cosmic-ray meter, of the type proposed by Benade, has been built and flown.The ionization current in an unshielded argon-filled chamber moves the mirror of a Dershem electrometer.When the reflected light beam falls on a photoelectric cell, the electrometer is discharged and the radio signal is modulated. A pressure device also modulates the signal when certain altitudes are reached. A small quantity of radioactive material introducing a small fixed ionization makes possible convenient measurement of cosmic-ray ionization varying through a large ratio. On April 14, 1936, a balloon flight was made from Shreveport, Louisiana. The instrument and batteries weighed 41 pounds, and were raised by three 8-foot balloons to an altitude of 52,000 feet.During the rapid ascent the swaying of the gondola affected the electrometer mirror, and the cosmic-ray signals were irregular. More satisfactory data were obtained on the slower descent. At 78 mm. of mercury an intensity- of 288 standard ions was measured. This preliminary curve is somewhat steeper than that obtained by Millikan and Bowen I at about the same latitude. The test has shown that in principle the method is feasible, but that changes in the construction of the electrometer are necessary before wholly satisfactory results can be obtained.
The inverse problem of multivariate and matrix-variate skew normal distributions

In this paper, we prove that the joint distribution of random vectors Z 1 and Z 2 and the distribution of Z 2 are skew normal provided that Z 1 is skew normally distributed and Z 2 conditioning on Z 1 is distributed as closed skew normal. Also, we extend the main results to the matrix variate case.
Imaging of the Right Heart—CT and CMR

Right ventricular (RV) structure and function is of substantial importance in a broad variety of clinical conditions. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and computed tomography (CT) each provide three-dimensional RV imaging, high-resolution evaluation of RV structure/anatomy, and accurate functional assessment without geometric assumptions. This is of particular significance for the RV, where complex geometry compromises reliance on indices derived from two-dimensional (2D) imaging planes. CMR flow-based imaging can be applied to right-sided heart valves, enabling evaluation of hemodynamic and valvular dysfunction that may contribute to or result from RV dysfunction. Tissue characterization imaging by both CMR and CT provides valuable complementary assessment of the RV. Changes in myocardial tissue composition provide a mechanistic substrate for RV dysfunction and cardiac arrhythmias. This review provides an overview of RV imaging by both CMR and CT, with focus on assessment of RV structure/function, flow, and tissue characterization. Emerging evidence and established guidelines are discussed in the context of imaging contributions to diagnosis, prognostic risk stratification and disease management of clinical conditions that impact the right ventricle.