cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A system for grouping presenting complaints: the pediatric emergency reason for visit clusters.

Objectives: To develop a set of chief complaint groupings forpediatric emergency department (ED) visits that is compre-hensive, parsimonious, clinically sensible, and evidence-based. Methods: Investigators derived candidate chiefcomplaint clusters and ranked them a priori into threeperceived severity categories. Pediatric visits were extractedfrom the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical CareSurvey (NHAMCS); data for years 1998 and 2000(n = 13,186) were used for derivation and data for year1999 (n = 5,365) were used for validation. Visits wereassigned to clusters based on the recorded complaints;clusters were combined to ensure adequate numbers foranalysis (minimum n = 20), and the clusters were reviewedfor clinical sensibility. Resource utilization was categorizedin three levels: routine (examination only), ED treatment(tests or therapy in the ED but not admitted), and admis-sion. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC)curve (AUC) was used to demonstrate the discriminativeability of the clusters in predicting resource use. Results:There were 463 unique complaints in the derivation data-base; 95 (20%) had a single associated visit. Fifty-twoclusters were generated; only 2.4% of complaints wereclassiﬁed as other. The eight most common clustersencompassed 52% of the visits. The top ﬁve were fever(11%), extremity pain/injury, vomiting, cough, and trauma(unspeciﬁed). Complaint clusters were associated withactual resource utilization: for routine care, the AUC was0.73 (0.74 in the validation set), and for admission, the AUCwas 0.77 (0.74 in the validation set). Both resource utilizationand triage classiﬁcation increased with increased expertseverity ranking (test for trend, p , 0.001). Conclusions:The proposed Pediatric Emergency Reason for Visit Cluster(PERC) system is a comprehensive yet parsimonious,clinically sensible means of categorizing pediatric EDcomplaints. The PERC system’s association with measuresof acuity and resource utilization makes it a potentiallyuseful tool in epidemiologic and health services research.Key words: chief complaint; health services research;pediatric emergency care. ACADEMIC EMERGENCYMEDICINE 2005; 12:723–731.
Moment inequalities derived from comparing life with its equilibrium form

A life is characterized by a nonnegative random variable. Associated with life, two notions are interesting in applications such as biomedical research, engineering and statistics. These are the notions of random remaining life at a certain age and its equilibrium (stationary) limit as the age tends to infinity. In the current investigation, comparisons between these three notions both stochastically and in expectation are discussed where moments inequalities based on these comparisons are presented. These inequalities are then used to develop testing the hypothesis of exponentiality against orderings based on these comparisons.
Kelvin wave packets and flow acceleration: a comparison of modeling and observations

Atmospheric Kelvin waves, as revealed by temperatures obtained from the recent Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment, commonly occur in packets. A simple two-dimensional gravity-wave model is used to study the upward propagation of these packets through different zonal mean wind profiles derived from the LIMS data. The observed prevalence of high frequency waves in the lower mesosphere and low frequency waves in the lower stratosphere can be exlained by dispersion of energy associated with the range of frequencies comprising a packet. Dominant wave frequencies at upper and lower levels are more distinctly separated if the packet propagates through a layer of westerly winds. Due to dispersion and shear effects, a packet of short temporal length at low levels will have a considerably extended impact on a layer of westerly winds at higher levels. Observed and modeled westerly accelerations resulting from packet absorption occur in the same layer, and are similar in magnitude and duration. These results support the theory that Kelvin waves are responsible for the westerly phase of the semiannual oscillation.
Upper Bound on Cell Size for Moment-Method Solutions

When pulse functions are used in moment-method solutions, failure to allow for variation of the field within each cell limits the maximum usable electrical size of the cells. Appreciable error is expected for |k| l >or= 2 in one or two dimensions and |k| l >or= /spl radic/6 in the three-dimensional problem where l is the side of a cell and k is the propagation constant in the material.
Dynamic cardiovascular risk assessment in elderly people. The role of repeated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide testing.

Objectives This study sought to determine whether serial measurement of N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in community-dwelling elderly people would provide additional prognostic information to that from traditional risk factors. Background Accurate cardiovascular risk stratification is challenging in elderly people. Methods NT-proBNP was measured at baseline and 2 to 3 years later in 2,975 community-dwelling older adults free of heart failure in the longitudinal CHS (Cardiovascular Health Study). This investigation examined the risk of new-onset heart failure (HF) and death from cardiovascular causes associated with baseline NT-proBNP and changes in NT-proBNP levels, adjusting for potential confounders. Results NT-proBNP levels in the highest quintile (>267.7 pg/ml) were independently associated with greater risks of HF (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.46 to 3.78) and cardiovascular death (HR: 3.02; 95% CI: 2.36 to 3.86) compared with the lowest quintile ( 25% increase on follow-up to >190 pg/ml (21%) were at greater adjusted risk of HF (HR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.68 to 2.71) and cardiovascular death (HR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.43 to 2.53) compared with those with sustained low levels. Among participants with initially high NT-proBNP, those who developed a >25% increase (40%) were at higher risk of HF (HR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.56 to 2.72) and cardiovascular death (HR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.57), whereas those who developed a >25% decrease to ≤190 pg/ml (15%) were at lower risk of HF (HR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.93) and cardiovascular death (HR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.32 to 1.01) compared with those with unchanged high values. Conclusions NT-proBNP levels independently predict heart failure and cardiovascular death in older adults. NT-proBNP levels frequently change over time, and these fluctuations reflect dynamic changes in cardiovascular risk.
Characterization and reliability assessment of solder microbumps and assembly for 3D IC integration

In this investigation, Cu/Sn lead-free solder microbumps with 10μm pads on 20μm pitch are designed and fabricated. The chip size is 5mm × 5mm with thousands of microbumps. A daisy-chain feature is adopted for the characterization and reliability Assessment. After pattern trace formation, the microbump is fabricated on the trace by an electroplating technique. A suitable barrier/seed layer thickness is designed and applied to minimize the undercut due to wet etching but still achieve good plating uniformity. With the current process, the undercut is less than 1μm and the bump height variation is less than 10%. In addition, the shear test is adopted to characterize the bump strength, which exceeds the specification. Also, the Cu-Sn lead-free solder micro bumped chip is bonded on a Si wafer (chip-to-wafer or C2W bonding). Furthermore, the micro-gap between the bonded chips is filled with a special underfill. The shear strength of the bonded chips w/o underfill is measured and exceeds the specification. The bonding and filling integrity is further evaluated by open/short measurement, SAT analysis, and cross-section with SEM analysis. The stacked ICs are evaluated by reliability tests, including thermal cycling test (−55⇆125°C, dwell and ramp times = 15 min). Finally, ultra find-pitch (5μm pads on 10μm pitch) lead-free solder microbumping is explored.
Back Projection Speed Improvement for 3-D Reconstruction

The Fourier convolution algorithm has been used to reconstruct a 3-D density function. The method involves a particular choice of weighting function to convolve with projection data sets scanned through various angles from 0 to ?. The convolved data are then back projected to obtain a 2-D image. A 3-D reconstruction is obtained as a stack of 2-D images. Because the new tomographic machines have much finer resolution, the number or projection data to be processed is considerably more than with the early models. The amount of data to be processed makes critical the need for improvements in both the speed as well as the accuracy. A first step toward speed improvement is to use a finite field transform to perform the convolutions. This was shown previously by the authors to be, in fact, a worthwhile effort. Another and most time-consuming part of the reconstruction algorithm is the so-called back-projection algorithm. The purpose of this paper is to present a method for speeding-up the back-projection algorithm by cutting down the computational time by a factor of two.
Revised approach to toxicity test acceptability criteria using a statistical performance assessment

Current acceptability requirements for toxicity tests are often more restrictive than necessary. They focus primarily on response in a control and generally ignore what a test was “designed” to detect as a significant difference from that control. An approach is presented that takes into account the performance of an entire test and the magnitude of the deviation from the current acceptability requirements. The procedure is based on analyzing the past statistical performance of a test method (i.e., what kind of difference from the control was the test designed to detect). It takes into account traditional control acceptance criteria, but adds a requirement for selecting a difference from the control desired to be detected as statistically significant (a threshold value). Choice of statistical procedure is not relevant to the approach. The proposed method allows a sliding scale of acceptance. The greater the deviation of mean control response below current requirements, the less likely a test is to be accepted. An example is presented using data from a 10-d sediment test using the marine amphipod Ampelisca abdita. Use of the proposed acceptability criterion will reduce the frequency of required retesting without sacrificing defensibility of data. Using the old acceptability criterion, 19% of the samples in the amphipod data set would require retesting. The proposed criterion reduces the potential percentage of retests to 9%.
Variation in working memory capacity and temporal-contextual retrieval from episodic memory

Unsworth and Engle (2007) recently proposed a model of working memory capacity characterized by, among other things, the ability to conduct a strategic, cue-dependent search of long-term memory. Although this ability has been found to mediate individual variation in a number of higher order cognitive tasks, the component processes involved remain unclear. The current study was designed to investigate individual variation in successfully retrieving information from episodic memory by examining various aspects of the retrieval process. Both high- and low-working memory capacity participants were found to initiate recall in a similar fashion; however, low-working memory capacity participants did not show the classic asymmetry in their conditional-response probabilities that is typically observed. Overall, the retrieval deficits observed in low-working memory capacity individuals appear to be rooted in their inability to use the products of retrieval to further aid their search.
Dynamic resource management heuristics for minimizing makespan while maintaining an acceptable level of robustness in an uncertain environment

Heterogeneous parallel and distributed computing systems may operate in an environment where certain system performance features degrade due to unpredictable circumstances. Robustness can be defined as the degree to which a system can function correctly in the presence of parameter values different from those assumed. This paper presents a mathematical model for quantifying robustness in a dynamic environment where task execution times estimates are known to contain errors. This research proposes, evaluates, and compares ten different dynamic heuristics for their ability to maintain or maximize the proposed dynamic robustness metric in an uncertain environment. In addition, the makespan results of the proposed heuristics are compared to a lower bound.
UV-enhanced oxygen sensing of zinc oxide nanowires

UV (ultra violet)-enhanced oxygen sensing using ZnO (zinc oxide) nanowires has been successfully demonstrated with improved sensitivity. These single-crystalline nanowires are grown by the VLS (vapor-liquid-solid) process using inductive heating and self-assembled between two MEMS microstructures by the technique of local vapor deposition. Under 365-nm UV illumination, the as-fabricated device shows up to 500% improvement in oxygen sensitivity as compared with sensing data from the same device without using UV light. The transient responses of ZnO nanowires under UV and oxygen environment are also investigated and a photocurrent decay process is observed and characterized. As such, this UV enhancement sensing scheme could be applicable for nanowire-based gas and chemical sensors.
The association of cardiac vagal control and executive functioning--findings from the MIDUS study.

Cardiac vagal control (CVC), an index of parasympathetic contribution to cardiac regulation, has been linked to enhanced executive functioning (EF). However, findings to date have been based on small or unique samples. Additionally, previous studies assessed the CVCeEF link only during rest or recovery period from a cognitive challenge, but not during both states. In the present study, data on 817 socio- economically diverse participants were obtained from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study. As part of this study, participants completed cognitive tests, including EF, along with laboratory-based measures of CVC during rest and following recovery from a cognitive challenge. Regression analyses adjusting for respiratory rate revealed no effect of CVC at rest or during recovery on a global index of EF. However, exploratory post-hoc analyses of the components of the global EF index revealed a significant association between faster vagal recovery and better attention-switching and response inhibition abilities, as indexed by faster reaction time to the mixed SGST. This association remained significant after controlling for demographic, clinical (BMI, diseases and medications altering cardiac autonomic functioning, etc.), and health behavior covariates (Beta ¼ .148, p ¼ .010). Our findings suggest that future studies may need to investigate the links of CVC to specific EF abilities, rather than global measures of EF. Additionally, our results highlight the importance of assessing CVC during both rest and recovery from a cognitive challenge. The authors discuss the putative neurobiological under- pinning of this link, as well as suggestions for future basic and clinical research.
BLIMP-1: trigger for differentiation of myeloid lineage.

B lymphocyte–induced maturation protein-1 (BLIMP-1 or PRDI-BF1) is induced when bone marrow–derived progenitors differentiate in response to macrophage–colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and is present in peripheral blood monocytes and granulocytes. BLIMP-1 is also induced during differentiation of U937 and HL-60 cells into macrophages or granulocytes. Induction of BLIMP-1 mRNA during macrophage differentiation of U937 and HL-60 shows a biphasic pattern. Overexpression of BLIMP-1 is sufficient to initiate macrophage differentiation of U937 cells whereas blocking endogenous BLIMP-1 inhibits differentiation. One target of BLIMP-1–dependent transcriptional repression in U937 cells is c-myc, providing an explanation for cessation of cell division. Thus BLIMP-1 is a key regulator of terminal differentiation in two separate hematopoietic lineages: myeloid cells and B lymphocytes.
BMP/Coco antagonism as a deterministic factor of metastasis dormancy in lung

A recent Cell publication demonstrates that the secreted antagonist of transforming growth factor-beta ligands, Coco, can re-activate previously dormant metastatic breast cancer cells specifically in the lung by inhibiting bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. The authors provided evidence for a connection between Coco/BMP signaling and molecular and cellular traits of cancer stem cells. Their findings represent a significant advance in our understanding of metastatic dormancy, an extremely important clinical issue that remains understudied. Equally as important, this study also opens interesting avenues for future research.
Preemptive Federalism or Regulatory Dismantlement? The Bush Administration's Implementation of the Federal Coal Mining Reclamation Program

This article examines the implementation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) under the administration of President George W. Bush. It addresses a problem that is both conceptual and practical: how does a chief executive deal with policies that are at odds with each other? While the original purpose of SMCRA was to reclaim lands adversely affected by coal mining operations, I suggest that implementation efforts since 2001 have placed greater emphasis upon coal production than upon the maintenance of reclamation standards. This has been achieved by combining the factors often found within policy implementation approaches with the discretionary use of executive authority. The net result is that the president's preferred policy position, i.e., the development of domestic energy resources, has been enhanced despite some cost to countervailing policy goals, i.e., the conservation of water quality and wildlife in Appalachia.
MGS: A Multigrain Shared Memory System

Parallel workstations, each comprising 10-100 processors, promise cost-effective general-purpose multiprocessing. This paper explores the coupling of such small- to medium-scale shared memory multiprocessors through software over a local area network to synthesize larger shared memory systems. We call these systems Distributed Scalable Shared-memory Multiprocessors (DSSMPs).This paper introduces the design of a shared memory system that uses multiple granularities of sharing, and presents an implementation on the Alewife multiprocessor, called MGS. Multigrain shared memory enables the collaboration of hardware and software shared memory, and is effective at exploiting a form of locality called multigrain locality. The system provides efficient support for fine-grain cache-line sharing, and resorts to coarse-grain page-level sharing only when locality is violated. A framework for characterizing application performance on DSSMPs is also introduced.Using MGS, an in-depth study of several shared memory applications is conducted to understand the behavior of DSSMPs. We find that unmodified shared memory applications can exploit multigrain sharing. Keeping the number of processors fixed, applications execute up to 85% faster when each DSSMP node is a multiprocessor as opposed to a uniprocessor. We also show that tightly-coupled multiprocessors hold a significant performance advantage over DSSMPs on unmodified applications. However, a best-effort implementation of a kernel from one of the applications allows a DSSMP to almost match the performance of a tightly-coupled multiprocessor.
PILOCARPINE TOXICITY AND THE TREATMENT OF XEROSTOMIA

Pilocarpine has been used as an ophthalmologic agent for decades; however, toxicity rarely has been reported in the medical literature. Oral pilocarpine tablets, as well as another muscarinic agent (cevimeline), have recently been approved for the treatment of dry mouth (xerostomia). We report a case of unintentional overdose of oral pilocarpine tablets that resulted in bradycardia, mild hypotension, and muscarinic symptoms in a patient with Sjogren's syndrome. The patient's symptoms were relieved with 0.5 mg intravenous atropine and she recovered uneventfully. The case is unique in that it is the first reported ingestion of oral pilocarpine tablets and the first dosing error reported for this indication. In addition, this case underscores the importance of communication between physician and patient and the resulting toxicity related to miscommunication.
MASKER: improved solvent-excluded molecular surface area estimations using Boolean masks.

A fast algorithm for computing the solvent-accessible molecular surface area (SAS) using Boolean masks [Le Grand,S.M. and Merz,K.M.J. (1993). J. Comput. Chem., 14, 349-352) has been modified to estimate the solvent-excluded molecular surface area (SES), including contact, toroidal and re-entrant surface components. Numerical estimates of arc lengths of intersecting atomic SAS are used to estimate the toroidal surface and intersections between those arcs are used to estimate the re-entrant surface area. The new method is compared with an exact analytical method. Boolean molecular surface areas are continuous and pairwise differentiable and should be useful for molecular dynamics simulations, especially as the basis for an implicit solvent model.
Towards image-guided gene therapy delivery

Image-guided procedures have grown steadily over the past decade. In most the aim is the resection or destruction of diseased tissue. Gene therapy agents have a very limited diffusion distance which limits their usefulness. A technique for guiding the delivery of gene therapy using image-guidance is under development. When complete, it would allow the delivery of diffusion limited therapies to a broad volume. We present the results of the delivery system development and the accuracy testing.
Wounding induces changes in cytokinin and auxin content in potato tuber, but does not induce formation of gibberellins

Cytokinin, auxin and gibberellin contents in resting and wound-responding potato tubers have not been fully determined and coordinated with wound-healing processes. Using a well-defined wound-healing model system, hormone content and expression of genes associated with hormone turnover were determined in tubers following wounding. Changes in hormone content were coordinated with: (I) formation and completion of the wound closing layer (0-5/6 days), and (II) initiation of phellogen and wound periderm formation (∼ 7 days). Quantifiable amounts of biologically active cytokinins (Z, DZ and IP) were not detected in resting or wound-responding tubers. However, the precursor IPA and catabolic product c-ZOG were found in small amounts in resting and wound-responding tubers. Wound-induced activation of cytokinin biosynthesis was suggested by an increase in t-ZR and c-ZR content at 0.5 days and large increases in IPA and c-ZR content by 3 days and throughout 7 days after wounding suggesting roles in II, but little or no role in I. Expression of key genes involved in cytokinin metabolism followed similar profiles with transcripts decreasing through 3 days and then increasing at 5-7 days after wounding. Both free IAA and IAA-Asp were present in resting tubers. While IAA-Asp was no longer present by 3 days after wounding, IAA content nearly doubled by 5 days and was more than 4-fold greater at 7 days compared to that in resting tuber (0 day) suggesting roles in II, but little or no role in I. Gibberellins were not present in quantifiable amounts in resting or wound-responding tubers. These results suggest that bio-active cytokinins are wound-induced, but their residency is temporal and highly regulated. The transient presence of active cytokinins and corresponding increases in IAA content strongly suggest their involvement in the regulation of wound periderm development. The absence of gibberellins indicates that they are not a regulatory component of wound-healing processes.
Critical race theory as praxis: A view from outside the outside

This article examines the structure and development of critical race theory scholarship and offer recommendations for enhancing its practical real world applications.
“There Is No Substitute for a Sense of Reality”: Humanizing the Humanities

Do the humanities have a future? In the face of an increased emphasis on the so-called practical applicability of education, some educators worry that the presence of humanistic study in schools and universities is gravely threatened. In the short-term, scholars have rallied to defend the humanities by demonstrating how they do, in fact, advance our practical interests. Martha Nussbaum, for example, argues that the humanities uniquely support democratic citizenship by cultivating critical thinking and narrative imagination — two skills needed for the development of sympathetic and autonomous judgment. Defending the humanities in this manner, however, puts practitioners of the humanities in an impossible position. In this essay, Megan Laverty explains that while arguments such as Nussbaum's, which defend the instrumental value of the humanities, are persuasive and strategic, their use is double-edged. They belie the fact that the humanities are valuable for their own sake. Such arguments imply that the humanities derive their value from their ability to provide extrinsic benefits such as critical thinking and narrative imagination. Moreover, they can prevent individuals from discovering that the value of the humanities is revealed over time and from the inside out. In fact, having to answer the question of why the humanities matter puts us in an impossible position precisely because humanistic study is what Laverty describes, drawing upon the work of Talbot Brewer and R. F. Holland, as a form of dialectical activity: one in which the activity's constitutive ideals and internal goods are progressively clarified by means of the individual's ongoing engagement in the activity itself. Having redescribed the humanities as intrinsically valuable, Laverty goes on to distinguish humanistic study from other forms of dialectical activity, arguing that the humanities call upon students to imagine alternative linguistic and conceptual possibilities — thereby connecting us with others. It is in the pursuit of this question about the nature of our humanity — not its answer, but the question itself — that the meaning of humanistic study continues, indefinitely, to unfold.
An integrated feature ranking and selection framework for ADHD characterization

Today, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) still primarily relies on a series of subjective evaluations that highly rely on a doctor’s experiences and intuitions from diagnostic interviews and observed behavior measures. An accurate and objective diagnosis of ADHD is still a challenge and leaves much to be desired. Many children and adults are inappropriately labeled with ADHD conditions, whereas many are left undiagnosed and untreated. Recent advances in neuroimaging studies have enabled us to search for both structural (e.g., cortical thickness, brain volume) and functional (functional connectivity) abnormalities that can potentially be used as new biomarkers of ADHD. However, structural and functional characteristics of neuroimaging data, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), usually generate a large number of features. With a limited sample size, traditional machine learning techniques can be problematic to discover the true characteristic features of ADHD due to the significant issues of overfitting, computational burden, and interpretability of the model. There is an urgent need of efficient approaches to identify meaningful discriminative variables from a higher dimensional feature space when sample size is small compared with the number of features. To tackle this problem, this paper proposes a novel integrated feature ranking and selection framework that utilizes normalized brain cortical thickness features extracted from MRI data to discriminate ADHD subjects against healthy controls. The proposed framework combines information theoretic criteria and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) method into a two-step feature selection process which is capable of selecting a sparse model while preserving the most informative features. The experimental results showed that the proposed framework generated the highest/comparable ADHD prediction accuracy compared with the state-of-the-art feature selection approaches with minimum number of features in the final model. The selected regions of interest in our model were consistent with recent brain–behavior studies of ADHD development, and thus confirmed the validity of the selected features by the proposed approach.
Mereological Dominance and the Logic of Better-Than

It's been argued that better-than is non-transitive – that there are some value bearers for which better-than fails to generate an acyclic ordering. Michael Huemer has offered a powerful objection to this view, which he dubs ‘The Dominance Argument’. In what follows, I consider the extent to which there is a plausible response to be made on behalf of those who hold that better-than is non-transitive. I conclude that there is.
Investigation of AIDS infection status and previous detection status among children of adults living with HIV/AIDS in two states of Xinjiang

Objective To master the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) infection status and previous detection status among children of adults living with HIV/AIDS in two states of Xinjiang,in order to provide scientific basis for prevention and control measures in future.Methods With children of adults living with HIV/AIDS as the research object in 16 counties of Urumqi and Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang.After questionnaire investigation and consultation,obtained HIV/AIDS patients or their families′ informed consent and then did the blood testing.Results During 659 children of adults living with HIV/AIDS,15 respondents tested positive for HIV(2.28%).With 429(65.1%) children of adults living with HIV/AIDS previously done AIDS testing,and 494(78.2%) parents knew their test results.The differences of previous detection status among children of adults living with HIV/AIDS between Urumqi and Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture,Uygur with other nationalities were statistical significance.There were statistically significant differences on parents′ acknowledge on their detection results between Uygur and other nationalities,children with HIV antibody negative results and with a positive result.Conclusion The AIDS detection rate among children of adults living with HIV/AIDS and the AIDS detection rate of their parents in two states of Xinjiang is far lower,we should taken the further implement measures of "every pregnancy will check" in Xinjiang,enhance the health education of HIV/AIDS patients and their families,improve the knowledge level and deepen pair intervention level of AIDS.
Approaching the Adolescent in the Office

Help for adolescents must be based on a thorough knowledge of normal somatic and psychological development, and how these are influenced by disease. Often adolescents – and their parents – need considerable help simply in appreciating the normality of the wide variations in the timing of the events of puberty. Observation of parent-child interaction and how the adolescent responds to or avoids stressful subjects can provide clues to how well the patient is adjusting to the somatic changes she is undergoing.
Percutaneous Nephrostomy in Neonates and Infants

A total of 8 patients between 2 days and 2 years old underwent 13 percutaneous nephrostomies for treatment of hydronephrosis. No significant complications were encountered.
Minimal Degrees Below \(\emptyset^{\prime\prime}\)

This chapter presents the important method of forcing with trees to contruct minimal degrees. Variations on this method have produced many results on degrees and their initial segments as presented in Lerman [1983]. Theorems using the minimal degree construction can be found in the bibliographies of Epstein [1975] and [1979].
Event-by-event Analysis of Na49 Central Pb-Pb Data

Event-by-event analysis of nuclear collisions looks for differential manifestations of increased correlation or symmetry reduction in the multiparticle final state with respect to a minimally correlated (equilibrated) reference system. Event-by-event physics has been an active field of nuclear research for almost two decades, msinly emphasizing flow and jet studies. Jet production stems from interaction of partonic degrees of freedom at small space-time scales. Jet phenomena therefore reveal aspects of perturbative QCD. Flow reflects large-scale correlations between momentum and configuration space in the hadronic regime at later times. Jets and flow are ‘large-amplitude’ phenomena, observable even with low-multiplicity collision svstems.
Triboluminescence at Speeds Greater than 100 m/s

The emission of light due to crystal fracture, or triboluminescence (TL), is a phenomenon that has been known for centuries. One of the most common examples of TL is the flash created from chewing real Wint-O-Green Lifesavers®. This chapter discusses a unique material, zinc sulfide doped with manganese (ZnS:Mn), that can aid in the design of an impact sensor capable of discerning impacts with speeds greater than 100 m/s. To achieve these speeds, however, hypervelocity guns and firearms must be used. As such, getting expensive equipment near the impacts to measure this effect becomes complicated. This chapter discusses how these complications were overcome as well as the groundbreaking results that showed that the triboluminescent spectrum shifts as a function of impact energy and ZnS:Mn can be used as the active element in impact sensors.
3-D water properties and geostrophic circulation on the eastern Bering Sea shelf

Abstract The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration׳s (NOAA) Alaska Fisheries Science Center bottom trawl survey samples demersal fish at over 350 sites on the eastern Bering Sea continental shelf each summer on a 37×37 km2 grid. Rugged conductivity–temperature-depth sensors (CTDs) were added to the net hauls to obtain gridded data sets of temperature and salinity measurements for 2008–2010. Results reveal the three-dimensional thermohaline structure of the shelf including the Cold Pool and areas of fresher water around St. Matthew Island and in Bristol Bay. Horizontal gradients are often strongest roughly along the 50-m and 100-m isobaths that traditionally separate the inner- and outer-shelf from the middle-shelf centered along the 70-m isobath. The summer mixed layer depth is less than 30 m over much of the region. It reaches the bottom along the Alaska Peninsula in water depths greater than 70 m, showing that the boundary of the well-mixed, inner shelf is not always at the 50-m isobath. The greatest upper-to-lower layer density difference is found across the shelf north of 59°N. The salinity difference is the main contributor to this density difference over most of the region in 2008 and 2010, but the temperature difference dominates in 2009 due to decreased ice melt and reduced freshening near St. Matthew Island. The geostrophic velocity relative to the bottom shows northwestward flow seaward of the 100-m isobath and northwestward transports integrated across the shelf of 0.10–0.25×106 m3/s. In 2008 and 2010 there was clockwise circulation in a region of less-saline water around St. Matthew Island. In 2009 that fresher lens did not exist, and flow was more concentrated along the 100-m isobath bringing saltier water across the shelf.
Complications and Management of Pediatric Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery: Prevention and Management

As the application and popularity of pediatric robotic urology increases, the practicing urologist must become familiar with possible complications. While there is a dearth of literature on pediatric robotic outcomes in urological surgery, there is an even greater paucity of publications on robotic complications in children. In theory, many of the complications encountered are the same as those seen in conventional laparoscopy; however, there are a number of potential problems specific to robotic surgery that the pediatric urologist must be able to both anticipate and manage in order to minimize the risk of utilizing this novel surgical tool. The chapter summarizes the potential for and management of these complications.
Fuzzy Analysis and Simulations for Emergency Hospital Performance in Post-Disaster

In order to establish an effective collaboration between post-disaster management systems (PDMS) and individuals for data sharing, appropriate agreements with a timely response for the need of these individuals must be adopted. Such agreements will increase their willingness to participate in this process. Additionally establishing an appropriate relationship between governments, private and academic sectors will lead to better utilization of their capabilities (e.g. national mapping agencies) and allow PDMS to acquire plenty of data from the disaster response. Fuzzy factors analysis on matrix type dataset is to conduct a subdataset indexing by some indices using fuzzy transformation; the survey dataset in this paper were processed by fuzzy factors analysis, In order to conduct sub-dataset indexing by some indices using fuzzy transformation, it is necessary to use fuzzy factor analyst on matrix type dataset.
Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is dependent on SphKs/S1P signaling for growth and survival

About 40,000 American women die from metastatic breast cancer each year despite advancements in treatment. Approximately, 15% of breast cancers are triple-negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2. Triple-negative cancer is characterized by more aggressive, harder to treat with conventional approaches and having a greater possibility of recurrence. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid signaling mediator has emerged as a key regulatory molecule in breast cancer progression. Therefore, we investigated whether cytosolic sphingosine kinase type 1 (SphK1) and nuclear sphingosine kinase type 2 (SphK2), the enzymes that make S1P are critical for growth and PI3K/AKT, ERK-MAP kinase mediated survival signaling of lung metastatic variant LM2-4 breast cancer cells, generated from the parental triple-negative MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. Similar with previous report, SphKs/S1P signaling is critical for the growth and survival of estrogen receptor positive MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, was used as our study control. MDA-MB-231 did not show a significant effect of SphKs/S1P signaling on AKT, ERK, and p38 pathways. In contrast, LM2-4 cells that gained lung metastatic phenotype from primary MDA-MB-231 cells show a significant effect of SphKs/S1P signaling requirement on cell growth, survival, and cell motility. PF-543, a selective potent inhibitor of SphK1, attenuated epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated cell growth and survival signaling through inhibition of AKT, ERK, and p38 MAP kinase pathways mainly in LM2-4 cells but not in parental MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Moreover, K-145, a selective inhibitor of SphK2, markedly attenuated EGF-mediated cell growth and survival of LM2-4 cells. We believe this study highlights the importance of SphKs/S1P signaling in metastatic triple-negative breast cancers and targeted therapies.
Deformation and Fracture of Particulate Composite

A two-dimensional model is presented for studying the effect of progressive debonding on the deformation and fracture of composites. Using a special adaptation of the finite element technique, stress and deformation fields of the model under uniaxial compressive stress are computed on an incremental basis. The interface between the matrix and inclusion is modeled by a boundary layer of elements for which the strength characteristics are assigned on the basis of earlier experimental work. Based on predefined bond strength criteria, two modes of debonding are assumed: compression-shear and tensile-shear debonding. Progressive failure behavior and overall deformation as well as local deformations and their discontinuities are briefly reviewed. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained.
Decay of 245Pu

Abstract The radiations associated with the β-decay of 10.5 h 245 Pu have been studied with Ge(Li) and Si(Li) detectors, a xenon-filled proportional counter and conventional NaI(Tl) scintillators used in singles and coincidence configurations. The β-ray spectrum is complex with a 1210±40 keV end-point energy. The most intense group has a 930±30 keV end-point energy. Conversion electron lines of the more intense γ-transitions have been measured and tentative multipolarities have been assigned. A total of 70 γ-rays was observed in Ge(Li) singles spectra, and most of these transitions have been included in the 245 Am level scheme, which includes excited states at 19, 28, 47, 70, 87, 124, 134, 327, 396, 475, 757, 796, 887, 920, 958, 988, 1066, 1112 and 1185 keV. The present data are consistent with spin and parity assignments of 9 2 − for 245 Pu and 5 2 + for 245 Am. The total β-disintegration energy of 245 Pu is 1.26±0.03 MeV.
Why conceptual groundwater flow models matter: a trans-boundary example from the arid Great Basin, western USA

Spring and Snake valleys, western USA, are scheduled for development and groundwater export to Las Vegas, Nevada (USA). New work, compared to published studies, illustrates the critical role of conceptual models to underpin water withdrawals in arid regions. Interbasin flow studies suggest that 30–55 % of recharge to Snake Valley arrives from adjacent Spring Valley. This study, however, suggest little or no interbasin flow; rather, Spring and Snake valleys comprise separate systems. Contrary to expectation, δD and δ18O contours are perpendicular to proposed interbasin flow paths. 14C age gradients up to 10 ka along interbasin flow paths indicate that old waters are not displaced by such fluxes. 14C and 3H patterns indicate local recharge occurs in adjacent mountain ranges and is transferred to basin-fill by losing streams, mountain front recharge, and upward leakage from carbonate bedrock beneath basins. The choice of conceptual models is critical for groundwater development. Simple analyses of water withdrawals indicate that monitoring discharges at desert springs is an inadequate protective measure. Once flows decline, recovery is lengthy even if pumping is stopped. The conceptual framework behind quantitative evaluations of sustainable yield is critical to determine the ability of a groundwater system to deliver sustained withdrawals.
Anesthesia for Intestinal Obstruction

Intestinal obstruction is one of the most common pathologies in pediatric patients and has historically been a major cause of neonatal and infant mortality due to either an inaccurate or tardy diagnosis leading to a delay in surgical intervention and supportive care (Glover and Barry, Ann Surg 130:480–509, 1949). Earlier recognition and appropriate care has led to increased patient survival with surgical correction that is usually the definitive treatment in almost all cases. Anesthetic management for a pediatric patient with intestinal obstruction is not always straightforward and can present several challenges to the pediatric anesthesiologist. This chapter will discuss the most common causes of pediatric intestinal obstruction and the perioperative and anesthetic considerations involved in the care of these patients. Table 43.1 provides a guide to the care of newborns, infants and children with intestinal obstruction.
Formal Group Hopf Orders

In this chapter, we show how to construct Hopf orders using the theory of formal groups. Throughout this chapter, K = K P is a finite extension of \({\mathcal{Q}}_{p}\) with ring of integers \(R =\hat{ {R}}_{P}\) endowed with the discrete valuation ord. We let π denote a uniformizing parameter for R, and put e = ord(p), \({e}^{{\prime}} = e/(p - 1)\).
Secondary Conditions in Youth with Disabilities

Healthy People 2010 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2000, Chap. 6, Disability and Secondary Conditions) identifies secondary conditions as “medical, social, emotional, family, or community problems that a person with a primary disabling condition likely experiences,” which includes physical and psychological conditions that might emerge following primary disability but which also includes the impact of attitudes of other people on primary and secondary disabilities. In the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2007 report,The Future of Disability in America, secondary condition risk is dependent on an individual’s primary disabling condition and therefore the risk of secondary conditions will differ among people. The IOM report also points out that behavior, lifestyle, and biological factors for a particular individual can affect the potential for developing participation restrictions, activity limitations, or additional impairments as a result of a particular secondary condition. The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) explore the variability in secondary condition definitions, (2) identify the types of secondary conditions published in the peer-reviewed literature for specific populations of youth, and (3) discuss the importance of secondary condition prevention efforts in improving quality of life for children and youth with disabilities.
Multi-layered spatial methodology for assessing the technical and economic viability of using renewable energy to power brackish groundwater desalination

Abstract Wind and solar energy can potentially be used to power desalination facilities to sustainably meet growing water demands with a smaller carbon footprint than conventional approaches. This work presents a detailed method for assessing the technical and economic viability of using these renewable forms of energy to power desalination facilities. The method relies on a multi-layered, spatial model that incorporated multiple variables such as depth of water resource, salinity levels, magnitude of local renewable energy resources, distance to water infrastructure, and, for comparative purposes, the local price of water. To illustrate this method, it was applied to 1445 site locations on state of Texas lands owned by the General Land Office that overlay brackish aquifer resources. Using this method, 193 potentially economically viable sites were identified that have estimated renewable desalination water production costs lower than local municipal water prices. The results of this analysis showed that using wind to power a desalination facility is economically preferable at 145 of the 193 sites; solar was preferable at the remaining 48 sites. Solar and wind resources are both abundant in Texas; however, the particularly high capacity factors for wind across much of the state helps wind deliver the lowest cost electricity.