cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accelerated hyperfractionated radiation, concurrent paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy and surgery for stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract The low surgical cure rate in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer has prompted an exploration of multimodality treatment strategies. Mature results are presented from a phase II trial of accelerated hyperfractionated radiation therapy, concurrent paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy and surgery for these patients. Between 1994 and 1997, 45 patients with surgically demonstrated stage III non-small cell lung cancer underwent induction treatment with a 96 h continuous cisplatin infusion (20 mg/m 2 per day) and a 24 h infusion of paclitaxel (175 mg/m 2 ) given concurrently with accelerated hyperfractionated radiation therapy (1.5 Gy twice daily) to a total dose of 30 Gy. Induction was completed in ten treatment (12 total) days. Surgical resection was scheduled 4 weeks later with a second identical course of chemoradiotherapy given 4–6 weeks post-operatively, to a total radiation dose of 60–63 Gy. Thirty-five patients had stage III A disease and ten had stage III B disease (eight with N 3 tumors). Induction toxicity included nausea in 89%, dysphagia in 89%, and neutropenia 3 in 84% which required hospitalization for fever in 40%. There were no toxic deaths during induction. About 40 of the 45 patients (89%) were operable and 32 (71%) were resectable for cure. A pathologic response was identified in 22 patients (49%); five patients (11%) had no residual disease. Fourteen patients (31%) were downstaged to mediastinal node negativity. With a median follow-up of 60 months, the Kaplan–Meier projected 5-year overall survival was 29%; locoregional control 79%; and distant metastatic disease control 38%. The projected 5-year survival for the 14 patients downstaged to mediastinal node negativity was 50%. For the 19 patients with residual ipsilateral mediastinal node involvement at surgery it was 32%. This short-course of paclitaxel and cisplatin chemotherapy and concurrent accelerated fractionation radiation is tolerable despite significant myelosuppression. Locoregional control is excellent and survival is better than historical expectations. Patients downstaged to mediastinal node negativity have a prognosis similar to those with de novo stage I B and II disease. Distant metastases are the major cause of treatment failure.
OS support for detecting Trojan circuit attacks

Rapid advances in integrated circuit (IC) development predicted by Moore's Law lead to increasingly complex, hard to verify IC designs. Design insiders or adversaries employed at untrusted locations can insert malicious Trojan circuits capable of launching attacks in hardware or supporting software-based attacks. In this paper, we provide a method for detecting Trojan circuit denial-of-service attacks using a simple, verifiable hardware guard external to the complex CPU. The operating system produces liveness checks, embedded in the software clock, to which the guard can respond. We also present a novel method for the OS to detect a hardware-software (HW/SW) Trojan privilege escalation attack by using OS-generated checks to test if the CPU hardware is enforcing memory protection (MP). Our implementation of fine-grained periodic checking of MP enforcement incurs only 2.2% overhead using SPECint 2006.
Extraction as a treatment alternative follows repeated trauma in a severely handicapped patient

Handicapped patients with protruding maxillary incisors are prone to repeated dental trauma. A 13-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, severe mental retardation and seizure disorder was referred to our department for restoring the traumatized anterior teeth. Despite drug combination, the frequency of seizure attack was around 10 times a month. The oral examination showed multiple caries, gingival hyperplasia, class II malocclusion with 14 mm overjet and deep overbite. During the first 3 years of a 7-year follow-up period, six episodes of anterior tooth trauma due to seizure attack occurred. The trauma-related treatment performed included endodontic therapy, multiple composite restorations, apical repositional flap, and finally extraction of all four upper incisors with fabrication of a semi-fixed band-retained denture. The denture restored normal overbite and overjet with improved esthetics. For 4 years following the fabrication of denture, no trauma occurred to the anterior teeth in later seizure attacks. Considering inadequate control of seizure disorder, little ability of the patient to receive comprehensive orthodontic treatment, poor prognosis of restorations, and possible future injuries, the removal of non-functional, nonesthetic, trauma-susceptible incisor teeth can be justified as an alternative to tooth preservation.
Farmers, trust, and the market solution to water pollution: The role of social embeddedness in water quality trading

Abstract Water quality trading (WQT) is a market arrangement in which a point-source water polluter pays farmers to implement conservation practices and claims the resulting benefits as credits toward meeting a pollution permit. Success rates of WQT programs nationwide are highly variable. Most of the literature on WQT is from an economic perspective emphasizing property rights, transaction costs, and the role of the price signal, but this institutional approach cannot fully account for the differential success rates between and within WQT programs. In this paper I turn to the role of social embeddedness and trust in helping explain these variable outcomes. Using interview data from all WQT programs nationwide I demonstrate that differential success rates between, and particularly within programs is largely determined by the presence or absence of a trusted local intermediary with relationships to the farming community. Trust helps WQT programs succeed because it makes information more credible to farmers, makes outreach to farmers more efficient, and buffers the risk that farmers may perceive in participating in the trading scheme.
A Holistic Approach Towards a Unified CpE Laboratory Platform

This paper outlines a plan in which the conventional computer engineering laboratories are replaced with a common configurable student- purchased platform. While there are plenty of universities that require students to purchase hardware boards as part of a requirement for a class, the plan presented here is fairly unique in the fact that the same hardware board is used throughout the undergraduate curriculum, beginning with their first freshmen programming class, and extending through the senior- level capstone design classes. This approach impacts education in a number of ways, including student economics, department logistics management, and agility to upgrade when needed.
The selection of self-MHC recognizing T lymphocytes: a role for idiotypes?

Since the discovery that helper and cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize and respond to ant igen in the context of self molecules encoded within the major histocompatibili ty complex (MHC), two major classes of theory have been considered to explain this part icular behavior. One theory (for review, see Ref. I) states that the T-cell receptor has a single combining site having no specificity either for the foreign (or nominal) antigen or for se l fMHC-encoded molecules, instead recognizing a new antigenic de terminant generated by the interaction of these two entities on a cell surface. The other class of theory states tha t the Tccll rcceptor(s) consists of two binding sites, one for the nominal antigen and one for self-MHC-encoded molecules, both of which must be occupied in ordcr for the cell to respond to antigen. Most experimental approaches to T-cell receptor specificity have sought to resolve this argument. At the present time, it is safe to say that there is still no agreement on this issue, and this presentat ion will not a t tempt to resolve this disagreement. Rather, I will review various arguments in favor of oneor two-site models. I will also present a new interpretat ion of one of the strongest arguments in favor of two-site theories the positive selection of self-MHC recognizing T lymphocytes during their matura t ion in the thymus. Arguments that favor a one-site model of T-cell receptors are the demonstrat ion of nominal antigen self-MHC-molecule complexes on cell surfaces and the failure of T (:ells to bind or recognize either nominal antigen or self-MHC antigens in isolation. The strongest arguments favoring a two-site model involw: inherited T-cell idiotypes and the influence of the thymus on M H C recognition by T cells.
Power Combiners/Dividers for Loop Pickup and Kicker Arrays for FNAL Stochastic Cooling Rings

The anti-proton accumulator and debuncher at FNAL will use stochastic methods to ''cool'' the beam. Pairs of quarter-wavelength directional-coupler loops are used to detect and kick the beam. The loops are copper plates which are flush with the upper and lower wall of a rectangular beam pipe. The plates, when surrounded by a properly sized pocket, form a 100-ohm transmission-line directional coupler. As the beam passes, a signal which gives position and time information, is induced in the plates. But, because the signal levels are low (<.5 picowatts per pair), a power combiner (usually several primary combiners feeding a secondary combiner) is used to combine the outputs of many loops. Subsequently, the combined signal is amplified, filtered and then fed into a divider, (that is, a combiner operating in reverse). The divider distributes the signal into a different set of loops which modify (kick) the beam's position. Since the loop couplers are arranged linearly, in arrays of various lengths, combiners also provide a convenient method of reducing the number of vacuum feedthroughs and preamplifiers and their related costs in performance and dollars. In this note we describe various stripline combiner systems that add the outputs of 4, 8, 16 ormore » 32 loops.« less
A long-term follow-up study on infectious hepatitisduring pregnancy

Summary 1. A follow-up study of eleven childrenborn of mothers with infectious hepatitis during pregnancy reveals that all the children are well with normal development and without evidence of liver dysfunction. 2. The data suggests that transplacental transmission of hepatitis virus is an unusual occurrence and evidence for such transmission needs to be confirmed. 3. A method for the follow-up studyof children born of mothers with infectious hepatitis during pregnancy is presented. It is hoped that the experiences of other obstetrical services may be pooled together to give definitive data.
Observations of O2 (¹Σ) and OH nightglow during the ALOHA‐90 Campaign

Two spectroscopic instruments, a 1/4 meter Ebert-Fastie spectrometer and a Michelson interferometer, were flown aboard the NCAR Electra during the ALOHA-90 campaign. These instruments were designed to carry out measurements of the brightnesses and rotational temperatures of the O2 Atmospheric (0–1) band and several OH Meinel bands simultaneously with sodium lidar observations. The spectrometer results taken during the nights of March 25 and March 31 are reported. Wave-like oscillations in both O2 and OH airglow brightnesses were clearly present during both flights and a strong positive correlation of OH band brightness with sodium column density was found. A slightly weaker correlation of O2 band brightness with sodium column density was also detected. The measured brightness ratio between the OH (7–4) and (7–3) bands is found to be 11.2±0.3, which is in good agreement with the calculated ratios of 12.8 by Mies [1974] and 10.2 by Langhoff et al. [1986].
Binding of netropsin to several DNA constructs: Evidence for at least two different 1:1 complexes formed from an –AATT-containing ds-DNA construct and a single minor groove binding ligand

Abstract Isothermal titration calorimetry, ITC, has been used to determine the thermodynamics (Δ G , Δ H , and − T Δ S ) for binding netropsin to a number of DNA constructs. The DNA constructs included: six different 20–22mer hairpin forming sequences and an 8-mer DNA forming a duplex dimer. All DNA constructs had a single –AT-rich netropsin binding with one of the following sequences, (A 2 T 2 ) 2 , (ATAT) 2 , or (AAAA/TTTT). Binding energetics are less dependent on site sequence than on changes in the neighboring single stranded DNA (hairpin loop size and tail length). All of the 1:1 complexes exhibit an enthalpy change that is dependent on the fractional saturation of the binding site. Later binding ligands interact with a significantly more favorable enthalpy change (∂Δ H 1–2 from 2 to 6 kcal/mol) and a significantly less favorable entropy change (∂(− T Δ S 1–2 )) from − 4 to − 9 kcal/mol). The ITC data could only be fit within expected experimental error by use of a thermodynamic model that includes two independent binding processes with a combined stoichiometry of 1 mol of ligand per 1 mol of oligonucleotide. Based on the biophysical evidence reported here, including theoretical calculations for the energetics of “trapping” or structuring of a single water molecule and molecular docking computations, it is proposed that there are two modes by which flexible ligands can bind in the minor groove of duplex DNA. The higher affinity binding mode is for netropsin to lay along the floor of the minor groove in a bent conformation and exclude all water from the groove. The slightly weaker binding mode is for the netropsin molecule to have a slightly more linear conformation and for the required curvature to be the result of a water molecule that bridges between the floor of the minor groove and two of the amidino nitrogens located at one end of the bound netropsin molecule.
Risk of Dementia among Persons with Diabetes Mellitus: A Population-based Cohort Study

It is unclear whether persons with diabetes are at increased risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Existing studies are limited by small sample size, selection bias, and case-control designs. This population-based historical cohort study provides estimates of the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease associated with adult onset diabetes mellitus (AODM). The sample included all persons with AODM residing in Rochester, Minnesota, on January 1, 1970, plus all persons diagnosed in Rochester or who moved to Rochester with the diagnosis between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 1984. Individuals were followed through review of their complete medical records from AODM diagnosis until dementia onset, emigration, death, or January 1, 1985. Standardized morbidity ratios for dementia and Alzheimer's disease were calculated, using an expected incidence based on age- and sex-specific rates for the Rochester population. Poisson regression was used to estimate risks for persons with AODM relative to those without. Of the 1,455 cases of AODM followed for 9,981 person-years, 101 developed dementia, including 77 who met criteria for Alzheimer's disease. Persons with AODM exhibited significantly increased risk of all dementia (Poisson regression relative risk (RR) = 1.66, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.34-2.05). Risk of Alzheimer's disease was also elevated (for men, RR = 2.27, 95% Cl 1.55-3.31; for women, RR = 1.37, 95% Cl 0.94-2.01). These findings emphasize the importance of AODM prevention and prompt additional investigation of the relation between AODM and dementia.
Tariff behavior in five European countries

Abstract This paper examines the time series properties of average tariff rates for Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. For all five countries the tariff series contains a unit root. However, a complete description of the tariff rate series for each country suggests that tariff changes may have quite different effects on macroeconomic variables, such as the trade balance, in each of the five countries studied.
Risk externalities and too big to fail

Abstract This paper establishes the case for a fallacy of economies of scale in large aggregate institutions and the effects of scale risks. The problem of rogue trading and excessive risk taking is taken as a case example. Assuming (conservatively) that a firm exposure and losses are limited to its capital while external losses are unbounded, we establish a condition for a firm not to be allowed to be too big to fail. In such a case, the expected external losses second derivative with respect to the firm capital at risk is positive. Examples and analytical results are obtained based on simplifying assumptions and focusing exclusively on the risk externalities that firms too big to fail can have.
Antigenic analysis of major structural proteins of avian leukoviruses.

Abstract The antigenic determinants of the avian leukovirus proteins p27, p19, p15, and p12 were examined by radioimmunoassay. There was no evidence of antigenic cross-reactivity among these polypeptides, indicating that they are four distinct components. The concentration of the proteins p27, p19, and p15 in the infected cell was measured and found greatly increased, indicating that synthesis of these proteins is induced after virus infection.
Discussing life-sustaining treatments: an overview and communications guide for primary care physicians.

Physicians must be skilled communicators with patients, families, and multidisciplinary health care teams to meet ethical decision-making challenges arising in end-stage disease care. We offer practical suggestions for collaborative communication in the “perfect storm” of contemporary critical care settings.
Subjective difference: institutional culture and the assessment of Fijian female academic achievement

Several societies throughout the global North and South are now witnessing unprecedented patterns of marginally higher female academic performance and educational attainment. But the processes that have generated such patterns and responses to their development have not been uniform across or within these societies. In multiracial Fiji, statistics reveal higher secondary school enrolment and lower attrition rates for Fijian females compared with Fijian males, and while national examination scores are not aggregated by sex, Fijian girls are widely viewed as relatively ‘higher achievers’. Drawing from participant observation in a working-class, co-educational, predominantly Fijian secondary school and a selective Fijian girls’ secondary school, this article explores how the intersections of social class, culture and sex structure in schools mediate the interpretation of, response to, and assessment of Fijian female academic achievement.
A device for concurrent bilateral measurement of outer eyelid closures in the rabbit

This paper describes a transducer that allows for the concurrent recording of outer eyelid closure on both the left and the right eyes of a rabbit. The device makes use of voltage induced across a current-carrying conductor when the conductor is exposed to a magnetic field perpendicular to its axis (the Hall effect). The transducer is relatively compact, inexpensive, and allows the animal to be loosely restrained.
Transitioning to unstaffed computing sites

University budget issues have amplified concerns about the number of students that must be employed to cover the Consultant shifts in the University computing sites. Hiring, training, and supervising large numbers of student employees require endless amounts of time and energy. Despite these issues, customer service expectations remain high. Transitioning to unstaffed computing sites may prove to be the perfect solution.Several alternatives have been proposed, including eliminating the Consultant position all together. Our preferred alternative is to staff only the four main computing sites plus two residence hall sites with Consultants.Staffing only the four main computing sites plus two residence hall sites with Consultants will allow a reduction in work force without cutting the Consultant position completely. Work force reduction results in cost savings. Work force reduction will also create a more manageable group of employees, improving the quality of hiring, training, and supervising.Retained employees will be provided with extensive training opportunities, raising their skill and knowledge level to be more consistent with the high expectations of customers. Customers will have the option to visit the remaining staffed sites for immediate hands-on assistance. Customers visiting unstaffed sites may phone the Computing Sites Support Center for immediate phone assistance, and a Support Specialist can be dispatched to the site to provide hands-on assistance.
Effective average permeability of multi-layer preforms in resin transfer molding

Resin transfer molding is a process in which two or more layers of fiber mats are stacked on one another, placed in a closed mold, and infiltrated with a thermoset resin to form a composite part. As the thickness of the part is many orders of magnitude less than the in-plane directions, the flow of resin through the preforms is described using Darcy's law in the in-plane direction by averaging the permeability of the preform through the thickness. If the transverse permeability is very small as compared with the in-plane permeability of the fiber mats, there will be a significant transverse flow between the layers. Hence any averaging scheme for effective permeability across the thickness should take this into consideration. A new scheme for average effective permeability is proposed that does account for the transverse flow between the adjacent layers. This effective permeability is a function of the in-plane and transverse permeabilities, the thickness of each layer, as well as the total length of the mold. Results are presented for two- and three-layer cases and the influence of transverse permeability on the inlet pressures and the flow front differences between the layers is explored. To do this, a two-dimensional flow, based on a finite-element/ control-volume approach, and one-dimensional flow, based on the arithmetic and the transverse flow averaging schemes are used. Since the experimental measurement of the transverse permeability is very difficult, an additional outstanding advantage of the new approach is that it allows us to characterize this property between two adjacent layers.
Social Change, Social Inequality, and Intergroup Tensions

An interdisciplinary review of the literature provides support for relating the structure of dominancy concept to social change and inequality in the race-caste system and the patriarchy. Race and gender inequality are viewed as intersecting in the concern for and the exercise of white male dominance. Four elements of the race-caste structure of dominancy are identified as being greatly impacted by technological change and social movements. Traditional myths supporting the belief system and the structure of dominancy have been shattered by changing statuses and roles of blacks and females. Status inconsistencies relative to expectations and behavior essential to the structure of dominancy produce tensions and anxieties that motivate some to use propaganda to restore elements of dominancy. An examination of trends in labor force participation rates provides evidence of the mythical nature of notion currently devised to restore that dominancy
Out of Nowhere: Disaster and Tourism in the White Mountains

An examination of the connection of an avalanche on Monday 28th August 1826 in isolated Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, to the rise of tourism in America. It investigates developments that ranged from land speculation to new interpretations of the meaning of nature and landscape. The tragedy that killed innkeeper Samuel Willey, his wife, five young children and two hired men, was widely recorded in literature, art, travel writing, newspapers and scientific journals, and was the first national disaster in the US to capture national attention. Nineteenth-century Americans were intrigued with nature's sheer perversity in destroying an entire family while leaving its house untouched. Suddenly the White Mountains became, in the public's imagination, a mythical place where nature was preserved in its original, potent state. Artists and writers such as Thomas Cole, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James and Charles Lyell, began travelling there every summer to take vacations amid the romantic landscape, and the Willey house became one of the area's most popular attractions.
Flexibly-jointed unbraced portal frames☆

Abstract The nonlinear analysis of flexibly-jointed, unbraced portal frames is presented. The loading consists of eccentric concentrated loads as well as a uniformly distributed one. The studies include (a) the analysis of portal frames with linear rotational springs at the joints and (b) the analysis of portal frames with flexible joints.
'It's just like you talk to a friend' relational agents for older adults

Relational agents-computational artifacts designed to build and maintain long-term social-emotional relationships with users-may provide an effective interface modality for older adults. This is especially true when the agents use simulated face-to-face conversation as the primary communication medium, and for applications in which repeated interactions over long time periods are required, such as in health behavior change. In this article, we discuss the design of a relational agent for older adults that plays the role of an exercise advisor, and report on the results of a longitudinal study involving 21 adults aged 62-84, half of whom interacted with the agent daily for 2 months in their homes and half who served as a standard-of-care control. Results indicate the agent was accepted and liked, and was significantly more efficacious at increasing physical activity (daily steps walked) than the control.
Maximizing carbon dioxide content of shell eggs by rapid cooling treatment and its effect on shell egg quality

ABSTRACT Rapid cooling of shell eggs using liquid CO2 has been shown to cool eggs to 7°C within minutes, as opposed to days required by traditional cooling treatments. This quick-cooling technique is component in the maintenance of egg quality and extended shelf life beyond the current 30- to 45-d period. The hypothesis for the current study was that maximizing CO2 content of the eggs during cooling may increase Haugh units and thus extend shelf life (physical quality factors). The objective of this study was to maximize CO2 content of shell eggs during rapid cooling with liquid CO2 and determine its effect on egg quality during 12 wk of refrigerated storage. Three cooling conditions selected for the study were −45°C for 18 min (treatment A), −60°C for 15 min (treatment B), and −75°C for 12 min (treatment C). After rapid-cooling treatment, it took approximately 25 min for the internal temperature of eggs to equilibrate to 7°C. The Haugh units of the rapidly cooled eggs were significantly higher than the traditionally cooled (control) eggs. After 12 wk of refrigerated (5–7°C) storage, control eggs were only 37% AA-grade, 57% A-grade, and 6% B-grade. In comparison, all the rapidly cooled eggs averaged to 80% AA-grade and 20% A-grade. After 6 wk, the average quality of control eggs reduced to grade A, whereas rapid cooling treatment was able to maintain AA quality up to 12 wk. The CO2 content of the rapidly cooled eggs (1.8 mg of CO2/g of albumen) showed no difference between treatments A, B, and C, but it was significantly higher than the control (1.3 mg of CO2/g of albumen). In addition, the vitelline membrane strength of the control decreased 65% during storage and was between 30 and 50% of the vitelline membrane strength of CO2-cooled eggs at 12 wk. Rapid cooling with liquid CO2 extends shelf life of shell eggs.
Educating the Citizen Engineer: Making a Case for Community Service in Engineering

The first two fundamental principles in the ASME Code of Ethics are that” engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by: I. Using their knowledge and skill for the advancement of human welfare; II. Being honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients[[ellipsis]]” These principles involve the concept of “the public good” and are properly part of engineering ethics — yet it is difficult to find a good place in the curriculum to address these principles. This paper will present the idea of using community service in engineering as a context for teaching this aspect of engineering ethics. The author has considerable experience in community service projects — related to engineering courses in which project work is required and graded, and also related to projects that involve purely voluntary efforts. Specific examples of projects that have been used will be given. The projects have also been presented as part of the larger Honor Concept that the author has been instrumental in developing for the School of Engineering at Grand Valley State University. “The habit of apprehending a technology in its completeness: this is the essence of technological humanism, and this is what we should expect education in higher technology to achieve. I believe it could be achieved by making specialist studies the core around which are grouped liberal studies which are relevant to those specialist studies. But they must be relevant; the path to culture should be through a man’s specialism, not by-passing it[[ellipsis]]A student who can weave his technology into the fabric of society can claim to have a liberal education; a student who cannot weave his technology into the fabric of society cannot claim even to be a good technologist.” Lord Ashby, Technology and the Academics Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Volatile C1-C7 organic compounds in surface sediments from Walvis Bay☆

Abstract C1-C7 volatile organic compounds were analyzed in three gravity cores taken from Walvis Bay shelf. The compounds detected included alkanes (methane, ethane, propane, i- and n-butane, and i- and n-pentane, and heptane), alkenes (2-methyl-2-butene, dimethylcyclopentenes, cyclohexene), oxygen containing compounds (2- and 3-methylfuran, 2,5-dimethylfuran, 2- and 3-methylbutanal and 3-pentanone), sulfur compounds (dimethylsulfide, thiophene, 2- and 3-methylthiophene) and aromatic compounds (benzene and toluene). In situ biological and low temperature chemical (less than 15°C) formation processes are proposed, possibly from marine terpene precursors. Subsequent to this work, these compounds were found to be widely distributed in surface gravity cores from other areas. Many of these compounds do not survive deeper burial. Furans, ketocompounds, and alkenes are generally not found in more than trace quantities in deeper (⪢10m subbottom) DSDP cores we have examined from other areas.
In situ cell for electrochemically generated Ru(bpy)33+-based chemiluminescence detection in capillary electrophoresis

A significant number of different chemical functional groups can be sensitively detected via their chemiluminescent reaction with Ru(bpy)33+, thus suggesting that this detection strategy may have widespread application in a variety of important areas. These include immunodiagnostic applications as well as detection following HPLC or capillary electrophoretic separation. In this work, Ru(bpy)33+-based chemiluminescence detection in capillary electrophoresis (CE) using a continuous in situ generation scheme will be demonstrated and shown to provide advantages over other Ru3+ generation protocols. Ru(bpy)33+-based CL detection can be used to detect most amines and amino acids without derivatization, thus facilitating the optimization of the CE separation process independent of the detection method. The in situ cell described herein can operate continuously without the need to replenish the Ru(bpy)32+ reservoir and provides precise control of the electrochemical, light generation and detection processes. The important operational parameters for the in situ approach as applied to CE will be identified and optimized, and the quantitative characteristics of this approach evaluated.
Race-Ethnic Differences in Nonmarital Fertility: A Focus on Mexican American Women

We use the National Survey of Family Growth to identify race-ethnic differences in nonmarital fertility, paying particular attention to Mexican American women. On the basis of a sample of 9,054 White, Black, and Mexican American women, we use event history methods to explore the role of family background, a woman’s own employment and school enrollment, and cohabitation on nonmarital fertility. We additionally determine whether these relationships vary by socioeconomic background. The above factors are all significantly related to the risk of a nonmarital birth and reduce Mexican American–White differentials. Interestingly, higher fertility within cohabiting unions among Mexican American women, despite lower levels of cohabitation, contributes to their higher nonmarital fertility relative to White women.
Computing the composition factors of a permutation group in polynomial time

Given generators for a group of permutations, it is shown that generators for the subgroups in a composition series can be found in polynomial time. The procedure also yields permutation representations of the composition factors.
Wii Fit exer-game training improves sensory weighting and dynamic balance in healthy young adults

The Nintendo Wii Fit is a balance training tool that is growing in popularity due to its ease of access and cost-effectiveness. While considerable evidence now exists demonstrating the efficacy of the Wii Fit, no study to date has determined the specific mechanism underlying Wii Fit balance improvement. This paucity of knowledge was addressed in the present study using the NeuroCom Balance Manager's Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and Limits of Stability (LOS) test. These well-recognized posturography assessments, respectively, measure sensory weighting and dynamic stability mechanisms of balance. Forty healthy, young participants were recruited into two groups: Wii Fit Balance Intervention (WFBI) (n=20) and Control (CON) (n=20). Balance training consisted of seven Wii Fit exer-games played over the course of six consecutive weeks (2-4×/week, 30-45min/day). The WFBI group performed Neurocom testing before and after the intervention, while the CON group was tested along a similar timeline with no intervention. Mixed-design ANOVAs found significant interactions for testing time point and condition 5 of the SOT (p<0.02), endpoint excursion (p<0.01), movement velocity (p<0.02), and response time (p<0.01). These effects were such that greater improvements were seen for the WFBI group following Wii Fit training. These findings suggest that individuals with known issues regarding the processing of multiple sources of sensory information and/or who have limited functional bases of support may benefit most from Wii Fit balance training.
Variation in pitch canker resistance among provenances of Pinus patula and Pinus tecunumanii from Mexico and Central America

Pinus patula and high-elevation (HE) sources of P. tecunumanii exhibit intermediate levels of resistance to pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum), compared to extremely resistant species such as P. oocarpa, and extremely susceptible species such as P. radiata. Seedlings from 20 P. patula provenances and 15 HE P. tecunumanii provenances were artificially inoculated with the pitch canker fungus at 21 and 12 weeks of age, respectively, and assessed for resistance 12–20 weeks later. There was important provenance variation in pitch canker resistance for both species. The 20-week LiveStem percentage ranged from 70.3% to 43.6% among the P. patula provenances and 59.6% to 11.7% among HE P. tecunumanii provenances. There was a geographic pattern to the provenance variation, and in both species, low altitude sources demonstrated more resistance than those from high elevation. Provenance variation in pitch canker resistance could be useful when making selection and breeding decisions with these species.
Stability analysis of complex dynamical systems: Some computational methods

We present two new algorithms to estimate the domain of attraction of an isolated asymptotically stable equilibrium and we present a new result (using the comparison principle) which can sometimes be used to extend the applicability of these algorithms to high order systems.
Covalent binding of acetaldehyde to tubulin: evidence for preferential binding to the α-chain

Abstract The covalent binding of [ 14 C]acetaldehyde to purified beef brain tubulin was characterized. As we have found for several other proteins, tubulin bound acetaldehyde to form both stable and unstable adducts. Unstable adducts (Schiff bases) were stabilized, and rendered detectable, by treating incubated reaction mixtures with the reducing agent sodium borohydride. In short-term incubations, the majority of the adducts formed were unstable, but the percentage of total adducts that were stable gradually increased with time. Stable adduct formation was greatly increased by the inclusion of sodium cyanoborohydride in reaction mixtures (reductive ethylation). When reaction mixtures were submitted to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to separate the α- and β-chains of the heterodimeric tubulin molecule, the α-chain of free tubulin, but not intact microtubules, was the preferential site of stable adduct formation under both reductive and nonreductive conditions. Denaturation studies showed that the native tubulin conformation was necessary for the α-chain to show enhanced reactivity toward acetaldehyde. Competition binding studies showed that α-tubulin could effectively compete with β-tubulin and bovine serum albumin for a limited amount of acetaldehyde. Unstable acetaldehyde adducts with free tubulin or microtubules did not exhibit α-chain selectivity. Analysis of reaction mixtures indicates that lysine residues are the major group of the protein participating in adduct formation. These data indicate that the α-chain of free tubulin is the preferential site of stable acetaldehyde-tubulin adduct formation. Further, these data raise the possibility that α-tubulin may be a selective target for acetaldehyde adduct formation in cellular systems.
Urinary Bisphenol A and Hypertension in a Multiethnic Sample of US Adults

Background. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a common chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, with >93% of US adults having detectable BPA levels in urine. Recent animal studies have suggested that BPA exposure may have a role in several mechanisms involved in the development of hypertension, including weight gain, insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. However, no previous human study has examined the association between markers of BPA exposure and hypertension. Methods. We examined urinary BPA levels in 1380 subjects from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2003-2004. Main outcome-of-interest was hypertension, defined as blood pressure-reducing medication use and/or blood pressures >140/90 mm of Hg ( n = 580 ). Results. We observed a positive association between increasing levels of urinary BPA and hypertension independent of confounding factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus and total serum cholesterol levels. Compared to tertile 1 (referent), the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of hypertension associated with tertile 3 was 1.50 (1.12−2.00); P-trend = 0.007. The association was consistently present in subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity, smoking status, BMI, and diabetes mellitus. Conclusions. Urinary BPA levels are associated with hypertension, independent of traditional risk factors.
Inhomogeneous iterates of contraction mappings and nonlinear ergodic theorems

This paper is motivated by the nonlinear ergodic theory developed by T. Fujimoto and Krause [6], and Nussbaum [11]. Their works depend heavily on projective metrics. This motivates us to consider the convergence problems of inhomogeneous iterates in metric spaces, and to apply them to study the nonlinear ergodic problems in ordered Banach spaces, which are related to certain problems from population biology and economics [3, 5]. Throughout this paper, X will be a complete metric space. Let T :X →X be a mapping. We say T is a generalized contraction [7] if any for 0iaibi∞, there exists L(a; b)∈ (0; 1) such that d(Tx; Ty)≤L(a; b)d(x; y); (1)
A Markov Random Field Model of Context for High-Level Information Fusion

This paper presents a method for inferring threat in a military campaign through matching of battle-field entities to a doctrinal template. In this work the set of random variables denoting the possible template matches for the scenario entities is a realization of a Markov Random Field. This approach does not separate low level fusion from high level fusion but optimizes both simultaneously. The result of the added high level context is a method that is robust to false positive and false negative, or missed, sensor readings. Furthermore, the high level context helps to direct the search for the best template match. Empirical results illustrate the efficacy of the method both at identifying threats in the face of false negatives, and at negating false positives, as well as illustrating the reduced computational effort resulting from the incorporation of additional high-level context.
Growing Teachers: Using Electives to Teach Senior Residents How to Teach

Objective Many physicians teach but few are taught how to teach, particularly through pedagogical interventions. The authors describe a method for teaching curriculum development and classroom skills to psychiatric residents using an elective in the fourth postgraduate year.
PHYTOPLANKTON OF THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER NEAR BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK: SEASONAL VARIATIONS; EFFECT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENTS1,2

SUMMARY Net phytoplankton samples were collected weekly for 13 months at points above and below sewage effluents. Sixty-three genera and 130 taxa were identified: diatoms, 19 genera, 44 taxa; greens, 31 genera, 67 taxa; blue-greens, 6 genera, 8 taxa. Downstream from the sewage effluents the number of taxa was unchanged but the number of organisms was definitely increased. This increase was most pronounced for green and blue-green algae, and least for diatoms. The seasonal distribution of algae was that usually seen in waters of the North Temperate Zone. The particular taxa and number of taxa found were those of productive waters but not typical of heavily polluted waters.
Translational Research: The Multidimensional Scope of Pediatric Nursing

With translational research, the complex health challenges faced by children, adolescents, and their families exemplify the multidimens ional scope of pediatric nursing and provide direction for interventions to improve the quality of care and health outcomes. BY NATURE, THE scope of pediatric nursing is broad and includes multiple dimensions with respect to developmental age group of children and adolescents, and a focus on promoting health, growth and development; care and management of pediatric acute and chronic conditions and disabilities in hospital, home, and the community; as well as parenting and family functioning. Additionally, children and adolescents and their families reflect diverse characteristics that vary by culture, race and ethnicity, geographic region, and country. Caring for children and working with parents and families provide pediatric nurses a broad range of intervention points for improving the quality of child health outcomes. Nursing research generates evidence to improves nursing practice (Polit & Beck, 2012), and evidence-based practice improves health outcomes (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2014), ultimately resulting in higher quality of pediatric nursing care for children, adolescents, and their families (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2011). With the multidimensional scope of pediatric nursing, multiple avenues of study exist for generating evidence to enhance pediatric nursing care and the health of children, adolescents, and their families. In this way, translational research and evidence-based practice provide the opportunity to improve the quality of health outcomes of children, adolescents, and their families on multiple dimensions (Christian, 2011, 2013a, 2013b, 2014). In this issue of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 23 articles illustrate the multidimensional scope of pediatric nursing practice through the translation of evidence to improve the care of children, adolescents, and their families obtained through a wide variety of methods:
On the age-distribution of replaceable ranked elements

Abstract In this paper we consider the age-distributions of n ranked elements whose ages at time t = 0 are 0 0, where ∑ni = 1 pi(t) = 1. It is assumed in the first instance that the replacement times form a Poisson process with parameter λ(t). If we denote by [ f i (x, t ¦x i , 0) ] the age distribution functions of the elements of rank i, these are shown to satisfy certain partial differential equations; explicit solutions to these are obtained. When λ(t) = λ and pi(t) = pi are constant, they simplify to an elementary form. The methods used for the Poisson replacement process apply with some modifications to the case where replacement times are distributed according to an Erlang distribution. Solutions are obtained for the age distribution functions of ranked elements in each of the k different stages of the Erlang process when λ(t) = λ and pi(t) = pi are constant.
Harmonization for Omnidirectional Progression in Urban Traffic Control

I describe harmonization as part of my work on distributed, knowledge-based, real-time, traffic-adaptive control of street and highway ramp traffic signals. The control system developed in prior efforts includes a two-stage learning process. The first stage optimizes the control of steady-state traffic at a single intersection and over a network of streets. The second stage of learning, not related yet to harmonization, deals with the predictive/reactive control of dynamic traffic flow in street networks. However, the control regimes at the individual intersections do not consider the time behavior of adjacent intersection control regimes. Optimal traffic flow in street networks must be with reference to signalization, phasing, and harmonization of control at all intersections. Harmonization represents the best approximation to a coordinated omnidirectional progression (“green wave”). This means that the resulting control regime produces a minimum of the sum, over all intersections, of delay times due to red lights and of unused green periods, each contributing term being weighted by the respective traffic flow values. The system has been tested in the laboratory on a range of scenarios (in terms of geometries and traffic flows) and has been found to perform as expected.
MITOCHONDRIAL NADH - UBIQUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE (Complex 1) DEFICIENCY IN AN INFANT WITH CONGENITAL LACTIC ACIDOSIS

A white male, the product of a G1,PO non-consanguineous 34 wk. pregnancy presented in the first month of life with hypoglycemia, progressive lactic acidosis (531 mM, normal 37). GLC of urine showed no accumulation of organic acids. There was progressive hypotonia, hepatomegaly, brain CT abnormalities and respiratory insufficiency leading to death at 16 wks. Enzymatic determination on fibroblasts and liver/skeletal muscle biopsy ruled out pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, PEPCK, glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose 1-6 bisphosphatase deficiencies. There was increased glycogen and lipid and giant mitochondria with concentric whorls in muscle. Freshly isolated mitochondria from 4 tissues revealed a marked deficiency of NAD linked respiration but normal succinate linked respiration. Reduction of cyt c by NADH (rotanone sensitive) in permeabilized mitochondria revealed a deficiency of Complex 1, e.g., 5 nmol cytC reduced/min/mg skeleton muscle (control 206). However, Complex 1 activity reactive to ferricyanide was identical to control, suggesting the deficiency was in the Fe:S centers of Complex 1. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of liver sub-mitochondrial particles revealed a selective absence of Fe:S centers. This represents the first case of a deficiency of the Fe:S centers of mitochondrial Complex 1.