cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Weight Outcomes of Sleeve Gastrectomy and Gastric Bypass Compared to Nonsurgical Treatment.

Objective To investigate weight trajectories among patients with severe obesity undergoing sleeve gastrectomy (SG), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), and nonsurgical treatment. Background Although bariatric procedures are associated with substantial weight loss, few studies have compared surgical outcomes to nonsurgical treatment, particularly for SG. Methods In this retrospective, matched cohort study, adult patients with body mass index ≥35 kg/m who underwent RYGB or SG procedures from January 2005 through September 2015 were matched to 87,965 nonsurgical patients. Hierarchical linear models were used to investigate percent total weight loss (%TWL) and regain at 5 years among RYGB, SG, and nonsurgical patients, and at 10 years for RYGB and nonsurgical patients. Results Among 13,900 SG, 17,258 RYGB, and 87,965 nonsurgical patients, the 5-year follow-up rate was 70.9%, 72.0%, and 64.5%, respectively. At 1 year, RYGB patients had 28.4%TWL (95% confidence interval: 28.2, 28.5), SG 23.0%TWL (22.8, 23.2), and nonsurgical patients 0.2%TWL (0.1, 0.4). At 5 years, RYGB had 21.7%TWL (21.5, 22.0), SG 16.0%TWL (15.4, 16.6), and nonsurgical patients 2.2%TWL (2.0, 2.5). After 5 years, 3.7% of RYGB and 10.1% of SG patients had regained weight to within 5% of baseline. At 10 years, RYGB patients had 20.2%TWL (19.3, 21.0) and nonsurgical patients 4.8%TWL (4.0, 5.5). Conclusions In this study, patients with severe obesity who underwent SG and RYGB lost significantly more weight at 5 years than nonsurgical patients. Weight regain was common after surgery but regain to within 5% of baseline was rare.
Additional Rotational Energy Levels of H 2 O and D 2 O Molecules

An extension of the pure rotational energy levels for ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O and ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$O is made in order to obtain new possible microwave transitions. For ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O the levels are given through $J=14$ and for ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}$O through $J=15$. Additional assignments are made in the previously observed absorption spectra. The Wang secular determinant for the asymmetric rotator is expanded, and equations for the energy levels of $J=12$, 13, 14, and 15 are given in terms of the asymmetry parameter.
Loss of CHIP Expression Perturbs Glucose Homeostasis and Leads to Type II Diabetes Through Defects in Microtubule Polymerization and Glucose Transporter Localization

Glucose homeostasis requires insulin signaling throughout the body to maintain physiological blood glucose levels. The loss of insulin sensitivity, or insulin resistance, is associated with a myria...
Quantifying Uncertainty and Variable Sensitivity within the U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster Cost Estimates

Research examining natural disaster costs on social and economic systems is substantial. However, there are few empirical studies that seek to quantify the uncertainty and establish confidence intervals surrounding natural disaster cost estimates (ex-post). To better frame the data limitations associated with natural disaster loss estimates, a range of losses can be evaluated by conducting multiple analyses and varying certain input parameters to which the losses are most sensitive. This paper contributes to the literature by examining new approaches for better understanding the uncertainty surrounding three U.S. natural disaster cost estimate case studies, via Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the 95%, 90% and 75% confidence intervals. This research also performs a sensitivity analysis for one of the case studies examining which input data variables and assumptions are the most sensitive and contribute most to the overall uncertainty of the estimate.The Monte Carlo simulations for all three of the natural disaster events examined provide additional confidence in the U.S. Billion-dollar weather and climate disaster loss estimate report (NCDC 2014), since these estimates are within the confidence limits and near the mean and median of the example simulations. The normalized sensitivity analysis of Hurricane Ike damage costs determined that commercial losses in Texas are the most sensitive to assumption variability. Therefore, improvements in quantifying the commercial insurance participation rate for Texas will result in the largest reduction of uncertainty in the total loss estimate for Hurricane Ike. Further minimization of uncertainty would continue with improved measurement of subsequent cost parameters in order of descending sensitivity.
A psychoanalytic conceptual framework for understanding populism

In this paper, I argue for two claims. The first is that all social and political thinking lies along a continuum and that the structure of each thought along the continuum is that of a basic desir...
Optimal SERS Nanostructures

McMahon JM, Henry A-I, Wustholz KL, Natan MJ, Freeman RG, Van Duyne RP, Schatz GC (2009) Gold nanoparticle dimer plasmonics: finite element method calculations of the electromagnetic enhancement to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Anal Bioanal Chem 394:1819–1825. DOI: 10.1007/s00216-009-2738-4
Exploring spatial datasets with histograms

As online spatial datasets grow both in number and sophistication, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to decide whether a dataset is suitable for their tasks, especially when they do not have prior knowledge of the dataset. The GeoBrowsing service developed for the ADL project provides users an effective and efficient way to explore the content of a spatial dataset. In this paper, we identify a set of spatial relations that need to be supported in browsing applications, namely, the contains, contained and the overlap relations. We prove a storage lower bound to answer queries about the contains relation accurately at a given grid resolution. We then present three storage-efficient approximation algorithms which we believe to be the first to estimate query selectivities about these spatial relations. Experimental results show that these algorithms provide highly accurate estimates in real time for a wide range of datasets with various characteristics.
Reading the past: Agency and practice

Practice and structuration In outlining a ‘theory of practice’, Bourdieu (1977) notes the difference between, on the one hand, observing and analysing social events, and, on the other hand, participating in activities. Structuralism, for example, allows us to see how pattern is generated, but gives us no indication of how we make relevant use of structures in constantly changing situations. Giddens (1979; 1981) is also concerned to escape notions of change which involve the playing out of some pre-set code. Both Bourdieu and Giddens thus develop theories of practice or social action, called by Giddens ‘structuration’, in which there is a recursive relationship between structure and practice. Bourdieu's account is of particular relevance to archaeologists because he develops his theory in relation to material culture and the use of space. Indeed his ideas have been applied in ethnoarchaeology by, for example, Donley (1982), Moore (1982), and Braithwaite (1982), and in archaeology by Barrett (1981) and Davis (1984). Bourdieu situates the notion of the habitus, a term first coined by Marcel Mauss (1973 [1935]), between structure and practice. However, any attempt to define the habitus (singular and plural) goes against the grain of Bourdieu's project. As part of his challenge to certain types of objectivism, Bourdieu argues that a concept is understood through its use: any attempt to formalise it – to step back from the context of use and construct a rule that systematises the ways it is used – misrecognizes the ambiguity and unpredictability of the situations in which the concept is exercised.
Accurate extraction of simplified symbolic pole/zero expressions for large analog IC's

We present the sifting approach and its implementation (AnalogSifter) for symbolic analysis and automatic extraction of symbolic pole and zero expressions for analog integrated circuits. Very compact symbolic expressions for the voltage gains of the two-stage CMOS, 741, and even larger operational amplifiers, were obtained in less than 40 CPU seconds on a SUN SPARCstation 2, and the simplified results match well with the exact numerical values up to the unity gain frequencies in both the magnitude and phase versus frequency plots. The symbolic pole and zero expressions are extracted accurately in the frequency range of interest. All pole and zero expressions may be extracted accurately in individual or clustered symbolic forms by scanning through different frequency ranges. The simplified symbolic pole and zero expressions we obtained in the example presented are within 3% of the exact values.
Leishmania mexicana infection induces impaired lymph node expansion and Th1 cell differentiation despite normal T cell proliferation.

Leishmania mexicana infections in C57BL/6 mice are associated with minimal immune responses and persistent cutaneous lesions. In contrast, Leishmania major elicits a robust Th1 response that promotes lesion resolution. We investigated whether the nonhealing phenotype associated with L. mexicana was due to a failure of L. mexicana to activate T cells. In vivo T cell responses to infection were assessed by tracking the behavior of labeled naive T cells following the transfer of these cells into congenic mice. Although L. mexicana infection was associated with minimal expansion of the draining lymph nodes, we observed no difference in the percentage of T cells proliferating in response to L. mexicana and L. major. Instead, differences in the size and cellularity of lymph nodes were associated with decreased recruitment of cells trafficking to the lymph node. Furthermore, we found that T cells responding to L. mexicana infection were less able to differentiate into IFN-γ producing cells, and this deficit extended to previously activated T cells as well. Coadministration of CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides at the time of infection overcame this deficit and promoted disease resolution. Taken together, our results identify two distinct components that contribute to the minimal immune response associated with L. mexicana infection. First, despite ample levels of T cell proliferation, L. mexicana fails to induce substantial lymph node expansion, which limits the number of responding T cells. Second, L. mexicana infection fails to drive the differentiation of the majority of responding cells into IFN-γ producers.
The effect of incomplete information in a threshold public goods experiment

Fiscal stress and decreasing government budgets have led to renewed interest in voluntary contributions for the funding of public goods. This paper experimentally examines the Provision Point Mechanism (PPM), a voluntary contribution mechanism for the funding of lumpy public goods. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of this mechanism at providing public goods, however all were conducted in an environment of complete information, which fails to capture the uncertainties of the real world. This study tests the efficacy of the PPM in informationally limited settings. We find no significant differences in the rate of successful provisions or level of group contributions when subjects have limited information about the valuations of others than when they have complete information.
It's Not Easy Being Green: Supporting Collaborative Green Design Learning

We present the results of a study in which we contrast alternative forms of collaborative learning support in the midst of a collaborative design task in which students negotiate between increasing power and increasing environmental friendliness. In this context, we evaluated the instructional effectiveness of four alternative support conditions as well as a goal manipulation. Both manipulations yield surprising findings, which we are continuing to investigate.
TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR OF SOLUTIONS TO A CLASS OF NONLINEAR BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

In this paper we consider the asymptotic behavior in time of solutions to the heat equation with nonlinear Neumann boundary conditions of the form ∂u/∂n = F(u), where F is a function that grows superlinearly. Solutions frequently exist for only a finite time before "blowing up." In particular, it is well known that solutions with initial data of one sign must blow up in finite time, but the situation for sign-changing initial data is less well understood. We examine in detail conditions under which solutions with sign-changing initial data (and certain symmetries) must blow up, and also conditions under which solutions actually decay to zero. We carry out this analysis in one space dimension for a rather general F, while in two space dimensions we confine our analysis to the unit disk and F of a special form.
Domestic burns among children.

Abstract Out of 338 domestic burn injuries 134 affected children below 16 years of age. The investigation was prospective over a 1-year period. The highest incidence occurred in the age-group 0–2 years and was most often caused by contract, secondly by scalds. The sex ratio girls/boys was 1/1.6. The most vulnerable areas were the hands, head and fingers. Activities related to cooking and in the kitchen caused most of the burns.
An Initial Study of Neural Responses to Monetary Incentives as Related to Treatment Outcome in Cocaine Dependence

Background Although cocaine dependence (CD) involves abnormalities in drug-related, reward-based decision making, it is not well understood whether these abnormalities generalize to nondrug-related cues and rewards and how neural functions underlying reward processing in cocaine abusers relate to treatment outcome. Methods Twenty CD patients before treatment and 20 matched healthy control (HC) subjects participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a monetary incentive delay task. Outcomes through 8 weeks were assessed via percent cocaine-negative urine toxicology, self-reported cocaine abstinence, and treatment retention. Results Among the whole sample, anticipation of working for monetary reward (i.e., reward anticipation) was associated with activation in the ventral striatum (VS), medial frontal gyrus, thalamus, right subcallosal gyrus, right insula, and left amygdala. Cocaine dependence compared with HC participants exhibited greater activation during notification of rewarding outcome (i.e., reward receipt) in left and right VS, right caudate, and right insula. In CD participants during reward anticipation, activation in left and right thalamus and right caudate correlated negatively with percent cocaine-negative urine toxicology, activation in thalamus bilaterally correlated negatively with self-reported abstinence measures, and activation in left amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus correlated negatively with treatment retention. During reward notification, activation in right thalamus, right VS, and left culmen correlated negatively with abstinence and with urine toxicology. Conclusions These findings suggest that in treatment-seeking CD participants, corticolimbic reward circuitry is relatively overactivated during monetary incentive delay task performance and specific regional activations related to reward processing may predict aspects of treatment outcome and represent important targets for treatment development in CD.
A relational database management system for atmospheric compensation research

Atmospheric compensation is a key step in the processing of most remotely sensed Earth images, but is particularly important in Hyperspectral Imagery (HSI) analysis. The state of atmospheric sensible variables at the time of the image is a key driver of atmospheric path radiance and transmissivity effects. A thorough assessment of the state of the atmosphere is rarely conducted in HSI analysis, however, even in rigorous scientific literature. This is due in part to the historical lack of meteorological data associated with imagery collects, and the difficulty in accessing and analyzing the data that is available. With the expanding availability of online climatological and observational atmospheric data and the advent of web enabled search and retrieval tools, easy access to worldwide atmospheric data relevant to atmospheric compensation is possible. In this project, a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) is developed that automatically retrieves relevant atmospheric data from several online data stores based on input image metadata. The RBDMS provides researchers with a single, easily accessible repository of meteorological data to aid in researching atmospheric effects. System design considerations and available data sources are reviewed, and example research applications are presented.
Understanding multivariate components – sheet metal assembly relationships using dimensional slow build studies

This paper presents a methodology to analyse and determine the effects of dimensional changes for multidimensional components through their assembly process. The methodology entails performing a series of measurement studies at different interim stages of a manufacturing process, i.e. a dimensional slow build study, and then analysing the part measurement data using a multivariate technique based on partial least squares regression (PLSR). Because of the high degree of collinearity among dimensional measurement points, PLSR is used to decompose assembly variance and is shown to be effective for analysing multidimensional sheet metal stamped components and their subsequent assemblies. The methodology presented in this paper is validated using a manufacturing case study of an automotive door assembly process studied during the launch of a new vehicle. The results of the case study show the importance of interim process measurements for diagnosing variation problems of assemblies with relatively high within-...
Efficient max-margin multi-label classification with applications to zero-shot learning

The goal in multi-label classification is to tag a data point with the subset of relevant labels from a pre-specified set. Given a set of L labels, a data point can be tagged with any of the 2 L possible subsets. The main challenge therefore lies in optimising over this exponentially large label space subject to label correlations. Our objective, in this paper, is to design efficient algorithms for multi-label classification when the labels are densely correlated. In particular, we are interested in the zero-shot learning scenario where the label correlations on the training set might be significantly different from those on the test set. We propose a max-margin formulation where we model prior label correlations but do not incorporate pairwise label interaction terms in the prediction function. We show that the problem complexity can be reduced from exponential to linear while modelling dense pairwise prior label correlations. By incorporating relevant correlation priors we can handle mismatches between the training and test set statistics. Our proposed formulation generalises the effective 1-vs-All method and we provide a principled interpretation of the 1-vs-All technique. We develop efficient optimisation algorithms for our proposed formulation. We adapt the Sequential Minimal Optimisation (SMO) algorithm to multi-label classification and show that, with some book-keeping, we can reduce the training time from being super-quadratic to almost linear in the number of labels. Furthermore, by effectively re-utilizing the kernel cache and jointly optimising over all variables, we can be orders of magnitude faster than the competing state-of-the-art algorithms. We also design a specialised algorithm for linear kernels based on dual co-ordinate ascent with shrinkage that lets us effortlessly train on a million points with a hundred labels.
Behavior of Ferroelectric KNb O 3 in the Vicinity of the Cubic-Tetragonal Transition

The results of measurements on single crystals of KNb${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ are reported. From the dielectric constant and spontaneous polarization measurements the coefficients of the first three terms of the free energy expressed as a power series in the polarization can be found. The detailed behavior of single domain crystals in the cubic and tetragonal phases is compared with Devonshire's phenomenological treatment. Agreement with predicted dielectric constant and spontaneous polarization is reasonable. The constants of KNb${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ are compared with those reported for BaTi${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. It is found that in all cases corresponding constants are of the same order of magnitude.
Which visualizations work, for what purpose, for whom?: evaluating visualizations of terrestrial and aquatic systems

A need for better ecology visualization tools is well documented, and development of these is underway, including our own NSF funded Visualization of Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems (VISTAS) project, now beginning its second of four years. VISTAS' goal is not only to devise visualizations that help ecologists in research and in communicating that research, but also to evaluate the visualizations and software. Thus, we ask "which visualizations work, for what purpose, and for which audiences," and our project involves equal participation of ecologists, computer scientists, and social scientists. We have begun to study visualization use by ecologists, assessed some existing software products, and implemented a prototype. This position paper reports how we apply social science methods in establishing context for VISTAS' evaluation and development. We describe our initial surveys of ecologists and ecology journals to determine current visualization use, outline our visualization evaluation strategies, and in conclusion pose questions critical to the evaluation, deployment, and adoption of VISTAS and VISTAS-like visualizations and software.
Driving and community integration after traumatic brain injury

Abstract Rapport LJ, Coleman Bryer R, Hanks RA. Driving and community integration after traumatic brain injury. Objective To examine resumption of driving after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its relation to community integration. Design Cross-sectional cohort study; survey and cognitive data. Settings Inpatient rehabilitation hospital of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems and community. Participants Persons (N=261) ranging from 3 months to 15 years postinjury. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Barriers to Driving Questionnaire, Driver Survey, Community Integration Measure, and Craig Hospital Assessment and Reporting Technique. Results Forty-four percent of survivors had resumed driving; of nondrivers, 48% reported a strong desire to resume driving. Nondriver survivors who sought to resume driving generally rated themselves as currently fit to drive, viewed themselves as having physical and cognitive profiles like those of survivor drivers, and reported their greatest barriers to driving as social and resource related. However, cognitive functioning was similar to nondriver survivors who did not seek to resume driving and significantly worse than survivors who were currently driving. Nondrivers showed poorer community integration than did drivers, even after accounting for injury severity, social support, negative affectivity, and use of alternative transportation. Use of alternative transportation was common among nondrivers, but it was unrelated to community integration outcomes. Cognitive functioning moderated risk of adverse incident: among survivors with low cognitive functioning and high self-estimates of driving ability, which is indicative of unawareness of deficit, adverse incidents showed positive relation to amount of driving and inverse relation to cognitive functioning. Conclusions Driving status has unique and independent association with post-TBI community integration. Additional research is needed to evaluate transportation barriers that undermine full engagement in community living after TBI and to determine which barriers to driving reflect valid risk to survivors and the public.
Kinetics of the reactions of Cl atoms with CH3Br and CH2Br2

The rate coefficients for the reactions of Cl atoms with CH3Br, (k1) and CH2Br2, (k2) were measured as functions of temperature by generating Cl atoms via 308 nm laser photolysis of Cl2 and measuring their temporal profiles via resonance fluorescence detection. The measured rate coefficients were: k1 = (1.55 ± 0.18) × 10−11 exp{(−1070 ± 50)/T} and k2 = (6.37 ± 0.55) × 10−12 exp{(−810 ± 50)/T} cm3 molecule−1 s−1. The possible interference of the reaction of CH2Br product with Cl2 in the measurement of k1 was assessed from the temporal profiles of Cl at high concentrations of Cl2 at 298 K. The rate coefficient at 298 K for the CH2Br + Cl2 reaction was derived to be (5.36 ± 0.56) × 10−13 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. Based on the values of k1 and k2, it is deduced that global atmospheric lifetimes for CH3Br and CH2Br2 are unlikely to be affected by loss via reaction with Cl atoms. In the marine boundary layer, the loss via reaction (1) may be significant if the Cl concentrations are high. If found to be true, the contribution from oceans to the overall CH3Br budget may be less than what is currently assumed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Necessity of a Multiple-Point Prior Model

Any interpolation, any hand contouring or digital drawing of a map or a numerical model necessarily calls for a prior model of the multiple-point statistics that link together the data to the unsampled nodes, then these unsampled nodes together. That prior model can be implicit, poorly defined as in hand contouring; it can be explicit through an algorithm as in digital mapping. The multiple-point statistics involved go well beyond single-point histogram and two-point covariance models; the challenge is to define algorithms that can control more of such statistics, particularly those that impact most the utilization of the resulting maps beyond their visual appearance. The newly introduced multiple-point simulation (mps) algorithms borrow the high order statistics from a visually and statistically explicit model, a training image. It is shown that mps can simulate realizations with high entropy character as well as traditional Gaussian-based algorithms, while offering the flexibility of considering alternative training images with various levels of low entropy (organized) structures. The impact on flow performance (spatial connectivity) of choosing a wrong training image among many sharing the same histogram and variogram is demonstrated.
Excited singlet states of pyrene. Polarization directions and magnetic circular dichroism of azapyrenes

Abstract Linear dichroism in polyethylene, polarization of fluorescence excitation, and magnetic circular dichroism of pyrene and three of its aza derivatives have been measured and used to uncover new electronic transitions and to determine polarization directions. The MCD signs are sensitive to structure. The results, including absolute MCD signs, compare well with π-electron calculations. The effects of systematic incorporation of doubly excited configurations in the CI procedure are investigated. Finally, it is shown that the absolute MCD signs, and in particular, their variation with the location of the aza nitrogen, are readily understood in qualitative terms upon inspection of Huckel MO's, permitting facile predictions for other isomers with-out any computations.
The effect of receptor-mediated stimulation on the translocation of 5-lipoxygenase

It has been shown that calcium ionophore-mediated activation of the 5-lipoxygenase is followed by an extensive loss of enzyme activity. We investigated whether IgE/antigen stimulation of mast cells leads to a similar inactivation. This challenge caused a minor loss of 5-lipoxygenase activity as compared to A23187. Both stimuli resulted in the synthesis of similar amounts of leukotrienes. Immunoblot experiments showed that after antigen, the membrane association of the enzyme was reversible. In contrast, with A23187 translocation continued during the time of observation (60 min). Calcium chelators, added after A23187 stimulation, stopped the enzyme inactivation and reversed the membrane binding. The data suggest that the continuous, high intracellular calcium levels initiated by A23187 inactivate the enzyme, while the transient increase in calcium during receptor-mediated stimulation is sufficient to activate the 5-lipoxygenase but not to extensively inactivate it.
Combination therapy with aliskiren and amlodipine in hypertension: treatment rationale and clinical results

Optimal antihypertensive therapy requires a multimodal approach based on lifestyle modification and, for most individuals, combination drug therapy. Recommendations from experts suggest that a combination of an agent that blocks the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), together with a vasodilator (generally a calcium-channel blocker or a thiazide-type diuretic), is most likely to control blood pressure and provide the widest overall cardiovascular protection. Understanding the opportunities afforded by the combination of RAS blockade with a calcium-channel blocker requires a discussion of basic and clinical science data. One new concept is that of 'global' or total RAS blockade. The impact of the RAS can be diminished or blocked by several different classes of drugs (central sympatholytics, β-blockers, renin inhibitors, ACE inhibitors or ARBs); what is most important is how effectively the overall impact of angiotensin II is blunted. A second new concept is that the complementary actions of RAS blockers and calcium-channel blockers are best explained on the basis of diminished intracellular calcium availability in excitable tissue (sympathetic neurons and vascular smooth muscle cells) via parallel actions that reduce angiotensin II type-1 receptor stimulation and L-channel-mediated calcium flux. Aliskiren is the first of the direct renin inhibitors, the newest subclass of RAS blockers. In both short- and long-term studies, aliskiren has been shown to be similar in efficacy and tolerability compared with other RAS blockers, with the added benefit that its effects persist longer. Outcome studies with aliskiren are currently underway.
Si-On-Sapphire and Si Implanted with Zr Ions: Lattice Location, Solid Phase Epitaxial Regrowth, and Electrical Properties

Zr ions have been implanted at 300 keV (Rp = 1400A) and doses of 3×1012 − 3×1015 Zr/cm2 into Si-implanted, amorphous Sip layers on (100) bulk Si and Sion- sapphire. Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry was used to study the Zr distribution and lattice location during solid-phase regrowth of the Si layers. The regrowth at 500—550°C stops at 3.4х1020Zr/cm3, and Zr exhibits interface trapping and surface segregation effects. In this temperature range, Zr is essentially non-substitutional, and inactive electrically.
Coping with prejudice: attitudes of handicapped persons toward the handicapped.

Abstract In an exploration of the amount of prejudice that handicapped people feel towards other handicapped people, compared to that felt by non-handicapped people, it was found that a distinction should be made between relatively visible handicaps and relatively invisible handicaps. People with amputation, spinal injury, and stroke (highly visible) had positive attitudes, but arthritics and emotionally disturbed people did not. Goffman's (1963) concept of information management was employed to explain this difference. These results suggest that promoting opportunities for association with persons with like handicaps would be beneficial to those with visible handicaps: but for the less visibly handicapped such a strategy would not be useful.
Optimum thicknesses of opaque and body porcelain

Nine hundred specimens of six shades of two commercially available dental porcelains were made with different thicknesses of opaque and body porcelain. The color of specimens were compared with shade guide samples by seven observers. The results were as follows: 1. The thickness of opaque and body porcelain to produce optimum color varies from shade and in different porcelain systems. 2. Complete visual mask out of the alloy by the opaque may not produce the desired shade. 3. Excessive opaque will not effect the shade of porcelain noticeably, whereas excessive body porcelain influences the shade of porcelain. 4. Manufacturers' recommendations for each shade should include the optimum required thickness of both opaque and body porcelain.
Nitrogen isotope abundances in the recent solar wind

Although lunar crystalline rocks are essentially devoid of nitrogen, the same is not true of the lunar regolith. The nitrogen contents of individual regolith samples (which can be as high as 0.012% by mass) correlate strongly with abundances of noble gases known to be implanted in the lunar surface by solar radiation, indicating that lunar regolith nitrogen is also predominantly of solar origin. The large variability in 15N/14N ratios measured in different regolith samples may thus reflect long-term changes in the isotopic composition of the solar radiation. But attempts to explain these variations have been hampered by the lack of any firm constraint on 15N/14N in the present solar wind. Here we report measurements of nitrogen isotopes from two lunar samples that have had simple (and relatively recent) exposure histories. We find that nitrogen implanted in the lunar surface during the past 10(5) to 5 x 10(7) years has a 15N/14N ratio approximately 40% higher than that in the terrestrial atmosphere, which is substantially lower than most previous estimates. This isotopic signature probably represents the best measure of 15N/14N in the present-day solar wind.
Long-term experience with management of renal cell carcinoma involving the inferior vena cava.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the long-term outcome and prognosis and influence of patient and tumor characteristics and therapeutic interventions on patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) extending to the inferior vena cava (IVC). Methods The data of 75 patients (51 men and 24 women; age range 27 to 92 years) with RCC and involvement of the IVC, including 49 without and 26 with metastatic disease, treated between July 1973 and December 1998 were reviewed. The clinical presentation, laboratory and imaging investigations, extent and level of caval involvement, operative details, and estimated blood loss, as well as the postoperative course, morbidity, and actuarial and disease-free survival were analyzed. Results Seventy-five patients between 27 and 92 years old with RCC involving the IVC were studied. Of the 54 operative patients, 48 had no metastasis and 6 had metastatic disease; 32 had IVC tumor extension to the infrahepatic or low retrohepatic IVC, 7 had high intrahepatic IVC extension, and 15 had right atrial extension. In 7 patients, tumor had invaded the IVC wall. Partial IVC wall excision was done in 4 patients and resection of a complete segment of the IVC in 3 patients. Tube graft to replace a segment of the IVC was used in 2 patients. Patients with intracardiac extension were initially treated with cardiopulmonary bypass. Subsequently, profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest were also used. Three patients died in the postoperative period: two with and one without metastatic disease. The follow-up period ranged between 25 and 144 months. Of the 48 patients without evidence of metastasis at surgery, the perioperative mortality rate was 2%. Twenty-two patients (47%) were alive without evidence of metastases, 4% developed solitary metastasis, and 36% eventually developed multiple metastases. Conclusions Our long-term experience confirms that of other investigators that nonmetastatic RCC with extension into the IVC is a potentially curable condition provided complete removal can be achieved. The level of extension of the tumor thrombus dictates the surgical techniques used for successful removal of the tumor thrombus. The treatment of patients with caval involvement and metastatic disease at presentation needs to be carefully individualized. Those with extensive multiorgan metastases continued to do poorly irrespective of the therapeutic approach chosen.
Penile movements and the sensory control of copulation in the rat.

Under certain conditions, male rats display extravaginal intromission patterns (XVIPs) and extravaginal ejaculations. In Experiment 1, videotape recordings of ventral views were used to describe the skeletal and penile actions occurring during these behavior patterns. XVIPs and extravaginal ejaculations appeared to be topographically and temporally identical to normal copulatory patterns, and the penile actions observed were inferred to be comparable to those likely to occur intravaginally during normal copulation. In Experiment 2, it was determined that the sensory feedback provided by mounts, XVIPs, and intromissions influenced the probability that clusters of sexual acts (mount bouts) would end, but did not affect the duration of the intervals between mount bouts.
The Strange Case of the Changing Graph: Much Ado About Nothing?

Skidmore and Thompson (this issue of Educational Researcher) imply that a graph was changed with the intent to promote more experimental research in education. In this response, the author presents evidence that challenges this implication and concludes that the changed graph does not accurately capture the declining trend of experimental methods in education research.
Large diameter primary afferent input is required for expression of the Cat-301 proteoglycan on the surface of motor neurons.

Abstract The expression of a cell surface proteoglycan, recognized by monoclonal antibody Cat-301, is regulated by neuronal activity in early life. Here we report that the expression of the Cat-301 proteoglycan on motor neurons depends on primary afferent input in the early postnatal period. Previously we showed that in two different systems, Y-cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus and motor neurons in the hamster spinal cord, the expression of the Cat-301 antigen requires neuronal activity during a circumscribed period in development. Disrupting the activity of Y-cells (by dark rearing or by monocular lid suture) or of motor neurons (by sciatic nerve crush or by spinal cord lesion) during the early postnatal period prevents Cat-301 expression. Disrupting neuronal activity in adults has no effect on Cat-301 expression. The onset of Cat-301 expression corresponds to the end of the period of activity-dependent development. In order to further dissect the components of the segmental reflex arc required for the expression of Cat-301 on motor neurons, here we evaluated the effect of deafferentation by dorsal rhizotomy. In adult animals two weeks after deafferentation all sciatic motor neurons continue to express Cat-301. In contrast, in neonates two weeks after deafferentation the normal developmental expression of Cat-301 is reduced and less than 50% of sciatic motor neurons express Cat-301. We next selectively lesioned the small diameter afferents using the neurotoxin capsaicin. In contrast to rhizotomy, neonatal deletion of small diameter afferents has no effect on the development of Cat-301 expression on motor neurons. These results imply that input relayed by large diameter primary afferents (probably those conveying muscle and/or joint information) is required for normal maturation of motor neuronal properties during early life. They also provide further evidence for activity-dependent maturation of motor neurons.
A customized Gabor filter for unsupervised color image segmentation

This paper presents work on accurate image segmentation utilizing local image characteristics. Image features are measured by employing an appropriate Gabor filter with adaptively chosen size, orientation, frequency and phase for each pixel. An image property called phase divergence is used for the selection of the appropriate filter size. Characteristic features related to the change in brightness, color, texture and position are extracted for each pixel at the selected size of the filter. In order to cluster the pixels into different regions, the joint distribution of these pixel features is modeled by a mixture of Gaussians utilizing three variants of the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. The three different versions of EM used in this work for unsupervised clustering are: (1) penalized EM, (2) penalized stochastic EM, and (3) penalized inverse EM. Given the desired number of Gaussian mixture components, all three EM algorithms estimate the parameters of the mixture of Gaussians model that represents the joint distribution of pixel features. We determine the value of the number of models that best suits the natural number of clusters present in the image based on the Schwarz criterion, which maximizes the posterior probability of the number of groups given the samples of observation. This segmentation algorithm has been tested on the images of the Berkeley segmentation benchmark and the performance has demonstrated the effectiveness, accuracy and superiority of the proposed method.
TRPM7 regulates polarized cell movements

TRPM7 (transient receptor potential melastatin 7) is a Ca²+- and Mg²+-permeant ion channel in possession of its own kinase domain. As a kinase, the protein has been linked to the control of actomyosin contractility, whereas the channel has been found to regulate cell adhesion as well as cellular Mg²+ homoeostasis. In the present study we show that depletion of TRPM7 by RNA interference in fibroblasts alters cell morphology, the cytoskeleton, and the ability of cells to form lamellipodia and to execute polarized cell movements. A pulldown-purification assay revealed that knockdown of TRPM7 prevents cells from activating Rac and Cdc42 (cell division cycle 42) when stimulated to migrate into a cellular wound. Re-expression of TRPM7 reverses these phenotypic changes, as does, unexpectedly, expression of a kinase-inactive mutant of TRPM7. Surprisingly, expression of the Mg²+ transporter SLC41A2 (solute carrier family 41 member 2) is also effective in restoring the change in cell morphology, disruption of the cytoskeleton and directional cell motility caused by depletion of the channel-kinase. The results of the present study uncover an essential role for Mg²+ in the control of TRPM7 over the cytoskeleton and its ability to regulate polarized cell movements.
The just rate of depletion of a natural resource

Abstract The optimal pricing and use of a natural resource is reconsidered with respect to intergenerational equity considerations. It is assumed that in a just economy, each generation chooses the plan that maximizes its own utility, subject to the constraint that the plan should not be exploitative in the sense that each generation does not take advantage of its earlier point in time with respect to future generations. It is shown that if the cost of production of an alternative energy source (e.g., solar) is sufficiently high relative to the stock of naturally stored energy, the constraints of justice result in a lower rate of energy use initially, but a higher rate later.
Comparison of Sampling Techniques to Obtain Measurements of Insect Populations on Soybeans

Relative size estimates of populations of selected insect species on ‘Bragg‘ soybeans were determined from four 15-in. sweepnet and one groundcloth-shake sampling techniques. Comparing relative estimates to absolute populations, the groundcloth-shake sampling method was the most efficient method for sampling lepidopterous larvae. This method has a low relative variation and a high fidelity to population changes but was time consuming. Sweeping upwards against the foliage of one row was the most efficient method for sampling adult Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster) and adults and nymphs of Spissitilus festinus (Say).
Keck near-infrared observations of Saturn's E and G rings during Earth's ring plane crossing in August 1995

Abstract We present near-infrared (1.24–2.26 μm) images of Saturn's E and G rings which were taken with the W.M. Keck telescope in 1995 August 9–11, during the period that Earth crossed Saturn's ring plane. Our data confirm that the E ring is very blue. Its radial and vertical structure are found to be remarkably similar to that apparent in the HST ringplane crossing data at visible wavelengths, reinforcing models of the ring's peculiar narrow or very steep particle size distribution. Our data show unambiguously that the satellite Tethys is a secondary source of material for the E ring. The G ring is found to be distinctly red, similar in color to Jupiter's main ring, indicative of a (more typical) broad particle size distribution.
K shell ionization of C, Al, Ni, Cu, Ag, and Au by electron impact

Abstract Semirelativistic calculations of the K shell ionization cross sections of C, Al, Ni, Cu, Ag, and Au by electron impact have been performed employing four Born-type approximations. The calculations for C, Al, Ni, Cu, and Ag were carried out for incident electron kinetic energies ranging up to about 20 times the K shell ionization potential and those for Au for incident kinetic energies of up to 500 keV. The objective of this research was to improve the agreement between experiment and theory by including the effects of electron exchange in the calculations, but without increasing the complexity of the calculations beyond that of the first Born approximation.
PID22: AN APPRAISAL OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENTS FOR USE IN PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) DISEASE

OBJECTIVES: The increasing effectiveness of medical treatments for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) has increased survival time of patients infected with the virus. Because of the high incidence of side effects and the burden of complex medication regimens, an increased emphasis has been placed on the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in HIV patients. The purpose of this study is to review and compare instruments used for measuring HRQL in HIV patients. METHODS: Clinical trials involving HIV patients were identified through the use of MEDLINE and AIDSLINE. The HRQL instruments used in these trials included: 1) generic instruments such as the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short-Form (SF-36), Sickness Impact Profile, Nottingham Health Profile; 2) utility-based measures such as the Quality of Well-Being Scale and the Q-TWIST (Quality adjusted Time Without Symptoms of disease and Toxicity); and 3) disease-specific instruments such as the Multidimensional Quality of Life questionnaire for HIV (MQoL-HIV), Functional Assessment of HIV Infection (FAHI) scale, HIV/AIDS-Targeted Quality of Life Instrument (HAT-QoL), HIV Overview of Problem/Evaluation System (HOPES) instrument, HIV Patient Reported Status and Experience (HIV-PARSE) scale, and the MOS-HIV scale. Criteria for evaluating the instruments included: comprehensiveness, respondent burden, internal consistency of scales, test-retest reliability, clinical validity, and responsiveness to change. RESULTS: No instrument was found to be completely devoid of ceiling effects. Although none of the instruments demonstrated perfect psychometric properties, overall, the MOS-HIV instrument fared better than all its counterparts. The instrument has minimal respondent burden and has shown evidence of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, validity, and is responsive to changes over time. The instrument has been widely used in clinical trials and has been translated into 14 other languages, and translated forms have been validated. CONCLUSIONS: The MOS-HIV scale appears to be most optimal for HRQL measurement in clinical trials involving HIV patients.