cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Trends and Their Relationship with Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in United States Adolescents, 1999-2014.

Abstract Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by hepatocyte dysfunction, fat accumulation, and fibrosis, is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. Elevated levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are used clinically to identify potential liver dysfunction. Our goal was to assess for changes in the national prevalence of elevated ALT over time and potential relationship to trends in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) severity and elevated body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods: We studied 5411 non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic adolescents aged 12–19 with complete MetS Z-score and ALT data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2014. Elevated ALT levels were defined by two different cutoffs: one for both sexes (30 U/L) and another that was sex specific (22 U/L girls; 25 U/L boys). MetS severity was assessed using a sex- and race-/ethnicity-specific MetS Z-score. Results: We did not find a statistically s...
Entre contextos: un análisis crítico del discurso de la alfabetización familiar, las prácticas discursivas y las subjetividades de la alfabetización

This article draws on a 2-year ethnographic study of the literate lives of two African Americans living in urban poverty. The study demonstrates how June Treader and her oldest daughter Vicky negotiate language and literacy in their home and com-munity proficiently yet fail to capitalize on this proficiency within the school, to the extent that Vicky is placed in special education. Illustrating the complexity of literacy in June Treader’s life, I present three discursive contexts: The Discourse of schooling, the Discourse of Mothering and the Discourse of the Committee on special educa-tion meeting. each of these contexts provides cruces (Fairclough, 1995), or moments of tension in which linguistic and institutional markers suggest the ways in which each discursive context insists on certain literate relationships and calls forth certain subjectivities. Using critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995, gee, 1996, Rogers, 2004), the article goes beyond current explorations of why children and families who come from non-mainstream homes fail to do well in school.
Arthroscopic Versus Open Rotator Cuff Repair: Which Has a Better Complication and 30-Day Readmission Profile?

Purpose To provide a comparative 30-day postoperative analysis of complications and unplanned readmission rates, using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, after open or arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR). Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was reviewed for postoperative complications after open or arthroscopic RCR over an 8-year period, from 2007 through 2014. Patients were identified by use of Current Procedural Terminology codes. The open group contained 3,590 cases (21.8%) and the arthroscopic group had 12,882 cases (78.2%), for a total of 16,472 patients undergoing RCR. The risk of complications was compared between the 2 groups, along with patient demographic characteristics, operative time, length of stay, and unplanned readmission within 30 days. We compared dichotomous variables using the Fisher exact test and continuous variables with 1-way analysis of variance. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated when appropriate. Results The open RCR group had a higher prevalence of patients aged 65 years or older and comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smoking, and alcoholism ( P P = .0010). They were also at higher risk of return to the operating room within 30 days (0.70% vs 0.26%; RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.09-1.69; P = .0004). Open RCR was associated with a longer average hospital stay (0.48 ± 2.7 days vs 0.23 ± 4.2 days, P = .0007), whereas arthroscopic RCR had a longer average operative time (90 ± 45 minutes vs 79 ± 45 minutes, P Conclusions Although both open and arthroscopic approaches to RCR had low morbidity, arthroscopy was associated with lower risks of any adverse event and return to the operating room during the initial 30-day postoperative period. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Design and evaluation of a novel ECU architecture for secure and dependable automotive CPS

In this paper, we propose a new architecture for automotive ECUs that incorporates security and dependability primitives with negligible performance, energy, and resources overhead. We implement our proposed ECU architecture on Xilinx Automotive (XA) Spartan-6 FPGA. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed architecture using a steer-by-wire (SBW) application over controller area network with flexible data rate (CAN FD) as a case study that considers major security-relevant use cases and constraints. We also optimize and implement a prior secure and dependable automotive work on the NXP quad-core iMX6Q SABRE automotive board. We further quantify performance, energy, and error resilience of our proposed architecture for our SBW case study. Results reveal that our proposed architecture can attain a speedup of 47.93× while consuming 2.4× lesser energy than optimized SABRE board implementation.
Risk of Second Lung Cancer in Patients with Previously Treated Lung Cancer: Analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Data

Abstract Introduction The risk for development of a second primary lung cancer (SPLC) after treatment of an initial primary lung cancer (IPLC) is around 1% to 2% per patient per year. The present screening and surveillance guidelines do not adequately address this particular patient population. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 1992 to 2007 to assess the frequency of occurrence of SPLC with regard to multiple patient demographics and calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Results The SIRs for SPLCs were high for both men and women at any age but highest if the IPLC occurred at a younger age. Women had the highest SIR values irrespective of age and race, with the highest SIR reported for the youngest age group (20–49 years) (SIR = 15.26, 95% confidence interval: 12.81–18.04). The rate of SPLC development was 1.10% per patient per year, with median time intervals between the IPLC and SPLC diagnoses of 59 and 62 months, respectively, for men and women. The cumulative risk for development of SPLC increased over time and did not plateau. Conclusions These findings suggest that there is a continued risk for development of SPLC. Surveillance strategies for this population must be addressed.
Personal Identity Without Persons

The project takes as its starting point our conflicting intuitions about personal identity first exposed by Bernard Williams’ thought experiment involving the switching of bodies in “The Self and the Future,” and debated in the literature in various forms since, most famously by Derek Parfit in Reasons and Persons. The conflicting intuitions are identified as animalist and psychologist and correspond roughly with the two major approaches to personal identity in the philosophical literature. The traditional strategy to resolve the conflict—thought experiments—is critically examined and the project concludes that proper thought experiments will reveal the conflict but are unlikely to resolve it. A new reading of the conflict is therefore proposed. The concept of the person is a cluster concept with distinct components: biological human beings, rational agency, and psychological continuity, where the latter is construed as the temporal analog of phenomenological unity at a time. The project then suggests that moral and legal theory is best pursued not by a naturalist conception of persons that unites the components of the cluster, but by a novel conception that separates them. This can be accomplished best by eliminating the concept of the person altogether. Objections that the concept of the person is ineliminable are considered and rejected, as are objections that the nature of the conflict is not reason enough to abandon the concept. Personhood’s centrality for value theory (including the positive law) is questioned and the eliminativist strategy is defended on the grounds that responsibility, self-concern, and moral rights are best analyzed with the component concepts instead of the cluster concept. Eliminativism is therefore preferable to competing accounts of personal identity because the former is better suited for moral theory. Among the advantages are the ability to: attribute responsibility to group agents without calling them persons, make sense of our conflicting demonstrations of self-concern without taking them as evidence for conflicting theories of personal identity, and attribute moral rights to entities who fail to meet traditional criteria for personhood but who are nonetheless entitled to moral respect.
Observations of the Effects of Growing Temperature on First Break Mushrooms

Abstract Samp, R. J., and Phelps, J. K., 1986. Observations of the effects of growing temperature on first break mushrooms. The effects of various air temperature were studied on the first break of Agaricus bisporus of the U-1 strain. Production, growth rate, shelf life and size mix were evaluated. Representative trays of a normal crop were placed in different growing rooms which were controlled at air temperatures of 59°F, 63°F, 67°F and 71°F respectively. Mushrooms were picked on a 24 hour cycle and size mix, growth rates and total yield was determined throughout the break. To determine shelf life, mushrooms were picked from the trays at the time of normal maturity for harvest and packaged in plastic tills with overwrap. The packages were photographed daily, evaluated the end of 18 days for density, whiteness and stem elongation, and were ranked accordingly. The results indicated that 63 F was the best overall growing temperature for the first break of U-1. Production was the highest at 63°F while size mix also was most optimum. The warmer the temperature in the room: the higher the percentage of canery and large size mushrooms. Shelf life was very similar at all temperatures with slightly more whiteness at lower temperatures, but less stem elongation at higher temperature. Mushrooms grown at higher temperatures had higher growth rates. Generally, higher growing temperatures resulted in greater daily weight and volume gain. Also, irregardless of temperature, early in the break, mushrooms increased in weight and volume more than 100% per day, while later in the break, as the mushrooms matured, the percentage of weight and volume gain decreased.
Organic Nonvolatile Memories

We have briefly reviewed the development of organic memories. Due to the space limitation, there may be much more work on organic memories that has been omitted here. Organic memories are promising, considering their advantages of potential low cost, flexibility, and easy of fabrication, but there is still a distance to go before they are ready for real application. For most organic memories, the retention times and the device stability are the issues that need to be overcome before application. Organic materials incorporated with inorganic materials or metal nanoclusters may be a solution. We sincerely hope that these issues will be solved in the near future.
The Signature of Ozone Depletion in Recent Antarctic Precipitation Change: A Study With the Community Earth System Model

Although precipitation is a primary control on Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) mass balance, long-term historical AIS precipitation trends and their underlying external climate drivers remain inconclusive. In this study, we use a novel pair of climate model ensembles to identify a simulated spatial signature of ozone depletion-forced AIS precipitation change. Distinct areas of little change or precipitation decrease, arising from interaction between ozone depletion-forced atmospheric circulation changes and ice sheet topography, are outweighed by large-scale precipitation increases. This signature bears notable similarities to a new ice core-based reconstruction of AIS accumulation change and yields a significant increase in annual integrated precipitation (38 ± 10 Gt/year over the 1986–2005 period or 51 ± 11 Gt/year over the 1991–2005 period). Remarkably, this simulated ozone depletion-forced precipitation change is of a similar absolute magnitude to recent observed AIS mass loss trends and as a consequence, it may play a role in dampening recent AIS sea level rise contributions.
Ethical Considerations in Air Pollution Exposure Assessment

Air pollution exposure is distinct by virtue of its involuntary nature from other more voluntary disease risk factors (e.g., diet, alcohol, and tobacco). Because individuals cannot usually choose t...
Whiteness: The Symbol of Quality Education in Contemporary Nigeria

Quality education, or the lack thereof, in Nigeria is a very well-researched area. However, there has been no study on elite Nigerian parents’ understanding of quality education in Nigeria. This chapter reveals how elite parents’ understanding of quality education is markedly different from the wider public and political discourses around this topic, which measure ‘quality’ in terms of academic competencies. This chapter argues, by contrast, that the elite Nigerian parents in this study tended to frame quality education around two distinct but interrelated factors: by whom, and how, their children are taught. Throughout, the chapter argues that parents’ constructions of quality education are linked to, and motivated by, their desire to communicate their class position while simultaneously devaluing the type of education to which most Nigerian families have access.
Agriculture as Carework: The Contradictions of Performing Femininity in a Male-Dominated Occupation

Women in the US have farmed for centuries, but have infrequently had the farmer title. Rural sociologists have explored women’s on-farm roles, as well as rural conceptualizations of gender that inf...
Urology Residency Directors' Awareness of Association between α-Adrenergic Antagonists and Floppy Iris Syndrome and Practice Patterns Regarding Prophylactic α-Adrenergic Antagonists

Purpose The use of prophylactic α-adrenergic receptor antagonists prior to surgery is associated with reduced postoperative urinary retention. However, α-adrenergic receptor antagonists have been associated with intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS). Studies have shown that IFIS is correlated with higher rates of cataract surgery complications. The purpose of this study is to investigate United States urology residency program directors' (1) awareness of the association between α-adrenergic receptor antagonists and IFIS and (2) practice patterns regarding the use of prophylactic α-adrenergic receptor antagonists prior to surgery. Materials and Methods An anonymous, online survey was sent to the program director of each of the 138 urology residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The survey assessed program directors' knowledge regarding the association between α-adrenergic receptor antagonists and IFIS, and practice patterns regarding the use of prophylactic α-adrenergic receptor antagonists prior to surgery. Results Sixty-nine of the 138 (50%) residency directors responded. Forty percent of respondents believe that tamsulosin (Flomax) does not increase the risk of IFIS. Fifty-two percent of respondents prescribe or consider prescribing prophylactic α-adrenergic blockers prior to surgery, with tamsulosin being the most preferred α-adrenergic blocking agent. Of the prescribing urologists, only 58% counsel most of their patients regarding the association between the prescribed drug and IFIS, 28% never ask patients whether they have had cataract surgery, and 56% would change the drug or dosage used if they learned that a patient had not yet had cataract surgery. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate the potential to decrease the risk of IFIS through education of urologists regarding the association of α-adrenergic antagonists with IFIS.
Efficient Resource Distribution by Adaptive Inter-agent Spacing in Multi-agent Systems

In multi-agent systems, limited resources must be shared by individuals during missions to maximize the group utility of the system in the field. In this paper, we present a generalized adaptive self-organization process for multi-agent systems featuring fast and efficient distribution of a consumable and refillable on-board resource throughout the group. An adaptive inter-agent spacing (AIS) controller based on individual resource levels is proposed that spaces out high resource bearing agents throughout the group including the group boundary extrema, and allows low resource bearing agents to adaptively occupy the in-between spaces receiving resource from the high resource bearing agents without over-crowding. Experimental results for cases with and without the proposed AIS controller validate faster convergence of individual resource levels to the group mean resource level using the proposed AIS controller. The generalized approach of the self-organizing process allows flexibility in adapting the proposed AIS controller for various multi-agent applications.
Can a Convolutional Neural Network Classify Knee Osteoarthritis on Plain Radiographs as Accurately as Fellowship-Trained Knee Arthroplasty Surgeons?

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability among adults in the United States. As the diagnosis is based on the accurate interpretation of knee radiographs, use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to grade OA severity has the potential to significantly reduce variability. Methods Knee radiographs from consecutive patients presenting to a large academic arthroplasty practice were obtained retrospectively. These images were rated by 4 fellowship-trained knee arthroplasty surgeons using the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scoring system. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for surgeons alone and surgeons with a CNN that was trained using 4755 separate images were compared. Results Two hundred eighty-eight posteroanterior flexion knee radiographs (576 knees) were reviewed; 131 knees were removed due to poor quality or prior TKA. Each remaining knee was rated by 4 blinded surgeons for a total of 1780 human knee ratings. The ICC among the 4 surgeons for all possible IKDC grades was 0.703 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.667-0.737). The ICC for the 4 surgeons and the trained CNN was 0.685 (95% CI 0.65-0.719). For IKDC D vs any other rating, the ICC of the 4 surgeons was 0.713 (95% CI 0.678-0.746), and the ICC of 4 surgeons and CNN was 0.697 (95% CI 0.663-0.73). Conclusions A CNN can identify and classify knee OA as accurately as a fellowship-trained arthroplasty surgeon. This technology has the potential to reduce variability in the diagnosis and treatment of knee OA.
Building a Collaborative Culture: Focus on Psychological Safety and Error Reporting

Background At a Midwestern academic medical center, we introduced a structured teamwork training program to cardiothoracic operating room members with a goal of greater than or equal to 90% reporting positive psychological safety after the program. Methods We conducted teamwork training over 3 months. We distributed confidential questionnaires before the training, and then at 6 months and 12 months after the training. The primary outcome was the percentage of respondents reporting good or excellent psychological safety. Surveys were also distributed at the end of each case. Secondary outcomes were medical errors reported. Comparisons between percentages were evaluated with chi-square test. We examined the turnover of nurses and surgical technologists. Results Positive psychological safety was reported by 57 of 73 (78.1%) at baseline and by 60 of 68 (88.2%) at 12 months (difference = 10.1%; 95% confidence interval, -2.4% to 23.4%; P = .122). On the daily survey, 93.9% (n = 2786 of 2987) of operating room team members strongly agreed with the statement “I felt comfortable speaking up with questions and concerns” during the last quarter of the study. Reported medical errors decreased from 7.44% (n = 78 of 1048) in the first 6 months of the study to 4.65% (n = 55 of 1184) in the second 6 months (difference = 2.79%; 95% confidence interval, 0.8% to 4.8%; P = .005). In 2015, 19 nurses of a pool of 40 (47.5%) left, followed by 7 (17.5%) in 2016 and 10 (25%) in 2017. Conclusions Overall, the results of this study suggest that structured teamwork training in the cardiothoracic operating room environment has the potential to improve teamwork, psychological safety, and communication, and potentially also patient outcomes.
Small Cell Lung Carcinoma and Synchronous Rectal Adenocarcinoma and Jejunal Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Present in a Patient With History of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The synchronous diagnosis of two or more primary malignancies in a patient is overall rare. CASE REPORT We report such a case of a 67-year-old male smoker with a history of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. He was incidentally identified through follow up computed tomography to have three masses in the lung, rectum and jejunum, respectively. Biopsies were performed and demonstrated synchronous lung small cell carcinoma (pT1bN0) and rectal adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent fractionated stereotactic radiation (FSRT) to the pulmonary tumor and chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide followed by laparoscopic rectum low anterior resection and small bowel segmental resection. Final pathology diagnoses confirmed synchronous microsatellite stable (MMS) moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the rectum (pT3N1b) and jejunal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), spindle cell type (pT2N0). At 8 months follow up postsurgery, the patient was doing well and no tumor recurrences were identified. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case of synchronous primary small cell lung carcinoma, rectal adenocarcinoma, and GIST in the English literature. The rarity, diagnosis and treatment challenges of these entities are discussed.
Residual-based Discretization Error Estimation for Computational Fluid Dynamics

Discretization error is the largest and most difficult numerical error to estimate for a numerical simulation, and boundary conditions often contribute a significant source of error. Burgers’ equation is used to investigate the formulation of Neumann boundary conditions within the context of discretization error estimation using error transport equations (a residual-based method which solves differential equations governing the transport of numerical error). A strong formulation for the boundary conditions utilizes a computational ghost cell as opposed to a weak formulation which applies the boundary condition directly to the computational domain boundary. The use of the ghost cell allows for error cancelation that results in significantly more accurate discretization error estimation.
SU-E-T-544: Microscopic Dose Enhancement of Gold Nanoparticles in Water for Proton Therapy: A Simulation Study

Purpose: To quantify the microscopic dose and linear energy transfer (LET) enhancement of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in water for proton therapy. Methods: The GEANT4 toolkit (version 10) with low energy electromagnetic classes was used to create a series of simulations where three radii (r=5, 20, 100 nm) of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were irradiated with 5 × 106 80 MeV protons. A cubic detector (10 × 10 × 10 um, divided in 25 × 25 × 25 voxels) were placed in a water phantom where the GNP rests in the center. The size of incident proton beam was set to be same as the GNPs and perpendicularly aiming to the target. Dose deposited to each voxel were recorded to calculate the overall deposited dose and the dose-averaged LET. The emitted secondary electron spectra were also collected in a spherical customized scorer (radius = 150 nm). Results: The average dose from a single GNP in a cubic water phantom was increased by 0.12 %, 1.12% and 2.3% and the mean dose-averaged LET was increased by 5.87% and 27.67% and 0.31% for GNP radius of 5 nm, 20 nm and 100 nm, respectively. Conclusion: The dose enhancement effect from the presence of amore » single GNP was qualified in a water phantom. A significant increase in the mean dose-averaged LET was found for 20 nm GNP.« less
Image-based retro-reflectivity measurement of traffic signs in day time

Display Omitted A vision method that remotely measures traffic sign retro-reflectivity in daytime.The method simulates nighttime visibility from images taken during daytime.The impact of time of day and distance on measurements are studied.The method with accuracy of 95.24% is cheaper, faster and safer than current practice.The method satisfies FHWA measurement requirements on accuracy and granularity. The visibility of a traffic sign at night depends on its retro-reflectivity, a property that needs to be frequently monitored to ensure transportation safety. In the U.S., Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) maintains regulations to ensure minimum retro-reflectivity levels. Current measurement techniques either (a) use vehicle mounted device during the night, or (b) use manual handheld devices during the day. The former is expensive due to nighttime labor cost. The latter is time-consuming and unsafe. To address these limitations, this paper presents a computer vision-based technique to measure retro-reflectivity during daytime using a vehicle mounted device. The presented algorithms simulate nighttime visibility of traffic signs from images taken during daytime and measure their retro-reflectivity. The technique is faster, cheaper, and safer as it neither requires nighttime operation nor requires manual sign inspection. It also satisfies FHWA measurement guidelines both in terms of granularity and accuracy. The performance of the presented technique is evaluated under various testing conditions. The results are promising and demonstrate a strong potential in lowering inspection cost and improving safety in practical applications on retro-reflectivity measurement.
Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of a paperless curriculum at a new osteopathic medical school (719.5)

Our educational program is anchored in a set of guiding principles that includes active learning. Actively engaging the students is one of the goals of our biomedical sciences curriculum. The curri...
Wide complex tachycardia

Case Study: Mr. Jack Ramsey is a 68-year-old retired police officer who sustained an anterior wall myocardial infarction one year ago. He has done well, but earlier this morning he developed a sudden onset of dizziness. There was no accompanying chest pain or shortness of breath. His ECG is shown inFigure 1.
The Project Model of Clinical Education: Eight Principles To Maximize Student Learning and Social Justice Impact

In clinical legal education, there is growing interest in the development of project-based clinical work, which includes a broad range of activities, such as legislative and policy reform, community economic development and community legal education. In the project model, students use non-litigation advocacy strategies to solve challenging legal problems for clients and engage a broad range of multidimensional legal skills, including complex problem-solving, strategic planning, project management, and professional communication skills. Clinical scholarship on project-based learning has suggested that key pedagogical methods, particularly maximizing role assumption and student ownership of clinic work, must be compromised in projects due to the inherent complexity of the model. Because the project model holds such great potential for creating systemic change and serving communities, clinicians who develop projects often struggle to navigate the balance between social justice impact and pedagogical goals. In response to these and other challenges of projects in clinical education, this article argues that through intentional and goal-driven planning, clinicians can design project-based learning experiences that meet social justice goals while also maximizing student ownership and learning. To assist clinicians in developing projects that are successful from pedagogical and social justice perspectives, this article offers eight pedagogical principles, transferable across clinical contexts, for the design and supervision of this emerging model of clinical education.
Cutting Edge: IL-10-Producing CD4+ T Cells Mediate Tumor Rejection

IL-10 has potent immunosuppressive properties, and IL-10-producing CD4+ Tr1 cells have been characterized as regulators of Th1-mediated immunity. In this study, using a s.c. model of glioma cell growth in mice, we demonstrate that CD4+, but not CD8+, T cells play a critical role in tumor rejection following vaccination with irradiated glioma cells. Surprisingly, glioma-specific CD4+ T cells produce IL-10 but neither IL-4 nor IFN-γ, and glioma rejection is compromised in IL-10−/− hosts. Hence, our findings demonstrate that IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells can manifest antitumor functions and suggest that IL-10 may have proinflammatory effects in disease states.
Ringing Bells in Accompanied Recitation and Musical Melodrama

Due to the prevalence of bells in poetry performed by late-nineteenth-century elocutionists, melodramatic compositions frequently included bell sounds. Elocutionists imitated bell tones vocally, or accompanied texts such as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Bells with character pieces. Richard Strauss’s Enoch Arden, Max von Schillings’s Hexenlied, Sumner Salter’s The Madonna at Palos, Stanley Hawley’s Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight, and other works imitated bells through unusual sonorities, chord repetition, or recurring “swinging” figuration. Musical bells were not merely audible representations of natural sounds but also helped to create poetic meanings surrounding the passage of time, religious rituals, and death, sentimentally evoking grief and loss.
Parents' behavioral norms as predictors of adolescent sexual activity and contraceptive use.

The influence of parental factors on adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive use has been examined previously and findings have been contradictory. Previous US studies which found little relationship between parental norms and adolescent sexual activity have been limited by their failure to recognize developmental differences in the relative weight of parent and peer influences between younger and older teens and by use of selected samples resulting in a restriction of range. The current study differs in that it utilizes a clustered sample household survey of 329 males and females aged 14 to 17 and 470 of their parents. Using multiple regression analysis it was found that parents reported behavioral norms account for 5% of the variance in whether adolescents have had intercourse and for 33% of the variance in use of contraception at last intercourse. The study suggests that while parents normative beliefs have limited effect in the decision to become sexually active they have considerable impact on later contraceptive use. (authors modified)
Continuing Developments In Returning Traditional Values To Contemporary American Indian Nation Governance: The 2009-11 Navajo Nation Council restructuring and its potential implications

In recent years numerous Indian nations have been struggling to overcome colonially imposed, inappropriate forms of government. They have applied various means in the attempt to apply traditional values to contemporary government, to bring back traditional inclusive participation and restore harmony and good governance to their communities, appropriately for the current era, with a concern for future tribal development. At Navajo Nation, which has been experimenting with various governmental modifications for many years, the Dine Policy Institute’s 2010 “Recommendations for Re-Structuring The Navajo Nation Council,” show how the ongoing restructuring of the Navajo Nation Council can be a vehicle for bringing back traditional community leadership, with greatly increased governmental representativeness through enhanced community involvement. In demonstrating what can be achieved at Navajo Nation, the Recommendations throw light on methods that can be adopted by many nations to reindigenize their governance processes.
Functional implications of impaired control of submaximal hip flexion following stroke

Introduction: We quantified submaximal torque regulation during low to moderate intensity isometric hip flexion contractions in individuals with stroke and the associations with leg function. Methods: Ten participants with chronic stroke and 10 controls performed isometric hip flexion contractions at 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 40% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in paretic, nonparetic, and control legs. Results: Partici- pants with stroke had larger torque fluctuations (coefficient of variation, CV), for both the paretic and nonparetic legs, than controls (P <0.05) with the largest CV at 5% MVC in the paretic leg (P <0.05). The paretic CV correlated with walking speed (r 2 50.54) and Berg Balance Score (r 2 50.40). At 5% MVC, there were larger torque fluctuations in the contralateral leg dur- ing paretic contractions compared with the control leg. Conclu- sions: Impaired low-force regulation of paretic leg hip flexion can be functionally relevant and related to control versus strength deficits poststroke. Muscle Nerve 49: 225-232, 2014
Evolution of animal personalities

Arising from: M. Wolf, G. S. van Doorn, O. Leimar & F. J. Weissing , 581–584 (2007)10.1038/nature05835 ; Wolf et al. reply Wolf et al.1 propose a model to explain the existence of animal personalities, consistent with behavioural differences among individuals in various contexts2,3,4—their explanation is counter-intuitive and cogent. However, all models have their limits, and the particular life-history requirements of this one may be unclear. Here we analyse their model and clarify its organismal scope.
Relations among reading skills and sub-skills and text-level reading proficiency in developing readers

Despite the recent attention to text reading fluency, few studies have studied the construct of oral reading rate and accuracy in connected text in a model that simultaneously examines many of the important variables in a multi-leveled fashion with young readers. Using Structural Equation Modeling, this study examined the measurement and structural relations of the rate and accuracy of variables important in early reading: phonemic blending, letter sounds, phonograms, decoding, single-word reading, reading comprehension, and text reading as well as reading comprehension among second grade readers. The effects from phonemic blending fluency and letter sound fluency to decoding were completely mediated by phonogram fluency, decoding fluency, single-word reading fluency, and reading comprehension had direct effects on the text reading fluency of the second grade students. Understanding the relationship among the many component skills of readers early in their reading development is important because a deficiency in any of the component skills has the potential to affect the development of other skills and, ultimately, the development of the child as a proficient reader.
The Student-Centered Electronic Teaching Library: A New Model for Learning

As libraries are renovated, retrofitted, or re‐engineered to accom‐ modate robust infrastructures with scaleable Ethernet connectivity, reference personnel must actively help in the design of teaching and learning facilities supportive of technologies that add value and context to the educational experience. In this article, the authors describe the conceptualization, funding mechanisms, and creation of a Student‐centered Electronic Teaching classroom (SET) in a medium‐sized academic library. The SET is viewed as a combination of several elements: electronic classroom, information concourse, and multimedia laboratory. It is designed to foster collaborative learning among students and faculty, while teaching library users specific techniques to increase their information competency abilities.
Mass transfer under combined natural and forced convection in a vertical flow channel: assisting and opposing flows

Abstract Average and local mass-transfer coefficients were measured by the limiting current technique during zinc electrodeposition from aqueous ZnSO4 solution under combined laminar natural and forced convection in a vertical flow channel. For assisting flow, the results agree with the theoretical correlation Sh3 = SHF3 + SHN3. For opposing flow, the experimental data indicate flow reversal and support the theoretical assumptions of superimposition of velocity gradients and the distinction between the forced and natural-dominant regions, below and above the point of zero shear stress.
Cerebral blood flow changes with diuretic therapy in elderly subjects with systolic hypertension.

It has been feared that lowering the blood pressure (BP) of elderly patients with systolic hypertension (SH) may compromise cerebral perfusion. To test this hypothesis, BP, cerebral blood flow (CBF...
Psychotropic medication use in a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the point prevalence of psychotropic medication use, and to describe relationships between child-level characteristics, provider type, and medication use among children in the child welfare system. Methods: The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being is the first nationally representative study of children coming into contact with the child welfare system. We used data from its baseline and 12-month follow-up waves, and conducted weighted bivariate analyses on a sample of 3114 children and adolescents, 87% of whom were residing in-home. Results: Overall, 13.5% of children in child welfare were taking psychotropic medications in 2001–2002. Older age, male gender, Caucasian race/ethnicity, history of physical abuse, public insurance, and borderline scores on the internalizing and externalizing subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist were associated with higher proportions of medication use. African-American and Latino ethnicities, and a history ...
Le score APACHE III à l’admission en USI prédit la mortalité hospitalière après chirurgie ouverte des anévrysmes de l’aorte thoraco-abdominale et abdominale

Objectif Aucune etude a notre connaissance n’a etudie la pertinence du score Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE III) afin de predire la mortalite des patients operes d’une chirurgie ouverte d’un anevrysme de l’aorte thoraco-abdominale (ATA) ou abdominale (AAA). Les auteurs ont recherche a evaluer les scores APACHE III dans la prediction de la mortalite post-operatoire dans le traitement electif des ATA et des AAA. Methodes Sur une periode de 9 ans (de juillet 1998 a juin 2007), les donnees prospectives (demographiques, diagnostic a l‘admission, score APACHE III, duree d’hospitalisation ou de sejour en unite de soins intensifs, mortalite hospitaliere et en unite de soins intensifs) ont ete collectees par un coordinateur designe pour APACHE III pour tous les patients admis dans une unite de soins intensifs chirurgicale (20 lits). Des analyses comparatives et d’observation ont ete effectuees. Les chirurgies en urgence pour rupture d’anevrysme ont ete exclues de l’etude. Resultats 41 patients ont ete operes d’une chirurgie ouverte pour ATA et 404 pour AAA. L’âge moyen du groupe ATA etait de 63,4 ans, ± 9,8 ans et de 70,3 ans pour le groupe AAA ± 8,3 ans. Le score APACHE III moyen etait de 54 (10-103) pour le groupe ATA et de 45 (11-103) pour le groupe AAA. Le taux de mortalite hospitaliere etait de 4,9% pour le groupe ATA ( n = 2) et de 2% pour le groupe AAA ( n = 8). Le score APACHE III moyen etait a l’admission en unite de soins intensifs bien plus important chez les survivants que chez les non-survivants (79 contre 45, p Conclusions le score APACHE III est un indicateur fiable de survie hospitaliere dans la chirurgie des ATA et des AAA.
Ground states of two-dimensional ± J Edwards-Anderson spin glasses

We present an exact algorithm for finding all the ground states of the two-dimensional Edwards-Anderson $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}J$ spin glass and characterize its performance. We investigate how the ground states change with increasing system size and antiferromagnetic bond ratio x. We find that the ground-state distribution is log normal and that its dependence on x is nontrivial. We also study the breakdown of ferromagnetic order and show how percolating paths are created by the overlap of different ground-state solutions.
Senate Elections in the United States, 1920–94

Adopted in 1913, the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution requires that members of the US Senate be elected by citizens of their respective states. This article is concerned with understanding what factors have influenced Senate election outcomes and how their effects have changed over time. I focus on three independent variables, state partisan composition, incumbency, and national partisan tides, and then develop a model of Senate election outcomes that allows their effects to change from election year to election year. The results reveal substantial variability and lead to a new and detailed understanding of Senate elections in the United States. The significance of the findings is further demonstrated by showing how the effects of the independent variables have affected actual election outcomes.
450 ZINC (Zn) AND BIRTH DEFECTS (BD)

Zn deficiency has been reported in infants with BD and in children born with achondroplasia. 304 families were studied comparing parental age, Zn nutritional status and infant weight at the time of birth. There is a statistically significant correlation (p < .01) between infant hair Zn and maternal age at time of birth. The decrease in infant hair Zn seen with teenage (14-20) and elder mothers (31-40) may be related to the incidence of increased BD which occurs in these groups. Infant hair Zn was lowest in the heaviest infants and in a group with BD made up of porencephaly, anencephaly and microcephaly as the presenting sign (N=4; Zn=134±10). The heavier children may represent the infants of potential diabetic mothers (who have more BD). Placental Zn was 18-19 ug/g and did not correlate well with maternal or infant hair Zn. Finally, diet did not explain parental Zn status since paired deficiencies did not occur. Therefore, an association between Zn levels, high-risk age groups and those children with BD is apparent.
Correlating overlay metrology precision to interlayer dielectric film properties

Current ITRS projections indicate that overlay metrology measurement uncertainty requirements will be less than 1 nm by the year 2009. The challenge in attaining this level of precision for semiconductor and thin-film head (TFH) applications is complicated by the use of increasingly complex multilayer dielectric stacks in the fabricated devices. This paper details results from a fundamental study designed to quantify and understand the effects of dielectric film optical properties on overlay metrology uncertainty. Overlay precision was measured for a series of advanced imaging metrology (AIM) targets having a region of interest (ROI) ranging from 2.8 - 19.5 μm and mark pitch ranging from 1.9 - 4.5 μm. The interlayer dielectric (ILD) film separating the layers of relevance was systematically varied in both thickness (0 - 5 μm) and refractive index (1.60 - 2.54). A reasonable correlation is observed between the measured precision values and the Rayleigh optical thickness, indicating that the optical clarity of ILD films contributes significantly to the minimum achievable overlay metrology precision.
Sudden impulses at low latitudes: Transient response

When the magnetosphere is compressed by a sudden change in the solar wind dynamic pressure, the horizontal component of the Earth's magnetic field is increased at low latitudes. Often there is an overshoot associated with this increase in the field, but not always. The overshoot does not appear to be due to induced currents in the interior of the Earth or in the ionosphere. Rather, its magnitude appears to be controlled by both the strength of the ring current, and by local time. We speculate that the overshoot in the horizontal component is due to an overshoot in the compression of the magnetosphere and that when the ring current is strong the compressional wave is damped and the magnetosphere is not set into oscillation by the compressional wave.
Concatention of inputs in a two-way automation

Abstract To every input string of a two-way automaton one associates a quadruple of partial functions (or relations) between the states. This quadruple describes the behavior of the automaton on that input, and can also be used to formulate acceptance, or notions like the crossing sequence. Formulas are given that show how two such quadruples are combined (“multiplied”) as their corresponding input strings are concatenated.
Use of propofol as an induction agent in the acutely injured patient

Purpose Etomidate is a commonly used agent for rapid sequence induction (RSI) in trauma due to its limited hemodynamic effects. Given a recent nationwide shortage of etomidate, alternative induction agents may be required. Propofol is a frequent substitute; however, concern exists regarding its potential hypotensive effects. The study attempts to determine the hemodynamic effects of propofol and etomidate following RSI in trauma bay.
Molecular dynamics simulation of the unfolding of barnase: characterization of the major intermediate.

The folding/unfolding pathway of barnase has been studied extensively using the protein engineering method, which has provided indirect structural information for the transition state and the major folding intermediate. To further characterize the structural properties of the intermediate, we have simulated the thermal denaturation of barnase beginning from the average NMR structure. Our results indicate that there are at least two intermediates on the unfolding pathway. The three hydrophobic cores are partially formed in the major intermediate (I1), with core1 and core3 being slightly stronger than core2. Helix α1 is substantially formed, with the center being stronger than the termini. The first turn of α2 is lost and α3 is unfolded. The center of the β-sheet is substantially formed, but the edges are disrupted. These structural characteristics are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental data. For semi-quantitative comparison with experimental data, the extent of native structure of individual residues is characterized by a structure index, S, that reflects both secondary and tertiary structure. There is good agreement between S and the experimentally measured Φ values, which are based on energetics, except for three residues. These residues are polar and non-conservative mutations were made to obtain Φ values, which can complicate structural interpretations. These residues make strong side-chain interactions in I1, but the backbone structure is disrupted, leading to low S values. Thus, this discordance highlights possible limitations in both the Φ value and S value analyses: strong polar interactions in the intermediate may give rise to high Φ values that are not reflective of structure per se; however, due to sampling limitations, any one simulation is not expected to capture all of the features of the true conformational ensemble. In any case, these simulations provide an experimentally testable, atomic-level structural model for the major folding intermediate of barnase, as well as the detailed pathway from the native to the intermediate state.