cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pediatric laryngotracheal obstruction: current perspectives on stridor.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To assess how medical advances have impacted the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of pediatric laryngotracheal obstruction, and to describe the advantages of audio-video documentation of stridorous children. Study Design and Methods: Retrospective. Methods and Materials: 268 patients were referred for suspected laryngotracheal obstruction during the 30 months between September 1, 1995 and March 1, 1998: 173 had 206 flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopies, and 160 had 273 direct laryngoscopies. One hundred and forty-one children were identified with laryngotracheal obstruction, yielding 40 different diagnoses that could be classified into 9 major categories. Thirty-six children (25.5%) had multiple sites of upper airway obstruction. Results: 138 children had follow-up >1 month. Twelve children died (8.7%), leaving 126 survivors (mean follow-up = 21.1 months). Outcomes were classified as resolved (44.2%), improved (37.0%), stable (9.4%), failed (0.7%), or death (8.7%). Better outcomes were seen in more readily treated diagnostic categories, such as tracheobronchial foreign body, chronic laryngitis, and suprastomal granulation tissue; laryngeal stenosis, tracheomalacia, and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, had less favorable outcomes (P <.001). The former group also showed superior outcome compared to laryngomalacia (P <.001) and vocal cord mobility disorders (P = .004). Ninety-four patients (68.1%) had comorbidities complicating their management. Comorbid conditions were universal among deceased patients and least common in the resolved outcomes category (56.7%), supporting the premise that patients with poor outcomes are more likely to have comorbidities than patients with resolution of laryngotracheal symptoms (P = .034). Conclusions: Audio-video recording of pediatric laryngotracheal obstruction offers numerous advantages. Children classified into an array of diagnostic categories usually have favorable outcomes, but opportunities for continued advances exist, particularly regarding management of comorbidity and chronic obstruction.
Upper gastrointestinal examinations: a radiographic study of clinically normal beagle puppies

A total of 24 upper gastrointestinal examinations were performed on four weanling beagle puppies over six weeks, using liquid barium (10 ml/kg bodyweight of 60 per cent w/v barium sulphate suspension] and barium food (8 g/kg of crushed kibble dog food and 7 ml/kg bodyweight of 60 per cent w/v barium sulphate suspension) as contrast media. The radiographic appearance was similar to that noted in adult dogs except for the consistent location of the pylorus on or near the midline. Duodenal pseudoulcers were seen more often with liquid barium and the caecal shadows were identified more often with the longer examination time with barium food. The stomach of the puppies appeared to have discriminatory emptying function; that is, semi-solid food was emptied from the stomach at a slower rate (210 to 450 minutes) than liquid (60 to 90 minutes). Solid meals emptied faster in puppies than in adult dogs. Dosages of 13 to 15 mg/kg bodyweight for the liquid barium examination and 14 g of ground kibble and 16 ml of barium sulphate suspension per m2 of body surface area for the barium food examination are suggested as more appropriate for contrast studies in puppies.
“The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions”: A Historical, Theoretical, and Legal Analysis of Zero-Tolerance Weapons Policies in American Schools

With the passing of the Gun Free School Act of 1994, the 1990s bore witness to the birth of zero-tolerance policies. During the remainder of that decade, several school shootings occurred that solidified zero-tolerance in schools across the United States. With the possibility of threats constantly increasing, school personnel having a thorough understanding of these policies is critical. In this article, the authors analyze the theoretical, empirical, and legal underpinnings of zero-tolerance weapons policies, then argue that these policies are theoretically unsound, are empirically unsupported, and fall prey to several legal critiques. Last, the authors offer recommendations for principals and teachers that would address problems with mens rea and show the value of using threat assessment tools.
Policy Uncertainty and Technological Innovation

Without certainty about government policies, business decision makers are unable to assess risk and opportunity and make the trade-offs necessary for investment in new technologies. Different policies (R&D, health and safety, economic regulation) have different effects, depending on type of industry and size of firm. Because there are no established standards for judging industry performance, it is difficult to know whether policy uncertainty is simply a rationalization for not innovating or whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between policy uncertainty and technological change.
UNUSUAL CAUSES OF MESENTERIC ISCHEMIA

Although complications of generalized atherosclerosis most commonly cause intestinal ischemia, a number of unusual causes may be responsible. These unusual causes can be grouped into six major categories: (1) mechanical, (2) drugs, (3) hematologic, (4) endocrine, (5) vasculopathies, and (6) miscellaneous. Morbidity and mortality rates remain high because these rare diseases frequently go unrecognized until patients suffer adverse outcomes. A high index of suspicion may decrease the delay in diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia caused by these disorders.
Post-myocardial infarction left ventricular myocyte remodeling: are there gender differences in rats?

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown gender differences in left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Results are varied, however, and reliable, comprehensive data for changes in cardiac myocyte shape are not available. Methods Young adult female and male Sprague–Dawley rats were used in this study and randomly assigned to the myocardial infarction and sham myocardial infarction groups. Myocardial infarction was produced by ligation of the left descending coronary artery. Four weeks after surgery, left ventricular echocardiography and hemodynamics were performed before isolating myocytes for size determination. Results In general, left ventricular functional changes after myocardial infarction were comparable. Females developed slightly, but significantly, more left ventricular hypertrophy than males, and this was reflected by the relative increases in left ventricular myocyte volume. In both males and females, however, myocyte hypertrophy was due exclusively to lengthening of myocytes with no change in myocyte cross-sectional area. Conclusions This study demonstrates that post-myocardial infarction changes in LV function and myocyte remodeling are remarkably similar in young adult male and female rats.
Toxicity and Sterilization Effectiveness of Aflatoxins B1 and G1 and Distribution of Aflatoxin B1-14C in House Flies

Aflatoxins B1 and G1were administered orally to adult Musca Domestica L., and their effects on sterility and morality were determined. He ring-labeled aflatoxin B1 also was fed to study the distribution of the ingested compound in the tissues. Aflatoxin C1 was more toxic and more effective as a sterilant than aflatoxin B1. In contrast, aflatoxin B1 has been reported to be more toxic to ducklings and some other animals. Aflatoxin G1 was more toxic to male than to female flies, whereas B1 was equally toxic 10 males and females. Both aflatoxin compounds were temporary sterilants. The amount of 14C present in the haemolymph, fat bodies, ovaries, testes, and heads was measured for 3 days after oral administration of aflatoxin B1-14C. At the end of 3 days, the amount of 14C had decreased in the head, haemolymph and fat bodies, In the ovaries, however, the amount of 14C had increased markedly, while it remained relativity constant in the testes during the 3 days. The accumulation of aflatoxin B1-14C or its metabolites in the Ovaries may account for the temporary chemosterilant effect.
Human decidual cell Toll-like receptor signaling in response to endotoxin: The effect of progestins

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether progesterone, 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone, and 17-α hydroxyprogesterone caproate modulate the Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway in the response of decidua to lipopolysaccharide. Study Design Cultured human decidual cells were incubated under control conditions, lipopolysaccharide alone, or pretreatment with each of the 3 progestins. Relative expression of 113 genes in the TLR pathway was determined by microarray. Results We failed to demonstrate a suppression of TLR gene pathway expression in human decidual cells in response to lipopolysaccharide when the cells are pretreated with progestins. Pretreatment with each progestin before lipopolysaccharide resulted in a relative increase in the expression of the proapoptotic molecule, CASP8. There were no differences among the progestins. Conclusion Our data do not support suppression of TLR pathways as a mechanism for the benefit of 17-α hydroxyprogesterone caproate. Increased CASP8 gene expression raises the possibility that progestins “prime” the decidual cell to respond with a NFκB-mediated inflammatory response.
Example of a first-order Néel to valence-bond-solid transition in two dimensions

We consider the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg model with nearest-neighbor interaction $J$ and an additional multispin interaction ${Q}_{3}$ on the square lattice. The ${Q}_{3}$ term consists of three bond-singlet projectors and is chosen to favor the formation of a valence-bond solid (VBS) where the valence bonds (singlet pairs) form a staggered pattern. The model exhibits a quantum phase transition from the N\'eel state to the VBS as a function of ${Q}_{3}/J$. We study the model using quantum Monte Carlo (stochastic series expansion) simulations. The N\'eel-VBS transition in this case is strongly first order in nature, in contrast to similar previously studied models with continuous transitions into columnar VBS states. The qualitatively different transitions illustrate the important role of an emerging $U(1)$ symmetry in the latter case, which is not possible in the present model due to the staggered VBS pattern (which does not allow local fluctuations necessary to rotate the local VBS order parameter).
Hsp90, Hsp60 and sHsp families of heat shock protein genes in channel catfish and their expression after bacterial infections.

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are a suite of highly conserved proteins whose expressions are generally induced by elevated temperature. However, many Hsps play important roles in both innate and adaptive immunity. On the basis of our previous work on Hsp40 and Hsp70 gene families in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), the objective of this study was to characterize Hsp90, Hsp60, Hsp10, and small Hsp genes, and to investigate their expression profiles after bacterial infections. A total of 20 Hsp genes were identified and annotated in the channel catfish genome, including five Hsp90 genes, one Hsp60 gene, one Hsp10 gene, and 13 sHsp genes. Six Hsp genes were differentially expressed after Edwardsiella ictaluri infection, and 12 were differentially expressed after Flavobacterium columnare infection. Although expression of these genes exhibited both temporal and spatial regulation, the induction of Hsp genes was observed soon after bacterial infection, while the suppression of Hsp genes was observed at later time-points, suggesting their distinct roles in immune responses and disease defenses. A pathogen-specific expression pattern of Hsp90 was observed. After F. columnare infection, all Hsp90 genes were found up-regulated except Hsp90ab1, which was not significantly regulated. However, after E. ictaluri infection, only one Hsp90 gene was found significantly down-regulated. Both pathogen-specific and tissue-specific pattern of expression were observed with small Hsps after E. ictaluri and F. columnare bacterial infections. These results suggested that most of Hsp genes may play important roles in immune response and/or disease defense in channel catfish.
Degradation of tobacco mosaic virus nucleic acid with micrococcal phosphodiesterase

Abstract The phosphodiesterase present in the culture medium of Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus was purified and its action on tobacco mosaic virus nucleic acid was studied. In the complete digest nucleoside 3′-phosphates of both purines and pyrimidines and also several di-nucleotides were found. Its action on polyuridylic and cytidylic acids also resulted in the production of the corresponding nucleoside 3′-phosphates and dinucleotides. The enzyme was found to have no action on purine or pyrimidine cyclic nucleotides. The possible mode of its degradation of tobacco mosaic virus nucleic acid was discussed.
Computational Design and Analysis of a Microtab Based Aerodynamic Loads Control System for Lifting Surfaces

A computational design and analysis of a microtab based aerodynamic loads control system is presented. The microtab consists of a small tab that emerges from a wing approximately perpendicular to its surface in the vicinity of its trailing edge. Tab deployment on the upper side of the wing causes a decrease in the lift generation whereas deployment on the pressure side causes an increase. The computational methods applied in the development of this concept solve the governing Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations on structured, overset grids. The application of these methods to simulate the flows over lifting surfaces including the tabs has been paramount in the development of these devices. The numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the microtab and that it is possible to carry out a sensitivity analysis on the positioning and sizing of the tabs before they are implemented in successfully controlling the aerodynamic loads.
Differential Response of Cultivated and Weedy (Red) Rice to Recent and Projected Increases in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

To determine whether recent or projected increases in atmospheric [CO 2 ] favor cultivated rice or its weedy relative, red rice, we examined the initial growth and vegetative characteristics of these two groups using six weedy red rice (RR) biotypes and six cultivated rice (CR) varieties at CO 2 concentrations that corresponded to the 1940s, current levels, and that projected for the middle of this century (300, 400, and 500 μmol mol -1 , respectively). Increasing [CO 2 ] resulted in significant increases in initial leaf area and root weight for the RR, as early as 27 d after sowing (DAS) at 500 μmol mol -1 . By 55 DAS, significant CO 2 by type (RRvs. CR) interactions were observed with RR demonstrating a 55 and 62% increase in plant biomass and leaf area, respectively, relative to the CR at 500 μmol mol -1 [CO 2 ]. Overall, these results indicate a greater physiological plasticity and genetic diversity among RR relative to CR that may impact weed/crop competition as atmospheric CO 2 increases. However, this greater variation may also provide a unique genetic resource that could be incorporated into CR varieties to increase their adaptability to rising atmospheric CO 2 .
The Certainty of Uncertain Knowledge: The Collaborative Authorship of The Changling

This essay argues against the passive acceptance of received wisdom about collaborative authorship of plays in early modern England, focussing on The Changeling as an example of a play for which the extremely limited availability of external evidence concerning the authorship of the play makes reliance upon so-called 'internal evidence' equally problematic. It notes that, in discussions of this and other plays, there is a tendency to disregard potential complexities such as the possibility of scribal or compositorial intervention or the possible existence of an additional, unnamed collaborator. The essay argues against the persistent, often unstated, assumption that collaboration usually consisted of individual work on separable portions of a play, demonstrating that we have no evidence -- certainly not in Henslowe's Diary , where many scholars assume it exists -- that separate composition of individual acts of a play by different playwrights was the normal method of collaboration by the professional dramatists of the period. With regard to The Changeling , the essay's conclusion is that the ways in which the different parts of the play fit together with each other suggest the possibility that this unified and successful play was created by collaborators who, in one way or another, worked together rather than separately.
MobileSOA: A Service Oriented Web 2.0 Framework for Context-Aware, Lightweight and Flexible Mobile Applications

Current enterprise application mobility approaches tend to extend desktop paradigms to the mobile space. We believe that enterprise application mobility needs to evolve to a mobile-oriented business computing paradigm, where business functions and relevant collaboration options are made available to a large number of mobile users in the most appropriate manner. In this paradigm, users get just enough information and resources needed to make a business decision and execute it in a simple and secure manner. We present a service-oriented framework that allows mobile applications to easily interface with enterprise backends, and be lightweight and flexible through in-built context awareness and a Web 2.0 front-end. It allows interleaved execution of local, ambient and remote services; and provides both users and enterprises the ability to create, provision and execute lightweight dynamic applications. At the same time, the framework allows enterprises to control services and data users access through their devices.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors equipped with estrogen receptor modulation activity.

We describe a set of novel histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) equipped with either an antagonist or an agonist of the estrogen receptor (ER) to confer selective activity against breast cancers. These bifunctional compounds potently inhibit HDAC at nanomolar concentrations and either agonize or antagonize ERα and ERβ. The ER antagonist activities of tamoxifen–HDACi conjugates (Tam-HDACi) are nearly identical to those of tamoxifen. Conversely, ethynyl-estradiol–HDACi conjugates (EED-HDACi) have attenuated ER agonist activities relative to the parent ethynyl-estradiol. In silico docking analysis provides structural basis for the trends of ER agonism/antagonism and ER subtype selectivity. Excitingly, lead Tam-HDACi conjugates show anticancer activity that is selectively more potent against MCF-7 (ERα positive breast cancer) compared to MDA-MB-231 (triple negative breast cancer), DU145 (prostate cancer), or Vero (noncancerous cell line). This dual-targeting approach illustrates the utility of designing sma...
Comparisons of soil physical characteristics in long-term tillage winter wheat-fallow tillage experiments

Abstract Soil physical characteristics resulting from tillage of fallow-wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cropping systems were compared for two soils in western Nebraska. The soil physical environment influences the amount of water entering soil and the microenvironment that influences soil biological processes important to plant response. Effects of tillage on physical properties varied with soil type and depth of soil tillage. Generally, the 0–76 mm surface layer has the largest number of physical properties that differ as a result of tillage; however, only a few properties differed at greater depths. The Alliance silt loam (fine silty, mixed, mesic, Aridic Arguistoll) soil at the Previously Cultivated site, for example, showed differences in bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, ratio of air to water permeability, and total porosity for the 0–76 mm layer but only hydraulic conductivity was different at the 76–152 mm depth. A similar frequency of differences in physical properties was also true in the 0–76 mm layer for the Duroc loam (fine silty, mixed, mesic, Pachic Haplustoll) soil at the Native Sod site. Compared among treatments, water content, bulk density, and pore space differed in the 0–76 mm layer, while all properties different in the 76–152 mm layer, and there were fewer differences in the 152–304 mm layer in the Native Sod site. The sod treatment usually was the most extreme value with the tillage treatment values clustered together. Air to water permeability ratio, as an indicator of structural stability (ratio of 1 being stable), for the Alliance soil ranged from 18 to 43 in the 0–76 mm layer and from 31 to 152 in the 76–152 mm layer. For the Duroc soil, the ratio ranged from 5 to 6 in the 0–76 mm layer and 6 to 22 in the 76–152 mm layer. The Duroc soil has not been cropped as long as the Alliance soil and showed a tendency to be more structurally stable. Based on precipitation intensity records and infiltration characteristics, water would seldom run off the Duroc soil when in sod and with sub-till or no-till. Results show that the runoff would occur most frequently from the plow treatment.
Modification of polymers via electrophilic aromatic substitution

Three vinyl monomers, 2,4,6-trimethoxystyrene, 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)styrene, and N-methyl-2-vinylpyrrole, were synthesized via the Wittig reaction from the corresponding aldehyes. These monomers were homopolymerized by radical polymerization using α,α′-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator at 60°C. The reaction of these polymers with 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (phTD) and 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (MeTD) was investigated. Although polytrimethoxystyrene reacts slowly with PhTD at room temperature, the other two polymers react fast and lead to the incorporation of the triazolinedione unit into the side chain of the polymer via electrophilic aromatic substitution. The reaction of bistriazolinediones (BTD) with these polymers was performed in dimethylformamide using 10–20% molar concentration of the BTD. The resulting crosslinked polymers are insoluble in polar as well as nonpolar solvents. Some physical properties of the unmodified and modified polymers were studied.
Greedy Search on the Binary Tree with Random Edge-Weights

There is a simple greedy algorithm for seeking large values of a function f defined on the vertices of the binary tree. Modeling f as a random function whose increments along edges are i.i.d., we show that (under a natural assumption) the values found by the greedy algorithm grow linearly in time, with rate specified in terms of a fixed-point identity for distributions.
The Tropical Oceanic Energy Budget from the TRMM Perspective. Part I: Algorithm and Uncertainties

Abstract The earth's weather and climate is driven by the meridional transport of energy required to establish a global balance between incoming energy from the sun and outgoing thermal energy emitted by the atmosphere and surface. Clouds and precipitation play an integral role in the exchange of these sources of energy between the surface, atmosphere, and space—enhancing reflection of solar radiation to space, trapping thermal emission from the surface, and providing a mechanism for the direct transfer of energy to the atmosphere through the release of latent heat in precipitation. This paper introduces a new multisensor algorithm for extracting longwave, shortwave, and latent heat fluxes over oceans from the sensors aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The technique synthesizes complementary information from distinct retrievals of high and low clouds and precipitation from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) instruments to initialize broadb...
Evidence for ecological divergence across a mosaic of soil types in an Amazonian tropical tree: Protium subserratum (Burseraceae)

Soil heterogeneity is an important driver of divergent natural selection in plants. Neotropical forests have the highest tree diversity on earth, and frequently, soil specialist congeners are distributed parapatrically. While the role of edaphic heterogeneity in the origin and maintenance of tropical tree diversity is unknown, it has been posited that natural selection across the patchwork of soils in the Amazon rainforest is important in driving and maintaining tree diversity. We examined genetic and morphological differentiation among populations of the tropical tree Protium subserratum growing parapatrically on the mosaic of white-sand, brown-sand and clay soils found throughout western Amazonia. Nuclear microsatellites and leaf morphology were used to (i) quantify the extent of phenotypic and genetic divergence across habitat types, (ii) assess the importance of natural selection vs. drift in population divergence, (iii) determine the extent of hybridization and introgression across habitat types, (iv) estimate migration rates among populations. We found significant morphological variation correlated with soil type. Higher levels of genetic differentiation and lower migration rates were observed between adjacent populations found on different soil types than between geographically distant populations on the same soil type. PST-FST comparisons indicate a role for natural selection in population divergence among soil types. A small number of hybrids were detected suggesting that gene flow among soil specialist populations may occur at low frequencies. Our results suggest that edaphic specialization has occurred multiple times in P. subserratum and that divergent natural selection across edaphic boundaries may be a general mechanism promoting and maintaining Amazonian tree diversity.
Anekāntavāda and Engaged Rhetorical Pluralism: Explicating Jaina Views on Perspectivism, Violence, and Rhetoric

This study represents a detailed inquiry into the rhetoric of Jainism, an understudied religious-philosophical tradition that arose among Hinduism and Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent. Exploring the unique use of pluralism in Jaina authors such as Mahāvīra and Haribhadra, I advance the concept of engaged rhetorical pluralism to account for the argumentative use of pluralism to promote Jaina views. This concept is linked to Jainism’s theory of multiperspectivism (anekāntavāda) as an orientation toward one’s rhetorical activities in contexts of disagreement. Highlighting the controversies surrounding the relationship between Jaina tolerance and intellectual nonviolence, this study uses the concept of anekāntavāda to ground a pluralism of often contradictory critical claims made by those studying rhetorical phenomena from other cultures. Thus, anekāntavāda both describes the engaged pluralism evident in important Jaina rhetors and serves as a source of methodological guidance for scholars involved in comp...
How Effective is Safety Packaging

Of 96 ingestions involving safety packaging, 82% involved misuse. The package in some way was unacceptable to the consumer--it was too difficult to open or too difficult to close. Nonacceptance by the elderly was not a significant factor. In only 18% of the safety packaged ingestions, did the child upen the package. The child was more likely to be able to open the screw-cap and the strip-pack. The pop-off and press-lift were not opened by any child but were types misused only by parents. The older child with a record of prior poisoning was most likely to open a safety package. These children would appear to represent a hard core of risk subjects refractory even to safety packaging. Safety packaging has had a dramatic effect on the morbidity and mortality of accidental poisoning. There are two remaining problems that require further study: 1. The analysis of technical factors impeding consumer acceptance and child proofing. The ideal package is so easily handled by the adult that misuse does not occur, but is too difficult for the child to open. 2. The personality characteristics of the safety-package-resistant child. Safety packaging, as implemented by the Comsumer Product Safety Commission, has had remarkable success. Education did not reduce accidental poisoning; safety packaging does. Pediatricians, pharmacists, and toxicologists must work with industry and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to complete the goal of elimination of accidental poisoning.
Reconnecting Household and Community An Alternative Strategy for Theory and Policy

The aim of this article is to sketch the outlines of a social and spatial arrangement linking the household with its neighborhood. The fundamental theoretical and policy issue considered here is the sufficiency of the model of household isolation that has prevailed in the United States since the post-World War II era. Contrary to Talcott Parsons, who viewed that model as the end point of family evolution, critics at the time perceived it as having serious structural flaws. They argued for the reinvention of a meso layer of society linking the household more closely with its neighborhood. This article elaborates that theme by suggesting four spheres in which households might form pacts or alliances. These include gender, children/youth, mature persons, and economic disadvantage. To be fully implemented, the last issue in particular requires a partnership of some type with government.
Incidence and properties of Staphylococcus aureus associated with turkeys during processing and further-processing operations.

Abstract The incidence of Staphylococcus aureus on turkeys sampled at various stages of processing and further-processing was determined on four occasions at each of three different processing plants. For freshly-slaughtered birds, counts from neck skin varied from plant to plant over the range less than 10(2) to greater than 10(5)/g but in all cases the corresponding counts obtained from carcasses sampled after chilling rarely exceeded 10(3)/g and the same was true for samples of mechanically recovered meat (MRM), the final raw product examined. Despite the limited susceptibility of isolates from the different factories to typing by means of either standard human or poultry bacteriophages (55-94% untypable), evidence was obtained with the aid of biotyping for the presence of both human and animal-derived strains. However, some biotypes isolated from MRM were not detected at earlier stages of processing. At one processing plant, an "indigenous' type of S. aureus was clearly demonstrated. It occurred in high numbers in the defeathering machines (up to 10(5)/swab), was found on carcasses at all subsequent stages of processing over the survey period and was shown to survive routine cleaning and disinfection procedures. Isolates of this type produced unusually large amounts of extracellular "slime' in artificial culture. Two of the three processing plants yielded isolates which were enterotoxigenic. Of 55 strains from Plant 1, 60% produced enterotoxin C and all were of the "indigenous' type. In the case of Plant 2, only two type D- and one type F-producing strain were found.
Trends in Marital Happiness by Gender and Race, 1973 to 2006

This article uses data from the 1973-2006 General Social Survey to assess the interactive impact of race and gender on marital happiness over time. Findings indicate independent and significant effects for both variables, with Whites and husbands reporting greater marital happiness than Blacks and wives. Comparing four subgroups (White husbands, White wives, Black husbands, and Black wives), the authors find that White husbands report the highest levels of marital happiness whereas Black wives report the lowest. Assessment of trends from the 1970s to the 2000s reveals a convergence among the groups: Although White husbands consistently report the highest levels of marital happiness, there has been a steady decline in the gap between all four groups. Most notably, Black wives exhibit a significant increase in marital happiness relative to the other groups. Findings are discussed in the context of the changing structure and composition of families in contemporary U.S. society.
Older Parents' Expectations of Moving Closer to their Children

Research shows that older parents engage in return migration in older to live closer to children from whom they receive care. However, less is known about how characteristics of adult children influence this process. Data for this analysis are from 5,382 older parents participating in the 1993/4 AHEAD national survey of adults aged 70 years old and older. Findings demonstrate that elderly parents who expect to move closer to adult children tend to be older, female, and have at least one child who is better-off financially than they are. Living alone magnifies the effect of poor self-rated health on expecting to move closer to a child. Random effects modeling of children's characteristics reveals that parents are more likely to expect to move closer to a daughter than to a son. Greater parental functional impairment was found to further depress the selection of sons. Overall, the findings suggest that older parents expect to move closer to adult children out of need and tend to select a target child with greater potential to provide support.
Sparse terahertz arrays with adaptive image reconstruction

We demonstrate sparse THz array imaging with an adaptive reconstruction technique. Image artifacts are reduced by over 20 dB with a 56 × 56 element array spanning a 76 × 76 mm aperture.
Pre-4.0 billion year weathering on Mars constrained by Rb–Sr geochronology on meteorite ALH84001

Abstract The timing and nature of aqueous alteration of meteorite ALH84001 has important implications for the history of water on early Mars, the evolution of the Martian atmosphere, and the potential for early Mars habitability. Rubidium–Sr isotope analyses of mineral separates from igneous-textured and carbonate-rich aliquots of Martian meteorite ALH84001 constrain the age of alteration and the source of fluids. The carbonate-rich aliquot defines a precise Rb–Sr isochron between maskelynite, orthopyroxene, and chromite of 3952 ± 22 Ma, and this is interpreted to represent a shock resetting event that was broadly coeval with carbonate precipitation. Carbonate, bulk rock, and multi-mineral separates all have high 87Sr/86Sr ratios that can only have been produced by alteration via a fluid derived through interaction with high Rb/Sr phyllosilicates that were produced prior to 3950 Ma. These data confirm that the source of Sr in the fluids was previously altered crustal rock, consistent with fluids that underwent low-temperature water–rock interaction ( Eiler et al., 2002 , Halvey et al., 2011 ). These results therefore provide evidence for wet, clay-rich conditions on the surface of Mars prior to ∼4.2 Ga.
Variations in cortical material properties throughout the human dentate mandible.

Material properties and their variations in individual bone organs are important for understanding bone adaptation and quality at a tissue level, and are essential for accurate mechanical models. Yet material property variations have received little systematic study. Like all other material property studies in individual bone organs, studies of the human mandible are limited by a low number of both specimens and sampled regions. The aims of this study were to determine: 1) regional variability in mandibular material properties, 2) the effect of this variability on the modeling of mandibular function, and 3) the relationship of this variability to mandibular structure and function. We removed 31 samples on both facial and lingual cortices of 10 fresh adult dentate mandibles, measured cortical thickness and density, determined the directions of maximum stiffness with a pulse transmission ultrasonic technique, and calculated elastic properties from measured ultrasonic velocities. Results showed that each of these elastic properties in the dentate human mandible demonstrates unique regional variation. The direction of maximum stiffness was near parallel to the occlusal plane within the corpus. On the facial ramus, the direction of maximum stiffness was more vertically oriented. Several sites in the mandible did not show a consistent direction of maximum stiffness among specimens, although all specimens exhibited significant orthotropy. Mandibular cortical thickness varied significantly (P < 0.001) between sites, and decreased from 3.7 mm (SD = 0.9) anteriorly to 1.4 mm posteriorly (SD = 0.1). The cortical plate was also significantly thicker (P < 0.003) on the facial side than on the lingual side. Bone was 50-100% stiffer in the longitudinal direction (E(3), 20-30 GPa) than in the circumferential or tangential directions (E(2) or E(1); P < 0.001). The results suggest that material properties and directional variations have an important impact on mandibular mechanics. The accuracy of stresses calculated from strains and average material properties varies regionally, depending on variations in the direction of maximum stiffness and anisotropy. Stresses in some parts of the mandible can be more accurately calculated than in other regions. Limited evidence suggests that the orientations and anisotropies of cortical elastic properties correspond with features of cortical bone microstructure, although the relationship with functional stresses and strains is not clear.
Adolescents' compliance with return visits for depot medroxyprogesterone initiation.

Abstract Study objective To determine if and when female adolescents choosing depot medroxyprogesterone would return for a second visit for initiation of the method. Design/setting Retrospective chart review at an adolescent clinic in an urban health department in St. Louis, MO. Participants Female adolescents aged 12–19 years old, at the initial or annual family planning visit, who chose depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) as their contraceptive choice but were unable to get the initial injection on the day of the visit. Main outcome measure Time to return visit. Results A total of 144 subjects were included in the analysis. 92% or 133 subjects returned for a second visit. The average time to return visit was over 3 months, or 104 days (range 1–650 days). Teens who returned in less than 1 month were more likely to receive a hormonal contraceptive method. Only 68% of all returning teens received DMPA while 7% became pregnant prior to their return. Conclusions Protocols requiring a second visit for initiation of DMPA serve as a barrier to contraceptive care.
Distribution of novel and previously investigated virulence genes in colonizing and invasive isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae

Although Streptococcus agalactiae has emerged as an important cause of invasive disease, relatively little is known regarding the genetic basis of virulence of this organism. Three novel genes with characteristics suggesting a role in virulence were identified via comparison of sequenced genomes of S. agalactiae. The presence of these genes and of the previously identified genes bac, bca, rib, and spb1 was determined, and isolates were assigned a binary genetic signature. It was found that isolates containing spb1, previously suggested to be limited to serotype III-3, were represented by 18 different genetic signatures and several serotypes, and that the presence of both sbp1 and rib was more predictive of invasive disease than spb1 alone. Additionally, bac-positive isolates, reported to be genetically homogeneous, were represented by 14 different genetic signatures. Finally, the majority of serotype V isolates examined contained zero or only one of the genes tested, suggesting that much remains undiscovered regarding important virulence factors in isolates of this serotype.
Courtesy Stigma: The Social Implications of Associating with a Gay Person

We investigated the operation of courtesy stigma with American male college students who reacted to a fictitious male student described as gay, rooming by choice with a gay male student, involuntarily assigned to room with a gay, or rooming with a male heterosexual. Among respondents who expressed strong intolerance of gays, the voluntary associate of a gay was perceived as having homosexual tendencies and as possessing the same stereotyped personality traits attributed to a gay. No such courtesy stigma was attached to the involuntary associate of a gay by these respondents. Relatively tolerant respondents engaged in no courtesy stigmatization at all. Thus, courtesy stigmatization occurred only under circumscribed conditions and appeared to depend more on the tendency of highly intolerant individuals to infer that a male student who apparently liked a gay individual was himself gay than on a motivation to maintain cognitive consistency.
Symptoms in atrial fibrillation: Why keep score?

In practice, although the objective goals of therapeutic intervention in atrial fibrillation (AF) are usually framed in terms of the prevention of stroke and of heart failure, the majority of clinical decisions in AF are driven by symptoms.1 The risk of stroke among those with AF is highly heterogeneous and difficult to predict for the individual patient, but there are extensive empirical data supporting current anticoagulation algorithms. A simple awareness of the presence or absence of the arrhythmia is a factor in decisions regarding anticoagulation and cardioversion, but it correlates poorly with arrhythmic episodes.2 The pathophysiological relationship between AF and heart failure is more complex, and data linking intervention for the arrhythmia to a reduction in the incidence of heart failure are much less robust. In the absence of rigorous data on mortality benefit for most interventions in AF, evaluation of the subjective symptom burden in each patient is a central component of the risk-benefit calculation.3 Article see p 268 Symptoms in AF are notoriously variable and difficult to compare among individual patients.1–3 The clinical syndromes associated with AF run the gamut from an incidental ECG finding through acute heart failure to syncope. Nevertheless, approximately 25% to 30% of those with the arrhythmia are asymptomatic. Clinicians managing AF also must deal with the wide range in symptom severity observed in those with substantively similar physiology.2 There is also significant variation in the correlation between symptoms and objective findings for any given individual. In the last few years, concerted efforts have been made to characterize symptoms in a number of clinical trials designed to test management strategies in AF.1,3,4 These efforts have largely relied on generic quality-of-life scales such as the SF-36 questionnaire. Such quality-of-life instruments, although time-consuming to administer, offer a multidimensional assessment of …
Cray XT4: an early evaluation for petascale scientific simulation

The scientific simulation capabilities of next generation high-end computing technology will depend on striking a balance among memory, processor, I/O, and local and global network performance across the breadth of the scientific simulation space. The Cray XT4 combines commodity AMD dual core Opteron processor technology with the second generation of Cray's custom communication accelerator in a system design whose balance is claimed to be driven by the demands of scientific simulation. This paper presents an evaluation of the Cray XT4 using micro-benchmarks to develop a controlled understanding of individual system components, providing the context for analyzing and comprehending the performance of several petascale-ready applications. Results gathered from several strategic application domains are compared with observations on the previous generation Cray XT3 and other high-end computing systems, demonstrating performance improvements across a wide variety of application benchmark problems.
Generation and confinement of uniform magnetic fields with surface currents

This paper presents the methodology for generation and confinement of a uniform magnetic field in an arbitrarily assigned polyhedral cavity enclosed by planar distribution of surface currents. The condition of existence and confinement of a uniform field is derived. An example of a practical self-shielded magnet with prismatic windings is constructed around a regular hexagonal cavity. The hexagonal magnet has the desirable property of a constant current density on each lateral winding. A field of 1 Tesla is generated by a current of 1.19/spl times/10/sup 6/ A/m. In contrast to the field in a conventional solenoid magnet, the field generated by a structure of surface currents is perpendicular to the main axis of the cavity.
Pricing Effects of Seasoned Debt Issues of Equity REITs

Executive Summary. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been one of the most active sectors in the capital market over the last few years. This study examines the equity valuation effects of ...
Student Perceptions of Instruction in Middle and Secondary U.S. History Classes

AbstractToday’s social studies teachers and students face an unprecedented time of standards and accountability. Students bring influences that may interact with the instructional context teachers provide for learning. Eighth- and 11th-grade U.S. history students (n = 512) from 11 schools (23 teachers), diverse in location, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, provided their perceptions of the instructional context. Student responses provided generally positive perceptions of class expectations, teacher support, and student effort in learning. Student reports of interest and motivation in learning U.S. history were lower. Students perceived a variety of instruction occurring in their classes with the most frequently perceived activities representing traditional instruction. There were a few grade-level differences in student responses related to some aspects of expectations, instruction, and supports for learning. Differences in perceptions among students of varying reading achievement were noted on some ...
Liouville-type Theorems for Fully Nonlinear Elliptic Equations and Systems in Half Spaces

The main purpose of this paper is to establish Liouville-type theorems and decay estimates for viscosity solutions to a class of fully nonlinear elliptic equations or systems in half spaces without the boundedness assumptions on the solutions. Using the blow-up method and doubling lemma of [18], we remove the boundedness assumption on solutions which was often required in the proof of Liouville-type theorems in the literature. We also prove the Liouville-type theorems for supersolutions of a system of fully nonlinear equations with Pucci extremal operators in half spaces. Liouville theorems and decay estimates for high order elliptic equations and systems have also been established by the authors in an earlier work [15] when no boundedness assumption was given on the solutions.
SAN GABRIEL RIVER TO NEWPORT BAY EROSION CONTROL PROJECT ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 30 YEARS OF PERIODIC BEACH REPLENISHMENT

Monitoring of a Beach Erosion Control project consisting of a protective and feeder beach with periodic beach nourishment in Orange County, California is assisted with Computer Aided Design and Drafting technology. Time series of depth changes and profile volumes are analyzed, and predicted renourishment requirements compared to 31 years of project history.
SHALLOW-WATER SPECTRAL WAVE MODELING

A parametric shallow-water spectral wave modeling technique is developed and is tested against extensive field measurements of wave height, period and spectral shape. The wave model considers wave growth and finite water depth mechanisms such as spectral wave shoaling, wave-bottom interactions, wave-wave interactions and wave breaking. The key to this approach is that the resulting wave conditions are provided by transformation mechanisms rather than transforming spectral components during wave propagation. Thus long-term wave hindcasts can be performed economically without the loss in accuracy.