cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of saline waste solution infiltration rates on uranium retention and spatial distribution in Hanford sediments.

Effect of Saline Waste Solution Infiltration Rates on Uranium Retention and Spatial Distribution in Hanford Sediments Jiamin Wan 1* , Tetsu K. Tokunaga 1 , Yongman Kim 1 , Zheming Wang 2 , Antonio Lanzirotti 3 , Eduardo Saiz 4 , and R. Jeffrey Serne 2 1. Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352 3. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 4. Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 ABSTRACT The accidental overfilling of waste liquid from tank BX-102 at the Hanford Site in 1951 put about 10 metric tons of U(VI) into the vadose zone. In order to understand the dominant geochemical reactions and transport processes occurred during the initial infiltration and help understand current spatial distribution, we simulated the waste liquid spilling event in laboratory sediment columns using synthesized metal waste solution. We found that, as the plume propagating through sediments, pH decreased greatly (as much as 4 units) at the moving plume front. Infiltration flow rates strongly affect U behavior. Slower flow rates resulted in higher sediment-associated U concentrations, and higher flow rates ( 5 cm/day) permitted practically unretarded U transport. Therefore, given the very high K sat of most of Hanford formation, the low permeability zones within the sediment could have been most important in retaining high concentrations of U during initial release into the vadose zone. Massive amount of colloids, including U-colloids, formed at the plume fronts. Total U concentrations (aqueous and colloid) within plume fronts exceeded the source concentration by up to 5-fold. Uranium colloid
The Invisible Refugee Camp: Durable Solutions for Boreah ‘Residuals’ in Guinea

What happens when refugees do not repatriate post-conflict? For those who remain in refugee camps, the remaining, durable solutions of resettlement and local integration may be neither feasible nor desirable. This study of Boreah camp in Guinea illustrates how refugees and refugee camps become invisible from the perspective of the host government and non-governmental organizations once assistance is rescinded and refugees refuse to avail themselves of the durable solutions offered. While refugees may cease to exist at the institutional level, ethnographic research reveals that those who continue to reside in defunct camps and/or continue to claim refugee status have eminently visible challenges. This article examines durable solutions-local integration in particular-from the perspective of refugees as well as the perspective of humanitarian actors.
The intrinsic reactivity of ATP and the catalytic proficiencies of kinases acting on glucose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and homoserine: a thermodynamic analysis

Abstract To evaluate the rate enhancements produced by representative kinases and their thermodynamic basis, rate constants were determined as a function of changing temperature for 1) the spontaneous methanolysis of ATP and 2) reactions catalyzed by kinases to which different mechanisms of action have been ascribed. For each of these enzymes, the minor effects of changing viscosity indicate that kcat/Km is governed by the central chemical events in the enzyme-substrate complex rather than by enzyme-substrate encounter. Individual Arrhenius plots, obtained at intervals between pH 4.8 and 11.0, yielded ΔH‡ and TΔS‡ for the nonenzymatic methanolysis of ATP2−, ATP3−, and ATP4− in the absence of Mg2+. The addition of Mg2+ led to partly compensating changes in ΔH‡ and TΔS‡, accelerating the nonenzymatic methanolysis of ATP 11-fold at pH 7 and 25 °C. The rate enhancements produced by yeast hexokinase, homoserine kinase, and N-acetylgalactosamine kinase (obtained by comparison of their kcat/Km values in the presence of saturating phosphoryl acceptor with the second order rate constant for methanolysis of MgATP) ranged between 1012- and 1014-fold. Their nominal affinities for the altered substrates in the transition state were 2.1 × 10−16 m for N-acetylgalactosamine kinase, 7.4 × 10−17 m for homoserine kinase, and 6.4 × 10−18 m for hexokinase. Compared with nonenzymatic phosphoryl transfer, all three kinases were found to produce major reductions in the entropy of activation, in accord with the likelihood that substrate juxtaposition and desolvation play prominent roles in their catalytic action.
A pilot community intervention for young women with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a permanent birth defect caused by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy, is a leading preventable cause of mental retardation. Neuropsychological deficits have been well documented, however interventions developed have not been evaluated. We describe a successful 12-month community pilot intervention with 19 young women with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Improved outcomes (including decreased alcohol and drug use, increased use of contraceptives and medical and mental health care services, and stable housing) were obtained by implementing a community intervention model of targeted education and collaboration with key service providers, and by using paraprofessional advocate case managers as facilitators.
Intergenerational Transmission of Externalizing Behavior

This prospective longitudinal investigation examined the predictors of generation 2 (G2) parental substance use as related to their generation 3 (G3) offspring's externalizing behavior. The sample comprised 281 mother- or father- child (G2/G3) pairs. The results indicated that the G1/G2 (generations 1 and 2) parent-child relationship during G2's adolescence predicted externalizing behavior in the G2 young adults which correlated with G2 parental substance use. G2 parental substance use was related to subsequent G2 substance use disorders (SUDS), and to the G2/G3 parent-child relationship. The G2/G3 parent-child relationship and G2's SUDS each predicted G3 externalizing behavior. The results highlight the significance of breaking the chain of transmission of externalizing behavior across generations. Implications for policy and programs addressing the etiology of externalizing behavior in the offspring are discussed within a developmental framework.
Do Glucocorticoids Have Adverse Effects on Brain Function

Glucocorticoids, a class of steroid hormones, can adversely affect the brain, particularly the hippocampus. The effect is most likely to be indirect and in response to either endogenously or exogenously induced hypercortisolaemia. While the stress response is clearly adaptive and therapeutic doses of synthetic glucocorticoids treat many medical disorders effectively, both corticosterone injections and prolonged stress in rodents can result in changes in glucocorticoid receptor levels, altered hippocampal dendritic morphology, and impaired spatial memory. Less compelling but still provocative is the suggestion that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder or Cushing’s syndrome have decreased hippocampal volume and memory impairment. Of particular clinical relevance is the recent documentation of a memory decline that accompanies standard doses of corticosteroids. Patients with rheumatic disease who received glucocorticoid therapy for at least a year performed worse on memory tasks than closely matched patients with rheumatic disease who were being treated with alternative therapies such as gold. A separate longitudinal study found similar memory declines as early as one week after treatment began. The risk of memory impairment should be carefully considered before initiating treatment with glucocorticoids and their use should be considered in the differential diagnosis of memory loss.
Genre Combinations: A Window into Dynamic Communication Practices

The notion of a genre system typically connotes sequences of interrelated communicative genres. This paper suggests that we can find other types of relationships among genres. Data from a field study in a large emergency room illustrate how doctors, nurses, and clerical staff routinely combine document genres not only in sequences but also in various accumulations achieved through proximity and movement. The combinations of genres add flexibility to the emergency room staff's genre use and allow them to employ individual genres for several purposes. The data allow us to explore how organizational members manage the tension between a need for continuity in communicative practices and a need for flexibility in managing a jumble of paper-based and digital information systems. In addition, it demonstrates how end users often tinker with genres' media and form in the process of altering combinations among specific genres.
Invariant Core Theorems for Double Sequences

The definition for the convergence of a double sequence was presented by A. Pringsheim [9]. Recently, the definitions of limit inferior, limit superior, and the core of a double sequence are presented. By using these definitions and the notion of regularity for four-dimensional matrices, an invariant core theorem for double sequences is presented.
Recombinant erythropoietin in treatment of the premature newborn

The many red blood cell transfusions administered to preterm infants as treatment for anaemia are expensive and place them at potential risk from blood-borne infections and other transfusion-related complications. Because plasma erythropoietin concentrations in anaemic preterm infants are reduced relative to anaemic adults, inadequate erythropoietin production has been suggested as an important mechanism for the anaemia these neonates inevitably develop. Despite this justification for the use of recombinant erythropoietin in treating anaemia in preterm infants, erythropoietin therapy is being administered to preterm infants without a clear consensus regarding to which infants, under what conditions, and in what manner it should be applied. This review focuses both on the pathophysiology of anaemia in preterm infants as it relates to the rationale for using erythropoietin to stimulate erythropoiesis for the purpose of reducing red blood cell transfusions and on a critical assessment of the clinical studies employing this therapy.
Mechanisms of planning and problem solving in the brain

Abstract Classical AND/OR goal, or task, decomposition techniques are generalized to deal with the problem of sensory-interactive goal-directed behavior in biological organisms. A neurophysiological model is described which demonstrates the capacity to learn, to generalize, to compute multivariate mathematical functions, and to decompose input commands into sequences of output commands in a context-sensitive manner. Evidence is presented that clusters of neurons with such properties are arranged in hierarchical structures in the brain so as to produce AND/OR task compositions. At the lowest levels in the motor system these clusters transform coordinates and compute servo functions. At the middle levels they decompose input commands into sequences of output commands which give rise to behavior patterns. Mechanisms by which feedback can alter these decomposition sequences to compensate for perturbations and uncertainties in the environment are described. At the highest levels of the hierarchy there are goal selecting and evaluating mechanisms. It is argued that in higher mammals these upper levels of the motor hierarchy are the mechanisms of planning and problem solving.
901-70 Central Hemodynamic and Gas Exchange Adaptions to Training in Chronic Heart Failure

Background Exercise Training has just recently been recognized as an important therapeutic modality in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, central hemodynamic adaptations to exercise training in patients with CHF remain unclear. Methods Seventeen patients with first diagnosis of CHF (56 ± 5 years, mean EF = 32 ± 6%) were randomized to an exercise raining group (N = 8), or a control group (N = 9). Patients in the exercise group performed two hours of daily walking along with five sessions per week of high intensity monitored stationary cycling (40 minutes at 70 to 80% peak capacity) at a residential rehabilitation center for a period of two months. Control patients received usual community care. Ventilatory gas exchange and upright hemodynamic measurements (rest and peak exercise cardiac output, pulmonary artery, wedge, and mean arterial pressures, and systemic vascular resistance) were performed before and after the study period. Results Changes in oxygen uptake at maximal exercise and the lactate threshold (LT) were as follows: Exercise group Control group PRE POST PRE POST VO 2 max (ml/kg/min) 19.6 ± 3 24.9 ± 3 * 19.6 ± 4 19.3 ± 5 VO 2 LT (ml/kg/min) 13.0 ± 3 17.8 ± 2 * 12.3 ± 2 12.0 ± 2 * p l 0.5 within and between groups The increase in VO 2 max in the trained group paralleled an increase in maximal cardiac output (11.8 pre vs. 12.8 l/min post p l 0.05), but maximal cardiac output did not change in controls. None of the hemodynamic pressures at rest or during exercise differed within or between groups. All of the increase in VO 2 max occurred during the first month of training, whereas significant increases in VO 2 LT were observed after both months. Both blood lactate and perceived exertion levels were significantly lower at matched ramp work rates after raining. Conclusion Training benefits occur early in the course of rehabilitation in CHF and are mediated through increases in maximal cardiac output, but not central hemodynamic status. Training longer than one month after the onset of CHF does not increase VO 2 max further, but may provide further increases in VO 2 LT.
Detection of Internal Resistance Change for Photovoltaic Arrays Using Extremum-Seeking Control MPPT Signals

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and fault diagnosis are two important aspects of reducing the cost of energy for photovoltaic (PV) systems. Many mechanisms of PV degradation are associated with change in the internal resistance, especially the shunt resistance. This brief proposes a cost-effective scheme for detecting the change of PV internal resistance using the signals available in extremum-seeking control (ESC)-based MPPT. With the square-wave dither inputs, the steady-state trajectories of PV output signals effectively consist of a train of small-amplitude step responses. The transient characteristics of such step responses are affected by the PV internal resistance. A small-signal transfer function analysis is performed for the PV buck system, which justifies the impact of the internal resistance on the transient characteristics. A simulation study is first conducted for single-string PV systems, and the simulation results show that ESC can achieve satisfactory MPPT under a square-wave dither input. The transient characteristics, such as integrated absolute error, show a strong correlation with the internal resistance. The applicability of this scheme to multistring PV is demonstrated with a multi-input ESC based on the total power feedback, with the internal resistance of individual modules detectable from one output signal.
Double delayed maxima in the ionization of krypton 3d electrons by fast charged particles

Abstract The energy loss cross for fast charged particles ionizing krypton 3d electrons is found to have two delayed maxima for certain incident energy ranges.
A 12-year experience withenterovesical fistulas

Abstract Objectives. To review our experience with enterovesical fistulas in order to determine the most accurate diagnostic studies and most effective method of treatment. Methods. A retrospective record review of 76 patients who were diagnosed and treated for enterovesical fistulas over a 12-year period was performed. Data collection focused on presenting symptoms, urinary disease process, diagnostic studies, and methods of management. Results. Diverticular disease was the primary etiologic factor in the majority of patients (59%), with colonic malignancy, granulomatous bowel disease, and radiation therapy accounting for the majority of the remainder. Cystoscopy (60%) and cystography (44%) were the most sensitive diagnostic studies. There was no statistical difference in the complication rate between groups treated with single or multistage repair. Conclusions. One-stage repair of enterovesical fistulas can be safely performed when the cause is diverticular or granulomatous bowel disease. Staged repairs may be more judicious in patients with large intervening pelvic abscesses or those in whom advanced malignancy or radiation changes are present.
Data collection test-bed for the evaluation of range imaging sensors for ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 safety standard for guided industrial vehicles

In this paper, we describe the process by which we collected sensor data for the evaluation of 3D LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Data were also collected simultaneously from SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) sensors, navigation systems, 2D Laser Measurement Sensor (LMS) and a color camera. We describe software developed to perform data collection and allow for evaluation of the data both offline and in real-time during the data collection and briefly cover the experiments themselves where various obstacles were placed in front of a moving vehicle and results were recorded as to whether the obstacle was detected or not.
Considering the source: What the public thinks of sponsors of public relations

In order to test effects of motives, communication style and licensing on the reputations of sponsors of public relations, a 4 × 2 × 2 factorial design experiment was conducted by the author with 585 non‐student adults and undergraduate university students in the USA. Perceived motives to impression manage had a strong effect on results, with prosocial or mixed and selfish motives seen as a ‘hustle’ on the part of corporate sponsors. Mixed support was found for licensing as a means of enhancing the reputation of public relations. Communication style — ‘symmetric’ versus ‘persuasive’ — had no effect on results. Impression management theory suggests that perceived motives and self‐interests may explain the poor reputation sometimes attributed to public relations and its clients or sponsors.
Depression and axis II disorders: comorbidity and relationship to cooperativeness.

The diagnosis of depression and Axis II personality disorders have been found to co-occur in people, and the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between chronicity of depression and Axis II diagnosis. We assessed for the prevalence of two Axis II disorders, Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Patients who were evaluated in a tertiary care center were diagnosed as having Chronic Major Depressive Disorder (CMDD), Dysthymic disorder (DD), or Acute Major Depressive Disorder (AMDD). We expected the prevalence of Axis II disorders to increase with increasing depression chronicity. Cloninger et al. {1993, Arch Gen Psychiatry 50:975–988; 1994) have proposed that temperament and character factors may be predictors of personality disorders. The instrument originally developed to measure these factors was the Tri-dimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), which was later revised to produce the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). There is evidence that TCI scores help predict the presence of Axis II disorders. We hypothesized that one component of the TCI, cooperativeness, would be lower in CMDD than DD or AMDD, reflecting a relationship between Axis II disorders and chronicity of depression. From our sample, no patients had APD and there was not a significant difference between the number of patients with BPD in each of the depression groups. Furthermore, there was not a significant difference between cooperativeness scores among each of the groups. The implications of these findings are discussed. Depression and Anxiety 4:268–272, 1996/1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Maternal determinants of breast milk feeding in a level III neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract Objectives Despite gains in breast milk feeding rates in the NICU population nation-wide over the last 15 years, disparities in breast milk feeding rates persist within and between hospitals. This study investigated maternal determinants of the likelihood of breast milk feeding. Study design The pilot study took place in a large, urban NICU in Northern California. Thirty mothers of children born prematurely in 2011 or 2012 were surveyed using a unique data collection tool. Responses were later linked to medical records data after the infant was discharged home. Results The most salient positive predictors of breast milk feeding behavior were those in the familial and peer role-modeling category. The direction of the relationship between many of our predictors ran counter to our initial hypothesized relationships. Conclusions Maternal attitudes, beliefs, social support and logistical constraints create a complex environment for nurses to navigate. Studies such as this one are critical to understanding the intricacies of early-life nutrition interventions.
Creating Continuities and Reversing Perspectives: Psychodynamic Contributions in School Psychology

The current trend in school psychology toward a model of practice that follows specific guidelines and puts its emphasis on streamlining procedures and management practices has limited the role of school psychologists to that of data processors responsible for facilitating the implementation of specific policies. By focusing primarily on the objective and quantified and eschewing the subjective, school psychologists end up proposing interventions and participating in decisions without first articulating who the student is and how he experiences himself as a learner. Without attending to the “language” of the student's symptoms and what his acts create for him and generate in others, school psychologists may inadvertently contribute to interventions that fail to reach the student and bridge the gap between his acts and his capacity to reflect on his experiences.
Inflammation, heat shock proteins, and type 2 diabetes

We propose that type 2 diabetes results from a vicious cycle of metabolically induced inflammation, impaired insulin responsiveness, and subsequent loss of homeostatic signaling. A crucial and previously under-recognized event contributing to this loss of homeostasis is a reduction in heat shock proteins (HSPs, or stress proteins). The central causal pathways of this cycle are the following: (a) obesity-driven inflammation promotes insulin resistance; (b) impaired insulin signaling in turn reduces the expression of HSPs, leaving tissues vulnerable to damage and allowing the accumulation of harmful proteins aggregates; and (c) resulting damage to the pancreatic beta-cell leads to further losses in insulin signaling, while a decline in anti-inflammatory HSPs allows inflammation to expand unhindered. Obesity and sedentary lifestyle perpetuate this cycle, while dieting and exercise forestall it by raising HSPs, reducing inflammation, and improving insulin signaling. Because HSP expression carries substantial metabolic costs, it is likely that an evolutionary history of high activity levels and resource scarcity selected for more conservative HSP expression than is appropriate for our current environment of caloric abundance.
An experimental evaluation of the decision-making process in social problem solving

The present study investigated the efficacy of a utility model for training in “real-life” decision-making. Within the framework of this model, decisions are based upon a careful assessment of the consequences of all possible solution alternatives. Three treatment conditions were compared: (1) Comprehensive Criteria (CC), where instructions were provided in the specific decision-making procedures and criteria described in the model; (2) Utility Rule (UR), where the subjects were simply provided with a definition of the general utility-oriented approach to decision-making; and (3) No Instructions (NI), where subjects were not given any formal instructions in how to go about making effective decisions. Subjects were given a list of alternative solutions for 12 experimental problems and asked to pick the best one. The results supported the hypothesis that instructions in specific decisionmaking criteria would significantly enhance decision-making effectiveness. The potential of the present model for facilitating social competence in treatment and community education programs was discussed.
Essential role of p-selectin in endothelial progenitor cells-induced inhibition of platelet aggregation and thrombus formation

Abstract We have previously shown that Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) bind and inhibit platelet function and impair thrombus formation, but the surrounding mechanisms that regulate this process have not been fully described. Herein, we addressed the mechanistic action of EPCs on platelet-thrombus formation and we highlighted the role of platelet P-selectin in this process. EPCs were generated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells after 10 days of culture on fibronectin in conditioned media. The impact of EPCs on platelet aggregation and thrombus formation was investigated in P-selectin deficient (P-sel-/-) and their wild-type counterpart (WT) mice. EPCs significantly impaired, in a concentration dependent-manner, collagen-induced whole blood platelet aggregation in WT mice; whereas in P-sel-/- mice, EPCs had no significant effect. Moreover, in ferric chloride-injured arterial thrombosis model, infusion of EPCs significantly reduced thrombus formation in WT, but not in P-sel-/- mice. Furthermo...
Association of BPD and IVH with early neutrophil and white counts in VLBW neonates with gestational age <32 weeks.

To investigate associations between early low neutrophil count from routine blood samples, white blood count (WBC), pregnancy complications and neonatal outcomes for very low birth weight infants (VLBW ⩽1500 g) with gestational age <32 weeks. Information was abstracted on all infants admitted to level III neonatal intensive care units in Wisconsin 2003 to 2004. A total of 1002 VLBW neonates (78%) had differential and corrected total white counts within 2 ½ h of birth. Data analyses included frequency tables, binary logistic, ordinal logistic and ordinary regression. Low neutrophil count (<1000 per μl) was strongly associated with low WBC, pregnancy complications and antenatal steroids. Low neutrophil count predicted bronchopulmonary dysplasia severity level (odds ratio, OR: 1.7, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.1 to 2.7) and intraventricular hemorrhage grade (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3 to 3.8). Early neutrophil counts may have multiple causes interfering with their routine use as an inflammatory marker. Nonetheless, low neutrophil count has consistent independent associations with outcomes.
Testing for changes in autocovariances of nonparametric time series models

In the literature on change-point analysis, much attention has been paid to detecting changes in certain marginal characteristics, such as mean, variance, and marginal distribution. For time series data with nonparametric time trend, we study the change-point problem for the autocovariance structure of the unobservable error process. To derive the asymptotic distribution of the cumulative sum test statistic, we develop substantial theory for uniform convergence of weighted partial sums and weighted quadratic forms. Our asymptotic results improve upon existing works in several important aspects. The performance of the test statistic is examined through simulations and an application to interest rates data.
Analysis of altered capillary pressure and permeability after thermal injury

In order to investigate the effects of thermal injury on microvascular hemodynamics and permeability, hindpaw arterial (PA), venous (PV), and capillary (PC) pressures, blood (QB) and lymph (QL) flows, and lymph (CL) and plasma (CP) total protein concentrations were measured before and for 3 hr after a 10-sec 100 degrees C scald burn in 11 dogs. Prior to injury in eight experiments (Group I--permeability analysis) venous pressure was elevated by outflow restriction until the minimal CL/CP was obtained. In three experiments (Group II--hemodynamic analysis) outflow was not restricted. Lymph and plasma protein fractions ranging in size from 37 to 120 A were measured using gradient gel electrophoresis and capillary equivalent pore sizes were calculated. In the early postburn period, PC increased from 24 +/- 2 (mean +/- SE) to 47 +/- 5 mm Hg (P less than 0.05) and precapillary resistance (RA) decreased from 6.6 +/- 0.2 to 2.5 +/- 0.2 mm Hg/ml/min/100 g (P less than 0.05) while postcapillary resistance (RV) remained unchanged. Pre- to postcapillary resistance (RA/RV) fell by 74%. The reflection coefficient for total proteins (calculated as sigma = 1 - CL/CP) decreased from 0.87 +/- 0.01 to 0.45 +/- 0.02 (P less than 0.01). Permeability of the postburn capillary endothelium was described by using two populations of equivalent pores. Preburn pore radii were 50 and 300 A with 13% of the capillary filtrate passing through the large pores. Pore radii increased after injury to 70 and 400 A with 49% of the filtrate passing through the large pores. The postburn total tissue filtration coefficient (Kf) increased to 2.4 times the control. Over the first 3 hr postburn, 53% of the increase in capillary filtration was attributable to increased capillary pressure and 47% to increased permeability. We conclude that the early rapid edema formation following thermal injury is the result of marked increases in both capillary filtration pressure and filtration through large nonsieving pores.
Bounds for the Breakdown Point of the Simplicial Median

Upper and lower bounds are given for the breakdown point of Liu?s empirical simplicial median. This median has a strictly positive breakdown point but is a less robust location estimator than the median based on Tukey?s data depth (D. Donoho and M. Gasko, Ann. Statist.20 (1992), 1803-1827).
Glass-transition temperatures of compatible polymer mixtures

Abstract The formalism of Ehrenfest second-order transitions and insight into the excess mixing entropy of compatible polymer mixtures combine to provide a relation for blend glass temperatures in terms of pure component, glass-transition properties.
Vaginal wall retropubic urethropexy: Results at 1-year follow-up

The authors objectively evaluated a vaginal retropubic urethropexy for treatment of potential genuine stress urinary incontinence in patients undergoing surgical correction of severe uterovaginal prolapse. Fifteen women were evaluated preoperatively, with a history and physical examination, cystourethroscopy, urethral pressure profilometry, pressure-voiding studies and multichannel cystometry. Eleven women agreed to a follow-up physical examination and 10 agreed to multichannel urodynamics 1 year postoperatively. Five of the 11 patients were noted to have objective stress loss, but only 2 of these reported subjective incontinence. The maximal urethral closure pressure preoperatively was 38±12 cmH2O, and 1 year postoperatively it was 46±17 cmH2O, which was not statistically significant. The functional urethral length was 1.9±0.7 cm preoperatively and 1.8±0.5 cm 1 year postoperatively, which was also not statistically significant. The Q-tip test went from 68±23° preoperatively to 39±19° 1 year postoperatively. This was statistically but not clinically significant. This procedure was not proved to be effective in correcting potential GSI, and cannot therefore be recommended.
Rotator cuff repair: Relevance of patient age

A review of patients after repair of a rotator cuff tear was done to determine the overall results, the influence of tear size, and the importance of patient age. A total of 88 patients were studied; 53 were 65 years or older, and 35 were younger than 65 years. Tear size was classified as small in three patients, medium in 34, large in 31, and massive in 20. Larger tears were more frequent in the older population. For patients younger than 65 years results were excellent in 31 (88.6%) of 35, satisfactory in three (8.6%), and unsatisfactory in one (2.9%). For those patients older than 65 years results were 41 (77.4%) excellent, seven (13.2%) satisfactory, and five (9.4%) unsatisfactory. Excellent results decreased from 89.2% in small or medium tears to 80.4% in large or massive tears. Although more challenging tears and fewer excellent results can be expected in the older patient, a gratifying outcome can usually be anticipated.
Effects of alcohol, expectancies, and partner type on condom use in college males: Event‐level analyses

Sexually active heterosexual college males (N = 93) provided data on over 1,500 sexual encounters. Alcohol consumption, expectancies about alcohol's impact on condom use, and partner type each contributed to use of a condom. Partner type covaried with alcohol consumption and condom use. The men consumed significantly more alcohol with new partners, followed by casual partners, and then by regular partners. In contrast, they were more likely to use condoms with new partners than with casual or regular partners. Drinking alcohol decreased condom use, but only with casual partners. Expectancies about alcohol's disinhibiting sexual effects decreased condom use as well. These data suggest that alcohol consumption does decrease condom use, particularly with casual partners and when drinkers believe alcohol alters sexual disinhibition. Improving knowledge about HIV and other STD transmission in casual partners and challenging expectancies about alcohol as a sexual disinhibitor could help decrease the spread of H...
Domination in bounded interval tolerance graphs

We present efficient algorithms for solving the domination set problem for the class of bounded tolerance graphs. The class of bounded tolerance graphs includes interval graphs and permutation graphs as sub-classes. Our solution to the domination set problem has improved bounds for time complexity compared to the algorithm for general co-comparability graphs which can also be used for bounded tolerance graphs.
A reputation system for selling human computation

We describe a reputation-driven market that motivates human computation sellers (workers) to produce optimal levels of quality when quality is not immediately measurable and contracts specifying the level of quality cannot be enforced. We consider the implications of making quality instantaneously verifiable up to a known threshold ("partial verification"), as might be the case when the market maker possesses a sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence apparatus. We find that such a verification system allows the market to attain a Pareto optimal equilibrium with less patient workers, and, in addition, makes the market more resistant to pseudonym attacks.
A Study of Mitral Valve Action Recorded by Reflected Ultrasound and Its Application in the Diagnosis of Mitral Stenosis

The movements of two ultrasound echo signals, believed to arise from the anterior mitral leaflet and from the mitral ring, were studied in 30 normal subjects and in 100 heart-catheterization patients. Fifty patients had proven mitral stenosis. The echo from the anterior mitral leaflet is shown to have a complex pattern of movement. This pattern is analyzed into the opening and closing movements of the leaflet, and the underlying movement transmitted from the mitral ring. In the normal condition, the characteristic feature of leaflet motion is a sharp closing movement that follows the initial opening in diastole. This sharp closing movement is not seen in the presence of mitral stenosis. It is believed that the demonstration of a sustained wide-open poisition of the leaflet in diastole has the same diagnostic significance as the finding of a persistent positive-pressure gradient across the valve. The value of this method in diagnosing the severity of the stenosis is discussed.
Bioactive Foods and Ingredients for Health

Bioactive compounds in foods have been gaining interest, and processes to consider them for public health recommendations are being discussed. However, the evidence base is difficult to assemble. It is difficult to demonstrate causality, and there often is not a single compound-single effect relation. Furthermore, health benefits may be due to metabolites produced by the host or gut microbiome rather than the food constituent per se. Properties that can be measured in a food may not translate to in vivo health effects. Compounds that are being pursued may increase gut microbial diversity, improve endothelial function, improve cognitive function, reduce bone loss, and so forth. A new type of bioactive component is emerging from epigenetic modifications by our diet, including microRNA transfer from our diet, which can regulate expression of human genes. Policy processes are needed to establish the level of evidence needed to determine dietary advice and policy recommendations and to set research agendas.
Organizing Preventive Health Care in Men

When organizing preventive health care for men, a physician needs to consider several issues. First, the physician must be aware of the current guidelines for routine examinations, screening tests, immunizations, chemoprophylaxis, and counseling given the patient's age and risk factors. Second, the physician must implement a procedure in the office that ensures all patients receive appropriate preventive health care, and, in the case of abnormal test results, follow-up at appropriate intervals. Third, the physician must be cognizant of the challenges unique to the health care of men. This article covers each of these issues in detail.
DOMAINS OF THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS TYPE 1 MATRIX AND GP41 CYTOPLASMIC TAIL REQUIRED FOR ENVELOPE INCORPORATION INTO VIRIONS

We recently demonstrated that a single amino acid substitution in matrix residue 12 (12LE) or 30 (30LE) blocks the incorporation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoproteins into virions and that this block can be reversed by pseudotyping with heterologous retroviral envelope glycoproteins with short cytoplasmic tails or by truncating the cytoplasmic tail of HIV-1 transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 by 104 or 144 amino acids. In this study, we mapped the domain of the gp41 cytoplasmic tail responsible for the block to incorporation into virions by introducing a series of eight truncation mutations that eliminated 23 to 93 amino acids from the C terminus of gp41. We found that incorporation into virions of a HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein with a deletion of 23, 30, 51, or 56 residues from the C terminus of gp41 is specifically blocked by the 12LE matrix mutation, whereas truncations of greater than 93 amino acids reverse this defect. To elucidate the role of matrix residue 12 in this process, we introduced a number of additional single amino acid substitutions at matrix positions 12 and 13. Charged substitutions at residue 12 blocked envelope incorporation and virus infectivity, whereas more subtle amino acid substitutions resulted in a spectrum of envelope incorporation defects. To characterize further the role of matrix in envelope incorporation into virions, we obtained and analyzed second-site revertants to two different matrix residue 12 mutations. A Val-->Ile substition at matrix amino acid 34 compensated for the effects of both amino acid 12 mutations, suggesting that matrix residues 12 and 34 interact during the incorporation of HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins into nascent virions.
Using atmospheric observations to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of CO 2 fluxes simulated by terrestrial biospheric models

Terrestrial biospheric models (TBMs) are used to extrapolate local observations and process-level understanding of land-atmosphere carbon exchange to larger regions, and serve as predictive tools for examining carbon-climate interactions. Understanding the performance of TBMs is thus crucial to the carbon cycle and climate science communities. In this study, we present and assess an approach to evaluating the spatiotemporal patterns, rather than aggregated magnitudes, of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) simulated by TBMs using atmospheric CO 2 measurements. The approach is based on statistical model selection implemented within a high-resolution atmospheric inverse model. Using synthetic data experiments, we find that current atmospheric observations are sensitive to the underlying spatiotemporal flux variability at sub-biome scales for a large portion of North America, and that atmospheric observations can therefore be used to evaluate simulated spatiotemporal flux patterns as well as to differentiate between multiple competing TBMs. Experiments using real atmospheric observations and four prototypical TBMs further confirm the applicability of the method, and demonstrate that the performance of TBMs in simulating the spatiotemporal patterns of NEE varies substantially across seasons, with best performance during the growing season and more limited skill during transition seasons. This result is consistent with previous work showing that the ability of TBMs to model flux magnitudes is also seasonally-dependent. Overall, the proposed approach provides a new avenue for evaluating TBM performance based on sub-biome-scale flux patterns, presenting an opportunity for assessing and informing model development using atmospheric observations.
Effect of post-implant edema on the rectal dose in prostate brachytherapy

Abstract Purpose: To characterize the effect of prostate edema on the determination of the dose delivered to the rectum following the implantation of 125 I or 103 Pd seeds into the prostate. Methods and Materials: From 3 to 5 post-implant computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained on 9 patients who received either 125 I or 103 Pd seed implants. None of the patients received hormone therapy. The outer surface of the rectum was outlined on each axial CT image from the base to the apex of the prostate. The D 10 rectal surface dose, defined as the dose which encompasses only 10% of the surface area of the rectum, was determined from each CT scan by compiling a dose-surface histogram (DSH) of the rectal surface. The magnitude and half-life of the post-implant edema in each of these implants is known from the results of a previously published study based on the analysis of the serial CT scans. Results: As the prostate edema resolved, the distance between the most posterior implanted seeds and the anterior surface of the rectum decreased. As a result, the D 10 rectal surface dose increased with each successive post-implant CT scan until the edema resolved. The dose increased exponentially at approximately the same rate the prostate volume decreased. The D 10 rectal surface dose at 30 days post-implant ranged from 16% to 190% (mean 68 ± 50%) greater than on day 0. The dose on day 30 was at least 50% greater in 6 of 9 cases. Conclusion: The rectal surface dose determined by analysis of a post-implant CT scan of an 125 I or 103 Pd prostate seed implant depends upon the timing of the CT scan. The dose indicated by the CT scan on day 30 is typically at least 50% greater than that indicated by the CT scan on day 0. Because of this difference, it is important to keep the timing of the post-implant CT in mind when specifying dose thresholds for rectal morbidity.
Corporate Pension Plans: How Consistent are the Assumptions in Determining Pension Funding Status?

With the bankruptcy of Enron and the accompanying loss of pension benefits of its employees, pensions have recently received significant press. Accounting for pension plan obligations, for defined benefit plans in particular, requires companies to make assumptions regarding discount rates, projected salary increases, and expected long‐term return on plan assets. Such assumptions, in turn, determine the funding status of the pension plan and the annual pension expense. Higher assumed discount rates reduce the pension obligation, enhance the funding status of the plan, and reduce any lump‐sum payments. Higher expected return on assets reduces the current pension expense. This study investigates the relationship between pension plan assumptions and the funding status of a pension plan. The results reveal that companies with pension plans that are more fully funded assume higher discount rates and expected long‐term return on assets than do companies with less funded plans. The effect of these assumptions is that higher discount rate assumptions lead to better funding status, and higher expected long‐term rates of return on assets partially offset the pension expense impacts of these higher discount rate assumptions. We are doubtful that more funded plans collectively should be assuming higher discount rates and expected long‐term return on plan assets, especially since the actual return on plan assets investigated did not correlate with these assumptions.
The Attack on the French Revolution

The approaching bicentennial of the French Revolution of 1789 seems to be intensifying the national divisions that are its legacy. Strangely enough, it is the counter-revolutionaires who are getting the most sympathetic treatment in the press and the popular media. Maurice Agulhon, Professor at the University of Paris-I, spoke on "Current French Debates Concerning the Revolution of 1789," at the Fourteenth Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, in February, 1984, at Duke University. He saw two reasons for the current hostility to the Revolution, one deep-set as a fundamental part of the new French mentality and the other related to comtemporary politics. The first and most important is related to the change in French mentality symbol ized by the triumph of the Annales school of history. This school, taking its name from the journal, Annales (Economics, Soci?t?s, Civilisations), devotes itself to a study of the basics of life (food production, demography, mentality) over long periods of time. Like Fernand Braudel, the Annales historians (Agulhon considers himself to be one of them) tend to look for a gradual "sea changes" and to ignore ephemermal political cataclysms like the French Revolution, which one of them calls a "magnificent irrelevance." The pages of the Annales are filled with statistical tables and graphs rather than political narrative. The triumph of the Annales school in France, according to Agulhon, has had two effects. First the role of the military has become less significant, because Annales historians seldom mention battles. Second, political thought has also lost its central place because less attention is paid to political leaders. A second issue related to contemporary politics is giving the French Revolu tion a bad press. Regionalism is the strongest political force in France today, and in a nation devoted to the ideals of personal freedom and regional autonomy the Revolutionary Jacobins represent dictatorship and centralization. Now that the Socialists are in power there is an additional fear that the nationalization of industry could lead to totalitarianism. Some newspapers have made heroes of the counter Revolutionary monarchist Chouans because they opposed a strong central gov ernment.
A comparison of survival rates for treatment of melanoma metastatic to the brain.

Introduction: A retrospective review of 91 patients with brain metastases from malignant melanoma treated at New York University Medical Center between 1989–1999. Overall survival was the outcome evaluated. Methods: Charts of 91 patients having malignant melanoma with brain metastases were reviewed. Cases were stratified according to therapy: surgical excision, surgical excision plus whole brain radiation therapy, gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery, gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery plus whole brain radiation therapy, and whole brain radiation therapy alone. Patients treated with gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery plus radiation therapy were combined with patients treated with surgical excision plus radiation therapy and compared to those treated with radiation therapy alone. Prognostic characteristics of the two groups were compared and survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to control for prognostic factors that differed betwee...