cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Posttraumatic stress disorder in patients who rule out versus rule in for acute coronary syndrome.

Abstract Objective Many patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the experience. Less is known about risk for PTSD in patients who rule out for ACS. Our objective was to compare the risk of developing PTSD among patients who rule out versus rule in for ACS. Methods We enrolled a consecutive sample of 1000 patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) with symptoms of a probable ACS. We assessed presenting ACS symptoms in the ED. We determined whether presenting symptoms were due to a confirmed ACS or another etiology by chart review. We assessed PTSD by telephone 1 month after discharge using the PTSD Checklist specific for the suspected ACS event (PCL-S). We used logistic regression to determine the association of ruling out versus ruling in for ACS with a positive PTSD screen (PCL-S ≥ 32), adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, depression, trauma history, and pre-existing PTSD. Results Approximately two-thirds of patients (68.2%) ruled out for ACS. Compared to confirmed ACS patients, patients who ruled out had similar presenting symptoms, and similar risk of screening positive for PTSD (18.9% versus 16.8%; p = 0.47; adjusted OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.69–2.00; p = 0.55). Conclusions ED presentation with ACS symptoms was sufficient to trigger a positive PTSD screen whether the etiology was due to a life-threatening ACS or another etiology. Patients who present with ACS symptoms should be considered for interventions to prevent PTSD after hospitalization, regardless of symptom etiology.
Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic Analysis of Evidence

Forensic analysis of evidence must conform to quality standards in order to be accepted into the legal system. These quality standards apply not only to the methods being used, but more broadly to the entirety of the laboratory’s operations. This chapter outlines all the components of a quality system for laboratories performing forensic testing.
Examining the State of the Science

The transition to kindergarten represents an important developmental milestone for young children, their families, and teachers. The published literature is replete with models describing transition to kindergarten programming and practices, yet there are very few published empirical studies outlining practices that support positive outcomes for children and families. This chapter will review the empirical literature on kindergarten transition for students with disabilities . The state of the science will be examined and future research directions will be articulated. Implications for practitioners will be described, with an emphasis on practices that promote child and family well-being and increase parent–professional collaboration.
Plasma Cell Karyotype in Multiple Myeloma

Karyotypic abnormalities were studied in multiple myeloma and were correlated with clinical features. Among 115 evaluable patients, 46% had an abnormal karyotype. Trisomy 3, 5, 9, and 15 and monosomy 13 and 16 were the most common clonal abnormalities. Translocations described previously in other B cell malignancies occurred in nine patients, including four with t(8;14)(q24;q32) translocations. The association of all t(8;14) abnormalities with IgA protein type suggested a pathogenetic relationship between a specific karyotypic abnormality and myeloma protein type. Hypodiploidy occurred mainly in patients with only Bence Jones protein, was associated with resistance to therapy, and justified the early consideration of investigational therapies.
DNA typing for HLA-A and HLA-B identifies disparities between patients and unrelated donors matched by HLA-A and HLA-B serology and HLA-DRB1.

High incidences of graft failure and graft-versus-host disease in the recipients of bone marrow transplantations (BMT) from unrelated donors (URD) may reflect the existence of allelic disparities between the patient and the URD despite apparent HLA identity at HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 loci. To identify the extent and pattern of allelic disparities at HLA-A and HLA-B loci, 128 patients and 484 potential URD were evaluated by DNA typing. DNA typing for HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 was performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. HLA-A and HLA-B serotyping on URD was provided by the registries. By original typing (serology for HLA-A and HLA-B; DNA typing for DRB1) 187, 164, and 133 URD were 6/6, 5/6, and 4/6 matches, respectively. Following DNA typing, however, only 52.9% of the originally 6/6 matched URD remained 6/6, while 38.5%, 7.5%, and 1.1% were found to be 5/6, 4/6, and 3/6 matches. The level of disparity was higher in the originally 5/6 ( P < .01) and 4/6 ( P < .01) matched URD. A higher level of disparity was seen for HLA-B as compared to HLA-A. In addition, a serotype related variation was also noticed. For example, 24.1% of HLA-A2 and 60.1% of HLA-B35 seromatched URD were genotypically disparate, but no disparities were seen for HLA-A1 and HLA-B8. A higher percentage of HLA-A (67.4%) compared with HLA-B (35.4%) serologic homozygous URD remained genotypically homozygous ( P = .01). The level of allelic disparity was lower ( P < .01 for 6/6; P = .02 for 5/6) if the patient had one of the 15 most common haplotypes (A1B8DR3, A2B7DR15, A3B7DR15, etc) in comparison to the rest of the group. Outcome studies will answer the question whether these disparities are associated with a higher rate of immunological complications seen with URD-BMT.
"EMOTIONS" AND DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING AND COMMUNICATION

Several developments in the past few years have had an impact on psychosomatic medicine. As Lipowski has emphasized, “psychosomatic medicine is vigorous scientifically, it is diversified, it is expanding, and it is growing rapidly.” It is also a fact that the holistic approach based on the biological, psychological and social dimensions has been accepted universally and has contributed greatly to the growth of this field.
Evaluating Missouri's Handgun Purchaser Law: A Bracketing Method for Addressing Concerns About History Interacting with Group

In the comparative interrupted time series design (also called the method of difference-in-differences), the change in outcome in a group exposed to treatment in the periods before and after the exposure is compared with the change in outcome in a control group not exposed to treatment in either period. The standard difference-in-difference estimator for a comparative interrupted time series design will be biased for estimating the causal effect of the treatment if there is an interaction between history in the after period and the groups; for example, there is a historical event besides the start of the treatment in the after period that benefits the treated group more than the control group. We present a bracketing method for bounding the effect of an interaction between history and the groups that arises from a time-invariant unmeasured confounder having a different effect in the after period than the before period. The method is applied to a study of the effect of the repeal of Missouri's permit-to-purchase handgun law on its firearm homicide rate. We estimate that the effect of the permit-to-purchase repeal on Missouri's firearm homicide rate is bracketed between 0.9 and 1.3 homicides per 100,000 people, corresponding to a percentage increase of 17% to 27% (95% confidence interval: 0.6, 1.7 or 11%, 35%). A placebo study provides additional support for the hypothesis that the repeal has a causal effect of increasing the rate of state-wide firearm homicides.
Microwave Remote Sensing

Overleaf: The global sea surface topography depends on variations in the earth’s gravity field, and on variations in the ocean’s surface currents. The variations due to gravity are typically 100 times larger than due to currents. The upper panel shows the mean sea surface topography from the SEASAT altimeter, computer processed to show variations as if illuminated from the northwest. The numbers identify major features such as trenches, fracture zones, submarine ridges, and island arcs. Variation of the mean sea surface topography is due to changes in oceanic currents. The lower panel shows this variability in shades of gray? the original used blues to indicate regions of low variability, and reds for high variability. In the reproduction, the highly varying Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, Agulhas, and Antarctic Circumpolar Currents are seen as light grays, and the low variability of the central gyres and equatorial regions are shown as darker shades. Figure courtesy of NASA JPL; original in color.
Smartphone-based localization for blind navigation in building-scale indoor environments

Abstract Continuous, accurate, and real-time smartphone-based localization is a promising technology for supporting independent mobility of people with visual impairments. However, despite extensive research on indoor localization techniques, localization technologies are still not ready for deployment in large and complex environments such as shopping malls and hospitals, where navigation assistance is needed most. We identify six key challenges for accurate smartphone localization related to the large-scale nature of the navigation environments and the user’s mobility. To address these challenges, we present a series of techniques that enhance a probabilistic localization algorithm. The algorithm utilizes mobile device inertial sensors and Received Signal Strength (RSS) from Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. We evaluate the proposed system in a 21,000 m 2 shopping mall that includes three multi-story buildings and a large open underground passageway. Experiments conducted in this environment demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technologies to improve localization accuracy. Field experiments with visually impaired participants confirm the practical performance of the proposed system in realistic use cases.
Improving contraceptive choice for military servicewomen: better provision serves both women and deployment planning.

When it comes to contraception, we know that reducing barriers related to cost is accompanied by increased uptake of women’s preferred methods and, in particular, increased uptake of the most effective modern forms of reversible contraception, namely long-acting reversible contraception (LARC).1 LARC methods, such as intrauterine devices and subdermal hormonal implants, have the advantage of being user-independent in achieving extraordinary effectiveness. Yet, the most commonly used modern form of hormonal birth control remains the contraceptive pill, which is highly user-dependent with adherence directly impacting effectiveness. For any contemporary health system, the importance of supporting access to the full spectrum of common contraceptive methods, including LARC, can be argued both from a reproductive autonomy and a public health perspective. But for women in the military, actively serving in defence of a nation and potentially in combat zones, the imperative and value is likely magnified. In this journal issue, a situation far from this ideal is presented and explored in the work by Rottenstreich et al . entitled ‘Adherence to no-cost oral contraceptives among active-duty servicewomen’.2 This study describes oral contraceptive use in the Israeli military, a young population in a particular situation where this method alone was offered by their healthcare system at no-cost. This ‘Hobson’s choice’, where contraceptive ‘options’ means a single, ’take it or leave it' method, unsurprisingly does not meet servicewomen’s needs. Using prescription fulfilment data, the authors convincingly …
Intra-articular anaesthesia of the equine stifle improves foot lameness

BACKGROUND Equine diagnostic anaesthesia can be a useful tool in challenging lameness examinations. However, anaesthetics diffuse over time leading to nonspecific desensitisation of periarticular structures. Nerves that convey sensation from the distal limb to the central nervous system pass in close proximity to the caudal stifle joint capsule. Therefore, diffusion of intra-articular (IA) anaesthetics could cause inadvertent desensitisation of the distal limb resulting in a false diagnosis of stifle lameness. OBJECTIVES To determine if IA stifle anaesthesia can alleviate lameness originating in the distal limb. STUDY DESIGN Crossover experiment. METHODS Nine horses were fitted with a circumferential hoof clamp to induce a moderate unilateral hindlimb lameness. Intra-articular stifle anaesthesia was performed and gait was evaluated every 10 min during the 90-min trial using an inertial sensor system. Push-off and landing components of the lameness were assessed by measuring the mean inter-stride difference between the maximum and minimum heights of the pelvis respectively. Differences were compared using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS Overall, horses with hoof clamp-induced foot pain had a reduction in push-off lameness after IA stifle anaesthesia. The mean change in diffmax at 90 min was -4.3 mm (P = 0.005) for the experimental group vs. -2.3 mm (P = 0.2) for the control group. Lameness decreased over time, with an average improvement of 23% at 30 min, 33% at 60 min and 38% at 90 min. There was high inter-horse variability; 3/9 horses improved by ~50% within 30 min, while 2/9 improved by ~30% and 4/9 had minimal (<10%) or no improvement in lameness. Improvement after IA stifle anaesthesia was not related to the severity of baseline lameness (P = 0.3-0.7). MAIN LIMITATIONS Limited clinical applicability of our lameness induction model. CONCLUSIONS Intra-articular stifle anaesthesia reduces foot lameness in a third of horses by up to 50% within 30 min. Clinically, the results of IA stifle anaesthesia should be considered in the light of these findings before treatment recommendations are made, as additional diagnostics may be required to rule out pain originating in the distal limb.
The Indispensable Subject of Psychology: Theory, Subjectivity and the Specter of Inner Life

Theoretical psychologists generally advocate an expansive view of the nature of psychological processes and the forms of inquiry suited to studying them, and we readily and fruitfully cross boundaries to engage with and draw from other disciplines. One sign of our openness is the fact that many theoretical psychologists have contributed to the development of projects that foreground the sociocultural dimensions of psychological processes. These projects often include a focus on subjectivity; this term refers to a view of human beings as singular centers of first-person being, whose immersion in sociocultural and political-economic processes both enable and constrain their modes of experience and conduct. Sociocultural approaches provide a much-needed corrective to the decontextualization of psychological phenomena, which is endemic to conventional psychological inquiry. But as open as we have been when it comes to challenging some aspects of the larger discipline, there are other commitments and assumptions that we do not scrutinize as closely. In this chapter, I highlight the fact that sociocultural psychologies seek to minimize or even exclude inner life processes from psychological theory and inquiry. Ironically, this is a tendency they share with the material-reductionist approaches that they oppose. This disregard for interiority neglects the importance for human psychology of what James (The principles of psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1890) termed the “absolute insulation” of inner life. It can also lead to an underestimation of the inevitable conflicts and other vicissitudes that arise in social and mortal life, and of the role played by these human predicaments and disjunctions in the formation of subjectivity. Theoretical psychologists can cultivate and encourage greater openness to these dimensions of subjectivity and to the approaches best suited to exploring them. Those approaches include person-centered ethnography and psychosocial studies, both of which combine ethnographic and psychodynamic theories and methods. Another approach, which is uniquely valuable, but challenging to incorporate into psychological inquiry, involves systematic exploration of the ways that fictional representations of interiority both affirm the reality of insulated inner life and represent its moral complexity in ways that conventional approaches to personality generally do not achieve.
Is chest radiography routinely needed after thoracentesis

No, it should be done only in certain situations, for example, if pneumothorax is suspected.
The Relation Between Personality and Biomarkers in Sensitivity and Conversion to Alzheimer-Type Dementia.

Objectives The present study explored relationships among personality, Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, and dementia by addressing the following questions: (1) Does personality discriminate healthy aging and earliest detectable stage of AD? (2) Does personality predict conversion from healthy aging to early-stage AD? (3) Do AD biomarkers mediate any observed relationships between personality and dementia status/conversion? Methods Both self- and informant ratings of personality were obtained in a large well-characterized longitudinal sample of cognitively normal older adults (N = 436) and individuals with early-stage dementia (N = 74). Biomarkers included amyloid imaging, hippocampal volume, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42, and CSF tau. Results Higher neuroticism, lower conscientiousness, along with all four biomarkers strongly discriminated cognitively normal controls from early-stage AD individuals. The direct effects of neuroticism and conscientiousness were only mediated by hippocampal volume. Conscientiousness along with all biomarkers predicted conversion from healthy aging to early-stage AD; however, none of the biomarkers mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and conversion. Conscientiousness predicted conversion as strongly as the biomarkers, with the exception of hippocampal volume. Conclusions Conscientiousness and to a lesser extent neuroticism serve as important independent behavioral markers for AD risk.
The beginning of the sociological study of BDSM: A personal reflection:

This paper discusses the beginnings of sociological research in BDSM and the author’s role in the development of the field.
Baghdad noir: edited by Samuel Shimon, Akashic Noir Series, New York, Akashic Books, 2018, 256 pp., $15.95 (paperback), ISBN 9781617753435

On August 7, 2018, Akashic Books published Baghdad Noir, a new collection in its global noir series. The Brooklyn-based independent publisher collaborated with Iraqi writer, Samuel Shimon, to solic...
Impact of Genital Hiatus Size on Anatomic Outcomes After Mesh-Augmented Sacrospinous Ligament Fixation.

Objective Our objective is to compare anatomic outcomes at medium term after mesh-augmented sacrospinous ligament fixation among women categorized by their preoperative and postoperative genital hiatus size. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study in women undergoing Uphold mesh-augmented sacrospinous ligament fixation between 2010 and 2017. We compared 3 groups: (1) women with a wide genital hiatus preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively ("Persistently Wide" cohort), (2) women with a wide genital hiatus preoperatively but normal hiatus 6 weeks postoperatively ("Improved" cohort), and (3) women with a normal genital hiatus preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively ("Stably Normal" cohort). We defined a wide hiatus as 4 cm or greater and a normal hiatus as less than 4 cm. The primary outcome was anatomic failure, defined as recurrent prolapse beyond the hymen or retreatment for prolapse with surgery or pessary. Results Ninety-seven women were included in the study. Overall, mean age was 68 years (±7.15 years), mean body mass index was 28.36 kg/m2 (±5.34 kg/m2) and mean follow up time was 400 ± 216 days. Anatomic failure did not differ between groups (Persistently Wide, 15.4%; Improved, 11.1%; Stably Normal, 10.0%; P = 0.88). In logistic regression, the odds of anatomic failure remained similar among all groups (P = 0.93). Conclusions A persistently wide genital hiatus alone was not associated with anatomic failure in this small study cohort. Therefore, surgical reduction of the genital hiatus with level III support procedures may not affect prolapse recurrence at the time of mesh-augmented sacrospinous ligament fixation. Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship and investigate other potential mechanisms for these findings.
What Is the Optimal Heart Rate Cut-Off For Initiating Chest Compressions In Neonatal Bradycardia?

TITLE: What is the optimal heart rate cut-off for initiating chest compressions in neonatal bradycardia? Background: Newborns who receive chest compressions (CCs) and/or epinephrine in the delivery room have a greater incidence of neurological morbidity. Cerebral autoregulation is impaired in newborns and further lost during asphyxia placing them at high risk of ischemia-reperfusion injury. The newborn has a diminished ability to increase stroke volume to improve cardiac output and, therefore, relies primarily on increasing heart rate (HR) to …
Adaptive Spatially Aware I/O for Multiresolution Particle Data Layouts

Large-scale simulations on nonuniform particle distributions that evolve over time are widely used in cosmology, molecular dynamics, and engineering. Such data are often saved in an unstructured format that neither preserves spatial locality nor provides metadata for accelerating spatial or attribute subset queries, leading to poor performance of visualization tasks. Furthermore, the parallel I/O strategy used typically writes a file per process or a single shared file, neither of which is portable or scalable across different HPC systems. We present a portable technique for scalable, spatially aware adaptive aggregation that preserves spatial locality in the output. We evaluate our approach on two supercomputers, Stampede2 and Summit, and demonstrate that it outperforms prior approaches at scale, achieving up to $2.5 \times$ faster writes and reads for nonuniform distributions. Furthermore, the layout written by our method is directly suitable for visual analytics, supporting low-latency reads and attribute-based filtering with little overhead.
Sucrose subjective response and eating behaviors among individuals with opioid use disorder.

Abstract Background While opioid agonists represent the most efficacious treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), they may enhance the reinforcing effects of sweets, placing individuals at risk for weight gain and associated consequences. We examined sucrose subjective response among adults receiving opioid agonist treatment vs. a comparison sample without OUD. Methods Forty adults with (OUD+) and 40 without OUD (OUD-) completed an intake battery of eating behaviors and body mass index. During two same-day sessions, participants sampled six experimenter-administered sucrose solutions (0, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0 M), each three times, under double-blind conditions and rated the pleasantness and intensity of each. Results OUD + participants presented with a higher prevalence of obesity and unhealthy eating behaviors vs. OUD- participants (p’s Conclusions OUD+ participants exhibited a higher magnitude of change in pleasantness ratings from placebo vs. OUD−, which was largely driven by pronounced differences in perceived pleasantness of essentially unsweet solutions. OUD+ participants presented with a consistently more severe profile in regard to eating behaviors. These data highlight the risk factors experienced by OUD+ individuals that extend beyond drug-related risks and may inform future efforts to improve health outcomes.
Quantum Mechanics with Basic Field Theory

Students and instructors alike will find this organized and detailed approach to quantum mechanics ideal for a two-semester graduate course on the subject. This textbook covers, step-by-step, important topics in quantum mechanics, from traditional subjects like bound states, perturbation theory and scattering, to more current topics such as coherent states, quantum Hall effect, spontaneous symmetry breaking, superconductivity, and basic quantum electrodynamics with radiative corrections. The large number of diverse topics are covered in concise, highly focused chapters, and are explained in simple but mathematically rigorous ways. Derivations of results and formulae are carried out from beginning to end, without leaving students to complete them. With over 200 exercises to aid understanding of the subject, this textbook provides a thorough grounding for students planning to enter research in physics. Several exercises are solved in the text, and password-protected solutions for remaining exercises are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521877602.
Thin is green

Display Omitted An analytical model for lifecycle energy consumption of mobile devices is proposed and evaluated.A derivation of the theoretical conditions for energy savings under thin client paradigm.A comparative empirical evaluation of performance and energy consumption of old and new Android-based smartphone operating under the thin client paradigm was performed. Progress in the area of environmental sustainability for the mobile computing industry could be achieved by making advancement on two fronts: reducing the energy consumed by individual devices throughout their life cycle and reducing the rate at which these devices are discarded. In this work, to address both fronts, we propose the use of a thin-client approach, whereby a mobile device relies mainly on the resources at a remote server to carry out application tasks. To assess the benefits of the proposed approach, this work develops an analytical model as well as performs an empirical evaluation of performance and energy consumption on Android-based smartphones. In terms of energy, a reduction of approximately 11% in the average life cycle energy (LCE) is seen by increasing the device's usage life by even three months through a thin-client approach. In terms of performance, a thin-client device is shown to improve execution by 57% compared to a self-reliant device.
Challenges and Opportunities in Design of Control Algorithm for Artificial Pancreas

With discovery of the insulin, Type-1 diabetes converted from a fatal and acute to a chronic disease which includes micro-vascular complications which range from Kidney disease to stroke and micro-vascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. Artificial pancreas is a solution to improve the quality of life for people with this very fast growing disease in the world and to reduce the costs. Despite technological advances e.g., in subcutaneous sensors and actuators for insulin injection, modeling of blood glucose dynamics and control algorithms still need significant improvement. In this paper, we investigate challenges and opportunities for development of efficient algorithm for designing robust artificial pancreas. We discuss the state of the art and summarize clinical and in silico assessment results. We contrast conventional integer order system approach with a newly proposed fractal control and summarize its benefits.
Abstract 15217: Prevalence of Abnormal Cardiovascular Findings in Preparticipation Cardiovascular Screening by Focused Echocardiography in Collegiate Athletes

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest in a young healthy athlete is a rare but catastrophic event. Current American Heart Association preparticipation screening (AHA PPS) guidelines recommend a focused history and physical without routine imaging or ECG screening. We propose that a focused echocardiogram is a useful modality to identify structural abnormalities that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest or other cardiovascular events in athletes. Methods: We performed a focused 5 minute echocardiogram on all incoming varsity Division I collegiate athletes at the University of Wisconsin from 2005 to 2013. The echocardiograms were performed on the same day as their routine AHA-based PPS exam. Abnormal findings on a focused echocardiogram prompted further testing for confirmation. In this investigation, we report the prevalence of abnormal findings in these athletes. Results: Of the 2898 athletes screened, 1484 (51.2%) were female. The average age was 18.8 years. The majority (98.3%) of athletes had normal screens. ...
Lights, Camera, Lawsuit

As the speed of Internet access improves, the film industry will need to explore its options for eliminating the downloading of digital movie files. After examining the successes and failures of the music industry in its battle with peer-to-peer networks, the film industry has begun to follow its predecessor. However, the nature of film as an entertainment medium is quite different than that of music. As a result, the film industry could implement creative solutions to this problem that would not have been available to the music industry. A recent study shows that most films available on the Internet have been leaked by industry insiders. By implementing an increasingly publicized use of trade secret litigation, the film industry could take a tough and effective stance against the digital dragon.
Germ cell degeneration in the contralateral testis of the guinea pig with unilateral torsion of the spermatic cord. Quantitative and ultrastructural studies.

This study evaluated the long term effects of unilateral torsion of the spermatic cord on the contralateral testis of guinea pigs, employing both fine structural and quantitative studies. Young, adult Hartley strain guinea pigs were divided into six experimental groups (12 animals per group). The first three groups consisted of 36 animals in which unilateral torsion was surgically induced. In group I (torsion maintained), unilateral torsion of the spermatic cord was maintained until the day of sacrifice; in group II (torsion and untwist), torsion of the spermatic cord was maintained for 8 to 12 hours, then the spermatic cord was untwisted and the testis was retained until the day of sacrifice. In group III (torsion and orchiectomy), testes were removed after 8 to 12 hours of spermatic cord torsion. The second three groups consisted of 36 animals: group IV (unilateral orchiectomy), group V (unilateral sham operation), and group VI (pentobarbital injection alone), which served as controls. One half of the animals from each group were killed after 4 months and the other half were killed after 8 months. The most frequently observed histologic changes in the contralateral testes of the experimental animals were focal disorganization and exfoliation of immature germ cells into the lumen. Severe damage, with almost complete absence of germ cells, was noted only in an occasional tubule. Quantitative evaluation of the germ cells of the contralateral testis revealed significant loss of germ cells in groups I, II, and III after 4 months, and in groups I and II after 8 months. Germ cell degeneration was progressive in groups I and II, as demonstrated by the lower germ cell count in the testes of animals of the 8-month group in comparison with the 4-month group. However, in group III animals, a higher germ cell count was recorded at 8 months, which was similar to those of control values. The present study confirms our earlier findings that unilateral torsion of the spermatic cord has adverse effects on the contralateral testis. However, since these effects are subtle and inconsistent, a systematic germ cell quantitation is needed for critical assessment of the deleterious effect of unilateral spermatic cord torsion on the contralateral testis.
Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2007 Pages: 420 Publisher: Michigan State University Press ISBN: 978-9987-449-42-2 (soft cover). Prices: $49.95 USD(soft cover).
The Andes Physics Tutoring System: Five Years of Evaluations

Andes is a mature intelligent tutoring system that has helped hundreds of students improve their learning of university physics. It replaces pencil and paper problem solving homework. Students continue to attend the same lectures, labs and recitations. Five years of experimentation at the United States Naval Academy indicates that it significantly improves student learning. This report describes the evaluations and what was learned from them.
A numerical optimization approach for color correction in forensic DNA genotyping

Recent advances in sequencing technology made short tandem repeats (STR) genotyping a leading tool in forensic DNA analysis. STR genotyping is performed using electrophoresis where DNA strands with different fluorescence labeling dyes are separated according to their length. Shorter strands arrive earlier at the detector where the attached dyes are excited by an induced laser. The resulting excitation is collected using a multichannel detector, with each channel tuned to detect the strength of a certain labeling dye, utilizing photomultiplier tubes or CCD devices. The spectrum overlap of the dyes causes a detector tuned to the wavelength of a specific dye to also detect with different sensitivity other dyes. In this work we propose a new numerical based algorithm for correcting cross talk resulting from such spectrum overlap. We discuss reasons earlier solutions to a similar problem can not be applied in the genotyping setting. We test our proposed algorithm and report preliminary results showing the success of the algorithm.
Measurement of cellular stimulation through monitoring pH changes by bead injection fluorescence microscopy.

Abstract This work presents a method for extracellular and intracellular pH measurements in live cells based on a combination of the bead injection (BI) technique and fluorescence microscopy. For extracellular pH measurement, cells are grown on fluorescent beads, packed into a small column by a sequential injection instrument, and fluorescence intensity from the beads stained by the indicator is recorded by a fluorescence microscope. The method is applied to quantifying carbachol stimulation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with the m1 muscarinic receptor and is verified by a glucose depletion experiment. The results yield an EC50 value of 1 μM for carbachol, which is in reasonable agreement with the literature value 3 μM determined by an existing potentiometric technique for measuring acid release. The intracellular measurement utilizes CHO M1 cells growing on non-fluorescent beads. For this method the cells rather than the beads are stained by incubating them in a solution of the fluorescent pH indicator BCECF. The cells are also stimulated with carbachol and the intracellular pH dependent fluorescence from the cells is recorded. The results show dependence between intracellular pH changes and carbachol concentration and yield an EC50 value of 4 μM.
The neuroepidemiology of tropical spastic paraparesis

Recent neuroepidemiological studies of endemic tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) have confirmed the existence of high-prevalence foci in several tropical islands, including Jamaica and Martinique in the Caribbean, Tumaco off the Pacific coast of Colombia, and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. There is a net preponderance of TSP in persons of Black African ancestry, although Caucasian, Hindu, Amerindian, and Orientals have been affected. The epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and neuropathological features of TSP are reviewed here, as well as the evidence in favor of its retroviral origin.
Microbial Oxidation of Methane and Methanol: Isolation of Methane-Utilizing Bacteria and Characterization of a Facultative Methane-Utilizing Isolate

A methane-utilizing organism capable of growth both on methane and on more complex organic substrates as a sole source of carbon and energy, has been isolated and studied in detail. Suspensions of methane-grown cells of this organism oxidized C-1 compounds (methane, methanol, formaldehyde, formate); hydrocarbons (ethane, propane); primary alcohols (ethanol, propanol); primary aldehydes (acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde); alkenes (ethylene, propylene); dimethylether; and organic acids (acetate, malate, succinate, isocitrate). Suspensions of methanol-or succinate-grown cells did not oxidize methane, ethane, propane, ethylene, propylene, or dimethylether, suggesting that the enzymatic systems required for oxidation of these substrates are induced only during growth on methane. Extracts of methane-grown cells contained a particulate reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent methane monooxygenase activity. Oxidation of methanol, formaldehyde, and primary alcohols was catalyzed by a phenazine methosulfate-linked, ammonium ion-requiring methanol dehydrogenase. Oxidation of primary aldehydes was catalyzed by a phenazine methosulfate-linked, ammonium ion-independent aldehyde dehydrogenase. Formate was oxidized by a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-specific formate dehydrogenase. Extracts of methane-grown, but not succinate-grown, cells contained the key enzymes of the serine pathway, hydroxypyruvate reductase and malate lyase, indicating that the enzymes of C-1 assimilation are induced only during growth on C-1 compounds. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was induced during growth on glucose. Extracts of methane-grown cells contained low levels of enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, including α-keto glutarate dehydrogenase, relative to the levels found during growth on succinate. Images
Communication-oriented computer architecture: data choreography

Summary form only given. The full paper presents a number of approaches to choreographing regular and irregular computations, and shows how a number of model applications can be choreographed. The paper will also compare SMA architectures to UMA and NUMA architectures.
A model of intra-brand competition and related pricing policies for manufacturers

Abstract Casual observation suggests that retail price distributions develop for products sold by retail outlets that are not restricted in their pricing by the manufacturer. Manufacturers, however, often restrict retailers so as to promote a uniform retail price — manufacturer's suggested retail prices and minimum resale prices are examples of such policies. This paper examines retail competition under assumptions that imply, in the absence of manufacturer-imposed restrictions, the development of an equilibrium retail price distribution. It is then shown that, depending on the distribution of consumer search costs and on the dispersion of marginal retailing costs, the manufacturer may find certain vertical pricing restrictions (either uniform, minimum, or maximum prices) to be more profitable than simply choosing an optimal wholesale price schedule and allowing retailers to price as they wish.
The Error Rate of Tests for Regression Coincidence and Parallelism Under Unknown Multiplicative Heteroscedasticity

The usual F test of regression coincidence, which is appropriate under a homoscedastic model, is examined under a multiplicatively heteroscedastic model. The departure of the test from its nominal level is slight when the sample of explanatory variables is symmetric, but may be substantially inflated when the sample has positive skew. Conversely, the nominal level may be slightly depressed when the sample has negative skew. The size of the perturbation from the nominal level depends on the degree of heteroscedasticity, however its effect is more pronounced with positively skewed samples. Similar trends are evident for the usual F test of regression parallelism. There is no apparent pattern to the discrepancy of the level of the test with regard to the data which would permit empirical researchers to adjust their results.
Flamingo breeding: The role of group displays

Group displays in flamingos have been presumed to play a role in stimulating synchronous nesting and in facilitating pair formation. This study compares the group displays and breeding success of a captive flock of Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) at the National Zoological Park between 2 years: the frequency and synchrony of group displays were measured for a flock of 17 in 1988 and then again in 1989 after flock size was increased to 21. In 1989 the rate of occurrence of display activity increased 48%, the synchrony of group displays increased 100%, the frequency of mounts and copulations almost doubled, and for the first time in the flock's history two fertile eggs were produced. The use of sprinklers to simulate rain had no effect on the group displays. The amount of naturally occurring rainfall in 1989 was almost twice that in 1988. The increased frequency and synchrony of group displays could be attributed to increased flock size, change in sex ratio, addition of strange individuals, or increased rainfall. This study, however, provides evidence for a relationship between behavioral stimulation from group displays and components of breeding success in flamingos.
Characteristics And Applications Of Ag 2 S Films In The Millimeter Wavelength Region

Results of thermal switching of the electrical and optical properties of thin films of Ag2S are presented. The procedures for the preparation of the thin film are described. Film characteristics including crystal structure, composition for various thicknesses, and spectral transmittance/reflectance versus electrical conductivity are given. In addition, we have demonstrated electrical control (not due to Joule heating) of the spectral transmittance over the Far-IR to millimeter wavelength region. The application of the latter effect to infrared-millimeter devices such as modulators, variable attenuators, switchable polarizers, and tunable filters is stressed.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery.

Purpose of reviewTo review the evolution and current status of minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery for renal tumors.Recent findingsMinimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery for renal tumors encompasses extirpative laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and ablative procedures such as cryoablation,
PEGylation of a maltose biosensor promotes enhanced signal response when immobilized in a silica sol-gel.

A robust method to immobilize a maltose biosensor is described using an engineered maltose periplasmic binding protein (PBP) covalently coupled to NBDamide, an environmentally sensitive fluorophore. A mesoporous silica sol−gel derived from diglycerylsilane (DGS) was constructed to embed the maltose biosensor, and the ligand reporting fluorescence properties were measured. When sequestered in the DGS-derived silica matrix, the biosensor retained maltose-dependent fluorescence sensing capability with micromolar affinity, which is consistent with the protein free in solution. The MBP-NBD conjugate was further modified by covalent conjugation with poly(ethylene glycol)-5000 (PEG) to promote the retention of water molecules around the protein and to reduce possible steric effects between the silica matrix and protein. Bioconjugation with PEG molecules does not significantly affect the signaling response of the protein in solution. When immobilized in the DGS polymer, a consistent increase in fluorescence inten...
Pricing the Eyes of Passersby: The Commodification of Audience Attention in U.S. Public Spaces, 1890-1920

This paper explains the growth of the U.S. advertising industry around 1900 by showing how advertisers and advertising professionals established institutions and practices that converted audience a...
Performing Intelligent Mobile Searches in the Cloud Using Semantic Technologies

The paper presents a novel approach to do intelligent mobile searches using semantic, mobile, and cloud computing technologies. A working prototype of a Restaurant Search mobile system is presented for demonstration of the concept. The prototype built is intelligent in understanding and assisting the user choose a restaurant that gives maximum satisfaction to the user under the given constraints.
Reactions to antipneumococcal rabbit serum.

Abstract Additional studies of reactions to antipneumococcal rabbit serum are presented which show: 1.1. That reversed passive anaphylaxis can be produced in guinea pigs by a constant shocking dose of potent antiserum as long as seven days after a constant sensitizing dose of an excess of specific pneumococcal polysaccharide. 2.2. That single intravenous injections of pneumococcal polysaccharide can be detected easily, in diminishing amounts in 0.1 ml. of guinea-pig serum, for periods up to nineteen days (perhaps longer). 3.3. That different lots of antipneumococcal rabbit serum seem to vary in their anaphylactogenic properties.
Regional NO3− events in the northeastern United States related to seasonal climate anomalies

[1] We demonstrate a direct connection between anomalously high levels of NO3− in aerosols over the northeastern U.S. with transport of air masses from south of the Great Lakes during periods of unseasonably warm climatic conditions in that area. Previous studies document the predominant and pervasive role of SO42− and organic matter in regional aerosol composition over the Northeast. Here we characterize multi-day episodic events where NO3− exceeded SO42− by up to 3-fold at Mount Washington and increased from the seasonal median of about 1 nmol m−3 to 60–100 nmol m−3. These events take place in the colder seasons, with the three most significant ones in the last 6 years occurring in November 2001, January 2002, and March 2004. We propose that large amounts of NH3 are volatilized in the Midwest under these conditions, which exceeds available SO42− and allows high levels of NH4NO3 aerosol to form. The occurrence of these events, which completely changes the character of aerosols over the Northeast and may lead to enhanced NO3− deposition to ecosystems, could increase with continued warming over North America.
Constitutive Models for Intermediate- and High-Strain Rate Flow Behavior of Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu and Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu Solder Alloys

In much of the existing research, SnAgCu solder alloys are characterized at low strain rates, typically in the 10-6 to 1 s-1 range. In this paper, we report experimental results and constitutive models for two popular SnAgCu solder alloys at intermediate and high strain rates, ranging from 10-2 to 103 s-1 at room temperature. These experiments were performed using two different experimental setups: a MTS 810 uniaxial compression tester, and a split-Hopkinson pressure bar. In conjunction with our previous work at lower strain rates (10-6 to 10-3 s-1), these results yield the plastic flow response of these solders over nine decades of strain rate, and demonstrate a remarkably consistent relationship between the yield stress and the strain rate over the entire nine decades. We also develop the Anand viscoplastic constitutive model, and demonstrate that fit parameters for the low-strain rate regime can be extrapolated to accurately predict the experimental response at high strain rates. Thus, the model presented here proffers the capability of modeling solder deformation under a wide range of loading conditions using most commercially available finite element (FE) programs. To illustrate the validity of the model parameters, we develop idealized FE models together with cohesive zone failure descriptions at the interface between the solder and the intermetallic compound. We demonstrate that when used in conjunction with appropriate failure models, the constitutive model developed here accurately captures the empirically observed shift in failure modes from bulk failure to interfacial failure under tensile loading at higher strain rates.