cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
National-level environmental perceptions and walking among urban and rural residents: Informing surveillance of walkability.

Abstract Built environments that provide activity-friendly routes (e.g., sidewalks) to everyday destinations (e.g., shops) can increase physical activity. Surveillance of supports and destinations is important, and identifying which are associated with walking could prioritize surveillance questions. Our purpose was to identify the significant associations between supports and destinations with walking among a nationally-representative sample of urban- and rural-dwelling adults. Participants in the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, Cancer Control Supplement (n = 29,925) reported the near-home presence of walkable supports (roads, sidewalks, paths, or trails; sidewalks on most streets), destinations (shops; transit; movies, libraries, or churches; relaxing places), and past-week walking for leisure or transportation. We used stepwise logistic regression to quantify associations between supports and destinations and walking, including by urban/rural residence. We calculated the prevalence of walking across counts of reported elements by urban/rural residence. Among all participants, roads, sidewalks, paths, or trails and relaxing destinations were associated with leisure walking. Among urban residents, sidewalks on most streets and all four destination types were associated with transportation walking; among rural residents, roads, sidewalks, paths, or trails; movies, libraries, or churches; and relaxing destinations were associated with transportation walking. Walking was more common when more environmental elements were reported. To improve efficiency, communities may match surveillance priorities to behavioral priorities (i.e., leisure versus transportation walking) and environmental context (i.e., urban/rural areas). Surveillance of environments supporting leisure walking might focus on recreation-oriented spaces. Surveillance of environments supporting transportation walking might differ for urban and rural areas, and assessing destinations may be particularly important.
Test-enhanced learning in a pharmacy therapeutics course

Objective: To confirm the effect of test-enhanced learning in pharmacy students and to assess students’ perceptions of additional graded tests in a therapeutics course. Methods: The number of graded tests were increased from two to four in a pharmacy therapeutics course during 2017. The authors compared the median score change from the first to the last test between the 2016 and 2017 student cohorts. The 2017 cohort was surveyed to determine student perceptions of additional graded tests. Results: The median test score increased significantly from the first to the last test in the 2017 cohort (84.0% vs 76.9%; p <0.0001), but not in the 2016 cohort (76.7% vs 76.3%; p =0.95). Students reported improved time management skills and reduced levels of stress and test anxiety with a greater number of tests. Conclusions: Increasing the number of graded tests from two to four in a pharmacy therapeutics course may enhance academic performance, improve time management skills, and reduce stress and test anxiety.
487 BRAIN DRAIN: THE NEXT GENERATION? PERCEPTIONS OF UGANDAN MEDICAL STUDENTS.

Background Emigration of African doctors to Western countries has left African countries with inadequate coverage and the unsatisfying situation of educating doctors but losing them soon after their graduation. Gaining a better understanding of the perceptions that medical students have toward emigration will help address its causes and possibly limit the loss of health care personnel. We hypothesized that medical students at Makerere University develop a more favorable attitude toward emigration in the course of their medical training. Study Design and Methods We conducted the research at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to medical students across the 5 years of classes and collected from 258 students. Time commitment was about 15 minutes per questionnaire. Results The hypothesis could not be proven as stated. Medical students in upper years (3, 4, and 5) were not more likely to indicate a desire to work in another country than students in lower years (1 and 2). However, it was found that upper years were significantly more likely than lower years to be willing to move abroad if the financial offer was better (79.2% vs 67%, p = .031). Upper-year men were significantly more likely to express interest in moving abroad for a better financial offer than lower-year men (83.2% vs 63.5%, p = .007). Whereas 68.3% of upper years thought it was likely or very likely that they would experience occupational risk working in Uganda, only 52.6% of lower years thought so (p = .014). There was a strong correlation between interest in working in the private sector and willingness to leave the country for a better financial offer (p = .004). Students interested in working in a rural setting after their training were less likely to say that they would move to another country for a higher-paying job than students interested in urban settings. Conclusion Results suggest that to prevent further physician efflux in years to come, it will be necessary to improve the pay for doctors, to improve safety conditions in hospitals, and to start modifying the admissions process in medical school by adding personal interviews. This would allow admitting more students interested in working in rural areas and admitting fewer students interested in careers in the private sector.
The Spatial Proximity and Connectivity Method for Measuring and Analyzing Residential Segregation

In recent years, there has been increasing attention focused on the spatial dimensions of residential segregation—from the spatial arrangement of segregated neighborhoods to the geographic scale or...
Postural Instability in Parkinson’s Disease: A Review

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a heterogeneous progressive neurodegenerative disorder, which typically affects older adults; it is predicted that by 2030 about 3% of the world population above 65 years of age is likely to be affected. At present, the diagnosis of PD is clinical, subjective, nonspecific, and often inadequate. There is a need to quantify the PD factors for an objective disease assessment. Among the various factors, postural instability (PI) is unresponsive to the existing treatment strategies resulting in morbidity. In this work, we review the physiology and pathophysiology of postural balance that is essential to treat PI among PD patients. Specifically, we discuss some of the reported factors for an early PI diagnosis, including age, nervous system lesions, genetic mutations, abnormal proprioception, impaired reflexes, and altered biomechanics. Though the contributing factors to PI have been identified, how their quantification to grade PI severity in a patient can help in treatment is not fully understood. By contextualizing the contributing factors, we aim to assist the future research efforts that underpin posturographical and histopathological studies to measure PI in PD. Once the pathology of PI is established, effective diagnostic tools and treatment strategies could be developed to curtail patient falls.
Evidence of C-H···O Interactions in the Thiophene:Water Complex.

An analysis of the 1:1 complex of thiophene and water is presented. In this study, computation and matrix isolation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to determine stable complexes of thiophene and water. Computational studies found six, low-energy complexes that were differentiated by the interaction present. Three complexes were characterized by C–H···O interactions, one by O–H···S, one by O–H···π, and one with an unusual, dual interaction of O–H···S and C–H···O. The O–H···π interaction was found to have the lowest overall energy at multiple levels of theory (B3LYP, B3LYP-GD3BJ, B97-D3, M05-2X, ωB97X-D, and MP2). Analysis of matrix isolation FTIR spectra indicated that the primary experimental geometry was a complex where water interacts through C–H···O at the α carbon position of the thiophene ring. This experimental result is not in line with other related complexes (furan:water and thiophene:methanol) where the complex formed through more standard interactions (e.g., O–H···O and...
Pulmonary light chain deposition disease: a retrospective analysis of 11 cases

Introduction: Light Chain Deposition Disease (LCDD) is a rarely affects the lungs. We aimed to explore the clinical and radiologic manifestations including positron emission tomography (PET) scan, of pulmonary LCDD. Methods: A retrospective, computer-assisted search was performed to identify patients with biopsy-proven pulmonary LCDD seen at Mayo Clinic, Rochester from 1997-2018. Demographic, clinical, and imaging features were analyzed. Results: Among 11 patients with pulmonary LCDD; the median age at the time of diagnosis was 55.1(39.1-77.2) years, 72% were females, and 64% were never smokers. Dyspnea (27%) and chest pain (27%) were the most common respiratory symptoms. Six patients had Sjogren’s syndrome and 2 had sarcoidosis. Eight patients had lymphoma involving the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and 1 had multiple myeloma. CT scan of the chest was available for 10 patients; nine (90%) had cysts mostly of lower lung distribution. Round/oval was the predominant shape of the cysts. Fifty-five percent had 1-5 cysts present, 44% had more than 21 cysts. The median diameter of the cyst was 22 mm (range, 5-68);67% of patients had cyst wall thickness of 1 mm. All 10 patients had solid nodules with 40% having >10 nodules. The median diameter of the nodule was 13 mm (range, 6-26). PET scan was available for 9 patients; in 7 patients lung nodules manifested FDG uptake with a median maximum standardized uptake value of 2.0 (range, 1.0-5.9). In the median follow up of 2.4 yr(range, 0.5-9.9);3 patients died. Conclusions: LCDD can affect the lungs in the form of cysts and nodules, especially in the setting of Sjogren’s syndrome.
Chiral motion in colloidal electrophoresis

Asymmetrically charged, nonspherical colloidal particles in general perform complex rotations and oblique motions under an electric field. The interplay of electrostatic and hydrodynamic forces complicates the prediction of these motions. We demonstrate a method of calculating the body tensors that dictate translational and rotational velocity vectors arising from an external electric field. We treat insulating rigid bodies in the linear-response regime, with indefinitely small electrostatic screening length. The method represents the body as an assembly of point sources of both hydrodynamic drag and surface electric field. We demonstrate agreement with predicted electrophoretic mobility to within a few percent for several shapes with uniform and nonuniform charges. We show that even symmetric shapes can have strong chiral twisting motions. The method applies more generally to active colloidal swimmers.
VI – Eigenvalue Problems

Publisher Summary Eigenvalue problems arise in a number of different areas of mathematics. To introduce the notion of an eigenvalue problem in the area of ordinary differential equations, a second-order linear homogeneous differential equation is considered. The differential equation and the boundary conditions constitute an eigenvalue problem. In an eigenvalue problem associated with a linear homogeneous differential equation of arbitrary order n, each linear homogeneous boundary condition may involve the values of the unknown function and its first n−1 derivatives at the two points a and b. This chapter focuses on second-order eigenvalue problems with two boundary conditions. If two independent eigenfunctions correspond to one eigenvalue, two independent eigenfunctions could be found out that are orthogonal to each other. Every eigenfunction for that eigenvalue is a linear combination of the two orthogonal eigenfunctions.
Second language learning of phonological alternations with and without orthographic input: Evidence from the acquisition of a German-like voicing alternation

While a growing body of research investigates the influence of orthographic input on the acquisition of second language (L2) segmental contrasts, few studies have examined its influence on the acquisition of L2 phonological processes. Hayes-Harb, Brown, and Smith (2018) showed that exposure to words’ written forms caused native English speakers to misremember the voicing of final obstruents in German-like words exemplifying voicing neutralization. However, they did not examine participants’ acquisition of the final devoicing process. To address this gap, we conducted two experiments wherein native English speakers (assigned to Orthography or No Orthography groups) learned German-like words in suffixed and unsuffixed forms, and later completed a picture naming test. Experiment 1 investigated learners’ knowledge of the surface voicing of obstruents in both final and nonfinal position, and revealed that while all participants produced underlyingly voiced obstruents as voiceless more often in final than nonfinal position, the difference was only significant for No Orthography participants. Experiment 2 investigated participants’ ability to apply the devoicing process to new words, and provided no evidence of generalization. Together these findings shed light on the acquisition of final devoicing by naive adult learners, as well as the influence of orthographic input in the acquisition of a phonological alternation.
Resolution enhancement and speckle reduction in coherence imaging: a k-space model of optical coherence refraction tomography (OCRT)

We present a preliminary k-space-based analysis of OCT and our recently proposed extension, optical coherence refraction tomography (OCRT). Our theory provides insight into how angular compounding enhances resolution and reduces speckle in coherence imaging techniques.
Performance Analysis of Pulse-Agile SDRadar with Hardware Accelerated Processing

With the increasing demand for access to the radio frequency spectrum, there has been an emergence of spectrum sharing radar systems. Along with this comes the need for rapid pulse-agility to avoid other time varying signals in the spectrum effectively. A software-defined radar (SDRadar) system that has been previously explored is further developed in this work to improve its spectrum sharing performance. To take advantage of the rapid reaction time of the improved system, pulse adaption occurs within a radar coherent processing interval, which causes significant distortion in the Doppler dimension. A simulation was formulated to show how the distortion becomes more significant as the magnitude of the adaptation increases. The distortion is also shown to significantly impact the number of false alarms detected, reducing the ability to verify true targets.
Does Working Longer Enhance Old Age

Understanding the link between retirement and health is crucial for both improving people's wellbeing and for designing optimal public policy around retirement. Yet, to date, the economics literature has been inconclusive about whether retirement causes improvements or deterioration in health. The lack of consensus is likely driven by differences in study design, population, and the age of workers and set of health outcomes studied. In this paper, I explain and distill the literature, highlight patterns in the highest-quality studies, and discuss the implications of the findings for longevity risk management and worker and retiree health going forward.
Shifting sociality during primate ageing

Humans exhibit major age-related shifts in social relationships along with changes in social and emotional psychological processes that underpin these behavioural shifts. Does social ageing in non-...
The Omission of House Age in MLS Database Listings: The Effect on Selling Price and Time on Market

An asymmetric information problem occurs in the home buying process when sellers know more about a house than potential buyers. The listing agent must decide how much of this information to report ...
A multi-pronged scoping review approach to understanding the evolving implementation of the Smallpox and Polio eradication programs: what can other Global Health initiatives learn?

Previous initiatives have aimed to document the history and legacy of the Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). In this multi-pronged scoping review, we explored the evolution and learning from SEP and GPEI implementation over time at global and country levels to inform other global health programs. Three related reviews of literature were conducted; we searched for documents on 1) the SEP and 2) GPEI via online database searches and also conducted global and national-level grey literature searches for documents related to the GPEI in seven purposively selected countries under the Synthesis and Translation of Research and Innovations from Polio Eradication (STRIPE) project. We included documents relevant to GPEI implementation. We conducted full text data analysis and captured data on Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) implementation strategies and principles, tools, outcomes, target audiences, and relevance to global health knowledge areas. 200 articles were included in the SEP scoping review, 1885 articles in the GPEI scoping review, and 963 documents in the grey literature review. ME these evolved into newer approaches under the GPEI. Management strategies including setting up robust record systems also carried forward from SEP to GPEI; however, lessons around the need for operational flexibility in applying these strategies at national and sub-national levels did not. Similarly, strategies and lessons around conducting health systems readiness assessments prior to implementation were not carried forward from SEP to GPEI. Differences in the planning and communication strategies between the two programs included fidelity to implementation blueprints appeared to be higher under SEP, and independent monitoring boards and communication and media strategies were more prominent under GPEI. Linear learning did not always occur between SEP and GPEI; several lessons were lost and had to be re-learned. Implementation and adaptation of strategies in global health programs should be well codified, including information on the contextual, time and stakeholders’ issues that elicit adaptations. Such description can improve the systematic translation of knowledge, and gains in efficiency and effectiveness of future global health programs.
Mathematizing phenomenology

Husserl is well known for his critique of the “mathematizing tendencies” of modern science, and is particularly emphatic that mathematics and phenomenology are distinct and in some sense incompatible. But Husserl himself uses mathematical methods in phenomenology. In the first half of the paper I give a detailed analysis of this tension, showing how those Husserlian doctrines which seem to speak against application of mathematics to phenomenology do not in fact do so. In the second half of the paper I focus on a particular example of Husserl’s “mathematized phenomenology”: his use of concepts from what is today called dynamical systems theory.
Relative Impact of Surgical Mitral Repair and MitraClip on Annular Remodeling-A Potential Mechanism for Therapeutic Response to Mitral Repair for Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation.

Objectives Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used to guide decision-making for mitral repair. The relative impact of surgical mitral valve repair (MVr) and MitraClip on annular remodeling is unknown. The aim was to determine the impact of both mitral repair strategies on annular geometry, including the primary outcome of annular circumference and area. Design This was a retrospective observational study of patients who underwent mitral intervention between 2016 and 2020. Setting Weill Cornell Medicine, a single, large, academic medical center. Participants The population comprised 50 patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) undergoing MVr. Interventions Elective MVr and TEE. Measurements and main results Patients undergoing MitraClip or surgical MVr were matched (1:1) for sex and coronary artery disease. Mitral annular geometry indices were quantified on intraprocedural three-dimensional TEE. Mild or less MR on follow-up transthoracic echocardiography defined optimal response. Patients undergoing MitraClip were older (80 ± eight v 66 ± six years; p Conclusions Surgical MVr and MitraClip both reduce annular size, but repair-induced remodeling is greater with surgery and associated with an increased likelihood of optimal response.
Foregut Dysmotility in the Lung Transplant Patient.

Purpose of review To explore the role of upper gastrointestinal disease in the clinical course of lung transplant patients - including its pathophysiology, diagnostic testing, and treatment options. Recent findings Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and foregut motility disorders are more prevalent among end-stage lung disease patients and are associated with poorer outcomes in lung transplant recipients. A proposed mechanism is the exposure of the lung allograft to aspirated contents, resulting in inflammation and rejection. Diagnostic tools to assess for these disorders include multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH (MII-pH) testing, high resolution esophageal manometry (HREM), and gastric emptying scintigraphy. The main treatment options are medical management with acid suppressants and/or prokinetic agents and anti-reflux surgery. In particular, data support the use of early anti-reflux surgery to improve outcomes. Newer diagnostic tools such as MII-pH testing and HREM allow for the identification of both acid and non-acid reflux and esophageal motility disorders, respectively. Recent studies have demonstrated that early anti-reflux surgery within six months post-transplant better protects against allograft injury and pulmonary function decline when compared to late surgery. However, further prospective research is needed to evaluate the short and long-term outcomes of these diagnostic approaches and interventions.
Chapter for Simulation for Bioterrorism

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews high-fidelity simulation, which has an enormous potential for training in today's safety-conscious environment. Emergency personnel use simulation training to various degrees to recreate situations they are likely to face during the delivery of their services. A human-mannequin simulator is similar in concept to a flight simulator. Both of them offer the ability to provide a venue for routine training and reenactment of the acute and rare problems. The medical profession is showing increased interest in simulation as an educational adjunct to the standard methods of teaching and training students—that is, lectures, reading, journal club, mock interviews, case presentations, and bedside/operating suite/clinic apprenticeship. A high-fidelity patient simulation, with a full-size computer-linked mannequin, offers a perfect venue for the presentation of the critical events that can be managed by the medical personnel without risk or harm to a patient.
Gender and Violence in the Middle East by David Ghanim

David Ghanim, a senior lecturer and researcher in Middle Eastern studies at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, argues that violence against women is an integral aspect ...
Notes on Typed Object-Oriented Programming

This paper, which is partly tutorial in nature, summarizes some basic research goals in the study and development of typed object-oriented programming languages. These include both immediate repairs to problems with existing languages and the long-term development of more flexible and expressive, yet type-safe, approaches to program organization and design. We summarize and compare three object models used in the theoretical literature. We also consider approaches to a few technical problems, including changes in the type of a method (member function) from super (base) class to sub (derived) class and the use of types that give information about the implementations as well as the interfaces of objects. Such implementation types seem essential for adequate typing of binary operations on objects, for example.
Assessment of Data Assimilative Ocean Models in the Gulf of Mexico Using Ocean Color

Abstract : This paper illustrates the value of SeaWiFS ocean color imagery in assessing the ability of three data-assimilative ocean models (configured in five prediction systems) to map mesoscale variability in the Gulf of Mexico (i.e., the Loop Current and associated warm and cold eddies) and in helping to diagnose specific strengths and weaknesses of the systems. In addition, the study clearly illustrates that biological responses of the surface waters are strongly linked to the physical events and processes.
Total Expected Discounted Reward MDPS: Policy Iteration Algorithm

This article presents the steps and discusses properties of the policy iteration algorithm and the modified policy iteration algorithm for discounted infinite horizon Markov decision processes. Two small numerical examples are included to demonstrate how to implement the algorithms. Keywords: policy iteration; modified policy iteration; Markov decision process; policy evaluation
Resource discovery using spatio-temporal information in mobile ad-hoc networks

In this paper we examine the benefit of reports about resources in mobile ad-hoc networks. Each disseminated report represents information about a spatio-temporal event, such as the availability of a parking slot or a cab request. Reports are disseminated by a peer-to-peer broadcast paradigm, in which an object periodically broadcasts the reports it carries to encountered objects. We evaluate the value of resource information in terms of how much time is saved when using the information to discover resources, compared to the case when the information is not used.
Sequence invariance of the antigen-coding central region of the phase 1 flagellar filament gene (fliC) among strains of Salmonella typhimurium.

Abstract Previous studies of the phase 1 flagellar filament protein (flagellin) in strains of five serovars of Salmonella indicated that the central region of the fliC gene encoding the antigenic part of the protein is hypervariable both between and within serovars. To explore the possible use of this variation as a source of information on the phylogenetic relationships of closely related strains, we used the polymerase chain reaction technique to sequence part of the central region of the phase 1 flagellar genes of seven strains of Salmonella typhimurium that were known to differ in chromosomal genotype, as indexed by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. We found that the nucleotide sequences of the central region were identical in all seven strains and determined that both the previously published sequence of the fliC gene in S. typhimurium LT2 and a report of a marked difference in the amino acid sequence of the phase 1 flagellins of two isolates of this serovar are erroneous. Our finding that the fliC gene is not evolving by sequence drift at an unusually rapid rate is compatible with a model that invokes lateral transfer and recombination of the flagellin genes as a major evolutionary process generating new serovars (antigen combinations) of salmonellae.
Traffic Flow Models

This chapter introduces the fundamental ideas of traffic modeling as they are applied in the engineering of traffic systems. It describes macroscopic models that predict the average variables of traffic density and traffic flow rates because they are very important for calculating the capacity of roads and highways. Traffic flow, in mathematics and civil engineering, is the study of interactions between vehicles, drivers, and infrastructure with the aim of understanding and developing an optimal road network with efficient movement of traffic and minimal traffic congestion problems. The macroscopic modeling of traffic assumes a sufficiently large number of cars in a lane or on a road such that each stream of autos can be treated as fluid flowing in a tube or stream. On the other hand, microscopic models predict how speed varies with driver sensitivities and responses to various traffic stimuli because they provide a basis for obtaining the gross traffic density and flow rates needed in macroscopic models. These models are being increasingly used to investigate the control of individual vehicles, as well as lines (or lanes) of vehicles.
Selection of multiple credible contingencies for real time contingency analysis

The need to increase situational awareness in power systems is more evident than before. Increased power system complexity and integration of intermittent resources have contributed to the emerging need to monitor power systems in real time. Real time contingency analysis can increase situational awareness by monitoring the power system in real time and alarming the operators of the impending problems. Monitoring all multiple contingencies in real time is impossible and therefore, there is a need to reduce the number of monitored contingencies. This paper introduces a method for identifying most critical contingencies in power system for real-time monitoring.
The effects of fatigue on acoustic nonlinearity in aluminum alloys

Experimental evidence is presented which suggests a strong nonlinear interaction of acoustic waves with dislocation dipoles in fatigued metals. A recently formulated model of the interaction of an acoustic wave with dislocation dipoles and dipole-array approximations to veins and persistent slip bands (substructures) formed during metal fatigue is examined. The model predicts the generation of a substantial acoustic second harmonic that depends on the distance between the glide planes of the dipole pair, on the dipole density, and on the particular arrangement and volume fraction of dipoles in a given substructure of the fatigued solid. Experimental evidence which strongly supports the essential features of the theoretical model is presented for fatigued aluminium alloy 2024-T4. The effects of artificial aging on acoustic harmonic generation and on fatigue-induced microstructural features in precipitation-hardened Al 2024 are discussed. >
Maternal obesity and breast-feeding practices

Background Maternal obesity has been associated with poor lactation in animal models, but the results of related research in humans are inconclusive. Objective We tested the hypothesis that women who are obese before pregnancy or who gain excessive weight during pregnancy are less likely to initiate and maintain breast-feeding than are their normal-weight counterparts. Design We analyzed 124 151 mother-infant pairs from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System and the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System. Body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy and gestational weight gain were categorized according to guidelines from the Institute of Medicine. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify the association between maternal obesity and breast-feeding initiation (n = 51 329), and multiple linear regression was used to examine the effect of maternal obesity on breast-feeding duration among women who initiated breast-feeding (n = 13 234). Results Regardless of gestational weight gain, obese women were less likely to initiate breast-feeding than were women with a normal BMI before pregnancy who also gained the recommended weight during pregnancy. Maternal BMI before pregnancy and gestational weight gain were each independently associated with duration of breast-feeding. Women who were obese before pregnancy breast-fed approximately 2 wk less than did their normal-weight counterparts, and women who either failed to reach or exceeded the recommended gestational weight gain breast-fed approximately 1 wk less than did those who gained the recommended gestational weight. Conclusions Both obesity before pregnancy and inadequate weight gain during pregnancy have a negative effect on breast-feeding practice. Women who are obese before pregnancy or who gain inadequate weight during pregnancy need extra support for breast-feeding.
Permittivity measurements on molecular-sized samples

Experimental and instrumental design is described in connection with efforts to make organic bistable devices. One of the research goals is to measure the electrical properties of materials and active devices made with molecular (mainly organic) materials. The size of material samples, and the specimens used for measurement, are exceedingly small, typically layers with a thickness on the order of 100 nm. Preliminary results on polyethylene crystals grown under properly controlled circumstances from solutions of PE in xylene are presented. >
2,2′‐Dimethoxy‐6‐Formylbiphenyl

2,2′-Dimethoxy-6-formylbiphenyl intermediate: 2,3-dimethoxybenzoyl chloride intermediate: amido alcohol intermediate: 2-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazoline (1) intermediate: 2,2′-Dimethoxy-6-(4″,4″-dimethyloxazolinyl)biphenyl product: 2,2′-Dimethoxy-6-formylbiphenyl Keywords: acylation; annulation, heterocyclic-[5]; coupling; cyclization, condensation; hydrolysis, acetals and ketals; reduction, miscellaneous; replacement reactions, miscellaneous; dichloromethane (methylene chloride); tetrahydrofuran; methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, highly toxic; thionyl chloride, toxic, corrosive; thionyl chloride, toxic, corrosive
Epidemiological characteristics and clinical findings in patients with serologically proven toxocariasis.

Abstract The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Toxocara canis larva-specific antigens was used to confirm a presumptive clinical diagnosis of visceral larva migrans in patients whose serum specimens were submitted to the Center for Disease Control. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with diagnostic ELISA titres (⩾ log2 5) were compared with patients who had less or no detectable antibody. The typical patient with serologically confirmed toxocaral visceral larva migrans was about five years of age and resided in the southern half of the USA. Clinical findings were likely to include leucocytosis, eosinophilia, an increased anti-A or anti-B isohaemagglutinin titre, and an elevated serum IgG level. Pica, as ascertained by a physician questionnaire, was not a consistent finding and both sexes were nearly equally represented.
The Merlin Exercise: Future by Forecast or Future by Invention?

Describes the Merlin Exercise and its use by the authors integrating two models of the future ‐ “forecasted” and “invented” – to educate management in the development of a strategic intent and in implementing such an intent.
Nurse's role in promoting health transitions for adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities

This article examines the impact of cultural factors influencing the youth's transition process and includes recommendations for addressing these needs within the context of nursing practice. Youth-centered transition planning begins with a comprehensive, culturally competent assessment of adolescent and family needs in order to foster youth autonomy and family support during this important stage of development. Nurses who work with youth with developmental disabilities are faced with many questions from youth and families regarding the how, what, when, and where of transition planning, such as "Where do I find an adult health care provider who has the clinical expertise and sensitivity to my disability concerns?" and "Where can I get health insurance coverage when I "age out" of the health insurance program I am currently enrolled in?" The questions youth and families have not only reflect their needs for services and supports, but also represent the cultural context of their experiences. Who is this youth who is fast growing up, soon to become an adult? What has been this young person's experiences as a boy or a girl, a person with a developmental disability, a member of his or her family, and a member of the community? Each youth's experiences have an enormous impact shaping his or her progression through adolescence, and the impact continues with adult development. Nurses can serve as pivotal members of the team assisting these youths with developmental disabilities and their families in confronting the challenges and excitement of successfully transitioning to adulthood.
Opioid sedation does not alter intracranial pressure in head injured patients

This study aimed to examine the effects of sedative doses of morphine, fentanyl and sufentanil on intracranial pressure (ICP) in head-injured patients in whom changes in mean artenal pressure (MAP) were minimized. Fifteen severely head-injured patients (G5C of ≤8) were randomly assigned to receive either fentanyl. sufentanil or morphine, titrating the drug to a maximal 10% decrease in MAP. The patients were subsequently given an infusion of the same opioid. For four hours, ICP MAP and heart rate were recorded. Results: In all groups, there were no increases in ICP. There was a decrease in MAP in the sufentanil group at 10 min (P < 0.05) and 45 min after the initial opioid bolus. These decreases in MAP were not associated with increases in ICP. The study suggests that when opioids are titrated in head-injured patients, worsening intracranial pressure can be avoided.
Effect of learning on line-of-balance scheduling

Abstract An approach to formulate learning rates and include them in line-of-balance (LOB) calculations is proposed in this paper. Learning rates are generated by modifying historical learning rates of typical construction activities and by incorporating the impact of relevant factors such as, number of operations in one unit, activity complexity, and job and management conditions. Fuzzy set theory is used to develop production rules to treat both factual and uncertain information. An S-type membership function is used to interpret the fuzzy data and produce adjustment factors that are in turn used to modify consecutive learning rates, until an adjusted learning rate is obtained. The adjusted learning rate is then used to calculate expected worker-hours and activity durations at each unit of production (e.g., a floor in a high-rise building, a mile of pavement work, etc.). A final LOB diagram is generated using this information. Different pairs of curves represent the start and the finish times of each activity in sets of units that make use of different numbers of crews. Learning reduces project duration and resource requirements. The proposed approach demonstrates the potential for formalizing the inclusion of learning effects into the LOB scheduling of repetitive-unit construction.
Simulation of the loading parameter in organic nonlinear optical materials

The optical properties of organic chromophores, in the class of nonlinear optical molecules, have improved dramatically. These chromophores have large hyperpolarizability and large permanent dipole moments, in excess of 10 D. When these molecules are mixed with a host polymer at high chromophore density and processed using an aligning electric poling field, the resulting material does not have the electro-optic (EO) response promised by the individual molecules. We have used equilibrium statistical mechanics, and Monte Carlo (MC) methods in a lattice-based model, to investigate how the molecular properties translate into the EO response of the material. We compare our MC results with a previously developed analytic theory and find good agreement when certain assumptions about the analytic theory are made. By use of the MC methods to compute order parameters for chromophores at high density on a lattice in the presence of an external uniform poling field, we find that greater order and hence greater EO per...
Correlation Between Mothers Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Levels of Glucose and Insulin in Breast-Milk

Author(s): S. Ahuja, M. Boylan, C. Roman-Shriver, S. Hart, B. Sawyer, J. Spallholz; Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, Nutritional Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Laredo, TX, Human Development & Family Studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, CLINICAL LAB SCIENCE, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
A step towards verification and synthesis from simulink/stateflow models

This paper describes a toolkit for synthesizing hybrid supervisory control systems starting from the popular Simulink/Stateflow modeling environment. The toolkit provides a systematic strategy for translating Simulink/Stateflow models to hybrid automata and a discrete abstraction-based algorithm for synthesizing supervisory controllers.
Cyclic creep and recovery behavior of Nextel™720/alumina ceramic composite at 1200 °C

Abstract The cyclic creep and recovery behavior of an oxide–oxide continuous fiber ceramic composite was investigated at 1200 °C in laboratory air and in steam environments. The composite consists of a porous alumina matrix reinforced with laminated, woven mullite/alumina (Nextel™720) fibers, has no interface between the fiber and matrix, and relies on the porous matrix for flaw tolerance. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of various sustained creep and cyclic creep loading histories on the creep lifetime, creep strain rate, accumulated creep strain as well as on the recovery of creep strain at near zero stress. Cyclic creep-recovery tests were performed for maximum stress levels of 100 and 125 MPa with creep and recovery periods ranging from 3 min to 1 h. In laboratory air, lifetimes produced in cyclic creep and recovery tests significantly exceeded those obtained in sustained creep tests. Introduction of intermittent periods of unloading and recovery at near zero stress into the creep loading history resulted in an appreciable improvement in creep lifetime. Presence of steam considerably degraded the material performance. In steam, lifetimes produced in cyclic creep and recovery tests were close to those obtained in sustained creep tests. Composite microstructure, as well as damage and failure mechanisms were investigated.
Influence of Cholera Toxin (an Adenylate Cyclase Activator) on Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis of Bovine Mammary Tissue In Vitro and in Athymic Nude Mice

Bovine mammary tissue from midpregnant heifers was placed in explant culture to which chlorea toxin (a potent adenylate cyclase activator) was added (0 to 100 ng/ml). Chlorea toxin increased incorporation of thymidine into DNA in the cultures; response was maximum with 10 ng/ml chlorea toxin and approximately 24 h after addition of cholera toxin. In other studies, bovine mammary tissue was transplanted subcutaneously to ovariectomized athymic nude mice. Subsequent treatment of the mice with cholera toxin alone did not affect growth of bovine mammary tissue. However, treatment with estradiol plus progesterone increased DNA synthesis in epithelial cells. In estradiol plus progesterone-treated mice, cholera toxin injections further increased DNA synthesis. In addition, estradiol plus progesterone treatment in vivo (in athymic nude mice) increased DNA synthesis of bovine mammary tissue in response to cholera toxin in vitro. This synergism between cholera toxin and ovarian steroids may have been mediated, at least in part, by estradiol plus progesterone induction of cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase, as the activity of this enzyme was increased by estradiol plus progesterone.
3d iSar Image Reconstruction of a Target With Motion Data Using Adaptive Feature Extraction

In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) image reconstruction with known motion data is studied. In traditional two-dimensional (2D) ISAR imaging, a 2D point scatterer model is adequate to consider the target rotation motion with a fixed rotational axis. However, target motions with a varying rotational axis are sometimes encountered in real situations. Under such cases, the use of a 3D point scatterer model is necessary for 3D ISAR image reconstruction. An adaptive feature extraction algorithm is proposed to reconstruct the 3D image of a target with non-uniformly undersampled radar data over the azimuth and elevation aperture. Simulation results based on actual motion data of air targets demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Prioritized Resource Sharing in WiMax and WiFi Integrated Networks

In order to ensure fair access and efficiency of bandwidth usage in wireless integrated networks, resource allocation algorithms should be well designed. In this paper, we briefly discuss the complete sharing, complete partitioning and Hybrid resource sharing approaches and their shortcomings in WiMax-WiFi integrated networks. To overcome these shortcomings we propose the Prioritized Resource Sharing algorithm for WiMax-WiFi integrated networks. In this algorithm, the channels are prioritized for different traffic classes rather than strict reservation or open access. The prioritized resource sharing algorithm is then extended to multiple integrated networks. Finally, we analyze the proposed algorithm by modeling it using two dimensional continuous time Markov chains. The simulation results indicate that the Prioritized Sharing model achieves the best system utilization compared to other algorithms. It is also observed that due to heavy traffic of one class of users, other class of users are not starved unlike in complete sharing
SCAN-PUF: A low overhead Physically Unclonable Function from scan chain power-up states

Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are structures with many applications, including device authentication, identification, and cryptographic key generation. In this paper we propose a new PUF, called SCAN-PUF, based on scan-chain power-up states. We argue that scan chains have multiple characteristics that make them uniquely suited as a low-cost PUF. We present results from test chips fabricated in a 65nm bulk CMOS process in support of these claims. While approximately 20% of the total population of scan elements are unreliable across temperature variations, we find that simple unanimous selection schemes can result in mean error rates of less than 0.1% for the selected populations across all measurements collected.
Gradient optimization of polarization exponents in ab initio MO calculations on H2SO→HSOH and CH3SH→CH2SH2

Analytical gradients were used to optimize the polarization function exponents in the 6-31G(d) and 6-31G(d, p) basis sets for the reactants, transition structures and products in the reactions H2SO → HSOH and CH3SH → CH2SH2. The optimizedd exponents on the heavy atoms change by ±10% in the course of the reactions and depend on the bonding of the heavy atoms. Thep exponents on the hydrogens change by as much as a factor of 5 and depend on the element to which the hydrogen is bonded and its valency. The effect of exponent optimization on the relative energies is small (±3 kcal/mol). With the 6-31G(d, p) basis set, optimization of the polarization exponents can make some of the bonds significantly more polar, as judged by the Mulliken charges.
Theophylline absorption and gastric emptying after partial gastrectomy in dogs

The pharmacokinetic parameters of theophylline, administered orally as a solution (4 mg/kg body weight), were studied in six dogs before and after two different kinds of gastric surgery in which part of the stomach was removed. The theophylline absorption rate was slightly increased after this antrectomy, whereas other pharmacokinetic parameters, such as area under the concentration time curve (AUC) and the elimination half-life (t1/2), remained unchanged. Gastric emptying was quantified using radionuclide imaging; after antrectomy, it was accelerated for liquids and delayed for solids.
Chemical suppression of fighting in the Siamese fighting fish

Siamese fighting fish will not fight when paired with another male after a 48 h exposure to a 1 mg/cc solution of diethylamine HC1. Suppression of fighting is reversible with duration of suppression related to concentration of diethylamine HC1 in the exposure solution. Loss of aggression is accompanied by vigorous retreat or escape behavior when confronted by an opponent.