cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stricture incidence related to suture material in hypospadias surgery

Abstract Purpose: To report the complication rates after hypospadias surgery, with stratification according to the type of suture used for the urethral anastomosis (rapid/intermediate absorbable v prolonged absorbable.) Material and Methods: During a 7-year period (1986 to 1992), 117 boys aged 5 to 124 months (mean, 14) underwent surgical correction of hypospadias. The urethral anastomoses were performed with chromic sutures before 1987 (n = 15), with polydioxanone (PDS) between 1987 and 1990 (n = 46), and with polyglycolic acid (PgA) after 1990 (n = 56). The patients were separated into two groups: those whose operations were performed before 1987 and after 1990 (using chromic or PgA sutures), and those whose surgery occurred in the intervening 3 years (using PDS). A successful result was defined as good cosmesis without urethral stricture or urethrocutaneous fistula on long-term follow up (mean follow-up period, 15.9 months). Results: Of the cases that had PgA or chromic sutures, 76.1% were corrected in a single operation, as opposed to 50.9% when PDS was used ( P = .002). In the chromic/PgA group, 6.8% had strictures, compared with 23.6% of the PDS group ( P P Conclusion: Sutures with rapid or intermediate absorption rates provide the best results for hypospadias surgery. The extreme delay in in vivo absorption of polydioxanone should preclude its use as an interrupted suture in small-caliber urethral anastomoses.
Experimental study on optimization parameters of a supersonic jet ejector thrust augmentor.

The experimental data were aimed at obtaining the effect of jet mixing, the effective length/diameter of the ejector tube, the entrance length shape factor, the shape loading, and the optimum primary jet location. The total augmented thrust is proportional to the diameter of the ejector. The data show that for a practical design the entrance lip shape and the stream lines around the lip are also important in order to optimize the percentage augmentation.
STUDIES ON INFLUENZAL MENINGITIS I. THE PROBLEMS OF SPECIFIC THERAPY

1. An acute purulent meningitis due to the invasion of the meninges by Pfeiffer's influenza bacillus is not a very uncommon disease ininfants and young children. It has a very high mortality. 2. Complement is entirely absent in the cerebrospinal fluid of these cases, and bactericidal experiments suggest that the injection of a specific antiserum will have but slight lethal effect on the organisms unless complement is injected at the same time. 3. Treatment with a mixture of specific antiserum and complement led in some cases to a definite clinical improvement, coincident with sterilization and clearing of the cerebrospinal fluid. But after some days, the patients relapsed and died. Autopsy showed localized abscesses in the vicinity of the base of the brain, the lesions being definitely walled off from the general subarachnoid space. In one case, the patient recovered. 4. Since the walls of the abscesses apparently present an insuperable mechanical obstacle to the action of the antiserum and complement, the possibility of preventing the formation of abscesses is discussed. Earlier diagnosis and more rapid sterilization are the most obvious measures. Bactericidal experiments indicate that the proportion of antiserum to complement may be an important factor in bringing about a more rapid elimination of the bacilli.
Toward a secure and usable cloud-based password manager for web browsers

Web users are confronted with the daunting challenges of creating, remembering, and using more and more strong passwords than ever before in order to protect their valuable assets on different websites. Password manager, particularly Browser-based Password Manager (BPM), is one of the most popular approaches designed to address these challenges by saving users' passwords and later automatically filling the login forms on behalf of users. Fortunately, all the five most popular Web browsers have provided password managers as a useful built-in feature. In this paper, we uncover the vulnerabilities of existing BPMs and analyze how they can be exploited by attackers to crack users' saved passwords. Moreover, we propose a novel Cloud-based Storage-Free BPM (CSF-BPM) design to achieve a high level of security with the desired confidentiality, integrity, and availability properties. We have implemented a CSF-BPM system into Firefox and evaluated its correctness, performance, and usability. Our evaluation results and analysis demonstrate that CSF-BPM can be efficiently and conveniently used. We believe CSF-BPM is a rational design that can also be integrated into other popular browsers to make the online experience of Web users more secure, convenient, and enjoyable.
Impact of operative indication and surgical complexity on outcomes after thoracic endovascular aortic repair at National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Centers

Introduction Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) devices are increasingly being utilized to treat aortic pathologies outside of the original Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for nonruptured descending thoracic aorta aneurysms (DTAs). The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing TEVAR, elucidating the role of surgical and pathologic variables on morbidity and mortality. Methods National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data were reviewed for all patients undergoing endovascular thoracic aorta repair from 2005 to 2007. The patients' operative indication and surgical complexity were used to divide them into study and control populations. Comorbid profiles were assessed utilizing a modified Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Thirty-day occurrences of mortality and serious adverse events (SAEs) were used as study endpoints. Univariate and multivariate models were created using demographic and clinical variables to assess for significant differences in endpoints ( P ≤ .05). Results A total of 440 patients undergoing TEVAR were identified. When evaluating patients based on operative indication, the ruptured population had increased mortality and SAE rates compared to the nonruptured DTA population (22.6% vs 6.2%; P P P = .02 and 30.8% vs 9.1%; P P = .92 and OR, 1.42; P = .39, respectively); however, brachiocephalic aortic debranching exhibited a deleterious effect on mortality (OR, 8.75; P P = .01). Conclusion The operative indication for a TEVAR procedure was not found to be a predictor of poor patient outcome. Surgical complexity, specifically the need for brachiocephalic aortic debranching and aortoiliac conduit, was shown to influence the occurrence of SAEs in a multivariate model. Comparative data, such as these, illustrate real-world outcomes of patients undergoing TEVAR outside of the original FDA-approved indications. This information is of paramount importance to various stakeholders, including third-party payers, the device industry, regulatory agencies, surgeons, and their patients.
Increased local density of states and electromagnetic well effect by using very thin hyperbolic metamaterial

Hyperbolic material (HM) is proven to dramatically increase the power emitted by a source near its surface or inside it. Moreover, the power emitted by a source is mostly directed into the HM thanks to a very wide spatial wave spectrum that is allowed to propagate, and carry power, inside the HM. These exotic properties of HM gained a great interest for applications such as increased rate of spontaneous emission by dye molecules, or novel and improved absorbers, both at microwave and optic frequencies. Here we show the impact of the thickness of a HM substrate on the power emitted by a source close to its surface in order to explore the principles for decreasing the thickness of HM based designs. We initiate the analysis with vertical and transverse dipoles located at a certain distance from the surface of a homogeneous HM substrate grounded at the bottom. Then the same analysis is extended to a realistic HM design with metal/dielectric multilayers by using transmission line formalism of TE and TM waves (thus taking the heterogeneity of the layered medium into account). The spatial spectrum of the power directed into HM is shown to possess different distributions for HM substrates with different thicknesses; however the amount of the total emitted power and the ratio of power directed towards the HM substrate exhibit little dependence on the thickness of the substrate. This important result proves that very thin HMs are a new promising technology for enabling engineers to design extremely thin absorbers.
Search for lunar periodicity in the bannertail kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis)

Abstract The endogenous activity cycle of the nocturnal bannertail kangaroo rat was investigated. Although bannertail activity is a function of the lunar day as well as the solar day, all ten subjects exhibited free‐running activity periods of solar‐day length; there was no evidence of an endogenous lunar‐day cycle. Animals were provided with a burrow system and a small pseudo‐desert, a laboratory facility in which animal activity data closely resembled measurements taken in the field. Several analytical techniques for quantifying the data were utilized, and one, the mean interval of activity, is recommended to other investigators.
Trends in women's employment in the early 21st century

One of the most striking changes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries is the growing proportion of women in the labor force. Within the United States, the labor force participation of women ha...
Elasto-plasticity of the club sandwich

Abstract The kinematics and dynamics of thin shells are well established. The constitutive equations of Hookean shells are linear in 6 strains and 6 stresses, but the equations of elastoplastic shells are incremental and require additional internal variables, notably stresses. In typical computations, the shell is divided into N layers: With the usual hypotheses, 6 strains and 3 N stresses are required. The storage of 3N stresses poses practical limitations. The ideal sandwich of 2 layers is useful for limit analyses, but inadequate for general purposes. The club sandwich of 4 layers offers a practical alternative: Relative strengths, stiffnesses and positions of the layers are selected to fit the conditions of yielding under actions of membrane and bending stresses. Here, the mechanics of the club sandwich are presented and the behavior is compared with that of the multi-layered shell.
Reading and School Completion: Critical Connections and Matthew Effects

This article argues that reading interventions are a key dropout prevention strategy. A review of the literature connects reading skills and interventions with events such as grade retention, placement in special education, and high school dropout. In general, data indicate that intensive early interventions positively affect students' reading skills, resulting in lower rates of grade retention, reduced incidence of placement in special education, and higher rates of high school completion. Difficulties with reading may interfere with students' motivation and engagement at school and with learning. The article presents an integrated model describing spiraling, or Matthew, effects across reading competence, student engagement and motivation, and eventual high school completion or dropout. Finally, it describes a student engagement intervention, Check & Connect, along with a rationale for combining student engagement and early reading interventions to promote school completion among youth.
Selective radiochemical labeling of types A and B active sites of rat liver monoamine oxidase

Abstract By using clorgyline and deprenyl to block the types A and B active sites of monoamine oxidase, respectively, the remaining site could be selectively labeled radiochemically with [3H]pargyline. Titration of the A and B active sites in rat liver mitochondria indicated that they were present in a ratio of 1:3.3. Subunits containing the labeled A and B catalytic sites could not be separated by SDS-gel electrophoresis, and each had a molecular weight of 60,000 daltons.
Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyl transferase activity in rat brain following transient focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion

The polyamine system is very sensitive to different pathological states of brain and is perturbed after central nervous system (CNS) injury. Spermidine/Spermine N(1)-acetyl transferase (SSAT) is the key enzyme responsible for interconversion of spermine and spermidine to spermidine and putrescine respectively. In the present study, SSAT activity was evaluated in the rat CNS, following transient focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) was occluded for 2 h in male spontaneously hypertensive rats by an intraluminal suture technique. Animals were sacrificed at 3-24 h reperfusion following the MCA occlusion and SSAT activity was assayed in cortex and striatum. Results showed that SSAT activity was significantly increased at 12 h reperfusion in cortex and at 9, 12 and 18 h reperfusion in striatum following ischemia compared to sham or contralateral controls. These results demonstrate that polyamine catabolism in the rat CNS is altered following MCA occlusion. In the in vitro ischemia study, SSAT activity was evaluated in primary cortical neuronal cultures at 6-24 h re-oxygenation intervals following oxygen-glucose deprivation for 1 h, and the results from this group show that the enzyme activity increased by about 62% (P<0.05) at 24 h re-oxygenation. This study suggests that the increased SSAT activity may contribute to the increase in putrescine during the post-ischemic period.
Static analysis of role-based access control in J2EE applications

This work describes a new technique for analysis of Java 2, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications. In such applications, Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) are commonly used to encapsulate the core computations performed on Web servers. Access to EJBs is protected by application servers, according to role-based access control policies that may be created either at development or deployment time. These policies may prohibit some types of users from accessing specific EJB methods.We present a static technique for analyzing J2EE access control policies with respect to security-sensitive fields of EJBs and other server-side objects. Our technique uses points-to analysis to determine which object fields are accessed by which EJB methods, directly or indirectly. Based on this information, J2EE access control policies are analyzed to identify potential inconsistencies that may lead to security holes.
Detection of an atypical teratoid rhabdoid brain tumor gene deletion in circulating blood using next-generation sequencing.

Circulating biomarkers such as somatic chromosome mutations are novel diagnostic tools to detect cancer noninvasively. We describe focal deletions found in a patient with atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, a highly aggressive early childhood pediatric tumor. First, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathology to study the tumor anatomy. Next, we used whole genome sequencing (Next Gen Sequencing) and Bioinformatics interrogation to discover the presence of 3 focal deletions in tumor tissue and 2 of these 3 focal deletions in patient’s blood also. About 20% of the blood DNA sequencing reads matched the tumor DNA reads at the SMARCB1 gene locus. Circulating, tumor-specific DNA aberrations are a promising biomarker for atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor patients. The high percentage of tumor DNA detected in blood indicates that either circulating brain tumor cells lyse in the blood or that contents of brain tumor cells traverse a possibly compromised blood-brain barrier in this patient.
Specifying the Interrelationship Between Exposure to Violence and Parental Monitoring for Younger Versus Older Adolescents: A Five Year Longitudinal Test

Five waves of longitudinal data collected from 349 African American youth living in extreme poverty were used to examine the interrelationship between exposure to violence and parenting during adolescence. Semi-parametric group based modeling was used to identify trajectories of parental monitoring and exposure to violence from T1 to T5. Results from these analyses revealed: (1) a trajectory of declining parental monitoring for 48% of youth; and (2) four distinct trajectories of exposure to violence. Multivariate findings were largely consistent with the ecological-transactional model of community violence. Youth with stable and/or increasing trajectories of exposure to violence were more likely than youth with stable-low exposure to violence to have declining parental monitoring, but additional analyses revealed a similar pattern of findings for younger adolescents (age 9–11 T1), but no evidence of linkages between trajectories of exposure to violence and parental monitoring for older adolescents (age 12–16 T1). The theoretical and policy implications of these findings as well as areas for future research are also discussed.
Stories and Bodies: A Personal Reflection on Alessandro Portelli's The Order Has Been Carried Out

Alessandro Portelli describes the murder of 335 Roman civilians by the Nazis as an "open wound" in the city's memory. Linenthal uses this image to "dig into" the wound, and comment on contested narratives and rituals connected with the bodies of those murdered. Shortly after the massacre, stories began to blame the partisans for the attack and such accusations have become a staple of neo-Fascist Italian thought. Portelli restores integrity to historical narrative by his com- pelling oral histories of the event and his careful reading of the enduring cultural aftermath of the massacre. Narrative is grounded in ritual, and the exhumation and burial of bodies the Germans hoped to consign to oblivion restored these bodies as public deaths to be mourned and recalled, unlike other violent deaths that register either as private deaths, or public deaths that do not count.
Expression and characterization of the terminal heme synthetic enzymes from the hyperthermophile Aquifex aeolicus.

The terminal two heme biosynthetic pathway enzymes, protoporphyrinogen oxidase and ferrochelatase, of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus have been expressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity, and biochemically characterized. Ferrochelatase and protoporphyrinogen oxidase of this organism are both monomeric, as was found for the corresponding enzymes of Bacillus subtilis. However, unlike the B. subtilis proteins, both A. aeolicus enzymes are membrane-associated. Both proteins have temperature optima over 60°C. This is the first demonstration of functional heme biosynthetic enzymes in an extreme thermophilic bacterium.
Anomaly Recovery and the Mars Exploration Rovers

The premise of the design of operations for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) is that the vehicles will drive each day. As a result, they will encounter some aspect of the terrain environment that cannot be anticipated or otherwise accommodated by the sequences linked onboard that day. The operations team then must correct the problem by planning then commanding the execution of a different drive the next day. Often other aspects of the operation on the surface of Mars: environmental changes, component degradation, errors in sequence design or execution, etc., lead to anomalies which must be addressed before normal operations can resume. The operational design that makes it possible to recover from a driving error each day also reduces the time needed to recover from anomalies. As an example of the efficiency achieved, less than 5% (about 30 sols out of 700 sols of operations) of the time on the surface has been devoted to recovery from anomalies for each vehicle. In this paper the major anomalies experienced by the MER rovers will be recounted and the streamlined approaches to addressing these problems described. The operational flexibility developed for these missions is also a function of the system design that anticipated a number of likely faults and conditions arising from uncertainty in sequence execution and environmental change. This design will be described as well as the considerations in operation that motivated this design. These considerations will likely be present in any future surface mission.
National Strategies for Technological Innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications of the fragmented, multidisciplinary technological innovation literature for possible national strate gies for innovation. After a review and synthesis of theories and research on innovation, some highly generalized strategies for promoting innovation are outlined for nations at various levels of technological development. In a final section some consideration is given to the "systemic costs" of innovation, particularly the possibility that high rates of innovation may not be sustainable and that innovation dependency may prove to be an "excelsior trap" with dire economic consequences.
Automated assessment of the optic nerve head on stereo disc photographs.

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness worldwide, characterized by progressive damage of the optic nerve that may result in increasing visual field (VF) loss and eventual irreversible blindness.1,2 Although ocular imaging instruments provide clinically useful quantitative assessment for glaucoma diagnosis and management, it is still the clinical standard to perform subjective optic disc assessment using ophthalmoscopy and disc photographs. Stereo disc photography has been used to document structural abnormalities and longitudinal changes in glaucomatous eyes for decades. It is the most common widely used method for optic nerve head (ONH) imaging for analysis and diagnosis. Disc photographs are highly reproducible and record a natural color image of the retina.2 One of the limitations of stereo disc photography, however, is that there is no fully automated ONH quantification method available. Conventional ONH evaluation includes estimation of the ONH dimensions by observing the image pair with a stereo viewer. Alternatively, computerized planimetry lets clinicians manually label the disc and cup margins and consequently generate several disc parameters.3,4 This procedure is time consuming, labor intensive, and prone to high intra- and interobserver variability.4,5 In several studies, investigators used computerized methods for analyzing ONH structures, but these methods were all based on a single automated analysis technique, such as three-dimensional (3-D) ONH modeling6–8 or disc margin detection,9–16 and none of the studies integrated multiple techniques. Meanwhile, numerous techniques to identify the cup within 3-D topographic data have been proposed.17–21 Previous studies have defined the top of the cup as 150 μm, 120 μm, one half, and one third of the distance posterior to the disc margin; all defined the bottom of the cup as the deepest point.17–21 No gold standard criterion for the location of the anterior surface of the cup exists. We developed a fully automated system to perform ONH analysis from stereoscopic photographs using multiple-analysis methods that enabled the segmentation of all pixels in the image into disc, cup, and background regions based on the 3-D reconstructed model. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the glaucoma discriminating ability of the automated segmentation software of stereoscopic ONH photographs in comparison with human expert assessment.
Cercospora leafspot of Red Bud.

One of the most conspicuous diseases of red bud, Cercis canadensis L., within the area comprising the Duke Forest, is a leaf spot whose cause is commonly designated Cercospora cercidicola Ellis. It appears from the records of collections that this fungus is coextensive in range throughout the eastern United States with that of its host. The writer's interest in this disease has centered, for several years, in the developmental morphology of the pathogen. It has been found that the fungus possesses not only a conidial stage but also an ascigerous stage. The former may be found on living leaves throughout the entire period from April to October, and the latter matures in March on decaying leaves, beginning its development, however, during the preceding autumn, with the formation of spermatia and carpogonia.
Survival after acute ligation of the anterior descending coronary artery in the dog.

Abstract A simple and rapid procedure for producing coronary occlusion in the dog is described. Of 88 dogs with acute anterior descending coronary artery ligation 35 (40%) survived over 24 hours, while mortality rate for the two-week period following ligation was 72%; 29 animals (33%) died, 28 in ventricular fibrillation, within forty minutes after the surgical procedure. Administration of heparin prior to ligation did not significantly influence immediate or long-term survival.
Effect of the Cytoplasmic Domain of the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Envelope Protein on Incorporation of Heterologous Envelope Proteins and Sensitivity to Neutralization

In addition to the viral envelope (Env) proteins, host cell-derived proteins have been reported to be present in human immunodeficiency virus and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) envelopes, and it has been postulated that they may play a role in infection. We investigated whether the incorporation of host cell proteins is affected by the structure and level of incorporation of viral Env proteins. To compare the cellular components incorporated into SIV particles and how this is influenced by the structure of the cytoplasmic domain, we compared SIV virions with full-length and truncated Env proteins. The levels of HLA-I and HLA-II molecules were found to be significantly (15- to 25-fold) higher in virions with full-length Env than in those with a truncated Env. Virions with a truncated Env were also found to be less susceptible to neutralization by specific antibodies against HLA-I or HLA-II proteins. We also compared the level of incorporation into SIV virions of a coexpressed heterologous viral glycoprotein, the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein. We found that SIV infection of cells expressing influenza virus HA resulted in the production of phenotypically mixed SIV virions containing influenza virus HA as well as SIV envelope proteins. The HA proteins were more effectively incorporated into virions with full-length Env than in virions with truncated Env. The phenotypically mixed particles with full-length Env, containing higher levels of HA, were sensitive to neutralization with anti-HA antibody, whereas virions with truncated Env proteins and containing lower levels of HA were more resistant to neutralization by anti-HA antibody. In contrast, SIV virions with truncated Env proteins were found to be highly sensitive to neutralization by antisera to SIV, whereas virions with full-length Env proteins were relatively resistant to neutralization. These results indicate that the cytoplasmic domain of SIV Env affects the incorporation of cellular as well as heterologous viral membrane proteins into the SIV envelope and may be an important determinant of the sensitivity of the virus to neutralizing antibodies.
Oligomers in the evolution of automotive clearcoats: mechanical performance testing as a function of exposure

Automotive coatings must provide excellent resistance to chemical and mechanical damage in order to maintain a vehicle's long-term appearance and the owner's long-term satisfaction. The Automotive Industry and coating suppliers are partners in design and delivery of future coatings capable of meeting customer demanded performance. As a result of this partnership, new coating materials are being explored based on oligomer chemistry that show promise in providing improvements in both physical and chemical properties/performance and the long-term maintenance of those properties. Oligomeric systems are also useful in design of low VOC coatings. These supersolids coatings will be capable of meeting current and future air quality standards. In this paper measurement techniques for monitoring chemical and mechanical property changes, including cure rate, crosslinking, tensile properties, rheology and scratch and mar performance, were explored. Laboratory mar tests, wet and dry rub tests, which have been validated by commercial experience, are currently used as the basis for comparison of a coating's mechanical performance. QUV accelerated weathering was combined with micro-scratch experiments, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, image analysis and IR surface characterization techniques to provide correlation's between chemical composition and mechanical performance, and an indication of service life.
Observation of Multihump Multimode Solitons

We present the first experimental observation of multihump multimode solitons in nature. In a broader perspective, this is the first observation of a multihumped multimode self-trapped wave packet propagating in a dispersive nonlinear medium. Double- and triple-humped spatial profiles are found by incoherent population of two modes of the beams' self-induced waveguide (self-induced potential well).
Computer simulation studies of the speckle correlations of light scattered from a random array of dielectric spheres

The speckle correlations in the light scattered from a volume disordered dielectric medium consisting of a random array of dielectric spheres are studied using computer simulation techniques. The random medium is formed by placing dielectric spheres of radius R and dielectric constant (epsilon) randomly on the vertices of a simple cubic lattice, so that a fixed fraction (rho) of the vertices is occupied by the spheres. The region outside the spheres is vacuum, and the radius of the spheres is assumed to be much smaller than the lattice constant of the cubic lattice. For simplicity the electromagnetic fields are treated in a scalar wave approximation. The scalar wave field equations of this system are integrated numerically to determine the scattered fields, and these fields are used to calculate the speckle correlation function defined by C(vector q, vector kvector q', vector k') equals , where I(vector qvector k) is proportional to the differential scattering coefficient for the elastic scattering of light of wavevector vector k into light of wavevector vector q. In implementing our computer simulation we have considered a 9 X 9 X 9 cubic lattice that is occupied by 178 dielectric spheres of dielectric constant (epsilon) equals 9. The lattice constant a of the cubic lattice was taken to satisfy a/(lambda) equals 0.7 where (lambda) is the wavelength of the light in vacuum, and the radius of the dielectric spheres was taken such that R equals 0.0159 (lambda) . Results are presented for C(vector q, vector kvector q', vector k') in the approximation C equals C(1) plus C(10) plus C(1.5), where C(1), C(10) and C(1.5) are terms arising from three distinct scattering processes. The contribution C(1), which contains the memory and time-reversed memory effect terms, has been studied before, and is proportional to (delta) (vector q minus vector k minus vector q' plus vector k'). C(10) is a new term (of the same order of magnitude as C(1)) in the scattering of light from volume disorder, that is found to be proportional to (delta) (vector q minus vector k plus vector q' minus vector k'). C(1.5) is a new term in the scattering of light from volume disorder that exhibits an unrestricted dependence on vector q, vector k, vector q', vector k' and a series of interesting intensity peaks related to the resonant scattering of light by the volume disorder. The contributions C(10) and C(1.5) were considered in the earlier study of the speckle correlation function for the scattering of light from randomly rough surfaces, but have only recently been considered in the scattering of light from volume disorder.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Note on the Application of the Workers’ Compensation System to Agriculture

State workers' compensation systems provide a form of insurance coverage for workers injured in the course of employment and may provide incentives to employers to protect their workers from injury. Agricultural workers are covered in varying degrees by workers' compensation laws in about three-quarters of the states. An example from Massachusetts illustrates the effects of design of a workers' compensation system on farmers' costs of participation and incentives to protect farmworkers from safety hazards. ©1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Characterization of the Activities of the CpeY, CpeZ, and CpeS Bilin Lyases in Phycoerythrin Biosynthesis in Fremyella diplosiphon Strain UTEX 481

When grown in green light, Fremyella diplosiphon strain UTEX 481 produces the red-colored protein phycoerythrin (PE) to maximize photosynthetic light harvesting. PE is composed of two subunits, CpeA and CpeB, which carry two and three phycoerythrobilin (PEB) chromophores, respectively, that are attached to specific Cys residues via thioether linkages. Specific bilin lyases are hypothesized to catalyze each PEB ligation. Using a heterologous, coexpression system in Escherichia coli, the PEB ligation activities of putative lyase subunits CpeY, CpeZ, and CpeS were tested on the CpeA and CpeB subunits from F. diplosiphon. Purified His6-tagged CpeA, obtained by coexpressing cpeA, cpeYZ, and the genes for PEB synthesis, had absorbance and fluorescence emission maxima at 566 and 574 nm, respectively. CpeY alone, but not CpeZ, could ligate PEB to CpeA, but the yield of CpeA-PEB was lower than achieved with CpeY and CpeZ together. Studies with site-specific variants of CpeA(C82S and C139S), together with mass spectrometric analysis of trypsin-digested CpeA-PEB, revealed that CpeY/CpeZ attached PEB at Cys82 of CpeA. The CpeS bilin lyase ligated PEB at both Cys82 and Cys139 of CpeA but very inefficiently; the yield of PEB ligated at Cys82 was much lower than observed with CpeY or CpeY/CpeZ. However, CpeS efficiently attached PEB to Cys80 of CpeB but neither CpeY, CpeZ, nor CpeY/CpeZ could ligate PEB to CpeB.
Estimating bounds on the economy-wide effects of the CEF policy scenarios

Abstract The Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future study relied primarily on “bottom-up” technology-based methods to estimate costs associated with its scenarios. These methods, however, do not allow for calculation of economy-wide or general equilibrium effects of the policies considered. We propose and apply a means of combining the bottom-up estimates with estimates of the costs associated with a carbon charge obtained from computable general equilibrium models. Our approach is based on the concept of production inefficiency: the economy lies within its production frontier with respect to the provision of energy services. The CEF technology policies are interpreted as moving the economy toward its frontier as well as moving the frontier outward, while the carbon charge induces a substitution effect along the frontier. This perspective allows a synthesis of the two sets of calculations.
Growth failure, somatomedin and growth hormone levels in juvenile diabetes mellitus--a pilot study.

Summary: Growth hormone (hGH) responsiveness to exercise and Somatomedin C (SmC) activity were measured in ten children with insulin-deficient diabetes mellitus. Four of the ten children showed a significant degree of growth retardation. Normal SmC activity was found in association with elevated hGH levels. The hypothesis that growth-retarded diabetics have a failure of Sm production despite high hGH levels (analogous to malnutrition and Laron dwarfism) was not substantiated by this study. Chronic deficiency of insulin, itself a somatomedin, may play a major role in diabetic growth failure.
Infrared study of CO2 adsorption on SiO2

Abstract The adsorption of CO 2 on SiO 2 was studied by means of infrared spectroscopy. The desorption of CO 2 is accounted for by the assumption of two kinds of adsorbed species of CO 2 on SiO 2 . By adsorption measurements after modification of the surface OH groups on SiO 2 by heat treatments, it was deduced that these two adsorbed CO 2 species are related to the isolated surface OH groups (which have an absorption band at 3750 cm −1 ) and the bonded OH groups (which have a broad band centered at 3550 cm −1 ), respectively. The isosteric heats of adsorption and the activation energies for desorption were calculated for both CO 2 adsorbed species. They are 5.0 and 5.2 kcal/mol, respectively, for CO 2 adsorbed on isolated OH groups, and 5.1 and 5.0 kcal/mol for bonded OH groups. The changes in the standard entropies of adsorption are also discussed in relation to the structure of CO 2 hydrogen-bonded to the OH groups; the CO 2 adsorbed on the bonded OH groups has a higher entropy than that adsorbed on the isolated OH groups.
Bringing down the boundaries: creating an environment that brings out the much needed internal motivation of support personnel

In the realm of computer support services there is a difficult challenge to get personnel motivated. The reality is you can always utilize external motivators but internal motivation can not be forced and this is the motivation that makes an employee excel. An environment must be created that removes boundaries and allows this internal motivation to thrive. The paper discusses what was done and is currently happening at Rollins College to create this environment. It includes some successes and failures that have occurred along the way. Since motivation is a continual effort, we will also discuss what the future entails, and how to keep the process moving forward.
Programming for learning in mathematics and science

This paper presents a learning-research based argument for the integration of computer programming into the science and mathematics curricula in pre-college education as well as college. Students who generate solutions to science and mathematics problems develop a procedural understanding of the fundamental theories of these disciplines. Students should be taught to use programming languages for these solutions for the same reasons they are taught the universal tools of arithmetic and algebra, and because only a computer provides the means to describe solutions in explicit, correct, and executable form. Programming should be integrated into all mathematics and science teaching from the earliest years. In precollege education, programming should be taught over a period of eight to ten years, rather than as a 6-12 week separate topic, and should be matched to the level of complexity of the science and mathematics content.
The use of thermal capsulorrhaphy in the treatment of multidirectional instability

The purpose of this study is to report on our experience with thermal capsulorrhaphy in the treatment of multidirectional instability of the shoulder. Thirty-three consecutive patients (33 shoulders) with multidirectional instability were treated with arthroscopic thermal capsulorrhaphy. Twelve patients had a history of traumatic dislocation. Three patients had been previously treated with open inferior capsular shift procedures. At a mean follow-up of 36 months (range, 24-40 months), results were available for 30 patients. On the basis of the UCLA rating scale, out of a possible 35 points, the mean preoperative score was 16.7 points and postoperatively it was 30.1 points, with 3 excellent, 20 good, and 7 poor results. Twenty-three patients (76%) were returned to full activity. In our experience the majority of patients with multidirectional instability were able to return to their previous occupations in the armed forces following thermal capsulorrhaphy. More information further defining the biomechanical pathology of capsular laxity and the specific role of electrothermal shrinkage in treating shoulder instability is needed.
Stability and dynamics of simple electronic neural networks with added inertia

Abstract We examine systems of one and two nonlinear threshold elements, or neurons, of the kind used in electronic neural networks. When the neuron couplings are of an inertial nature it is found that the dynamics can be complex, in contrast to the simpler behavior displayed when they are of the standard resistor-capacitor variety. For various values of the neuron gain and the quality factor of the couplings we find ringing about the stationary points, instability and spontaneous oscillation, intertwined basins of attraction, and chaotic response to a harmonic drive. Furthermore, the collective transient response of a network of multiple neurons may be underdamped even when the neurons or connections are overdamped. These results imply that care should be exercised when adding inertia to neural couplings to enhance performance of optimizing networks.
Substance use disorders increase the odds of subsequent mood disorders

Abstract Background There is a well-known association between mood disorders and substance use disorders (SUD), but little research has been conducted on SUDs as risk factors for the development of subsequent mood disorders. Methods We analyzed data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication study. Diagnoses were determined using DSM-IV criteria. Odds ratios (aORs) of subsequently developing mood disorders were adjusted for age, sex and race/ethnicity. Results Data from 5217 individuals were included (6.6% male; mean age 45.3 years; 72.6% White, 11.2% Black, 12.5% Hispanic and 3.7% other). Subsequent mood disorders developed in 26.4% of individuals with primary adolescent-onset SUD (12–17 years), 21.7% of those with SUD onset at 18–25 years, and 14.0% of those with SUD onset between the ages of 26 and 34 years. The mean lagtime between SUD onset and development of a mood disorder was about 11 years. Controlling for demographic variables, the aORs of developing a mood disorder in these three age groups were 2.44, 3.65, and 3.25. Substance dependence was associated with higher odds of mood disorders than was abuse. Among the specific mood disorders, the increased odds of developing bipolar disorder were particularly high among individuals with drug dependence. Conclusions Individuals with adolescent and young adult-onset SUD had increased odds of developing a secondary mood disorder. This indicates that adolescents and young adults with SUD should be closely monitored for both positive and negative mood symptoms. SUD treatment and aftercare offer opportunities for the early identification of secondary mood disorders.
Effects of diminished and conflicting sensory information on balance in patients with cerebellar deficits

We studied the effects of altered sensory information on standing balance in 25 patients with cortical cerebellar atrophy (CCA), nine patients with olivoponto-cerebellar atrophy (OPCA), and 10 normal subjects. The total sway path and its components, the anteroposterior (AP) sway path and the lateral sway path, were measured under six conditions: (1) standing on a fixed platform with the eyes open and visual surroundings fixed, (2) standing on a fixed platform with the eyes closed, (3) standing on a fixed platform with the eyes open and visual surroundings AP sway referenced, (4) standing on an AP sway-referenced platform with the eyes open and visual surroundings fixed, (5) standing on an AP sway-referenced platform with the eyes closed, and (6) standing on an AP sway-referenced platform with the eyes open and visual surroundings AP sway referenced. Patients swayed more than normal subjects during normal stance (condition 1), when the visual information was absent (condition 2) or distorted (condition 3), and when the proprioceptive information from the ankles was distorted (condition 4). Patients swayed much more than normal, and most fell, when two sensory modalities were affected under condition 5 (proprioceptive information distorted and visual information absent) and condition 6 (both proprioceptive information and visual information distorted). When the patients' sway was normalized to that of the first condition, however, only their lateral sway was greater than the sway in normal subjects. Unlike in normal subjects, the patients' lateral sway varied with the AP sway to approximately the same degree in each condition for conditions 1-5. Clinical ratings of gait and balance were highly correlated with the sway measures. Quantitative testing of standing balance with altered sensory information has better sensitivity than normal stance testing.
Including data from early deaths in the analysis of cancer chemoprevention experiments

Abstract This article addresses the very important problem of proper analysis of cancer chemoprevention experiments. In the experiments we consider, the number of observed tumors per animal and their times to detection are available for analysis. Very often however, animals die prior to termination of a study. These animals are often discounted from subsequent analysis, which wastes resources and may bias conclusions. There is also confounding of the number of induced tumors and their times to detection. The statistical procedures described in this paper modify an existing technique, which explicitly acknowledges the confounding inherent in these experiments, in order to provide a valid method for including early deaths in the analysis
Random search techniques for optimization problems

The attributes of flexibility and efficiency attainable with random search techniques are discussed as well as a scope of application ranging from uses involving high speed general purpose computers to extremely simple adaptive devices.
Application of a total Lagrangian corotational finite element scheme to inflation of a tire

Abstract The aircraft tire may be treated as a composite shell, owing to its nylon-corded rubber ply construction. However, its construction is complex: the ply orientation angles, numbers of plys, ply thicknesses, and even the ply moduli change in the meridional direction (the direction perpendicular to the “rolling” direction). Moreover, the moduli of the materials used in construction span several orders of magnitude (isotropic rubber tread, nylon-corded rubber plys, steel bead wires). These features present a formidable challenge to the use of two-dimensional finite element codes when representing the behavior in individual plys is desired. In the current work, quasi-three-dimensional behavior of the tire, including transverse shear warping and thickness stretching, is generated through the finite element technique. The technique is based on the Jaumann stress measures, using a local and layer-wise displacement field to describe the behavior of the shell away from the reference surface. In contrast to stress-resultant models, this technique allows estimation of stresses and strains in individual plys, including interlaminar shear and peeling stresses.
A statistical analysis of the annual pattern in births in the USA, 1967 to 1976

Abstract The annual pattern of white births in the United States was analyzed for the years 1967 thru 1976. Monthly means for the ten‐year period were obtained individually for each state, and four different temporal patterns were found. The four patterns were found in the “Northwest”; (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Colorado), “Northeast”; (New York and the New England states, gulf (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas), and the “middle”; states. Four mid‐northern states (South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) seemed on visual inspection to differ, but no statistical difference was detected when tested against the “Northeast”; therefore, these four states were grouped tentatively with the Northeast. A step‐wise regression analysis of the total USA births for the years 1967 thru 1976 provided the familiar bimodal pattern of previous analyses. Confidence intervals for the regression coefficients of the annual sine curve were obtained and the discrepancies with the d...