cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Annual Incidence of Knee Symptoms and Four Knee Osteoarthritis Outcomes in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

Objective To estimate annual incidence rates (IRs) of knee symptoms and 4 knee osteoarthritis (OA) outcomes (radiographic, symptomatic, severe radiographic, and severe symptomatic), overall and stratified by sociodemographic characteristics and knee OA risk factors. Methods We analyzed baseline (1991–1997) and first followup (1999–2003) data (n = 1,518) from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Participants were African American and white adults, ages ≥45 years, living in Johnston County, North Carolina, US. Knee symptoms were pain, aching, or stiffness on most days in a knee. Radiographic OA was Kellgren/Lawrence grade ≤2 (severe radiographic ≥3) in at least 1 knee. Symptomatic OA was defined as symptoms in a radiographically affected knee; severe symptomatic OA was defined as severe symptoms and severe radiographic OA. Results The median followup time was 5.5 years. Average annual IRs were 6% for symptoms, 3% for radiographic OA, 2% for symptomatic OA, 2% for severe radiographic OA, and 0.8% for severe symptomatic OA. Across outcomes, IRs were highest among those with the following baseline characteristics: age ≥75 years, obese, a history of knee injury, or an annual household income ≤$15,000. Conclusion The annual onset of knee symptoms and 4 OA outcomes in Johnston County was high. This may preview the future of knee OA in the US and underscores the urgency of clinical and public health collaborations that reduce risk factors for, and manage the impact of, these outcomes. Inexpensive, convenient, and proven strategies (e.g., physical activity, self-management education courses) complement clinical care and can reduce pain and improve quality of life for people with arthritis.
Does Auditor Compensation Lower Market Liquidity

Previous studies have focused on accounting measures, such as earnings management and discretionary accruals, in evaluating the effects of auditor compensation on disclosure quality. In contrast, we investigate the impact of fees paid for audit and non-audit services on a market-based measure of disclosure quality and stock market liquidity. Based on a large sample of NYSE-traded S&P 1500 stocks, we find only weak evidence to support the argument that auditor compensation lowers disclosure quality and market liquidity. This finding is robust to alternative measures of bid-ask spreads and asymmetric information costs of trading. We do find, however, some evidence to suggest that corporate governance characteristics play a role in the relationship between auditor compensation and quoted liquidity. Our findings underscore the need to revisit the rationale behind restrictions on non-audit services imposed recently by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Invited talk: mitigating the effects of internet timing faults across embedded network gateways

Traditional embedded systems such as automobiles and industrial controls are increasingly being connected to enterprise computing facilities and the Internet. The usual approach to making such a connection is to install a gateway node which translates from Internet protocols to embedded field bus network protocols. Such connections raise obvious security concerns, because the gateway must guard against attacks on the embedded devices it serves. For our purposes, we’ll assume that typical enterprise and Internet vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, have already been taken care of. (Securing devices against traditional attacks is no small matter, but we are interested in uniquely embedded issues.) Beyond normal gateway functions, an Internet to embedded gateway must also prevent timing faults and timing attacks from crossing over the gateway to affect the operation of attached embedded systems. An example of timing fault propagation would be severe clumping of messages on the Internet side so that many messages arrive at the gateway all at once, disrupting embedded system operation. While a queue can reduce the loss of incoming data and mitigate network overload, it cannot necessarily protect against timing-related faults on the embedded side of the gateway. We report simulation results for several mechanisms to mitigate the effects of Internet message timing variations (whether due to faults or malicious attacks) on the performance of networked embedded systems using real-time data. Problems are caused primarily by excessive data delivery delay rather than messages being dropped from arriving clumps. This means that putting a queue in the gateway to manage arriving data clumps is typically worse than using no mitigation mechanism at all. Using a predictive filter seems intuitively better than using a queue, but finding a good generalized predictive filter is also quite difficult. We believe that managing data streams from the Internet to embedded systems will require careful attention to the nature and time constants of data flowing through the gateway. Moreover, it seems likely that each distinct data stream will need a different set of data management mechanisms and policies at the gateway. In this case, one size does not fit all, making the design of a robust gateway a difficult problem that will require careful modeling of data value behavior for every gateway built.
Interstrain Competition between Representatives of Indigenous Serotypes of Rhizobium trifolii.

The symbiotic characteristics of Rhizobium trifolii strains 1-01 and 2-01 were evaluated both individually and in various combinations on two cultivars (Mt. Barker and Woogenellup) of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.). Nodules were observed on day 8 independent of cultivar or strain. Cultivar differences were measured in nodulating efficiency by 1-01 since 54% of the primary nodules were formed on cv. Mt. Barker and only 15% were formed on cv. Woogenellup in the zone above, or 1 cm below, the root tip location at the time of inoculation. The percentage of nodules formed in this zone by 2-01 was similar on both cultivars (31 to 32%). When mixtures of strains 1-01 and 2-01 (230:1 and 1:20) were used to inoculate plants, >90% of the nodules on both cultivars were occupied by the more abundant strain in the inoculum regardless of sampling date (4 or 8 weeks). In contrast, large percentages of nodules on 4-week-old plants of both cultivars exposed to a 5:1 inoculum mixture were doubly occupied (64 and 74%). By week 8 these values had decreased significantly (P ≤ 0.01) and were accompanied by large increases in the percentage of nodules occupied by either strain 1-01 alone (1 to 65%) on cv. Mt. Barker or 2-01 alone (4 to 49%) on cv. Woogenellup. The superior (cv. Mt. Barker) and inferior (cv. Woogenellup) symbiotic performance of plants inoculated with the 5:1 mixture correlated more closely with the 8-week than the 4-week nodule occupancy data. Primary nodule occupancy by 1-01 and 2-01 was significantly influenced by changes in the inoculum ratios of 1-01/2-01 from 5.7:1 to 0.67:1 on cv. Mt. Barker and from 1.9:1 to 0.67:1 on cv. Woogenellup. Despite evidence for extensive proliferation of the inoculant strains on the rhizoplanes, no evidence was obtained for either interstrain antagonism or selective proliferation as a valid reason to explain the outcome of primary nodulation.
Adding control integration to PCTE

The PCTE interfaces provide data-integration services. In a good Software Engineering Environment (SEE), however, more is needed: control integration to automatically start tools and share services. We report on our intermediate practical experience of adding control integration to PCTE. More precisely, we show how Broadcast Message Services can be layered on the PCTE platform thus forming a SEE framework that spans the tool integration dimensions.
Non-Classical Problems in the Theory of Elastic Stability: Preface: Why Still Another Book on Stability?

The preface is the most important part of the book. Even reviewers read a preface. Philip Guedalla There are at present numerous books available on the theory of stability and its applications to structures. One author even remarked sarcastically that if they were put in a single bookcase, it would buckle under their weight. We do not complain that “…of the making of many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12), rather we ask a natural question: Is there a legitimate place for a new book in this field? The answer to this question is affirmative, if a book has its unique, distinct characteristics. We have chosen to deal with non-classical problems. To the best of our knowledge, none of the subjects, touched upon in this monograph, have been discussed exclusively in the existing books on buckling analysis. Thus we feel that this book will not be just another newbook on buckling. Indeed, most existing books may be classified as belonging to one of the following two categories: textbooks which often look very much alike, maybe not without reason, since the subject is the same and monographs which have an encyclopedic nature, trying to comprise an uncomprisable to cover all or nearly all pertinent topics. This latter task of listing all the results (even only those of major importance) appears to be impossible indeed. The purpose of this book is to present two competing theories, which incorporate ever-present uncertainty in the stability applications of the real world.
Isuzu's new 12. 0L micro-computer controlled turbocharged diesel engine

Isuzu Motors Limited introduced in the Japanese market a new micro-computer controlled turbocharged 6RA1TC diesel engine which powers new Isuzu heavy-duty trucks in 1983. This engine has successfully achieved both fuel economy and vehicle performance. This was realized by the combination of the newly developed micro-computer controlled fuel injection system and turbocharged air-to-air intercooled four valve low friction diesel engine. The purpose of the computer control system is flexible and precise control of fuel flow rate and fuel injection timing. This provides maximum engine performance and driveability, best fuel economy combined with the gearing of the vehicle, and easy operation for drivers. Additionally, this engine offers the following features: Good cold startability; Constant speed Cruise Control; Automatic schedule idling speed during warm-up; Stable low speed idling; Light and quick throttle response; Monitoring display for best fuel economy operation; Monitor display for engine diagnosis.
Information extraction from Wikipedia using pattern learning

In this paper we present solutions for the crucial task of extracting structured information from massive free-text resources, such as Wikipedia, for the sake of semantic databases serving upcoming Semantic Web technologies. We demonstrate both a verb frame-based approach using deep natural language processing techniques with extraction patterns developed by human knowledge experts and machine learning methods using shallow linguistic processing. We also propose a method for learning verb frame-based extraction patterns automatically from labeled data. We show that labeled training data can be produced with only minimal human effort by utilizing existing semantic resources and the special characteristics of Wikipedia. Custom solutions for named entity recognition are also possible in this scenario. We present evaluation and comparison of the different approaches for several different relations.
Conduction Along the Ventral Nerve Cord of a Hemichordate Worm

1. Compound and all-or-none pulses have been recorded from the ventral nerve cord of a hemichordate worm. 2. Compound pulses are composed of at least four smaller pulses, suggesting that four conduction pathways may be present in the cord. 3. Conduction velocities in the anterior ventral cord are as high as 1.1 m/s but fall to about half this value in the posterior cord. In both parts of the cord the passage of the first pulse facilitates the passage of the second so that conduction velocities are increased by 10 to 20%. 4. Paired or multiple stimuli produce repetitive firing and facilitation of size and number of pulses in the cord. 5. Although strong or repeated shocks evoke local, graded muscle potentials, no correlation has been found between the size of these potentials and the number of pulses in the cord. 6. Integration occurs in the hepatic region of the cord. It is the most labile to through-conduction, output from this region does not have a one-to-one relation to input, and pulses originating in the posterior cord and travelling toward the collar are usually blocked in this area.
Synthesis of oxa-bicyclic ring systems via a tandem Rh(II) catalyzed cyclization-cycloaddition sequence

Abstract A new annulation sequence leading to oxabicyclic ring systems is effected by treating o-alkynyl substituted α-diazoacetophenones containing tethered carbonyl groups with Rh(II) carboxylates in the presence of CC π-bonds.
Depth of α-Synuclein in a Bilayer Determined by Fluorescence, Neutron Reflectometry, and Computation

α-Synuclein (α-syn) membrane interactions are implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Fluorescence and neutron reflectometry (NR) measurements reveal that α-syn penetrates ∼9–14 A into the outer leaflet of the bilayer, with a substantial portion of the membrane-bound polypeptide extending into the aqueous solvent. For the first time, to our knowledge, we used NR to obtain direct quantitative evidence of α-syn-induced membrane thinning. To examine the effect of specific residues on membrane penetration depths, we used a series of W4-containing N-terminal peptides. We identified that the first 15 residues (P15) nearly recapitulate the features of the full-length protein (i.e., partition constants, molecular mobility, and insertion of the W4 side chain into the bilayer), and found that as few as the first four N-terminal residues are sufficient for vesicle binding. Although at least one imperfect amphipathic repeat sequence (KAKEGV) is required for α-helical formation, secondary structural formation has little effect on membrane affinity. To develop an N-terminal α-syn model for bilayer interactions, we performed molecular-dynamics simulations of the P15 peptide submerged in a bilayer. The simulation results are highly consistent with experimental data indicating a broad low-energy region (8.5–14.5 A) for W4 insertion.
Class-Specific Color Camera Calibration with Application to Object Recognition

Color-based object recognition is typically concerned with building statistical descriptions from pixels that correspond to an object class and then using these models to detect pixels that belong to previously seen objects. Specific instances of color-based classification occur in a number of computer vision problems including background modeling, image-based retrieval, and multi-view object recognition and tracking. Color-based models are dependent on the intrinsic parameters of the camera(s) used to acquire them. Rather than view this as a problem, we propose to utilize this relationship to control (to a degree) how color models are acquired by modifying camera intrinsics. In particular, we introduce an algorithm that searches for the best set of camera settings that will facilitate class separability for a given set of colored objects. The method searches the space of color settings including white balance, hue and saturation in order to maximize classification accuracy of example objects in the camera's view. In this way, a normal commodity camera is tuned for a specific recognition problem. We demonstrate the method on a variety of objects. Results show that class-specific color calibration can significantly improve recognition rates over manual calibration of color balance
The Beta-Rays of Mesothorium 1 and Radium D

Mesothorium 1 has been prepared from an old sample of thorium sulfate whose purity was demonstrated by measuring the rate of decay of thorium B prepared therefrom. The mesothorium 1 was shown to be free from contaminations of other thorium decay products and isotopic radioactive elements by measuring the rate of growth of mesothorium 2, and proving the absence of alpha-emitters. Magnetic deflection and aluminum absorption experiments have shown that the particles emitted are electrons whose maximum energy is 53,000\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4000 electron volts. Samples of RaD and RaE, pure to within 0.3 percent, have been prepared. The momentum of the most energetic conversion beta-ray of RaD has been determined as 765\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}32 gauss cm, and the upper limit of the RaE continuous spectrum was found to be 5150\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}250 gauss cm. The upper limit apparently to be assigned to the primary beta-ray spectrum of RaD was determined as 546\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10 gauss cm, or 25,500\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1000 ev, in agreement with the determination of Richardson and Leigh-Smith. An estimate of the observed number of secondary beta-rays arising from the conversion of the 47.2-kev gamma-rays of RaD indicates the emission of five to ten such electrons per 100 disintegrations, in rough agreement with the results of Kikuchi and the predictions of Fisk for the $L$ conversion of dipole radiation, but in complete disagreement with the conclusions of Stahel and von Droste. Reasons for this disagreement are given.
R.I.P.: Remain in perpetuity. Facebook memorial pages

Facebook is not only a virtual space to commune with the living, it is also a place to honor, memorialize, and engage in dialogs with the deceased. This study examines 550 memorial pages on Facebook for age, gender, race, and cause of death of the memorialized, as well as to whom the communication is addressed. Where ritualistic memorials and mourning practices usually occur in cemeteries or at the sites of accidents, memorial sites on Facebook offer an alternative space to mourn that is public, collective, and with archival capabilities. Individual dialogs and memories in this alternative space are not private, and often involve direct communications with the deceased. In this way, the dead never really die; rather perpetually remain in a digital state of dialogic limbo.
Comparison of three methods for identifying medical drug-psychotropic drug interactions☆

Three methods for examining drug-drug interactions were compared to understand advantages and disadvantages of each: ePocrates; Interact; The Mount Sinai multiple source for the evaluation of drug-drug interactions (MS). ePocrates is a commonly employed software system utilized in a hand held computer, the PalmPilot. Interact is on a CD-ROM, and promoted by the American Psychiatric Association Press. The MS system was developed by the authors and utilizes six separate references sources to ascertain the presence and significance of drug-drug interactions. Commonly prescribed neurology and psychotropic medication interactions were compared using the three systems. ePocrates did not list the significance level of the interaction, e.g., (major, moderate, minor), often did not include a mechanism of action, and several commonly employed medications were not included. It did permit examining several drugs at the same time, and was easily carried on the person of the physician. Interact often contained old references, several drugs were not included, was not adapted to a hand held computer format, and had no update since 1999. The MS system listed level of significance, provided mechanism of action, and advice to the practitioner including recommendations. It is not portable, requiring a laptop or desk top computer or hard copy, and only searches one drug at a time. It is hoped that the advantages of each of these three systems may be incorporated into systems of the future.
NO COMMUNITY IS AN ISLAND: THE EFFECTS OF RESOURCE DEPRIVATION ON URBAN VIOLENCE IN SPATIALLY AND SOCIALLY PROXIMATE COMMUNITIES

The link between resource deprivation and urban violence has long been explored in criminological research. Studies, however, have largely ignored the potential for resource deprivation in particular communities to affect rates of violence in others. The relative inattention is notable because of the strong theoretical grounds to anticipate influences that extend both to geographically contiguous areas and to those that, though not contiguous, share similar social characteristics. We argue that such influences—what we term spatial and social proximity effects, respectively—constitute a central feature of community dynamics. To support this argument, we develop and test theoretically derived hypotheses about spatial and social proximity effects of resource deprivation on aggregated and disaggregated homicide counts. Our analyses indicate that local area resource deprivation contributes to violence in socially proximate communities, an effect that, in the case of instrumental homicides, is stronger when such communities are spatially proximate. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theories focused on community-level social processes and violence, and for policies aimed at reducing crime in disadvantaged areas.
Primary radiation therapy in the treatment of anal carcinoma

Abstract From 1966 to 1981, 47 patients with a diagnosis of anal carcinoma were irradiated. This group was composed of 23 males and 24 females, with age ranging from 38–84 years (average 64.4 years). The average age of the males was eight years less than the females. Of the 47 patients, 39 had an intact anal canal following biopsy and were treated with curative intent. Thirty-one of these 39 had no evidence of nodal metastasis (N 0 ) and eight had groin, pelvic and/or para-aortic nodal disease. Only three patients were treated with pre-irradiation chemotherapy; all had locally advanced disease. Five patients were treated preoperatively and 34 were treated definitively with cancericidal doses of irradiation. Acute radiation reactions requiring a rest-break were noted in 28 % of patients, but all were managed as outpatients without untoward chronic sequelae. Chronic complications were noted in 13 patients, including two patients who required colostomy for severe anal stenosis and two who required A-P resection for large painful ulcers. Two of these four patients had received part of their treatment with an interstitial implant and one had an excessively high dose of perineal irradiation. Twenty-eight of 35 patients (80%) treated with irradiation alone have remained locally controlled without further treatment. An additional four have been salvaged by surgery. Only three patients had interstitial implants as part of their treatment course. Actuarial survival at five years for the N 0 patients and the group as a whole are 95.6 and 79.3%, respectively. It is concluded that external beam irradiation alone, properly fractionated to cancericidal doses, can control anal carcinoma with acceptable morbidity rates and without the use of either chemotherapy or interstitial implants in most cases. There is also a strong correlation suggesting that anal intercourse and male homosexuality play a significant role in the etiology of this disease.
Structure in solution of M1 RNA, the catalytic subunit of ribonuclease P from Escherichia coli

The structure of M1 RNA, the RNA component of Escherichia coli RNase P, has been probed by mild digestion with a variety of ribonucleases. The results have been used to generate a model for the two-dimensional structure of M1 RNA. This model is similar in many respects to an earlier model that was based entirely on theoretical considerations. M1 RNA was digested with RNase T1 in buffer containing 10 mM MgCl2 (in which M1 RNA, by itself, has no catalytic activity) and in buffer containing 60 mM MgCl2 (in which M1 RNA can cleave precursors to tRNA molecules). Under these conditions, the main features of the secondary structure are similar, but several minor differences are apparent. Such subtle changes in structure are also observed when M1 RNA is present in a binary complex with a substrate molecule, the precursor to E. coli tRNATyr.
Geochemical events documented in inorganic carbon isotopes

Abstract Screening of sampling and analytical data is crucial for the detection of real global shifts in marine δ13C, against the noise of diagenesis. The real global shifts of 13C are of two types: (1) long-term secular shifts caused by changes in the fractional burial of organic carbon, and (2) transient shifts caused by abrupt changes of biological productivity in the surface photic zone. Both are applicable to stratigraphic correlation, but differ in their application to modelling of changes in oceanographic or atmospheric composition. A recent compilation found 34 carbon isotope events in the Phanerozoic and Neoproterozoic, equally distributed among positive and negative shifts. This in itself attests to a variety of proximate causes of the shifts.
Edge effects and orientation effects in electrodialysis

Abstract Current-voltage curves have been measured, and critical current densities (CCD) determined, for several diameters of one cation, and one anion, electrodialysis membrane. The CCD has been found to be a decreasing function of membrane diameter; the results are correlated by assuming that ions are recruited from some distance from the edge of the membrane. Results are adequately correlated if this distance is taken to be 0.75 mm for the cation membrane, and 0.25 mm for the anion membrane. This distance is the same for NaCl and HCl for both membranes. In addition to these measurements, CCD has been determined as a function of membrane orientation. It is found that CCD decreases as the membrane is tilted away from vertical, with the effect marked if the depletion layer is beneath the membrane.
Differential expression of cellular oncogenes during rat liver development.

Abstract The expression of a number of proto-oncogenes (myc, erb B, Ha-ras, bas, rel, mos, sis, myb, ki-ras, fms, src and fos) was studied in developing rat liver. Northern blot hybridization shows that cellular counterpart of erb B, Ha-ras, and fos oncogenes were in an early stage of liver development, and the expressions of these proto-oncogenes gradually decreased as the liver developed, while c-myc transcript was found only in the rat fetal liver. The transcripts of these oncogenes were found in high level in Morris hepatoma 7777. Bas proto-oncogene was found in high expression at early stages of rat liver development but was not in hepatoma 7777. The expression of other proto-oncogenes studied (src, fm, rel, mos, sis, myb and ki-ras) did not change significantly during liver development and was almost the same in hepatoma and normal adult liver. Southern blot analysis demonstrates that gene amplification and apparent gene rearrangement were not responsible for the change in expression of erb B, Haras, myc and fos proto-oncogenes. Our study gives further evidence that erb B, myc, Ha-ras and fos proto-oncogenes are involved in the control of cell growth and in the process of rat hepatocarcinogenesis.
Exploiting trunked radio to support ITS network expansion and redundancy

Typical intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are comprised of geographically distributed ITS devices including sensors, cameras and dynamic message signs (DMS). There are several options for providing data communication between these field devices and traffic management centers (TMC). Wireless networks are attractive due to their relatively lower cost and ease of deployment compared to fixed networks. However, these face unique security and signal interference problems, and deploying new wireless networks can require significant equipment investment. In this work, a new extremely low-cost wireless strategy for ITS network communication is presented. This approach applies control channels of the Network Trunking System (NTS), a licensed radio frequency to support the voice communication, to control DMS operation under the National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP). Because the NTS network has already installed in the metropolitan, urban, and rural areas in Oklahoma, it provides a cheap deployment solution requiring only additional adapter devices. Long term operation and maintenance costs can further be amortized between voice and data services. The proposed technique is compared to the existing ITS wireless networking strategies and hybrid network strategies merging wired and wireless networks deployed in Oklahoma. Details of the strategy for using wireless networking in the Oklahoma ITS and experiences with wireless ITS device deployment are also provided.
Symmetry of Lyapunov spectrum

The symmetry of the spectrum of Lyapunov exponents provides a useful quantitative connection between properties of dynamical systems consisting ofN interacting particles coupled to a thermostat, and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. We obtain here sufficient conditions for this symmetry and analyze the structure of 1/N corrections ignored in previous studies. The relation of the Lyapunov spectrum symmetry with some other symmetries of dynamical systems is discussed.
Commentary on adjuvant chemotherapy for the older woman with early stage breast cancer.

The number of older women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer has increased in recent years, due to improved general health and an average life expectancy of around 80 years in many countries. In the US, the average age at diagnosis of breast cancer is 63 years and in most instances is early stage disease. Many of these women are fit with no or minimal co-morbid illnesses and have a predicted longevity of many years into the future. Thus, decisionmaking regarding adjuvant chemotherapy options is an increasingly common clinical challenge. What age defines an “older woman with breast cancer” in and of itself is controversial, but for the purpose of this commentary will generally refer to 65 years of age and older. The extent of clinical trial-based evidence on the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in older women is limited, resulting in a lack of statistical power to address the benefits and risks of these treatments in age subgroups over 65, especially 70+ or 75+ years. Meta-analyses help in this regard, but outcomes are still unstable in the 70+ age group due to relatively small subsets. This leads to uncertainty in degree of benefit to adjuvant chemotherapy in older women. While large cancer clinical trials cooperative groups generally accrue women and African Americans at rates commensurate with their frequency in the general population, this is not the case for older persons with cancer. For example, in the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) experience, marked underaccrual of patients over age 65 occurred, even after mandates to Medicare to cover the costs of clinical trials. Across 12 common cancer types for the years 1993–1996, 1997–2000 and 2000–2003, respectively, only 25%, 31% and 38% were over age 65, versus 61% in the general population. The reason for this under-accrual of older patients (and resulting limited data on chemotherapy efficacy) is multi-factorial, but more recent analyses suggest that stringent trial eligibility criteria and
Transient Behavior of Polydisperse Emulsions Undergoing Mass Transfer

Numerical simulations of transport in polydisperse oil-in-water emulsions were carried out for three situations in which the aqueous phase contained surfactant micelles: solubilization of a pure oil; Ostwald ripening of a pure oil; and compositional ripening of a mixed emulsion initially containing drops of two pure oils, only one of which was solubilized to a significant extent. Transport was assumed to be controlled by interfacial effects, not by diffusion of micelles in the aqueous phase. The results were compared with published data for changes in drop size distribution in hydrocarbon-in-oil emulsions stabilized by nonionic surfactants for each of the three phenomena. In some cases the published data were supplemented by measurements of interfacial tensions and solubilization rates of single drops of the same oils in solutions of the same nonionic surfactants. Excellent agreement between simulation results and the published data was found for the solubilization and compositional ripening cases with n...
A streamer chamber used in a search for double beta decay

Abstract A 53 cm dia., 8 cm deep helium-filled streamer chamber is described. At a field strength of 6.2 kV/cm, streamers extend over the entire space between the plates of the chamber and the particle track is shown by bright, narrow regions in the streamers. The mechanism of electrical breakdown in this mode of operation and other modes was investigated. The streamer theory of Raether correctly predicts breakdown-time and dead-space. Penning effect by impurities in the chamber gas appears to influence discharge development significantly at the low field strengths used in track-projecting chambers but not at the high field strengths used in streamer chambers.
Nonrandom laterality of malformations in paired structures.

Nonrandom mild asymmetric sidedness, a feature of normal morphogenesis, is an even more striking finding among unilateral malformations of paired structures. Each malformation evaluated revealed a significant nonrandom propensity to affect a particular side. Some anomalies were strikingly left-sided, such as postaxial polydactyly and cleft lip, while others were predominantly right-sided, such as fibular aplasia and radial aplasia. Of special interest is the left-sided predilection of hemiatrophy vs. the right-sided predominance of hemihypertrophy. The tendency for certain potentially unapparent anomalies, such as dislocation of the hip and renal agenesis, to be left-sided can be of practical relevance in their detection. These finding imply developmental differences between the two sides for each tissue, allowing one of the sides a greater liability for a particular type of defect in morphogenesis.
Lactoferrin gene expression and regulation: an overview

Lactoferrin is highly conserved among human, mouse, bovine, and porcine species. The numbers of amino acids encoded by 15 of the 17 exons in these species are identical, and in 12 locations, they have identical codon interruptions at the intron-exon splice junctions. However, lactoferrin expression is both ubiquitous and species, tissue, and cell-type specific. It is differentially regulated through multiple signaling pathways such as steroid hormone, growth factor, and kinase cascade pathways. Comparing the lactoferrin gene promoters from different species, common and different characteristics are observed. The human, mouse, bovine, porcine, and bubaline (African antelope) promoters all contain a noncanonical TATA box with an adjacent Sp1 site. Both human and mouse have multiple steroid hormone response elements, while none are found in the other species studied, suggesting that the lactoferrin gene is differentially regulated among different species by steroid hormones. Several transcription factors have been identified that are crucial for the expression of the lactoferrin gene during differentiation of the myeloid cells and in estrogen and epidermal growth factor regulation. This article provides an overview on lactoferrin expression and regulation in different species.
Rayleigh scattering technique for simultaneous measurements of velocity and thermodynamic properties

A molecular-filter-based flow diagnostic technique termed filtered angularly resolved Raleigh scattering is used to measure velocity, density, and temperature simultaneously. The technique uses an anamorphic optical system to record the Rayleigh scattered signal viewed at different angles and focused onto an intensified charge-coupled device camera. The experimentally obtained intensity vs viewing angle profiles are then combined with a well-known computational model to solve for the velocity, density, and temperature. The technique was used in a supersonic axisymmetric jet operated at a variety of flow conditions from Mach 1 to 2.3.
Interchangeability of vaccines

Background. The delivery of childhood immunizations can be complex, often requiring numerous injections over months or years to complete the recommended schedule. The ability to interchange similar vaccines from different manufacturers during a vaccination series is important because the product administered previously may be unknown or no longer available. Methods. The current vaccine literature was reviewed to identify available data and determine the consensus on the interchangeability of current vaccines. Results. In the instance of diphtheria-tetanus toxoids-acellular pertussis (DTPa) vaccine, no serologic markers of protective efficacy against Bordetella pertussis exist; therefore it is difficult to evaluate interchangeability of available products. Consequently the ACIP, AAP and AAFP have recommended that the same DTPa product be used for the first three doses of the immunization series. However, if the previously administered product is unknown or not readily available, any licensed DTPa product may be used. More recent data suggest that at least some of the DTPa products have similar immunogenicity and appear to be interchangeable. For other families of vaccines, such as those designed to prevent infection with hepatitis B virus, poliovirus and Haemophilus influenzae type b, there is good evidence attesting to sustained immunogenicity when products from different manufacturers are used to complete a series. Conclusions. The use of approved combination vaccine products whenever possible is advocated by the ACIP, AAP and AAFP because such products decrease the number of injections needed to complete the recommended immunizations and may reduce health care costs, improve program performance and aid in documentation of administered vaccines.
HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF DPN AND TPN DIAPHORASES, BETA-GLUCURONIDASE AND SOME ENZYMES ASSOCIATED WITH THE KREBS CYCLE IN TRICHOMONAS VAGINALIS.

T. vaginalis contains a high activity for DPN and TPN diaphorases, most of which are localized in cytoplasmic granules which may be mitochondria, and which sometimes show a perinuclear concentration. Occasionally a weak to strong cytoplasmic reaction and some activity in other organelles has been observed, and possible reasons for such reactions have been offered. DPN diaphorase preparations revealed the possibility of cyclic metabolic activity involving nucleo-cytoplasmic relationships, in which the nucleolus appears to play an important role.
Mechanical Ventilation for Cardiac Support

Postoperative lung injury is a common, although decreasing, complication of cardiac surgery. This article discusses various means to prevent and minimize postoperative lung injury. These include lung-protective strategies, pharmacologic strategies, and mechanical ventilation.
Affine geometries defined by fiber preserving diffeomorphisms

Clearly a given manifold M may support more than one metric tensor and generally one may select a particular metric on M via a variational procedure defined on the class of all metrics on M. Obviously the class of all metrics on M is a subset of the set of all sections of the vector bundle T02 M and thus one has a rigorous framework for any theory which has as its goal the selection of a metric in this way (in particular, general relativity is such a theory). It is our purpose to develop such a framework for affine geometry. We do not consider specific procedures to select an affine geometry analogous to the selection of a metric via the variation of some Lagrangian, but we establish the arena where such procedures would be meaningful. In the case of Riemannian geometry, this arena would be the set of all sections of the finite dimensional vector bundle T02 M and in this context it is important that covariant derivatives of such sections are again sections of the same bundle. Moreover, the covariant derivative of a given metric is relatively simple as it arises from a linear action of Gl(n, R on a typical fiber of T02 M. In the case of affine geometry we find that the appropriate arena is the set of all sections of an infinite dimensional vector bundle ν(E, V, δ). Moreover, since the group Aff (δ) relating achange of basisa is not compact and acts on the fiber of this infinite dimensional bundle, it turns out that the group action is not generally continuous when one uses the Whitney C∞ topology on a typical fiber; rather one must use the Schwartz C∞ -topology widely used in the theory of distributions to obtain a differentiable action. Moreover, the action of the group on a typical fiber is not linear so that the usual formulas for covariant derivatives must be modified. An interesting consequence of our investigation is that the vector bundle ν can be extended and the action of the group also extended so that the nonlinearity is only a «second order nonlinearitya, i.e., formulas for the covariant derivative of a section involve only linear terms and bilinear terms (see Equation 4.2). In addition to this feature, formulas for covariant derivatives of affine geometries are developed which are fully analogous to those for covariant derivatives of Riemannian metrics (see Theorem 4.2). Symmetry-breaking properties associated with special classes of affine structures are obtained and parallels are drawn with the metric case (recall that a metric reduces the linear frame bundle to the bundle of orthonormal frames, symmetry is broken from the general linear group to the orthogonal group). In the last section of the paper we show how our formalism relates to certain already-developed applications of affine geometry to charged particle dynamics worked out in more detail by Norris and his collaborators.
The importance of knowing the patient.

Edited by Mona Shattell, PhD, RNUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro, School of Nursing, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA andTony MacCulloch, MEd, RN, RPN, DipCounsAUT University, School of Nu...
32. Assessing the performance of a novel cryosurgical platform

The cryogens employed in current cryosurgical devices are almost exclusively a gas, typically argon, undergoing Joule–Thomson (JT) cooling. These devices utilize small diameter probes with near instantaneous ice generation. The effective cryoablation zone, however, is small thus requiring multiple probes and/or multiple freeze and extended freeze application intervals to provide a given size cryolesion. In contrast, liquid nitrogen systems provide high levels of heat extraction with low nadir temperatures, but given its boiling point (−197 °C) and ratio of thermal expansion, probe sizes are often larger and procedure durations longer. Recently, we have developed a novel cryosurgical platform utilizing nitrogen in the super critical state (SCN). In this study, we conducted a quantitative comparison of the performance of the SCN system to that of a JT device. Evaluation of the isothermal gradient generated during the freeze procedure was assessed with thermocouple arrays in various tissue approximations such as water, ultrasound gel, and porcine muscle sections. Additionally, a series of feasibility in vivo studies were conducted to assess the performance of the SCN system for endocardial and epicardial ablation applications in a canine model. The data revealed that the SCN system created significantly colder nadir temperatures (−170 °C as compared to −140 °C) and broader spread of critical isotherms compared to that of the JT system. Further, it was found that the SCN generated this larger and colder iceball in approximately half the time. In a comparison of surface freezing in an ex vivo porcine tissue model (5–10 mm thick muscle) under thermal load to model epicardial cardiac ablation, it was found that the SCN platform created transmural lesions that were colder and narrower than that created by JT devices. In vivo endocardial cardiac ablation canine studies revealed that the SCN system was capable of generating transmural lesions with complete electrical block in fully beating heart in ⩽60 s. The results of these studies demonstrated the SCN system provides for rapid, effective, controllable freezing of targeted tissue. The use of the SCN system allowed for the miniaturization and speed of JT devices, yet maintains the ultra cold nadir temperatures and cooling potential of a liquid nitrogen system. The power, speed and freeze characteristics of the SCN system offers the potential of a reduction in procedural time compared to current cryo devices. Further, these technological developments may open new avenues for the application of cryo to treat other cardiac arrhythmogenic disorders.
An Evaluation of a Developmental Economic Education Project Given Limited Data.

The Joint Council on Economic Education's Developmental Economic Education Program (DEEP) has been subjected to evaluations, both on a nationwide basis and in terms of the effects of a given project in a local area. Usually, the results have been positive, but too few of the evaluations have employed rigorous statistical analysis. Furthermore, the lasting effects of the program have not been sufficiently considered. The authors of this article recognize important limitations in their study, but present interesting evidence of the possible impact of the DEEP project in one city (Minneapolis) and suggest the policy implications of their findings.
Chiral-selective chemistry induced by spin-polarized secondary electrons from a magnetic substrate.

We demonstrate for the first time that low-energy spin-polarized secondary electrons, produced by irradiation of a magnetic substrate, can induce chiral-selective chemistry. Our approach was to perform detailed measurements of the reaction rate for x-ray induced, secondary electron photolysis of a model chiral compound, ($R$)- or ($S$)-2-butanol, adsorbed on a magnetized Permalloy substrate. The results showed that there is an enhancement of $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ in the rate of CO bond cleavage that depends on the chirality of the molecule and the spin polarization of the substrate secondary electrons.
Obstructive and inflammatory diseases of the major salivary glands

Abstract Patients with suspected or obvious salivary gland disease must be interrogated thoroughly about their history and examined physically. In establishing a diagnosis, plain radiography, sialography, sialometry, cytology, culture and sensitivity, and biopsy should complement the history and physical examination as indicated. Numerous local and systemic disorders affect the major salivary glands. Of those requiring treatment, obstructive and inflammatory disorders occur most frequently. The clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of obstructive and inflammatory diseases of the major salivary glands are discussed in this article.
Activity management as a web service

In this paper, we present a new method for organizing collaborative work. This method is based on the concept of "activities," defined here as high-level structured representations of the people, artifacts, and processes involved in work and their relationships. We show how users and developers can leverage this representation to enhance productivity, collaboration, and business applications. Central to our vision is an interface to activity data which is lightweight, based on Web Services, and enables activities to be easily integrated into the applications and tools people already use. We describe the Wax system for activity management, which implements our model of unified activity using both semantic Web and REST/XML (Representational State Transfer/Extensible Markup Language) approaches. We describe several user interfaces that let users interact with activity data, and we discuss our experiences using the Wax system for two case studies that involve coordinating a large event and managing accommodations for new employees.