cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity and Specificity of a CAD Solution for Lung Nodule Detection on Chest Radiograph with CTA Correlation

The objective of this research was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available computer-aided detection (CAD) system for detection of lung nodule on posterior–anterior (PA) chest radiograph in a varied patient population who are referred to computed tomographic angiogram (CTA) of the chest as a reference standard. Patients who had a PA chest radiograph with concomitant CTA of the chest were included in this retrospective study. The PA chest radiograph was analyzed by a CAD device, and results were recorded. A qualitative assessment of the CAD results was performed using a 5-point Likert scale. The CTA was then reviewed to determine if there were correlative nodules. The presence of a correlative nodule between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm was considered a positive result. The baseline sensitivity of the system was determined to be 0.707 (95% CI = 0.52–0.86), with a specificity of 0.50 (95% CI = 0.38–0.76). Positive predictive value was 0.30 (95% CI = 0.24–0.49), with a negative predictive value of 0.858 (95% CI = 0.82–0.95), and accuracy of 0.555 (95% CI = 0.40–0.66). When excluding nodules that were qualitatively determined by a thoracic radiologist to be false positives, the specificity was 0.781 (95% CI = 0.764–0.839), the positive predictive value was 0.564 (95% CI = 0.491–0.654), the negative predictive value was 0.829 (95% CI = 0.819–0.878), and the accuracy was 0.737 (95% CI = 0.721–0.801). The use of CAD for lung nodule detection on chest radiograph, when used in conjunction with an experienced radiologist, has a very good sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.
Type of Positive Interdependence and Affiliation Motive in an Asynchronous, Collaborative Learning Environment

In this study, we investigated the effect of type of positive interdependence (roles, rewards, roles-plus-rewards, or no structure) and affiliation motives (high vs. low) in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. College reentry students worked together in small, fully online discussion groups that lasted for seven days. Results indicated that participants in groups given roles plus rewards interacted with their teammates significantly more than those given rewards only or no-structured-interdependence conditions. A significant positive correlation suggested that participants with higher numbers of interactions attained higher posttest scores. However, no significant differences were found in achievement by type of interdependence or by affiliation motive. Results also revealed that type of interdependence and affiliation motive had a significant impact on student attitudes. Implications for integrating small group work in online higher education settings are discussed.
The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America

When the American Railway Union went on strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1894, it set into motion a chain of events whose repercussions are still felt today. The strike pitted America's largest industrial union against twenty-four railroads, paralyzed rail traffic in half the country, and in the end was broken up by federal troops and suppressed by the courts, with union leader Eugene Debs incarcerated. But behind the Pullman case lay a conflict of ideologies at a watershed time in our nation's history. David Ray Papke reexamines the events and personalities surrounding the 1894 strike, related proceedings in the Chicago trial courts, and the 1895 Supreme Court decision, In re Debs, which set important standards for labor injunctions. He shows how the Court, by upholding Debs's contempt citation, dealt fatal blows to broad-based unionism in the nation's most important industry and to any hope for a more evenhanded form of judicial involvement in labor disputes-thus setting the stage for labor law in decades to come. The Pullman case was a defining moment in the often violent confrontation between capital and labor. It matched wealthy industrialist George Pullman against Debs and gave a stage to Debs's fledgling attorney Clarence Darrow. Throughout the trial, capital and labor tried to convince the public of the justice of their cause: Debs decrying the company's treatment of workers and Pullman raising fears of radical unionists. Papke provides an analytically concise and highly readable account of these proceedings, offering insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the law at the peak of industrial capitalism, showcasing Debs's passionate commitment to workers' rights, and providing a window on America during a period of rapid industrialization and social transformation. Papke shows that the law was far from neutral in defending corporate interests and suggests what the Pullman case, by raising questions about both the legitimacy of giant corporations and the revolutionary style of industrial unions, can teach us about law and legal institutions in our own time. His book captures the passions of industrial America and tells an important story at the intersection of legal and cultural history.
Why the Apathy in American High Schools

Excerpt] Yes, it is a classic chicken versus egg problem. We assign teachers the responsibility for setting high standards but we do not give them any of the tools that might be effective for inducing student observance of the academic goals of the classroom. They finally must rely on the force of their own personalities. All too often teachers compromise academic demands because the majority of the class sees no need to accept them as reasonable and legitimate.
Race in colorectal cancer screening strategies: a solid determinant factor or a "moving target"?

effect of race/ethnicity and sex on risk of large polyps in average-risk individuals. This interesting study provides strong evidence that the “one-size-fits-all” strategy for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is not optimal. The increased polypratesbyage,mirroringthelinearage-specificincidence rate curves for CRC incidence reflects a logical epidemiologic consequence of the adenoma-to-carcinoma sequence. The paper elegantly confirms the effectof gender on the adenoma rates, repeatedly shown by prior studies. 2 Based on the observation of differential large adenoma rates between racial groups, the authors proposed that race should be taken into account in customization of a risk-based strategy in CRC screening. Although at first glance this seems to be a rational interpretation of the presented data, I wish to draw attention to a few limitations of such a conclusion. Since the mid 1980s, despite an overall decrease in incidence of CRC, the disease rates have remained higher than whites. 3 The slower trend in reduction of CRC incidence among blacks was at least partly attributed to their relatively restricted access to screening programs. The results of the current study, however, indicate higher rates of precancerous lesions in “average-risk” blacks compared with whites. The observed racial/ethnical disparities may be more related to differential exposures than to genetic makeup of a race/ethnicity. Several studies have demonstrated a dramatic rise in CRC rates in originally low-risk ethnic groups when they migrated to high-risk areas, highlighting environmental factors as dominant etiologic elements in majority of CRCs. 4 Factors associated with risk of colorectal neoplasms such as dietary intake and lifestyle, among others, can show racial pattern as well, and are proposed to have phenotypic consequences on the disease. Blacks are shown to have less access to healthy foods and consume a lower quality diet. 5 Higher prevalence
Environmental scanning and organizational culture

This paper examines the connection between environmental scanning for market intelligence, organizational culture and generic strategies. The generic strategies, based on the Miles and Snow typology, are related to the organizational culture types developed by Deshpande et al. An enhanced model of the one proposed by Deshpande et al. is presented. By providing a more complete model, it is possible to more accurately represent an organization’s interaction with its environment with respect to its generic strategy and scanning approach. Propositions are presented pertaining to the type of scanning approach utilized by organizations in each quadrant. The paper concludes with planning implications for each quadrant.
What Makes a Problem Hard for a Genetic Algorithm? Some Anomalous Results and Their Explanation

What makes a problem easy or hard for a genetic algorithm (GA)? This question has become increasingly important as people have tried to apply the GA to ever more diverse types of problems. Much previous work on this question has studied the relationship between GA performance and the structure of a given fitness function when it is expressed as a Walsh polynomial. The work of Bethke, Goldberg, and others has produced certain theoretical results about this relationship. In this article we review these theoretical results, and then discuss a number of seemingly anomalous experimental results reported by Tanese concerning the performance of the GA on a subclass of Walsh polynomials, some members of which were expected to be easy for the GA to optimize. Tanese found that the GA was poor at optimizing all functions in this subclass, that a partitioning of a single large population into a number of smaller independent populations seemed to improve performance, and that hillclimbing outperformed both the original and partitioned forms of the GA on these functions. These results seemed to contradict several commonly held expectations about GAs. We begin by reviewing schema processing in GAs. We then give an informal description of how Walsh analysis and Bethke's Walsh-schema transform relate to GA performance, and we discuss the relevance of this analysis for GA applications in optimization and machine learning. We then describe Tanese's surprising results, examine them experimentally and theoretically, and propose and evaluate some explanations. These explanations lead to a more fundamental question about GAs: what are the features of problems that determine the likelihood of successful GA performance?
Issues Concerning the Acquisition of Knowledge: Effects of Vocabulary Training on Reading Comprehension

A strong psychometric relationship has consistently been reported between measures of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. This finding could imply that one way to improve children’s reading performance is to increase their vocabulary. Eight studies are reviewed that attempted to do this. Although all eight studies reported increases in students’ word knowledge, many failed to facilitate reading comprehension. Methodological and instructional differences across studies are examined in an attempt to account for the different results. The major goal of this paper is to discuss methodological and theoretical issues that arise from a review of the studies and to suggest implications for future research.
Infrastructure Modeling: Status and Applications

Protecting the Nation’s infrastructure from intentional attacks and natural disasters, including extreme weather events and climate change, is a major national security concern that has only become more critical since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (This chapter focuses on the work performed at LANL concerning the protection of the critical infrastructures of the United States (the ‘Nation’); however the modeling concepts discussed here are generally applicable). Understanding potential weaknesses of infrastructure assets and how interdependencies across critical infrastructure affect their behavior is essential to predicting and mitigating single and cascading failures, as well as to planning for response and recovery and future infrastructure development. Modeling and simulation (M&S) is an indispensable part of characterizing this complex system of systems and anticipating its response to disruptions. With the advent of more sophisticated infrastructure M&S capabilities, the possible applications have expanded to include the security challenges faced by the U.S. military, which relies on sustainable energy resources and needs to address environmental challenges and husband its water resources. Another key area where infrastructure modeling can play a critical role is in addressing global warming concerns given changes in available technology, evolution of the energy mix toward renewable resources, and many other infrastructure-related factors.
The value of private sector business credit information sharing: The US case

This paper investigates the value added by private information exchanges that share information on business payment performance. We discuss how this information is collected and disseminated by the worlds largest private information broker, Dun & Bradstreet. We provide the first empirical examination of the importance of this information at the lending decision level. Our findings indicate that exchange-generated information provides significant explanatory power in failure prediction models controlling for other credit information that is easily available to lenders. Our study complements the work of Jappelli and Pagano [Information sharing, lending and defaults; Cross country evidence, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Discussion Paper 2184, 1999] who find in cross-country macro level tests that information exchanges add value. � 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
X-tolerant test response compaction

Larger, denser designs lead to more defects; higher quality requirements and new test methods lead to an explosion in test data volume. Test compression technique attempt to do more testing with fewer bits. This article summarizes one such method, X compact which addresses how unknowns the bane of compression and logic BIST techniques are eliminated. DFT engineers must spend serious effort to minimize Xs in future designs. It is impossible to eliminate all Xs. X-tolerant response compactors are necessary for tolerating residual Xs to enable massive compaction with practically no impact on test quality. X-compactors are mainly useful for test compression purposes and provide up to 80 times the test response compaction of traditional scan. X-tolerant signature analyzers extend the X-compact concept to incorporate time compaction, thereby tolerating thousands of Xs and reducing test response data volume by 50 to 2,000 times relative to traditional scan. These signature analyzers are extremely beneficial for BIST because Xs can easily corrupt traditional MISR-based BIST signature analyzers. X-tolerant response compactors also enable efficient diagnosis essential to fast yield-learning.
Effect of the cross‐channel flow on the melting performance of a single‐screw extruder

A new comprehensive mathematical model has been developed for the melting zone of a single-screw extruder processing a (semi) crystalline polymer. It has been demonstrated that the cross-channel flow plays an important role in the melting mechanism. When incorporated into a non-Newtonian fluid model combined with the rigid solid bed concept, the present analysis leads to significantly improved predictions of the melting rate and axial pressure profile. This conclusion is supported by experimental data and by a quantitative examination of the flow and thermal patterns prevailing in the melting zone. It is suggested that under the constraints of the commonly accepted assumptions concerning the physico-chemical properties of the polymeric system the transport analysis of the Maddock mechanism is virtually complete.
Propagation considerations for emerging satellite communications applications

The effects of rain and other propagation concerns for new applications areas, currently in operation or planned for implementation by the end of this decade, are described. The areas include: VSAT systems employing low operating margins and/or low elevation angles; traditional communications applications operating with inclined geosynchronous orbits; and mobile and personal communications applications employing networks of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Prediction modeling and analysis techniques applicable to these areas are described. Analytical results for a range of operational parameters involving low-margin, low elevation angle, inclined geosynchronous, and LEO systems are presented. >
Pulsed power sciences at Sandia National Laboratories - The next generation

A combination of theory, simulation, and high-quality experiments has enabled significant progress in many high energy density science applications. While the recent science and engineering of pulsed power has been focused on the refurbishment of Z and developing advanced radiographic capabilities, discovery and innovation in the fundamental architecture of pulsed power systems have also made significant advances. This progress started in 1996 when the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator (PBFA II), which began operation in 1985, was converted to the Z facility. The Z Refurbishment (ZR) project began six years later, driven by the need for more capacity (the ability to perform more experiments), improved precision (more precise pulse shaping, longer pulses, and reduced jitter), and more capability (higher energy delivered to the load and better diagnostic access). Over the past year, the Z facility was completely dismantled and rebuilt with newly designed components within the same basic 36-module architecture. With the completion of this project in 2007, the pulsed power sciences program at Sandia will work with many collaborators to apply this new capability to many areas of high energy density science, including z-pinch-driven inertial confinement fusion, dynamic materials properties, and radiation hydrodynamics. This paper summarizes recent and planned research on the Z facility, the ZR Project, advances in high-photon-energy radiography, derivative applications of the pulsed power program, and advances in the science of pulsed power that could revolutionize the next-generation facilities.
Mechanism of concentration quenching of a xanthene dye encapsulated in phospholipid vesicles.

Encapsulating a xanthene dye in phospholipid vesicles produces vesicle solutions that contain dye at very high microscopic concentrations, but have a low overall optical density, thereby eliminating reabsorption. Using this system, we have studied the effects of concentration on the fluorescence lifetime of one such dye, sulforhodamine 101. We have observed that the lifetime decreases as a function of encapsulated dye concentration, which is indicative of collisional quenching. The lifetime decreases from 4.5 nsec for sulforhodamine in dilute aqueous solution to 0.69 ns at an encapsulated concentration of 33 mM. The bimolecular rate constant for this event is 2.6 1010M-1 s-1, consistent with a diffusion controlled event. However, the quenching constant calculated from changes in intensity is 2.2 1011M-1 s-1. Thus, collisional quenching is not the predominant mechanism of quenching. The absorption spectra of dye in vesicles indicate an important contribution from static complex formation. Forster distance calculations indicate that energy transfer can also occur to a significant extent, with a predicted efficiency of transfer of 34% at a dye concentration of only 1 mM
Influence of stimulants on electrodermal studies in Fragile X syndrome.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is seen in the majority of children with Fragile X Syndrome (FraX). Previous work has documented an enhanced sweat response to stimuli in children with FraX compared to controls utilizing electrodermal response (EDR) measures. The present study assesses the EDRs both on and off stimulants in 19 children with ADHD and FraX compared to 17 age- and IQ-matched control patients with ADHD and developmental delays. Although the baseline EDRs were comparable between FraX patients and controls, the patients with FraX had a significant decrease in EDR amplitude and number of peaks when treated with stimulants compared to controls. This suggests that patients with FraX are more responsive to the enhancement of inhibitory systems that occur with stimulant use for ADHD. The use of a quantifiable measure, such as EDR, is recommended in future studies of treatment efficacy.
A rearrangement of the Z chromosome topology influences the sex-linked gene display in the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis

Males are homogametic (ZZ) and females are heterogametic (WZ) with respect to the sex chromosomes in many species of butterflies and moths (insect order Lepidoptera). Genes on the Z chromosome influence traits involved in larval development, environmental adaptation, and reproductive isolation. To facilitate the investigation of these traits across Lepidoptera, we developed 43 degenerate primer pairs to PCR amplify orthologs of 43 Bombyx mori Z chromosome-linked genes. Of the 34 orthologs that amplified by PCR in Ostrinia nubilalis, 6 co-segregated with the Z chromosome anchor markers kettin (ket) and lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), and produced a consensus genetic linkage map of ~89 cM in combination with 5 AFLP markers. The O. nubilalis and B. mori Z chromosomes are comparatively co-linear, although potential gene inversions alter terminal gene orders and a translocation event disrupted synteny at one chromosome end. Compared to B. mori orthologs, O. nubilalis Z chromosome-linked genes showed conservation of tissue-specific and growth-stage-specific expression, although some genes exhibited species-specific expression across developmental stages or tissues. The O. nubilalis Z chromosome linkage map provides new tools for isolating quantitative trait loci (QTL) involved in sex-linked traits that drive speciation and it exposes genome rearrangements as a possible mechanism for differential gene regulation in Lepidoptera.
Attention when?: An Investigation of the Ordering Effect of Input and Interaction.

This paper investigates the effects of input and interaction as separate entities and in combination. We further investigate these effects as a function of different language areas. One hundred two learners of L2 Spanish were provided with input on (a) Spanish gender agreement (noun + adjective), (b) estar + location, and (c) seven vocabulary items. There were four conditions: (a) material focused solely on input, (b) material focused solely on interaction, (c) input-focused material followed by interaction, and (d) interaction-focused material followed by input. A control group completed a pretest and posttest. In general, greatest improvement from pretest to posttest for all conditions was noted for vocabulary. Learners exposed to input and interaction in combination showed greater improvement than those in conditions with only input or only interaction. In the two grammatical areas (gender agreement and estar + location), learners who received interaction followed by input showed greatest improvement. We consider issues such as complexity and abstractness to account for the findings of differential effects on language areas.Funding for this project was provided by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the Center for Language Education and Research at Michigan State University (P229A990012 and P229A020001). We would like to thank George Sirbu and Pingping Ni for help with the statistics of this study. We are also grateful to the anonymous SSLA reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. All errors remain our own.
Community development in the USA: An empowerment zone example

In this paper, indicators are examined that relate to agency participation in an empowerment zone in a northeastern city of the United States. This study has descriptive and analytic objectives. The descriptive component delineates the nature of services within a designated community and the agency focus on empowerment. The primary analytic objective is to identify key predictors of agency participation in the Empowerment Zone (EZ) planning activities. This paper will present findings of agency partici- pation in an empowerment zone and identify challenges to community development professionals.
Child malnutrition in Vietnam and its transition in an era of economic growth.

Objective In the past decade, Vietnam has achieved an impressive rate of socioeconomic development paralleled by broad improvements in the health sector – but child malnutrition still lags far behind that of most other health indicators. The purpose of this study is to discover inequality in the near-present situation (1997–98; hereafter referred to as the present situation), changes of child malnutrition over the period from 1992–93 to 1997–98, and factors that might affect the inability to rapidly reduce child malnutrition among the poor, rural, and minority populations. Design Data from two nationally representative surveys – the 1992–93 and 1997–98 Vietnam Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS) – of Vietnamese households were utilized in this study. Descriptive and logistic procedures were used for the analyses. The focus was on the variables related to household poverty status, total expenditure levels, rural residence, and minority status with controls for other key economic and demographic measures. Subjects A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on data using 4305 households and 4367 children (2–11 years of age in 1992–93) that were included in both surveys of the Vietnam Living Standard Survey (VLSS) in 1992–93 and 1997–98, conducted under the framework of the LSMS. Results Children of rural households, poor households, and ethnic minority backgrounds are significantly more likely to be malnourished than urban residents, children of nonpoor households, and the majority Kinh population. Additionally, avenues to escape malnourishment are limited in the former categories. These results suggest that economic improvements in Vietnam have, for the most part, bypassed the rural poor and minorities, and targeting economic resources towards these groups will be most critical to reduce malnutrition in Vietnam.
Streptococcus salivarius urease: genetic and biochemical characterization and expression in a dental plaque streptococcus.

The hydrolysis of urea by urease enzyme of oral bacteria is believed to have a major impact on oral microbial ecology and to be intimately involved in oral health and diseases. To begin to understand the biochemistry and genetics of oral ureolysis, a study of the urease of Streptococcus salivarius, a highly ureolytic organism which is present in large numbers on the soft tissues of the oral cavity, has been initiated. By using as a probe a 0.6-kpb internal fragment of the S. salivarius 57.I ureC gene, two clones from subgenomic libraries of S. salivarius 57.I in an Escherichia coli plasmid vector were identified. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed the presence of one partial and six complete open reading frames which were most homologous to ureIAB-CEFGD of other ureolytic bacteria. Plasmid clones were generated to construct a complete gene cluster and used to transform E. coli and Streptococcus gordonii DL1, a nonureolytic, dental plaque microorganism. The recombinant organisms expressed high levels of urease activity when the growth medium was supplemented with NiCl2. The urease enzyme was purified from E. coli, and its biochemical properties were compared with those of the urease produced by S. salivarius and those of the urease produced by S. gordonii carrying the plasmid-borne ure genes. In all cases, the enzyme had a Km of 3.5 to 4.1 mM, a pH optimum near 7.0, and a temperature optimum near 60 degrees C. S. gordonii carrying the urease genes was then demonstrated to have a significant capacity to temper glycolytic acidification in vitro in the presence of concentrations of urea commonly found in the oral cavity. The ability to genetically engineer plaque bacteria that can modulate environmental pH through ureolysis will open the way to using recombinant ureolytic organisms to test hypotheses regarding the role of oral ureolysis in dental caries, calculus formation, and periodontal diseases. Such recombinant organisms may eventually prove useful for controlling dental caries by replacement therapy.
Bariatric surgery training in the United States

Abstract Background To provide evidence of the status of bariatric surgical education in the accredited surgery training programs in the United States. Methods A questionnaire was sent by mail to the 251 accredited surgery residency training programs, including the 48 minimally invasive surgery fellowship programs, in the United States. Results There was a 100% response to the questionnaire. Of the 251 surgery residency training programs and 48 minimally invasive surgery fellowship programs, 185 (73.7%) and 43 (89.6%) performed bariatric surgery, respectively. The open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was the dominant procedure (85.1%), followed by laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (60.9%), in the residency programs; the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was the dominant procedure (70.1%) in the minimally invasive fellowship programs. Conclusions Bariatric surgery has been mainstreamed into accredited training programs in the United States.
Detection of Babesia bigemina-infected carriers by polymerase chain reaction amplification.

Abstract A SpeI-AvaI fragment (0.3 kbp) from pBbi16 (a pBR322 derivative containing a 6.3-kbp Babesia bigemina DNA insert) was subcloned into the pBluescript phagemid vector and was sequenced by the dideoxy-mediated chain termination method. Two sets of primers were designed for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Primer set IA-IB was used to amplify a 278-bp DNA fragment, and primer set IAN-IBN was used to prepare a probe directed to a site within the PCR-amplified target DNA. Digoxigenin-dUTP was incorporated into the probe during the amplification reaction. PCR amplification of target DNA obtained from in vitro-cultured B. bigemina and nucleic acid hybridization of amplified product with the nonradioactive DNA probe showed that a 278-bp fragment could be detected when as little as 100 fg of parasite genomic DNA was used in the assay. A fragment of similar size was amplified from genomic DNAs from several B. bigemina isolates but not from DNAs from Babesia bovis, Anaplasma marginale, or six species of bacteria or bovine leukocytes. Similarly, the PCR product could be detected in DNA samples purified from 200 microliters of blood with a parasitemia of as low as 1 in 10(8) cells and which contained an estimated 30 B. bigemina-infected erythrocytes. By a direct PCR method, B. bigemina DNA was amplified from 20 microliters of packed erythrocytes with a calculated parasitemia of 1 in 10(9) cells. With the analytical sensitivity level of the PCR-DNA probe assay, six cattle with inapparent, 11-month chronic B. bigemina infection were found to be positive. No PCR product was observed in bovine blood samples collected from a splenectomized, A. marginale-infected bovine, a 4-year chronic B. bovis-infected animal, or 20 uninfected cattle from Missouri which were subjected to amplification. The PCR-DNA probe assay was shown to be sensitive in detecting latently infected cattle. The specificity and high analytical sensitivity of the test provide valuable tools for performing large-scale epidemiological studies.
Relationship of Headache-Associated Stressors and Hypnosis Therapy Outcome in Children: A Retrospective Chart Review

This study examined potential psychosocial stressors of 30 children with headaches (mean age, 15 years), and the role of insight generation in the outcome of hypnosis therapy. The mean duration of headache occurrence was 3 years. All of the patients were instructed in how to use hypnosis-induced relaxation and headache-related imagery to improve their symptoms. Thirty-seven percent reported their headaches were associated with fixed stressors, defined as caused by events over which patients had no control, while 63% reported variable stressors, defined as modifiable by the patients' actions. Four patients were lost to follow-up. Overall, 96% (25/26) reported a decrease in headache frequency and/or intensity following use of hypnosis. However, prior to insight generation patients reporting fixed stressors were significantly less likely to improve than those reporting variable stressors (p = 0.018). Thus, insight generation may be more important for achievement of improvement in children whose headaches are associated with fixed stressors.
Precision timing and interlock systems for FEL heating experiments on MTX

A new precision timing system has been installed on the Microwave Tokamak Experiment (MTX). The purpose of the system is to synchronize the tokamak's plasma discharge with a 140 GHz, 2 GW microwave pulse generated by a free-electron laser (FEL). The installation involved modifying the existing sequencer system and adding digital delay generators, three in-house-designed CAMAC modules, and other components. The system controls placement of the 30 ns FEL pulse during the MTX plasma discharge and provides decision triggers for the microwave plasma diagnostics. These triggers are distributed over 100 Mb/s fiber-optic links. The MTX interlock system has been expanded to provide personnel safety during FEL experiments, to protect the FEL and related equipment, and to control the path of the FEL beam starting from the FEL's output, through the beam transport system, and into the tokamak. How the existing MTX timing and interlock systems were upgraded to accommodate these new FEL experiments is described. >
Error analysis of pronouns by normal and language-impaired children

Recent research has located extraordinary weakness in specifically language-impaired (SLI) children's development other than grammatical morphemes. A problem with pronoun case marking was reported to be more prevalent in SLI children than in normally developing children matched by mean length of utterance. However, results from the present study do not support that finding. Spontaneous utterances from 3 conversational contexts were generated by 3 groups of normal and SLI children and were analyzed for accuracy of pronoun usage. Third person singular pronouns were judged according to case, gender, number, person and cohesion based on their linguistic and nonlinguistic contexts. Results indicated that SLI children exhibited more total errors than their chronological peers, but not more than their language level peers. An analysis of error types indicated a similar pattern in pronoun case marking.
When Development Meets Culture and Conflict: The Challenges and Paradoxes of the Good Samaritan

This essay examines the nexus between development, culture and conflict. It finds that development is not so much a well-intentioned process to raise the well-being of poor people. Rather, it is the product of a political agenda that has transformed itself over time yet continues to be characterised by insufficient attention to the goals, cultural values and agency of those for whom development support is intended. The result is that development, even when well intentioned, can contribute to increased conflict. This paper finds that some of the approaches used in effective conflict resolution could usefully be incorporated into development theory and practice.
Automated, Real-Time Health Monitoring of Structures for Interplanetary Exploration Systems

Space exploration missions, specifically to Mars, involve complex operations as the search for water and other signs of extant or past life continues. Such missions require advanced robotic systems that are susceptible to structural and mechanical failures and operational faults, which motivates a need for structural health monitoring techniques relevant to interplanetary exploration systems. This paper presents an automated dynamics-based structural health monitoring system using laser Doppler velocimeter sensors, signal filters, and trained neural networks that is formulated for a subsurface interplanetary exploration drill prototype. The developed system presents advanced research accomplishments in the area of real-time structural health monitoring that include rapid-response capabilities of predicting drilling faults and failures before they occur and field demonstrations on an operating drill system.
Influence of perceived interactivity of a sexual health text message service on young people’s attitudes, satisfaction and repeat use

Sexual health text message services are becoming an increasingly popular way to reach young people with sexual health information. A variety of service types exist: some send automated messages on a set schedule; others provide personalized responses to individual questions. Young people's perceptions of interactivity, which is often based on system responsiveness, may vary. This study examines perceptions of interactivity for users of a two-way text message service that connects young people directly with a health educator and examines the relationship between perceived interactivity and attitudes toward the service, service satisfaction, and repeated service use. Data from 131 users in the southeastern U.S.A. were analysed. Perceived interactivity was associated with positive attitudes, user satisfaction and repeat use. Data suggest that for sexual health information seeking, young people may view a program as more useful if they perceive it is interactive. Services that provide a back-and-forth dialog between health educators and users may be perceived as interactive, and those perceptions of interactivity can influence attitudes toward the service as well as behaviors, such as using the service repeatedly. Since such services offer accurate and timely health information, repeated use allows for the additional exchange of health information and educational opportunities.
Shifting Paradigms About Hormonal Risk Factors for Postmenopausal Depression: Age at Menopause as an Indicator of Cumulative Lifetime Exposure to Female Reproductive Hormones

is a meta-analysis of 14 observational studies addressing the association of depression after menopause in women with both age at menopause and duration of the reproductive period. Age at menopause is used to estimate the duration of the reproductive period because there is less variability in the age range for menarche (within a 3-year window in 80% of girls) 2 than for menopause (within a 7-year window for approximately 80% of women). 3 The meta-analysis concludes that there is a small but statistically significant increased likelihood of depression after menopause that is inversely associated with increasing age at menopause (odds ratio [OR], 0.98, in 13 studies) and increasing duration of the reproductive period (OR, 0.98, in 5 studies), which is defined as age at menopause (defined as 1 year after final menstrual period) minus age at menarche. This translates to a 2% reduction in risk for each 2-year increase in menopausal age. Therefore, the older a woman is at the time of ovarian senescence and the greater the number of years between the age at menarche (first menses) and at menopause (defined as final menstrual period or 1 year after final menstrual period), the lower the risk that she will experience depression in her postmenopausal years. Population-based studies show that the median age at the final menstrual period is 52.5 years, and 90% of women have their final menstrual period by age 56 years. 3 The vast majority of the articles included in this meta-analysis were conducted in women whose average age was 55 years or older; the average age was 60 years or older in half of the studies. In addition, the average age for women in most studies was at least 5 years older than the average age at menopause that they reported. Therefore, this meta-analysis does not address depression associated with the gonadal steroid fluctuations of the perimenopause or recent estradiol withdrawal of the immediate postmenopause. Rather, the analysis applies to depression in older women whose brains have not recently been exposed to estradiol or other reproductive hormones and for whom hormonal risk factors have previously been considered less relevant. Results of this study provide a novel paradigm for under
Population Dynamics and Evaluation of Alternative Management Strategies for Nonnative Lake Trout in Priest Lake, Idaho

AbstractLake Trout Salvelinus namaycush have been introduced widely throughout the western USA to enhance recreational fisheries, but high predatory demand can create challenges for management of yield and trophy fisheries alike. Lake Trout were introduced to Priest Lake, Idaho, during the 1920s, but few fishery-independent data are available to guide current or future management actions. We collected fishery-independent data to describe population dynamics and evaluate potential management scenarios using an age-structured population model. Lake Trout in Priest Lake were characterized by fast growth at young ages, which resulted in young age at maturity. However, adult growth rates and body condition were lower than for other Lake Trout populations. High rates of skipped spawning (>50%) were also observed. Model projections indicated that the population was growing (λ = 1.03). Eradication could be achieved by increasing annual mortality to 0.32, approximately twice the current rate. A protected slot leng...
Left atrial appendage ligation in patients with atrial fibrillation leads to a decrease in atrial dispersion.

Background Left atrial appendage (LAA) exclusion has been performed in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to prevent thrombus formation and subsequent cardioembolic events. Left atrial electrical remodeling is a recognized factor in the recurrence of AF. The effects of LAA exclusion on P‐wave characteristics and left atrial electrical remodeling have not been well described. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of LAA ligation on P‐wave morphology in patients with AF. Methods and Results Fifteen patients who were in sinus rhythm during the LAA ligation procedure were included in the study. We evaluated the P‐wave characteristics, including P‐wave duration, P‐wave amplitude, PQ interval, and P‐wave dispersion, before and after ligation. Eleven patients had paroxysmal AF and 4 patients had persistent AF (12 male patients and 3 female patients). P‐wave duration immediately after ligation was significantly shorter compared with baseline in all limb leads except lead aVR ( P P =0.01), and P‐wave dispersion after 1 to 3 months was significantly shorter compared with baseline ( P =0.02). Conclusions LAA exclusion produces consistent P‐wave changes consistent with decreased atrial mass and decreased atrial dispersion that may represent reverse electrical atrial remodeling. This is a potential mechanism to explain the role of LAA ligation in maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with AF.
Influence of social networking websites on medical school and residency selection process.

Background Social networking (SN) has become ubiquitous in modern culture. The potential consequences of revealing personal information through SN websites are not fully understood. Objective To assess familiarity with, usage of, and attitudes towards, SN websites by admissions offices at US medical schools and residency programmes. Methods A 26-question survey was distributed in autumn 2009 to 130 US medical school admissions officers and 4926 residency programme directors accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Results A total of 600 surveys were completed, with 46 (8%) respondents who self-identified as reviewing only medical school applications, 511 (85%) who reported reviewing residency programme applications and 43 (7%) who reported reviewing both. 90/600 (15%) medical schools or programmes maintain profiles on SN websites and 381/600 (64%) respondents reported being somewhat or very familiar with searching individual profiles on SN websites. While a minority of medical schools and residency programmes routinely use SN websites in the selection process (53/600; 9%), more than half of respondents felt that unprofessional information on applicants’ SN websites could compromise their admission into medical school or residency (315/600; 53%). Conclusions SN websites will affect selection of medical students and residents. Formal guidelines for professional behaviour on SN websites might help applicants avoid unforeseen bias in the selection process.
Passively operated microfluidic device for stimulation and secretion sampling of single pancreatic islets.

A passively operated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device was designed for sampling of hormone secretions from eight individual murine pancreatic islets in parallel. Flow control was achieved using a single hand-held syringe and by exploiting inherent fluidic resistances of the microchannels (Rsampling = 700 ± 20 kPa s mm–3 at 37 °C). Basal (3 mM) or stimulatory (11 mM) glucose levels were applied to islets, with stimulation timing (tstim) minimized to 15 ± 2 s using modified reservoirs. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for postsampling analyses, we measured statistically equal levels of 1 h insulin secretion (1.26 ± 0.26 and 6.55 ± 1.00 pg islet–1 min–1, basal and stimulated; 62 islets) compared to standard, bulk sampling methods (1.01 ± 0.224 and 6.04 ± 1.53 pg islet–1 min–1, basal and stimulated; 200 islets). Importantly, the microfluidic platform revealed novel information on single-islet variability. Islet volume measurements with confocal reflectance microscopy revealed th...
In-Cylinder Optical Diagnostics in a Laser Ignited Natural Gas Fired Reciprocating Engine

ABSTRACT In-cylinder combustion gas temperature and rate of heat release are important combustion metrics in internal combustion engines. Such metrics play an important role in the development of strategies for reduced emissions and improved engine performance. The traditional practice has been to measure in-cylinder pressures and deduce the metrics using simple thermodynamic treatments. However, with the availability of improved optics, especially in the field of fiber-optics, optical access to in-cylinder combustion becomes possible. Two diagnostics that measure spectral emission from CO 2 * and OH* species within the combustion environment of a natural gas fueled IC engine were evaluated. The combustion temperatures were varied by operating the engine over an EQR of 0.6 – 1.0 and different levels of exhaust gas recirculation. CO 2 * emission does not lend itself to prediction of crank-angle resolved combustion metrics. However its peak values in a combustion cycle correlated well with both rate of heat release as well as peak combustion temperature during the cycle. In contrast temperatures derived from curve fitting to OH* emission spectra enabled measurement of crank angle resolved in-cylinder temperatures.
Metal-Controlled Assembly of Uranyl Diphosphonates toward the Design of Functional Uranyl Nanotubules

Two uranyl nanotubules with elliptical cross sections were synthesized in high yield from complex and large oxoanions using hydrothermal reactions of uranyl salts with 1,4-benzenebisphosphonic acid or 4,4′-biphenylenbisphosphonic acid and Cs+ or Rb+ cations in the presence of hydrofluoric acid. Disordered Cs+/Rb+ cations and solvent molecules are present within and/or between the nanotubules. Ion-exchange experiments with A2{(UO2)2F(PO3HC6H4C6H4PO3H)(PO3HC6H4C6H4PO3)}·2H2O (A = Cs+, Rb+), revealed that A+ cations can be exchanged for Ag+ ions. The uranyl phenyldiphosphonate nanotubules, Cs3.62H0.38[(UO2)4{C6H4(PO2OH)2}3{C6H4(PO3)2}F2]·nH2O, show high stability and exceptional ion-exchange properties toward monovalent cations, as demonstrated by ion-exchange studies with selected cations, Na+, K+, Tl+, and Ag+. Studies on ion-exchanged single crystal using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) provide evidence for chemical zonation in Cs3.62H0.38[(UO2)4{C6H4(PO2OH)...