cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Demographic and Geographic Features of Exfoliation Glaucoma in 2 United States-Based Prospective Cohorts

Purpose To examine prospectively the association between demographic and geographic factors in relation to exfoliation glaucoma (EG) or exfoliation glaucoma suspect (EGS). Design Prospective cohort study. Participants Seventy-eight thousand nine hundred fifty-five women in the Nurses' Health Study and 41 191 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Methods Female and male health professionals were followed prospectively from 1980 through 2008 and from 1986 through 2008, respectively. Eligible participants were 40 years of age or older, did not have EG or EGS at baseline, and reported undergoing eye examinations during follow-up. Information regarding demographic features, lifetime geographic residence, and potential confounders was collected. During follow-up, 348 EG or EGS cases were confirmed with medical record review. The relative risk of EG or EGS in each cohort was estimated separately and the results were pooled with meta-analysis. Main Outcome Measures Multivariate rate ratios (MVRRs) of EG or EGS and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Exfoliation glaucoma or EGS was strongly age related with subjects 75 years of age or older at 46.22-fold (95% CI, 22.77–93.80) increased risk compared with those between 40 and 55 years of age. Although men were 68% less likely to develop EG or EGS than women (MVRR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.23–0.46), no predisposition to EG or EGS by ancestry, particularly Scandinavian ancestry, emerged. Compared with a lifetime of living in the northern tier of the continental United States, lifetime residence in the middle geographic tier (MVRR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.40–0.71) and in the southern geographic tier (MVRR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09–0.71) was associated with markedly reduced risks of EG or EGS. Conclusions In this mainly white cohort from the United States, increasing age and female gender were significant risk factors for EG or EGS; however, Scandinavian heritage was not. Living in the middle or southern regions of the United States relative to living in the northern region was associated with a reduced risk of EG or EGS. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Maternal medical disease: Risk of antepartum fetal death

Although certain maternal medical conditions increase the risk of antepartum fetal death, improvements in medical and obstetric care have decreased the likelihood of stillbirth. This article examines the current stillbirth rates reported in pregnancies complicated by common medical diseases. The reported stillbirth rates are expressed as the number of stillbirths occurring at ≥20 weeks of gestation per 1,000 births in patients with the condition. Overall, about 10% of all fetal deaths are related to maternal medical illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic renal disease, thyroid disorders, and cholestasis of pregnancy. The early recognition of maternal medical diseases provides an opportunity for increased surveillance and interventions that may lead to more favorable pregnancy outcomes.
Bacterial luminescence: In vivo and in vitro response to X irradiation

Abstract Bacterial luminescence is suppressed immediately by X rays and recovers promptly thereafter. This effect is similar in vivo and in vitro , and any disparities are attributed to physicochemical differences between the two sample types. Continuous measurement of dissolved oxygen in samples suggests depletion of oxygen is not responsible for this radiation response. These measurements do show a transient increase of oxygen uptake by bacteria during exposure. Comparisons such as these should be useful in further studies towards identifying the radiosensitive component(s).
A use of computers to teach group theory and introduce students to research

Abstract This paper describes a graduate course in which students explored unsolved problems in group theory by computer. This introduced them both to the subject and to the use of computational software in doing research. One outcome was a joint publication by the class.
Use of Hydrophilic-Coated Urethral Catheters in Management of Acute Urinary Retention

Objectives Acute urinary retention (AUR) is a painful subacute emergency that is frequency seen in the general practice of urology. Urethral catheterization to drain the bladder can usually be performed successfully, safely, and with minimal discomfort using standard balloon retention catheters. In a small percentage of cases, however, abnormal urethral anatomy precludes passage of catheters of any size. In these situations, the urologist has a variety of more invasive and complex tools available for draining the bladder. With the introduction of hydrophilic catheters and their prominent use in children receiving intermittent catheterization, we have developed a protocol extrapolating our knowledge in children to the older male in AUR in whom a traditional catheter could not be placed. Methods A total of 44 men in AUR in whom placement of a traditional catheter had failed were recruited into our study in an attempt to avoid more invasive bedside maneuvers or surgical intervention. A hydrophilic catheter that had been modified to allow the throughput of a wire was used to attempt bladder catheterization. Results Of the 44 men, 34 (72%) had successful placement of the hydrophilic catheter, relieving their discomfort and AUR. Of the 34 successful catheterizations, 30 (88%) resulted in successful placement of an indwelling Council catheter after removal of the hydrophilic catheter. Long-term drainage was accomplished in 30 (68%) of the 44 men in whom initial catheter placement for AUR had failed. Conclusions We propose that the hydrophilic catheter should be a part of the urologist's armamentarium whenever treating men with AUR.
Temporal synchronization of watermarked video using image hashing

In this paper, we concentrate on video watermarking for forensics applications and consider the temporal synchronization problem, which has been overlooked in the literature so far. As a result, we propose a system that provides temporal synchronization in video watermarking by using side information at the receiver. Short perceptually-robust representations (also known as robust hash values) of randomly selected frames from the watermarked video regions is derived at the encoder and transmitted to the decoder. Synchronization is then achieved by computing perceptually-representative information of all frames of the received video at the receiver and finding the "best matching region" via solving a combinatorial optimization problem efficiently using dynamic programming techniques. A suitably-chosen "robust image hash" function is used to derive the necessary representative information of the video frames; the resulting hash values possess properties of being short in length, computable in real time, and similar (resp. different) for perceptually similar (resp. different) video frames with high probability. We experimentally illustrate the effectiveness of our method against several attacks, which include frame-wise geometric attacks, as well as temporal de-synchronization attacks, such as random temporal interpolation, scene editing, cutting and swapping.
Oscillations of nonlinear feedback systems which contain tightly coupled subsystems in cascade

We formulate and prove a theorem which gives a rigorous theoretical justification for the use of describing functions to predict the existence of limit cycles in a multiple nonlinear feedback system and to predict the stability properties of these limit cycles. Our approach uses the classical sinusoidal-input describing function and the theory of integral manifolds. We demonstrate the applicability of our result by means of two specific examples.
Community detection in dynamic social networks: a game-theoretic approach

Most real-world social networks are inherently dynamic and composed of communities that are constantly changing in membership. As a result, recent years have witnessed increased attention toward the challenging problem of detecting evolving communities. This paper presents a game-theoretic approach for community detection in dynamic social networks in which each node is treated as a rational agent who periodically chooses from a set of predefined actions in order to maximize its utility function. The community structure of a snapshot emerges after the game reaches Nash equilibrium; the partitions and agent information are then transferred to the next snapshot. An evaluation of our method on two real world dynamic datasets (AS-Internet Routers Graph and AS-Oregon Graph) demonstrates that we are able to report more stable and accurate communities over time compared to the benchmark methods.
Fault tolerant formation control of nonholonomic mobile robots using online approximators

For unmanned systems, it is desirable to have some sort of fault tolerant ability in order to accomplish the mission. Therefore, in this paper, the fault tolerant control of a formation of nonholonomic mobile robots in the presence unknown faults is undertaken. Initially, a kinematic/torque leader-follower formation control law is developed for the robots under the assumption of normal operation, and the stability of the formation is verified using Lyapunov theory. Subsequently, the control law for the formation is modified by incorporating an additional term, and this new control law compensates the effects of the faults. Moreover, the faults could be incipient or abrupt in nature. The additional term used in the modified control law is a function of the unknown fault dynamics which are recovered using the online learning capabilities of online approximators. Additionally, asymptotic convergence of the FDA scheme and the formation errors in the presence of faults is shown using Lyapunov theory. Finally, numerical results are provided to verify the theoretical conjectures.
Dissipated Energy Approach to Study Hot-Mix Asphalt Healing in Fatigue

The healing phenomenon has been noted by pavement engineers for years, but its relation to hot-mix asphalt (HMA) fatigue behavior is still far from clear. This study conducted an analysis of healing and HMA fatigue behavior by introducing a specifically designed fatigue-healing test. These results help explain the differences in fatigue behavior at normal and low strain levels. An approach using the ratio of dissipated energy change, which is based on energy concepts, is used in this study. The results show that healing does exist, and its effect on fatigue life can be indicated by an energy recovery per second of rest period. The effect of healing is more prominent at low strain levels or in very long rest periods. At low strain conditions, the dominance of healing compared with the very low external load damage, considering the energy equilibrium, can result in full damage recovery. This full recovery of energy explains the existence of a fatigue endurance limit, below which HMA materials tend to have extraordinarily long fatigue lives that, as is shown, can be related to healing. The testing conducted clearly shows why polymer modification may extend the fatigue life in the field even though laboratory testing may show minimal differences compared with the neat binder test results.
Evaluation and significance of tetracycline stability in rabies vaccine baits.

Tetracycline is widely used as a biomarker for bait consumption by wildlife; tetra- cycline is incorporated into bones and teeth and can be detected by fluorescence microscopy several weeks postconsumption. During 2003, the United States Department of Agriculture dis- tributed more than 10 million tetracycline-containing rabies-vaccine baits to control the spread of wildlife vectored rabies to humans, pets, and livestock. To estimate the percentage of target species consuming the baits, raccoons and skunks were collected in baited areas and teeth were analyzed for the presence of the biomarker. Several incidents of low biomarker detection rates prompted an investigation of the stability of the biomarker in the baits. Baits were collected at several points along the manufacturing and distribution chain. Baits were analyzed for free and polymer-bound tetracycline and the less active isomer epitetracycline. Results indicated that a portion of the tetracycline was converted to epitetracycline. Additionally, significant quantities of both compounds were trapped in the polymer, which is homogeneously distributed throughout the bait. The results of this study suggest that approximately 40% of the target quantity of tet- racycline was unavailable for absorption. This situation could contribute to low biomarker detec- tion rates and suggests that formulation modification should be considered.
Wang cubes for video synthesis and geometry placement

We present an extension of Cohen's Wang Tiles to three dimensions: Wang Cubes. Cubes are filled with video or Poisson distributed points to perform realtime video synthesis or geometry placement.
Psychiatric nursing in the 1990s.

This article reviews the accomplishments of psychiatric nursing—theory development, advanced practitioner roles, family-centered care—and notes some limitations—a projected shortage of psychiatric nurses, devaluation of biological knowledge, reluctance to focus on illness. The challenges ahead for the 1990s are described with a focus on the tremendous need to integrate the biological sciences (neurobiology, genetics, and immunology) and behavioral sciences in the practice of psychiatric nursing. In the development of these issues, attention is paid to the argument raised by consumer advocacy groups that a clear differentiation exists between adjustment problems and mental illness. In a time when psychiatry is realigning itself with medical practice, it is important that psychiatric nursing become reassociated with both neurological nursing and the care ethic. This article ends with a partial list of questions for psychiatric nurses to answer in the decade ahead.
Anatomical characterization of a novel reticulospinal vasodepressor area in the rat medulla oblongata

Microinjection of L-glutamate into a subregion of the gigantocellular nucleus of the rat medulla oblongata significantly lowers arterial pressure. This vasodepressor area, the gigantocellular depressor area, is topographically distinct from other vasoactive areas of the medulla. We sought to determine the efferent projections of the gigantocellular depressor area and compare these to the efferent projections of sympathoexcitatory neurons within the rostral ventrolateral medulla. The anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin was deposited into sites in the gigantocellular depressor area or rostral ventrolateral medulla (pressor area) functionally defined as vasodepressor or vasopressor by microinjections of L-glutamate. Following Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin injections into the gigantocellular depressor area, labeled punctuate fibers were seen bilaterally within distinct areas of a number of autonomic regions including the nuclei of the solitary tract, subcoeruleus area, parabrachial complex, the medial medullary reticular formation of the medulla and pons, and laminae 7 and 10 of the thoracic spinal cord. Following deposits into the rostral ventrolateral medulla (pressor area), labeled fibers were seen in many of these same autonomic nuclei; however, efferents from the gigantocellular depressor area to the nucleus of the solitary tract, the parabrachial complex and the reticular formation were medial to rostral ventrolateral medulla (pressor area) efferents to these same areas. These data indicate that neurons within the gigantocellular depressor area and the rostral ventrolateral medulla (pressor area) project to autonomic nuclei throughout the central nervous system and further suggest a heterogeneity of function with regard to autonomic control both within the reticular formation and its efferent targets. In addition, these data support the view that the gigantocellular depressor area may be a novel reticulospinal sympathoinhibitory area.
Scientific authorship in the age of collaborative research

Abstract I examine two challenges that collaborative research raises for science. First, collaborative research threatens the motivation of scientists. As a result, I argue, collaborative research may have adverse effects on what sorts of things scientists can effectively investigate. Second, collaborative research makes it more difficult to hold scientists accountable. I argue that the authors of multi-authored articles are aptly described as plural subjects, corporate bodies that are more than the sum of the individuals involved. Though journal editors do not currently conceive of the authors of multi-authored articles this way, this conception provides us with the conceptual resources to make sense of how collaborating scientists behave.
On-the-Job Performance of Home Health Aides: A Structural Interpretation

This is a structural analysis of the causes of poor job performance in one of the fastest growing occupations in the Health Care Service sector. It is overwhelmingly dominated by Black and Hispanic women. Aides must negotiate two social organizations: their official job duties are regulated by administrators who have little knowledge of Aides' work environments. The other structure that they encounter involves the expectations of patients. Since many of the tasks performed by Aides fall into society's classification of woman's work, there is an expectation on the part of patients that Health Workers will fulfill the mother/maid role rather than the role of nursing paraprofessional laid out by the Home Care industry.
Shoot:root dynamics during growth stages of the rush Juncus effusus L.

Abstract Growth relationships between above- and belowground portions of Juncus effusus L. were examined in cultures that allowed examination of changes in tissue parameters (length, volume, surface area, mass) nondestructively. Mean shoot:root ratios (AFDM ± SE) decreased 83% (3.68 ± 0.31 to 0.64 ± 0.06) over a 98-day study period. These changes in carbon allocation, even though the aboveground biomass was still increasing, were confirmed with 14 CO 2 pulse-labelling experiments which indicated a shift toward increased allocation of carbon to roots, particularly during periods of cohort establishment in this species. Root mass (length-specific AFDM, mg cm −1 ) was poorly correlated with shoot characteristics, but root length was strongly positively correlated with shoot biomass measurements (height; surface area). Analyses of shoot:root biomass relationships indicated decreasing root mass per unit length as shoot biomass increased.
Disordered mind, wounded soul: The emerging role of psychotherapy in rehabilitation after brain injury

The traditional pessimism over attempting psychotherapy with brain dysfunctional individuals is being challenged. Symbols that can guide the psychotherapeutic process with these individuals are discussed and presented. The role of various art forms to enhance a better understanding of the brain dysf
Habitat Selection at Two Spatial Scales and Diurnal Activity Patterns of Adult Female Forest Buffalo

Abstract Forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) occur throughout the Congo Basin forest region of central Africa. Unlike for the well-studied Cape (or savanna) buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer), few data exist for forest buffalo. I tracked 7 radiocollared adult female forest buffalo at Lope National Park, Gabon, over a 2-year period (2002–2004) to examine home ranges, habitat selection, and diurnal activity patterns. Home ranges of female forest buffalo averaged 4.55 km2 in area (mean number of locations per animal = 205); the percent of home-range overlap between individual radiocollared buffalo was small. Home ranges remained the same size and in the same locations over both study years. Distance analysis of habitat use from radiotracking data was used to assess forest buffalo habitat selection at 2 spatial scales. At the landscape scale, buffalo selected savanna and marsh habitat over forest habitat within a 72-km2 study area. Thus, forest buffalo home ranges were savanna-dominated despite the greater a...
Relative importance of host environment, transmission potential and host phylogeny to the structure of parasite metacommunities

Identifi cation of mechanisms that shape parasite community and metacommunity structures have important implications to host health, disease transmission, and the understanding of community assembly in general. Using a long-term dataset on parasites from desert rodents, we examined the relative contributions of host traits that represent important aspects of parasite environment, transmission probability between host species, and host phylogeny to the structure of a parasite metacommunity as well as for taxonomically restricted parasite metacommunities (coccidians, ectoparasites and helminths). Th is was done using a combination of metacommunity analysis and variance partitioning based on canonical correspondence analysis. Coccidian and ectoparasite metacommunities did not exhibit coherent structure. In contrast, helminths and the full parasite metacommunity had Clementsian and quasi-Clementsian structure, respectively, indicating that parasite species distributions for these metacommunities were compartmentalized along a dominant gradient. Variance decomposition indicated that characteristics associated with the host environment consistently explained more variation than did host traits associated with transmission opportunities or host phylogeny, indicating that the host environment is primary in shaping parasite species distributions among host species. Moreover, the importance of diff erent types of host traits in structuring parasite metacommunities was consistent among taxonomic groups (i.e. full metacommunity, coccidians, and helminths) despite manifest diff erences in emergent structures (i.e. Clementsian, quasi-Clementsian, and random) that arose in response to variation in host environment.
Tricritical points of smectic A to nematic phase transitions for binary liquid crystal mixtures containing cyanobiphenyls

Abstract The tricritical point of the smectic A (SA) to nematic (N) phase transition in liquid crystals, at which the nature of the phase transition changes from first order to second order, is related to the change in the order parameter during the phase transition. In this study, 13C NMR was used to determine the order parameters of four binary liquid crystal systems as a function of temperature and composition in order to investigate the tricritical behaviour of their SA-N transition. The first system was mixture of 4-n-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and 4-n-pentylphenyl 4′-n-pentyloxybenzoate (5O5), which have an injected smectic A phase. The tricritical point of this system has a McMillan ratio of 0.949 ± 0.008. The three other systems were binary mixtures of 4-n-alkyl-4′-cyanobiphenyls (nCB). At the tricritical point, the McMillan ratio is 0.986 ± 0.007 for the 5CB/10CB mixtures, and 0.985 ± 0.008 for the 8CB/9CB mixtures, but a tricritical point was not observed for the 9CB/10CB mixtures. The result...
Domain Wall Memory-Layout, Circuit and Synergistic Systems

Domain wall memory (DWM) is gaining significant attention for embedded cache application due to low standby power, excellent retention, and ability to store multiple bits per cell. Additionally, it provides fast access time, good endurance, and good retention. However, it suffers from poor write latency, shift latency, shift power, and write power. DWM is sequential in nature and latency of read/write operations depends on the offset of the bit from the read/write head. This paper investigates the circuit design challenges such as bitcell layout, head positioning, utilization factor of the nanowire, shift power, shift latency, and provides solutions to deal with these issues. A synergistic system is proposed by combining circuit techniques such as merged read/write heads (for compact layout), flipped-bitcell and shift gating (for shift power optimization), wordline strapping (for access latency), shift circuit design with two micro-architectural techniques: 1) segmented cache and 2) workload-aware dynamic shift and write current boosting to realize energy-efficient and robust DWM cache. Simulations show 3–33% performance and 1.2–14.4X power consumption improvement for cache segregation and 2.5–31% performance and 1.3–14.9X power enhancement for dynamic current boosting over a wide range of PARSEC benchmarks.
Squamous Metaplasia in Organ Cultures of Vitamin A-Deficient Hamster Trachea: Cytokinetic and Ultrastructural Alterations

Cytokinetic and morphologic studies were performed to elucidate the origin of epidermoid metaplasia in organ cultures of tracheas derived from vitamin A-deficient Syrian golden hamsters. Focal areas of squamous metaplasia were observed 2 days after explantation, and extensive epidermoid metaplasia and cornification were present in approximately 89% of the explants at day 10. During the first 2 days, both basal and mucous cells proliferated actively. By day 3, the total mucous cell [3H]thymidine labeling index (LI) had declined and remained at very low levels during the remaining culture period. The basal cell LI also declined from its higher level, but it remained at relatively higher levels than those of the mucous cells between days 3 and 9 after culture. In the lesions, labeled cells were generally confined to the basal layer, and the LI was about thirtyfold greater than the total basal cell LI. As the lesions progressed, the surface layer containing the mucous and ciliated cells was exfoliated as a result of population pressure from the underlying actively proliferating basal cells and subsequent epidermoid differentiation of the daughter cells. These data support the hypothesis that epidermoid metaplasia of tracheobronchial epithelium caused by vitamin A deficiency originates from the generative or basal cells.
A review of the response of buried pipelines under seismic excitations

A detailed review of the literature on earthquake response and seismic-resistant design of underground piping systems reveals that current research has three main courses of pursuit: (1) the qualitative analysis of the types of damage possible, (2) the quantitative analysis of the damage, and (3) models for pipelines in a seismic environment. Seismic damage is caused primarily by ground movement and faulting, traveling seismic waves, liquefaction of sandy soil, or stiffness differences between two horizontally adjacent soil layers. In the seismic behavior of buried pipelines, the longitudinal strain normally in much larger than the bending strain in the pipe. However, in pipes of large diameters (60 in and more), bending deformation becomes sizable. The capability to survive fault motion apparently is enhanced by small friction forces acting on the pipeline. Furthermore, pipes made of lower grades of steel show more resistance to large fault displacement due to their greater ductility. Other things being equal, fault-motion capability increases slightly with increasing pipe-wall thickness.
Factors Influencing Dividend Policy Decisions of Nasdaq Firms

This study reports the results of a 1999 survey of Nasdaq-listed firms. Respondents provided information about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy. Our results suggest that many managers of Nasdaq firms make dividend decisions consistent with Lintner's (1956) survey results and model. The results also show significant differences between the manager responses of financial and non-financial firms on nine of the 22 factors. This finding implies the presence of industry effects on dividend policy decisions. In general, the same factors that are important to Nasdaq firms are also important to NYSE firms.
On consumer trust and product loyalty

Using a multidimensional conceptualization and drawing on previous theoretical frameworks, this study identifies the dynamic relationships between consumer trust and product loyalty, and explores the mechanism, by which these constructs are formed. It further examines the nature and direction of the chain of effects related to the formation of consumer trust and loyalty and their links, all in the context of the core relationship between consumers and firms from the production to consumption, and back to production again. This analysis implies that blind consumer loyalty to a product may lead to the elevation of producer's power and give a blank card for setting prices, adjusting quality and altering services, and ultimately reversing consumer sovereignty. The analysis also implies that consumer satisfaction domain spans much more over and beyond the consumption of a product and the consumer-firm relationship extends way beyond having the product and paying for it.
Peroxynitrite inactivates the human dopamine transporter by modification of cysteine 342: potential mechanism of neurotoxicity in dopamine neurons.

Peroxynitrite (ONOO − ) has been implicated as a causative factor in dopamine neuronal damage resulting from exposure to methamphetamine and1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), and it may be involved in the etiology of Parkinson9s Disease. ONOO − causes a concentration-dependent and irreversible reduction in dopamine uptake by EM4 cells stably expressing the human dopamine transporter (hDAT). The effect of ONOO − is manifested as a reduction in V max . Cysteine, dithiothreitol, glutathione, and N -acetyl-cysteine, reagents that interact directly with ONOO − , prevent this inhibition, whereas a scavenger of hydroxyl radical (dimethylsulfoxide), hydrogen peroxide (catalase), and superoxide (superoxide dismutase) did not. Dopamine in the extracellular medium protects the hDAT from ONOO − , whereas intracellular dopamine does not. Parachloromercuribenzoic acid and 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA), which share with ONOO − the ability to modify cysteine sulfhydryls, also inhibit hDAT function. ONOO − treatment lowers cysteine-specific labeling of the hDAT by MTSEA-biotin, suggesting that ONOO − reacts with one or more cysteines in hDAT. A mutant of hDAT (X7C) in which all intracellular and extracellular loop cysteines were mutated was resistant to inhibition by ONOO − . Sensitivity to ONOO − was restored in mutants of hDAT in which reduced cysteines were present only in the first (C135) and third (C342) intracellular loops (CD-DAT), or in which C342 alone had been reintroduced into X7C (X7C-M342C). These results indicate that the hDAT is inhibited by ONOO − through oxidation of cysteine 342. Our studies also substantiate the possibility that drugs known to decrease DAT function in vivo (e.g., methamphetamine and MPTP) may exert their effects through ONOO − -mediated oxidative stress.
Homicidal Events Among Mexican American Street Gangs: A Situational Analysis

This article examines the complexity of street gang homicides and focuses on situational factors that lead to gang members' susceptibility to this violent behavior within the context of a disadvantaged minority community. This study is based on an analysis of 28 homicides involving Mexican American gang members. The absence of immigrant youth involvement in these types of violent crimes is discussed. Findings demonstrate how locally embedded social processes associated with specific gang types, ecology, drugs, circumstances, and motives unfold into homicidal events. These findings may contribute to the development of street-based social programs focused on gang mediation, dispute resolution, and crisis intervention.
Clusters of problem behaviors in adolescents

This study was designed to examine clusters of problem behaviors in a sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health at two time points. The technique employed was a person-oriented approach, cluster analysis. Three clusters were identified, a normal behaviors cluster, a problem behaviors cluster, and a deviant behaviors cluster. The clusters were tested for stability and for their relationships to the demographic variables gender, race, age, and socioeconomic status. The mean values for most of the problem behaviors in the problem behaviors cluster were higher than for those in the normal behaviors cluster and lower than for those in the deviant behaviors cluster. Selling drugs and weapon use distinguished the deviant behaviors cluster from the other two. Different interventions probably will be required to address the needs of those in each of the different clusters.
Localization and navigation of the CoBots over long-term deployments

For the last three years, we have developed and researched multiple collaborative robots, CoBots, which have been autonomously traversing our multi-floor buildings. We pursue the goal of long-term autonomy for indoor service mobile robots as the ability for them to be deployed indefinitely while they perform tasks in an evolving environment. The CoBots include several levels of autonomy, and in this paper we focus on their localization and navigation algorithms. We present the Corrective Gradient Refinement (CGR) algorithm, which refines the proposal distribution of the particle filter used for localization with sensor observations using analytically computed state space derivatives on a vector map. We also present the Fast Sampling Plane Filtering algorithm that extracts planar regions from depth images in real time. These planar regions are then projected onto the 2D vector map of the building, and along with the laser rangefinder observations, used with CGR for localization. For navigation, we present a hierarchical planner, which computes a topological policy using a graph representation of the environment, computes motion commands based on the topological policy, and then modifies the motion commands to side-step perceived obstacles. We started logging the deployments of the CoBots one and a half years ago, and have since collected logs of the CoBots traversing more than 130 km over 1082 deployments and a total run time of 182 h, which we publish as a dataset consisting of more than 10 million laser scans. The logs show that although there have been continuous changes in the environment, the robots are robust to most of them, and there exist only a few locations where changes in the environment cause increased uncertainty in localization.
Of Course We’re Exclusive Hispanic College Students’ Ideas About Monogamy

Monogamy is often emphasized to the Hispanic youth, but only a few studies consider attitudes toward monogamy. This study fills that gap by examining Hispanic college students’ (n = 347) attitudes using the Monogamy Attitudes and the Emotional (MAS) and Sexual Monogamy Views Scales (ESMVS; Schmookler & Bursik, 2007). MANOVA results indicate the differences based on biological sex and self-reported cheating. College health professionals can use these results to better develop and implement effective sexual education programs for Hispanic college students.
Smoke-Free Policy Implementation: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

Secondhand smoke exposure is a major public health issue, increasing the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer. Although best practices for adopting smoke-free policy are well understood, there is limited research on the effective implementation of smoke-free policy. This article presents theoretical and practical considerations for smoke-free policy implementation in three Kentucky communities guided by the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework. Although both Danville and Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky have comprehensive smoke-free policies, Danville had more effective implementation, as well as better outcomes. Further study is needed to understand the critical elements of smoke-free policy implementation and their association with population outcomes. The IAD is a promising model to guide the study of both policy adoption and implementation.
Effect of Renal Function on Prognosis in Chronic Heart Failure

Renal dysfunction (RD) is associated with increased mortality in heart failure (HF). The aim of this study was to identify whether worsened or improved renal function during mid-term follow-up is associated with worsened outcomes in patients with chronic HF. A total of 892 participants from a multicenter cohort study of chronic HF were followed over 3.1 ± 1.9 years of enrollment. Worsened and improved renal functions were tested with multivariate models as independent predictors of HF hospitalization and mortality. Although 12% of subjects experienced a ≥25% decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), 17% experienced a ≥25% increase in eGFR, and there was stability of kidney function observed in the cohort as a whole. The quartile with the worst RD at any point in time had increased risk of HF hospitalization and mortality. Worsened eGFR was associated with HF outcomes in the unadjusted (hazard ratio = 1.71, 95% confidence interval 1.04 to 2.81, p = 0.035), but not the adjusted analysis. Improvement in eGFR was not associated with outcome (p = 0.453). In chronic HF, the severity of RD predicts risk of poor outcome better than changes in renal function during mid-term follow-up. This suggests that in patients with appropriately treated chronic HF, worsening renal function in itself does not yield useful prognostic information and may not reflect poor outcome.
On the cohomology of certain PEL-type Shimura varieties

In this article we study the local geometry at a prime p of PEL-type Shimura varieties for which there is a hyperspecial level subgroup. We consider the Newton polygon stratification of the special fiber at p of Shimura varieties and show that each Newton polygon stratum can be described in terms of the products of the reduced fibers of the corresponding PEL-type Rapoport-Zink spaces with certain smooth varieties (which we call Igusa varieties) and of the action on them of a p-adic group that depends on the stratum. We then extend our construction to characteristic zero and, in the case of bad reduction at p, use it to compare the vanishing cycle sheaves of the Shimura varieties to those of the Rapoport-Zink spaces. As a result of this analysis, in the case of proper Shimura varieties we obtain a description of the l-adic cohomology of the Shimura varieties in terms of the l-adic cohomology with compact supports of the Igusa varieties and of the Rapoport-Zink spaces for any prime l≠p.
Explosive silicic volcanism of the Yellowstone hotspot: The ash fall tuff record

Unaltered silicic ash fall tuffs are abundant in Neogene sedimentary basins of the western U.S. and constitute an important record of explosive silicic volcanism in this region. In particular, ash fall tuffs from silicic volcanic centers along the Yellowstone hotspot track are common in these basins and provide a detailed record of explosive volcanism along the hotspot track. The available hotspot ash fall tuff record commences at ca. 16 Ma, shortly after the initiation of hotspot silicic volcanism at ca. 16.5 Ma, and continues through the most recent explosive eruptions in the late Pleistocene. Post–16 Ma hotspot silicic volcanism has been dominated by eruption of metaluminous ash flow tuffs and rhyolites, and ash fall tuffs produced by these eruptions dominate the Yellowstone hotspot ash fall tuff record. Evaluation of a well-dated composite sequence of 142 of these tuffs reveals systematic variation in magma composition, magma temperature, eruption frequency, and, possibly, volumetric discharge as the hotspot migrated eastward from the western edge of the North America craton to its current location in the Yellowstone Plateau. On the basis of these variations, three primary stages of metaluminous rhyolite magmatism (M stages) are recognized: M1 (16.0–15.2 Ma), M2 (15.2–7.5 Ma), and M3 (7.5–0 Ma). Each of these stages is marked by distinctive magma compositions, eruption frequencies, and magma temperature ranges and trends, with an overall decline in average eruption frequency and magma temperature from stage to stage. The partitioning of explosive hotspot volcanism into stages likely reflects variation in the style and intensity of the interaction between the mantle anomaly powering the hotspot magmatic systems and a spatially and temporally heterogeneous lithosphere along the hotspot track. Although the ash fall tuff record does not provide definitive constraints on the nature of these variable interactions, correlations between changes in eruption frequency, ash fall tuff discharge, and magma temperature point to variable input of mantle basalt into hotspot crustal magmatic systems as a first order control on intensity of explosive volcanism. As future studies reveal more about the processes controlling the variations in hotspot silicic volcanism, a fuller understanding of both the nature of silicic magmatism and the nature of the Yellowstone hotspot should emerge.
Cryptosphaeria Dieback of Fremont Cottonwood Caused by Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis and C. multicontinentalis in California

Fremont cottonwood is a large and tall tree native to riparian areas in the southwestern United States. It grows along streams, rivers, and wetlands and serves many ecological and socioeconomic functions. In recent years, we observed a severe decline of Fremont cottonwood trees in California. Trees showed branches dying back, with dark-brown internal discoloration and decay of the wood of twigs, branches, or trunks. Eventually, the cambium and the bark were killed, causing a canker. The fungus Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis was isolated consistently from the necrotic wood of branches and twigs. On rare occasion, C. multicontinentalis was also isolated from symptomatic wood. Therefore, we investigated the pathogenicity in Fremont cottonwood of C. pullmanensis and C. multicontinentalis. Koch’s postulates were completed in saplings and both species appeared highly virulent, producing internal necrosis and staining of the wood. This study is the first to report Cryptosphaeria dieback of Populus fremontii caused ...
Complex Variable Theory and Elastic Stability Problems

Solution of the eigenvalue problem governing the elastic stability of a thin elastic plate subjected to hydrostatic in-plane compression is easily accomplished when the boundary configuration is natural to one of the common coordinate systems. For more exotic boundaries approximate techniques must be used. If the given domain is mapped onto a simpler one, i.e., the unit circle, the boundary conditions can then be satisfied identically. Since the governing partial differential equation is not invariant under the transformation and becomes considerably more complicated, a variational method is used to solve it. The method is illustrated in the case of clamped and simply supported plates of various configurations.
Sitting with vs. across a patient

Here again I was sitting across to my patient and actively listening to her struggles of many years of depression and alcohol. She was commenting on her heavy drinking and how ashamed she was about herself. ‘‘I am loser. I am just an alcoholic and I would never change.’’ She sounded so tormented and desperate. She could not envision herself anything other than as ‘‘an alcoholic.’’ She felt stuck in that state of mind that she became so helpless and hopeless. It seemed like her vision of herself and the world around her narrowed so much that it became somewhat monodimensional. Something about her perceptions had changed. She felt trapped in a cocoon of pain and sorrow. Her interest in the world had become futile and meaningless. As she was wiping her tears of doom and misery and throwing the tissues in the trash can across from us, I found myself captivated by her repetitive gesture toward the trash can. Was that her way to externalize her pain symbolically by throwing in it the garbage? I became puzzled and interested in exploring her actions. I moved my chair next to hers so both of us were facing this trash can. Then I said to her while pointing to the trash can ‘‘It is so sad and unfair to see how much the alcohol has affected your life.’’ It was like a revelation to her. I could see her face change. Her tears stopped and her expression became more interrogative. ‘‘What do you mean by that?’’ She said. I kept looking at her and pointing to the trash can as if we began to pair up together as a team to face her problem of alcohol that all of a sudden was projected out toward the trash can. An external object that personalized all her problems now needed solutions. Interestingly enough, her monodimensional and narrow
ACID RIBONUCLEASE ACTIVITY IN PERIPHERAL LEUCOCYTES OF MICE: A NEW CYTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUE.

Summary1. A method of fixation and composition of incubation media for staining acid ribonuclease in the peripheral leucocyte is described. 2. Localization of ribonuclease in the lysosome (specific granules of poly-morphonuclear leucocytes) and their possible heterogenic characters are discussed. 3. Since the technique described has reproducible and artifact-free results, it is hoped that it will facilitate investigation of ribonuclease in both blood and bone marrow cells in different pathological conditions.We are grateful to Dr. E. Du Praw, Dept. of Zcology, Univ. of California, Davis, for helpful discussion and advice in preparing this paper.
Letter by Anusionwu Regarding Article, “Left Ventricular Diastolic Function Is Associated With Symptom Status in Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis”

The recently published article by Dahl et al1 tested the hypothesis that symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) patients have impaired diastolic function, longitudinal systolic function, and left atrial (LA) dilatation when compared with asymptomatic patients. The conclusion that symptoms of AS severity are associated with impaired diastolic function, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, concentric …
The Effect of Glucocorticoid Antagonizing Factor on Hepatoma Cells

SummaryGlucocorticoid antagonizing factor, GAF, from cultured macrophages and in serum of endotoxemic mice blocks cortisol induction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy-kinase in Reuber H35 rat hepatoma cells. Direct endotoxin treatment of hepatoma cells was not inhibitory. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP induced enzyme synthesis and Cortisol induced synthesis of tyrosine aminotransferase were not affected by GAF. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase induction by cortisol in hepatoma cells could be used to quantitate levels of GAF in serum. This assay system is ten times more sensitive than in vivo assays for GAF and it can also be used to titrate samples for comparing GAF responses.
Outbreak Intervention of Human Brucellosis in a rural area of the northern region of Portugal

Brucellosis, a worldwide zoonosis, is an old and important public health problem with more than half a million estimated new cases each year. An outbreak of human brucellosis occurred in November 2014 in Baiao. Epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify the vehicle, source of infection, outbreak circumstances and establish control measures. Active search was implemented to identify other cases. In order to control the outbreak and …