cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lymphoscintigraphy -Optimal Imaging Views for Sentinel Node Visualization

3030 Background: For decades lymphoscintigraphy (LS) has been used for sentinel lymph node (SLN) localization. Breast LS is clinically proven to improve outcomes. Images guide surgeons in choosing their surgical approach. Despite years of LS, there is a lack of consensus for lymphoscintigraphy; protocols are not standardized. The goal of this study is to determine the utility of various views in identifying SLNs. Methods: An intradermal injection 0.3-0.5 mCi of Tc99m sulfur colloid in 0.05 ml was administered at the site requested by the surgeon. Size of the particles, activity administered, volume administered, and acquisition parameters were all within recommended SNMMI guidelines. Gamma camera imaging was performed standing (STA) in the Anterior (ANT) and Lateral (LAT) positions and supine (SUP) in the ANT, LAT and 45 degree Oblique (OBL) positions with a 256x256 matrix, 1.14 zoom for 90 to 240 seconds depending on SLN uptake. ANT view was performed with and without Co57 transmission. LAT was done with Co57 transmission only. Analysis: A retrospective analysis was performed on 65 randomly selected cases to determine the utility of views for detecting and precisely localizing SLNs. Axillary SLNs were identified in all patients. The mean number of SLN (Min, Max) found in images done STA (ANT and LAT), SUP (ANT andLAT), SUP LAT Co57 and SUP OBL was 3.55 (2,10), 3.52 (1,10), 1.64 (1,8) and 1.89 (1,4). Using Wilcoxon (paired samples) test, there was no statistically significant difference (SSD) found between the STA and SUP views (p=0.6). No SSD was found between the SUP ANT views done with and without Co57 transmission (p=0.15). However, there was a SSD for views done SUP LAT and SUP OBL (p=0.03). Conclusions: Our results indicate that standing views did not provide any incremental benefit beyond our standard supine images. The addition of Co57 transmission did not provide any incremental value beyond emission images alone. Supine oblique views were superior to supine lateral views in detecting SLNs.
The Laplace equation

The Laplace operator acting on a function u(x) = u(x1,...,x n ) of class C2 in a region Ω is defined by $$\Delta = \sum\limits_{{k = 1}}^{n} {D_{k}^{2}}$$ (1.1) For \(u,\upsilon \in {C^{2}}\left( {\overline \Omega } \right)\) we have (see Chapter 3, (4.8), (4.9)) Green’s identities. $$ \int_\Omega {v\Delta udx = - \int_\Omega {\sum\limits_i {{v_{xi}}{u_{xi}}dx + \int_{\partial \Omega } {v\frac{{du}}{{du}}dS} } } } $$ (1.2a) $$ \int_\Omega {v\Delta udx = \int_\Omega {u\Delta vdx\int_{\partial \Omega } {\left( {v\frac{{du}}{{dn}} - u\frac{{dv}}{{dn}}} \right)dS,} } } $$ (1.2b) where d/dn indicates differentiation in the direction of the exterior normal to ∂Ω.
The value of visual quality and service quality to augmented reality enabled mobile shopping experience

This study demonstrates that visual quality is an emergent factor in explaining behavioral intention in online shopping, as online retail technology continues to evolve. The researchers develop, an...
Cerebrospinal fluid from COVID-19 patients with olfactory/gustatory dysfunction: A review.

Abstract Objective We reviewed the literature on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing in patients with altered olfactory/gustatory function due to COVID-19 for evidence of viral neuroinvasion. Methods We performed a systematic review of Medline and Embase to identify publications that described at least one patient with COVID-19 who had altered olfactory/gustatory function and had CSF testing performed. The search ranged from December 1, 2019 to November 18, 2020. Results We identified 51 publications that described 70 patients who met inclusion criteria. Of 51 patients who had CSF SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing, 3 (6%) patients had positive results and 1 (2%) patient had indeterminate results. Cycle threshold (Ct; the number of amplification cycles required for the target gene to exceed the threshold, which is inversely related to viral load) was not provided for the patients with a positive PCR. The patient with indeterminate results had a Ct of 37 initially, then no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on repeat testing. Of 6 patients who had CSF SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, 3 (50%) were positive. Testing to distinguish intrathecal antibody synthesis from transudation of antibodies to the CSF via breakdown of the blood-brain barrier was performed in 1/3 (33%) patients; this demonstrated antibody transmission to the CSF via transudation. Conclusion Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in CSF via PCR or evaluation for intrathecal antibody synthesis appears to be rare in patients with altered olfactory/gustatory function. While pathology studies are needed, our review suggests it is unlikely that these symptoms are related to viral neuroinvasion.
The Effects of Financial Reporting and Disclosure on Corporate Investment: Analysis and Critique

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis and critique of Roychowdhury, Shroff, and Verdi’s The effects of financial reporting and disclosure on corporate investment: A review (Journal of Accounting & Economics, 68 (2019)). Roychowdhury, Shroff, and Verdi survey the empirical literature over the previous two decades on “whether and to what extent financial reporting facilitates the allocation of capital to the right investment projects,” “provide a framework to organize this literature,” and “highlight opportunities for future research.” The framework they provide for organizing the literature “articulate[s] two broad scenarios in which financial reporting ‘matters’ for investment choices: (i) the presence of information asymmetry that gives rise to agency frictions such as adverse selection and moral hazard costs, and (ii) the presence of uncertainty about growth opportunities.” The analysis and critique presented herein addresses the framework and the first scenario. In particular, it focuses on what they refer to as agency frictions and the opportunities they suggest for future research. While the question of whether and to what extent financial reporting facilitates the allocation of capital to the right investment projects is important and worthy of future research, the framework and first scenario present several problems that cannot easily be ignored if the opportunities for future research are to be pursued.
The future of physician advocacy: a survey of U.S. medical students.

BACKGROUND Advocacy is a core component of medical professionalism. It is unclear how educators can best prepare trainees for this professional obligation. We sought to assess medical students' attitudes toward advocacy, including activities and issues of interest, and to determine congruence with professional obligations. METHODS A cross-sectional, web-based survey probed U.S. medical students' attitudes around 7 medical issues (e.g. nutrition/obesity, addiction) and 11 determinants of health (e.g. housing, transportation). Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and regression analysis investigated associations with demographic characteristics. RESULTS Of 240 students completing the survey, 53% were female; most were white (62%) or Asian (28%). Most agreed it is very important that physicians encourage medical organizations to advocate for public health (76%) and provide health-related expertise to the community (57%). More participants rated advocacy for medical issues as very important, compared to issues with indirect connections to health (p < 0.001). Generally, liberals and non-whites were likelier than others to value advocacy. CONCLUSIONS Medical students reported strong interest in advocacy, particularly around health issues, consistent with professional standards. Many attitudes were associated with political affiliation and race. To optimize future physician advocacy, educators should provide opportunities for learning and engagement in issues of interest.
The Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology Amnestic Disorders Scale (SIMS-AM) Is Insensitive to Cognitive Impairment While Accurately Identifying Invalid Cognitive Symptom Reporting

The amnestic disorders scale of the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS-AM) assesses invalid memory symptom reporting. Although the SIMS manual recommends a highly sensitive cut-score of SIMS-AM > 2 for identifying symptom magnification, higher SIMS-AM cut-scores may reduce the risk of misclassification in clinical samples with potentially genuine cognitive impairment. The current investigation validated the SIMS-AM against performance validity tests (PVTs) and a well-established index of symptom invalidity—the response bias scale (RBS) from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-RF—in a mixed cognitive impairment sample. Using an actuarial approach for identifying cognitive impairment, ROC curves predicted performance and symptom invalidity indices while subdividing by cognitive impairment status. The SIMS-AM exhibited acceptable accuracy in classifying PVT status (AUC = .77), and a cut-score of SIMS-AM ≥ 9 yielded .90 specificity and .33 sensitivity. Classification accuracy remained acceptable regardless of cognitive impairment status (AUC ≥ .75), although a slightly higher cut-score of SIMS-AM ≥ 10 maintained a minimum specificity of .90 when differentiating cognitively impaired participants from participants with performance invalidity. Using the RBS as a criterion for invalid cognitive symptoms in the total sample, the SIMS-AM had excellent classification accuracy (AUC = .86), and a cut-score of SIMS-AM ≥ 9 maintained a minimum specificity of .90. Classification accuracy for detecting invalid cognitive symptom reporting remained excellent regardless of cognitive impairment status (AUC ≥ .85). Results demonstrate that the SIMS-AM is insensitive to cognitive impairment while accurately identifying performance and cognitive symptom invalidity within a mixed cognitive impairment sample.
Multiobjective Genetic Method for Community Discovery in Complex Networks

The problem of community structure discovery in complex networks has become one of the hot spots in recent years. This paper proposes a multiobjective genetic algorithm MOGCM to uncover community structure. This method overcomes the limitations of the community detection problems, choosing MinMaxCut and the community fitness as the objective functions. In the experiments, 2 well-known real-life networks are used to validate the performance and the results show that the method successfully detects the communities and it is competitive with state-of-the-art approaches.
Risk Management: Historical Perspectives

Financial risk management builds on the work of pioneers in financial theory. Spurred by the rapid expansion of derivatives markets, new risk-management tools were developed in response to the need to manage financial risks better. This led to the development of position-based risk measures such as Value at Risk (VAR), which are now widely used. Later, these methods were extended to other types of risk such as credit and operational risk. In spite of these technical advances, however, risk managers need to be keenly aware of the limitations of these models. Even so, risk management has now become an essential function for financial institutions. Keywords: financial risk; Value at Risk; market risk; credit risk; operational risk
Ideology, modernization and politico-economic development in Latin America

The authors state that social and political processes are continuously interrelated and modify each other in a circular fashion. The economic variable seems to be the most independent and strategic one in the complex and circular causal process of contemporary history. Its importance is due to the fact that economic forces have become the means that contribute the most to the attainment of varied social and political goals.
Authentic instruction in literary worlds: Learning the stylistics of concept-based grammar:

Over the last few years, researchers have criticized the typical divides between the lower and the higher stages of the mainstream American undergraduate foreign-language curriculum. Roughly speaking, the lower levels are commonly characterized by meaning-focused, sentence-based language instruction with emphasis on oral interaction, whereas the higher levels tend to focus on formal, text-oriented instruction with an emphasis on reading, writing, literature and content-oriented study. This division has clear repercussions for the conceptualization of communication, language, and language learning in the mainstream foreign-language curriculum. One of the most notable consequences is the idea that literature is essentially different from ordinary language, and, therefore, a less ‘authentic,’ ‘real-life’ form of discourse. The present article presents an alternative, integrative, literature-through-language pedagogy founded on a stylistics-based approach to language. The study was implemented with a group of...
Patterns in Microbialites Throughout Geologic Time: Is the Present Really the Key to the Past?

Microbialites dominated the biosphere throughout the Proterozoic, becoming relatively rarer into the Phanerozoic. Microbialites are potential analogs of life on the early Earth; therefore, understanding how they form and function can provide a window to the past. Much of what we know about early life and environments derives from investigations of modern microbialites, making studies of these structures critical to interpreting the ancient fossil record. Creating a database of worldwide microbialite specimens, both modern and fossil, to be used for analyzing patterns in modern microbialite distribution, both in space and time, along with environmental characteristics and concurrence with grazing and/or boring organisms, can offer understanding into ancient microbialites, specifically the processes impacting their formation, persistence, and preservation. Additionally, analyzing the composition and structure of modern microbialites may allow for connections to patterns of the past, and also provide a clearer understanding of what is seen (or not seen) in the fossil record. A sample database of microbialites reported from the Phanerozoic was analyzed for characteristics such as distribution in time, space, and across different environments, as well as the alignment of distribution with mass extinctions, global sea level curves, and association with grazing/burrowing organisms. We find microbialite distribution is widespread worldwide and abundance fluctuates over the Phanerozoic with increases often corresponding to mass extinctions. Contrary to previous interpretations, fossil microbialites do not appear to prefer open marine environments, with data showing broad distribution in a variety of environments. Modern microbialites, however, primarily form in restricted environments. Data show that grazers/borers are commonly found in association with microbialites throughout the Phanerozoic, though it is difficult to discern if they did or did not impact microbialite formation.
ART CONCEPT PLURALISM

: There is a long tradition of trying to analyze art either by providing a definition (essentialism) or by tracing its contours as an indefinable, open concept (anti-essentialism). Both art essentialists and art anti-essentialists share an implicit assumption of art concept monism. This article argues that this assumption is a mistake. Species concept pluralism—a well-explored position in philosophy of biology—provides a model for art concept pluralism. The article explores the conditions under which concept pluralism is appropriate, and argues that they obtain for art. Art concept pluralism allows us to recognize that different art concepts are useful for different purposes, and what has been feuding definitions can be seen as characterizations of specific art concepts.
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry assay for determination of ketamine in brain

Abstract A sensitive and precise gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method with selected ion monitoring has been developed for determination of ketamine in the brain using chlorpheniramine as an internal standard. The assay is based on the acid extraction of brain homogenate with hexane and ethyl ether with subsequent alkaline ethyl ether extraction. The analytical procedure has a coefficient of variation of 3.0–5.3% and from 3.8 to 6.1% for extraction from water or spiked brain samples, respectively. The lowest detectable level of ketamine was 1 ng in any brain region. This level of detection was used to measure the ketamine concentrations in cerebellum, brain stem, midbrain, hypothalamus, and cortex of C57B1/6 mice at awakening following intraperitoneal injection of a hypnotic dose. The ketamine concentrations in mouse brain were in the range from 41.6 to 48.6 ng/mg of tissue.
Increased Nucleic Acid Receptor Expression in Chronic Periodontitis

Background: Nucleic acid sensing has emerged as one of the important components of the immune system triggering inflammation. The aim of this study is to determine the expression of bacterial DNA sensors, including Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9), DNA-dependent activator of interferon-regulatory factors (DAI), and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) in chronic periodontitis (CP versus healthy) (H) tissues.Methods: Thirty-five CP and 27 H gingival biopsies were included. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine mRNA levels of AIM2, DAI, and TLRs (TLR-1 through TLR-9). The difference in gene expression for each sensor between CP and H tissues was calculated using analysis of covariance. The Spearman test was used to determine correlations among innate receptors. The expression of TLR-9, AIM2, and DAI in gingival tissues was further confirmed using immunohistochemistry.Results: The present results reveal statistically significant upregulation of TLR-9 (P <0.006), DAI (P <0.001), and T...
Excavating the Millennial Teacher Mine

The Millennials, born from 1980 to 2000, have begun entering the profession, and many will not stay longer than 5 years. They have a unique set of talents, skills, and work ethic, unlike those from...
X-Network: An area-efficient and high-performance on-chip wormhole interconnect network

Packet-switching networks on chip (NoCs) have emerged as a promising paradigm for designing scalable communication infrastructures for future chip many-core processors and complex Systems on Chip (SoCs). However, the quest for high-performance networks has led to very area-consuming and complicated routers. Buffers consume a significant portion of the router area, but their utilization is very low most of the time. This paper presents a low-area and high-performance wormhole-switching NoC named X-Network that is built on a novel PE (Processing Element)-router organization. In X-Network, each router is shared by four PEs and each general PE has access to four directly-connected routers in addition to NEWS (North, East, West, South) connections between neighboring PEs. By sharing routers among PEs, the network reduces the average hop count for a packet thereby reducing the latency and improving the throughput of the network. Our design not only reduces the total number of routers for a given number of PEs, but also offers much more routing flexibility compared to existing mesh-based solutions. Extensive simulation results using both synthetic workloads and SPLASH-2 applications show that X-Network reduces the network latency by up to 50.3% for a system with 64 PEs. The network saturation point is extended by up to approximately 100% using the fully-adaptive routing algorithm. Our proposed hybrid buffer design can improve the performance by additional 22%.
Microscopic optical model analysis of nucleon scattering from light nuclei

Differential cross sections for neutron elastic scattering from /sup 12/C, /sup 14/N, /sup 16/O, and /sup 27/Al have been measured in the energy range 18--26 MeV. These data, together with previously published neutron and proton data for these nuclei and for /sup 12/C in the energy region 20 to 65 MeV, have been analyzed in terms of two microscopic optical potentials. The spherical potential derived from the work of Jeukenne, Lejeune, and Mahaux provides a consistent representation of the differential data, provided the imaginary central potential is renormalized. Predictions from the interaction of Brieva and Rook give less satisfactory agreement. In particular, there is a significant overprediction of the forward angle data below approx.25 MeV and an underprediction above approx.35 MeV.
New Measures of Issue Salience: An Evaluation

The 1979 NES Pilot Study and the 1980 National Election Study included new items intended to measure the importance of different issues to individual respondents. Theory suggests that voters should weigh more important issues more heavily than less important issues in arriving at candidate evaluations and vote choices. However, no such differential weighting is evident using the new measures of issue salience in either the Pilot Study or the 1980 Election Study. A variety of question formats, samples, and coding schemes all lead to the conclusion that the new salience items add little or nothing to our ability to account for electoral behavior.
Specific Prorenin/Renin Binding (ProBP) Identification and Characterization of a Novel Membrane Site

Abstract Renin can be detected in cardiovascular and other tissues but it disappears after bilateral nephrectomy indicating that tissues can take up or bind renal renin from the circulation. If renin uptake is the result of specific binding, plasma prorenin may be a natural antagonist of tissue directed renin-angiotensin systems. To investigate if specific prorenin/renin uptake occurs in rat tissues, binding studies were performed with rat microsomal membrane preparations using recombinant rat prorenin metabolically labeled with 35S-methionine as a probe. A high affinity binding site for both renin and prorenin was identified. Affinities for prorenin and renin were approximately 200 and 900 pmol/L, respectively. Binding was reversible, saturable, and pH and temperature dependent. The relative binding capacities of membranes from various rat tissues were as follows (fmol/mg): renal cortex (55), liver (54), testis (63), lung (31), brain (18), renal medulla (15), adrenal (17), aorta (7), heart (4), and skeletal muscle (1). Bound prorenin was displaced by rat and human renin or prorenin but not by the prosequence of rat prorenin, angiotensin I or II, rat or human angiotensinogen, the renin inhibitor SQ30697, atrial natriuretic factor, amylase, insulin, bovine serum albumin, hemoglobin, heparin, lysozyme, ovalbumin, cytochrome C, pepsin, pepsinogen, ribonuclease A, mannose-6-phosphate, α-methyl mannoside, gonadotropin releasing hormone, or an antibody to hog renin binding protein. These results demonstrate specific binding of prorenin to a site in rat tissues, herein named ProBP, that also binds renin. It is possible that differences in prorenin/renin binding capacity determine the activity of tissue-directed renin-angiotensin systems and that prorenin is a natural antagonist. Alternatively, a prorenin/renin receptor may have been identified that may function by transducing an intracellular signal.
Ordered and curved meso-structures in membranes and amphiphilic films

Curvature-induced instabilities in membranes and amphiphilic films are investigated by introducing a general coupling between a shape variable (such as curvature) and «internal» degrees of freedom (such as area per molecule, tilt angle, or local composition). A mean-field treatment of the Ginzburg-Landau free energy expansion shows the existence of various undulated phases (on a mesoscopic scale) that can appear between condensed (solid-like) and dilute (fluid-like) homogeneous phases of the membrane. These undulated phases are characterized by undulations in their local composition as well as in their local curvature. We find two types of undulated phases - stripe and hexagonal — and calculate the phase diagram for the system.
Fabrication of Laminated Nanocomposites by Vacuum-Assisted Deposition of Clay Onto Glass/Epoxy Prepregs

In this study we are presenting a novel method for introducing nanoclay in epoxy matrix composites. The method involves vacuum-assisted deposition of fine clay particles directly onto the surface of commercially available prepregs. A deposition chamber is developed that is capable of breaking down nanoclay particles by subjecting them to shear and depositing them uniformly onto prepregs at room temperature. By using the deposition chamber, a thin layer of nanoclay is deposited on 101.6mm×101.6mm woven glass/epoxy prepregs. Twelve of these prepregs are stacked and cured by an autoclave at a temperature of 121°C under a constant pressure of 0.2MPa (30psi) for 1 hour. After the curing is complete, the laminates are cut into 10.8mm×31.7mm samples for three-point bending tests, glass transition temperature measurements and microstructural characterization. The improvements in mechanical properties such as flexural strength, flexural stiffness, and glass transition temperature by the addition of nanoclay are presented. Nanocomposite morphology is studied by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Marginal improvements in mechanical properties are observed with only 0.6% nanoclay content. The flexural stiffness improved by 4% while maintaining the flexural strength constant at around 400Wa. Glass transition temperature is measured as 128°C for samples with and without nanoclay. However, significant differences in microstructure are observed. Although both samples contain micro-voids, these voids are observed to be more extensive in samples involving nanoclay.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Baseline BMI is a Strong Predictor of Nadir BMI after Adolescent Gastric Bypass

Objective Surgical treatment of extreme obesity may be appropriate for some adolescents. We hypothesized that surgical weight loss outcomes may differ by preoperative level of extreme obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥99th percentile). Study design A longitudinal assessment of clinical characteristics from 61 adolescents who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at a single pediatric center from 2002 until 2007 was performed. Patients were categorized into 1 of 3 preoperative BMI groups: group 1, BMI=40.0 to 54.9 (n = 23); group 2, BMI=55.0 to 64.9 (n = 21); group 3, BMI=65.0 to 95.0 (n = 17). Changes in BMI and cardiovascular risk factors between baseline and year 1 were evaluated using repeated-measures mixed linear modeling. Results BMI in the overall cohort at baseline (60.2 ± 11 kg/m 2 ) decreased by 37.4% at 1 year after surgery ( P P = .8762). The rate of change in absolute BMI units significantly varied by preoperative BMI class (group × time interaction, P 2 , 38 ± 5 kg/m 2 , and 47 ± 9 kg/m 2 , respectively. One year after surgery, only 17% of patients achieved a nonobese BMI ( 2 ). Significant improvements in systolic and diastolic blood pressure ( P P P = .0007), and triglyceride levels ( P Conclusions Laparoscopic gastric bypass resulted in improvement or reversal of cardiovascular risk factors and resulted in a decrease in BMI of approximately 37% in all patients, regardless of starting BMI, 1 year after surgery. The timing of surgery for adolescent extreme obesity is an important consideration, because "late" referral for bariatric surgery at the highest of BMI values may preclude reversal of obesity.
Nucleation-Suppressed Phase Stabilization in Fe–Au Nanoparticles

Four nanoparticle compositions, Fe–21, 35, 47, and 67 at. % Au, have been prepared to study the phase stability and solid-state transformation in confined Fe–Au nanoalloys. The formation of two phases, predicted from bulk thermodynamics, has been suppressed in all compositions. Instead, a single phase solid solution forms after heat treatment at 600 °C and slow cooling. However, bulk phase relationships, signified by the precipitation of α-Fe upon cooling, was observed in larger particles (>20 nm) with composition Fe–35 at. % Au. The suppression of the phase transformation/precipitation in small particles is explained thermodynamically, as the free energy decrease associated with the phase transformation does not exceed the increase in energy due to the introduction of an interphase interface (grain boundary) within the cluster. A general equation has been derived to predict the critical cluster size below which transformations are inhibited, which agrees well with the observed experimental results.
Deducing conformational variability of intrinsically disordered proteins from infrared spectroscopy with Bayesian statistics.

Abstract As it remains practically impossible to generate ergodic ensembles for large intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, it becomes critical to compare spectroscopic characteristics of the theoretically generated ensembles to corresponding measurements. We develop a Bayesian framework to infer the ensemble properties of an IDP using a combination of conformations generated by MD simulations and its measured infrared spectrum. We performed 100 different MD simulations totaling more than 10 μs to characterize the conformational ensemble of α-synuclein, a prototypical IDP, in water. These conformations are clustered based on solvent accessibility and helical content. We compute the amide-I band for these clusters and predict the thermodynamic weights of each cluster given the measured amide-I band. Bayesian analysis produces a reproducible and non-redundant set of thermodynamic weights for each cluster, which can then be used to calculate the ensemble properties. In a rigorous validation, these weights reproduce measured chemical shifts.
grmonty: a Monte Carlo Code for Relativistic Radiative Transport

We describe a Monte Carlo radiative transport code intended for calculating spectra of hot, optically thin plasmas in full general relativity. The version we describe here is designed to model hot accretion flows in the Kerr metric and therefore incorporates synchrotron emission and absorption, and Compton scattering. The code can be readily generalized, however, to account for other radiative processes and an arbitrary spacetime. We describe a suite of test problems, and demonstrate the expected N –1/2 convergence rate, where N is the number of Monte Carlo samples. Finally, we illustrate the capabilities of the code with a model calculation, a spectrum of the slowly accreting black hole Sgr A* based on data provided by a numerical general relativistic MHD model of the accreting plasma.
InP growth and properties

Bulk polycrystalline InP is synthesized from the elements via a gradient freeze process. Hall data for a typical boule are Nd-Na= 4.7 × 1015/cm3 and Μ77 = 28,000 cm2/V-sec. Photoluminescence data indicate that zinc is present as an acceptor impurity in the polycrystalline InP and in nominally undoped LEC single crystals grown using the synthesized InP as charge material. A series of doping experiments have determined the effective segregation coefficient to be 1.6 × 10−3 for Fe in InP. Semi-insulating InP crystals with resistivity > 107 ohm—cm have been grown consistently from melts doped with 150 ppm Fe.
Attributions and communication in roommate conflicts.

This paper develops a theoretical approach to communication in interpersonal conflict which emphasizes the role of attributional processes. According to this view, communicative decisions in conflict are largely a function of social attributions about the intent, causality, and stability of behaviors in conflict. Factors which bias attributions along these dimensions encourage noncooperative conflict stategies. Predictions from this perspective were examined in a field study of college dormitory roommates. Open‐ended descriptions of conflicts experienced by roommates were used to formulate a typology of conflict resolution strategies. The main categories in this typology (“passive‐indirect,” “distributive,” and “integrative”) vary in the extent to which they promote information exchange and are oriented toward individual versus mutual goals. Associations between the conflict strategies reported by subjects, their attributions for conflicts, and conflict outcomes were in the expected direction.
Sex-specific response to nutrient limitation and its effects on female mating success in a gift-giving butterfly

Animals with complex life cycles respond to early food limitation by altering the way resources are allocated in the adult stage. Response to food limitation should differ between males and females, especially in organisms whose mating systems include nutritional nuptial gifts. In these organisms, males are predicted to keep their allocation to reproduction (sperm and nuptial gift production) constant, while females are predicted to sacrifice allocation to reproduction (egg production) since they can compensate by acquiring nuptial gifts when mating. In this study, we investigated how dietary nitrogen limitation during the larval stage affects sex-specific resource allocation in Pieris rapae butterflies. Also, we tested whether nutrient-limited females increased nuptial gift acquisition as a way to compensate for low allocation to reproduction. We found that as predicted females, but not males, sacrifice allocation to reproduction when larval dietary nitrogen is limited. However, females were unable to compensate for this low reproductive allocation by increasing their mating rate to acquire additional gifts. Females reared on low nitrogen diets also reduced wing coloration, a potential signal of female fecundity status. We suggest that female mating frequency is constrained by male mate choice based on females’ wing coloration. This study provides new insights into how larval dietary nitrogen, a key nutritional resource for all herbivores, alters male and female allocation to reproduction as well as to ornamentation.
Right-sided Maze procedure for atrial tachyarrhythmias in congenital heart disease.

Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) that causes right atrial dilatation is commonly associated with atrial flutter and/or fibrillation (AFl/F). To reduce late recurrence of AFl/F in patients undergoing repair of CHD, we utilized a concomitant right-sided maze procedure. Methods From 1993 to 2003, 99 patients with CHD and associated AFl/F underwent a concomitant right-sided maze procedure at the time of CHD repair. Ages ranged from 9 to 72 years (median, 43 years). Atrial flutter and/or fibrillation was paroxysmal in 81 and chronic in 18; duration ranged from less than 1 month to 39.5 years (median, 2.9 years). Primary cardiac diagnoses were Ebstein anomaly (n = 47), other congenital tricuspid regurgitation (n = 19), univentricular heart (n = 11), isolated atrial septal defect (ASD, n=8), tetralogy of Fallot (n = 8), and other (n = 6). Results Other concomitant procedures included tricuspid valve repair or replacement (n = 70), ASD closure (n = 39), and pulmonary valve procedures (n = 18). There were 6 early deaths. At hospital dismissal, 83 patients were free of AFl/F and 63 were in sinus rhythm. Follow-up in 87 of the 93 early survivors extended up to 8 years (mean, 2.7 years). There were 4 late deaths, all from noncardiac causes. Of the 83 known late survivors, 77 (93%) were free of AFl/F. Eighty-two of the 83 survivors were in New York Heart Association class I or II. Conclusions In patients with AFl/F associated with CHD, a concomitant right-sided maze procedure at the time of intracardiac repair is effective in reducing late recurrent AFl/F. Most patients enjoy an excellent quality of life.
The uses of expertise in doctor-patient encounters during pregnancy.

Abstract A model of information sharing between doctors and patients is developed and illustrated with ethnographic data on prenatal care. Viewed processually, doctor-patient interaction is analyzed as a negotiation between participants of different social status that results in an exchange of medical information or expertise. The outcome varies in its quantity and quality, depending upon: (1) the expressed positions of doctor and patient on the uses of expertise; and (2) the degree of compatibility between these two positions. This model of doctor-patient relationships differs from others in the literature by focusing specifically on the dynamic interaction process and on the status asymmetry between medical experts and lay persons. While the model is largely grounded in empirical data on prenatal encounters for the purposes of this paper, some of its broader implications and research applications are suggested.
Beveridge in the longue durée

Beveridge and his Plan occupy a singular place in the pantheon of social policy. This is due partly to the wartime circumstances under which the Plan was published and partly to T.H. Marshall's world-historical reading of the Beveridge-inspired welfare reforms of the first majority Labour government. Equally, Beveridge's reputation rests on his ability to balance the liberalism and collectivism inherent in any social policy. But this balance also introduced fundamental ambiguities into his proposals. Most important was the contradiction between a right to benefits based, on the one hand, on the recipient's status as a contributor to social insurance and, on the other, sheerly on the facts of citizenship and need. Social rights are not, as one might believe from the Marshallian interpretation, a simple extension of civil and political rights. Finally, the increasing internationalization of the welfare state and the consequent broadening of its interpretation, which tends to marginalize the social citizenship model, will either diminish or significantly change the evaluation of Beveridge's place in history.
Privacy Protection in Sharing Personal Genome Sequencing Data

The past few years has witnessed rapid development in human genome research, thanking to the advance in the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies. New technologies for large-scale meta-analysis on genomic data continue to be developed, enabling the application of human genome research to clinical diagnosis and therapy. However, further progress in this area has been increasingly impeded by the constraints in accessing sequencing data, due in part to privacy concerns involved in data sharing. To address the privacy issues in human genome research, we propose a data analysis model that allows biomedical researchers and healthcare practitioners to use the sensitive genomic data that cannot be directly released in an efficient fashion, through the computing service over the data (instead of direct access to the data) provided by a large data center.
Psychiatric Complications in Parkinson Disease

Although Parkinson disease (PD) is primarily considered a movement disorder, the high prevalence of psychiatric complications suggests that it is more accurately conceptualized as a neuropsychiatric disease. Affective disorders, cognitive impairment, and psychosis are particularly common in PD and are associated with excess disability, worse quality of life, poorer outcomes, and caregiver distress. Yet, in spite of this and their frequent occurrence, there is incomplete understanding of the epidemiology, phenomenology, risk factors, neuropathophysiology, and optimal treatment strategies for these disorders. Psychiatric complications are typically comorbid, and there is great intra- and inter-individual variability in presentation. The hallmark neuropathophysiological changes that occur in PD plus the association between exposure to dopaminergic medications and certain psychiatric disorders suggest a neurobiological basis for most psychiatric symptoms, although psychological factors are probably involved in the development of affective disorders. Although antidepressants, antipsychotics, and cognition-enhancing agents are commonly prescribed in PD, controlled studies demonstrating efficacy and tolerability of these drugs are virtually nonexistent. Because of the high prevalence and complexity of psychiatric complications in PD, geriatric psychiatrists are in a position to offer valuable consultation and clinical care to this population. This article provides an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and management of the most common psychiatric complications in PD.
The Initial Uptake of C14-Labelled Methadone by Rat Tissues.∗

SummaryBased on the determination of radioactivity for periods of 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes following a subcutaneous injection of 10 mg/kg of C-14 labelled methadone HBr into rats, it was found that:(a) Methadone∗ makes its appearance in the blood within 10 minutes, and is confined to the plasma.(b) There was no activity in the cerebrum before 10 minutes, and even thereafter the concentration is very low. The rate of accumulation roughly parallels that of the plasma indicating no special affinity of the brain for the drug.(c) The adrenals and liver show a marked ability to accumulate methadone∗ at a rate in excess of that shown by either the cerebrum or plasma.(d) There was no activity in the sciatic nerve within the period studied.
Some thermopower measurements on aluminium and indium in zero and non-zero magnetic fields

Results are given for measurements of (a) the components of the thermoelectric power tensor of indium in zero magnetic field, 4.2 to 300 K, and (b) the thermopower of a poly-crystalline sample of aluminium (4.2 to 60 K) and indium (4.2 to 60 K) in magnetic fields up to 50 kG. A two band model plausibility argument is developed to explain the major part of the magnetic field effect in terms of conventional phonon drag thermopower. The relation of (a) and (b) to the Fermi surface of these metals is discussed. On donne les resultats des mesures de (a) les composantes du tenseur de puissance thermo-electrique de l'indium dans un champ magnetique nul et les temperatures 4,2 a 300 K, et (b) la puissance thermo-electrique des echantillons polycristallins d'aluminium (4,2 a 60 K) et d'indium (4,2 a 60 K) dans un champ magnetique jusqu'a 50 kG. On developpe un raisonnement plausible base sur une modele a deux bandes pour expliquer la plus grande partie de l'effet du champ magnetique par moyen de la puissance thermo-electrique d'origine de “phonon drag” ordinaire. On descuite le rapport entre (a) et (b) et la surface de Fermi de ces metaux.
Nucleotide sequence of rat liver iodothyronine 5′-monodeiodinase (5′MD): Its identity with the protein disulfide isomerase

Summary We report here the isolation and sequence of a near full length cDNA clone for the 5′MD. Screening of gt11 cDNA library with a 32 P-labeled partial 5′MD clone (#23) yielded two further clones (#2301 and 2302). Clone 2301 was contained entirely within clone 23 while clone 2302 contained 0.5kb upstream of 5′end and 1.0 kb downstream 3′ end of clone 23. Clone 2302 has an open reading frame of 1,447 nucleotides followed by a stop codon and 584 nucleotides of the untranslated 3′end region. The predicted amino acid sequence showed a 99% and a 95% identity with protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and the membrane associated thyroid hormone binding protein (MTHBP), respectively. Monoclonal antibodies against human placental PDI (HP13) neutralized the 5′MD and showed only one band in western blot analysis of rat liver solubilized microsomal proteins. The results suggest that clone 2302, MTHBP and PDI may be the same protein and that it represents 5′MD.
A dynamic model to forecast incapacitation and deterrence effects

Abstract A dynamic discrete time model of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is developed which contains stochastic descriptions of crime rates, prison populations, criminal behaviour patterns and sentencing strategies. Uses of the model for separating the incapacitative and deterrent effects of sanctions, estimation of the criminal population and an individual's crime commission rate, and the evaluation of alternative sentencing strategies are presented, within a fixed and variable resource-constrained problem. A detailed implementation of the model is provided.
Optimizing Protein in the Older Adult Issues and Considerations When Applying the Evidence

Aging is associated with specific physiological changes. One change that influences the functionality of an individual is the decrease in skeletal muscle. Research efforts to maintain skeletal muscle through dietary modifications have primarily focused on protein intake, including composition, quantity, and timing. Evidence demonstrates that adequacy, quality, and balance of protein intake are important; however, it should not replace the other dietary needs of the individual. The purpose of this article is to summarize the vast area of research regarding protein consumption in the aging population and place it in context of other nutritional concerns that affect this demographic. Efforts to educate older adults without providing overcomplicated guidelines will reduce the likelihood of individuals feeling overwhelmed, increasing dietary adherence.
Polarization in inclusive reactions

Abstract A formalism for discussing the spin dependence of inclusive reactions is presented. The role of various constraints following from conservation of parity and angular momentum conservation is discussed. Expressions for specific single and double polarization observables are presented. Predictions of the triple-Regge model for these observables are given.
Development of a solenoid pumped in situ zinc analyzer for environmental monitoring

Abstract A battery powered submersible chemical analyzer, the Zn-DigiScan (Zn Digital Submersible Chemical Analyzer), has been developed for near real-time, in situ monitoring of zinc in aquatic systems. Microprocessor controlled solenoid pumps propel sample and carrier through an anion exchange column to separate zinc from interferences, add colorimetric reagents, and propel the reaction complex through a simple photometric detector. The Zn-DigiScan is capable of self-calibration with periodic injections of standards and blanks. The detection limit with this approach was 30 μg L −1 . Precision was 5–10% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) below 100 μg L −1 , improving to 1% R.S.D. at 1000 μg L −1 . The linear range extended from 30 to 3000 μg L −1 . In situ field results were in agreement with samples analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). This pump technology is quite versatile and colorimetric methods with complex online manipulations such as column reduction, preconcentration, and dilution can be performed with the DigiScan. However, long-term field deployments in shallow high altitude streams were hampered by air bubble formation in the photometric detector.
Numerical structuralism and cosmogony in the ancient Near East

The systematic investigation of sexagesimal numbers, by means of reciprocals and ratios, led to a ‘dualism’ in the numerical theory developed in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical development of mathematical thinking — the mathopoeic mind — resulted in a proto-science, including arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and possibly harmonics, which attempted to formulate a structural theory for the pantheon and cosmos. An exponential matrix, based on sexagesimal considerations, is proposed as a means of exlploring the mathopoeic component in ancient mythology, which often incorporates significant proto-scientific data. Since the mathopoeic mind in Mesopotomian civilization is fully developed by 1750 BC, it is likely that the vast body of data gathered by Near Eastern proto-science served as the historical reference reservoir for the Greek mathopoeic mind — especially for the Pythagoreans. Both of these mathopoeic traditions were, however, de-emphasized in Graeco—Roman Judaism because it appeared that they could divert the believer to pagan ‘natural philosophy’.