cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Passively Q-switched 10 mJ Tm:YLF laser with efficient OPO conversion to mid-IR

A diode-end-pumped Tm:YLF laser, passively Q-switched (PQS) with a Cr:ZnS saturable absorber, generated 10 mJ, 29 ns-long pulses at 1.9 μm, corresponding to a peak power of 350kW. A PQS laser operated at a maximum pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 1 kHz, generating an average power of 10 W. The demonstrated pulse energy and average power represent significant increases over previous results with PQS Tm-doped lasers, and the 10 mJ pulse energy is comparable to that of much more complex actively Q-switched versions of such lasers. Using a cadmium silicon phosphide (CSP) optical parametric oscillator (OPO), the laser output was converted to 3.5-4.2 μm mid-IR emission. The OPO exhibited an optical efficiency of 64%, and generated 6W of mid-IR power.
The search and rescue satellite mission - A basis for international cooperation

The use of geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites to monitor and locate signals of the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIB) of general aviation aircraft and inspected marine vessels respectively is described. The joint U.S. Canada/France SARSAT demonstration program will require a minimum of four minutes of mutual visibility of distress transmitter, local user terminal and satellite to obtain a location by Doppler tracking. The program consisting of placing instrumentation on-board three of the Tiros-N series of NOAA operational satellites is attracting interest also from other countries including the USSR, Norway, Australia, and Japan.
Synthesis of Stereodefined 1,1-Diborylalkenes via Copper-Catalyzed Diboration of Terminal Alkynes.

A copper-catalyzed method for the E-selective 1,1-diboration of terminal alkynes is described. The tandem process involves sequential dehydrogenative borylation of the alkyne substrate with HBdan (...
Emotion Regulation Flexibility

Abstract. Emotion regulation (ER) flexibility, defined as shifting regulatory efforts based on contextual demands, has been proposed as central to well-being. However, it remains an elusive constru...
Newton's early metaphysics of body: Impenetrability, action at a distance, and essential gravity

Abstract In this paper, I discuss Newton's conception of body in De gravitatione and its relation to the legitimacy of action at a distance. Howard Stein has argued that such a conception privileges contact over distant action: by dint of being impenetrable, bodies must necessarily act through contact; yet there is no analogous property of which action at a distance is a consequence. This paper presents a challenge to Stein's reading. I begin by arguing that impenetrability cannot imply action through contact because such an implication hinges on one's laws of motion in three senses: it must be physically possible for contact to occur, the laws must make coherent the notion of a trajectory from which a body deviates, and the necessity of introducing collision dynamics renders impenetrability otiose. I then turn to a close reading of De gravitatione and consider whether Newton himself sees his account of body as establishing contact action as prior to distant action in any sense. Although Newton did see impenetrability as rendering bodily action intelligible, ample room remains for action at a distance once one takes into account certain textual ambiguities and the provisional character of the narrative. By way of substantiating this reading and answering an objection of Stein's, I pivot to Newton's remarks concerning the nature of gravity in his correspondence with Bentley. Although Newton is often held to reject essential gravity as being in conflict with his metaphysical commitments, I offer a more austere reading on which Newton is decrying a kind of action that is unmediated, or alleged to take place without a cause. By contrast, Newton carves out a place for action at a distance mediated by an immaterial agent as a perfectly acceptable explanation of natural phenomena.
Abstract 135: Examining the Information Loss Between Neuroimages and Neuroimaging Reports for Detection of Silent Brain Infarcts and White Matter Disease Using Artificial Intelligence Technologies

Background: Real world studies of silent brain infarction (SBI) and white matter disease (WMD) are impeded by challenges in cohort identification. Natural language processing (NLP) from imaging rep...
The impact of aversive context on early threat detection in trauma exposed individuals and associations with post-traumatic stress symptoms

Abstract Introduction Prolonged attentional bias to threat (AB) is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to early threat detection (elicited by masked stimuli) and/or varies if AB is measured during an aversive context. Methods Two trauma-exposed samples of either intervention-seekers (N = 50) or community members (N = 98) completed a masked dot-probe task to measure early AB to angry faces in safe vs. aversive contexts (i.e., during threat of aversive noises). Results Linear mixed effects models showed that an aversive context increased the orienting responses in both samples; however, PTSS did not moderate these effects in either sample. Limitations Sample size and heterogeneity of trauma-type may have impacted effect of PTSS on AB. Conclusion These results highlight the importance of assessing AB in varying contexts and examining generalizability across populations. Given prior research, the results also suggest that increased AB in PTSS may only be present for later attentional processes rather than early threat detection, at least with behavioral methods.
Tawazon- An Intensive Lifestyle Diabetes Prevention Program: The Saudi Arabian Pilot.

Background Lifestyle modification interventions help prevent or postpone Type 2 Diabetes and its complications with diet modification and increasing physical activity. This is translational research of Tawazon-DPP in which we evaluate the efficacy of the intensive lifestyle modification program. Methods Tawazon was piloted in 2 phases over 6 and 9 months at a Tertiary Hospital. Phase I was conducted in 2017 in one district facility with 47 participants while Phase II was conducted in 2018 in 4 district facilities with 247 participants. Data are collected retrospectively in a before-and-after study design. The program included adults with 25 kg/m2 BMI and HbA1c ranging between 5.7 and 6.4 mmol/L, while excluding participants with comorbidities, such as cardiovascular conditions, musculoskeletal injuries, and pregnancy. Results We used descriptive analysis as well as Wilcoxon rank sign test and McNemar-Bowker for before and after data comparisons. Phase I exhibited a mean age of 43±7 years and statistically significant improvement in HbA1c (0.3 mmol/L), weight (3.3 kg), BMI (1 kg/m2), triglyceride (30.4 mg/dL) and LDL (14.67 mg/dL). Phase II exhibited a mean age of 45±9 years with 70% above 40 years old. Significant improvement was also found in HbA1c (0.2 mmol/L), weight (5.1 kg), and BMI (1.8 kg/m2); the lipid profile in the second phase showed better results with significant improvement in total cholesterol (7.4 mg/dL), triglyceride (20.9 mg/dL), LDL (8.8 mg/dL), and (0.9 mg/dL) increase in HDL. Conclusion This pilot has taken lifestyle interventions to real-life and it led to the favored and desired outcome. It showed that long-term guided support can help patients make the needed changes in their diet, habits, and physical activity, thus, prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Efficacy and Safety of Baked Milk Oral Immunotherapy in Children with Severe Milk Allergy: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase 2 Trial.

Abstract Background Cow’s milk allergy is the most common food allergy in young children and has no current treatment. Oral immunotherapy studies to date have shown efficacy but high rates of adverse reactions. Objective We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of baked milk oral immunotherapy (BMOIT) in baked milk allergic children. Methods Participants (3-18 years) were randomized to receive BMOIT or placebo for 12 months. Efficacy was assessed by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge after 12 months of treatment. Safety, quality of life, and mechanistic parameters were also evaluated. Results 11/15 (73%) of the BMOIT participants reached the primary endpoint, tolerating 4044 mg of baked milk protein after 12 months of OIT, compared to 0/15 (0%) on placebo. The median maximal tolerated dose (MTD) and median change from baseline was significantly higher in the BMOIT group compared to placebo (median MTD 4044mg vs 144mg; p=0.001; median change in MTD of 3900mg vs 0mg, p=0.0001). Dose-related reactions were common but >95% in both groups were mild. There was no significant change in CM- or beta lactoglobulin-IgE from baseline for either group. CM-sIgG4 did significantly increase and casein IgE decreased in the BMOIT group. For proxy-reported food allergy quality of life, there was a significant difference in the emotional impact domain only with more improving while on placebo compared BMOIT. The majority of children and adolescents in the BMOIT group directly reported improvement in at least one domain. Conclusion BMOIT was well tolerated and induced a substantial level of desensitization after 12 months of treatment.
Was Heißt das — Die Bewandtnis?

Recent accounts of the historical genesis of logical positivism tie it to the genesis of the analytical-continental split in American philosophy in ways that begin to appreciate why and identify where the “hermeneutic supplement” of continental philosophy is “naturally” evoked in the more recent attempts in philosophy of science to “overcome” positivism. One such account concedes the “interpretative and hermeneutic shallowness of analytic philosophers” due to their “antihistorical approach.”1 Another account, which traces the differing approaches toward “overcoming metaphysics” in Carnap and Heidegger back to their different neo-Kantian roots, couches its philosophical conclusions in a final political contrast, reminding us that neo-Kantianism as such was ultimately a philosophy of culture complete with a Kulturpolitik. Carnap’s objectivist and universalist concept of philosophy via mathematical logic “best serves the socialist, internationalist, and anti-individualistic aims” of his espoused political philosophy, whereas Heidegger’s “particularist, existential-historical conception of philosophy ... based on an explicit rejection of the centrality of logic . . . best serves the neo-conservative and avowedly German-nationalist cultural and political stance” of his would-be Nazism.2
Working through Challenges in Doing Interview Research

Recent methodological work that draws on a ‘constructionist’ approach to interviewing – conceptualizes the interview as a socially-situated encounter in which both interviewer and interviewee play active roles. This approach takes the construction of interview data as a topic of examination. This article adopts the view that close examination of how particular interactions are accomplished provides additional insights into not only the topics discussed, but also how research design and methods might be modified to meet the needs of projects. Focus is specifically given to investigation of sequences observed as puzzling or challenging during interviews, or via interview data that emerged as problematic in the analysis process. How might close analyses of these sorts of sequences be used to inform research design and interview methods? The article explores (1) how problematic interactions identified in the analysis of focus group data can lead to modifications in research design, (2) an approach to dealing with reported data in representations of findings, and (3) how data analysis can inform question formulation in successive rounds of data generation. Findings from these types of examinations of interview data generation and analysis are valuable for informing both interview practice as well as research design in further research.
Age-related changes in the impact of contextual strength on multiple aspects of sentence comprehension

Contextual information influences multiple aspects of language comprehension extended over time. To determine how age-related changes impact normal comprehension, effects of contextual strength were examined with event-related potentials. Increased contextual constraint facilitated semantic processing (reduced N400s). Effects were smaller and delayed for older adults, and sensitivity to contextual information was diminished for weak contexts. Both groups elicited a later left-lateralized frontal negativity associated with reinterpretation of context when multiple interpretations of a sentence were likely. Older adults evidenced the frontal negativity over a wider range of constraint. The change in the use of contextual information across age is attributed to decreased reliance on predictive processing for older adults. Thus, age-related changes in comprehension lead to differential engagement of processing resources over time for older adults.
Security analysis of Tramel

An operational formal specification of the Tramel system is presented. Tramel is used by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to support asynchronous inter-task communication of distributed software across varying architectures and operating systems. Security analysis of communications between non-Tramel programs and Tramel is explored using an operational trace-based specification model.
Private equity funds may be exposed to ERISA pension liabilities and tax risks: preliminary reflections on the M&A and private equity consequences of the Sun Capital decision

Purpose – The paper's aim is to analyze and assess the importance of a recent US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision in the case of Sun Capital Partners III LP v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund with respect to the court's conclusion that a private equity fund constitutes a “trade or business” for purposes of the ERISA multiemployer pension withdrawal liability and that, therefore, the fund could, under a “piercing the veil” type of approach, be held liable for the ERISA withdrawal liability of a bankrupt portfolio company. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides historical background on termination and withdrawal liability under ERISA; explains the facts of the Sun Capital case; and offers preliminary reflections on the “investment plus” approach in ERISA context, the significance of the offset mechanism, why the Sun Capital decision is a significant victory for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the liability of one portfolio company for the pension o...
OFFSHORE GRAVITY STRUCTURES: ANALYSIS

Experimental and analytical studies are described on the offshore gravity structure foundations with their soil foundations when subjected to wave forces. The experimental tests were performed in a centrifuge at 100g centrifugal acceleration with a 10-cm diam model structure bearing on a normally consolidated deposit of Santa Barbara silt, and therfore apply to a 10-m diam prototype structure. The analytical predicitions, for the particular prototype situation considered in this study, were obtained by using a finite element program which incorporates a three-dimensional nonlinear soil model capable of describing the behavior of the Santa Barbara silt under both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. The results of both two-dimensional (plane strain) and three-dimensional calculations are reported, and the are compared with the experimental test results obtained in the centrifuge.
Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters, by C. Edwin Baker Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media, by Eric Klinenberg

Writings about media ownership usually fall into two genres. Pro-market essays, which argue against government regulation of media ownership, often focus on efficiency as the yardstick to measure s...
Chapter 6 Nuclear Transplantation in Ameba

Publisher Summary This chapter describes nuclear transplantation in Amoeba proteus . The method of nuclear transplantation in amebae is unique and has the particular advantage of not involving the transfer of any significant amount of cytoplasm as a result of the operation. This permits studies of the behavior of macromolecules in amebae that would be more difficult with embryonic amphibian cells or Acetabularia because of the cytoplasmic “contamination” that seems unavoidable in the latter cases. The equipment, as well as the entire nuclear transplantation procedure, has been described before de Fonbrune, 1949. A combination of two features makes the de Fonbrune instrument particularly well suited for ameba nuclear transplantations—namely, (1) a nontechnical connection between the hand-operated control lever and the microtools and (2) the facility for mounting on the same manipulator head two microtools, one of which can be moved independently of the other. Two glass microtools, a microhook and a microprobe, are required for ameba nuclear transplantations and are so minute that they can be made only on some sort of microforge. The most crucial and difficult aspect of the entire nuclear transplantation procedure is the manufacture of suitable microtools.
The L2 Discrepancy of Two-Dimensional Lattices

Let α be an irrational number with bounded partial quotients of the continued fraction a k . It is well known that symmetrizations of the irrational lattice \(\{\big{(}\mu /N,\{\mu \alpha \}\big{)}\}_{\mu =0}^{N-1}\) have optimal order of L 2 discrepancy, \(\sqrt{\log N}\). The same is true for their rational approximations \({\mathcal{L}}_{n}(\alpha ) = \{\big{(}\mu /{q}_{n},\{\mu {p}_{n}/{q}_{n}\}\big{)}\}{}_{\mu =0}^{{q}_{n}-1}\), where p n ∕q n is the nth convergent of α. However, the question whether and when the symmetrization is really necessary remained wide open. We show that the L 2 discrepancy of the nonsymmetrized lattice ℒ n (α) grows as $$\|D{\left ({\mathcal{L}}_{n}(\alpha ),\mathbf{x}\right )\|}_{2} \approx \max \left \{{\log }^{\frac{1} {2} }{q}_{n},\left \vert {\sum\nolimits }_{k=0}^{n}{(-1)}^{k}{a}_{ k}\right \vert \right \},$$ in particular, characterizing the lattices for which the L 2 discrepancy is optimal.
What Types of School Capital Projects are Voters Willing to Support

In many states, investments in school capital must be approved by bond referenda. Consequently, voter preferences can directly impact the quality of school facilities and their infrastructure. Researchers have often analyzed the causal mechanisms of referendum passage, but they have not examined whether the type of capital project affects the outcome of the referendum itself. In this paper, we use data from the state of Michigan to examine whether voters are willing to provide more or less support for specific types of capital investments. We focus on the relationship between voter support for maintenance versus the construction of a new building or additions to existing buildings. Our analysis suggests there is a higher approval rate for maintenance of existing facilities than the construction of new school buildings or additions.
Chronic Interstitial Nephritis

Chronic interstitial nephritis represents a large and diverse group of disorders characterized primarily by interstitial fibrosis with mononuclear leukocyte infiltration and tubular atrophy [1–3]. The chronic damage is unrelated to underlying glomerular or vascular processes. Among the many causes of chronic interstitial nephritis are high-grade vesicoureteral reflux, urinary obstruction, chronic bacterial infections, Sjogren’s syndrome, drugs (lithium, Chinese herbs), radiation, and Balkan nephropathy [3]. Although the pathologic aspects by light microscopy have the abovementioned features in common, historical information, imaging data, familial history, and gross pathology features may help to distinguish one disease from another. Because it was once widely considered that most chronic interstitial nephritis represented chronic infection, the term chronic pyelonephritis was commonly used for this group of disorders [1, 2]. However, chronic pyelonephritis is a rare entity [4].
Air bypass in vertical stack water source heat pumps

Vertical stack water source heat pumps are widely used to provide both comfort cooling and heating to buildings. A problem of air bypass, in which some return air does not pass over the indoor coil of the heat pump, was encountered, causing performance degradation of the heat pumps. This article quantifies the air bypass problem in vertical stack water source heat pumps and the associated impacts. Field testing at five different sites was performed, and results show that air bypass occurred in all five installations. Three methods are proposed to detect and diagnose the air bypass problem. By sealing air bypass locations after the diagnostics, the improvement in cooling efficiency ranged from ∼7% to 17% and averaged 12.8%, and the improvement in heating efficiency ranged from ∼16% to 19% and averaged 17.5%. Based on the locations of air bypass, it is shown that ∼55% of bypassed air was passing through the locations, which are common in all types of heat pumps.
Microinjection of the SH2 domain of the 85-kilodalton subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibits insulin-induced DNA synthesis and c-fos expression.

Abstract We have investigated the functional role of the SH2 domain of the 85-kDa subunit (p85) of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in the insulin signal transduction pathway. Microinjection of a bacterial fusion protein containing the N-terminal SH2 domain of p85 inhibited insulin- and other growth factor-induced DNA synthesis by 90% and c-fos protein expression by 80% in insulin-responsive rat fibroblasts. The specificity of the fusion protein was examined by in vitro precipitation experiments, which showed that the SH2 domain of p85 can independently associate with both insulin receptor substrate 1 and the insulin receptor itself in the absence of detectable binding to other phosphoproteins. The microinjection results were confirmed through the use of an affinity-purified antibody directed against p85, which gave the same phenotype. Additional studies were carried out in another cell line expressing mutant insulin receptors which lack the cytoplasmic tyrosine residues with which p85 interacts. Microinjection of the SH2 domain fusion protein also inhibited insulin signaling in these cells, suggesting that association of p85 with insulin receptor substrate 1 is a key element in insulin-mediated cell cycle progression. In addition, coinjection of purified p21ras protein with the p85 fusion protein or the antibody restored DNA synthesis, suggesting that ras function is either downstream or independent of p85 SH2 domain interaction.
Photoluminescence and diffusivity of free excitons in doped silicon

The diffusivity of free excitons (FE) in an inhomogeneously doped Si sample is evaluated by spatially resolved photoluminescence. The FE lifetimes and diffusion lengths are directly measured between 12 and 23 K. The FE diffusivity is found to be approximately 11 cm/sup 2//s at 12 K and increases with temperature. Exciton diffusion in doped silicon is found to be governed by their capture and release from neutral impurities. Implications of these measurements for the use of low-temperature photoluminescence as a method of spatially profiling dopant distributions are discussed. >
The Impact of Intersection Design on Simulated Driving Performance of Young and Senior Adults

Purpose. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proposed guidelines for highway design to increase the safe driving ability of older drivers; however, little empirical evidence exists to support the effectiveness of these guidelines. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of implementing these guidelines (in 4 pairs of intersections) on safe driving performance of older and younger drivers using a high-fidelity driving simulator. Design and Methods. We replicated four intersection pairs (improved versus unimproved) in a high-fidelity, virtual reality driving simulator. Simulator scenarios were created from actual road locations, replicating road geometrics and traffic control devices. The simulator's controls were integrated with an actual vehicle to make the driving experience as realistic as possible. Kinematic measures were obtained from the simulator in conjunction with driving errors recorded by trained driving evaluators sitting in the cab of the car. Thirty-nine subjects, 19 yo...
Conflicting Messages: Overweight and Obesity Advertisements and Articles in Black Magazines

Three-quarters of U.S. Black women are overweight or obese, putting them at increased risk of multiple diseases, poorer quality of life, and a shorter life span. Media provide important normative information regarding overweight and obesity. This study examines Black women's magazines' food and non-alcoholic beverage advertisements and overweight and obesity editorial content to determine whether the products advertised and the articles' content models or inhibits healthy diet and physical activity as strategies to prevent and overcome overweight and obesity. Five hundred food and non-alcoholic beverage ads and 31 related articles printed in a sample of Ebony (n = 60), Essence (n = 60), and Jet (n = 60) magazines during a 20-year period were content analyzed. Overall, results show the vast majority of advertisements in all three magazines consistently advertised foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in empty calories and low in nutritional value. In contrast, a majority of the articles named balanced die...
An experimental investigation of scanner data preparation strategies for consumer choice models

Abstract Over the past two decades, marketing scientists in academia and industry have employed consumer choice models calibrated using supermarket scanner data to assess the impact of price and promotion on consumer choice, and they continue to do so today. Despite the extensive usage of scanner panel data for choice modeling, very little is known about the impact of data preparation strategies on the results of modeling efforts. In most cases, scanner panel data is pruned prior to model estimation to eliminate less significant brands, sizes, product forms, etc., as well as households with purchase histories not long enough to provide information on key consumer behavior concepts such as loyalty, variety seeking, and brand consideration. Further, product entity aggregation is usually part of data preparation also since hundreds of SKUs are available as choice alternatives in many product categories. This study conducts an extensive simulation experiment to investigate the effects of data pruning and entity aggregation strategies on estimated price and promotion sensitivities. Characteristics of the data that may moderate the effects of data preparation strategies are also manipulated. The results show that data preparation strategies can result in significant bias in estimated parameters. Based on the results, we make recommendations on how the model builder can prepare scanner panel data so as to avoid significant biases in estimated price and promotion responses.
Synthesis of the isoleucyl- and valyl-tRNA synthetases and the isoleucine-valine biosynthetic enzymes in a threonine deaminase regulatory mutant of Escherichia coli K-12.

A mutation in the structural gene for threonine deaminase, ilvA538 , results in lower than normal levels of the isoleucyl, valyl- and leucyl-tRNA synthetases. Moreover, this regulatory mutation decreases the level of expression of the ilv biosynthetic operons and renders their expression non-responsive to limitations of the branched-chain amino acids. In this paper, we present in vitro evidence for the inhibition of isoleucyl- and valyl-tRNA synthetase activity by threonine deaminase and 2-ketobutyrate, the product of the threonine deaminase reaction, through the formation of a high molecular weight complex of the three molecules. Based on these results, we propose a model to explain the regulation of the isoleucyl- and valyt -tRNA synthetases in which transient inhibition of the synthetase enzyme activities by threonine deaminase and 2-ketobutyrate increases the expression of ileS and valS , the structural genes for isoleucyl- and valyt -tRNA synthetase, respectively. Further, the results suggest that the hyperattenuated expression of the ilv biosynthetic operons is due to an increased rate of complex formation of valyl and isoleucyl-tRNA synthetases and the altered form of threonine deaminase of the ilvA538 mutant strain.
Data transformations in DEA cone ratio envelopment approaches for monitoring bank performances

Abstract Cone ratio DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) models are suggested for monitoring and/or early warning systems to be used by bank regulatory agencies. Illustrative examples are developed from data on 1984 and 1985 performances of the 16 largest banks in Texas. Five large non-Texas banks are introduced as “excellent performers” to help evaluate these Texas banks in terms of their “risk coverage” as well as “efficiency”. Cone ratio envelopment areused to tarnsform original data in order to reflect performances by the non-Texas banks with respect to “risk coverage” as well as “efficiency”. Formulas for transforming to and from the original data are supplied with accompanying explanations and interpretations which include comparisons with the “risk-adjusted capital” and “risk-coverage” allowances formulas that have been adopted recently by U.S. Government (and other) regulators in banking (and insurance) in conformance with the “Basel Agreement” of 1988.
Intrathecal metastases causing conus medullaris syndrome

A 64-year-old man with metastatic esophageal cancer presented to the hospital complaining of 3 days of low back pain, right leg paresthesias and urinary hesitancy. Pain worsened with Valsalva maneuver. He denied saddle anesthesia. Lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a 2 cm enhancing mass in the conus medullaris (Figure 1, arrow) occluding the entire spinal canal and a 0.5 cm enhancing nodule in the cauda equina at L2 (Figure 1, arrowhead), both concerning for intrathecal metastases. Intramedullary and extramedullary intradural metastases, although rare, present similar to epidural spinal cord compression with low back pain, numbness and weakness. Early radiotherapy may prevent further deterioration of symptoms. Corticosteroids may decrease edema, especially that which is associated with radiation-induced cytotoxicity. Our patient’s back pain improved after receiving the above treatments. However, at the time of discharge, he had progressed to develop complete urinary retention, fecal incontinence and could no longer move his lower extremities against gravity. He died shortly thereafter.
Transport properties of a dense fluid of molecules interacting with a square‐well potential: Part II

The equations developed by Davis, Rice, and Sengers for the transport properties of a model fluid whose molecules interact according to a square-well potential are utilized herein to calculate the transport coefficients of krypton, xenon, and argon. With the use of theoretically determined pair correlation functions and experimental P-V-T data, results are obtained that indicate that the square-well theory provides a useful model for simple liquids. Master graphs of the transport coefficients as functions of reduced parameters are presented. An investigation of the relative importance of the contributions by kinetic transfer and by intermolecular collisional transfer leads to the conclusion that kinetic transfer can provide a sizable contribution to transport properties.
Pediatric Post-Transplant Diabetes: Data From a Large Cohort of Pediatric Heart-Transplant Recipients

A retrospective analysis of 381 pediatric heart-transplant recipients was performed to determine the frequency, characteristics, and risk factors for post-transplant diabetes. The rate of post-transplant diabetes was 1.8% with antithymocyte globulin, cyclosporine and azathioprine as primary immunosuppressive therapy. Time from transplant to diabetes was 0.25-13 years. Diabetes was characterized by reversibility, and lack of insulinopenia and autoimmunity. The post-transplant diabetes rate in tacrolimus-converted children (n = 45) was 8.8%. In tacrolimus-converted children, age at transplant, mean and maximum tacrolimus blood levels, and first-year rejection episodes were higher in the post-transplant diabetes group, which also consistently had DR-mismatched transplants and HLA DR3/DR4 haplotypes. Body mass index was not different between diabetic and control tacrolimus-converted children. In conclusion, pediatric post-transplant diabetes may be related to reversible insulin resistance. Tacrolimus levels, HLA DR mismatch, and older age at transplant may predispose to post-transplant diabetes.
Flux synthesis of AgNbO3: Effect of particle surfaces and sizes on photocatalytic activity

Abstract The molten-salt flux synthesis of AgNbO 3 particles was performed in a Na 2 SO 4 flux using 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 flux-to-reactant molar ratios and heating to 900 °C for reaction times of 1–10 h. Rectangular-shaped particles are obtained in high purity and with homogeneous microstructures that range in size from ∼100 to 5000 nm and with total surface areas from 0.16 to 0.65 m 2 g −1 . The smallest particle-size distributions and highest surface areas were obtained for the largest amounts of flux (3:1 ratio) and the shortest reaction time (1 h). Measured optical bandgap sizes of the AgNbO 3 products were in the range of ∼2.8 eV. The photocatalytic activities of the AgNbO 3 particles for H 2 formation were measured in visible light ( λ > 420 nm) in an aqueous methanol solution and varied from ∼1.7 to 5.9 μmol H 2 g −1 h −1 . The surface microstructures of the particles were evaluated using field-emission SEM, and the highest photocatalytic rates of the AgNbO 3 particles were correlated with the formation of high densities of ∼20–50 nm terraced surfaces. By comparison, the solid-state sample showed no well-defined morphology or microstructure. Thus, the results presented herein demonstrate the utility of flux-synthetic methods in targeting new particles sizes and surface microstructures for the enhancement and understanding of photocatalytic reactivity over metal-oxide particles.
Employing Family Therapy in Group Counseling With College Students: Similarities and a Technique Employed in Both

Abstract This article discusses using family systems strategies and the genogram in group counseling to highlight family-of origin issues with a college student population. Similarities between family therapy and group counseling are described.
Abnormal ventricular looping and abnormal laterality of the atrial chambers are the main morphogenetic mechanisms of cardiac lesions in cultured rat embryos treated with retinoic acid.

To establish the early morphogenetic mechanism in retinoid induced cardiac lesions, we investigated the morphology of the heart in cultured rat embryos treated with retinoic acid (RA) at 9.0 and 9.5 days post coitum (d.p.c). Wistar rat embryos were treated with RA (2 x 10(-7) M) for 6 hours from the embryonic day equivalent of 9.0 or 9.5 d.p.c. After further culture in an RA free medium for 2.5 days, embryos were fixed and examined with a stereomicroscope and a scanning electron microscope. Sixty three embryos were treated at 9.0 d.p.c., 14 embryos were treated at 9.5 d.p.c. and 30 embryos were used as control. Abnormal ventricular looping was seen in 31 embryos (49.2%) from the group treated at 9.0 d.p.c., and isomerism of right appendages occurred in 15 (23.8%). Embryos treated with RA at 9.5 d.p.c. showed a low incidence of abnormal ventricular looping (14.3%). We could summarize those abnormal looping as three variants of each looping. The mildest form was hypoplasia of the right ventricle observed in 20 cases. Both the right and left ventricles in the second variant were shifted far to the left or right (10 cases). The third variant was a heart with generalized hypoplasia of both ventricles (3 cases). The incidence of branchial arch anomalies was higher at 9.5 d.p.c. than at 9.0 d.p.c. (71.4% and 30.2%, respectively). Abnormalities in the ventricular looping and the atrial laterality at 9.0 d.p.c. suggest that RA induces derangement in the development of laterality, while at 9.5 d.p.c., the abnormality of the migration of neural crest cells is the principal mechanism.
Bold Play Is Best: A Simple Proof

Introduction In the classical ruin problem, a gambler with initial capital i dollars plays against an adversary with initial capital a i dollars. Here i and a are positive integers, i < a. The gambler wins a dollar with probability p and loses a dollar with probability q = 1 p; the game is repeated until one of the players goes broke. (Part of the analysis of the problem shows the game cannot go on forever.) Another interpretation of this model is that of a gambler playing a game in a casino (the adversary) where the gambler plays until she goes broke or until she wins a fixed predetermined amount, at which time she quits. Given a total fixed capital a, we are interested in the probability qi that the gambler starting with initial capital i, 1 < i < a 1, is ruined. This problem is often discussed in a first course in probability and introduces the student to the ideas of random walks and Markov chains. Our main reference is the classic book of Feller [3, chapter 14]; see also [1], [4], and [5]. We will regard the sequence of the gambler's fortune after each play as a random walk in the initerval [0, a], with absorbing barriers at 0 and a. The probability of ruin is the probability of hitting 0 before hitting a. Using a difference equation approach and some algebra, the following solution is derived in the case p = 1/2 (see, e.g., [3]):
Interactions of respiratory and cardiovascular adjustments to behavioral stressors.

The relationships among a variety of cardiovascular and respiratory measures were examined in young college males subjected to a cold pressor task, reaction-time shock avoidance task, and three levels of graded exercise. As expected, the relationships between cardiovascular (e.g., heart rate and cardiac output) and respiratory (e.g., oxygen uptake and minute ventilation) variables were tightly linear when considering rest and exercise values. However, the range of individual cardiopulmonary responses during cold pressor and reaction time was considerable, often leading to disruptions in the cardiovascular/respiratory interactions. Analyses of extreme high and low ventilation reactors during both reaction time and cold pressor revealed that the excessive ventilation responders in cold pressor showed clear signs of hyperventilation. Increases in ventilation by the high reactors during reaction time were of smaller magnitude than during cold pressor, with potential hyperventilation much less clear. Increases in minute ventilation by reactors during the cold pressor task were primarily due to large increases in tidal volume, with only modest increases in respiratory rate. For reaction time, however, the increases in ventilation by reactive individuals stemmed from rate increases with tidal volume remaining essentially unchanged.
Intersubjectivity, social microcosm, and the here-and-now in a support group for nurses

Intersubjectivity, a concept from Watson's nursing model is interwoven with the group dynamics of social microcosm and the here-and-now. Examples from a graduate nursing student's clinical experience illustrate the application of a transpersonal dynamic, formerly associated with dyads, to interactions between a nurse and a support group. A psychiatric consultation liaison nurse specialist student facilitates a support group for registered nurses in a neurological intensive care unit, in response to a group-perceived need to improve communications between nurses, nurses and patients, and nurses and physicians. Discovery and processing of hidden anger and pain activates healing for these nurses.
Behavioral Interventions to Reduce HIV-related Sexual Risk Behavior: Review and Synthesis of Meta-Analytic Evidence

Over the past 25 years, scores of behavioral interventions to reduce HIV-related sexual risk behavior have been developed and evaluated. The purpose of the current study was to synthesize what is known about such interventions by systematically reviewing and synthesizing extant meta-analyses of the literature. Comprehensive search procedures resulted in a set of 18 meta-analyses that targeted HIV-related sexual risk behavior in a defined target population. The median meta-analysis in the review contained k = 19 primary studies with a cumulative N = 9,423 participants. All meta-analyses (11/11) that examined condom use found a statistically significant increase (median effect: OR = 1.34); 9/11 for reducing unprotected sex (median effect: OR = .76); 3/8 for reducing numbers of sexual partners (median effect: OR = .87); 4/6 for reduction of STDs (median effect: OR = .74); and 5/5 for reducing composite sexual risk (median effect: OR = .78). Summaries of moderator analyses suggested particular participant, intervention, and methodological characteristics that may influence the success of interventions. Implications include achieving a broader understanding of intervention moderators as well as increasing effectiveness trials and translation/dissemination of efficacious interventions to those populations most at risk.
The effects of chronic prednisone administration on intestinal receptors for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in the dog

Glucocorticoid inhibits intestinal calcium absorption. To further explore the mechanism of this inhibition, we studied dogs during the administration of oral prednisone (1.2-1.5 mg/kg X day) for 20 to 28 weeks in comparison to untreated dogs. Prednisone administration had no effect on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, but was accompanied by a fall in serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D] concentrations from 87 +/- 20 pM (control) to 62 +/- 28 pM (prednisone-treated; P less than 0.01). Cytosol prepared from the duodenal, jejunal, and ileal mucosa of control dogs was found to contain a specific 3.2S [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3 binder analogous to the binder that has been observed in the intestine of other species and in other tissues. The apparent concentration of this binder decreased progressively from duodenum to ileum. Prednisone administration increased the apparent duodenal concentration of the binder from 170 +/- 91 (control) to 363 +/- 124 fmol/mg protein (prednisone-treated; P less than 0.025). The intestinal content of calcium-binding protein also declined progressively from the duodenum to the ileum, but was not affected by prednisone administration. These data suggest that events other than alterations in intestinal 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors must mediate the inhibition of intestinal calcium absorption during chronic glucocorticoid administration.
Recurrent Aggressive Episodes Entrain Ultradian Heart Rate and Core Temperature Rhythms

Abstract The present study was designed to investigate the effects of recurrent aggressive episodes on the synchrony of autonomic circadian and ultradian rhythms. Eight aggressive male rats were entrained to a reverse 12 h:12 h light–dark cycle and then implanted with telemetry senders to continuously monitor heart rate (HR) and core temperature ( T c ). The amplitude and the time of the peak (acrophase) for each of the circadian and ultradian oscillations were quantified by nonlinear, least-squares, multioscillator cosinor analysis that included the first four harmonics of the circadian rhythm. After recovery from surgery, the 3- and 5-cycle/day ultradian rhythms of HR and T c were the prominent ultradian components that were synchronized to the light–dark cycle. First, the resident males confronted a male intruder daily at lights-off (0800 hours) for a period of 3 weeks. Second, after a 3-week recovery period, 15 daily aggressive confrontations were scheduled, with the intruders being introduced at 1200 hours. During the course of the confrontations the amplitude of 3- and 5-cycle/day oscillations in HR and T c decreased, whereas the hemicircadian (2 cycles/day) rhythm amplitude doubled with minor changes of the circadian amplitude. The hemicircadian acrophase coincided with the time of the confrontation most clearly, and this alignment lasted for more than 1 week after the last social confrontation, even in the absence of a reminder. We interpret the synchronization of the hemicircadian acrophases to the time point of social confrontations as anticipating the physiological demands of the aggressive encounters.
A Comparative Study of Science Achievement and Self-concept during a Historical Transition

Cross-cultural changes were accompanied by the sovereignty transition of Hong Kong during the TIMSS data collection, which triggered migration of intellectual families between Hong Kong and other places. To enhance comparability of the urban setting, this investigation focuses on Singapore and Hong Kong for having similar Chinese majority and colonial history. As both cities were reported having high student performance in science, student self-concept is articulated to examine its reciprocal relationship with science achievement under the context of non-monotonic population transition. The perspectives of comparative education have been gained through the cross-cultural understanding of empirical findings from the trend data analysis.
Unusual evolutionary conservation and further species-specific adaptations of a large family of nonclassical MHC class Ib genes across different degrees of genome ploidy in the amphibian subfamily Xenopodinae

Nonclassical MHC class Ib (class Ib) genes are a family of highly diverse and rapidly evolving genes wherein gene numbers, organization, and expression markedly differ even among closely related species rendering class Ib phylogeny difficult to establish. Whereas among mammals there are few unambiguous class Ib gene orthologs, different amphibian species belonging to the anuran subfamily Xenopodinae exhibit an unusually high degree of conservation among multiple class Ib gene lineages. Comparative genomic analysis of class Ib gene loci of two divergent (~65 million years) Xenopodinae subfamily members Xenopus laevis (allotetraploid) and Xenopus tropicalis (diploid) shows that both species possess a large cluster of class Ib genes denoted as Xenopus/Silurana nonclassical (XNC/SNC). Our study reveals two distinct phylogenetic patterns among these genes: some gene lineages display a high degree of flexibility, as demonstrated by species-specific expansion and contractions, whereas other class Ib gene lineages have been maintained as monogenic subfamilies with very few changes in their nucleotide sequence across divergent species. In this second category, we further investigated the XNC/SNC10 gene lineage that in X. laevis is required for the development of a distinct semi-invariant T cell population. We report compelling evidence of the remarkable high degree of conservation of this gene lineage that is present in all 12 species of the Xenopodinae examined, including species with different degrees of ploidy ranging from 2, 4, 8 to 12 N. This suggests that the critical role of XNC10 during early T cell development is conserved in amphibians.