cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in United States Navy recruits.

Background Immunologic tests such as the tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT) are designed to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, both latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and infection manifesting as active tuberculosis disease (TB). These tests need high specificity to minimize unnecessary treatment and high sensitivity to allow maximum detection and prevention of TB. Methods Estimate QFT-GIT specificity, compare QFT-GIT and TST results, and assess factor associations with test discordance among U.S. Navy recruits. Results Among 792 subjects with completed TST and QFT-GIT, 42(5.3%) had TST indurations ≥10mm, 23(2.9%) had indurations ≥15mm, 14(1.8%) had positive QFT-GIT results, and 5(0.6%) had indeterminate QFT-GITs. Of 787 subjects with completed TST and determinate QFT-GIT, 510(64.8%) were at low-risk for infection, 277(35.2%) were at increased risk, and none had TB. Among 510 subjects at low-risk (presumed not infected), estimated TST specificity using a 15mm cutoff, 99.0% (95%CI: 98.2-99.9%), and QFT-GIT specificity, 98.8% (95%CI: 97.9-99.8%), were not significantly different (p>0.99). Most discordance was among recruits at increased risk of infection, and most was TST-positive but QFT-GIT-negative discordance. Of 18 recruits with TST ≥15mm but QFT-GIT negative discordance, 14(78%) were at increased risk. TB prevalence in country of birth was the strongest predictor of positive TST results, positive QFT-GIT results, and TST-positive but QFT-GIT-negative discordance. Reactivity to M. avium purified protein derivative (PPD) was associated with positive TST results and with TST-positive but QFT-GIT-negative discordance using a 10 mm cutoff, but not using a 15 mm cutoff or with QFT-GIT results. Conclusions M. tuberculosis infection prevalence was low, with the vast majority of infection occurring in recruits with recognizable risks. QFT-GIT and TST specificities were high and not significantly different. Negative QFT-GIT results among subjects with TST induration ≥15 mm who were born in countries with high TB prevalence, raise concerns.
Natural Resource Access Rights and Wrongs: Nontimber Forest Products Gathering in Urban Environments

This article uses research about non-timber forest products (NTFP) gathering in Seattle, Washington, USA to examine how people gain access to natural resources in urban environments. Our analysis f...
Depressive Symptoms, Criticism, and Counter-Criticism in Marital Interactions

Although people with depressive symptoms face criticism, hostility, and rejection in their close relationships, we do not know how they respond. Following interpersonal theories of depression, it might be expected that depressive symptoms would be associated with a tendency to receive and also to express criticism toward one's spouse, and that at least some of this criticism would be a contingent response to criticism received (i.e., "counter-criticism"). However, other research has determined that depressive symptoms/behaviors suppress partner criticism, suggesting that depressed people might respond to partner criticism similarly, by subsequently expressing less criticism. In a sample of 112 married couples, partial correlations, regressions, and Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling indicated that lower criticism and counter-criticism expression during a laboratory marital interaction task was associated with higher depressive symptoms, especially when such individuals were clinically depressed. Furthermore, during a separate and private Five-Minute Speech Sample, lower criticism by partners was associated with higher depressive symptoms, especially when those who chose the interaction topic were also clinically depressed. All analyses controlled for relationship adjustment. These results suggest that spouses with higher depressive symptoms and clinical depression diagnoses may be suppressing otherwise ordinary criticism expression toward their nondepressed partners; furthermore, nondepressed partners of depressed people are especially likely to display less criticism toward their spouse in a private task.
Validation of delayed sentinel lymph node mapping for melanoma.

PURPOSE Sentinel lymph node mapping using radiolabeled tracer and blue dye is widely accepted and applied for staging melanoma. Common practice involves injection of radiolabeled tracer on the morning of surgery. However, optimal timing of radiolabeled colloid injection with respect to surgery remains debated. Injection on the day before surgery would offer the advantages of increased scheduling flexibility and decreased radiation exposure to the patient and operating room staff. We hypothesized that a single injection of radiolabeled colloid given 24 hours before surgery would be sufficient and would possibly improve intraoperative sentinel lymph node identification. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ninety-five patients with newly diagnosed cutaneous melanoma underwent injection of radiolabeled colloid and lymphoscintigraphy 18 to 24 hours before surgery for sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy. Sixty-three patients underwent repeat imaging immediately before surgery, and the images were compared with those obtained the previous day. Intraoperative mapping utilized a hand-held gamma probe and injection of blue dye to identify sentinel lymph nodes. RESULTS Two hundred fifty-one sentinel lymph nodes were identified by initial lymphoscintigraphy in 95 patients. Delayed imagingwithout reinjection of radiolabeled tracer compared with the initial lymphoscintigraphy demonstrated no change (71%), clarification of initial ambiguous patterns (10%), or newly identified nodes (19%). Two hundred sixty-one sentinel lymph nodes were resected, of which 79% stained blue. Microscopic metastases were present in 20 sentinel lymph nodes (8%) in 19 patients (20%). All positive nodes contained radioactivity and blue dye. CONCLUSIONS A single injection of radiocolloid 24 hours before surgery combined with intraoperative blue dye injection identified all sentinel lymph nodes and did not miss any metastatic disease. In addition, delayed imaging may clarify initial ambiguous findings and identify additional nodes at risk for metastasis. This technique produces sentinel lymph node identification rates, harvest rates, and rates of positivity comparable to those reported with the use of injection of radiolabeled tracer on the day of surgery and greatly facilitates the technical and administrative aspects of sentinel lymph node mapping.
Examining the scope of the accounting literature: a bibliometric review of a decade of research

Previous research has determined that accounting research has changed over time to be much more financial accounting focused. In addition, much of the top-tier accounting efforts rely on concepts, theories, and methodologies from finance and economics. Yet, accounting research seeks to establish itself as a unique paradigm. This research endeavour seeks to explore, using bibliometric analyses, the last decade of accounting research in its top five journals. Our findings are that accounting still relies on the finance and economics literatures, but that progress has been made in more clearly establishing accounting as a unique area of research.
Broader Experimental Designs and Uses: The Data Box and the New Techniques

Our choice of direction at this point lies between exploring the rich and diverse roles of factor analysis in psychological, social, and biological experiment, on the one hand, and scrutinizing, on the other, purely psychometric problems and statistical requirements. Both research and applied science must certainly in the end study intelligent application of sophisticated formulations in the latter area. But it has seemed best to us to continue at this juncture the momentum of our expanding general view of factor analysis. Perspective must precede the detailed technical pursuit of ultimate accuracy, for we should not be doing justice to accuracy unless we viewed it also in the context of these wider approaches. And there may be some readers who desire the broad methodological overview without intending to progress to meticulous computing issues.
Occult Retinal and Choroidal Vascular Disease: The Value of Timed and Directed Fluorescein Angiography

Background: Acute vascular disease of the choroid or large vessels of the retina is usually accompanied by funduscopic signs. In instances of monocular visual loss, such objective signs are important diagnostic clues that the pathology is in the eye and not in the optic nerve. Methods: Fluorescein angiography was timed in a consistent manner, and photographs were taken at two frames per second. Orientation of the camera was customized for each patient based on the location of the visual field defect. Results: Eight patients with monocular visual loss were referred because the cause of the visual loss was not evident. In each patient, fluorescein angiography showed vascular disease of either the choroid or retina, despite normal-appearing fundi. Conclusions: Fluorescein angiography can detect otherwise occult vascular disease of the retina or choroid. In eyes with monocular scotomas, the angiogram should be performed with the camera oriented with respect to the location of the visual field defect. Accurately timed, rapid sequence photography provides additional information about rate and symmetry of flow. Focal areas of hypoperfusion often are incidental but deserve added consideration when they correspond to the location of a scotoma.
Self-Knowledge as Self-Preservation?

In this century much attention has been given to what might be called the naturalistic or scientific side of Spinoza’s thought. This attention is appropriate, I think, for it reflects a recognition of the seriousness with which our author claimed, in the Preface to Part III of the Ethics, that … nature’s laws and ordinances, whereby all things come to pass and change from one form to another, are everywhere and always the same; so that there should be one and the same method of understanding the nature of all things whatsoever, namely, through nature’s universal laws and rules (Spinoza, 1955, p. 129). The uncompromising sweep of this methodological pronouncement is impressive, and recent commentators such as Hampshire (1951), Curley (1969) and Matson (1977) have responded appropriately by emphasizing Spinoza’s naturalism, seeing his system as an attempt to lay the metaphysical foundations for the new, developing “natural philosophy” of his time — that natural philosophy which was in many ways the progenitor of our own natural science.
New silyl-functionalized BisGMA provides autonomous strengthening without leaching for dental adhesives.

Abstract Resin-based composite has overtaken dental amalgam as the most popular material for direct restorative dentistry. In spite of this popularity the clinical lifetime of composite restorations is threatened by recurrent decay. Degradation of the adhesive leads to gaps at the composite/tooth interface–bacteria, bacterial by-products and fluids infiltrate the gaps leading to recurrent decay and composite restoration failure. The durability of resin-dentin bonds is a major problem. We address this problem by synthesizing silyl-functionalized BisGMA (e.g., silyl-BisGMA), formulating dental adhesives with the new monomer and determining the physicochemical properties and leaching characteristics of the silyl-BisGMA adhesives. Silyl-BisGMA was synthesized by stoichiometric amounts of BisGMA and 3-isocyanatopropyl trimethoxysilane (IPTMS). The control adhesive was a mixture based on HEMA/BisGMA (45/55, w/w). In the experimental formulations, BisGMA was partially or completely replaced by silyl-BisGMA. Water miscibility, polymerization behavior (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, FTIR), thermal property (modulated differential scanning calorimetry, MDSC), mechanical properties in dry and wet conditions (dynamic mechanical analysis, DMA), and leached species (HPLC) were investigated. Data from all tests were submitted to appropriate statistical analysis (α = 0.05). Silyl-BisGMA-containing adhesives exhibited comparable water miscibility, lower viscosities, and significantly improved degree of conversion of C C bond as compared to the control. After 4 weeks aqueous aging, the glass transition temperature and rubbery moduli of the experimental copolymers were significantly greater than the control (p Statement of Significance The low-viscosity adhesive that bonds the composite to the tooth (enamel and dentin) is intended to seal and stabilize the composite/tooth interface, but it degrades leading to a breach at the composite/tooth margin. As the most popular crosslinking monomer in adhesives, Bisphenol A-glycerolate dimethacrylate (BisGMA) has limitations, e.g. susceptible to hydrolysis and concomitant property degradation. A methoxysilyl-functionalized BisGMA derivative (silyl-BisGMA) was introduced in this work to respond to these limitations. Our results indicated that by introducing silyl-BisGMA, higher crosslinked networks were obtained without sacrificing the homogeneity, and the leached amount of HEMA was reduced up to 99%. This novel resin offers potential benefits including prolonging the functional lifetime of dental resin materials.
Raman Spectroscopy of van der Waals Heterostructures

The research of two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals has progressed rapidly since the isolation of graphene in 2004 [1, 2]. The family of 2D crystals now include many different types of materials, including metals (e.g. graphene, NbSe2), semiconductors (e.g. phosphorene, MoS2, WSe2), insulators (e.g. BN), superconductors and charge-density-wave materials (e.g. NbSe2 and TiSe2). Alongside with the rapid development of individual 2D materials, the research frontier has also advanced to explore their hybrid systems [3, 4]. In particular, the flat and inert surfaces of 2D materials enable the construction of heterogeneous stacks of different 2D crystals with atomically sharp interfaces, coupled vertically only by van der Waals forces. These van der Waals heterostructures exhibit many unique properties that cannot be realized in individual 2D crystals [3, 4]. For instance, graphene on hexagonal boron nitride (BN) can exhibit the Hofstadter’s butterfly phenomenon because of the nanoscale periodic interaction between the graphene and BN lattices [5–7]. Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures can host long-lived interlayer excitons due to the staggered band alignment between different TMD layers [8]. Electronic and optoelectronic devices made from van der Waals heterostructures can exhibit performance superior to that of traditional devices with lateral 2D junctions [9–11]. More generally, the 2D building blocks can be combined to form more complex structures. By incorporating the unique properties of each class of 2D crystal (e.g., semiconducting TMDs, insulating BN and metallic graphene), integrated circuits can in principle be constructed entirely with 2D materials. Such 2D systems of electronics, once realized, could open a route to post-silicon technology.
Well-Defined N/S Co-Doped Nanocarbons from Sulfurized PAN- b-PBA Block Copolymers: Structure and Supercapacitor Performance

While nanocarbons doped with more than one heteroatom continue attracting growing interest owing to a wide range of applications, precise control of their nanostructure and porosity remains a major...
Significant improvement in patient self-assessed comfort and function at six weeks after the smooth and move procedure for shoulders with irreparable rotator cuff tears and retained active elevation

It has been documented that the smooth and move procedure—smoothing the proximal humeral surface while maintaining the coracoacromial arch—can provide clinically significant long-term improvement in function for patients having irreparable rotator cuff tears with retained active elevation. This study sought to demonstrate that clinically significant gains in comfort, function, and active motion can be realized as early as 6 weeks after this procedure. We conducted a prospective cohort study of the 6-week clinical outcomes for 48 patients enrolled prior to a smooth and move procedure for irreparable rotator cuff tears. Prior rotator cuff repair had been attempted in 28 (70%). In 40 patients with preoperative and 6-week postoperative measurements, the Simple Shoulder Test scores improved from an average of 3.4 ± 2.8 preoperatively to 5.7 ± 3.5 at 6 weeks (p < 0.001), an improvement that exceeded the published values for the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). The clinical outcomes were not worse for the 18 shoulders with irreparable tears of both the supraspinatus and infraspinatus. In 30 patients with preoperative and 6-week postoperative objective measurements of active motion, the average abduction improved from 93(± 43) to 123(± 47)° (p = 0.005) and the average flexion improved from 102(± 46) to 126(± 44)° (p = 0.023). In addition to its previously documented long-term effectiveness for shoulders with irreparable rotator cuff tears and retained active elevation, this study demonstrates that the smooth and move procedure provides clinically significant improvement as early as 6 weeks after surgery.
Is Annual Preoperative Utilization an Indicator of Postoperative Surgical Outcomes? A Study in Medicare Expenditure

Data on the association of high preoperative healthcare utilization and adverse clinical outcomes are scarce. We sought to evaluate the role of annual preoperative expenditure (APE) as a surrogate for latent variables of risk for adverse short-term postoperative outcomes. Low and super-utilizers who underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass graft, colectomy, total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, or lung resection between 2013 and 2015 were identified from 100% Medicare Inpatient Standard Analytic Files. To assess the association between APE and postoperative outcomes, multivariable logistic regression was utilized. Among 1,049,160 patients, 788,488 (75.1%) and 21,700 (2.1%) patients were preoperative low- and super-utilizers, respectively. Median APE was more than 60 times higher among super-utilizers than low-utilizers ($57,160 vs. $932), as was the cost of the surgical episode ($21,141 vs. $13,179). The predictive ability of APE ranged from 0.683 (95% CI 0.678–0.687) for 90-day readmission to 0.882 (95% CI 0.879–0.886) for a complication at the index hospitalization. Among super-utilizers, the odds of a complication during the surgical episode was nearly double versus low-utilizers (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.89–2.04). Super-utilizers also had an increased odds of 30-day readmission (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.58–1.69) and mortality (OR = 2.22; 95% CI 2.04–2.42). APE was able to predict adverse postsurgical outcomes including complications during the surgical episode, readmission, and 90-day mortality. APE should be considered in the assessment of patient populations when defining risk of adverse postoperative events.
The genetic counselor's role in management of patients with dyslipidemia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The role of genetic testing in diagnosis and management of dyslipidemias continues to grow. Consequently, it is increasingly important for patients to have access to clinicians who have expertise in medical genetics and the psychological implications related to this type of testing. Often a lipidologist has had limited training in this regard, and this review explores the role of the genetic counselor to fill this gap. RECENT FINDINGS Genetic counselors are key members of the healthcare team, and their specialized training in medical genetics and counseling allows them to fill this professional knowledge gap within the lipid clinic. SUMMARY With the continued emphasis on precision medicine, the utility of genetic testing for dyslipidemias will continue to grow. This will in turn increase the demand for provider expertise in medical genetics and counseling around these complex issues. Integrating a genetic counselor within the lipid clinic provides an ideal management scenario providing patients and families with access to not only medical information but also emotional support regarding their hereditary condition.
The Dragon, the Eagle, and the Private Sector: Public-Private Collaboration in China and the United States

The governments of China and the United States - despite profound differences in history, culture, economic structure, and political ideology - both engage the private sector in the pursuit of public value. This book employs the term collaborative governance to describe relationships where neither the public nor private party is fully in control, arguing that such shared discretion is needed to deliver value to citizens. This concept is exemplified across a wide range of policy arenas, such as constructing high speed rail, hosting the Olympics, building human capital, and managing the healthcare system. This book will help decision-makers apply the principles of collaborative governance to effectively serve the public, and will enable China and the United States to learn from each other's experiences. It will empower public decision-makers to more wisely engage the private sector. The book's overarching conclusion is that transparency is the key to the legitimate growth of collaborative governance.
Metapopulation genetics of endangered reticulated flatwoods salamanders ( Ambystoma bishopi ) in a dynamic and fragmented landscape

The reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi), an endangered species endemic to the longleaf-pine savanna ecosystem of the southeastern U.S., persists in a small number of remnant habitat patches. Breeding ponds and associated populations are threatened by habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation stemming from fire suppression and land conversion. Understanding influences on population dynamics and genetic diversity will help inform recovery efforts for this and other pond-breeding amphibians. We used 9 microsatellite loci to characterize population structure, migration, and genetic diversity of juvenile (larvae and metamorphs) A. bishopi (n = 607) sampled from thirteen breeding ponds across two breeding seasons. Temporal genetic variation between annual cohorts was minimal compared to spatial variation among locations. The primary genetic subdivision was between two regional groups of breeding ponds (i.e. metapopulations), which were located more than 10 km from each other. Yet even within metapopulations, genetic isolation-by-distance was pronounced, and estimated migration rates among ponds separated by > 400 m were very low. Genetic diversity was positively correlated with the area of suitable breeding habitat in a pond and negatively correlated with distance to other occupied ponds. The effective number of breeders typically was < 30 individuals per year per pond, and all populations showed signs of having been through a severe demographic bottleneck. Small and variable local population sizes suggest the importance of metapopulation dynamics among ponds for maintaining regional persistence and genetic diversity. Such dynamics may be easily disrupted for A. bishopi, so maintaining and restoring connectivity appears crucial for long-term conservation.
On The Fusing of Earths

§ 175. Alkalis have the property of bringing fireproof earths to fusion, indeed so that different earths which withstand the strongest flame will often fuse readily when they are mixed tagether [with alkalis]. The following investigation shows readily what has just been described.
Potential Male Etiologies of Unexplained Infertility

Male factor infertility contributes to one-half of all infertile couples. Of these, approximately 40 % have an unknown cause. This subgroup can be divided into separate categories based on the results of two properly obtained semen analyses: idiopathic male infertility (IMI) and unexplained male infertility (UMI). While both groups exhibit normal physical exam findings and endocrine evaluations, they differ in that IMI have abnormal semen analyses, while UMI have normal semen parameters. This chapter will highlight the potential etiologies of UMI.
Curriculum Delivery and Assessment for Net Generation Construction Students

The Net Generation of students, born between 1980 and 2000, has transitioned into the college classroom and beyond. Universities have recognized that the typical Net Generation student is different than predecessors. Technology, elementary and high school instruction, and parental expectations and involvement are vastly different than previous generations. As construction management programs consider how best to educate the next generation of constructors, this research sought to determine how the Net Generation would prefer college construction classes to be delivered and assessed. Traditional construction management classes have been delivered by the “wise” professor at center stage. Knowledge has been delivered using lectures and/or Powerpoint® slides. Research shows that such lectured based models may not be the best educational delivery method to reach the Net Generation. Some of these researchers are even predicting a shift in the teaching paradigm across all of higher education. This project sought...
2,500m Isobath from Satellite Bathymetry: Accuracy Assessment in Light of IHO S-44 Standards

We assess the vertical (depth) and horizontal accuracy of the 2,500m isobath from satellite-derived bathymetry. We find the satellite isobath meets IHO S-44 vertical accuracy standards 90% of the time in areas of smooth topography with good acoustic survey control, but only 31% of the time in a rugged, poorly surveyed area. A horizontal displacement of the satellite isobath with respect to the NGDC Coastal Relief Model offshore of New Jersey, USA, is due to the underlying depths being uncorrected for the velocity of sound in seawater in the Model and corrected in the satellite-derived bathymetry data.
Manuel Noriega and the “Panama Crisis”: An annotated bibliography

Historically, Panama has always been “a place of transit.” While technically the isthmus formed part of Colombia in the nineteenth century, it was linked geopolitically to the United States soon after the California gold rush, beginning in the late 1840s. The first attempt at building a canal ended in failure in 1893 when disease and poor management forced Ferdinand de Lesseps to abandon the project. The U.S. undertaking to build the canal could only begin after Panama declared itself free and broke away from Colombia in 1903, with the support of the United States.
The Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 Immediate-Early Gene Product Contains an Acidic Transcriptional Activation Domain

The equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) immediate-early (IE) gene product, an ICP4 homolog, is the major regulatory protein encoded by EHV-1 during cytolytic infection. The IE gene product has been demonstrated to induce reporter gene expression directed by both homologous and heterologous viral promoters, including the EHV-1 thymidine kinase (tk) promoter, the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) tk and ICP4 promoters, and the simian virus 40 early promoter. In this report, the transcriptional activation domain of the EHV-1 IE gene product was mapped to within an acidic, 87-amino-acid region (amino acids 3 to 89) at the amino-terminus of the IE molecule. It is demonstrated that the IE transcriptional activation domain, when fused to the DNA-binding domain of the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4, can activate gene expression in cell lines derived from at least two different species. Moreover, it is shown that the EHV-1 IR2 gene product (Harty and O'Callaghan, J. Virol. 65, 3829-3838, 1991), a truncated form of the IE polypeptide lacking IE amino acid residues 1-322 (and, therefore lacks the deduced transcriptional activation domain), fails to transactivate the EHV-1 tk promoter, but retains the ability to down-regulate the EHV-1 IE promoter. Fusion of the acidic transcriptional activation domain of the HSV-1 virion protein VP16 to the transactivation-deficient IR2 gene product restored the ability of this truncated IE polypeptide to transactivate the EHV-1 tk promoter. These findings suggest a role for the IR2 protein as a trans-repressor of EHV-1 gene expression.
INTRODUCING GILBERT WHITE: AN EXEMPLARY NATURAL HISTORIAN AND HIS EDITORS

IN 1887, RICHARD JEFFERIES, a popular nature essayist, added his name to the list of several dozen individuals who had written either introductions or notes to Gilbert White's The Natural History of Selborne (1789). Jefferies, like many who chose to edit and introduce this text throughout the Victorian period, represents White as a model figure – but a model for two quite different things. On the one hand, Jefferies commends White and his Natural History as examples of simple, reflective engagement with a local, natural economy – an approach to nature that any inquisitive and observant person could emulate. White is thus allied to fictional working-class naturalists like Job Legh in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton and leisured clergyman like Mr. Farebrother in George Eliot's Middlemarch. All that is needed to become a student of natural history, Jefferies suggests, is curiosity and intelligence. He informs his reader that, “In the same manner [as White] any one who has a taste for out-of-door observations may study natural history without any previous scientific learning. There is not the smallest need to know the Latin names of the birds in order to watch them, or of the flowers in order to gather them” (viii). White is thus put forward as an exemplar of what anyone may aspire to be. White, Jefferies tells his readers, Was not full of evolution when he walked out, or variation, or devolution, or degeneration. He did not look for microbes everywhere. His mind was free and his eye open. To many it would do much good to read this work if only with the object of getting rid of some of the spiders’ webs that have been so industriously spun over the eyesight of those who would like to think for themselves. (ix)
Rethinking accountability in new governance

Prominent theorizations of new governance – innovative, collaborative, or experimentalist modes of governance – depict it as enhancing accountability. Yet they have not clarified precisely what accountability is, or identified the range of accountability mechanisms in new governance. Based on case studies from Irish and Portuguese social inclusion policy, this study builds on existing theoretical traditions to develop a model of how new governance affects accountability. This multidimensional conceptualization of accountability provides a nuanced fraework for analyzing accountability in new governance, while casting doubt on claims that new governance undermines accountability.
Postoperative bracing after spine surgery for degenerative conditions: a questionnaire study.

Abstract Background context A variety of orthoses are routinely applied after spinal procedures but there are limited data regarding their efficacy, especially with the increasing use of internal fixation. At this time, the proper indications for postoperative bracing are not well established. Purpose To assess the postoperative bracing patterns of spine surgeons. Study design/setting Questionnaire study. Patient sample Spine surgeons attending the “Disorders of the Spine” conference (January 2008, Whistler, Canada). Outcome measures Frequencies of bracing after specific surgical procedures. Methods A single-page questionnaire was distributed to all spine surgeons attending the “Disorders of the Spine” conference (January 2008). The questionnaire focused on whether surgeons typically immobilize patients after specific spinal procedures, the type of orthosis used, the duration of treatment, and the rationale for bracing. Results Ninety-eight of 118 surgeons completed the survey (response rate: 83%). The frequency of bracing was similar between academic and private as well as orthopedic and neurosurgical practices. The difference in the bracing tendencies of fellowship and non-fellowship trained surgeons was found to be statistically significant (61% vs. 46%, p Bracing was employed more regularly after cervical spine procedures than surgeries involving the lumbar spine (63% vs. 49%, p Conclusions Although most of the respondents brace their patients postoperatively, there is an obvious lack of consensus regarding the most appropriate type, duration, and indications for immobilization. Further prospective, clinical studies may play a helpful role in evaluating the efficacy of postoperative bracing protocols.
A simple approach to nuclear transition regions

Abstract A scheme for the interpretation of extended nuclear transition regions is introduced which is based on the importance of the neutron-photon interaction among valence nucleons. It substantially simplifies both the empirical patametrization and theoretical calculation of such regions. Data from near A ∼ 100, ∼130, and ∼150 are discussed. In the first and last cases, information on the valence proton shell structure is extracted. In the A ∼ 130region an IBA calculation is presented which exploits the proposed method.
Using edit sessions to measure participation in wikipedia

Many quantitative, log-based studies of participation and contribution in CSCW and CMC systems measure the activity of users in terms of output, based on metrics like posts to forums, edits to Wikipedia articles, or commits to code repositories. In this paper, we instead seek to estimate the amount of time users have spent contributing. Through an analysis of Wikipedia log data, we identify a pattern of punctuated bursts in editors' activity that we refer to as edit sessions. Based on these edit sessions, we build a metric that approximates the labor hours of editors in the encyclopedia. Using this metric, we first compare labor-based analyses with output-based analyses, finding that the activity of many editors can appear quite differently based on the kind of metric used. Second, we use edit session data to examine phenomena that cannot be adequately studied with purely output-based metrics, such as the total number of labor hours for the entire project.
Inhibition of Lung Carcinogenesis and Effects on Angiogenesis and Apoptosis in A/J Mice by Oral Administration of Green Tea

Oral administration of tea (Camellia sinensis) has been shown to inhibit the formation and growth of several tumor types in animal models. The present study investigated the effects of treatment with different concentrations of green tea on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumorigenesis in female A/J mice. Two days after a single dose of NNK (100 mg/kg body weight, i.p.), the mice were given 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% green tea solution (1, 2, 4, and 6 g of tea solids, respectively, dissolved in 1 l of water), 0.02% caffeine, or water as the sole source of drinking fluid until the termination of the experiment. Only the treatment with 0.6% tea preparation significantly reduced lung tumor multiplicity (mean ± SE, 6.07 ± 0.77 vs. 8.60 ± 0.50 tumors per mouse, P = 0.018). Treatment with 0.6% tea also inhibited angiogenesis, as indicated by the lower microvessel density (number of blood vessels/mm2) based on immunostaining for the von Willebrand factor antigen (81.9 ± 9.5 vs. 129...
Travelling-wave amplifier using thin epitaxial GaAs layer

A solid-state travelling-wave amplifier has been fabricated in 1 µm n type epitaxial GaAs on a semi-insulating substrate. It shows a net gain around 5, 7.5, 9 and 11.5 GHz, with a maximum value of 13 dB at 11.5 GHz. Other features include c.w. operation, 20-30 dB isolation, and voltage-controlled phase shifting with constant gain.
Half-lives of neutron deficient yttrium nuclides

Abstract The neutron deficient yttrium nuclides, 85 Y, 85 m Y, and 83 Y have been produced by spallation of yttrium oxide with 400 MeV protons. By means of a series of timed daughter isolations the following half-lives have been established: 85 Y: 4·9 ± 0·3 hr, 85 m Y: 2·5 ± 0·1 hr, and 83 Y: 7·5 ± 0·1 mins. An upper limit of 1·5 mins has been set for the half-life of 82 Y and the same value for a possible isomer of 83 Y.
Abnormal hepatic biochemistries in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between abnormal hepatic biochemistries and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unclear. We determined the prevalence of abnormal hepatic biochemistries and chronic liver disease in a cohort of IBD patients, and we compared patients with normal and abnormal liver biochemistries. METHODS: Patients with IBD evaluated at our institution between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2000 were identified. Data on gender, age, IBD subtype, extent and activity, medications, liver disease history, liver biochemistries, and vital status were collected. The X 2 test, Student's t-test, and Cox proportional regression were used. RESULTS: We identified 544 patients with available hepatic biochemistries. Abnormal hepatic biochemistries were found in 159 (29%). Defined chronic liver disease was present in 5.8% of patients (primary sclerosing cholangitis in 4.6%). The prevalence of abnormal hepatic biochemistries was 27% for those with active IBD and 36% for those in remission (P = 0.06). Patients with abnormal hepatic biochemistries were less frequently on 5-aminosalicylates (35% vs 51%, P < 0.001), and a smaller proportion was alive at last follow-up (90.4% vs 98.5%, P < 0.0001). The age-adjusted risk of death was 4.8 times higher in patients with abnormal hepatic biochemistries, after excluding patients with any diagnosis of liver disease. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal hepatic biochemistries were present in nearly one-third of our patients, and surprisingly, they were not associated with IBD activity. Abnormal hepatic biochemistries and chronic liver disease appeared to have a negative impact on vital status. Persistently abnormal hepatic biochemistries should be evaluated, and not attributed to IBD activity.
Smart biological systems as models for engineered structures

Certain biological structures are examined in the context of engineering structures and structural components. Among a variety of types of smartness that may be evident in biological structures, two types are of special interest to us. In the first type, there is a closed loop, and smartness can be defined as an integrated ability of structures to (a) sense one or more variables such as strain, temperature, pressure, etc., (b) process the same, and (c) act, sense and reprocess as long as permissible, to assure continued performance in accordance with design intentions. Thus there is an iterative feedback mechanism and the process is dynamic. In the second type there is an open loop, and smartness arises out of a design principle aimed at enhancing toughness, leading to mechanical integrity of the system. There is no feedback, but the microstructural design is unique. This paper discusses both these types of smartness through examples which serve as models for smart structures, but pose analytical and experimental challenges in adapting biostructural principles to engineering design.
The Use of Rating Scales With Children Who Have Language Impairments

Several reports suggest that socio-emotional disorders and language impairments frequently co-occur in children receiving special education services. One explanation for the high levels of co-occur...
The Jewish National Fund

* Walter Lehn is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Minnesota, and has been Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Texas at Austin (1960-66). 1 A shorter version of this paper was presented at the Sixth Annual Convention of the Association of Arab-American University Graduates in Washington, DC in October 1973 and is appearing in the proceedings, Settler Regimes in Africa and the Arab World: The Illusion of Endurance, edited by Ibrahim Abu Lughod. For providing information not otherwise readily available, I am grateful to the New York and the Jerusalem offices of the JNF. The Jerusalem office was particularly helpful in providing copies of documents in its archives and details of land purchases made annually from 1905-1948. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures relating to purchases and ownership are taken from this source (hereafter JNF-Jerusalem) and are used because they agree substantially with those given elsewhere, e.g., two publications by the Government of Palestine, Village Statistics 1945: A Classification of Land and Area Ownership in Palestine (Jerusalem, 1946), reprinted with explanatory notes by Sami Hadawi (Official Land Valuer and Inspector of Tax Assessments, Government of Palestine, 1935-1948), Beirut: PLO Research Centre 1970; and A Survey of Palestine Prepared for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, 3 vols. (Jerusalem, 1946), and a Supplement (prepared for UNSCOP), (Jerusalem, 1947); also United Nations Official Records of the Second Session of the General Assembly, Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question, 1947. Useful interpretive studies are Sami Hadawi, Palestine: Loss of a Heritage (San Antonio: Naylor, 1963) and John Ruedy, "Dynamics of Land Alienation," in Ibrahim Abu Lughod (editor), The Transformation of Palestine: Essays on the Origin and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Evanston: Northwestern, 1971), pp. 119-38. 2 On May 14, 1948, the JNF held 936,000 dunums; Efraim Orni, Agrarian Reform and Social Progress in Israel (Jerusalem, 1972), p. 62. A. Granott, Agrarian Reform and the Record of Israel (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1956), p. 28, gives total Jewish ownership at the end of 1947 as 1,734,000 dunums; of this 933,000 were held by the JNF and the balance by other, including private, owners. The 1,734,000 figure (somewhat higher than mandate government figures) is not impressive if we note that even this represented only 6.59 per cent of mandated Palestine's total land area of 26,323,000 dunums (exclusive of Transjordan). Granott generally rounds figures to the closest 1,000, a practice observed in this paper also. No attempt is here made to cope with the herculean task of reconciling varying figures on landownership given in different sources. Most writers simply do not give specific enough information to make this possible; e.g., different figures for land owned in a given year may simply reflect the fact that one source used January and the other December as the basis of counting for the year. A further source of uncertainty is the calendar used, the Jewish or
Plasmid chromosome isolation: An improved batch procedure for large plasmids

Abstract A one-step, batch fractionation procedure for the isolation of Escherichia coli plasmids with molecular weights up to at least 1.3 × 10 8 has been devised. A 15-ml lysate of 5 × 10 10 bacteria is gently prepared and underlain with 15 ml of CsCl-ethidium bromide solution in a 30-ml centrifuge bottle. During an 18- to 24-h 100,000 g centrifugation in an anglehead rotor, an aggregate of dense cellular debris including almost all of the host DNA pellets. Plasmid chromosomes are banded in the supernatant isopycnic gradient and are detected by fluorescence of their intercalated ethidium bromide. Plasmid recoveries of 40–70% are achieved. The preparations are pure enough to be used for plasmid circumference measurements by electron microscopy.
Cotransfection of Nucleic Acid Segments by Sendai Virus Envelopes

It is reported here that Sendai virus envelopes (SVE) can be used to transfect multiple copies of DNA segments of different varieties and size. This capability further increases the usefulness of SVE. In addition, the ability to simultaneously transfect multiple copies of different genome segments promises to be a powerful tool in the field of molecular biology. The simultaneous transfection of NEO gene and cytomegalovirus immediate early antigen gene was successfully done. Sendai virus envelopes (SVE)1 have been used successfully to study carcinogenesis of Epstein-Barr virus (1, 2). SVE have been shown to have a large carrying capacity (3) for the microinjection of macromolecules into target cells. SVE are hollow vesicles constructed from the viral proteins hemagglutinin HN and fusion factor F.
Gravitational models of a Lorentz extended electron

We show how the Einstein-Maxwell field equations of general relativity can be used to construct a Lorentz model of an electron as an extended body consisting of pure charge and no matter. In contrast with Lorentz's approach using inertial mass, we associate the mass of the electron with its Schwarzschild gravitational mass. The Schwarzschild mass of an extended charged body as seen at infinity arises from the charge as well as the matter that the extended body possesses. The field equations for a Lorentz-type pure-charge extended electron are obtained by setting the matter terms equal to zero in the field equations for a spherically symmetric charged perfect fluid. Several explicit solutions to the pure-charge field equations are examined.
Dehydrogenation of cyclohexene on ordered Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys

The adsorption and dehydrogenation of cyclohexene on Pt(111) and two Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys has been studied since cyclohexene is a likely intermediate in the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane to benzene, a prototypical reaction for catalytic reforming. Our investigations used TPD, AES, LEED, and sticking coefficient measurements. The two ordered, Pt-Sn surface alloys were prepared by annealing monolayer amounts of Sn vapor-deposited onto Pt(111). Depending upon the conditions used, the annealed surface exhibited a p(2 × 2) or (√3 × √3)R30° LEED pattern corresponding to the (111) face of Pt3Sn or a surface alloy of composition Pt2Sn, respectively. Sticking coefficient measurements showed that the initial sticking coefficient, S0, was equal to unity on all three substrates and determined a saturation coverage of 0.14 ML for the cyclohexene monolayer on all three substrates at 180 K; Sn in these surface alloys has no measurable effect on the adsorption kinetics and the monolayer coverage compared to Pt(111) at 180 K. Precursor mediated adsorption kinetics on all three surfaces are indicated by the constant initial sticking coefficient up to cyclohexene coverages of at least 0.02 ML. However, the cyclohexene binding energy decreases with increasing Sn concentration in the surface layer, indicating that Sn has a substantial electronic effect on cyclohexene adsorption on the Pt(111) surface. The di-σ bonded cyclohexene on the Pt(111) surface is changed to hydrogen-bonded cyclohexene on the (√3 × √3)R30°Sn / Pt(111) surface. This change is attributed to the stronger influence of Sn on the surface capacity for forming di-σ bonds than hydrogen bonds. At small cyclohexene coverages, the alloying of Pt with Sn increases both the activity and selectivity of gas phase benzene production under UHV conditions. At higher cyclohexene coverages, the self-poisoning of the surface by cyclohexene or reaction intermediates becomes the determining factor in the reactions of cyclohexene and the addition of Sn to the surface only slightly increases the selectivity of gas phase benzene production. However, carbon deposition on the surface is strongly suppressed.