cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment of love addiction: Current status and perspectives

Abstract Background and objectives Even though love addiction is not recognized by DSM-5 as a specific diagnosis, there is enough literature data to support its characterization as an independent mental disorder. Information on the treatment of love addiction is still scant. Methods The databases Medline, Embase, and LILACS were searched for literature findings addressing the treatment of love addiction. Results The currently available therapeutic strategies for love addiction are discussed, as well as some perspectives in the treatment of love addiction from a pharmacological standpoint. Conclusion There is scant evidence regarding the treatment of love addiction in the medical literature, specially with respect to pharmacological interventions, although several agents may hypothetically be of benefit in this condition. Psychotherapy is often cited as the cornerstone of the treatment of love addiction, but its efficacy has not been properly investigated.
Behavioral Sciences and Computing

The sections in this article are 1 Antecedent–Consequence Research 2 Model Building 3 Individual–Social Perspective
A First-Year Seminar Course that Supports the Transition of International Students to Higher Education and Fosters the Development of Intercultural Communication Competence

Colleges and universities in the United States and in other countries are admitting and educating an increasing number of international students. This trend creates both challenges and opportunitie...
Bleeding avoidance strategies during percutaneous coronary interventions.

Abstract Bleeding avoidance strategies for percutaneous coronary interventions continue to evolve with the availability of newer antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapies. Advances in interventional practices have altered the balance between ischemic and bleeding complications. With the availability of rapidly-acting platelet adenosine diphosphate–receptor antagonists, the need for routine glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors has diminished. Recent meta-analyses and trials have advanced our knowledge of vascular access and different anticoagulation regimens. Vascular closure devices have long been used for early ambulation; however, more recent results demonstrating lower bleeding complications from observational registries are encouraging. This review synthesizes this information, taking into account changes in the landscape of interventional practice with respect to current bleeding avoidance strategies.
Two Closely Related Structure Types with Unprecedented Bioctahedral Rare-Earth-Metal Clusters Centered by Transition Metals: A2R10I17Z2 (A = Rb, Cs; R = La, Ce, Pr; Z = Co, Ni, Ru, Os) and La10I15Os2

A family of compounds has been discovered in which pairs of octahedral rare-earth-metal clusters, each centered by a late transition metal Z, share a common edge. This R{sub 10}Z{sub 2} units, sheathed and interbridged by iodine atoms, occur in the quaternary phases Rb{sub 2}La{sub 10}I{sub 17}Co{sub 2}, Cs{sub 2}La{sub 10}I{sub 17}Z{sub 2} (Z = Co, Ni, Ru, Os), Cs{sub 2}Ce{sub 10}I{sub 17}Os{sub 2}, and Cs{sub 2}Pr{sub 10}I{sub 17}Z{sub 2}(Z = Co, Ru, Os) and in the ternary La{sub 10} I{sub 15}Os{sub 2}. All are obtained as black, air-sensitive crystals from reactions of RI{sub 3}, R, Z, and RbI or CsI as appropriate in welded Nb containers at 800-850{degree}C. The structure of Cs{sub 2} Ce{sub 10}I{sub 17}Os{sub 2} has been refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods for comparison with the isotypic Cs{sub 2}La{sub 10}I{sub 17}Co{sub 2}, and the structure of a unique ternary La{sub 10}I{sub 15}Os{sub 2} has been defined. These new bioctahedral clusters may be regarded as the missing links between discrete clusters and infinite chains of condensed octahedral clusters among rare-earth-metal cluster halides that are stabilized by interstitial transition metals. The biclusters in both structures are extensively interconnected into three-dimensional arrays through bridging iodine atoms. The structural interconversion betweenmore » Cs{sub 2}La{sub 10}I{sub 17}Os{sub 2} and La{sub 10}I{sub 15}Os{sub 2} + 2CsI may be easily visualized in terms of changes in iodide bridging modes and accommodation of cesium cations. 29 refs., 7 figs., 7 tabs.« less
Health-care provider preferences for time-sensitive communications from public health agencies.

Objective. The Rapid Emergency Alert Communication in Health (REACH) Trial was a randomized control trial to systematically compare and evaluate the effectiveness of traditional and mobile communication modalities for public health agencies to disseminate time-sensitive information to health-care providers (HCPs). We conducted a sub-study to identify the communication channels by which HCPs preferred receiving public health alerts and advisories. Methods. Enrolled HCPs were blindly randomized into four message delivery groups to receive time-sensitive public health messages by e-mail, fax, or short message service (SMS) or to a no-message control group. Follow-up interviews were conducted 5–10 days after the message. In the final interview, additional questions were asked regarding HCP preferences for receiving public health alerts and advisories. We examined the relationship between key covariates and preferred method of receiving public health alert and advisory messages. Results. Gender, age, provider type, and study site showed statistically significant associations with delivery method preference. Older providers were more likely than younger providers to prefer e-mail or fax, while younger providers were more likely than older providers to prefer receiving messages via SMS.
Investigating the Relationship Between Satellite-Based Freeze/Thaw Products and Land Surface Temperature

This paper investigates surface temperature variables as they relate to passive microwave-derived surface freeze/thaw (FT) state and assesses the accuracy of such FT products relative to surface temperature. Utilizing retrievals from the soil moisture active/passive (SMAP), advanced microwave scanning radiometer, and special sensor microwave imager instruments, surface FT records have previously been derived globally. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer skin temperature, North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) skin, 0–10-cm soil layer, and 2-m air temperatures are compared to the various FT state products (FTSPs) by defining the threshold for FT state transitions at 0 °C. This paper utilizes the 2015–2016 overlap period in FT records within the NLDAS domain. Spatial variability of classification accuracy (CA) is then investigated over the study area. A proportional differencing method also enables the identification of biases between FTSPs and surface temperature variables. Additionally, by analyzing probability distribution functions of FTSPs associated with temperature values, we assess the distribution of temperature variables as they relate to FT classifications. Classification agreement is shown to vary with sensor configuration, seasonality, and retrieval time. Air temperature is found to have the highest CAs across FTSPs (81%–91%), while NLDAS soil exhibits a close relationship to FTSPs, especially in regard to SMAP products. Finally, ascending ( p.m. ) retrievals are shown to be increasingly linked to the selected temperature parameters as compared to descending ( a.m. ) observations. This paper contributes to an improved understanding of current FTSPs and will benefit efforts to enhance future FT products.
Critical teaching in classrooms of healing: Struggles and testimonios

Using testimonio methodology, this article describes the testimonio and struggle of two Chicanx activist social studies teachers teaching in a large urban high school serving socio-economically poor Latinx students. Both teach critically working to develop their students’ understanding of how their ethnic and community histories contrast with larger historical narratives. Both teach the racism, misogyny, and homophobia rampant in American history by connecting it to the present. They also engage a culturally sustaining pedagogy to give students strength from their cultural inheritance. Each approached this differently, one developing an ethnic studies course, and the second developing a circulo de hombres, and embedding a youth participation action research. Each teacher tackled critical teaching and healing simultaneously from different perspectives yielding a variety of accompanying struggles.
Group Dynamics and Socialization

Group dynamics refers to interactional and psychological behaviors within a group of people. It sheds light on the fundamental processes that generate norms, roles, relations, objectives, or ideologies within social groups.
Test-Based Accountability and the Effectiveness of School Finance Reforms

A recent literature provides new evidence that school resources are important for student outcomes. This paper examines whether school accountability systems that incentivize performance (such as No Child Left Behind) raise the efficiency with which additional resources get spent. We leverage the timing of school finance reforms to compare funding impacts on student test scores between states that had accountability in place at the time of the reform and states that did not. The results show that finance-reform-induced increases in student performance are driven by those states where the reform was accompanied by the presence of test-based accountability.
A survey of cannabinoids and toxic elements in hemp-derived products from the United States marketplace

Abstract The 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act removed hemp from Schedule I control, creating a market for hemp products, including cannabidiol-containing products. Due to the market’s rapid growth, little is known about the presence and concentration of cannabinoids in commercial products. Herein, 11 cannabinoids were quantified using liquid chromatography with diode-array detection in a non-representative sampling of 147 products labeled as containing hemp or cannabidiol. A subset of 133 products were analyzed for toxic elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Cannabinoid content ranged from
Adult-Onset Still's Disease Presenting as Macrophage-Activation Syndrome With Critical Illness in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy: A Case Report.

We report a case of a young woman with adult-onset Still's disease presenting as macrophage-activation syndrome complicated by shock and respiratory failure during the third trimester of pregnancy. Case summary A previously healthy 26-year-old woman at 35 weeks of gestation presented with 1 week of constitutional symptoms and was found to be febrile, tachycardic, and hypotensive. She delivered a healthy neonate by cesarean section. Following delivery, she had worsening hypotension and fevers despite fluid resuscitation and antibiotics, and developed progressive hypoxemia requiring up to 60% Fio2, with bilateral upper-lobe predominant opacities on chest CT. She also had laboratory derangements including anemia, thrombocytopenia, low fibrinogen, elevated ferritin, and abnormal liver chemistries. After extensive testing to exclude infections, hemolysis, and other pertinent disorders, the development of polyarthralgias and a characteristic rash fulfilled criteria for adult-onset Still's disease complicated by macrophage-activation syndrome. Her condition improved with immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report of new-onset adult-onset Still's disease during the third trimester of pregnancy, which presented as macrophage-activation syndrome. In the context of late pregnancy, macrophage-activation syndrome can mimic or raise concern for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet syndrome and other peripartum disorders. Furthermore, the characteristic articular symptoms of adult-onset Still's disease may be mild and/or delayed, and pulmonary involvement with severe hypoxemia can occur. Clinicians should consider this diagnosis when evaluating a pregnant patient with unexplained fever and multiorgan dysfunction.
Transitional care following a skilled nursing facility stay: Utilization of nurse practitioners to reduce readmissions in high risk older adults.

Abstract This quality improvement project's goal was to identify older adults who were at high risk for readmission following a skilled nursing facility (SNF) admission and evaluate the impact of a nurse practitioner (NP) visit within 72 hours of SNF discharge. The aims of this project were to reduce 30-day readmissions, identify gaps in care, and address care needs for patients recently discharged from a SNF. High readmission risk was estimated through use of readmission risk prediction and frailty tools. Results of the project revealed several gaps in care including medication discrepancies, delays in start of home health services, and lack of follow up with a primary care provider. Of the patients seen for a transitional care visit (TCV), none were readmitted. Project findings indicate there is value in seeing patients in their home soon after SNF discharge. Further work is indicated to improve care transitions in this area.
Algebraic and Analytic Inversion of Acoustic Data Prom Partially or Fully Enclosing Apertures

Several methods are presented for inversion of both reflection and transmission data (i.e., produce an image from the data) collected from transducers distributed on a sphere or portions of a surface surrounding a distribution of scatterers. These methods are based on finding approximate forms of the true generalized inversion of the linear operator which transforms the particular distributions of scatterers, transducer arrangement, and transmitted waveforms into the corresponding collected data. Thus, reflection and transmission data collection may be written as linear operations AMx=b where A is an attenuation operation and M is a time varying spatial integrating operator, b is data and x is the desired image. One such iterative method is presented which uses a Kacmarz-like inversion technique which is analogous to the ART reconstruction algorithm used in x-ray reconstructive tomography. This iterative method is well suited for partially enclosing apertures. Progress in formulation of non-iterative or analytic methods is presented. These methods are analogous to the Radon inversion formulae for x-ray density reconstruction. A comparison is made of the images produced by these new methods and the “synthetic focus” method previously developed in our laboratory.
Redistribution Reactions on Silicon Catalyzed by Transition Metal Complexes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses redistributions catalyzed by transition-metal complexes. Redistribution, or disproportionation, constitutes an important class of reactions in organosilicon chemistry. Redistributions on silicon may be initiated by thermolysis or by catalytic activation at somewhat lower temperatures. In the gas phase, methyl is transferred from Me n SiH 4–n , to CH 3 + almost as readily as hydrogen. Silacyclobutanes with metal substituents may also be polymerized to give novel polymers with pendant metal groups. By using chiral silyl hydrides, it has been demonstrated that the exchanges occur with the retention of configuration at silicon. The complete lack of isomerization of the p -tolyl group during the disproportionation of Ar 3 SiH is noteworthy. Similarly, the vinyl group of trimethylvinylsilane is hydrolyzed by a catalytic amount of Zeise's salt [(C 2 H 4 )PtC1 3 ] - in moist acetone. The redistribution reactions of hydridodisilanes of the type R 3 SiSiR 2 H are more varied than those of the corresponding monosilanes. In redistribution reactions catalyzed by transition-metal complexes, di- or polysiloxanes are expected to share some characteristics of both monosilanes and di- or polysilanes. Thus, the availability of the four-membered metallacycle in the catalytic cycle greatly enhances the rate of disproportionation of tetramethyldisiloxane. Some of these catalytic cycles lead to products that appear to arise from divalent silylenoid species.
Quantifier elimination over finite fields using Gröbner bases

We give an algebraic quantifier elimination algorithm for the first-order theory over any given finite field using Grobner basis methods. The algorithm relies on the strong Nullstellensatz and properties of elimination ideals over finite fields. We analyze the theoretical complexity of the algorithm and show its application in the formal analysis of a biological controller model.
Foundations of Strong-Field Physics

The general structure of the nonperturbative theory of laser-induced reactions is developed from first principles, including the means by which quantum transition amplitudes are formulated. The possibility of treating strong-field ionization of atoms and molecules by analytical approximations leads naturally to the strong-field approximation (SFA). Some widespread misconceptions are addressed, particularly that strong-field ionization constitutes a simple tunneling process. Such misconceptions underlie the separation of strong-field processes into a tunneling domain and a multiphoton domain. The entire framework of a tunneling description of ionization is based on the notion of the laser field being treated as if it were a quasi-stationary electric field, whereas a laser field is a plane-wave field. Although there is a gauge transformation connecting the two concepts when the dipole approximation is applicable, this cannot avoid the fact that a laser produces plane waves, and treating a plane wave as a quasi-stationary electric field is responsible for fundamental misconceptions. This overview of strong-field foundations is continued to the intensity domain where the dipole approximation fails altogether due to the onset of magnetic-field effects. Further increase in intensity brings on relativistic effects, for which illustrations are given.
Virtual sensor WPAN on demand

Virtualization of wireless sensor PANs would be useful for general purpose networked sensing with application concurrency, for community-based sensor sharing, and for supporting platform heterogeneity as well as robustness. This abstract presents a snapshot of the preliminary design and implementation of a middleware for lightweight sensor network virtualization that makes use of the latest developments in TinyOS.
Perioperative Fluids and Electrolytes

Surgical patients undergo acute alterations in the volume and composition of fluids in the intracellular and extracellular spaces. To a great extent, these changes occur as a result of the patient’s underlying disease. For example, hemorrhage or bowel obstruction may acutely change the volume of fluid in the intravascular or extracellular compartments. However, these alterations are not limited to patients requiring urgent operative intervention, as even elective surgery may result in dramatic fluid shifts in the absence of significant blood loss. In addition to changes in fluid volume, surgical patients may develop potentially dangerous fluctuations in concentrations and total body content of important electrolytes. Precise perioperative management of fluids and electrolytes is thus required to minimize perioperative morbidity and mortality.
91-pJ, 73-fs pulses from a frequency-doubled stretched-pulse additive-pulse mode-locked fiber laser

Summary form only given. We report the demonstration of a frequency-doubled diode-pumped stretched-pulse additive-pulse mode-locked (SP-APM) fiber laser producing 91-pJ pulses with 3.2 mW of average power. Pulse energies on this order are required to seed high-repetition-rate regenerative amplifiers to avoid amplified spontaneous emission background. The 35.2-MHz repetition rate of our system results in a visible red beam, which simplifies alignment of the amplifier system.
Minimum-time navigation of an unmanned mobile robot in a 2-1/2D world with obstacles

In a 2-1/D world an isolines-based world representation is employed. An algorithm of navigation is proposed based upon polygonization of the isolines, and use of the vertices of the polygon as nodes in the graph search. Quanitative recommendations are given concerning the required density of isolines and the error of polygonization. When a physical model of mechanical motion is applied, this algorithm of navigation provides minimum-time trajectories of motion. The results of navigation are illustrated using a simulation system developed for an Intelligent Mobile Autonomous System (unmanned robot).
The Molecular Mechanism of Bcl-3 Co-transactivation in Skeletal Muscle Atrophy

The crucial role of NF-kappaB (Rel) transcription factors is widely appreciated in gene regulation and the associated pathophysiology of many tissues. While much work has been done on individual Re...
A data-warehouse/OLAP framework for scalable telecommunication tandem traffic analysis

In a telecommunication network, hundreds of millions of call detail records (CDRs) are generated daily. Applications such as tandem traffic analysis require the collection and mining of CDRs on a continuous basis. The data volumes and data flow rates pose serious scalability and performance challenges. This has motivated us to develop a scalable data-warehouse/OLAP framework, and based on this framework, tackle the issue of scaling the whole operation chain, including data cleansing, loading, maintenance, access and analysis. We introduce the notion of dynamic data warehousing for managing information at different aggregation levels with different life spans. We use OLAP servers, together with the associated multidimensional databases, as a computation platform for data caching, reduction and aggregation, in addition to data analysis. The framework supports parallel computation for scaling up data mining, and supports incremental OLAP for providing continuous data mining. A tandem traffic analysis engine is implemented on the proposed framework. In addition to the parallel and incremental computation architecture, we provide a set of application-specific optimization mechanisms for scaling performance. These mechanisms fit well into the above framework. Our experience demonstrates the practical value of the above framework in supporting an important class of telecommunication business intelligence applications.
Factors Affecting Hurricane Evacuation Intentions

Protective actions for hurricane threats are a function of the environmental and information context; individual and household characteristics, including cultural worldviews, past hurricane experiences, and risk perceptions; and motivations and barriers to actions. Using survey data from the Miami-Dade and Houston-Galveston areas, we regress individuals' stated evacuation intentions on these factors in two information conditions: (1) seeing a forecast that a hurricane will hit one's area, and (2) receiving an evacuation order. In both information conditions having an evacuation plan, wanting to keep one's family safe, and viewing one's home as vulnerable to wind damage predict increased evacuation intentions. Some predictors of evacuation intentions differ between locations; for example, Florida respondents with more egalitarian worldviews are more likely to evacuate under both information conditions, and Florida respondents with more individualist worldviews are less likely to evacuate under an evacuation order, but worldview was not significantly associated with evacuation intention for Texas respondents. Differences by information condition also emerge, including: (1) evacuation intentions decrease with age in the evacuation order condition but increase with age in the saw forecast condition, and (2) evacuation intention in the evacuation order condition increases among those who rely on public sources of information on hurricane threats, whereas in the saw forecast condition evacuation intention increases among those who rely on personal sources. Results reinforce the value of focusing hurricane information efforts on evacuation plans and residential vulnerability and suggest avenues for future research on how hurricane contexts shape decision making.
Brain's internal mechanisms - a new paradigm

This paper argues that some of the ideas of connectionism are not only logically flawed, but that they are also not consistent with some commonly observed human learning processes and behavior. In addition, this paper attempts to define some common, externally observed properties of the human learning process, properties that are common to all types of human learning. It is expected that any theory of learning should account for these common properties. The paper also suggests a new paradigm for the internal mechanisms of the brain, one that can overcome the limitations of classical connectionist learning. It is argued in the paper, both from a logical point of view and on the basis of some recent neurobiological findings, that one or more substructures in the brain control other substructures. Thus, the paper proposes a control theoretic approach to understanding how the brain works and learns.
FM-MRR analog audio transmission through a scintillated channel

In this work, a free-space infrared communications system is described. The system has the capability of using previously captured scintillation data and introducing the effects onto the bench-top system. This effectively acts as a scintillation simulator which emulates an optical link that is effected by the weather and various physical conditions at the time of transmission. The method used for scintillation simulation is described. The transmission method of the system is a hybrid combination of traditional frequency modulation (FM) and optical amplitude modulation (OAM) combined with Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) Modulating Retroreflector (MRR) technology. The result has produced a robust, low power system that is capable of transmitting real-time audio information with high clarity along a channel that accurately simulates the atmospheric effects of scintillation. The system is capable of transmitting along a link of several kilometers, depending specifically on the characteristics of the interrogator and sensor components chosen for the system.
An analytical solution to linear scan ac voltammetry of a reversible couple

Linear scan ac voltammetry of a reversible couple has been reexamined and an analytical solution has been found without invoking the slow scan approximation. This solution is complete in the sense that it gives explicit formulae for the concentration of both oxidized and reduced species at any time and distance from the electrode. A new term appears in the current expression which mixes the ramp and ac responses. The slow scan approximation, in which the ramp or dc response is assumed to have a negligible effect on the ac response, has been tested and found to be valid at all except the lowest frequencies. For example, the error is less than 5% for a scan rate less than 20nFω/RT.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteopenic Fractures in Children

Osteopenic fractures occur in children every day. At times the osteopenic nature of these fractures is painfully obvious, as in neurofibromatosis and osteogenesis imperfecta, while in many other situations overt osteopenia does not declare itself, such as in normal and obese children. Normal pediatric bone growth commonly involves periods of relative bone weakness. Childhood obesity creates a situation where bone is unable to fully adapt to the stresses placed upon it. Conditions like neurofibromatosis and osteogenesis imperfecta place pediatric bone at a distinct genetic disadvantage. This review will highlight recent research in these areas and provide radiographic examples of the treatment of osteopenic fractures in children.
Hardened portland cement pastes of low porosity II. Exploratory studies. Dimensional changes

Abstract The first part of this paper deals with the exploratory studies on low porosity portland cement pastes. The clinker grinding and paste preparation method are those reported in the previous paper in this series (1). With the appropriate kinds and amounts of grinding aid, lignosulfonate, and potassium carbonate excellent workability could be obtained. With different grinding aids, the 1-day compressive strengths of 1 in. cube pastes varied from 300 to 14, 000 psi; the 28-day strengths were between 20, 000 and 29, 700 psi, and the 180-day strengths between 33, 700 and 36, 400 psi. The second part of the paper deals with the dimensional changes of 0.2 water-cement ratio pastes, hydrated at 25°C for 1 day and for 28 days. The low-porosity pastes showed one-third to one-half as large lenght changes as pastes made from the same cement with a water-cement ratio of 0.4, and one-fourth to one-third as large as those made with a water-cement ratio of 0.6.
Development of a Carbon Nanotube-Based Electromechanical Resonator: Device Modeling

We present an electromechanical analysis of a novel double-sided driven carbon nanotube-based electromechanical resonator. The device comprises a cantilevered carbon nanotube actuated by two parallel-plate electrodes. Close-form analytical solutions capable of predicting the steady-state resonation of the device and its resonant pull-in conditions are derived using an energy-based method. Our close-form formulas clearly reveal the complex relationship among the device geometry, the driving voltages, and the device’s electromechanical dynamics. Our theoretical modeling shows that the stable steady-state spanning range of the resonating cantilever substantially exceeds the previously reported quasi-static pull-in limit for single-sided driven cantilevered nanotube-based NEMS, while the resonant pull-in voltage is only a small fraction of the quasi-static pull-in voltage. The unique behaviors of this novel device are expected to significantly enhance the applications of electromechanical resonators in the fields of signal processing, mass and force sensing, and chemical and molecule detection.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
A computational investigation of adsorption of organics on mineral surfaces: Implications for organics delivery in the early solar system

Abstract The adsorption of simple organic compounds onto minerals that are known to occur in the early solar nebula such as olivine, spinel and water-ice, is examined using first-principles density functional theory. The calculations show that electron-rich organics and organics containing cyanide, amine and carboxylic functional groups can strongly bind to low-index surfaces of olivine and spinel. Based on the surface coverage as obtained from these calculations, it can be inferred that an estimated amount of 10 13 kg of organics could have been delivered to early Earth via direct adsorption mechanisms, thereby providing an endogenous source of planetary organics. In addition, adsorption of organic compounds on magnesite, a carbonate phase believed to have formed via aqueous processes on asteroidal bodies, is also studied. The adsorption behavior of the organics is observed to be similar in both cases, i.e., for minerals that formed during the earliest stages of nebular evolution through condensation (spinel and olivine) or other processes and for those that formed via hydration processes on asteroidal bodies (magnesite). These results suggest that direct incorporation via adsorption is an important delivery mechanism of organics to both asteroidal bodies and terrestrial planets.
A Perspective On Determinate Sentencing

This paper reports on criminal histories of a group of persons with serious offending patterns. In these cases, offense seriousness remains stable—and intermediate—throughout eleven convictions. We conclude that "determinate sentencing" does not increase term lengths; only late in these careers do longer prison sentences become more likely than under the indeterminate system.
Health Differences Among Lumbee Indians Using Public and Private Sources of Care

ABSTRACT: Context: Of 2.4 million American Indians, approximately 60% are eligible to receive Indian Health Service (IHS) benefits, leaving many to seek care elsewhere. It is unknown if their quality of care, health behaviors, and health status vary by source of care, as demonstrated for other populations. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether preventive services, health behaviors, and number of health conditions vary as a function of having non-IHS public versus private physicians as sources of usual care. Methods: 1,177 Lumbee Indians, who are ineligible to receive IHS services, completed a telephone interview that included information on receipt of preventive measures, tobacco use, physical activity, breast self-examination, and medical conditions. Frequencies, chi-squares, t tests, odds ratios, and confidence intervals were used to compare variables by source of care. Findings: 939 respondents (80%) had a private and 210 (18%) a public health clinic physician as their usual source of care; 28 (2%) reported having neither. Logistic regression analyses, restricted to the 1,149 participants who reported either a private or public source of care, revealed no differences in receipt of preventive services or health status by usual source of care. Smokeless tobacco use was less common among persons using private than public providers. Conclusions: Lumbees whose usual source of care was a public clinic physician did not differ in receipt of preventive services or in health status compared to their counterparts who received care from a private physician. More targeted research into health similarities and differences arising from access to public and private sources of care is warranted.
Linking data to electronic records

Today it is possible to maintain electronic records in a single application in compliance with 21 CFR Part 11. However, most electronic data for a sample in an analytical laboratory is spread across a number of software applications as well as traditional paper systems. This article will examine how it is possible to link both paper and electronic records together in hybrid systems. A case study is used to demonstrate the practical aspects of a totally electronic process. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Epidermal Growth Factor: An Important Constituent of Human Milk

Epidermal growth factor is a human milk mitogen that has been shown to promote growth and maturation of infant intestinal mucosa. Since epidermal growth factor is not destroyed by proteolytic enzymes, it may be absorbed in the infant's gut and thus affect other tissues of the suckling infant.
The Biomedical Engineering Quandary

As of this date, biomedical engineering has become a recognized profession. The full impact of its efforts in the health related fields is just becoming visible to the leaders of the health delivery systems. As a profession it differs markedly from traditional engineering disciplines; however, that is the reason it has come into being. The demand for individuals well trained in the biomedical engineering sciences appears to be insatiable. This is due to the belated recognition by many members of the health delivery system hierarchy of the true role and contribution of the well-trained biomedical engineer. This article discusses the sociological and technological factors that have been influencial in the establishment of the science of biomedical engineering.
T-helper type 2 cell-directed therapy for asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the bronchial airways. Current research in humans and animals suggests that T-helper type 2 (Th2) cells and the cytokines they elaborate cause many of the pathophysiologic abnormalities characteristic of the disease. We review the evidence implicating Th2 cells in asthma and discuss the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control Th2 cell differentiation in the respiratory tract. Based on the steps in Th cell development, we discuss how traditional therapies can modulate Th2 cell function. Furthermore, we explore newer immunomodulatory strategies to inhibit Th2 cell effects, including therapies that may block Th2 cell differentiation, neutralize cytokines, and redirect immune responses towards Th1 and away from Th2.
Scaling And Configuring Diode Pumped Slab Lasers

Lasers for some space applications have operational requirements for lifetime, efficiency and power output which can only be met by development of all solid-state laser sys-tems. Laser diode pumping of neodymium host materials has demonstrated good efficiency and lifetime at low power levels. This paper addresses the issues involved in scaling to the kilowatt power level. A design configuration for stand-off coupling of rack and stack laser diode arrays to a laser slab is presented which satisfies all of the above criteria. Design examples for near term efficiencies of >5% and long term efficiencies >15% for both cw and pulsed type lasers in the one kilowatt range are used as illustrations of the technique.
Long-term biphasic effects of lithium treatment on phospholipase C-coupled m3-muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in cultured cerebellar granule cells

We have studied the long-term effects of lithium on neuronal morphology and the functional expression of phospholipase C-coupled m3-muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) in cerebellar granule cells. There was a biphasic dose-dependent effect on cell morphology following treatment with lithium for 7 days. At low concentrations ( or = 3 days. The biphasic effect was also demonstrated by the binding of [3H]ouabain to Na+, K(+)-ATPase, which was shown to be a convenient method for quantifying viable neurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Oxygen transfer in fermentation

The rate of biological processes in aerobic fermentation and waste water treatment is often limited by the rate of dissolution of oxygen from air bubbles into the liquid. A clear understanding of interfacial resistance to oxygen transfer is thus of importance. An oxygen sensing microprobe was used to detect a stagnant film and a penetrable zone near an air-water interface contaminated with surfactants. The technique, when used in clean water, can also measure the frequency of surface renewal. A linear relationship was found between the square root of the renewal rate S0.5 and the interfacial mass transfer coefficient kL, which is predicted by the Danckwerts theory.
9 Surgery in portal hypertension

The role of surgery in portal hypertension remains a topic of debate. For the past 100 years, various surgical procedures have been used to treat variceal bleeding, refractory ascites, and end-stage liver disease. The past decade has seen significant advances in pharmacotherapy, endoscopy, interventional radiology, and surgery for the management of patients with portal hypertension. Liver transplantation has come of age in the 1990s and is now an accepted therapy for patients with end-stage liver disease. The wide array of management options can complicate the decision making process and defines the need to evaluate these patients fully. Factors such as the aetiology and extent of liver disease, response to prior medical, endoscopic, and other interventional treatments, and possibility of future liver transplantation must be considered. This manuscript will review the history of surgical treatments of portal hypertension, describe the surgical procedures with their advantages and disadvantages, and evaluate their role in the elective and emergent settings.
Creativity and Higher Education: A Review.

Some recent literature is reviewed to argue that institutions of higher education have made little adjustments to either their admission practices or their curricula to help nurture varied talents among their students. Diversity seems to be lacking throughout the academic community from the undergraduate level to the professional circles. The need for renewed spirit of experimentation and of tolerance of pluralism is pointed out.
Differential response of normal rat mammary epithelial cells to mammogenic hormones and EGF.

A simple dissociation procedure and the collagen gel culture system have been utilized to determine the effects of mammogenic hormones and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the proliferation of normal rat mammary epithelial (RME) cells in serum-free culture. Epithelial fragments, isolated from normal virgin F344 rat mammary glands by enzyme digestion followed by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, were embedded within a rat tail collagen matrix. A three-to four-fold increase in cell number was observed when ovine prolactin (PRL) and progesterone (P) were present in the basal medium during 7 days of culture. Mouse EGF stimulated one cell doubling during the same culture period. Isolated mammary organoids produced a ‘stellate’ type colony when PRL + P were present in the culture medium. These colonies were composed of small, tightly packed cuboidal cells. The addition of EGF to the basal medium produced a diffuse ‘basket’ type colony which was composed of large, elongate cells. When the complete hormonal and growth factor combination (PRL + P + EGF) was present, a ‘mixed’ type colony was observed which contained both the large and small epithelial cell types. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that both the cuboidal and elongate cells present in the two colony types stained with antibodies to keratin indicating that these cells were epithelial in nature. The small cuboidal cells also expressed thioesterase II and alpha-lactalbumin, both specific for secretory mammary epithelial cells. The large, elongate cell type, however, was positive for actin but did not stain for either secretory epithelial specific marker. The results reported here suggest that normal rat mammary tissue may contain two epithelial populations, one which responds to PRL + P and the other which responds to EGF.
Behind the veil

The Cancer Industry: Unraveling the Politics . By Ralph W. Moss Paragon House: 1990. Pp. 502.$21.95.
Association of retinal capillary perfusion with visual status during chronic glaucoma therapy.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine whether retinal microcirculation is associated with the degree of visual function in glaucomatous eyes receiving chronic bilateral medical therapy with topical beta-blockers. Methods: A nonrandomized, 3-year prospective clinical study was undertaken on 37 patients with glaucoma and normal visual acuity receiving symmetric topical medication in both eyes. Humphrey 30-2, Henson CFA 2000, and Vistech 3 and 6 cycles/degree contrast sensitivity were obtained bilaterally at multiple visits, along with Oculix 1000 bluefield estimates of perimacular leukocyte velocity. The mean asymmetry of measurements obtained throughout the treatment period for each pair of eyes was determined, and correlations were obtained to assess visual function asymmetry against circulatory asymmetry. Results: Significant associations were observed between blue-field entoptic capillary leukocyte velocity measurements and those for all three visual function testing methods, the eye with the superior vision typically having the higher mean leukocyte velocity ( P P P Conclusions: Central retinal microcirculation is associated with various measures of central and peripheral visual function in glaucomatous eyes receiving beta-adrenergic blocker therapy.
Subspaces with well-scaled frames

Abstract In this paper, classes of subspaces are introduced that generalize the regular (unimodular) subspaces of rational coordinate space. These spaces are shown to be of interest in the study of linear and integer programming. Fundamental properties of standard representative matrices for classes of subspaces are established. Certain subspaces are shown to be projectively equivalent to regular subspaces. Well-known examples of totally unimodular matrices arising from graphs and intervals of the real line are generalized in this context. A generalization of Heller's theorem, bounding the number of distinct columns of a rank- r , totally unimodular matrix, is established in this setting.
FDTD Characterization of Meander Line Antennas for Rf and Wireless Communications

Printed small antennas are becoming the main subject of investigations for improved performance of personal wireless communication systems. In recent presentations a new type of printed meander line antenna was introduced. In this paper, the analysis of this type of antenna with dual sleeves is performed using the finite difference time domain technique. Empirical design equations are obtained for the resonant (operating) frequency and the corresponding input impedance. Samples of the new design provide antennas with good matching impedance to a 50 system, a dual band operation, and wider bandwidth.
Critical role of interferon regulatory factor-1 in murine liver transplant ischemia reperfusion injury

Interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) is a transcription factor that regulates gene expression during immunity. We hypothesized that IRF-1 plays a pivotal role in liver transplant (LTx) ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Mouse orthotopic LTx was conducted after 24 hours cold storage in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution in wildtype (WT) C57BL/6 and IRF-1 knockout (KO) mice. IRF-1 deficiency in liver grafts, but not in recipients, resulted in significant reduction of hepatocyte apoptosis and liver injury, as well as improved survival. IRF-1 mRNA up-regulation was typically seen in graft hepatocytes in WT-->WT LTx. Deficiency of IRF-1 signaling in graft resulted in significantly reduced messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for death ligands and death receptors in hepatocytes, as well as decreased caspase-8 activities, indicating that IRF-1 mediates death ligand-induced hepatocyte death. Further, a smaller but significant IRF-1 mRNA up-regulation was seen in WT graft nonparenchymal cells (NPC) and associated with interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) mRNA up-regulation exclusively in NPC. IFN-gamma mRNA was significantly reduced in IRF-1 KO graft. Thus, IRF-1 in graft hepatocytes and NPC has distinct effects in hepatic I/R injury. However, LTx with chimeric liver grafts showed that grafts lacking hepatocellular IRF-1 had better protection compared with those lacking IRF-1 in NPC. The study identifies a critical role for IRF-1 in liver transplant I/R injury.
Ethynylene-Linked Donor–Acceptor Alternating Copolymers

Controlling steric interactions between neighboring repeat units in donor–acceptor (D–A) alternating copolymers can positively impact morphologies and intermolecular electronic interactions necessary to obtain high performances in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. Herein, we design and synthesize 12 new conjugated D–A copolymers, employing ethynylene linkages for this control. We explore D–A combinations of fluorene, benzodithiophene, and diketopyrrolopyrrole with analogues of pyromellitic diimide, thienoisoindoledione, isothianaphthene, thienopyrazine, and thienopyrroledione. Computational modeling suggests the ethynylene-containing polymers can adopt virtually planar conformations, while many of the analogous polyarylenes lacking the ethynylene linkage are predicted to have quite twisted backbones (>35°). The introduction of ethynylene linkages into these D–A systems universally results in a significant blue-shift in the absorbance spectra (by as much as 100 nm) and a deeper HOMO value (∼0.1 eV) as co...