cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Towards the establishment of a framework for intuitive multi-touch interaction design

Intuition is an important yet ill-defined factor when designing effective multi-touch interactions. Throughout the research community, there is a lack of consensus regarding both the nature of intuition and, more importantly, how to systematically incorporate it into the design of multi-touch gestural interactions. To strengthen our understanding of intuition, we surveyed various domains to determine the level of consensus among researchers, commercial developers, and the general public regarding which multi-touch gestures are intuitive, and which of these gestures intuitively lead to which interaction outcomes. We reviewed more than one hundred papers regarding multi-touch interaction, approximately thirty of which contained key findings we report herein. Based on these findings, we have constructed a framework of five factors that determine the intuition of multi-touch interactions, including direct manipulation, physics, feedback, previous knowledge, and physical motion. We further provide both design recommendations for multi-touch developers and an evaluation of research problems which remain due to the limitations of present research regarding these factors. We expect our survey and discussion of intuition will raise awareness of its importance, and lead to the active pursuit of intuitive multi-touch interaction design.
Effects of Amyl Nitrite in Aortic Valvular and Muscular Subaortic Stenosis

The effects of amyl nitrite inhalation were observed in 12 patients with aortic valve stenosis and five patients with muscular subaortic stenosis during left heart catheterization. In aortic valve stenosis the left ventricular systolic pressure always fell, although less than the brachial arterial pressure, and the transaortic systolic pressure gradient rose by an average of 25% due to the increase in left ventricular ejection rate. In muscular subaortic stenosis, the left ventricular pressure always remained the same or rose despite a marked fall in brachial arterial pressure, and the average increase in transaortic systolic pressure gradient was more than fourfold. This effect was associated with a significant increase in the degree of outflow tract obstruction. The increase in outflow tract obstruction is thought to be due to a decrease in left ventricular volume, causing the hypertrophied walls of the left ventricle to become more closely apposed. We believe that inhalation of amyl nitrite is superior to infusion of isoproterenol as a provocative test for muscular subaortic stenosis during cardiac catheterization and is probably the most potent stimulus available for this purpose.
Experimental microelasticity of two porous solids

Abstract Experiments are performed to determine the dependence of torsional and bending rigidity upon diameter for rod-shaped specimens of dense polyurethane foam and syntactic foam. Results show an effect due to-the microstructure. Results are describable by a Cosserat elastic model. The six Cosserat elastic constants are determined.
Reactions of nitrite with hemoglobin measured by membrane inlet mass spectrometry

Membrane inlet mass spectrometry was used to observe nitric oxide in the well-studied reaction of nitrite with hemoglobin. The membrane inlet was submerged in the reaction solutions and measured NO in solution via its flux across a semipermeable membrane leading to the mass spectrometer detecting the mass-to-charge ratio m/z 30. This method measures NO directly in solution and is an alternate approach compared with methods that purge solutions to measure NO. Addition to deoxy-Hb(Fe(II)) (near 38 microM heme concentration) of nitrite in a range of 80 microM to 16 mM showed no accumulation of either NO or N(2)O(3) on a physiologically relevant time scale with a sensitivity near 1 nM. The addition of nitrite to oxy-Hb(Fe(II)) and met-Hb(Fe(III)) did not accumulate free NO to appreciable extents. These observations show that for several minutes after mixing nitrite with hemoglogin, free NO does not accumulate to levels exceeding the equilibrium level of NO. The presence of cyanide ions did not alter the appearance of the data; however, the presence of 2 mM mercuric ions at the beginning of the experiment with deoxy-Hb(Fe(II)) shortened the initial phase of NO accumulation and increased the maximal level of free, unbound NO by about twofold. These experiments appear consistent with no role of met-Hb(Fe(III)) in the generation of NO and an increase in nitrite reductase activity caused by the presumed binding of mercuric to cysteine residues. These results raise questions about the ability of reduction of nitrite mediated by deoxy-Hb(Fe(II)) to play a role in vasodilation.
Lung and Kidney Adhesion Molecule Expression Following Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury 1791

Ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) has been associated with adhesion molecule induction in the injured tissue, but systemic consequences of this inflammatory response have not been well defined. Patients with ischemic acute renal failure often develop concomitant lung disease, therefore we hypothesized that renal IRI would lead to lung inflammation and induction of adhesion molecule expression. Male C57/BL6 mice were subjected to 45 min bilateral renal ischemia followed by reperfusion from 30 min to 72 h. Plasma creatinine increased from control levels of 0.3 to 3.25 mg/dl by 72 h, with concomitant rise in BUN from 20 to 150 mg/dl. Histologic evidence of tubular injury was apparent by 30 min reperfusion, progressing through 72 h. Induction of mRNA for E-Selectin and P-Selectin in kidney was demonstrated by 2 h reperfusion, with ICAM-1 upregulation by 3 h. Neutrophil infiltration could be identified by 12 h of reflow. In lungs harvested from these animals, E-Selectin was induced by 8 h of renal reperfusion, persisting through 72 h, whereas P-Selectin was not significantly upregulated. ICAM-1 mRNA was induced by 8 h, then declined by 72 h. Lung neutrophil infiltration was detected by 4 h of renal reperfusion, preceding upregulation of adhesion molecules. Neutrophil accumulation persisted through 48 h, but declined by 72 h. In conclusion, our findings suggest that in both the kidney and lung early injury or neutrophil accumulation respectively is independent of adhesion molecule induction. However, the later phase of kidney injury and lung inflammation induced by renal IRI is adhesion molecule dependent.
Evidence that inoceramid bivalves were benthic and harbored chemosynthetic symbionts

Inoceramid bivalves have been interpreted as both benthic and pseudoplanktonic. The comparison of 18O/16O and 13C/12C signatures of inoceramid shells with surface-dwelling and bottom-dwelling organisms should provide a simple means of resolving the controversy; however, we have found that the stable- isotope pattern is ambiguous. The bivalves have oxygen values similar to their contemporary benthic foraminifera but have carbon values similar to their contemporary planktonic foraminifera. We attempt to resolve this paradox by interpreting those inoceramids analyzed as benthic organisms that harbored chemosynthetic symbionts. A similar pattern of heavy oxygen and heavy carbon values is found in shell carbonate of some modern bivalves with chemosynthetic symbionts living around cold seeps off the coast of Oregon.
Sodium-dependent modulation of the renal Na-K-ATPase: influence of mineralocorticoids on the cortical collecting duct.

Mineralocorticoids play a major role in the regulation of sodium transport in a variety of tissues, including the cortical collecting duct (CCD) of the mammalian nephron. To assess, in part, the underlying mechanism(s) of this control, the present studies were designed to evaluate, first, the influence of mineralocorticoids on the Na−K-ATPase activity in the rabbit CCD and, secondly, a possible role of sodium entry into the cell at the luminal border on the regulation of the Na−K-ATPase. In the first series of studies, rabbits were maintained on a low sodium diet which raised serum aldosterone levels from 16 to 70 ng/dl after 3–4 days, with further elevations being expressed with treatment for two weeks or more. In CCDs isolated from these animals, the Na−K-ATPase increased from 13 to 40 pmol ADP min−1 mm−1 after 3–4 days on the low sodium regimen, but then declined, returning to control values after approximately 2 weeks. This decline in activity was preceded by a decrease in the Na+ concentration of the urine to low levels and hence, likely coincided with a decreased delivery of sodium to, and sodium entry into the cells of, the CCD. If dietary manipulations were used to maintain a high delivery of sodium to the CCD in the animal, elevation of plasma mineralocorticoid levels by treatment with deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) caused a similar elevation in the Na−K-ATPase activity after 3–4 days, which did not decline with continued treatment for up to 2 weeks. Furthermore, it was observed that mineralocorticoids only exerted their effect on the Na−K-ATPase after a latent period of 1 day, well after sodium excretion had fallen, indicating that sodium entry into the CCD cells was already stimulated. If animals were simultaneously treated with DOCA and the sodium channel blocker amiloride for 3–4 days, the effects on the Na−K-ATPase were markedly reduced, whereas amiloride treatment alone had no effect on the enzyme activity. Since others have shown that mineralocorticoids induce synthesis of the Na−K-ATPase subunits in toad bladder cells in an amiloride-insensitive manner, sodium must be exerting its effect on a process after translation. It is concluded that the initial effect of mineralocorticoids in the CCD is on sodium entry with a delayed induction of the Na−K-ATPase, which is regulated by Na-dependent modulation of a posttranslational process.
Rate Parameters for Coupled Rotation-Vibration-Dissociation Phenomena in H2

The effects of molecular rotation on coupled vibration-dissociation phenomena in H2 undergoing a nonequilibrium relaxation in a heating and cooling environment were studied theoretically. The rate coefficients for the collisional bound-bound and bound-free transitions, calculated by a quasi-classical trajectory method, were fed into the master equation, which was numerically solved to determine the rotational and vibrational population densities and bulk thermodynamic properties. Results indicate that the vibrational transition rates of H2 increase monotonically with the vibrational levels, faster than in the Landau-Teller (1936) model, and that the rotation of the molecules helps relax the low vibrational levels, serves as a temporary storage of vibrational energy during the relaxation, and thereby delays the dissociation process. The average energy loss due to the dissociation was determined to be about 80-90 percent of the total dissociation energy.
Internal friction measurements in Boron-doped single-crystal silicon

Abstract Internal friction measurements, Q −1 , of a boron-doped single crystal of silicon at a frequency ω = 2 π × 29.2 kHz showed: (1) results in agreement with the Akhieser mechanism above 100 K; and (2) Q -1 ∝ ω T −1 at temperatures below 10 K.
Placental abruption and placental weight – implications for fetal growth

Objective Placental abruption is associated with increased risks of preterm delivery and fetal growth restriction. As abruption is apparently a disease of the placenta, the extent to which abruption impacts the growth and development of the placenta remains poorly understood. We reasoned that a study of fetal growth and placental growth in relation to abruption might provide some clues to understanding the process through which placental abruption impacts fetal growth. Design Multicenter, prospective cohort study. Setting USA, 1959–1966. Population A total of 38 684 pregnancies resulting in singleton live births (22–44 weeks). Main outcome measures Risk ratio of placental ratio <10th centile for gestational age in relation to abruption. Placental ratio was defined as the difference between placental weight and birthweight divided by birthweight (and expressed per 100 births). Results Mean birthweight and placental weight were, on average, lower among abruption than nonabruption births, but this difference was observed only among births at <37 weeks. Births with placental ratio <10th centile were lower among abruption than nonabruption births at 22–36 weeks (risk ratio 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.8), but not at term (risk ratio 0.9, 95% CI 0.6–1.2). Conclusions In normal pregnancies, fetal weight and placental weight may operate under independent mechanisms, but in the presence of abruption, the associations appear largely through an interaction of both the maternal and fetal environments. This study underscores the importance of examining both the maternal and fetal compartments – and their interactions – to fully understand the consequences of abruption on fetal growth impairment.
Enhanced Adsorbate Raman Scattering and Surface Plasmon Radiation

Abstract We present the first experimental results which demonstrate a quadratic relationship between the enhanced Raman scattering from molecules on Ag surfaces and roughness-coupled surface-plasmon radiation. These results are interpreted by a model which includes both roughness assisted surface-plasmon scattering and radiative coupling.
Personality and job experience

Abstract Previous theory and research concerning job effects on personality are briefly reviewed. A new theoretical model is presented which proposes that individuals' life orientations and levels of emotional well-being are influenced by the stimulus complexity of their job experiences. Hypotheses derived from the model are proposed for 116 engineers, scientists, and managers employed by a large petroleum products company. Five characteristics of employees' jobs were measured using the Hackman-Oldham Job Diagnostic Survey. Longitudinal data were collected on four personality characteristics derived from the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. Results of analyses indicate that changes in two personality characteristics (Active Orientation and Freedom from Depression) are associated with several job characteristics.
Electron-Backscatter Diffraction of Photovoltaic Thin Films

In electron-backscatter diffraction, crystalline orientation maps are formed while the electron beam of an SEM scans the sample surface. EBSD requires a flat sample to avoid shadowing of the electrons from the detector by surface features. In this work, we investigate the preparation of CdTe samples deposited by close-spaced sublimation for EBSD analysis. Untreated samples were rough, resulting in areas with no EBSD signal. We processed the samples by polishing and ion-beam milling. Polishing produced flat samples, but low-quality EBDS data, because the top surface of the samples had poor crystallinity. In contrast, ion-beam milling proved to be suitable for producing flat samples with minimal surface damage, yielding good EBSD data. We also analyzed the samples with atomic force microscopy, and correlated the quality of the EBSD data with sample roughness. The EBSD data showed that the CdTe films were randomly oriented and had columnar growth and a high density of twin boundaries.
Assessment of Maternal Contaminant Burden by Analysis of Snapping Turtle Eggs

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) have been extensively used as an ecosystem and localized indicator of tissue contaminant bioaccumulation, and for monitoring the geographic and temporal trends of contaminants. The purpose of this study was to determine if any relationship exists in the pattern and quantity of select contaminants found in turtle tissues relative to egg contamination. Six gravid snapping turtle females were collected from within and outside the Great Lakes basin and analyzed for congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE), mirex and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) distributions in the fat, liver, and eggs. Preliminary data collected from five sites indicates that the pattern of congener-specific PCBs and homologs, average chlorine/biphenyl, and total PCBs are significantly correlated among snapping turtle eggs and tissues. Significant correlations were also observed for DDE, mirex, and HCB. All six turtles in this study revealed a consistent, and enhanced lower-chlorinated PCB pattern in the eggs relative to maternal adipose and liver tissues. Although these preliminary results are based on a relatively small sample size (n = 6), the significance of the relationships observed indicate that the utilization of snapping turtle eggs provides a reliable indicator of maternal contaminant burdens found in the highest environmental trophic levels.
The Protection of the anemone fish,Amphiprion xanthurus, from the sea anemone,Stoichactis kenti

Reziproke Kombinationsversuche zeigen, dass «angewohnte» Anemonenfische nicht von Seeanemonen genesselt werden, die der gleichen Art angehoren, mit der sie zusammengelebt haben. Nicht angewohnte Fische werden durch Seeanemonen genėsselt unabhangig, ob letztere angewohnte Fische beherbergen oder nicht. Wird die Oberflache angewohnter Fische abgewischt, verliert sie ihren Schutz 9.
Managing Data Quality in Dynamic Decision Environments: An Information Product Approach

Large data volumes, widely distributed data sources, and multiple stakeholders characterize typical e-business settings. Mobile and wireless technologies have further increased data volumes, further distributed the data sources, while permitting access to data anywhere, anytime. Such environments empower and necessitate decision-makers to act/react quicker to all decision-tasks including mission-critical ones. Decision-support in such environments demands efficient data quality management. This paper presents a framework for managing data quality in such environments using the information product approach. It includes a modeling technique to explicitly represent the manufacture of an information product, quality dimensions and methods to compute data quality of the product at any stage in the manufacture, and a set of capabilities to comprehensively manage data quality and implement total data quality management. The paper also posits the notion of a virtual business environment to support dynamic decision-making and describes the role of the data quality framework in this environment.
Controlling the Tektronix 4006 graphics terminal with OS/8 BASIC

Several BASIC-callable assembler subroutines are described that permit relatively straight-forward interaction with a Tektronix 4006 or equivalent graphics terminal. These routines enable input, alphanumeric output, and graphic output with or without automatic coordinate transformation. The routines can be used for the graphic presentation of data or, with additional laboratory routines, for stimulus presentation in psychological experiments.
Lessons in Teaching an Interdisciplinary Mechatronics Class

It is common for engineers but rare for engineering students to be asked to work on projects with people whose expertise is in other fields. In an effort to address this shortcoming at the University of Dayton, an interdisciplinary mechatronics class was developed. This lab based course with equal numbers of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering seniors focused on designing, building and controlling electromechanical systems. This paper covers the development of the course and the challenges posed in teaching such a course. The course is centered on the concept of building an autonomous system by integrating a well designed mechanism with a well designed electrical controller. Particular emphasis is placed on the challenge of covering material which is basic and familiar to one set of students while being novel and challenging to another set of students. Additional discussion is included on encouraging cross-disciplinary communication, preventing asymmetrical workloads and stimulating innovation.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Regular polygons in taxicab geometry

A polygon of n sides will be called regular in taxicab geometry if it has n equal angles and n sides of equal taxicab length. This paper will show that there are no regular taxicab triangles and no regular taxicab pentagons. The sets of taxicab rectangles and taxicab squares will be shown to be the same, respectively, as the sets of Euclidean rectangles and Euclidean squares. A method of construction for a regular taxicab 2n-gon for any n will be demonstrated.
Multiple micros for education

The advent of the microcomputer has caused a profound change in our thinking about the teaching of programming. Up to now we have been assuming that a computer is necessarily expensive and must be shared by all students. With the appearance of time-sharing systems, many universities, including The George Washington University, purchased large numbers of terminals for student use; but students were still using a single large or mid-size computer, albeit through several terminals. It is now possible, however, to purchase an entire computer for the price of a terminal. Such a computer is necessarily limited in scope; but it can serve admirably for the teaching of programming at an elementary level, as well as handling certain more advanced tasks. About a year and a half ago, the Computer Committee of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, of which I was the chairman, made a decision to purchase sixteen microcomputer systems for student use, primarily for the teaching of BASIC, and secondarily for assembly language and PASCAL.
Thermal NF3 fluorination/oxidation of cobalt, yttrium, zirconium, and selected lanthanide oxides

Abstract We present results of our continued investigation into the use of nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ) as the fluorinating agent in fluoride volatility-based reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, and as the fluorinating agent for oxides of cobalt and the lanthanides higher than gadolinium. The fundamental purpose of our studies is to determine if differences in constituent fission product and actinide fluorides’ volatilities and reaction temperatures with NF 3 at which volatile fluorides form can be exploited to provide desired separations. This paper supplements our previously reported results on constituents that can form volatile fluorides or oxyfluorides with results on constituents that should not form volatile fluorides or oxyfluorides. Cumulatively, our studies showed that rates of reaction of surrogate fuel constituent, cobalt, and the higher non-fission product lanthanide oxides with NF 3 are highly temperature sensitive and depend significantly on the element with the higher lanthanides proving to be the most resistant to reaction. The thermodynamic calculations showed that NF 3 should completely fluorinate the tested transition metal and lanthanide oxides to their fluorides. Simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses showed that NF 3 converts the oxides of cobalt, zirconium, yttrium, and the lanthanides to non-volatile fluorides or oxyfluorides up to 550 °C and most importantly can extract the volatile fluoride-forming uranium, the bulk constituent in used nuclear fuel, from the non-volatile fluoride forming gadolinium. Overall these investigations demonstrate that NF 3 can fluorinate used nuclear fuel constituent oxides, cobalt (II) oxide, and higher lanthanide oxides but with an effectiveness depending on the constituent metal.
Rights, Justice, and the Common Good

Liens conceptuels entre les concepts du souci moral pour les autres, la protection des droits individuels, la promotion de la justice distributive, celle du plus grand bien pour le plus grand nombre.
The Specter of Judeo-Christianity and the Politics of Gender Deviancy: From St. Paul of Tarsus to St. Paul, MN

With the 2012 presidential campaign monopolizing the national conversation, the present moment offers an ideal vantage point from which to reflect on the inescapable shadow of the "Judeo-Christian Tradition" in American political discourse. Nowhere, perhaps, is this imposing shadow more apparent than in the politics of sexuality. This essay explores the presence of deviant sexuality in American politics from two angles. I consider first the varied uses of the Judeo-Christian tradition to conjure a terrifying menace of rampant decadence threating to undo national stability. Second, I compare the rhetorical strategies apparent in this modern discourse with the poetics of gender deviancy in ancient Jewish and Christian contexts, probing the continuities and discontinuities evident in these two discursive contexts.
Marital Name Changing Attitudes and Plans of College Students: Comparing Change Over Time and Across Regions

This study examines time period and regional effects on U.S. college students’ attitudes and plans regarding marital naming. Data were gathered at a Midwestern college in 1990 and 2006 and at an Eastern university in 2006 (N = 867). No time period effect was identified for marital name plans in the Midwest samples. Women were neither more nor less likely to plan to retain their birth name in 1990 as compared to 2006. A time period effect was found for attitudes: Midwest women in 2006 were more likely to say a woman was more committed to the marriage if she took her husband’s last name as compared to Midwest women in 1990. This indicates that women in the Midwest may have become more conservative over time. We also found regional differences: women in the East were significantly more likely than women in the Midwest to plan to keep their birth surname upon marriage. Findings suggest a trend toward more conservative attitudes over time and location although plans, perhaps due to the rareness of maintaining a birth surname upon marriage, have not changed.
Abusive families and character formation

Family research studies confirm that abusive parents tend to be undifferentiated partners who compete with each other and with their children for attention and nurturance. More or less healthy parents make demands on children to counteract their own injured narcissism, but they do so largely without devaluation and the sadistic use of projective identification. Under sufficient stress abusive parents attack the child who fails to gratify their needs, thereby giving vent to longstanding frustrations and feelings of being threatened by the child's individuation and competency. The emotional atmosphere in such families facilitates ego deficits like those of the borderline personality as it molds the child's efforts to avoid anxiety. Devaluation, loss, and defenses against mourning partially account for depression and paranoid traits in abused youngsters. Early neglect and abuse exposes them to influential models who act out rage and primitive defenses. Some abused individuals project their rage and later become paranoid or antisocial, whereas others fragment or retain infantile defenses. The destructiveness of severe psychological abuse lies in the constriction of the experiencing self and healthy character development, together with the conditioning to repeat abusive relationships and to avoid intimacy. Achieving individuation under these circumstances entails overcoming the internalized abusive relationships and relinquishing the unconscious wish to be transformed from the abused into the abuser.
Fusion and protein-mediated phospholipid exchange studied with single bilayer phosphatidylcholine vesicles of different density.

Abstract A novel method has been developed for the study of phospholipid exchange and fusion of phospholipid vesicles. Two homogeneous populations of single bilayer phosphatidylcholine vesicles of similar size but markedly different density have been prepared. /ldDense/rd vesicles were made from brominated dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine. /ldLight/rd vesicles were prepared from dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine. The two populations were easily separated by density gradient centrifugation. Phosphatidylcholine exchange protein from beef liver was used to promote lecithin exchange between the vesicle populations. Only the lecithin of the external monolayers of the vesicles was available for exchange by exchange protein, implying that flip-flop of vesicle phosphatidylcholine did not take place at a detectable frequency. No spontaneous intervesicle phosphatidylcholine exchange was observed. However, the dense and light vesicles did spontaneously fuse, over several hours, to produce particles of hybrid density.
Genetic Diversity of a Maize Association Population with Restricted Phenology

Association analysis to identify genes and alleles underlying quantitative genetic variation is growing in value as the density of genotypic data increases. Association panels are often chosen to maximize molecular and phenotypic diversity, but traits measured at harvest require restricted phenology to obtain data on plants that mature within a comparable interval. The objective of this study was to characterize a set of inbred lines that will mature reliably in the upper midwestern United States for the purpose of assessing traits relevant to grain and stover yield as well as stover quality. A total of 1411 lines from the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, our program, and contributed by collaborators were grown in observation plots. A set of 627 lines were chosen based on flowering within the desired interval, production of viable seed, agronomic suitability, uniformity, and pedigree information. Flowering time ranged from 944 to 1645 growing degree days (GDD). Genotypic data for the 627 lines was obtained using a 1536 Illumina Golden-Gate assay. The panel offers deep replication of most Midwest dent alleles. There is a lesser representation of tropical alleles relative to other association panels but includes some Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM)-derived lines and early flowering lines of tropical origin. The information described in this manuscript is anticipated to facilitate the use of this material for association genetic studies.
Lycopene and other carotenoid intake in relation to risk of uterine leiomyomata.

Objective Carotenoids have antioxidant properties and have been associated with reduced risks of some cancers. We hypothesized that carotenoid intake may reduce the risk of diagnosed uterine leiomyoma (UL). Study Design We evaluated the associations between dietary carotenoids and risk of diagnosed UL in 82,512 premenopausal women aged 26-46 years in 1991 in the Nurses' Health Study II over 10 years of follow-up. Diet was assessed every 4 years with a validated food frequency questionnaire, and incidence of UL was assessed biennially by questionnaire. Results Total lycopene intake was not associated with diagnosed UL risk. Intake of beta-carotene was associated with slightly increased risks of diagnosed UL; this association was restricted to current smokers (for highest vs lowest quintile, relative risk=1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.76; P trend = .003). Conclusion Overall, our findings do not suggest that carotenoids reduce the risk of diagnosed UL. Among current smokers, high intake of beta-carotene may slightly increase risk of diagnosed UL.
Celiac Plexus Blockade in Children Using a Three-Dimensional Fluoroscopic Reconstruction Technique: Case Reports

Background and Objectives We present three cases wherein a new radiologic technique was used to facilitate performance of retrocrural celiac plexus blockade. Three patients presented to our institution for performance of celiac plexus block for relief of intractable upper abdominal pain. One carried the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, one abdominal pain and gastrointestinal dysmotility, the other adrenocortical carcinoma. Methods We applied the technology used in 3-dimensional rotational angiography to determine spread of the injected medication in three dimensions, and facilitate the blocks. Results Three-dimensional rotational angiography was used with clinical success. Conclusions Three-dimensional rotational angiography shows promise for understanding the spread of medication necessary to accomplish a successful block, and may help explain failures in cases where anatomic distortion may interfere with proper injectate flow.
Pharmacoeconomic Analysis of Amphotericin B Lipid Complex versus Liposomal Amphotericin B in the Treatment of Fungal Infections

Background: Potential differences in toxicity, potency and acquisition price among the liposomal amphotericin B formulations makes it unclear which agent is less costly when total resource consumption and treatment-associated costs are considered. Design: A retrospective cost-minimisation analysis in 51 patients was performed to compare the cost of amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC) and liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) from the hospital perspective. Costs ($US, 2001 values) were divided into level I (acquisition price only), level II (costs of all associated treatment, i.e. adverse events, failures, etc.) and level III (total fungal-related hospitalisation) costs. Results: No significant differences in patient demographics or length of therapy were apparent among those receiving ABLC or L-AMB. The clinical success rate in this population was similar between ABLC and L-AMB (53% vs 60%, p = 0.68), thus justifying the use of a cost-minimisation analysis. Among patients with baseline elevations in serum creatinine, 47% receiving ABLC and 10% receiving L-AMB experienced further increases in serum creatinine (p = 0.025). No differences in total treatment costs (level I, II, or III) were evident between patients receiving ABLC or L-AMB. When adjusted for duration of therapy, however, costs were significantly lower for ABLC than for L-AMB (level I: ABLC $US340 versus L-AMB $US435, p = 0.002; level II: ABLC $US361 versus L-AMB $US454, p = 0.027). The costs attributable to the prevention or treatment of adverse events were not different between the two treatments, and the economic outcome in this analysis was highly sensitive to the acquisition price and dosage of the lipid antifungal formulation. Two-way sensitivity analysis revealed that as long as the milligram price of L-AMB was greater than 135% of the milligram price of ABLC, ABLC remained the less costly formulation. Conclusion: In this patient population, total hospitalisation costs were not different between lipid antifungal formulations. However, after controlling for duration of therapy, ABLC was less costly than L-AMB, when considering acquisition costs of the lipid antifungal agent and costs associated with concomitant antifungal therapy and the treatment of adverse events or lipid failures, indicating that the acquisition price of these agents should be predictive of their cost differences.
Overall properties of elastic-viscoplastic periodic composites

The assumption of a periodic distribution of inclusions gives accurate estimates of the overall moduli of composites, especially when interactions among inclusions are dominant. In this paper periodic composites with rate-dependent elastic-plastic material response including non-linear power-law hardening are considered. Overall stress-strain relations are obtained and the dependence of these relations on the density of the discretization of the unit cell is studied. Several options, such as the use of mirror image symmetry/antisymmetry, partially analytic summation of Fourier series, and a highly accurate and stable time-integration algorithm help to keep the computational expense low. The formulation is presented in three dimensions as well as for plane-stress and plane-strain problems.
Hydrogen embrittlement of Nb I—Macroscopic behavior at low temperatures☆

Abstract The effect of hydrogen on the ductility of niobium was studied in the temperature range 77–300 K. Tension testing and detailed fractographic studies were used to establish the roles of hydrogen concentration, temperature, yield stress and strain rate in the fracture process. It was shown that two ductility minima can be observed in the temperature range examined and that these are related to the precipitation of hydrides during the deformation process. The fracture mode is cleavage in the temperature range of both ductility minima. The solid solution of H in Nb was shown to be a highly ductile alloy; the ductility being terminated by the formation of a stress induced hydride which exhibits cleavage. A mechanism based on the formation of stress induced hydrides was proposed to account for the embrittlement of Nb-H alloys. This mechanism can account for the observed phenomena and should be generally applicable to systems which form stable hydrides or in which hydrides can be stabilized by an applied stress. A qualitative discussion of stress effects on the equilibrium between solid solution and the hydride is given and is related to the observed fracture phenomena.
Judicial review of disciplinary action for sexual misconduct in the practice of medicine.

THE HOUSE of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted the report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs on sexual activity between physicians and patients in 1990, and the Council subsequently issued its opinion on sexual misconduct in the practice of medicine. 1(8.14) Courts have recently issued the first opinions considering the Council's opinion in relation to licensure disciplinary action against physicians for sexual contact with patients. This article reviews the potential influence of the Council's opinion on disciplinary actions in light of these early cases. The Council's opinion will be most effective in changing physician behavior if it achieves its desired effect on physician education and attitudes. Voluntary medical societies may enforce the standard against sexual misconduct with membership sanctions as well. Ethical standards may well hold physicians to a higher standard than legal standards, and the Council's opinions are not intended by the Council to
Axial length measurements by contact and immersion techniques in pediatric eyes with cataract.

Intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in eyes of select children has become a common practice during pediatric cataract surgery.1 In the past few years, there have been several improvements in pediatric cataract removal techniques. However, IOL power calculation accuracy has not improved at the same pace.2 Accurate determination of IOL power remains one of the major challenges for the management of pediatric cataract patients. After pediatric cataract surgery, the postoperative refraction is commonly different from what had been predicted or aimed for by the surgeon.3-13 While many of the late refractive surprises are attributed to a myopic shift in refraction from axial eye growth, early refractive surprises can be attributed to inaccuracy in IOL power calculation. Errors in axial length are the most significant errors in IOL power calculation. The ultrasound axial length of the eye is commonly measured using either contact or immersion techniques. In the contact method, the probe touches the cornea and may result in corneal compression and a shorter axial length. Immersion A-scan eliminates corneal compression and has been shown to be superior to contact biometry in adults. It is accepted as a gold-standard technique for axial length measurment.14-18 Ben-Zion and colleagues19 compared prediction errors of 138 pediatric eyes measured by contact A-scan with a later group of 65 children measured with the immersion technique. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the accuracy of IOL power calculation by prospectively measuring axial length in pediatric eyes using both immersion and contact A-scan techniques. The present study compares the contact technique with the immersion technique in terms of the magnitude of axial length measurements in pediatric cataractous eyes. A subsequent paper will compare prediction errors in these eyes as measured postoperatively.
Production deficiencies in free recall: A comparison of hyperactive, learning-disabled, and normal children

Free recall of weakly categorizable words was compared in hyperactive (ADDH), reading-disabled, and normal boys. During a baseline trial, hyperactive boys recalled fewer words and showed less category organization than both reading-disabled and normal boys. Following a manipulation designed to encourage semantic encoding of words, hyperactive boys showed an immediate improvement in item recall and organization so that their free-recall performance was similar to that of reading-disabled and normal children. During later trials of a multiple-trial format, hyperactive boys recalled fewer words than did the reading-disabled and normal boys, despite maintaining equality in category organization. Rather than lacking the skill to use semantic organization as a strategy in free recall, hyperactive boys had difficulty in spontaneously generating the organizational strategy in response to instructions to remember and sustaining sufficient effort to task completion.
Static and transient cavitation threshold measurements for mercury with dissolved air and helium

Abstract Cavitation onset in mercury is an important aspect affecting operation and safety of accelerator-driven neutron source facilities employing mercury-filled targets. Cavitation in such systems can occur in the bulk and at liquid–structure interfaces under a range of (oscillating pressure) frequencies. Two different apparatus types were designed and utilized for obtaining practically relevant cavitation threshold data. Transient and static cavitation thresholds of mercury as a function of the cover gas (helium or air), fluid temperature and pressure are reported. Both static and transient cavitation onset pressure thresholds were found to increase linearly with cover gas pressure. Additionally, the cavitation threshold as a function of dissolved gases were also measured and found to vary significantly between air and helium. Over the examined range, the effect of fluid temperature was found to be small and within experimental error.
Race, Skills, and Earnings: American Immigrants in 1909

On December 5, 1910, the Immigration Commission presented its voluminous report to the Congress. Though the report covered a multitude of topics, a central theme was that the “new” immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were earning less than the “old” immigrants from northwestern Europe because the newcomers were willing to accept a lower standard of living. “They were,” the commission concluded, “content to accept wages and conditions which the native American and immigrants of the older class had come to regard as unsatisfactory.” The discovery of such “unfair competition,” along with its other findings, led the commission to recommend legislation restricting the admission of the “new” immigrant groups, and subsequently the immigration laws of 1917, 1921, and 1924 implemented this recommendation.
Calculation of the rotational magnetic moments of the ammonia and water molecules

Abstract We calculate the rotational magnetic moments and the corresponding g-factors for water and ammonia. Our results are gxx = 0.397, gyy = 0.769 and zz = 0.345 for water and gxx = gyy = 0.69 and gzz = 0.51 for ammonia. The experimental values are gxx = 0.585, gyy = 0.742 and gzz = 0.666 for water and gxx = gyy = 0.56 and gzz = 0.484 for ammonia.
Immunoenhancing Effects of Alprazolam, a Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonista

The effects of alprazolam (ALP), a triazolobenzodiazepine with high affinity for "central" benzodiazepine receptors, were examined on several parameters of immune function in mice. NK, MLR, and mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation were all significantly increased 2 hr after administration of low doses (0.02-1.0 mg/kg) of ALP. Twenty four hr later, similar but less robust immunoenhancing effects were observed. These measures of immune functions were not affected by higher doses of ALP (5-10 mg/kg). The immunoenhancing effects of ALP did not appear related to serum corticosterone levels. These and other findings demonstrate that the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor chloride channel complex can bidirectionally modulate immune function.
Substituent effects on the mass spectrometric fragmentations of 4‐aryl‐3,3‐dichlorooxetan‐2‐ones

The electron impact mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways for a series of 4-aryl-3,3-di-chlorooxetan-2-ones were investigated. It was found that cleavage to radical cations of dichloroketene and/or the substituted benzaldehyde is preferred by a large measure to cleavage to radical cations of carbon dioxide and/or the substituted β,β-dichlorostrene. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the nature of the substituent has a significant influence on the localization of charge in the preferred direction of cleavage.
Investigation of the optical losses in photonic crystal laser cavities by varying the number of lattice periods

We focus on InGaAsP MQW photonic crystal lasers and an experimental determination of the optical loss in these resonant cavities. We form optical microcavities by removing air holes from the photonic crystal lattice in a thin dielectric slab. The three-dimensional confinement of light is achieved through total internal reflection at the semiconductor/air interface and by the photonic bandgap introduced by the two-dimensional photonic crystal lattice. In this paper we report the results of experiments in which the number of periods of the photonic crystal lattice is varied across an array of lasers. This allows us to determine the optical losses and cavity quality factors in these cavities as a function of the number of lattice periods.
Conjugate peak refinement: an algorithm for finding reaction paths and accurate transition states in systems with many degrees of freedom

Abstract An algorithm is presented for determining multi-dimensional reaction coordinates between two known conformers. Only the energy function and its gradient are required. The resulting paths follow the adiabatic energy valleys and have energy maxima that are true saddle points, which can be multiple along each path. The method is suitable for the study of complex isomerization reactions, including allosteric transitions in proteins and more general conformational changes of macromolecules.
Reading Together: A Successful Reading Fluency Intervention.

The article describes a reading fluency intervention called Reading Together that combines the method of repeated readings (Samuels, 1979) and the Neurological Impress Method (Heckelman, 1969). Sixteen volunteers from various backgrounds were recruited and trained to deliver the Reading Together intervention to struggling readers in third through fifth grade. The differences on the outcome measures between the treatment (n = 29) and comparison (n = 23) were statistically significant. Thus, students in the treatment demonstrated increased reading expression, reading rate, and overall reading scores. Results suggest that Reading Together is a feasible method of increasing students’ reading proficiency and can be delivered by trained volunteers.