cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract W P163: Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Cerebrovascular Events after Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Introduction: Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly implanted for advanced heart failure either as a bridge to transplantation (BTT) or destination therapy (DT). The reported incidence of cerebrovascular events (CVE) following LVAD is 8-25%. The effects of medical comorbidities and perioperative events on the development of CVE are unclear. Methods: CVEs were retrospectively identified from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital LVAD database consisting of 373 patients with mean LVAD support of 13.5 months (range 0 days-8.2 years); Heartmate II 87%, Heartware 13%. Demographic, clinical, and outcome data were collected and analyzed in patients with and without CVE using standard statistical methods. Results: CVE occurred in 71 patients (19%) at a rate of 0.17 per patient-year 24.5±30.7 months after implantation. Coronary artery disease (P=0.007), diabetes mellitus (P=0.02) and LVAD indication of DT (P=0.04) were more common in patients with CVEs. Duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, hospital length of stay and incidence of bacteremia were not different between those with early CVE (within 30 days of implantation, 35%) and without CVE. CVEs were ischemic (ICVE) in 35 (49%), hemorrhagic (HCVE, including intracerebral, subarachnoid, and subdural) in 26 (37%), and both in 10 (14%). Patients with ICVE and HCVE did not differ in demographic variables, pre-LVAD co-morbidities, post-LVAD complications, NIH Stroke Scale at time of event, or anti-thrombotic regimen (ATR), except that events in those on no ATR were only ischemic. Patients with HCVEs were more likely to be discharged with no ATR (P=0.015). Mortality was significantly higher in patients with CVE (59.1% vs. 29.2% in those without CVE) but did not differ by CVE type. In patients with CVE, 57.1% of deaths were secondary to the CVE (ICVE 25%, HCVE 93.7%, P<0.001). Among BTT patients, only 14.6% with CVE underwent transplantation vs. 39.8% without CVE (P =0.002). Conclusions: CVE remains a serious complication of LVAD support for advanced heart failure and is associated with increased mortality and lower rates of heart transplantation. Further investigations to identify risk factors for CVEs in LVAD patients and potential preventive measures including optimal ATRs are warranted.
Setting Up a Pediatric Oncofertility Practice

The rate of cure for childhood cancer is now over 80 % due to tremendous therapeutic advances over the past 50 years. Survivors now comprise approximately 1 of every 640 young adults aged 18–45 living in the United States (www.childrensoncologygroup.org). The number of childhood cancer survivors continues to grow. Today childhood cancer survivors are living well into adulthood. The goals of pediatric oncology treatment include achieving cure but also doing so in a way that minimizes a lifetime of late effects. One such late effect of therapy is the impact on fertility.
Tracking state trends in environmental public opinion

Abstract Trends in state-level public opinion on the environment within the U.S. are examined, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1976 to 2008. Multilevel Regression and Post-Stratification (MRP) approach estimates public support for environmental spending at the U.S. state-level over three decades. This allows for an analysis of inter-state homogeneity of environmental public opinion, over the latter half of the twenty century. The findings indicate state-level trends mirror those at the national-level, but state-level public opinion is becoming more analogous over time.
Human Rights and the Environment: Substantive Rights

This chapter focuses on the relationship between human rights and the environment. The chapter describes multiple sources of human rights and environmental obligations, including international treaties, national law, and the judicial decisions of international courts. Human rights that indirectly call for environmental conservatism include the rights to life, health, privacy, and standard of living. This chapter concludes by noting that governments must balance human rights related to the environment with other concerns such as economic advancement.
Should Labor be Allowed to Make Shareholder Proposals

In this Article, we investigate whether labor unions and related entities should be permitted to continue to make shareholder proposals using Rule 14a-8 of the federal securities laws. We focus on the claim that labor is using the shareholder proposal mechanism to further the interests of workers at the expense of other shareholders. In particular, corporate management groups have suggested that when labor is involved in collective bargaining negotiations with management, it should be barred from submitting shareholder proposals because labor proposals seek to further interest not shared by other security holders of company. Using data on shareholder proposals from 1994 proxy season, we find that labor union proposals as a whole get as much or more support than do similar proposals made by other shareholder groups. Furthermore, when we examine a subset of labor union proposals that have been identified by management groups as instances where labor was acting in its own self-interest, we find no significant differences between shareholder support for these proposals and for other shareholders' proposals of similar nature. We conclude that regulatory reform is necessary.
The impact of user biases toward a virtual human's skin tone on triage errors within a virtual world for emergency management training

Biases influence the decisions people make in everyday life, even if they are unaware of it. This behavior transfers into social interactions in virtual environments. These systems are becoming an ...
One long umbilical cord, four nuchal cord loops and a true knot.

A 43-year-old woman G4 P2101 at 36 weeks of gestation presented to the labour floor with non-reactive fetal heart tracing and decreased fetal movement. She had a second-trimester ultrasound showing intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Patient had a history of hypothyroidism, two fetal demises at term and a planned preterm delivery at 34 weeks of gestation via caesarean section. Workup was negative for thrombophilia (lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin, anti-b2-glycoprotein, factor V Leiden, protein S, protein C, G20210 mutation, antithrombin III, antinuclear antibodies) and infectious diseases. Placental pathology following her second fetal demise revealed chorioamnionitis and necrotising funisitis with negative amniotic fluid cultures. There was no information regarding umbilical cord (UC) length or entanglements in previous pregnancies. Given her …
Simulation Comparison of Methods for Bayesian Contextual Classification of Remotely Sensed Data

This paper focusses on a simulation comparison of the Adaptive Bayesian Classification (ABC) and ICM (iterated Conditional Mode) spatial classification procedures for image reconstruction. The ABC procedure is described, since it is less well-known. The same geometrical configuration of populations is used for several examples involving normal populations with increasingly different variances. It is found that for the cases studied, ABC has considerably smaller variances than ICM in percentage of correct classifications obtained. Moreover, ABC has about the same distribution of percentage of correct classifications obtained whether we examine results for each population separately, or whether we examine the overall result. The comparison is made using for ICM the stated ICM initial classification, which is a “maximum likelihood classifier”; and using for ABC, the ABC initial classification, which is a predictive, contextual Bayesian classification procedure.
Collaborative Research Between Student Veterans and Faculty in Higher Education

A growing phenomenon of community writing groups, oral history projects, and college writing curricula with and for military veterans is predicated on the idea that writing and storytelling can have transformative potential. In this article, we extend these efforts in new directions by advocating for collaborative research between student veterans and academic faculty on college and university campuses. A civilian anthropologist faculty member and a then-undergraduate student and veteran of the US Marine Corps, the co-authors draw on our experiences working together on a 6-month exploratory ethnographic research project to detail the process and consider its implications, both scholarly and personal. We offer observations and reflections of the amplifying possibilities that may open up when faculty researchers share control over the research agenda, process, and actions with student veteran researchers. While the personal significance of collaboration for student veteran researchers may be varied and multiple – whether scholarly, social, political, therapeutic, or otherwise – these collaborations also have broader implications: namely, the inclusion of traditionally underrepresented military veterans in academic knowledge production about their experiences, priorities, and concerns. Knowledge produced may in turn have wider relevance to government agencies, policy planners, scholars, and educational and clinical practitioners, while also serving to proliferate and diversify representations of veteran experiences and voices within and beyond the academy.
Einführung in die elektroanalytische Chemie

Die elektroanalytische Chemie umfast eine Gruppe von quantitativen analytischen Methoden, die auf den elektrischen Eigenschaften einer Analytlosung beruhen, die Bestandteil einer elektrochemischen Zelle ist.1 Elektroanalytische Methoden besitzen gegenuber anderen in diesem Buch diskutierten Mesmethoden bestimmte Vorteile. Erstens sind elektrochemische Messungen oftmals spezifisch fur eine bestimmte Oxidationsstufe eines Elementes. So kann man z.B. in einem Gemisch aus Cer(III) und Cer(IV) jedes der beiden Ionen getrennt bestimmen, wohingegen man mit den meisten anderen Methoden lediglich die Gesamtkonzentration an Cer bestimmen kann. Ein zweiter entscheidender Vorteil elektrochemischer Methoden besteht darin, das die Instrumentierung relativ gunstig ist. Das teuerste elektrochemische Gerat kostet etwa TDM 37, und der Preis fur ein typisches kommerzielles Vielzweckgerat liegt zwischen TDM 6 und TDM 7. Im Gegensatz dazu kosten viele spektroskopische Gerate zwischen TDM 75 und TDM 375 und mehr. Eine dritte Besonderheit bestimmter elektrochemischer Methoden ist, das sie Informationen uber Aktivitaten anstelle von Konzentrationen liefern, was in der Praxis entweder vorteilhaft oder nachteilig sein kann. In physiologischen Studien etwa sind die Aktivitaten von Ionen wie z. B. Ca2+ oder K+ fur gewohnlich von groserer Bedeutung als ihre Konzentrationen.
The effect of seed crystals on calcium oxalate nucleation.

It has been well documented that renal stones are often nonhomogeneous in composition1,2. The small areas of additional mineral phases often found have led to theories invoking epitaxy as an important factor in stone formation. Both Coe et al. and Pak et al. have demonstrated an increase in calcium oxalate heterogeneous nucleation by sodium acid urate seed crystals3,4,5. Meyer et al. have shown an increase in calcium oxalate nucleation by seed crystals of hydroxyapatite6. All these studies have been performed with solution-depletion techniques. We have chosen to study the heterogeneous nucleation of calcium oxalate by examining actual calcium oxalate particle production. This approach allowed us to study not only changes in particle production, but also shifts in particle size distribution.
Hip Arthrodesis Using Surgical Hip Dislocation and Subtrochanteric Osteotomy

Severe painful arthrosis in adolescent patients is a difficult dilemma. The surgical treatment options include total joint replacement or hip arthrodesis. As the longevity of hip replacements continues to improve, the option of hip replacement looks enticing. However, the long-term outcomes of joint replacements in adolescent patients still remain concerning. As such an argument can be made that in adolescent patients with severe painful degenerative joint disease of the hip, arthrodesis remains the preferred treatment option. Short-term problems with hip arthrodesis include nonunion, malalignment, and limb length discrepancy. Long-term problems include degenerative low back pain and ipsilateral knee pain as well as a difficult conversion to total hip arthroplasty. While the short-term problems can be minimized using the approach described in this chapter, the long-term problems of adjacent segment degenerative joint disease cannot and may in fact necessitate future conversion to total hip arthroplasty. Avoiding the use of complex plating techniques and minimizing trauma to the abductor musculature during the hip arthrodesis are important factors to consider for future total hip arthroplasty.
Biogeotechnical Engineering Applications for Environmental Protection and Restoration

Soil and groundwater remediation is the most common and most mature application of biogeotechnical engineering in engineering practice. However, new and enhanced biogeotechnical techniques to mitigate soil and groundwater contamination are still being developed. Furthermore, biogeotechnical techniques can contribute to environmental protection and restoration in a variety of other ways. New and enhanced biogeotechnical techniques for soil and groundwater remediation under development include sequestration of groundwater contaminants via co-precipitation of carbonates, precipitation and phosphorous from ground and surface water, and microbial chain elongation. Other biogeotechnical applications in environmental protection and remediation include fugitive dust control, mitigation of soil erosion due to surface water runoff, precipitation of phosphorus and reduction of nitrates in surface water runoff, mitigation of internal erosion of soil, and creation of low permeability subsurface barriers. Replacement of Portland cement as a binder for aggregates also contributes to environmental protection.
On the Biomechanics of Cardiac S-Looping in the Chick: Insights From Modeling and Perturbation Studies

Cardiac looping is an important embryonic developmental stage where the primitive heart tube (HT) twists into a configuration that more closely resembles the mature heart. Improper looping leads to congenital defects. We study cardiac s-looping wherein the primitive ventricle which lay superior to the atrium now assumes its definitive position inferior to it. This process results in a heart loop that is no longer planar with the inflow and outflow tracts now lying in adjacent planes. We investigate the biomechanics of s-looping and use modeling to understand the nonlinear and time variant morphogenetic shape changes. We developed physical and finite element models and validated the models using perturbation studies. The results from experiments and models show how force actuators such as bending of the embryonic dorsal wall (cervical flexure), rotation around the body axis (embryo torsion), and HT growth interact to produce the heart loop. Using model-based and experimental data, we present an improved hypothesis for early cardiac s-looping.
Graph Based Event Processing

Using directed graphs, we demonstrate efficient and robust filtering of event-based imagery for velocity segmentation, noise suppression, optical flow, and manifold estimation. Applications to high-speed robotic control and space situational awareness will be discussed.
“They have their own way, and you should respect that”: Investigating the outcomes of an elementary world cultures curriculum

This article describes how elementary-aged children engaged in a world cultures unit showed positive development related to intercultural competence as exhibited through connected global education ...
Building RAFT: Trafficking Screening Tool Derivation and Validation Methods

Background Labor and sex trafficking have long impacted the patients who seek care in emergency departments (ED) across the United States. Increasing social and legislative pressures have led to multiple calls for screening for trafficking in the clinical care setting, but adoption of unvalidated screening tools for trafficking recognition is unwise for individual patient care and population-level data. Development of a valid screening tool for a social malady that is largely "invisible" to most clinicians requires significant investments. Valid screening tool development is largely a poorly understood process in the antitrafficking field and among clinicians who would use the tools. Methods The authors describe the study design and procedures for reliable data collection and analysis in the development of RAFT (Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking). In a five-ED, randomized, prospective study, RAFT will be derived and validated as a labor and sex trafficking screening tool for use among adult ED patients. Using a novel method of ED patient-participant randomization, intensively trained data collectors use qualitative data to assess subjects for a lifetime experience of human trafficking. Conclusion Study methodology transparency encourages investigative rigor and integrity and will allow other sites to reproduce and externally validate this study's findings.
Establishing reference intervals of coagulation indices based on the ACL Top 700 system for children in Southwestern Fujian, China.

Abstract Background Till date, China has not issued industry standards for reference intervals (RIs) of pediatric blood coagulation indices. Here, we evaluated changes in the coagulation indices in the venous blood of healthy children aged 29 days to 12 years derived using the ACL Top 700 system and established appropriate RIs. Methods We analyzed venous blood from 1770 healthy children for five coagulation indices. RIs were established according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute C28-A3c guideline. Results The coagulation indices were grouped by age. For prothrombin time (PT) and international normalization ratio (INR), the RIs of infants and toddlers were identical; preschool children had the same RI as school-age children. Pediatric RIs for PT and INR were slightly lower than those for adults. The RIs of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB) in childhood were divided into two groups by age (1 month to 1 year and 1–12 years). The RI of APTT in infants was the widest; the overall level of FIB in infants was the lowest; children's APTT and FIB RIs were lower than those of adults. The pattern of TT values and RI trends in childhood were similar to those of APTT. Conclusions There were minor changes in the RIs of coagulation indices for children. The RIs of PT, INR, APTT, TT, and FIB must be grouped by age. The RIs of coagulation indices for children were different from those for adults; therefore, establishing separate RIs for children is necessary.
How Personalized Feedback Emails Can Enhance Participation Rate in Online Courses

The instructors in conventional classes play a crucial role in motivating students to participate in class activities. However, in asynchronous online courses, such a relationship where the instructor act as the observer and the motivator is missing. In this paper, we performed an experiment on an online introductory course in computer science to understand how personalized feedback emails can address this limitation. For this purpose, we designed a forecasting system to analyze the progress of students towards the end of the semester and predict their final grades. Our quantitative and qualitative data analysis shows how such a feedback system can improve both the performance and the level of satisfaction of students in the online classes. More than ~42% of students ended up getting grades better than their expected scores, and ~78% of students confirmed that the feedback emails motivated them to enhance their engagement in the class discussions.
Effectiveness of Cooperative Extension Equine Pasture Management Programs

Equine property owners represent a growing audience in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states that requests information from cooperative extension regarding pasture management. A survey was mailed to New Jersey equine pasture property owners in January 2000 to determine the effectiveness of cooperative extension programs dealing with pasture management practices. New Jersey equine pasture managers with 21 to 35 animals and 8.5 to 16 ha of pasture were more likely to utilize cooperative extension. Larger properties with more animals encounter more complex management issues that foster interaction with cooperative extension. Our model demonstrates that equine property managers in New Jersey who obtain information from cooperative extension are more likely to soil test and fertilize less often. Enhanced pasture management requires capital expenditures. Consequently, property owners in New Jersey who spend more than $49 ha(-1) yr(-1) are more likely to obtain information from cooperative extension. These results suggest that cooperative extension equine programs in New Jersey should target smaller property owners and focus on liming for soil pH management, rotational grazing, and manure testing for soil nutrient management.
Modeling crash risk of horizontal curves using large-scale auto-extracted roadway geometry data.

Abstract Highway horizontal curves (H-curves) provide a smooth transition between two tangent sections of roadways. They allow vehicles to adjust their travel directions gradually. However, the geometry changes of the highway sections with H-curves often raise safety concerns. In order to deploy effective safety countermeasures, a critical task is to understand the risk factors associated with H-curves. Existing studies have made efforts to probe the safety issues associated with H-curves, whereas they were limited to relatively small-scale examinations because of the challenges in identifying H-curves from large road networks. In addition, due to the lack of well-archived traffic and roadway information, gathering other data associated with the H-curves is also difficult. Regarding to these gaps, this study aims to leverage open-source data to analyze the crash risk of highway sections with H-curves. In particular, the present study highlights itself from two main aspects: (i) a H-curve extraction tool was developed to facilitate large-scale curve data collection through the analytics of different open source data; and (ii) a crash modeling framework was developed to quantify H-curve crash risk. A case study based on a statewide road network was performed to test the developed crash risk models with the collected curve data. The results show the opportunities of using the developed tool for large-scale data collection and analyze the safety impacts of H-curve geometric properties, elevation change, traffic exposure, among others. Findings of this study provide insights into the improvement of H-curve data collection and safety evaluation.
Unintended Consequences of Health Care Reform: Impact of Changes in Payor Mix on Patient Safety Indicators.

Objective To evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion on patient safety metrics at the hospital level by expansion status, across varying levels of safety-net burden, and over time. Summary background data Medicaid expansion has raised concerns over the influx of additional medically and socially complex populations on hospital systems. Whether increases in Medicaid and uninsured payor mix impact hospital performance metrics remains largely unknown. We sought to evaluate the effects of expansion on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-endorsed Patient Safety Indicators (PSI-90). Methods Three hundred fifty-eight hospitals were identified using State Inpatient Databases (2012-2015) from 3 expansions (KY, MD, NJ) and 2 nonexpansion (FL, NC) states. PSI-90 scores were calculated using Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality modules. Hospital Medicaid and uninsured patients were categorized into safety-net burden (SNB) quartiles. Hospital-level, multivariate linear regression was performed to measure the effects of expansion and change in SNB on PSI-90. Results PSI-90 decreased (safety improved) over time across all hospitals (-5.2%), with comparable reductions in expansion versus nonexpansion states (-5.9% vs -4.7%, respectively; P = 0.441) and across high SNB hospitals within expansion versus nonexpansion states (-3.9% vs -5.2%, P = 0.639). Pre-ACA SNB quartile did not predict changes in PSI-90 post-ACA. However, when hospitals increased their SNB by 5%, they incurred significantly more safety events in expansion relative to nonexpansion states (+1.87% vs -14.0%, P = 0.013). Conclusions Despite overall improvement in patient safety, increased SNB was associated with increased safety events in expansion states. Accordingly, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services measures may unintentionally penalize hospitals with increased SNB following Medicaid expansion.
ABC transporter mutations in Cry1F‐resistant fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) do not result in altered susceptibility to selected small molecule pesticides

Background Transgenic crops producing Cry and Vip3 insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis provide effective control of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith. However, cases of practical S. frugiperda resistance to transgenic corn producing Cry1F, Cry1Ab and Cry1A.105 proteins have been reported in the Western hemisphere. Importantly, S. frugiperda resistance to Cry1F corn in Puerto Rico was previously associated with lower susceptibility to synthetic pesticides. When characterized, resistance to transgenic corn in S. frugiperda involved alterations in an ABC transporter subfamily C2 (SfABCC2) gene. The main goal of this work was to test the role of mutations in SfABCC2 that result in resistance to Cry1F in susceptibility to synthetic and semisynthetic small molecule pesticides. Results Marginal but significantly reduced susceptibility to bifenthrin and increased susceptibility to spinetoram was detected in a Cry1F-resitant S. frugiperda strain from Puerto Rico carrying a frameshift mutation in the SfABCC2 gene. Gene editing by CRISPR/Cas9 created a SfABCC2 knockout in a laboratory reference S. frugiperda strain. When compared to the parental reference, the knockout strain displayed 25-fold resistance to Cry1F but no alteration in susceptibility to small molecule pesticides. Conclusion These results support that resistance to Cry1F due to mutations in the SfABCC2 gene do not affect susceptibility to the tested small molecule pesticides.
DOxy: Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in water is the enabler of all marine life. As low oxygen levels are the first sign of contamination and distress in bodies of water, measuring its levels are the first step in discovery and preservation efforts. Furthermore, fish farms, aquariums, and other aquaculture are in need of continued dissolved oxygen monitoring and spend a lot of money on purchasing and maintaining their sensors or on ensuring that manual readings are taken on a daily or even more often basis. Current systems and meters are either expensive, inefficient, or manual. Hence a cost-effective and sustainable automated system is necessary and long over due. DOxy, is such a system under research and development at Santa Clara University’s Ethical, Pragmatic, and Intelligent Computing (EPIC) Laboratory which aims to utilize cost-effective, accessible, and sustainable Sensing Units (SUs) for measuring the dissolved oxygen levels present in bodies of water. DOxy’s SUs are equipped with a High-sensitivity Pulse Oximeter meant for measuring dissolved oxygen levels in human blood and not water. Hence through a number of parallel readings with a standard dissolved oxygen meter, a conversion formula was created for DOxy which enables accurate results.
Impact of isolation method on cellular activation and presence of specific tendon cell subpopulations during in vitro culture

Tendon injuries are common and heal poorly, due in part to a lack of understanding of fundamental tendon cell biology. A major impediment to the study of tendon cells is the absence of robust, well-characterized in vitro models. Unlike other tissue systems, current tendon cell models do not account for how differences in isolation methodology may affect the activation state of tendon cells or the presence of various tendon cell sub-populations. The objective of this study was to characterize how common isolation methods affect the behavior, fate, and lineage composition of tendon cell cultures. Tendon cells isolated by explant exhibited reduced proliferative capacity, decreased expression of tendon marker genes, and increased expression of genes associated with fibroblast activation compared to digested cells. Consistently, explanted cells also displayed an increased propensity to differentiate to myofibroblasts compared to digested cells. Explanted cultures from multiple different tendons were substantially enriched for the presence of scleraxis-lineage (Scx-lin+) cells compared to digested cultures, while the overall percentage of S100a4-lineage (S100a4-lin+) cells was dependent on both isolation method and tendon of origin. Neither isolation method preserved the ratios of Scx-lin+ or S100a4-lin+ to non-lineage cells seen in tendons in vivo. Combined, these data indicate that further refinement of in vitro cultures models is required in order to more accurately understand the effects of various stimuli on tendon cell behavior. Statement of clinical significance: The development of informed in vitro tendon cell models will facilitate enhanced screening of potential therapeutic candidates to improve tendon healing.
An Analysis of the Low-level Performance of Channel Multiplier Arrays

Publisher Summary This chapter analyzes low-level performance of channel multiplier arrays. A simulation has been made of a channel electron multiplier, using an IBM-360 Model 40 computer to investigate effects of operational parameters and surface properties. Two models have been studied: planar and cylindrical. The simplified two-dimensional planar model always assumed the trajectory to lie across the channel diameter in the transverse plane and was used to study effects not dependent on the third dimension. A full three-dimensional study of a cylindrical multiplier was also made for purposes of comparison with experiments and to study parameters affected by the third dimension. Calculations are made to find, for each electron, the length of the trajectory, arrival energy, arrival angle, and transit time. These quantities are needed as initial conditions for the next multiplying event. The results show that effects of channel voltage, varied from 800 to 2000 V. As channel voltage increases, trajectories become longer and strike angles become more grazing. Both effects increase gain significantly, and the number of primary electrons completely lost is definitely reduced. The negative trajectory lengths correspond to electrons emitted with high velocities in a direction opposite to the applied field.
Kinetics and characterization of antigen-binding and antibody-producing cells in the regional draining lymph nodes and spleen during initial murine schistosomiasis. I. Cellular responses against cercarial immunogens.

Abstract C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a primary infection of Schistosoma mansoni . The lymphocytes of the mediastinal, hepatic, and mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen which drain the pulmonary, hepatic, intestinal, and “systemic” phases of infection, respectively, were assessed for their ability to interact with soluble cercarial immunogen. The capacity to bind antigen, i.e., rosette-forming cells (B- or T-RFC) both bind antigen and simultaneously produce specific lytic antibodies, i.e., rosette-antibody-forming cells (RAFC); or exclusively produce specific antibody, i.e., plaque-forming cells (PFC) was assessed. The results indicated that maximal RFC were detected sequentially in the mediastinal (Week 1), then in the hepatic (Week 5), and finally in the mesenteric (Weeks 7–9) nodes; thus, the immune response anatomically recapitulated the migrating pathway of the parasite during the pulmonary, hepatic, and intestinal phases of the infection. The number of RFC was significantly higher in the mediastinal nodes and the hepatic nodes than in the mesenteric nodes. Although both T- and B-RFC were noted, the response was predominantly B in character. The spleen exhibited an early predominantly T-cell RFC response at Week 4 and a later predominantly B-cell RFC response at Week 11. Further characterization of the B-cell responses showed that the initial responses of the lymphocytes were predominantly IgM in nature. A variety of unique patterns relative to the predominance of IgG-, IgA-, or “IgE”-bearing cells subsequently evolved in each anatomic lymphoid organ. In all the lymphoid organs studied the lymphocytes exhibited a maturational progression from B-RFC, to RAFC and then to PFC. The responses of the lymphocytes of the various lymphoid organs have been further characterized against soluble egg (SEA) immunogen (P. B. Khoury and S. M. Phillips, Cell. Immunol. 59 , 246, 1981).
Peroxisomal-protein import: is it really that complex?

Peroxisomal enzymes are synthesized in the cytoplasm and imported post-translationally across the peroxisome membrane. Unlike other organelles with a sealed membrane, peroxisomes can import folded enzymes, and they seem to lack intraperoxisomal chaperones. Here, we propose a mechanistic model for the early steps in peroxisomal-matrix-enzyme import, which might help to explain the unusual features of this process.
An Aqueous-Organic Extraction Method for the Isolation and Identification of Psilocin from Hallucinogenic Mushrooms

A simple aqueous extraction method for the isolation and identification of psilocin from Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms is reported. This method employs a dephosphorylation of the phosphate ester to psilocin, which facilitates a greater product yield and simplifies identification. Psilocin extracted by this method is sufficiently concentrated and free of cocontaminants to allow identification by infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
Causes and Consequences of Market Leadership in Application Software

This paper examines several software markets in the hopes of testing various hypotheses that have been put forward in the literature on network effects. Our primary interest focuses on the possibility of lock-in by inferior products due to network effects. We also examine whether or not these markets provide evidence for winner-take-all results and tipping. We use a case method approach, examining product quality, market shares and prices in the context of major software application markets. We find no support for the lock-in hypothesis, no support for tipping, but support for winner-take-all. It is unclear, however, whether this winner-take-all result is due to network effects or other factors such as instant scalability or economies to scale. We also find that price seems to be play an important role in generating market share only in consumer markets. As a by-product of this work we are able to examine Microsoft's track-record in these markets. We conclude that Microsoft has followed a low price strategy, more so after they have achieved large market shares than while they were attempting to wrest market share from other firms.
SU-E-T-141: Automated Dose Point Placement for Cervical Cancer Brachytherapy Using Tandem and Ovoid Applicators

Purpose: To develop a standalone application, which automatically and consistently calculates the coordinates of points A and H based solely on the implanted applicator geometry for cervical cancer HDR brachytherapy. Methods: Manchester point A and ABS point H are both located 2cm lateral from the central tandem plane. While both points are located 2cm above the cervical os, surrogates for the os differ. Point A is defined relative to the anatomical cervical os. Point H is defined relative to the intersection of the tandem with the superior aspects of the ovoids. The application takes an input text file generated by the treatment planning system (TPS, BrachyVision, Varian) that specifies the source geometries. It then outputs the 3D coordinates of points A and H in both the left and right directions. The algorithm was implemented and tested on 34 CT scans of 7 patients treated with HDR brachytherapy delivered using tandem and ovoids. A single experienced user retrospectively and manually placed points A and H on the CT scans, whose coordinates were used as the gold standard for the comparison to the automatically calculated points. Results: The automatically calculated coordinates of points A and H agree within 0.7mm with the gold standard. The averages and standard deviations of the 3D coordinate difference between points placed by the two methods are 0.3±0.1 and 0.4±0.1mm for points A and H, respectively. The maximum difference in 3D magnitude is 0.7mm. Conclusion: The algorithm consistently calculates dose point coordinates independently of the planner for cervical cancer brachytherapy treated with tandem and ovoids. Automated point placement based on the geometry of the implanted applicators agrees in sub-millimeter with careful manual placements by an experienced user. This algorithm expedites the planning process and eliminates dependencies on either user input or TPS visualization tools.
COMMUNITY VIOLENCE EXPOSURE AND ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE: DOES MONITORING AND POSITIVE PARENTING MODERATE RISK IN URBAN COMMUNITIES?

This study investigates whether monitoring and positive parenting moderate the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and youth substance use. Analyses utilized a subsample (N = 2197) of a cross-sectional, ethnically diverse, urban school district sample. Dependent variables were any past year alcohol or drug use (AOD) and binge drinking. Independent variables were CVE, perceptions of parental monitoring, and positive parenting. Sixty-four percent of the sample witnessed beatings, 16.5% witnessed stabbings or shootings; 45% and 19.5% reported AOD consumption and binge drinking, respectively. After controlling for confounders, logistic regression models indicated that CVE was significantly and positively related to AOD and binge drinking. Parental monitoring was inversely related to AOD and binge drinking. Significant interactions between CVE and parenting variables were not found. Additional research is needed to identify factors at multiple levels of the social ecology that buffer the impact of community violence on adolescent substance use.
The Meaning of Privatization

Privatization is a fuzzy concept that evokes sharp political reactions. It covers a great range of ideas and policies, varying from the eminently reasonable to the wildly impractical. Yet however varied and at times unclear in its meaning, privatization has unambiguous political origins and objectives. It emerges from the countermovement against the growth of government in the West and represents the most serious conservative effort of our time to formulate a positive alternative. Privatization proposals do not aim merely to return services to their original location in the private sphere. Some proposals seek to create new kinds of market relations and promise results comparable or superior to conventional public programs. Hence it is a mistake to define and dismiss the movement as simply a replay of traditional opposition to state intervention and expenditure. The current wave of privatization initiatives opens a new chapter in the conflict over the public-private balance. This Article attempts to clarify the meaning of privatization as an idea, as theory and rhetoric, and as a political practice. In the process I hope to explain why I generally oppose privatization, even though I favor some specific proposals that privatization covers. But apart from this political judgment, I take privatization seriously as a policy movement and as a process that show every sign of reconstituting major institutional domains of contemporary society.
Axially incident plane-wave scattering from an impedance sphere with two constant isotropic impedance surfaces

The canonical problem of an axially symmetric, isotropic impedance sphere with two constant impedance surfaces is formulated and solved for the case of a normally incident plane wave. Although the solution involves the truncation of an infinite series and numerical inversion of a linear system, its properties of a rapidly converging truncation process, evaluation of matrix elements in terms of known special functions, and rapid generation of remaining modal coefficients allow for an accurate representation of the fields. This is especially important near the impedance junction where discontinuities in some field components are expected. These properties make this solution an ideal test case for more general scattering codes.
Superplastic deformation behaviour of friction stir processed 7075Al alloy

Abstract Commercial 7075Al rolled plates were subjected to friction stir processing (FSP) with different processing parameters, resulting in two fine-grained 7075Al alloys with a grain size of 3.8 and 7.5 μm. Heat treatment at 490 °C for 1 h showed that the fine grain microstructures were stable at high temperatures. Superplastic investigations in the temperature range of 420–530 °C and strain rate range of 1×10−3–1×10−1 s−1 demonstrated that a decrease in grain size resulted in significantly enhanced superplasticity and a shift to higher optimum strain rate and lower optimum deformation temperature. For the 3.8 μm 7075Al alloy, superplastic elongations of >1250% were obtained at 480 °C in the strain rate range of 3×10−3–3×10−2 s−1, whereas the 7.5 μm 7075Al alloy exhibited a maximum ductility of 1042% at 500 °C and 3×10−3 s−1. The analyses of the superplastic data for the two alloys revealed a stress exponent of 2, an inverse grain size dependence of 2, and an activation energy close to that for grain boundary self-diffusion. This indicates that grain boundary sliding is the main deformation mechanism for the FSP 7075Al. This was verified by SEM examinations on the surfaces of deformed specimens.
Oncotype DX for Colon Cancer: Are We Ready for Prime Time in Personalized Medicine?

Significant advances have been made in the treatment of patients with early-stage colon cancer during the last several decades. However, a substantial number of patients with early-stage disease will not be cured by surgery alone. Although adjuvant chemotherapy has been well accepted for the treatment of stage III disease, the precise role of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II disease remains a subject of debate. Although patients with high-risk stage II disease derive significant benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, it remains unclear whether patients with average or low-risk stage II disease should receive adjuvant therapy. Significant efforts have been made to develop molecular biomarkers to further define the subset of stage II disease patients who would derive a substantial benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Herein, we review the current status of molecular biomarker research in the treatment of colorectal cancer with respect to the specific role of the Oncotype DX gene expression profiling method in patients with stage II disease.
Room temperature blue light emitting p‐n diodes from Zn(S,Se)‐based multiple quantum well structures

Blue (494 nm) light emitting quantum well diodes based on Zn(S,Se) p‐n junctions are demonstrated at room temperature. P‐type Zn(S,Se) is realized by using a nitrogen rf plasma cell. The light emitting diode is formed on homoepitaxial GaAs buffer layers by molecular beam epitaxy. The S fraction of the alloy is selected to provide a lattice match between the II‐VI active region and the GaAs buffer; the result is an active region having a dislocation density below 105/cm−2. The letter discusses emission characteristics as well as the x‐ray rocking curve and transmission electron microscopy characterization of the structures.
Reducing the Risk: Using Career Information with At-Risk Youth:

Middle school and high school students at risk of dropping out of schoolcan be helped through the use ofcomputer-based career informationdelivered in an integrated and sequential career development program. Thecharacteristics of successful pro grams, as identified in a study ofschools in 11 states, are outlined here.
Characterization of Mercury and Its Risk in Nelson’s, Saltmarsh, and Seaside Sparrows

Background Nelson’s, Saltmarsh, and Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni, A. caudacutus, and A. maritimus, respectively) depend on marsh and wetland habitats – ecosystems in which mercury (Hg) bioavailability is notoriously high. The purpose of the present study was to address the potential impact of Hg on these species using first primary and breast feathers as non-destructive biomonitoring tools. Methods and Principal Findings Feathers were sampled from wintering sparrows in North Carolina salt marshes (2006–2010). Feather Hg data were used in three risk analysis components (1) Threshold Component – examined feather Hg with regard to published negative effects thresholds; (2) Hg Dynamics Component – examined Hg in sparrows captured multiple times; and (3) Capture Frequency and Survival Component – tested for links between Hg and return frequency and survival. Threshold Component analyses indicated that Hg concentrations in 42–77% of sampled individuals (breast feather n = 879; first primary feather n = 663) were within the range associated with decreased reproduction in other avian species. Hg Dynamics Component analyses demonstrated that Hg increased between first and second captures for Nelson’s (n = 9) and Seaside Sparrows (n = 23). Capture Frequency and Survival Component analyses detected a negative relationship between Hg and capture frequency in Nelson’s Sparrows (n = 315). However, MARK models detected no effect of Hg on apparent survival in any species. Conclusion and Significance This study indicates that current Hg exposure places a considerable proportion of each population at risk. In particular, 52% of all sampled Saltmarsh Sparrows exhibited first primary feather Hg concentrations exceeding those associated with a >60% reduction in reproductive success in other species. This study reports evidence for net annual bioaccumulation, indicating an increased risk in older individuals. These data can be used to inform future population assessments and management for these species.