cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Numérisation et impact sur la SST : travaux de synthèse de l’EU-OSHA

La numerisation offre des possibilites d’evolutions innovantes et passionnantes sur le lieu de travail, qui modifient toutefois la nature meme du travail, le lieu de travail, qui travaille et quand et comment le travail est organise et gere. Les cobots, robots devenus mobiles, autonomes et intelligents, collaborent desormais avec les travailleurs. Grâce a l’intelligence artificielle, les machines prennent non seulement en charge un large eventail de tâches manuelles mais aussi de tâches cognitives auparavant realisees par l’etre humain. Les travailleurs sont de plus en plus supervises par des technologies basees sur les big data et algorithmes de controle. L’economie interconnectee a l’echelle mondiale exige une organisation du travail toujours plus flexible et a donne lieu a de nouvelles formes de travail, telles que le travail sur les plateformes en ligne. Si ces technologies peuvent permettre d’eloigner les travailleurs de certaines situations dangereuses, d’ameliorer la qualite du travail en reduisant les tâches repetitives et de faciliter l’acces au marche du travail pour certains groupes vulnerables, ces evolutions posent egalement de nouveaux defis pour la sante et la securite au travail (SST). Les facteurs de risque psychosociaux et organisationnels meritent une attention particuliere. En effet, le travail avec les cobots intelligents ainsi que la surveillance, voire supervision constante des travailleurs par les technologies numeriques et algorithmes augmentent, entre autres, les pressions liees a la performance et peuvent mener a une perte de contacts avec les pairs et de soutien social au travail. Ceci peut engendrer des effets nefastes sur la SST, notamment la sante mentale. Les technologies numeriques mobiles offrent la possibilite d’une flexibilite accrue mais peuvent egalement conduire a des exigences de disponibilite permanente des travailleurs, des horaires de travail irreguliers, des frontieres plus floues entre le travail et la vie privee, et des formes de travail precaires. De nouveaux defis en matiere d’ergonomie, d’interface homme-machine et de securite apparaissent egalement, entre autres les risques de securite fonctionnelle associes a la cyber securite. Enfin, les technologies numeriques et les nouvelles formes de travail posent des defis pour l’application de la reglementation en matiere de SST. Depuis 2016, l’agence europeenne pour la securite et sante au travail (EU-OSHA) mene des recherches approfondies sur la numerisation et la SST afin de fournir les informations necessaires aux decideurs politiques, chercheurs et acteurs de prevention quant aux defis et opportunites pour la SST lies a la numerisation. Les resultats de ces travaux feront l’objet de cette intervention.
Epigenetic control of ion channel expression and cell-specific splicing in nociceptors: Chronic pain mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.

Ion channels underlie all forms for electrical signaling including the transmission of information about harmful events. Voltage-gated calcium ion channels have dual function, they support electric...
Measuring Supreme Court Case Complexity

Case complexity is central to the study of judicial politics. The dominant measures of Supreme Court case complexity use information on legal issues and provisions observed post-decision. As a result, scholars using these measures to study merits stage outcomes such as bargaining, voting, separate opinion production, and opinion content introduce post-treatment bias and exacerbate endogeneity concerns. Furthermore, existing issue measures are not valid proxies for complexity. Leveraging information on issues and provisions extracted from merits briefs, we develop a new latent measure of Supreme Court case complexity. This measure maps with the prevailing understanding of the underlying concept while mitigating inferential threats that hamper empirical evaluations. Our brief-based measurement strategy is generalizable to other contexts where it is important to generate exogenous and pre-treatment indicators for use in explaining merits decisions.
Reimagining Rights & Responsibilities in the United States: Gun Rights and Public Safety

In March 2018, hundreds of thousands of young people walked out of school and marched on their local statehouses and on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to advocate for stricter controls on gun sales and ownership. The March for Our Lives was initially organized by students at Margery Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a school shooting had killed 17 students. Collectively, the marches were the largest-ever protest against gun violence, and one of the largest protests of any kind in American history. The growing consensus over the need for some “common-sense” gun laws to regulate the sale and ownership of firearms stands in sharp contrast to the incendiary rhetoric of the National Rifle Association, which has sounded the alarm in recent years that Democrats are coming to “take away” guns or institute a national registry of firearm ownership. Indeed, the reasonableness on both sides of the debate implies that there is a middle-ground that can be achieved to limit gun violence in the United States, while still allowing for responsible ownership of firearms for hunting, sport shooting, and personal protection.
High-entropy catalysts: Supremacy of diversity

The emergence of high-entropy materials has afforded transformative opportunities for catalyst discovery and optimization. In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Zhang and colleagues explore the chemistry of synthesizing spinel-type high-entropy MgAl2O4 and demonstrate that a rational entropic design gives rise to the fabrication of durable catalysts for methane oxidation.
Simulation for a Mems-Based CTRNN Ultra-Low Power Implementation of Human Activity Recognition

This paper presents an energy-efficient classification framework that performs human activity recognition (HAR). Typically, HAR classification tasks require a computational platform that includes a processor and memory along with sensors and their interfaces, all of which consume significant power. The presented framework employs microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based Continuous Time Recurrent Neural Network (CTRNN) to perform HAR tasks very efficiently. In a real physical implementation, we show that the MEMS-CTRNN nodes can perform computing while consuming power on a nano-watts scale compared to the micro-watts state-of-the-art hardware. We also confirm that this huge power reduction doesn’t come at the expense of reduced performance by evaluating its accuracy to classify the highly cited human activity recognition dataset (HAPT). Our simulation results show that the HAR framework that consists of a training module, and a network of MEMS-based CTRNN nodes, provides HAR classification accuracy for the HAPT that is comparable to traditional CTRNN and other Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) implantations. For example, we show that the MEMS-based CTRNN model average accuracy for the worst-case scenario of not using pre-processing techniques, such as quantization, to classify 5 different activities is 77.94% compared to 78.48% using the traditional CTRNN.
Seismically observable features of mature stagnant-lid convection at the base of the lithosphere: Some scaling relationships

Small-scale convection transfers heat from the asthenosphere into the base of the lithosphere. Scaling constraints are obtained on features associated with such convection that may be resolved by seismic studies. Compact notation arises by simply representing rheology: viscosity changes by a factor of e with a temperature increase of Tη and the minimum viscosity in the asthenosphere is η0. The geothermal gradient in the lithosphere and the conductive heat flow are constrained by xenolith, seismic, and heat flow studies. Geoid studies constrain the viscosity ηUM in the deep asthenosphere to ∼1020 Pa s. Seismic studies have resolved cool downwellings at the edge of the Colorado Plateau. The total anomaly of these downwellings (temperature contrast times width) depends on the square root of the ambient viscosity at depth. The observed anomalies are reasonable if partial melt causes seismic velocity to vary rapidly with temperature. Convection produces scalloped relief on the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary of ∼20 km beneath stable continents if Tη is small, less than 65 K. Shear associated with plate motions aligns convection cells. Convection is likely to strongly align cells if vigorous convection in fact exists beneath the Pacific plate. Modest alignment is predicted beneath slowly moving ocean and continental plates. Seismic studies have yet to resolve scalloping and cell alignment.
The "how-to" institutionalize systemic change: a look at Gateway at Florida International University

By establishing a team whose members reach an affinity alignment that can be expressed as a written vision or mission statement it is possible, with the proper nurturing and strategy formulation, to bring about systemic change within the culture of engineering educators and their institutions. The heart of an institutional effort is the committed participants' team, which meets weekly to set goals and milestones, brainstorm ideas, and encourage one another. The heart of the team is diversity in its membership-of academic specialization and personal background. The process of institutionalization, while not a "12-Step Program," is a 7-step one. The 7 steps are: awareness; understanding; acceptance; adoption; implementation; institutionalization; and exportation. The work of the team is to formulate strategies for the present and to constantly anticipate and propose new ones for the future. The paper discusses specific activities and procedures in place at Florida International University's (FIU) Gateway Program and those which we anticipate will be operational over the next two years of our research in changing the way we educate engineers.
RNA Structural Motifs

Chemically, ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a close cousin of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). RNA is, however, involved in a wide range of cellular activities (e.g. translating genetic information, serving as a structural scaffold, catalysing biological reactions) that often require the molecule to fold into a specific structure in order to perform its targeted function. Structurally and functionally it is therefore more closely related to proteins than to DNA. An RNA structural motif is defined as a collection of residues that fold into a stable three-dimensional (3D) structure and which can be found in naturally occurring RNAs in unexpected abundance. Owing to the fact that stable 3D structures are associated with RNA structural motifs, these motifs often served as nucleation sites for RNA folding. Key Concepts: RNA motifs can help stabilise a global RNA structure, as well as guide the RNA folding process. Hairpins are essential in constituting RNA tertiary architecture and in forming binding sites for other molecules. Owing to variation of the lengths of loops and stems, as well as the types of interactions between them, pseudoknots represent a structurally diverse group. Triloops and tetraloops with specific sequences are stable and frequently observed hairpin loops. Self-folding RNA structures, including the adenosine platform, ribose zipper, bulge–helix–bulge motif and G-bulge motif, can provide the nucleation sites for RNA folding. Keywords: helix and loop; hairpin; junction; kissing loop; pseudoknot; RNA folding; RNA self-folding structure
An Association Rule Mining Approach to Discover lncRNAs Expression Patterns in Cancer Datasets

In the past few years, the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumor development and progression has been disclosed although their mechanisms of action remain to be elucidated. An important contribution to the comprehension of lncRNAs biology in cancer could be obtained through the integrated analysis of multiple expression datasets. However, the growing availability of public datasets requires new data mining techniques to integrate and describe relationship among data. In this perspective, we explored the powerness of the Association Rule Mining (ARM) approach in gene expression data analysis. By the ARM method, we performed a meta-analysis of cancer-related microarray data which allowed us to identify and characterize a set of ten lncRNAs simultaneously altered in different brain tumor datasets. The expression profiles of the ten lncRNAs appeared to be sufficient to distinguish between cancer and normal tissues. A further characterization of this lncRNAs signature through a comodulation expression analysis suggested that biological processes specific of the nervous system could be compromised.
TNF-α alters the release and transfer of miRNAs from endothelial cells (711.7)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) encapsulated within extracellular vesicles likely have a role in cell-to-cell signaling, but little is known as to the mechanisms by which different cell types release miRNAs. Here, we examined the release and transfer of miR-126, miR-21, and miR-155 in microparticles (MPs) produced by human aortic endothelial cells (ECs) treated with TNF‑α. ECs were treated with TNF-α (100 ng/ml), in the presence or absence of inhibitors targeting distinct MP production pathways. MPs isolated from media were assessed by flow cytometry (count) and qRT-PCR (miRNA content). Calcein AM-labeled MPs were used to assess uptake by recipient ECs. TNF‑α induced a 5-fold increase in MP production after 12-24 hours of treatment (n = 5, p < 0.05). These MPs were characterized by: 1) 70 - 80% decrease in the miRNA/MP levels for miR-126 and -21 but 20-fold increase in pre-miR-155 (n = 10, p < 0.05); 2) 50% reduction in uptake by recipient cells (n = 3, p < 0.05); and 3) inability to transfer miR-126 and -...
Acute hyperglycemia enhances proteolysis in normal man.

The influence of hyperinsulinemic-hyperglycemia on protein and carbohydrate homeostasis was assessed using L-[1-13C]-leucine and [3-3H]glucose combined with open-circuit indirect calorimetry. After a 30-min basal period, healthy human volunteers were subjected to two sequential experimental periods (150 min each) during which insulin was continuously infused at a rate to elicit maximal effects (10.0 mU.kg-1 x min-1, resulting in 220-fold basal levels) in conjunction with an infusion of L-amino acids to maintain euleucinemia. Plasma glucose was maintained near basal (94 +/- 2 mg/dl) during period I and at twofold basal (191 +/- 4 mg/dl) during period II. The endogenous rate of leucine appearance (index of proteolysis in mumol.kg-1 x h-1) dropped by 80% from basal during period I (P < 0.01) but only by 44% during period II. Although hyperglycemia stimulated the rate of proteolysis threefold (18.0 +/- 10.2 to 49.8 +/- 7.2, P < 0.001), neither leucine oxidation nor nonoxidative leucine rate of disappearance (an estimate of protein synthesis) was altered. During both glycemic conditions, the rates of hepatic glucose production were completely suppressed, and this was accompanied by 3- and 11-fold increases in the estimated rates of protein and carbohydrate oxidation, respectively, and an 80% decrease in the rate of lipid oxidation. The estimated rate of glucose storage was increased fourfold during period I and by an additional 2.3-fold (to approximately 10-fold basal) in period II. The present study demonstrates that, during hyperinsulinemia, acute elevations of plasma glucose to two times basal levels result in a marked stimulation of whole body proteolysis during hyperinsulinemia.
Standards for Imaging Performance

The six papers that comprise the technical meat of this OTF section were presented originally at SPIE seminars, and will appear in the Proceedings volumes for those meetings. The papers by Kuttner, Marchant, Ose and Murata, Macdonald, and van Leunen were given at the SPIE-OSA seminar Image Assessment and Specification held in Rochester, New York in May 1974; the paper by Price is from the Effective Systems Integration and Optical Design seminar held at the SPIE annual meeting in San Diego, August 1974. They are here collected and reprinted in archival form, to embody a theme -standardization of objective measures of imaging performance. At least I would like to consider that a statement of the theme; but each author speaks for his own viewpoint.
Orbital HP-Clouds for solving Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics

Solving Schrodinger equation in quantum mechanics presents a challenging task in numerical methods due to the high order behavior and high dimension characteristics in the wave functions, in addition to the highly coupled nature between wave functions. This work introduces orbital and polynomial enrichment functions to the partition of unity for solution of Schrodinger equation under the framework of HP-Clouds. An intrinsic enrichment of orbital function and extrinsic enrichment of monomial functions are proposed. Due to the employment of higher order basis functions, a higher order stabilized conforming nodal integration is developed. The proposed methods are implemented using the density functional theory for solution of Schrodinger equation. Analysis of several single and multi-electron/nucleus structures demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Comparative Studies on Tumor and Adjuvant (BCGcw)-Induced Nonspecific Suppressor Cells in Rats

Comparative studies on tumor and adjuvant-induced depression of in vitro mitogen responses were carried out using spleen cells obtained from syngeneic tumor bearing (TB) ACI rats or from rats which had been immunized with BCG cell walls attached to oil droplets (BCGcw). These in vitro studies demonstrated that: 1) the spleen cells from TB rats (TB-spleen cells) showed strongly depressed mitogen responses to concanavalin-A (Con-A), phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 2) the mitogen response of lymph node cells from TB rats was slightly depressed, 3) the removal of plastic or nylon-wool adherent cells or phagocytic cells from TB-spleen cells resulted in a restoration of the mitogen response, 4) the Con-A response of normal spleen cells could be suppressed by the addition of TB-whole spleen cells, 5) the suppressor cell activity was not abrogated by the in vitro treatment with x-irradiation (2000 rads), 6) carbonyl-iron treated TB-spleen cells showed a normal level of mitogen response, and on addback to normal spleen cells no suppressive activity was detected in them. Similar results were observed when spleen cells were obtained from BCGcw immunized rats. These results suggest that in ACI rats tumor-induced nonspecific suppressor cells detected by in vitro assay are the same cell populations as BCGcw-induced nonspecific suppressor cells.
Handbook of human evolution

Guide to Fossil Man. (Third edition.) By Michael H. Day. Pp. xviii+346. (University of Chicago Press: Chicago; Cassell: London, 1977.) $15; £7.95.
Development of Ag-sheathed Bi(2223) superconducting wires and coils

Abstract Silver-sheathed Bi(2223) superconducting wires with long length and high J c of over 10 4 A/cm 2 at 77.3 K in a zero magnetic field were developed by using the powder-in-tube method, and the performance of many application prototypes has progressed. For long wires, a multifilamentary structure is effective for good flexibility and it is easy to handle the long wire without degradation of superconducting properties. We have fabricated the prototype of a refrigerator-cooled magnet with the react and wind technique. This magnet has been operated at 21 K and generated 3.0 T in a 40φ mm room temperature bore (60 φ mm winding bore) and 2.5 T continuously for over 150 h.
A Rapid and Precise Method to Determine Cysteine Content in Food Materials using 4-(aminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

A method to determine cysteine content in food materials using 4-(aminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxidiazole (ABD-F) was compared to a method using N-acridinyl maleimide (NAM). Cysteine in samples was derivatized with two fluorogenic reagents and analyzed using HPLC. The cysteine derivative with ABD-F gave a single peak while the cysteine derivative with NAM produced three peaks in standard. The cysteine content in model samples determined with ABD-F was nearly identical to the content determined with NAM. However, when the cysteine content of six types of food materials was measured, four samples were identical in each method, but two samples produced different results because the separation of cysteine derivatives with NAM was influenced by other compounds in the food samples. Since the ABD-F method gave the better separation, it can be useful for the determination of cysteine content in food materials.
Large-scale read/write margin measurement in 45nm CMOS SRAM arrays

Distributions of read and write noise margins in large CMOS SRAM arrays are investigated by directly measuring the bit-line current during bitline / wordline (write) or cell supply (read) voltage sweep in a 768 Kb 45 nm CMOS SRAM test-chip. Good correlation between write/read margin estimates through the bit-line measurements and the DC read SNM (RSNM) and IW measurements in small on-chip SRAM macros with wired-out storage nodes are demonstrated. Four common writeability metrics are correlated and compared. Array-level characterization of SRAM cell read stability and writeability allow fast and accurate characterization of high-density SRAM arrays is scalable for capturing up to 6 standard deviations of parameter variations.
Implementation of the DPM Monte Carlo code on a parallel architecture for treatment planning applications.

We have parallelized the Dose Planning Method (DPM), a Monte Carlo code optimized for radiotherapy class problems, on distributed-memory processor architectures using the Message Passing Interface (MPI). Parallelization has been investigated on a variety of parallel computing architectures at the University of Michigan-Center for Advanced Computing, with respect to efficiency and speedup as a function of the number of processors. We have integrated the parallel pseudo random number generator from the Scalable Parallel Pseudo-Random Number Generator (SPRNG) library to run with the parallel DPM. The Intel cluster consisting of 800 MHz Intel Pentium III processor shows an almost linear speedup up to 32 processors for simulating 1×10 8 or more particles. The speedup results are nearly linear on an Athlon cluster (up to 24 processors based on availability) which consists of 1.8 GHz + Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon processors on increasing the problem size up to 8×10 8 histories. For a smaller number of histories (1×10 8 ) the reduction of efficiency with the Athlon cluster (down to 83.9% with 24 processors) occurs because the processing time required to simulate 1×10 8 histories is less than the time associated with interprocessor communication. A similar trend was seen with the Opteron Cluster (consisting of 1400 MHz, 64-bit AMD Opteron processors) on increasing the problem size. Because of the 64-bit architecture Opteron processors are capable of storing and processing instructions at a faster rate and hence are faster as compared to the 32-bit Athlon processors. We have validated our implementation with an in-phantom dose calculation study using a parallel pencil monoenergetic electron beam of 20 MeV energy. The phantom consists of layers of water, lung, bone, aluminum, and titanium. The agreement in the central axis depth dose curves and profiles at different depths shows that the serial and parallel codes are equivalent in accuracy.
Coronary angiography using fast selective inversion recovery.

Using a fast version of selective inversion recovery, we have obtained coronary angiograms of normal volunteers showing the proximal portions of the left coronary artery. Blood is tagged in the aortic root at end systole using a 2D inversion pulse. After a wash-in time of 300–600 ms, the coronary vessels are imaged with a 2- to 3-cm-thick slab in either axial or oblique projection. The scan is completed within a breathhold in 24 heartbeats. © 1991 Academic Press. Inc.
Rational Design of Macrometallocyclic Trinuclear Complexes with Superior π-Acidity and π-Basicity

Density functional theory (DFT) has been used to assess the π-acidity and π-basicity of metal−organic trimetallic macromolecular complexes of the type [M(μ-L)]3, where M = Cu, Ag, or Au and L = carbeniate, imidazolate, pyridiniate, pyrazolate, or triazolate. The organic compounds benzene, triazole, imidazole, pyrazole, and pyridine were also modeled, and their substituent effects were compared to those of the coinage metal trimers. Our results, based on molecular electrostatic potential surfaces and positive charge attraction energy curves, indicate that the metal−organic macromolecules show superior π-acidity and -basicity compared to their organic counterparts. Moreover, the metal−organic cyclic trimers are found to exhibit π-acidity and -basicity that can be systematically tuned both coarsely and finely by judicious variation of the bridging ligand (relative π-basicity imidazolate > pyridiniate > carbeniate > pyrazolate > triazolate), metal (relative π-basicity Au > Cu > Ag), and ligand substituents. T...
Time-dependent aspects of electron degradation—I. Subexcitation electrons in helium or neon admixed with nitrogen

Abstract We present an analysis of the kinetic competition between the moderation of subexcitation electrons in a background gas and the excitation of impurity molecules. The central element of our method is the energy distribution of subexcitation electrons as a function of energy and time. The distribution obeys a linear partial differential equation of the first order, which is in general analytically solvable. The analysis is applied to He and Ne gases admixed with N 2 , as studied by Cooper, Denison, and Sauer in their pulse radiolysis experiments. The temporal behavior of N 2 fluorescence, calculated from our analysis, agrees with experiment. The present treatment is an example of a general theory, which represents an extension of the Spencer-Fano theory to time-dependent cases.
Characterization of rotary scan wheels in thermal imaging systems

The characteristics of a polygon scan wheel in a thermal imaging system will be derived from equations involving system optical requirements. Quantities such as scan wheel radius, number of facets, wheel position, and resulting beam wander will be related to system characteristics such as aperture diameter, field of view, and scan efficiency. This will lead to a methodology whereby, for a given set of system requirements, a small set of optimal candidate designs can be generated. The packaging and cost requirements can then determine which candidate is most suitable for the application.
Frequency shift discrimination: Can homing pigeons locate infrasounds by Doppler shifts?

Homing pigeons can detect small shifts in sound frequency at 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 Hz. Their thresholds range from a 1% shift at 20 Hz to a 7% shift at 1 Hz. The frequency shifts used were designed to simulate the natural Doppler shifts resulting from changes in flight path. Their ability was sufficiently sensitive to make it feasible that natural Doppler shifts can be detected. Further tests indicated that the birds can perform true frequency discrimination when all subjective amplitude cues are removed. These laboratory tests are further steps in a series designed to find out if homing pigeons use infrasounds as cues for orientation and navigation.
Longitudinal Associations Between Television Viewing and Body Mass Index Among White and Black Girls

Abstract Purpose Childhood overweight is one of the most important public health problems facing America today, and time spent watching television has been proposed as a causal factor. This study examines the effects of television (TV) viewing on the trajectory of body mass index (BMI) over the course of adolescence. Methods We analyzed data on TV viewing and BMI from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study, a panel study of 2,379 white and black girls followed for up to 10 annual visits, beginning at age 9 or 10 years. Latent growth curve models were used to estimate the effects of daily TV viewing on the slope of BMI, one using TV viewing at age 10 to predict the trajectory of BMI from ages 11–14, and one using TV viewing at age 14 to predict BMI trajectory from ages 15–19. Models controlled for baseline BMI, physical activity, maturation stage, and socioeconomic status. Results For white girls, higher levels of baseline TV viewing were positively associated with a steeper trajectory of BMI for the 4 years following a baseline visit (ages 11–14 years, on average). TV viewing was not associated with the trajectory of BMI over the last five of the 10 visits. For black girls, TV viewing was not associated with either trajectory of BMI. Conclusions White girls who watched more TV at baseline showed a steeper increase in BMI over early adolescence compared to girls who watched less TV. TV viewing may be a factor contributing to overweight among young girls.
Outcome in ambulatory status immediately following hip fracture surgery in the acute setting: a comparison of nursing home residents and community older adults.

Objective To compare the ambulatory status following hip fracture surgery in the acute setting between older adults from long-term care facilities (LTCF) and the community. Setting A 650-bed, urban, inner city, university-affiliated teaching hospital. Methods One hundred forty hip fracture patients (60–97 years) from long-term care facilities and the community were examined. Ambulatory status before and after surgery was categorized four ways based on the degree of independence in ambulation: A1 = independent ambulation (with or without an assisting device), A2 = assistance of another person required, A3 = predominant use of a wheelchair, and A4 = bed-bound. Change in ambulatory status was designated as “moderate” if the deterioration was one status level only (A1 to A2, A2 to A3, and A3 to A4) or “major” if the deterioration was more than one status level (A1 to A3/A4 or A2 to A4). Additional variables such as age, sex, risk factors, length of stay, history of drug use, and laboratory results also were examined. Results Hip fracture patients from LTCF were older (P = 0.0160) and had more overall risk factors for hip fracture (P = 0.0039) than community patients. They also had higher rates of dementia (P Conclusions A greater decline in ambulatory status is seen in patients from LTCF than in community patients, immediately following hip fracture surgery. Compared with community patients, LTCF patients are also older, sicker (higher total risk score) and have an increased risk for a decline in functional status.
A faster divide-and-conquer algorithm for constructing delaunay triangulations

An easily implemented modification to the divide-and-conquer algorithm for computing the Delaunay triangulation ofn sites in the plane is presented. The change reduces its ź(n logn) expected running time toO(n log logn) for a large class of distributions that includes the uniform distribution in the unit square. Experimental evidence presented demonstrates that the modified algorithm performs very well forn≤216, the range of the experiments. It is conjectured that the average number of edges it creates--a good measure of its efficiency--is no more than twice optimal forn less than seven trillion. The improvement is shown to extend to the computation of the Delaunay triangulation in theLp metric for 1
Equilibrium vapor concentrations in the antimony + iodine system. Molar absorptivities of antimony(III) iodide vapor

Absorbances of vapors generated by various SbI3 + Sb and SbI3 + I2 mixtures have been measured over the wavelength interval 210−510 nm. Concentrations calculated from SbI3(l) vapor pressures published by various authors are compared and used to derive molar absorptivities of SbI3(g). Values, at 10 nm intervals, have been assigned for the temperature range 390−850 K. Except for small irregularities at higher temperatures for SbI3 + Sb mixtures (SbI?) and at the lowest temperatures for SbI3 + I2 mixtures (SbI5?) absorbance data can be satisfactorily explained assuming SbI3 to be the only compound of antimony in the vapor phase.
Interactions of kinked interfacial cracks

Abstract The interactions of kinked interfacial cracks between two dissimilar isotropic media subjected to remote tension are investigated in this paper. The analytical technique consists of the dislocation modeling of the kinks, and the formulation generalizes previous models for a single crack to a model for two strongly interacting cracks. For two sets of Dundurs parameters, it is shown that the dependence of the stress intensity factors and the energy release rate on the geometrical and material parameters can be very complex due to interaction and the asymmetry of the crack configuration. It is also shown that interaction can change the kinking behavior completely, and that discrepancies in the kink angle and the critical stress predictions of the maximum energy release rate and the maximum mode I stress intensity factor criteria are affected by interaction.
Impact of Ileocecal Resection and Concomitant Antibiotics on the Microbiome of the Murine Jejunum and Colon

Ileocecal resection (ICR) is a commonly required surgical intervention in unmanageable Crohn’s disease and necrotizing enterocolitis. However, the impact of ICR, and the concomitant doses of antibiotic routinely given with ICR, on the intestinal commensal microbiota has not been determined. In this study, wild-type C57BL6 mice were subjected to ICR and concomitant single intraperitoneal antibiotic injection. Intestinal lumen contents were collected from jejunum and colon at 7, 14, and 28 days after resection and compared to non-ICR controls. Samples were analyzed by16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and quantitative PCR. The intestinal microbiota was altered by 7 days after ICR and accompanying antibiotic treatment, with decreased diversity in the colon. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) decreased from 11.8 ± 1.8 in non-ICR controls to 5.9 ± 0.5 in 7-day post-ICR samples. There were also minor effects in the jejunum where PD values decreased from 8.3 ± 0.4 to 7.5 ± 1.4. PCoA analysis indicated that bacterial populations 28 days post-ICR differed significantly from non-ICR controls. Moreover, colon and jejunum bacterial populations were remarkably similar 28 days after resection, whereas the initial communities differed markedly. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the predominant phyla in jejunum and colon before ICR; however, Firmicutes became the vastly predominant phylum in jejunum and colon 28 days after ICR. Although the microbiota returned towards a homeostatic state, with re-establishment of Firmicutes as the predominant phylum, we did not detect Bacteroidetes in the colon 28 days after ICR. In the jejunum Bacteroidetes was detected at a 0.01% abundance after this time period. The changes in jejunal and colonic microbiota induced by ICR and concomitant antibiotic injection may therefore be considered as potential regulators of post-surgical adaptive growth or function, and in a setting of active IBD, potential contributors to post-surgical pathophysiology of disease recurrence.
Power calculations for detecting interaction in stratified 2×2 tables

Abstract Given several 2×2 contingency tables, the first step in epidemiologic research is to test for homogeneity of odds ratios across these tables. A second problem of equal interest, but often overlooked, is to evaluate the power of detection of interaction if it is present. We address the latter issue in the context of 2×2 contingency tables. For the 2×2×2 case, given the marginal totals and the odds ratios for the respective two tables, we provide a closed form power formula for the rejection of the null hypothesis of homogeneity of the odds ratios. For several 2×2 tables, we provide a resampling approach to assessing the power for detecting interaction, if present.
Cascade type-I quantum well diode lasers emitting 960 mW near 3 μm

The cascade pumping scheme reduced the threshold current density of high power type-I quantum well GaSb-based λ ∼ 3 μm diode lasers down to ∼100 A/cm2 at room temperature. Laser heterostructures had single GaInAsSb quantum well gain stages connected in series by means of GaSb/AlSb/InAs tunnel junctions followed by InAs/AlSb electron injectors. Devices with densely stacked two and three gain stages and 100-μm-wide aperture demonstrated peak power conversion efficiency of 16% and continuous wave output power of 960 mW. Corresponding narrow ridge lasers demonstrated above 100 mW of output power. The experiment showed that the bandwidth of the gain and its rate of increase with current depended strongly on the thickness of AlSb layer separating electron injectors from quantum wells. The possible impact of electron injector interfaces and ionized impurities on the carrier scattering and recombination in the active quantum well is discussed.
Response of Irrigated Acala and Pima Cotton to Nitrogen Fertilization

Acala (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Pima (G. barbadense L.) cotton growth, lint yield, and fiber quality responses to N in the San Joaquin Valley, CA were evaluated. Numerous reasons, including adaptation of N fertilization guidelines to modern production practices, recent increases in energy costs, and growing concerns about NO3 contamination of ground water, led to the initiation of this study. Acala was grown for 3 yr on a Panoche day loam [fine-loamy, mixed (calcareous), thermic Typic Torriorthents] and a Wasco sandy loam (coarseloamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic Typic Torriorthents). Pima was grown for 2 yr on the Panoche clay loam. Four N treatments were established in a randomized complete block design: 56, 112, 168, and 224 kg N ha -1 . Three-year average aboveground dry matter production of Acala was 7800 and 12 600 kg ha -1 on the Panoche clay loam and 8500 and 11 900 kg ha -1 on the Wasco sandy loam for the 56 and 168 kg N ha -1 treatments, respectively. The equivalent 2-yr averages for Pima were 7600 (56 kg N ha -1 ) and 10 800 kg ha -1 (168 kg N ha -1 ). Linear increases in lint yield with increased N fertility level occurred for Acala on Panoche clay loam in every year. Maximum lint yield averaged over 3 yr was 1842 kg ha -1 in the 224 kg N ha -1 treatment. The response of Acala lint yield to N management on the Wasco sandy loam was smaller than on Panoche clay loam, with a maximum lint yield of 1666 kg ha -1 (224 kg N ha -1 , 3-yr average). Pima lint yield responded to N management in a quadratic fashion with maximum yields in the 168 kg N ha -1 treatment in both years (1638 kg ha -1 , 2-yr average). Acala gin turnouts were greater at the Panoche than at the Wasco site. Decreases in gin turnout with increasing N were significant on the Panoche clay loam (Acala and Pima) but not on the Wasco sandy loam (Acala). There was a generally positive relationship between increasing N fertilization and yield; however, efficient N management should include an assessment of available soil residual N, soil type, and yearly climatic conditions.
Propagation of a Long‐Lived and Threatened Prairie Plant, Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii

Willamette Valley upland prairie in western Oregon, U.S.A. has been severely degraded and fragmented in the past 150 years after European settlement, resulting in vast population reductions of endemic species. Icaricia icarioides fenderi (Fender's blue butterfly) and Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii (Kincaid's lupine) are federally listed as Endangered and Threatened Species, respectively. Both are Willamette Valley upland prairie endemics, and Kincaid's lupine is the primary host plant for the Fender's blue butterfly. Attempts to grow Kincaid's lupine have been partially successful in a greenhouse situation; however, propagating plants from field-sown seed can be tenuous and plant establishment is unpredictable. Kincaid's lupine seeds were planted in the fall 1997 at two different upland prairie sites, and the cohort was followed through the summer 2000. Based on cohort tables the most vulnerable life stages to mortality are the germinant stage and the first growing year. Mechanical scarification of Kincaid's lupine seeds yielded no significant differences in survivorship, maternal function, plant size, and the percentage of seeds germinated compared with unscarified seeds. Differential seed source performance detected at one planting site suggests that underlying differences in population genetics may affect Kincaid's lupine vigor, fitness, and establishment. Future restoration projects for Kincaid's lupine should focus on upland prairie sites with naturally occur ring lupine populations because local ecological conditions are favorable for lupine establishment. Moreover, the addition of new individuals to small Kincaid's lupine colonies will buffer against the effects of inbreeding depression and increase the site carrying capacity for Fender's blue butterfly.
A further study on the morphology and biochemistry of X-ray and dibutyryl cyclic AMP-induced differentiated neuroblastoma cells in culture

Abstract Dibutyryl cyclic AMP-induced morphological differentiation of mouse neuroblastoma cells in culture required the synthesis of new protein but not of new RNA. An appreciable increase in RNA synthesis, a slight increase in protein synthesis and a marked decrease in DNA synthesis occurred in the dibutyryl cyclic AMP-induced differentiated cells. Tyrosine hydroxylase activity which is barely detectable in the control neuroblastoma culture markedly increased after treatment with dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Sodium butyrate, which inhibited cell division without causing morphological differentiation also increased tyrosine hydroxylase activity, but to a lesser degree. 3′5′ Cyclic AMP and 5′AMP which inhibited cell division without causing morphological differentiation did not increase the enzyme activity. X-irradiation produced inhibition of cell division and morphological differentiation similar to that observed with dibutyryl cyclic AMP, but the tyrosine hydroxylase activity did not increase. The irradiated cells, nevertheless, retained the potential to manifest increased tyrosine hydroxylase levels upon subsequent exposure to either dibutyryl cyclic AMP or sodium butyrate. The present data suggest that increased tyrosine hydroxylase levels in neuroblastoma cells is not inextricably linked to morphological changes which are presumed to reflect cellular differentiation.
Tungsten–titanium diffusion barriers for silver metallization

Abstract Diffusion barrier properties and thermal stability of reactive sputtered W–Ti films between Ag and Si were studied using X-ray diffractometry, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, four point probe analysis, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. These films were annealed in vacuum at different temperatures for 1 h. Silver layers were found to be stable up to 600 °C; after which, Ag agglomerated at 700 °C. Rutherford backscattering analysis showed that interfacial reactions took place at temperatures higher than 400 °C. Four point probe resistivity measurements showed that the films were stable up to 600 °C. At 700 °C the resistivity increased abnormally. These results support further investigation of W–Ti films as a potential barrier layer for Ag metallization in the high temperature electronics.
Geochemical and detrital mode evidence for two sources of Early Proterozoic sedimentary rocks from the Tonto Basin Supergroup, central Arizona—discussion

Article original : Condie, K.C; Noll, P.D.J. and Conways, C.M; 1992. Sediment. Geol; 77: 51-76.
New quenching rates applicable to the KrF laser

Photolysis of KrF2 has been used to measure the rates of collisional quenching of KrF(B) excimers in two‐ and three‐body collisions with Ar, Kr, and F2. In addition, the KrF(B→X) band radiative lifetime was determined to be 6.8±0.2 ns. The results are in good agreement with existing theory and demonstrate the importance of quenching to KrF laser performance.
The Role of Blood Osmolality and Volume in Regulating Vasopressin Secretion in the Rat

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been used to study the effects of blood osmolality and volume in regulating AVP secretion in unanesthetized rats. Under basal conditions, plasma AVP and osmolality were relatively constant, averaging 2.3+/-0.9 (SD) pg/ml and 294+/-1.4 mosmol/kg, respectively. Fluid restriction, which increased osmolality and decreased volume, resulted in a progressive rise in plasma AVP to about 10 times basal levels after 96 h. A 2-3-fold increase in plasma AVP occurred as early as 12 h, when osmolality and volume had each changed by less than 2%. Intraperitoneal injections of hypertonic saline, which had no effect on blood volume, also produced a rise in plasma AVP that was linearly correlated with the rise in osmolality (r > 0.9) and quantitatively similar to that found during fluid restriction (plasma AVP increased 2-4-fold with each 1% increase in osmolality). Intraperitoneal injection of polyethylene glycol, which decreased blood volume without altering osmolality, also increased plasma AVP but this response followed an exponential pattern and did not become significant until volume had decreased by 8% or more. At these levels of hypovolemia, the osmoregulatory system continued to function but showed a lower threshold and increase sensitivity to osmotic stimulation. We conclude that AVP secretion is regulated principally by blood osmolality but that the responsiveness of this mechanism may be significantly altered by modest changes in blood volume.
Victorian refashioning: Rosalind as a paragon of victorian womanhood

This essay investigates how Victorians refashioned Rosalind to make her conform to that era's "Angel-of-the-House" ideal of femininity. The study examines three sites where this refashioning transpired: the stage, literary criticism, and literary texts in which Rosalind appears. Nineteenth-century efforts to establish Rosalind as a paragon of womanhood usually followed one or both of the following methods. First, Victorians downplayed Rosalind's independence, aggressiveness, and wit, emphasizing instead her modesty, emotionalism, and serviceableness. Second, they portrayed Celia as especially admirable for her greater humility, self-sacrifice, and tenderness, providing a contrast to show how Rosalind, or any woman, must tame herself.
Equifinality and Multifinality as Guides for Preventive Interventions: HIV Risk/Protection Among American Indian Young Adults

CONTENTS Editorial-Primary Prevention and the Future of the World's Children Martin Bloom 305-308Substance Abuse Early Prevention Programs for Young Children with School Difficulties Peter W. Dowrick, Carl G. Leukefeld, Robert A. Stodden 309-328Prevention of Problem Gambling: Modifying Misconceptions and Increasing Knowledge Among Canadian Youths Robert Ladouceur, Francine Ferland, Frank Vitaro 329-335The Prevention of Substance Abuse Among Construction Workers: A Field Test of a Social-Cognitive Program Royer F. Cook, Rebekah K. Hersch, Anita S. Back, Tracy L. McPherson 337-357Zones of Narrative Safety: Promoting Psychosocial Resilience in Young People Saundra Murray Nettles, Michael J. Mason 359-373Trainers' Behavior and Participants' Persistence in a Longitudinal Preventive Intervention for Disruptive Boys Pierre Charlebois, Frank Vitaro, Sylvie Normandeau, Mara Brendgen, Normand Rondeau 375-388Book Review: Preventing Falls: A Defensive Approach. J. Thomas Hutton, Jeffrey W. Elias, JoAnn Leavey Shroyer, & Zane Curry (Eds.). Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2000, $18.95 (paper), 115 pp. Martin Bloom 389-390Book Review: Preventing and Managing Osteoporosis. Sarah Hall Gueldner, M. Susan Burke, & Helen Smiciklas-Wright (Eds.). Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002, $18 (paper), 202 pp. Martin Bloom 391-392