cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Delayed Operation as a Major Risk Factor for Mortality Among Elderly Patients with Ventral Hernia Admitted Emergently: An Analysis of 33,700 Elderly Patients

BACKGROUND Elderly patients admitted emergently for ventral hernia may have high rates of complications, including morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to retrospectively assess risk factors for in-hospital mortality for elderly patients admitted emergently with a primary diagnosis of ventral hernia. METHODS Elderly patients with ventral hernia that required emergency admission were analyzed using the National Inpatient Sample database, 2005-2014. Demographics, clinical data, and outcomes were collected. The relationship between mortality and the predictors was assessed using a stratified analysis, multivariable logistic regression model, and multivariable generalized additive model. RESULTS A total of 33,700 elderly patients were analyzed. The mean (SD) age for males and females was 75 (7.25) and 76.25 (7.75) years, respectively (p<0.001). Approximately 70% of the patients were females. The mean (SD) hospital length of stay (HLOS) was 6.3 (6.5) and 11.6 (13.7) days in survived vs. deceased patients (p<0.001), respectively. Gangrene was present in 1.5% of survivors vs. 5.6% of deceased (p<0.001) patients. Intestinal obstruction was observed in 78% of survivors vs. 88% of deceased patients (p<0.001). Of the 8,554 cases managed non-operatively, 2.1% died. In contrast, in the 25,163 patients who were operated upon, the mortality rate was 2.9%. The mean (SD) HLOS was 7.39 (7.41) days in patients who had an operation vs. 3.82 (3.48) days in those who did not (p<0.0001). Time to operation was 1.12 (1.97) days in survivors vs. 1.81 (3.02) days in deceased patients (p<0.001). In the final multivariable logistic regression model for patients who underwent an operation, delayed operation, elderly male, frailty, invasive diagnostic procedures and presence of gangrene or obstruction were the main risk factors for mortality. In the final model for patients who did not have an operation, age, frailty, presence of gangrene or obstruction and HLOS were the main risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSION A delayed operation in elderly males and frail patients with intestinal obstruction or gangrene admitted emergently due to ventral hernia significantly increases mortality in this setting.
Attitudes, experiences, and safety behaviours of adolescents and young adults who read visit notes: Opportunities to engage patients early in their care

ABSTRACT The Cures Act made access to electronic visit notes (‘open notes’) nearly universal across the USA, and efforts to share open notes with patients are underway worldwide. This landmark policy change provides an opportunity to engage adolescents and young adults (AYA) early in their care, yet little is known about their attitudes related to reading notes. We compared the responses of 332 AYA (13-25 years old) and 6,914 adults (>25 years old) in a 2016 survey at two USA academic adult and paediatric hospitals. Over 85% of AYA and adults with available notes reported reading at least one note in the prior year. AYA reported similar benefits from note-reading to adults in 15 outcomes related to engagement, relational effects and safety behaviours, supporting efforts to engage AYA as partners in their care using open notes.
Head movements in non-terrestrial force environments elicit motion sickness: implications for the etiology of space motion sickness.

Space motion sickness has become an operational concern in manned space flight. Considerable evidence exists that head movements in free fall, especially pitch movements, are provocative until adaptation occurs. The question arises whether space motion sickness is an unique nosological entity or is due to body movements in a nonterrestrial force environment, a force environment for which the body's dynamic sensory-motor adaptions to 1 G are no longer appropriate. To evaluate this issue, subjects were asked to make controlled head movements during exposure to high gravitoinertial force levels, 1.8-2.0 G, in parabolic flight maneuvers. Head movements in pitch with eyes open were most evocative of motion sickness, yaw movements with eyes covered were least provocative. This pattern is identical to that which occurs when the same types of head movements are made in the free fall phase of parabolic maneuvers. It appears that space motion sickness is the consequence of prolonged exposure to a nonterrestrial force background rather than of exposure to free fall per se.
Cardiovascular control by the rostral ventrolateral medulla in the conscious dog.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the experiments that were conducted on the chronically instrumented dog to provide information on the role of rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) in generating vasomotor tone in the absence of anesthetics and in the presence of normal hormonal, blood volume, and reflex regulatory mechanisms, which also influence the maintenance of arterial pressure. Additional information on the functional specificity of neurons within RVLM can also be obtained by measuring cardiac output and regional blood flows. In addition, respiratory changes can be observed in the spontaneously breathing, relaxed animal. The concept of a group of tonically active neurons, the “tonic vasomotor center” dedicated to the production of vasomotor tone, is supported by the decreased mean arterial pressure (MAP) observed during rest and active states. This confirms the predictions regarding RVLM from many studies using anesthetized models. One unique observation in the dog, however, is that heart rate is not decreased along with MAP but rather is increased. Because the dog displays vagomotor tone closer to that of the human than the rat or cat, this probably represents normal baroreceptor reflex compensation for the lower arterial pressure and demonstrates the intact parasympathetic cardiomotor pathway.
Abstract P379: The Burden of Hypertension in US Emergency Departments - a report from 2006-2010 HCUP Nationwide Emergency Department Sample

Background: In spite of temporal advancements in medicine, hypertension (HTN) remains a leading cardiovascular risk factor with suboptimal rates of control. The burden imposed by this cardiovascular risk factor on the nation’s emergency system is not well-understood. We sought to characterize emergency department (ED) visits among adults ≥18 years that included a diagnosis of hypertension in the 2006-2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Methods: We defined hypertension using ICD-9 diagnosis codes based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicators for potentially preventable conditions. Appropriate sampling weights were applied to obtain national estimates and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Over the 5-year period, the estimated total annual rate of ED visits among US adults was 98.3 million - 19.9% (n=19,534,992) of these visits included HTN as diagnosis. Rates of ED visits with HTN tended to increase over time [2006: 18.1 (17.6 - 18.6), 2007: 19.0 (18.5 - 19.5); 2008: 20.0 (19....
The superthreaded architecture: thread pipelining with run-time data dependence checking and control speculation

This peeper presents a new concurrent multiple-threaded architectural model, called superthreading, for exploiting thread-level parallelism on a processor. This architectural model adopts a thread pipelining execution model that allows threads with data dependences and control dependences to be executed in parallel. The basic idea of thread pipelining is to compute and forward recurrence data and possible dependent store addresses to the next thread as soon as possible, so the next thread can start execution and perform run-time data dependence checking. Thread pipelining also forces contiguous threads to perform their memory write-backs in order, which enables the compiler to fork threads with control speculation. With run-time support for data dependence checking and control speculation, the superthreaded architectural model can exploit loop-level parallelism from a broad range of applications.
Bitoric rigid gas permeable contact lenses in the optical management of penetrating keratoplasty.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the complexity and effectiveness of fitting bitoric rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGPCLs), compared to spherical RGPCLS, when used in the correction of high amounts of post-penetrating keratoplasty astigmatism. Methods Records of post-penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) patients being managed with bitoric RGPCLs were compared to controls (post-PKP patients managed with spherical RGPCLs). Factors that were analyzed included the number of diagnostic RGPCLs used to assess the initial fit, the number of RGPCLs ordered to finalize the fit and the number of total doctor visits to finalize the fit. Results Fourteen eyes of 14 patients satisfied the study criteria. The average amount of total astigmatism in this study group was 10.0 D ± 5.0 compared to the control group which was 3.3 D ± 2.6. The number of diagnostic RGPCLs used for the study group was 1.2 ± 0.4 compared to 1.0 ± 0.0 for the control group. The mean number of contact lenses ordered to complete the fitting for the study group was 1.9 ± 0.7 compared to the control which was 2.1 ± 0.8. The study group presented for an average of 6.3 ± 1.6 visits whereas the control group presented for 4.9 ± 1.1 visits. Contact lens corrected acuity for the study group was 0.101 ± 0.11 (20/25) compared to the control group 0.08 ± 0.12 (20/24). Conclusions The complexity of fitting bitoric RGPCLs was found to be similar to fitting spherical RGPCLs on post-PKP eyes and the visual outcomes were not different.
Roux en Y Gastric Bypass Increases Ethanol Intake in the Rat

Roux en Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is currently the most effective therapy employed to treat obesity and its associated complications. In addition to weight loss and resolution of metabolic syndromes, such as diabetes, the RYGB procedure has been reported to increase alcohol consumption in humans. Using an outbred rodent model, we demonstrate that RYGB increases postsurgical ethanol consumption, that this effect cannot be explained solely by postsurgical weight loss and that it is independent of presurgical body weight or dietary composition. Altered ethanol metabolism and postsurgical shifts in release of ghrelin were also unable to account for changes in alcohol intake. Further investigation of the potential physiological factors underlying this behavioral effect identified altered patterns of gene expression in brain regions associated with reward following RYGB surgery. These findings have important clinical implications as they demonstrate that RYGB surgery leads directly to increased alcohol intake in otherwise alcohol nonpreferring rat and induces neurobiological changes in brain circuits that mediate a variety of appetitive behaviors.
Catatonia as a manifestation of tacrolimus-induced neurotoxicity in organ transplant patients: a case series

Tacrolimus has been associated with severe neurotoxicity in organ transplant patients. Catatonia can be a rare manifestation of tacrolimus-induced neurotoxicity as we report two cases of catatonia in solid organ transplant patients on tacrolimus. Catatonic symptoms completely resolved in these patients after reducing the tacrolimus dosage or switching it to alternative immunosuppressants. Catatonia symptoms in organ transplant patients should alert clinicians to look for tacrolimus-induced neurotoxicity despite normal serum tacrolimus levels and neuroimaging findings.
Construction of markovian coalescents

Abstract Partition-valued and measure-valued coalescent Markov processes are constructed whose state describes the decomposition of a finite total mass m into a finite or countably infinite number of masses with sum m , and whose evolution is determined by the following intuitive prescription: each pair of masses of magnitudes x and y runs the risk of a binary collision to form a single mass of magnitude x + y at rate к ( x,y ), for some non-negative, symmetric collision rate kernel к ( x,y ). Such processes with finitely many masses have been used to model polymerization, coagulation, condensation, and the evolution of galactic clusters by gravitational attraction. With a suitable choice of state space, and under appropriate restrictions on к and the initial distribution of mass, it is shown that such processes can be constructed as Feller or Fellerlike processes. A number of further results are obtained for the additive coalescent with collision kernel к ( x,y ) = x + y . This process, which arises from the evolution of tree components in a random graph process, has asymptotic properties related to the stable subordinator of index 1/2.
Mechanisms and parameterizations of geostrophic adjustment and a variational approach to balanced flow

Abstract Geostrophic balance is shown to be the minimum energy state, for a given linear potential vorticity field, for small deviations of the height field around a resting state, in the shallow-water equations. This includes (but is not limited to) the linearized shallow-water equations. Quasigeostrophic motion is evolution on the slow manifold defined by advection of linear potential vorticity by the velocity field that minimizes that energy. Other linear and nonlinear arguments suggest that geostrophic adjustment is a process whereby the energy of a flow is minimized consistent with the maintenance of the potential vorticity field. A variational calculation that minimizes energy for a given potential vorticity field leads to a balance relationship that for the unapproximated shallow-water equations is similar but not identical to geostrophic balance. Preliminary numerical evidence, involving the inversion of potential vorticity for a simple model, indicates that this balance is a somewhat better appro...
Pregnancy behind bars

Since the 1960s, the cycle of violence and drug use has mounted and an increasing number of people are being incarcerated. Coincident with this phenomena, we have experienced rising rates of morbidity and mortality among the incarcerated, many of whom suffer from infectious diseases. In fact, the spread of diseases like tuberculosis has been facilitated by the congregate nature of the penal system. As the number of people behind bars has risen, we have seen a disproportionate increase in the number of women incarcerated, most of whom are in their childbearing years. The number of pregnant women in jails and prisons has, in turn, been escalating. Certain prenatal interventions are described and evaluated in the literature, which we review in this article. Experience with the prenatal program in the New York City jail system is described. In general, the authors' position is that as society chooses a social policy of incarceration to address the problems of violence and drug use, there is solid public health reason to design and implement comprehensive prenatal programs in correctional facilities with connections to community-based health services.
Pheromone deposition on leaf territories by male Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Male Caribbean fruit flies apply everted anal membranes associated with pheromone glands to the substrate while on leaf territories. There is a peak in abdominal dipping at the onset of the photoperiod, followed by a decline and then a more extensive period of activity in the second half of the photoperiod. During peak signaling periods, most males had a distinct set of lateral abdominal phermone glands protruded for most of the time. However, the frequency of anal pheromone gland dipping varied considerably over time. Episodes of wing fanning (which may disperse pheromones) and abdomen dipping coincide during a male's tenure on a host leaf. Host-plant leaves were contained for 48 h with signaling males or immature females or kept without insects. Several, though not all, of the constituents of the pheromone were found on leaves within 1 h of removing signaling males. None of these compounds occurred on either type of control leaf. Mature virgin female flies were more likely to be found in contact with host leaves that had been previously exposed for 48 h to the activities of sexually mature males than with unexposed control leaves. There was no difference in the reaction of mature virgin female flies to unexposed control leaves or leaves previously exposed to the activities of other sexually immature female or male flies for 48 h. Presumably, the deposition of pheromones by mature males accounts for the difference in reactions.
Identification of the D2-dopamine receptor binding subunit in several mammalian tissues and species by photoaffinity labeling.

Photoaffinity labeling of the D2--dopamine receptor in plasma membrane preparations of various tissues from several mammalian species was performed using the recently developed D2--dopaminergic antagonist probe [125I]N-(p-azidophenethyl)spiperone ([125I]N3--NAPS). In tissues containing D2--receptors such as the corpus striatum from rat, dog, calf, hamster, guinea pig, and rabbit as well as the anterior pituitary of rat, bovine, and hamster, the probe covalently labels a peptide of Mr= 94,000. Specificity of the labeling is typically D2--dopaminergic in character. The covalent labeling is blocked by (+)-butaclamol but not by the inactive (-) isomer. Agonists block incorporation with the order of potency: N-n-propylnorapomorphine > apomorphine > dopamine. The D2--selective antagonist spiperrone blocks labeling of the Mr= 94,000 peptide whereas the D1--selective antagonist SCH-23390 is ineffective. Thus, these results indicate that the ligand binding subunit of the D2--dopamine receptor resides on a Mr= 94,000 peptide in these various tissues from several species. Under conditions where proteolysis is not stringently controlled, peptides of lower Mr (32–38,000) are labeled at the expense of the Mr= 94,000 peptide. The most efficient protease inhibitor tested in these systems was EDTA, suggesting that the generation of these lower Mr receptor fragments might be the result of a metal-dependent proteolysis in the membrane preparations. In the rat neurointermediate lobe, a tissue containing D2--receptors. [125I]N3--NAPS specifically labels a major peptide of Mr± 120,000 in addition to the Mr= 94,000 peptide. This peptide may represent an unprocessed or differently processed form of the receptor or a pharmacologically similar but biochemically distinct form of the receptor in this tissue. Alternatively, the Mr= 94,000 peptide labeled in all the other tissues, even under the conditions used, may already represent a fragment of this high-Mr peptide.
A comparison of the digestibility of Atlas sorgo silages with corn silage.

Summary Silages made from component parts of Atlas sorgo plants were compared in digestion trials to silages made from two corn hybrids and RS 301, a sterile hybrid sorghum. Of the silages tested, Coker 911 corn silage had the most TDN. The Dixie 82 corn silage and RS 301 sorghum silage were very similar in TDN content. The removal of the heads from Atlas sorgo plants did not lower the crude protein content of the resulting silage. However, the Atlas sorgo silage in all preparations was inferior to the corn silages and the RS 301 sorghum silage as a source of both crude and digestible protein. The protein in Atlas sorgo stalks fed as silage is largely unavailable to the animal. The addition of grain sorghum heads to Atlas sorgo plants did not improve the TDN value of the resultant silage. The energy from the extra heads from grain sorghum plants was apparently not utilized very efficiently, as they passed through the animals undigested in large quantities. High-quality silage can be made from a sorghum which sets no seed, as shown with the RS 301. The grain in Atlas sorgo silage is apparently not essential for making good quality silage. Corn, unlike the sorghums, depends on the grain for a large proportion of its TDN value. The coefficients of digestibility of all nutrients studied were larger for the corn silage having the greater proportion of ears.
Mössbauer studies of glasses and supercooled liquids

Abstract Several examples of Mossbauer spectra taken from amorphous materials are presented. The purpose is to help assess whether this technique is likely to be useful in the determination of structure for non-crystalline solids. One conclusion is that, except for iron, the resolution is poor and unique interpretations are unlikely. A second conclusion is that in a glass formed from FeCl 2 ·9H 2 O the microenvironment is very uniform, as might be expected from a continuous-random-network model.
The AddAB Helicase/Nuclease Forms a Stable Complex with Its Cognate χ Sequence During Translocation

The Bacillus subtilis AddAB enzyme possesses ATP-dependent helicase and nuclease activities, which result in the unwinding and degradation of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) upon translocation. Similar to its functional counterpart, the Escherichia coli RecBCD enzyme, it also recognizes and responds to a specific DNA sequence, referred to as Chi (χ). Recognition of χ triggers attenuation of the 3′- to 5′-nuclease, which permits the generation of recombinogenic 3′-overhanging, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), terminating at χ. Although the RecBCD enzyme briefly pauses atχ, no specific binding of RecBCD toχ during translocation has been documented. Here, we show that the AddAB enzyme transiently binds to its cognate χ sequence (χBs: 5′-AGCGG-3′) during translocation. The binding of AddAB enzyme to the 3′-end of the χBs-specific ssDNA results in protection from degradation by exonuclease I. This protection is gradually reduced with time and lost upon phenol extraction, showing that the binding is non-covalent. Addition of AddAB enzyme to processed, χBs-specific ssDNA that had been stripped of all protein does not restore nuclease protection, indicating that AddAB enzyme binds toχBs with high affinity only during translocation. Finally, protection of χBs-specific ssDNA is still observed when translocation occurs in the presence of competitor χBs-carrying ssDNA, showing that binding occurs in cis. We suggest that this transient binding of AddAB toχBs is an integral part of the AddAB-χBs interaction and propose that this molecular event underlies a general mechanism for regulating the biochemical activities and biological functions of RecBCD-like enzymes.
Potency evaluation of tissue engineered and regenerative medicine products

Methodologies for the rigorous and quantitative evaluation of biological activity or potency are an essential aspect of the developmental pathway for all biologic product candidates. Such assays typically leverage key mechanistic pathways demonstrated to mediate observed therapeutic outcomes. Tissue engineered/regenerative medicine (TE/RM) therapeutics include cell based therapies as well as engineered tissues and neo-organs for which clarity regarding the mechanism or mechanisms of action may not be forthcoming. Here, we discuss how strategies for the development of potency assays for TE/RM product candidates may harness potential mechanisms of action or other therapeutically relevant bioactivity along with cell number and viability. As the pipeline for TE/RM product candidates expands through 2014 and beyond, the establishment of a defined framework for potency assays will facilitate successful translational outcomes.
Proof of the completeness of the classification of rational conformal theories with c=1

Abstract By using the Serre-Stark theorem we prove that the list of rational conformal theories with c =1, given by Ginsparg, is in fact complete.
The magnetic field dependence of R 0 A products in n-on-p homojunctions and p-on-n heterojunctions from Hg 0.78 Cd 0.22 Te liquid phase epitaxy films

The analysis of R0A products as a function of magnetic field in n-on-p diodes using a simple diffusion current model has previously been shown to yield both Jep/Jtotal ratio (the relative contribution of the p-side diffusion current) and μep (the minority carrier, electron mobility). In this paper, we report the good agreement between the experimental and theoretical dependence of μep on the hole concentration over a wide range between 1 x 1016 and 4 x 1017 cm−3 in n-on-p homojunction diodes fabricated on undoped p-type Hg0.78Cd0.22Te liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) films. The averaged Jep/Jtotal ratio varied between 68 and 90% with the hole concentration. These Jep/Jtotal ratios indicate that other leakage current mechanisms than the p-side diffusion current were not negligible. Also, for the first time, comparative measurements were made on p+/n heterojunction diodes consisting of As-doped Hg0.07Cd0.30Te and In-doped Hg0.78Cd0.22Te LPE layers. Unlike a typical change in R0A products by a factor of 2–3 in n-on-p homojunction diodes, the R0A products in p+/n heterojunction diodes at 7 kG were typically only 2–3% higher than that at the zero field. The typical Jep/Jtotal ratio in p+/n heterojunction diodes was about 3–4 %, which confirms the general belief that the p+ cap layer, due to the high doping and a larger bandgap, contributes very little to the total leakage current.
Asymptotics of the extremal excedance set statistic

Abstract For non-negative integers r and s with r + s = n − 1 , let [ b r a s ] denote the number of permutations π ∈ S n which have the property that π ( i ) > i if, and only if, i ∈ [ r ] = { 1 , … , r } . Answering a question of Clark and Ehrenborg (2010), we determine asymptotics on [ b r a s ] when r = ⌊ ( n − 1 ) / 2 ⌋ : [ b ⌊ ( n − 1 ) / 2 ⌋ a ⌈ ( n − 1 ) / 2 ⌉ ] = ( 1 2 log 2 ( 1 − log 2 ) + o ( 1 ) ) ( 1 2 log 2 ) n n ! . We also determine asymptotics on [ b r a s ] for a suitably related r = Θ ( s ) → ∞ . Our proof depends on multivariate asymptotic methods of R. Pemantle and M.C. Wilson. We also consider two applications of our main result. One, we determine asymptotics on the number of permutations π ∈ S n which simultaneously avoid the vincular patterns 21-34 and 34-21, i.e., for which π is order-isomorphic to neither (2, 1, 3, 4) nor (3, 4, 2, 1) on any coordinates 1 ≤ i i + 1 j j + 1 ≤ n . We also determine asymptotics on the number of n -cycles π ∈ C n which avoid stretching pairs, i.e., those for which 1 ≤ π ( i ) i j π ( j ) ≤ n .
Natural Logic for Textual Inference

This paper presents the first use of a computational model of natural logic---a system of logical inference which operates over natural language---for textual inference. Most current approaches to the PASCAL RTE textual inference task achieve robustness by sacrificing semantic precision; while broadly effective, they are easily confounded by ubiquitous inferences involving monotonicity. At the other extreme, systems which rely on first-order logic and theorem proving are precise, but excessively brittle. This work aims at a middle way. Our system finds a low-cost edit sequence which transforms the premise into the hypothesis; learns to classify entailment relations across atomic edits; and composes atomic entailments into a top-level entailment judgment. We provide the first reported results for any system on the FraCaS test suite. We also evaluate on RTE3 data, and show that hybridizing an existing RTE system with our natural logic system yields significant performance gains.
Capacity for survival: Exploring strengths of homeless street youth

The majority of research on homeless youth has focused on the multitude of problems faced by this vulnerable population. The current study, while acknowledging the hazards of life on the streets, seeks to explore the personal strengths and informal resources street youth rely on to navigate their environments. Qualitative data from seven focus groups conducted with street youth ages 18–24 were analyzed using content analysis. These data, rich with interactions among youth participants, highlight three important themes: developing “street smarts,” existence of personal strengths, and informal resources relied upon by youth to survive. Results provide valuable insights into the strengths of homeless youth that can be useful to providers in assessing street youths’ service needs and increasing the likelihood of long-term positive outcomes.
Using templates to elicit implied security requirements from functional requirements - a controlled experiment

Context: Security requirements for software systems can be challenging to identify and are often overlooked during the requirements engineering process. Existing functional requirements of a system can imply the need for security requirements. Systems having similar security objectives (e.g., confidentiality) often also share security requirements that can be captured in the form of reusable templates and instantiated in the context of a system to specify security requirements.Goal: We seek to improve the security requirements elicitation process by automatically suggesting appropriate security requirement templates implied by existing functional requirements.Method: We conducted a controlled experiment involving 50 graduate students enrolled in a software security course to evaluate the use of automatically-suggested templates in eliciting implied security requirements. Participants were divided into treatment (automatically-suggested templates) and control groups (no templates provided).Results: Participants using our templates identified 42% of all the implied security requirements in the oracle as compared to the control group, which identified only 16% of the implied security requirements. Template usage increased the efficiency of security requirements identified per unit of time.Conclusion: Automatically-suggested templates helped participants (security non-experts) think about security implications for the software system and consider more security requirements than they would have otherwise. We found that participants need more incentive than just a participatory grade when completing the task. Further, we recommend to ensure task completeness, participants either need a step-driven (i.e., wizard) approach or progress indicators to identify remaining work.
Incorporation of leucine-14C and lysine-14C into protein in the developing endosperm of nomal and opaque-2 corn

Abstract Lysine-U- 14 C (2 μCi) or leucine-U- 14 C (6.25 μCi) were injected into corn plants just below the ear at various stages of kernel development. The labeling of Osborne protein fractions in the endosperm of the seeds was then determined. Except for albumin, the distribution of label was more or less as might be expected from the size and amino acid composition of the fraction. Evidence was obtained that the albumin fraction undergoes turnover. When leucine- 14 C was injected, virtually all the label in endosperm of both normal and opaque-2 genotypes was recovered as leucine. Within normal endosperm much of the injected lysine- 14 C was converted to glutamic acid and proline; but little conversion occurred within opaque-2 endosperm. Progressively more lysine was converted in normal endosperm at later times of injection. This reflected an increase in the proportion of label in the zein fraction, since almost all label in this protein was present in glutamic acid and proline. Label in the embryo of normal kernels was mostly in lysine, suggesting that the endosperm is the site of lysine conversion. The difference in lysine metabolism in normal and opaque-2 endosperms correlated with the higher level of lysine in opaque-2.
Quantum field theory of normal liquids

Abstract A quantum field theory of normal liquids is derived from the spontaneous breakdown of Galilei invariance.
Reinforced, Partially, and Fully Prestressed Slender Concrete Columns under Biaxial Bending and Axial Load

An analytical model that determines the inelastic structural response, ultimate strength, and failure mode of reinforced concrete, partially prestressed concrete, and prestressed concrete slender columns of any cross section under biaxial bending and axial load is presented. The effects of rotational and lateral restraints at the ends are included, but the effects of shear deformations and torsional moments along the member are neglected. The proposed method uses (1) a nonlinear stress-strain relationship for the concrete; (2) a multilinear elastic-plastic relationship for the conventional reinforcement; (3) a modified Ramberg-Osgood function for the prestressed steel; (4) Gauss's integral method for equilibrium at the sectional level to generate the moment-axial load-curvature characteristics (i.e., M-P-ϕ diagrams) along the member; and (5) the finite-element method to evaluate the transverse deflections and second-order moments (P-δ and P-Δ effects) along the member. The proposed method can be utilized ...
Balancing the risks of stillbirth and neonatal death in the early preterm small-for-gestational-age fetus

Objective Timing of delivery for the early preterm small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetus remains unknown. Our aim was to estimate the risk of stillbirth in the early preterm SGA fetus compared with the risk of neonatal death. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies that underwent second-trimester anatomy ultrasound (excluding fetal anomalies, aneuploidy, and pregnancies with incomplete neonatal follow-up data). SGA was defined as birthweight Results Of 76,453 singleton pregnancies, 7036 SGA pregnancies that met inclusion criteria were ongoing at 24 weeks of gestation; there were 64 stillbirths, 226 live births, and 18 neonatal deaths from 24-33 weeks 6 days of gestation. As the risk of stillbirth increases with advancing gestational age, the risk of neonatal death falls, until the 32-33 weeks 6 days of gestation stratum. The relative risk of expectant management compared with immediate delivery remains Conclusion Our findings suggest that the balance between the competing risks of stillbirth and neonatal death for the early preterm SGA fetus occurs at 32-33 weeks 6 days of gestation. These data can be useful when delivery timing remains uncertain.
A peptide binding chromogenic assay for detecting glycopeptide antibiotics

A solid-phase peptide binding assay, based on the mechanism of action of glycopeptide antibiotics, was developed for detecting this chemical class of metabolites. Utilizing a pentapeptide (l-alanyl-d-isoglutaminyl-l-lysyl-d-alanyl-d-alanine)-bovine serum albumin conjugate immobilized on the wall of microtiter wells, the binding of the vancomycin-alkaline phosphatase to the peptide could be demonstrated by subsequently monitoring the enzyme activity. The presence of glycopeptides in fermentation broths could be detected and quantified with a competitive binding assay. Peptides with ad-alanyl-d-alanine carboxyl terminus were necessary for the binding of these glycopeptides, thus confirming the mode of action of this class of antibiotics.
Personality and Interpersonal Characteristics Within Distressed Marriages

Considerable research has established that particular partner characteristics have a negative impact upon marital quality and that marital distress often results from the failure of partners to resolve personality differences. This study assessed personality and interpersonal differences related to marital distress within 92 clinical couples. Husbands in marriages of 6 years or less reflected distant, apathetic, hostile, and domineering features, while their wives reflected a greater need for attention and stimulation. Husbands in marriages of 7 years or more reflected greater distant and apathetic, self-focused, hostile, and domineering characteristics, while their wives reported greater passive dependency. The shorter married wives’ and husbands’ marital distress was most strongly associated with their own avoidant and self-defeating characteristics. The longer married wives’ marital distress was associated with their husbands’ dominant and self-involved characteristics. The longer married husbands’ mar...
Variability in blood flow and pO2 in tumors in response to carbogen breathing

Abstract Purpose: There is speculation that the CO 2 in carbogen (95% O 2 , 5% CO 2 ) can block the vasoconstrictive effects of oxygen. However, it has recently been shown that blood flow in human tumors is variable while patients breathe carbogen. Furthermore, we have shown a consistent decrease in tumor blood flow (TBF) with carbogen breathing in the rat window chamber model. Also, we have previously shown that there is no significant difference in tumor growth time after radiation with air vs. carbogen breathing. This study was designed to investigate the effects of carbogen breathing on blood flow and oxygen levels in a solid tumor. Methods: Measurements were made in Fischer-344 rats with 8–10 mm diameter R3230Ac tumors transplanted either within the quadriceps muscle ( n = 16) or subcutis ( n = 14). Nontumor-bearing quadriceps muscle was studied in six other rats. After a 20-minute air-breathing baseline, rats breathed carbogen for an additional 40 minutes. Partial pressure of oxygen (pO 2 ) was continuously monitored at one position for 60 minutes using 9–12 μm diameter oxygen microelectrodes. Blood flow was simultaneously monitored in all animals using laser Doppler flowmetry (1–2 probes/tumor). Results: Blood flow changes during carbogen breathing were variable in all tissues and intratumoral heterogeneity was observed. Despite variability in blood flow, pO 2 consistently increased in normal muscle but varied in both tumor sites. During carbogen breathing, the percent pO 2 measurements greater than the baseline average were 99.5% ± 0.4% (mean ± SEM), 42.7% ± 13.8%, and 79.8% ± 11.0% in normal muscle, subcutaneous tumor, and muscle tumor, respectively. To show the magnitude of change, average pO 2 values during air and carbogen breathing were calculated for each site. Normal muscle increased from 14.9 ± 2.3 to 39.0 ± 6.4 mm Hg (paired t -test; p = 0.009). Muscle tumors showed a rise from 14.6 ± 3.2 to 34.5 ± 8.2 mm Hg ( p = 0.019). However, pO 2 in subcutaneous tumors remained unchanged, with a pO 2 of 7.3 ± 2.0 mm Hg on air and 7.3 ± 4.1 mm Hg ( p = 0.995) during carbogen breathing. Conclusions: Carbogen had no consistent effect on blood flow and was ineffective at increasing tumor pO 2 . These results may partially explain why carbogen breathing failed to improve the efficacy of radiation in this tumor model when transplanted subcutaneously.
Nuclear nonhistone proteins in murine melanoma cells: II. changes following exposure to MSH.

Murine melanoma cells provide an excellent system for studying the proposed role of nuclear nonhistorie proteins (NHP's) as regulators of gene expression. Cloudman mouse melanoma cells (S91, NCTC 3960, CCL 53), grown in culture, are normally lightly pigmented, but in the presence of melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) show a large increase in melanin content. Cells were grown in medium with and without MSH and labeled with either 14C- or 3H-leucine, respectively. Following 48 hr of incubation, the cells were harvested, combined, and nuclei isolated. The NHPs were extracted from these nuclei in a series of steps which yielded 4 major fractions. Each fraction was further separated on DEAE cellulose columns into a total of 40 subfractions, each of which was electrophoresed on SDS gels. Each gel was sliced and counted and the 14C/3H ratio was determined for each slice. A number of differences in 14C/3H ratios were observed between the NHPs isolated from MSH-treated and control cells which reflect changes in the synthesis and/or transport of NHPs in MSH-treated cells.
Cleanliness improvements of National Ignition Facility amplifiers as compared to previous large-scale lasers

Prior to the recent commissioning of the first National Ignition Facility (NIF) beamline, full-scale laser-amplifier-glass cleanliness experiments are performed. Aerosol measurements and obscuration data acquired using a modified flatbed scanner compare favorably to historical large-scale lasers and indicate that NIF is the cleanest large-scale laser built to date.
A Creative Arts Approach to Computer Programming

This paper describes how the creative arts can provide an alternative approach to computer programming that may benefit students in the humanities in general. It focuses on creative arts projects using text, graphics and music that allow students to encounter the same programming concepts from a number of different perspectives. It also discusses the importance of symbolic programming for the arts and how the creative arts can provide a particularly rich environment for developing approaches to object-oriented programming.
A scale-location adjustment for proportional hazards deviance residuals

We show that deviance residuals derived using the proportional hazards assumption (including Cox regression) are not asymptotically standard normal, but that a scale-location adjustment makes them nearly standard normal, even for moderate sample sizes. This adjustment should aid in outlier detection, as it allows a more exact assessment of when a deviance residual is unusually large.
Addendum to: Band model formulation for inhomogeneous optical paths

Abstract The statistical band-model formulation for highly inhomogeneous optical paths presented in a previous paper is extended to the case where the strengths of lines in Δ ν are distributed according to a modified inverse probability function.
A measurement of the sequence complexity of polysomal messenger RNA in sea urchin embryos

The first measurement has been made of the number of diverse mRNA sequences (mRNA sequence complexity) in the total polysomes of a eucaryotic system, the sea urchin gastrula. mRNA was purified of nuclear RNA and any other heterogeneous RNA contaminants by release from polysomes with puromycin. Trace quantities of labeled nonrepetitive DNA fragments were hybridized with an excess of mRNA. The hybridization reaction followed ideal first order kinetics in mRNA concentration. At completion of the hybridization reaction, 1.35% of the nonrepetitive DNA was present as mRNA-DNA hybrid. The hybridized DNA was extracted and was at least 70% hybridizable with mRNA, demonstrating a 50-fold purification of the expressed sequences. This purified DNA fraction reassociated with excess unfractionated sea urchin DNA at a rate identical to that of the total nonrepetitive DNA tracer. The mRNA had therefore been hybridized to nonrepetitive DNA sequence, and the amount of hybrid could be used as a direct measure of the mRNA sequence complexity. The complexity of the gastrula mRNA can be calculated as about 17 million nucleotides, sufficient to comprise some 14,000 distinct structural genes. This result also provides an estimate of the number of diverse proteins being translated in the gastrula. From the rate of mRNA-DNA hybrid formation, we estimate that about 8% of the mRNA belongs to this complex class, and that less than 500 copies of each species of message in this class exist per embryo. Most of the mRNA population consists of a relatively small number of diverse species represented a much larger number of times.
1267 Employment Charactyeristics of Recent Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Graduates in the Usa: A Workforce for the Health Care of Children

Aims: Describe the characteristics of employment, children cared for, frequency of role functions by practice setting (primary care, specialty practice), and interest in doctoral education of recent PNP graduates. Method: A 92-item multiple choice and short answer survey tool was sent to graduates from a convenience sample of universities. Results: The surveys were sent to over 280 graduates with a return rate of 53% (range 28% - 86% by university). Of those responding 95% were employed with 80% employed full-time. Thirty-two percent were employed in primary care settings with an additional 10% in school-based clinics. Fiftythree percent were employed in specialty practice in either inpatient or outpatient settings. They often cared for children with acute conditions (60%) and chronic health conditions (53%) irrespective of clinical setting. Role functions varied by practice setting with provision of preventive health interventions, growth and development counseling, lifestyle behavior counseling, and initiation of referrals being performed more frequently (p<.05) by PNPs in primary care or school-based settings. Provision of case management, staff development, policy and program development, writing for publication, participation in research, system change activities, delegation of care and supervision of students was performed more often (p<.05) by PNPs in hospital settings. Forty-six percent indicated they were interested in doctoral education with 22% indicating interest in a PhD and 78% indicating interest in the Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Conclusion: Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are highly educated and skilled additional pediatric health care providers and should be utilized to their fullest potential.
Time series in M dimensions: The one-dimensional case: Pollution in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

A nonstationary time-series model is used to examine the changes occurring at sampling stations on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Using data from upstream sampling sites, downstream levels of dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, nitrates and nitrites, and ammonia are accurately predicted. The method is simple, insensitive to extreme values, and responsive to changes in the system.
The ventilatory response to resistance unloading during muscular exercise.

Abstract The response of the ventilatory system to resistance “unloading” was studied in exercising human subjects by changing the inspirate from room air to an 80:20, He: O 2 mixture. The responses, in general, were opposite to those seen in resistance “loading” experiments and were characterized by increased ventilation (principally by an increased frequency without change of tidal volume), decreased Pa CO 2 , decreased tidal and minute work and decreased tidal and minute tension × time index. The predominant response was an increase of mean and peak expiratory flows, achieved with a decreased intrapleural pressure. The system did not compensate either to bring the decreased driving pressure back to control value or to maintain constant ( i.e. , at control level) Pa CO 2 . We believe that the principal mechanism of the response is best explained by the intrinsic force-velocity property of muscle. This and other possibilities, particularly reflex modulation, are discussed.
Roentgenology of tetralogy of Fallot

Abstract If the patient is cyanotic and has EKG evidence of right ventricular hypertrophy, tetralogy can be suggested from the plain chest film. The characteristic plain film findings are a slightly enlarged heart with an elevated apex, a prominent aorta, an inconspicuous pulmonary artery and decreased pulmonary vascularity. Helpful associated findings are a right aortic arch and disproportionate decrease in left pulmonary vascularity. If the heart is large, an additional anomaly, especially atrial defect, should be suspected. Angiography is often needed to distinguish tetralogy from pseudotruncus, truncus, transposition, single ventricle and double outlet right ventricle. Angiography is vital for alerting the surgeon to the anatomy of the obstruction. Obstruction to right ventricular outflow may be demonstrated at any one or combination of five levels: the infundibulum, pulmonary valve, valve ring, main pulmonary artery or left pulmonary artery.