cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Work dynamics of adults with asthma.

Background: Asthma has been found to be among the most common conditions in the working age population and is among the most common causes of work limitation, but we could find no longitudinal studies of employment among persons with this condition. Methods: A panel of 601 persons with a diagnosis of asthma from random samples of northern California pulmonologists and allergy-immunologists were interviewed as many as three times at 18-month intervals by a trained survey worker to report on the severity of disease, demographic characteristics, and the extent of their employment. Their employment was then compared to that of a matched sample from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Current Population Survey. Results: Ninety-two percent of the persons with asthma had worked at some point prior to study enrollment. Among persons with onset during adulthood, only 29% of those who were not employed at disease onset were working at study enrollment, compared to 68% among those who were employed. Among the 420 persons interviewed three times, 75, 81, and 75%, respectively, were employed as of the three interviews. Among these 420, 66% were continuously employed and 15% were continuously not employed. The principal determinants of continuity of employment were demographic and employment characteristics, not medical ones. The employment rate and hours of work per week and per year of the persons with asthma were similar to the matched sample. Conclusions: Asthma has not substantially impeded the employment of the persons with asthma we studied, with the exception that those who were not employed at disease onset continued to have low employment rates. Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:472–480, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Maximum Shearing Stress of a Structure Subjected to Random Excitations

Section III of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides stress limitations, which are developed based on the maximum shearing stress criteria (Tresca stress criteria). Structures in a nuclear plant are subjected to a variety of loadings (deterministic and random). Unlike the deterministic loadings, the structural responses subjected to random excitations (such as a load induced by a fluid turbulence) must be evaluated in probabilistic terms based on the random vibration theory. One way to evaluate the structural responses under this type of loading is the Monte Carlo simulation. However, in general, a Monte Carlo simulation requires a large sampling, which is not efficient for large structures. This paper implements the Advanced First-Order Reliability Method (AFORM) to evaluate the Tresca stresses at the predefined reliability level. The failure criterion to define the performance function is considered as the principal stress difference (Tresca stress). Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed method is accurate and efficient.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Increasing patient safety through the use of silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheter system

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) pose a significant threat to our aging population and our hospitalized patients and contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant organisms. This is a 214-bed medical center, including a 60-bed skilled nursing facility (SNF). The hospital serves nearly 120,000 residents of the east end of Long Island. To determine the impact on patient safety and CAUTI reduction, a decision was made to evaluate a silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheter system in comparison to the current non-silver-coated latex Foley catheter system. METHODS: Total facility surveillance, including the SNF, of healthcare-associated CAUTIs was completed using the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definitions. A comprehensive chart review was conducted for all adult inpatients with Foley catheters who presented with positive urine cultures at least 48 hours after admission. Patients with chronic Foley catheters and catheters inserted in the surgical department were excluded. The baseline period utilizing latex Foley catheters was July 1–September 30, 2003. These results were then compared to July 1–October 15, 2004, utilizing the silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheter. RESULTS: Results revealed an overall CAUTI reduction of 75% with the implementation of a silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheter system. Using the latex Foley catheter system, the average CAUTI rate was 2.16 infections per 1000 hospital patient days and 0.19 infections per 1000 SNF patient days. A total of 19 organisms, three resistant, were identified in urine cultures. Using the silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheter system, the average CAUTI rate was 0.53 infections per 1000 hospital patient days and 0 infections per 1000 SNF patient days. A total of 7 organisms, none resistant, were identified in urine cultures. Using an average cost for CAUT of $2204, a net annual cost avoidance of $80,160 was computed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that silver-coated 100% silicone Foley catheters are effective at reducing the incidence of CAUTI and resistant organisms in an acute care hospital and a SNF, thereby increasing patient safety. In addition to offering a significant patient safety intervention, these catheters also offer a significant cost savings to the facility.
The crumpled coronary: An enigma of arteriographic pseudopathology and its potential for misinterpretation

A series of angioplasty cases is presented in which dynamic alterations in coronary artery configuration developed. These changes were suggestive of extensive, complex dissections. Several common features emerged in these cases of which interventional cardiologists should be aware. These features included complex vessel morphology (tortuous segments, anomalous takeoffs, and complex stenoses) and the use of certain types of PTCA hardware (Amplatz guiding catheters and 0.018-inch wires). This phenomenon, termed pseudo narrowing, remains largely unrecognized. Identification of these characteristics and employment of proper management strategies will ensure a good outcome in these situations when they arise.
Incorporating quantity discounts and their inventory impacts into the centralized purchasing decision

Multi-site organizations must balance conflicting forces to determine the appropriate degree of purchasing centralization for their respective supplies. The ability to garner quantity discounts represents one of the primary reasons that organizations centralize procurement. This paper provides methodologies to calculate optimal order quantities and compute total purchasing and inventory costs when products have quantity discount pricing. Procedures for both all-units and incremental quantity discount schedules are provided for four different strategic purchasing configurations (scenarios): complete decentralization, centralized pricing with decentralized purchasing, centralized purchasing with local distribution, and centralized purchasing and warehousing. For ordering decisions under local distribution, procedures to determine optimal order quantities and costs are presented in a precise form that could be easily implemented into spreadsheets by practicing managers. For the more complicated multi-echelon scenarios, we introduce a single-cycle policy with a tailored aggregation refinement step that performs very well under experimentation when compared to a conservative bound.
“I Am Never Afraid of Being Recognized as an NNES”: One Teacher's Journey in Claiming and Embracing Her Nonnative-Speaker Identity

With an increase in the number of learners and speakers of English as an additional language entering the English language teaching field, especially in Outer and Expanding Circle countries and some migrating into the Inner Circle countries (e.g., Jenkins, 2009), there is an urgent need to prepare, and understand the experiences of, English language teachers from diverse backgrounds in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) programs. In view of this burgeoning need, TESOL programs could tailor their curricula to meet the academic and professional needs of all students planning to teach English in worldwide contexts. To this end, this article presents one thread of a larger study examining the experiences of five East Asian women before and during their TESOL programs. Snapshots are provided of one TESOL student whose academic and professional experiences highlight the disconnectedness between her experiences in China, her TESOL program, and her mentored student teaching experience. An exploration of this student's identity transformation is followed by a discussion of implications for TESOL programs.
Optimal Path Planning for Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles to Defeat Radar Tracking

The problem of path planning for unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) in the presence of radar-guided surface-to-air missiles is treated. The problem is formulated in the framework of the interaction between three subsystems: the aircraft, the radar, and the missile. The main features of this integrated model are as follows. The aircraft radar cross section (RCS) depends explicitly on both the aspect and bank angles; hence, the RCS and aircraft dynamics are coupled. The probabilistic nature of radar tracking is accounted for, namely, the probability that the aircraft has been continuously tracked depends on the aircraft RCS and range. Finally, the requirement to maintain tracking before missile launch and during missile flyout are also modeled. Based on this model, the problem of UCAV path planning is formulated as a minimax optimal control problem, with the aircraft lateral acceleration serving as control. Necessary conditions of optimality for this minimax problem are derived and used as a basis for an efficient numerical solution. Illustrative examples are considered that confirm the standard flying tactics of “denying range, aspect, and aim,” by yielding flight paths that weave to avoid long exposures of aspects with large RCS. HIS paper is devoted to the problem of automated path planning for unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) in the presence of radar-guided surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). This problem features the interaction between three subsystems: the aircraft and its characteristics, the radar and its capabilities, and the missile and its lethality. Therefore, the solution of the UCAV path-planning problem requires realistic models of these three subsystems. Although the current literature offers models for each of them separately, there is no approach that integrates models of the three subsystems in a unified framework. The purpose of this paper is to propose such an integrated model and present results on its use.
Molecules to modeling: Toxoplasma gondii oocysts at the human–animal–environment interface

Environmental transmission of extremely resistant Toxoplasma gondii oocysts has resulted in infection of diverse species around the world, leading to severe disease and deaths in human and animal populations. This review explores T. gondii oocyst shedding, survival, and transmission, emphasizing the importance of linking laboratory and landscape from molecular characterization of oocysts to watershed-level models of oocyst loading and transport in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Building on discipline-specific studies, a One Health approach incorporating tools and perspectives from diverse fields and stakeholders has contributed to an advanced understanding of T. gondii and is addressing transmission at the rapidly changing human–animal–environment interface.
Prediction of Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) Neonatal Mortality by Neural Networks and Logistic Regression

Prediction of Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) Neonatal Mortality by Neural Networks and Logistic Regression
Success in Small Farmer Development: Paper making at Pang and Nanglibang, Nepal

Abstract A successful handmade paper project, part of Nepal's Small Farmer Development Programme, is described. Project “success” is analyzed in both economic and sociological terms. While the economics are important (with a guaranteed market and virtually no credit default), success is better measured in terms of contextual (sociological) variables,such as villager satisfaction and enthusiasm. Findings suggest that rural development success is enhanced by the sensitivity shown to local custom and tradition, and by an innovative pragmatic style of leadership that enables poor farmers to respond creatively and effectively to improve their quality of life.
Measuring Religiousness in Health Research: Review and Critique

Although existing measures of religiousness are sophisticated, no single approach has yet emerged as a standard. We review the measures of religiousness most commonly used in the religion and health literature with particular attention to their limitations, suggesting that vigilance is required to avoid over-generalization. After placing the development of these scales in historical context, we discuss measures of religious attendance, private religious practice, and intrinsic/extrinsic religious motivation. We also discuss measures of religious coping, wellbeing, belief, affiliation, maturity, history, and experience. We also address the current trend in favor of multi-dimensional and functional measures of religiousness. We conclude with a critique of the standard, “context-free” approach aimed at measuring “religiousness-in-general”, suggesting that future work might more fruitfully focus on developing ways to measure religiousness in specific, theologically relevant contexts.
Syntheses of immobilized G protein-coupled receptor chromatographic stationary phases: characterization of immobilized mu and kappa opioid receptors.

Opioid receptors are members of the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Liquid chromatographic stationary phases containing either the human mu or kappa opioid receptor subtypes have been developed to study the binding between the opioid receptors and their ligands. The receptors were obtained from Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with human mu or kappa receptor subtypes. The receptors were isolated through partial solubilization with sodium cholate detergent, and the partially purified receptor complex was immobilized in the phospholipid analogue monolayer of an immobilized artificial membrane liquid chromatographic stationary phase. The resulting phase was packed into a glass column (1.8 x 0.5 (i.d.) cm) and used in the on-line chromatographic determination of drug/ligand binding affinities to the immobilized opioid receptors. Preliminary on-line binding studies employing frontal chromatographic techniques were conducted with the known mu antagonist (naloxone) and a kappa agonist (U69593). The calculated dissociation constants (Kd) were 110 nM for naloxone and 84 nM for U69593. The results indicate that the immobilized receptors retained their ability to specifically bind ligands and were active for 1200 column volumes applied over two weeks. Zonal chromatographic experiments were also conducted, and competitive displacements of the marker ligands were observed. The results suggest that the immobilized opioid receptor stationary phases can be used to qualitatively assess the binding affinities of compounds to the immobilized receptors and represent the first example of the use of immobilized GPCRs in a chromatographic system.
An in situ synthesis of cyanogen chloride as a safe and economical aqueous standard

Abstract This study developed the in situ synthesis of CNCl as a safe and economical aqueous standard, based on Standard Method 4500-CN − E. This study demonstrated that the synthesized CNCl standards are comparable with commercial standards based on results from purge-and-trap GC/MS analysis and micro-liquid/liquid extraction with GC/ECD analysis. Furthermore, the synthesized CNCl solution provides a source of externally prepared standards, which avoids gas–liquid transfer procedures. Only microgram quantities of this hazardous substance were generated and may be safely converted to the relatively innocuous cyanate ion immediately after use by simply raising the pH. This performance-based approach led to a successful means to synthesize aqueous CNCl solutions as either quality control standards or calibration standards. It may be especially useful for laboratories in other countries where CNCl is difficult to acquire.
Sexual Revictimization and PTSD: An Exploratory Study.

ABSTRACT A number of researchers have identified Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a common short and long-term consequence of child sexual abuse. In examining adult survivors of child sexual abuse, however, the time period between the childhood trauma and the assessment of symptoms makes it difficult to be certain that PTSD has resulted from the childhood trauma and not subsequent traumas, in particular, adult/adolescent revictimization. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between adult/adolescent sexual revictimization and the development of PTSD in women with histories of child sexual abuse. Forty-one females with histories of child sexual abuse completed diagnostic interviews to assess current and past diagnoses of PTSD. In addition, participants completed self-report measures regarding their victimization history (adult and child) and current PTSD symptoms. Women with repeated victimization were significantly more likely to have a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD and the...
Narrowband Gaussian noise: variance of the number of zero crossings

An expression, valid for all T, is found for the variance of the number of zero crossings during a time T for a narrowband Gaussian noise waveform with a symmetric spectrum. It bears an interesting relationship to the variance of 1/? times the waveform's change in phase during this time.
Amplification of Her-2/neu gene in Her-2/neu-overexpressing and -nonexpressing breast carcinomas and their synchronous benign, premalignant, and metastatic lesions detected by FISH in archival material.

Amplification of Her-2/neu in breast carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis, short disease-free interval, and short survival time in both node-negative and -positive patients. Little is known about the starting point of amplification of Her-2/neu and how it progresses from benign to malignant breast lesions. We attempted to address these questions by evaluating amplification of Her-2/neu in benign, premalignant, and malignant lesions using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Twenty-six patients with Her-2/neu–overexpressing invasive ductal carcinomas (as judged by strong immunoreactivity with Her-2/neu antibody) and coexisting lesions of ductal hyperplasia (DH), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the vicinity of the invasive tumor (as judged by review of the hematoxylin and eosin–stained sections), as well as metastatic carcinoma in axillary lymph nodes (mets) were selected for this study. In the primary carcinomas, a close relationship was present between overexpression as detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and amplification as demonstrated by FISH (85% concordance). Among these patients, amplification of Her-2/neu in ADH was demonstrated in 7 of 13 cases with ADH, and in DCIS, in 21 of 22 cases with DCIS. There was no amplification in DH or normal ductal epithelium. Significantly, in all 12 patients with synchronous positive axillary lymph nodes, there was concordant amplification of Her-2/neu in the primary and metastatic carcinoma. Amplification was consistent in multifocal metastases, despite morphological heterogeneity in some patients. Amplification ratios increased from ADH to DCIS to invasive carcinoma (P .05). We also evaluated Her-2/neu amplification in 21 patients without Her-2/neu overexpression in their primary carcinomas (as judged by absent immunoreactivity with Her-2/neu antibody). Three showed amplification in both primary and metastatic lesions, with a low amplification ratio (approximately 2). One patient had amplification in the primary tumor but not in an axillary metastasis. Two patients exhibited slight amplification in the metastatic carcinoma (ratios 1.6 and 2), but not in their primary cancers. This FISH study indicates that amplification of Her-2/neu can emerge de novo in any stage of the disease process, from ADH to metastatic lesions, but most often appears first in ADH or DCIS. The degree of Her-2/neu amplification increases with progression to invasive carcinoma, there being no further increase in synchronous metastasis. Our data suggest that amplification of Her-2/neu appears to be mainly involved in initiation of breast oncogenesis and that its role in progression of breast cancers is uncertain.
The suppression of Ca(2+)‐ and voltage‐dependent outward K+ current during mAChR activation in rat adrenal chromaffin cells.

1. The mechanism by which muscarine, ionomycin or caffeine results in suppression of Ca(2+)- and voltage-dependent outward current in rat adrenal chromaffin cells was evaluated using both whole-cell voltage clamp and single channel recording. 2. The whole-cell current activated following the elevation of the cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) by muscarine inactivates with a time course comparable to that of single Ca(2+)- and voltage-dependent potassium (BK) channels. 3. The whole-cell inactivating current is pharmacologically similar to BK current. 4. The voltage dependence of inactivation and rate of recovery from inactivation are qualitatively similar for both whole-cell current and ensemble averages of single BK channels. Furthermore, changes in the rate of whole-cell current inactivation track expected changes in submembrane [Ca2+]. 5. The suppression of outward current can be accounted for solely by inactivation of BK channels and does not depend on the means by which [Ca2+]i is elevated. 6. Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) activation, changes in holding potential (-50 to -20 mV), and step depolarizations of different amplitude and duration were tested for their ability to elevate [Ca2+]i and thereby regulate the availability of BK current for activation. 7. Following muscarine-induced elevation of [Ca2+]i at holding potentials positive to -40 mV, the availability of BK current for activation was typically reduced by more than 50%. 8. Holding potentials in the range of -50 to -20 mV produced only slight alterations in the availability of BK current for activation. 9. Step depolarizations that cause maximal rates of Ca2+ influx (0 to +10 mV) must exceed 200 ms to reduce the availability of BK current by approximately 50%. 10. The results show that the muscarine-induced elevation of [Ca2+]i produces a profound reduction in the availability of BK channels for activation at membrane potentials likely to be physiologically meaningful. Although depolarization- induced Ca2+ influx can inactivate BK current, we propose that short duration depolarizations that occur during normal electrical activity will not significantly alter BK channel availability.
Rocket-borne celestial X-ray proportional counter system

Abstract Characteristics of a new sensitive broad-range thin-window gas-flow proportional counter system, designed primarily for the detection of low energy X rays in rocket-borne experiments, are presented. A space conserving, two-gas, stacked concept is utilized. The system consists of a methane-filled front counter on top of an argon-filled back counter. A single eggcrate, charged vane, collimator with a voltage on alternate vanes to eliminate background from cosmic electrons defines entry into both counters. To facilitate instrument calibration, a portable characteristic X-ray emitter for energies between 0.2 and 10 keV was developed. Some comments on its operation and performance are included.
Studying pressure denaturation of a protein by molecular dynamics simulations

Many globular proteins unfold when subjected to several kilobars of hydrostatic pressure. This "unfolding-up-on-squeezing" is counter-intuitive in that one expects mechanical compression of proteins with increasing pressure. Molecular simulations have the potential to provide fundamental understanding of pressure effects on proteins. However, the slow kinetics of unfolding, especially at high pressures, eliminates the possibility of its direct observation by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Motivated by experimental results-that pressure denatured states are water-swollen, and theoretical results-that water transfer into hydrophobic contacts becomes favorable with increasing pressure, we employ a water insertion method to generate unfolded states of the protein Staphylococcal Nuclease (Snase). Structural characteristics of these unfolded states-their water-swollen nature, retention of secondary structure, and overall compactness-mimic those observed in experiments. Using conformations of folded and unfolded states, we calculate their partial molar volumes in MD simulations and estimate the pressure-dependent free energy of unfolding. The volume of unfolding of Snase is negative (approximately -60 mL/mol at 1 bar) and is relatively insensitive to pressure, leading to its unfolding in the pressure range of 1500-2000 bars. Interestingly, once the protein is sufficiently water swollen, the partial molar volume of the protein appears to be insensitive to further conformational expansion or unfolding. Specifically, water-swollen structures with relatively low radii of gyration have partial molar volume that are similar to that of significantly more unfolded states. We find that the compressibility change on unfolding is negligible, consistent with experiments. We also analyze hydration shell fluctuations to comment on the hydration contributions to protein compressibility. Our study demonstrates the utility of molecular simulations in estimating volumetric properties and pressure stability of proteins, and can be potentially extended for applications to protein complexes and assemblies.
Fluorescent Probes for Cytochrome P450 Structural Characterization and Inhibitor Screening

We have synthesized two luminescent probes (D-4-Ad and D-8-Ad) that target cytochrome P450cam. D-4-Ad luminescence is quenched by Forster energy transfer upon binding (K_d = 0.83 μM) but is restored when the probe is displaced from the active site by camphor. In contrast, D-8-Ad (K_d ≈ 0.02 μM) is not displaced from the enzyme, even in the presence of a large excess of camphor. The 2.2 A resolution crystal structure of the D-8-Ad:P450cam complex reveals extensive hydrophobic contacts between the probe and the enzyme, which result from the conformational flexibility of the B‘, F, and G helices. Probes with properties similar to those of D-4-Ad potentially could be useful for screening P450 inhibitors.
The Aware Communicator: Dialogues on Diversity

SUMMARY Developing cultural competence has taken on increased importance in occupational therapy curriculums. Cultural competency prepares occupational therapy students for emerging practice. This article describes a communication seminar that emphasizes dialogues on diversity as a method for developing cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and active listening skills.
The may 1973 terrorist attack at Milan police HQ: Anarchist ‘propaganda of the deed’ or ‘false‐flag’ provocation?

Between 1968 and 1974 Italy was subjected to an unusually virulent campaign of right‐wing terrorism and subversion. An illustrative episode associated with this so‐called ‘strategy of tension’, which was characterized by the systematic use of covert ‘false flag’ operations, was the 17 May 1973 grenade attack outside Milan police headquarters that resulted in four dead and over 40 injured. Although the perpetrator, Gianfranco Bertoli, claimed to be an ‘individualist anarchist’ and had in fact established contacts with certain anarchist and leftist groups, subsequent judicial investigations revealed that he had been an informant and infiltrator for the Italian military intelligence service, that he had long maintained links with various anti‐communist and neo‐fascist organizations, and that he apparently received ‘cover’ and some type of logistical support prior to the attack from one or more ‘international secret services’. Although many aspects of the crime still remain murky, in all probability Bertoli w...
VARIATION IN THE RATE OF CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY IN WASHINGTON STATE

Lack of consensus about the treatment of low back pain is reflected by wide regional variations in lumbar spine surgery rates. Neck pain may be as common as low back pain, but there has been no similar evaluation of regional variation for the surgical treatment of neck pain. This report examines the geographic variation and temporal trends in the rate of cervical spine surgery in Washington state from 1986 through 1989. Using diagnosis and procedure codes from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 CM), the authors retrospectively identified cervical spine surgery cases from a statewide hospital discharge registry for Washington. After excluding cases associated with trauma, infection, or malignancy, 5,173 incident cervical spine surgery cases were analyzed. Cervical spine surgery was performed at approximately 25% the rate of lumbar spine surgery, and from 1986 to 1989, the age- and gender-adjusted rate increased 20%. Small area analysis demonstrated a sevenfold variation among counties in the rate of cervical spine surgery (P < 0.001), with variation of fourfold to 13-fold for specific surgical procedures. These data demonstrate that cervical spine surgery for neck pain is an increasingly common procedure with wide geographic variability. Rational treatment of neck pain requires further definition of indications for cervical spine surgery, preferably based on firm data concerning the outcomes of surgical and nonsurgical care.
On the Number of English Sentences

Critique de Ziff pretendant que, du point de vue semantique, il n'y a qu'un nombre fini de phrases anglaises.
Representative democracy and the profession

Digital technology could be instrumental in providing a more democratic and participatory form of government. Whether justified or not, the perception of incipient economocracy must be reversed. For, to paraphrase a much admired judicial maxim, democracy must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done. Making elected representatives more democratic and responsive to those represented, or at least less liable to accusations of moving in the opposite direction, seems an obvious measure. The computing profession has a responsibility to take part in publicly discussing democratic reform, and in particular to make suggestions about how such reform could employ digital technology.
Polarizable polysiloxane stationary phases for capillary column gas chromatography

Abstract Polysiloxane polymers, containing polarizable biphenyl, naphtyl and phenoxyphenyl side groups, were synthesized and evaluated for capillary column gas chromatography. Although the more polar cyanopropyl stationary phase demonstrated better resolution of components in a wide-polarity-range mixture, the polarizable phases demonstrated better resolution of polar isomers. The “softer” dipole—induced dipole interaction between the solute and stationary phase, as compared to the dipole—dipole interaction with a polar stationary phase, is more sensitive to slight molecular differences in isomeric structures. The biphenyl polysiloxane, on the whole, demonstrated the best selectivity in a number of isomer separations.
No aliasing at edges in normal viewing

Although spatial aliasing by the extrafoveal retina can occur under natural viewing conditions, it does not commonly disturb our vision. One possible explanation for this is that real scenes do not have sufficient power in the high frequencies to produce aliasing. We examined whether aliasing distorted the appearance of a high contrast edge, which is a common stimulus in the environment. Observers made a two-interval forced-choice discrimination between low-pass filtered and unfiltered edges at 0, 10, 20, and 40 deg eccentricity. This discrimination could be made only when frequency components were removed below both the cone and ganglion cell Nyquist frequencies at each eccentricity. Since supra-Nyquist frequency components could not be detected in edges, they are incapable of producing aliasing.
Induction of Pancreatic Differentiation by Signals from Blood Vessels

Blood vessels supply developing organs with metabolic sustenance. Here, we demonstrate a role for blood vessels as a source of developmental signals during pancreatic organogenesis. In vitro experiments with embryonic mouse tissues demonstrate that blood vessel endothelium induces insulin expression in isolated endoderm. Removal of the dorsal aorta in Xenopus laevis embryos results in the failure of insulin expression in vivo. Furthermore, using transgenic mice, we show that ectopic vascularization in the posterior foregut leads to ectopic insulin expression and islet hyperplasia. These results indicate that vessels not only provide metabolic sustenance, but also provide inductive signals for organ development.
Approximating the Probability of Identifying the Most Effective Treatment for the Case of Normal Distributions Having Unknown and Unequal Variances

When comparing k normal populations, an investigator might want to know the probability that the population with the largest population mean will have the largest sample mean. Put another way, what is the probability of correctly identifying the most effective treatment? The paper describes and illustrates methods of approximating this probability when the variances are unknown and possibly unequal. The results described here can also be used to measure the extent to which the populations differ for one another.
Tropospheric Response to Stratospheric Sudden Warmings in a Simple Global Circulation Model

Abstract A composite analysis is made of 132 stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events obtained in a 10 000-day integration with a simple global circulation model under a perpetual-winter condition. The analysis confirms general features of the SSWs, such as enhanced upward propagation of planetary wave activity from the troposphere to the stratosphere before the SSWs and downward propagation of warming signals to the lower stratosphere after the events. A further dynamical diagnosis shows that the tropospheric circulation is quite different between pre-SSW and post-SSW periods in terms of the zonal mean zonal wind, planetary wave, and synoptic-scale waves. In the pre-SSW period, the planetary wave is more active than normal in relation to the tropospheric westerly jet that shifts poleward. In the post-SSW period, on the other hand, the planetary wave is less active, while the mean zonal wind is close to the climatology. Synoptic-scale waves also exhibit anomalous features in both periods corresponding to...
License to Drill: The Case for Modernizing America's Crude Oil and Natural Gas Export Licensing Systems

Revolutionary extraction technologies have helped increase the supply of fossil fuels in the United States, driving down prices, spurring economic activity, and potentially reversing the longtime status of the United States as a net energy importer to a significant exporter. Impeding that transition are outdated federal regulations — in particular discretionary export licensing systems for natural gas and crude oil — that restrict exports, distort domestic energy prices, deter investment, and encourage graft. They also subvert some of the Obama administration stated policy objectives and could run afoul of U.S. international trade obligations. Despite the potential economic windfall, opposition to exporting natural gas and crude oil has materialized among certain domestic consuming industries and environmental groups, causing the administration to delay any approvals on pending export-license applications. But there are compelling reasons to approve those applications and to overhaul our disjointed, anachronistic, export license systems to properly reflect the new energy landscape. This paper describes those reasons and provides a basic roadmap for reform.
Freustrated Achievers: Winners, Losers, and Subjective Well-Being in Peru’s Emerging Economy

The literature on subjective well-being has focused primarily on the developed economies. The authors provide empirical evidence from a developing country, Peru. Their results—and in particular a strong negative skew in the assessments of the respondents with the greatest income gains—support the importance of relative rather than absolute income differences. Among other factors, they attribute their results to shifts in reference norms and to macroeconomic volatility. Relative differences seem to matter more for those in the middle of the distribution than for the very wealthy or the very poor. Respondents were more critical in assessing their progress vis-a-vis others in their country versus those in their community. The frustrations that the authors find among the upwardly mobile may have implications for the future economic and political behavior of a group that is critical to the sustainability of market policies.
A Theory of the Distribution of Underpriced Initial Public Offers by Investment Banks

It is well documented that a firm may choose to offer underpriced securities in an initial public offer. An open question is why investment banks do not retain underpriced offers in their portfolio. We argue that the distribution of underpriced securities allows banks of high qualify to signal their value to their customers, promoting in this way their other product lines. We show that the total dollar value of underpriced securities distributed (rather than the percentage value) acts as the signal. We also find that, all else equal, larger customers and those with more elastic demand functions receive n larger total dollar value of underpricing.
Genetic Disorders and Congenital Malformations in Pediatric Long-Term Care

Objective The objective of this study was to gain insight into the contribution of genetic disorders and congenital malformations to residents of a pediatric long-term care and rehabilitation center. Design Record review. Setting The setting was a 136-bed long-term care and rehabilitation center in New York City. Participants Participants were residents who spent 1 day or longer as in-patients at the center over a 1-year period of time. Measurements Resident diagnoses were categorized as problems with known genetic basis, problems with presumed genetic basis, acquired disorders with genetic predisposition, contiguous gene syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, conditions with unknown etiology, and defined conditions without genetic basis. The percentage of individuals with genetic disorders and/or congenital malformations was determined. Results Genetic disorders and congenital anomalies were responsible for 50% of overall admissions and 60% of end-of-life care admissions to a pediatric long-term care center. Conclusion An understanding of the contribution of genetic disorders and congenital malformations can assist long-term care administrators as they plan for the needs of their future residents.
CORR Insights®: can wear explain the histological variation around metal-on-metal total hips?

This CORR Insights® is a commentary on the article “Can Wear Explain the Histological Variation Around Metal-on-metal Total Hips?” by Ebramzadeh and colleagues available at: DOI: 10.1007/s11999-014-3874-5. The author certifies that he, or any member of his immediate family, has no funding or commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR ® or the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®. This CORR Insights® comment refers to the article available at DOI: 10.1007/s11999-014-3874-5.
Health salience: reclaiming a concept from the lost and found

This paper describes development of a new measure to assess one dimension of health motivation, the salience of health concerns. The new, five-item, measure was administered to 578 women as part of a larger investigation the determinants of exercise and calcium consumption. The study used a crosssectional survey research design. Data were analyzed separately for premenopausal and menopausal women, allowing us to cross-validate our findings in two independent samples. Our findings suggest that the new measure has many desirable psychometric properties. It is internally consistent (Cronbach's a = 0.85 and 0.86 for premenopausal and menopausal women, respectively). For both samples, factor analysis revealed that over 60% of the total item variance was explained by a single underlying factor. All factor loadings exceeded 0.74. The measure also correlated in predictable ways with measures of other health beliefs, differentiated among women in different stages of change with respect to exercise and calcium consumption, and discriminated between women on the basis of their information-seeking behavior. We discuss the potential applications of this new measure hi future research. Hopefully, the measure
A general purpose fuzzy controller for monotone functions

In this work, a general purpose fuzzy controller is proposed to handle the class of monotonic functions. A set of rules on the selection of fuzzy subsets and decision tables based on the mean-of-inversion (MOI) defuzzification method for guaranteed convergence and accuracy is given and proved. Unlike the mean-of-maximum (MOM) and the center-of-area (COA) methods, the MOI method defuzzifies each fired rule separately instead of superimposing fired rules before defuzzification.
Modeling of wave propagation in layered piezoelectric media by a recursive asymptotic method

In this paper, a simple asymptotic method to compute wave propagation in a multilayered general anisotropic piezoelectric medium is discussed. The method is based on explicit second and higher order asymptotic representations of the transfer and stiffness matrices for a thin piezoelectric layer. Different orders of the asymptotic expansion are obtained using Pade approximation of the transfer matrix exponent. The total transfer and stiffness matrices for thick layers or multilayers are calculated with high precision by subdividing them into thin sublayers and combining recursively the thin layer transfer and stiffness matrices. The rate of convergence to the exact solution is the same for both transfer and stiffness matrices; however, it is shown that the growth rate of the round-off error with the number of recursive operations for the stiffness matrix is twice that for the transfer matrix; and the stiffness matrix method has better performance for a thick layer. To combine the advantages of both methods, a hybrid method which uses the transfer matrix for the thin layer and the stiffness matrix for the thick layer is proposed. It is shown that the hybrid method has the same stability as the stiffness matrix method and the same round-off error as the transfer matrix method. The method converges to the exact transfer/stiffness matrices essentially with the precision of the computer round-off error. To apply the method to a semispace substrate, the substrate was replaced by an artificial perfect matching layer. The computational results for such an equivalent system are identical with those for the actual system. In our computational experiments, we have found that the advantage of the asymptotic method is its simplicity and efficiency.
Making the case for the humanities in evaluation training

The author argues that evaluators who are comfortable with the interpretation of competing values—an ability that can be fostered by exposure to the humanities—might be able to contribute significant advances toward finding a better balance of methodologies in an ever-more-ambiguous world. This argument is made by describing a humanities-informed evaluation graduate course. Black-and-white worldviews and one-size-fits-all solutions are hard to reconcile in evaluation environments increasingly characterized by multiculturalism, complexity, and uncertainty. The author reflects on the place of value judgments in the graduate education of future evaluators, not as something to avoid, but as an opportunity to improve needed skills. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association
Numerical and experimental studies of current distributions on thin metallic posts inside rectangular waveguides

A fast converging and stable moment method solution for the current distribution on arbitrary size rectangular obstacles mounted transversely inside the rectangular waveguide has been developed. A special arrangement of piecewise sinusoidal and pulse basis functions has been utilized to determine the transverse current distributions on the obstacles and their scatterings in the waveguide. The method has been compared well with the Marcuvitz's results for the inductive and capacitive posts and the experimental data of an arbitrary size rectangular obstacle. >
The impact of ablated cortex on the validity and interpretation of the fNIRS signal

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a safe and portable brain imaging modality that monitors changes in the hemodynamic activity at the cortical level. Although still in its emerging stage, fNIRS has recently gained increasing acknowledgements of its strengths and suitability for many clinical applications.
Breast cancer mortality among female radiologic technologists in the United States

We evaluated breast cancer mortality through 1997 among 69 525 female radiologic technologists who were certified in the United States from 1926 through 1982 and who responded to our questionnaire. Risk of breast cancer mortality was examined according to work history and practices and was adjusted for known risk factors. Breast cancer mortality risk was highest among women who were first employed as radiologic technologists prior to 1940 (relative risk [RR] = 2.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22 to 7.00) compared with risk of those first employed in 1960 or later and declined with more recent calendar year of first employment (P for trend = .002). Breast cancer mortality risk increased with increasing number of years of employment as a technologist prior to 1950 (P for trend = .018). However, risk was not associated with the total number of years a woman worked as a technologist. Technologists who first performed fluoroscopy (RR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.02 to 3.11) and multifilm procedures (RR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.04 to 3.34) before 1950 had statistically significantly elevated risks compared with technologists who first performed these procedures in 1960 or later. The high risks of breast cancer mortality for women exposed to occupational radiation prior to 1950 and the subsequent decline in risk are consistent with the dramatic reduction in recommended radiation exposure limits over time.
Methods of evaluating ES-2 leg flail in dynamic evaluation and certification tests of side-facing aircraft seats

The recent implementation of new federal regulations on injury criteria for occupants in side-facing seats greatly decreases the risk for these passengers. One of these new requirements limits the amount of leg flail allowed to the occupant. While the limit of rotation is defined at 35°, the method of measurement of this angle is left open to the end user. Photometric analysis and angular rate sensor data are analysed and evaluated, first, on a pendulum fixture to determine any difference between the two and then, second, on an ES-2re anthropomorphic test device (ATD) in a side-facing seat. The leg flail or leg rotation is measured in three different configurations: an unrestrained leg, a rigid block to restrain the leg, and with an airbag deployed to restrain the leg. Various targets are tracked from the high-speed video, and the photometric results for each are compared to the angular rate sensor data during the impact test.