cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quality-based purchasing in health care

SUMMARY Quality-based purchasing is a growing trend that seeks to improve healthcare quality through the purchaser-provider relationship. This article provides a unifying conceptual framework, presents examples of the purchaser-provider relationship in countries at different income levels, and identifies important supporting mechanisms for quality-based purchasing. As countries become wealthier, a higher proportion of healthcare spending is channeled through pooled arrangements, allowing for greater involvement of purchasers in promoting the quality of service provision. Global and line item budgets are the most common type of provider payment system in low and middle-income countries. In these countries, improving public hospital performance through contracting and incentives is a key issue. In middle and high-income countries, there are several documented examples of governments contracting to private or non-governmental health care providers, resulting in higher perceived quality of care and lower delivery costs. Encouraging quality through employer purchasing arrangements has been promoted in several countries, particularly the United States. Community-based financing schemes are an increasingly common form of health financing in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but these schemes still cover less than 10% of national populations in countries in which they are active. To date, there is little evidence of their impact on healthcare quality. The availability of information—concerning healthcare service provision and outcomes— determines the options for establishing and monitoring contract provisions and promoting quality. Regardless of the context, quality-based purchasing depends critically on information—reporting, monitoring, and providing useful information to healthcare consumers. In many low and middle-income countries, the lack of availability of information is the principal constraint on measuring performance, a critical component of quality-based purchasing. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Validation of a porcine comb burn model

Abstract Objective A brass comb burn model that creates 3 full-thickness burns separated by 3 interspaces of unburned skin representing the zone of ischemia has been described in rats. We evaluated this model in pigs. Methods Design—observational. Subjects—6 pigs (20-25 kg). Interventions—4 burns created on each animal on the dorsum using a brass comb with 4 rectangular prongs preheated in boiling water and applied for 30 seconds resulting in 4 rectangular 10 × 20–mm full-thickness burns separated by three 5 × 20–mm unburned interspaces. Outcomes—wounds observed at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days for evidence of necrosis in unburned interspaces. Full-thickness biopsies from interspaces were evaluated with hematoxylin-eosin staining 7 days after injury for evidence of necrosis. Data analysis—the percentages of interspaces progressing to necrosis were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results Twenty-four comb burns with 72 unburned interspaces were created evenly distributed between the animals. The percentages of interspaces that progressed to full-thickness necrosis at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after injury were 88.9% (64/72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 79.6%-94.3%), 88.9% (64/72; 95% CI, 79.6%-94.3%), 88.9% (64/72; 95% CI, 79.6%-94.3%), and 97.7% (70/72; 95% CI, 90.4%-99.2%), respectively. There was perfect agreement between gross inspection and histomorphology. Conclusions The comb burn model in swine results in the progression of most unburned ischemic interspaces to full-thickness necrosis within 1 to 7 days.
Enhanced solid-liquid clarification of lignocellulosic slurries using polyelectrolyte flocculating agents.

Abstract Following pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass within a biorefinery, the residual solids are often present in high concentration and have a wide particle size distribution. These solids, which can be difficult to remove from solution, can have a detrimental impact on downstream fermentations and separations. Here we show that polyelectrolyte flocculating agents can be used to enhance the solid–liquid clarification of a lignocellulosic biomass (Ponderosa Pine) hydrolyzate. Due to the negative zeta potential of Ponderosa Pine solids following pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, flocculation with cationic polymers provided the largest flocs, which quickly settled out of solution. Adding Kemira flocculant C1592 up to 1000 mg/L created larger flocs; however, a higher dosage (5000 mg/L) resulted in solids re-dispersing into solution. It was estimated that a greater than 12-fold improvement in throughput with a scroll decanting centrifuge could be obtained when using flocculant, or that an approximately 40-fold higher flux could be obtained for a vacuum filtration operation. The addition of 100 mg/L of C1592 showed optimal suspended solids removal of the clarified solution ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation.
The effect of poison pill securities on shareholder wealth

Abstract This paper examines empirical evidence about the effect of poison pill takeover defenses on shareholder wealth. I find evidence that announcements of the most restrictive forms of the pill defense are associated with stock price declines. Also, the most restrictive forms of the pill defense are associated with abnormally high rates of defeat of unsolicited tender offers. Although this evidence is consistent with managerial entrenchment, the evidence implies that, on average, poison pill defenses have seemingly had only a modest effect on firm valuation.
Mises and prediction markets: Can markets forecast?

Ludwig von Mises’s methodological position is unique because it combines apriorism with qualitative empirical approach. Nonetheless, Mises’s adherents and detractors continue to characterize his apriorism as rejecting forecasting. This paper argues that a prediction market is a traditional market for forward-looking information; it leverages subjective knowledge and aggregates information via the market process to effectively solve the Hayekian knowledge problem. We argue that Austrian economists should embrace prediction markets as a powerful method of forecasting rooted in human action.
Oxygen isotope geothermometry and stability of lawsonite and pumpellyite in the Shuksan Suite, North Cascades, Washington

Metamorphic temperatures of 330°–400° C are inferred for rocks from the Shuksan blueschist terrane in the North Cascades, Washington. The temperatures are calculated from 18O fractionations between coexisting quartz and magnetite using the equations of Bottinga and Javoy (1973). Pressures of approximately 7 kilobars are indicated by the Jadeite content of clinopyroxene coexisting with quartz+albite. Published experimental and theoretical studies of the stability of lawsonite and pumpellyite are consistent with the oxygen isotope temperatures and occurrence of these minerals in the Shuksan Suite.
Impact of intraoperative arteriography on limb salvage for traumatic popliteal artery injury.

Background: Time to revascularization is speculated to be a major determinant of limb salvage for traumatic popliteal injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine whether location of diagnostic arteriography affected outcome. Methods: From 1996 to 2006, patients with popliteal injuries were identified from our trauma database. Additional data were extracted from chart review. Amputation rates for those undergoing arteriography performed in radiology (ARAD) versus the operating room (AOR) were compared. Results: In 35 patients 36 limbs were treated, with 94% resulting from blunt mechanisms. The mean age was 37 years (11-69 years), 81% were men, and the mean Injury Severity Score was 15. The average mangled extremity severity scores (MESS) was 6 ± 2. Follow-up was available in 97% patients with a median of 14 months. Overall amputation rate was 16.7% (6 of 36). Extremities with MESS <8 had 93% limb salvage, and MESS ≥8 had 55% limb salvage. ARAD (n = 10) and AOR (n = 15) groups were equivalent with regard to age, mechanism, Injury Severity Score, MESS, time to presentation, associated injuries, and fasciotomy rate. The median time from emergency room arrival to operating room was shorter (125 minutes vs. 214 4 minutes; p < 0.05) and salvage rate was higher (100% vs. 70%; p = 0.05) in the AOR group compared with the ARAD group. Conclusion: For popliteal artery injuries, diagnostic arteriography in the operating room reduces the likelihood of amputation by decreasing time to initiating repair and thereby limiting limb ischemia. Salvage is possible in the most severely injured extremities with rapid transport to the operating room.
Individualism and Authoritarianism Shape Attitudes Toward Physician‐Assisted Suicide1

We investigated the relation between value orientations and attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in 267 United States college students. We predicted that individualistic values, especially those having to do with control and self-determination, would lead to favorable attitudes toward PAS, and authoritarianism would lead to a rejection of PAS. A positive association between individualism and approval of PAS emerged which was moderated by attitude importance: People who did not endorse individualistic values did not have favorable opinions of PAS, regardless of how important the issue was to them. However, for individualists, PAS attitudes and attitude importance were positively related. Independent of individualism, authoritarianism was negatively related to PAS attitudes. Primarily for low authoritarianism, we found a correlation between attitude and attitude importance. The discussion focuses on the value-expressive function of death-related attitudes.
Grain boundary networks: Scaling laws, preferred cluster structure, and their implications for grain boundary engineering

Abstract Within the context of grain boundary engineering, where grain boundaries are classified as special vs. general, grain boundary networks are known to have non-random topologies and percolation thresholds which differ from randomly assembled networks. This non-random structure is due to crystallographically imposed local correlations among boundaries. In the present work, we simulate crystallographically consistent grain boundary networks and measure four network properties: the cluster mass distribution, the average radius of gyration, the connectivity length and the strength of the percolating cluster. We find that for very large lattices, behavior of the crystallographically consistent networks is well described by the scaling laws of standard percolation theory. However, at shorter length scales, the cluster mass distributions and radii of gyration are significantly non-random for both special and general boundaries as a result of the local correlations. In this regime, we observe strong preferences for some magic cluster structures, and the scaling laws of percolation theory fail. The critical length scale separating these two classes of behavior is on the order of three grain diameters; this represents a new critical length scale for the statistical description of microstructures, and may figure into many microstructure–property relationships.
Celiac disease: Pathogenesis and serologic tests

Abstract The serological tests represent a significant advance in screening at-risk patients for celiac disease and probably should supplant other nonspecific methods for screening, such as 72-hr fecal fat, the d-xylose test, serum carotene, or small-bowel x-ray. The latter tests lack sensitivity, specificity, or simplicity. The published results suggest that the EMA IgA IFA is currently the screening tool of choice. The demonstration of the characteristic histological abnormalities of the intestinal abnormality and clinical improvement on a gluten-free diet is the gold standard for the diagnosis of celiac disease. Whether serological testing can substitute for intestinal biopsy in the diagnosis of celiac disease will depend on the experience obtained from more widespread application of these tests. The greater availability and more frequent use of these tests should increase the detection of a readily treatable condition, the diagnosis of which is often greatly delayed.
Primary production and implications for metabolic balance in Hawaiian lee eddies

Abstract Recent discrepancies between geochemical and biological approaches for determining whether ocean ecosystems are net heterotrophic or net autotrophic have led to uncertainty in the net metabolic state of open ocean ecosystems. Geochemical approaches indicate that the oceans are net positive autotrophic, but direct observations based on short-term incubation techniques suggest that the ocean is in a state of net heterotrophy. One hypothesis for the apparent discrepancy is that net autotrophic production occurs in aperiodic “bursts,” which are superimposed on a more constant background state of net heterotrophy. Mixing events, which introduce new nutrients to the surface ocean, provide one mechanism for fueling such aperiodic bursts of net production. In conjunction with the Eddy Flux (E-Flux) program in the lee of the Hawaiian Islands during winter 2004–2005, we examined the relationship between photosynthesis and irradiance ( P vs. E ) in surface waters inside and outside of two cold-core, cyclonic eddies, and conducted five incubation experiments to examine the metabolic response of mixed-layer plankton communities to nutrient-rich deep-sea water additions. Our results showed that in the mixed layer, maximum rates of light-saturated photosynthesis, derived from photosynthesis–irradiance experiments were not significantly different inside vs. outside the eddies ( p =0.35 and 0.44 for E-Flux I and E-Flux III, respectively). Addition of nutrients to mixed-layer water showed that (1) gross primary production (GPP) became decoupled from a more constant rate of respiration and (2) net system metabolism shifted from approximate balance, or slight net heterotrophy, to a demonstrably net autotrophic system. From these results, we determined that the threshold GPP for net autotrophic production for the mixed layer of the study region was 1.65 mmol O 2 m −3 d −1 , which is consistent with previous estimates for the oligotrophic open ocean.
Prophylactic versus emergency sclerotherapy of large esophageal varices prior to liver transplantation.

From January 1985 through July 1987, adult patients accepted for liver transplantation with large esophageal varices were enrolled in a study evaluating the use of prophylactic vs emergency sclerotherapy. Six hundred forty-eight subjects received prophylactic sclerotherapy, and 172 received emergent sclerotherapy. Esophageal stricture formation was increased 12.9-fold (P<0.001), esophageal perforation 6.4-fold (P<0.005), and postsclerotherapy bleeding esophageal ulcers 3.7-fold (P<0.001) in those receiving emergency sclerotherapy as opposed to prophylactic sclerotherapy. These differences were even greater if the number of sclerotherapy sessions rather than the number of patients was used as the denominator for the comparisons. In total, 19.6% of emergency sclerotherapy cases were associated with an untoward outcome of sclerotherapy; only 1.9% of cases receiving prophylactic sclerotherapy experienced an untoward outcome (P <0.001). These data demonstrate that emergency sclerotherapy is associated with a greater prevalence of complications and support earlier studies that show that sclerotherapy prevents variceal bleeding over the short term. The data also suggest that when applied to patients with large varices awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation, it enhances the chance of a patient surviving to be transplanted by preventing a variceal bleed and the spiral of liver failure and death that frequently follows an episode of acute variceal bleeding.
Uncommon Teaching in an Unexpected Place.

AbstractContinued physical well-being is important, especially within the aging teacher ranks. The story of one veteran exercise instructor emphasizes fitness and weaves best classroom practices throughout the narrative.
On the Nearly Viscometric Torsional Motion of Viscoelastic Liquids Between Shrouded Rotating Disks

Flow of a viscoelastic liquid in a cylindrical cavity driven by rotating finite disks is investigated. The cylindrical sidewall is fixed and the covers rotate with different angular velocities either in the same or in opposite directions. A regular perturbation in terms of the angular velocity of the caps is used. The flow field is resolved into a primary azimuthal stratified viscometric field and a weaker secondary meridional field. Results are presented for a range of cylinder aspect and cap rotation ratios and viscoelastic parameters. Interesting instabilities of the fluid of second grade are discussed. The controversy surrounding the sign of the first Rivlin-Ericksen constant is completely irrelevant to the discussion. It is shown qualitatively that loss of stability occurs repeatedly and bifurcating flows exist for critical values of an elasticity parameter at fixed aspect and cap rotation ratio. Branching flows also occur at a fixed value of the elasticity parameter for critical values of the cap rotation ratio, when the aspect ratio is fixed.
Benefits of pure palladium for ENEP and ENEPIG surface finishes

These investigations show that using electroless pure Pd depositions (without co-deposited phosphorus) can enhance the performance of ENEPIG and ENEP surface finishes. In the case of ENEPIG, the use of pure Pd widens the process window for gold wire bonding and, as demonstrated, allows a reduction in the gold thickness, thus enabling an increase in yield on the assembly side as well as a possible cost reduction. With respect to the ENEP surface finish, the elimination of the immersion gold process step clearly results in a simplified process as compared to ENEPIG. In addition to offering the associated cost reduction, the ENEP surface finish enables next generation interconnection techniques, namely copper wire bonding. The presentation at the ESTC International Conference will provide further details, discussion and interpretation of these test results.
Relative numerousness judgment and summation in young and old western lowland gorillas

The relationship between age, relative numerousness judgment, and summation was investigated in 11 Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Experiments 1 and 2 evaluated the gorillas' ability to select the larger of 2 food quantities before and with training. The majority of gorillas did not reliably select the larger quantity in Experiment 1 until receiving training to do so in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 evaluated their ability to select the larger of 2 pairs of quantities. All gorillas selected the larger pair more often than chance, and the old were less accurate and slower than were the young. For most gorillas, performance in relative numerousness judgment with training and summation was comparable with previous reports in chimpanzees and orangutans.
Developing the Next Generation Shell Buckling Design Factors and Technologies

NASA s Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor (SBKF) Project was established in the spring of 2007 by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) in collaboration with the Constellation Program and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The SBKF project has the current goal of developing less-conservative, robust shell buckling design factors (a.k.a. knockdown factors) and design and analysis technologies for light-weight stiffened metallic launch vehicle (LV) structures. Preliminary design studies indicate that implementation of these new knockdown factors can enable significant reductions in mass and mass-growth in these vehicles and can help mitigate some of NASA s LV development and performance risks. In particular, it is expected that the results from this project will help reduce the reliance on testing, provide high-fidelity estimates of structural performance, reliability, robustness, and enable increased payload capability. The SBKF project objectives and approach used to develop and validate new design technologies are presented, and provide a glimpse into the future of design of the next generation of buckling-critical launch vehicle structures.
The American Aging Association honors Huber R. Warner, PhD., Retiring Associate Director, National Institute on Aging.

On behalf of American Aging Association and his many biogerontological colleagues, the author thanks Huber R. Warner for his 21 years of exemplary service at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In so honoring Dr. Warner, we also honor his many associates at that “user friendly” branch of the National Institutes of Health. Some highlights of Dr. Warner's scientific training, academic career and special contributions while serving in a leadership position at the NIA are reviewed. We wish him well as he returns to the University of Minnesota, this time as Associate Dean of Research in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Amorphous Tumours induced in Alfalfa by Potato Leafhoppers

AN alfalfa (Medicago saliva L.) plant with many small tumours was found during tests for resistance to the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris). Most of the other plants expressed the usual symptoms of leafhopper injury described by Granovsky1, Jewett2, and Poos3. Those symptoms were wilted stems and leaves, shortened internodes and dwarfing, and reddening or yellowing of the foliage. This particular plant produced amorphous tumours at the sites of feeding as well as the usual symptoms of leafhopper injury. Since there have been no previous reports of the potato leafhopper causing hyperplasia in the forage legumes, we felt that the phenomenon should be described and that its possible implications with regard to the nature of leafhopper injury should be discussed. These findings could prove useful to scientists investigating abnormal growth in other organisms.
Some Experiments Regarding Dissipation in Helium Superflow

Experiments are reported on the dissipative steady-state flow regime of liquid helium II. These were done with a view to examining the theoretical assertion that the chemical potential gradient $\ensuremath{\nabla}\ensuremath{\mu}$ is related to the superfluid-flow speed ${v}_{s}$, by the equation $\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\nabla}\ensuremath{\mu}=G\mathrm{exp} (\frac{1\ensuremath{-}{v}_{c}(T)}{{v}_{s}}]$. Our experiments showed good qualitative agreement with this equation. Other assertions about the magnitude of the parameters in this equation and their dependence upon the superfluid fraction $\frac{{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s}}{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ and temperature $T$ were also explored experimentally.
Zigadenus poisoning treated with atropine and dopamine.

Introduction Zigadenus (commonly known as “death camas” or “mountain camas”) is a common plant in the lilly family found throughout the United States. Its onion-like roots can be mistaken for an edible plant. Ingestion may cause hemodynamic instability which has successfully been treated with atropine. It has been suggested that vasopressors may be an effective therapy for this ingestion. We report the successful use of dopamine as therapy inZigadenus ingestion.
Theory content and explanatory power of simulation models

A concise methodology for the efficient modeling of behavioral phenomena in living systems at the levels of organisms, groups, organizations, societies, and supranational systems is proposed. The methodology helps resolve questions such as: When a model is to be made more complex? What variables are useful ones to add? When should the model development process cease? The methodology is founded upon (1) the precise identification and delineation of the set of behavioral phenomena to be explained, and (2) the development of a meaningful metric of the content or “size” of alternative explanatory models. From these data, measures of explanatory power (relative amount of the phenomena explained) and explanatory yield (the average amount of explanation per unit of theory content) may be derived. Explanatory power is shown to be an increasing function of theory content, and explanatory yield is shown to be a decreasing function of theory content. The methodology is illustrated in detail in the context of six successive simulation models of the cognitive behaviors of a subject solving a job shop scheduling task. The success of the final model in providing a complete description of one large class of the subject's behavior corroborates the usefulness of the methodology.
THE PLACE OF METHYLDOPA IN THE TREATMENT OF SEVERE HYPERTENSION.

THE MOST POTENT antihypertensive agents presently available are those which interfere with function of the sympathetic nervous system. Methyldopa (the levo isomer of alphamethyldopa), which is an effective decarboxylase inhibitor, diminishes the formation of catecholamines by inhibiting the conversion of dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa) to dopamine. 1 Although it is not known whether the fall in blood pressure produced by this drug depends upon interference with sympathetic function, its antihypertensive effects are similar to those of other autonomic blocking agents. 2,3 It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of hypertension and reasonably free from side effects, and others have emphasized that it has a favorable effect on the recumbent blood pressure. 4-7 Since effective drugs of this type are presently available, the place of methyldopa in the treatment of hypertension will be determined by its ability to overcome the deficiencies in the other autonomic blocking agents, notably guanethidine sulfate.
Henry Schwartz's address to the Society of Neurological Surgeons, May 1998

✓ In his final address to the Society of Neurological Surgeons, Henry G. Schwartz, M.D., shared his thoughts on mentoring and recalled specific mentors who contributed to his professional life.
Word Processing Programs and Weaker Writers/Readers: A Meta-Analysis of Research Findings.

Since its advent word processing has become a common writing tool, providing potential advantages over writing by hand. Word processors permit easy revision, produce legible characters quickly, and may provide additional supports (e.g., spellcheckers, speech recognition). Such advantages should remedy common difficulties among weaker writers/readers in grades 1–12. Based on 27 studies with weaker writers, 20 of which were not considered in prior reviews, findings from this meta-analysis support this proposition. From 77 independent effects, the following average effects were greater than zero: writing quality (d = 0.52), length (d = 0.48), development/organization of text (d = 0.66), mechanical correctness (d = 0.61), motivation to write (d = 1.42), and preferring word processing over writing by hand (d = 0.64). Especially powerful writing quality effects were associated with word processing programs that provided text quality feedback or prompted planning, drafting, or revising (d = 1.46), although this observation was based on a limited number of studies (n = 3).
Chandra Observation of NGC 6822

Chandra observed the nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 6822. There are 70 sources in the Chandra field, two of which are fairly extended and likely background clusters of galaxies. A third source was resolved by Chandra and has the same size and position as a known supernova remnant. The suspected variability detected from this source in previous missions is shown to be in error. The majority of the remaining 67 sources are consistent with background sources. Of the 61 sources detected above a completeness limit of 10 events we estimate that 9+/-4+/-8 are associated with the galaxy including both systematic and statistical errors. We compare the X-ray positions of all sources with various catalogs and HST data'and offer tentative identifications for several. Based on the mass and star formation rate of NGC 6822 we only expect about 10 sources mostly high mass systems.
Purple is the color of the future.

Although HIV/AIDS first erupted in North America and Europe the virus has spread inexorably to the less developed nations of the world reaching pandemic proportions in some parts of Africa and threatening massive human devastation in Asia. With antiretroviral drugs priced well beyond the budgets of most nations and individuals and without an AIDS vaccine behavior modification is virtually the only variable that offers hope for saving life and blunting the epidemic. Physician/writer Fitzhugh Mullan describes the creative determination of a nationwide South African teen AIDS prevention program whose goal is nothing short of saving millions of lives over the next few years. Returns are not yet in but if hustle and drive count for anything lives should be spared. China specialist and writer Kyna Rubin provides a window on the coming epidemic in the world’s largest country. She visits Chinese gays in Beijing and a U.S. expatriate who gives them safe haven from a government and society that have been reluctant to accept difference and to address a “foreign” disease. (authors)
The ANOVA-based competitive balance measure: a defense.

Conventional wisdom holds that parity has increased in college football in recent decades due largely to limits on the number of scholarships teams can offer. The authors find that competitive balance has not increased in college football since the end of World War II, and they find mixed evidence of scholarship limits' effect on a range of measures of parity, including the standard deviation of winning percentages and Associated Press rankings. They also examine the 1991 NCAA roll-call vote to reduce the scholarship limit and find some evidence that stronger teams were more likely to vote for the lower limit.
Uncertainty Quantification Models For Micro-Scale Squeeze-Film Damping

Two squeeze-film gas damping models are proposed to quantify uncertainties associated with the gap size and the ambient pressure. Modeling of gas damping has become a subject of increased interest in recent years due to its importance in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). In addition to the need for gas damping models for design of MEMS with movable micro-structures, knowledge of parameter dependence in gas damping contributes to the understanding of device-level reliability. In this work, two damping models quantifying the uncertainty in parameters are generated based on rarefied flow simulations. One is a generalized polynomial chaos (gPC) model, which is a general strategy for uncertainty quantification, and the other is a compact model developed specifically for this problem in an early work. Convergence and statistical analysis have been conducted to verify both models. By taking the gap size and ambient pressure as random fields with known probability distribution functions (PDF), the output PDF for the damping coefficient can be obtained. The first four central moments are used in comparisons of the resulting non-parametric distributions. A good agreement has been found, within 1%, for the relative difference for damping coefficient mean values. In study of geometric uncertainty, it is found that the average damping coefficient can deviate up to 13% from the damping coefficient corresponding to the average gap size. The difference is significant at the nonlinear region where the flow is in slip or transitional rarefied regimes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ligation of internal mammary arteries as related to the coronary artery circulation.

L IGATION of the internal mammary arteries for treatment of angina pectoris and coronary heart disease has been discussed in many publications. Reference to these publications is omitted from this paper. Only our experiments are reported. Various tests were established in our laboratory to measure the beneficial effect of a drug or a surgical operation upon the coronary artery circulation. These tests are as follows: (1) backflow measurements; (2) electrical fibrillation (mortality) after test artery occlusion; (3) size of infarct after test artery occlusion and (4) the electrical condition of the heart after test artery occlusion. Each of these tests is related to the amount of oxygenated (arterial) blood delivered to an area of ischemic muscle. When the amount of blood to an area of ischemic muscle is increased by therapy, the condition is improved ; when it is reduced, the opposite effect is produced. These statements apply to both the human subject and the experimental dog. The effect of ligation of the mammary arteries on these tests has been studied.
A fully automated object extraction system for the World Wide Web

This paper presents a fully automated object extraction system Omini. A distinct feature of Omini is the suite of algorithms and the automatically learned information extraction rules for discovering and extracting objects from dynamic Web pages or static Web pages that contain multiple object instances. We evaluated the system using more than 2,000 Web pages over 40 sites. It achieves 100% precision (returns only correct objects) and excellent recall (between 99% and 98%, with very few significant objects left out). The object boundary identification algorithms are fast, about 0.1 second per page with a simple optimization.
Meta-Reflective Service-Learning Poster Fairs: Purposive Pedagogy for Pre-Service Teachers

Given that teachers need to present information in a concise, understandable way, to reflect on their practices to inform future actions, and to know how to create and use a teaching artifact, this article reports the findings from a study conducted to examine the impacts from a class-based poster session in teacher education. First, a review of the literature provides insight into the advantages and disadvantages to poster fair use. Then, findings from the utilization of a poster fair in an undergraduate general teaching methods course at a large public university are presented and discussed.
Limbic Tract Integrity Contributes to Pattern Separation Performance Across the Lifespan

Accurate memory for discrete events is thought to rely on pattern separation to orthogonalize the representations of similar events. Previously, we reported that a behavioral index of pattern separation was correlated with activity in the hippocampus (dentate gyrus, CA3) and with integrity of the perforant path, which provides input to the hippocampus. If the hippocampus operates as part of a broader neural network, however, pattern separation would likely also relate to integrity of limbic tracts (fornix, cingulum bundle, and uncinate fasciculus) that connect the hippocampus to distributed brain regions. In this study, healthy adults (20-89 years) underwent diffusion tensor imaging and completed the Behavioral Pattern Separation Task-Object Version (BPS-O) and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). After controlling for global effects of brain aging, exploratory skeleton-wise and targeted tractography analyses revealed that fornix integrity (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity; but not mode) was significantly related to pattern separation (measured using BPS-O and RAVLT tasks), but not to recognition memory. These data suggest that hippocampal disconnection, via individual- and age-related differences in limbic tract integrity, contributes to pattern separation performance. Extending our earlier work, these results also support the notion that pattern separation relies on broad neural networks interconnecting the hippocampus.
Helping Children with Disabilities Develop and Maintain Friendships

Friends are important in the lives of most people. Unfortunately, children with disabilities, particularly those with more severe disabilities, frequently face considerable problems in friendship devel- opment. In this article, we describe friendship development between children with and without disabilities and present strategies for teachers and school counselors working with children with disabilities in a broad range of settings.
Computer-aids for analysis and scaling of extrinsic devices

Although intrinsic effects have been successfully modeled using computer analysis, the capability to characterize and predict extrinsic effects has lagged behind. Scaling of VLSI now requires coordinated analysis of all resistive, capacitive, and parasitic devices-especially those associated with isolation and CMOS well structures. This paper addresses the problem of intrinsic devices imbedded in a complete technology framework including parasitics. Results are presented for resistive and capacitive effects which influence intrinsic device performance. The role of velocity saturation on C gd is explained. Analysis of isolation structures shows the importance of nonplanar analysis and effects of two-dimensional impurity distributions. An hierarchy of approaches for latch-up analysis is considered. Use, of circuit- like one-dimensional analysis can give good results for some holding conditions. However, transient two-dimensional (2D) results are needed to account for more complex triggering conditions. Results of 2D simulation show critical process-dependent effects of triggering. The PISCES program is demonstrated to be a powerful tool for analysis of both intrinsic and parasitic 2D device effects.
Prospective, randomized comparison in humans of a unipolar defibrillation system with that using an additional superior vena cava electrode.

BACKGROUNDA unipolar defibrillation system using a single right ventricular (RV) electrode and the active shell or "CAN" of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator itself situated in a left infraclavicular pocket has been shown to be as efficient in defibrillation as an epicardial lead system. The purpose of this study was to determine whether defibrillation efficacy can be improved further by adding a superior vena cava (SVC) electrode to this already efficient defibrillation system.METHODS AND RESULTSWe prospectively and randomly compared the defibrillation efficacy of a simplified unipolar defibrillation system, RV-->CAN, with that of one incorporating a high SVC electrode, RV-->SVC + CAN, in 15 consecutive cardiac arrest survivors undergoing implantation of a presently available transvenous defibrillation system. The RV defibrillation electrode was a 5-cm coil located on a 10.5F lead used as the anode in both lead configurations examined. The active CAN was a 108-cm2 surface area shell of a titaniu...
Electromagnetic modeling of non-uniform through-silicon via (TSV) interconnections

In this paper, a hybrid approach for electromagnetic modeling of complex tapered through-silicon via (TSV) in three dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) is proposed. For complex TSV structures, TSVs are divided vertically into conical and cylindrical sections. The modeling of conical TSV is presented based on using conical modal basis functions. By using the conical TSV modeling method combined with cylindrical TSV modeling method, complex TSV structures can be modeled efficiently. The accuracy of this hybrid method is validated by comparison with 3-D full-wave simulations.
Dynamics of maternal and paternal effects on embryo and seed development in wild radish (Raphanus sativus).

Background and aims Variability in embryo development can influence the rate of seed maturation and seed size, which may have an impact on offspring fitness. While it is expected that embryo development will be under maternal control, more controversial hypotheses suggest that the pollen donor and the embryo itself may influence development. These latter possibilities are, however, poorly studied. Characteristics of 10-d-old embryos and seeds of wild radish (Raphanus sativus) were examined to address: (a) the effects of maternal plant and pollen donor on development; (b) the effects of earlier reproductive events (pollen tube growth and fertilization) on embryos and seeds, and the influence of embryo size on mature seed mass; (c) the effect of water stress on embryos and seeds; (d) the effect of stress on correlations of embryo and seed characteristics with earlier and later reproductive events and stages; and (e) changes in maternal and paternal effects on embryo and seed characteristics during development. Methods Eight maternal plants (two each from four families) and four pollen donors were crossed and developing gynoecia were collected at 10 d post-pollination. Half of the maternal plants experienced water stress. Characteristics of embryos and seeds were summarized and also compared with earlier and later developmental stages. Key results In addition to the expected effects of the maternal plants, all embryo characters differed among pollen donors. Paternal effects varied over time, suggesting that there are windows of opportunity for pollen donors to influence embryo development. Water-stress treatment altered embryo characteristics; embryos were smaller and less developed. In addition, correlations of embryo characteristics with earlier and later stages changed dramatically with water stress. Conclusions The expected maternal effects on embryo development were observed, but there was also evidence for an early paternal role. The relative effects of these controls may change over time. Thus, there may be times in development when selection on the maternal, paternal or embryo contributions to development are more and less likely.
3D finite element models of shoulder muscles for computing lines of actions and moment arms

Accurate representation of musculoskeletal geometry is needed to characterise the function of shoulder muscles. Previous models of shoulder muscles have represented muscle geometry as a collection of line segments, making it difficult to account for the large attachment areas, muscle–muscle interactions and complex muscle fibre trajectories typical of shoulder muscles. To better represent shoulder muscle geometry, we developed 3D finite element models of the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles and used the models to examine muscle function. Muscle fibre paths within the muscles were approximated, and moment arms were calculated for two motions: thoracohumeral abduction and internal/external rotation. We found that muscle fibre moment arms varied substantially across each muscle. For example, supraspinatus is considered a weak external rotator, but the 3D model of supraspinatus showed that the anterior fibres provide substantial internal rotation while the posterior fibres act as external rotators. Including ...
Multimodality Imaging of Gene Transfer with a Receptor-Based Reporter Gene

Gene therapy trials have traditionally used tumor and tissue biopsies for assessing the efficacy of gene transfer. Noninvasive imaging techniques offer a distinct advantage over tissue biopsies in that the magnitude and duration of gene transfer can be monitored repeatedly. Human somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2) has been used for the nuclear imaging of gene transfer. To extend this concept, we have developed a somatostatin receptor–enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion construct (SSTR2-EGFP) for nuclear and fluorescent multimodality imaging. Methods: An adenovirus containing SSTR2-EGFP (AdSSTR2-EGFP) was constructed and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. SCC-9 human squamous cell carcinoma cells were infected with AdEGFP, AdSSTR2, or AdSSTR2-EGFP for in vitro evaluation by saturation binding, internalization, and fluorescence spectroscopy assays. In vivo biodistribution and nano-SPECT imaging studies were conducted with mice bearing SCC-9 tumor xenografts directly injected with AdSSTR2-EGFP or AdSSTR2 to determine the tumor localization of 111 In-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-Tyr3-octreotate. Fluorescence imaging was conducted in vivo with mice receiving intratumoral injections of AdSSTR2, AdSSTR2-EGFP, or AdEGFP as well as ex vivo with tissues extracted from mice. Results: The similarity between AdSSTR2EGFP and wild-type AdSSTR2 was demonstrated in vitro by the saturation binding and internalization assays, and the fluorescence emission spectra of cells infected with AdSSTR2-EGFP was almost identical to the spectra of cells infected with wildtype AdEGFP. Biodistribution studies demonstrated that the tumor uptake of 111 In-DTPA-Tyr3-octreotate was not significantly different (P . 0.05) when tumors (n 5 5) were injected with AdSSTR2 or AdSSTR2-EGFP but was significantly greater than the uptake in control tumors. Fluorescence was observed in tumors injected with AdSSTR2-EGFP and AdEGFP in vivo and ex vivo but not in tumors injected with AdSSTR2. Although fluorescence was observed, there were discrepancies between in vivo imaging and ex vivo imaging as well as between nuclear imaging and fluorescent imaging. Conclusion: These studies showed that the SSTR2-EGFP fusion construct can be used for in vivo nuclear and optical imaging of gene transfer.
Book Review: Oxford American Handbook of Pulmonary Medicine. Kevin K Brown MD, Teofilo Lee-Chiong MD, editors. New York; Oxford University Press. 2009. Soft cover, 900 pages, $42.95.

The Oxford American Handbook of Pulmonary Medicine provides a succinct summary of important topics in pulmonary and critical care medicine. It is primarily geared toward pulmonary and critical care physicians, and it can serve as a great resource for pulmonary fellows and medical residents. Shortly
The Ceramist as Chemist — Opportunities for New Materials

The use of sol-gel techniques to prepare glasses and crystalline ceramics offers outstanding opportunity for breakthroughs in technology. The areas of particular promise include novel glasses; crystalline ceramics with exceptional microstructures; coatings for modification of electrical, optical, mechanical and chemical properties; porous media with high surface area and tailored chemistry; ceramic powders with high chemical homogeneity and narrow distributions of particle size; matrix materials in ceramic-ceramic composites; and a wide spectrum of specialty ceramic materials, ranging from abrasives and fibers to glass ceramics and films. Opportunities in each of these areas will be discussed and related to the advances in understanding and process technology required for their achievement. The theses will be advanced that creative chemistry provides the key to many of these advances, that ceramists simply MUST learn more chemistry, but that we dare not rest from our labors when the chemistry is done.
The nursing of children with acute glomerulonephritis and hypertensive encephalopathy

Objective:Summarized the nursing of children with acute glomerulonephritis complicated with hypertensive encephalopathy.Methods:In our hospital from July 2004 to July 2009 50 cases of acute glomerulonephritis and hypertensive encephalopathy care be summarized,including: psychological care;dietary guidance; condition observation and nursing care,breaks,activity guide, hemodialysis, prevention of infection,discharged missionaries and so on.Results: The court of 50 cases of acute glomerulonephritis and hypertensive encephalopathy were discharged within 1 to 2 weeks by improved or cured,there were no hernia, respiratory and circulatory failure and death.Conclusion:This method is correct and effective care can improve quality of life for children and reduce mortality in children.