cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Low-frequency acoustic observations with cabled observatories on the Juan de Fuca Ridge

In the Northeast Pacific Ocean, the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) operate regional cabled observatories that include a network of seismometers and hydrophones enclosing the northern half of the Juan de Fuca plate, and local observatories at two sites on the Juan de Fuca Ridge: Axial Seamount (OOI) and the Endeavour segment (ONC). At each ridge site, local networks of seismometers and hydrophones provide a tool to monitor in real time the seismic and acoustic signals associated with volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal processes. In 2015, Axial Seamount erupted a few months after the installation of the OOI. Following the eruption, regionally recorded T-phases were used to track a dike propagating along the Axial North Rift. Acoustic signals from impulsive sources associated with lava flows, detected eruptions in the caldera and on the North Rift. Diffuse acoustic signals were also associated with the later stages of the eruption. The low-frequency acoustic capabilities of the OOI and ONC cabled observatories are underutilized and future applications could include the reestablishment of regional acoustic earthquake monitoring, tracking eruptions in real time to guide rapid autonomous and ship-based response efforts, and enhanced studies of fin and blue whales.In the Northeast Pacific Ocean, the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) operate regional cabled observatories that include a network of seismometers and hydrophones enclosing the northern half of the Juan de Fuca plate, and local observatories at two sites on the Juan de Fuca Ridge: Axial Seamount (OOI) and the Endeavour segment (ONC). At each ridge site, local networks of seismometers and hydrophones provide a tool to monitor in real time the seismic and acoustic signals associated with volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal processes. In 2015, Axial Seamount erupted a few months after the installation of the OOI. Following the eruption, regionally recorded T-phases were used to track a dike propagating along the Axial North Rift. Acoustic signals from impulsive sources associated with lava flows, detected eruptions in the caldera and on the North Rift. Diffuse acoustic signals were also associated with the later stages of the eruption. The low-frequency acoustic capabi...
Mechanisms of ethnic internationalization: The Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Mongols

ABSTRACTThis article – by looking at selected cases of the ethnic Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongols in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), officially a unitary multinational state – proves that dome...
Deterministic insights from stochastic interactions.

Theodosius Dobzhansky once famously noted that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Given their profound influence (1, 2), it may also be safe to wager that nothing in community ecology makes sense except in the light of area and heterogeneity. In PNAS, Ben-Hur and Kadmon (3) demonstrate that area and heterogeneity may themselves be fundamentally entwined, creating unappreciated, yet potentially ubiquitous thresholds in how species diversity accrues. These results have exciting implications for predicting and preserving species diversity. Two maxims in community ecology are that area and heterogeneity are positively related to species diversity (2): As area and heterogeneity increase, theory predicts that the number of species in an ecological community generally increase, too. For a given amount of total area, a geometric certainty is that increasing the number of habitats in that area (i.e., increasing heterogeneity) means that the average area of each habitat must decrease. Since this area–heterogeneity tradeoff (AHTO) arises due to a fundamental geometrical constraint (4, 5), it is theoretically ubiquitous in ecological systems. Furthermore, because conservation decisions center on the size and heterogeneity of habitats to target for protection (6, 7), the AHTO could also be an important tool for guiding conservation around the globe. In their paper, Ben-Hur and Kadmon (3) use multispecies plant communities and multiple years of data to provide an important experimental test of the predictions of the AHTO. Their study is compelling not only for what they find but also because of what they do not find. The AHTO is predicted to generate a hump-shaped (i.e., unimodal) relationship between richness and heterogeneity (4, 5) (Fig. 1). At one extreme, if the area consists of one or a few habitats, only a small subset of species that are well suited to these … [↵][1]1Email: jorrock{at}wisc.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Cholesterol Metabolism in Clinical Hyperlipidemias

Publisher Summary To understand the pathophysiology of hyperlipidemias one needs to (1) study the metabolism of triglycerides, cholesterol, other lipids, and of apoproteins of plasma lipoproteins, and (2) uncover and elucidate any metabolic interrelationships they might have with one another. It is difficult to study the metabolism of triglycerides, cholesterol, and apoproteins. There are limits to the number of patients that a single group of investigators can study. The most reliable methods for study of cholesterol metabolism in man are so time consuming that studies to compare cholesterol metabolism in different primary hyperlipidemias have not been done. The only way such information can be obtained is by pooling the results of studies carried out in a number of different centers. The methods for the study of cholesterol metabolism in man have been standardized so that the results obtained by different centers are comparable. These methods are cholesterol balance methods, the kinetic analyses of plasma cholesterol specific activity, and in vivo turnover of plasma cholesteryl esters The results obtained by these methods have enough uniformity that pooling of data from different centers was considered to be justifiable.
Research on Comprehensive Evaluation Method of Distribution Automation Equipment Testing Results Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process and CRITIC Method

To utilize the objective information of index data and consider the important role of subjective judgment in the evaluation of distribution automation equipment testing results, a comprehensive evaluation method based on AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and CRITIC (CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation) method is proposed. Firstly, an evaluation index system of distribution automation equipment testing results considering seven big indicators and thirty-six small indicators is established. Secondly, AHP and CRITIC method are adopted to solve a practical evaluation problem of distribution automation equipment testing results. The subjective weights of each evaluation index are calculated by AHP, the objective weights of each evaluation index are calculated by the CRITIC method. Then, to achieve the sorting of distribution automation equipment testing results accurately, the comprehensive weights are obtained by combining the two weights. Finally, the analysis and comparison of case studies show that the proposed evaluation index system can accurately reflect the performance of distribution automation equipment and the comprehensive evaluation method of distribution automation equipment testing results which comprehensively considers the subjective comprehensive evaluation results.
"It could potentially be dangerous... but nothing else has seemed to help me.": Patient and clinician perspectives on benzodiazepine use in opioid agonist treatment

Abstract Background Benzodiazepine use among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) presents a conundrum: benzodiazepines increase overdose risk, yet can treat anxiety and insomnia. How best to balance the risks and benefits of benzodiazepines among OAT patients is unclear. Using qualitative methods, we examined patient motivations for benzodiazepine use and understanding of risks, and the context in which benzodiazepine use and prescribing occurs. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 OAT patients using benzodiazepines and 10 OAT clinicians. Participants were recruited from an office-based buprenorphine clinic at an academic medical center and a methadone opioid treatment program using purposive sampling. The study team reviewed transcripts and double-coded 100% of interviews. Data analysis combined both deductive and inductive methods. Results Major emergent themes were: 1) patients focus on benefits over risks of benzodiazepines, 2) patients can learn to use benzodiazepines safely, 3) patients want to use benzodiazepines now but discontinue in the future, 4) clinicians and patients weigh the risks and benefits of benzodiazepine use differently, 5) clinicians and patient have differences in treatment goals, and 6) clinicians struggle with benzodiazepine discontinuation. Conclusions OAT patients and clinicians can weigh the risks and benefits of benzodiazepines differently leading to a difference in treatment goals. The risk-benefit analysis of benzodiazepine prescribing may depend on whether the patient is engaged in opioid treatment. Future work among patients and clinicians is warranted to determine how to better balance patient and clinician priorities in order to deliver safer prescribing practices and maintain patient engagement in care.
Firearm Practices, Perceptions of Safety, and Opinions on Injury Prevention Strategies Among California Adults.

Importance Safe firearm storage and other interventions may reduce pediatric firearm deaths and injuries. Objective To compare firearm ownership and storage practices, opinions on firearm injury prevention strategies, and perceptions of safety among adults in California households with and without children and/or adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants This survey study used data from the 2018 California Safety and Well-being Survey, a California-representative, probability-based internet survey. Respondents were part of the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, an online research panel that uses address-based sampling and provides survey weights to produce estimates representative of the adult population of California. Main Outcomes and Measures Topics included firearm storage practices, opinions on interventions to reduce pediatric firearm injury, and perceptions of household safety related to firearm ownership. Respondents were stratified by firearm ownership and household presence or absence of children and/or adolescents. Weighted percentages and 95% CIs are presented. Results Of 5232 invited panel members, 2558 (48.9%) completed the survey. Among respondents, 52.5% (95% CI, 49.3%-55.7%) were women, 42.9% (95% CI, 39.9%-45.9%) were White, 30.0% (95% CI, 26.8%-32.9%) lived in homes with children, and the mean (SD) age was 48.0 (17.1) years. Among those in homes with children, more than two-thirds of individuals who owned firearms (70.6% [95% CI, 50.1%-85.2%]) and more than half of individuals who did not own firearms but lived in homes with guns (54.9% [95% CI, 37.9%-70.8%]) reported that they believed a firearm in the home made it safer. Half of those who owned firearms (52.3% [95% CI, 34.9%-69.2%]) and more than three-quarters of individuals who did not own firearms but lived in homes with guns (78.4% [95% CI, 57.5%-90.7%]) reported it was always appropriate for parents to inquire about unlocked guns in homes where their children play. Among those who had previously owned at least 1 gun but no longer did, 13.3% (95% CI, 7.1%-23.8%) reported getting rid of guns at least in part due to concern for the safety of a child in the home. Nearly two-thirds of those who owned firearms living with children and/or adolescents (64.5% [95% CI, 46.5%-79.2%]) did not store all firearms in the most secure manner (ie, unloaded and locked up), compared with 36.4% (95% CI, 29.4%-44.1%) of individuals who owned firearms but did not live with children. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, although a substantial percentage of individuals who owned guns and lived with children did not store all firearms as recommended, parents and caregivers who owned firearms reported being amenable to interventions that reduce young people’s risk of firearm-related harm. Future work should investigate acceptable risk reduction and safe storage interventions.
Surface Functionalized Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane for Opto-Nanofluidic SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Target Detection

An ultra-thin and highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 detection platform was demonstrated using a nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. The membrane surface was functionalized to enable efficient trapping and identification of SARS-CoV-2 genomic targets through DNA-DNA and DNA-RNA hybridization. To immobilize the probe oligonucleotides on the AAO membrane, the pore surface was first coated with the linking reagents, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and glutaraldehyde (GA), by a compact vacuum infiltration module. After that, complementary target oligos with fluorescent modifier was pulled and infiltrated into the nano-fluidic channels formed by the AAO pores. The fluorescent signal applying the AAO membrane sensors was two orders stronger than a flat glass template. In addition, the dependence between the nano-pore size and the fluorescent intensity was evaluated. The optimized pore diameter d is 200 nm, which can accommodate the assembled oligonucleotide and aminosilane layers without blocking the AAO nano-fluidic channels. Our DNA functionalized membrane sensor is an accurate and high throughput platform supporting rapid virus tests, which is critical for population-wide diagnostic applications result in a page being rejected by search engines.
Consolidated nuclear waste storage in Andrews, Texas: An integrated technical and policy risk analysis:

Over the last 50 years, nuclear energy has reduced US energy-related CO2 emissions by over 30 gigatons compared to if the same electricity were produced by fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas...
The Use of the Temperature Dependence of Ultrasonic Velocity to Measure Applied and Residual Stresses

The temperature dependence of longitudinal ultrasonic velocity in aluminum alloys and type A533B steel in the presence of external as well as residual stresses has been investigated. In all measurements, the ultrasonic velocity in the vicinity of room temperature, is found to vary linearly with temperature, and the slope of the linear relationship changes considerably when external stress is applied. The results also indicate that the temperature dependence of the velocity is a linear function of applied stress, and the slope of this linear relationship is the same for all specimens of the same material and for both tensile and compressive stresses. These results are used to obtain relasionships between the temperature dependence and applied or residual stress.
Advances in Physiology of Exercise: Part III. The Heart of the Athlete

(1955). Advances in Physiology of Exercise: Part III. The Heart of the Athlete. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 26, No. 8, pp. 22-23.
Software Security Costing Issues

Abstract Traditionally, computer security has been accomplished by providing physical system safeguards. This assumes that the threats to private information come from outside the system boundaries. However, with the advent of distributed processing, distributed databases, communications networks, and requirements for specialized operating environments, physical safeguards may not be sufficient. The need for security can be readily understood and appreciated. What is less obvious is the way to achieve security and impact it will have on system development cost. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the potential cost impact of security on each phase of the software lifecycle is discussed. Next, a methodology which can aid in determining the effect of security measures on cost are examined through the use of a generic example. Software costs associated with software security are estimated by parametric techniques and the adaption of parametric drivers is discussed. Even though this paper is directed...
Dynamic Pricing with Limited Competitor Information in a Multi-Agent Economy

We study the price dynamics in a multi-agent economy consisting of buyers and competing sellers, where each seller has limited information about its competitors’ prices. In this economy, buyers use shopbots while the sellers employ automated pricing agents or pricebots. A pricebot resets its seller’s price at regular intervals with the objective of maximizing revenue in each time period. Derivative following provides a simple, albeit naive, strategy for dynamic pricing in such a scenario. In this paper, we refine the derivative following algorithm and introduce a model-optimizer algorithm that re-estimates the price-profit relationship for a seller in each period more efficiently. Simulations using the model-optimizer algorithm indicate that it outperforms derivative following even though it does not have any additional information about the market. Our results underscore the role machine learning and optimization can play in fostering competition (or cooperation) in a multi-agent economy where the agents have limited information about their environment.
Controlled activity polymers. VII: Acrylamide copolymers with structopendent naphthylacetic acid and indoleacetic acid esters: Release behavior

Abstract The hydrolytic controlled release behavior of copolymers with pendent esters of the plant growth regulators naphthaleneacetic acid and indoleacetic acid have been studied utilizing reversed phase liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectrometric detection. The release profiles for copolymers of acrylamide (AM) with 2-(1-napthylacetyl) ethyl acrylate (NAEA), 4-(1-napthylacetyl) butyl acrylate (NABA), 2-(1-napthylacetyl) ethyl acrylate (NAEMA), and 2-(indole-3-acetyl) ethyl acrylate (IAEA) were shown to depend upon the nature of the auxin monomer structure and its composition, molecular weight, and copolymer microstructure. Increasing the mean sequence lengths of the hydrophilic sections of the copolymers was shown quantitatively to result in higher rates of hydrolytic release.
Temporal information in tone recognition

Traditionally, only five components are regarded as having to do with the special characteristics of recognizing tones, while front-end processing and feature extraction have been considered essentially independent. Since mismatch between training and testing in signal-space leads to subsequent distortions in feature-space and model-space, determining whether front-end processing and feature extraction is independent or dependent will be critical for robustness.
Obesity and obesity-related secondary conditions in adolescents with intellectual/developmental disabilities

Background To explore the prevalence of obesity and related secondary conditions associated with obesity in adolescents with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD). Methods In total, 461 parents of adolescents with IDD (M = 14.9 year, SD = 1.9) across 49 US states completed a web-based survey containing questions related to their child's health status, including body weight and existing health conditions. Results were compared with published data for youth without disabilities. Results Adolescents with autism and Down syndrome were two to three times more likely to be obese than adolescents in the general population. Secondary health conditions were higher in obese adolescents with IDD compared with healthy weight adolescents with IDD including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, depression, fatigue, liver or gallbladder problems, low self-esteem, preoccupation with weight, early maturation and pressure sores. Conclusion Obesity is as much of a health problem in youth with IDD as it is among youth without disabilities and, in certain disability groups, is a significantly greater health problem. Obese youth with IDD have a high number of obesity-related secondary conditions predisposing them to greater health problems as they transition into adulthood. Federal and local initiatives to reduce obesity among youth in the general population must recognise the need for interventions that are also relevant (i.e. accessible and effective) for youth with IDD.
Perceptions of Psychological Contract Violations in School Districts that Serve Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT This study examined issues of psychological contract violation between parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and school districts that serve them. As such, the sampling strategy was to focus on parents who were dissatisfied with the educational services their child was receiving from the school district so that the parents' “lived experience” could be fully explored for ways in which to reduce negative outcomes. Input was also obtained from school personnel. Issues regarding psychological contract violation, trust, and procedural justice in the context of the perceptions of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and their relationship with the school personnel in the districts that serve their children are discussed.
Conditioning and generalization of positive self-evaluations in a partially structured diagnostic interview.

Ss were asked to discuss certain characteristics of themselves in a diagnostic interview setting. Experimental Ss were provided sham GSR feedback on the insightfulness of their self-descriptions. The feedback was actually controlled by the interviewer. Experimental Ss were rewarded for positive and punished for negative self-describing. Control Ss received no feedback. Experimental Ss were found to be reliably higher than controls in the proportion of positive self-descriptions during the interview and in favorable self-evaluations on a post-test measure of generalization.
Self-consistent time-dependent, Hartree-Fock calculation for a reactive molecular collision

We report the first calculations on a molecular collision system using a fully self-consistent time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) method. The nuclear motion is treated classically with the forces determined by the time propagating electronic charge density. The electronic state is generated using a finite-difference TDHF calculation. We present results including a typical reactive trajectory, a corresponding time evolution of the electronic energy, and density plots of the molecular wave function evolving through the collision.
Endocytosis by target cells: an essential means for perforin- and granzyme-mediated killing.

Endocytosis by target cells: an essential means for perforin- and granzyme-mediated killing
Multiscale Modeling and Simulations of Flows in Naturally Fractured Karst Reservoirs

Modeling and numerical simulations of fractured, vuggy, porus media is a challenging problem which occurs frequently in reservoir engineering. The problem is especially relevant in flow simulations of karst reservoirs where vugs and caves are embedded in a porous rock and are connected via fracture networks at multiple scales. In this paper we propose a unified approach to this problem by using the StokesBrinkman equations at the fine scale. These equations are capable of representing porous media such as rock as well as free flow regions (fractures, vugs, caves) in a single system of equations. We then consider upscaling these equations to a coarser scale. The cell problems, needed to compute coarse-scale permeability of Representative Element of Volume (REV) are discussed. A mixed finite element method is then used to solve the Stokes-Brinkman equation at the fine scale for a number of flow problems, representative for different types of vuggy reservoirs. Upscaling is also performed by numerical solutions of Stokes-Brinkman cell problems in selected REVs. Both isolated vugs in porous matrix as well as vugs connected by fracture networks are analyzed by comparing fine-scale and coarse-scale flow fields. Several different types of fracture networks, representative of shortand long-range fractures are studied numerically. It is also shown that the Stokes-Brinkman equations can naturally be used to model additional physical effects pertaining to vugular media such as partial fracture with fill-in by some material and/or fluids with suspended solid particles. AMS subject classifications: 35B27, 35Q30, 6S05
Isolation and Characterization of Fragments of Reduced and S-Carbamidomethylated Human Growth Hormone Produced by Plasmin Digestion. II. Biological and Immunological ActivitiesEndocrinology 102:*

Noncovalent complexes of peptide fragments, as well as individual fragments, isolated from digests of reduced and S-carbamidomethylated human GH (hGH) produced with human plasmin have been studied for biological and immunological activity. Noncovalent complexes of peptide 1–134 and peptide 141–191 and a complex containing approximately equal proportions of peptide 1–134 and peptide 42–134 bound to peptide 141–191 were found to retain 50–100% of the ability of hGH a) to promote growth and stimulate cartilage metabolism when injected into hypophysectomized rats, b) to induce iV-acetyllactosamine synthetase in mammary tissue explants from pregnant mice, and c) to stimulate the in vitro oxidation of glucose by isolated adipose tissue from hypophysectomized rats. In contrast to previous findings with covalent complexes containing peptide 1–134, the noncovalent complexes showed only 20–50% of the insulin-like activity of native hGH. The noncovalent complex, 1–134:141–191, exhibited more than twice the lactogeni...
Protecting source privacy in federated search

Many information sources contain information that can only be accessed through search-specific search engines. Federated search provides search solutions of this type of hidden information that cannot be searched by conventional search engines. In many scenarios of federated search, such as the search among health care providers or among intelligence agencies, an individual information source does not want to disclose the source of the search results to users or other sources. Therefore, this paper proposes a two-step federated search protocol that protects the privacy of information sources. As far as we know, this is the first attempt to address the research problem of protecting source privacy in federated text search.
Controlling unresponsive connections in an active network architecture

This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of Limiting Greedy Connections (LGC), an active mechanism for controlling unresponsive connections and minimizing the degradation in network performance caused by bandwidth-greedy applications. The primary objectives of the LGC mechanism are to limit the impact of greedy connections on a congested node, to keep a loose upper bound on the packet queue occupancy at the intermediate nodes of the network and to minimize packet loss. The LGC mechanism is evaluated for a variety of network topologies, transmitting sources and node queue parameters, using a Java-based active network testbed.
Plasma estradiol-17β concentration in ewes and cows after estradiol-17β administration

Abstract Microgram doses of estradiol-17β (30 and 100 μg) that have marked effects on sperm transport and uterine motility when injected into estrous ewes resulted in transient increases in estradiol concentrations in plasma that peaked by one-half to 1 hr and that had begun to decline by 6 hr. One hundred micrograms of estradiol resulted in peak concentrations of estradiol in plasma of estrous heifers (45 pg/ml) that were similar to the peak plasma concentrations in estrous ewes (42 pg/ml) after the administration of a 30-gmg dose. Plasma clearance of estradiol was rapid in ewes with blood concentrations reduced by half at 10 to 11 min after injection. Concentrations of estradiol in plasma in heifers could be maintained at an elevated (estrous) concentration for up to 24 hr by a single injection of estradiol as estradiol benzoate. Estradiol-17β (estradiol) injected into ewes in doses as low as 30 or 40 μg, at or near the time of mating, increased the number of sperm in the anterior cervix, uterus and oviducts by 24 hr after mating (1). Estradiol injected into ewes in doses up to 150 μg at the time of mating did not have deleterious effects on fertilization or embryo survival up to 25 days (2). Doses of estradiol ranging from 6 to 150 μg prevented reversal of direction of movement of peristaltic contractions in the uterus of estrous ewes (3). The two experiments of the present study were to evaluate how these estradiol treatments, which alter uterine motility and sperm transport in the ewe, affect the concentration of estradiol in the plasma. In Experiment I, we evaluated estradiol concentrations in plasma of estrous ewes after the injection of microgram doses of estradiol. In Experiment II, we ascertained doses of estradiol injected into heifers that would give estradiol concentrations in plasma similar to those observed with the 30-μg dose of estradiol in ewes.
The spatial distribution of object-based attention

We investigated a core issue in object-based selection: the spatial distribution of attention within and across objects. The method built upon the Egly et al. paradigm. We first replicated the same-object advantage in that paradigm. To examine the spatial distribution of attention within and across objects, we added a manipulation of within-object distance between cue and target. Evidence of spatial distance effects within objects would suggest that object-based selection is inherently spatial, consistent with grouped-array theories (Vecera, 1994) in which object perceptual structure is proposed to constrain the spatial distribution of attention.
Scientific and technical training in the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union recognizes that the foundation of their system depends upon complete dedication of the people to the state through thorough psychological training as well as through military training, and through specialized education in the broad fields of engineering, natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and education. An outline of the U.S.S.R. educational system indicates the extent of academic training, coupled with on-the-job and military training, that can produce a highly skilled, dedicated, and matured person. Observations on the coupling of political, economic, and psychological training along with the technical training are made, along with some mention of positive and negative aspects of the training.
Health care utilization and cost among adults with chronic rhinosinusitis enrolled in a health maintenance organization.

Abstract Objective: Our goal was to measure the impact of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) on the use and cost of health care by adults in a health maintenance organization (HMO). Setting and Subjects: In the setting of the Group Health Cooperative, an HMO in Washington State, we conducted a study of all 218,587 adults (≥18 years) who used services during 1994. Using automated data, 20,175 adults were identified with one or more CRS diagnoses during 1994. Outcome Measures: We identified nonurgent outpatient visits, pharmacy fills, urgent visits, hospital days, and their associated costs (per adult per year). Results: The marginal utilization associated with a diagnosis of CRS was 2.0 nonurgent outpatient visits, 5.1 pharmacy fills, 0.01 urgent visit, and −0.07 hospital day. The marginal total cost of CRS was $206. Conclusions: Adults with CRS had higher costs primarily because of increased nonurgent outpatient visit and pharmacy fill utilization. The overall direct cost of CRS in the United States in 1994 is estimated to have been $4.3 billion. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002; 127:367-76.)
Four-body bound states from the Schrodinger equation with separable potentials

The coupled, two-variable integral equations that determine the four-body bound state, when the interactions are represented by separable potentials, are derived from the Schrodinger equation instead of the Yakubovsky t-matrix equations. The integral equations are solved numerically for simple s-wave potentials without resort to separable expansions of their kernels. For rank-one potentials the ..cap alpha.. particle is severely overbound. Sensitivity to the singlet effective range and the tensor component of the triplet interaction is discussed. (AIP)
Sedimentology of an ancient erg margin: the Lower Jurassic Aztec Sandstone, southern Nevada and southern California

The Lower Jurassic Aztec Sandstone is an aeolian-deposited quartzose sandstone that represents the western margin of the southerly-migrating Navajo-Nugget sand sea (or erg). Vertical and lateral facies relations suggest that the erg margin encroached upon volcanic highlands, alluvial fan, wadi and sabkha environments. In southern Nevada, 700 m thick facies successions record the arrival of the Aztec sand sea. Initial erg sedimentation in the Valley of Fire consists of lenticular or tongue-shaped aeolian sand bodies interstratified with fluvially-deposited coarse sandstone and mudstone. Above, evaporite-rich fine sandstone and mudstone are overlain by thick, cross-stratified aeolian sandstone that shows an upsection increase in set thickness. The lithofacies succession represents aeolian sand sheets and small dunes that migrated over a siliciclastic sabkha traversed by ephemeral wadis. These deposits were ultimately buried by large dunes and draas of the erg. In the Spring Mountains, a similar facies succession also contains thin, lenticular volcaniclastic conglomerate and sandstone. These sediments represent the distal margin of an alluvial fan complex sourced from the west. Thin aeolian sequences are interbedded with volcanic flow rocks, ash-flow tuffs, debris flows, and fluvial deposits in the Mojave Desert of southern California. These aeolian strata represent erg migration up the eastern flanks of a magmatic arc. The westward diminution of aeolian-deposited units may reflect incomplete erg migration, thin accumulation of aeolian sediment succeptible to erosion, and stratigraphic dilution by arc-derived sediment. A two-part division of the Aztec erg is suggested by lithofacies associations, the size and geometry of aeolian cross-strata, and sediment dispersal data. The leading or downwind margin of the erg, here termed the fore-erg, is represented by a 10–100 m thick succession of isolated pods, lenses, and tongues of aeolian-deposited sediment encased in fluvial and sabkha deposits. Continued sand-sea migration brought large dunes and draas of the erg interior into the study area; these 150–500 m thick central-erg sediments buried the fore-erg deposits. The trailing, upwind margin of the erg is represented by back-erg deposits in northern Utah and Wyoming.
Tumor imaging protocols: problems and challenges.

In lay terms a protocol is the record of a diplomatic conference that shows officially the agreements arrived at by the negotiators. In the academic world a protocol is defined as the plan of a scientific experiment or treatment. An imaging protocol prescribes what we do: it tells us which imaging modalities to utilize, which anatomical body parts to image, and the frequency with which imaging should be performed. Protocols provide a consistent format for the application of appropriate imaging. The ideal protocol is based on strong scientific principles and is universally accepted and applied. Current imaging protocols have evolved over long periods of time. Changes have been based on intuition, experience, or proven scientific information. Although protocol creators have often sought scientific validation for their recommendations, this has frequently not been available. This commentary will summarize the challenges and problems with tumor-imaging protocols, make some suggestions for improvement, and suggest important long-term strategic initiatives to enable pediatric radiologists to continue to play a critical role in the management of children with cancer. Which imaging modality to use
Radiatively induced Lorentz-violating photon masses

We examine the radiative corrections to an extension of the standard model containing a Lorentz-violating axial vector parameter. At second order in this parameter, the photon self-energy is known to contain terms that violate gauge invariance. Previously, this has been treated as a pathology, but it is also possible to take the gauge noninvariant terms at face value. These terms then make Lorentz-violating contributions to the photon mass, and directly measured limits on the photon mass can be used to set bounds on the Lorentz violation at better than the ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}22}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$ level.
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH): apparent receptor binding in rat spinal cord.

Abstract Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is unevenly distributed throughout the rat central nervous system including spinal cord, where exogenous TRH elicits profound pharmacological effects. [ Pro- 3 H]TRH binds to 30,000 g pellet fraction from the spinal cord saturably, reversibly, and with high affinity (apparent K d = 24 − 25nM). This binding is displaced by TRH and related biologically active, but not inactive, peptides. TRH binding is evenly distributed throughout the rat spinal cord. Characteristics of this binding suggest an association with a physiologically relevant TRH receptor.
Local BRST symmetry and the geometry of gauge-fixing

Abstract Extended BRST transformations are constructed for arbitrary gauge theories by consideration of their algebra alone. Dynamics are introduced by writing the most general lagrangian which is globally extended-BRST invariant and provides a gauge-fixing term of the fork 1 2 F α γ αβ F β . It is shown that all Fα ≡ γαβFβ must be variational derivatives of one universal scalar function F proportional to the squares of the classical gauge fields, while γαβ, in principle still arbitrary, is interpreted as the generalized Killing form. A superspace formulation of Yang-Mills theory is used to promote the BRST symmetry to a local symmetry.
Morning Resistance to Thrombolytic Therapy

The Multi-center Investigation on the Limitation of Infarct Size (MILIS), begun just before the thrombolytic era of the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI), focused in part on the timing of therapies designed to limit infarct size.1 Careful recording of the time of both the onset of symptoms and of the rise of creatine kinase-MB enzyme activity permitted accurate timing of infarction, revealing a circadian pattern with a distinct morning peak. The database of the larger Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) II trial allowed prospective testing of our earlier observation in MILIS. The increased incidence of onset in the morning (6 am to noon, 34%), compared with night (midnight to 6 am, 15%), was even more prominent than in MILIS.2 Indeed, in almost one half of a subgroup of patients in TIMI, infarction began between 6 am and noon. Rather than relegating these curious findings to the files, Muller, Tofler, and a growing number of other investigators sensed correctly that research into the mechanisms responsible for the morning peak in the onset of infarction might lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this condition3 and thereby aid in the development of preventive strategies. Their efforts have taken several interesting directions. First, in addition to acute MI, a morning increase in sudden death was described4 and found to be secondary to ventricular fibrillation, rather than to other arrhythmias.5 In the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST), the higher mortality in patients receiving type 1c antiarrhythmic drugs could be explained in part by an excess of morning deaths in patients receiving these agents.6 A circadian variation in the frequency of sudden death appears to be especially prominent in patients with heart failure; Moser et al7 reported a 2.5-fold increase in the risk of …
Effect of solute size and solute-water attractive interactions on hydration water structure around hydrophobic solutes.

Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigated the influence of solute size and solute−water attractive interactions on hydration water structure around spherical clusters of 1, 13, 57, 135, and 305 hexagonally close-packed methanes and the single hard-sphere (HS) solute analogues of these clusters. We obtain quantitative results on the density of water molecules in contact with the HS solutes as a function of solute size for HS radii between 3.25 and 16.45 A. Analysis of these results based on scaled-particle theory yields a hydration free energy/surface area coefficient equal to 139 cal/(mol A2), independent of solute size, when this coefficient is defined with respect to the van der Waals surface of the solute. The same coefficient defined with respect to the solvent-accessible surface decreases with decreasing solute size for HS radii less than ∼10 A. We also find that solute−water attractive interactions play an important role in the hydration of the methane clusters. Water densities in the first hyd...
Inter-modality comparisons of seizure focus lateralization in complex partial seizures

Anterior temporal lobectomy offers a high chance of seizure-free outcome in patients suffering from drug-refractory complex partial seizure (CPS) originating from the temporal lobe. Other than EEG, several functional and morphologic imaging methods are used to define the spatial seizure origin. The present study was undertaken to compare the merits of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single-voxel proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) for the lateralization of temporal lobe seizure foci. The clinical charts and imaging data of 43 consecutive CPS patients were reviewed. Based on surface EEG, 31 patients were classified with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; 25 lateralized, 6 not lateralized) and 12 with non-temporal lobe epilepsy. All were examined by FDG-PET, MRS and MRI within 6 weeks. FDG-PET and MRI were interpreted visually, while the N-acetyl-aspartate to creatine ratio was used for MRS interpretation. One FDG-PET scan was invalid due to seizure activity post injection. The MR spectra could not be evaluated in five cases bilaterally and three cases unilaterally for technical reasons. A total of 15 patients underwent anterior temporal lobectomy. All showed a beneficial postoperative outcome. When the proportions of agreement between FDG-PET (0.77), MRI (0.58) and MRS (0.56) and surface EEG in TLE cases were compared, there were no significant differences (P>0.10). However, FDG-PET showed a significantly higher agreement (0.93) than MRI (0.60; P=0.03) with the side of successful temporal lobectomy. The concordance of MRS with the side of successful temporal lobectomy was intermediate (0.75). When the results of functional and morphologic imaging were combined, no significant differences were found between the rates of agreement of FDG-PET/MRI and MRS/MRI with EEG (0.80 vs 0.68; P=0.50) and with the side of successful temporal lobectomy (0.87 vs 0.92; P=0.50) in TLE cases. However, MRS/MRI showed significantly more lateralized temporal lobe abnormalities in non-temporal lobe epilepsy cases than FDG-PET/MRI (0.90 vs. 0.17; P<0.01). Although FDG-PET seems to be the most reliable and stable method for this purpose, we conclude that in TLE cases it may be justified to perform MRS, which is less expensive, faster and has no radiation exposure, in combination with MRI before FDG-PET, since FDG-PET offers little additional diagnostic information if MRS and MRI indicate the same seizure focus lateralization.
Bare spot of the glenoid fossa in children: incidence and MRI features.

The bare spot of the glenoid fossa is a normal cartilage defect seen frequently in adults. It has been used on arthroscopy as a landmark for the center of the glenoid fossa. There are no reports of this variant in children, but we have noted it on some pediatric clinical shoulder MRI studies. Our main purpose is to evaluate the incidence of the bare spot in children and define location and MRI features. Shoulder MRI studies (total 570) from 2004 to 2008 were reviewed. Children were divided into two age groups: group 1, 0–10 years (n = 200), group 2, 11–20 years (n = 370). A total of 12 bare spots (2.1%) were identified; all were seen in group 2. Eight (67%) were central and four were eccentric in the glenoid fossa. All showed a well-marginated focal cartilage defect containing hyperintense joint fluid or contrast agent. Three also had air. The bare spot is seen in children. The absence in children younger than 10 years and the low incidence in the second decade support the proposed acquired nature. Familiarity with this finding is important so as not to misinterpret it as a pathologic condition.
Diagonalized multiplier methods and quasi-Newton methods for constrained optimization

Two approaches to quasi-Newton methods for constrained optimization problems inR n are presented. These approaches are based on a class of Lagrange multiplier approximation formulas used by the author in his previous work on Newton's method for constrained problems. The first approach is set in the framework of a diagonalized multiplier method. From this point of view, a new update rule for the Lagrange multipliers which depends on the particular quasi-Newton method employed is given. This update rule, in contrast to most other update rules, does not require exact minimization of the intermediate unconstrained problem. In fact, the optimal convergence rate is attained in the extreme case when only one step of a quasi-Newton method is taken on this intermediate problem. The second approach transforms the constrained optimization problem into an unconstrained problem of the same dimension.
HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in Children and Adolescents: Experience at an Urban Teaching Hospital

HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in Children and Adolescents: Experience at an Urban Teaching Hospital
Creative language abilities of deaf children.

The language flexibilty and creativity of deaf children was investigated by having four deaf and four hearing 12–15-year-olds generate stories to experimenter-supplied themes. These were videotaped...
Is EBE Theory Supported by the Evidence? Is It Androcentric? A Reply to Peplau et al. (1998)

In their critique of the author's Exotic-Becomes-Erotic (EBE) theory of sexual orientation (D. J. Bem, 1996), L. A. Peplau, L. D. Garnets, L. R. Spalding, T. D. Conley, and R. C. Veniegas (1998) challenge his reading of the evidence concerning the antecedents of sexual orientation; they also contend that the theory neglects women's experiences. In reply, the author argues that L. A. Peplau et al. have misunderstood the critical antecedent variable of the theory and, hence, have misidentified the particular empirical findings that would serve to confirm or disconfirm its central contentions. The author also argues that the sex differences they cite are not relevant to the theory, whereas an important sex difference they do not cite is actually anticipated by it.
A dose–response curve for the negative bias pressure of an intrathoracic pressure regulator during CPR

Summary An intrathoracic pressure regulator (ITPR) is a device that can be added to the external end of a tracheal tube to create controlled negative airway pressure between positive pressure ventilations. The resulting downward bias of the airway pressure baseline promotes increased venous return and enhanced circulation during CPR and also during hypovolemic shock. In the present study, we exercised a mathematical model of the human cardiopulmonary system, including airways, lungs, a four chambered heart, great vessels, peripheral vascular beds, and the biomechanics of chest compression and recoil, to determine the relationship between systemic perfusion pressure during CPR and the value of baseline negative airway pressure in an ITPR. Perfusion pressure increases approximately 50% as baseline airway pressure falls from zero to −10cm H 2 O. Thereafter perfusion pressure plateaus. Negative bias pressures exceeding −10cm H 2 O are not needed in ITPR-CPR.