cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Supreme Irrelevance: The Court's Abdication in Criminal Procedure Jurisprudence

Criminal procedure is one of the Supreme Court’s most active areas of jurisprudence, but the Court’s rulings are largely irrelevant to the actual workings of the criminal justice system. The Court’s irrelevance takes two forms: objectively, on the numbers, its jurisprudence fails to protect the vast majority of people affected by the criminal justice system; and in terms of salience, the Court has sidestepped the major challenges in the United States today relating to the criminal justice system. These challenges include discrimination in stops and frisks, fatal police shootings, unconscionable plea deals, mass incarceration, and disproportionate execution of racial minorities. For each major stage of a person’s interactions with the criminal justice system — search and seizure, plea-bargaining, and sentencing — the Court develops doctrines that protect only a tiny percentage of people. This is because the Court focuses nearly all of its attention on the small fraction of cases implicating the exclusionary rule, trial rights, and the death penalty, and it ignores the bulk of real-world criminal procedure — searches and seizures that turn up no evidence of crime, plea bargains that occur outside of the courtroom, and the sentencing of convicts for terms of years — leaving constitutional rights unrecognized and constitutional violations unremedied. Consistently, each issue the Supreme Court neglects has a disparate impact on traditionally disadvantaged racial minorities. Together, this constitutes an abdication of the Court’s responsibility.
Minimal and Order-Minimal Structures

Before we get into details regarding number structures, we will examine definability in cases that are easier to analyze. We define two important classes of structures: minimal, in Definition 9.1, and order-minimal, in Definition 9.4. The important concepts of type and symmetry were already introduced in Chap. 2; here we define them in general model-theoretic terms and use them to analyze the orderings of the sets of natural numbers, integers, and rationals.
Family Functioning in Latinx Families of Children with ADHD: The Role of Parental Gender and Acculturation.

It has been well-established that parents of children with ADHD report significantly higher levels of parenting stress and home chaos, and lower levels of parental efficacy than parents of children without ADHD. Unfortunately, most of the extant ADHD literature has focused on European American children and families, resulting in a paucity of research focusing on ethnic minority families of children with ADHD. The current study aimed to expand what is known about Latinx parents of children with ADHD by exploring contextual and cultural factors, such as parental gender and acculturation, which may account for variations in parenting experiences within this population. The present study utilized secondary data analysis to analyze ratings of parenting stress, home chaos, and parental efficacy among a sample of Latinx mothers and fathers of children with ADHD (n= 46 dyads). Results indicated that Latinx mothers of children with ADHD reported higher levels of parenting stress than Latinx fathers of children with ADHD; however, no significant parental gender differences were found in ratings of parental efficacy or home chaos. Additionally, several significant relationships were found between parental acculturation and family functioning variables. Latinx families of children with ADHD are an understudied and underserved population within the field of clinical psychology. The current study provides critical information on Latinx family functioning within the context of ADHD treatment, specifically pertaining to the complex interplay of parenting and acculturation variables.
Isolated Sulfite Oxidase Deficiency: Response to Dietary Treatment in a Patient with Severe Neonatal Presentation

Abstract Isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency (ISOD) is a devastating, neurometabolic disorder caused by mutations in the SUOX gene necessary for the final step in the sulfur-containing amino acid catabolic pathway. Patients classically present in the neonatal period with neurologic manifestations. Biochemical findings include elevated sulfocysteine, low cystine and undetectable homocysteine with normal uric acid levels. Other associated biochemical markers include elevated plasma alpha-aminoadipic semialdehyde and piperideine-6-carboxylic acid. We report a patient with classic neonatal onset ISOD (refractory seizures, hypertonicity, brain abnormalities, pathogenic SUOX mutations). Her clinical course was marked by extreme irritability, prompting the use of a low methionine and cystine diet to decrease toxic metabolites thought to be contributing to her symptoms. Biochemical markers and extreme irritability improved with dietary treatment (methionine=30mg/kg/day). She died of sepsis in early infancy, precluding long term follow-up. This case reviews the potential benefits and limitations of diet therapy in this rare disorder.
Estimating the size of Earth's umbral shadow using sky brightness light curves during a lunar eclipse

We present a simple method to estimate the size of Earth's umbral shadow in a classroom setting. The method uses the published sky brightness curves obtained during a total lunar eclipse and requires only a conceptual understanding of lunar eclipses and simple geometric considerations. It is suitable for use in introductory and upper level astronomy courses.
Brain perivascular macrophages: Recent advances and implications in health and diseases

Brain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) belong to a distinct population of brain-resident myeloid cells located within the perivascular space surrounding arterioles and venules. Their characterization depends on the combination of anatomical localization, phagocytic capacity, and molecular markers. Under physiological status, they provide structural and functional support for maintaining brain homeostasis, including facilitation of blood-brain barrier integrity and lymphatic drainage, and exertion of immune functions such as phagocytosis and antigen presentation. Increasing evidence also implicates their specific roles in diseased brain, ranging from cerebrovascular diseases, Aβ pathologies, infections, and autoimmunity. Collectively, PVMs are key components of the brain-resident immune system, actively participate in a broad-spectrum of processes in normal and diseased status. Details of the processes are largely underexplored. Targeting PVMs would lead to new insights and be a promising strategy for a broad array of human diseases.
High shear capillary rheometry of cellulose nanocrystals for industrially relevant processing.

Abstract A microcapillary rheometer was employed to study the rheological characteristics of CNCs at temperatures between 15 °C and 50 °C and aqueous concentrations between 1.5 wt% and 12.1 wt%, at rates up to 8 × 105 s−1. Time-temperature and time-concentration superposition were applied to analyze the data. A master curve of shear rate sweeps at temperatures between 15 °C and 50 °C was successfully generated to a reference temperature of 25 °C with the shift factor plot suggesting an Arrhenius relationship over the entire measured temperature range. Concentration-dependent data indicate a high shear Newtonian plateau at the limit of low concentration. Repeated testing of the same sample volume was implemented to represent extended times at elevated stress, with repeated experiments leading to a permanent decrease in viscosity. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) suggests sensitivity of the CNC geometry to moderate stress in a flow field.
Tracing Ecologies of Code Literacy and Constraint in Emojis as Multimodal Public Pedagogy

Abstract This article explores the role of Bitzer's constraint through Brooke's ecologies of code, culture, and practice as a method to analyze emoji as a form of multimodal public rhetoric. In particular, this article suggests that understanding digital forms such as emoji, which are controlled by the Unicode consortium, requires understanding the essential role that code literacy can play in shaping public writing practices in social media through two case studies: one on the multicultural skin tone emoji iOS update of 2015 and another on public emoji proposals as a way to illustrate how everyday rhetors can use networked writing intervene at the level of code.
Exploring the Role of the School Principal in Predominantly White Middle Schools: School Leadership to Promote Multicultural Understanding

By detailing an explanatory sequential mixed methods study grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), this book explores the role of effective educational leadership in developing multicultural acceptance in predominantly white schools. Drawing on the rich experiences and accounts of school principals in rural middle schools in the US, the volume asks how principals’ personal attitudes, professional experiences, and the degree to which they view themselves as a mentor and influencer within the school impacts their approach to improving multicultural understanding amongst students, staff, and faculty. The text is organized into five clear chapters, providing critical reflections, a review of the relevant literature, and in-depth discussion of first-hand data. Six key findings relating to whole-school acceptance, the role of individual principal’s attitudes, and support for teaching staff open new avenues for research and inform recommendations for the professional development of school principals. In presenting key theory and practical implications of research, this book will be crucial reading for researchers, scholars, and practitioners in the fields of educational leadership, multicultural education, sociology of education, and teacher education.
A (pedagogical) note on the log-linearization of functions of several variables

Abstract Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models are analytically intractable and numerical methods must be used to approximate a solution. A key input shared by many solution methods is log-linearization. While the basics of the procedure have been extensively documented, applying the methodology to complicated functions of model variables remains uncharted territory, often resulting in cumbersome and error-prone calculations. This paper offers a procedure – the log-linear product approach – that automates and simplifies this task, as I show with a full working example. The procedure relies on the basic fact that the product of second order terms is zero when dealing with a linear expansion.
Water's Role in Polymorphic Platinum(II) Complexes.

Solvent plays a vital role in the recrystallization process and resulting crystallinity of materials. This role is of such importance that it can control the stability and utility of materials. In this work, the inclusion of a solvent in the crystalline lattice, specifically water, drastically affects the overall stability of two platinum polymorphs. [Pt(tpy)Cl]BF4 (tpy = 2,2';6'2â³-terpyridine) crystallizes in three forms, red (1R) and blue (1B) polymorphs and a yellow nonsolvated form (2). 1R is the more stable of the two polymorphs, whereas 1B loses crystallinity upon dehydration at ambient conditions resulting in the formation of 2. Close examination of the solid-state extended structures of the two polymorphs reveals that 1R has a lattice arrangement that is more conducive to stronger intermolecular interactions compared to 1B, thereby promoting greater stability. In addition, these two polymorphs exhibit unique vapochromic responses when exposed to various solvents.
RF performance of wire mesh used in deployable spacecraft antennas

Summary form only given. The use of graphite structure along with gold-plated molybdenum wire mesh surfaces enables the construction of reliable precision spacecraft antennas that can be stowed in a small volume for launch and then deployed on orbit. The basic shape and stability of the deployed antenna are maintained by the graphite ribs and backup structure while the mesh surface provides a high degree of reflectivity in order to prevent excessive RF system losses due to leakage through the reflector surface. For multichannel communications applications, the generation of passive inter-modulation (PIM) components from the nonlinear mixing of transmitted signals can result in interfering signals in band at the spacecraft receiver frequencies. For such applications the additional requirement is imparted that no significant PIM is generated by the reflector surface including the mesh. Practical precision measurement techniques and antenna storage methods are key for the maintenance and evaluation of mesh surface deployable antennas prior to launch to insure proper performance on orbit. >
Sequence requirements for cytochrome P-450IIB1 catalytic activity. Alteration of the stereospecificity and regioselectivity of steroid hydroxylation by a simultaneous change of two hydrophobic amino acid residues to phenylalanine.

The phenobarbital-inducible P-450 forms IIB1 and IIB2 are identical in sequence except for 14 amino acid differences within the carboxyl-terminal half of the molecule. IIB1 has about a 5–10-fold higher turnover number for most monooxygenase substrates examined although the substrate specificities of both enzymes are virtually identical. Both P-450s oxygenate testosterone to yield the 16 α-hydroxy, 16β-hydroxy, 17-keto, and 16β-hydroxy, 17-keto metabolites as major products. A variant IIB2 cDNA, isolated from an uninduced rat liver γgt11 library, and when expressed in Hep G2 cells using a vaccinia virus vector, was found to code for a protein that produced the 16α-hydroxy and 17-keto metabolites of testosterone but no 16β-hydroxylated products. Although the published sequences of IIB1 and IIB2 are identical within the N-terminal halves of the proteins, sequence analysis of the variant cDNA revealed two amino acid substitutions in this region; Leu58→Phe and I1e114→Phe. When these two amino acid changes were incorporated into IIB1, via construction of a chimeric cDNA, the resultant expressed enzyme did not catalyze the 16β-hydroxylation of testosterone or androstenedione. Formation of the 16α-hydroxy and 17-keto metabolites, however, was only slightly reduced compared with the parent IIB1. A IIB1 protein that possessed only the I1e114→Phe replacement catalyzed the production of all four testosterone metabolites with only slightly different product ratios compared with the parent enzyme. The substrate specificity of a IIB1 variant containing only the Leu58→Phe replacement could not be determined, since that protein did not accumulate in cells infected with the corresponding recombinant vaccinia virus. These data suggest that two distinct amino acid residues located within the amino-terminal fourth of IIB1 and IIB2 can affect substrate orientation at the active site.
Modeling the vulnerability discovery process

Security vulnerabilities in servers and operating systems are software defects that represent great risks. Both software developers and users are struggling to contain the risk posed by these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities are discovered by both developers and external testers throughout the life-span of a software system. A few models for the vulnerability discovery process have just been published recently. Such models will allow effective resource allocation for patch development and are also needed for evaluating the risk of vulnerability exploitation. Here we examine these models for the vulnerability discovery process. The models are examined both analytically and using actual data on vulnerabilities discovered in three widely-used systems. The applicability of the proposed models and significance of the parameters involved are discussed. The limitations of the proposed models are examined and major research challenges are identified
The abortifacient and oxytocic effects of an intravaginal silicone rubber device containing a 0.5 per cent concentration of 15(S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2α methyl ester

Abortion was successfully induced by intravaginal insertion of a silicone rubber device impregnated with an 0.5% concentration of 15(S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2alpha methyl ester in 20 of 25 patients by prostaglandin alone and in an additional three patients by prostaglandin with a concomitant oxytocin infusion. The mean abortion time for the 23 successful abortions was 15.46 hours. Uterine activity was monitored in six patients and uterine response to the vaginal insertion of the prostaglandin-impregnated device was characterized by a gradual rise in amplitude of contractions and intrauterine baseline tonus accompanied by a rapid increase in the frequency of contractions. Induction of abortion by intravaginal administration of a silicone rubber device impregnated with prostaglandin eliminates the hazards associated with intra-amniotic instillation and offers the advantage of a single administration with the option of reversibility if a patient should be hypersensitive to the drug.
Implementing Topological Predicates for Complex Regions

Topological predicates on spatial objects have been a main area of research in spatial data handling, reasoning, and query languages. The focus of research, has, to a large extent, been on the design of and reasoning with these predicates, whereas implementation issues have been somewhat neglected. The goal of this paper is to show how an abstract design of topological predicates for complex regions can be efficiently implemented. The resulting algorithms are based on the realm concept, which is well known in the spatial database community.
Darkness and the dawn

Evolution Challenges: Integrating Research and Practice in Teaching and Learning about Evolution, edited by Karl S. Rosengren, Sarah Brem, E. Margaret Evans, and Gale Sinatra, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press), 2012.
Test of the double-strand-break repair model of recombination in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Abstract A direct test was made of predictions of the double-strand-break repair (DSBR) model of recombination in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The DNA substrate injected into oocytes had two directly repeated copies of a 1.25-kb sequence and was cleaved within one of them. Different products were expected to result from concerted, conservative events, as predicted by the DSBR model, and from nonconservative events. Only very low levels of recombination products, both conservative and nonconservative, were observed. When individual, apparent DSBR products were cloned and characterized, it emerged that the majority of them had arisen by nonconservative recombination through short, terminal homologies and not from the gene conversion events predicted for DSBR. Two cloned products among 44 tested corresponded to the predications of the DSBR model, but these could also have been generated by other processes. The most efficient recombination events in oocytes are nonconservative and are based on long, terminal homologous overlaps; when these are not available, short, imperfect overlaps support a lower level of nonconservative recombination; genuine, conservative DSBR events occur rarely, if at all.
Obesity, insulin resistance, and the pathway to type 2 diabetes

The increase in obesity in the U.S. and elsewhere can be explained by a variety of factors, as outlined by David Allison and his colleagues. Not only is the fast food diet a factor, but also are changes in ambient temperature, obesity-causing psychoactive molecules, associative sorting, changes in smoking habits, and reduction in sleep. In particular is the increase in visceral fat, which is associated with insulin resistance. We have shown in experimental animals that omentectomy increases insulin sensitivity implicating visceral fat per se as an important factor. We have followed longitudinally changes in organ function and crosstalk in a large animal model, rendered overweight by a high fat, hypercaloric diet. In normal animals, like in normal humans, there is a wide range of adiposity as well as visceral and subcutaneous fat deposition. Feeding fat increases visceral and subcutaneous fat with little change in body weight. Physiologic changes occur with absolutely no change in fasting glucose: most predictive of insulin resistance is relative reduction in metabolic clearance of insulin by liver, and a modest increase in beta cell sensitivity to glucose. The latter changes result in hyperinsulinemia. Change in insulin sensitivity is also predicted by change in liver insulin clearance, implicating metabolic clearance of insulin as the primary factor in development of the insulin resistance syndrome.
Extraction of the distribution function h 1 T ⊥ from experimental data

We attempt an extraction of the pretzelosity distribution (${h}_{1T}^{\ensuremath{\perp}}$) from preliminary COMPASS, HERMES, and JLAB experimental data on $\mathrm{sin}(3{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{h}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{S})$ asymmetry on proton, and effective deuteron and neutron targets. The resulting distributions, albeit with big errors, for the first time show tendency for up-quark pretzelosity to be positive and down-quark pretzelosity to be negative. A model relation of pretzelosity distribution and orbital angular momentum of quarks is used to estimate contributions of up and down quarks.
Punishment-Induced Aggression: A Possible Mechanism of Child Abuse?:

Instances of physical child abuse following parental exposure to an aversive stimulus may be viewed as an instance of punishment-induced aggression. This behavior-analytic perspective is more parsimonious than alternative hypotheses about the existence of parental cognitive, trait or dispositional mediators of child abuse, and suggests alternative methods of intervention.
Cohabitation, Marriage, and Child Wellbeing: A Cross-National Perspective

Non-marital cohabitation has become widespread in modern, Western nations. It has led to dramatic declines in marriage rates and contributed to high levels of unwed births and lone-parent families, thus negatively affecting child wellbeing.
Interaction of highly excited hydrogen atoms with a resonant oscillating field

Abstract We study numerically and analytically the motion of an electron in a Coulomb field and a circularly polarized resonant electromagnetic field, in the classical approximation.
Monolithically integrated widely tunable delayed interference based 40 Gbps wavelength converter

40 Gbps operation of a novel monolithically integrated wavelength converter consisting of a sampled grating DBR laser, long SOA and a delay interferometer (DI)-MZI is reported. Chip performance is studied in detail as function of output filter bandwidth and detuning.
Pseudo first-order reaction rate constant for the formation of hydroxymethylhydroperoxide from formaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide

Abstract H2O2(0.5−4.0 × 10−5M) and H2CO (0.0075–0.1 M) were reacted in aqueous solutions buffered at pH between 4.0 and 6.9. The reaction rate constant (k) in d[H 2 O 2 ] dt = k[H 2 O 2 ] [H 2 CO] [H + was determined to be (6.47 ±0.11) × 10 −8 s −1 at 22°C. With this rate expression, estimates of the stability of each reactant in fog and cloud droplets were made. It is shown that H2O2 in atmospheric droplets is very stable with respect to reaction with H2CO.
Human Corpus Luteum: Luteinizing Hormone and Chorionic Gonadotropin Receptors During the Menstrual Cycle*

To characterize and determine the concentration of LH/hCG receptors in human corpora lutea of the menstrual cycle, we measured occupied and unoccupied receptors and determined the association (Ka) and dissociation (Kd) constants individually in 23 corpora lutea (CL) and 4 corpora albicantia obtained at the time of tubal ligation from 25 normal cycling women. We found no [125I]hCG binding in any of the corpora albicantia. Scatchard plot analysis for each CL revealed a linear binding plot indicative of a single set of LH/hCG receptors. The mean concentration of unoccupied receptors was 36 ± 10 (±se) fmol/mg protein in the early luteal phase (days 15–19; n = 5), 64 ± 11 fmol/mg protein in the midluteal phase (days 20–25; n = 13), and 42 ± 19 fmol/mg protein in the late luteal phase (days 26–30; n = 5). The concentrations of occupied receptors were 56 ± 8, 46 ± 6, and 54 ± 12 fmol/mg protein in the early, mid-, and late luteal phases, respectively. Total (occupied plus unoccupied) receptor concentrations reac...
Age differences in the outcome of long-delay taste-aversion conditioning in rats

Weanling, young-adult, and aged rats were subjected to taste-aversion conditioning with a relatively weak US (1% body weight i.p. injection of.15 M LiCl) at one of four CS-US intervals (0, 0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 h). Age differences occurred at all intervals, with aged rats showing superior conditioning. Increasing the CS-US interval was more disruptive the younger the rat. Although not unequivocal, the results suggest that the processes involved in associative memory during taste-aversion conditioning may involve different processes from those that mediate long-delay learning in more conventional learning tasks.
Safely navigating around the facial nerve in three dimensions.

Although much literature discusses the anatomy and injury of the facial nerve branches, the fascial plane of the nerves, particularly where they transition from one plane to another, is rarely emphasized and information is often contradictory. This article describes in three-dimensional, accurate surgical terms where the facial nerve branches are located and how they can be protected during dissection above and below the superficial musculoaponeurotic system–platysma plane.
Adaptive evolution of larvae and life cycles.

The larval patterns of marine invertebrates pose intriguing questions for both evolutionary and developmental biologists. However, combined investigations have been rare. Quantitative models analyze the selective factors that drive evolutionary change in larval nutrition and timing of metamorphosis. Developmental studies describe the morphogenesis characterizing ancestral and derived larval patterns. Rigorous evolutionary analysis of the transition to derived modes of development is lacking and detailed developmental and ecological data are needed to test and refine theoretical models. A major challenge facing studies of life cycle evolution is the elucidation of the genetic structure and covariance of important developmental and larval traits.
Optimal Algorithms and a Remarkably Efficient Heuristic for the Ground-Holding Problem in Air Traffic Control

Since it is safer and less expensive to absorb delays on the ground, air traffic control management tries to limit the duration of airborne delays by holding aircraft previous to departure when congestion at the airport of destination is anticipated. The problem of assigning appropriate ground-holds to aircraft is known as the ground-holding problem. Ground-holding decisions must be implemented in real time and for multiple airports; therefore, the speed of solution for algorithms is critical. This paper tests static and dynamic optimal solutions, and a very fast heuristic for the assignment of ground-holds in air traffic control. The optimal solutions are based on stochastic linear programming. The heurtstic incorporates elements of stochastic modeling by utilizing information conveyed by a probabilistic forecast of airport landing capacity, while taking into consideration the dynamic nature of the problem. In extensive computational experiments based on data for Logan airport, the heuristic performed significantly better than the optimal static solution, a deterministic solution, and the passive strategy of no-ground-holds; and within 5% of the optimal dynamic solution at a fraction of the computational time. Due to its remarkable efficiency, the stochastic-dynamic heuristic appears to be a promising building block in the development of fast ground-holding algorithms for the complete network of airports.
Vascular cell adhesion molecule--1 expression is obligatory for endotoxin-induced myocardial neutrophil accumulation and contractile dysfunction.

Abstract Background. Sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction occurs commonly in critically ill patients and is associated with high mortality rates. Neutrophils play a central role in sepsis-induced lung and liver injury; however, the mechanism of sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction remains unclear. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) has been implicated in neutrophil-mediated liver injury during endotoxemia and is also expressed in myocardium. The purposes of this study were to examine the temporal relationship of myocardial VCAM-1 expression with neutrophil accumulation during endotoxemia and to determine whether VCAM-1 mediates neutrophil accumulation and cardiac dysfunction during endotoxemia. Methods. Mice were subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). Myocardial VCAM-1 expression and neutrophil accumulation were determined by immunofluorescence staining. Cardiac performance with or without VCAM-1 blocking antibody (5 mg/kg, intravenously) was determined by the Langendorff technique. Results. LPS caused a time-dependent increase in both myocardial VCAM-1 expression and neutrophil accumulation. At 6 hours after LPS, the immunofluorescent intensity for VCAM-1 increased from 2.5 ± 0.6 × 10 6 in saline solution controls to 19.9 ± 3.5 × 10 6 ( P 2 in saline solution controls to 13.0 ± 2.5/mm 2 ( P P Conclusions. LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction is associated with increased expression of VCAM-1 and with neutrophil accumulation. Blockade of VCAM-1 abrogates myocardial neutrophil accumulation and preserves cardiac function during endotoxemia, which supports a role for VCAM-1 as a therapeutic target for myocardial protection during sepsis. (Surgery 2001;130:319-25.)
Synthesis of iodine-capped aniline trimers and analysis of their electronic spectrum

Abstract Iodine-capped emeraldine trimers are synthesized by a modified Sandmeyer reaction. The electronic spectra of the trimers are captured by UV–Vis spectroscopy. The absorption bands are compared to the results of DFT calculations, and the electronic states responsible for those bands assigned. Additional thermodynamic parameters are calculated for the iodine-capped trimers, and compared to those for the traditional amino-capped trimers.
Philippine nurses and the brain drain.

Abstract The Philippines has been one of the greatest exporters of professional personnel to the United States, and nurses outnumber any other category. Although some problems have been reported, their experience in the United States has been generally good. A comparison of samples of Filipino nurses who never left the Philippines with those who had either remained for a long time in the United States or who had returned to the U.S. after a short period found little difference in socioeconomic background. Nurses remaining for long periods in the United States did receive lower scores on scales designed to test anchorage and perceived relative opportunities in the Philippines. The supply of Philippine nurses is growing and migration will continue at a high level if U.S. immigration policies permit.
The perioperative charge equivalence of interstitial brachytherapy and radical prostatectomy with 1-year followup.

Purpose: We compare the comprehensive 1-year charges in a consecutive group of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy and transperineal interstitial brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer at a single urban institution.Materials and Methods: A total of 60 consecutive men with clinically localized prostate cancer (T1-T2, N0, M0) were treated during a 15-month period with radical prostatectomy or interstitial brachytherapy. Hospital and outpatient records were analyzed for each patient in regard to preoperative, operative and postoperative charges. Parameters included number of encounters, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, hospitalization and operative charges, and followup visits, diagnostic tests and interventions for 1 year. All charge calculations were based arbitrarily on the 1996 Medicare fee schedule, factoring in the mandated global charge reimbursement period of 90 days for both procedures.Results: Of the patients 38 underwent radical prostatectomy (prostatectomy group) an...
Software Life Cycle Management: Weapons Process Developer

This paper describes weapon system software life cycle management from a contractor perspective. Four procurement strategies–each requiring two or more-contracts–are examined and their impact on the contractor and the software process are described.
Trophic regulation of synaptic plasticity.

Trophins are now known to acutely regulate synaptic plasticity, in addition to exerting long-recognized actions on neuronal survival and development. To begin elucidating underlying mechanisms, cultured dissociated hippocampal neurons were examined by whole-cell patch-clamp recording. BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) specifically and selectively increased the integrated synaptic current twofold within five minutes. The effect was mediated postsynaptically by the trkB receptor and intracellular phosphorylation-dependent mechanisms. Iontophoresis combined with patch-clamp recording indicated that BDNF increased activity of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors. Single channel-channel recording indicated that BDNF increased channel open probability by increasing opening frequency. In parallel, the trophin specifically increased phosphorylation of NR1 and NR2B subunits of NMDA receptors in the postsynaptic density, providing potential mechanisms eliciting receptor activation. A model is proposed in which activity-driven experience activates specific BDNF gene promoters, leading to enhanced transcription, elevated trophin levels, postsynaptic NMDA receptor activation and increased synaptic transmission. These sequential mechanisms may contribute to enhanced long-term potentiation, a correlate of learning and memory.
Neutron Spectroscopy Without Time-of-Flight Measurement: A DSP-Based Deuterated Scintillator Array

Development and evaluation of a large-volume multi-element digital-signal-processing (DSP)-based deuterated (C6D6) liquid scintillator array for the study of reactions involving neutrons without the need for measurement of neutron time-of-flight (ToF) is described. In-beam testing was conducted at the University of Notre Dame (UND) 10 MV FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator using a deuteron beam at Ed=16.0 MeV. The energy response and detector efficiency of 100 mm dia. ×; 150 mm long cylindrical deuterated liquid scintillator (Eljen 315) detectors was determined in the range En=4.8 to 8.7 MeV and En=6.8 to 21.2 MeV, respectively. In addition, we determined that optimized digital pulse-shape discrimination (DPSD) in liquid scintillator detectors using enhanced liquid (Eljen 315MOD) and other methods can yield improved recoil-particle tagging. As we demonstrate, this is particularly important in deuterated scintillators at neutron energies above 15 MeV. This is especially advantageous for study of nuclear reactions involving radioactive beams, since these often have large, positive reaction Q values.
Initial Experience With Laparoscopic Transvesical Ureteral Reimplantation at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Purpose: Laparoscopic transvesical ureteral reimplantation with or without robotic assisted surgical devices is being developed as an alternative to open surgery. We review our experience with laparoscopic transvesical ureteral reimplantation.Materials and Methods: A total of 32 patients underwent laparoscopic transvesical reimplantation by the same surgeon. Of the patients 5 had primary obstructing megaureters and 27 had vesicoureteral reflux. Transvesical laparoscopic cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation was performed in patients with reflux, and a Glenn-Anderson reimplantation was used in patients with a primary obstructing megaureter. A pure laparoscopic approach using two 3 mm working ports and a 5 mm camera port was used.Results: The operative success rates were 92.6% and 80% for vesicoureteral reflux and primary obstructing megaureter cases, respectively. Complications included a postoperative urinary leak in 4 patients (12.5%) and ureteral stricture at the neoureterovesical anastomosis in 2 (6.3...
The effects of epilepsy and its treatments on affect and emotion

Epilepsy creates significant morbidity, disability, and loss of productivity worldwide. Although unpredictable seizures define epilepsy, the cognitive and emotional difficulties encountered by people with epilepsy may have an even greater impact on everyday function. Epilepsy is associated with lower quality of life (QOL); while this is partially attributable to ongoing seizures, QOL is independently affected by comorbid affective disorders like depression and anxiety. These can accompany all types of epilepsy, but may be especially noteworthy in partial epilepsy syndromes with foci in the frontal or temporal lobes. There is growing evidence that epileptogenic lesions disrupt cortical networks that carry out emotional processing. In addition to epilepsy itself, treatment strategies also affect cognitive functioning and mood. Antiepileptic drugs, vagal nerve stimulation, and surgical resection have all been associated with changes in mood, emotional processing, and social cognition. Overall, the relationship between epilepsy and emotion is vastly complex; when assessing emotional difficulties in a person with epilepsy, we must consider the psychosocial impact of the disease on the patient, the underlying pathophysiology of the disease, and the effects of ongoing treatments.
Estimating intrinsic dimension via clustering

Estimating the intrinsic dimension of a data set from pairwise distances is a critical issue for a wide range of disciplines, including genomics, finance, and networking. Current estimation techniques are agnostic to structure in the data, failing to exploit properties that can improve efficiency. In this paper, we present a methodology that uses inherent clustering present in data to efficiently and accurately estimate intrinsic dimension. Our experiments show that this approach has greater accuracy and better scalability than prior techniques, even when the data does not conform to an obvious clustering structure.
Anthropometric factors and pancreatic cancer in a population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay area

Objective: To investigate the association between pancreatic cancer, anthropometric factors, physical activity and caloric intake. Methods: Participants in our population-based case–control study of adenocarcinoma of the exocrine pancreas (532 cases, 1701 frequency-matched controls) in the San Francisco Bay Area were accrued between 1995 and 1999 and interviewed in-person. Data were analyzed by sex in age-adjusted unconditional logistic models and main effects were considered significant for two-sided p-values ≤ 0.05. Results: Odds ratios were elevated for body mass index (BMI) at age 25 years (4th versus 1st quartile: odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4–3.1), maximum BMI (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2–2.7) and usual adult BMI (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.4–3.2) among men. Odds ratios were elevated for increased caloric intake among men (4th versus 1st quartile: OR = 2.6, 95% C: 1.7–3.8). Increased physical activity was suggestive of decreased risk in men and women although CIs included unity. Our results suggest that increased BMI and caloric intake are associated with pancreatic cancer among men. Conclusions: These results are consistent with other cancer studies and support further research to determine the mechanism by which increased BMI may influence the development of pancreatic cancer.
Crack Stability and Strength Distribution of Ceramics That Exhibit Rising Crack‐Growth‐Resistance (R‐Curve) Behavior

Crack stability and strength distribution are examined for ceramics that exhibit R-curve behavior. An empirical power-law description for the R curve leads to simple analytical formulations for the Weibull modulus and the scale parameter; however, the power law is inconsistent with the stability of surface cracks recently observed in MgO-partially-stabilized zirconia and coarse-grained alumina. It is shown that alternate empirical fits to the R curve are compatible with the stable extension of surface cracks, even in the absence of any localized residual stresses.
Statistical properties of radiation power levels from a high-gain free-electron laser at and beyond saturation

We investigate the statistical properties (e.g., shot-to-shot power fluctuations) of the radiation from a high-gain free-electron laser (FEL) operating in the nonlinear regime. We consider the case of an FEL amplifier reaching saturation whose shot-to-shot fluctuations in input radiation power follow a gamma distribution. We analyze the corresponding output power fluctuations at and beyond first saturation, including beam energy spread effects, and find that there are well-characterized values of undulator length for which the fluctuation level reaches a minimum.
Interindividual variability of chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation in men and women and its relationship to CYP2E1 genetic polymorphisms.

Chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation is mediated by CYP2E1, and its measurement provides an in vivo probe of the enzyme's activity. To determine the population distribution of such activity, the disposition of chlorzoxazone and its 6-hydroxy metabolite was determined after oral administration to 70 white subjects (40 men and 30 women) residing in middle Tennessee. Both oral (330 ± 111 ml · min−1, mean ± SD) and fractional (213 ± 86 ml · min−1) clearances varied fourfold to fivefold within the population and were unimodally distributed in a visually normal fashion. Clearance values were one-third greater in men than in women, but such differences were less striking after normalization according to body weight. Attempts to develop a single-time-point measure of 6-hydroxylating ability on the basis of plasma levels or urinary excretion of chlorzoxazone or its metabolite were unsuccessful. Genetic polymorphisms (Pst I and Rsa I restriction fragment length polymorphisms) in the 5′-flanking region of CYP2E1 deoxyribonucleic acid obtained from peripheral leukocytes were not associated with differences in the disposition of chlorzoxazone. Similarly, no major effects on 6-hydroxylation were associated with mutations in intron 6 associated with a Dra I restriction fragment length polymorphism. The interindividual variability in CYP2E1 activity as measured in vivo in healthy subjects appears to be considerably less than that expected based on in vitro studies. Whether such variability is associated with individual susceptibility to CYP2E1-mediated toxicity remains to be determined. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1995) 57, 645–655; doi:
Organic photovoltaic cells containing discotic liquid crystalline phthalocyanines

We report on the photovoltaic properties of solar cells containing a new discotic liquid crystalline material (DL-CuPc) based on copper phthalocyanine. In addition to being soluble, these materials can self-organize into highly ordered structures which can lead to good transport properties that can potentially be superior to those of amorphous materials. Increase in short-circuit current density and fill factor was obtained by thermal annealing of spin-coated DL-CuPc layer in bi-layer solar cells based on junction between DL-CuPc and C 60 . These improvements are explained by change in structure and morphology upon thermal annealing.
Circadian changes in norepinephrine turnover in rats following administration of estrogen.

Abstract 1. Circadian changes in norepinephrine (NE) turnover were found in 4-month-old rats following administration of estrogen. 2. In the hypothalamus NE turnover occurred in the late-dark period only in mestranol-treated rats. 3. At the late-dark and early-light phases NE turnover was found to occur in the cerebellum of control rats, but was not found in mestranol-treated rats at these times nor in the mid-light period. 4. Following estrogen treatment adrenal NE turnover was discovered at early- and mid-light phases. 5. Cardiac NE turnover was not found to occur in mestranol-treated rats at any of the three times sampled.
Influence of phase composition and microstructure on the high temperature creep properties of a model single crystal nickel-base superalloy: An atom probe/AEM study

Atom probe field ion microscopy (APFIM) and analytical electron microscopy (AEM) have been used to characterize the microstructure of as-quenched and creep-tested model single crystal nickel-base superalloys having the nominal bulk composition Ni-x at.% Mo-2.0% Ta-13.7% Al (x = 7.8--9.2%). The results showed that Ta partitioned preferentially to the {gamma}{prime} phase whereas Mo partitioned to the {gamma} matrix. Atom probe composition profiles across {gamma}-{gamma}{prime} interfaces did not reveal any evidence of solute segregation and statistical analyses of the data did not indicate ultrafine solute clusters in the {gamma} matrix. Acicular {delta} phase precipitates were detected in number densities approximately one order of magnitude higher in the 9.2% Mo alloy as compared to the 8.6 and 8.8% Mo alloy. There was some indication that the DO{sub 22}-ordered {gamma}{double_prime} phase is stable at 982 C, the temperature at which the creep tests were performed. The absence of interfacial solute segregation and clustering in the {gamma} matrix suggested that the high creep life of this model alloy system is influenced by the nature of the dislocation network at the {gamma}-{gamma}{prime} interface with a possible strengthening contribution from the DO{sub 22}-ordered phase.
Multifactorial Hypercalcemia and Literature Review on Primary Hyperparathyroidism Associated with Lymphoma

The most common cause of hypercalcemia in hospitalized patients is malignancy. Primary hyperparathyroidism most commonly causes hypercalcemia in the outpatient setting. These two account for over 90% of all cases of hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia can be divided into PTH-mediated and PTH-independent variants. Primary hyperparathyroidism, familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, familial hyperparathyroidism, and secondary hyperparathyroidism are PTH mediated. The most common PTH-independent type of hypercalcemia is malignancy related. Several mechanisms lead to hypercalcemia in malignancy-direct osteolysis by metastatic disease or, more commonly, production of humoral factors by the primary tumor also known as humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy that accounts for about 80% of malignancy-related hypercalcemia. The majority of HHM is caused by tumor-produced parathyroid hormone-related protein and less frequently production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D or parathyroid hormone by the tumor. We report the rare case of a patient with hypercalcemia and diagnosed primary hyperparathyroidism. The patient had persistent hypercalcemia after surgical removal of parathyroid adenoma with recorded significant decrease in PTH level. After continued investigation it was found that the patient also had elevated 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and further studies confirmed a large spleen mass that was later confirmed to be a lymphoma. This is a rare example of two concomitant causes of hypercalcemia requiring therapy.