cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Who’s Buying What and How Much? Correlates of Purchase Behaviors From Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles, California

Venue-based distribution of marijuana has become the normative model in the United States to obtain marijuana. This study examines one-time purchase behaviors at medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs) to identify potential venue- and individual-level targets for prevention. We used a two-stage, venue-based sampling approach to randomly select patrons exiting 16 MMDs in Los Angeles, California during the spring of 2013. Patrons (N = 595) reported their discrete purchase behaviors during their most recent visit to the sampled MMD. We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the amount spent on marijuana products, regressed on characteristics of the sampled dispensaries and their patrons. We used hierarchical generalized linear modeling to examine the likelihood of purchasing specific types of marijuana products and total grams of loose-leaf buds purchased. Patrons spent US$41.73 on average, with a range of $0–$330. We observed significant variation in purchase behaviors across MMDs and associations between venues located within high median income census tracts and a higher total amount spent and lower odds of purchasing only loose-leaf buds. The networked distance between a patron’s home and the sampled MMD was positively associated with the total amount spent and total quantity of buds purchased. We also found significant relationships between medical conditions reported for use in three models: total amount spent, purchase of pre-rolled joints, and total grams of buds purchased. Policy makers may want to explore regulating the availability of specialty items that may be attractive to naive users, such as pre-rolled joints or edibles, or high-concentration products that may be sought out by regular, heavy users.
PREOPERATIVE RIGHT VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING AFTER LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE IMPLANTATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) can be a devastating complication after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Recent studies suggest that preoperative right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) might increase the incidence of GIB during LVAD support. However, the existing evidence is
Building a “Culture of Trust”: The Cultural and Practical Challenges of School-Based Behavioral Health Care in Overseas Military Base Schools

Zeke and his parents were in the Senior Counselor’s office of a high school on a military base overseas. Zeke’s father was preparing to deploy to a combat zone within 3 weeks. Zeke was facing a risk of not graduating. When the counselor informed Zeke and his parents of the likelihood of not graduating based on current performance, Zeke, a stoic 18 year old who liked to read fantasy novels, play video games and his guitar, began to cry. He said he didn’t want to disappoint his parents but was unsure if he could make up the work he had missed. He was particularly upset that his dad would be worried and distracted about Zeke when he needed to be more focused on his dangerous upcoming mission. He had also been struggling the past year to adjust to being in Germany after having lived his entire life in the United States. His family moved overseas for his father’s final assignment, but this required Zeke to move away from his friends and the high school he had attended for the three previous years just outside an army base in the Southeastern United States. With this information and the family in tears in her office, the Senior Counselor contacted the School-Based Behavioral Health provider on-site. An intake evaluation was conducted and treatment plan initiated the same day. Seven weeks later, after a course of cognitive-behavioral therapy to address a long-standing anxiety disorder and solution-focused therapy to improve his academic production, Zeke completed his coursework successfully and graduated on time. His father, down-range in the Middle East, was able to watch his son graduate via satellite broadcast. Zeke had accomplished his goal and his father was able to continue his mission without distraction.
Oral Sirolimus: An Option in the Management of Neonates with Life-Threatening Upper Airway Lymphatic Malformations

Abstract Background: Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors are being used off-label showing promising results in patients with vascular anomalies. Children with lymphatic malformations ...
The adequacy of lymph node clearance in colon cancer surgery performed in a non-specialist centre; implications for practice

Despite recent medical advances, surgery remains the mainstay treatment in colon cancer. It is well established that better patient outcomes are achieved when complex surgery including pancreatic, oesophageal and rectal surgeries are carried out in high-volume centres. However, it is unclear as to whether or not colon cancer patients receive the same benefit. Lymph node adequacy is a key performance indicator of successful oncological colonic resection which impacts on patient outcome. To assess the adequacy of lymph node clearance during colonic resection performed with curative intent in a non-specialist centre post introduction of the National Cancer Strategy. Retrospective analysis was performed of a prospectively maintained database examining the lymph node clearance of all oncological resections for colon cancer over a 7-year period (Nov 2010–Dec 2017) at a satellite unit with links to a regional specialist centre. Primary outcome measured was the number of lymph nodes retrieved. Secondary outcomes included resection margins, 30-day complication rate and survival at 1 year. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 24.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, N.Y., USA). One hundred sixty-seven patients were included. Mean age was 71.0 ± 11.6 years. Majority were male (n = 90, 53.6%). The majority of resections was right sided (n = 112.66.7%) with 78.6% of all resections being undertaken electively. All margins were free of tumour. The average lymph node count was 19.93 ± 8.63 (4.62) with only 17 (10.2%) of specimens containing < 12 nodes. The anastomotic leak rate was 3.3%. There was no association between surgeon or pathologist volume, nor emergent status and achieving oncological lymph node count (p = 0.14, 0.29, 0.97). 90.5% of patients were alive at 1 year. This study demonstrates that colonic cancer surgery can be safely performed in a non- specialist centre with technical outcomes comparable to nationally reported figures.
Corporate Accelerators and Start-up Performance – Evidence from Germany

Corporate accelerators are a rapidly growing institutional phenomenon in start-up ecosystems. This paper studies the performance of corporate accelerator programs. Corporate accelerators (CA) are a...
Predicting growth plate orientation with altered hip loading: potential cause of cam morphology

Proximal femoral deformities can result from altered hip joint loading patterns during growth. The growth plate hyaline cartilage has low resistance to shear stress. Therefore, we hypothesized that the growth plate orients in a direction which minimizes the shear stress on its surface. A finite element model of the proximal femur was generated with a simplified flat growth plate. Hip joint forces were estimated for standing upright and standing in hip flexion. We also parametrically studied the effects of posteriorly and laterally directed loads. An algorithm was developed to predict the shape of the femoral growth plate in a plane of minimum shear (along the principal stress vectors). To characterize and compare the growth plate shapes, we represented the distance from the growth plate to a reference plane as a two-dimensional contour plot, providing information of shape and orientation across the entire surface. We also assessed the clinical measures of growth plate shape to compare our predicted growth plates with previous clinical studies data. The shape of the growth plate predicted for an upright standing load correlated closely with morphological properties of the growth plane of a typically developing child. The shape of the growth plate predicted for femoral hip flexion force was similar to the growth plate in subjects with cam morphology, a hip shape that has documented growth plate changes. The model proposed here allows for investigation of the relation between joint forces and growth plate shape, which will help predict the development of bony deformities.
Primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty: how did medialized and glenoid-based lateralized style prostheses compare at 10 years?

Background The purpose of this study was to compare long-term outcomes, complications, and reoperation rates of primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) performed at a single institution using 2 implant designs: a Grammont medialized prosthesis (medialized [M] group) and a Frankle glenoid-based lateralized prosthesis (glenoid-lateralized [GL] group). Methods Between 2004 and 2008, 100 consecutive single-institution primary RTSAs were performed by reconstructive shoulder surgeons who were not design consultants, with the aim of obtaining 10-year follow-up: 56 in the M group and 44 in the GL group. Patients were followed up until death, until revision surgery, or for a minimum of 10 years. Results Of 100 patients, 87 had more than 2 years' follow-up (mean, 77 months). A subset analysis of 41 patients with an average of 10.2 years' follow-up showed sustained long-term outcomes. RTSA provided clinical improvements without significant differences between the M and GL groups, except for improved active forward elevation in the M group (144° in M group vs. 115° in GL group, P = .002). Reoperation was required in 6 shoulders (10-year cumulative incidence of 3 [5%] in M group vs. 3 [8%] in GL group) for a total of 16 complications (10-year cumulative incidence of 8 [14%] in M group vs. 8 [20%] in GL group). Notching rates were significantly higher in the M group (77% in M group vs. 47% in GL group, P = .013); differences in severe notching (grade 3 or 4) were clinically relevant but did not reach statistical significance (23% in M group vs. 9% in GL group, P = .22). Conclusion Primary RTSA using these first 2 prosthesis designs was associated with good outcomes and low reoperation (5%-8%) and complication (14%-20%) rates at 10 years. The M group had higher rates of notching. These results may provide a benchmark for comparison with newer implants, especially considering that these results include the early RTSA implantation learning curve.
Managing Excessive Weight Gain in Children <2 Years of Age: Interviews with Primary Care Providers.

Background: Excessive weight gain in the first 2 years of childhood is a risk factor for future obesity. However, the current absence of clear, standardized identification and treatment guidelines may hinder primary care providers' (PCPs) ability to manage early excessive weight gain in children <2. The objective of this study was to explore PCPs' perspectives on evaluating and communicating about early excessive weight gain and to identify PCP-opined barriers to the care of children exhibiting such trends. Methods: A trained interviewer conducted 20 semistructured interviews with PCPs on identifying and communicating with families about early excessive weight gain in children <2 years old. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the transcripts. Results: Interviews uncovered three major themes: (1) the approach to identifying excessive weight gain in children <2 showed high variability across participants despite relative consistency in weight assessment methodology, (2) while possessing communication strategies, providers recognized multiple barriers impeding the execution of weight-related conversations with caregivers, and (3) providers perceived the need for additional support to improve their ability to respond to excessive weight gain in children <2 years old. Conclusions: Variability exists in PCP-reported methods used and barriers faced when identifying, communicating, and responding to excessive weight gain in very early childhood. Introducing guidelines and resources to help standardize the assessment and communication of excessive weight gain in children <2 could augment PCPs' strategies for managing accelerated weight-gain trajectories to mitigate rates of childhood obesity.
CollegeBot: A Conversational AI Approach to Help Students Navigate College

In an organization as big as a university that has many distinct departments and administrative bodies, it becomes almost impossible to easily obtain information online or by other means. Assistance over the phone or in-person is often limited to office hours and the information online is scattered through numerous (often nested) web pages, often independently administered and maintained by each sub-division. In this work, we present CollegeBot, a conversational AI agent that uses natural language processing and machine learning to assist visitors of a university’s web site in easily locating information related to their queries. We discuss how we create the knowledge base by collecting and appropriately preprocessing information that is used to train the conversational agent for answering domain-specific questions. We have evaluated two different algorithms for training the conversational model for the chatbot, namely a semantic similarity model and a deep learning one leveraging Sequence-to-Sequence learning model. The proposed system is able to capture the user’s intent and switch context appropriately. It also leverages the open source AIML chatbot ALICE to answer any generic (non domain-specific) questions. We present a proof-of-concept prototype for San Jose State University, to demonstrate how such an approach can be easily adopted by other academic institutions as well.
Accessible and Interactive Learning of Spectroscopic Parameterization through Computer-Aided Training

The importance of utilizing spectroscopic techniques for unraveling structural and compositional changes in nonreacting and reacting systems is unquestionable. Nowadays, efforts are directed towards the introduction of relevant spectroscopic techniques to undergraduate students in order to prepare them for future careers in industry and academia, where these techniques are becoming ever-more popular for material quality control, reaction monitoring, process control, etc. Educators have increasingly shifted to programming-based lessons due to intrinsic benefits such as improved and broad accessibility over interactive lessons, dual exposure to chemistry and computer science topics, remote teaching, etc. In this work, a MATLAB-based program is built to expose students at higher education levels (undergraduates and graduates) as well as new users to spectral parameter estimation towards the collection of Raman spectra in a timely manner with high signal to noise ratio (S/N). The development of this intermediate-level intuitive understanding in spectroscopic techniques has the potential to serve as the interface between course curricula and hands-on experience in advanced techniques.
Improved Availability Index for Repairable Fuzzy Multi-State Systems

Fuzzy multi-state systems (FMSSs) comprise FMS components (FMSCs) aims at analyzing non-probabilistic uncertain circumstances defined by fuzzy state-transition rate and performance numbers. The triangular fuzzy number that features intuitive and algebraic operations is widely used for quantifying fuzziness. This study aims to overcome the drawbacks of the existing FMSS availability index that either does not conform to a normal convex set or is inconsistent with the crisp-circumstance multi-state system (MSS) availability beyond summation over state probabilities that do no equal unity. The proposed method first evaluates the instantaneous state probability (ISP) of FMSCs by establishing the FMSCs Markov model. Subsequently, the FMSSs ISP is evaluated by integrating the FMSCs ISP using the fuzzy universal generating function based on the system-structure function. A “constrained nonlinear parameter programming model” has been developed to evaluate the improved FMSSs availability. The corresponding availability index features the normal convex set whilst fulfilling the MSS theory, which requires state probabilities to equal unity during availability evaluation. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been verified using an illustrated community-based smart-grid system comprising three FMSCs—solar- and wind-energy systems as well as diesel-generator equipment. Moreover, the results of an independent sensitive analysis provide further insights into the improved FMSSs availability with regard to the time and circumstance fuzziness.
Emerging applications at the interface of DNA nanotechnology and cellular membranes: Perspectives from biology, engineering, and physics.

DNA nanotechnology has proven exceptionally apt at probing and manipulating biological environments as it can create nanostructures of almost arbitrary shape that permit countless types of modifications, all while being inherently biocompatible. Emergent areas of particular interest are applications involving cellular membranes, but to fully explore the range of possibilities requires interdisciplinary knowledge of DNA nanotechnology, cell and membrane biology, and biophysics. In this review, we aim for a concise introduction to the intersection of these three fields. After briefly revisiting DNA nanotechnology, as well as the biological and mechanical properties of lipid bilayers and cellular membranes, we summarize strategies to mediate interactions between membranes and DNA nanostructures, with a focus on programmed delivery onto, into, and through lipid membranes. We also highlight emerging applications, including membrane sculpting, multicell self-assembly, spatial arrangement and organization of ligands and proteins, biomechanical sensing, synthetic DNA nanopores, biological imaging, and biomelecular sensing. Many critical but exciting challenges lie ahead, and we outline what strikes us as promising directions when translating DNA nanostructures for future in vitro and in vivo membrane applications.
Spatial variation of sediment geoacoustic properties at the Seabed Characterization Experiment site

The Seabed Characterization Experiment, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, was carried out 5 March–10 April, 2017 (SBCEX17) on the New England Mud Patch, approximately 100 km south of Martha’s Vineyard. The main SBCEX17 experimental site covers an area of 15 km × 30 km with water depth in the range of 75–80 m. The Sediment Acoustic-speed Measurement System (SAMS) is designed to measure sediment sound speed and attenuation simultaneously over the surficial 3 m of sediments. Sediment sound speed results in the frequency band of 2–10 kHz can be found in an earlier publication (IEEE JOE, doi:10.1109/JOE.2019.2946004). During SBCEX17, SAMS was successfully deployed at 18 sites, which were chosen to be co-located with gravity or piston cores that were collected during the two recent survey cruises in 2015 and 2016. In this talk, our previous results are extended to include both sound-speed and attenuation. The frequency range is widened, and preliminary results for the dependence of sediment sound-speed and attenuation on both range and depth are presented. Sediment geoacoustic properties obtained by SAMS at the 18 sites are compared with historical and recent sediment property surveys giving information on bottom layering, porosity, and grain size. [Work supported by ONR.]
Pre-pregnancy menstrual cycle regularity and length and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: prospective cohort study

Menstrual cycle dysfunction has been associated with many endocrine-related diseases, but evidence linking menstrual cycle dysfunction with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is scant. The current study investigated the association of pre-pregnancy menstrual cycle regularity and length during adolescence, early adulthood and mid-adulthood with the subsequent risk of GDM. Between 1993 and 2009, we followed 10,906 premenopausal women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study II who reported menstrual cycle characteristics during adolescence (age 14–17 years), early adulthood (age 18–22 years) and mid-adulthood (age 29–46 years). Incident GDM was ascertained from a self-reported questionnaire regarding physician diagnosis. Log-binomial models with generalised estimating equations were used to estimate the RRs and 95% CI for the associations between menstrual cycle characteristics and GDM. We documented 578 incident cases of GDM among 14,418 pregnancies over a 16 year follow-up. After adjusting for potential confounders, women reporting always having irregular menstrual cycles during mid-adulthood had a 65% (95% CI 21, 125%) higher risk of GDM than women reporting very regular cycles. GDM risk was also greater among women reporting that their cycles were usually ≥32 days during mid-adulthood, compared with women reporting cycles between 26 and 31 days (RR 1.42 [95% CI 1.15, 1.75]). The risk of GDM was greater for women whose cycles changed from regular early in their reproductive years to irregular or from <32 days to ≥32 days during mid-adulthood, compared with women whose cycles remained <32 days or regular, respectively. Women whose cycles were long or irregular during mid-adulthood, but not in adolescence or young adulthood, were at higher risk of GDM.
Gender differences in objective measures of adult patients presenting for pectus excavatum repair.

Abstract Background Women have a reported incidence of pectus deformities 4-5 times less than men. Gender differences have not been well studied. Methods A retrospective review was performed of adult patients (≥18 years) who underwent a pectus excavatum repair at Mayo Clinic in Arizona (January 1, 2010-December 31, 2019). Results In total, 776 adults underwent pectus repair with 30% being women. Women presented older (mean age 35 vs 32 years, p=0.007) and more symptomatic. Despite this, women performed better on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (higher VO2 max and O2 pulse). Women had more severe deformities (Haller index 5.9 vs 4.3, p Conclusions Women presented for pectus excavatum repair older and with greater symptoms and severity. Despite this, women required fewer bars, with no significant differences in length of stay or complications. Cardiopulmonary benefits of repair were significant and equal for both genders.
FogWeaver: Task Allocation Optimization Strategy across Hybrid Fog Environments

As the complexity and requirements of IoT systems evolve, there comes a need for adaptable optimization algorithms that improve the process of task allocation, particularly across fog infrastructures. In this paper, we introduce FogWeaver, a strategy for optimizing task allocation within hybrid fog environments by integrating particle swarm optimization into the task allocation process. FogWeaver determines tasks that can efficiently run within fog environments, while reducing the latency associated with offloading tasks to cloud resources. Throughout this paper, we present experimental validation results, and analysis of the proposed optimization approach.
Iowa's community college transfer students, 1996-2000: demographics, graduation, and retention rates

x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Higher Education in Iowa and the United States 1 Four-year public institutions 1 Two-year public institutions 3 Two-year and four-year public education in Iowa 5 Transfer and Baccalaureate Completion Challenges 8 Statement of the Problem 9 Purpose of the Study 11 Objectives of the Study 12 Hypotheses 15 Procedure of the Study 17 Basic Assumptions 19 Delimitations 20 Significance of the Study 21 Definition of Terms 22 Organizational Outline 23 CHAPTER 2: IOWA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER STUDENTS: 25 HOW DO THEY COMPETE ACADEMICALLY AT THE IOWA REGENT UNIVERSITIES? Abstract 25 Higher Education in Iowa 26 Transfer and Articulation Challenges 29 Purpose 32 Population of the Study 32 Procedure 33 Demographic Comparisons 34 Number of credits transferred or accumulated 35 Number of students 38 Age 39 Gender 40 ACT scores 41 Academic Competitiveness based on Grade Point Average 45 Conclusion 46
TU-EF-BRD-03: Mental Workload and Performance

Research related to quality and safety has been a staple of medical physics academic activities for a long time. From very early on, medical physicists have developed new radiation measurement equipment and analysis techniques, created ever increasingly accurate dose calculation models, and have vastly improved imaging, planning, and delivery techniques. These and other areas of interest have improved the quality and safety of radiotherapy for our patients. With the advent of TG-100, quality and safety is an area that will garner even more research interest in the future. As medical physicists pursue quality and safety research in greater numbers, it is worthwhile to consider what actually constitutes research on quality and safety. For example, should the development of algorithms for real-time EPID-based in-vivo dosimetry be defined as “quality and safety” research? How about the clinical implementation of such as system? Surely the application of failure modes and effects analysis to a clinical process would be considered quality and safety research, but is this type of research that should be included in the medical physics peer-reviewed literature? The answers to such questions are of critical importance to set researchers in a direction that will provide the greatest benefit to our field and the patients we serve. The purpose of this symposium is to consider what constitutes research in the arena of quality and safety and differentiate it from other research directions. The key distinction here is developing the tool itself (e.g. algorithms for EPID dosimetry) vs. studying the impact of the tool with some quantitative metric. Only the latter would I call quality and safety research. Issues of ‘basic’ versus ‘applied’ quality and safety research will be covered as well as how the research results should be structured to provide increasing levels of support that a quality and safety intervention is effective and sustainable. Examples from existing peer-reviewed research will be used to highlight the main points. Historical, medical physicists have leveraged many areas of applied physics, engineering and biology to improve radiotherapy. Research on quality and safety is another area where physicists can have an impact. The key to further progress is to clearly define what constitutes quality and safety research for those interested in doing such research and the reviewers of that research. Learning Objectives: 1. List several tools of quality and safety with references to peer-reviewed literature. 2. Describe effects of mental workload on performance. 3. Outline research in quality and safety indicators and technique analysis. 4. Understand what quality and safety research needs to be going forward. 5. Understand the links between cooperative group trials and quality and safety research.
Full scale multi-output Gaussian process emulator with nonseparable auto-covariance functions

Gaussian process emulator with separable covariance function has been utilized extensively in modeling large computer model outputs. The assumption of separability imposes constraints on the emulator and may negatively affect its performance in some applications where separability may not hold. We propose a multi-output Gaussian process emulator with a nonseparable auto-covariance function to avoid limitations of using separable emulators. In addition, to facilitate the computation of nonseparable emulator, we introduce a new computational method, referred to as the Full-Scale approximation method with block modulating function (FSA-Block) approach. The FSA-Block is an effective and accurate covariance approximation method to reduce computations for Gaussian process models, which applies to both nonseparable and partially separable covariance models. We illustrate the effectiveness of our method through simulation studies and compare it with emulators with separable covariances. We also apply our method to a real computer code of the carbon capture system.
Phase modulated radar waveform classification using quantile one-class SVMs

Radar waveform classification is a difficult problem due to several different varying parameters. The classifier must handle waveform alignment, different pulse widths, and should degrade gracefully with decreasing signal to noise ratios. Along with these tasks, a crowded spectrum makes it highly unlikely that every waveform encountered will be in the waveform library. In this paper, these challenges are addressed through a combination of feature design, training protocol, and classifier approach. The classifier used in this effort is the quantile one-class SVM (q-OCSVM) that has the desirable properties of out-of-class rejection and likelihood estimation. These design choices result in a high performance waveform classifier that addresses the aforementioned challenges as demonstrated with extensive experimentation.
Oxycodone-induced neuronal degeneration (803.1)

Oxycodone (6-deoxy-7,8-dehydro-14-hydroxy-3-O-methyl-6-oxomorphine) is a semi synthetic opioid. It is most effective for treating patients with post-surgical, cancer and chronic non-malignant pain. Recently concern regarding effect of chronic opioid exposure on the development of neuronal degeneration has been emerged. We have investigated induction of biomarkers of brain pathology by chronic oxycodone exposure in rats. We observed significant mitochondrial dysfunction and increase in activated caspase 3 level in brain of rats treated with oxycodone. Recently, it was shown that opioid receptors may be involved in amyloid-beta production that is one of the characteristics of Alzheimer disease. Thus, we monitored the level of amyloid beta A4 protein. We detected increased accumulation of amyloid beta A4 protein in both nucleus accumbens and cortex areas of oxycodone-exposed rats. We also observed increase in a-synuclein level in various brain areas after oxycodone treatment. These data indicates that chroni...
Two applications of equational theories to database theory

Databases and equational theorem proving are well developed and seemingly unrelated areas of Computer Science Research. We provide two natural links between these fields and demonstrate how equational theorem proving can provide useful and tools for a variety of database tasks.
Managing The Evolution Of A Revolution: Marketing Implications Of Internet Media Usage Among College Students

It is no surprise that internet usage among college students has seen a marked increase in recent years. The increasing usage of this medium portends direct, negative impacts relative to the use of other media by this important market segment. Marketers are interested in internet usage information in order to determine the best methods for tapping into this potential market. Research focused on internet usage patterns of college students was conducted. Usage patterns by student classification and gender were studied. Specific use of the Facebook, MySpace and YouTube websites were investigated.
Social-Psychological Theories and Adolescent Health Risk Behavior

This paper reviews several psychosocial theories that have been applied to the study of adolescent health behavior. Some of these theories have existed for several decades and, though not originally intended for this purpose, have proven quite useful in predicting and explaining many different types of health-relevant behaviors. During the last 10–15 years, however, there has been a significant increase in the application of social psychological theories to the examination of what is increasingly being seen as a social-psychological phenomenon: health risk behavior among adolescents. This interest has been prompted, in part, by an appreciation of the value of dual-processing principles in explaining these behaviors, and, in particular, a recognition that much adolescent health risk behavior: a) is not always planful or premeditated, and b) involves both heuristic and analytic processing. The paper includes discussion of how dual-processing principles and social-psychological theories can inform intervention efforts.
The effect of survey sampling frame on coverage: the level of and changes in alcohol-related mortality in Finland as a test case.

Aims Exclusion of, for example, the homeless and institutionalized from survey sampling frames has been suggested to be one important reason for low coverage rate of surveys. We assess this, using mortality data from Finland, where in 2004 alcohol taxes were lowered by one-third, and surveys were unable to capture the 10% increase in per capita consumption. Design and measurement We compared the level of and the change in alcohol-related mortality in 2001–03 and 2004–05 in (1) the whole population, (2) the population included in the sampling frame of many Finnish surveys and (3) the population excluded from the sampling frame. Setting and participants Finns aged 15 years and above, linked individually to cause of death data. Findings The population outside survey sampling frames constituted 1.4% of the whole population and had a high rate of alcohol-related deaths. For example, among men the rate of directly alcohol-attributable causes was 3.7 times higher than in the survey population. Among women the rate ratio was 4.6. The exclusion of the non-survey population reduced the estimated level of alcohol-related mortality by 1–4%. Similarly, the non-survey population had only a marginal effect on the estimates of temporal change. Conclusions Alcohol-related mortality, and hence probably also alcohol consumption, is on average much higher in the subgroups of populations excluded from survey sampling frames. Due to the small size of the excluded group in the Finnish context, this has only a small effect on population-level estimates.
The chemistry of the transition metalcarbon σ-bond. Insertion reactions between stannous chloride and h1-allyl and h1-propargyl complexes of h5-cyclopentadienyldicarbonyliron

Abstract The reactions between h5-CpFe(CO)2R (R = CH2CHCH2; CH2CMe=CH2; CH2CHCHMe; CH2CHCMe2) and stannous chloride in tetrahydrofuran afford the insertion products h5-CpFe(CO)2SnCl2R. When treated with stannous chloride in methanol or with excess stannous chloride in tetrahydrofuran, h5-CpFe(CO)2CH2CMeCH2 affords primarily h5-CpFe(CO)2SnCl3. The allenyl, 2-butynyl or cationic isobutylene complexes (R = CHCCH2; CH2 CCMe; CH2CMe+2) yield only h5-CpFe(CO)2SnCl3. Stannous iodide reacts with h5-CpFe(CO)2CH2CHCH2 in benzene to form h5-CpFe(CO)2I. Plumbous chloride in methanol fails to react with the above complexes.
Sub-spot localization for spatial super-resolved LIDAR

Third generation LIDAR full-waveform (FW) based systems collect 1D temporal profiles of laser pulses reflected by the intercepted objects to construct depth profiles along each pulse path. By emitting a series of pulses towards a scene using a predefined scanning pattern, a 3D image containing spatial-depth information can be constructed. Achieving super-resolution to resolve finer spatial details is of great interest because the spatial resolution of a LIDAR system is typically limited by the size of the spot on the target. In this study, we consider the problem of resolving range maps to resolutions smaller than the size of the spot using overlapping spots. This overlap provides the additional information needed to locate multiple objects within a spot using sparse source separation, thus achieving super-resolution.
Low-loss wavelength-multiplexed optical scanners using volume Bragg gratings for transmit-receive lasercom systems

Low-loss, no moving parts, free-space wavelength-multiplexed optical scanner (W-MOS) modules for transmit-receive lasercom systems are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed scanners are realized using volume Bragg gratings stored in dichromated gelatin (DCG) coupled with high-speed wavelength selection, such as by a fast tunable laser. The potential speed of these scanners is in the gigahertz range using present-day state of the art nanosecond tuning speed lasers. A 940-lines/mm volume Bragg grating stored in dichromated gelatin is used to demonstrate the scanners. Angular dispersion and diffraction efficiency of the volume Bragg grating used for demonstration are studied, versus wavelength and angle of incidence to determine the free-space W-MOS angular scan and insertion loss, respectively. Experimental results show that a tunable bandwidth of 80 nm, centered at 1560 nm, delivers an angular scan of 6.25 deg. The study also indicates that an in-line scanner design realized using two similar Bragg gratings in DCG delivers a 13.42-deg angular scan, which is more than double the angular scan available from the free-space W-MOS using a single volume Bragg grating. Furthermore, a free-space W-MOS using a single Dickson grating features low (<0.15 dB) polarization-dependent loss and an average scanner insertion loss of only 0.4 dB over the 70-nm wavelength band around 1550 nm.
PHARMACOKINETIC PROPERTIES OF BROMIDE IN DOGS AFTER THE INTRAVENOUS AND ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF SINGLE DOSES

Bromide (20 mg kg-1) was administered intravenously and orally to normal beagle dogs. The mean (SD) apparent elimination half life (t1/2 beta) after oral administration (46 +/- 9 days) was not significantly different from the mean t1/2 beta after intravenous administration (37 +/- 10 days). The mean total body clearance was 9.0 +/- 3.9 ml day-1 kg-1 and the mean apparent volume of distribution was 0.45 +/- 0.07 litre kg-1. The mean area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) was significantly smaller after oral administration than after intravenous administration, and from a comparison of the two values the oral bioavailability of bromide was estimated to be 46 per cent. Assuming this degree of bioavailability, the daily dose of bromide necessary to maintain serum bromide concentrations within the therapeutic range of 1000 to 2000 mg litre-1 recommended for epileptic dogs was estimated to be approximately 21 mg kg-1. The intravenous loading dose of sodium bromide necessary to reach minimal therapeutic serum bromide concentrations was predicted to be 570 +/- 90 mg kg-1.
Tilting at windmills: a response to a recent critique of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism data.

Blackwood et al. (1) assert that terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) data cannot be used to estimate the species level diversity of bacterial communities. While I do not argue with their analytical techniques, nor the interpretation of their results, their conclusion is essentially moot as T-RFLP techniques are rarely used (nor should they be used) to study the diversity of complex microbial communities at the species level. A more useful test would have been to determine if T-RFLP accurately captures bacterial diversity at coarser levels of taxonomic resolution, for which the technique is undoubtedly better suited. On the basis of their analyses, Blackwood et al. (1) argue that our work (2) should be reinterpreted. However, nowhere in our paper do we indicate that T-RFLP captures diversity at the species level, and for this reason, their analyses have no bearing on our study. My goal is not to unilaterally defend T-RFLP or related fingerprinting methods; to do so would be foolish given that such methods are rapidly being replaced by techniques that will allow us to compare a large number of communities at a high level of taxonomic resolution. Rather, my goal is to point out that we do science with the techniques we have, not the techniques we might wish to have [to paraphrase the former Secretary of Defense of the United States (“…you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Donald H. Rumsfeld, 8 December 2004, Kuwait)]. We could spend our careers identifying every individual species in a handful of samples (currently a Sisyphean task), or we could look for patterns in microbial community composition by analyzing a relatively large number of samples at coarser scales of taxonomic resolution and moving to finer scales of resolution as the appropriate techniques become available. Although T-RFLP may not allow us to estimate diversity at very fine levels of phylogenetic resolution, such was not our goal and there is no reason to assume that the species level is the most appropriate level of taxonomic resolution for comparing levels of microbial diversity.
Herpetic arthritis associated with disseminate herpes simplex in a wrestler

SUMMARY A case of widespread inoculation herpes simplex of the skin is reported in a wrestler. Five days after the skin lesions appeared, the right knee became markedly tender and swollen. Herpesvirus hoministype I was cultured from the joint exudate as well as from the skin lesions. The determinant of the monoarticular localization of the arthritis appeared to be a prior injury to the knee, rendering it a specific site for deposition of the blood-borne virus.
Use of standard reference materials as multielement irradiation standards in neutron activation analysis

Standard reference materials, normally used to check accuracy and precision of analytical methods or for interlaboratory comparisons, are proposed for use as multielement irradiation standards in neutron activation analysis (NAA). The advantages are simplicity of operation, and elimination of errors inherent in the preparation of a large number of synthetic standards at the trace element level. Examples of the approach are illustrated in the analysis of geological materials, soils, sediments, meteorites, lunar samples, coal and fly ash using the USGS diabase W-1 as the irradiation standard. Plant materials and animal tissue are analyzed using NBS Orchard Leaves as the irradiation standard. Best values for four popular SRM's (W-1, Bowen's Kale, Orchard Leaves, and Bovine Liver) are tabulated to facilitate further use of the proposed approach to multielement neutron activation analysis.
Counseling native americans: Guidelines for group process

Abstract This article discusses how group counseling professionals can best serve Native Americans using traditional Native American healing and spirituality. Implications for counseling and development professionals are also highlighted. Manifestations of internalized oppression within Black women's group process and ways to address it are discussed. Special attention is given to the Black female group leader.
Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms: diagnosis and management

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms are uncommon but rising in incidence. There have been recent changes in the WHO nomenclature and a newly proposed American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM staging, which complement each other. These neoplasms are of great medical and radiological interest because of their diverse presenting features and imaging appearances. There is an increased role for both anatomic and functional imaging in the assessment of these neoplasms. A review of the nomenclature, staging, and imaging is presented in this paper.
A pointwise abelian Ergodic theorem for Lp semigroups, 1 ⩽ p < ∞

Abstract Let ( X , ∑, μ ) be a σ-finite measure space and L p ( μ ) = L p ( X , ∑, μ ), 1 ⩽ p ⩽ ∞, the usual Banach spaces of complex-valued functions. Let { T t : t ⩾ 0} be a strongly continuous semigroup of positive L p ( μ ) operators for some 1 ⩽ p R λ the resolvent of { T t }. We show that f ϵ L p ( μ ) implies λR λ f ( x ) → f ( x ) a.e. as λ → ∞.
Genome-wide identification of lineage-specific genes in Arabidopsis, Oryza and Populus

Protein sequences were compared among Arabidopsis, Oryza and Populus to identify differential gene (DG) sets that are in one but not the other two genomes. The DG sets were screened against a plant transcript database, the NR protein database and six newly-sequenced genomes (Carica, Glycine, Medicago, Sorghum, Vitis and Zea) to identify a set of species-specific genes (SS). Gene expression, protein motif and intron number were examined. 165, 638 and 109 SS genes were identified in Arabidopsis, Oryza and Populus, respectively. Some SS genes were preferentially expressed in flowers, roots, xylem and cambium or up-regulated by stress. Six conserved motifs in Arabidopsis and OryzaSS proteins were found in other distant lineages. The SS gene sets were enriched with intronless genes. The results reflect functional and/or anatomical differences between monocots and eudicots or between herbaceous and woody plants. The Populus-specific genes are candidates for carbon sequestration and biofuel research.
An adaptive algorithm for tracking 3D bead displacements: application in biological experiments.

This paper presents a feature-vector-based relaxation method (FVRM) to track bead displacements within a three-dimensional (3D) volume. The FVRM merges the feature vector method, a technique used in tracking bead displacements in biological gels, with the relaxation method, an algorithm employed successfully in tracking bead pairs in fluids. More specifically, the FVRM evaluates the probability of a bead pairing event based on the quasi-rigidity condition between the feature vectors of a bead and its candidate positions within a searching domain. Computational efficiency is improved via the introduction of an adaptive searching domain size and mismatches are reduced via a two-directional matching strategy. The algorithm is validated using simulated 3D bead displacements caused by a force dipole within a linear elastic gel. Results demonstrate a consistently high recovery ratio (above 98%) and low mismatch ratio (below 0.1%) for tracking parameter (mean bead distance/maximum bead displacement) greater than 0.73.
Environmental impact and cost assessment of incineration and ethanol production as municipal solid waste management strategies

Purpose Municipal solid waste (MSW) can be handled with several traditional management strategies, including landfilling, incineration, and recycling. Ethanol production from MSW is a novel strategy that has been proposed and researched for practical use; however, MSW ethanol plants are not widely applied in practice. Thus, this study has been conducted to analyze and compare the environmental and economic performance of incineration and ethanol production as alternatives to landfilling MSW. Methods The ISO 14040 life cycle assessment framework is employed to conduct the environmental impact assessment of three different scenarios for the two MSW management strategies based on processing 1 ton of MSWas the functional unit. The first scenario models the process of incinerating MSW and recovering energy in the form of process heat; the second scenario also includes the process of incinerating MSW but yields in the recovery of energy in the form of electricity; and the third scenario models the process of converting MSW into ethanol. The economic impacts of each scenario are then assessed by performing benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) and net present value (NPV) analyses. Results and discussion The results from the environmental impact assessment of each scenario reveal that scenario 2 has the highest benefits for resource availability while scenario 3 is shown to be the best alternative to avoid human health and ecosystems diversity impacts. Scenario 1 has the worst environmental performance with respect to each of these environmental endpoint indicators and has net environmental impacts. The results of the economic analysis indicate that the third scenario is the best option with respect to BCR and NPV, followed by scenarios 2 and 1, respectively. Furthermore, environmental and economic analysis results are shown to be sensitive to MSW composition. Conclusions It appears municipalities should prefer MSW incineration with electricity generation or MSW-to-ethanol conversion over MSW incineration with heat recovery as an alternative to landfilling. The contradiction between the environmental impact assessment results and economic analysisresultsdemonstratesthatthedecision-makingprocess