cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Urinalysis and Prenatal Health: Evaluation of a Simple Experiment That Connects Organic Functional Groups to Health Equity

Knowledge of functional groups provides students with a language for organic chemistry. However, students in a health science chemistry course do not plan to be synthetic organic chemists and, therefore, need examples of how functional group chemistry is relevant to their vocational goals. We have developed a lab to demonstrate how simple functional group chemistry is used in laboratory testing, namely, the “pee test”, or dipstick urinalysis. Dipstick urinalysis is frequently used to screen for various conditions and is used weekly in the last month of pregnancy. Our lab models the prenatal clinical environment. The laboratory allows for testing of chemical species that support a medical diagnosis: albumin testing for preeclampsia; leukocytes, nitrites, and pH for urinary tract infection; glucose, ketones, and pH to test for gestational diabetes, alcoholism, or other serious metabolic diseases. The related lessons are designed to support students in understanding the reactions involved in testing, biochemistry related to diagnosis, and general understandings of how tests are interpreted. In developing this experiment, we were confronted with disparities in prenatal care, namely, the absence of culturally competent care, inequitable access to care, and toxic stress due to racism that contribute to dramatically increased maternal death rates for women of color in the US. We identified resources to educate students on culturally competent care. These resources include reference to the way in which the “pee test” is administered. We have incorporated this resource into our lab with appropriate reflection questions, based on our newly devised cultural competence and social justice framework for chemistry students. Our findings indicated that student understandings of the chemistry and testing methods were adequate; on average, 77% of samples were properly diagnosed. With respect to social justice and cultural competence, we found that students predominantly discussed two elements of the cultural competence and social justice framework: reflection on privilege in society and agency to promote equity in healthcare.
Liquid limit determination of low to medium plasticity Indiana soils by hard base Casagrande percussion cup vs. BS fall-cone methods

Atterberg limits of soils including the liquid limit are one of the oldest and most traditional tests conducted in geotechnical site investigations. The relationship between the liquid limits determined from the Casagrande percussion cup apparatus and the fall-cone device has been extensively studied. Despite the known convenience of the fall-cone method, it is scarcely employed for geotechnical site investigations in the USA. This paper presents the findings of investigations conducted on 65 soil samples from different parts of the Indiana State in the USA including their liquid limit tests. The results obtained by the Casagrande percussion cup method and the fall-cone method were compared. The comparison explains how the variations in the liquid limit effect the results of the two methods, and a correlation is also offered. Based on the results, a model is also presented for single-point determination of the liquid limit from the two methods. Finally, a modified plasticity chart for soil classification is proposed based on the fall-cone liquid limit and plasticity index results of these soil samples. The paper also includes the statistical analysis of the proposed relationships.
Improved Evaluation of Lipid-Rich Plaque at Coronary CT Angiography: Head-to-Head Comparison with Intravascular US.

In low-attenuation plaque measurements, excluding voxels adjacent to the coronary vessel wall boundaries improves assessment of lipid-rich plaque at coronary CT angiography.
Metabolic resistance to S-metolachlor in two waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) populations from Illinois, USA

Background Two waterhemp (Amaranthus tuberculatus) populations from Illinois demonstrating multiple-resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase, and photosystem II (PSII)-inhibiting herbicides (designated CHR and SIR) also displayed reduced sensitivity to very-long-chain fatty acid-inhibiting herbicides, including S-metolachlor. We hypothesized that a physiological mechanism, such as enhanced metabolism, could be responsible for the reduced efficacy of S-metolachlor. Results Metabolism experiments indicated that resistant populations degraded S-metolachlor more rapidly than sensitive populations and equally as rapidly as corn 2-24 h after treatment (HAT). Resistant waterhemp and corn metabolized 90% (DT90 ) of absorbed S-metolachlor in less than 3.2 h whereas DT90 values for sensitive waterhemp exceeded 6 h. The glutathione S-transferase inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazon and cytochrome P450-inhibitor malathion decreased the amount of S-metolachlor metabolized in resistant waterhemp at 4 HAT but not in sensitive waterhemp or corn, and altered the abundance of certain metabolites in resistant waterhemp. Conclusion Results from this research demonstrate that resistance to S-metolachlor in these waterhemp populations is due to enhanced herbicide metabolism relative to sensitive populations. In addition, our results indicate that resistant waterhemp might utilize metabolic pathway(s) more intricate than either sensitive waterhemp or corn based on their metabolite profiles. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.
Dermoscopic image segmentation based on modified GrabCut with octree color quantization

Skin lesion segmentation (SLS) has a vital role in the early and precise diagnosis of skin cancer by computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. But, the automatic SLS in dermoscopic images is a challenging task due to the substantial differences in color, texture, artifacts (hairs, gel bubbles, ruler markers), indistinct boundaries, low contrast, and varying sizes, position, and shapes of the lesion images. In the paper, we propose an extended GrabCut image segmentation algorithm for Foreground/Backgrounds dermoscopic image segmentation applications. The method integrates octree color quantization and a modified GrabCut method with a new energy function. Extensive computer simulation on ISIC 2017 has shown to compare favorably on both qualitative and quantitative evaluations with commonly used segmentation tools.
Effect of marker location on user detection in omnidirectional images

Omnidirectional images have seen increasing usage in virtual tours to display remote destinations. These applications use markers or landmarks within the images to drive user interaction. Viewers must be able to efficiently locate and interact with markers for a positive user experience that retains immersion. However, the effect of marker positioning at different spatial locations on user performance remains unstudied. This work studies the positioning of visual markers within an omnidirectional image environment at three different elevation ranges. Our results show that markers positioned less than 32° from the equator were found significantly faster than markers between 32° and 64°.
Experiences with quality improvement in training: a national survey of urology residents

Objective To determine the quality improvement (QI) experiences of urology residents in the United States. Materials and Methods An Institutional Review Board approved national survey of Urology residents was administered in June 2019. The survey instrument sought to understand QI curricular methods and experiences of urology residents as well as their knowledge of QI fundamentals. Results Of 465 invited residents, 159 (34%) responded. Respondents represented all 8 AUA sections. The majority of respondents self-identified as white (66%). Females made up 30% of respondents. Less than 1/3 of residents (32%) report use of online modules, whereas nearly 2/3 (63%) report lecture-based didactics. Fifteen percent of residents report no QI curriculum. While nearly 2/3 of residents report receiving training in QI principles (64%), far less report receiving training in how to apply QI methodology (44%). Only 29% of residents report being required to lead a QI project. No differences were seen by training level. Only 3 respondents had heard of the Institute of Medicine's aims for quality improvement. Respondents had better knowledge of process, balancing and outcome measures, but less than half of respondents (49%) were able to correctly identify all 3. Having any QI curriculum is associated with correctly answering knowledge questions (P = .03). Conclusion From a resident perspective, urology residency programs currently provide QI curricula that are inadequate to ensure residents achieve Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones. It is imperative the urology community as a whole address these curricular gaps to ensure graduates are prepared to deliver high-quality, cost-conscious care to their patients once in practice.
A corpus study of grammatical differences between Uruguayan and Argentinian Spanish

This paper explores five grammatical features in Argentinian and Uruguayan Spanish using the Corpus del espanol. The goal is to find features that distinguish the speech of the two countries. The features studied are: (1) stress variation in 2nd person singular present subjunctive forms (e.g. tengas ~ tengas), (2) number agreement with habia (e.g. habian ~ habia muchos casos), (3) use of vos following prepositions (e.g. con vos ~ contigo), (4) use of present perfect versus preterite (e.g. recien he comido ~ comi), (5) use of the present or past subjunctive in embedded clauses preceded by a matrix clause containing a subjunctive trigger in the past tense (e.g. Nos mandaron que rellenaramos ~ rellenemos los papeles anoche). Statistical analyses were carried out on the proportion of each variant across the two countries, and significant differences were observed.
Conclusion: Community Fitness for Social Change?

The conclusion asks: Can the white supremacist roots of physical culture be challenged and changed? What might a physical fitness practice that concerns itself with social issues and systematic oppression look like and feel like? How might we unperform the eugenic legacies of US physical culture? In this conclusion, I want to suggest that out of the ashes of CrossFit—a hyper-masculinized training regimen developed by former soldiers, police officers, and EMTs—might be a practice that holds the potential to challenge the history and practice of physical culture and education in the US. On the one hand, CrossFit echoes much of the eugenic-laced rhetoric of late nineteenth-century physical culture for women. It has been accused of being an economically and racially elite practice, accessible to only rich white men and women. On the other hand, CrossFit has been embraced by a variety of both white and Black feminist fitness practitioners as a practice of freedom. I ask how CrossFit’s position as a practice focused primarily on doing the activities themselves rather than on the product of the activities affect its relationship to the historiography of women’s physical culture in the US.
"[It] is now my responsibility to fulfill that wish:" Clinical and rapid autopsy staff members' experiences and perceptions of HIV reservoir research at the end of life

Author(s): Perry, Kelly E; Taylor, Jeff; Patel, Hursch; Javadi, Sogol Stephanie; Mathur, Kushagra; Kaytes, Andy; Concha-Garcia, Susanna; Little, Susan; Smith, Davey; Gianella, Sara; Dube, Karine | Abstract: IntroductionLittle is known about the effects of HIV reservoir research at the end of life on staff members involved. Staff members' perceptions and experiences were assessed related to their involvement in the Last Gift, a rapid autopsy study at the University of California San Diego enrolling people living with HIV who are terminally ill and have a desire to contribute to HIV cure-related research.MethodsTwo focus group discussions consisting of clinical (n = 7) and rapid research autopsy (n = 8) staff members were conducted to understand the perspectives of staff members and the impact the Last Gift rapid autopsy study had on them. The total sample consisted of 66.7% females and 33.3% males and was ethnically diverse (66.7% Caucasian, 6.7% African American, 20.0% Asian descent, 6.7% Hispanic descent and American Indian) with a range of experience in the HIV field from 1 year to 30 years.ResultsQualitative focus group data revealed five major themes underlying study staff members' multilayered mental and practical involvement: 1) positive perceptions of the Last Gift study, with sub-themes including Last Gift study participants' altruism, fulfillment, and control at the end of life, 2) perceptions of staff members' close involvement in the Last Gift study, with sub-themes related to staff members' cognitive processing, self-actualization and fulfillment, stress management and resilience, coping mechanisms, and gratitude toward Last Gift participants and toward the study itself, 3) considerations for successful and sustainable study implementation, such as ethical awareness and sustained community and patient engagement, 4) collaborative learning and organizational processes and the value of interdependence between staff members, and 5) considerations for potential study scale-up at other clinical research sites.DiscussionUnderstanding staff members' nuanced emotional and procedural experiences is crucial to the Last Gift study's sustainability and will inform similar cure research studies conducted with people living with HIV at the end of life. The study's potential reproducibility depends on a robust research infrastructure with established, interdependent clinical and rapid autopsy teams, continuous community engagement, and an ethical and well-informed engagement process with people living with HIV.
Connectivity domain analysis: Characterization of connectivity frequency profile using filter banks

Abstract Studying functional network connectivity using different imaging modalities has been the focus of many studies in recent years. One category of methods assumes that the connectivity is constant throughout the whole scanning period (e.g. using Pearson correlation to estimate linear correlation between two time series each belonging to a specific region in brain) while others relax this assumption by estimating connectivity at different time scales. The most common way to estimate dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) uses sliding window in combination with a connectivity estimator such as Pearson correlation (SWPC). The estimated values resulting from this method are effectively subjected to a low-pass filter (due to the sliding window) which can result in loss of connectivity information for high frequencies. Here, we propose a new approach to estimate connectivity while preserving its full frequency range using filter banks for frequency tiling in the connectivity domain directly. This is in contrast with many other methods where frequency tiling is performed in the activity domain and indirect inferences are made about the connectivity frequency profile. Using our approach, we can estimate the full connectivity spectrum and subsequently examine both static and dynamic connectivity changes in one unified approach. In addition, the filter length (i.e. window length in SWPC) has minimal effect on the results of our approach as we are able to design our filters to have any desired band-pass range regardless of the length of filter. This method is called filter banked connectivity (FBC). After demonstrating the approach on a simulated dataset, we use the FBC approach to estimate dFNC in a resting fMRI data set including schizophrenia patients (SZ, n=151) and healthy controls (HC, n=163). To summarize the results, we used k-means to cluster the FBC values into different clusters and calculate the total amount of time each subject spends in each cluster. These values are then compared between HC and SZ across different frequency bands. Using FBC we observed two states with very low frequency profiles where SZ patients tend to stay more in one of these states while HCs tend to stay more in the other states. In addition to common states found using SWPC, we were able to find some additional states not previously identified. These states showed very weak low frequency strength and as such SWPC was not well suited to capture them. In summary, the proposed approach offers a more comprehensive way to analyze connectivity (including both static and dynamic values).
This Isn’t Supposed to Be Fun: Using Game-Based Writing Projects as a Form of Pragmatic Ethical Inquiry in the Composition Classroom

This chapter discusses how John Dewey’s theory of ethics can enhance the pedagogical potential of game-based writing projects. The chapter begins by examining how Deweyan ethical inquiry and the process of analyzing video games both rely on a sympathetic connection to the perspective of another person. This connection allows us to diagnose the material circumstances surrounding collective value systems and understand how value systems habituate individuals into acting in deliberate ways. These concepts are then applied to teaching scenarios in which students design critical video games that explore real-world events. This learning activity demonstrates how creating gameplay scenarios which condition players to inhabit new perspectives on problematic issues encourage students to undertake a nuanced form of ethical critique. The goal of this chapter is to highlight the ethical dimensions of analyzing and creating interactive games to help instructors implement game-based projects into the writing classroom.
Learning to Treat Hypotensive Episodes in Sepsis Patients Using a Counterfactual Reasoning Framework

Abstract The optimal treatment strategy for volume resuscitation and vasopressor dosing to combat hypotensive episodes in septic patients remains a subject of ongoing controversy and can vary from clinician to clinician. We develop a machine learning approach to guide a fluid and vasopressor dosing strategy that adapts to patient-specific clinical states to improve the survival of septic patients. We adopt a model-free reinforcement learning (RL) framework in a continuous action space with a clinically significant reward function, and use a Switching Generalized Linear Model (SGLM) to characterize patient-specific clinical states. We use retrospective data from the MIMIC III database to train this model to learn volume resuscitation and vasopressor dosing strategies among the 5,366 patients (totalling 352,328 unique hourly measurements) with ICU-onset sepsis or septic shock, as diagnosed by the Sepsis-3 definition. The RL agent receives short- and long-term rewards associated with optimizing in-hospital survival and avoiding end-organ damage to learn volume resuscitation and vasopressor dosing strategies. On average, the RL agent learns to resuscitate patients earlier than clinicians with a fluid bolus (one hour vs. four hours after the diagnosis of sepsis), and improves the expected survival by ≈ 3%. Our preliminary results indicate that adherence to RL-based individualized fluid and vasopressor dosing recommendations is associated with a significant mortality reduction in septic patients, even after adjusting for severity of illness.
Super fragmented: a nationally representative cross-sectional study exploring the fragmentation of inpatient care among super-utilizers

Super-utilizers with 4 or more admissions per year frequently receive low-quality care and disproportionately contribute to healthcare costs. Inpatient care fragmentation (admission to multiple different hospitals) in this population has not been well described. To determine the prevalence of super-utilizers who receive fragmented care across different hospitals and to describe associated risks, costs, and health outcomes. We analyzed inpatient data from the Health Care Utilization Project’s State Inpatient and Emergency Department database from 6 states from 2013. After identifying hospital super-utilizers, we stratified by the number of different hospitals visited in a 1-year period. We determined how patient demographics, costs, and outcomes varied by degree of fragmentation. We then examined how fragmentation would influence a hospital’s ability to identify super-utilizers. Adult patients with 4 or more inpatient stays in 1 year. Patient demographics, cost, 1-year hospital reported mortality, and probability that a single hospital could correctly identify a patient as a super-utilizer. Of the 167,515 hospital super-utilizers, 97,404 (58.1%) visited more than 1 hospital in a 1-year period. Fragmentation was more likely among younger, non-white, low-income, under-insured patients, in population-dense areas. Patients with fragmentation were more likely to be admitted for chronic disease management, psychiatric illness, and substance abuse. Inpatient fragmentation was associated with higher yearly costs and lower likelihood of being identified as a super-utilizer. Inpatient care fragmentation is common among super-utilizers, disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. It is associated with high yearly costs and a decreased probability of correctly identifying super-utilizers.
Model for Estimating the Optimal Parameter Values of the Scoring Matrix in the Entity Resolution of Unstandardized References

The research describes obtaining the best linking results when using the scoring matrix to perform entity resolution (ER) on unstandardized references. The accuracy of the linking results produced by the scoring matrix depends upon three critical parameters, the blocking frequency threshold, the stop word frequency threshold, and the scoring (matching) threshold. This paper describes results from building a regression model for estimating the values of the optimal parameters, i.e. the parameter values giving the best ER results in terms of F-measure. The experimental method used 20 fully-annotated sets of unstandardized references of varying size and data quality. The reference sets were a mixture of synthetically created person references and real-world business references. A grid search was used to find the setting giving the best results along with seven statistical values collected for each reference set. For each combination of statistics from the 20 training set, three linear regression models were built to predict each of the critical scoring matrix parameters. The final result was using the combination of reference set size and the standard deviation of the token frequency distribution as independent variables produced the best linear regression models for estimating the three critical scoring matrix parameters. The linear regression model developed and in this research will help users generate more accurate estimates of the three critical scoring matrix parameters in practical applications. This research proposed solution and opens the door to a number of new research questions for improving the performance of the scoring matrix approach to ER.
Exploiting Process Variations to Protect Machine Learning Inference Engine from Chip Cloning

Machine learning inference engine is of great interest to smart edge computing. Compute-in-memory (CIM) architecture has shown significant improvements in throughput and energy efficiency for hardware acceleration. Emerging nonvolatile memory (eNVM) technologies offer great potentials for instant on and off by dynamic power gating. Inference engine is typically pre-trained by the cloud and then being deployed to the field. There is a new security concern on cloning of the weights stored on eNVM-based CIM chip. In this paper, we propose a countermeasure to the weight cloning attack by exploiting the process variations of the periphery circuitry. In particular, we use weight fine-tuning to compensate the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) offset for a specific chip instance while inducing significant accuracy drop for cloned chip instances. We evaluate our proposed scheme on a CIFAR-10 classification task using a VGG- 8 network. Our results show that with precisely chosen transistor size on the employed SAR-ADC, we could maintain 88%~90% accuracy for the fine-tuned chip while the same set of weights cloned on other chips will only have 20~40% accuracy on average. The weight fine-tune could be completed within one epoch of 250 iterations. On average only 0.02%, 0.025%, 0.142% of cells are updated for 2-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit weight precisions in each iteration.
Closing the Digitalis Divide: Back to the Basics of Randomized Controlled Trials

Publishe d decades after several randomized controlled trials (RCT) demonstrating decreased hospitalizations and no effect on all-cause mortality with digoxin use, a series of meta-analyses linking digoxin treatment and mortality have contributed to a narrower application of this medication for the management of heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). Given the conflicting data from the earlier RCTs and more recent meta-analyses, there is a growing polarization among providers for and against the use of digoxin in managing these conditions. To help close this divide, we provide a perspective on the literature with special attention to the quality of both older and more recent studies on this subject. The data from the highest quality studies we have, RCTs, suggest that digoxin use in patients with HF and/or AF is associated with improvement in several areas of outcomes including functional capacity, symptom management, reduced hospitalizations, fewer deaths due to HF, and treatment of refractory chronic heart failure with rEF, and may even have overall mortality benefit when serum digoxin concentrations are within therapeutic range. These effects are more pronounced in patients with EF < 25% and NYHA Class II–IV and at highest risk for hospitalization. As the risk of confounding factors was minimized by the study design, the likelihood that positive outcomes were identified with digoxin use increased. Clinicians and researchers need further adequately designed and powered RCTs exploring the connection between digoxin therapy and mortality, hospitalizations, and symptom management.
Towards a Coherent Treatment of the Self-Consistency and the Environment-Dependency in a Semi-Empirical Hamiltonian for Materials Simulation

The construction of semi-empirical Hamiltonians for materials that have the predictive power is an urgent task in materials simulation. This task is necessitated by the bottleneck encountered in using density functional theory (DFT)-based molecular dynamics (MD) schemes for the determination of structural properties of materials. Although DFT/MD schemes are expected to have predictive power, they can only be applied to systems of about a few hundreds of atoms at the moment. MD schemes based on tight-binding (TB) Hamiltonians, on the other hand, are much faster and applicable to larger systems. However, the conventional TB Hamiltonians include only two-center interactions and they do not have the framework to allow the self-consistent determination of the charge redistribution. Therefore, in the strictest sense, they can only be used to provide explanation for system-specific experimental results. Specifically, their transferability is limited and they do not have predictive power. To overcome the size limitation of DFT/MD schemes on the one hand and the lack of transferability of the conventional two-center TB Hamiltonians on the other, there exists an urgent need for the development of semi-empirical Hamiltonians for materials that are transferable and hence, have predictive power.
Hybrid Variations on a Documentary Theme

Although often assumed to be polar opposites, documentary and fiction are in fact theoretically and practically intermeshed, just as history and fiction, also conventually seen as opposites, are symbiotically connected. Historian Hayden White argued in Metahistory that the myth/history distinction was arbitrary and of recent invention. In words that apply to film as well as to writing, White pointed out that it matters little whether the world that is conveyed to the reader/spectator is conceived to be real or imagined; the manner of making discursive sense of it through tropes and emplotment is identical (WHITE, 1973). In this article, we will examine the ways that the hybridization of documentary and fiction has been mobilized as a radical aesthetic resource.
Differences in health-related quality of life and caregiver burden after hip and spine surgery in non-ambulatory children with severe cerebral palsy.

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in caregivers' perceptions of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and caregiver impact in children with severe, non-ambulatory cerebral palsy after orthopedic surgery to correct hip or spine deformities. Method A prospective longitudinal cohort study (n=44) design was used to measure changes before and after surgery. Caregivers completed the Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) and the Assessment of Caregiver Experience with Neuromuscular Disease (ACEND). Data collection was between February 2011 and February 2014. Caregivers were included if their child was 3 to 25 years old, had cerebral palsy in Gross Motor Function Classification System levels IV and V, and was scheduled for orthopedic surgery. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to assess changes before and at four time points after surgery. Results Forty-four caregivers participated. Caregivers' perceptions of their child's HRQOL demonstrated an improvement from baseline to 12 months (p<0.001). Patients who had spine surgery demonstrated a steady improvement over time, whereas patients who had hip surgery had a decrease at 6 weeks followed by steady improvement. Improvements were noted in five of six of the CPCHILD domains, with no changes in the quality of life domain. No changes were noted in any of the ACEND domains. Interpretation Caregivers report an improvement in a variety of domains of HRQOL 1 year after orthopedic surgery.
THE IMPACT OF THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSITION ON FERTILITY AND FAMILY FORMATION IN MONGOLIA

Mongolia has never been a member of the USSR, but the collapse of the Soviet Union deeply affected this country. While a growing body of literature documents the consequences of this collapse on fertility and family formation behaviour for the former socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries, Russia and Ukraine, and more recently, countries in Central Asia, Mongolia received only limited attention. This paper aims to fill this gap. As a consequence of the transition to democracy and a market economy, Mongolia experienced an impressive fertility reduction; total fertility fell from 4.6 children per woman to 2.5 between 1989 and 1993. Through the application of the synthetic parity progression ratios method to the 1998 Reproductive Health Survey data, this study analyses the reproductive responses of Mongolian couples in a context of deep social and economic changes. Paralleling other ex-socialist countries, it is shown that the transition affected the reproductive behaviour in...
Vitiligo Treatment in Childhood: A State of the Art Review

Vitiligo is a common depigmenting disorder affecting about 1-2% of the world population. Approximately half of the affected individuals develop the disease before adulthood. Etiologic hypotheses for vitiligo include biochemical, neural and autoimmune mechanisms. The most compelling of these suggests a combination of genetic and immunologic factors that result in an autoimmune melanocyte destruction. We reviewed studies carried out on various treatment modalities used in childhood vitiligo. Topical corticosteroids were found to have excellent repigmentation rates, whereas calcineurin inhibitors have comparable efficacy and a better safety profile compared with topical corticosteroids. These two groups of topical medications are good first-line treatment modalities for localized vitiligo. For the treatment of generalized vitiligo, phototherapy has excellent efficacy. Narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) has better overall repigmentation rates and safety profile than either topical or oral psoralens and ultraviolet A (PUVA). Other treatment modalities may be considered depending on a patient's specific condition, such as surgical options and depigmentation. With adequate sun protection, the option of no treatment with or without corrective camouflage, is an innocuous alternative to any of these treatment modalities.
A model of sustainable household technology acceptance

There is an expanding range of technologies used in a residential setting to enable sustainable living, including ‘smart’ technology that uses learning and connectivity to modify household behaviours. Understanding what drives the adoption of sustainable household technology will allow product developers, marketers and policy makers to use technology to reduce the environmental impact of homes. Based on the United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, a model that explains predictors of intention to adopt sustainable household technology was developed and tested via an online survey of 592 US consumers. The results from structural equation modelling demonstrate that product attributes of sustainable household technology including performance, compatibleness and hedonic expectancy as well as consumer characteristics, in specific, sustainable innovativeness significantly predicts adoption intent. Conversely, the model testing shows that effort expectancy as well as social pressure and environmentalism are not significant predictors of adoption intention Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
COAGULATION AND FIBRINOLYTIC STUDIES IN WOMEN RECEIVING AN ANOVULATORY DRUG (MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE WITH ESTRADIOL).

Abstract In 16 women receiving Provest who were subjected to a controlled study of clinical manifestations and laboratory assays of coagulation and fibrinolytic components: 1. 1. Significant differences in blood coagulation and fibrinolytic components throughout treated and untreated menstrual cycles in 8 patients were not detected. 2. 2. Medroxyprogesterone with ethinyl estradiol was an effective oral contraceptive. 3. 3. Side effects, with the possible exception of breakthrough bleeding, were minor. No evidence of thrombotic phenomena or masculinization was found.
Mesoscale Optics: Sensing and Action

Harnessing light at wavelength scales offers unique possibilities for sensing material properties and controlling the mechanical action of light. We will review both passive and active applications of controlling the coherence and polarization properties at these scales.
Using hydrologic suitability for native Everglades slough vegetation to assess Everglades restoration scenarios

Abstract Simulating ecological indicator responses to alternate restoration strategies provides decision support tools for resource managers and restoration planners. Our case study provides a methodology for how to utilize hydrologic suitability for native vegetation to evaluate effects of modeled restoration scenarios. We propose that hydrologic suitability of white water lily, Nymphaea odorata , an indicator species of the native Florida Everglades slough vegetation community, be used to evaluate modeled restoration scenarios in the Everglades ridge and slough landscape. Based on experimentally derived mesocosm and field studies and historical evidence, we developed a predictive performance measure to assess hydrologic suitability for N. odorata . We applied the performance measure to predict the hydrologic suitability for slough vegetation in the Everglades ridge and slough landscape using model-simulated hydrology of existing conditions, future conditions with restoration, and the predrainage Everglades. Our results indicate that Everglades restoration will provide the greatest benefits to native slough vegetation in Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife National Refuge (LNWR), Water Conservation Area (WCA) 3B, and Everglades National Park, and may degrade slough conditions within portions of WCA 2 and WCA 3A. Our analysis indicates that additional restoration efforts are needed to fully restore native slough vegetation communities throughout the Everglades ridge and slough landscape. Performance measure results for the predrainage scenario in the WCAs conflict with paleoecological data; these results indicate a need to improve the modeled predrainage topography as well as flow and evapotranspiration rates of the Natural System Model version 4.6.2 (hereinafter NSM).
Pulmonary, Mediastinal, and Cardiac Presentations of Histoplasmosis

Abstract Sixty-one patients with histoplasmosis were identified. They ranged from 14 months to 67 years old. There were 56 male and 5 female patients. Disease presentations were categorized into pulmonary (47), mediastinal (11), pericardial (2), and cardiac (1). Twenty of the patients with pulmonary involvement had histoplasmomas treated by wedge resection (18) or lobectomy (2). Twenty-two of the 27 cavitary lesions were treated by lobectomy and 4 by segmental resection, and 1 required pneumonectomy. The patients with mediastinal granulomas or fibrosis underwent exploration for diagnosis and curative or palliative procedures. Two patients with pericardial histoplasmosis required pericardial windows to relieve acute tamponade. One patient with disseminated histoplasmosis required aortic valve replacement for histoplasmosis valvulitis with severe regurgitation. The 1 operative death was a patient requiring pneumonectomy for mediastinal histoplasmosis. Indications for operative intervention in pulmonary histoplasmosis included resection of a new or enlarging pulmonary nodule to provide a definite pathological diagnosis and resection of persistent thick-walled pulmonary cavities. Mediastinal granuloma with or without fibrosis required exploration for diagnosis, palliation, or cure. Fungal endocarditis necessitated treatment with amphotericin B and valve replacement to stabilize the patient's hemodynamic status and prevent embolization of large fungal vegetations. Pericardial effusion, a rare manifestation of histoplasmosis, was seen as acute tamponade requiring emergency intervention.
An approach for analyzing foreign direct investment projects with application to China's Tumen River Area development

In this paper, we present a model for analyzing foreign direct investment opportunities by evaluating related projects. An integrated approach employing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and simulation is used to rank the projects. This methodology is applied to assess the industrial investment projects that were proposed in the “’95 China's Tumen River Area International Investment and Business Forum” funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Accordingly, the projects are classified into groups based on their potential to attract foreign investors. The results provide a scientific basis for formulating related decisions and policy recommendations regarding the proposed projects. Scope and purpose This article develops and implements a methodology for analyzing foreign direct investment opportunities. The related questions that arise are: What kinds of projects will attract foreign investments? How can one quantify the attraction for such investments and predict which projects might finally be funded? In what order should the selected projects be sequenced? In addressing such questions, a complicating factor is that not only should the economic evaluation of each individual project be considered, but this individual evaluation also needs to be coordinated with the comprehensive joint evaluation of all projects. We develop a comprehensive methodology for evaluating and ranking a set of proposed projects based on identifying and quantifying certain key economic target criteria, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to determine relative weights for these criteria, and using simulation to update the economic factors in a sequential ranking and selection process. This methodology is applied to assess a set of 103 industrial investment projects that were proposed for the development of China's Tumen River Area in 1995.
Comparison of 2‐D model simulations of ozone and nitrous oxide at high latitudes with stratospheric measurements

A linear reference relationship between O3 and N2O has been used to estimate polar winter O3 loss from aircraft data taken in the lower stratosphere. Here, this relationship is evaluated at high latitudes by comparing it with a 2D model simulation and with NIMBUS 7 satellite measurements. Although comparisons with satellite measurements are limited to January through May, the model simulations are compared during other seasons. The model simulations and the satellite data are found to be consistent with the winter O3 loss analysis. It is shown that such analyses are likely to be inappropriate during other seasons.
EFFECTS OF DIMENSIONALITY AND ANISOTROPY ON THE HOLSTEIN POLARON

We apply weak-coupling perturbation theory and strong-coupling perturbation theory to the Holstein molecular crystal model in order to elucidate the effects of anisotropy on polaron properties in D dimensions. The ground-state energy is considered as a primary criterion through which to study the effects of anisotropy on the self-trapping transition, the self-trapping line associated with this transition, and the adiabatic critical point. The effects of dimensionality and anisotropy on electron-phonon correlations and polaronic mass enhancement are studied, with particular attention given to the polaron radius and the characteristics of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) and quasi-2D structures. Perturbative results are confirmed by selected comparisons with variational calculations and quantum Monte Carlo data. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society.
Implementing Palliative Care Studies

This session focused on issues related to implementation of randomized clinical trials in palliative care studies. Topics discussed included what kinds of clinical sites and patient populations were suitable, what types of clinical investigators (clinical specialty) should be involved in or lead the studies, what multisite mechanisms could be used to conduct the trials, and what funding issues were related to these studies. A trial of operative versus nonoperative management for small bowel obstruction caused by recurrent intra-abdominal cancer was considered. The feasibility of such a trial was examined in terms of whether there was "equipoise" for a majority of likely investigators in the field around the trial question, what other issues might impact accrual to the trial, and how many patients would be required to answer which of these two treatment arms was better. This last question is related to selection of a primary endpoint for the trial and was a modestly contentious issue for the trial design group. Both sensible compromises in endpoint selection and the education of the community of investigators for a particular randomized trial in palliative care are crucial steps for successful implementation. A major conclusion of this session is that implementation considerations are intimately related to the architecture of a specific trial and should be addressed practically and early in the design phase of any randomized trial addressing a palliative care question. In this respect, randomized trials in palliative care are no different than in other fields.
A case for large Auger recombination cross sections associated with deep centers in semiconductors

Abstract It is argued that the recent quantitative results concerning localized defects in semiconductors (e.g. GaAs) are consistent with the possibility of large Auger-type cross sections associated with recombination at these centers. It is proposed that many of the capture cross sections reported to be in the range 10−13–10−16 cm2, which exhibit only weak temperature dependence, and which do not depend on carrier concentration, might be explained by this mechanism.
Elevated objectively measured but not self-reported energy intake predicts future weight gain in adolescents.

Background: Although obesity putatively occurs when individuals consume more calories than needed for metabolic needs, numerous risk factor studies have not observed significant positive relations between reported caloric intake and future weight gain, potentially because reported caloric intake is inaccurate. Objective: The present study tested the hypothesis that objectively measured habitual energy intake, estimated with doubly labeled water, would show a stronger positive relation to future weight gain than self-reported caloric intake based on a widely used food frequency measure. Design: Two hundred and fifty-three adolescents completed a doubly labeled water (DLW) assessment of energy intake (EI), a food frequency measure, and a resting metabolic rate (RMR) assessment at baseline, and had their body mass index (BMI) measured at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-ups. Results: Controlling for baseline RMR, elevated objectively measured EI, but not self-reported habitual caloric intake, predicted increases in BMI over a 2-year follow-up. On average, participants under-reported caloric intake by 35%. Conclusions: Results provide support for the thesis that self-reported caloric intake has not predicted future weight gain because it is less accurate than objectively measured habitual caloric intake, suggesting that food frequency measures can lead to misleading findings. However, even objectively measured caloric intake showed only a moderate relation to future weight gain, implying that habitual caloric intake fluctuates over time and that it may be necessary to conduct serial assessments of habitual intake to better reflect the time-varying effects of caloric intake on weight gain.
Large scale disposal of waste sulfur: From sulfide fuels to sulfate sequestration

Abstract Petroleum industries produce more byproduct sulfur than the market can absorb. As a consequence, most sulfur mines around the world have closed down, large stocks of yellow sulfur have piled up near remote operations, and growing amounts of toxic H 2 S are disposed of in the subsurface. Unless sulfur demand drastically increases or thorough disposal practices are developed, byproduct sulfur will persist as a chemical waste problem on the scale of 10 7 tons per year. We review industrial practices, salient sulfur chemistry, and the geochemical cycle to develop sulfur management concepts at the appropriate scale. We contend that the environmentally responsible disposal of sulfur would involve conversion to sulfuric acid followed by chemical neutralization with equivalent amounts of base, which common alkaline rocks can supply cheaply. The resulting sulfate salts are benign and suitable for brine injection underground or release to the ocean, where they would cause minimal disturbance to ecosystems. Sequestration costs can be recouped by taking advantage of the fuel-grade thermal energy released in the process of oxidizing reduced compounds and sequestering the products. Sulfate sequestration can eliminate stockpiles and avert the proliferation of enriched H 2 S stores underground while providing plenty of carbon-free energy to hydrocarbon processing.