cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Subdural-peritoneal shunt: Treatment for bilateral chronic subdural hematoma

BACKGROUND Various modalities have been advocated and practiced to maximize the effectiveness of treatment for chronic subdural hematoma. Most patients with chronic subdural hematoma are successfully treated with simple burr-hole evacuation and external drainage. Hematomas with thick membranes have been found to persist or recur, sometimes necessitating reoperation or major surgery; however, they have been satisfactorily treated by repeated drainage or tapping as well. Chronic subdural hematoma can sometimes become an intractable and difficult problem. In recurring chronic collections, subdural-peritoneal shunts have been used as a mode of treatment. Treatment of recurrent subdural collection in infants has been successfully achieved by using subdural-peritoneal shunts. There is also literature to support a similar treatment for recurrent chronic subdural hematoma in older patients. CASE DESCRIPTION We report a case of recurrent bilateral chronic subdural hematoma in an adult, which was successfully managed by repeated burr-hole evacuation initially, followed by insertion of a subdural-peritoneal shunt. The patient did well clinically, and computerized axial tomography did not reveal any subdural collection on follow-up. CONCLUSION Treatment of recurrent chronic subdural hematoma is usually straightforward; however, it can sometimes be refractory to regular treatment. In managing such cases, we recommend placement of a subdural-peritoneal shunt in preference to a more complicated craniotomy and membranectomy.
"Precious Balsam in a Fragile Glass" : the Ideology of Virginity in the Later Middle Ages

Since the patristic age, Christians have held ambivalent notions about the meaning of virginity and the status of the virgin. In the early Middle Ages, a physiological definition prevailed; after t...
Parasites of the Larch Casebearer in Montana, Idaho, and Washington

Twenty parasitic and hyperparasitic species were reared from Coleophora laricella (Hubner) from 95 locations in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Spilochalcis albifrons (Walsh) and Dicladocerus sp. near westwoodii Westwood were the most abundant native species recovered. Agathis pumila (Ratzeburg), an introduced parasite, was recovered from 58% of the release sites sampled in 1970.
Invited Paper Recent Developments In Reactive Plasma Etching Of III-V Compound Semiconductors

Reactive plasma etching is being increasingly utilized in the fabrication of III-V - based electronic and optoelectronic devices. The high resolution and control afforded by dry etching processes have led to their rapid move from research to manufacturing applications. This paper will review some of those applications, processes, progress and problems associated with reactive plasma etching of III-V materials.
Organoleptic and Histological Characteristics of Fresh and Frozen Stored Turkey Fed High-Density and Low-Density Rations,

Abstract POULTRY producers recently have become interested in the use of high-density rations. Several terms that occur in the literature such as low-fiber, high-density, high-energy, and low-bulk are more or less synonymous terms as they refer to feeds which contain small amounts of fiber. The superiority of the high-density feeds over the low-density rations has been reported by Lloyd, Reed and Fritz (1949) and Skinner, Quisenberry and Couch (1951), who found greater growth was obtained in both chickens and turkeys when the high-density rations were fed. Birds on a high-energy ration were shown by King (1950) to lose less weight when subjected to various exercise treatments before slaughter. The importance of feed as a factor which influences the palatability of poultry has been pointed out by Carrick and Haugh (1926), Lowe (1948) and Maw (1935). Casual observers have indicated from time to time that chickens fed the high-density diets had greater …
Effect of previous vaginal delivery on the risk of uterine rupture during a subsequent trial of labor.

Abstract Objective: We examined the effect of prior vaginal delivery on the risk of uterine rupture in pregnant women undergoing a trial of labor after prior cesarean delivery. Study Design: The medical records of all pregnant women with a history of cesarean delivery who attempted a trial of labor during a 12-year period at a single center were reviewed. For the current analysis, the study population was limited to term pregnancies. The effect of previous vaginal delivery on the risk of uterine rupture during a subsequent trial of labor was evaluated. Separate analyses were performed for women with a single previous cesarean delivery and for those with >1 prior cesarean delivery. For each of these subgroups, the rate of uterine rupture among women who had ≥1 prior vaginal delivery was compared with the rate among women with no prior vaginal delivery. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations with control for confounding factors. Results: Of 3783 women with 1 prior scar, 1021 (27.0%) also had ≥1 prior vaginal delivery. During a subsequent trial of labor, the rate of uterine rupture was 1.1% among pregnant women without prior vaginal delivery and 0.2% among pregnant women with prior vaginal delivery ( P =.01). Logistic regression analysis controlling for duration of labor, induction, birth weight, maternal age, year of birth, epidural analgesia, and oxytocin augmentation indicated that, among women with a single scar, those with a prior vaginal delivery had a risk of uterine rupture that was one fifth that of women without a previous vaginal delivery (odds ratio, 0.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.04-0.8). In the group of 143 pregnant women with >1 previous cesarean delivery, women with a prior vaginal delivery had a somewhat lower risk of uterine rupture (3.9% vs 2.5%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-6.7). This difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Among women with 1 prior cesarean delivery undergoing a subsequent trial of labor, those with a prior vaginal delivery were at substantially lower risk of uterine rupture than women without a previous vaginal delivery. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;183:1184-6.)
Excess formation of lysophosphatidic acid with age inhibits myristic acid-induced superoxide anion generation in intact human neutrophils

A superoxide anion generation rate upon exposure to myristate of 1.93 ± 0.34 nmol/min/106 cells in neutrophils from elderly human donors was significantly less than a value of 3.02 ± 0.48 nmol/min/106 neutrophils from young donors. Myristate activation resulted in equal increases of AA in both the young and the old indicating no effect of aging on the PLA2 pathway to response. By contrast, the PLD-induced generation of PA was significantly higher in the old than in the young. In addition, myristate induced a significant age-related enhancement in LPA generation, in the old but not in the young. The mass of LPA generated following activation was 3.5 nmol/ 2.5 × 107cells/ml in the young while in the old it averaged 7.0 nmol/2.5 × 107 cells/ml. The inhibitory effects of LPA may explain the age-related impaired ability to generate superoxide anion following activation by myristate.
Interactions of divalent cations with negatively charged membrane surfaces. I. Discrete charge potential.

The present paper is concerned with the mathematical description of the local potential produced by an arbitrary arrangement of polar groups in contact with an electrolyte solution containing divalent cations. The membrane-electrolyte interface is modeled, for that purpose, as a three regions—three dielectric constants system namely: a non-polar region of dielectric constant ϵm, an adsorption or polar region of dielectric constant ϵ ⩾ ϵm in which the polar head groups are presumed to be located, and an aqueous phase of dielectric constant ϵ0 ⩾ ϵ. Using a mathematical procedure involving Fourier-Bessel integrals, a general expression for the local value of the surface potential is derived. For membrane systems of low surface charge densities, the proposed general solution is found to be mathematically equivalent to the expressions obtained from a linearized treatment of the discrete charge potential problem. It is shown moreover, that the space average value of the local surface potential at a given distance from the interface, corresponds formally to the surface potential produced by a uniform surface charge distribution. In addition, the present discrete charge theory is found to reproduce satisfactory Schaufs experimental observations on the effect of divalent cations on the Na+ conductance of Myxicola giant axon (Schauf, 1975). A numerical analysis of several surface charge arrangements leads us finally to conclude, that for highly charged membranes, the local value of the surface potential at one point depends more upon the point macro than micro-environment. In fact, the effect on the local surface charge potential of a change in micro-environment is found to be extremely sensitive to the average value of the membrane surface charge density.
T wave abnormalities due to extracardiac “functional” causes

Summary As indicated, the order of repolarization reflected by the T wave is sensitive to a variety of factors; thus, the frequency of abnormal T waves. While the sensitivity of the T wave for asynchrony of repolarization is high, its specificity for a given cause is very low. Attempts to define the genesis of the T wave change based on configuration most often fail. Importantly, misinterpretation of the etiology and, thus, the clinical significance of a given T wave abnormality may result in “iatrogenic ECG heart disease.”
The ASTER spectral library version 2.0

Abstract The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra platform has been widely used in geological and other science studies. In support of ASTER studies, a library of natural and man-made materials was compiled as the ASTER Spectral Library v1.2 and made available from http://speclib.jpl.nasa.gov . The library is a collection of contributions in a standard format with ancillary data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A new version of the library (v2.0) is now available online or via CD, which includes major additions to the mineral and rock spectra. The ASTER library provides a comprehensive collection of over 2300 spectra of a wide variety of materials covering the wavelength range 0.4–15.4 µm.
Matter, Imagination, and Spirit

HERE are certain words in common use which appear plain-spoken enough, but the meanings of which turn out to be extraordinarily vague and indeterminate. Two such words, for instance, are "materialism" and "spiritualism." I have a suspicion that a great deal of mischief would have been avoided if more people, who are happy to make use of them, stopped more often to think about their meaning, and it is that suspicion which led to my choice of this topic. In the first place, if we are to use the terms "material" and "spiritual" intelligently, it seems clear that we must know or at the very least must have tried to find out firstly what we mean by the two words "matter" and "spirit" themselves, and secondly (and it is here that the other word in my title will become relevant) what is the relation between them. Afterwards, in the space left to me, I shall be drawing one or two conclusions which I hope will prove to be of more than theoretical interest.
The rise of the social algorithm

Humanity is in the early stages of the rise of social algorithms: programs that size us up, evaluate what we want, and provide a customized experience. This quiet but epic paradigm shift is fraught with social and policy implications. The evolution of Google exemplifies this shift. It began as a simple deterministic ranking system based on the linkage structure among Web sites—the model of algorithmic Fordism, where any color was fine as long as it was black ( 1 ). The current Google is a very different product, personalizing results ( 2 ) on the basis of information about past searches and other contextual information, like location. On page 1130 of this issue, Bakshy et al. ( 3 ) explore whether such personalized curation on Facebook prevents users from accessing posts presenting conflicting political views.
The Temperature Dependence of Spectral Broadening in the Hg (61S0-63P1) Multiplet At High Optical Densities.

A new method has been developed for determining rapidly changing translational temperatures in a gas that has been heated by such transient phenomena as the passage of a shock wave or the absorption of sub-microsecond pulses of radiation from an infrared laser. The method depends upon the use of trace amounts of Hg vapor and its absorption of radiation in the neighborhood of the 253.7 nm isotopic and hyperfine multiplet. As the Hg atoms sense changes in the translational temperature of the host gas, the absorption of 253.7 nm radiation also changes by virtue of the Doppler and Lorentz broadening of the multiplet lines. Emission spectra of a Hg discharge light source in the neighborhood of 253.7 nm were shown to be readily simulated by a two zone computer model even at large optical densities. The same lamp parameters that were used in these calculations could also be used to simulate the experimental pressure and temperature dependence of the total integrated absorption. This provided a means for obtaining the temperature calibration curves needed to monitor the changing translational temperature of a gas undergoing rapid heating or cooling.
Date of Hatch and Day Length Affect Age at First Egg

Abstract INTRODUCTION DURING the course of an unpublished study to evaluate environmental factors affecting rate of egg production, it was deduced that age at first egg among genetically similar pullets should be closely related to daily hours of illumination. As a corollary, winter hatched pullets should mature earlier than spring hatched pullets. Evaluation of these relationships may enable poultry breeders to correct their genetic selection for early maturity in accordance with date of hatch or persuade them to limit comparisons to groups of pullets hatched during a very limited period. Selection is effective in proportion to the degree with which it reflects genetic variation rather than variation due to environment. Several studies of the effect of date of hatch on age at first eggs are summarized by Lippincott and Card (1939) and Jull (1940). Conclusions as to the effect of date of hatch on age at first egg drawn from these . . .
Performance analysis of a hierarchical quorum consensus algorithm for replicated objects

A class of algorithms for synchronizing a large number of identical copies of an object is described, and its performance is evaluated. The method is based on organizing a group of objects into a multilevel hierarchy and extending the quorum consensus algorithm to such an environment. The performance of the algorithm is compared, in terms of availability and message cost, with that of two other methods, majority voting and dynamic voting using a simulation model. Although the author's method uniformly outperforms the other two methods in terms of average message cost, no single method is found to dominate in terms of availability. The conditions under which each method performs well are identified. >
Adolescent male sexuality and heterosexual masculinity: a conceptual model and review.

The theoretical and empirical literature on adolescent sexuality has focused disproportionately on females. Given this bias, and the current public concern over the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among the adoles cent population, a systematic interpretation of adolescent male sexuality is warranted. Adolescent male sexuality is discussed here within the context of an integrated conceptual framework that incorporates major themes from the scripting perspective, subjective expected utility theory, and the notion that initial sexual encounters are negotiated episodes in an interpersonal scripting context. The relevant themes and concepts are synthesized by demonstrating how the imperatives associated with the traditional image of masculinity intersect with features of adolescence to affect the various levels of the scripting process and adolescent males' perception of and orientation toward their sexual expression. Because the scripting process f...
Microprogram sequencer with concurrent error detection

The design of a microprogram sequencer with concurrent error detection is described. The error detection scheme involves generation of signatures based on past and present sequencer outputs; these signatures are compared frequently against expected values. Software tools for signature assignment are described. Testing results using prototype parts are summarized. >
Education as initiation into the space of reasons

A long tradition in the philosophy of education identifies education’s most fundamental aim and ideal as that of the fostering or cultivation of rationality. In this article I relate this tradition in philosophy of education to recent work inspired by Wilfred Sellars on ‘the space of reasons’. I first offer a very brief overview of the tradition just mentioned, after which I briefly lay out Sellars’ notion and discuss its place in the work of some of those influenced by Sellars, especially John McDowell. I next address recent work in philosophy of education that suggests that there is a tension between Sellars’ notion and the traditional educational ideal as I have developed and defended it in my own work, or that the Sellarsian view as developed by McDowell resolves outstanding difficulties with my version of the traditional view. I will argue that there is less tension than there appears to some of my critics to be and that the Sellarsian notion is in fact compatible with the traditional view as thus de...
Bacterial Bioluminescence Regulates Expression of a Host Cryptochrome Gene in the Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis

ABSTRACT The symbiosis between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its luminous symbiont, Vibrio fischeri, is characterized by daily transcriptional rhythms in both partners and daily fluctuations in symbiont luminescence. In this study, we sought to determine whether symbionts affect host transcriptional rhythms. We identified two transcripts in host tissues (E. scolopes cry1 [escry1] and escry2) that encode cryptochromes, proteins that influence circadian rhythms in other systems. Both genes cycled daily in the head of the squid, with a pattern similar to that of other animals, in which expression of certain cry genes is entrained by environmental light. In contrast, escry1 expression cycled in the symbiont-colonized light organ with 8-fold upregulation coincident with the rhythms of bacterial luminescence, which are offset from the day/night light regime. Colonization of the juvenile light organ by symbionts was required for induction of escry1 cycling. Further, analysis with a mutant strain defective in light production showed that symbiont luminescence is essential for cycling of escry1; this defect could be complemented by presentation of exogenous blue light. However, blue-light exposure alone did not induce cycling in nonsymbiotic animals, but addition of molecules of the symbiont cell envelope to light-exposed animals did recover significant cycling activity, showing that light acts in synergy with other symbiont features to induce cycling. While symbiont luminescence may be a character specific to rhythms of the squid-vibrio association, resident microbial partners could similarly influence well-documented daily rhythms in other systems, such as the mammalian gut. IMPORTANCE In mammals, biological rhythms of the intestinal epithelium and the associated mucosal immune system regulate such diverse processes as lipid trafficking and the immune response to pathogens. While these same processes are affected by the diverse resident microbiota, the extent to which these microbial communities control or are controlled by these rhythms has not been addressed. This study provides evidence that the presentation of three bacterial products (lipid A, peptidoglycan monomer, and blue light) is required for cyclic expression of a cryptochrome gene in the symbiotic organ. The finding that bacteria can directly influence the transcription of a gene encoding a protein implicated in the entrainment of circadian rhythms provides the first evidence for the role of bacterial symbionts in influencing, and perhaps driving, peripheral circadian oscillators in the host.
Cyclic Nucleotides Converge on Brown Adipose Tissue Differentiation

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is rich in mitochondria and can uncouple oxidative phosphorylation to produce heat as a by-product of fatty acid metabolism. This thermogenic effect helps to maintain body temperature and also plays a critical role in energy homeostasis and the regulation of body weight. Both cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) contribute to the intracellular regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and the differentiation of BAT. New evidence has defined the essential role of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase I in a pathway that modulates the RhoA-ROCK pathway and insulin receptor signaling to elicit BAT differentiation and stimulate thermogenesis.
Dynamic topography and gravity anomalies for fluid layers whose viscosity varies exponentially with depth

Summary We have derived analytic integral relations between boundary topography and temperature as a function of wavenumber for a fluid layer whose viscosity varies exponentially with depth. Similar relations between gravity and temperature are also derived. It is found that when the viscosity changes little over the depth of the layer (less than an order of magnitude), the topography kernels for both the surface and bottom boundaries are similar to those for the isoviscous case, the differences being more pronounced at intermediate wavelengths (λ∼ twice the layer depth). At these wavelengths, the extrema of the gravity kernel can be altered by as much as 30 per cent for a factor of two increase or decrease in viscosity over the depth of the layer. At wavelengths less than the layer depth, there are dependences on both the rate of growth of viscosity and the surface boundary condition, the latter dependency vanishing in the isoviscous case. For greater viscosity variation (several orders of magnitude), topography and gravity kernels at all wavelengths are strongly affected. Viscosity increasing rapidly with depth can approximate a rigid lower boundary condition, causing gravity kernels calculated with a free lower boundary condition to be negative for a significant range of source depths. For very rapidly varying viscosity, the sign of the perturbation pressure near the layer boundaries can be reversed from the isoviscous case, resulting in topography kernels that are negative for some source depths.
Disposal of Medical Waste: The New York Experience Under the Medical Tracking Act

Disposal of medical waste has emerged as a major problem in the Northeastern United States. This issue will probably become even more important in other areas over the next several years. Hospitals produce the largest volume of medical waste, although all providers of healthcare have been affected, including physicians' offices, laboratories, and nursing homes. This problem has developed as a result of a number of factors. First, disposal of all waste has become more expensive and difficult in densely populated areas. Landfills, the major source of waste disposal, slowly are being closed because of environmental concerns and of lack of space.' In New York, the state has mandated that landfills in the downstate area be closed by 1992. Incineration facilities are inadequate to handle the nonrecycled waste, and construction of new plants has been slow. Since medical waste is the least desirable of all waste, it is often the first to be excluded from facilities already strained to capacity. Second, concern about the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the adoption of universal precautions have led to confusion and expansion of the volume of infectious, or red bag, waste. Third, the forced closings of many beaches from waste washups in the Northeast during the summer of 1988 have led to the enactment of multiple new local, state, and federal regulations, resulting in an even larger volume of infectious waste. This review will give the background of this problem, focusing on the New York area. Although precise data are not available, until 1986, infectious, or red bag, waste accounted for a small minority of total hospital waste. At the author's own institution, it accounted for less than 2% to 3% of all waste by weight. Federal involvement in the problem was minimal, although Congress did classify medical waste as a potentially hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1975. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chose not to regulate medical waste in the final RCRA rules published in 1980.
Acute effects of corticosterone injection on paternal behavior in California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) fathers.

article i nfo Glucocorticoids are thought to mediate the disruption of parental behavior in response to acute and chronic stress. Previous research supports their role in chronic stress; however, no study has experimentally tested the effects of acute glucocorticoid elevation on paternal behavior. We tested the prediction that acute corti- costerone (CORT) increases would decrease paternal behavior in California mouse fathers and would lead to longer-term effects on reproductive success, as even short-term increases in CORT have been shown to pro- duce lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. First-time fathers were injected with 30 mg/ kg CORT, 60 mg/kg CORT or vehicle, or left unmanipulated. Interactions between the male and its pup(s) were recorded 1.5-2 h after injection and scored for paternal and non-paternal behavior. Treatment groups were combined into control (unmanipulated+vehicle, n=15) and CORT (30 mg/kg+60 mg/kg, n=16) for analysis based on resulting plasma CORT concentrations. CORT treatment did not alter paternal or non-pa- ternal behaviors or any long-term measures (male body mass or temperature, pup growth rate, pup survival, interbirth interval, number or mass of pups born in the second litter). Fathers showed a significant rise in body mass at day 30 postpartum, followed by a decrease in body mass after the birth of the second litter; however, this pattern did not differ between the CORT and control groups. In summary, acute elevation of plasma CORT did not alter direct paternal behavior, body mass, or reproductive outcomes, suggesting that acute CORT elevation alone does not overtly disrupt paternal care in this biparental mammal.
Changing trends in thyroid practice: understanding nodular thyroid disease.

Objective: To describe changes that have occurred between 1952 and 2002 in the evaluation and management of nodular thyroid disease. Methods: A 30-year personal experience, institutional contributions, and the related published literature on evaluation of thyroid function and evolving strategies for management of thyroid nodules are reviewed. Results: Triiodothyronine (T3) was discovered in 1952, and measurement of plasma thyroxine by a competitive protein-binding technique became available in the 1960s. Late during that decade, the first radioimmunoas-say for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was described, modified, and then used in clinical practice until the mid-1980s, when the more sensitive TSH assays became widely available. T3 determination by radioimmunoassay was introduced early in the 1970s. Currently, sensitive thyroid function tests can detect early disease. In the general population, thyroid nodules have a prevalence higher than 50% after age 65 years, affecting more than 100 million people ...
Basins of Permian Sedimentary Rocks in Southern Nevada: ABSTRACT

Basinal Permian sedimentary rocks of southern Nevada accumulated west and northwest of the Las Vegas hinge-line in a depocenter east of the Southern Nevada Highland; a substantially thinner contemporaneous shelf or platform facies formed to the east and southeast. Transgressive-regressive sedimentation in Wolfcampian through Early Guadalupian time accounted for variations in facies in the basin, shelf and bank margins, banks, lagoons, and deltas. Organic reefs, back reefs, and fore reefs dominated the sedimentary pattern at some times and places. Sediments of Wolfcampian and Early to Medial Leonardian age consist of 4,500 feet of fusulinal, coralline, algal, bryalgal, and micritic limestones, and thick bioclastic limestones. This sequence comprises the Spring Mountains Formation, a basinal succession that accumulated in the miogeosyncline. During Medial to Late Leonardian time, influx of terrigenous material from adjacent uplands accounted for substantial amounts of silty and sandy detritals in the carbonates which were forming on the shelf, hinge-line, and proximal parts of the basin; areally extensive red-colored sandy limestones, dolomitic siltstones and sandstones, and sandy dolomites thus formed in lagoonal, intertidal, bank, bank margin, and epineritic zones. This sequence is 3,000 feet thick, and comprises an unnamed formation; it interfingers across the hinge-line area and onto the platform with deltaic, neritic, and eolian sandstones and red beds of the Queantoweap, Hermit, and Coconino Formations. Late Leonardian and Early to Medial Guadalupian time saw the filling of the basin; red -bed sedimentation of the Toroweap siltstone-shale-gypsum sequence was followed by carbonate sedimentation of the upper Toroweap and Kaibab. This succession is normally less than 1,000 feet thick in the Spring Mountains, but thickens to the east. The Kaibab Formation is in large measure reefal, and resembles the reef-tract of the West Texas Permian, but differs in that it is stretched out, has greater length, and is substantially thinner. The sponge Actinocoelia sp., cf. A. maeandrina Finks is characteristic. The Triassic Moenkopi Formation rests unconformably upon the Kaibab; east of Las Vegas the formation is dominated by red beds, but in the Blue Diamond Mountain area it contains more than 700 feet of micritic, oolitic, pelletal, and algal limestones (= Virgin Limestone Member) near its base. End_of_Article - Last_Page 335------------
Expectations and Moments of Random Variables

The definition of the expectation of a random variable can be motivated both by the concept of a weighted average and through the use of the physics concept of center of gravity, or the balancing point of a distribution of weights. We first examine the case of a discrete random variable and look at a problem involving the balancing-point concept.
Sickle cell disease related mortality in the United States (1999-2009).

Background Little is known about the national outcome of children and adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) given contemporary care. Procedure We investigated the number of deaths, standardized crude and age-adjusted mortality rates, and causes of death among individuals with SCD across the United States during 1999–2009 according to death certificates by using a publicly available website (http://wonder.cdc.gov/). Data were compared to mortality during 1979–1998. Results When compared to 1979–1998, mortality significantly decreased by 61% in infants <1 year of age, by 67% in children aged 1–4 years, and by 22–35% in children aged 5–19 years. After 19 years of age, mortality rates increased from 0.6 in the 15–19 year group to 1.4/100,000 in the 20–24 year group, corresponding to the transition period from pediatric to adult medical care, and this increase was similar during 1979–1998. Although the age groups with the highest mortality were 35–44 years for males and 45–54 years for females, there was a tendency for longer survival because there were more deaths among those individuals 55–74 years of age compared to previous years. For all individuals, the causes of deaths were cardiac disease (31.6%), respiratory (28.1%), renal (16.4%), infectious (14.4%), neurologic (11.9%), and gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary (9.2%) in nature. Cancer was the cause of death in <1%. Conclusion Mortality during childhood has decreased significantly. However, the transition period from pediatric to adult care is critical. Risk-reduction, monitoring, and early treatment intervention of cardiovascular disease in adults is warranted. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;60:1482–1486. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A mobile robot therapist for under-supervised training with robot/computer assisted motivating systems

Robot assisted therapy is a new and promising area in stroke rehabilitation and has shown to be effective in reducing motor impairment, but is a costly solution for home rehabilitation. High medical costs could be reduced if we could improve rehabilitation exercise in unsupervised environments such as the home. Hence, there is an augmented need for a cost effective rehabilitation system that can be used outside the clinic. This paper presents the design concept for an autonomous robotic assistant that is low-cost and effective in engaging the users while assisting them with therapy in any under-supervised area. We investigated how the robot assistant can support TheraDrive, our low-cost therapy system. We present the design methods and a case study demonstrating the arm and video collection system.
Is treatment of early postmenopausal women with bisphosphonates justified

The decision to treat women in the early postmenopausal period has come under scrutiny because of the low occurrence of fractures in this population and the possible lack of cost-effectiveness for individual patients. This article focuses on the potential use of bisphosphonates for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in the early postmenopausal period. Studies have determined that there is a relationship between bisphosphonate treatment and bone mineral density (BMD) gains, even in women in the early postmenopausal period without a diagnosis of osteoporosis. These patients receive benefit from treatment, including improvements in BMD levels and fracture protection. Using BMD scores, rates of bone turnover, and risk-based diagnostic criteria as part of the decision to initiate therapy may allow for the identification of an early postmenopausal patient population that would benefit from preventative therapy. This would improve the cost-effectiveness of using bisphosphonates for the prevention of osteoporosis in this population. The evaluation of women at risk for developing osteoporosis should include an assessment of both BMD scores and additional risk factors. Early postmenopausal women who are in a high-risk group should be considered candidates to receive bisphosphonate therapy.
The crystal problem for polytypes.

Recent work on discrete classical problems in one-dimensional statistical mechanics has shown that, given certain elementary symmetries, such problems may not have a periodic (crystalline) ground state, even in the absence of fine tuning of the couplings. Here these results are applied to several families of well known polytypic materials. The families studied are those represented by the compounds SiC, CdI2 and GaSe, and also the micas and kaolins. For all families but SiC, it is found that there is a finite probability for the ground state to be degenerate and disordered.
Diagnosing The Productivity Effect of Public Capital in the Private Sector

Does public capital contribute to the productivity in the private sector? If so, which part of the private sector benefits most? Is public capital a substitute for or a complement of labor and private capital? This paper addresses these questions with both cost and profit function models estimated on U.S. time series data of the private sector and two of its subsectors. It pays special attention to nonstationarity in the data, to endogeneity in the price variables, and to the statistical and economic significance of the public capital effect.
Prediction of Transmitting Ability of Heifers from Genetic Evaluations of Dams When Dams and Herdmates Are Required to Have a First Record

Estimated transmitting ability for milk production calculated from only first lactation records was regressed on milk proofs of the sire and maternal grandsire and either estimated transmitting ability of the dam calculated from only first lactations or estimated transmitting ability of the dam calculated from all lactations of a data set in which all cows were required to have milk records of first lactation. Records of 222,576 Holstein heifers in the northeastern United States were analyzed. Partial regression coefficients were similar to those from reports in which all records in the data file were used to estimate transmitting abilities. The partial regression coefficient for estimated transmitting ability of the dam from all lactation records (.17) was smaller than the approximate theoretical regression coefficient (.70). The partial regression coefficient for estimated transmitting ability of the dam calculated from first records (.72) was similar to the approximate theoretical regression coefficient (.80).
Natives and Newcomers: Gaining Access to Literacy in a Classroom for Deaf Children

This article describes a residential school classroom for deaf third-graders. A critical school skill, the ability to engage in literacy activities, grows from the ability to exploit American Sign Language-based (ASL) literacy practices. These practices are indigenous to the culture of signing Deaf people and are critical for literacy learning when ASL is the medium of instruction.
Nicotinamide: An Oral Antimicrobial Agent with Activity against Both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Coinfection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for one-third of all deaths due to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. More than 99% of cases of HIV-M. tuberculosis coinfection occur in the developing world, where limited resources add urgency to the search for effective and affordable therapies. Although antimicrobial agents against each of these infections are available, single agents that have activity against both M. tuberculosis and HIV are uncommon. The activity of nicotinamide has been evaluated in 2 different eras: in anti-M. tuberculosis studies performed during 1945-1961 and in anti-HIV studies performed from 1991 to the present. This review brings together these 2 bodies of inquiry and raises the possibility that, with more study, this small molecule could emerge at the beginning of the 21st century either as a therapeutic agent in itself or as the lead compound for a new class of agents with activity against both M. tuberculosis and HIV.
Tackling Cardiovascular Health Risks in College Football Players

> “ It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up ” - Vince Lombardi There is no doubt that the life of a college football player is demanding and rigorous, yet the rewards are many. Teamwork, physical fitness, admiration and prestige, financial scholarships, and perhaps, privilege; all while doing something you love—playing football. Article see p 524 Football players are widely recognized for their physical prowess. Decades of research have demonstrated that physical activity and fitness are associated with lower all-cause mortality and a variety of health benefits in healthy individuals and individuals with chronic diseases.1 The specific mechanisms responsible for these outcomes appear to be multifactorial and include a reduction in cardiovascular risk factors, and favorable effects on thrombosis, inflammation, endothelial function, and autonomic tone.2 However, a distinction must be made between competitive sports and recreational exercise, the latter from which the majority of research on the benefits of exercise are derived. The physiological and emotional demands during training and performance of competitive athletics are indeed quite different. Competitive athletes participate in an organized sport that rewards athletic excellence and achievement and requires systematic training and regular competition. Accordingly, these athletes characteristically extend themselves to high levels of effort for long periods of time, often doing so regardless of other considerations.3 Although the health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are unequivocal, and overall cardiovascular risks during exercise and sports activities appear to be low, a small proportion of athletes often with undiagnosed pathological cardiac conditions are at risk of tragic cardiovascular events.4 Most known hazards described in football players are traumatic, and these include musculoskeletal injury and the newly described, very disturbing potential risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.5 Yet, sudden cardiac death is the leading medical cause of death …
New role of the BCL2 family of proteins in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that constantly fuse and divide. Dynamin-related GTPases are the core components of the machineries that mediate mitochondrial fusion and fission. The role and regulation of these machineries are currently under intense investigation. Recently, members of the BCL2 family of proteins, conserved regulators of apoptosis, have been implicated in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. Here, we review the functions of mitochondrial fusion and fission in apoptotic and nonapoptotic cells and how members of the BCL2 family of proteins regulate these functions.
Variation in Cancer Incidence among Patients with ESRD during Kidney Function and Nonfunction Intervals

Among patients with ESRD, cancer risk is affected by kidney dysfunction and by immunosuppression after transplant. Assessing patterns across periods of dialysis and kidney transplantation may inform cancer etiology. We evaluated 202,195 kidney transplant candidates and recipients from a linkage between the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and cancer registries, and compared incidence in kidney function intervals (time with a transplant) with incidence in nonfunction intervals (waitlist or time after transplant failure), adjusting for demographic factors. Incidence of infection-related and immune-related cancer was higher during kidney function intervals than during nonfunction intervals. Incidence was most elevated for Kaposi sarcoma (hazard ratio [HR], 9.1; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 4.7 to 18), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (HR, 3.2; 95% CI, 2.8 to 3.7), Hodgkin's lymphoma (HR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.7 to 5.3), lip cancer (HR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.0 to 6.0), and nonepithelial skin cancers (HR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.5 to 5.8). Conversely, ESRD-related cancer incidence was lower during kidney function intervals (kidney cancer: HR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7 to 0.8 and thyroid cancer: HR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6 to 0.8). With each successive interval, incidence changed in alternating directions for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma, and lung, pancreatic, and nonepithelial skin cancers (higher during function intervals), and kidney and thyroid cancers (higher during nonfunction intervals). For many cancers, incidence remained higher than in the general population across all intervals. These data indicate strong short-term effects of kidney dysfunction and immunosuppression on cancer incidence in patients with ESRD, suggesting a need for persistent cancer screening and prevention.
Protein complexes: A candidate magnetoreceptor

A protein complex found to align with the direction of a magnetic field could be a key piece in the puzzle of how animals detect magnetic fields.
Time to First Homeownership: Racial Differences, and the Impact of 1986 Tax Reform Act

The rate of transition of young adults from living with parents or renting to homeownership affects the national homeownership rate. There are substantial racial and ethnic differences in the length of time that it takes for this transition to occur, contributing to the well-known racial gaps in ownership rates. These differences are important because they affect the length of time that households enjoy the economic and social benefits of homeownership. This study uses a national longitudinal data from 1979 to 2000 to analyze the reasons for observed differences in the time to first ownership. Hypotheses are derived from two perspectives: the demand for homeownership and the supply of dwelling suitable for owner-occupancy. From the demand side, factors influencing the timing of first ownership are derived from the user cost model and the consumption -investment models of homeownership. From the supply side, consideration of geographic location and the mortgage market provides additional hypotheses. A relative risk Coxmodel is used in the estimation. We find that minorities achieve first-time homeownership more slowly than Whites. Even after accounting for a variety of individual, geographic, and macroeconomic characteristics, we find that significant differences among the races remain that cannot be attributed to any observed economic differences. As a secondary focus of the study, we look at the effect of 1986 Tax Act Reform (TRA) and find that it adversely affected th e low income households in terms of achieving first-time homeownership.
Assessing the Impacts of Desert Afforestation on the Spread of Infectious Agents

Afforestation of the Sahara and Australian deserts has been proposed as a geoengineering technique by which to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The afforestation proposal entails planting and irrigating eucalyptus forests on a massive scale in the present-day arid Sahara desert-an expensive but potentially effective way to sequester atmospheric C02. Several unintended consequences have been associated with this technique, to include salt deposition, decreased oceanic fertilization by dust, and locust swarms. However, the effect of desert afforestation on the propagation of disease-carrying avian species has not been studied. It is hypothesized that afforestation of the Sahara will increase the number of avian species carrying disease to European and sub-Saharan regions. To assess this possibility, a field test scheme is presented to measure avian flux through the trans-Saharan region via radar-based monitoring. The test will assess flux for both arid and afforested conditions at several points along major trans-Saharan flyways, with emphasis on zones known to be fatal for Sahara-crossing birds. Results from the field experiments will be input into an in silico model that will extrapolate the findings over the entire Sahara region and incorporate other parameters such as breeding. The preliminary model described here will simulate flux of disease-carrying avian species across the Sahara for a user-defined number of migratory seasons, and will compare changes in species-specific flux, migratory patterns, and cross-infection between arid and afforested scenarios. It is expected that desert afforestation will heighten trans-Saharan flux of disease-carrying avian species. If this prediction is validated by the simulation, then European and sub-Saharan regions may be at greater risk of avian-borne disease if Sahara afforestation is implemented. Desert afforestation as a geoengineering technique must be critically assessed with respect to its potential effects on disease vector propagation before its implementation is considered. The proposed experiments provide an outline with which to effectively estimate such effects, should the need for long-term risk assessment arise.