cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification and Characterization of Families That Are Positively Deviant for Childhood Obesity in a Latino Population: A Case-Control Study

Background. Childhood obesity is a complex public health challenge that requires innovative, sustainable solutions. Positive deviance, inspired by the science of complexity, is an approach that examines what allows certain individuals to succeed despite being predicted to fail. This study is aimed at identifying and defining positive deviants for early childhood obesity. Methods. This case-control study used medical record data to identify Latino children aged 2–5 and classify them using their longitudinal weight change. Parents of children with trajectories toward a healthy weight from an obese weight (cases) and parents of children with stable obese weight trajectories over time (controls) were recruited. Mixed-methods analyses were used including a semistructured interview and quantitative surveys evaluating diet, physical activity, sleep, feeding practices, and self-efficacy. Qualitative description was applied to the qualitative data; quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression modeling. Results. Of eligible Latino children identified from the overall data set ( ), 257 (16%) had trajectories toward a healthy weight, and among these, 21 positively deviant cases completed the study with 23 matched controls. Positive deviant families were characterized by lower education, higher self-efficacy, and a more Mexican cultural orientation. Findings suggest that effective engagement of other caregivers and creating healthy food environments were important determinants of healthy weight outcomes. Conclusions. Positive deviants (cases) were distinct from controls in several parenting strategies such as creating healthy food environments and engaging caregivers. They had higher self-efficacy despite lower education. There were fewer differences in diet and physical activity than expected.
A cross-sectional study of water arsenic exposure and intellectual function in adolescence in Araihazar, Bangladesh.

Abstract Background Exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) from drinking water is associated with modest deficits in intellectual function in young children; it is unclear whether deficits occur during adolescence, when key brain functions are more fully developed. Objectives We sought to determine the degree to which As exposure is associated with adolescent intelligence, and the contributory roles of lead, cadmium, manganese and selenium. Methods We recruited a cross-section of 726 14–16 year olds (mean age = 14.8 years) whose mothers are participants in the Bangladesh Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), and whose household well water As levels, which varied widely, were well characterized. Using a culturally modified version of the WISC-IV, we examined raw Full Scale scores, and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices. Blood levels of As (BAs), Mn, Pb, Cd and Se were assessed at the time of the visit, as was creatinine-adjusted urinary As (UAs/Cr). Results Linear regression analyses revealed that BAs was significantly negatively associated with all WISC-IV scores except for Perceptual Reasoning. With UAs/Cr as the exposure variable, we observed significantly negative associations for all WISC-IV scores. Except for Se, blood levels of other metals, were also associated with lower WISC-IV scores. Controlling for covariates, doubling BAs, or UAs/Cr, was associated with a mean decrement (95% CI) of 3.3 (1.1, 5.5), or 3.0 (1.2, 4.5) points, respectively, in raw Full scale scores with a sample mean of 177.6 (SD = 36.8). Confirmatory analyses using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression, which identifies important mixture members, supported these findings; the primary contributor of the mixture was BAs, followed by BCd. Conclusions Our data indicate that the adverse consequences of As exposure on neurodevelopment observed in other cross-sectional studies of younger children are also apparent during adolescence. They also implicate Cd as a neurotoxic element that deserves more attention.
Deposition of airborne mercury near point sources

The deposition of Hg emitted into the atmosphere by a power plant and an incinerator has been calculated. Separate results are presented for wet and dry scavenging processes acting on both the adsorbed and vapor phases. Some localized deposition occurs, leading to a slow increase in the Hg levels of soil and surface runoff, but most of the emission remains airborne for relatively long distances, typically tens of kilometers.
Justice and the Claims of Future Generations

Must we be morally concerned with the welfare and the health of future generations? Are we required to leave our distant descendants the conditions for a healthy life? And how do our answers to questions like these affect our health care responsibilities to our contemporaries? While a focus on our obligations to the future is a hallmark of much recent ethical discussion — the issues of population growth, energy and environmental protection come immediately to mind — the question of our health-related responsibilities to the future has rarely been explored. Most ethical discussion of health care and justice, for example, has focused on the equitable distribution of present health care resources, especially the right of less–advantaged individuals to medical services.
Automatic Processing of Modern Standard Arabic Text

To date, there are no fully automated systems addressing the community’s need for fundamental language processing tools for Arabic text. In this chapter, we present a Support Vector Machine (SVM) based approach to automatically tokenize (segmenting off clitics), part-of- speech (POS) tag and annotate Base Phrase Chunks (BPC) in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) text. We adapt highly accurate tools that have been developed for English text and apply them to Arabic text. Using standard evaluation metrics, we report that the (SVM-TOK) tokenizer achieves an Fs = 1 score of 99.1, the (SVM-POS) tagger achieves an accuracy of 96.6%, and the (SVM-BPC) chunker yields an Fs = 1 score of 91.6.
A Recovery Block Model and Its Analysis

Abstract A well-known software fault tolerance technique is the recovery block. This paper combines the software fault tolerance models proposed by Scott, Gault, McAllister, and Wiggs and by Mulazzani. It applies the new model to the recovery block in order to study its effectiveness as well as the design issues involved. The combined model allows quantitative and probabilistic measurement of recovery block reliability.
The pivotal position of the Irish border in the UK's withdrawal from the European Union

This paper shows why the Northern Ireland/Ireland border moved from a marginal to a core concern in the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (‘Brexit’). Drawing on longitudinal research on the impact of the...
The Hayekian Legacy

Hayek’s project is a challenge to the scientistic understanding of economics and political economy, and a rejection of constructivist rationalism in social philosophy. It is a project full of tensions, but also of great promise. As a social scientist, he emphasized the limits of our knowledge in devising institutions. As a political economist, he made policy recommendations, with the specifics of those recommendations evolving over time. Nonetheless, his ideas remain important and anyone with an interest in the study of society must wrestle with them. Doing so requires going beyond the many misconceptions about Hayek’s work and taking him as the serious and influential thinker he was and still is.
Long-ranged Protein-glycan Interactions Stabilize von Willebrand Factor A2 Domain from Mechanical Unfolding

von Willebrand Factor (vWF) is a large multimeric protein that binds to platelets and collagen in blood clotting. vWF A2 domain hosts a proteolytic site for ADAMTS13 (A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease with a ThromboSpondin type 1 motif, member 13) to regulate the size of vWF multimers. This regulation process is highly sensitive to force conditions and protein-glycan interactions as the process occurs in flowing blood. There are two sites on A2 domain (N1515 and N1574) bearing various N-linked glycan structures. In this study, we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to study the force-induced unfolding of A2 domain with and without a single N-linked glycan type on each site. The sequential pullout of β-strands was used to represent a characteristic unfolding sequence of A2. This unfolding sequence varied due to protein-glycan interactions. The force-extension and total energy-extension profiles also show differences in magnitude but similar characteristic shapes between the systems with and without glycans. Systems with N-linked glycans encountered higher energy barriers for full unfolding and even for unfolding up to the point of ADAMTS13 cleavage site exposure. Interestingly, there is not much difference observed for A2 domain structure itself with and without glycans from standard MD simulations, suggesting roles of N-glycans in A2 unfolding through long-ranged protein-glycan interactions.
Spontaneous Calcium-Independent Dimerization of the Isolated First Domain of Neural Cadherin

Cadherins are calcium-dependent, transmembrane adhesion molecules that assemble through direct noncovalent association of their N-terminal extracellular modular domains. As the transmembrane component of adherens junctions, they indirectly link adherent cells’ actin cytoskeletons. Here, we investigate the most distal extracellular domain of neural cadherin (N-cadherin), a protein required at excitatory synapses, the site of long-term potentiation. This domain is the site of the adhesive interface, and it forms a dimer spontaneously without binding calcium, a surprising finding given that calcium binding is required for proper physiological function. A critical tryptophan at position 2, W2, provides a spectroscopic probe for the “closed” monomer and strand-swapped dimer. Spectroscopic studies show that W2 remains docked in the two forms but has a different apparent interaction with the hydrophobic pocket. Size-exclusion chromatography was used to measure the levels of the monomer and dimer over time to stu...
Draupadi returns with a vengeance

The importance of the Sanskrit epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata in the shaping of modern Indian social morality can hardly be overestimated. Many women have long chafed against Sita as a mod...
A psychedelic education: How an initial encounter with LSD changed my mind and shaped my life and career*

In a letter to Humphrey Osmond in 1953, Aldous Huxley speculated about a “new system” of education in which psychedelics may play a part “by making it possible for young people to ‘taste and see’ w...
A bioinspired approach to engineer seed microenvironment to boost germination and mitigate soil salinity

Human population growth, soil degradation, and agrochemical misuse are significant challenges that agriculture must face in the upcoming decades as it pertains to global food production. Seed enhancement technologies will play a pivotal role in supporting food security by enabling germination of seeds in degraded environments, reducing seed germination time, and boosting crop yields. So far, a great effort has been pursued in designing plants that can adapt to different environments and germinate in the presence of abiotic stressors, such as soil salinity, heat, and drought. The technology proposed here seeks a different goal: To engineer the microenvironment of seeds by encapsulation, preservation, and precise delivery of biofertilizers that can boost seed germination and mitigate abiotic stressors. In particular, we developed a biomaterial based on silk fibroin (S) and trehalose that can be mixed with rhizobacteria and applied on the surface of seeds, retrofitting currently used techniques for seed coating, i.e., dip coating or spray drying. A micrometer thick transparent robust coating is formed by material assembly. The combination of a polymorphic protein as S and of a disaccharide used by living systems to tolerate abiotic stressors provides a beneficial environment for the survival of nonspore forming rhizobacteria outside the soil and in anhydrous conditions. Using Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899 and Phaseolus vulgaris as working models, we demonstrated that rhizobacteria delivered in the soil after coating dissolution infect seedlings’ roots, form root nodules, enhance yield, boost germination, and mitigate soil salinity.
Label Free Quantitation of Immunoglobulin G using the Stagnant Cap Hydrodynamic Retardation Effect Detector (SHRED)

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is an essential antibody that helps fight pathogens and protect the body from infections. Measurement of IgG is useful in assessing immunity to measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), varicella, and in the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis, food allergy, liver diseases etc. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are widely employed technologies for detection of IgG. HPLC-MS systems are fast and sensitive with a detection limit of 0.4 ng/mL but are bulky and expensive. ELISA, despite having a very good sensitivity of <0.02 ng/ml, requires antibody and labels. In this study, we demonstrate label-free detection of IgG using a novel sensor concept of a stagnant cap hydrodynamic retardation detector (SHRED). SHRED detects IgG by leveraging its amphiphilic structure. The IgG adsorbs to the interface of water-in-oil droplets and retards the motion of droplets by the stagnant cap effect. The frequency shift of the droplets is measured downstream with a light scattering detector. Measured parameters such as peak area, time constant, and percentage frequency drop were all found to increase linearly for the 3 different concentrations of IgG. The detection method is comparatively simple, inexpensive, label-free and real time with a current sensitivity of 150 ng/ml.
Reperfusion "White Cord'' Syndrome in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Does Mean Arterial Pressure Goal Make a Difference? Additional Case and Literature Review.

Background “White cord syndrome” or reperfusion injury of chronically ischemic areas of the spinal cord is a relatively newly defined etiology in spinal surgery. This rare syndrome is characterized as unexplained new neurological deficits after an anterior or posterior decompressive cervical procedure. The radiographic hallmark is the presence of hyperintense T2 intramedullary signal change after a decompressive procedure without other pathologic changes. We present an additional case of this complication and review the literature. Case Presentation A 79-year-old man presented in consultation for advanced cervical myelopathy. He had experienced 2–3 months of worsening gait instability and issues with hand dexterity. Three days prior to presentation his lower extremity weakness had worsened to the point he was no longer able to ambulate. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine demonstrated severe central canal stenosis secondary to spondylosis with T2 hyperintensity correlating to myelomalacia. He underwent an uncomplicated posterior cervical decompression and fusion and awoke with worsened right hemiparesis from neurologic baseline. Brain MRI was negative for stroke and MRI of the cervical spine showed successful decompression but worsening T2 signal changes. The patient's weakness improved with maintaining mean arterial pressure (MAP) goal, steroids, and physical therapy. He was eventually discharged to an acute rehabilitation facility. Conclusions White cord syndrome is rare and has only been reported in 5 other patients upon review of the literature. Our case is the 7th general and the 5th after posterior cervical decompression. The pathophysiology is thought to be due to a reperfusion type injury of chronically ischemic areas of the spinal cord. All but one patient to date have improved after MAP goal, steroid administration therapy, and acute rehabilitation, including our patients. Spine surgeons should be aware of this potentially devastating complication and how to properly manage these patients' postoperative care.
Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Health in the US General Population.

The 2013 American Heart Association Scientific Statement on pet ownership and cardiovascular risk suggested that dog ownership is probably associated with decreased cardiovascular risk. Several studies have been shown that pet ownership, particularly of dogs, is associated with increased physical activity levels, social support, and improved outcomes after a major cardiovascular event. We hypothesized that pet ownership is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in the US general population. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we identified all patients with heart failure, coronary artery disease, systemic hypertension (SH), diabetes mellitus, and stroke between 1999 and 2016. Multivariable analyses were performed to adjust for demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, education, co-morbidities, cigarette smoking, family income, working hours, sleeping duration, depression, and lipid profiles. Of 42,038 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants, 10,905 (31%) were inquired about pet ownership. Pet owners were older, less likely to be women or widowed, and more likely to be white, more educated, tobacco users, and work more than 35 hours per week than non-owners (all p values
Parental Views on Newborn Next Generation Sequencing: Implications for Decision Support

This study aimed to understand parental decisions, perspectives, values, and beliefs on next generation sequencing in the newborn period (NGS-NBS) to inform the development of a decision aid to support parental decision making in the North Carolina Newborn Exome Sequencing for Universal Screening study. We conducted dyadic interviews with 66 current or expectant parents (33 couples) to understand overall decisions about NGS-NBS and reasons for and against learning NGS-NBS results differing by age of onset and medical actionability. Audio recordings were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using qualitative framework analyses. Favorable views of NGS-NBS included benefits of early intervention, preparedness, child autonomy, and altruism. Unfavorable views were the potential negative effects from early intervention, psychosocial harm, and religious beliefs. Parents universally reported quality of life as important. Interviews elucidated what is important in deciding to have NGS-NBS. Understanding parental perspectives, values, and beliefs and integrating evidence-based findings into a parent-centric decision aid provides value and support in making decisions related to NGS-NBS, where there is no clear course of action.
Chance-Constrained Sequential Convex Programming for Robust Trajectory Optimization

Planning safe trajectories for nonlinear dynamical systems subject to model uncertainty and disturbances is challenging. In this work, we present a novel approach to tackle chance-constrained trajectory planning problems with nonconvex constraints, whereby obstacle avoidance chance constraints are reformulated using the signed distance function. We propose a novel sequential convex programming algorithm and prove that under a discrete time problem formulation, it is guaranteed to converge to a solution satisfying first-order optimality conditions. We demonstrate the approach on an uncertain 6 degrees of freedom spacecraft system and show that the solutions satisfy a given set of chance constraints.
Ongoing increases in dissolved organic carbon are sustained by decreases in ionic strength rather than decreased acidity in waters recovering from acidic deposition.

Abstract Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has received considerable attention in freshwater research, particularly since the early 2000s when increasing trends became apparent. However, remaining questions need to be resolved to address future effects of DOC on surface waters. This study was undertaken to determine (1) the relative importance of acidity and ionic strength in driving DOC increases in waters recovering from acidification and (2) the role played by long-term acid rain effects on soil. Data obtained from temporal and spatial monitoring of 142 headwater streams throughout the Adirondack region of New York (USA) were used to evaluate chemical relationships involving DOC. Year-round monitoring of three streams of differing acidification status were combined with intermittent stream surveys during spring snowmelt throughout this 24,243 km2 region that is recovering from acidification of soils and surface waters. Despite acidic deposition decreases reaching levels estimated for the early 1900s, DOC concentrations exhibited linear increases from the early 2000s through 2019. Ionic strength or conductivity showed consistent inverse relationships with DOC in all data comparisons from 2004‐05 to 2018‐19. In contrast, relationships between pH and DOC did not support increasing pH as an important factor in DOC increases. Inconsistent relationships between pH and DOC were due to strongly acidic organic acids that remain unprotonated throughout the pH range of these waters and limited weak-acid deprotonation below pH 6.2. Decreasing ionic strength increases DOC solubility by expanding the diffuse double layer, which fosters disaggregation of organic matter and dispersion of colloids. This affect controlled DOC solubilization below a pH of approximately 6.2. Distinguishing between ionic strength and pH effects is important because further large reductions in acidic deposition are not expected but continued soil-water dilution is likely from soil-Ca2+ depletion and the decreasing rate of Ca2+ leaching by SO42− and NO3−, which are still being released from soil organic matter.
Serial changes in renal allograft resistive index.

Doppler ultrasound is widely used to identify complications following renal transplantation. Evaluation of renal arterial Doppler waveform involves assessment of the peak systolic velocity (PSV), acceleration time or rapidity of the upstroke, and the renal resistive index (RI). The RI measurement is obtained by dividing the difference between PSV and end diastolic velocity by the PSV. The resulting ratio eliminates the inconsistencies commonly encountered in measuring velocities due to inaccurate angle correction and can be considered a measure of vascular [...]
Differences in daily trips between immigrants and US-born individuals: Implications for social integration

Abstract A key expectation regarding immigrants is that they need to integrate into mainstream society. Some countries have social programs to meet this ideal, while the US Government has largely left immigrants to integrate through their own means or receive help though non-profit organizations. One measure of integration is comparable trips for socialization and recreation. In this paper, we asked how divergent was daily trip frequency by immigrants versus US-born individuals across various trip purposes. We used the 2017 National Household Travel Survey data at the person level and estimated a series of trip frequency models where our outcome variables were daily trips by purposes. We controlled for socio-economic and demographic factors at the person and household levels, as well as for characteristics of the home location. We found that immigrants made fewer social, recreational, or errand trips than US-born individuals, which could slow their integration. However, immigrants made more exercise and education trips than US-born individuals. There was no statistical difference between the two populations for daily frequency of work trips. The need for policies encouraging social and recreation trips for immigrants, and exercise and education trips for US-born individuals, is indicated from this research.
La pandemia de la gripa española de 1918 en Colombia: una percepción del impacto de un fenómeno mundial en un país neutral durante la Gran Guerra

The article focuses on the 1918 flu pandemic and its impact in Colombia. It considers the spread and its effect on the population, especially in Bogota, during the government of President Marco Fidel Suarez (1918-1921) and the context of the First World War. The author shows the low efficiency of the state to face the problem of public health, in contrast to humanitarian initiatives such as that of the Relief Board, in a scenario where hygiene conditions in marginalized and poor areas of the capital made possible the spread of the virus. Finally, consequently, it shows the government measures and how the pandemic influenced the beginning of the construction of hygienic houses and more modern housing for workers, in addition to the improvement of hospital infrastructure.
The role of spirituality in family adjustment and resilience among Puerto Rican families post-Hurricane Maria

Natural disasters continue to devastate families and communities across the United States. An important aspect of family resiliency within a disaster context is the role spirituality plays in how f...
Discrimination of True Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in the Mechanically Ventilated Patient

Pneumonia is a common complication in patients requiring mechanical ventilation, with prevalence estimates varying between 6 and 52 cases per 100 patients, depending on the population studied (1). Far from a benign event, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with a significant increase in mortality (2, 3, 4), with an attributable mortality exceeding 25% in one matched cohort study (5).
Experiencing the Change and Continuity of the College Entrance Examination: A Case Study of "Gaokao" County, 1996-2010.

Employing data from three encounters, during 1996, 2001, and 2010, with students and teachers in Huining, Gansu, China's "Gaokao county," known for its striking contrast between poverty and the remarkable achievements of its College Entrance Examination (CEE) candidates, we explore the lived experiences of Huining students and teachers who embody Huining's "Gaokao miracle." These experiences, examined in the context of rapid educational transformation and more gradual implementation of CEE reform policies, give expression to continuities and changes in students' and teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and values associated with the CEE. These include the values of hard work and persistence and beliefs about state-granted fairness in educational opportunities. Two 2010 case studies, reflecting controversies associated with the peak of CEE reform, shed light on the creation of CEE "winners" and "losers" and enrich our understanding of the usefulness and limits of social reproduction theories for understanding the...
An Update on STeP: Deductive-Algorithmic Verification of Reactive Systems

The Stanford Temporal Prover, STeP, is a tool for the computer-aided formal verification of reactive systems, including real-time and hybrid systems, based on their temporal specification. STeP integrates methods for deductive and algorithmic verification, including model checking, theorem proving, automatic invariant generation, abstraction and modular reasoning. We describe the most recent version of STeP, Version 2.0.
Support of Thyroxine-induced Swelling of Liver Mitochondria by Generation of High Energy Intermediates at Any One of Three Sites in Electron Transport

Abstract Swelling of liver mitochondria induced by thyroxine in isotonic KCl medium can be prevented by uncoupling phosphorylation or by blocking the electron transport chain. Experiments with inhibitors for different points in electron transport (cyanide, antimycin A, Amytal, rotenone), with oxidation-reduction dyes which create bypasses of these blocked points (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, methylene blue, and phenazine methosulfate), and with other artificial electron donors and acceptors have demonstrated that any one of the three energy conservation sites associated with electron transport can by itself support swelling induced by thyroxine. The requirement would appear to be for formation of a high energy intermediate and not specific for any particular point, such as the cytochrome b segment. Induction of swelling with thyroxine shows certain similarities to that with gramicidin, such as inhibition by sucrose. Further work is needed to determine whether ion transport is involved.
REIT Organizational Structure and Operating Characteristics

As a corporate organizational form, real estate investment trusts (REITs) fall into two competing property management structures: internally advised and externally advised. This study tests the hyp...
Modulation of epidermal growth factor-induced cell proliferation and receptor binding by insulin in cultured intestinal epithelial cells.

The effect of insulin on EGF-induced cell proliferation and on modulation of EGF receptors was examined in IEC-6 cells in culture. Insulin-induced cell proliferation was not seen until concentration of the hormone reached the microgram (10 micrograms/ml) level, producing an increase in EGF receptor binding affinity (Ka 8.2 +/- .05 x 10(9)M-1 to 1.25 +/- .05 10(10) M-1). In the presence of supraphysiologic concentrations of insulin (10 micrograms/ml), EGF-induced cell proliferation could only be detected at a concentration of 50 ng/ml as opposed to a concentration of 2.0 ng/ml in the absence of insulin. This study suggests that insulin stimulates intestinal crypt cell proliferation only in supraphysiologic concentrations in a manner more characteristic of IGF-I than insulin, while producing enhanced binding of EGF to its receptor as well as an elevated threshold to EGF induced cell proliferation.
Reproductive benefits of infanticide in a biparental burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis

Single females and pairs of Nicrophorus orbicollis Say were established as residents on carcasses to investigate interactions with intruders under natural conditions. When carcasses were exhumed 10–12 days later, one or more intruders were found on 19% of nests. Intruders expelled one or both of the residents and sometimes paired with a resident or another intruder of the opposite sex. An intruder tended to be larger than the same-sex adult it replaced on a carcass. A male intruder that joined a single female, on the other hand, was not necessarily larger than the resident female. There was indirect evident that intruders committed infanticide and then started their own reproductive attempt on the carcass. Follow-up experiments in the laboratory indicated that interactions between intruders and residents were agonistic and that infanticide regularly occurred as a consequence of a takeover. Use of a genetic marker demonstrated that male and female intruders obtained reproductive benefits from infanticide. However, intruders sometimes cared for mixed broods consisting of their own young and young of a prior resident.
A Randomized Comparison of Iodixanol and Iohexol in Adult Intracranial Computed Tomography Scanning

Rationale and Objectives. Nonionic iodinated contrast media have proved effective for computed tomography (CT) of the head and have demonstrated greater tolerability than their ionic counterparts. Iodixanol is a new nonionic agent with the added attribute of being isosmolar to blood and having less than half the osmolality of iohexol. Phase I safety, tolerance, and pharmacokinetic studies have indicated that iodixanol may be associated with fewer adverse effects than iohexol while providing equivalent diagnostic information. Methods. We compared the safety and efficacy of iodixanol at 270 mg I/ml (IOD-270) and at 320 mg I/ml (IOD-320) with iohexol 300 mg I/ml (IOH-300). Results. No statistically significant differences in the quality of images or in the occurrence of adverse events were found among the three treatment groups. Pairwise comparisons of injection-associated discomfort revealed that significantly more patients in the IOH-300 group experienced discomfort than in either the IOD-270 or IOD-320 groups. Conclusion. Iodixanol at 270 or 320 mg I/ml was found to be safe and effective when administered intravenously at a volume of 100 ml for intracranial CT scans in adult patients.
THE VALUE IMPACTS OF CAPITAL ADEQUACY REGULATION AND STOCHASTIC DEPOSITS

The relationship between a bank's soundness and the set of factors evaluated by supervisory agencies is so complex that the regulation of certain factors might have unintended consequences. This paper demonstrates that, ceteris paribus, binding capital adequacy regulation in the presence of stochastic deposits both reduces the expected future value of a bank and increases the uncertainty of that bank's future value. The uncertainty conclusion is not inconsistent with the notion of a decrease in the probability of financial distress as equity is substituted for debt; it involves an altogether different uncertainty and one that has heretofore not been recognized in either the theory of the banking firm or the literature of capital adequacy.
Unit-sequence facilitation in recall

This study investigated the influence of pre-experimental associative habits on the retention of paired associates. The learning materials were mixed lists of 15 paired associates comprising five pairs each of strong associates, crossed associates, and unrelated words (S, Cr, and U pairs). For the S pairs there was a normative connection of high strength between the stimulus and the response. The Cr pairs consisted of inappropriately paired members of strongly associated pairs. There were no known normative connections between the members of U pairs. There were three groups receiving different numbers of acquisition trials (two, six and ten, respectively) chosen so as to yield approximately equal degrees of learning on the three types of pairs. Retention was tested 48 hrs after the end of learning. Comparisons were made among the critical pairs which determined the number of learning trials given to each group. Recall of the S pairs was substantially higher than that of the U and Cr pairs. The Cr pairs tended to be recalled better than the U pairs. The results provide evidence for positive effects on retention of pre-experimental associative habits and of response availability.
Changes in Plasma Concentrations of Sex Steroids in Adult Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis

Blood samples were collected from captive Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, at intervals of about six weeks from early December 1986 to late November 1987. Concentrations of plasma androgen and estradiol-17β were determined by radioimmunoassay. The plasma concentrations of steroid were highest during autumn and winter in halibut that matured during late winter. The concentrations of steroids in samples collected in December were above 2 ng/mL (estradiol) or 1 ng/mL (androgen) in maturing females and below 0.5 ng/mL for both steroids in non-maturing females. The levels of steroids decreased rapidly about one month before spawning. In a mature male, androgen began to rise in August and November, and reached a peak of 7 ng/mL in early December. One month before spawning, the androgen concentration fell to 0.16 ng/mL. Estradiol concentrations were detectable in the male and varied little during the year. In immature fish, neither androgen nor estradiol changed significantly throughout the year. These results suggest that the concentrations of estradiol or androgen measured in blood samples taken during December may be used to determine the sex and state of maturation of Pacific halibut.
Attention to Facial Regions in Segmental and Prosodic Visual Speech Perception Tasks

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that visual information related to segmental versus prosodic aspects of speech is distributed differently on the face of the talker. In the fir...
One-dimensional beam shaping

A general method is presented of optimizing one-dimensional holograms to realize an arbitrary diffracted field distribution over the propagation volume. A computationally simpler approach is developed for the case in which only the transverse distribution in one plane and the longitudinal distribution on one axis are of interest. Scaling effects in the optimized beams are studied and compared with those of canonical beams.
Strategies for Grading Online Discussions: Effects on Discussions and Classroom Community in Internet-Based University Courses.

RESEARCH INTO WAYS of increasing sense of community in online courses is important as students with strong feelings of community are more likely to persist in their online educational programs than students who feel alienated and alone. An ex post facto causal-comparative study was conducted at a Christian university to investigate how different strategies for grading online discussions influenced both the discussions and sense of classroom community in 18 graduate-level courses (N=262) delivered at a distance using the BlackboardSM e-learning system. Evidence was produced that suggests grading strategies influence online discussions and discussions are related to students’ sense of community. In particular, there were significantly more discussions per student per week and higher levels of sense of community in courses where discussions were a graded course component. Moreover, students with stronger feelings of being connected with others in their online courses also felt more satisfied that their educational goals were being met by their distance education program.
Top/Bottom Self-Label, Anal Sex Practices, HIV Risk and Gender Role Identity in Gay Men in New York City

Abstract Within the gay community, labeling oneself as a “top” or as a “bottom” communicates preferences for insertive or receptive sexual practices. The use of these terms and their relevance to the HIV/AIDS pandemic have received little attention in the scientific literature. The current exploratory study examines both qualitatively and quantitatively the use of top/bottom self-labels and their relation to gender role identity, sexual behavior, and HIV risk. Results revealed that nearly half of the 84 participating men used a self-label to describe their genitoerotic preferences. However, the rate of self-labeling decreased significantly over the five-year study period. Results also revealed that self-label corresponded to anal sex practices, such that tops engaged in more insertive anal sex than bottoms, and bottoms in more receptive anal sex than tops. Further, top/bottom labelers were more dichotomous in their anal sex practices than men who did not use a label. Labeling was also related to HIV statu...
Cu(I/II) redox control of molecular conformation and shape in chiral tripodal ligands: binary exciton-coupled circular dichroic states.

This manuscript describes the design, synthesis, and characterization of a coordination complex that demonstrates reversible interconversion between two redox states that show very different chirop...
Ulnar collateral ligament strain of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint: biomechanical comparison of two postoperative immobilization techniques

Background The aim of this study was to compare postoperative immobilization techniques of the thumb metacarpophalangeal (MP) ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in a cadaver model of a noncompliant patient.
Using Fuzzy-Word Correlation Factors to Compute Document Similarity Based on Phrase Matching

One of the Web information Retrieval (IR) problems these days is to identify redundant information that exist in (replicated) Web documents. These documents can easily be found in several forms, such as documents in different versions, small documents combined with others to form a larger document, etc. As the Web is becoming more and more popular, the number of documents on the Web is increasing on a daily basis, and filtering redundant ones among this huge number of documents becomes a more difficult and an urgent task. As one of the solutions to this problem, we present a new method that identifies similar documents based on phrase matching using the fuzzy-word correlation factors among words in phrases. Since phrases can be treated as sequences of words in a sentence in any document, we consider the correlation factors of different words in any two phrases of two different documents to determine the degree of similarity of the phrases, which in turns can determine the similarity of the documents based on the number of matched phrases/sentences in the documents. Experimental results show that our phrase-matching approach is accurate and outperforms the word-based similarity matching approach.
Review of: “ Theory of Thermoelasticity with Applications” by J. L. Nowinski Sijthoff & Noordhoff, Alphen aan den Rijn, 1978, 836 pp.

(1979). Review of: “ Theory of Thermoelasticity with Applications” by J. L. Nowinski Sijthoff & Noordhoff, Alphen aan den Rijn, 1978, 836 pp. Journal of Thermal Stresses: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 149-151.
Growth and gas exchange of loblolly pine seedlings as influenced by drought and air pollutants

One-year-old loblolly pine seedlings were exposed to 03(≤0.025 or 0.10 μ L L−1, 4 hr d−1, 3 d wk−1) in combination with simulated rain (pH 5.6 or 3.0, 1 hr d−1, 2 d wk−1, 0.75 cm hr−1) for 10 wk. After the 10-wk treatment, the seedlings were submitted to two drought cycles, and water potential, net photosynthesis (Pn), and transpiration (Tr) were measured. Whole-plant fresh weight increment and relative growth rate were significantly increased in seedlings exposed to simulated rain at pH 3.0 compared to pH 5.6. An interaction between 03 and simulated rain occurred in height growth. Shoot height elongation was significantly less in seedlings exposed to 0.10 μL L−1 03 + pH 5.6 than in any other pollutant combination after the 10-wk treatment period. There were no significant effects of 03 on Pn and Tr prior to the drought cycles; however, after the first drought cycle, Pn was significantly higher in seedlings pre-exposed to 0.10 μL L−1 03 compared to the low 03 concentration. The 10-wk treatment with simulated rain at pH 3.0 significantly increased Pn and Tr. The relationship between gas exchange rates and needle water potential during the moisture stress period was affected by preexposure to pollutants. In general, Pn and Tr were more sensitive to decreasing needle water potential in seedlings exposed to pH 3.0 during the first drought cycle and to 0.10 μL L−1 03 during second drought cycle.
SU-E-T-296: Single Field Per Day Vs. Multiple Fields Per Day and the Impact On BED in Proton Therapy Treatment

Purpose: A common practice, in proton therapy, is to deliver a rotating subset of fields from the treatment plan for the daily fractions. This study compares the impact this practice has on the biological effective dose (BED) versus delivering all planned fields daily. Methods: For two scenarios (a phantom with a geometry approximating the anatomy of a prostate treatment with opposing lateral beams, and a clinical 3-field brain treatment), treatment plans were produced in Eclipse (Varian) to simulate delivery of one, two, and three fields per fraction. The RT-Dose file, structure set, and α/β ratios were processed using in-house MATLAB code to return a new RT-Dose file containing the BED (including a proton RBE of 1.1) which was imported back into Eclipse for analysis. Results: For targets and regions of field overlap in the treatment plan, BED is not affected by delivery regimen. In the phantom, BED in the femoral heads showed increased by 20% when a single field was used rather than two fields. In the brain treatment, the minimum BED to the left optic nerve and the pituitary gland increased by 13% and 10% respectively, for a one-field regime compared to three-fields per fraction. Comparing the two-field and threefield regimes, the optic nerve BED was not significantly affected and the minimum pituitary BED was 4% higher for two fields per day. Conclusion: Hypo-fractionation effects, in regions of non-overlap of fields, significantly increase the BED to the involved tissues by as much as 20%. Care should be taken to avoid inadvertently sacrificing plan effectiveness in the interest of reduced treatment time.
Superconductivity and magnetism in the high-Tc superconductor YBaCuO.

The new high-${T}_{c}$ superconductor YBaCuO was prepared and characterized. Measurements were performed to determine the superconducting and magnetic properties of the samples. Onset of superconductivity was found above 90 K. Antiferromagnetism was also observed, probably associated with the nonsuperconducting pairs of the samples. Modest critical current density as well as large upper critical fields were inferred from the data.
A model for the dynamics of island growth during deposition of compound semiconductors

Abstract A model has been developed that describes the microscopic phenomena which take place during epitaxial growth of compound semiconductors. The treatment includes the many elementary processes that can occur at each of the different types of surface sites available. Rate constants for these processes are determined using statistical mechanics and transition state theory. Many of the reactions are fast and reversible and, therefore, a new procedure has been used to account for these steps in an efficient yet realistic manner. The utility of the approach is illustrated by considering homoepitaxial chemical vapor deposition of GaAs from Ga(CH3)3 and AsH3 on a defect-free (111)Ga surface. For the operating conditions considered, triangular islands are formed because the steps leading to generation of kink sites are more difficult than those that propagate the kink sites. The agreement between this result and experimental observations, albeit on a larger scale, suggests that these factors also influence the overall deposit morphology. In addition, the calculations show that growth is autocatalytic with respect to ledge sites. One consequence of this factor, coupled with the probabilistic nature of complex formation at ledge sites, is that islands of equal size do not grow at the same rate. Sensitivity studies have been performed to assess the impact of simulation parameters and uncertainties in the rate constants on the theoretical predictions.
Thyronines and probucol inhibition of human capillary endothelial cell-induced low density lipoprotein oxidation.

Abstract Oxidized lipoproteins have been implicated as important factors in the pathogenicity of atherosclerosis. Thus, antioxidants play a significant role in inhibiting a critical step in atheroma progression. Previously, we demonstrated that thyronine analogs inhibit Cu 2+ -induced low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. In the present study, we examined the effect of thyronine analogs on endothelial cell (EC)-induced LDL oxidation. LDL was incubated with or without EC in the presence or absence of various concentrations of thyronine, vitamin C, or probucol at 37 ° in a humidified atmosphere (95% air, 5% CO 2 ). Thyronine analogs, probucol, and vitamin C inhibited EC-induced LDL oxidation in a concentration-dependent manner. The concentration of each agent (μM) producing 50% inhibition ( ic 50 ) of EC-induced LDL oxidation for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and electrophoretic mobility, respectively, was as follows: 0.294 and 0.417 for levothyroxine ( l -T 4 ); 0.200 and 0.299 for l -triiodothyronine ( l -T 3 ); 0.125 and 0.264 for dextro-thyroxine ( d -T 4 ); 0.203 and 0.304 for reversed triiodothyronine (rT 3 ); 1.02 and 1.44 for probucol; and 13.6 and 14.9 for vitamin C. Thyroid binding globulin (TBG) inhibited EC-induced LDL oxidation; further, thyronines bound to TBG exhibited more antioxidant activity than unbound thyronines. Pretreatment of EC with any of the thyronines decreased the ability of EC to oxidize LDL. Also, our results showed that a synergistic interaction exists between vitamin C and T 4 in the inhibition of EC-induced LDL oxidation. The T 4 and TBG concentrations that inhibited LDL oxidation were in the physiological range. We conclude that T 4 , like the pharmacological agent probucol, reduces oxidative modification of LDL and thus may act as a natural inhibitor of atherogenesis.