cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statistical Methods and Graphical Displays for Analyzing How the Association Between Two Qualitative Variables Differs Among Countries, Among Groups, Or Over Time: A Modified Regression‐Type Approach

Many interesting sociological questions pertain to how the association between two variables depends on a third variable. In sociological applications, the third variable often pertains to countries, to subgroups of a population, or to time periods. We propose a regression-type approach that specifies that the log-odds-ratios that describe the two-way association of interest are a linear function of latent scores for the third variable. Additive and multiplicative models currently in use by researchers are special cases of the regression-type model. To illustrate the utility of the regression-type approach, we apply this approach to analyze (1) data on occupational mobility in the United States, Britain, and Japan (comparing mobility in these countries) and (2) data on the association between religion and voting behavior in U.S. presidential elections from 1968 to 1992 (comparing this association in the different elections). We also introduce here graphical displays that can be used to obtain worthwhile i...
The Electoral Impact of Partisanship and Incumbency Reconsidered An Extension to Low Salience Elections

Analyses of recent Presidential, Congressional, and Gubernatorial elections and elec torates have given rise to conclusions that traditional party loyalties are waning, while an incumbent, regardless of party affiliation, remains extremely difficult to unseat. How ever, analysis of "lower salience" New York City choices (such as for City Council, State Assembly, and State Senate) indicates that although incumbents run even stronger on this level, "electorate partisanship" has not been seriously eroded. The data consist of aggregate registration and voting information from a period (1968-1974) in which par tisanship was seen to be losing its impact as a voting cue in high salience races nation wide. The author finds that when one focuses on registration and straight-ticket voting at the bottom of the New York City ballot, one finds few "operational Independents." The specific findings are: (a) nearly 90% partisan registration, with no significant upsurge in Independent enlistments; (b) a sizable amount of ...
Using Blackboard to Assess Course-Specific Asynchronous Library Instruction

The authors conducted a pilot project in Spring 2011 at the University of Idaho in which information literacy video tutorials were developed and embedded within Blackboard for a psychology research methods course; students were given pre- and post-tests to measure confidence and knowledge. This article will review the literature, describe survey and video development and implementation within Blackboard, present the methodology used in analyzing test results, and discuss results and implications. The results of the study indicate that students benefit from asynchronous instruction materials, and that video tutorials are an effective instruction tool for libraries.
Expression of the Nicotinic Receptor α7 Gene in Tendon and Periosteum During Early Development

One of the most abundant nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems is a species that contains the alpha 7 gene product, binds alpha-bungarotoxin with high affinity, and has a high relative permeability to calcium. The alpha 7 gene is also expressed at low levels in embryonic muscle tissue. We show here that the alpha 7 gene is expressed in tendon fibroblasts and periosteal cells during development. In situ hybridizations identify alpha 7 transcripts in tissue sections containing embryonic tendon and periosteum. RNase protection experiments demonstrate alpha 7 mRNA in primary tendon cells grown in culture. Immunofluorescence with subunit-specific monoclonal antibodies reveals alpha 7 protein in embryonic tendon. Immunoprecipitation assays with the antibodies indicate that the alpha 7-containing species in tendon is capable of binding alpha-bungarotoxin and that a similar species can be identified at low levels on the surface of fibroblasts in culture. The results show that the alpha 7 gene product is expressed in a range of tissues, including cells thought to be nonexcitable. The distribution of alpha 7 expression early in development and the ability of alpha 7-containing receptors to elevate intracellular calcium suggest that the gene may influence a variety of calcium-dependent events during embryogenesis.
Diet patterns and dental caries in third grade U. S. children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate further the relationship between intake of sucrose-containing foods and the prevalence of caries in a natural population of children. The study population was made up of 958 Caucasian third grade children from Minneapolis. Diet and brushing information was collected through personal interviews with the children. Four methods of coding diet information were used: (1) Confection Counting (the number of sucrose-containing items consumed during a 24-hour period); (2) Exposure Counting (to collapse sucrose-containing items consumed in a 30-min interval into one sucrose exposure); (3) Minneapolis Oral Retention Estimate (an assessment of usual consumption, 24-hour recall, brushing and consumption of water to estimate likelihood that the individual had sucrose in the oral cavity during a typical day); and (4) “Hidden” Sugar Estimate (utilization of food composition tables to estimate in teaspoons how much sucrose was consumed during a 24-hour period). The study shows few, if any, relationships existing between consumption of sucrose-containing foods and def or DMF teeth in both mealtime and between-meal periods.
Land Mine and Clutter Object Discrimination Using Wavelet and Time Domain Spatially Distributed Features from Metal Detectors and Their Fusion with GPR Features for Hand-Held Units

This paper presents some advances in discrimination and fusion algorithms using metal detector (MD) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) sensors in a robotic wand unit. Previously investigated spatially distributed features are extended and fused with discrete wavelet transform representations of MD data. A multilayer perceptron technique is then applied to discriminate between land mine and land mine-like objects based on the wavelet coefficient and time domain features separately. Using MD wavelet and time domain fusion, the probability of false alarms is reduced by 46.0% and 18.0% over the wavelet and time domain models, respectively, at 0.95 probability of detection. Fusion results are presented for the MD and GPR sensors to demonstrate that the two sensors provide complementary information for significantly reducing the probability of false alarm. Blind test results from a government test facility are presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the algorithms.
A Propensity Matched Study of New York Heart Association Class and Natural History End Points in Heart Failure

The association between higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and poor outcome in heart failure (HF) is well known. However, to what extent these associations are confounded by covariates such as age, the severity of disease, and co-morbidity burden is unknown. In the Digitalis Investigation Group (DIG) trial, 2,441 of the 7,788 patients with chronic HF had NYHA class III or IV symptoms. Propensity scores for NYHA classes III and IV were calculated for each patient and were then used to match 1,863 patients in NYHA classes III and IV with 1,863 patients in NYHA classes I and II. Kaplan-Meier and matched Cox regression analyses were used to estimate associations of NYHA class III or IV with mortality and hospitalizations during a median of 37 months of follow-up. Compared with 34% (641 of 1,863) patients in NYHA classes I and II (mortality rate 1,175 in 10,000 person-years of follow-up), 42% (777 of 1,863) patients in NYHA classes III and IV (mortality rate 1,505 in 10,000 person-years) died from all causes (hazard ratio 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14 to 1.45, p <0.0001). Hospitalizations due to all causes occurred in 66% (1,232 of 1,863) patients in NYHA classes I and II (hospitalization rate 3,898 in 10,000 person-years) and 71% (1,322 of 1,863) patients in NYHA classes III and IV (hospitalization rate 4,793 in 10,000 person-years) (hazard ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.28, p = 0.003). The hazard ratios for patients in NYHA classes III and IV, compared with those for those in NYHA classes I and II, for other outcomes were 1.29 for cardiovascular mortality (95% CI 1.12 to 1.48, p <0.0001), 1.49 for HF mortality (95% CI 1.20 to 1.84, p <0.0001), 1.18 for cardiovascular hospitalization (95% CI 1.06 to 1.32, p = 0.002), and 1.17 for HF hospitalization (95% CI 1.03 to 1.34, p = 0.017). In conclusion, baseline NYHA class is a marker of hospitalization, disease progression, and mortality in a wide spectrum of ambulatory patients with chronic HF.
Separation of Selected Bile Acids by TLC. VII. Separation by Reversed Partition HPTLC

Abstract Selected bile acids: cholic acid (C), glycocholic acid (GC), glycodeoxycholic acid (GDC), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDC), deoxycholic acid (DC), lithocholic acid (LC), and glycolithocholic acid (GLC) were investigated with the use of reversed phase high performance thin‐layer chromatography on RP18W (E. Merck, #1.14296), RP18 (E. Merck, #1.05914), RP2 (E. Merck, #1.13726), and CNF254 (E. Merck, #1.12571) plates using methanol–water, organic mixture (acetonitrile–methanol 50:50, v/v)–water, acetone–water, dioxane–water, and acetonitrile–phosphate buffer (pH 4.60) as mobile phases, in different volume compositions. The obtained separations were carried out on the basis of separation factors values ΔRF and RS. None of the applied chromatographic conditions enabled completion of the separation of all examined bile acids. Five neighboring bile acids, i.e., LC/DC, CDC/GLC, GLC/C, C/GDC, GDC/GC, were separated only when CNF254 plates and the mobile phase acetone–water, 50:50; v/v were used. The biggest pro...
DISTRIBUTION OF NON-NMDA GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR MRNAS IN THE DEVELOPING RAT COCHLEA

In situ hybridization was used to document the distribution of mRNA encoding six subunit isoforms of non-N-methyl D-aspartic acid (NMDA) glutamate receptors (GluR1, GluR2, GluR3, GluR4, GluR5 and GluR6) in the inner ears of embryonic, postnatal and adult rats. GluR2 and GluR3 expression in the spiral ganglion appeared well before birth, and reached adult levels several days before the onset of function in the cochlea. In the spiral limbus, expression of GluR2 and GluR3 mRNA reached very high levels at around the time of birth, then declined after a few days. Low levels of GluR1, GluR4 and GluR6 expression were detected in various tissues of the cochlea during development. In the adult cochlea, GluR expression was limited to GluR2 and GluR3 mRNAs in the spiral ganglion neurons and GluR2 mRNA in fibrocytes of the spiral limbus, a non-neural tissue. The ontogenetic expression of additional GluR subunit genes and their appearance in different cochlear tissues could reflect different roles for these genes during development, or less precise regulation of gene expression within the GluR family. In particular, the very high levels of GluR gene expression in the spiral limbus during the perinatal period support a non-neural function, perhaps as cell surface receptors during tissue differentiation.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING DISABILITIES AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Juvenile delinquency in the United States is increasing in incidence, and children are becoming involved in delinquent activity at a much younger age. Learning disabilities have been associated with juvenile delinquency. Learning disabled children are labeled by teachers and peers as different, which may alienate them from "normal society." If children reject social institutions (such as school), they may seek alternative, frequently delinquent, activities. Learning disabled children must be identified so that programs which minimize the disability while emphasizing the children's strengths can be instituted. Since adjudicated delinquents of normal intelligence show a significant degree of academic underachievement, correctional programs must recognize the possibility of learning disability. Vocational training emphasizing an individual's strengths can be an effective alternative to traditional educational programs for delinquent juveniles.
LOW BACKGROUND BETA DETECTOR FOR SOLID SAMPLE ASSAY

Abstract In this paper is described the construction and performance of four side-window gas flow counters operated in the Geiger region used in the measurement of low levels of beta activity from solid sources. The average background with anticoincidence for the four counters over the period August 1963–September 1964 has been 0.334 ± 0.005 cpm. A detailed discussion of the associated anticoincidence circuitry is also presented.
Organic solvent high-field amplified stacking for basic compounds in capillary electrophoresis.

Abstract Many water-miscible organic solvents, especially acetonitrile and acetone, bring along significant degrees (∼30 times) of stacking by electroinjection through high-field amplified injection for the basic compounds compared to that for aqueous buffers or water. The relative stacking of different compounds in acetonitrile or acetone is different compared to that for water. Stacking by electroinjection in organic solvents is less stringent and easier to accomplish in practice. Acids and salts, in aqueous solutions, can ruin the stacking for both organic and aqueous solvents; however, this effect can be better tolerated by diluting the sample in acetonitrile. Thus, this stacking is termed “organic solvent high-field amplified injection”. This stacking by electroinjection is enhanced by increasing the electrophoresis buffer concentration and can be better than that by pressure injection. From the practical aspects, some cationic drugs present in serum such as amiodarone can be detected at the therapeutic levels by electroinjection on the capillary after protein precipitation by acetonitrile.
Effects in sheep of hypoxia on levels of lactate, pyruvate, and glucose in blood of mothers and fetus.

Effects in Sheep of Hypoxia on Levels of Lactate, Pyruvate, and Glucose in Blood of Mothers and Fetus
Protein structure and dynamics from single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer

The pros and cons of single-molecule vs ensemble-averaged fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments, performed on proteins, are explored with the help of Langevin dynamics simulations. An off-lattice model of the polypeptide chain is employed, which gives rise to a well-defined native state and two-state folding kinetics. A detailed analysis of the distribution of the donor−acceptor distance is presented at different points along the denaturation curve, along with its dependence on the averaging time window. We show that unique information on the correlation between structure and dynamics, which can only be obtained from single-molecule experiments, is contained in the correlation between the donor−acceptor distance and its displacement. The latter is shown to provide useful information on the free energy landscape of the protein, which is complementary to that obtained from the distribution of donor−acceptor distances.
Characterization of the calcium-binding sites of calcineurin B

Calcineurin (CAN) is a calcium- and calmodulin- dependent serinelthreonine phosphatase whose inhibition by the immunosuppressant-immunophilin complexes (cyclosporin-cyclo- philin and FK506-FKBP) is considered key to the mechanism of immunosuppression. CaN is a heterodimer, consisting of a 59 kDa catalytic subunit (A) and a 19 kDa calcium-binding regula- tory subunit (B). The latter is postulated to harbor four calcium binding domains of the EF hand type. The titration of the CaN B apoprotein with the isomorphic Cd 2÷ was followed by H3Cd NMR and these data support one high-affinity metal binding site and three lower-affinity ones. Flow dialysis data with Ca 2+ indi- cate one high affinity calcium binding site with K d ~2.4 × I0 -s M and three other sites with Kd -1.5 × 10 -5 M. The chemical shifts of all four H3Cd resonances (-75, -93, -106 and -I 19 ppm) are in the same range as found in other H3Cd substituted calcium- binding proteins, and are indicative of all-oxygen coordination of pentagonal bipyramidal geometry.
Critical Assessment of Microwave-Enhanced Diffusion

The use of microwave heating or microwave plasmas in the sintering of ceramics has often been observed to result in more rapid sintering than the same heating schedule in a conventional furnace; the increased sintering rate has sometimes been ascribed to the enhancement of diffusion by microwave heating/plasma. Some experiments on diffusion measurements under microwave heating have also been carried out in order to check this hypothesis. In this paper, we evaluate the experimental evidence for microwave enhanced diffusion, discuss the various models that have been proposed for the enhanced diffusion, and suggest some further experiments aimed at understanding these phenomena.
cDNA microarray technology and its applications

The cDNA microarray is the most powerful tool for studying gene expression in many different organisms. It has been successfully applied to the simultaneous expression of many thousands of genes and to large-scale gene discovery, as well as polymorphism screening and mapping of genomic DNA clones. It is a high throughput, highly parallel RNA expression assay technique that permits quantitative analysis of RNAs transcribed from both known and unknown genes. This technique provides diagnostic fingerprints by comparing gene expression patterns in normal and pathological cells, and because it can simultaneously track expression levels of many genes, it provides a source of operational context for inference and predication about complex cell control systems. This review describes this recently developed cDNA microarray technology and its application to gene discovery and expression, and to diagnostics for certain diseases.
Performance-weighted methods for estimating monthly streamflow at ungauged sites

Records of natural streamflow are essential to nearly all water resources projects. In spite of the wide range of available techniques for estimating monthly streamflow records at ungauged sites, few studies have sought to compare their merits. Precedent has dictated the nearly ubiquitous use of the drainage-area ratio (DAR) technique. We evaluate several monthly streamflow information-transfer methods across nearly 1300 minimally-impacted streamflow gages in the continental US from the Hydroclimatic Data Network (HCDN). The DAR method is shown to be quite robust; however, other methods of standardizing streamflow, such as standardizing flows by means (SM) or normalizing flows with means and standard deviations (SMS), are shown to be superior for a subset (∼42%) of sites. The performance of SM and SMS, relative to DAR is shown to be generally correlated with the at-site aridity ratio. We introduce a performance-weighted transfer method that weights each estimator in proportion to its performance, as predicted by basin descriptors including at-site precipitation, aridity ratio, drainage area and ratios of those descriptors between the ungauged and index site. Our blended estimators showed promising results, exhibiting greater Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies than DAR at 60% of sites considered. Our national comparative assessment demonstrates the merits and disadvantages of several techniques, including the concept of performance weighting. We also introduce regional hydroclimatic regression equations for estimating the mean and variance of monthly streamflows at ungauged sites in the conterminous US.
Characteristics and biosynthesis of seed lipases in maize and other plant species

Oilseed lipases from diverse plant species exhibit differences in their substrate specificity, pH for optimal activity, reactivity toward sulfhydryl reagents, hydrophobicity and subcellular location. Seed lipase from a certain plant species is relatively specific for the native triacylglycerols or triacylglycerols containing the major fatty acids of the storage triacylglycerols of the same species. This substrate specificity can be exploited in lipid biotechnology. In most seeds, with the known exception of castor bean, lipase activities are absent in ungerminated seeds and increase in postgermination. The biosynthesis of seed lipase has been studied only in maize. The maize enzyme is synthesized on free polyribosomes in postgermination. The newly synthesized enzyme is then transferred, without apparent coor posttranslational modification, to the membrane of the lipid bodies.
Thiopurine Methyltransferase Deficiency and Azathioprine Intolerance in Autoimmune Hepatitis

Thiopurine methyltransferase deficiency has been associated with intolerance to azathioprine. Our goals were to assess the frequency of enzyme deficiency in autoimmune hepatitis and correlate deficiency states with azathioprine intolerance. Eighty-six patients receiving azathioprine (50–150 mg daily) were evaluated for enzyme activity and azathioprine-related complications. Their findings were compared to 89 similarly treated but untested patients. Thirteen patients (15%) had low thiopurine methyltransferase levels (11.4± 0.9 U/ml RBC; range, 3.5–14.9 U/ml RBC). Azathioprine intolerance occurred as commonly in patients with normal or above normal enzyme levels as in patients with below normal levels (12% versus 15%, p = 0.7). Patients treated without enzyme testing had the same frequency of complications (9% versus 13%, p = 0.5) as tested patients. We conclude that routine screening of blood thiopurine methyltransferase levels has a low yield for identifying individual patients at risk for azathioprine toxicity during conventional low dose therapy for autoimmune hepatitis.
Computer-Based Strategy for Modeling the Interaction of AGRP and Related Peptide Ligands with the AGRP-Binding Site of Murine Melanocortin Receptors

The hypothesis that the interaction of agouti-related protein (AGRP) and the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) modulates feeding behavior in humans has stimulated the synthesis of conformationally constrained peptides, peptoids and small molecules in efforts to identify novel compounds that can potentially be used in the clinical treatment of obesity and related eating disorders. In addition, the availability of a high-resolution NMR structure for the MC4R-binding domain of AGRP, and studies employing site-specific murine MC4R mutants have identified key intermolecular AGRP/MC4R interactions. It is therefore surprising that only one, relatively unsophisticated, computer-based study has been reported to obtain a model for the AGRP/mMC4R complex. In this review we outline computer-based strategies for building models of the AGRP/mMC4R and related peptide/mMC4R complexes, and illustrate the strengths and limitations of sophisticated molecular dynamics methods in obtaining information that might form the basis of rational efforts to discover novel drugs that selectively interact with melanocortin receptors.
Modification of planar waveguide facet reflectivity with subwavelength gratings

The functionality and performance of many planar waveguide devices, including lasers and optical amplifiers, are critically affected by the reflectivity of the waveguide facets. For high index contrast waveguide devices, the Fresnel reflection at the facet is a significant contribution to the fibre-to-chip coupling loss and the return loss. Currently, the common method to control the facet reflectivity of planar waveguides is the deposition of anti-or high-reflective coatings.
Noise subspace projection approaches to determination of intrinsic dimensionality of hyperspectral imagery

Determination of Intrinsic Dimensionality (ID) for remotely sensed imagery has been a challenging problem. For multispectral imagery it may be solvable by Principal Components Analysis (PCA) due to a small number of spectral bands which implies that ID is also small. However, PCA method may not be effective if it is applied to hyperspectral images. This may arise in the fact that a high spectral-resolution hyperspectral sensor may also extract many unknown interfering signatures in addition to endmember signatures. So, determining the ID of hyperspectral imagery is more problematic than that of multispectral imagery. This paper presents a Neyman-Pearson detection theory-based eigen analysis for determination of ID for hyperspectral imagery, particularly, a new approach referred to as Noise Subspace Projection (NSP)-based eigen-thresholding method. It is derived from a noise whitening process coupled with a Neyman- Pearson detector. The former estimates the noise covariance matrix which will be used to whiten the data sample correlation matrix, whereas the latter converts the problem of determining ID to a Neyman-Pearson decision with the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis used as a thresholding technique to estimate ID. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method AVIRIS are used for experiments.
Adventitial contributions of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Akt pathways to neointimal hyperplasia.

Abstract Background We recently reported that the efficacy of nitric oxide (NO) appears to be based on both sex and hormone status. The mechanism responsible for this differential efficacy is unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of sex, hormones, and NO on the extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt signaling pathways after arterial injury. Methods Male and female Sprague–Dawley rats underwent castration or sham surgery. Two weeks later, they underwent carotid artery balloon injury. Treatment groups included the following: control, injury, and injury + 1-[2-(carboxylato)pyrrolidin-1-yl]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (PROLI/NO) (n = 5 per group). Arteries were harvested 2 weeks after injury and assessed for phospho-ERK (pERK) and phospho-Akt (pAkt) expression. Results After injury, more pERK and pAkt activity was seen in the adventitia than media in both sexes, regardless of hormone status ( P P Conclusions After arterial injury, ERK and Akt activity is significantly greater in the adventitia than the media, and depends on sex, hormone status, and NO. Understanding adventitial regulation of proliferative signaling pathways will allow the development of targeted therapies for neointimal hyperplasia.
Superplastic flow in fine-grained alumina

Dense polycrystalline alumina having an average grain size of 1.6 μm was deformed to true strains of up to 60% in simple uniaxial compression at 1693 K without significant cavitation. A strain rate of ∼2 × 10−4 s−1 was obtained at a uniaxial stress of ∼30 MPa. Such a reasonable flow stress at such high strain rates and a relatively low temperature raises a real possibility of isothermal superplastic forging of alumina ceramics. The mechanism of deformation was identified to be diffusion creep with grain boundaries as the dominant diffusion path. The specimens suffered considerable grain growth during deformation. Part of the grain growth resulted from time and temperature, but the majority was induced by deformation strain.
Distribution of progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in the midbrain and hindbrain of postnatal rats.

Nuclear steroid hormone receptors are powerful transcription factors and therefore have the potential to influence and regulate fundamental processes of neural development. The expression of progesterone receptors (PR) has been described in the developing forebrain of rats and mice, and the mammalian brain may be exposed to significant amounts of progesterone, either from maternal sources and/or de novo synthesis of progesterone from cholesterol within the brain. The present study examined the distribution of PR immunoreactive (PRir) cells within the midbrain and hindbrain of postnatal rats. The results demonstrate that PR is transiently expressed within the first 2 weeks of life in specific motor, sensory and reticular core nuclei as well as within midbrain dopaminergic cell groups such as the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Additionally, robust PRir was observed in cells of the lower rhombic lip, a transient structure giving rise to precerebellar nuclei. These results suggest that progestins and progesterone receptors may play a fundamental role in the postnatal development of numerous midbrain and hindbrain nuclei, including some areas implicated in human disorders. Additionally, these findings contribute to the increasing evidence that steroid hormones and their receptors influence neural development in a wide range of brain areas, including many not typically associated with reproduction or neuroendocrine function. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008
The inverted face inversion effect in prosopagnosia : Evidence for mandatory, face-specific perceptual mechanisms

Does the human visual system contain a specialized system for face recognition, not used for the recognition of other objects? This question was addressed using the "face inversion effect" which refers to the loss of our normal proficiency at face perception when faces are inverted. We found that a prosopagnosic subject paradoxically performed better at matching inverted faces than upright faces, the opposite of the normal "face inversion effect". The fact that his impairment was most pronounced with the stimuli for which normal subjects show the greatest proficiency in face perception provides evidence of a neurologically localized module for upright face recognition in humans. An additional implication of these data is that specialized systems may control behavior even when they are malfunctioning and therefore maladeaptive, consistent with the mandatory operation of such systems according to the "modularity" hypothesis of the cognitive architecture.
A randomized controlled trial comparing a multimodal intervention and standard obstetrics care for low back and pelvic pain in pregnancy.

Objective Women commonly experience low back pain during pregnancy. We examined whether a multimodal approach of musculoskeletal and obstetric management (MOM) was superior to standard obstetric care to reduce pain, impairment, and disability in the antepartum period. Study Design A prospective, randomized trial of 169 women was conducted. Baseline evaluation occurred at 24-28 weeks' gestation, with follow-up at 33 weeks' gestation. Primary outcomes were the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain and the Quebec Disability Questionnaire (QDQ). Both groups received routine obstetric care. Chiropractic specialists provided manual therapy, stabilization exercises, and patient education to MOM participants. Results The MOM group demonstrated significant mean reductions in Numerical Rating Scale scores (5.8 ± 2.2 vs 2.9 ± 2.5; P P Conclusion A multimodal approach to low back and pelvic pain in mid pregnancy benefits patients more than standard obstetric care.
The use of humor in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer: a phenomenological study.

Objective Humor has been shown to decrease the use of pain medicine, improve mood, and decrease stress. However, the timing and setting for using humor can be perceived differently depending on the patient and the context. Our objective was to better understand how patients with recurrent ovarian cancer experience humor to gain insight into the feasibility of using humor as a therapeutic adjunct. Methods We conducted structured patient interviews with women being treated for recurrent ovarian cancer. The phenomenological method of Colaizzi was used to gain an in-depth understanding of how women with recurrent ovarian cancer use and view humor in relation to their diagnosis. Results Most patients used humor to cope with cancer and felt that humor alleviated their anxiety. The use of humor by physicians and nurses was perceived as appropriate and positive. A previous relationship with a physician was often felt necessary before the use of humor. Humor was often perceived not only in traditional jokes but was also found in humorous anecdotes from the caregiver’s life outside of medicine. Conclusions This study revealed that humor is an often used coping mechanism for women with recurrent ovarian cancer and subjectively helps alleviate anxiety. The use of humor by physicians was found to be universally perceived as appropriate and positive. The waiting area seems to be a place where humorous experiences would be welcomed. These findings provide additional insight into the role that humor plays in the lives of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.
Iterative Analysis Method for Structural Components with Diverse Stiffnesses

An iterative solution scheme is presented for the static and dynamic analysis of built-up structures in which the stiffness of one relatively rigid component is a dominant factor in governing the overall response. In complex problems, where each structural component is represented by finite-elemen t models with many degrees of freedom, application of the standard direct-stiffness method requires equation solutions involving large numbers of unknowns. Also, the direct stiffness method may lead to numerical precision problems when combining the terms of components with diverse stiffnesses. This paper presents a technique which, under certain conditions to be discussed, overcomes these problems through an efficient iterative procedure. The method requires treatment of only a single structural component at any given time and the convergence rate is shown to depend upon the relative impedances of the components. Results are presented for the static, dynamic, and thermal stress analysis of the space-shuttle thermal-protection system. This problem is ideally suited to this application and results reveal a rapid rate of convergence.
Effects of pointers on data dependences

This paper presents a technique for computing and classifying data dependences that takes into account the complexities introduced by specific language constructs, such as pointers, arrays and structures. The classification is finer-grained than previously proposed classifications. Moreover unlike previous work, the paper presents empirical results that illustrate the distribution of data dependences for a set of C subjects. The paper also presents a potential application for the proposed classification, program slicing, and a technique that completes slices based on data-dependence types. This technique facilitates the use of slicing for program understanding because a user can either augment a slice incrementally, by incorporating data dependences based on their relevance, or focus on specific kinds of dependences. Finally, the paper presents a case study that shows how the incremental addition of data dependences allows for growing the size of the slices in steps.
Political Support in Democratic Societies: The Case of Canada

T he long-term research agenda a person embarks on at the beginning of a professional career normally is influenced by significant personal experiences and the particularly compelling research of those who have come before. With regard to the latter, in my own case I became fascinated with David Easton's work on political systems and the conditions under which some are sustained over time while others end on the infamous dustbin of history. Regarding the former, I was born and grew up in Canada, one of the world's oldest continuing democracies, a country whose people enjoy a standard of living that is one of the highest in the world but which continues to experience integration problems that other mature democracies long ago overcame or are currently experiencing in less acute form. Indeed, Canada is a country that periodically appears on the brink of falling apart. The most recent trauma occurred May 20, 1980, when the provincial government of Quebec held a referendum in which it asked its citizens to authorize it to enter into negotiations with the federal government to establish Quebec as a politically independent state with some (unspecified) economic ties with the rest of Canada-what the Quebec government termed a referendum on "Sovereignty Association." That incident, I am confident, was the most recent but surely not the last manifestation of secessionist movements that periodically have arisen in Quebec, some of the Maritime provinces, the Prairies, and British Columbia. For the first dozen years or so of my professional career, together with Bill Mishler, Harold Clarke, and Joel Smith, I focused my investigations on the role that elite institutions-more specifically, legislatures and political parties-have played in the system-maintenance process. Since approximately 1977-again with Joel Smith and Marianne Stewart but primarily with Harold Clarke-I have been looking at the problem from the other end of the telescope by examining the role mass publics play in system support.
De Novo Prediction of Three-dimensional Structures for Major Protein Families

We use the Rosetta de novo structure prediction method to produce three-dimensional structure models for all Pfam-A sequence families with average length under 150 residues and no link to any protein of known structure. To estimate the reliability of the predictions, the method was calibrated on 131 proteins of known structure. For approximately 60% of the proteins one of the top five models was correctly predicted for 50 or more residues, and for approximately 35%, the correct SCOP superfamily was identified in a structure-based search of the Protein Data Bank using one of the models. This performance is consistent with results from the fourth critical assessment of structure prediction (CASP4). Correct and incorrect predictions could be partially distinguished using a confidence function based on a combination of simulation convergence, protein length and the similarity of a given structure prediction to known protein structures. While the limited accuracy and reliability of the method precludes definitive conclusions, the Pfam models provide the only tertiary structure information available for the 12% of publicly available sequences represented by these large protein families.
Aggressive commercialization in a sub-critical market

Optics, photonics, and lasers are key components of Florida?s tech-based economy. This talk discusses the University of Central Florida?s focused education, research, commercialization, and industry partnership programs to support and grow this economic sector.
Analyzing Roll Calls with Perfect Spatial Voting: France 1946–1958

A recent methodological advance in legislative roll-call analysis is especially relevant to the study of legislative behavior outside the setting of the United States Congress. We argue that Poole’s (2000) optimal classification method for roll-call analysis is preferable to parametric methods for studying many legislatures. This is because the nature of party discipline, near-perfect spatial voting, and parliamentary institutions that provides incentives for strategic behavior lead to severe violations of the error assumptions underlying parametric methods. The robustness of the nonparametric method to the stochastic nature of the data makes it an ideal candidate for studying strategic behavior in legislatures. We illustrate these points with an analysis of data from the French Fourth Republic (1946‐1958). T his article argues that Poole’s (2000) new optimal classification method for roll-call analysis is preferable to parametric methods for studying many legislatures outside of the United States Congress. The reason is that assumptions about errors in voting that underlie W-NOMINATE and other parametric methods, generally developed for and tested on congressional roll-call data, are likely to be inappropriate in most legislative settings. We support this point through an analysis of data from the three legislatures of the French National Assembly in the short-lived and not lamented Fourth Republic (1946‐58). The National Assembly had at least five characteristics that make the application of parametric methods problematic: variation in discipline across parties, unstable party memberships, proxy voting, near perfect two-dimensional spatial voting, and parliamentary institutions that provide incentives for strategic voting. Our analyses demonstrate that Poole’s nonparametric method allows us to analyze legislative behavior within the theoretically attractive spatial framework when W-NOMINATE fails. Moreover, we show that the method’s robustness to the stochastic nature of the data
Human Adaptation to Interaction Forces in Visuo-Motor Coordination

We tested whether humans can learn to sense and compensate for interaction forces in contact tasks. Many tasks, such as use of hand tools, involve significant interaction forces between hand and environment. One control strategy would be to use high hand impedance to reduce sensitivity to these forces. But an alternative would be to learn feedback compensation for the extrinsic dynamics and associated interaction forces, with the potential for lower control effort. We observed subjects as they learned control of a ball-and-beam system, a visuo-motor task where the goal was to quickly position a ball rolling atop a rotating beam, through manual rotation of the beam alone. We devised a ball-and-beam apparatus that could be operated in a real mode, where a physical ball was present; or in a virtual training mode, where the ball's dynamics were simulated in real time. The apparatus presented the same visual feedback in all cases, and optionally produced haptic feedback of the interaction forces associated with the ball's motion. Two healthy adult subject groups, vision-only and vision-haptics (each n=10), both trained for 80 trials on the simulated system, and then were evaluated on the real system to test for skill transfer effects. If humans incorporate interaction forces in their learning, the vision-haptics group would be expected to exhibit a smoother transfer, as quantified by changes in completion time of a ball-positioning task. During training, both groups adapted well to the task, with reductions of 64%-70% in completion time. At skill transfer to the real system, the vision-only group had a significant 35% increase in completion time (p<0.05). There was no significant change in the vision-haptics group, indicating that subjects had learned to compensate for interaction forces. These forces could potentially be incorporated in virtual environments to assist with motor training or rehabilitation
Scopira - a system for the analysis of biomedical data

With the proliferation of high-dimensional biomedical data, an acute need exists for a comprehensive, user-friendly software suite that allows investigators, in the health care disciplines, to classify their data through the detection of discriminating features. Scopira is a software initiative that attempts to achieve these goals in addition to providing intuitive visual computation, logic construction and parallel execution. We describe the architecture of Scopira, and various design and implementation issues that surfaced during development.
A randomized trial of continuous or intermittent therapy with fluconazole for oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV-infected patients: clinical outcomes and development of fluconazole resistance

Abstract Purpose: The effects of continuous or intermittent therapy with fluconazole on the recurrence of and the development of fluconazole resistance are not known. Patients and Methods: We studied human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with CD 4 cell count 6 /L and oropharyngeal candidiasis in a prospective, randomized study. After initial treatment, 20 patients (16 of whom completed 3 months of follow-up) received continuous fluconazole at 200 mg/day, and 48 patients (28 of whom completed follow-up) received intermittent therapy at the time of symptomatic relapses. Oral samples were obtained weekly during episodes of infection and quarterly as surveillance cultures. Development of resistance was defined as a fourfold rise in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to at least 16 μg/mL from the initial culture in the same species, the emergence of new, resistant (MIC ≥16 μg/mL) species, or a significant increase in the proportion of resistant isolates. Results: During a mean follow-up of 11 months, median annual relapse rates were lower in patients on continuous therapy (0 episodes/year) than in patients on intermittent therapy (4.1 episodes/year; P P = 0.04). Microbiological resistance developed in 9 of 16 (56%) patients on continuous treatment, compared with 13 of 28 (46%) on intermittent treatment ( P = 0.75). However, despite isolates with increased MICs, 42 of 44 patients responded to fluconazole in doses up to 800 mg/day. Conclusions: In patients with frequent recurrences, continuous suppressive therapy significantly reduced relapses and colonization. Resistance occurred with both continuous and intermittent therapy; however, therapeutic responses were excellent.
Multiple paternity and extra-group fertilizations in a natural population of California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis), a beach-spawning marine fish

Although individuals in many fish species move to shallow waters to spawn, the California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) is almost unique in its constitutive display of synchronous full-emergence beach spawning. During a spawning event, fish ride large waves onshore to spawn on beach land, where their eggs incubate terrestrially. Here, we employ molecular markers to ascertain how this unusual reproductive behavior impacts genetic parentage. We developed and utilized four highly polymorphic microsatellite markers to assess maternal and paternal contributions in a total of 682 progeny from 17 nests of a natural population of L. tenuis. Alleles deduced to be of paternal origin in progeny were used to determine the minimum number of sires per nest and to estimate the true number of sires per nest via Bayesian analysis. We document the following: (a) no instances of multiple maternity for progeny within a nest; (b) a high frequency of nests (88%) with multiple paternity; and (c) an appreciable fraction of nests (18%) in which the estimated number of genetic sires (as many as nine) proved to be greater than the observed number of male attendants, thus implicating occasional extra-group fertilization events. From these and other observations, we also conclude that spawning behavior in grunions may involve site choice but not explicit mate choice. In addition to providing the first analysis of molecular parentage in a beach-spawning fish, we compare our findings to those reported previously for a beach-spawning arthropod, and we discuss the forces that may be maintaining this peculiar reproductive behavior.
A first look at band-differenced angular signatures for cloud detection from MISR

We present the first observational study on the potential of band-differenced angular signatures for cloud detection. A band-differenced angular signature is the reflectance difference between the blue and near-infrared channels examined as a function of view angle, and it is observed in this study from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The observed band-differenced angular signatures over a variety of scene types qualitatively compare well with previously published theoretical predictions. Examples of cloud detection in polar and desert regions using band-differenced angular signatures from MISR are shown to highlight its contribution to cloud detection in areas where traditional spectral techniques tend to perform poorly.
Acute abdominal pain presenting as a rare appendiceal duplication: a case report

Introduction Appendiceal duplication is a rare anomaly that can manifest as right lower quadrant pain. There are several variations described for this condition. We recommend aggressive operative management should this anatomical variation present in the presence of acute appendicitis.