cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A certain freedom: thoughts on the CAP theorem

At PODC 2000, the CAP theorem received its first broad audience. Surprisingly for an impossibility result, one important effect has been to free designers to explore a wider range of distributed systems. Designers of wide-area systems, in which network partitions are considered inevitable, know they cannot have both availability and consistency, and thus can now justify weaker consistency. The rise of the "NoSQL" movement ("Not Only SQL") is an expression of this freedom. The choices of how and when to weaken consistency are often the defining characteristics of these systems, with new variations appearing every year. We review a variety of interesting places in the "CAP Space" as a way to illuminate these issues and their consequences. For example, automatic teller machines (ATMs), which predate the CAP theorem, surprisingly choose availability with weak consistency but with bounded risk. Finally, I explore a few of the options to try to "work around" the impossible. The most basic is the use of commutative operations, which make it easy to restore consistency after a partition heals. However, even many commutative operations have non-commutative exceptions in practice, which means that the exceptions may be incorrect or late. Adding the concept of "delayed exceptions" allows more operations to be considered commutative and simplifies eventual consistency during a partition. Furthermore, we can think of delayed exception handling as "compensation" - we execute a compensating transaction that restores consistency. Delayed exception handling with compensation appears to be what most real wide-area systems do - inconsistency due to limited communication is treated as an exception and some exceptional action, such as monetary compensation or even legal action, is used to fix it. This approach to wide-area systems puts the emphasis on audit trails and recovery rather than prevention, and implies that we should expand and formalize the role of compensation in the design of complex systems
Protection Measures against Mine Subsidence Taken at a Building Site

With little mining information, old abandoned coal workings were grouted beneath a proposed building site. Mine stabilization was found necessary after an investigation of subsidence potential was performed. The investigation indicated that the 67 m deep abandoned mine, although old, still had not collapsed and consequently presented a significant risk of subsidence in the future. Further, based on the history of subsidence over old mines in the area, mine grouting was recommended. To stabilize the mine, about 11,468 m3 of grout were pumped. The grouting was designed to account for the significant amount of rubble which existed in the mine. There were three grout mixes of different flowability characteristics specified. The 1,725 kPa grout was batched at a slump of 10 and 20–22 cm and at a efflux flow rate of 30–40 s. Permeation, squeeze (or intrusion), and compaction grouting was performed per the project specifications. Also, to economize on the amount of grouting necessary, subsidence resistant feature...
Incorporation of Radiolabelled Fibrinogen into Venous Thrombi Induced in Dogs

The time course and locus of radiolabelled fibrinogen (RLF) incorporation into venous thrombi were studied in dogs. Incorporation of radiolabelled fibrinogen (RLF) into fresh venous thrombi induced in vivo was studied by serial autoradiography, well-counting and surface counting. Autoradiographs disclosed diffuse incorporation of RLF into thrombi formed before and after RLF injection. Well-counting data also reflected thrombus RLF accumulation in both instances, although this accumulation was discernible earlier in thrombi induced in the presence of circulating RLF. Thrombi induced prior to RLF injection were detectable by surface counting after six hours. These studies support the potential value of RLF in detecting human venous thrombosis but also point out the limitations of the technique as well as questions which require clarification.
Acute vocal fold dystonic reaction to propofol: a case report

A 67-year old male underwent uneventful robotic-assisted thoracoscopic resection of a solitary pulmonary fibrous tumor. Immediately following extubation at the completion of the surgical procedure, the patient developed respiratory distress that did not resolve with treatment. Benadryl provided only temporary relief. Midazolam and hydromorphone were given for anxiolysis and analgesia respectively, which provided transient relief of symptoms. Propofol was given to decrease upper airway reflexes. Adequate reversal from nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockade was confirmed with nerve stimulator. A flexible laryngoscope was introduced nasally to visualize the vocal cords, which revealed intermittent tremulousness of the vocal cords, adduction of bilateral vocal cords to the midline, and minimal to absent opening with inspiration, without any apparent injury or blood, saliva, or vomit noted in or around the glottic opening. The patient was then given diazepam and reintubated. Given the patient's history of difficulty breathing after previous surgery and the lack of vocal cord movement, dystonic reaction to propofol was suspected. The patient remained intubated for two hours in the post-anesthesia care unit before being extubated uneventfully.
Crime and Justice in Japan: Implications for the United States

Examining official statistics from the United States since the mid-1960's, we see rapidly increasing rates of crime. Japan, on the other hand, has experienced rates that have dramatically declined during this same period. In fact, Japan is the only industrialized non-communist nation where crime has been decreasing. This paper summarizes the structural/cultural and justice related reasons for this phenomenon. Implications for the United States are specified.
Deforming star-shaped polygons in the plane

Given a star-shaped polygon in the euclidean plane and a vertex v of the polygon, the author characterizes all those points w in the plane such that when the vertex v moves to w along a straight line path, while all other vertices of the polygon are fixed, the polygon remains star-shaped. An example is given to show that this characterization fails for the star-shaped polyhedral spheres in the 3-dimensional euclidean space.
The initial presentation of depression in family practice and psychiatric outpatients

Most reports characterizing the initial presentation of depression are based on patients seen in psychiatric settings. It is not clear whether the difficulty in identifying depression in medical clinic outpatients is due to physician unfamiliarity with the diagnostic criteria or because the psychiatric syndrome is not the same in early, mild cases that present with somatic symptoms. In this study, depressed patients choosing the medical clinic for care presented the same somatic symptoms as nondepressed medical patients. In comparison to depressed patients who presented to the psychiatric clinic, depressed medical patients' chief complaints were more somatic, obscure, and less psychologically focused. Depressed psychiatric patients had more symptoms on a medical review of systems checklist than did medical patients with an equivalent level of depression. When DSM-III criteria were applied, depressed patients from each clinic tended to fulfill the major and minor criteria in a similar pattern. However, the prevalence of depression in the medical setting was much lower and milder than was that presenting to the psychiatry clinic. Once present at a diagnosable stage, however, the syndrome appeared to be the same in both patient groups.
Thrombolysis in antiphospholipid syndrome: current hematologic perspectives.

Antiphospholipd antibodies (aPL) can cause thromboembolic events, but the reason for the thrombogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Studies show that the true pathogenic targets of aPL are plasma proteins involved in hemostasis (eg, β2-glycoprotein I and prothrombin). These plasma proteins in turn bind to phospholipids, leading to the misclassification as “antiphospholipid” antibodies. The hemostatic system has abundant checks and balances to avoid excess hemorrhage and thrombosis. Thus, thrombosis requires more than interrupting one protein in the complex system. This review examines host genetic factors important in predisposition to thrombosis associated with aPL and concentrates on how antibodies in antiphospholipid syndrome interact with our natural anticoagulants and lead to thrombosis.
Seroprevalence of 13 common pathogens in a rapidly growing U.S. minority population: Mexican Americans from San Antonio, TX

Background: Infection risks vary among individuals and between populations. Here we present information on the seroprevalence of 13 common infectious agents in a San Antonio-based sample of Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans represent the largest and most rapidly growing minority population in the U.S., and they are also considered a health disparities population. Methods: We analyzed 1227 individuals for antibody titer to Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Toxoplasma gondii, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus-1, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6), varicella zoster virus (VZV), adenovirus-36, hepatitis A virus, and influenza A and B. Seroprevalence was examined as a function of sex, age, household income, and education. Results: Seroprevalence estimates ranged from 9% for T. gondii to 92% for VZV, and were similar in both sexes except for HSV-2, which was more prevalent in women. Many pathogens exhibited a significant seroprevalence change over the examined age range (15-94 years), with 7 pathogens increasing and HHV-6 decreasing with age. Socioeconomic status significantly correlated with serostatus for some pathogens. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate substantial seroprevalence rates of these common infections in this sample of Mexican Americans from San Antonio, Texas that suffers from high rates of chronic diseases including obesity and type-2 diabetes.
Concentration‐dependent kinetics of pollutant desorption from soils

Sorption-desorption kinetics play a major role in transport and bioavailability of pollutants in soils. Contaminant concentration is a potentially important factor controlling kinetics. A previous paper dealt with the effect of solute concentration on fractional uptake rates of phenanthrene and pyrene from a finite aqueous source. In this study we determined the effect of initial phenanthrene sorbed concentration (q0) on the fractional mass desorption rates from each of six soils to a zero-concentration solution, approximated by including a polymer adsorbent (Tenax™) as a third-phase sink. The soils were preequilibrated with phenanthrene for 180 d. Consistent with theory, the fractional desorption rates determined by empirical curve fitting increased with q0 provided the isotherm was nonlinear. After 500 to 600 d of desorption at the steepest possible concentration gradient, all soils retained a highly resistant fraction, which ranged from 4 to 31% of q0, except for one soil at a high q0. The highly resistant fraction decreased with increasing q0 for nonlinear isotherm cases, but increased with q0 for linear or nearly linear isotherm cases. Application of a nonlinear diffusion model, the dual-mode diffusion model (DMDM), to the nonresistant fraction gave reasonably good fits. The DMDM attributes the increase with concentration of the apparent diffusivity to a decrease in the proportion of sorbate occupying immobile sites (holes) in soil organic matter. The concentration-dependent term in the expression for the apparent diffusivity correlated with either of two indices that reflect the linearity of the sorption isotherm. Bunker C oil present in one soil acted as a partition domain. The findings of this study are consistent with heterogeneous models of soil organic matter, and indicate that concentration effects should be taken into account whenever desorption rate is important.
Phase I trial of docetaxel given every 3 weeks and daily lenalidomide in patients with advanced solid tumors

Purpose Cytotoxic and anti-angiogenic drugs are efficacious in malignancies. This trial was undertaken to evaluate the toxicity of a novel regimen combining docetaxel and lenalidomide. Patients and methods Patients with advanced solid tumors were eligible. Docetaxel was administered on day 1, and lenalidomide was given on days 1–14 of each 21-day cycle. Since significant myelosuppression occurred, pegfilgrastim was added on day 2. Dose limiting toxicity (DLT) was defined as ≥grade 3 non-hematologic toxicity, grade 4 neutropenia with fever, or grade 4 anemia or thrombocytopenia. Results Thirty-three patients were enrolled. DLTs included neutropenia, nausea/vomiting, and dyspnea. Of the evaluable patients, 69% had stable disease, and 3% had partial response. Conclusions This regimen was well tolerated and provided stable disease in the majority of advanced cancer patients. The recommended phase II dosing is docetaxel 75 mg/m2 on day 1, lenalidomide 25 mg on days 1–14, and pegfilgrastim 6 mg on day 2, given every 3 weeks.
Adaptive vector quantization for image coding in an entropy-constrained framework

An adaptive entropy-constrained codebook design algorithm for vector quantization (VQ) of image data is proposed. The algorithm iteratively updates the code vectors of an initial general-purpose codebook C/sub T/ in order to generate an improved operational codebook C/sub O/ that is well-adapted to the statistics of a particular image or sub-image. Unlike other approaches, the rate-distortion trade-offs associated with transmitting updated code vectors to the decoder are explicitly considered in the design. An optimal trade-off is made possible by the entropy-constrained framework. For any image, the algorithm guarantees that the operational codebook C/sub O/ will have rate-distortion performance (including all side-information) better than or equal to that of any initial codebook C/sub T/. When coding the "Barbara" image, improvement at all rates is demonstrated with gains of up to 3 dB in PSNR observed. >
Regression line analysis of neutrophil chemotaxis

Abstract Polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemotaxis and chemokinesis, in the micropore filter assay, have been evaluated using Regression Line Analysis. The method discriminates between migration rate and the number of migrating cells by statistical comparison of the slope of the regression line and the γ -intercept, respectively. The derivation of this new method of assessment of cell migration is reported. This report also includes critical evaluation of the chemokinesis dose/ response curve and the directional component of chemotaxis. The effect of inhibitors of chemotaxis were evaluated using the new method. Colchicine was found to effect the directional component of chemotaxis, as indicated by decreased rate of locomotion in chemotaxis experiments, and had no effect on random migration and chemokinesis. Cytochalasin B had a general inhibitory effect upon cell locomotion by depressing the rate of random migration and chemotaxis. 1-Tosylamide-2-phenylethyl chloromethylketone (TPCK) had the apparent effect of uncoupling the receptor and effector mechanisms of chemotaxis, or altering the binding of the chemotactic ligand, since random migration was unaffected but the rate of chemotaxis and chemokinesis were depressed. Ionophore A23187 had a generalized inhibitory effect on the cell rate under all three conditions; however, at low concentrations it induced an increase in the number of migrating cells. These studies indicate that the method of regression line analysis is effective in differentiating in vitro the mechanisms of chemotaxis inhibition. The method may be used effectively in the assessment of defective neutrophil chemotaxis in disease states and may prove a useful adjunct to the study of cell locomotory mechanisms.
Childhood perceptions of family, social support, parental alcoholism, and later alcohol use among African American college students

This study investigated differences in alcohol use, family of origin, and social support between a sample of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs, 25 males and 25 females), and a sample of adult children of non-alcoholics (non-ACOAs, 25 males and 25 females). Participants completed a battery of tests: a demographic questionnaire, the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, the Family of Origin Scale, and the Dimension of Social Support Scale. Analysis of variance revealed that the two groups differed on alcohol consumption and family of origin, with ACOAs reporting significantly less alcohol use, and non-ACOAs reporting healthier families of origin. The findings indicate that not all ACOAs abuse alcohol or struggle with social or behavioural problems.
Recent Television Scholarship and “Democratic” Evaluation

Television Culture. John Fiske Television and the Crisis of Democracy. Douglas Kellner Demographic Vistas: Television in American Culture. David Marc One Nation Under Television: The Rise & Fall of Network TV. J. Fred MacDonald
The Two-Stage Model of Emotion and the Interpretive Structure of the Mind

Empirical evidence shows that non-conscious appraisal processes generate bodily responses to the environment. This finding is consistent with William James’s account of emotion, and it suggests that a general theory of emotion should follow James: a gen eral theory should begin with the observation that physiological and behavioral respons es precede our emotional experience. But I advance three arguments (empirical and con ceptual arguments) showing that James’s further account of emotion as the experience of bodily responses is inadequate. I offer an alternative model, according to which respons es (physical states) are perceived and interpreted by a separate cognitive process, one that assigns meaning to those responses. The non-conscious appraisal process and the interpretive process are distinct, hence a two-stage model of emotion. This model is related to Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory. Their often-discussed experiment showed that interpretation can play a role in producing emotions. But they do not show that interpretation is necessary for producing emotions in general, outside of the exper imental conditions that generated unexplained arousal in subjects. My two-stage model supports this stronger claim by situating the interpretive process in a comprehensive model of emotion.
Replacement of Corn Silage with Wheat Middlings and Calcium Chloride or Sodium Bicarbonate for Lactating Dairy Cows

Abstract Five Holstein cows with ruminal cannulas were used in a 5×5 Latin square design in which one diet contained 50% corn silage (high forage control) and four diets contained 38 to 39% corn silage and 15% wheat middlings with or without addition of .45% CaCl 2 or .9% NaHCO 3 arranged in a 2×2 factorial. Diets averaged about 34% NDF. Addition of CaCl 2 to wheat middling diets generally doubled Ca concentration but decreased pH at 9h postfeeding and decreased acetate:propionate ratio in the rumen; thus, milk fat decreased from 3.70 to 3.50%. The acidic effects of CaCl 2 appeared to negate any beneficial responses of increased Ca concentration. Because few interactions were noted for the combination of CaCl 2 and NaHCO 3 , CaCl 2 would not likely be a more effective source of Ca than traditional sources. Cows fed wheat middling diets with NaHCO 3 had slightly higher ruminal acetate:propionate ratios, but milk fat percentage was unaffected compared with the ratios of cows fed wheat middling diets without NaHCO 3 . Ruminal pH was below 6.0 for all treatments for at least 9h postfeeding. Therefore, production of VFA probably exceeded buffering capacity for much of the feeding period and limited potential beneficial effects of addition of NaHCO 3 on fiber digestion and milk production. On average, cows fed wheat middling diets tended to have lower ruminal pH and acetate:propionate ratios but had higher DMI and FCM production than did those fed the high forage control diet. Results are interpreted to suggest that wheat middlings at 15% of DM are an effective substitute of corn silage for lactating cows.
Men's Aging Amidst Intersecting Relations of Inequality

Men age under the pressure of age relations and their intersections with such other inequalities as gender, race, class, nation, and sexuality. We review findings of research on masculinity, inequalities, and social gerontology, and argue that a theoretically informed combination of all three offers the best understanding. We theorize that many men are privileged by their claims on occupational niches and family care and that age relations disrupt those privileges. Age relations exacerbate inequalities among men and reverse many claims to high status. Old men find themselves doing more care work, with less recognition, and suffering effects of the activities that had maintained status in younger years. Economic dependency, loss of status, declining health, isolation, and increasing invisibility shape old manhood even as other relations shield many from the lowest status.
Fast Algorithms for Solving Path Problems

Let G = (V,E) be a directed graph with a distinguished source vertex s. The single-source path expression problem is to find, for each vertex v, a regular expression P(s,v) which represents the set of all paths in G from s to v. A solution to this problem can be used to solve shortest path problems, solve sparse systems of linear equations, and carry out global flow analysis. We describe a method to compute path expressions by dividing G into components, computing path expressions on the components by Gaussian elimination, and combining the solutions. This method requires O(m $\alpha$(m,n)) time on a reducible flow graph, where n is the number of vertices in G, m is the number of edges in G, and $\alpha$ is a functional inverse of Ackermann''s function. The method makes use of an algorithm for evaluating functions defined on paths in trees. A simplified version of the algorithm, which runs in O(m log n) time on reducible flow graphs, is quite easy to implement and efficient in practice.
Toward an Undergraduate MIS Curriculum Model for Caribbean Institutions

Colleges and universities in the United States with undergraduate programs offer undergraduate Management Information Systems programs in their business schools to complement and balance computer science and computer engineering curricula. Similar institutions in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, however, slant their computing studies overwhelmingly toward Computer Science , which produces technologists for the IT industry. Although the vast majority of their graduates are engaged in applying technology solutions to information problems in business organizations, these English-speaking Caribbean institutions offer limited MIS programs, which prepare graduates for such roles. This article examines undergraduate computing curricula in the Caribbean and compares them with others elsewhere in the world. It recommends that Englishspeaking Caribbean universities give similar prominence to MIS education in their business programs in order to equip graduates to create more effective IT-enabled business solutions.
Perceptions of research risk and undue influence: Implications for ethics of research conducted with cocaine users.

Abstract Background Despite the prominence of human laboratory and clinical trial research in the development of interventions for substance use disorders, this research presents numerous ethical challenges. Ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report, including respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, have traditionally guided research conduct. Few empirical studies exist examining substance abuse research ethics. The present study examined perceptions of beneficence and respect for persons in substance use research, including relative risk and desired monetary compensation, using an online sample of cocaine users. Methods The study was conducted on Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (mTurk), a crowdsourcing website used for survey-based research. Of 1764 individuals screened, 138 reported past year cocaine use. These respondents completed a battery of standardized and experimenter-designed questionnaires used to characterize each respondent's self-reported attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about drug use and the relative risks and desired monetary compensation associated with research participation. Results Ratings of relative risk revealed that most respondents found common research practices as less than or equal to the relative risk of everyday life. Receiving experimental medication outside the hospital was rated as the most risky research activity, but on average was not rated as presenting more risk than everyday life. Desired compensation for research participation was associated with the perceived risk of research activities. Increases in desired compensation for participation were only observed for research perceived as much more risky than everyday activities. Conclusions These findings indicate that cocaine users assess risk in a way that is consistent with standard research practice.
A secure PLAN (extended version)

Active networks promise greater flexibility than current networks, but threaten safety and security by virtue of their programmability. We describe the design and implementation of a security architecture for the active network PLANet (Hicks et al., 1999). Security is obtained with a two-level architecture that combines a functionally restricted packet language, PLAN (Hicks et al., 1998), with an environment of general-purpose service routines governed by trust management (Blaze et al., 1996). In particular, we employ a technique which expands or contracts a packet's service environment based on its level of privilege, termed namespace-based security. As an application of our security architecture, we present the design and implementation of an active-network firewall. We find that the addition of the firewall imposes an approximately 34% latency overhead and as little as a 6.7% space overhead to incoming packets.
THE RELATIONSHIP IN LAKE COMMUNITIES BETWEEN PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY AND SPECIES RICHNESS

An understanding of the relationship between species richness and productivity is crucial to understanding biodiversity in lakes. We investigated the relationship between the primary productivity of lake ecosystems and the number of species for lacustrine phytoplankton, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods, macrophytes, and fish. Our study includes two parts: (1) a survey of 33 well-studied lakes for which data on six major taxonomic groups were available; and (2) a comparison of the effects of short- and long-term whole-lake nutrient addition on primary productivity and planktonic species richness. In the survey, species richness of all six taxa showed a significant quadratic response to increased annual primary productivity ( 14 C estimate, g C-m -2 -yr -1 ) when lake area is taken into account. However, the richness-productivity relationship for phytoplankton and fish was strongly dependent on lake area. The relationship for phytoplankton, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods, and macrophytes was significantly unimodal. Species richness generally peaked at levels of primary productivity in the range of 30-300 g C-m -2 -yr -1 . For the average lake size, the highest biodiversity tended to occur in lakes with relatively low primary productivity, such as those found in the Northern Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in the upper Midwest (United States) and in the Experimental Lakes Area of Ontario (Canada). Based on short-term (3 yr) and long-term (21-24 yr) experiments, we tested whether individual lakes respond to whole-lake enrichment experiments in the manner suggested by analyses of survey data. Experimental addition of nutrients produced varied and unpredictable responses in species richness, probably due to transient dynamics and time lags. Responses to nutrient addition were taxon and lake specific. Phytoplankton showed a variety of relationships between species richness and pelagic primary productivity (PPR), depending on the history of enrichment and recovery. No significant effect of primary productivity on rotifer richness occurred in any of the experimental lakes, whereas richness of crustacean zooplankton was negatively correlated with primary productivity in both the short- and long-term experiments.
Peroxide mediated effects of homocysteine on arterial prostacyclin synthesis

The effects of homocysteine on the synthesis of arterial prostacyclin (PGI2) were investigated. Homocysteine at 10 mM and 1 mM concentration inhibited PGI2 synthesis from both exogenous and endogenous arachidonic acid. While concentrations of 100 microM and 1 microM stimulated PGI2 synthesis. Similar inhibitory effects of H2O2 on PGI2 synthesis were observed. High concentrations (100 microM and 500 microM) of H2O2 inhibited PGI2 production while low concentrations (1 microM) of H2O2 stimulated it. Catalase overcame the inhibitory effect of H2O2 (100 microM). Homocysteine induced O2 uptake and catalase inhibited the O2 uptake by homocysteine. Thus the inhibitory and stimulatory effect of homocysteine may be dependent on the oxidation of homocysteine and subsequent H2O2 generation.
Disentangling neutrino oscillations

The theory underlying neutrino oscillations has been described at length in the literature. The neutrino state produced by a weak decay is usually portrayed as a linear superposition of mass eigenstates with, variously, equal energies or equal momenta. We point out that such a description is incorrect, that in fact, the neutrino is entangled with the other particle or particles emerging from the decay. We offer an analysis of oscillation phenomena involving neutrinos (applying equally well to neutral mesons) that takes entanglement into account. Thereby we present a theoretically sound proof of the universal validity of the oscillation formulae ordinarily used. In so doing, we show that the departures from exponential decay reported by the GSI experiment cannot be attributed �
A quadtree-based image encoding scheme for real-time communication

We introduce a new scalable image encoding technique which is geared to support image communication over unreliable channels. The new technique is based on the quadtree representation of images and vector quantization. We use a mean-removal technique to separate the means image and the difference image. The difference image is then encoded as a breadth first traversal of the quadtree corresponding to the image. Vector quantization is then used to compress the quadtree nodes based on the spatial locality of the quadtree data. The number of bits allocated to each node varies in each level according to its priority. We prove that this encoding is time-efficient to generate. We also show its ability to tolerate error and to conceal it. Moreover, we test our encoding technique according to its ability to scale down gracefully. The new encoding technique proved to perform well in all aspects.
Maximizing Academic Library Collections: Measuring Changes in Use Patterns Owing to EBSCO Discovery Service

Despite the prevalence of academic libraries adopting web-scale discovery tools, few studies have quantified their effect on the use of library collections. This study measures the impact that EBSCO Discovery Service has had on use of library resources through circulation statistics, use of electronic resources, and interlibrary loan requests. Additionally, the data were compared against data from similar academic libraries without discovery systems. Findings include a strong growth in e-journal use but a sharp decline in circulation statistics. Implications of discovery on use of the print collection are discussed along with suggestions for improving integration of book and article data.---This article has been published in "College & Research Libraries vol. 76 no. 1 81-99"
When the United States Invaded Russia: Woodrow Wilson's Siberian Disaster. By Carl J. Richard. (New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Pp. xiii, 195. $38.00.)

The United States' intervention in the Russian Civil War [1918–1921] has long been a controversial subject for historians. This is especially true of the “invasion” of Siberia. Many US historians (...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Population: Increased Frequency of White-Matter Abnormalities and Temporal Lobe Atrophy

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia results from an adrenal enzyme deficiency, that causes an underproduction of glucocorticoids and sometimes mineralocorticoids and a resultant overproduction of androgens, until treatment with replacement glucocorticoids is instituted. The goal of this study was to determine the frequency and etiology of white-matter changes and temporal lobe atrophy demonstrable on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a group of children and young adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. About one third of the patients evidenced white-matter abnormalities or temporal lobe atrophy. All patients, except one with a known stroke, had normal neurologic examinations. Exposure to excess exogenous glucocorticoids in the process of being treated for congenital adrenal hyperplasia is the most theoretically appealing explanation for these MRI findings. However, the relationship of MRI findings to treatment status (over-versus under-suppressed) does not run in clear parallel.
System incremental cost calculations using the participation factor load-flow formulation

The load-flow problem is reformulated such that the use of a slack-bus generator is included only as a special case. This reformulation, known as the participation factor load-flow, includes a total mismatch variable and a defined participation vector, which, in general, distributes this mismatch to all system buses. The slack-bus constraint can still be obtained be defining a particular participation vector. In using the participation factor load-flow in the transpose Jacobian approach to the economic optimal dispatch problem, it is shown that the value of the system- lambda can be controlled such that this value represents the minimal incremental change in generation costs per unit change in system total demand with this demand distributed according to the specified participation vector. Methods using the conventional B-coefficient loss formulas or slack-bus load-flows give system- lambda values whereby the unit change in demand must be placed on a fictitious single load-bus or on the slack-bus, respectively. An extensive 28-bus, 8-generator system is included to illustrate these results. >
Silicon integrated waveguide devices for filtering and wavelength demultiplexing

Following different approaches, we have realized a number of different silicon integrated demultiplexers for WDM-based on-chip optical interconnects. We compare these devices based on their size, transmission loss, pass-band shape and tolerance against process variations.
Global vs. bandlimited basis functions in the analysis of axisymmetric reflector antennas

An available strategy to extend the moment-method (MM) technique to electrically large, smooth objects is to use global (entire-domain) basis functions. They were previously employed in the analysis of large, axially symmetric reflectors. It was shown that an average of 2-3 basis functions per wavelength (spatial-sample count) was sufficient for a convergent solution. This number contrasts with a minimum of 6-10 in the case of local functions. Apart from this advantage, global representations suffer from a major drawback: the impedance matrix filling time grows with D/sup 4/ in contrast with D/sup 2/ dependence for local (sub-domain) functions, where D is the length of the generating arc. In this work, a 'quasi-local' bandlimited set of basis functions introduced by Hermann (1990) is successfully adapted to analyze the scattering from axially symmetric reflector antennas. Besides requiring almost the same number of expansion terms as global functions, these functions permit a matrix fill time with a D/sup 2/ dependence.
Fuzhuan tea consumption imparts hepatoprotective effects and alters intestinal microbiota in high saturated fat diet-fed rats.

cope Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an obesity-related disorder characterized by lipid infiltration of the liver. Management is limited to lifestyle modifications, highlighting the need for alternative therapeutic options. The objective of this study was to examine if fermented Fuzhuan tea prevents metabolic impairments associated with development of hepatic steatosis. Methods and results Rats consumed control (CON) or high saturated fat (SAT) diets with or without Fuzhuan tea for 8 weeks. Outcomes included enzymatic and gene expression measures of metabolic dysregulation in liver and adipose tissue. Pyrosequencing was used to assess intestinal microbiota adaptations. Fuzhuan tea prevented diet-induced inflammation in the liver. Liver triglycerides of ∼18 mg/g were observed in SAT-fed animals, but remained similar to CON diet levels (∼12 mg/g) when supplemented with Fuzhuan tea. In adipose tissue, tea treatment prevented SAT-induced inflammation and reduced plasma leptin approximately twofold. Fuzhuan tea also altered intestinal function and was associated with a threefold increase in two Lactobacillus spp. Conclusions These data suggest that Fuzhuan tea protects against liver and adipose tissue stress induced by a high SAT diet and positively influences intestinal function. Further investigation of the molecular targets of Fuzhuan tea is warranted.
Inundative Release of Apanteles melanoscelus Against the Gypsy Moth

Pupae and adults of Apanteles melanoscelus (Ratzeburg) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were released in 5 plots in 3 sites in Connecticut during the summers of 1973 and 1974. Gypsy moth numbers varied from low to high in the different sites. Weekly collections of caterpillars showed consistently greater percent parasitism by A. melanoscelus in the release plots than in the check plots at all 3 sites for at least the first 2–3 wk after release. In later collections no differences occurred in the 2 sites where gypsy moth numbers were low. In the site with high host numbers, percentage parasitism in the release plots were higher than in the checks even at the 7th weekly collection after release.
TOF Measurements of Pulsed Neutrons for Texture Analysis of Low Symmetry Materials

The single crystal diffractometer at LANSCE, SCD, provides an ideal ca- pability for the study of preferred orientation in geological samples by time-of flight(TOF) measurement of pulsed neutrons. The 2-d position sensitive neutron detector with the large wave length range allows one to measure the complete dis- tribution of intensities for several poles very quickly. Each histogram covers about πt2/16 radians of reciprocal space and contains information from all possible poles visible with the wave length range used, usually about 0.5 to 5.OA. With this method complete pole figures of many lattice planes can be constructed from only 12 to 20 sample orientations as compared to over 1000 sample settings per lattice plane using conventional diffractometers. Pole figures from measurements of experimentally deformed standard samples of calcite and quartzite with a known history of deformation provide in- formation about deformation mechanisms and their temperature/strain history. This information can be applied to interpret preferred orientation of naturally de- formed rocks.
Discussion the nursing focus in checking of children's pediatric gastroscopy

Objective:To determine the nursing focus of pediatric gastroscopy.Methods:To well-prepared the psychological work with children and their parents before the operation which can obtain the cooperation of patients,to place a proper body position,to fix the mouth pad,to clean,disinfect,and sterilize the gastroscope,to sterize biopsy forceps and other accessories,to teach patients and their parents the health knowledge.Result:Among the 400 cases of pediatric gastroscopy,2 cases of patients were too incorporate to be examined,398 cases were examined smoothly without any complication and nosocomial infection.Conclusion:To carefully clean,disinfect and sterilize gastroscopy and other accessories,to teach patients and their parents health knowledge,and to well protect the staff themselves can guarantee the smooth and safe examination of pediatric gastroscopy.
HIV drug resistance among newly-diagnosed HIV-infected patients in Taizhou prefecture of Zhejiang Province

Objective To investigate HIV drug resistance( HIVDR) among newly-diagnosed HIV infected individuals in Taizhou prefecture,Zhejiang province. Methods During 2012- 2013,all newly-diagnosed HIV-infected adults in Taizhou prefecture were examined for HIVDR by amplifying and sequencing HIV-1 pol gene. HIV-1 subtype reference sequences available at the Los Alamos HIV Sequences Database were used for HIV-1 subtyping. HIVDR and viral susceptibility to ARTs were interpreted with the Surveillance Drug Resistance Mutations( SDRM) list recommended by WHO. Results Out of the 507 newly-diagnosed HIV-infected adults,416( 82. 1%) were successfully genotyped. Multiple subtypes were identified,including CRF01_AE,CRF07_BC,CRF08_BC,B,CRF01_AE / B,CRF01_BC and CRF06_cpx. The predominant HIV-1 subtype was CRF01_AE( 49. 8%),followed by CRF07_BC( 32. 0%). Thirteen participants( 3. 1%) met the WHO guidelines of having HIVDR. Conclusions The prevalence of HIVDR among newly-diagnosed HIV-infected individuals is low in the studied area. However,given high frequency of minor HIVDR among HIV carriers and the scaling up of ART in China,improved HIVDR surveillance programmes are needed.
The Use of Preventive Health Services by Disabled Children

As a measure of the use of general pediatric health services we assessed disabled children's receipt of preventive health care in relation to a control group of nondisabled children, matched by age, family size, and region of residence. The study and control subjects were identified in a household survey conducted in Minnesota in 1976 and ranged in age from 1 to 18 years. The proportion who made a preventive health visit was nearly identical in both groups. Binary variable multiple regression showed that 9 percent of the variation in outcome was explained by the independent variables, which included demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and access to health care. Disability did not contribute significantly to the explained variation, but family structure, mother's education, and mother's use of preventive health services reached the 95 percent level of significance. The results suggest that children in a community who are identified as disabled are not at a disadvantage, in comparison with the nondisabled, in gaining access to preventive health services. The use of such services by all children appears to be low when information on using school health services is not available.
Increasing incidence of metastatic prostate cancer in the United States (2004–2013)

Changes in prostate cancer screening practices in the United States have led to recent declines in overall incidence, but it is unknown whether relaxed screening has led to changes in the incidence of advanced and metastatic prostate cancer at diagnosis. We identified all men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the National Cancer Data Base (2004–2013) at 1089 different health-care facilities in the United States. Joinpoint regressions were used to model annual percentage changes (APCs) in the incidence of prostate cancer based on stage relative to that of 2004. The annual incidence of metastatic prostate cancer increased from 2007 to 2013 (Joinpoint regression: APC: 7.1%, P<0.05) and in 2013 was 72% more than that of 2004. The incidence of low-risk prostate cancer decreased from years 2007 to 2013 (APC: −9.3%, P<0.05) to 37% less than that of 2004. The greatest increase in metastatic prostate cancer was seen in men aged 55–69 years (92% increase from 2004 to 2013). Beginning in 2007, the incidence of metastatic prostate cancer has increased especially among men in the age group thought most likely to benefit from definitive treatment for prostate cancer. These data highlight the continued need for nationwide refinements in prostate cancer screening and treatment.
Parathyroidectomy for Adenoma

Parathyroidectomy is performed differently depending upon the preoperative diagnosis. This chapter describes parathyroid resection for adenoma. Subsequent chapters describe techniques used in other situations. The chapter lists indications, essential steps, common technical variations, and complications of the procedure. A detailed template operative dictation note is included.
Which Firms Benefit from Strengthening Contract Enforcement? Foreignness as an Asset at Exit in Emerging Economies Private Equity

This paper explores how the value of foreignness is affected by institutional change over the life of private equity (PE) deals in emerging economies. I find that strengthening formal contracting institutions actually lower returns for deals managed by internationally experienced PE firms from OECD countries, while the effect on investments held by emerging economy PE firms is relatively more positive. The separation between local and foreign PE firms is not explained by differences in investee revenue growth, which is negatively affected by institutional change across the board. But separation is explained, at least in part, by the greater value of foreign resources like global buyer contacts and reputation when formal contracting is weaker at the time of final sale.
The Influence of Parental Identification on Attitudes in Same-Sex Families

ABSTRACTWithout the ability to be legally married in most U.S. states until 2015, same-sex couples did not have the rights and privileges of married or once-married couples. Even with the changing legality and increasing social acceptance of same-sex marriage, the relationship between nonbirth parents and children in same-sex parented families is often not recognized as a legitimate child-parent bond. The focus of this article is to investigate how attitudes related to social networks and the language used to identify parental figures likely contribute to the binary gender-role structure of the family. Using data from a self-administered survey, I examine whether nonbirth and birth parents hold distinct attitudes about social concepts that are relevant to their lives.
The critical role of a well-articulated, coherent design in professional development: an evaluation of a state-wide two-week program for mathematics and science teachers

This evaluation study examined a state-wide professional development program composed of two institutes, one for mathematics teachers and one for science teachers, each spanning two weeks. The program was designed to help teachers transform their practice to align with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards. Data from this mixed-methods design consisted of observations, interviews, focus groups, institute documents and participant surveys. Participants experienced inquiry-based, content-specific, focused grade-band sessions, yet in some ways results indicated that the experiences fell short of having a potentially transformative effect on classroom teaching. The evaluation used a professional development framework to analyze how a seemingly well-designed program became disconnected from the participants’ classroom teaching experience. Recommendations focus on ways for policy-makers, school leaders and professional development facilitators to use the professional ...