cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Racial/ethnic differences in health insurance adequacy and consistency among children: Evidence from the 2011/12 National Survey of Children's Health.

Background Surveillance of disparities in healthcare insurance, services and quality of care among children are critical for properly serving the medical/healthcare needs of underserved populations. The purpose of this study was to assess racial/ethnic differences in children's (0 to 17 years old) health insurance adequacy and consistency (child has insurance coverage for the last 12 months). Design and methods We used data from the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children's Health (n=79,474). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the distribution and influence of several sociodemographic/family related factors on insurance adequacy and consistency across different racial/ethnic groups. Results Stratified analyses by race/ethnicity revealed that white and black children living in households at or below 299% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) were approximately 29 to 42% less likely to have adequate insurance compared to children living in families of higher income levels. Regardless of race/ethnicity, we found that children with public health insurance were more likely to have adequate insurance than their privately insured counterparts, while adolescents were at greater risk of inadequate coverage. Hispanic and black children were more likely to lack consistent insurance coverage. Conclusions This study provides evidence that racial/ethnic differences in adequate and consistent health insurance exists with both white and minority children being affected adversely by poverty. Establishing outreach programs for low income families, and cross-cultural education for healthcare providers may help increase health insurance adequacy and consistency within certain underserved populations.
Stratified case-based reasoning: reusing hierarchical problem solving episodes

Stratified case-based reasoning is a technique in which abstract solutions produced during hierarchical problem solving are used to assist case-based retrieval, matching, and adaptation. We describe the motivation for the integration of case-based reasoning with hierarchical problem solving, exemplify its benefits, detail a set of algorithms that implement our approach, and present their comparative empirical evaluation on a path planning task. Our results show that stratified case-based reasoning significantly decreases the computational expense required to retrieve, match, and adapt cases, leading to performance superior both to simple case-based reasoning and to hierarchical problem solving ab initio.
Benefits of Focus vs. Heterogeneity: An Analysis of Corporate Boards

We study the costs and benefits of dispersion in directors’ incentives and ability within corporate boards. Director incentive is measured by their ownership in the firm and number of outside directorships help by each director. Director ability is measured based on the experience of directors in other industries and the age of the companies in other directorship appointments of each director. Directors exhibit a considerable amount of heterogeneity in their ownership in the firm, number of outside board appointments, and the characteristics of the other companies in which directors hold appointments. Firm and industry characteristics appear to affect the preference towards more versus less board heterogeneity. Board heterogeneity has significant effects on firm value and key firm decisions that cannot be explained by board composition, size, and expertise levels. Heterogeneity in director industry expertise is associated with lower firm value, which underscores the importance of focus in director appointments. Heterogeneity in director ownership incentives similarly has a negative effect on firm value. Heterogeneous boards compensate the CEO with less incentive pay and higher total pay. We also find that board heterogeneity is associated with lower cash holdings, higher dividends, and higher leverage.
Crack Growth Behavior and SIF’s as Observed by Optical Methods

A laboratory based experimental method consisting of a marriage between frozen stress photoelasticity and the near tip equations of linear elastic fracture mechanics is applied to two three dimensional cracked body problems. Stress intensity factor distributions were determined for cracks in models of nuclear pressure vessels and rocket motor grain providing validation of numerical results.
Description, characterization, and evaluation of an online social networking community: the American Cancer Society's Cancer Survivors Network®.

To describe (a) the conceptualization, purpose, and features of The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network® (CSN; http://csn.cancer.org ), (b) the ongoing two-phase evaluation process of CSN, and (c) the characteristics of CSN members. An online opt-in self-report survey of CSN members (N = 4762) was conducted and digital metrics of site use were collected. Annually, CSN attracts over 3.6 million unique users from over 200 countries/territories. Most commonly used site features are discussion boards (81.1%), the search function (63.8%), and the member resource library (50.2%). The survey sample is mostly female (69.6%), non-Hispanic white (84.1%), and self-identified as a cancer survivor (49.8%), or both cancer survivor and cancer caregiver (31.9%). A larger number of survey respondents reported head and neck cancer (12.5%), relative to cancer incidence/prevalence data. The volume of CSN traffic suggests high demand among cancer survivors and caregivers for informational and/or emotional support from other cancer survivors and caregivers. CSN may be particularly beneficial for individuals with rare cancers. Furthermore, this study documents a group of individuals whose cancer experience is multifaceted (e.g., survivors became caregivers or vice versa), and for whom CSN has the capacity to provide support at multiple points during their cancer experiences. CSN is a free, internet-based social networking site available to all cancer survivors and caregivers, worldwide. Evaluation of the site is ongoing and will be used to inform improvements to usability, reach, recruitment, retention, and potential health impact(s) of this valuable resource.
Hierarchical Bayesian Analyses for Modeling BOLD Time Series Data

Hierarchical Bayesian analyses have become a popular technique for analyzing complex interactions of important experimental variables. One application where these analyses have great potential is in analyzing neural data. However, estimating parameters for these models can be complicated. Although many software programs facilitate the estimation of parameters within hierarchical Bayesian models, due to some restrictions, complicated workarounds are sometimes necessary to implement a model within the software. One such restriction is convolution, a technique often used in neuroimaging analyses to relate experimental variables to models describing neural activation. Here, we show how to perform convolution within the R programming environment. The strategy here is to pass the convolved neural signal to existing software package for fitting hierarchical Bayesian models to data such as JAGS (Plummer 2003) or Stan (Carpenter et al. 2017). We use the convolution technique as a basis for describing neural time series data and develop five models to describe how subject-, condition-, and brain-area-specific effects interact. To provide a concrete example, we apply these models to fMRI data from a stop-signal task. The models are assessed in terms of model fit, parameter constraint, and generalizability. For these data, our results suggest that while subject and condition constraints are important for both fit and generalization, region of interest constraints did not substantially improve performance.
The Roles of Initiating Truncal Mutations in Human Cancers: The Order of Mutations and Tumor Cell Type Matters

We propose that initiating truncal mutations plays a special role in tumor formation by both enhancing the survival of the initiating cancer cell and by selecting for secondary mutations that contribute to tumor progression, and that these mutations often act in a tissue-preferred fashion. Here, we explain why inherited mutations often have different tissue specificities compared with spontaneous mutations in the same gene. Initiating truncal mutations make excellent neo-antigens for immunotherapy, and understanding why one mutation selects for a second mutation in a particular tissue type could one day aid in the design of gene-targeted combination therapies.
The Academic Response-to-Failure Scale: Predicting and Increasing Academic Persistence Post-Failure:

When students experience failure in the pursuit of a marketing degree (e.g., on a test or a course), do they persist or relent their academic efforts? Relenting can lead to long-term academic failu...
A Review of Debates in Geography Education, 2nd Edition Through Three Lenses

Edited by Mark Jones and David Lambert, Debates in Geography Education, 2nd edition (2018) is part of a series of books in the Debates in Subject Teaching series produced by Routledge, with the fir...
Peutz-Jeghers Type Polyp of the Appendix with Review of Literature

Hamartomatous polyps of Peutz-Jeghers type are strongly associated with Peutz-Jeghers polyposis syndrome and are predominantly encountered in the small intestine. Sporadic cases are uncommonly reported. We report a case of a polyp identified incidentally in the appendix of a patient undergoing diagnostic imaging due to a history of hepatitis C infection. Histopathologic evaluation after appendectomy showed a polyp with bands of muscularis mucosae bundles with arborizing architecture and variable amounts of inspissated mucin, morphologically indistinguishable from Peutz-Jeghers type hamartomatous polyp. A family or personal history of abdominal cancers was not reported by the patient, suggesting a sporadic occurrence. Next generation sequencing revealed only two pathogenic low-level STK11 mutations, presumed to be somatic. In conclusion, this is an unusual case of a sporadic Peutz-Jeghers type polyp occurring in the appendix.
The Academy Of Transdisciplinary Education And Research (ACTER)

Education is a revolutionary concept that has continued to evolve since the times when Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other great philosophers would come together with their followers in a room to discuss knowledge and exchange their ideas. Had Plato not suggested his brilliant concept of knowledge being presented to many in a place of learning, which we would call a building or an academy, education might have remained within the boundaries of small rooms to be shared by only a select few. Like those great thinkers of old, our group has met together with followers on a regular basis, discussing the possible directions that education and research might take in the new millennium. We were stumbling over the implications and mechanics of various interdisciplinary educational models until Dr. George Kozmetsky introduced the transdisciplinary concept. This concept has provided a light by which we have embarked on the implementation and development of a bold new educational process, the transdisciplinary model for education and research.
Minimization of Functionals: Hilbert Space, 2

We shall generalize this result in Chapter 6. The key elements in the proof are the invertibility of a linear transformation (MV(h*) here) and the use of the Implicit Function Theorem.
Esophagogastric Junction Outflow Obstruction: Are We Missing Anything?

Goals The authors aimed to compare preperistaltic distal esophageal pressure in patients with esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (EGJOO) with and without reported dysphagia. Background Manometric EGJOO is characterized by elevated integral relaxation pressure (>15 mm Hg) without achalasia. The nomenclature inherently implies that it should be associated with impaired food bolus transit and should theoretically present clinically as dysphagia. Study The authors queried an esophageal functional test database to identify patients diagnosed with EGJOO. They excluded patients who presented with ≥2 swallows with abnormal (ie, weak, failed or hypercontractile) esophageal body motility. To elucidate differences in manometric findings, the authors formed 2 cohorts of patients on the basis of a standard esophageal symptom questionnaire: those without dysphagia and those with severe or very severe dysphagia. All studies were reanalyzed to determine the distal esophageal pressure before each peristaltic wave (ie, the preperistaltic pressure) for individual swallows. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare categorical variables between groups. The level of significance was set to P Results In total, 149 patients were diagnosed with EGJOO during the study period. Of these, 42 patients with ≥9 (out of 10) peristalsis (20 without dysphagia and 22 with severe/very severe dysphagia) formed the study cohorts. Patients with severe dysphagia had significantly higher median preperistaltic pressures in the distal esophagus. Preperistaltic pressure measurements showed better sensitivity and specificity for dysphagia than integral relaxation pressure. Conclusions Elevated preperistaltic pressure is noted in symptomatic EGJOO patients. Inclusion of preperistaltic pressure in the diagnostic criteria for EGJOO may increase the clinical relevance of manometric classification.
Chapter 22 – Dynamic Biointeractions

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces biological interactions or biointeractions as ongoing energy-consuming “processes” that evolve in space and time, and have no beginning or end. A biological interaction is different from a simple chemical reaction or physical change of a system. This is due in part to the higher complexity of biological macromolecules and systems that typically exhibit a hierarchy of nonequilibrium structures ranging in size from proteins to membranes and cells, to tissues and organs, and finally to whole organisms. Biological interactions do not occur in a linear, stepwise fashion, but involve competing interactions, branching pathways, feedback loops, and regulatory mechanisms. Biological interactions are essentially “dynamic” since biological systems are never at thermodynamic equilibrium, and they are not closed systems. This chapter begins with explaining the subtleties of biological forces and interactions. It then discusses the general considerations for interactions that evolve in space and time. The Bell and Jarzynski equations related to biological rupture and capture are discussed. The chapter elaborates the concept of multiple bonds in series and in parallel. The chapter concludes with a comparison study of self-assembly versus directed assembly.
Associations between Prenatal Cannabis Exposure and Childhood Outcomes: Results from the ABCD Study

Importance In light of increasing cannabis use among pregnant women, the US Surgeon General recently issued an advisory against the use of marijuana during pregnancy. Objective To evaluate whether cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes among offspring. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from the baseline session of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, which recruited 11 875 children aged 9 to 11 years, as well as a parent or caregiver, from 22 sites across the United States between June 1, 2016, and October 15, 2018. Exposure Prenatal cannabis exposure prior to and after maternal knowledge of pregnancy. Main Outcomes and Measures Symptoms of psychopathology in children (ie, psychotic-like experiences [PLEs] and internalizing, externalizing, attention, thought, and social problems), cognition, sleep, birth weight, gestational age at birth, body mass index, and brain structure (ie, total intracranial volume, white matter volume, and gray matter volume). Covariates included familial (eg, income and familial psychopathology), pregnancy (eg, prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco), and child (eg, substance use) variables. Results Among 11 489 children (5997 boys [52.2%]; mean [SD] age, 9.9 [0.6] years) with nonmissing prenatal cannabis exposure data, 655 (5.7%) were exposed to cannabis prenatally. Relative to no exposure, cannabis exposure only before (413 [3.6%]) and after (242 [2.1%]) maternal knowledge of pregnancy were associated with greater offspring psychopathology characteristics (ie, PLEs and internalizing, externalizing, attention, thought and, social problems), sleep problems, and body mass index, as well as lower cognition and gray matter volume (all |β| > 0.02; all false discovery rate [FDR]–correctedP 0.02; all FDR-correctedP 0.02; FDR-correctedP .70). Conclusions and Relevance This study suggests that prenatal cannabis exposure and its correlated factors are associated with greater risk for psychopathology during middle childhood. Cannabis use during pregnancy should be discouraged.
Using the Jigsaw Teaching Method to Enhance Internal Medicine Residents' Knowledge and Attitudes in Managing Geriatric Women's Health.

Introduction Although studies surveying internal medicine (IM) residency program directors identify geriatric women's health as an essential curriculum topic, there are limited published women's he...
Artificial Intelligence in Quality Improvement: Reviewing Uses of Artificial Intelligence in Noninterpretative Processes from Clinical Decision Support to Education and Feedback

The radiology workflow can be segmented into three large groups: pre-interpretative processes, interpretation, and postinterpretative processes. Each stage of this workflow represents quality improvement opportunities for artificial intelligence and machine learning. Although the focus of recent research has been targeted toward optimization of image interpretation, this article describes significant use cases for artificial intelligence in both the pre-interpretative and postinterpretative aspects of radiology. We provide examples of how current applications of AI for quality improvement purposes across the radiology workflow have been implemented and how further integration of these technologies can significantly improve clinical efficiency, reduce radiologist work burden, and ultimately optimize patient care and outcomes.
The Biggest Explosions in the Universe. II

Supermassive primordial stars are expected to form in a small fraction of massive protogalaxies in the early universe, and are generally conceived of as the progenitors of the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs). Supermassive stars with masses of ~55,000 M_Sun, however, have been found to explode and completely disrupt in a supernova (SN) with an energy of up to ~10^55 erg instead of collapsing to a BH. Such events, ~10,000 times more energetic than typical SNe today, would be among the biggest explosions in the history of the universe. Here we present a simulation of such a SN in two stages. Using the RAGE radiation hydrodynamics code we first evolve the explosion from an early stage through the breakout of the shock from the surface of the star until the blast wave has propagated out to several parsecs from the explosion site, which lies deep within an atomic cooling dark matter (DM) halo at z ~ 15. Then, using the GADGET cosmological hydrodynamics code we evolve the explosion out to several kiloparsecs from the explosion site, far into the low-density intergalactic medium. The host DM halo, with a total mass of 4 x 10^7 M_Sun, much more massive than typical primordial star-forming halos, is completely evacuated of high density gas after 70 Myr. The chemical signature of supermassive star explosions may be found in such long-lived second-generation stars today.
Assessing Privacy and Security of Information Systems from Audit Data

We investigated publicly reported security breaches of internal controls in corporate information systems to determine whether U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) data are information bearing with respect to breaches of security and privacy. The issue has grown in importance as information systems breaches have steadily grown costlier and more frequent. Our analysis supports a high predictability for credit card breaches, portable device related breaches and breaches conducted by firm insiders. Our study also found evidence that employees are subverting particularly strict internal controls by using portable devices that can be carried outside the physical boundaries of the firm. In general, auditing and corporate data filed with the SEC was non-informative with regard to breaches involving unintended disclosures, physical losses, hacking and malware and workplace computers. Scope and fees associated with auditing are significant factors in predicting security breaches, whereas assessments of internal controls effectiveness was shown to be less significant for prediction.
Fatigue-Free Electrodes Enabled Joule Heating Device for Wearable Thermotherapy

Wearable Joule heating devices have received tremendous attention from researchers due to their applications in personal thermal management systems, like thermal management cloth, and healthcare application, such as wearable thermotherapy. Permeability, stretchability, dynamic stability, and conductivity are essential factors for electrothermal heating devices. Wearable devices usually work under cyclic loading of low stain, so fatigue, mechanical failure induced by cyclic loading at low strain level, is a common disease for metal electrodes. Fatigue-free materials are of great importance to ensure robustness for long-term application. Stretchable electrodes, such as noble metal nano mesh, conductive fillers-based elastomer and metal nanowires have been used to fabricate wearable heater. Liquid metal (LM) has also attracted lots of attention due to its high conductivity and fluidity at room temperature. Such fluidity not only makes LM attractive materials for flexible devices, but also render LM fatigue-free attribute. Many manufacturing methods, such as direct ink writing, screen printing and spray coating have been applied to fabricate LM based electrodes for flexible devices. Recently, electrospun technique have also been applied to fabricate LM particles doped polymer fibers, but LM based conductive fiber electrodes have not yet been fabricated using electrospun process. Here, a LM particles embedded fibers network electrode is fabricated using electrospun method, followed by wrapping a polymer layer on the fiber surface. The LM particles embedded in the electrospun fibers form interconnected network, which exhibits excellent electrical conductivity, high mechanical stretchability, and good fatigue performance. Such network electrode could be directly used as a Joule heater, which is permeable, stretchable and fatigue-free. High conductivity of the electrodes ensures low driving voltage for this electrothermal heating devices. High stretchability of the electrode ensures good Joule heating performance at high strain level. In addition, the uniform fibers size could induce large-scale uniform heating. The LM fiber electrodes could be cut into various patterns to fit curvilinear surface of human skin. Also, the ultrathin and compliant nature of the LM fiber electrode enable seamless attachment with human skin, which could ensure high thermal transfer efficiency. The combination of good electrical and mechanical performances of the LM fiber-based Joule heater enable long-term wearable thermotherapy.
The effects of sex and landing task on hip mechanics.

Prevalence of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome is common in cutting sports. A first step to understanding the relationship between cutting sports and the development of femoroacetabular imping...
Nonlinear Discrete Element Analysis of Frames

A discrete element model of plane frame members is presented that can represent the nonlinear behavior of plane frame members. Nonlinear stress-strain curves, nonlinear soil support characteristics, and the nonlinearities associated with the change in geometry of the structure under load are handled simultaneously in the discrete element model. The tangent stiffness method is used in developing an iterative solution for the displacements of the frame joints. The solution has been programmed and is capable of solving a wide variety of practical problems such as large plane frame supported on piles driven into a highly nonlinear soil and subjected to complex loading conditions that cause large displacements, nonlinear stress-strain response, and nonlinear soil structure interaction.
Violence on the Fringes: The Virginia (1622) and Amboyna (1623) Massacres: Violence on the Fringes

Two events, both labelled massacres by the English who suffered death at the hands of their rivals, took place within the space of a year on opposite sides of the globe and in widely different overseas contexts. The first episode took place in Virginia in March 1622, when Opechancanough and his soldiers killed one-third of the English colonists in a surprise attack. The second episode transpired in February 1623 in the Spice Islands, when Dutch East India Company officials in Ambon suspected English East India Company employees of conspiring with Japanese soldiers to seize the trading post, interrogated and tried them, and executed twenty-one men. This episode, known in England by 1624 as the ‘Amboyna massacre’, endured as a meaningful frame of reference well into the eighteenth century. This article explores the particular contexts of each episode and analyses what violence meant to different participants. It investigates how each event became a ‘massacre’ to survivors and to observers in England. In both Virginia and Amboyna, the English were victims, not perpetrators, of violence, and thus these events offer an opportunity to explore how victims of violence deployed their ordeals, in pamphlets, images, plays, and songs, to further their own ends. Labelled as massacres, these two episodes acquired a meaning apart from the actual course of events, helping the English to reassess their overseas goals, to re-evaluate their prospects and to define themselves anew.
An ultra-low latency routing node for optical packet interconnection networks

The design of low latency optical interconnect switching node has been confirmed. Six of such nodes have been successfully fabricated on a single 6" /spl times/ 19" PCB and have been arranged into a switching fabric subsystem. The latency of each node is 16.4 ns and the required deadtime is 2.0 ns, and because the node itself is payload-transparent, there is almost no limit to the bandwidth of the packets which it can route. Further design improvements will reduce the latency and improve address processing functionality.
Completion Procedures as Semidecision Procedures

In this paper we give a new abstract framework for the study of Knuth-Bendix type completion procedures, which are regarded as semidecision procedures for theorem proving.
HgCdTe Detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 IR Channel

Detector performance has been characterized for the HST WFC3 IR channel. This will be the first TEC cooled IR instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which is made possible because of recent progress in HgCdTe technology. The original detector requirements are compared with the performance of the delivered devices. Achievements in quantum efficiency and dark current are described, as well as difficulties in meeting requirements for noise and dark stability. A special technique developed to illuminate a single pixel, which has demonstrated the excellent spatial resolution of the detectors is described.
The DNA-binding region of RAG 1 is not a homeodomain

Functional annotation is used to catalog information that would be of value in experimental design and analysis but annotations in public databases are often incorrect. Here, one such case is discussed.
Angiotensin-II-induced increase in transcoronary protein clearance: role of hypertension vs. nitric oxide or cyclo-oxygenase products.

Elevations in plasma angiotensin II (AngII) are associated with an efflux of plasma macromolecules into the perivascular and contiguous interstitial space. Whether this exudative response is related to associated hypertension or another effect of AngII is uncertain. We therefore monitored plasma and cardiac lymph total protein, albumin and fibronectin and calculated transvascular clearances for total protein (TVPC) and albumin (TVAC) and lymph fibronectin transport (LFT) every 30 min in open-chested, instrumented dogs. After baseline observations were obtained over 30 min, pressor (250 ng · kg · min−1) or nonpressor (11 ng · kg · min−1) doses of AngII were given intravenously for 90 min. Saline-treated, instrumented dogs served as controls. To address a potential secondary effect of AngII on vascular protein clearance, we monitored lymph prostaglandin E2 and cGMP (a marker of released nitric oxide, NO). At ≥ 30 min, each dose of AngII was associated with a significant ( P ≤ 0.05) and comparable increase in TVPC, TVAC and LFT over baseline, indicating that increase in protein clearance was not related to elevated arterial pressure. Lymph cGMP rose significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) at 30 min for each dose of AngII and remained elevated thereafter. Lymph PGE2 was increased at ≥ 60 min ( P ≤ 0.05) but only with the pressor dose. To determine the contribution of NO and PGE2 on AngII-induced transcoronary protein clearance, each dose of AngII was accompanied by co-administration of either the NO synthase inhibitor, N G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), or the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin. l-NAME completely inhibited the release of cGMP and the increase in protein clearance was not seen. Indomethacin suppressed the release of PGE2, but did not prevent the increase in protein clearance. Thus, AngII-induced increase in transcoronary protein clearance is not related to arterial hypertension or the release of PGE2, but instead appears to be mediated by NO release.
Food Aid and the Famine Relief Argument (Brief Return)

Recent publications by Pogge (Global ethics: seminal essays. St. Paul: Paragon House 2008) and by Singer (The life you can save: acting now to end world poverty. New York: Random House 2009) have resuscitated a debate over the justifiability of famine relief between Singer and ecologist Garrett Hardin in the 1970s. Yet that debate concluded with a general recognition that (a) general considerations of development ethics presented more compelling ethical problems than famine relief; and (b) some form of development would be essential to avoiding the problems of growth noted by Hardin. Better than renewing the debate, we should recognize two points. First, food needs do indeed evoke a moral response that is more direct and compelling than the philosophical positions often generated to rationalize a duty to bring aid. As such the argument for feeding hungry people cannot be generalized into a paradigm for development ethics without distortions that undercut the morally valid elements in Singer’s original argument. Second, contrary to prevailing assumptions in present day development ethics, food aid and famine relief continue to be important priorities for international agencies, notably the World Food Program. Emergency food assistance, the nominal topic of Singer’s original article, thus is an important issue for agricultural as well as development ethics, though one that should indeed be seen as distinct from more complex duties to address the conditions of chronic poverty and underdevelopment.
Traditional-Age Students Becoming At-Risk: Does Working Threaten College Students' Academic Success?.

Using survey information from undergraduate students who work while attending two urban commuter institutions in Indiana, this study explores evidence that on average undergraduates under 21 years of age worked more than 31 hours a week while also enrolled in a full course load. The findings in this study indicate that grade point average and possibly course completion were influenced by working more hours per week.
Fetal endoscopic (Fetendo) surgery : the relationship between insufflating pressure and the fetoplacental circulation

Application of video-endoscopic surgery to the gravid uterus provides a new treatment option for the fetus with a correctable congenital anomaly. "Fetendo" surgery requires temporary enlargement of the uterine cavity to create a working space. Volume expansion of the amniotic space raises intrauterine pressure, which could increase placental vascular resistance and thereby reduce placental blood flow. To test this hypothesis, the authors developed a fetal sheep model to examine the relationship between insufflating pressure and flow in the placental circulation. Fetoplacental blood flow was measured via ultrasonic flow probes placed around the fetal common umbilical artery and the maternal uterine artery in five anesthetized 120-day-gestation ewes. Invasive feto-maternal monitoring permitted synchronous measurement of fetal mean arterial pressure, fetal central venous pressure, maternal mean arterial pressure, amniotic pressure, and fetal oxygen saturation, with calculated values for fetal and maternal placental vascular resistance. Amniotic pressure was raised from 10 mm Hg to 40 mm Hg in 5-mm Hg increments by a combination of saline amnioinfusion and external uterine compression. At amniotic pressures of 20 mm Hg or less, placental blood flow was preserved; however, elevation of amniotic pressure above 20 mm Hg resulted in a significant decrease in placental flow, with concomitant fetal hypoxia. The authors conclude that the relationship between intrauterine pressure, flow in the placental circulation, and fetal oxygen delivery must be considered when selecting intrauterine insufflation pressures for hysteroscopic intervention.
Contraceptive efficacy and patient acceptance of Lunelle.

Purpose To review the efficacy, safety, and patient acceptance of the LunelleTMmonthly contraceptive injection and to raise awareness of this new contraceptive in the United States. Data Sources Worldwide scientific literature, reports of clinical trials, and manufacturers’ product information and guidelines. Conclusions LunelleTM is a combined hormonal method with a safety/tolerability profile comparable to that of oral contraceptives (OC) and a high efficacy rate and provides a rapid return of fertility after discontinuation. Moreover, LunelleTM was well accepted in a large clinical trial, with satisfaction levels similar to those of new-start OC users. Implications for Practice Oral contraceptives are the most popular hormonal birth control method in the United States; however, typical use is associated with higher failure rates than those observed with perfect use because of poor compliance. Poor compliance has been attributed in part to the need for daily administration. A new contraceptive method that does not require daily administration and is readily reversible may be suitable for many women, resulting in better overall efficacy.
Review of in vitro activity of sertaconazole nitrate in the treatment of superficial fungal infections

The evaluation of susceptibility patterns of clinical and laboratory isolates of dermatophytes and Candida to sertaconazole nitrate has been determined using macrodilution and microdilution test methods in laboratories worldwide. Antimycotics that have been compared to sertaconazole nitrate include itraconazole, clotrimazole, miconazole, and terbinafine. A comparison of the minimum inhibitory concentrations clearly shows differences in potency and spectrum among the various agents. This article reviews the antifungal activity of sertaconazole nitrate against major fungal pathogens that cause and complicate tinea pedis. In light of the new topical formulation of sertaconazole nitrate, this compilation of data from the literature is helpful for relating in vitro data to the tissue concentrations required for effective eradication of cutaneous fungal infections.
Induced lactation in heifers: Effects of dexamethasone and age at induction on milk yield and composition

Milk production in heifers induced into lactation is lower than that of postpartum primiparous cows. A method to improve milk production in induced lactations may provide opportunities for increased profitability as well as increase our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate mammary gland development and colostrum composition. The present study was conducted to determine if dexamethasone administration at the onset of milking or age at lactation induction would affect milk production in heifers induced into lactation. Holstein heifers at 14 [n=20; 354 ± 38 kg of body weight (BW)] and 18 mo of age (n=20; 456 ± 30 kg of BW) were assigned randomly to dexamethasone (DEX) or control (CON) treatment groups in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with age and dexamethasone treatment as the 2 factors. Heifers were induced into lactation with daily subcutaneous injections of estradiol-17β and progesterone (0.075 and 0.25 mg/kg of BW per d, respectively) on experimental d 1 to 7. They also received bovine somatotropin (bST) every 14 d beginning on experimental d 1. Milking began on experiment d 18 (lactation d 1). Dexamethasone (10mg) was administered on lactation d 1 and 2 following the morning milking; CON heifers did not receive dexamethasone. Milk yield from d2 to 15 of lactation of heifers receiving DEX (7.8 kg/d) was greater than that of CON heifers (6.0 kg/d) but was similar thereafter through 305 d of lactation (18.2 kg/d). Milk production to d 11 was similar for 14- and 18-mo-old heifers but was greater for 18- (18.9 kg/d) than for 14-mo-old animals (17.4 kg/d) through 305 d in milk. Milk fat percentage increased initially and was greater in DEX (4.51%) compared with CON (3.53%) heifers until 21 d in milk. Milk protein and lactose concentrations were not affected by DEX treatment. Age at induction did not affect milk fat, protein, or lactose percentages. Mean milk IgG concentration declined from 107.4 mg/mL on d 1 to 5.0mg/mL on d 7 of lactation, tended to be greater for 18- compared with 14-mo-old heifers, and was not different due to DEX treatment. Administration of DEX to heifers induced into lactation increased initial milk production during the first 2 wk of lactation but this effect did not persist through 305 DIM. Treatment with DEX appeared to stimulate mammary cell differentiation but did not change the rate of decline of milk IgG concentrations. Higher milk yield in 18-mo-old heifers may be due to greater mammary epithelium, higher body mass, or both.
The pigeon's distant visual acuity as a function of viewing angle

Abstract Distant visual acuity was determined for several viewing angles in two restrained White Carneaux pigeons. The behavioral technique was a classical conditioning procedure that paired presentation of sinusoidal gratings with shock. A conditioned heart rate acceleration during the grating presentation indicated resolution of the grating. The birds' acuity was fairly uniform across a large range of their lateral visual field; performance decreased slightly for posterior stimulus placement and sharply for frontal placements. The data suggest that foveal viewing is relatively less advantageous for acuity in pigeons than in humans. The data are also consistent with the current view that pigeons are myopic in frontal vision.
Representation numbers of complete multipartite graphs

A graph G has a representation modulo r if there exists an injective map f:V(G)->{0,1,...,r-1} such that vertices u and v are adjacent if and only if f(u)-f(v) is relatively prime to r. The representation number rep(G) is the smallest r such that G has a representation modulo r. Following earlier work on stars, we study representation numbers of complete bipartite graphs and more generally complete multipartite graphs.
Seizure control and extent of mesial temporal resection

Controversy exists about the extent of mesial temporal lobe resection that improves seizure control in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. In this retrospective study, 70 patients with mesial temporal seizure activity (without evidence of tumor or vascular malformation) were surgically treated and followed for at least 2 years. The extent of mesial temporal resection was based on the findings of interictal and ictal discharges using depth electrodes, which were inserted preoperatively or intraoperatively by the orthogonal approach to the amygdaloid and hippocampal regions. Only the amygdala was resected along with the limited lateral neocortex if no epileptiform activity involved the hippocampus. The amount of hippocampal excision was determined by the extent of interictal seizure activity. The following groups became seizure free: all 8 patients with only amygdalar resection; 6 of 10 patients with amygdalar and ⩽ 1cm hippocampal resection; 23 of 38 with 1–2 cm hippocampal removal, and 11 of 14 with > 2cm hippocampal excision. In cases where there was no hippocampal resection, neuropsychological outcome compared favorably with controls. Our results suggest that although most patients with temporal lobe epilepsy require hippocampal resection of varying degrees, there is a subset in whom the amygdala may be the crucial element of a mesial temporal epileptogenic network. These patients can undergo a surgical resection sparing the hippocampus without compromising seizure outcome.
Characterizing Layouts of Outdoor Scenes Using Spatial Topic Processes

In this paper, we develop a generative model to describe the layouts of outdoor scenes - the spatial configuration of regions. Specifically, the layout of an image is represented as a composite of regions, each associated with a semantic topic. At the heart of this model is a novel stochastic process called Spatial Topic Process, which generates a spatial map of topics from a set of coupled Gaussian processes, thus allowing the distributions of topics to vary continuously across the image plane. A key aspect that distinguishes this model from previous ones consists in its capability of capturing dependencies across both locations and topics while allowing substantial variations in the layouts. We demonstrate the practical utility of the proposed model by testing it on scene classification, semantic segmentation, and layout hallucination.
Autonomous Mobile Robots: Vehicles with Cognitive Control

This book explores a new rapidly developing area of robotics. It describes the state of the art in intelligence control, applied machine intelligence, and research and initial stages of manufacturing autonomous mobile robots. A complete account of the theoretical and experimental results obtained during the last two decades together with some generalizations on Autonomous Mobile Systems are included in this book.
The school as a social system: Indicators for change

Abstract In systems analysis, the school may be viewed as a functionally differentiated subsystem of the broader social system in which it is embedded. To maintain a viable relationship with that social system, the school is subject to continual changes to meet the shifting social, economic, political, and technological forces in its environment. However, the more successful the school organization is in assessing accurately changing environmental forces, and in making appropriate adjustments to those forces, the more successful will it be in resisting temporary pressures and transitory movements and in controlling its own directions. A major research problem is to identify those organizational properties that enable the school to assess accurately new demands and to adjust appropriately to those demands. Theoretically, those properties might be expected to include: (1) operationalized statements of instrumental goals; (2) a work structure that involves interdependence in task performance; (3) participation in decision making; (4) an incentive system that utilizes performance criteria rather than expressive relationships; (5) personnel practices that encourage a cosmopolitan orientation; and (6) institutionalized provisions for change advocacy. The specification of the relationships among these properties, or variables, and the determination of means for assessing them quantitatively, are tasks that remain to be accomplished.
Genetic variation in myosin 1H contributes to mandibular prognathism.

Introduction Several candidate loci have been suggested as influencing mandibular prognathism (1p22.1, 1p22.2, 1p36, 3q26.2, 5p13-p12, 6q25, 11q22.2-q22.3, 12q23, 12q13.13, and 19p13.2). The goal of this study was to replicate these results in a well-characterized homogeneous sample set. Methods Thirty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms spanning all candidate regions were studied in 44 prognathic and 35 Class I subjects from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Dental Registry and DNA Repository. The 44 subjects with mandibular prognathism had an average age of 18.4 years; 31 were female and 13 male; and 24 were white, 15 African American, 2 Hispanic, and 3 Asian. The 36 Class I subjects had an average age of 17.6 years; 27 were female and 9 male; and 27 were white, 6 African American, 1 Hispanic, and 2 Asian. Skeletal mandibular prognathism diagnosis included cephalometric values indicative of Class III such as an ANB smaller than 2°, a negative Wits appraisal, and a positive A-B plane. Additional mandibular prognathism criteria included negative overjet and visually prognathic (concave) profile as determined by the subject's clinical evaluation. Orthognathic subjects without jaw deformations were used as the comparison group. The mandibular prognathic and orthognathic subjects were matched by race, sex, and age. Genetic markers were tested by polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan chemistry. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to determine overrepresentation of marker allele with an alpha of 0.05. Results An association was unveiled between a marker in MYO1H (rs10850110) and the mandibular prognathism phenotype ( P = 0.03). MYO1H is a Class I myosin that is in a different protein group than the myosin isoforms of muscle sarcomeres, which are the basis of skeletal muscle fiber typing. Class I myosins are necessary for cell motility, phagocytosis, and vesicle transport. Conclusions More strict clinical definitions might increase homogeneity and aid the studies of genetic susceptibility to malocclusions. We provide evidence that MYO1H can contribute to mandibular prognathism.
Stiles and Kahn reply.

In the context of schottky barrier formation and metallicity in Thulium/GaAs it is suggested that defects and chemical reaction are res- ponsible for final fermi level pinning. (AIP)
The dynamics and helium distribution in hydrogen-helium fluid planets

The simple case of a homogeneous planet without first-order phase transitions is considered and an investigation is conducted concerning a pure hydrogen planet in which a first-order phase transition takes place from fluid molecular hydrogen to fluid metallic hydrogen. Attention is also given to convection in the presence of a compositional gradient, the effects of helium insolubility in a cooling hydrogen-helium planet, a hydrogen-helium planet in its early evolution, and the case in which influence of phase transition occurs much later in the evolution of the planet.
L-glutamine supplementation in home total parenteral nutrition patients : stability, safety, and effects on intestinal absorption

A study was conducted to determine safety and efficacy of L-glutamine when added to total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions of patients receiving TPN in the home. Stability studies were first performed on various concentrations of L-glutamine in TPN solutions mixed by the Pharmix method. These showed that glutamine was stable in home TPN solutions for at least 22 days. The daily home TPN solutions of seven stable patients were then supplemented with glutamine at a dose of 0.285 g/kg of body weight for 4 weeks. The glutamine-TPN solutions were prepared weekly. Five patients received the full 4 weeks of glutamine-TPN. In two patients, administration of glutamine-TPN mixtures was stopped at the end of week 2 and week 3 because of elevations in liver enzymes. A third patient's liver enzymes rose at the end of week 4. These abnormalities subsided after discontinuation of the glutamine-TPN solution. Plasma levels of glutamine increased during the first 3 weeks of supplementation but these increases were not ...