cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Salvage chemotherapy for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: Utility or futility?

Abstract Objective To determine the efficacy of chemotherapy after failed initial treatment in patients with high risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). Methods We performed a retrospective IRB-approved chart review of all patients with GTN seen at a single institution from 1985 to 2015, including all patients who failed initial treatment. We summarized clinical characteristics with descriptive statistics and estimated progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Of 68 identified patients, 38 required >2 chemotherapy regimens. Patients were treated for GTN ( n =53), including choriocarcinoma, persistent GTN, and invasive mole; for placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) ( n =5); and for intermediate trophoblastic tumor (ITT) ( n =10). Patients with GTN had a median of 2 salvage regimens, median PFS of 4.0months, and median OS was not reached at median follow-up of 71.2months. Active regimens included EMACO, MAC, BEP, platinum- and etoposide-based combination therapies, and ICE; 8 of 53 patients died of disease (DOD). Patients with PSTT had a median of 3 salvage regimens, median PFS of 2.8months, and median OS of 38.8months. Active regimens included ICE and EMA-EP; 4 of 5 patients DOD. Patients with ITT had a median of 3 salvage regimens, median PFS of 4.1months, and median OS of 38.2months. Active regimens included liposomal doxorubicin, platinum-containing regimens, EMA-CO, and EMA-EP; 7 of 10 patients DOD. Conclusions Several salvage chemotherapy regimens demonstrate activity in high risk GTN. Multiple regimens may be required and cure is not universal.
Case 3: Fever and Lymphadenopathy in a 16-month-old Boy.

1. Nehal Bhandari, MD* 2. Anjali Kirpalani, MD* 1. *Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA A 16-month-old boy with history of wheezing presents with fever and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. He was hospitalized 3 weeks ago with fever, pharyngitis, wheezing, and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. He was discharged home with the diagnosis of viral pharyngitis and right lower lobe pneumonia. He was treated with high-dose amoxicillin, prednisone, inhaled budesonide, and albuterol at that time. Bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy was noted on physical examination during this admission but was believed to be due to acute viral pharyngitis. After completing his courses of amoxicillin and prednisone, he presents today with a return of fever and progressively enlarging cervical nodes (Fig 1). Review of systems reveals cough, fussiness, and poor appetite. There is no history of sick contacts, cat exposures, or recent travel. Immunizations are up-to-date. Figure 1. Bilateral neck swelling on physical examination. On physical examination, the boy’s vital signs are within age-appropriate ranges. His weight is 10.4 kg (45th percentile) and length is 77 cm (15th percentile). He has markedly enlarged …
Effects of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury on the blood-brain barrier permeability to [14C] and [13C]sucrose

Hepatic encephalopathy that is associated with severe liver failure may compromise the blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity. However, the effects of less severe liver diseases, in the absence of overt encephalopathy, on the BBB are not well understood. The goal of the current study was to investigate the effects of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury on the BBB tight junction permeability to small, hydrophilic molecules using the widely used [14C]sucrose and recently-proposed alternative [13C]sucrose as markers. Rats were subjected to 20 min of hepatic ischemia or sham surgery, followed by 8 h of reperfusion before administration of a single bolus dose of [14C] or [13C]sucrose and collection of serial (0–30 min) blood and plasma and terminal brain samples. The concentrations of [14C] and [13C]sucrose in the samples were determined by measurement of total radioactivity (nonspecific) and LC-MS/MS (specific), respectively. IR injury significantly increased the blood, plasma, and brain concentrations of both [14C] and [13C]sucrose. However, when the brain concentrations were corrected for their respective area under the blood concentration-time curve, only [14C]sucrose showed significantly higher (30%) BBB permeability values in the IR animals. Because [13C]sucrose is a more specific BBB permeability marker, these data indicate that our animal model of hepatic IR injury does not affect the BBB tight junction permeability to small, hydrophilic molecules. Methodological differences among studies of the effects of liver diseases on the BBB permeability may confound the conclusions of such studies.
AHNS Series: Do you know your guidelines? Perioperative antithrombotic management in head and neck surgery

Head and neck surgeons are commonly faced with surgical patients who have underlying medical problems requiring antithrombotic therapy. It is difficult to achieve a balance between minimizing the risk of thromboembolism and hemorrhage in the perioperative period. Data from randomized, controlled trials are limited, and procedure-specific bleed rates are also difficult to pinpoint. The decision is made more difficult when patients with moderate-to-high risk for thromboembolic events undergo procedures that are high risk for bleeding. This is true for many head and neck oncologic surgeries. Furthermore, although elective procedures may be delayed for optimization of antithrombotic medication, emergent procedures cannot. Head and neck surgery often represents the most challenging of all these circumstances, given the potential risk of airway compromise from bleeding after head and neck surgery.
Plantation Status and Consumer Choice

In all of American history, the southern plantation stands alone as unique. Caused mainly by the presence of slaves before 1865, and tenancy after that date, this distinctiveness has intrigued scholars for many years. Although American archaeologists have been slower to study plantations, research on plantations has been growing recently (Fairbanks 1984; Orser 1984). Nonetheless, even though great strides have been made in illustrating the material culture used at plantations, fewer archaeologists have been willing to confront the more difficult problems associated with plantation social position, economic ranking, and consumer choice. These deficiencies are unfortunate because an understanding of these sociological questions is consistent with the goals of anthropological historical archaeology.
Modeling Subsurface Light Transport with the Kernel Nyström Method

Chapter 6 presents a kernel Nystrom method for reconstructing the light transport matrix, which models light transport from each light source to each camera pixel, from a relatively small number of acquired images. This work is based on the generalized Nystrom method for low rank matrices. The light transport kernel is introduced and incorporated into the Nystrom method to exploit the nonlinear coherence of the light transport matrix data. An adaptive scheme is also developed for efficiently capturing the sparsely sampled images from the scene. Experiments indicate that the kernel Nystrom method can achieve good reconstruction of the light transport matrix with a few hundred images and produce high quality relighting results. The kernel Nystrom method is effective for modeling scenes with complex lighting effects and occlusions which have been challenging for existing techniques.
Kansas River Valley Experiment Field Introduction

The Kansas River Valley (KRV) Experiment Field was established to study management and effective use of irrigation resources for crop production in the KRV. The Paramore Unit consists of 80 acres located 3.5 miles east of Silver Lake on U.S. Highway 24, then 1 mile south of Kiro, and 1.5 miles east on 17th street. The Rossville Unit consists of 80 acres located 1 mile east of Rossville or 4 miles west of Silver Lake on U.S. Highway 24.
Traumatic brain injury and reserve

The potential role of brain and cognitive reserve in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is reviewed. Brain reserve capacity (BRC) refers to preinjury quantitative measures such as brain size that relate to outcome. Higher BRC implies threshold differences when clinical deficits will become apparent after injury, where those individuals with higher BRC require more pathology to reach that threshold. Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to how flexibly and efficiently the individual makes use of available brain resources. The CR model suggests the brain actively attempts to cope with brain damage by using pre-existing cognitive processing approaches or by enlisting compensatory approaches. Standard proxies for CR include education and IQ although this has expanded to include literacy, occupational attainment, engagement in leisure activities, and the integrity of social networks. Most research on BRC and CR has taken place in aging and degenerative disease but these concepts likely apply to the effects of TBI, especially with regards to recovery. Since high rates of TBI occur in those under age 35, both CR and BRC factors likely relate to how the individual copes with TBI over the lifespan. These factors may be particularly relevant to the relationship of developing dementia in the individual who has sustained a TBI earlier in life.
Corporeal Disenchantment or Aesthetic Allure? Henri Matisse’s Early Critical Reception in New York

When Henri Matisse’s artworks were first shown in New York between 1908 and 1912 at the photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s ultra-progressive art gallery, “291,” the images elicited a widely mixed response from their viewers.1 While many in the critical press expressed unqualified disdain at what they considered to be Matisse’s hideously deformed and contorted images of the female body, a small but highly influential group of art writers praised Matisse’s innovative ability to interweave the structures of the human body with the principles of abstract design. These opposing perspectives reflected a fundamental disagreement regarding Matisse’s depictions of the female nude, one that centered on the presence or the absence of the aestheticized figure. On the one hand, most critics felt that the artist had compromised the ideal of the nude by showcasing the corporeal excesses of the body. Yet on the other hand, a select group of reviewers applauded Matisse’s ability to traverse the boundaries between the visual and the carnal to merge the forms of the body with abstracted graphic structures.2 While such views reflect familiar ones in contemporary continental criticism, the American critical response seems to have taken an internally discursive form due to the self-localization around the Stieglitz shows.3
Intelligence in Nonhuman Primates

Intelligence in humans and other animals has been measured and defined by flexibility in problem-solving, learning, memory, reasoning, abstract thinking, planning, and communication and language, and is often associated with increased brain size. While growing and maintaining a large brain is metabolically costly, larger brains and increased intelligence have evolved in the Primate lineage. In this chapter, we discuss the theories behind the evolution of intelligence in primates, describe the methods used to study intelligence in non-verbal subjects, explore the physical and social cognitive abilities of nonhuman primates, and detail the value of the comparative approach to the study of intelligence.
The cash flow method for valuing liabilities in Canada

A number of the questions which have arisen at this conference have been answered by many Canadian actuaries. The answers we have arrived at are not quite the same answers that you might have expected to hear if you were just working in the USA. For example, we have had to ask ourselves the question ‘If you have a demand liability, perhaps a cash value, is it acceptable to value the liability of a policy as anything less than the amount of this possible demand?” We have come to the conclusion that the answer is ‘yes.’.
Mundane Management of Extreme Events: A cultural perspective on workplace violence

This article uses a micro-institutional perspective to elucidate the role of organizational culture in workplace violence and aggression. While the importance of culture is widely acknowledged in t...
Impact of a Mobilized Stress Management Program (Pep-Pal) for Caregivers of Oncology Patients: Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Caregivers of patients with advanced diseases are known to have high levels of distress, including depression and anxiety. Recent research has focused on recognizing caregivers in need of psychosocial support to help them manage their distress. Evidenced-based technological interventions have the potential to aid caregivers in managing distress. Objective: The objective of our study was to describe caregiver perceptions of the usability and acceptability, and their suggestions for future adaptations, of a mobilized psychoeducation and skills-based intervention. Methods: This study was a part of a larger trial of a mobilized psychoeducation and skills-based intervention (Psychoeducation and Skills-Based Mobilized Intervention [Pep-Pal]) for caregivers of patients with advanced illness. This substudy used a mixed-methods analysis of quantitative data from all 26 intervention participants and qualitative data from 14 intervention caregivers who completed the Pep-Pal intervention. The qualitative semistructured individual interviews, which we conducted within the first 4 weeks after participants completed the intervention, assessed the acceptability and usability of Pep-Pal. Additionally, the qualitative interviews provided contextual evidence of how the intervention was helpful to interviewees in unanticipated ways. We conducted applied thematic analysis via independent review of transcripts to extract salient themes. Results: Overall, caregivers of patients with advanced cancer deemed Pep-Pal to be acceptable in all Web-based sessions except for Improving Intimacy. Caregivers perceived the program to be of use across the areas they needed and in others that they had not anticipated. Caregiver recommendations of key changes for the program were to include more variety in caregiver actors in sessions, change the title of Improving Intimacy to Improving Relationships, provide an audio-only option in addition to video, and change the format of the mobilized website program to a stand-alone mobile app. Conclusions: The valuable feedback in key areas from individual interviews will be integrated into the final version of Pep-Pal that will be tested in a fully powered randomized clinical trial. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03002896; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03002896 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/76eThwaei)
Measurements of ECTO-NOX (ENOX) Activities

A major challenge in ENOX discovery and validation has been limitations imposed by measurements of ENOX activities. Spectroscopic strategies substantiate the periodic oscillations in low rates of NADH oxidation of cell surface-located ENOX proteins of both plants and animals. The oscillations are apparent in both continuous display and discontinuous rate determinations. Continuous displays, however, lack sufficient resolution to reveal detail seen with discontinuous rate determinations. Especially for turbid preparations, double beam or dual wavelength instrumentation is required where the sample is placed immediately adjacent to the photomultiplier tube to reduce losses in resolution from scattering. Also described are assay methods based on hydroquinone (ubiquinol or phylloquinol) oxidation and oxygen consumption for the oxidative activity and activation of scrambled RNase in the presence of cAMP substrate and from the cleavage of dithiodipyridine substrate measured spectrophotometrically for the protein disulfide-thiol interchange activity as well as the use of tetrazolium dyes.
Psychiatric Symptoms and Recent Overdose Among People Who Use Heroin or Other Opioids: Results From a Secondary Analysis of an Intervention Study

Abstract Background Drug overdose (OD) is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States and most of these deaths involve opioids. Despite research linking opioid abuse to mental illness, and evidence suggesting a large portion of opioid OD deaths are suicides, OD prevention strategies scarcely take into account mental health risk factors. Methods We examined a sample of heroin or other opioid users enrolled in an intervention study to determine the prevalence of overdose, the prevalence of suicide attempts in overdose, and whether those with higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology would be more likely to experience a recent OD compared to other opioid users. By performing bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models that controlled for poly drug use, criminal justice status, age, race, gender, and education, we evaluated the association of severe depression, severe anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, psychosis and past three-month OD. Results Just over 12% (45/368) of recent opioid users reported a recent overdose. Four of these recent overdose victims reported that the overdose was a suicide attempt. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that severe depression (odds ratio 2.46; 95% CI: 1.24, 4.89), PTSD (odds ratio: 2.77; 95% CI: 1.37–5.60) and psychosis (odds ratio 2.39; 95% CI: 1.10–5.15) were significantly associated with elevated odds for OD. Conclusions Findings suggest systematic mental health symptom screening and connection to mental health treatment for opioid users—especially those identified with OD—may be critical for OD prevention.
Cellular interactions and pattern formation in the development of the visual system ofDaphnia magna (crustacea, branchiopoda): I. Interactions between embryonic retinular fibers and laminar neurons

Retinular cells in the Daphnia compound eye were deleted at specified developmental stages and in adults to test the hypothesis that growing retinular fibers trigger the differentiation of laminar neurons, thereby recruiting them as synaptic targets and organizing them into a particular structural pattern. Deletion of retinular neurons was accomplished by producing small lesions with either ultraviolet or laser microbeams. The effects of the lesions on the eye and optic ganglion were assayed quantitatively using computerized techniques for the three-dimensional reconstruction of biological structures from serial light or electron micrographs. The following results were obtained: (1) In animals with embryonic retinular lesions, the number of laminar neurons found in adults was reduced and was roughly proportional to the number of surviving retinular cells which sent fibers to the lamina. When retinular lesions were made in adults, however, no evidence of laminar cell loss was found. (2) A reduced number of higher-order neurons (medullary neurons) was found only in animals with very large embryonic retinular lesions. (3) When retinular cells were deleted before their fibers could grow into the lamina and contact immature target cells, the laminar cells deprived of these contacts failed to differentiate morphologically before degenerating at late embryonic stages. (4) In a number of cases, optic cartridges were formed with abnormal numbers of retinular fibers and laminar neurons. These observations support our hypothesis and increase our understanding of the role of cellular interactions in the development of the arthropod visual system.
Very Flexible Solutes: Alkyl Chains and Derivatives

A detailed understanding of intermolecular interactions in liquid crystals at the atomistic level should enable us to understand how this delicate state of orientationally ordered, fluid matter manifests itself in such a wide variety of molecular structures. However, as emphasized in the preceding Chapter (Chapter 12), the information that can be extracted with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is extremely limited: we are only able to take the most rudimentary steps towards characterizing the various types of contributions that comprise the liquid crystal’s mean field the anisotropic part of the motionally averaged intermolecular interactions that persist in fluids comprised of orientationally ordered molecules. In this Chapter we review approaches to this challenging problem in the physics of liquids by focusing on the way in which flexible solutes (probes that can access distinct conformations) are ordered in nematic liquid crystal solvents. This, in turn, can help characterize the anisotropic part of the intermolecular potential acting on each solute conformer. This potential is derived from the conformer’s interactions with the orientationally ordered solvent molecules and it is designated the potential of mnean torque, V(Ω).
How Does Obesity Impact Pediatric Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstructions

Purpose: The effect of body mass index (BMI) on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have been described in the adult literature, but pediatric reports remain scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyze associations between BMI or weight and clinical outcomes in children undergoing ACL reconstruction. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 168 pediatric patients undergoing primary ACL reconstruction with at least 2 years of follow-up. BMI percentile-for-age was used to categorize children as having normal BMI (<85th %), overweight …
A Contemporary 20-Year Cleveland Clinic Experience of Nonbacterial Thrombotic Endocarditis: Etiology, Echocardiographic Imaging, Management, and Outcomes.

Abstract Background Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis, or marantic endocarditis, is rare. Contemporary data on the etiology, echocardiographic evaluation, and management of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis are limited. Methods A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed. Electronic medical records and echocardiographic records were searched for patients ages ≥18 years with a confirmed diagnosis of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis between January 1999 and November 2019. Demographic, echocardiographic, and management data were collected. Results Of 600,577 transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs) and 89,264 transesophageal echocardiograms (TEEs), 42 patients had nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (mean age: 54 ± 14.5 years; 66.7% were female). The median duration of follow-up was 8.2 (interquartile range 3.3-24.4) months. Seventeen patients (40.5%) had malignancy, 33.3% had systemic lupus erythematosus, and 35.7% had antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. Stroke was the most common presentation (59.5%). TTE enabled the diagnosis in 19 cases (45.2%), compared with TEE, which identified the condition in 33 of 34 (97.1%) cases in which it was utilized. Three-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 17 TEEs. The most common valves involved were mitral (61.9%), and aortic (23.8%) valves. Thirty-two patients were managed with anticoagulation. Ten patients underwent surgery. Sixteen (38.1%) patients died, most of whom had a diagnosis of advanced malignancy. Conclusion In a contemporary 20-year cohort, TTE and TEE played important roles in diagnosis, with superior diagnostic performance of TEE for nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis. Mortality was high, and advanced malignancy portended a worse prognosis. Management in most cases was therapeutic anticoagulation. In select cases, surgery provided favorable outcomes.
The Covid Pandemic, The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act and the Dawn of a New Age of U.S. Olympic Reform

In the fall of 2020, Congress enacted the first substantive changes in the Governance of the Olympic Sports system in over four decades. The new law, The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act, was passed in the wake of sexual abuse scandals that rocked certain governing bodies. In amending the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, the new law grants Congress the power to decertify the United States Olympic bodies, mandates greater athlete representation in governance, increases funding to protect athletes through greater support of USA Safe Sport. Aside from the decertification power, the most significant provision of the new law is the establishment of a Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics to review the governance of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (“USOPC”) and make proposals for change. The Commission’s creation comes at a crucial time in U.S. Olympic governance. Due to the governance scandals, uncertain funding and the general national sports upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this article advocates more significant changes to the Olympic structure that the commission should consider, such as direct or indirect government funding for the USOPC and the sport governing bodies in return for adherence to more stringent transparency and ethical rules. Ideas that the Commission could consider include mandatory disclosure of information such as sponsorship agreements and compensation and bonus limitations for those in key leadership positions, the appointment of an inspector-general and greater athlete involvement in the U.S. Olympic movement. The article also proposes more statutory changes such as a limited antitrust exemption and the end of special trademark protections for the USOPC.
Membrane excitability: Ankyrins keep neuromuscular junctions firing

Voltage-gated sodium channels are clustered and immobilized at high densities in electrically excitable cells. A new study shows that ankyrins are essential to tether sodium channels and prevent synaptic fatigue at the neuromuscular junction.
An Ex-Post Regulatory Impact Assessment of the U.S. Blockchain Regulatory Regime

Blockchain technology has significant impacts on financial services. U.S. regulation regards blockchain technology as a type of financial technology when it provides financial-related products or services, which belong to one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the economy. However, blockchain technology and its applications constantly present novel problems that require regulatory responses. Regulators, academics, and the business world have been arguing whether new regulations are needed to target blockchain technology and its applications, either by providing a facilitative structure (recognition) or restrictive regulatory provisions (licensing, reporting, and anti-money laundering). To properly understand whether new regulations are needed, a prerequisite, as well as the missing step, is to evaluate how the existing regulatory regime works. This article fills the gap by presenting a regulatory impact assessment of the existing blockchain regulatory regime. This article first summarizes the overall blockchain regulatory landscape at the federal level and then contains an ex-post regulatory impact assessment. The regulatory landscape consists of actions such as interpreting existing regulations; issuing official guidance, statements, or alerts; piloting blockchain-related initiatives; and enforcement. The assessment consists of three major steps. The first is to explain the problems before taking regulatory action. The second is to identify the objectives of the existing regulatory regime for blockchain and its applications, and the third is to determine whether these objectives have been fulfilled. From the analysis, this article identifies three major problems: (1) fraud and scams in the cryptocurrency market, (2) law enforcement difficulties, and (3) immature blockchain products and services. In responding to these problems, existing regulatory actions have four objectives: (1) maintaining a fair and efficient market, (2) consumer and investor protection, (3) criminal enforcement, and (4) technology innovation. These four objectives are major indicators used to assess regulatory impacts and whether objectives have been satisfied.
Safety of pediatric cerebral angiography.

Objective Catheter-based cerebral angiography is commonly used for neurovascular diagnosis in children. In this work, the authors aimed to quantify the complication rate of cerebral angiography in children, characterize these complications, and identify risk factors for complications. Methods Relevant clinical data were retrospectively obtained for 587 consecutive cerebral angiography procedures performed in 390 children from March 2002 to March 2020. Complications were categorized as neurological or nonneurological, and severity was graded using a standard schema. Incidences of complications were reported as point estimates. Associations between risk factors and complications were characterized in univariate analysis using the two-tailed Fisher exact test and in multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regression with bidirectional elimination based on the Akaike information criterion. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, statistical significance was corrected for multiple comparisons using the Benjamini-Hochberg method. Results Complications occurred in 6.5% of procedures, including neurological complications in 1.9% and nonneurological complications in 4.8%. Permanent deficits occurred in only 0.2% of cases. Overall, 0.5% of procedures resulted in major complications, while 6.0% resulted in minor complications. Female sex and a history of hypertension or ischemic stroke were associated with an increased risk of complications, while femoral artery access was associated with a decreased risk of complications. Conclusions Pediatric cerebral angiography was shown to have a low rate of major or permanent complications. Children who were female and those with a history of hypertension or ischemic stroke were shown to be at higher risk of complications, while the use of femoral access carried a lower risk of complications.
Differentiated services with statistical real-time guarantees in static-priority scheduling networks

We propose and analyze a methodology for providing absolute differentiated services with statistical performance guarantees for real-time applications in networks that use class-based (as opposed to flow-aware) static priority schedulers. We develop a method that can be used to derive statistical delay guarantees in a flow-unaware fashion. Traditionally, both deterministic and statistical delay analysis methods either depend on schedulers that keep per-flow state information, or require detailed information about flow population at delay analysis time. The fact that no such information is needed for delay analysis allows us to perform deadline tests during system (re-)configuration time. We are so able to reduce the runtime admission control to a simple utilization test. No explicit delay computation is necessary at admission time, making this approach scalable to large systems.
SYSTAT: Leland Wilkinson. Evanston, IL: SYSTAT, Inc., 1984. Documentation and Five Diskettes, $595.00 (IBM Version Reviewed)

Abstract SYSTAT appears to be a flexible microcomputer statistics system for professional statisticians. It is fast, provides clear output, and has routines for completing most common analytic procedures. In addition, the cost, although changing frequently, always seems reasonable for such a powerful package, and availability of support seems to be adequate. I would not recommend it as a teaching tool, but it could be used in a statistics course as a good example of the power of the microcomputer for statistical analysis; for most courses, it could be used in lieu of a mainframe package. I recommend it for those looking for a general purpose statistical package for most common brands of microcomputers.
The Family Festival Prevention Model: findings from a pilot of a teenage pregnancy prevention programme conceptualised by and for Mexican American communities

Despite an overall reduction in teenage pregnancy rates in the USA, the decrease for young women of Mexican heritage in the USA has been less significant than the decrease for their White and African-American peers. Furthermore, the availability of teenage pregnancy prevention models that are conceptualised specifically for people of Mexican descent is minimal. Using qualitative focus group data that were triangulated against quantitative survey data and collected from 35 young people and their parents, this paper presents findings from the pilot of a teenage pregnancy prevention model designed for and with input from Mexican American young women and men and their parents. Reflecting a favourable and impactful experience for the participants, the findings present implications for future intervention efforts and research.
The use of a continuous infusion of epinephrine for anaphylactic shock during labor.

Abstract Background Anaphylaxis is a potentially life threatening, acute, and severe systemic reaction that occurs after the reexposure to a specific antigen. This immunoglobulin E-mediated process is the result of the action of basophils and mast cell mediators, causing severe brochospasm, laringospasm, angioedema, urticaria, and cardiovascular collapse. Case We present a case of anaphylactic shock during labor secondary to administration of ampicillin for group B streptococcus prophylaxis. Generalized itching and hives were soon followed by severe maternal hypotension and tachycardia and prolonged fetal bradycardia. These symptoms responded partially to the administration of fluids and parenteral epinephrine. A continuous infusion of epinephrine was required for persistent maternal symptoms. The infusion did not result in further fetal compromise. The patient delivered a healthy fetus 4 hours after the start of the epinephrine infusion. Conclusion This case supports the use of parenteral (intravenous) epinephrine for the treatment of anaphylactic reactions during pregnancy.
Victim's Response and Alcohol-Related Factors as Determinants of Women's Responses to Violent Pornography.

Women suffer a variety of detrimental effects from exposure to violent pornography. This study examined the role of specific situational cues embedded within a violent pornographic story, as well as alcohol consumption and alcohol expectancies, to determine potential mechanisms through which these effects occur. Female social drinkers (N = 123), recruited from the community at large, participated in a between-subjects factorial experiment varying two situational cues—victim response (pleasure vs. distress) and story character beverage consumption (alcohol vs. mineral water)—and participant beverage consumption (alcohol vs. placebo vs. tonic). Results indicate that participants' identification with the victim plays a key role in affecting their responses and that alcohol-related factors appear to exacerbate the negative impact of pornography.
The Impact of CO2 Clathrate Hydrate on Deep Ocean Sequestration of CO2: Experimental Observations and Modeling Results

: CO2 clathrate hydrate is a crystalline compound that can form under temperature and pressure conditions associated with the injection and storage of CO2 in the deep ocean (below 500 m). At depths being considered for injection of CO2 (between 1,000 and 1,500 m), in the absence of hydrate formation, the buoyant CO2 would simply rise as it dissolved in the seawater. If, however, the hydrate phase forms, it will affect this process. The impact could be positive or negative, depending on how hydrate forms and whether it is associated with undissolved CO2. This paper summarizes experimental and theoretical information relating to formation conditions for the hydrate, the relative density of the hydrate, the formation of a hydrate shell on drops of liquid CO2, and the impact that a hydrate shell has on dissolution of CO2. The future direction of the work is also briefly described.
In Situ Maintenance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge on Malekula Island, Vanuatu

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) guides resource management across the globe, but is at risk amid social and ecological change. This has prompted numerous calls for TEK maintenance efforts, but these remain largely unexamined in the literature. Here, we discuss three examples of in situ TEK maintenance from Malekula Island in Vanuatu, locally known as kastom schools. Based on qualitative data, we find that the kastom schools may create several opportunities to maintain TEK (e.g., establishing local control over education), and argue that they represent the creative and adaptive management of tradition in dynamic social–ecological contexts. However, a number of challenges, both practical (e.g., lack of funding) and epistemological (e.g., changing modes of cultural transmission), threaten the efficacy of the kastom schools. We argue that in situ modes of TEK maintenance have promise, but that issues of power and heterogeneity require serious consideration if such measures are to succeed.
The structure of oxygen on W(001) by low energy ion scattering

Abstract The adsorption of oxygen on the W(001) surface has been studied by LEED, AES, and low energy alkali ion scattering in order to obtain a more detailed understanding of the short-range surface structure. Exposure at room temperature results in oxygen adsorption near bridge sites for all coverages below ∼ 0.6 ML as determined by the ion scattering incidence angle dependence. Above 0.6 ML, the oxygen adsorbs in four-fold hollow sites. When the oxygen-covered surface is annealed to 950 K, the surface reconstructs, leaving vacancies in the W lattice. This is confirmed by the observation of ions scattered from second layer W, through the vacancies, at relatively low angles of incidence. The oxygen atoms do not adsorb in the position vacated by the missing W atoms but instead adsorb atop the second W layer.
“Mod” Management Development: Does It Deliver What It Promises?

The non‐traditional management development methods implied by “mod”, including “executive image” seminars and “wilderness” training, need to be viewed cautiously if they are not to become another fad. Specifically they should act as signposts back to traditional management development efforts, in an effort to identify the weaknesses present in those schemes. Ultimately, it would be more consistent with contemporary participative practices to involve managers in the design of their own development processes.
Everyday action and the rise and decline of ancient polities: Household strategy and political change in postclassic xaltocan, mexico

Household archaeology conducted at the site of Xaltocan, an important regional center in the northern Basin of Mexico, illustrates how the everyday actions of ordinary people contribute to the rise and decline of ancient polities. Through a study of long-term change and variation from multiple household contexts, this article reconstructs how the economic and political activities of ordinary households were central to the construction and reproduction of political institutions, social structures, and regional systems of exchange from the period of Xaltocan's founding around a.d. 900 through its conquest in a.d. 1395. Along with the other contributors to this volume we emphasize that households are not simply influenced by broader processes of change and development in a trickle-down fashion, but rather that micro- and macro-structures are mutually constituted, with household decisions and actions having both intended and unintended consequences at the macroscale.
A Study in "Actuarial Justice": Sex Offender Classification Practice and Procedure

* Assistant Professor, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York, Albany. B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A., State University of New York, Albany; J.D., University of Wisconsin. 1. New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 729 (1971) (Stewart, J., concurring). 2. See, e.g., Lawrence Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American Society 335-39 (1993); Nicole Raftner, Eugenics, Class, and the Professionalization of Social Control, in Inequality, Crime and Social Control (G. Bridges & M. Myers eds., 1994); Note, Criminal Registration Laws, 27 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 295 (1936); Note, Criminal Statistics and Identification of Criminals, 19 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 36 (1928). 3. Criminal registration laws trace their origins in the United States back to at least the 1930s. See Note, Criminal Registration Ordinances: Police Control Over Potential Recidivists, 103 U. Pa. L. Rev. 60, 62 (1954). California is believed to have enacted the first exclusively sex offender-oriented registration law in 1947. See Elizabeth A. Pearson, Status and Latest Developments in Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws 45, in National Conference on Sex Offender Registries (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics 1998). The State of Washington, in 1990, became the first U.S. jurisdiction to implement a “notification” provision for sex offenders. Id. For an insightful examination of why sex offenders, in particular, historically have been singled out for special treatment, see Deborah W. Denno, Life Before the Modern Sex Offender Statutes, 92 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1317 (1998). 4. See, e.g., Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-902 (Michie 1999) (“The General
Effectiveness of Motorcycle Training and Motorcyclists' Risk-Taking Behavior:

Persistent increases in motorcycle fatalities and injuries in recent years have heightened safety awareness and have focused attention on the role that motorcyclist training and education can play in reducing accident rates. In this study a 2005 sample of Indiana motorcyclists was used to estimate statistical models of the effectiveness of existing training programs in reducing accident probabilities. Statistical models relating to motorcyclist speed choice and helmet usage behavior were also estimated. The findings showed that those individuals who took beginning rider training courses were more likely to be involved in an accident than those who did not and that those who took the beginning course more than once were much more likely to be involved in an accident. Although explanations for these findings can range from the use of ineffective course material to changes in risk perception as a result of taking the course, another explanation is that riders who take the course are inherently less skilled t...
A simple holistic hypothesis for the self-destruction of ice sheets

Abstract Ice sheets are the only components of Earth’s climate system that can self-destruct. This paper presents the quantitative force balance for bottom-up modeling of ice sheets, as first presented qualitatively in this journal as a way to quantify ice-bed uncoupling leading to self-destruction of ice sheets ( Hughes, 2009a ). Rapid changes in sea level and climate can result if a large ice-sheet self-destructs quickly, as did the former Laurentide Ice Sheet of North America between 8100 and 7900 BP, thereby terminating the last cycle of Quaternary glaciation. Ice streams discharge up to 90 percent of ice from past and present ice sheets. A hypothesis is presented in which self-destruction of an ice sheet begins when ubiquitous ice-bed decoupling, quantified as a floating fraction of ice, proceeds along ice streams. This causes ice streams to surge and reduce thickness by some 90 percent, and height above sea level by up to 99 percent for floating ice, so the ice sheet undergoes gravitational collapse. Ice collapsing over marine embayments becomes floating ice shelves that may then disintegrate rapidly. This floods the world ocean with icebergs that reduce the ocean-to-atmosphere heat exchange, thereby triggering climate change. Calving bays migrate up low stagnating ice streams and carve out the accumulation zone of the collapsed ice sheet, which prevents its recovery, decreases Earth’s albedo, and terminates the glaciation cycle. This sequence of events may coincide with a proposed life cycle of ice streams that drain the ice sheet. A first-order treatment of these life cycles is presented that depends on the longitudinal force balance along the flowbands of ice streams and gives a first approximation to ice-bed uncoupling at snapshots during gravitational collapse into ice shelves that disintegrate, thereby removing the ice sheet. The stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is assessed using this bottom-up approach.
An arabinoxyloglucan from extracellular polysaccharides of suspension-cultured tobacco cells

Abstract An arabinoxyloglucan (AXG) isolated from extracellular polysaccharide of suspension-cultured tobacco cells was investigated by methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis and 13C NMR spectroscopy. It was found that the AXG is structurally similar to that isolated from the midrib of tobacco leaves.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Electronic Structure of Met-Car Ti8C12

Photoelectron spectroscopy experiments are performed on a metallocarbohedrene, Ti8C12-, to obtain electronic structure information. The Ti8C12- anion is produced by laser vaporization of a titanium carbide target. The spectra of Ti8C12- consist of an intense threshold feature and two weaker features followed by a gap and more higher energy features. The electron affinity of Ti8C12 is found to be 1.05 (±0.05) (adiabatic) and 1.16 (±0.05) eV (vertical). The surprisingly low electron affinity and the observed electronic features are interpreted using theoretical electronic structure information. The current experiments provide hitherto the most direct spectroscopic information on the Met-Car Ti8C12.
Radio frequency coagulation to facilitate laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

The advent of cryotherapy and radio frequency ablation technology offers the opportunity to treat renal tumors in a minimally invasive fashion. Drawbacks of these techniques include the possibility of incomplete ablation and the need for aggressive followup imaging. As an alternative laparoscopic partial nephrectomy has been limited by difficult hemostasis in some cases. To overcome this problem we combined these techniques and performed radio frequency coagulation of a renal mass before laparoscopic resection. CASE REPORT A 48-year-old woman presented with left flank pain. Computerized tomography revealed a partially exophytic, enhancing 1.5 cm. left renal mass. All treatment options were discussed and the patient elected laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. She was placed in the modified flank position, and 2, 10 mm. and 2, 5 mm. transperitoneal ports were placed as for standard laparoscopic nephrectomy. The descending colon was reflected and Gerota’s fascia was opened. The middle and lower poles were mobilized, and the tumor was easily identified on the lateral aspect of the kidney (fig. 1, A). Laparoscopic ultrasound confirmed the distinct nature of the mass. Using laparoscopic visualization, the “dry” radio frequency 16 gauge, 7 prong needle electrode probe was percutaneously positioned into the lesion. The prongs were deployed to 1.5 cm. into and through the lesion (fig. 1, B). Radio frequency was delivered at 50 W. and then autoregulated to maintain an average temperature of 100C at this level for 8 minutes according to the recommendation of the manufacturer. Coagulation of the tumor was obvious with visible charring. The tumor and a 0.5 cm. margin of normal parenchyma were excised (fig. 2). Frozen section analysis of the deep margin was negative for tumor. As a safety measure the argon beam coagulator was used to coagulate the cut surface before fibrin glue was applied. There was no appreciable blood loss during tumor excision. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 1. Radio frequency coagulation did not alter cellular architecture allowing for accurate histological assessment. Final pathological examination revealed grade 2, clear cell renal cell carcinoma with negative margins, including overlying fat. DISCUSSION
Probability measures, appel polynomials and polynomial approximation

In this paper we develop an idea of O. V. Viskov concerning approximation of regular functions by polynomials. We prove, generalizing Viskov, that for every probability measure with finite moments there exists a naturally associated sequence of polynomials such that every sufficiently regular function can be approximated by sums of these polynomials. The error formulas are given in terms of the expectation of the convolution of one of these polynomials with a derivative of the function.