cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Absolute Risk of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

Purpose To determine the incidence of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) stratified by age, sex, and diagnosis with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and to determine whether some patients with newly diagnosed CSC may be candidates for OSA evaluation. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods We used the IBM MarketScan database to select 59,016,145 commercially insured patients in the United States between 2007 and 2016. We identified patients' first diagnosis with CSC, and defined patients as having OSA if they had a diagnosis following a sleep study. We specified Cox proportional hazard models with interactions between age, sex, and OSA status to determine patients' risk of developing CSC. We estimated the positive predictive value (PPV) that a new diagnosis of CSC would have in predicting a subsequent diagnosis of OSA. Results Risk of CSC increased with age in years (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.030, P Conclusion The incidence of CSC in our patient sample is higher than previously reported. Risk of CSC is higher in men than in women, and OSA increases risk of CSC in both men and women. Some patients, particularly older male patients, may be good candidates for OSA evaluation following a CSC diagnosis.
Implementation of the NC-94 hybrid storage prototype on a binary version of CanStoreX

The NC-94 dataset, that contains climate, soil and crop data for 30 years during 1971-2000 for all counties in the north central United States, is an important resource in the agricultural community. Analyzing the dataset would yield invaluable understanding for farmers, scientists, public, planners, and policy makers to improve crop practices and yields, undertake scientific studies, and developing policy. In the parametric model and its query language ParaSQL, the concept of a dimension is built at the level of primitive values. A canonical storage for XML (CanStoreX) is a technology to store large XML documents, deemed to be in terabyte range, in a paginated form on the disk that is accessed easily and efficiently requiring very small amount of main memory. CanStoreX is used as a back-end for storing NC-94 data, hiding the heterogeneity in climate, crop, and soil data in order to allow the user a simple view of counties as objects where geographical and time dimensions are implicit and taken for granted. This work has focused on loading the NC-94 database on the CanStoreX storage platform. The combination of existing parametric query constructs and an efficient storage structure will provide an important tool to researchers who wish to analyze the NC-94 dataset. The process of loading this database has also revealed important inconsistencies in the data, which we have tried to address and hence develop a more consistent view of the dataset. Previously only climate data was available and it was stored in an older version of CanStoreX where XML was stored in text form. The newer binary version of CanStoreX allows a readily available tree-like navigation in the paginated XML document. Addition of crop and soil data requires different internal representation in order to achieve a uniform view for users that is at par with the climate data. Further, the internals were conformed to use the version of CanStoreX where pages are stored in binary, rather than text form.
METASTATIC THYROID CANCER IN A MAN WITH TUMOR-FREE THYROID.

ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this report is to emphasize the importance of considering thyroid cancer in the differential diagnosis, when the origin of a metastatic boney lesion is indeterminate. Methods Diagnostic studies performed included a thyroid function test, an ultrasound, and a computed tomography (CT) scan of the neck, biopsies of the bone, and thyroid lesions. Results A 61-year-old man was found to have incidental sclerotic bone lesions in the lumbar region on CT scan performed in the setting of a prostate abscess induced sepsis. The bone biopsy suggested metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma. Imaging studies of the neck showed markedly enlarged left greater than right thyroid nodules. A surgical specimen from the staged total thyroidectomy showed no evidence of thyroid malignancy, despite a thorough review of microscopic tissue sections at 5 μm. A whole body scan 2-months after radioactive iodine therapy demonstrated persistent uptake in the metastatic lesion at L4 and interval progression of widely metastatic disease. Conclusion Metastatic thyroid cancer may be present without a histopathologic evidence of thyroid malignancy, albeit rarely. When the origin of a metastatic boney lesion is unclear, thyroid cancer should be included in the differential diagnosis. Abbreviations CT computed tomography RAI radioactive iodine Tg thyroglobulin
Exploring the Association Between Housing Insecurity and Child Welfare Involvement: A Systematic Review

Housing insecurity and involvement with the child welfare system are common experiences for low-income families. To date, previous empirical studies on family housing insecurity have focused on the most severe form of housing insecurity (i.e., entering the emergency shelter) and its association with foster care placement of the children. However, we know relatively little about the relationships between other forms of housing insecurity and types of child welfare involvement. This study, a systematic review, examines various forms of housing problems and their relationship to different types of child welfare involvement. Five electronic databases were searched and a total of 12 studies were included in the review. Overall, research findings indicated mixed findings. Most studies suggested that housing insecurity was associated with child maltreatment investigation, foster care placement and prolonged time before achieving case closure, while some studies found no relationship between housing insecurity and child maltreatment substantiation. The findings have implications for practice and research for families who experience housing insecurity and child welfare involvement.
Integrating Women's Health Education into the Internal Medicine Residency Program Curriculum.

Objectives National guidelines and the American Board of Internal Medicine have highlighted critical areas of women's health (WH) that are important to the training of Internal Medicine (IM) residents. Our objective was to assess and improve WH education in a large academic community-based IM residency program. Methods An anonymous online survey was sent to IM residents to assess their perceived comfort, knowledge, and importance, and exposure to 34 WH topics identified as critical to the training of an internist. To meet the critical learning needs of our residents, a new longitudinal WH curriculum was designed using active instructional methods. Retrospective pre-post surveys were conducted after interactive education workshops to measure their effectiveness. Results IM residents identified 13 of 34 WH topics that were critically important to their training. Of these, residents believed they had insufficient clinical exposure to prescribing contraceptives, evaluating breast symptoms, managing menopause, performing Papanicolaou tests and pelvic examinations, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Residents identified osteoporosis as their single greatest learning need. There was a strong and statistically significant correlation between residents' knowledge, comfort, and clinical exposure to WH topics. In response to these findings, the curricular methods we developed, such as problem-based learning workshops, multidisciplinary case conferences, and small-group case discussions, were found to be effective. Conclusions Our study highlighted significant gaps in our WH curriculum. Based on our findings, we redesigned our educational and experiential WH curriculum to augment knowledge, comfort, perceived importance of, and exposure to areas of need. Enhancing education and increasing clinical exposure to fundamental WH issues will promote higher quality care for women patients.
Absence of Obesity Paradox in Morbidly Obese Patients Listed for Heart Transplantation in Contemporary Era

Purpose Post heart transplant (HT) outcome of patients with body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2 (morbidly obese) remain suboptimal. However, outcome of morbidly obese patients listed for heart transplant (HT) is unknown. We sought to examine the characteristic and outcome of such patients who were listed for HT in the United States. Methods Adults listed for HT with BMI information on the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database between 2000 and 2018 were included. Characteristics and outcomes of patients with BMI≥ 35 kg/m2 or = 18.5-34.99 kg/m2 were compared. The patients were followed until death, transplant or end of data availability. Waitlist mortality and successful HT were compared between groups using a Fine and Gray competing risk hazard regression model adjusted for known risk factors. Results 55,717 patients identified: 5022 (9.0%) had a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2; 13,058 (23.4%) were female. The median (25th, 75th percentile) age was 55 (45, 61) years, and the median waitlist time was 101 (27, 299) days. Morbidly obese patients were significantly younger (51 vs. 55 years; p Conclusion Listing of patients with BMI≥ 35 kg/m2 is on rise. However, this cohort is at significantly higher risk for death and lower HT rates.
Dynamic interdependence of advice seeking, loaning, and recovery characteristics in recovery homes

Recovery homes in the US provide stable housing for over 250,000 individuals with past histories of homelessness, psychiatric comorbidity and criminal justice involvement. We need to know more abou...
Persistent Bacterial Infections: Commensalism Gone Awry or Adaptive Niche?

Researchers traditionally divide the biological relationships of equilibrium between coexisting species into three exclusive categories. The category best known to medical bacteriologists is parasitism, the biological state in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed. A second state, symbiosis, describes the situation in which both species derive benefit. The third state is commensalism, in which the host neither benefits nor is harmed. Recently, the spectrum of virulence has been categorized according to the ways in which the host facilitates the pathogenicity of the microbial biota. Ancient human populations typically consisted of small bands of perhaps several hundred individuals who interacted with other bands and tribes for purposes of warfare, commerce, and intermarriage. Researchers have classified the strategies used by the pathogen to circumvent complex host defenses as (i) sequestration, (ii) humoral evasion, and (iii) cellular evasion strategies. Certain persistent bacterial infections are characterized by the presence of a physical barrier between the microbe and the host. Careful analysis of the biology of persistence will permit new insights that can be broadly useful to science and ultimately to clinicians.
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ion-Implanted Ceramics

The effects of the direct implantation of cations into the lattice of alumina, silicon carbide, and titanium diboride have been studied. Alumina implanted with chromium, titanium, and zirconium ions remains crystalline and shows an increase in hardness and fracture toughness. Titanium diboride experiences similar trends. In contrast, silicon carbide becomes amorphous when implanted with chromium ions, becomes less hard, but shows an increased fracture toughness. The response to scratching and annealing is also discussed.
How Transparent Are Class Action Outcomes?: Empirical Research on the Availability of Class Action Claims Data

Examines the lack of availability of class action claims data and offers a set of solutions.
Anxiety in elementary school children : a report of research

The author concludes, based on six years of intensive research, that how children perceive themselves in a testing situation affects their test performance, and that for many children the degree of anxiety aroused interferes with the maximum use of their potential.
Metabolite coupling in genome-scale metabolic networks.

Biochemically detailed stoichiometric matrices have now been reconstructed for various bacteria, yeast, and for the human cardiac mitochondrion based on genomic and proteomic data. These networks have been manually curated based on legacy data and elementally and charge balanced. Comparative analysis of these well curated networks is now possible. Pairs of metabolites often appear together in several network reactions, linking them topologically. This co-occurrence of pairs of metabolites in metabolic reactions is termed herein "metabolite coupling." These metabolite pairs can be directly computed from the stoichiometric matrix, S. Metabolite coupling is derived from the matrix ŜŜT, whose off-diagonal elements indicate the number of reactions in which any two metabolites participate together, where Ŝ is the binary form of S. Metabolite coupling in the studied networks was found to be dominated by a relatively small group of highly interacting pairs of metabolites. As would be expected, metabolites with high individual metabolite connectivity also tended to be those with the highest metabolite coupling, as the most connected metabolites couple more often. For metabolite pairs that are not highly coupled, we show that the number of reactions a pair of metabolites shares across a metabolic network closely approximates a line on a log-log scale. We also show that the preferential coupling of two metabolites with each other is spread across the spectrum of metabolites and is not unique to the most connected metabolites. We provide a measure for determining which metabolite pairs couple more often than would be expected based on their individual connectivity in the network and show that these metabolites often derive their principal biological functions from existing in pairs. Thus, analysis of metabolite coupling provides information beyond that which is found from studying the individual connectivity of individual metabolites. The coupling of metabolites is an important topological property of metabolic networks. By computing coupling quantitatively for the first time in genome-scale metabolic networks, we provide insight into the basic structure of these networks.
Chlamydia trachomatis infections in children evaluated for sexual abuse

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the conditions under which children evaluated for sexual abuse should be tested for Chlamydia trachomatis. Children were seen in an outpatient sexual abuse clinic over a nine-month period. Eight patients, ranging from 1.5 to 14.5 years of age, had positive C. trachomatis cultures. The records of these patients were examined for historical information and physical findings suggestive of rectal or vaginal penetration. Neither historical information of abuse nor physical findings were helpful in predicting the C. trachomatis infections. These results suggest that all children being evaluated for sexual abuse should be cultured for C. trachomatis.
Cartographic design and the quality of climate change maps

Maps are essential in climate change research and policymaking, and are primary tools for communicating climate change information to the public. The consequences of cartographic design are potentially significant to understanding climate change and effectively informing policymakers. Yet, the cartographic design and quality of climate change maps have not been critically assessed nor systematically evaluated. We suggest that evaluating the quality of climate change maps is both timely and essential, and offer one approach as a demonstration. We use cartographic design principles to evaluate a ‘high visibility’ climate change map from the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Our specific goals are to demonstrate the need and value of cartographic critique, describe how such evaluation can be accomplished, and make a case for cartographers’ engagement with climate change scientists in mapping activities. We suggest a research and policy agenda for the cartographic evaluation and design of climate change maps.
Scintigraphy of meningiomas: Radiologic-pathologic correlations in 32 cases

Abstract Ninety per cent of meningiomas were detectible by radioisotopic imaging in both the authors' series of 32 patients and in a review of the literature, a slightly lower accuracy than by cerebral angiography. These tumors were best demonstrated in images taken 1–2 min after the intravenous injection of 99m Tc pertechnetate. The tumor concentration tended to fade after one to several hours, unlike the majority of intracerebral tumors which often show an increasing concentration with time. Eighty-one per cent of these meningiomas showed increased perfusion in "first transit" rapid sequential images, usually appearing about 15 sec after injection. This abnormal perfusion tends to be more marked, appears later and persists longer than in most intracerebral neoplasms. The perfusion study does not improve the tumor detection rate but helps to identify them as meningiomas. A reasonable correlation was found between the degree of increased tumor perfusion and the intensity of the angiographic tumor stain. Both, however, failed to correlate to the degree of tumor vascularity evaluated histologically. No distinguishing features were found in the radioisotopic studies or angiographically between the four major histological types of meningioma, except that the angioblastic type invariably showed marked vascularity.
Anglo-American Financial Rivalry in the 1920s

Based on British and American primary sources, this article analyzes Anglo-American differences in the reconstruction of the international monetary order. London wanted a worldwide gold exchange standard to bolster its relatively weak financial position. The U.S. pushed instead for the gold standard. Winston Churchill returned to the gold standard largely because he feared economic isolation from the Dominions, especially South Africa, which had accepted private American advice to return regardless of Britain. Anglo-American wrangling continued over the Genoa proposals, loan regulation and war debts. Heavy gold exports were a primary factor in Federal Reserve rate increases in early 1928.
Subsonic solutions for compressible transonic potential flows

Abstract We establish an existence theorem for transonic isentropic potential flows where the subsonic region is bounded by the sonic line and thus the governing equation may become degenerate on the boundary partly or entirely. It has been conjectured by experiments and numerical studies that the self-similar multidimensional flow changes its type, namely, hyperbolic far from the origin (supersonic region) and elliptic near the origin (subsonic region). Furthermore, the potential equation has a different nonlinearity compared to other transonic problems such as the unsteady transonic small disturbance equation, the nonlinear wave equation, and the pressure gradient equation. Namely, the coefficients of the potential equation depend on the gradients while others are independent of the gradients. We provide techniques to handle the gradients, establish interior and boundary gradient estimates for the potential flow in a convex region, and answer the conjecture, that is, the flow is strictly elliptic and the region is subsonic.
Morphometric analysis of mucous granule depletion and replenishment in rat colon

Computer-assisted morphometric analysis was used to quantify mucous granule discharge and the subsequent replenishment of secretory granules in the rat colon following cholinergic challenge. Within 5 min of stimulation (250 μg/kg carbachol, subcutaneous), the volume of intracellular mucous granules decreased to 61.5% of the control. The apical plasma membranes of goblet cells in the midcrypt region became deeply cavitated, indicating that they had accelerated mucous granule secretion by a process of compound exocytosis. Goblet cells at the base of the crypt rarely showed cavitated apical membranes but clearly became depleted of intracellular mucous granules. At 60 min after stimulation, cavitated profiles were very rare (≤0.4%) but intracellular stores of mucous granules were still significantly depressed (54.7% of control). By 4 hr after stimulation, mucous granule stores recovered to 94.9% of control levels. Morphometric quantification was found to be a reliable and sensitive measure of recent goblet cell secretory activity.
Skin graft for the ambulatory patient

Abstract I have described a method of applying skin grafts in cases of varicose ulcer of the leg which has the following advantages: (1) it does not require hospitalization of the patient after grafting; (2) the time required for the healing of the ulcer is shortened, and it is economical for the patient.
Human respiratory deposition of particles during oronasal breathing

Abstract Deposition of particles in the tracheobronchial and pulmonary airways is computed as a function of particle size, correcting for deposition in the parallel nasal and oral airways with oronasal breathing. Thoracic deposition is lower at all sizes for oronasal breathing than for mouth breathing via tube, and is negligible for aerodynamic equivalent diameters of 10 μm or larger.
Accuracy of the StressEraser ® in the Detection of Cardiac Rhythms

StressEraser® is a commercially marketed biofeedback device designed to enhance heart rate variability. StressEraser® makes its internal calculations on beat-to-beat measures of finger pulse intervals. However, the accuracy and precision of StressEraser® in quantifying interbeat intervals using finger pulse intervals has not been evaluated against standard laboratory equipment using R–R intervals. Accuracy was assessed by simultaneously recording interbeat intervals using StressEraser® and a standard laboratory ECG system. The interbeat intervals were highly correlated between the systems. The average deviation in interbeat interval recordings between the systems was approximately 6 ms. Moreover, correlations approached unity between the systems on estimates of heart period, heart rate, and heart rate variability. Feedback from StressEraser® is based on an interbeat time series that provides sufficient information to provide an excellent estimate of the dynamic changes in heart rate and heart rate variability. The slight variations between StressEraser® and the laboratory equipment in quantifying heart rate and heart rate variability are due to features related to monitoring heart rate with finger pulse: (1) a lack in precision in the peak of the finger pulse relative to the clearly defined inflection point in the R-wave, and (2) contribution of variations in pulse transit time.
Extended release naltrexone injection is performed in the majority of opioid dependent patients receiving outpatient induction: a very low dose naltrexone and buprenorphine open label trial.

Abstract Background The approval of extended release injectable naltrexone (XR-NTX; Vivitrol® ) has introduced a new option for treating opioid addiction, but studies are needed to identify its place within the spectrum of available therapies. The absence of physiological opioid dependence is a necessary and challenging first step for starting XR-NTX. Outpatient detoxification gives poor results and inpatient detoxification is either unavailable or too brief for the physiological effects of opioids to resolve. Here we present findings from an open label study that tested whether the transition from opioid addiction to XR-NTX can be safely and effectively performed in an outpatient setting using very low dose naltrexone and buprenorphine. Methods Twenty treatment seeking opioid addicted individuals were given increasing doses of naltrexone starting at 0.25 mg with decreasing doses of buprenorphine starting at 4 mg during a 7-day outpatient XR-NTX induction procedure. Withdrawal discomfort, craving, drug use, and adverse events were assessed daily until the XR-NTX injection, then weekly over the next month. Results Fourteen of the 20 participants received XR-NTX and 13 completed weekly assessments. Withdrawal, craving, and opioid or other drug use were significantly lower during induction and after XR-NTX administration compared with baseline, and no serious adverse events were recorded. Conclusions Outpatient transition to XR-NTX combining upward titration of very low dose naltrexone with downward titration of low dose buprenorphine was safe, well tolerated, and completed by most participants. Further studies with larger numbers of subjects are needed to see if this approach is useful for naltrexone induction.
BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS' SATISFACTION AT TWO PREDOMINANTLY WHITE UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEEP SOUTH

The student unrest of the 1960's served as the catalyst for research assessing levels of college students' satisfaction. The changing ethnic population of the nation's colleges and universities in the 1980's also supports a need to assess college students' satisfaction, particularly in view of the increase in the number of black students attending predominantly white colleges and universities. Their satisfaction might be a useful index of students' adjustment, especially black students. In one study of black college students' satisfaction in the 1980's, Robertson ( 1 ) reported that black smdents were displeased with the university's system of rewards (grades) and the discrepanq between the amount of work required and the academic outcome received, but otherwise, they were as satisfied as the white students. Complaints, however, from black students concerning their displeasure with other aspects of their college experiences prompted further research. A random sample of 46 undergraduates (23 black and 23 white) amending two large predominantly white southern universities were administered the College Student Satisfaction Questionnaire ( 2 ) during the spring semester of 1982. Analysis of means and standard deviations for the total satisfaction and subscale scores shown below yielded several results. The F ratio between mean total satisfaction scores of the two groups was statistically significant ( K . r r = 4.02, p < .05). Other significant differences between the groups were on three of the five subscales: ( a ) Compensation ( t ~ = 2.17, p < .05) , ( b ) Social Life ( t u = 2.58, p < .05) , and (c) Recognition (tu = 2.00, P < .05). Not significantly different were comparisons for Working Conditions and Quality of Education. The results suggest that these black college students appeared to be significantly less satisfied with their college experiences than the white students.
Efficient reduction of complex noise in passive millimeter-wavelength video utilizing Bayesian surprise

Passive millimeter wavelength (PMMW) video holds great promise given its ability to see targets and obstacles through fog, smoke and rain. However, current imagers produce undesirable complex noise. This can come as a mixture of fast shot (snow like) noise and a slower forming circular fixed pattern. Shot noise can be removed by a simple gain style filter. However, this can produce blurring of objects in the scene. To alleviate this, we measure the amount of Bayesian surprise in videos. Bayesian surprise is feature change in time which is abrupt, but cannot be accounted for as shot noise. Surprise is used to attenuate the shot noise filter in locations of high surprise. Since high Bayesian surprise in videos is very salient to observers, this reduces blurring particularly in places where people visually attend. Fixed pattern noise is removed after the shot noise using a combination of Non-uniformity correction (NUC) and Eigen Image Wavelet Transformation. The combination allows for online removal of time varying fixed pattern noise even when background motion may be absent. It also allows for online adaptation to differing intensities of fixed pattern noise. The fixed pattern and shot noise filters are all efficient allowing for real time video processing of PMMW video. We show several examples of PMMW video with complex noise that is much cleaner as a result of the noise removal. Processed video clearly shows cars, houses, trees and utility poles at 20 frames per second.
FACE Rainfall Results: Seeding Effect or Natural Variability?

Abstract An examination of hourly rainfall within areas designated small outside (SO) and large outside (LO) reveals that prior to the introduction of a new seeding device (NEI) in 1975, average peninsular rainfall on seed (S) days outside the Florida Area Cumulus Experiment (FACE) target area was slightly less than rainfall on no-seed (NS) days. However, during the NEI period, average station rainfall within the SO area yields S/NS ratios as high as 3 for the 6 h period following the release of the first flare. Moreover, during the 3 h period prior to the time of the first seed, average SO station rainfall on seed days exceeded the rainfall on no-seed days by approximately 60%. The large S/NS ratios that occurred outside the FACE target area during the NEI period were not associated with anomalously high rainfall on seed days, but rather with anomalously low rainfall on no-seed days. For the SO area, differences between seed and no-seed samples are highly significant, with one-tailed P values as low as 0...
Synthetic-Aperture Techniques At Near-Millimeter Wavelengths

Synthetic aperture (SA) imaging techniques are considered for identifying targets at ranges of a few kilometers using near-millimeter waves. A generalized concept of SA imaging is presented. A hybrid SA array technique is proposed that would significantly diminish the motion required for the SA data generation. A scanning SA technique is presented and analyzed in detail. Images are shown that were generated using the scanning SA technique with a near-millimeter wave homodyne system operating at 1.22 mm.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Grain Boundary Mediated Displacive–Diffusional Formation of τ-Phase MnAl

Dynamic in situ heating and postmortem transmission electron microscopy studies, including high-resolution electron microscopy, have been performed for a near equiatomic composition of a Mn-Al-base permanent magnet alloy to investigate the mechanisms of the transformation of hexagonal close-packed e-phase to a chemically ordered tetragonal τ-phase with a face-centered cubic-related L10 structure. Although a “massive” mode dominates the kinetics of this composition invariant transformation, we also observed the genesis of a morphologically plate-like τ-phase by partial dislocation glide, described as Shockley-type partials with respect to the L10 structure, and a transformation mode exhibiting displacive characteristics. The sources for the transformation dislocations facilitating the formation of the morphologically plate-like τ-phase were associated with the interfaces between the parent e- and product τ-phase produced by the “massive” transformation mode. Our experiments revealed diffusional and displacive features of the mechanism accomplishing the formation of τ-MnAl with plate-like morphology. Hence, a hybrid displacive–diffusional mechanism has been identified, and the synergistic role of the nucleation interfaces of the massively transformed τ-phase has been discussed.
The correct author citation of bunchosia (Malpighiaceae) and three new Central American species

The genusBunchosia is ascribed to Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth and should be cited asBunchosia Rich.ex H.B.K. Three new Central American species,B. brevisurcularis,B. ternata, andB. tutensis, are described, illustrated and plotted on a distribution map.
Mock Jurors’ Perception of Stalking: The Impact of Gender and Expressed Fear

Two experiments investigated mock-juror perceptions of intimate stalking using Kentucky’s (United States) anti-stalking legislation. Experiment 1 used a mock-juror methodology in which 177 undergraduates (87 men and 90 women) from a large southeastern US university read a stalking trial summary and rendered individual judgments as mock jurors. The main research question of Experiment 1 was how participant gender impacted trial judgments (e.g., verdict) when the gender of both the defendant and victim were manipulated. Overall, the results showed that men rendered significantly fewer guilty verdicts than women, particularly in conditions that included the prototypical type of intimate stalking (female victim/male defendant). In Experiment 2, also using a mock-juror methodology, 129 undergraduates (51 men and 78 women) from a large southeastern U.S. university read a stalking trial summary (involving a female victim and male defendant) and rendered individual judgments as mock jurors. The main research question of Experiment 2 focused on whether victim fear (high or low) impacted trial judgments (e.g., verdict). The results yielded an interaction of participant gender and victim fear. Specifically, whereas different levels of fear did not impact women, men yielded fewer guilty verdicts in the low victim fear condition compared to the high victim fear condition. The results of the present experiments are discussed in terms of the implications of stalking allegations brought to trial.
A Comparative Power Study of The Bivariate Rank Sum Test and T 2

The small sample performance of the bivariate two-sample Wilcoxon type rank sum test W is studied by Monte Carlo evaluation of power under shift alternatives in the bivariate normal distribution. Two types of alternatives are considered: (a) shift in only one coordinate and (b) equal amounts of shifts in both coordinates. The estimated power of the W test is compared with the power of Hotelling's T 2 test. Interestingly, it is found that the empirical power of W substantially exceeds the power of T 2 for some normal shift alternatives although the latter is the uniformly most powerful invariant test for the problem.
Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus, Arvicolidae) Over-mark and Adjacent-mark the Scent Marks of Same-sex Conspecifics

Scent over-marking occurs when an animal deposits its scent mark on top of the scent mark of a conspecific; adjacent-marking occurs when an animal deposits its scent mark next to the scent mark of a conspecific. Given that male rodents usually scent mark more than females and that animals spend more time investigating the odor of the top-scent donor of an over-mark, I tested the following three hypotheses. First, male meadow voles deposit more scent marks than female meadow voles. Second, male meadow voles will deposit more over-marks and adjacent-marks in response to the scent marks of a same-sex conspecific than females would. Third, meadow voles spend more time investigating the odor of the second vole placed in the arena than that of the first vole placed in the arena. To test these hypotheses, two age-matched, like-sex conspecifics (first vole and second vole) were placed successively into an arena in which they were allowed to freely explore and scent mark for 15 min. The first hypothesis was not supported. The first and second vole, independently of sex, deposited a similar number of scent marks. The second hypothesis was also not supported by the data: more conspecific scent marks were over-marked by the second female than by the second male. The third hypothesis was supported by the data. After investigating a scented arena, males and females spent more time investigating the odor of the second vole than that of the first vole. Sex differences in scent-marking behaviors of meadow voles are unlike those reported for other species of rodents.
Growth responses during the first year of growth hormone therapy: evaluation of height velocity targets.

Growth responses during the first year of growth hormone therapy: evaluation of height velocity targets
One Extra Bit of Download Ensures Perfectly Private Information Retrieval

Private information retrieval (PIR) systems allow a user to retrieve a record from a public database without revealing to the server which record is being retrieved. The literature on PIR considers only replication-based systems, wherein each storage node stores a copy of the entire data. However, systems based on erasure codes are gaining increasing popularity due to a variety of reasons. This paper initiates an investigation into PIR in erasure-coded systems by establishing its capacity and designing explicit codes and algorithms. The notion of privacy considered here is information-theoretic, and the metric optimized is the amount of data downloaded by the user during PIR. In this paper, we present four main results. First, we design an explicit erasure code and PIR algorithm that requires only one extra bit of download to provide perfect privacy. In contrast, all existing PIR algorithms require a download of at least twice the size of the requisite data. Second, we derive lower bounds proving the necessity of downloading at least one additional bit. This establishes the precise capacity of PIR with respect to the metric of download. These results are also applicable to PIR in replication-based systems, which are a special case of erasure codes. Our third contribution is a negative result showing that capacity-achieving codes necessitate super-linear storage overheads. This motivates the fourth contribution of this paper: an erasure code and PIR algorithm that requires a linear storage overhead, provides high reliability to the data, and is a small factor away from the capacity.
Microscale Diffusion Properties of the Cartilage Pericellular Matrix Measured Using 3D Scanning Microphotolysis

Chondrocytes, the cells in articular cartilage, are enclosed within a pericellular matrix (PCM) whose composition and structure differ from those of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Since the PCM surrounds each cell, molecules that interact with the chondrocyte must pass through the pericellular environment. A quantitative understanding of the diffusional properties of the PCM may help in elucidating the regulatory role of the PCM in controlling transport to and from the chondrocyte. The diffusivities of fluorescently labeled 70 kDa and 500 kDa dextrans were quantified within the PCM of porcine articular cartilage using a newly developed mathematical model of scanning microphotolysis (SCAMP). SCAMP is a rapid line photobleaching method that accounts for out-of-plane bleaching attributable to high magnification. Data were analyzed by a best-fit comparison to simulations generated using a discretization of the diffusion-reaction equation in conjunction with the microscope-specific three-dimensional excitation and detection profiles. The diffusivity of the larger molecule (500 kDa dextran) was significantly lower than that of the smaller molecule (70 kDa dextran), and values were consistent with those reported previously using standard techniques. Furthermore, for both dextran sizes, the diffusion coefficient was significantly lower in the PCM than in the ECM; however, this difference was not detected in early-stage arthritic tissue. We have successfully modified the SCAMP technique to measure diffusion coefficients within the small volume of the PCM using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Our results support the hypothesis that diffusivity within the PCM of healthy articular cartilage is lower than that within the ECM, presumably due to differences in proteoglycan content.
Stressed and strained state and failure of refractories under thermal action

In seeking to establish criteria for the property optimization of refractories for the thermal and corrosive insulation of furnaces, the authors test for properties related to the thermal and corrosive failures of mullite, corundum, periclase and quartz refractories and perform stress-strain and failure mode analyses for the materials. They also provide a classification of refractory uses and parts.
Information and Library Science MPACT: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract Dissertation advising is an important form of mentoring. To investigate the impact of dissertation advising over time, advisor and committee member names were collected for 2400 dissertations completed over a 40-year period (1964–2004) in 32 North American information and library science schools. Several mentoring impact metrics are reported for a subset of the data, including the number of dissertations advised, the number of dissertation committees served on, the ratio of advising to committee membership, and the fractional “mpact” that weights advising and committee membership. The subset consists of data for six schools that produced at least three dozen dissertations and for which complete data is available. The data and resulting “mpact” metrics offer new ways to assess faculty impact and to investigate the nature and growth of a field.
Modeling errors in diffuse‐sky radiation: Vector vs scalar treatment

Radiative transfer calculations that utilize the scalar approximation of light produce intensity errors as large as 10% in the case of pure Rayleigh scattering. This modeling error, which arises primarily from second order scattering, is greatly reduced for flux and albedo results because of error cancellation brought about by integration over scattering angle. However, polarized light scattered from an underlying ocean surface, or from atmospheric aerosols, interacts with the pattern of Rayleigh scattered polarization to distort the error cancellation and thus incur larger flux and albedo errors. While addition of scattered radiation from clouds, aerosols or ground surface into the Rayleigh atmosphere tends to reduce the magnitude of scalar approximation intensity errors, the scalar errors in fluxes and albedos are not proportionately reduced, but are actually increased.
Peru's tourism industry: Growth, setbacks, threats

Beset by ongoing political and economic problems, not the least of which was a stunning hostage crisis in 1997, Peru nevertheless welcomed more visitors last year than ever before.
Modes of burning in filtration combustion

We describe and analyze a model of filtration combustion, in which a gas is forced at high pressure into a porous solid matrix so that after ignition and under favourable conditions a combustion wave can propagate through the medium. We consider the case of counter flow, where the gas is forced into the reaction zone through the unreacted part of the porous solid. Relations are derived for the steady state propagation of a planar combustion wave or front in the limit of high-activation energy, from which the propagation speed, reaction temperature, and reacted mass fraction of the solid product can be found in terms of the mass flux of the injected gas, the gas pressure and mass flux on exit from the front, and other physico-chemical parameters describing the system. Two distinct modes of combustion are discussed, corresponding to the reaction being driven to completion by exhaustion of either the gaseous or the solid component, these being referred to as the gas-deficient and solid-deficient modes of burning respectively. For both homogeneous and heterogeneous forms of the reaction rate we find that there is a critical inlet mass flux for the incoming gas below which steady state solutions no longer exist and that there are parameter values for which multiple steady states occur.
Mitomycin-c application in airway stenosis surgery: Analysis of safety and costs

Objective This study describes a large series of patients receiving topical mitomycin-c (MMC) during airway surgery, including complications, and carries out a cost analysis for its use in laryngotracheal stenosis. Study Design and Setting Retrospective review, tertiary center. Airway patients receiving MMC are reviewed for demographics, stenosis characteristics, and MMC usage. A basic cost analysis is carried out. Results Fifty patients underwent 93 MMC applications (mean = 50.8 years, 25 male, 25 female). In 89 of 93 applications (96%), the concentration of MMC was 0.4 mg/ml. One major complication occurred (1.1%). The expense for MMC is $455; the mean cost for airway surgery is $7,840. It is estimated that if 1 of 17 MMC treated patients requires one less operation, the cost ratio is favorable. Conclusions This large series contributes to literature that MMC is a safe adjunct to laryngotracheal surgery. The marginal cost for MMC application is favorable based on our basic cost analysis and existing efficacy data. Significance Mitomycin-c seems to be safe and cost-effective in endoscopic airway surgery. EBM rating: C-4
DA VINCI: A tool to improve VoIP call routing configurations

As IP telephony becomes a critical part of the enterprise network infrastructure, there is an increasing need for tools to help manage VoIP systems. In this paper, we introduce DA VINCI, a tool to manage VoIP call routing — the core of VoIP configurations that determines how calls are routed inside the enterprise or between the enterprise and external networks. We first establish the complexity involved in call routing design and configuration by studying characteristics of nine large enterprise VoIP networks. We then develop methodologies to improve and simplify call routing configurations by (i) identifying common design patterns, i.e., shared resource routing and local resource routing, so that administrators can better understand and reuse existing call routing designs, and (ii) removing unused and superfluous configurations from dial plan designs while retaining the correctness of operations. All of our techniques are incorporated in the DA VINCI tool that has been deployed in more than ten enterprise networks to help administrators streamline VoIP maintenance through extraction, analysis, simulation, and configuration of call routing.
eProbalign: generation and manipulation of multiple sequence alignments using partition function posterior probabilities

Probalign computes maximal expected accuracy multiple sequence alignments from partition function posterior probabilities. To date, Probalign is among the very best scoring methods on the BAliBASE, HOMSTRAD and OXBENCH benchmarks. Here, we introduce eProbalign, which is an online implementation of the approach. Moreover, the eProbalign web server doubles as an online platform for post-alignment analysis. The heart-and-soul of the post-alignment functionality is the Probalign Alignment Viewer applet, which provides users a convenient means to manipulate the alignments by posterior probabilities. The viewer can also be used to produce graphical and text versions of the output. The eProbalign web server and underlying Probalign source code is freely accessible at http://probalign.njit.edu.
On one-dimensional random fields with fixed end values

Abstract For a one-dimensional, uni-variate random field with deterministic fixed end values, expressions are derived for the conditional mean, variance, and covariance functions in terms of given mean, variance, and correlation functions for an unrestricted, variance-homogeneous Gaussian random field. Also, a relation is derived between the conditional random field and the underlying unrestricted random field. This relation is useful for simulation purposes. Further, expressions are derived for the coefficients in a series expansion for the conditional random field. The present results are obtained from known general formulas for conditional Gaussian distributions, conditional estimation, and series expansion. An earlier alternate approach to enforcing end conditions is also examined. An example is given to illustrate the effect of conditioning a random field by zero end constraints. The present results have direct application to the representation of random imperfections in probabilistic stability analysis of columns and arches.
A model for the prediction of osmolalities of modular formulas.

A model is proposed for evaluation of osmolality of multicomponent formulas composed of modular ingredients. Nonlinear curve-fitting techniques applied to empirical data result in prediction of the osmolality of ingredients for any concentration desired. Osmolality of a multicomponent formula can be obtained by adding osmolalities of ingredients. Data handling is made possible by the use of simple microcomputer programs. The model is tested with products available for construction of amino acid-restricted diets. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition10:646-649, 1986)