cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age at natural menopause and menopausal symptoms among Saudi Arabian women in Al-Khobar

Menopause is a physiological event, experienced as a long process of climacteric change (transitional phase that is immediately prior to and after menopause, when clinical, biological, and endocrinological symptoms of menstrual cession commence), occurring universally in all women who reach midlife. The timing of menopause as well as women’s experience of menopausal symptoms varies between populations and within populations. The current study was conducted in 2003 among Saudi Arabian women in the city of Al-Khobar in the East of Saudi Arabia. In this cross-sectional study, a face-to-face questionnaire was administrated to 200 Bedouin and Hadar Saudi women, most of whom are housewives and members in women’s organizations and school staffs. Biocultural and lifespan perspectives were used to assess age at natural menopause and the prevalence of menopausal symptoms. This study examines the ways in which biological, sociodemographic, and cultural factors determine age at natural menopause and the prevalence of menopausal symptoms. The primary objectives of this research were: (1) to assess the mean and median age at menopause; (2) to detect factors that might contribute significantly to a more rapid decline in ovarian function; (3) to determine the factors that significantly affect the prevalence of menopausal symptoms that Saudi women’s experience; and (4) to assess the relationship between women’s perceptions and attitudes toward menopause and the menopausal symptoms that women experience. This study also examines the differences in women’s attitudes toward menopause, depending on whether these women were experiencing, or had already experienced natural menopause. The median age of the sample ranged from 40 to 55 years. The mean age at natural menopause among these Saudi women was 48.06 years and the median age was 49 years. The findings of this study indicated that while age at natural menopause varied within and among the menopausal factors (anthropometric measures, sociodemographic status, reproductive history, and lifestyle); the only factors that were significantly associated with age at menopause were women’s weight, marital status, and employment status. The findings also indicated that the respondents’ marital status and number of children were significantly associated with the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among the Saudi women.
BUSHWHACK: An Approximation Algorithm for Minimal Paths through Pseudo-Euclidean Spaces

In this paper we define piecewise pseudo-Euclidean optimal path problems, where each region has a distinct cost metric of a class we call pseudo-Euclidean, that allows the path cost to possibly vary within the region in a predictable and efficiently computable way. This pseudo-Euclidean class of costs allows us to model a wide variety of various geographical features. We provide an approximation algorithm named BUSHWHACK that efficiently solves these piecewise pseudo-Euclidean optimal path problems. BUSHWHACK uses a previously known technique of dynamically generating a discretization in progress. However, it combines with this technique a "lazy" and best-first path propagation scheme so that fewer edges need to be added into the discretization. We show both analytically and experimentally that BUSHWHACK is more efficient than approximation algorithms based on Dijkstra's algorithm.
A Novel Information Retrieval Model for High-Throughput Molecular Medicine Modalities

Significant research has been devoted to predicting diagnosis, prognosis, and response to treatment using high- throughput assays. Rapid translation into clinical results hinges upon efficient access to up-to-date and high-quality molecular medicine modalities. We first explain why this goal is inadequately supported by existing databases and portals and then introduce a novel semantic indexing and information retrieval model for clinical bioinformatics. The formalism provides the means for indexing a variety of relevant objects (e.g. papers, algorithms, signatures, datasets) and includes a model of the research processes that creates and validates these objects in order to support their systematic presentation once retrieved. We test the applicability of the model by constructing proof-of-concept encodings and visual presentations of evidence and modalities in molecular profiling and prognosis of: (a) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and (b) breast cancer.
Sizing the Problem of Improving Discovery and Access to NIH-Funded Data: A Preliminary Study.

Objective This study informs efforts to improve the discoverability of and access to biomedical datasets by providing a preliminary estimate of the number and type of datasets generated annually by research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It focuses on those datasets that are “invisible” or not deposited in a known repository. Methods We analyzed NIH-funded journal articles that were published in 2011, cited in PubMed and deposited in PubMed Central (PMC) to identify those that indicate data were submitted to a known repository. After excluding those articles, we analyzed a random sample of the remaining articles to estimate how many and what types of invisible datasets were used in each article. Results About 12% of the articles explicitly mention deposition of datasets in recognized repositories, leaving 88% that are invisible datasets. Among articles with invisible datasets, we found an average of 2.9 to 3.4 datasets, suggesting there were approximately 200,000 to 235,000 invisible datasets generated from NIH-funded research published in 2011. Approximately 87% of the invisible datasets consist of data newly collected for the research reported; 13% reflect reuse of existing data. More than 50% of the datasets were derived from live human or non-human animal subjects. Conclusion In addition to providing a rough estimate of the total number of datasets produced per year by NIH-funded researchers, this study identifies additional issues that must be addressed to improve the discoverability of and access to biomedical research data: the definition of a “dataset,” determination of which (if any) data are valuable for archiving and preservation, and better methods for estimating the number of datasets of interest. Lack of consensus amongst annotators about the number of datasets in a given article reinforces the need for a principled way of thinking about how to identify and characterize biomedical datasets.
Study Groups as a Form of Professional Development for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

In this paper I examine the value(s) that sevensecondary geometry teachers placed on theirparticipation in a school-based study group. Ialso examine the organizational structure ofthe study group, and the impact of thatstructure on teachers' continued participationin the study group. This study draws upon bothwritten and oral interview data as well astranscripts of study group meetings. Results ofanalysis show that the teachers were supportedin four areas: building community andrelationships, making connections across theoryand practice, curriculum reform, and developinga sense of professionalism. Further, analysisalso indicated that participation in the studygroup had an impact on teachers' self-efficacy.Building on the study group literature(containing predominately non-mathematicseducation research), this study hasimplications for secondary teachers'professional development, particularly thosetypes of professional development experiencesthat seek to be ongoing, school-based, andteacher-centered.
Antibody Response to Staphylococcus aureus in Rabbits: Sequence of Immunoglobulin Synthesis and Its Correlation with Passive Protection in Mice

Antibody in hyperimmune rabbit antisera specific for Staphylococcus aureus teichoic acid was shown to be associated with the IgM fraction. Treatment of such sera with mercaptoethanol destroyed its activity in passive mouse protection tests, whereas absorption with antirabbit IgG had no effect. Antibody response in normal rabbits immunized by a single or by three daily injections of a killed vaccine of S. aureus was followed by a sensitive passive hemagglutination test. Antibody detected during the "primary" response was completely susceptible to reduction with mercaptoethanol. Most of the antibody detected after a secondary antigenic stimulation at 10 weeks was also susceptible to mercaptoethanol. The antibody titers correlated well with mouse protective activity, and this activity of the serum was also shown to be associated with the IgM fraction.
Dosimetry issues for an ultra-high flux beam and multipurpose research reactor design

The Advanced Neutron Source is a new user facility for all fields of neutron research, including neutron beam experiments, materials analysis, materials testing, and isotope production. The complement and layout of the experimental facilities have been determined sufficiently, at a conceptual design level, to make reliable cost and schedule estimates. The source of neutrons will be a heavy water reactor, constructed largely of aluminum, with an available thermal neutron flux 5--10 times higher than existing research reactors. Among the dosimetry issues to be faced are damage prediction and surveillance for component life attainment; measurement of fluence and spectra in regions where both change substantially over a distance of a few centimeters; and characterization and measurement of the radiation field in the research areas around the neutron beam experiments.
Political Economy of Anglo-French Trade, 1689-1899: Agricultural Trade Policies, Alcohol Taxes, and War

Britain contrary to received wisdom was not a free trader for most of the 1800s and, despite repeal of the Corn Laws, continued to have higher tariffs than the French until the last quarter of the century. War with Louis fourteenth from 1689 led to the end of all trade between Britain and France for a quarter of a century. The creation of powerful protected interests both at home and abroad led to the imposition of prohibitively high tariffs on French imports notably on wine and spirits, when trade with France resumed in 1714. Protection of domestic interests from import competition allowed the state to raise domestic excises which provided increased government revenues despite almost no increases in the taxes on land and income in Britain. The state ensured compliance not simply through the threat of lower tariffs on foreign substitutes but also through the encouragement of a trend towards monopoly production in brewing and restricted retail sales of beer. This history is analyzed in terms of its effects on British fiscal and commercial policy from the early 1700s to the end of the nineteenth century. The result is a fuller, albeit revisionist account of the rise of the modern state that calls into question a variety of theses in economics and political science that draw on the naive view of a liberal Britain unilaterally moving to free trade in the nineteenth century.
Childhood survival in Haiti: protective effect of measles vaccination.

To evaluate the impact of measles vaccination on survival of children residing in a periurban slum in Haiti, a total-population survey was conducted 2.5 years after completion of a one-time study of the serologic response to measles vaccine administered in the same population. Pregnancy histories from the 16 400 women in the population revealed that 1499 children had been born during a 7-month interval that would have made them eligible for participation in the measles vaccine program. Of these children, 1381 (92.1%) survived to 9 months of age, the median age that measles vaccine had been administered. Seventy-three infants had died between 9 and 39 months of age. Mortality of infants who were seronegative before receiving measles vaccine was significantly lower (P = .0013) than that of unvaccinated infants (3/235 vs 70/1056, respectively). Other factors positively associated with survival between 9 and 39 months of age included socioeconomic status (P = .0002), maternal literacy (P = .0020), maternal knowledge and use of oral rehydration solution (P = .0002), and an interval of greater than 24 months to the birth of the next younger sibling (P = .0012). Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independent association of measles vaccination by adjusting for other factors that also correlated with survival and that might have been associated with maternal seeking of vaccinations. Children who survived were more likely to have received measles vaccine than children who died, independent of the effects from socioeconomic status, maternal knowledge of oral rehydration solution, maternal literacy, and birth interval (adjusted odds ratio = 6.5, 95% confidence interval 1.6 to 27.1). Estimates of the efficacy of measles vaccine for prevention of mortality from 9 through 39 months of age ranged from 84.7% to 90% by different methods of analysis. Therefore, measles vaccination appears to be an effective intervention for improving the survival of children residing in developing countries. Efforts should be increased to eliminate this disease from all countries.
A tool for the prediction of structures of complex sugars.

In two recent back to back articles(Xia et al., J Chem Theory Comput 3:1620–1628 and 1629–1643, 2007a, b) we have started to address the problem of complex oligosaccharide conformation and folding. The scheme previously presented was based on exhaustive searches in configuration space in conjunction with Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) calculations and the use of a complex rotameric library that takes branching into account. NOEs are extremely useful for structural determination but only provide information about short range interactions and ordering. Instead, the measurement of residual dipolar couplings (RDC), yields information about molecular ordering or folding that is long range in nature. In this article we show the results obtained by incorporation RDC calculations into our prediction scheme. Using this new approach we are able to accurately predict the structure of six human milk sugars: LNF-1, LND-1, LNF-2, LNF-3, LNnT and LNT. Our exhaustive search in dihedral configuration space combined with RDC and NOE calculations allows for highly accurate structural predictions that, because of the non-ergodic nature of these molecules on a time scale compatible with molecular dynamics simulations, are extremely hard to obtain otherwise (Almond et al., Biochemistry 43:5853–5863, 2004). Molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent using as initial configurations the structures predicted by our algorithm show that the histo-blood group epitopes in these sugars are relatively rigid and that the whole family of oligosaccharides derives its conformational variability almost exclusively from their common linkage (β-d-GlcNAc-(1→3)-β-d-Gal) which can exist in two distinct conformational states. A population analysis based on the conformational variability of this flexible glycosidic link indicates that the relative population of the two distinct states varies for different human milk oligosaccharides.
Free-energy model for bonding in amorphous covalent alloys.

A free-energy model (FEM) for bonding in amorphous covalent alloys is developed and applied to the ternary a-${\mathrm{Si}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{N}}_{\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{H}}_{\mathit{z}}$ alloy system. The Gibbs free energy of mixing ${\mathit{G}}_{\mathit{M}}$=${\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{M}}$-${\mathit{TS}}_{\mathit{M}}$ is obtained with use of the quasichemical approach to the thermodynamics of regular solutions. The enthalpy of mixing, ${\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{M}}$, is expressed in terms of the nearest-neighbor bond energies, while the entropy of mixing, ${\mathit{S}}_{\mathit{M}}$, is given by the number of possible bonding configurations in Si-centered tetrahedra. Chemical ordering (CO) in these alloys is shown to correspond to the preference for Si-N and Si-H bonds at the expense of Si-Si and N-H bonds. The predictions of the FEM are shown to be in good agreement with experimentally determined bond concentrations in a-${\mathrm{Si}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{N}}_{\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{H}}_{\mathit{z}}$ alloy films where, in general, neither the CO (T=0 K) nor random-bonding limits are valid.
HER2-positive breast cancer: current and future treatment strategies.

In the year 2006, breast cancer was estimated to affect >200 000 American women and cause nearly 56 000 deaths. Furthermore, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed and second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women. The current treatment armamentarium for breast cancer includes chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and biological therapy. Treatment has become more individualised based on characteristics of the tumour including overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2. Between 20 and 30% of all breast cancers overexpress HER2, which means 40 000–60 000 patients will have this type of cancer. Previously, overexpression of HER2 was a negative prognostic and predictive risk factor for survival; however, with the advent of trastuzumab, patients’ prognosis is improving in all treatment settings. Much controversy exists in the use of trastuzumab, including (i) the sequence of adjuvant trastuzumab (concurrent with chemotherapy or sequential); (ii) the treatment duration (<1 year, 1 year or 2 years); and (iii) the treatment choice upon disease progression (whether to continue or not with trastuzumab and add another cytotoxic agent). Current trials are ongoing to help answer these questions. Furthermore, there has been interest in predicting which HER2-positive patients would require anthracycline therapy, and which could avoid anthra-cycline therapy and its toxicities. Novel therapeutics, such as lapatinib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which blocks both the epidermal growth factor receptor and HER2 receptor has recently been approved by the US FDA. Whereas pertuzumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody, directed against heterodimerisation of HER2 and HER3 has entered phase II and III clinical trials.
Soil and Atmospheric Inputs to PAH Concentrations in Salt Marsh Plants

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in two wetland plant species grown outdoors in pots of sediment contaminated with up to 730,000 μg/kg total PAHs. After approximately 3 months, the plants were harvested, cleaned, and analyzed for an expanded suite of PAHs which included both the 16 priority PAHs and 22 alkyl PAH homologs. Sediment and air samples were also collected and analyzed. PAH compounds were detected in all of the samples, with the highest concentrations in the contaminated sediment. The root sample concentrations were generally about one order of magnitude lower than that of the sediment, and were strongly correlated with the concentration in the sediment in which they were grown. The concentrations in foliage were much lower and did not correlate with sediment concentration. Concentrations of low molecular weight PAH compounds detected in the foliage were not significantly lower in plants grown in control sediments, suggesting that the sediment is not the primary source of these PAHs. Several high molecular weight PAHs were detected only in plants grown in contaminated sediment. Plants of both species grown in control sediment were larger than plants grown in contaminated sediment.
Overcoming passive coupling excess loss in fiber-optic networks by using a collective interface

When using passive coupling in a single-mode fiber-optic network, all interfaces are not allowed to tap into the fiber because there will be a significant power loss at every tap, at least for current technology. In this Letter, a systolic array collective interface is presented which alleviates the above problem due to its inherent property of parallel processing. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A nearly universal solar wind-magnetosphere coupling function inferred from 10 magnetospheric state variables

[1] We investigated whether one or a few coupling functions can represent best the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere over a wide variety of magnetospheric activity. Ten variables which characterize the state of the magnetosphere were studied. Five indices from ground-based magnetometers were selected, namely Dst, Kp, AE, AU, and AL, and five from other sources, namely auroral power (Polar UVI), cusp latitude (sin(A c )), b2i (both DMSP), geosynchronous magnetic inclination angle (GOES), and polar cap size (SuperDARN). These indices were correlated with more than 20 candidate solar wind coupling functions. One function, representing the rate magnetic flux is opened at the magnetopause, correlated best with 9 out of 10 indices of magnetospheric activity. This is dΦ Mp / dt = v 4/3 B T 2/3 sin 8/3 (θ c /2), calculated from (rate IMF field lines approach the magnetopause, ∼v)(% of IMF lines which merge, sin 8/3 (θ c /2))(interplanetary field magnitude, B T )(merging line length, ∼(B MP /B T ) 1/3 ). The merging line length is based on flux matching between the solar wind and a dipole field and agrees with a superposed IMF on a vacuum dipole. The IMF clock angle dependence matches the merging rate reported (albeit with limited statistics) at high altitude. The nonlinearities of the magnetospheric response to B T and v are evident when the mean values of indices are plotted, in scatterplots, and in the superior correlations from dΦ MP /dt. Our results show that a wide variety of magnetospheric phenomena can be predicted with reasonable accuracy (r> 0.80 in several cases) ab initio, that is without the time history of the target index, by a single function, estimating the dayside merging rate. Across all state variables studied (including AL, which is hard to predict, and polar cap size, which is hard to measure), dΦ MP /dt accounts for about 57.2% of the variance, compared to 50.9% for E KL and 48.8% for vBs. All data sets included at least thousands of points over many years, up to two solar cycles, with just two parameter fits, and the correlations are thus robust. The sole index which does not correlate best with d ΦMP /dt is Dst, which correlates best (r = 0.87) with p 1/2 dΦ MP /dt. If dΦ MP /dt were credited with this success, its average score would be even higher.
Experiments on the unsteadiness associated with a ground vortex

The ground vortex formed by a jet impinging on the ground in the presence of a crossflow has been studied experimentally. High speed motion pictures and spectral measurements were obtained to study the unsteady features of this flowfield. A very low-frequency pulsation or 'puffing' instability was observed. Since this unsteadiness could not be correlated with any other oscillations in the flowfield, the low-frequency oscillations must come from the gross features of the ground vortex itself. Namely, jet fluid accumulates in the ground vortex until the vortex is so large that the flowfield breaks up, the ground vortex is swept away, a new smaller vortex forms, and the process repeats itself. Measurements of the frequency of these oscillations are presented for the first time, and data on the vertical extent (height) of the ground vortex are also shown.
Frame Selection for Dynamic Caching Adjustment in Video Proxy Servers

By caching video data, a video proxy server close to the clients can be used to assist video delivery and alleviate the load of video servers. We assume a video can be partially cached and a certain number of video frames are stored in the proxy server. In our setting, the proxy server is allowed to cache the passing data from the video server. A video provides several options (levels) in terms of bandwidth requirement over the server-proxy path. For each video, the proxy server decides to cache a smaller amount of data at a lower level or to accumulate more data to reach a higher level. The proxy server can dynamically adjust the cached video data by choosing an appropriate level based on the network condition or the popularity of the video. We propose a frame selection scheme, Dynamic Chunk Algorithm, to determine which frames are to be cached in the proxy server for the dynamic caching adjustment scenario. The algorithm guarantees the rate constraint over the server-proxy path to be satisfied for each level. This approach also maintains the set of cached frames at a higher level as a superset of the cached frames at a lower level. Hence, it enforces the proxy server to simply cache more data without dropping frames when it intends to reduce network bandwidth consumption for a video and vice versa.
High-temperature oxidation resistance of SiO2-coated polyimide composite

Silicon dioxide films (500–5,000 A-thick) were deposited on silicon wafers and polyimide composite surfaces by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The chemical reaction takes place on the surface and depends on substrate conditions and process parameters. In the present study, SiO2 films were deposited from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in the 275–400°C temperature range under the influence of a radio frequency discharge (13.56 MHz). The properties of the deposited films, such as refractive index, density, stoichiometry, and adhesion, were obtained. The deposition characteristics of the films were studied as a function of process parameters including temperature, pressure, and RF power level. Finally these TEOS-SiO2 films were found to be effective in the protection of polyimide-based composites for higher-temperature (350–400°C) applications.
Outcomes of an Academic Service-Learning Project on Four Urban Community Colleges

The editorial board announced that this article has been retracted on January 18, 2016. If you have any further question, please contact us at: jets@redfame.com
Factorization of regular multigraphs into regular graphs

A regular multigraph with maximum multiplicity r and degree rs cannot always be factored into r s-regular simple graphs. It is shown, however, that under general conditions a similar factorization can be achieved if we first allow the addition or deletion of a relatively small number of hamilton cycles. Based on this result, we give extensions of some known factorization results on simple graphs to new results on multigraphs. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Investing in Individuals for Independence

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are tax-protected, matched savings accounts designed to help those with low incomes and few assets buy a home, capitalize a business, or fund higher education. Originally authorized through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), IDAs are designed, implemented, and evaluated through public-private partnerships. In January 2003 over 500 IDA programs had been created, with more than 10,000 low-income individuals making contributions. This paper outlines the rationale for IDA as an asset building strategy for the poor, describes the design and operation of IDAs, and provides results of early program evaluations. It concludes by arguing that IDAs are a smart practice that can and should be expanded.
Photodissociation of homonuclear diatomics: Fine structure cross sections for Na2(X1Σg+) → Na(2S1/2) + Na(2P1/2,3/2

Abstract Exact quantum calculations are presented for fine structure cross sections in photodissociation of Na2. Resonance peaks in the Na(2P3/2) cr
Effect of the nuclear surface density on the scattering of 40 MeV α-particles from iodine and xenon

Abstract The elastic scattering of 40 MeV α-particles from iodine and xenon has been measured and interpreted on the basis of the nuclear optical model. In common with previous workers we find that families of optical model potentials fit the data provided that the rounding parameters a and the values of log V 0 + R a are held constant (V0 the potential at r = 0 in the Saxon-Woods form and R is the nuclear radius). However we find that the families that satisfactorily fit the data are different for iodine and for xenon in the direction which makes the iodine nucleus more diffuse than the xenon nucleus.
Altered expression of pp60c-src induced by peripheral nerve injury

The normal src protein (pp60c-src) is localized principally in the nerve growth cone of developing neurons and declines to low levels with synaptic maturation. To determine whether pp60c-src is reexpressed in regenerating axons, its expression was studied by immunoblotting and immunocytochemical analyses in adult chicken sciatic nerve following nerve crush injury. pp60c-src expression was found to increase during nerve repair with a temporal and spatial pattern consistent with a localization in regenerating axons. At the crush site, pp60c-src increased to maximal levels 7 days postinjury, increasing fivefold relative to 0 day nerve. In the nerve segment distal to the injury, the maximal increase in pp60c-src was sevenfold and occurred between 11 and 21 days postinjury. Immunoperoxidase staining revealed pp60c-src in regenerating axons and certain nonneuronal cells at the site of nerve repair. pp60c-src was induced in both motor and sensory neurons, as shown by increased pp60c-src immunoreactivity in their cell bodies located in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion. Phosphotyrosine-modified proteins that were potential targets of pp60c-src increased following nerve crush, and were localized to outgrowing neurites as well as to nonneuronal cells. These results suggest that pp60c-src is a common component of cellular mechanisms regulating growth cone migration in both regenerating and developing axons.
Use of Non-Linear Programming and Stochastic Modeling in the Medical Evaluation of Normal-Abnormal Liver Function

A model for Rose Bengal transport through the hepatobiliary system has been developed, and non-linear programming techniques have been used to derive the model's parameters according to actual patient data. The model is then further analyzed as a Markov chain. A system of checks and balances, and measure of error, is discussed.
Stages of e-democracy: towards an open-source political model

Digital networks such as the internet are facilitating and accelerating a change in the relationship between producers and customers. The change embodies a profound shift in power and ideology whereby people become co-producers of value rather than passive consumers. This transition is increasingly mirrored in US politics. Rather than simply choosing between competing candidates, the internet and web-based tools enable voters to become co-producers. In this nascent era of e-Democracy, there is a dearth of conceptual frameworks with which to make sense of the phenomenon. To fill this need, this paper explores how an open-source model of business and politics emerges, its stages and characteristics, and prospects for changing entrenched political processes.
The formal theory of scattering

The theory of scattering is developed from first principles with strict attention to the question of the preparation of the state vector of the system appropriate to a description of scattering. The connection between the present formulation and the more conventional interaction representation and S matrix presentations is traced. The wave matrix of Moller is introduced and the existence of bound states is discussed in connection with it. A number of applications to rather involved processes are discussed. Finally, the problem of self-energies in field-theoretic scattering calculations is treated.
Gastric heterotopia with extensive involvement of the small intestine associated with congenital short bowel syndrome and intestinal malrotation.

We present a case of extensive gastric heterotopia involving the small intestine associated with congenital short bowel syndrome and malrotation. The infant showed a normal mesenteric artery, without signs of “apple peel” deformity. Gastric heterotopia extended from the duodenum to the mid-ileum involving the short bowel. Gastric mucosa heterotopia may involve any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. It can be associated with pancreatic heterotopia and Meckel diverticulum. However, our case showed involvement of two-thirds of the small intestine without pancreatic heterotopia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of gastric heterotopia with congenital short gut syndrome and malrotation.
Analysis of orthogonal metal cutting processes

The orthogonal metal cutting process for a controlled contact tool is simulated using a limit analysis theorem. The basic principles are stated in the form of a primal optimization problem with an objective function subjected to constraints of the equilibrium equation, its static boundary conditions and a constitutive inequality. An Eulerian reference co-ordinate is used to describe the steady state motion of the workpiece relative to the tool. Based on a duality theorem, a dual functional bounds the objective functional of the primal problem from above by a sharp inequality. The dual formulation seeks the least upper bound and thus recovers the maximum of the primal functional theoretically. A finite element approximation of the continuous variables in the dual problem reduces it to a convex programming. Since the original dual problem admits discontinuous solutions in the form of bounded variation functions, care must be taken in the finite element approximation to account for such a possibility. This is accomplished by a combined smoothing and successive approximation algorithm. Convergence is robust from any initial iterate. Results are obtained for a wide range of control parameters including cutting depth, rake angle, rake length and friction. The converged solutions provide information on cutting force, chip thickness, chip stream angle and shear angle which agree well both in values and trend with the published data. But the available data represent only a small subset in the range of parameters exhaustively investigated in this paper.
Can conditioning procedures yield representative infant vocalizations in the laboratory

The quantity and quality of vocalizations produced in the home and laboratory by 36 typically developing infants, aged 3-18 months, were compared. Conditioning procedures were employed in order to obtain typical infant vocalizations in the laboratory. Analyses indicated that vocalizations were comparable in quantity and quality across the two settings. Earlier findings that frequency and complexity of vocalizations increase with age were also confirmed. These results suggest that with the use of conditioning procedures the laboratory can be an effective setting for recording infant vocalizations. Advantages of the laboratory setting include a favourable acoustic environment and the feasibility of maintaining stricter experimental control than is possible in more naturalistic contexts, such as the home.
Accuracy of the Welch Allyn Suresight for measurement of magnitude of astigmatism in 3- to 7-year-old children

Purpose To evaluate the accuracy of the Welch Allyn SureSight in noncycloplegic measurements of astigmatism as compared to cycloplegic Retinomax K+ autorefractor measurements of astigmatism in children from a Native American population with a high prevalence of high astigmatism. Methods Data are reported for 825 3- to 7-year-old children with no ocular abnormalities. Each child had a Retinomax K+ cycloplegic measurement of right eye astigmatism with a confidence rating ≥8 and 3 attempts to obtain a SureSight measurement on the right eye. Results SureSight measurement success rates did not differ significantly across age or measurement confidence rating ( 3.00 D), Retinomax K+ measurements indicated that >2.00 D of astigmatism was present in 136 of 157 (86.6%). In cooperative children for whom the SureSight would not give a reading, 32 of 34 (94%) had >3.00 D of astigmatism. Conclusions The SureSight does not provide an accurate, quantitative measure of amount of astigmatism. However, it does allow accurate categorization of amount of astigmatism as ≤2.00 D, >2.00 D, or >3.00 D, and it has high measurement success rate in young children.
Social Work Labor Market: A First Look

Virtually no literature exists on the labor market for social workers. Fragmentary evidence suggests that this market is highly segmented by education; that many people who do not have social work degrees work in social work jobs, at least at the lower levels; that people who want to be social workers have such a strong commitment to the career of social work that relative wages make relatively little difference to their career decisions; and that employers often hire applicants without degrees for social work jobs. These factors tend to depress wages for social workers. Suggestions are made for a research and data collection program to make possible a definitive analysis of the social work labor market.
Effects of ALANON Attendance on Family Perception of Inner-City Indigents

This study investigated the perception of family functioning of rehabilitating inner-city substance abusers and one of their family members. Subjects were 39 residents of a treatment center and 39 family members. The design was compromised experimental, comparing the group who had family members in ALANON (n = 36) with a nonrandomized control group whose family members had no help (n = 42). Data were collected three times: at the beginning of the abuser's treatment, at the end, and one month after treatment. Subjects completed two family functioning instruments: Assessment of Strategies in Families (ASF) and Family APGAR. Repeated-measure MANOVAs yielded significant differences in all family scores between the ALANON and the control groups. An increase in the perception of family effectiveness was most pronounced between time 2 and time 3, after the substance abuse program was completed. Family members changed their perceptions more than the abusers and maintained their favorable family perception, even though five of the abusers had relapsed shortly after discharge. At 3 months after treatment, the relapse rate for addicts in the ALANON group (n = 15) was 39% compared with 61% for addicts in the control group (n = 18). The difference was not of statistical significance due to the small group sizes, however. Evidence suggests the usefulness of ALANON in empowering families and assisting them in reevaluating the family system more positively.
Fanny Hen'sel's “songs for pianoforte” of 1836–37: Stylistic interaction with Felix Mendelssohn 1

Abstract Fanny Hensel held matinee concerts in her home that were among the best musical events in Berlin during the 1830s and 40s. Her piano compositions written for these events remained mostly unpublished, because her brother Felix Mendelssohn vigorously opposed publication of her music. In spite of their disagreement about publishing, their correspondence demonstrates that the close musical interaction of their childhood, with both encouragement and criticism, continued and flourished. In order to explore how this musical interaction manifested itself, Hensel's “Songs for Pianoforte” of 1836–37 are here compared to Mendelssohn's “Songs without Words” of the same period. Hensel's use of expansive length, developmental techniques, and multiple themes contrasts with Mendelssohn's more compact, mostly mono thematic pieces. Yet similarities of harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic material, as well as piano texture, reveal the closeness of musical spirit between the two siblings. Direct comparison suggests that ...
Developing a Taste for Sweets

Abstract Lymphocytes are covered with sugars. Some of the oligosaccharides on lymphocytes may be recognized by specific lectins such as the selectins, but what other functions do all of these oligosaccharides serve? Two recent papers in Cell (Moody et al., 2001) and Immunity (Daniels et al., 2001) describe a novel role for glycosylation in the thymus—regulating the interaction of MHC class I molecules with CD8 during thymocyte maturation.
Dynamics modeling signaling pathway regulating egf-induced cell adhesion

Abstract A quantitative modeling approach is developed to dissect the signaling pathways involved in the process of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced dynamic change of cell adhesion. The dynamics model will be constructed based on a system identification process, which is regularly employed in control system design to elucidate the unknown structures and parameters of some of the components in the system based on the prior knowledge and the input/output information of the system. The signaling network that is known to regulate the EGF-induced cell adhesion is designated as the controller which controls the physical process of cell adhesion, i.e. the plant. A nanomechanical sensor in quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), which is capable of generating realtime, continuous and measurable signals, will be used for evaluating the system output. The interaction of measurement signal with the cell adhesion complex is modeled as plant. From the model, key structures and parameters of the signaling hierarchy were identified and confirmed. The dynamic pathway output agrees well with the measurement result of energy dissipation from the QCM-D sensor. We expect this proposed study will reveal the decisive reactions of the signaling network that are most critical to regulation of EGF-induced changes in cell adhesion at both normal and disease conditions.
Principles of evidence-based management using stage I-II melanoma as a model.

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is the practice of integrating best research evidence with clinical expertise and patent values. 1 The term, Evidence-Based Medicine, was named in 1992 by a group led by Gordon Guyatt at McMaster University in Canada. The practice of EBM arose from the awareness of: 1 the daily need for valid information pertinent to clinical practice; 2 the inadequacy of traditional sources, like textbooks, for such information; 3 the disparity between clinical enhancing skills and declining up-to-date knowledge and eventually, clinical performance; and 4 the inability to spend more time in finding and assimilating evidence pertinent to clinical practice. EBM simply emphasizes three As: Access, Appraisal and Application. Access requires refining a clinical question into a searchable term and an answerable question and using search engines to track down the information. Appraisal is using epidemiological principles and methods to critically review evidence for its validity and applicability. Application is integrating the critically appraised evidence with clinical expertise and each patient's unique situation. The outcomes following such practices are then assayed. The last step involves evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency in executing the first two As and seeking ways for improvement. In this article, we describe the concept and steps of practising EBM and utilize melanoma as an example to illustrate how we integrate the best evidence to outline the management plan for stage I-II melanoma.
Porphyrin photosensitization and carotenoid protection in mice; in vitro and in vivo studies.

Mice made porphyric with collidine received either of the pigments beta-carotene or canthaxanthin. When the mice were exposed to ambient light and to weekly doses of black light, the treated animals developed less skinfold thickness than did porphyric mice receiving placebo, indicating some protection from photosensitization in the mice receiving pigments. Photosensitized inhibition of succinate oxidation in liver extracts prepared from porphyric mice was also reduced in those animals that had received the pigments. A singlet oxygen-free radical trap, DPBF, was added to the isolated epidermis of collidine-porphyric mice which had received either beta-carotene, canthaxanthin or placebo. The absorbance of DPBF at 415 nm in epidermis prepared from mice receiving either of the pigments decreased less after light exposure of the prepared epidermis than did the absorbance of DPBF in epidermis prepared from porphyric mice receiving placebo and similarly light exposed. These experiments suggest that the administered carotenoids quenched to some degree photochemical reactions occurring in the porphyric epidermis.
Psychosocial changes during the first year of medical school

The goal of this study was to assess psychosocial changes during the first year, on measures thought related to the long-term adjustment of medical students. Measures of self-esteem, health locus of control, hassles, uplifts, mood, and symptoms of stress were administered at the beginning and end of first year to 128 of 181 students. Self-esteem, powerful other locus of control, and uplifts decreased while hassles increased during the year. Positive mood decreased (joy, contentment, vigour, and affection) while negative mood increased (depression and hostility). Hassles at the beginning of the year were positively associated with health outcome at the beginning and end of the year. End-of-the-year first-year students appear to be worse off psychosocially than when they entered. With greater emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention and the adoption of other reforms in medical education, as suggested in the GPEP Report, medical students may learn to cope more effectively with stress as they pursue their medical education.
CFC1 Mutations in Patients with Transposition of the Great Arteries and Double-Outlet Right Ventricle

Recent investigations identified heterozygous CFC1 mutations in subjects with heterotaxy syndrome, all of whom had congenital cardiac malformations, including malposition of the great arteries. We hypothesized that a subset of patients with similar types of congenital heart disease—namely, transposition of the great arteries and double-outlet right ventricle, in the absence of laterality defects—would also have CFC1 mutations. Our analysis of the CFC1 gene in patients with these cardiac disorders identified two disease-related mutations in 86 patients. The present study identifies the first autosomal single-gene defect for these cardiac malformations and indicates that some cases of transposition of the great arteries and double-outlet right ventricle can share a common genetic etiology with heterotaxy syndrome. In addition, these results demonstrate that the molecular pathway involving CFC1 plays a critical role in normal and abnormal cardiovascular development.
An Analysis of Variation in the Energy-Related Environmental Impacts of LEED Certified Buildings

Abstract The US Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED guidelines have become the dominant third-party certification program for “green” buildings in the US. Given that buildings use 37% of all ener...
Postural change alters autonomic responses to breath-holding.

We used breath-holding during inspiration as a model to study the effect of pulmonary stretch on sympathetic nerve activity. Twelve healthy subjects (7 females, 5 males; 19–27 yrs) were tested while they performed an inspiratory breath-hold, both supine and during a 60° head-up tilt (HUT 60). Heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), respiration, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), oxygen saturation (SaO2) and end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) were recorded. Cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were calculated. While breath-holding, ETCO2 increased significantly from 41±2 to 60±2 Torr during supine (p<0.05) and 38±2 Torr to 58±2 during HUT60 (p<0.05); SaO2 decreased from 98±1.5% to 95±1.4% supine, and from 97±1.5% to 94±1.7% during HUT60 (p=NS). MSNA showed three distinctive phases - a quiescent phase due to pulmonary stretch associated with decreased MAP, HR, CO and TPR; a second phase of baroreflex-mediated elevated MSNA which was associated with recovery of MAP and HR only during HUT60; CO and peripheral resistance returned to baseline while supine and HUT60; a third phase of further increased MSNA activity related to hypercapnia and associated with increased TPR. Breath-holding results in initial reductions of MSNA, MAP and HR by the pulmonary stretch reflex followed by increased sympathetic activity related to the arterial baroreflex and chemoreflex.