cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Social Theory and the Problem of Postal Reorganization

This book discusses the way in which economic activity is organized by the state in a capitalist society. The major focus is on how technology and labor are combined to deliver a universally available public service in a highly stratified society. It is important to remember, that the government owns and operates the Postal Service. This controversial arrangement creates pressure on government enterprises that must achieve politically defined social goals as well as economic ones (Batstone, Ferner, & Terry, 1984, p. 8). The influence of parliamentary and bureaucratic politics on postal policies is therefore significant, and sometimes creates irrational outcomes that reinforce claims of those who support the proposition that private enterprise is always superior to government organization of economic activity. As a result, postal policies are contentious and postal performance is always evaluated through an ideological lens.
Spacing changes in the actin and myosin filaments during activation, and their implications.

Small but important axial spacing changes have been found to occur in the X-ray reflections from both the actin and myosin filaments when a muscle changes from the resting state to a state of isometric contraction1,2. The overall spacing change in the actin is an increase of approximately 0.25–0.30%, measured on the first actin meridional reflection at 27.3 A. This implies a length increase of approximately 2.5–3.0 nm in the actin filaments in each half-sarcomere. This is an appreciable fraction of the total compliance measured in quick release experiments3, and therefore has a considerable effect on their interpretation.
Report of a mail survey of women with bladder control disorders.

INTRODUCTION Very little is known about a patients perception of the severity of incontinence, absorbent product use, and interaction with health care professionals despite the growing prevalence of bladder control disorders such as urinary incontinence (UI) and overactive bladder. PURPOSE Using a simple mail-in questionnaire, this survey was meant to evaluate the limitations in intervention for UI in women due to communication shorffalls. It cites common resources utilized once a woman finds significance to her bladder control problem. The survey explores the adequacy of intervention relative to the effective availability of information, materials, and treatment. The objective was to understand the current patient-professional relationship in order to evaluate different vehicles that might effectively increase communication regarding incontinence issues. METHODS In partnership with a mail order medical product company, the author formulated a questionnaire that was mailed by the company to 1,500 women. Half of the sample was derived from randomly selected "leads" from advertising sources and personal referrals who had identified themselves as incontinent but had never purchased incontinence supplies from them. The other half were randomly selected customers who had purchased the company's incontinence products. The 33-item multiple-choice questionnaire had 422 responses; of these, 405 women, aged 56 and older were evaluated. A research firm that conducts and analyzes consumer surveys using standard consumer research protocol tabulated results. FINDINGS Of those suffering from UI, two groups emerged. The first felt that incontinence was related to aging, and were not embarrassed to discuss it with their physician. They had mixed feelings regarding impact on quality of life. The second group was reluctant to seek professional advice and was uncomfortable speaking about it. They felt strongly about its negative impact on daily life. Respondents from both groups who seek professional assistance still desired more information about the causes, treatments, and coping mechanisms. Most wanted more provider interaction and wanted their doctor or health care provider to proactively initiate discussion on incontinence and provide information, educational materials, and product samples. CONCLUSION Respondents indicated that they want more information regarding incontinence. While they may not be equipped to fully understand the problem, they expect doctors, nurses, medical professionals, retail outlets, medical supply companies, and mail order houses to provide the information. Since respondents are receiving information through consumer advertising, which is usually commercially funded, a partnership between the health care community and these sources to produce this information would be ideal.
An implementation of robot formations using local interactions

Coordinating a group of robots to work in formation has been suggested for a number of tasks, such as urban search-and-rescue, traffic control, and harvesting solar energy. Algorithms for controlling robot formations have been inspired by biological and organizational systems. In our approach to robot formation control, each robot is treated like a cell in a cellular automaton, where local interactions between robots result in a global organization. The algorithm has been demonstrated in simulation. In this paper, we present a physical implementation.
Spatial Filtering in a Regression Framework: Examples Using Data on Urban Crime, Regional Inequality, and Government Expenditures

In a recent paper Getis (1990), I develop a rationale for filtering spatially dependent variables into spatially independent variables and demonstrate a technique for changing one to the other. In that paper, the transformation is a multi-step procedure based on Ripley’s second order statistic (1981). In this chapter, I will briefly review the argument for the filtering procedure and propose a simplified method based on a spatial statistic developed by Getis and Ord (1992). The chapter is divided into four parts: (1) a short discussion of the rationale for filtering spatially dependent variables into spatially independent variables, (2) a review of a Getis–Ord statistic, (3) an outline of the filtering procedure, and (4) three examples taken from the literature on urban crime, regional inequality, and government expenditures.
Applications of Social Identity Theory to Research and Design in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

Research in computer-supported cooperative work has historically focused on behaviors of individuals at scale, using frames of interpersonal interaction such as Goffman's theories of self-presentation. These framings result in research detailing characteristics, personal identities, and behaviors of large numbers of connected and interacting individuals, while the social identity concepts that lead to intra- and inter-group dynamics have received less attention. We argue that the emergent properties of self-categorization and social identity, which are particularly fluid and complex in online spaces, provide a complementary perspective with which to re-examine traditional topics in social computing. We discuss the applicability of the Social Identity Perspective to established and new research domains in CSCW, proposing alternative perspectives on self-presentation, social support, collaboration, conflict, and leadership. We note methodological considerations emerging from this theory. Finally, we consider how broad concepts and lessons from the Social Identity Perspective might inspire CSCW work in the future.
Asymptotic analysis of the electrostatic interaction of two equal-sized conducting spheres in the near limit

Abstract We analyze the electrostatic interaction of two equal-sized charged conducting spheres when they are about to touch each other. The classical solutions for this interaction converge ever more slowly in this limit and the solutions fail completely when the spheres touch each other. The asymptotic expansions of the solutions starting at the point of contact get more accurate as the spheres approach each other, however, the expansions must be terminated at a finite number of terms to obtain sensible answers from otherwise divergent series. We examine the asymptotic behavior of this electrostatic interaction.
The Data Standardization Challenge

Data standardization offers significant benefits for industry and regulators alike, suggesting that it should be easy. In practice, however, the process has been difficult and slow moving. Moving from an abstract incentive-based analysis to one focused on institutional detail reveals myriad frictions favoring the status quo despite foregone gains. This paper explores the benefits of and challenges confronting standardization, why it should be a top regulatory priority, and how to overcome some of the obstacles to implementation. The paper also uses data standardization as a lens into the challenges that impede optimal financial regulation. Alongside capture and other common explanations for regulatory failures, this paper suggests that coordination problems, delayed benefits, and other banal, but perhaps no less intractable, challenges are often the real impediments to better financial regulation.
Experimentally derived nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains vegetation

The critical load concept facilitates communication between scientists and policy makers and land managers by translating the complex effects of air pollution on ecosystems into unambiguous numbers that can be used to inform air quality targets. Anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition adversely affects a variety of ecosystems, but the information used to derive critical loads for North American ecosystems is sparse and often based on experiments investigating N loads substantially higher than current or expected atmospheric deposition. In a 4-yr field experiment in the northern Great Plains (NGP) of North America, where current N deposition levels range from ~3 to 9 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 , we added 12 levels of N, from 2.5 to 100 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 , to three sites spanning a range of soil fertility and productivity. Our results suggest a conservative critical load of 4-6 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 for the most sensitive vegetation type we investigated, badlands sparse vegetation, a community that supports plant species adapted to low fertility conditions, where N addition at this rate increased productivity and litter load. In contrast, for the two more productive vegetation types characteristic of most NGP grasslands, a critical load of 6-10 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 was identified. Here, N addition at this level altered plant tissue chemistry and increased nonnative species. These critical loads are below the currently suggested range of 10-25 kg N·ha-1 ·yr-1 for NGP vegetation and within the range of current or near-future deposition, suggesting that N deposition may already be inducing fundamental changes in NGP ecosystems.
Energizadas pelo movimento de mulheres "#NiUnaMenos", as equipes de futebol feminino desafiam os patriarcas do esporte-rei da América Latina

Este ensaio aborda algumas questoes emergentes que gravitam em torno do futebol feminino na America Latina, como a falta de reconhecimento das proprias instituicoes que dirigem o futebol. Em 2108, algumas selecoes – porto-riquenha, jamaicana e argentina – promoveram protestos em campo ja que as federacoes de futebol vez ou outra ignoram as solicitacoes das jogadoras. Levar o descontentamento ao gramado tem ajudado essas mulheres a chamar a atencao para a sua causa.
USE of CLINICAL TEST CLUSTERS VERSUS ADVANCED IMAGING STUDIES in the MANAGEMENT of PATIENTS with a SUSPECTED SLAP TEAR.

Background and purpose The Magnetic Resonance Arthrogram (MRA) has served as the gold standard for identifying patients with possible Superior Labrum Anterior-Posterior (SLAP) lesions and are often required by orthopaedic surgeons prior to clinical evaluation. However, as the literature shows MRA sensitivity as 0.65-0.98, and specificity between 0.80-1.00, there is still room for misinterpretation of the imaging study, and potential mismanagement of a patient who may or may not exhibit a true SLAP lesion. It is proposed that by grouping a series of clinical special tests it may be possible to develop greater sensitivity in identifying a SLAP lesion, resulting in the ability to better manage this patient population, thus avoiding unnecessary and costly imaging studies and decreased referrals to surgical specialists. The purpose of this study is to examine specific combinations of SLAP lesion special tests and identify which clusters of tests have the highest sensitivity and specificities. This may allow therapists to improve the management of their patients by reliably diagnosing a SLAP lesion and referring only those who may need surgery to a physician. Study design Literature review, diagnostic sensitivity/specificity outcomes. Methods A retrospective search of the current peer-reviewed literature was performed in an effort to identify the clinical special tests with the greatest sensitivity and specificity in identifying SLAP lesions. Based upon that search, the study was limited to five special tests: Biceps Load I, Biceps Load II, Speed's, Passive Compression, and O'Brien's tests. A multiple regression analysis was performed that looked at grouping of the tests to determine the diagnostic sensitivity/specificity when grouped. Results Obtaining positive results on three of the five special tests resulted in a sensitivity of 0.992-0.999 and a specificity of 0.992-0.999. The combination of the Biceps Load I/II and O'Brien's showed the highest sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion The results indicate that a combination of at least three positive SLAP lesion tests may be clinically useful in diagnosing a shoulder SLAP lesion with greater diagnostic accuracy than those reported for MRI/MRA, thus improving patient management by referring only those who may require surgical intervention to a physician. Level of evidence 2c, "Outcomes" Research.
Ambient Lipidomic Analysis of Single Mammalian Oocytes and Preimplantation Embryos Using Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) Mass Spectrometry.

Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) is a spray-based ambient ionization method for mass spectrometry (MS) that generates ions in native atmospheric conditions (e.g., pressure and temperature). Ambient ionization allows in situ analysis of unmodified samples by eliminating analyte extraction and separation steps before MS. Lipid analysis of individual mammalian oocytes and preimplantation embryos is challenging because of their complex chemical composition and minute dimensions (100-300 μm in diameter). Nonetheless, DESI-MS can provide comprehensive lipidomic profiles of individual oocytes or embryos using a fast and simple workflow. DESI-MS lipid profiles include many classes of lipids such as phosphatidylcholines (PC), triacylglycerols (TAG), free fatty acids (FFA), phosphatidylethanolamines (PE), phosphatidylinositols (PI), phosphatidylserines (PS), diacylglycerols (DAG), ubiquinone, cholesterol and cholesterol derivatives (e.g., cholesterol sulfate and cholesterol esters). Depending on the mass spectrometer used, there is the additional possibility of obtaining structural information of lipids via MSn, and molecular formulae via high resolution MS. Here, we describe the procedures for sample handling, the DESI-MS experimental arrangement, and the data collection and data analysis using low and high-resolution mass spectrometers (such as a linear ion trap and Orbitrap mass analyzer, respectively), as well as strategies for structural characterization of lipids. Lastly, we detail our workflow for relating the chemical information obtained by DESI-MS into the biological context of oocyte and embryo metabolism.
Irrigation Regimens Differentially Affect Growth and Water Use Efficiency of Two Southwest Landscape Plants

Abstract Growth and water use efficiency (WUE) of two, common Southwest landscape plants, red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima L.) and blue palo verde (Cercidium floridum Benth. Ex A. Gray...
Predictive Analytics in Spine Oncology Research: First Steps, Limitations, and Future Directions

The potential of big data analytics to improve the quality of care for patients with spine tumors is significant. At this moment, the application of big data analytics to oncology and spine surgery is at a nascent stage. As such, efforts are underway to advance data-driven oncologic care, improve patient outcomes, and guide clinical decision making. This is both relevant and critical in the practice of spine oncology as clinical decision making is often made in isolation looking at select variables deemed relevant by the physician. With rapidly evolving therapeutics in surgery, radiation, interventional radiology, and oncology, there is a need to better develop decision-making algorithms utilizing the vast data available for each patient. The challenges and limitations inherent to big data analyses are presented with an eye towards future directions.
2 – Developmental Considerations

Publisher Summary Developmental considerations affect the assessment process with children and adolescents in multiple ways. Thus, effective child assessment is based on a foundation and understanding of the basic child developmental theories and processes. The reasons for including development as a primary consideration span issues such as competent practice, establishment of a normative baseline, and measurement. Taking developmental considerations into account is essential for a competent evaluation and assessment of children and adolescents. How an individual child responds adaptively or maladaptively to particular stressors at a given life stage determines the development of problematic or normative. Such understanding of the interplay of physical, cognitive, and emotional development can easily be applied to the assessment and evaluation literature. Developmental assessment, like developmental psychopathology, takes developmental knowledge and research into account in a substantial way and does not assume that because a particular measure has been normed with a given age group, it captures developmental processes and changes. Understanding how foundational components, which include a comprehensive assessment of cognitive, social/emotional, sensory, and motor processing, can elucidate causative or concurrent factors in development is critical to conceptualizing appropriate treatment. A comprehensive evaluation establishes a baseline of functioning from which a clinician can document progress.
The early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes: A national cohort study.

Abstract Aims To describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults with T1D or T2D in the U.S. Methods Participants, recruited from the Taking Control of Your Diabetes Research Registry, were ≥19 years old and diagnosed with either T1D or T2D for ≥12 months. Participants completed an online survey on a HIPAA-protected platform. Results Completed surveys were received from 763 T1Ds and 619 T2Ds. Average T1D age was 53.3 (SD = 15.3); average T2D age was 64.9 (SD = 10.3). Both samples were predominantly female, non-Hispanic white and well-educated. Average self-reported HbA1c was 6.9 (SD = 1.0; 52 mmol/mol) for T1Ds and 7.1 (SD = 1.1; 54 mmol/mol) for T2Ds. About 40% of respondents reported that all of their diabetes healthcare appointments at the time were cancelled or postponed, 40% reported a switch to telehealth appointments and almost half reported lower overall satisfaction with these visits (compared to pre-pandemic). There were widespread increases in general and diabetes-related stress and social isolation, and negative effects on disease management. About 25% reported increases in highs, lows, and glucose variability in both groups. Conclusion There has been a substantive increase in level of diabetes-related and general life stress and social isolation due to the pandemic, with a significant impact on disease management.
Competition Network, Distress Propagation, and Industry Returns

We build a competition network that links two industries through their common market leaders. Industries with higher centrality on the competition network have higher expected stock returns because of higher exposure to the cross-industry spillover of distress shocks. The competition intensity on the network is endogenously determined by the major players' economic and financial distress. We examine the core mechanism --- the causal effects of firms' distress risk on their product market behavior and the propagation of these firm-specific distress shocks through the competition network --- by exploiting the occurrence of local natural disasters and enforcement actions against financial fraud to identify idiosyncratic distress shocks. Firms hit by natural disasters or enforcement actions exhibit increased distress and then compete more aggressively by cutting profit margins. In response, their industry peers also cut profit margins and then become more distressed, especially in industries with high entry barriers. Crucially, distress shocks can propagate to other industries through common market leaders operating in multiple industries. These results cannot be explained by demand commonality or other network externality.
SSB facilitates fork substrate discrimination by PriA

Abstract PriA is a member of the SuperFamily 2 helicase family. Its role in vivo is to reload the primosome onto stalled replication forks resulting in the restart of the previously stalled DNA replication process. SSB is known to play key roles in mediating activities at replication forks and it is known to bind to PriA. To gain mechanistic insight into the PriA-SSB interaction, a coupled spectrophotometric assay was utilized to characterize the ATPase activity of PriA in vitro in the presence of fork substrates. The results demonstrate that SSB enhances the ability of PriA to discriminate between fork substrates 140-fold. This is due to a significant increase in the catalytic efficiency of the helicase induced by DNA-bound SSB. This interaction is species-specific as bacteriophage gene 32 protein cannot substitute for the E.coli protein. SSB, while enhancing the activity of PriA on its preferred fork, both decreases the affinity of the helicase for other forks and decreases catalytic efficiency. Central to the stimulation afforded by SSB is the unique ability of PriA to bind with high affinity to the 3’-OH placed at the end of the nascent leading strand at the fork. When both the 3’-OH and SSB are present, the maximum effect is observed. This ensures that PriA will only load onto the correct fork, in the right orientation, thereby ensuring that replication restart is directed to only the template lagging strand.
Salt Concentration Measurement Using Re-usable Electric Conductivity–based Sensors

Human activities alter salt concentration of water sources such as lakes, ponds, wetlands and streams, which will have detrimental impacts on water quality and aquatic ecosystems. We developed electrical conductivity (EC)–based sensors to measure salt concentrations in water bodies. We calibrated and validated sensors using standard sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. Furthermore, we validated sensors in a laboratory (using standard solutions) and field settings. The errors for the laboratory validation varied from 0 to 13% with an average of 6%. We deployed 35 sensors in the Madison County, Illinois, USA and measured high-resolution (15 min) salt concentration for 6 months (December, 2018 to May, 2019) in water bodies in urban stream, parking lot drain, road-side drain, and creek. The average errors between sensor and field measurements were 11% for sensor field validation. Sensors were able to predict salt concentrations in the field settings within a precision level required to quantify salt concentration in water bodies. Therefore, the study would be helpful to monitor the change in salt concentrations in water sources as an impact of human activities benefiting water managers, researchers, and agencies working on water quality and ecosystems.
Squeeze-film properties of synovial fluid and hyaluronate-based viscosupplements.

The rheological properties of synovial fluid and hyaluronate (HA) solutions have been studied using a variety of viscometers and rheometers. These devices measure the viscosity of the fluid’s resistance to shearing forces, which is useful when studying the lubrication and frictional properties of movable joints. Less commonly used is a squeeze-film fluid test, mechanistically similar to when two joint surfaces squeeze interposed fluid. In our study, we used squeeze-film tests to determine the rheological response of normal bovine synovial fluid and 10 mg/ml HA-based solutions, Hyalgan/Hyalovet, commercially available 500–700 kDa HA viscosupplements, and a 1000 kDa sodium hyaluronate (NaHy) solution. We found similar rheological responses (fluid thickness, viscosity, viscosity–pressure relationship) for all three fluids, though synovial fluid’s minimum squeeze-film thickness was slightly thicker. Squeeze-film loading speed did not affect these results. Different HA concentrations and molecular weights also did not have a significant or consistent effect on the squeeze-film responses. An unexpected result for the HA-solutions was a linear increase in minimum fluid-film thickness with increasing initial fluid-film thickness. This result was attributed to faster gelling of thicker HA-solutions, which formed at a lower squeeze-film strain and higher squeeze-film strain rate compared to thinner layers. Also included is a review of the literature on viscosity measurements of synovial fluid and HA solutions.
Engine Mount for Integral Body Vehicle

A typical problem in integral body vehicles is the isolation of high frequency vibration and noise. A method of attacking this problem is presented for isolation of engine noise. A mount concept which acts as a mechanical low pass filter was analyzed, designed and tested. Results in reducing engine noise in the vehicle show it to be an effective method.
Racial disparities in testing for sexually transmitted infections in the emergency department.

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2012; 19: 604–607 © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine predictors of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing among adolescent females presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department (ED) with symptoms potentially suggestive of an STI. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data collected in a prospective prevalence study of STIs among a consecutive sample of symptomatic females aged 14 to 19 years presenting to a pediatric ED with lower abdominal or genitourinary complaints. The outcome of interest was performance of an STI test. Correlates of interest included patient age, race, insurance status, chief complaint, presence of comorbid conditions, and treating physician sex. Results: Of the 328 adolescent females who presented to the ED with STI-related complaints and met inclusion criteria, 15.6% did not undergo STI testing. Univariable analysis revealed that black or African American race (odds ratio [OR] = 4.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.67 to 9.30) and nonprivate insurance (OR = 3.47; 95% CI = 1.83 to 6.58) were significantly associated with the performance of STI testing. In a multivariable model, only black or African American race (OR = 3.94; 95% CI = 1.96 to 7.91) remained significantly associated with the performance of STI testing. Conclusions: A substantial number of adolescent females who presented with complaints suggestive of an STI did not undergo STI testing, and a racial disparity in STI testing was noted. The racial disparity in rates of STI testing among symptomatic adolescent girls presenting to the ED warrants further study to confirm validity, to determine if disparity reflects physicians’ biases, and to inform strategies for controlling the present epidemic of STIs in adolescents.
Some Antarctic and sub‐Antarctic sea anemones (Coelenterata: Ptychodactiaria and Actiniaria)

Asterisks (*...*) indicate words or phrases that are to be italicized. Reproduced/modified by permission of the American Geophysical Union.
Conceptual modeling versus visual modeling: a technological key to building consensus

Debate has long been a hallmark of the academic endeavor. The recent introduction of computers into academic life has not been the deus ex machina to bring sudden resolution to these debates. There is a new computing technology, however, that has some promise in this regard. It is called conceptual modeling. This paper' demonstrates how a computer-based model of a problem domain can lead to consensus when competing approaches to the domain can be encapsulated in different visual models that are applied to the same underlying conceptual model.
Ethics Education in the Workplace: An Effective Tool to Combat Employee Theft

Employee pilfering is an equal opportunity curse that effects virtually all businesses and cuts across all job classifications. From the janitor to the president, employee theft may take the form of embezzling cash, taking office supplies and equipment, making personal photocopies and phone calls, as well as taking extended lunch breaks or personal time. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that employee theft costs U.S. businesses $40 billion annually.1 As a rule of thumb, a company can expect to lose 1% to 3% of its annual sales to worker pilfering.2 A Chamber of Commerce study suggests that up to 75% of all employees steal at least once and half of those take company property at least twice.3 In a pre-employment survey done in 1993 by Lousig-Nont & Associates, 14.5% of the surveyed participants stated that the temptation to steal can be hard to resist, and 10.7% indicated that they would pilfer if they believed they would not be caught.4 According to reports published in 1994 by American Life Insurance Co. and FDIC, data suggest that, internal employee theft is respon sible for an astonishing three out of every four business failures.5 Employee theft is too large a problem for any company to ignore, regardless of its size. This
Pathogenesis and outcomes of traumatic injuries of the esophagus.

Traumatic injury of the esophagus is extremely uncommon. The aims of this study were to use the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study (PTOS) database to identify clinical factors predictive of esophageal trauma, and to report the morbidity and mortality of this injury. A cross-sectional review of patients presenting to 20 Level I trauma centers in Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2010 was performed. We compared clinical and demographic variables between patients with and without esophageal trauma both prior to and after arrival in the emergency room (ER). Primary mechanism of injury and clinical outcomes were analyzed. There were 231 694 patients and 327 (0.14%) had esophageal trauma. Patients with esophageal trauma were considerably younger than those without this injury. The risk of esophageal trauma was markedly increased in males (odds ratio [OR] = 2.62 [CI 1.98-3.47]). The risk was also increased in African Americans (OR = 4.61 [CI 3.65-5.82]). Most cases were from penetrating gunshot and stab wounds. Only 34 (10.4%) of esophageal trauma patients underwent an upper endoscopy; diagnosis was usually made by CT, surgery, or autopsy. Esophageal trauma patients were more likely to require surgery (35.8% vs. 12.5%; P Language: en
Utility of wide beam reconstruction in whole body bone scan

2056 Objectives The Wide Beam Reconstruction (WBR) algorithms that UltraSPECT, Ltd. has provides solutions which improved image resolution by eliminating the effect of the line spread function by collimator and suppression of the noise. The aim of this study is WBR of whole body bone scan in usefulness of clinical application. Methods The standard line source and SPECT reconstructed spatial resolution measurements were performed on an INFINA gamma camera, equipped with LEHR collimators. The Total counts of line source measurements with 200kcps and 300kcps. The SPECT phantoms analyzed spatial resolution by the changing matrix size. Also a clinical evaluation study was performed with 43 patients, referred for bone scans. First group altered scan speed with 20 and 30cm/min and dosage of 20mCi of 99mTc-HDP administered but second group altered dosage of 99mTc-HDP with 20 and 30mCi in same scan speed. The acquired data was reconstructed using the typical clinical protocol in use and the WBR reconstruction protocol. The patient9s information was removed and a blind reading was done on each reconstruction method. For each reading, a questionnaire was completed in which the reader was asked to evaluate, on a scale of 1-5point. Results The result of planar WBR data improved resolution more than 10%. The FWHM (Full-Width at Half-Maximum) of WBR data improved about 16% (Standard: 8.45, WBR: 7.09). SPECT WBR data improved resolution more than about 50% and evaluate FWHM of WBR data (Standard: 3.52, WBR: 1.65). A clinical evaluation study, There was no statistically significant difference between the two method, which includes improvement of the bone to soft tissue ratio and the image resolution (first group, P=0.07, second group, P=0.458). Conclusions The WBR method allows to shorten the acquisition time of bone scans while simultaneously providing improved image quality and to reduce the dosage of radiopharmaceuticals reducing radiation dose. Therefore, the WBR method can be applied to a wide range of clinical applications to provide clinical values as well as image quality
Information fusion experiments for text classification

We summarize our experiments and results in employing information fusion for automatic classification of free text documents into a given number of categories. We try to characterize this information fusion work in terms of the Joint Directors of Laboratories scheme. The text used in the experiments is taken from the Reuters-22173 collection, which not only comes pre-analyzed, but facilitates training of the neural networks, as well as evaluation of the classification decisions. We use different kinds of feature extractors to derive information from documents, and use neural networks for both learning and fusion. We compare the effectiveness of individual feature extractors in classifying the text with that of information fusion from different interesting combinations of feature extractors. The results indicate that information fusion almost always performs better than the individual feature extractors, and certain combinations seem to do better than the others. Additional parameters can have varying degrees of effectiveness, and remain to be investigated.
Physiological Aspects of Motivation and Reward

What are the properties of a biological mechanism that could underlie the general characteristics of motivation and reward? What properties do we need in order to satisfy the requirements of the related concepts of arousal, drive and satiation, approach and withdrawal, positive and negative reinforcement, affective display, and pleasant and unpleasant hedonic experience? We need to envisage a central-neural mechanism that is readily influenced by changes in the internal environment, that receives visceral, endocrine, and somatic afferent inputs from all modalities, and that has visceral, endocrine, and somatic efferent outputs to control or prime response mechanisms in the brainstem and spinal cord. At the same time, the mechanism must have an influence on fore-brain structures to yield the more complex hedonic processes and hedonic experience itself, which we presume to occur at the highest levels of the neural hierarchy. In turn, the central-neural mechanism must itself be controlled by these structures at a higher point in the neural hierarchy.
ASTM cross-comparison exercise on determination of material properties through miniature sample testing

An international testing exercise was conducted under ASTM Committee E 10.02 to obtain a cross-comparison of material properties obtained from various types of subsize-specimen testing techniques. Sixteen organizations representing 10 countries initially participated in the exercise. Objectives were to (1) benchmark various subsize specimen testing techniques by comparing testing results with established material properties for the material tested, and (2) provide information to participants to improve the correlation of subsize specimen testing results with material properties determined through standard ASTM methods. The testing material for the cross-comparison exercise was the ASTM A533 grade B class I plate designated as HSST plate 03 provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A variety of miniature testing techniques were utilized by the participants during this exercise. A summary of the exercise and a general comparison of the results obtained are provided. Detailed discussions on individual participant testing programs will be presented by each organization later in subsequent papers.
THE SLEEP OF HEALTHY PEOPLE—A DIARY STUDY

To provide baseline data for various research studies at the University of Pittsburgh over a 10-year period, 266 healthy subjects (144 male, 122 female, aged 20-50 years) meeting certain criteria each completed a 14-night sleep diary. For each night, the diary allowed the subjective measurement of bedtime, wake time, time in bed (TIB), sleep efficiency, number of minutes of wake after sleep onset (WASO), alertness on awakening, and percentage of morning needing an alarm (or a person functioning as one). Weeknight versus weekend night differences in TIB (TIBdiff), weekday altertness, and reliance on alarms were examined as possible indicators of sleep debt. In addition, general descriptive data were tabulated. On average, bedtimes were at 23:48 and wake times at 07:23, yielding a mean TIB of 7 hours 35 minutes. As expected, bedtimes and wake times were later on weekend nights than on weeknights. Bedtimes were 26 minutes later, wake times 53 minutes later, yielding a mean weekend TIB increase of 27 minutes. Overall, subjects perceived their sleep latency to be 10.5 minutes, reported an average of one awakening during the night (with an average of 6.4 minutes of WASO), had a diary sleep efficiency of 96.3%, and awoke with an alterness rating of 69.5%. These variables differed little between weeknight and weekend nights. Subjects used an alarm (or a person functioning as an alarm) on 60.9% nights overall, 68.3% on weeknights, 42.5% on weekends. When TIBdiff was used as an estimate of sleep debt (comparing subjects with TIBdiff > 75 minutes with those with a TIBdiff < 30 minutes), the group with more "catch-up sleep" on weekends had shorter weeknight TIB durations (by about 24 minutes) and relied more on an alarm for weekday waking (by about 22%), indicating the possible utility of these variables as sleep debt indices.
Molecular Characterization of the Yeast Vacuolar H+-ATPase Proton Pore

Abstract The Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) is composed of at least 13 polypeptides organized into two distinct domains, V1 and V0, that are structurally and mechanistically similar to the F1-F0 domains of the F-type ATP synthases. The peripheral V1 domain is responsible for ATP hydrolysis and is coupled to the mechanism of proton translocation. The integral V0 domain is responsible for the translocation of protons across the membrane and is composed of five different polypeptides. Unlike the F0 domain of the F-type ATP synthase, which contains 12 copies of a single 8-kDa proteolipid, the V-ATPase V0 domain contains three proteolipid species, Vma3p, Vma11p, and Vma16p, with each proteolipid contributing to the mechanism of proton translocation (Hirata, R., Graham, L. A., Takatsuki, A., Stevens, T. H., and Anraku, Y. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 4795–4803). Experiments with hemagglutinin- and c-Myc epitope-tagged copies of the proteolipids revealed that each V0 complex contains all three species of proteolipid with only one copy each of Vma11p and Vma16p but multiple copies of Vma3p. Since the proteolipids of the V0 complex are predicted to possess four membrane-spanning α-helices, twice as many as a single F-ATPase proteolipid subunit, only six V-ATPase proteolipids would be required to form a hexameric ring-like structure similar to the F0 domain. Therefore, each V0complex will likely be composed of four copies of the Vma3p proteolipid in addition to Vma11p and Vma16p. Structural differences within the membrane-spanning domains of both V0 and F0 may account for the unique properties of the ATP-hydrolyzing V-ATPase compared with the ATP-generating F-type ATP synthase.
Transitin, a nestin-related intermediate filament, is expressed by neural progenitors and can be induced in Müller glia in the chicken retina.

The purpose of this study was to test whether transitin, the avian homologue of nestin, is expressed by retinal progenitors in the developing and postnatal chicken. Because nestin has been widely used as a cell-distinguishing marker of neural progenitors in the mammalian nervous system, we expected to find transitin expressed specifically by the neural progenitors of the retina. In early stages of development, transitin is expressed by neural progenitors in the retina and by cells in the developing ciliary body. During later stages of development, transitin expression persists in differentiating Muller glia but is down-regulated by these cells as maturation proceeds. In the postnatal chick, transitin expression is restricted to neural progenitors at the peripheral edge of the retina. We found that the expression of transitin in mature Muller glia was induced by intraocular injections of insulin and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) but not by ciliary neurotrophic factor. In response to insulin and FGF2, the expression of transitin was induced in the nonpigmented epithelium (NPE) of the ciliary body. In the postnatal retina, acute retinal damage transiently induces transitin expression in Muller glia. We propose that the expression of transitin by retinal Muller glia and NPE cells in the postnatal animal represents a state of de-differentiation and a step toward becoming neurogenic progenitor cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that transitin is expressed by neural progenitors in the embryonic and postnatal chicken retina. However, transitin is not exclusively expressed by neural progenitors and is also expressed by non-neurogenic cells.
Nicotine can attenuate the disruptive effects of phencyclidine on repeated acquisition in monkeys

Abstract Patas monkeys acquired a different four-response chain each session by responding sequentially on three levers in the presence of four discriminative stimuli (numerals). The response chain was maintained by food presentation under a fixed-ratio schedule. Errors produced a brief timeout but did not reset the chain. Each day there were four 15-min sessions, with a 10-min intersession interval. Cumulative dose-effect curves for phencyclidine were obtained by giving an IM injection before each of the four sessions; successive injections increased the cumulative dose by 1 4 log-unit steps. When phencyclidine was administered alone, overall response rate decreased and percent errors increased with increasing doses. When nicotine was administered alone (IM) before the first session, the higher doses initially produced large decreases in overall response rate. Unlike phencyclidine, nicotine alone generally had no effect on percent errors. When intermediate or high doses of phencyclidine were administered after pretreatment with certain doses of nicotine, both the rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects were smaller than those produced by phencyclidine alone. This attenuation of the disruptive effects of phencyclidine on acquisition occurred at a time when nicotine alone had little or no behavioral effect.
A comparison of the analgesic and gastrointestinal transit effects of [D-Pen2, L-Cys5]enkephalin after intracerebroventricular and intrathecal administration to mice.

Abstract Intrathecal (i.t.) administration of the highly delta selective peptide, [ D -Pen 2 , L -Cys 5 ]enkephalin (DPLCE) (1–10 μg), effectively inhibited gastrointestinal transit of an orally-given radiolabelled marker in mice. By contrast, the same doses did not affect marker transit after intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration. I.c.v. or i.t. administration of the peptide effectively increased the latency to hindpaw lick using the 55° C hot-plate as the nociceptive stimulus. Maximum analgesic effects were seen with 0.3 μg given i.t. or 10 μg given i.c.v. Time-response studies showed activity for as long as 20 min after administration by either route. The differential gastrointestinal effects of DPLCE after i.c.v. and i.t. administration to mice suggest that delta receptors in the brain may mediate analgesic but not gut effects while spinal cord receptors may be less functionally selective.
Difference equation model for isothermal gas chromatography expresses retention behavior of homologues of n-alkanes excluding the influence of holdup time.

A difference equation (DE) model is developed using the methylene retention increment (Δtz) of n-alkanes to avoid the influence of gas holdup time (tM). The effects of the equation orders (1st–5th) on the accuracy of a curve fitting show that a linear equation (LE) is less satisfactory and it is not necessary to use a complicated cubic or higher order equation. The relationship between the logarithm of Δtz and the carbon number (z) of the n-alkanes under isothermal conditions closely follows the quadratic equation for C3–C30 n-alkanes at column temperatures of 24–260 °C. The first and second order forward differences of the expression (Δlog Δtz and Δ2log Δtz, respectively) are linear and constant, respectively, which validates the DE model. This DE model lays a necessary foundation for further developing a retention model to accurately describe the relationship between the adjusted retention time and z of n-alkanes.
ESTABLISHMENT OF A PLASTOCHRON INDEX FOR DIANTHUS CHINENSIS L.

The plastochron index was used to determine which leaves of Dianthus chinensis are developmentally equivalent during vegetative growth ofthe shoot. Three conditions ofthe plastochron index had to be met in order for leaves to be defined as developmentally equivalent. The leaves had to be growing exponentially in their early stages, growing at the same rate, and initiated at equal intervals. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the goodness of fit of the exponential model and to calculate the relative rate of leaf elongation. Linear regression was also used to determine the relationship of leaf initiation to time. Both greenhouse-grown (100 plants) and growth-chamber-grown (25 plants) D. chinensis were studied. Regression analysis of the greenhouse plants was performed only with values of averaged leaves. It was found that the greenhouse-grown average leaves grow exponentially and are initiated at equal intervals, the plastochron equaling 4.5 5 days. The relative rates of leaf elongation are not constant, ranging from 0.05 to 0. 16 cm cm-' day-'. However, these rates are most likely the result of analyzing values of averaged leaves. Regression analysis of the growth-chamber plants was performed with both average and individual leaves. The latter procedure provided a more accurate description of the data. It showed that the leaves of the growth-chamber plants grow exponentially in their early stage, have the same relative rate of leaf elongation from Leaf 5 to Leaf 12 (0.23 + 0.005 cm cm-l day-'), and are initiated at equal intervals for Plastochrons 6-1 1 (3.68 + 0. 14 days). Therefore Leaves 6-12 of the growth-chamber-grown Dianthus chinensis meet the three criteria ofthe plastochron index and can be defined as developmentally equivalent from inception to maturation.
A note on the long-run properties of the shirking model

Abstract This note shows that it is straightforward to construct a long-run version of the basic Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984) shirking model and that, when this is done, the qualitative comparative statics properties of the model change in an important way.
Food marketing and interethnic exchange in the 18th‐century lower Mississippi Valley

(1986). Food marketing and interethnic exchange in the 18th‐century lower Mississippi Valley. Food and Foodways: Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 279-310.