cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Life Events and Treatment Outcomes Among Individuals with Substance use Disorders: A Narrative Review

Substance use disorders are characterized by a variable course, in which multiple treatment attempts and relapses are typical. Consistent with conceptualizations of substance use and relapse, life events have been implicated in contributing to poor substance use disorders treatment outcomes. However, inconsistencies in empirical findings regarding the life events-substance use disorders outcome literature have been previously observed. This review provides an updated critique of the literature since the previous review published in 1987 (O'Doherty & Davies, 1987), examining the relationship between life events and substance use disorders treatment outcome among clinical samples of individuals. Review of 18 peer-reviewed articles suggested that data on the life events-outcome relationship continue to be inconclusive. Inconsistencies across studies in the operationalization of life events and substance use treatment outcomes and lack of theoretically driven designs may be contributing to differences in findings. Recommendations for future research that will increase the clinical utility of the life events construct are provided.
Core and Large-Scale Structure of the 2000 November 24 X-Class Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection

In this paper, we present three important aspects of the XI .8 flare and the associated coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on 2000 November 24: (1) The source of the flare is clearly associated with a magnetic channel structure, as was noted in a study by Zirin & Wang , which is due to a combination of flux emergence inside the leading edge of the penumbra of the major leading sunspot and proper motion of the sunspot group. The channel structure provides evidence for twisted flux ropes that can erupt, forming the core of a CME, and may be a common property of several superactive regions that have produced multiple X-class flares in the past. (2) There are actually three flare ribbons visible. The first can be seen moving away from the flare site, while the second and third make up a stationary ribbon near the leader spot. The moving ribbons could be due to a shock associated with the erupting flux rope or due to the interaction of erupting rope and the surrounding magnetic fields. In either case, the ribbon motion does not fit the classical Kopp-Pneuman model, in which the separation of ribbons is due to magnetic reconnection at successively higher and higher coronal altitudes. (3) From the coronal dimming observed with the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT), the CME involved a much larger region than the initial X-class flare. By comparing high-resolution full-disk Ha and EIT observations, we found that a remote dimming area is cospatial with the enhanced Ha emission. This result is consistent with the recent model of Yokoyama & Shibata that some dimming areas near footpoints may be due to chromospheric evaporation.
Silver nanoparticles as selective ionization probes for analysis of olefins by mass spectrometry.

Laser desorption/ionization (LDI) using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is shown to selectively ionize olefinic compounds, e.g., cholesterol, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), and carotenoids. Selective AgNP LDI can be carried out from complex mixtures without the addition of an organic matrix, sample cleanup, or prefractionation. Results presented in this report are the first to demonstrate the selective ionization of specific compounds from a complex mixture using metal nanoparticles.
SONG STRUCTURE, BEHAVIOUR, AND SEQUENCE OF SONG TYPES IN A POPULATION OF VILLAGE INDIGOBIRDS, VIDUA CHALYBEATA

Different song types are associated with certain behaviours including intrasexual aggression, mating, and initiation of song bouts . All song types are used in territorial advertisement .Songs associa- ted with sexual and aggressive behaviours are similar in structure ; female mate choice may have driven sexual selection in favour of the more aggressive males . Song sequence is non-random with repetition of all song types and alternation of some, and songs with similar messages are often associated in sequence . Predictions from alternative models were tested, but the significance of the large song reper- toire in this species is largely explained by the message content of the different song types . The biological significance of bird songs usually has been attributed to male territorial advertise- ment and attraction of a mate . The significance of the number of songs, or of having more than one song type in the song repertoire, often has been discussed in terms of territorial interaction among males or mate selection by females as if all song types were functionally identical .
Applying Peer-to-Peer Techniques to Grid Replica Location Services

Peer-to-peer systems offer attractive system management properties, including the ability of components that join the network to self-organize; scalability up to tens of thousands of members; the ability of the network to automatically repair its topology after node failures; and techniques for maintaining redundant information to improve reliability and load balancing. We investigate applying peer-to-peer techniques to Grid services that are oriented toward resource discovery. In particular, we apply the Chord structured peer-to-peer overlay network to the Globus Replica Location Service, which allows registration and discovery of data replicas. We describe the design and performance of a Peer-to-Peer Replica Location Service (P-RLS) that uses the Chord algorithm to self-organize P-RLS servers and exploits the Chord overlay network to replicate P-RLS mappings adaptively. We present performance measurements and simulation results for the P-RLS system. We also discuss outstanding issues for applying peer-to-peer techniques to Grid resource discovery services.
Radiation Induced Leakage Currents in Silicon on Sapphire MOS Transistors

Measurements are reported in which photodepopulation and thermal bleaching techniques have been applied to the study of radiation induced trapped positive charge in the Al2O3 substrate of n-channel MOS/SOS devices. Photodepopulation data indicates an optical depth for the hole traps of 2.5 eV. Thermal bleaching studies yield a corresponding thermal depth of 0.75 eV. Some preliminary thermally stimulated current measurements which reveal additional low temperature stable traps are also reported.
Critical sizes for the submersion of alkali clusters into liquid helium

Alkali atoms do not stably embed in liquid helium-4 because the interatomic attractive potential is unable to overcome the short-range Pauli repulsion of the $s$ electrons and the surface tension cost of the surrounding bubble. Similarly, small alkali complexes reside on the surface of helium nanodroplets instead of inside. However, as the size of the metal cluster increases, its van der Waals attraction to the helium matrix grows faster than the repulsive energies and above a certain size it should become favorable for clusters to submerge in the liquid. Based on an evaluation of the relevant energy terms, we characterize the bubble dimensions and estimate the critical submersion sizes. The latter range from $N\ensuremath{\sim}20$ for ${\text{Li}}_{N}$ and ${\text{Na}}_{N}$ to $Ng100$ for ${\text{Rb}}_{N}$ in helium-4 and from $N\ensuremath{\sim}5$ for ${\text{Li}}_{N}$ and ${\text{Na}}_{N}$ to $N\ensuremath{\sim}20$ for ${\text{Cs}}_{N}$ in helium-3. These results are discussed in the context of nanodroplet pick-up experiments with alkali atoms.
Quantitative Assessment of Pericardial Delayed Hyperenhancement Predicts Clinical Improvement in Patients With Constrictive Pericarditis Treated With Anti-Inflammatory Therapy

Background— Delayed hyperenhancement (DHE) of the pericardium usually represents ongoing inflammation and may identify patients with constrictive pericarditis that will improve with anti-inflammatory therapy. However, a quantitative assessment of pericardial DHE has not been performed, and the hierarchical relationship among clinical factors, inflammatory markers, and pericardial DHE is unknown. Methods and Results— We identified 41 consecutive patients with constrictive pericarditis who had a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study with DHE prior to the initiation of anti-inflammatory medications. Pericardial inflammation was quantified on short-axis DHE sequences by contouring the pericardium, selecting normal septal myocardium as a reference region, and then quantifying the pericardial signal that was >6 SD above the reference. Our primary outcome was clinical improvement with anti-inflammatory therapy. The mean age of our patients was 58 years, most patients were male (83%) with New York Heart Association Class II or III (59%) heart failure, and the median follow-up was 1 year. Chest pain, lower New York Heart Association class, higher Westergren sedimentation rates, and increased pericardial DHE were all significantly associated with clinical improvement ( P <0.01 for all). When quantitative pericardial DHE was added to a model that included age, chest pain, New York Heart Association class, and Westergren sedimentation rates, the global χ2 improved significantly ( P =0.04 for DHE), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.96. Conclusions— In patients with constrictive pericarditis treated with anti-inflammatory therapy, a quantitative assessment of pericardial DHE can provide incremental information to predict clinical improvement when added to clinical factors and Westergren sedimentation rates.
Novel Forming of Ti-6Al-4V by Laser Engineered Net Shaping

Titanium alloys offer important weight and performance advantages, but are relatively expensive. Traditional “subtractive” manufacturing causes up to 95% material waste, which makes the manufacturing of titanium components even more expensive. Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) is an effective method of “additively” making components layer-wise, directly from unit materials, based on 3D digital models. Parts fabricated by LENS are net/near-net shape, and therefore, this process minimizes, or even eliminates massive machining costs and material waste. In this study, as-fabricated LENS Ti-6Al-4V test specimens were investigated. The resulting microstructures were extensively characterized and correlated to processing parameters. In addition, room temperature tensile tests were conducted to obtain static mechanical properties and to understand the behaviour at LENS deposition-substrate interface. These results will be presented and discussed.
Quantitative Mass Spectrometric Determination of Methylphenidate Concentration in Urine Using an Electrospray Ionization Source Integrated with a Polymer Microchip

We have demonstrated the use of a simple microfabricated electrospray ionization source for coupling microfluidic chips to mass spectrometry (MS). A polymer-based microchip, coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, has been employed for direct infusion quantitative bioanalysis of methylphenidate (Ritalin) extracted from human urine samples. The approach used a microfabricated polymer electrospray emitter to couple a microfluidic channel to a stable electrospray ionization source. The microchip was fabricated from cycloolefin plastic plate by hot embossing and thermal bonding. This microfluidic chip contained two independent microfluidic channels, integrated with two corresponding electrospray emitters and an internal gold electrode. Liquid−liquid extraction was used to prepare urine samples, spiked with methylphenidate. A trideuterated analogue of methylphenidate (methylphenidate-d3) was used as the internal standard for the analysis. The system showed good electrospray stability and reproducibil...
A new correlation between molecular parameters and physical properties of chlorobutyl rubbers grafted with polystyrene branches

A series of chlorobutyl rubbers grafted with polystyrene branches have been prepared and backbone length, branch density and segment lengths between branches were calculated from the overall graft composition, number average molecular weight, and branch molecular weight. Analysis of the deformation process revealed unexpected correlations between the molecular parameters and tensile properties of the graft: the tensile strength is directly, and the elongation at break inversely proportional to the ratio of branch molecular weight to the molecular weight of segments between the branches. Further, the tensile strength and elongation at break are proportional to the molecular weight of the backbone. A general correlation was found between the backbone molecular weight and the specific breaking energy.
Objectives to direct the training of emergency medicine residents on off-service rotations: neurology

This is the twenty-first article in a continuing series of objectives to direct resident training in emergency medicine. Presented is a set of objectives with references for curriculum goals in neurology. Knowledge of neurology and clinical skills in diagnosing neurological illness is important in the practice of emergency medicine. Not all emergency residents have adequate exposure to the subspecialty of neurology. Many residents who have exposure to a neurology elective often spend only two weeks on the service. Therefore, a clear set of goals and objectives is essential for the resident to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of this complex specialty.
Response of the canine lower esophageal sphincter to endogenous hypergastrinemia

Abstract The effects, if any, of endogenous gastrin on the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) remain controversial. This study was designed to investigate the effects of endogenous hypergastrinemia on lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP). Auto transplantation of the isolated vagally innervated antrum as a diverticulum into the transverse colon produces endogenous hypergastrinemia. Five dogs underwent measurement of fasting and postprandial LESP and serum gastrin (fasting LESP 43.2 ± 3.7 (SEM) cm H 2 O; fasting serum gastrin 21.9 ± 7.0 (SEM) pg/ml). Antral transplantation resulted in a marked increased in fasting serum gastrin (158.9 ± 35.5 (SEM) pg/ml) ( P 2 O) ( P > 0.2). The response of the sphincter to a protein stimulus was not altered by endogenous hypergastrinemia. This study provides the first concrete evidence that endogenous gastrin plays no significant role in the regulation of lower esophageal sphincter pressure.
Endoscopic Ultrasound for Early Stage Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: Implications for Staging and Survival

Background Patients often receive induction therapy based on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)–identified nodal spread (N1) or deep tumor invasion (T3), although controversy exists regarding the role of induction therapy for early stage disease. We aim to evaluate the reliability of EUS in identifying early stage disease and the subsequent impact on treatment and outcomes. Methods We retrospectively studied 149 patients who underwent EUS and esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma between January 2000 and December 2008. Computed tomography (CT) was performed in all patients, whereas positron emission tomography (PET) was performed in 91%. Clinical stage (c), pathologic stage (p), operative mortality, and survival were recorded. Results Unanticipated pathologic nodal disease was similar in patients with cT1N0 and cT2N0 tumors (6/25 [24%] versus 7/18 [38.8%]; p = 0.6). Among the 18 cases of cT2N0 disease, 9 (50%) were pathologically staged as T1N0, 8 (44%) were upstaged to pT3N0-1, and 1 (6%) was pT2N0. One case of cT1N0 tumor (4%) was upstaged to pT3N0. Among patients with cT1-2N0 tumors, 5-year disease-free survival for the group that was appropriately staged was 89.8% versus 39.9% for the group that had a higher pathologic stage than their clinical stage (ie, >T2N0) ( p p = 0.5). Multivariate analysis identified marked/intense uptake on staging PET (odds ratio, 5.76, 95%; confidence interval, 1.25 to 26.52; p = 0.021) to be a factor predictive of upstaging of cT1-2N0 tumors. Conclusions Current staging techniques are inadequate for predicting T1-2N0 disease in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Survival is excellent with operation alone in patients with tumors appropriately staged as T1-2N0, although patients with tumors upstaged to greater than T2N0 have significantly worse survival. Other preoperative factors such as PET uptake may help select patients with cT1-2N0 tumors that will be upstaged at resection.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services community-acquired pneumonia initiative: what went wrong?

During the past 4 decades, the focus for health care providers and systems has shifted from an anecdotal, experience-based practice toward the use of proven interventions with sound evidence of improved outcomes. In parallel, patients, insurers, and employers became increasingly sensitized to variability in the cost and quality of care, leading to a progressive increase in scrutiny and transparency in the health care system. Appropriately, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, providing health insurance to more than 41,000,000 people, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) positioned themselves in the vanguard of the drive for increased uniformity and quality of care, initiating a series of national measures and a system of public reporting of hospital performance. Among the first of these National Hospital Quality Measures, initiated in 2002, are those related to acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and community-acquired pneumonia. Emergency departments (EDs) bear a large measure of the responsibility for the acute myocardial infarction interventions, such as the administration of aspirin and b-blockers at hospital arrival and time to thrombolysis or percutaneous coronary intervention. The powerful evidence supporting these measures pre-empts any possible resistance, and individual departments work in earnest to meet or exceed national benchmarks and seek 100% compliance. The heart failure measures, also evidence based, relate primarily to inpatient care and do not directly affect ED operations. One small misstep in both the acute myocardial infarction and heart failure measures occurred, with failure to recognize the role of angiotensin receptor blocking agents as an alternative to the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors that were specified in the guidelines, but this did not interfere with the process of care, and the definitions were subsequently modified to accept either class of agents. In sharp distinction, the community-acquired pneumonia measures include a requirement to obtain blood cultures before administering antibiotics, a measure that is opposed by an overwhelming weight of evidence and one that places an
Outward potassium currents of supraoptic magnocellular neurosecretory cells isolated from the adult guinea‐pig

1. Several types of whole-cell outward K+ current recorded from magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) dissociated from the supraoptic nucleus of the adult guinea-pig were identified on the basis of their voltage dependence, kinetics, pharmacology and Ca2+ dependence. 2. The predominant K+ current evoked from a holding potential of -40 mV was slowly activating, long-lasting, tetraethylammonium (TEA) sensitive and showed little steady-state inactivation. Also, this current was reduced by extracellular Cd2+. These data suggest that in supraoptic MNCs classical Ca(2+)-insensitive, delayed rectifier channels (KV) and Ca(2+)-sensitive, non-inactivating channels (KCa) both contribute to the sustained current. 3. A transient, low-threshold K+ current, which was 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) sensitive and showed significant steady-state inactivation, was evoked along with the sustained current from a holding potential of -90 mV. Based on these characteristics, this current corresponds to the A-current (IK(A)) described in other neurons. 4. IK(A) was activated when Ca2+ influx was blocked or when Ca2+ was absent from the extracellular medium, suggesting that Ca2+ influx is not necessary for activation of the current. 5. In many recordings, a transient 4-AP-insensitive outward current was evoked from a holding potential of -40 mV. This high-threshold transient K+ current was abolished by extracellular Cd2+ or TEA and was absent when extracellular Ca2+ was replaced by Sr2+, suggesting that it is a transient Ca(2+)-dependent K+ current. 6. We conclude that the presence of multiple types of K+ current may, in part, underlie the complex firing patterns of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic MNCs.
Experimental evaluation of gastric banding for treatment of morbid obesity in pigs

Summary The effectiveness and complications of gastric banding were evaluated in 15 miniature pigs. A Gore-tex or Dacron graft was employed to encircle the stomach. The animals were divided into five groups, three pigs in each group. Group 1 had a 13 mm pouch stoma with a Gore-tex band, Group 2 had a 16 mm pouch stoma with a Gore-tex band, Group 3 had a 13 mm pouch stoma with a Dacron band, Group 4 had a 16 mm pouch stoma with a Dacron band, and Group 5 had a sham operation. The weight variation in the control group was significantly higher than that in the other groups at the ninth postoperative week (p
Treatment With a Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Analogue after Successful Orchiopexy Markedly Improves the Change of Fertility Later in Life

AbstractPurpose: Infertility has been considered a principal complication associated with cryptorchidism. A particularly high incidence of cryptorchid boys lack the priming effect during the first 3 months of life due to low concentrations of gonadotropins and testosterone (inadequate perinatal stimulation of the testes, which causes infertility). This condition causes impaired transformation of gonocytes into fetal spermatogonia. More pronounced hypogonadotropic hypogonadism results in fewer germ cells. Most importantly, cryptorchid boys with fewer than 0.2 cells per tubular cross section have a high probability of being infertile in adulthood, regardless of whether the condition is unilateral or bilateral and despite apparently successful orchiopexy.Materials and Methods: To counteract the paucity of priming hormones, cryptorchid patients with unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism and a severe paucity of germ cells were treated with a low dose of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue buser...
Nutrition Promotion in Mali: Highlights of a Rural Integrated Nutrition Communication Program (1989–1995)

Abstract Between 1989 and 1995, the U.S. Agency for International Development funded the Nutrition Communication Project (NCP). NCP collaborated with the Government of Mali, UNICEF, and 10 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in a community-based program to improve women's and children's nutritional status. Increasing consumption of vitamin A-rich foods was stressed. Three southern regions of the country, with approximately 750,000 of Mali's 9 million people, were involved.Village-based health staff and volunteers were trained to use stories and drama to introduce new concepts and model desired behavior, as well as to negotiate individual behavior changes. This article focuses on the project's design and implementation, highlighting the qualitative data and processes used to develop the communication strategy. A final evaluation demonstrated that NCP was associated with positive changes in maternal diet and child feeding behaviors. NCP continues in Mali under the auspices of the government, UNICEF, and the NGO consortium.
Public Regulation of Marketing Activity: Part I: Institutional Typologies of Market Failure:

This is the first of a three-part article which provides a comprehensive typology useful in any analysis of how public policies are used to control the operations of market exchanges and marketing systems. The first part, presented here, provides a typology of market failures. The second and third parts, to appear in subsequent issues, provide typologies of regulatory responses and of regulatory failures.
Influential factors analysis on LEED building markets in U.S. East Coast cities by using Support Vector Regression

Abstract Building industry is closely related to current energy and environmental issues. Several green building codes and rating systems addressing the problems have been developed. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is recognized as one of the effective and widely adopted commercial building standards. LEED buildings were investigated in several green city and green building studies but only used as instances in static matrices. These studies were not able to answer the question why a particular city favors LEED. However, in this paper, three commonly used machine learning algorithms – Linear Regression, Locally Weighted Regression and Support Vector Regression (SVR) – are compared and SVR is used to investigate, discover and evaluate the variables that could influence LEED building markets in U.S. East Coast cities. Machine learning models are first created and optimized with the features of city geography, demography, economy, higher education and policy. Then SVR model identifies the key factors by dynamic self-training and model-tuning using the dataset. Via optimization, the correlation coefficient between the model's prediction and actual value is 0.79. The result suggests that population and policy can be important factors for developing LEED buildings. It is also interesting that higher education institutions, especially accredited architecture schools could also be driving forces for LEED commercial building markets in East Coast cities.
Can Ecotourism in the Global South Develop the North

Ecotourism is often framed as a development tool in the traditional sense of bringing capital to developing countries in exchange for an exported good. Unlike most commodities however, tourism does not merely bring capital to the South, it brings people. While recognizing that the presence of Northern bodies has often been seen as a concrete example of power inequity between the North and South, in this paper I argue that the embodied nature of this exchange allows for the potential of a type of development that moves from South to North through the generation of what is termed biotic capital. Biotic capital refers to the size and coherence of 1) an environmental imaginary, 2) the individuals within that imaginary and 3) the biophysical. Biotic capital that promotes sustainability is created through the reinforcement of already existing environmental orientations as well as recruitment of tourists by messages perceived as apolitical.
Functional Cerebral Asymmetry and Performance III. Reaction Time as a Function of Task, Hand, Sex, and EEG Asymmetry

To determine whether fluctuations of EEG asymmetry in the human cerebral hemispheres influenced overt performance, 14 male and 14 female subjects were tested in verbal and nonverbal target detection tasks and reaction time (RT) was recorded. RT was longest in both word and pattern tasks when the hand used for responding was contralateral to the hemisphere presumably most relevant to the task. The task variable did not affect EEG asymmetry, but females had lower R/L alpha ratios than males and EEG power increased and frequency decreased over the course of testing in association with decreased RT. RT also varied as a function of EEG asymmetry. In contrast to original expectations, RT was longest to verbal targets when R/L alpha power ratios were highest and longest to nonverbal targets when R/L ratios were lowest. The results were compatible with the notion of an inverted U function relating performance and arousal, and supported previous studies indicating that alpha asymmetry influences overt performance.
Mechanisms for blood pressure lowering and metabolic effects of thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics

Thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics are among the most commonly used antihypertensives and have been available for over 50 years. However, the mechanism by which these drugs chronically lower blood pressure is poorly understood. Possible mechanisms include direct endothelial- or vascular smooth muscle-mediated vasodilation and indirect compensation to acute decreases in cardiac output. In addition, thiazides are associated with adverse metabolic effects, particularly hyperglycemia, and the mechanistic underpinnings of these effects are also poorly understood. Thiazide-induced hypokalemia, as well as other theories to explain these metabolic disturbances, including increased visceral adiposity, hyperuricemia, decreased glucose metabolism and pancreatic beta-cell hyperpolarization, may play a role. Understanding genetic variants with differential responses to thiazides could reveal new mechanistic candidates for future research to provide a more complete understanding of the blood pressure and metabolic response to thiazide diuretics.
Oxygen limitations and aging as explanations for the field persistence of naphthalene in coal tar-contaminated surface sediments

Naphthalene has been transported approx. 400 m via groundwater flow from buried subsurface coal tar to an organic matter-rich seep area where the water emerges at the foot of a hill in a field study site. We have tested several hypotheses for explaining why naphthalene persists in seep sediments. In aerobic laboratory flask assays, conversion of 14 C-naphthalene to 14 CO 2 occurred and was not stimulated by amendments with vitamins or inorganic nutrients. Thus, neither toxicity nor nutrient limitation were the cause of naphthalene persistence. At the site, in situ sediment oxygen concentrations were below detection. Oxygen-limited naphthalene biodegradation was demonstrated both by measuring no conversion of 14 C-naphthalene to 14 CO 2 in samples of seep sediments prepared anaerobically and by measuring naphthalene loss from anaerobic nitrate-amended slurry-phase incubations of the sediment only after O 2 was added. However, when H 2 O 2 was added as an O 2 source to site sediments in situ in a randomized block design, no discernible naphthalene loss occurred. The possibility that decreased bioavailability might contribute to naphthalene persistence was investigated by monitoring 1 4 CO 2 evolved by microorganisms added to γ-ray sterilized sediments that had been exposed under aseptic conditions to 14 C-labeled naphthalene for periods ranging from 0 to 28 d. Resulting patterns in the extent and rate of naphthalene mineralization revealed an inverse relationship to the duration of contact with the sediment, but only when the mixed microbial inoculum had been enriched on aqueous-phase naphthalene. We conclude that oxygen limitation is the most probable cause for lack of naphthalene biodegradation at our field study site. However, diffusion or sorption reactions may also play a role.
Acceptability of Emergency Department-based Screening and Brief Intervention for Alcohol Problems

Abstract. Objectives: To adapt screening and brief intervention for alcohol problems (SBI) to a high-volume emergency department (ED) setting and evaluate its acceptability to patients. Methods: Patients at a large public-hospital ED were screened with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Screen-positive drinkers (AUDIT score ≥ 6) were provided brief, on-site counseling and referral as needed. Three months later, project staff blinded to baseline measures reassessed alcohol intake, alcohol-related harm, alcohol dependence symptoms, and readiness to change. Results: Of 1,034 patients approached, 78.3% (810) consented to participate (95% CI = 75.5% to 81.2%), and 21.2% (172) screened positive (95% CI = 18.4% to 24.0%). Of 88 patients with complete intervention data, 94.3% (83) accepted an intervention (95% CI = 89.5% to 99.2%), with acceptance rates ranging from 93% to 100% across four alcohol-problem-severity levels (p = 0.7). A majority (59.0%) set goals to decrease or stop drinking (95% CI = 48.4% to 69.6%). The group recontacted (n= 23) experienced statistically significant decreases in alcohol intake, alcohol-related harm, and dependence symptoms, with measures decreasing for 68%, 52%, and 61% of the patients. Readiness to change also showed statistically significant improvement, with scores increasing for 43% of the patients. Moreover, two-thirds of the patients (15/23) reported at follow-up that SBI was a helpful part of their ED visit. Conclusions: High rates of consent and acceptance of counseling for alcohol problems by patients across a wide range of problem severity indicate that this protocol was acceptable to at-risk patients in a public-hospital ED. Improvements in alcohol-related outcome measures at follow-up were strong enough to warrant controlled studies of intervention efficacy.
Identification of nonlinear systems

A new formula for the autocovariances of the output from a nonlinear system in terms of the input autocorrelations and the nonlinearity has been derived. From this, a new method for identifying a nonlinear system has been developed and applied to extreme clipping, for which an analytical solution is available.
Land use and energy scenarios affecting the global carbon cycle

Abstract Past increase of atmospheric CO 2 involves significant contributions from both fossil and biospheric sources. The latter are controversial, partly because these CO 2 releases may be balanced by accelerated regrowth following clearing of some forests, while others were being converted to agricultural or other nonforest land. A simulation model was used to reconstruct changes since 1860 and project four hypothetical future scenarios of CO 2 injection to 2460. Nineteen compartments and their exchanges of carbon were considered. Areal extents of tropical forests, other wooded ecosystems, and nonforests were incorporated into the model. Rapidly and slowly exchanging pools of carbon per unit area were projected by integrating income-loss differential equations numerically. Estimated cumulative releases of CO 2 from fossil fuels (plus cement) near 120 Pg of carbon (1 Pg = 10 15 g) from 1860 to 1970 were assumed to equal the prompt plus delayed releases due to forest clearing. Limits of exploitable forest area and biomass were evaluated and found to contribute much less future CO 2 than usable fossil fuels. Ultimate release from the latter (7500±2500 Pg C) could increase atmospheric CO 2 manyfold: doubling the assumed 1860 levels as early as (1) the year 2032 for assumed early fossil-use scenarios and (2) the year 2045 for late fossil-use scenarios. Depending on the poorly known parametes that were programmed to constrain the organic production rates, cumulative storage, and the response of plants and soils to enhanced atmospheric CO 2 , biospheric storage might reach higher levels for all scenarios than the estimates given here. However, maximizing such storage in real life would require much closer understanding and wiser management of ecosystems than history has shown.
A note on a simple Markov bilinear stochastic process

In this paper we note that while the results of a 1981 paper of H. Tong's are generally valid and can be strengthened, there is a special case that behaves differently.
Production of hydrogen peroxide by cutaneous T-cell lymphoma following photopheresis with psoralens and ultraviolet light.

Treatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and ultraviolet light, a procedure known as PUVA, has been found to be useful in the management of systemically disseminated cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). In the present study we used a highly sensitive flow cytometric assay in conjunction with the hydroperoxide-sensitive dye 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate to measure intracellular hydrogen peroxide in normal lymphocytes and CTCL following PUVA treatment. Based on their laser light-scattering properties, lymphocytes were separated into three major subpopulations. We found that ultraviolet light alone caused an increase in the hydrogen peroxide content of each of the subpopulations, a response that was augmented when the cells were pretreated with 8-MOP (50 ng/ml). Cells from CTCL patients were more sensitive to the effects of 8-MOP than were normal lymphocytes. In both cell types, the production of hydrogen peroxide was found to be inhibitable by catalase. We noted an increase in hydrogen peroxide production following photopheresis; however, this was observed only 24 h after treatment. In addition, a further increase in hydrogen peroxide production was observed in lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood that had been obtained from patients at 15 min after a second photopheresis treatment. Hydrogen peroxide is known to modulate the action of cytokines as well as the immunological responses of leukocytes. Our data suggest that the production of hydrogen peroxide by lymphocytes may be important in the action of PUVA in CTCL.
Recovery of Metals from Process Streams of Deep-Sea Ferromanganese Nodules by Adsorptive Bubble Techniques

Abstract A method for the separation of Cu, Co, Ni, and Zn with varying degrees of selectivity from chemically treated deep-sea ferromanganese nodules is described. Quantitative removal of these species is achieved primarily by precipitate flotation of insoluble sulfides. Recovery of residual metal values of Cu, Co, Ni, and Zn in process rejects of the nodules is also possible. The quantitative removal of Pb and V, which are the most abundant toxic elements in nodules and tailings, is achieved simultaneously. Cationic and anionic surfactants are employed for collection depending on zeta potentials of the flocs generated upon addition of Na2S to sample solutions. Separations are more selective and efficient at lower pH than previously reported for flotation of metals from nodules as insoluble hydroxides. Modifications resulting in slight improvements over previously employed high temperature sulfation processes are also described.
Numerical analysis of diamond buckles

Abstract The “diamond” modes of collapse are studied with finite element methods. Both linear and nonlinear analyses are performed on the buckling of a cylindrical shell under axial compression. Among the postbuckling shapes of the cylindrical shell, a number of diamond modes (cost nθ; n = 0, 14, 18, 10, 24 and 28) are found to be possible. The analysis is compared to those conducted by Maewal and Nachbar, Crisfield, and Yoshida et al. Agreement is established in conceiving the deformed shape with circumferential number of 14 as the stable postbuckling mode of the cylindrical shell. The transition from the axisymmetric mode to a diamond mode of collapse is shown to be an instantaneous process triggered in the proximity of the critical state by a small perturbation of the load increment.
Promoting the Comprehension of Teachers and Students Using Young Adult Literature

Adolescents who struggle with reading most often encounter problems with comprehension, rather than the ability to read words. Comprehension is a dynamic process that requires the reader to use multiple strategies as meaning is constructed. To improve the reading comprehension of their students, teachers must be knowledgeable about what comprehension is and be aware of their own comprehension processes as they read. Middle and high school teachers who engage in discussions with colleagues about young adult literature come to understand the importance of authentic dialogue to comprehension and discover more about their own comprehension processes. This article discusses what reading comprehension is and the importance of discussion in constructing meaning from text. We examine teachers' conversations about young adult texts and present suggestions for professional development that will improve teachers' understanding of reading comprehension and help them in facilitating discussion of young adult texts wit...
Property and Power: Hartog on the legal History of New York City

Hendrik Hartog's Public Property and Private Power describes the " conceptual transformation" (at 14) that radically altered the legal status and powers of the city of New York in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. According to this interesting and well-written account, the legal doctrines that affected New York City changed over a 140-year period in two significant ways. First, the legal system fractured the originally close connection between the city's property ownership and its power. Although in the eighteenth century the city was a corporation whose "property and governmental rights were blurred and mixed" (at 21), in the nineteenth century it was stripped of its ability to use its ownership of property as a tool of governance. Second, the eighteenth-century conception of the city as neither a public nor a private entity was replaced with an understanding of it as a "public" corporation whose powers were significantly different from those of "private" business corporations. Thus Professor Hartog describes the transformation of the city's legal status in terms of two pairs of legal concepts: property and power, and public and private. Professor Hartog organizes his account of the changing legal status of the city into three periods: the eighteenth century, the early nineteenth century, and the mid-nineteenth century. In the eighteenth century, he tells us, the City of New York was not characterized as a "public" as distinguished from a "private" corporation because no such general conceptual categories of corporations existed. Instead, every corporation, including the city, was viewed as a unique institution whose powers were understandable only in terms of the specific charter granted it by the state. The most important of New York
Mixed Flowing Gas Testing of Silver Mirror Coatings

Several different silver mirror coatings were tested in a mixed flowing gas environment with a goal to establish acceleration factors that are capable of predicting the durability of Ag mirrors in ambient conditions.
Neutron Scattering and the Correlation Functions of the Ising Model near T c

We study near ${T}_{c}$ the correlation function $〈{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{00}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{MN}}〉$ of the two-dimensional Ising model.
Properties Of Clipped Laser Speckle

The technique of clipping is applied to speckle intensity correlation. With clipping the speckle intensity is converted to a binary signal by comparing the speckle intensity to a fixed threshold. The magnitude of the space-time correlation coefficient is determined from measurements of the correlation function of the clipped speckle. The results of experiments performed using a 2-D clipping detector are presented.
Octamethoxydibenzochrysene: isolation and X-ray crystallographic characterization of a twisted polyaromatic cation radical

The isolation and X-ray crystal structure determination of octamethoxydibenzochrysene (3) cation radical together with DFT calculations allow us to delineate evidence that the complex structural changes (i.e. elongation and shortening of various bonds) in a polyaromatic hydrocarbon can be predicted based on the positioning of the largest bonding and antibonding character of the HOMO.
Lanczos methods for hamiltonian spectra: Hilbert-space approximations to interaction-prepared states

Abstract Recent progress is reported in applications of iterative methods for calculations of molecular electronic continuum states. Vectors constructed in an appropriate Lanczos basis are seen to provide directly approximations to the interaction-prepared states of Fano and Cooper. Nondegenerate point-group-symmetry electronic continuum wave functions are constructed recursively in this way for complex molecules without explicit enforcement of the S-matrix, K-matrix or other asymptotic boundary conditions required in conventional scattering developments. A multi-channel Feshbach-Fano version of the approach employing an appropriately selected Q space of zeroth-order states provides a Lanczos formulation of complex photoionization spectra based on eigenfunctions of molecular point-group-symmetry type. Computational applications of the methods described are reported for the partial cross sections of selected (N2, CO2, C2H2) molecules.
A comparative study of mobile electronic data entry systems for clinical trials data collection.

Abstract Purpose To determine the speed, accuracy, ease of use, and user satisfaction of various electronic data entry platforms for use in the collection of mammography clinical trials data. Method and materials Four electronic data entry platforms were tested: standalone personal digital assistant (PDA), Tablet PC, digitizer Tablet/PDA Hybrid (DTP Hybrid), and digital pen (d-pen). Standard paper data entry was used as control. Each of five radiologist readers was assigned to enter interpretations for 20 screening mammograms using three out of the five data entry methods. Assistants recorded both start and stop data entry times of the radiologists and the number of help requests made. Data were checked for handwriting recognition accuracy for the d-pen platform using handwriting verification software. A user satisfaction survey was administered at the end of each platform reading session. Results Tablet PC and d-pen were statistically equivalent to conventional pen and paper in initial data entry speed. Average verification time for d-pen was significantly less than secondary electronic data entry of paper forms ( p -value Conclusions Tablet PC and d-pen are equally fast and easy-to-use data entry methods that are well tolerated by radiologist users. Handwriting recognition review and correction for the d-pen is significantly faster and more accurate than secondary manual keyboard and mouse data entry.
Patterns and Magnitudes of Natural Strain in Rocks

Strain values based upon the shape of the deformation ellipsoid as determined from measurements of deformed objects are described from five different tectonic environments. Patterns of strain are shown to vary significantly and systematically depending upon the geological structure. The studied regions are: ( a ) The Cambrian slate belt of W ales: simple upright and symmetrical folded structures. ( b ) The Taconic slate belt of New York and Verm ont: overturned and asymmetrical folded structures. ( c ) The Rhodesian Archaean shield: intensely deformed upright and isoclinally folded structures. ( d ) The Helvetic nappes of the A lps: recumbently folded structures resulting from gravitational gliding. ( e ) The Moine nappe of northwest Scotland: recumbently folded structures of an orogenic marginal thrust zone. The finite permanent strains measured in these various environments cover a wide field of possible deformational modes, from almost pure flattening to almost pure constriction. Strain magnitudes are over 1000 % in extreme cases. Deformation by flattening, involving shortening of original dimensions by up to 75 % in one principal direction and concomitant extension of up to 250 % in another principal direction, is characteristic of high-level upright structures and the basal parts of superficial gravitational gliding structures. On the other hand, constrictional deformation involving extensions of between 250 % and 1500 % is characteristic of deep-level upright structures and marginal orogenic thrust fronts. From the intensities of measured strain and the position occupied by the deformation ellipsoid in the field of possible strains, it should be possible to deduce the mode of origin and depth of formation of many major geological structures.