cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adjuvant Migraine Medications in the Treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Author(s): Abouzari, Mehdi; Goshtasbi, Khodayar; Chua, Janice T; Tan, Donald; Sarna, Brooke; Saber, Tina; Lin, Harrison W; Djalilian, Hamid R | Abstract: Objectives/hypothesisTo examine the hearing outcomes of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) treated with oral and intratympanic (IT) steroid only or a combination of steroid and migraine treatment. Our hypothesis was that adjuvant migraine medications may improve outcomes in SSNHL.MethodsA retrospective chart review at a tertiary otology center was conducted to identify patients with SSNHL who received oral steroid and IT dexamethasone injection(s) with or without migraine medications (a combination of nortriptyline and topiramate).ResultsA total of 47 patients received oral steroid and IT dexamethasone injection(s) only, and 46 patients received oral steroid and IT dexamethasone injection(s) as well as migraine lifestyle changes plus a combination of nortriptyline and topiramate. There were no significant differences in demographics and baseline audiometric data between the two groups. Both groups demonstrated improvements in pure tone average (PTA) and hearing thresholds at 250 Hz and 8000 Hz posttreatment. However, compared to steroid-only group, the adjuvant migraine medications group had significantly greater improvements in hearing thresholds at the lower frequencies (250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz). Patients in the latter cohort also had greater improvement in PTA (P = .01) and received fewer IT injections (P = .04) PTA improvement of ≥ 10 dB was observed in 36 patients (78%) in the adjuvant migraine medications group and 22 patients (46%) in the control group (P l .001).ConclusionIn multimodal treatment of SSNHL, supplementing oral and IT steroid with migraine medications may result in greater improvements in lower frequency hearing thresholds and PTA. Furthermore, adjuvant migraine treatment can lead to decrease in number of IT injections, thus reducing procedure-related risks and complications.Level of evidence3 Laryngoscope, 131:E283-E288, 2021.
Resolution of sexsomnia with paroxetine.

Sexsomnia is a parasomnia consisting of sexual behavior during non–rapid eye movement sleep. To date, there have been 116 clinical cases of sexsomnia reported and most were treated with clonazepam....
Specific Ion Effects at Calcite Surface Defects Impact Nanomaterial Adhesion

Motivated by applications in subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs such as colloidal instability and nanomaterial adhesion to mineral surfaces, we report atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the adhesion of carboxylate functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips (as surrogates of nanomaterials) on calcite surface line and point defects in deionized water, seawater, and brine. The line defects include acute and obtuse steps, and the point defects include Ca2+ and CO32– vacancies. The accumulations of specific ions on both functionalized AFM tips and calcite surface defects result in reduced adhesion. The specific ions in fluids played the dominant roles to modulate adhesion, yet the surface defects also had distinct characteristics. We believe the molecular insights put forward in this work may have important implications for stabilizing nanomaterials in harsh subsurface oil and gas reservoirs. In addition, the differential affinities of the calcite surface defects with the presence of specific ions observed in this work may further the understanding of the wettability alteration mechanism of calcium carbonates in high salinity geologic settings. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing the interaction of nanomaterials on different calcite surface defects, mediated by specific ions.
Long-term effects of youth work internship: The Project Youth Extension Service approach

Abstract A mixed-methods evaluation research study found that up to six years after engaging in a youth work internship, young adults (N = 54) continued to regard that training and experience (T&E) as highly important for their current work. Over 60% of respondents rated internship T&E as important or extremely important for performance on 36 of 40 competencies targeted. Competencies most valued are also critical to effectiveness in high-intensity, high-demand settings, including composure under stress, adapting to change, sustaining a positive approach. Respondents also offered their retrospective views affirming the importance of T&E for performance during internships. Recent (1–2 year alumni) and past (3–6 year alumni) interns’ views of training effects were equally positive. Qualitative comments identified personal competencies (organization, confidence) as well as professional competencies (leadership, programming skills, communication) and career direction as significant benefits. Implications for practice, research, and policy are discussed.
What Are the Factors Affecting Total Sleep Time During Video Polysomnography in Infants

Objective The aim of the study is to investigate factors affecting total sleep time (TST) during infant polysomnography (PSG) and assess if Study Design Overall, 242 PSGs performed in 194 infants Results Greater TST (p Conclusion Clinical factors such as PMA and medical complexity, and potentially modifiable factors such as time of day and location of study appeared to affect TST during infant PSGs. TST Key Points
Scansorial and aerial ability in Scansoriopterygidae and basal Oviraptorosauria

Previously proposed hypothesis that known terrestrial and flightless members of the pennaraptoran clade Oviraptorosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda) evolved from scansorial and volant ancestors is eval...
You Cannot Get Blood Out of a Stone: The Nexus of Neoliberalism, Violence and Slavery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This paper seeks to analyze the global forces that feed conflict and other pathologies that are powerfully present in the DRC, e.g., modern slavery and environmental degradation. I begin with a brief historical context of the DRC and then proceed with empirical examples of the destruction of the environment by industrial and artisanal and small-scale mineral extraction. I will then show how this extraction produces violence that fuels conflict and turns people into slaves. The paper will then proceed with the genealogy of the causes of violence in the DRC which are inherent to mineral extraction and also a condition of an affordable standing of living in the rest of the world. Raw materials from the DRC have to be cheaper and mined in such conditions that global capitalists continue to make a profit. The solution this paper proposes to reduce violence in the DRC is an education of conscience. The paper shows that today the world is made of neoliberal winners and losers, and that the future depends on the capacity to stop the expansion of products and profits. I conclude by stating that the only way to reach this goal is to revive solidarity among the people of the DRC.
Un parti pris sexuel. Sexualité et masculinité dans la revue Parti Pris

Depuis plusieurs annees, l’histoire de la sexualite au Quebec s’est enrichie de nombreuses publications qui couvrent l’ensemble des XIXe et XXe siecles. Il semble neanmoins que la periode des annees 1960, pourtant tres riche du point de vue du bouleversement des moeurs, ait recu jusqu’ici une attention mitigee de la part des chercheurs. Elle correspond pourtant a une periode d’intenses remises en question de la sexualite, non seulement en continuite avec les tendances liberales a la privatisation du corps et la montee de l’individualisme et de l’intimite, mais a l'interieur meme du courant nationaliste qui n’hesite pas a recycler la sexualite dans sa rhetorique emancipatrice. C’est du moins ce qui ressort d’une lecture des numeros de Parti pris. Dans les pages de cette revue, les auteurs s’interrogeaient sur la sexualite des Canadiens francais, sur leurs valeurs, leurs pratiques et leurs inhibitions. Ils replacaient la question de la sexualite quebecoise dans un cadre sociologique et envisageaient sa solution de maniere collective. Pour les collaborateurs de Parti pris, un nouvel erotisme allait permettre non seulement l’epanouissement plein et entier de chaque individu, mais le libre deploiement de l’imaginaire national. S’inscrivant dans l’optique de la decolonisation tout en recyclant plusieurs motifs phallocratiques, ils trouvaient dans le sujet de la sexualite matiere a revoir toujours le meme probleme de l’alienation et de l’exploitation des Canadiens francais. La liberation sexuelle, vue a travers un prisme fondamentalement masculiniste, representait, aux yeux de ces utopistes, une facette essentielle de la liberation humaine globale.
The 6Li-induced three-nucleon transfer reaction on 40Ca

Abstract Analog (fp)3 states preferentially excited in the 40 Ca ( 6 Li,t ) 43 Ti and the 40 Ca ( 6 Li , τ) 43 Sc reactions have been identified in the mass 43 mirror nuclei. A simple zero-range DWBA calculation made with a cluster form factor gives good agreement with the measured angular distributions, but spectroscopic strengths deduced for mirror levels do not agree. The 3p-0h states are excited with a rather uniform cross section not strongly correlated with spins.
Rapid, nonaversive conditioning in a freshwater gastropod. I. Effects of age and motivation.

The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is capable of rapid acquisition of a nonaversive association between food and a novel chemostimulus. Ten to twenty pairings of the unconditioned stimulus, a phagostimulant consisting of a mixture of sucrose and casein digest, and the conditioned stimulus, amyl acetate at 0.004% resulted in feeding movements in response to the conditioned stimulus alone. Four different control groups were used, none of which acquired the response. Age, and age-influenced motivation were found to have a profound effect on learning and on its expression. Old snails which were well fed prior to training failed to acquire the association, while starved old animals learned readily. Starved young snails learned readily, while young snails which were well fed prior to training also acquired the association, but only expressed the learned response after food deprivation.
The microbiome, HLA, and the pathogenesis of uveitis

An understanding of the microbiome is emerging as an exciting and novel way to elucidate the regulation of the immune system. Since the immune system plays a major role in the pathogenesis of many diseases including most forms of uveitis, it is critical to clarify the relationship between our immune system and the commensal bacteria that coexist in every human being.
Bifurcation and topology of equilbrium sets

The normal forms and invariants of control systems with a single parameter are found. Then, bifurcations of equilbrium sets are classified.
Parallel and nested decomposition for factoid questions

Typically, automatic Question Answering (QA) approaches use the question in its entirety in the search for potential answers. We argue that decomposing complex factoid questions into separate facts about their answers is beneficial to QA, since an answer candidate with support coming from multiple independent facts is more likely to be the correct one. We broadly categorize decomposable questions as parallel or nested, and we present a novel question decomposition framework for enhancing the ability of single-shot QA systems to answer complex factoid questions. Essential to the framework are components for decomposition recognition, question rewriting, and candidate answer synthesis and re-ranking. We discuss the interplay among these, with particular emphasis on decomposition recognition, a process which, we argue, can be sufficiently informed by lexico-syntactic features alone. We validate our decomposition approach by implementing the framework on top of a state-of-the-art QA system, showing a statistically significant improvement over its accuracy.
Myxobacter AL-1 Protease II: Specific Peptide Bond Cleavage on the Amino Side of Lysine

A second extracellular protease from myxobacter strain AL-1 has been purified to homogeneity and named protease II; the enzyme crystallizes as fine needles. The extracellular, cell wall lytic protease reported previously from the same organism is now designated protease I. Protease II exhibits a pH optimum of 8.5 to 9.0 and is stable from pH 3.0 to 9.0. The enzyme is heat stable at 50 C for 18 hr. Results of sedimentation equilibrium studies yielded a molecular weight of 17,000, and amino acid analysis revealed 157 residues with a minimal molecular weight of 16,660. Cleavage of peptide bonds in the oxidized B-chain of insulin, cytochrome c (horse heart). lysozyme, and vasopressin is restricted to the amino side of lysine. Dilysine and trilysine were not hydrolyzed. Products from digestions of polylysine were lysine and dilysine.
Preparation of Dy and Mn nanoparticles

Abstract We have recently extended our studies on nanoparticles to rare earth and Mn particles. The nanometer scale Dy and Mn particles have been prepared using a new method in which particles are first formed from high purity constituent materials in an inert gas atmosphere and then embedded into a matrix by planar magnetron sputtering. The Dycontaining samples consisted of particles with diameters on the order of 10 nm, which were separated by the matrix material. A strong relationship was observed between the particle size and the magnetic ordering temperature with the absence of antiferromagnetic transition observed at 176 K in the bulk. This method allows for the synthesis of a wider variety of materials by reducing the problems of miscibility and reactivity between the particles and the matrix material.
Inhibition of human liver microsomal epoxide hydrolase by valproate and valpromide: in vitro/in vivo correlation

On the basis of drug interactions with carbamazepine epoxide, it has been hypothesized that valproic acid and valpromide are inhibitors of epoxide hydrolase, but the role of epoxide hydrolase in these interactions has not been clearly established. In this study, therapeutic concentrations of valproic acid (less than 1 mmol/L) and valpromide (less than 10 mumol/L) inhibited hydrolysis of carbamazepine epoxide and styrene oxide in human liver microsomes and in preparations of purified human liver microsomal epoxide hydrolase. Valpromide (KI = 5 mumol/L) was 100 times more potent than valproic acid (KI = 550 mumol/L) as an inhibitor of carbamazepine epoxide hydrolysis in microsomes. After administration of carbamazepine epoxide to volunteers, the transdihydrodiol formation clearance was decreased 20% by valproic acid (blood concentration approximately 113 mumol/L) and 67% by valpromide (blood concentration less than 10 mumol/L). For both valproic acid and valpromide, a striking similarity exists between in vitro and in vivo inhibitory potencies. Valproic acid and valpromide are the first drugs known to inhibit microsomal epoxide hydrolase, an important detoxification enzyme, at therapeutic concentrations.
Feasibility pilot on medication adherence and knowledge in ambulatory patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Purpose/objectives To evaluate the feasibility of face-to-face education, a nurse-initiated telephone call, and patient use of medication diaries to support patients' self-reported medication adherence and knowledge of oral chemotherapy. Design Descriptive, feasibility pilot study. Setting An outpatient oncology unit at a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Sample 30 patients with gastrointestinal cancer who were prescribed at least one oral chemotherapy agent. Methods Participants received verbal and written education and a nurse-initiated educational telephone call within 72 hours of receiving education. Each was asked to complete a medication diary at home during the first cycle and the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) at the end of the first cycle of oral chemotherapy. Main research variables Verbal and written education, telephone contacts, drug diary, self-reported medication adherence, and patient knowledge. Findings Most patients (n = 29) received both verbal and written education, participated by telephone (n = 25), and completed the medication diaries (n = 21) correctly. Seventeen participants documented side effects within the first 72 hours of treatment initiation, with eight participants needing additional assistance with management of side effects. At the end of the first cycle of therapy, MMAS-8 adherence scores were high (X = 7.89, SD = 0.55). Conclusions This study demonstrated the feasibility of a nurse-initiated educational and monitoring protocol for patients with gastrointestinal cancer receiving oral chemotherapy. In addition, the adapted MMAS-8 was a feasible adherence measure. Implications for nursing Pilot findings support targeted nurse interventions with face-to-face and telephone education to enhance self-monitoring and adherence for patients with gastrointestinal cancer receiving oral chemotherapy.
Female infanticide: Sex ratio manipulation in humans☆

Abstract A model is presented relating the optimum F 1 sex ratio in humans to the relative importance of cooperation and competition among sibs of the same sex. It is predicted that an F 1 sex ratio of more sons than daughters will be favored when the payoff in terms of increased surviving F 2 progeny resulting from cooperation among brothers (e.g., in hunting) is greater than that resulting from cooperation among sisters. In some cases, differential female infanticide in the F 1 may maximize F 2 progeny.
Effects of high source flow and high pumping speed on gas source molecular beam epitaxy / chemical beam epitaxy

We report the growth of GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE), and chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) in an epitaxial III–V reactor which features high pumping speed. The system is comprised of a modified Perkin-Elmer 430P molecular beam epitaxy system and a custom gas source panel from Emcore. The growth chamber is pumped with a 7000 1/s (He) diffusion pump (Varian VHS-10 with Monsanto Santovac 5 oil). The gas source panel includes pressure based flow controllers (MKS 1150) allowing triethylaluminum (TEA), triethylgallium (TEG), and trimethylindium (TMI) to be supplied without the use of hydrogen. All source lines, including arsine and phosphine, are maintained below atmospheric pressure. The high pumping speed allows total system flow rates as high as 100 SCCM and V/III ratios as high as 100. The purity of GaAs grown by MBE in this system increases with pumping speed. GaAs layers grown by GSMBE with arsine flows of 10 and 20 SCCM have electron concentrations of 1 × 1015 cm-3 (μ77=48,000 cm2/V·) and 2 × 1014 cm-3 (μ77=78,000 cm2/V·s) respectively. El ectron concentration varies with hydride injector temperature such that the minimum in electron concentration occurs for less than complete cracking. The effect of V/III ratio and the use of a metal eutectic bubbler on residual carrier concentration in GaAs grown by CBE is presented. Intentional Si and Be doping of CBE grown GaAs is demonstrated at a high growth rate of 5.4 μm/h.
Construction of crossed girdles by superposing four subfabrics, each with a single maximum

Commonly, basal glide is the predominant deformation mechanism of quartz in tectonites. Therefore, local deformation is probably mostly progressive simple shear rotating the sheared domains as well as deforming them. If a tectonite body is constrained to be deformed irrotationally and approximately homogeneously throughout, it is necessarily traversed by closely spaced material surfaces that are approximately plane and orthogonal originally, and stay so through time. These surfaces act as internal boundaries and enforce cancellation of the rigid-body rotations of, in the general case, four distinct families of domains, with slip planes and directions mutually mirror-symmetric. The overall symmetry of the fabric is orthorhombic, with the mirror planes coinciding with the principal planes of strain. Certain grains with basal planes in favorable orientation for one of the four ideal simple shears could initiate the deformation, and because of the need for compatibility, entrain neighboring grains into a similar strain, making the surroundings of an initiating grain a shear zone. Compatibility also requires thec-axes of grains in a domain to be rotated progressively toward the direction of maximum shortening. If the original orientation of crystallographic axes was random, domains of one family thus acquire a fabric with a single maximum, and the four resulting fabrics with single maxima combine to form crossed-girdle patterns. Depending on the orientation of the average shear planes and slip directions in the four families, the crossed girdles can be of different types; most fabric types that have been observed in quartz tectonites can be obtained by superposition. Crossed-girdle fabrics with low symmetry result from non-coaxial strain histories.
Energy transfer among neodymium ions in glass hosts

Energy transfer between Nd3+ ions in silicate, germanate, phosphate, and pentaphosphate glasses has been studied between 12 and 300 K. The results at 12 K agree with relative values predicted for electric dipole-dipole energy transfer. Very different temperature dependences are observed for the energy transfer in these samples.
Polyalkylene sulfides. VI. New polymers capable of cross‐linking

The formation of polymers from diolefins and dimercaptans has been extended to some new monomer combinations to yield strong, slightly elastic fibrous polymers which contain groups that permit subsequent cross-linking. Osmotic molecular weight data have been obtained on a variety of polymers with different inherent viscosities. Polymers with a molecular weight of 60,000 have been obtained from biallyl and hexamethylenedithiol. Diallyl sulfide has been found to be relatively unreactive toward the addition of a mercaptan under the conditions used. This indicates that a sulfur atom beta to the double bond interferes with the free radical-catalyzed addition of a mercaptan. The basecatalyzed reaction of hexamethylenedithiol and the cross-conjugated dienone, dibenzalacetone, has yielded a rubbery-type polymer.
Cloning and characterization of a mammalian lithium-sensitive bisphosphate 3'-nucleotidase inhibited by inositol 1,4-bisphosphate.

Abstract Discovery of a structurally conserved metal-dependent lithium-inhibited phosphomonoesterase protein family has identified several potential cellular targets of lithium as used to treat manic depression. Here we describe identification of a novel family member using a “computer cloning” strategy. Human and murine cDNA clones encoded proteins sharing 92% identity and were highly expressed in kidney. Native and recombinant protein harbored intrinsic magnesium-dependent bisphosphate nucleotidase activity (BPntase), which removed the 3′-phosphate from 3′-5′ bisphosphate nucleosides and 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate with K m andV max values of 0.5 μm and 40 μmol/min/mg. Lithium uncompetitively inhibited activity with aK i of 157 μm. Interestingly, BPntase was competitively inhibited by inositol 1,4-bisphosphate with aK i of 15 μm. Expression of mammalian BPntase complemented defects in hal2/met22 mutant yeast. These data suggest that BPntase’s physiologic role in nucleotide metabolism may be regulated by inositol signaling pathways. The presence of high levels of BPntase in the kidney are provocative in light of the roles of bisphosphorylated nucleotides in regulating salt tolerance, sulfur assimilation, detoxification, and lithium toxicity. We propose that inhibition of human BPntase may account for lithium-induced nephrotoxicity, which may be overcome by supplementation of current therapeutic regimes with inhibitors of nucleotide biosynthesis, such as methionine.
A new stiffened shell element for geometrically nonlinear analysis of composite laminates

Abstract A new stiffened shell element combining shallow beam and shallow shell elements is developed for geometrically nonlinear analysis of stiffened composite laminates under mechanical loading. The formulation of this element is based on the principle of virtual displacements in conjunction with the co-rotational form of the total Lagrangian description of motion. In the finite element formulation, both the shell and the beam (stiffener) elements account for transverse shear deformations and material anisotropy. The cross section of the stiffener (beam) can be arbitrary in geometry and lamination. In order to combine the stiffener with the shell element, constraint conditions are applied to the displacement and rotation fields of the stiffener. These constraint conditions ensure that the cross section of the stiffener remains co-planar with the shell section after deformation. The resulting expressions for the displacement and rotation fields of the stiffener involve only the nodal unknowns of the shell element, thus reducing the total number of degrees-of-freedom. Also, the discretization of the entire stiffened shell structure becomes more flexible. The robustness of the stiffened shell element has been proven by comparison against other shell elements considered previously.
Unfolding the relation between global temperature and ENSO

[1] An analysis of global temperature and ENSO data indicates that their relationship is more complicated than currently thought. Indeed, it appears that there are two complimenting aspects to this relation. The first (and known) aspect expresses the fact that global temperature increases after an El Nino event and a La Nina event follows an El Nino event. Thus, El Nino forces global temperature. While this is an important result, it is not the entire picture. If it were, ENSO would be independent of global temperature. The second aspect, which is proposed here, suggests a deeper connection between global temperature and ENSO. We find that ENSO is not independent and that positive (negative) global temperature tendency tends to trigger an El Nino (La Nina). Thus, in a warming climate El Nino events will be more frequent than La Nina events. The methodology presented in this paper may elucidate how realistically coupled ocean-atmosphere models simulate the response of climate to global change.
Viscoplasticity of heterogeneous metallic materials

Abstract Viscoplastic behavior of metallic materials is manifested by collective behavior of lattice defects at multiple length scales. The full gamut of length scales, from atomic to macroscopic, is considered in terms of both concurrent and hierarchical multiscale modeling of plasticity of metals. Particular challenges are identified in the realm between atomistic simulations and the scale of dislocation substructure formation in establishing next generation constitutive models. Bottom–up modeling is useful in applications such as fracture or dislocation mediation by interfaces. This is differentiated from top–down modeling that supports design of a material as a hierarchy of sub-systems. Examples of hierarchical microstructure-sensitive models are presented for both Ni-base superalloys and α–β Ti alloys, with emphasis on cyclic deformation behavior. Future directions to advance both discrete dislocation and crystal plasticity theories are discussed, emphasizing the need for additional focus on dislocation sources and dislocation line curvature in modeling scale dependent behavior. Difficulties with low order approximations of the dislocation density distribution, such as second-order gradient theories, are discussed in terms of predictive capability and transferability among geometric configurations. The multiscale nature of the decomposition of the deformation gradient into elastic and plastic parts is discussed in light of sources of incompatibility at each scale considered, with interpretation offered at different scales of Burgers circuits that highlight dislocation substructures and polycrystals, respectively. Recent atomistic studies of dislocation nucleation at grain boundaries are outlined and some thoughts are offered towards potentially fruitful directions to incorporate this understanding into statistical continuum models that account for the role of grain boundary structure as an element of the evolving incompatibility field.
Carson Lake Punctated Sociological implications of a ceramic motif from the Central Mississippi Valley

A distinctive ceramic motif, a series of punctations within a pendant triangular field, has a limited distribution within the central portion of the Nodena phase region of northeastern Arkansas and...
On the sophistication of naïve empirical reasoning: factors influencing mathematicians' persuasion ratings of empirical arguments

This paper presents the results of an experiment in which mathematicians were asked to rate how persuasive they found two empirical arguments. There were three key results from this study: (a) Participants judged an empirical argument as more persuasive if it verified that integers possessed an infrequent property than if it verified that integers lacked such a property. (b) Participants judged an empirical argument about modular congruence as more persuasive than an empirical argument about generating primes, suggesting that empirical arguments might be more convincing in some domains than others. (c) There was a marginally statistical effect between mathematical field of study and level of persuasion, with applied mathematicians finding empirical arguments more persuasive than pure mathematicians.
Validation of diagnostic codes for subtrochanteric, diaphyseal, and atypical femoral fractures using administrative claims data.

Abstract Administrative claims databases have large samples and high generalizability. They have been used to evaluate associations of atypical femoral fractures with bisphosphonates. We developed and assessed accuracy of claims-based algorithms with hospital and physician diagnosis codes for these fractures. Medical records and radiology reports of all adults admitted at University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System from 2004 to 2008 with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision hospital discharges and surgeons' fracture repair codes for subtrochanteric femoral fractures and random sample of other femoral fractures were reviewed. We identified 137 persons with suspected subtrochanteric femoral fractures and randomly selected 50 persons with either suspected diaphyseal femoral fractures or hip fractures other than subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures (typical hip fractures). Eleven patients had radiographic features indicative of atypical femoral fractures. The positive predictive value (PPV) of claims-based algorithms varied with primary or secondary positions on discharge diagnoses and the sources of diagnosis codes. The PPV for fractures ranged 69–89% for subtrochanteric femoral, 89–98% for diaphyseal femoral, and 85–98% for typical hip fractures. The PPV of administrative codes for defining a femoral fracture as atypical was low and imprecise. Claims-based algorithms combining hospital discharges with surgeon's diagnosis codes had high PPV to identify the site of subtrochanteric or diaphyseal femoral fractures vs typical hip fractures. However, claims-based data were not accurate in identifying atypical femoral fractures. These claims algorithms will be useful in future population-based observational studies to evaluate associations between osteoporosis medications and subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femoral fractures.
Understanding the rise and fall of stock options compensation: Taking principal–agent conflicts to the institutional (battle)field

Abstract Researchers that have used agency theory predictions of monitoring and incentive alignment that focus solely on principal–agent relationships at the organizational level have been unable to rationalize the use and design of stock options within organizations. In the early 1990s, stock options were virtually free, but eventually, organizations were required to disclose the value of the options in the footnotes of their financial statements. This imperative ignited a battle between agents (and their advocates) who opposed the formal accounting of options and shareholders (and their advocates) who changed their opinions about options over time. In this article, we develop a model to explain how the varying pressures across the various stages of institutionalization cannot only explain how principals and agents are influenced by the institutional environment in making options compensation decisions, but also when and how these parties will shape institutional contexts at the field level to encourage, perpetuate, or delegitimate the stock option arrangements that these actors prefer.
Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement.

Abstract Formative assessment can have a powerful impact on student motivation and achievement. This article discusses five key practices that teachers can use to gather important information about student understanding, provide feedback to students, and enable students to set and attain meaningful learning goals. Each of the techniques can enhance student motivation as well as achievement.
Extended Structures in RNA Folding Intermediates Are Due to Nonnative Interactions Rather than Electrostatic Repulsion

RNA folding occurs via a series of transitions between metastable intermediate states for Mg2+ concentrations below those needed to fold the native structure. In general, these folding intermediates are considerably less compact than their respective native states. Our previous work demonstrates that the major equilibrium intermediate of the 154-residue specificity domain (S-domain) of the Bacillus subtilis RNase P RNA is more extended than its native structure. We now investigate two models with falsifiable predictions regarding the origins of the extended intermediate structures in the S-domains of the B. subtilis and the Escherichia coli RNase P RNA that belong to different classes of P RNA and have distinct native structures. The first model explores the contribution of electrostatic repulsion, while the second model probes specific interactions in the core of the folding intermediate. Using small-angle X-ray scattering and Langevin dynamics simulations, we show that electrostatics plays only a minor role, whereas specific interactions largely account for the extended nature of the intermediate. Structural contacts in the core, including a nonnative base pair, help to stabilize the intermediate conformation. We conclude that RNA folding intermediates adopt extended conformations due to short-range, nonnative interactions rather than generic electrostatic repulsion of helical domains. These principles apply to other ribozymes and riboswitches that undergo functionally relevant conformational changes.
Densification of Salt-Occluded Zeolite a Powders to a Leach-Resistant Monolith

Pyrochemical processing of spent fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) yields a salt waste of LiCl-KCl that contains approximately 6 wt% fission products, primarily as CsCl and SrCl{sub 2}. Past work has shown that zeolite A will preferentially sorb cesium and strontium and will encapsulate the salt waste in a leach-resistant, radiation-resistant aluminosilicate matrix. However, a method is sill needed to convert the salt-occluded zeolite powders into a form suitable for geologic disposal. We are thus investigating a method that forms bonded zeolite by hot pressing a mixture of glass frit and salt-occluded zeolite powders at 990 K (717{degree}C) and 28 MPa. The leach resistance of the bonded zeolite was measured in static leach tests run for 28 days in 363 K (90{degree}C) deionized water. Normalized release rates of all elements in the bonded zeolite were low, <1 g/m{sup 2} d. Thus, the bonded zeolite may be a suitable waste form for IFR salt waste.
Thermodynamic properties of gallium nitride

In this paper we reply to a critique of a recent publication of ours on the thermochemical properties of GaN. In the critique, it was claimed that our results for the Gibbs free energy of formation of GaN were biased to negative values because of the sluggish kinetics of formation and decomposition of GaN at the temperatures of interest. We show that this criticism is not well founded. We further show that the range of reported values of the Gibbs free energy of formation, the enthalpy of formation, and the entropy of formation of GaN permit a relatively wide range of self-consistent choices of these properties. Further refinement of the data is required before any one set of properties can be recommended.
Estimating the largest singular values of large sparse matrices via modified moments

We describe a procedure for determining a few of the largest singular values of a large sparse matrix. The method by Golub and Kent which uses the method of modified moments for estimating the eigenvalues of operators used in iterative methods for the solution of linear systems of equations is appropriately modified in order to generate a sequence of bidiagonal matrices whose singular values approximate those of the original sparse matrix. A simple Lanczos recursion is proposed for determining the corresponding left and right singular vectors. The potential asynchronous computation of the bidiagonal matrices using modified moments with the iterations of an adapted Chebyshev semi-iterative (CSI) method is an attractive feature for parallel computers. Comparisons in efficiency and accuracy with an appropriate Lanczos algorithm (with selective re-orthogonalization) are presented on large sparse (rectangular) matrices arising from applications such as information retrieval and seismic reflection tomography. This procedure is essentially motivated by the theory of moments and Gauss quadrature.
Polyethylene-Assisted Exfoliation of Hexagonal Boron Nitride in Composite Fibers: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study

A joint experimental and computational approach is used to explore the exfoliation mechanism for hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) in polyethylene (PE)/h-BN composite fi bers during hot-drawing. A shear-fl ow gel-spinning apparatus is utilized to fabricate PE/h-BN composite fi bers with 11 wt% h-BN loading. Different exfoliation states of the h-BN platelets before and after hot-drawing are experimentally examined using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Compared with the undrawn (as-spun) fi bers, both analyses show that the intensity of the major h-BN peaks attributed to interlayer interaction signifi cantly decreased for the drawn fi bers, suggesting exfoliation of the h-BN. A full atomistic steered molecular dynamics approach is used to obtain baseline force and work required for h-BN layer separation, as well as to simulate the h-BN exfoliation behavior as a result of the PE matrix shearing effect in the composite. Computational results indicate that a large interactive area between the polymer and the fi llers is required to induce enough stress transfer to exceed the h-BN exfoliation force/energy threshold. Once this threshold is achieved, complete exfoliation of the platelets to monolayer h-BN is demonstrated. By understanding the relationship between interfacial area and interaction strength between polymer matrix and fi llers, this work provides new insight toward use of polymers for producing mono- and few-layered h-BN.
Natural and anthropogenic environmental nanoparticulates: Their microstructural characterization and respiratory health implications

Abstract A wide range of environmental particulate matter (PM) both indoor and outdoor and consisting of natural and anthropogenic PM was collected by high volume air filters, electrostatic precipitation, and thermophoretic precipitation directly onto transmission electron microscope (TEM) coated grid platforms. These collected PM have been systematically characterized by TEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the El Paso, TX, USA/Juarez, Mexico metroplex 93% of outdoor PM1 is crystalline while 40% of PM1 is carbonaceous soot (including multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and multiconcentric fullerenes) PM. Multiply-replicated cytotoxicity (in vitro) assays utilizing a human epithelial (lung model) cell line (A549) consistently demonstrated varying degrees of cell death for essentially all PM which was characterized as aggregates of nanoparticulates or primary nanoparticles. Cytokine release was detected for Fe2O3, chrysotile asbestos, BC, and MWCNT PM while reactive oxygen species (ROS) production has been detected for Fe2O3, asbestos, BC, and MWCNT aggregate PM as well as natural gas combustion PM. Nanoparticulate materials in the indoor and outdoor environments appear to be variously cytotoxic, especially carbonaceous nano-PM such as multiwall carbon nanotubes, black carbon, and soot nano-PM produced by natural gas combustion.
Sorption kinetics for diffusion-controlled systems with a strongly concentration-dependent diffusivity

The kinetics of adsorption and desorption for an adsorbent particle, subjected to a step change in surface concentration, have been analyzed in detail for isothermal diffusion-controlled systems in which the diffusivity increases strongly with loading. The transient adsorption curves retain the same shape as for a constant diffusivity system, even when the diffusivity varies by more than an order of magnitude. The effective diffusivity increases with the size of the concentration step and depends on both the diffusivity ratio (between final and initial values) and the form of the concentration dependence. When the diffusivity ratio is high the desorption rate also increases with step size but by a much smaller factor. For very high diffusivity ratios (more than an order of magnitude) the shape of the desorption curves changes showing a much slower final approach to equilibrium than for a constant diffusivity system. A simple model is developed for such systems leading to a simple analytic expression for the desorption curve. The theory is validated by comparison with representative experimental data and used to explain some of the apparent anomalies in previously published studies.
Enhancement of automotive exhaust heat recovery by thermoelectric devices

AbstractIn an effort to improve automobile fuel economy, an experimental study was undertaken to explore the practical aspects of implementing thermoelectric devices for exhaust gas energy recovery. An experimental apparatus consisting of a hot-side (exhaust gas) rectangular duct and a cold-side (coolant liquid) rectangular duct enclosing six thermoelectric elements has been built and instrumented. Measurements of the thermoelectric voltage output, fluid and surface temperatures, and flowrates were acquired and analysed to investigate the power generation and heat transfer properties of the apparatus. The effects of inserting aluminium wool packing material inside the hot-side duct on augmentation of the heat transfer from the gas stream to duct walls were studied. Data were collected for both the unpacked and the packed cases to allow for deduction of the packing influence on the flow and surface temperatures. The effects of variations in the gas inlet temperature (300°C, 320°C, 340°C, 360°C, 380°C, and ...
Linear augmented-Slater-type-orbital method for electronic-structure calculations. V. Spin-orbit splitting in Cu 3 Au

We have used local-density-functional theory to calculate the energy bands, heat of formation, and core-level shift in the classic ordering alloy ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$Au. Contrary to expectations we find that the d bands are largely nonoverlapping with the gold region extending from -4 to -7 eV relative to the Fermi level. The copper d levels are concentrated in the range -1 to -4 eV. Addition of spin-orbit splitting strongly mixes the gold states, producing features which are predominantly j=(5/2 and j=(3/2 with the (5/2 level split weakly by the residual crystal-field effects. This agrees with the interpretation of photoemission data by Eberhardt et al. The total energy yields a heat of formation of -0.048 eV/atom compared with the experimental value of -0.07 eV/atom. The Au 4f core-level position was calculated using a total-energy approach. The fully relaxed shift was found to be 0.3 eV (to larger binding energy) compared with the experimental value of 0.48 eV. The absolute value of the core-level binding energy was calculated to be 84.1 eV, compared to 84.40 eV experimentally.
Periodontal disease in children and adolescents: a clinical study.

Recent epidemiological studies1 have shown that there is a considerable prev­ alence of periodontal disease in children by the time they are 13 or 14 years of age. This observation is not surprising when it is realized that the prevalence of periodontal disease reaches epidemic pro­ portions in the adult. Periodontitis, the most common periodontal disease of the adult, is a chronic, slowly progressive dis­ ease. In many instances, therefore, it must, of necessity, have had its initiation approximately with the onset of puberty, or before, in order to cause the amount of destruction seen in the adult patient of 20 to 30 years of age. In the deciduous dentition, on the other hand, periodontal disease is not common. When it does occur, it is almost invariably a marginal gingivitis, which is the result of poor oral hygiene, calculus, or caries. The deciduous teeth are prob­ ably lost before they have an opportun­ ity to become more seriously involved. It is the purpose of this paper, there­ fore, to review the etiology, treatment and types of periodontal disease com­ monly seen in the child as he approaches puberty and progresses into young adult­ hood.
Evaluation of pavement surface friction subject to various pavement preservation treatments

Abstract This study compared the effectiveness of preservation treatments on pavement surface friction and investigated the long-term variation of friction using the data collected in the Specific Pavement Studies-3 (SPS-3) of the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program. The SPS-3 focuses on the effect of four preservation treatments (thin overlay, chip seal, crack seal, and slurry seal) on pavement performance under five design factors (traffic, precipitation, temperature, existing pavement condition, and subgrade type). Both the simple ranking method and statistical methods (boxplot and Fisher’s Least Significance Difference test) were used to compare the effectiveness of preservation treatments on friction improvement. The statistical analysis results indicate that slurry seal causes significantly greater friction number compared to the control section; and the ranking from high to low based on the average friction number among four preservation treatments is: slurry seal, chip seal, thin overlay and crack seal. Among the five design factors, subgrade type and existing pavement condition show less influence on pavement friction compared to climate and traffic factors. Stepwise regression analysis was conducted to quantify the influence of various factors (material, traffic, temperature, precipitation, and freezing index) on the long-term variation of pavement friction within the monitoring period. It was found that the application rate of slurry seal and chip seal affected the friction variation and temperature showed negative correlation with friction. In addition, pavement roughness was found having certain correlation with friction for the control sections and the sections with crack seal.