cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Re-visiting the “consequences of grafting density on the linear viscoelastic behavior of graft polymers”

Abstract In a recent work published by Haugan et al. (ACS Macro Lett., 2018, 7, 525–530.), the linear viscoelastic behaviors of a series of random graft polymers as a function of grafting density ( Z ) and backbone degree of polymerization ( n b b ) for a constant side chain degree of polymerization was investigated. The results were interpreted to imply that as Z increases the backbone concentration decreases and the distance between entanglements increases (the number of backbone degree of polymerization between entanglements ( n e , b b ) increases from 55 for Z = 0 to 550 for Z = 1 .). One evidence of entanglement formation was that the zero-shear rate viscosity ( η 0 ) showed a departure from Rouse scaling to reptation scaling as molecular weight increased. However, the values of η 0 from the dynamic modulus measurements used in that work were, for multiple cases, underestimated because the Newtonian plateau at low frequencies was not reached. In the present work, the rheological data for these graft polymers are reanalyzed, some samples are measured again, and the resulting new estimates of the zero shear-rate viscosity ( η 0 ) lead to changes in the interpretation of the results. Furthermore, we calculated the retardation spectra (L(τ)) for the samples, showing that the entanglement behavior of these systems is similar to but not identical to the behavior of the linear chain polymer. The results show that in the transition from Rouse-like to entangled behavior η 0 exhibits a M w 3.4 dependence on molecular weight rather than the M w 3 previously reported for these graft polymers. By plotting η 0 as a function of n b b at different Z , the data collapse into two families of behavior and the critical grafting density Z is approximately 0.2–0.25. The onset of entanglements as n b b or M w increases at fixed Z is confirmed from the retardation spectrum, However, the progressive development of the retardation spectrum for these side chain diluted systems differs from that of entangled polymer solutions in that the spectrum first broadens at short times before splitting into two distinct peaks, while for solutions the appearance and shifting to longer times of a second peak occur more abruptly.
Giant Iliac Artery Pseudoaneurysm Mimicking Postoperative Fluid Collection and Diskitis.

Background In this report, we describe an extremely rare case of a giant pseudoaneurysm of the internal iliac artery causing marked destructive changes at a disk space and mimicking diskitis-osteomyelitis. Only 2 other cases of pseudoaneurysms extending into the disk space have been reported, and those arose from the aorta and were relatively straightforward to diagnose. Case Description Our case is unique because the pseudoaneurysm arose from the internal iliac artery, an artery that is not usually included in the field of view of lumbar magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography. However, the pseudoaneurysm was so large that it extended to the lumbosacral junction, where it eroded a disk space and caused findings of diskitis-osteomyelitis. Conclusions Complex paraspinal fluid collections causing osseous erosions should raise the possibility of an aneurysm/pseudoaneurysm. Computed tomography or conventional angiography should be considered if the question of a vascular mass/collection cannot be answered on conventional cross-sectional imaging, as inadvertent biopsy of a pseudoaneurysm can cause catastrophic bleeding.
Caleb Perry Patterson: Political Scientist and Civic Educator

Caleb Perry Patterson was a leader in the discipline of political science during a long career. He is remembered as the founder of the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha, and as a charter founder of the Southwestern Political Science Association (now the Southwestern Social Science Association). Both were founded a century ago, in 1920. While his role in founding those organizations is one of his legacies, his career was much more than that. He was a notable educator, an activist in the politics of his time, and a prolific scholar. He used an oratorical presentation style to inspire generations of students, and through promotion of constitutional values, he encouraged independence of thought. One prominent Texas political observer summed up his impact as encouraging students of all political stripes to “love the thing that is America” and to provide critical thinking during the McCarthy Era. With Patterson as his reference, he concluded that “the only thing that can save us is the professors, really.”
Frailty in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Risk of Exacerbations and Hospitalizations.

Background Frailty is a complex clinical syndrome associated with vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. While frailty is thought to be common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the relationship between frailty and COPD-related outcomes such as risk of acute exacerbations of COPD (AE-COPD) and hospitalizations is unclear. Purpose To examine the association between physical frailty and risk of acute exacerbations, hospitalizations, and mortality in patients with COPD. Methods A longitudinal analysis of data from a cohort of 280 participants was performed. Baseline frailty measures included exhaustion, weakness, low activity, slowness, and undernutrition. Outcome measures included AE-COPD, hospitalizations, and mortality over 2 years. Negative binomial regression and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used. Results Sixty-two percent of the study population met criteria for pre-frail and 23% were frail. In adjusted analyses, the frailty syndrome was not associated with COPD exacerbations. However, among the individual components of the frailty syndrome, weakness measured by handgrip strength was associated with increased risk of COPD exacerbations (IRR 1.46, 95% CI 1.09-1.97). The frailty phenotype was not associated with all-cause hospitalizations but was associated with increased risk of non-COPD-related hospitalizations. Conclusion This longitudinal cohort study shows that a high proportion of patients with COPD are pre-frail or frail. The frailty phenotype was associated with an increased risk of non-COPD hospitalizations but not with all-cause hospitalizations or COPD exacerbations. Among the individual frailty components, low handgrip strength was associated with increased risk of COPD exacerbations over a 2-year period. Measuring handgrip strength may identify COPD patients who could benefit from programs to reduce COPD exacerbations.
Waves of Immigration from the Middle East to the United States

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there have been three waves of immigration from the Middle East to the United States, roughly defined as a first wave from the late 1800's to 1924, then a second wave from the mid 1940's until 1965, and a third wave from the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act until the present. How accurate are these categorizations? In what ways has immigration from the Middle East to the United States changed over the past century? This paper addresses these issues using Census data from 1980-2011, covering immigration cohorts from 1910 through 2011. I find key differences in immigration both across source countries and arrival cohorts. There has been a general downward trend in the education and income levels of immigrants since 1965, most notably for countries with large refugee populations. The effects of ethnic enclaves depend on characteristics of the enclaves as well as immigrant arrival cohort. In general, living in an ethnic enclave is associated with lower educational outcomes and income, though the effects are reversed for high skill enclaves as well as enclaves in which immigrants hold executive and managerial positions. Furthermore, the negative effects of ethnic enclaves depend on the arrival cohort, with enclaves having potentially positive effects for the most recent arrival cohorts, but a negative impact on immigrants who stay in the enclave years after their arrival.
Generative transfer learning for measuring plausibility of EHR diagnosis records.

Objective Due to a complex set of processes involved with the recording of health information in the Electronic Health Records (EHRs), the truthfulness of EHR diagnosis records is questionable. We present a computational approach to estimate the probability that a single diagnosis record in the EHR reflects the true disease. Materials and methods Using EHR data on 18 diseases from the Mass General Brigham (MGB) Biobank, we develop generative classifiers on a small set of disease-agnostic features from EHRs that aim to represent Patients, pRoviders, and their Interactions within the healthcare SysteM (PRISM features). Results We demonstrate that PRISM features and the generative PRISM classifiers are potent for estimating disease probabilities and exhibit generalizable and transferable distributional characteristics across diseases and patient populations. The joint probabilities we learn about diseases through the PRISM features via PRISM generative models are transferable and generalizable to multiple diseases. Discussion The Generative Transfer Learning (GTL) approach with PRISM classifiers enables the scalable validation of computable phenotypes in EHRs without the need for domain-specific knowledge about specific disease processes. Conclusion Probabilities computed from the generative PRISM classifier can enhance and accelerate applied Machine Learning research and discoveries with EHR data.
The Politics of Good Enough: Rural Broadband and Policy Failure in the United States

The U.S. rural–urban digital divide has been a policy concern for more than a decade. The issue has intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic and the requirement that people live, work, and study online from home. This is not possible for more than 42 million Americans, most notably those in rural communities, who lack access to high-speed Internet (broadband). Despite a policy of universal service and billions of dollars for deployment, policy makers have been unable to close the rural–urban digital divide. To understand this disjuncture between policy and deployment, this article analyzes current U.S. rural broadband policies as developed and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission. Drawing on critical political economy and theories of policy failure, I argue that rural broadband policy has failed in three capacities: meaning, mapping, and money. These failures occur because of a “politics of good enough” that dominates U.S. rural broadband policy.
“All bets are off”: Flexible engagement with music-listening technologies by autistic adults:

This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore daily experiences with music among a convenience sample of 12 autistic adults interning at a video game development lab. Our analys...
Trading Equity for Liquidity: Bank Data on the Relationship between Liquidity and Mortgage Default

For many families, homeownership is a vital part of the American dream, and their mortgage will be their greatest debt and their mortgage payment will be their largest recurring monthly expense. This report aims to answer important questions about the role of liquidity, equity, income levels, and payment burden as determinants of mortgage default using a unique data set of JPMorgan Chase customers with a Chase mortgage and Chase deposit accounts. Our analysis suggests that liquidity may have been a more important predictor of mortgage default than equity, income level, or payment burden. Borrowers with little post-closing liquidity defaulted at a considerably higher rate than borrowers with at least three mortgage payment equivalents of liquidity after closing. During the life of their mortgage, borrowers with little liquidity but more equity defaulted at considerably higher rates than borrowers with more liquidity but less equity. Trading equity for liquidity at origination by making a slightly smaller down payment and holding the residual cash in an “emergency mortgage reserve” account may lead to lower default rates. A policy or pilot program could test the impact of this trade-off and, if impactful and cost-effective, the program could serve as an alternative to underwriting standards based on meeting a total debt-to-income (DTI) threshold at origination.
Relationship between cannabis use and psychotic experiences in college students.

Abstract Background Emerging data suggest cannabis use is a component cause of psychotic disorders; however, the sequence of processes accounting for this association is poorly understood. Some clues have come from studies in laboratory settings showing that acute cannabis intoxication is associated with subclinical hallucinations and delusional thinking, i.e., “psychotic experiences”. Although psychotic experiences are relatively common, those that are severe and distressing are linked to an increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. This study aimed to investigate the association between the frequency of cannabis use and psychotic experiences in young adults. Methods 1034 U.S. college students completed questionnaires to assess: cannabis use in the past week, delusional ideation (Peters Delusions Inventory), hallucinations (Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory). Results Participants reporting higher rates of weekly cannabis use were more likely to report hallucinatory experiences and delusional ideation. The relationship between cannabis use and hallucinatory experiences, but not the relationship between cannabis use and delusional ideation, remained significant after controlling for levels of depression. Moreover, those who reported greater amounts of cannabis use had more distressing delusional ideas, that were held with more conviction. Conclusions Cannabis use is linked to the presence of subclinical hallucinations and delusional ideation in U.S. college students.
Falls are common, morbid, and predictable in patients with cirrhosis.

Background & Aims Falls are a devastating complication of cirrhosis. The risk of falls in patients without hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is unclear. Further, bedside tools for predicting falls are lacking. Thus, we aimed to internally validate a predictive model for falls and evaluate the association between incident falls and mortality. Methods We prospectively enrolled 299 patients with currently compensated Child A-B (70% Child-Pugh A) cirrhosis and portal hypertension without prior HE from 7/2016-8/2018. We followed patients for a median of 1,003 days (IQR 640–1,102) for incident falls accounting for the competing risk of death or transplantation. Candidate baseline fall predictors included patient-reported outcomes (e.g. Short-Form-8), physical function (e.g. chair-stands), blood tests (e.g. model for end-stage liver disease-sodium [MELD-Na] and its components), and cognitive function (using inhibitory control testing). Results During follow-up: 141 (47%) patients experienced falls, with 38 (13%) sustaining injuries, 49 (16%) died and 13 (4%) received transplants. Median time to a fall was 279 (98–595) days. The overall probability of falls was 28.8% and 50.2% at years 1 and 3; the probability of injurious falls was 9.1% and 16.5%, respectively. We derived a predictive model for falls. The FallSSS score (prior falls, chair-stands, sodium, and SF-8) had an AUROC for injurious falls at 6- and 12-months of 0.79 and 0.81, while MELD-Na’s AUROC was 0.57 for both. Adjusting for baseline Child-Pugh class, MELD-Na, albumin level, disability status, and comorbidities, both incident falls (subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR] 2.76; 95% CI 1.46–5.24) and HE (sHR 4.25; 95% CI 2.15–8.41) were strongly and independently associated with mortality. Conclusion Our prospective study of patients with cirrhosis without a baseline history of HE demonstrates that falls are common, morbid, and predictable. These data highlight both the value of expanding screening to patients with cirrhosis and the potential for benefit in studies of interventions to address fall-risk in this vulnerable population. Lay summary Falls are a devastating complication of cirrhosis. Bedside tools for predicting falls are lacking. We found that falls were very common and often associated with serious injuries. Falls were also associated with an increased risk of death. Falls could be predicted with an algorithm called FallSSS - based on prior history of falls, blood sodium level, number of chair-stands performed in 30 seconds, and quality of life.
Development and Verification of the Capacity Curve for Two Dimensional Reinforced Concrete Moment-Resisting Frames System under Earthquake Loading

Pushover analysis is an efficient method for the seismic evaluation of buildings under severe earthquakes. This paper aims to develop and verify the pushover analysis methodology for reinforced concrete frames. This technique depends on a nonlinear representation of the structure by using SAP2000 software. The properties of plastic hinges will be defined by generating the moment-curvature analysis for all the frame sections (beams and columns). The verification of the technique above was compared with the previous study for two-dimensional frames (4-and 7-story frames). The former study leaned on automatic identification of positive and negative moments, where the concrete sections and steel reinforcement quantities the source of these moments. The comparison of the results between the two methodologies was carried out in terms of capacity curves. The results of the conducted comparison highlighted essential points. It was included the potential differences between default and user-defined hinge properties in modeling. The effect of the plastic hinge length and the transverse of shear reinforcement on the capacity curves was also observed. Accordingly, it can be considered that the current methodology in this paper more logistic in the representation of two and three-dimensional structures.
Ionic Liquids Separating Rubber Latex from Guayule.

Danger to rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) from South American leaf blight fungus imperils the world’s source of natural latex for essential rubber products. Avoiding latex allergies also requires a non-Hevea latex source. The present methods for removing latex entrapped in the individual cells of guayule plants require environmentally hazardous chemicals. This study proposes a new method for latex extraction from guayule using various ionic liquids (ILs) to dissolve cell walls and release latex, as substantiated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data.
Automated Detection of Patients in Hospital Video Recordings

In a clinical setting, epilepsy patients are monitored via video electroencephalogram (EEG) tests. A video EEG records what the patient experiences on videotape while an EEG device records their brainwaves. Currently, there are no existing automated methods for tracking the patient's location during a seizure, and video recordings of hospital patients are substantially different from publicly available video benchmark datasets. For example, the camera angle can be unusual, and patients can be partially covered with bedding sheets and electrode sets. Being able to track a patient in real-time with video EEG would be a promising innovation towards improving the quality of healthcare. Specifically, an automated patient detection system could supplement clinical oversight and reduce the resource-intensive efforts of nurses and doctors who need to continuously monitor patients. We evaluate an ImageNet pre-trained Mask R-CNN, a standard deep learning model for object detection, on the task of patient detection using our own curated dataset of 45 videos of hospital patients. The dataset was aggregated and curated for this work. We show that without fine-tuning, ImageNet pre-trained Mask R-CNN models perform poorly on such data. By fine-tuning the models with a subset of our dataset, we observe a substantial improvement in patient detection performance, with a mean average precision of 0.64. We show that the results vary substantially depending on the video clip.
Insulin Resistance and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by Conjugated Linoleic Acid in Humans

• Mixed isomers of conjugated linoleic acid and purified t10, c12-CLA decreased body weight and body fat mass in animal models but not humans.
Refactoring the CS1 course

Teaching object-oriented design and programming in CS1 can benefit from problems that stimulate student interest, that yield to natural analysis under an object-oriented approach, and that provide a basis for extension and reuse. Herein we describe our effort to design, develop, and implement a set of games intended to spawn such problems spanning nearly the entirety of concepts presented in our CS1 course. A primary target of our undertaking is to structure the games so that their development can be partitioned into sequential components suitable for use in lectures, labs, and student programming projects. The consequent course presentation focuses on problem solving, object-oriented concepts and design, and testing and handles syntax on a need-to-know basis within the context of the problem.
Translocation of Inducible Tyrosine Aminotransferase to the Mitochondrial Fraction: FACILITATION BY ACUTE UREMIA AND OTHER CONDITIONS

Abstract Acute uremia induced both soluble and mitochondrial tyrosine aminotransferase activity, EC 2.6.1.5, in rat liver. Such induction was demonstrated to be independent of glucocorticoid action. Mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.1, although identical with mitochondrial tyrosine aminotransferase, was not elevated during acute uremia. Purified antibody specific against cytosol tyrosine aminotransferase cross-reacted significantly with the mitochondrial enzyme from uremic rats, suggesting that the elevation of activity was due to translocation of the induced cytosol enzyme form to the mitochondria. Considerable translocation was also caused by a combination of fasting together with some factor known to increase urea synthesis in the liver, such as high nitrogen loads or intraperitoneal injection of hydrocortisone. Intravenous injection of rats with Triton WR-1339 resulted in the separation of lysosomes from mitochondria during sucrose density gradient centrifugation. All of the tyrosine aminotransferase activity was associated with the mitochondria and not with the lysosomes. Treatment of intact mitochondria with the antisoluble tyrosine aminotransferase antibody resulted in inhibition of about 50% of the total inhibitable mitochondrial activity, suggesting that some of the translocated cytosol enzyme may not be exposed and thus may be unavailable for antibody cross-reaction. In vitro crossover experiments using induced cytosol tyrosine aminotransferase with normal mitochondria resulted in an elevation of the mitochondrial activity, whereas incubation of noninduced cytosol enzyme with mitochondria from induced rats did not. Consequently, the translocation phenomenon is a function of altered cytosol tyrosine aminotransferase rather than altered mitochondria.
Advanced Web Session Provider for Suspensible E-services

Long running transactions and interaction intensive applications are quite common today on the Internet. The services offered by these applications are often challenged with user mobility and interruptability. In many cases, users of these services need to be able to finish their transactions from different clients just as their other business activities require them moving from places to places. Advanced Web Session Provider takes advantage of session management to facilitate service developers to meet such requirements. It extends the traditional session management so that sessions can be re-identified and restored for user after a service is suspended intentionally. It is not tied to any profiling facilities so that different privacy policy can be used when resuming and transferring sessions. The server-based session migration brings the general mechanism to sustain the above features in service development.
Effects of variable initiative on linguistic behavior in human-computer spoken natural language dialogue

This paper presents an analysis of the dialogue structure of actual human-computer interactions. The 141 dialogues analyzed were produced from experiments with a variable initiative spoken natural language dialogue system organized around the paradigm of the Missing Axiom Theory for language use. Results about utterance classification into subdialogues, frequency of user-initiated subdialogue transitions, regularity of subdialogue transitions, frequency of linguistic control shifts, and frequency of user-initiated error corrections are presented. These results indicate there are differences in user behavior and dialogue structure as a function of the computer's level of initiative. Furthermore, they provide evidence that a spoken natural language dialogue system must be capable of varying its level of initiative in order to facilitate effective interaction with users of varying levels of expertise and experience.
Dissemination of United States federal government information on CD-ROM: An issues primer

Abstract The federal government produces and distributes a large and ever-growing amount of information. Depository libraries receive this information, usually in hard copy or microform, and are charged with making it accessible to the general public. A new high-density publishing medium, CD-ROM, is currently being considered for use. There are many issues that must be addressed, such as space considerations, costs, access points, durability, user acceptance, and standardization. Advantages and disadvantages of the new technology are presented. Two possible applications are examined: census data and the Congressional Record. After discussion of these points, it is concluded that librarians must actively participate in the development and implementation of CD-ROM publishing to assure that government information remains readily available to the public.
A novel and affordable robot kit for completion of the requirements for the Boy Scouts of America robotics merit badge

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) recently added a merit badge for robotics in their initiate to educate the Scouts about this evolving field. To earn this badge the Scouts must identify a robotics project then build and program a robot to complete a task. To aide in this effort, the BSA suggests the use of an off the shelf (OTS) complete robot kit. While these kits provide convenience for the end user they are expensive and may prohibit and discourage some Scouts from earning the merit badge. In an effort to make this badge available to every Scout, we propose in this paper an affordable robotics kit alternative for the Scouts that is versatile enough to allow for many projects for the merit badge and beyond.
A costimulatory function for T cell CD40.

CD40 plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of inflammation and autoimmunity. B cell CD40 directly activates cells, which can result in autoantibody production. T cells can also express CD40, with an increased frequency and amount of expression seen in CD4 + T lymphocytes of autoimmune mice, including T cells from mice with collagen-induced arthritis. However, the mechanisms of T cell CD40 function have not been clearly defined. To test the hypothesis that CD40 can serve as a costimulatory molecule on T lymphocytes, CD40 + T cells from collagen-induced arthritis mice were examined in parallel with mouse and human T cell lines transfected with CD40. CD40 served as effectively as CD28 in costimulating TCR-mediated activation, including induction of kinase and transcription factor activities and production of cytokines. An additional enhancement was seen when both CD40 and CD28 signals were combined with AgR stimulation. These findings reveal potent biologic functions for T cell CD40 and suggest an additional means for amplification of autoimmune responses.
The power of design

Carefully engineered systems sometimes fail catastrophically despite the best intentions of their designers. A new theory called ‘highly optimized tolerance’ attempts to explain how this happens.
Birthweight doubling time: a fresh look.

Infant birthweight doubling time is widely quoted as being achieved between 5 and 6 months. The purpose of this study was to determine the time of birthweight doubling and to identify important related variables. A total of 357 normal infants with birthweights between 2,500 and 4,100 gm were studied. Mean age of birthweight doubling for the entire group was 119 days (3.8 months). Bottle-fed infants doubled their birthweights earlier than breast-fed infants: 113 days vs. 124 days (P less than .05). Boys doubled their birthweights earlier than girls: 111 days vs. 129 days (P less than .0001). Solids were introduced earlier in bottle-fed infants (mean , 1.9 months) than in breast-fed infants (mean, 3.9 months). Harvard percentiles for mean group weight and length at the time of birthweight doubling were: for bottle-fed infants, 75th and 55th percentiles respectively: for breast-fed infants, 55th and 60th percentiles respectively; for boys, 75th percentile for both weight and length; for girls, 50th percentile for both weight and length. Thus, bottle-fed infants appear to have weight gains in excess of length gain and may be developing early obesity. In light of the poor prognosis in treating obesity, closer supervision of early infant feeding practices is indicated.
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning in 3D: Spatial Metrics for Topological Connectivity in a Region Connection Calculus

In qualitative spatial reasoning, there are three distinct properties for reasoning about spatial objects: connectivity, size, and direction. Reasoning over combinations of these properties can provide additional useful knowledge. To facilitate end-user spatial querying, it also is important to associate natural language with these relations. Some work has been done in this regard for line-region and region-region topological relations in 2D, and very recent work has initiated the association between natural language, topology, and metrics for 3D objects. However, prior efforts have lacked rigorous analysis, expressive power, and completeness of the associated metrics. Herein we present new metrics to bridge the gap required for integration between topological connectivity and size information for spatial reasoning. The new set of metrics that we present should be useful for a variety of applications dealing with 3D objects.
Dosimetry of 131I-labeled anti-ferritin in hepatoma: A model for radioimmunoglobulin dosimetry

Abstract Dosimetric studies are reported for four hepatoma patients treated with 131I-labeled anti-ferritin following combination radiation and chemotherapy. Administered activities of radiolabeled antibody ranged from 93 to 157 mCi. Studies included liver and tumor volume calculations from sequences of computerized axial tomographic (CAT) scan slices, in-vivo gnantitation of radiolabeled antibody in the liver and tumor, determination of kinetic parameters of radioimmmioglubulin for liver, tumor, and the total body, and computation of dose rates (rad/boor) and dose (rad) for these tissues. Tumor volumes for these patients prior to the administration of radiolabeled antibody ranged from 370 to 920 cm3 and liver volumes from 900 to 1980 cm3. In-vivo quantitation, carried out 4 to 8 days following infusion of 131I-labeled anti-ferritin, demonstrated tumor-to-liver ratios of about 2:1 for the deposition of radioimmunoglobuBn in these tissues. Mean values of the effective half-life for radiolabeled antibody in the liver and tumor were 7.4 days and for total-body activity 3.6 days, respectively. For the four patients, the calculated 131I radiation dose for tumor tissue ranged from 1500 to 2200 rad, for liver tissue from 400 to 1000 rad, and for total-body irradiation (TBI) from 110 to 220 rad.
Mechanism of contact nucleation

Abstract Experiments were conducted in which a sodium chlorate seed crystal immersed in a supersaturated solution was either tapped with a stainless steel rod or allowed to slide about the bottom of a crystallization flask. Because sodium chlorate crystallizes in two easily distinguished enantiomorphic forms, it was possible to determine whether the secondary nuclei produced by the contacts and the sliding came from the parent seed crystal or from the solution. These experiments showed that essentially all of the nuclei came from the parent seed crystal.
Effects of temperature on the crystallization of potassium nitrate by direct measurement of supersaturation

A laboratory continuous mixed-suspension, mixed-product-removal crystallizer was used to study the effects of temperature on the kinetics of crystallization of potassium nitrate. A differential refractometer was used to continuously monitor the supersaturation permitting the measurement of supersaturation levels of order 10−3Kg solute/Kg water. The nucleation rate exhibited an inverse relationship with temperature.
How much is enough? Tablespoon per year of age approach meets nutrient needs for children

Abstract Background: Adults often ask health professionals for guidance on offering the appropriate serving sizes for young children and little research is available on whether serving size approaches meet children’s nutrient needs. Objective: Determine whether three serving size approaches for young children meet dietary standards for nutrient adequacy. Design: We examined nutrient contents of three serving size approaches for children ages 2–5 years of age: 1 tablespoon per year of age (T/y), MyPyramid, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. Nutrient content of the three approaches were compared to the Estimated Energy Requirements (EER), Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), or Adequate Intake (AI) for each year of age for males and females; Analysis of Variance identified differences in nutrient content among the three approaches. Results: Young children’s nutrient requirements were met for most nutrients by all approaches. However, the recommendation for vitamin E, potassium, and fat were not met by any approach, for any year, for either girls or boys. Energy content of the T/y serving size approach was below the EER for each year of age and for both sexes but still met minimal vitamin and mineral needs. Conclusion: Health professionals can feel comfortable using any of the three approaches. However, the T/y approach is a more graduated serving size approach, may be more consistently age appropriate for young children, and may be implemented more easily by adults.
The effect of vinblastine on spermiogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster: evidence for two functional classes of cytoplasmic microtubules.

Sperm development has been examined in vinblastine-treated imagos of Drosophila melanogaster. In treated flies, most cytoplasmic microtubules of the spermatids were absent with the exception of the cross-linked nuclear-sheath microtubules. Spermatids that had these cross-linked microtubules expressed variable degrees of normal nuclear differentiation which could be correlated with the numbers of cross-linked microtubules. In addition to nuclear effects, axonemes of vinblastine-treated spermatids did not elongate and the Nebenkern derivatives showed highly aberrant profiles. Based on these observations, cytoplasmic microtubules appear to be prerequisite subcellular elements for the normal differentiation of sperm in Drosophila melanogaster. Additionally, the data from this study suggest that there are two distinct functional classes of cytoplasmic microtubules in spermatids of Drosophila melanogaster, one involved in nuclear differentiation and the other in the generation of the flagellum. Furthermore, it is proposed that the nuclear-sheath microtubules function as subcellular mediators of nuclear shape change.
A test of alternate hypotheses for helping behavior in white-fronted bee-eaters of Kenya

Considerable controversy exists over the question of the importance of kin selection in the maintenance of helping behaviors among birds. We examined nine different hypotheses of how helpers might benefit from engaging in alloparental care activities. We break these into four categories: Through its activities the helper may A) improve its probability of surviving to the following breeding season, B) enhance its probability of becoming a breeder in the future, C) increase its reproductive success when it does become a breeder, and D) increase the production of non-descendent kin. The first three categories provide direct fitness gains to the helper; in the fourth, the benefit is indirect. The hypotheses are not mutually exclusive; rather their fitness effects are additive. Each hypothesis, however, makes specific and often separable predictions about both 1) the type of fitness benefits expected, and 2) the characteristics of the birds that serve as helpers. We tested these predictions using five year's data from a color marked and geneologically known population of white-fronted bee-eaters (Merops bullockoides) in Kenya. A) Survival was not related to status (breeder, helper, non-participant); nor did individuals living in large clans have better survival than those living in small ones. B) Newly formed pairs were equally likely to become future breeders irrespective of whether or not one or both individuals had helped previously. C) The mean number of young fledged by a first time breeder was unaffected by its prior helping experience. Neither were first time breeding pairs more likely to gain the services of others as their helpers than were pairs without prior helping experience. Taken together these results demonstrate that beeeaters gain very little direct benefit from alloparenting. D) Helpers did not enhance the survival of the breeders that they helped. But they did have a major effect in increasing nestling survival. Because bee-eater helpers are closely related to the nestlings they help to rear (average r=0.33), they obtain a large indirect benefit by increasing the production of non-descendent kin. We quantified the relative importance of indirect and direct benefits of helping (to the helper) using Vehrencamp's “kin index”, I k (1979). I k compares the fitness consequences of helping against an alternative strategy and calculates the proportion of the inclusive fitness gain or loss that is due to kin (indirect) benefits. Comparing the strategy sets of helping versus not helping for bee-eaters, I k=0.89 (indicating that 89% of the benefit derived from helping is indirect). When helping was compared against the alternative of breeding, I k=2.17. Values of I k greater than 1.0 indicate that direct fitness gains from the alternate strategy (breeding) are greater than those from helping. The value of 2.17 indicates that the helping strategy would not be maintained except for the indirect fitness gained through the increased production of close kin. Alloparenting in white-fronted bee-eaters can thus be considered as altruistic.
A simple method for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube removal: "tie and retrograde pull".

Abstract Background/Purpose Various techniques have been presented to remove the percutaneous endoscopically placed gastrostomy tube in children, but tubes with semi-rigid internal retaining discs are difficult or impossible to remove by external traction. We describe a simple and effective endoscopic removal technique that should be applicable to any type of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. Methods Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube removal was performed with the “tie and retrograde pull” technique. After a polypropylene suture was placed and tied 1 cm over the skin level, the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube was cut 0.5 cm over the knot. The suture was cut from the connection point between the needle and the suture. The distal end of the suture was pushed through the stoma into the stomach. Then a forceps was inserted through the gastroscope. The suture was caught, and the residual percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy portion was retrieved via retrograde traction on the suture. Results The causes of exchange were determined to be planned tube replacement in 9, buried bumper syndrome in 1, and tube occlusion in 3 patients. The mean tube dwell time was 10.8 ± 3.9 months. Esophageal mucosal tear developed in 1 patient with epidermolysis bullosa during removal. No other complications occurred during PEG tube exchanges. Conclusion This is a rapid and useful technique that does not require any complex endoscopic devices.
Internal-surface reversed-phase chromatography for plasma metabolite analysis of radiopharmaceuticals.

Abstract The use of internal-surface reversed-phase (ISRP) chromatography of unprocessed plasma samples was investigated as an alternative method of quantitation of the arterial plasma metabolite time course of [ 18F ] N -methylspiperone. The ISRP method was directly compared to standard solid phase extraction/HPLC (SPE/HPLC) methods currently in wide use. Results indicate that: (1) the ISRP method is rapid and minimizes sample preparation; (2) recovery of radioactivity from the ISRP column is > 90%; (3) no radioactivity remains associated with chromatographically size excluded proteins and (4) the quantitative results are well correlated with conventional SPE/HPLC methods.
The transition to mid-life divorce

How long do older divorcees deliberate divorce? The answer identifies factors that either slow or hasten divorce. By comparison, extant studies investigate only marriage durations and fail to account for an individual’s maturity. To control for maturity, I focus on divorcees over 40 years old. Outside interference from stepchildren and/or in-laws significantly hastens the divorce decision, followed by sexual issues and/or a poor match. Intolerance of outside interference is explained by Hamilton’s rule on genetics, with other problems explained by Becker’s insights on the gains from marriage. Studying marital problems among older divorcees yields lessons for all age groups.
Empirical mode decomposition of some nonstationary signals

Empirical mode decomposition, or Huang decomposition, is used to extract transition signatures from the nonlinear dynamics of spatially and temporally varying oscillators. Two types of transitions are studied, the delay transition and the Maxwell transition, which correspond in thermodynamics to first and second order phase transitions respectively.
Screening for the high-risk foot of ulceration: tests of somatic and autonomic nerve function.

Diabetic foot ulcers affect almost 5% of the patients with diabetes and carry a huge physical, emotional, and financial burden. Almost 80% of amputations in patients with diabetes are preceded by a foot ulcer. The need for simple screening methods for prevention of foot ulcers and amputations is indisputable. Simple tests such as monofilament, tuning fork, vibration perception threshold determination, ankle reflexes, and pinprick sensation alone or in combination have been studied prospectively and can be used for identification of patients at risk. Newer tests examining sudomotor dysfunction and skin dryness have been introduced in recent years. In cross-sectional studies sudomotor dysfunction assessed by either sympathetic skin response or NEUROPAD™ (Miro Verbandstoffe GmbH, Wiehl-Drabenderhohe, Germany) testing has been consistently associated with foot ulceration. In addition, NEUROPAD™ testing is simple, reproducible, and widely available and has a high sensitivity for the diagnosis of clinical or subclinical diabetic polyneuropathy. Prospective studies are required to establish whether sudomotor dysfunction can predict foot ulcers and if simple methods assessing sudomotor dysfunction (eg, NEUROPAD™ testing) can be included in the screening tests for the prevention of this complication.
Letter by Poston regarding article, "Effect of clopidogrel premedication in off-pump cardiac surgery: are we forfeiting the benefits of reduced hemorrhagic sequelae?".

To the Editor: The study by Kapetanakis et al1 is a timely report concerning an increasingly frequent problem for those taking care of cardiac surgical patients. The investigators convincingly show that the avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass does not reduce the well-established impact of clopidogrel on the need for reexploration after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). This outcome is not surprising. Although transfusion requirements …
Synthesis, magnetic, transport, and thermodynamic investigation of CeCo(Sb, Sn)3

Abstract CeCo(Sb, Sn)3 has been grown from Sn flux and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal structure of CeCo(Sb, Sn)3 adopts the LaPdSb3 structure-type and the structure is comprised of layers [ CoX 2 ] ∞ 2 octahedra, where X = Sb and Sb, and nearly square nets of [ X ] ∞ 2 which are separated by Ce atoms. CeCo(Sb, Sn)3 displays a metallic resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility data show paramagnetic behavior down to 2.25 K. Specific heat measurements reveal a phase transition at approximately 2 K, which is most likely magnetic. A Sommerfeld coefficient, γ = 140 mJ/K2 mol-CeCo(Sb, Sn)3, was obtained by fitting the heat capacity data at low temperatures for CeCo(Sb, Sn)3 and is indicative of enhanced charge carrier mass; however, the low temperature resistivity and magnetoresistance data do not support the formation of an enhanced mass state for CeCo(Sb, Sn)3. Thus, the enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient likely results from low lying crystal field levels which give rise to Schottky contributions at low temperatures rather than the formation of heavy quasiparticles. Herein, we report the crystal growth, structure, and physical properties for CeCo(Sb, Sn)3.
Higher DNA adduct levels in urinary bladder and prostate of slow acetylator inbred rats administered 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl.

Human epidemiological studies suggest associations between acetylator phenotype and aromatic amine-induced tumors. The aromatic amine carcinogen 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (DMABP) induces colon, prostate, and urinary bladder tumors in the rat, and a rapid and slow acetylator rat model has been characterized. The formation of DNA adducts has been used as a valuable biomarker in tumorigenesis. In order to examine the relationship between the acetylation polymorphism and aromatic amine-induced cancer, DNA adducts were measured in three target organs (colon, prostate, and urinary bladder) and two nontarget organs (liver and heart) of male rapid (F344) and slow (WKY) acetylator inbred rats administered DMABP. Two DMABP-DNA adducts, N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-DMABP (C8-DMABP) and 5-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-DMABP (N2-DMABP), were identified in each target and nontarget organ examined. C8-DMABP-DNA adduct levels were highest in liver and were dose related in liver, colon, urinary bladder, and prostate. DMABP-DNA adduct levels were significantly higher in the prostate and urinary bladder of slow acetylator vs rapid acetylator rats. These studies suggest that DMABP-induced DNA damage is acetylator phenotype-dependent in urinary bladder and prostate, two target organs for DMABP-induced tumorigenesis in the rat.
AlGaN/GaN current aperture vertical electron transistors fabricated by photoelectrochemical wet etching

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) wet etching was used to form the aperture of a novel AlGaN/GaN CAVET current aperture vertical electron transistor (CAVET) device. The PEC etch was optimised to produce a smooth, uniform undercut through the selective removal of the lower bandgap InGaN. The I-V characteristics of the initial devices indicate that modulation and pinch-off of the current can be obtained.