cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of the Trendelenburg test for identification of patients with hip joint osteoarthritis

Abstract This study examined validity indices of the Trendelenburg test as a measure of hip abductor muscle performance (adduction of pelvis-on-femur [P-O-F]) when identifying subjects with and without hip joint osteoarthritis (OA). Muscle performance of the hip abductor muscles was obtained in standing by using the P-O-F position measured with a goniometer and in supine using a handheld dynamometer (HHD) and a manual muscle test (MMT). We studied 20 healthy adults (10 men and 10 women) and 20 adults (10 men and 10 women) with radiographically documented hip joint OA. Indices including sensitivity, specificity, and positive likelihood ratios examined values obtained from the P-O-F position and the MMT when used to identify subjects with and without hip joint OA. Sensitivity of the P-O-F position for identifying subjects with hip joint OA was 0.55, and specificity was 0.70, yielding a positive likelihood ratio of 1.83. Sensitivity of normalized hip abductor MMT strength for identifying subjects with hip joint OA was 0.35 and specificity was 0.90, yielding a positive likelihood ratio of 3.5. Based on validity information from the present study, the Trendelenburg test (P-O-F angle) is not useful in identifying subjects in the early stages of hip joint OA.
Effects of short-term citicoline treatment on acute cocaine intoxication and cardiovascular effects.

Rationale: The majority of pharmacotherapies proposed for cocaine dependence have been marginally effective and frequently have undesirable side effects. We recently demonstrated that short-term treatment with citicoline decreased self-reported desire to use cocaine in crack cocaine users. Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the safety of citicoline in combination with cocaine by investigating whether cocaine-induced cardiovascular and behavioral effects and cocaine plasma levels are altered by citicoline pretreatment. Methods: Eight healthy male and female volunteers who used cocaine on an occasional basis participated in this randomized, placebo-controlled, three-visit study. During all three visits, subjects received an acute intranasal dose of cocaine (0.9 mg/kg) and were continuously monitored for the ensuing 3.5 h. The first visit involved no pretreatment, and visits 2 and 3 were preceded by a 4-day pretreatment period of either citicoline (1 g/day) or placebo. Results: Citicoline pretreatment did not alter the cardiovascular, physiologic, or subjective effects of acute cocaine. Conclusions: Although citicoline did not block the acute subjective effects of cocaine in a laboratory environment, the combined use of citicoline and a moderate dose of intranasal cocaine presented no added risk of cardiovascular effects. Further study is necessary to determine whether this medication (which is currently used to treat strokes) will be a useful adjunct to treat cocaine dependence.
Detecting the conformation of individual proteins in live cells

Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is applied in live cells and reveals the conformational changes of individual SNARE proteins upon entering a SNARE complex. We combined single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) with single-particle tracking in live cells to detect the in vivo conformation of individual proteins. We site-specifically labeled recombinant SNARE proteins with a FRET donor and acceptor before microinjecting them into cultured cells. Individual proteins rapidly incorporated into folded complexes at the cell membrane, demonstrating the potential of this method to reveal dynamic interactions within cells.
An Examination of the Quantitative Relationship Between Progesterone and the Maintenance of Pregnancy

Peripheral plasma, placental and uterine progesterone concentrations were determined in pregnant rats and were related to the effects of ovariectomy and placental dislocation on the maintenance of pregnancy. Pregnancy maintenance correlated more closely with uterine than plasma progesterone levels, a distinction readily made following ovariectomy. During late pregnancy a uterine progesterone concentration of 2 μg/lOOg seemed sufficient to prohibit the development of parturient activity, although at midpregnancy higher uterine levels appeared necessary for the protection of fetal life. Fetal survival was critically dependent upon the gestational age at the time of ovariectomy and was linked either to a compensatory placental hypertrophy or to retention of the placentae of prematurely discharged fetuses. Under conditions in which pregnancy was maintained in ovariectomized rats, plasma, but not placental or uterine, progesterone dropped below normal preparturient levels. Adequate progesterone substitution th...
Analysis of neighborhood interaction in Kohonen neural networks

A formal analysis of the neighborhood interaction of Kohonen neural networks is presented. The authors propose a new neighborhood interaction to improve the topological order of the neural network. The neighborhood interaction which depends on lateral distance is motivated by anatomical evidence as opposed to what is currently used, which is a constant. The authors also mathematically show that using the new neighborhood interaction will enforce the topological order in the neighborhood set for every iteration. One simulation is presented to show that the topological order is improved by using the new neighborhood interaction. >
RESEARCH ARTICLE: Making Connections in the Brownfield Marketplace

Brownfield redevelopment in many communities is now almost routine—a regular part of a larger community development strategy. Brownfield projects are treated in many instances as regular real estate transactions. Thus, for those brownfield properties in more attractive real estate markets, in communities with a high capacity for brownfield redevelopment, results are noticeable. This brownfield redevelopment scenario breaks down when applied to situations where there is low brownfield redevelopment capacity. Effective brownfield revitalization programs require substantial community support with public-private partnerships playing a critical role in building local brownfield capacity. The challenge lies in fostering these connections. This article reports on the findings from a case study in St. Louis, Missouri, that examined a regional effort to build brownfield capacity at the local level where community leaders brought together property owners and developers for a networking opportunity. Results show that direct intervention can help build brownfield capacity.Environmental Practice 11:170–178 (2009)
Second-order motion perception: space/time separable mechanisms

Microbalanced stimuli are defined as dynamic displays which do not stimulate motion mechanisms that apply standard (Fourier-energy or autocorrelation) motion analysis directly to the visual signal. Because they bypass such first-order mechanisms, microbalanced stimuli are uniquely useful for studying second-order motion perception (motion perception served by mechanisms that require a grossly nonlinear stimulus transformation prior to standard motion analysis). Some stimuli are microbalanced under all pointwise stimulus transformations and therefore are immune to early visual nonlinearities. They are used to disable motion information derived from spatial (temporal) filtering to isolate the temporal (spatial) properties of space/time separable second-order motion mechanisms. The motion of all of the microbalanced stimuli considered can be extracted by band-selective spatial filtering and biphasic temporal filtering, nonzero in DC, followed by a rectifying nonlinearity and standard motion analysis. >
Results using random field models for the segmentation of color images of natural scenes

We present results using a Markov random field color texture model for the unsupervised segmentation of images of outdoor scenes. The color random field model describes textured regions in terms of spatial interaction within color bands and between different color bands. The model is used by a segmentation algorithm based on agglomerative hierarchical clustering. At the heart of the clustering is a step wise optimal merging process that at each iteration maximizes a global performance functional. The test for stopping the clustering is based on changes in the likelihood of the image. We provide experimental results that demonstrate the performance of the segmentation algorithm on color images of natural scenes. Most of the processing during segmentation is local making the algorithm amenable to high performance parallel implementation. >
Experiments on the role of painted cues in Hughes's reverspectives

The English artist Patrick Hughes has created an extraordinary class of painted artpieces, most commonly referred to as 'reverspectives'. They consist of truncated pyramids and prisms with their smaller faces closer to the viewer, in such a way as to allow a realistic scene to be painted on them. The works of art contain rich perspective and other painted cues that conspire to elicit an illusory depth percept that is the reverse of the physical depth arrangement. This reverse depth is obtained under a wide range of viewing conditions, and competes with the veridical depth percept in a classical bistable paradigm that was found to exhibit a high degree of hysteresis. Under the illusory depth percept, reverspectives appear to move vividly as the viewer moves in front of them. This paper reports two experiments that were designed to assess the effectiveness of the painted cues in eliciting the illusory depth percept by using three different measures for the strength of the illusion. As expected, the illusion was favored by monocular viewing and large viewing distances. The results from these two experiments are in close agreement with each other, and they indicate that the painted cues are powerful in influencing the ultimate percept.
WITHDRAWN: Bi-layer structures as solid oxide fuel cell interconnections

A new approach for lower operating temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) interconnections (IC) consisting of a bi-layer structure is proposed and analyzed. The bi-layer structure consists of a p-type layer exposed tocathodic gas (air/oxygen) and an n-type layer exposed to anodic gas (fuel). It is theoretically shown that the interfacial oxygen partial pressure which is an important design variable is dependent primarily on the oxygen partial pressure gradient across the IC, the low level oxygen conductivities of the two layers and is largely independent of their electronic conductivities and the total current density through the IC material. By careful design of the composition and thicknesses of the two layers, one can in principle obtain an IC with a low cell-to-cell resistance.
Female hormonal and reproductive factors and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma risk

Men are much more likely than women to develop head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a discrepancy that is insufficiently explained by gender differences in smoking and alcohol consumption. It has been hypothesized that differential hormonal exposures may account for some of this risk but thus far the literature on female reproductive factors and HNSCC risk has been sparse. To address the association of HNSCC with female hormonal and reproductive factors, a case-control study was conducted on 149 women with head and neck cancer and 158 controls. After adjusting for potential confounding, postmenopausal women using female hormones for more than 5 years showed a borderline protective effect for HNSCC (adjusted OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.20–1.08), with a borderline trend across duration of use categories (P = 0.06). There was no association of HNSCC with age at menarche, hysterectomy/oophorectomy status, oral contraceptive use, history of fertility medication, or number of pregnancies, parity, or age at first pregnancy or live birth. The findings of this study do not support a link between HNSCC and reproductive factors, although the borderline association with HRT warrants further investigation.
Hybrid zone dynamics and species replacement between Orconectes crayfishes in a northern Wisconsin lake.

Abstract Hybrid zones that result in the genetic assimilation (replacement) of one species by another are underrepresented in the animal literature, most likely due to their transient nature. One such zone involves the rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, and its congener O. propinquus. Orconectes rusticus was recently introduced into northern Wisconsin and Michigan lakes and streams, where it is hybridizing with and displacing resident O. propinquus. Here we report on a study investigating the dynamics of a hybrid zone between the two crayfish in Trout Lake, Wisconsin, where both the time (circa 1979) and location of the initial introduction are known. Our prediction was that hybridization should hasten the demise of O. propinquus because we expected that male O. rusticus (which are larger than congeners) would outcompete male O. propinquus for mates of both species. If hybrid progeny are unfit, then the result would be decreased reproductive output of O. propinquus females. However, we found a pattern o...
βγ subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins contribute to Ca2+ release at fertilization in the sea urchin

A cytoplasmic Ca2+ transient is required for egg activation at fertilization in all animals. The pathway leading to release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum in echinoderms includes activation of a SRC homolog, followed by phospholipase Cγ activation, and formation of inositol trisphosphate. However, the upstream activators or modulators of this signaling pathway are not known. We recently identified four Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins present in the sea urchin egg, and here we find that activation of G-proteins of the Gα s and Gα q type, but not Gα i or Gα 12 type, is required for normal Ca2+ dynamics at fertilization. The effects of these G-proteins are mediated by the Gβγ subunits, occur upstream of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ release, and influence both the amplitude of Ca2+ release and the duration of the lag phase. We propose integration of the G-protein input into the framework of signaling at sea urchin fertilization.
Mathematical approach to measurements on embryonic chick lens.

Profiles of fresh chick lenses of 5, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20 days embryological age were photographed and from tracings of these profiles, volumes were calculated using a formula for volume of a solid of revolution. Accurate volumes were also obtained by assuming the lens to be two half oblate spheroids of different minor axis, or, better, two half-solids of profile (x/a)k + (y/b)k = 1. In addition, the k in this equation described well the curvature of the lens profiles and thus provided a quantitative measure of developing lens shape. Lens diameter, depth and shift of equatorial diameter upon lens axis as a function of age were also studied.
Magnesium Nitrate, A Neglected Catalyst for Producing Durable Press Fabrics with Low Formaldehyde Release

Magnesium nitrate was compared to magnesium chloride for curing an unmeth ylated DMDHEU for the production of durable press fabrics under mild cure conditions with a minimum of formaldehyde release. The catalysts were used alone, with propanediol, and with the diol plus aluminum dichlorhydroxide. A wide range of catalyst concentrations and curing conditions were used in the study. Magnesium nitrate produced fabrics with substantially less formaldehyde release and higher wrinkle recovery values than magnesium chloride did when the catalysts were used alone or with the diol plus the aluminum salt, and curing conditions were mild with respect to catalyst concentration, cure time, and cure temperature.
Routing Strategies in Broadband Multihop Cooperative Networks

Two fundamental properties of wireless networks, the variable link quality and the broadcast nature of the transmission, have often been ignored in the design of routing protocols. In this paper, we address the routing issue in broadband systems from a link-layer point of view. We focus on a clustered multihop wireless network. A link quality metric is first proposed to measure broadband links; then, three routing strategies, which were proposed in our previous study for flat fading scenarios, are re-designed to achieve cooperative and frequency diversity gain. The outage analysis and simulation results of the proposed three routing strategies show that all three protocols can achieve L(dc + 1)-order diversity, where L is the number of relays in each relay cluster and dc is the error correcting capability of the linear block code. The outage of optimal routing remains constant with an increase in the number of hops, M. While, the outage of ad-hoc routing increase linearly. N-hop routing, where a joint optimization is performed every N hops, can achieve a good complexity-performance tradeoff.
Generalization and amplitude normalization of tomographic full waveform inversion

Tomographic Full Waveform Inversion (TFWI) provides a robust but expensive method to invert the seismic data. Scale separation of the model greatly reduces the cost but adds complexity to theory and the implementation of the inversion. In addition, maintaining simultaneous inversion of scales is hindered when the modeling operator cannot accurately match the amplitudes of the data. In this paper, I provide two improvements that reduce the complexity of TFWI and increase robustness against amplitude inaccuracies in the modeling operator. First, I rederive TFWI with one model in an abstract formulation that is applicable to any form of the wave-equation. Then, I modify the objective function using a running-window normalization. Finally, we test the proposed algorithm on the SEG 2014 blind test data. The results of the modified TFWI show a major improvement in the accuracy and convergence rate of the inversion.
Advances in Borehole Geophysics for Hydrology

Borehole geophysical methods provide vital subsurface information on rock properties, fluid movement, and the condition of engineered borehole structures. Within the first category, salient advances include the continuing improvement of the borehole televiewer, refinement of the electrical conductivity dipmeter for fracture characterization, and the development of a gigahertz-frequency electromagnetic propagation tool for water saturation measurements. The exploration of the rock mass between boreholes remains a challenging problem with high potential; promising methods are now incorporating high-density spatial sampling and sophisticated data processing. Flow-rate measurement methods appear adequate for all but low-flow situations. At low rates the tagging method seems the most attractive. The current exploitation of neutron-activation techniques for tagging means that the wellbore fluid itself is tagged, thereby eliminating the mixing of an alien fluid into the wellbore. Another method uses the acoustic noise generated by flow through constrictions and in and behind casing to detect and locate flaws in the production system. With the advent of field-recorded digital data, the interpretation of logs from sedimentary sequences is now reaching a sophisticated level with the aid of computer processing and the application of statistical methods. Lagging behind are interpretive schemes for the low-porosity, fracture-controlled igneous and metamorphic rocks encounteredmore » in the geothermal reservoirs and in potential waste-storage sites. Progress is being made on the general problem of fracture detection by use of electrical and acoustical techniques, but the reliable definition of permeability continues to be an elusive goal.« less
Managing Congressional Papers: A Repository View

Walter Judd had a grievance. Judd was the United States congressman from suburban Minneapolis and vicinity from 1942 to 1962. During these twenty years, he had experienced a distressing change in the nature of his public service. By the end of his term, his major duties seemed to him no longer to be those of a lawmaker with a substantive role in formulating and structuring national policy. Instead he found constituent requests, services, and liaisons commanding 80-85 percent of his time and energy; and he felt that this change had come about because ordinary citizens had no recourse to the federal government except through their congressman. His defeat for re-election in 1962 followed an aborted announcement of retirement earlier that year, which had been prompted by his distaste and disappointment at what he obviously considered a comedown from lawmaker to lackey.1 Judd's papers reflect this transformation. Constituent service materials approximately doubled in quantity during his second decade in office, with the greatest increases occurring for such matters as assistance to military personnel, social security cases, and passports and visas.2 A similar pattern appears in the papers of most of Judd's contemporaries and successors. More than a third of the papers (1947-58) of Senator Edward J. Thye concern his interactions with federal agencies and congressional committees in behalf of his constituents. In 1948, similar letters begin to appear in abundance in Harold C. Hagen's papers (1943-54). Constituent files for legislative issues, executive departments, casework, and general constituent relations comprise half or more of the papers of representatives Joseph E. Karth, Ancher Nelsen, and Clark MacGregor, all of whom served during the 1960s.3 In the early 1950s, as the nature of the documented functions of members of Congress was shifting, the bulk of their papers began to mount in what an enterprising cataloger several years ago memorialized as a "crescendo of volume."4
Preservice Teachers' Intention to Adopt Technology in Their Future Classrooms.

This study examined four factors that influence preservice teachers’ intentions to adopt technology in classrooms based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Technology Acceptance Model. These four...
RESEARCH ON LONG-TERM CREEP TEST OF PERMAFROST ON QINGHAI—TIBET PLATEAU

In order to investigate the creep behaviour of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,long-term creep tests have been performed in permafrost regions at Beiluhe basin,and static load tests were applied.Bearing plate of the platforms is buried near the permafrost table.According to the drilling data,permafrost under the bearing plates belongs to warm and ice-rich frozen soil.Thickness of compressive layer can be determined considering lithology and ice content of frozen soil,and the concept of weighted average water content is also put forwarded.By discussing the ground temperature data,it is found that,within the annual depth of ground temperature,the average temperatures of different depths under the platforms reduces year by year,which implies that frozen ground under the platforms maintains a state of heat releasing due to cooling.Experimental study of the long-term creep test indicates that,temperature variation of the compressive layer is the decisive factor for creep deformation of permafrost.When the temperature increases,the creep rate increases accordingly.Conversely,the creep rate decreases when temperature decreases.When air temperature has little influence on the temperature of compressive layer,creep equation of warm and ice-rich frozen soil can be approximately applied to predict the development of the in-situ creep deformation.The development of creep deformation of permafrost in cold regions has significant influence on long-term stability of engineering structures.
Advances in iron metabolism underlying pathogenesis of postoerative cognitive dysfunction

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction(POCD), a hot topic in anesthesia of elderly patients, is characterized by impairment of recent memory, thinking concentration ability and language comprehension. Although the causes and pathogenesis of POCD remain unclear, the effect of inflammatory factor hepcidin and iron metabolism on it has become a hot topic. Following is a review of its current researches.
Estriol in pregnancy. VI. Experience with unconjugated plasma estriol assays and antepartum fetal heart rate testing in diabetic pregnancies.

Abstract The reliability of daily unconjugated plasma estriol (E3) as a first-line test for fetal surveillance in the management of diabetic pregnancies was assessed. Seventy consecutive insulin-dependent diabetic women admitted in late pregnancy were followed up with daily 8 am unconjugated plasma E3 assays and weekly antepartum fetal heart rate testing (AFHRT). There were no perinatal deaths, and only two neonates developed the respiratory distress syndrome. The mean gestational age at delivery was 38 weeks. Pregnancies continued until elective delivery at 38 weeks and development of a mature amniotic fluid lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio (n = 40) unless spontaneous labor began earlier (n = 20) or early delivery was indicated for either maternal reasons (n = 3) or presumed fetal distress (n = 7). Intervention for fetal distress took place when plasma E3 levels had fallen by 40% or more from the highest mean of three consecutive preceding values (significant drop) and both a nonstress test (NST) and a contraction stress test (CST) were abnormal irrespective of the L/S ratio (n = 2) or, in the presence of a mature L/S ratio, when either plasma E3 levels had fallen significantly or AFHRT was abnormal (n = 5). Five patients without a mature L/S ratio and a significant fall in plasma E3 with a reactive NST were not delivered. Only 14 (1.2%) of the 1,180 plasma E3 assays in 12 (17%) of the 70 patients represented a significant drop and fetal distress was documented in two of these 12 pregnancies, the only two in which both NST and CST were abnormal. In 18 of the 70 patients in whom 317 NSTs were performed, 26 NSTs (8.2%) were nonreactive initially, but 18 of these 26 NSTs were either reactive when repeated within hours or followed by negative CSTs. Documented fetal distress was found to occur 1 day after a reactive NST and a normal plasma E3 but was indicated in time for successful intervention by both tests. These data indicate that: (1) daily unconjugated plasma E3 assays constitute a reliable first-line test of fetal status in diabetic pregnancies, (2) a single daily plasma E3 at 8 a.m. suffices, (3) the 40% limit for a significant drop appears to be sensitive enough to detect fetal distress, (4) AFHRT, if done daily, may be used in lieu of daily plasma E3 determinations, and (5) both plasma E3 assays and AFHRT render false abnormal results. By combining both biophysical and biochemical testing, it is possible to virtually eliminate the need for unwarranted intervention and unnecessary prematurity.
Investigation of the mechanism of the interaction of tubulin with derivatives of 2-styrylquinazolin-4(3H)-one

A new class of antimitotic agents, derivatives of 2-styrylquinazolin-4(3H)-one (SQZ), was recently described [J. Med. Chem. 33:1721-1728 (1990)]. Because they appeared to interact at a new ligand binding site on tubulin, we attempted to determine their mechanism of action as inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. Although in initial studies inhibition of colchicine binding was negligible, substantial and competitive inhibition of this reaction could be demonstrated with very short incubation times (less than 5 min), provided that a relatively low colchicine to tubulin ratio was used. The initial apparent failure to inhibit colchicine binding resulted from extremely rapid binding to tubulin and dissociation from tubulin by the SQZ derivatives, in comparison with the slow, temperature-dependent, poorly reversible binding of colchicine. The most inhibitory of the SQZ derivatives in the colchicine binding assay was 6-methyl-2-styrylquinazolin-4(3H)-one (NSC 379310), and its interaction with tubulin, particularly as an inhibitor of colchicine binding, was compared with that of 2-methoxy-5-(2',3',4'-trimethoxyphenyl)tropone (MTPT), because the binding parameters of MTPT with tubulin have been well described. The data indicate that NSC 379310 binds to tubulin and dissociates from the protein about 3 times as rapidly as MTPT. The other SQZ derivatives with equal or greater potency as inhibitors of tubulin polymerization but apparently less potency as inhibitors of colchicine binding presumably bind to and/or dissociate from tubulin even more rapidly than does NSC 379310.
Soil water balance and plant water stress

The soil water balance is calculated in the DSSAT crop models in order to evaluate the possible yield reduction caused by soil and plant water deficits. The model evaluates the soil water balance of a crop or fallow land on a daily basis as a function of precipitation, irrigation, transpiration, soil evaporation, runoff and drainage from the profile. The soil water is distributed in several layers with depth increments specified by the user. Water content in any soil layer can decrease by soil evaporation, root absorption, or flow to an adjacent layer. The limits to which water can increase or decrease are input for each soil layer as the saturated upper limit. The values used for these limits must be appropriate to the soil in the field, and accurate values are quite important in situations where the water input supply is marginal.
The 2015 parliamentary elections in Egypt

Abstract The Egyptian parliamentary election, the third stage of the three-tiered plan created after the ouster of President Mursi, was held in two phases in late 2015. Egyptians cast their votes in the first phase on October 17 and 18, and in the second phase on December 1 and 2. The overall turnout rate was 28.3 percent. A total of 560 candidates secured seats–322 independent and 238 party-affiliated. The remaining 28 candidates were appointed by President Sisi. Traditionally, majority parties have ruled the parliament; however, in this election, independent candidates secured the majority of the seats. Most of the parliamentary seats were obtained by the supporters of Sisi. The only positive aspect of this election was the rise of previously sidelined groups: 87 women and 36 Christian Copts secured seats.
Investment and bank credit recovery after banking crises

Abstract In this paper, we aim to investigate (a) the dynamic adjustment of investment-to-GDP ratio and bank credit-to-GDP ratio following banking crisis episodes; (b) whether the adjustment of investment and bank credit ratios varies with several country and crisis characteristics. Based on a sample of 79 developed and emerging countries over the 1973–2010 period, our results suggest that in the aftermath of banking crises, investment ratio declines but swiftly recovers to its pre-crisis level within two to three years. Bank credit declines significantly and remains stagnated even in the medium run. In terms of country characteristics, we find that investment and bank credit ratios decline significantly more in advanced countries and countries with higher level of capital openness. In addition, investment ratio declines significantly more in countries with higher level of financial development. Finally, we split the banking crises episodes into two categories: those preceded by a domestic credit boom or a surge in net capital inflows, and those that were not preceded by such booms. We find that dynamic adjustment of investment and bank credit ratios differs substantially across the two groups. Existence of a credit boom or a surge in capital inflow in the run-up to the crisis intensifies the length and depth of the decline in investment and bank credit ratios. In fact, we find no statistically significant decline in investment following banking crises that were not preceded by a credit boom or a surge in capital inflows. These results imply that deleveraging is costly to the economy.
Cozen's phenomenon revisited

We retrospectively examined Cozen's fractures in children treated with a cast in extension with a varus mold applied as described by Rang. To our knowledge, no study has examined the effectiveness of this treatment. Our review included 14 patients with an average age of 3 years. The average time to valgus deformity was 8.8 months (range 5-15 months). Follow-up was 16.2 months (range 6.7-42.8 months). Seven (50%) patients developed a 5° valgus deformity in addition to the normal valgus of the contralateral side. In conclusion, treatment with a long leg cast with the knee in extension and a varus mold minimized the valgus deformity compared with previous reports in the literature.
Behavior of Male and Female C57BL/6J Mice Is More Consistent with Repeated Trials in the Elevated Zero Maze than in the Elevated Plus Maze

The elevated plus maze (EPM) and elevated zero maze (EZM) are behavioral tests that are widely employed to assess anxiety-like behaviors in rats and mice following experimental manipulations, or to test the effects of pharmacological agents. Both tests are based on approach/avoidance conflict, with rodents perceived as “less anxious” being more willing to explore the brighter, open and elevated regions of the apparatus as opposed to remaining in the darkened and enclosed regions. The goal of this research was to compare, under identical laboratory conditions, the behavior of male and female C57BL/6J mice in EZM and EPM during repeated trials. Mice were tested either daily or weekly, exclusively in the EPM or EZM, for a total of five exposures. During the first trial, the mazes were explored equally as measured by the total distance traveled during the test session. However, mice tested in the EZM spent nearly twice the amount of time in the anxiogenic regions (open quadrants) as the mice tested in the EPM spent in the open arms of that apparatus. After the first trial in the EPM, amounts of ambulation and percent time in the open arms decreased significantly (independent of inter-trial interval) which has been well-described in previous research as the one-trial tolerance phenomenon. In contrast, behavior in the EZM remained comparatively stable for several trials when the animals were tested weekly or daily. Sex differences were limited to activity levels, with females being more active than males. In conclusion, the design of the EZM encourages greater exploration of the anxiogenic regions of the apparatus, and may also be a more suitable test than the EPM for experimental designs in which assessment of anxiety-related behaviors is needed at more than one time point following experimental manipulations.
Risk assessment for lymphedema in breast cancer survivors.

141Background: Breast cancer patients are receiving survivorship care plans that describe potential late effects of treatment. The potential for lymphedema ranges from 5% to 53% and is a serious long term problem. In the past, water displacement was the “gold standard” for measuring lymphedema; this involves placing the arm into a large graduated cylinder filled with water to measure displacement compared with the opposite arm. This method is inconvenient for both patient and practitioner and can cause significant anxiety. Methods: In 2010 we began assessing women undergoing unilateral axillary surgery for preclinical and clinical lymphedema using a method that measures bioimpedance, using the L-Dex U400 analyzer. L-Dex uses a mild electrical current to assess fluid levels in the extracellular compartment, earlier than a patient might feel a change in size or weight. One hundred thirty -seven patients were assessed using both volume displacement and L-Dex preoperatively, as a baseline and repeating at 3 t...
A longitudinal analysis of students’ motives for communicating with their instructors

ABSTRACTThis study utilized the longitudinal survey research design using students’ motives to communicate with their instructors as a test case. Participants were 282 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory communication courses at a large Mid-Atlantic university who completed the Student Communication Motives scale at three points (Time 1: second week, Time 2: eighth week, Time 3: 14th week) during the Spring semester. The use of the longitudinal survey research design revealed three motives fluctuated in use: (a) the relational motive was used more at Time 3 than at Time 2, (b) the functional motive was used less between both Time 1 and Time 3 and Time 2 and Time 3, and (c) the sycophancy motive was used less between Time 1 and Time 2, but more between Time 2 and Time 3. The advantages of using a longitudinal survey research design in instructional communication studies are reviewed.
Simulating a story character’s thoughts: Evidence from the directed forgetting task☆

Abstract Readers’ memory representations have been shown to include the sensory details of characters’ movement, dialogue, and navigation through space and time (e.g., Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002; Gunraj, Drumm-Hewitt, & Klin, 2014; Levine & Klin, 2001; Zwaan, 1996). We ask whether readers also encode the mental experiences of story characters, such as their thoughts and goals. To examine this question, we used a variation of the list-method directed forgetting paradigm (Bjork, 1970), with two word-lists embedded within a narrative. In contrast with the traditional directed forgetting paradigm, it was the story character, rather than the participant, who needed to remember List 1 or forget List 1. If readers take the character’s perspective, the character’s intention to remember or forget List 1 should influence the reader’s intention to remember or forget List 1. This, in turn, should produce the typical pattern of effects for directed forgetting: decreased recall for List 1 (costs) and increased recall for List 2 (benefits) in the Forget condition relative to the Remember condition. The List 2 benefits were found across experiments, even without explicit instructions to forget or remember List 1. However, the List 1 costs were not reliable. Results are discussed within Sahakyan and Delaney’s (2003, 2005) two-factor account of directed-forgetting, in which the List 1 and List 2 effects are dissociable. More generally, we conclude that when readers are actively engaged in a story, they may infer and simulate the mental activity of the characters, remembering and forgetting what the story characters remember and forget.
Infection burden in total hip and knee arthroplasties: an international registry-based perspective

Background Infection remains a leading cause of failure of hip and knee replacements. Infection burden is the ratio of implants revised for infection to the total number of arthroplasties in a specific period, measuring the steady state of infection in a registry. We hypothesized infection burden would be similar among arthroplasty registries.
Exploring the Next Phase in Gallium Nitride Photonics: Cubic Phase Light Emitters Heterointegrated on Silicon

Abstract Gallium nitride (GaN) materials are the backbone of emerging solid-state lighting. To date, GaN research has been primarily focused on hexagonal phase devices due to the natural crystallization. This approach limits the output power and efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), particularly in the green spectrum. However, GaN can also be engineered to be in cubic phase. Cubic GaN has a lower bandgap (~ 200 meV) than hexagonal GaN that enables green LEDs much easily. Besides, cubic GaN has more isotropic properties (smaller effective masses, higher carrier mobility, higher doping efficiency, and higher optical gain than hexagonal GaN) and cleavage planes. Due to phase instability, however, cubic phase materials and devices have remained mostly unexplored. Here we review a new method of cubic phase GaN generation: hexagonal-to-cubic phase transition, based on novel nanopatterning. We report a new crystallographic modeling of this hexagonal-to-cubic phase transition and systematically study the effects of nanopatterning on the GaN phase transition via transmission electron microscopy, temperature-dependent cathodoluminescence, and electron backscatter diffraction experiments. In summary, silicon-integrated cubic phase GaN light emitters offer a unique opportunity for exploration in next-generation photonics.
Holocene Human Occupation of the Central Alaska Peninsula

The Alaska Peninsula is a landscape defined by volcanic, tectonic, and glacial processes, and life throughout is conditioned on the interactions among them. During the middle Holocene (ca. 4100–3600 yr ago), intense caldera-forming eruptions of the Aniakchak and Veniaminof volcanoes changed the shape of the central portion of the Peninsula dramatically, and had significant and perhaps devastating impacts on both terrestrial and marine biota. Here we evaluate the severity of these impacts by tracking human settlement patterns using 75 unique radiocarbon (14C) age determinations on buried cultural features from the central Alaska Peninsula. Coastal regions were re-colonized within a few hundred years while river systems most proximate to the volcanoes were uninhabited for up to 1500 years following the most severe eruptions. Patterns of human settlement may also document previously unrecorded landscape change throughout the region, and further contribute to our understanding of post-volcanic ecological succession.
Attitude Change and Polarization

A key reason for conducting public engagements around science and innovation policies is to find out what the public thinks and feels about those policies and the innovations themselves. However, some scholars have suggested deliberation can create attitude polarization, which could be a barrier to effective group decision-making and social progress. Thus, it is important to know when, if, and why processes lead to polarization. In this chapter, we examine individuals’ attitudes toward nanotechnology and describe whether and how they are impacted by the design of public engagement. We focus particularly on the degree to which individuals’ attitudes change and perhaps become more extreme, as a function of deliberation. We find that for the most part, the average of participants’ attitudes toward nanotechnological development shifted toward being slightly more cautious over the course of the semester during each study we conducted, although other significant patterns of attitude change were evident among individuals. The features of deliberation that most consistently influenced attitudes were critical thinking prompts and information formatting, such that encouraging critical thinking and presenting information in a way that presented multiple perspectives often led individuals to take on more cautious views toward nanotechnology. Other features commonly theorized as having important consequences for deliberation showed mostly no effects, and we found little evidence of attitude polarization, a phenomenon feared by many scholars who have remained skeptical of deliberation. However, the degree to which group dynamics during deliberative discussion (specifically, group homogeneity) influenced attitude change and polarization was moderated by the personality variable trait of openness . Those high in openness were the least likely to experience attitude extremitization (attitude change in the direction of becoming more extreme) in attitudinally heterogeneous groups but the most likely to experience attitude extremitization in attitudinally homogeneous groups.
Analytical Chemistry of Astatine

Astatine (At), element 85, has no stable isotopes. Its longest-lived isotope, 210At, has a half-life of only 8.3 h and a specific activity of 1.8 Ci/µg. Consequently, studies of At chemistry have necessarily been limited to trace levels on the order of 10−12 to 10−15 M. General reviews of At chemistry are given by [1 to 16].
Superconductive Computer Devices

Not many devices have found use in digital computers either for reasons of technology or economics. Very early machines utilized mechanical relays from which both logic and memory circuits were built. These were quickly replaced by vacuum tubes and then transistors. At the same time, special devices which could store information but could not in general be used for logic operations evolved. Among these are Williams tubes, magnetic drums and finally magnetic cores. As the need for storing more and more information arose, magnetic tapes and discs were developed.(1)
Analysis of Prevention Benefits in Comprehensive Health Care Reform Legislation in the 102nd Congress

One of the most important factors affecting the use of preventive services is health insurance coverage; however, until recently, most public and private health plans have explicitly excluded coverage of most preventive care. As a result, preventive services are used less frequently than recommended guidelines suggest, which contributes to the high incidence of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Recent congressional efforts to enact national health care reform legislation present an important opportunity to analyze coverage for preventive services. This article presents the results of an analysis of the prevention benefits in 23 comprehensive health care reform bills introduced in 1991 during the first session of the 102nd Congress. I classified each bill by type (employer-based, single payer, managed competition, tax credit, and insurance market reform) and through a content analysis identified benefits for immunization, screening, and counseling services (including cost-sharing provisions), as well as funding for community-based health promotion. I interviewed congressional staff members of the sponsors of each bill to discuss their rationale for including or excluding specific prevention benefits and their reliance on existing policy, guidelines, and health services research or on the involvement of interest groups in developing prevention benefits. I conclude that health care reform is likely to address prevention, particularly in covering specific clinical preventive services, such as well-child visits, prenatal care, immunizations, family planning, and cancer screening. The prevention benefits least likely to be included in health care reform are coverage for counseling services and funding for community-based health promotion.
Correlation, Materials Properties, Statistics and Biomaterials Science

What are the prospects for physical and chemical measurements for predicting the performance of new materials in complex medical applications? Can we find relationships between the composition and structure of a biomaterial and its biological interactions, particularly in complex systems like living organisms? The reality is that physical or chemical measurements which can reliably predict in vivo biocompatibility are at this time unavailable for most biomaterials. It would be ideal to use a spectroscopic technique to measure the properties and predict how well the material will work in a particular application. Animal experiments are expensive, of questionable value for predicting performance in humans, and raise ethical issues. Human clinical trials are very expensive, and also raise ethical issues. Can we predict or prescreen in vivo or in vitro performance from measurements of surface and other physical and chemical properties? This chapter, addressing correlation, will examine this question, and offer suggestions for future exploration.
The Error Landscape: Characterizing the Mistakes of Novice Programmers

The software development process often follows a circuitous path, littered with mistakes and backtracks. This is particularly true for novice programmers, who typically navigate through a variety of errors en route to their final solution. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of a large dataset of Python programs written by novice students. The analysis paints a multifaceted picture of the errors that students encounter, providing insight into the distribution, duration, and evolution of these errors. Ultimately, this paper aims to incite further conversation on the mistakes made by novice programmers, and to inform the decisions instructors make as they help students overcome these mistakes.