cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parental Divorce, Relationships with Fathers and Mothers, and Children’s Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood

The current study examined parent–child relationships during adolescence as a moderator between earlier parental divorce and children’s romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. In addition, the study examined the potential different outcomes in children’s romantic relationships according to the gender of parents and children as well as to fathers’ different residence types. The data for this study came from a 22-year 9-wave investigated longitudinal study, Michigan Study of Life Transitions (MSALT), which began in 1983. The sample for the current study was 520 (female = 311 and male = 209) from ‘always-married’ and 154 (female = 107 and male = 47) from ‘divorced’ families. Some of main findings are that residential father–child relationships during adolescence were more critical for children’s satisfaction in their romantic relationships in emerging adulthood than non-residential divorced father–child relationships, and that relationships with fathers during adolescence mattered for daughters’ satisfaction in their romantic relationships in emerging adulthood, but not for the sons’ satisfaction. Possible explanations of the findings, limitations, and strengths in the current study are discussed, and future research directions are addressed.
Stochastic LIM for uncertainty characterization of fiber-weave effect on coupled transmission lines

Fiber-weave effect impacts the transmission of signal waves on printed circuit board transmission lines. The effect is especially pronounced for differential signals, since the difference in dielectric properties between glass fiber and resin can lead to different propagation velocity between two lines in the pair, which results in intra-pair skew. The fiber-weave effect is difficult to model exactly since it depends on the relative position of the etched traces with respect to the glass fiber bundles in the substrate. In this paper, we present a method to model coupled transmission line traces with uncertainties due to the fiber-weave effect. We also present a very fast and efficient stochastic transient simulator to produce time-domain waveform of the differential signal. The simulator uses finite difference scheme in combination with Stochastic Galerkin Method to quantify the results of uncertainties in the circuit with a single simulation of an expanded state-space system.
Attempting arts integration: secondary teachers’ experiences with spoken word poetry

Spoken word poetry is an art form that involves poetry writing and performance. Past research on spoken word has described the benefits for poets and looked at its use in pre-service teacher educat...
The Persistent Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Air Pollution Evidence from the Indonesian Forest Fires

We analyze the effects of early-life exposure to air pollution in a developing country on children's long-term human capital outcomes. We exploit the geographical variation of the 1997 Indonesian forest fires and cohort variation in exposure as a natural experiment. Children exposed to the fires are shorter on average three years post-exposure and have lower lung capacity 10 years post-exposure, but only children who were exposed in utero continue to exhibit shorter stature at 10 and 17 years post-exposure. We find suggestive evidence that these persistent effects may be due to expectant mothers experiencing poorer respiratory health during the fires. [End Page 1037] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Tombusvirus RNA replication depends on the TOR pathway in yeast and plants.

Abstract Similar to other (+)RNA viruses, tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) utilizes metabolites, lipids, membranes, and co-opted host factors during replication. The coordination of cell metabolism and growth with environmental cues is performed by the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase in eukaryotic cells. In this paper, we find that TBSV replication partially inhibits TOR activity, likely due to recruitment of glycolytic enzymes to the viral replication compartment, which results in reduced ATP levels in the cytosol. Complete inhibition of TOR activity with rapamycin in yeast or AZD8055 inhibitor in plants reduces tombusvirus replication. We find that high glucose concentration, which stimulates TOR activity, enhanced tombusvirus replication in yeast. Depletion of yeast Sch9 or plant S6K1 kinase, a downstream effector of TOR, also inhibited tombusvirus replication in yeast and plant or the assembly of the viral replicase in vitro. Altogether, the TOR pathway is crucial for TBSV to replicate efficiently in hosts.
Hand grasp and reach in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury in the cervical cord can result in paralysis of all four extremities (tetraplegia). A motor neuroprosthesis can be used to stimulate the paralyzed muscles of the arm and hand to produce coordinated grasping and reaching functions for these patients. The user of the neuroprosthesis has real-time control of the stimulated function through use of the remaining voluntarily controlled musculature. Myoelectric signals have been demonstrated over the past decade to be the best method for controlling grasp. Typically, patients use the neuroprosthesis for eating, personal hygiene, and writing and office tasks. Future developments include the use of fully implanted systems and systems that provide multiple functions for these individuals – such as grasp, trunk support, and cough, bladder, and bowel function.
Intersegmental Dynamics During Gait: Implications for Control

Abstract Quantifying the active and passive forces that arise from within the body and from the physical environment during locomotion is vital for better understanding the role of the central nervous system in coordinating and regulating human locomotor action. To further explore the nature of intersegmental dynamics during human locomotion, we conducted experiments to contrast - in the same subjects - the roles of muscular, gravitational, and motion dependent torques during human walking and running. The potency of the intersegmental dynamics approach, as well as complementary synthesis and simulation approaches, for gaining insight into the control of limb motion during locomotion is illustrated by the richness of the information about the limb during the swing phase.
Influence of steam-flaked, steamed-whole or whole shelled corn on performance and digestion in beef steers

Three trials were conducted to evaluate finishing diets containing 67% steam-flaked corn (SFC), steamed-whole corn (SWC) or whole corn (WC). In a feeding trial, steers fed SWC consumed more (P less than .05) dry matter per day (7.6 kg) than those fed WC (7.0 kg) or SFC (6.7 kg). Average daily gain was greater (P less than .05) for steers fed SFC (1.33 kg) and SWC (1.31 kg) than for those fed WC (1.25 kg), and feed efficiency was better (P less than .05) for steers fed SFC (5.06 kg dry matter/kg gain) than for those fed WC (5.62) and SWC (5.79). Carcass characteristics were not different among the three groups. In a digestion trial, method of corn processing did not affect digestibility of dry matter and crude protein. Starch digestibility was greater (P less than .05) for SFC (99.1%) than for SWC (93.8%) and WC (93.0%). There were no differences in nitrogen (N) intake or fecal N among the three diets; however, urinary N was less (P less than .05) for SWC (19 g/d) than for SFC (27 g/d) and WC (32 g/d), and N retention was higher (P less than .05) for the SWC diet. In vitro dry matter digestibility of the SFC diet was higher (P less than .05) than for WC at 4 and 8 h of incubation and higher (P less than .05) than the SWC diet at 8, 12 and 24 h of incubation. In vitro gas production after 6 h was greater (P less than .05) for SFC than for SWC grain, which was greater (P less than .05) than WC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Reproduction

In 1921, Achard and Thiers published their classic description of a bearded woman with diabetes, linking androgen excess and insulin resistance (1). Subsequently, in 1935, Stein and Leventhal reported the association of enlarged polycystic ovaries with the clinical triad of amenorrhea, hirsutism, and obesity (2). Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or SteinLeventhal syndrome has since been recognized to be one of the most common female endocrine disorders characterized by two major features: hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation (3). PCOS has been associated with an increased incidence of endometrial cancer and has many serious consequences, such as insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and increased cardiovascular and metabolic risks. PCOS affects approx 5–10% of women of reproductive age and is a major cause of infertility.
Cost-effectiveness of genotype-guided aspirin use for colorectal cancer prevention.

e18318Background: Colonoscopy is the “gold standard” for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. However, adherence rates are low and detection is not optimal. Concomitant aspirin chemoprevention is rec...
PLI $$^+$$ + : efficient clustering of cloud databases

Commercial cloud database services increase availability of data and provide reliable access to data. Routine database maintenance tasks such as clustering, however, increase the costs of hosting data on commercial cloud instances. Clustering causes an I/O burst; clustering in one-shot depletes I/O credit accumulated by an instance and increases the cost of hosting data. An unclustered database decreases query performance by scanning large amounts of data, gradually depleting I/O credits. In this paper, we introduce Physical Location Index Plus ( $${PLI}^{\small {{+}}}$$ ), an indexing method for databases hosted on commercial cloud. $${PLI}^{\small {{+}}}$$ relies on internal knowledge of data layout, building a physical location index, which maps a range of physical co-locations with a range of attribute values to create approximately sorted buckets. As new data is inserted, writes are partitioned in memory based on incoming data distribution. The data is written to physical locations on disk in block-based partitions to favor large granularity I/O. Incoming SQL queries on indexed attribute values are rewritten in terms of the physical location ranges. As a result, $${PLI}^{\small {{+}}}$$ does not decrease query performance on an unclustered cloud database instance, DBAs may choose to cluster the instance when they have sufficiently large I/O credit available for clustering thus delaying the need for clustering. We evaluate query performance over $${PLI}^{\small {{+}}}$$ by comparing it with clustered, unclustered (secondary) indexes, and log-structured merge trees on real datasets. Experiments show that $${PLI}^{\small {{+}}}$$ significantly delays clustering, and yet does not degrade query performance—thus achieving higher level of sortedness than unclustered indexes and log-structured merge trees. We also evaluate the quality of clustering by introducing a measure of interval sortedness, and the size of index.
Global Market Evaluation: A Longitudinal Efficiency Assessment Approach

Both experienced and novice international business practitioners may need to examine many country ranking reports on a frequent basis. Most of these reports focus on certain socio-economic variable...
Power Transformer Condition Management Program for Oil and Gas Industrial Facilities

This paper presents the lessons learned and challenges faced during the development and implementation of a transformer condition assessment program at a large oil and gas company. A methodology was developed to identify the condition of large power transformers that are due for replacement or have a risk of failure and require immediate action to rectify. This was achieved by a rational application of assessment criteria and ranking mechanisms. The transformer condition assessment program helps to minimize capital expenditures by using cost-effective alternatives that will extend the economic life of a power transformer. This paper focuses on evaluating aged power transformers (over 20 years old) through an advanced assessment program, which mainly consists of a two-level criteria scoring system. This will allow proactive action of flagging end of life, expediting mitigations, monitoring, and reporting the state of critical power transformers, which can be implemented on conservator type oil-immersed power transformers. A case study is also presented in this paper.
Repeated Sport-Related Concussion Shows Only Minimal White Matter Differences Many Years After Playing High School Football.

Objective: Multiple concussions sustained in youth sport may be associated with later-life brain changes and worse cognitive outcomes. We examined the association between two or more concussions during high school football and later-life white matter (WM) microstructure (i.e., 22–47 years following football retirement) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Method: Forty former high school football players aged 40–65 who received 2+ concussions during high school football (N = 20), or denied concussive events (N = 20) were recruited. Participants underwent neurocognitive testing and DTI scanning. Results: Groups did not statistically differ on age, education, or estimated pre-morbid intelligence. Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) correcting for Family-Wise Error (FWE)(p < .05) did not yield differences between groups at the whole-brain level. Region of interest analyses showed higher mean diffusivity (MD) in the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) in the concussed group compared to the non-concussed former players. More liberal analyses (i.e., p < .001, uncorrected for multiple comparisons, ≥8 voxels) also revealed that former players endorsing 2+ concussions had higher MD in the ALIC. Analyses that covaried for age did not reveal differences at either threshold. Concussive histories were not associated with worse cognitive functioning, nor did it impact the relationship between neuropsychological scores and DTI metrics. Discussion: Results suggest only minimal neuroanatomical brain differences in former athletes many years following original concussive injuries compared to controls.
Vitamin D and bisphosphonate therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus patients who receive glucocorticoids: are we offering the best care?

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate management practices for glucocorticoid (GC)-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients using 2017 American College of Rheumato...
Wide Excisional Surgery in Invasive Melanoma Treatment: Factors Driving Non-compliance With National Guidelines.

BACKGROUND/AIM Margin size during wide excisional surgery for invasive melanoma treatment have been established by national guidelines. This study identified factors associated with wider than recommended excisional margins and its impact on survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS The National Cancer Database was queried to identify patients with primary invasive melanoma. Statistical analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Overall survival was compared using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS A total of 26,440 patients were included in the analysis. Melanomas located on the trunk were more likely to be treated using wider than recommended excisional margins for certain Breslow depth groups (p<0.05), while the opposite was true for those being treated in an academic/research program (p<0.05). The practice of taking wider than recommended margins was not associated with improved survival. CONCLUSION Tumor location and facility type influence non-compliance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Lack of survival benefit in patients with wider excisional margins seems to support guideline recommendations.
Navigating between an End-goal and a 'Readiness to be Affected': A Virtual Reality Briefing to the United Nations Security Council

This article describes the design process behind a Virtual Reality movie intended to brief the Security Council of the United Nations about the situation in Iraq, in April 2019. The last couple of years have seen an increase of Virtual Reality movies made by the UN to support advocacy campaigns and provide general public information. But in this case, the goal was to test if the immersive experiences that Virtual Reality movies enable could be used as a political tool. Through a personal reflection upon the peculiar circumstances of this process, this account shows how aiming solely at instrumenting the briefing, which is a typical political situation in the organization, hid the political and transformative potentials of all the other situations of the design process. I will discuss what inhibited these potentials and how they could be enabled, from the perspective of the social interactions and instrumental mediations at play.
Are calprotectin and lactoferrin equivalent screening tests for inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract Background Lactoferrin and calprotectin are frequently ordered stool tests used to screen patients for inflammatory bowel disease versus functional bowel disease. Current guidelines recommend using either one to screen for inflammation in the GI tract; however, little information is available on how these 2 assays compare and their use in different clinical specialties. Methods We compared order patterns for lactoferrin and calprotectin using data from a large reference laboratory over a 10-y period (2009–2019). We also studied the concordance of lactoferrin and calprotectin in cases where both tests were ordered concurrently. Finally, we reviewed the records at a university hospital to determine which clinicians ordered each test and the indications associated with orders. Results Orders for calprotectin are increasing relative to lactoferrin. The relative proportion of calprotectin orders have increased from 60% to nearly 90% over the past decade. Results for lactoferrin and calprotectin show concordance (90%). Calprotectin and lactoferrin are ordered by different clinical specialties for different indications. Calprotectin is most often ordered by gastroenterologists in the context of abdominal pain. Lactoferrin is most often ordered by primary care providers in the context of acute diarrhea. Conclusion Lactoferrin and calprotectin are not treated as equivalent tests by clinicians.
Quantitative Modeling of Residential Building Disaster Recovery and Effects of Pre- and Post-event Policies

Abstract Understanding the process of community recovery impacted by various post-disaster decisions such as dynamic policies can effectively guide the recovery process and expedite recovery, thereby establishing a more resilient community. This paper proposes a methodology based on a multi-layer Monte Carlo simulation to model a two-stage recovery process for residential buildings: functional downtime due to delay and functional downtime due to repair. The delay portion of the model was modified based on the REDi framework and models the impeding factors that delay repairs such as post-disaster inspection, insurance claims, and building permits. Household income was examined to estimate the financing delay depending on different funding resources such as insurance and loans available to households at different income levels. The repair portion of the model followed the FEMA P-58 approach (which was originally for post-earthquake analysis) and was controlled by fragility functions. This study also investigates a series of policies to examine an illustrative example, namely the 2011 Joplin tornado. The residential recovery is modeled as a time-stepping process without any empirical data such that policies can be implemented pre-disaster (mitigation) and/or post-disaster. The ability to model hypothetical policy scenarios for residential recovery of a community will enable decision-makers to better understand collective community-wide impacts of their actions and policies, thereby improving community resilience planning.
Development of Apparel Product Evaluation (APE) framework: a systematic classification of evaluative criteria

Based on a systematic analysis of extant research on apparel evaluative criteria and following the logical partitioning approach of developing classification schemes (Hunt, 2010, Marketing theory: ...
Informational Masking Effects of Speech Versus Nonspeech Noise on Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials.

Purpose Background noise has been categorized as energetic masking due to spectrotemporal overlap of the target and masker on the auditory periphery or informational masking due to cognitive-level ...
Case Series of Three Infants with Erythema Multiforme Following Hepatitis B Vaccination.

Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, self-limited, sometimes recurring mucocutaneous condition characterized by distinctive target lesions, and it has been associated with infections, accounting for up to 90% of cases, as well as with drugs, and other triggers. Most cases of EM occur in children, adolescents, and young adults, but rarely occur in neonates and infants. Here, we report three infants in whom EM developed following hepatitis B vaccination.
Continuous Hierarchical Fair Competition Model for Sustainable Innovation in Genetic Programming

Lack of sustainable search capability of genetic programming has severely constrained its application to more complex problems. A new evolutionary algorithm model named the continuous hierarchical fair competition (CHFC) model is proposed to improve the capability of sustainable innovation for single population genetic programming. It is devised by extracting the fundamental principles underlying sustainable biological and societal processes originally proposed in the multi-population HFC model. The hierarchical elitism, breeding probability distribution and individual distribution control over the whole fitness range enable CHFC to achieve sustainable evolution while enjoying flexible control of an evolutionary search process. Experimental results demonstrate its capability to do robust sustainable search and avoid the aging problem typical in genetic programming.
Multimedia security: Does signal processing have a place in securing the digital world?

With the recent growth of networked multimedia systems, techniques are needed to prevent (or at least deter) the illegal copying, forgery and distribution of digital media elements such as audio, images and video. The problem is that a copy of a media element is identical to the original. It is also desirable to determine where and by how much a multimedia element has been changed from the original. One classical approach to the problem of protecting "digital content" has been the use of cryptographic methods such as encryption and authentication. Recently other methods have been proposed to improve one's claim of ownership over a digital media element by inserting a small amount of distortion directly into the media element. This distortion, known as a digital watermark, can be used to uniquely identify the owner of the content. Digital watermarking research is mainly the domain of the signal processing community that is very naive when considering real world security problems. Also the attitude of the academic community that it has the "right" to copy and reproduce any multimedia element is curious at best and perhaps conveys the wrong message to our students. The use of the "Lena" image is a good example of this. In this talk I will survey the current state of multimedia security and describe important research issues. I will also express some concern that perhaps we in the signal processing community might want to understand the "security scenario" before making grandiose claims about how our latest watermarking technique will save the world!
Going Public with the Process

Decades of research on public opinion shows the strong influence of partisanship on public policy support. Even political sophisticates seem to evaluate a policy based on its partisan implications. However, by publicizing a fair deliberative process, President Obama more than doubled public support (both among Democrats and Republicans) for his 2009 troop surge proposal. Utilizing several survey experiments, this paper demonstrates that presidents can generate support for their foreign and domestic policy proposals among partisans, opposing partisan identifiers and the broader public, by publicizing a fair deliberative process. Moreover, this support is not outcome dependent. Those that perceive the deliberative process to be fair are more supportive of both raising and lowering taxes on the wealthy, regardless of partisanship. Modern presidents may be more persuasive than the dominant view suggests.
Stability of Top Management Teams

We identify several theories that each suggest a link between CEO turnover and changes among a firm's top non-CEO managers. We then assess these links empirically using two panel data sets. We present five main findings. First, we find that CEO and non-CEO turnover are positively associated. Second, we do not find that this association is stronger when firm performance is poor. Third, this association is driven largely by instances of outside CEO succession. Fourth, the association between CEO and non-CEO changes persists; even the year after CEO turnover, non-CEO managers are more likely to leave the firm's top management group. Fifth, changes in the identities of non-CEO managers are more closely associated with subsequent organizational changes than is CEO turnover. We interpret these results as being consistent with theories in which non-CEO managers make investments in human capital that is specific to co-workers, and specific to the firm's current practices or strategy.
A Review of Jovian Ionospheric Chemistry

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the Jovian ionospheric chemistry––namely, the production, reaction, and loss processes of ions. The chemistry of the lower atmosphere of Jupiter is vastly complicated by the presence of methane, ammonia, and perhaps water and hydrogen sulfide as well. The ionosphere, however, is formed in the tenuous upper regions of the atmosphere; far above the heights at which ammonia, water, and hydrogen sulfide are condensed. The neutral upper atmosphere of Jupiter consists of molecular and atomic hydrogen and helium; the relative abundances of which are not well known. Rate constants and product distributions for the reaction of protons with simple hydrocarbons are important as a loss mechanism for protons and as a production mechanism for hydrocarbon ions. Temperature dependence of bimolecular ion–molecule reactions are theoretically predicted to have no temperature dependence, and while experiment tends to confirm this prediction in most cases for nonpolar gases, there are a few exceptions and this assumption should be tested experimentally for the major reactions involved in controlling the ion chemistry in the ionosphere.
A joint latent class analysis for adjusting survival bias with application to a trauma transfusion study

There is no clear classification rule to rapidly identify trauma patients who are severely hemorrhaging and may need substantial blood transfusions. Massive transfusion (MT), defined as the transfusion of at least 10 units of red blood cells within 24 h of hospital admission, has served as a conventional surrogate that has been used to develop early predictive algorithms and establish criteria for ordering an MT protocol from the blood bank. However, the conventional MT rule is a poor proxy, because it is likely to misclassify many severely hemorrhaging trauma patients as they could die before receiving the 10th red blood cells transfusion. In this article, we propose to use a latent class model to obtain a more accurate and complete metric in the presence of early death. Our new approach incorporates baseline patient information from the time of hospital admission, by combining respective models for survival time and usage of blood products transfused within the framework of latent class analysis. To account for statistical challenges, caused by induced dependent censoring inherent in 24-h sums of transfusions, we propose to estimate an improved standard via a pseudo-likelihood function using an expectation-maximization algorithm with the inverse weighting principle. We evaluated the performance of our new standard in simulation studies and compared with the conventional MT definition using actual patient data from the Prospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion study. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Retinoblastoma Protein Is Linked to the Activation of Ras

The inner membrane-bound protein Ras integrates various extracellular signals that are subsequently communicated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus via the Raf/MEK/MAPK cascade. Here we show that the retinoblastoma protein pRb, previously reported to be a nuclear target of this pathway, can in turn influence the activation state of Ras. Rb-deficient fibroblasts display elevated levels (up to 30-fold) of activated Ras during G(1). Expression of wild-type pRb or a number of pRb mutants defective in E2F regulation reverses this effect. We provide evidence that the mid-G(1) activation of Ras in Rb-deficient cells, which occurs at the level of guanine nucleotide binding, differs from that of epidermal growth factor-induced stimulation of Ras, being dependent on protein synthesis. The aberrant levels of Ras activity associated with loss of pRb may be responsible for the differentiation defects in Rb-deficient cells, because suppression of Ras activity in Rb(-/-) fibroblasts restores the transactivation function of MyoD and the expression of a late marker of skeletal muscle differentiation. These data suggest that nuclear-cytoplasmic communication between pRb and Ras is bidirectional.
Pathogenesis of a Pichinde Virus Strain Adapted to Produce Lethal Infections in Guinea Pigs

A model for studying the pathogenesis of virulent arenavirus infection was developed by adapting Pichinde virus to produce lethal infections of inbred guinea pigs. This adapted Pichinde virus retained low virulence for primates, thus potentially reducing the biohazard to investigators. Whereas all inbred (strain 13) guinea pigs were infected and killed by 3 plaque-forming units or more of adapted Pichinde virus injected subcutaneously, outbred (Hartley strain) guinea pigs were relatively resistant. All infected, inbred guinea pigs died at 13 to 19 days after inoculation, with viremias in excess of 5 log 10 plaque-forming units/ml, severe lymphopenia ( 3 ), and elevated serum glutamic oxaloacetic acid transaminase levels. Immunofluorescent antibody examination of tissues and infectivity titrations of tissue homogenates obtained at 3- to 4-day intervals demonstrated significant viral replication in all visceral tissues examined, but not in brain. Livers of all moribund guinea pigs contained moderate to severe hepatocellular necrosis and diffuse fatty change. Splenic red pulp and adrenal cortical tissues were engorged with blood and contained necrotic foci. Pancreatic acinar tissues were atrophied and vacuolated; lung sections typically contained areas of moderate to severe interstitial pneumonia. Inflammatory cells were conspicuously absent from all lesions. The virological and pathological features of adapted Pichinde infection in guinea pigs are remarkably similar to those described for Lassa virus infections in rhesus monkeys and humans, suggesting that this model might provide insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of Lassa fever in humans. Images
The area of complete scotopic spatial summation enlarges with age

The maximal area of complete scotopic spatial summation (Ricco’s area) was determined for 50 subjects ranging in age from 19 to 87 yr. Increment thresholds were measured for 10-ms, 520-nm circular test lights of varying diameters that were superimposed and concentric with a 10°, 640-nm circular background. The test lights were imaged in Maxwellian view along the horizontal meridian, 6° nasal from a foveal fixation point. The results demonstrate a statistically significant enlargement of Ricco’s area with age. The average angular subtenses of Ricco’s areas for the ten youngest (mean=26 yr) and ten oldest (mean=75 yr) observers were approximately 48 and 69 arc min, respectively. Model simulations based on a series of optical transfer functions of the eye and varying degrees of intraocular light scatter for younger and older observers show that preneural factors cannot account for these results. Therefore changes in neural mechanisms must be invoked to explain the enlargement in the size of Ricco’s area under scotopic conditions.
Nonlinear oscillations, bifurcations and chaos in a multi-point mooring system with a geometric nonlinearity

A taut multi-point mooring system with a large geometric nonlinearity under wave and current excitation is examined in this paper. The system is found to exhibit local instability and global bifurcations leading to complex nonlinear and chaotic responses. A semi-analytic method based on stability analyses of approximate solutions to the exact nonlinear system is shown to be an efficient predictor of bifurcations and chaos. Thus the method may supplant or significantly reduce the effort of a numerical parametric analysis for the strongly nonlinear ocean system.
WLAN/cellular handover analysis for different mobility models

With the proliferation of a multitude of diverse yet coexistent array of networks in the recent past, the heterogeneous environment is foreseen to serve mobile terminals (MT) in a complementary fashion at large. Multimodal MTs can now switch interfaces between Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) and the cellular network. In order to exploit the heterogeneity of the wireless environment, MTs require smart medium selection methods. In this paper, we derive a practical yet tractable method of evaluating vertical handover (VH) algorithms for mobile voice users over heterogeneous environments. The random direction and the Gauss-Markov mobility models are analyzed as an extension to the previously studied random waypoint model. The performance of a VH algorithm is evaluated for an MT roaming in and out of the WLAN coverage area under these mobility models. The analytical procedure is utilized in deriving the required signal strength thresholds upon which an MT bases its handover decisions for a given outage probability.
Quasistatic propagation of compaction fronts in porous rock

Abstract Recent experimental studies have observed the quasistatic propagation through rock of planar porosity discontinuities. In this process, one or more, initially thin, compacted layers appear at the yield point of the stress–strain curve and then grow by thickening in the direction of maximum compression at constant stress. Strain localization theory was previously applied to compaction to explain the initial formation of the compacted zones. This paper describes the growth of the compaction zones, that is, the propagation of their boundaries, in terms of shock wave analysis. The ratio of the applied shortening rate to the velocity of the boundary is related to the porosity change across the boundary. A small but consistent peak at the yield point of the stress–strain curve is explained by the model.
Intraseasonal Disturbance Activity before, during and after the 1982–83 ENSO

Abstract The longitude-time cross section of outgoing longwave radiation and zonal winds at the equator indicates a regular eastward propagation of interannual time-scale perturbations all the way from the Indian Ocean, across the maritime continent, to as far east as the eastern Pacific during the 5 years of 1979–83. These interannual perturbations also exhibit standing wave character. Associated with this are phase changes from the pre anti-ENSOF, in January 1982, via the mid-ENSO in January 1983, to the post anti-ENSO of December 1983. Both anti-ENSO and mid-ENSO are phase locked with the seasonal cycle. Anti-ENSO synoptics are the manifestation of anomalous enhancement of the normal winter circulation, whereas the mid-ENSO patterns reflect an anomalous weakening of the normal winter circulation. Thus, the mid-ENSO exhibits an approximate reversal of synoptics (anomaly) from the anti-ENSO phase. Over the eastern North and South Pacific between about the dateline and 120°W, a key area for the 1982–83 EN...
Effect of sex, class standing, and academic performance on perceived importance of teacher behaviors

An implicit assumption made in most teaching evaluation instruments is that teaching behaviors are equally important to students. Using specific teacher behaviors which have appeared in a number of teaching assessment devices, the importance of teacher behaviors questionnaire (ITB) was constructed to measure students' perceptions of the importance of selected teacher behaviors. Data collected from 105 college students were utilized in the present study for the following purposes: (a) to determine if there are differences among students' ratings of teaching behaviors in terms of importance and (b) to determine if the ratings of importance given to selected teacher behaviors vary according to students' sex, class standing, or academic performance. Results of the study indicated that there were significant differences in perceived importance of selected teacher behaviors. Furthermore, it was found that ratings of some of these behaviors tended to vary across sex groups. Implications for utilizing importance information as a weighting component in teaching evaluations are discussed.
Effects of family history and comorbidity on the neuropsychological performance of children with ADHD: preliminary findings

ABSTRACT Objective Because ADHD is heterogeneous with respect to psychiatric comorbidity, familiality, and learning disabilities, it was hypothesized that such features might influence the severity and pattern of neuropsychological function in ADHD. Method Subjects were 9− to 20-year-old males with DSM-III-R ADHD (n = 65) and normal controls (n = 45). Information on neuropsychological performance was obtained in a standardized manner, blind to the proband's clinical status. Results ADHD probands were significantly impaired on neuropsychological functions compared with controls irrespective of composite psychiatric comorbidity status, and those with a family history of ADHD were most impaired. ADHD probands with learning disabilities showed a pattern suggestive of reduced motor dominance and extremely slow reading speed. Conclusions These results indicate that neuropsychological performance in ADHD is significantly affected by familial status and presence of learning disabilities. The similarity of findings between ADHD children with and without comorbid psychiatric disorders suggests that the neuropsychological impairments in our sample were associated with ADHD. These findings raise the possibility of alterations of cerebral dominance and of frontal networks in ADHD. Further research is needed to replicate these findings in larger samples, to clarify the role of specific comorbid psychiatric disorders, and to assess directly cerebral functioning in subjects with ADHD. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 1995, 34, 8:1015–1024.
Boundary regularity for solutions of degenerate elliptic equations

On etudie la regularite limite des solutions faibles de l'equation divA(x,u,Du)+B(x,u,Du)=0 avec des conditions aux limites conormales et de Dirichlet
Cost-effectiveness of Head CT in Patients With Lung Cancer Without Clinical Evidence of Metastases

Objective To estimate the cost-effectiveness of CT for detecting brain lesions in patients with lung cancer without clinical evidence of metastases. Design Decision analysis model comparing two different strategies for detecting brain metastases: brain CT routinely (CT-first) or brain CT only when patients develop neurologic signs and/or symptoms (CT-deferred). Patients Hypothetical cohort of patients with lung cancer with an unremarkable screening clinical evaluation for metastases. Measurements Net costs are calculated as the difference in costs between the two limbs of the decision tree. Net benefits are expressed as the difference in calculated years of life expectancy between the two strategies. Net costs are divided by net benefits, yielding the marginal cost per quality adjusted year of added life expectancy (C/QALY) for the CT-first strategy. Results In the baseline analysis, the C/QALY for the CT-first strategy is about $70,000. Improving the clinical evaluation as a screen for detecting brain metastases markedly increases the C/QALY. Increasing the cost of brain CT magnifies this effect. More effective treatment for asymptomatic brain metastases and better accuracy of CT for identifying resectable and unresectable brain metastases lower C/QALY. Conclusions Although a threshold cost-effectiveness has not been defined for identifying "cost-effective" diagnostic procedures, the marginal C/QALY of the CT-first strategy is substantially higher than many accepted medical interventions. At current costs, the routine use of brain CT is not warranted in patients with lung cancer who have normal findings on a standardized clinical evaluation for metastases.
A convenient means for controlling the oxidation level of bridgehead carbon C-1 in functionalized tricyclo[9.3.1.03,8]pentadecanes

Abstract A solution to the problem of positioning a hydrogen atom or hydroxyl group at C1 in functionalized tricyclo[9.3.1.03,8]pentadecane networks on demand is illustrated.
Progesterone Therapy and Progestin Metabolism in Abortion1

The council on pharmacy and chemistry of the American Medical Association recently stated: ‘It is indeed difficult to conclude from the available data whether or not progesterone or active corpus luteum extracts are of value in the treatment of habitual and threatened abortion’ (1). The accurate evaluation of therapy, of necessity, must remain difficult until we have a better understanding of the etiologic factors in abortion. Diagnosis of threatened abortion has been rendered uncertain by the fact that biologically active prc gestin is identified in human tissues and fluids in only small quantities by the present methods of bioassay. Some of the more recent and more sensitive of these methods have not been applied to clinical studies. Venning's (2) method for the determination of pregnanediol, an excretion product of progestin metabolism, aroused much enthusiasm. It was hoped that, at last, there was a diagnostic implement by which significant alterations in intrinsic progestin levels might be determined.
Reformulation: a verbal display of interlanguage awareness in instructional interactions

Reformulation is mostly considered as an important verbal mechanism for coping with non-native speakers’ speech production problem in second language acquisition. Drawing on interlanguage pragmatics and conversation analysis, the present study examines the specific ways in which reformulation is used to achieve mutual understanding in the instructional interaction between US college students and foreign-born instructors. The data under examination consist of 10 dyadic interactions that naturally occurred during office hours. The matter of analytic interest is the communicative functions of reformulation as a strategy to display and cope with American college students’ comprehension difficulties that may be related to the foreign-born instructors’ limited language proficiency. Both self-reformulation and other-reformulation are found in the data to deal with the foreign-born instructors’ difficulties in speech production and reception. The close analysis of the linguistic features and interactional procedu...
Asymmetry and symmetry in cellular organization

Abstract It is proposed that the basic cell functions are associated with asymmetric structures. This is exemplified by three cell systems: The transduction of extracellular, molecular signals into intracellular responses by the cellsurface membrane; the two main steps in gene expression, the synthesis of messenger RNA and of cell proteins; the conversion of metabolic energy into mechanical work in muscle contraction. Asymmetry may be a requirement for the dynamics of functional activity. In some instances, e.g. muscle contraction, the asymmetry of individual functional units is compatible with an organization of multiple cooperative units into symmetric patterns.
Asian America: sociological and interdisciplinary perspectives

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the USA. They now outnumber Latinos among the newly arrived immigrants. Asian Americans have had a considerable presence in the USA since the...
Rapid, quantitative analysis of americium, curium and plutonium isotopes in Hanford samples using extraction chromatography and precipitation plating

Recently developed methods for the rapid, quantitative analysis of americium (Am), curium (Cm), and plutonium (Pu) isotopes in Hanford soil, sludge, and waste-tank samples are described. After dissolution, dilutions are made as necessary based on alpha-energy analysis of a small aliquot of the original solution. isotopic tracers are then added and Am-Cm and Pu are separated by extraction chromatography, coprecipitated with neodymium fluoride, and counted. Examples of alpha spectra are given, and results obtained for Hanford sludge samples are presented.
Natural history of angina pectoris in the Framingham study: Prognosis and survival

Abstract The evolution of 303 cases of angina in a general population sample of 5,127 persons was ascertained and revealed that the lot of the angina victim is not a happy one. Prognosis as to survival and progression to more serious coronary manifestations was discouraging in men. One in 4 men with angina can expect to have a coronary attack within 5 years. The risk is half this for women. About 30 percent of those over 55 will die within 8 years, and 44 percent of the coronary deaths will be sudden. Mortality was close to that which follows the posthospital phase of myocardial infarction. Surprisingly, survival in men with uncomplicated angina was no better than that for angina which follows an infarction. Angina was more likely to be the presenting complaint of coronary disease in women (65 percent) than in men (37 percent). In men 45 percent of angina arose out of myocardial infarction compared to 15 percent in women. Half of those sustaining initial myocardial infarctions had angina following it, 31 percent experiencing it for the first time. In those with angina who sustained an infarction, the angina disappeared in only 15 percent of men and no women, a rate lower than the 30 percent spontaneous rate of disappearance. Only 23 percent of infarctions were preceded by angina. Almost 1 in 4 myocardial infarctions were silent or went unrecognized. Such infarctions were rare in persons with prior angina.
Adenosine 3', 5'-Monophosphate Phosphodiesterase in the Growth Medium of Physarum polycephalum

The acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum releases a soluble adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase into the growth medium. Although this enzyme resembles the particulate diesterase of the same organism in kinetic properties and in inhibition by methyl purines, its greater stability, its insensitivity to stimulation by imidazole and to inhibition by adenosine triphosphate,- and its selective release into the medium indicate a specific function, perhaps protection against exogenous cyclic nucleotide, for the soluble enzyme.
Molecular Genetic Analysis of a Small Bowel Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor

We present a pediatric peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pPNET) localized exclusively to the small bowel. The tumor presented in an adolescent male and the diagnosis was confirmed by electron microscopy, CD99 immunopositivity, and molecular genetic analysis that demonstrated an EWS-FLI1 type 2 fusion transcript. This case report and a review of the literature underscore the considerable phenotypic overlap in EWS-related tumors in this site and the necessity for molecular genetic analysis to permit accurate classification.