cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
College Students' Comprehension of Conjunction and Disjunction.

Did the reader ever wonder why some people think illogically and don't use correctly the common logical connectives? It may be because they consistently apply incorrect rules to logical terms and thus draw incorrect conclusions. If researchers can locate and describe these consistently and frequently followed incorrect inference patterns, they may be explaining why people do not perform logically and may even be able to predict the proportion that will consistently follow specified correct and incorrect patterns. Such knowledge is of intrinsic interest in the area of the study of the human organism as well as having obvious applications to the study of mathematics teaching. For example, can we develop general instructional programs in elementary logic that can change predispositions for systematic error in a significant proportion of our students? In a recent study of college students' comprehension of implication, O'Brien (1973) observed that students performed below the chance levels on certain subtests, and he located and described incorrect inference patterns that were consistently followed by "nonnegligible" proportions of the students. Eisenberg and McGinty (1974) also found evidence of systematic errors by college students who performed below the chance level on certain subtests of implication. O'Brien (1973) also found that a sizable proportion of his students (as many as 50% in some cases) consistently followed the partially incorrect Child's Logic Key (a group of inference patterns spanning all cases of the logic of the test). The purpose of this study was to extend the research above into the area of conjunction and disjunction by testing and analysis methods similar to those of O'Brien. O'Brien's methods included the use of a test with a distribution of "open" and "closed" items. Open items are those in which "no logically necessary conclusion [is] obtained" (O'Brien, 1972, p. 71). (See the first sample item that follows for an open item.) We wish to determine the level of comprehension of conjunction and disjunction possessed by college students, to determine if error patterns are consistently followed by nonnegligible proportions of the students, and to locate and describe inference patterns that are consistently followed.
1‐Methyladenine induction of oocyte (starfish) maturation: Inhibition by procaine and its pH dependency

Fully grown oocytes of starfish (Asterias forbesi) are normally arrested in the dictyate stage of meiosis within the ovary. Reinitiation of meiotic maturation in these oocytes appears to be induced as a result of the interaction of 1-methyladenine (1-MA) with the oocyte surface. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether procaine, a membrane active pharmacological agent, alters the ability of 1-MA to induce oocyte maturation. Procaine (0–2 mM) at pH 8.3 inhibited 1-MA induced maturation in a dose dependent manner; inhibition of maturation was seen only when the oocytes were incubated with procaine prior to the addition of 1-MA. The inhibitory effect of procaine was reversible as indicated by the observation that oocytes which failed to mature in seawater containing 1-MA (1 μg/ml) and 1 or 2 mM procaine at pH 8.3 subsequently underwent maturation after washing the procaine out and incubation with 1-MA. Procaine inhibition of oocyte maturation was dependent on pH of the seawater; this inhibitory action of procaine decreased as pH decreased from 8.5–6.0. In seawater at pH 7, procaine (2 mM) reduced the biological activity of 1-MA to approximately 0.1 of its potency; at pH 8.3 procaine completely blocked 1-MA induction of oocyte maturation. The amount of 1-MA bound or incorporated into the oocytes, as measured by the radioactivity in oocytes following incubation in seawater containing 3H-1 methyladenine, is reduced to 10% of control by 2.0 mM procaine. Taken together, the data suggests that procaine inhibits oocyte maturation by limiting the amount of hormone on or in the oocyte and that this effect is pH dependent.
Perivascular and intralesional tissue necrosis after hepatic cryoablation: results in a porcine model.

Abstract Background. Cryosurgical ablation of malignant hepatic tumors is being increasingly used for definitive treatment of metastatic colorectal and primary hepatic tumors. The lack of tumor necrosis near vessels that results from inadequate freezing may contribute to local recurrence and thus limit the applications of this therapy. This study was designed to determine whether single-freeze cryoablation could cause necrosis of both the perivascular and intralesional hepatic parenchyma. Methods. Ten pigs were treated with one 15-minute cycle of cryoablation. Five additional animals were treated with overlapping cryolesions to simulate a double freeze. After 24 hours, animals underwent reoperation with portal vein cannulation and infusion of formalin. Serial sectioning and hematoxylin and eosin staining of cryolesions were performed. Results. Complete cell death was visualized within all cryolesions. There was no difference between once-or twice-frozen tissue. Vessels within or adjacent to cryolesions showed necrosis of hepatic tissue up to the vessel wall. No sections revealed incomplete necrosis of perivascular hepatic parenchyma. Conclusions. Single-freeze cryoablation results in necrosis of intralesional hepatic parenchyma without added benefit from repeat freezing. Complete necrosis of the perivascular tissue suggests that cryosurgical ablation can effectively cause necrosis immediately adjacent to vessels without concerns of incomplete ablation resulting from the heat sink effect.
Pricing strategies to maximize revenues in the lodging industry

Abstract Price-ending strategies may be utilized by hotels to signal value or quality. The current study presents that there is a directional relationship between room rates and price-ending strategies. It demonstrates that as average room rates decrease, the price-ending strategies change from whole dollar practice to dollar and cents practice. Results from the qualitative investigation were compared with the room rates from the Internet for 10 US cities. Based on this study, an innovative pricing strategy is presented with a potential gain of $251 million dollars by conservative estimations (nearly $555 million if estimated liberally) annually for the hotel industry in the USA. These potential sales are about 0.54% of revenues and 3.9% of industry-wide pre-tax profits. Further studies in consumer acceptance of the recommended pricing strategy are suggested.
Dual mode single agent thermochemical ablation by simultaneous release of heat energy and acid: hydrolysis of electrophiles.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate two readily available electrophilic reagents, acetyl chloride (AcCl), and acetic anhydride (Ac2O), for their potential in tissue ablation.Materials and methods: Reagents were diluted in diglyme as solutions up to 8 mol/L and tested in a gel phantom with NaOH solutions and ex vivo in porcine liver. Temperature, pH, and volume measurements were obtained. Infrared and gross pathological images were obtained in bisected specimens immediately after injection.Results: AcCl was much more reactive than Ac2O and AcCl was therefore used in the tissue studies. Temperature increases of up to 37°C were noted in vitro and 30°C in ex vivo tissues using 4 mol/L AcCl solutions. Experiments at 8 mol/L were abandoned due to the extreme reactivity at this higher concentration. A change in pH of up to 4 log units was noted with 4 mol/L solutions of AcCl with slight recovery over time. Ablated volumes were consistently higher than injected volumes.Conclusions: Reaction of electrophiles ...
Effects of enzymatic digestion on compressive properties of rat intervertebral discs.

Enzymatic treatments were applied to rat motion segments to establish structure–function relationships and determine mechanical parameters most sensitive to simulated remodeling and degeneration. Rat caudal and lumbar disc biomechanical behaviors were evaluated to improve knowledge of their similarities and differences due to their frequent use during in vivo models. Caudal motion segments were assigned to four groups: soaked (control), genipin treated, elastase treated, and collagenase treated. Fresh lumbar and caudal discs were also compared. The mechanical protocol involved five force-controlled loading stages: equilibration, cyclic compression-tension, quasi-static compression, frequency sweep, and creep. Crosslinking was found to have the greatest effect on IVD properties at resting stress. Elastin's role was greatest in tension and at higher force conditions, where GAG content was also a contributing factor. Collagenase treatment caused tissue compaction, which impacted mechanical properties at both high and low force conditions. Equilibration creep and cyclic compression-tension tests were the mechanical tests most sensitive to alterations in specific matrix constituents. Caudal and lumbar motion segments had many similarities but biomechanical differences suggested some distinctions in collagenous structure and water transport characteristics in addition to the geometric differences. Results provide a basis for interpreting biomechanical changes observed in animal model studies of degeneration and remodeling, and underscore the need to maintain and/or repair collagen integrity in IVD health and disease.
The c‐myc apoptotic response is not intrinsic to blocking terminal myeloid differentiation

It has previously been shown that deregulated c-myc blocks terminal myeloid differentiation and prematurely recruits both the Type I and II CD95/Fas apoptotic pathways, promoting an incompletely penetrant apoptotic response. In this work it is shown that deregulated expression of either mycER or mycERtrade mark variants also blocked terminal myeloid differentiation but failed to induce the apoptotic response, demonstrating that c-myc can block differentiation independent of the apoptotic response. The failure of the mycERtrade mark transgene to cause the apoptotic response is associated with reduced levels of RIP1 expression, increased Mcl-1 expression and activation of both NF-kB and Akt. In addition, deregulating expression of RIP1 in M1mycERtrade mark cells restored the apoptotic response. Thus altering c-Myc or its downstream effectors can influence the balance between apoptosis and survival, and ultimately the oncogenic potential of the c-myc oncogene. This knowledge can be exploited to manipulate the downstream effectors, such as RIP1, to promote apoptosis and drive the death of cancer cells.
Small-sample studies on right censored data with discrete failure times

It has been already noticed that the classical Greenwood formula may not be an unbiased estimator for the variance of the Kaplan-Meier Prod- uct Limit estimator (PLE). However, a rigorous proof for such a suggestion has not been available. In this paper, we investigate some small-sample properties of the PLE and show that the Greenwood formula strictly underestimates the variance of the PLE. Besides, some existing estimators for the variance of the PLE are also discussed.
Some observations on sandwich courses for craft apprentices

(1961). Some observations on sandwich courses for craft apprentices. The Vocational Aspect of Education: Vol. 13, No. 26, pp. 13-26.
Performance characteristics of the Beckman Coulter total βhCG (5th IS) assay.

Abstract Background Beckman Coulter recently released the first commercially available hCG reagent calibrated against the 5th International Standard (IS) for hCG (total βhCG (5th IS)). We performed a comprehensive analytical validation of this reagent. Methods Precision experiments were completed using 3 concentrations of commercial quality control material. Linearity, sample stability, and analytical sensitivity were evaluated using pools of human serum. Reportable range was assessed by comparing manual dilutions to those performed by the instrument. Male and female reference intervals were established using residual serum specimens submitted for routine testing. Inter-lot variability of hCG assay reagent was assessed by analyzing serum specimens with detectable hCG using 2 different reagent lots. Inter-assay variability was established using 203 serum specimens analyzed for hCG on 6 different reagent platforms. Results Inter-day precision showed a CV of 50 y). Male reference intervals were Conclusions The analytical performance of the total βhCG (5th IS) was established. Care should be taken to re-baseline patients needing serial monitoring and/or notify physicians when transitioning to the total βhCG (5th IS) reagent.
Effects of D2O on the mechanism of pigment dispersal in the melanocytes of Fundulus heteroclitus: a pressure-temperature analysis.

The melanocytes of isolated fish scales (Fundulus heteroclitus) immersed in 0.1 M aqueous KCl solution and in deuterated KCl solutions, in which 50–70% of the H2O was replaced by D7O, were observed at 300× magnification while they were subjected to increasing hydrostatic pressure, raised in increments of 1,000 psi in the range up to 16,000 psi. In one series of experiments the temperature was maintained at 20°C (± 0.2°), whereas in the other it was kept at 25°C (± 0.2). Initially, all the melanocytes in the KCl media displayed a contracted, or punctate, form. With increasing pressures, gradually, expansion, or pigment granule dispersal, occurred but the degree of expansion at a given pressure depended upon the percentage of deuteration and the temperature. At 20°C in aqueous medium, total expansion, in which the pigment extended all the way out into the peripheral tips of melanocyte branches, occurred at 8,000–9,000 psi. At lower pressure, the intermediate values, expressed as a percentage of the total, fell along a smooth, slightly sigmoid curve. In the deuterated media, similar curves were obtained, but the pressure levels required to produce a given degree of expansion were significantly higher. Thus, maximum expansion required the imposition of 14,000 psi in the 50% D2O medium and of 16,000 psi in the 70%. Upon decompression, at the end of each experiment, the melanocytes quickly contracted, reaching a completely punctate form within 3–4 minutes. Similar relationships were found at 25°C, except that all the pressure values were significantly higher than those at 20°C. In fact the values for 25°, with 50% deuteration, were very similar to those for 20°, with 70% D2O. The evidence tends to confirm conclusions, previously submitted, namely, that, as expansion occurs, the cytoplasm of the unicellular pigmentary effectors of the fish undergoes a progressive process of solation and that contraction involves a reestablishment of the original firm gel structure. Thus the well known solational effects of high pressure tend to be counteracted by agencies, such as increasing deuteration and temperature, which are known to foster protoplasmic gelations generally.
Middle age and marriage: Affiliative men and assertive women

Abstract This paper reviews recent literature on the psychological changes that occur in middle age in men and women which indicate that men tend to become more affiliated and women more assertive. A series of cases are presented to illustrate the impact of these changes on middle age and marriage.
Physician House Calls: A Complement to Hospital‐Based Medical Care

A physician-oriented, hospital-based Home Care Program (HCP) is described. The staff includes a director, resident physicians, nurses, social workers, and clerical personnel. House calls are made by resident physicians during off-duty hours, but the patients, their families, and other health professionals may help with their care. Drugs, equipment and supplies are available through the hospital and contract vendors. The most common medical diseases are cardiac and cerebrovascular disorders, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, chronic pulmonary disorders and hypertension. Of 513 patients evaluated in one year, 337 were admitted to the HCP. Two-thirds were women. Ages ranged from 18 to 106 (median, 68 years). Under the HCP there was significant improvement and control of the medical problems, and a decrease in hospital and emergency room admissions, and clinic visits; 207 of the 337 patients were discharged. The HCP cost less than other outpatient and inpatient services. It proved to be a rewarding, economical and effective means of improving medical care for a metropolitan population dependent upon hospital-based physicians for medical services.
Generic algorithms: what fitness scaling is optimal?

A problem of choosing the best scaling function as a mathematical optimization problem is formulated and solved under different optimality criteria. A list of functions which are optimal under different criteria is presented which includes both the best functions empirically proved and new functions that may be worth trying.
Dynamic deadtime estimation for velocity-dependent systems

A simple but rigorous method of estimating the velocity-dependent deadtime is presented and compared to a steady-state method. >
Spontaneous disappearance of an IgA anti-factor IX inhibitor in a child with Christmas disease

The few inhibitors to blood coagulation factor IX in patients with Christmas disease (hemophilia B) that have been studied have been shown to belong to the IgG class of immunoglobulins. We report the first case in which a factor IX inhibitor was of the IgA class. Additionally, he appears to be the youngest patient with hemophilia B to have developed an inhibitor. His inhibitor complicated treatment of the patient for several years because of its anamnestic rise following factor IX concentrate administration. It then spontaneously vanished and has not returned in spite of repeated factor IX complex administration.
The effect of the diode ideality factor on the experimental determination of series resistance of solar cells

Abstract Two experimental methods of determining the lumped series resistance of silicon solar cells are investigated. Both methods are based on the solution of the basic solar cell equation in conjunction with actual data taken from a single current-voltage (I–V) output curve. The assumption of a constant diode ideality factor along the entire I–V output characteristic is common in the derivation of both methods. It is shown that this assumption is inaccurate at normal intensities and can lead to erroneous results. It is evident that both methods are useful over only a limited range of solar cell operation and are accurate only for cells operating under very high illumination conditions where it is appropriate to assume that the diode ideality factor is constant at unity along the entire I–V curve.
Symptomatic ureteropelvic junction obstruction in children.

1791, 1998. 2. Ozawa H, Kumon H, Yokoyama T, et al: Development of noninvasive velocity flow video urodynamics using Doppler sonography. Part II: Clinical application in bladder outlet obstruction. J Urol 160: 1792–1796, 1998. 3. Abrams P: In support of pressure-flow studies for evaluating men with lower urinary tract symptoms. Urology 44: 153–155, 1994. 4. Ding YY, Ozawa H, Yokoyama T, et al: Reliability of color Doppler ultrasound urodynamics in the evaluation of bladder outlet obstruction. Urology 56: 963–971, 2000.
Early increase in intracellular calcium during photodynamic permeabilization.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an early increase in intracellular Ca++ which preceded generalized lysis of thymocytes during photodynamic permeabilization. A method was developed that facilitated the simultaneous measurement in real time of permeabilization of thymocyte cell membrane to Ca++, Mn++, and ethidium bromide during photodynamic action. Quin-2 loaded cells were illuminated in the presence of erythrocin B and the change in the fluorescence emission of the calcium-quin-2 complex was used to determine how soon and to what extent intracellular Ca++ changed following illumination. In the presence of extracellular manganese, the same was used to determine how soon the cells became permeable to Mn++ or quin-2. It was determined that the fluorescence emission of the ethidium bromide-DNA complex was strong enough to be measured in the presence of the calcium-quin-2 complex. This enabled the concomitant determination of the elapsed time following illumination before ethidium bromide entered the cell. It was established that increased intracellular Ca++ was an early event in the photodynamic permeabilization of thymocytes that preceded permeabilization of the cell membrane to ethidium bromide, Mn++ or quin-2, or lysis.
3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), dopamine and norepinephrine storage in the rat heart after L-dopa—further evidence for norepinephrine release

Abstract The storage of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the rat heart was studied after the administration of a single dose of L -dopa (100 mg/kg). Endogenous NE concentration was significantly reduced 45 min after L -dopa despite high levels of dopa and DA. Synthesis blockade with disulfiram did not prevent the decline in [ 3 H]NE or endogenous NE induced by DA. Therefore, acceleration of NE synthesis by precursor substrate loading distal to the rate-limiting step in the biosynthetic pathway cannot explain the increased cardiac NE turnover that occurs after L -dopa. Administration of L -dopa resulted in a significant decrease in the retention of tracer [ 3 H]NE in both the particulate and soluble cell fractions without changing the subcellular distribution of [ 3 H]NE. Dopa and DA were recovered from only the soluble fraction of tissue homogenates. The storage of dopa and DA in the heart was unaffected by reserpine pretreatment. The results are consistent with dopa-induced NE release of the type that occurs with indirect acting sympathomimetic amines. The relationship of these findings to autonomic dysfunction in humans after L -dopa is discussed.
Serotonin deficiency alters susceptibility to the long-term consequences of adverse early life experience

Brain 5-HT deficiency has long been implicated in psychiatric disease, but the effects of 5-HT deficiency on stress susceptibility remain largely unknown. Early life stress (ELS) has been suggested to contribute to adult psychopathology, but efforts to study the long-term consequences of ELS have been limited by a lack of appropriate preclinical models. Here, we evaluated the effects of 5-HT deficiency on several long-term cellular, molecular, and behavioral responses of mice to a new model of ELS that combines early-life maternal separation (MS) of pups and postpartum learned helplessness (LH) training in dams. Our data demonstrate that this paradigm (LH/MS) induces depressive-like behavior and impairs pup retrieval in dams. In addition, we show that brain 5-HT deficiency exacerbates anxiety-like behavior induced by LH/MS and blunts the effects of LH/MS on acoustic startle responses in adult offspring. Although the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear, following LH/MS, 5-HT-deficient animals had significantly less mRNA expression of the mineralocorticoid receptor in the amygdala than wild-type animals. In addition, 5-HT-deficient mice exhibited reduced mRNA levels of the 5-HT2a receptor and p11 in the hippocampus regardless of stress. LH/MS decreased the number of doublecortin+ immature neurons in the hippocampus in both wild-type (WT) and 5-HT-deficient animals. Our data emphasize the importance of complex interactions between genetic factors and early life experience in mediating long-term changes in emotional behavior. These findings may have important implications for our understanding of the combinatorial roles of 5-HT deficiency, ELS, and postpartum depression in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders.
The effects of progesterone on estrogen-induced luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone release in the female rhesus monkey.

The effects of progesterone (P) in midcycle concentrations on the estradiol (E2) -induced gonadotropin release in the rhesus monkey were investigated by implanting Silastic capsules containing either crystalline E2 or P. All experiments were begun on day 3 or 4 of the menstrual cycle and finished 96 h later. In the control cycles E2 capsules (E2 increments to approximately 250 pg/ml) were implanted in all animals. In subsequent cycles E2 capsules were again implanted, but a P capsule was added (P increment to approximately 1.2 ng/ml) 0, 24, 32, and 46 h after the implantation of the E2 capsules (groups I, II, III, and IV, respectively). The time of maximum gonadotropin release in the E2 plus P cycles of all groups was advanced by approximately 12 h compared to their E2 control cycles (P plus P implants) was reduced to 70% of the E2 control means. When the time interval between the E2 and P im...
The potential and electric field in the cochlear outer hair cell membrane

Outer hair cell electromechanics, critically important to mammalian active hearing, is driven by the cell membrane potential. The membrane protein prestin is a crucial component of the active outer hair cell’s motor. The focus of the paper is the analysis of the local membrane potential and electric field resulting from the interaction of electric charges involved. Here the relevant charges are the ions inside and outside the cell, lipid bilayer charges, and prestin-associated charges (mobile—transferred by the protein under the action of the applied field, and stationary—relatively unmoved by the field). The electric potentials across and along the membrane are computed for the case of an applied DC-field. The local amplitudes and phases of the potential under different frequencies are analyzed for the case of a DC + AC-field. We found that the effect of the system of charges alters the electric potential and internal field, which deviate significantly from their traditional linear and constant distributions. Under DC + AC conditions, the strong frequency dependence of the prestin mobile charge has a relatively small effect on the amplitude and phase of the resulting potential. The obtained results can help in a better understanding and experimental verification of the mechanism of prestin performance.
Optimization support for senior design project assignments

Each year, the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona offers senior design projects to approximately 300 seniors. Sponsors provide the university with potential student projects; three to six students from various disciplines must collaborate on each project. Students give the university a rank ordering of their preferred projects. The program manager then selects a subset of the projects, assigns students to projects according to their preferences, and manages other requirements, such as matching sponsor-requested skills and minimizing deviations in team average GPAs. The task of assigning students to projects used to consume untold hours and Post-it notes as the program manager tried to solve the problem manually. Invariably, some students were unhappy because they did not understand why they had been assigned to less-desirable projects. In this paper, we discuss a pragmatic mixed-integer program (MIP) to optimize the solution to this problem. We cover both the modeling challenges and all a...
Communication: State-to-state photoionization and photoelectron study of vanadium methylidyne radical (VCH)

By employing the infrared (IR)-ultraviolet (UV) laser excitation scheme, we have obtained rotationally selected and resolved pulsed field ionization-photoelectron (PFI-PE) spectra for vanadium methylidyne cation (VCH+). This study supports that the ground state electronic configuration for VCH+ is …7σ28σ23π49σ1 (X2Σ+), and is different from that of …7σ28σ23π41δ1 (X2Δ) for the isoelectronic TiO+ and VN+ ions. This observation suggests that the addition of an H atom to vanadium carbide (VC) to form VCH has the effect of stabilizing the 9σ orbital relative to the 1δ orbital. The analysis of the state-to-state IR-UV-PFI-PE spectra has provided precise values for the ionization energy of VCH, IE(VCH) = 54 641.9 ± 0.8 cm−1 (6.7747 ± 0.0001 eV), the rotational constant B+ = 0.462 ± 0.002 cm−1, and the v2+ bending (626 ± 1 cm−1) and v3+ V–CH stretching (852 ± 1 cm−1) vibrational frequencies for VCH+(X2Σ+). The IE(VCH) determined here, along with the known IE(V) and IE(VC), allows a direct measure of the change...
Inferior vena cava compression by a hematoma

A 72-year-old woman underwent L3-L4 laminectomy for lower back and right leg pain caused by severe L3 radiculopathy. In the immediate postoperative period, upon extubation, the patient became hypotensive to 46/28 mmHg. She was re-intubated, resuscitated with fluids and blood products, and started on phenylephrine and vasopressin. An emergent contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis revealed extravasation of contrast from the distal abdominal aorta into the retroperitoneum, forming an 8 × 12 cm hemorrhagic collection posteriorly. She returned to the operating room, where control of the bleeding was achieved with balloon occlusion of the aorta. The injury was repaired with a Gore stent graft (Gore, Flagstaff, AZ, USA). The remainder of her hospital course was unremarkable, and she was discharged 7 days later. She returned 1 month after discharge with progressive, significant right-greater-than-left lower extremity swelling to the thighs. Duplex ultrasound revealed extensive thrombus in the right femoral vein (Panel A1) extending proximally into the iliac vein with an abnormal Doppler flow pattern bilaterally (Panel A2) suggestive of an occlusion in the bilateral proximal iliac veins or inferior vena cava. A repeat CT scan showed a large, multiloculated retroperitoneal hematoma compressing the inferior vena cava (Panel B, arrow) and thrombosed iliac veins (Panel C, arrowheads). This case illustrates a unique example of a massive retroperitoneal hematoma resulting in inferior vena cava compression and thrombosis. The patient was treated with heparin and warfarin, ultimately with conversion to rivaroxaban for a planned 6-month course. Images in Vascular Medicine
Response of serum biochemical markers of bone metabolism totraining in the juvenile racehorse

Summary Sixteen Quarter Horse-type geldings were used to examine the response of biochemical markers of bone metabolism to forced exercise prior to and during race training. The study began when the average age of the horses was 15 months. Horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill for 14 weeks, and were subsequently placed into race training. Serum was collected and assayed for concentrations of osteocalcin (BGP), the carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) and the carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP). When data were normalized from the onset of race training, ICTP and PICP concentrations were higher in the pre-exercised horses (P
Colonoscopic polypectomy in retroflexion

Background Little has been written about the value of retroflexion in the removal of large sessile colon polyps. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate the utility of retroflexion for removal of large sessile colon polyps. Design This was a retrospective evaluation of consecutive cases. Setting This study was conducted at an academic-hospital-based tertiary-referral colonoscopy practice. Patients The study comprised consecutive patients with sessile polyps ≥2 cm who were undergoing endoscopic resection. Interventions The intervention was endoscopic resection of 59 consecutive sessile colon polyps 2 cm or larger in size and located proximal to the rectum by using prototype colonoscopes with short bending sections. Main Outcome Measures The main outcome measurement was successful endoscopic resection. Results Fourteen of the polyps were removed either entirely (n = 4) or partially (n = 10) in retroflexion. Patients with polyps that were removed in retroflexion were more likely to have been referred by another colonoscopist than those patients with polyps removed entirely in the forward view ( p = 0.05). There were no perforations and no complications related to retroflexion. Limitations The study is retrospective, and the practice is a tertiary referral colonoscopy practice. The colonoscopes used are not widely available at this time. Conclusions Retroflexion is a useful adjunctive procedure for the removal of some colon polyps proximal to the rectum that are difficult to access endoscopically. The use of retroflexion can increase the fraction of proximal sessile colon polyps amenable to endoscopic resection.
Organizations, organizational cultures, catalysts for change in organizations

There is much contemporary interest in the design of information systems, and other systems, that support organizational development. These are often called enterprise support systems. In this paper, we elaborate upon some of the many needs in enterprise support that necessarily involve human cognitive issues. We discuss these issues, and how they are strongly influenced by organizational cultures. We also relate these to the catalysts for change in organizations and suggest several major interrelated efforts that comprise a systems approach to quality enhancement for organizational change and redevelopment. >
QoS guided min-min heuristic for grid task scheduling

Task scheduling is an integrated component of computing. With the emergence of Grid and ubiquitous computing, new challenges appear in task scheduling based on properties such as security, quality of service, and lack of central control within distributed administrative domains. A Grid task scheduling framework must be able to deal with these issues. One of the goals of Grid task scheduling is to achieve high system throughput while matching applications with the available computing resources. This matching of resources in a nondeterministically shared heterogeneous environment leads to concerns over Quality of Service (QoS). In this paper a novel QoS guided task scheduling algorithm for Grid computing is introduced. The proposed novel algorithm is based on a general adaptive scheduling heuristics that includes QoS guidance. The algorithm is evaluated within a simulated Grid environment. The experimental results show that the new QoS guided Min-Min heuristic can lead to significant performance gain for a variety of applications. The approach is compared with others based on the quality of the prediction formulated by inaccurate information.
Divergent Views of Hope Influencing Communications Between Parents and Hospital Providers

This study evaluated parents' and health care providers' (HCPs) descriptions of hope following counseling of parents at risk of delivering an extremely premature infant. Data came from a longitudinal multiple case study investigation that examined the decision making and support needs of 40 families and their providers. Semistructured interviews were conducted before and after delivery. Divergent viewpoints of hope were found between parents and many HCPs and were subsequently coded using content analysis. Parents relied on hope as an emotional motivator, whereas most HCPs described parents' notions of hope as out of touch with reality. Parents perceived that such divergent beliefs about the role of hope negatively shaped communicative interactions and reduced trust with some of their providers. A deeper understanding of how varying views of hope might shape communications will uncover future research questions and lead to theory-based interventions aimed at improving the process of discussing difficult news with parents.
Characteristic‐based schemes for dispersive waves I. The method of characteristics for smooth solutions

In order to embark on the development of numerical schemes for stiff problems, we have studied a model of relaxing heat flow. To isolate those errors unavoidably associated with discretization, a method of characteristics is developed, containing three free parameters depending on the stiffness ratio. It is shown that such “decoupled” schemes do not take into account the interaction between the wave families and hence result in incorrect wave speeds. We also demonstrate that schemes can differ by up to two orders of magnitude in their rms errors even while maintaining secondorder accuracy. We show that no method of characteristics solution can be better than second-order accurate. Next, we develop “coupled” schemes which account for the interactions, and here we obtain two additional free parameters, We demonstrate how coupling of the two wave families can be introduced in simple ways and how the results arc greatly enhanced by this coupling. Finally, numerical results for several decoupled and coupled schemes are presented, and we observe that dispersion relationships can be a very useful qualitative tool for analysis of numerical algorithms
Calculating the Tempo of Morphological Evolution: Rates of Discrete Character Change in a Phylogenetic Context

Paleontologists and biologists are often interested in the tempo of evolution: how fast or slow does evolution proceed? There are many separate components of evolution – the development and extinction of lineages, molecular change, and morphological transformation are three of the most general – and these may or may not be related to each other. Therefore, it is instructive to look at each of these separately (if possible), in order to gain a more nuanced understanding of evolutionary change. This chapter will focus specifically on morphological evolution: changes in size, shape, and discrete anatomical features and how rates of change can be calculated. Such calculations have a rich legacy in the macroevolution literature (e.g., Westoll 1949; Derstler 1982; Forey 1988; Cloutier 1991; Ruta et al. 2006; Brusatte et al. 2008a).
A deterministic, annealing-based approach for learning and model selection in finite mixture models

We address the longstanding problem of learning and model selection in finite mixtures. A common approach is to generate solutions of varying number of components - via the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm - and then select the best model in the sense of a cost such as the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). A recent alternative uses component-wise EM (CEM) and, further, integrates model selection within CEM. Both approaches are susceptible to finding poor solutions, the first due to the initialization sensitivity of EM and the second due to the sequential (greedy) nature of CEM. Deterministic annealing for clustering (DA) and mixture modeling (DAEM) provide potential for avoiding local optima. However, these methods do not encompass model selection. We propose a new technique with positive attributes of all these methods: it integrates learning and model selection, performs batch optimization over components, and has the character of DA, with the optimization performed over a sequence of decreasing temperatures. Unlike standard DA, with the partition entropy reduced as the temperature is lowered, our approach reduces the entropy of binary random variables that express whether each component is active or inactive. At low temperature, the method achieves explicit model order selection. Experiments demonstrate the favorable performance of our method, compared with several alternatives. We also give an interesting stochastic generative model interpretation for our method.
Work-family balance after childbirth: the association between employer-offered leave characteristics and maternity leave duration.

Early return to work after childbirth has been increasing among working mothers in the US. We assessed the relationship between access to employer-offered maternity leave (EOML) (both paid and unpaid) and uptake and duration of maternity leave following childbirth in a socio-economically diverse sample of full-time working women. We focus on California, a state that has long provided more generous maternity leave benefits than those offered by federal maternity leave policies through the State Disability Insurance program. The sample included 691 mothers who gave birth in Southern California in 2002–2003. Using weighted logistic regression, we examined the EOML-maternity leave duration relationship, controlling for whether the leave was paid, as well as other occupational, personality and health-related covariates. Compared with mothers who were offered more than 12 weeks of maternity leave, mothers with <6 weeks of EOML and those offered 6–12 weeks had five times higher odds of returning to work within 12 weeks; those offered no leave had six times higher odds of an early return. These relationships were similar after controlling for whether the leave was paid and after controlling for other occupational and health characteristics. Access to and duration of employer-offered maternity leave significantly determine timing of return to work following childbirth, potentially affecting work–family balance. Policy makers should recognize the pivotal role of employers in offering job security during and after maternity leave and consider widening the eligibility criteria of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Mapping Soil Geochemical Anomalies in the Mesa Quadrangle, Arizona, Using NURE Data

Maps showing anomalously high concentrations of 13 different elements in soils within the Mesa Quadrangle of southern Arizona were constructed using information contained in the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) database. Existing geochemical databases such as NURE provide an inexpensive and accessible resource that can be used to characterize an area geochemically. Anomalies in soils were determined after applying descriptive statistics, logarithmic transformations, elimination of outliers, and manipulation of below-limit detection values. Among the elements with the most number of anomalies, Cu clustered in the southcentral part of the quadrangle where porphyry copper deposits are located, while As, Be, Co, Cr, Zn, Th, and U anomalies were located over exposed Precambrian and Tertiary igneous rocks. In general, anomalies could be related to the rocks cropping out, type of soils, and several mines present in the area.
Wind Farm Announcements and Rural Home Prices: Maxwell Ranch and Rural Northern Colorado

This study examines the announcement affect of a proposed wind farm development on an 11,000-acre ranch in Northern Colorado on surrounding rural housing prices. This study analyzes 2,910 single-fa...
The Chinese Economic Competition and the WTO (La Concorrenza Economica Di Pechino Si Combatte Con Le Armi Del WTO)

As members to the WTO agreement and as signatories of the bilateral agreements, the EU and the US have to help China to comply with its commitments, but they also have the obligation of monitoring the advancement of legislative review and the application of the transparency requirements. The monitoring and enforcement obligations of trade agreements are a demanding task with technical complexity requiring a very high level of expertise. This is more than true with China because of its premature accession to the WTO, its vast territory and several years of gradual decentralization in favour of localities. The EU has demonstrated that it is ready to consider taking an aggressive approach toward China, under specific conditions and if other methods fail. The EU is prepared to introduce safeguard measures and quotas to protect EU companies when Chinese imports are the cause of material damage or might cause material damage to EU industry. It is surely important for the EU to protect its enterprises, but safeguard measures should be considered a temporary solution because they do not facilitate the good trade relations between the EU and China. The EU has to try to prevent problems instead of intervening at the very last moment, when the situation has become critical for EU companies. It is necessary for the EU to begin demanding more and more respect of all the WTO principles and in particular the transparency principles. In this way, by exploiting all the internal and international means, it is possible to help and convince China to comply with the WTO commitments, to open its system for generating market access opportunities for European companies.
RECENT EMERGING AND DEVELOPED EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS VOLATILITY OF RETURNS

This paper examines the volatility of returns in fifteen emerging and developed European stock markets. A set of parametric and nonparametric tests is used to test the equality of mean returns and standard deviations of the returns. Results suggest that there was generally high volatility of returns in the markets during the period 1997-2004 and that there were some surprises in terms of volatility and loss of value in the case of some developed European stock markets. The emerging markets in general had higher returns and higher volatilities, particularly Russia and Turkey. Even though the markets of Russia, Turkey and Spain showed the highest standard deviations, the markets that displayed the highest coefficients of variation are those of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey. The results of the Levene’s (1960) could not reject the Null Hypothesis that mean returns are equal across the days of the week for all the markets except for Italy.
Bayesian Imputation for Anonymous Visits in CRM Data

Targeting individual consumers has become a hallmark of direct and digital marketing, particularly as it has become easier to identify customers as they interact repeatedly with a company. However, across a wide variety of contexts and tracking technologies, companies find that customers can not be consistently identified which leads to a substantial fraction of anonymous visits in any CRM database. We develop a Bayesian imputation approach that allows us to probabilistically assign anonymous sessions to users, while ac- counting for a customer’s demographic information, frequency of interaction with the firm, and activities the customer engages in. Our approach simultaneously estimates a hierarchical model of customer behavior while probabilistically imputing which customers made the anonymous visits. We present both synthetic and real data studies that demonstrate our approach makes more accurate inference about individual customers’ preferences and responsiveness to marketing, relative to common approaches to anonymous visits: nearest- neighbor matching or ignoring the anonymous visits. We show how companies who use the proposed method will be better able to target individual customers, as well as infer how many of the anonymous visits are made by new customers.
The Dynamics of an Entomopoxvirus in a Field Population of Larval Midges of the Chironomus decorus Complex

The incidence of entomopoxvirus infections in larval midge populations of an undescribed species in the Chironomus decorus complex from 2 southern California flood-control channels was monitored during 2 successive summers. The population densities and prevalence of disease were inversely related to the rate of water flow at each sampling site. Results from laboratory rearings of field-collected larvae suggested that the impact of the virus on the midge populations was greater than that indicated by infection rates alone and that the virus may play an important role in population regulation. Studies with field collected egg masses suggested that the virus is introduced to the channels by transovum transmission.
Fiddling in a Vortex: Have American Orchestras Squandered Their Supremacy on the American Cultural Scene?

ABSTRACTIn the past half-century, American symphony orchestras (SO) have experienced widely fluctuating fortunes. We examine this period to explain the external and internal issues that have created the fluctuations and the resultant financial difficulties for many SOs. In recent years, SO deficits have continued to increase while attendance has continued to decrease. We discuss the need for SOs to address revenue issues, introduce dynamic programming, and engage in more community engagement to improve the institution's stability.
Black Masculinities Expressed Through, and Constrained by, Brotherhood:

Black males face pressures to adopt dominant social roles in relationships based on expectations from family, peers, and teachers. Many stereotypes define their perceived masculinities in coeducati...