cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Maroons of Jamaica, 1655-1796: A History of Resistance, Collaboration and Betrayal

A careful and thorough study of the Jamaican Maroons from the British conquest to the late 18th century. "Choice" This richly textured study of the struggles of the Maroons of Jamaica against the British colonial authorities, their subsequent collaboration with and betrayal by them, will be of great interest to historians of Africa. . . . Elegantly written . . . the author . . . makes her own contribution to current debates on resistance and collaboration. "Michael Crowder, Institute of Commonwealth Studies"
Real-Time Seizure State Tracking Using Two Channels: A Mixed-Filter Approach

Accurate and cost-effective seizure severity tracking is an important step towards limiting the negative effects of seizures in epileptic patients. Electroencephalography (EEG) is employed as a means to track seizures due to its high temporal resolution. In this research, seizure state detection was performed using a mixed-filter approach to reduce the number of channels. We first found two optimized EEG features (one binary, one continuous) using wrapper feature selection. This feature selection process reduces the number of required EEG channels to two, making the process more practical and cost-effective. These continuous and binary observations were used in a state-space framework which allows us to model the continuous hidden seizure severity state. Expectation maximization was employed offline on the training and validation data-sets to estimate unknown parameters. The estimated model parameters were used for real-time seizure state tracking. A classifier was then used to binarize the continuous seizure state. Our results on the experimental data (CHB-MIT EEG database) validate the accuracy of our proposed method and illustrate that the average accuracy, sensitivity, and false positive rate are 85.8%, 91.5%, and 14.3% respectively. This type of seizure state modeling could be used in further implementation of adaptive closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation applications.
Using Positive Reinforcement with Young Children.

Positive reinforcement is a research-based practice essential for supporting young children’s use of appropriate behaviors and skills. The application of positive reinforcement also is consistent w...
Maximizing the effect of visual feedback for pronunciation instruction: A comparative analysis of three approaches

Abstract Visual feedback, in which learners visually analyze acoustic speech characteristics, has been shown to significantly improve pronunciation, but extant research has varied widely with respect to the target feature, length of the intervention, and type of intervention. This study presents a comparative analysis of three methods of visual feedback for L2 segmental pronunciation instruction. These methods, all focused on training voice onset time for English-speaking learners of Spanish, differed in duration of instruction (i.e., short and long) and the nature of each intervention (i.e., phonemes presented simultaneously or sequentially). Results show that while all forms of visual feedback significantly improve L2 Spanish pronunciation, evidenced by a reduction in voice onset time, the greatest improvement was found following both longer treatments and a sequential approach. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed.
The impact of COVID-19 quarantine efforts on emergency radiology and trauma cases.

Abstract Objective Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, many states have issued stay at home advisories and non-essential business closures to limit public exposure. During this “quarantine” period, it is important to understand the volume and types of emergency/trauma radiology cases to better prepare for the continuing and future pandemics. This study demonstrates new trends in pathologies and an overall increase in positive exams. Methods A retrospective review of emergency department's imaging during the initial two weeks of this state's quarantine period, 3/23/2020–4/5/2020 was compared to similar dates of the previous year (“pre-quarantine” period), 3/25/2019–4/7/2019. One thousand emergency radiology and 991 trauma cases were evaluated. Of the emergency radiology cases 500 studies from each period were assessed, and from the trauma cases, 783 cases from pre-quarantine and 315 from the quarantine period were examined. Chi-square analysis was performed to assess for statistical significance. Results Overall there were 43.0% fewer emergency radiology studies performed during the quarantine period (n = 4530) compared to pre-quarantine period (n = 2585). Additionally, the number of positive cases was significantly higher (P = 0.0001) during the quarantine period (43.0%) compared to the pre-quarantine period (30.2%). Several trends in types of trauma were observed, including a significant increase in domestic violence during the quarantine period (P = 0.0081). Discussion Different volumes and types of emergency/trauma imaging cases were observed during the recent quarantine period. Findings may assist emergency radiology departments to plan for future pandemics or COVID-19 resurgences by offering evidence of the types and volume of emergency radiology cases one might expect.
What Finances R&D? R&D, Capital Investment, and Financial Constraints

I employ a dynamic multi-equation model in which firms make interdependent financing and investment decisions under the constraint that sources and uses of cash must be equal. In this setting, R&D-cash flow sensitivities for young and mature high-tech firms are both small and indistinguishable from each other. Financing-cash flow sensitivities highly dominate investment-cash flow sensitivities. Therefore, contrary to the results in prior literature, I find little evidence that high-tech firms cut back R&D due to financial constraints. I argue that the big significant R&D - cash flow and equity issue sensitivities for young high-tech firms found in prior research are mostly due to failure to control for accounting identities. My results also indicate the presence of heterogeneities between young and mature high-tech firms in the sources of finance for R&D and the interaction between R&D and capital investment. Overall, results are consistent with the notion that young firms finance R&D through internal and external equity, while mature firms use cash flow and debt for R&D financing. R&D and capital investment are highly positively correlated for mature, but not young, firms.
Local damage in grain boundary stabilized nanocrystalline aluminum

Abstract The excess free volume in grain boundaries of pure nanocrystalline aluminum leads to the grain coarsening, which degrades their desirable mechanical properties. The preferential segregation of dopants to the grain boundaries has been proposed to enhance the stability of the nanostructure. To shed light on the stabilization mechanisms, we present results from virtual mechanical tests on nanocrystalline aluminum samples with similar grain sizes but different magnesium dopant contents. The segregation of magnesium decreases the excess free volume within the grain boundaries and prohibits the nucleation and growth of intergranular cracks.
INTER AND INTRA-RATER RELIABILITY OF MEASURING PHOTOMETRIC CRANIOVERTEBRAL ANGLE USING A CLOUD-BASED VIDEO COMMUNICATION PLATFORM

Objective: Due to social distancing guidelines during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, most providers and patients have wanted to avoid close contact. This makes physical therapy (PT) assessments difficult because of the lack of empirical evidence about the reliability of various clinical measurements performed in a virtual environment. One such procedure is the photometric measurement of craniovertebral (CV) angle. Craniovertebral angle measurement is usually performed in an outpatient setting and is defined as the acute angle formed between a straight line connecting the spinous process of C7 to the tragus of the ear, and the horizontal line passing through the spinous process of the C7. Although the photometric measurement of CV angles is considered both valid and reliable in the clinics, no empirical evidence exists about the CV angle measurement reliability when performed in a virtual environment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability of photometric CV angle measurement using a cloud-based video communication platform. Number of Subjects: 66 subjects (57 females). Methods: All measurements were performed by two final year PT students who had completed the musculoskeletal part of the curriculum and were blinded to each other’s measurements. Each subject was photographed in two postures over a HIPAA-compliant video-based telehealth platform: (1) normal/ relaxed posture and (2) ideal posture (posture the subject considered good). Student researcher 1 measured the CV angle in both the relaxed posture and ideal posture, while student researcher 2 measured the CV angle only in the relaxed posture. Each subject's CV angle measurement was performed three times on three separate days and the means were used for further analysis. The shape of the CV angle frequency distribution was assessed using kurtosis and skewness values. Rater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and interpreted based on the guidelines provided by Portney and Watkins (2009). Results: The CV angles were normally distributed in both relaxed and ideal postures. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of relaxed posture was 50.7o ± 6.3o with kurtosis and skewness of 0.67 and -0.74 respectively. The mean and SD of ideal posture was 55.5o ± 5.4o, with kurtosis and skewness of 0.1 and -0.54 respectively. The ICC for inter-rater reliability in the relaxed posture was 0.88 and the ICC for intra-rater reliability for relaxed posture was 0.91. Conclusion: Craniovertebral angles were normally distributed in the sample. An acceptable level of inter- and intra-rater reliability can be attained when measuring CV angle using a cloud-based video communication platform.
Identification of Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury from Intravenous Ketorolac in Geriatric Trauma Patients

Ketorolac is an effective analgesic but the potential for acute kidney injury (AKI) is concerning, particularly in geriatric “G-60 trauma” patients. The objectives of this study are to report the incidence of AKI in patients who receive ketorolac, identify risk factors for AKI, and develop a risk factor-guided algorithm for safe utilization. This retrospective cohort study included trauma patients age 60 years and older who received intravenous ketorolac. The primary endpoint was the incidence of AKI. Among 316 patients evaluated, the incidence of AKI was 2.5%. Patients with AKI received more nephrotoxins, had more comorbidities, and higher use of loop diuretics or vasopressors. Loop diuretic therapy and number of comorbidities were independent predictors of AKI. Risk for AKI with ketorolac was low, being more prevalent with comorbidities or receipt of loop diuretics.
Virtual Team Framework and Support Technology

This paper first discusses the motivation for the concept of a Virtual Team and outlines its essential features. The merits of implementing such a concept on the computer network to support Concurrent Engineering between distributed team members are then highlighted. In the second part of the paper the efforts in the DICE (DARPA Initiative in Concurrent Engineering) project to realize virtual teams through a set of generic software services are reviewed.
Synthesis and transport properties of a-axis YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 superlattices

We report recent results on the synthesis and transport properties of a-axis oriented YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO/PBCO) superlattices. A-axis oriented YBCO is of great interest in fabricating sandwich tunnel junctions since the coherence length in this direction is much greater than that in the c-axis direction. We use the YBCO/PBCO multilayer system to investigate the decoupling length of the YBCO across PBCO by changing the modulation wavelength. The resistive transitions of these superlattices in magnetic field show a crossover temperature above which they are insensitive to magnetic fields and below which broadening occurs; this may be related to the disappearance of the coupling between YBCO layers above T*. We have used a 90 degree(s) off axis sputtering technique to grow a-axis oriented YBCO/PBCO superlattices. In such a-axis heterostructures the artificial modulation of the rare earth atom occurs in the plane between CuO planes. Therefore one would expect interdiffusion of Y and Pr to be more of a problem than in c-axis multilayers. The a-axis multilayers are of good crystalline quality as shown by x-ray, TEM, and RBS analysis. X-ray diffraction yields main peaks and satellite peaks with FWHM of 0.06 degree(s) while the ratio of the backscattered yield along to that in a random direction (chi) min is 3% and is as good as that found in single crystals. To investigate the decoupling length of the YBCO across PBCO, we measured the resistive transitions of the a 24 angstroms/24 angstroms, 48 angstroms/24 angstroms and 48 angstroms/48 angstroms a-axis YBCO/PBCO multilayers.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
AMP: program context specific buffer caching

We present Adaptive Multi-Policy disk caching (AMP), which uses multiple caching policies within one application, and adapts both which policies to use and their relative fraction of the cache, based on program-context specific information. AMP differentiate disk requests based on the program contexts, or code locations, that issue them. Compared to recent work, AMP is unique in that it employs a new robust scheme for detecting looping patterns in access streams, as well as a low-overhead randomized way of managing many cache partitions. We show that AMP outperforms non-detection-based caching algorithms on a variety of workloads by up to 50% in miss rate reduction. Compared to other detection-based schemes, we show that AMP detects access patterns more accurately for a series of synthesized workloads, and incurs up to 15% fewer misses for one application trace.
An Analysis of Office Market Rents: Parameter Constancy and Unobservable Variables

This paper reexamines variations in office building rents using data for a six-year period in a medium-sized city. Previous literature has relied on estimates using OLS estimation of standard fixed...
Correlation between calcific aortic stenosis diagnosed by two‐dimensional echocardiography and cardiac catheterization

This retrospective study correlates the severity of calcific aortic stenosis determined by two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography with the aortic valve area determined by catheterization in 57 patients. Aortic valve leaflet calcification was diagnosed by cineangiography in 50 (88%) of 57 patients and by 2-D echo in 57 (100%) of 57 patients (p less than 0.025). An agreement between severity of aortic stenosis by catheterization and 2-D echo occurred in 22 (39%) of 57 patients. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses showed no correlation between the severity of aortic stenosis and the 2-D echo variables: left ventricular wall thickness, left ventricular diastolic dimension, left ventricular systolic dimension, aortic root diameter, and left atrial dimension. We conclude that 2-D echo detects aortic leaflet calcification better than cineangiography. However, the severity of aortic stenosis determined by 2-D echo correlates poorly with the severity of aortic stenosis determined by cardiac catheterization.
Abstract 17203: Increasing Age, Arterial Stiffness, and Ambulatory Blood Pressure

Background: Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and mortality. Age is positively associated with higher ABP, particularly systolic ABP. The physiological basis for the association between age and ABP is incompletely understood, and no studies to our knowledge have examined the contributions of arterial stiffness to the age-ABP association. Our objective was to examine whether arterial stiffness might explain the association between increasing age and ABP. Methods: The Masked Hypertension Study is an ongoing population study of employed adults in New York without CVD, renal failure, or treated hypertension. Clinic BP (CBP), 24-hr ABP, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were assessed in 225 participants. Three manual CBP measurements were obtained on three separate occasions (total 9 readings) over a 3-week period and averaged. ABP was assessed using a SpaceLabs 90207 monitor (Snoqualmie, WA). PWV was measured using a SphygmoCor device (AtCor, Itasca, IL). Results: Of the 225 participants, 90 (40%) were male, 12 (5.3%) were African American, and 29 (12.9%) were Hispanic. Mean ± SD age and body mass index (BMI) were 44.4 ± 10.3 years and 26.4 ± 4.6 kg/m2, respectively. Mean ± SD systolic/diastolic CBP was 115 ± 12 /75 ± 8 mmHg and ABP was 121 ± 11 /77 ± 7 mmHg. The correlation between age and PWV was 0.44 (p<0.001), and between age and awake systolic/diastolic ABP were 0.14 (p=0.041)/0.15 (p=0.028). The positive associations of age with systolic and diastolic ABP in a sex, race/ethnicity, and BMI-adjusted model were completely attenuated after further adjusting for PWV (see Table). In contrast, PWV was significantly associated with awake systolic and diastolic ABP after multivariable adjustment. Conclusions: The associations between age and elevated BP outside of the clinic setting may, in part, be explained by age-related increases in arterial stiffness. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Stochastic projection of the ground state of strongly correlated electrons

An overview is presented of Green’s function Monte Carlo methods which have been applied to the two-dimensional t — J model, a simple quantum lattice-gas model which captures strong electron correlations. Exact diagonalization methods are restricted to very small size systems which do not allow extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit. On the other hand, world-line Monte Carlo simulation methods suffer from the fact that the antisymmetric nature of the amplitudes for fermions makes the simulation error grow exponentially with system size. Thus, in straightforward applications of simulation techniques or in exact diagonalization techniques the required computer time grows exponentially with system size. We have developed projection methods similar to the Green’s function Monte Carlo technique which can be used to extract the many-body ground state where the above mentioned problems can be kept under control. This technique reproduces all known exact diagonalization results on smaller size systems and it can be applied on significantly larger size lattices. Using this method, the motion of a hole, the hole-binding and the phase diagram of the t — J model have been studied. Among other important results, it has been found that there is phase separation in the physical region of the model. The relevance of the phase diagram of the model to the physics of the cuprate superconductors and the role of additional terms, which need to be added to the model in order to describe the environment experienced by the electrons in the real materials, are briefly discussed.
Compartmentalization of protein traffic in insulin-sensitive cells

Insulin-sensitive cells, adipocytes and myocytes, translocate a number of intracellular proteins to the cell surface in response to insulin. Among these proteins are glucose transporters 1 and 4 (G...
Canalicular laceration repair using a viscoelastic injection to locate and dilate the proximal torn edge.

Background Canalicular lacerations are common complications of eyelid trauma in the pediatric population. Irrigating air, water, and colored or viscous agents through the intact canaliculus have been suggested to identify the torn proximal edge. We report our experience in repairing canalicular lacerations using a novel viscoelastic injection technique with a Monoka monocanalicular stent. Methods The medical records of patients Results A total of 38 children with lid lacerations were identified, of whom the 17 with canalicular involvement were included (mean age, 6.27 years). Canalicular injury in these 17 was due to dog bite (9 patients) and shearing trauma (8 patients). In 11 patients, the injury was located in the lower lid; in 4, the upper lid; and in 2, combined upper and lower lids. All patients had good anatomic repair and on follow-up had negative dye disappearance tests and were free of tearing. Conclusions Deploying viscoelastic superficially near, and injecting into the injured canaliculus can improve visualization of the operative field by retracting the surrounding tissue and tamponading any bleeding, which aids in location and dilation of the torn canaliculus initially and in subsequent steps, eases intubation into the lubricated torn canaliculus and nasolacrimal duct, and avoids iatrogenic injury to an uninjured canaliculus.
A technique for measurement of xenon-133 air contamination.

A sensitive, inexpensive technique is described for measuring xenon-133 air contamination to levels below nonoccupational exposure limits. The method uses a column containing a measured amount of activated charcoal through which an air sample is passed. The relative effects of air flow rate, xenon concentration, air temperature, relative humidity, and charcoal weight on the amount of trapped xenon are described.
Ceruloplasmin Assays In Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Lung, Breast, and Gastrointestinal Cancers

Ceruloplasmin was assayed as enzyme activity, as antigen, and as total copper in serum samples from 150 male lung cancer patients and comparable numbers of male controls. By all three assays, ceruloplasmin was significantly increased above the normal before treatment, and the degree of elevation was related to TNM stage [i.e., the International Union Against Cancer classification system based on extent of primary tumor (T), condition of lymph nodes (N), and absence of presence of metastases (M)]. Surgery had no immediate effects, but in patients who evidence of disease for longer periods, ceruloplasmin returned to nearly normal values. High levels of ceruloplasmin was elevated in 6 of 9 patients before tumor recurrence; 2 of 3 smokers (in the first panel of sera) with elevated ceruloplasmin levels subsequently developed lung cancer. The relative merits of the three assays were compared. Some sex- and age-related differences among normal controls were apparent. The results of pilot studies on men with gastrointestinal cancer and women with breast cancer are presented. It is concluded that only in limited situations will assays of ceruloplasmin aid in diagnosis, prognosis, and long-term monitoring of cancer patients.
A practitioner's approach to evaluation strategy for ellipsometric measurements of multilayered and multiparametric thin-film structures

Abstract Ellipsometry as an indirect optical measurement method requires the use of optical modelling which include model parameterization. In practice, there are many ways to select a model and its parameters to fit the experimental data. Very often this fact leads to ad hoc decisions, i.e., based on experience or subjective opinion, instead use of some systematic approaches which provide predictive capability. In this paper we use the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria to perform optical model selection and its best parameterization to fit a particular set of ellipsometric data. We demonstrate that this approach accompanied by post hoc study of the inter-parameter correlations can significantly enhance optical modelling, in particularly, the process of model selection and data interpretation and improve the characterization of multilayered thin-film structures.
Evaluating Horizontal Alignment Design Consistency of Two-Lane Rural Highways: Development of New Procedure

Design consistency refers to the condition wherein the roadway geometry does not violate driver expectations. Operating-speed profile models are used to evaluate the consistency of a design by identifying locations with large speed variability between successive design elements. There is a direct correlation between safety and variability in speeds. Recent operating-speed models predict the 85th percentile speeds on horizontal curves and compare this value with the expected 85th percentile speed on the approach tangent. There is a direct correlation between speed variability between successive design elements and crash rates. Eighty-fifth percentile speeds, however, do not necessarily represent the speed reductions experienced by drivers. The primary objective of the research was to assess the efficacy of the use of 85th percentile speed by operating-speed profile models to evaluate the consistency of a design. Speed data were collected at 21 horizontal curve sites. These data were used to evaluate the im...
Periodic Motions and Bifurcation Trees in a Buckled, Nonlinear Jeffcott Rotor System

In this paper, analytical solutions for period-m motions in a buckled, nonlinear Jeffcott rotor system are obtained. This nonlinear Jeffcott rotor system with two-degrees of freedom is excited periodically from the rotor eccentricity. The analytical solutions of period-m solutions are developed, and the corresponding stability and bifurcation are also analyzed by eigenvalue analysis. Analytical bifurcation trees of period-1 motions to chaos are presented. The Hopf bifurcations of periodic motions cause not only the bifurcation tree but quasi-periodic motions. The quasi-periodic motion can be stable or unstable. Displacement orbits of periodic motions in the buckled, nonlinear Jeffcott rotor systems are illustrated, and harmonic amplitude spectrums are presented for harmonic effects on periodic motions of the nonlinear rotor. Coexisting periodic motions exist in such a buckled nonlinear Jeffcott rotor.
Category perception, language and brain hemispheres: an information transmission approach.

Applying information theory to living systems suggests a hypothesis: The larger the number of times a signal is retransmitted in a noisy channel, the smaller is the optimal number of categories into which a sample of the signal can be broken down. This cross- level hypothesis is tested at the organism and organ levels of living systems. At the organism level, the hypothesis suggests that the “magical number” of categories into which a person breaks down information input is a function of signal-to-noise ratio. This number drops when one anticipates having to retransmit information which one has received. At the organ level, the hypothesis suggests a reason for the hemispheric specialization in the human brain. In particular, since information to be retransmitted seems first to undergo verbalization and since the optimal number of categories decreases when information is to be retransmitted, the left hemisphere of the brain, the verbalization hemisphere, has a smaller optimum number of categories than the right hemisphere. A review of empirical evidence indicates that it generally supports the hypothesis. Suggestions for further studies include possible research to other levels of living systems.
A Content Analysis of Doctoral Research in String Education, 1936–1992

The purpose of this study was to analyze the contents of doctoral research written between 1936 and 1992 that related to string education. A search of the Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) index of dissertations revealed 252 dissertations concerning string education. These dissertation titles and abstracts were analyzed for year of completion, type of degree, instrument, and nine topic areas. Results indicated that the greatest numbers of string education dissertations were written in the 1970s; the Ph.D. was awarded more often than other degrees; violin was researched more than viola, cello, and double bass combined; and the topic areas addressed most often were techniques and skills, performance practice, and information resources. It was suggested that increased doctoral research be done in the areas of string teacher education, string program evaluation, viola, and double bass.
Historical Notes on the Wilcoxon Unpaired Two-Sample Test

(1957). Historical Notes on the Wilcoxon Unpaired Two-Sample Test. Journal of the American Statistical Association: Vol. 52, No. 279, pp. 356-360.
Dorsal-ventral patterning defects in the eye of BF-1-deficient mice associated with a restricted loss of shh expression.

Brain factor 1 (BF-1) is a winged-helix transcription factor with restricted expression in the anterior optic vesicle and in the telencephalic neuroepithelium of the neural tube. We have previously found that targeted disruption of the BF-1 gene results in hypoplasia of the cerebral hemispheres, which is more severe in structures derived from the ventral telencephalon. Here we show that the loss of BF-1 leads to multiple developmental anomalies of the eyes. The most ventral structure arising from the optic vesicle, the optic stalk, is missing and is replaced by an expanded retina. Ventral closure of the optic cup and choroid fissure does not occur. These dorsal-ventral patterning defects are not limited to the BF-1-expressing (anterior) cells, but also involve the cells of the posterior optic vesicle. Sonic hedgehog (shh) expression within the ventral telencephalic neuroepithelium is specifically lost in the BF-1(-/-) mutant. Taken together, these findings suggest that shh produced at this site plays a role in patterning the developing eye. This localized deficit in shh expression may also contribute to the prominence of the ventral defects in the telencephalon of the BF-1(-/-) mutant.
Delay in diagnosis leading to nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis at a New York City health care facility.

Background Demographic changes have increased the number of elderly individuals for whom age-related immunosenescence may increase latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) activation risk. As TB rates decline, maintaining clinical suspicion for TB is challenging. Timely identification, isolation, and treatment of infectious patients are especially important in settings with vulnerable individuals. Methods An outbreak investigation was conducted at a long-term care facility/hospital complex after a prolonged TB exposure associated with delayed diagnosis in a tuberculin skin test (TST)-negative cancer patient resulted in a secondary TB case along with other evidence of transmission. Results Investigators identified 64 patient and 239 staff contacts. Among those tested with TST, 7 (23%) patients and 5 (8%) staff at the long-term care facility had conversions. Because of evidence of transmission, concerns about TST anergy, and the high number of patients with illnesses such as cancer and diabetes that increase TB risk, LTBI treatment was recommended for all exposed long-term care facility patients regardless of TST results once active TB was ruled out. After the investigation concluded, a former patient who tested TST-negative and did not receive LTBI treatment developed active TB. Conclusion When evaluating symptomatic patients, especially elderly individuals, clinicians should “think TB” regardless of a negative test for TB infection. After known exposure and when transmission evidence exists, clinicians should consider providing LTBI treatment to elderly contacts with comorbidities regardless of LTBI test results.
Voluntary consumption of morphine in 15 inbred mouse strains

To determine genetic differences in voluntary morphine consumption, 15 commonly used inbred strains of mice were given ad libitum two-bottle choice between saccharin alone or saccharin/morphine in one bottle and water in the other bottle. Subsequently, the saccharin was gradually reduced to zero, leaving only morphine. Independent groups of mice of the same strains were exposed to quinine in a parallel manner to control for the bitter alkaloid taste of morphine. Of the 15 strains, the C57BL/6J strain showed the highest consumption of morphine, both with or without saccharin and greatest consumption of morphine relative to quinine; it also showed only a slight decline in fluid consumption when morphine was added to the saccharin bottle. In marked contrast, the SWR/J strain showed the least consumption of morphine by the same criteria, followed closely by the AKR/J, CE/J, DBA/2J and SJL/J strains. The strain differences for all the morphine drinking measures exceeded an order of magnitude. Strain-specific voluntary morphine/saccharin consumption was not significantly correlated with saccharin consumption alone, but was highly correlated with morphine consumption alone. The results show that these behaviors are under an unusually large degree of genetic determination, and some of the largest strain differences remained essentially the same regardless of whether saccharin was present, or whether quinine was used as a control tastant.
Protective effect of selenium on methylmercury toxicity: A possible mechanism

Young adult male Charles River rats were injected (i.p.) with 2.0 mg/kg b.w. methylmercury chloride (MeHg), with 2.0 mg/kg b.w. sodium selenite (Se), or with 2.0 mg/kg b.w. MeHg and 2.0 mg/kg b.w. Se. Erythrocytic glutathione peroxidase activity was determined and the rate of oxidation of NADPH with t-butyl-hydroperoxide as a substrate was followed at 340 nm and 25/sup 0/C. Toxic signs (crossing reflex of the hind limbs) were displayed by MeHg-treated animals by the 6th week of intoxication. By 8 weeks of the experiment, overt neurological signs (crossing reflex, ataxic gait, and weight loss) were observed in MeHg-treated animals. No observable toxic signs or symptoms were evident in the control animals (saline or Se-treated) and in the MeHg/Se treated rats. Results have confirmed that exposure to methyl-mercury suppresses the activity of glutathione peroxidase. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that with co-administration of selenium (sodium selenite), the inhibitory effect of MeHg on GSH-Px was totally alleviated. These findings suggest that the level of GSH-Px level is important in influencing the toxic consequences in MeHg-intoxicated animals and may be useful as a predictive indicator for methylmercury toxic conditions of the animals. (JMT)
Calorimetric studies on the interaction of sugars and polyols with the non-ionic surfactant TRITON-X-100 in aqueous solutions

Abstract The enthalpies of solution in the micellar state (Δ H s ) for the non-ionic surfactant Triton-X-100 in water and aqueous solution of 1-M glucose, sucrose, mannitol and sorbitol were measured at 298.15 K and 308.15 K by a Tronac titration calorimeter. The enthalpy data were used to evaluate the heat capacities for the surfactant in the micellar state (Δ C p,s ) at 303.15 K in the systems studied. The heat capacities of transfer for the surfactant in the micellar state (Δ C p,tr ) from water to aqueous solutions of sugars and polyols were found to be negative. The value of (Δ C p,tr ) for Triton-X-100 in the micellar state was more negative in glucose solution than in sucrose solution because of the relatively greater water-structure-making ability of glucose, whose hydroxyl groups have a better stereochemical compatibility with the structure of water than those of sucrose. Likewise, (Δ C p,tr ) for the surfactant micelles is more negative in mannitol than sorbitol solution because of the better fitting of mannitol than sorbitol with the tridymite structure of water.
Modulation of human colonic T84 cell secretion by hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a reactive oxygen species that can be produced in the digestive tract by inflammatory cells or during reperfusion following ischemia. To evaluate a possible direct effect of H2O2 on epithelial secretory cells, well-differentiated colonic T84 cells were grown to confluence on permeable membranes and studied in Ussing chambers. In this model, where the measured short-circuit current (Isc) reflects electrogenic secretion, we observed that H2O2 stimulated a concentration-dependent and transient secretory response: 5.5 mM H2O2 produced a peak Isc of 12.4 microA/cm2 after 4 min, 2.2 mM H2O2 a peak Isc of 7.9 microA/cm2 after 4 min, and 1.1 mM H2O2 a peak Isc of 5.5 microA/cm2 after 16 min (N = 5). When 97 experiments using 5.5 mM H2O2 were reviewed, the mean peak Isc response was 8.9 +/- 0.5 microA/cm2. A similar secretory response was elicited whether H2O2 was added to the serosal, to the mucosal, or simultaneously to both sides of the T84 cell monolayer. This secretory response reflected transcellular chloride secretion because it was inhibited by the depletion of chloride in the medium and by the suppression of the Na+,K+,2Cl- co-transporter activity necessary for the chloride gradient driving chloride secretion. When T84 cell monolayer resistance was studied, 5.5 mM H2O2 produced a transient decrease in resistance, reflecting transcellular chloride secretion, and a gradual decline in resistance (75% of the initial value after 55 min). The secretory response to H2O2 was increased 2-fold in T84 cells maximally stimulated with 10 nM vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a neuropeptide which acts via cAMP, demonstrating synergism between the two agents. In contrast, the secretory responses produced by H2O2 and carbachol, which acts through the Ca2+ pathway, were additive. A late inhibitory effect of H2O2 was also observed: in cells previously treated with 5.5 mM H2O2, the subsequent secretory responses to either VIP or carbachol were partially inhibited. These secretory effects were specific for the oxidant properties of H2O2 because they were inhibited by 450 U/mL catalase and by 5 mM dithiothreitol, but were unaffected by 50 microM deferoxamine B or Fe3+. H2O2 may be a potential modulator of intestinal or colonic secretion in certain pathologic conditions such as inflammation or ischemia-reperfusion.
Voice and Airway Restoration: Endoscopic Placement of Molds and Stents

Summary Severe damage to the vocal folds and upper airways after translaryngeal endotracheal intubation occurs with greater frequency and to a greater extent than is usually surmised. Videolaryngoscopic techniques have led to prompt recognition of endolaryngeal/endotracheal lesions in the critical care setting. Traditionally, surgeons have treated obstructive sequelae such as glottic, subglottic, and tracheal stenosis by major transcervical and/or transthoracic resective and reconstructive surgery. Endolaryngeal core molds and endotracheal stents have conventionally been inserted by open surgical techniques. As a prototypic case illustrates, evolutional methods of endoscopic placement of prosthetic molds and stents combined with endoscopic optical/suction instrumentation and laser photoresection allow the physician to restore upper airway patency and phonatory vocal fold function without resorting to major surgery. Delta scan topograms provide radiographic imaging of the major airways.
Reinvestigation of the 1989 Mammoth Mountain, California seismic swarm and dike intrusion

Abstract During the period of unrest and inflation beneath Long Valley, east central California, between 1988 and 1992, a swarm of seismic activity occurred beneath Mammoth Mountain, on the caldera rim in 1989 followed by the onset of diffuse CO 2 degassing. These events, combined with elevation changes along a leveling line north of Mammoth Mountain suggested a dike intrusion. An early inversion of deformation data resulted in a dike model with an unrealistically small amount of opening (13 cm) for the proposed dimensions. The current reinvestigation of the 1989 seismic event at Mammoth Mountain, CA incorporates relocated earthquakes ( Prejean et al., 2003 ) and ellipsoidal inflation sources beneath the caldera to the east ( Langbein, 2003 ) to better constrain the location and dimensions of a proposed dike intrusion beneath Mammoth Mountain. Assuming that the dike coincides with a “keel” of seismicity at 7–9 km depth, most of the dislocation parameters can be constrained. Fixing all dike parameters except opening to coincide with the keel, inversion of the local leveling data yields a dike with 3.3 m of opening. Allowing the dike height to vary as well improves the fit to the data significantly and results in a dike 1 m wide and nearly 7 m high. These results indicate that the intruded dike had significantly more opening than previously modeled. Magma volumes for reasonable models center around 0.015 km 3 , suggesting a small, likely basaltic, intrusion.
The multiple-processor PPS chip of the NON-VON 3 supercomputer

Abstract In this paper, we describe an experimental prototype VLSI chip that was designed to serve as the basis for a massively parallel supercomputer called NON-VON 3. The chip, which is implemented in 3-micron nMOS technology, contains eight 8-bit processing elements (PE's), each embodying 64 bytes of static RAM. Significant features of the design include: an unusually high processor density; a novel I/O switch that allows the machine to dynamically reconfigure to realize several logical communication topologies; logic supporting the pipelining of instructions, both within and among the individual PE's; a shared partial instruction decoder that reduces pinout and area, and a parallel self-testing, dynamically reconfigurable, fault-tolerant RAM that significantly increases both yield and reliability. The design and operation of the chip are discussed, along with its speed, area, and power dissipation characteristics.
Antinociceptive tolerance to the mu-opioid agonist DAMGO is dose-dependently reduced by MK-801 in rats

Morphine has been used in previous studies that investigate interactions between the spinal cord mu-opioid and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in mechanisms of antinociceptive tolerance. Although morphine acts primarily on the mu-receptor, it also activates other subtypes of opioid receptors. In the present study, the selective mu-opioid agonist, D-Ala2-N-Me-Phe4,Gly-ol5-enkephalin (DAMGO), was used to further test the hypothesis. Repeated intrathecal (i.t.) administration of 6 microg DAMGO (twice daily) in rats for 7 days resulted in an approximately 17-fold rightward shift of the cumulative dose-response curve (the tail-flick test) on Day 8 compared to that on Day 1. This rightward shift of the dose-response curve was prevented by the i.t. co-administration with DAMGO of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (10 = 5 > 2.5 >> 1.25 nmol > saline). Further, a lower dose range of MK-801 (2.5 > 1.25 nmol > 0.625 > 0.313 = saline) was effective to prevent the antinociceptive tolerance to a lower dose (1.5 microg) of DAMGO using the same i.t. administration regimen. Thus, the present results provide further evidence supporting a cellular and intracellular model of opioid tolerance involving interactions between the mu-opioid and the NMDA receptors in the spinal cord.
Symbolic minimization of multilevel logic and the input encoding problem

Techniques for the optimization of multilevel logic with multiple-valued input variable is presented. The motivation for this is to tackle the input encoding problem in logic synthesis, where binary codes must be found for the different values that a symbolic input variable can take. It is shown how the other multilevel optimization techniques are easily extended with multiple-valued variables. These ideas have been implemented as algorithms in the program MIS-MV. The practical issues involved in the implementation of these ideas are discussed, and results of using MIS-MV for input encoding on benchmark examples presented. >
Effects of practice on a typing-like keying task

Abstract Twenty hours of practice on a sequential keying task were administered to determine the mechanisms responsible for practice-related improvement. Sensitivity to varying stimulus probabilities was evident from the earliest stages of practice and did not shift with continued experience. The efficiency of making keystrokes involving overlap of successive finger movements improved more than that for keystrokes with no possibility of overlap, and an index of eye-hand span revealed that with practice subjects expanded their degree of anticipatory preparation. It was suggested that one of the most important things acquired with skill is the ability to execute several processes simultaneously.
The oral flora as a source of septicemia in patients with acute leukemia

This study was performed to determine the role of the oral cavity in causing septicemia in patients with acute leukemia. Thirty-three patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia were investigated prospectively via clinical, hematologic, and microbiologic techniques. The mouth was the most likely source of septicemia in seven of twelve cases. Necessary dental treatment prior to chemotherapy was accompanied by a significant reduction in the rate of septicemia. The authors conclude that oral sources of bacteremia should be eliminated prior to chemotherapy in patients with acute leukemia.
IRI Estimation Using Probabilistic Analysis of Acoustic Measurements

The United States is facing a challenge on repairing aging civil infrastructures because of limited resources allocation. The international roughness index (IRI) is a key quantity of road inspection data to aid officials in prioritizing road maintenance decisions, which allows them to be efficient with their resources. IRI measures both the road roughness and riders’ comfort level. This paper introduces a probabilistic method that analyzes probability density function (PDF) of acoustic data collected from a vehicle-mounted microphone to estimate IRI. An analysis of noise source is conducted to support the accuracy of the approach. Compared to existing approaches, the present method is more economical, easier to install, and requires less space. Curves of probability density function (PDF), which show the probability of each sound pressure occurring over a stretch of road, are used to estimate IRI based on the principle that a probability distribution concentrates at low sound pressures over smooth roads and at high sound pressures over rough roads. This method is validated using data collected by a test vehicle that was driven around an engineered test track. Primary conclusions are: (1) the Weibull distribution performs better than normal and lognormal distributions; (2) the optimal Weibull distribution parameter is identified; and (3) the method performs well when applied to different pavement designs, namely, Superpave, Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA), and Open Grade Friction Coarse (OGFC).
Intraruminal addition of mass or removal of rumen contents on voluntary intake of the bovine.

Abstract Where inert polyethylene cubes comprised 4.0, 7.5, 13.5, and 22.6% of the total ration consumed, feed intake (not including polyethylene cubes) was reduced by 3.1, 4.4, 6.0, and 25.6%, whereas total intake (including polyethylene cubes) changed by 0.8, 3.5, 9.0, and −3.9%, respectively. The data show that 4.0 and 7.5% cubes in the diet had little effect on intake, which is taken as evidence that added mass or bulk in the diet was of minor importance in determining the voluntary feed intake of 500-kg cattle consuming daily quantities of dry matter in the amount of 12.9kg or less. At the very high levels the animals discriminated against the cubes. Three trials were conducted to study the effect of additional inert mass placed in the rumen on voluntary intake. Mass (containerized polyethylene cubes or water) was added to the rumen at levels of 1.6, 4.9, and 8.2% of metabolic size. Voluntary intake of chopped alfalfa hay adjusted to that of a 500-kg animal was reduced by 0.5, 0.4, and 0.1kg daily, respectively. These differences were not significant. In three additional trials, ingesta was removed from the rumen at levels of 1.6 and 4.9% of metabolic size prior to feeding and 8.2% metabolic size after feeding. A significant increase in adjusted dry matter intake of 0.4kg per day occurred when 8.2% of metabolic size was removed three hours after feeding. These results are interpreted to mean that bulk added to the rumen in physiological amounts was not an important factor determining the dry matter consumed.