cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Penile Sensory Changes After Plaque Incision and Grafting Surgery for Peyronie’s Disease

Abstract Introduction Plaque incision and grafting (PIG) for Peyronie’s disease (PD) is not devoid of complications such as erectile dysfunction and penile sensory changes. Aim To define the rate and chronology of penile sensation loss after PIG surgery and to define predictors of such. Methods The study population consisted of patients with PD-associated penile curvature who underwent PIG surgery with at least 6 months of follow-up. Demographics and PD factors were recorded. Patient had preoperative assessment of penile sensation and deformity. Postoperative follow-up occurred at 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery. Neurovascular bundle elevation was conducted with loupe magnification. Main Outcome Measure Penile sensation was evaluated with a biothesiometer and graded on a patient-reported visual analog scale (0–10) in which 0 defined a completely numb area and 10 defined perfect sensation. The degree of sensation loss was defined as extensive (any 1 area >5 cm), major (2–5 cm), and minor (≤2 cm). The penile sensation loss distribution was defined as focal (1 site) or diffuse (>1 site). Results 63 patients were analyzed. Mean age was 56 ± 10 years. Mean duration of PD at the time of PIG was 15 ± 7 (12–38) months. 75% had curvature alone, and 25% had hourglass/indentation deformities. Mean primary curvature was 64˚ ± 28˚. The mean operation duration was 3.5 ± 1.8 hours. 21% had some degree of sensation loss at 1 week, 21% at 1 month, 8% at 6 months, and 3% at 12 months. Only 1 patient (1.5%) at 2 years continued to have extensive sensation loss on the glans and distal shaft with a very elevated sensitivity threshold. Using multivariable analysis, the only predictor of penile sensation loss ≥6 months was a duration of operation >4 hours (odds ratio = 2.1; 95% confidence interval = 1.2–3.0; P Clinical Implications The study highlights the need during patient consent to discuss penile sensation loss. Patients should be informed that rates of penile sensation loss ranges from 2-30% and most patients will have complete resolution of any sensation loss within one year of follow-up. Strength and Limitations To our knowledge no other studies have described the chronology and severity of penile sensation following PIG, our study demonstrates the utility of biothesiometry in measuring penile sensation before and after PIG. Number of patients and absence of control group represent a limitation. Conclusion Sensation loss is not uncommon after PIG surgery. It decreases in frequency and severity with time with only rare cases occurring >12 months. Longer operations appeared to be more likely associated with sensation loss. Terrier JE, Tal R, Nelson CJ. Penile sensory changes after plaque incision and grafting surgery for Peyronie’s disease. J Sex Med 2018;15:1491–1497.
Fluctuations near the liquid-liquid transition in a model of silica

We perform large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of systems with up to 216 000 atoms to study the low-temperature behavior of the mWAC model of silica. Recent studies show that mWAC exhibits a liquid–liquid phase transition (LLPT), similar to the one hypothesized to occur in deeply supercooled water. Characterization of mWAC's small-angle scattering behavior reveals an anomalous increase in fluctuations in density and local tetrahedral order in the liquid upon cooling. Moreover, the static correlation length computed from the anomalous scattering component exhibits power-law growth as temperature decreases and appears to diverge near 3300 K. These observations are consistent with previous studies indicating the existence of a liquid–liquid critical point near this temperature. Finally, we use MD to thermally quench systems ranging from 4500 to 432 000 atoms in size into the predicted region of liquid–liquid coexistence. Spontaneous liquid–liquid separation is observed in each system following the quench, demonstrating that this behavior is not strongly influenced by finite-size effects. These findings parallel those recently reported for the ST2 model of water near its LLPT, suggesting common signatures that may be useful for identifying similar transitions in other systems.
Dysphagia in Patients with Craniofacial Anomalies

Patients with various craniofacial anomalies and related genetic disorders may have a wide range of abnormalities causing feeding/swallowing problems and/or dysphagia. Most have functional and anatomical factors contributing to their feeding and swallowing dysfunction, and many have associated anomalies, such as congenital heart disease, that may worsen their overall feeding abilities. These patients benefit from early feeding assessment in the neonatal period and close monitoring of weight gain and growth. A multidisciplinary approach with experienced practitioners in the specialty care of these patients is key to their management.
The Relationship of Individual Time Perspective and Recreation Experience Preferences

Time perspective, as measured with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), has been conceptualized as an individual differences variable which functions similar to personality. Psychologica...
Legality in Contemporary Chinese Politics

The picture of Chinese law that many Western scholars and commentators portray is an increasingly bleak one: since the mid-2000s, China has been retreating from legal reform back into unchecked authoritarianism. This article argues that, much to the contrary, Chinese politics have in fact become substantially more law-oriented over the past five years. The Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping has indeed centralized power and control to an almost unprecedented extent, but it has done this in a highly legalistic way, empowering courts against other state and Party entities, insisting on legal professionalism, and bringing political powers that were formerly the exclusive possession of the Party under legal authorization and regulation. In fact, nowhere is this “legalism” more powerfully expressed than in the 2018 amendments to the Chinese Constitution, which show that, even if China is indeed deepening its dictatorship, it is nonetheless doing so through harnessing the organizational and legitimizing capacities of law, rather than circumventing it. We argue that both top-down political considerations and bottom-up social demand are driving this recent turn towards legality: first, as a purely instrumental matter, governing China in a centralized, top-down manner requires a strong commitment to bureaucratic legalization. The sheer size of the country and its population creates severe principal-agent and resource allocation problems that force central authorities to either recognize some version of de-facto federalism, or to combat local corruption and abuse through rigorous law enforcement. With the recent political turn away from decentralized administration, the Party leadership must pursue the latter strategy of investing in legality. Second, and perhaps more interestingly, the Chinese population increasingly seems to attach significant amounts of sociopolitical legitimacy to law and legality. As a result, empowering legal institutions and positioning the Party leadership as a champion of legality against traditional bureaucratic corruption has been a major source of both personal status and popular political legitimacy.
294 Review of practice patterns in post-treatment surveillance of primary epithelial ovarian cancer

Objectives The purpose of this study is to determine practice patterns for surveillance of primary ovarian cancer after complete response to therapy and to identify the percentage of clinicians who follow the surveillance guidelines endorsed by the Society for Gynecologic Oncology (SGO). Methods This is a single-institution retrospective chart review of all patients with epithelial ovarian cancer with a complete response to primary therapy between January 2012 and January 2015. Descriptive statistics were performed due to the exploratory nature of the study. Results CA-125 was followed in 48/50 (96%) of patients. Clinical follow up was scheduled according to SGO guidelines (defined as ± 1 month) in 82% of patients. Of those that were non-compliant, 3/9 were patient initiated and 6/9 were for unknown reasons. Scheduled imaging was ordered in 2% of patients, while imaging due to CA-125, symptoms, or both was performed in 32%, 28%, and 10% respectively. No imaging was performed in 22% of patients and 6% of patients had unknown reasons for imaging performed. Mean time to recurrence was 11.8 months, with 23/28 (82.1%) first detected by CA-125, 3.6% first detected by exam findings and 14.3% first detected by imaging. Stage and histology were not associated with noncompliance of frequency of surveillance. Conclusions The vast majority of clinicians in our cohort are compliant with SGO guidelines regarding the use of routine imaging for surveillance of ovarian cancer, however, a significant percentage of patients are followed with clinical visits at a different frequency of that recommended by current guidelines.
Development and Implementation of an Information-Based Short-Term Study Abroad Course

Study abroad is considered a high-impact practice (HIP) in higher education. However, few discipline-specific study abroad courses are offered in computer science (CS) or physics. We implemented a CS/physics-based short-term study abroad course to England that focused on the history and science of information. This work provides insight for anyone considering the development and implementation of such a course at their own institution.
A Hebrew Republic in the Gilded Age? Henry George’s Single Tax and the Hebrew Bible

Henry George sparked a vast popular movement following the publication of his classic work Progress and Poverty. Seeking to explain why poverty always seemed to increase along with progress, George proposed that, as societies advanced, land owners were able to capture an increasing share of wealth. To remedy this, George proposed a “Single Tax” on the unimproved value of land, which would prevent land speculation and hoarding and make land available for all who desired to work it. While George was ostensibly an economist, he is best understood as an ethical-religious figure, and his most devoted followers were a diverse array of religious leaders and reformers. However, the actual religious substance of George’s ideas has been largely unexplored. I propose that George’s program was inspired by Jewish ideas and institutions originating from the Hebrew Bible. In Hebraic thought, by virtue of creating the earth, God is the only rightful owner of land. This principle was embodied in the Hebrew Bible’s land laws that ordained an equal distribution of land along with institutions to maintain this distribution over time. Centuries before George, I discuss how medieval Jewish rabbis had already derived a taxing power from the Hebraic land laws. These biblical land laws would also come to have a strong influence on European political thought through an intellectual tradition known as the “Hebrew Republic.” I attempt to understand Henry George’s thought as an unwitting revival of this tradition, with his Single Tax as an innovative adaption of the Hebraic institutions. The Hebraic understanding of land ownership continues to offer potential inspiration for alternative systems of taxation and economic regulation.
Relaxation times for Bose-Einstein condensation in axion miniclusters

We study the Bose condensation of scalar dark matter in the presence of both gravitational and self-interactions. Axions and other scalar dark matter in gravitationally bound miniclusters or dark matter halos are expected to condense into Bose-Einstein condensates called Bose stars. This process has been shown to occur through attractive self-interactions of the axionlike particles or through the field's self gravitation. We show that in the high-occupancy regime of scalar dark matter, the Boltzmann collision integral does not describe either gravitational or self-interactions, and derive kinetic equations valid for these interactions. We use this formalism to compute relaxation times for the Bose-Einstein condensation, and find that condensation into Bose stars could occur within the lifetime of the Universe. The self-interactions reduce the condensation time only when they are very strong.
Benchmarking Small-Dataset Structure-Activity-Relationship Models for Prediction of Wnt Signaling Inhibition

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models based on machine learning algorithms are powerful tools to expedite drug discovery processes and therapeutics development. Given the cost in acquiring large-sized training datasets, it is useful to examine if QSAR analysis can reasonably predict drug activity with only a small-sized dataset (size < 100) and benchmark these small-dataset QSAR models in application-specific studies. To this end, here we present a systematic benchmarking study on small-dataset QSAR models built for prediction of effective Wnt signaling inhibitors, which are essential to therapeutics development in prevalent human diseases (e.g., cancer). Specifically, we examined a total of 72 two-dimensional (2D) QSAR models based on 4 best-performing algorithms, 6 commonly used molecular fingerprints, and 3 typical fingerprint lengths. We trained these models using a training dataset (56 compounds), benchmarked their performance on 4 figures-of-merit (FOMs), and examined their prediction accuracy using an external validation dataset (14 compounds). Our data show that the model performance is maximized when: 1) molecular fingerprints are selected to provide sufficient, unique, and not overly detailed representations of the chemical structures of drug compounds; 2) algorithms are selected to reduce the number of false predictions due to class imbalance in the dataset; and 3) models are selected to reach balanced performance on all 4 FOMs. These results may provide general guidelines in developing high-performance small-dataset QSAR models for drug activity prediction.
Exploring the Effect of Virtual Robot Acceleration on Perceived Competitiveness/ Cooperativeness, Animacy, and Intelligence:

Prior research has indicated that perception of acceleration may be a direct process. This direct process may be conceptually linked to the ecological approach to visual perception and a further ex...
SARS-Cov-2 Spike binding to ACE2 is stronger and longer ranged with glycans

Abstract Highly detailed steered Molecular Dynamics simulations are performed on differently glycosylated receptor binding domains of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The binding strength and the binding range increases with glycosylation. The interaction energy rises very quickly with pulling the proteins apart and only slowly drops at larger distances. We see a catch slip type behavior where interactions during pulling break and are taken over by new interactions forming. The dominant interaction mode are hydrogen bonds but Lennard-Jones and electrostatic interactions are relevant as well. Statement of Significance Glycosylation of the receptor binding domain of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the ACE2 receptor leads to stronger and longer ranged binding interactions between the proteins. Particularly, at shorter distances the interactions are between residues of the proteins themselves whereas at larger distances these interactions are mediated by the glycans.
Comparative performance of the two pooled cohort equations for predicting atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Abstract Background and aims Multivariable algorithms have been developed to predict the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) to identify high-risk patients. Shortly after the introduction of the AHA/ACC Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE), a systematic overestimation of risk was identified. As such, a revised PCE was proposed to more accurately assess ASCVD risk. This study aims to compare the accuracy of both PCE in predicting ASCVD risk within a large, real-world patient sample in the US. Methods This retrospective cohort study identified 20,843 patients aged between 40 and 75 years with no previous ASCVD in an academic healthcare system. Model fit, calibration, and discrimination were compared between PCE using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Hosmer-Lemeshow test, area under the ROC curves (AUC), Brier score, and precision-recall analysis. In addition, we examined race and sex subgroups for effect modification. Results Both PCE showed poor calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 > 20; p 10) compared to the revised PCE, although calibration curves had overlapped. Conclusions In this single center analysis, both PCE had poor calibration and discrimination of ASCVD risk in a large, real-world patient sample followed up for over 2 years. There was no evidence of improvement in the accuracy of the revised PCE in assessing the risk of ASCVD in relation to the AHA/ACC PCE.
Dialyzers, Dialysates, and Water Treatment

Hemodialysis is a complex process performed with apparent simplicity. The major extracorporeal components of this therapy are dialyzers, dialysate, and water treatment systems. In this chapter, we will present a brief synopsis of dialyzers and their operative features and will discuss dialysate composition and water treatment systems.
Genetic Engineering of Genes Controlling Seed Quality

The successful genetic engineering of any plant trait has two obvious prerequisites. First, the biochemical bases of the trait must be identified followed by identification of the gene products involved, viz proteins having catalytic, transport, regulatory or structural functions and possibly unique RNA species. Secondly, the important genes to be modified or transferred must be isolated.
THE RHESUS MONKEY

Transbronchoscopic inoculation of five serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae was used to produce pneumonia in five rhesus monkeys. The development and resolution of the pneumonia were followed radiographically and clinically. The initial inoculation determined the lung lobes that would become involved. The acute state was accompanied by a febrile response, leukocytosis, and bacteremia. Resolution of the pneumonia occurred in six weeks. The radiographic features of spontaneous streptococcal pneumonia in rhesus monkeys were similar but not identical to those found in man. However, extension to other lobes, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and extensive pleural effusion, as often noted in the human, were not identified. The rhesus monkey is thought to be a good animal model for the radiographic evaluation of streptococcal pneumonia.
Nonmagnetic impurities in the spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet

Motivated by recent experiments on ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, we study the inhomogeneous Knight shifts (local susceptibilities) of a spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet in the presence of nonmagnetic impurities. Using high temperature series expansion, we calculate the local susceptibility and its histogram down to about T=0.4J. At low temperatures, we explore a Dirac spin liquid proposal and calculate the local susceptibility in the mean field and beyond mean field using Gutzwiller projection, finding the overall picture to be consistent with the NMR experiments.
Modern-Day Slavery? The Scope of Trafficking in Persons in Africa

Hundreds of thousands of African men, women and children are being forced into situations of labour and sexual exploitation both on the continent and abroad every year. Internationally, trafficking in persons has been identified as a serious threat to human security and development by governments, pressure groups and the UN. But for many African governments, the problem has only recently been acknowledged. This article, the first in a two part series on the issue, outlines the types and extent of trafficking in Africa, with a focus on West and Central Africa. Contributing factors, in particular the high profit margins and low risk of arrest and conviction, are reviewed as well as the impact on human rights, public health, community and family development and the growth of organised crime. The second article in the series will consider successful strategies and international programmes, with a focus on the lessons learned for Africa from West Africa.
China-Africa dispute settlement : the law, economics and culture of arbitration

The nature and magnitude of the growth in China-Africa economic relations in recent years is unprecedented and extraordinary. According to recent estimates, the value of China’s trade with African nations grew from a mere 10 million USD in the 1980s to 55 billion USD in 2006, and to more than 100 billion USD by the end of 2009, at which time nearly 1,600 Chinese companies were doing business in Africa with a direct stock investment of about 7.8 billion USD. The accelerating impetus of China-Africa trade has overtaken some crucially important features of an effective trade regime, most notably a fully trustworthy dispute resolution system. It is the current and potential future efficacy of such a system that is taken up in this book with great understanding and skill. The author evaluates existing mechanisms of dispute resolution in all aspects of China-Africa economic relations in light of the parties’ economic and cultural profiles and their evolving legal traditions, and goes on to propose a comprehensive institutional model of dispute resolution that takes full account of the economic needs and legal cultures of both China and the various African countries. Among the topics and issues that arise in the course of the presentation are the following: suitability of the WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism for China-Africa trade relations; domestic, bilateral, regional, and multilateral law sources affecting China-Africa commerce; the role of intra-Africa bilateral investment treaties; competing interests that underpin international investment law; relevant legal, economic, and political challenges and cultural barriers; permissible scope of regional trade regimes; national treatment versus duty to compensate; and harmonization initiatives – model laws, incoterms, restatements. The author includes in-depth analysis of the how China-Africa economic relations fare in the varieties of dispute resolution methods available at the major arbitral European and American institutions – ICSID, AAA, ICC, LCIA, PCA – as well as under the rules of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the important arbitral fora in Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, and Lagos. Endorsing institutional arbitration as the most appropriate form of resolving trade, investment, and commercial disputes arising between China and African countries, this ground-breaking analysis outlines the obstacles and shortcomings of the available means of dispute settlement, both in international and domestic contexts, and offers deeply-informed recommendations for improvement of the existing system. Although the book will be welcomed by interested scholars and practitioners for its detailed discussion of how China-Africa trade relations are situated within the global trade regime, its most enduring value lies in its proposals for structuring a legal framework within which future disputes will be effectively resolved.
The Gerontology Program Practicum

Abstract Most gerontology certificate and degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels require a practicum. Like the proverbial dilemma about whether a glass is half-full or half-empty, one can perceive considerable similarity or dissimilarity among practicum requirements across gerontology programs. This pilot study examines data from 72% (n = 158) of gerontology programs in institutions of higher learning across the United States as of 2001. The study focuses on the following program components: waivers, semesters, credit hours, classroom hours, fieldwork hours, written assignments, readings, and community involvement.
Hemodynamic and Hematologic Effects of Histotripsy of Free-Flowing Blood: Implications for Ultrasound-Mediated Thrombolysis

Abstract Purpose To investigate the extent and consequences of histotripsy-induced hemolysis in vivo. Materials and Methods Porcine femoral venous blood was treated with histotripsy in 11 animals with systemic heparinization and 11 without heparin. Serum and hemodynamic measurements were obtained at 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes and 48–72 hours after the procedure. Fisher exact test was used to determine differences in mortality between heparinized and nonheparinized groups. A linear mixed effects model was used to test for differences in blood analytes and hemodynamic variables over time. Results Of 11 animals in the nonheparinized group, 5 died during or immediately after histotripsy (45% nonheparin mortality vs 0% heparin mortality, P = .035). Serum hematocrit, free hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and right ventricular systolic pressure changed significantly ( P P = .005), whereas LDH and free hemoglobin remained slightly increased compared with baseline (both P Conclusions Intravascular histotripsy applied to free-flowing venous blood is safe with systemic heparinization, causing only transient hemodynamic and metabolic disturbances, supporting its use as a future noninvasive thrombolytic therapy modality.
Microarray analysis in clinical oncology: pre-clinical optimization using needle core biopsies from xenograft tumors.

DNA microarray profiling performed on clinical tissue specimens can potentially provide significant information regarding human cancer biology. Biopsy cores, the typical source of human tumor tissue, however, generally provide very small amounts of RNA (0.3–15 μg). RNA amplification is a common method used to increase the amount of material available for hybridization experiments. Using human xenograft tissue, we sought to address the following three questions: 1) is amplified RNA representative of the original RNA profile? 2) what is the minimum amount of total RNA required to perform a representative amplification? 3) are the direct and indirect methods of labeling the hybridization probe equivalent? Total RNA was extracted from human xenograft tissue and amplified using a linear amplification process. RNA was labeled and hybridized, and the resulting images yielded data that was extracted into two categories using the mAdb system: "all genes" and "outliers". Scatter plots were generated for each slide and Pearson Coefficients of correlation were obtained. Results show that the amplification of 5 μg of total RNA yields a Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.752 (N = 6,987 genes) between the amplified and total RNA samples. We subsequently determined that amplification of 0.5 μg of total RNA generated a similar Pearson Correlation Coefficient as compared to the corresponding original RNA sample. Similarly, sixty-nine percent of total RNA outliers were detected with 5 μg of amplified starting RNA, and 55% of outliers were detected with 0.5 μg of starting RNA. However, amplification of 0.05 μg of starting RNA resulted in a loss of fidelity (Pearson Coefficient 0.669 between amplified and original samples, 44% outlier concordance). In these studies the direct or indirect methods of probe labeling yielded similar results. Finally, we examined whether RNA obtained from needle core biopsies of human tumor xenografts, amplified and indirectly labeled, would generate representative array profiles compared to larger excisional biopsy material. In this analysis correlation coefficients were obtained ranging from 0.750–0.834 between U251 biopsy cores and excised tumors, and 0.812–0.846 between DU145 biopsy cores and excised tumors. These data suggest that needle core biopsies can be used as reliable tissue samples for tumor microarray analysis after linear amplification and either indirect or direct labeling of the starting RNA.
A genetic basis of variation in eccrine sweat gland and hair follicle density.

Among the unique features of humans, one of the most salient is the ability to effectively cool the body during extreme prolonged activity through the evapotranspiration of water on the skin’s surface. The evolution of this novel physiological ability required a dramatic increase in the density and distribution of eccrine sweat glands relative to other mammals and a concomitant reduction of body hair cover. Elucidation of the genetic underpinnings for these adaptive changes is confounded by a lack of knowledge about how eccrine gland fate and density are specified during development. Moreover, although reciprocal changes in hair cover and eccrine gland density are required for efficient thermoregulation, it is unclear if these changes are linked by a common genetic regulation. To identify pathways controlling the relative patterning of eccrine glands and hair follicles, we exploited natural variation in the density of these organs between different strains of mice. Quantitative trait locus mapping identified a large region on mouse Chromosome 1 that controls both hair and eccrine gland densities. Differential and allelic expression analysis of the genes within this interval coupled with subsequent functional studies demonstrated that the level of En1 activity directs the relative numbers of eccrine glands and hair follicles. These findings implicate En1 as a newly identified and reciprocal determinant of hair follicle and eccrine gland density and identify a pathway that could have contributed to the evolution of the unique features of human skin.
Corporate Governance and Financing Policy: New Evidence

Prior research has often taken the view that entrenched managers tend to avoid debt. Contrary to this view, I find that firms with weak shareholder rights, as measured by the Gompers et al. (2003) governance index, actually use more debt finance and have higher leverage ratios. I provide an explanation by showing that entrenched managers choose conservative investment policies and thus trade-off expected bankruptcy costs with tax shields of debt at higher leverage levels. Consistent with this, I find evidence that firms with weak shareholder rights have lower bond yields when issuing debt, enjoy higher credit ratings, and have a higher propensity to engage in conglomerate mergers. To address the potential endogeneity of the governance index, I use the exogenous shock to corporate governance generated by the adoption of state antitakeover laws and find that managers increase leverage when they are less vulnerable to takeovers.
Tidal and residual circulation in the St. Andrew Bay system, Florida

Two 24-h surveys were conducted in St. Andrew Bay, Florida, during spring and neap tides to describe the tidal and non-tidal circulation patterns and to determine the factors that affect these patterns. In particular, the effect of tidal forcing in modulating such circulation patterns was explored. Observed velocities were fitted to diurnal and semidiurnal harmonics separating tidal motions from sub-tidal motions. Residual flows were compared with an analytic model that allowed variations in the relative contributions from Coriolis acceleration and friction using the Ekman number. A solution with an Ekman number of 0.04 resembled the observations best and indicated that the hydrodynamics were governed by pressure gradient, Coriolis and friction. Locally, advective accelerations became important around headlands in sub-estuaries in the system. The consistency of the mean pattern from October to March suggests that tides play a minor role in modulating the exchange flow. Deviations from the long-term mean are mainly caused by wind-driven coastal setup and setdown.
Endogenous Na,K Pump Ligands Are Differentially Regulated During Acute NaCl Loading of Dahl Rats

Background—Two mammalian digitalis-like factors, an ouabain-like compound (OLC) and marinobufagenin (MBG), exhibit specificity to α-3 and α-1 Na+,K+-ATPase isoforms, respectively. We compared regul...
THE AUDITORY EVOKED RESPONSE TO REPEATED STIMULI DURING A VIGILANCE TASK

The auditory evoked response was measured between the vertex and left ear in 9 Ss. In an extension of the idea of the recovery function, series of tones, including sets of 5 tone pips with ½, 1, or 2 sec between them, and 11 sec between sets, were presented, while Ss were instructed to press a button whenever there was a change in tone length. Because of the slow recovery of this response, no subtraction procedure was necessary. There were 6 runs representing 6 experimental conditions for each S. Habituation within runs was not observed, but there was significant habituation between rims in spite of a constant vigilance level. The evoked responses to the second and subsequent stimuli of each set were much smaller than to the first, depending on the interstimulus interval within sets. Evoked responses to 65 db stimuli were less than to 85 db, but showed proportionally the same changes with successive stimuli.
The effect of health beliefs and feelings of self efficacy on self management behavior of children with a chronic disease

Abstract This study is among the first to examine the value of chronically ill children's health beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs, experiences of hospitalization, and participation in a health education program in predicting self-management behavior. Data were collected from a random sample of 214 children with asthma being served by any of four NYC hospitals. As measured, perceived self-efficacy, prior hospitalization and participation in a health education program had modest predictive value for self-management while measures of perceived severity of asthma attacks and beliefs in the benefits of self-management techniques in controlling the disease failed to predict subsequent use of self-management techniques. We conclude that (1) the Health Belief Model may not be useful in predicting the behavior of children because of their developmental status, or (2) the measures used in the present study did not adequately tap the health belief constructs.
The structure of bacteriophage T4 gene 12 protein.

T4 gene 12 protein (short tail fiber) was found to have a molecular weight of 167,000 and therefore contains three chains of the gene 12 polypeptide. The short tail fibers are 340 to 360 A long and 30 to 40 A thick.
Analysis of certified public accounting subgroup and accounting student personality traits using the California Psychological Inventory

Abstract Samples of 56 male certified public accounting firm employees and 24 male accounting undergraduate students were given the CPI to test for subgroup differences in personality traits. The samples were also compared with eight occupational groups reported in the CPI manual. A statistical analysis of CPI scale mean score differences indicates a dichotomy of the accounting sample with the older accountants more conservative, conforming and restrictive than the younger accountants.
Characteristics and mechanisms of the bystander response in monolayer cell cultures exposed to very low fluences of alpha particles

Abstract When confluent cultures of mammalian cells are irradiated with very low fluences of alpha particles whereby only occasional cells receive any radiation exposure, genetic changes are observed in the non-irradiated (“bystander”) cells. Upregulation of the p53 damage–response pathway as well as activation of proteins in the MAPK family occurred in bystander cells; p53 was phosphorylated on the serine 15 residue suggesting that the upregulation of p53 was a consequence of DNA damage. Damage signals were transmitted to bystander cells through gap junctions, as confirmed by the use of genetically manipulated cells including connexin43 knockouts. Expression of connexin43 was markedly enhanced by irradiation. A moderate bystander effect was observed for specific gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations. This effect was markedly enhanced in cells defective in the non-homologous end joining DNA repair pathway. Finally, an upregulation of oxidative metabolism occurred in bystander cells; the increased levels of reactive oxygen species appeared to be derived from flavine-containing oxidase enzymes. We hypothesize that genetic effects observed in non-irradiated bystander cells are a consequence of oxidative base damage; >90% of mutations in bystander cells were point mutations. When bystander cells cannot repair DNA double strand breaks, they become much more sensitive to the induction of chromosomal aberrations and mutations, the latter consisting primarily of deletion mutants. While we propose that the genetic effects occurring in bystander cells are a consequence of oxidative stress, the nature of the signal that initiates this process remains to be determined.
Characteristics of youths referred to residential treatment: Implications for program design

Abstract This study evaluates the characteristics of youths referred to residential treatment at one private, nonprofit mental health agency over a 12-month period. One hundred eleven youths were study subjects. Characteristics studied included demographic, family functioning, family stress, youth functioning, and prior services used by youths. Study data were obtained from individuals who were knowledgeable about these youths through the conduct of in-person interviews. Interviews included questions with prestructured response formats and three standardized measures. Analyses revealed youths come from impoverished families, have significant functional impairments, and have used an extensive array of prior services. Relationships among family characteristics and youths behavioral problems were also found. Implications were drawn for program design.
Prevention of vascular lesions by chondroitin sulfate A in the coronary artery and aorta of rats induced by a hypervitaminosis D, cholesterol-containing diet.

Abstract Severe lesions in the coronary arteries and aortas occurring primarily in the media and consisting of degeneration, calcification, plaque formation, metachromasia and the presence of intracellular and extracellular stainable lipid material present mainly in the areas of the damaged media were induced within 6 weeks in young adult rats fed a purified diet supplemented with 1.5 % cholesterol, 0.5 % cholic acid and 1.25 million U.S.P. units of vitamin D 2 per kg of ration. Such lesions were noted in the aortas of 17 of 18 male rats as well as 16 of 16 female rats and the coronary arteries of all rats fed the above diet. Lesions of the aorta were completely prevented in 18 of 18 male rats and were present in only 5 of 18 female rats fed a similar ration supplemented with chondroitin sulfate A at a 1% level in the diet. Lipid-containing coronary lesions were present in only 3 of 18 male rats and 3 of 18 female rats fed the latter diet. The protective effects of chondroitin sulfate A administration indicated above were not accompanied by a reduction in plasma and liver cholesterol or liver total lipids compared to that of rats fed a similar diet without the chondroitin sulfate A supplement.
Microtoxicology. II. Identification and differentiation of benadryl and pyribenzamine hydrochlorides

Several colorimetric differentiation and identification tests for Benadryl and for Pyribenzamine are described. Of twelve precipitation tests studied, only the reactions with chloroplatinic acid were found to be applicable to these compounds for purposes of identification and differentiation.
The effects of chronic alcoholism on development of ischemic cerebral infarcts following unilateral carotid artery ligation in gerbils

To test if chronic alcoholism potentiates mortality and accentuates cerebral infarcts associated with ischemia, 32 male and 33 female Mongolian gerbils were chronically fed ethanol in their diet for 6 weeks. Cerebral ischemia was then induced by ligation and sectioning of the right common carotid artery. Postoperatively, there was a mean difference in survival in the control versus the alcoholic gerbils. Whereas 76% of controls survived the operation, only 55% of alcoholic gerbils survived. Also, the alcoholic gerbils died earlier, usually in the initial 3 postoperation days. The incidence of cerebral infarcts was identical (52%) in both control and alcohol-treated gerbils. There was, however, a difference in the extent (size) of the infarcts and tolerance to them. The alcoholic gerbils fended to develop either large infarcts which were usually lethal, or smaller infarcts but with decreased tolerance. The cerebral infarcts in the controls tended to be smaller with better survival. These findings suggest that chronic alcohol consumption contributes significantly to the risk of mortality associated with ischemic brain infarction reported in human alcoholics, and indicate that the alcoholic gerbil is a good experimental model to study the pathophysiology of this phenomenon.
Nondominated Decisions and Cone Convexity in Dynamic Multicriteria Decision Problems

The concepts of domination structures and non-dominated decisions are extended to dynamic decision problems. Previously derived results are utilized in conjunction with optimal control theory to deduce necessary as well as sufficient conditions for nondominated controls. Cone convexity for dynamic problems is discussed, and sufficient conditions are given for a class of linear systems.
Transtracheal Catheter Ventilation: Clinical Experience in 36 Patients*

A new method of controlled ventilation in apneic patients, using small catheters inserted percutaneously into the trachea via the cricothyroid membrane, was studied in 36 terminally ill patients. A specially designed 14-gauge catheter was inserted percutaneously into the trachea via the cricothyroid membrane, and attached to standard wall oxygen at 60 lb per-square-inch pressure and 60 liters-per-minute flow. Ventilation was performed either manually or with a specially designed mechanical ventilator. Satisfactory ventilation was achieved in all patients in the presence of an open upper airway. There were no complications attributable to the procedure. The principle of the technique involves intermittent inflation of the lungs during high flow of oxygen. Deflation occurs by spontaneous recoil of the chest and lungs when flow is stopped. Even with a large oral air leak, adequate pressures are achieved through a small catheter. The procedure is simple, and effective controlled ventilation is safely accomplished within fifteen seconds. There is no risk of gastric dilatation with this procedure. The flow of gas up the airway aids in the expulsion of secretions, minimizing the need for suction and preventing pulmonary aspiration.
Site of Interstage Care, Resource Utilization, and Interstage Mortality: A Report from the NPC-QIC Registry

Morbidity and mortality remain high for patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome during the interstage period between Norwood and Glenn despite ongoing QI efforts. We sought to identify associations between the site of interstage care, interstage events, and mortality. Data for patients enrolled in the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry from July 2008 through February 2013 were reviewed. Patients had outpatient interstage care at (1) the surgical site (SS) performing Norwood, (2) a non-surgical site (NSS), or (3) a combination. Interstage events were compared among these groups and, when applicable, by distance from SS to NSS. 688 patients from 47 sites met entry criteria. Patients were followed at the SS 411 (60%), NSS 121 (17%), or a combination 143 (21%). Data were not available for 13 (2%). There were 66 deaths (10%) among the entire cohort: 37 (9%) at SS, 13 (11%) at NSS, 15 (10%) at a combination. The proportion of deaths among these groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.60), nor was there a difference based on SS-to-NSS distance. Patients followed at the SS were more likely to have problems detected with feeding (p = 0.03) and breathing (p = 0.002), and ED visits (p < 0.001). The site of interstage care was not associated with mortality, nor was there a difference based on SS-to-NSS distance. Patients followed at the SS had more detected breathing and feeding problems, and ED visits. Further study is required to elucidate the clinical significance of these differences.
Ecology, host specificity and impact of Atomacera petroa Smith (Hymenoptera: Argidae) on Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae)

Abstract Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae) is an invasive tree considered to be the greatest threat to natural ecosystems of Hawaii and other Pacific islands. The potential of the sawfly Atomacera petroa Smith (Hymenoptera: Argidae) as a biological control agent of M. calvescens was evaluated in field and laboratory studies in its native range in Brazil. At two field sites, 31.1% and 15.3% of the M. calvescens leaves sampled presented rasping damage by A. petroa larvae, affecting 2.0–66.7% (16.8% on average) of the area of each attacked leaf. Damage by A. petroa was significantly more frequent among older leaves (81.2% affected) than younger leaves (18.8% affected), and percentage of leaves damaged declined significantly with increasing stem diameter. Damage by individual A. petroa larvae feeding as first through sixth instars ranged from 304 to 924 mm 2 (663 mm 2 on average) of M. calvescens leaf material in the field. In the laboratory, A. petroa developed through the final three larval instars in 2.1, 2.5 and 3.1 d on average, respectively, pupated for 5–10 d, and survived as adults for 5–8 d. No feeding damage by A. petroa was observed on plant species associated with M. calvescens at field sites, including three other species of Melastomataceae, or on test plants exposed to A. petroa larvae in the laboratory, indicating that A. petroa has a narrow host range. Host specificity, foliar impact, and the likely absence of specialized natural enemies in Hawaii appear to justify further study of A. petroa as a biological control agent of M. calvescens .
Environmental effects testing with quantitative microbial analysis: Chemical signatures correlated with in situ biofilm analysis by FT/IR

Chemical measures for the biomass, community structure, nutritional status, and metabolic activities of the microbiota have shown a remarkable responsiveness to changes in the bulk fluid physical and chemical properties, the chemistry, biodegradability, and microtopology of the surfaces, as well as biological factors such as predation. Chemical analysis of the microbiota (bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoa, and micrometazoa with their extracellular products <0.5mm in diameter) does not require quantitative release of the organisms from surfaces or that the organisms are able to form colonies in subcultures. The sensitivity of the microbiota to changes in their habitat suggests that these chemical measures could provide a quantitative method for environmental effects testing. Changes in the marine benthic microbiota exposure to xenobiotics at the ug/l level or oil and gas well-drilling fluids demonstrate this sensitivity. These analyses do not destroy the vital interactions within microcolonies of mixed physiological types that characterize many environments. The chemical measures are destructive. Non-destructive analysis of biofilms of areas in the size range of microcolonies by Fourier transforming infrared spectrometry may ultimately provide the most effective method for environmental effects testing.
Case Study:: Supporting the Structuring of Personal Knowledge with Computers

One result of the diffusion of new technologies is the demand for greater flexibility on the part of individuals when confronted with certain problems, tasks and situations. In this context, characterized by constant renewal, schools are being asked to play an increasingly complex role in society and in particular to provide an educational approach, which is responsive to changes in demand and which most importantly is abreast of the times. It is evident that schools cannot be expected to predict future needs and consequently equip students today with the ‘cultural baggage’ that they will need tomorrow. However, they can be asked to provide students with the necessary ‘mental tools’ to cope with probable situations in the future. It becomes increasingly important therefore that teachers guide students in discovering the most effective ways in which they can increase their cultural knowledge autonomously, but at the same time afford them enough freedom to actually do it (Tall, 1988). In other words, studen...