cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Industrial Clustering and the Organization of Production: A Point Pattern Analysis of Manufacturing in Cincinnati, Ohio

Abstract The clustering of urban manufacturers occurs for a number of reasons: this paper focuses on the importance of production technology in understanding the degree of industrial clustering. The present analysis uses a sample of Cincinnati manufacturing plants to test several hypotheses that address the relationships between industrial clustering and industrial production technology. Most of the tests use second-order methods to distinguish between the spatial distributions of specified classes of industry. The analysis reveals that the functional disintegration of productive activity leads to increased degrees of industrial clustering in urban space. Furthermore, the dispersal that occurs through plant relocation is not a simple centrifugal process but a subtle modification of the clustered pattern of urban industry.
Cochlear implants: the hazards of unexpected success

Thirty years ago, cochlear implants were in their infancy as research projects conducted at a handful of institutions around the world. The devices were crude, typically manufactured in a university or other noncommercial engineering laboratory, unapproved by any government regulatory agency, and
Neonatal pain: A comprehensive survey of attitudes and practices

We surveyed 352 physicians board certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine on their attitudes and practices in the area of pain and pain management in neonates and infants. In contrast to earlier surveys of this type, almost all respondents indicated that even the youngest and most premature infants are able to perceive pain, and most reported that they always advocated anesthesia during the intraoperative period. The use of analgesic agents in the postoperative period, however, was more variable. Respondents who indicated that neonates perceived less pain than adults reported seeing fewer signs of pain and using less analgesia in the postoperative period. They were also more likely to believe that analgesics are too dangerous to use in neonates and that physiologic factors such as incomplete myelination of the pain pathways and neural/physical immaturity (factors now known not to play a role) contribute to diminished pain sensitivity. Conversely, respondents who indicated that neonates do not perceive less pain than adults, the majority of respondents, reported seeing more signs of pain and using more medication in the postoperative period. These physicians also believed that the physiologic stress associated with pain can be more dangerous than the analgesics. We conclude that attitudes and reported practices have changed in the area of neonatal pain and pain management. Furthermore, our data indicate that these attitudes significantly predict reported postoperative medicating practices.
Generalized Koszul properties for augmented algebras

Abstract Under certain conditions, a filtration on an augmented algebra A admits a related filtration on the Yoneda algebra E ( A ) : = Ext A ( K , K ) . We show that there exists a bigraded algebra monomorphism gr E ( A ) ↪ E Gr ( gr A ) , where E Gr ( gr A ) is the graded Yoneda algebra of grA. This monomorphism can be applied in the case where A is connected graded to determine that A has the K 2 property recently introduced by Cassidy and Shelton.
An ellipsoid algorithm for nonlinear programming

We investigate an ellipsoid algorithm for nonlinear programming. After describing the basic steps of the algorithm, we discuss its computer implementation and present a method for measuring computational efficiency. The computational results obtained from experimenting with the algorithm are discussed and the algorithm's performance is compared with that of a widely used commercial code.
Assay and purification of ω-amidase/Nit2, a ubiquitously expressed putative tumor suppressor that catalyzes the deamidation of the α-keto acid analogues of glutamine and asparagine

Abstract ω-Amidase (ω-amidodicarboxylate amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.3) isolated from rat liver cytosol is a versatile enzyme that catalyzes a large number of amidase, transamidase, and ester hydrolysis reactions. ω-Amidase activity toward α-ketoglutaramate and α-ketosuccinamate (the α-keto acid analogues of glutamine and asparagine, respectively) is present in mammalian tissues, tumors, plants, bacteria, and fungi. Despite its versatility, widespread occurrence, and high specific activity, the enzyme has been little studied, possibly because the assay procedure previously required a substrate (α-ketoglutaramate) that is not commercially available. Here we report a simplified method for preparing α-ketoglutaramate and an assay procedure that measures α-ketoglutarate formation from α-ketoglutaramate in a 96-well plate format. We also describe a 96-well plate assay procedure that measures ω-amidase-catalyzed hydroxaminolysis of commercially available succinamic acid. The product, succinyl hydroxamate, yields a stable brown color in the presence of acidic ferric chloride that can be quantitated spectrophotometrically with negligible background interference. The two assay procedures (hydrolysis of α-ketoglutaramate and hydroxaminolysis of succinamate) were employed in purifying ω-amidase approximately 3600-fold from rat liver cytosol. The ratio of α-ketoglutaramate hydrolysis to succinamate hydroxaminolysis remained constant during the purification. ω-Amidase has recently been shown to be identical to Nit2, a putative tumor suppressor protein. It is anticipated that these new assay procedures will help to characterize the function of ω-amidase/Nit2 in tumor suppression, will provide the basis of high-throughput procedures to search for potent inhibitors and enhancers of ω-amidase, and will assist in identifying biological interactions between nitrogen metabolism and tumor biology.
Targeting the glutamatergic system to develop novel, improved therapeutics for mood disorders

Mood disorders are common, chronic, recurrent mental illnesses that affect the lives of millions of individuals worldwide. To date, the monoaminergic systems (serotonergic, noradrenergic and dopaminergic) in the brain have received the greatest attention in neurobiological studies of mood disorders, and most therapeutics target these systems. However, there is growing evidence that the glutamatergic system is central to the neurobiology and treatment of these disorders. Here, we review data supporting the involvement of the glutamatergic system in mood-disorder pathophysiology as well as the efficacy of glutamatergic agents in mood disorders. We also discuss exciting new prospects for the development of improved therapeutics for these devastating disorders.
The role of carrier gases in the epitaxial growth of β-SiC on Si by CVD

Abstract Hydrogen : argon mixtures of varying composition were used as carrier gas for CVD growth of silicon carbide from silane and propane at one atmosphere for temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1350°C. While mixtures of hydrogen and argon give a lower silicon carbide growth rate than obtainable with pure hydrogen carrier gas, they permit monocrystalline growth of silicon carbide at substrate temperatures as low as 1150°C. Above 1150°C, growth rates in 1 : 1 hydrogen : argon carrier gas mixture decrease with increasing temperature. Simple explanations, consistent with the known system chemistry, are offered for the above phenomena.
Behavioral and electrophysiological studies in rats with cisplatin-induced chemoneuropathy

Neuropathy is the chief dose-limiting side effect associated with the major classes of frontline cancer therapy drugs. Here the changes in behavioral responses of rats to cutaneous mechanical and thermal stimuli occurring following treatment with cisplatin and the changes in spinal neurophysiology accompanying the development of chemotherapy-induced hyperalgesia were explored. Systemic treatment with cisplatin induced changes in both mechanical and thermal cutaneous sensory withdrawal thresholds of Sprague-Dawley rats. High doses of chemotherapy produced hypoalgesia whereas lower doses produced hyperalgesia. Follow-up neurophysiological studies in rats with chemotherapy-induced hyperalgesia revealed that deep spinal lamina wide dynamic range neurons had significantly higher spontaneous activity and longer afterdischarges to noxious mechanical stimuli than wide dynamic range neurons in control rats; cisplatin administration was also associated with longer afterdischarges and abnormal wind-up to transcutaneous electrical stimuli. The hyperexcitability observed during cisplatin-induced hyperalgesia is very similar to that observed in rats with hyperalgesia produced following treatment with other very diverse types of chemotherapeutic agents and similar to that observed following specific types of direct nerve injury.
Solute-solvent interactions and acid-base dissociation in mixed solvent systems

Summary Data for the p K of cationic weak acids BH + in binary mixed solvents have been collected and critically analyzed. This dissociation reaction is isoelectric, and electrostatic charging effects should have a minimal influence on the change of p K with solvent composition. Thus conditions are favorable for an examination of the effects of solute-solvent interactions on the dissociation reaction with little interference from electrostatic contributions. Standard Gibbs transfer energies derived from the change in p K were xamind, with the aid of solubility data, in terms of the contributions of the individual species. Comparisons were made with the corresponding quantities for the alkali chlorides and the results correlated with the aid of the activities of the two components of the solvent mixture. In solvents of which water was one component, it was possible to relate the transfer energy for hydrochloric acid to the activity of water alone, to a good approximation. At both extremes of the composition range, there are indications that preferential solvation can account for the “observed” differences in transfer energies of the ions BH + and H + . The results therefore confirm the earlier conclusion that solute-solvent interactions, rather than electrostatic effects associated with the change in dielectric constant, are largely responsible for the changes of p K with composition of the solvent mixtures.
Congressmen, Perquisites, and Elections

This paper examines the so-called "perquisites/constituency service" hypothesis that purports to explain incumbents' electoral margins in congressional elections. First, it reviews the individual-level and aggregate-level studies, pointing out serious problems in measurements and methodology and concluding that existing literature does not and cannot support the thesis. Second, using 1984 CPS/NES data, the paper models the voting decisions in 1984, finding that respondents' decisions were affected by shared partisanship with the incumbent, ideological compatibility, challenger spending, assessments of President Reagan, and (a dubiously measured) recollection of the incumbent's having done something for the district. Individual casework experience did not affect the voting decision. Third, with data gathered from over 200 House offices, the percentage of the vote won by incumbents in the 1982 election is modeled as a function of 1982 casework loads, staff allocation, mailings, and several baseline variable...
Quantum-enhanced optical vibrometer

System performance and design are presented for a quantum-enhanced vibrometer. The system uses a receiver with a phase-sensitive amplifier to provide ∼0 dB NF amplification enabling <3.2 dB SNR improvement throughout 20 kHz acoustic bandwidth.
Observation of a giant dielectric constant in the re-entrant insulating phase of two-dimensional electrons

Abstract We have measured the radio frequency Reσxx and Imσxx of a high mobility two-dimensional electron system (2DES) and observed a giant dielectric constant (κxx > 1 × 104) in the reentrant insulating phase (RIP) around the 1 5 fractional quantum Hall liquid. Results from temperature and excitation-level studies provide new evidence for the Wigner crystal (WC) model of the RIP, where the WC is strongly pinned by residual impurities in close proximity to the 2DES.
Time-stepping for three-dimensional rigid body dynamics

Traditional methods for simulating rigid body dynamics involves determining the current contact arrangement (e.g., each contact is either a “rolling” or “sliding” contact). The development of this approach is most clearly seen in the work of Haug et al. [Mech. Machine Theory 21 (1986) 401–425] and Pfeiffer and Glocker [Multibody Dynamics with Unilateral Contacts (Wiley, 1996)]. However, there has been a controversy about the status of rigid body dynamics as a theory, due to simple problems in the area which do not appear to have solutions; the most famous, if not the earliest is due to Paul Painleve [C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 121 (1895) 112–115]. Recently, a number of time-stepping methods have been developed to overcome these difficulties. These time-stepping methods use integrals of the forces over time-steps, rather than the actual forces. This allows impulsive forces without the need for a separate formulation, or special procedures, to cover this case. The newest of these methods are developed in terms of complementarity problems. The complementarity problems that define the time-stepping procedure are solvable unlike previous methods for simulating rigid body dynamics with friction. Proof of the existence of solutions to the continuous problem can be shown in the sense of measure differential inclusions in terms of these methods. In this paper, a number of these variants will be discussed, and their essential properties proven.
Disrupted spatial memory is a consequence of picornavirus infection.

Abstract Picornaviruses are a socioeconomically important family of viruses that includes the rhinoviruses and enteroviruses. Many of these viruses, including the “common cold” Coxsackie virus A21, maintain neurovirulent potential and may induce hippocampal injury. The behavioral implications of this injury have not been adequately explored. Using C57BL/6J mice infected with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, we examined the formation of spatial memories using the Morris water maze test. Virus-infected mice had greater search error compared to sham-infected animals during the location of a hidden platform and were unable to discriminate the location of the training quadrant during the final probe trial. Furthermore, sham-infected mice were place responders whereas virus-infected mice were cue responders, indicating a lack of spatial memory formation in infected animals. Importantly, the degree of memory impairment was correlated to the extent of hippocampal injury. This suggests that picornavirus infection of the human CNS may also result in at least some degree of neurologic deficit. An important implication of such subclinical virus-induced neurologic deficit is that the injury may accumulate over the lifetime of the individual, eventually leading to the manifestation of clinical cognitive or memory deficits.
Analysis of imprinted genes in subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome and chromosome 15 abnormalities.

Analysis of imprinted genes in subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome and chromosome 15 abnormalities
Treatment of “poor risk” acute nonlymphocytic leukemia with continuously infused low‐dose cytosine arabinoside

There is currently little experience using a continuous intravenous infusion of low-dose cytosine arabinoside (LDARA-C) in the treatment of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). We report the results in 12 patients with ANLL described as either relapsed ANLL, ANLL with a preceding myelodysplastic phase, or ANLL in the elderly treated with 14 days of continuous intravenous LDARA-C (20 mg/m2/day). Complete responses (CR) were seen in five patients (42%) and partial responses (PR) in three patients (25%). Treatment resulted in overall and clonal cytoreduction, which was evident by serial bone marrow exams and bone marrow cytogenetic analysis. The ability to obtain a CR correlated with the finding of a low initial marrow cellularity (P less than .05). This study finds that continuous intravenous infusion of LDARA-C for ANLL can achieve response rates comparable to standard induction programs in a subset of patients traditionally defined as having a poor prognosis.
First-principles total energy calculations applied to displacive transformations

Abstract An introduction to first-principles total energy calculations and their application to phase transformations is given. Examples are presented of how these techniques have been applied to study the b.c.c.-to-h.c.p. transition: in barium as a function of pressure and in zirconium as a function of temperature. Extension of the techniques to f.c.c. lanthanum is briefly described and some of the more obvious future directions are anticipated.
Alcohol stigma and persistence of alcohol and other psychiatric disorders: A modified labeling theory approach

Abstract Background We sought to apply modified labeling theory in a cross-sectional study of alcohol use disorder (AUD) to investigate the mechanisms through which perceived alcohol stigma (PAS) may lead to the persistence of AUD and risk of psychiatric disorder. Methods We conducted structural equation modeling (SEM) including moderated mediation analyses of two waves (W1 and W2) of data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. We analyzed validated measures of PAS, perceived social support, social network involvement, and psychiatric disorders among ( n = 3608) adults with two or more DSM-5 AUD symptoms in the first two of the three years between the W1 and W2 survey. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted owing to the assessment of PAS only at W2. Results Per mediation analyses, lower levels of perceived social support explained the association of PAS with past-year AUD and past-year internalizing psychiatric disorder at W2. The size of the mediated relationship was significantly larger for those classified as labeled (i.e., alcoholic ) per their prior alcohol treatment or perceived need ( n = 938) as compared to unlabeled ( n = 2634), confirming a hypothesis of moderated mediation. Unexpectedly, mediation was also present for unlabeled individuals. Conclusions Lower levels of social support may be an important intermediate outcome of alcohol stigma. Longitudinal data are needed to establish the temporal precedence of PAS and its hypothesized intermediate and distal outcomes. Research is needed to evaluate direct measures of labeling that could replace proxy measures (e.g., prior treatment status) commonly employed in studies of the stigma of psychiatric disorders.
Control of ion kinetic energy in ion cyclotron resonance spectrometry: Very-low-energy collision-induced dissociation

A novel means of effecting collision-induced dissociation of molecular ions for use in conjuction with Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry is reported. Using an electronic circuit external to the ICR hardware and software, ions are continuously acceperated and decelerated over a period of hundreds of milliseconds by rledpreatedly shifting the phase of the radio frequency excitation driving signal by 180°. At low kinetic energies, a succession of collisions which transfer small amounts of energy favors the lowest energy fragmentation pathway and allows ions with large activation energies to fragmentation of n-butylbenzene cation and by extremely large secondary isotope effects in the dissociation of t-butoxide-d6 anion.
A Person-Centered, Strength-Based Treatment of Aggression and Sexually Inappropriate Behavior in Mental Health:

A major strength of behavior analysis is the link between the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. However, the individual is rarely consulted about their definition of the problem behavior or regarding what, if any, behavior should be the target of treatment. A case study of a hospital-based treatment for an adult with serious and persistent mental illness who engaged in aggressive and sexually inappropriate behaviors is presented. Treatment involved a positive behavior supports approach based on the person's strengths. During treatment, incidents of sexually inappropriate behavior and acts of physical aggression decreased and reached near-zero levels within the first 6 months. Results of this person-centered approach suggest the value of withholding judgment prior to a complete assessment and enlisting help of the individual to develop treatment goals and strategies. This approach is recovery focused in terms of symptom and functional recovery as perceived and driven by the individual.
Pharmacological significance of the species differences in bupropion metabolism

1. Bupropion provided a dose-dependent prevention of tetrabenazine-induced sedation in mice but not rats.2. Bupropion was extensively metabolized in mice, rats, dogs and man. About 85% of the dose was excreted in urine of rats and man. The predominant metabolites in rat urine were side chain cleavage products of bupropion (m-chlorobenzoic acid) with a minor fraction consisting of basic side chain hydroxylated metabolites.3. Mice, dogs and man form a major side chain hydroxylated product (BW 306U) which appeared in higher concentration than bupropion in plasma of these species but not rats.4. The relatively high plasma levels of BW 306U in mice but not rats may account for the species difference in pharmacological response observed with bupropion.
A Dual Role for Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1 During Caspase-Dependent Apoptosis

2,3,5-Tris(glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone (TGHQ), a metabolite of benzene, catalyzes the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspase-dependent apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells. We now report that TGHQ induces severe DNA damage, as evidenced by DNA ladder formation and H2AX phosphorylation. The subsequent activation of the DNA nick sensor enzyme, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), leads to the rapid depletion of ATP and NAD and the concomitant formation of poly(ADP-ribosylated) proteins (PARs). PJ-34 (a PARP-1 inhibitor) completely prevented the formation of PARs, partially attenuated TGHQ-mediated ATP depletion, but had little effect on NAD depletion. Intriguingly, although z-vad-fmk (a pan-caspase inhibitor) attenuated TGHQ-induced apoptosis, cotreatment with PJ-34 led to a further decrease in apoptosis, suggesting that PARP-1 participates in caspase-dependent apoptosis. Indeed, PARP-1 inhibition reduced TGHQ-induced caspase-3, -7, and -9 activation, at least partially by attenuating cytochrome c translocation from mitochondria to the cytoplasm. In contrast, PJ-34 potentiated TGHQ-induced caspase-8 activation, suggesting that PARP-1 plays a dual role in regulating TGHQ-induced apoptosis via opposing effects on the intrinsic (mitochondrial) and extrinsic (death-receptor) pathways. PARP-1 knockdown in HL-60 cells confirmed that PARP-1 participates in effector caspase activation. Finally, PJ-34 also inhibited TGHQ-induced apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) nuclear translocation, but neither c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase nor p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) activation was required for AIF translocation. In summary, TGHQ-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells is accompanied by PARP-1, caspase activation, and AIF nuclear translocation. TGHQ-induced apoptosis appears to primarily occur via engagement of the mitochondrial-mediated pathway in a process amenable to PARP inhibition. Residual cell death in the presence of PJ-34 is likely mediated via the extrinsic apoptotic pathway.
Why on earth?: Evaluating hypotheses about the physiological functions of human geophagy.

ABSTRACT Geophagy has been hypothesized to be an adaptive behavior, either as a means to allay nutrient deficiency or to protect against ingested pathogens and toxins. Others have proposed that geophagy is non-adaptive, occurring either to allay hunger or as an epiphenomenon of nutrient deficiencies. This paper evaluates these hypotheses using 482 published cultural-level accounts of human geophagy and 330 accounts of geophagy among 297 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. Information was extracted from reports of human geophagy to permit statistical analysis; reports of non-human geophagy were tabulated. Human geophagy did not parallel changes in nutrient requirements, occurred most frequently among children and pregnant women and in tropical areas (where pathogen densities are highest), and was associated with ingestion of toxic substances and gastrointestinal distress. Earth ingested by humans was craved and carefully selected and prepared; it had high clay content, but few bioavailable mineral nut...
Conformational analyses of 2,3-dihydroxypropanoic acid as a function of solvent and ionization state as determined by NMR spectroscopy.

Vicinal ^1H-^1H coupling constants were used to determine the conformational preferences of 2,3-dihydroxypropanoic acid (1) (DL-glyceric acid) in various solvents and its different carboxyl ionization states. The stereospecific assignments of J_(12) and J_(13) were confirmed through the point-group substitution of the C-3 hydrogen with deuterium, yielding rac-(2SR,3RS)-[3^(-2)H]-1, and the observation of only J_(13) in the ^1H NMR spectra. While hydrogen bonding and steric strain may be expected to drive the conformational equilibrium, their role is overshadowed by a profound gauche effect between the vicinal hydroxyl groups that mimics other substituted ethanes, such as 1,2-ethanediol and 1,2-difluoroethane. At low pH, the conformational equilibrium is heavily weighted toward the gauche-hydroxyl rotamers with a range of 81% in DMSO-d_6 to 92% in tert-butyl alcohol-d_(10). At high pH, the equilibrium exhibits a larger dependence upon the polarity and solvating capability of the medium, although the gauche effect still dominates in D_2O, 1,4-dioxane-d_8, methanol-d_4, and ethanol-d_6 (96, 89, 85, and 83% gauche-hydroxyls respectively). The observed preference for the gauche-hydroxyl rotamers is believed to stem primarily from hyperconjugative σC-H → σ^*C-OH interactions.
Thrombocytopenia with absent radius in a boy and his uncle

We report a boy and his maternal uncle who have Thrombocytopenia-Absent Radius (TAR) syndrome. The mother of the propositus is normal. A maternal aunt has mild radial hypoplasia, possibly representing partial expression of the syndrome. A review of the literature shows several pedigrees in which relatives other than sibs were affected with TAR. Thus, autosomal recessive inheritance may not account for all cases and alternate modes of transmission should be considered.
The Intentional Spring: A Strategy for Modeling Systems That Learn to Perform Intentional Acts

Abstract In motor task learning by instruction, the instructor's skill and intention, which, initially, are extrinsic constraints on the learner's perceiving and acting, eventually become internalized as intrinsic constraints by the learner. How is this process to be described formally? This process takes place via a forcing function that acts both as an anticipatory (informing) influence and a hereditary (controlling) influence. A mathematical strategy is suggested by which such intentions and skills might be dynamically learned. A hypothetical task is discussed in which a blindfolded learner is motorically instructed to pull a spring to a specific target in a specific manner. The modeling strategy involves generalizing Hooke's law to the coupled instructor-spring-learner system. Specifically, dual Volterra functions express the anticipatory and hereditary influences passed via an instructor-controlled forcing function on the shared spring. Boundary conditions (task goals) on the instructor-spring system...
The contingent a priori and the publicity of a priori knowledge

Kripke maintains that one who stipulatively introduces the term 'one meter' as a rigid designator for the length of a certain stick s at time t is in a position to know a priori that if s exists at t then the length of s at t is one meter. Some (e.g., Soames 2003) have objected to this alleged instance of the contingent a priori on the grounds that the stipulator's knowledge would have to be based in part on sub- stantive metalinguistic knowledge. I examine Soames's argument for the a posteriority of the relevant metalinguistic knowledge, and I argue that its main premise is false.
Information Acquisition and the Adoption of New Technology

The profitability of a new technology is rarely known with certainty at its announcement date. Consequently, prior to making an adoption decision it behooves the firm considering the adoption of this innovation to reduce the level of uncertainty associated with its profitability. The firm accomplishes this by sequentially gathering information, updating its prior estimate of profitability in a Bayesian manner. Quantifying the uncertainty regarding the innovation permits application of dynamic programming techniques: criteria are derived which tell the firm when to stop collecting information and make the adoption decision. It will be shown that it is optimal for the firm to continue to collect information until its estimate of profitability crosses one of two thresholds: upon crossing the upper threshold the firm adopts the technology, whereas the firm rejects the technology if the lower threshold is crossed. The model predicts that even the manager who behaves optimally will occasionally adopt unprofitable technologies and reject profitable ones.
Anesthesiology trainees face ethical, practical, and relational challenges in obtaining informed consent.

Background: Categorizing difficulties anesthesiologists have in obtaining informed consent may influence education, performance, and research. This study investigated the trainees’ perspectives and educational needs through a qualitative analysis of narratives. Methods: The Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills‐Anesthesia used professional actors to teach communication skills and relational abilities associated with informed consent. Before attending the program, participants wrote about a challenging informed consent experience. Narratives were analyzed by two researchers following the principles of grounded theory. The researchers independently read the narratives and marked key words and phrases to identify reoccurring challenges described by anesthesiologists. Through rereading of the narratives and discussion, the two researchers reached consensus on the challenges that arose and calculated their frequency. Results: Analysis of the 39 narratives led to the identification of three types of challenges facing anesthesiologists in obtaining informed consent. Ethical challenges included patient wishes not honored, conflict between patient and family wishes and medical judgment, patient decision-making capacity, and upholding professional standards. Practical challenges included the amount of information to provide, communication barriers, and time limitations. Relational challenges included questions about trainee competence, mistrust associated with previous negative experiences, and misunderstandings between physician and patient or family. Conclusions: The ethical, practical, and relational challenges in obtaining informed consent colored trainees’ views of patient care and affected their interactions with patients. Using participant narratives personalizes education and motivates participants. The richness of narratives may help anesthesiologists to appreciate the qualitative aspects of informed consent.
The American Kaleidoscope: Race, Ethnicity, and the Civic Culture

Do recent changes in American law and politics mean that our national motto -- e pluribus unum -- is at last becoming a reality? Lawrence H. Fuchs searches for answers to this question by examining the historical patterns of American ethnicity and the ways in which a national political culture has evolved to accommodate ethnic diversity. Fuchs looks first at white European immigrants, showing how most of them and especially their children became part of a unifying political culture. He also describes the ways in which systems of coercive pluralism kept persons of color from fully participating in the civic culture. He documents the dismantling of those systems and the emergence of a more inclusive and stronger civic culture in which voluntary pluralism flourishes. In comparing past patterns of ethnicity in America with those of today, Fuchs finds reasons for optimism. Diversity itself has become a unifying principle, and Americans now celebrate ethnicity. One encouraging result is the acculturation of recent immigrants from Third World countries. But Fuchs also examines the tough issues of racial and ethnic conflict and the problems of the ethno-underclass, the new outsiders. The American Kaleidoscope ends with a searching analysis of public policies that protect individual rights and enable ethnic diversity to prosper. Because of his lifelong involvement with issues of race relations and ethnicity, Lawrence H. Fuchs is singularly qualified to write on a grand scale about the interdependence in the United States of the unum and the pluribus. His book helps to clarify some difficult issues that policymakers will surely face in the future, such as those dealing with immigration, language, and affirmative action.
Learning task specific plans through sound and visually interpretable demonstrations

Autonomous robots operating in human environments will need to automatically learn to perform new tasks without requiring the implementation of task-specific actions or time-consuming deliberative planning at run-time. In this work, we contribute a demonstration-based approach for teaching a robot task-specific planners involving complex sequential tasks with repetitions. Complexity of tasks results from step repetitions, execution failures and conditionally executing plans. Our demonstration approach uses sound and visually interpretable cues to guide and indicate the various actions and objects to a robot. The robot in turn performs the actions and generalizes its execution into a task-specific planner. We demonstrate the successful plan learning for two different tasks implemented in real-world settings.
Perspectives on Assessment of Stem Cell Therapy in Stroke by 18F-FDG PET

As many readers are aware, the work by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka concerning induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012. Dr. Yamanaka demonstrated that when 4 genes were transferred to skin cells, they could be reprogrammed into iPSCs, which can then
Psychologist Versus Client Perspectives in the Assessment of Psychopathology

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Psychiatric Status Schedule (PSS) were administered to two samples of clients who were participating in large-scale investigations of the rehabilitation counseling process (N = 108) and private psychotherapy (N = 113). The MMPI sum marized the clients' subjective views of their emo tional status while the PSS provided an assessment that had been filtered through the psychologists' perspectives. Statistical analyses of the resulting multivariable-multimethod matrix revealed a sub stantial convergence of client and psychologist per spectives. The assessment of depression was the symptom area in which the greatest agreement oc curred (r's of .60 and .70); canonical correlations which used all MMPI and PSS scales approached the theoretical maximum values (Rc's of .75 and .84). Further analyses suggested that the PSS pro vides a broader assessment of psychopathology than does the MMPI by summarizing unique diagnostic information. While an average o...
The Imposition of Values: Reflections on a Contemporary Educational Problem

The author argues that values imposition involves unjustifiable pressure to force norms on people. Although opposing imposition, he contends that it occurs within mono-cultural, cross-cultural, and multi-cultural settings. The problem is seen as an opportunity to engage students and teachers in judgments that are at the heart of educative activities.
Lubricin Restoration in a Mouse Model of Congenital Deficiency

Objective. Congenital deficiency of the principal boundary lubricant in cartilage (i.e., lubricin, encoded by the gene PRG4) increases joint friction and causes progressive joint failure. This study was undertaken to determine whether restoring lubricin expression in a mouse model would prevent, delay, or reverse the disease process caused by congenital deficiency. Methods. Using genetically engineered lubricin-deficient mice, we restored gene function before conception or at ages 3 weeks, 2 months, or 6 months after birth. The effect of restoring gene function (i.e., expression of lubricin) on the tibiofemoral patellar joints of mice was evaluated histologically and by ex vivo biomechanical testing. Results. Restoring gene function in mice prior to conception prevented joint disease. In 3-week-old mice, restoring gene function improved, but did not normalize, histologic features of the articular cartilage and whole-joint friction. In addition, cyclic loading of the joints produced fewer activated caspase 3-containing chondrocytes when lubricin expression was restored, as compared to that in littermate mice whose gene function was not restored (nonrestored controls). Restoration of lubricin expression in 2-month-old or 6-month-old mice had no beneficial effect on histopathologic cartilage damage, extent of whole-joint friction, or activation of caspase 3 when compared to nonrestored controls. Conclusion. When boundary lubrication is congenitally deficient and cartilage becomes damaged, the window of opportunity for restoring lubrication and slowing disease progression is limited.
Thermal convection in a horizontal fluid layer with uniform volumetric energy sources

Energy transport at Rayleigh numbers up to 675 times the critical (linear stability theory) value is measured in a layer of dilute electrolyte bounded horizontally by two rigid planes of constant and equal temperature; Joule heating by an alternating current passing horizontally through the layer provides the volumetric energy source. Horizontally averaged temperature profiles are determined optically. Mean temperature distributions are asymmetric at elevated Rayleigh numbers, the energy transport at the upper boundary being more than twice that at the lower boundary. Three regimes of flow are identified and discrete transitions in the energy transport appear to exist when the flow is turbulent. Extrapolation of the data to the conduction value of the Nusselt number yields a critical Rayleigh number which is within + 10·7% of linear theory values. No subcritical convection is observed when finite amplitude disturbances are introduced into the fluid at a Rayleigh number between the critical values predicted by the linear stability theory and energy theory respectively.
Thalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia visualized through magnetic resonance image averaging

Schizophrenia is a complex illness characterized by multiple types of symptoms involving many aspects of cognition and emotion. Most efforts to identify its underlying neural substrates have focused on a strategy that relates a single symptom to a single brain region. An alternative hypothesis, that the variety of symptoms could be explained by a lesion in midline neural circuits mediating attention and information processing, is explored. Magnetic resonance images from patients and controls were transformed with a "bounding box" to produce an "average schizophrenic brain" and an "average normal brain." After image subtraction of the two averages, the areas of difference were displayed as an effect size map. Specific regional abnormalities were observed in the thalamus and adjacent white matter. An abnormality in the thalamus and related circuitry explains the diverse symptoms of schizophrenia parsimoniously because they could all result from a defect in filtering or gating sensory input, which is one of the primary functions of the thalamus in the human brain.
Predicting Low-Pressure O 2 Adsorption in Nanoporous Framework Materials for Sensing Applications

A set of 98 nanoporous framework material (NFM) structures was investigated by classical Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations for low-pressure O2 adsorption properties (Henry's constant and isosteric heat of adsorption). The set of materials includes those that have shown high O2 uptake experimentally as well as a subset of more than 2000 structures previously screened for noble-gas uptake. While use of the general force field UFF is fruitful for noble-gas adsorption studies, its use is shown to be limited for the case of O2 adsorption-one distinct limitation is a lack of sufficient O2 -metal interactions to be able to describe O2 interaction with open metal sites. Nonetheless, those structures without open metal sites that have very small pores (<2.5 A) show increased O2 /N2 selectivity. Additionally, O2 /N2 mixture simulations show that in some cases, H2 O or N2 can hinder O2 uptake for NFMs with small pores due to competitive adsorption.
Surgical management of thumb deformity in children with hemiplegic-type cerebral palsy.

Background: Evidence-based clinical decision-making for the surgical management of thumb deformities in children with cerebral palsy is difficult, primarily because of a lack of consensus with respect to assessment of thumb alignment and function. We have used the Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation, a validated assessment tool, to determine the outcome after thumb reconstruction surgery in these children. The goals of this study were to determine the relationship between static and dynamic assessments of the thumb before surgery, the outcomes with respect to static and dynamic alignments of the thumb after soft tissue and skeletal surgery, and the relationship between preoperative spontaneous functional use of the involved extremity (indicative of the magnitude of neurologic impairment) and the change in thumb dynamic alignment after surgery. Methods: A retrospective case series was performed, consisting of 33 children with hemiplegic-type cerebral palsy who had undergone surgical reconstruction of the thumb between 1998 and 2006. All children had preoperative and postoperative Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation analyses performed (mean time to follow-up was 2y and 2 mo). Static modified House scale of thumb alignment, dynamic thumb positional analysis, and the spontaneous functional use of the involved extremity were compared and contrasted. Results: Dynamic thumb alignment was significantly worse than static thumb alignment (P = 0.0005). Comparable improvements were achieved in both static and dynamic thumb alignment after surgical thumb reconstruction (P = 0.6242). Optimal outcome was achieved more frequently in the static alignment (82% of cases) than in the dynamic alignment (61% of cases). There was poor correlation between the spontaneous use of the involved extremity before surgery and the changes in thumb dynamic alignment after surgery (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.1554, P = 0.39). Conclusions: Static thumb alignment is not a good predictor of dynamic function, and interventions designed to improve function should focus on the assessment of dynamic thumb alignment. Improvements in both static and dynamic alignment of the thumb are possible after reconstructive surgery (consisting of muscle release, tendon transfer, and skeletal stabilization), regardless of the degree or density of underlying neurologic impairment.
Altered prevalence of raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) owing to manipulated contact rates of hosts

Baylisascarisprocyonis is a common parasitic nematode of the raccoonProcyonlotor. In intermediate or accidental hosts, including humans,B.procyonis can cause severe disease and mortality, and the parasite is increasingly viewed as an important wildlife conservation and public health concern. The prevalence of B. procyonis was assessed over a 4-year period in a population of raccoons in a forested region of lower New York. Prevalence ranged from 0% (undetected) to 21%, which was relatively low compared to values reported in other studies from the north-east. During year three of the study, a subset of the raccoon population was experimentally manipulated through altered resource distribution to enhance the contact of individuals. Within the manipulated subpopulation, prevalence of B. procyonis increased to 54% which was significantly greater than prevalence in the same subpopulation before perturbation or than prevalence among raccoons that were not subject to increased intraspecific contact. These observations suggest that altered resource distributions that directly influence raccoon behaviour may indirectly play a role in the ecology of B. procyonis.
A Road Map for an Emerging Psychology of Social Class

Though the scientific study of social class is over a century old, theories regarding how social class shapes psychological experience are in their infancy. In this review, we provide a road map for the empirical study of an emerging psychology of social class. Specifically, we outline key measurement issues in the study of social class ‐ including the importance of both objective indicators and subjective perceptions of social class ‐ as well as theoretical insights into the role of the social class context in influencing behavior. We then summarize why a psychology of social class is likely to be a fruitful area of research and propose that social class environments guide psychological experience because they shape fundamental aspects of the self and patterns of relating to others. Finally, we differentiate social class from other rank-relevant states (e.g., power) and social categories (e.g., race ⁄ethnicity), while also outlining potential avenues of future research.
COMBINATORIAL ASPECTS OF ENZYME KINETICS

Two concepts from chemistry, definable in mathematical terms, are the starting point of this paper: A reaction network (which is a generalization of a graph) and a mechanism for a reaction (which is a generalization of a path from one vertex to another in a graph). Then, as the main result, a statement made in 1964 by P.C. Milner [4] is put into precise terms and proved. To paraphrase Milner’s statement, a mechanism for a reaction r in a given network reduces to the superposition of two or more consistently oriented direct mechanisms for r from the same network, where direct mechanisms are capable of no such reduction. This result is the principal justification of an algorithm, described in this paper, for generating a list of all possible direct mechanisms for a given reaction in a given network. Examples are used to show how these ideas apply to enzyme kinetics studies.
Seepage from an Array of Triangular Channels

The problem of seepage losses from a system of parallel triangular channels is solved exactly by use of conformal mapping. Formulas for the discharge and the shape of the free surface are given. In general, the system is underlain by a drainage layer at a finite depth, and the case of an infinitely deep aquifer is solved separately. Numerical examples are given with the results presented in the form of graphs and tables.
SURGICAL TREATMENT OF DEGENERATIVE DISEASE OF THE BACK.

Arthrodesis is at present the best surgical treatment for the persistently painful degenerative back. However, it increases the morbidity and mortality rate in spine surgery, and the possibility of non-union is always present. Primary arthrodesis in lumbar-disc surgery increases the percentage of successful results. If only the disc is removed, three times as many failures to obtain relief from pain may be expected as when fusion is also performed11. In my opinion, the best fusion is the one the surgeon is most skillful in performing, unless some extraordinary circumstance indicates that another type of fusion would be preferable. One should try to fuse the spine in distraction, if possible, in an attempt to open the neural foramen. It is wise to limit the arthrodesis to as few interspaces as possible, as it has been established that the non-union rate rises dramatically as the number of interspaces involved increases.