cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adolescent Transfer, Developmental Maturity, and Adjudicative Competence: An Ethical and Justice Policy Inquiry

Based on the empirical evidence, automatic adolescent transfer to adult criminal court poses significant processing, treatment, and recidivism problems for youths, especially when issues of developmental maturity and trial fitness are brought to the fore. These concerns notwithstanding, legal tribunals increasingly rely on mandated waivers (both legislative and prosecutorial) as a basis to further judicial decision-making whose aim is punishment for serious juvenile offending and the protection of society from such future criminality. This qualitative study examines the prevailing state supreme court and appellate court opinions on this matter. By engaging in textual analysis, both the jurisprudential intent that informs these opinions and the ethical reasoning by which this intent is communicated are
Probability of Response to Evolutionary Process

The probability density function of the response amplitude of a lightly damped linear oscillator subjected to a broad-band nonstationary process with evolutionary spectrum is examined. By using a combination of deterministic and stochastic averaging a one-dimensional diffusion equation is obtained that approximately governs the time evolution of the probability density function of the response amplitude. Based on the diffusion equation it is proved that the nonstationary probability density of the response amplitude can be approximated by a Rayleigh distribution with a time dependent scaling variable. An equation for the analytical determination of the scaling variable is presented.
Towards optimizing hadoop provisioning in the cloud

Data analytics is becoming increasingly prominent in a variety of application areas ranging from extracting business intelligence to processing data from scientific studies. MapReduce programming paradigm lends itself well to these data-intensive analytics jobs, given its ability to scale-out and leverage several machines to parallely process data. In this work we argue that such MapReduce-based analytics are particularly synergistic with the pay-as-you-go model of a cloud platform. However, a key challenge facing end-users in this environment is the ability to provision MapReduce applications to minimize the incurred cost, while obtaining the best performance. This paper firstmotivates the importance of optimally provisioning a MapReduce job, and demonstrates that existing approaches can result in far from optimal provisioning. We then present a preliminary approach that improves MapReduce provisioning by analyzing and comparing resource consumption of the application at hand with a database of similar resource consumption signatures of other applications.
Constructing yeast libraries.

Publisher Summary Having a good library is crucial for gene cloning in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Different types of libraries are used for different applications. The most frequently used approach in cloning a yeast gene is complementation of a recessive mutant with a yeast genomic library on a low-copy-number yeast vector. Literally, hundreds of yeast genes have been cloned this way. Another popular approach that has efficiently identified many yeast genes is by functional cloning from overexpression libraries, based on the suppression of a recessive mutant by gene overexpression or other phenotypic consequences associated with overexpression. Although numerous yeast genomic libraries are available, many circumstances require the construction of a new library. Methods for de novo construction of yeast genomic libraries and considerations involved in the process have been described in the previous volume in this series. This chapter describes two specific strategies that have been used successfully for the construction of several yeast libraries. One strategy should be applicable to the construction of any genomic library and the other for any cDNA libraries.
Viral Persistence: Evolution of Viral Populations

There is an extensive literature dealing with persistent infections established by a wide variety of animal viruses. Several mechanisms have been suggested that may be involved in the establishment and maintenance of persistent infection by a normally virulent, cytolytic virus. One of these mechanisms, which involves defective-interfering (DI) virus particles in the initiation and regulation of some persistent infections, is discussed in Chapter 3 of this volume. This chapter will concentrate on another aspect of persistent viral infection, namely, the evolution of virus populations in infections initiated by virulent viruses in cell culture model systems or in immunologically competent animals. A comprehensive survey of the findings with many different groups of viruses will be followed by a discussion of the patterns of virus evolution during persistent infection and the implications of these changes in systems in which cytolytic viral infections are converted to more temperate host-virus interactions. Persistent infections in which the evolution of the virus population has not been studied will be mentioned but are outside the main focus of this review.
Chromatin-mediated translational control is essential for neural cell fate specification

Neural cell fate specification is a multistep process in which stem cells undergo sequential changes in states, giving rise to particular lineages such as neurons and astrocytes. This process is accompanied by dynamic changes of chromatin and in transcription, thereby orchestrating lineage-specific gene expression programs. A pressing question is how these events are interconnected to sculpt cell fate. We show that altered chromatin due to loss of the chromatin remodeler Chd5 causes neural stem cell activation to occur ahead of time. This premature activation is accompanied by transcriptional derepression of ribosomal subunits, enhanced ribosome biogenesis, and increased translation. These untimely events deregulate cell fate decisions, culminating in the generation of excessive numbers of astrocytes at the expense of neurons. By monitoring the proneural factor Mash1, we further show that translational control is crucial for appropriate execution of cell fate specification, thereby providing new insight into the interplay between transcription and translation at the initial stages of neurogenesis.
Anesthetic Implications of Robotic Surgery: Positioning and Access

Robot-assisted surgery has many implications for the anesthesiologist. In addition to well-described implications—such as the changes in patient hemodynamics and ventilation seen with the combination of pneumoperitoneum and Trendelenburg (or reverse Trendelenburg) position used in robotic surgery—the size, the shape, and orientation of robotic surgical equipment also have implications for the anesthesiologist. For example, in order to dock the robotic surgical system, the head of the patient is often rotated away from proximity to the anesthesiologist. This affects the position of other equipment in the operating room, reduces access to the patient’s airway, and affects the use of monitoring cables and arterial, central, and intravenous lines. There is an added layer of complexity when converting from a robotic to an open procedure, in which case the orientation of the operating room table must be turned from the robotic positioning to the standard position in order to make optimal use of fixed lighting designed for open surgery. Also, an emergency plan must be in place, and all operating personnel need to be aware of how to quickly undock the robot and turn the patient should conversion to open surgery become urgent or should the administration of emergency therapy such as electronic pacing or defibrillation become necessary. In this chapter, we will summarize the most important anesthetic issues seen with robotic surgery (Table 8.1) and offer some recommendations for operating room practice in order to prevent possible complications associated with robotic surgery (Table 8.2) [1–3].
Bethe-ansatz analysis of near-resonant two-component systems in one dimension

We introduce a type of model of two-component systems in one dimension that can be analyzed by the Bethe-ansatz approach. The interspecies interactions are tunable via Feshbach resonant interactions, and the Yang-Baxter equation for exact solvability is fulfilled by fine-tuning the resonant energies. Although the strict exact solvability beyond the level of two-body scatterings would require extra singular counterterms, the models introduced here can still be well described by the Bethe ansatz for relatively small densities. The resulting systems can be described by introducing intraspecies repulsive and interspecies attractive couplings ${c}_{1}$ and ${c}_{2}$. This kind of system admits two types of interesting solutions: In the regime with ${c}_{1}g{c}_{2}$, the ground state is a Fermi sea of two-strings, where the Fermi momentum $Q$ is constrained to be smaller than a certain value ${Q}^{*}$, and it provides an ideal scenario to realize the BCS-BEC crossover (from weakly attractive atoms to weakly repulsive molecules) in one dimension. In the opposite regime with ${c}_{1}l{c}_{2}$, the ground state is a single bright soliton even for fermionic atoms, which reveals itself as an embedded string solution.
Collaborative (CPU + GPU) Algorithms for Triangle Counting and Truss Decomposition

In this paper, we present an update to our previous submission from Graph Challenge 2017. This work describes and evaluates new software algorithm optimizations undertaken for our 2018 year submission on Collaborative CPU+GPU Algorithms for Triangle Counting and Truss Decomposition. First, we describe four major optimizations for the triangle counting which improved performance by up to 117x over our prior submission. Additionally, we show that our triangle-counting algorithm is on average 151.7x faster than NVIDIA's NVGraph library (max 476x) for SNAP datasets. Second, we propose a novel parallel k-truss decomposition algorithm that is time-efficient and is up to 13.9x faster than our previous submission. Third, we evaluate the effect of generational hardware improvements between the IBM “Minsky” (POWER8, P100, NVLink 1.0) and “Newell” (POWER9, V100, NVLink 2.0) platforms. Lastly, the software optimizations presented in this work and the hardware improvements in the Newell platform enable analytics and discovery on large graphs with millions of nodes and billions of edges in less than a minute. In sum, the new algorithmic implementations are significantly faster and can handle much larger “big” graphs.
Fostering self-determination of bedside providers to promote active participation in rapid response events.

Background: Widespread implementation of rapid response (RR) systems positively impacts outcomes of clinically unstable hospitalized patients. Collaboration between bedside providers and specialize...
Tunneling wave function of the universe. II. The backreaction problem

The tunneling wave function of the Universe is calculated exactly for a de Sitter minisuperspace model with a massless conformally coupled scalar field, both by solving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and by evaluating the Lorentzian path integral. The same wave function is found in both approaches. The backreaction of quantum field fluctuations on the scale factor amounts to a constant renormalization of the vacuum energy density. This is in contrast to the recent suggestion of Feldbrugge et al. that the backreaction should diverge when the scale factor gets small, $a\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. Similar results are found for a massive scalar field in the limit of a large mass. We also verified that the tunneling wave function can be expressed as a transition amplitude from a universe of vanishing size with the scalar field in the state of Euclidean vacuum, as was suggested in our earlier work.
(327) Exactly What You Think: Perceived Threat and Challenge Predict Quantitative Sensory Testing Outcomes in Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

While perceived threat (anticipated harm) and challenge (test of abilities) have been previously found to predict pain intensity ratings to thermal stimuli in healthy populations, few studies have assessed the relationship between threat and challenge and experimental pain outcomes in patients with chronic pain. This study examined associations of perceived threat and challenge on quantitative sensory testing (QST) outcomes in patients with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD) and healthy controls. In the present study, 40 adults with TMJD (n = 35 female, mean age = 30.4, SD = 6.19) and 22 healthy controls (n = 18 female, mean age = 27.8, SD = 7.07) provided separate ratings of threat and challenge immediately prior to completing painful heat, pressure, and punctate QST. Participants provided ratings of pain intensity following each stimulus. In both patients with TMJD and healthy controls, challenge ratings correlated with ratings of thermal pain intensity (r= .30, p = .02), while ratings of both challenge and threat correlated with ratings of pressure and punctate pain intensity (r’s = .36 - .50, p’s .05). These results replicate and extend prior research by demonstrating that perceived threat and challenge of a QST procedure can predict pain outcomes in patients with chronic pain. Future research should explore relationships between perceptions of threat and challenge with other QST modalities (i.e., delayed-onset muscle pain, electric pain), and explore how perception of QST parameters may influence pain chronicity. Supported by NIDCRR00DE022368-03.
Spatial-spectral segmentation of hyperspectral images for subpixel target detection

Subpixel target detection in hyperspectral images (HSIs) is a problem that emerges in many important civil, military, and environmental applications. The widely used, simple in calculation, matched-filter detector is well-known to exhibit reduced performance when the target-hosting image comprises spectrally diverse, incoherent background regions. We propose to calculate and apply matched-filter subpixel target detection in image regions that exhibit both spectral and spatial coherence. Specifically, our contributions are as follows. (a) We propose the spatial–spectral expectation-maximization (SSEM) algorithm for the segmentation of a target-hosting HSI. (b) We conduct local matched filter computation and application in the SSEM-calculated image segments. The proposed method is accompanied by extensive experimental studies that corroborate its merits.
Chitosan/polybenzoxazine/clay mixed matrix composite aerogels: preparation, physical properties, and water absorbency

Abstract The present study reports development of chitosan/polybenzoxazine/clay mixed matrix composite aerogels (MMCAs) using freeze-drying of various sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) colloidal dispersions in chitosan/benzoxazine polymers blend in aqueous solution. Thermal treatment of aerogels leads to produce crosslinked MMCAs. The microstructure characteristics of the MMCAs were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties of the MMCAs were evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The obtained MMCAs have ultra-low densities within a very small range (
Postcards from the past.

Michelle Francl considers the long-lost art of the reprint card and the debate that once raged about its use and misuse.
Analysis of the influencing factors on the biochemical pregnancy after frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer

Objective To analysis the influencing factors on the biochemical pregnancy after frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer. Methods The data of 70 biochemical and 336 intrauterine pregnancy cycles from January 2014 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results There were significant differences in female age, the occurrence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) between the biochemical pregnancy group and intrauterine pregnancy group (P<0.05). Conclusion Attention to aged patients and controlling SCH before frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer will help reduce the incidence of biochemical pregnancy. Key words: Frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer; Biochemical pregnancy; Age; Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH)
Functional outcome in home health: Do racial and ethnic minority patients with dementia fare worse?

Objectives Evaluate the independent and interactive effects of dementia and racial/ethnic minority status on functional outcomes during a home health (HH) admission among Medicare beneficiaries. Methods Secondary analysis of data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set [OASIS] and billing records in a non-profit HH agency in New York. Participants were adults ≥ 65 years old who received HH in CY 2017 with OASIS records at HH admission and HH discharge. Dementia was identified by diagnosis (ICD-10 codes) and cognitive impairment (OASIS: M1700, M1710, M1740). We used OASIS records to assess race/ethnicity (M0140) and functional status (M1800-M1870 on activities of daily living [ADL]). Functional outcome was measured as change in the composite ADL score from HH admission to HH discharge, where a negative score means improvement and a positive score means decline. Results The sample included 4,783 patients, among whom 93.9% improved in ADLs at HH discharge. In multivariable linear regression that adjusted for HH service use and covariates (R2 = 0.23), being African American (β = 0.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.06, 0.35, p = 0.005) and having dementia (β = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.62, p<0.001) were independently related to less ADL improvement at HH discharge, with significant interaction related to further decrease in ADL improvement. Relative to white patients without dementia, African American patients with dementia (β = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.81, 1.35, p<0.001), Hispanics with dementia (β = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.38, 1.47, p = 0.001) and Asian Americans with dementia (β = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.81, 2.13, p<0.001) showed the least ADL improvement at HH discharge. Conclusion Racial/ethnic minority status and dementia were associated with less ADL improvement in HH with independent and interactive effects. Policies should ensure that these patients have equitable access to appropriate, adequate community-based services to meet their needs in ADLs and disease management for improved outcomes.
When to Hold ’Em

We consider the age-old question: how do I win my fortune at poker? First a disclaimer: this is a poor career choice. But thinking about it involves some great math! Of course, you need to know how...
Discrepancies between cognition and decision making in older adults

Background and aims There is increasing clinical and legal interest in discrepancies between decision-making ability and cognition in old age, a stage of life when decisions have major ramifications. We investigated the frequency and correlates of such discrepancies in non-demented older adults participating in a large community-based cohort study of aging, the Rush Memory and Aging Project.
Why Criminals Tell Us the Truth

I have been conducting ethnographic research on crime for two decades. My fieldwork is most often situated in urban neighborhoods—disproportionately among the poor, but occasionally with the middle and upper classes. As an ethnographer, I need individuals to trust me enough to provide truthful information over an extended period of time. My observation will last at least 2 years, so I’m depending on a high level of commitment from my research subjects.
William Beveridge's 'Mock Trial of the Economists:' Experts and Liberalism

The 1933 “Mock Trial of the Economists” is occasionally noticed and then interpreted as popular discontent with economists’s “crime” of “conspiracy to spread mental fog” at evidenced by the dueling letters from the Oxbridge economists (Keynes, Pigou, et al.) and the LSE economists (Hayek, Robbins et al.) From William Beveridge’s archives we provide the written record of the composition. The context that frames the composition, we find in this archival record, is the Soviet trials of experts. We interpret the composition reflecting Beveridge’s concern with a totalitarian suppressing of competing viewpoints. This concern provides a context in which it might be helpful to read his later work on the British broadcasting monopoly.
Temperature-induced conformation transition of cyclo-(lval-lpro-gly-lval-gly2

Abstract The cyclodecapeptide, (Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly) 2 , has been studied by NMR methods in order to evaluate its secondary structure in water. From the temperature dependence and the solvent perturbation of the peptide NH protons and of the peptide C=O carbons, it is demonstrated that this compound adopts two different conformations in two different temperature ranges. In the lower temperature range the molecule forms a β-turn together with either a γ-turn or another 10-membered H-bonded ring similar to a 310 helix. At a higher temperature the molecule retains the same β-turn but forms a 14-membered H-bonded ring giving rise to an antiparallel β-pleated sheet structure similar to that of the gramicidin S structure. On raising the temperature, the valine γ-methyls exhibit greater nonequivalence, and the valine side-chain in position 1 was found to interact with the, proline side-chain by means of nuclear Overhauser effect studies. It is argued that this interaction is intramolecular on the basis of longitudinal relaxation time measurements at low and elevated temperatures.
On the Use of Semantic Abstract Workflows Rooted on Provenance Concepts

Two challenges related to capturing provenance about scientific data are: 1) determining an adequate level of granularity to encode provenance, and 2) encoding provenance in a way that facilitates end-user interpretation and analysis. A solution to address these challenges consists in integrating two technologies: Semantic Abstract Workflows (SAWs), which are used to capture a domain expert’s understanding of a scientific process, and PML, an extensible language used to encode provenance. This paper describes relevant features of these technologies for addressing the granularity and interpretation challenges of provenance encoding and presents a discussion about their integration.
Oncogenomic transcriptional hotspots in Barretts adenocarcinomas

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 2981 Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) provides quantitative and comprehensive expression profiling in a given cell population. In our efforts to define gene expression alterations in Barrett’s related adenocarcinomas and to look for correlations in chromosomal location, we produced eight SAGE libraries from dissected neoplastic and normal epithelia. Sequence analyses of 20,000 clones produced a total of 457,894 expressed tags with 67,200 unique tags. These tags represent 16,040 known gene symbols. Comparison of normal and tumor library results demonstrated an up-regulation of 242 genes and a down-regulation of 153 genes (two fold change, p<0.05). Ninety-three genes showed five fold or greater change in expression (p≤0.01) in at least two tumor samples as compared to all four normal libraries. In order to identify potential oncogenomic transcriptional hot spots in the Barrett’s genome, we have characterized the cytogenetic location of all altered genes. Interestingly, we found that the distribution of these altered genes was not uniform across the human genome. Overexpressed genes tended to cluster in well defined hotspots located in certain chromosomes. We also found that the number of genetic changes did not correlate with chromosome size. Chromosome 19 had twenty-six overexpressed genes of which eighteen mapped to 19q13. Similarly, thirty-five genes mapped to chromosome 1 of which thirteen mapped to 1q21. Using Gene Ontology, We then assigned each gene to a functional group and found several groups that we believe to be highly relevant to cancer. Examples of the more interesting functional groups are cell cycle regulation, DNA binding and regulation, and cell signaling. SAGE results of five representative genes were then validated using quantitative real time RT PCR on 31 primary tumor samples and 23 normal samples. The results confirmed the over-expression of ANPEP, ECGF1, PP1201, EIF5A1 , and the down-regulation of GKN in primary tumor samples as compared to normal tissues. Interestingly, the expression of GKN1 was absent in normal esophageal mucosa whereas Barrett’s esophagus epithelia had high expression levels of GKN1 that was lost in matching tumor samples. In addition, we performed immunohistochemistry analysis for ANPEP on a tumor tissue array that contained 72 samples. The results demonstrate a high expression level of ANPEP in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas. ANPEP is a secreted protein that may have diagnostic or prognostic significance for Barrett’s progression. Using SAGE analysis we have been able to identify and further validate oncogenomic transcriptional hotspots containing multiple genes of functional importance that show changes in expression and may have clinical significance.
"Social Media has Opened a World of 'Open communication:'" experiences of Adults with Cerebral Palsy who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Social Media

An online focus group was used to investigate the experiences of nine individuals with cerebral palsy who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and social media. Information was gathered related to (a) advantages of social media, (b) disadvantages of social media, (c) barriers to successful use, (d) supports to successful use, and (e) recommendations for other individuals using AAC, support personnel, policy makers, and technology developers. Participants primarily chose to focus on social media as a beneficial tool and viewed it as an important form of communication. The participants did describe barriers to social media use (e.g., technology). Despite barriers, all the participants in this study took an active role in learning to use social media. The results are discussed as they relate to themes and with reference to published literature.
The infrared carbonyl absorption in some p-quinones and related substances

Abstract The integrated intensity of the infrared carbonyl absorption in a number of quinones and related compounds has been measured. In some of the compounds the absorption is a single, symmetrical band, while in others it possesses a more complex structure. From a comparison of the integrated intensities it appears that the cause of the major splitting is a Fermi-resonance interaction. A further splitting in benzoquinone is attributed to the fact that at room temperature the low-frequency out-of-plane carbonyl bending mode is excited in an appreciable fraction of the molecules.
Workload demand: a significant factor in the overall well-being of directors of associate degree nursing programs

This descriptive study of workload in relation to the overall well-being of academic program directors was conducted among 242 associate degree nursing program directors in the United States. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II from researchers in Denmark was the instrument used. Participants reported high levels of quantitative and emotional work demands that correlated with high levels of stress, burnout, sleep problems, and decreasing overall physical health. These results support international research findings that have analyzed similar variables in other employment positions. As we face a growing international shortage of nurses, the need for nurse faculty and nurse program directors continues to grow. However, given the state of the nurse program director position, it is not surprising that few qualified faculty prospective applicants are expressing interest in an administrative role. Results are discussed in relation to other recent workload studies, and recommendations follow.
Retinoic acid rapidly induces lung cellular retinol-binding protein mRNA levels in retinol deficient rats.

Summary Retinol deficiency resulted in decreased mRNA levels for cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) in the lungs and the testes. The level of lung CRBP mRNA increased 2·3-fold one hour after oral administration of retinoic acid to retinol deficient rats. In contrast, testicular CRBP mRNA level was not influenced. Our data indicate that retinoic acid regulates CRBP mRNA level in the whole animal and this rapid effect suggests a role for CRBP in the mechanism of vitamin A action at genomic level.
Real-time PCR detection of the nontoxic nonhemagglutinin gene as a rapid screening method for bacterial isolates harboring the botulinum neurotoxin (A-G) gene complex.

Abstract Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) producing clostridia contain genes encoding a specific neurotoxin serotype (A–G) and nontoxic associated proteins that form the toxin complex. The nontoxic nonhemagglutinin (NTNH) is a conserved component of the toxin complex in all seven toxin types. A real-time PCR assay that utilizes a locked nucleic acid hydrolysis probe to target the NTNH gene was developed to detect bacterial strains harboring the botulinum neurotoxin gene cluster. The specificity of the assay for Clostridium botulinum types A–G, Clostridium butyricum type E and Clostridium baratii type F was demonstrated using a panel of 73 BoNT producing clostridia representing all seven toxin serotypes. In addition, exclusivity of the assay was demonstrated using non-botulinum toxin producing clostridia (7 strains) and various enteric bacterial strains ( n = 27). Using purified DNA, the assay had a sensitivity of 4–95 genome equivalents. C. botulinum type A was detected directly in spiked stool samples at 10 2 –10 3 CFU/ml. Stool spiked with 1 CFU/ml was detected when the sample was inoculated into enrichment broth and incubated for 24 h. These results indicate that the NTNH real-time PCR assay can be used to screen enrichment cultures of primary specimens at earlier time points (24 h) than by toxin detection of unknown culture supernatants (up to 5 days).
Propoxyphene Use by Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries

OBJECTIVES: To provide the first comparable national prevalence estimates on use of propoxyphene, a potentially inappropriate drug, by elderly Medicare beneficiaries living in the community and institutions and to determine whether institutionalized beneficiaries are at a greater risk for receiving propoxyphene than community-dwelling beneficiaries. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: U.S. representative sample of elderly using Medicare database. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative sample of community-dwelling (n = 9,851, weighted n = 32.5 million) and institutionalized (n = 1,099, weighted n = 2.3 million) Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: National estimates on prevalence of propoxyphene use and the odds of receiving propoxyphene were the two main outcome measures. RESULTS: Annual prevalence of propoxyphene use in 1998 was 6.8% by all community-dwelling elderly beneficiaries and 15.5% by institutionalized elderly beneficiaries. Beneficiaries in long-term care facilities had almost 40% higher odds of receiving propoxyphene (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval = 1.1–1.8) than beneficiaries in the community even after controlling for other factors in a logistic regression. Other risk factors include female, rural residence, poor health, and history of osteoporosis or hip fracture. Beneficiaries residing in regions in the midwest and south were more than twice as likely to receive propoxyphene as those in the mid-Atlantic area. CONCLUSION: These results show that propoxyphene use by U.S. community-dwelling seniors is high but is much higher in the institutionalized population. These findings suggest that prescribing for older adults with pain could be improved, especially for vulnerable long-term care residents.
In Defense of the Exclusionary Rule: What It Protects Are the Constitutional Rights of Citizens, Threatened by the Court, the Executive and the Congress

Abstract. The attack upon the judicial rule that evidence seized in contravention of a person's constitutional rights shall be excluded from his trial, regardless how damaging to the prosecution's case—an attack advocated by Chief Justice Burger and President Reagan—rests upon a misunderstanding. This rule, the exclusionary rule, has not resulted in acquittals that would not otherwise have occurred. And it does, and has, protected the innocent as well as the guilty. The rule was fashioned by the Supreme Court of the United States to safeguard constitutional rights. These rights cannot be abridged constitutionally by the executive or the legislature; they can, but should not, be modified by their creators, the Justices, for they exist to check unconstitutional and illegal acts by agents of the State.
Thyroid function in chickens and rats. Equilibration of injected iodide with existing thyroidal iodine in white Leghorn cockerels.

The kinetics of equilibration of newly concentrated iodide (I131) with existing thyroidal iodine (I127) stores were studied in White Leghorn cockerels. A long thyroidal retention of I131 was observed. The relative distribution of I131 in the thyroidal iodoamino acids became identical with that of I127 48 hours after injection of radioiodide and remained that way during the rest of the experiment. The results are interpreted to signify that intrathyroidal iodination and deiodination reactions occur continually and lead to randomization of thyroidal iodine.
Recent development and applications of optical and fiber-optic pH sensors

Abstract This article provides a brief review on the development and applications of optical and fiber-optic pH sensors in the 1990s. Various methods and materials for immobilization of pH indicators are surveyed. Different spectroscopic methods used for measurement with pH sensors are briefly discussed. Several special optical and fiber-optic pH sensors are reviewed, including pH sensors based on conductive polymers, imaging fibers, microparticles and nanospheres, as well as micron and submicron fiber-optic pH sensors, distributed fiber-optic pH sensors, pH sensors for high acidity and alkalinity, pH sensors with broad dynamic range and linear response, and CO2 and NH3 sensors based on pH indicators. Applications of fiber-optic sensors in environmental detection, biomedical research, medical monitoring and industrial process control are summarized.
Review of the shear-stress transport turbulence model experience from an industrial perspective

The present author was asked to provide an update on the status and the more recent developments around the shear-stress transport (SST) turbulence model for this special issue of the journal. The article is therefore not intended as a comprehensive overview of the status of engineering turbulence modelling in general, nor on the overall turbulence modelling strategy for ANSYS computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in particular. It is clear from many decades of turbulence modelling that no single model-nor even a single modelling approach-can solve all engineering flows. Any successful CFD code will therefore have to offer a wide range of models from simple Eddy-viscosity models through second moment closures all the way to the variety of unsteady modelling concepts currently under development. This article is solely intended to outline the role of the concepts behind the SST model in current and future CFD simulations of engineering flows.
Hazards of Hindsight — Monitoring the Safety of Nutritional Supplements

Americans spend more than $32 billion a year on dietary supplements, which do not require premarketing approval before they reach store shelves. Under current law, the FDA must identify and remove dangerous supplements only after they have caused harm.
Muon detectors for colliders

Abstract Presented is an overview of muon systems used at ee -, pp -, and ep -colliders, with the focus on experiments from the recent past, present, and near-term future. The review highlights similarities and differences of the muon system conceptual designs, the choices of detector technologies, and the attained or foreseen performance. The encountered performance problems are also discussed.
Toxicity of the Organophosphate Chemical Warfare Agents GA, GB, and VX: Implications for Public Protection.

The nerve agents, GA, GB, and VX are organophosphorus esters that form a major portion of the total agent volume contained in the U.S. stockpile of unitary chemical munitions. Congress has mandated the destruction of these agents, which is currently slated for completion in 2004. The acute, chronic, and delayed toxicity of these agents is reviewed in this analysis. The largely negative results from studies of genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, developmental, and reproductive toxicity are also presented. Nerve agents show few or delayed effects. At supralethal doses, GB can cause delayed neuropathy in antidote-protected chickens, but there is no evidence that it causes this syndrome in humans at any dose. Agent VX shows no potential for inducing delayed neuropathy in any species. In view of their lack of genotoxicity, the nerve agents are not likely to be carcinogens. The overreaching concern with regard to nerve agent exposure is the extraordinarily high acute toxicity of these substances. Furthermore, acute effects of moderate exposure such as nausea, diarrhea, inability to perform simple mental tasks, and respiratory effects may render the public unable to respond adequately to emergency instructions in the unlikely event of agent release, making early warning and exposure avoidance important. Likewise, exposure or self-contamination of first responders and medical personnel must be avoided. Control limits for exposure via surface contact of drinking water are needed, as are detection methods for low levels in water or foodstuffs.
Expert systems and optimization

A problem-solving approach involving the integration of expert systems and optimization techniques is presented. A class of expert systems called tandem expert systems is introduced. Three variants of the tandem expert system, the data-reducing, model-based, and model-modifying expert systems, are explained with examples. It is emphasized that optimization techniques can be used more frequently in future expert systems. >
Pharmacokinetic study of 3-in-1 poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D, L-lactic acid) micelles carrying paclitaxel, 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin, and rapamycin

Concurrent delivery of multiple poorly water-soluble anticancer drugs has been a great challenge due to the toxicities exerted by different surfactants or organic solvents used in solubilizing individual drugs. We previously found that poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D, L-lactic acid) (PEG-b-PLA) micelles can serve as a safe delivery platform for simultaneous delivery of paclitaxel (PTX), 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), and rapamycin (RAP) to mice. The high tolerance of this polymeric micelle formulation by mice allowed us to investigate the pharmacokinetics of the 3 co-delivered drugs. In this study, it was shown that 3-in-1 PEG-b-PLA micelle delivering high doses of PTX, 17-AAG, and RAP (60, 60, and 30 mg/kg, respectively) significantly increased the values of the area under the plasma concentration-time curves (AUC) of PTX and RAP in mice compared to the drugs delivered individually, while the pharmacokinetic parameters of 17-AAG were similar in both 3-in-1 and single drug-loaded PEG-b-PLA micelle formulations. Moreover, pharmacokinetic study using 2-in-1 micelles indicated that the augmented AUC value of RAP was due to the co-delivery of 17-AAG, while the increase in AUC of PTX was more likely caused by the co-delivery of RAP. In contrast, when 3-in-1 and single drug-loaded PEG-b-PLA micelles were administrated at modest dose (PTX, 17-AAG, and RAP at 10, 10, and 5 mg/kg, respectively), pharmacokinetic differences of individual drugs between 3-in-1 and single drug formulations were eliminated. These results suggest that 3-in-1 PEG-b-PLA micelles can concurrently deliver PTX, 17-AAG, and RAP without changing the pharmacokinetics of each drug at modest doses, but altered pharmacokinetic profiles emerge when drugs are delivered at higher doses.
Inhibition of in vitro limb cartilage differentiation by syndecan‐3 antibodies

The transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-3 is transiently expressed in high amounts during the cellular condensation process that characterizes the onset of limb cartilage differentiation. During condensation, limb mesenchymal cells become closely juxtaposed and undergo cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that are necessary to trigger cartilage differentiation and cartilage-specific gene expression. To test directly the possible involvement of syndecan-3 in regulating the onset of limb chondrogenesis, we examined the effect of polyclonal antibodies against a syndecan-3 fusion protein on the chondrogenic differentiation of chick limb mesenchymal cells in micromass culture. Syndecan-3 antiserum elicits a dose-dependent inhibition of the accumulation of Alcian blue-stainable cartilage matrix by high density limb mesenchymal cell micromass cultures (2 x 10(5) cells/10 microliters) and a corresponding reduction in steady-state levels of mRNAs for cartilage-characteristic type II collagen and the core protein of the cartilage proteoglycan aggrecan. In preimmune serum-treated control cultures proliferating cells are limited to the periphery of areas of cartilage matrix deposition, whereas large numbers of proliferating cells are uniformly distributed throughout the undifferentiated cultures supplemented with syndecan-3 antiserum. Limb mesenchymal cells cultured at lower densities (1 x 10(5) cells/10 microliters) in the presence of preimmune serum form extensive precartilage condensations characterized by the close juxtaposition of rounded cells by day 2 of culture. In contrast, in the presence of syndecan-3 antiserum, the cells fail to aggregate but rather remain flattened and spatially separated from one another, suggeting that syndecan-3 antibodies impair the formation of precartilage condensations. These results indicate that syndecan-3 plays an important role in regulating the onset of limb chondrogenesis, perhaps by mediating the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions required for condensation and subsequent cartilage differentiation.
A model to evaluate variables impacting the productivity of software maintenance projects

The cost of maintaining application software has been rapidly escalating, and is currently estimated to comprise from 50-80% of corporate information systems department budgets. In this research we develop an estimable production frontier model of software maintenance, using a new methodology that allows the simultaneous estimation of both the production frontier and the effects of several productivity factors. Our model allows deviations on both sides of the estimated frontier to reflect the impact of both production inefficiencies and random effects such as measurement errors. The model is then estimated using an empirical dataset of 65 software maintenance projects from a large commercial bank. The insights obtained from the estimation results are found to be quite consistent for reasonable variations in the specification of the model. Estimates of the marginal impacts of all of the included productivity factors are obtained to aid managers in improving productivity in software maintenance.
Endogenous Cytokinins in Solanum tuberosum as Influenced by Photoperiod and Temperature

Using the cucumber cotyledon bioassay, in combination with paper and column chromatographic techniques, 4 compounds exhibiting cytokinin activity were detected in extracts of Katahdin potato plant tissues. Two of these compounds were significantly higher in plants grown under inducing conditions (26°C day and 12°C night with an 8-h photoperiod) than those grown under non-inducing conditions (28°C day and 25°C night with a 16-h photoperiod). One compound increased 10-fold in above-ground tissue after only 2 Inductive cycles. Both compounds reached their maximum values in below-ground tissue after 6 days under inducing conditions, with tuber initiation observed after 8 to 10 days.
Teaching mindfulness to middle school students and homeless youth in school classrooms

As taught to youth, mindfulness is simply paying attention, with kindness and curiosity, to what’s happening inside and outside of oneself, in this present moment. A quickly growing research base is demonstrating treatment feasibility and acceptability, and a range of emotional, meta-cognitive, and behavioral benefits with various populations of youth. Only a few studies have explored mindfulness with middle school students, and no studies have evaluated mindfulness training with youth facing homelessness. Our purpose was to evaluate the acceptability, generalizability, and overall effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness course for traditional middle school students and middle school students facing homelessness. A quasi-experimental design included two treatment groups and a non-equivalent comparison group: (1) students in traditional classrooms (n = 28), (2) those attending a school serving homeless youth (n = 15), and (3) waitlisted students (n = 20). We reviewed student reported changes from pre- to post-test and post-course evaluations, which included open-ended writing about mindfulness practice. Students in traditional classrooms improved significantly in mindful awareness and acceptance, whereas students facing homelessness reported significantly higher evaluations of the course, greater emotional well-being from mindfulness practice, and were more likely to use mindfulness practice at school, in interpersonal situations, for dealing with anger and other difficult emotions, and to recommend it to friends. There were no significant findings in some outcome measures. The study offers optimistic prospects for further evaluations with adolescents in domains of stress, anger, quality of life, and academic behavioral indices over time, and to assess the effectiveness of teacher trainings for mindfulness instructors.
Effects of very low electric fields on narrow autoionizing states in gadolinium

We have observed a narrow (0.075-cm/sup -1/) isolated autoionizing level to undergo a stepwide increase in width at an electric field strength --2 V/cm. At such low fields, classical field ionization or ''forced autoionization'' cannot account for this phenomena. We find that the autoionizing level is narrow because of its high angular momentum (J = 5). The level is energetically embedded in the Rydberg series converging to a nearby limit. The model we propose suggests that such narrow autoionizing levels will increase in width near a field F (a.u.) = (1/3)n/sup 5/ for n values of the Rydberg levels which lie nearby in energy. At this field (Ingliss-Teller limit), adjacent n Stark manifolds begin to overlap, resulting in the onset of complete ''l mixing.''
Seasonal evolution of hydrographic fields in the central Middle Atlantic Bight from glider observations

[1] The first sustained glider observations in the Middle Atlantic Bight are used to describe the seasonal evolution of hydrographic fields off New Jersey. Near-surface temperatures respond to the seasonal cycle of surface heating, while waters at depth are primarily influenced by advection of cold waters from the north in the cold-pool during spring/summer, and warming due to mixing during fall. The thermocline thickness increases in the offshore direction. Salinity presents seasonal variability due to river discharge and wind variations, with low-salinity waters spanning ∼100 km across the shelf from May to September in a ∼10 m thick surface layer. Stratification intensifies from April/May to late summer, especially within 80 km from the coast. The pycnocline deepens in the water column during late summer, while the passage of storms during fall rapidly reduces the stratification. The glider high-resolution observations allowed for unprecedented detailed characterization of the spatial scales of variability.
Cricopharyngeal achalasia in childhood.

Abstract A 4 1 2 - yr-old boy with dysphasia since birth was repeatedly shown to have spasm of the cricopharyngeus muscle. An extramucosal myotomy successfully eliminated his laborious and prolonged problems of swallowing.