cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Losing by winning: The danger zone of adverse competitor replacement

Research Summary: We use a formal model, motivated by a case study from the airline industry, to consider an industry structure wherein a firm may find that improving its competitiveness hurts its performance. Specifically, we examine the possibility that a superior incumbent may, by getting stronger, drive a weak rival from the market, and thereby allow a stronger rival to enter in its place. Such “adverse competitor replacement” reduces the profit of the superior incumbent and may even, in an extreme case, cause the superior incumbent to be driven from the market as well. We show that adverse competitor replacement can arise under a rational equilibrium and may become more likely if a firm improves its capability for self‐improvement. Managerial Summary: Managers are consistently advised to improve the competitiveness of their firms and beat the competition. We examine the possibility that beating out the competition may have adverse consequences. Specifically, a strong incumbent may, by getting stronger, outcompete a weaker rival to such an extent that the weaker rival exits the market, thereby creating an open market niche for a stronger rival to enter, in effect, a form of adverse competitor replacement. Competing with this stronger rival may in turn reduce the strong incumbent's profits below what they had been before driving the weak rival out. We illustrate adverse competitor replacement with a case study from the airline industry and discuss implications for a firm's investment in its own competitiveness.
Appropriate application of information from biodiversity databases is critical when investigating species distributions and diversity: a comment on Dallas et al. ().

Using data from biodiversity informatics resources, Dallas et al. (Ecol. Lett., 20, 2017, 1526-1533) suggested limited relationships between climate and local abundance among several taxonomic groups. Investigation of a subset of these data suggests that their results may be misleading due to inappropriate application of the biodiversity data.
Opsonized Zymosan-Stimulated Granulocytes-Activation and Activity of the Superoxide-Generating System and Membrane Potential Changes

Phagocytic cells generate superoxide in response to stimulation by opsonized particles. A continuous assay for opsonized zymosan-stimulated granulocyte superoxide production shows that there is a lag time between the addition of particles and the onset of detectable superoxide production. Superoxide production is preceded by membrane potential depolarization. Neither superoxide production nor membrane depolarization occurs in granulocytes from patients with chronic granulomatous disease. The extent of activation by opsonized zymosan is affected by the dose of zymosan from 0.5 to 4.5 mg/ml, but the time necessary for activation (lag time) is not. Similarly, the extent of depolarization but not the time necessary for attaining maximum depolarization is concentration-dependent. Effects of temperature, divalent cations, 2-deoxyglucose, cyanide, and N-ethyl maleimide on superoxide production are similar for granulocytes treated with soluble stimuli and with opsonized zymosan. Thus, zymosan stimulates granulocytes to generate superoxide and undergo membrane depolarization in a manner similar to that elected by soluble stimuli.
IMPROVED RAY TAGGING FOR VOXEL-BASED RAY TRACING

Publisher Summary This chapter analyzes an improved ray tagging approach for voxel-based ray tracing. This approach stems from the observation that the items that need to be tagged are not rays at all, but intersection queries between rays and aggregate objects. Therefore, the ray tag can be replaced by invocation counters residing only within aggregate objects based on spatial subdivision. The tag then is part of the private data of an aggregate and is incremented each time its ray-intersection technique is invoked on behalf of any instance. The mailboxes are still associated with child objects within the aggregate, and the tag is compared with the contents of these mailboxes, as before. The benefits of this approach are twofold. First, the ray tag and mailbox concepts are localized to where they are used. Therefore, the bulk of the ray tracer can remain unaffected by them; tags need not be copied or updated when rays are created or transformed. The second benefit is that redundant intersection tests are avoided completely, even in the presence of instanced aggregate objects.
Real-world testing and treatment patterns in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A SEER patterns of care analysis.

Background Laboratory testing and treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have changed dramatically within the last decade. The authors evaluated changes in patterns of real-world testing and treatment over time by comparing 2 population-based cohorts. Methods The National Cancer Institute-sponsored Patterns of Care study was conducted among patients with CLL who were sampled from 14 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program registries. Demographics, testing, and treatment data were abstracted from medical records within 24 months of diagnosis. Results A total of 1008 patients diagnosed in 2008 and 1367 patients diagnosed in 2014 were included. There was a significant increase in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) testing, immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region gene (IgVH ) mutation analyses, and lymph node biopsies between 2008 and 2014. FISH testing was performed in the majority of, but not all, treated patients (53% in 2008, which increased to 62% in 2014). Some differences in the receipt of FISH testing by age and insurance status were observed over time (older patients and Medicare patients without private insurance were less likely to be tested in 2014). There were contrasting testing patterns noted by practice type and year, with nonteaching hospitals more likely to perform bone marrow biopsies in 2008, and teaching hospitals more likely to perform FISH and IgVH testing in 2014. There also were differences in treatments over time, with the use of bendamustine and rituximab being more common in 2014, at the expense of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab. Conclusions There have been rapidly changing practices in the testing and treatment patterns of patients with CLL within the last decade.
Premelting increases the rate of regelation by an order of magnitude

Glacier sliding over small obstacles relies on melting on their upstream sides and refreezing downstream. Previous treatments have appealed to ‘pressure melting’ as the cause of the spatial variations in melting temperature that drive this regelation process. However, we show that typical liquid pressure variations across small obstacles are negligible and therefore variations in ice pressure closely approximate variations in effective stress. For a given change in effective stress, the equilibrium melting temperature changes by an order of magnitude more than when the pressure of ice and liquid both change by an equal amount. In consequence, the temperature gradients that drive heat flow across small obstacles are larger than previously recognized and the rate of regelation is faster. Under typical conditions, the transition wavelength at which ice deformation and regelation contribute equally is of m-scale, several times longer than previous predictions, which have been reported to underestimate field inferences.
The Search for Environmental Justice: The Story of North Birmingham.

Environmental justice is a rising social movement throughout the world. Research is beginning to define the movement and address the disparities that exist among communities exposed to pollution. North Birmingham, a community made up of six neighborhoods in Jefferson County, Alabama, in the United States, is a story of environmental injustice. Heavy industry, including the 35th Avenue Superfund Site, has caused significant environmental pollution over time, leaving residents concerned that their health and well-being are at risk from continued exposure. For years, pollution has impacted the community, and residents have fought and challenged industry and government. The United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) in Alabama have historically played a role in working with the community regarding their health concerns. In this manuscript, we describe a city entrenched in environmental injustice. We provide the history of the community, the responsible parties named for the contamination, the government’s involvement, and the community’s response to this injustice. Through this manuscript, we offer insight into a global concern that challenges local communities on a daily basis.
The rheology of soft bodies suspended in the simple shear flow of a viscoelastic fluid

Abstract Many industrial applications involve soft suspended bodies in viscoelastic fluids. Moreover, many biological fluids contain high molecular weight macromolecules which impart viscoelasticity to the fluid, and any cells which are suspended in such fluids again form a suspension of elastic bodies in a viscoelastic fluid. For control purposes, microfluidic platforms are beginning to utilizing viscoelastic solvents to perform tasks such as cell focusing [34]. However, despite numerical studies into the kinematics of such deformable bodies in viscoelastic fluids, no studies currently consider the rheology of such systems. Due to the competing effects of the viscoelasticity of the fluid and the elasticity of the solids it is clear that there exists a non-trivial rheological behavior exhibited by such suspensions. In this study, we present simulations of dilute systems of deformable particles with viscoelastic suspending fluids. We compute the effective viscosity and the first/second normal stresses for a suspension of neoHookean particles sheared in a Giesekus suspending fluid up to modest deformations characterized by a capillary number, Ca, up to Ca = 0.3. The results indicate that the per particle extra stress that originates from the suspending fluid (the particle induced fluid stress) remains relatively constant regardless of deformation. In contrast, the component of the extra stress that arises from the stress inside the particle (the stresslet) is a strong function of both the capillary number and the Weissenberg number for the parameter space investigated. Note that we find the suspensions “thicken” and/or “thin” with increasing shear depending on the range of parameter space examined.
Properties of Wide-Gap Chalcopyrite Semiconductors for Photovoltaic Applications: Final Report, 8 July 1998 -- 17 October 2001

The objectives of this project were to obtain a fundamental understanding of wide-gap chalcopyrite semiconductors and photovoltaic devices. Information to be gathered included significant new fundamental materials data necessary for accurate modeling of single- and tandem-junction devices, basic materials science of wider-gap chalcopyrite semiconductors to be used in next-generation devices, and practical information on the operation of devices incorporating these materials. Deposition used a hybrid sputtering and evaporation method shown previously to produce high-quality epitaxial layers of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS). Materials analysis was also provided to assist members of the National CIS Team, of which, through this contract, we were a member. Solar cells produced from resulting single-crystal epitaxial layers in collaboration with various members of the CIS Team were used to determine the factors limiting performance of the devices based on analysis of the results. Because epitaxial growth allows us to determine the surface orientation of our films specifically by choice of the substrate surface on which the film is grown, a major focus of the project concerned the nature of (110)-oriented CIGS films and the performance of solar cells produced from these films. We begin this summary with a description of the results for growth on (110) GaAs, whichmore » formed a basis for much of the work ultimately conducted under the program.« less
Cancer Risk in the Adult Solid Organ Transplant Recipient

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and death in solid organ transplant recipients. The risk of malignancy is increased due to multiple factors in this patient population, including underlying medical conditions, oncogenic viruses, and the use of immunosuppressive medications to prevent organ rejection. When cancer does occur in solid organ transplant recipients, it is often more aggressive, more difficult to treat, and has a poorer overall prognosis. This chapter reviews the risk of malignancy in solid organ transplant recipients, the most common types of cancers that occur, and prevention strategies.
Consideration of the Advanced Stages of Instruction Using the Comprehension Approach

In designing second-language syllabi for students of the Comprehension Approach, careful attention is given to the order in which grammatical structures are presented. The first two stages, presented in the previous chapter, involve the relatively simple grammatical structures that children acquire in their first three years of life. The words and concepts, however, reflect the interests of adults even though they are largely concrete words and relatively elementary abstract concepts. Our attention in this chapter will be devoted to the third and fourth levels of grammatical development. These structures are regarded as complex and usually develop between children’s third and fifth year of life.
High Order Local Directional Pattern Based Pyramidal Multi-structure for Robust Face Recognition.

Derived from a general definition of texture in a local neighborhood, local directional pattern (LDP) encodes the directional information in the small local 3x3 neighborhood of a pixel, which may fail to extract detailed information especially during changes in the input image due to illumination variations. Therefore, in this paper we introduce a novel feature extraction technique that calculates the nth order direction variation patterns, named high order local directional pattern (HOLDP). The proposed HOLDP can capture more detailed discriminative information than the conventional LDP. Unlike the LDP operator, our proposed technique extracts nth order local information by encoding various distinctive spatial relationships from each neighborhood layer of a pixel in the pyramidal multi-structure way. Then we concatenate the feature vector of each neighborhood layer to form the final HOLDP feature vector. The performance evaluation of the proposed HOLDP algorithm is conducted on several publicly available face databases and observed the superiority of HOLDP under extreme illumination conditions.
Novel epitopes of human monoclonal antibodies targeting the influenza virus N1 neuraminidase

Abstract Influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) targeting antibodies are an independent correlate of protection against infection. Antibodies against the NA act by blocking enzymatic activity, preventing virus release and transmission. As we advance the development of improved influenza virus vaccines that incorporate standard amounts of NA antigen, it is important to identify the antigenic targets of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Additionally, it is important to understand how escape from mAbs changes viral fitness. Here, we describe escape mutants generated by serial passage of A/Netherlands/602/2009 (H1N1) in the presence of human anti-N1 mAbs. We observed escape mutations on the N1 protein around the enzymatic site (S364N, N369T and R430Q) and also detected escape mutations located on the sides and bottom of the NA (N88D, N270D and Q313K/R). We found that a majority of escape mutant viruses had increased fitness in vitro but not in vivo. This work increases our understanding of how human antibody responses target the N1 protein. Importance As improved influenza virus vaccines are being developed, the influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) is becoming an important new target for immune responses. By identifying novel epitopes of anti-NA antibodies, we can improve vaccine design. Additionally, characterizing changes in viruses containing mutations in these epitopes aids in identifying effects of NA antigenic drift.
Inspiring Women in Engineering and Medicine: The Impact of a One-Day STEM Experience on High School Females' Attitude Toward Male-Dominant Professions.

Objective Inspiring Women in Orthopedics and Engineering (IWEM) is a program founded by UConn Health orthopedic surgeon Dr. Katherine Coyner (KC) focused on boosting diversity and introducing young women to the traditionally male-dominant fields of orthopedics and engineering. Over the course of one day, we assessed change in interest in (1) STEM, (2) medical school, (3) orthopedic surgery, and (4) confidence in performing basic surgical skills. Design Pre- and postevent matched surveys. Setting UConn Health, Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Participants Ten IWEM events were held from 2018 to 2020. Data was collected on a total of 475 female high school student applicants from across Connecticut were accepted into one of the IWEM workshops based on their responses to short answer questions. Results In response to the statement “I am interested in orthopedics” 127 students (27%, p Conclusions An immersive 1-day program that provides exposure to orthopedic surgery and STEM careers creates increased interest in these fields and may combat the large gender disparity that persists in these fields today.
Comparative study of Subjective Well-being of Students in India and Japan

The present study aimed to find the differences in subjective well-being (SWB), using PERMA profiler, between Indian and Japanese university students. Indian students (n = 361; 193 males and 168 females) and Japanese students (n = 390; 172 males and 218 females) participated in a well-being questionnaire survey. The results indicated that there are significant differences between Indian and Japanese students, with Indian students scoring higher in Positive Emotion, Meaning, and Accomplishment and Japanese students scoring higher in Engagement. No significant differences were observed for Relationships. We found that gender of students within a country has no effect on any of the factors of the PERMA. The findings are discussed in relation to cross-cultural studies.
Will They Have Dancing? A Sketch of the Biography of Justice Ismail Mahomed

How do you record the life of an extraordinary person? How do you ensure that your reflections adequately give life and meaning, as well as honor a person who was one of most skillful orators that you have encountered, for whom words were his stock-in-trade, and whose command of the English language was exceptional, and who was just as comfortable quoting philosophers (Eastern and Western) as well as legal texts? With trepidation and not a small amount of pleasure. Because reflecting on the life of Ismail Mahomed, although in only a limited way in this essay, is a reminder of the capacity of human beings to thrive despite the greatest odds, to rise above their historical destinies and thereby change not just their own trajectories, but those of their societies. In this essay I attempt to highlight and explore the experiences and achievements of a great South African patriot, lawyer and judge, Ismail Mahomed, whose life was cut short far too soon, and whose contribution to South African law has yet to be fully appreciated. Writing about Ismail Mahomed is a challenging proposition, for he was a complicated and enigmatic individual. His assured and confident external demeanor sometimes belied an inner dissatisfaction, a restlessness, which was a feature of both the tumultuous times in which he lived, as well as the psychological or emotional toll that such times inflicted on him. In other words, his outward legal combativeness reflected the deep and painful emotional response to apartheid law and its myriad injustices, which he experienced as a human being as well as a brilliant lawyer. Although he was a public figure, his personal life was hidden from public view. And for all the years that I was friend, as far as I could tell, he had an almost non-existent social life.
Identifying the Perception Differences of Emerging Construction-Related Technologies between Industry and Academia to Enable High Levels of Collaboration

AbstractEmerging technologies play an essential role in improving overall productivity in the construction industry. However, this field has historically been criticized for the slow adoption of th...
Physiologic Frailty and Neurocognitive Decline Among Young-Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Prospective Study From the St Jude Lifetime Cohort

PURPOSEEight percent of young-adult childhood cancer survivors meet criteria for frailty, an aging phenotype associated with poor health. In the elderly general population, frailty is associated wi...
Developmental pathways linking the quality and intensity of organized afterschool activities in middle school to academic performance in high school.

Abstract Introduction Adolescents' organized afterschool activities have been linked to their academic performance, but processes contributing to these relations are not well understood. This study tested two pathways linking activity intensity and activity quality in 6th grade to high school academic performance: adolescents' activities in 9th grade and adolescents’ academic skills in 9th grade. Methods Data were from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal study conducted at 10 sites in the United States. Data were collected from 918 participants (51% female) who were assessed in 6th grade (Age 12; middle school), 9th grade (Age 15; beginning of high school), and 12th grade (Age 18; end of high school). Results & Conclusions Findings from structural equation models indicated that adolescents who had higher activity intensity and activity quality in 6th grade participated in activities with higher intensity and quality in 9th grade. These 9th grade activities formed an indirect path linking 6th grade activities to high school academic performance, including grades and number of advanced classes. In addition, 6th grade activity quality promoted adolescents’ work orientations in 9th grade, a key academic disposition that then predicted grades and number of advanced classes in high school. These findings suggest that organized afterschool activities in middle school may prepare adolescents for academic success in high school via their participation in activities in 9th grade as well a stronger work orientation in 9th grade.
Processed Foods - Getting Back to The Basics.

Real-world data suggested that more than half of daily energy intake is coming from processed and ultra-processed foods in most western countries. This high consumption of processed foods is of concern, given laboratory and epidemiological studies’ findings that prove overwhelming harms of processed foods on human health. Data demonstrate that consumption of processed foods is increasing with more reports linking ultra-processed foods to various medical conditions; namely, obesity, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer. Scientific community’s understanding of the mechanisms and substances by which processed foods are affecting human health is expanding. Holistic approach to the current critical situation is advisable and requires collaborative public health strategies. The current review describes recent classification of processed foods and highlights the pertinent findings in the relationship between processed foods and health. It also outlines key clinical data relevant to the topic.
Forward contracting and incentives for disclosure

As stressed in the literature, disclosure often has different ramifications for firms’ varied constituents. Despite this complexity, a consistent theme in the literature is that a firm’s reliance on a self-interested external supplier for key inputs introduces a disincentive for disclosure. We demonstrate that the presence of forward contracting in such input markets can disable, and even reverse, this well-established theme. When a supplier opts to provide inputs for pre-purchase in a forward market, a buyer can use such pre-purchases to protect against the supplier adjusting input prices upward when disclosure reveals high product demand. This price protection does not imply that the supplier stands to lose under the arrangement—its ability to offer two-tiered pricing (forward and spot prices) provides it with a means of indirect price discrimination. Because of the supplier’s willingness to open a forward market, the firm’s reliance on the supplier for inputs actually promotes disclosure.
Temperament and the concept of goodness of fit.

Research centers in various countries have formulated different theoretical viewpoints and methodological approaches to the diagnosis of temperament, to the definition of categories of temperament, and the rating schemes used to identify the categories. But no matter what the conceptual scheme and methodological techniques may be, a crucial question arises. How do we formulate the mechanism or mechanisms through which temperament exerts its influence on the psychological development of the individual from early childhood into adult life? In other words, given any diagnostic system of temperament, how do we examine its functional importance and its relationship to the values, demands, and expectations of the culture in which the person lives? A conceptual framework that serves as a basis for analyzing the dynamics of the influence of specific temperamental characteristics on any individual’s life course gives us the ability to use our diagnosis of temperament in a number of important ways. We can counsel parents and teachers as to the best approach to children, which will vary according to the child’s temperament. We can identify high-risk patterns of parent-child interaction, and intervene to prevent or treat more effectively the behavior disorders of children. Older children and adults can use their knowledge of their own temperaments to channel their behavior to achieve more effectively their personal and career goals.
Characterizing the significance of pharmacist interventions within an electronic medical record at a large academic medical center

Introduction: Many studies have been published demonstrating the value of clinical pharmacists but a few involve the use of a documentation system within an electronic health record (EHR) system. C ...
Effect of different load models on the three-sample based quadratic prediction algorithm

A quadratic prediction algorithm has been proposed previously that estimates the future state from three preceding values of the same state. The original proof of that algorithm was developed based on loads changing at constant power factor. Since real power system loads are composite in nature, it is important to analyze that algorithm's performance for different load models. This paper studies the effect of constant power load, constant current load, constant impedance load, and the WECC load model on the performance of the three-sample based quadratic prediction algorithm. The analysis is performed using the IEEE-118 bus system, a 4000-bus WECC model, as well as real-data obtained from a utility. The results indicate that the three-sample based quadratic prediction algorithm is able to estimate the states accurately for all the load models.
The Adequacy of Life Insurance

Life insurance is easy to purchase. It’s relatively cheap. And it’s vital to most survivors. Hence, economic theory delivers one and only one prescription about life insurance – “buy it, if you need it.” But knowing whether you need life insurance is not so easy. And knowing that you need to buy life insurance and actually doing so are two different things. The truth is that no one likes to think about dying. No one likes to talk about dying. No one likes to pay premiums for an event, in this case dying early, that may never occur. And no one likes to spend time with life insurance agents. Economic man thus meets psychological man head on when it comes to life insurance decisions. The chance to pit economics against psychology is just one reason economists have been studying the determinants and adequacy of life insurance holdings for close to two decades. The other is the significant policy implications of potentially finding that insurance holdings are inadequate for a major segment of the population. Unlike much economic research that delivers at least two answers to any given question, the research on insurance adequacy produces a single clear and consistent message.
ACG, the initiator codon for a Sendai virus protein

Deletion and site-directed point mutants of the polycistronic P/C mRNA of Sendai virus revealed that one of the nonstructural proteins of this virus, the C' protein, initiates from an ACG codon. This ACG codon occurs in an optimum sequence context and precedes the first AUG of the P/C mRNA. The results presented in this communication are consistent with the concept that the ribosomes scan the P/C mRNA to initiate several proteins from its different initiator codons. The arrangement of several weak initiator codons in tandem in an mRNA, i.e. non-AUG in optimum sequence context and AUG in suboptimum sequence context, may represent an alternate means to regulate gene expression in eukaryotes and their viruses.
A comparison of performance potentials of single ended vs. differential signaling

The performance comparison of single ended and differential signaling of 10-40Gb/s is documented here with an interconnect distance of 12-20 mm on a high loss first level packaging structure. The comparison was based on eye diagrams by circuit simulators using multi-coupled transmission line models with frequency-dependent RLGC parameters.
Activation of zygotic gene expression in mammals

Abstract Preimplantation development in the mouse involves expression of about 11,000 genes, only a few hundred of which appear during the transition from maternal to zygotic gene expression. Transcription begins in most, if not all, mammals during the late 1-cell stage (phase I), but expression of most zygotic genes is delayed until the 2-cell to the 16-cell stages, depending on the mammal. In mice, a small group of genes are expressed immediately after the first mitosis, while a larger group of genes are expressed during the subsequent G2 phase. Zygotic gene activation (ZGA) is delayed by a time dependent mechanism (“zygotic clock”) that regulates both transcription and translation. It appears to involve post-translational modification of RNA polymerases, translational control of maternal gene expression, developmental acquisition of chromatin mediated repression as well as the ability to alleviate this repression with sequence-specific enhancers, and changes in DNA methylation. This delay allows remodeling of chromatin into a form that globally represses gene activity so that selected genes can then be activated in a temporally and spatially specific program. Some transcription factors such as Sp1 and TBP function from oocyte to embryo, while others are selectively expressed during ZGA. OCT-4(OCT-3) regulates the production and subsequent differentiation of embryonic stem cells, a prerequisite for embryo development. TEAD-2(TEF-4), whose activity is regulated by the transcriptional coactivator YAP65, appears to regulate contact inhibition during cell proliferation, a prerequisite for tissue formation. Thus, identification and characterization of genes whose expression is activated by fertilization opens the door to understanding how mammalian development begins.
Geophysics of Deep Convection and Deep Water Formation in Oceans

Abstract An important task for geophysicists studying deep convection and deep water formation in the ocean is to investigate various physical mechanisms generating vertical circulation. Two major types of such mechanisms are available so far, namely, thermodynamical instability, which generates convection and mixing due largely to surface buoyancy flux brought by net brine release or surface cooling, and dynamical instabilities, which also produce various vertical cells exchanging water masses at different depths. After reviewing various mechanisms, in this short note, symmetric instability is found to be very important for both near-boundary and open ocean deep convections. The symmetric instability is a combined inertial (or centrifugal) and baroclinic instability. Vertical cells driven by the symmetric instability are in planes perpendicular to the shear flow. However, vertical cells generated by the baroclinic instability are in the same plane as the shear flow. For the near-boundary deep convection, especially in off-shore wind prevailing regions (e.g., the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea), where onshore Ekman flux is not available, the symmetric instability plays an important role in driving dense water off the shelf. For the open-ocean deep convection, the symmetric instability of a background cyclonic circulation generates vertical cells, exchanging water masses and reducing the stratification of the water column within the gyre. Therefore, the symmetric instability is a strong candidate for being a dominant mechanism for ‘preconditioning’ for open ocean deep convection.
Complications following prostate needle biopsy requiring hospital admission or emergency department visits – experience from 1000 consecutive cases

Study Type – Harms (cohort series) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Population-based studies implicate an increased incidence of complications after prostate needle biopsy. Such information is essential for adequate patient counselling before the procedure. A limitation of population-based studies is the absence of individual patient data to better characterize the nature of post-biopsy complications. This study of 1000 consecutive patients treated at a single centre highlights hospital admissions as well as Emergency Department visits for patients after prostate needle biopsy. Importantly, it allows for characterization of specific complications, aetiologies, management and outcomes for affected patients. OBJECTIVE • To review a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing a transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy (TRUS PNBx) at a single centre to determine the incidence of major complications necessitating hospital admission or emergency department (ED) visits. PATIENTS AND METHODS • The charts of 1000 consecutive patients undergoing TRUS PNBx were reviewed. • All patients received peri-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis with either ciprofloxacin or co-trimoxazole. • Hospital admission and ED visits within 30 days of the procedure were identified for indication, management and outcome. • Patient comorbidities and biopsy characteristics were reviewed for association with complications. RESULTS • Of the 1000 patients, 25 (2.5%) had post-biopsy complications requiring hospital admission or an ED visit. • Indications included twelve patients (1.2%) with urosepsis, eight (0.8%) with acute urinary retention requiring urethral catheterization, four (0.4%) with gross haematuria requiring bladder irrigation for <24 h, and one (0.1%) with a transient ischaemia attack 1 day after biopsy. • Patients with urosepsis had an average hospitalization of 5 days, and 75% carried quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli organisms. • All patients with urinary retention had catheters removed within 10 days. No patients with haematuria required a blood transfusion. • No demographic or biopsy variables were particularly associated with development of a post-procedure complication. CONCLUSIONS • In this large contemporary series of TRUS PNBx, we observed a 2.5% rate of major complications requiring hospital admission or an ED visit. • No clinical or biopsy variables were directly associated with development of complications. • These data may be valuable when counselling patients before biopsy.
The virtual computing environment

A network of supercomputers and high-performance workstations appears to be the only reasonable way to provide adequate computing resources for the Grand Challenge problems of the next century. Such a collection of computers and supporting software environments is called a virtual computing environment (VCE). The paper describes the motivation and goals of the VCE project, followed by a description of the system. The paper concentrates on the runtime aspects of the VCE, and concludes with a discussion of a small prototype system that has been built using the Isis distributed toolkit. >
External pressure, motivation, and treatment outcome among pregnant substance-using women

The weight of evidence suggests that legal pressure to enter treatment facilitates retention. However, the extent to which such mandates (a) influence actual levels of substance use, or (b) also facilitate retention among pregnant women, is unclear. Associations between external pressure-defined as self-reported pressure to attend treatment under threat of incarceration, loss of child custody, and/or loss of subsidized housing--and the key outcomes of retention and substance use were therefore examined in a sample of 200 pregnant women receiving community-based substance abuse treatment. The role of external pressure was examined in a series of Cox and GEE regressions, which suggested that external pressure as measured at baseline was associated with decreased risk of dropout (Hazard Ratio=.47, p=.001) and fewer drug-positive urine tests throughout treatment and 12-week follow-up (OR=.48, p=.03). These differences did not appear to be the result of baseline differences between coerced and non-coerced participants in education, legal history, the presence or absence of a substance use disorder, employment, or motivation. The present findings extend the larger literature on external pressure by demonstrating effects on drug use as well as on retention, and among pregnant women.
Synthesis and Li-Ion Insertion Properties of Highly Crystalline Mesoporous Rutile TiO2

Mesoporous TiO2 has attracted great attention as a promising Li insertion electrode material with improved cycling life, rate capability, and high power density. Up to date, mesoporous anatase TiO2 has been investigated for Li insertion. Recent studies have shown that nanosized rutile could be an excellent candidate for anode materials for higher Li insertion capacity and improved stability. However, synthesis of highly crystalline mesoporous rutile has met with limited success so far. There has been no report on Li insertion of mesoporous rutile TiO2. In this paper, we report a new low-temperature solution growth of TiO2 nanocrystals within an anionic surfactant matrix to produce highly crystalline mesoporous rutile and investigate Li insertion properties of the mesoporous crystalline rutile. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and N2 sorption isotherms reveal that mesoporous structure in the highly crystalline mesoporous TiO2 directly results from the anionic surfactant templating effects with high surface...
Polysalt complexes of poly(crown ethers) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose

Insoluble polysalt complexes are formed on mixing aqueous solutions of poly(vinylbenzo-18-crown-6) (P18C6) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in the presence of certain salts. Potassium salts are especially effective, converting the neutral P18C6 into a polycation which then interacts with sodium CMC. Nearly quantitative precipitation can be achieved at low KCl concentration (ca. 0.005M) for a crown/carboxylate ratio of approximately 5, while for 0.1–0.2M KCl the precipitation is close to completion at a crown/CMC ratio of about 2. The precipitates solubilize again on addition of water or concentrated KCl. Precipitation also occurs with CsCl but not with NaCl. Potentiometric measurements were carried out to determine the complex formation constant of the three alkali ions to P18C6. Their values can be used to rationalize the observed phenomena. Charge equivalence appears to play an important role in the formation of the polysalt complexes.
A Content Analysis Exploring Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Topics in Foundations of Education Textbooks.

This research analyzed the most widely used foundations of education textbooks for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) content. Because foundations of education coursework routinely intr...
Strain gauge plethysmography and Doppler ultrasound in the measurement of limb blood flow

The maintenance of adequate oxygen delivery (DO2) and tissue uptake (VO2) has become central dogma in the management of the critically ill. However, these parameters are derived using gas tensions measured in mixed venous blood and may not reflect changes in regional blood flow. Therefore, it has become necessary to provide estimates of blood flow to specific organs and to evaluate the most adequate techniques available. In order to define the best means of assessing blood flow to the lower limb noninvasively in normal subjects, measurements of superficial femoral arterial blood flow using Doppler ultrasound (DU) and strain gauge plethysmography (SGP) were compared in 10 normal volunteers at rest and during exercise. To evaluate the effect of strain gauge positioning, results of measurements made under four different combinations of cuff/strain gauge placement were compared in 15 other volunteers. The correlation of the limb blood flow obtained using the two methods at rest and exercise was 0.57 and 0.62 and the limits of agreement (d +/- 2SD) were 0.40 +/- 2.49 and -0.86 +/- 5.22 ml 100 ml-1 tissue min-1 at rest and on exercise, respectively. Results obtained using SGP were more reproducible (Coef. repeat. 0.45 vs. 0.94 ml 100 ml-1 tissue min-1, for SGP and DU, respectively). The various combinations of cuff/strain gauge positioning showed a tendency to over-read when the latter was placed on the thigh, but were not significantly different (P > 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lipid-lowering therapy for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in the elderly: opportunities and challenges.

Although HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients aged 65–80 years who have clinical cardiovascular disease, fewer data are available for elderly patients without cardiovascular disease. Treatment guidelines recommend a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal of <100 mg/dL for those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus but vary in their recommendations for primary prevention. Moderate-dose statins have been shown to be effective and safe in properly selected elderly patients up to the age of 80 years. High-dose statins have also been shown to be effective and reasonably safe in patients without significant co-morbidities up to the age of 75 years. With advancing age, the potential for benefit from cholesterol-lowering treatment needs to be weighed against the increasing risk of muscle and hepatic toxicity, as well as competing causes of morbidity and mortality.
The placement of bases beneath amalgam restorations: review of literature and recommendations for use

The literature is reviewed regarding the rationale for the placement of bases beneath amalgam restorations. On the basis of the findings, recommendations are made for the judicious use of bases in amalgam preparations.
Widths and shifts of HF vibration-rotation absorption lines induced by pressure of rare gases☆

Abstract Widths and shifts of the HF vibration-rotation absorption spectrum, induced by the pressure of rare gases, have been calculated using the Kolb-Griem-Baranger theory, for the pure rotation, 0–1, and 0–2 bands. Agreement between the calculated and experimental widths is good in general, but the calculated shifts, though having a qualitatively correct m -dependence for the most part, exceed the experimental values by a factor of 1·3-2·0. Isotropic effects are included to all orders, leading to three major consequences: (1) a criticism is made regarding one of the assumption underlying Anderson's approximation number two, (2) a reason is provided for the differences in widths of R and P branch lines of the same ∣ m ∣ within a given band, and (3) the previously unexplained increase in widths with increasing ∣ m ∣ in the 0–2 band with xenon is explained.
Algorithms for discrete and continuous multicommodity flow network interdiction problems

We consider a network interdiction problem on a multicommodity flow network, in which an attacker disables a set of network arcs in order to minimize the maximum profit that can be obtained from shipping commodities across the network. The attacker is assumed to have some budget for destroying (or “interdicting”) arcs, and each arc is associated with a positive interdiction expense. In this paper, we examine problems in which interdiction must be discrete (i.e., each arc must either be left alone or completely destroyed), and in which interdiction can be continuous (the capacities of arcs may be partially reduced). For the discrete problem, we describe a linearized model for optimizing network interdiction that is similar to previous studies in the field, and compare it to a penalty model that does not require linearization constraints. For the continuous case, we prescribe an optimal partitioning algorithm along with a heuristic procedure for estimating the optimal objective function value. We demonstrat...
Analysis of threats to research validity introduced by audio recording clinic visits: Selection bias, Hawthorne effect, both, or neither?

Abstract Objective To identify factors associated with participant consent to record visits; to estimate effects of recording on patient–clinician interactions. Methods Secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial studying communication about depression; participants were asked for optional consent to audio record study visits. Multiple logistic regression was used to model likelihood of patient and clinician consent. Multivariable regression and propensity score analyses were used to estimate effects of audio recording on 6 dependent variables: discussion of depressive symptoms, preventive health, and depression diagnosis; depression treatment recommendations; visit length; visit difficulty. Results Of 867 visits involving 135 primary care clinicians, 39% were recorded. For clinicians, only working in academic settings (P = 0.003) and having worked longer at their current practice (P = 0.02) were associated with increased likelihood of consent. For patients, white race (P = 0.002) and diabetes (P = 0.03) were associated with increased likelihood of consent. Neither multivariable regression nor propensity score analyses revealed any significant effects of recording on the variables examined. Conclusion Few clinician or patient characteristics were significantly associated with consent. Audio recording had no significant effect on any of the 6 dependent variables examined. Practice implications Benefits of recording clinic visits likely outweigh the risks of bias in this setting.