cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Glycogen Storage Disorders.

1. Robert W. Marion, MD* 2. Esma Paljevic, PNP† 1. *Children’s Hospital at Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 2. †Pace University School of Nursing, Pleasantville, NY The glycogen storage diseases (GSDs) are a group of inherited metabolic disorders, each caused by deficiency of an enzyme involved in the production or breakdown of glycogen. The disorders and their characteristics are listed in the Table. The GSDs can be divided into 4 categories: 1) GSDs predominantly affecting the liver and having a direct influence on blood glucose level (types I, VI, and VIII), 2) GSDs predominantly affecting muscle and having a direct influence on muscle function (types V and VII), 3) a GSD affecting liver and muscle and having a direct influence on blood glucose level and muscle function (type III), and 4) GSDs affecting liver, muscle, and other tissues and having no direct effect on blood glucose or muscle function (types II and IV). View this table: TABLE. Classification and Characteristics of the Most Common Types of Glycogen Storage Diseases Cells require a steady supply of glucose. During and immediately after meals, glucose is plentiful; between meals, the supply of dietary glucose wanes. The breakdown of glycogen, the storage form of glucose that is concentrated in the liver and skeletal muscle, provides a steady supply of glucose. Glycogenolysis, the breakdown of glycogen, requires the presence of a group of enzymes. Failure to produce one of these enzymes causes failure of glycogenolysis. A GSD occurs in approximately 1 in 25,000 live births. Types I and II are the most common. Occurring in approximately 1 in 50,000 births, von Gierke disease is the most common GSD. It affects the liver and has a significant effect on the blood glucose level. Four separate subtypes of GSD I have been identified, each caused by …
Frames, Erasures, and Signal Estimation with Stochastic Models

Frame properties and conditions are determined that would minimize the error in signal reconstruction or estimation in the presence of noise and erasures. The special focus here is on stochastic models. These include estimating a random signal with zero mean and a general covariance matrix, minimizing the mean-squared error (MSE) when the frame coefficients are erased according to some a priori probability distribution in the presence of random noise, and also studying the use of stochastic frames in estimating a random signal. In estimating a random signal from noisy coefficients, when a frame coefficient is lost or erased, it is established that the MSE is minimized under certain geometric relationships between the frame vectors and the signal. When the coefficients are erased according to some a priori distribution, conditions are found for the norms of the frame vectors in terms of the probability distribution of the erasure so that the MSE is minimized. Results obtained here also show how using stochastic frames can lead to more flexibility in design and greater control on the MSE.
Li deposited on LiCl: an efficient reducing agent

Lithium was deposited onto lithium chloride powder in a ∼5% weight/weight ratio. This material serves as a source of elemental lithium with benefits over bulk lithium alternatives including increased mass to facilitate measurement for small scale reactions and increased surface area. The Li/LiCl material is applied in the synthesis of a dilithiobutadienide that is transformed into a stannole with a drastic decrease in reaction time and notable increase in yield over commercial lithium granules.
Acute and Sudden Presentations of the Chiari Malformations

Chiari malformation type 1 (CM I) is a common neurological disease in both children and adults. While CM I patients commonly present with slowly progressive pain, signs of brainstem compression, or spinal cord compression from a syrinx, a small minority of patients present with rapid onset of neurological deficits. Compared to the general CM I population, these patients are more likely to have motor deficits, respiratory dysfunction, cranial nerve abnormalities, or even sudden death. While traumatic injury is a potential cause of such abrupt presentations, many patients develop acute neurological deficits without preceding trauma. Compared to the typically elective management of CM I, patients with acute deficits should generally undergo surgical treatment in an expedited or urgent manner, with particular attention also paid to managing any respiratory concerns prior to and following surgical intervention. With appropriate management, these patients often have substantial if not complete resolution of their presenting complaints. Therefore, while CM I is typically considered a chronic condition, physicians should remain aware of the important minority of patients who present acutely, ensuring they receive timely diagnosis and management.
Time trends and predictors of laboratory-confirmed recurrent and severe Clostridioides difficile infections in Manitoba: a population-based study.

Background Many previous studies of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) epidemiology have used hospital discharge data codes, which can have limited accuracy. We used a data set of laboratory-confirmed cases of CDI in the province of Manitoba, Canada, to describe the epidemiology of CDI over a decade. Methods We conducted a population-based historical cohort study using Manitoba Health's population-wide laboratory-based CDI data set linked to administrative health databases. All individuals living in Manitoba and experiencing a CDI episode between 2005 and 2015 were included (n = 8471) and followed up from CDI diagnosis. We assessed time trends of CDI, incidence and predictors of recurrence and severe outcomes, and health care encounters after CDI diagnosis. CDI episodes were stratified by community versus hospital site of acquiring CDI. Results Between 2005 and 2009, overall CDI diagnoses decreased by an average of 12.6% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] -4.4 to -20.0), with no statistically significant change from 2010 to 2015. In stratified analysis, incident and recurrent CDI had a similar decrease in the initial study time period and then stabilized. The proportion of community-associated CDI cases increased by an average of 4.8% per year (95% CI 2.8 to 6.8) during the study period. CDI acquired in a health care facility had a higher recurrence rate and more severe outcomes. Recurrence of CDI increased the likelihood of admission to hospital. Interpretation Between 2005 and 2015, the rates of overall laboratory-confirmed CDI, incident CDI, recurrent CDI and severe outcomes following CDI initially decreased before stabilizing, and an increasing proportion of CDI cases were community-associated. There is an increasing need to test for CDI among outpatients with diarrhea and to increase efforts to prevent recurrent CDI.
Abstract PO047: Sensory nerves enhance breast cancer migration through PlexinB3 signaling

The tumor microenvironment plays an essential role in the process of metastasis. However, the role of the peripheral nervous system, a crucial component of the tumor microenvironment, in cancer progression remains poorly understood. In breast cancer, nerve presence has been correlated with more invasive disease and worse prognosis. Yet, there is still a lack of detailed investigation into the specific types of nerves that are present in breast cancer as well as the mechanism by which nerve-cancer crosstalk contributes to breast cancer metastasis. We identified sensory nerves as more abundant in triple-negative human breast cancer tumors relative to healthy breast by mining gene expression datasets and immunostaining. Interestingly, the sensory nerve bundle structure in normal breast is disrupted in breast tumor, resulting in discrete nerve fibers throughout the tumor. To investigate the role of these sensory nerves in cancer progression, we cocultured primary sensory neurons from dorsal root ganglia of mice and human triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). We found that cancer cells tend to attach and move along nerve fibers. These cells also have higher migration speed and proliferation rate when compared to both monoculture and conditioned media control. We then set out to investigate whether sensory nerves impact gene expression in tumors using RNA sequencing. By utilizing published algorithms, we were able to separate the transcriptome of human cancer cells and mouse neurons in coculture. Differential analysis shows that cancer cells in coculture upregulate genes related to cell migration, adhesion, and proliferation pathways, which further validates our experimental findings. We identified the Sema5A-PlexinB3 ligand-receptor pair as a potential mechanism of nerve-cancer crosstalk, where neurons provide Sema5A that interacts with upregulated PlexinB3 receptors on cancer cells. Knockdown of Plexin-B3 in tumor cells reduced the effect of sensory nerves on breast cancer cell migration. In vivo experiments injecting sensory nerves and tumor cells into the mammary gland of mice are ongoing. Overall, these studies demonstrate that sensory nerve density is high in TNBC and that sensory nerves promote tumor cell migration and proliferation via direct cell-cell interactions. We also show for the first time that nerves can induce gene expression changes in cancer cells. In the long-term, these findings could lead to novel treatments for metastatic disease that target nerve-cancer crosstalk. Citation Format: Thanh T. Le, Madeleine J. Oudin. Sensory nerves enhance breast cancer migration through PlexinB3 signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on the Evolving Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Progression: Mechanisms and Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities; in association with the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Working Group; 2021 Jan 11-12. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(5 Suppl):Abstract nr PO047.
Trends in computational molecular catalyst design

Computational methods have emerged as a powerful tool to augment traditional experimental molecular catalyst design by providing useful predictions of catalyst performance and decreasing the time needed for catalyst screening. In this perspective, we discuss three approaches for computational molecular catalyst design: (i) the reaction mechanism-based approach that calculates all relevant elementary steps, finds the rate and selectivity determining steps, and ultimately makes predictions on catalyst performance based on kinetic analysis, (ii) the descriptor-based approach where physical/chemical considerations are used to find molecular properties as predictors of catalyst performance, and (iii) the data-driven approach where statistical analysis as well as machine learning (ML) methods are used to obtain relationships between available data/features and catalyst performance. Following an introduction to these approaches, we cover their strengths and weaknesses and highlight some recent key applications. Furthermore, we present an outlook on how the currently applied approaches may evolve in the near future by addressing how recent developments in building automated computational workflows and implementing advanced ML models hold promise for reducing human workload, eliminating human bias, and speeding up computational catalyst design at the same time. Finally, we provide our viewpoint on how some of the challenges associated with the up-and-coming approaches driven by automation and ML may be resolved.
Covariance Between Parent and Child Symptoms Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective COVID-19 has had unprecedented effects on American families, including increases in depression, anxiety, and irritability for both parents and children. While parents and children influence each other's psychological functioning during non-disaster times, this effect may be amplified during times of disaster. The current study investigated how COVID-19 influenced covariance of depressive symptoms and irritability in children and their parents. Methods Three hundred and ninety-one parents and their 8- to 17-year-old children (Mage = 10.68 years old, 70% male, 86% White) from a large sample of children and parents, primarily from Southeastern Louisiana, completed self-report measures of depression and irritability approximately 6 weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as providing retrospective reports of their symptoms prior to the pandemic. Actor-partner interdependence models were used to measure the reciprocal effects of parent symptoms on children and vice versa, both before and during the pandemic. Results Actor effects in both the depressive symptoms and irritability models suggested that pre-COVID-19 depressive symptoms and irritability were robust predictors of early-COVID-19 depressive symptoms and irritability for both parents and children. Partner effects were also detected in the irritability model, in that parental irritability prior to COVID-19 was associated with decreased child irritability during the pandemic. Both before and during the pandemic, associations between parent and child depressive symptoms and irritability scores were weaker in families evidencing greater dysfunction. Conclusions Results suggest that COVID-19-related stress is associated with increases in both parent and child symptomatology, and that family relationships likely influence associations between these symptoms.
Electrical Discharges Contacting a Liquid: The Role of Mixing in the Degradation of Organic Contaminants

Gas-liquid electrical discharge plasma is a promising, cost effective alternative process to conventional wastewater treatment techniques for removal of a range of contaminants. However, insufficient understanding of physicochemical processes both at the plasma-liquid interface and in the bulk liquid is preventing timely and effective scale up of bench-scale reactors.
Subacute limb ischemia induces skeletal muscle injury in genetically susceptible mice independent of vascular density.

Objective The primary preclinical model of peripheral artery disease, which involves acute limb ischemia (ALI), can result in appreciable muscle injury that is attributed to the acuity of the ischemic injury. A less acute model of murine limb ischemia using ameroid constrictors (ACs) has been developed in an attempt to mimic the chronic nature of human disease. However, there is currently little understanding of how genetics influence muscle injury following subacute arterial occlusion in the mouse. Methods We investigated the influence of mouse genetics on skeletal muscle tissue survival, blood flow, and vascular density by subjecting two different mouse strains, C57BL/6 (BL6) and BALB/c, to ALI or subacute limb ischemia using single (1AC) or double (2AC) AC placement on the femoral artery. Results Similar to ALI, the 2AC model resulted in significant tissue necrosis and limb perfusion deficits in genetically susceptible BALB/c but not BL6 mice. In the 1AC model, no outward evidence of tissue necrosis was observed, and there were no differences in limb blood flow between BL6 and BALB/c. However, BALB/c mice displayed significantly greater muscle injury, as evidenced by increased inflammation and myofiber atrophy, despite having no differences in CD31 + and SMA + vascular density and area. BALB/c mice also displayed significantly greater centralized myonuclei, indicating increased muscle regeneration. Conclusions The susceptibility of skeletal muscle to ischemia-induced injury is at least partly independent of muscle blood flow and vascular density, consistent with a muscle cell autonomous response that is genetically determined. Further development of preclinical models of peripheral artery disease that more accurately reflect the nature of the human disease may allow more accurate identification of genetic targets for therapeutic intervention.
Reduced Memory Space for Multi-Dimensional Search Trees (Extended Abstract)

Our main result is that space O[N(log N / log log N)k−1] suffices for either doing dynamic k-dimensional aggregate orthogonal range queries in time O(logkN) on a set of N records, or for arbitrary ∈>0 to do static aggregate queries in time O(logk−1+eN). This result improves upon the memory space used by slightly more than one dozen previous authors by a factor O[(log log N)k−1], and it has applications to rectangle intersection problems, VLSI-design, relational data bases, and queries about the past.
Lesions of the Cerebellar Nodulus and Uvula in Monkeys: Effect on Otolith-Ocular Reflexes

We studied two rhesus monkeys before and after surgical ablation of the nodulus and uvula (Nod/Uv) of the cerebellum. Three-axis eye movements were recorded with the magnetic-field scleral search coil system during a variety of vestibular and ocular motor tasks. Here we describe the effects of the Nod/Uv lesions on dynamic (head translation) and static (head tilt) otolith-mediated vestibulo-ocular reflexes. The main findings were: 1. eye velocity during sinusoidal vertical translation (1.5 Hz) was reduced by 59% in the dark and 36% in the light; 2. eye velocity during steps of horizontal translation was reduced, but only in the dark and more so during the sustained (constant velocity) than the initial (acceleration) part of the response, and 3. there was a torsional nystagmus that depended on the position of roll head tilt, but static ocular counterroll was unchanged. These results suggest new roles for the Nod/Uv in the processing of otolith signals. This is likely important not only for facilitating gaze during linear head motion, but also for maintaining postural stability and one's orientation relative to gravity. The lesions appeared to have a greater effect on responses to vertical motion, particularly in the light (in contrast, responses to interaural translation in the light were nearly normal), suggesting a particular importance of the Nod/Uv in processing signals arising from the sacculi.
Tickle: Object-Oriented Description and Composition Services for Software Engineering Environments

Providing support for object-oriented descriptions of software engineering environment facilities has received considerable interest in recent times. The TICKLE (Tool Inter-communication and Composition Kernel for Large Environments) system provides services for the definition of SEE objects with their associated operations, and the description of the tools and the functions they offer as implementations of operations. Novel features in TICKLE include the separate definition and manipulation of the associations between operations and tool functions in a composite, scoping of the mapping associations to within the composite, and the integration of these object-oriented notions with recent ideas on the use of broadcast mechanisms for tool communication.
Exploring the Therapeutic Fairy Tale Motifs of Silence, Betrayal, and the Search for a Voice in the Film “The Piano”

Fairy tales can be used as therapeutic stories to deal with psychological issues. This essay shows how the film “The Piano” reflects themes addressed in the fairy tales “The Little Mermaid,” “Bluebeard,” and “The Handless Maiden.” It demonstrates how the film can be used with clients to address the archetypal motifs of silence, betrayal, and the search for a voice as aspects of personal growth and transformation. Using a Jungian approach, the symbolism of the film is discussed and its implications for therapeutic use with clients are explored.
Fluid flow through a partially filled cylinder

The laminar flow of viscous incompressible fluid through a partially filled circular cylinder is studied. The governing equations reduce to Laplace's equation, and the region of solution is the union of two intersecting circles. This region is mapped onto the unit circle by a conformal transformation, so that the problem may be solved by the Poisson integral formula. The integration is performed by a combination of residues and numerical integration. The results agree very well with exact analytic solutions at 50%, 85.4%, and 100% depth to diameter ratios. It is found that by not filling the cylinder completely, the flow rate can be increased by a significant 27.3%.
Isolation and Characterization of an Avian Adenovirus-Associated Virus

An 18- to 20-nm virus particle was isolated from the Olson strain of quail bronchitis, an avian adenovirus. On density gradient separation the small virions were primarily found at densities of 1.39 and 1.42 g/cm(3). The majority of the infectious particles were at the heavier density. The virus had a hexagonal outline and contained single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid. It was resistant to heating at 56 C for more than an hour and was not inactivated by treatment with chloroform or low pH. Purified virus did not agglutinate erythrocytes of various avian and mammalian species. Replication of the small particles occurred either in chicken embryos or in cultures of embryo kidney cells coinfected with an adenovirus helper. Antigenically the virus was distinct from the adeno-associated viruses types 1, 2, 3, and 4. The virus is the avian equivalent of the adeno-associated viruses of primates and lower animals.
Spatial Data Locality with Respect to Degree of Parallelism in Processor-and-Memory Hierarchies

A system organised as a Hierarchy of Processor-And-Memory (HPAM) extends the familiar notion of memory hierarchy by including processors with different performance in different levels of the hierarchy. Tasks are assigned to different hierarchy levels according to their degree of parallelism. This paper studies the spatial locality (with respect to degree of parallelism) behaviour of simulated parallelised benchmarks in multi-level HPAM systems, and presents an inter-level cache coherence protocol that supports inclusion and multiple block sizes on an HPAM architecture. Inter-level miss rates and traffic simulation results show that the use of multiple data transfer sizes (as opposed to a unique size) across the HPAM hierarchy allows the reduction of data traffic between the uppermost levels in the hierarchy while not degrading the miss rate in the lowest level.
Computing jump conditions for the immersed interface method using triangular meshes

The immersed interface method (IIM) can be employed to solve many interface problems on fixed Cartesian grids by incorporating necessary interface-induced Cartesian jump conditions into numerical schemes. In this paper, we present a method to compute the necessary Cartesian jump conditions from given principal jump conditions using triangular mesh representation of an interface. The triangular mesh representation is simpler and robuster than interface parametrization for a complex or non-smooth interface. We test our method by using the computed Cartesian jump conditions in the IIM to solve a Poisson equation subject to an interface with the shape of a sphere, cube, cylinder or cone. The results demonstrate the expected second-order accuracy of the solution in the infinity norm.
Osseous Metaplasia of the Endometrium: A Rare Entity.

This paper presents a case of osseous metaplasia of the endometrium, a rarely encountered disease. Metaplasia is described as a change of one epithelium into another epithelium due to some triggering factor. In this case, endometrium is converted into osseous spicules. It might be followed by an abortion presenting with Infertility or chronic endometritis or metabolic disorder like hypervitaminosis D or electroexcision of cervix, prolonged estrogen therapy, which is generally diagnosed by hysteroscopy and ultrasound and certified by histopathological examination. We report the case who presented with osseous metaplasia 17 years post-menopausal and 34-years post-abortion, the longest ever reported in the literature so far.
Probing the Logic of Forgiveness, Human and Divine

Danaher suggests that doxological justice, grounded in an acute receptivity of the generosity of God, can decenter our current notions of justice. Instead I focus on what might be called doxological forgiveness, that is, grace-responsive forgiveness. The first section argues that a conception of forgiveness which I dub repentance-responsive is compatible with and even requires holding punitive attitudes. The second section sketches the alternative account of grace-responsive forgiveness. Those who embody this virtue have epistemic and theological warrant to entirely disavow punitive emotions. The third section argues that God embodies a grace-responsive forgiveness that undermines retributivism and eclipses repentance-responsive forgiveness.
Factor B is essential for ATP synthesis by mitochondria.

Factor B is a water-soluble protein, which is required for the coupled activity of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex. Specific removal of factor B from well-coupled bovine heart submitochondrial particles (SMP) results in uncoupling and the loss of ATP-driven membrane potential formation and reverse electron transfer from succinate to NAD. Addition of recombinant human factor B (molecular mass 20,341 Da) to factor B-depleted SMP (AE-SMP) restores these properties [G.I. Belogrudov, and Y. Hatefi, (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 6097-6103]. This paper shows that extraction and purification of ATP synthase complex (complex V) from bovine heart mitochondria results in extensive loss of factor B. Addition of recombinant human factor B to AE-SMP completely restores the lost oxidative phosphorylation and ATP-32P(i) exchange activities of the particles and increases the ATP-32P(i) exchange activity of complex V by 2.5-fold. These results further indicate that factor B is an essential component of the mammalian ATP synthase complex.
Calibration procedure in dual-energy scanning using the basis function technique

We present a technique to simplify the calibration procedure of the dual‐energy scanning, using aluminum (AL) and plastic (PL) as basis materials. In essence, this method determines the ‘‘basis functions’’ of the basis materials at the chosen energies. This technique replaces the two‐dimensional calibration procedure, which is tedious, by two simple one‐dimensional calibration steps. In addition, this technique also provides an alternative approach for solving the dual‐energy problem.
Radiation damage experiments on PbS infrared detectors

Abstract The purpose of the work reported in this paper was to determine the expected lifetime of PbS infrared detectors in the lower Van Allen radiation belt. Commercially available PbS cells were bombarded with high energy protons (7.5 MeV to 450 MeV) with the integrated proton flux ranging from 1010 protons/cm2 to 1016 protons/cm2. A comparison of the known information about the Van Allen belt and the experimental data obtained in this work indicates that PbS cells can function properly for at least 2 years in such an environment. Similar cells were also irradiated with neutrons. The changes in the PbS detector characteristics as a result of neutron irradiation are similar to the changes for proton bombardment and results show that these PbS cells can tolerate an integrated neutron flux of about 1015nν0ι (thermal neutrons/cm2) without serious effects.
Perinuclear antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody-positive cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa associated with minocycline therapy for acne vulgaris.

Abstract Minocycline is an oral antibiotic widely used for the long-term treatment of acne vulgaris. Unusual side effects of this medication include two overlapping autoimmune syndromes: drug-induced lupus and autoimmune hepatitis. In addition, in a few patients livedo reticularis or subcutaneous nodules have developed in association with arthritis and serum perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (P-ANCA) during long-term minocycline therapy. We report the cases of two young women receiving long-term minocycline therapy (>3 years) in whom P-ANCA-positive cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa developed. Both patients presented with a violaceous reticulated pattern on the lower extremities. Histologic examination of biopsy specimens from a reticulated area and a subcutaneous nodule showed necrotizing vasculitis of medium-sized arteries in the deep dermis, consistent with the diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa. The cutaneous lesions rapidly resolved on discontinuation of minocycline and initiation of prednisone therapy. A high index of suspicion and testing for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody in addition to the standard antinuclear antibody panel can facilitate diagnosis of minocycline-related autoimmune disorders. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:198-206.)
Processing and microstructure of powder metallurgy Al-Fe-Ni alloys

Prealloyed rapidly solidified Al-Fe-Ni alloy powder with dispersoid volume fractions of 0.19, 0.25, and 0.32 FeNiAl9 was produced by air atomization. The powder was degassed, canned, and consolidated to full density by vacuum hot pressing and extrusion or by direct extrusion. Microstructures in the alloy powder and consolidated material were characterized by means of optical, scanning (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and constituent phases identified by X-ray diffraction. The coarsening kinetics of the FeNiAl9 dispersoid were monitored by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by quantitative metallography. Atomized powders exhibited two scales of microstructures: optically featureless regions and regions with a coarse dispersoid morphology. Within the featureless regions, there are three morphologies, namely, a fine uniform precipitate microstructure, a cellular microstructure, and an eutectic microstructure. The only dispersoid observed in the atomized powders and consolidated material was FeNiAl9. The two scales of microstructure were retained after consolidation, and after hot extrusion, the typical microstructure consisted of a recovered matrix structure with a grain size of 0.2 to 0.3 μm and equiaxed intermetallics of average diameter 0.1 μm. The microstructure was resistant to coarsening up to approximately 370 °C. Coarsening kinetics in this alloy system were consistent with a grain boundary diffusion model (activation energy 146 kJ/mol) and were not appreciably affected by dispersoid volume fraction.
Design of the IBM 8100 data base and transaction management system: DTMS

Transaction applications have specialized requirements for scheduling and data base support. This paper describes the procedure by which those requirements were identified during the design of a data base and transaction management program for the IBM 8100 Information System. It also provides an overview of the program structure that evolved to satisfy the functional requirements.
Logit Modeling: Practical Applications

Introduction Logit Models Theoretical Background Logit Models for Multidimensional Tables Logistic Regression Advanced Topics in Logistic Regression
Permafrost dynamics in the 20th and 21st centuries along the East Siberian transect

[1] The East Siberian transect, which has been designated by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) as its Far East transect, has unique permafrost conditions. Not only does permafrost underlie the entire transect, but also about one third of the region is underlain by an “ice complex,” consisting of extremely ice-rich Late Pleistocene sediments. Given the possibility of a predicted future increase in global temperatures, an evaluation of the magnitude of changes in the ground thermal regime becomes desirable for assessments of possible ecosystem responses and impacts on infrastructure. A soil model developed at the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory was used to simulate the dynamics of the active layer thickness and ground temperature in this transect, both retrospectively and prognostically, using climate forcing from six global climate models (GCMs). Analysis of future permafrost dynamics showed that within the southwestern part of the transect, widespread permafrost thawing from the surface can begin as early as 2050. The spatial extent and temporal dynamics of the zone with thawing permafrost vary significantly among the different GCMs. According to all the GCMs the mean annual ground temperatures could rise by 2°–6°C, and the active layer thickness could increase by 0.5–2 m everywhere within the transect by 2099. However, the increases in mean annual ground temperature and active layer thickness are not uniform in time. Relatively cold and warm periods associated with natural fluctuations in air temperature and precipitation are superimposed on the background warming trend. The most significant increases in mean annual ground temperatures and in the active layer thickness are projected to occur in the southwestern part of the transect and in areas with coarse-grained sediments, characterized by low water content and high thermal conductivity.
Plasticizer-Free Polymer Membrane Ion-Selective Electrodes Containing a Methacrylic Copolymer Matrix

A methyl methacrylate and decyl methacrylate (MMA-DMA) copolymer has been used to fabricate plasticizer-free ion-selective membranes. The copolymer matrix showed good mechanical properties, and can be solvent cast in complete analogy to traditional ISE membranes. The material was evaluated in ionophore-free cation and anion exchanger membranes as well as in ion-selective electrode membranes containing five different neutral ionophores. The selectivity of Na (X) based copolymer membranes was found to be superior when compared to corresponding membranes made from poly(vinyl chloride) plasticized with bis(2-ethylhexyl sebacate) (PVC-DOS) and other plasticizer free membranes. Other ionophore-based MMA-DMA membranes, with the exception of magnesium-selective systems, also showed excellent selectivity similar to the corresponding PVC-DOS membranes. This makes MMA-DMA a potentially superior choice over alternative membrane matrices reported in the literature and a promising platform for the establishment of covalently immobilized membrane components.
Two related pyrrolidinedione synthetase loci in Fusarium heterosporum ATCC 74349 produce divergent metabolites.

Equisetin synthetase (EqiS), from the filamentous fungus Fusarium heterosporum ATCC 74349, was initially assigned on the basis of genetic knockout and expression analysis. Increasing inconsistencies in experimental results led us to question this assignment. Here, we sequenced the F. heterosporum genome, revealing two hybrid polyketide-peptide proteins that were candidates for the equisetin synthetase. The surrounding genes in both clusters had the needed auxiliary genes that might be responsible for producing equisetin. Genetic mutation, biochemical analysis, and recombinant expression in the fungus enabled us to show that the initially assigned EqiS does not produce equisetin but instead produces a related 2,4-pyrrolidinedione, fusaridione A, that was previously unknown. Fusaridione A is methylated in the 3-position of the pyrrolidinedione, which has not otherwise been found in natural products, leading to spontaneous reverse-Dieckmann reactions. A newly described gene cluster, eqx, is responsible for p...
Separation and isolation of the isomers of bacitracin by high-performance liquid chromatography and their relationship to microbial activity.

Abstract Bacitracin, a polypeptide antibiotic produced from strains of Bacillus licheniformis , is one of the most commonly used antibiotics in the world. Actually, the various products generally referred to as ‘bacitracin’ are mixtures of similar polypeptides which may differ by only one amino acid. The approved method of analysis for bacitracin is microbial. To correlate the microbiological method with an HPLC method, bacitracin was chromatographed using a YMC basic column with UV detection. Adequate separation of the isomers were obtained to scale up this procedure to preparative HPLC using a 250 × 21 mm YMC basic column. The various fractions were separated, isolated and examined for microbial activity. The chromatograms can accurately predict in minutes the microbiologically-determined potency which usually takes 16–24 h to develop. The chromatographic procedure also provides information on the amounts of isomers and degradation products present in the sample, whereas the microbiological assay only provides activities or potencies of the antibiotic. The reported HPLC method also possesses some advantages over some other published HPLC methods in terms of accuracy and time of analysis.
Crystal Structure Analysis of Phosphatidylcholine-GM2-Activator Product Complexes: Evidence for Hydrolase Activity.

GM2-activator protein (GM2AP) is a lysosomal lipid transfer protein with important biological roles in ganglioside catabolism, phospholipid metabolism, and T-cell activation. Previous studies of crystal structures of GM2AP complexed with the physiological ligand GM2 and platelet activating factor (PAF) have shown binding at two specific locations within the spacious apolar pocket and an ordering effect of endogenous resident lipids. To investigate the structural basis of phospholipid binding further, GM2AP was cocrystallized with phosphatidylcholine (PC), known to interact with GM2AP. Analysis of three crystal forms revealed binding of single chain lipids and fatty acids only and surprisingly not intact PC. The regions of best defined electron density are consistent with the presence of lyso-PC and oleic acid, which constitute deacylation products of PC. Their acyl tails are in stacking contact with shorter, less well-defined stretches of electron density that may represent resident fatty acids. The GM2AP...
"Discredited" Versus "Discreditable": Understanding How Shared and Unique Stigma Mechanisms Affect Psychological and Physical Health Disparities.

In his classic treatise, Goffman (1963) delineates between people who are discredited—whose stigma is clearly known or visible—and people who are discreditable—whose stigma is unknown and can be concealable. To what extent has research in the past 50 years advanced Goffman's original ideas regarding the impact of concealability on stigma management strategies and outcomes? In the current article, we outline a framework that articulates how stigma can “get under the skin” in order to lead to psychological and physical health disparities. Further, we consider when and to what degree concealability moderates these effects, creating divergent outcomes for the discredited and discreditable.
Basal levels of adenosine modulate mGluR5 on rat hippocampal astrocytes.

Neuronal activity elicits increases in intracellular Ca2+ in astrocytes, which in turn can elevate neuronal Ca2+ and potentiate the efficacy of excitatory synaptic transmission. Therefore, understanding the modulation of astrocyte Ca2+ elevations by neurotransmitters should aid in understanding astrocyte-neuronal interactions. On cultured hippocampal microislands containing only astrocytes, activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) with the specific agonist 1S,3R-ACPD triggers Ca2+ elevations that are potentiated by adenosine A1 receptor activation. A1 receptor modulation of mGluR-induced Ca2+ elevations is blocked by pertussis toxin and is mimicked by the wasp venom peptide mastoparan, suggesting that potentiation occurs by means of a Gi/o mechanism. Surprisingly, on microislands containing only astrocytes, A1 receptor antagonism or adenosine degradation suppresses mGluR-triggered Ca2+ elevations, strongly suggesting that astrocytes are a source of physiologically relevant concentrations of adenosine. GLIA 33:24–35, 2001. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Phosphination: Enantioselective Synthesis of a P-Chirogenic Phosphine

The racemic secondary phosphine PH(Me)(Is) (1, Is = 2,4,6-(i-Pr)3C6H2) was coupled with PhI in the presence of NaOSiMe3 and the catalyst Pd((R,R)-Me-Duphos)(Ph)(I) (3) to give P(Ph)(Me)(Is) (2) in up to 78% ee. The intermediate phosphido complex Pd((R,R)-Me-Duphos)(Ph)(P(Me)(Is)) (5a,b) was observed as a mixture of diastereomers by low-temperature 31P NMR. The rate of interconversion of 5a,b by phosphorus inversion is greater than or equal to that of reductive elimination, which suggests that the enantiodetermining step occurs after Pd−P bond formation.
Sparse approximate multiquadric interpolation

Abstract Multiquadric interpolation is a technique for interpolating nonuniform samples of multivariate functions, in order to enable a variety of operations such as data visualization. We are interested in computing sparse but approximate interpolants, i.e., approximate interpolants with few coefficients. Such interpolants are useful since (1) the cost of evaluating the interpolant scales directly with the number of nonzero coefficients, and (2) the principle of Occam's Razor 2 suggests that the interpolant with fewer coefficients better approximates the underlying function. Since the number of coefficients in a multiquadric interpolant is, as is to be expected, equal to the number of data points in the given set, the problem can be abstracted thus: given a set S of samples of a function f : R k → R , and an error tolerance δ, find the smallest set of points T ⊆ S such that the multiquadric interpolant of T is within δ of f over S . Using some recent results on sparse solutions of linear systems, we show how T may be selected in a provably good fashion.
Mechanical Contracting Safety Issues

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the mechanical contracting branches of the construction industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the reduction of risk of these injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. To achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan mechanical contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. Fourteen of the 50 mechanical contracting surveys distributed were completed. The pilot study found eye injuries due to grinding and welding and upper extremity cuts due to sheet metal to be the most frequent mechanical contracting task/injury combination.
Shoulder injuries in the athlete: The Instability Continuum and Treatment

Abstract The young athlete involved in overhand activity subjects the shoulder to extreme ranges of motion in a repetitious nature over a number of years. The biomechanics inherent to the overhand activity obviously offset the delicate balance of stability and mobility that are necessary for normal shoulder function. An instability continuum ensues. Treatment of overhand shoulder injuries focuses on the critical balance of stability and mobility. The instability must be stopped and the balance restored before anatomic damage occurs. The purpose of this article is to describe treatment that first strengthens the stability component, then progresses to the mobility component. It is called the treatment of the three Ps: (1) the glenohumeral protectors (rotator cuff muscles); (2) the scapulohumeral pivotors (scapular rotator muscles); and (3) the humeral positioners (deltoids, latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major). The protectors and pivotors are strengthened first. Once they demonstrate adequate synchrony of movement, the positioners are brought into play. This exercise program can be used for injury prevention or immediately following diagnosis. If anatomic damage has occurred and the program fails, the exercises can be used as a postsurgical rehabilitation program. If the exercises are effectively administered immediately following diagnosis, they are 95% successful in returning the athlete to his or her prior level of competition, without surgery. Of the 5% who do require surgery, 87% return to their prior level of competition, combining the anterior capsulo-labrum reconstruction (ACLR) surgical procedure with the effective and efficient exercise program described.
Coexistence of arterial compression in patients with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome

Importance Patients with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (NTOS) may have signs and symptoms of arterial compromise without thrombosis or aneurysm. Objective To evaluate these patients’ presentation, duration of signs and symptoms, and outcomes of immediate surgical operation. Design, Setting, and Participants Demographic and clinical data for patients with NTOS and signs and symptoms of arterial compromise without arterial thrombosis or aneurysm were extracted from a prospectively maintained, institutional review board–approved database and patient medical records between May 22, 2003, and October 16, 2012, in the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions’ Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. Interventions All patients received immediate first rib resection and scalenectomy (FRRS) (n = 15), cervical rib resection and FRRS (n = 6), or FRRS and second rib resection due to fusion (n = 1). Further physical therapy or anterior scalene block was not considered owing to arterial compression. Main Outcomes and Measures Surgical intervention relieved arterial and neurogenic symptoms, and abnormal duplex velocities returned to normal in adduction. Results Twenty-two patients (13 women and 9 men; mean age, 25 years [range, 12-41 years]) presented with the following signs and symptoms a mean of 37 months (range, 1-144 months) after developing symptoms of NTOS: arm discoloration (n = 15), infraclavicular bruit with arm abduction (n = 9), more than 50% change in subclavian artery velocity in abduction by duplex scan (n = 12), cervical rib (n = 6), abnormal first rib (n = 3), and/or history of embolization (n = 2). In addition, 2 patients had venous thrombosis. The mean follow-up time was 11 months (range, 1-34 months), and all patient outcomes improved in the postoperative period. Conclusions and Relevance Arterial compression can coexist with NTOS and can be elucidated in most patients by medical record review and physical examination, along with confirmation by a duplex scan. Those with evidence of arterial compression and for whom physical therapy has failed should receive surgery to alleviate their symptoms. Prompt surgical intervention affords good outcomes in these patients. Outcomes for patients with NTOS and arterial compression following immediate surgical intervention were previously unknown.
Problems in Signal-to-Noise Ratio for Attenuation Correction in High Resolution PET

In high resolution PET, the number of events required for a high signal-to-noise ratio in the measured attenuation correction is an order of magnitude higlher (50-100 million) than that required for the emission image. This is due to the large number of elements in the attenuation correction sinogram (e.g. 50,000) and the large attenuation factors through the thicker sections of the body (e.g. 50). Another major contribution to noise in high resolution PET is contamination of true coincidences by accidentals and their subtraction from the prompt coincidences. In this work three methods which reduce noise in the measured attenuation are evaluated. The methods are: (1) optimization of energy threshold, (2) processing of random sinogram before subtraction and (3) spatial averaging of the tranismission sinogram before performing attenuation correction.
Acute cardiac tamponade: Demonstration of altered hemodynamics by contrastenhanced computed tomography

We present a case of cardiac tamponade caused by blunt trauma to demonstrate the specific hemodynamic changes that can be demonstrated with contrast-enhanced computed tomography. Because the clinical diagnosis may be missed in the setting of multiple trauma, radiologists should familiarize themselves with these specific changes.
From protecting soldiers to protecting mobile phones

What does it take to turn your PhD research into a company? Using video to sell the discovery, quizzing future customers, de-risking to drive investment and preparing for a roller coaster ride are just a few things to consider. Stephen Coulson, chief technology officer of P2i, talks through his journey from lab to market, and discusses how to reach beyond your first applications.