cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical and oxidative removal of organics during Fenton treatment of mature municipal landfill leachate.

Abstract Municipal landfill leachate, especially mature leachate, may disrupt the performance of moderately-sized municipal activated sludge wastewater treatment plants, and likewise tend to be recalcitrant to biological pretreatment. Recently, Fenton methods have been investigated for chemical treatment or pre-treatment of mature leachate. In this paper, the results of laboratory tests to determine the roles of oxidation and coagulation in reducing the organic content of mature leachate during Fenton treatment are presented. The efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) oxidation and coagulation were tested, and the ratio of COD removal by oxidation to that by coagulation was assessed, under various operating conditions. Low initial pH, appropriate relative and absolute Fenton reagent dosages, aeration, and stepwise addition of reagents increased COD removal by oxidation and the importance of oxidation relative to coagulation. Simultaneous aeration and stepwise reagent addition allowed comparable treatment without initial acidification pH, due to the generation of acidic organic intermediates and the continuous input of CO 2 . On the other hand, high COD oxidation efficiency and low ferrous dosage inhibited COD removal by coagulation. At significantly high oxidation efficiency, overall COD reduction decrease slightly due to low coagulation efficiency. Under the most favorable conditions (initial pH 3, molar ratio [H 2 O 2 ]/[Fe 2+ ] = 3, [H 2 O 2 ] = 240 mM, and six dosing steps), 61% of the initial COD was removed, and the ratio of COD removal oxidation to coagulation was 0.75. Results highlighted the synergistic roles of oxidation and coagulation in Fenton treatment of mature leachate, and the role of oxidation in controlling the efficiency of removal of COD by coagulation.
Infrared Emissivity of the Sahara from Tiros Data.

Most rocks, minerals, and sands show strong infrared reflection bands. In the atmospheric window (8 to 12µ), quartz and feldspar show an emissivity near 0.8, calcite near 1.0. These laboratory data are confirmed from observations during a Tiros flight over the Libyan desert. The Mediterranean Sea was used for calibration. Desert emissivity is between 0.7 and 0.9
Temperature and solvation effects on homologous series selectivity in reversed phase liquid chromatography

Although the theoretical basis for temperature effects in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) has been well established, temperature is an under-utilized parameter for enhancing resolution in RPLC systems. However, the use of subambient operating temperatures can bring about significant increases in selectivity which are useful in separating solutes with subtle differences in their morphology. We have been examining the effects of temperature, particularly in the subambient range, and mobile phase solvation on RPLC solute selectivity for a homologous series of non-polar compounds on monomeric C18 stationary phases. By using solute sets consisting of structural homologs, we have examined whether linear free energy relationships are operant, as well as measured enthalpic and entropic contributions to retention and selectivity over a wide temperature range. The solute homologous series sets include flexible chain solutes, such as the methylene series consisting of the C1–C6n-alkylbenzenes rod-like solutes, such as the phenylene series consisting of benzene, biphenyl, p-terphenyl and p-quaterphenyl and plate-like solutes, such as the fused-ring series consisting of benzene, naphthalene, anthracene and 2,3-benzanthracene. This work is relevant in better understanding RPLC retention mechanisms as well as solute partitioning in other organized assemblies, and also is resulting in improved separation methods for many structurally similar compounds of environmental and pharmaceutical importance.
Overview Of A Unified Calibration Trio For Robot Eye, Eye-To-Hand, And Hand Calibration Using 3D Machine Vision

The machine vision community needs a simple, easy to use, fast, accurate, and low cost way of calibrating the robot eye, eye-to-hand and hand for 3D machine vision applications. This paper overviews a trio exactly for this purpose. The trio is real time, and uses common motion, cal-ibration plate, setup, coordinate systems, matrices, vectors, symbols and operations throughout. It is easier and faster than any of the existing techniques, and is among the most accurate calibration techniques using vision (while several orders of magnitude faster than those techniques that have comparable accuracy). The robot makes a series of automatically planned movements with a camera rigidly mounted at the gripper. At the end of each move, it takes a total of 90 milliseconds to grab an image, extract image feature coordinates and perform camera extrinsic calibration. After the robot finishes all the movements, it takes only a few milliseconds to do the eye-to-hand and hand calibration, and takes less than 25 milliseconds to do the eye calibration (can be reduced several fold if only a minimal number of calibration points are used). In this paper, we first introduce what a trio is. Then a list of main advantages of the proposed trio is given. Next, each element of the trio is defined. The common setup used throughout the trio is then described. Next, we briefly overview how the trio works globally. Then, each element of the trio is presented in more detail. The trio has been fully implemented and is operational; with the eye a Javelin CID camera, and the hand an IBM Clean Room Robot. This paper only overviews the approaches. The complete details of the theory, algorithm, and implementation results can be found in the references.
Delayed adverse reaction to nonionic contrast agents.

Delayed reactions to nonionic contrast agents are not well known. We describe a child with a life-threatening reaction. Conclusions: (1) Late adverse contrast reactions can follow nonionic contrast administration without any immediate reaction; (2) the manifestations may be unusual with symptoms not typically associated with a contrast reaction; (3) the reactions are most often self-limiting and minor, but can be serious; (4) the protective effect of steroid pretreatment, especially same-day intravenous therapy, is uncertain.
Study of reaction intermediates of methanol decomposition and catalytic partial oxidation on Pt/Al2O3

Abstract Methanol is considered a promising liquid fuel for hydrogen fuel cell systems. Catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of methanol offers the potential of producing hydrogen for these systems, and is capable of high hydrogen production rates with no heat addition. However, the mechanism of methanol CPO is not completely understood due to its complexity. In this work, methanol CPO on Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalysts was studied using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and mass spectrometry. Methanol adsorption experiments were conducted on different catalyst states. Methoxy species, CH 3 O s , were formed during dissociative adsorption of methanol. As temperature was increased, formate adspecies, likely formed by reaction of methoxy species with surface hydroxyls, were increasingly formed. Ignition of CPO was also studied, and it was found to occur at room temperature on both reduced and oxidized powder catalysts. Formate disappeared during this process, while CO species and CO 2 were detected in the products. CPO was studied at different temperatures from 723 K to 973 K, and for methanol to oxygen mole ratios from 2 to 4. It was found that CO 2 productivity increased at lower temperatures and H 2 and CO had a higher selectivity at higher temperatures. Fuel lean conditions favored H 2 and HCOOH production. CO 2 increased when O 2 concentration increased in the reaction mixture. These results suggest that formate was one of the important intermediates in the methanol partial oxidation reaction pathway. Indirect formate decomposition is dominant for CO 2 production in the reactions at higher temperatures.
Profitability assessment of Haynesville shale gas wells

Abstract The Haynesville shale in Louisiana is one of several unconventional gas plays that have been discovered in the U.S. in the past decade and promise to dramatically change the course of future energy development given its enormous resource potential. Unconventional gas resources are abundant, but their development is particularly sensitive to technologic risk, geologic uncertainty, and gas price. To produce at commercial rates, shale gas wells require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing which significantly increases the capital cost. The purpose of this paper is to examine the price sensitivity of Haynesville wells and the economic viability of the play. We characterize the operating envelope under which Haynesville wells are economic and describe the profit space based on a review of production and cost characteristics. The majority of Haynesville wells fail to break-even on a full-cycle basis at prevailing gas prices. This harsh economic reality will control future activity after new entrants fulfill their drilling requirements. For $5/Mcf gas, the average Haynesville well is expected to generate a 10% return when drilling and completion costs are $7 million and operating expenditures are $1/Mcf. We explore two-variable factor models using type curves and introduce functional relations for the multiple variable case.
Remote limb ischemic conditioning enhances motor learning in healthy humans

Brief bouts of sublethal ischemia have been shown to protect exposed tissue (ischemic conditioning) and tissues at remote sites (remote ischemic conditioning) against subsequent ischemic challenges. Given that the mechanisms of this protective phenomenon are multifactorial and epigenetic, we postulated that remote limb ischemic conditioning (RLIC) might enhance mechanisms responsible for neural plasticity, and thereby facilitate learning. Specifically, we hypothesized that conditioning of the nervous system with RLIC, achieved through brief repetitive limb ischemia prior to training, would facilitate the neurophysiological processes of learning, thus making training more effective and more long-lasting. Eighteen healthy adults participated in this study; nine were randomly allocated to RLIC and nine to sham conditioning. All subjects underwent seven consecutive weekday sessions and 2-wk and 4-wk follow-up sessions. We found that RLIC resulted in significantly greater motor learning and longer retention of motor performance gains in healthy adults. Changes in motor performance do not appear to be due to a generalized increase in muscle activation or muscle strength and were not associated with changes in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration. Of note, RLIC did not enhance cognitive learning on a hippocampus-dependent task. While future research is needed to establish optimal conditioning and training parameters, this inexpensive, clinically feasible paradigm might ultimately be implemented to enhance motor learning in individuals undergoing neuromuscular rehabilitation for brain injury and other pathological conditions.
A Computational Model for Phase Retrieval of Narrow-Band Chromatic Aberrations

We present a selection of algorithms for modeling pupil-plane wavefronts and electric field propagation for phase retrieval on a narrowband system with significant chromatic aberrations.
Selling patients and other metaphors: a discourse analysis of the interpretive frames that shape emergency department admission handoffs.

Abstract This paper reports a discourse analysis of the language doctors used as they talked about and engaged in patient handoffs between the emergency department (ED) and various inpatient services at one highly specialized academic tertiary teaching and referral hospital in the Midwest United States. Although interest in handoff improvement has grown considerably in recent years, progress has been hampered, perhaps in part, because of a widely used but limiting conceptual model of handoff as an information transmission. The purpose of the study reported here is to analyze the way doctors make sense of handoff interactions, including uncovering the interpretive frames they use, in order to provide empirical findings to expand conceptual models of handoff. All data reported were drawn from a two-year ethnographic study (2009–2011) and include semi-structured interviews ( n = 48), non-participant observations (349 h), and recorded telephone handoff conversations ( n = 48). A total of eighty-six individuals participated, including resident and attending doctors from the ED, internal medicine and surgical services, as well as hospital administrators. Findings are organized around four metaphors doctors used: sales, sports and games, packaging, and teamwork. Each metaphor, in turn, reveals an underlying interpretive frame that appears to be influenced by organizational and social structures and to shape the possibilities for action that doctors perceive. The four underlying interpretive frames are: handoff as persuasion, handoff as competition, handoff as expectation matching, and handoff as collaboration. Taken together, these interpretive frames highlight the complex, socially interactive nature of handoff and provide an empirical basis for grounding and enriching the conceptual model of handoff that guides research and practice improvement efforts.
Novel active connector for modular robotic systems

In this paper, we present a novel concept for an active connector for electrical and mechanical connection of components of a robotic or electromechanical system called active connector for robotic systems (ACOR). ACOR consists of a plug and a receptacle that contain a plurality of flexible lamellae that serve as the connection/disconnection mechanism. A shape-memory-alloy actuator is used to move the lamellae endpoint and control in this way the connector engagement and disengagement. ACOR can transmit axial and shear forces and torque. The connector can be controlled from both the plug and/or the receptacle side. So, in the case of a module failure, it can be disassembled by sending signals to its neighbors. ACOR allows fully automatic operation, manual operation, and manual and automatic emergency access from the outside. There are two novel characteristics of ACOR, compared to other active connectors found in literature. First, it allows disconnection from either side of the connection, plug or receptacle, regardless of the power situation on the other side. Second, it has a very simple design since it is composed of a very small number of parts and components. In this paper, we present, in detail, the mechanical design, the analytical models for calculation of the transmitted forces/torques, and the SMA actuator force requirements, and the experimental prototype that was built to demonstrate the concept of the connector.
Evaluation of Epithelial and Keratin Markers in Glioblastoma Multiforme

Abstract Objective.—Poorly differentiated metastatic carcinoma may be difficult to distinguish histologically from high-grade astrocytic malignant neoplasms, particularly on small open or stereotactic biopsy specimens. Previous authors have reported that a subset of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) variably stains with cytokeratin immunomarkers. The authors examined a panel of epithelial and keratin antibodies by paraffin immunohistochemistry to evaluate the immunophenotype of GBM for these markers and to determine what combination of immunostains would be optimal in distinguishing GBM from metastatic carcinoma. Methods.—Twenty-three patients with GBM (age range, 19–86 years; mean, 63.4 years; 14 men and 9 women) and 22 patients with metastatic carcinoma (age range, 26–77 years; mean, 58.1 years; 7 men and 15 women) to the brain were studied with a panel of immunostains, including glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), Ber-EP4, antikeratin monoclonal antibodies AE1/3, and antibodies to CAM 5.2 and cytokeratin...
Does Phonological Short-Term Memory Causally Determine Vocabulary Learning? Toward a Computational Resolution of the Debate.

The relationship between nonword repetition ability and vocabulary size and vocabulary learning has been a topic of intense research interest and investigation over the last two decades, following the demonstration that nonword repetition accuracy is predictive of vocabulary size (Gathercole & Baddeley, 1989). However, the nature of this relationship is not well understood. One prominent account posits that phonological short-term memory (PSTM) is a causal determinant both of nonword repetition ability and of phonological vocabulary learning, with the observed correlation between the two reflecting the effect of this underlying third variable (e.g., Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998). An alternative account proposes the opposite causality: that it is phonological vocabulary size that causally determines nonword repetition ability (e.g., Snowling, Chiat, & Hulme, 1991). We present a theory of phonological vocabulary learning, instantiated as a computational model. The model offers a precise account of the construct of PSTM, of performance in the nonword repetition task, of novel word form learning, and of the relationship between all of these. We show through simulation not only that PSTM causally affects both nonword repetition accuracy and phonological vocabulary size, but also that phonological vocabulary size causally affects nonword repetition ability. The plausibility of the model is supported by the fact that its nonword repetition accuracy displays effects of phonotactic probability and of nonword length, which have been taken as evidence for causal effects on nonword repetition accuracy of phonological vocabulary knowledge and PSTM, respectively. Thus the model makes explicit how the causal links posited by the two theoretical perspectives are both valid, in the process reconciling the two perspectives, and indicating that an opposition between them is unnecessary.
Resource-Based Perspectives on Unit-Level Human Capital A Review and Integration

Scholarly interest in leveraging resource-based theory to explore the unit-level human capital resource (HCR) is undergoing a paradigmatic shift in the strategy and strategic human resource management (HRM) literatures. As they undertake this next generation of research, scholars will be informed by a rigorous examination of prior unit-level HCR research. To this end, we present a systematic and multidisciplinary review of scholarship that invokes resource-based theorizing in examining the unit’s HCR. We reviewed 156 articles published in the strategy and strategic HRM literatures that conceptualize HC as a unit-level resource. This review suggests that a multidimensional typology of the unit-level HCR has emerged. In particular, research has examined the HCR’s type, context, and antecedents. We build on our review of this multidimensional typology to propose a multilevel conceptual integration of current and future unit-level HCR research in the strategy and strategic HRM domains. Current scholarly work ...
Ganciclovir-Resistant Cytomegalovirus Infections among Lung Transplant Recipients Are Associated with Poor Outcomes despite Treatment with Foscarnet-Containing Regimens

Ganciclovir-resistant cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are reported infrequently among lung transplant recipients receiving extended valganciclovir prophylaxis. We performed a single-center, retrospective review of ganciclovir-resistant CMV infections in a program that employed valganciclovir prophylaxis for ≥6 months after lung transplant. CMV infections were diagnosed in 28% (170/607) of patients. UL97 mutations were detected in 9.4% (16/170) of CMV-infected patients at a median of 8.5 months posttransplant (range, 5 to 21) and despite prophylaxis for a median of 7 months (range, 4 to 21). UL97 mutations were canonical; 25% (4/16) of strains carried concurrent UL54 mutations. Ganciclovir-resistant CMV was more likely with breakthrough infections (75% [12/16] versus 19% [30/154]; P = 0.00001) and donor positive/recipient negative (D+/R−) serostatus (75% versus 45% [69/154]; P = 0.03). The median whole-blood CMV load was 4.13 log10 copies/cm3 (range, 2.54 to 5.53), and 93% (14/15) of patients had low-moderate immune responses (Cylex Immunoknow). Antiviral therapy was successful, failed, or eradicated viremia followed by relapse in 12% (2/16), 31% (5/16), and 56% (9/16) of patients, respectively. Eighty-seven percent (14/16) of patients were treated with foscarnet-containing regimens; toxicity developed in 78% (11/14) of these. Median viral load half-life and time to viremia eradication among foscarnet-treated patients were 2.6 and 23 days, respectively, and did not correlate with protection from relapse. Sixty-nine percent (11/16) of patients developed CMV pneumonitis, and 25% (4/16) died of it. Serum viral load was independently associated with death among foscarnet-treated patients (P = 0.04). In conclusion, ganciclovir-resistant CMV infections remained a major cause of morbidity and mortality following lung transplantation. Foscarnet-based regimens often eradicated viremia rapidly but were ineffective in the long term and limited by toxicity.
Pediatric vancomycin dosing: Trends over time and the impact of therapeutic drug monitoring.

Monitoring of vancomycin trough concentrations is recommended for pediatric patients in the product label and by several professional societies. However, among a network of freestanding children's hospitals vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) practices were reported to be highly variable. In this study, we sought to evaluate whether trends in vancomycin use and TDM changed across a large healthcare delivery system in Utah and Idaho from 2006 to 2012. Children ≤18 years who received ≥2 vancomycin doses were included. Overall, vancomycin TDM was performed during 5,035 (80%) of 6,259 hospital encounters, in which 85,442 doses were administered and 7,935 concentrations were obtained. Across this time period, the median trough concentration increased from 10.9 to 13.7 µg/mL (P < .001), which temporally coincided with recommendations published by the Infectious Disease Society of America that recommend targeting higher trough concentrations. Two or more abnormally low trough concentrations were accompanied by an increase in the dose 75% of the time. Similarly, ≥2 abnormally high trough concentrations were followed by a decrease in the dose 35% of the time. In aggregate, these data suggest that vancomycin TDM is commonly performed among children and the majority of abnormal trough concentrations were associated with an appropriate modification to the dosing regimen.
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATIVE AND NONPROFIT FIRMS IN EMERGING PRODUCT MARKETS: EVIDENCE FROM THE PERSONAL FINANCE INDUSTRY

Using historical research, this paper finds that new entrants established as nonprofits and mutuals hold advantages over investor-owned counterparts in establishing the social and political legitimacy of new products in the early stages of market development. We propose that the advantages of the nonprofit form arise in emerging product markets that lack socio-political legitimacy because the potential value of the new product or service is not compromised by customer and stakeholder concerns about the profit motives of investors. Nonprofits and mutuals can hence play an important role in establishing the legitimacy of new markets. However, as these markets become established and grow, advantages shift toward investor-owned firms. Joint-stock entities hold advantages in acquiring the capital and human resources needed for fast-growing and mature product markets. Nonprofits and cooperatives, in contrast, were more limited in their ability to scale their businesses.
Abdominal pain and milky plasma.

A 55-year-old Caucasian male with type 2 diabetes mellitus and poor glycaemic control presented with severe epigastric pain and nausea of 18 h duration. Physical examination was remarkable for epigastric tenderness and ileus. Laboratory studies showed a fasting blood glucose level of 400 mg/dl and a triglyceride (TG) level of 10 000 mg/dl (normal range, 50–149 mg/dl). His high serum amylase and lipase (1293 …
MKP1-dependent PTH modulation of bone matrix mineralization in female mice is osteoblast maturation stage specific and involves P-ERK and P-p38 MAPKs

Limited information is available on the role of MAPK phosphatase 1 (MKP1) signaling in osteoblasts. We have recently reported distinct roles for MKP1 during osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and skeletal responsiveness to parathyroid hormone (PTH). As MKP1 regulates the phosphorylation status of MAPKs, we investigated the involvement of P-ERK and P-p38 MAPKs in MKP1 knockout (KO) early and mature osteoblasts with respect to mineralization and PTH response. Calvarial osteoblasts from 9-14-week-old WT and MKP1 KO male and female mice were examined. Western blot analysis revealed downregulation and sustained expressions of P-ERK and P-p38 with PTH treatment in differentiated osteoblasts derived from KO males and females respectively. Exposure of early osteoblasts to p38 inhibitor, SB203580 (S), markedly inhibited mineralization in WT and KO osteoblasts from both genders as determined by von Kossa assay. In osteoblasts from males, ERK inhibitor U0126 (U), not p38 inhibitor (S), prevented the inhibitory effects of PTH on mineralization in early or mature osteoblasts. In osteoblasts from KO females, PTH sustained mineralization in early osteoblasts and decreased mineralization in mature cells. This effect of PTH was attenuated by S in early osteoblasts and by U in mature KO cells. Changes in matrix Gla protein expression with PTH in KO osteoblasts did not correlate with mineralization, indicative of MKP1-dependent additional mechanisms essential for PTH action on osteoblast mineralization. We conclude that PTH regulation of osteoblast mineralization in female mice is maturation stage specific and involves MKP1 modulation of P-ERK and P-p38 MAPKs.
Economic growth, trade and energy: implications for the environmental Kuznets curve

Abstract The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis asserts that pollution follows an inverted-U path with respect to economic growth. The EKC has been explained in terms of structural changes in the composition of economic output and increased environmental regulation at higher income levels. While some authors have incorporated the impact of trade policy orientation on the EKC, the impact of the actual movement between countries of goods that embody pollution has not been considered. This paper attempts to econometrically quantify the effect using pooled cross-country and time-series data. The EKC hypothesis is examined with respect to commercial energy consumption, the source of many serious environmental problems. It was found that while both industrializing and industrialized countries have added to their energy requirements by exporting manufactured goods, the growth has been substantially higher in the former. At the same time, industrialized countries have been able to reduce their energy requirements by importing manufactured goods. Exports of manufactured goods by industrialized countries has thus been an important factor in generating the upward sloping portion of the EKC and imports by industrialized countries have contributed to the downward slope.
Accrual to Cancer Clinical Trials in the Era of Molecular Medicine

Enrollment of patients in a clinical trial is difficult as a result of a host of well-documented barriers. In the field of oncology, molecularly targeted treatments have demonstrated considerable therapeutic promise. At the same time, clinical testing of these targeted agents has introduced new complexities in the decision-making process by patients or providers on whether to participate in clinical trials. Explored in this Commentary are challenges of and potential solutions for the clinical testing of modern cancer therapies.
The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research

As I began writing this review, I was reminded of an oft-seen yellow highway sign adorning the steep and winding roadsides of the Rocky Mountains: Watch for Falling Rocks! Within mere months of the publication of The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research, intended by its authors to help educators access and understand the findings of scientific research about reading and reading instruction, the familiar cast of critics had predictably begun rolling the rocks down the mountainside to pummel the book’s message and contents (See the Phi Delta Kappan, February 2005 issue.) Admittedly, healthy skepticism and critique are important to the advancement of science itself, but The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research covers such a wide range of topics that it is simply not deserving of the same types of criticisms as those leveled at The Report of the National Reading Panel (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000) with its much narrower research focus on only five areas related to reading instruction. The Voice of EviJOURNAL OF LITERACY RESEARCH, 38(4), 467–474 Copyright © 2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Influence of Adjacent Conductive Formations on the Selective Electric Reservoir Heating Process

A mathematical model was developed for studying the technology of oil extraction with the help of heating the productive bed by alternating electric current. The method is based on the fact that the viscosity of the majority of oils is more sensitive to temperature than water viscosity. The addition to the oil output can also be guaranteed by thermal expansion of oil. Selective electric heating of the bed can be done with the help of electrodes installed in the injection well when water with high mineralization is injected into them. This water, which has low electrical resistance, should reduce the heating of part of the bed into which it has penetrated. In addition, the mineralized water serves to cool the electrodes and thus prevents reaching of the boiling point. Part of the heated oil is displaced by this water towards the extracting wells. The developed mathematical model proposes a radial stream of fluid and electrical current. A uniform, horizontal, isotropic bed is examined with constant thickness and limited from the top and the bottom by beds with high electrical resistance. It is noted that with computation of the commercial projects it is necessary to rely on mathematical similarity, and notmore » on the model developed in the work.« less
A powerful Bayesian meta-analysis method to integrate multiple gene set enrichment studies

Motivation: Much research effort has been devoted to the identification of enriched gene sets for microarray experiments. However, identified gene sets are often found to be inconsistent among independent studies. This is probably owing to the noisy data of microarray experiments coupled with small sample sizes of individual studies. Therefore, combining information from multiple studies is likely to improve the detection of truly enriched gene classes. As more and more data become available, it calls for statistical methods to integrate information from multiple studies, also known as meta-analysis, to improve the power of identifying enriched gene sets. Results: We propose a Bayesian model that provides a coherent framework for joint modeling of both gene set information and gene expression data from multiple studies, to improve the detection of enriched gene sets by leveraging information from different sources available. One distinct feature of our method is that it directly models the gene expression data, instead of using summary statistics, when synthesizing studies. Besides, the proposed model is flexible and offers an appropriate treatment of between-study heterogeneities that frequently arise in the meta-analysis of microarray experiments. We show that under our Bayesian model, the full posterior conditionals all have known distributions, which greatly facilitates the MCMC computation. Simulation results show that the proposed method can improve the power of gene set enrichment meta-analysis, as opposed to existing methods developed by Shen and Tseng (2010, Bioinformatics, 26, 1316–1323), and it is not sensitive to mild or moderate deviations from the distributional assumption for gene expression data. We illustrate the proposed method through an application of combining eight lung cancer datasets for gene set enrichment analysis, which demonstrates the usefulness of the method. Availability: http://qbrc.swmed.edu/software/ Contact: Min.Chen@UTSouthwestern.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA, PERSONALITY, AND VOCATIONAL INTERESTS OF FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONERS

Summary.-This report suggests chat family nurse practitioners who are successful in practice may not have unique biographical, vocarional, or personality profiles. ,The results for 63 family nurse practitioners, including 3 males, on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, the Omnibus Personality Inventory, and Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, indicate this group was most similar to the general population. The results of the Myers-Br~ggs Type Indicator did show clusters in some types. The study suggests that descriptive studies in themselves may not be useful in predicting success but that the use of personality tests to measure the variables at work in practitioner-patient intrraction may be a more fertile research area. Useful criteria for predicting success in clinical practice for health manpower is yet an unsolved problem. The family nurse practitioners in this study made a successEul transition from nurse to nurse pra~titioner.~ It is likely their success in practice is due to a combination of cognitive ability, personality factors, vocational interest, and past experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine a biographic, personality, and vocational interest profile. Other descriptive studies have suggested that certain persons may be more suitable for the realities of practice having knowledge, skills, and attitudes important to successful adaptation to a variety of health care environments (5, 7,
Converting relative risks to absolute risks: A graphical approach

This paper presents a graphical method for converting relative risks to absolute risks. These absolute risk estimates are a function of the patient's current age, the patient's risk of developing cancer relative to some baseline population, the age specific cancer hazard in the baseline population, and the patient's competing mortal risk from all other causes. Graphs for breast cancer morbidity in women, cardiovascular mortality in men, and lung cancer morbidity in men illustrate the method. These graphs provide the probability of developing cancer in the next twenty years given the patient's current age and relative risk. They are derived under the proportional hazards model. A graph for lung cancer in men that uses a plausible exponential hazards model is also provided. The paper illustrates the importance of competing mortal hazard from other causes on absolute cancer risk. The strengths and weaknesses of this method are discussed. The graphs presented in this paper may be used as an aid in clinical decision making and in patient counselling.
Promotion of skin graft tolerance across MHC barriers by mobilization of dendritic cells in donor hemopoietic cell infusions.

Flt3 ligand (FL) dramatically increases the number of immunostimulatory dendritic cells (DC) and their precursors in bone marrow (BM) and secondary lymphoid tissues. Herein we tested the ability of FL-mobilized donor hemopoietic cells to promote induction of skin graft tolerance across full MHC barriers. C57BL/10 (B10; H2 b , IE − ) mice were given 10 8 spleen cells (SC) from normal or FL-treated, H-2-mismatched B10.D2 (H2 d , IE + ) donors i.v. on day 0, 200 mg/kg i.p. cyclophosphamide on day 2, and 10 7 T cell-depleted BM cells from B10.D2 mice on day 3. B10.D2 skin grafting was performed on day 14. Indefinite allograft survival (100 days) was induced in recipients of FL-SC, but not in mice given normal SC. Tolerance was associated with blood macrochimerism and was confirmed by second-set skin grafting with donor skin 100 days after the first graft. In tolerant mice, peripheral donor-reactive T cells expressing TCR Vβ11 were deleted selectively. Immunocompetence of tolerant FL-SC-treated mice was proven by rapid rejection of third-party skin grafts. To our knowledge this is the first report that mobilization of DC in donor cell infusions can be used to induce skin graft tolerance across MHC barriers, accompanied by specific deletion of donor-reactive T cells.
Transition-state theoretical interpretation of the catalytic power of pyruvate decarboxylases: the roles of static and dynamical considerations

The catalytic power of two thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes, yeast pyruvate decarboxylase (the hysteretically regulated enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, SCPDC) and bacterial pyruvate decarboxylase (the unregulated enzyme from Zymomonas mobilis, ZMPDC), are analyzed by thorough-going application of transition-state theory, i.e. by a static approach that emphasizes the state-function character of the free energy of activation and takes no explicit account of dynamical considerations. The overall catalytic reaction is resolved into manifolds for addition (conversion of free enzyme and substrate to the complex of enzyme with the pyruvate:ThDP adduct), decarboxylation, and elimination (conversion of the complex of enzyme with the acetaldehyde:ThDP adduct formed by decarboxylation into free product and free enzyme). For SCPDC, the addition manifold is most strongly catalyzed (3×1012-fold, corresponding to net transition-state stabilization of 72 kJ/mol, transition-state stabilization of 83 kJ/mol diminished by reactant-state stabilization of 11 kJ/mol), the decarboxylation manifold is least strongly catalyzed (5×107-fold, corresponding to net transition-state stabilization of 41 kJ/mol, transition-state stabilization of 68 kJ/mol diminished by reactant-state stabilization of 27 kJ/mol), and the elimination manifold is catalyzed to an intermediate degree (2×1010-fold, corresponding to net transition-state stabilization of 59 kJ/mol, transition-state stabilization of 76 kJ/mol diminished by reactant-state stabilization of 17 kJ/mol). A similar situation holds for ZMPDC. There is no need to make an explicit analysis of dynamical factors in order to describe the catalytic mechanism and catalytic power of these complex enzymes.
Parallel Algorithms for Evaluating Centrality Indices in Real-world Networks

This paper discusses fast parallel algorithms for evaluating several centrality indices frequently used in complex network analysis. These algorithms have been optimized to exploit properties typically observed in real-world large scale networks, such as the low average distance, high local density, and heavy-tailed power law degree distributions. We test our implementations on real datasets such as the web graph, protein-interaction networks, movie-actor and citation networks, and report impressive parallel performance for evaluation of the computationally intensive centrality metrics (betweenness and closeness centrality) on high-end shared memory symmetric multiprocessor and multithreaded architectures. To our knowledge, these are the first parallel implementations of these widely-used social network analysis metrics. We demonstrate that it is possible to rigorously analyze networks three orders of magnitude larger than instances that can be handled by existing network analysis (SNA) software packages. For instance, we compute the exact betweenness centrality value for each vertex in a large US patent citation network (3 million patents, 16 million citations) in 42 minutes on 16 processors, utilizing 20GB RAM of the IBM p5 570. Current SNA packages on the other hand cannot handle graphs with more than hundred thousand edges.
Studies on crystallization and cross-linking of lipase for biocatalysis

The development of robust biocatalysts with increased stability and activity is a major challenge to industry. A major breakthrough in this field was the development of cross-linked enzyme crystals with high specificity and stability. A method is described to produce micro crystals of CLEC lipase, which is thermostable and solvent stable. Lipase from Burkholderia cepacia was crystallized using ammonium sulfate and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to produce catalytically active enzyme. The maximum yield of CLEC was obtained with 70% ammonium sulfate and cross-linked with 5% (v/v) glutaraldehyde. SEM studies showed small hexagonal-shaped crystals of 2–5 μm size. CLEC lipase had improved thermal and reuse stability. It is versatile, having good activity in both polar and nonpolar organic solvents. CLEC lipase was coated using β cyclodextrin for improving the storage and reuse stability. CLEC was successfully used for esterification of Ibuprofen and synthesis of ethyl butyrate.
Control-oriented analysis of thermal gradients for a hypersonic vehicle

Structural damage resulting from the tremondous heating incurred during hypersonic flight is mitigated by a thermal protection system; however, such mitigation is accompanied by an increase in weight that can be prohibitive. The actual design of a thermal protection system can be chosen to vary the level of heating reduction, and associated weight, across the structure. This paper considers how such designs and resulting thermal gradients influence the ability to achieve closed-loop performance. A control architecture is used that damps any thermal effects for a range of temperature profiles. Various designs are considered for a representative model to show the large variation in flight dynamics. The resulting closed-loop performance is characterized as a function of the induced thermal gradients to indicate the optimality of the designs.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Individual Development Accounts: Evidence From the ADD Experiment

This report presents findings from the fourth wave of the American Dream Demonstration (ADD) experimental study of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The ADD was a set of 14 privately funded local IDA programs initiated in the late 1990s. It was the first large-scale test of IDAs in the United States and used a variety of research methods in order to learn about IDAs. One of these programs, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was implemented as a random assignment experiment. This report is based on a 10-year follow study of impacts at the Tulsa site.In total, 1,103 low-income participants were surveyed at baseline and randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group. Treatment group members received access to an IDA as well as financial education and case management. The IDA provided matched withdrawals at a 2:1 rate for home purchase and a 1:1 rate for home repair, small business investment, post-secondary education, or retirement savings. Participants who made the maximum matchable deposits throughout the 3 years of the program could accumulate $6,750 (plus interest) for a home purchase or $4,500 (plus interest) for the other qualified uses.In examining the five allowable uses, the study finds some impacts of IDAs on education, especially for males, and on home maintenance and repair 10-years after the program. However, we find no impact on homeownership, businesses, and retirement savings in the follow-up study. The positive findings for education and home maintenance and repair may suggest that IDAs are best suited to support asset purchases that can be accomplished incrementally over a period of time. Targeting IDAs for education and home maintenance and repair may be more effective than applying them to “all-or-nothing” purchases like a house.
STATA Program for Localized Housing Market Conditions

This is a STATA do file which produces a vector of localized neighborhood market conditions in the paper "Why Do Vacant Houses Sell for Less: Holding Costs, Bargaining Power, or Stigma?" by G.K. Turnbull and Velma Zahirovic-Herbert
Intact priming of words and nonwords in amnesia

Amnesic patients and control subjects studied words and nonwords and were then given a perceptual identification test involving briefly presented new (i.e., unstudied) and old (i.e., previously studied) items. Perceptual priming was measured as an increase in the probability of identifying previously studied items in comparison with new items. Amnesic patients exhibited entirely normal priming for both old words and old nonwords. The amnesic patients were significantly impaired, however, in recognizing the items that had appeared on the perceptual identification test. The priming of nonwords did not appear to be based on the activation of words that were phonologically or orthographically similar to the nonwords (i.e., the effect was not based on neigh-borhood effects). The results for nonwords therefore suggest that priming can involve the acquisition of new information, not simply the activation of preexisting representations. Perceptual priming is proposed to reflect specific changes in early-stage processing systems that operate prior to and independently of the systems required for establishing declarative memory.
Recess Appointments of Article III Judges: Three Constitutional Questions

Recess appointments of judges present three major constitutional questions. First, may a recess appointment be made if the vacancy existed prior to the recess? Second, may a recess appointment be made during a recess in the midst of a Senate session? Third, may recess appointments be made to fill vacancies on Article III courts? This article, which was first presented at the Jurocracy and Distrust conference at Cardozo Law School, concludes that the best answer to each of these three questions is yes. It traces the practice of recess appointments to fill vacancies that existed prior to the recess back to the presidency of James Madison, and suggests that it may date back even further to the presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It argues against attempts to limit the recess appointment power to intersession recesses. Finally, it argues that recess appointments to Article III courts are not only rooted in longstanding historical practice, but that by stepping back from our legal culture's fixation on judges, and considering other federal offices whose terms and conditions are set by the constitution, we can see that construing Article III's good behavior requirement together with Article II's recess appointment provision is not a matter of deciding which one is somehow more specific than the other, nor of choosing which of conflicting provisions reflects the more important value, but rather presents the unexceptional task of construing a provision establishing the term of an office with a provision for filling that office on an interim basis.