cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the Distribution and Drug Resistance of Pathogens in Blood Cultures of Our Hospital from 2009 to 2012

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens from positive blood culture in our hospital in order to guide clinical rational use of drugs.METHODS:By using retrospective analysis method,the distribution,composition and drug resistance of pathogens from positive blood culture were summarized statistically in our hospital from 2009 to 2012.RESULTS:Among 1 128 strains of isolated pathogens,Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 79.52%,Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 18.71% and fungi accounted for 1.77%.Top 3 pathogens were Staphylococcus epidermidis(42.64%),Staphylococcus haemolyticus(13.21%),Klebsiella pneumoniae(6.56%).Results from the sensitivity test confirmed that Gram-positive bacteria were highly sensitive to vancomycin and linezolid,and no drug-resistant strain was found.Gram-negative bacteria strains were the least resistant to imipenem,followed by amikacin.CONCLUSIONS:The drug resistance of pathogens from positive blood culture is serious.It is suggested that antibacterial agents be used rationally so as to enhance clinical therapeutic efficacy.
Discussion and Solutions to the Loss of Stretched Stress in Prestressed Anchor Cable

At present,in the process of tensioning of prestress anchored cables in slope reinforcement engineering,tensioned stress loss is a very common problem,which often leads to serious engineering results like low tensioned quality. Combined with the example of stress tension in anti-slide pile anchor on a high slope treatment engineering,two sets of parallel tests are undertaken,and the problem of tensioned stress loss in the process of anchor cable tensioning is analyzed. It is concluded that anchor prestressing can effectively reduce the tensioned stress loss. Within the allowable engineering circumstances,the bigger the prestressing stress,the smaller the tensioned stress loss. And some reasonable construction methods of anchor cable are put forward,which can also reduce the tensioned stress loss.
[Analysis of epidemiologic and etiology of hepatitis E in Hangzhou, 2004-2011].

Objective To comprehend the epidemiologic of hepatitis E and genetic characteristics of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Hangzhou from 2004 to 2011. Methods Using China information system for disease control and prevention, the incidence of hepatitis E from 2004 to 2011 in Hangzhou city, and the basic information of patients were collected. In 2011, 65 hepatitis E laboratory confirmed cases were selected by random number table sampling method from the hospitals designated infectious diseases in Hangzhou city, and acquisition of the 60 blood specimens and stool specimens of 18 copies. One city and two surrounding counties were selected by cluster random sampling method in the context of Hangzhou city, and the pig slaughters and farmers were selected as the sampling point, and acquisition of pig gallbladder specimens of 52 copies, and 30 stool samples of scatter-feed pigs, 15 stool specimens of scatter-feed rabbits. HEV was tested in samples, gene extraction and analysis of gene sequence were conducted which were compared with gene bank HEV gene sequence, and a phylogenetic tree was formed. The epidemic characteristics of hepatitis E of Hangzhou city from 2004 to 2011 were described. The difference of incidence of hepatitis E was analyzed between years and sexes in Hangzhou city. Results There were reported a total of 3 490 cases of hepatitis E in Hangzhou from 2004 to 2011, and 3 cases of death; The average annual incidence rate was 5.79/100 000 (3 490/60 276 338). There was the overall upward trend in incidence between different years (χ2=52.38, P<0.01), which the highest was 8.10/100 000 (705/8 700 373) in 2011, and the lowest incidence rate was 4.19/100 000 in 2005. The incidence of males (8.12/100 000 (2 474/30 450 990)) was significantly higher than that of the females (3.46/100 000 (1 016/29 384 491)) (χ2=558.45, P<0.05). 78 specimens of blood and stool were collected, including 16 positive samples, with positive rate 21%. There were a total of 97 specimens of pig gallbladder, pig manure and rabbit stool, including 2 positive rabbit stool samples, with positive rate of 2%. HEV genes isolated from Hangzhou were mainly type Ⅳ, with homology of 91.8% to 100%; compared with human type Ⅳ strains, the homology of nucleotide was 84.6%-96.7%; compared with type Ⅳ strain of pig genome sequence alignment, homology was 82.6%-95.2%. Conclusion Hepatitis E′s incidence showed an increasing trend year by year in Hangzhou. HEV of type Ⅳ was dominant, and HEV strains in the human and swine were highly homologous. Key words: Hepatitis E; Hepatitis E virus; Genotype; Epidemiologic characteristics; Disease control
Glutathione supplements protect preterm rabbits from oxidative lung injury.

The main objective of this study was to determine if glutathione (GSH) supplementation attenuated hyperoxic lung injury. Preterm (29 days) rabbits were delivered and exposed for 24 h to 1) room air...
Representation and Man

The neo-Kantian revolution in reaction to the Humean excesses of atomism, positivism, and phenomenalism characteristic of the early parts of this century has now been in full flower for some time.1 One attuned to the historical dialectics of philosophy, then, should have been anticipating a neo-Hegelian counter-reaction for several years. Nor would he have been disappointed. Indeed, the lines of battle have recently been well and sharply drawn in Rorty’s manifesto “The World Well Lost”.
Algorithmic Approach for Learning a Comprehensive View of Online Users

Online users may use many different channels, devices and venues for any online user experience. To make all services such as web design, ads, web content, shopping, personalized for every user; we need to be able to recognize them regardless of device, channels and venues they are using. This, in turn, requires building up a comprehensive view of the user which includes all of their behavioral characteristics - that are spread all over these different venues. This would not be possible without having all behavioral related data of the user which requires the capacity of connecting the user all over the devices, and channels, so to have all of their behavior under a single view. This work is a major attempt in doing this using only behavioral data of users while protecting the user's privacy.
A Knowledge Management Framework for Curriculum Assessment

Curriculum assessment is becoming an increasingly important task in primary, secondary, and higher education. Due to increasing emphasis on training and skill development, educational assessment tasks are also important in the business world. Knowledge management, collaborative work, artificial intelligence, and decision support techniques are promising avenues for increasing the effectiveness of assessment operations in educational institutions and business organizations. This paper discusses issues of curriculum assessment in the context of knowledge management and organizational learning. In addition, a prototype decision support system for managing assessment knowledge using knowledge management techniques is described.
France: Researchers up in arms

France has changed the way it funds military research as part of the major shake-up of the defence ministry announced last year by Jacques Chirac, the French president. The reforms could lead to a reduction in support for defence sponsored physics research in several state laboratories, including universities and labs run by the national research council (CNRS). Research contracts would be placed with industry and the defence ministry's own labs instead.
Theoretical time variability of mobile water on the Moon and its geographic pattern

Abstract A lunar water exosphere, if it currently exists, would lead to diurnal variations in surface water concentration. Here we present model calculations that reveal the specific geographic pattern of such diurnal variations as well as the amplitude of these variations relative to an assumed supply rate. Surface temperatures are derived from Diviner data and hence include topographic temperature heterogeneity. In the polar regions, diurnal variation can be one order of magnitude larger than at the equator and two hundred times larger than the monthly globally average water production density. Even so, the absolute size of any diurnal changes in surface concentration is likely too small to be measurable. An episodic source, that delivers the same mass over a sol (lunation) as a steady source, leads to comparable surface concentrations, but to a much denser exosphere with a half-life of a few Earth hours. Such a transient exosphere may already have been detected.
Non-Linear Modeling of Ocean Current Turbine Blades Under Large Deflection

This paper presents a non-linear modeling approach for large-scale ocean current turbine (OCT) blades. During the operation, OCT blades are subjected to a hydrodynamic load that has fluid density 800 times higher than that of air. The fluid load on OCT blades are sufficient to cause large deflection; therefore, a method that couples the blade’s deflection and the hydrodynamic load is required. For this purpose, we developed a non-linear model for turbine blades based on blade element momentum (BEM) theory. The newly developed method considers interplay between blade’s deflection and the hydrodynamic load. In addition, geometric non-linearity is also considered in the analysis, which provides a more accurate prediction of the structural response.For validation purposes, the developed method and a set of existing National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) codes were used to calculate the deflection of the OCT blade. A comparison of flap-wise and edge-wise deflections given by both methods were determined and the results showed a good correlation between the two methods. This comparison was made only for small deflection since NREL codes cannot account for large deflection.In the next step, to investigate the effect of non-linearity, both linear and non-linear analyses were performed for a large-scale OCT blade where deflection was indeed large. In this study, we analyzed a flexible blade made of E-glass/epoxy composite. The difference in deflection was about 11% for the flexible blade since the fluid-structure interaction was significant as the blade deflection was large.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Matrix effects using an ICP-MS with a single positive ion lens and grounded stop: analyte mass dependent?

Matrix effects in ICP-MS are generally considered to be more severe for heavy matrix elements and light analyte elements, consistent with space charge repulsion of ions during their travel from the plasma to the mass analyzer. However, the severity of matrix-induced changes in analyte sensitivity as a function of analyte mass may depend on the ion optics design, voltages applied to the ion optics and plasma parameters (robustness). Comprehensive characterization of matrix effects using an instrument with ion optics consisting of a grounded stop, a single positive cylindrical lens and a grounded aperture prior to the RF quadrupole is described. Matrix effects were studied as a function of analyte mass, matrix mass, matrix element concentration, lens voltage, and nebulizer gas flow rate. The effects of high concentrations of a wide mass range of matrix elements (Na, Cu, Y, In, Cs, Tb, Lu, and Tl) on analyte sensitivities with a wide range of masses (7Li+, 11B+, 24Mg+, 45Sc+, 60Ni+, 71Ga+, 75As+, 88Sr+, 111Cd+, 138Ba+, 153Eu+, 172Yb+, 209Bi+, and 238U+) were investigated. Matrix effects for equimolar matrix element concentrations were more severe as the matrix element mass increased. However, the severity of matrix effects depended less on the analyte ion mass than expected. Furthermore, matrix effects on high mass analyte sensitivities were more severe than those reported for first generation ICP-MS instruments.
Social Capital and Public Financial Performance: Lessons from Florida

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the role of social capital in public financial performance in the United States—a topic that has not been adequately examined in the public administration literature. Research in this area will provide insight into how the public sector can be managed more effectively, efficiently, and innovatively. Moreover, this research is timely, given the context of financial and economic recession that has left local governments in the United States with persistent and long-term fiscal challenges. Using county-level panel data from the state of Florida over a seven-year period, the article finds strong support for the hypothesis that community social capital is positively and significantly associated with public financial performance. Findings reinforce the need for deeper understanding of social capital, as well as other community-level factors that are external to public sector agencies, in investigations of the different dimensions of public sector performance. The article includ...
Neurophysiological features of tactile versus visual guidance of ongoing movement.

Although studies have investigated tactile and visual processing for perception, sensory processing for ongoing action remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to explore modality-specific patterns of cortical activation and functional connectivity in a practiced trajectory tracking task. Participants traced irregular shapes with their index finger using either touch or vision for guidance. In 60 tactile-motor (TM) trials, movement was guided only by tactile feedback of semicircular bumps on a plastic tile. In 60 visuo-motor (VM) trials, movement was guided only by vision of dots on a screen seen through a small window at the finger tip. The order of TM and VM trials was counterbalanced across 16 participants. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to estimate cortical activation (task-related spectral power) and functional connectivity (task-related magnitude-squared coherence) in the alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) bands during the last 12 movement trials in each sensorimotor task. TM vs. VM tasks exhibited a larger drop in global beta cortical activation, and greater alpha coherence between central, parietal, and occipital regions. VM vs. TM tasks were characterized by low global alpha coherence. Trace time and cortical activation of the last 12 VM trials were reduced in the group performing the VM task after the TM task compared to those performing the VM task first. Beta connectivity initiated by the first task was maintained on the subsequent second task, regardless of the task order. Identification of modality- and order-specific EEG characteristics provides insight into the sensory control of movement.
Spirituality and Aging in the Bachelor of Social Work Curriculum: Infusion and Elective Methods

This article presents ideas for infusing spirituality and aging into all curricular areas. It also reports on the development, process, and evaluative results of an elective course entitled, “Spirituality and Aging.” Spirituality and aging directly and personally affect every student, whether the student is young or older, religious or nonreligious. Because spirituality and religion address in diverse ways the age-related issues of dependence, mortality, and meaning of life, aging becomes a complementary topic. Combining a currently popular topic like spirituality with one that is still avoided because of ageism, gerontophobia, and the American orientation toward youth influenced the creation of an elective course that registered significant numbers, satisfied the students (mean satisfaction 4.93 of 5), and encouraged students to consider the positive aspects of aging.
New Model for Hyper-Elastic Materials Behavior With an Application on Natural Rubber

This paper is concerned with defining a new Weight Function Based model (WFB), which describes the hyper-elastic materials stress-strain behavior. Numerous hyper-elastic theoretical material models have been proposed over the past 60 years capturing the stress-strain behavior of large deformation incompressible isotropic materials. The newly proposed method has been verified against the historic Treloar’s test data for uni-axial, bi-axial and pure shear loadings of Treloar’s vulcanized rubber material, showing a promising level of confidence compared to the Ogden and the Yeoh methods. A non-linear least square optimization Matlab tool was used to determine the WFB, Yeoh and Ogden models material parameters. A comparison between the results of the three models was performed showing that the newly proposed model is more accurate for uni-axial tension as it has an error value which is less than the Ogden and Yeoh models by 1.0 to 39%. Also, the parameters calculation by more than 95%, for the bi-axial and pure shear loading cases compared to the Ogden model. Natural rubber test specimens have been tensioned using a tensile testing machine and the WFB model was applied to fit the test data results showing a very good curve fitting with an average error of 0.44%.WFB model has reduced processing time for the model.Copyright © 2017 by ASME
First language phonetic drift in second language instructional environment

Recent research demonstrates that second language learning can affect first language speech production. This has been shown for proficient long-term second language learners in immigration settings (Flege, 1987) as well as novice learners in the study abroad setting (Chang, 2013). The question addressed in the present study is whether learners acquiring a second language in a classroom setting in the first language-dominant environment are also subject to L1 phonetic drift. A group of American students enrolled in intermediate-level Russian language courses at a major Mid-Western university were recorded reading a list of Russian and English words designed to investigate the acoustic realization if word-initial and word-final stop voicing. Several acoustic correlates of initial and final voicing were measured (VOT, onset f0, preceding vowel duration, glottal pulsing, etc.) and compared to data from monolingual speakers of American English from the same geographic region. Results demonstrate that learners’...
A Non-Gaussian Treatment of Radiation Pencil Beams

The problem of describing steady-state transport of a perpendicularly incident particle beam through a thin slab of material is considered. For a scattering kernel sufficiently peaked in momentum transfer to allow a Fokker-Planck description of the scattering process in both energy and angle, an approximate closed form solution to this problem was obtained almost 50 yr ago and is referred to as the Fermi-Eyges formula. It is shown that a Fermi-Eyges-like formula can be derived for a broader class of scattering kernels. This class consists of scattering described by the continuous slowing-down approximation (the Fokker-Planck description is energy), but not sufficiently forward peaked in angle to allow an angular Fokker-Planck representation. This generalized formula reduces to the classic Fermi-Eyges result for scattering operators with a valid Fokker-Planck limit and also describes problems that, while involving a forward-peaked scattering kernel, do not possess a Fokker-Planck description. A classic example of such a kernel is the Henyey-Greenstein kernel, and the Fermi-Eyges-like solution in this case exhibits more beam spreading than that predicted by the classic Fermi-Eyges formula. In particular, the scalar flux is non-Gaussian in the radial coordinate, as contrasted with the Gaussian Fermi-Eyges result.
Ethical Issues in Livestock Cloning

Although cloning may eventually become an important technology for livestock production, four ethical issues must be addressed before the practice becomes widespread. First, researchers must establish that the procedure is not detrimental to the health or well-being of affected animals. Second, animal research institutions should evaluate the net social benefits to livestock producers by weighing the benefits to producers against the opportunity cost of research capacity lost to biomedical projects. Third, scientists should consider the indirect effects of cloning research on the larger ethical issues surrounding human cloning. Finally, the market structure for products of cloned animals should protect individual choice, and should recognize that many individuals find the prospect of cloning (or consuming cloned animals) repugnant. Analysis of these four issues is complicated by spurious arguments alleging that cloning will have a negative impact on environment and genetic diversity.
Effects of land use legacies and habitat fragmentation on salamander abundance

Landscape modification is an important driver of biodiversity declines, yet we lack insight into how ongoing landscape change and legacies of historical land use together shape biodiversity. We examined how a history of agricultural land use and current forest fragmentation influence the abundance of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). We hypothesized that historical agriculture and fragmentation cause changes in habitat quality and landscape structure that limit abundance. We measured salamander abundance at 95 forested sites in New York, USA, and we determined whether sites were agricultural fields within the last five decades. We used a structural equation model to estimate relationships between historical agriculture and salamander abundance mediated by changes in forest vegetation, microclimate, and landscape structure. Historical agriculture affected salamander abundance by altering forest vegetation at a local scale and forest cover at a landscape scale. Abundance was lowest at post-agricultural sites with low woody vegetation, leaf litter depth, and canopy cover. Post-agricultural sites had limited forest cover in the surrounding landscape historically, and salamander abundance was positively related to historical forest cover, suggesting that connectivity to source populations affects colonization of regenerating forests. Abundance was also negatively related to current forest fragmentation. Historical land use can have legacy effects on animal abundance on par with effects of ongoing landscape change. We showed that associations between animal abundance and historical land use can be driven by altered site conditions and surrounding habitat area, indicating that restoration efforts should consider local site conditions and landscape context.
An adaptive penalty guided genetic algorithm for scheduling parallel batch processing machines

We study the problem of scheduling a set of jobs with non-identical capacity requirements on parallel non-identical batch processing machines to minimise the makespan. We formulate the problem as a nonlinear integer programming model. Given that this problem is NP-hard, we propose a genetic algorithm to heuristically solve it. An adaptive penalty is combined to guide the search process to explore promising feasible and infeasible regions. Random problem instances were generated to test the approach with respect to solution quality and run time. Computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Electronic medical record documentation of tobacco cessation support at eight community safety-net clinics with a high prevalence of tobacco use.

Objectives The high prevalence of tobacco use at primary care safety-net clinics represents an opportunity to offer assistance with cessation. Documentation of smoking status, offering advice and medications, and referral to cessation services are important steps in supporting cessation attempts and are required elements by payors and accrediting agencies to demonstrate care quality. This study examines tobacco cessation support rates and patient characteristics using electronic medical record (EMR) data. Methods This cross-sectional study engaged eight community health centers affiliated with a county hospital system in NE Ohio where adult tobacco use rates exceed 30%. EMR data from June 2014 through May 2016 were analysed to assess rates of tobacco cessation counselling, order of cessation medications, or both. The association of tobacco cessation support with patient characteristics and quit attempts was assessed using multivariable logistic regression models. Results Among 21 702 current tobacco users, 74% had no intervention documented; 15.4% had counselling documented, 6.4% were prescribed tobacco cessation medication, and 4.2% had both documented. Males, those aged 18 to 34, and African Americans were more likely to have no documented intervention. Of current tobacco users with at least two visits, 5.6% had a quit attempt. Medication alone was associated with a greater likelihood of a quit attempt (AOR: 1.72 [95% CI: 1.36-2.17]) as well as counselling and medication combined (AOR: 1.95 [95% CI: 1.48-2.56]). Conclusions Tobacco cessation support was lacking for 74% of current smokers and was less likely in subgroups including males, younger adults, and African Americans. Ordering tobacco cessation medication combined with counselling nearly doubled the likelihood of a quit attempt.
The effects of symmetric and asymmetric social networks on second language communication

This study investigated the effects of Facebook and Twitter on foreign language (Chinese) learners’ written production in both short- (10 days) and long-term (50 days) pseudo-experimental settings....
Adolescents with chronic illness and the transition to self-management: A systematic review

Abstract Introduction Chronic illness effects one in ten adolescents worldwide. Adolescence involves a desire for autonomy from parental control and the necessity to transition care from parent to child. This review investigates the transition to adolescent self-management of chronic illness treatment behaviors in the context of parent-adolescent relationships. Methods A systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science was conducted from earliest database records to early June 2017. Articles were included if they focused on adolescents, addressed illness self-management, discussed the parent-adolescent relationship, and were published in English. Articles were excluded if the chronic illness was a mental health condition, included children younger than 10 years of age, or lacked peer review. Results Nine studies met inclusion criteria. Outcomes included challenges to adolescent self-management, nature of the parent-adolescent relationship, illness representation, perceptions of adolescent self-efficacy in compliance, medical decision making, laboratory measures, and adolescent self-management competence. Across diagnoses, parents who were available to monitor, be a resource, collaborate with their adolescent, and engage in ongoing dialogue were key in the successful transition to autonomous illness management. Conclusions There is a paucity of research addressing the experiences of adolescents in becoming experts in their own care.
The Optoretinogram at 38

As early as 1980, Donald MacLeod coined the term "optoretinogram" to describe a change in the near-infrared reflectance of the retina following visual stimulation. The hope that such signals might exist was stimulated by an observation of a change in the infrared transmission of isolated toad retinae. This signal showed a time course of several seconds, much slower than the electroretinogram, and was thought to be related to some chemical step in the phototransduction cascade. During the early 1980's, we made several attempts to observe such signals in vivo in humans, without success. In the intervening decades, however, researchers have succeeded in observing what are now known as "intrinsic optical signals" or IOSs. Responses from single photoreceptors (obtained using adaptive optics) are surprisingly heterogenous, with some cells increasing their reflectance in response to visual stimulation, while others decrease. This talk will review our early work, survey recent findings, and consider various theories for the origin of the effect.
The Chemical Composition of the Solar System

Elemental abundances in CI-chondrites are compared to recent photospheric data. Resulting issues for solar system abundances are noted.
Conformal prediction based active learning by linear regression optimization

Abstract Conformal prediction uses the degree of strangeness (nonconformity) of data instances to determine the confidence values of new predictions. We propose a conformal prediction based active learning algorithm, referred to as CPAL-LR, to improve the performance of pattern classification algorithms. CPAL-LR uses a novel query function that determines the relevance of unlabeled instances through the solution of a constrained linear regression model, incorporating uncertainty, diversity, and representativeness in the optimization problem. Furthermore, we present a nonconformity measure that produces reliable confidence values. CPAL-LR is implemented in conjunction with support vector machines, sparse coding algorithms, and convolutional networks. Experiments conducted on face and object recognition databases demonstrate that CPAL-LR improves the classification performance of a variety classifiers, outperforming previously proposed active learning techniques, while producing reliable confidence values.
Bacterial contamination and septic transfusion reaction rates associated with platelet components before and after introduction of primary culture: experience at a US Academic Medical Center 1991 through 2017.

BACKGROUND The high incidence of septic transfusion reactions (STRs) led to testing being mandated by AABB from 2004. This was implemented by primary culture of single-donor apheresis platelets (APs) from 2004 and prestorage pooled platelets (PSPPs) from 2007. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS Platelet (PLT) aliquots were cultured at issue and transfusion reactions evaluated at our hospital. Bacterial contamination and STR rates (shown as rates per million transfusions in Results) were evaluated before and after introduction of primary culture by blood centers that used a microbial detection system (BacT/ALERT, bioMerieux) or enhanced bacterial detection system (eBDS, Haemonetics). RESULTS A total of 28,457 PLTs were cultured during pre-primary culture periods (44.7% APs; 55.3% at-issue pooled PLTs [AIPPs]) and 97,595 during post-primary culture periods (79.3% APs; 20.7% PSPPs). Forty-three contaminated units were identified in preculture and 34 in postculture periods (rates, 1511 vs. 348; p < 0.0001). Contamination rates of APs were significantly lower than AIPPs in the preculture (393 vs. 2415; p < 0.0001) but not postculture period compared to PSPPs (387 vs. 198; p = 0.9). STR rates (79 vs. 90; p = 0.98) were unchanged with APs but decreased considerably with pooled PLTs (826 vs. 50; p = 0.0006). Contamination (299 vs. 324; p = 0.84) and STR rates (25 vs. 116; p = 0.22) were similar for PLTs tested by BacT/ALERT and eBDS primary culture methods. A change in donor skin preparation method in 2012 was associated with decreased contamination and STR rates. CONCLUSION Primary culture significantly reduced bacterial contamination and STR associated with pooled but not AP PLTs. Measures such as secondary testing near time of use or pathogen reduction are needed to further reduce STRs.
Correlated response in male and female sterility to selection for pupa weight in Tribolium castaneum.

The correlated responses in male and female sterility to 50 generations of individual selection for pupa weight in Tribolium were analyzed. Two replicate lines (S-lines) were selected for heavier pupa weight and stabilizing selection for pupa weight was practiced in two replicate control lines (C-lines). There was close agreement between replicates in both sets of lines for direct and correlated responses. The rate of inbreeding has been constant for all lines (approximately 0.5% per generation).
Market integration and soil-transmitted helminth infection among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador

Background Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections have many negative health outcomes (e.g., diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies) that can also exacerbate poverty. These infections are generally highest among low-income populations, many of which are also undergoing market integration (MI; increased participation in a market-based economy). Yet the direct impact of MI-related social and environmental changes on STH infection patterns is poorly understood, making it unclear which lifestyle factors should be targeted to better control disease spread. This cross-sectional study examines if household infrastructure associated with greater MI is associated with lower STH burdens among Indigenous Ecuadorian Shuar. Methods Kato-Katz fecal smears were used to determine STH infection status and intensity (n = 620 participants; 308 females, 312 males, aged 6 months—86 years); Ascaris lumbricoides (ascarid) and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) were the primary infection types detected. Structured interviews assessing lifestyle patterns (e.g., measures of household infrastructure) measured participant MI. Multilevel regression analyses and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models tested associations between MI measures and STH infection status or intensity, controlling for individual and community characteristics. Results Participants residing in more market-integrated households exhibited lower infection rates and intensities than those in less market integrated households. Parasite infection status and T. trichiura infection intensity were lower among participants living in houses with wood floors than those with dirt floors, while individuals using well or piped water from a spring exhibited lower A. lumbricoides infection intensities compared to those using river or stream water. Unexpectedly, latrine type was not significantly related to STH infection status or intensity. These results suggest that sources of exposure differ between the two helminth species. Conclusions This study documents associations between household measures and STH infection among an Indigenous population undergoing rapid MI. These findings can help healthcare programs better target interventions and reduce STH exposure among at-risk populations.
Evaluation of diagnostic pigments to estimate phytoplankton size classes

Phytoplankton accessory pigments are commonly used to estimate phytoplankton size classes, particularly during development and validation of biogeochemical models and satellite ocean color-based algorithms. The diagnostic pigment analysis (DPA) is based on bulk measurements of pigment concentrations and relies on assumptions regarding the presence of specific pigments in different phytoplankton taxonomic groups. Three size classes are defined by the DPA: picoplankton, nanoplankton, and microplankton. Until now, the DPA has not been evaluated against an independent approach that provides phytoplankton size calculated on a per-cell basis. Automated quantitative cell imagery of microplankton and some nanoplankton, used in combination with conventional flow cytometry for enumeration of picoplankton and nanoplankton, provide a novel opportunity to perform an independent evaluation of the DPA. Here, we use a data set from the North Atlantic Ocean that encompasses all seasons and a wide range of chlorophyll concentrations (0.18-5.14 mg m-3). Results show that the DPA overestimates microplankton and picoplankton when compared to cytometry data, and subsequently underestimates the contribution of nanoplankton to total biomass. In contrast to the assumption made by the DPA that the microplankton size class is largely made up of diatoms and dinoflagellates, imaging-in-flow cytometry shows significant presence of diatoms and dinoflagellates in the nanoplankton size class. Additionally, chlorophyll b is commonly attributed solely to picoplankton by the DPA, but Chl b-containing phytoplankton are observed with imaging in both nanoplankton and microplankton size classes. We suggest revisions to the DPA equations and application of uncertainties when calculating size classes from diagnostic pigments.
A comparison of the new, parsimonious tool Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System (SURPAS) to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) risk calculator in emergency surgery.

Abstract Background The Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System accurately predicts postoperative complications in elective surgery using only 8 preoperative variables, but its performance in emergency surgery has not been evaluated. We hypothesized that the Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System accurately predicts postoperative complications in emergency surgery and compared its performance to that of the American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator. Methods We calculated the Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System and the American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator risk estimates in a random sample of 1,010 emergency surgery cases from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program 2014 to 2017 database. Risk estimates were compared with known outcomes. Analyses included the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit graphs and P values, c-indexes, and Brier scores. Results Results were similar between the Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System and the American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator for mortality, urinary tract infection, cardiac, venous thromboembolism, and renal complications. The American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator underestimated morbidity compared with the Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System (16.04% American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator vs 24.88% Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System vs 24.3% observed). Both calculators overestimated readmission (7.67% American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator vs 5.18% Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System vs 4.1% observed). Conclusion Both calculators predicted mortality, urinary tract infection, cardiac, venous thromboembolism, and renal complications well, but readmissions relatively poorly. The Surgical Risk Preoperative Assessment System estimated overall morbidity accurately, while the American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator underestimated this risk.
Distinct Patterns of Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants including N501Y in Clinical Samples in Columbus Ohio

Abstract Following the worldwide emergence of the p.Asp614Gly shift in the Spike (S) gene of SARS-CoV-2, there have been few recurring pathogenic shifts occurring during 2020, as assessed by genomic sequencing. This situation has evolved in the last several months with the emergence of several distinct variants (first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa) that manifest multiple changes in the S gene, particularly p.Asn501Tyr (N501Y), that likely have clinical impact. We report here the emergence in Columbus, Ohio in December 2020 of two novel SARS-CoV-2 clade 20G variants. One variant, that has become the predominant virus found in nasopharyngeal swabs in the December 2020-January 2021 period, harbors S p.Gln677His (Q677H), affecting a consensus QTQTN domain near the S1/S2 furin cleavage site, nucleocapsid (N) p.Asp377Tyr (D377Y) and membrane glycoprotein (M) p.Ala85Ser (A85S) mutations, with additional S mutations in subsets. The other variant present in two samples, contains S N501Y, which is a marker of the UK-B.1.1.7 (clade 20I/501Y.V1) strain, but lacks all other mutations from that virus. The Ohio variant is from a different clade and shares multiple mutations with the clade 20G viruses circulating in the area prior to December 2020. These two SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which we show are also present and evolving currently in several other parts of North America, add to the diversity of S gene shifts occurring worldwide. These and other shifts in this period of the pandemic support multiple independent acquisition of functionally significant and potentially complementing mutations affecting the S QTQTN site (Q675H or Q677H) and certain receptor binding domain mutations (e.g., E484K and N501Y).
Drug Databases for Development of Therapeutics Against Coronaviruses

Within a span of 11 months starting from December 2019, around 47.6 million people have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including the number of deaths touching 1,215,601 on November 3, 2020. The number increases at an alarming rate with a possible second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) throughout the world. A clear threat of another lockdown is looming over the social life and economy. Thus, scientists worldwide are running against the time to find small drug molecules as therapeutics and possible vaccines to relieve the world. Over the past months, computational chemistry and computer-aided drug design (CADD) have shown encouraging promises in generating multiple lead/hit compounds by employing powerful virtual screening techniques (VS) and drug repurposing of various approved and experimental drugs. The present chapter has enlisted and discussed the top 25 small molecule databases, including both synthetic as well as natural compounds. Most of the databases are freely available for research purposes, which can be strategically screened employing multiple computational techniques to discover therapeutics for COVID-19.
Hyperboloid-Type Hobs: Design, Manufacture, and Application

Gears are an important design component of many machines and mechanisms. The most important characteristics of machines and mechanisms, namely their accuracy and smoothness of operation, power density, and so forth, strongly depend on gears. These are the main reasons for the requirements to gears, including but not limited to their accuracy, as well as the productivity of their production, which are permanently growing. In production of gears hobs are used most extensively. High productivity of the gear hobbing process along with the economic performance of the gear generators is the main reason for that. Despite of that, further increase in productivity of the gear hobbing and the gear finishing operations is still required.
Multipeptide stimulated PBMCs generate TEM/TCM for adoptive cell therapy in multiple myeloma.

Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients suffer disease relapse due to the development of therapeutic resistance. Increasing evidence suggests that immunotherapeutic strategies can provide durable responses. Here we evaluate the possibility of adoptive cell transfer (ACT) by generating ex vivo T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from MM patients by employing our previously devised protocols. We designed peptides from antigens (Ags) including cancer testis antigens (CTAs) that are over expressed in MM. We exposed PBMCs from different healthy donors (HDs) to single peptides. We observed reproducible Ag-specific cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) and CD8+ T cell responses on exposure of PBMCs to different single peptide sequences. These peptide sequences were used to compile four different peptide cocktails. Naive T cells from PBMCs from MM patients or HDs recognized the cognate Ag in all four peptide cocktails, leading to generation of multiclonal Ag-specific CD4+ and CD8+ effector and central memory T (TEM and TCM, respectively) cells which produced interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), granzyme B and perforin on secondary restimulation. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that immune cells from MM patients are capable of switching metabolic programs to induce effector and memory responses. Multiple peptides and cocktails were identified that induce IFN-γ+, T1-type, metabolically active T cells, thereby paving the way for feasibility testing of ACT in phase I clinical trials.
Fetal alcohol syndrome: Seven new cases

Abstract In one year, the “fetal alcohol syndrome” (FAS) was recognized in seven newborn and older infants, bringing the total in the current literature to 26 cases. This recently rediscovered disorder consists of severe prenatal and postnatal growth failure, mental deficiency, and characteristic hypoplasia of the middle face and orbits with minor malformations of the heart and joints. The mothers have chronic alcoholism. By identifying and counseling such women, obstetricians and gynecologists may prevent the occurrence of the syndrome or diagnose it in the neonate.
Development of Crystal‐Tolerant Waste Glasses

The loading of high-level waste in borosilicate glasses is limited by crystallinity constraints that cannot prevent crystal accumulation on the melter bottom and in the glass discharge riser of the melter. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is studying variations in composition that are designed to constrain high-level waste glass compositions and develop the crystal-tolerant high-level waste glasses. These glasses will allow high waste loading without decreasing the lifetime of the melter by keeping the small spinel crystals suspended in the molten glass. Adding ~1 wt% of NiO to the baseline glass caused large spinel crystals to form up to 210 µm in size and resulted in the highest accumulation rate, ~ 227 mm/year, of all tested glasses. Noble metals that were added to high-Ni glass prevented large spinel crystals from forming and decreased the accumulation rate ~ 8.5 times. Adding ~5 wt% of Fe2O3 to the baseline glass resulted in a high number density of ~10-μm spinel crystals that remained suspended in the glass melt even after 17 days at 850°C. The accumulation rate of spinel crystals in high-chromia crucibles was only slightly higher compared with the accumulation rate in double crucibles. Only baseline glass exhibited about 2.6 times faster accumulationmore » rate because of increased number of bigger crystals. These crystals were the result of glass enrichment with chromium that was leached out from the walls of high-chromia crucibles.« less
SUCCESSION PLANNING: EVIDENCE FROM "BEST COMPANIES IN NEW YORK"

Succession planning, as defined by Butler and Roche-Tarry (2002), is an ongoing dynamic process that assists a business or organization in aligning its goals and its human capital needs. Succession planning can prepare companies for future critical vacancies of middle and senior management positions. Forecasting the talent necessary for these roles can provide the groundwork and understanding of the characteristics needed to maintain and grow a company’s strategic plan. Both short and long-term strategies must take into account the many forces at work both internally and externally, domestically and globally during planning. This paper presents survey results from New York State companies (N = 25) related to succession planning. This paper will also explore and review the importance of incorporating succession planning into every organtions business processes.
A comparison of antenna patterns measured on a person, on a phantom, and computed, for backpack-mounted antennas worn by a person

We have modeled the radiation patterns and the specific absorption rate (SAR) due to two antenna types mounted on a backpack worn by a person. We have measured the antenna patterns of these antennas when worn by both a person and by a human body phantom of novel construction. We describe the phantom. We get generally good correspondence between the sets of antenna patterns. We compare the results of the sets of antenna patterns. The frequencies covered run from 450 MHz to 2.5 GHz. The SAR computations are used to evaluate the safety of the radio using these antennas.