cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Kinetics of CD4+ and CD8+ Memory T-Cell Responses during Hepatitis C Virus Rechallenge of Previously Recovered Chimpanzees

The immunological correlates of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific immunity are not well understood. Antibodies to HCV structural proteins do not appear to play a key role in clearance of the virus and do not persist after recovery. Here, we studied the kinetics of the cellular immune responses of three HCV-recovered chimpanzees during rechallenge with increasing doses of homologous HCV. Although HCV envelope antibodies remained undetectable throughout the rechallenge, all animals mounted rapid HCV-specific T-cell responses. The pattern of the cellular immune response in blood and liver correlated with the virological outcome. The animal that most rapidly cleared circulating HCV as determined by nested reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) displayed the most vigorous and sustained response of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-producing and proliferating CD4(+) T cells in the blood. Vigorous CD4(+) T-cell proliferation during viremia was followed by an increased frequency and a phenotypic and functional change of the tetramer(+) CD8(+) T-cell population. The second animal cleared HCV initially with strong peripheral and intrahepatic CD4(+) T-cell responses but experienced low-level HCV recrudescence 12 weeks later, when HCV-specific T cells became undetectable. The third animal maintained minute amounts of circulating HCV, detectable only by nested RT-PCR, in the face of a weak IFN-gamma(+) T-cell response. Collectively, the results suggest protective rather than sterilizing immunity after recovery from hepatitis C. The rate of HCV clearance following reexposure depends on the cellular immune response, the quality and quantity of which may vary among chimpanzees that recovered from HCV infection.
Optical characterization of healthy and neovascularized human ocular tissues

An in-depth characterization of optical properties of human retinal and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroidal tissues has been performed. The indices of refraction of these ocular tissues were determined by applying Brewster's law. The inverse adding doubling method, based on the diffusion approximation and radiative transport theory is applied to the measured values of the total diffuse transmission, total diffuse reflection, and collimated transmission to calculate the optical absorption, and scattering of the human retinal and retinal pigment epithelium/choroidal tissues. The scattering anisotropy coefficients were calculated using an independent method which relates scattering angles and intensities. The resulting values have been analyzed using appropriate statistical methods.
Abnormally increased uptake of 18F-FDG in the forearm and hand following intra-arterial injection — hot forearm and hot hand signs

The aim of this study is to describe the appearance of intra-arterial administration of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG). The effect of this finding on the standard uptake values (SUVs) is also briefly discussed. Three cases of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) scans, detected over 2 years (2004–2006), with different presentations producing hot forearm and hot hand signs are described. It was shown that intra-arterial injections of 18F-FDG producing “the hot forearm sign” and the hot hand sign” are similar to the glove pattern of uptake noted following intra-arterial administration of technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate. Following intra-arterial injection, uptake of 18F-FDG is accentuated by hypoxia and exercise. A comparison is also made with the pattern of soft-tissue uptake seen following true intravenous injections with similar pre-injection vein enhancement techniques to the intra-arterial injections. Evaluation of the maximum intensity projection (MIP) and transaxial PET/CT fusion images of the arm, forearm and hand helps to confirm the diagnosis. Hands are often not included in PET/CT imaging and therefore cases might be missed. In conclusion, intra-arterial injection of 18F-FDG produces a “hot forearm sign” and “hot hand sign”. Hands are often not included in PET/CT imaging, and therefore the presence of hot forearm sign should suggest further investigation. It should be mentioned in the radiology report, as it may alter the sensitivity and specificity of the SUV value.
Respiratory Laryngeal Coordination in Airflow Conservation and Reduction of Respiratory Effort of Phonation

Summary Objective This study evaluates the need of airflow conservation and the effect of glottal resistance on respiratory effort of phonation under different phonation conditions. Methods A computational model of the pressure–volume–flow relationship of the respiratory system is developed. Results Simulations show that increasing the glottal resistance reduces the glottal airflow and allows phonation to be sustained for a longer breath group duration. For a given breath group duration, the reduced airflow also allows phonation to be sustained within a narrow range of lung volumes, thus lowering the overall respiratory effort. Conclusions This study shows that for breath group durations and subglottal pressures typical of normal conversational speech, airflow conservation or maintaining "effortless" respiratory support does not provide a stricter requirement on the glottal resistance than that required for initiating phonation. However, the need for airflow conservation and respiratory effort reduction becomes relevant when the target subglottal pressure and breath group duration increase as in prolonged speech or singing or in conditions of weakened pulmonary function. In those conditions, the glottal resistance is expected to increase proportionally with increasing subglottal pressure to conserve airflow consumption and reduce respiratory effort.
Economic Freedom, Migration, and Income Change in the United States: 1995 to 2010

Migration is primarily motivated by economic reasons, but people also move for a variety of other purposes, including a desire for political and economic freedom. Although freedoms are often thought of as dominant reasons for international migration in political states with federal systems of governments, migration across internal political borders also takes place to take advantage of local differences in political and economic regulations, taxes, and public goods. Using the combined Internal Revenue Service/Census Bureau state-to-state migration data for 1995 to 2010, we examine the relationship between economic freedom and migration and its impact on state-level income change. We find that economic freedom is positively associated with income change due to net migration but not associated with gains or losses from income differences between in- and outmigrants. In general, states with higher or lower levels of economic freedom gained or lost income due to migration.
System stability and transformation: a global system approach

THERE are several reasons why we understand so much less about social processes and conditions at the global level than we do about comparable processes and conditions at lower levels of aggregation. One is, of course, that we are dealing with a larger empirical domain and one that is apparently more heterogeneous and complex. Another might be that the behaviour of nations – the key actors at this level of aggregation – has been shrouded more in mystery and taboo than the behaviour of other classes of social entity. By keeping diplomacy and military strategy in the category of the arcane, elites have inhibited serious inquiry, even if there were those unpatriotic enough to ask. A third and related factor may be the extent to which the national state has been the major source of material and psychic sustenance for the world's people over the past century or so and thus not an agency whose external behaviour will be questioned or examined closely. Others might be added to our list, but one that surely merits closer attention may be the way in which we conceptualize world affairs.
Burns Associated with the Use of Microwave Ovens

This article reviews published reports of conventional and radiation burns associated with the use of microwave ovens. Conventional food burns can result from the ingestion of microwave heated food because consumers may overlook the differential temperature gradients within foods and between the food and the container. There are reports of accidental radiation injury associated with the use of microwave ovens, but they are difficult to evaluate because these reports lack definitive clinical data and verification of the actual radiation exposures. Only one study has provided useful insight into the clinical features of microwave radiation burns compared to conventional burns.
Diagnostic interpretation of serum protein abnormalities in thermal burns.

Serum electrophoretic patterns, immunoglobulin levels, and serum transport protein concentrations were determined serially during the first 60 days postburn in acutely burned children and were compared with a control group returning for reconstructive surgery. Serum protein electrophoresis, demonstrated to be the method of choice for clinical monitoring of the condition of the burned children, showed prolonged hypoalbuminemia, hyper- α 2-globulinemia, and hypo- γ -globulinemia. Immunoglobulin G accounted for the principal changes seen in electrophoresis. The tendency for immunoglobulin reduction was usually confined to the first week postburn, and minor differences existed among children of different age groups. Serum transport proteins manifested several age-independent patterns, the clinical correlations of which remain to be elucidated. The condition of acutely burned patients should be monitored by serum protein electrophoresis. This should be done more frequently in younger children, especially during the first week postburn, with particular attention to the albumin and γ -globulin fractions.
Optimal supply chain design and operations under multi-scale uncertainties: Nested stochastic robust optimization modeling framework and solution algorithm

Although strategic and operational uncertainties differ in their significance of impact, a “one-size-fits-all” approach has been typically used to tackle all types of uncertainty in the optimal design and operations of supply chains. In this work, we propose a stochastic robust optimization model that handles multi-scale uncertainties in a holistic framework, aiming to optimize the expected economic performance while ensuring the robustness of operations. Stochastic programming and robust optimization approaches are integrated in a nested manner to reflect the decision maker's different levels of conservativeness toward strategic and operational uncertainties. The resulting multi-level mixed-integer linear programming model is solved by a decomposition-based column-and-constraint generation algorithm. To illustrate the application, a county-level case study on optimal design and operations of a spatially-explicit biofuel supply chain in Illinois is presented, which demonstrates the advantages and flexibility of the proposed modeling framework and efficiency of the solution algorithm. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3041–3055, 2016
Effect of Breath Rehabilitation Training on Mental Status and Life Quality of Pneumonoconiosis Patients

[Objective]To explore the effect of breath rehabilitation training on mental status and life quality of pneumonoconiosis patients.[Methods]Breath rehabilitation training was conducted on 46 inpatients based on drug therapy.SCL-90 and WHOQOL-100 assessments were completed before and after training,while their pulmonary function and oxyhemoglobin saturation were assayed.[Results]After training,somatization,interpersonal relationship,depression,and anxiety factor scores of SCL-90 were significantly lower than those before training,and then the average number of positive factors reduced.Physical,mental,independence scores of WHOQOL-100,total life quality score and self-ratings score were increased.Pulmonary function and oxyhemoglobin saturation were improved.[Conclusion]Breath rehabilitation training can improve the mental status and life quality of pneumonoconiosis patients.
Analysis of failure mode of transmission line under ice coating

The 500 kV Tong-Feng transmission line had an awful tower collapsing in Zhejiang province,which caused by ice coating in power gird ice disasters.In order to find the weak point of this line,the tension of conductor and ground,unbalanced longitudinal tension of them and the stress state of towers are analyzed with a three-dimensional model composed of tower,conductor and insulator string,considering the span,elevation differences and ice thickness.The main failure mode and reason of tower collapsing under ice coating can be conformed according to the analysis.The research results provide very important reference and basis for the reinforcement and reconstruction of transmission lines in ice disasters.
Impact of Rapid Transit on the Residential Market in Hudson County, New Jersey

The New York Metropolitan region is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world, and the single largest in North America.[1] It is also one of the most prominent economic centers, with New York City at the epicenter of its growth. With the entire region growing rapidly over the last decade, it is essential to analyze the socio-economic changes in order to understand the impact it has on commercial real estate. With its focus on housing rentals, this study aims to highlight housing costs as a function of rapid transit over time.
Elastoplastic behavior of two-dimensional solids with rectilinear cracks under mixed-mode loading

This paper investigates the elastoplastic behavior of a two-dimensional solid with rectilinear cracks. Plastic strip model is used to reduce plasticity problem to the equivalent linear eleasticity formulation. The effective mechanical response predictions are obtained for mode I and mixed-mode cracks. For mixed-mode cracks, the modification of Dugdale (1960) model proposed by Becker and Gross (1988) is applied. Results are compared with known elastic solutions.
Organization formalization, sector and social media: Does increased standardization of policy broaden and deepen social media use in organizations?

Abstract Adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) has been studied extensively in public administration, particularly social media. The immediate adoption and actual use of such tools may be significantly influenced by organizational rules, norms and policies. This exploratory paper provides an empirical test of hypotheses that focus on the final stage of the three stage adoption process: standardization of rules and procedures governing the use of the new ICT We also address sectoral differences in ICT application. Using a sample of over 1100 respondents in organizations across sectors, we find strong evidence that organizations with greater rule standardization and rule clarity have higher levels of social media use over a wider array of application domains. The findings suggest that rules and standardization can be powerful tools for promoting and diffusing new information and communication technologies within organizations. Results also support work on how information technology management and use differs across public and private sectors.
Short-lag spatial coherence imaging

Conventional ultrasound images are formed by delay-and-sum beamforming of the backscattered echoes received by the transducer aperture. Although the delay-and-sum beamformer is well suited for ultrasound image formation, it is challenged under non-ideal circumstances, such as the presence of acoustic clutter and phase aberration. We propose an alternative method of imaging utilizing the short-lag spatial coherence of the backscattered echoes. Compared to matched B-mode images, short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) images demonstrate superior SNR and CNR in simulated speckle-generating phantom targets. Similar results are achieved in matched experimental B-mode and SLSC images of a speckle-generating phantom target, a human thyroid, and a sheep heart.
Transfer hydrogenation over sodium-modified ceria: Enrichment of redox sites active for alcohol dehydrogenation

Abstract Ceria (CeO 2 ) and sodium-modified ceria (Ce-Na) were prepared through combustion synthesis. Palladium was deposited onto the supports (Pd/CeO 2 and Pd/Ce-Na) and their activity for the aqueous-phase transfer hydrogenation of phenol using 2-propanol under liquid flow conditions was studied. Pd/Ce-Na showed a marked increase (6×) in transfer hydrogenation activity over Pd/CeO 2 . Material characterization indicated that water-stable sodium species were not doped into the ceria lattice, but rather existed as subsurface carbonates. Modification of ceria by sodium provided more adsorption and redox active sites (i.e. defects) for 2-propanol dehydrogenation. This effect was an intrinsic property of the Ce-Na support and independent of Pd. The redox sites active for 2-propanol dehydrogenation were thermodynamically equivalent on both supports/catalysts. At high phenol concentrations, the reaction was limited by 2-propanol adsorption. Thus, the difference in catalytic activity was attributed to the different numbers of 2-propanol adsorption and redox active sites on each catalyst.
Can introduced species replace lost biodiversity? A test with freshwater molluscs

Human activity has dramatically accelerated both species extinctions and introductions, and the balance of these two processes is generally expected to reduce biodiversity and increase taxonomic homogenization. However, few tests of this hypothesis have been made. We tested whether new macroinvertebrate invaders in North American freshwaters can replace the recent loss of biodiversity, particularly focusing on molluscs. We found that both crustaceans and molluscs are overrepresented among endangered and recently extinct species, as well as among invaders. For molluscs, the number of recently extinct species (79 species) was more than twice that for exotic species (38 species). In addition, molluscan invaders are from different taxonomic families than recently extinct or endangered species. While most extinct and endangered molluscs are from streams and rivers, invaders preferentially colonize lakes and reservoirs. The impact of humans on species introductions and extinctions increases with spatial scale (from local to continental scales), resulting in the increased phylogenetic dissimilarity between introduced species and native communities. Construction of dams and alteration of the flow regimes of lotic systems will continue to lead to the extinction of native species, and promote the spread of invaders, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and taxonomic homogenization.
Efficient Incrementalized Runtime Checking of Linear Measures on Lists

We present mechanisms to specify and efficiently check, at runtime, assertions that express structural properties and aggregate measures of dynamically manipulated linkedlist data structures. Checking assertions involving the structure, disjointness, and aggregation measures on lists and list segments typically requires linear or quadratic time in the size of the heap. Our main contribution is an incrementalization instrumentation that tracks properties of data structures dynamically as the program executes and leads to orders of magnitude speedup in assertion checking in many scenarios. Our incrementalization incurs a constant overhead on updates to list structures but enables checking assertions in constant time, independent of the size of the heap. We define a general class of functions on lists, called linear measures, which are amenable to our incrementalization technique. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique by showing orders of magnitude speedup in two scenarios: one scenario stemming from assertions at the level of APIs of list-manipulating libraries and the other scenario stemming from providing dynamic detection of security attacks caused by malicious rootkits.
Active elimination of DC bias flux in series DC active filter coupling transformer

The Medium-voltage DC amplifier is a thyristor based power converter with a series DC active filter that provides a highly controllable and responsive platform to establish a high power dc bus. Having bulk power flow through the thyristor converter offers an economical and high power density solution over PWM converters. By designing the system to meet standards requested by the US Navy for the Next Generation Intelligent Power System, this paper will show a platform applicable to many high power DC microgrid fields. In particular, there are promising applications in mobile mining equipment, electric aircraft and ships. This paper proposes a novel control technique to actively mitigate the DC flux that is generated by the load current. This control approach yields significant reductions in the core volume and required transformer turns. The proposed solutions will be evaluated in a 4 kVA 400 VDC laboratory scale test-bed.
CLT and CLS job responsibilities: current distinctions and updates.

Objective This study was undertaken to address the following questions: 1. What tasks distinguish the job of a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) from that of a clinical laboratory technician (CLT)? 2. What changes in role distinctions, have occurred for entry-level CLS and CLT practitioners over the five-year period 1993-98? 3. What tasks have been deleted from the CLT and CLS content outlines because they were not frequently performed or not considered entry-level? 4. What changes in practice are reflected in the current job analyses? Design A national job analysis of tasks constituting the job of clinical laboratory scientists (CLSs) and clinical laboratory technicians (CLTs) was conducted in 1998-99 as part of a standard setting process for the certifying examinations of the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCA). The job analyses relied upon mail surveys to 1200 individuals for each job level asking respondents to identify tasks significant to effective practice at job entry. The task lists resulting from statistical analysis of those surveys were examined to answer the study questions. Participants The sample for each survey included 1200 practitioners, educators and laboratory managers selected at random from membership in professional organizations or from NCA certificant lists. Sampling was stratified to insure adequate practitioner representation. Main outcome measures The mean rating on a four point scale for each item on the surveys was evaluated for overall significance as well as significance across geographic regions. The tasks meeting specified criteria were retained in the final task lists. Tasks were counted and their content evaluated to compare CLS and CLT job tasks. Results The response rates to the surveys were 33% for CLT and 21% for CLS. Reliability was judged based on average intraclass correlation coefficients of .86 and .82 for the CLT and CLS surveys, respectively. There were 952 tasks retained on the CLS content outline and 725 retained on the CLT content outline of the 1151 tasks on the original survey. Seven hundred and twenty two tasks were found on content outlines of both job levels, representing a 76% overlap. Tasks found only on the CLS outline included advanced technical tasks, a few management tasks, and more communication tasks. Conclusions The jobs of CLS and CLT practitioners are distinct at job entry level with CLSs performing a broader array of technical and communication tasks as well as some management tasks. Though CLS staff uses few management skills at job entry, those tasks are performed by CLS staff in the laboratory and curricula must help prepare graduates for these tasks expected of experienced staff. CLTs perform tasks requiring problem solving and high level reasoning. CLT curricula must address the need for CLTs to perform these tasks.
Outcomes in subarachnoid hemorrhage after the introduction of a neurocritical care service (P3.106)

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine whether the introduction of a dedicated Neurocritical Care Service (NCS) improves outcomes in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. BACKGROUND: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) case fatality rate remains high despite improvements in treatment. Moreover, greater than 25[percnt] of the potential life years lost through stroke are related to SAH. These patients require aggressive, intensive, multispecialty and multidisciplinary care to optimize outcomes. Unfortunately not all hospitals have the capability to provide this level of care. At our institution, a Neurocritical Care Service began under the direction of a board-certified neurointensivist in January 2012. DESIGN/METHODS: Prospectively collected data was retrospectively reviewed. The UHC database for University of California, San Diego was reviewed to identify all patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage between 4/1/2011 and 9/15/2014. Basic demographics were extracted. Outcome variables included absolute intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay (LOS), observed/expected LOS, absolute and observed/expected mortality, and discharge destination. Outcomes prior to the introduction of a neurocritical care service (“before”) were compared with outcomes after the NCS began 1/1/2012 (“after”). RESULTS: 57 cases (2.7 cases/month) of SAH before and 115 cases (3.5 cases/month) after the introduction of the neurocritical care service were reviewed. Mean age was similar; however, males constituted 33[percnt] of the patient population before compared with 53[percnt] after (p=0.01). More than twice as many patients arrived via transfer from another facility after the NCS began (38[percnt] versus 15[percnt]). Average LOS improved from 22.6 days (before) to 15.6 days (after), p=0.04. Observed/expected LOS improved from 1.46 to 1.00 (p=0.03). Absolute mortality rates and observed/expected mortality rates were similar. Discharge destination was comparable. CONCLUSION: At our institution, we saw improvements in absolute and observed/expected LOS, as well as an increase in volume of patients after a neurocritical care service was established. Disclosure: Dr. LaBuzetta has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gonzalez has nothing to disclose. Dr. Duckworth has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lemkuil has nothing to disclose. Dr. Minokadeh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Karanjia has nothing to disclose.
Differential Responses of Eukaryotic Phytoplankton to Nitrogenous Nutrients in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Fixed inorganic nitrogen (N) is persistently scarce in the well-lit regions of the subtropical ocean gyres and its supply plays an important role in controlling phytoplankton productivity. In a series of experiments conducted in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), we examined changes in primary productivity and eukaryotic phytoplankton community structure in response to additions of nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH4+), or urea in conjunction with phosphate and silicic acid. Overall, we observed large increases in rates of 14C-primary productivity (~2- to 27-fold) and concentrations of chlorophyll a (~2- to 7-fold) following N addition. Much of the physiological response was due to larger (>3 µm) phytoplankton, whose contributions to primary productivity increased ~2-fold while picophytoplankton (0.2-3 µm) contributions decreased by a similar proportion. Five experiments, conducted in the spring, summer and winter, revealed apparent seasonally-dependent responses in phytoplankton community structure to N availability. During the summer, pennate diatoms increased significantly following N addition as evidenced by both photosynthetic pigment analyses and high-throughput sequencing of 18S rDNA. For example, following the addition of N substrates, concentrations of fucoxanthin (a diatom pigment biomarker) increased between 23- and 49-fold, and relative abundances of rRNA genes belonging to Pseudo-nitzschia increased from negligible (~0.3%) to 30-60% of the >3 µm phytoplankton assemblage. However, unlike the diatom-driven responses observed in the summer, experiments conducted in the spring and winter demonstrated large increases in concentrations of 19’-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a pelagophyte pigment biomarker) together with increases in the relative abundance of rRNA genes clustering among Pelagomonas. Overall, our findings revealed differences in the responses of major taxa during experiments conducted in different times of the year, with concomitant impacts on patterns of phytoplankton diversity. In addition, the overall responses in chlorophyll a, 14C-primary production, and eukaryotic phytoplankton community composition appeared largely independent of the type of N substrate added. Our results highlight seasonal-scale differences on the role of N availability in shaping eukaryotic phytoplankton diversity in the surface waters of the oligotrophic NPSG.
Acute Pharyngitis, Tonsillitis, and Peritonsillar Abscess

Most cases of pharyngitis are viral, but distinguishing viral from bacterial infections clinically is difficult. A rapid antigen detection test and/or throat culture is required to distinguish viral pharyngitis from pharyngitis due to group A Streptococcus (GAS), although a clinical scoring system can be helpful in predicting viral cases. Fusobacterium necrophorum, an anaerobe, is not identified on routine throat culture, yet it is a common cause of pharyngitis and peritonsillar abscess in adolescents and young adults. Peritonsillar abscess usually requires surgical drainage by needle aspiration or incision, in addition to antibiotic therapy. This chapter reviews the epidemiology, microbiology, clinical features, differential diagnosis, and treatment of pharyngitis and peritonsillar abscess.
Creep Deformation of B2 Aluminides

The creep resistance and elevated temperature deformation mechanisms in CoAl, FeAl, and NiAl are reviewed. The stress and temperature dependencies of the steady state creep rate, the primary creep behavior, the dislocation substructure, and the response during transient tests are used as the main indicators of the deformation processes. In single phase intermetallics, the influence of grain size, stoichiometry, and solid solution hardening have been examined. In addition, the effect of adding dispersoids, precipitates, and other types of reinforcements to improve creep strength are compared.
Surface Chemistry of Planar Modell Co-MO/Al2O3 Catalysts:I. Development and Characterization

Abstract Planar model Co-MO/Al 2 O 3 catalysts were developed and characterized as ultra high vacuum (UHV) test catalysts to avoid the ambiguities associated with the porous catalysts. The surface structure of the planar catalysts was characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA), Auger photoelectron spectroscopy (AES), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). This study has shown that planar model catalysts are very similar to their porous counterparts and can be used as UHV test catalysts for adsorption and kinetic studies.
Functionalization of Scanning Force Microscopy Cantilevers via Galvanic Displacement Technique

A galvanic displacement technique is used to coat silicon scanning force microscopy cantilevers with copper. The copper coating is characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning force microscopy, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This coating technique results in uniform, reflective and conformal films and hence, no stress-induced bending of the cantilever is observed. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach for tribological studies, the coated cantilevers are chemically modified with alkanethiol monolayers in order to functionalize the cantilevers. The effect of changed surface energy are detected with adhesion measurements in water and ethanol.
Pathway engineering as an enabling synthetic biology tool

Microbial synthesis of value-added compounds often depends upon the creation or introduction of heterologous metabolic pathways into production hosts. However, there are many challenges in the engineering of a pathway and even more issues in optimizing it for the highest product yield. In this chapter, we will review a wide variety of computational and experimental tools that have been developed to design, construct, and optimize metabolic pathways. In addition, we will illustrate the applications of these tools in synthetic biology by highlighting the engineering of three metabolic pathways involved in the synthesis of glucaric acid, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,3-propanediol.
Mesozoic Foraminifera – Western Atlantic

Abstract Planktic foraminiferal zonal control of Upper Cretaceous sequences is provided by species of the genera Globotruncana, Marginotruncana, Rotalipora, Hedbergella, Rugotruncana, Archeoglobigerina, Abathomphalus , and Ventilabrella. Many of these species are tethyan so that recognition of tethyan biostrati-graphic zones is apparent for the most part. Other species, however, are strictly boreal. Consequently, a zonal framework for this region reflects tethyan and boreal water as they influenced the region during specific time intervals of the Cretaceous. Due to preservational factors a planktic zonation for the Lower Cretaceous is at present incomplete. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are known from a few Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic sections. They are sparse but apparently belong to shelf to abyssal facies. Upper Cretaceous assemblages occur in shelf, slope, and abyssal facies. Shelf assemblages include species of the genera Coryphostoma, Globulina, Guttulina, Gaudryina , and Gavelinella in addition to a number of lagenid species. Slope assemblages are characterized by species of the genera Gyroidinoides, Praebulimina, Pullenia, Osangularia, Gavelinella, Bolivinoides. Dorothia and others. A number of these species also occur in abyssal planktic oozes. Biostratigraphic control is rather general being useful for the recognition of state intervals. The Bolivinoides zonation is the one exception and it complements the planktic zonation in the Santonian, Campanian, and Maestrichtian.
Co-Expression of BCL-2 and CD44S in Basal Layers of Human Ocular Surface Epithelia

The regulating mechanism of life and death of cells is a closely coordinated process of adaptation and survival. Selective and controlled cell death is a dominant force in renewing the tissue composition of complex organisms. Elimination of unwanted cells occurs during the normal course of tissue differentiation and also when cells are damaged by various noxious forces.1 The two major mechanisms of cell death are apoptosis (programmed cell death) and necrosis.2 Apoptosis is an active process in which a central biochemical “program” is activated causing nuclear fragmentation, formation of a rigid apoptotic envelope, and shrinkage of the cells into small fragments that are then phagocytosed, often by surrounding parenchymal cells not usually involved in phagocytosis. In necrosis, cells are passive targets of extensive membrane damage, cell swelling, colloidal osmotic lysis, and release of cellular contents. In the development and differentiation of multicellular organisms, apoptosis is the preferred mechanism for eliminating unwanted cell population. In actively cycling cells, proliferation and apoptosis are two opposing pathways for regulating cellular activities. Dysregulation of apoptosis is an important factor in cancer, leading to proliferation of cells, with a mutation in genes favoring proliferation or blocking apoptosis.3 The cell cycle, which includes cellular proliferation and differentiation pathways, is regulated by multiple genes, some of which are oncogenes.4,5 Oncogenes have been divided into two categories: genes that promote cellular proliferation and growth, and genes that regulate apoptosis.
Synthetically Trained Icon Proposals for Parsing and Summarizing Infographics.

Widely used in news, business, and educational media, infographics are handcrafted to effectively communicate messages about complex and often abstract topics including `ways to conserve the environment' and `understanding the financial crisis'. Composed of stylistically and semantically diverse visual and textual elements, infographics pose new challenges for computer vision. While automatic text extraction works well on infographics, computer vision approaches trained on natural images fail to identify the stand-alone visual elements in infographics, or `icons'. To bridge this representation gap, we propose a synthetic data generation strategy: we augment background patches in infographics from our Visually29K dataset with Internet-scraped icons which we use as training data for an icon proposal mechanism. On a test set of 1K annotated infographics, icons are located with 38% precision and 34% recall (the best model trained with natural images achieves 14% precision and 7% recall). Combining our icon proposals with icon classification and text extraction, we present a multi-modal summarization application. Our application takes an infographic as input and automatically produces text tags and visual hashtags that are textually and visually representative of the infographic's topics respectively.
U.S. medical school curricula on working with medical interpreters and/or patients with limited English proficiency.

Purpose: The United States has an increasing population of individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Language access is a right for individuals with LEP in the health care system. As such, it is important for medical providers to be appropriately trained to work with individuals with LEP. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe curricula offered by United States medical schools to teach medical students to work with medical interpreters and/or patients with LEP. Methods: An electronic survey was sent in March 2017 to administration at the 147 Liaison Committee on Medical Education® accredited medical schools as of November 7, 2016. The survey consisted of the following question: "As part of your medical school's curriculum, are students provided specific instruction addressing how to work with medical interpreters and/or patients with limited English proficiency (LEP)?" with different follow-up questions for schools that responded "Yes" vs "No". Results: Responses were received from 26% (38/147) of medical schools. Among schools responding to the survey, 76% (29/38) offered a curriculum that provides instruction of how to work with medical interpreters and/or patients with LEP. Of schools that provide instruction, teaching methods included didactic sessions (34% [10/29]) and standardized patient experiences (34% [10/29]). In addition, 76% (22/29) offer training in the first 2 years of medical school and 28% (8/29) offer training in the third and fourth years of the curriculum. Sixty-two percent (18/29) of respondents that offered a formal curriculum have been administering a formal curriculum for ≤10 years. Conclusion: The majority of the responding medical schools offer formal instruction of how to work with medical interpreters and/or patients with LEP. Most schools started this type of instruction in the last 10 years with most instruction occurring in the first 2 years of an undergraduate medical curriculum.
Politics as “the Product of Everything You Fear”: Scarecrow as Phobia Entrepreneur

First appearing in World’s Finest Comics #3 in 1941, “the Scarecrow”—criminal alias for Dr. Jonathan Crane, professor specializing in the psychology of fear—is one of Batman’s oldest villains. Though he appeared only five times in his first three decades, his presence grew throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1990s, he was a regularly recurring member of Batman’s Rogue Gallery, thanks in part to the animated Batman series. He achieved a kind of stardom in the 2000s and 2010s as the only villain to appear in all three films of the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, as a central villain in the Arkham video game series, as one of the earliest featured villains in the Gotham television series, and as a playable character in the Injustice 2 video game.
Teaching Graduate Students to Evaluate Public Health Programs Through Community-Based Learning:

Public health professionals are increasingly called on to demonstrate program evaluation skills, a core competency for the field. Learning opportunities that are connected to community organization...
Quality improvement in hospice settings: perceptions of leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and examine attitudes and perceptions of leaders on application of quality improvement (QI) strategies in a palliative and hospice care organization.,This study employed qualitative research methodology where leaders working in a hospice and palliative care organization were invited to participate in 45–60-min-long semi-structured interview. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to analyze the data collected during participant interviews.,Seven leaders participated in the interviews. Five themes were developed from data analysis: patient-centered care; continuous QI; leadership involvement and commitment; communication as a foundation for QI; and perceived barriers. Data analysis suggests that use of QI approach in palliative and hospice care enhances the quality of care provided for patients, and can help improve patient satisfaction.,Because there is a paucity of research on implementation of QI strategies in hospice and palliative care settings, this research can have wide practical implications. This research can provide useful practical tips to leaders as they work on implementing QI projects in their organization.,This manuscript can be of value to leaders, administrators and academicians who are interested in applying QI principles to healthcare processes especially in palliative and hospice care settings. Ability to work with others, solid communication and involvement of employees from all levels can help in streamlining current systems of care.
Characterization of a novel Yersinia ruckeri serotype O1-specific bacteriophage with virulence-neutralizing activity.

A lytic bacteriophage (φNC10) specific to serotype O1 Yersinia ruckeri has been identified and evaluated as a model to assess the potential use of bacteriophages and their products for disease control in aquaculture. Electron microscopy of purified φNC10 revealed a virion particle with a small (70 nm) polyhedral head and short tail. φNC10 infected only serotype O1 strains of Y. ruckeri and failed to bind a defined Y. ruckeri mutant strain lacking O1 lipopolysaccharides (O1-LPS), suggesting that φNC10 uses O1-LPS as its receptor. In addition, spontaneous φNC10-resistant mutants of Y. ruckeri exhibited defects in O1-LPS production and were sensitive to rainbow trout serum. Purified φNC10 displayed a polysaccharide depolymerase activity capable of degrading Y. ruckeri O1-LPS and thereby sensitizing Y. ruckeri to the bactericidal effects of rainbow trout serum. The φNC10-associated polysaccharide depolymerase activity also reduced the ability of Y. ruckeri cells to cause mortality following intraperitoneal injection into rainbow trout. These data demonstrate a potential utility of φNC10 and its associated polysaccharide depolymerase activity for Y. ruckeri disease prevention.
BLINK RATES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

The activity of a putative marker of central dopamine function, spontaneous eye blink rate is examined in patients with schizophrenia. Chronic schizophrenic patients withdrawn from medication have elevated blink rates which are reduced by neuroleptic medication. Furthermore, neuroleptics reduce the so called “positive” symptoms of schizophrenia and blink rates in a positively correlated fashion. The above findings apply to patients who have normal cerebral ventricles and not those with large ventricles. Taken together, this evidence suggests that spontaneous eye blink rate is a marker of central dopamine activity and that increased dopaminergic activity is a relevant factor in chronic schizophrenic patients who have normal cerebral ventricles.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been observed at solid/solution, solid/gas, solid/vacuum, and solid/solid interfaces, and it is possibly the most sensitive surface high-resolution vibrational spectrosopic technique available as an analytical probe. The great interest in SERS is evidenced by the virtual explosion in the number of publications dealing with this technique since 1977 from the physics, chemistry, and materials science research communities. One reason for this interest in SERS is the generality of the technique with regard to the nature of the material phase in contact with the solid surface. Another reason is that there are several mechanisms that contribute to SERS, and a considerable scientific challenge exists in determining the extent of the contributions of various mechanisms to the overall enhancement.
Sitagliptin for the prevention and treatment of perioperative hyperglycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing cardiac surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background Hyperglycaemia is associated with increased incidence of perioperative complications. We assessed whether treatment with sitagliptin, starting before surgery and continued during the hospital stay, can prevent and reduce the severity of perioperative hyperglycaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Martials and methods We conducted a double-blinded, placebo-control trial in adults with type 2 diabetes randomly assigned to receive sitagliptin or matching placebo starting one day prior to surgery and continued during the hospital stay. The primary outcome was difference in the proportion of patients with postoperative hyperglycaemia (blood glucose [BG] >10mmol/L [>180mg/dL]) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Secondary endpoints included differences in mean daily BG in the ICU and after transition to regular wards, hypoglycaemia, hospital complications, length of stay, and need of insulin therapy. Results We included 182 participants randomised to receive sitagliptin or placebo (91 per group, age 64±9 years, HbA1C: 7∙6±1∙5%, and diabetes duration: 10±9 years). There were no differences in number of patients with postoperative BG >10 mmol/L, mean daily BG in the ICU or after transition to regular floors, hypoglycaemia, hospital complications or length of stay. There were no differences on insulin requirements in the ICU; however, sitagliptin therapy was associated with lower mean daily insulin requirements (21∙1±18∙4 vs 32∙5±26∙3 units, p=0∙007) after transition to regular floor compared to placebo. Conclusion The administration of sitagliptin prior to surgery and during the hospital stay, did not prevent perioperative hyperglycaemia or complications after CABG. Sitagliptin therapy was associated with lower mean daily insulin requirements after transition to regular floors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Photonic Interference Cancellation with Free-Space Optical Link for Cellular Networks

We design and demonstrate a free-space photonic interference cancellation system applied for cellular networks. It achieves proper performance of selected cellular networks for receivers and cancels interference from the radio frequency bandwidth.