cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Novel Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Scheme Design Using Dual View Mammograms

Computer aided diagnosis CADx schemes based on dual view mammograms are able to provide extra information compared to single view schemes. To explore an efficient and effective way for combining the information from different views, a new breast cancer risk analysis scheme was developed and tested in this study. 120 pairs of dual view mammograms from 120 women were used in this study. Three different groups of texture features and density features were extracted from both MLO view and CC view mammograms. The asymmetry score that measures the asymmetry levels of these two view mammograms was considered in our proposed scheme.i?ź91 computational features on each view and 3 asymmetry measurements were computed and used for the proposed scheme. Three classifiers were used in our proposed scheme, one for each of the dual view mammograms, and the third one combined dual view scores with asymmetry measurements. The highest area under the curve AUC we obtained was 0.753i?ź±i?ź0.039.
HIV-1 Vpr: G2 cell cycle arrest, macrophages and nuclear transport

HIV-1 possesses six open reading frames in addition to the gag, pol, and env shared by all retroviruses. One of these accessory genes, vpr, is required for maximal viral replication in macrophages. The molecular mechanism underlying this effect may be related to one of the unusual properties of the encoded protein: some believe Vpr promotes nuclear translocation of preintegration complexes in non-dividing cells; also, Vpr arrests the cell cycle in G2 by inhibiting an upstream activator of p34cdc2-cyclin B. Elucidation of Vpr-cell cycle interactions may provide insight into both HIV-1 and basic cell biology.
In silico Analysis of Clostridium difficile Biofilm Metabolism and Treatment

Abstract: Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic bacterium responsible for recurring infections in the gastrointestinal tracts of patients previously treated with oral antibiotics that disrupt the healthy gut microbiome. Recent in vitro experiments have demonstrated the ability of C. difficile to form biofilms on surfaces. We developed a metabolic model of C. difficile biofilms to investigate the effects of biofilm formation on antibiotic treatment in vivo. The model was formulated by combining a genome-scale reconstruction of C. difficile primary metabolism with reaction-diffusion type equations for key nutrients (glucose and six essential amino acids) and the common oral antibiotic vancomycin. A very simple model of vancomycin pharmacokinetics was used to predict the efficacy of a typical treatment schedule under the assumption of a fixed thickness of the mature biofilm. Our model predicted that vancomycin will effectively eradicate biofilms of sufficiently small thickness. Once the thickness passed a critical threshold, the model predicted vancomycin treatment would fail catastrophically due to insufficient antibiotic penetration into the biofilm caused by the combination of limited diffusion and vancomycin binding to cell wall precursors. This critical biofilm thickness was shown to be very sensitive to model parameters associated with the vancomycin stool levels and killing efficiency.
The integration of immigrant youth in schools and friendship networks.

This study examines the degree to which immigrant youth are integrated in school settings at the dyadic (reciprocity and isolation), network (popularity, centrality, social status), and institutional levels (connection to school, extracurricular activities). The study includes 43,123 youth across 64 schools with immigrant populations from the 1994–1995 Wave I in-school survey of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Survey-weighted logistic, negative binomial, and linear regression models were used to estimate the effects of race/ethnicity, immigrant generation, friendship composition, and school composition on integration at dyadic, network, and institutional levels. In general, the success of second-generation youth in navigating their school social contexts provides evidence of positive processes of immigrant integration. However, important differences across racial and ethnic groups suggest that these successes are most prominent for Asian youth, while other groups may not experience processes of social integration equally. In addition, same race/ethnicity friendships functioned to facilitate social integration, while same-generation friendships placed youth from immigrant families at increased risk for marginalization. Results highlight the need for schools to consider how to build connections across immigrant generations and to draw on the strengths of immigrant youth to contribute to school communities.
ANN-based algorithm for estimation and compensation of lateral misalignment in dynamic wireless power transfer systems for EV charging

In this paper, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is employed for the estimation of LaTeral Misalignment (LTM) as well as compensation of its effect on Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) systems for Electric Vehicles (EVs) charging. In a DWPT system, energy efficiency and energy transfer capability are significantly affected by the degree of LTM. Therefore, the real-time estimation of LTM, followed by certain remedial actions, could result in higher energy efficiency and energy transfer capability of the system. To this aim, an ANN-based algorithm is proposed to estimate the LTM value. The controller samples the DC-link current and based on the changes in the current profile and the vehicle speed, the ANN estimates the LTM value. Finally, the controller sets a modified reference value for the primary coil current which compensates the reduction in energy transfer capability caused by LTM. Using the suggested method, without any extra equipment in the DWPT system, the expected value of transferred energy is increased by 32%. The proposed ANN is trained for 9 different speeds in the range of 10 to 50 km/h and 11 different degrees of LTM in the range from 0 to 60%. The inputs to the proposed ANN are the DC-link current, the integral of DC-link current, and the vehicle speed.
Effects of local multivisceral resection for clinically locally advanced rectal cancer on long-term outcomes.

Introduction Multivisceral resection is occasionally needed to obtain clear margins in patients with transmural rectal cancer. Most series demonstrate equivalent outcomes between those patients who undergo multivisceral resections and those who do not, provided an R0-resection is achieved. This study focuses solely on patients who received neoadjuvant treatment for clinically transmural rectal cancers and underwent a local multivisceral R0-resection. Methods A retrospective, single center analysis of consecutive series of patients who received a surgical R0-resection after neoadjuvant treatment for a clinically transmural, non-metastatic, primary rectal cancer. All patients were operated on between 2004 and 2015. Results A total of 279 patients was included, of whom 29 patients underwent a local multivisceral R0-resection (LMVR). These patients were more often female and less often diagnosed through screening. Pathologic AJCC-staging was significantly lower for non-LMVR patients, with more favorable tumor characteristics. LMVR patients demonstrated higher rates of distant disease recurrence, and impaired survival, even after adjusting for disease stage. Conclusion An R0-resection after neoadjuvant therapy led to comparative local control of disease; however, patients with multivisceral resection had more distant recurrence and impaired survival, compared to those did not undergo a multivisceral resection. Further research should determine optimal postoperative care.
Overview of Leishmaniasis with Special Emphasis on Kala-azar in South Asia

Leishmaniasis is a complex disease caused by Leishmania infection, producing variable clinical symptoms, e.g., cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniases [1–3]. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused, for example, by Leishmania major/L. tropica is marked by the appearance of skin lesion in various forms, which are often innocuous and self-healing, while mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL) caused, for example, by L. braziliensis is a protracted disease, resulting sometimes in facial disfigurement of the ear, mouth, and nose. Neither CL nor MCL is life-threatening per se. Only in non-healing case has death of these patients been reported due to secondary infections or other causes, e.g., suicide as a result of unbearable psychological stress. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by L. donovani/L. infantum is far more severe. It is often fatal, if untreated, resulting from systemic and progressive infection of macrophages by Leishmania in the reticuloendothelial systems or lymphoid organs, chiefly the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Disorders of hematological and hepatosplenic functions are thus the clinical manifestations of VL, including hepatosplenomegaly, fever, anemia, leucopenia, hypergammaglobulinemia, and cachexia. The development of all leishmaniases follows a chronic course lasting for months and sometimes years.
Repair of injured urethras with silk fibroin scaffolds in a rabbit model of onlay urethroplasty.

Abstract Background Preclinical validation of scaffold-based technologies in animal models of urethral disease is desired to assess wound healing efficacy in scenarios that mimic the target patient population. This study investigates the feasibility of bilayer silk fibroin (BLSF) scaffolds for the repair of previously damaged urethras in a rabbit model of onlay urethroplasty. Materials and methods A focal, partial thickness urethral injury was created in adult male rabbits (n = 12) via electrocoagulation and then onlay urethroplasty with 50 mm2 BLSF grafts was carried out 2 wk after injury. Animals were randomly divided into three experimental groups and harvested at 2 wk after electrocoagulation (n = 3), and 1 (n = 3) or 3 (n = 6) months after scaffold implantation. Outcome analyses were performed preoperatively and at 2 wk after injury in all groups as well as at 1 or 3 mo after scaffold grafting and included urethroscopy, retrograde urethrography (RUG), and histological and immunohistochemical analyses. Results At 2 wk after electrocoagulation, urethroscopic and RUG evaluations confirmed urethral stricture formation in 92% (n = 11/12) of rabbits. Gross tissue assessments at 1 (n = 3) and 3 (n = 6) mo after onlay urethroplasty revealed host tissue ingrowth covering the entire implant site. At 3 mo post-op, RUG analyses of repaired urethral segments demonstrated a 39% reduction in urethral stenosis detected following electrocoagulation injury. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed the formation of innervated, vascularized neotissues with α-smooth muscle actin+ and SM22α+ smooth muscle bundles and pan-cytokeratin + epithelium at graft sites. Conclusions These results demonstrate the feasibility of BLSF matrices to support the repair of previously damaged urethral tissues.
Manipulation of States of Altered Immunity

In recent years, an impressive amount of information involving the cellular and molecular processes of immune processes has accumulated. This greater understanding has permitted a number of novel approaches to restore, augment or modulate states of altered immunity. In Table 4.1 I have listed the approaches which will be discussed. Although the chapter is primarily concerned with deficiency states, it is of interest to consider two other situations of general importance first.
Compositematch: detecting N-ary matches in ontology alignment

The field of ontology alignment still contains numerous unresolved problems, one of which is the accurate identification of composite matches. In this work, we present a context-sensitive ontology alignment algorithm, Composite Match, that identifies these matches, along with the typical one-to-one matches, by looking more broadly at the information that a concept's relationships confer. We show that our algorithm can identify composite matches with greater confidence than current tools.
EFFECTS OF RADIATION DAMAGE ON THE SILICON LATTICE.

Silicon was irradiated with both proton and electron particle beams in order to investigate changes in the structural and optical properties of the lattice as a result of the radiation damage. Lattice expansions occurred when large strain fields (+0.34 percent) developed after 1- and 3-MeV proton bombardment. The strain was a factor of three less after 1-MeV electron irradiation. Average increases of approximately 22 meV in the 3.46-eV interband energy gap and 14 meV in the Lorentz broadening parameter were measured after the electron irradiation.
Multimodal Magneto-Fluorescent Nanosensor for Rapid and Specific Detection of Blood-Borne Pathogens.

Detection of bacterial contaminants in blood and platelet concentrates (PCs) continues to be challenging in clinical settings despite available current testing methods. At the same time, it is important to detect the low bacterial contaminants present at the time of transfusion. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a dual-modal magneto-fluorescent nanosensor (MFnS) by integrating magnetic relaxation and fluorescence modalities for the wide-range detection of blood-borne pathogens. In this study, functional MFnSs are designed to specifically detect Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli, two of the predominant bacterial contaminants of PCs. Specific interaction between the target pathogen and functional MFnS resulted in the change of water proton’s magnetic relaxation time, indicative of sensitive detection of the target bacteria from low to high colony-forming units (CFUs). In addition, the acquired magnetic relaxation signal of the MFnS further facilitated quantitative assessment of the...
Gingival Augmentation Surgery for Specific Mucogingival Problems

Gingival augmentation surgical procedures are commonly used to restore gingival tissues at sites where gingival recession is problematic for the patient or where gingival augmentation/manipulation is required to achieve optimal dental therapeutic results. The goals of this chapter are first to review the types of gingival augmentation procedures commonly used today and next, to summarize the principles and techniques for performing traditional gingival augmentation surgical procedures. Also summarized in this chapter are modifications of gingival augmentation procedures to achieve secondary benefits such as increased vestibule depth, removal of a high frenum attachments, or augmentation of keratinized gingival tissue adjacent to implants. These examples provide a rationale to enhance therapeutic outcomes by adapting the surgical principles of gingival augmentation surgery to specific dental problems.
Development of point following behaviors in shelter dogs.

Pet dogs are known to be responsive to human pointing gestures, but shelter dogs have repeatedly demonstrated poor abilities to follow human pointing, although they can be explicitly trained quickly. This study evaluated the time course in which shelter dogs learn to follow points without explicit training, when given typical interactions with humans. In a longitudinal evaluation, the development of point following was tracked in seven shelter dogs in a training program (enriched human exposure), seven dogs in a traditional shelter (control population), and evaluated once in pet dogs. Twice a week for 6 weeks, shelter dogs’ point-following performance was evaluated in 10 probe trials in which an experimenter pointed to one of two containers equidistant from the dog. To avoid direct training, dogs were given a treat for approaching and touching either container; although correct responses were recorded for touching the pointed-towards container within 30 s. Pet dogs were tested in only one session. All shelter dogs initially showed the expected poor performance. However, enriched shelter dogs receiving enriched human exposure showed significant improvements reaching an identical performance to pet dogs within 7 weeks. In comparison, shelter dogs under standard conditions showed an initial improvement, but performance reached asymptote close to chance levels and lower than that of enriched dogs or pet dogs. Together, these results suggest that enriched experiences with humans, typical of pet dogs, is sufficient for dogs to learn to follow points without explicit training.
Ebola Virus Dose Response Model for Aerosolized Exposures: Insights from Primate Data

This study develops dose-response models for Ebolavirus using previously published data sets from the open literature. Two such articles were identified in which three different species of nonhuman primates were challenged by aerosolized Ebolavirus in order to study pathology and clinical disease progression. Dose groups were combined and pooled across each study in order to facilitate modeling. The endpoint of each experiment was death. The exponential and exact beta-Poisson models were fit to the data using maximum likelihood estimation. The exact beta-Poisson was deemed the recommended model because it more closely approximated the probability of response at low doses though both models provided a good fit. Although transmission is generally considered to be dominated by person-to-person contact, aerosolization is a possible route of exposure. If possible, this route of exposure could be particularly concerning for persons in occupational roles managing contaminated liquid wastes from patients being treated for Ebola infection and the wastewater community responsible for disinfection. Therefore, this study produces a necessary mathematical relationship between exposure dose and risk of death for the inhalation route of exposure that can support quantitative microbial risk assessment aimed at informing risk mitigation strategies including personal protection policies against occupational exposures.
Topical Steroids in Management of Dry Eye Disease

To review current literature on the use of topical steroids for treatment of both aqueous-deficient and evaporative subtypes of dry eye disease (DED). Recent studies have shown that topical steroids are effective for the treatment of patients with moderate or severe DED who have failed to respond to more conservative measures. These medications are useful for patients with both aqueous-deficient and evaporative subtypes of DED. Although topical steroids are often used for a short period of time, patients with chronic ocular surface inflammation can benefit from long-term treatment. For this, low-potency steroids, such as loteprednol or fluorometholone, would be reasonable due to their reduced risk for increasing intraocular pressure. Topical steroids have proven beneficial in conjunction with other anti-inflammatory medications such as topical calcineurin inhibitors. As inflammation plays an important role in pathogenesis of DED, topical steroids may be considered for patients with refractory disease.
The Olympic Movement in International Law

The Olympic Movement has been self-regulated from the beginning, and its private ordering is governed by the domestic law of the nations in which its organizations are domiciled and operate. Nevertheless, it is also an institution of global governance, with important ties to international law. This essay examines the nature of those ties and the push for additional alignment between the norms of the Movement and international legal norms. I first provide a taxonomy of Olympic Movement organizations, centered on the attributes that are helpful to understanding the place of each in the global governance of sport and the value the organizations produce for their diverse stakeholders. I then describe demands from international law for additional alignment with human rights and governance norms and the standard response from sport. In the final section, I argue that regulatory autonomy is necessary for sport to produce the values expected by its stakeholders; domestic law, including as it reflects international law, is generally an adequate check on abuses of that autonomy. International norms are useful not as binding law that would displace the Movement's autonomy, but as pressure for Movement organizations to consider aligning their policies and procedures with the public interests those norms reflect.
The interplay of policy, behavior, and socioeconomic conditions in early COVID-19 epidemiology in Georgia

To investigate the impact of local public health orders, behavior, and population factors on early epidemic dynamics, we investigated variation among counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. We conducted regressions to identify predictors of (1) local public health orders, (2) mobility as a proxy for behavior, and (3) epidemiological outcomes (i.e., cases and deaths). We used an event study to determine whether social distancing and shelter-in-place orders caused a change in mobility. Counties at greater risk for large early outbreaks (i.e., larger populations and earlier first cases) were more likely to introduce local public health orders. Social distancing orders gradually reduced mobility by 19% ten days after their introduction, and lower mobility was associated with fewer cases and deaths. Air pollution and population size were predictors of cases and deaths, while larger elderly or Black population were predictors of lower mobility and greater cases, suggesting self-protective behavior in vulnerable populations. Early epidemiological outcomes reflected responses to policy orders and existing health and socioeconomic disparities related to disease vulnerability and ability to socially distance. Teasing apart the impact of behavior changes and population factors is difficult because the epidemic is embedded in a complex social system with multiple potential feedbacks.
Identifying sustainable lifestyle strategies for maintaining good glycemic control: a validation of qualitative findings.

INTRODUCTION Diabetes self-care practices are less effective outside of controlled research settings, and almost half of patients do not achieve good glycemic control. Qualitative studies suggest some lifestyle strategies may be linked to good control, but those strategies have not been validated. This study provides population-based evidence that dietary strategies identified in qualitative studies are associated with glycemic control in US patients with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a cross-sectional sample of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), qualitative self-management themes were matched to survey questions and used to predict good glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c <7.0% (53 mmol/mol)). Patients were limited to those 50 years of age and older with a diagnosis of diabetes for at least 1 year (N=465). RESULTS Patients averaged 65 years of age with a body mass index of 32.56 kg/m2 and 42% reported no physical activity. In logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic and medical history variables, self-monitoring of blood glucose, weight loss, and physical activity were not significantly associated with glycemic control. Instead, dietary practices such as consuming low-calorie foods (OR=4.05, 95% CI 1.64 to 10.01), eating less fat (OR=2.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.47), and reducing sodium (OR=1.94, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.17) were significantly associated with good glycemic control, as was diabetes education or consultation with a dietitian (OR=3.48, 95% CI 1.28 to 9.45). Non-adherence to medications (OR=0.27, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.68) and general dietary descriptions, such as following a 'diabetic diet' (OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.57) and 'changing eating habits for weight loss' (OR=0.34, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.77), were associated with poorer glycemic control. CONCLUSIONS The NHANES validation of lifestyle management strategies suggests practices that may be sustainable. In a population that tends to be obese with low physical activity, successful self-care might emphasize specific dietary practices offering concrete touchpoints for patient communication and guidance. These strategies might help maintain glycemic control.
WORK WITHOUT LABOR: Life in the Surround of a Rural Prison Town

This article challenges the idea that the U.S. prison boom is a federally driven fix. By assembling a two-hundred-year regional history of Cliptown, New Jersey—a rural town with five prisons and three police departments—the article indicates that prisons appear not as an external fix but as the most recent technological iteration of a homegrown system that has always functioned to capture labor through white supremacist domination. Locally historicizing the evolution of this dominating system, however, refuses to concede the final word to prisons and earlier confinement technologies, concluding, instead, in an alternative space that exceeds the capture of confinement, where formerly incarcerated people collaborate to expand freedoms and to practice being unavailable for confinement’s servitude.
Starshade Imaging Simulation Toolkit for Exoplanet Reconnaissance

Starshade Imaging Simulation Toolkit for Exoplanet Reconnaissance (SISTER) is a versatile tool designed to provide accurate models of the images of exoplanet systems when observed with a starshade positioned to block the light from the host star. SISTER allows one to control a set of observational parameters including: (1) the starshade design, position, orientation, and glint properties; (2) the telescope and optical system pupil, aberrations, bandpass, and throughput including a detector model; (3) the exoplanetary system, including stellar distance and spectral type, parallax and proper motion, planet size, reflection properties, orbital parameters, and exozodiacal dust; and (4) background objects. Additionally, there is a substantial library of built-in plotting software added, but the simulations may be stored on disk and plotted with any other software. We describe SISTER’s algorithms, its operational modules, and how it can be used to generate starshade optical simulations with a high degree of fidelity. We include some imaging examples.
Disrupting Evasion Pedagogies

As we have researched in schools and reflected on our own teaching, we have come to recognize the lie and our untruthfulness that permeates many of our cultural scripts (Gutierrez et al., 1995) and...
Bank Debt, Flexibility, and the Use of Proceeds from Asset Sales

In the theory of financial intermediation, bank debt is often characterized as being more readily renegotiable than public debt. Banks are also conjectured to gain valuable non-public information through closer monitoring. Given these features, bank debt can theoretically be more flexible than public debt and can lead to better investment/liquidation decisions. We investigate this possibility using a sample of firms facing the important decision of whether to reinvest the proceeds from asset sales or whether to distribute the proceeds to debtholders. While higher levels of leverage are associated with an increased probability of distributing proceeds to creditors, this relationship is significantly muted for bank debt as opposed to public debt. This finding is consistent with the conjecture that bank debt provides enhanced flexibility when compared to public debt. Further we find that asset sale announcement period abnormal stock returns are increasing in firms’ use of bank debt, but not public debt. This suggests that market participants believe that banking relationships are leading to better decision making for this particular type of investment/liquidation decision. We find no significantly different effects of bank vs. public debt on the initial decision to undertake an asset sale in the first place. Thus, in the context of asset sales, the main observable difference arises in the use of proceeds decision, rather than the initial asset sale decision.
Frontotemporal Lobar Dementia Mutant Tau Impairs Axonal Transport through a Protein Phosphatase 1γ-Dependent Mechanism.

Pathological tau modifications are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, but mechanisms of tau toxicity continue to be debated. Inherited mutations in tau cause early-onset frontotemporal lobar dementias (FTLD-tau) and are commonly used to model mechanisms of tau toxicity in tauopathies. Previous work in the isolated squid axoplasm model demonstrated that several pathogenic forms of tau inhibit axonal transport through a mechanism involving activation of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). Here, we determined that P301L and R5L FTLD mutant tau proteins elicit a toxic effect on axonal transport as monomeric proteins. We also evaluated interactions between wild type and mutant tau with specific PP1 isoforms (α, β and γ), further examining their contribution to this toxic effect using primary rat hippocampal neurons from both sexes. Pulldown and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer experiments revealed selective interactions of wild type tau with PP1α and PP1γ isoforms, but not PP1β, which were significantly increased by the P301L tau mutation. The results from proximity ligation assays confirmed the interaction in primary hippocampal neurons. Moreover, expression of FTLD-linked mutant tau in these neurons enhanced levels of active PP1, also increasing the pausing frequency of fluorescently-labeled vesicles in both anterograde and retrograde directions. Knockdown of PP1γ, but not PP1α, rescued the cargo-pausing effects of P301L and R5L tau, a result replicated by deleting a phosphatase-activating domain in the amino terminus of P301L tau. These findings support a model of tau toxicity involving aberrant activation of a specific PP1γ-dependent pathway that disrupts axonal transport in neurons. Significance Statement Tau pathology is closely associated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies, but its toxic mechanisms remain a debated topic. We previously proposed that pathological tau forms induce dysfunction and degeneration through aberrant activation of a protein phosphatase 1 (PP1)-dependent pathway that disrupts axonal transport. Here, we show that tau directly interacts with specific PP1 isoforms, increasing levels of active PP1. Pathogenic tau mutations enhance this interaction, further increasing active PP1 levels and impairing axonal transport in isolated squid axoplasm and primary hippocampal neurons. Mutant tau-mediated impairment of axonal transport was mediated by PP1γ and a phosphatase-activating domain located at tau’s amino terminus. This work has important implications for understanding and potentially mitigating tau-mediated neurotoxicity in tauopathies.
Conversion Disorder in a Pharmacogenomics, Polypharmacy Patient: Case Report

Background: Conversion disorder (CD) is a relatively common psychiatric disorder likely encountered by clinical pharmacists but probably not easily identified by pharmacists. Case Summary: This is a patient case where a patient with a tremor was referred to the pharmacist led, polypharmacy, pharmacogenomics (PGx) service to rule out a PGx cause due to medication metabolism. No pharmacologic or PGx cause was found for the tremor which helped support and confirm a diagnosis of CD. Practice Implications: By working collaboratively with psychiatrists, neurologists, physical medicine colleagues, clinical pharmacists may add value to patient care by assisting with diagnoses and appropriate treatment.
DNA and nucleoside triphosphate binding properties of recA protein from Escherichia coli.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses several aspects of ssDNA and dsDNA binding by recA protein and the effect of nucleoside triphosphates on the interactions between recA protein and DNA. Additionally, the chapter also use photoaffinity labeling to examine the effects of different nucleoside triphosphates on the binding of ATP to recA protein. The chapter has investigated both the DNA binding and nucleoside triphosphate binding properties of purified recA protein in order to elucidate the coupling of ATP hydrolysis to its strand-annealing and assimilation activities. RecA protein binds to ssDNA without a nucleoside triphosphate cofactor. Addition of ATPγS results in enhanced binding of recA protein to ssDNA and removal of secondary structures in the DNA. RecA protein binds to poly ribo- and polydeoxyribonucleotide, showing a strong affinity for poly (dT) and poly (dC) over natural DNAs and much weaker affinity for poly (dG) and poly (dA). RecA protein removes secondary structure from φx174 DNA in the presence of ATPγS as determined by ethidium bromide fluorescence quenching. Binding of recA protein to duplex DNA requires a nucleoside triphosphate but does not require hydrolysis of this NTP. ATPγS and ATP bind tightly to recA protein in the absence of ssDNA.
Arylamidases of rat liver and kidney.

Abstract The subcellular distribution of arylamidases in rat liver and rat kidney was studied. Lysosomes prepared from both tissues had the highest concentration of arylamidases. Different types of arylamidases have been found in the lysosomes and microsomes of these tissues. The lysosomal enzymes were inhibited by divalent metal ions, lost activity on storage, were inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate, and were activated by dithiothreitol. The lysosomal enzymes from both tissues were most active against l-arginyl-β-naphthylamide. The microsomal enzymes from both liver and kidney were activated by divalent metal ions and were stable on storage. The kidney microsomal enzyme was not inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate. The Co++-activated microsomal enzyme was most active against l-alanyl-β-naphthylamide.
Special session: building your own University [engineering education]

Summary form only given. The four presenters in this session discuss new engineering colleges and new engineering degree programs. The initial presentation provides background for the need for change in engineering programs. The subsequent presentations discuss specific examples of new programs or colleges that have been implemented or are on the immediate horizon. Open discussion follows the presentations.
Development of manufacturing automation systems through object oriented concepts and international standards

Interoperable, portable and scalable automation systems would be a key element for next generation manufacturing systems. Therefore, innovative development methodologies, standards and tools for the structured design of complex automation systems are mandatory. In the present work a development methodology is introduced, which is based on emerging international standards and exploits object-oriented concepts. By means of the proposed framework the definition of complex control and supervision systems is simplified, and the maintenance and reuse of designed solutions is enhanced. In particular, the agility, interoperability, portability and scalability of the developed automation systems are significantly improved. An application example is also addressed throughout the paper to highlight the benefits of the proposed framework. In particular, the development of automation functionalities for a highly innovative shoe manufacturing plant is discussed
Failure to Thrive

Malnutrition is the primary biologic insult in most cases of failure to thrive. A transactional model of infant development provides a framework for understanding the psychosocial context in which such malnutrition occurs. Each child who fails to thrive should receive a multidisciplinary evaluation to address the diagnostic and therapeutic implications of nutritional, medical, psychosocial, and developmental factors contributing to growth failure.
New developments in FcεRI regulation, function and inhibition

The high-affinity Fc receptor for IgE (FcepsilonRI), a multimeric immune receptor, is a crucial structure for IgE-mediated allergic reactions. In recent years, advances have been made in several important areas of the study of FcepsilonRI. The first area relates to FcepsilonRI-mediated biological responses that are antigen independent. The second area encompasses the biological relevance of the distinct signalling pathways that are activated by FcepsilonRI; and the third area relates to the accumulated evidence for the tight control of FcepsilonRI signalling through a broad array of inhibitory mechanisms, which are being developed into promising therapeutic approaches.
Risk factors associated with the occurrence of fractures in U.S. nursing homes: resident and facility characteristics and prescription medications.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether resident and facility characteristics and prescription medications influence the occurrence of fractures in nursing homes (NHs). DESIGN: Panel study with 1-year follow-up. SETTING: A nationally representative sample of NHs from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). PARTICIPANTS: Residents aged 65 and older who were in sample NHs on January 1, 1996. MEASUREMENTS: Health status measures were collected from facility records and abstracted using a computer-assisted personal interview instrument. Fracture and drug data were updated every 4 months to provide a full year of information. Drug data were obtained from monthly medication administration records. The occurrences of fractures were obtained from medical records. Administered medications were classified using the Department of Veterans Affairs medication classification system. Facility characteristics were based on MEPS survey data collected from NH sources. RESULTS: In 1996, 6% of residents in a NH at the beginning of the year experienced a fracture during their NH stay(s). Resident risk factors included aged 85 and older, admitted from the community, exhibited agitated behaviors, and used both wheelchair and cane or walker. Use of anticonvulsants, antidepressants, opioid analgesics, iron supplements, bisphosphonates, thiazides, and laxatives were associated with fractures. A high certified nurse aide ratio was negatively associated with fractures. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that fractures are associated with resident and facility characteristics and prescribing practices. It reaffirms the importance of medication review with special attention on opioid analgesics, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants to reduce the risk of fractures.
Achievement of 30% conversion from O2 to O2(a1Δ) at 50 torr using an integrally cooled, controlled avalanche ionized electric O2(a1Δ) generator

The electric oxygen iodine laser (EOIL) offers a vastly more practical, implementable, and safer alternative to its predecessor, the chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL), particularly for airborne or other mobile military applications. Despite its promise and after 25 years effort, numerous laboratories around the world have not succeeded in providing the known basic physical requirements needed to electrically convert O2 into O 2 (a 1 Δ)with the fractional yields and efficiencies needed to make a practical laser. Hence, as of this date, the world record power generated from an EOIL device is only 5 watts. In this paper, a 30% conversion from O 2 into O 2 (a 1 Δ) operating at substantial oxygen mass flow rates (0.090 moles O2/sec at 50 torr) and 40% electrical efficiency is reported. The O 2 (a 1 Δ) flow stream being produced carries 2400 watts. Gain measurements are currently in progress, to be followed shortly by power extraction. Current conditions imply that initial power extraction could push beyond 1 KW. Efforts to date have failed to generate substantial laser power because critical criteria have not been met. In order to achieve good O 2 (a 1 Δ) fractional yield, it is normally mandatory to impart on the order of 100 KJ/mole O 2 while efficiently removing the waste heat energy from the generator so that less than a few hundred degrees Kelvin rise occurs due to gas heating. The generator must be excited by an electric field on the order of 10 Td. This is far below glow potential; hence, a fully externally sustained plasma generation technique is required. Ionization is supplied by means of applying short (tens of nanosecond) pulses to the O 2 (a 1 Δ) generator at 50,000 PPS, which are on the order of ten times breakdown potential. This enables a quasi-steady adjustable DC current to flow through the generator, being conducted by application of a DC, 10 to 14 Td pump E-field. This field is also independently tunable. The result is that up to 180 KJ/mole O 2 gets imparted to the gas by means of the ~6 KW subbreakdown pump field, while another 2700 watts is applied to the controlled avalanche field. The generator consists of 24 each, 1 cm diameter tubes that are submerged in rapidly circulating cold fluorinert. Heat is efficiently removed so that that the gas temperature, initially 273°K, raises only by 125°K, as evidenced by spectrographic analysis of the fine structure of O 2 (b 1 Σ) at lower pressure. Since all necessary conditions have been met, a 30% conversion rate of O 2 to O 2 (a 1 Δ) has been achieved. Fortuitously, neither O atom production nor O 2 (b 1 Σ) production is visible in the spectra of the higher pressure, best yield runs. Essentially all other spectral lines are dwarfed in comparison the O 2 (a 1 Δ) line. Energy normally partitioned to O 2 (b 1 Σ) and apparently O atoms now feeds into O 2 (a 1 Δ) directly, enabling electrical efficiency to exceed 40%.
Systemic effects of cancer: Role of multiple proteases and their toxic peptideproducts.

Cachexia, or the loss of skeletal muscle, adipose tissue and immunological competence, is a common systemic condition in advanced cases of cancer, and is a frequent cause of death. There have been many reports that small peptides isolated from tumors induce systemic effects correlated with cachexia upon injection into mice or addition to cell cultures. Only recently has evidence been presented for the origin of these peptides from the large increase in proteolytic enzymes found in tumors. Additional evidence is presented here for a major role of tumor peptides in producing effects associated with cachexia. Such peptides of low molecular weight were found to produce lipolysis in adipose tissue. Fibrinogen degradation products from the plasma of cancer patients and other chronic diseases suppress activation of the immune response. Some proteases of the cathepsin class occur in high concentration at the surface of transformed cells where the pH is low enough to allow digestion of pericellular proteins; other cathepsins elevated in tumors are highly active at physiological pH. Cathepsin L is the major excreted protein of cultured cells transformed by viruses or chemicals and is likely to form toxic peptides by digestion of extracellular proteins. Even normal liver and skeletal muscle of some cancer patients and tumor-bearing animals exhibit significant increases in cathepsins and components of the ubiquitin-proteasesome pathway which would add to circulating peptides. These observations argue for a central role of multiple proteases and their proteolytic products in producing the debilitating systemic effects of cancer.
Affective brain areas and sleep-disordered breathing.

The neural damage accompanying the hypoxia, reduced perfusion, and other consequences of sleep-disordered breathing, found in obstructive sleep apnea, heart failure, and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), appears in areas that serve multiple functions, including emotional drives to breathe, and involve systems that serve affective, cardiovascular, and breathing roles. The damage, assessed with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures, shows tissue loss or water content and diffusion changes indicative of injury, and impaired axonal integrity between structures; damage is preferentially unilateral. Functional MRI responses in affected areas also are time- or amplitude-distorted to ventilatory or autonomic challenges. Among the structures injured are the insular, cingulate, and ventral medial prefrontal cortices, as well as cerebellar deep nuclei and cortex, anterior hypothalamus, caudal raphe, ventrolateral medulla, portions of the basal ganglia and, in CCHS, the locus coeruleus. Caudal raphe and locus coeruleus injury have the potential to modify serotonergic and adrenergic modulation of upper airway and arousal characteristics, as well as affective drive to breathe. Since both axons and gray matter show injury, the consequences to function, especially to autonomic, cognitive, and mood regulation, are major. Several of the affected rostral sites mediate aspects of dyspnea, especially in CCHS, while others participate in initiation of inspiration after central breathing pauses, and the medullary injury can impair baroreflex and breathing control. The ancillary injury associated with sleep-disordered breathing to central structures can elicit multiple other distortions in cardiovascular, cognitive, and emotional functions in addition to effects on breathing regulation.
Creating periodic local strain in monolayer graphene with nanopillars patterned by self-assembled block copolymer

A simple and viable method was developed to produce biaxial strain in monolayer graphene on an array of SiO2 nanopillars. The array of SiO2 nanopillars (1 cm2 in area, 80 nm in height, and 40 nm in pitch) was fabricated by employing self-assembled block copolymer through simple dry etching and deposition processes. According to high resolution micro-Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses, 0.9% of maximum biaxial tensile strain and 0.17% of averaged biaxial tensile strain in graphene were created. This technique provides a simple and viable method to form biaxial tensile strain in graphene and offers a practical platform for future studies in graphene strain engineering.
Normal Linear Regression Models With Recursive Graphical Markov Structure

A multivariate normal statistical model defined by the Markov properties determined by an acyclic digraph admits a recursive factorization of its likelihood function (LF) into the product of conditional LFs, each factor having the form of a classical multivariate linear regression model (?WMANOVA model). Here these models are extended in a natural way to normal linear regression models whose LFs continue to admit such recursive factorizations, from which maximum likelihood estimators and likelihood ratio (LR) test statistics can be derived by classical linear methods. The central distribution of the LR test statistic for testing one such multivariate normal linear regression model against another is derived, and the relation of these regression models to block-recursive normal linear systems is established. It is shown how a collection of nonnested dependent normal linear regression models (?Wseemingly unrelated regressions) can be combined into a single multivariate normal linear regression model by imposing a parsimonious set of graphical Markov (?Wconditional independence) restrictions.
Hemagglutinin and bactericidin response in children with urinary or enteric infections.

The hemagglutinating and bactericidal activities of serum of children with either bacteriologically proved E. coli infection of the urinary tract or enterobacterial enteritis were determined for comparative purposes. Patients were selected with either increasing or high titers of antibodies to the O antigens of the infecting microorganisms. There was no parallelism between the absolute hemagglutinin titers and the degree of bactericidal activity of the serum specimens, nor did changes in hemagglutinin titers and bactericidal activity between acute and convalescent serum specimens parallel each other. Poor bactericidal activity was not due to excess antibodies (the Neisser-Wechsberg phenomenon). The bactericidal activity, but not the hemagglutinating capacity, of serum was strain-rather than O serogroup dependent.