cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new Bayesian approach incorporating covariate information for heterogeneity and its comparison with HLOD

We consider a new Bayesian approach for heterogeneity that can take into account categorical covariates, if available. We use the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 simulated data to first compare the Bayesian approach with the heterogeneity LOD, when no covariate information is used. We find that the former is more powerful, while the two approaches have comparable false-positive rates. We then include informative covariates in the Bayesian approach and find that it tends to give more precise interval estimates of the disease gene location than when covariates are not included. We had knowledge of the simulation models at the time we performed the analyses.
National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center Sets New Policy on Use of Herbal and Other Alternative Supplements by Patients Enrolled in Clinical Trials

The nationwide concern over the escalating use of herbal and other alternative dietary supplements is prompting a call for action in health care organizations. Not only is there mounting evidence to support a strong concern for patient safety, but the use of these products by people participating in biomedical research protocols has an added impact on the integrity of the research design and data gathering. These issues are of increasing concern to the National Institutes of Health's hospital for biomedical research, the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center. Surveys completed in 2000 showed that 25-45% of Clinical Center patients reported taking herbal and other alternative dietary supplements. In 2001, the Clinical Center moved forward to develop and implement a policy to guide hospital staff in the management of patient use of herbal and alternative supplements. The policy established the requirement for all patients to be screened for supplement use upon admission or outpatient visit. Continued use of supplement products during hospitalization and/or outpatient enrollment on protocol require a physician's authorizing order. The implementation of this policy has increased awareness and provided an important step forward in protecting patient safety and preserving the scientific integrity of the research at the NIH's Clinical Center.
Rationalising Business Intelligence Systems and Explicit Knowledge Objects: Improving Evidence-Based Management in Government Programs

Public sector programs often fail to leverage their business intelligence systems and explicit knowledge objects to drive efficiency and effectiveness. Given the current federal fiscal environment and the need for effective government — a catalyst to the requirement to use "evidence and rigorous evaluation in budget, management, and policy decisions" (OMB Memorandum M-12-14) — federal programs look to business intelligence as an evidence-based decision-making practice leading to a more lean government, improving efficiency and effectiveness. However, cost overruns, technical obstacles, and next-generation information challenges stemming from pervasive computing can reduce any perceived value of utilising explicit knowledge systems to support evidence in decision making. Through the evaluation of five diverse projects tasked to address the use of evidence in decision-making practices, this research shows that achieving contextualisation of information requirements, stakeholder alignment, and the complexity/feasibility of information integration are key factors that should be analysed to improve the evidence-based decision-making practice in government programs, and may be accomplished through a systematic approach, such as the rationalisation of business intelligence systems. Thus, a rationalisation framework is provided to facilitate the management of business intelligence systems geared towards a more efficient and effective use of explicit knowledge.
STUDIES ON MEMBRANE-BOUND RECEPTORS FOR ANTIGEN PREPARATION OF POPULATIONS OF RECEPTOR-DEPLETED LYMPHOCYTES

THE EFFECT OF POLYADENYLIC: polyundylic acid complexes (poly A:U) on the amount of antibody on the surface of various populations of mouse lymphoid cells has been investigated by means of a sensitive measure of such activity-the binding by primed cell populations of beta-galactosidase (betaGZ) as an antigen. The sensitivity derives from the liberation of fluorescein from an artificial substrate, fluorescein-di-beta-galactopyranoside (FDbetaG). After incubation with 100 ng/ml of poly A:U, only 40% of the cells previously showing antigen-binding were still active. The optimum range of activity lay between 0.01-1.0 microg/ml poly A:U. Such cells showed increased RNA and protein synthesis as indicated by [(3)H]uridine and [(14)C]amino acid incorporation. The polynucleotide effect was abolished by incubation of the cells with sodium azide or iodoacetate, but not by puromycin. When the proteins on the cell surface were labeled by (125)I, poly A:U caused their release into the medium. Reports by others that the enhancing effect of polynucleotides on the immune response involves the adenylcyclase system are consistent with the finding reported here that reduction of binding by dibutryl 5'-cyclic monophosphoric acid (cAMP) and poly A:U were parallel in extent, and that theophylline and poly A:U acted synergistically in suboptimal concentrations of each.
Adverse Events in Children Receiving Intermittent Left Vagal Nerve Stimulation

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of unexpected events during intermittent vagal nerve stimulation in 24 patients stimulated for a total of 61 patient years. The charts of 24 children undergoing periodic stimulation of the left vagal nerve on research protocols were reviewed to determine the nature and frequency of adverse events and the total length of time they were stimulated. Fifteen adverse events were discovered in 12 patients. Thirteen were likely related to the device, and four other events might have been related. Two of these resulted in voluntary termination of vagal nerve stimulation, and the rest were treatable. Vagal nerve stimulation was tolerated in this series of patients. As opposed to the more standard drug therapies, adverse events during vagal nerve stimulation do not necessitate termination of therapy, but these events frequently lead to unforeseen surgery under general anesthesia.
Diffusion anisotropy in excised normal rat spinal cord measured by NMR microscopy.

A conventional spin-echo NMR imaging pulse sequence was used to obtain high-resolution images of excised normal rat spinal cord at 7 and 14 T. It was observed that the large pulsed-field gradients necessary for high-resolution imaging caused a diffusion weighting that dominated the image contrast and that could be used to infer microscopic structural organization beyond that defined by the resolution of the image matrix (i.e., fiber orientation could be assigned based on diffusion anisotropy). Anisotropic diffusion coefficients were therefore measured using apparent diffusion tensor (ADT) imaging to assess more accurately fiber orientations in the spinal cord; structural anisotropy information is portrayed in the six unique images of the complete ADT. To reduce the dimensionality of the data, a trace image was generated using a separate color scale for each of the three diagonal element images of the ADT. This new image retains much of the invariance of the trace to the relative orientations of laboratory and sample axes (inherent to a greyscale trace image) but provides, by the use of color, contrast reflecting diffusion anisotropy. The colored trace image yields a pseudo-three-dimensional view of the rat spinal cord, from which it is possible to deduce fiber orientations.
Information retrieval with distributed databases: analytic models of performance

The major emphasis is on analytical techniques for predicting the performance of various collection fusion scenarios. Knowledge of analytical models of information retrieval system performance, both with single processors and with multiple processors, increases our understanding of the parameters (e.g., number of documents, ranking algorithms, stemming algorithms, stop word lists, etc.) affecting system behavior. While there is a growing literature on the implementation of distributed information retrieval systems and digital libraries, little research has focused on analytic models of performance. We analytically describe the performance for single and multiple processors, both when different processors have the same parameter values and when they have different values. The use of different ranking algorithms and parameter values at different sites is examined.
Regulation of Pax-3 expression in the dermomyotome and its role in muscle development

The segmented mesoderm in vertebrates gives rise to a variety of cell types in the embryo including the axial skeleton and muscle. A number of transcription factors containing a paired domain (Pax proteins) are expressed in the segmented mesoderm during embryogenesis. These include Pax-3 and a closely related gene, Pax-7, both of which are expressed in the segmental plate and in the dermomyotome. In this paper, we show that signals from the notochord pattern the expression of Pax-3, Pax-7 and Pax-9 in somites and the subsequent differentiation of cell types that arise from the somitic mesoderm. We directly assess the role of the Pax-3 gene in the differentiation of cell types derived from the dermomyotome by analyzing the development of muscle in splotch mouse embryos which lack a functional Pax-3 gene. A population of Pax-3-expressing cells derived from the dermomyotome that normally migrate into the limb are absent in homozygous splotch embryos and, as a result, limb muscles are lost. No abnormalities were detected in the trunk musculature of splotch embryos indicating that Pax-3 is necessary for the development of the limb but not trunk muscle.
The Number of G Residues in the Bacillus subtilis pyrG Initially Transcribed Region Governs Reiterative Transcription-Mediated Regulation

Derepression of pyrG expression in Bacillus subtilis involves CTP-sensitive reiterative transcription, which introduces up to 11 extra G residues at the 5' ends of pyrG transcripts. Insertion of three or more additional Gs at the 5' end of the pyrG initially transcribed region abolished reiterative transcription and caused constitutive expression.
CATIONIC LIPOSOME-MEDIATED TRANSFECTION OF IMMUNE EFFECTOR CELLS

AbstractWe have examined the ability of cationic liposomes to mediate the transient transfection of human monocyte and lymphocyte cell lines, as well as of peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) freshly isolated from normal human donors. We found that cationic liposomes can mediate high level expression of expression vectors coding for either an intracellular (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) or a secreted (interleukin-2) gene product in the monocyte and lymphocyte cell lines. However, the human PBM could not be transfected using this approach. The use of a T lymphocyte-specific promoter element (IL-2) appeared to restrict cationic liposome-mediated transgene expression to lymphocytes, suggesting that transgene expression may targeted to specific cell types by the use of tissue-specific promoter elements. The ability to express selected transgenes in critical immune effector cells, via cationic liposome-mediated transfection, may eventually permit highly specific modulation of the cellular immune response in ...
Geology of the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota

John W. Hoganson and Edward C. Murphy, 2003, Mountain Press, Missoula, USA, 247 p. (Softcover, US $18.00) ISBN: 0-87842-476-8. Two-hundred years ago, on May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, 29 and 33 years-old respectively, pushed off from the bank of the Missouri River at St. Charles, Missouri, on a two-year and four-month exploration of the largely uncharted lands of the newly purchased Louisiana Territory and the unclaimed wilderness beyond the continental divide to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and Clark followed in the wake of the explorations of the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean by Captain James Cook, which ended 35 years earlier with Cook's death on the shore of Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. John Hoganson and Ed Murphy's book, Geology of the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota, is an insightful account of the expedition's route through North Dakota, and the landscape, surficial deposits, and bedrock that the captains described. Hoganson and Murphy are eminently qualified to write this account of the geology of the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota. As geologists with the North Dakota Geological Survey, they have over 40 collective years of mapping the bedrock and surficial geology of the state. Their research for the book has been of the highest quality, and the persons with whom they consulted, and the bibliography that they assembled, are excellent. The book is divided into five parts: (1) Jefferson's vision for the expedition and his choice of Meriwether Lewis to lead the enterprise; (2) a concise yet thorough, well-illustrated discussion of the general geology of North Dakota through time, written for the layperson; (3) a section on the Missouri River that includes a discussion of the pre-glacial drainage system and the changes that glacial advances and retreats …
Podium: Should Congress Decide Civil Rules?; No, Not a Subject to Wheel 'N Deal

Commentary and analysis of the federal rulemaking process, with discussion of the allocation of rulemaking authority shared by the federal judiciary and Congress. The article explores the question concerning which branch of government is better or more appropriately suited to develop and issue new rules or amendments to existing rules. This question is explored against the backdrop of pending proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 – the federal court sanctioning provision – and a wholesale amendment of the federal rules relating to discovery during civil litigation. The article discusses pending proposals formulated by the judiciary, and counter-proposals in pending legislation. The article comments on fifty years of experience with federal rulemaking.
Genetic alterations in salivary gland cancers

Salivary gland cancers are an incredibly heterogeneous group of tumors that include 24 histologically distinct tumor types. The use of new genetic methods has paved the way for promising advancements in our understanding of the molecular biology underlying each type of tumor. The objective of this review was to highlight common oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and cytogenetic and epigenetic changes associated with the most common tumor types: mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, salivary duct carcinoma, mammary analogue secretory carcinoma, hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma, carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma, and acinic cell carcinoma. Recent insights into the pathogenesis of each cancer subtype have helped better define and classify these tumors. Further research in salivary gland cancers should focus on determining the key genes involved in the tumorigenesis of each distinct malignancy and identifying individualized chemotherapies directed at these targets. Cancer 2016;122:1822-31. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Comparing Electron Recombination via Interfacial Modifications in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Establishing a blocking layer between the interfaces of the photoanode is an effective approach to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, HfO2 blocking layers are deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) and TiO2. In both cases, addition of the blocking layer increases cell efficiencies to greater than 7%. The improved performance for a HfO2 layer inserted between the ITO/TiO2 interface is associated with an energy barrier that reduces electron recombination. HfO2 blocking layers between the TiO2/dye interface show more complex behavior and are more sensitive to the number of ALD cycles. For thin blocking layers on TiO2, the improved device performance is attributed to the passivation of surface states in TiO2. A distinct transition in dark current and electron lifetime are observed after 4 ALD cycles. These changes to performance indicate thick HfO2 layers on TiO2 formed an energy barrier that significantly hinders cell performance.
A Ground Control Station for Multivehicular Control and Data Visualization

This paper presents the development of an operating system agnostic Ground Control Station (GCS) with a specialized, scalable communication structure for communicating with multiple vehicles and between different control stations. The software aspect consists of data storage, transmission, and visualization. Data storage is handled by SQLite, a relational database system that guarantees reliable processing of database transactions. It is responsible for managing incoming data from vehicles and responding to queries from the displays. Data transmission and visualization are managed by Qt, a cross-platform application framework that provides packet and serial communication support as well as an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) designer. The interface of the GCS adaptively displays information based on what the user selects, rather than displaying all the data it possesses. In addition, users may interact with the situational awareness map to monitor and maneuver the UAVs and UGVs with real-time data. The hardware aspect of the GCS provides interaction with XBee-PRO XSC S3B radios and Wi-Fi capable hardware. The XBee radio is used for vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-GCS, and GCS-to-vehicle communication to transmit data.
Foreign Direct Investment, Trade, and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of Bangladesh

The study reveals that there is a relationship between foreign direct investments, trade, and growth rate of per capita GDP for Bangladesh with the help of annual time series data for 1973 to 2014. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) analysis shows that there is a long-term relationship between these variables. To check the validity of the VECM model, we did a few post-estimation diagnostic tests, and found that the residuals of the regressions have a normal distribution and do not show any auto-correlation. The trade and foreign investment variables have a significant impact on the growth rate of GDP per capita. Because FDI and trade are two important components of economic growth in Bangladesh, it is important to frame policies that promote growth and reduce the barriers for capital flows.
Enterprise Income Tax Reform

Since the tax reform in 1994, China is now enforcing two enterprise income tax for domestic and foreign-funded companies. It’s an urgent need to actively push the tax reform forward, especially keep fair tax burden for all companies, so that domestic companies could increase their competitiveness. But reform should consider country’s actual situations.
Isolation of Homologous Nuclear Dnas from Sea-Urchin Embryos

Studies are presented on the ability of low-molecular-weight nuclear DNA fractions to hybridize to higher-molecular-weight nuclear DNAs taken from different stages of early developing sea-urchin embryos, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus . Using preparative DNA-DNA hybridization, a fraction of 6o-s mid-blastula DNA was isolated for its ability to anneal to 10-s morula DNA. Approximately 80 regions on each 6o-s molecule were found to be homologous to 10-s DNA. High-molecular-weight (> 240-s) nuclear DNA from mesenchyme blastula stage and later stages (compared with DNA from pre-blastula nuclei) shows an increase in the number of regions homologous to fractions of 10- and 60-s DNAs.
Power Analysis for Categorical Moderator Models of Effect Size

This chapter provides methods for computing power with moderator models of effect size. The models discussed are analogues to one-way ANOVA models for effect sizes. Examples are provided for both fixed and random effects categorical moderator models. The power for meta-regression models requires knowledge of the values of the predictors for each study in the model, and is not provided here.
Urological Malpractice: Claim Trend Analysis and Severity of Injury

Abstract Introduction In the current malpractice environment all urologists are at risk. Claim trend data on costs, types of urological errors and severity of injury in urological surgery malpractice claims are lacking. Methods We analyzed physician level claim data from a large professional liability insurer with a nationwide client base. Available data included records on closed malpractice claims from 1985 to 2013. We evaluated insured demographics, total number of closed claims, costs of indemnity payments, costs of defense, types of errors resulting in closed claims and severity of injury in urological claims. Results Compared to other medical specialties urology ranks 13th in total claims and 15th in average cost of indemnity payments in the last decade. Most urological claims are dropped, dismissed or withdrawn without indemnity payment. Of closed urological claims 27.2% result in an indemnity payment to the plaintiff. Adjusting for inflation, urological indemnity payments have increased by 60% since the 1980s and average payouts are now greater than $350,000. Improper performance of a procedure is the most prevalent urological error resulting in closed claims (875 closed claims in the last decade). Procedures involving the kidney (245 closed claims) and prostate (244 closed claims) are most frequently implicated. The majority of urological errors result in temporary or minor permanent injury. Errors resulting in grave injury are the most costly, with average indemnity payments of $514,844. Conclusions Awareness of claim trends and errors implicated can help urologists better understand the current malpractice environment.
MRI in Infantile Krabbe Disease

Serial MRI findings paralleling the clinical deterioration of a year-old child with Krabbe disease are reported from the University of Rochester Medical Center, New York.
Overview: Cancer Stem Cell Self-Renewal

Cancer cells within tumors differ in phenotype, genetic and epigenetic modifications and functions. In an increasing number of tumors, a proliferative hierarchy has been defined where a subpopulation of cells possesses self-renewal potential, similar to the somatic stem cells of the organ from which they arise. The so called “cancer stem cell's (CSCs)” unique ability to perpetually maintain tumor growth is, in part, due to a complex balance of high expression of self-renewal genes and low expression of differentiation genes. State-of-the-art strategies based on single-cell analysis to identify novel self-renewing genes as well as assays to test their long-term proliferation potential are in development due to the promise of revealing novel therapeutic drugs that will specifically target the self-renewal properties of CSCs.
Performance-Aware Resource Management of Multi-Threaded Applications on Many-Core Systems

Modern computing systems employ a large number of processing elements leaving behind traditional design approaches and architectures. On the software side, this evolution in system architecture has driven rapid changes on the field of application development too, by increasing the usage of highly parallel/multi-threading and demanding applications. Thus, many-core systems raise the challenge of efficient resource management especially in cases where changes occur at run-time with a rapid pace. In this paper, a performance-aware resource management scheme for many-core architectures is presented. Particular, the developed framework takes as input parallel applications and performs an application profiling. Based on that profile information, a thread to core mapping algorithm finds (i) the appropriate number of threads that this application will have in order to maximize the utilization of the system; and (ii) the best mapping for maximizing the performance of the application. Experimental results showed that our mapping framework produces on average 23% and 18% better application turnaround time compared to another state-of-art run-time manager.
Creating Safe Environments in the Museum Profession

(1995). Creating Safe Environments in the Museum Profession. Journal of Museum Education: Vol. 20, The National Conversation, pp. 16-19.
The relationship between theories of intelligence and intelligence tests.

The history of the use of intelligence tests has been summarized as a series of overlapping waves of new ideas and practices. In Wave 1 (1904 to present), intelligence tests were primarily used to measure general intelligence. In Wave 2 (1940s to present), practitioners were encouraged to generate nuanced hypotheses about individuals based on highly specific aspects of test performance. In Wave 3 (1970s to present), greater psychometric rigor was applied to the interpretation of individual profiles. In Wave 4 (1980s to present), test publishers began to operationalize well-developed theories of cognitive ability, giving practitioners greater confidence in their interpretations. We review how thoughtfully applying ideas and techniques from each approach can enhance current practice.
Optimal switching between a pair of Brownian motions

Although engineering models are concerned with multi-step decision making in discrete time, the continuous analog may provide a good insight as well as a good approximation. Here we deal with the situation where a number of controlled processes are available, and one is allowed to switch from one process to another; the goal is to maximize a certain payoff which depends on those processes chosen by the switching mechanism. This type of problem occurs in dynamic allocation of resources (cf. armed bandit problems [1]), in supply and demand strategies [2], etc. We shall deal here with the case where the control mechanism can switch from one diffusion process to another in any non-anticipative way and with no penalty. This problem was studied by N.V. Krylov in a sequence of papers during the 1970’s; his results are described in detail in his book [3].
Managing Collaborative Effort: How Simmelian Ties Advance Public Sector Networks

The research reported here is a structural analysis of the significance of ties to network leaders in securing the essential effort necessary to whole, goal-directed network functioning. Drawing on...
Modernism and affect

There is no single, agreed upon definition of ‘affect’, just as there is no single, agreed upon definition of ‘modernism’. The study of modernism has proliferated from being exclusively associated ...
Enacting post-reflexive teacher education

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to re-conceptualize Schon’s call for a phenomenology of practice – moving away from reflection and towards post-reflexion – by explicitly drawing on philosophical and methodological tenets of phenomenology, specifically some of Vagle’s theorizing of a post-intentional phenomenology. Finally, we use this conception of post-reflexion to articulate a set of three concrete post-reflexive pedagogies of teacher education – An Affective Pedagogy; A Post-Reflexive Entangled Pedagogy; and An Interrogated “Assumptions of Normality” Pedagogy.
Edge reconstruction and the swapping number of a graph

We define the swapping number of an arbitrary simple graph, which is related to edge reconstruction, and involves a weakening of the concept of a graph automorphism. We classify all 1-swappable trees and unicyclic graphs and prove that the expected value of the swapping number grows linearly with the order of the graph.
Peaceful Resistance in Contemporary Africa: Nonviolent Social Movements in Kenya, Sierra Leone and Liberia

As scholars gradually extend social movement analysis to Africa, there is a need for comparative studies on the different ways civil society responds to different levels of repression. In Kenya, individuals and (mostly later) organizations responded from the late 1980s to 2002 with increasingly bold and public challenges to the regime, leading eventually to a ‘culture of resistance’ with widespread participation and finally competitive elections in which the ruling party lost. In Sierra Leone, civilians faced not only repression but regimes occupied by civil war. Yet at key moments in the Sierra Leone’s trajectory from one-party rule to competitive party politics, students, women, and the general public resisted one civilian and two military regimes through demonstrations, grassroots organizing, and non-cooperation, helping draw international attention to abuses and increased pressure on the military regimes to step down. In Liberia, where the repression was the harshest of the three case studies, civil resistance involved journalists, women, students, the Catholic Church, and others during the rule of Samuel Doe and later Charles Taylor. This comparative study examines who the actors were, how they resisted, and offers some insights on motivations, including courage, principle, and ambition. In all three countries, repression not only failed to halt the resistance (though it did limit it), it led to continued resistance. In Kenya, domestic resistance was the critical factor in regime change; international intervention was the key to change in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The study draws on a total of nearly 200 in-depth interviews by the author with key activists and others in the three countries, plus archival research.
msaABCR operon is involved in persister cell formation in Staphylococcus aureus

Persister cells comprise a phenotypic variant that shows extreme antibiotic tolerance resulting in treatment failures of bacterial infections. While this phenomenon has posed a great threat in public health, mechanisms underlying their formation in Staphylococcus aureus remain largely unknown. Increasing evidences of the presence of persister cells in recalcitrant infections underscores the great urgency to unravel the mechanism by which these cells develop. Previously, we characterized msaABCR operon that plays roles in regulation of virulence, biofilm development and antibiotic resistance. We also characterized the function of MsaB protein and showed that MsaB is a putative transcription factor that binds target DNA in response to nutrients availability. In this study, we compared the number of persister cell in wild type, msaABCR deletion mutant and the complemented strain in two backgrounds USA300 LAC and Mu50. Herein, we report that msaABCR deletion mutant forms significantly less number of persister cells relative to wild type after challenge with various antibiotics in planktonic and biofilm growth conditions. Complementation of the msaABCR operon restored wild type phenotype. Combined antibiotic therapy along with msaABCR deletion significantly improves the killing kinetics of stationary phase and biofilm S. aureus cells. Transcriptomics analysis showed that msaABCR regulates several metabolic genes, transcription factors, transporters and enzymes that may play role in persister cells formation, which we seek to define in the future. This study presented a new regulator, msaABCR operon, that is involved in the persister cells formation, which is a poorly understood in S. aureus. Indeed, we showed that msaABCR deletion significantly reduces the persister cells formation in all growth phases tested. Although, we have not yet defined the mechanism, we have shown that msaABCR regulates several metabolic, transporters, and extracellular proteases genes that have been previously linked with persister cells formation in other bacterial systems. Taken together, this study showed that inactivation of the msaABCR operon enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics for the treatment of S. aureus infections, especially in context of persister cells.
Does efficiency and quality of care affect hospital closures

In recent decades, a large number of hospitals in Pennsylvania and across the United States have been forced to close entirely, or to transform their beds for alternative uses including outpatient ...
Workplace victimization risk and protective factors for suicidal behavior among active duty military personnel.

Abstract Background Workplace victimization is a potential risk factor for suicidal behaviors (SB) among military personnel that has been largely overlooked. This paper examines both the impact of workplace victimization on reported SB and several potential protective factors associated with such suicidal behaviors in a large sample of active duty soldiers. Methods A case-control study was conducted with 71 soldiers who reported SB in the past 12 months, each matched on sociodemographic characteristics to two others without reported suicidal behaviors. A multiple regression model was estimated to assess the effects of risk and protective factors while controlling for other variables. Results SB was associated with several aspects of victimization, mental health and substance abuse conditions, pain, impulsivity, stressors, negative life events, work-family conflict, active coping behaviors and positive military-related factors. Controlling for other variables, those with SB were more likely to have sought mental health or substance abuse services, to be depressed, anxious, impulsive, and less resilient than non-SB personnel. Limitations Study limitations included the use of retrospective self-report data, absence of some known SB predictors, and a population restricted to active duty Army personnel. Conclusions SB among active duty personnel is associated with victimization since joining the military and is protected by resiliency. These findings suggest that in addition to the usual mental health factors, these additional predictors should be accounted for in SB intervention and prevention planning for active duty personnel.
Excitation energy equilibration in damped Ar 139 collisions at 15 MeV per nucleon

Energy and angular distributions of neutrons emitted in coincidence with projectile-like fragments from the damped reaction $^{139}\mathrm{La}$${+}^{40}$Ar at a bombarding energy of 600 MeV have been measured. Components corresponding to sequential emission from two fully accelerated reaction fragments as well as preequilibrium neutron emission have been separated as a function of energy loss and fragment atomic number. The deduced division of total excitation energy between the reaction partners is very well described by the one-body nucleon-exchange model for all energy losses. The data provide no evidence for correlations between the excitation energy division and the measured projectile-like fragment atomic number.
Surface Effects in Vibrationally Excited Molecular Beam Scattering

Recently we have combined laser spectroscopic techniques with UHV technology to develope an apparatus for studying vibrationally excited molecular beam scattering.1–5 In this apparatus, a tunable infrared laser is used to vibrationally excite a supersonic molecular beam prior to scattering from a single crystal surface in a UHV scattering chamber. Scattered molecules are then detected in a state-specific manner through multiphoton ionization using a tunable ultraviolet laser. In this manner, state-to-state surface scattering information is obtained. We have applied this technique to the scattering of nitric oxide. The pump laser excites a single quantum state NO(v=l,J=3/2,Ω=l/2). Then angular, velocity, rotational and spin-orbit distributions are obtained after scattering from a variety of surfaces, including air-cleaved and vacuum-cleaved LiF(100)3, Ag(111)4,5 and Ag(110)4. From this collection of experiments, the effects of conduction electrons, surface corrugation and surfaces roughening on vibrational, rotational and translational energy transfer during molecule-surface collisions has been studied.
Book review: Ramnarayan S. Rawat and K. Satyanarayana, eds, Dalit Studies:

Ramnarayan S. Rawat and K. Satyanarayana, eds, Dalit Studies, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016, 304 pp.
Onkologische Notfälle in der Chemotherapie

Uroonkologische Notfalle konnen durch den Tumor selbst, eine Behandlungskomplikation oder nicht-onkologische Erkrankungen verursacht sein. Im Fokus dieser Ubersichtsarbeit stehen chemotherapiebedingte Notfalle. Schwerpunkte sind die febrile Neutropenie (FN), das Tumorlysesyndrom (TLS) und Paravasate. Das Ziel der Arbeit ist ein Uberblick uber wichtige chemotherapiebedingte Notfalle sowie uber die zu ergreifenden Behandlungsmasnahmen. Fur den Artikel wurden die ESMO(European Society of Medical Oncology)-, EORTC(European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer)- und S3-Leitlinen herangezogen sowie eine PubMed-Analyse zu den Stichwortern „febrile neutropenia“, „extravasation“ und „tumor lysis syndrome“ durchgefuhrt. Die nach Ansicht der Autorin wichtigsten Artikel wurden zusammengefasst. Eine entscheidende Voraussetzung fur die richtige Behandlung eines chemotherapiebedingten Notfalls ist eine umfassende Anamnese und korperliche Untersuchung. Von besonderem Interesse sind dabei: a) die onkologische Erkrankung (Proliferationsrate und Tumorlast), b) die applizierte Substanz (z. B. Risiko einer FN, gewebetoxisches Potenzial bei Paravasaten), c) der korperliche Zustand des Patienten, d) das Alter und relevante Begleiterkrankungen (z. B. kardiovaskulare Vorerkrankung). Basierend auf der sich daraus ergebenden Diagnose und dem individuellen Risikoprofil mussen gezielte therapeutische Masnahmen eingeleitet werden. Bestimmte Komplikationen verlangen ein interdisziplinares Vorgehen. Neue Behandlungsoptionen wie Checkpoint-Inhibitoren werden kunftig die Diagnose und Behandlung uroonkologischer Notfalle erschweren. Eine verbesserte Diagnostik ist erforderlich, um im Notfall die richtigen Konsequenzen zu ziehen.
Understanding Plant Diseases Using Art and Technology

Gray mold and anthracnose fruit rot are two of the most important diseases threatening strawberry production in the United States. Managing these diseases is critical, but difficult without underst...
Firearm-related internet searches as a correlate of future firearm suicides: Cross-correlation analyses of monthly Google search volumes and method-specific suicide rates in the United States

Abstract Background No previous study has investigated correlations between monthly Google search volumes (MGSVs) of suicide-related search terms and suicide-method specific monthly suicide rates (MSRs). This study examined if the trends in MGSVs of suicide-related terms preceded the variations in method-specific MSRs. Methods MGSVs of 97 candidate suicide-related terms were obtained by averaging 10 timeseries data per term retrieved from Google Trends. Robust time-series analysis methods were applied to MGSVs and firearm-, poisoning-, and asphyxiation-specific MSRs in the United States between 2004 and 2017. Cross-correlation coefficients between MGSVs and methodspecific MSRs were calculated at lags of −3 to −1 (months). In the main analysis, the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was applied to determine significant correlations while minimizing falsepositive findings. Afterwards, a sensitivity analysis identified the cross-correlations reproducible in two different time spans. Results Fifty-six search terms with no invalid MGSV data were analyzed. MGSVs of 14 terms correlated with firearm-, poisoning-, or asphyxiation-specific MSRs in one or more lags. In the sensitivity analysis, two terms consistently showed significant positive cross-correlations: gun suicide (with firearm-specific suicides; lag -3) and “laid off” (with poisoning- and asphyxiationspecific suicides; lag -2). Limitations Age- or gender-specific search volumes, lags outside the 1- to 3-month range, non-English searches, and confounding factors of MGSV and MSR were not explored. Conclusions MGSVs of one firearm-related term (gun suicide) correlated with future firearmspecific MSRs. MGSVs of one method-neutral term (“laid off”) correlated with future poisoning- and asphyxiation-specific MSRs. These terms may be incorporated in novel nowcasting or predictive models for method-specific suicides.
Growing Connections: Local Food Systems and Community Resilience

This descriptive study explored organic farmers’ perceived contribution to community resilience. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and examined for predetermined and emerging c...
The relation between narcissism and aggression: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE Narcissism is a complex, hierarchical construct that can be studied at the one, two, or three factor levels with different components within each level having their own unique nomological networks. The manner in which narcissism-both broadly and narrowly construed-is linked to aggression is important to understand given longstanding clinical and empirical observations of a link between the two and the critical implications of aggression. METHODS The current preregistered meta-analysis (k = 118) took a novel methodological approach in exploring the association between the three levels of narcissism (i.e., global construct level, dual-dimension level, trifurcated level) and three indices of aggression (i.e., general, proactive, reactive). RESULTS Results revealed that the global construct of narcissism shows a moderate positive association with different indices of aggression. Vulnerable narcissism associated strongly and positively with reactive aggression and general aggression. At the trifurcated level, interpersonal antagonism associated positively with all indices of aggression, agentic extraversion associated negatively with all indices of aggression, and narcissistic neuroticism associates positively with general and reactive aggression. CONCLUSION The study highlighted the importance of studying narcissism, and potentially other personality profiles, at a finer-grained level to better understand crucial psychological processes associated with the construct of interest.
Chapter 23: Some Features of Solute Active Transport Across Biological Membranes

Publisher Summary This chapter concentrates on active transport that is a process requiring at least two distinct components: energy-coupling mechanisms and solute-specific membrane carrier. Typical concentration gradients may be 10 6 for phosphate transport in yeast, 10 7 for H + between gastric epithelium and stomach lumen, and 5 x 10 2 for amino acid and sugar solutes in isolated bacterial membrane vesicles. Active transport is concentration of solute against a gradient and occurs for example in amino and sugar transport in kidney and intestinal epithelial cells and is highly developed in bacteria and other free living unicellular organisms. The chapter focuses on recent developments in membrane biochemistry and biology that have begun to develop molecular insights into how solute molecules are transported across biological membranes. In passage of a molecule across a biological membrane, it is possible to distinguish free passive diffusion (that is, water movement), facilitated diffusion, and active transport. Facilitated diffusion involves passage of a solute down its electrochemical gradient and requires no energy input: this is exemplified by glucose transport from blood into erythrocytes. A number of compounds have recently been reported to act by specific inhibition of some membrane transport process as opposed to an effect on cell membrane synthesis, for example, antibiotics such as penicillin and cycloserine, or membrane structural integrity, for example, polyene antibiotics.
US Imports and Decreases in the US Keynesian Multiplier: 1972-2013

Several recent studies have computed different values for US Keynesian expenditure multiplier. This study examines how increases in the US marginal propensity to import have reduced the multiplier. OLS estimate for two time periods are made for the US MPC, marginal propensity to import and the "overall" marginal tax rate; the time periods roughly delineate the pre- and post-NAFTA/WTO time frames. In particular, the multiplier decreased from 2.12 during the 1972-1991 period to 1.68 during the 1992-2013 period. This implies among other matters that US fiscal policy is correspondingly weakened.
Majority Consensus and the Local Majority Rule

We study a rather generic communication/coordination/ computation problem: in a finite network of agents, each initially having one of the two possible states, can the majority initial state be computed and agreed upon by means of local computation only? We describe the architecture of networks that are always capable of reaching the consensus on the majority initial state of its agents. In particular, we show that, for any truly local network of agents, there are instances in which the network is not capable of reaching such consensus. Thus, every truly local computation approach that requires reaching consensus is not failure-free.
Ca Influx Via Sarcolemmal Ca Channels

Since the time of Ringer (1883) it has been known that extracellular [Ca] is important in cardiac muscle contraction. Cardiac Ca currents were first characterized as “slow inward current” or Isi, since several tens of msec were required for peak current to be achieved (e.g. Rougier et al., 1969; Mascher & Peper, 1969; Beeler & Reuter, 1970; Ochi, 1970). Since the advent of the patch-clamp technique it has become clear that Ca current (ICa) can reach a peak value in ~2–3 msec after a depolarization (e.g. see Fig. 24). Thus the moniker of slow inward current seems inappropriate, although some have retained the moniker Isi and consider it the secondary inward current in deference to Na current which activates still faster than ICa. The inward ICa during the normal cardiac action potential contributes to the action potential plateau and is also involved in the activation of contraction (directly and/or indirectly).
The Role of Biofilms in the Fossilization of Non-Biomineralized Tissues

Deposits that preserve soft-bodied fossils are of fundamental importance in palaeontology because they provide much more complete data on ancient communities than does the normal shelly fossil record. Biofilms have long been recognized as playing an important role in the preservation of Konservat-Lagerstatten (i.e. conservation deposits, characterized by the quality of fossil preservation) (see Gall 2001). Seilacher et al. (1985) identified them as one of three major agents involved in promoting preservation, alongside stagnation and obrution (rapid burial). Biofilms are layers, a few mm thick, of spatially organized microbial cells within a matrix of exopolymeric substance (EPS), a glycocalyx secreted by the cells. Biofilms form the basis of microbial mats, i.e. interacting microbial communities consisting of phototrophic cyanobacteria, often with associated algae, fungi, protozoans, and heterotrophic bacteria, which produce extensive layered deposits in the geological record (stromatolites). Mats are normally stratified vertically downwards from aerobic to anaerobic in terms of the electron acceptors used in metabolism, and from phototrophic to chemotrophic.
Patterns of Legislative Politics: Roll-Call Voting in Latin America and the United States

Using the United States as a basis of comparison, this book makes extensive use of roll call data to explore patterns of legislative politics in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. It distinguishes among parties, factions, coalitions and delegations based on the extent to which they are unified in their voting and/or willing to form policy coalitions with other legislative 'agents'. It discusses the voting unity and ballot systems that allow voters to identify an agent, and describes the degree to which those agents have been flexible with regards to the formation of policy coalitions. It also shows that the US parties have exhibited higher levels of unity but less flexibility in recent years, and thus contrast the prevailing pattern in Latin America. The book focuses its explanation for the patterns on the role of candidate nominations, other aspects of the electoral system and the legislators' ideological alignments.