cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reflections from a statistical editor: Elements of great manuscripts

I have heard that when bank tellers were originally taught to identify fraudulent bills, they weren’t given examples of every possible forgery permutation; instead, they received an authentic dollar and were tasked with diligently studying its hallmarks. Not all genuine dollar bills are alike—
Lover and Learner: Exploring Relational Schema Change Following Relationship Dissolution

Romantic relationships are known to be very influential, but less is known about how these relationships, and particularly the breakup of these relationships, may affect individuals' relational schemas, or their expectations for relationships. Undergraduate students reported on how their views of themselves, romantic partners, and relationships changed after breaking up with a past partner. Results suggest that relational schemas change following relationship dissolution and that there are both positive and negative aspects to this change. There was also some evidence that aspects of the past relationship predicted change and the valence of change, and that change and the valence of change were related to aspects of current relationship quality. These results are an important first step in understanding how past romantic relationships influence people's expectations about relationships and, by extension, their health and wellbeing.
Providing meaningful information: Part C—Data management and visualization

Abstract This chapter provides an introduction to how informationists can support one of the biggest challenges that researchers and medical professionals now face: how to deal with the rapidly increasing data deluge. With the size of research and clinical data growing exponentially, and with new policies from funders and journals, researchers and clinicians need help to ensure that they are able to work effectively with their data in ways that comply with requirements but do not present an undue burden. Specifically, this chapter considers how informationists can provide support for data management and visualization. Many of the skills that informationists already have are applicable to these problems, and this chapter also provides suggestions for how informationists can get started with gaining new skills and designing data services.
Alveolar leak develops by a rich-get-richer process in ventilator-induced lung injury

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition for which there are currently no medical therapies other than supportive care involving the application of mechanical ventilation. However, mechanical ventilation itself can worsen ARDS by damaging the alveolocapillary barrier in the lungs. This allows plasma-derived fluid and proteins to leak into the airspaces of the lung where they interfere with the functioning of pulmonary surfactant, which increases the stresses of mechanical ventilation and worsens lung injury. Once such ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is underway, managing ARDS and saving the patient becomes increasingly problematic. Maintaining an intact alveolar barrier thus represents a crucial management goal, but the biophysical processes that perforate this barrier remain incompletely understood. To study the dynamics of barrier perforation, we subjected initially normal mice to an injurious ventilation regimen that imposed both volutrauma (overdistension injury) and atelectrauma (injury from repetitive reopening of closed airspaces) on the lung, and observed the rate at which macromolecules of various sizes leaked into the airspaces as a function of the degree of overall injury. Computational modeling applied to our findings suggests that perforations in the alveolocapillary barrier appear and progress according to a rich-get-richer mechanism in which the likelihood of a perforation getting larger increases with the size of the perforation. We suggest that atelectrauma causes the perforations after which volutrauma expands them. This mechanism explains why atelectrauma appears to be essential to the initiation of VILI in a normal lung, and why atelectrauma and volutrauma then act synergistically once VILI is underway.
Weak form of peridynamics for nonlocal essential and natural boundary conditions

Abstract This study presents the weak form of peridynamic (PD) governing equations which permit the direct imposition of nonlocal essential and natural boundary conditions. It also presents a variational approach to derive the PD form of first- and second-order derivatives of a field variable at a point which is not symmetrically located in its domain of interaction. This capability enables the nonlocal PD representation of the internal force vector and the stress components without any calibration procedure. Furthermore, it removes the concern of truncated domain of interaction for a point near the surface. Thus, the solution is free of nonlocal boundary forces and surface effects. The numerical solution of the resulting equations can be achieved by considering an unstructured nonuniform discretization. The implicit solution to the discrete form of the equations is achieved by employing BiConjugate Gradient Stabilized (BICGSTAB) method which is an iterative technique for solving sparse non-symmetric linear systems. The explicit analysis is performed by constructing a global diagonal mass matrix, and using a hybrid implicit/explicit time integration scheme. The accuracy of this approach is demonstrated by considering an elastic isotropic plate with or without a cutout subjected to a combination of different types of boundary conditions under plane stress conditions.
Parameter Estimation Methods

This chapter covers topics related to estimation of model parameters and to model identification of univariate and multivariate problems not covered in earlier chapters. First, the fundamental notion of estimability of a model is introduced which includes both structural and numerical identifiability concepts. Recall that in Chap. 5 issues addressed were relevant to parameter estimation of linear models and to variable selection using step-wise regression in multivariate analysis. This chapter extends these basic notions by presenting the general statistical parameter estimation problem, and then presenting a few important estimation methods. Multivariate estimation methods (such as principle component analysis, ridge regression and stagewise regression) are discussed along with case study examples. Next, the error in variable (EIV) situation is treated when the errors in the regressor variables are large. Subsequently, another powerful and widely used estimation method, namely maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is described, and its application to parameter estimation of probability functions and logistic models is presented. Also covered is parameter estimation of models non-linear in the parameters which can be separated into those that are transformable into linear ones, and those which are intrinsically non-linear. Finally, computer intensive numerical methods are discussed since such methods are being increasingly used nowadays because of the flexibility and robustness they provide. Different robust regression methods, whereby the influence of outliers on parameter estimation can be deemphasized, are discussed. This is, followed by the bootstrap resampling approach which is applicable for parameter estimation, and for ascertaining confidence limits of estimated model parameters and of model predictions.
Strategies for conducting health research with Latinos during times of political incivility.

Aim The current US political climate towards immigrants introduces new challenges for researchers already struggling to recruit and retain Latino participants in health research. The purpose of this work is to illuminate how current political incivility further deters participation by Latinos in research and present strategies to overcome these challenges. Design/Methods In this discursive piece, we describe how political incivility serves as a proxy for discrimination, discusses the impact of political incivility on health and health outcomes and explores existing knowledge of recruitment and retention strategies in the light of a current, adversely impacted health study with Latinos during the 2016 election season. Results Future work should consider the critical contextual factors (including political incivility) faced by Latinos in the US, while continuing to engage in established research strategies such as increasing trust, developing strong community presence, reducing risks (real and perceived) and being thoughtful in research design and implementation.
Educational Reform and Class Conflict.

Class-based analyses of education typically assume a direct relation between the system of production and the operations of the schools. Accordingly, a relatively straightforward correspondence bet...
American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session 2010: update in interventional cardiology.

The American College of Cardiology held its 59th Annual Scientific Session in conjunction with the Innovation in Intervention Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, from March 14 to March 16, 2010, presenting several breaking trials in the field of Interventional Cardiology that are summarized herein. The
Sampling and Measurement of Ammonia at Animal Facilities

Scientific understanding and technical control of ammonia (NH3) at animal facilities, including animal buildings, feedlots, manure storages, and manure treatment plants, depend on reliable sampling and measurement techniques to ensure high quality data that are essential to the study and abatement of NH3 emission. This chapter focuses on the methodology and technology of NH3 sampling and measurement that has been tested or applied under field conditions since the 1960s. It draws a comprehensive and updated picture of the state of the art of NH3 concentration measurement at animal facilities. Ammonia sampling requires selection of location, time, and/or control of sample volume. Three sampling methods, the closed, point, and open-path methods, are summarized. Thirty-one measurement instruments/sensors are identified. They are categorized in nine groups and evaluated according to their technical characteristics. Field studies or applications of these instruments/sensors are reviewed and summarized. Principles, procedures, advantages, and disadvantages of various sampling and measurement techniques are discussed. An overview of data and data quality is provided. Errors resulted from calibration, sampling, measurement, and data processing are discussed. Error reduction methods are presented. Recommendations are made for selection of sampling methods and measurement devices and for future needs including development of methodologies and standards.
Practical Molecular Taxonomy of Fungi

With fungi increasingly used in industry as sources of bioactive compounds and as agents to produce such compounds, it is becoming more important that fungal taxonomy be a practical discipline able to convey as much biological meaning as possible. An evolutionary approach to define fungal taxa is preferred because it is objective and provides outstanding predictive value. Traditional morphological approaches to fungal systematics are problematic owing to a lack of characters useful for grouping, and they frequently fail to provide a solid evolutionary framework, particularly at the species level. However, in the past decade new molecular and analytical tools have been developed that allow robust evolutionary inferences that can be used to define and identify fungal taxa. One or two gene sequences can be used to identify unknown fungi, often to the species level, with increasing accuracy. At the species level, a multigene phylogenetic approach is advocated to define and recognize fungal species. With this approach, species boundaries are perceived where different genes share evolutionary partitions, which serve as evidence for a lack of genetic exchange among reproductively isolated taxa. In this chapter, I will outline molecular phylogenetic approaches for addressing specific questions that arise in fungal biotechnology, from the species level upward.
Growth performance and health of dairy calves given water treated with a reverse osmosis system compared with municipal city water

ABSTRACT Our objective was to determine effects of drinking reverse osmosis water (RW) versus municipal city water (MW) on growth, nutrient utilization, and health scores of calves. Twenty-four Holstein calves (14 females, 10 males; 2 d old; 44.6 ± 6.10 kg of body weight), housed in individual hutches, were used in a 10-wk randomized complete block design study. Calves were blocked by birthdate and sex. Treatments were RW (Culligan Water Filtration System, Brookings, SD) versus MW (Brookings Municipal Utilities, Brookings, SD) that contained 13 and 387 mg/L of total dissolved solids, respectively. Milk replacer (28% crude protein; 18% fat) was fed twice daily during wk 1 through 5 and then once daily during wk 6. At each feeding, 0.45 kg of dry milk replacer was mixed with 2.83 L of the respective water type according to treatment. Calves were fed water, respective to treatment, and calf starter pellets ad libitum throughout the study. All intakes were recorded daily. Daily total respiratory scores (healthy ≤3, sick ≥5) were calculated from the sum of scores for rectal temperature, cough, and ocular and nasal discharges. Fecal consistency scores (0 = firm, 3 = watery) were also recorded daily. Body weights and frame growth were measured 2 d every 2 wk and jugular blood samples were collected 1 d every 2 wk at 3 h after the morning feeding. Fecal grab samples were collected 5 times per day for 3 d during wk 10 for analysis of apparent total-tract digestibility of nutrients. We found treatment by week interactions for dry matter intake and gain-to-feed ratio, and total dry matter intake increased more during the study for RW than MW. Gain-to-feed ratio was greater during the first few weeks of the feeding period for RW compared with MW and then comparable during the rest of study. Water intake was less in RW than MW, potentially indicating more efficient water use by calves. Frame growth, body weight, average daily gain, serum glucose, plasma urea nitrogen, β-hydroxybutyrate, total-tract digestibility of dry matter, and crude protein were similar. Fecal scores tended to be lower (firmer) in calves on RW, with an interaction by time. Respiratory scores decreased during the weaning period when calves drank RW. Results demonstrated calves drinking RW had similar growth and improved health scores with treatment by time interactions compared with MW.
The Power of Appearances

One common problem with anti-skepticism and skepticism alike is their failure to account for our sometimes conflicting epistemic intuitions. In order to address this problem and provide a new direction for solving the skeptical puzzle, I consider a modified version of the puzzle that is based on knowledge claims about appearances and does not result in a paradox. I conclude that combining the elements of both the original and modified puzzle can potentially guide us towards solutions that can fully explain the conflict of epistemic intuitions.
Impact of bloom events on dissolved organic matter fluorophore signatures in Ohio waters.

Due to the increase in severe cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water sources and recreational waters across the globe, inexpensive and reliable methods of detecting oncoming blooms are needed. Cyanobacterial blooms can contribute substantially to the bulk chromophoric dissolved organic matter pool. Thus, the fluorescence signature of organic matter derived from these blooms may be an indicator of upcoming blooms. Water samples from five sites around Ohio were collected regularly between February and October 2017. A PARAFAC model was developed to determine if these protein-like fluorophores could be linked to bloom biomass and whether they were absent in dissolved organic matter from oligotrophic waters. One reference site at an oligotrophic reservoir was included to confirm the lack of protein-like fluorophores in the absence of a bloom event. We found that an increase in tryptophan-like and tyrosine-like fluorophores occurs before the increase in chlorophyll a levels, associated with bloom biomass, in some Ohio waters affected by cyanobacterial blooms; however, protein-like fluorophores are not correlated with levels of the cyanotoxin, microcystin. The excitation and emission wavelengths of these fluorophores (tryptophan-like: 239/341 nm, tyrosine-like: 248/306 nm) may be used to monitor impending blooms in waters heavily impacted by cyanobacteria but may not be applicable to waters receiving treated wastewater discharges.
Evaluation of the Safety of Intravenous Thiamine Administration in a Large Academic Medical Center.

Background/Objective:Previous literature describes increased incidence of infusion-related reactions when administering thiamine doses greater than 100 mg as an intravenous (IV) push. The purpose o...
What comes to mind

When solving problems, like making predictions or choices, people often "sample" possibilities into mind. Here, we consider whether there is structure to the kinds of thoughts people sample by default-that is, without an explicit goal. Across three experiments we found that what comes to mind by default are samples from a probability distribution that combines what people think is likely and what they think is good. Experiment 1 found that the first quantities that come to mind for everyday behaviors and events are quantities that combine what is average and ideal. Experiment 2 found, in a manipulated context, that the distribution of numbers that come to mind resemble the mathematical product of the presented statistical distribution and a (softmax-transformed) prescriptive distribution. Experiment 3 replicated these findings in a visual domain. These results provide insight into the process generating people's conscious thoughts and invite new questions about the value of thinking about things that are both likely and good.
Green Bonds and Beyond

This chapter addresses debt-based investing as a driver for global sustainability. Loans, bonds, and other forms of debt constitute a substantial proportion of the capital that corporations use to finance their operations and offer a distinct set of legal tools to influence corporate conduct. Drawing on corporate law and financial regulation scholarship, this chapter explores the regulatory and corporate governance issues arising from green bonds. Green bonds, along with social bonds and sustainability bonds, enable issuers to use the proceeds from their sale to finance projects, assets, or business activities with environmental, social, or economic objectives. This chapter examines the private standards, certification schemes, indices, and assurance practices and government-based regulatory frameworks in the green bond market. To prevent greenwashing and ensure the continued growth of this market, this chapter proposes reforms to corporate governance practices to enhance the monitoring and control powers of green bond investors.
Burnout and Self Care for Palliative Care Practitioners.

Burnout is common in physicians who care for patients with serious illness, with rates greater than 60% in some studies. Risk factors for burnout include working on small teams and/or in small organizations, working longer hours and weekends, being younger than 50 years, burdensome documentation requirements, and regulatory issues. Personal factors that can protect against burnout include mindfulness, exercise, healthy sleep patterns, avoiding substance abuse, and having adequate leisure time. Institutional and work factors that can buffer against burnout include working on adequately staffed teams, having a manageable workload, and minimally burdensome electronic health record documentation.
Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Titanosilicate ETS-10: Preparation for Research Integrated Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of titanosilicate ETS-10 was used as a means to prepare students for a research-focused independent term project as part of a 200-level descriptive inorganic chemistry course. Students spent the first 7 weeks of the course learning synthesis and characterization techniques that are common for metal oxide systems. In the second half of the semester, students led their own independent term projects as part of this research integrated laboratory course. All students successfully synthesized their materials and characterized their products independently. At the completion of the course, students submitted a journal-style report as well as presented their findings at a department poster session. The students were assessed through Student Assessment of their Learning Gains (SALG) surveys which showed enhancement in understanding and all-around research skills. The feasibility of learning advanced instrumentation that is not typically used in an undergraduate lab setting was demonstrated through this course.
Transient Overturning Compensation between Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Basins

Author(s): Sun, Shantong; Thompson, Andrew F; Eisenman, Ian | Abstract: AbstractClimate models consistently project (i) a decline in the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and (ii) a strengthening of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds in response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing. These two processes suggest potentially conflicting tendencies of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC): a weakening AMOC due to changes in the North Atlantic but a strengthening AMOC due to changes in the Southern Ocean. Here we focus on the transient evolution of the global ocean overturning circulation in response to a perturbation to the NADW formation rate. We propose that the adjustment of the Indo-Pacific overturning circulation is a critical component in mediating AMOC changes. Using a hierarchy of ocean and climate models, we show that the Indo-Pacific overturning circulation provides the first response to AMOC changes through wave processes, whereas the Southern Ocean overturning circulation responds on longer (centennial to millennial) time scales that are determined by eddy diffusion processes. Changes in the Indo-Pacific overturning circulation compensate AMOC changes, which allows the Southern Ocean overturning circulation to evolve independently of the AMOC, at least over time scales up to many decades. In a warming climate, the Indo-Pacific develops an overturning circulation anomaly associated with the weakening AMOC that is characterized by a northward transport close to the surface and a southward transport in the deep ocean, which could effectively redistribute heat between the basins. Our results highlight the importance of interbasin exchange in the response of the global ocean overturning circulation to a changing climate.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Methamphetamine-Mediated Mitochondrial Damage and Neuronal Degeneration in Human Neurons

Methamphetamine, a potent psychostimulant, is a highly addictive drug commonly used by persons living with HIV (PLWH), and its use can result in cognitive impairment and memory deficits long after its use is discontinued. Although the mechanism(s) involved with persistent neurological deficits is not fully known, mitochondrial dysfunction is a key component in methamphetamine neuropathology. Specific mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) and mitochondrial fusion and fission are protective quality control mechanisms that can be dysregulated in HIV infection, and the use of methamphetamine can further negatively affect these protective cellular mechanisms. Here, we observed that treatment of human primary neurons (HPNs) with methamphetamine and HIV gp120 and Tat increase dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1)-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation and neuronal degeneration. Methamphetamine and HIV proteins increased microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta-II (LC3B-II) lipidation and induced sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1, p62) translocation to damaged mitochondria. Additionally, the combination inhibited autophagic flux, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial damage, and reduced microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) dendrites in human neurons. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC), a strong antioxidant and ROS scavenger, abrogated DRP1-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation and neurite degeneration. Thus, we show that methamphetamine combined with HIV proteins inhibits mitophagy and induces neuronal damage, and NAC reverses these deleterious effects on mitochondrial function.IMPORTANCE Human and animal studies show that HIV infection, combined with the long-term use of psychostimulants, increases neuronal stress and the occurrence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). On the cellular level, mitochondrial function is critical for neuronal health. In this study, we show that in human primary neurons, the combination of HIV proteins and methamphetamine increases oxidative stress, DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation, and neuronal injury manifested by a reduction in neuronal network and connectivity. The use of NAC, a potent antioxidant, reversed the neurotoxic effects of HIV and methamphetamine, suggesting a novel approach to ameliorate the effects of HIV- and methamphetamine-associated cognitive deficits.
CRACT: Cascaded Regression-Align-Classification for Robust Visual Tracking.

High quality object proposals are crucial in visual tracking algorithms that utilize region proposal network (RPN). Refinement of these proposals, typically by box regression and classification in parallel, has been popularly adopted to boost tracking performance. However, it still meets problems when dealing with complex and dynamic background. Thus motivated, in this paper we introduce an improved proposal refinement module, Cascaded Regression-Align-Classification (CRAC), which yields new state-of-the-art performances on many benchmarks. First, having observed that the offsets from box regression can serve as guidance for proposal feature refinement, we design CRAC as a cascade of box regression, feature alignment and box classification. The key is to bridge box regression and classification via an alignment step, which leads to more accurate features for proposal classification with improved robustness. To address the variation in object appearance, we introduce an identification-discrimination component for box classification, which leverages offline reliable fine-grained template and online rich background information to distinguish the target from background. Moreover, we present pyramid RoIAlign that benefits CRAC by exploiting both the local and global cues of proposals. During inference, tracking proceeds by ranking all refined proposals and selecting the best one. In experiments on seven benchmarks including OTB-2015, UAV123, NfS, VOT-2018, TrackingNet, GOT-10k and LaSOT, our CRACT exhibits very promising results in comparison with state-of-the-art competitors and runs in real-time.
Network Analysis of Psychopathology: Controversies and Challenges

Empirical publications inspired by the network approach to psychopathology have increased exponentially in the twenty-first century. The central idea that an episode of mental disorder arises from causal interactions among its symptomatic elements has especially resonated with those clinical scientists whose disenchantment with traditional categorical and dimensional approaches to mental illness has become all too apparent. As the field has matured, conceptual and statistical concerns about the limitations of network approaches to psychopathology have emerged, inspiring the development of novel methods to address these concerns. Rather than reviewing the vast empirical literature, I focus instead on the issues and controversies regarding this approach and sketch directions where the field might go next.
Measurement Error and Its Impact on Estimates of Income and Consumption Dynamics

This paper uses data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) to examine whether measurement error in income and consumption has the potential to generate biases for studies on income and consumption dynamics. A rst-di¤erenced dynamic panel model is estimated with lagged income and consumption as internal instruments and the household headssatisfaction with their household income as an external instrument. This study suggests that there is substantial time-varying measurement error in reported income and consumption, leading to a bias towards zero in the estimates of income and consumption dynamics. Time-invariant measurement error and unobserved heterogeneity are also found to be important and to lead to upward biases in the estimated coe¢ cients, o¤setting the e¤ect of time-varying measurement error. The standard deviation of time-varying measurement error is as large as the standard deviation of the equation error for both income and consumption dynamics. This result also supports the view that time-varying measurement error exists in reported income and consumption and has a substantial magnitude. Interestingly, the standard deviation of time-varying measurement error, as well as that of the equation error, is much larger in the model for the income dynamics than that for consumption dynamics. This result suggests that time-varying measurement error is more prevalent and varies more across households in income than in consumption and also indicates that households smooth their consumption relative to their income in the face of shocks. JEL Classi cations: C81, I32, O15
Experimental Design of Preclinical Experiments: Number of PDX Lines versus Subsampling within PDX Lines.

Background Appropriately designed preclinical patient-derived xenograft (PDX) experiments are important to accurately inform human clinical trials. There is little experimental design guidance regarding choosing the number of PDX lines to study, and the number of mice within each PDX line. Methods Retrospective data from IDH-wildtype glioblastoma preclinical experiments evaluating a uniform regimen of fractionated radiation (RT), temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy, and concurrent RT/TMZ across 27 PDX lines were used to evaluate experimental designs and empirically estimate statistical power for analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Cox regression. Results Increasing the number of PDX lines resulted in more precise and reproducible estimates of effect size. To achieve 80% statistical power using ANOVA, experiments using a single PDX line required subsampling six mice per PDX for each treatment group to detect a difference in survival of 135 days, and nine mice per PDX to detect a difference of 100 days. Alternatively, a design that used 10 PDX lines had greater than 80% power to detect a difference of 135 days with a single mouse per PDX per treatment group, a difference of 100 days with two mice per PDX per treatment, and 35 days with more than 10 mice per PDX per treatment. Power for Cox regression was slightly smaller than ANOVA for very small experiments regardless of effect size, and slightly higher than ANOVA for detecting a smaller effect size of 35 days difference in survival for moderate-to-large experiments. Conclusions Experimental designs using few mice across many PDX lines can provide robust results and account for inter-tumor variability.
Midodrine overdose in children: a case report and review of treatment for hypertensive emergencies

Midodrine is an antihypotensive agent used primarily in the adult population for orthostatic hypotension and reflex syncope, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and hemodialysis-induced hypotension. Limited information about midodrine ingestion and overdose exists in children with only a single case series reported in the literature. Varying presentations of midodrine ingestion in children have not been shown to be acutely life-threatening in doses up to 50 mg. We present a case of a 12-year-old who intentionally ingested 100 mg of midodrine and presented with a hypertensive emergency and seizure activity. This is the largest reported dose ingested in a child. The patient was observed and treated with a nicardipine infusion in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Prompt identification and treatment of symptoms contributed to a favorable outcome with no neurologic deficits and complete recovery from an intentional ingestion of midodrine. Mechanism, duration of action, and management of midodrine ingestion including treatment for a hypertensive emergency in children are discussed. Commonly used pharmacologic agents to treat hypertension are reviewed. This case report of a significant ingestion of midodrine reviews management of hypertensive emergencies and provides information and guidance to healthcare professionals unfamiliar with this medication and its potentially fatal effects.
Preliminary Examination of Uncertainties due to Parton Distribution Functions in Far-Forward Neutrino Production at the Large Hadron Collider

A large flux of neutrinos is expected in the forward direction of the pp collisions [1, 3] at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Several experiments have recently been proposed at CERN to detect these neutrinos and discussion has started on the possibility of building a Forward Physics Facility grouping many of them. Among the others, the FASER-nu [2] proposal consists of a lead + emulsion neutrino detector at a distance of 480 m from the ATLAS interaction region along the tangent to the LHC beamline. Old calculations of neutrinos rates in the forward direction were done to leading order in the QCD perturbative series. We have included next-to-leading order (NLO) terms in our calculation. We have also studied the effect of incorporating a non-perturbative Gaussian intrinsic kT. This kT effect mimics the contribution from missing higher-order terms in QCD calculations. We present the study of uncertainties due to scale variations and Parton Distribution Function (PDF) variations in the production rate of and tau neutrinos in the far-forward Production at the Large Hadron Collider. We compare our predictions with the LHCb data with production in the rapidity range of [2–4.5] at the LHC. In our studies, for which we consider various modern PDF sets, we also include the comparison of predictions obtained by different dynamical central scale assumptions.
Portal Vein Thrombosis: Diagnosis and Endovascular Management

Background Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a rare but severe entity that can cause clinically significant sequela such as worsening portal hypertension or mesenteric ischemia. Those cases refractory to medical management may be referred for endovascular intervention. Several technical considerations have been described in the literature, but a cohesive comparison of these multiple techniques is lacking. Methods The purpose of this article is to review the diagnosis and endovascular management of PVT, including areas in which further research is warranted. Results Cases of PVT can be readily diagnosed using ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. Treatment often begins with systemic anticoagulation and endovascular interventions may be used in selected cases. Determining the optimal approach to accessing the portal venous system depends on the underlying disease and chronicity of the thrombus and the degree of occlusion. Once access to the portal venous system is established, catheter-directed therapy may be performed to achieve recanalization. Conclusion Despite the heterogeneity in patient presentation, cases of PVT can be readily diagnosed across several imaging modalities. Strategizing interventional approaches involves evaluation of the underlying disease and the chronicity of the thrombus. Key Points: Citation Format
A Simplified Mechanistic Algorithm for Treating Resistant Hypertension: Efficacy in a Retrospective Study

This retrospective study assessed the efficacy of a recently described, mechanism-based algorithm for treating resistant hypertension. Charts of consecutive patients seen for resistant hypertension were reviewed. Algorithm-based intervention was limited to either or both of just 2 options: (1) strengthening of the diuretic regimen, usually with addition of spironolactone; and (2) treatment with the combination of an α- + nonmetabolized β-blocker. Of 27 patients, 24 (89%) achieved control, including 13 (54%) in whom the diuretic regimen was strengthened, 6 (25%) in whom α-/β-blockade was instituted, and 5 (21%) who received both interventions. The most frequent medication adjustments were addition of a potassium-sparing diuretic in 16 (67%), doxazosin in 9 (37.5%), and replacing a metabolized with a nonmetabolized β-blocker in 6 (25%). The authors conclude that treatment based on this algorithm can both simplify and improve the management of resistant hypertension and merits further evaluation in prospective studies.
Enzymes, Enolate Reductases “Old Yellow Enzyme”

Reported enoate reductase activity is mostly displayed by enzymes belonging to the “Old Yellow Enzyme” family of flavoproteins. They have received increased interest over the last couple of years due to their huge potential in biocatalysis. These FMN-containing enzymes catalyze the asymmetric reduction of activated C═C bonds at the expense of a nicotinamide cofactor, producing up to two chiral centers. They are also involved in other reductive processes, such as cleavage of nitrate esters, reduction of aromatic nitro groups, and even reduction of alkynes. Increasing knowledge about this family of biocatalysts together with recent advances in biotechnology render the enoate reductases a tool of choice for industrial applications, as catalyzed reactions are usually chemo-, regio- and stereo-selective, and the enzymes most importantly display a wide substrate spectrum. With enzymatic reactions and mechanisms being generally clearly understood, the efficient production of a number of enantiopure compounds via recycling of the cofactor is now feasible. Keywords: old yellow enzyme; flavin mononucleotide; enoate reductases; asymmetric reduction; cofactor regeneration; nitro compounds
Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics for Surf Zone Waves

Abstract : The objectives of this project are to improve the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model for use in examining the physics of breaking waves, including the description of the wave-induced turbulence and sediment transport within the surf zone. Improvements to SPH have been necessary to improve the ability of the method to treat shallow water flows. To develop a computationally useful model of the full surf zone, which means coupling SPH to a more computationally efficient far-field model. The approach is based on improving various aspects of the open source SPH code, SPHysics; applying the code to more validation tests; and to examine in some detail new aspects of the model by applying it to different situations. A new effort this year has been to begin implementing SPHysics on the GPU for drastic improvements in computational time. A hybrid model, this, a coupled SPH particle model and conventional finite difference model, the Boussinesq model, FUNWAVE, provides the ability to model large areas.
Auxiliary heating of the hands during cold exposure and manual performance.

Twenty subjects performed five manual tasks barehanded during exposure to a 60°-F ambient temperature control condition, a 0°-F condition, and three ambient temperature conditions of 20°, 0°, and −...
Three Complementary Approaches to Parallelization of Local BLAST Service on Workstation Clusters

This paper describes approaches to improving the perfor- mance of one of the most common and increasingly important aspects of the Human Genome Project (HGP) — large-volume, batch comparison of DNA sequence data. This basic comparison operation, usually carried out by the well-known BLAST program on one subject sequence against the internationally-available databases of over 3 million target sequences, is already used hundreds of thousands of times each day by researchers around the world. At present, it is still used primarily in single query, or small batch query mode. As the entire sequence of the human genome nears completion, the area of functional genomics, and the use of micro- arrays of sets of genes, is coming to the fore. These developments will demand ever more efficient means of BLASTing sets of data that will make single processor implementation on powerful workstations infea- sible. We describe the three primary parallel components to BLAST. The first is at the sequence-to-sequence comparison level. The second parallelizes a single query across a partitioned and distributed database. And finally, the set of queries themselves are partitioned across a set of servers with replicated or partitioned databases. The three methods may be employed alone or in concert. Our current implementation is described which parallelizes batch requests, and our plans for implementation of the other levels is also described. The results will ultimately be applied to hardware assistance for this soon-to-be primitive computer operation.
Preapproval of sinus computed tomography for otolaryngologic evaluation of chronic rhinosinusitis does not save health care costs.

Objectives/Hypothesis To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of preapproval requirements for computed tomography (CT) of the sinuses in the evaluation and management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Study Design Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Methods Over a 6-month period, all sinus CT scans ordered by an otolaryngology practice and requiring preapproval by a third-party payor were tabulated. Characteristics of the preapproval process that were recorded and analyzed included time spent by office administrative staff, need for peer-to-peer review, and time spent by the ordering physician. Results All 111 sinus CT scans ordered during the 6-month time period required preapproval based on insurer requirements—38 performed by computer, 71 by telephone, and two required both—costing an average of 8.1 minutes per scan by administrative staff (range, 2.0–20.0 minutes). Thirteen preapprovals required peer-to-peer telephone interaction by the ordering physician, utilizing an average of 7.7 minutes (range, 5–12 minutes). In no case was the insurance company peer an otolaryngologist. Ultimately, no sinus CT scan request was rejected by a third-party payor. Conclusions Preapprovals for sinus CTs ordered by otolaryngologists are unlikely to save costs for third-party payors, as sinus CT for the evaluation of CRS is well established and therefore unlikely to be rejected. Preapproval in this context comes at the expense of practice administrative and physicians' time. Based on our results, preapproval for sinus CT scans ordered by an otolaryngologist for evaluation of CRS appears to be an unnecessary and costly requirement. Laryngoscope, 124:373–377, 2014 Level of Evidence N/A.
Packaging of Proteases and Proteoglycans in the Granules of Mast Cells and Other Hematopoietic Cells A CLUSTER OF HISTIDINES ON MOUSE MAST CELL PROTEASE 7 REGULATES ITS BINDING TO HEPARIN SERGLYCIN PROTEOGLYCANS

Mouse mast cell protease 7 (mMCP-7) is a tryptase stored in the secretory granules of mast cells. At the granule pH of 5.5, mMCP-7 is fully active and is bound to heparin-containing serglycin proteoglycans. to understand the interaction of mMCP-7 with heparin inside and outside the mast cell, this trytase was first studied by comparative protein modeling. The "pro" form of mMCP-7 was then expressed in insect cells and studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Although mMCP-7 lacks known linear sequences of amino acis that interact with heparin, the three-dimensional model of mMCP-7 revealed an area on the surface of the folded protein away from the substrate-binding site that exhibits a strong positive electrostatic potential at the acidic pH of the granule. In agreement with this calculation, recombinant pro-mMCP-7 bound to a heparin-affinity column at pH 5.5 and readily dissociated from the column at pH > 6.5. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the prediction that the conversion of His residues 8,68, and 70 in the positively charged region into Glu prevents the binding of pro-mMCP-7 to heparin. Because the binding requires positively charged His residues, native mMCP-7 is able to dissociate from the protease/proteoglycan macromolecular complex when the complex is exocytosed from bone marrow-derived mast cells into a neutral pH environment. Many hematopoietic effector cells store positively charged proteins in granules that contain serglycin proteoglycans. The heparin/mMCP-7 interaction, which depends on the tertiary structure of the tryptase, may be representative of a general control mechanism by which hematopoietic cells maximize storage of properly folded, enzymatically active proteins in their granules.
Earth Observation Programme (EOP)

This article looks at the European program for observing the earth using satellite remote sensing techniques.
Political Intelligence and the Creation of Modern Mexico, 1938–1954 – By Aaron W. Navarro

In this excellent and provocative book, the author offers new explanations for the consolidation of Mexico's political system following the Mexican Revolution. Aaron W. Navarro combines close exami...
Immunologic Research: Publishing knowledge of the future today!

It has been more than a century (1909–2012) since Paul Ehrlich founded Die Zeitschrift fuer Immunitaetsforschung und Experimentelle Therapie, the first journal devoted expressly to research in immunology. During the 100 years since, immunology has undergone a metamorphosis from a medical curiosity associated with vaccination to preeminence as a real science. It serves as a common thread that intersects essentially all branches of basic and clinical biomedical science. With the exponential increase in published articles in an expanding array of immunology journals, we recognized the need to provide a synthesis and interpretation of the multiple new research findings by the bench level investigators who discovered them. We anticipated that the reader would gain an overview that is considerably more than a ‘‘thumbnail sketch’’ of topics at the frontier of immunologic research. The premier programs of investigative immunology in both North America and abroad are being featured in institutional volumes of this journal. In spite of all these advances and the burgeoning information overload, we return to where we began, affirming the basic tenets of immunology, i.e., the distinction of self from not self. Even cells from the primitive sponge prefer their own kind to dissimilar cells, just as organ transplants are rejected by ‘‘foreign’’ hosts in higher organisms. Yet the new knowledge garnered from an avalanche of original articles on investigative immunology during the past three decades has facilitated understanding of complex molecular interactions in immunological processes. Always looking ahead, the journal’s mission is to publish ‘‘cutting edge’’ immunologic findings of the future today! Recent improvements include electronic online submission and publication of articles, a large format journal size with free color for articles published online and some in print, increased frequency and number of issues per year, and introduction of novel and innovative premier original research papers. Peer review is rigorously enforced for all articles submitted for publication. The journal’s increased impact factor during the past 30 years reflects the esteem in which it is held in the scientific community. We express profound gratitude to SPRINGER PUBLISHERS, including our Executive Publisher, Ms. Ky’esha Hammond, and her Staff, Ms. S. Shenbagam, and Mr. Deepan Selvaraj, for their unstinting support, enthusiasm, editor/author support and professionalism. The Main Editors also sincerely thank our editors, authors, and readers whose dedicated efforts have ensured the journal’s success! It is our hope that the trust our colleagues have placed in our stewardship will be rewarded by IMMUNOLOGIC RESEARCH’s attainment of lofty heights of professional achievement as future breakthrough findings are reported in its pages.