cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulatory interplay between TFIID’s conformational transitions and its modular interaction with core promoter DNA

Recent structural and biochemical studies of human TFIID have significantly increased our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the recruitment of TFIID to promoter DNA and its role in transcription initiation. Structural studies using cryo-EM revealed that modular interactions underlie TFIID's ability to bind simultaneously multiple promoter motifs and to define a DNA state that will facilitate transcription initiation. Here we propose a general model of promoter binding by TFIID, where co-activators, activators, and histone modifications promote and/or stabilize a conformational state of TFIID that results in core promoter engagement. Within this high affinity conformation, we propose that TFIID's extensive interaction with promoter DNA leads to topological changes in the DNA that facilitate the eventual loading of RNAP II. While more work is required to dissect the individual contributions of activators and repressors to TFIID's DNA binding, the recent cryo-EM studies provide a physical framework to guide future structural, biophysical, and biochemical experiments.
Human testicular glutathione S-transferases: insights into tissue-specific expression of the diverse subunit classes

Cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) subunits from human testis were resolved by HPLC and unambiguously identified by combined use of peptide sequence-specific antisera and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS). Allelic variants of hGSTP1, hGSTM1 and hGSTA2 were distinguished on the basis of observed differences in their molecular masses. Relative amounts of the multiple different subunit types in various human tissues were determined from HPLC profiles. From this type of analysis, tissues from hGSTM1 null allele individuals were readily discerned at the protein level; liver was the only tissue in which the hGSTM1 subunit was the major μ-class GST. hGSTM4 and hGSTM5 subunits were found at very low levels in all tissues examined. By far the tissue richest in the unique hGSTM3 subunit was testis, although brain also has significant levels.
Is CdtB a nuclease or a phosphatase

Lara-Tejero and Galan ([1][1]) reported deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I–like activity of cytolethal distending toxin B (CdtB), which causes arrest in the G2/M transition phase of the cell cycle ([2][2]). Even though the authors noted that CdtB is a poor nuclease in vitro, they proposed that CdtB-
Sequence‐specific Rho–RNA interactions in transcription termination

The bacteriophage lambda tR1 terminator encodes a region of the nascent cro transcript containing RNA residues recognized by termination factor Rho. To identify ribonucleotide-protein interactions contributing to termination, a library of reporter gene plasmids was constructed containing predominantly single-nucleotide substitutions in a 24 nt region previously shown to be critical for efficient termination. Screening 16 822 bacterial transformants identified 110 terminator mutants, most of which contained two or more nucleotide substitutions. Although the vast majority of single base changes did not reduce tR1 function, 11 specific single-nucleotide substitutions at eight positions interspersed in the upstream part of the target region (5'-ATAACCCCGCTCTT ACACATTCCA-3') did reduce termination. About half of these substitutions also reduced Rho-dependent termination on cro gene templates transcribed by purified RNA polymerase, indicating specific residues critical for optimal terminator function. Other termination defects were not reproduced in these in vitro assays, and likely resulted from indirect effects of altering interactions between tR1 and additional cellular factors capable of attenuating Rho function. Our results indicate that while Rho is able to recognize a wide variety of similar rut site sequences by interacting with alternate nucleotides at critical positions, interactions with specific individual ribonucleotides of the tR1 transcript provide highly efficient Rho-dependent termination.
Behavioral and hormonal responses of men to brief interactions with women

This study tested for behavioral and hormonal reactions of young men to brief social encounters with potential mating partners. Male college students were randomly assigned to engage in a short conversation with either a young man (male condition) or a young woman (female condition). Participants provided saliva samples before and after the conversation, completed a battery of psychological measures after the interaction, and had their behavior rated by their conversation partners. Salivary testosterone (T) increased significantly over baseline levels in the female condition only, though differences between conditions were not significant. In addition, change in T was significantly correlated with the degree to which the female confederates thought the male participants were trying to impress them. These behavioral ratings, in turn, were correlated with the participants’ ratings of the female confederates as potential romantic partners. Results were generally consistent with the hypothesis that human males may exhibit a behavioral and endocrine courtship response that is similar to that observed in males of many nonhuman vertebrate species.
The production and politics of public space radical democratic politics and public space

These are critical times for democratic politics from Morocco to Iran, as heterogeneous popular movements for greater representation and social justice increasingly challenge established authorities. It is not surprising that these struggles have laid claim to symbolic urban places in the process of claiming their collective political demands. Politics is not purely discursive or institutional; it always has material and spatial dimensions, which for democratic politics is manifested through public space. For all the recent enthusiasm about the emancipating possibilities of the digital media, the fact remains that Tahrir Square (Cairo), Gezi Park (Istanbul), Revolution Street (Tehran), and Pearl Roundabout (Manama) are not virtual locations on the Internet.
ECO cost measurement and incremental gate sizing for late process changes

Changes in the manufacturing process parameters may create timing violations in a design, making it necessary to perform an engineering change order (ECO) to correct these problems. We present a framework for performing incremental gate sizing for process changes late in the design cycle, and a method for creating initial designs that are robust to late process changes. This includes a method for measuring and estimating ECO cost and for transforming these costs into linear programming optimization problems. In the case of ECOs, the method reduces ECO costs on average, by 89p in changed area compared to a leading commercial tool. Furthermore, the robust initial designs are, on average, 55p less likely to need redesign in the future.
A guaianolide pigment from a deep sea gorgonian

Abstract Yellow pigment 3 is one of the minor constituents of a deep sea gorgonian, Placogorgia sp.
MHD FLOW PAST AN OBSTACLE : LARGE-SCALE FLOW IN THE MAGNETOSHEATH

As a step to the study of the large-scale flow in the magnetosheath, the MHD flow past an obstacle is investigated. A time asymptotic method is used to obtain 3D steady-state solutions. The results indicate the formation of a depletion layer near the obstacle due to the increase of the magnetic field. Along the earth-sun line the plasma density increases first and then decreases from the post bow shock to the magnetopause. The local density maximum in front of the magnetopause may correspond to what was recently observed. When the interplanetary magnetic field direction is tilted from the solar wind flow, the IMF influences the shape of the bow shock as well as the location of the stagnation point at the magnetopause in a way consistent with observation. In addition, the results show the existence of a magnetosheath current in the post parallel-shock region.
Identification of toxigenic Clostridium difficile by the polymerase chain reaction.

Toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile are causative agents of pseudomembranous colitis and antimicrobial agent-associated diarrhea and colitis. The toxigenicity is routinely assayed by using highly sensitive cell cultures. We used a simple and rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to differentiate toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of C. difficile. Two sets of oligonucleotide primer pairs derived from nonrepeating sequences of the toxin A gene were used to amplify 546- and 252-bp DNA fragments. A primer pair derived from repeating sequences of the toxin A gene was used to amplify a 1,266-bp DNA product. Amplified products were visualized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by ethidium bromide staining. All 35 cytotoxic strains of C. difficile tested generated the expected amplified DNA. In contrast, none of the 26 noncytotoxic strains tested gave positive results. Although the toxins of C. difficile have been demonstrated to cross-react serologically with the toxins of Clostridium sordellii, we did not detect any amplified DNA in two cytotoxic strains or seven noncytotoxic strains of C. sordellii. PCR was negative in all 30 strains of 20 other Clostridium species. Southern hybridization of HindIII-digested genomic DNA by use of subgenomic probes showed a single hybridization band in toxigenic strains but not in nontoxigenic strains. PCR appears to be a sensitive and specific assay for the rapid identification of toxigenic C. difficile. Nontoxigenic C. difficile appeared to lack the C. difficile toxin A gene. Images
Shear/Pressure Driven Internal Condensing Flows and Their Sensitivity to Inlet Pressure Fluctuations

The reported experimental results are for annular zones of fully condensing flows of pure FC-72 vapor. The flow condenses on the horizontal condensing surface (316 stainless steel) which is the bottom surface (wall) of a rectangular cross-section duct of 2 mm height, 15 mm width, and 1 m length. The sides and top of the duct are made of clear plastic. The experimental system in which this condenser is used is able to control steady-in-the-mean (termed quasi-steady) values of mass flow rate, inlet (or exit) pressure, and wall cooling conditions. Earlier it has been reported that, with the condenser mean (time averaged) inlet mass flow rate, mean inlet (or exit) pressure, and wall cooling condition held at steady values, there is a very strong sensitivity to certain impositions of pressure fluctuations and accompanying flow rate pulsations at the condenser inlet. For these certain impositions, it was found that the mean exit (or inlet) pressure changes to significantly affect mean test-section pressure difference, local heat-flux variations over the annular portion of the flow, and the nature of the annular flow regime. This paper experimentally investigates how the strength of this sensitivity varies with amplitude and frequency of pressure fluctuations imposed on the inlet of the condenser from the vapor line. It has been found that, for various frequencies of interest, there are typically two classes of responses to inlet pressure fluctuations. These are termed supercritical (for the larger amplitudes for which a strong sensitivity exists) and subcritical (for the smaller amplitudes for which a weak sensitivity exists).
T -normal family of distributions: a new approach to generalize the normal distribution

The idea of generating skewed distributions from normal has been of great interest among researchers for decades. This paper proposes four families of generalized normal distributions using the T-X framework. These four families of distributions are named as T-normal families arising from the quantile functions of (i) standard exponential, (ii) standard log-logistic, (iii) standard logistic and (iv) standard extreme value distributions. Some general properties including moments, mean deviations and Shannon entropy of the T-normal family are studied. Four new generalized normal distributions are developed using the T-normal method. Some properties of these four generalized normal distributions are studied in detail. The shapes of the proposed T-normal distributions can be symmetric, skewed to the right, skewed to the left, or bimodal. Two data sets, one skewed unimodal and the other bimodal, are fitted by using the generalized T-normal distributions. 60E05; 62E15; 62P10
Performance of Alamouti space-time code in time-varying channels with noisy channel estimates

In this paper, we derive the theoretical performance of the Alamouti space-time code in time-varying Rayleigh fading channels with noisy channel estimates. The receiver algorithms presented in this paper are the maximum-likelihood (ML) symbol detector with the linear combining scheme, which was suggested by Alamouti (1998), and the ML space-time decoder. The bit error probability for the linear combining scheme and the sequence error probability for the ML space-time decoder are presented as functions of the pilot filter coefficients, the multipath power profile, the normalized Doppler frequency, the pilot SNR and the data SNR. We also compare the bit error performance of the linear combining scheme with the bit error performance of the system without transmit diversity. The results indicate that the Alamouti space-time code with the linear combining scheme is outperformed by the no transmit diversity system at high Doppler frequency or low pilot SNR.
Fundamental Underpinnings of Reconfigurable Computing Architectures

Reconfigurable architectures are a distinct point in the larger design space that includes programmable processors and nonprogrammable fixed-function devices. In this paper, we identify the major parameters that distinguish architectures in this design space and draw connections between these parameters and physical requirements (e.g., energy, delay, and area) and application characteristics (e.g., word width, locality). Building on these connections, we identify the fundamental advantages that reconfigurable architectures can offer.
CD4+ lymphocytes in perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection: evidence for pregnancy-induced immune depression in uninfected and HIV-infected women.

Immune function changes during pregnancy and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. T helper function and phenotypes in HIV-infected and -uninfected pregnant and postpartum women and nonpregnant uninfected control women were studied. T helper function was assessed by interleukin-2 (IL-2) production in vitro and three-color flow cytometry. All uninfected nonpregnant subjects, 74% of uninfected pregnant subjects, and only 54% of HIV-infected pregnant subjects responded to all stimuli. All uninfected subjects 2-6 months postpartum had normal function versus 27% of infected subjects (trend P < .001). Uninfected pregnant subjects had reduced levels of CD4+CD45RA-RO+ (memory) and elevated levels of CD4+CD45RA+RO- (naive) lymphocytes. Infected pregnant subjects had elevated levels of memory, reduced levels of naive, and increased levels of CD4+HLA-DR+CD38+ (activated) lymphocytes. Increased CD4+DR+CD38+ cells correlated best with poor IL-2 function, HIV infection, and being postpartum (R2 = .79). Thus, T helper function and phenotypes are altered in pregnancy and return to baseline postpartum in uninfected but not HIV-infected women.
Relyzer: exploiting application-level fault equivalence to analyze application resiliency to transient faults

Future microprocessors need low-cost solutions for reliable operation in the presence of failure-prone devices. A promising approach is to detect hardware faults by deploying low-cost monitors of software-level symptoms of such faults. Recently, researchers have shown these mechanisms work well, but there remains a non-negligible risk that several faults may escape the symptom detectors and result in silent data corruptions (SDCs). Most prior evaluations of symptom-based detectors perform fault injection campaigns on application benchmarks, where each run simulates the impact of a fault injected at a hardware site at a certain point in the application's execution (application fault site). Since the total number of application fault sites is very large (trillions for standard benchmark suites), it is not feasible to study all possible faults. Previous work therefore typically studies a randomly selected sample of faults. Such studies do not provide any feedback on the portions of the application where faults were not injected. Some of those instructions may be vulnerable to SDCs, and identifying them could allow protecting them through other means if needed.This paper presents Relyzer, an approach that systematically analyzes all application fault sites and carefully picks a small subset to perform selective fault injections for transient faults. Relyzer employs novel fault pruning techniques that prune faults that need detailed study by either predicting their outcomes or showing them equivalent to other faults. We find that Relyzer prunes about 99.78% of the total faults across twelve applications studied here, reducing the faults that require detailed simulation by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude for most of the applications. Fault injection simulations on the remaining faults can identify SDC causing faults in the entire application. Some of Relyzer's techniques rely on heuristics to determine fault equivalence. Our validation efforts show that Relyzer determines fault outcomes with 96% accuracy, averaged across all the applications studied here.
Reward and Risk for Opportunistic Spectrum Accessing in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive Radio technology releases the spectrum from shackles of authorized licenses and facilitates the trading of spectrum bands. In the spectrum market, primary service providers (PSPs) set price for the vacant licensed bands of primary users (PUs) and sell them for monetary gains, and the secondary service provider (SSP) can buy the bands and opportunistically use them to satisfy the service demands of secondary users (SUs) when the primary services are not active. However, when there are multiple bands available, the SSP confronts the challenges of how to choose bands and how to split the overall traffic on them considering both his monetary reward and the potential risk, from the unpredictable activities of the primary services, for opportunistic spectrum accessing (OSA). In this paper, we propose a reward and risk based band-mix selection algorithm to address these concerns of the SSP, and help the SSP to make appropriate decisions of traffic splitting over available spectrum band- mix, consisting of both the band belonging to SSP itself and the bands from PSPs. By numerical simulations, we verify our theoretical analysis and show that the proposed spectrum band-mix selection effectively improves the spectrum utilization as well as the satisfactory degree of SUs.
Elective surgery for asymptomatic, unruptured, intracranial aneurysms: a cost-effectiveness analysis

✓ Cost-effectiveness analysis uses both economic and clinical outcomes data to evaluate treatment options. In this era of economic constraints on health care, treatments that are not cost-effective will increasingly be denied public and private insurance reimbursement. The authors used mathematical modeling techniques to assess the cost-effectiveness of elective surgery for the treatment of asymptomatic, unruptured, intracranial aneurysms. Input values for the Markov model used in this study were determined from both the literature and clinical judgment. Direct medical costs for hospitalization and physician fees were derived from Medicare cost reports and resource-based relative-value units, expressed in 1992 U.S. dollars. Costs and benefits were discounted at an annual rate of 5%. Using baseline model assumptions for a 50-year-old patient, elective aneurysm surgery provides an average of 0.88 additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) compared with nonsurgical treatment. However, prompt elective sur...
Stimulated Emission Depletion Microscopy with a Single Ultrafast Laser

We present a stimulated emission depletion microscopy system that has been built around a single ultrafast laser system. Excitation beams are provided by a supercontinuum generation with the same laser.
2-D blind deconvolution by partitioning into coupled 1-D problems using discrete Radon transforms

The 2-D blind deconvolution problem is to reconstruct an image (2-D signal) from the 2-D convolution of the image with another, unknown 2-D signal which represents some unknown distortion. The only known information is the result of the convolution and the fact that both 2-D signals have compact support. We solve the 2-D discrete blind deconvolution problem by partitioning it into a mostly-decoupled set of 1-D blind deconvolution problems. We define discrete and modulated Radon transforms to formulate two coupled 1-D problems, the solution to which then specifies solutions to the other decoupled 1-D problems. The latter may in turn be solved in parallel; however, using the solution to one problem as input to a neighboring problem reduces the computation significantly for serial computers. Unlike other exact 2-D blind deconvolution methods which rely on tracking zero curves of algebraic functions or equivalent operations, no continuous-function-based methods are used here. This makes the procedure more robust numerically. By coupling more than two initial problems, the method can be made to work on data with small amounts of noise.
Increased tissue Po2 and decreased O2 delivery and consumption after 80% exchange transfusion with polymerized hemoglobin

The O2-carrying blood substitute based on polymerized bovine hemoglobin (PBH) was used to determine efficacy in maintaining tissue Po2 after an 80% isovolemic blood exchange leading to a hematocrit...
In memoriam: Eric Alston Christenson (1956–2011)

Dr Eric Christenson was a well-known research taxonomist with a strong interest in orchids, f lor is t ics , nomencla ture , conservat ion and horticultural taxonomy. He was a leading orchid expert who published numerous research papers in which he described hundreds of new species. His death is a great loss to the field of botany, which has lost one of its foremost experts on orchids. Eric died in April 2011 in his home in Bradenton, Florida. Eric Christenson’s monographic works focused mainly on Asian orchids, and he is probably best known for his monograph on the commonly cultivated genus Phalaenopsis (Christenson 2001). He travelled to numerous herbaria around the world to study original orchid collections, and he frequented South America, where his floristic works on orchids were focused. For instance, he authored the orchid treatment in the Vascular Flora of Central French Guiana (Mori et al. 1997) following fieldwork in the Guianas. His long term collaboration with the late David Bennett in Peru resulted in the impressive 600 plates of the Icones Orchidacearum Peruvianum (Bennett & Christenson 1993–2001), in which numerous species were illustrated, many new records for Peru were listed and for which a great number of species new to science were published. He additionally wrote a bilingual flora to the orchids of Machu Picchu (Christenson 2003). Eric’s research articles often bridged the gap between taxonomy and horticulture. He applied his extensive knowledge of horticultural and taxonomic literature to provide stable names for orchid enthusiasts. He worked closely together with orchid growers to establish ex-situ propagation programmes for conservation of rare species, working actively with commercial growers and botanical gardens to that end. His studies often focused on widespread species complexes and species thought to be highly variable, to come to a more detailed definition of taxa and their distribution. This aided in many cases the identification of rare species and resulted in the redefining of conservation strategies in Latin America.
Generative Concern, Political Commitment, and Charitable Actions

The implications of psychosocial generativity (Erikson, 1950) for understanding contemporary politics were explored. Study 1 replicated, in two samples, previous findings that generativity concerns are related to a variety of political activities, including the expenditure of time and money in support of political organizations. Using path analyses, Study 2 extended these findings and demonstrated how midlife generativity concerns interacted with political orientation and interest in politics to produce stronger relationships with giving. These findings suggest that people view the political arena as one important way to improve society and thereby manifest cultural generativity. Although focusing on the domain of politics, these studies highlight the complexity of generativity as a construct; broad concerns with generativity operate within the context of ideological commitments to produce greater levels of generative activity.
An Examination of the Low Rates of Return of Foreign-Owned U.S. Companies

In 1988-97, the average rate of return on assets (ROA) of foreign-owned nonfinancial companies, at 5.1 percent, was 2.2 percentage points below that of U.S.-owned companies; over the period, the ROA gap narrowed to about 1 percentage point in 1997. Among several factors that may help explain the lower ROA of foreign-owned companies, age and market share were found to be significant, and industry mix and shifting of profits outside the United States using transfer prices were found to be relatively insignificant. These findings are based on newly developed estimates of the rate of return for foreign-owned U.S. nonfinancial companies that are disaggregated by industry and valued in current-period prices.
Spatial Heterogeneity: Structure Over Space

In general, organisms are not distributed uniformly over space; consider for example, the distribution of primary production over the world’s oceans (Fig. 2–30). Moreover, such heterogeneity occurs at all spatial scales. We can use the size of a patch of higher abundance or the distances among such patches as a way to assess the scale of heterogeneity. There are significantly higher or lower rates of production in distances of 105 to 108 m within any linear transect in Figure 2–30. Spatial variability is also pervasive at smaller distances: the variation in concentration of dissolved CO2 in surface waters of the Gulf of Maine is evidence of spatially heterogeneous biological activity on a scale of 104-105 m, while the variability in concentration of chlorophyll in St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia, varies on a scale of about 104 m (Figs. 13–1 a,b) . Measurements of numbers of zooplankton m-2 off the California coast show patches of tens of meters (Fig. 13–2c); a careful examination of spatial variability of phytoplankton production shows significant patches in a scale of 10-1 m, most clearly in samples from the Gulf Stream (Fig. 13–1d).
Women Police: The Use of Force by and Against Female Officers

This study investigated the use of force by and against women police officers using survey data from a large sample of female and male officers in six departments. Results suggested that female officers and same-gender female-female officer pairs used less force, and were less likely to use physical force, in police-citizen encounters when compared to their male counterparts. There was no evidence supporting the proposition that citizens used less force against female officers compared with male officers. In fact, the findings indicated that citizens used significantly more force against female officers relative to male officers in domestic calls. Although female officers were more likely to engage in underpredicted policing; that is, use less force than the situation would normally dictate, underpredicted policing was not related to an increase in the likelihood of officer injury. Implications for women officers, police use of force, and the institution of policing are discussed.
Risks and Consequences of Oversimplifying Educational Inequities: A Response to Morgan et al. (2015)

In this technical comment, we argue that Morgan et al.’s claim that there is no minority overrepresentation in special education is in error due to (a) sampling considerations, (b) inadequate support from previous and current analyses, and (c) their failure to consider the complexities of special education disproportionality.
Emerging and Future Applications of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory: A Report of the Association for Molecular Pathology

The performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) for routine bacterial and yeast identification as well as direct-from-blood culture bottle identification has been thoroughly evaluated in the peer-reviewed literature. Microbiologists are now moving beyond these methods to apply MS to other areas of the diagnostic process. This review discusses the emergence of advanced matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS applications, including the identification of filamentous fungi and mycobacteria and the current and future state of antimicrobial resistance testing.
Genomic Regions Associated with Tolerance to Freezing Stress and Snow Mold in Winter Wheat

Plants grown through the winter are subject to selective pressures that vary with each year's unique conditions, necessitating tolerance of numerous abiotic and biotic stress factors. The objective of this study was to identify molecular markers in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) associated with tolerance of two of these stresses, freezing temperatures and snow mold-a fungal disease complex active under snow cover. A population of 155 F2:5 recombinant inbred lines from a cross between soft white wheat cultivars "Finch" and "Eltan" was evaluated for snow mold tolerance in the field, and for freezing tolerance under controlled conditions. A total of 663 molecular markers was used to construct a genetic linkage map and identify marker-trait associations. One quantitative trait locus (QTL) associated with both freezing and snow mold tolerance was identified on chromosome 5A. A second, distinct, QTL associated with freezing tolerance also was found on 5A, and a third on 4B. A second QTL associated with snow mold tolerance was identified on chromosome 6B. The QTL on 5A associated with both traits was closely linked with the Fr-A2 (Frost-Resistance A2) locus; its significant association with both traits may have resulted from pleiotropic effects, or from greater low temperature tolerance enabling the plants to better defend against snow mold pathogens. The QTL on 4B associated with freezing tolerance, and the QTL on 6B associated with snow mold tolerance have not been reported previously, and may be useful in the identification of sources of tolerance for these traits.
Mixed-Methods Pilot Study to Assess Perceptions of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Nursing Homes

Objectives To identify features of community nursing home (NH) environments associated with lower rates of overall antibiotic use. Design This pilot study used an explanatory sequential design that incorporated comparative feedback about antibiotic use to inform a discussion about antimicrobial stewardship practices in community NHs. Setting NHs. Participants Clinical leadership of five NHs. Measurements For the quantitative phase, the number of antibiotic prescriptions, length of therapy, and days of therapy/1,000 days of care were measured at six NHs. For the qualitative phase, semistructured interviews were conducted with healthcare workers in leadership positions at five community NHs. Transcripts from the recorded interviews were assessed using emergent thematic analysis. For the triangulation phase, themes from the semistructured interviews were evaluated in the context of each NH's antibiotic use. Results The number of antibiotic prescriptions ranged from 172 to 1,244, with 50% to 83% written for 7 days or fewer. All NHs reported a similar proportion of fluoroquinolone use (27–32% of days of therapy). Triangulation yielded six themes for which the environment at each facility ranged from less- to more-supportive antimicrobial stewardship: practice patterns, external influences, infection control, leadership, communication, and facility culture. All NHs reported pressure from well-intentioned family members to prescribe antibiotics. NHs with shorter lengths of therapy and lower overall antibiotic use were consonant with an environment more supportive of antimicrobial stewardship. Conclusion These findings suggest several features of NHs that are supportive of antimicrobial stewardship: practice patterns grounded in established diagnostic criteria, proactive infection control and prevention, open communication and interconnectedness among staff.
Exploring Senior Living Alternatives to Institutional Care: Differences between Residents and Non-residents:

The demand for senior living will continue to increase as America ages. There are various types of senior living facilities, but continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), or life care communi...
Critical Review of Removal of Nano Materials in Waste Streams

Industrial applications of nanomaterials (NMs) are rising drastically in recent years and the commercial value of these materials can reach over $100 billion in 5 years. Major effort in nano research has been devoted to the utilities of the materials, only minimum effort has been directed to the disposal, reuse, and recycle of these new forms of materials. Due to their unique sizes and sharps, nanomaterials possess unique characteristics and toxicity that are not expected from their counterparts in meso/micro forms. At the present time, there are no regulations governing the handling and disposals of NMs, but recent research demonstrated that NMs are more hazardous than we realize. A main reason why less caution is being exercised by the general public regarding NMs is that the measurement and quantitation of NMs are difficult, which lead to difficulties in monitoring, thus regulation. This article critically reviewed over the issues stemming from the development of NMs, especially the challenges of measurement and disposal of these materials in landfills.
Describing movement control at two levels of abstraction

Movement may be described in terms of activity modules that consist of a set of start-stop rules and associated motion generators. The motion generators determine the spatio-temporal patterning of the movement. The start-stop rules determine when a particular motion-generating process is activated and when it is interrupted or completed. These two levels of abstraction are used to describe how human subjects manually capture a moving target that uses a computer-generated escape strategy. A simulation of this two-level model mimics the episodic performance of human subjects. This multi-level style of modeling may prove useful in analyzing a wide range of skilled movements ranging from tracking to multi-limbed locomotion.
Racializing “Illegality”: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding How Mexican-origin Women Navigate an Anti-immigrant Climate:

By shedding light on how Mexicans are racialized, scholars have brought racism to the forefront of migration research. Still, less is known about how “illegality” complicates racialized experiences...
LITHIUM-RESPONSIVE DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS: CLINICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The evidence for the effectiveness of lithium in the treatment of depression has become increasingly convincing. A history of mania (bipolar illness) is the single most important clinical feature associated with the antidepressant response to lithium, but not all bipolar patients respond, and some unipolar patients do improve with lithium therapy. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to think of a category of lithium-responsive affective disorder with a specific biological characteristic which is related to therapeutic efficacy of lithium. Several preliminary studies of this have suggested biological characteristics which may differentiate lithium responders and nonresponders, but these early findings need to be confirmed.
Changes in duration of dry and wet spells associated with air temperatures in Russia

This study uses daily precipitation records from 517 Russian stations (1966–2010) to examine the relationships between continuous dry and wet day duration and surface air temperature for all four seasons. The study found that both mean and extreme durations of dry periods increase with air temperature at about 7.0% (0.24 day/°C) and 7.7% (0.86 day/°C) respectively, while those of wet periods decrease at about 1.3% (−0.02 day/°C) and 2.2% (−0.10 day/°C) respectively averaged over the entire study region during summer. An increase in the duration of dry periods with higher air temperature is also found in other seasons at locations with a mean seasonal air temperature of about −5 °C or higher. Opposite relationships of shorter durations of dry periods and longer wet periods associated with higher air temperature are observed over the northern part of the study region in winter. The changes in durations of both dry and wet periods have significant correlations with the changes in total dry and wet days but are about 2.5 times higher for dry periods and 0.5 times lower for wet periods. The study also found that locations with longer durations of dry periods experience faster rates of increase in air temperature, suggesting the likelihood of exacerbating drought severity in drier and/or warmer locations for all seasons.
Derechos en crisis: Central American asylum claims in the age of authoritarian neoliberalism

Drawing upon the insights of Giorgio Agamben and Antonio Gramsci coupled with ethnographic research conducted in Texas, this paper discusses how the Obama Administration sought to impose a state of...
Ion Mobility of Proteins in Nitrogen Gas: Effects of Charge State, Charge Distribution, and Structure.

Ion mobility is emerging as a rapid and sensitive tool for structural characterization. Collision cross-section (Ω) values determined using ion mobility are often compared to values calculated for candidate structures generated through molecular modeling. Several methods exist for calculating Ω values, but the trajectory method explicitly includes contributions from long-range, ion–neutral interactions. Recent implementations of the trajectory method have significantly reduced its expense and have made applications to proteins far more tractable. Here, we use ion mobility experiments and trajectory method calculations to characterize the effects of charge state, charge distribution, and structure on the ion mobility of proteins in nitrogen gas. These results show that ion-induced dipole interactions contribute significantly to the Ω values of these ions with nitrogen gas, even for the modestly charged ions commonly observed in native mass spectrometry experiments. Therefore, these interactions contribute ...
Establishing a New Clinical Role for Medical Physicists: A Prospective Phase II Trial.

Purpose To investigate a new clinical role for medical physicists in direct patient care with a prospective phase 2 clinical trial. Materials and Methods Medical physicists participated in the Physics Direct Patient Care (PDPC) protocol, establishing independent professional relationships with radiation oncology patients. After attending a dedicated patient communication training program, medical physicists routinely met with patients for 2 physicist-patient consults to explain the treatment planning and delivery process, review the patient's treatment plan, and answer all technical questions. The first physicist-patient consult took place immediately before the computed tomography simulation, and the second took place immediately before the first treatment. Questionnaires were administered to each patient on the PDPC protocol at 3 time points to assess both anxiety and satisfaction. The first questionnaire was given shortly after the first physicist-patient consult, the second questionnaire was given shortly after the second physicist-patient consult, and the third questionnaire was given after the last treatment appointment, with no associated physicist-patient consult. Results The mean patient anxiety score was considered to be low at all questionnaire time points. There was a statistically significant decrease (P Conclusions Establishing a new clinical role for medical physicists and investigating its effects on patient anxiety and satisfaction have created the foundation for future studies. Based on the results of this trial, the PDPC protocol will be expanded to a larger group of medical physicists, radiation oncologists, and patient disease sites and investigated with a randomized phase 3 clinical trial.
Failure of 16-16-dimethyl-prostaglandin E2 to stimulate alkaline secretion in the isolated amphibian gastric mucosa.

It has been suggested that the gastric cytoprotective action of prostaglandins is mediated by stimulation of alkaline secretion. We tested the effect of 16-16-dimethyl-prostaglandin E2 (16-16D) in isolated amphibian gastric mucosa (Rana Catesbeiana) by measuring alkaline secretion, potential difference, resistance, and short circuit current of the chambered tissues gassed with 100% O2 on the secretory side and 95% O2-5% CO2 on the nutrient side. Production of CO2 was also measured during uniform gassing with 100% O2. 16-16D concentrations of 10−6 M, 2.85 × 10−6 M, 5 × 10−6 M, and 10−5 M in the nutrient solution did not affect a basal alkaline secretion of ~0.22 μeq/cm2/hr in metiamide-inhibited fundic mucosa. Production of CO2 on the secretory side of actively secreting mucosae was not changed by 16-16D, 2.85 × 10−6 M. A basal alkaline secretion of ~0.25 μeq/cm2/hr in antral mucosa was not altered by 16-16D, 10−6 M. Change of the nutrient solution regularly and reliably increased titratable alkalinity on the mucosal side even when no 16-16D was present in the new nutrient solution. Since stimulation of apparent alkaline secretion occurred only when the nutrient solution was changed, as in the experiments of other investigators, it is reasonable to assume that such an increase in alkaline secretion is an artifact caused by changing the equilibrium between HCO 3 − and CO2 in the secretory solution, a phenomenon easily demonstrable when a tissue is gassed with 100% O2 on the secretory side and 95% O2-5% CO2 on the nutrient. We conclude that stimulation of alkaline secretion by 16-16D in amphibian gastric mucosa does not occur and is therefore not the mechanism by which cytoprotection is mediated in this species.
Teaching NeuroImages: Not a typical spinal mass

A 20-year-old woman presented with subacute progressive lower extremity weakness and spasticity. Examination findings were consistent with Brown-Sequard syndrome. Thoracic spine MRI/magnetic resonance angiography showed an intramedullary mass (figure 1). During gross total resection, the mass had a pearlescent appearance, while histopathologic examination was consistent with epidermoid cyst (figure 2).
Thirty‐day hospital readmission rate amongst older adults correlates with an increased number of medications, but not with Beers medications

AIM We sought to explore the relationship between the number of medications at hospital discharge and 30-day rehospitalization in older adults aged >65 years. METHODS This was a multicenter cohort study to determine whether an increased number of medications was associated with 30-day rehospitalization in patients aged >65 years. We explored the relationship between rehospitalization and other risk factors. Data were collected from a large health system in the New York metropolitan area from September 2011 to January 2013. The primary outcome was 30-day hospital readmission from the index hospitalization. RESULTS Patients had a mean ± SD age of 78 ± 9 years; 55% were women. The average length of stay after discharge from the hospital was 6 days. An increased number of medications was significantly associated with unplanned 30-day hospital readmission (P < 0.05). For each medication, the risk of rehospitalization increased by 4% (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03, 1.05). Patients discharged to rehabilitation centers were 32% more likely to be readmitted than patients discharged home (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.27-1.51). Other risk factors significantly associated with 30-day rehospitalization were: cancer, intensive care unit, chronic heart failure, renal diseases and peripheral vascular diseases. Hypertension was negatively associated with 30-day unplanned rehospitalization (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82-0.95). No significant association between the number of Beers medications and 30-day rehospitalization was observed, after controlling for the number of medications and other covariates. CONCLUSIONS The number of discharge medications was significantly associated with 30-day hospital readmission among older adult patients. Important risk factors for 30-day rehospitalization were discharge location, cancer, intensive care unit, chronic heart failure, renal diseases and peripheral vascular diseases. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1513-1518.
Experimental Study on a Reverse Osmosis Device Coupled with Solar Energy for Water Desalination

Algeria is located in a semi-arid region, suffering now more than ever from the problem of inadequate water resources. It is also characterized by irregular rainfall. Membrane sea water desalination technology has known in recent years remarkable progress. Reverse osmosis is the most widespread process to increase fresh water production for domestic, agriculture and industrial uses. Currently, renewable energies can provide a sustainable and alternative solution for generating reverse osmosis systems operating at high pressure. The production of fresh and potable water by solar water desalination remains a sustainable strategy and economic option to fill the water deficit in areas that do not have access to safe drinking water and electricity. For this, this principle is developed industrially for the desalination of the sea waters and the purification of the water. The main objective of the present work is the study of a small capacity (100 I/h) reverse osmosis plan intended for desalination and water treatment operation. We have especially worked on the effect of pressure and salinity on the production and quality of the water produced. The performed work is purely experimental and is part within the framework of improving the profitability of an RO device. Initiation of coupling of the reverse osmosis pilot to solar energy in order to reduce energy consumption (4 KW/ 1m3) is being investigated. During this period of experimentation a physicochemical and bacteriological analysis of the water before and after treatment were carried out.