cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biological oxidation of thianthrene, thioxanthene and dibenzothiophene by the thermophilic organism Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Microbial oxidation of some model aromatic organic sulfur compounds such as thianthrene, thioxanthene and dibenzothiophene by the thermophilic organismSulfolobus acidocaldarius has been studied. Sulfate ions released as an oxidation product were measured to quantify the oxidations. The oxidation of the aforementioned refractory aromatic sulfur compounds byS. acidocaldarius may have applications in organic sulfur removal from hydrocarbon fuels such as coal and oil.
Ethical issues in perianesthesia nursing

Ethical issues have historically been a significant focus in perianesthesia nursing. Issues of safety, privacy, and informed consent are never far from the consciousness of the perianesthesia nurse. As the national organization that serves as a clearing ground for issues and goals of perianesthesia nursing practice, ASPAN has begun the process of developing a code of ethics for perianesthesia nursing practice. This report is designed to provide a brief review of the important definitions and principles that are used in the discussion of ethics, review the contemporary forces that mandate and justify the development of an ethical code, and explore how such a code may function to aid and guide nursing practice.
Improved assay for the quantification of 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry

Endogenous thromboxane production is best assessed by the measurement of its excreted metabolites, of which 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 (11-dehydro-TxB2) is most abundant. Gas chromatographic—mass spectrometric assays have been developed for this compound but suffer from the presence of co-eluting impurities which make the measurement of 11-dehydro-TxB2 difficult. Furthermore, these assays are often time-consuming. We now report a modified assay for the measurement of this compound employing gas chromatography—mass spectrometry which alleviates the problem of co-eluting impurities primarily through modification of extraction and chromatographic methods. Furthermore, the time to complete the assay is significantly shortened. It is adaptable to both urine and plasma. Precision of the assay is ± 7% and accuracy is 90%. The lower limit of sensitivity in urine is approximately 20 pg/mg creatinine. Normal levels of urinary excretion of this metabolite were found to be 370 ± 137 pg/mg creatinine (mean ± 1 S.D.) and normal plasma levels were found to be 1.5 ± 0.4 pg/ml (mean ± 1 S.D.). Urinary excretion of 11-dehydro-TxB2 is markedly altered in situations associated with abnormalities in thromboxane generation when quantified using this assay. Thus, this assay provides a sensitive and accurate method to assess endogenous thromboxane production and to further explore the role of this compound in human disease.
Mean switching time of bistable two-mode lasers

Mean switching time of a two-mode laser is calculated in two different approaches: the first-passage-time treatment by the generalized Kramers method and the lifetime approach by the two-dimensional WKB method. In both cases, the most probable path is generally curved. Numerical study in the WKB calculation reveals that the general curved most probable path can be replaced with high accuracy by the path specified by the minimum potential for many cases of practical interest, that is, when the mode-coupling constant xi is within the range 1
MICROSTRUCTURE MODIFICATION OF AMORPHOUS CARBON FILMS BY ION-IMPLANTATION TECHNIQUES

Microstructure modification of amorphous carbon films containing about 30 at.% hydrogen (a-CHx) and nonhydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C) films was accomplished with a vacuum arc metal plasma implanter and a cathodic arc plasma system, respectively. The films were implanted with Si, Ti, Hf, W, and Al of ion doses approximately equal to 1 and 3 × 1016 ions/cm2 and mean ion kinetic energies in the range of 3–70 keV, depending on the implantation method. Simulation results demonstrated a profound effect of the size of implant species, ion dose, mean ion kinetic energy, and implantation processes on the implant spatial distributions. Statistical roughness results showed a negligible effect of ion implantation on the film surface topography. Elastic recoil spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the hydrogen content of the a-CHx films due to the ion bombardment. A monotonic decrease in the Raman scattering intensities and a downward shift of the carbon peak position occurred with increasing ion dose for both types of films and implantation techniques. Nanoindentation experiments demonstrated an effect of ion implantation on the apparent film hardness, depending on the flux and kinetic energy of implanted species. Changes in the hardness characteristics of the implanted films are interpreted in terms of the chemical reactivity of implant elements and microstructure modifications caused by irradiation damage, dehydrogenation, and higher contents of tetrahedral (s p3) carbon hybridization due to carbide bond formation.
Facile optical resolution of DL-1,4,5,6-tetra-O-benzyl-myo-inositol: Key synthons for the phosphoinositides

The facile preparation of 1D-1,4,5,6,-tetra-O-benzyl-myo-inositol and its enantiomer 1L-1,4,5,6-tetra-O-benzyl-myo-inositol from the corresponding racemate via the 1-(1′S)-(−)-camphanic acid esters is described.
Gas transfer in supported films made by molecular self-assembly of ionic polymers

Abstract Asymmetric membranes for gas separation were fabricated using the layer-by-layer adsorption process based on the spontaneous self-assembly of alternating layers of cationic and anionic polymers on porous and solid support membranes. The support membranes were first dipped in a dilute solution of poly (allylamine) (a polycation) followed by dipping in a dilute solution of poly (styrenesulfonate) (a polyanion). Repeating this process, 40 polymer layers were deposited on porous poly(propylene) membranes (Celgard 2400) and 100 layers on solid dimethyl silicone membranes. Gas-transfer experiments at several temperatures indicated reduced mass permeabilities due to the adsorbed films. Permeabilities of pure CO2 and N2 through coated Celgard samples were virtually equal at all temperatures indicating dominance of Knudsen diffusion through micropores in the film. Permeabilities in coated silicone membranes indicate higher CO2/N2 selectivity than the bare membrane at elevated temperatures. Microphotography indicated the presence of breaks in the polyion complex coating on the silicone membrane. Fabrication of gas transfer membranes via self-assembly of ionic polymers offers the possibility of designing highly selective membranes as well as the ability to control the thickness and architecture of films at the molecular level.
Carbon nanotube arrays decorated with multi-layer graphene-nanopetals enhance mechanical strength and durability

Abstract We report growth of a hierarchical nanostructure consisting of multi-layer graphene-petals decorating individual carbon nanotubes in a vertically aligned CNT array. The structure obtained by post-growth treatment of the CNT array in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition process leads to a remarkable increase in array stability, stiffness, elastic recovery and energy absorption capacity and a decrease in stress softening. Further, the change in properties can be tuned by controlling the petal growth time. For a 50 μm tall array, growth of graphene petals increases the buckling load and energy absorbed in load–unload cycles by a factor of about 60. The petal-coated CNT arrays also retain their morphology during solvent immersion and evaporation cycles, while arrays without petals coalesce into highly dense regions. The results open a new pathway towards tuning mechanical behavior of any arbitrary CNT array and also demonstrate the importance of structural hierarchy in tailoring the behavior of nanostructures.
Thorstein Veblen, C. Wright Mills and the possibilities of a public administration

Discusses the theories of Thorstein Veblen and C. Wright Mills on status emulation and craftsmanship. Applies these theories to the business situataion, especially public administration. Concludes that, if contamination by emulatory values and behaviours can be limited, the ideal of authentic public administration emphasizing organizational humanism and craftsmanship is still possible.
Evidence for p62 aggregate formation: role in cell survival.

The polyubiquitin-binding protein p62 has been shown to localize in aggregates common to several types of diseases. Here, we report that p62 forms independent fibrillar aggregates in vitro in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. FTIR spectra and ThT fluorescence assay of p62 reveals increased β-sheet content as aggregates form compared to the native protein. The fibrillar nature of the aggregates was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Overexpression of p62 in HEK cells results in aggregate formation that may protect cells from apoptosis. Altogether, these results suggest that p62 fibrils may influence cell viability and indicates an important role for p62 in aggresome formation.
The dark phase intraocular pressure elevation and retinal ganglion cell degeneration in a rat model of experimental glaucoma

Intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation is considered as a major risk factor causing the progression of vision deterioration in glaucoma. Although it is known that the IOP level changes widely throughout the day and night, how the dark or light phase IOP elevation contributes to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration is still largely unclear. To examine the profile of IOP, modified laser photocoagulation was applied to the trabecular meshwork of Brown Norway rats and both light and dark phase IOPs were monitored approximately 1–2 times a week. The relationship between IOP elevation and RGC degeneration was investigated while RGC body loss was analyzed with Rbpms immunolabeling on retinal wholemount and axonal injury in the optic nerve was semi-quantified. The baseline awake dark and light IOPs were 30.4 ± 2.7 and 20.2 ± 2.1 mmHg respectively. The average dark IOP was increased to 38.2 ± 3.2 mmHg for five weeks after the laser treatment on 270° trabecular meshwork. However, there was no significant loss of RGC body and axonal injury. After laser treatment on 330° trabecular meshwork, the dark and light IOPs were significantly increased to 43.8 ± 4.6 and 23 ± 3.7 mmHg respectively for 5 weeks. The cumulative dark and light IOP elevations were 277 ± 86 and 113 ± 50 mmHg days respectively while the cumulative total (light and dark) IOP elevation was 213 ± 114 mmHg days. After 5 weeks, regional RGC body loss of 29.5 ± 15.5% and moderate axonal injury were observed. Axonal injury and loss of RGC body had a high correlation with the cumulative total IOP elevation (R2 = 0.60 and 0.65 respectively). There was an association between the cumulative dark IOP elevation and RGC body loss (R2 = 0.37) and axonal injury (R2 = 0.51) whereas the associations between neuronal damages and the cumulative light IOP elevation were weak (for RGC body loss, R2 = 0.01; for axonal injury, R2 = 0.26). Simple linear regression model analysis showed statistical significance for the relationships between the total cumulative IOP elevation and RGC body loss (P = 0.009), and axonal injury (P = 0.016). To examine the role of light and dark IOP elevation in RGC body loss and axonal injury, analyses for the association between different light/dark IOP factors and percentage of RGC body loss/axonal injury grading were performed and only the association between the cumulative dark IOP elevation and axonal injury showed statistical significance (P = 0.033). The findings demonstrated that the cumulative total (light and dark) IOP elevation is a risk factor to RGC degeneration in a rat model of experimental glaucoma using modified partial laser photocoagulation at 330° trabecular meshwork. Further investigations are required to understand the role of longer term light and dark phase IOP elevation contributing to the progression of degeneration in different compartments of RGCs.
DNA ploidy analysis of hepatic preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in woodchucks experimentally infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus.

We analyzed the DNA ploidy and the nuclear size of hepatocytes within hepatocellular carcinoma, putative preneoplastic (clear cell and basophilic foci) and adjacent non-neoplastic liver in 30 woodchucks neonatally infected with the woodchuck hepatitis virus. In livers from control woodchucks, in clear cell foci and in most chronic portal hepatitis, the hepatocytes were diploid, with less than 10% tetraploid cells. Aneuploid peaks were found in 50% of the livers with chronic active hepatitis, in 63% of basophilic foci and in 90% of hepatocellular carcinoma. Within the same tumor, aneuploid peaks with different DNA indices were observed frequently, indicating heterogeneity of tumor. S-phase was always elevated, indicating an increased rate of proliferation. Aneuploid cells had nuclei that were larger than those of control liver cells. In some basophilic foci and in some livers with chronic active hepatitis, abnormal DNA was demonstrated before the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, suggesting that these may be populations of hepatocytes at risk of neoplastic transformation. (Hepatology 1994;20:21–29.)
Travel queries on cities in the United States: Implications for search engine marketing for tourist destinations

Abstract Given the growing importance of search in online travel planning, marketers need to better understand the behavioural aspect of search engines use. Built upon a number of previous studies, the goal of this research is to identify patterns in online travel queries across tourist destinations. Utilizing transaction log files from a number of search engines, the analysis shows important patterns in the way travel queries are constructed as well as the commonalities and differences in travel queries about different cities in the United States. The ratio of travel queries among all queries about a specific city seems to associate with the “touristic” level of that city. Also, keywords in travelers' queries reflect their knowledge about the city and its competitors. This paper offers insights into the way tourism destinations are searched online as well as implications for search engine marketing for destinations.
Quasi-elastic light scattering studies on T7 DNA in the presence of a sinusoidal electric field

Abstract Quasi-elastic light scattering studies on T7 DNA were performed with a sinusoidal electric field applied across the sample. The resulting spectral densities exhibited several peaks whose number and magnitude depended upon the parameter z ( = μ EK cos(φ/2)/2π v ′, where μ is the apparent electrophoretic mobility. E is the magnitude of the applied electric field of frequency v ′. K is the scattering vector, and φ is the scattering angle). These data suggest two asymptotic values for the electrophoretic mobility, the high-frequency limit being associated with the center-of-mass motion of the T7 DNA and the low-frequency limit being identified with small-ion—polyion coupled motions.
Implemetation of Nutrition Screening at Ambulatory Health Care Sites

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To recognize effectiveness of ambulatory health care nutrition screening and intervention with a multidisciplinary team. Challenged by the institution's mission to provide and promote community well-being across the health care continuum, the registered dietitians of the Nutrition Standards of Practice Committee led the development of nutrition screening protocols at four ambulatory health care sites. After careful planning and collaboration with physicians and nurses at each site, a multidisciplinary approach was utilized. Population specific screening tools and nutrition education handouts were developed. Staff at each site were trained in the simple screening process. Self-administered questionnaires were designed to enable clinic staff to identify individuals at potential nutritional risk and provide specific nutrition education materials for basic nutrition intervention or referral to the registered dietitian for medical nutrition therapy. After implementation, 232 charts were audited with 190 (82%) of clients having completed the nutrition screening. Basic nutrition intervention was provided immediately by the clinic staff to 57 (25%) clients as basic nutrition education handouts or referral to the appropriate agency for financial or food assistance. Referral to the registered dietitian for medical nutrition therapy was made for 33 (14%) of the clients screened. Implementation of nutrition screening has enabled one clinic to target a specific client need for weight management education. Collaboration with clinic staff has led to development of a weight management protocol and exploration of alternative ways to address clients' needs in addition to individual counseling. Four more sites volunteered to participate in the nutrition screening project after hearing of successful results.
The State of State College Readiness Policies

Most public policy related to college readiness occurs at the state level, but as with any state-level policy, significant variation exists across the 50 states. To make sense of this variation and advance our empirical knowledge surrounding state college readiness policy, we pose two questions in this study: How do states group together based on their commonalities (or lack thereof) across several college readiness policies? What underlying themes emerge across college readiness policies in the context of variation across states? We find that states cluster around three distinct types of college readiness policy. We also find a significant number of states are best described not by a single college readiness policy but rather by the states’ overall low college readiness policy effort. We review how these findings align with extant research on state-level college readiness policy and discuss possible factors that may drive the variation we observe across states.
Distribution of Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis Viral Protein and Nucleic Acid Within Central Nervous Tissue Lesions in White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

An outbreak of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) occurred in Michigan free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during late summer and fall of 2005. Brain tissue from 7 deer with EEE, as confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, was studied. Detailed microscopic examination, indirect immunohistochemistry (IHC), and in situ hybridization (ISH) were used to characterize the lesions and distribution of the EEE virus within the brain. The main lesion in all 7 deer was a polioencephalomyelitis with leptomeningitis, which was more prominent within the cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem. In 3 deer, multifocal microhemorrhages surrounded smaller vessels with or without perivascular cuffing, although vasculitis was not observed. Neuronal necrosis, associated with perineuronal satellitosis and neutrophilic neuronophagia, was most prominent in the thalamus and the brainstem. Positive IHC labeling was mainly observed in the perikaryon, axons, and dendrites of necrotic and intact neurons and, to a much lesser degree, in glial cells, a few neutrophils in the thalamus and the brainstem, and occasionally the cerebral cortex of the 7 deer. There was minimal IHC-based labeling in the cerebellum and hippocampus. ISH labeling was exclusively observed in the cytoplasm of neurons, with a distribution similar to IHC-positive neurons. Neurons positive by IHC and ISH were most prominent in the thalamus and brainstem. The neuropathology of EEE in deer is compared with other species. Based on our findings, EEE has to be considered a differential diagnosis for neurologic disease and meningoencephalitis in white-tailed deer.
Performance Criteria - The Missing Link in Assessment Chain for Continuous Program Improvement

Assessment of an academic program continues to remain as a challenge for most of the engineering as well as technology programs. A successful assessment process depends on effective data collection for evaluation and continuous improvement. The weakness in this process is generally identified as Performance Criteria for each one of the harmonized student outcomes. An emphasis is given to address this issue with possible solutions to minimize the weakness and improve the continuous quality improvement process for successful accreditation. I. Introduction Assessment is an important step in the continuous quality improvement process for self- evaluation of an academic program as well as preparing for accreditation. In general the problem is either insufficient or excessive irrelevant data that does not lead to meaningful conclusions and actionable feedback. Relevant or effective data collection depends on defining performance criteria for each one of student outcomes to be evaluated. Performance criteria are a building block for continuous quality improvement and it describes specific knowledge or skill or value to demonstrate the achievement of outcomes. Since the assessment process is an open ended process, many levels exist in this process among various institutions. These levels are identified and possible solutions are suggested as typical performance criteria to each one of the outcomes given in ABET harmonized criterion 3 (a) through (k).
Intratumoral LAK cell and interleukin-2 therapy of human gliomas

Adoptive immunotherapy using lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells and interleukin-2 (IL-2) offers the possibility of a new treatment for patients with malignant glial tumors. In a clinical trial, the effectiveness of a 5-day treatment cycle of direct intratumoral administration of both LAK cells and IL-2 via a reservoir/catheter system in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas was studied. Ten patients were entered into the study, nine of whom were treated with 15 cycles of LAK cells (0.9 to 21.0 x 10(9) cells) and IL-2 (49 to 450 x 10(3) U/kg). The 10th patient in the study was not treated because of the onset of severe neurological deficits prior to beginning immunotherapy. Of the nine patients treated, one had a partial tumor response to immunotherapy as documented by computerized tomography. Neurological side effects occurred in all patients undergoing treatment and were related to increases in cerebral edema that appeared to be mediated by the immunotherapy. This report demonstrates the present limitations of regional adoptive immunotherapy with LAK cells and IL-2 in the treatment of human glial tumors.
Security and privacy using one-round zero-knowledge proofs

A zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is an interactive proof that allows a prover to prove the knowledge of a secret to a verifier without revealing it. ZKPs are powerful tools to deal with critical applications in security e-commerce. Existing ZKPs are iterative in nature; their protocols require multiple communication rounds. The cost of iteration makes ZKPs unsuitable in practice. We propose a new protocol that meets all the requirements of ZKPs, yet runs in one round. The new approach substantially reduces computation and communications costs. It makes ZKPs more suitable for practical cryptographic systems for both government and commercial applications.
Mop: an efficient and generic runtime verification framework

Monitoring-Oriented Programming (MOP1) [21, 18, 22, 19] is a formal framework for software development and analysis, in which the developer specifies desired properties using definable specification formalisms, along with code to execute when properties are violated or validated. The MOP framework automatically generates monitors from the specified properties and then integrates them together with the user-defined code into the original system. The previous design of MOP only allowed specifications without parameters, so it could not be used to state and monitor safety properties referring to two or more related objects. In this paper we propose a parametric specification formalism-independent extension of MOP, together with an implementation of JavaMOP that supports parameters. In our current implementation, parametric specifications are translated into AspectJ code and then weaved into the application using off-the-shelf AspectJ compilers; hence, MOP specifications can be seen as formal or logical aspects. Our JavaMOP implementation was extensively evaluated on two benchmarks, Dacapo [14] and Tracematches [8], showing that runtime verification in general and MOP in particular are feasible. In some of the examples, millions of monitor instances are generated, each observing a set of related objects. To keep the runtime overhead of monitoring and event observation low, we devised and implemented a decentralized indexing optimization. Less than 8% of the experiments showed more than 10% runtime overhead; in most cases our tool generates monitoring code as efficient as the hand-optimized code. Despite its genericity, JavaMOP is empirically shown to be more efficient than runtime verification systems specialized and optimized for particular specification formalisms. Many property violations were detected during our experiments; some of them are benign, others indicate defects in programs. Many of these are subtle and hard to find by ordinary testing.
Magic Lenses for augmented virtual environments

The authors developed a Magic Lens framework for Scape, an augmented virtual environment (AVE). They generalize the functional characteristics of Magic Lenses in terms of 3D visualization in AVEs and present two tangible Magic Lens-enabled devices with complementary interface capabilities. The authors also demonstrate their Magic Lens devices through testbed applications relevant to urban planning and medical training. This article explores an interface technique that manages viewing complexity and offers a set of versatile visualization capabilities in 3D augmented virtual environments (AVE)
Overlapping Cretaceous and Eocene Alteration, Twin Creeks Carlin-Type Deposit, Nevada

We report here new Ar-Ar dates for adularia, illite, and muscovite from the Twin Creeks Carlin-type deposit. All illite samples were obtained from altered intrusive and volcanic rocks that are interlayered with mineralized sedimentary rocks, thus largely avoiding complications caused by detrital illite and muscovite in sedimentary rocks. Interpretation of the illite-age spectra was based, in part, on newly developed models for the behavior of argon in fine-grained illite. The results indicate that all adularia (in the Megapit area) formed at about 42 Ma (Eocene), whereas most illite in the Megapit area and muscovite in alteration zones beneath Chimney Creek formed at about 109 to 103 Ma (Cretaceous). Additional events involving formation of illite at 200 Ma and muscovite at about 310 Ma were also observed but were not widespread enough to be considered significant. Our Eocene date for adularia is in complete agreement with previous measurements on adularia from Twin Creeks, but our Cretaceous dates are considerably older than dates determined in previous studies of the nearby Getchell district, particularly the Osgood stock, which has a date of 98 to 92 Ma. Our results suggest that the Osgood stock is part of a more protracted Cretaceous igneous-hydrothermal event that took place between about 109 and 83 Ma. The relationship of adularia and illite to gold mineralization is not completely clear, making it impossible to use our data to assign a unique age to the Twin Creeks deposit. We favor an Eocene age for some gold mineralization because the adularia that we dated is intimately intergrown with auriferous, arsenian pyrite typical of Carlin-type mineralization. However, adularia has a very restricted distribution in the deposit and temperatures at which it formed were probably not great enough to reset Cretaceous and older ages of illite. Illite is much more widespread and its association with gold is supported by correlation between gold content and K/Al ratios of mineralized material. Thus, Cretaceous illitization was at least an important ground-preparing event at Twin Creeks, and it is not possible to show from our data that gold ore or protore were not deposited during this event.
Multiple sclerosis affects the frequency content in the vertical ground reaction forces during walking

Background Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease that results in a high incident of gait disturbance. Exploring the frequency content of the ground reaction forces generated during walking may provide additional insights to gait in patients with multiple sclerosis that could lead to specific tools for differential diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the frequency content of these forces in an effort to contribute to improved clinical management of this disease.
Risk of Injury Associated with Skeletal Muscle Relaxant Use in Older Adults

BACKGROUNDThe use of skeletal muscle relaxants (SMRs) among older adults is associated with sedation and confusion, which may lead to an increased risk of falls and injuries. SMRs continue to be used among older adults, although they are on the Beers list as drugs to avoid in the elderly.OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between SMR use and subsequent risk of injury.METHODSThis was a retrospective case-control study of members aged 65 years or older enrolled in an integrated health care system. Cases were defined as patients with a documented injury resulting in either a hospitalization or an emergency department or urgent care visit from January 2009 through December 2010. Cases were matched to controls in a 1:4 ratio by age and sex. Patients had to be enrolled and alive on the date of an injury (index date). SMR exposure for all cases and controls was evaluated within 60 days prior to the index date. Conditional logistic regression adjusted for covariates was performed, with risk estimates presen...
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and C1q Differentially Regulate Inflammatory Gene Induction by Lupus Immune Complexes

Immune complexes (ICs) play a pivotal role in causing inflammation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Yet, it remains unclear what the dominant blood cell type(s) and inflammation-related gene programs stimulated by lupus ICs are. To address these questions, we exposed normal human PBMCs or CD14+ isolated monocytes to SLE ICs in the presence or absence of C1q and performed microarray analysis and other tests for cell activation. By microarray analysis, we identified genes and pathways regulated by SLE ICs that are both type I IFN dependent and independent. We also found that C1q-containing ICs markedly reduced expression of the majority of IFN-response genes and also influenced the expression of multiple other genes induced by SLE ICs. Surprisingly, IC activation of isolated CD14+ monocytes did not upregulate CD40 and CD86 and only modestly stimulated inflammatory gene expression. However, when monocyte subsets were purified and analyzed separately, the low-abundance CD14dim (“patrolling”) subpopulation was more responsive to ICs. These observations demonstrate the importance of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, CD14dim monocytes, and C1q as key regulators of inflammatory properties of ICs and identify many pathways through which they act.
Recent Measures to Improve Radiology Reporting: Perspectives From Primary Care Physicians

Purpose There is considerable interest in improving radiology reporting practices. It has been suggested recently that reporting practices could be improved by more direct involvement of radiologists in delivering results to patients and by making clear recommendations within the radiology report. The opinions of primary care physicians about these initiatives are not well known. The authors surveyed primary care physicians to better understand their views. Methods An online survey was distributed to 229 primary care physicians through an internal list server, and responses were collected confidentially. Results There were 100 responses (a 43.6% response rate). The majority of respondents were satisfied with radiology reporting and recommendations in general. Ninety-five percent of respondents felt that ordering physicians should deliver the results of examinations. No respondents felt that radiologists should deliver results directly to patients. Ninety-four percent of respondents felt medicolegally obligated by recommendations made by radiologists within their reports. Twenty-three percent of respondents felt more medicolegally obligated if the recommendation is set apart from the clinical impression, while 58% of respondents felt less medicolegally obligated if qualifying language is added to the recommendation. Conclusions Primary care physicians prefer to deliver the results of examinations themselves and feel medicolegally obligated by recommendations within radiology reports, even though this seems to be influenced by the wording and location of the recommendations within reports. Radiologists should consider these factors when contemplating changes in reporting practices.
Efficient Method of Measuring Effective Mass of a System

Effective mass is a system property that is used in the aerospace industry in predicting the forces of an elastic payload on the delivery system in a specific direction. Effective mass is usually calculated with the finite element model. Experimental effective mass can be used to validate calculated effective mass from a finite element model. Measuring the effective mass of a system, however, has been difficult and has been attempted by putting force sensors between the payload and a test base. A much more tractable method amenable to a payload mounted on a slip table is provided here. The method measures a driving point and a base frequency response function and uses a recently developed method to constrain the base response and calculate the effective mass. This theory will be demonstrated with an analytical system and example hardware.
The γδT Cell Receptor

Publisher Summary Along with important conceptual similarities, there are also fundamental differences in structure and in the mode of operation of the antigen receptors on B and T cells. The B lymphocyte receptor is the immunoglobulin molecule. The large number of antibody molecules that can be produced by the organism result in part from somatic recombination of germ-line variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J), and constant (C) gene segments to form a contiguous (rearranged) gene, encoding an immunoglobulin polypeptide chain. Antibody diversity is extensive and is contributed by hundreds of V gene segments, dozens of D gene segments, and several J gene segments. The paired light and heavy chains of each antibody molecule form a unique site that is involved in the recognition of antigen; in turn, this unique site may be recognized by other antibodies as an idiotypic determinant. T cells differ from B cells in antigen recognition, because they often recognize different determinants, generally do not react with soluble or free antigen, and recognize antigen on the cell surface and only in conjunction with products encoded by self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. The 55 kDa species could be immunoprecipitated using antiserum made against synthetic peptides corresponding to the deduced amino acid sequence of a human TCR γ cDNA clone, suggesting that it was the elusive protein product of the TCR γ gene. The 40-kDa species failed to react with anti-TCR γ sera, and thus appeared to represent an additional component of the TCR γ –CD3 complex, which was termed “TCR δ .”
PoP Package Warpage Contributors' Characterization and Impact Analysis

Package-on-package (PoP) technology has been widely adopted in application processor's construction for today's mobile equipment such as smart phones and tablets. One of the key tasks in a successful PoP configuration is the PoP bottom package's warpage control. Due to shorter and shorter schedule demand of such configuration's development and execution – sometimes it could be as little as half a year, the development process to identify a optimized PoP bottom package cannot take the traditional way of multiple iterations through large scale, time consuming and complex DOE's. It is therefore needed to study and understand the key warpage contributors and how significant each contributor's impact is so that educated preliminary packaging parameters can be set and intelligent DOE's can be designed. This is the major purpose of this paper.
Ebola: Lessons from a human tragedy

The West African Ebola outbreak brought death and disruption on an unprecedented scale. But in its wake comes new knowledge to help model and respond to future epidemics. Maimuna Majumder reports
Anti-HIV activities of precisely defined, semirigid, carboxylated alternating copolymers.

Di-tert-butyl (E)-4,4′-stilbenedicarboxylate and tert-butyl 4-vinylbenzoate were copolymerized with maleic anhydride and tert-butyl 4-maleimidobenzoate, individually and respectively. After conversion into polyanions, these four copolymers exhibited activity against four HIV-1 strains: IIIb, BaL, JR-CSF, and 92UG037. For both the IIIb and BaL HIV-1 strains, the lowest IC50 (0.095 and 0.23 μg/mL, respectively) values were obtained with poly(4,4′-stilbenedicarboxylate-alt-maleic acid) (DCSti-alt-MA). For JR-CSF and 92UG037, both tier 2 clinical isolates but different clades, DCSti-alt-MA exhibited the lowest IC50 (0.76 and 0.75 μg/mL, respectively). Although DCSti-alt-MA had the lowest IC50 in μg/mL for each strain, the other copolymers had IC50s less than 2-fold higher. Further, these copolymers achieved high selectivity indices (>100) for these clinical isolates. Polymer rigidity, as measured by the statistical segment length, emerged as a key property when comparing anti-HIV activities with those of othe...
Contributions to the Morphology and Phylogeny of the Reduvioidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Part III. The Male and Female Genitalia

The need for reassessment of the subfamily classification is noted. To provide a terminology and basis for evaluation of the genital characters, the morphology of the genitalia of representatives of most subfamilies has been studied. The abdomen is characterized by the fusion of the pregenital segments, development of connexiva, and the dorsal position of the first spiracles. In some, greater expansion of the abdomen is made possible by connexival membranes. In repose the first valvulae and styloids of the female form the ventral tip of the abdomen; the second valvulae are concealed and the second valvifer is reduced to a rodlike sclerite. The position of the eighth spiracle and modification of the eighth tergum in the female varies with subfamilies and may be useful in showing relationships. In the male the connexivum extends across the end of the abdomen through the seventh segment. The eighth segment is reduced to a small ventral sclerite and the ninth segment (genital capsule) is, at rest, drawn into the seventh segment so that it is largely concealed from above. The phallus is characterized by a pedicle enclosing part of the ejaculatory duct, by struts, and by its differentiation into phallotheca and phallobase. The phallus in some but not all subfamilies has useful systematic characters. The various genital characteristics indicate a very close relationship between the Reduviidae and Pachynomidae, and the Thaumastocoridae also appear to be related. These characteristics do not show a close relationship of the reduviids to the Joppeicidae and Tingidae.
Epidemiological Analysis on Varicella in Gurangxi Province during 2006—2009

[Objective]To understand the incidence and epidemic features of varicella in Guangxi Province in recent years, and provide scientific evidence for developing control strategies.[Methods]The varicella epidemic of Guangxi Province was analyzed by national disease prevention and control information system and Excel.[Results]A total of 14 861 cases of varicella were reported in Guangxi Province in recent 4 years, the average annual incidence was 7.84/100 000, with 170 outbreaks. Most cases concentrated in January, April, May, June, November and December, occupying 74.07% of annual total cases. The sex ratio of male to female was 1.46, most cases (79.51%) aged from 3 to 10 years, students and children patients accounted for 96.04%. Most outbreaks occurred in primary schools.[Conclusion]Varicella has seriously influenced the physical and mental health and study lives of students and children, which should be attached importance.
Universalism in 3 Baruch

This article argues that universalistic themes of the apocalyptic work 3 Baruch should be seen as evidence for the integrity of the text's ending. The author of the work emphasizes the unity of the human condition through a firmly structured cosmology and universalistic moral demands. The text presents the figures associated with the Tower of Babel, a vision of a phoenix protecting the world, and a heavenly temple scene with the archangel Michael, as helping the seer Baruch to acknowledge God's dominion over the world. 3 Baruch presents God's glory as tied to a concern for all people and control over the cosmos. The structure and episodes created by the author of the text work to downplay Jewish particularism and halakhic commands as a response to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans.
EDM in a Complex and Changing World

We've started to answer the questions of what we can model through EDM, and we're getting better and better at modeling each year. We publish papers that present solid numbers under reasonably stringent cross-validation, and we find that our models don't just agree with training labels, but can predict future performance and engagement as well. We're making progress as a field in figuring out how to use these models to drive and support intervention, although there's a whole lot more to learn. But when and where can we trust our models? One of the greatest powers of EDM models is that we can use them outside the contexts in which they were originally developed, but how can we trust that we're doing so wisely and safely? Theory from machine learning and statistics can be used to study generalizability, and we know empirically that models developed with explicit attention to generalizability and construct validity are more likely to generalize and to be valid. But our conceptions and characterizations of population and context remain insufficient to fully answer the question of whether a model will be valid where will apply it. What's worse, the world is constantly changing; the model that works today may not work tomorrow, if the context changes in important ways, and we don't know yet which changes matter. In this talk, I will illustrate these issues by discussing our work to develop models that generalize across urban, rural, and suburban settings in the United States, and to study model generalizability internationally. I will discuss work from other groups that starts to think more carefully about characterizing context and population in a concrete and precise fashion; where this work is successful, and where it remains incomplete. By considering these issues more thoroughly, we can become increasingly confident in the applicability, validity, and usefulness of our models for broad and general use, a necessity for using EDM in a complex and changing world.
Intraoperative spinal digital subtraction angiography: indications, technique, safety, and clinical impact

Background Cerebral intraoperative DSA (IODSA) is a well-described, routinely performed procedure that allows the effectiveness of cerebrovascular interventions to be evaluated in the operating room. Spinal IODSA, on the other hand, is infrequently obtained and has received less attention. Objective To discuss the indications, technique, safety, and clinical impact of spinal IODSA. Materials and methods Twenty-three patients underwent 45 thoracic and/or lumbar spinal IODSA between 2005 and 2016, either immediately before surgery for lesion localization or after the intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. Indications included 21 vascular malformations and 2 diaphragmatic crus compression syndromes. A long femoral arterial sheath with its hub positioned on the lateral surface of the thigh was used to allow catheter manipulations in the prone position. Results All targeted intersegmental arteries (ISAs) were successfully catheterized. The course of surgery was changed in 6 instances (26.1%). In 4 cases of epidural or perimedullary arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs), a residual lesion required additional intervention. In one case of epidural AVF, initial IODSA revealed spontaneous resolution of the lesion, preventing unnecessary surgery. Finally, angiography performed in a case of diaphragmatic crus syndrome showed thrombosis of the ISA and non-visualization of the artery of Adamkiewicz. Recanalization was obtained by IA thrombolysis, with excellent clinical outcome. No intraprocedural or postprocedural complication was noted. Conclusions Spinal IODSA is a safe technique that offers an immediate assessment of the effectiveness of a spinovascular surgical procedure, notably epidural and perimedullary AVFs. Spinal IODSA was technically successful in all cases, influencing the surgical strategy in 6 of 23 patients, including one patient who benefited from intraoperative endovascular therapy.
Initial progress with numerical modelling of scattered light in a candidate eLISA telescope

We report a numerical analysis of the scattered light from within the field of view of an eLISA-like full-duplex telescope and, by comparison to a nominal allowable scattered light specification, we place constraints on the permissible mirror surface roughness and contamination levels of the mirrors. Our analysis was performed with commercially available stray light software, typically used in non-interferometric imaging telescopes and we do not include polarization or coherent effects. This work therefore represents the early steps towards a more complete understanding of the scattered light budget.
Design and Synthesis of the Hydroxamic Acid Variants Antitumorigenic and Antimetastatic Hydroxamate Based Ac-PHSXX′-NH2 Sequences

One of the best characterized integrin-ligand interactions is αβ binding to fibronectin (FN). The RGD sequence in the FN III domain 10 (FN 10) is the key binding site for α5β1 integrin [1], But the FN III domain 9 (FN9) also contributes importantly to adhesion, and the critical minimal sequence in this domain is a pentapeptide with the sequence PHSRN. Because this region has the potential to enhance overall binding to the integrin, the adhesive region in FN9 has been called the synergy site [2]. Livant and coworkers reported PHSRN sequence induced invasion through α5β1 integrin by interacting with the third NH2 terminal domain of the α5 chain, which forms a pocket that may contain a divalent cation [3–5]. PHSCN, a competitive inhibitor, blocked both PHSRN- and serum-induced invasion [5]. An acetylated, amidated PHSCN was 30-fold more potent. Thus, Ac-PHSCN-NH2 may be a potent antitumorigenic and antimetastatic agent for postsurgical use prior to extensive metastasis [5].