cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Toxigenesis in Cooked Turkey Stored under Modified Atmospheres

The ability of nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum type B spores to grow and produce toxin in cooked, uncured turkey packaged under modified atmospheres was investigated at refrigeration and mild to moderate abuse temperatures. Cook-in-bag turkey breast was carved into small chunks, surface-inoculated with a mixture of nonproteolytic C. botulinum type B spores, packaged in O2-impermeable bags under two modified atmospheres (100% N2 and 30% CO2:70% N2), and stored at 4, 10, and 15 degrees C. Samples were analyzed for botulinal toxin and indigenous microorganisms, as well as subjected to sensory evaluation, on days 0, 7, 14, 28, 42, and 60. Given sufficient incubation time, nonproteolytic C. botulinum type B grew and produced toxin in all temperature and modified atmosphere treatment combinations. At moderate temperature abuse (15 degrees C), toxin was detected by day 7, independent of packaging atmosphere. At mild temperature abuse (10 degrees C), toxin was detected by day 14, also independent of packaging atmosphere. At refrigeration temperature (4 degrees C), toxin was detected by day 14 in product packaged under 100% N2 and by day 28 in product packaged under 30% CO2:70% N2. Reduced storage temperature significantly delayed toxin production and extended the period of sensory acceptability of cooked turkey, but even strict refrigeration did not prevent growth and toxigenesis by nonproteolytic C. botulinum. At all three storage temperatures, toxin detection preceded or coincided with development of sensory characteristics of spoilage, demonstrating the potential for consumption of toxic product when spoilage-signaling sensory cues are absent.
Topical drug-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus isolated to the hands

Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) is a well-defined subtype of lupus erythematosus, characterised by photosensitivity, annular and/or psoriasiform lesions, variable systemic involvement and presence of circulating SSA/anti-Ro antibodies. SCLE may be idiopathic or drug-induced. Both the idiopathic and drug-induced forms of SCLE are analogous in their clinical, serological and histological features. Drug-induced SCLE has been reported with various oral agents, but to our knowledge this is the first reported case due to a topical medication. A 34-year-old female foot masseuse presented with a 2-month history of scaly, erythematous lesions isolated to the dorsal hands and interdigital spaces. She had used topical terbinafine, a topical antifungal cream, to her clients’ feet for a number of years. ANA and anti-SSA/Ro antibodies were positive. Physical examination, serology and histopathology were consistent with SCLE. We propose that our patient9s unique presentation of SCLE may be explained by a prolonged occupational exposure to topical terbinafine as a foot masseuse. While oral terbinafine is a drug known to cause drug-induced SCLE, to our knowledge, this is the first topically induced form of the disease.
Cenozoic tectonic and thermal history of the Nenana basin, central interior Alaska: new constraints from seismic reflection data, fracture history, and apatite fission-track analyses

The Nenana basin of interior Alaska forms a segment of the diffuse plate boundary between the Bering and North American plates and is located within a complex zone of crustal-scale strike-slip deformation that accommodates compressional stresses in response to oblique plate convergence to the south. The basin is currently the focus of new oil and gas exploration. Integration of seismic reflection and well data, fracture data, and apatite fission-track analyses with regional data improves our understanding of the tectonic development of this continental strike-slip basin. The Nenana basin formed during the Late Paleocene as a 13 km wide half-graben, affected by regional intraplate magmatism and localized crustal thinning across the Minto Fault in south-central Alaska. The basin was uplifted and exhumed along this faulted margin in the Early Eocene through to Late Oligocene in response to oblique subduction along the southern Alaska margin. This event resulted in the removal of up to 1.5 km of Late Paleocen...
Remote page faults with a CAPI based FPGA

Post-copy VM or container migration requires that the bulk of the memory is transferred after resuming on the destination node [3]. Transferring memory between nodes over a commodity TCP/IP network incurs too much latency, which slows down execution of the application on the destination node.
Interfacial Thermal Transport in Monolayer MoS2- and Graphene-Based Devices

In many device architectures based on 2D materials, a major part of the heat generated in hot-spots dissipates in the through-plane direction where the interfacial thermal resistances can significantly restrain the heat removal capability of the device. Despite its importance, there is an enormous (1–2 orders of magnitude) disagreement in the literature on the interfacial thermal transport characteristics of MoS2 and other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) (0.1–14 MW m−2 K−1). In this report, the thermal boundary conductance (TBC) across MoS2 and graphene monolayers with SiO2/Si and sapphire substrates is systematically investigated using a custom-made electrical thermometry platform followed by 3D finite element analyses. Through comparative experiments, the TBC at 295 K across MoS2 is found to be 20.3–33.5 MW m−2 K−1 on SiO2/Si, and 19–37.5 MW m−2 K−1 on c-sapphire, respectively, but far larger than the previous Raman-based measurements on TMDs with optical heating (0.1–2 MW m−2 K−1). This study also investigates the effects of processing quality and potential interface contaminants, substrate properties, and encapsulation on TBC across MoS2 and graphene monolayers. Our results reveal that the emergence of Rayleigh wave modes dramatically contributes to the interfacial conductance across encapsulated 2D monolayers. This finding opens up an additional pathway to improve heat dissipation in 2D-based devices through engineering of an encapsulating layer.
Does it matter how Molly does it? Person-presentation of strategies and transfer in mathematics

Abstract Educational materials often present general concepts or strategies via specific people. Although this practice may enhance interest, it may also have costs for learning and transfer. Linking a strategy to a person (e.g., “Molly’s strategy”) could result in narrower transfer because students infer that the strategy is specific to the person, rather than a general strategy they should adopt. The present study tested this hypothesis among middle school students (N = 191) who learned a novel strategy for solving a mathematics story problem. For some students, the strategy example was presented via a specific person, and for others it was not. Students then solved posttest problems and rated the generality of the strategy. Students who saw the example without the person were more likely to transfer the strategy to new problems, and this effect was mediated by students’ perceptions of the strategy’s generality. Thus, associating information with a person substantially limits the extent to which students transfer their knowledge.
Detection of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid by immunofixation electrophoresis.

Multiple sclerosis is a severe demyelinating disease, the diagnosis of which is aided by biochemical tests, such as detection of oligoclonal immunoglobulin bands in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Because interpretation of agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) of CSF for oligoclonal bands is often equivocal, we compared immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) with AGE for 124 consecutive CSF specimens submitted to the Parkland Memorial Hospital Clinical Chemistry Laboratory (Dallas, Tex) for detection of oligoclonal bands. Both methods used the Paragon Electrophoresis Systems (Beckman Instruments, Brea, Calif). Anti-IgG antisera was used exclusively on all specimens. Oligoclonal bands were identified in 23 specimens (18.5%), while the other 101 (81.5%) were interpreted as negative by both methods. Of the positive specimens, 17 (74%) were positive by both methods, 5 (22%) by IFE alone, and 1 (4%) by AGE alone. Of the 23 patients with positive specimens represented, 17 (74%) had been given a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The patient whose specimen was positive by AGE alone had a diagnosis of HIV infection with Guillain-Barre syndrome. The sensitivities (with 95% confidence intervals) of IFE and AGE were 73.9% (51.3-88.9) and 56.5% (34.9-76.1), respectively. The specificities of both methods were identical at 95.0% (88.3-98.2). Subjective assessment of the gels demonstrated that the IFE method is consistently easier to interpret than AGE. The IFE method seems to be superior in identifying oligoclonal bands and thus aiding in diagnosis of demyelinating disorders.
Missionary Children: Correlates of Self-Esteem and Dependency:

The purpose of the research was to study the correlates of self-esteem, negative attention-seeking dependency, and passive-approval-seeking dependency in missionary boarding school and nonboarding ...
Time for Value-Based Payment Models to Adopt a Disparities-Sensitive Frame Shift.

Evidence suggests that the current growth in value-based payment models may unintentionally worsen health care disparities by disadvantaging hospitals caring for socially at-risk populations. To ad...
Spike localization in Zero Time of Echo (ZTE) magnetic resonance imaging

This paper considers Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of objects which are assumed to be composed of only a finite number of spikes. These spikes could be the population of cells labeled with perfluorocarbon nanoemulsion tracer agents for 19F MRI detection, used for cell tracking applications. It is further assumed that samples in the k-space are acquired through a 3D radial sampling scheme. This scenario can happen when one is using a Zero Time of Echo (ZTE) sampling technique, in which the data acquisition is started immediately after radiofrequency (RF) excitation pulse. Due to the structure of 3D radial sampling, one may not be able to use conventional 3D Fourier transform in order to reconstruct the image, as the samples are not located on Cartesian grid. We directly write the Fourier transform in the spherical domain, and by computing Spherical Harmonic Transforms (SHT) along concentric spheres, we cast this problem as decomposition of spherical Bessel functions. By using an approximation of spherical Bessel function, we rewrite this problem as a variant of atomic norm minimization framework, which could be written as a convex semidefinite program (SDP), and can be solved by off-the-shelf solvers. Our approach shows a promising numerical performance. 1
PID Controller Synthesis Using a $\sigma$ -Hurwitz Stability Criterion

This letter proposes a new approach to design Proportional-Integral (PI) and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers. The main result is a constructive determination of the set $\mathcal {S}$ ( $\sigma $ ) of stabilizing PI and PID controllers with closed loop poles having real parts less than $-\sigma $ . The signature method is applied to obtain the set $\mathcal {S}$ ( $\sigma $ ) in the controller parameter space. Illustrative examples are included to describe the procedure of the proposed method and to find the maximum achievable $\sigma $ for a given plant.
Marketing/Finance Executives Personal and Business Value Perspectives: Implications for Market-Focused Management

The concept of Market-Focused Management posits that the ultimate goal of the organization is the satisfaction of custumers' needs. In doing so other objectives of the firm, including financial objectives such as increasing shareholder wealth and long term profitability, will be achieved. The chief marketing and financial officers of the Fortune 1000 firms were surveyed regarding their personal values and a variety of organizational values relating to company stakeholders, organizational goals, appropriate strategies and tactics, competitive strengths and advantages. While both groups exhibited some differences, there was a startling amount of consensus in all areas surveyed. Both groups ranked shareholders and customers as the two most important stakeholders. While the overall goal of customer satisfaction was ranked by both groups as the most important organizational goal, the means to achieving that end differ somewhat. While a large number of organizational values were related to personal value strength, there was little overlap in the relationships between the two groups, although both groups are overwhelmingly driven by other-focused values such as warm relationships with others, sense of belonging and being well respected. Thus, it was concluded that similar personal values lead marketing and financial managers to substantially different attitudinal schema in their approach to managing their responsibilites.
Isothermal Compression of V, Nb, and Ta to 100 Kbar: Correlation with Ultrasonic, Shock Wave, and other Static Data

The transition metals in group VB (V, Nb, and Ta) have bcc structure and easily form bcc alloys with hcp metals in group IVB, and with bcc metals in group VIB. The bcc structure of the VB metals is stable to melting temperatures and is considered to be stable under pressures of the order of several megabars, as no phase transformation has yet been found at these pressures. Their pressurevolume (P-V) relationships have been investigated by three different means: (1) by direct static, isothermal compression measurements up to 30 kbar [1–3] and up to 45 kbar [4,5]; (2) by use of an equation of State utilizing the ultrasonically measured values of bulk modulus (Ko) and its pressure derivative (Ko′) [6–9]; and (3) by reduction of the shock wave Hugoniot data to isothermal P-V relationships based on certain thermodynamic considerations [10,11].
Curiosity, Psychology of

Curiosity refers to the desire for information in the absence of any expected extrinsic benefit. Curiosity research unfolded in two waves. The first peaked around 1960 and addressed the question of curiosity's underlying cause. A number of different theories were proposed which either viewed curiosity as a primary or secondary (derivative) drive or motive. The second, which peaked in the late 1970s, focused on the problem of measuring individual and group differences in curiosity. Despite some important discoveries and theoretical advances, there remains a pressing need for more research on the situational determinants and neural underpinnings of curiosity.
Office-based surgery and patient outcomes.

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the current knowledge about patient safety and outcomes in the office-based setting. Ambulatory procedures performed outside the hospital are steadily increasing, resulting in an increasing number and complexity of office-based procedures and patient comorbidities over the past two decades. In this review we focus on most recent outcomes studies encompassing different surgical specialties and patient populations. Recent findings Rates of complications in the office-based surgical (OBS) setting from the latest publications are similar to, or lower than previously reported studies. Many of the studies published were in the field of plastic surgery, with a few publications on office vascular and dental procedures. The most common complications were haematoma, infection and venous thromboembolism (VTE) and pulmonary embolism. Death was a rare finding, though when it occurred, it was often associated with VTE/pulmonary emboli and abdominoplasties. Summary Overall, these studies contribute positively to our current understanding of the safety of office-based anaesthesia. As an increasing number of procedures migrate from the hospital setting to ambulatory and office-based environments, it will be critically important to ensure high quality and safe patient care in these settings.
Neural Network Based Time-Frequency Masking and Steering Vector Estimation for Two-Channel Mvdr Beamforming

We present a neural network based approach to two-channel beamforming. First, single- and cross-channel spectral features are extracted to form a feature map for each utterance. A large neural network that is the concatenation of a convolution neural network (CNN), long short-term memory recurrent neural network (LSTM-RNN) and deep neural network (DNN) is then employed to estimate frame-level speech and noise masks. Later, these predicted masks are used to compute cross-power spectral density (CPSD) matrices which are used to estimate the minimum variance distortion-less response (MVDR) beamformer coefficients. In the end, a DNN is trained to optimize the phase in the estimated steering vectors to make it robust for reverberant conditions. We compare our methods with two state-of-the-art two-channel speech enhancement systems, i.e., time-frequency masking and masking-based beamforming. Results show the proposed method leads to 21 % relative improvement in word error rate (WER) over other systems.
A Machine Learning Approach to Accurate Sequence-Level Rate Control Scheme for Video Coding

In this paper, we propose a two-pass encoding framework to handle the problem of sequence-level rate control. We consider the sequence-level encoding parameter constant rate factor (CRF) as the factor to be adjusted. The proposed framework mainly has two key contributions. First, we provide a second order model to characterize the relationship between the bitrate and CRF. The proposed second order model outperforms the traditional linear model significantly. Second, we adopt a shallow neural network to train the relationship between the content-dependent features with the second-order model parameters. The proposed neural network is quite simple but able to estimate the model parameters accurately. We implement the proposed algorithm under tensorflow. Experimental results show that our proposed method obviously outperforms the state-of-the-art method.
SBRT for High-Risk Prostate Cancer

SBRT may potentially replace HDR brachytherapy. Theoretical advantages include: (1) a shorter learning curve; (2) similar radiobiological advantages to HDR; (3) the absence of a need for anesthesia; (4) patient convenience. However, there are limited long-term results and there may be subsets of patients for whom SBRT is contraindicated (e.g. men with a prominent median lobe, those with a neurologic movement disorder) and some insurance companies do not coverage for SBRT. Ideally randomized studies are needed to define the role of SBRT in High Risk patients and answer questions concerning the use of ADT and pelvic RT.
Physical Home Environment Is Associated with Prefrontal Cortical Thickness in Adolescents.

Biologically embedded experiences alter developmental trajectories in ways that can influence health, learning, and/or behavior. These systematic differences in experiences may contribute to different biological outcomes as individuals grow and develop, including at the neural level. Previous studies of biologically embedded experiences on neurodevelopment have focused on large-scale institutional or economic factors (e.g. socioeconomic status [SES]) and psychosocial factors (e.g. caregiving behavior). Less attention has focused on how the quality of the immediate home settings, such as the physical home environment (PHYS), influences neurodevelopment. Moreover, no study has investigated these effects in adolescents, who undergo significant physical maturation and neurodevelopment that may influence how they respond to their physical environments. The goal of the current study was to examine whether PHYS quality is biologically embedded in the developing adolescent brain as evidenced by cognitive achievement and cortical development in 56 (48% female) healthy adolescents (14-18 years (M = 16.83 years, SD = 1.17). Using in-home assessments of the physical home environment, anatomical brain scans, and indices of academic achievement, we found that adolescents who have more physical problems in the home (e.g. structural hazards, crowding, excessive noise, poorly lit) have thinner prefrontal cortices, which was associated with lower levels of reading achievement, independent of SES and psychosocial factors. By conducting home visits to assess physical characteristics of adolescents' home, we highlight a typically overlooked aspect of the home environment that has relevance for adolescents' cognitive and brain development.
Financial development curse in resource-rich countries: The role of commodity price shocks

Abstract Why do commodity-dependent developing countries have typically lower levels of financial development than their peers? The literature has proposed many possible explanations, but there is no consensus. In this paper, we explore whether the shocks to commodity prices can lead to lower financial development. We test the hypothesis on 68 commodity-rich developing countries over the period 1980–2014, and we find strong evidence of the financial development curse through the channel of commodity price shocks. We also show that the impact of these shocks can be mitigated through good quality of governance.
Decoupled Effects of Localized Camber and Spanwise Bending for Flexible Thin Wing

Investigated and revealed are new insights into the individual, decoupled effects of induced camber and spanwise bending on the lift, drag, and endurance for an optimum flexibility membrane-and-fra...
Do Routine Radiographs Obtained at Initial Outpatient Postoperative Visit Change Management

Routine postoperative radiographs are commonly obtained at the initial postoperative visit. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical utility of routine postoperative radiographs and quantify the radiation exposure and cost to the health care system. All orthopaedic surgeries performed during 2007 at a level I trauma center were retrospectively analyzed. Surgical procedures that were likely to require follow-up radiographs were included. Analysis demonstrated 878 procedures with 471 procedures (54%) receiving initial postoperative radiographs. Routine radiographs were performed in 455 (96.6%) procedures with 4/455 (0.879%) resulting in a change in management. Nonroutine radiographs were performed in 16 (3.40%) procedures with 2/16 (12.5%) triggering a change in management. Subjects receiving radiographs at the initial postoperative visit obtained a mean of 2.54 radiographs per procedure with a mean exposure of 0.199 mSv with a median cost of $29.98 per radiographic series in 2013 Medicare reimbursement dollars. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances.
Opioid use disorder education for acute care nurses: An integrative review

Aims and objectives The purpose of this study was to explore opioid use disorder (OUD) education programmes presented to practicing nurses working in medical-surgical settings and identify the methods used to evaluate their effectiveness. Background Health professionals often express negative attitudes towards patients with OUD which can lead to suboptimal care. Education decreases negative attitudes of healthcare workers. Despite this, few educational programmes are offered to promote knowledge among acute care nurses who work in medical-surgical settings and provide care to patients with OUD. Design An integrative review. Methods The framework by Whittemore and Knafl was used to examine empirical literature between 1995-2019 to answer the research questions, (a) What types of education do acute care nurses receive regarding OUD? (b) What methods are used for measuring educational intervention effectiveness? CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO and MEDLINE were searched using combinations of search terms and PRISMA guidelines. The initial 394 articles were narrowed to nine from the United States and Australia that met the search criteria and purpose of the review. Results Educational programmes used to promote knowledge included interactive workshops, case studies, online modules, simulation sessions, real-time coaching and in-service trainings. Methods used to measure effectiveness of educational interventions were self-assessment tools that measured pre/postknowledge, attitude surveys, alcohol and drug scales and individual researcher-developed instruments. Conclusions Additional research is needed to determine best teaching strategies for increasing knowledge of OUD and OUD patient care. Valid and reliable methods for measuring effectiveness of OUD educational interventions are inadequate. Relevance to clinical practice Knowledge of OUD has been linked to positive patient outcomes and nurses would benefit from up-to-date educational offerings. Opioid use disorder is a growing global concern. Translation of current OUD nursing science to acute care nurses would promote health equity in practice for individuals with OUD.
Landscapes of movement on lowcountry rice plantations

Navigable waterways were essential to European colonization of the South Carolina Lowcountry beginning in the late 17th century. Despite early attempts by colonial leaders to keep land grants withi...
The role of p53 and p21 in cancer therapy with MDM2 inhibitor.

3635 MDM2 is amplified or overexpressed in many human malignancies and high MDM2 levels are associated with poor prognosis. We and others have shown that MDM2 may be a valuable target for human cancer therapy. Recently, we have developed a second-generation antisense oligonucleotide targeting human MDM2 mRNA, which has demonstrated antitumor activity in more than 15 cell lines and xenografts of human cancers with various p53 statuses (Clin. Cancer. Res. 2001; 7, 3613-3624; Mol. Med.2002,8, 185–199; Prostate 2003,54, 194–205; PNAS 2003,100, 11636–11641). These results further confirm that MDM2 has both p53-dependent and p53-independent activities. In addition, up-regulation of p21WAF1/CIP1 has consistently been observed following MDM2 inhibition, regardless of p53 status. The present study was designed to determine the role of p53 and p21 in the therapeutic effectiveness of the MDM2 inhibitor, using four genetically modified HCT116 colon cancer cell lines with various p53 and p21 gene backgrounds, parental (p53+/+ and p21+/+), p53 knockout (KO) (p53−/−), p21 KO (p21−/− ), and p53 and p21 double KO (p53−/− and p21−/−) cells. At least five novel and significant results were generated. First, in a dose-dependent manner, the antisense oligonucleotide specifically inhibited MDM2 expression in all cell lines. Second, compared with parental cells, the p53 KO cells were less sensitive to the anti-MDM2 antisense oligonucleotide, as measured by in vitro cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis assays. Compared with p21 KO cells, p53/p21 double KO cells showed less sensitivity to anti-MDM2 antisense treatment in vitro. Third, overexpression of MDM2 by transfection of pcDNA3-MDM2 significantly decreased p21 levels in parental and p53 KO cells, promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. Fourth, the in vivo study demonstrated that p53 KO and p21 KO xenografts were less responsive to antisense MDM2 oligonucleotide compared with parental cells. The p53/p21 double KO cells were the fastest growing xenografts among the test cells and also less responsive to MDM2 inhibition. Fifth, compared to parental cells, p53 KO cells were resistant to radiation treatment in vitro and in vivo. In summary, we provide evidence supporting the importance of p53 and p21 in therapy with an antisense MDM2 inhibitor. These newly identified mechanisms may have potential in the development of novel anticancer agents. (Supported by NIH/NCI grant CA80698.)
Lateral Neck Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Abstract Introduction: Lateral neck metastases occur in ~15% of papillary thyroid cancer and in ~40% of medullary thyroid cancer. We present herein a systematic approach to a standard comprehensive...
Critical ACE2 Determinants of SARS-CoV-2 and Group 2B Coronavirus Infection and Replication.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor is a major severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) host range determinant, and understanding SARS-CoV-2-ACE2 interactions will provide important insights into COVID-19 pathogenesis and animal model development. SARS-CoV-2 cannot infect mice due to incompatibility between its receptor binding domain and the murine ACE2 receptor. Through molecular modeling and empirical in vitro validation, we identified 5 key amino acid differences between murine and human ACE2 that mediate SARS-CoV-2 infection, generating a chimeric humanized murine ACE2. Additionally, we examined the ability of the humanized murine ACE2 receptor to permit infection by an additional preemergent group 2B coronavirus, WIV-1, providing evidence for the potential pan-virus capabilities of this chimeric receptor. Finally, we predicted the ability of these determinants to inform host range identification of preemergent coronaviruses by evaluating hot spot contacts between SARS-CoV-2 and additional potential host receptors. Our results identify residue determinants that mediate coronavirus receptor usage and host range for application in SARS-CoV-2 and emerging coronavirus animal model development.IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19) is a major public health threat and one of two related coronaviruses that have caused epidemics in modern history. A method of screening potential infectible hosts for preemergent and future emergent coronaviruses would aid in mounting rapid response and intervention strategies during future emergence events. Here, we evaluated determinants of SARS-CoV-2 receptor interactions, identifying key changes that enable or prevent infection. The analysis detailed in this study will aid in the development of model systems to screen emergent coronaviruses as well as treatments to counteract infections.
Extensins: Self-Assembly, Crosslinking, and the Role of Peroxidases.

The extensin network is elaborated by the covalent intermolecular crosslinking of extensin glycoprotein monomers and its proper assembly is important for numerous aspects of basic wall architecture and cellular defense. In this review, we discuss new advances in the secretion of extensin monomers and the molecular drivers of extensin network self-assembly. Many of the functions of extensins are conferred through covalent crosslinking into the wall, so we also discuss the different types of known intermolecular crosslinks, the enzymes that are involved, as well as the potential for additional crosslinks that are yet to be identified. Extensins also function in wall architecture independent of crosslinking status and therefore we explore the role for non-crosslinking extensins. As extensin crosslinking is upregulated in response to wounding and pathogen infection, we discuss a potential regulatory mechanism to control covalent crosslinking and its relationship to the subcellular localization of the crosslinking enzymes.
Influence of the Compositions of Neutral Soil Media on the Corrosion Cracking of Pipe Steel

We study the influence of various electrolytes (chloride, sulfate, carbonate, phosphate, and nitrate ions) on the pitting corrosion resistance and corrosion-cracking resistance characteristics of 17G1S pipe steel in an NS-4 neutral model soil medium. The correlation between these characteristics and possible mechanisms of cracking of pipe steel in the investigated media are analyzed.
Medicare Hospital Classifications and the Effect on Bed Capacity Decisions in U.S. Hospitals

I examine whether or not capacity planning decisions are influenced by a 100-bed threshold used by U.S. Medicare to classify hospitals as “large” or “small” for payment purposes. I also examine the role of the institutional environment in directing hospital actions in this setting. In summary, I find that the 100-bed threshold drives a significant discontinuity in the distribution of U.S. urban hospital bed capacities. I find that the magnitude of the discontinuity is greatest in hospitals that are highly incentivized to be classified as large, and I demonstrate that not-for-profit and government hospitals are more likely than for-profit hospitals to decrease bed capacities and lose large hospital classifications. I argue from an institutional perspective that Medicare’s threshold-based classification practices act as institutional pressures for hospitals to take on similar structures in terms of bed capacity, but that not-for-profit and government hospitals attach less importance to the increased revenues and profits associated with meeting the threshold. As a result, not-for-profit and government hospitals are more likely to challenge the validity of the threshold for capacity planning purposes.
Asociación entre variables cuantitativas: análisis de correlación

En la investigacion clinica frecuentemente se miden numerosas variables en los individuos incluidos en el estudio. Muchas veces interesa determinar si existe relacion entre algunas de esas variables, o predecir el valor de una de ellas conociendo el valor de otras. En ocasiones interesa determinar si distintos instrumentos, metodos o personas obtienen valores similares cuando se mide una variable en las mismas unidades experimentales. Esos tres objetivos requieren metodos de analisis distintos. La presente nota se refiere al primer objetivo: determinar si existe asociacion entre variables........
Objective Standards Matter Too Much: The Use and Abuse of Absolute and Comparative Performance Feedback in Absolute and Comparative Judgments and Decisions

Which matters more - beliefs about absolute ability or ability relative to others? This study set out compare their effects on self-evaluations, decisions under uncertainty, performance attribution, and perceived relevance of the task to one's self-concept. 415 participants were told they had gotten 20% correct, 80% correct, or were not given then their scores on a practice test. Orthogonal to this manipulation, participants learned that their performance placed them in the 23rd percentile or 77th percentile, or they did not receive comparative feedback. They were then given a chance to place bets on two games - one in which they needed to get more than 50% right (absolute bet), and one in which they needed to beat more than 50% of other test-takers (comparative bet). Absolute feedback had strong and consistent influences on participants' bets, performance attributions, perceived task importance, satisfaction with performance, and state self-esteem. The effects of comparative feedback were weaker and less consistent. These findings suggest that information about one's absolute standing on a dimension may be more influential than information about comparative standing, supporting Festinger's (1954) assertion that social comparison was only necessary when objective information was unavailable.
Characterization of metal on elastomer vertical interconnections

A metal on elastomer vertical interconnection for multilayer microwave modules is presented. Measured insertion loss is 0.5 dB at 6 GHz. Layer to layer lateral misalignment of the substrates by as much as /spl plusmn/0.006 inch causes only a 0.1 dB degradation in performance. A two-tier design approach is presented for first analyzing the vertical strips as a uniform multiconductor transmission line and then for including the interactions of all discontinuities in a 3D simulation using the finite element method.
A methodology for developing and testing an intranet site

With companies needing to provide information and technical resources to employees who work in a variety of departments from human resources to research & development, many companies are developing their own intranets. The paper focuses on why companies are developing intranets and describes a two-stage development and testing process. Developing the intranet site begins with the conceptual framework that helps the design team establish the architecture and "look and feel" for the intranet. From the information generated during this concept stage, the design team develops a prototype of the architecture for usability testing. The usability team conducts tests on the prototype to evaluate the architecture and navigation of the intranet. Based on the results of the testing, the design team redesigns the storyboards and prepares the prototype for a second usability test. Depending on the time allowed for the development of an intranet, redesign and testing may continue. But, whether the development and testing time is long or short, like many projects moving into the year 2000, this one involves cross-skill teamwork.
Graphs, networks, and linear unbiased estimates

It is shown how a best linear unbiased estimate (blue) in the additive variety-block setting can be interpreted as a network flow, that is, a function on edges that obeys the Kirkhhoff laws, of minimum square norm. An explicit expression is then obtained for the coefficients of the blue in terms of invariants of the underlying network; specifically, the invariants are: the total number of spanning trees and the number of certain selective yet specific spanning forests with just two trees. The blue is also expressed as a linear combination of bases of paths in a constructive manner. It remains a conjecture as to whether there always exists a basis of paths in which the blue is a convex combination. Consequences to design optimality are explored.
Correlation between corrosion pits and stresses in Al alloys

Pitting corrosion is commonly observed in a wide range of aluminum alloys that are being used for aerospace applications. There is a need to study the stress environment around pits in order to predict the nucleation of cracks. The objective of this study is to investigate the correlation between pits and stresses in aluminum alloys. Corrosion experiments were carried out on aluminum 2024-T3 alloy samples and imaged through Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to obtain the pit profiles. An analysis procedure was developed using CAD and finite element analysis to predict stresses resulting from corrosion pits. Based on the analysis, it was observed that the stress distribution and levels on the corroded surface varied due to irregularity in the corrosion process. The results obtained indicate that the stress initially increases and reaches a plateau with increasing corrosion time. From these stresses it is possible to estimate the initiation of cracks, from which the life can be estimated for failure in the material.
An Arabidopsis thaliana Lipoxygenase Gene Can Be Induced by Pathogens, Abscisic Acid, and Methyl Jasmonate

We isolated and characterized a 2.8-kb, full-length, Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA clone encoding a lipoxygenase. DNA sequence analysis showed that the deduced amino acid sequence of the Arabidopsis protein is 72 to 78% similar to that of legume seed lipoxygenases. DNA blot analysis indicated that Arabidopsis contains a single gene, LOX1, with appreciable homology to the cDNA clone. RNA blot analysis showed that the LOX1 gene is expressed in Arabidopsis leaves, roots, inflorescences, and young seedlings. LOX1 expression levels were highest in roots and young seedlings. In mature plants, LOX1 mRNA levels increased upon treatment with the stress-related hormones abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate and remained high for at least 96 h. Expression of the LOX1 gene was examined following infiltration of leaves with virulent (Psm ES4326) and avirulent (Pst MM1065) strains of Pseudomonas syringae. LOX1 mRNA levels were induced approximately 6-fold by both virulent and avirulent strains; however, the response to avirulent strains was much more rapid. Infiltration of leaves with Pst MM1065 resulted in maximal induction within 12 h, whereas maximal induction by Psm ES4326 did not occur until 48 h. When a cloned avr gene, avrRpt2, was transferred to Psm ES4326, LOX1 mRNA accumulated in a pattern similar to that observed for the avirulent strain Pst MM1065.
Concentrating solutes with membranes containing carriers.

WE have developed membranes which can rapidly concentrate a specific solute against its concentration gradient. These membranes depend on mobile carriers and are examples of in vitro systems which exhibit characteristics of biological transport. When combined with the ‘liquid surfactant membrane’ geometry, they offer a method for wide classes of large scale separations. We show here how our specific results provide a blueprint for designing additional membrane systems.
Observations of the inner radiation belt: CRAND and trapped solar protons

Measurements of inner radiation belt protons have been made by the Van Allen Probes Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescopes as a function of kinetic energy (24 to 76 MeV), equatorial pitch angle, and magnetic L shell, during late 2013 and early 2014. A probabilistic data analysis method reduces background from contamination by higher-energy protons. Resulting proton intensities are compared to predictions of a theoretical radiation belt model. Then trapped protons originating both from cosmic ray albedo neutron decay (CRAND) and from trapping of solar protons are evident in the measured distributions. An observed double-peaked distribution in L is attributed, based on the model comparison, to a gap in the occurrence of solar proton events during the 2007 to 2011 solar minimum. Equatorial pitch angle distributions show that trapped solar protons are confined near the magnetic equator but that CRAND protons can reach low altitudes. Narrow pitch angle distributions near the outer edge of the inner belt are characteristic of proton trapping limits.
Characteristics of homeless jail inmates: Implications for social work

This study set out to validate the hypothesis (belief) that homeless people were likely to commit minor offenses as solutions to their conditions. Jails, and maybe prisons, would provide three meals a day, a place to sleep, and minimal health care-especially during the winter months. Instead, the data did not support the hypothesis. Contrary to the reported practices of some homeless people in Colorado who are described as committing non-serious but timed offenses to go to jail, it found a homeless population in jail who give a literal interpretation to the political phrase “the invisible people.” They were not in jail because they were homeless, but instead they were in jail for serious crimes (murder, rape, drugs, robbery) and their homelessness was a side fact. Since it was not likely that this group would seek to address or resolve their homelessness, it was recommended that jail social workers identify their needs to them, track them into social welfare networks, with a designated contact person, prior to their release.
Influence of Metal Electrodes on the Ferroelectric Responses of Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) Copolymer Thin Films

Ferroelectric polymer thin films have been investigated for applications such as sensors, MEMS, and memory devices, just name a few. In these thin film devices, it is anticipated that the interface effect will play an important role in determining the device performance. In this paper, we present the results of a recent study on the influence of metal electrodes on ferroelectric switching behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) polymer thin films. The results show that the influence of metal electrodes on the polarization response can be divided into two effects, the bulk effect and interface effect. The bulk effect manifests itself as the built-in bias field when metal electrodes with different work functions were used on the two surfaces of the P(VDF-TrFE) film. The interface effect is more complicated but is directly related to the metal work function. For a metal I/insulator (ferroelectric film)/metal II (MIM) sandwich structure in which the metal I and metal II possess different work functions, the low frequency polarization hysteresis loop shows asymmetric response (different switching fields). The polarization switching time also depends on whether the applied voltage is in parallel or anti-parallel to the built-in bias field. In the fast polarization switching process, it was observed that the interface effect plays a dominating role and the switching time is mainly limited by the charge injection from metal electrodes to the polymer film. For metal electrodes with higher work function, higher injection currents and hence faster polarization switching were observed. The results from I-V studies also show that the charge injection process is a Schottky type and the barrier height estimated from the temperature dependence of the I-V curves is consistent with the metal work functions used.
Toxin Production by C. diphtheriae Types Mitis, Gravis and Intermedius

ConclusionsThe Park 8 strains are the only potent toxin producers from the gravis, intermedius, mitis and Park 8 strains tested. All strains were virulent, the Park 8 and Freeman strains but feebly so. The cultural requirements of the Park 8 strains for optimum toxin production vary with the strain in its iron and tryptophan requirements. The same is true for the intermedius strain “Shore”, whose toxigenic capacity is also increased by the addition of isoleucine.Whilst all markedly pathogenic strains of C. diphtheriae tested were poor toxin producers under the experimental methods applied, there is indication that optimum conditions may not have existed for toxin production by these strains.
Anticytotoxin-neutralizing antibodies in immune globulin preparations: potential use in hemolytic-uremic syndrome

The pathogenesis of primary (classic) hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) is thought to be related to cytotoxin-producing enteric pathogens such as Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 and Escherichia coli serotypes 0157:H7 and 026:H11. The relevant cytotoxins include Shiga toxin and the closely related Shiga-like toxins (SLTs) produced by some E. coli strains. Intravenously administered immune globulin (IVIG) therapy has been reported to be beneficial in a few children with HUS. We therefore examined commercially available immune globulin preparations for the presence of anticytotoxin-neutralizing antibodies. Cytotoxicity and neutralization of the HUS-associated cytotoxins were quantitatively determined by means of a ( 3 H)thymidine-labeled HeLa cell assay. The immune globulin preparations tested almost completely neutralized Shiga toxin (produced by S. dysenteriae 1) and SLT-I (produced by E. coli serotype 026:H11). Twofold dilutions of the preparations showed significant (p 20%) of SLT-II (produced by E. coli strain C600 (933W)) was noted. The IVIG preparation lost its inhibitory activity when passed through a protein A-Sepharose column, which bound immune globulin, indicating that its neutralizing effect is related to the antibody content. We also examined sera from 30 children without diarrhea or HUS; only one child had neutralizing titers against Shiga toxin (1:64) and SLT-I (1:128). Immune globulin preparations contain anticytotoxin-neutralizing antibodies, a finding that warrants further investigation of the therapeutic role of these preparations in early treatment of children with HUS related to Shiga toxin and SLT-I.
Fulfilling the social contract between medical schools and the public

To gain a better understanding of the effects of medical schools related to transformations in medical practice, science, and public expectations, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) established the Advisory Panel on the Mission and Organization of Medical Schools (APMOMS) in 1994. R
Possible growth hormone regulation of rat liver glutamine synthetase activity.

Abstract Hypophysectomy results in a marked decrease in glutamine synthetase activity of rat liver homogenates. The enzyme is affected to a lesser extent in the kidneys and is not influenced in the brain. Bovine growth hormone treatment of hypophysectomized rats elevates the diminished glutamine synthetase activity in liver and kidneys but has no effect on the brain enzyme. Adrenalectomy also results in decreased liver glutamine synthetase activity although less than the decline seen with hypophysectomy. Cortisol treatment has no effect on glutamine synthetase activity in hypophysectomized animals. Our results suggest that growth hormone is involved in the regulation of liver glutamine synthetase activity. This regulation may be important in the utilization of α-amino nitrogen from glucogenic amino acids associated with growth hormone enhanced glucose production.