cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is There a Future for Retirement

This paper summarizes the presentations and discussions at the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s May 12, 2011, policy forum, on the topic: “Is There a Future for Retirement?” This was EBRI’s 68th policy forum held in Washington, DC, and was attended by about 120 policy and professional experts. The EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating™ finds that many individuals will need to keep working past normal retirement age in order to have sufficient resources to pay the bills; said another way, they have insufficient resources, even including Social Security and Medicare, to pay their bills. Many articles and papers have been written in recent years suggesting that working an extra two or three years would solve the problem for most people, but this has not been well documented or quantified. But will it be enough if workers simply stay on the job just a few extra years? New EBRI research presented at this May 2011 policy forum addressed that question with comprehensive data from its Retirement Security Projection Model.® These findings, presented by EBRI’s research director and published in the June 2011 EBRI Issue Brief, show that if Baby Boomers and Gen Xers delay their retirement past the age of 65, many of them still would not have adequate income to cover their basic retirement expenses and uninsured health care costs -- especially low-income workers. Even if workers delay their retirement age into their 70s, there is still a chance the household will be “at risk” of running short of money in retirement. A speaker from Callan Associates presented research showing the impact of automatic features in 401(k) plans on retirement income adequacy, as well as data on the impact of “leakage” of savings in 401(k) plans (such as through cash-outs at job change, hardship withdrawals, and loans). Other speakers suggested that retirement plan sponsors should provide workers with more help in investing, since many workers will not be able to save more money or retire later, and that workers could improve their financial security by better asset management -- in particular by cutting debt and using guaranteed income products such as life annuities to manage longevity risk. A variety of speakers touched on how a substantial number of Americans will not be able to work longer than traditional retirement age even if they want to because of layoffs, mergers, or poor health.The PDF for the above title, published in the September 2011 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another September 2011 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “2011 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar With Key Aspect of Health Reform.”
Multiple Serotonin Receptors: Differential Binding of [3H]5-Hydroxytryptamine, [3H]Lysergic Acid Diethylamide and [3H]Spiroperidol

[3H]5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and [3H]spiroperidol bind to membranes from the rat frontal cerebral cortex in a manner indicating a selective interaction with serotonin receptors. Differential drug potencies in competing for [3H]5-HT and [3H]spiroperidol binding sites suggest that these two [3H]ligands respectively label two distinct populations of receptors, while [3H]LSD labels both the [3H]5-HT and [3H]spiroperidol sites. After incubation of brain membranes with 30 nM spiroperidol, drug specificity of the residual [3H]LSD binding resembles that of receptors labeled by [3H]5-HT. Conversely, drug effects on [3H]LSD binding in the presence of 300 nM 5-HT resemble effects with [3H]spiroperidol. We propose that [3H]5-HT and [3H]-spiroperidol label distinct populations of serotonin receptors in rat brain, designated 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors, respectively. [3H]LSD appears to bind to both receptors to a similar extent.
Sustainable Disaster Recovery Decision-Making Support Tool: Integrating Economic Vulnerability into the Objective Functions of the Associated Stakeholders

AbstractNatural disasters affect the built environment’s infrastructure and disturb the economic sector’s sustainability and welfare. This requires a disaster recovery decision support tool that capitalizes on the redevelopment opportunities to elevate societies to a more-sustainable and less-vulnerable status. As such, this paper presents an agent-based model approach that aims to meet the objectives of stakeholders while decreasing the community’s economic vulnerability. Accordingly, the proposed model adopts a five-step research methodology: (1) implementing a comprehensive economic vulnerability assessment tool; (2) developing the objective functions and learning algorithms of the associated stakeholders; (3) modeling the different attributes and potential strategies of the various stakeholders; (4) creating an interdependent agent based model that simulates the aforementioned information; and (5) interpreting and analyzing the results generated from the developed model. The model is developed and tes...
Efficient Technique for Assessing Actual Non‐normal Quality Loss: Markov Chain Monte Carlo

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques have been extensively developed and are accepted for solving various real-world problems. However, process capabilities are rarely analyzed with the means of MCMC. This study integrates the MCMC technique into Bayesian models for assessing the well-known quality loss index Cpm for gamma and Weibull process distributions. After the MCMC iterations are completed, the quality manager can make reliable decisions via the proposed credible intervals. Furthermore, this study provides performance comparisons of the estimators of Cpm obtained by the MCMC and bootstrap techniques. Simulations show that the MCMC technique performs better than the bootstrap technique in most of the cases that were considered. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vaccination in Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders

Immunocompromised patients have increased susceptibility to vaccine-preventable infections. Thus, vaccination is a critical issue in this population. Vaccines are usually classified as live versus inactivated or subunit (nonviable) vaccines. In general, inactivated vaccines are safe in immunocompromised patients and should be given per the routine schedule except when they are unlikely to have any benefit as in severe antibody deficiency or combined immunodeficient patients and patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy or immunoglobulin replacement. However, viable vaccines usually carry the risk of causing disease, especially in severely immunocompromised patients. Therefore, much greater caution must be exercised with the use of viable vaccines and administration is individualized on the basis of the estimated risk of infections if not vaccinated versus the potential adverse effects of the vaccine itself. In this review, we make clear recommendations on the basis of available evidence regarding both routine and specialized vaccines, viable and nonviable, and the degree of immune compromise in all the categories of immunodeficiency disorders.
Point Defects and Diffusion in Semiconductors

Abstract Solid state electronic products have become an integral part of modern day life. Integrated circuit chips fabricated using Si as the substrate material are widely used in computers, communication devices such as smart phones, and entertaining machines, as well as sensors, as dedicated and general purpose measurements, and control instruments. Lasers and light emitting devices, which are optoelectronic devices fabricated using GaAs-based compound semiconductors as substrate materials, are used in communication devices, entertaining machines, instruments or just as lights. These solid-state devices are consisting of pn-junctions produced by diffusion of n- and p-type dopant atoms, and/or heterojunctions consisting of layers of different materials that are also doped. The n- and p-type dopants are specific kinds of substitutional impurity species producing the electric carriers electrons e and holes h, respectively, in a semiconductor. Diffusion processes are also involved in controlling detrimental metallic impurity contents, in silicide formation and in thermal SiO2 growth in fabricating devices using Si. Diffusion processes in semiconductors are considerably more complicated than in metals. In this chapter, diffusion in Si and in GaAs will be fairly thoroughly discussed. Diffusion in Ge will also be mentioned for the reasons that it is the simplest case among semiconductors on the one hand while on the other its importance as a material to modify Si for the future generations of devices is emerging.
When is water withdrawal data enough

Abstract. Despite the centrality of the water balance equation to hydrologic and hydraulic science and engineering, in 2018 we lack empirical observations of consumptive use of water by humans and their economy. It is therefore worth considering what we can do with the withdrawal-based water use data we already possess, and what future measurements would be required to more accurately quantify consumptive use for the most common cases of human water use at census scales of space and time. Fortunately, a wide range applied water management and policy questions can be addressed using currently available withdrawal numbers. When a more advanced water use census is implemented, Simple Net Consumptive Use (SNCU) methods are insufficient for most common cases of human water use. Presented here are the common special cases that complicate consumptive use calculations. This discussion clarifies the problems we need to solve to measure humans’ consumptive use of water at census scales, and argues that – while we are waiting for these data – the withdrawal data we already possess are adequate for some of our most important scientific and applied purposes.
T Cells and Hypertension: Solved and Unsolved Mysteries Regarding the Female Rat.

T-cell function in female animal models of hypertension is poorly understood since most research is conducted in males. Our findings in Dahl-salt-sensitive and Dahl salt-resistant rats support prio...
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Diabetes Mellitus, and Death*

In this issue of the Journal , Banning et al. ([1][1]) present the important diabetes mellitus subgroup analysis of the SYNTAX (SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery) trial. The SYNTAX trial compared 1,800 patients with symptomatic left main and/or 3-
Decomposition Theorems for Normal Transformations

This chapter discusses the techniques for analyzing individual linear transformations on a finite-dimensional vector space. The methods involved in this analyzing technique first decompose a linear transformation A on a vector space V into linear transformations on certain subspaces of V in such a way that the behavior of A can be deduced from that of its component linear transformations. The chapter presents methods that are designed to obtain a matrix of a given linear transformation that is as close as possible to a diagonal matrix. If the minimal polynomial of a linear transformation is the product of linear polynomials over the scalar field at hand, then it is the sum of a diagonable and a nilpotent linear transformation. Other types of linear transformations on finite-dimensional inner-product space have the property that they commute with their adjoints. The adjoints include self-adjoint transformations, unitary transformations, and orthogonal transformations.
Red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius) and Strychnos mitis: Evidence for plant benefits beyond seed dispersal

I report data collected on red-tailed guenon (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) fruit processing behaviors between June 1993 and April 1994. Red-tailed guenons consumed the fruit of Strychnos mitis in 542 of 2,930 fruit-eating events (FEEs). The monkeys spat out cleaned seeds of Strychnos mitis in a majority of these records (477/542; 88%); seeds were occasionally swallowed whole, but only when pulp was unripe (69/542; 12%). In 83% of the FEEs on Strychnos, the red-tailed guenons spat out seeds within 10 m of the removal site; they typically stayed in the same tree while processing fruit, and in 56% of the FEEs, they moved <1 m before spitting seeds. I monitored spat seeds to evaluate the impact of monkey fruit processing on seed fate. Results indicate that 83% of seeds spat out by the red-tailed guenons germinated, while only 12% of unprocessed seeds survived to germination (p < 0.01). Of the processed seeds that germinated, 60% survived to germination and seedling establishment, while only 5% of unprocessed seeds survived to seedling establishment (p < 0.01). Unprocessed seeds were also more likely to be attacked by seed predators (p < 0.01) and fungus (p < 0.01). Although there is generally high mortality in seeds/seedlings, mature trees of Strychnos mitis are found in groves of adults, under which dense populations of seedlings and saplings can occur. These data suggest that Strychnos mitis does not conform to expectations of the Janzen-Connell model of seed escape from parent trees. Instead, I suggest that by removing pulp, a process that results in a reduction of fungal pathogen attack, red-tailed guenons positively effect the seed survivorship of Strychnos mitis. Although this effect has been observed in pulp-cleaning ant species, it is a hitherto undescribed effect of primates on their fruit resources.
Baby stimuli and the parent brain: functional neuroimaging of the neural substrates of parent-infant attachment

Interacting parenting thoughts and behaviors critically shape human infants' current and future behavior. Indeed, the parent-infant relationship provides infants with their first social environment, forming templates for what they can expect from others and how best to interact with them. This paper focuses on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments relevant to the study of the brain-basis of parenting. First there is a brief introduction to techniques and a selective review of functional neuroimaging studies that examine fMRI responses to infant stimuli: baby sounds or visuals. Next, there is a sample single-subject set of brain imaging data of brain response to own-baby-cry. Finally, there is a proposed model of how infant stimuli activate parent brain circuits, including sensory analysis brain regions, as well as corticolimbic circuits that regulate motivation, reward, and learning about their infants, and ultimately organize parenting impulses, thoughts, and emotions into coordinated behaviors. It is argued that an integrated understanding of the brain basis of parenting has profound implications for understanding long-term parent and infant mental health risk and resilience.
Efficient Automatic Differentiation of Matrix Functions

Forward and reverse mode automatic differentiation methods for functions that take a vector argument make derivative computation efficient. However, the determinant and inverse of a matrix are not readily expressed in the language of vectors. The derivative of a function f(X) for a d ×d matrix X is itself a d ×d matrix. The second derivative, or Hessian, is a d 2 ×d 2 matrix, and so computing and storing the Hessian can be very costly. In this paper, we present a new calculus for matrix differentiation, and introduce a new matrix operation, the box product, to accomplish this. The box product can be used to elegantly and efficiently compute both the first and second order matrix derivatives of any function that can be expressed solely in terms of arithmetic, transposition, trace and log determinant operations. The Hessian of such a function can be implicitly represented as a sum of Kronecker, outer, and box products, which allows us to compute the Newton step efficiently. Whereas the direct computation requires \(\mathcal{O}({d}^{4})\) storage and \(\mathcal{O}({d}^{6})\) operations, the indirect representation of the Hessian allows the storage to be reduced to \(\mathcal{O}(k{d}^{2})\), where k is the number of times the variable X occurs in the expression for the derivative. Likewise, the cost of computing the Newton direction is reduced to \(\mathcal{O}(k{d}^{5})\) in general, and \(\mathcal{O}({d}^{3})\) for k = 1 and k = 2.
Elevated creatinine in a patient on IVIG-therapy.

Abstract Background Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is prepared from the plasma of hundreds of blood donors and is used in the treatment of immunodeficiencies, autoimmune conditions, infections and inflammatory conditions. IVIG formulations contain one of a number of small molecule stabilizers, including sugars, polyols, and amino acids, some of which can cause acute renal failure. Case report A 61 y-old woman was treated for paraneoplastic syndrome due to small cell lung cancer in which a creatinine measurement unexpectedly increased during IVIG therapy. This increased creatinine measurement was due to the proline stabilizer in the IVIG fluid that had inadvertently diluted the blood sample. Investigation revealed that proline causes a positive interference in enzymatic creatinine assays, likely due to the activity of sarcosine oxidase, a key component of the assay, on proline. Conclusions Increased proline concentrations can occur after administration of high-dose proline (as was the case here) or in the rare metabolic disorders hyperprolinema types I and II.
Single-vesicle measurement of protein-induced membrane tethering.

Functions of the proteins involved in membrane tethering, a crucial step in membrane trafficking, remain elusive due to the lack of effective tools to investigate protein-lipid interaction. To address this challenge, we introduce a method to study protein-induced membrane tethering via in vitro reconstitution of lipid vesicles, including detailed steps from the preparation of the PEGylated slides to the imaging of single vesicles. Furthermore, we demonstrate the measurement of protein-vesicle interaction in tethered vesicle pairs using two representative proteins, the cytoplasmic domain of synaptotagmin-1 (C2AB) and α-synuclein. Results from Forster (fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) reveal that membrane tethering is distinguished from membrane fusion. Single-vesicle measurement also allows for assessment of dose-dependent effects of proteins and ions on membrane tethering. We envision that the continuous development of advanced techniques in the single-vesicle measurement will enable the investigation of complex protein-membrane interactions in live cells or tissues.
Initiating a Fontan multidisciplinary clinic: Decreasing care variability, improving surveillance, and subsequent treatment of Fontan survivors

Background Children with single ventricle (SV) heart disease who undergo Fontan operation are at risk for developing multiorgan dysfunction. Although survival has improved, significant comorbidities involving multiple organ systems may develop, requiring evaluation and management by many subspecialists. Using data from an internal survey, we documented high care variability for our Fontan population. We then developed a multidisciplinary clinic, designed and implemented a clinical care pathway to decrease variability of patient assessment. Methods After creating a multidisciplinary team and a clinical care pathway, we initiated a multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) where patients could see multiple subspecialists during a single encounter. We then monitored our effectiveness by retrospective chart review to determine care pathway adherence (process measure) and incidence of new diagnoses of end-organ injury (outcome measure) as well interventions implemented. Adherence was analyzed using statistical process control (SPC) charts. Results Eighty-six patients were seen in the MDC from January 2016 to September 2017. The proportion of patients with appropriate testing increased, related to strong care pathway adherence. A significant amount of novel pathology was diagnosed in all evaluated organ systems, both Fontan-associated comorbidities and general pediatric diagnoses. Subsequent interventions included cardiac catheterization n = 21 (31%) with more than half of these patients undergoing intervention n = 17 (20%), and liver biopsy n = 9 (10%). Additionally, 58 patients (67%) were referred to a neuropsychologist based on perceived clinical need, with n = 34 (40%) undergoing a neuropsychological evaluation. Conclusions Children who have undergone Fontan palliation are at risk for developing cardiac and noncardiac comorbidities. Use and adherence to an institutional care pathway resulted in the diagnosis of significant novel pathology and subsequently provided opportunity for intervention.
Comparative Genomic Analysis of Virulence, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Plasmid Profiles of Salmonella Dublin Isolated from Sick Cattle, Retail Beef, and Humans in the United States

Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin is a host-adapted serotype associated with typhoidal disease in cattle. While rare in humans, it usually causes severe illness, including bacteremia. In the Unite...
A Global Corporate Trust for Agroecological Integrity: New Agriculture in a World of Legitimate Eco-states

This book examines global environmental governance and how legal, institutional, and conceptual reform can facilitate a transformation to a new ‘natural-systems’ form of agriculture. Profound global climate disruption makes it essential that we replace our current agricultural system – described in this book as a fossil-carbon-dependent ‘modern extractive agriculture’ – with a natural-systems agriculture featuring perennial grains growing in polycultures, thereby mimicking the natural grassland and forest ecosystems that modern extractive agriculture has largely destroyed. After examining relevant international legal and conceptual foundations (sovereignty, federalism, global governance) and existing international organizations focusing on agriculture, the book explores legal and institutional opportunities to facilitate dramatic agricultural reform and ecological restoration. Among other things, it explains how innovative federalism structures around the world provide patterns for reorienting global environmental governance, including what the book calls eco-states that would, through exercise of pluralistic sovereignty, be responsible for agroecological management. Drawing from his experience working in international institutions, the author provides detailed global-governance proposals for facilitating the type of agricultural reform that can help avoid ecological collapse, especially through soil degradation and climate change. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of international law, agroecology, climate change, ecological restoration, sustainable development, and global governance, as well as policy-makers and practitioners working in these fields.
Phospholamban and sarcolipin share similar transmembrane zipper motifs that control self-association affinity and oligomer stoichiometry

Abstract We have characterized the structural determinants of phospholamban (PLB) and sarcolipin (SLN) self-association using site-directed mutagenesis, SDS-PAGE, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy. PLB and SLN are single-pass transmembrane (TM) peptides that are critically involved in regulation of contractility in cardiac and skeletal muscle via reversible inhibition of calcium (Ca) transport by SERCA. PLB and SLN also exhibit ion channel activity in vitro, yet the physiological significance of these functions is unknown. Here we have determined that structural insights offered by the tetrameric PLB Cys41 to Leu (C41L) mutation, a mutant with four possible leucine/isoleucine zipper interactions for stabilizing PLB tetramers. Using scanning alanine mutagenesis and SDS-PAGE, we have determined the C41L-PLB tetramer is destabilized by mutation of Leu37 to Ala (L37A) or Ile40 to Ala (I40A), which are the same a- and d-arm residues stabilizing the PLB pentamer via leucine/isoleucine zippers, highlighting the importance of these two zippers in PLB higher-order oligomerization. The new possible zipper arm in C41L-PLB (N34, C41L, I48) did not contribute to tetramerization. On the other hand, we determined that tetramer conversion back to pentamer was induced by alanine mutation of Ile48, a residue located on the e-arm below C41L, implicating steric interaction and restriction are the stabilizing and destabilizing forces that control the distribution between pentamer and tetramer populations. We propose that the e-arm and hydrophobic residues in the adjacent b-arm act as secondary structural motifs that help control the stoichiometry of PLB oligomerization. FRET microscopy and alanine mutagenesis of SLN residues Val14 (V14A) or Leu21 (L21A) decreased the binding affinity of the SLN‒SLN complex, demonstrating the importance of each residue in mediating self-association. Helical wheel analysis supports a heptad-repeat TM zipper mechanism of SLN oligomerization, similar to the 3.5 residue/turn Leu and Ile zippers found in PLB pentamers. Collectively, our studies add new insights on the conservation of homologous hydrophobic 3-4 pattern of residues in zipper motifs that mediate PLB and SLN self-assembly. We propose that the importance of these apolar, steric interactions in the TM domain are widespread in stabilizing higher-order oligomerization of membrane proteins.
Examining attitudes toward and ability to interact with an online personal health record: A case study in Saudi Arabia

Objective: This study examined the ability for adults from a developing country to use a personal health record (PHR) to perform health-management tasks. The effects of gender differences as well as differences in attitudes about using the internet to manage health prior to and after exposure to the PHR were also investigated. Methods: A simulation of a PHR based on a well-established U.S. online patient portal was designed and tailored for this particular study population. Two hundred and three adults with a mean age of 40.9 years were recruited from various areas in Saudi Arabia and asked to perform seven common health-management tasks of varying degrees of difficulty. Their electronic health literacy and health numeracy, as well as their attitudes about using online health systems for managing their health prior to and following their interaction with the PHR, were assessed using questionnaires. Results: After controlling for education, perceived health status, and comfort using the internet, electronic health literacy and health numeracy were still found to be significant predictors of participants’ task performance, but only for the more challenging health-management tasks. No important differences based on gender were found. Exposure to the PHR significantly increased the acceptability of using the internet for managing their health. Conclusions: The change in attitudes following interaction with the PHR suggests that many adults in this society could benefit from these electronic health systems, including females who, due to cultural considerations, may desire greater control in managing their health. However, the importance of electronic health literacy and health numeracy suggests the need for designs that minimize the impact of these factors for successful performance of health-management tasks.
Proteostasis and Energetics as Proteome Hallmarks of Aging and Influenza Challenge in Pulmonary Disease

Abstract Aging is associated with an increased risk for the development of many diseases. This is exemplified by the increased incidence of lung injury, muscle dysfunction and cognitive impairment in the elderly following influenza infection. Because the infectious cycle of flu is dependent upon the properties of the host, we examined the proteome of alveolar macrophages (AM) and type 2 cells (AT2) obtained from young (3 months) and old (18 months) naive mice and mice exposed to influenza A. Our proteomics data show that there is a maladaptive collapse of the proteostasis network (PN) and changes in mitochondrial pathways in the aged naive AM and AT2 proteomes. The mitochondrial imbalance and proteostatic collapse seen in aged cells places an excessive folding burden on these cells, which is further exacerbated following exposure to influenza A. Specifically, we see an imbalance in Hsp70 co-chaperones involved in protein folding and Hsp90 co-chaperones important for stress signaling pathways that are essential for cellular protection during aging. The acute challenge of influenza A infection of young and aged AM and AT2 cells reveals that age-associated changes in the chaperome affect the ability of these cells to properly manage the infection and post-infection biology, contributing to cytotoxicity. We posit that proteomic profiling of individual cell type specific responses provides a high impact approach to pinpoint fundamental molecular relationships that may contribute to the susceptibility to aging and environmental stress, providing a platform to identify new targets for therapeutic intervention to improve resiliency in the elderly.
Atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with ibrutinib: risk prediction, management, and clinical outcomes

Ibrutinib therapy is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Risk assessment tools and outcomes of AF in these patients are not well described. We performed a retrospective review of patients with CLL treated with ibrutinib at Mayo Clinic between October 2012 and November 2018. Two hundred ninety-eight patients were identified with a median time on ibrutinib of 19 months (range 0.23–69.7 months). Fifty-one patients developed treatment-emergent AF; the risk of treatment-emergent AF at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years was 9%, 12%, and 16%, respectively. The following were associated with an increased risk of treatment-emergent AF on multivariable analyses: past history of AF (hazard ratio [HR] 3.5, p = 0.0072) and heart failure (HR 3.4, p = 0.0028). Most patients are able to continue ibrutinib therapy (dose reduced in 43%). Development of treatment-emergent AF was associated with shorter event-free survival (EFS; HR 2.0, p = 0.02) and shorter overall survival (OS; HR 3.2, p = 0.001), after adjusting for age, prior treatment status, TP53 disruption, heart failure, valvular disease, and past history of AF. Patient comorbidities, rather than CLL-related factors, predict risk of treatment-emergent AF in patients treated with ibrutinib. Although the vast majority of patients with treatment-emergent AF are able to continue ibrutinib (with dose reduction in 43%), treatment-emergent AF appears to be associated with worse outcomes, independent of other adverse prognostic factors.
EDTA-modified carbapenem inactivation method (eCIM) for detecting IMP Metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa: an assessment of increasing EDTA concentrations.

Prompt identification of carbapenemase-harboring organisms is valuable in informing therapeutic and infection-control measures. The modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM) and EDTA-modified carbapenem inactivation method (eCIM) are inexpensive and easy to interpret phenotypic tests endorsed by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) for the detection of carbapenemase-harboring Enterobacterales. Only mCIM is endorsed by CLSI for detecting carbapenemase-harboring Pseudomonas aeruginosa. eCIM’s ability to delineate serine and metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) could be advantageous in areas prevalent with carbapenemase-harboring P. aeruginosa. A recent assessment of mCIM/eCIM on MBL-harboring P. aeruginosa demonstrated high eCIM sensitivity for NDMs and VIMs but not for IMP-producers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether increasing EDTA concentrations would enhance eCIM sensitivity for a collection of IMP-harboring P. aeruginosa isolates. Twenty-six IMP-harboring P. aeruginosa isolates were utilized. For test validation, additional P. aeruginosa isolates harboring NDM (n = 3), VIM (n = 3), KPC (n = 8), wild-type (n = 1), and Enterobacterales isolates harboring IMP (n = 6) and NDM (n = 1) were assessed. The mCIM test was conducted as outlined by CLSI. Simultaneously, the eCIM test was performed with the standard 5 mM EDTA concentration and doubling EDTA concentrations: 10 mM, 20 mM, and 40 mM. Concentration-dependent improvement was observed among the IMP-harboring P. aeruginosa with eCIM sensitivities at 0, 31, 85, and 100% respectively. Remaining Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa responded concordantly with their genotype at the standard 5 mM eCIM concentration, with doubling EDTA concentrations providing no greater sensitivity. Combination of mCIM and an eCIM with a 40 mM EDTA concentration appropriately capture IMP-harboring P. aeruginosa without sacrificing test utility for other carbapenemase-harboring isolates.
Recognition of Active Pediatric Seizures: Prehospital Provider Sensitivity and Specificity

Background Emergency medical services (EMS) provide the first line of treatment for out of hospital pediatric seizures. Seizures are the most common pediatric neurologic emergency and account for around 15% of all pediatric EMS calls. Prior studies suggest that more than 50% of patients with active seizure activity do not receive prehospital antiepileptic drugs. It is possible that pediatric seizures are not adequately recognized by EMS. The primary purpose of this study is …
The Ethics of Getting Ahead When All Heads Are Enhanced

Dinh et al. (2020) found that the use of cognitive enhancement (CE) is more publicly acceptable when it is: used noncompetitively, becomes more normative among peers, and sanctioned or even encoura...
Equal Arc Segment Method for Averaging Data Plots Exemplified for Averaging Stress versus Strain Curves of Pervious Concrete

AbstractIn common engineering practice, data plots, such as the stress versus strain relationship of materials, are averaged among a series of samples using the mean ordinate (MO) method. This method is reliable as long as the sample performance does not vary significantly. If the stress versus strain curve of individual samples differs significantly in terms of shape, peak stress, and corresponding strain, the MO method may result in misleading average curves that do not adequately represent the material behavior. In this paper, an equal arc segment (EAS) method for averaging data plots is presented. Based on experimentally obtained compressive stress versus strain curves for pervious concrete, a comparison has been conducted between the proposed EAS method and the MO method. The results show that the EAS method outperforms the MO method, especially where there are high variations in the data pool. The EAS method is not limited to pervious concrete as showcased here, but can be applied to other data plot...
Shared decision making for hydroxyurea treatment initiation in children with sickle cell anemia

Clinical trials have demonstrated hydroxyurea's efficacy in improving health outcomes for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) who have medical complications. New NHLBI clinical guidelines will recommend offering hydroxyurea to young patients regardless of clinical severity. Shared decision making may be an effective approach for implementing this practice change. Decision aids that help patients/parents feel empowered to make this decision and help providers feel comfortable in discussing hydroxyurea as a preventive treatment may facilitate shared discussions between families and providers. We recommend six strategies providers can use to facilitate these discussions while decision aids and tools are being developed. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:184-185. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Atomic absorption inhibition release titration as a method of studying releasing and inhibiting effects

Abstract The results of releasing and inhibiting studies by means of a new, semi-automatic technique termed atomic absorption inhibiting release titration (a.a.i.r.t.) are reported. This method is based on the releasing or inhibition effect (enhancement or depression, respectively) of an atomic absorption signal by a given chemical component; namely, the releasing element is titrated by a solution of magnesium chloride and phosphoric acid while the magnesium signal is monitored by atomic absorption flame spectrometry. This method was employed for the continuous observation and explanation of processes occurring during evaporation/vaporization. On the basis of the mole ratios obtained at characteristic points on the titration curves, a possible mechanism of tricalcium phosphate formation is presented. It was established that this compound was formed through a chain of intermediate compounds of the x CaO· y P 2 O 5 type.
Abstract W P166: Asymmetrical Fractional Anisotropy Correlates with Verbal Fluency Task Performance at Different Stages Post-stroke

Objective: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to quantify integrity of the white matter (WM) tracts by calculating the fractional anisotropy (FA) within a region of interest. Following stroke, unilateral reductions in integrity of tracts involving language function give rise to interhemispheric asymmetries in FA values. Here, we explored the relationships between asymmetrical FA measures and their ability to predict performance in verbal fluency tasks at different post-stroke stages. Methods: DTI data were acquired axially from 21 stroke patients at acute stage, 19 at sub-acute stage and 12 at chronic stage in a GE 3T MRI scanner. FOV = 25.6 cm х 25.6 cm, acquisition matrix = 256 х 256, slice thickness = 2 mm, number of slices = 75, number of diffusion directions = 56. Data were processed using FSL. FA values of language tracts were calculated-superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), sagittal stratum (SS, including inferior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus) and Uncinate fasciculus (UF). Asymmetrical FA (aFA) was computed for the affected and unaffected SLF, SS and UF in order to measure the asymmetry of WM integrity: aFA= (FAunaff - FAaff)/( FAunaff + FAaff), which yields a value between -1.0 and +1.0, where positive values indicate reduced FA in the affected WM tracts, and a value of 0 indicates symmetricial FA in the tracts. aFA was correlated with patient behavior in language task-verbal fluency (VF) with subject outliers outside of the 95% confidence interval removed. Results: At acute stage, higher values of aFA in SLF (R2 = 0.606, p = 0.008) and SS (R2 = 0.624, p = 0.004) were significantly correlated with poor VF performance. At sub-acute stage, higher values of aFA in SS (R2 = 0.431, p = 0.028) were inversely correlated with poor VF performance. At chronic stage, higher values of aFA in SLF were inversely correlated with poor VF performance (R2 = 0.517, p = 0.008). Conclusion: Results show that asymmetries in white matter tract integrity (i.e., SLF, SS and UF), generally considered as language-function tracts, are significantly correlated with verbal fluency performance at different stages post-stroke, implying changes in WM integrity in these tracts over time may lead to changes in behavioral performance.
Comparative studies of cardiac and skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum ATPases. Effect of a phospholamban antibody on enzyme activation by Ca2

Vesicular fragments of skeletal (LSR) and cardiac (CSR) sarcoplasmic reticulum were compared with the aim of defining the effect of a monoclonal phospholamban (Pl) antibody (Ab). The Pl Ab has no effect on LSR, while enhancing the Ca2+ transport rates of CSR at Ca2+ concentrations below saturation. We found no direct effect of the Pl Ab on Ca2+ binding by the ATPase in the absence of ATP. Equilibrium measurements of Ca2+ binding yield positively cooperative isotherms which are best fit with a two-interacting sites equation. LSR and CSR display nearly identical affinities for Ca2+, and no effect of the Pl Ab is observed. Taking advantage of a stable CrATP-enzyme complex, we demonstrated that the stoichiometric ratio of occluded Ca2+ to catalytic sites is 2 in either LSR or CSR and that the addition of Pl Ab does not affect the Ca2+ concentration dependence of Ca2+ occluded after equilibration of the system. Interestingly, the cooperative interaction between the two Ca2+ sites is lost in the occluded state, with only one of the two sites acquiring lumenal exposure. The concentration dependence of Ca2+ inhibition of CSR ATPase phosphorylation with Pi is also unaffected by the Pl Ab. Contrary to the lack of Pl Ab effect on reactions measured at equilibrium, enhancement of phosphorylated intermediate formation by the Pl Ab is obtained in kinetic experiments in which nonsaturating Ca2+ and ATP are added to CSR preincubated with EGTA. Therefore, Ab binding to Pl reduces specifically the activation energy for a slow transition triggered by Ca2+ binding, with consequent enhancement of overall kinetics under conditions enhancing the rate-limiting contribution of this transition.
Binding of estrogen receptor with estrogen conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA)

The classic model of estrogen action requires that the estrogen receptor (ER) activates gene expression by binding directly or indirectly to DNA. Recent studies, however, strongly suggest that ER can act through nongenomic signal transduction pathways and may be mediated by a membrane bound form of the ER. Estradiol covalently linked to membrane impermeable BSA (E2-BSA) has been widely used as an agent to study these novel membrane-associated ER events. However, a recent report suggests that E2-BSA does not compete for E2 binding to purified ER in vitro. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, we performed competition studies examining the binding of E2 and E2-BSA to both purified ER preparations and ER within intact cells. To eliminate potential artifacts due to contamination of commercially available E2-BSA preparations with unconjugated E2 (usually between 3–5%), the latter was carefully removed by ultrafiltration. As previously reported, a 10-to 1000-fold molar excess of E2-BSA was unable to compete with 3H-E2 binding to ER when added simultaneously. However, when ER was pre-incubated with the same concentrations of E2-BSA, the binding of 3H-E2 was significantly reduced. E2-BSA binding to a putative membrane-associated ER was directly visualized using fluorescein labeled E2-BSA (E2-BSA-FITC). Staining was restricted to the cell membrane when E2-BSA-FITC was incubated with stable transfectants of the murine ERα within ER-negative HeLa cells and with MC7 cells that endogenously produce ERα. This staining appeared highly specific since it was competed by pre-incubation with E2 in a dose dependent manner and with the competitor ICI-182,780. These results demonstrate that E2-BSA does bind to purified ER in vitro and to ER in intact cells. It seems likely that the size and structure of E2-BSA requires more energy for it to bind to the ER and consequently binds more slowly than E2. More importantly, these findings demonstrate that in intact cells that express ER, E2-BSA binding is localized to the cell membrane, strongly suggesting a membrane bound form of the ER.
Abortion: a national security issue.

PIP: The national security implications of abortion have not been addressed in a public forum but could come to be the single most important facet of the abortion debate. Abortion has been and will continue to be an essential variable in fertility control. Any serious effort at population growth control in the next few decades will have to recognize the role abortion has in birth rate decline. At this time an estimated 40-50 million abortions are performed worldwide each year; 1/2 of them are illegal. In the absence of abortion, annual growth would approach approximately 120 million. Growth of this magnitude would probably place intolerable strains on the economics and environments of some nations. To recognize the role of abortion in fertility control is to emphasize the inescapable need for abortion as 1 element in any comprehensive family planning service. Excessive population growth leads to chronic unemployment and the frustration of the goals of hundreds of millions of people. While this new threat to the security of individual nations and ultimately to global security has not been widely acknowledged, it is beginning to gain the attention of people of different professions and distinctive political persuasions. In many ways, rampant population growth is an even more dangerous and subtle threat to the world than thermonuclear war, for it is intrinsically less subject to rational safeguards and less amenable to organized control. Possibly the greatest and most pervasive problem is the declining ability to meet human needs in the areas of food, raw material, and resources, counterpoised against what are clearly rising expectations of growing populations. The following facts cannot be disputed: world population is a threat to the security of all nations, including the U.S.; abortion is essential to any effective population growth control effort; abortion is a national security issue; and as the availability of legal abortion in the U.S. goes, so goes the availability of abortion in the developing world.
Performance of error recovery schemes in a fast packet switching network: simulation study

The authors present the results of a simulation study exploring the performance of various error control schemes in a fast packet switching network. Three of the most popular error control schemes are examined: end-to-end, link-by-link, and a combined link/edge scheme. The results of the simulation study suggest that the end-to-end error-control scheme provides superior performance for fast packet switching networks in real-world environments. In fact, when high-speed, low error rate transmission media is utilized for network implementation, the end-to-end error control scheme provides lower network delays for almost all traffic intensities. >
The Transition From Postexposure Prophylaxis to Preexposure Prophylaxis: An Emerging Opportunity for Biobehavioral HIV Prevention

Although some individuals who present for antiretroviral postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) had a 1-time exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), others may be recurrently risky. Given that preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown to be efficacious, identification of those individuals who present for PEP who might benefit from PrEP is important to decrease HIV acquisition in high-risk individuals. While inclusion criteria for PrEP have been developed, there is a paucity of data to help clinicians determine which PEP users are at highest risk for HIV acquisition and therefore should be offered PrEP. We will discuss the rationale for using PrEP after PEP use, and will focus on the assessment of PEP users who may benefit from PrEP.
The remission from depression questionnaire as an outcome measure in the treatment of depression.

Background The Remission from Depression Questionnaire (RDQ) assesses multiple domains considered by depressed patients to be relevant to the construct of remission. The present study is the first to examine the validity of the RDQ as an outcome measure. Methods One hundred fifty-three depressed patients who presented for treatment, or who were in ongoing treatment and had their medication changed, were evaluated at baseline and at 4-month follow-up. In addition to the RDQ, the patients completed the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS), and they were rated on 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD). Results The patients showed significant levels of improvement from baseline to 4 months on each scale. The effect size of the RDQ total score was similar to the effect sizes of the HAMD and QIDS. Both the RDQ and QIDS were significantly associated with patients’ self-reported remission status. However, the RDQ remained significantly associated with remission status after controlling for QIDS scores, whereas the QIDS was not associated with remission status after controlling for RDQ scores. Discussion The RDQ is as sensitive to change as purely symptom-based scales such as the QIDS and HAMD. Moreover, the RDQ accounts for variation in patients’ self-perceived remission status after controlling for QIDS scores, but the reverse was not true. The RDQ allows clinicians and researchers to gain a broader perspective of depressed patients’ status than purely symptom measures, and is more consistent with a biopsychosocial approach toward the treatment of depression.