cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear physically-based models for decoding motor-cortical population activity

Neural motor prostheses (NMPs) require the accurate decoding of motor cortical population activity for the control of an artificial motor system. Previous work on cortical decoding for NMPs has focused on the recovery of hand kinematics. Human NMPs however may require the control of computer cursors or robotic devices with very different physical and dynamical properties. Here we show that the firing rates of cells in the primary motor cortex of non-human primates can be used to control the parameters of an artificial physical system exhibiting realistic dynamics. The model represents 2D hand motion in terms of a point mass connected to a system of idealized springs. The nonlinear spring coefficients are estimated from the firing rates of neurons in the motor cortex. We evaluate linear and a nonlinear decoding algorithms using neural recordings from two monkeys performing two different tasks. We found that the decoded spring coefficients produced accurate hand trajectories compared with state-of-the-art methods for direct decoding of hand kinematics. Furthermore, using a physically-based system produced decoded movements that were more "natural" in that their frequency spectrum more closely matched that of natural hand movements.
Interleukin-12-independent down-modulation of cockroach antigen-induced asthma in mice by intranasal exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Several studies have shown that exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can either prevent or inhibit asthma in humans and laboratory rodents. Much emphasis has been placed on the role of cytokines and chemokines in the establishment and maintenance of allergic airway disease. Therefore, it is of interest to study the role of LPS in affecting airway pathology and lung cytokine and chemokine responses in the maintenance phase of asthma. Increasing doses of LPS were administered into the airways of mice presensitized with cockroach allergen (CRAg), then allergic airway disease parameters were assessed after CRAg challenge. Airway hyperresponsiveness after antigen challenge decreased at the highest dose of LPS tested, which was accompanied by a decrease in airway and lung eosinophils. However, a dramatic increase in lung inflammation because of neutrophil influx was observed. Measurement of cytokines in lungs of LPS-treated, CRAg-sensitized mice indicated that interleukin (IL)-12 levels were increased by LPS treatment in a dose-dependent manner, as were levels of several inflammatory chemokines. In contrast, levels of IL-4, IL-13, IL-5, and IL-10 were reduced in whole lung homogenates only of high-dose LPS-treated mice. Intranasal administration of neutralizing anti-IL-12 at the time of high-dose LPS challenge reduced lung IL-12, interferon-γ, CXCL9, and CXCL10 but did not affect levels of the other chemokines or Th2-type cytokines, and did not restore AHR. These findings suggest that the amelioration of airway hyperresponsiveness observed in LPS-treated, CRAg-sensitized mice is coincident with an immune deviation of the lung inflammatory response, independent of IL-12.
Marital Quality and Health Implications for Marriage in the 21st Century

Being in a happy marriage is related to better psychological and physical health. This paper describes current approaches to conceptualizing and measuring marital quality and physical health, and results from a recent meta-analysis examining associations between marital quality and physical health outcomes. To illustrate the practical significance of these findings, this paper also illustrates how the magnitude of the marital quality - physical health association is similar in size to associations between health behaviors (diet, physical activity) and health outcomes, and briefly reviews the state of the science regarding plausible biobehavioral pathways that explain how marital functioning influences health. After describing the current state of research on factors that might modify the association between marital quality and health, particularly individual differences and gender, the paper concludes with implications of the past 50 years of research on marital quality and health for marriage in the 21st century.
Host Ranges of Gregarious Muscoid Fly Parasitoids: Muscidifurax raptorellus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and Trichopria nigra (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae)

Attack rates, progeny production, sex ratios, and host utilization efficiency of Muscidifurax raptorellus (Kogan and Legner) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and Trichopria nigra (Nees) (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) were evaluated in laboratory bioassays with five dipteran hosts: house fly (Musca domestica L.), stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans L.), horn fly (Hematobia irritans L.), black dump fly [Hydrotaea aenescens (Weidemann)] (Diptera: Muscidae), and a flesh fly (Sarcophaga bullata Parker) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). M. raptorellus killed and successfully parasitized all five host species and produced an average 2.6 parasitoid progeny from each host. Host attack rates were highest on stable fly and lowest on horn fly; there were no differences among hosts in the total number of progeny produced. T. Zealandicus killed larvae of all fly host species in similar numbers, but parasitism was most successful on H. aenescens and S. bullata and least successful on horn fly and house fly hosts. Significantly more parasitoid progeny emerged from S. bullata (10.2 parasitoids per host) than the other hosts; only 2.5 progeny were produced from parasitized horn fly hosts. Most of the killed puparia that produced neither adult flies nor parasitoids (“duds”) contained dead parasitoids; in house fly, stable fly, and horn fly hosts, >30% of these dudded pupae contained adult wasps that failed to eclose. T. nigra successfully parasitized pupae of all host species except house fly and was most successful on stable fly. Significantly more parasitoid progeny emerged from S. bullata (30.6 parasitoids per host) than the other hosts; only 5.7 progeny were produced from horn fly hosts.
The Provision of Incentives in Firms

I NCENTIVES ARE the essence of economics. Despite many wide-ranging claims about their supposed importance, there has been little empirical assessment of incentive provision for workers. The purpose of this paper is to critically overview existing work on the provision of incentives. Since the interests of workers and their employers are not always aligned, a large theoretical literature has emphasized how firms design compensation contracts to induce employees to operate in the firm's interest. This literature has reached into many areas of compensation and has pointed to a multitude of different mechanisms that can be used to induce workers to act in the interests of their employers. These include piece rates, options, discretionary bonuses, promotions, profit sharing, efficiency wages, deferred compensation, and so on. My objective here is to evaluate this literature in the light of a growing empirical literature on compensation. Where possible, I will address the literature from two perspectives. First, an underlying assumption of this literature is that individuals respond to contracts that reward performance. Accordingly, I consider whether agents behave in this way, and whether these responses are always in the firm's interest. Second, I address whether firms write contracts with these responses in mind. In other words, do contracts look like the predictions of the theory? Incentives are provided to workers
Development of a GIS-based, real-time Internet mapping tool for rabies surveillance

Oral rabies vaccination programs have been implemented to control the spread of wildlife rabies in the United States. However, current surveillance systems are inadequate for the efficient management and evaluation of these large scale vaccine baiting programs. With this in mind, a GIS-based rabies surveillance database and Internet mapping application was created. This surveillance system, RabID, provides a new resource for the rapid mapping and dissemination of data on animal rabies cases in relation to unaffected, enzootic, and baited areas where current interventions are underway. RabID is a centralized database for diagnostic and demographic information collected by local, state, and federal agencies involved in rabies surveillance. The geo-referenced database remits data to an Internet-accessible mapping application that displays rabies surveillance data in relation to environmental and geographic features. RabID provides a pioneering example of the power of geographically based Internet-accessible, infectious disease surveillance. This surveillance system was developed from existing technology and is readily adaptable to other infectious diseases and may be particularly useful for zoonoses. The development and application of public health informatics technology may enhance the effectiveness of public health interventions and allow better evaluation of public health interventions.
Virus-Induced Immunosuppression: 1. Age at Infection Relates to a Selective or Generalized Defect

Viruses that persist must develop strategies to escape immunologic surveillance in order to survive. Investigation of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-induced persistence has indicated that this virus avoids immune clearance mainly by aborting the viral specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, a response that is necessary for terminating viral infection. This study demonstrates that persistence established in immunologically immature newborns selectively depletes the LCMV-specific CTL response but does not hinder CTL responses to the RNA and DNA viruses influenza, vaccinia, or herpes simplex. In contrast, persistence established in immunologically mature adults leads not to selective but rather to generalized immunosuppression during which CTL responses to LCMV, influenza, vaccinia, and herpes simplex viruses are all ablated or down-regulated. These results indicate that the state of maturity of the immune system at the time of virus-induced immunosuppression can result in two distinct phenotypes. These observations may account for the differing patterns of infection caused by hepatitis B virus or human immunodeficiency virus initiated in the neonatal period compared to that initiated in adulthood.
Effect of the Earth's ellipticity on the lunar tidal potential

The earth's orbital acceleration about the moon is influenced by its ellipticity. In this paper it shown that the ellipticity affects tidal gravity by contributing directly to the lunar tide-generating potential (in addition to effecting the elastic-gravitational response of the solid earth and oceans to this potential).
89Zr Radiochemistry for Positron Emission Tomography

The positron emitting isotope (89)Zr is an ideal radionuclide for use in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). This article reviews the cyclotron physics of (89)Zr production, and the chemical separation methods for isolating it from yttrium target material. (89)Zr coordination with the bifunctional chelate desferrioxamine B is discussed, along with the common procedures for attaching the chelate to mAbs. The review is intended to detail the procedure for creating (89)Zr labeled mAbs, going from cyclotron to PET.
Dietary Supplementation with Watermelon Pomace Juice Enhances Arginine Availability and Ameliorates the Metabolic Syndrome in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

Watermelon is rich in L-citrulline, an effective precursor of L-arginine. This study was conducted to determine whether dietary supplementation with watermelon pomace juice could ameliorate the metabolic syndrome in the Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat, an animal model of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Nine-week-old ZDF rats were assigned randomly to receive drinking water containing 0% (control) or 0.2% L-arginine (as 0.24% L-arginine-HCl), 63% watermelon pomace juice, 0.01% lycopene, or 0.05% citrus pectin (n = 6 per treatment). At the end of the 4-wk supplementation period, blood samples, aortic rings, and hearts were obtained for biochemical and physiological analyses. Feed or energy intakes did not differ among the 5 groups of rats. However, dietary supplementation with watermelon pomace juice or L-arginine increased serum concentrations of arginine; reduced fat accretion; lowered serum concentrations of glucose, free fatty acids, homocysteine, and dimethylarginines; enhanced GTP cyclohydrolase-I activity and tetrahydrobiopterin concentrations in the heart; and improved acetylcholine-induced vascular relaxation. Compared with the control, dietary supplementation with lycopene or citrus pectin did not affect any measured parameter. These results provide the first evidence to our knowledge for a beneficial effect of watermelon pomace juice as a functional food for increasing arginine availability, reducing serum concentrations of cardiovascular risk factors, improving glycemic control, and ameliorating vascular dysfunction in obese animals with type-II diabetes.
Adjudicated Adolescent Girls and Their Mothers: Examining Identity Perceptions and Processes.

The current study was designed to examine linkages between mothers' and daughters' identity and relationship perceptions, their interactions around identity beliefs, and adolescent identity develop...
Posterior capsular opacification and intraocular lens decentration Part I: Comparison of various posterior chamber lens designs implanted in the rabbit model

Abstract Experimental phacoemulsification procedures were performed in 54 Rex rabbits. In 96 eyes, posterior chamber intraocular lenses (IOLs) were implanted in the capsular sac, and 12 eyes served as controls with no lens implantation. The IOLs were divided into eight groups consisting of both one-piece and three-piece styles with various optic designs. Each lens was evaluated for the relative effect on posterior capsular opacification (PCO) and optic decentration, two of the most common complications of modern cataract surgery and IOL implantation. Optics with a convex-anterior, plano-posterior design (the type of IOL optic most frequently implanted today) had the highest incidence of PCO With capsular fixated IOLs, the features that have a statistically significant impact on reducing PCO include (1) one-piece, all-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) IOL styles, (2) a biconvex or posterior convex optic design, and (3) angulated loops. Lens decentration was not affected by the optic design, but statistical analysis showed that one-piece, all-PMMA IOL construction provided the most consistent centration.
Radiation Damage in Power MOSFET Optocouplers

Radiation damage is investigated in optocouplers with power MOSFET output stages. They differ from conventional optocouplers, incorporating an intermediate photovoltaic chip to allow the MOSFET gate voltage to be controlled by the light-emitting diode. These optocouplers are sensitive to ionization as well as displacement damage, and can fail catastrophically from degradation in either the power MOSFET or the LED. Radiation testing must take both mechanisms into account.
Environmental magnetic fields inhibit the antiproliferative action of tamoxifen and melatonin in a human breast cancer cell line

We have previously reported that environmental-level magnetic fields (1.2 microT [12 milligauss], 60 Hz) block the growth inhibition of the hormone melatonin (10(-9) M) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro. We now report that the same 1.2 microT, 60 Hz magnetic fields significantly block the growth inhibitory action of pharmacological levels of tamoxifen (10(-7) M). In biophysical studies we have taken advantage of Faraday's Law of Current Induction and tested whether the 1.2 microT magnetic field or the associated induced electric field is responsible for this field effect on melatonin and tamoxifen. We observe that the magnetic field component is associated with the field blocking effect on melatonin and tamoxifen function. To our knowledge the tamoxifen studies represent the first experimental evidence for an environmental-level magnetic field modification of drug interaction with human breast cancer cells. Together, these findings provide support to the theory that environmental-level magnetic fields can act to modify the action of a drug or hormone on regulation of cell proliferation. Melatonin and tamoxifen may act through different biological pathways to down-regulate cell growth, and further studies are required to identify a specific biological site of interaction for the 1.2 microT magnetic field.
A Small-Scale Recirculating Aquaculture System for Global Aquaculture Education and Industry Development

While global aquaculture is expanding rapidly, the United States (U.S.) and East Africa (EA) Great Lakes region have experienced slower growth. Aquaculture education is integral to overcoming existing limitations and accelerating production in these regions and worldwide. Toward this goal, an open access educational recirculating aquaculture system (ERAS) was designed to meet the differential objectives of aquaculture education in the U.S. and EA and trialed within educational institutions. Key ERAS design considerations were cost, operation, size, component availability, and construction. A secondary aspect of ERAS design was flexibility and application to different learning objectives. Over the trial period, two potential educational uses emerged: (1) to build student awareness of aquaculture and its importance in the food system, and (2) to teach practical aquaculture skills necessary for aquaculture careers. Construction and assembly guides for the educational ERAS will be offered open source through ...
4-(Oxoalkyl)-substituted GABA analogues as inactivators and substrates of GABA aminotransferase.

AbstractOn the basis of the mechanism of inactivation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) aminotransferase by γ-ethynyl GABA that was reported recently (Burke and Silverman, manuscript submitted), three 4-(oxoalkyl)-substituted GABA analogues, 4-amino-5-oxohexanoic acid (7), 4-amino-5-oxopentanoic acid (8), and 4-amino-6-oxohexanoic acid (9) were synthesized and tested as inactivators. Only 8 was an inactivator of the enzyme. A mechanism for the inactivation by 8 is proposed as well as rationalizations for the lack of inactivation by 7 and 9.
Bioresorbable polymeric scaffolds for coronary revascularization: Lessons learnt from ABSORB III, ABSORB China, and ABSORB Japan

Bioresorbable polymers and biocorrodible metals are the latest developments in biodegradable materials used in interventional cardiology for the mechanical treatment of coronary atherosclerosis. Poly-L-lactic acid is the most frequently used bioresorbable polymer and initial evidence of feasibility, efficacy and clinical safety following deployment of polymer-based platforms was gained after completion of the first-in-man longitudinal ABSORB registries, Cohorts A and B and ABSORB Extend. In these studies, the biologic interaction of the first-generation Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS) (Abbott Vascular, SC, Calif., US) with the underlying vascular tissue was evaluated in vivo with multiple imaging modalities such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), virtual histology-IVUS, IVUS-palpography, optical coherence tomography as well as ex vivo with coronary computed tomography. Efficacy measures following this in vivo multi-imaging assessment as well as clinical safety were comparable with current generation drug-eluting stents (DES) (Abbott Vascular, SC, Calif., US) in non-complex lesions over a 3-year follow-up. Furthermore, novel properties of functional and anatomic restoration of the vessel wall during the late phases of resorption and vascular healing were observed transforming the field of mechanical treatment of atherosclerosis from delivering only acute revascularization to additionally enable late repair and subsequent restoration of a more physiologic underlying vascular tissue. Despite the sufficient evidence and the subsequent Conformite Europeenne mark approval of the first fully biodegradable scaffold (Absorb BVS) in 2012 for revascularizing non-complex lesions, the paucity of randomized comparisons of fully bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) with metallic DES in a "real-world" clinical setting raised controversies among the interventional community for the merit of these technologies. Only recently, results from international large-scale randomized trials from the United States (U.S.), China and Japan were revealed. Herein we provide a comprehensive overview of the ABSORB III, ABSORB China and ABSORB Japan studies demonstrating the consistent non-inferiority in clinical safety and efficacy measures of the Absorb BVS vs. current generation DES.
Notes on Digestion in Seven Species of Insects.

During the spring of 1928 some experiments were performed on a number of insects to determine any differences in their abilities to digest certain classes of foods. It seemed important to determine if the specificity of the feeding habits of insects could be linked with their respective abilities to digest various classes of foods.
The Study of Defects in Metals Using High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomistic Calculations

The coupling of HRTEM with atomistic calculations is described for the study of grain boundaries and dislocations in aluminum. HRTEM images of the Σ9 221 [110] grain boundary are compared with molecular statics calculations using both the Embedded Atom Method (EAM) and two pair potentials. Comparison between observed and simulated images are shown to serve as a stringent test of the theoretical methods. Atomistic calculations can in turn provide three-dimensional information about the defect structure. Using the EAM, it is also possible to account for the effects of thin foil geometries on the minimim energy configuration of defects. While these effects are found to be minimal for grain boundary structures, the influence of the thin-foil geometries on the core structure of the 60° dislocation in aluminum is discussed. These comparisons indicate that the EAM function provides a good description of grain boundary structures, but fails to reproduce the observed dislocation core structure due to a low predicted value of the intrinsic stacking fault energy (SFE) on the (111). In contrast, the pair potentials used in this study provide reasonable SFE values, but appear to be less accurate for the prediction of the Σ9 221 [110] grain boundary structures.
Assessing Generalized Mesh Quality via CFD Solution Validation

As flow solvers have become more sophisticated, researchers have begun to utilize meshes that contain general polyhedra as mesh elements, i.e., generalized meshes. In some cases, general polyhedra are employed locally in extruded meshes to improve mesh quality. General polyhedra have also been employed in solution-adaptive mesh refinement algorithms. Unfortunately, measuring the quality of these general non-simplex elements is difficult. Ultimately, however, a mesh is assessed to be of good quality only if the resultant simulation is of good quality. In this paper, we attempt to assess the quality of generalized meshes for a specific flow solver by performing a validation study using the the CHEM code, a robust finite-volume based Navier-Stokes flow solver. Computed results are compared with experimental data for two configurations: transonic flow around the ONERA M6 wing and hydrogen-oxygen combustion in a single-element injector. A third case, hypersonic flow over a sphere, is included to illustrate the improvement to the solution that can be obtained using general elements. Our results indicate that employing general elements locally does not appear to negatively impact the accuracy of the solutions.
Environmental significance of pesticide residues associated with aquatic sediments.

Abstract In the U.S., water quality criteria and standards for pesticides in aquatic systems are generally equivalent to chronic exposure safe concentrations based on toxicity tests conducted in the laboratory where aquatic organisms are exposed to pesticides that are usually in soluble, generally more available forms. The water quality management agencies in the U.S. usually develop pesticide regulations based on the total pesticide concentration in water samples, using the worst case criteria for guidance or as the standard values. In natural water systems however, many pesticides tend to become strongly sorbed on particulate matter so that only a small part of the total pesticide concentration is available to aquatic life. Systems with large amounts of suspended sediments can thus often sustain larger total concentrations of certain pesticides without being harmful to aquatic life. Rather than assuming that all of the pesticide in a sample of lake, river, or ocean water is available to adversely affect...
Liquid phase epitaxial growth and characterization of InAsxSb1−;x AND In1−yGaySb ON (111)B InSb substrates

Liquid phase epitaxial growth of InAsxSb1−x, for 0<x<0.27 and In1−yGaySb, for 0<y<0.37, has been successfully accomplished on (111)B InSb substrates between the temperatures of 450 and 520°C. The phase diagrams and the growth conditions for high-quality planar epitaxial layers have been determined. For growth of InAsxSb1−x for high values of x, the strong tendency of the ternary melt to dissolve the substrate, even when the liquid is a few degrees below its melting point, was negated by using large supercooling. Small supercooling of zero to 5.6°C were required over the whole range of composition examined for (In.Ga)Sb, whereas, for example, supercooling greater than 30°C was required to grow InAso.26Sbo.74 to avoid substrate dissolution. Lattice mismatch to the substrate was relieved by compositional grading. Etch pit studies in both materials yielded dislocation densities ranging from 5.8 × 102 to 2×106 cm−2 with most materials in the low 104 range. Hall and resistivity measurements performed at 300K and 77K on most samples showed an impurity contamination of the epitaxial layers. Some samples were n-type (carrier concentration approximately 1017/cm3), with varying degrees of acceptor compensation and others were n-type (carrier concentration approximately l017/cm3) at room temperature due to intrinsic conduction, but exhibited p-type conduction (carrier concentration approximately 5×l0l6/cm3) at 77K. Hall measurements performed on one of the latter samples ofvery low As content from 77K to 4.2K to examine hole freeze-out yielded an acceptor level ionization energy of 0.0126eV which is close to the effective mass acceptor level ionization energy in InSb. The electron-to-hole mobility ratio was also found to be 65.9. Electron microprobe analysis showed silicon to be the dominant impurity.
Examining A Health Care Price Transparency Tool: Who Uses It, And How They Shop For Care

Calls for transparency in health care prices are increasing, in an effort to encourage and enable patients to make value-based decisions. Yet there is very little evidence of whether and how patients use health care price transparency tools. We evaluated the experiences, in the period 2011–12, of an insured population of nonelderly adults with Aetna’s Member Payment Estimator, a web-based tool that provides real-time, personalized, episode-level price estimates. Overall, use of the tool increased during the study period but remained low. Nonetheless, for some procedures the number of people searching for prices of services (called searchers ) was high relative to the number of people who received the service (called patients ). Among Aetna patients who had an imaging service, childbirth, or one of several outpatient procedures, searchers for price information were significantly more likely to be younger and healthier and to have incurred higher annual deductible spending than patients who did not search f...
Analysis on MFT Control Logic for a 1177 t/h Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler

Based on the structure and combustion features of a 1 177 t/h circulating fluidized bed boiler in Guohua Ningdong Power Generation Co.,Ltd.,an analysis was performed to the protection control logic of its main fuel trip(MFT),while a comparison made between circulating fluidized bed boiler and conventional coal-fired boiler.In the MFT protection control logic,there are various protections provided,such as the loss of all flame,primary air flow less than minimum fluidization air flow and high or low bed temperature.
Study on Fas gene mutation and amino acid variation in thymus tissue of patients with myasthenia gravis

Aim: To study the functions of Fas molecule in myasthenia gravis by investigating whether Fas gene mutation and Fas molecule variation occur in thymus tissue of MG patients.Methods: The total RNA from thymus MG patients were extracted.The cDNA of Fas gene were amplified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT PCR),the product was cloned into T Vectors and sequenced.DNASIS and OMIGA software were used for sequencing and homogenous analysis.Results: Most of MG patients thymus tissue had Fas gene mutation,and the mutation rate was 75%(6/8).Multi sites mutation rate was 62.5%(5/8).There were 4 point mutation forms:A→G at 164nt, A→G at 287nt, G→A at 575nt, and A→G at 752nt.Conclusion: Fas gene mutation exists in thymus tissues of MG patients.
Can Stage A1 Tumor Extent be Predicted by Transurethral Resection Tumor Volume, Per Cent or Grade? A Study of 64 Stage A1 Radical Prostatectomies with Comparison to Prostates Removed for Stages A2 and B Disease

AbstractWe studied 64 totally embedded radical prostatectomy specimens of stage Al prostate cancer. The transurethral resection specimens were studied and compared to previously studied stages A2 and B cancer in which tumor volumes also were calculated. At radical prostatectomy 6% of the specimens had no residual cancer, 74% had minimal cancer and 20% had substantial cancer. Although most stages A2 and B tumors were larger, there was overlap among all stages. Transurethral resection tumor volume, per cent and grade were not statistically correlated with either radical prostatectomy residual tumor volume, or whether tumor was classified as minimal or substantial. Gleason sum 2 to 4 versus 5 to 7 tumor on transurethral resection showed no difference in predicting radical prostatectomy residual tumor or minimal versus substantial tumor status. Because 20% of all stage Al cancers have substantial tumor at radical prostatectomy unpredictable by transurethral resection, radical prostatectomy remains an option f...
Food allergy knowledge and training among restaurant employees

Abstract As the number of Americans with food allergies continues to increase, restaurant employees should be trained to serve customers who have this condition. This study investigated restaurant employees’ food allergy (FA) knowledge and identified previous FA training, the preferred characteristics of future FA training, and the reasons why some employees were not interested in FA training. A study questionnaire was developed based on interviews with restaurateurs and previous literature and was completed by 229 restaurant employees. The results showed that the participants have some FA knowledge (20.8 ± 3.4 of 28). Many were not trained in FA but expressed interest in attending such training. The participants expressed a preference for self-paced training programs that use real-world examples and simple language. Some reasons for not being interested in attending FA training included “time consuming”, “not beneficial”, and “boring”. The restaurant industry benefits from the findings of this study by gaining a greater understanding of the current food allergy knowledge and training of restaurant employees.
Qualitative changes in hallucinations.

Objective This study examined which characteristics of hallucinations are most likely to change after inpatient treatment. Method Fifty hallucinating psychiatric inpatients were given semistructured interviews shortly after admission and again shortly before discharge to elicit detailed descriptions of 12 characteristics of hallucinations. Results Twenty-eight (56%) of the 50 patients continued to report hallucinations after inpatient treatment. Posttreatment hallucinations differed significantly from pretreatment hallucinations in that they were less frequent, less intense, and less likely to prompt overt behavioral responses. Other characteristics of hallucinations remained relatively stable. Conclusions Even when treatment does not eliminate hallucinations, it may alter them significantly. Outcome criteria that consider only the presence or absence of hallucinations may miss important changes in the nature of the symptom. This demonstrates that there is no simple "on-off switch" for hallucinations and supports multifactorial theories of the etiology of hallucinations.
Archaeological correlates of population management of the eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) with a case study from the American South

Abstract The wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) was an important food resource to Precolumbian Native Americans; however, little attention has been given to the subject of turkey husbandry, or use in the American Southeast. We thus present demographic turkey data from the Mississippian Period Fewkes site in Tennessee, ethnographic and ethnohistoric information on Southeastern Native Americans, and material culture data from Tennessee and Alabama to explore the use and potential management of eastern wild turkeys ( M . gallopavo silvestris ). The osteometric data from the Fewkes site indicates that both male and female adult turkeys are represented in the faunal assemblage, with males being present in equal or greater numbers than females. It appears that the female specimens were not taken during the egg-laying period. The results can be interpreted as either the result of humans managing local turkey populations as sources of both meat and feathers, or occasional selective hunting of large adult males.
Acid rain recovery may help to mitigate the impacts of climate change on thermally sensitive fish in lakes across eastern North America.

From the 1970s to 1990s, more stringent air quality regulations were implemented across North America and Europe to reduce chemical emissions that contribute to acid rain. Surface water pH slowly increased during the following decades, but biological recovery lagged behind chemical recovery. Fortunately, this situation is changing. In the past few years, northeastern US fish populations have begun to recover in lakes that were historically incapable of sustaining wild fish due to acidic conditions. As lake ecosystems across the eastern United States recover from acid deposition, the stress to the most susceptible populations of native coldwater fish appears to be shifting from acidification effects to thermal impacts associated with changing climate. Extreme summer temperature events – which are expected to occur with increasing frequency in the coming century – can stress and ultimately kill native coldwater fish in lakes where thermal stratification is absent or highly limited. Based on data from northeastern North America, we argue that recovery from acid deposition has the potential to improve the resilience of coldwater fish populations in some lakes to impacts of climate change. This will occur as the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the water increases with increasing lake pH. Increased DOC will reduce water clarity and lead to shallower and more persistent lake thermoclines that can provide larger areas of coldwater thermal refuge habitat. Recovery from acidification will not eliminate the threat of climate change to coldwater fish, but secondary effects of acid recovery may improve the resistance of coldwater fish populations in lakes to the effects of elevated summer temperatures in historically acidified ecosystems. This analysis highlights the importance of considering the legacy of past ecosystem impacts and how recovery or persistence of those effects may interact with climate change impacts on biota in the coming decades.
Defining the Architecture of the Core Machinery for the Assembly of Fe–S Clusters in Human Mitochondria

Although Fe-S clusters may assemble spontaneously from elemental iron and sulfur in protein-free systems, the potential toxicity of free Fe2+, Fe3+, and S2- ions in aerobic environments underscores the requirement for specialized proteins to oversee the safe assembly of Fe-S clusters in living cells. Prokaryotes first developed multiprotein systems for Fe-S cluster assembly, from which mitochondria later derived their own system and became the main Fe-S cluster suppliers for eukaryotic cells. Early studies in yeast and human mitochondria indicated that Fe-S cluster assembly in eukaryotes is centered around highly conserved Fe-S proteins (human ISCU) that serve as scaffolds upon which new Fe-S clusters are assembled from (i) elemental sulfur, provided by a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent cysteine desulfurase (human NFS1) and its stabilizing-binding partner (human ISD11), and (ii) elemental iron, provided by an iron-binding protein of the frataxin family (human FXN). Further studies revealed that all of these proteins could form stable complexes that could reach molecular masses of megadaltons. However, the protein-protein interaction surfaces, catalytic mechanisms, and overall architecture of these macromolecular machines remained undefined for quite some time. The delay was due to difficulties inherent in reconstituting these very large multiprotein complexes in vitro or isolating them from cells in sufficient quantities to enable biochemical and structural studies. Here, we describe approaches we developed to reconstitute the human Fe-S cluster assembly machinery in Escherichia coli and to define its remarkable architecture.
A reliability & risk framework for the assessment and management of system risks in critical infrastructures with central control rooms

Abstract The submission integrates approaches and major findings generated over the course of our 15-year research project on high reliability management in California infrastructures. The resulting framework identifies issues and variables core to systemwide reliability and risks in critical infrastructures having central control rooms and operating under different standards of reliability (including safety). In this framework, issues of managing system risks follow from logically and empirically prior issues related to managing the system in real time by the infrastructure’s control room according to the systemwide reliability standards in operation. The considerable implications are drawn out for the increasingly important field of risk assessment and management in interconnected critical infrastructures.
Training the Child Welfare Workforce on Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices

This chapter provides an overview of the training efforts associated with the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (CWTTT). The CWTTT is a curriculum created by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Child Welfare Committee that was designed to provide critical trauma training for the child welfare workforce. The CWTTT is intended for child welfare workers, supervisors, and administrators, and highlights seven essential elements of a trauma-informed child welfare system. The chapter provides an outline of the CWTTT, staff qualifications to deliver the CWTTT, and implementation efforts related to the CWTTT. Data gathered from communities who have used the CWTTT is presented as well as application strategies for supporting CWTTT training are discussed.
Self-regulated use of a wearable activity sensor is not associated with improvements in physical activity, cardiometabolic risk or subjective health status

Physical activity (PA) trackers are a pervasive feature of modern life. It is expected that by 2020, sales of wearable devices will reach approximately 300 million users1 many with the intention of increasing activity by tracking daily step count and other measures of PA. We assessed whether self-regulated use of a commercial PA tracker without prescribed goals improved (1) PA, (2) cardiometabolic (CM) risk factors or (3) subjective health status (SHS). We recruited 431 healthy, mostly white (59%) male (61%) volunteers aged 41±9 years (mean±SD), body mass index (BMI) 28±6 kg/m2 (23.6% obese) from a common worksite in North America to wear a commercial PA tracker for 6 months. Behaviour and PA change goals were not prescribed. Participants did not receive any compensation but kept the PA tracker at study completion. The wrist-worn PA tracker (Basis Peak) incorporated standard technology including an optical sensor and 3-axes accelerometer and was synchronised to participants’ mobile devices enabling them to follow their PA. Raw accelerometer data from the PA tracker was collected and compiled by …
Predicting postoperative language outcome using presurgical fMRI, MEG, TMS, and high gamma ECoG.

Abstract Objective To predict the postoperative language outcome using the support vector regression (SVR) and results of multimodal presurgical language mapping. Methods Eleven patients with epilepsy received presurgical language mapping using functional MRI (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and high-gamma electrocorticography (hgECoG), as well as pre- and postoperative neuropsychological evaluation of language. We constructed 15 (24–1) SVR models by considering the extent of resected language areas identified by all subsets of four modalities as input feature vector and the postoperative language outcome as output. We trained and cross-validated SVR models, and compared the cross-validation (CV) errors of all models for prediction of language outcome. Results Seven patients had some level of postoperative language decline and two of them had significant postoperative decline in naming. Some parts of language areas identified by four modalities were resected in these patients. We found that an SVR model consisting of fMRI, MEG, and hgECoG provided minimum CV error, although an SVR model consisting of fMRI and MEG was the optimal model that facilitated the best trade-off between model complexity and prediction accuracy. Conclusions A multimodal SVR can be used to predict the language outcome. Significance The developed multimodal SVR models in this study can be utilized to calculate the language outcomes of different resection plans prior to surgery and select the optimal surgical plan.
Chances of Renal Recovery or Liver Transplantation After Hospitalization for Alcoholic Liver Disease Requiring Dialysis

Acute kidney injury in the setting of alcoholic liver disease portends a poor prognosis without liver transplant. Using a tertiary care population, we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of renal replacement therapy in patients with alcoholic liver disease and acute kidney injury with < 6 months sobriety. A retrospective review of hospitalized patients with alcoholic hepatitis/acute on chronic alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatorenal syndrome or acute tubular necrosis was performed. Analyzed variables included patient comorbidities, mode of dialysis, MELD-Na score, CLIF-C ACLF score, and CLIF-C OF score. Forty-seven patients were included, 21.3% of which survived 6 months of sobriety to be eligible for transplant evaluation. Despite renal replacement therapy, mortality was 78.7%. Of survivors, 4 received transplants and 6 recovered without transplant. Lower CLIF-C ACLF (p < 0.001) and CLIF-C OF (p = 0.001) predicted 6-month survival and lower MELD-Na (p = 0.016), CLIF-C ACLF (p < 0.001), and CLIF-C OF (p = 0.006) predicted renal recovery. There was no difference in survival or renal recovery between etiologies of kidney injury. Modality of initial dialysis with intermittent hemodialysis compared to continuous renal replacement therapy predicted improved survival (41.2 vs. 10.0%, p = 0.01) and nearly reached significance for renal recovery (23.5 vs. 6.7%, p = 0.054). Although severe alcoholic liver disease with acute kidney injury is associated with a high mortality irrespective of the etiology of renal failure, over 20% of patients in this study survived 6 months to be evaluated for liver transplant and 12.8% recovered renal function. These outcomes should be considered when weighing the decision of initiating dialysis.
NH2-terminal methionine in nascent peptides from Neurospora crassa.

Abstract NH2-terminal amino acid analysis of mature proteins from mycelia of Neurospora crassa reveals the absence of methionine and presence of glycine, alanine, and serine as major amino-termini. Examination of short nascent peptides by a variety of methods shows the presence of methionine at the NH2-terminal position. This observation suggests that methionine is cleaved during the maturation process. It is concluded that methionine is an initiating amino acid in this eukaryote, although other modes of initiation have not been eliminated.
Developing a truly interdisciplinary bioinformatics track: work in progress

This paper presents the development and current status of the curriculum of the Bioinformatics track within the Towson University's Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics (MBBB or MB3) undergraduate interdisciplinary program.
Reconstructing and characterizing focal amplifications in cancer using AmpliconArchitect

Abstract Focal oncogene amplification and rearrangements drive tumor growth and evolution in multiple cancer types. We developed a tool, AmpliconArchitect (AA), which can robustly reconstruct the fine structure of focally amplified regions using whole genome sequencing. AA-reconstructed amplicons in pan-cancer data and in virus-driven cervical cancer samples revealed many novel insights about focal amplifications. Specifically, the findings lend support to extrachromosomally mediated mechanisms for copy number expansion, and oncoviral pathogenesis.
459 NOVEL COMPOUNDS PREVENT AMINOGLYCOSIDE OTOTOXICITY: F5 AND H10.

Background and Objectives Aminoglycoside antibiotics are known to induce sensory hair cell death in the inner ear. Loss of sensory hair cells can lead to hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. A previous drug screen in zebrafish (Danio rerio) identified two novel compounds, F5 and H10, that prevent the toxic effects of neomycin on lateral line hair cells. We hypothesized that these compounds would protect hair cells from neomycin-induced death in mammalian inner ear utricular hair cells. Methods Murine utricles were harvested from 3- to 6-week old CBA/CaJ mice and were cultured in an in vitro preparation. Utricles pretreated with 10 μM F5 or H10 and untreated utricles were exposed to 2 mM neomycin. Whole-mount immunohistochemistry was then performed to identify surviving striolar and extrastriolar hair cells of the utricles. Hair cell counts were then conducted using fluorescent microscopy. Statistical analysis was performed via one-way ANOVA tests. Results Utricles (n = 5-10) pretreated with F5 and H10 and then subsequently treated with neomycin were compared with nonpretreated neomycin-exposed utricles. Both F5 and H10 showed significant protection from hair cell death in both regions compared with control, p Conclusion In previous experiments, it has been demonstrated that the novel compounds F5 and H10, both benzothiophene carboxamides, protect hair cells from aminoglycoside-induced death in the lateral line of live zebrafish. In this study, F5 and H10 pretreatment were shown to prevent neomycin-induced hair cell death in a dose-dependent manner in the murine utricle. Both compounds are structurally similar, suggesting a similar mechanism of action. The next step in our investigation will be to elucidate this mechanism of action. This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health NIDCD grant DC04661, NICHHD HD002274, and the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, T32 RR023256. Information on this Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program can be found at .