cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polarization Control of Morphological Pattern Orientation During Light-Mediated Synthesis of Nanostructured Se–Te Films

The template-free growth of well ordered, highly anisotropic lamellar structures has been demonstrated during the photoelectrodeposition of Se–Te films, wherein the orientation of the pattern can be directed by orienting the linear polarization of the incident light. This control mechanism was investigated further herein by examining the morphologies of films grown photoelectrochemically using light from two simultaneous sources that had mutually different linear polarizations. Photoelectrochemical growth with light from two nonorthogonally polarized same-wavelength sources generated lamellar morphologies in which the long axes of the lamellae were oriented parallel to the intensity-weighted average polarization orientation. Simulations of light scattering at the solution–film interface were consistent with this observation. Computer modeling of these growths using combined full-wave electromagnetic and Monte Carlo growth simulations successfully reproduced the experimental morphologies and quantitatively...
Clinical factors that affect breast cancer risk reduction decisions in high risk women tested for the BRCA1/2 genetic mutation

1013 Background: Women with an increased risk for breast cancer have many risk reduction options including: prophylactic mastectomy, prophylactic oophorectomy, chemoprevention, and screening. Women...
P048 : HIGH FREQUENCY OF HLA-DQ ANTIBODIES IN HEART TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

Aim To assess the frequencies of post-transplant (Tx) HLA-class II (cII) antibodies (Abs) in heart transplant recipients. Methods We examined the incidence of HLA-cII antibody among 74 patients receiving an orthotopic heart transplant at our center. Antibody frequencies among 26 renal transplant patients were used for comparison. Results Among the heart patients, 29 (39.2%) had HLA-cII Ab post-Tx. Twenty-seven of the 29 (93%) had antibody to DQ with 17 of the 27 (63%) having antibody to DQ only. There were only 2 patients with Ab to DR only. Further, in 21 (77.8%) of these 27 patients the post-Tx DQ was not present pre-Tx. In contrast, among the 26 renal patients, 16 (61.5%) had antibody to cII post-Tx with 11 of the 16 (68.8%) having DQ Ab and 5 of those (45.5%) specific only for DQ. However the post-Tx DQ antibody was new in only 1 of the 11 (9.1%) patients and there were 5 patients with antibody to DR only. The frequencies of post-Tx Abs did not differ significantly between the two patient groups. However, the incidence of DQ antibody was significantly higher ( P = 0.03) among the heart Tx patients, as was the incidence of apparent de novo DQ antibody ( P = 0.0001). Interestingly, the DQ antibody was specific for donor mismatches in 13 of 27 (48.1%) of heart patients but in 7 of 11 (63.1%) of renal patients but the difference was not significant ( P = 0.39). Conclusion These data suggest that heart transplant patients have a significantly higher incidence of post-Tx DQ antibody compared to renal transplant patients and that post-Tx DQ antibody in heart patients appears to be de novo. A.A. Zachary: Scientific/Medical Advisor; Company/Organization; Scientific Advisory Board Immucor.
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter Structure Changes Detected by Intramolecular Fluorescence Energy Transfer for High-Throughput Screening.

Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) actively transports a wide variety of drugs out of cells. To quantify MRP1 structural dynamics, we engineered a “two-color MRP1” construct by fusing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and TagRFP to MRP1 nucleotide–binding domains NBD1 and NBD2, respectively. The recombinant MRP1 protein expressed and trafficked normally to the plasma membrane. Two-color MRP1 transport activity was normal, as shown by vesicular transport of [3H]17β-estradiol-17-β-(d-glucuronide) and doxorubicin efflux in AAV-293 cells. We quantified fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from GFP to TagRFP as an index of NBD conformational changes. Our results show that ATP binding induces a large-amplitude conformational change that brings the NBDs into closer proximity. FRET was further increased by substrate in the presence of ATP but not by substrate alone. The data suggest that substrate binding is required to achieve a fully closed and compact structure. ATP analogs bind MRP1 with reduced apparent affinity, inducing a partially closed conformation. The results demonstrate the utility of the two-color MRP1 construct for investigating ATP-binding cassette transporter structural dynamics, and it holds great promise for high-throughput screening of chemical libraries for unknown activators, inhibitors, or transportable substrates of MRP1.
ACUTE OSTEITIS OF UNDETERMINED ORIGIN WITH NEURO-INFECTION

1. A child is described in whom an acute osteitis was produced by some organism which could neither be identified nor cultured in vitro, and which provoked a violent general reaction but which also showed a distinct affinity for the central nervous system. 2. This organism survived in a cavity in the femur for four months; it preserved its pathogenic properties, and could only be cultured in living tissue. 3. A twice repeated passage through animals increased the toxicity of this organism and proved its affinity for the central nervous system. 4. This organism may have been a virus similar to those producing encephalitis. A final answer may be obtained by further attempts to provoke experimental osteitis with live cultures of viruses in animals.
Albumin/Globulin Ratios, Colloid Osmotic Pressures and Lowry Protein Microanalysis in Rat Plasma

1. We have correlated measurements of colloid osmotic pressure with protein concentrations and albumin/globulin ratios. Plasma from normal rats of different genetic strains was used. 2. The Landis and Pappenheimer equation does not accurately predict colloid osmotic pressure properties of the normal rat plasma used, which had an albumin/globulin ratio of 0.74. Over the range 2.2−12.2 g of protein/100 ml, the measured colloid osmotic pressures vary between −5% and +10% from the value predicted by the equation. 3. In Wistar-derived genetically hypertensive and normotensive rats, albumin/globulin ratios were higher than those in common Wistar rats. Owing to the presence of higher globulins, plasma proteins were higher in Wistar than spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats, and colloid osmotic pressure was identical in the three groups. 4. When common Sprague—Dawley rats were obtained from two different suppliers, their albumin/globulin ratios were found to be different. 5. As the difference in albumin/globulin ratio between human and rat plasma becomes more pronounced, predicting rat plasma colloid osmotic pressure from the Landis and Pappenheimer equation becomes less accurate. Environmental and/or genetic factors play a role in the albumin/globulin ratio found in normal healthy rats. 6. Therefore albumin/globulin ratios should be measured in each experimental situation. If the ratios are close to that of human plasma, the Landis and Pappenheimer equation can be used. If not, a new colloid osmotic pressure-protein expression should be derived. 7. Calculation of glomerular capillary pressures from directly measured colloid osmotic pressure values reduces error.
Genetic structure of local populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in central Colombia.

Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva), the sand fly vector of American visceral leishmaniasis in the New World tropics, has a broad but discontinuous geographical distribution from southern Mexico to Argentina. A baseline for population genetic structure and genetic variability for this species was obtained by analyzing 5 local, peridomestic populations at the approximate center of its distribution, the Magdalena River Valley of central Colombia. Three populations of L. longipalpis from El Callejon, a small rural community, were compared with 2 populations from neighboring areas 12 and 25 km distant for genetic variation at 15 isoenzyme loci. The mean heterozygosity ranged from 11 to 16%, with 1.2 to 2.3 alleles detected per locus. Nei's genetic distances among the populations were very low, ranging from 0.001 to 0.007. Gene flow estimates based on FST indicated high levels of gene flow among local L. longipalpis populations, with minimal population substructuring.
The Value of Fiction as Management Training

ABSTRACTReading fiction can teach sophisticated management skills. The difference between paraliterary fiction that focuses on escaping reality and literary fiction that analyzes reality is important. All reading can help improve basic literacy including increased comprehension and reading speed. Intermediate skills provide the manager with specific lessons on how to manage. Advanced skills, obtained from reading literary fiction, include empathy, the ability to interpret and create sophisticated texts, and an increased possibility of recognizing the “truth” in any environment. Traditional business publications offer more direct training but often overlook the complexities that the experienced manager will encounter and overemphasize the possibilities for success.Column Editor’s Note This JLA column will consider issues of education and training for management positions in libraries and other information organizations from the perspectives of both the provider and the recipient. The column will appear in ...
Occupational Health Situation and Countermeasures in Nanning City

[Objective]To understand the present situation of occupational health in Nanning City, to discuss the existing problem, and put forward relevant solutions.[Methods]Occupational health technical data and occupational health supervision data of Nanning City (including 6 counties and 6 districts) in recent 3 years were analyzed comprehensively.[Results] Of 456 enterprises with occupational hazards, according to the requirement of " Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases", 267 enterprises had occupational disease management department and Legal person responsibility system, 244 had occupational disease prevention plans or programs with 306 full-time or part-time administrators; there were 67 619 employees, 31 130 (46.04%) with occupational hazard exposure. A total of 20 297 employees received occupational examination in recent 3 years, the examination rate was 65.2%. Pneumoconiosis was detected in 113 employees, and occupational contraindication on 223 employees, all employees with occupational contraindication had been transferred. Totally 17 977 occupational health surveillance files were established, with establishing rate of 57.75%, and administrative penalty was carried out in 35 illegal enterprises. Three units(only 1 in urban area) in Nannig City obtained the qualification of occupational health technical service institutions.[Conclusion]The occupational hazards are serious in Nanning City. The employing units, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises are lack of effective management system. Occupational health service institutions are not sufficient, and the professional and technical levels of occupational health workers need to be improved.
Detection for hantavirus in rodent lung tissue by TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR

Objective:To investigate the accuracy and sensitivity of TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR in detecting hantavirus(HV) infection in rodent lung tissue and to improve the detective method of hantavirus and establish the database about the detection in laboratory.Methods:TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR and reverse transcriptional-nested polymerase chain reaction(RT-nested PCR) were adopted to determine HFRS antigens in the lung tissues of captured rats by surveillance on natural infection of rodents with hantavirus in Shenzhen city in 2005.Results:In 102 rats′lung tissues samples,HV RNA was detectable in 63 by TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR,and proved to be positive in 61 by RT-nested PCR.The identical positive samples were 57,and the identical negative samples were 35 of the 102 samples,the coincidence rate was 90.2%.Compared with RT-nested-PCR,the sensitivity of TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR was higher,but the positive rate of two methods did not have marked difference.Conclusion:TaqMan MGB fluorescent PCR is more accurate in detecting hantavirus infection and its sensitivity is higher than that of RT-nested PCR.
Evaluating the Substantive Significance of Linear Fixed Effects Regression Results

The counterfactuals researchers commonly use to assess the substantive significance of linear fixed effects regression results do not account for the manner in which these models are estimated. Importantly, including fixed effects in a regression means that the model is estimated based on the often narrow within-unit distribution of an independent variable. Despite this, counterfactuals are often motivated with features of an independent variable's overall distribution (e.g., its range or standard deviation). Using simulated data and two case studies, we show this approach has two consequences. First, it inflates the substantive significance of any variables assessed in this way. Second, these counterfactuals are unreliable and exhibit a high degree of model dependence. We recommend instead that researchers assess the substantive significance of fixed effects regression results with counterfactuals based on the within-unit distribution of an independent variable. We provide an R function to implement this recommendation.
Optimal Risk Path Algorithms

Analytical and discrete optimization approaches for routing an aircraft in a threat environment have been developed. Using these approaches, an aircraft’s optimal risk trajectory with a constraint on the path length can be efficiently calculated. The analytical approach based on calculus of variations reduces the original risk optimization problem to the system of nonlinear differential equations. In the case of a single radarinstallation, the solution of such a system is expressed by the elliptic sine. The discrete optimization approach reformulates the problem as the Weight Constrained Shortest Path Problem (WCSPP) for a grid undirected graph. The WCSPP is efficiently solved by the Modified Label Setting Algorithm (MLSA). Both approaches have been tested with several numerical examples. Discrete nonsmooth solutions with high precision coincide with exact continuous solutions. For the same graph, time in which the discrete optimization algorithm computes the optimal trajectory is independent of the number of radars. The discrete approach is also efficient for solving the problem using different risk functions.
Papillomavirus assembly: An overview and perspectives

Papillomavirus life cycle is tightly coupled to epithelial cell differentiation, which has hindered the investigation of many aspects of papillomavirus biology, including virion assembly. The development of in vitro production methods of papillomavirus pseudoviruses, and the production of "native" virus in raft cultures have facilitated the study of some aspects of the assembly process. In this paper we review the current knowledge of papillomavirus assembly, directions for future research, and the implications of these studies on new therapeutic interventions.
Clinical assessment of pediatric anthropometry

Children are special groups who grow rapidly,the characteristics of physical growth are discontinuous,and individual in different stages.Growth level,growth velocity and proportion of body need in consideration for a proper assessment and explanation of growth status in children. Key words: Children; Growth and development; Evaluation
Phase II study of ruxolitinib in patients with pStat3+ breast cancer.

TPS1134 Background: Multiple lines of evidence implicate the IL-6/JAK2/Stat3 signaling pathway in metastatic progression and therapeutic resistance in breast cancer (Marotta et al, JCI2011; Britsch...
Advice for Raising Registration and Turnout Rates: Field Experiments on 37 College Campuses

In the United States, the burden of registering to vote falls upon prospective voters. Voters must learn how, when, and where to register, and they must take the time to complete a registration form each time they relocate. College campuses provide excellent testing grounds to measure the effectiveness of different approaches to voter registration. Like other young people, who turnout at low rates, students move frequently and have little or no voter history. Using student directories to randomly assign students to different registration appeals, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of face-to-face, classroom-based appeals, and the corresponding ineffectiveness of less personal mail- and email-based approaches to registration. Unlike mail and email campaigns, classroom presentations provide young citizens with the combination of information, motivation, and designated time required to successfully complete the registration process.
Implications of Pharmacogenomics to the Management of IBS

The objectives are to review the role of pharmacogenomics in drug metabolism of medications typically used in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) focusing predominantly on cytochrome P450 metabolism. Other aims are to provide examples of genetic variation of receptors or intermediary pathways that are targets for IBS drugs and to critically appraise the situations where precision medicine is impacting health in IBS. Pharmacogenomics impacts both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Although large clinical trials have not incorporated testing for genetic variations that could impact the efficacy of medications in IBS, there are therapeutic advantages to inclusion of pharmacogenomics testing for individual patients, as has been demonstrated particularly in the treatment with central neuromodulators in psychiatry practice. Clinical practice in IBS is moving in the same direction with the aid of commercially available tests focused on drug metabolism. Specific mechanisms leading to pathophysiology of IBS are still poorly characterized, relative to diseases such as cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, and, therefore, pharmacogenomics related to drug pharmacodynamics is still in its infancy and requires extensive future research. With increased attention to pharmacogenomics affecting drug metabolism, it is anticipated that pharmacogenomics will impact care of IBS.
The PI3K Pathway in Colorectal Cancers

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) belongs to the intracellular lipid kinases family involved in diverse physiological processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, growth, and metabolism. Recent mutation analysis has shown that the PI3K pathway is one of the most frequently dysregulated pathways in human cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Accordingly, significant effort has been made to develop pharmacological inhibitors targeting PI3K or key nodes in this pathway, such as AKT and mTOR. There are currently more than 20 unique compounds targeting the PI3K pathway being assessed in numerous cancer-related clinical trials. In addition, the mutation status of PI3K pathway in cancers may have predictive and prognostic implications. After 3 decades of the discovery of PI3K, we are now at an exciting intersection in translating our knowledge of the PI3K signaling pathway into developing effective therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. A comprehensive understanding of circuits and regulations of this pathway are essential to the rational development of such therapies. In this chapter, we will discuss recent advances in our understanding of the functions and mutations of PI3K signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of CRC. We will also review current drug-discovery efforts and challenges targeting PI3K signaling for the treatment of CRC.
Unique Factors Affecting the Management and Prevention of Caries in the Childhood Cancer Survivor

Childhood cancer survivors are at high risk for a myriad of complications secondary to oncologic treatment regimens. Caries is one of the major sequela of oncologic treatment that place the childhood cancer survivor at risk for complications in adulthood. Dental caries can be prevented with optimum dental care, early identification, and patient education. A barrier to their prevention is the lack of routine dental care received by this population. Health care providers are in a prime position to remedy this problem through their frequent contact with the childhood cancer survivor during sick and well-child office visits. The purpose of this article is to convey information and tools related to dental caries in the pediatric cancer survivor younger than 18 years to enhance primary care providers', acute care pediatric nurse practitioners', and oncology providers' knowledge of risk stratification, early identification, and treatment regimens for caries in the childhood cancer survivor.
Interprofessional Healthcare Student Training in the Care of Sexual Assault Patients Utilizing Standardized Patient Methodology.

BACKGROUND The medical assessment of sexual assault (SA) is challenging because SA patients are often hesitant to disclose their medical needs, which puts them at further physical and psychological risk, and because of provider unease in conducting SA examinations. This challenge is compounded by a lack of provider training. OBJECTIVES The study goals were to develop an interprofessional simulation event that would foster SA interview skills, foster effective communication with SA patients, and increase learner confidence in assessing SA patients. METHODS Participants were senior-year school of medicine (n = 165) and advanced practice registered nursing (n = 30) students (N = 195) who were enrolled in a mandatory Military Sexual Assault Assessment and Treatment course, along with data provided by trained standardized patients (SPs, n = 16) who participated in the simulation event and in assessments of learners. Measures included the Sexual Assault Interview Skills Checklist, the Essential Elements of Communication, and the Confidence in SA Assessment scale. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and t tests at the P < 0.05 threshold. RESULTS Postsimulation Sexual Assault Interview Skills Checklist and Essential Elements of Communication scores demonstrated an acceptable level of competence according to both students and SPs. Confidence in SA assessment rose significantly from presimulation to postsimulation. Before simulation, medical students were significantly lower than nursing students, but the simulation event closed the confidence in SA assessment gap. CONCLUSIONS This interprofessional simulation event resulted in SA interview competence, communication skills competence, and improved confidence scores. Combined, these findings support the efficacy of simulation to train emerging healthcare providers to properly assess SA.
Staring at the sun: a physical black-box solar performance model

Developing accurate solar performance models, which estimate solar output based on a deployment's unique physical characteristics and weather, is increasingly important as the aggregate energy generated from solar rises. Since manually developing "white box" physical models based on site-specific information requires expert knowledge and thus does not scale, recent research focuses on "black box" approaches that use training data to automatically learn a custom machine learning (ML) model. Unfortunately, this approach requires months-to-years of training data, and often does not incorporate well-known physical models of solar generation, which reduces its accuracy. To address the problem, we develop a physical black-box modeling approach that leverages many of the same fundamental properties as existing white-box models.Rather than manually determining values for physical model parameters, our approach automatically calibrates them by finding values that best fit the data. This calibration requires much less data (as few as 2 datapoints) than training a ML model, as the physical model already embeds the complex relationship between the input parameters and solar output. In developing our approach, we isolate the effects of 10 different weather metrics on solar output from nearly 343 million hourly weather and solar readings, or 78,435 aggregate years, gathered from 11,205 solar sites. We show that our physical model accurately describes weather's effect on solar output at all sites, obviating the need for training custom ML models using weather metrics. Instead, we augment our physical model by applying ML to learn only the relationships that are unique to each site, specifically non-weather-based shading. We evaluate our approach on solar and weather data from 100 sites, and show it yields higher accuracy than current state-of-the-art ML approaches.
What is the shape of the fundamental Grinnellian niche

Since it was defined by Hutchinson, in 1957, the fundamental niche has been assumed, implicitly or explicitly, to have some convex shape. This assumption requires some critical analysis. In this work, we examine the special case of Grinnellian niches (those composed by sets of points of non-interactive variables in multidimensional spaces). We show that annual species in seasonal environments are likely to have very non-convex shapes, and be composed not of sets of points, but of sets of trajectories. We also examine under what circumstances trajectories may be approximated using sets of points. It appears to be the case that the breadth of requirements at each stage in the life history is a key parameter. We conclude by comparing the situation with perennial species.
Advances in Phenotyping of Functional Traits

Phenotyping is analyzing a plant’s phenotype and providing a critical means to understand morphological, biochemical, and physiological principles in the control of basic plant functions as well as to select superior genotypes in plant breeding. Besides well-known classical plant phenotyping procedures based on visual observations, measurements, or biochemical analyses, many recent developments are target specific and highly automated analysis procedures. Automated phenotyping approaches are far more successful at the laboratory and greenhouse scale than in field conditions where many other variable factors complicate the retrieval of imaging data collected in the field. With respect to plant breeding, rapid measurement procedures, a high throughput, a high degree of automation, and an access to appropriate, well-conceived databases are required to depict the performance of certain genotypes in the field. This chapter will focus on destructive, nondestructive, and automated techniques available to quantify plant morphological and biomass traits, root system architecture, physiological functional traits, biochemical quality and nutritional compositions, and postharvest characteristics.
Rare Saposin A deficiency: Novel variant and psychosine analysis.

Abstract Saposin A is a post-translation product of the prosaposin (PSAP) gene that serves as an activator protein of the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) enzyme, and is necessary for the degradation of certain glycosphingolipids. Deficiency of saposin A leads to a clinical picture identical to that of early-infantile Krabbe disease caused by GALC enzyme deficiency. Galactosylsphingosine, also known as psychosine, is a substrate of the GALC enzyme that is known to be elevated in classic Krabbe disease. We present the case of an 18-month-old male with clinical and radiological findings concerning for Krabbe disease who had preserved GALC enzyme activity and negative GALC gene sequencing, but was found to have a homozygous variant, c.257 T > A (p.I86N), in the saposin A peptide of PSAP. Psychosine determination on dried blood spot at 18 months of age was elevated to 12 nmol/L (normal
Cycling With Functional Electrical Stimulation and Adaptive Neural Network Admittance Control

For individuals with neurological conditions (NCs) affecting the muscles of their legs, motorized functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling is a rehabilitation strategy which offers numerous health benefits. Motorized FES cycling is an example of cooperative physical human-robot interaction where both the cycle's motor and rider's muscles (through electrical stimulation) must be well controlled to achieve desired performance. Since every NC is unique, adaptive control of motorized FES cycling is motivated over a one-size-fits-all approach. In this paper, a robust sliding-mode controller is employed on the rider's muscles while an adaptive neural network admittance controller is employed on the cycle's motor to preserve rider comfort and safety. Through a Lyapunov-like switched systems stability analysis, global asymptotic stability of the cycle controller is guaranteed and the muscle controller is proven to be passive with respect to the cycle. Experiments on one able-bodied participant were conducted to validate the control design.
Modern Techniques of Activation Analysis for the Measurement of Environmental Trace Metals

The principles of neutron activation, nuclear track, photon activation, and charged particle activation methods are discussed. The application of these techniques to the determination of trace elements in environmental materials is reviewed and recent developments in nuclear methods of environmental trace analysis are illustrated by several examples. The uses of nuclear activation methods in air pollution studies, water pollution studies, and energy production emissions are taken as specific examples of recent work. Reference is made to the accuracy and precision of nuclear activation methods and the need for environmental trace element standards.
(Feminist) STS and Autobiography: Early Inspirations, Current Concerns

This contribution first describes early, largely progressive influences on STS and myself, sketching diverse groups concerned with sciences, technologies and especially medicines. I then turn to my...
Robotic assistance for quick and accurate image-guided needle placement

Computed tomography (CT) image-guided procedures including biopsy, drug delivery, and ablation are gaining increasing application in medicine. Robotic technology holds the promise for allowing surgeons, and other proceduralists, access to such CT-guided procedures by potentially shortening training, improving accuracy, decreasing needle passes, and reducing radiation exposure. We evaluated surgeon learning and proficiency for image-guided needle placement with an FDA-cleared robotic arm. Five out of six surgeons had no prior CT-guided procedural experience, while one had prior experience with freehand CT-guided needle placement. All surgeons underwent a 60-min training with the MAXIO robot (Perfint Healthcare, Redmond, WA). The robot was used to place needles into three different pre-specified targets on a spine model. Performance time, procedural errors, and needle placement accuracy were recorded. All participants successfully placed needles into the targets using the robotic arm. The average time for needle placement was 3:44 ± 1:43 min. Time for needle placement decreased with subsequent attempts, with average third placement taking 2:29 ± 1:51 min less than the first attempt. The average vector distance from the target was 2.3 ± 1.2 mm. One error resulted in the need for reimaging by CT scan. No errant needle placement occurred. Surgeons (attending fellows and residents) without previous experience and minimal training could successfully place percutaneous needles under CT guidance quickly, accurately, and reproducibly using a robotic arm. This suggests that robotic technology may be used to facilitate surgeon adoption of CT image-guided needle-based procedures in the future.
Slocum Glider Observations of the Subsurface Chlorophyll-a Maximum on the Texas Continental Shelf Boundary

From September $\mathrm{26}^{th}$ , 2019 to January $\mathrm{5}^{th}$ , 2020, the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG) at Texas A&M University deployed a Slocum G2 buoyancy glider on the outer Texas continental shelf boundary, which collected 510 profiles of biochemical and physical variables, spanning 103 days of operation. An algorithm was established to identify the subsurface chlorophyll-a (chl $a$ ) maximum within the euphotic zone for each glider profile for the near-real time data set. Over the course of the mission, three chl a profile types were identified: single peak (one chl $a$ maximum), double peak (two chl $a$ maxima), and a high concentration surface layer. The current version of the algorithm identified the depth of the chl a maxima in 86 % of the mission profiles with identification errors associated with creating false double profile peaks. Analysis was performed to determine a relationship between the mixed layer depth, as defined by the maximum buoyancy frequency squared $(N^{2})$ observed in each profile, and the depth at which the maximum chl $a$ fluorescence was observed.
Selective hydrogen combustion as an effective approach for intensified chemical production via the chemical looping strategy

Abstract Demand continues to grow rapidly for commodity chemicals, such as light olefins, at a time when the chemicals sector must strive to reduce its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Process intensification provides a framework for producing the same chemical products with higher efficiency and lower emissions. In recent years, chemical looping has received increasing attention as a strategy for intensified chemical production. For example, the chemical looping oxidative dehydrogenation (CL-ODH) of ethane to ethylene offers the potential for near order-of-magnitude reductions in process energy usage and CO2 emissions in comparison to conventional ethane steam cracking, while chemical looping dehydroaromatization (CL-DHA) of methane offers a pathway for aromatics production at higher yields. In these examples, the CL processes rely on selective hydrogen combustion (SHC) to remove the co-produced H2 gas as water, providing several benefits, including yield increase, autothermal operation, and simplified downstream separation. As a yield-enhancing strategy, SHC is not new. However, the design of redox catalysts for SHC in a chemical looping context has only recently begun to be explored. In this perspective, we summarize previous research on SHC in chemical production schemes, and we attempt to outline priority areas of research in the years to come.
What's new in ... clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several new drugs in the last few years. We have summarized a few of these that should be of interest to a primary care physician. These belong to either a new class of drugs or have a better drug profile in terms of ease of administration, prolonged duration of action, or fewer side effects. Daptomycin is a cyclic lipopeptide, active against methycillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Telithromycin is a ketolide that can be used in place of macrolide antibiotics. Rifaximin is a semi-synthetic derivative of rifampin approved by the FDA for treatment of traveller's diarrhea. Pramlintide is an injectable synthetic amylin useful in treating type 1 and 2 diabetes. Tiotropium is an anti-cholinergic bronchodilator that can be taken once a day for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Lanthanum Carbonate is useful in treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with end stage renal disease. Flumist is an intranasal influenza vaccine. Eszopiclone is a new hypnotic that has fewer side effects. Memantine is in a new class of drugs useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Ibandronate is a new bisphosphonate approved for once a month use for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Acamprosate is approved for treatment of alcohol dependence.
How does trp repressor bind to its operator

Three explanations have been advanced to account for the unexpected absence of direct hydrogen bonds and presence of a buried water layer in the co-crystal-line complex of Escherichia coli trp repressor with DNA. We present results of physical and biochemical measurements that address the testable predictions of each model. We find that the DNA oligomer used for co-crystallization binds to the repressor with high affinity and specificity, and 1:1 stoichiometry, consistent with other evidence that this sequence represents the true operator target for a single repressor dimer. A proposed alternative DNA sequence binds weaker and with higher stoichiometry, consistent with a cooperative binding mode. The operator DNA in solution has a B-form helical structure in the presence and absence of repressor. Affinity of repressor for operator is altered under the conditions used for cocrystal growth.
Evidence For Autogenous Regulation of Pseudomonas putida Tryptophan Synthase

Studies of a trpA mutant constitutive for tryptophan synthase production support the hypothesis of autogenous regulation (R. F. Goldberger, 1974; A. R. Proctor and I. P. Crawford, 1975) of the Pseudomonas putida trpAB loci.
Modified Substrates and Modified Products as Inducers of Carbohydrases

Cellobiose and isomaltose are both inducers and repressors of cellulase and dextranase, respectively. The repression can be avoided by supplying the disaccharide slowly. This has been done by use of palmitate and acetate esters which are hydrolyzed by esterases of the growing organism to yield the inducer. Sucrase yields, also, are greatly increased (to 80 times) by substituting sucrose monopalmitate for sucrose in the culture medium.
Platelet glycoprotein Ibα ectodomain shedding and non-surgical bleeding in heart failure patients supported by continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices

Background Non-surgical bleeding (NSB) is a major complication among heart failure (HF) patients supported by continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs). Understanding the hemostatic defects contributing to NSB after CF-LVAD implantation is crucial for prevention of this adverse event. The aim of this study was to examine the link between platelet glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα) ectodomain shedding and NSB in CF-LVAD recipients and to identify a potential biomarker of NSB. Methods Serial blood samples were collected from 35 HF patients supported with CF-LVADs. Platelet function was evaluated by a platelet function analysis device and thromboelastography (TEG). Platelet GPIbα shedding, von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen and vWF collagen binding capacity were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The structural analysis of vWF was performed by gel electrophoresis. These platelet function measures with vWF parameters of the patients who had NSB between 4 and 32 days after CF-LVAD implantation (bleeder) were analyzed against those without NSB (non-bleeder). Blood samples from 7 healthy individuals were collected to obtain healthy reference values for the laboratory assays. Results Elevated GPIbα shedding was found to be a pre-existing condition in all HF patients prior to CF-LVAD implantation. Post-operative level of GPIbα shedding increased and remained elevated in the bleeder group, whereas a consistent decrease was found in the non-bleeder group. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the level of GPIbα shedding had a predictive power of NSB in patients on CF-LVAD support. Conclusions Platelet GPIbα ectodomain shedding which attenuates platelet reactivity is associated with NSB. Plasma GPIbα level may potentially be used to refine bleeding risk stratification in CF-LVAD patients.
Kinetic analysis of the effects of mutagenesis of W501 and V432 of the hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase domain on ATPase and strand-separating activity.

Two hydrophobic residues, W501 and V432, in the nucleic acid (NA) binding pocket of the HCV helicase domain (E) were mutagenized in an effort to investigate contributions of these residues to substrate affinities and to enzymatic activities. The affinities of wild-type [hE(wt)] and mutant enzymes [hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A)] for NA and ATP were determined by monitoring changes in the intrinsic protein fluorescence, in the fluorescence of fluorescently tagged nucleic acid, and in the enzymatic activity. The steady-state kinetic parameters of the mutant enzymes for ATP hydrolysis (at saturating concentrations of NA) were similar to those of hE(wt). hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A) had strand-separating activities that were 136%, 3.8%, and 3.1% of that of hE(wt). The processivities of hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A) were reduced relative to that of hE(wt). The reduced processivities of hE(W501F) and hE(W501A) were primarily due to an increase in the rate of dissociation of E. ATP from E.ATP.NA. The reduced processivity of hE(V432A) was primarily due to a reduction in the intrinsic forward rate constant for strand separation. This result suggested that V432 may constitute part of the forward "stepping" motor of E. hE(W501A) and hE(V432A) did not display a dominant negative phenotype in a steady-state helicase assay with hE(wt). hE(wt) stored in the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol was covalently modified at three cysteinyl residues. The biological significance of the potential reactivity of these cysteinyl residues on hE(wt) is unknown.
THERMAL STABILITY AND DOMAIN-DOMAIN INTERACTIONS IN NATURAL AND RECOMBINANT PROTEIN C

Scanning microcalorimetry and spectrofluorimetry were applied to a study of the thermal stability and interaction of the modules within natural human protein C (PC) and recombinant protein C (rPC), a potential therapeutic anticoagulant expressed in transgenic pigs. Upon heating in the presence of 2 mM EDTA, pH 8.5, each protein exhibited a similar heat absorption peak with a Tm of ~62°C corresponding to the melting of the serine protease (SP) module. Deconvolution of this peak indicated that the SP module consists of two domains that unfold independently. At pH below 3.8, a second peak appeared at extremely high temperature corresponding to the unfolding of the two interacting epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) domains. This second peak occurred at a temperature about 20°C lower in rPC than in PC indicating that the EGF domains in the recombinant protein are less stable. The isolated 6-kDa γ-carboxyglutamic acid-rich (Gla) fragment as well as a 25-kDa Gla-(EGF)2 fragment both exhibited a sigmoidal fluorescence-detected denaturation transition in the same temperature region as the SP domains, but only in the presence of Ca2+. In 2 mM Ca2+, the first heat absorption peak in both intact proteins became biphasic, indicating Ca2+-induced structural changes. By contrast, Ca2+ had very little effect on the melting of Gla-domainless protein C. This indicates that not Ca2+ itself but the Ca2+-loaded Gla domain is responsible for conformational changes in the SP domain of the parent protein. Detailed analysis of the shape of the endotherms obtained in Ca2+ and EDTA suggests that Ca2+ induces compact structure in the Gla domain which appears to interact strongly with the SP domain(s) of protein C.
Defying symmetry: a ‘flowery’ architecture with augmented surface area from gold coated polymeric ‘nanoblooms’

We demonstrate the synthesis and characterization of gold coated polymeric ‘nanoblooms’ that lead to an unusual flowery contour architecture with a high surface area. The unique architecture and properties of these nanoparticles achieved high gold loading, which can be exploited for many different biomedical applications. A preliminary computed tomographic imaging study shows multi-fold improvement in radio-opacity as compared to the non-clustered gold nanoparticles prepared.
Transferability of Models That Estimate Crashes as a Function of Access Management

Access management can improve safety or operations but may reduce accessibility for adjacent residences or businesses, causing conflict between the needs of local and through traffic and resulting in access management decisions being challenged by the public. Accordingly, transportation administrators require assurance regarding the accuracy of projected safety impacts of access management decisions. Several existing mathematical models quantify these impacts for selected access management techniques. Since new models require substantial resources to construct, it is prudent to investigate the extent to which existing models can be applied in other locations. A study of mathematical models that predict the number of crashes that will result as a function of signal spacing, median treatments, unsignalized driveways, and other key variables is reported. The study compared five models using a 10-year set of geometric, operational, and crash data for three case study corridors. The crash-prediction ability of...
Dissecting aneurysm of coronary artery producing myomalacia and death.

Abstract A case of one dissecting aneurysm restricted to the right coronary artery in a 38-year-old woman is reported. The arterial system showed no arteriosclerosis. Several years prior to death the patient had an aneurysm of the middle cerebral artery ligated, indicating the possibility of a congenital vascular abnormality in at least two vessels. Dissecting aneurysm of the coronary artery is an exceptional cause of myocardial infarct.
Rational Minimax Filtering

Abstract The problem of filtering with unknown driving noise is considered. We review the minimax filter of Johansen and Berkovitz-Pollard for the double integrator. While their solution is very elegant, the optimal filter is infinite dimensional. We show that nearly the same performance can be achieved by a two dimensional filter and we generalize this to other linear time invariant systems.
Simulation of Realistic Core-shell Silicon Nanowires

We have developed an efficient scheme for simulating silicon nanowires with crystalline cores and amorphous sheaths, using molecular dynamics. By starting with a crystalline nanowire and performing high temperature anneal an amorphous outer sheath can be grown with controlled thickness on the nanowire. Simulations for [001] nanowires with diameters of 12 nm find low energy facets between the amorphous and crystalline layers. Simulations for [110] nanowires find weak faceting and an inhomogeneous amorphouscrystalline boundary.
A Model of Union Membership: Instrumentality, Commitment, and Opposition

Eight specific types of union members are identified and described. Four of these member types were developed based on an interactive relationship between union instrumentality and union commitment. The other four types were based on interactions between negative views of union ideology and union instrumentality. A theoretical model of the eight member types was used to synthesize the literature on union membership. Implications that the model has for research and for union growth and participation are discussed.
Reaction of Nitroxyl, an Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Inhibitor, with N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine

Nitroxyl (HNO) is the aldehyde dehydrogenase (AIDH) inhibitor produced by catalase action on cyanamide. Incubation of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a reagent with a free sulfhydryl group, with Piloty's acid (a nitroxyl generator) suggested that NAC was acting as a competitive "trap" for nitroxyl. Elucidation of the structure of this reaction product should give an insight as to how nitroxyl interacts with AIDH, a sulfhydryl enzyme. We now present evidence that the product formed is N-acetyl-L-cysteinesulfinamide (NACS). We have synthesized NACS and showed that this synthetic product was identical to the product formed in the trapping experiment. Both had identical RT values by reverse phase HPLC and identical RF values by TLC using three different solvent systems. The structural identification of this nitroxyl trapped product as a sulfinamide now allows the chemical confirmation of the active-site cysteine residue of AIDH as Cys-302.