cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Iron and Aluminum Hydroxysulfates from Acid Sulfate Waters

Acid sulfate waters are produced mostly by the oxidation of common sulfide minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and marcasite in rocks, soils, sediments, and industrial wastes. This spontaneous process of mineral weathering plays a fundamental role in the supergene alteration of ore deposits, the formation of acid sulfate soils, and the mobilization and release of acidity and metals to surface and ground waters. The purely natural process of “acid rock drainage” is often intensified by human activities related to mining, mineral processing, construction, soil drainage, and dredging. Geochemical reaction rates are accelerated because physical disturbance gives greater exposure of mineral surfaces to air and water, and to microbes that catalyze the reaction process. Large quantities of reactive sulfides are also concentrated and exposed to air as a result of mining and mineral processing. Acid sulfate waters produce a number of fairly insoluble hydroxysulfate and oxyhydroxide minerals that precipitate during oxidation, hydrolysis, and neutralization. The objective of this chapter is to describe the formation, properties, fate, and environmental implications of the nano- to microphase hydroxy-sulfates of Fe and Al that are precipitated from acid sulfate waters. These minerals are commonly of poor crystallinity and difficult to characterize. Much remains to be learned about their occurrence, formation, and properties. ### Mine drainage The best known examples of acid sulfate waters are those released from mines where coal and metallic sulfide ores have been exploited (Ash et al. 1951, Barton 1978, Nordstrom 1982a, Rose and Cravotta 1998, Nordstrom and Alpers 1999). There may be as many as 500,000 inactive or abandoned mine sites in the United States alone (Lyon et al. 1993). Although most of these pose no immediate water-quality problem, Kleinmann (1989) estimated that about 19,300 km of streams and more than 72,000 ha of lakes and reservoirs have been …
Establishing standards for wireless security in a security-conscious world

With the proliferation of wireless devices for personal and business use, the amount of data floating through the air is ever increasing. This could be personal information or business information such as, trade secrets, confidential marketing materials, and a variety of other corporate intellectual property. Wired and wireless networks share some commonalities, but the differences are far greater than the similarities. There must be a way to secure wireless networks from intrusions, attacks, and unauthorised devices. By examining the technology and devices, the threats and the solutions to protect wireless networks can be displayed and modelled; thus, wireless data transfer for business can be done safely.
Spontaneous Market Order and Social Rules

Discoverers of “market failures” as well as advocates of the general efficiency of a “true, unhampered market” sometimes seem to disregard the fundamental fact that there is no such thing as a “market as such.” What we call a market is always a system of social interaction characterized by a specific institutional framework, that is, by a set of rules defining certain restrictions on the behavior of the market participants, whether these rules are informal, enforced by private sanctions, or formal, enforced by a particular agency, the “protective state,” in J. M. Buchanan's (1975) terminology.
A theoretical analysis of the breakdown of electrostrictive oxide film on metal

Oxide films that form to protect (passivate) metal substrates from corrosive environments can be severely damaged when they are subjected to sufficient levels of electric potential. A continuum mechanics model is presented that captures the intimate electromechanical coupling of the environment and the film responsible for either growth or dissolution of the oxide. Analytical solutions, obtained for a finite-thick film experiencing a uniform electric field, illustrate the existence of a critical combination of electric field strength, initial film thickness and shape, beyond which the passivating oxide can become thin enough to undergo dielectric breakdown, or the substrate can become exposed to the corrosive environment. An experimental procedure is proposed to measure combinations of material properties required by the theoretical model to predict the lifetime of the oxide or to avoid the critical state. Illustrative numerical examples are provided to describe the morphological evolution of oxide films with a periodically wavy surface.
Genome-Wide Association Study of Nicotine Dependence in American Populations: Identification of Novel Risk Loci in Both African-Americans and European-Americans

BACKGROUND: We report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of nicotine dependence defined on the basis of scores on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence in European-American (EA) and African-American (AA) populations. METHODS: Our sample, from the one used in our previous GWAS, included only subjects who had smoked .100 cigarettes lifetime (2114 EA and 2602 AA subjects) and an additional 927 AA and 2003 EA subjects from the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment project [via the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGAP)]. GWAS analysis considered Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence score as an ordinal trait, separately in each population and sample and by combining the results in meta-analysis. We also conducted analyses that were adjusted for other substance use disorder criteria in a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) subset. RESULTS: In EAs, one chromosome 7 intergenic region was genome-wide significant (GWS): rs13225753, p 5 3.48 3 10 28 (adjusted). In AAs, GWS associations were observed at numerous SNPs mapped to a region on chromosome 14 of .305,000 base pairs (minimal p 5 4.74 3 10 210 ). Two chromosome 8 regions were associated: p 5 4.45 3 10 28 at DLC1 SNP rs289519 (unadjusted) and p 5 1.10 3 10 29 at rs6996964 (adjusted for other substances), located between CSGALNACT1 and INTS10. No GWS associations were observed at the chromosome 15 nicotinic receptor gene cluster (CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4) previously associated with nicotine dependence and smoking quantity traits. TSNAX-DISC1 SNP rs821722 (p 5 1.46 3 10 27 ) was the most significant result with substantial contributions from both populations; we previously identified DISC1 associations with opioid dependence. Pathway analysis identified association with nitric oxide synthase and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase pathways in EAs. CONCLUSIONS: The key risk loci identified, which require replication, offer novel insights into nicotine dependence biology.
New Mutations in Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Genes Reveal Heterogeneity in the Slow-Channel Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

Abstract Mutations in genes encoding the epsilon, delta, beta and alpha subunits of the end plate acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (AChR) are described and functionally characterized in three slow-channel congenital myasthenic syndrome patients. All three had prolonged end plate currents and AChR channel opening episodes and an end plate myopathy with loss of AChR from degenerating junctional folds. Genetic analysis revealed heterozygous mutations: epsilon L269F and delta Q267E in Patient 1, beta V266M in Patient 2, and alpha N217K in Patient 3 that were not detected in 100 normal controls. Patients 1 and 2 have no similarly affected relatives; in Patient 3, the mutation cosegregates with the disease in three generations. epsilon L269F, delta Q267E and beta V266M occur in the second and alpha N217K in the first transmembrane domain of AChR subunits; all have been postulated to contribute to the lining of the upper half of the channel lumen and all but delta Q267E are positioned toward the channel lumen, and introduce an enlarged side chain. Expression studies in HEK cells indicate that all of the mutations express normal amounts of AChR. epsilon L269F, beta V266M, and alpha N217K slow the rate of channel closure in the presence of ACh and increase apparent affinity for ACh; epsilon L269F and alpha N217K enhance desensitization, and epsilon L269F and beta V266M cause pathologic channel openings in the absence of ACh, rendering the channel leaky, delta Q267E has none of these effects and is therefore a rare polymorphism or a benign mutation. The end plate myopathy stems from cationic overloading of the postsynaptic region. The safety margin of neuromuscular transmission is compromised by AChR loss from the junctional folds and by a depolarization block owing to temporal summation of prolonged end plate potentials at physiologic rates of stimulation.
FARVAT: a family-based rare variant association test

Motivation Individuals in each family are genetically more homogeneous than unrelated individuals, and family-based designs are often recommended for the analysis of rare variants. However, despite the importance of family-based samples analysis, few statistical methods for rare variant association analysis are available. Results In this report, we propose a FAmily-based Rare Variant Association Test (FARVAT). FARVAT is based on the quasi-likelihood of whole families, and is statistically and computationally efficient for the extended families. FARVAT assumed that families were ascertained with the disease status of family members, and incorporation of the estimated genetic relationship matrix to the proposed method provided robustness under the presence of the population substructure. Depending on the choice of working matrix, our method could be a burden test or a variance component test, and could be extended to the SKAT-O-type statistic. FARVAT was implemented in C++, and application of the proposed method to schizophrenia data and simulated data for GAW17 illustrated its practical importance. Availability The software calculates various statistics for the analysis of related samples, and it is freely downloadable from http://healthstats.snu.ac.kr/software/farvat. Contact won1@snu.ac.kr or tspark@stats.snu.ac.kr Supplementary information supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Assessing temporal agreement between central and local progression‐free survival times

In oncology clinical trials, progression-free survival (PFS), generally defined as the time from randomization until disease progression or death, has been a key endpoint to support licensing approval. In the U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance for industry, May 2007, concerning the PFS as the primary or co-primary clinical trial endpoint, it is recommended to have tumor assessments verified by an independent review committee blinded to study treatments, especially in open-label studies. It is considered reassuring about the lack of reader-evaluation bias if treatment effect estimates from the investigators' and independent review committees' evaluations agree. The agreement between these evaluations may vary for subjects with short or long PFS, while there exist no such statistical quantities that can completely account for this temporal pattern of agreements. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new method to assess temporal agreement between two time-to-event endpoints, while the two event times are assumed to have a positive probability of being identical. This method measures agreement in terms of the two event times being identical at a given time or both being greater than a given time. Overall scores of agreement over a period of time are also proposed. We propose a maximum likelihood estimation to infer the proposed agreement measures using empirical data, accounting for different censoring mechanisms, including reader's censoring (event from one reader dependently censored by event from the other reader). The proposed method is demonstrated to perform well in small samples via extensive simulation studies and is illustrated through a head and neck cancer trial.
Neurologic complications following pediatric renal transplantation.

We reviewed neurologic complications after renal transplantation in children over a 20-year period. Neurologic complications were classified as early (within 3 months) and delayed (beyond 3 months)...
Risk Assessment and Life-Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) for Human Health Cancerous and Noncancerous Emissions: Integrated and Complementary with Consistency within the USEPA

ABSTRACT The historical parallels, complementary roles, and potential for integration of human health risk assessment (RA) and Life-Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) are explored. Previous authors have considered the comparison of LCA and risk assessment recognizing the inherent differences in LCA and risk assessment (e.g., LCA's focus on the functional unit, and the differences in perspective of LCA and risk assessment), and also the commonalities (e.g., the basis for the modeling). Until this time, however, no one has proposed a coordinated approach for conducting LCA and risk assessment using models consistent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) handbooks, policies, and guidelines. The current status of LCIA methodology development can be compared to the early days of human health RA when practitioners were overwhelmed with the model choices, assumptions, lack of data, and poor data quality. Although methodology developers can build on the shoulders of the giant, LCIA requires more i...
A robust auto-focusing algorithm for medical ultrasound: consistent phase references from scaled cross-correlation functions

This work features a robust auto-focusing phase aberration correction algorithm for digitally sampled coherent imaging systems such as medical ultrasound. The robust nature is attributed to the establishment of a consistent phase reference relative to which the aberrant channel phases are estimated. The algorithm has its foundation in detailed theoretical analyses of the scattering of ultrasound wave packets in a random scattering medium. Illustrated Monte Carlo simulations exhibit excellent algorithmic performance.
Additive-Assisted Nucleation and Growth by Electrodeposition II. Mathematical Model and Comparison with Experimental Data

The "island dynamics" numerical method was used to investigate kinetically limited nucleation and growth during copper electrodeposition in the presence of additives. The system geometry consisted of a metal substrate initially patterned with a square array of Cu seed clusters. The simulations used estimated values of the reaction rate constants associated with an additive system consisting of acid sulfate electrolyte containing "accelerator" and "suppressor" species. Numerical results were obtained for the probability distributions for nearest-neighbor distance and for distance of nuclei from the seed cluster, and were compared with comparable experimental data reported in Part I of this series. Numerical results were in qualitative agreement with experimental trends associated with variations in additive composition, array spacing, and applied potential. Conditions that favored formation of high nucleation density were high chloride (Cl - ) and high poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) concentrations; in this case, it was found that 90% of the Au surface was covered by Cu upon passage of 0.1 mC/cm 2 . Conditions that favored deposition onto pre-existing seed clusters were low (Cl - ) concentration, moderate (PEG) concentration, and closely spaced clusters. The results reported here provide a foundation for developing improved parameter estimation procedures based on optimization methods.
Ferroelasticity in mixed conducting LaCoO3 based perovskites: a ferroelastic phase transition

The defect structure of LaCoO3 based ferroic perovskites has been studied by TEM. The dynamics of the temperatureinduced ferroelastic to paraelastic phase transition was directly monitored by in-situ TEM during thermal cycles from room temperature to 700 °C. Different types of structural features of LaCoO3 based perovskites have been observed, such as twins, antiphase domains, stacking faults, and dislocations. Domain motion and de-twinning during heating, and the reappearance of twins during cooling have been demonstrated. This is important for the understanding of ferroelastic hysteretic behavior of LaCoO3 based perovskite ceramics.
Applications of global flow analysis in logic synthesis

The authors describe a representation for multilevel circuits derived using the techniques of data-flow analysis. The usefulness of this representation is illustrated by describing algorithms for two of the fundamental problems of logic design: reducing the size of a circuit and increasing its testability. The authors obtain algorithms for circuit-size reduction by characterizing a class of function-preserving circuit transformations in terms of the representation and describe a novel algorithm from this class that uses approximate summary information to map the problem of reducing circuit size to that of finding a small cut in an associated graph. The algorithms for improving testability rely on the fact that the proposed representation permits conditional deductions to be performed efficiently. These algorithms have been implemented as part of an automatic design system in use within IBM. >
Programming Languages III

In our last installment, we looked at three of the most popular languages used on microcomputers, Basic,Pascal, and C.Basic, a direct descendant of FORTRAN, is easy to learn and quick to program in because it is implemented with an interpreter, pascal is a descendant of ALGOL, but it offers more powerful methods for specifying exactly how variables can be used, making it easier to write correct programs. Since Basic was invented to teach introductory programming more easily (by providing a time-shared interpreter), it shares many of the shortcomings of the languages that preceded it (such as Fortran).Pascal was introduced to correct problems with introductory languages; it is a powerful language, but it lacks features needed for real-world programming. “C” is a systems programming lanaguage that was used to develope Unix; it has the structural features of Pascal but few safeguards against mistakes.
Myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia: pathophysiologic implications of the correlation between bone marrow changes and progression of splenomegaly

We undertook a study of 35 cases of myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia to assess the histopathologic findings in the bone marrow of patients with this disorder, to ascertain if changes in morphology occurred with time, and to attempt to correlate marrow findings with splenic size. We reviewed 71 bone marrow biopsies and studied 13 splenectomy specimens. Sequential bone marrow biopsies were obtained in 21 cases over intervals ranging from two to ten years (mean, 4 1/2 years). We noted a patchy nature and variable degree of stromal proliferation in most marrow biopsies, and were unable to demonstrate a correlation between the extent of medullary fibrosis and duration of disease, splenic weight, or degree of splenic myeloid metaplasia. We were unable to document a progression of medullary fibrosis as a cause for increasing splenomegaly. However, the alteration in the marrow stroma in this disorder is responsible for the presence of distended marrow sinusoids with intravascular hematopoiesis, a phenomenon we observed in all cases. We believe that this morphological feature, not emphasized by previous investigators, is of significance in understanding the pathophysiology of myeloid metaplasia.
The History of Juridical Institutions in California and the Other Southwestern States

This article, one of a series commissioned by the Senate of Mexico on the legal histories of the Mexican states, focuses on the northwestern Mexican provinces and their American successor jurisdictions in the area annexed by the United States via the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The study challenges the idea that the Treaty marked a sharp dividing line between pre- and post-conquest legal institutions and doctrine. In the period prior to the U.S. takeover, the remote territories of California and New Mexico developed local courts and legal communities based on the ideology of decentralization that characterized early nineteenth-century Mexican federalism. Under American rule, the redrawn political units in the area, ultimately states, preserved some specific features of Mexican law, such as community property, landholding requirements, and the prohibition of slavery. Further, the new U.S. states’ constitutions, codes, and jurisprudence maintained a decentralized federalist structure by emphasizing independent doctrinal grounds for judicial decision-making. This incorporation of Mexican principles and the development of semi-autonomous doctrine have positive implications for trans-border cooperation and legal convergence at the state level.
The Lincoln Myth: Social Mobility in America

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, Illinois is a monument to the American Dream, the idea that thorough hard work along with courage and determination anyone can achieve dramatic upward social mobility. In recognition of the numerous published findings showing the strong connection between socioeconomic origins and social class mobility in America, this paper proposes that Congress authorize construction of the “Alger Horatio Museum” (AHM). The AHM will tell the stories of Americans who greatly increased their chances of attaining lofty social status by having chosen higher-class parents. The AHM will challenge visitors to question the odds of significant social mobility in America and thus counterbalance the mythology of the ALPLM.
Stochastic Modeling in GPS Estimation

The NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space based satellite radio navigation system which provides three dimensional user positioning by solving a set of nonlinear trilateration equations using pseudorange measurements. The current method of solving the nonlinear equations is to linearize the pseudorange equations and calculate the user position iteratively, starting with a user provided initial position guess [8]. For near earth navigation, the center of the earth is a good initial guess and the currently used Iterative Least Squares (ILS) algorithm is guaranteed to converge towards the GPS solution. An area of potential improvement that has been investigated in recent years is the use of non-iterative closed-form solutions to the nonlinear GPS pseudorange equations. Closed-form solutions have been developed by Bancroft [2], Krause [7], Abel and Chaffee [1], and Hoshen [5].
Restless legs syndrome associated with major diseases: A systematic review and new concept

Recent publications on both the genetics and environmental factors of restless legs syndrome (RLS) defined as a clinical disorder suggest that overlapping genetic risk factors may play a role in primary (idiopathic) and secondary (symptomatic) RLS. Following a systematic literature search of RLS associated with comorbidities, we identified an increased prevalence of RLS only in iron deficiency and kidney disease. In cardiovascular disease, arterial hypertension, diabetes, migraine, and Parkinson disease, the methodology of studies was poor, but an association might be possible. There is insufficient evidence for conditions such as anemia (without iron deficiency), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, headache, stroke, narcolepsy, and ataxias. Based on possible gene-microenvironmental interaction, the classifications primary and secondary RLS may suggest an inappropriate causal relation. We recognize that in some conditions, treatment of the underlying disease should be achieved as far as possible to reduce or eliminate RLS symptoms. RLS might be seen as a continuous spectrum with a major genetic contribution at one end and a major environmental or comorbid disease contribution at the other.
LMOh7858_0369, a gene encoding a putative leucine-rich repeat-containing protein, is required for virulence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes possesses the highest number of leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-containing proteins among all Gram-positive bacteria; these LRR-containing molecules are known as the ‘internalin’ family. To understand the functions of largely uncharacterized LRR-containing molecules, we constructed seven deletion mutants in the L. monocytogenes H7858 strain targeting genes in this family and tested their virulence. Among the seven mutants, the ΔLMOh7858\_0369 strain and the ΔLMOh7858\_2546 strain showed significantly impaired invasiveness of HepG2 cells. We further tested the virulence of these two strains in the intravascular sepsis model using BALB/c mice. Interestingly, the ΔLMOh7858\_0369 strain showed significant reduction in organ colonization, bacteremia and invasion of the brain compared with the parental wild-type strain. Host immune responses to listerial intravascular infection were measured at 24 and 72 h post-infection. Transcript levels of several proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were significantly lower when induced by the ΔlmOh7858\_0369 strain than when induced by the wild type. These results suggest that the putative LRR-containing protein encoded by LMOh7858_0369 might be a novel virulence factor of the L. monocytogenes H7858 strain.
Inter-residue Coupling and Equilibrium Unfolding of PPII Helical Peptides. Vibrational Spectra Enhanced with 13C Isotopic Labeling

Unordered proteins, unfolded peptides, and several “random coil” models have been shown to have local conformations similar to that of polyproline II (PPII). Inter-residue coupling of selected residues in a series of related peptides having predominantly PPII conformations were measured using IR, VCD, and Raman spectra of selected variants that were doubly C1-labeled with 13C on the amide C═O. The characteristics of the 13C═O component of the IR, VCD, and Raman amide I′ bands and their sensitivity to the local structure of the peptide are compared to predictions based on DFT level calculations for related structures and used to estimate coupling interactions between pairs of C═O groups along the backbone of this helical structure. In the PPII case, the coupling is relatively weak, due to the extended structure, yet by combining IR, Raman, and VCD observations with results of DFT level model calculations, we have determined bounds for experimental interaction constants for this structure. Correlation of pr...
Abstract 12: Impact of Community Factors on Readmission Rates

Objective Readmissions in the Medicare population are common and expensive, and have thus become a major target for intervention by federal and state policymakers. Starting in 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will penalize hospitals with high readmission rates, in hopes of reducing readmissions nationally. However, many worry that variations in readmission rates are driven less by the quality of the hospital’s care and more by community-level factors such as socioeconomic status and availability of primary care. Empirical data here would be immensely helpful. Therefore, we sought to understand to what extent variations in readmission rates across communities are driven by the quality of hospital care in those communities versus socioeconomic factors and supply-side factors. Methods We used national Medicare data and Dartmouth Atlas data to calculate hospital referral region (HRR)-level readmission rates for congestive heart failure (CHF). We examined the impact of community poverty levels, racial makeup, and supply of physicians and hospital beds on readmission rates using linear regression models. We also examined the impact of patient case-mix and hospital quality performance on readmission rates. Finally, using partial r-square values from multivariable models, we examined the degree to which community-level variations in readmission rates are driven by variation in the sickness of the population, the quality of the hospital care, the supply of physicians and hospital beds, and the socioeconomic makeup of the population. Results Readmission rates across communities (as defined by HRRs) ranged from 10% to 32% for CHF. In univariate analysis, HRRs with higher poverty rates, a higher proportion of black patients, more physicians and hospital beds in the community, and a sicker population had higher readmission rates. In multivariate models that examined the degree to which variation in readmission rates for CHF between HRRs was explained by each of these different community-level factors, we found that supply-side variables (physician and bed supply in the community) were most important (explaining 17% of the variation) followed by socioeconomic characteristics of the community (poverty rate and racial makeup) at 9%. Differences in hospital quality explained 5% of the variation in readmission rates and differences in case mix explained 4%. Conclusions and Implications Community-level socioeconomic variables and supply-side variables play a much larger role in explaining variations in readmissions than the quality of hospital care or underlying sickness of the population. These findings suggest that the current federal initiatives to penalize hospitals may not be optimally targeted. Focusing on community-level factors such as the supply and mix of physicians and targeting efforts towards poor and minority communities may be more fruitful approaches to reducing readmissions. Otherwise, we risk targeting the providers that care for disenfranchised patients in ways that are likely to worsen existing disparities in care.
Suppurative intracranial thrombophlebitis.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and management of suppurative intracranial thrombophlebitis. Septic intracranial venous sinus thrombosis arises as a consequence of infection in the paranasal sinuses and less frequently following infections of the middle ear or mastoid. The most common isolate from the cases of septic intracranial venous thrombosis associated with pericranial infections is Staphylococcus aureus . Suppurative intracranial thrombophlebitis is most frequently the result of pericranial infection. The local infection causes septic thrombophlebitis of veins draining the infected area, with subsequent intracranial extension of the infected thrombus along emissary veins. The cavernous sinuses are the structures most frequently involved in septic venous sinus thrombosis. The transverse sinuses are the second most frequent intracranial venous sinuses to be involved by septic processes. The advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and then of computed tomography (CT) angiography and venography revolutionized diagnosis of both venous sinus and cortical vein thrombosis, such that MRI and CT venography are currently the diagnostic procedures of choice in detecting venous sinus thrombosis.
Noninvasive Cardiac Output Estimation by Inert Gas Rebreathing in Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Patients.

Objective To assess the feasibility and accuracy of inert gas rebreathing (IGR) pulmonary blood flow (Qp) estimation in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients, potentially providing real-time noninvasive estimates of cardiac output. Study design In mechanically ventilated patients in the pediatric catheterization laboratory, we compared IGR Qp with Qp estimates based upon the Fick equation using measured oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) (Fick True ); for context, we compared Fick True with a standard clinical short-cut, replacing measured with assumed VO 2 in the Fick equation (Fick LaFarge , Fick Lundell , Fick Seckeler ). IGR Qp and breath-by-breath VO 2 were measured using the Innocor device. Sampled pulmonary arterial and venous saturations and hemoglobin concentration were used for Fick calculations. Qp estimates were compared using Bland-Altman agreement and Spearman correlation. Results The final analysis included 18 patients aged 4-23 years with weight >15 kg. Compared with the reference Fick True , IGR Qp estimates correlated best and had the least systematic bias and narrowest 95% limits of agreement (results presented as mean bias ±95% limits of agreement): IGR −0.2 ± 1.1 L/min, r = 0.90; Fick LaFarge +0.7 ± 2.2 L/min, r = 0.80; Fick Lundell +1.6 ± 2.9 L/min, r = 0.83; Fick Seckeler +0.8 ± 2.5 L/min, r = 0.83. Conclusions IGR estimation of Qp is feasible in mechanically ventilated patients weighing >15 kg, and agreement with Fick True Qp estimates is better for IGR than for other Fick Qp estimates commonly used in pediatric catheterization. IGR is an attractive option for bedside monitoring of Qp in mechanically ventilated children.
Ecosystem – What? Public Understanding and Trust in Conservation Science and Ecosystem Services

In this mixed-methods study, we replicate a national Nature Conservancy survey on a regional scale to understand what local audiences know and believe about ecosystem services and conservation science. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council was created and charged with administering a large portion of the $13.7 billion in penalties (via the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund) for ecosystem restoration research and implementation programs. Almost as quickly as oil gushed into the Gulf, conservation organizations (local, state, federal and NGO) along the coast drafted proposals and requests for a piece of the funding. In December 2014, the State of Alabama submitted five proposed restoration projects with an estimated total cost of $54.2 million. Many of the projects use the language of ecosystem science, restoration and services to promote efforts to restore the ecosystem and economy of the Gulf Coast region. These phrases, once disciplinary jargon, are now heard in soundbites on the evening news and seen in the headlines of popular news sources (e.g. AL.com, Gulf Coast News Today, WKRG-Mobile and WPMI-Mobile). As this phraseology becomes more pervasive in this region, our specific goal is to investigate what the public knows and believes about one of the key concepts, ecosystem services, and identify who they trust to inform them about ecosystem services. This study confirms previous evidence that the public trusts scientists, but they do not always understand the language of science.
Adjuvant gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist trigger with human chorionic gonadotrophin to enhance ooplasmic maturity.

This study investigates whether an adjuvant gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) trigger with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) improves fresh intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle outcomes in patients with poor fertilization history after standard HCG trigger alone. This study compared 156 patients with <40% fertilization rate in a prior ICSI cycle with standard HCG trigger who underwent another ICSI cycle with a combined 2 mg GnRHa and 1500 IU HCG ovulatory trigger. There was no difference in the baseline demographics, ovarian stimulation outcomes or sperm parameters of the groups. More mature oocytes were retrieved in the combined trigger group compared with the HCG trigger group: 12 (9-14) versus 10 (7-12); P = 0.01. The fertilization rate in the combined trigger group (59.2%) was higher than the HCG group (35.3%); P = 0.01. The odds of clinical pregnancy and live birth were 1.8 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, when comparing the former group to the latter; P = 0.03. The results suggest that combined GnRHa and HCG trigger in ICSI cycles is a reasonable approach to increase oocyte maturity, specifically ooplasmic maturity, thereby increasing fertilization and improving ICSI cycle outcomes in patients with a history of poor fertilization after standard HCG trigger alone.
Tandemly Integrated HPV16 Can Form a Brd4-Dependent Super-Enhancer-Like Element That Drives Transcription of Viral Oncogenes

ABSTRACT In cancer cells associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, the viral genome is very often found integrated into the cellular genome. The viral oncogenes E6 and E7 are transcribed from the viral promoter, and integration events that alter transcriptional regulation of this promoter contribute to carcinogenic progression. In this study, we detected highly enriched binding of the super-enhancer markers Brd4, MED1, and H3K27ac, visible as a prominent nuclear focus by immunofluorescence, at the tandemly integrated copies of HPV16 in cells of the cervical neoplasia cell line W12 subclone 20861. Tumor cells are often addicted to super-enhancer-driven oncogenes and are particularly sensitive to disruption of transcription factor binding to the enhancers. Treatment of 20861 cells with bromodomain inhibitors displaced Brd4 from the HPV integration site, greatly decreased E6/E7 transcription, and inhibited cellular proliferation. Thus, Brd4 activates viral transcription at this integration site, and strong selection for E6/E7 expression can drive the formation of a super-enhancer-like element to promote oncogenesis. IMPORTANCE Oncogenic human papillomaviruses play an essential role in the development of cervical cancer, and growth of these cancer cells requires continued expression of the viral E6 and E7 oncogenes. Integration of the virus into the host genome often results in deregulation of E6 and E7 expression, which provides a selective growth advantage and increases genetic instability of infected cells. We show here that tandemly integrated copies of the viral genome can form a super-enhancer-like element that drives E6/E7 transcription. Targeted disruption of factors binding to this element decreases viral transcription and causes cell death. Thus, cancer cells that harbor integrated HPV could be targeted by therapeutics that disrupt super-enhancer function.
Polymersomes: A New Platform for Drug Targeting

Liposomes were first described in literature more than 30 years ago by Bangham (1). They have since been used widely in many fundamental studies of amphiphilic systems as well as in applications to extend and control the delivery of a broad variety of drugs (Fig. 1A). Thousands of publications, reviews, and monographs (e.g., (2)) now exist on liposomes. A handful of the documents have expressed ideas that emerge as the clearest backdrop for outlining the motivation, formation, properties, and compatibility of novel polymer-based vesicle platforms called “polymersomes” (3) (Fig. 1B).
Finishing the Last Lap: Experimental Evidence on Strategies to Increase College Completion for Students at Risk of Late Departure

Nearly half of students who enter college do not graduate and completion disparities by race and income are large. While the majority of efforts to increase degree attainment have focused on supporting students before or soon after they enter college, many students drop out after spending significant time in school. In this paper, we report pilot-year results from an experimental intervention we conducted across five states and nine broad-access, public colleges and universities to help students graduate. The intervention provided students late into college with personalized text messages that prompted them to identify goals associated with finishing their degree, encouraged them to connect with campus-based academic and financial resources, and reminded them of upcoming and important deadlines. We find no evidence of effects on academic performance or attainment in the full sample, although implementation challenges at two institutions make results from this sample difficult to interpret and potentially downward-biased. In our preferred sample which excludes those institutions, the intervention decreased fall-to-spring dropout by 14 percent, from 17.5 to 15 percent. Among students in this sample at greatest risk of dropout based on their background and prior enrollment experiences, outreach increased degree completion after one year by 6 percentage points, or 38 percent.
An automation scheme for emergency operation of an industrial park

Many modern industrial plants are designed to operate as a microgrid equipped with local generation. Under normal conditions, the plant is connected to and often mainly supplied by the utility's network. However, during a disturbance on the utility side, it may island from the grid and continue supplying its load using available on-site generation. When local generation is not sufficient to supply the entire load (which is often the case), part of the non-critical loads must be shed so as to ensure that the remaining critical loads receive the required quality of service. The decision to island and the amount by which the load must be curtailed are determined based on the values of the frequency/voltage and their rates of change. In this paper, we first propose a hybrid undervoltage/under-frequency islanding scheme for an industrial park consisting of multiple substations each supplying one or more industrial plants. It is assumed that once the park is islanded from the grid, the substations are instantly formed into multiple islands where all non-critical loads are automatically disconnected. This is done to ensure that individual islands are not affected by potential instability of neighboring networks. However, once the individual islands are stabilized, it is possible to share their available generation capacities to maximize the total load served. This would mean connecting one or more islands together to form bigger ones. We formulate this as a network reconfiguration problem that tries to maximize the amount of load served by reconfiguring the network topology and using backup energy resources. The problem is solved and analyzed for a simplified version of an industrial park, both at steady state and during transients.
Engaging Pharmacy Students in Research Through Near-Peer Training.

Objective. To describe the implementation of a near-peer training model within a student research program.Methods. A near-peer training model was implemented in a pharmacy student research program to promote development of effective teaching skills and research competencies. Under the supervision of a research mentor, senior learners precepted junior learners in various aspects of translational research. A three-step teaching process was employed throughout the experience in which junior learners performed an assigned task, senior learners provided guidance and mentorship, and research mentors provided feedback for improvement.Results. A total of 43 pharmacy trainees have participated in the student research program; each year of involvement now averages 15 to 18 students. The program has been responsible for almost 100 poster presentations at national meetings and more than 20 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Funding through intramural grants and scholarships to compensate for conference expenses a...
Myths and maxims in paediatric respiratory medicine

Introducing a new series of articles focusing on myths and maxims related to conditions clinicians in paediatric respiratory medicine encounter on a regular basis http://ow.ly/sUid30hWIs2
The Basic Equations of Momentum and Energy Transfer

This chapter provides an overview of the basic equations of momentum and energy transfer. It reviews both steady and transient heat conduction for a variety of important processes. Throughout the analysis of these problems, a variety of flux boundary conditions are encountered, which are often specified in terms of a film heat transfer coefficient. To carefully analyze systems in which fluid motion is taking place, one must understand some concepts of kinematics. The chapter discusses the time derivatives of point functions and time derivatives of volume integrals when the limits of integration are the functions of time. Study of the kinematics of point functions leads to an expression for the total time derivative. In the analysis of a continuous medium, there are two laws of mechanics, the linear momentum principle and the angular momentum principle. It must be remembered that for a continuum these two laws stand as separate fundamental postulates.
Orientation and Color Columns in Monkey Striate Cortex

The parallel stripe model of orientation columns in monkey striate cortex was first proposed by Hubel and Wiesel (1972) as part of an anatomical lesion study of projections from parvo and magnocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to the cortex. This paper demonstrated ocular dominance columns (in the form of parallel stripes) in striate cortex, a given stripe receiving input from either layer 5 or layer 6 of the LGN, whose inputs in turn derive from the ipsilateral and contralateral eyes, respectively. There was no evidence in the paper for any particular arrangement of orientation columns, but it was proposed that orientation columns might take the form of parallel stripes running orthogonal to the ocular dominance stripes. There has been no evidence since then to support the existence of the parallel stripe orientation column model in monkeys, but it has somehow persisted, in the absence of any better model to replace it. Hubel still chose to include it, with a new name (the ‘ice cube’ model), in his recent book (Hubel, 1988). In fact, the model has not changed in 16 years.
Seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean

Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. National, state, and local governments, decision makers, engineers, planners, emergency response organizations, builders, universities, and the general public require seismic hazard estimates for land use planning, improved building design and construction (including adoption of building construction codes), emergency response preparedness plans, economic forecasts, housing and employment decisions, and many more types of risk mitigation. The seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean is the concatenation of various national and regional maps, involving a suite of approaches. The combined maps and documentation provide a useful regional seismic hazard framework and serve as a resource for any national or regional agency for further detailed studies applicable to their needs. This seismic hazard map depicts Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years. PGA, a short-period ground motion parameter that is proportional to force, is the most commonly mapped ground motion parameter because current building codes that include seismic provisions specify the horizontal force a building should be able to withstand during an earthquake. This seismic hazard map of North and Central America and the Caribbean depicts the likely level of short-period ground motion from earthquakes in a fifty-year window. Short-period ground motions effect short-period structures (e.g., one-to-two story buildings). The highest seismic hazard values in the region generally occur in areas that have been, or are likely to be, the sites of the largest plate boundary earthquakes.