cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acetylcholinesterase of the sand fly, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli): cDNA sequence, baculovirus expression, and biochemical properties

Millions of people and domestic animals around the world are affected by leishmaniasis, a disease caused by various species of flagellated protozoans in the genus Leishmania that are transmitted by several sand fly species. Insecticides are widely used for sand fly population control to try to reduce or interrupt Leishmania transmission. Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. major is vectored mainly by Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) in Asia and Africa. Organophosphates comprise a class of insecticides used for sand fly control, which act through the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the central nervous system. Point mutations producing an altered, insensitive AChE are a major mechanism of organophosphate resistance in insects and preliminary evidence for organophosphate-insensitive AChE has been reported in sand flies. This report describes the identification of complementary DNA for an AChE in P. papatasi and the biochemical characterization of recombinant P. papatasi AChE. A P. papatasi Israeli strain laboratory colony was utilized to prepare total RNA utilized as template for RT-PCR amplification and sequencing of cDNA encoding acetylcholinesterase 1 using gene specific primers and 3’-5’-RACE. The cDNA was cloned into pBlueBac4.5/V5-His TOPO, and expressed by baculovirus in Sf21 insect cells in serum-free medium. Recombinant P. papatasi acetylcholinesterase was biochemically characterized using a modified Ellman’s assay in microplates. A 2309 nucleotide sequence of PpAChE1 cDNA [GenBank: JQ922267] of P. papatasi from a laboratory colony susceptible to insecticides is reported with 73-83% nucleotide identity to acetylcholinesterase mRNA sequences of Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Lutzomyia longipalpis, respectively. The P. papatasi cDNA ORF encoded a 710-amino acid protein [GenBank: AFP20868] exhibiting 85% amino acid identity with acetylcholinesterases of Cx. pipiens, Aedes aegypti, and 92% amino acid identity for L. longipalpis. Recombinant P. papatasi AChE1 was expressed in the baculovirus system and characterized as an insect acetylcholinesterase with substrate preference for acetylthiocholine and inhibition at high substrate concentration. Enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by eserine, BW284c51, malaoxon, and paraoxon, and was insensitive to the butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors ethopropazine and iso-OMPA. Results presented here enable the screening and identification of PpAChE mutations resulting in the genotype for insensitive PpAChE. Use of the recombinant P. papatasi AChE1 will facilitate rapid in vitro screening to identify novel PpAChE inhibitors, and comparative studies on biochemical kinetics of inhibition.
Funding Dilemmas in Refugee Assistance: Political Interests and Institutional Reforms in UNHCR:

Le financement des actions humanitaires se heurte a des problemes de coordination de la complexite des facteurs en jeu, ainsi qu'a une exigence de transparence. A titre d'exemple, le budget du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies aux Refugies (UNHCR) est examine. Les problemes d'affectation des fonds sont evoques, en particulier quand les plus importants donateurs formulent des conditions quant aux actions a mener, sous forme de programmes speciaux. Dans ce contexte, la reforme du budget du UNHCR a vu l'adoption d'un nouveau budget unifie destine a accroitre la flexibilite et la liberte d'action de l'UNHCR
New Promising Hydride Based on the Cu-Li-Mg System

We investigated the ternary Cu-Li-Mg system, in particular the CuLixMg2-x (x = 0.08) for hydrogen storage. Instead of crystallizing in an orthorhombic phase, as CuMg2, this phase presents a hexagonal structure very similar to that of NiMg2 and NiMg2H0.3. In this work we will discuss the structure of CuLixMg2-x by the analysis of the neutron scattering data and first principles calculations. The first results for a hydride (deuteride) phase will also mentioned since preliminary studies at LANSCE showed that CuLixMg2-x might absorb approximately 5.3 to 6 wt% of H at an equilibrium pressure of approximately 27 bar at 200 o C. If these results are confirmed in future work, this will mean that, not only CuLixMg2-x absorbs a considerable amount of hydrogen (close to DOE's expectations for hydrogen storage materials), but also will probably release it at a temperature in the range of 50 to 150 o C, where applications are easier to develop. Hence it should be possible to use this alloy with fuel cells or in batteries. Another important observation is that cycling has a strong effect on the structure of the hydride.
Improving charging efficiency with workload scheduling in energy harvesting embedded systems

In energy harvesting embedded systems, if the harvested power is sufficient for the workload, extra power will be stored in the electrical energy storage (EES) bank. How much energy can be stored is affected by many factors including the efficiency of the energy harvesting module, the input/output voltage of the DC-DC converters, the status of the EES elements, and the characteristics of the workload. This paper investigates the impact of workload scheduling of the embedded system on the storage efficiency of the EES bank. We first provide an approximated but accurate power consumption model of the DC-DC converter. Based on this model, we analytically prove that an optimal workload schedule is to always execute high power task first. Experimental results confirm that proposed scheduling strategy outperforms all other possible scheduling and increases the amount of stored energy by up to 10.41% in average.
The Influence of System Stability and Dynamics on the Accuracy of Level-Crossing Prediction

This technical note investigates the effect of stability on the probability of correctly predicting level-crossings for the output of a linear dynamical system driven by Gaussian noise. It is found that decreasing the stability margin has a favorable effect on predictive capability. The insight from this finding was derived from a parametric analysis of a given measure of predictive capability, represented as an explicit function of the spectral radius. The formulae used to characterize this relationship were derived under strict technical conditions in previous work. However, as a result of the closed-form nature of these expressions, using these formulae to gain insight on the influence of stability was much more computationally efficient than would otherwise be possible under more relaxed technical conditions.
Modeling nanoporous gold plasmonic nanoparticles: Calculation of optical properties

Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory (MG-EMT) has been employed to model disk shaped nanoporous gold nanoparticles (NPG nanoparticles or NPG Disks). Optical properties of these nanoparticles have been calculated using the proposed model via Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. Calculated optical properties reflect strong dependence on particle dimensions. The resonant extinction wavelength (λRes) can be tuned from ∼600 to ∼1300 nm by changing the particle diameter from 100 to 500 nm while the thickness is fixed at 75 nm; λRes can be blue shifted from ∼600 to ∼550 nm by varying the thickness from 25 to 100 nm for 100 nm diameter particles. Among these particle dimensions, the maximum scattering coefficient has been found in 200 nm diameter and 25 nm thick nanoparticles, while the maximum absorption coefficient in 100 nm diameter and 25 nm thick nanoparticles.
Government as Contractual Claimant: Tax Policy and the State

This Article analogizes the state, in its role as tax collector, to that of an investor, or to be more precise, that of a residual claimant on the earnings of all of the people and firms subject to the taxing power of the state. The relationship between modern democracy and its citizens would be strengthened if this analogy were more widely acknowledged because it recognizes citizen-taxpayers as contracting partners with the state. Unlike other libertarian conceptions of the state's taxing authority, the framework developed here does not jeopardize the state's ability to collect the revenues it needs to provide for the protections of its citizens. The state-as-investor framework developed in this Article leads to a number of tax policy improvements. The framework suggests limits on the government's ability to change people's tax status after they have already embarked on careers and made the sunken, non-diversifiable investments in human capital that such career training requires. The framework advanced here also suggests that people should be able to make a once-in-a-lifetime payment in lieu of taxes to the state in order to discharge their tax liability. This approach articulated here also seems superior to the utopian suggestion offered by Ayn Rand that taxation be voluntary, as well as to the unrealistic suggestion made by Nozick that income taxes are violative of man's natural rights.
Alamo Realty: The Effects of Technology Changes on Real Estate Brokerage

(2000). Alamo Realty: The Effects of Technology Changes on Real Estate Brokerage. Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 71-84.
A more accurate method using MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator) to estimate emission burden for regional-level analysis

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) is required by the EPA to replace Mobile 6 as an official on-road emission model. Incorporated with annual vehicle mile traveled (VMT) by Highways Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) vehicle class, MOVES allocates VMT from HPMS to MOVES source (vehicle) types and calculates emission burden by MOVES source type. However, the calculated running emission burden by MOVES source type may be deviated from the actual emission burden because of MOVES source population, specifically the population fraction by MOVES source type in HPMS vehicle class. The deviation is also the result of the use of the universal set of parameters, i.e., relative mileage accumulation rate (relativeMAR), packaged in MOVES default database. This paper presents a novel approach by adjusting the relativeMAR to eliminate the impact of MOVES source population on running exhaust emission and to keep start and evaporative emissions unchanged for both MO...
Cold-Formed Steel Members with Perforated Elements

In cold-formed steel structural members, holes are sometimes provided in webs, or flanges, or both of beams and columns for duct work, piping, ease of handling, and for other purposes. The presence of such holes may result in a reduction in strength of individual component elements or the overall strength of the member, or in both. At present, only a limited amount of design information is available for relatively heavy steel sections with perforated elements; however, no provisions are included in the American Iron and Steel Institute specification for the design of cold-formed steel members with perforated elements. The structural behavior of cold-formed steel beams and columns with a single circular or square hole in the web or flange has been studied in this preliminary investigation. Design formulas subject to a limited scope have been developed from this study for possible determination of effective design width and load-carrying capacities.
Naphthalene Diimide-Based Polymer Semiconductors: Synthesis, Structure–Property Correlations, and n-Channel and Ambipolar Field-Effect Transistors

A series of nine alternating donor–acceptor copolymer semiconductors based on naphthalene diimide (NDI) acceptor and seven different thiophene moieties with varied electron-donating strength and conformations has been synthesized, characterized, and used in n-channel and ambipolar organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The NDI copolymers had moderate to high molecular weights, and most of them exhibited moderate crystallinity in thin films and fibers. The LUMO energy levels of the NDI copolymers, at −3.9 to −3.8 eV, were constant as the donor moiety was varied. However, the HOMO energy levels could be tuned over a wide range from −5.3 eV in P8 to −5.9 eV in P1 and P3. As semiconductors in n-channel OFETs with gold source/drain electrodes, the NDI copolymers exhibited good electron transport with maximum electron mobility of 0.07 cm2/(V s) in P5. Although head-to-head (HH) linkage induced backbone torsion, polymer P4 showed substantial electron mobility of 0.012 cm2/(V s) in bottom-gate/top-contact devi...
Zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic fluorinated chemicals in aqueous film forming foam formulations and groundwater from U.S. military bases by nonaqueous large-volume injection HPLC-MS/MS.

A new analytical method was developed to quantify 26 newly-identified and 21 legacy (e.g. perfluoroalkyl carboxylates, perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, and fluorotelomer sulfonates) per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater and aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) formulations. Prior to analysis, AFFF formulations were diluted into methanol and PFAS in groundwater were micro liquid-liquid extracted. Methanolic dilutions of AFFF formulations and groundwater extracts were analyzed by large-volume injection (900 μL) high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Orthogonal chromatography was performed using cation exchange (silica) and anion exchange (propylamine) guard columns connected in series to a reverse-phase (C18) analytical column. Method detection limits for PFAS in groundwater ranged from 0.71 ng/L to 67 ng/L, and whole-method accuracy ranged from 96% to 106% for analytes for which matched authentic analytical standards were available. For analytes without authentic an...
The Method of Application of Gamma-ray Spectral Logging Data for Determining Clay Mineral Content

Clay mineral was an important component part of reservoir,and its content and features had great effect on oilfield development.Based on the data of X-ray diffraction,the data of natural gamma-ray spectrum and multi-element statistical method were deployed to establish a model for calculating the clay minerals of illite,kaolin and chlorite,and the model was optimized.The optimized model was used in Yuanba Area and good effect was obtained,it would provide a new idea for reservoir evaluation of horizontal wells of shale gas.The model can be used for rational and accurate calculating the clay minerals and it can provide reliable and theoretical foundation for reservoir evaluation and sensitivity analysis.
A Method to Assess Risk of Voltage Collapse and Its Application

As a traditional method,the deterministic method is currently applied in assessment of power system voltage collapse.Usually deterministic method considers the severe accidents with low occurrence probability,so that the assessment results frequently tend to conservative.The risk assessment method takes the occurrence probability and effects of accidents into account comprehensively,so its development potential will be desirable.A risk assessment method for power system voltage collapse is proposed and taking IEEE 14-bus system as the object its application research is performed.By means of analyzing the relation between the configured capacity of parallel capacitor and the risk of voltage collapse,a risk curve-based approach to determine optimal configuration of parallel capacitor is proposed.
From Flashes to Edges to Objects: Recovery of Local Edge Fragments Initiates Spatiotemporal Boundary Formation.

Spatiotemporal boundary formation (SBF) is the perception of illusory boundaries, global form, and global motion from spatially and temporally sparse transformations of texture elements (Shipley and Kellman, 1993a, 1994; Erlikhman and Kellman, 2015). It has been theorized that the visual system uses positions and times of element transformations to extract local oriented edge fragments, which then connect by known interpolation processes to produce larger contours and shape in SBF. To test this theory, we created a novel display consisting of a sawtooth arrangement of elements that disappeared and reappeared sequentially. Although apparent motion along the sawtooth would be expected, with appropriate spacing and timing, the resulting percept was of a larger, moving, illusory bar. This display approximates the minimal conditions for visual perception of an oriented edge fragment from spatiotemporal information and confirms that such events may be initiating conditions in SBF. Using converging objective and subjective methods, experiments showed that edge formation in these displays was subject to a temporal integration constraint of 80 ms between element disappearances. The experiments provide clear support for models of SBF that begin with extraction of local edge fragments, and they identify minimal conditions required for this process. We conjecture that these results reveal a link between spatiotemporal object perception and basic visual filtering. Motion energy filters have usually been studied with orientation given spatially by luminance contrast. When orientation is not given in static frames, these same motion energy filters serve as spatiotemporal edge filters, yielding local orientation from discrete element transformations over time. As numerous filters of different characteristic orientations and scales may respond to any simple SBF stimulus, we discuss the aperture and ambiguity problems that accompany this conjecture and how they might be resolved by the visual system.
Athabascan Village Stores: Subsistence Shopping in Interior Alaska, 1850–1950

This study examines the emergence of Athabascan village stores along the Tanana River in the 1940s as a key component of a 150-years-long process of market integration. Although shopping has not been seen as part of traditional Indian subsistence, Athabascans have purchased an increasing portion of their needs and wants in Alaska for more than a century prior to 1971's Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). This study asserts that the emergence of village stores drew Indians into a consumer-oriented economy, offered individuals choices, and encouraged greater consumption of staple and luxury commodities. Athabascans thus participated in the rise of an American consumer culture that began during the 1920s. The story of subsistence shopping challenges the bases of Alaska's subsistence policy and the view that ANCSA and the creation of Native corporations forced hunter-gatherers into the market economy.
The Conceptual Framework Applied to South African Society

In this chapter we shall apply the concepts we discussed in Part II to a sociological analysis of South Africa, keeping in mind the society’s unique historical evolution and the complexity of her plural social system. As in Part II, we shall begin with the microscopic level of analysis moving to the macroscopic. We must also emphasise, once again, that our analysis will be purely exploratory and analytical — never definitive. The huge gaps in scientific knowledge concerning the society make it impossible to be conclusive in what we state. Our main aim is to stimulate the student into analysing the social system around him for himself and it is in this regard that the framework may prove useful. We turn, then, first, to the microscopic level.
New species of Bidessonotus Régimbart, 1895 with a review of the South American species (Coleoptera, Adephaga, Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae, Bidessini).

The South American species of the New World genus Bidessonotus Regimbart, 1895 are reviewed with descriptions of seven new species. This brings the total number of valid Bidessonotus species to 37, making it the largest Bidessini genus in the New World. The new species are Bidessonotus annaesp. n. (Venezuela), Bidessonotus josiahisp. n. (Venezuela), Bidessonotus palecephalussp. n. (Venezuela), Bidessonotus reductussp. n. (Venezuela), Bidessonotus septimussp. n. (Venezuela), Bidessonotus spinosussp. n. (Venezuela), and Bidessonotus valdezisp. n. (Guyana, Suriname). New distribution records are provided for many other South American Bidessonotus species. The main diagnostic features of Bidessonotus species are in the male genitalia, and these are illustrated for all South American species. Diagnostic features, distributions (including distribution maps), and additional comments are provided for all South American species.
Periurethral Bulking Agent Injection in the Treatment of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence is a highly prevalent condition among women in the United States. Several surgical treatment options exist for the management of stress incontinence, each with a unique risk/benefit profile. The use of periurethral bulking agent injection is associated with a low risk of morbidity though with decreased efficacy compared to the other available surgical treatments. The most common complications following periurethral bulking agent injection are related to voiding symptoms, such as new onset urinary urgency, dysuria, hematuria, or urinary retention, which are transient and typically resolve with conservative therapy. Rarely, additional local reactions, such as sterile abscess or urethral diverticulum formation can occur, at times necessitating surgical intervention. Likewise, systemic particle migration has been reported following bulking agent injection though among the currently FDA-approved agents the clinical significance of this is unknown. We present a review of the local and systemic complications following periurethral bulking agent injection.
Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: An analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) under National Science Foundation [DBI-1052875]; Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Serum Testosterone Concentrations Remain Stable Between Injections in Patients Receiving Subcutaneous Testosterone.

Purpose Intramuscular (IM) testosterone is the most common modality for testosterone therapy of both male hypogonadism and female-to-male (FTM) gender transition. However, IM injections can be painful and often are not self-administered by the patient. The objective of this study was to further characterize subcutaneous (SC) administration of testosterone as an effective and safe alternative to IM injections by evaluating the pharmacodynamics of serum total and free testosterone concentrations between weekly testosterone injections. Methods Eleven FTM transgender patients already receiving weekly SC testosterone cypionate with documented therapeutic levels prior to enrollment had free and total serum testosterone levels measured at eight different time points during a 1-week dosing interval. Results Mean levels of total and free testosterone were stable and remained well within the normal range between injections. Overall mean ± standard deviation levels for the seven samples taken between injections were 627 ± 206 ng/dL (range, 205 to 1410) for total testosterone and 146 ± 51 pg/mL (range, 38 to 348) for free testosterone. No adverse effects were encountered. Conclusions The results of this study support use of SC testosterone to achieve therapeutic and stable serum testosterone levels for the purpose of gender transition. It is anticipated that these results can be extended to hypogonadal men. This route may be preferred over IM testosterone because it is relatively painless and easy to self-inject thus allowing for the convenience and economy of patient self-administration.
Local Backbone Flexibility as a Determinant of the Apparent pKa Values of Buried Ionizable Groups in Proteins

Ionizable groups buried in the hydrophobic interior of proteins are essential for energy transduction. These groups can have highly anomalous pKa values that reflect the incompatibility between charges and dehydrated environments. A systematic study of pKa values of buried ionizable groups in staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) suggests that these pKa values are determined in part by conformational reorganization of the protein. Lys-66 is one of the most deeply buried residues in SNase. We show that its apparent pKa of 5.7 reflects the average of the pKa values of Lys-66 in different conformational states of the protein. In the fully folded state, Lys-66 is deeply buried in the hydrophobic core of SNase and must titrate with a pKa of ≪5.7. In other states, the side chain of Lys-66 is fully solvent-exposed and has a normal pKa of ≈10.4. We show that the pKa of Lys-66 can be shifted from 5.7 toward a more normal value of 7.1 via the insertion of flanking Gly residues at positions 64 and 67 to promote an “open” ...
The Zodiacal Light And Gegenschein

The projection of the Earth’s orbit on the celestial sphere, the ecliptic, delineates the apparent annual path of the Sun against the star background. The other major members of the solar system - the planets and their moons - move within a few degrees of the ecliptic as a consequence of their intrinsic orbital motions combined with that of the Earth.
The Epidemiology of Sepsis

The global burden of sepsis is estimated at 19.4 million cases each year and 5.3 million sepsis-related deaths annually. However, this estimate is based on the incidence of hospital-treated sepsis in the developed world and may underestimate the true global burden of sepsis. The incidence of sepsis is rising over time, and there are disparities in incidence by age, gender, comorbidity burden, and socioeconomic status. The most common sites of infection are the lung, abdomen, urinary tract, bloodstream, and skin/soft tissue. About 35–45% of sepsis cases have gram-negative organisms identified, 30–40% have gram-positive organisms identified, and 12–16% have fungal organisms identified. Thirty to forty percent of cases are culture negative, and 20% have multiple pathogens identified. The case-fatality rate is falling, but sepsis survivors are at increased risk for morbidity, recurrent sepsis, and late death. Thirty to forty percent of sepsis survivors are rehospitalized within 90 days, most commonly for recurrent sepsis.
The Question of Priorities in Rainfall Information and Data: A Minority Viewpoint?

Collection and analysis of station and gage histories and corrections for point rainfall measurements are of low priority for global change studies. Instead, priority must be placed on evaluating data quality, data archiving and dissemination, and on expanding the network of gages in the vast regions of the globe where rainfall data are scarce or non-existent. This includes the high latitudes, high-altitude locations, and arid- and semi-arid regions, all of which are likely to be extremely sensitive to global change. In such regions, if a choice must be made between collecting information on measurement techniques, gages, etc., and expanding the network of rainfall gages, the emphasis must by all means be on the latter.
Invariance Principles for Rank Statistics for Testing Independence

ABSTRACT In this paper we consider a general class of rank order statistics for testing independence in bivariate populations. Each statistic is represented as a sum of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d) random variables and a remainder term. Suitable order (a.s.) of the remainder term is found and then some invariance principles are obtained. The results obtained are extensions of the results of Chernoff and Savage (1958), Bhuchongkul (1964), Bahadur (1966), Ruymgaart et al. (1972), Sen and Ghosh (1974) and Lai (1975).
The process of seeking stress-care: coping as experienced by senior baccalaureate nursing students in response to appraised clinical stress.

High levels of clinical stress experienced by nursing students continue to be identified in the literature. However, much is still unexplored about the coping processes of nursing students in response to appraised clinical stress. A grounded theory methodological approach was used to acquire a substantive theory of the processes through which senior baccalaureate nursing students manage the demands of the clinical person-environment relationships that are appraised as stressful and the emotions they generate. A theoretical sample of 16 volunteer senior generic nursing students from two baccalaureate nursing programs was determined by saturation of the data. Each participant was interviewed twice. The basic social problem experienced by these senior baccalaureate nursing students was the chaos created in their lives while trying to manage the demands of the appraised clinical stress (i.e., the clinical person-environment relationship). The three-stage process of seeking stress- care, including encountering changing self, loss of self, and regaining managed self, helped the students manage this chaos. Each of the stages related to the processes that transpired within the students as they dealt with the chaos created in their life while trying to manage the demands of appraised clinical stress. Implications include the development of the stress-care construct and innovative instructor interventions in the clinical setting.
Intravenous Magnesium Sulphate Relieves Migraine Attacks in Patients with Low Serum Ionized Magnesium Levels: A Pilot Study

1. We tested the hypothesis that patients with an acute attack of migraine headache and low serum levels (< 0.54 mmol/l) of ionized magnesium are more likely to respond to an intravenous infusion of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) than patients with higher serum ionized magnesium levels. 2. Serum ionized magnesium levels were drawn immediately before infusion of 1 g of MgSO4 in 40 consecutive patients with an acute migraine headache. 3. Pain reduction of 50% or more as measured on a headache intensity verbal scale of 1 to 10, occurred within 15 min of infusion in 35 patients. In 21 patients, at least this degree of improvement or complete relief persisted for 24h or more. Pain relief lasted at least 24h in 18 of 21 patients (86%) with serum ionized magnesium levels below 0.54 mmol/l, and in 3 of 19 patients (16%) with ionized magnesium levels at or above 0.54 mmol/l (P < 0.001). Mean ionized magnesium levels in patients with relief lasting for at least 24h were significantly lower than in patients with no relief or brief relief (P < 0.01). 4. Measurement of serum ionized magnesium levels may be useful in identifying patients with migraine headaches who may respond to an intravenous infusion of MgSO4.
Long-term Nutrient Fertilization Increased Soil Carbon Storage in California Grasslands

Elevated nutrient deposition often increases primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems and thus has the potential to increase the flux of carbon (C) into soils. An important step toward greater understanding of nutrient effects on C storage involves assessing effects on different fractions of the soil C pool across a range of soil types. We quantified the combined effects of 8 years of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and micronutrient fertilization on the C storage in bulk soil and in density fractions at four grassland sites in California. When averaged across sites, fertilization increased soil light fraction C by 64% relative to the control in the 0–10 cm depth. The increase in light fraction C likely resulted from the fertilization-induced increase in plant C input to soil, as aboveground net primary productivity also consistently increased with fertilization across sites. Effects of fertilization on heavy fraction C were highly site specific, having positive, negative, or no effect at individual sites. The response of heavy fraction C to fertilization appeared to be related to mean annual precipitation and soil bulk density. Overall, bulk soil C concentration showed a marginally significant increase of 6% with fertilization when averaged across sites (P = 0.07). Our results indicate that biomass production and soil light fraction are generally sensitive to fertilization across grasslands in California, likely contributing to increases in soil C storage. Responses of heavy fraction C, on the other hand, vary greatly among sites and may depend on climate and soil characteristics.
The Inquiry-Oriented Instructional Measure

Here we report on the development process of the Inquiry Oriented Instructional Measure (IOIM), an instrument for scoring a lesson along seven inquiry-oriented instructional practices. The development of the IOIM was a multi-phase, iterative process that included reviewing K-16 research literature, analyzing videos of classroom instruction, and pilot testing. This process resulted in the identification of instructional practices that support the successful implementation of inquiry-oriented instruction (IOI) at the undergraduate level. These practices, which comprise the IOIM, provide an empirically grounded description of IOI. In addition, the IOIM provides a rubric for evaluating the degree to which an instructor’s classroom instruction is reflective of these practices. As a proof of concept for the IOIM, we present the results of a pilot test – in which data from a large professional development program designed to support undergraduate mathematics instructors in implementing inquiry-oriented instruction was scored using the IOIM.
A two‐stage phase II clinical trial design with nested criteria for early stopping and efficacy

We propose a two-stage design for a single arm clinical trial with an early stopping rule for futility. This design employs different endpoints to assess early stopping and efficacy. The early stopping rule is based on a criteria determined more quickly than that for efficacy. These separate criteria are also nested in the sense that efficacy is a special case of, but usually not identical to, the early stopping endpoint. The design readily allows for planning in terms of statistical significance, power, expected sample size, and expected duration. This method is illustrated with a phase II design comparing rates of disease progression in elderly patients treated for lung cancer to rates found using a historical control. In this example, the early stopping rule is based on the number of patients who exhibit progression-free survival (PFS) at 2 months post treatment follow-up. Efficacy is judged by the number of patients who have PFS at 6 months. We demonstrate our design has expected sample size and power comparable with the Simon two-stage design but exhibits shorter expected duration under a range of useful parameter values.
FLAMES: A Socially Relevant Computing Experience for High School Students

In this poster, I examine a two-pronged, female-oriented, high school computing outreach program, FLAMES, incorporating 1) workshops throughout the school year and 2) an 8-week high school summer intern program run within the Game2Learn lab at North Carolina State University. I focus on examining the effects of the program on students' skills and affect towards computing. Literature has shown that socially relevant themes in computing are engaging for women and underrepresented minorities. Students understanding how these themes connect to computer science helps broaden their view of computing and increases their interest in pursuing a computing career. This initiative uses socially relevant themes, specifically around the context of developing educational tools and block-based programming activities for use in K-12 classrooms. High school students were trained to assist North and South Carolina teachers with the development of Computational Thinking-infused curricula for their science, math, English, and social studies classrooms. Additionally, summer students assisted in research labs alongside undergraduate researchers, aiding in field study observations, software testing, and data classification. This poster presents the design of the program, an overview of the curriculum, and results including both student and teacher feedback. Results show that the outreach program has benefited each of the parties involved, including its student participants, researchers, and the teachers assisted by the participants. I share lessons learned from this experience in order to help other CS departments develop similar broadening participation in computing programs.
Added Value of Live 3-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography During Procedures in Fontan Patients.

3D transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) has proven useful and accurate during some operating room (OR), interventional cardiac catheterization (Cath), and electrophysiologic (EP) procedures. The use of 3D-TEE during similar procedures in patients who have undergone Fontan surgery and its additional value have not been previously reported. To determine if live 3D-TEE during procedures post Fontan has added value, 3D-TEEs in 58 post-Fontan patients over a 5-year study period were reviewed. Additional information provided by 3D-TEE (over 2D-TEE) was classified into the following: A: new information which changed/refined the plan and 0: no new important information. Pre- and post-bypass OR 3D-TEEs were counted as one study. A total of 67 3D-TEEs (41 Cath, 13 OR, and 13 EP procedures) were performed. Median age was 14 years (6–39 years). Median weight was 47 kg (21–109 kg). In Cath procedures, only 2/41 (5%) were graded A (R to L atrial level shunt [Fontan leak], n = 1; thrombus in pulmonary artery stump, n = 1). In the OR, 6/13 (46%) were graded A (atrioventricular valvuloplasty, n = 1; neo-aortic valvuloplasty, n = 1; relief of systemic and pulmonary venous outflow obstruction, n = 2 and n = 2; respectively). In EP procedures, 4/13 (31%) were graded A (thrombus, n = 3; mapping for lead placement to assist in multisite pacing for dyssynchrony, n = 1). 3D-TEE of Fontan improved visualization and frequently added value in the OR/EP lab and may be helpful in select catheterization cases. Future studies with a larger sample could build on this data to identify when 3D-TEE will be most useful.
Microbubble-assisted concentration and ultrasensitive detection of chiral biomolecules using plasmonic chiral metamaterials

We have developed microbubble-assisted rapid concentration and ultrahigh-sensitive detection of multiple chiral metabolites. Through the strong Marangoni convection, the drag force can efficiently drag and print the biomolecules with hundreds of molar masses on the plasmonic substrates for chiral analysis, breaking the limit of conventional electrophoresis and thermophoresis in the manipulation of molecules. We show that we can detect and differentiate 100 pM D/L pure glucose solution, which shows 107 times greater sensitivity than the state-of-the-art chiral sensing techniques. Finally, we successfully detect the enantiomer excess in purified urine and therefore push the label-free lab-on-a-chip detection of chiral biomarkers for diabetes mellitus detection.
Lymphatic Vessel on a Chip with Capability for Exposure to Cyclic Fluidic Flow

The lymphatic system is a complex organ system that is essential in regulating the development of host immune responses. Because of the complexity of the lymphatic system and the existence of few i...
The Canons of Rhetoric

This technical note is employed in MBA, executive education, and undergraduate courses that cover the art of persuasion. It is used in the core Management Communication course at Darden. Employing the canons of rhetoric devised by Aristotle and his classical contemporaries, the objective of the note is to provide students with a clear and usable map to guide them as they seek to understand the dynamics involved in persuading others. Persuasion is a critical management skill that must be mastered at all levels of the organization, but it is especially important for those at the leadership level. Most managerial communication goes beyond the sharing of information and involves elements of persuasion. Along with the five canons—invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery—this note also outlines the three primary modes of persuasion: ethos (an appeal to values), pathos (an emotional appeal), and logos (a logic-based appeal). This note often is used in conjunction with the technical note, Leadership Voice and Style. Excerpt UVA-BC-0264 Mar.16, 2018 The Canons of Rhetoric Rhetoric and Management Rhetoric is the art of persuading others by communicating. It is viewed as a nonviolent alternative to persuasion by force or physical violence. Although rhetoric is most commonly considered in the context of public speaking, it is important to recognize that most business communications, being action oriented, involve elements of rhetoric. In fact, most managerial communications that go beyond the sharing of information tend to involve elements of persuasion. Agreements among a company's stakeholders are forged and altered through persuasive communication. Companies must convince financiers that their business model and leadership team are a solid investment. To operate with the confidence of the board, CEOs must persuade directors that their vision is one that will maximize opportunities and limit risks. Marketing professionals are charged with convincing customers to purchase their products. . . .
Dense FPGA Compute Using Signed Byte Tuples

The importance of AI to FPGA has resulted in ever increasing low precision hard arithmetic features in newer devices. Many FPGAs, including those from Achronix, Intel, and Xilinx, have significantly increased the density of INT8 and INT9 embedded multipliers. Mainstream devices with these enhanced densities still support the traditional intermediate integer (typically 18-bit) multipliers, with IEEE-754 floating-point now becoming more prevalent as well.Recently, Intel introduced the Stratix 10 NX FPGA, which is targeted specifically at AI acceleration. This device contains a new type of AI-specific DSP Block with approximately an order of magnitude higher INT8 density than previous FPGA industry DSP Blocks. Larger standard FPGA integer precisions, however, are not directly supported. Intel has described some methods of aggregating larger multipliers from the NX Blocks, but these are somewhat smaller than typically used by DSP applications. Larger multiplications can also be useful for other AI applications, such as found in training. In this paper, we introduce the concept of signed tuples, which can be used to assemble signed multipliers into more useful larger precision multipliers by leveraging FPGA soft-logic inexpensively. We demonstrate several constructions of INT16 multipliers, with some modes requiring less than 3 ALMs per INT16 multiplier when implemented in a tensor format. We also describe the application of these methods to even larger multipliers and alternate constructs such as complex multiplication. We show that there is essentially no performance degradation or system fitting impact from our method. The mid-size NX device can support up 33 TOPs INT16 (from 29,700 constructed INT16 multipliers on a mid-speed grade device) with this approach, which is higher than any other current or announced monolithic die FPGA. Our methods are not limited to FPGA, or any particular starting precision, and so may be used for other aggregations as well.
Rapamycin: Current and Future Uses

The mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has received growing attention due to its immunosuppresive, antineoplastic and lifespan extending properties. The discovery of the drug and its target has had widespread implications for our understanding of the underlying metabolic processes in the cell. Indeed, rapamycin has opened up a new field of potential pharmacological targets. In the following chapter I will briefly review the molecular target of rapamycin and the current clinical applications for this compound.
Formative Research for Mhealth HIV Adherence: The iHAART App

Qualitative research was conducted to adapt and develop an mHealth app for HIV patients with histories of substance abuse. The app provides reactive, visual representations of adherence rates, viral load and CD4 counts. Two sets of focus groups were conducted with 22 participants. The first concentrated on use of reminder system and opinions about ideal adherence features. Results informed adaptation of an existing system, which was then presented to participants in the second set of focus groups. We describe participant responses to candidate app characteristics and their understanding of the HIV disease state based on these changing images. Qualitative results indicate that a balance of provided and requested information is important to maintain interest and support adherence. App characteristics and information can provoke positive and negative reactions and these emotional responses may affect adherence. Conclusion: User understanding of, and reaction to, app visual content was essential to adaptation and design.
A generalized morphological skeleton transform and extraction of structural shape components

In this paper, we introduce a generalized morphological skeleton transform that uses eight structuring elements to generate skeleton subsets. The number of representative points needed to represent a given shape is significantly lower than in the standard skeleton transform. A collection of shape components needed to build a structural representation is easily selected from the shape elements generated in the generalized skeleton transform. Each shape component covers a significant area of the given shape and severe overlapping is avoided. The given shape can also be accurately approximated using a small number of shape components.
The granular reticular cells of the thymus in the AKR/JAX mouse

The authors have previously described a hypoglycemia with age in the female AKR/JAX mouse which they attributed to the thymus gland. Using our own modification of Gomori's Aldehyde-fuchsin stain, cells of the thymus were found to contain purple-blue granules in degrees and gradations of numbers, sizes and form. It seems likely that these cells have the ability to produce and store a factor or hormone which could directly or indirectly affect the blood sugar. By their histology, these cells have been classified as reticular cells of the thymus in contrast to mast cells or lymphocytes. In their staining ability, appearance and occasional tendency to group themselves in “islets”, these cells do seem to closely resemble the Beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. From an embryological point of view, the thymus and pancreas, both of entodermal origin, are related and it is suggested that this may also be case physiologically.
Apolipoprotein E genotype and noncognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract Background: The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ϵ4 allele confers significant risk for Alzheimer's disease and is associated with a greater amyloid burden in the brain. Future treatments may target molecular mechanisms associated with this allele, and it is important to define any phenotypic characteristics that correspond to this genotype. We sought to clarify the relationship between ApoE status and noncognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's disease patients. Methods: Possible and probable Alzheimer's disease patients from a clinical trial ( n = 605) were assessed with the 10-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory cross-sectionally prior to treatment, and their ApoE genotype was determined. Among the population studied, the following numbers with specific genotypes were studied: 23–2/3, 17–2/4, 209–3/3, 288–3/4, 68–4/4. Results: When correlations were controlled for the patient's level of cognitive impairment, there was no relationship between ϵ4 dose and any of the 10 noncognitive symptoms assessed, including psychosis, mood changes, and personality alterations. Conclusions: Among patients with comparable disease severity, the ϵ4 allele does not confer additional psychiatric morbidity.
Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic data for Rab guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (RabGDI) from bovine brain.

Abstract X-ray quality crystals of Rab guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor(RabGDI) from bovine brain expressed in Escherichia coli have been obtained from 1.73 M ammonium sulfate. The crystals are prismatic long rods and belong to the monoclinic space group P 2 1 with approximate cell dimensions a = 91.9 A, b = 43.5 A, c = 63.2 A. β = 104.5° and one molecule per asymmetric unit. The crystals are stable in the X-ray beam and diffract to at least 2.3 A. Reverse screening, streak seeding and macroseeding methods were used to obtain and improve the crystals.