cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic risk assessment framework for structural systems under multiple hazards using Bayesian statistics

Abstract Conventional probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methodologies (USNRC, 1983; IAEA, 1992; EPRI, 1994; Ellingwood, 2001) conduct risk assessment for different external hazards by considering each hazard separately and independent of each other. The risk metric for a specific hazard is evaluated by a convolution of the fragility and the hazard curves. The fragility curve for basic event is obtained by using empirical, experimental, and/or numerical simulation data for a particular hazard. Treating each hazard as an independently can be inappropriate in some cases as certain hazards are statistically correlated or dependent. Examples of such correlated events include but are not limited to flooding induced fire, seismically induced internal or external flooding, or even seismically induced fire. In the current practice, system level risk and consequence sequences are typically calculated using logic trees to express the causative relationship between events. In this paper, we present the results from a study on multi-hazard risk assessment that is conducted using a Bayesian network (BN) with Bayesian inference. The framework can consider statistical dependencies among risks from multiple hazards, allows updating by considering the newly available data/information at any level, and provide a novel way to explore alternative failure scenarios that may exist due to vulnerabilities.
Movie review summarization and sentiment analysis using rapidminer

Automatic text summarization is one of the important challenges of natural language tasks. It will help the readers save time to get the important information from a lengthy document automatically. Sentiment Analysis is the process of identifying and categorizing opinions expressed in a piece of text computationally to determine whether the writer's attitude towards a particular topic, product, etc., is positive, negative, or neutral. This research focuses on improving the summarization accuracy with sentiment analysis of movie review posts using RapidMiner operators. The first model of summarization is built using the Aylien Text Analysis extension. The proposed second model is built using the Text Processing extension. For both these methods the sentiment analysis is done using the same Aylien Text Analysis extension for evaluating the summarization results. An accuracy of 90% is achieved for sentiment analysis using the first model and 96% for the second model.
Construct validity of five sentiment analysis methods in the text of encounter notes of patients with critical illness

Sentiment analysis may offer insights into patient outcomes through the subjective expressions made by clinicians in the text of encounter notes. We analyzed the predictive, concurrent, convergent, and content validity of five sentiment methods in a sample of 791,216 multidisciplinary clinical notes among 40,602 hospitalizations associated with an intensive care unit stay. None of these approaches improved early prediction of in-hospital mortality. However, positive sentiment measured by Pattern (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.04 - 0.17), sentimentr (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.25 - 0.63), and Opinion (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.07 - 0.89) were inversely associated with death on the concurrent day after adjustment for demographic characteristics and illness severity. Median daily lexical coverage ranged from 5.2% to 20.5%. While sentiment between all methods was positively correlated, their agreement was weak. Sentiment analysis holds promise for clinical applications, but will require a novel domain-specific method applicable to clinical text.
Terminating Tenure: Rejecting Tenure Contracts in Bankruptcy

Financially distressed entities often use the bankruptcy system to restructure their contractual obligations. This article examines whether distressed institutions of higher education can do the same with their tenured faculty, and concludes that the answer is surprisingly unclear. The answer depends primarily on two key inquiries. First, do professors have material obligations to their tenuring institution under a tenure contract, or are tenure contracts more akin to one-sided option contracts? Second, will the bankruptcy court apply the Countryman test for executory contracts, or some other test--such as Westbrook's Functional analysis? If tenure contracts are akin to option contracts, as this article argues, and a court uses the Countryman test, tenure contracts are likely not rejectable in a bankruptcy case. This is a surprising result, explored in greater detail in the body of this article. This article also considers, though largely dismisses, the argument that tenure is a protected property right under the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause. Nevertheless, such an argument might be made for strategic purposes.
Health in Yemen: losing ground in war time

The effect of the ongoing war in Yemen on maternal and child health (MCH) has not been comprehensively assessed. Providing a situational analysis at the governorate level is critical to assist in planning a response and allocating resources. We used multiple national- and governorate-level data sources to provide estimates of 12 relevant MCH indicators in 2016 around child vaccination, and child and maternal nutritional status, and the change in these estimates for the period 2013–2016 based on shock variables including change in gross domestic product, burden of airstrikes per 1000 population, change in access to untreated water sources and unimproved toilets, and change in wheat flour prices. We also used findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2016 study. Vaccine coverage decreased for all antigens between 2013 and 2016 among children 12–23 months. The largest decrease, 36·4% for first-dose measles vaccine, was in Aden. Among children under the age of five, incidence of diarrhea was at 7·0 (5·5–8·9) episodes per person-year. The prevalence of moderate and severe child anemia ranged from 50·9% (24·9–73·1) in Sana’a City to 97·8% (94·1–99·2) in Shabwah in 2016. Prevalence of underweight among women of reproductive age ranged from 15·3% (8·1–24·6) in Sana’a city to 32·1% (24·1–39·7) in Hajjah, with a national average of 24·6% (18·7–31·5). The war and siege on Yemen has had a devastating impact on the health of women and children. Urgent efforts to secure food, essential medicines, antibiotics, deworming medicine, and hygiene kits, and cold chains for immunization are needed. Yemen is in dire need of clean water and proper sanitation to reduce the spread of disease, especially diarrhea.
Move to Cornell

In the winter of 1959, I received, for the second time, an offer from Cornell University. It was a very attractive offer. I was asked to set up an interdisciplinary center bringing together people from physics, astronomy, and electrical engineering, concerned with radio astronomy and ionospheric research. At the same time, I would be appointed chairman of the Astronomy Department which at that time consisted of just two persons. I was assured that I could make several faculty appointments. There were plans to build the world’s largest radio astronomy instrument: a 1,000-ft-diameter dish in a natural bowl in Puerto Rico. It was clear that an instrument of that magnitude would put Cornell in the forefront of radio astronomy, make possible the radar observation of the nearer planets, and allow a new type of observation for the study of the ionosphere. This instrument would clearly be the major piece of equipment of this new center.
Machine learning for software reuse

Recent work on learning apprentice systems suggests new approaches for using interactive programming environments to promote software reuse. Methodologies for software specification and validation yield natural domains of application for explanation-based learning techniques. This paper develops a relation between data abstractions in software and explanation-based generalization problems and shows how explanation-based learning can be used to generalize program abstractions to promote their reuse. This method is applied in the design of a system called LASR (Learning Apprentice for Software Reuse) which will acquire programming knowledge by capturing and generalizing interconnections between abstract data type theories. The technical role of theories in defining learned concepts in this application suggests their more general use in representing problems in explanation-based learning.
How Good Can a Resolution Based SAT-solver Be?

We introduce a parameterized class M(p) of unsatisfiable formulas that specify equivalence checking of Boolean circuits. If the parameter p is fixed, a formula of M(p) can be solved in general resolution in a linear number of resolutions. On the other hand, even though there is a polynomial time deterministic algorithm that solves formulas from M(p), the order of the polynomial is a monotone increasing function of parameter p. We give reasons why resolution based SAT-algorithms should have poor performance on this very “easy” class of formulas and provide experimental evidence that this is indeed the case.
Editorial Commentary: Proficiency-Based Training: Are We Ready for a New Way to Train and Test Orthopaedic Surgeons?

Abstract Orthopaedic training has followed an apprentice/mentorship pathway of training throughout its history. This method of training is entrenched in Medicine and is the foundation for our current residency/fellowship method of attaining the appropriate training and credentialing of physicians and surgeons to safely care for our patients. Over the past 2 decades, the use of proficiency-based training has been shown to be effective in general surgery, cardiac surgery, vascular and plastic surgery, and now with the Copernicus project, in shoulder arthroscopy. Combining proficiency-based training with the rapid advances in virtual reality technology will allow surgeons to become competent with the surgical skills needed for surgery before ever touching a patient.
Understanding the attitudes toward sunless tanning product use: implication of tanning product consumption

The goal of this study is to test the antecedents of overall attitudes toward sunless tanning product use. The data collected from 302 US female college students with an average age of 20.11 were included in the analysis. A structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results revealed that body surveillance and social ostracism influenced the individuals’ cutaneous body image dissatisfaction, which also influenced perceived attractiveness and fitness of tanned appearance. Perceived tanning attractiveness and perceived tanning physical fitness positively influences attitudes toward tanning product use. It is evident that seeing one’s own body through the lens of others is at the root of positive attitudes toward sunless tanning products. Positive attitudinal changes toward sunless tanning products can be successfully established emphasizing sunless tanning products as fashion consumption. The findings in this study have important relevance, in that tanning products can be marketed as cosmetic appearance-enhancement products for people to look attractive, toned, and fit.
Optimized management of nivolumab (NIVO) and ipilimumab (IPI) in advanced renal cell carcinoma (OMNIVORE): A response-based phase II study.

TPS4600Background: CheckMate 025 established NIVO as a standard of care (SOC) option for advanced clear cell RCC (ccRCC) after prior antiangiogenic therapy. The combination of IPI plus NIVO is anti...
Addressing Sexist Attitudes on a College Campus through Virtual Role-Play with Digital Doppelgangers

Digital doppelgangers are virtual humans that highly resemble the real self but behave independently. Digital doppelgangers possess great potential to serve as powerful models for behavioral change. An emerging technology, the Rapid Avatar Capture and Simulation (RACAS) system, enables low-cost and high-speed scanning of a human user and creation of a digital doppelganger that is a fully animatable virtual 3D model of the user. We designed a virtual role-playing game, DELTA, that implements a powerful cognitive dissonance-based paradigm for attitudinal and behavioral change, and integrated it with digital doppelgangers to influence a human user's attitude towards sexism on college campuses. In this paper, we discuss the design and evaluation the RACAS system and the DELTA game-based environment. Results indicate the potential impact of the DELTA game-based environment in creating an immersive virtual experience for attitudinal change.
Strategies for Stabilizing DNA Nanostructures to Biological Conditions

DNA is one of the most promising building blocks for creating functional nanostructures for applications in biology and medicine. However, these highly programmable nanomaterials (e.g., DNA origami) often require supraphysiological salt concentrations for stability, are degraded by nuclease enzymes, and can elicit an inflammatory response. Herein, three key strategies for stabilizing DNA nanostructures to conditions required for biological applications are outlined: 1) tuning the buffer conditions or nanostructure design; 2) covalently crosslinking the strands that make up the structures; and 3) coating the structures with polymers, proteins, or lipid bilayers. Taken together, these approaches greatly expand the chemical diversity and future applicability of DNA nanotechnology both in vitro and in vivo.
Which Worldlines Represent Possible Particle Histories

Based on three common interpretive commitments in general relativity, I raise a conceptual problem for the usual identification, in that theory, of timelike curves as those that represent the possible histories of (test) particles in spacetime. This problem affords at least three different solutions, depending on different representational and ontological assumptions one makes about the nature of (test) particles, fields, and their modal structure. While I advocate for a cautious pluralism regarding these options, I also suggest that re-interpreting (test) particles as field processes offers the most promising route for natural integration with the physics of material phenomena, including quantum theory.
A Collaborative Sensing and Model-Based Real-Time Recovery of Fast Data Flows From Sparse Measurements

This article considers the real-time recovery of a fast time series by using sparsely sampled measurements from sensors whose sampling speeds are prohibitively slow originally. Specifically, when the fast signal is an autoregressive process, we propose an online information recovery algorithm that reconstructs the dense underlying temporal dynamics fully by systematically modulating two slow sensors, and by exploiting a model-based fusion of the sparsely collected data. We provide the design of collaborative sensing and model-based information recovery algorithm, impacts of parameter choosing and model singularity, and methods to reduce computational complexity and increase prediction robustness. The proposed method is experimentally verified in an optical beam steering platform for additive manufacturing. Application to a closed-loop disturbance rejection problem reveals the feasibility to eliminate fast disturbance signals with the slow and not fully aligned sensor pair in real time, and in particular, the rejection of narrow-band disturbances whose frequencies are much higher than that of the Nyquist frequencies of the sensors.
Anticoagulation with Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) during Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (PBSCT). Single Institution Experience.

BACKGROUND: Management of a chronic hypercoagulable state during the cytopenic phase of peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) poses a significant clinical challenge. Anticoagulation in the presence of significant thrombocytopenia raises the risk of bleeding. However, withholding anticoagulation may increase the risk of thrombotic events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low dose thromboprophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) during the thrombocytopenic phase of PBSCT. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent an autologous PBSCT at our institution from 1998 to 2005 and identified patients that were on therapeutic anticoagulation prior to their admission for transplantation. Institutional review board approval was obtained for this study. Information regarding indication of PBSCT, age, gender, indication for anticoagulation, bleeding or thrombotic event during hospitalization including bleeding or clotting at the site of indwelling central venous catheter, nature of anticoagulation, time to platelet engraftment, and number of platelet transfusions were recorded. Patients at known high risk for thrombosis were maintained on therapeutic dosage of warferin or LMWH until platelet counts decreased to 20,000/μ liter with transfusion support as needed. RESULTS: Eight of seventy evaluable patients were identified during the pre-transplant screening to be maintained on long term anticoagulation. Median age of these patients was 57 years (range: 38–67); Male: Female ratio 1:1; Indications for PBSCT were relapsed non-hodgkins lymphoma (n=2), multiple myeloma (n=5), acute myeloid leukemia (n=1). Indications for long term anticoagulation prior to PBSCT included: Upper extremity DVT (n=1), lower extremity DVT (n=5), pulmonary embolism (n=1), atrial fibrillation (n=1), superior sagital sinus thrombosis (n=1). Prior to transplant, therapeutic anticoagulation was maintained with warfarin (n=4) and LMWH (n=4). Median number of days with platelet counts CONCLUSION: Patients on chronic anticoagulation therapy can be safely transplanted with PBSCs and maintained on prophylactic doses of LMWH during the phase of moderate thrombocytopenia (platelet count
Python versus Pathogens

In 1906, the Warrens, a wealthy New York banking family, rented a summer house on Long Island. That summer, six people in the household came down with typhoid fever, a serious bacterial illness with a persistent and very high fever. In the era before antibiotics, typhoid was frequently deadly. Although the Warrens all survived, the outbreak was troubling enough that a sanitary engineer named George Soper was hired to investigate. Soper examined the water supply, the plumbing, and other possible sources of contamination, but found nothing to explain the outbreak. Eventually, he investigated the family’s new cook, a woman named Mary Mallon. Soper went through her employment history, and found that there had been typhoid outbreaks in most of the places she had worked. Mary Mallon, who became known as “Typhoid Mary,” was the first documented example of an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid (Figure 1.1). She herself was not sick, but she was able to spread the disease to others. Once Mary was discovered to carry typhoid, she was quarantined in a hospital for most of the rest of her life.
Coping with cascading collective traumas in the United States.

The year 2020 has been marked by unprecedented cascading traumas, including the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession, race-driven social unrest and weather-related disasters. Mental health consequences of direct and media-based exposure to compounding stressors may be profound. Policymakers must act to ease the burden of trauma to protect public health.
Cluster Mergers as Triggers of Star Formation and Radio Emission: A Comparative Study of the Rich Clusters Abell 2125 and 2645

We report a detailed optical study of the clusters Abell 2125 and 2645. These clusters are very similar in redshift (z ≈ 0.25) and richness (Abell class 4), yet contrast strongly in blue fraction and radio-galaxy populations. In 1984 Butcher & Oemler reported that A2125 and A2645 have blue-galaxy fractions of 0.19 and 0.03, respectively, while more recent radio observations with the VLA and subsequent optical identifications on the digital Palomar Sky Survey show an apparent excess of radio galaxies in A2125 relative to A2645 (Dwarakanath & Owen). Our spectroscopic observations confirm this difference. We find 27 radio galaxies to be members of A2125 and only four in A2645, based on (nearly) complete observations to the same limiting magnitude and radio flux density. The radio galaxies in A2125 extend over about 5 Mpc (assuming H0 = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1) along a band running from northeast to southwest of the cluster center. About half the radio galaxies are red and have optical spectra that resemble old stellar populations. The other half are blue with emission lines, most of which indicate an origin in star formation rather than AGN. Many of the blue galaxies are in a distinct clump located about 2 Mpc in projection from the cluster center. The excess population of radio galaxies in A2125 occurs entirely at radio luminosities less than 1023 W Hz-1, where one expects star formation to be primarily responsible for the radio emission. Most of these radio galaxies have optical properties most consistent with systems later than E/S0. However, the optical line luminosities are often weaker than one would expect for the star formation rates implied by the radio emission. Thus we suspect that dust obscuration, larger than is usually found locally, hides most of the star-forming regions optically. The existence of a cluster-cluster merger in progress in A2125 seems likely to play some role in these phenomena, although the details are obscure.
QTL mapping of resistance to Pseudoperonospora cubensis clade 1, mating type A2, in Cucumis melo

This is the first identification of QTLs underlying resistance to Pseudoperonospora cubensis in Cucumis melo using a genetically characterized isolate. Pseudoperonospora cubensis, causal organism of cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), is one of the largest threats to cucurbit production in the eastern USA. Currently, no Cucumis melo (melon) cultivars have significant levels of resistance. Additionally, little is understood about the genetic basis of resistance in C. melo. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs; N = 169) generated from a cross between the resistant melon breeding line MR-1 and susceptible cultivar Ananas Yok’neam were phenotyped for CDM resistance in both greenhouse and growth chamber studies. A high-density genetic linkage map with 5,663 binned SNPs created from the RIL population was utilized for QTL mapping. Nine QTLs, including two major QTLs, were associated with CDM resistance. Of the major QTLs, qPcub-10.1 was stable across growth chamber and greenhouse tests, whereas qPcub-8.2 was detected only in growth chamber tests. qPcub-10.1 co-located with an MLO-like protein coding gene, which has been shown to confer resistance to powdery mildew and Phytophthora in other plants. This is the first screening of C. melo germplasm with a genetically characterized P. cubensis isolate.
Hegemonic Muslim Masculinities and Their Others: Perspectives from South and Southeast Asia

This article provides ethnographic, comparative, and theoretical perspectives on Muslim masculinities in South and Southeast Asia, home to more than half the world's 1.9 billion Muslims. Its empirical and thematic focus broadens the scholarly discussion of gender and sexuality among Muslims insofar as most of the literature deals with the Middle East and North Africa and is devoted to women and the discourses and practices of femininity and sexuality associated with them. More specifically, the article develops theoretical insights bearing on gender hegemonies and the pluralities and hierarchies of discourses on masculinities in the Muslim-majority nations of Pakistan and Malaysia, each of which illustrates broad trends in the region. It thus sheds important light on the empirical diversity of Muslim masculinities (amidst commonalities) and some of the ways they have been informed by locally and regionally variable macro-level processes keyed to colonialism, postcolonial nation-building, global/neoliberal capitalism, and post-Cold War geopolitical struggles including the Global War on Terror.
Spatiotemporal mode-selective quantum frequency converter

We experimentally demonstrate a mode-selective quantum frequency converter over a compound spatiotemporal Hilbert space. We show that our method can achieve high extinction for high-dimensional quantum state tomography by selectively upconverting the signal modes with a modulated and delayed pump. By preparing the pump in optimized modes through adaptive feedback control, selective frequency conversion is demonstrated with up to 30 dB extinction. The simultaneous operations over high-dimensional degrees of freedom in both spatial and temporal domains can serve as a viable resource for photon-efficient quantum communications and computation.
Use of Pharmacological Modeling to Understand Key Questions on the GOAT Ghrelin Processing In Vivo

Ghrelin (AG) is the only known orexigenic peptide in human and rodents. It is converted from its precursor, unacylated ghrelin (UAG), to the biologically active peptide, acylghrelin. Two independent groups (Yang et al., 2008; Gutierrez 2009) using different approaches identified the same protein, named GOAT (Ghrelin O-Acyl Transferase), as the long sought enzyme which is responsible for the bioactivation of ghrelin peptide. Results from GOAT gene knockout mice confirmed that GOAT is the principal enzyme which is responsible for the acylation of ghrelin. We have developed a GOAT enzymatic assay. Using this assay, we have demonstrated the detailed molecular mechanism of the GOAT enzymatic reaction. In addition, we used genetic and pharmacologic data to build a model for GOAT/ghrelin processing in mouse. We also used plasma acylghrelin and desacylghrelin profiles from human volunteers, following three doses of acylghelin infusion, to enrich this model and improve understanding of the dynamics of ghrelin proc...
The Classical Theory

I begin by recalling a few basic facts about the integration theory that is usually introduced in advanced calculus. I do so not only for purposes of later comparison with the modern theory but also because it is the theory with which most computations are eventually performed.
The protease problem in Neurospora. Structural modification of the arom multienzyme system during its extraction and isolation.

Abstract The “aromatic complex” or “arom aggregate” of Neurospora crassa catalyzes five consecutive reactions in the central pathway leading to the biosynthesis of the aromatic amino acids. Previously, this multienzyme system was shown variously to have a molecular weight of 230,000 to 300,000 and to contain up to four subunits. Recently, a protease and a corresponding specific inhibitor have been isolated from N. crassa and, as described in this report, a new method for isolating the multienzyme system has been developed. We have made the following observations: (a) Detergent (sodium dodecyl sulfate) gel electrophorograms of the “complex” isolated by two different methods are not comparable. In an earlier method, which involved more manipulations and time, the detergent gel banding patterns showed four polypeptides with molecular weights totaling about 300,000. With the new purification procedure, there are two major bands: the first with an apparent molecular weight of about 150,000 and the second with a molecular weight of 50,000. (b) When the freshly purified multienzyme system is incubated at 25 °C, four new bands appear within 30 h and a fifth is visible after 40 h. (c) The formation of these new bands is prevented for up to 40 h by the addition of phenylmethanesulfonylfluoride or a purified preparation of the specific N. crassa protease inhibitor, (d) The multienzyme system appears to remain intact, as shown by standard polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, even after it has suffered several proteolytic clips. These results demonstrate that the purified complex is contaminated with a small but influential quantity of the inhibitable N. crassa protease and show that this protease is capable of creating an artificial subunit structure in the multienzyme system. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that the arom enzyme system is a five-component multifunctional enzyme.
Comparative analysis of the growth and biological activity of a respiratory and atheroma isolate of Chlamydia pneumoniae reveals strain-dependent differences in inflammatory activity and innate immune evasion

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common human pathogen that is associated with upper and lower respiratory tract infections. It has also been suggested that C. pneumoniae infection can trigger or promote a number of chronic inflammatory conditions, including asthma and atherosclerosis. Several strains of C. pneumoniae have been isolated from humans and animals, and sequence data demonstrates marked genetic conservation, leaving unanswered the question as to why chronic inflammatory conditions may occur following some respiratory-acquired infections. C. pneumoniae strains AR39 and AO3 were used in vitro to infect murine bone marrow derived macrophages and L929 fibroblasts, or in vivo to infect C57BL/6 mice via the intranasal route. We undertook a comparative study of a respiratory isolate, AR39, and an atheroma isolate, AO3, to determine if bacterial growth and host responses to infection varied between these two strains. We observed differential growth depending on the host cell type and the growth temperature; however both strains were capable of forming plaques in vitro. The host response to the respiratory isolate was found to be more inflammatory both in vitro, in terms of inflammatory cytokine induction, and in vivo, as measured by clinical response and lung inflammatory markers using a mouse model of respiratory infection. Our data demonstrates that a subset of C. pneumoniae strains is capable of evading host innate immune defenses during the acute respiratory infection. Further studies on the genetic basis for these differences on both the host and pathogen side could enhance our understanding how C. pneumoniae contributes to the development chronic inflammation at local and distant sites.
Job Performance of Transition-Age Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

This study examined the job performance of adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). Adolescent employees with E/BD (n = 47) and their immediate supervisors (n = 47) rated (a) adolescents' performance of 50 workplace behaviors and (b) the importance of those same behaviors to success on the job. Significant discrepancies were found between supervisor's ratings of the importance of work behaviors and their ratings of adolescents' performance of the same behaviors. In addition, adolescents' ratings of their own job performance were significantly more favorable than the ratings of their supervisors. Implications of the study are discussed within the context of secondary transition programming for adolescents with E/BD.
Characterization of Flow Dynamics and Vulnerability in a Coastal Aquifer System

Traditional aquifer vulnerability techniques primarily rely on spatial property data for a region and are limited by their ability to directly or indirectly assess flow and transport processes occurring from the surface to depth within an aquifer system. The main objective of this study was to investigate groundwater vulnerability in terms of aquifer interconnectivity and flow dynamics. A combination of stable isotopes, groundwater age-dating (radiocarbon), and geomorphic/geogenic spatial analyses was applied to a regional, highly developed coastal aquifer to explain the presence of nitrate at depth. The average δ(13) C value (-17.3 ± 2‰ VPDB, n = 27) is characteristic of groundwater originating from locally infiltrated precipitation through extensively cultivated soils. The average δ(18) O and δD values (-4.0 ± 0.1‰ VSMOW, n = 27; δD: -19.3 ± 1‰ VSMOW, n = 27, respectively) are similar to precipitation water derived from maritime sources feeding the region's surface water and groundwater. Stable and radioactive isotopes reveal significant mixing between shallow and deep aquifers due to high velocities, hydraulic connection, and input of local recharge water to depths. Groundwater overdevelopment enhances deeper and faster modern water downward flux, amplifying aquifer vulnerability. Therefore, aquifer vulnerability is a variable, dependent on the type and degree of stress conditions experienced by a groundwater system as well as the geospatial properties at the near surface.
1288 CONOTRUNCAL DEFECTS IN CHARGE ASSOCIATION: EVIDENCE FOR NEURAL CREST INVOLVEMENT

Defects in CHARGE association may include choanal atresia, coloboma, cardiac anomalies, growth and mental deficiency, genital hypoplasia, and ear anomalies, as well as other facial defects such as cleft palate, micrognathia, facial palsy and velopharyngeal problems. Previous studies have demonstrated that cephalic neural crest plays a major role in facial morphogenesis. Recent studies using quail/chick chimeras have shown that mesenchyme of the aorticopulmonary septum is also derived from cells of the cephalic neural crest. There is overlap between CHARGE association and DiGeorge Syndrome, and when tissue from cephalic neural crest is ablated, conotruncal septation defects and thymic deficiency may result. We hypothesized that abnormalities in the formation, proliferation, or migration of cephalic neural crest cells might result in an association between craniofacial and conotruncal anomalies in CHARGE association. We tested this hypothesis by examining the types of cardiac defects among 34 previously published and 17 new CHARGE association patients with congenital heart disease. Conotruncal defects were present in 35% of these patients, versus an expected prevalence of 16-22% in large series of patients with congenital heart disease. These data suggest a possible pathogenetic link between certain craniofacial and cardiac defects that may involve the cephalic neural crest.
A Comparison of Reported Sleep Disorders in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis and Continuous Peritoneal Dialysis

There are few data about the prevalence and characteristics of reported sleep disorders in chronic dialysis patients and, although insomnia is often used as a marker of uremia, there are few data relating complaints of sleep to adequacy of dialysis. We therefore surveyed 48 hemodialysis (HD) patients, 22 continuous peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, and 41 healthy control subjects about disordered sleep. The questionnaire included demographic data, questions characterizing the reported sleep problems, and linear analogue scales quantitating the severity of the sleep disturbance and feelings of anxiety, worry, and sadness. Kt/V determinations were also made for each dialysis patient. Fifty-two percent of the HD, 50% of the PD, and 12% of the control subjects reported problems sleeping (P less than 0.001, all dialysis patients v controls). No differences between HD and PD in characteristics of sleep problems were seen. Sleep severity scale results confirmed sleep disorders (7.2 in those with v 0.95 in those without sleep disorders, where 0 = sleep a little problem and 10 = a big problem, P less than 0.001). Caffeine intake (P less than 0.05) and worry (P less than 0.004) were the only factors associated with reported sleep disturbances. Kt/V values (1.4 +/- 0.3) did not predict reported sleep problems. Mean reported hours of sleep per night (5.5 +/- 2 v 5.8 +/- 1.4) and desired hours of sleep per night (8.3 +/- 2 v 7.6 +/- 1.3) were similar among dialysis patients and controls reporting sleep problems. Dialysis patients and controls without self-reported sleep disorders slept a mean of 7.1 +/- 2.4 and 7 +/- 1.1 h/night, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Purification and properties of membrane‐bound coupling factor‐latent ATPase from mycobacterium phlei

The membrane bound coupling factor-latent ATPase was solubilized from the membrane vesicles of Mycobacterium phlei by using 0.25 M sucrose or low ionic strength buffer. Purification of the solubilized enzyme by use of Sepharose-ADP conjugate gel yielded a homogenous preparation of latent ATPase which was purified about 216-fold in a single step with an 84% yield. The enzyme exhibits a specific activity of 39 μmoles of ATP hydrolyzed per min per mg protein. The purified enzyme exhibits coupling factor activity. Electrophoresis in two dissociating solvent systems indicates that the enzyme contains at least three major polypeptides of molecular weights 56,000, 51,000 and 46,000 daltons, and two minor polypeptides of 30,000 and 17,000 daltons. Equilibrium binding studies of ADP with purified coupling factor-latent ATPase reveal the presence of two nucleotide binding sites per molecule with an apparent Ka of 8.1 × 10−5 M. By use of affinity chromatography, another latent ATPase has been isolated from the solubilized enzyme, which does not exhibit coupling factor activity.
The Nucleosome Revisited: Combined Small-Angle X-Ray/Neutron Scattering and Molecular Dynamics Applied to Reconstituted Mononucleosomes

Nucleosomes are the fundamental structural units of chromatin. A mononucleosome is comprised of 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around a heterooctameric core of histone proteins that include H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, and other naturally occurring functional variants. In the mid-1970s, the SANS technique was key to the determination of the composition, structure, and conformation of the DNA within this basic unit, fifteen years before the first x-ray diffraction results were available. Small-angle scattering is a long-established technique that is well-suited for the study of macromolecules in vitro, as they exist in solution. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is ideally suited to study nucleoprotein complexes, since the neutron scattering strengths of the different macromolecules differ with respect to each other. By employing contrast variation techniques, where the D2O:H2O ratio of the solutions is systematically varied, the gross structure and distribution of the individual components of a composite particle can be resolved in a model-independent fashion.We will present work which revisits these decades-old canonical measurements with a modern perspective. Experimental neutrons from beam line CG-3 at the ORNL High-Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) were successfully utilized to study reconstituted mononucleosomes by contrast variation. Our work marries this method with analytical centrifugation and the atomistic modeling approaches implemented in the program SASSIE. This approach allows us to directly reconcile available atomic structures with their solution properties, resulting in complete single and ensemble solution models. As a result of this work, we will present new insights into the distribution of the protein and DNA components of the mononucleosome in solution, including the properties of histone tails in solution and DNA wrapping. The methods presented provide an experimental framework for future examination of variant nucleosome and nucleosome-derived higher order assemblies.
Atrioventricular nodal ablation in atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis of biventricular vs. right ventricular pacing mode.

Aims For patients with refractory atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing atrioventricular nodal ablation (AVNA), initial single-chamber right ventricular (RV)-only pacing is standard. Given the deleterious effects of chronic RV-only pacing, the impact of an initial biventricular (BiV) pacing strategy post-ablation is of interest. Methods and results We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effect of BiV vs. RV-only pacing in patients undergoing AVNA for refractory atrial fibrillation. A search of multiple electronic databases identified 921 reports, which included four randomized controlled trials (n = 534). Mean New York Heart Association (NYHA) class was 2.3 and mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 44%. When compared with RV-only pacing, BiV pacing was not associated with reduced mortality [risk ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40–1.82, P = 0.68]. In three studies comprised of patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (mean EF 41 ± 3%), BiV pacing demonstrated a non-significant reduction in cardiac mortality (risk ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.25–1.39; P = 0.23). Compared with RV-only pacing, BiV pacing was associated with significant improvement in symptoms [Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ) 2.72 points fewer, 95% CI 1.45–3.99] and increased LVEF (+2.6%, 95% CI 1.69–3.44), but no significant change in 6 min walk distance (6MWD) (5.02 ms more, 95% CI −1.56 to 11.59; P = 0.13). Conclusions In patients with refractory AF undergoing AVNA, BiV pacing was not associated with significantly improved survival when compared with RV-only pacing. A modest, but significant improvement in structural and functional response to BiV pacing was observed.
Perioperative Nurses and Patient Outcomes—Mortality, Complications, and Length of Stay

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY described in this article was to identify the relationship between RN staffing factors in the OR and surgical patient outcomes. THE STUDY ADDRESSED two main questions: whether the level of RN staffing in the OR is related to postoperative complications, mortality, and length of stay (LOS) and whether certification, RN agency use, 24-hour staffing, and the performance of multidisciplinary code drills are related to complications, mortality, and LOS. ACCORDING TO THIS STUDY, selected organizational factors in ORs had a significant influence on patient outcomes.
Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of a durum alien disomic addition line with enhanced tolerance to Fusarium head blight

Current durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.)) cultivars have little or no resistance to Fusa- rium head blight (FHB), a ravaging disease of cereal crops. A diploid wheatgrass, Lophopyrum elongatum (Host) A ´ .L ove (2n =2 x = 14, EE genome), is an excellent source of FHB resistance. Through an extensive intergeneric hybridization us- ing durum cultivar Langdon, we have developed a disomic alien addition line, named DGE-1 (2n = 28 + 2), with a wheat- grass chromosome pair. We used a unique method for isolating the addition line taking advantage of unreduced gametes functioning in Langdon L. elongatum F1 hybrids in their first backcross to the Langdon parent, resulting in 35-chromo- some plants from which we derived DGE-1. The addition line DGE-1 has a plant type similar to its Langdon parent, although it is shorter in height with narrower leaves and shorter spikes. It is meiotically and reproductively stable, gener- ally forming 15 bivalents with two chiasmata each. The alien chromosome pair from the grass confers FHB resistance to the addition line, which has less than 21% infection on the visual scale, mean = 6.5%. Using various biochemical and mo- lecular techniques (Giemsa C-banding, fluorescent genomic in situ hybridization (fl-GISH), chromosome-specific simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, targeted region amplified polymorphism (TRAP) markers, and sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)), we have shown that the extra chromosome involved is 1E of L. elonga- tum. This is the first time that FHB resistance has been discovered on chromosome 1E. We have established a chromo- some-specific marker for 1E that may be used to screen fertile hybrid derivatives and durum addition lines for this chromosome that confers FHB resistance.
Development of clinical pharmacy productivity metrics.

Purpose The development of an automated tool to quantify decentralized clinical pharmacists’ productivity at a large metropolitan hospital is described. Summary From 2008 to 2010, pharmacy administration, clinical pharmacy, and information technology (IT) staff at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, developed a tool to identify, abstract, and report measures of clinical pharmacy productivity. The primary goal was to create automated metrics to accurately and comprehensively collect relevant clinical data without adding to the clinical pharmacy or administrative staff workload. Electronically captured measurable clinical activities were identified by staff, and methods to extract these data from the electronic medical record (EMR) were developed by IT staff using existing EMR variables. These activities included verification of orders, entry of oral orders, discontinuation of orders, patient profile review, preparation of progress notes, reporting of unexpected medication events, and responses to emergency resuscitation codes. Decentralized pharmacists were asked to weigh each activity relative to other activities on the basis of the average time and cognitive skill required to complete a specific intervention. Reports were generated and extracted into a database for data analysis, data graphing, and final-report generation. Conclusion Implementation of an automated tool derived from the EMR and developed by clinical and IT staff allowed decentralized clinical pharmacists’ activities to be captured electronically and reported quarterly and annually. Weighted metrics enabled the quantification of pharmacists’ clinical activities.
Ductile fracture at twin boundary in an annealed Fe22Cr5Ni alloy

The cleavage mechanisms of brittle fracture associated with twinning have been well documented, and fatigue crack initiation at annealing twin boundaries and propagation at mechanical twin boundaries are widely found. However, few detailed observations on the change in the characteristics on fracture surfaces associated with twinning and testing temperature have been carried out. Twinning occurs in a wide range of temperatures in ferritic Fe-Cr-Ni alloy, and the fracture surface of this alloy was only noted as cleavage without providing a fractograph. Twinning is also responsible for the embrittlement of this alloy at 475 C. The fracture features associated with twinning at different temperatures and the effect of twins on deformation and ductile fracture in an annealed Fe-22Cr-5Ni alloy are investigated in this work.
Molecular Determinants of Oocyte Competence: Potential Functional Role for Maternal (Oocyte-Derived) Follistatin in Promoting Bovine Early Embryogenesis

Previous studies established a positive relationship between oocyte competence and follistatin mRNA abundance. Herein, we used the bovine model to test the hypothesis that follistatin plays a functional role in regulation of early embryogenesis. Treatment of early embryos with follistatin during in vitro culture (before embryonic genome activation) resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in time to first cleavage, increased numbers of blastocysts, and increased blastocyst total and trophectoderm cell numbers. To determine the requirement of endogenous follistatin for early embryogenesis, follistatin ablation/replacement studies were performed. Microinjection of follistatin small interfering RNA into zygotes reduced follistatin mRNA and protein and was accompanied by a reduction in number of embryos developing to eight- to 16-cell and blastocyst stages and reduced blastocyst total and trophectoderm cell numbers. Effects of follistatin ablation were rescued by culture of follistatin small interfering RNA-injected embryos in the presence of exogenous follistatin. To investigate whether follistatin regulation of early embryogenesis is potentially mediated via inhibition of endogenous activin activity, the effects of treatment of embryos with exogenous activin, SB-431542 (inhibitor of activin, TGF-beta, and nodal type I receptor signaling) and follistatin plus SB-431542 were investigated. Activin treatment mimicked positive effects of follistatin on time to first cleavage and blastocyst development, whereas negative effects of SB-431542 treatment were observed. Stimulatory effects of follistatin on embryogenesis were not blocked by SB-431542 treatment. Results support a functional role for oocyte-derived follistatin in bovine early embryogenesis and suggest that observed effects of follistatin are likely not mediated by classical inhibition of activin activity.