cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of biodiverse, understudied groups do not mirror those of the surrogate groups that set conservation priorities: a case study from the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of eastern North America

We conducted biodiversity inventories of lichens, woody plants, and sedges at 32 sites on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of eastern North America between November 2012 and June 2015. Each site comprised a single, uniform habitat, consisting of either Coastal Plain Floodplain forest, Coastal Plain Flatwood swamp, Coastal Plain Oak-Pine forest, Maritime forest, Mixed Mesic Hardwood forest, or Tidal forest. We compared alpha diversity and community assemblages of each organismal group across the sites, and compared selected minimal reserve sets in order to visualize biodiversity patterns and assess whether specific components of vascular plants (sedges and woody plants) serve as an effective surrogate for lichens. Woody plants provide a direct substrate for lichen growth, but there is no significant correlation between the alpha diversity of these groups. For conserving maximal species richness among the studied groups, lichens outperform the sedges and woody plants as the best surrogate group for building minimum reserve sets, even though vascular plants are more commonly used as a surrogate. Likewise, sedge alpha diversity does not correlate with lichens, or with woody plants. Although no group is an effective indicator for high alpha diversity sites of other organisms, a significant correlation between the community assemblages of lichens and woody plants suggests that protecting varied types of plant communities might serve as a workable surrogate for protecting lichens. The lack of congruence between species richness patterns across organismal groups suggests that the mechanisms that shape patterns of diversity are not identical, and that identifying and incorporating specific biodiversity indicators for understudied groups in conservation policy is necessary to ensure their protection.
Mechanical evaluation of the SLM fabricated, stiffness-matched, mandibular bone fixation plates

The standard of the care for the treatment of mandibular segmental defects is the use of Ti-6Al-4V bone fixation plates and screws to immobilize the grafted bone and the host mandible. While Ti-6Al-4V bone fixation plates provide strong immobilization during the healing period, they may disturb the stress distribution in the repaired mandible. The highly stiff Ti-6Al-4V fixation carries a great portion of the load which was previously borne by the mandible, and stress shielding may occur on the surrounding cortical bone. Based on the bone remodeling theory, stress shielding causes bone resorption in the effected region and may eventually lead to the failure of the surgical reconstruction. To address this issue, we have developed a new generation of the patient-specific, porous NiTi bone fixation plates which benefit from stiffness-matching of the adjacent bone. Using the CT scan data of the patient’s defective mandible, the geometry for the required bone fixation plates is designed and the stiffness of the surrounding regions is measured. By introducing specific level and type of porosity to the bone fixation plate, its stiffness can be tuned. Finite Element simulations has verified the reduced level of stress shielding on the reconstructed mandible, in case of using the proposed bone fixation plates. Selective Lase Sintering has been used for fabrication of the porous NiTi bone fixation plates with six different levels of stiffness. Finite element simulations, and mechanical tests have been done to verify the performance of the fabricated parts resulting from our design and fabrication method.
P2PSTORY: Dataset of Children as Storytellers and Listeners in Peer-to-Peer Interactions

Understanding social-emotional behaviors in storytelling interactions plays a critical role in the development of interactive educational technologies for children. A challenge when designing for such interactions using technology like social robots, virtual agents, and tablets is understanding the social-emotional behaviors pertinent to storytelling-especially when emulating a natural peer-to-peer relation between the child and the technology. We present P2PSTORY, a dataset of young children (5-6 years old) engaging in natural peer-to-peer storytelling interactions with fellow classmates. The dataset consists of rich social behaviors of children without adult supervision, with each participant demonstrating being a storyteller and a listener. The dataset contains 58 video recorded sessions along with a diverse set of behavioral annotations as well as developmental and demographic profiles of each child participant. We describe the main characteristics of the dataset in addition to findings that reveal perceptual differences between adults and children when evaluating the attentiveness of listeners.
Nonclassical Features of Gas Transport and Exchange at the Alveolar Level

The transport and exchange of oxygen in the lung can be viewed conceptually as serial processes. Accordingly, the conductance for the combined transport and exchange process, G c , represents the reciprocal sum of separate conductances for intrapulmonary mixing, G mix , and for alveolar capillary exchange, D L [9]. Although G mix and D L are lumped-parameter macroscale conductances, they must account implicitly for transport and exchange complexities at the microscale (i.e. alveolar duct and alveolar capillary) level.
Design for assembly evaluation of orientation difficulty features

In support of the effort to bring downstream issues to the attention of the designer as parts take shape, an analysis system is being built to extract certain features relevant to assembly processes, such as the dimensions, shape, and symmetry of an object. These can be applied'to a model of the downstream process to evaluate the object's difficulty of handling and assemblability. In this paper, we will focus on the acquisition phase of the assembly process and employ a model of design for assembly (DFA) evaluation to quantify factors in this process. The capabilities of a non-homogeneous, non-manifold boundary representation geometric modeling system are used with an Index of Difficulty (ID) that represents the dexterity and time required to assemble a product. A series of algorithms based on the high-level abstractions of loop and link are developed to extract orientation difficulty feature data forming a DFA critic. Examples of the testing the robustness of the algorithms are given. Problems related to nearly /r^ symmetric outlines are also discussed. Stuiges & Yang: 12/2/91 Page 1
Microbial Ecology of Dehalogenation

In reviewing the physicochemical factors and biological activities that describe the microbial ecology of an environment, in particular how it pertains to the global cycling of halogens, many elements are evident. A unifying principle in these often complex systems can perhaps be found in the energy flow through the system. On a small scale, this can be seen in the microbial communities which support and mediate dehalogenation. Hydrogen transfer, through syntrophic and cometabolic microbial associations, together with its impact on the environmental matrix, e.g., redox and mineral speciation, provides a commonality to the cycling of nutrients in the environment, including halogenated substrates. A better understanding can serve as a basis for exploiting these processes for the better good, in particular for the cleanup of contaminated environments, but also for better management of naturally-occurring processes.
Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria: Characterization of Murine Models of the Severe Common (C73R/C73R) and Later-Onset Genotypes

Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) is an autosomal recessive disorder due to the deficient activity of uroporphyrinogen III synthase (UROS). Knock-in mouse models were generated for the common, hematologically severe human genotype, C73R/C73R, and milder genotypes (C73R/V99L and V99L/V99L). The specific activities of the UROS enzyme in the livers and erythrocytes of these mice averaged approximately 1.2%, 11% and 19% of normal, respectively. C73R/C73R mice that survived fetal life to weaning age (~12%) had a severe microcytic hypochromic anemia (hemoglobin 7.9 g/dL, mean cellular volume 26.6 fL, mean cellular hemoglobin content 27.4 g/dL, red cell distribution width 37.7%, reticulocytes 19%) and massively accumulated isomer I porphyrins (95, 183 and 44 μmol/L in erythrocytes, spleen and liver, respectively), but a nearly normal lifespan. In adult C73R/C73R mice, spleen and liver weights were 8.2- and 1.5-fold increased, respectively. C73R/V99L mice were mildly anemic (hemoglobin was 14.0 g/dL and mean cellular hemoglobin was 13.3), with minimally accumulated porphyrins (0.10, 5.54 and 0.58 μmol/L in erythrocytes, spleen and liver, respectively), whereas adult V99L/V99L mice were normal. Of note, even the mildest genotype, V99L/V99L, exhibited porphyria in utero, which disappeared by 2 months of age. These severe and mild mouse models inform therapeutic interventions and permit further investigation of the porphyrin-induced hematopathology, which leads to photo-induced cutaneous lesions. Of significance for therapeutic intervention, these mouse models suggest that only 11% of wild-type activity might be needed to reverse the pathology in CEP patients.
Creatine kinase and its MB isoenzyme in the third trimester and the peripartum period.

Forty-nine normal pregnant women were recruited late in the third trimester for serial determinations of creatine kinase (CK) and its MB isoenzyme fraction (CK-MB) at four different times: (1) on recruitment between 36 and 40 weeks' gestation, (2) on admission in active labor, (3) immediately after delivery, and (4) on the first postpartum day. In the patients with vaginal delivery (n = 43) total CK was significantly elevated at time 4 compared with times 1, 2 and 3 (P value < .0001). CK-MB fraction was also significantly elevated at time 4 compared with times 1, 2 and 3 (P value < .0001). In 35.7% of the patients at time 4, CK-MB was sufficiently elevated to give the laboratory interpretation of "borderline" or "consistent with a myocardial infarction," even though none of the patients had cardiac symptoms or complications. A review of the literature shows that CK-MB is found not only in myocardium but also in uterus and placenta. The implication of this study is that elevations in total CK and CK-MB should be used with caution during the peripartum period to diagnose myocardial ischemia or infarction.
The cost structure of U.S. railroad industry, 1980-81

The proposed Coal Rate Guidelines published by the Interstate Commerce Commission imply that the railroad industry can raise rates on the so called "captive" coal to achieve the goal of revenue adequacy. Revenue adequacy is defined as a level of earnings sufficient to enable a carrier to meet all of its expenses, retire a reasonable amount of debt, cover plant depreciation and obsolescence, and earn a return on investment adequate to attract new capital. If the proposed Coal Rate Guidelines are implemented on coal traffic, it is expected that similar guidelines will be applied to other so called "captive" commodities, such as grains, fertilizers, chemicals, and agricultural products. The proposed Guidelines emphasize the inelastic demand for railroad transportation of "captive" coal, but ignore the cost side and the structures of the railroad industry as a crucial part in achieving railroad revenue adequacy;To estimate the potential in achieving the goal of revenue adequacy of the railroad industry from a cost saving point of view, two flexible functional forms, the translog and generalized Leontief models were used to estimate cost behavior under different scenarios. The results indicate that: (1) the railroad industry has substantial returns to traffic density and to average length of haul; (2) the railroad industry has small returns to firm size; (3) the net effects of returns to density, length of haul, and firm size are large and positive; (4) capital and labor are highly substitutable while labor and fuel, and capital and fuel are less substitutable; (5) labor costs are the major component of total costs; (6) all input price elasticities of demand are less than unity; (7) the railroad industry had excess capacity in 1980-81; (8) a cost saving policy can, in part, achieve the goal of revenue adequacy for the railroad industry in 1980-81;This study is based on 1980-81 Class I railroad data, hence the interpretation of the results is limited to the cost structure of these years. As the railroad industry has experienced rapid technological change, further research may be needed when new data become available. Moreover, the model specification can be further improved if less aggregate data are available.
Deconstructing Immigrant Illegality: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Stress and Health Among Undocumented College Students

Research has established that being undocumented is a risk factor for mental and physical health conditions. Much of this work emphasizes undocumented immigrants’ chronic stress, yet key questions about pathways to health remain. The mere state of being undocumented is viewed as a general stressor, without considering actual levels of stress or identifying dimensions of documentation status that contribute to overall stress levels. Drawing on surveys and interviews with undocumented students at the University of California, we uncover the everyday manifestations of four dimensions of immigrant “illegality”: academic concerns, future concerns, financial concerns, and deportation concerns, and their association with reported stress levels and self-rated health. Survey data establish undocumented students’ high levels of stress and poorer health, in comparison to previous research on other national samples. In a structural equation model, we found academic and future concerns to be significantly associated with higher stress, which was in turn, associated with poorer self-rated health. Financial concerns were not associated with higher perceived stress but were directly associated with poorer self-rated health. Notably, deportation concerns did not have any significant independent associations with stress or health. We use our qualitative data to identify specific stressors embedded within these four dimensions. Our findings inform understandings of the health risks arising from documentation status.
HIV and the Elderly

A substantial and increasing number of people have developed HIV infections in their later years, most associated with male-to-male sexual contact or blood transfusions, although transmission also ...
Self-inflicted burn injuries: Etiologies, risk factors and impact on institutional resources.

Abstract Introduction Self-inflicted burns are a rare cause of injury, accounting for only 1.0% of burns in the United States. While rare, the physical and psychosocial ramifications of these injuries are lasting. The goal of this study was to examine the etiologies, risk factors and outcomes of self-inflected burns in an urban setting. Methods Records of all patients presented to a regional burn center from July 2011 to June 2015 were reviewed. Those who sustained a self-inflected burn were identified and included in this study. Demographic data, psychiatric history, previous self-harm records, insurance status, injury circumstance, burn characteristic [location and total body surface area (TBSA)], need for excision and grafting, graft-take and duration of hospital stay and costs were reviewed. This group was then compared to a cohort of 166 patients with non-intentional burn during the same time frame matched for age and TBSA%. Results There were 34 patients with a mean (SD) age of 31 (15.2) who sustained a self-inflicted burn during the study period. The mean TBSA% was 2.8 (SD = 5.1), with most injuries in the upper and lower extremities. Fifty three percent of the patients presented with altered mental status secondary to either psychiatric illness or intoxication. Twenty-four percent of incidents were claimed as suicide attempts and suicidal ideation was present in 47% of cases. Twenty-six percent of patients with a previous psychiatric diagnosis were not on a psychiatric medication prior to incident. There was record of previous self-harm in 26% of patients. When compared to control group of 166 patient with non-intentional burn, patients with self-inflicted burn had higher rates of substance abuse (35% vs. 13%, p Conclusions Patients with self-inflected burn have a higher rate of previous self-harm behavior, psychiatric comorbidities and substance abuse. These patients are more likely to require surgical excision and grafting and expanded institutional resources compared to those with non-intentional burn with similar degree and size of burn. Increased counseling of at-risk populations may help to decrease this potentially preventable method of injury.
Interannual Variability and Seasonality of Precipitation in the Indus River Basin

AbstractThe Indus River basin is highly vulnerable to water scarcity due to increasing population, unsustainable management practices, and climate change. Yet the regional hydroclimate and precipit...
The 3'UTR of the α6 integrin message regulates localization of α6β4 integrin heterodimers.

Abstract The α6β4 integrin heterodimer is an essential component of hemidesmosomes (HDs) and HD-related structures, which adhere epithelial cells to the underlying extracellular matrix. In this study, we focused on the importance of the α6 integrin 3′ untranslated region (UTR) in α6β4 integrin localization. To do so, A549 cells (a type II lung alveolar cell line) and immortalized human epidermal keratinocytes (iHEK) were infected with adenovirus encoding the entire α6 integrin protein with or without portions of its 3′UTR. In infected A549 cells, we detected α6β4 integrin heterodimers containing the product of the adenovirus, regardless of whether the α6 integrin 3′UTR was present. However, only those α6 integrin proteins whose messages contained bases 4770–5633 of the α6 integrin 3′UTR were targeted to matrix adhesion sites. Moreover, overexpression of the full length α6 integrin 3′UTR, minus the coding sequence, in A549 cells disrupts the localization of endogenous α6β4 integrin heterodimers. Following infection of iHEKs with the same adenovirus, the induced α6 integrin protein localizes to HDs regardless of whether its message possessed a 3′UTR. In sharp contrast, in α6 integrin depleted iHEKs, restoring α6 integrin expression using the coding sequence alone via adenoviral transduction resulted in α6 integrin preferentially forming α6β1 rather than α6β4 integrin heterodimers. α6β4 integrin was only observed in knocked down cells following infection of adenovirus encoding the α6 integrin coding sequence with its 3′UTR. In summary, our data indicate that the α6 integrin 3′UTR is a key regulator of α6β4 integrin heterodimer assembly and incorporation at sites of cell-matrix adhesion.
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda Associated With Acute Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is a condition of dysregulated heme synthesis that leads to accumulation of photosensitizing precursors with resultant fragility and blistering of the skin. It can be ...
Particle Smoothing Variational Objectives.

A body of recent work has focused on constructing a variational family of filtered distributions using Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC). Inspired by this work, we introduce Particle Smoothing Variational Objectives (SVO), a novel backward simulation technique and smoothed approximate posterior defined through a subsampling process. SVO augments support of the proposal and boosts particle diversity. Recent literature argues that increasing the number of samples K to obtain tighter variational bounds may hurt the proposal learning, due to a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of gradient estimators decreasing at the rate $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{K})$. As a second contribution, we develop theoretical and empirical analysis of the SNR in filtering SMC, which motivates our choice of biased gradient estimators. We prove that introducing bias by dropping Categorical terms from the gradient estimate or using Gumbel-Softmax mitigates the adverse effect on the SNR. We apply SVO to three nonlinear latent dynamics tasks and provide statistics to rigorously quantify the predictions of filtered and smoothed objectives. SVO consistently outperforms filtered objectives when given fewer Monte Carlo samples on three nonlinear systems of increasing complexity.
Citizen grit: Effects of domain-specificity, perseverance, and consistency on political judgment

Abstract Tenaciousness and persistence contribute to achievement in key areas such as school and work. Research on Grit has helped demonstrate such effects, but also has raised questions regarding whether Grit is best examined as a global or a domain-specific construct, whether it is most insightful to treat Grit as a single property or to model its perseverance and consistency domains separately, and what Grit contributes to analyses that is not already captured by extant constructs highly correlated with Grit measures. These questions are addressed in the present study, with focus on the possible impact of Grit on the nature and quality of citizens' judgments in the political sphere, and with data from 2500 respondents on a nationally representative U.S. survey. Analyses reveal domain-specific Grit effects on political knowledge, rejection of conspiracy theories, and differentiation between high- and low-quality political candidates. In contrast with research that has identified strong effects for Grit's perseverance dimension, effects on political judgment emanate primarily from consistency of interest.
Chapter 4 – Capillary Electrophoresis

Publisher Summary The electrophoretic mobility of a solute is a characteristic property of the solute that describes its movement under the influence of an applied field. Electrophoretic mobility is dependent both on the charge density of the solute and on the physical properties of the buffer system. The apparent mobility of a species, that is, the mobility that the species appears to possess, is the sum of the electrophoretic mobility and the mobility of the electroosmotic flow. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has emerged as an alternative form of electrophoresis, where the capillary wall provides the mechanical stability for the carrier electrolyte. CE incorporates all of the electrophoretic modes that are performed within a capillary. CE methods may be classified according to the nature of the electrolyte system or according to the contribution of the electroosmotic flow. The former classification is the most popular, and two types of systems are identified: continuous systems, which include kinetic and steady-state processes, and discontinuous systems.
Examining Work Experiences Among Collegiate Recreation Employees

Research on the experiences of employees has been plentiful over the last decade; however, work examining the experiences of collegiate recreation employees is limited. In order to enhance employee...
A Joint Faster RCNN and Stereovision Algorithm for Vegetation Encroachment Detection in Power Line Corridors

With the rapidly increasing construction of power lines in complex terrains, vegetation encroachment of overhead power lines can cause severe consequences, e.g., wildfires and cascading failures. Therefore, it is significant to detect vegetation encroachment of overhead power lines to ensure secure and reliable operation of power systems. This paper proposes an automatic joint algorithm to fast and accurately detect vegetation encroachment of overhead power lines in real-time. This algorithm integrates a deep learning method, i.e., the region convolution neural network (Faster RCNN) into a stereovision algorithm to process the 2D image data captured by the vision sensors located on a power tower. The generated bounding boxes (bboxes) only can represent vegetation regions in 2D images that contain the features of vegetation. The stereovision algorithm is applied in this paper to process the bboxes in 2D images to generate the corresponding 3D information for vegetation location, including the height of the vegetation. The proposed algorithm has been tested on the realistic vegetation encroachment image data from an utility. The results show that the proposed algorithm can fast and accurately detect vegetation encroachment of overhead power lines.
Latino/a young adults’ experiences of acculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and romantic relationship commitment: Ethnic identity as protective:

We examined the direct and indirect effects of acculturative stress via depressive symptoms on romantic relationship commitment, and the moderating role of ethnic identity (EI) in these association...
Solvability of Forward-Backward Stochastic Partial Differential Equations with Non-Lipschitz Coefficients

In this paper we study the solvability of a class of fully-coupled forward-backward stochastic partial differential equations (FBSPDEs). Lipschitz conditions are usually required for the well-posedness of such FBSPDEs. We showed that the Lipschitz conditions can actually be removed by the Yosida Approximation Scheme.
A Women’s History of the Beatles

With A Women’s History of the Beatles, Christine Feldman-Barrett has authored arguably the most significant title in Beatles scholarship since Tune In (2013), the first volume in Mark Lewisohn’s gr...
Health behaviors, quality of life, and psychosocial health among survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers

Survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer may engage in unhealthy lifestyles (e.g., smoking), potentially heightening their risk for long-term health problems. We assessed health behaviors and constructs including quality of life (QOL) and psychosocial well-being among survivors of AYA cancer compared to the general population. We used 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to evaluate health behaviors for survivors of AYA cancer compared to AYAs without cancer. Multivariable regressions assessed health behaviors (smoking, binge drinking, physical inactivity, and low fruit/vegetable intake) by sex and age between AYA survivors and controls, and among survivors to determine the effects of demographic, QOL, psychosocial, and cancer factors on behaviors. A greater proportion of female survivors of AYA cancer smoked than controls (currently aged 20–39: 27 vs. 14.3%, respectively; currently aged 40–64: 29.3 vs. 18.4%, respectively). Generally, survivors and controls were non-adherent to national health behavior guidelines. Uninsured survivors were at greater risk of smoking vs. insured (females, Relative Risk (RR) = 1.64, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.43–1.90; males, RR = 2.62, 95 % CI 1.71–4.02). Poor social/emotional support was associated with smoking (RR = 1.26, 95 % CI 1.07–1.48) among female survivors and was associated with low fruit/vegetable intake among male (RR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.01–1.23) and female (RR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.05–1.19) survivors. Female survivors >10 years from diagnosis had higher risk of smoking (RR = 1.26–1.91, all p < 0.01) than survivors 5–10 years from diagnosis. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are common in survivors of AYA cancer. AYA survivors require health behavior support.
Phthalimide conjugation as a strategy for in vivo target protein degradation

The development of effective pharmacological inhibitors of multidomain scaffold proteins, notably transcription factors, is a particularly challenging problem. In part, this is because many small-molecule antagonists disrupt the activity of only one domain in the target protein. We devised a chemical strategy that promotes ligand-dependent target protein degradation using as an example the transcriptional coactivator BRD4, a protein critical for cancer cell growth and survival. We appended a competitive antagonist of BET bromodomains to a phthalimide moiety to hijack the cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. The resultant compound, dBET1, induced highly selective cereblon-dependent BET protein degradation in vitro and in vivo and delayed leukemia progression in mice. A second series of probes resulted in selective degradation of the cytosolic protein FKBP12. This chemical strategy for controlling target protein stability may have implications for therapeutically targeting previously intractable proteins.
Improvement of nitrogen retention by arginine and glycine supplementation and its relation to collagen synthesis in traumatized mature and aged rats.

The effect of arginine and glycine supplementation on reducing body protein losses and on enhancing wound healing after trauma was studied in two age groups. Mature (4 month) and aged (24 month) Fischer 344 male rats were fed a diet containing 25% casein and 0.4% methionine with or without supplementation with 2.4% arginine . HCl and 1.0% glycine for 7 days before and after laparotomy. Nitrogen (N) balance studies (N intake - urinary N) were carried out during the last three pretrauma days and seven posttrauma days. The supplemented rats retained significantly more N than the controls and the mature rats significantly more than the aged rats. Polyvinyl alcohol sponges, implanted during surgery and removed from the rats on day 3 or 7 after surgery, were analyzed for hydroxyproline content and for the ratios of type III/type I collagen synthesized. Sponges obtained from the supplemented and the mature rats had more hydroxyproline and higher ratios of type III/type I collagen than those from the control and the aged rats. The beneficial effect of arginine and glycine supplementation on improving N retention in traumatized rats appears to be due, at least in part, to increased collagen synthesis in wounds.
Using Kinship Structures in Health Programming—An Example of Preventive Measures and Successful Interventions

Public health has been transforming less advantaged rural communities insub-SaharanAfricawitha focuson improving technologies, and providing skilledmanpower tomanage and maintain them. Meanwhile, development and health indicators have continued to slide or remain below optimal levels. This failure is blamed on factors such as civil conflict, corruption, and conservativeness of traditional communities, to mention a few. However, ignorance and lack of involving the traditional African kinship system is rarely cited as a barrier to success. Indeed, research suggests it is a resource, particularly in rural communities, that has not yet been harnessed for socioeconomic and cultural development (1, 2).
Inhibition of HIV-1 integrase by small molecules: the potential for a new class of AIDS chemotherapeutics.

Abstract HIV-1 integrase, one of three constitutive viral enzymes required for replication, is an attractive target for chemotherapeutic intervention in the treatment of AIDS. Unlike the retroviral reverse transcriptase and protease enzymes, successful drug candidates based on the inhibition of integrase have yet to emerge despite the multitude of laboratories working on the problem. In vitro inhibition of integrase in the laboratory has not always led to antiviral activity in cell culture. Indeed, most compounds found from broad screening efforts have fallen into this category. Only recently have compounds that inhibit enzymatic function as well as exhibiting an antiviral effect as a result been discovered. The reasons why certain structural classes of compounds fail to have antiviral activity are only beginning to be understood. In the last two years a new class of compounds has emerged that do produce potent inhibition of viral growth in cell culture. Further work in this area may yet produce clinically useful antiviral agents.
45 Years of Simultaneous Le Fort III and Le Fort I Osteotomies: A Systematic Literature Review.

Objective: To review and collectively summarize our knowledge of simultaneous Le Fort III and Le Fort I osteotomies. Design: A PubMed search using “Le Fort III,” “simultaneous Le Fort III and Le Fort I,” “combined Le Fort III and Le Fort I,” “dual midface,” and “segmental midface” was performed. Articles with relevant abstracts were obtained for formal review. A new case of simultaneous Le Fort III and Le Fort I is presented to describe and discuss specific operative indications and surgical decisions. Results: There were 14 articles that met inclusion criteria with reports of simultaneous Le Fort III and Le Fort I osteotomies. A total of 20 cases were present in the literature. No major complications were reported. We performed combined Le Fort III with Le Fort I osteotomies in a 25-year-old patient with Crouzon syndrome who had undergone a previous Le Fort III at the age of 4 years. The patient tolerated the procedure well, and postoperatively, her exophthalmos and class III malocclusion were corrected....
La dimensión estremecida

Llanto de la espada. Eduardo Garcia Aguilar. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, 1992. 16 textos / Falso diario. Santiago Mutis Duran. Universidad del Valle, Coleccion "La Cierva Blanca", Cali, 1993, 72 pags. En alabanza del tiempo. Alvaro Rodriguez Torres. Universidad del Valle, Coleccion "La Cierva Blanca", Cali, 1993, 51 pags. El rey de los espantos. Victor Manuel Gaviria. Universidad del Valle, Coleccion "La Cierva Blanca", Cali, 1993, 69 pags. La luna del dragon. William Ospina. Universidad del Valle, Coleccion "La Cierva Blanca" , Cali, 1993, 107 pags. En la posada del mundo. Fernando Herrera Gomez. Universidad del Valle, Coleccion "La Cierva Blanca", Cali, 1993, 81 pags. Piezas para la mano izquierda. Jaime Alberto Velez. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, 1992.
A Study of Nozzle Wear in Abrasive Entrained Water Jetting Environment

Parameters that influence nozzle wear in abrasive water jetting environment are identified and classified. Regular and accelerated wear test procedures are developed to study wear under actual and simulated conditions, respectively. In addition to exit diameter growth, nozzle weight loss and bore profiles are shown to better characterize and explain the wear phenomenon. The effect of nozzle geometry on wear is investigated by means of the developed test procedures and measures of wear.
Evaluation of the Atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus Strain AF36 in Pistachio Orchards

Abstract The atoxigenic strain Aspergillus flavus AF36, which has been extensively used as a biocontrol agent in commercial corn and cotton fields to reduce aflatoxin contamination, was applied in research pistachio orchards from 2002 to 2005 and in commercial pistachio orchards from 2008 to 2011. AF36 was applied as hyphae-colonized steam-sterilized wheat seed (the same product and same application rate as used in cotton fields). In all orchards, applying the wheat-AF36 product substantially increased the proportion of vegetative compatibility group (VCG) YV36, the VCG to which AF36 belongs, within A. flavus soil communities. Application of the AF36 product in additional years further increased YV36 in the soil until it composed 93% of the A. flavus isolates in treated commercial orchards. Nonetheless, application of the AF36 product did not result in increased incidence of kernel decay of the nuts. For nuts harvested from commercial orchards, reductions in percentages of samples contaminated with aflato...
Breif Report: Sensory Abnormalities as Distinguishing Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Young Children

The purpose of this study was to explore the sensory profile of young children with ASD compared to young children with other developmental delays (DD) at first ASD assessment. Results found that young children with ASD had more tactile and taste/smell sensitivities and difficulties with auditory filtering than young children with other DD. Moreover, sensory scores were significantly correlated with stereotyped interests and behaviors. These findings support the hypotheses that young children with ASD show more sensory impairments than young children with other DD and that sensory symptoms are significantly related to stereotyped interests and behaviors. Results also suggest that sensory abnormalities are distinguishing symptoms of ASD that should be considered in diagnostic algorithms for younger cohorts.
Modelling the resource implications and budget impact of managing cow milk allergy in Australia

ABSTRACTObjective: To estimate the resource implications and budget impact of current clinical practice for managing cow milk allergy (CMA) in Australia, from the perspective of the publicly funded healthcare system.Methods: A decision model was constructed using published clinical outcomes and clinician-derived resource utilisation estimates. The model was used to estimate the expected 6-monthly levels of healthcare resource use and corresponding costs attributable to managing 6150 new CMA sufferers following referral to a specialist.Results: The expected 6-monthly costs of managing 6150 newly-diagnosed infants with CMA following referral to a specialist was an estimated (Australian dollars, AU$) AU$6.5 million at 2006/07 prices. Clinical nutrition preparations were found to be the primary cost driver accounting for 62% of the total 6-monthly cost and clinician visits were the secondary cost driver accounting for up to a further 28% of the total 6-monthly cost. Sensitivity analysis showed there would be ...
Time derivatives of screws with applications to dynamics and stiffness

Abstract Screw quantities provide geometric insight into three-dimensional mechanics modeled by rigid bodies and lumped parameters. Four distinct cases of time differentiation are examined by combining fixed and moving body derivatives (fundamental to rigid body mechanics) with material and local derivatives (fundamental to continuum mechanics). Three combinations always yield another screw quantity while the most common, the material derivative with respect to the fixed body, does not. Two fundamental formulations are examined with this last derivative, Euler’s Laws and the gravitational loading of an elastic system. By coincidence, the formulations appear screw-like when they are expressed at the center-of-mass but, in contrast to actual screw formulations, they do not retain invariant forms when expressed at arbitrary points.
Value of fault/failure analysis in the medical device regulatory process: the case of the Bjork-Shiley heart valve

A framework of sixteen attributes has been developed for evaluating the effectiveness of the risk management system for FDA regulatory Class III medical devices. Fault/failure analysis was identified as a potentially cost-beneficial attribute. Mechanical heart valves are FDA regulatory Class III devices in that they are considered life-sustaining when working properly, but life-threatening in the event of failure. The benefit-cost difference (net benefit) has been suggested as a measure of effectiveness for individual attributes and defined as the value of averted patient morbidity and mortality. In this paper, the Bjork-Shiley 60 degree convexo- concave mechanical heart valve is subjected to a retrospective benefit-cost analysis for the fault/failure analysis attribute. A general finding is that fault/failure analysis would have been relatively inexpensive for enhancing the risk management system for the Bjork-Shiley heart valve -- less than $25,000 -- while having the potential to avert 151 mortalities. Even without placing a value-of-life figure on averted mortalities, fault/failure analysis would have been cost-beneficial in reducing the risk of morbidity from mechanical heart valve failure.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Recurrent villitis of bacterial etiology

Recurrent placental villitis is an uncommon clinicopathologic entity associated with a very high perinatal mortality rate. While most cases are idiopathic, other cases may have a treatable infectious cause. Here, a mother with recurrent fetal losses, each showing chronic villitis associated with rod shaped bacilli as demonstrated by Steiner stain, is presented. The key feature separating this and other similar cases from idiopathic villitis is a pleomorphic inflammatory infiltrate including lymphocytes, macrophages, eosinophils, plasma cells, and neutrophils.
Ecological risk assessment in a large river-reservoir. 7: Environmental contaminant accumulation and effects in great blue heron

Past plant operations and waste disposal on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) have introduced an assortment of potentially harmful contaminants into the surrounding environment. Elevated concentrations of mercury (Hg) and PCBs have been found in fish collected from aquatic systems on the ORR, and a screening level risk assessment has identified piscivorous wildlife downstream from the ORR as being at risk. As a component of an ecological risk assessment of a large river-reservoir system, the great blue heron (Ardea herodias) was chosen as an endpoint species to evaluate potential adverse effects of contaminants on piscivorous wildlife using aquatic systems on or downstream of the ORR. Eggs and chick liver, muscle, and fat samples were collected from two heron colonies located on and two colonies located off the ORR. Samples were analyzed for PCBs, mercury, chromium, and arsenic to determine if differences existed among colonies. Mean mercury and PCB concentrations were greater in eggs and chick tissues collected from colonies located on the ORR. However, no biologically significant differences were observed in fecundity or in egg physical measurements or chick physiological measurements between study locations. The results of this study do not indicate that the contaminant burdens in great blue heron chicks and eggs have a detrimental effect on heron populations utilizing aquatic habitats on the ORR.
Eliminating Spherical Aberration and preserving Phase Contrast Information in Electron Microscopy

THE method proposed here enables, in principle, the optical system of a conventional electron microscope to be used to determine both amplitude and phase, free from spherical aberration, of the electron wave transmitted through a two or three dimensional crystallite of sufficiently large unit cell. The condition that the specimen must be a crystallite is probably unavoidable in any method of high-resolution electron microscopy, because the severe electron radiation damage of organic substances will probably prevent the visualization of isolated molecules at atomic resolution. The further condition, that the two shortest unit cell dimensions of the crystallite should be more than about 10 A (using a good conventional electron microscope), is satisfied by most substances of biological interest.
Effect of various environments on the intrinsic fluorescence polarization spectra of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase

Abstract The intrinsic fluorescence polarization spectra of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase in neutral buffer, various molarities of guanidine and urea, low pH, and neutral salt are presented. Correlation of polarization changes at two exciting wave-lengths with enzymatic activity changes is shown for horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Correlations with sedimentation coefficient changes and intrinsic viscosity changes were observed in some cases. Lowering the pH to 2.5 caused an approximately 30–35% lowering of the polarization at all wavelengths > 255 nm. It is suggested that this type of polarization change reflects subunit dissociation without unfolding. The effect of the more drastic solvents is to “flatten out” the spectrum by a rise in polarization at wavelengths below 250 nm, and a fall in polarization at wavelengths above 250 nm, the percentage change varying across the spectrum. This type of polarization change must reflect unfolding, with rupture of H-bonds, and changes in hydrophobic interactions. Restoration of the initial (native) polarization was observed in dilution experiments from guanidine and urea solutions of the enzyme. The fluorescence quantum yield per mole of tryptophan was determined for horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase and found to be 18%, a value higher than that for free tryptophan. A spectrophotofluorometer suitable for measuring polarization spectra is described.
Protein synthesis in bupivacaine (Marcaine)-treated, regenerating skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle regeneration has been induced by injection of the myotoxic drug bupivacaine (Marcaine) into the rat tibialis anterior muscle. Doses of 1.5 and 1.0% wt/vol produce significant levels of muscle regeneration, but these doses also produce large regions of ischemic muscle. Doses of 0.75 and 0.5% bupivacaine are also effective in inducing regeneration and produce little or no ischemia. Regenerating muscle is significantly more active in the incorporation of 35S-methionine into protein than is control muscle, and the activity increase is directly proportional to the bupivacaine dose injected. Polyribosomes were isolated in greater yield from bupivacaine-treated muscles, as compared with control muscles, 5 days postinjection, and were also more active in cell-free protein synthesis than control polysomes. Again, the yield and activity of the muscle polysomes was directly proportional to the bupivacaine concentration used for injection. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of polysomal cell-free reaction mixtures demonstrated the synthesis of a number of myofibrillar proteins.
Loss of p53 induces epidermal growth factor receptor promoter activity in normal human keratinocytes

Overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in human papillomavirus type 16-immortalized human keratinocytes (HKc) is caused by the viral oncoprotein E6, which targets p53 for degradation. We have previously observed that expression of p53 RNAi in normal HKc is associated with an increase in EGFR mRNA and protein. We now report that p53 RNAi induces EGFR promoter activity up to approximately 10-fold in normal HKc, and this effect does not require intact p53 binding sites on the EGFR promoter. Exogenous wild-type p53 inhibits the EGFR promoter at low levels, and activates it at higher concentrations. Yin Yang 1 (YY1), which negatively regulates p53, induces EGFR promoter activity, and this effect is augmented by p53 RNAi. Intact p53 binding sites on the EGFR promoter are not required for activation by YY1. In addition, Sp1 and YY1 synergistically induce the EGFR promoter in normal HKc, indicating that Sp1 may recruit YY1 as a co-activator. Wild-type p53 suppressed Sp1- and YY1-mediated induction of the EGFR promoter. We conclude that acute loss of p53 in normal HKc induces EGFR expression by a mechanism that involves YY1 and Sp1 and does not require p53 binding to the EGFR promoter.
Noise-based algorithms for functional equivalence and tautology checking

In this paper, we present noise-based algorithms for functional equivalence and tautology checking using noise-based logic (NBL). A key property of NBL is that literals are represented by independent noise sources, from which we can construct noise-based cubes, and superpositions of such noise-based cubes, to create a noise-based Boolean function on a single wire. In our algorithms, the Boolean sum-of-products (SOP) formula is expressed in NBL as a superposition of its minterms. This noise-based representation of the SOP can then be compared with that of another SOP formula for equivalence checking (or with the noise-based formula representing tautology, for tautology checking) using a single operation. We validate our approach using software simulation.
Comparative Mechanisms of Branching Morphogenesis in Diverse Systems

Much progress has been made in recent years toward understanding mechanisms controlling branching morphogenesis, a fundamental aspect of development in a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate organs. To gain a deeper understanding of how branching morphogenesis occurs in the mammary gland, we compare and contrast the cellular and molecular events underlying this process in both invertebrate and vertebrate organs. Thus, in this review, we focus on the common themes that have emerged from such comparative analyses and discuss how they are implemented via a battery of signaling pathways to ensure proper branching morphogenesis in diverse systems.