cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contextual, Ecological and Organizational Variations in Risk-Adjusted COPD and Asthma Hospitalization Rates of Rural Medicare Beneficiaries.

Abstract Purpose This study is to examine factors contributing to the variability in chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and asthma hospitalization rates when the influence of patient characteristics is being simultaneously considered by applying a risk adjustment method. Methodology/approach A longitudinal analysis of COPD and asthma hospitalization of rural Medicare beneficiaries in 427 rural health clinics (RHCs) was conducted utilizing administrative data and inpatient and outpatient claims from Region 4. The repeated measures of risk-adjusted COPD and asthma admission rate were analyzed by growth curve modeling. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) method was used to identify the relevance of selected predictors in accounting for the variability in risk-adjusted admission rates for COPD and asthma. Findings Both adjusted and unadjusted rates of COPD admission showed a slight decline from 2010 to 2013. The growth curve modeling showed the annual rates of change were gradually accentuated through time. GEE revealed that a moderate amount of variance (marginal R 2 = 0.66) in the risk-adjusted hospital admission rates for COPD and asthma was accounted for by contextual, ecological, and organizational variables. Research limitations/implications The contextual, ecological, and organizational factors are those associated with RHCs, not hospitals. We cannot infer how the variability in hospital practices in RHC service areas may have contributed to the disparities in admissions. Identification of RHCs with substantially higher rates than an average rate can portray the need for further enhancement of needed ambulatory or primary care services for the specific groups of RHCs. Because the risk-adjusted rates of hospitalization do not vary by classification of rural area, future research should address the variation in a specific COPD and asthma condition of RHC patients. Originality/value Risk-adjusted admission rates for COPD and asthma are influenced by the synergism of multiple contextual, ecological, and organizational factors instead of a single factor.
Current Status and Future Challenges in Molecular Design for Reduced Hazard

Synthetic chemicals and materials are the basis of our society and our economy. Yet, in spite of all the advances in toxicology that have helped us understand and even predict toxicity associated with industrial chemicals, fundamental scientific questions crucial to the development of safer chemicals are left unanswered. Alternative strategies, such as in silico toxicity predictions, are considered the next frontier in molecular design for reduced hazard; however, such strategies are still not sufficiently developed to meet existing needs. Design strategies need to incorporate information and data at the nexus of multiple disciplines. Critically, there is a need for the incorporation of toxicology into the design phase of the molecular design process. In this Feature, we discuss the current status and future challenges in molecular design for reduced hazard.
Abstract 2456: The transmembrane domain of prostate specific membrane antigen: Deciphering the role of the Small-XXX-Small motif in oligomerization

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among males in the United States. The prevalence of this disease and the benefits associated with early detection and treatment call for closer investigation into potential biomarkers and therapeutics targets. The high expression of the integral membrane protein called prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA, EC 3.4.17.21) is implicated in PCa invasiveness as well as neovasculature metastasis of nonprostatic solid tumors. Little is known about the exact role of PSMA in PCa progression albeit it is one of the most validated biomarker for the diagnosis and detection of PCa. We have demonstrated that the isolated PSMA transmembrane domain (TMD) is capable of oligomerization under reducing gel electrophoresis conditions, interacting independently of extracellular domain dimerization. Following this discovery, we proceeded to determine the factor(s) responsible for its oligomerization. Since it is known that certain motifs are critical for TMD oligomerization of many transmembrane proteins, we hypothesized that the Small-XXX-Small motif in PSMA TMD may play a role in the oligomerization and subsequent activation of PSMA. Thus, to gain insight into the assembly of PSMA and the factors responsible for this assembly, we investigated if mutations at this TM motif will disrupt TM oligomerization. Our initial studies revealed that PSMA TMD has two repeat units of the Small-XXX-Small motif. This motif is known to be crucial in inducing a strong peptide self-assembly, analogous to the bitopic protein Glycophorin A. We synthesized the PSMA TMD mutant peptides using Biotage Alstra microwave peptide synthesizer, purified by high performance liquid chromatography, and characterized by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to establish homogeneity. SDS-PAGE gel shift assays revealed a direct correlation of oligomerization propensity and the presence of the motif, while motif knockdown led to observed loss of this property. ToxR reporter assay that qualitatively assesses relative TMD interactions revealed that oligomerization of PSMA TMD is ∼150% stronger than Glycophorin A. These findings will serve as a road map in the design of tight-binding exogenous anti-TMD peptides that target this oligomerization hot spot for possible diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Citation Format: Brianna S. Berg, Brandan M. Cook, Jack R. Hyder, James I. Godfroy, Hubert Yin, Jonel P. Saludes. The transmembrane domain of prostate specific membrane antigen: Deciphering the role of the Small-XXX-Small motif in oligomerization. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2456. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2456
Incorporating intersectionality into research design: an example using qualitative interviews

As intersectionality gains more prominence, scholars still face difficulties of incorporating principles of intersectionality into empirical research. Key concepts of intersectionality theory inclu...
The reentry labyrinth: The anatomy of a reentry services network

ABSTRACTDifficulties of returning prisoners to society have been well documented in research the last few decades. This article looks at reentry programs and finds very few standardized programs and brought up many practical issues exoffenders face upon reentry. We examine a nonprofit regional reentry program in North Texas in order to better understand the number and nature of services available and the difficulties the organizations face and its potential impact on former inmates. We use Texas ReEntry Services (TXRS) data located in Fort Worth, Texas, as a starting point for mapping the reentry landscape, including client information in order to identify variables that affect obtaining resources, such as transportation. Finally, we discuss the potential impact of this networked arrangement on policy and recidivism.
Visual guidebooks: documenting a personal thinking language

AbstractA personal thinking language consists of verbal and visual means to transform ideas to action in social and work settings. This verbal and visual interaction of images and language is influenced by one’s personal history, cultural expectations and professional practices. The article first compares a personal thinking language to other languages (e.g. design, private languages), cites its benefits and identifies its features. The article describes how a visual guidebook can be used as an educational task to document a student’s personal thinking language. Recommendations for implementing a visual guidebook are provided for academic and professional settings.
Profit-Led Growth, Social Democracy, and the Left: An Accumulation of Discontent:

The present paper seeks to locate the Bhaduri–Marglin (B-M) model as an historical outcome of the Left’s internal disputes over the prospects for social democracy. In better contextualizing the B-M model as a historical response to the perceived political economic failings of the social compromises upon which the growth of postwar advanced capitalist economies had rested, both the model’s popularity and its potential limitations can more easily be understood.
Ge-ZnS Mid-IR Wideband Resonant Reflectors

We provide design and fabrication of robust GMR devices operating in the 3–15 µm spectral range. Optimized reflectors are designed with inverse numerical methods. Preliminary experimental spectra agree qualitatively with theory.
Using locality sensitive hashing to improve the KNN algorithm in the mapreduce framework

The K-Nearest Neighbor! (KNN) algorithm is one of the most widely used algorithms in data mining for classification and prediction. The algorithm has several applications: in facial detection when used with deep learning, in biometric security applications etc. The traditional KNN algorithm involves an iterative process of computing the distance between a test data point and every data point in the training dataset, and classifying the object based on the closest training sample. This method first selects K nearest training data points for classifying a test data point and then predicts the test sample's class based on the majority class among those neighbors. If both the train and test datasets are large, this conventional form can be considered computationally expensive. Reduction of the massive calculation that is required to predict a data vector was our main goal, and with this intention, the training dataset was split into several buckets. The KNN algorithm was then performed inside a bucket, instead of iterating over the whole training dataset. We used the Jaccard Coefficient to determine the degree of similarity of a data vector with some arbitrarily defined data points P and placed similar data points in the same bucket. This was the core functionality of our hash function. The hash function determines the bucket number where the similar data vectors will be placed. Unlike the standard hashing algorithm, our approach of hashing was to maximize the probability of the hash collision to preserve the locality sensitiveness. Both the conventional and proposed methods were implemented in Hadoop's MapReduce framework. Hadoop gives us an architecture for handling large datasets on a computer cluster in a distributed manner and gives us massive scalability. The use of the locality sensitive hashing in KNN in Hadoop's MapReduce environment took less time than conventional KNN to classify a new data object.
Tax-Sensitive Institutional Investors

We provide a new measure of tax-sensitive institutional ownership. Using discriminant analysis and the characteristics of a sample of institutional investors that are unambiguously tax-sensitive or unambiguously tax-insensitive, we classify all institutions that file Form 13F with the SEC over the period 1987-2009 as either tax-sensitive or tax-insensitive. We classify 49.5 percent of the total number of 13F institutional investors as tax-sensitive. Because tax-sensitive institutions tend to manage much smaller portfolios, they only account for 12.7 percent of the total equity managed by all 13F institutions. We confirm the validity of our measure with price pressure and portfolio-level analyses around the 1997 announcement of the cut in the maximum, statutory individual-level capital gains tax rate and with portfolio-level analysis around the 2003 cut in the maximum, statutory, individual-level dividend tax rate. Researchers could use our measure to study the relation between shareholder-level taxes and asset prices and factors that influence the investment decisions of tax-sensitive investors.
ELECTRONIC EXCITED STATES AND MOLECULAR LUMINESCENCE OF SOME PHOTOBIOLOGICAL MOLECULES

Abstract The electronic excited states and molecular luminescence of chlorophylls, carotenoids, coumarin, flavins, and indoles are described using results obtained from both MO calculations and polarized fluorescence and phosphorescence spectra.
Evidence-based practice and the recognition and treatment of exertional heat stroke, part I: a perspective from the athletic training educator.

Context: Athletic trainers (ATs) know to diagnose exertional heat stroke (EHS) via rectal thermometry (Tre) and to treat EHS via cold-water immersion (CWI) but do not implement these recommendation...
When God and State Don’t Dominate: Pragmatism, Political Theology, and Democratic Authority

Authority is a normative status – not just power but legitimate power. But what distinguishes legitimate and illegitimate power? Combining recent pragmatist work in the philosophy of language with ...
The dark side of compulsive eating and food addiction: Affective dysregulation, negative reinforcement, and negative urgency.

Abstract The transition from casual drug use to dependence involves a shift from positive to negative reinforcement. This “dark side” shift also is implicated in food addiction. Palatable food intake initially has pleasurable and comforting effects that can normalize stress responses. But, repeated, intermittent intake can downregulate brain reward pathways and recruit brain circuitry, yielding negative emotional behavior when the food is not eaten, tolerance, palatable food-seeking despite aversive consequences, and heightened stress-induced relapse to palatable food-seeking. The results support an affective dysregulation model whereby intake becomes obligatory to prevent negative emotions, which show high comorbidity with addiction-like eating. Such negative emotions also may trigger impulsive palatable food intake via negative urgency. Neurobiological changes resemble many from substance-use disorders, including corticotropin-releasing factor, hypocretin, dopamine, opioid, and endocannabinoid systems in mesolimbic, extended amygdala and inhibitory frontal circuitry. We synthesize conceptual and empirical contributions to illuminate the “dark side” in food addiction.
Regulatory barriers to xenotransplantation.

Purpose of review There is a grave discordance between supply and demand for patients with failing organs largely due to an insufficient donor pool for transplantation. Xenotransplantation has been proposed as a solution to bridge this gap. Recent findings Recent success over the last decade in nonhuman primate models, due to emerging gene-editing technologies combined with novel immunosuppression regimens, has produced promising results in pancreatic islet cell, heart, lung, kidney and liver xenotransplantations. Summary As the prospect of xenotransplantation is realized, safety and ethical considerations have come to the forefront of discussion. The WHO and World Health Assembly have encouraged member states to form regulatory bodies to govern human xenotransplantation studies with the highest standards. Here, we summarize the current regulatory landscape governing preclinical advances toward the first human clinical trials.
Robust Opponent Modeling via Adversarial Ensemble Reinforcement Learning in Asymmetric Imperfect-Information Games.

This paper presents an algorithmic framework for learning robust policies in asymmetric imperfect-information games, where the joint reward could depend on the uncertain opponent type (a private information known only to the opponent itself and its ally). In order to maximize the reward, the protagonist agent has to infer the opponent type through agent modeling. We use multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) to learn opponent models through self-play, which captures the full strategy interaction and reasoning between agents. However, agent policies learned from self-play can suffer from mutual overfitting. Ensemble training methods can be used to improve the robustness of agent policy against different opponents, but it also significantly increases the computational overhead. In order to achieve a good trade-off between the robustness of the learned policy and the computation complexity, we propose to train a separate opponent policy against the protagonist agent for evaluation purposes. The reward achieved by this opponent is a noisy measure of the robustness of the protagonist agent policy due to the intrinsic stochastic nature of a reinforcement learner. To handle this stochasticity, we apply a stochastic optimization scheme to dynamically update the opponent ensemble to optimize an objective function that strikes a balance between robustness and computation complexity. We empirically show that, under the same limited computational budget, the proposed method results in more robust policy learning than standard ensemble training.
Major Subtypes of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its treatment have consistently remained in the foreground as one of the most rapidly evolving areas in the ever-expanding field of solid tumor oncology. Significant developments have occurred over the past two decades in the clinical landscape that have vastly enhanced comprehension of etiopathogenesis of RCC and its modalities of management including advancements in minimally invasive surgical techniques, employment of focal therapy, increased renal biopsy-based approach, advancements in immunotherapy, adoption of active surveillance strategies, and the use of targeted treatment strategies for patients with advanced disease. Efforts aimed at morphologically grouping specific cancers into distinct pathologic subtypes have not only allowed a common descriptive language, but are helping to crystallize the understanding of RCC’s molecular origins and its clinical behavior. It is these improved insights into the similarities and differences among RCC variants that offer clinical and therapeutic opportunities to improve patient care.
Thirty-day readmission risk after intracranial tumor resection surgeries in children.

Objective The risk of readmission after brain tumor resection among pediatric patients has not been defined. The authors' objective was to evaluate the readmission rates and predictors of readmission after pediatric brain tumor resection. Methods Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) data sets from 2010 to 2014 were searched for unplanned readmissions within 30 days of the discharge date after pediatric brain tumor resection. Patient demographic variables included sex, age, expected payment source (Medicaid or private insurance), and median annual household income. Readmission events for chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or further tumor resection were not included. Results Of 282 patients (12.7%) readmitted within 30 days of the index event, the median time to readmission was 10 days (IQR 5-19 days). The most common reason for readmission was hydrocephalus, which accounted for 19% of readmission events. Other CNS-related complications (24%), surgical site infections or septicemia (14%), seizures (7%), and hematological disorders (7%) accounted for other major readmission events. The median charge for readmission events was $35,431, and the median length of readmission stay was 4 days. In multivariate regression, factors associated with a significant increase in readmission risk included Medicaid as the primary payor, discharge from the index event with home health services, and fluid and electrolyte disorders during the index event. Conclusions More than 10% of pediatric brain tumor patients have unplanned readmission events within 30 days of discharge after tumor resection. Medicaid patients and those with preoperative or early postoperative fluid and electrolyte disturbances may benefit from early or frequent outpatient visits after tumor resection.
Movement, Space, and Power in Cynewulf’s Juliana

Cynewulf’s Juliana has long been the subject of feminist criticism, particularly focusing on the moments when Juliana claims power and agency in enclosure, even in her imprisonment. This article re...
Robust Multi-Target Regression for Correlated Data Corruption

Multi-target regression has recently drawn increasing attention in the machine learning community due to its capability of simultaneously predicting multiple continuous target variables based on a given set of input features. Jointly handling the inter-target correlations and input-output relationships is very challenging. That task becomes even more intricate in the presence of correlated data corruption. We observe that traditional robust methods can hardly deal with several emerging challenges, including 1) presence of correlated corruption among targets in the datasets, 2) difficulty in estimating the data corruption ratio, and 3) scalability to massive datasets. This paper proposes a novel approach that addresses all the above challenges by developing a distributed robust regression algorithm. Specifically, the algorithm optimizes regression coefficients of each target in parallel with a heuristically estimated corruption ratio and then consolidates the uncorrupted set in two strategies: global consensus and majority voting. Also, we prove that our algorithm benefits from strong guarantees in terms of convergence rates and coefficient recovery, which can be applied as a generic framework for robust regression problem with correlated corruption property. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that our algorithm is superior to existing methods in both effectiveness and efficiency.
Narco Robin Hoods: Community support for illicit economies and violence in rural Central America

Abstract While there is a growing literature on criminal governance, to date limited work has focused on rural spaces and transit zones. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in drug trafficking hubs along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, I provide evidence and offer an initial theorization of forms of criminal governance in rural Central America. I show how both structural and individual level factors increase community support for illicit economies. I argue that rural and marginalized communities where there is widespread corruption and limited state capacity are more inclined to be supportive of and form collaborative relationships with traffickers. I argue that traffickers who are native to the community, limit their use of violence in the community, and invest economically in the community are the most likely to win the community’s support or even become viewed as Robin Hood-esque figures. In spaces where community support is low, I find traffickers may still take actions to limit crimes unrelated to their business (e.g. theft) which could draw attention from state actors and result in community frustration. Understanding community-narco dynamics is crucial to formulating effective policies to address violence in the region. Current international counter-narcotics policies are counter-productive; therefore, it should be unsurprising that certain marginalized communities support drug-traffickers who offer tangible benefits instead of counter-narcotics forces who seem to increase conflict and suppress economic activity without providing viable alternatives.
Epidemiology of Marginal Zone Lymphoma.

In 2016 there were an estimated 7,460 newly diagnosed patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) in the US, which comprised 7% of all mature non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Based on data from the US SEER-18 program from 2001-2017, the age-standardized incidence rate for MZL was 19.6 per 1,000,000 person-years; 9% of MZL cases were splenic MZL (SMZL), 30% nodal MZL (NMZL), and 61% extranodal MZL (EMZL) of mucusa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Incidence rates were slightly higher in men for SMZL and NMZL, but similar for EMZL, and increased steeply with age for all MZL subtypes. The incidence (age-standardized per 1,000,000) of MZL was highest among non-Hispanic whites (20.7), followed by Hispanics of all races (17.6), non-Hispanic blacks (15.4), and Asian/Pacific islanders (15.0). The incidence of MZL increased +1.0% per year in the US from 2001-2017, with increases reported in other countries during this timeframe. The 5-year relative survival rate for MZL in the US was 89.8% and was similar across racial/ethnic groups and by sex; survival rates have been increasing in the US and other countries. Established risk factors for MZL (or MZL subtypes) include family history of NHL, genetic loci in the HLA region, Helicobacter pylori infection (gastric MALT lymphoma), and several autoimmune diseases (Sjogren syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and Hashimoto thyroiditis), with strong (but not definitive) evidence for Chlamydia psittaci (ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma), Borrelia burgdorferi (cutaneous MZL), hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and solid organ transplantation. Promising risk factors that require additional study include other infections, other autoimmune conditions, trichloroethylene exposure, certain occupations, hair dye, cigarette smoking, sun exposure (protective), and alcohol use (protective). MZL is a model of an antigen-driven malignancy, where epidemiologic risk factors, tissue-specific factors, and host immune response (including the impact of chronic inflammation and immunosuppression) drive lymphomagenesis with implications for prevention.
Development of a Brief Group CBT Intervention to Reduce COVID-19-Related Distress Among School-Age Youth.

School-aged youth have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of the pandemic will likely have long-standing effects on the well-being of youth, and access to mental health care is even more critical during this time. For the past 5 years, TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) has been working throughout the state to increase utilization of evidence-based mental health practices among K-12 school mental health professionals (SMHPs). By leveraging SMHPs who are widely accessible to students, TRAILS seeks to improve youth access to effective mental health care and reduce current mental health inequities. In March 2020, TRAILS responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by developing a group manual designed to be delivered virtually by SMHPs to help students develop effective coping skills to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. TRAILS focuses on promoting use of CBT and mindfulness, as these skills are ideally suited for school-based delivery, and thus the new manual, Coping with COVID-19 (CC-19), was grounded in these modalities. This article will describe the design, development, and deployment of the CC-19 program to address the mental health needs of students in the context of the pandemic. Early acceptability and penetration data will also be discussed.
Trajectories of machine learning-predicted mortality risk among patients with cancer and associated end-of-life utilization.

1553Background: Machine learning (ML) algorithms outperform traditional tools used for prognostication and may facilitate earlier discussions between oncologists and patients (pts) about hospice en...
Increased expression of LAP2β eliminates nuclear membrane ruptures in nuclear lamin-deficient neurons and fibroblasts

Defects or deficiencies in nuclear lamins cause pathology in many cell types, and recent studies have implicated nuclear membrane (NM) ruptures as a cause of cell toxicity. We previously observed NM ruptures and progressive cell death in the developing brain of lamin B1–deficient mouse embryos. We also observed frequent NM ruptures and DNA damage in nuclear lamin–deficient fibroblasts. Factors modulating susceptibility to NM ruptures remain unclear, but we noted low levels of LAP2β, a chromatin-binding inner NM protein, in fibroblasts with NM ruptures. Here, we explored the apparent link between LAP2β and NM ruptures in nuclear lamin–deficient neurons and fibroblasts, and we tested whether manipulating LAP2β expression levels would alter NM rupture frequency. In cortical plate neurons of lamin B1–deficient embryos, we observed a strong correlation between low LAP2β levels and NM ruptures. We also found low LAP2β levels and frequent NM ruptures in neurons of cultured Lmnb1−/− neurospheres. Reducing LAP2β expression in Lmnb1−/− neurons with an siRNA markedly increased the NM rupture frequency (without affecting NM rupture duration), whereas increased LAP2β expression eliminated NM ruptures and reduced DNA damage. Consistent findings were observed in nuclear lamin–deficient fibroblasts. Reduced LAP2β expression increased NM ruptures, whereas increased LAP2β expression virtually abolished NM ruptures. Increased LAP2β expression nearly abolished NM ruptures in cells subjected to mechanical stress (an intervention that increases NM ruptures). Our studies showed that increasing LAP2β expression bolsters NM integrity in nuclear lamin–deficient cells and markedly reduces NM rupture frequency.
A small area index of gentrification, applied to New York City

This paper presents a small-area index of the multifactorial phenomenon loosely referred to as gentrification, with application to New York City (NYC). The relative change of key input variables (m...
Can we infer player behavior tendencies from a player's decision-making data? Integrating Theory of Mind to Player Modeling

Game AI systems need the theory of mind, which is the humanistic ability to infer others' mental models, preferences, and intent. Such systems would enable inferring players' behavior tendencies that contribute to the variations in their decision-making behaviors. To that end, in this paper, we propose the use of inverse Bayesian inference to infer behavior tendencies given a descriptive cognitive model of a player's decision making. The model embeds behavior tendencies as weight parameters in a player's decision-making. Inferences on such parameters provide intuitive interpretations about a player's cognition while making in-game decisions. We illustrate the use of inverse Bayesian inference with synthetically generated data in a game called \textit{BoomTown} developed by Gallup. We use the proposed model to infer a player's behavior tendencies for moving decisions on a game map. Our results indicate that our model is able to infer these parameters towards uncovering not only a player's decision making but also their behavior tendencies for making such decisions.
Trehalose-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii exhibits reduced virulence by losing capsular polysaccharide and altering membrane integrity

A. baumannii has become the leading cause of bacterial nosocomial infections in part due to its ability to resist desiccation, disinfection and antibiotics. Several factors contribute to the tenacity and virulence of this pathogen, including production of a broad range of surface glycoconjugates, secretory systems and efflux pumps. We became interested in examining the importance of trehalose in A. baumannii after comparing intact bacterial cells by high resolution magic angle spinning NMR and noting high levels of this disaccharide obscuring all other resonances in the spectrum. Since this was observed under normal growth conditions, we speculated that trehalose must serve additional functions beyond osmolyte homeostasis. Using the virulent isolate A. baumannii AB5075 and mutants in the trehalose synthesis pathway, ∆otsA and ∆otsB, we found that the trehalose-deficient ∆otsA showed increased sensitivity to desiccation, colistin, serum complement and peripheral blood mononuclear cells while trehalose-6-phosphate producing ∆otsB behaved similar to the wildtype. The ∆otsA mutant also demonstrated increased membrane permeability and loss of capsular polysaccharide. These findings demonstrate that trehalose deficiency leads to loss of virulence in A. baumannii AB5075.
A frameshift mutation results in a truncated alpha 1-antitrypsin that is retained within the rough endoplasmic reticulum.

The major physiological role of the serine protease inhibitor alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) is to protect elastic fibers in the lung from excessive hydrolysis by neutrophil elastase. Genetic deficiency of alpha 1-AT predisposes individuals toward the development of emphysema. We have cloned and characterized a mutant alpha 1-AT gene from an individual exhibiting a total absence of immunoreactive alpha 1-AT in serum. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this "null" allele has demonstrated a TC dinucleotide deletion within the codon for Leu318 in exon IV. This frame-shift mutation results in the generation of a premature termination codon at residue 334, which is upstream of the active inhibitory site. To determine the biochemical basis of the null phenotype, the mutant and normal genes were transferred into mouse hepatoma cells for expression analysis. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrated that the mutant gene is expressed into a truncated protein of 45 kDa, which is retained within the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The complete lack of secretion of the truncated protein is consistent with the absence of immunoreactive alpha 1-AT in the patient's serum. In addition, a G to A transition was identified in exon II of the mutant gene, changing the codon for Arg101 to His101. Finally, an A to C transversion was identified in exon V changing the codon for Glu376 to Asp376. Since the latter conservative amino acid substitution has previously been identified in the common PiM2 variant, the frame-shift mutation might have occurred on a PiM2 background chromosome. Using the birthplace of this index case, this mutant alpha 1-AT allele has been designated "nullHong Kong."
On the requirements for acceleration mechanisms to produce flattened heavy particle cosmic ray energy spectra

The recently observed flattening of the energy spectra of highZ particles is investigated in terms of the limits it places on acceleration mechanisms. The possibility of a new mechanisms is suggested.
ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS: APPLICATIONS, MODELS, AND COMPUTING

Introduction Historical Prologue Definitions and Terminology Solutions and Problems A Nobel Prize Winning Application The Initial Value Problem y' = f (x, y) y(c) =d Direction Fields Fundamental Theorems Solution of Simple First-Order Differential Equations Numerical Solution Applications of the Initial Value Problem y' = f (x, y) y(c) =d Calculus Revisited Learning Theory Models Population Models Simple Epidemic Models Falling Bodies Mixture Problems Curves of Pursuit Chemical Reactions N-th Order Linear Differential Equations Basic Theory Roots of Polynomials Homogeneous Linear Equations with Constant Coefficients Nonhomogeneous Linear Equations with Constant Coefficients Initial Value Problems The Laplace Transform Method The Laplace Transform and Its Properties Using the Laplace Transform and Its Inverse to Solve Initial Value Problems Convolution and the Laplace Transform The Unit Function and Time-Delay Functions Impulse Functions Applications of Linear Differential Equations with Constant Coefficients Second-Order Differential Equations Higher Order Differential Equations Systems of First-Order Differential Equations Linear Systems of First-Order Differential Equations Matrices and Vectors Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors Linear Systems with Constant Coefficients Applications of Linear Systems with Constant Coefficients Coupled Spring-Mass Systems Pendulum Systems The Path of an Electron Mixture Problems Applications of Systems of Equations Richardson's Arms Race Model Phase-Plane Portraits Modified Richardson's Arms Race Models Lanchester's Combat Models Models for Interacting Species Epidemics Pendulums Duffing's Equation Van der Pol's Equation Mixture Problems The Restricted Three-Body Problem Appendix A: CSODE User's Guide Appendix B: PORTRAIT User's Guide Appendix C: Laplace Transforms Answers to Selected Exercises References Index
Fault diagnosis in air data sensors for receiver aircraft in aerial refueling

Multiple air-data sensors placed on different positions on an aircraft are usually expected to provide identical measurements. This is because aircraft are assumed to fly in no-wind or uniform wind conditions. There are cases, however, where an aircraft flies in nonuniform wind vector field with significant variations in magnitude and direction over the dimensions of the aircraft. For example, in an aerial refueling operation, the receiver aircraft needs to fly within the nonuniform wind field induced by the wake of the tanker aircraft. This paper shows that an air-data sensor fault detection and isolation algorithm, if developed with an underlying assumption of identical sensor measurements, yields very high false detection rate when the aircraft enters the wake of another aircraft. This paper also presents a novel modification to the redundant-sensor-based fault detection and isolation algorithm that eliminates this problem. The new method is based on a model of the wind field as a function of relative ...
Integrating a Practice Orientation into the Research Curriculum: The Effect on Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract A panel study of an MSW research curriculum was conducted to evaluate the effect of integrating a practice orientation into the research courses. The study followed a cohort of 60 students throughout their tenure in the program. Information on students' knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with research was collected at four points in time. The findings indicate that students became more favorable in their attitudes toward research and that they became more knowledgeable about research methods and statistics. Students also reported that they planned to engage in activities that are characteristic of empirically-based practice. These findings support the curriculum changes of the past decade that have moved to close the gap between research and practice.
Perspectives from Women Organizers

Abstract This paper compares the perspectives of a diverse group of women in relation to their views about the impact of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation on their organizing and feminism. It uses data from a group of women organizers who first came together in 1989, and who were interviewed in 2002 as part of this follow-up study. The study found both commonalities and differences in comparing white women with women of color. While all the women identified as feminists and most used a feminist model of organizing, the women of color were more likely to express frustrations and divisions within the women's movement and it's organizing goals than were white women. They were less likely to embrace coalitions as a current strategy, and were engaged in or focused on the local versus global picture. Neither group of women addressed issues of sexual orientation in their work regardless of their background or affiliation. Using an intersectionality framework, the paper assesses the challenges the women...
Dendrite Growth in Lithium/Polymer Systems A Propagation Model for Liquid Electrolytes under Galvanostatic Conditions

Dendrite growth in a parallel-electrode lithium/polymer cell during galvanostatic charging has been modeled. The growth model is surface-energy controlled, incorporating the effect of dendrite tip curvature into its dendrite growth kinetics. Using data representative of the oxymethylene-linked poly(ethylene oxide)/LiTFSI system, it is shown that dendrites accelerate across cells under all conditions, and that growth is always slowed by lowering the current density. Cell shorting occurs during typical charges at current densities above 75% of the limiting current. Increased interelectrode distance slows failure, but the advantages decrease as distance lengthens. A factor of 1000 increase in surface forces delays cell failure by only 6%. While larger diffusion coefficients usually extend the time to cell failure, this trend is not consistent at high transference numbers. © 2003 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.
Effectiveness of Wall Insulation

It has long been known that highly conductive protrusions through insulation (thermal bridges) are detrimental to the overall resistance of a wall system. Equally well known is the fact that fibrous insulation must be placed against an impervious membrane to avoid the detrimental effect of air circulation through the insulation by convection. Although thermal bridging has received much design attention, it has recently come to light that actual placement of the insulation and design for its proper placement may be the most serious problem. This paper describes tests on typical commercial building systems, illustrating the problems and proposed solutions.
Anil Roy Choudhury, Art Museum Documentation and Practical Handling: xx + 300 pp., 196 ill. Hyderabad, India: Choudhury and Choudhury, 1963. $15.00

(1965). Anil Roy Choudhury, Art Museum Documentation and Practical Handling. Art Journal: Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 108-108.
Guest Editorial: Optical Science and Engineering in Canada

This PDF file contains the editorial “Guest Editorial: Optical Science and Engineering in Canada” for OE Vol. 32 Issue 09
Design, synthesis, and evaluation of near-infrared fluorescent pH indicators at physiological range

Biochemical processes frequently involve protonation and deprotonation, resulting in pH changes that can be monitored with pH indicators. In heterogenous media such as tissue where indicator concentration or visual observation is limited, highly sensitive pH indicators with reduced tissue autofluorescence are needed. Because of the reduced tissue autofluorescence in the near infrared (NIR) region, NIR fluorescence dyes such as indocyanine green (ICG) and its derivatives have been used to image molecular processes. Removing one of the N-subsitituent of ICG led to pHsensitive dyes operating in the NIR region and at physiologically relevant range. Further modification of the compound and synthetic procedure allowed their conjugation to peptides for specific delivery to target cells and tissues. Synthetic strategy and preliminary results on the spectral and biological properties of such dyes and their bioconjugates are described.
Gas permeation and sorption studies on stereoregular polynorbornene

Advances in the field of membrane gas separation over the past decade have encouraged the search for even better polymers and membranes for gas separation. They also have motivated studies on the relationship between the structure and the gas transport properties of different classes of polymers. Interest has recently been demonstrated in the literature in norbornene polymers with different side groups. These polymers can easily be prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene (bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene) derivatives. So far, information on the microstructure of the polymers is scarce, so little is known about the influence of stereochemistry and tacticity of the polymer on gas separation properties. In this work, we present gas permeability and selectivity data for stereoregular unsubstituted polynorbornene. It will be shown that a high order of tacticity has a positive effect on both permeation and separation results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The effect of cupric ion on the radiation grafting of N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone and other hydrophilic monomers onto silicone rubber

Radiation grafting systems containing cupric ion, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (N-VP) and other hydrophilic monomers were studied. Such systems, in certain Cu++ion concentration ranges were found capable of producing extremely high levels of graft on silicone rubber and other polymers. Gellation of the homopolymer surrounding the grafted film was inhibited by the presence of cupric salts. An increase in the graft water content and decrease in the wettability of the grafted film surface was noted as the Cu++ ion concentration in the grafting solution was increased. Based upon attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopic examination of the grafted materials, these effects could be explained by variations in the copolymer composition of the graft and increased penetration of the graft into the silicone rubber with increasing cupric ion concentration. The Cu++/N-VP system allows many monomers which would ordinarily graft only with great difficulty to be readily grafted to polymeric surfaces. It also allows control over a number of graft parameters such as graft water content composition and penetration. Therefore, this system should be ideal for preparing a series of radiation grafted hydrogels to be used to evaluate important variables in the interactions of hydrophilic biomaterials and biological systems.
Renal arteriovenous malformations masquerading as renal cell carcinoma

Renal arteriovenous malformations may have varied clinical and radiographic appearances. Often, it remains difficult to distinguish these lesions from renal cell carcinomas to tailor the most appropriate diagnostic evaluation and therapy. We have encountered 6 patients with renal arteriovenous malformations that masqueraded as renal cell carcinomas and describe their clinical presentation and management.
Alterations of Body Fluid Compartments and Distribution of Tissue Water and Electrolytes in Rhesus Monkeys with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Abstract : Chair-restrained rhesus monkeys were inoculated subcutaneously with 100 to 1000 plaque forming units of virulent Rickettsia rickettsii. The latent period for fever and rickettsemia was found to be 3-4 days and death occurred within 6-8 days postinfection. Total circulatory electrolytes and fluid volumes including plasma, red blood cell, true circulatory blood, and extracellular fluid increased during Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The expansion of the extracellular and plasma volumes resembled the findings reported to occur during severe RMSF infections in man, guinea pigs and rabbits. Liver total water content also increased. Intracellular K(+), as well as total Na(+) and K(+) decreased in the diaphragm. Both the lung and medulla oblongata showed increased intracellular Na(+) and water with simultaneously decreased extracellular Na(+) and water. It is suggested that intracellular overhydration of the medulla oblongata may contribute to death as a result of depression of the cardiovascular and respiratory centers. Based on the findings in monkeys the intravenous infusion of fluids and electrolytes during clinical therapy of severe rickettsial infections should be considered as extremely dangerous. (Author)
Yersinia has a tropism for B and T cell zones of lymph nodes that is independent of the type III secretion system.

Pathogenic Yersinia have a pronounced tropism for lymphatic tissues and harbor a virulence plasmid that encodes a type III secretion system, pTTSS, that transports Yops into host cells. Yops are critical virulence factors that prevent phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils and Yersinia mutants lacking one or more Yops are defective for survival in lymphatic tissues, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. However, here we demonstrate that Y. pseudotuberculosis (Yptb) mutants lacking the pTTSS survived as well as or better than wild-type (WT) Yptb in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN). Infection with pTTSS mutants caused lymphadenitis with little necrosis, whereas infection with WT Yptb provoked lymphadenitis with multiple necrotic suppurative foci. Gentamicin protection assays and microscopic examination of the MLN revealed that pTTSS mutants resided extracellularly adjacent to B and T lymphocytes in the cortex and paracortex. WT Yptb was found extracellularly adjacent to neutrophils and macrophages in necrotic areas and adjacent to B and T lymphocytes in less-inflamed areas. To determine whether lymphocytes protected pTTSS mutants from phagocytic cells, Rag1−/− mice were infected with pTTSS mutants or WT Yptb. pTTSS mutants but not WT, were impaired for survival in MLN of Rag1−/− mice, suggesting that lymphocyte-rich regions constitute a protective niche for pTTSS mutants. Finally, we show that invasin and the chromosomally encoded TTSS were not required for Yptb survival in MLN. In summary, chromosomally encoded factors are sufficient for Yptb replication in the cortex and paracortex of MLN; the pTTSS enables Yersinia to survive within phagocyte-rich areas of lymph nodes, and spread to other tissues.