cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A propensity score-matched analysis of the impact of minimum inhibitory concentration on mortality in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia treated with piperacillin/tazobactam

Abstract The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recently re-examined Pseudomonas aeruginosa minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) susceptibility breakpoints for piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP). The objectives of this study were to analyse the impact of elevated TZP MICs (32–64 mg/L) versus lower respective MICs on P. aeruginosa bacteraemia patient outcomes. Data were gathered from a Veterans Health Administration national clinical database on P. aeruginosa bacteraemia episodes from 2007 to 2013. Patients treated with TZP were identified, comprising 53 elevated MIC episodes and 301 low MIC episodes. Propensity score matching (1:2 ratio) utilising independent variables associated with 30-day all-cause mortality was conducted to compare the outcomes of 53 elevated MIC episodes with 106 matched low MIC episodes. Independent baseline variables associated with 30-day all-cause mortality for all 354 episodes were hyperkalaemia, elevated blood urea nitrogen, elevated temperature, hypoglycaemia, lack of urinary source and thrombocytopenia. Similar 30-day all-cause mortality was found between the two propensity-matched TZP groups (elevated MIC 24.5% vs. low MIC 22.6%; P = 0.79).
Toxic epidermal necrolysis: Part I. Introduction, history, classification, clinical features, systemic manifestations, etiology, and immunopathogenesis

Toxic epidermal necrolysis is a life-threatening, typically drug-induced mucocutaneous disease. It is clinically characterized as a widespread sloughing of the skin and mucosa, including both external and internal surfaces. Histologically, the denuded areas show full thickness epidermal necrosis. The pathogenic mechanism involves antigenic moiety/metabolite, peptide-induced T cell activation, leading to keratinocyte apoptosis through soluble Fas ligand, perforin/granzyme B, tumor necrosis factor–alfa, and nitric oxide. Recent studies have implicated granulysin in toxic epidermal necrolysis apoptosis and have suggested that it may be the pivotal mediator of keratinocyte death.
Longitudinal Viral Suppression Among a Cohort of Adolescents and Young Adults with Behaviorally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Abstract Youth living with HIV (YLWH) are less likely than older adults to achieve and sustain viral suppression. While treatment guidelines recommend decreased viral load (VL) monitoring in indivi...
Ca(2+)-signaling in cardiac myocytes: evidence from evolutionary and transgenic models.

Cardiac contraction is regulated by a number of Ca2+-mediated processes. Here we consider the effects of modification imposed on the Ca2+-signalling mechanism by evolutionary developments and transgenic manipulations. Ca2+-signalling appears to be mediated via influx of Ca2+ through the DHP receptor in preference to the Na+-Ca2+ exchange protein, and activates the ryanodine receptor and the Ca2+ release from the SR. Here we report on functional consequences of overexpression of the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger and calsequestrin. The data does not support a physiological role for the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger in signalling Ca2+ release, but can serve to modify ionic currents which determine the duration of the action potential.
VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) bone health ancillary study: clinical factors associated with trabecular bone score in women and men.

We investigated the association of clinical variables with TBS at baseline in the bone health sub-cohort of the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL). Lower TBS was associated with female sex, aging, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, SSRI use, high alcohol intake, and presence of diabetes; there was a trend towards significance between lower TBS and history of fragility fractures. We investigated whether TBS differs by sex, race, body mass index (BMI), and other clinical variables. The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) is determining effects of vitamin D3 and/or omega-3 fatty acid (FA) supplements in reducing risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease. In the VITAL: Effects on Bone Structure/Architecture ancillary study, effects of these interventions on bone will be investigated. Here, we examine the associations of clinical risk factors with TBS assessments at baseline in the bone health sub-cohort, comprised of 672 participants (369 men and 303 women), mean (± SD) age 63.5 ± 6.0 years; BMI ≤ 37 kg/m2, no bisphosphonates within 2 years or other bone active medications within 1 year. TBS was greater in men than women (1.311 vs. 1.278, P < 0.001) and lower with elevated BMIs (P < 0.001), higher age (P = 0.004), diabetes (P = 0.008), SSRI use (P = 0.044), and high alcohol intake (P = 0.009). There was a trend for history of fragility fractures (P = 0.072), and lower TBS. TBS did not vary when analyzed by race, smoking, history of falls, and multivitamin or caffeine use. Lower TBS was associated with female sex, aging, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, SSRI use, alcohol use, and presence of diabetes; there was a trend between lower TBS and history of fragility fractures. TBS may be useful clinically to assess structural changes that may be associated with fractures among patients who are overweight or obese, those on SSRIs, or with diabetes. Ongoing follow-up studies will clarify the effects of supplemental vitamin D3 and/or FA’s on TBS and other bone health measures. NCT01747447
SentiStrength-SE: Exploiting domain specificity for improved sentiment analysis in software engineering text

Abstract Automated sentiment analysis in software engineering textual artifacts has long been suffering from inaccuracies in those few tools available for the purpose. We conduct an in-depth qualitative study to identify the difficulties responsible for such low accuracy. Majority of the exposed difficulties are then carefully addressed through building a domain dictionary and appropriate heuristics. These domain-specific techniques are then realized in SentiStrength-SE , a tool we have developed for improved sentiment analysis in text especially designed for application in the software engineering domain. Using a benchmark dataset consisting of 5,600 manually annotated JIRA issue comments, we carry out both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of our tool. We also separately evaluate the contributions of individual major components (i.e., domain dictionary and heuristics) of SentiStrength-SE . The empirical evaluations confirm that the domain specificity exploited in our SentiStrength-SE enables it to substantially outperform the existing domain-independent tools/toolkits ( SentiStrength , NLTK , and Stanford NLP ) in detecting sentiments in software engineering text.
Listen-First Seeking Clarity Before Influence

Understanding of the concepts of Servant-leadership does not make one a Servant-leader, skills and associated values need to be practiced and learned. Listening-first has perhaps the greatest value and skills influence in the development of Servant-leaders. Variations of poor listening are described. The notion of holistic listening is introduced, beginning with the attitude of respectful listening and then learning empathetic listening and onto variations of generative listening and generative dialog. Holistic listening also includes discernment, which includes acknowledging our reasoning, our feelings, and our will as a way to improve decision-making capacity. Influential persuasion is presented as a non-coercive, non-manipulative approach to influencing others. A listening spiral is an example of a creative way to deepen our intentional attending to holistic listening.
Circuit Theory Analysis of Acoustically Coupled Rooms

A circuit theory approach is presented for the analysis of acoustically coupled spaces. It is based on energy flow and balance with a similar analogy to the one used for solving dynamic thermal systems, where acoustic power is analog to electric current and acoustic energy density is analog to voltage. Room volume is equivalent to capacitor and sound absorption is equivalent to a resistor. From these analogies and Laplace-transformed models it is possible to get stationary or transient response solutions.
An In-Depth Review of Physician Reimbursement for Digit and Thumb Replantation.

Purpose To examine physician and hospital reimbursement for digit and thumb replantation compared with revision amputation. Methods Using the 2009–2016 Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases, we identified patients with a digit or thumb amputation. Following application of our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we divided patients into replantation and revision amputation groups. We extracted the mean physician and hospital reimbursement associated with each patient encounter. For comparison, we examined the work Relative Value Unit (wRVU) and Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for the respective procedures in addition to several common hand surgery procedures. Results We identified 51,716 patients. Following application of our inclusion and exclusion criteria, 219 replantation and 6,209 revision amputation patients were included in our analysis. For replantation, the mean physician and hospital reimbursements ranged from $3,938 to $7,753 and $30,683 to $56,256, respectively. For revision amputation, the mean physician and hospital reimbursements ranged from $1,030 to $1,206 and $2,877 to $4,188, respectively. On multivariable analysis, hospitals performing replantation earned $37,788 more per case compared with revision amputation. Using the wRVU and MPFS data, we determined that replantation reimburses at $78/wRVU compared with higher earnings for revision amputation ($108), carpal tunnel release ($101), cubital tunnel release ($97), trigger finger release ($116), open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) distal radius fracture ($87), flexor tendon repair ($98), extensor tendon repair ($122), repair of digital nerve ($89), and ORIF articular fracture ($82), respectively. Conclusions Low physician reimbursement for replantation compared with less complex hand procedures makes it difficult to recruit and retain hand surgeons for this purpose. By understanding the wRVU and MPFS system, hand surgeons and professional societies can explore ways to promote change in the way replantation is valued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as by hospital administrators. Type of study/level of evidence Economic/Decision Analysis III.
Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) Blog and Podcast Watch: Gastrointestinal Emergencies.

The Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) Series and Approved Instructional Resources - Professional (AIR-Pro) Series were created in 2014 and 2015, respectively, in response to the growing need to curate online educational content as well as create a nationally available curriculum that meets individualized interactive instruction criteria for emergency medicine (EM) trainees. These two online series identify high-quality educational blog and podcast content using an expert-based approach. We summarize the accredited posts on gastrointestinal emergencies that met our a priori determined quality criteria per evaluation by eight experienced faculty educators in EM.
All-Action Policy Gradient Methods: A Numerical Integration Approach.

While often stated as an instance of the likelihood ratio trick [Rubinstein, 1989], the original policy gradient theorem [Sutton, 1999] involves an integral over the action space. When this integral can be computed, the resulting "all-action" estimator [Sutton, 2001] provides a conditioning effect [Bratley, 1987] reducing the variance significantly compared to the REINFORCE estimator [Williams, 1992]. In this paper, we adopt a numerical integration perspective to broaden the applicability of the all-action estimator to general spaces and to any function class for the policy or critic components, beyond the Gaussian case considered by [Ciosek, 2018]. In addition, we provide a new theoretical result on the effect of using a biased critic which offers more guidance than the previous "compatible features" condition of [Sutton, 1999]. We demonstrate the benefit of our approach in continuous control tasks with nonlinear function approximation. Our results show improved performance and sample efficiency.
“Compensatory shortening” in monosyllables of spoken English

Many durational patterns for segments look like compensations to maintain a more constant interval duration at a higher level of prosodic organization. For example, vowel duration is shorter when the number of consonants in the syllable coda is increased. The origins of this pattern and of a similar pattern of coda shortening after longer vowels are examined. Vowel height and coda composition (singleton vs. cluster) were varied. The acoustic durations of the vowels and consonants and the kinematics of the accompanying jaw movements were measured. All three subjects showed a decrease in the acoustic duration of the vowel in the presence of a following cluster; two of the three subjects showed a decrease in the duration of the syllable coda when following a longer vowel. Kinematic evidence suggested the possibility that, in part, these patterns were produced by gestural overlap between the consonants and vowels; that is, successive movements overlap in time and are blended to produce a single output.
Assessing the Role of Ethnic Enclaves and Neighborhood Conditions in Volunteering Among Latinos in Chicago

Neighborhoods may be important for formal volunteering because they vary in the extent to which they have institutions that support participation and problems that motivate participation. According...
Outpost Aesthetics: The Literary Culture of British-Occupied Java, 1811-1816

This essay examines the “outpost literature” of Britain’s Asian colonies and its relation to India. The occupants of these trading ports and seaside towns defined their writing on their own terms and, rather than to reproduce the imperial dynamics of distant European authors, sought to champion their local literary cultures. By focusing on the literary culture of British Java, occupied from the Dutch during the end of the Napoleonic wars, it offers a new sense of the emergence of the multilingual colonial public spheres and raises questions about the translocal imaginations and physical realities of institutionalized print cultures that created a regional orientation for anglophone literature in Asia. With these examinations in mind, it raises new questions about how scholars should define British or English literature in an Indian Ocean and colonial framework.
L'Algérie Catholique: Une Histoire de l'Eglise Catholique en Algérie, XIXe-XXIe Siècles

Traces of the colonial Algerian past continue to intrude upon present debates about religion and secularism. In France, President Emmanuel Macron recently tested out his more flexible approach to l...
Coterie: Exploiting Frame Similarity to Enable High-Quality Multiplayer VR on Commodity Mobile Devices

In this paper, we study how to support high-quality immersive multiplayer VR on commodity mobile devices. First, we perform a scaling experiment that shows simply replicating the prior-art 2-layer distributed VR rendering architecture to multiple players cannot support more than one player due to the linear increase in network bandwidth requirement. Second, we propose to exploit the similarity of background environment (BE) frames to reduce the bandwidth needed for prefetching BE frames from the server, by caching and reusing similar frames. We find that there is often little similarly between the BE frames of even adjacent locations in the virtual world due to a "near-object" effect. We propose a novel technique that splits the rendering of BE frames between the mobile device and the server that drastically enhances the similarity of the BE frames and reduces the network load from frame caching. Evaluation of our implementation on top of Unity and Google Daydream shows our new VR framework, Coterie, reduces per-player network requirement by 10.6X-25.7X and easily supports 4 players for high-resolution VR apps on Pixel 2 over 802.11ac, with 60 FPS and under 16ms responsiveness.
Repeatability and reproducibility of vessel density measurements on optical coherence tomography angiography in diabetic retinopathy

Understanding the precision of measurements on and across optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) devices is critical for tracking meaningful change in disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the repeatability and reproducibility of vessel area density and vessel skeleton density measurements from various commercial OCTA devices in diabetic eyes. Patients were imaged three consecutive times each on three different OCTA devices. En face OCTA images of the superficial capillary plexus, deep capillary plexus, and full retinal layer were exported for analysis. Vessel area density and vessel skeleton density were calculated. The coefficient of repeatability (CoR) was calculated to assess the repeatability of these measurements, and linear mixed models were utilized to assess the reproducibility of these measurements. Forty-four eyes from 27 diabetic patients were imaged. Normalized CoR values ranged between 3.44 and 6.65% when calculated for vessel area density and between 1.35 and 23.39% when calculated for vessel skeleton density. When stratified by disease severity, the swept-source OCTA device consistently produced the smallest CoR values for vessel area density in the full retinal layer. Vessel area density measurements were repeatable across the two spectral-domain devices in the full retinal layer when all severities were combined, as well as in diabetic patients without retinopathy, mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and moderate NPDR. Vessel area density measured in the full retinal layer may be a more precise measure than vessel skeleton density to follow diabetic retinopathy patients both on the same device and across devices.
Pelvic Floor Conditions: Biofeedback

Constipation and fecal incontinence can result from increased, paradoxical or decreased tone of the pelvic floor. Abnormal pelvic floor activity can result from anatomic and neurogenic injury or unlearned function. Biofeedback, which compliments a physical therapy program, is an effective therapy for the malfunctioning pelvic floor and represents the main therapy for dyssynergic defecation and one of the first line therapies for many patients with fecal incontinence. Biofeedback allows visualization of pelvic floor muscle activity and facilitates reproducibility of the correct maneuvers to mitigate deranged function. Biofeedback facilitates return of normal pelvic floor function with minimal risk or side effects.
Interferon alpha therapy in essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera—a systematic review and meta-analysis

Data on the efficacy and safety of interferon (IFN)-α for the treatment of essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV) are inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis and searched MEDLINE and EMBASE via Ovid, Scopus, COCHRANE registry of clinical trials, and Web of Science from inception through 03/2019 for studies of pegylated IFN (peg-IFN) and non-pegylated IFN (non-peg-IFN) in PV and ET patients. Random-effects models were used to pool response rates for the primary outcome of overall response rate (ORR) defined as a composite of complete response, partial response, complete hematologic response (CHR) and partial hematologic response. Peg-IFN and non-peg-IFN were compared by meta-regression analyses. In total, 44 studies with 1359 patients (730 ET, 629 PV) were included. ORR were 80.6% (95% confidence interval: 76.6–84.1%, CHR: 59.0% [51.5%–66.1%]) and 76.7% (67.4–84.0%; CHR: 48.5% [37.8–59.4%]) for ET and PV patients, respectively. In meta-regression analyses results did not differ significantly for non-peg-IFN vs. peg-IFN. Annualized rates of thromboembolic complications and treatment discontinuation due to adverse events were low at 1.2% and 8.8% for ET and 0.5% and 6.5% for PV patients, respectively. Both peg-IFN and non-peg-IFN can be effective and safe long-term treatments for ET and PV.
Standing On Its Own Shoulders: The Supreme Court’s Statutory Interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act

Empirical evidence on the Supreme Court’s use of tools of statutory interpretation is an emerging field of legal study. This Article is the first to use these methodologies to analyze the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), enacted in 1925. I analyzed 114 separate Supreme Court arbitration opinions, coding for fourteen different tools of statutory interpretation, and this article presents the results of that analysis. The most striking finding from this study is the extraordinarily insular nature of the FAA jurisprudence when compared to other scholars’ studies in their respective areas of the law. The insular nature can be determined statistically from the Supreme Court’s reliance on three key tools of interpretation: 1) prior FAA precedent, 2) the text, and 3) the Supreme Court-created arbitration canon. Relying on these insular tools, the Supreme Court expanded the FAA’s reach, required more and more disputes to be arbitrated, and limited the availability of classwide procedures. Since the 1980s, the FAA decisions increasingly favor pro-business interests at the expense of individual consumers, employees, and franchisees. These three tools provide a convenient means for achieve these pro-business ends. Given the FAA’s age and limited legislative history, the Court relies on itself to divine the intent of the act as it is applied in areas not likely in the contemplation of Congress in the 1920s. This research demonstrates empirically what various justices noted anecdotally – the Court stands on “its own shoulders” to create and enlarge the FAA’s reach.
Effects of Ozone Isotopologue Formation on the Clumped-Isotope Composition of Atmospheric O2

Tropospheric 18O18O is an emerging proxy for past tropospheric ozone and free-tropospheric temperatures. The basis of these applications is the idea that isotope-exchange reactions in the atmospher...
Working with Regulators to Change Permeable Pavements Acceptance

Starting in 1999, North Carolina State University faculty began research on permeable pavement used to infiltrate stormwater runoff, or permeable pavement. NC State conducted several studies from 1999 to 2005, all of which repeatedly showed positive performance for runoff reduction. Faculty at NC State cooperated with regulators at the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) and eventually helped persuade the regulators to accept permeable pavement as a stormwater best management practice in 2006. Permeable pavement's initial "approval" was confined to the eastern, and sandier soil region, one-third of the state of North Carolina. Subsequent to the initial allowance, faculty at NC State further cooperated with staff of State Senator Marc Basnight who passed a law requiring the use of permeable pavement, or an acceptable alternative, in parking lots across the state of North Carolina. The NC Department of Transportation (DOT) has since been required to evaluate the use of permeable pavement for every sidewalk in NC DOT right-of-way statewide. This loosened the restriction for use of permeable pavement for only sandy in-situ soils. Due to the change in state policy, certain communities have embraced the use of permeable pavement, and the implementation of the product has increased substantially. One of the main reasons for this was the NC DENR's treating of permeable pavement as a mostly permeable (and partially impermeable) surface. The relationship of a university working hand-in-hand with regulators has proven very beneficial for the use of permeable pavement.
Integrity in Research: Individual and Institutional Responsibility

Publisher Summary The Guidelines for the Conduct of Research in the Intramural Research Program at National Institutes of Health (NIH) was developed to promote the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research by intramural scientists. The intent was to provide a framework for the ethical conduct of research without inhibiting scientific freedom and creativity. Other institutions have developed comparable sets of guidelines. The guidelines serve as a framework for the education of scientific staff in research conduct issues, through discussion sessions and more formal courses, as well as a reference book. Books, textbooks, and symposia or colloquia proceedings that address scientific conduct and/or misconduct, as well as Internet-based learning programs at many institutions have appeared at an increasing rate during the past two decades. This chapter discusses the topics that come under the NIH guidelines, which includes scientific integrity; mentor-trainee relationships; data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership; research involving human and animal subjects; collaborative science; conflict of interest and commitment; peer review; and publication practices and responsible authorship.
CV-NP Bayesianism by MCMC

Completely automatic and adaptive non-parametric inference is a pie in the sky. The frequentist approach, best exemplified by the kernel estimators, has excellent asymptotic characteristics but it is very sensitive to the choice of smoothness parameters. On the other hand the Bayesian approach, best exemplified by the mixture of gaussians models, is optimal given the observed data but it is very sensitive to the choice of prior. In 1984 the author proposed to use the Cross-Validated gaussian kernel as the likelihood for the smoothness scale parameter h, and obtained a closed formula for the posterior mean of h based on JefFreys’s rule as the prior. The practical operational characteristics of this bayes’ rule for the smoothness parameter remained unknown for all these years due to the combinatorial complexity of the formula. It is shown in this paper that a version of the metropolis algorithm can be used to approximate the value of h producing remarkably good completely automatic and adaptive kernel estimators. A close study of the form of the cross validated likelihood suggests a modification and a new approach to Bayesian Non-parametrics in general.
Alternative models of treatment for depression: Validation of coping therapy.

Whereas affective disorders are common among adults, evidence reveals that current intervention approaches for depression (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, interpersonal, pharmacotherapy) are effective for only two-thirds of outpatients diagnosed with major depression. Thus, efforts toward developing and evaluating more effective interventions are certainly warranted. To date, most treatment studies have relied solely on individual outpatient formats and have addressed questions concerning the potential efficacy of other therapeutic formats, including marital/family approaches, bibliotherapy, and group interventions. The current paper presents a review of alternative treatment formats and introduces Coping Therapy as an alternative treatment package for unipolar depression. Finally, the results of several empirical studies which evaluate Coping Therapy procedures across alternative treatment formats are presented.
Reciprocal Associations Between Parental Monitoring Knowledge and Impaired Driving in Adolescent Novice Drivers

Objective: Adolescent driving while alcohol/drug impaired (DWI) and parental monitoring knowledge may have notable interplay. However, the magnitude and direction of causality are unclear. This study examined possible reciprocal associations among adolescents between DWI and parental monitoring knowledge.Methods: The data were from waves 1, 2, and 3 (W1, W2, and W3) of the NEXT Generation Health Study, with longitudinal assessment of a nationally representative sample of 10th graders starting in 2009–2010 (n = 2,525 at W1) and analyzed in 2014. Those who had obtained an independent/unsupervised driving license were included for the analysis. Autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis was used to examine potential reciprocal associations between DWI and parental monitoring knowledge of both mothers and fathers, controlling for potential confounders.Results: Stability of fathers’ and mothers’ monitoring knowledge across 3 consecutive interview waves was identified. W1 monitoring knowledge of both fathers and...
The Photoregulated Expression of Multiple Phycocyanin Species

The regulation of phycocyanin synthesis in response to growth in chromatic illumination was studied in 69 strains of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria (24 of 31 strains examined), which chromatically adapt by modulating the synthesis of both phycocyanin and phycoerythrin, controlled phycocyanin synthesis through the differential, photoregulated expression of two phycocyanin species (two alpha-type and two beta-type subunits). For these strains the expression of one pair of phycocyanin subunits was constitutive (i.e. irrespective of the light wavelength in which the cells were grown); the expression of the second pair of phycocyanin subunits occurred specifically during growth in red light. Two facultatively heterotrophic cyanobacteria, Calothrix strains 7101 and 7601, synthesized both the constitutive and the inducible pairs of phycocyanin subunits when grown heterotrophically in the dark after transfer from either red or green light. No evidence for the existence of multiple and/or photoregulated phycocyanin species was found for cyanobacteria (25 strains) incapable of chromatic adaptation, nor for cyanobacteria (13 strains) which chromatically adapt by modulating the synthesis of phycoerythrin alone.
Kinetics of the Carbamylation of the Amino Groups of Sickle Cell Hemoglobin by Cyanate

Abstract The NH2-terminal valine residues of both chains of oxyhemoglobin S are carbamylated 50 to 100 times faster at pH 7.4 than the e-NH2 groups of the lysine residues of the protein up to a level of 1 carbamyl group per hemoglobin molecule. The pseudo-first order rate constants for the carbamylation of the NH2-terminal residues of carbonmonoxyhemoglobins A and S are identical for the proteins either in the tetrameric state or as the p-hydroxymercuribenzoate derivatives of the individual chains. The rate constant for the carbamylation of deoxyhemoglobin A is the same as that for deoxyhemoglobin S, and the deoxyhemoglobins are carbamylated about twice as rapidly as the liganded proteins. These results indicate that the pKa values of the NH2-terminal valine residues of hemoglobins A and S are probably identical. Carbon dioxide competes for the site of the carbamylation with deoxyhemoglobin more effectively than it does with carbonmonoxyhemoglobin. Since OCO is known to bind preferentially to deoxyhemoglobin, these data provide experimental support for the suggestion that HNCO, the reactive tautomer of cyanate, is a structural analog of OCO.
Affect and Images of Success and Failure in War

We explore how variations in the content of wartime news images and text influence people’s views on the likelihood of the US winning or losing in Afghanistan. Studies emphasize the importance of beliefs on the success or failure of military operations as cues that individuals use to revise their level of support for a war, but the process through which wartime information generates these beliefs has not been well developed. We argue that “losing information,” information that conveys defeat, has considerable, negative emotional effects that in turn drive down expectations of the likelihood of victory. Drawing on two experimental studies, we find that visual and textual battlefield information similarly affects subjects’ estimates of conflict failure and their emotional states. These results lend further support to rational expectations perspective on the evolution of public support for war, and call into question arguments that emphasize the differing emotional impact of visual versus textual cues.
Environmental Priority-Setting Through Comparative Risk Assessment

/ More than three dozen states and communities in the United States have undertaken comparative risk projects to establish environmental priorities and, thus, to address their most important environmental problems. This trend has been supported by a growing consensus among subnational governments that they are increasingly encumbered with prescriptive, top-down environmental regulations and policies without regard to the policies' efficacy, benefit, or cost. Despite the rising use of comparative risk projects, few studies have systematically analyzed and compared them. The purpose of our research was to fill this void. Weexamined key elements of comparative risk projects including how they were administered; how they involved the public; how they characterized, ranked, and prioritized risks; whether and how they implemented ranking results; and whether and how they evaluated project results. The research team reviewed project reports and independent studies and undertook a survey of risk project participants. Results showed that while many priority-setting projects have successfully identified environmental problems and characterized and ranked their risks, few have developed risk-management strategies. Successes to date include increasing environmental awareness among participants; building consensus and establishing collaboration among diverse stakeholders; and establishing novel means of public involvement. However, no project that we evaluated has, as yet, documented achievement of a system for developing and implementing environmental priorities in order to mitigate their most significant environmental problems. Further, it may be difficult to know if and when this objective is met unless projects establish mechanisms for evaluating their results, a project element that was often missing or limited in scope. We also discuss the challenges to developing implementable risk-management strategies and conclude by citing future research needs. KEY WORDS: Comparative risk assessment; Environmental priorities; Risk-ranking
Multistakeholder Perspectives on the Transition to a Graduate-Level Athletic Training Educational Model.

Context: The decision has been made to move away from the traditional bachelor's degree professional program to a master's degree professional program. Little is known about the perceptions about ...
Structure, transcription, and replication of measles virus.

Measles virus, a member of the morbillivirus genus of the paramyxovirus family, is an enveloped virus containing a single-stranded, minus (−) sense 50S RNA genome (Baczko et al. 1983; Dunlap et al. 1983; Udem and Cook 1984). Negatively stained preparations of virus particles appear roughly spherical but pleomorphic by electron microscopy, with the diameters of the particles ranging from 300 um to 1000 um (Lund et al. 1984). The envelope of the virion consists of a lipid bilayer membrane; the integral viral membrane proteins hemagglutinin (H, 80 kDa) (Gerald et al. 1986) and the two subunits of the fusion protein (F1, 40 kDa and F2, 20 kDa) (Buckland et al. 1987; Richardson et al. 1986; Stallcup et al. 1979) can be released by trypsin treatment. The matrix protein (M, 37 kDa) (Greer et al. 1986) appears to lie on the inner surface of the membrane and can be released with detergent and high salt (Bellini et al. 1986; Stallcup et al. 1979). Virion RNA is packaged in a helical ribonucleoprotein particle or nucleocapsid (Nakai et al. 1969; Robbins et al. 1980; and Lund et al. 1984) by the nucleocapsid protein (N, 60 kDa) (Rozenblatt et al. 1985). Measles nucleocapsids can be purified from virus banded on CsCI gradients as ribonucleoprotein particles at a density of 1.32 g/cm3 (Stallcup et al. 1979; Robbins et al. 1980; Udem and Cook 1984). The association between RNA and N is very stable, being resistant to dissociation by high salt, and the encapsidated RNA is resistant to nuclease digestion (Andzhaparidze et al. 1987; Moyer et al. 1990). The virus-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase consists of two subunits, the P (70 kDa) and L (~250 kDa) proteins, and is associated with the nucleocapsid in the virion (Bellini et al. 1985; Blumber et al. 1988; Seifried et al. 1978).
Fast contracting polypyrrole actuators

Conducting polymer-based actuators are capable of producing at least 10 times more force for a given cross-sectional area active . stress than skeletal muscle, and potentially 1000 times more, with strains typically between 1% and 10%. Low operating voltages make them particularly attractive for use in micro-electromechanical systems, in place of electrostatic and piezoelectric actuators. A drawback of conducting polymer actuators is their relatively slow speed, and hence low power-to-mass ratio. In this paper, shaped voltage pulses are applied to generate strain rates of up to 3% s y1 , with peak power to mass ratios of 39 W kg y1 of polymer, nearly matching mammalian skeletal muscle. Results are obtained from polypyrrole linear and bilayer actuators and employ both liquid and gel electrolytes. q 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
Application Development in Vision-Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless networks in combination with image sensors open up a multitude of previously unthinkable sensing applications. Capable tools and testbeds for these wireless image sensor networks can greatly accelerate development of complex, yet efficient algorithms that meet application requirements. In this paper, we introduce WiSNAP (Wireless Image Sensor Network Application Platform), a Matlab-based application development platform intended for wireless image sensor networks. It allows researchers and developers of such networks to investigate, design, and evaluate algorithms and applications using real target hardware. WiSNAP offers standardized and easy-to-use Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to control image sensors and wireless motes, which do not require detailed knowledge of the target hardware. Nonetheless, its open system architecture enables support of virtually any kind of sensor or wireless mote. Several application examples illustrate the usage of WiSNAP as a powerful development tool.
Fast-converging tatonnement algorithms for one-time and ongoing market problems

Why might markets tend toward and remain near equilibrium prices? In an effort to shed light on this question from an algorithmic perspective, this paper formalizes the setting of Ongoing Markets, by contrast with the classic market scenario, which we term One-Time Markets. The Ongoing Market allows trade at non-equilibrium prices, and, as its name suggests, continues over time. As such, it appears to be a more plausible model of actual markets. For both market settings, this paper defines and analyzes variants of a simple tatonnement algorithm that differs from previous algorithms that have been subject to asymptotic analysis in three significant respects: the price update for a good depends only on the price, demand, and supply for that good, and on no other information; the price update for each good occurs distributively and asynchronously; the algorithms work (and the analyses hold) from an arbitrary starting point. Our algorithm introduces a new and natural update rule. We show that this update rule leads to fast convergence toward equilibrium prices in a broad class of markets that satisfy the weak gross substitutes property. These are the first analyses for computationally and informationally distributed algorithms that demonstrate polynomial convergence. Our analysis identifies three parameters characterizing the markets, which govern the rate of convergence of our protocols. These parameters are, broadly speaking: 1. A bound on the fractional rate of change of demand for each good with respect to fractional changes in its price. 2. A bound on the fractional rate of change of demand for each good with respect to fractional changes in wealth. 3. The closeness of the market to a Fisher market (a market with buyers starting with money alone). We give two types of protocols. The first type assumes global knowledge of only (an upper bound on) the first parameter. For this protocol, we also provide a matching lower bound in terms of these parameters for the One-Time Market. Our second protocol, which is analyzed for the One-Time Market alone, assumes no global knowledge whatsoever.
A convex optimization approach to signal reconstruction over switching networks

In this paper we consider signal reconstruction over communication network channels that can be modeled as input switching systems. Such systems can be associated with a variety of applications including control and estimation over networks. In particular, we formulate the signal reconstruction problem as a prototypical model matching problem where the various mappings involved belong to a class of input switching systems. The design interest is placed on minimizing the worst case or stochastic average performance of this model matching system over all possible switchings with an H"2 norm as the performance criterion. This minimization is performed over all stable receivers R in the class of input switching systems. For the particular setup at hand, and in the case of matched switching, two convergent sequences to the optimal solution from above and below respectively are formulated in terms of quadratic programs. An approximate solution with any a priori given precision is possible by finite truncation. Also, it is shown that in the cases of arbitrary, partially matched or unmatched switching, the optimal receiver R need not depend on the switching sequence and that it can be obtained as a linear time-invariant solution to an associated H"2 norm optimization.
Design and development of two generations of semi-autonomous social telepresence robots

Our research focuses on how a telepresence robot operator, the people with the robot, and the robot itself collaborate so that the operator reaches his/her intended destination. Our research requires higher levels of autonomous navigation so that the robot can, for example, go to a specified destination and follow a person. However, commercial telepresence robots are primarily teleoperated, and only a few provide assisted navigation around obstacles. We present the evolution of our overall design for augmenting two VGo Communications' VGo robots, Hugo and Margo. We detail the requirements and design constraints encountered while developing our telepresence robot platforms.
Transfusions enriched for W3/25+ helper/inducer T lymphocytes prevent spontaneous diabetes in the BB/W rat.

Transfusions of spleen cells are known to prevent spontaneous autoimmune diabetes in susceptible BB/W rats, while T cell-depleted transfusions are ineffective. To characterize further the protective cell(s), we transfused young diabetes prone rats with splenocytes from diabetes resistant BB/W rats that were treated in vitro to enrich them in either OX8+ (suppressor/cytotoxic) T cells or W3/25+ (helper/inducer) T cells. Diabetes subsequently occurred in 19 of 29 (66%) recipients of OX8-enriched, W3/25-depleted cells and 20 of 37 (54%) controls, but in only 7 of 30 (23%) recipients of W3/25-enriched, OX8-depleted cells (p<0.005). Transfusion of spleen cells from diabetes resistant donor rats pretreated in vivo to deplete OX8+ cells also prevented diabetes in susceptible BB/W recipients. We conclude that transfusions of W3/25+ helper/inducer splenic T lymphocytes obtained from diabetes resistant animals prevent spontaneous diabetes in the BB/W rat.
On the detection of fingerprints by laser excited luminescence

Abstract Two surveys were carried out to determine the percentage of latent fingerprints detectable by their inherent luminescence under laser illumination. Less than one-fifth of 240 samples each containing four prints on paper gave luminescent prints. The luminescence from these was weak and only detectable under close scrutiny. Similar results were obtained for 120 samples each containing one print on glass. Forty-one of the samples showing no luminescence were sprayed, approximately one month after deposition, with a solution containing the fluorescent tagging agent 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD chloride). After treatment with NBD chloride, 37 of these samples gave luminescent prints, many of which were intensely luminescent and contained good ridge detail.
Glucosephosphate Isomerase (GPI) Deficiency Mutations Associated with Hereditary Nonspherocytic Hemolytic Anemia (HNSHA)

Abstract ABSTRACT: Five unrelated patients with hereditary glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI) deficiency resulting in nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia were studied. Three new mutations were found in the coding region of the GPI gene: two patients were heterozygous for 223 A→G (R75G) and 898 G→C(R300P), respectively and one was homozygous for 1415G→A(R472H). Surprisingly, 2 previously reported mutations, 286 C→T and 1039 C→T, were found in 2 and 3 patients respectively. Until now only 4 of 18 GPI mutations had been found more than once in unrelated patients and these 4 in only 2 patients each. Eleven of the 20 known point mutations have occurred at CpG “hot spots” and the 286 C→T and 1039 C→T are among these. The 489 G/A polymorphism in the GPI coding region was used to demonstrate unequivocally that the 1039 C→T mutation occurred in both haplotypes and therefore probably originated more than once. Because no common GPI mutation has been found we suggest that heterozygosity for GPI confers little if any selective advantage.
Effect of Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS) on Retention of a Passive Avoidance Response in Rats

Three groups of Ss were given passive avoidance response (PAR) training in a step-down box. Group NT was given neither foot shock (FS) not electroconvulsive shock (ECS) upon stepping down, Group FS received FS but no ECS, and Group FS-ECS received FS followed by ECS. Subgroups from each of these treatment groups were tested for retention 24, 48, or 72 hr. after original treatment. PAR learning was found in all of the FS groups and in the 48-hr. FS-ECS group. There was an apparent increment in the PAR at 48 hr. for both FS and FS-ECS groups. Retrograde amnesia was apparent in the 24- and 72-hr. FS-ECS groups but was reduced in the 48-hr. group.
Titanium Sheet Fabricated from Powder for Industrial Applications

In collaboration with Ametek and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Oak Ridge National Laboratory has evaluated three different methods for converting titanium hydride–dehydride (HDH) powder into a thin-gauge titanium sheet from a roll-compacted preform. Methodologies include sintering, followed by cold rolling and annealing; direct hot rolling of the roll-compacted sheet; and hot rolling of multiple layers of roll-compacted sheet that are encapsulated in a steel can. Fabrication of fully consolidated sheet has been demonstrated using all three methods, and each processing route has the ability to produce a sheet that meets ASTM B265 specifications. However, not every method currently provides a sheet that can be highly formed without tearing. The degree of sintering between powder particles, postprocessing density, and the particle-to-particle boundary layer where compositional variations may exist have a significant effect on the ability to form the sheet into useful components. Uniaxial tensile test results, compositional analysis, bend testing, and biaxial testing of the titanium sheet produced from hydride–dehydride powder will be discussed. Multiple methods of fabrication and the resulting properties can then be assessed to determine the most effective and economical means of making components for industrial applications.