cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MULTIPLE HIV‐1 INFECTION OF CELLS AND THE EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF CYTOTOXIC T LYMPHOCYTE ESCAPE MUTANTS

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are an important branch of the immune system, killing virus-infected cells. Many viruses can mutate so that infected cells are not killed by CTL anymore. This escape can contribute to virus persistence and disease. A prominent example is HIV-1. The evolutionary dynamics of CTL escape mutants in vivo have been studied experimentally and mathematically, assuming that a cell can only be infected with one HIV particle at a time. However, according to data, multiple virus particles frequently infect the same cell, a process called coinfection. Here, we study the evolutionary dynamics of CTL escape mutants in the context of coinfection. A mathematical model suggests that an intermediate strength of the CTL response against the wild-type is most detrimental for an escape mutant, minimizing overall virus load and even leading to its extinction. A weaker or, paradoxically, stronger CTL response against the wild-type both lead to the persistence of the escape mutant and higher virus load. It is hypothesized that an intermediate strength of the CTL response, and thus the suboptimal virus suppression observed in HIV-1 infection, might be adaptive to minimize the impact of existing CTL escape mutants on overall virus load.
Platelet and vessel wall prostaglandins in patients with sickle cell disease

Patients with sickle cell disease have increased tendency to develop vaso-occlusive crisis. Although red blood cell sickling is the primary initiating event, extension of the vaso-occlusive process can occur as a result of other factors. Evidence is accumulating that platelets may have some role in vasoocclusive process. For example, increased circulating platelet aggregates (1), Pthromboglobulin (2) and shortened platelet survival (3) have been demonstrated during acute vaso-occlusion. However, decreased platelet aggregation (4) has been shown in patients with sickle cell disease, attributed to a state of exhaustion. Certain arachidonic acid metabolites mainly platelet-derived thromboxane Az (TXA,) and vessel wall-derived prostacyclin (PGIJ may be important in maintaining platelet homeostasis. An increase in TXA2 (vaso-constrictor and pro-aggregant) and/or a decrease in PG12 (vaso-dilator and antiaggregant) may cause platelet activation and formation of thrombus. The goal of this study was to measure plasma concentrations of TXAz and PGI, metabolites to detect if an abnormality of these prostaglandins occurs in sickle cell disease. Platelet TXA2 generation in vitro was also qualified to determine a primary platelet hyperactivity.
Living the Good Life? Mortality and Hospital Utilization Patterns in the Old Order Amish

Lifespan increases observed in the United States and elsewhere throughout the developed world, have been attributed in part to improvements in medical care access and technology and to healthier lifestyles. To differentiate the relative contributions of these two factors, we have compared lifespan in the Old Order Amish (OOA), a population with historically low use of medical care, with that of Caucasian participants from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), focusing on individuals who have reached at least age 30 years. Analyses were based on 2,108 OOA individuals from the Lancaster County, PA community born between 1890 and 1921 and 5,079 FHS participants born approximately the same time. Vital status was ascertained on 96.9% of the OOA cohort through 2011 and through systematic follow-up of the FHS cohort. The lifespan part of the study included an enlargement of the Anabaptist Genealogy Database to 539,822 individuals, which will be of use in other studies of the Amish. Mortality comparisons revealed that OOA men experienced better longevity (p<0.001) and OOA women comparable longevity than their FHS counterparts. We further documented all OOA hospital discharges in Lancaster County, PA during 2002–2004 and compared OOA discharge rates to Caucasian national rates obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for the same time period. Both OOA men and women experienced markedly lower rates of hospital discharges than their non-Amish counterparts, despite the increased lifespan. We speculate that lifestyle factors may predispose the OOA to greater longevity and perhaps to lesser hospital use. Identifying these factors, which might include behaviors such as lesser tobacco use, greater physical activity, and/or enhanced community assimilation, and assessing their transferability to non-Amish communities may produce significant gains to the public health.
The radiation response of the high dielectric-constant hafnium oxide/silicon system

We have explored the radiation response of the HfO/sub 2//Si system with a combination of capacitance versus voltage and electron spin resonance measurements on capacitor and bare oxide structures subjected to /sup 60/Co gamma irradiation and vacuum ultraviolet irradiation. Our studies have utilized both (100)Si and (111)Si substrate structures. Capacitors have been irradiated under both positive and negative gate bias as well as with the gate floating. We find the "electronic" radiation response of the HfO/sub 2//Si system to be different from that of the Si/SiO/sub 2/ system. However, we find that the HfO/sub 2//Si interface defects and their response to hydrogen are quite similar to those of the Si/SiO/sub 2/ interface defects. We also find that the HfO/sub 2//Si atomic scale defects and their response to irradiation different from that of the Si/SiO/sub 2/ system. We find the radiation response of the HfO/sub 2//Si capacitors to be dominated by a very large buildup of negative oxide charge. We observe comparably little, if any, generation of Si/dielectric interface trap density, though we do observe substantial densities of Si/dielectric interface trap defects. The concentration of these defects is not measurably altered by irradiation. The structure of the most prominently observed HfO/sub 2//Si interface defects is somewhat similar to those observed in Si/SiO/sub 2/ systems. We observe comparatively little, if any, generation of slow traps/border traps/switching traps near the Si/HfO/sub 2/ interface.
Loneliness and Mortality Among Older Adults in China

Objectives To examine the relationships between loneliness, social and health behaviors, health, and mortality among older adults in China. Method Data came from a nationally representative sample of 14,072 adults aged 65 and older from the 2002, 2005, and 2008 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. A cross-lagged model combined with survival analysis was used to assess the relationships between loneliness, behavioral and health outcomes, and risk of mortality. Results About 28% of older Chinese adults reported feeling lonely, and lonely adults faced increased risks of dying over the subsequent years. Some of the effect was explained by social and health behaviors, but most of the effect was explained by health outcomes. Loneliness both affects and is affected by social activities, solitary leisure activities, physical exercise, emotional health, self-rated health, and functional limitations over a 3-year period. Discussion Loneliness is part of a constellation of poor social, emotional, and health outcomes for Chinese older adults. Interventions to increase the social involvement of lonely individuals may improve well-being and lengthen life.
Accounting Faculty Utilization of Web-Based Resources to Enhance In-Class Instruction.

Our study examines the extent to which accounting faculty use web?based resources to augment classroom instruction. Moreover, we explore the effects of the institutional factors of accounting accreditation and the existence of an accounting Ph.D. program on internet use by accounting academics toward enhancing pedagogy, while controlling for the individual factors of academic rank and gender. We find strong statistical inferences that accounting accreditation signifies an increase in the likelihood that accounting faculty utilize the internet to supplement pedagogy. The presence of an accounting doctoral program, as well as the interactions of accreditation with the ranks of assistant and full professors, in addition to the female gender, are associated with an increase in the odds that faculty integrate the internet in their courses.
Dynamics of Magnesite Formation at Low Temperature and High pCO2 in Aqueous Solution.

Magnesite precipitation from aqueous solution, despite conditions of supersaturation, is kinetically hindered at low temperatures for reasons that remain poorly understood. The present study examines the products of Mg(OH)2 reaction in solutions saturated with supercritical CO2 at high pressures (90 and 110 atm) and low temperatures (35 and 50 °C). Solids characterization combined with in situ solution analysis reveal that the first reaction products are the hydrated carbonates hydromagnesite and nesquehonite, appearing simultaneously with brucite dissolution. Magnesite is not observed until it comprises a minor product at 7 days reaction at 50 °C. Complete transition to magnesite as the sole product at 35 °C (135 days) and at a faster rate at 50 °C (56 days) occurs as the hydrated carbonates slowly dissolve under the slightly acidic conditions generated at high pCO2. Such a reaction progression at high pCO2 suggests that over long term the hydrated Mg-carbonates functioned as intermediates in magnesite f...
Justice, Dissent, and the Sublime

What is good for art might be very bad for politics. Such was the wisdom of many public intellectuals in the mid-twentieth century, especially those who had turned their attention to a Europe in up...
On the Propagation of Transgranular Stress-Corrosion Cracks

Both inter- and transgranular stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) occur in aqueous environments, and it has been argued1 that the mechanisms are basically different. There is broad agreement that the majority of intergranular cases occur by the film-rupture mechanism2,3, that is, by preferential anodic dissolution at the crack tip where protective films are continually disarrayed by plastic deformation. Transgranular SCC, on the other hand, is poorly understood. It will be shown that the propagation of transgranular cracks involves discontinuous cleavage, but that the manner in which the environments induce this brittle mechanical behavior has not been established for most systems. The role of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) in these failures is critically examined.
Bioethics and the Construction of Medical Reality

L'etablissement d'une realite medicale peut s'effectuer grâce a l'interaction des medecins, des patients, des institutions et de la societe, ainsi que de leur connaissance de la mort, des maladies et du benefice des allocations de sante
Reduction of Tabanid Populations on Cattle with Sticky Traps Baited with Dry Ice

Horse fly populations on cattle were reduced by operation of sticky traps baited with dry ice situated around the periphery of a pasture in which the animals were confined. Fly populations remained relatively low on cattle while traps were in operation, but increased within a few days after trapping was discontinued. Large numbers of flies were collected during the brief trapping periods.
A regional approach for CAR T-cell therapy for mesothelioma: from mouse models to clinical trial.

Adoptive T-cell therapy using chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) is an emerging form of immunotherapy that harnesses a patient’s own T cells to combat malignancies [1]. CAR T-cell therapy uses genetic engineering to express a receptor on T cells that binds to a tumor-associated antigen and activates T-cell cytotoxicity. T cells transduced with antigenspecific CARs are reinfused to the patient in an effort to target tumors. CAR T-cell therapy has already demonstrated promising results in hematologic malignancies [2]. However, translating this approach to solid tumors faces the additional barriers of T-cell homing and infiltration into the tumor. Published literature that has correlated improved prognosis with antitumor immune responses in solid tumors, including in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) [3–5], underscores the need to investigate this promising t herapy in clinically relevant models.
The Power of Teams that Disagree: Team Formation in Large Action Spaces

Recent work has shown that diverse teams can outperform a uniform team made of copies of the best agent. However, there are fundamental questions that were never asked before. When should we use diverse or uniform teams? How does the performance change as the action space or the teams get larger? Hence, we present a new model of diversity, where we prove that the performance of a diverse team improves as the size of the action space increases. Moreover, we show that the performance converges exponentially fast to the optimal one as we increase the number of agents. We present synthetic experiments that give further insights: even though a diverse team outperforms a uniform team when the size of the action space increases, the uniform team will eventually again play better than the diverse team for a large enough action space. We verify our predictions in a system of Go playing agents, where a diverse team improves in performance as the board size increases, and eventually overcomes a uniform team.
Special education survey surgical oncology education in US and Canadian medical schools

(1988). Special education survey surgical oncology education in US and Canadian medical schools. Journal of Cancer Education: Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 239-242.
Complexes Containing Redox Noninnocent Ligands for Symmetric, Multielectron Transfer Nonaqueous Redox Flow Batteries

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) hold promise for use in large-scale energy storage applications, but new electrolyte chemistries are needed to significantly enhance their energy densities and lower their cost. The energy density is governed by the cell voltage, active species concentration, and number of electrons transferred at each electrode. Nonaqueous solvents offer wider voltage windows than water; however, most if not all of the previously reported active species have low solubilities and/or are limited to single electron transfer at each electrode. In this paper we describe the design, synthesis, and characterization of metal coordination complexes containing noninnocent ligands that demonstrate enhanced solubilities at different oxidation states along with multiple electron transfers. In particular, a series of ester-functionalized chromium bipyridine complexes are demonstrated that afford six reversible redox couples over ∼2 V and solubilities approaching 1 M. These characteristics allow the same com...
The Relevance of Chinese Neo-Confucianism for the Reverence of Nature

The continuing assault on the natural world by industrial processes has awakened in many concerned persons the awareness that corrective action is needed to begin to halt the desecration of our planet. But if such action is to be truly effective, it must arise from sources as deep as life itself, namely from a new or renewed understanding of cosmological and ecological processes that sustain all forms of life. Without such a comprehensive context in which to rethink sustainable development we may be unable to counter the powerful pragmatic logic of present technological and industrial growth. We cannot minimize the complexity of the problem at hand nor can we simply condemn all industrial processes. Nonetheless, the emergingconflict of economic demands for growth versus environmental concerns for protection will continue to be a major challenge of our times.
A Progressive's Silver Lining Playbook: The Case for Repealing Stepped-up Basis

In this brief commentary, to appear in a later version in Tax Notes, I argue that, now that we have no meaningful estate tax for the vast masses of even wealthy individuals and families, it is time to call for an end to stepped-up basis on death and to start doing something, somehow, to shut down the typical tax planning of the wealthy.
One, Two, Many

This introductory essay to the special issue “Sexual Difference between Psychoanalysis and Vitalism” provides a genealogy of the concepts of sexual difference in the Western tradition from Kant through Darwin, Freud, Beauvoir, Levi-Strauss, Lacan, Irigaray, Foucault, Butler, and Deleuze and Guattari. The three main problems running through the essay are how these theorists think of the agency of the biophysical body in the process of sexual differentiation, whether sex is two or a multiplicity, and what the implications are for feminist politics. The essay does not summarize the contributions as they stand very much on their own.
Zero-differential thermal emission using thermochromic samarium nickelate

We demonstrate a thermal emitter whose radiated power remains nearly constant over a temperature range of δT ∼ 30 °C, implemented using thermochromic samarium nickelate. This zero-differential thermal emitter can be used for infrared camouflage and obfuscation.
Did the Tea Party Movement Fuel the Trump-Train? The Role of Social Media in Activist Persistence and Political Change in the 21st Century

Arguably, the Tea Party movement played a role in Trump’s rise to power. Indeed, it is difficult to ignore the similarities in the populist claims made by Tea Partiers and those made by Trump throughout his campaign. Yet, we know very little about the potential connections between the Tea Party Movement and the “Trump-train” that crashed through the White House doors in 2017. We take a first step at tracing the connection between the two by examining who stayed involved in the Tea Party Movement at the local level and why. Drawing on interview and participant observation data with supporters of the Florida Tea Party Movement (FTPM) over a 2-year time period, we use qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to assess the factors that determine whether individuals stay with or leave the movement and how the structure of the movement, which relied heavily on social media, contributed to this decision. We find that individuals who identified as libertarian left the FTPM, while those who identified as “fiscal con...
Instrumentation for electrochemical performance characterization of neural electrodes

In an effort to determine the chronic stability, sensitivity, and thus the potential viability of various neurochemical recording electrode designs and compositions, we have developed a custom device called the Voltammetry Instrument for Neurochemical Applications (VINA). Here, we describe the design of the VINA and initial testing of its functionality for prototype neurochemical sensing electrodes. The VINA consists of multiple electrode fixtures, a flowing electrolyte bath, associated reservoirs, peristaltic pump, voltage waveform generator, data acquisition hardware, and system software written in National Instrument’s LabVIEW. The operation of VINA was demonstrated on a set of boron-doped diamond neurochemical recording electrodes, which were subjected to an applied waveform for a period of eighteen days. Each electrode’s cyclic voltammograms (CVs) were recorded, and sensitivity calibration to dopamine (DA) was performed. Results showed an initial decline with subsequent stabilization in the CV current measured during the voltammetric sweep, corresponding closely with changes in electrode sensitivity to DA. The VINA has demonstrated itself as a useful tool for the characterization of electrode stability and chronic electrochemical performance.
Combining anti‐IgE with oral immunotherapy

Food allergy is a significant medical problem that affects up to 8% of children in developed countries. At present, there are no curative therapies available in routine practice and management of food allergy involves strict allergen avoidance, education, and prompt treatment upon accidental exposure. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an efficacious experimental approach to food allergy and has been shown to provide a substantial benefit in terms of allergen desensitization. However, OIT is associated with high rates of allergic reactions, and the period of protection offered by OIT appears to be limited and highly variable. Recurrence of allergen sensitivity after a period of treatment discontinuation is commonly observed. With the aim of overcoming these limitations of OIT, several trials have studied omalizumab (anti-IgE monoclonal antibody) as an adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing OIT. Results from these trials have shown that the addition of omalizumab to OIT leads to a significant decrease in the frequency and severity of reactions, which allows for an increase in the threshold of tolerance to food allergens. This review provides a summary of the current literature and addresses some of the key questions that remain regarding the use of omalizumab in conjunction with OIT.
Incadendron : a new genus of Euphorbiaceae tribe Hippomaneae from the sub-Andean cordilleras of Ecuador and Peru

Incadendron esseri K.Wurdack & Farfan, gen. & sp. nov., from the wet sub-Andean cordilleras of Ecuador (Cordillera del Condor) and Peru (Cusco, Oxapampa) is described and illustrated. This recently discovered large canopy tree with a narrow elevational range presents an unusual combination of rare morphological characters in Hippomaneae including mucilage-secreting sheathing stipules, conduplicate ptyxis, and large, woody fruits. The broader significance of these characters in Hippomaneae is discussed. The morphology and anatomy of Incadendron were investigated, highlighting its fruit similarities with Guiana Shield endemic Senefelderopsis, and the systematics value of ptyxis variation, which remains poorly studied for the family.
Isoptic Characterization of a Circle (Proof of a Conjecture of M. S. Klamkin)

(1990). Isoptic Characterization of a Circle (Proof of a Conjecture of M. S. Klamkin) The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 97, No. 1, pp. 45-47.
Are there crisis-led fertility declines? Evidence from central Cameroon.

Past demographic transitions have been observed with and without economic pro- gress, but there is little empirical record of crisis-driven fertility transitions. In recent years, several authors have argued that conditions for such transitions are met in African countries under economic crisis and structural adjustment. Using retrospective family histories, this study examines fertility responses to crisis in Cameroon, a country with a particularly abrupt economic reversal. The thesis of a crisis-led decline is tested on the basis of five criteria including timing of the decline, statistical and substantive significance, rural-urban response differentials and social salience. Findings are consistent with a crisis-led effect.
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Ventricular Myocytes: Effects of Angiotensin II

The effects of the vasoactive peptide angiotensin II (AII) on contractility and excitation-contraction coupling in isolated adult rabbit ventricular myocytes were investigated. In most ventricular myocytes, AII (10-8 M) induced a significant increase in fractional shortening which was not associated with an increase in the calcium transient measured with indo-1. AII did increase the intracellular pH by approximately 0.2 5 pH units coincident with the positive inotropic effect. Effects of AII on pH and contractility were blocked by inhibitors of Na+/H+ exchange. AII also increased the rate of pHi recovery from intracellular acidosis at pHi values above 6.9. AII was shown not to affect the L-type inward calcium current. However, in an occasional cell, AII was observed to cause a slight increase in the calcium transient. We hypothesize that this response may reflect an increase of calcium influx on the sodium calcium exchanger, as a consequence of an increase in subsarcolemmal sodium concentration resulting from enhanced Na+-H+ exchange.
Inverse Raman and Raman Gain Spectra of Liquids and Solutions

Although it is the oldest form of coherent Raman spectroscopy, inverse Raman spectroscopy is less widely practiced than CARS. The inverse Raman effect was first observed by Jones and Stoicheff [1]. That pioneering paper proposed the use of the inverse Raman effect for the study of short-lived species and suggested that rotational and electronic inverse Raman effects could be observed, as well as vibrational spectra. The possible utility of inverse Raman spectroscopy as a means of observing Raman spectra over an intense fluorescence background was very clearly stated.
Observations of Clear and Cloud-Capped Convective Boundary Layers, and Techniques for Probing Them

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is that part of the atmosphere that interacts directly with the Earth’s surface on a time scale of a few hours or less. It is the layer which transports the gases that are essential to life, as well as the effluents of our civilization. It is the conduit through which energy from the surface is transferred to the level where clouds are generated. The earth-atmosphere system absorbs about 740 W m-2 from the sun averaged over the entire globe, and almost three-quarters of this energy is absorbed at the surface, to be released into the atmosphere through sensible and latent heat flux, and by infrared radiation exchange. Surface heat fluxes generate turbulence which leads to efficient mixing of the lower atmosphere and may lead to the formation of clouds near the top of the turbulentlymixed PBL. Clouds may then modify this process by shading the surface, reflecting and absorbing solar radiation (globally they reflect about 20% of the total incoming radiation), and, if deep enough, by generating their own secondary circulations through the release of latent heat by condensation. In this way, clouds are a mechanism for releasing latent heat emitted from the surface, exchanging PBL properties with the overlying atmosphere, and closing the atmospheric water budget through precipitation.
Mechanics and Electromechanics of Single Crystalline Piezoelectric Nanowires

Significant interest exists for the scientific study and the commercial application of piezoelectric materials with nanoscale dimensional properties [1, 2, 3, 4]. With the recent advance in the synthesis of piezoelectric nanomaterials of high crystalline quality and low dimensionality [5, 6], it is now possible to study the size and dimensionality effect in mechanics and electromechanics related to piezoelectricity. We report here such a study with single crystalline barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanowires. Specifically, the mechanical property and the piezoelectric behaviour of individual BaTiO3 nanowires having diameters down to several tens nanometer are studied with piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and with tensile electromechanical testing method.
A Grounded Theoretical Analysis of Room Elements Desired by Family Members and Visitors of Hospitalized Patients: Implications for Medical/Surgical Hospital Patient Room Design.

Objective:To identify family members’ and visitors’ needs with relation to the design of a hospital room.Background:There is a trend toward incorporating family zones in hospital patient rooms in o...
Registration studies — when should patients be deemed ineligible for aggressive therapy?

The approval of therapeutic agents that are tested in patients deemed ineligible for intensive or aggressive therapy is increasingly popular. This approach enables comparisons of novel therapies with less-aggressive agents, as well as data from nonrandomized studies to be used for market authorization. Herein, we discuss three mechanisms that could be adopted to avoid the temptation of applying this strategy excessively.
A comparison of geometry- and feature-based sparse data extraction for model-based image updating in deep brain stimulation surgery

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrode placement is a burr-hole procedure for the treatment of patients with neuro- degenerative disease such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia. Accurate placement of electrodes is the key to optimal surgical outcome. However, the accuracy of pre-operative images used for surgical planning are often degraded by intraoperative brain shift. To compensate for intraoperative target deviation, we have developed a biomechanical model, driven by partially sampled displacements between pre- and postCT, to estimate a whole brain displacement field based on which updated CT (uCT) can be generated. The results of the finite element model depend on sparse data, as the model minimizes the difference between model estimates and sparse data. Existing approaches to extract sparse data from brain surface are typically geometry or feature-based. In this paper, we explore a geometry- based iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm and a feature-based image registration algorithm, and drive the model with 1) geometry-based sparse data only, 2) feature-based sparse data only, and 3) combined data from 1) and 2). We assess the model performance in terms of model-data misfit, as well as target registration errors (TREs) at the anterior commissure (AC) and posterior commissure (PC). Results show that the model driven by the geometry-based sparse data reduced the TREs of preCT from 1.65mm to 1.26 mm and 1.88 mm to 1.58 mm at AC and PC, respectively by compensating majorly along the direction of gravity and the longitudinal axis, whereas feature-based sparse data contributed to the compensation along the lateral direction at PC.
Site-Specific Peptide Probes Detect Buried Water in a Lipid Membrane.

Abstract Transmembrane peptides contain polar residues in the interior of the membrane, which may alter the electrostatic environment and favor hydration in the otherwise nonpolar environment of the membrane core. Here, we demonstrate a general, nonperturbative strategy to probe hydration of the peptide backbone at specific depths within the bilayer using a combination of site-specific isotope labels, ultrafast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, and spectral modeling based on molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the amphiphilic pH-low insertion peptide supports a highly heterogeneous environment, with significant backbone hydration of nonpolar residues neighboring charged residues. For example, a leucine residue located as far as 1 nm into the hydrophobic bulk reports hydrogen-bonded populations as high as ∼20%. These findings indicate that the polar nature of these residues may facilitate the transport of water molecules into the hydrophobic core of the membrane.
FORMYLGLYCINAMIDE RIBONUCLEOTIDE AMIDOTRANSFERASE: A BRIEF REVIEW†

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates about formylglycinamide ribonucleotide amidotransferase. Several reactions of purine nucleotide synthesis are concerned with the formation of carbon to nitrogen bonds with concomitant splitting of a nucleoside triphosphate diester. The antibiotic, azaserine, is an analog of glutamine and can bind irreversibly to the enzyme at the site for its substrate. FGAR amido-transferase can form relatively stable enzyme–substrate complexes, which are isolatable by gel filtration on Sephadex columns. Studies on the hydrolysis of γ-glutamyl derivatives by glutaminase from Escherichia coli have been reported. Although steady-state kinetics can give information about the order of combination of enzyme with substrates and products, they can reveal nothing further about the sequence of covalent bond cleavages and formations.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Early Stage Testicular Cancer: AUA Guideline

Purpose:Testis cancer is the most common solid malignancy in young males. The purpose of this guideline is to provide a useful reference on the effective evidence-based treatment of early stage tes...
Convergence Properties of Direct Position and Speed Estimation in Synchronous Motor Drives

This paper analyzes direct position and speed estimation from a control theoretical and numerical standpoint. The paper develops the theory of local identifiability and defines the conditions such that position and speed can be identified uniquely based on a sufficiently accurate guess. Local identifiability typically holds at nonzero machine speeds and zero speeds with any perturbation, e.g. an injected high frequency signal in pwm control or a random switching ripple in direct control (except in isotropic machines). The position and speed is identifiable in more than 98.5% of feasible operation points “instantaneously”, and can be extrapolated from past estimates in the remaining cases. Finally, numerical solving strategies are studied and a combination of the Newton and conjugate gradient method is shown to provide suitable estimates within 1–5 solver iterations depending on the required accuracy.
Does Participation in Obstetrics and Gynecology Subspecialties Improve Clerkship Outcomes

The primary objective is to determine if participation in subspecialty rotations during Ob/Gyn core clerkships improves student performance as measured by National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Ob/Gyn clinical science subject exam scores, clinical evaluations, and final clerkship summative grades when compared to students without focused subspecialty time. This is a retrospective study of third-year Alpert Medical School of Brown University (AMS) Ob/Gyn core clerkship students at a single institution (Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, RI) from 2012 to 2017. Participation in Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) and/or Gynecologic oncology (Gyn Onc) subspecialty track (a one-week focused experience), NBME Ob/Gyn clinical science subject exam raw score, clinical evaluation score, final clerkship summative grade, and decision to pursue Ob/Gyn as a career were analyzed. There was no significant difference in NBME scores or final clerkship summative grade when comparing general track students to the subspecialty track. There was a significant difference in the clinical evaluation scores between general track and sub-specialty track students (p < 0.002). Of the students who pursued an Ob/Gyn residency, 75% participated in a subspecialty track. Exposure to subspecialty fields is not uniform during core clerkships. Our study indicates that using core clerkship time for early subspecialty exposure does not negatively impact student outcomes, and potentially improves clinical evaluations.
The Adoption of NCLEX-RN in Canada: A Failure of Leadership at the Intersection of Nursing Regulation, Education and Practice

This commentary presents perspectives of two senior nursing professors who have extensive faculty and leadership experience in both Canada and the United States. To understand more about how the adoption of the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) examination in Canada came to be, the authors conducted conversations with 29 Canadian nurse educators and nursing education and practice leaders. Based on these conversations as well as a review of published materials on the topic, the authors conclude that regulatory leaders failed to involve key leaders and stakeholders from nursing education and practice in this decision, and the resulting negative consequences have been borne primarily by the education and practice sectors. The authors argue that the NCLEX-RN adoption has introduced a misalignment into what had been a well-aligned model of education, regulation and practice in Canada and invite readers to consider the following discussion points. First, the NCLEX-RN has been designed to operate within a healthcare system that should not, by any reasonable argument, be replicated elsewhere; therefore, what are the contextual factors that led to the Canadian adoption of the NCLEX-RN? Second, American regulators stipulate that the examination must fit associate degree graduate competencies and that the additional knowledge and competencies gained at the baccalaureate level are irrelevant for licensure purposes; however, is this a fit for Canadian nursing licensure that requires the baccalaureate degree as an entry for practice? In conclusion, as American higher education in nursing now begins to move toward a competency-based model, further changes will have to be implemented to shape and frame the future of nursing education in the United States, and by extension, the future development of the NCLEX-RN within Canada's distinct historical, social, political and institutional context.
Structural and cellular biology of adeno-associated virus attachment and entry

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a nonenveloped, ssDNA virus in the parvovirus family, which has become one of the leading candidate vectors for human gene therapy. AAV has been studied extensively to identify host cellular factors involved in infection, as well as to identify capsid variants that confer clinically favorable transduction profiles ex vivo and in vivo. Recent advances in technology have allowed for direct genetic approaches to be used to more comprehensively characterize host factors required for AAV infection and allowed for identification of a critical multi-serotype receptor, adeno-associated virus receptor (AAVR). In this chapter, we will discuss the interactions of AAV with its glycan and proteinaceous receptors and describe the host and viral components involved in AAV entry, which requires cellular attachment, endocytosis, trafficking to the trans-Golgi network and nuclear import. AAV serves as a paradigm for entry of nonenveloped viruses. Furthermore, we will discuss the potential of utilizing our increased understanding of virus-host interactions during AAV entry to develop better AAV-based therapeutics, with a focus on host factors and capsid interactions involved in in vivo tropism.
Frank James Costa: Professional Career and Contributions

This historical essay is written to celebrate the more than five decades of urban planning and geography career of Dr. Frank James Costa at the University of Akron, describing the challenges and successes along the way. Professor Costa received many distinguished awards, including the Fulbright Scholarship. He was recognized by the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Regional Development and Planning Specialty Groups with the Distinguished Scholar Award. He made important and significant contributions to the planning profession through his many publications. His writings and publications deal with planning theory as well as applied planning practice. More specifically, he has written in the following areas namely land use and regulatory enforcement, economic development, community development, urban form and landscape design, planning management and finance, and historic preservation. Professor Costa influenced the lives of hundreds of students and colleagues through his research, teaching, and mentoring.
The relationship between cancer fatalism and education

Fatalism is defined by feelings of pessimism, hopelessness, and powerlessness regarding cancer outcomes. Early researchers reported associations between race and cancer fatalism. Yet current evidence suggests that social determinants of health are better predictors of cancer fatalism than race. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between age, race, education, and cancer fatalism. Three hundred ninety (n = 390) women who attended a screening mammogram at the Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO) completed the Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI), a 15-item self-report instrument used to operationalize cancer fatalism. We used Pearson’s correlation, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA with post hoc tests, and linear regression to analyze the relationships between PFI total scores and age, race, and education. There were no differences between the mean PFI scores for Non-Hispanic Whites (1.89, SD 0.55) and African Americans (2.02, SD 0.76, p = 0.092, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.02). We found significant differences between the mean PFI scores across levels of education. Women who attained a high school degree or less (n = 72) reported higher PFI scores (2.24, SD 0.77) than women who attended some college or post-high school vocational training (n = 111; 1.95, SD 0.61) and women with a college or postgraduate degree (n = 206; 1.83, SD 0.57). When PFI score was regressed onto age, race, and education, only education significantly explained fatalism (B = −0.19, p < 0.001). In this study, cancer fatalism did not differ between Non-Hispanic White and African American women attending a screening mammogram. However, lower educational levels were associated with higher cancer fatalism. The previously observed associations between race and cancer fatalism may be explained by racial disparities in social determinants of health, such as education. Importantly, study findings indicate that the people with the greatest need for cancer fatalism interventions are those with lower educational levels.
Do Antitakeover Provisions Harm Shareholders

We reexamine the negative relation between firm value and the number of antitakeover provisions a firm has in place. We document that firms with characteristics indicating low power to bargain for favorable terms in a takeover, but also indicating high potential agency costs, have more antitakeover provisions in place. We also find that for these firms, Tobin’s Q increases in the number of adopted provisions. These findings are robust to several methods that control for endogeneity. Our evidence suggests that adopting more antitakeover provisions is beneficial for certain firms and challenges the commonplace view that antitakeover provisions are universally harmful for shareholders.
A call to arms to change capitalism

Mazzucato cites the role of the South Korean Government in developing high-definition technology, and the UK Government's role in that country's position in the aerospace industry. From Alice Amsden's early work on South Korea and Robert Wade's on Taiwan, to the World Bank's study on the East Asian Miracle, scholars have focused their attention on the central role of government in development—the developmental state. If we could think and act in this way, we could realize a new vision for sustainable cities or inspire business investment in the social infrastructure and health-care innovations required for a new understanding of well-being, or tackle the greatest challenges of our time such as climate change and health pandemics.” [...]as the great economist Kenneth Arrow showed almost 60 years ago, markets are not efficient in either the production or use of knowledge.
Robotic Duodenal Switch Is Associated with Outcomes Comparable to those of Laparoscopic Approach

This study evaluates the outcomes of robotic duodenal switch (RDS) when compared to conventional laparoscopy (LDS). Using the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), patients who underwent RDS were compared to those of LDS (2015–2018) for perioperative characteristics and thirty-day postoperative outcomes. Operative complexity, complications, and resource utilization trends were plotted over the included years for the two approaches. Multivariable analysis was conducted to characterize the impact of each approach on these outcomes. Of 7235 minimally invasive operations, 5720 (79.1%) were LDS while 1515 (20.9%) were RDS. Intraoperative endoscopy, anastomosis testing, and shorter operative duration were associated with LDS. RDS group had more concomitant procedures with less attending assistance. The odds ratios of organ space infection and sepsis were equivalent. RDS increased the odds ratios for venous thromboembolism [VTE] (odds ratio [OR] = 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1–4.8, p = 0.02) and early discharge (OR = 7.3, CI = 4.9–10.9, p < 0.01). The difference in wound infection between LDS and RDS has been decreasing (1.5% and 1.5% in 2018 from 2.3% and 4.1% in 2015, respectively) over the years. Similarly, the decreasing trends were noted for systemic infections. While the development of VTE after RDS was higher, most of the other complications were comparable between LDS and RDS in this study. RDS may reduce the need for advanced intraoperative assistance and minimize hospital stay in select cases, without increasing morbidity. The recent trends suggest a gradual decrease in the variations between LDS and RDS outcomes over time.
Pose Estimation and Non-rigid Registration for Augmented Reality during Neurosurgery.

Objective A craniotomy is the removal of a part of the skull to allow surgeons to have access to the brain and treat tumors. When accessing the brain, a tissue deformation occurs and can negatively influence the surgical procedure outcome. In this work, we present a novel Augmented Reality neurosurgical system to superimpose pre-operative 3D meshes derived from MRI onto a view of the brain surface acquired during surgery. Methods Our method uses cortical vessels as main features to drive a rigid then non-rigid 3D/2D registration. We first use a feature extractor network to produce probability maps that are fed to a pose estimator network to infer the 6-DoF rigid pose. Then, to account for brain deformation, we add a non-rigid refinement step formulated as a Shape- from-Template problem using physics-based constraints that helps propagate the deformation to sub-cortical level and update tumor location. Results We tested our method retrospectively on 6 clinical datasets and obtained average pose error of 4.13 0.70 mm, and showed using synthetic dataset that considerable brain shift compensation and low TRE can be achieved at cortical and sub-cortical levels. Conclusion The results show that our solution achieved accuracy below the actual clinical errors demonstrating the feasibility of practical use of our system. Significance This work provides the evidence that despite using a single- view image, we can obtain a coherent Augmented Reality visualization for craniotomy and that cortical vessels are strong features for rigid and non-rigid registration.
Release of Proteinase from Mycelium of Mucor hiemalis

When Mucor hiemalis NRRL 3103 was grown in soybean medium, only a small fraction of the proteinase produced by the organism appeared in the culture filtrate, whereas the bulk of the enzyme was bound to the mycelial surface. Optimal pH of the proteinase ranged from 3.0 to 3.5. Inclusion of sodium chloride or other ionizable salts in the growth medium, however, resulted in the liberation from the mycelium of the loosely bound enzyme as it was formed. Maximal release of proteinase was achieved at a sodium chloride concentration of 0.5 m. The loosely bound proteinase was eluted also from intact resting mycelium by ionizable salts but not by water or by nonionizable substances. The amount of enzyme eluted from the mycelium depended upon the concentration of sodium chloride up to 0.3 m. Since liberation took place rapidly even at 0 C, a loose ionic linkage must exist rather than a biochemical binding of the enzyme to the mycelium. The recovery of proteolytic activity from repeated salt extractions was greater than that originally detected in the intact mycelium, possibly owing to unmasking of more active enzymes or functional groups. Further proteinase activity was released when salt-extracted mycelium was ruptured. Part of the proteinase thus observed was firmly attached to the cell fraction, and part of it appeared in the supernatant fluid. These conditions implied the presence of intracellular or firmly attached proteinase which could be partially released.
X-ray production from laser-produced plasmas for soft x-ray projection lithography applications

Soft x-ray projection lithography is currently under development for future semiconductor circuits with features less than 0.2 µm. These projection systems are designed to operate with narrow bandwidths around 130 A, where the highest reflectivity mirrors have been demonstrated.1 Several possible sources are under consideration. The laser-produced plasma is an attractive choice provided sufficient light can be generated in the bandwidth of interest. However, only limited experiments have previously been done in the operating region for soft x-ray projection lithography.2 In this work, a systematic study was undertaken to provide a comprehensive soft x-ray database for laser plasma lithographic sources. We determined the absolute conversion efficiency from laser light into x-rays for various target materials, laser wavelength, pulse length, incident intensity, and spot size. Measured conversion efficiencies for Sn targets of greater than 1% into a 3 A bandwidth at 130 A meet the necessary system requirements.