cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Fis on ribosome synthesis and activity and on rRNA promoter activities in Escherichia coli.

Abstract The DNA-bending protein Fis ofEscherichia coliis required for efficient initiation of chromosome replication and for activation of the P1 promoters of stable RNA (rRNA and tRNA) genes. Usingfis+andfis−bacterial strains, we have determined ribosome synthesis and activity, rRNA gene dosage, and transcript initiation rates at therrnBP1 and P2 promoters. Different growth media were used to achieve growth rates between 0.7 and 2.7 doublings/hour for thefis+strain, and between 0.7 and 2.2 doublings/hour for thefis−strain. In minimal media, the Fis deficiency only reduced the DNA andrrngene concentration (DNA,oriCcopies andrrngenes per protein); in amino acid-supplemented media, it also reduced rRNA synthesis rates per protein. Under all conditions, the ribosome activity (protein synthesis rate/ribosome) remained unchanged by the absence of Fis. In the presence of Fis, the absolute activities of the isolatedrrnBP1 and P2 promoters increased from 2 to 88 and 10 to 50 initiations/minute, respectively, with increasing growth-rate. In the absence of Fis, these activities increased from 3 to 70 and 10 to 80 initiations/minute, respectively. Relative to the isolatedrrnBP2 promoter, the strength of therrnBP1 promoter was found to increase with increasing growth rate tenfold (from 0.17 to 1.7) in the presence, but only fivefold (from 0.17 to 0.85) in the absence of Fis. An evaluation of the data leads us to propose estimates ofkcatand relativeKMvalues for the two rRNA promoters, and relative values for free RNA polymerase concentrations during growth in different media. The analysis suggests that the reduced strength of P1 promoters of stable RNA genes in the absence of Fis, together with the reducedrrngene concentration, increases the concentration of free RNA polymerase. In addition, the lowerrrnP1 promoter activity in the absence of Fis reduces the probability that the downstream P2 promoter is blocked (“occluded”) by a transcription elongation complex originating at the P1 promoter. The increased polymerase concentration and reduced P2 promoter occlusion both help to compensate for the Fis-deficiency, but during growth in rich media when the demand for ribosomes is high, this compensation is insufficient forfis−bacteria to achieve the wild-type level of ribosome synthesis and growth.
The Graft-Versus-Leukemia Effect of Post-transplant Donor Leukocyte Infusion

Tumor relapse remains a major obstacle to the success of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as a treatment for leukemia. Due to limited treatment options, the outlook for most patients that relapse following allogeneic BMT has been poor. The infusion of normal immunocompetent leukocytes from the original marrow donor has become a promising new option for treating/preventing leukemia relapse in allogeneic BMT recipients. This form of treatment has often been referred to as donor leukocyte infusion (DLI) therapy. Our laboratory is using murine models of allogeneic BMT to address important unresolved issues regarding DLI therapy in an effort to make the treatment more effective. These include identification of the antileukemic effector cells, augmentation of the antileukemic effect, and understanding why graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) is less severe than anticipated. This article reviews our work in murine models of DLI and introduces our current working hypotheses concerning DLI therapy.
A Soft Constraint Privacy Model based on Identifiability

Disclosing any information contained within an information system that stores personal data can be associated with risk. Nevertheless, the risk of privacy violation is often considered acceptable, since otherwise the most routine business operations can become impossible. Traditional privacy protection methods limit this risk indirectly by using access control policies for the protection of private information, authorizing the release of information only when the purpose of access justifies doing so. While simple and robust, these policies are binary, and therefore they can be too rigid in practice. A data access operation that is only slightly more risky than usual will be denied, and treated no differently than disclosing all possible data contained in the system. If the risk was justified, the access control policy will be modified later to allow it, but the original declined operation will not be performed in time. In this paper we build upon existing research in disclosure risk assessment, and propose a new flexible privacy protection approach based on soft constraints, as opposed to the hard constraints of traditional systems. The proposed model uses identifiability risk computation to estimate the risk of data access, and allows those requesting data access to decide whether the risk is justified. To prevent abuse of the system, each granted access will be recorded, and those taking high risks will need to justify their decisions later. However, the system will not decline access at the time when the request is made, unless, of course, the risk is unjustifiably high. We believe that this novel approach will help achieve the perfect balance between privacy protection and business efficiency. We illustrate our approach using data published by the U. S. Census Bureau.
COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF PAPAIN AND VITAMIN A ON CARTILAGE : II. THE EFFECTS ON ORGAN CULTURES OF EMBRYONIC SKELETAL TISSUE

The effects of papain protease and of vitamin A on explanted limb bone rudiments from 7- and 13-day chick embryos and fetal mice have been studied and compared. The incubation of cartilaginous rudiments from 7-day chick embryos in a solution containing papain and cysteine resulted in complete loss of the metachromasia of the cartilage matrix within 1 hour; explants treated in this fashion recovered normal metachromatic staining properties when grown in normal medium for 4 days. The incubation of 7-day chick cartilage rudiments in a solution containing papain without cysteine resulted in partial loss of metachromasia from cartilage within 1 hour; the addition of vitamin A to the solution did not enhance the effect of papain during this period. The addition of papain to the culture medium in which 7-day chick embryo cartilage rudiments were grown resulted in uniform loss of the metachromasia of the cartilage matrix; similar explants grown in the presence of excess vitamin A also showed loss of the metachromasia of cartilage, but certain regions of the cartilage were affected earlier and more severely than others. Changes in cartilage cells, including loss of glycogen, occurred when the rudiment was grown in medium containing excess vitamin A, but not when it was grown in the presence of papain. Bone rudiments from 13-day chick embryos showed changes in cartilage similar to those seen in 7-day chick embryo rudiments when grown in the presence of papain or of excess vitamin A; the existing bone was not affected under these conditions. When grown in the presence of papain or excess vitamin A, the cartilage of late fetal mouse bone underwent changes similar to those already described in chick embryo rudiments. In contrast to the chick embryo rudiments, those from the fetal mouse showed rapid resorption of bone when grown in the presence of excess vitamin A. Papain had no effect on bone from either source. The changes seen in cartilage of explants grown in the presence of vitamin A and papain together were greater than those seen with either agent alone. The changes seen in fetal mouse bone grown in the presence of vitamin A were not enhanced by the additional presence of papain. On the basis of these observations, it is suggested that the changes in cartilage seen in experimental hypervitaminosis A may be the result of activation of a proteolytic enzyme or enzymes with properties similar to papain.
Obese female patients have higher rates of lead dislodgement after ICD or CRT-D implantation.

☆ Hiro Kawata — Japanese Heart Rhythm Society (G Medwaves (Stock options), Perminova (Co-founder (Fellowship support), Boston Scientific (Fellowship supp port), Biotronic (Fellowship support), Biosense Webste Birgersdotter-Green — Medtronic (Grant Support/Researc (moderate), Boston Scientific (moderate). ☆☆ Presented in part at the American Heart Associatio November, 2012. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Sulpizio Cardiovascular Dr. La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
Composition of Bacillus Species in Aerosols from 11 U.S. Cities

: A PCR-based heteroduplex assay was used to determine the presence and composition of Bacillus species in 11,059 Environmental Protection Agency PM2.5 aerosol samples from 11 U.S. cities. The assay differentiated three groups: Type A containing Bacillus anthracis and very closely related, often pathogenic, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis strains; Type B containing other B. cereus and B. thuringiensis strains; and a third group of more-distantly related Bacillus species. Eight of the 11 cities were positive for Bacillus species in 50% or more of the samples, and the percent of aerosol samples that contained the HD Type A group ranged from 3% to 32%. Cities from the eastern half of the United States generally contained a higher frequency and broader diversity of Bacillus species than the western half of the United States. Positive samples were detected throughout the year. These results have implications for pathogen detection in environmental samples, understanding the natural evolution of new pathogenic strains, and incidence of infection caused by strains of the B. cereus subgroup.
Intravascular brachytherapy physics: Report of the AAPM Radiation Therapy Committee Task Group No. 60

Recent preclinical and clinical studies indicate that irradiation using ionizing radiation in the dose range of 15 to 30 Gy may reduce the occurrence of restenosis in patients who have undergone an angioplasty. Several delivery systems of intravascular brachytherapy have been developed to deliver radiation doses in this range with minimal normal tissue toxicity. In late 1995 the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) formed a task group to investigate these issues and to report the current state of the art of intravascular brachytherapy physics. The report of this task group is presented here.
Surgical Treatment of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence, Decades Learned Lessons

Much has been written about the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which affects up to 40% of community-dwelling women living in the Western world. Prevalence of SUI is likely to increase, given the continuing rise of key risk factors, including age-specific incidence and the prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus in demographically aging populations in Western countries. More compelling, however, regardless of the incidence and prevalence of SUI, are trends in population growth thatwill increase the number of SUI cases 2.5to 3-fold. Therefore, careful review of pertinent specifics on population growth and its medical consequences should be of the utmost interest to all physicians, especially urologists and gynecologists who care for women with SUI. Given the current prevalence of SUI among women at risk (between 60 and 80 yr), we can extrapolate from the US 2000 Census data that the proportion of women who were between the ages of 30 and 50 in the year 2000 will translate to a 250–300% growth in the female population at risk of SUI by the year 2030 [1]. Accordingly, the article by Novara and colleagues, in which they review data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the major surgical procedures for female SUI, is very timely in that it provides us with pertinent historical and clinical insights [2].
Speedpath analysis based on hypothesis pruning and ranking

In optimizing high-performance designs, speed limiting paths (speed-paths) impact the performance and power trade-off. Timing tools attempt to model and capture all such paths on a chip. Due to the high performance nature of these designs, critical paths predicted by the timing tools often do not match the actual speedpaths found on silicon chips. Early silicon data therefore is used to identify the speedpaths, and further performance optimization is carried out by pushing the delays on these paths. In this context, the paper presents a novel data mining approach that analyzes a small number of identified speedpaths against a large number of non-speedpaths. The result of this analysis for each speedpath is a set of hypotheses explaining why the path is special. These hypotheses can be used in guiding the search for the root causes, or in predicting additional paths as potential speedpaths. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach and summarize our findings based on analysis of silicon speedpaths collected from a 65nm microprocessor.
FPGA based digital implementation of naturally sampled space vector modulation

This paper demonstrates that oversampling improves the performance of digitally implemented space vector modulation. Using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) instead of a digital signal processor (DSP) or microcontroller allows the discrete algorithm to be executed in parallel instead of in series, increasing the algorithm speed considerably. As a result the reference signal can be sampled many times during any single switching period, converging on the performance of naturally sampled continuous signals. This paper shows experimental evidence that the phase delay of the output signal compared to the reference signal is significantly reduced by oversampling the reference signal. Additionally its gain with respect to the reference signal and its spectrum at low frequency are improved.
Hematological stress indices reveal no effect of radio-transmitters on wintering Hermit Thrushes

Radio-telemetry is often used to track birds, and several investigators have examined the possible effects of radio-transmitters on birds. One approach to this question is to determine if transmitters induce physiological stress. Using hematological indicators of stress (heterophil-lymphocyte (H/L) ratios), studies of captive birds have revealed no evidence that radio-transmitters cause stress. However, studies in captivity may not reflect conditions faced by birds in the wild, especially during energetically demanding times, such as the overwintering period. We examined the possible effect of backpack-style transmitters on overwintering Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) in South Carolina by examining H/L ratios from blood smears made before and after transmitter attachment. We captured and recaptured eight thrushes in an early winter period and 11 in a late winter period, and in both cases found that H/L ratios did not change after 1 mo of carrying transmitters. H/L ratios also did not differ significantly (in either trial) between thrushes with and without transmitters. Furthermore, thrushes that carried transmitters during both of our trials did not have higher final H/L ratios than those that carried transmitters during just one trial (the late winter). These results indicate that carrying backpack-style transmitters for 1 mo did not induce stress in overwintering Hermit Thrushes. These results are consistent with studies of captive birds, and provide support for the continued use of backpack radio-transmitters in this species, as long as weight recommendations are met. SINOPSIS. Losde estr´ es hematol´ ogico revelan ning´
Parallel implementation of 1-D fast Fourier transform without inter-processor communications

Computing 1-D fast Fourier transform (FFT) using the classical 4-step FFT on parallel computers requires intensive all-to-all communication. This all-to-all communication significantly reduces the performance of FFT. In this paper, we present the no-communication algorithm that is a parallel algorithm for 1-D FFT without inter-processors communication. The advantage of this algorithm is the absence of all-to-all communication between processors. The disadvantage of this algorithm is the extra computation compared to the classical 4-step FFT. The no-communication algorithm has been implemented and tested in 8-node symmetric multiprocessors (SMP). The results show that the no-communication algorithm performs better than the 4-step FFT for relatively small data sizes. However, 4-step FFT algorithm performs better than the no-communication for relatively large data sizes.
The influence of center-surround antagonism on light adaptation in cones in the retina of the turtle

The influence of center-surround antagonism on light adaptation in cone photoreceptors was investigated by intracellular recording from red-sensitive cones in the retina of the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans. Test flashes of 0.15-mm diameter were applied at the center of background fields of 0.25-mm or 2.2-mm diameter. Immediately upon expanding the background from 0.25 to 2.2 mm, the membrane potential depolarized by about 1-4 mV. The test flash response was enhanced if the depolarization was primarily due to synaptic feedback from horizontal cells, whereas the response was attenuated if the prolonged depolarization, an intrinsic response of the cone, was the dominant source of the depolarization. After several seconds, however, only the synaptic depolarization was maintained so maintained illumination of the large background field produced an enhancement of the cone's incremental sensitivity. The enhancement was examined in detail in steady-state conditions by obtaining amplitude-intensity measurements for centered test flashes on steady background fields over a large range of intensity. The effect of the large background field at any fixed intensity was fairly well described as a vertical (upward) shift of the amplitude-intensity curve obtained on the small field. This operation constitutes a quasi-subtractive mechanism of light adaptation and might provide a basis for the sort of subtractive mechanisms inferred from psychophysical studies of human vision. The enhancement was quantified by measuring the incremental sensitivity over four decades of background illumination. The magnitude of the enhancement increased with background intensity and then tended to stabilize at higher background intensities. The maximum difference in incremental sensitivity obtained on the large vs. small background field averaged 0.46 log unit (+/- 0.12 S.D.). At higher background intensities, incremental sensitivity conformed to Weber's Law behavior about equally well for flashes applied on either small or large background fields. In sum, the present results provide evidence for an additional mechanism of light adaptation in cone photoreceptors by showing that the incremental light sensitivity, initially set by mechanisms in the outer segment, can be modulated some three-fold by synaptic feedback at the inner segment of the cone.
Correlation Between the Substitution Rate and Rate Variation Among Sites in Protein Evolution

It is well known that the rate of amino acid substitution varies among different proteins and among different sites of a protein. It is, however, unclear whether the extent of rate variation among sites of a protein and the mean substitution rate of the protein are correlated. We used two approaches to analyze orthologous protein sequences of 51 nuclear genes of vertebrates and 13 mitochondrial genes of mammals. In the first approach, no assumptions of the distribution of the rate variation among sites were made, and in the second approach, the gamma distribution was assumed. Through both approaches, we found a negative correlation between the extent of among-site rate variation and the average substitution rate of a protein. That is, slowly evolving proteins tend to have a high level of rate variation among sites, and vice versa. We found this observation consistent with a simple model of the neutral theory where most sites are either invariable or neutral. We conclude that the correlation is a general feature of protein evolution and discuss its implications in statistical tests of positive Darwinian selection and molecular time estimation of deep divergences.
A Thyroid Hormone Antagonist That Inhibits Thyroid Hormone Action in Vivo

We have characterized the newly developed thyroid hormone antagonist NH-3 in both cell culture and in vivomodel systems. NH-3 binds Xenopus laevisthyroid hormone receptors directly in vitro and induces a conformation distinct from agonist-bound receptors. Transcriptional activation of a thyroid hormone response element-containing reporter gene is strongly inhibited by NH-3 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, NH-3 prevents X. laevis thyroid hormone receptors from binding to the p160 family of co-activators GRIP-1 and SRC-1 in a two-hybrid assay. To assess the potency of the compound in vivo, we used induced and spontaneous X. laevis tadpole metamorphosis, a thyroid hormone-dependent developmental process. NH-3 inhibits thyroid hormone-induced morphological changes in a dose-dependent manner and inhibits the up-regulation of endogenous thyroid hormone-responsive genes. Spontaneous metamorphosis is efficiently and reversibly arrested by NH-3 with at least the same effectiveness as the thyroid hormone synthesis inhibitor methimazole. Therefore, NH-3 is the first thyroid hormone antagonist to demonstrate potent inhibition of thyroid hormone action in both cell culture- and whole animal-based assays.
In vivo carbon nanotube-enhanced non-invasive photoacoustic mapping of the sentinel lymph node.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), a less invasive alternative to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), has become the standard of care for patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer. In SLNB, lymphatic mapping with radio-labeled sulfur colloid and/or blue dye helps identify the sentinel lymph node (SLN), which is most likely to contain metastatic breast cancer. Even though SLNB, using both methylene blue and radioactive tracers, has a high identification rate, it still relies on an invasive surgical procedure, with associated morbidity. In this study, we have demonstrated a non-invasive single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-enhanced photoacoustic (PA) identification of SLN in a rat model. We have successfully imaged the SLN in vivo by PA imaging (793 nm laser source, 5 MHz ultrasonic detector) with high contrast-to-noise ratio (=89) and good resolution (~500 µm). The SWNTs also show a wideband optical absorption, generating PA signals over an excitation wavelength range of 740–820 nm. Thus, by varying the incident light wavelength to the near infrared region, where biological tissues (hemoglobin, tissue pigments, lipids and water) show low light absorption, the imaging depth is maximized. In the future, functionalization of the SWNTs with targeting groups should allow the molecular imaging of breast cancer.
A Lower Bound on the Capacity of Wireless Erasure Networks

In this paper, a lower bound on the capacity of wireless ad hoc erasure networks is derived in closed form in the case where n nodes are uniformly and independently distributed in the unit area square. It holds almost surely and is asymptotically tight. Nodes are assumed to have fixed transmit power; hence, two nodes should be within a specified distance rn to overcome noise. With interference determining outages, each transmitter-receiver pair is modeled as an erasure channel with a broadcast constraint, i.e., each node can transmit only one signal across all its outgoing links. A lower bound of Θ(nrn) for the network capacity is derived when erasures across distinct links are independent, with constant erasure probabilities. When erasures are correlated, the lower bound Θ(1/(rn)) is proved. If the broadcast constraint is relaxed, the gain is a function of rn and the link erasure probabilities, and is at most a constant if the erasure probabilities grow sufficiently large with n. Finally, the case where the erasure probabilities are random variables, for example due to randomness in geometry or channels, is analyzed. In this setting, it is shown somewhat surprisingly that variability in erasure probabilities increases network capacity.
Associations of Psychological Well-Being With Carotid Intima Media Thickness in African American and White Middle-Aged Women.

OBJECTIVES The present cross-sectional study aimed to a) examine associations between measures of psychological well-being, specifically life satisfaction and life engagement, and intima media thickness, a subclinical marker of atherosclerosis; b) investigate if the interaction of psychological well-being and life events correlated with intima media thickness; and c) explore these relationships across race. METHODS A sample of 485 women (38% African American and 62% white; mean [standard deviation] age = 50.2 [2.9] years) underwent ultrasonography to assess carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT). The women completed self-report measures of life satisfaction, life engagement, and life events. RESULTS Average (standard deviation) IMT was 0.666 (0.10) mm. Life satisfaction showed a significant, independent, inverse relationship with IMT, after controlling for demographic, behavioral, psychological, and cardiovascular covariates (β = -0.105, p = .039), such that each 1-point higher life satisfaction score was correlated with a significant 0.008-mm lower level of mean IMT. No significant association was seen between life events and IMT (r = 0.05, p = .32), and life satisfaction did not interact with life events on IMT (β = -0.036, p = .46). No significant interaction between life satisfaction and race on IMT was observed (β = 0.068, p = .37). In contrast to life satisfaction, life engagement was not a significant correlate of IMT (r = -0.07, p = .12). CONCLUSIONS Life satisfaction, a measure of psychological well-being, is an important independent correlate of subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged women.
IEEE Journal on Exploratory Solid-State Computational Devices and Circuits Launches

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the IEEE Journal on Exploratory Solid-State Computational Devices and Circuits (JXCDC). This issue begins an era of having a multidisciplinary IEEE journal focused on publishing seminal research toward the future exploration of energy-efficient computing based on physics, materials, devices, circuits, and architecture that will be of great interest to researchers and those working in the IT industry.
Buoyant Density of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus

SummaryBovine viral diarrhea virus (BV DV), strain NADL, was purified by removing extracellular fluid from infected cultures at 96 hr postinoculation and clarifying by low speed centrifugation. Clarified fluid was concentrated by centrifugation onto a two-step 20-50% sucrose discontinuous gradient. Most of the infectivity was associated with a light scattering band in the region of 20% sucrose. 3H-Uridine labeled and unlabeled viral band material was then pooled, diluted, and isopycnically banded through a sucrose density gradient. Infectious BVDV was recovered from fractions between 1.075 and 1.115 g/cm3. The main peak of infectivity and radioactivity was found at a density of 1.092 g/cm3.
Is the painted bunting actually two species? problems determining species limits between allopatric populations

Painted Buntings, Passerina ciris, breed in two allopatric eastern and western breeding ranges that differ greatly from the breeding ranges of the two currently recognized subspecies (AOU 1957). These two populations differ dramatically in their timing and pattern of molt and migration. All age and sex classes in the western population typically begin fall migration at least two months earlier than their respective age and sex classes in the eastern population. These birds subsequently interrupt their fall migration in exclusively migratory areas in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico to begin and complete their annual flight feather molt before continuing their fall migration. In contrast, birds in the eastern population usually complete flight feather molt on the breeding grounds before beginning fall migration. Last, the eastern and western populations winter in allopatric ranges; the eastern population winters in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Haiti, and the western population winters in southern Texas, Mexico and Central America. These data strongly indicate that no significant gene flow occurs between these populations, and suggests that they represent valid phylogenetic species. Two subspecies of Painted Buntings, pallidior and ciris, are currently recognized based on previous studies (Mearns 1911, Storer 1951) that documented variation between the eastern and western populations in winglength of adult (in definitive plumage) males and plumage color of adult males and females on the breeding ground. However, this study indicates that the patterns of variation in these characters in males and females within and between populations are inconsistent with the current subspecific geographic limits in this species, and that separating Painted Buntings into subspecies based on these criteria is not warranted.
Efficacy of Comprehensive Treatment Combined with Ulinastatin in Infant Muggy Syndrome

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of comprehensive treatment combined ulinastatin in critically ill infants with muggy syndrome.Methods Forty critically ill infants with muggy syndrome were randomly divided into control group and treatment group,with 20 infants in each group.The control group was conventionally treated with reducing intracranial pressure,anticonvulsion,rehydration to correct acidosis and ventilator support.On the basis of conventional therapy,the treatment group was additionally given ulinastatin.Blood gas analysis values,duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality rate were compared between the two groups.Results At 24 hours after admission,pH value,BE value and Na+ concentrations respectively increased by(0.04±0.02),(4.06±3.01) mmol·L-1 and(2.58±2.26)mmol·L-1 in control group,and(0.11±0.11),(9.53±3.34) mmol·L-1 and(6.84±2.44) mmol·L-1 in treatment group.In addition,K+ concentrations decreased by(1.11±0.65) and(1.60±0.65) mmol·L-1 in control group and treatment group,respectively.The differences in blood gas analysis values were statistically significant between the two groups(P0.05).Compared with control group,duration of mechanical ventilation obviously decreased in treatment group[(10.60±2.06) days vs(5.05±1.67)days,P0.05],as well as mortality rate(50% vs 15%,P0.05).Conclusion Ulinastatin can quickly improve the electrolyte and acid-base disorders,shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation and reduce the mortality in critically ill infants with muggy syndrome.
A flexible future for paper-based electronics

This paper will review the origins and state of the art in paper-based electronics, suggesting the stage is set for future promising applications. Current interest in paper-based electronics can trace its roots to recent developments in paper-based microfluidics. With a need to improve the reliability and sensitivity of paperbased microfluidics for certain tasks, there were natural efforts to begin embedding sensing electrodes into microfluidic devices. Recognizing the general benefits of paper as an advanced material (e.g., its environmental friendliness, bendable nature, and low cost), efforts in paper-based electronics also began to take a life of their own with demonstrations of transistors, batteries and devices for energy storage, energy harvesting, sensors to improve situational awareness, acoustics, and displays. The state-of-the-art paper-based electronic devices have benefited and will continue to profit from technologies for printing and transferring electronic functionality onto the surfaces of paper-based substrates. Nonetheless, the authors suggest that many future promising applications will go beyond using paper as a carrier/substrate for electronic components to explore tuning of the electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the paper itself. With these technical advances, paper-based electronics will move closer to economically viable killer applications.
Abstract 4878: Quantitative cell-based bioassays for therapeutic development targeting immune checkpoint and co-stimulatory receptors

Immunotherapy harnesses the immune system to fight cancer and has proven to be a very promising therapeutic strategy. Drug targets in cancer immunotherapy include both inhibitory and co-stimulatory immune receptors on T cells or NK cells, in particular. Current approaches to assay immunotherapy biologics rely on primary cells, are highly variable, and are not suitable for a quality control environment during drug development. We have developed a panel of cell-based assays using a bioluminescent reporter platform that can quantitatively determine the potencies of antibodies and ligand proteins targeting immune checkpoint receptors and co-stimulatory receptors including PD-1, CTLA-4, LAG-3, GITR, 4-1BB, OX40 and CD40. For each target, a stable cell line was generated in an immune cell background to stably express an immune checkpoint or co-stimulatory receptor and a luciferase reporter driven by a response element specifically responding to signaling induced by TCR or directly from the immune receptor. These bioassays reflect biological mode-of-action for each class of drug candidate and are able to determine the potencies for on-market biologic drugs including PD-1 antibodies pembrolizumab and nivolumab, and CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab. The assay signals are robust, specific, and have good repeatability and linearity. Therefore they can serve as valuable tools for drug screening, QC lot release and stability studies in immunotherapy drug development. Citation Format: Jamison Grailer, Pete Stecha, Jun Wang, Jim Hartnett, Frank Fan, Mei Cong, Zhi-jie Jey Cheng. Quantitative cell-based bioassays for therapeutic development targeting immune checkpoint and co-stimulatory receptors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4878.
John Ireland's Americanism After 1899: The Argument from History

Historians of American Catholicism long have recognized that John Ireland, the aggressive archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was a leading exponent of the Americanist movement. At the turn of the twentieth century Ireland advocated a number of important ideas—religious liberty, separation of church and state, interfaith cooperation, and greater lay initiative—gleaned from the American experience. Reflecting his democratic convictions, Ireland declared, “Let there be individual action. Layman need not wait for priest, nor priest for bishop, nor bishop for pope.” Although there were differences on specific issues, Americanists in general took an optimistic view of American life and culture. In fact, they were eager to move their church into a more positive relationship with the political, cultural, and social climate of America.
Notes on Thick-Tailed Distributions of Wealth

One of the best-known empirical regularities in economics is the law of Pareto, according to which the upper tails of the distributions of income and wealth are described by the relationship
Seizures and the Role of Anticonvulsants After Traumatic Brain Injury

Posttraumatic seizures are a common complication of traumatic brain injury. Posttraumatic epilepsy accounts for 20% of symptomatic epilepsy in the general population and 5% of all epilepsy. Early posttraumatic seizures occur in more than 20% of patients in the intensive care unit and are associated with secondary brain injury and worse patient outcomes. Most posttraumatic seizures are nonconvulsive and therefore continuous electroencephalography monitoring should be the standard of care for patients with moderate or severe brain injury. The literature shows that posttraumatic seizures result in secondary brain injury caused by increased intracranial pressure, cerebral edema and metabolic crisis.
Moving Chemical Education into the Cloud(s)

Many U.S. colleges and universities are adopting cloud computing, which may be defined as a distributed computing system that provides access to virtual resources, including computer hardware, networks, software, development platforms, and memory, at an off-site location and that can be accessed locally. Thus, far, this development has been driven primarily by the hope for administrative benefits, but the cloud also presents some excellent opportunities for chemical educators. Moving to the cloud can allow every student in a class to have access to all of the resources necessary for the class, simply by accepting an invitation to join a site. This encourages collaboration and the development of new educational models.
Complementarity of sex differences in brain and behavior: From laterality to multimodal neuroimaging

Although, overwhelmingly, behavior is similar in males and females, and, correspondingly, the brains are similar, sex differences permeate both brain and behavioral measures, and these differences have been the focus of increasing scrutiny by neuroscientists. This Review describes milestones from more than 3 decades of research in brain and behavior. This research was necessarily bound by available methodology, and we began with indirect behavioral indicators of brain function such as handedness. We proceeded to the use of neuropsychological batteries and then to structural and functional neuroimaging that provided the foundations of a cognitive neuroscience-based computerized neurocognitive battery. Sex differences were apparent and consistent in neurocognitive measures, with females performing better on memory and social cognition tasks and males on spatial processing and motor speed. Sex differences were also prominent in all major brain parameters, including higher rates of cerebral blood flow, higher percentage of gray matter tissue, and higher interhemispheric connectivity in females, compared with higher percentage of white matter and greater intrahemispheric connectivity as well as higher glucose metabolism in limbic regions in males. Many of these differences are present in childhood, but they become more prominent with adolescence, perhaps linked to puberty. Overall, they indicate complementarity between the sexes that would result in greater adaptive diversity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Performance evaluation of an agent-based occupancy simulation model

Occupancy is an important factor driving building performance. Static and homogeneous occupant schedules, commonly used in building performance simulation, contribute to issues such as performance gaps between simulated and measured energy use in buildings. Stochastic occupancy models have been recently developed and applied to better represent spatial and temporal diversity of occupants in buildings. However, there is very limited evaluation of the usability and accuracy of these models. This study used measured occupancy data from a real office building to evaluate the performance of an agent-based occupancy simulation model: the Occupancy Simulator. The occupancy patterns of various occupant types were first derived from the measured occupant schedule data using statistical analysis. Then the performance of the simulation model was evaluated and verified based on (1) whether the distribution of observed occupancy behavior patterns follows the theoretical ones included in the Occupancy Simulator, and (2) whether the simulator can reproduce a variety of occupancy patterns accurately. Results demonstrated the feasibility of applying the Occupancy Simulator to simulate a range of occupancy presence and movement behaviors for regular types of occupants in office buildings, and to generate stochastic occupant schedules at the room and individual occupant levels for building performance simulation. For future work, model validation is recommended, which includes collecting and using detailed interval occupancy data of all spaces in an office building to validate the simulated occupant schedules from the Occupancy Simulator.
The Subgroups of the Dihedral Group

(1975). The Subgroups of the Dihedral Group. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 107-107.
Biological and Behavioral Mechanisms of Identity Pathology Development: An Integrative Review:

Although identity disturbance is a transdiagnostic mental health problem, modern explanatory models for its emergence are limited. To date, the social, developmental, clinical, and neuropsychologic...
Thermodynamic Analysis of Catalyst Stability in Hydrothermal Reaction Media

Hydrothermal solutions are important media for the conversion of biomass-derived species to useful chemicals and the destruction of environmental pollutants. These solutions are aggressive and can degrade heterogeneous catalysts. This article describes a framework for understanding the hydrothermal stability of heterogeneous catalyst materials with respect to oxidation and dissolution. We applied the revised Helgeson–Kirkham–Flowers thermodynamic equation of state to determine the oxidation states and solubilities of metals and oxides in water at 150–550 °C and 22–50 MPa. Design criteria for catalyst compositions were determined through correlations between metal solubility and electronegativity and between oxide solubility and cation electronegativity, ionic–covalent parameter, and polarizing power. Design criteria for aqueous solution compositions were determined by constructing oxygen fugacity–pH diagrams, which illustrate material phase changes in response to changes in pH and the oxidative or reducti...
Contraceptive Practices, Preferences, and Barriers Among Abortion Clients in North Carolina.

OBJECTIVES Abortion clinics provide an ideal setting for women to receive contraceptive care because the women served may not have other contacts with the health system and are at risk for unintended pregnancies. The objective of this study was to understand practices, preferences, and barriers to use of contraception for women obtaining abortions at clinics in North Carolina. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey of abortion clients and facilities at 10 abortion clinics in North Carolina. We collected data on contraceptive availability at each clinic. We collected individual responses on women's experiences obtaining contraception before the current pregnancy and their intentions for future use of contraception. RESULTS From October 2015 to February 2016, 376 client surveys were completed at 9 clinics, and 10 clinic surveys were completed. Almost one-third of women (29%) reported that they had wanted to use contraception in the last year but were unable. Approximately three-fourths of respondents (76%) stated that they intend to use contraception after this pregnancy. Approximately one-fifth of women stated that would like to use long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) after this abortion. Only the clinics that accepted insurance for abortion and other services provided LARC at the time of the abortion (40%). CONCLUSIONS This study provides a unique, statewide view into the contraceptive barriers for women seeking abortion in North Carolina. Addressing the relatively high demand for LARC after abortion could help significantly reduce unintended pregnancy and recourse to abortion in North Carolina.
Micromechanics of the Cochlear Partition

Cochlear micromechanics describes the radial displacement of hair bundles of the inner and outer hair cells in response to forces generated by fluid pressure gradients near the cochlear partition. A simple micromechanical model of a radial cross-section of the cochlear partition is a lumped mass, stiffness, and damping. This simple representation is adequate to simulate “traveling waves” and a frequency-to-place correspondence in a cochlear model, but inadequate to simulate “neural-like” tuning in cochlear mechanics. A second, coupled resonant element appears to be necessary to explain the sharp tuning which is typical of the cochlea. This second resonant element may be passive or may be part of a mechanical “cochlear amplifier” which contributes mechanical energy (at the expense of electrochemical energy) to provide high sensitivity at the threshold of hearing.
Spiritual Transformation and Healing: Is Altruism Integral?

This chapter is based on studies of spirit healing among Spiritists in Puerto Rico and the United States. It proposes a model of their ritual healing process that focuses on the core components of spiritual transformation and the change those components create in world and self-views, including changes in personal morality. It describes the central role of spiritual transformation in spirit healers because that transformation gives them a heightened capacity to form significant relationships and have greater empathy and altruism. After their spiritual transformation is complete, many spirit healers begin to exercise what I call “radical empathy,” a phenomenon in which differences between healer and sufferer are melded into one field of feeling and experience. This produces a type of altruism in which most spirit healers feel compelled to respond to suffering whenever they encounter it—including helping people who have not asked for help.
Immunologic characterization of 12 factor VIII inhibitors.

Twelve Factor VIII inhibitors were characterized as immunoglobulins by highly specific antisera. All 12 inhibitors were characterized as belonging to the γG class of immunoglobulins. Ten inhibitors contained only K type light chain determinants and two contained only γ chain determinants. Therefore, these inhibitors were homogeneous by these criteria. Homogeneity cannot be established, however, until H-chain subtyping can be carried out.
Synthesis and characterization of polyethersulfone membranes impregnated with (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) APTES-Fe3O4 nanoparticles for As(V) removal from water

Abstract Polyethersulfone (PES) nanocomposite membranes are synthesized with surface modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) for removing arsenic from water. The PES membranes synthesized with A-Fe3O4 NPs exhibited efficient adsorption capacity with a low concentration of NPs (1 wt%, 2 wt%, 3 wt%), which indicate a good potential for industrial applications in water treatment industries. The highest rejection rate of 76% and the highest measured arsenic equilibrium adsorption capacity of 14.6 mg/g were measured in PES membranes containing 3 wt% A-Fe3O4 NPs. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) was used to verify the surface modification of Fe3O4 NPs. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) was used to evaluate the dispersion of the modified Fe3O4 NPs in the PES membrane matrix. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the pore structure and surface roughness of PES membranes containing APTES modified Iron Oxide nanoparticles (A-Fe3O4 NPs). Highest porous structure was found in PES-A-Fe3O4 3 wt% and roughness was increased with addition of A-Fe3O4 NPs (0,1,2 wt.%). Pore size analysis was conducted using water flux method. Hydrophilicity was characterized with measuring the water contact angle and pure water flux was measured using a pressurized membrane cell. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were analyzed using batch adsorption tests.