cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Weighing the Risks of Perioperative Aspirin

Neurosurgeons are wary of perioperative aspirin use given the potentially catastrophic effects of intraoperative or postoperative bleeding. In a poll of German spine surgeons, only 7 of 142 surgeons would perform elective surgery on a patient taking aspirin (3). With the exception of endovascular procedures, aspirin is generally discontinued 7e10 days before surgery. This time scale is derived from recommendations made by the American College of Chest Physicians and may be adjusted depending on the patient’s specific cardiac risk (2). No recommendations exist at the present time regarding the appropriate time period to restart aspirin postoperatively, leaving this decision to the surgeon. When considering perioperative aspirin use, the objective is to balance the risks of perioperative and postoperative hemorrhage against myocardial infarction and stroke. Neurosurgical literature to guide this decision-making process is sparse, especially in regard to intracranial surgery. In terms of aspirin use in spine surgery, only 2 recent publications address the topic, but these studies evaluated only estimated blood loss intraoperatively and postoperatively via wound drains (4, 5). The studies failed to address whether aspirin use was associated with hemorrhagic complications or if its discontinuation predisposed patients to cardiac events. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (1) attempts to answer this question. Devereaux et al. (1) published their study as part of the POISE-2 (PeriOperative ISchemic Evaluation-2) trial. This prospective, randomized, multicenter, controlled trial sought to determine the effect of perioperatively administered aspirin versus placebo on the 30-day risk of death or nonfatal myocardial infarction in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Secondary outcome measures included risk ofmajor bleeding at the surgical site or elsewhere, risk of stroke, and the effect of coadministered clonidine. Only patients with cardiovascular risk factors, who could benefit from aspirin use, were included in the study. Patients were recruited for enrollment from 135 hospitals in 23 countries. Patients undergoing intracranial surgery were excluded. The study enrolled 10,010 patients divided into patients already taking aspirin (continuation stratum; n1⁄4 4382 patients) and patients not taking aspirin (initiation stratum; n 1⁄4 5628 patients) at the start of the trial. Patients from both strata were randomly assigned to either the aspirin group (n1⁄4 4998 patients) or the placebo group (n 1⁄4 5012 patients). Patients received 200 mg of aspirin or placebo just before surgery and continued themedication
Identification of protein kinase C phosphorylation sites within the AMPA receptor GluR2 subunit

Phosphorylation of AMPA receptor subunits is believed to regulate channel function and synaptic plasticity. Extensive biochemical and molecular studies have identified sites of PKA, PKC and CamKII phosphorylation in the C-termini of the GluR1 and 4 subunits. Recent studies have shown GluR1 phosphorylation to be bidirectionally altered during long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) in the hippocampus. The majority of AMPA receptors in the brain are believed to contain the GluR2 subunit that also contains potential sites for protein phosphorylation. Here we characterize PKC phosphorylation on the GluR2 subunit using biochemical and molecular techniques. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed that this phosphorylation occurs on Serine 863 and Serine 880 of the GluR2 subunit C-terminus. Site identification allowed the generation of phosphorylation site-specific antibodies to facilitate the examination of GluR2 modification in primary neuronal culture. These studies confirmed that GluR2 is modified in response to the activation of PKC and suggests that phosphorylation of the ubiquitous GluR2 subunit may be important in the regulation of excitatory synaptic transmission.
Robust genome-wide scans with genetic model selection using case-control design ∗

000 (100K) to 1 million single nucleotide polymor-phisms (SNPs), the ﬁrst step is usually a genome-wide scanto identify candidate chromosome regions for further anal-yses. The goal of the genome-wide scan is to rank all theSNPs based on their association tests or p-values and selectthe top SNPs. A good ranking procedure ranks the SNPswith true associations as near to the top as possible. Thisenhances the probability of selecting at least one SNP witha true association. However, if the disease-associated SNPshave moderate genetic eﬀects, the probability that a largenumber of null SNPs will have extremely small p-values(or large test statistics) is high when screening more than300K SNPs. Therefore, when selecting a small fraction oftop SNPs (usually less than 5%), the probability of select-ing at least one SNP with a true association is usually lessthan 80% unless the sample size is large. Robust statisticshave been proposed to rank all the SNPs (e.g., MAX3 andMIN2). In this article we consider genome-wide scans with agenetic model selection and compare this proposed methodto the existing approaches. Results from simulation studiesare presented.AMS 2000 subject classifications: Primary 62G35,62G10; secondary 62G30, 62P10.Keywords and phrases: Case-control design, Eﬃciencyrobustness, Genetic model selection, Genome-wide studies,MAX.
Comparison of accelerated 3-D spiral chemical shift imaging and single-voxel spectroscopy at 3T in the pediatric age group

Single-voxel spectroscopy (SVS) is usually used in the pediatric population when a short acquisition time is crucial. To overcome the long acquisition time of 3-D phase-encoded chemical shift imaging (CSI) and lack of spatial coverage of single-voxel spectroscopy, efficient encoding schemes using spiral k-space trajectories have been successfully deployed, enabling acquisition of volumetric CSI in <5 min. We assessed feasibility of using 3-D spiral CSI sequence routinely in pediatric clinical settings by comparing its reconstructed spectra against SVS spectra. Volumetric spiral CSI obtained spectra from 2-cc isotropic voxels over a 16×16×10-cm region. SVS acquisition encoded a 3.4-cc (1.5-mm) isotropic voxel. Acquisition time was 3 min for every technique. Data were gathered prospectively from 11 random pediatric patients. Spectra from left basal ganglia were obtained using both techniques and were processed with post-processing software. The following metabolite ratios were calculated: N-acetylaspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr), choline/creatine (Cho/Cr), lactate/creatine (Lac/Cr) and N-acetylapartate/choline (NAA/Cho). We collected data on 11 children ages 4 days to 10 years. In 10/11 cases, spectral quality of both methods was acceptable. Considering 10/11 cases, we found a statistically significant difference between SVS and 3-D spiral CSI for all three ratios. However, this difference was fixed and was probably caused by a fixed bias. This means that 3-D spiral CSI can be used instead of SVS by removing the mean difference between the methods for each ratio. Accelerated 3-D CSI is feasible in pediatric patients and can potentially substitute for SVS.
Multi-sensor processing for aircraft surveillance in mixed radar/ADS-B environments.

This paper addresses some of the challenges involved in providing aircraft surveillance in a mixed radar/ADS-B environment. These challenges include time synchronization, bias mitigation and maneuver detection. The impact of these factors upon aircraft separation accuracy is evaluated. These impacts are then compared to current and proposed future surveillance requirements.
The electron-plasmon interaction near a metal surface

Abstract We present a Hamiltonian for the electron-plasmon system near a metal surface that incorporates bulk and surface plasmons on an equal footing. We calculate the self energy of an electron resulting from its screening by bulk and surface modes in a simple approximation that makes contact with the rather usual description of the electron-metal surface interaction via image potential theories.
Evaluation of free-space optical fiber bundle transmitter configurations for receiver tracking

In order to track, acquire and maintain a free-space optical link between mobile platforms experiencing misalignment due to movement and atmospheric turbulence requires a different approach than traditional free-space optical transceivers. Recently, a fiber-bundle approach for beam steering at the transmitter was proposed and investigated that allowed tracking of the receiver without the use of mechanical devices. This reduced the size and weight of the transmitter by reducing the dependence on stabilization systems. This paper investigates different approaches for controlling the distribution of light to the bundle to facilitate tracking of the receiver and hence maximizing up time of the link. These approaches include switching light between individual fibers in the bundle, splitting of light amongst multiple fibers and switching between groups of fibers, and splitting light between all of the fibers. Each approach is evaluated on key parameters including power availability at the receiver, switching time, projected up time between switches, and coverage area at the receiver plane. Both experimental and theoretical analyses of the system are presented to address the key parameters. The investigation finds that a combination of switching combined with splitting of the light between at most three fibers is a suitable solution for the target application of a hybrid disaster area wireless network.
Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of nucleosides and nucleotides

Abstract The purpose of this work was to find a suitable reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for analysing 2′-, 3′- and 5′-isomers of nucleotides and at the same time determining the free base, nucleoside, 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide and the total diphosphates. The procedure developed was most effective for those nucleosides and their derivatives that displayed a range of retention times, allowing sufficient resolution for quantitative analyses. The isocratic analyses were particularly suitable for the determination of individual 2′-, 3′- and 5′-ribonucleotides and for 3′- and 5′-deoxyribonucleotides, which were very difficult to quantitate by cellulose thin-layer chromatography. The reversed-phase method enabled quantitative analysis of the nucleoside base, nucleoside, nucleotides and cyclic nucleotides derived from thymidine, deoxyadenosine, adenosine or guanosine. Overlapping elutions were observed for reversed-phase separations of derivatives of uracil and cytosine, but some quantitative results were obtained. The separation method was applied to the analysis of products of phosphorylation of nucleosides and deoxynucleosides in formamide solution.
Impact of Identity Development upon Career Trajectory: Listening to the Voices of Lesbian Women

Abstract Ten lesbian women ranging in age from 30–45 were interviewed about their recollections of forming a lesbian identity and its effects on their career trajectory. Interview questions focused on four major areas: the timing and quality of their coming-out process, whether their lesbian identity development helped or hindered their career development process, the effects of external and internalized homophobia on their careers, and finally whether their associations with a lesbian community helped or hindered their career development. Qualitative analyses of the interview data resulted in multiple themes being identified for each of the above set of questions. Results suggest that lesbian women do recycle through a “second adolescence” in the process of coming out and coming to terms with a lesbian identity. The results also suggest that this time period in which lesbian women consolidate a lesbian identity is personally demanding and does delay, disrupt, and in some cases seriously derail the career development process. Participants reported some job or career benefits gained from their association with other lesbian women. Finally, recommendations for future research and practice are offered that focus on reconceptualizing this second, adolescent-type developmental phase as a normative and positive phase of personal and professional identity development for lesbian women.
RADIATION CHEMISTRY OF PROTEINS. I. MODIFIED LYSOZYME SUBSTANCES.

Abstract Crystalline egg-white lysozyme has been irradiated with 0.66 m.e.v. γ-rays, and the resulting sample has been subjected to amino acid analyses, fractionation by phosphate precipitation, and column chromatography on Bio-Rex 70. No significant changes are observed in amino acid levels in samples given a 30 Mrads dose in the presence of air. In samples receiving 29.8 Mrads in vacuo, no significant changes occur in amino acid composition of fractions obtained by phosphate precipitation. In samples receiving 124.8 Mrads in vacuo, the phosphate-soluble fraction contains appreciably larger numbers of lysine, arginine, and valine residues per 131 peptide link ages than the unirradiated lysozyme. Chromatographic elution patterns of phosphate-soluble fractions of irradiated lysozyme samples reveal several enzymically active proteins. Four of the Chromatographic peaks retain enzymic activity. At levels of 14.5 and 71.5 Mrads the main peak is higher in enzymic specific activity than the original material and is eluted earlier from the column. Deuterium-exchange rate studies show that peptide hydrogens in the protein are more susceptible to exchange with deuterium after irradiation. Hard-to-exchange amide (peptide) hydrogens are lost at least twice as rapidly as enzymic activity as a function of radiation dose up to 45 Mrads.
Role of Statin Therapy and Angiotensin Blockade in Patients With Asymptomatic Moderate Carotid Artery Stenosis

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 10-year outcome of patients presenting with asymptomatic moderate carotid artery stenosis, and to determine which factors correlate with progression of disease to stroke or revascularization. Methods A retrospective review of all new patients presenting with asymptomatic moderate carotid artery stenosis from July 1998 to December 2001 was undertaken. Patients were consecutively identified and included by using duplex ultrasonography to identify moderate carotid disease. Variables were recorded for all patient encounters through June 2010. The primary end point was occurrence of ipsilateral cerebrovascular stroke or revascularization event (SORE). Statin therapy and angiotensin blockade (STAB) were categorized as follows: STAB 0 —medical treatment with neither statin therapy nor angiotensin blockade, STAB 1 —treatment with only one of the two, STAB 2 —treatment with both. An amortized cost model analyzed the cost of SORE-free survival. Results Over a 42-month period, 468 carotids in 366 patients with an average age of 69.0 ± 8.7 years were evaluated. Over a mean follow-up of 6.6 ± 2.7 years, SORE occurred in 150 (32.1%) carotid arteries. Hyperlipidemia was predictive of SORE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.543, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.053–2.262, P = 0.03). Medical therapies protective against SORE were beta-blockade (HR: 0.612, 95% CI: 0.435–0.861, P 1 (HR: 0.487, 95% CI: 0.336–0.706, P 2 (HR: 0.149, 95% CI: 0.089–0.248, P 2 was 82.7% ± 4.6%, STAB 1 was 56.3% ± 5.0%, and STAB 0 was 29.3% ± 5.4% ( P 2 was $1,695.40 ± $275.60, STAB 1 was $3,916.80 ± $605.44, and STAB 0 was $4,126.40 ± $427.23 ( P Conclusion These data demonstrate the clinical and financial advantage of using both statin therapy and angiotensin pathway blockage in patients with asymptomatic moderate carotid artery stenosis.
The Detection, Wettability, and Durability of Fluorescent Barrier Films

The storage and operational life of instrument ball bearings are greatly improved by barrier films—thin films of fluorinated organic polymers applied to specific metallic areas to prevent lubricant migration. Current difficulties in determining barrier-film location, a factor critical to effective barrier performance, are shown to be alleviated by incorporating long-lived fluorescent indicators in the solutions used to prepare the barriers. The resulting films exhibit useful levels of fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation after solidification in situ and prolonged storage at relative humidities below 50 percent. Fluorescence decreases with storage at high humidities, but moisture sensitivity of the indicator provides no greater a limitation than does corrosion sensitivity of the bearings. Retention experiments with chlorinated silicones and contact angle measurements with additional liquids show barrier performance to be unaffected by the fluorescent indicator. Therefore, incorporation of long-lived fl...
Localization of protein kinases by anchoring proteins: A theme in signal transduction

A fundamental question in signal transduction is how stimulation of a specific protein kinase leads to phosphorylation of particular protein substrates throughout the cell. Recent studies indicate that specific anchoring proteins located at various sites in the cell compartmentalize the kinases to their sites of action. Inhibitors of the interactions between kinases and their anchoring proteins inhibit the functions mediated by the kinases. These data indicate that the location of these anchoring proteins provides some of the specificity of the responses mediated by each kinase and suggest that inhibitors of the interaction between the kinases and their anchoring proteins may be useful as therapeutic agents.
Probing the Active Site of Tritrichomonas foetus Hypoxanthine‐Guanine‐Xanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase Using Covalent Modification of Cysteine Residues

The hypoxanthine-guanine-xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGXPRTase) of Tritrichomonas foetus was inactivated by the thiol reagents iodoacetate and 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (Nbs2). Iodoacetate inactivates the enzyme in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner that follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. However, the observation that total inactivation with iodoacetate was not achieved suggests that none of the reactive cysteine residues is directly involved in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Nbs2 caused 50% inactivation rapidly, which was followed by gradual modifications of an additional three cysteine residues leading to complete enzyme inactivation. Analysis of the inactivation using the method developed by Tsou (1962) revealed that modification of two cysteine residues by Nbs2 is sufficient to impair the HGXPRTase activity. Tryptic digestion of HGXPRTase labeled with iodo[2-14C]acetic acid, followed by fractionation of the digest by HPLC and sequence analysis of the labeled peptides allowed the identification of Cys71, Cysl29, Cys132, and Cys148 as the reactive cysteine residues. GMP and 5-phosphoribosyl-1-diphosphate provided complete protection against HGXPRTase inactivation by iodoacetate and against carboxymethylation of Cys129, Cys132, and Cys148. Cys71 was not protected by either substrate against iodoacetate, but its carboxymethylation caused no loss in enzyme activity either. There was also no substrate protection of Cys71 against Nbs2, which, however, caused 50% inactivation of the enzyme. Replacing the thionitrobenzoate (Nbs) moiety from Cys71 with cyanide resulted in a gradual recovery of the enzyme activity, which indicates that a steric hindrance at the active site was introduced by Nbs but removed by cyanide. Thus, our results demonstrate that although the reactive cysteine residues in HGXPRTase are not directly involved in the catalytic activity, modification of cysteine residues 129, 132, and 148 by iodoacetate or Nbs2 hinders substrate binding which can, in turn, protect the cysteine residues from modifications. The substrate protection of Cys129 and Cys148 is probably also indicative of a conformational change in the protein structure brought about by substrate binding.
Analysis of Buoyant Surface Jets

To obtain improved prediction of heated plume characteristics from a surface jet, an integral analysis computer model was modified and a comprehensive set of field and laboratory data available from the literature was gathered, analyzed, and correlated for estimating the magnitude of certain coefficients that are normally introduced in these analyses to achieve closure. The parameters so estimated include the coefficients for entrainment, turbulent exchange, drag, and shear. Since there appeared considerable scatter in the data, even after appropriate subgrouping to narrow the influence of various flow conditions on the data, only statistical procedures could be applied to find the best fit. This and other analyses of its type have been widely used in industry and government for the prediction of thermal plumes from steam power plants. Although the present model has many shortcomings, a recent independent and exhaustive assessment of such predictions revealed that in comparison with other analyses of its type the present analysis predicts the field situations more successfully.
In vitro induction of primary, antigen-specific CTL from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with synthetic peptides

A protocol for in vitro induction of primary, antigen-specific CTL from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was developed. Antigen presenting cells (APCs) consisted of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan-I (SAC-I) activated PBMCs treated with a citrate-phosphate buffer at pH 3 to release endogenous peptides bound to surface MHC. This treatment resulted in transient expression of empty class I molecules which could be subsequently stabilized with peptide and beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m). SAC-I activated PBMCs from HLA-A2.1 normal donors loaded with HBV core 18-27 peptide following acid treatment were used to stimulate PBMCs depleted of CD4+ T cells, in the presence of recombinant interleukin-7 (rIL-7). After 12 days, cells were restimulated with autologous, peptide-pulsed, adherent cells and tested for CTL activity 7 days later. In 23 independent experiments from 13 different HLA-A2.1 donors, this protocol resulted in induction of primary CTL more than 90% of the time. As indicated by both the frequency and magnitude of the response against peptide-sensitized target cells, SAC-I activated PBMCs treated with acid were the most efficient stimulator APC. Thirteen per cent of the cultures generated were capable of lysing target cells transfected with the HBV core antigen and, in general, these CTL cultures exhibited high avidity for the HBV core peptide. This protocol is generally applicable to different antigens and class I alleles, and thus, may be utilized to screen large numbers of peptides to identify human CTL epitopes.
Chemical Damage in Wool: Part II: Effects of Alkaline Solutions1

The changes in the stress-strain properties of wet wool fibers upon exposure to solutions of varying alkalinities are reported. Cystine-lanthionine ratios found in these samples as interpreted from paper chromatogrms are compared with changes in stress- strain properties. The presence of lanthionine m wool boiled in a solution at pH = 4.5 and in wool exposed to temperatures of 150° C. under atmospheric conditions is noted.
Tracheal Occlusion Conditioning in Conscious Rats Modulates Gene Expression Profile of Medial Thalamus

The thalamus may be the critical brain area involved in sensory gating and the relay of respiratory mechanical information to the cerebral cortex for the conscious awareness of breathing. We hypothesized that respiratory mechanical stimuli in the form of tracheal occlusions would modulate the gene expression profile of the thalamus. Specifically, it was reasoned that conditioning to the respiratory loading would induce a state change in the medial thalamus consistent with a change in sensory gating and the activation of molecular pathways associated with learning and memory. In addition, respiratory loading is stressful and thus should elicit changes in gene expressions related to stress, anxiety, and depression. Rats were instrumented with inflatable tracheal cuffs. Following surgical recovery, they underwent ten days (5 days/week) of transient tracheal occlusion conditioning. On day 10, the animals were sacrificed and the brains removed. The medial thalamus was dissected and microarray analysis of gene expression performed. Tracheal obstruction conditioning modulated a total of 661 genes (p < 0.05, log2 fold change ≥ 0.58), 250 genes were down-regulated and 411 up-regulated. There was a significant down-regulation of GAD1, GAD2 and HTR1A, HTR2A genes. CCK, PRKCG, mGluR4, and KCJN9 genes were significantly up-regulated. Some of these genes have been associated with anxiety and depression, while others have been shown to play a role in switching between tonic and burst firing modes in the thalamus and thus may be involved in gating of the respiratory stimuli. Furthermore, gene ontology and pathway analysis showed a significant modulation of learning and memory pathways. These results support the hypothesis that the medial thalamus is involved in the respiratory sensory neural pathway due to the state change of its gene expression profile following repeated tracheal occlusions.
Transnational Women's Activism and the Global Diffusion of Gender Quotas*

The rapid global spread of quotas for women constitutes one of the most significant political developments of the last thirty years. It transformed the composition of legislatures worldwide. Yet we lack a solid understanding of the forces driving quota diffusion. In this article, we consider how global pressure from the international women's movement affects national gender quota adoption. In the first quantitative analysis of this question on a global scale, we use event history techniques to examine global, transnational, and national influences on quota adoption in 149 countries between 1989 and 2008. Contributing to work on international norm diffusion, we find a crucial role for women's activism, but uncover a negative interaction between increased global pressures and domestic ties to women's transnational organizing. We suggest global pressure to adopt quotas may be weakened by the diverse agendas of women's activist organizations, by perceived threats to male elites posed by women's agitation, or both.
A Search for Optimal Wing Strokes in Flapping Flight: Can Engineers Improve Upon Nature?

Computational modeling is used to explore the efficiency of hovering flight in a hawkmoth ( Manduca Sexta ). While flying insects such as hawkmoths are excellent flyers, their wing-strokes are constrained by a number of factors including anatomy, developmental requirements, biological material properties and evolutionary history. Engineered micro-aerial vehicles are not subject to similar constraints and this suggests the possibility that bioinspired flapping wings could be designed to aerodynamically outperform equivalent biological flyers. In this study we use a composite modeling approach that combines blade-element and Navier-Stokes flow models to explore the wing kinematics parameter space for this insect. Our study demonstrates that wing-strokes can indeed be synthesized which exceed the power loading (the ratio of lift to power) of the insect wing by over 30%. This study reinforces the notion that while engineers can learn from Nature’s designs, they do not need to be constrained by them.
A low-power dual-band oscillator based on band-limited negative resistance

This paper presents a 2.1/3.9 GHz oscillator based on switching the negative resistance bandwidth of a capacitively degenerated common collector stage, while using a high order resonance tank. Multi-band oscillators have traditionally been implemented by reconfiguring the oscillator tank. In this paper, we employ a fixed high order resonator, and move the bandswitching mechanism from the tank to the loss compensation network (i.e. negative resistance network), thus maintaining the high quality factor of the tank at multiple oscillation frequencies. The proposed oscillator is implemented in a 30GHz f T GaAs process with V BE =1.3V. The measured phase noise for both bands is −136dBc/Hz at 1MHz with a power consumption of 5.1mW, and a FOM of −195.39dBc/Hz and −200.72dBc/Hz for 2.1 and 3.9GHz respectively.
Recovery of Salmonella serovar Enteritidis from inoculated broiler hatching eggs using shell rinse and shell crush sampling methods

This study compared the recovery of Salmonella from hatching eggs using 3 sampling methods (eggshell rinsing, eggshell crush following a previous rinse, and eggshell crush without previous rinse). Eggshells were drop-inoculated with approximately 10(1), 10(2), or 10(3) cfu/eggshell of Salmonella Enteritidis and allowed to dry at room temperature for 1 or 24 h. For the shell rinse groups, each inoculated egg was rinsed with buffered peptone water. These rinsed eggs were used for the shell crush with previous rinse groups, and each egg was aseptically cracked, the contents discarded, and the eggshell and membranes crushed with buffered peptone water. This same crush procedure was used for the shell crush without previous shell rinse eggs. The recovery of Salmonella 1 h after inoculation for shell rinse sampled eggs was 16% positive at 10(1), 49% at 10(2), and 93% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell challenge. For the shell crush with previous shell rinse, sampled egg recovery was 0% positive at 10(1), 3% at 10(2), and 17% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell. For the shell crush, sampled eggs had recovery of 23% positive at 10(1), 69% at 10(2), and 96% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell challenge. The recovery of Salmonella 24 h after inoculation for the shell rinse eggs was 3% positive at 10(1), 12% at 10(2), and 22% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell challenge; recovery for shell crush with previous shell rinse sampling was 2% positive at 10(1), 8% at 10(2), and 5% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell challenge; and for the shell crush sampling recovery was 2% at 10(1), 32% at 10(2), and 42% at 10(3) cfu/eggshell challenge. Eggshell crush was a more sensitive (∼10 percentage points) sampling method than eggshell rinse at both 1 and 24 h, but both methods were equally optimal when the inoculum was at 10(3) and samples were collected after 1 h. Waiting 24 h after inoculation to sample significantly lowered the recovery for both the shell rinse and shell crush sampling methods by ∼40 percentage points.
Approximate optimal projection for reduced‐order models

Summary A critical component of a reduced-order model is the projection that maps the original high-fidelity system on to the reduced-order basis. In this manuscript, we develop a projection for linear systems that is optimal in an operator-independent norm. We derive an expression for this projection as a Galerkin projection plus another component that is interpreted as the effect of the scales that live outside the reduced-order basis. We note that the exact form of this projection does not lead to a viable computational method because it involves the inverse of the original high-fidelity operator. We approximate this inverse by an inexpensive preconditioner and create a practical method whose costs are of the same order as the Galerkin method. We test the performance of this method on heat conduction and advection–diffusion problems while using the incomplete LU preconditioner as an approximate to the inverse of the original operator, and conclude that it provides more accurate results than the Galerkin projection. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spatial clustering of chimpanzee locations for neighborhood identification

Since 1960, the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of Gombe National Park, Tanzania, have been studied by behavioral ecologists, including Jane Goodall. Data have been collected for more than 40 years and are being analyzed by researchers in order to increase our understanding of the social structure of chimpanzees. In this paper, we consider the following question of interest to behavioral ecologists - "Does clustering exist among female chimpanzees in terms of their spatial locations ?" The analysis of this question will help behavioral ecologists to learn about the space use and the social interactions between female chimpanzees. The data collected for this analysis are marked spatial point patterns over the park. Current spatial clustering methods lack the ability to handle such marked point patterns directly. This paper presents a novel application of spatial point pattern analysis and data mining techniques to the ecological problem of clustering female chimpanzees. We found that Ripley's K-function provides a powerful statistical tool for evaluating clustering behavior among spatial point patterns. We then proposed two clustering approaches for marked point patterns using the K-function. Experimental results using the proposed clustering methods provide significant insight into the dynamics of female chimpanzee space use and into the overall social stucture of the species. In addition, the proposed methods can be extended to also include temporal information.
Language Matters: The Selling Of Sex Differences

Talking Difference: On Gender and Language, Mary Crawford. London: Sage, 1995. 207 pp., $19.95 (paper), ISBN: 0-8039-8828-1; $65 (cloth), ISBN: 0-8039-8827–3.
A line management policy for a multi-product assembly line

A production schedule is derived from product demand, finished goods inventory, line/tooling capacity, and material supply (i.e. parts' and components' availability), by solution of a linear programming model to minimize the sum of inventory/backlog, subject to a set of resource constraints, over a predetermined planning horizon. For a given production schedule, a real-time dispatcher is invoked to select the right product type for assembly by looking at the overall line performance behavior. Information about line performance is collected by a line monitor. A product type has a high (low) dispatching priority if its actual output rate is less (greater) than its scheduled production rate. Selection of a product type is based on its priority and its level of work-in-process. Also implemented is a flow control policy which consists of job assignment, in-process storage sizing, detection of yield problems, and a parts feeding scheme. >
Light-dependent phosphorylation of the carboxy tail of mouse melanopsin

Melanopsin-based phototransduction is involved in non-image forming light responses including circadian entrainment, pupil constriction, suppression of pineal melatonin synthesis, and direct photic regulation of sleep in vertebrates. Given that the functions of melanopsin involve the measurement and summation of total environmental luminance, there would appear to be no need for the rapid deactivation typical of other G-protein coupled receptors. In this study, however, we demonstrate that heterologously expressed mouse melanopsin is phosphorylated in a light-dependent manner, and that this phosphorylation is involved in regulating the rate of G-protein activation and the lifetime of melanopsin’s active state. Furthermore, we provide evidence for light-dependent phosphorylation of melanopsin in the mouse retina using an in situ proximity ligation assay. Finally, we demonstrate that melanopsin preferentially interacts with the GRK2/3 family of G-protein coupled receptor kinases through co-immunoprecipitation assays. Based on the complement of G-protein receptor kinases present in the melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells, GRK2 emerges as the best candidate for melanopsin’s cognate GRK.
T Cell Recognition of Distinct Peptide:I-Au Conformers in Murine Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

We have used T cells bearing TCRs that are closely related in sequence as probes to detect conformational variants of peptide-MHC complexes in murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in H-2u mice. The N-terminal epitope of myelin basic protein (MBP) is immunodominant in this model. Our studies have primarily focused on T cell recognition of a position 4 analog of this peptide (MBP1–9[4Y]) complexed with I-Au. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we have mapped the functionally important complementarity determining region residues of the 1934.4 TCR Vα domain. One of the resulting mutants (Tyr95 to alanine in CDR3α, Y95A) has interesting properties: relative to the parent wild-type TCR, this mutant poorly recognizes Ag complexes generated by pulsing professional APCs (PL-8 cells) with MBP1–9[4Y] while retaining recognition of MBP1–9[4Y]-pulsed unconventional APCs or insect cell-expressed complexes of I-Au containing tethered MBP1–9[4Y]. Insect cell expression of recombinant I-Au with covalently tethered class II-associated invariant chain peptide or other peptides which bind relatively weakly, followed by proteolytic cleavage of the peptide linker and replacement by MBP1–9[4Y] in vitro, results in complexes that resemble peptide-pulsed PL-8 cells. Therefore, the distinct conformers can be produced in recombinant form. T cells that can distinguish these two conformers can also be generated by the immunization of H-2u mice, indicating that differential recognition of the conformers is observed for responding T cells in vivo. These studies have relevance to understanding the molecular details of T cell recognition in murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. They are also of particular importance for the effective use of multimeric peptide-MHC complexes to characterize the properties of Ag-specific T cells.
Turbulent energy dissipation in density jumps

The analysis of density jumps is reconsidered and a new approximate model, based on an estimate that most of the turbulent energy produced by the jump is dissipated, is presented. The model suggests new upper bounds for the upstream Froude number, the entrainment and the downstream height. These bounds are shown to be consistent with earlier measurements.
Consensus Over Ergodic Stationary Graph Processes

In this technical note, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for convergence of consensus algorithms when the underlying graphs of the network are generated by an ergodic and stationary random process. We prove that consensus algorithms converge almost surely, if and only if, the expected graph of the network contains a directed spanning tree. Our results contain the case of independent and identically distributed graph processes as a special case. We also compute the mean and variance of the random consensus value that the algorithm converges to and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the distribution of the consensus value to be degenerate.
Health Information Exchange as a Multisided Platform: Adoption, Usage, and Practice Involvement in Service Co-Production

Health Information Exchanges HIE are becoming integral parts of the national healthcare reform efforts, chiefly because of their potential impact on cost reduction and quality enhancement in healthcare services. However, the potential of an HIE platform can only be realized when its multiple constituent users actively participate in using its variety of services. In this research, we model HIE systems as multisided platforms that incorporate self-service technologies whose value to the users depends on both user-specific and network-specific factors. We develop a model of adoption, use, and involvement of clinical practices in the coproduction of the HIE services. This model is grounded in social network theory, service operations theory, and institutional isomorphism theory. A longitudinal study of actual adoption and use behaviors of 2,054 physicians within 430 community medical practices in Western New York over a three-year period has been carried out to evaluate the proposed model. This study has been supported by HEALTHeLINK, the Regional Health Information Organization of Western New York, which has an extensive database comprising over half a million transactions on patient records by the HIE users. We extracted panel data on adoption, use, and service coproduction behaviors from this database and carried out a detailed analysis using metrics derived from the foundational theories. Positioning practices within two distinct but interrelated networks of patients and practitioners, we show that adoption, use, and service coproduction behaviors are influenced by the topographies of the two networks, isomorphic effects of large practices on the smaller ones, and practice labor inputs in HIE use. Our findings provide a comprehensive view of the drivers of HIE adoption and use at the level of medical practices. These results have implications for marketing and revenue management of HIE platforms, as well as public health and national/regional healthcare policy making.
FM-based indoor localization

The major challenge for accurate fingerprint-based indoor localization is the design of robust and discriminative wireless signatures. Even though WiFi RSSI signatures are widely available indoors, they vary significantly over time and are susceptible to human presence, multipath, and fading due to the high operating frequency. To overcome these limitations, we propose to use FM broadcast radio signals for robust indoor fingerprinting. Because of the lower frequency, FM signals are less susceptible to human presence, multipath and fading, they exhibit exceptional indoor penetration, and according to our experimental study they vary less over time when compared to WiFi signals. In this work, we demonstrate through a detailed experimental study in 3 different buildings across the US, that FM radio signal RSSI values can be used to achieve room-level indoor localization with similar or better accuracy to the one achieved by WiFi signals. Furthermore, we propose to use additional signal quality indicators at the physical layer (i.e., SNR, multipath etc.) to augment the wireless signature, and show that localization accuracy can be further improved by more than 5%. More importantly, we experimentally demonstrate that the localization errors of FM andWiFi signals are independent. When FM and WiFi signals are combined to generate wireless fingerprints, the localization accuracy increases as much as 83% (when accounting for wireless signal temporal variations) compared to when WiFi RSSI only is used as a signature.
SEARCH FOR SUSY WITH $/\kern-7.2pt E_T$ AND JETS AT CDF

Events with signatures involving large missing transverse energy are among the quintessential search modes for R-parity conserving supersymmetry. CDF has conducted two recent analyses for supersymmetry which use and jets. The and monojet signature is employed to determine process independent limits for the production of new physics beyond the Standard Model and then applied to models of spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry to determine limits on the supersymmetry breaking parameter and the gravitino mass. Direct searches for scalar top and scalar bottom quarks within the framework of supersymmetric models are performed using a signature of and two heavy flavor jets. Since the data is found to be consistent with Standard Model expectations, limits are determined in the mass planes and .
Sumoylation of FOXP2 Regulates Motor Function and Vocal Communication Through Purkinje Cell Development.

Abstract Background Mutations in the gene encoding the transcription factor forkhead box P2 ( FOXP2 ) result in brain developmental abnormalities, including reduced gray matter in both human patients and rodent models and speech and language deficits. However, neither the region-specific function of FOXP2 in the brain, in particular the cerebellum, nor the effects of any posttranslational modifications of FOXP2 in the brain and disorders have been explored. Methods We characterized sumoylation of FOXP2 biochemically and analyzed the region-specific function and sumoylation of FOXP2 in the developing mouse cerebellum. Using in utero electroporation to manipulate the sumoylation state of FOXP2 as well as Foxp2 expression levels in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum in vivo, we reduced Foxp2 expression approximately 40% in the mouse cerebellum. Such a reduction approximates the haploinsufficiency observed in human patients who demonstrate speech and language impairments. Results We identified sumoylation of FOXP2 at K674 (K673 in mice) in the cerebellum of neonates. In vitro co-immunoprecipitation and in vivo colocalization experiments suggest that PIAS3 acts as the small ubiquitin-like modifier E3 ligase for FOXP2 sumoylation. This sumoylation modifies transcriptional regulation by FOXP2. We demonstrated that FOXP2 sumoylation is required for regulation of cerebellar motor function and vocal communication, likely through dendritic outgrowth and arborization of Purkinje cells in the mouse cerebellum. Conclusions Sumoylation of FOXP2 in neonatal mouse cerebellum regulates Purkinje cell development and motor functions and vocal communication, demonstrating evidence for sumoylation in regulating mammalian behaviors.
Understanding the Surface Structure of LiMn2O4 Spinel Cathodes with Aberration-Corrected HAADF STEM and EELS

As global energy consumption continues to rise, the importance of energy storage becomes increasingly important. Energy density, rate-capability, and cyclability must continually improve. This constant struggle for advancement is seen most easily in the high-density, electrical energy storage market, which is dominated by lithium-ion batteries. One of the most promising chemistries in lithium-ion batteries is LiMn2O4 (LMO), a spinel cathode material which has the advantage of both a high energy density and a high rate capability, but this chemistry is plagued with cyclability problems. In the LMO system the main contributor to cycling degradation is the Mn disproportionation reaction (2Mn = Mn + Mn) which creates soluble Mn that is lost to solution. This loss of active material from LMO leads to capacity degradation. In order to understand exactly how LMO loses active material from its surface, it is crucial to determine the surface’s atomic structure. This is because the surface structure dictates how the electrolyte will interact with the cathode.
Concomitant High-Level Vancomycin and Penicillin Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Enterococci

Enterococci are important nosocomial pathogens among which resistance to multiple antibiotics is being recognized with increasing frequency. We characterized three clinical isolates from three New York City hospitals that demonstrated concomitant resistance to vancomycin (one VanA, two VanB phenotypes) and high-level resistance to penicillin. Two Enterococcus faecium strains were intrinsically highly resistant to penicillin and showed very low affinity for penicillin of penicillin-binding protein 5. Unlike previously described glycopeptide-resistant enterococci, these strains were not hypersusceptible to beta-lactam agents after vancomycin induction, and combinations of penicillin and vancomycin were not synergistic against them. A third isolate, Enterococcus faecalis, produced beta-lactamase. Two of the three strains were also highly resistant to all aminoglycosides. Emergence of concomitant high-level resistance to multiple antibiotic classes among enterococci considerably narrows the therapeutic options for treatment of infections due to these opportunistic pathogens.
Recovery of the photosynthetic apparatus from photoinhibition during dark incubation of the green alga Dunaliella salina

Excess absorption of light by plants and algae, beyond what is required to saturate photosynthesis, causes photoinhibition of photosynthesis [1]. Target of this photo-oxidative damage is a functional component in the D1/32-kD reaction center protein of photosystem II [2]. Photodamage to the D1 protein irreversibly inactivates PSII. Recovery from photoinhibition requires repair of inactive PSII, a process that includes removal of the inactive D1 from the PSII holocomplex, its selective degradation and replacement by a de novo synthesized D1 protein (= turnover of the D1 protein) [3].