cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimability and estimation of excess and etiologic fractions

This paper describes conditions under which epidemiologic data can provide estimates of the excess fraction (proportionate increase in caseload due to an exposure) and the etiologic fraction (fraction of cases caused by exposure). The excess fraction can be estimated under essentially the same conditions often cited for general study validity. In contrast, estimation of the etiologic fraction will usually require very specific non-identifiable assumptions about exposure action and interactions, although one can derive simple lower and upper bounds for the fraction from survival comparisons. Since the etiologic fraction is equivalent to the probability of causation, our results have implications for injury compensation in lawsuits involving the probability of causation.
Time-dependent density functional theory for radicals: An improved description of excited states with substantial double excitation character

Abstract Spin-unrestricted time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is applied to calculate vertical excitation energies for the first several excited states of four diatomic radicals and methyl, nitromethyl, benzyl, anilino, and phenoxyl radicals. While the excitation energies of Rydberg states computed by TDDFT are significantly inferior to the results of Hartree–Fock-based single excitation theories, TDDFT performs slightly better than the HF-based theories for valence states with dominant single excitation character. For valence states with substantial double excitation character, TDDFT is a striking improvement over the HF-based theories, the latter being qualitatively incorrect descriptions for these states.
An Experimental Investigation of Cognitive Response to Advertising: A Physiological Perspective for Tourism Destination Marketing

It is of considerable importance for tourism destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to understand the effects of various types of imagery-evoking stimuli on tourists" visionary responses to advertising material. Accordingly, they face the need to evaluate the efficacy of advertising promotions. To date, however, there has been a paucity of research on the cognitive processes underlying the observed effects of ads featuring visuals and text versus audio mental imagery only within the context of the tourism field. This study explores how ads that include visuals and text compare with high imagery audio imagery in destination advertisements in affecting the allocation of processing resources to encode the message in memory. This study introduces a psychophysiology model-LC4MP-and a physiological measure (i.e., heart rate) that examines mental processing of tourism ads. The results indicate that high-imagery audio ads appear to lead people to invest more effort into committing the images to memory. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
On Adaptive Optics: The Historical Constitution of Architectures for Expert Perception in Astronomy

This article charts the development of the modern astronomical observational system. I am interested most acutely in the digitization of this system in general, and in the introduction of adaptive optics in particular. I argue that these features have been critical in establishing the modern observatory as a factory for scientific data, rather than as a center of calculation in its own right. Throughout, the theoretical focus is on the nature of technological evolution in the observational system, understood as inextricably bound up with both the system-internal drive to surpass the limits imposed upon the distributed cognition of the researcher and the boundary at which empirical objects resolve themselves into technical objects. In short, this article explores the historically constituted character of expert astronomical perception, arguing that it is impossible to understand without constant reference to its material substrate.
Keeping Quality of Ready-to-Cook and Dressed Poultry

Abstract IN RECENT years the trend has been to sell all poultry ready-to-cook (blood and feathers removed, and eviscerated) whereas in the past, dressed poultry (blood and feathers removed) was the common poultry on the market. Today most consumers prefer to buy their poultry ready to broil, fry, or roast, which is the way other meats are marketed. Some butchers and other people connected with the poultry industry, however, are of the opinion that even though ready-to-cook poultry may have more eye appeal and stimulate purchase, the storage and display of dressed poultry should be continued. The opinion is based on the belief that the evisceration of poultry decreases the time it can be held before spoilage. Pennington, Witmer and Pierce (1911) used bacterial counts and the pH of the flesh to determine spoilage in a study of the comparative rate of decomposition in drawn and undrawn poultry. They concluded that …
An Ethnographic Approach to Human-Machine Relationships in Commercial Aviation: Heads-Up Guidance and Enhanced Vision

This paper shows how ethnographic research methods can be valuable tools for examining complex human/automation issues in commercial aviation. Ethnography is a participant/observer technique adapted from anthropology to studying human and nonhuman actors in complex technological systems. Reaching beyond a strict dichotomy of “human” and “machine,” we instead see all human/automation interactions as deeply social. Studying the social networks embedded into automation design requires ethnographic fieldwork with not only users, but also trainers, designers, programmers, and engineers who have embedded their knowledge into a system. We present one example of this research method applied to Heads-Up Guidance Systems (HUGS) and Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) on major passenger and cargo carriers. Preliminary results are presented to suggest several emerging themes and their implications for further research as evidence that ethnographic methods can provide insight into complex human/machine systems not available with other methods.
The Probable Minimum Numbers of Newcastle Disease Virus Particles Required to Initiate Infection in Chick embryos and Baby Chicks

Donald and Isaacs (1954a and b) and Isaacs and Donald (1955) concluded from electron microscopy that several influenza virus particles may be necessary to produce an infection in chick embryos. Other investigators working with other viruses have shown statistically that a single virus particle may constitute an infectious unit. Parker, in investigating the infectious unit of vaccinia (1938 and 1941) and of myxoma (1940), compared the results of multiple inoculations of viral suspensions with results to be expected from theoretical considerations. The charac-
Some Pharmacological Properties of Three New Mercurial Diuretics.

SummaryThe compounds, 3–chloromer–curi–2–methoxypropylurea (1347Ex), 3–car–boxymethylmercaptomercuri − 2 – methoxypro–pylurea (1353 Ex), and. 3 – (α–carboxye thylmer–captomercuri) − 2 –methoxypropylurea (1431–Ex), had 3 or 4 times the diuretic potency of meralluride in the dog. Twenty–four and 48 hour mercury excretion rates were comparable to that of meralluride at the same dosage level. Chronic toxicity studies indicated no essential difference between meralluride and the other compounds, if the greater diuretic potency of the new compounds was considered and the dosage adjusted accordingly. Large amounts of 1353Ex and 1431 Ex were infused intravenously without disturbing cardiac function, but the acute cardiac toxicity of 1347Ex, although greater than the other 2 compounds, appeared to be less than meralluride.
RNA extraction from swine samples and detection of influenza A virus in swine by real-time RT-PCR.

Real-time reverse-transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) assays are currently the method of choice in many laboratories for the detection and subtyping of influenza A virus (IAV) in swine. Traditionally, nasal swabs and lung tissues (sometimes bronchoalveolar lavage and tracheal tissues) are the primary specimens for IAV testing. However, oral fluids are becoming more common for IAV prognostic profiling. In this chapter, we describe (1) procedures of RNA extraction from the common clinical specimens, (2) two rRT-PCR assays for detection of IAV in swine, and (3) an rRT-PCR assay for subtyping swine IAV. RNA extraction procedures include a magnetic bead method optimized for extraction from nasal swabs and tissue homogenates and a magnetic bead method optimized for extraction from oral fluids. Two rRT-PCR assays for detection of swine IAV include a USDA-validated IAV rRT-PCR targeting the matrix gene and the USDA-licensed VetMAX™-Gold Swine Influenza Virus Detection rRT-PCR kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) targeting the nucleoprotein and matrix genes. The swine IAV subtyping assay described here is VetMAX™-Gold Swine Influenza Virus Subtyping rRT-PCR kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) which distinguishes swine IAV H1 from H3 and N1 from N2.
Literature Review Articles as a Research Form

The purpose of this article has been to outline the JOURNAL format, to present some methodologic suggestions for this new section, and, hopefully, to excite and challenge authors to this form of research. Fundamental to a quality overview are A PRIORI EXPLICIT CRITERIA for each component of the review process. Details of what this means have been presented. The length of the review will depend on the objectives; however, approximately 20 double-spaced manuscript pages (about eight published pages) should be considered close to maximal for a readable review. References may be too extensive for full publication; one way to manage this is to choose about 50 or less key references for publication and suggest to the readers that a full bibliography is available, upon request, from the corresponding author. We hope this new section will be exciting and will be of benefit.
Deleting collected digital evidence by exploiting a widely adopted hardware write blocker

In this primary work we call for the importance of integrating security testing into the process of testing digital forensic tools. We postulate that digital forensic tools are increasing in features (such as network imaging), becoming networkable, and are being proposed as forensic cloud services. This raises the need for testing the security of these tools, especially since digital evidence integrity is of paramount importance. At the time of conducting this work, little to no published anti-forensic research had focused on attacks against the forensic tools/process. We used the TD3, a popular, validated, touch screen disk duplicator and hardware write blocker with networking capabilities and designed an attack that corrupted the integrity of the destination drive (drive with the duplicated evidence) without the user's knowledge. By also modifying and repackaging the firmware update, we illustrated that a potential adversary is capable of leveraging a phishing attack scenario in order to fake digital forensic practitioners into updating the device with a malicious operating system. The same attack scenario may also be practiced by a disgruntled insider. The results also raise the question of whether security standards should be drafted and adopted by digital forensic tool makers.
Neuroanatomy in Rett Syndrome

Volumetric MRI analyses of the cerebral cortex and posterior fossa of 20 girls with Rett syndrome (RS) were compared with individually-matched normal controls at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Experimental study of supply voltage stability during ESD

On-chip power supply integrity may be compromised during a power-on ESD event, e.g. system-level ESD. Experimental data are provided to show that the supply integrity is a function of the rail clamp gain, its speed of response to ESD, and the amount of on-chip supply decoupling capacitance. It is also demonstrated that just a few nH of package inductance can cause the on-chip supply to briefly collapse, regardless of the rail clamp response speed.
626. Directing Skeletal Myogenic Progenitor Cell Lineage Specification with CRISPR/Cas9 Transcriptional Activators

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a promising source for autologous cell-based therapies, disease modeling, and drug discovery in pathologies of muscular disease and wasting. The field of regenerative medicine has made significant strides in the successful reprogramming of iPSCs into various specialized cell types, including skeletal muscle cells. Genetic reprogramming of iPSCs into skeletal muscle progenitors and myocytes has been previously demonstrated by cDNA expression of exogenous myogenic transcription factors, including Pax7 and MyoD, to achieve varying levels of conversion toward the myogenic lineage.Recent advances in genome engineering technologies have established the CRISPR/Cas9 system as a programmable transcriptional regulator capable of targeted activation or repression of endogenous genes. The nuclease-deactivated dCas9 protein can be fused to a variety of transcriptional activation domains, such as the histone acetyltransferase p300 and the transactivation domain VP64, to potently activate genes in their natural chromosomal context. In contrast to ectopic expression of transgenes, activation of endogenous genes can facilitate chromatin remodeling and can also capture the full complexity of transcript isoforms, mRNA localization and stability, and other effects of non-coding regulatory elements.Here, we use VP64dCas9VP64 and dCas9-p300 constructs for targeted activation of the endogenous myogenic transcription factor Pax7 in human iPSCs to direct differentiation into skeletal muscle progenitors. We hypothesize that Pax7 activation will be sufficient to induce the myogenic program, as it plays a key role in myogenesis through regulation of muscle regeneration and the function of muscle progenitor cells. Lentiviral transduction of the dCas9 transcriptional activators under a constitutive promoter along with gRNAs targeted to the Pax7 promoter resulted in increased Pax7 transcript levels as assessed by qRT-PCR at 4 days after transduction. Additionally, widespread expression of Pax7 protein was detected by immunofluorescence staining by 13 days post transduction, indicating a high efficiency of endogenous gene activation by dCas9 effector constructs. Current efforts aim to achieve transient induction of high levels of Pax7 to examine progressive differentiation into mature myotubes expressing downstream myogenic markers. Future experiments will focus on assessing the in vivo skeletal muscle regenerative potential of Pax7+ human iPSC-derived myogenic progenitor cells by examining engraftment and self-renewal in injured muscle tissues of immunodeficient mice. These studies aim to introduce a novel method for the ex vivo derivation and expansion of myogenic precursor cells from patient-derived iPSCs, which will create new opportunities for disease modeling and cell therapies in disorders of skeletal muscle regeneration including muscular dystrophies, sarcopenia, and cachexia.
Anterior Arch Aplasia with OS Odontoideum

This is a condition where there is aplasia of anterior arch of atlas with os odontoideum (bipartite atlas). It is usually associated with posterior arch midline defect.
Morphological signatures of high-altitude adaptations in the Andean archaeological record: Distinguishing developmental plasticity and natural selection

Abstract High-altitude hypoxia is one of many environmental stressors affecting human populations in the highland Andes. Living highland Andeans show adaptive physiological responses to these conditions through both developmental plasticity and natural selection. Given the longevity of human settlement in this region, these same responses ought to have affected ancient Andeans. This paper tests whether developmental plasticity or natural selection best explains the morphological signatures of adaptations to high-altitude hypoxia in ancient highland Andeans. I compare four groups of skeletons: two groups from lowland regions and two groups from high elevations. Previous work shows that the two highland groups have small bodies and voluminous ribs compared with the lowland groups indicating morphological adaptations to high-altitude environments. This paper compares patterns of intrinsic variation and sexual dimorphism in body size, limb lengths, and rib morphology in highland and lowland groups to test if developmental plasticity or natural selection underlies these morphological differences. The four groups share similar patterns of sexual dimorphism and intrinsic variation in body size and limb lengths. The two highland samples show greater degrees of sexual dimorphism in rib morphology than the lowlanders. Patterns of intrinsic variation in rib morphology do not sort by altitude. Both natural selection and developmental plasticity in response to high-altitude hypoxia likely shaped skeletal morphology in ancient highland Andeans.
pH and Thermal Dual-Responsive Nanoparticles for Controlled Drug Delivery with High Loading Content.

A pH and thermal dual-responsive nanocarrier with silica as the core and block copolymer composed of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) as the shell was prepared by surface-initiated reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (SI-RAFT) polymerization. The resulting SiO2-PMAA-b-PNIPAM particles dispersed individually in an aqueous solution at a high pH and a low temperature but reversibly agglomerated under acidic conditions or at elevated temperatures. These dual-responsive nanoparticles were used as carriers to deliver the model drug doxorubicin (DOX) with unusually high entrapment efficiency and loading content, which is due to the small size (15 nm), light weight of the cores, and high graft density (0.619 chains/nm2) achieved by SI-RAFT polymerization. The release rate was controlled by both the pH and temperature of the surrounding medium. Moreover, these particles selectively precipitated at acidic conditions with increased temperature, which may enhance the...
Once More, with Feeling! Working with Emotional Taint

Working with emotion—performing emotion as part of your job, interacting with emotional people, managing the emotions of others, or dealing with issues that arouse emotion—is a challenge for many workers every day. However, we rarely actually talk about emotion in the every-day interactions at our jobs. Similarly, scholarly research has often marginalized, silenced, or simply overlooked the important role emotion plays in our organizational lives. When it is discussed, emotion is often characterized as disruptive or out of place, particularly in the workplace. In this chapter, I discuss the challenges of negotiating emotion at work when that emotion is stigmatized. Utilizing short stories that illustrate how emotionally stigmatized workers respond to emotional stigma, this chapter probes the concept of emotional stigma and how it relates to theoretical frameworks of dirty work and emotional labor. Emotional taint helps us understand the complex ways in which power is intricately involved in how emotional stigma is constructed, performed, and resisted.
An unusual case of bilateral anterior shoulder dislocations

A 23-year-old man was transported to a trauma center after injuring himself while snowboarding. He presented with bilateral shoulder pain and associated deformity to both shoulders. His exam was otherwise unremarkable, and his x-rays confirmed bilateral shoulder dislocations. Cunningham and external rotation without sedation and analgesia techniques were unsuccessful even with local anesthesia to the joint. Subsequent bilateral reduction was successful with moderate sedation using the Milch technique. Simultaneous anterior bilateral shoulder dislocations are rare and providers may need to adjust their techniques to accommodate this unusual presentation.
Measuring Patient Safety in Real Time: An Essential Method for Effectively Improving the Safety of Care

The continuing evidence of preventable deaths due to medical error has led to recent calls to improve measurement of safety in hospitals. In this commentary, the authors discuss the ways that elect...
Capacity on Demand Steganography Through Adaptive Threshold Strategy

In the process of secret communication, in fact, the length of each transmission of ciphertext will never be the same. In order to meet dynamic length of ciphertext and provide a good image quality, a novel adaptive threshold strategy is presented. Firstly, a threshold pixel value and a k value are decided dynamically based on the length of ciphertext and the cumulative statistics of cover-image’s pixel value. Then if a pixel value is more than threshold value, more than k bits secret data can be embedded by using modified Least Significant Bit (LSB) substitution method, or the data of equal or less than k bits can be embedded. This dynamic strategy can adjust hiding capacity consistent with the length of secret message, and the secret data can be embedded in stego-image as evenly as possible. Quality of stego-image would be improved by this way. The experimental results, the proposed method not only achieves a larger embedding capacity, but also has higher visual quality of stego-image than most of proposed LSB based methods.
Freight-Transportation Externalities

Publisher Summary External or social costs of freight transportation have received increased attention recently in development strategies because of sustainability issues. A widely accepted definition of sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Strategies for sustainable transportation consider economic development, environmental preservation, and social development. But as the negative impacts of freight transportation increase, achieving sustainability goals becomes ever more challenging. Freight transportation is a primary component of all supply-chain and logistics systems. However, the cost of moving commodities between cities and countries is borne not only by direct stakeholders but also by other members of society who may not benefit directly from these movements. In economics literature, this is referred to as the external cost of an activity. Air, noise, and water pollution; vegetation and wildlife destruction; and road accidents are some of the negative impacts of freight transportation. Freight movements and their associated negative impacts have been steadily increasing over the last few decades in most parts of the world. Negative environmental effects of freight transportation are a serious concern, because of the associated long-term direct and indirect impacts such as increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global warming.
Kindaichi, Kyosuke (1882–1971)

Kyosuke Kindaichi was born on May 5, 1882, in the city of Morioka, Japan. He achieved recognition in Japan and abroad through the study of the Ainu language and, in particular, the yukar, the oral epics of the Ainu, of which he collected many from informants at a time when the Ainu language was already moribund. He is widely considered the founder of modern Ainu studies in Japan.
Physical Design Automation of FPGAs

Despite advances in VLSI design automation, the time-to-market for a chip is unacceptable for many applications. The key problem is time taken due to fabrication of chips, and therefore there is a need to find new technologies, which minimize the fabrication time. Gate Arrays use less time in fabrication as compared to full-custom chips, since only routing layers are fabricated on top of pre-fabricated wafer. However, fabrication time for gate-arrays is still unacceptable for several applications. In order to reduce time to fabricate interconnects, programmable devices have been introduced, which allow users to program the devices as well as the interconnect. In this way all custom fabrication steps are eliminated.
Self-organized multigrain patterning with special grain boundaries produced by phase transformation cycling

In crystalline solids, grain boundaries (GBs) play a significant role in determining a large number of material properties. The design and synthesis of special GBs has been a long-standing challenge in materials science and engineering. Here we demonstrate a mechanism to produce special GBs. Unique multigrain structures can be obtained through cyclic, diffusionless phase transformations under external fields, with all GBs being coherent special GBs. The crystallographic character of the GBs produced in this way is dictated by the broken symmetry during the phase transformations, while the topology of the GB network is determined by the geometric compatibility and self-organization of the multigrain structures. Such a mechanism not only suggests an alternative method of GB engineering, but also reveals a fundamental relationship between special GBs and phase transformations from a crystallographic point of view.
Discipline Awareness Essay Assignment: Professional Discourse Community Analysis

In this first major (two-part) paper assigned to students in all versions of English 302, students are asked to apply the six defining criteria from John Swalesâ (1990) scholarly article, âThe Concept of Discourse Community,â to a personal interest group to which they belong and then to a professional organization in their disciplines. The personal response is ungraded, but required for full credit on the graded professional discourse community analysis (DCA), in which students carefully and closely analyze the professional organization and Swalesâ six-point definition, then write a 1,000- to 1,250-word essay, identifying examples of each Swales point in an area of the organization found on its official website: common goals, mechanisms of intercommunication within the group, the organizationâs use of these participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback to group members, the use of specific genres, âlexisâ (shared vocabulary), and membership requirements for novices and experts. When explaining the genres used by the organization, students must provide three examples, one genre per paragraph, analyzing the intended audience, purpose, writing style of each genre, explaining the writing distinctions between the chosen genres and how each genre furthers the organizationâs common goals. In the conclusion, students explain the benefits for professionals in their disciplines who join this organization. This assignment supports the English 302 core requirements of a discipline awareness project and rhetorical analysis. It also supports the English 302 Learning Outcomes: critical reading strategies; identify, evaluate, use research sources; and analyze rhetorical situations. Included files: Instructorâs Notes on how to incorporate the assignment into the 302 Classroom (ScolaroInstructorsNotes), Assignment Prompt (ScolaroAssignment), and Discourse Community Analysis Essay Structure handout (ScolaroActivity).
Parasites are associated with noisy alarm calls

Many animal signals used for mate choice assessment are condition dependent, but less is known about the condition dependence of other biologically important signals. We asked whether yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventer) alarm calls varied as a function of parasite infection and/or neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios (a measure of immunological challenge). We found that marmots infected with Eimeria, an intestinal parasite, had noisier calls. This is potentially because of an immunostimulating effect of Eimeria infection which may draw energy from nonvital functions. The results suggest calls potentially contain information about parasite status which could be used by receivers to estimate a caller’s condition. Future studies are required to determine whether infection influences caller reliability and how receivers respond to alarm calls from parasitized individuals.
Persistent autonomic dysfunction and bladder sensitivity in primary dysmenorrhea

Menstrual pain, also known as dysmenorrhea, is a leading risk factor for bladder pain syndrome (BPS). A better understanding of the mechanisms that predispose dysmenorrheic women to BPS is needed to develop prophylactic strategies. Abnormal autonomic regulation, a key factor implicated in BPS and chronic pain, has not been adequately characterized in women with dysmenorrhea. Thus, we examined heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy (n = 34), dysmenorrheic (n = 103), and BPS participants (n = 23) in their luteal phase across a bladder-filling task. Both dysmenorrheic and BPS participants reported increased bladder pain sensitivity when compared to controls (p’s < 0.001). Similarly, dysmenorrheic and BPS participants had increased heart rate (p’s < 0.01), increased diastolic blood pressure (p’s < 0.01), and reduced HRV (p’s < 0.05) when compared to controls. Dysmenorrheic participants also exhibited little change in heart rate between maximum bladder capacity and after micturition when compared to controls (p = 0.013). Our findings demonstrate menstrual pain’s association with abnormal autonomic activity and bladder sensitivity, even two weeks after menses. Our findings of autonomic dysfunction in both early episodic and chronic visceral pain states points to an urgent need to elucidate the development of such imbalance, perhaps beginning in adolescence.
Anatomical variation of the femoral nerve in the femoral triangle.

To the editor, Ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block immediately distal to the inguinal ligament at about the inguinal skin crease is a standard regional anesthesia technique for lower extremity surgery.[1 2][1] Performance of the block requires ultrasound identification of the femoral nerve in the
Neuronal Activity in Non-LNv Clock Cells Is Required to Produce Free-Running Rest:Activity Rhythms in Drosophila

Circadian rhythms in behavior and physiology are produced by central brain clock neurons that can be divided into subpopulations based on molecular and functional characteristics. It has become clear that coherent behavioral rhythms result from the coordinated action of these clock neuron populations, but many questions remain regarding the organizational logic of the clock network. Here we used targeted genetic tools in Drosophila to eliminate either molecular clock function or neuronal activity in discrete clock neuron subsets. We find that neuronal firing is necessary across multiple clock cell populations to produce free-running rhythms of rest and activity. In contrast, such rhythms are much more subtly affected by molecular clock suppression in the same cells. These findings demonstrate that network connectivity can compensate for a lack of molecular oscillations within subsets of clock cells. We further show that small ventrolateral (sLNv) clock neurons, which have been characterized as master pacemakers under free-running conditions, cannot drive rhythms independent of communication between other cells of the clock network. In particular, we pinpoint an essential contribution of the dorsolateral (LNd) clock neurons, and show that manipulations that affect LNd function reduce circadian rhythm strength without affecting molecular cycling in sLNv cells. These results suggest a hierarchical organization in which circadian information is first consolidated among one or more clock cell populations before accessing output pathways that control locomotor activity.
In vitro efficacy of sodium selenite in reducing toxin production, spore outgrowth and antibiotic resistance in hypervirulent Clostridium difficile.

Purpose. This study investigated the efficacy of the essential mineral, selenium (sodium selenite), in reducing the toxin production, spore outgrowth and antibiotic resistance of Clostridium difficile in vitro. Methodology. Two hypervirulent C. difficile isolates were cultured in brain heart infusion broth with and without a sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (sub-MIC) of sodium selenite, and the supernatant and bacterial pellet were harvested for total toxin quantitation and RT-qPCR analysis of toxin-encoding genes, respectively. Additionally, C. difficile isolates were cultured in brain heart infusion broth containing 0.5 or 1× the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of either ciprofloxacin or vancomycin with or without sub-MICs of sodium selenite. Further, the effect of sodium selenite on C. difficile germination and spore outgrowth was also determined by exposing C. difficile spores to a sub-MIC of sodium selenite in a germination medium and measuring the germination and outgrowth by measuring the optical density at 600 nm. Results. Sodium selenite significantly reduced C. difficile toxin synthesis, cytotoxicity and spore outgrowth. Further, the expression of the toxin production genes, tcdA and tcdB, was downregulated in the presence of sodium selenite, while sodium selenite significantly increased the sensitivity of C. difficile to ciprofloxacin , but not vancomycin, as revealed by decreased bacterial growth in samples containing ciprofloxacin+selenium compared to the antibiotic control. Although the sub-MIC of sodium selenite did not inhibit spore germination, it was capable of completely inhibiting spore outgrowth. Conclusion. Our results suggest that sodium selenite could potentially be used to control C. difficile and indicate that future in vivo studies are warranted.
Nitric oxide loading reduces sickle red cell adhesion and vaso-occlusion in vivo

Sickle red blood cells (SSRBCs) are adherent to the endothelium, activate leukocyte adhesion, and are deficient in bioactive nitric oxide (NO) adducts such as S-nitrosothiols (SNOs), with reduced ability to induce vasodilation in response to hypoxia. All these pathophysiologic characteristics promote vascular occlusion, the hallmark of sickle cell disease (SCD). Loading hypoxic SSRBCs in vitro with NO followed by reoxygenation significantly decreased epinephrine-activated SSRBC adhesion to the endothelium, the ability of activated SSRBCs to mediate leukocyte adhesion in vitro, and vessel obstruction in vivo. Because transfusion is frequently used in SCD, we also determined the effects of banked (SNO-depleted) red blood cells (RBCs) on vaso-occlusion in vivo. Fresh or 14-day-old normal RBCs (AARBCs) reduced epinephrine-activated SSRBC adhesion to the vascular endothelium and prevented vaso-occlusion. In contrast, AARBCs stored for 30 days failed to decrease activated SSRBC adhesivity or vaso-occlusion, unless these RBCs were loaded with NO. Furthermore, NO loading of SSRBCs increased S-nitrosohemoglobin and modulated epinephrine’s effect by upregulating phosphorylation of membrane proteins, including pyruvate kinase, E3 ubiquitin ligase, and the cytoskeletal protein 4.1. Thus, abnormal SSRBC NO/SNO content both contributes to the vaso-occlusive pathophysiology of SCD, potentially by affecting at least protein phosphorylation, and is potentially amenable to correction by (S)NO repletion or by RBC transfusion.
Comparative assessment of einkorn and emmer wheat phenomes: III. Phenology

In-depth information on plant phenology of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum) and emmer, (Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccun (Schrank) Thell) germplasm is indispensable for better utilization of their available genetic resources as underutilized crops, especially under abiotic stress. Whereas; optimization of their phenology is one of the most effective strategies to achieve this goal as it is a key factor for crop adaptation under abiotic stress. The objectives of this study were to integrate quantitative phenotyping methods to describe and explain phenotypic and genotypic differences or similarities in phenological stages within vegetative and reproductive growth phases between einkorn and emmer germplasm; identify combinations of discriminating traits between einkorn and emmer germplasm at successive phenological growth stages; and estimate multivariate distances between einkorn and emmer germplasm based on their geographical sources and stage of genetic improvement. The evaluated germplasm represented a wide range of geographical origins in the Fertile Crescent of West Asia, East Africa, West and East Europe, and North America. The study developed a method for accurate estimation of synchrony and duration of phenological growth stages of the diverse germplasm; and presented a ‘sliding’ scale capable of discriminating between different ‘maturity classes’ of the species on the basis of five phenology indicators, vis: growing degree days in conjunction with plant height, normalized difference vegetative index, color space coordinates, and green gradient-based canopy segmentation. Reliable relationship was established between visual scoring and color measurements of plants based on digital images at different growth stages. This relationship may become useful for research and crop management in resource-limited areas. Accurate prediction of phenological growth stages of einkorn and emmer wheat is essential, not only for ideotype development through simulation and modeling of weather and management effects, but also to help establish a cottage industry to benefit small-scale farmers, and to improve and maintain high-quality end products from these underutilized wheat genetic resources.
First-Generation, English-Speaking West Indian Families' Understanding of Disability and Special Education.

This study examines the perceptions of first-generation, English-speaking West Indian immigrant families, in regard to the education of their children once they are determined to be eligible for special education services. Data were obtained primarily from conducting audio-taped, semi-structured interviews with three families. Grounded theory techniques were used to analyze the data. The study findings revealed that the families’ understanding of the concepts of disability and special education differed from that of educators as presented in the literature. The educational and social implications of these differences are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.
Endogenous and Dangerous

Empirical studies show that courts frequently cite cases that the parties did not cite during briefing and oral arguments—‘endogenous’ cases. This article shows the cognitive and rational dangers of endogenous cases and presents an empirical study of their use. I contend that judges should avoid using endogenous cases in their reasoning and opinions. This article’s first significant contribution is to provide the first exhaustive treatment in the American legal literature of the rational bases upon which defeasible legal deductions and legal analogies may be built and the critical questions or defeaters that can weaken or bring them down. As far as we know, Aristotle was the first Westerner to formalize logic, about 2,500 years ago. He recognized immediately, however, that the valid deductive forms of reasoning he described do not take us far in reasoning about human affairs. Contemporary law scholars nevertheless talk about rule-based and deductive reasoning as if it exists in the law. But all legal arguments, even apparently deductive ones, are subject to defeat by counterargument—they are ‘defeasible.’ This article shows that legal analogies are in a sense more defeasible, and thus more complex, than legal deductions, and it suggests that legal policy arguments are more defeasible still. But what happens when judges build these arguments around cases that the parties have not cited—endogenous cases? Studies suggest that judges do so about half the time. The theory of defeasible arguments suggests judges should be reluctant to do so, and they should be most reluctant to do so with legal analogies and policy arguments. But until now, no study has examined how judges use endogenous cases. This article’s second significant contribution is an empirical study of cases judges cited in a random sample of federal district court opinions, identifying where they found them and how they used them. It also identifies a hierarchy of badness among endogenous case uses, warning judges away from the most dangerous. It concludes that judges should avoid endogenous cases or, at a minimum, permit the parties to argue the cases before their application. Though the opinions studied here were from federal trial courts, the principles extend to any tribunal that uses opinions from previous cases to guide its decision-making.
Child Care and MothersA Employment Decisions

Rising female labor force participation and recent changes to the welfare system have increased the importance of child care for all women and, particularly, the less-skilled. This paper focuses on the child care decisions of women who differ by their skill level and the role that costs play in their work decision. After reviewing government child-care programs targeted at less-skilled women, we present a descriptive analysis of current utilization and child care costs. We emphasize differences across skill groups, showing that the least-skilled women both use less costly paid care and are more likely to use unpaid care. We then survey the existing evidence regarding the responsiveness of female labor supply to child care costs, reviewing both econometric studies and demonstration projects that include child care components. To investigate variation in the response to child care cost across skill levels, we implement models similar to this past literature. We conclude that while the overall elasticity of labor force participation with respect to the market price of child care is between -0.05 and -0.35, this elasticity is larger for the least skilled women and declines with skill. Throughout the paper, we reflect upon the implications of our analysis for welfare reform.
Real-Time Downhole Geosteering Data Processing Using Deep Neural Networks On FPGA

The success of machine learning has spread the deployment of Deep neural Networks (DNNs) in numerous industrial applications. As an essential technique in today’s oilfield industry, geosteering requires performing DNN inference on the hardware devices that operates under the severe down-hole environments. However, it can produce massive power dissipation and cause long delays to execute the computation-intensive DNN inference on the current hardware platforms, e.g., CPU and GPU. In this paper, we propose an FPGA-based hardware design to efficiently conduct the DNN inference for geosteering tasks in downhole environments. At first, a comprehensive analysis is presented to choose the optimal computation mapping method for the target DNN model. A detailed description of the customized hardware implementation is then proposed to accomplish a complete DNN inference on the FPGA board. The experimental results shows that the proposed design achieves 7× (1.4×) improvement on performance and 82× (1.3×) reduction on power consumption compared with CPU(GPU).
Analysis of Compressibility Origins in Monolithic Ceramic Suspensions Using X-Ray Imaging Techniques

In the past two decades, significant advances have been made in the synthesis of new types of nonclay ceramic powders (e.g., oxides, borides, carbides, nitrides), which today have an unprecedented degree of control over particle size, shape, and chemistry [1]. A particular trend has been the increased production of smaller and smaller (typically submicron) powders in order to (i) reduce sintering temperatures, (ii) strengthen ceramics by decreasing the size of Griffith’s flaws, and (iii) allow the processing of composites with individual phases distributed at smaller and smaller scales of mixing.
Beyond buildings [but] inside architecture

In recent years, mass customization and computer aided manufacturing (CAM)technologies have transformed off-site building component fabrication. At the same time, traditional repetitive manufacturing still dominates building component production. Bricks, bathroom fixtures, window mullions, and door hardware are all repetitively manufactured. Ironically, CAM’s computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines have made the fabrication of custom molds for repetitive manufacturing easier. This allows architects to customize repetitively manufactured architecture components. I am using the term customized repetitive manufacturing (CRM) to refer to this type of work. Through my ongoing research, I have identified a wide range of historic and contemporary examples of CRM for architecture components. Designs for repetitive manufacturing architecture components involve coordination between the architect and the manufacturer. Both must balance capital costs with production runs, mold complexity with manufacturing parameters, and size restrictions with manufacturer’s abilities. How these issues are balanced depends on the application of the architectural component. I have identified three categories of custom designed architecture components based on application—custom components, architecture prototypes, and architecture products. This paper presents the three categories of application in reference to CRM. I define each category, provide multiple examples, and analyse particular case studies. Analysis of the case studies provides the architectural and manufacturing impacts on CRM within each category.
DSM-IV-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is used for clinical, research, and educational purposes. The focus of the DSM is on diagnostic codes for psychological disorders and on medical record keeping. The DSM is also used for communication of information to governmental agencies, private insurers, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The DSM is now in its fourth edition. In 1952, the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) was recognized as the manual of mental health categorization. It developed as a variant of the “Mental Disorders” section of the sixth edition of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Keywords: abnormal; psychopathology
Measurement of Microbial Nucleic Acid Synthesis and Specific Growth Rate by 32PO4 and [3H]Adenine: Field Comparison

We compared two radiotracer methods for measuring total microbial nucleic acid synthesis and specific growth rate. Using a sample from an oligotrophic environment, we found that there was excellent agreement between the two methods.
Approximation of the joint spectral radius of a set of matrices using sum of squares

We provide an asymptotically tight, computationally efficient approximation of the joint spectral radius of a set of matrices using sum of squares (SOS) programming. The approach is based on a search for a SOS polynomial that proves simultaneous contractibility of a finite set of matrices. We provide a bound on the quality of the approximation that unifies several earlier results and is independent of the number of matrices. Additionally, we present a comparison between our approximation scheme and a recent technique due to Blondel and Nesterov, based on lifting of matrices. Theoretical results and numerical investigations show that our approach yields tighter approximations.
Studies on polynucleotides. CXXII. The dodecanucleotide sequence adjoining the C-C-A end of the tyrosine transfer ribonucleic acid gene.

Abstract Primer-template complexes were prepared by annealing synthetic deoxyribopolynucleotides with nucleotide sequences corresponding to the 3' end of transfer ribonucleic acidtyr to the r strand of φ80psuiii DNA, which contains the tRNAtyr gene (2). Using these systems, the nucleotide sequence beyond the 3' end of the primers was determined by the DNA polymerase I-catalyzed addition of nucleotides by using a restricted number of deoxyribonucleoside 5'-triphosphates. In agreement with Altman and Smith (3), it was found that the sequence C-C-A is encoded in the tRNAtyr gene. The sequence of the 12 nucleotides following the C-C-A end was shown to be T-C-A-A-C-T-T-T-C-A-A-A.