cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MxiM and MxiJ, Base Elements of the Mxi-Spa Type III Secretion System of Shigella, Interact with and Stabilize the MxiD Secretin in the Cell Envelope

The type III secretion pathway is broadly distributed across many parasitic bacterial genera and serves as a mechanism for delivering effector proteins to eukaryotic cell surface and cytosolic targets. While the effectors, as well as the host responses elicited, differ among type III systems, they all utilize a conserved set of 9 to 11 proteins that together form a bacterial envelope-associated secretory organelle or needle complex. The general structure of the needle complex consists of a transenvelope base containing at least three ring-forming proteins (MxiD, MxiJ, and MxiG in Shigella) that is connected to a hollow needle-like extension that projects away from the cell surface. Several studies have shown that the initial steps in needle complex assembly require interactions among the base proteins, although specific details of this process remain unknown. Here we identify a role for another base element in Shigella, MxiM, in interactions with the major outer-membrane-associated ring-forming protein, MxiD. MxiM affects several features of MxiD, including its stability, envelope association, and assembly into homomultimeric structures. Interestingly, many of the effects were also elicited by the inner-membrane-associated base element, MxiJ. We confirmed that MxiM-MxiD and MxiJ-MxiD interactions occur in vivo in the cell envelope, and we present evidence that together these base elements can form a transmembrane structure which is likely an important intermediary in the process of needle complex assembly.
A study of priority at the transport layer in local area networks

In the computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) environment and other integrated services types of networks, short time critical messages share network resources with bulk data transfer, creating the need for priority schemes. The OSI (open systems interconnection) reference model defines priority to be primarily a part of the functionality of the medium access control sublayer of the data link layer. Results from a simulation study that establish the need for an additional priority scheme at the transport layer over and above the existing scheme at the MAC (medium access control) layer are presented. >
Immunization of Balb/c Mice with a Monoclonal Anti-DNA Antibody Induces an Anti-Idiotypic Antibody Reactive with a Cell-Surface DNA Binding Protein

DNA binds to cell-surface proteins on human and murine leukocytes and induces secretion of the cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6). Cell-surface DNA binding molecules have been shown to serve as target antigens for the production of autoantibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythemalosus (SLE), and in lupus-prone mice. Recent studies have demonstrated that a subset of anti-anti-DNA antibodies, isolated from patients with SLE, are idiotypically related to antibodies reactive with a cell-surface DNA binding molecule. We now report that immunization of normal mice with a murine monoclonal anti-DNA antibody induces an anti-idiotypic response which has reactivity with a cell-surface DNA binding molecule. An anti-idiotypic anti-DNA monoclonal antibody (LB17) was isolated from the spleen of an immunized mouse. This monoclonal antibody blocked the binding of DNA to murine splenocytes and mimicked the functional effect of DNA by stimulating the secretion of IL-6. These experiments provide further evidence for an id...
An exploratory framework for studying movement pattern

This paper introduces a new exploratory framework to identify and estimate the local characteristics associated with the distribution of the distances and the directions for the movements. The focus of attention is paid to hundreds and thousands individual records of movement. Traditional methods were either unable to handle the vast data or limited to search the global “law”. As an initial work, the framework focuses on the origin-destination form of movements, which is parallel to a vector composed by distance and direction. The analysis is working on the distribution of such two elements, with the stressing on how the distribution is differentiated over space. By stressing the local variation, it quantitatively estimates the difference between the patterns for global data and for local data.
EXPLAINING FEDERAL RESERVE MONETARY POLICY

In an examination of Federal Funds rate monthly from 1954 to 2000, we compare a model using presidential party as a compositional variable with a model using presidential party as an interactive variable. Federal Reserve monetary policy was found responsive to the economy, to business elites, and to political circumstances. However, these influences had different patterns depending upon presidential party. The Federal Reserve appears to act neither randomly nor in isolation. It is responsive to the economy and interest groups but a President's partisan preference is particularly influential in decisions on monetary policy.
Towards constant bandwidth overhead integrity checking of untrusted data

We present an adaptive tree-log scheme to improve the performance of checking the integrity of arbitrarily large untrusted data, when using only a small fixed-sized trusted state. Currently, hash trees are used to check the data. In many systems that use hash trees, programs perform many data operations before performing a critical operation that exports a result outside of the program's execution environment. The adaptive tree-log scheme we present uses this observation to harness the power of the constant runtime bandwidth overhead of a log-based scheme. For all programs, the adaptive tree-log scheme's bandwidth overhead is guaranteed to never be worse than a parameterizable worst case bound. Furthermore, for all programs, as the average number of times the program accesses data between critical operations increases, the adaptive tree-log scheme's bandwidth overhead moves from a logarithmic to a constant bandwidth overhead.
The Effect of Flow From Below on Dryout Heat Flux

An experimental investigation of dryout heat flux in a saturated porous medium with forced flow from below has been conducted. Freon-113, methanol, and water were used as test fluids. Particle sizes were 0.59-0.79 mm, 1.6 mm, 3.2 mm, and 4.8 mm. The dryout heat flux increases as the inlet mass flux increases, and asymptotically approaches the total evaporation energy of the inlet flow. The pressure drop across the bed changes rapidly near the dryout point due to the formation of a dry zone.
SINA: scalable incremental processing of continuous queries in spatio-temporal databases

This paper intoduces the Scalable INcremental hash-based Algorithm (SINA, for short); a new algorithm for evaluting a set of concurrent continuous spatio-temporal queries. SINA is designed with two goals in mind: (1) Scalability in terms of the number of concurrent continuous spatio-temporal queries, and (2) Incremental evaluation of continyous spatio-temporal queries. SINA achieves scalability by empolying a shared execution paradigm where the execution of continuous spatio-temporal queries is abstracted as a spatial join between a set of moving objects and a set of moving queries. Incremental evaluation is achived by computing only the updates of the previously reported answer. We introduce two types of updaes, namely positive and negative updates. Positive or negative updates indicate that a certain object should be added to or removed from the previously reported answer, respectively. SINA manages the computation of postive and negative updates via three phases: the hashing phase, the invalidation phase, and the joining phase. the hashing phase employs an in-memory hash-based join algorithm that results in a set a positive upldates. The invalidation phase is triggered every T seconds or when the memory is fully occupied to produce a set of negative updates. Finally, the joining phase is triggered by the end of the invalidation phase to produce a set of both positive and negative updates that result from joining in-memory data with in-disk data. Experimental results show that SINA is scalable and is more efficient than other index-based spatio-temporal algorithms.
Modified Moore swab optimization and validation in capturing E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in large volume field samples of irrigation water

article i nfo Knowledge of the risk potential of an irrigation source during routine use or in 'root-cause' investigation of recall and outbreak events is a fundamental expectation in produce food safety management. Current water filtration techniques, while effective in the concentration of human pathogens, are generally unable to process large volumes of water or require access to expensive equipment. In this study, a modified Moore swab (MMS) was evaluated for practical efficacy in capture-filtration of low concentrations of human pathogens from volumes of irrigation water larger than are commonly used for analysis. Water sam- ples were artificially inoculated with isolates of either commensal E. coli, E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella enterica expressing Green fluorescent protein (Gfp) and antibiotic resistance at concentrations between 10 0 and 10 2 CFU/10 L. Detection of the three mock-contaminant bacterial isolates was performed after en- richment with incubation times that varied from 4 to 24 h, depending on the initial inoculation dose. Detec- tion of commensal E. coli in artificially inoculated nanopure water samples was confirmed after 4 h of enrichment incubation. Pathogen detection in artificially inoculated complex irrigation water samples such as canal, reservoir and irrigation runoff water was possible during a time course of 7 h to 18 h. Verification of MMS functionality was performed by analyzing non-inoculated environmental samples that led to the identification of E. coli O157:H7 presence in 4 of 114 irrigation water samples. This field acquired data dem- onstrated the MMS system approach was successful in trapping target microorganism in large water vol- umes, across a range of natural water turbidity and densities of indigenous total coliform and E. coli populations. The outcomes of these studies will likely be useful in improving testing for routine monitoring water quality and an economic approach for assessment of viable pathogen presence in irrigation water by assessing larger volumes of collected water in the laboratory or on-site. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
A Hierarchy of Hu RNA Binding Proteins in Developing and Adult Neurons

The Hu proteins are a group of antigens targeted in an immune-mediated neurodegenerative disorder associated with cancer. We have cloned and characterized four members of the Hugene family from mouse. We find that the Hu genes encode a large number of alternatively spliced transcripts to produce a series of related neuron-specific RNA binding proteins. Despite this complexity, we have discerned several ordered features ofHu expression. In the embryo, specific Hugenes are expressed in a hierarchy during early neurogenesis. In the E16 developing cortex, mHuB is induced in very early postmitotic neurons exiting the ventricular zone, mHuDis expressed in migrating neurons of the intermediate zone, andmHuC is expressed in mature cortical plate neurons. Such a hierarchy suggests distinct functional roles for each gene in developing neurons. In the adult, all neurons express some set ofHu mRNA and protein. However, specific patterns are evident such that individual neuronal types in the hippocampus, cerebellum, olfactory cortex, neocortex, and elsewhere express from one to several Hu genes. The complexity of potential protein variants within a gene family and of different Hu family members within a neuron suggests a diverse array of function. Given the strong homologies among the Hu proteins, the Drosophilaneurogenic gene elav, and the Drosophilasplicing factor sxl, we predict that different combinations of Hu proteins determine different neuron-specific aspects of post-transcriptional RNA regulation. Our findings of specific developmental patterns of expression and the correlation between immune targeting of the Hu proteins and adult neurodegenerative disease suggest that the Hu proteins are critical in both the proper development and function of mature neurons.
A CLASSIFICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS AND ANALYSIS OF THE FLORA OF BIG BEND REGION OF TEXAS

The flora of the Big Bend region in the Trans-Pecos Vegetational Area of SW Texas was studied from a biogeographical perspective. A checklist of the designated flora was extracted primarily from the Synthesis of the North American Flora and data concerning the general distribution of species were obtained from the literature, the " Synthesis ," and other on-line databases. There are 1587 native species in 592 genera and 125 families in the flora. These species, based on their contemporary distribution outlines, were classified into 19 geographic (floristic) elements. The genera were classified into 19 geographic groups based on their general distribution. Herein is presented a classification scheme of geographic elements (geoelements), the checklist accompanied by the geoelement descriptions, and the analysis of the flora. The Big Bend region flora - being on the boundary of two subkingdoms, the Madrean and Boreal - has a complex pattern of connections, with predominance of the autochthonous xerophytic taxa evolved from the Madro-Tertiary geoflora stalk. Laurasin (Arcto-Tertiary) flora derivatives play a lesser role. The strongest connections of the flora are with Mesoamerica-South America. The Madrean species (66%) and especially the Chihuahuan endemics (26%) are most numerous. In the generic composition, south-western and western North American, followed by tropic/subtropical, genera are much better represented than north and eastern American temperate genera. Eastern and western Northern Hemisphere's connections across the Atlantic, show three different patterns: northern early Tertiary migrations of the Laurasian mesophyllous genera, diversification of older Madro-Tethyan subtropical genera along the Tethys seaway, and migration westward along the southern Tethys shore of termophyllous ancient taxa originated or preserved in the Horn of Africa region. RESUMEN
Using Learning Analytics to Assess Capstone Project Teams

Machine-learning-based analytics are an effective tool to help assess student teamwork skills and predict learning outcomes in software engineering courses.
Genetically Modified Bacteriorhodopsin as a Bioelectronic Material

This article shows the effect of point mutations on the photoelectric behavior of membranes reconstituted from mutant bacteriorhodopsins.
Shedding light on bone material

The exact nature of the mineral component of bone is not yet totally defined, even though it is recognized as a type of carbonated hydroxylapatite. It is remarkable that such fundamental natural material, which forms all hard parts of the human body except for small portions of the inner ear, is not well understood. Authors Jill Pasteris, Claude H. Yoder, and Brigitte Wopenka have undertaken detailed and truly painstaking experiments to characterize bone material and shed light on its relationship to hydroxylapatite. The authors very effectively demonstrate, through Raman spectroscopic and thermogravimetric analysis of 56 synthetic samples of carbonated apatite containing from 1 to 17 wt% CO 3 , that bone material is not simply carbonated hydroxylapatite, but instead a definable mineralogical entity, a combined hydrated-hydroxylated calcium phosphate phase of the form Ca 10–x [(PO 4 ) 6–x (CO 3 ) x ] (OH) 2–x · n H 2 O, where n ~ 1.5. They hypothesize that water molecules keep the apatite channels stable even when 80% of the hydroxyl sites are vacant (typical in bone apatite, in contrast to hydroxylapatite), and hinder carbonate ions from substituting for hydroxyl ions in the channels, thus regulating chemical access to the channels. The results of this study are extremely important in many fields and will be of particular interest to those in medicine who study diseases of the bone.
Ambiguity as Agent in Pushkin's and Shakespeare's Historical Tragedies

The question of Shakespeare's influence on Pushkin's work in the period beginning 1824-25 has often been examined in critical works on Pushkin. This influence has generally been construed as one of the decisive factors in Pushkin's poetic and personal maturation away from his early naive Byronism. At the same time, Pushkin found in Shakespeare a release from the outworn conventions of French classical drama that had until then provided the precepts for writers for the Russian stage. For Pushkin, two specific features of Shakespearean drama were congenial: the abandonment of the three classical unities in favor of the primacy of character in dramatic action, and generic mixtures of comedy and tragedy, poetry and prose.
Simulating evolution of protein complexes through gene duplication and co-option.

Abstract We present a model of the evolution of protein complexes with novel functions through gene duplication, mutation, and co-option. Under a wide variety of input parameters, digital organisms evolve complexes of 2–5 bound proteins which have novel functions but whose component proteins are not independently functional. Evolution of complexes with novel functions happens more quickly as gene duplication rates increase, point mutation rates increase, protein complex functional probability increases, protein complex functional strength increases, and protein family size decreases. Evolution of complexity is inhibited when the metabolic costs of making proteins exceeds the fitness gain of having functional proteins, or when point mutation rates get so large the functional proteins undergo deleterious mutations faster than new functional complexes can evolve.
Tunable Thin Film Optics and Metamaterials Based on Vanadium Dioxide

We exploited the insulator-to-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide (VO2) to create tunable thin film optical components and metasurfaces in the mid-infrared spectral range. Thermally and electrically tunable modulators and thermal emitters are demonstrated.
MRI/MRS Study of ADEM

Magnetic resonance imaging and H magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to detect possible structural and neurochemical abnormalities in two children, ages 6-months and 4.5 years, with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York.
Intradialytic subjective sleepiness and oral body temperature.

Study Objectives: Hemodialysis (HD) patients are often observed to sleep during treatment. Because of the well-described, inverse association between body temperature and sleep propensity, the purpose of this study was to describe the course of intradialytic (during HD) subjective sleepiness and examine its relationship to oral body temperature. In addition, we sought to determine if that relationship varied with dialysis treatment time of day. Design: Subjective sleepiness and oral body temperature were recorded every 15 minutes through the entire course of HD. Setting: The study was conducted at two large, inner-city dialysis units. Patients or Participants: The sample included 60 chronic HD patients, 20 on each of three shifts based on treatment time of day (shift 1-6:00A.M. to 10:00A.M.; shift 2-10:00A.M. to 2:00P.M.; and shift 3-2:00P.M. to 6:00P.M., Measurements and Results: Subjects on shift 1 were found to have a mean intradialytic sleepiness level greater than those on shift 2 (p<.04) and shift 3 (p<.003). Irrespective of shift, sleepiness increased during the first half of dialysis and decreased slightly as treatment progressed, a significant quadratic trend (p<.001). During the same period, temperature initially increased, subsequently dropped in temporal proximity to maximal sleepiness and increased again, a significant quadratic trend (p<.02). The relationship between sleepiness and temperature revealed a significant negative correlation (r=-.59, p<.03) and did not vary with treatment time of day. Conclusions: The results argue that sleep propensity increases during HD, an effect that may be related to treatment induced alterations in arousal and/or thermoregulatory processes. The effect is unrelated to treatment time of day.
Self-Noise and Wake Velocity of an Axial Fan for Different Operating Conditions

Aeroacoustic and hot-wire wake measurements have been made for rotating controlled diffusion blades configured as a three- and as a nine-blade axial fan. For each rotor, six different operating conditions (cases 1 to 6), ranging from very low pressure rise to blade stall and radial pumping, have been investigated. The experimental results include the wake flow patterns and the associated noise radiation. Fluctuation intensities and phase-averaged velocity magnitudes have been obtained in the downstream region of the fan to represent the basic flow features for each defined case. An array of microphones was used to measure the acoustic emissions created by the axial fan. A beamforming technique has been used to properly represent the fan acoustic emissions from the recorded acoustic data. Self-noise signatures of the propagated sound, corresponding to the defined cases, have been obtained in the range of 200–8000 Hz. Acoustic data and their links to 1) the physics of the flows, 2) aerodynamic loading, and ...
Salvia divinorum, Hallucinogens, and the Determination of Medical Utility

In 1970, The United States government enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA usurped all existing federal laws regulating controlled substances and established three primary criteria for evaluating all drugs: medical utility, potential for abuse, and safety of the substance. Since the passage of the CSA, the federal government has generally taken the lead when regulating drugs; however, a psychoactive plant, Salvia divinorum, has illustrated some of the problems when evaluating hallucinogenic drugs under the current regulation scheme. Beginning in the late 1990s, S. divinorum began to appear for sale on the Internet and in “head shops,” often marketed as a “legal high.” The availability of a “legal high” has concerned many state lawmakers, but failed to gain the attention of federal drug regulators. To date, nearly half of the individual United States have chosen to regulate S. divinorum. One of the reasons for the regulation is that hallucinogens are not typically considered to have medical utility and have often been deemed to have no recognized medical utility. Furthermore, hallucinogens tend to be niche drugs with no real potential for abuse or addiction. As recently witnessed with the case of S. divinorum, the plant may not have a recognized medical utility, but the plant does not seem to present any real danger either. These circumstances can be problematic, since the rush to regulate a “legal high” seems to take precedence over determining if S. divinorum has medical utility.
Food Intake Regulation

Birds, like mammals, have complex mechanisms regulating food intake. Given a choice between more than one diet, turkeys, broilers, layers, and other avian species display the ability to self-select a diet adequate for growth or production. Although compensation may not be complete, if exposed to severe feed restriction early in life, birds compensate by increasing their intake in order to increase weight gain following the restriction. In contrast, force feeding birds twice their ad libitum food intake causes Leghorns to stop eating for 7–10 days until their fat stores approach pre-force-feeding levels. Therefore, clearly, birds have the ability to regulate food intake.
Accountability: Towards a Definition of Hybridity for Scholars of Transnational Rhetorics

As rhetoricians turn increasingly to study non-Western rhetorics, they rely on postcolonial scholarship but sometimes encounter difficulties adapting its key methods—in particular, hybridity. While it is quite clearly a necessary concept for transnational rhetorics, nevertheless its literariness, ubiquity, and vagueness about agency limit its utility. In this paper I draw from relevant work in genre studies, sociolinguistics, and social constructivism to propose a new version of hybridity that can take account of hybrid rhetorical forms, account for their agency with audiences, and be accountable to stakeholders in transnational settings where rhetoricians work. I finish by applying this new method to a protestant sermon preached in Mali and noting both the successes and challenges of engaging an accountable notion of hybridity.
Pharyngeal Dystonia Mimicking Spasmodic Dysphonia

Summary Objective The aim of this study was to describe the presentation of pharyngeal dystonia (PD), which can occur as a focal or segmental dystonia with a primarily pharyngeal involvement for the discussion of treatment methods for controlling consequent symptoms. PD is specific to speech-related tasks. Methods A retrospective medical record review of four patients with PD was performed. Results All patients were initially misdiagnosed with adductor spasmodic dysphonia and failed standard treatment with botulinum toxin type A (BTX). On laryngoscopy, the patients were discovered to have segmental or focal dystonia primarily affecting the pharyngeal musculature contributing to their vocal manifestations. A novel treatment regimen was designed, which involved directing BTX injections into the muscles involved in spasmodic valving at the oropharyngeal level. After titrating to an optimal dose, all patients showed improvement in their voice and speech with only mild dysphagia. These patients have maintained favorable results with repeat injections at 6- to 12-week intervals. Conclusions PD, or dystonia with predominant pharyngeal involvement, is a rare entity with vocal manifestations that are not well described. It can be easily mistaken for spasmodic dysphonia. PD is specific to speech-related tasks. A novel method of BTX injections into the involved muscles results in a significant improvement in voice without significant dysphagia.
Control over high peak-power laser light and laser-driven X-rays

Abstract An optical system was demonstrated that enables continuous control over the peak power level of ultrashort duration laser light. The optical characteristics of amplified and compressed femtosecond-duration light from a chirped-pulse amplification laser are shown to remain invariant and maintain high-fidelity using this system. When the peak power was varied by an order-of-magnitude, up to its maximum attainable value, the phase, spectral bandwidth, polarization state, and focusability of the light remained constant. This capability led to precise control of the focused laser intensity and enabled a correspondingly high level of control over the power of an all-laser-driven Thomson X-ray light source.
Regulated Secretion in Platelets: Identification of Elements of the Platelet Exocytosis Machinery

To further characterize the molecular mechanisms of platelet function, we have sought to identify some of the proteins that mediate the secretory events of the platelet release reaction. We report that platelets contain the general elements of the membrane transport apparatus: N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein (NSF), p115/transcytosis-associated protein (p115/TAP), and the soluble NSF attachment proteins (alpha- and, gamma-SNAP). The cDNAs encoding two of these proteins, alpha- and gamma-SNAP, have been cloned from a human platelet-derived cDNA library. Platelet membrane extracts possess SNAP receptor (SNARE) activity, suggesting that the class of proteins (SNAREs) proposed to provide the specificity for vesicle docking and membrane fusion are present in platelets. To identify these proteins, we have used specific antibodies against known SNAREs to probe platelet extracts. Syntaxin 2 and 4 can be readily detected in platelet membrane preparations and are shown to participate in 20 S complex formation. Syntaxin 1, 3, and 5 could not be detected. Other known SNARE and SNARE-associated proteins such as vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)/synaptobrevin 2, SNAP-25, synaptophysin, or synaptotagmin I could not be immunochemically detected in platelet membrane preparations. The presence of both the general transport proteins (NSF and SNAPs) and specific transport proteins (syntaxin 2 and 4) indicates that platelet exocytosis uses a molecular mechanism similar to other secretory cells such as neurons. However, the subcellular concentrations of these proteins suggest that, unlike neuronal secretion, granule-to plasma membrane docking may be the limiting step in platelet exocytosis.
A Cloud-Based Scientific Gateway for Internet of Things Data Analytics

As inexpensive Internet of Things (IoT) sensors have become widely available, an increasing number of researchers in domains as diverse as the engineering and geosciences, biomedicine, the social sciences, and even the arts have become interested in the insights and creative expression such sensors might enable. At the University of Iowa, we convened a series of meetings at which we posed the following framing question: "What would you do with 10,000, ~$10 sensors?" These discussions identified the clear need for a standard, end-to-end infrastructure for sensor deployment and data collection through data analytics and visualization, one that allowed researchers to focus on research and scholarship rather than infrastructure development. This paper1 describes the development of a suite of wireless sensors and a cloud-based toolkit for data capture, analysis, and visualization, based on Amazon Web Services (AWS), MQTT, and Jupyter notebooks.
Structure and Function of Glycoprotein D of Herpes Simplex Virus

Glycoprotein D (gD) is a structural component of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) envelope which is essential for virus penetration into host cells. The function of this protein is highly dependent on its structure, and its structure, in turn, is dependent on maintenance of three intact disulfide bonds. Our goal has been to relate structural features of this glycoprotein to its function in virus infection. We have constructed a detailed antigenic map of the protein. A large panel of gD mutants was assayed for gD function using a complementation assay. At least one antigenic site, which binds antibodies with high titers of virus-neutralizing activity, overlaps a portion of the functional domain of gD. In addition, we constructed mutants which lacked one or all three sites for addition of N-linked oligosaccharides (N-CHO). We found that a triple mutant lacking all three N-CHO sites is able to function normally in virus infection and when recombined back into the virus genome had very little effect on the phenotype of the resulting recombinant. Thus, it appears that N-CHO are not necessary for gD function, though there were some changes in gD structure. In contrast, removal of any of the cysteine residues which participate in disulfide bonding has drastic effects on gD structure and function. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we showed that the disulfide bond pattern of gD is Cys 1 (aa 66) to Cys 5 (aa 189), Cys 2 (aa 106) to Cys 6 (aa 202), and Cys 3 (aa 118) to Cys 4 (aa 127). We postulate that a similar disulfide bond arrangement exists in other gD homologs and that gD is part of a superfamily of herpes proteins that includes HSV gI (and its homologs) and HSV gG (and its homologs), all with similar disulfide bonding to gD.
Everest: scaling down peak loads through I/O off-loading

Bursts in data center workloads are a real problem for storage subsystems. Data volumes can experience peak I/O request rates that are over an order of magnitude higher than average load. This requires significant overprovisioning, and often still results in significant I/O request latency during peaks.In order to address this problem we propose Everest, which allows data written to an overloaded volume to be temporarily off-loaded into a short-term virtual store. Everest creates the short-term store by opportunistically pooling underutilized storage resources either on a server or across servers within the data center. Writes are temporarily off-loaded from overloaded volumes to lightly loaded volumes, thereby reducing the I/O load on the former. Everest is transparent to and usable by unmodified applications, and does not change the persistence or consistency of the storage system. We evaluate Everest using traces from a production Exchange mail server as well as other benchmarks: our results show a 1.4-70 times reduction in mean response times during peaks.
Early History and Biogeography of South America’s Extinct Land Mammals

South America’s peculiar extinct mammalian fauna has been a source of fascination since the late 1700’s when a Pleistocene skeleton of the giant ground sloth Megatherium, later described by Cuvier (1796, 1812), was unearthed and sent to Spain by the Dominican Manuel Torres. Strange new Pleistocene discoveries continued to be made throughout the 19th Century (see, for instance, Darwin, 1839; Lund, 1841; Owen, 1842). Toward the end of the 1800’s the Tertiary faunal history of South America began to be documented, notably by the famous Ameghino brothers. The history of 19th- and 20th-Century vertebrate paleontology in South America, however, has been the subject of excellent summaries elsewhere (e.g., Simpson, 1940, 1948, 1967, 1978; Marshall et al., in press a,b) and will only be mentioned briefly where appropriate here. The purpose of this study is to provide a critique of theories of the origin, rather than the full history, of the early mammalian fauna of a southern land mass that has changed its geological affinities profoundly since the Jurassic. I shall not be much concerned with the effects of reconnection of South with Central America during the Pliocene. For discussions of the resulting “Great American Interchange” at the end of the Cenozoic, one is referred to Patterson and Pascual (1968a), Webb (1976, 1978a,b), Marshall and Hecht (1978), Marshall (1979), and Marshall et al. (1979).
Association between gait mechanics and ultrasonographic measures of femoral cartilage thickness in individuals with ACL reconstruction

Abstract Background Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are at greater risk for knee osteoarthritis, which may be in part due to altered gait biomechanics. Articular cartilage thickness is typically imaged using magnetic resonance imaging, which is costly and lacks portability. Ultrasonography may provide an alternative imaging method for articular cartilage. It is unclear if ultrasonographic measurements of cartilage thickness are associated with gait biomechanics in individuals with ACLR. Research Question To evaluate the association between sagittal and frontal plane knee mechanics during gait and resting femoral cartilage thickness from ultrasonography. Methods Twenty-five females with ACLR (age = 21.7 ± 2.6 years, time since ACLR = 60.6 ± 24.8 months) completed assessments of walking biomechanics and resting femoral cartilage thickness. Linear regression examined the association between gait biomechanics and cartilage thickness at the medial (MC) and lateral (LC) femoral condyles, and intercondylar notch (IC) after accounting for time since ACLR, meniscal injury, and gait speed. Results In the ACLR limb, larger vertical ground reaction force (ΔR2 = 0.21, pΔ = 0.03), knee flexion angle (ΔR2 = 0.15, pΔ = 0.05), knee flexion excursion (KFE) (ΔR2 = 0.16, pΔ = 0.04), and knee flexion impulse (KFI) (ΔR2 = 0.23, pΔ = 0.02) were associated with thicker MC cartilage. A larger knee adduction angle (ΔR2 = 0.20, pΔ = 0.03) and knee adduction moment (KAM) (ΔR2 = 0.20, pΔ = 0.03) were associated with thinner MC thickness. Larger KFE (ΔR2 = 0.20, pΔ = 0.03) was associated with thicker LC cartilage. Gait biomechanics were not associated with IC cartilage thickness. After accounting for co-variates, the combination of KFI and KAM was predictive of MC thickness (ΔR2 = 0.37, pΔ = 0.01; Total R2 = 0.52, p = 0.02). Meniscal injury, KAM, and KFI were significant predictors in the model. In the contralateral limb, KFE was associated with thicker MC cartilage (ΔR2 = 0.16, pΔ = 0.05). Significance Sagittal and frontal plane knee mechanics during gait are uniquely associated with ultrasonographic measurements of femoral cartilage thickness in individuals with ACLR. Furthermore, concomitant medial meniscal injury was associated with thinner MC cartilage.
Concomitant use of blinatumomab and donor lymphocyte infusion for mixed-phenotype acute leukemia: a case report with literature review

Blinatumomab and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) combination is a promising cancer therapy, whereby blinatumomab might achieve an initial reduction in leukemic-cell burden using T cells, and after tumor clearance, DLI can potentially stimulate the donor immune system to achieve longer lasting remission. Here, we present a 51-year-old female with mixed phenotype acute leukemia who had a hematologic relapse 3 months after she received total body irradiation-based myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from an unrelated human leukocyte antigen matched (10/10) donor and achieved complete remission with minimal residual disease negativity by multi-parameter flow cytometry using the combination of blinatumomab and DLI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the use of blinatumomab and DLI combination therapy in the treatment of B/myeloid mixed phenotype acute leukemia.
P-034 First pass recanalization: incidence, predictors, and outcome

Introduction Recanalization with the first pass is known to improve mechanical thrombectomy outcome and lower complications rate. We report the outcome and predictors of first pass recanalization using ADAPT technique. First pass recanalization (FP) is defined as achieving successful recanalization (mTICI ≥2b) with first aspiration attempt. Methods The A Direct Aspiration First Pass Technique (ADAPT) database was used to identify a subgroup of patients who achieved FP. Baseline characteristics, procedural, and postprocedural variables were collected. Outcome measures included 90 days modified Rankin scale (mRS), mortality and any hemorrhagic complications. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify FP predictors. Results A total of 524 patients were included of whom 178 achieved FP. More patients in the FP group received IV tPA (46.6% vs 37.6%; p Conclusion Recanalization with first aspiration pass associated with better functional outcome and lower mortality rate. IV tPA and use of larger aspiration catheters associated with FP. Disclosures M. Anadani: None. A. Alaweih: None. R. Turner: 6; C; C; Codman Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Funding; Covidien Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau; Penumbra Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Grants; Microvention Cons. M. Chaudry: 6; C; C; Codman Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Funding; Covidien Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau; Penumbra Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Grants; Microvention Cons. A. Turk: 6; C; C; Codman Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Funding; Covidien Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau; Penumbra Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research Grants; Microvention Con. A. Spiotta: 6; C; C; Penumbra Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau; Pulsar Vascular Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau; Microvention Consulting, Honorarium, Speaker Bureau, Research; Stryker Consulting, Honorari.
Thermal buckling of curvilinearly stiffened laminated composite plates with cutouts using isogeometric analysis

Abstract This research presents the Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) based isogeometric finite element analysis of stiffened laminated composite plates. A first-order shear deformation theory is used to derive the governing equations by employing a variational formulation. Isotropic, orthotropic and laminated composite plates stiffened with multiple curvilinear stiffeners of different profiles are investigated. A novel way to achieve displacement compatibility between the panel and stiffeners interfaces is introduced. An easy way of modeling plates with complicated cutouts by using edge curves and generating a ruled NURBS surface between them is described. Influence on the critical thermal buckling load due to the presence of circular and elliptical cutouts is also investigated. Results of parametric studies are presented which show the influence of ply orientation, size and orientation of the cutout, and the position and profile of the curvilinear stiffener. The numerical examples show high reliability and efficiency of the proposed formulation when compared to other published solutions and those obtained using ABAQUS, a commercial software.
On the Effect of Sweat on Sheet Resistance of Knitted Conductive Yarns in Wearable Antenna Design

Researchers are looking for new methods to integrate sensing capabilities into textiles while maintaining the durability, flexibility, and comfort of the garment. One method for imparting sensing capabilities into garments is through coupling conductive yarns with the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. These smart devices have exhibited promising results for short-term use. However, long-term studies of their performance are still needed to evaluate their performance over a longer period. Like all garments, wearable sensors are susceptible to environmental factors during use. These factors can lead to dielectric coupling and corrosion of conductive yarns, which has the potential to degrade the performance of the device. This letter analyzes the effect of sweat and moisture on silver-coated nylon yarn by extracting the sheet resistance at 913 MHz from transmission line measurements. HFSS simulation shows the level of perturbation in antenna performance as sheet resistance increased with each cycle of sweat-immersion, washing, and drying.
Clinical outcomes of resecting scarpa's ganglion during vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Abstract Vestibular schwannomas are slow-growing tumors arising from the Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve. Scarpa’s ganglion, the vestibular nerve ganglion, is located within the internal auditory meatus. Surgical treatment of vestibular schwannomas carries the potential of resecting Scarpa’s ganglion along with the tumor. No prior studies have evaluated outcomes based on the presence of Scarpa’s ganglion within tumor specimens. The neurosurgery patient records were queried for patients who underwent surgical resection of vestibular schwannomas at the University of Missouri Healthcare between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018. Inclusion criteria consisted of minimum age of 18, imaging demonstrating an eighth nerve tumor, surgical resection thereof, and a final pathological diagnosis of WHO grade I schwannoma. Data were collected retrospectively. The histological slides of the tumors were reviewed, and the presence or absence of the ganglion was noted. Outcomes analyzed included postoperative dizziness, hearing, and facial nerve function. Fifty-two patients met inclusion criteria. Ten (19%) resected tumors contained portions of the ganglion. No difference in risk of resection of ganglion occurred based on the surgical approach (p = 0.2454). Mean follow-up duration was 24.6 months ± 26.2 standard deviation. No differences in postoperative hearing or dizziness (p = 0.8483 and p = 0.3190 respectively) were present if Scarpa’s ganglion was resected. House-Brackmann classification of facial nerve function at last follow-up was similar (p = 0.9190). Resection of Scarpa’s ganglion with vestibular schwannomas does not increase risk of post-operative dizziness, facial nerve weakness, or hearing loss.
Is Multiple Sclerosis an Extra-Intestinal Manifestation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease? Food for Thought

For many years there has been a suggested association between multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Aside from their common epidemiological and immunological similarities, there appears to be an association between the incidence of both diseases coexisting. We report a case of a 41-year-old man with chronic diarrhea and weakness, who was found to have concomitant MS and Crohn's Disease. Our report underscores the importance clinicians of maintaining a high degree of suspicion about the potential association of these conditions among these patient populations.
Explaining Similarities and Variations in Program Structures and Professional Roles in Midwestern Mental Health Courts

For nearly twenty years, legal and mental health professionals have created mental health courts (MHCs) for responding to the increasing numbers of criminally involved people with severe mental illnesses (PSMI) who are entering the criminal justice system. This article presents findings from qualitative analysis of survey and ethnographic data collected at nine MHCs established in a Midwestern state between 2004 and 2008, exploring how professionals who operated the MHCs organized the programs and conducted roles at the work sites. Findings revealed that professionals established very similar models of mental health court organization at each of the nine sites. The data supported three forms of institutional isomorphism—coercive, mimetic, and normative—that occurred as professionals introduced MHC programs in various jurisdictions. However, the data also revealed some variances of structure, professional belief, and practice when comparing the MHCs. Some of these variations are explained by local organizational cultures, while others are due to organizational dependence on available resources.
Beyond the Kármán gait: knifefish swimming in periodic and irregular vortex streets.

Neotropical freshwater fishes such as knifefishes are commonly faced with navigating intense and highly unsteady streams. However, our knowledge on locomotion in apteronotids comes from laminar flows, where the ribbon fin dominates over pectoral fins or body bending. Here, we studied the 3D kinematics and swimming control of seven black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) moving in laminar flows (flow speed U∞∼1 – 5 Bl/s) and in periodic vortex streets (U∞∼2 – 4 Bl/s). Two different cylinders (∼2 and ∼3 cm diameter) were used to generate the latter. Additionally, fish were exposed to an irregular wake produced by a free oscillating cylinder (∼2 cm diameter; U∞∼2 Bl/s). In laminar flows knifefish mainly used their ribbon fin, with wave frequency, speed and acceleration increasing with U∞. In contrast, knifefish swimming behind a fixed cylinder increased the use of pectoral fins and resulted in changes in body orientation that mimicked steady backward swimming. Meanwhile, individuals behind the oscillating cylinder presented a combination of body bending, ribbon and pectoral fins movements that counteract the out-of-phase yaw oscillations induced by the irregular shedding of vortices. We corroborated passive out-of-phase oscillations by placing a printed knifefish model just downstream of the moving cylinder but, when placed one-cylinder diameter downstream, the model oscillated in phase. Thus, the wake left behind an oscillating body is more challenging than a periodic vortex shedding for an animal located downstream, which may have consequences on inter- and intra-specific interactions.