cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Comprehensive Review.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an emerging chronic atopic clinical-pathologic disease with an estimated prevalence of 1/1000 similar to the one of Crohn’s diseases. Usually, EoE is firstly suspected due to symptoms that are caused by esophageal dysfunction and/or fibrosis. EoE diagnosis is confirmed if the esophageal biopsy shows at least 15 eosinophils per high power field (eos/hpf) as a peak value in one or more of at least four specimens obtained randomly from the esophagus. Most of the patients affected by EoE have other atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, IgE-mediated food allergies, and/or atopic dermatitis. The local inflammation is a T helper type 2 (Th2) flogosis, which most likely is driven by a mixed IgE and non-IgE-mediated reaction to food and/or environmental allergens. Recently published genetic studies showed also that EoE is associated with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on genes which are important in atopic inflammation such as thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) located close to the Th2 cytokine cluster (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13) on chromosome 5q22. When the EoE diagnosis is made, it is imperative to control the local eosinophilic inflammation not only to give symptomatic relief to the patient but also to prevent complications such as esophageal stricture and food impaction. EoE is treated like many other atopic diseases with a combination of topical steroids and/or food antigen avoidance.
A pipelined automatic meter reading scheme

A communication scheme for radio-linked automatic meter reading (AMR) systems is presented. This scheme broadcasts a wake-up signal to all the meters that are to be read. It requires at most two frequency channels for both the wake-up signal and the returning data. The wake-up signal is sent only once for a specified group of meters and then the readings from that group of meters are returned in a pipelined fashion. The operation of a radio linked AMR is briefly reviewed. The details of the proposed communication scheme are then discussed and the results are summarized. >
Validity of the Distinction Between “Substance-Induced” and “Independent” Depressio and Anxiety Disorders

Diagnosis of comorbidpsychiatric disorders in substance abuse patients is complicated by the fact that many abused substances induce transient symptoms that mimic independent disorders. The authors applied criteria designed to distinguish “independent” comorbid disorders from those that may have been “substance-induced, “ to determine the impact on rates of diagnosis and on concurrent and predictive validity. Of those with symptoms sufficient to meet criteria for comorbid depression (12%) or anxiety diagnoses (26%), fewer than one-fourth were considered to have independent disorders, and these patients did not constitute a category of greater severity. Current guidelines for defining independent diagnoses were not supported. Further work is required to identify criteria that will provide a clinically meaningful distinction.
Loss of Ascorbic Acid from Injured Feline Spinal Cord

Feline spinal cord contains 0.97 mM ascorbic acid, as measured by the dinitrophenylhydrazine method. Greater than 90% is maintained in the reduced form. When functioning normally, the CNS conserves its ascorbic acid with a turnover rate of 2% per h. Following contusion injury severe enough to produce paraplegia, ascorbic acid is rapidly lost from injured spinal tissue. Thus, ascorbic acid is decreased 30% by 1 h and 50% by 3 h following injury. Oxidized ascorbic acid is increased at 1, but not 3, h following impact. As a consequence of its many functions in CNS, loss of ascorbic acid may contribute to derangements in spinal cord function following injury.
Updating Best Practices: Applying On-Screen Reading Strategies to Résumé Writing.

The best practices presented in textbooks and professional publications provide separate guidelines for paper-based and electronic or “scannable” resumes. This article recommends changing these pra...
Exploiting Network Structure for Active Inference in Collective Classification

Active inference seeks to maximize classification performance while minimizing the amount of data that must be labeled ex ante. This task is particularly relevant in the context of relational data, where statistical dependencies among instances can be exploited to improve classification accuracy. We show that efficient methods for indexing network structure can be exploited to select high-value nodes for labeling. This approach substantially outperforms random selection and selection based on simple measures of local structure. We demonstrate the relative effectiveness of this selection approach through experiments with a relational neighbor classifier on a variety of real and synthetic data sets, and identify the necessary characteristics of the data set that allow this approach to perform well.
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR TUNING PARAMETER TOLERANCE DESIGN

In this paper a novel technique is presented to solve tolerance design problems. To achieve the desired performance tolerance, the technique uses a subtle, but significant, change in the design rather than increasing component precision. This change is the addition of a tuning parameter. Statistical models are used to developed a framework for the tuning parameter design method. Also developed is a new dimensionless design parameter which ranks candidate tuning parameters. The stepby-step tuning parameter design method is applied to a heavy duty manual stapler as a clarifying example.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Carborane-Containing Amino Acids for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Malignant melanoma, a neoplasm derived from neuroectodermal cells, is usually cutaneous in origin but can arise in a wide variety of extracutaneous sites including the oral, rectal and vaginal mucosa and the eye. It has a high propensity to metastasize to the brain, is usually multicentric, and for all intents and purposes is totally refractory to any current therapeutic modalities. For this reason it is a possible candidate for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. Although melanoma cells are variably resistant to photon irradiation, they are highly sensitive to alpha-particles.
Deletions of 5′ HOXC genes are associated with lower extremity malformations, including clubfoot and vertical talus

Background Deletions of the HOXC gene cluster result in variable phenotypes in mice, but have been rarely described in humans. Objective To report chromosome 12q13.13 microdeletions ranging from 13 to 175 kb and involving the 5′ HOXC genes in four families, segregating congenital lower limb malformations, including clubfoot, vertical talus and hip dysplasia. Methods Probands (N=253) with clubfoot or vertical talus were screened for point mutations and copy number variants using multiplexed direct genomic selection, a pooled BAC targeted capture approach. SNP genotyping included 1178 probands with clubfoot or vertical talus and 1775 controls. Results The microdeletions share a minimal non-coding region overlap upstream of HOXC13 , with variable phenotypes depending upon HOXC13 , HOXC12 or the HOTAIR lncRNA inclusion. SNP analysis revealed HOXC11 p.Ser191Phe segregating with clubfoot in a small family and enrichment of HOXC12 p.Asn176Lys in patients with clubfoot or vertical talus (rs189468720, p=0.0057, OR=3.8). Defects in limb morphogenesis include shortened and overlapping toes, as well as peroneus muscle hypoplasia. Finally, HOXC and HOXD gene expression is reduced in fibroblasts from a patient with a 5′ HOXC deletion, consistent with previous studies demonstrating that dosage of lncRNAs alters expression of HOXD genes in trans . Conclusions Because HOXD10 has been implicated in the aetiology of congenital vertical talus, variation in its expression may contribute to the lower limb phenotypes occurring with 5′ HOXC microdeletions. Identification of 5′ HOXC microdeletions highlights the importance of transcriptional regulators in the aetiology of severe lower limb malformations and will improve their diagnosis and management.
Regression clustering

Complex distribution in real-world data is often modeled by a mixture of simpler distributions. Clustering is one of the tools to reveal the structure of this mixture. The same is true to the datasets with chosen response variables that people run regression on. Without separating the clusters with very different response properties, the residue error of the regression is large. Input variable selection could also be misguided to a higher complexity by the mixture. In regression clustering (RC), K (>1) regression functions are applied to the dataset simultaneously which guide the clustering of the dataset into K subsets each with a simpler distribution matching its guiding function. Each function is regressed on its own subset of data with a much smaller residue error. Both the regressions and the clustering optimize a common objective function. We present a RC algorithm based on K-harmonic means clustering algorithm and compare it with other existing RC algorithms based on K-means and EM.
Experimental observations on the antimycobacterial activity of rifampin.

SummaryExperimental studies in vitro and in vivo indicated that rifampin is highly active against both isoniazid-susceptible and isoniazid-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. Although less active in vivo than isoniazid, at least in the dosages employed, it was highly active in combination with streptomycin, isoniazid, or ethambutol, or in combination with both streptomycin and isoniazid, against experimental tuberculosis in mice produced by intravenous challenge with the H37Rv strain of M. tuberculosis. Emergence of microbial resistance to rifampin was not observed during a 3-week course of treatment nor during a 3-week followup period after cessation of therapy. Antagonism, moreover, between rifampin and streptomycin, isoniazid, or ethambutol was not observed.
Bulletin 17B Flood Frequency Revisions: Practical Software and Test Comparison Results

Bulletin 17B (B17B) provides guidelines for conducting flood frequency analyses in the United States (U.S.). Recently, the Hydrologic Frequency Analysis Work Group (HFAWG) began investigations to examine potential changes to B17B. The investigations have focused on alternative techniques for: (1) incorporating historical information; (2) addressing zero flows and low outliers; (3) use of improved plotting positions; and (4) providing correct confidence intervals. An overview of these efforts is presented, highlighting the Expected Moments Algorithm (EMA) with the log-Pearson Type III distribution. Software that implements EMA is described. The existing B17B flood frequency approach is compared with an EMA-based alternative using 82 U.S. peak-flow data sets, data set resampling, and limited MonteCarlo simulation. In this paper, we highlight initial comparison results via a case study. The results suggest that the EMA-based methods perform well when compared to the existing B17B approach, fit easily within the current B17B LPIII/moments framework, provide much more accurate uncertainty estimates, and alleviate some technical and practical inconsistencies in B17B.
OBESITY PARADOX IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE READMISSIONS: AN ANALYSIS FROM AHA “GET WITH THE GUIDELINES” HEART FAILURE

The phenomenon of obesity paradox which is mild to moderate obesity confers survival benefit over normal weight is well described in patients with chronic heart failure. Our study evaluated the presence of obesity on 30 day readmissions in patients admitted with heart failure. We studied 3,758
Rapid Aluminum Nanoparticle Production by Milling in NH3 and CH3NH2 Atmospheres: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Ball milling of aluminum in gaseous atmospheres of ammonia and monomethylamine (MMA) was found to produce particles in the 100 nm size range with high efficiency. A combination of mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis with mass spectrometric product analysis (TGA-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to study the particles and the chemical interactions responsible for particle production. To help understand the nature of the surface chemistry, high level quantum chemical calculations were performed to predict the structures and energetics for binding and reactions of NH3 and MMA on aluminum surfaces. Both NH3 and MMA react with aluminum under milling conditions, producing H2 and other gaseous products, and leaving the surfaces functionalized. The surface functionalization enhances size reduction by reducing the surface free energy and the tendency toward mechanochemical welding. For both NH3 and MMA, the particle cores are metallic aluminum, but the surface chemical properties are quite different. The ammonia-milled particles are capped by an AlNxOyHz layer ∼10 nm thick, which passivates the particles. The MMA-milled particles are capped with a thinner passivating layer, such that they are pyrophoric in air and react with N2 at elevated temperatures.
Cap-and-trade, crowding out, and the implications for municipal climate policy motivations:

Cities have emerged as important actors in climate change policy, implementing measures to reduce emissions from transportation, buildings, and waste. More recently, states such as California have implemented cap-and-trade programs to control greenhouse gases. However, a state-level cap handcuffs cities: by fixing emissions at the level of the cap, it precludes local governments from further reducing aggregate emissions. In this paper, we examine whether cities respond to the changed incentives presented by state-level programs. We find no evidence for crowding out: cities plan their emission reductions in similar ways regardless of state-level cap-and-trade programs. Our results suggest that cities likely have a range of motivations for their climate policy efforts- not simply a altruistic desire to improve the global environment.
Molecular dynamics simulations on the effect of size and shape on the interactions between negative Au18(SR)14, Au102(SR)44 and Au144(SR)60 nanoparticles in physiological saline.

Molecular dynamics simulations employing all-atom force fields have become a reliable way to study binding interactions quantitatively for a wide range of systems. In this work, we employ two recently developed methods for the calculation of dissociation constants KD between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of different sizes in a near-physiological environment through the potential of mean force (PMF) formalism: the method of geometrical restraints developed by Woo et al. and formalized by Gumbart et al. and the method of hybrid Steered Molecular Dynamics (hSMD). Obtaining identical results (within the margin of error) from both approaches on the negatively charged Au18(SR)14 NP, functionalized by the negatively charged 4-mercapto-benzoate (pMBA) ligand, we draw parallels between their energetic and entropic interactions. By applying the hSMD method on Au102(SR)44 and Au144(SR)60, both of them near-spherical in shape and functionalized by pMBA, we study the effects of size and shape on the binding interactions. Au18 binds weakly with KD = 13mM as a result of two opposing effects: its large surface curvature hindering the formation of salt bridges, and its large ligand density on preferential orientations favoring their formation. On the other hand, Au102 binds more strongly with KD = 30μM and Au144 binds the strongest with KD = 3.2nM.
Optical network service provisioning for multicast and groupcast communications

This dissertation investigates the problems of service provisioning to support bandwidth-intensive multicast and groupcast communications in optical networks. Multicast is a point-to-multipoint communication paradigm. In optical multicast, optical signal power loss occurs due to light splitting and signal propagation attenuation. To guarantee the fairness of received signal quality at various destinations of a multicast group, loss-balanced optical multicast is required. This dissertation studies the problem of loss-balanced optical multicast using loss-balanced light-forests in sparse light-splitting and sparse wavelength-conversion optical networks. The problem was formulated as an optimization problem using integer linear programming (ILP). Numerical solutions to the optimization model supply useful performance bounds of constrained optical multicast in sparse light-splitting and sparse wavelength-conversion optical networks. Efficient optical multicast requires light splitters and wavelength converters properly configured in optical networks. This dissertation studies the network planning problem of combined light splitter placement and wavelength converter placement to facilitate the optical multicast service provisioning. Optimization and heuristic approaches are proposed to solve the combined problem in static traffic cases and dynamic traffic cases. Optimization and simulation results prove the close relationship of light splitter placement and wavelength converter placement in optical multicast. Groupcast is a multipoint-to-multipoint communication paradigm, where more than one member in a multicast group can simultaneously send traffic at various rates to all other members of the group. This dissertation studies the problem of optical groupcast by using in-group traffic grooming: traffic streams from members of the same group are groomed in an effective way before being delivered to their common destinations, subject to the following constraints. First, the bandwidth summation of the aggregated traffic streams should not exceed the bandwidth of a wavelength channel. Second, the wavelength-continuity constraint should be observed, except at switch nodes where grooming operations are performed. For delay-constrained groupcast problem, the maximum number of grooming operations along any route should also be constrained to satisfy the required QoS specification.
Shaping nanoscale magnetic domain memory in exchange-coupled ferromagnets by field cooling

The advance of magnetic nanotechnologies relies on detailed understanding of nanoscale magnetic mechanisms in materials. Magnetic domain memory (MDM), that is, the tendency for magnetic domains to repeat the same pattern during field cycling, is important for magnetic recording technologies. Here we demonstrate MDM in [Co/Pd]/IrMn films, using coherent X-ray scattering. Under illumination, the magnetic domains in [Co/Pd] produce a speckle pattern, a unique fingerprint of their nanoscale configuration. We measure MDM by cross-correlating speckle patterns throughout magnetization processes. When cooled below its blocking temperature, the film exhibits up to 100% MDM, induced by exchange-coupling with the underlying IrMn layer. The degree of MDM drastically depends on cooling conditions. If the film is cooled under moderate fields, MDM is high throughout the entire magnetization loop. If the film is cooled under nearly saturating field, MDM vanishes, except at nucleation and saturation. Our findings show how to fully control the occurrence of MDM by field cooling.
Learning via Mental Imagery.

To the Editor:The article by Grace Lim et al,1 “Low-Fidelity Haptic Simulation Versus Mental Imagery Training for Epidural Anesthesia Technical Achievement in Novice Anesthesiology Residents: A Randomized Comparative Study,” raises an intriguing point about the use of mental imagery training for com
No Day In Court: Access to Justice and the Politics of Judicial Retrenchment. By Sarah Staszak. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 320 pp. $99.00 cloth.

No Day In Court: Access to Justice and the Politics of Judicial Retrenchment. By Sarah Staszak. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 320 pp. $99.00 cloth.Sarah Staszak's No Day In Court is an ambitious and comprehensive treatment of the politics of securing access to courts and justice. Staszak's general claim is that "a wide array of rules, procedures, and incentives" (p. 5) operate as "subterranean mechanisms" (p. 9) that constrict access to courts for civil litigants that seek their day in court as part of the rights revolution. This phenomenon, or "judicial retrenchment "(p. 5), is theoretically explained by a confluence of "multiple coalitions, promoting different goals and interests, which have changed over time" (p. 6). The key variables that elucidate judicial retrenchment are insularity, ideology and temporality (p. 10); that is, different actors and interests constrict access by autonomously maximizing their discretion within the institutional framework of the federal judiciary to make the "rules of the game" (pp. 5, 213) that advance their political goals in any given historical time period.Staszak adopts a historical institutional approach to test her theory of judicial retrenchment within the context of four case studies that show that access to courts is restricted by imposing fundamental changes to the decision-makers, rules, venues, and incentives that comprise adjudication (p. 34). For Staszak, the case studies are illustrative of different "strategies" that are used by a variety of institutional actors, coalitions and interests to restrict court access over time (p. 29). After clearly outlining her theory in chapter two, in the next chapter the author details the dramatic shift toward the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mandatory arbitration agreements, a process that has removed federal judges from deciding contested cases involving consumer protection, employment contract, or student loan disputes. Chapter four then demonstrates how different legal and political interests advocated for rule changes that culminated in the Rules Enabling Act of 1934 and the 1938 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure-each are significant because they provide the foundation for the set of procedural rules that govern civil adjudications. As with the rise of ADR, the creation of procedural rules were born out of initial reform efforts that were designed to facilitate access but ultimately worked to deny it in the ensuing post-New Deal institutional struggle between the legislative and judicial departments' effort to control the rulemaking process, especially after the 1970s. In both chapters, the author effectively argues that while the anti-litigation posture of the Supreme Court in recent decades has contributed mightily to retrenchment, the phenomenon itself can only be explained by the convergence of a multiplicity of ideological (and sometimes apolitical) interests that is often bipartisan in nature in any given political time. …
Phase I/II study of azacitidine and capecitabine/oxaliplatin (CAPOX) in refractory CIMP-high metastatic colorectal cancer: evaluation of circulating methylated vimentin

// Michael J. Overman 1 , Van Morris 1 , Helen Moinova 2 , Ganiraju Manyam 6 , Joe Ensor 3 , Michael S. Lee 8 , Cathy Eng 1 , Bryan Kee 1 , David Fogelman 1 , Rachna T. Shroff 1 , Thomas LaFramboise 4 , Thibault Mazard 1 , Tian Feng 1 , Stanley Hamilton 7 , Bradley Broom 6 , James Lutterbaugh 2 , Jean-Pierre Issa 5 , Sanford D. Markowitz 2 and Scott Kopetz 1 1 Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 2 Department of Medicine and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University and Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA 3 Houston Methodist Cancer Center, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA 4 Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA 5 Fels Institute for Cancer and Molecular Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA 6 Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 7 Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 8 Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Correspondence to: Michael J. Overman, email: // Keywords : methylation, azacitidine, CIMP, colorectal cancer, vimentin Received : April 14, 2016 Accepted : August 10, 2016 Published : August 16, 2016 Abstract Purpose: Hypermethylation of promoter CpG islands (CIMP) has been strongly implicated in chemotherapy resistance and is implicated in the pathogenesis of a subset of colorectal cancers (CRCs) termed CIMP-high. Experimental Design: This phase I/II study in CRC (phase II portion restricted to CIMP-high CRC), treated fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin refractory patients with azacitidine (75 mg/m 2 /day subcutaneously D1-5) and CAPOX (capecitibine and oxaliplatin) every three weeks. Results: Twenty-six patients (pts) were enrolled in this study: 15 pts (12 treated at MTD) in phase I and 11 pts in phase II. No dose limiting toxicities were observed. A total of 14 pts were CIMP-high. No responses were seen. CIMP-high status did not correlate with efficacy endpoints [stable disease (SD) or progression-free survival (PFS)] or baseline vimentin methylation level. Changes in vimentin methylation over time did not correlate with efficacy outcomes. Baseline methylated vimentin correlated with tumor volume ( P <0.001) and higher levels of baseline methylation correlated with the obtainment of stable disease ( P =0.04). Conclusions: Azacitidine and CAPOX were well tolerated with high rates of stable disease in CIMP-high pts, but no objective responses. Serum methylated vimentin may be associated with benefit from a regimen including a hypomethylation agent, although this study is not able to separate a potential prognostic or predictive role for the biomarker.
Characterizing Large-Scale Meteorological Patterns and Associated Temperature and Precipitation Extremes over the Northwestern United States Using Self-Organizing Maps

AbstractThe self-organizing maps (SOMs) approach is demonstrated as a way to identify a range of archetypal large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs) over the northwestern United States and connect these patterns with local-scale temperature and precipitation extremes. SOMs are used to construct a set of 12 characteristic LSMPs (nodes) based on daily reanalysis circulation fields spanning the range of observed synoptic-scale variability for the summer and winter seasons for the period 1979–2013. Composites of surface variables are constructed for subsets of days assigned to each node to explore relationships between temperature, precipitation, and the node patterns. The SOMs approach also captures interannual variability in daily weather regime frequency related to El Nino–Southern Oscillation. Temperature and precipitation extremes in high-resolution gridded observations and in situ station data show robust relationships with particular nodes in many cases, supporting the approach as a way to identify ...
Anthropogenic Landforms and Soil Parent Materials

Anthropogenic landforms are created either directly by artificial processes (e.g., strip mining), or indirectly by natural processes triggered by human activity (e.g., accelerated soil erosion). They are commonly produced by the building up of the land with artificial fill materials (aggradation), or as a result excavation (degradation). Anthropogenic landforms vary as a function of geocultural setting, and are generally recognized by their deviation from the natural landscape. Anthropogenic landforms can be classified physically into six basic types: (1) flats, (2) benches, (3) terraces, (4) convexomorphic, (5) concavomorphic, and (6) plateau. The NRCS Geomorphic Description System used in the U.S. classifies landforms hierarchically according to landscape, landform, microfeature and anthropogenic feature.
Compaction of montmorillonite in ultra-dry state

Abstract The current study discovers that uniaxial compression under ambient condition can directly cause strong bonding in ultra-dry montmorillonite, which is attributed to the secondary molecular interaction other than hydrogen bonding. The strength of so-processed material is sensitive to the lateral confinement condition of loading. Similar compaction pressure produces equally strong solids between quasi-static and impact loading modes. Gas permeability of the compacted solids is comparable to those of dense rocks. These findings shed light on the study of Martian regolith and in-situ resource utilization.
Dynamic power splitting between information and power transfer in non-orthogonal multiple access (invited paper)

This paper proposes a dynamic power splitting scheme in a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) based 5G system with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). With the proposed scheme user devices can harvest the maximum amount of energy while still achieve the same data rate as that achieved in the traditional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) schemes. Theoretical analysis is conducted on the stochastic characteristics of power splitting scheme in NOMA and the optimal energy harvesting policy under the constraint of user data rates is provided. The average amount of harvested energy is derived. All the analytical results are presented in succinct closed-forms or pseudo closed-forms and validated by simulations. Numerical results demonstrate that with the proposed scheme users with good channels can benefit from SWIPT on both energy harvesting and data rate satisfaction while users with poor channels can benefit on data rate satisfaction.
Grundlagen kooperativer Gruppenarbeit

Die Zusammenarbeit einer Gruppe ist kein Verhalten, das nur mit Hilfe von Rechnersystemen moglich ist. Gruppenprozesse sind ein Kennzeichen sozialen Verhaltens an sich ([4]). Mit der Entwicklung von graphischen Benutzeroberflachen ([136]), Infrastrukturen fur verteilte Systeme ([52], [190]) und allgemein zuganglichen Netzen fur lokale und weltweite Nutzung ([129], [119]) wurden aber in den letzen zehn Jahren die Voraussetzungen fur die Unterstutzung von Gruppenprozessen auch mit einem Rechnersystem gelegt. Der 1984 von Greif und Cashman ([62]) gepragte Begriff CSCW — Computer Supported Cooperative Work — und der nur etwas spater entstandene Terminus Groupware ([82]) gaben der Forschungsrichtung ihren Namen. Die Qualitat von CSCW- oder Groupware-Systemen orientiert sich auch an dem Grad, zu dem die sozialen Verhaltensweisen in der mechanisierten Umgebung wiedergegeben werden konnen. Um Beurteilungskriterien fur fremde und eigene Ansatze aufzubauen, werden in diesem Kapitel das Wesen und die Erscheinungsformen von kooperativer Gruppenarbeit unabhangig von der Realisierung mit Rechnersystemen untersucht. Gleichzeitig erfolgt eine begriffliche Fixierung vieler “c-words” (cooperation, conflict, conviviality, competition, collaboration, commitment, caution, control, coercion, coordination, combat; [101]) und verwandter Begriffe. Die Begriffsklarung ist auf die Belange dieses Buches beschrankt und fullt weniger Lucken, die von den CSCW-Forschem bis jetzt offengelassen wurden: “... ’Cooperative Work’ — the first thing we notice is rampant confusion. There are many forms of cooperative work, and distinctions between such terms as cooperative work, collaborative work, collective work, and group work are not well established in the CSCW community.” ([162]). Einleitend gibt Abschnitt 2.1 Grunde und Abschnitt 2.2 Hemmnisse fur kooperative Verhaltensweisen an. Hauptteil der Ausfuhrungen sind jedoch die Abschnitte 2.3 und 2.4. Hier werden die Merkmalsklassen fur kooperative Gruppenarbeit mit ihren Auspragungen und die daraus resultierenden vier grundsatzlichen Arten von Zusammenarbeit erarbeitet. Abschnitt 2.5 macht einige grundsatzliche Bemerkungen zum Gruppen- und Teambegriff und stellt weitere Charakteristika von Zusammenarbeit vor. Zur Hinleitung auf Kapitel 3 werden in Abschnitt 2.6 die eingefuhrten Merkmalsklassen auf ihren Unterstutzungsbedarf hin untersucht.
Elevated preoperative blood pressures in adult surgical patients are highly predictive of elevated home blood pressures

Blood pressure (BP) measurement during the presurgical assessment has been suggested as a way to improve longitudinal detection and treatment of hypertension. The relationship between BP measured during this assessment and home blood pressure (HBP), a better indicator of hypertension, is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine the positive predictive value of presurgical BP for predicting elevated HBP. We prospectively enrolled 200 patients at a presurgical evaluation clinic with clinic blood pressures (CBPs) ≥130/85 mm Hg, as measured using a previously validated automated upper-arm device (Welch Allyn Vital Sign Monitor 6000 Series), to undergo daily HBP monitoring (Omron Model BP742N) between the index clinic visit and their day of surgery. Elevated HBP was defined, per American Heart Association guidelines, as mean systolic HBP ≥135 mm Hg or mean diastolic HBP ≥85 mm Hg. Of the 200 participants, 188 (94%) returned their home blood pressure monitors with valid data. The median number of HBP recordings was 10 (interquartile range, 7-14). Presurgical CBP thresholds of 140/90, 150/95, and 160/100 mm Hg yielded positive predictive values (95% confidence interval) for elevated HBP of 84.1% (0.78-0.89), 87.5% (0.81-0.92), and 94.6% (0.87-0.99), respectively. In contrast, self-reported BP control, antihypertensive treatment, availability of primary care, and preoperative pain scores demonstrated poor agreement with elevated HBP. Elevated preoperative CBP is highly predictive of longitudinally elevated HBP. BP measurement during presurgical assessment may provide a way to improve longitudinal detection and treatment of hypertension.
Modelado de operaciones globales .

La gestion de las redes de produccion global se esta convirtiendo en algo muy complejo. El problema fundamental ya no es donde producir un producto, sino donde llevar a cabo las distintas tareas individuales de produccion. Las empresas de America Latina se encuentran en ambos extremos de este proceso. Se enfrentan al problema por producir sus propios productos y servicios para toda la region de America Latina y por ser sede de operaciones subcontratadas a otras empresas (concretamente, aquellas con estrategias de proximidad para dar servicio al mercado norteamericano). En este articulo se presenta un marco de trabajo que ayuda a esquematizar la evolucion de las redes de operaciones globales de una empresa. El estudio se basa en un analisis detallado de cuatro empresas y en ejemplos de otras tantas (caso especialmente relevante es el de Zara). El articulo no se centra en ninguna region concreta del mundo, ya que el marco de trabajo presentado es extrapolable a todas las empresas de America Latina. A medida que esta region va mas alla de ser una fuente de suministro de materias primas para el resto del mundo, los problemas de diseno, ajuste y redes de produccion global merecen una atencion mas pormenorizada por parte de los directivos de la region.
Preparation of activated carbon fibers from mixtures of cotton and polyester fibers

Abstract Activated carbon fiber (ACF) is a novel material that is attracting increasing research attention. Specifically, ACF production from fiber mixtures is considered as a useful approach to reuse waste cloth and fibers. However, extant studies did not thoroughly investigate the use of the fore-mentioned mixtures in ACF preparation. In the present study, we describe ACF preparation from mixtures of cotton and polyester fibers and discuss solutions for a problem encountered during preparation. We attempted to determine a non-destructive method by using gray-scale intensities of the ACF images. The method is potentially promising, and we expect that it can be used for adsorption evaluations after further improvements.
Short-Term Transcriptional Response of Microbial Communities to Nitrogen Fertilization in a Pine Forest Soil.

ABSTRACT Numerous studies have examined the long-term effect of experimental nitrogen (N) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems; however, N-specific mechanistic markers are difficult to disentangle from responses to other environmental changes. The strongest picture of N-responsive mechanistic markers is likely to arise from measurements over a short (hours to days) time scale immediately after inorganic N deposition. Therefore, we assessed the short-term (3-day) transcriptional response of microbial communities in two soil strata from a pine forest to a high dose of N fertilization (ca. 1 mg/g of soil material) in laboratory microcosms. We hypothesized that N fertilization would repress the expression of fungal and bacterial genes linked to N mining from plant litter. However, despite N suppression of microbial respiration, the most pronounced differences in functional gene expression were between strata rather than in response to the N addition. Overall, ∼4% of metabolic genes changed in expression with N addition, while three times as many (∼12%) were significantly different across the different soil strata in the microcosms. In particular, we found little evidence of N changing expression levels of metabolic genes associated with complex carbohydrate degradation (CAZymes) or inorganic N utilization. This suggests that direct N repression of microbial functional gene expression is not the principle mechanism for reduced soil respiration immediately after N deposition. Instead, changes in expression with N addition occurred primarily in general cell maintenance areas, for example, in ribosome-related transcripts. Transcriptional changes in functional gene abundance in response to N addition observed in longer-term field studies likely result from changes in microbial composition. IMPORTANCE Ecosystems are receiving increased nitrogen (N) from anthropogenic sources, including fertilizers and emissions from factories and automobiles. High levels of N change ecosystem functioning. For example, high inorganic N decreases the microbial decomposition of plant litter, potentially reducing nutrient recycling for plant growth. Understanding how N regulates microbial decomposition can improve the prediction of ecosystem functioning over extended time scales. We found little support for the conventional view that high N supply represses the expression of genes involved in decomposition or alters the expression of bacterial genes for inorganic N cycling. Instead, our study of pine forest soil 3 days after N addition showed changes in microbial gene expression related to cell maintenance and stress response. This highlights the challenge of establishing predictive links between microbial gene expression levels and measures of ecosystem function.
To Regulate or Not to Regulate, or (Better Still) When to Regulate

This short essay, which appeared as part of a symposium on whether ADR should be subject to regulation, suggests that the consideration of regulation should be framed in terms of two dimensions: the nature of the parties (sophisticated versus unsophisticated) and how the parties came to ADR (post-dispute, pre-dispute negotiated, or pre-dispute take it or leave it). The essay suggests that the need for regulation ranges from very strong when one party is sophisticated and the other is unsophisticated and the parties come to ADR as a result of a pre-dispute agreement offered as part of a take it or leave it transaction, to nil when ADR has been agreed to by two sophisticated parties through a process of pre-dispute negotiation.
Nerve repair by laser.

The unique properties of lasers have made their applicability to clinical medicine, particularly reconstructive surgery, a subject of continuing interest. Some studies have shown their potential usefulness in peripheral nerve repairs. 17 references.
Approved and investigational uses of modafinil : an evidence-based review.

Modafinil is a wake-promoting agent that is pharmacologically different from other stimulants. It has been investigated in healthy volunteers, and in individuals with clinical disorders associated with excessive sleepiness, fatigue, impaired cognition and other symptoms. This review examines the use of modafinil in clinical practice based on the results of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials available in the English language in the MEDLINE database. In sleep-deprived individuals, modafinil improves mood, fatigue, sleepiness and cognition to a similar extent as caffeine but has a longer duration of action. Evidence for improved cognition in non-sleep-deprived healthy volunteers is controversial.
On the way to decolonization in a settler colony: Re-introducing Black feminist identity politics:

In this paper, I explain Black feminist identity politics as a practice that is ‘on the way’ to settler decolonization in a US context for the fact that it makes demands that we attend to our “orig...
Pharmacovigilance: An Overview.

Abstract Purpose Pharmacovigilance (PV) is a relatively new discipline in the pharmaceutical industry. Having undergone rapid growth over the past 2 decades, PV now touches many other disciplines in the research and development enterprise. With its growth has come a heightened awareness and interest in the medical community about the roles that PV plays. This article provides insights into the background and inner workings of PV. Methods This narrative review covers the core PV activities and other major areas of the pharmaceutical enterprise in which PV makes significant contributions. Findings Drug safety monitoring activities were organized by the US Food and Drug Administration and academic medical centers in the early 1950s in response to growing concern over the occurrence of aplastic anemia and other blood dyscrasias associated with the use of chloramphenicol. This experience was codified in the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as adverse event evaluation and reporting requirements. The ensuing decades have seen the development of core PV functions for pharmaceutical companies: case management, signal management, and benefit-risk management. A broader scope of PV has developed to include the following major activities: support of patient safety during the conduct of clinical trials through assuring proper use of informed consent and institutional review boards (ethics committees); selection of the first safe dose for use in humans, based on pharmacologic data obtained in animal studies; development of the safety profile for proper use of a new molecular entity and appropriate communication of that information to the range of relevant stakeholders; attendance to surveillance activities through a set of signal management processes; monitoring the manufactured product itself through collaborative activities with manufacturing professionals; management of benefit–risk to assure appropriate use in medical care after marketing; and maintenance of inspection readiness as a corporate cultural process. Implications The extent and pace of change promise to accelerate with the integration of biomedical informatics, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. This progress has implications for the development of the next generation of PV professionals who will need to be trained in entirely new skill sets to lead continued improvements in the safe use of pharmaceuticals.
Diversification of Bw4 Specificity and Recognition of a Nonclassical MHC Class I Molecule Implicated in Maternal–Fetal Tolerance by Killer Cell Ig-like Receptors of the Rhesus Macaque

The rhesus macaque is an important animal model for AIDS and other infectious diseases; however, studies to address NK cell function in this species have been limited by the lack of defined ligands for killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs). To identify ligands for rhesus macaque KIRs, we adopted a novel approach based on a pair of stable cell lines. NFAT-responsive luciferase reporter cell lines expressing the extracellular domains of macaque KIRs fused to the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of CD28 and CD3ζ were incubated with target cells expressing individual MHC class I molecules, and ligand recognition was detected by the MHC class I-dependent upregulation of luciferase. Using this approach, we found that Mamu-KIR3DL01, -KIR3DL06, -KIR3DL08, and -KIR3DSw08 all recognize Mamu-Bw4 molecules but with differing allotype specificity. In contrast, Mamu-KIR3DL05 recognizes Mamu-A and Mamu-A-related molecules, including Mamu-A1*002 and -A3*13, Mamu-B*036, the product of a recombinant Mamu-B allele with α1 and α2 domain sequences derived from a MHC-A gene, and Mamu-AG*01, a nonclassical molecule expressed on placental trophoblasts that originated from an ancestral duplication of a MHC-A gene. These results reveal an expansion of the lineage II KIRs in macaques that recognize Bw4 ligands and identify a nonclassical molecule implicated in placental development and pregnancy as a ligand for Mamu-KIR3DL05. In addition to offering new insights into KIR-MHC class I coevolution, these findings provide an important foundation for investigating the role of NK cells in the rhesus macaque as an animal model for infectious diseases and reproductive biology.
Epithelial WNT2B and Desert Hedgehog are necessary for human colonoid regeneration after bacterial cytotoxin injury

Intestinal regeneration and crypt hyperplasia after radiation or pathogen injury relies on Wnt signaling to stimulate stem cell proliferation. Mesenchymal Wnts are essential for homeostasis and regeneration in mice, but the role of epithelial Wnts remains largely uncharacterized. Using the enterohemorrhagic E. coli secreted cytotoxin, EspP to induce injury to human colonoids, we evaluated a simplified, epithelial regeneration model that lacks mesenchymal Wnts. Here, we demonstrate that epithelial-produced WNT2B is upregulated following injury and essential for regeneration. Hedgehog signaling, specifically activation via the ligand Desert Hedgehog (DHH), but not Indian or Sonic Hedgehog, is another driver of regeneration and modulates WNT2B expression. These findings highlight the importance of epithelial WNT2B and DHH in regulating human colonic regeneration after injury.
Kalman filtering with state-dependent packet losses

This study addresses the problem of state estimation for discrete-time, linear time invariant systems subject to packet losses, which occur in specific regions of the state space. Most practical estimation problems are characterised by occurrences of loss of observation packets, which makes the packet arrival process a non-stationary statistic, making the analysis and design of such an estimator challenging. This estimation problem subject to state-dependent packet losses is formulated using a state-dependent hybrid measurement model and solved using the projection theorem-based approach to obtain minimum mean square error state estimates. By systematically utilising the a priori information of the regions where the packet loss is likely to occur, the proposed estimator takes the Kalman filter structure with the modified algebraic Riccati iteration for the error covariance matrix being stochastic due to the probabilistic packet arrival process. Finally, the proposed estimator is demonstrated using an illustrative two-dimensional aircraft tracking example with state-dependent packet loss and is shown to have improved performance over the baseline packet loss algorithm.