cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Global optimization using the asymptotically independent Markov sampling method

In this paper, we introduce a new efficient stochastic simulation method, AIMS-OPT, for approximating the set of globally optimal solutions when solving optimization problems such as optimal performance-based design problems. This method is based on Asymptotically Independent Markov Sampling (AIMS), a recently developed advanced simulation scheme originally proposed for Bayesian inference. This scheme combines importance sampling, Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation and annealing for efficient sampling from an arbitrary target distribution over a multi-dimensional space. Instead of a single approximation of the optimal solution, AIMS-OPT produces a set of nearly optimal solutions where the accuracy of the near-optimality is controlled by the user. Having a set of nearly optimal system designs, for example, can be advantageous in many practical cases such as when there exists a whole set of optimal designs or in multi-objective optimization where there is a Pareto optimal set. AIMS-OPT is also useful for efficient exploration of the global sensitivity of the objective function to the design parameters. The efficiency of AIMS-OPT is demonstrated with several examples which have different topologies of the optimal solution sets. Comparison is made with the results of applying Simulated Annealing, a well-known stochastic optimization algorithm, to the three two-dimensional problems.
Design and development of smart microstrip patch antennas

The major weakness of a microstrip patch antenna is its narrow bandwidth characteristic. One method that has been investigated to increase bandwidth is the addition of a parasitic element to the microstrip patch antenna. In an active microstrip patch antenna, variable bandwidth can be achieved by varying the spacing between the antenna and the parasitic element, which is fixed to a dielectric plate. In this study an actuator is developed, tested and employed on an actual microstrip patch antenna and its parasite. Since a relatively large displacement (1 cm) is needed, the actuator is comprised of a stack of RAINBOW actuators. This study takes advantage of the fact that, for antennas operating at higher frequencies, smaller absolute displacements will result in significant percentage changes in antenna bandwidth. The use of the parasite and the active system accounted for up to a factor of five increase in antenna bandwidth. Various control techniques were employed to counteract the effects of hysteresis and creep on the actuator. Because the use of metal components can degrade antenna performance, emphasis was placed on synergy in the design process.
Predictors of cardiac hepatopathy in patients with right heart failure.

Background Some patients with right heart failure develop cardiac hepatopathy (CH). The pathophysiology of CH is thought to be secondary to hepatic venous congestion and arterial ischemia. We sought to define the clinical and hemodynamic characteristics associated with CH.
Ultrastructure, Behavior, and Algal Flagellate Affinities of the Helioflagellate Ciliophrys marina, and the Classification of the Helioflagellates (Protista, Actinopoda, Heliozoea)1

Ciliophrys marina is a small marine helioflagellate, with a central nucleus, which is capable of reversibly transforming from a rapidly swimming flagellate cell with no axopodia to the structure of a heliozoan with a flagellum that beats only a few times a minute. When in the flagellate form, the flagellum acts as a tractellum due to the tubular mastigonemes found along its length. When the rapidly swimming flagellate strikes a piece of debris, the flagellum goes through a very characteristic shock-induced avoidance reaction. Similarly, when a mechanical shock is delivered to the cell in its heliozoan form, the axopodia are contracted in less than 20 msec. Both reactions are inhibited in low calcium seawater. Transformation from the heliozoan to the flagellate form is accomplished by slow retraction and absorbance of the axopodia and activation of the flagellum. Ultrastructurally, each axopodium is found to contain three microtubules which attach to the outer nuclear membrane of the central nucleus at sites that this study characterizes by electron microscopy of thin sections and freeze fracture preparations. The mitochondria have tubular cristae, each containing an intracristal filament. Finally, a taxonomic review of the helioflagellates is presented, and it is suggested that C. marina is derived from the chrysomonads. An argument is also made for classifying C. marina with the heliozoan order Actinophryida, as a recently published classification of the protozoa does.
Using Atmospheric Tracers to Reduce Uncertainty in Groundwater Recharge Areas

A Monte Carlo-based approach to assess uncertainty in recharge areas shows that incorporation of atmospheric tracer observations (in this case, tritium concentration) and prior information on model parameters leads to more precise predictions of recharge areas. Variance-covariance matrices, from model calibration and calculation of sensitivities, were used to generate parameter sets that account for parameter correlation and uncertainty. Constraining parameter sets to those that met acceptance criteria, which included a standard error criterion, did not appear to bias model results. Although the addition of atmospheric tracer observations and prior information produced similar changes in the extent of predicted recharge areas, prior information had the effect of increasing probabilities within the recharge area to a greater extent than atmospheric tracer observations. Uncertainty in the recharge area propagates into predictions that directly affect water quality, such as land cover in the recharge area associated with a well and the residence time associated with the well. Assessments of well vulnerability that depend on these factors should include an assessment of model parameter uncertainty. A formal simulation of parameter uncertainty can be used to delineate probabilistic recharge areas, and the results can be expressed in ways that can be useful to water-resource managers. Although no one model is the correct model, the results of multiple models can be evaluated in terms of the decision being made and the probability of a given outcome from each model.
Phonological Processing Abilities and Reading Implications for Disabled Readers

The study of children's language abilities as they relate to the acquisition of reading skills has been an extremely active area of research over the past decade. Within the general area of language, individual differences in phonological processing ability have been shown to be closely associated with the attainment of beginning reading skills. In this Topical Review, the author provides an overview of research in this area that focuses on (a) the nature of phonological processing skills, (b) causal relations between phonological processing ability and learning to read, and (c) attempts to train phonological processing skills. The review is particularly helpful in pointing out gaps in our present knowledge and their implications for our understanding of reading disabilities.—JKT
An actin-based wave generator organizes cell motility

Although many of the regulators of actin assembly are known, we do not understand how these components act together to organize cell shape and movement. To address this question, we analyzed the spatial dynamics of a key actin regulator—the Scar/WAVE complex—which plays an important role in regulating cell shape in both metazoans and plants. We have recently discovered that the Hem-1/Nap1 component of the Scar/WAVE complex localizes to propagating waves that appear to organize the leading edge of a motile immune cell, the human neutrophil. Actin is both an output and input to the Scar/WAVE complex: the complex stimulates actin assembly, and actin polymer is also required to remove the complex from the membrane. These reciprocal interactions appear to generate propagated waves of actin nucleation that exhibit many of the properties of morphogenesis in motile cells, such as the ability of cells to flow around barriers and the intricate spatial organization of protrusion at the leading edge. We propose that cell motility results from the collective behavior of multiple self-organizing waves.
Self‐renewing canine oligodendroglial progenitor expanded as oligospheres

We have previously shown that oligodendroglial progenitors (OP) can be generated from multipotent rat neural precursor cells. We now report the generation of a homogeneous culture of canine OP from neural precursor cells. In non-adherent cultures, homogeneous OP cultures were obtained in 6–8 weeks of treatment with B104 cell conditioned medium (B104CM). In adherent cultures where astrocytes grew as a layer of substrate, colonies of OP invariably appeared at 10–14 days in vitro (DIV) and the colonies were expanded as free-floating spheres (oligospheres), in the presence of B104CM, suggesting that astrocytes facilitate the generation of canine OP. The oligosphere cells were characterized by self-renewal in the presence of B104CM and by terminal differentiation into oligodendrocytes after withdrawal of B104CM. Transplantation studies indicated that the extensively expanded oligosphere cells retained myelination capacity. The oligospheres thus provide a valuable source for experimental cell therapy studies. J. Neurosci. Res. 54:181–190, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Yield and quality of juice from passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), maypops (P incarnata) and tetraploid passion fruit hybrids (P edulis × P incarnata)

Yield and properties of juice from purple and yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), maypops (P incarnata) and tetraploid hybrids of P edulis and P incarnata were compared. Weight, proportion filled, number of seeds and yield of juice per fruit were lower in tetraploid hybrids than in P edulis. Acidity and soluble solids were highest in tetraploid hybrids and lowest in maypops. Fructose, glucose, sucrose, citric and malic acids were present in all samples. Fructose and glucose were the major sugars in passion fruit; sucrose was highest in tetraploid hybrids and maypops. Citric, the predominant acid in all samples, was highest in the yellow passion fruit followed by tetraploid hybrids and purple passion fruit. Malic acid was highest in purple-flowered maypop and lowest in white-flowered maypop.
Ventricular pacing: to pace or not to pace.

Pacing from the right ventricular apex has been the clinical standard for decades but has recently come into question with a growing trend towards reducing ventricular pacing as much as possible. The earliest devices provided asynchronous ventricular pacing in patients whose indication for pacing was asystolic complete heart block. RV apical pacing was literally the difference between life and death. Over the decades, as technology has advanced allowing the medical community to more closely model normal cardiac physiology, we have seen the progressive introduction of demand function, single-chamber atrial pacing, dual-chamber pacing, dual-chamber rate-modulated pacing, and in the past decade, cardiac resynchronization pacing. During this evolution, it has been noted that pacing from the right ventricular apex, even in the presence of high-grade AV block, may contribute to ventricular dysfunction associated with the disordered ventricular activation sequence associated with the paced left bundle branch block pattern. ‘Pacemaker syndrome’ or the adverse haemodynamics associated with a technically normal pacing system was rarely recognized in the late 1960s when complete heart block was the indication for implantation. Its recognition blossomed in the 1980s with the introduction of dual-chamber pacing systems and an increase in the relative indications for permanent pacing including individuals who only needed pacing on an intermittent basis or whose primary indication for pacing was sinus node dysfunction. Pacemaker syndrome was usually associated with a loss of appropriate atrial transport (atrioventricular synchrony) and was able to be corrected by upgrading a patient with a single-chamber VVI pacing system to a DDD pacing system.1–3 The standard location for the ventricular lead during the first four decades of cardiac pacing was the RV apex. The first generation of DDD pacemakers had limited AV delay programmability such that there was either full ventricular pacing or consistent ventricular fusion. On the … *Corresponding author. Tel: +1 818 493 2900, Fax: +1 818 362 2242, Email: plevine{at}sjm.com
Sulfonate-sulfur utilization involves a portion of the assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway in Escherichia coli

Strains of Escherichia coli lacking serine transacetylase or a positive regulator (Cys B protein) of the assimilatory sulfate reduction (ASR) pathway were unable to assimilate sulfonate-S, wihle single mutants in O-acetyl-L-serine sulfhydrylase (either ‘A’ or ‘B’) were able to do so. Mutants unable to reduce sulfate to sulfite were nonetheless able to form and accumulate sulfide and then cysteine from sulfonates, while strains lacking sulfite reductase were not. Thus terminal portions of the ASR pathway are involved in reduction of sulfonate-S to that of cysteine. E. coli K-12 formed cysteine more slowly, and accumulated lesser amounts of it with sulfonate-sulfur than it did from either sulfate or sulfite. These observations are consistent with our earlier report that sulfate is the preferred sulfur source when present simultaneously with a sulfonate.
Synthesis of specifically deuterated adenosine A1 antagonist: BG9928

BG9928, a high affinity adenosine A1 antagonist, is currently in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of congestive heart failure. A deuterium-labeled version of the molecule was synthesized and used as a standard for in vivo pharmacokinetic and in vitro metabolism studies. The labeled form of 3-[4-(2,6-dioxo-1,3-dipropyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-purin-8-yl)-bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-1-yl]-propionic acid (BG9928) was obtained in a convergent manner by joining two major building blocks: the specifically labeled heterocycle 5,6-diamino-1,3-dipropyl-1H-pyrimidine-2,4-dione (4) and the hemiester 4-(2-methoxycarbonyl-ethyl)-bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-1-carboxylic acid (10). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mood measurement: Current status and future directions

We examine the measurement of mood in the context of prevailing hierarchical models of affect. We begin by discussing contemporary thinking and research regarding the underlying hierarchical structure of mood. We then evaluate the most important and widely used measures in this domain. Our review of the higher order level of the hierarchy establishes the existence of reliable and valid scales to assess the general dimensions of pleasantness, positive affect, and negative affect. In contrast, we currently lack good measures of the proposed higher order dimension of activation/arousal or engagement. In addition, although researchers have access to several widely used multiaffect inventories (including the POMS, the MAACL-R, and the PANAS-X), it is difficult to evaluate these instruments properly in the absence of (a) comparative psychometric studies and (b) a consensual taxonomic model that captures the specific affects occupying the lower level of the hierarchy. Next, we review the role of both random and systematic (i.e., social desirability and acquiescence bias) measurement errors in the assessment of mood, noting conditions under which they may be particularly problematic. Finally, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses associated with various approaches to the assessment of trait affect. Our review of the existing evidence indicates that we can improve the reliability and construct validity of trait affect measures by moving to a sentence-based approach. Keywords: mood measurement; positive affect; negative affect; pleasantness; measurement error
Housing Finance Reform: Private Markets Versus Government Guarantees

This paper evaluates the major alternative proposals for reforming the U.S. home mortgage market assuming that the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae, will be closed. The paper compares proposals that advocate primary reliance on private markets to take on the GSE functions with proposals that advocate government mortgage guarantees, including a discussion of how these plans differ in terms of duration, scope, and risk-sharing. The paper concludes with a discussion of current government attempts to expedite the modification or refinancing of existing mortgages, including a plan for the transition from the current situation to the long-term reforms.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid Activates AMP-Activated Protein Kinase and Reduces Adiposity More Effectively When Used with Metformin in Mice

Trans-10, cis-12 (t10c12) conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces lipid levels in adipocytes, but the mechanisms involved are still emerging. The hypotheses of this study were that t10c12 CLA treatment activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and that the effectiveness of a low dose of t10c12 CLA would be increased when combined with an AMPK activator. We demonstrated t10c12 CLA, directly or indirectly, activated AMPK and increased the amount of phosphorylated acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Compound C, a potent inhibitor of AMPK, attenuated the phosphorylation of ACC, integrated stress response (ISR), inflammatory response, reduction in key lipogenic transcription factors, and triglyceride (TG) reduction that otherwise occurred in t10c12 CLA-treated adipocytes. Treatment of adipocytes or mice with a low dose of t10c12 CLA in conjunction with the AMPK activator metformin resulted in more TG loss than treatment with the individual chemicals. Additionally, although an inflammatory response was required for robust TG reduction, the combination of t10c12 CLA with AMPK activators had a similar TG loss with a reduced inflammatory response. A microarray analysis of the transcriptional response to either t10c12 CLA, metformin, or the combination, indicated the responses were very similar, with a correlation coefficient of 0.91 or better for genes in the ISR or lipid-related pathways. Altogether, these results support our hypotheses that t10c12 CLA activates AMPK, directly or indirectly, and that metformin increases the effectiveness of t10c12 CLA in reducing TG amounts in adipocytes.
Superplasticity by internal frictional heat under biased cyclic loading

A new damping method was developed not only as a testing tool to investigate in situ deformation under stress, but also as a processing method to superplastically deform ceramics. The specific damping capacity (SDC) at low frequencies (<0.2 Hz) decreased with increasing frequencies, which matched previous internal friction results. However, at higher frequencies (0.2–5 Hz) SDC increased with frequencies, which was explained by a new internal frictional heat mechanism. Three different ceramics: a non-superplastic one and two superplastic ones with different activation energies, showed the same behavior at the high frequency damping tests (1–5 Hz). From these results, it was deduced that a cyclic load at high frequencies, superimposed on a static one, has a great potential to enhance superplasticity by specifically heating up grain boundaries from internal frictional heat.
Failure of Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance to Detect Marked Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance in Dogs

Accurate quantification of insulin resistance is essential for determining efficacy of treatments to reduce diabetes risk. Gold-standard methods to assess resistance are available (e.g., hyperinsulinemic clamp or minimal model), but surrogate indices based solely on fasting values have attractive simplicity. One such surrogate, the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), is widely applied despite known inaccuracies in characterizing resistance across groups. Of greater significance is whether HOMA-IR can detect changes in insulin sensitivity induced by an intervention. We tested the ability of HOMA-IR to detect high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance in 36 healthy canines using clamp and minimal model analysis of the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) to document progression of resistance. The influence of pancreatic function on HOMA-IR accuracy was assessed using the acute insulin response during the IVGTT (AIRG). Diet-induced resistance was confirmed by both clamp and minimal model (P < 0.0001), and measures were correlated with each other (P = 0.001). In striking contrast, HOMA-IR ([fasting insulin (μU/mL) × fasting glucose (mmol)]/22.5) did not detect reduced sensitivity induced by fat feeding (P = 0.22). In fact, 13 of 36 animals showed an artifactual decrease in HOMA-IR (i.e., increased sensitivity). The ability of HOMA-IR to detect diet-induced resistance was particularly limited under conditions when insulin secretory function (AIRG) is less than robust. In conclusion, HOMA-IR is of limited utility for detecting diet-induced deterioration of insulin sensitivity quantified by glucose clamp or minimal model. Caution should be exercised when using HOMA-IR to detect insulin resistance when pancreatic function is compromised. It is necessary to use other accurate indices to detect longitudinal changes in insulin resistance with any confidence.
In vivo protein complex topologies: Sights through a cross‐linking lens

Proteins are a remarkable class of molecules that exhibit wide diversity of shapes or topological features that underpin protein interactions and give rise to biological function. In addition to quantitation of abundance levels of proteins in biological systems under a variety of conditions, the field of proteome research has as a primary mission the assignment of function for proteins and if possible, illumination of factors that enable function. For many years, chemical cross-linking methods have been used to provide structural data on single purified proteins and purified protein complexes. However, these methods also offer the alluring possibility to extend capabilities to complex biological samples such as cell lysates or intact living cells where proteins may exhibit native topological features that do not exist in purified form. Recent efforts are beginning to provide glimpses of protein complexes and topologies in cells that suggest continued development will yield novel capabilities to view functional topological features of many proteins and complexes as they exist in cells, tissues, or other complex samples. This review will describe rationale, challenges, and a few success stories along the path of development of cross-linking technologies for measurement of in vivo protein interaction topologies.
Sleep Functioning in Relation to Mood, Function, and Quality of Life at Entry to the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD)

Background Sleep disturbance in bipolar disorder can be both a risk factor and symptom of mood episodes. However, the associations among sleep and clinical characteristics, function, and quality of life in bipolar disorder have not been fully investigated.
Comparison of the Acidic Lipid Requirement of Control and Type 1 Gaucher’s Disease Liver and Brain Glucocerebrosidases

All patients with Gaucher’s disease, regardless of whether they have the non-neuronopathic form (type 1) or one of the neuronopathic forms (types 2 and 3), are profoundly deficient in lysosomal glucocerebrosidase activity. That the activity of glucocerebrosidase from normal spleen, liver, and brain has a near absolute lipid requirement is conveniently demonstrated by extracting the enzyme preparation sequentially with a bile salt (e.g., sodium cholate) and ice-cold n-butanol (1). This process, by delipidating the enzyme, renders glucocerebrosidase inactive. The inactive enzyme from spleen of controls and patients with type 1 Gaucher’s disease can be extensively reconstituted with exogenous acidic lipids (e.g., phosphatidylserine, galactocerebroside-3-sulfate, GM1) or the bile salt sodium taurodeoxycholate (2,3). The mutant glucocerebrosidase of the more severely affected type 2 patients, either before or after sodium cholate extraction and n-butanol delipidation, cannot be activated by the inclusion of bile salts or any of the above-mentioned acidic natural membrane lipids in the assay medium.
Augmented manual fabrication methods for 2d tool positioning and 3d sculpting

Augmented manual fabrication involves using digital technology to assist a user engaged in a manual fabrication task. Methods in this space aim to combine the abilities of a human operator, such as motion planning and large-range mechanical manipulation, with technological capabilities that compensate for the operator's areas of weakness, such as precise 3D sensing, manipulation of complex shape data, and millimeter-scale actuation. This thesis presents two new augmented manual fabrication methods. The first is a method for helping a sculptor create an object that precisely matches the shape of a digital 3D model. In this approach, a projector-camera pair is used to scan a sculpture in progress, and the resulting scan data is compared to the target 3D model. The system then computes the changes necessary to bring the physical sculpture closer to the target 3D shape, and projects guidance directly onto the sculpture that indicates where and how the sculpture should be changed, such as by adding or removing material. We describe multiple types of guidance that can be used to direct the sculptor, as well as several related applications of this technique. The second method described in this thesis is a means of precisely positioning a handheld tool on a sheet of material using a hybrid digital-manual approach. An operator is responsible for manually moving a frame containing the tool to the approximate neighborhood of the desired position. The device then detects the frame's position and uses digitally-controlled actuators to move the tool within the frame to the exact target position. By doing this in a real time feedback loop, a tool can be smoothly moved along a digitally-specified 2D path, allowing many types of digital fabrication over an unlimited range using an inexpensive handheld tool. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, libraries.mit.edu/docs - docs@mit.edu)
Photoelectron Spectroscopy of the Methide Anion: Electron Affinities of (•)CH3 and (•)CD3 and Inversion Splittings of CH3(-) and CD3(-).

We report high-resolution photoelectron spectra of the simplest carbanions, CH3– and CD3–. The vibrationally resolved spectra are dominated by a long progression in the umbrella mode (ν2) of •CH3 and •CD3, indicating a transition from a pyramidal C3v anion to the planar D3h methyl radical. Analysis of the spectra provides electron affinities of •CH3 (0.093(3) eV) and •CD3 (0.082(4) eV). These results enable improved determination of the corresponding gas-phase acidities: ΔacidH0K°(CH4) = 414.79(6) kcal/mol and ΔacidH0K°(CD4) = 417.58(8) kcal/mol. On the basis of the photoelectron anisotropy distribution, the electron is photodetached from an orbital with predominant p-character, consistent with the sp3-hybridized orbital picture of the pyramidal anion. The double-well potential energy surface along the umbrella inversion coordinate leads to a splitting of the vibrational energy levels of the umbrella mode. The inversion splittings of CH3– and CD3– are 21(5) and 6(4) cm–1, respectively, and the correspondi...
Solidification Microporosity in Equiaxed Multi-Component Nickel Aluminide

Porosity formation during solidification in equiaxed microstructure of multicomponent nickel aluminide IC396M is examined. Two types of porosities are identified and related to the other scales of microstructure that evolve during solidification. A correlation is established between the relevent processing parameters and the microstructure variables.
IMPACT OF INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OVER 12 WEEKS IN PREVIOUSLY SEDENTARY OLDER ADULTS: A 1-YEAR FOLLOW UP

Sedentary lifestyle is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We have previously demonstrated that use of pedometer based interventions result in increased moderate physical activity (MPA) among sedentary adults over a 12 week period. Whether these interventions result in long term benefits
New Distributed PMU Substation System

This paper introduces the structure and constitution of a new generation distributed phasor measurement unit(PMU) based on wide area synchro-sampling technology,and describes its characteristics from such aspects as system structure,hardware and software structure,communication interface and global positioning system(GPS) synchro-sampling.An application test report from East China Electric Power Test Research Institute has been gotten about the PMU.The result of dynamic model test is also provided.
Granulomatous Disease Decreases Incidence of Metastases in Non-Small Cell Carcinoma

Hypermetabolic lymph nodes due to reactive granulomatous disease are the main reason for false positive PET/CT scans during preoperative staging of patients with lung cancer. This study aims to better understand the significance of prior granulomatous disease in lymph …
Clinical laboratory detection of carbapenem-resistant and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Carbapenemases, enzymes that hydrolyze carbapenem-class antimicrobials, pose serious clinical and diagnostic challenges, including their recent rapid spread among members of the Enterobacteriaceae, a family with no inherent carbapenem resistance. Currently there is no one-size-fits-all method for detecting carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in the laboratory, nor how to differentiate carbapenemase-producers (CP) from isolates that are carbapenem-resistant via other or combined mechanisms.Areas covered: This article reviews definitions for CRE and CP-CRE, and discusses current phenotypic and molecular methods available to the clinical laboratory for the detection of both CP and non-CP CRE.Expert commentary: Routine evaluation of carbapenem resistance mechanism by the routine clinical laboratory are not necessary for patient care, as clinical breakpoints best predict response. However, evaluation for carbapenemase is integral to infection control efforts, and laboratories sh...
Surface tilt perception with a biomimetic tactile sensor

Humans are known to be good at manipulating tools. To cope with disturbances and uncertainties from the external environment during such tasks, they must be able to perceive small changes in orientation or tilt of the tool using mechanoreceptors in the glabrous skin of the fingertips. We hypothesize that the most sensitive part of human fingers, a flat surface on the distal phalanx (called apical tuft) would be preferred for perceiving very fine tilts. In this paper, we used an experimental apparatus to quantify discrimination threshold of a biomimetic tactile sensor (BioTac®) that incorporates a similar, sensorized flat surface. We found the thresholds to be as small as 0.11° for tilts in the roll direction and 0.19° for tilts in the pitch direction. The flat surface was superior in detecting tilts when compared to other, curved locations on the BioTac.
Mouse Specific Cleavage-Resistant RAGE Splice Variant.

Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE), a transmembrane, multi-ligand, pattern recognition receptor, has been implicated in a range of inflammatory disease including diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]. In addition to the full length receptor, soluble form of RAGE (sRAGE) has been shown to prevent the development of numerous pathologic states, and therefore highlights RAGE as an attractive therapeutic target [2–7]. sRAGE lacks the trans-membrane domain and is secreted to the extracellular milieu [6]. RAGE and sRAGE share the entire extracellular portion encompassing the V, C1 and C2 immunoglobulin-like domains (Fig 1). This feature renders sRAGE to function as a decoy that binds ligands and reduces the inflammatory signaling capacity of its membrane-bound counterpart [5, 7]. The importance of sRAGE is underscored by clinical cohort studies showing that serum sRAGE levels are correlated with clinical disease states including CVD, diabetes, cancer and various inflammatory disease states [6, 8].
African Americans and Short-Term Outcomes after Surgery for Crohn's Disease: An ACS-NSQIP Analysis.

Background: Previous reports on racial disparities in the treatment of Crohn’s disease [CD] in African American [AA] patients have shown differences in both medical and surgical treatments in this population. No study thus far has examined the effect of AA race on outcomes after surgery for CD. Methods: Utilizing the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program [NSQIP] Participant User File [PUF] for the years 2005–2013, we examined the effect of AA race on postoperative complications in patients with CD undergoing intestinal surgery. Results: AA patients had a significantly higher rate of complications overall compared to non-AA patients [23.5% vs 18.9%, p = 0.002]. Postoperative sepsis [10.9% vs 6.6%, p < 0.001] and surgical site infection [17.6% vs 14.8%, p = 0.037] were most significant. After adjustment for age, sex, preoperative disease severity and lifestyle factors [smoking], race remained a statistically significant factor in postoperative complication rate. Only after additional adjustment was made for comorbidities and American Society of Anesthesiologists class did race lose significance within our model. Conclusion: African Americans experience a greater amount of postoperative complications following surgery for Crohn’s disease. Preoperative disease management, addressing smoking status and control of comorbid disease are important factors in addressing the racial disparities in the surgical treatment of Crohn’s disease.
Inactivation of Avian Influenza Virus in Nonpelleted Chicken Feed

Corn stored outside could become contaminated with avian influenza virus (AIV) from wild bird droppings. AIV-contaminated ingredients could pass into the poultry flocks in nonpelleted chicken feed. The efficacy of two disinfectants at inactivating AIV in chicken feed was evaluated. Both Termin-8 (a blend of formaldehyde, propionic acid, terpenes, and surfactant) and Finio (a blend of approved phytochemicals and carboxylic acids) effectively inactivated AIV in chicken feed. Because stability of infectious AIV in chicken feed is limited, we evaluated addition of protein (skim milk powder) to the virus suspension. Protein prolonged the stability of AIV in untreated feed to 24 hr at 24 C. However, both feed disinfectants were able to inactivate the virus in feed even when protected by skim milk powder.
Race, a Floating Signifier, or Rudy Guede in the Italian Press

In this chapter Julia Heim uses semiotics, and cultural and postcolonial theories to discuss how Rudy Guede is represented in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica before, during, and after his conviction. Starting from the premise that identity is created by and through socio-political discourse, this in-depth linguistic investigation maps out the discursive strategies used by the Italian media to discuss Guede. Heim elaborates on the ways in which linguistic portrayals of Guede serve to simultaneously instil moral panic toward ‘others’ and reaffirm Italian/Non-Italian binaries by solidifying ethnobiological connections between national affiliation and criminality.
“You are Like a Virus” Dangerous Bodies and Military Medical Authority in Turkey

Using in-depth interviews, I analyze the military medical inspections that conscripts in Turkey are required to undergo if they request an exemption from compulsory military service based on their homosexuality. The inspections respond to the Turkish military’s two main needs: Through these inspections, on the one hand, the military attempts to exclude feminine/dangerous bodies threatening its order based on homosocial bonding, thereby maintaining its role in the production of hegemonic masculinity in Turkey; on the other hand, through refining and proliferating surveillance mechanisms, the Turkish military seeks to prevent the conscripts from earning unjust exemption by pretending to be homosexual. By complicating Foucault’s account of medical authority, I aim to make sense of the interplay of these objectives and discuss the fragile medical processes through which the military extends its reach into the male population in Turkey. This article makes a contribution to our understanding of how the military...
Quality Control of Cell Processing and Cord Blood Storage Using HALO To Measure Proliferative Potential of Stem and Progenitor Cells.

Prior to the introduction of flow cytometry to detect and measure CD34 + cells in the early 1980s, quality control of stem cell transplants was performed using the granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming assay (GM-CFC). The major disadvantages of this growth potential assay are that progenitor and not stem cells are detected and the assay takes too long to perform. Yet, measurement of the growth potential of proliferating cell populations in vitro is the only technique that guarantees the presence of stem cells after cell processing and may predict engraftment and reconstitution. There are no assays presently that exhibit these characteristics in real-time. However, it is now possible to measure the proliferative potential of stem and progenitor cells after cell processing and/or storage in half the time required by the classical colony-forming assay (CFA). Originally developed for hemotoxicity testing for all stages of drug development, HALO (Hematopoietic/Hemotoxicity Assays via Luminescence Output) can be used as an in-line stem cell processing quality control procedure as well as a method to ensure the growth potential of processed and stored umbilical cord blood. HALO sensitively measures small numbers of proliferating cells and because cell differentiation is not detected, manual enumeration of colonies is not required. The assay is based on the CFA procedure. However, as cells proliferate in response to growth factors, there is a proportional increase in the intracellular ATP concentration. The assay is performed in a 96-well plate and release of intracellular ATP drives a luciferin/luciferase reaction to produce bioluminescence in the form of light measured in a plate luminometer. The kinetics of most hematopoietic proliferating populations, including mature stem cells, allows results to be obtained after 6–7 days in culture. Measurement of luminescence for all 96 well cultures takes about 5 minutes. An ATP standard dose response performed prior to sample measurement not only provides quality control of the reagents used, but intra- and interlaboratory comparison of results. Due to the rapid and easy set-up procedure with high-throughput capability, the proliferative capacity of several stem and progenitor cell populations from either single or large numbers of samples from bone marrow, peripheral blood or cord blood can be analyzed simultaneously. Rapid assay turnaround and multiparameter capability should therefore allow an increased safety factor for patients undergoing stem cell transplantation. Additional studies are underway to further validate this approach.
Dopamine D2 receptors and the circadian clock reciprocally mediate antipsychotic drug-induced metabolic disturbances.

Antipsychotic drugs are widely prescribed medications, used for numerous psychiatric illnesses. However, antipsychotic drugs cause serious metabolic side effects that can lead to substantial weight gain and increased risk for type 2 diabetes. While individual drugs differ, all antipsychotic drugs may cause these important side effects to varying degrees. Given that the single unifying property shared by these medications is blockade of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors, these receptors likely play a role in antipsychotic drug-induced metabolic side effects. Dopamine D2 and dopamine D3 receptors are expressed in brain regions critical for metabolic regulation and appetite. Surprisingly, these receptors are also expressed peripherally in insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. By inhibiting glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, dopamine D2 and dopamine D3 receptors are important mediators of pancreatic insulin release. Crucially, antipsychotic drugs disrupt this peripheral metabolic regulatory mechanism. At the same time, disruptions to circadian timing have been increasingly recognized as a risk factor for metabolic disturbance. Reciprocal dopamine and circadian signaling is important for the timing of appetitive/feeding behaviors and insulin release, thereby coordinating cell metabolism with caloric intake. In particular, circadian regulation of dopamine D2 receptor/dopamine D3 receptor signaling may play a critical role in metabolism. Therefore, we propose that antipsychotic drugs’ blockade of dopamine D2 receptor and dopamine D3 receptors in pancreatic beta cells, hypothalamus, and striatum disrupts the cellular timing mechanisms that regulate metabolism. Ultimately, understanding the relationships between the dopamine system and circadian clocks may yield critical new biological insights into mechanisms of antipsychotic drug action, which can then be applied into clinical practice.
Recording sympathetic nerve activity from the skin

Sympathetic tone is important in cardiac arrhythmogenesis; however, methods to estimate sympathetic tone are either invasive or require proper sinus node function that may be abnormal in disease states. Because of the direct and extensive connections among various nerve structures, it is possible for the sympathetic nerves in the various structures to activate simultaneously. Therefore, we hypothesized that nerve activity can be recorded from the skin and it can be used to estimate the cardiac sympathetic tone. Preclinical studies in canines demonstrated that nerve activity is detectable using conventional ECG electrodes and can be used to estimate cardiac sympathetic tone. Subsequent clinical studies further supported this concept. In addition to studying the autonomic mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmia, these new methods may have broad application in studying both cardiac and non-cardiac diseases.
Supporting Dynamic Quantization for High-Dimensional Data Analytics

Similarity searches are at the heart of exploratory data analysis tasks. Distance metrics are typically used to characterize the similarity between data objects represented as feature vectors. However, when the dimensionality of the data increases and the number of features is large, traditional distance metrics fail to distinguish between the closest and furthest data points. Localized distance functions have been proposed as an alternative to traditional distance metrics. These functions only consider dimensions close to query to compute the distance/similarity.Furthermore, in order to enable interactive explorations of high-dimensional data, indexing support for ad-hoc queries is needed. In this work we set up to investigate whether bit-sliced indices can be used for exploratory analytics such as similarity searches and data clustering for high-dimensional big-data. We also propose a novel dynamic quantization called Query dependent Equi-Depth (QED) quantization and show its effectiveness on characterizing high-dimensional similarity. When applying QED we observe improvements in kNN classification accuracy over traditional distance functions.
Genetic Analysis of DNA Repair Defect in Xeroderma Pigmentosum Cells: Identification of Complementing Genes

DNA is subject to damage by a variety of physical and chemical carcinogens. Through evolution, the environment has selected organisms having very efficient repair systems that eliminate much of the damaged DNA. Considerable progress has been made in understanding repair processes in procaryotes and lower eukaryotes and genes involved in several of the various repair pathways have been cloned (See Review in Friedberg, 1985). However, very little is known about the details of biochemical events involved in repair of DNA damage in human cells.
Imaging of glia activation in people with primary lateral sclerosis.

Abstract Background Glia activation is thought to contribute to neuronal damage in several neurodegenerative diseases based on preclinical and human post - mortem studies, but its role in primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is unknown. Objectives To localize and measure glia activation in people with PLS compared to healthy controls (HC). Methods Ten participants with PLS and ten age-matched HCs underwent simultaneous magnetic resonance (MR) and proton emission tomography (PET). The radiotracer [ 11 C]-PBR28 was used to obtain PET-based measures of 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) expression, a marker of activated glial cells. MR techniques included a structural sequence to measure cortical thickness and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess white matter integrity. Results PET data showed increased [ 11 C]-PBR28 uptake in anatomically-relevant motor regions which co-localized with areas of regional gray matter atrophy and decreased subcortical fractional anisotropy. Conclusions This study supports a link between glia activation and neuronal degeneration in PLS, and suggests that these disease mechanisms can be measured in vivo in PLS. Future studies are needed to determine the longitudinal changes of these imaging measures and to clarify if MR-PET with [ 11 C]-PBR28 can be used as a biomarker for drug development in the context of clinical trials for PLS.
A model for the role of trust in firm level performance: The case of family businesses

Abstract We explore the process through which trust within family firm leadership contributes to firm level performance. Specifically, we develop a model describing the underlying process through which trust influences commitment and in turn organizational performance. The effect of trust on the performance of family businesses is further understood by addressing the role of family member status and generation in moderating the relationship between trust and commitment. We test this model using longitudinal responses from top managers in family businesses. Results indicate that the effect of trust on performance takes place through commitment with family member status moderating the relationship.
Impact of a Faith-Based Social Justice Course on Pre-Service Teachers

Rapid demographic shifts are occurring around the country. United States’ public schools are more diverse than any time in history. To help prepare pre-service teachers for these shifts, this small...
Complexity of the RAR‐mediated transcriptional regulatory programs

In the past several decades, intensive research in this field has uncovered a surprising number of regulatory factors and their associated enzymatic properties to reveal the network of complexes that function in activation and repression of the transcriptional programs mediated by nuclear receptors (NR). These factors and their associated complexes have been extensively characterized both biochemically and functionally [34, 87, 94]. Several principles have emerged: (1) It is widely recognized that ligand-dependent cofactor complexes mediating repression and activation exhibit ligand-dependent exchange. (2) These complexes mediate modifications of chromatin structure consequent to their binding at regulatory elements, particularly at promoter and enhancer sites. (3) The concept about the rapid exchange of coregulatory complexes at regulatory sites has been suggested [88]. Key questions in the NR field have included: (a) What are the cofactors and exchange complexes used to mediate the ligand and signaling network-dependent switches in gene regulation programs; (b) Do long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve as regulatory “factors” for ligand-dependent gene programs, and do enhancers actually regulate transcription units encoding enhancer non-coding RNAs (eRNAs) that might have functional significance; (c) What is the relationship between DNA damage repair machinery and transcriptional machinery? (d) Do Retinoic Acid Receptors (RAR) also regulate Pol III-dependent, non-coding repeat transcriptional units in stem cells? and (e) How have new technologies such as deep sequencing altered our ability to investigate transcriptional regulatory mechanisms utilized by NRs?