cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discrimination between Alkali Metal Cations by Yeast I. Effect of pH on uptake

Extracellular pH markedly influences the ability of yeast cells to discriminate between K+ and Na+, with K+ favored to a greater degree at low pH. Studies of the kinetics of uptake of individual alkali metal cations by fermenting yeast indicate three zones relative to pH. Between pH 6 and 8, H+ has no effect. Below pH 4, H+ competitively inhibits the transport of each cation. Between pH 4 and 6, H+ acts kinetically as a predominantly non-competitive inhibitor. Both effects can be reversed by increasing the concentrations of cations. However, the concentrations required to reverse the competitive effect are considerably lower than those required to reverse the apparently non-competitive effect. It is suggested that H+ and the alkali metal cations can combine with two sites, a transport or carrier site, and a second, non-transporting site that influences the maximal rate of transport. Because the non-competitive inhibitory effect of H+ is considerably greater on the other cations than on K+, the discrimination in favor of K+ is increased severalfold at low pH, beyond that predicted on the basis of the relative affinities for the transport site.
Characteristics of non-premixed oxygen-enhanced combustion: II. Flame structure effects on soot precursor kinetics resulting in soot-free flames

Abstract A detailed computational study was performed to understand the effects of the flame structure on the formation and destruction of soot precursors during ethylene combustion. Using the USC Mech Version II mechanism the contributions of different pathways to the formation of benzene and phenyl were determined in a wide domain of Z st values via a reverse-pathway analysis. It was shown that for conventional ethylene–air flames two sequential reversible reactions play primary roles in the propargyl (C 3 H 3 ) chemistry, namely (1) C 2 H 2 + CH 3 = p C 3 H 4 + H (2) pC 3 H 4 = C 3 H 3 + H with the corresponding overall endothermic reaction of propargyl formation (3) C 2 H 2 + CH 3 = C 3 H 3 + 2 H. The contributions of these reactions to propyne (pC 3 H 4 ) and propargyl formation and propargyl self-combination leading to benzene and phenyl were studied as a function of physical position, temperature, Z st , and H concentration. In particular, the role of H radicals on soot precursor destruction was studied in detail. At low Z st , Reactions 1 and 2 contribute significantly to propyne and propargyl formation on the fuel side of the radical pool at temperatures greater than approx. 1600 K. At higher local temperatures near the radical pool where the concentration of H is significant, the reverse reactions begin to dominate resulting in soot precursor destruction. As Z st is increased, these regions merge and only net propargyl consumption is observed. Based on the equilibrium constant of Reaction 3, a Z st value was estimated above which the rate of propargyl formation as a soot precursor is greatly reduced ( Z st = 0.3). This condition compares well with the experimental results for permanently blue counterflow flames in the literature.
Stress and tone in East Slavic dialects

The East Slavic languages have distinctive stress and no contrastive vowel length; the phonetic correlates of word stress are increased vowel duration, intensity and changes in vowel quality. But there are East Slavic dialects with an unusual type of word prosody: word stress is distinctive, yet the immediately pretonic vowel is as long as or longer than the vowel under stress, and there is a fixed tonal contour over the two syllables. I argue that the additional duration in the pretonic syllable is due to a type of stress-to-tone mapping in which a lexical high tone is assigned to the pretonic syllable. Variation across these and other closely related dialects reveals a typology of stress and tone mapping with increasing dependence on intrinsic vowel duration and sonority. The additional vowel length on neutralised/ reduced vowels in the immediately pretonic position in some dialects raises questions about the relationship of vowel duration and vowel reduction in East Slavic. The prosody of these East Slavic dialects appears to be typologically unusual in having both lexical stress and non-contrastive tone, and in specifically not aligning high tone with stress.
Genetics, morphology, and ecological niche modeling do not support the subspecies status of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

ABSTRACT The Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) breeds throughout much of the United States, northwestern Mexico, and southeastern and southwestern Canada. A subspecies found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, E. t. extimus (Southwestern Willow Flycatcher), is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This subspecies was described in 1948, based on comparisons of a few external morphological characters from an unstated number of specimens and localities, although it was excluded from the last official list of subspecies by the American Ornithologists' Union. Like most avian subspecies, its validity has not been tested with modern morphological or genetic methods. Recent assessments of the subspecies have assumed it to be a distinct taxon, and some authors have limited their comparisons to E. t. extimus versus E. t. adastus (the subspecies immediately to the north of E. t. extimus), excluding comparison to western (E. t. brewsteri) and eastern (E. t. trai...
The Effect of Military Base Closures on Rural County Economies: An Evaluation of the 1988–1995 Rounds of Cuts

Recent announcements of a recommended downsizing of the U.S. Armed Forces, likely to include proposed base closures, will bring new focus to the effect of previous base realignments and closures (BRACs) on the economies of counties hosting military bases. This research provides a new analysis of the effects of base closures on counties which lost military bases or had significant losses due to realignment in the 1988 through 1995 rounds of military base restructuring. This study examines six counties which satisfied the criteria of experiencing a major loss of jobs and being located in non-metropolitan areas. The study employs a quasi-experimental methodology in which counter-factual control groups were selected to evaluate the effects of the base closures. Mahalanobis distance is used to select the control groups, with a priori elimination of urban counties and counties that experienced similar economic shocks or were in proximity to the BRAC event. Factors used in the procedure included several sectoral earnings percentages and income characteristics, growth rates in population and income, nearness to urban areas, population potential, and coefficient of specialization. Impact assessment uses the median growth rate among the control counties to calculate the expected employment by sector and year for the treated county. The expected value is then compared to the actual employment to assess the impact by sector of the military base job loss. Statistical significance is assessed by the rank among the controls and the treated county growth rate.
Implications of objective vs subjective delirium assessment in surgical intensive care patients.

BACKGROUND: Delirium is an independent predictor of increased length of stay, mortality, and treatment costs in critical care patients. Its incidence may be underestimated or overestimated if delirium is assessed by using subjective clinical impression alone rather than an objective instrument. OBJECTIVES: To determine frequency of discrepancies between subjective and objective delirium monitoring. METHODS: An observational cohort study was performed in a surgical-cardiosurgical 31-bed intensive care unit of a university hospital. Patients' delirium status was rated daily by bedside nurses on the basis of subjective individual clinical impressions and by medical students on the basis of scores on the objective Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit. RESULTS: Of 160 patients suitable for analysis, 38.8% (n = 62) had delirium according to objective criteria at some time during their stay in the intensive care unit. A total of 436 paired observations were analyzed. Delirium was diagnosed in 26.1% of observations (n = 114) with the objective method. This percentage included 6.4% (n = 28) in whom delirium was not recognized via subjective criteria. According to subjective criteria, delirium was present in 29.4% of paired observations (n = 128), including 9.6% (n = 42) with no objective indications of delirium. A total of 8 patients with no evidence of delirium according to the objective criteria were prescribed haloperidol and lorazepam because the subjective method indicated they had delirium. CONCLUSIONS: Use of objective criteria helped detect delirium in more patients and also identified patients mistakenly thought to have delirium who actually did not meet objective criteria for diagnosis of the condition.
The EXCITE Trial: reacquiring upper-extremity task performance with early versus late delivery of constraint therapy.

Objective. This study examines performance of Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) tasks in terms of the ability of EXCITE trial participants (who had suffered a stroke 3-9 months before recruitment) to complete the task within the timed interval. Methods. Data were collected from participants who received constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) 3 to 9 months poststroke (CIMT-I, n = 106) or 15 to 21 months poststroke (CIMT-D, n = 116). Performance on the 15 timed WMFT tasks was converted into binary values, and changes in completion of the tasks were analyzed with generalized estimating equation methods, under the assumption of a binomial or Poisson process for completion. Results. During CIMT, the CIMT-I group showed significant within-group improvements in 3 fine-movement tasks and in total noncompleted tasks (noncompletes), whereas the CIMT-D group did not (P ≤ .0036). CIMT-I improvement was significantly greater than CIMT-D improvement for the lifting pencil task and total noncompletes. During the year ...
Reactivation of Porcine Cytomegalovirus through Allogeneic Stimulation

Reactivation of latent porcine cytomegalovirus after coculture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from pigs with different genetic backgrounds was investigated. Nine of 10 allogeneic coculture pairs were PCR (DNA) positive, whereas 7 coculture pairs had porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) RNA, an indication of virus replication. The cell subpopulations harboring PCMV were monocytes and CD8+ T cells.
Bacterial Pathogens and Indicators in Catfish and Pond Environments.

Channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) fed a diet containing 26 or 38% protein with restricted and satiety feeding methods were examined for microorganisms on the fish surface and viscera. Water, sediment, and fish samples from the ponds were tested for fecal streptococci, fecal coliforms, Aeromonas hydrophila , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , while fish samples were also analyzed for presumptive Listeria spp. (count on m-VJ agar) and psychrotrophic bacteria. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) in the fecal streptococci and fecal coliform counts for the water, sediment, and fish visceral samples. However, the aeromonad count for the visceral samples (4.20 log CFU/g wet weight) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of the water and sediments (2.40 log CFU/ml and 3.78 log CFU/g wet weight, respectively). Similarly, the P. aeruginosa count for the fish visceral samples was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of the water and sediments. The mean presumptive Listeria spp. count for the fish visceral samples was 1.99 log CFU/g wet weight. Because of the higher bacterial concentrations in the fish viscera, it was concluded that cross-contamination of fish samples could occur during evisceration. Finally, the feed protein level and feeding method used in the ponds influenced the bacterial concentrations in selected sample types (i.e., water, sediment, fish surface rinse, or fish viscera).
CYP2B: 2B or Not 2B?

This chapter discusses the genetics, metabolic actions, substrates, inducers, and inhibitors of cytochrome P450 2B6.
Modeling the Capacitive Deionization Process in Dual-Porosity Electrodes

In many areas of the world, there is a need to increase water availability. Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an electrochemical water treatment process that can be a viable alternative for treating water and for saving energy. A model is presented to simulate the CDI process in heterogeneous porous media comprising two different pore sizes. It is based on a theory for capacitive charging by ideally polarizable porous electrodes without Faradaic reactions or specific adsorption of ions. A two steps volume averaging technique is used to derive the averaged transport equations in the limit of thin electrical double layers. A one-equation model based on the principle of local equilibrium is derived. The constraints determining the range of application of the one-equation model are presented. The effective transport parameters for isotropic porous media are calculated solving the corresponding closure problems. The source terms that appear in the average equations are calculated using theoretical derivations. The global diffusivity is calculated by solving the closure problem.
Survey on occupational health knowledge and needs in a enterprise of Haidian District of Beijing City

[Objective]To understand the status of occupational health knowledge and needs in a enterprise of HaiDian District of Beijing City,so as to improve the in occupational health awareness and the quality of occupational health service.[Methods]Workers from the first production line were surveyed with general investigation and unified design " Questionnaire for Enterprise Employees’Occupational Health Knowledge and Needs ".[Results]A total of 230 workers were surveyed,41.8% knew Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases,39.6% understood occupational disease concept,33.0% knew prevention measures of occupational disease,with significance between ages and culture levels(P 0.05).The workers who wanted to know laws and regulations on occupational disease prevention occupied 99.6%.[Conclusion]The demands of occupational health service is relatively high among employees in this enterprise.It is necessary to strengthen the basic training of occupational health knowledge,especially for workers with low education level and low age.
Exercise participation after menopause.

Who should exercise? What exercises should be performed and with what frequency and duration? What benefits can be expected from such exercises? These are some of the questions frequently asked of physicians who care for elderly and postmenopausal patients. Data are conflicting, but significant conclusions can be drawn that will help provide the answers to these questions. This article is written to guide physicians’ recommendations to their patients regarding postmenopausal exercise.
Human-modified habitats change patterns of population genetic structure and group relatedness in Peter's tent-roosting bats.

Although coloniality is widespread among mammals, it is still not clear what factors influence composition of social groups. As animals need to adapt to multiple habitat and environmental conditions throughout their range, variation in group composition should be influenced by adaptive adjustment to different ecological factors. Relevant to anthropogenic disturbance, increased habitat modification by humans can alter species’ presence, density, and population structure. Therefore, it is important to understand the consequences of changes to landscape composition, in particular how habitat modification affects social structure of group-forming organisms. Here, we combine information on roosting associations with genetic structure of Peter's tent-roosting bats, Uroderma bilobatum to address how different habitat characteristics at different scales affect structure of social groups. By dividing analyses by age and sex, we determined that genetic structure was greater for adult females than adult males or offspring. Habitat variables explained 80% of the variation in group relatedness (mainly influenced by female relatedness) with roost characteristics contributing the most explained variation. This suggests that females using roosts of specific characteristics exhibit higher relatedness and seem to be philopatric. These females mate with more males than do more labile female groups. Results describe ecological and microevolutionary processes, which affect relatedness and social structure; findings are highly relevant to species distributions in both natural and human-modified environments.
Effects of thermal regulation structures on the photon sensitivity and spatial resolution of a 1 mm 3 resolution breast-dedicated PET system

This work presents the effect of special mechanical structures inter-dispersed between detectors on the photon sensitivity and spatial resolution of a 1 mm3 resolution breast dedicated PET scanner. A degradation of (7–8)% on the single photon sensitivity and 15% on the coincidence photon sensitivity has been estimated from simulated data. However, no significant effect on both intrinsic and reconstructed spatial resolution was predicted by simulations. A reduction on the number of the multi-interaction photon events has also been observed which leads to a minor improvement on spatial resolution under the presence of additional material surrounding the LYSO-PSAPD detectors. Even though the analysis presented above used a rather inaccurate positioning scheme of multi-interaction photon events among detectors, more sophisticated algorithms are currently under development in order to properly identify and include these events in the analysis [5]. Currently Al structures that will assure a good compromise between mechanical robustness, temperature stability and satisfactory system performance are under construction
Comparative effects of histone deacetylases inhibitors and resveratrol on Trypanosoma cruzi replication, differentiation, infectivity and gene expression

Histone post-translational modification, mediated by histone acetyltransferases and deacetylases, is one of the most studied factors affecting gene expression. Recent data showing differential histone acetylation states during the Trypanosoma cruzi cell cycle suggest a role for epigenetics in the control of this process. As a starting point to study the role of histone deacetylases in the control of gene expression and the consequences of their inhibition and activation in the biology of T. cruzi, two inhibitors for different histone deacetylases: trichostatin A for class I/II and sirtinol for class III and the activator resveratrol for class III, were tested on proliferative and infective forms of this parasite. The two inhibitors tested caused histone hyperacetylation whereas resveratrol showed the opposite effect on both parasite forms, indicating that a biologically active in vivo level of these compounds was achieved. Histone deacetylase inhibitors caused life stage-specific effects, increasing trypomastigotes infectivity and blocking metacyclogenesis. Moreover, these inhibitors affected specific transcript levels, with sirtinol causing the most pronounced change. On the other hand, resveratrol showed strong anti-parasitic effects. This compound diminished epimastigotes growth, promoted metacyclogenesis, reduced in vitro infection and blocked differentiation and/or replication of intracellular amastigotes. In conclusion, the data presented here supports the notion that these compounds can modulate T. cruzi gene expression, differentiation, infection and histones deacetylase activity. Furthermore, among the compounds tested in this study, the results point to Resveratrol as promising trypanocidal drug candidate.
A Target’s Perspective: Verbal Aggressiveness, Coping Strategies, and Relational Harm

A total of 361 college students recalled situations when they were the targets of verbally aggressive messages. Results indicated that message source predicted perceived relational harm better than the trait variable of verbal aggressiveness. Greater relational harm was perceived from romantic partners and short-term acquaintances. Males were higher in verbal aggressiveness. Targets’ levels of trait verbal destructiveness predicted which coping strategy each reported, and which coping strategy they chose predicted perceived relational harm.
Do Women’s Orgasms Function as a Masculinity Achievement for Men?

Orgasms have been promoted as symbols of sexual fulfillment for women, and have perhaps become the symbol of a woman’s healthy sex life. However, some research has suggested that this focus on women’s orgasms, though ostensibly for women, may actually serve men; but the mechanisms of this are unclear. In the present experiment, we hypothesized that women’s orgasms specifically function as a masculinity achievement for men. To test this, we randomly assigned 810 men (M age = 25.44, SD = 8.31) to read a vignette where they imagined that an attractive woman either did or did not orgasm during a sexual encounter with them. Participants then rated their sexual esteem and the extent to which they would feel masculine after experiencing the given situation. Our results showed that men felt more masculine and reported higher sexual esteem when they imagined that a woman orgasmed during sexual encounters with them, and that this effect was exacerbated for men with high masculine gender role stress. These results s...
A Modular Robotic System for Assessment and Exercise of Human Movement

This project targets the problem of developing a wearable modular robotic system (This work was supported by the Peter Kiewit Institute and NASA Nebraska Space Grant.), for assessing human movement and providing different types of exercises for the user. The system attempts to provide not only a variety of exercises (concentric, eccentric, assisted and resisted), but also to assess the change in variability of the movement as the subject shows functional improvement. The system will not only be useful for patients with sensorimotor problems such as stroke, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, but also for special populations such as astronauts who spend long periods of time in space and experience muscle atrophy. In this work, a first prototype of a modular robot is presented along with preliminary test results from basic active and passive wrist exercises that show the feasibility of this type of systems for assessment and exercise of human movement.
A case of HIV-negative plasmablastic lymphoma of the bone marrow with a unique immunophenotype.

Key Clinical Message We present an interesting case of plasmablastic lymphoma, which is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is typically diagnosed in HIV-positive patients and has an immunophenotype that overlaps with multiple myeloma. Our patient is unique because he is HIV-negative, has primary bone marrow disease, and has an atypical immunophenotype.
Identifying Factors and Root Causes Associated With Near-Miss or Safety Incidents in Patients Treated With Radiotherapy: A Case-Control Analysis.

Purpose:To identify factors associated with a near-miss or safety incident (NMSI) in patients undergoing radiotherapy and identify common root causes of NMSIs and their relationship with incident severity.Methods:We retrospectively studied NMSIs filed between October 2014 and April 2016. We extracted patient-, treatment-, and disease-specific data from patients with an NMSI (n = 200; incident group) and a similar group of control patients (n = 200) matched in time, without an NMSI. A root cause and incident severity were determined for each NMSI. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine which specific factors were contributing to NMSIs. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine root causes of NMSIs and their relationship with incident severity.Results:NMSIs were associated with the following factors: head and neck sites (odds ratio [OR], 5.2; P = .01), image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (OR, 3; P = .009), daily imaging (OR, 7; P < .001), and tumors staged...
Managing Inventory: Intuition-Generating Problems

This problem set introduces the concepts of order quantities and inventory tradeoffs, enabling students to develop intuition around the basic costs involved in inventory thinking. This can be used with the note “Managing Inventories: Fundamentals,” UVA-OM-1397. Excerpt UVA-OM-1487 Rev. Nov. 21, 2013 MANAGING INVENTORY: INTUITION-GENERATING PROBLEMS 1. Casey and the ATM Casey was always going to the ATM to get cash and complaining about the convenience fees. “I wonder if I should go a little less frequently,” thought Casey. How could Casey use inventory thinking to determine how much cash to withdraw? Casey's requirement for cash was $ 75 per week. Casey's opportunity cost of capital was 5% per year. Casey incurred a charge of $ 2.95 for each ATM transaction. 2. Lee Gets Gas . . .
Regulation of MAPK signaling and implications in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous B cell malignancy that still remains incurable. Recent studies have highlighted cellular and non-cellular components of the tissue microenvironment in CLL that help nurture the growth of leukemic cells by providing the necessary stimuli for their proliferation and survival. The diverse stimuli in the specialized tissue microenvironment of CLL lead to constitutive activation of several signaling pathways that includes B cell receptor signaling and the associated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Recent findings have described aberrant activation of MAPK signaling and its interactions with other cellular signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of CLL. These studies have shed light on the deregulated molecular mechanisms contributing to hyperactivation of MAPK signaling and provided avenues for therapeutic options for aggressive CLL. In this review, we describe and discuss the current status of our understanding into the role of MAPK signaling in the pathogenesis of CLL.
Contact Irritancy and Toxicity of Permethrin-Treated Clothing for Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, and Dermacentor variabilis Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)

Clothing treated with the pyrethroid permethrin is available in the United States as consumer products to prevent tick bites. We used tick bioassays to quantify contact irritancy and toxicity of permethrin-treated clothing for three important tick vectors of human pathogens: the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae); the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae); and the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari: Ixodidae). We first demonstrated that field-collected I. scapularis nymphs from Minnesota were as susceptible as laboratory-reared nymphs to a permethrin-treated textile. Field ticks examined in bioassays on the same day they were collected displayed contact irritancy by actively dislodging from a vertically oriented permethrin-treated textile, and a forced 1-min exposure resulted in all ticks being unable to move normally, thus posing no more than minimal risk of biting, 1 h after contact with the treated textile. Moreover, we documented lack of normal movement for laboratory-reared I. scapularis nymphs by 1 h after contact for 1 min with a wide range of permethrin-treated clothing, including garments made from cotton, synthetic materials, and blends. A comparison of the impact of a permethrin-treated textile across tick species and life stages revealed the strongest effect on I. scapularis nymphs (0% with normal movement 1 h after a 1-min exposure), followed by A. americanum nymphs (14.0%), I. scapularis females (38.0%), D. variabilis females (82.0%), and A. americanum females (98.0%). Loss of normal movement for all ticks 1 h after contact with the permethrin-treated textile required exposures of 1 min for I. scapularis nymphs, 2 min for A. americanum nymphs, and 5 min for female I. scapularis, D. variabilis, and A. americanum ticks. We conclude that use of permethrin-treated clothing shows promise to prevent bites by medically important ticks. Further research needs are discussed.
Jean Calvin, Christ's Despair, and the Reformation Decensus ad Inferos

Jean Calvin includes the descensus ad inferos among the events in Christ’s Passion – that is, as the culmination of his agony rather than the commencement of his glorious reign – and interprets the...
Automated Multispecies Biosensing System and Development: Advances in Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring

Abstract The objective of this study was to develop an automated computer-assisted multiple species biosensing unit for stream-side water quality monitoring. Groups of representative freshwater animals from several trophic levels were selected as test subjects for the automated biomonitor, including fish, immature insects, and mussels. Emphasis was placed on system design, hardware development, data management, and on initial observations of species-specific responses that could be used as criteria for judging water quality fitness. Specially designed differential amplifiers for detecting selected bioelectric responses from unrestrained subjects were interfaced to a 16-bit instrumentation minicomputer. Analogue response signals generated by fish gill ventilatory movements, mayfly nymph gill beats, and the mussel Quadrula , cardiac events were digitized and stored on disk files as events per unit time. Results from this study revealed that a multiple species biomonitor designed to detect selected biological responses generated by individuals from different freshwater tropic groups can be measured simultaneously and data bases managed for real-time acquisition. Changes in response rates may then be viewed in light of fluctuating environmental conditions and both biological and chemical/ physical water quality data files may be accessible through various communication systems.
Legal Drafting: An Outline

Drafting is a type of legal writing that reduces to writing clients' desires regarding legally significant transactions or events - for example, wills, contracts, pleadings, and statutes. As drafters, lawyers not only litigate, but they also seek to avoid litigation. In litigation practice, they draft pleadings, Motions, interrogatories, jury instructions, settlement agreements, and orders, among other documents. In practice that seeks to avoid litigation, they draft contracts, public and private legislation, wills, trusts, and other documents. In an ordinary office practice, a lawyer is likely in the space of a month or a year to draft everything from a purchase and sale agreement to a lease with a purchase option or he/she can also draft bylaws of a corporation, or draft a proposed ordinance.
Neutralization of Infectivity

Neutralization of viral infectivity by antibody is pivotal to immune protection against many viral infections. It requires the binding of antibody to epitopes exposed on the viral surface. As a major mechanism of neutralization, the antibodies block viral attachment to target cells. This is mediated through direct or indirect interference with viral binding to receptors. Yet, neutralization can also act on later steps in viral entry. Regardless of mechanism, however, neutralizing antibodies in the infected organism exert a selective pressure. In response, viruses have developed an arsenal of resistance and escape mechanisms, which impede the elicitation of neutralizing antibodies or, failing that, reduce their binding. Although this testifies to its biological import, neutralization has, for more than 70 years, been a moot topic. In particular, opinions have diverged over the number of antibody molecules that are required to neutralize a virus particle, how to interpret the kinetics of neutralization, the role of antibody-induced conformational changes in viral antigens, how prevalent the block of viral attachment is as a mechanism, whether neutralization can target postentry replicative steps, and, crucially, whether there are antibodies that bind well to entry-mediating viral antigens without neutralizing. Even so, a unified view may now be emerging: a degree of occupancy of antibody on virions is necessary and generally sufficient for neutralization, which blocks attachment or entry.
Development of Collagenase Treatment for Dupuytren Disease.

Proof-of-principle, basic-science studies, using a rat-tail tendon model and surgically removed Dupuytren cords, began collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH) development. Clinical studies in humans were then conducted, where the primary endpoint was reduction in contracture to within 0° to 5° of extension. Phase 2 studies, which confirmed the optimal dose of collagenase as 0.58 mg, showed injectable CCH reduced contractures in MP and PIP joints to within 0° to 5° in many joints and was well tolerated. Clinical results from phase 3 studies confirmed the efficacy and safety of injectable CCH as a viable nonsurgical intervention.
Revisiting the surface-energy-flux perspective on the sensitivity of global precipitation to climate change

Climate models simulate an increase in global precipitation at a rate of approximately 1–3% per Kelvin of global surface warming. This change is often interpreted through the lens of the atmospheric energy budget, in which the increase in global precipitation is mostly offset by an increase in net radiative cooling. Other studies have provided different interpretations from the perspective of the surface, where evaporation represents the turbulent transfer of latent heat to the atmosphere. Expanding on this surface perspective, here we derive a version of the Penman–Monteith equation that allows the change in ocean evaporation to be partitioned into a thermodynamic response to surface warming, and additional diagnostic contributions from changes in surface radiation, ocean heat uptake, and boundary-layer dynamics/relative humidity. In this framework, temperature is found to be the primary control on the rate of increase in global precipitation within model simulations of greenhouse gas warming, while the contributions from changes in surface radiation and ocean heat uptake are found to be secondary. The temperature contribution also dominates the spatial pattern of global evaporation change, leading to the largest fractional increases at high latitudes. In the surface energy budget, the thermodynamic increase in evaporation comes at the expense of the sensible heat flux, while radiative changes cause the sensible heat flux to increase. These tendencies on the sensible heat flux partly offset each other, resulting in a relatively small change in the global mean, and contributing to an impression that global precipitation is radiatively constrained.
Changing Nonstuttering Preschool Children's Stuttering Attitudes.

Purpose Negative or uninformed stuttering attitudes proliferate among the general public, and bourgeoning research has shown that such attitudes might emerge as early as the preschool years. Much r...
Right Ventricular Metabolism: A Brief Review

The primary function of the right ventricle (RV) is to receive systemic venous return and pump it into the normally low-pressure, highly distensible pulmonary arterial system.1 Compared to the left...
Evolution of Multi-Tier Transmission Towards 5G Li-Fi Networks

A design framework is presented in this manuscript for a novel visible light communications (VLC)-based multi-tier waveform. Conventionally, VLC waveforms are designed to target specific services. In services that require high-speed access, multi-carrier modulation techniques, i.e., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), is considered. For lower-speed access services, single carrier modulation techniques are considered such as phase-shift keying (PSK) or pulse-position modulation (PPM). The proposed design offers a universal-and receiver-independent multi-tier waveform that is expected to serve the requirements of fifth-generation (SG) wireless networks and beyond, including high-speed connectivity, sensing and positioning services. This allows a wide variety of devices to extract a useful portion of the received waveform associated to the targeted service while ensuring inter-service-interference-free operation. In addition, the proposed design aims for cooperative transmission and dimming control to enhance the lighting environment for better user experience. The paper provides a detailed description of the design process and the experimental evaluation. The experimental results indicate that the designed waveform can offer dimming control over 60% of the light-emitting diode (LED) full dynamic range, while maintaining bit-error rate (BER) of $7\times 1{0}^{-5}$ for 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM).
Database System for Alumni Tracking

In their discussion Database System for Alumni Tracking by Steven Moll, Associate Professor and William O'Brien, Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality Management at Florida International University, Professors Moll and O’Brien initially state: “The authors describe a unique database program which was created to solve problems associated with tracking hospitality majors subsequent to graduation.” “...and please, whatever you do, keep in touch with your school; join an alum’ organization. It is a great way to engage the resources of your school to help further your career,” says Professor Claudia Castillo in addressing a group of students attending her Life after College seminar on 9/18/2009. This is a very good point and it is obviously germane to the article at hand. “One of the greatest strengths of a hospitality management school, a strength that grows with each passing year, is its body of alumni,” say the authors. “Whether in recruiting new students or placing graduates, whether in fund raising or finding scholarship recipients, whatever the task, the network of loyal alumni stands
Local low-rank Hawkes processes for modeling temporal user–item interactions

Hawkes processes have become very popular in modeling multiple recurrent user–item interaction events that exhibit mutual-excitation properties in various domains. Generally, modeling the interaction sequence of each user–item pair as an independent Hawkes process is ineffective since the prediction accuracy of future event occurrences for users and items with few observed interactions is low. On the other hand, multivariate Hawkes processes (MHPs) can be used to handle multi-dimensional random processes where different dimensions are correlated with each other. However, an MHP either fails to describe the correct mutual influence between dimensions or become computational inhibitive in most real-world events involving a large collection of users and items. To tackle this challenge, we propose local low-rank Hawkes processes to model large-scale user–item interactions, which efficiently captures the correlations of Hawkes processes in different dimensions. In addition, we design an efficient convex optimization algorithm to estimate model parameters and present a parallel algorithm to further increase the computation efficiency. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets demonstrate the performance improvements of our model in comparison with the state of the art.
Flexible Electrowetting-on-Dielectric Microlens Array Sheet

We have fabricated a fully-flexible, focus-tunable microlens array on a sheet and demonstrated its imaging capabilities. Each liquid lens of the array is individually tunable via electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) actuation and is situated on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate, which allows the lens array to operate as a reconfigurable optical system. In particular, we observed a significant increase in the field of view (FOV) of the system to 40.4° by wrapping it on a cylindrical surface as compared to the FOV of 21.5° obtained by the array on a planer surface. We also characterized the liquid lenses of the system, observing a range of focus length from 20.2 mm to 9.2 mm as increased voltage was applied to each EWOD lens. A Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) was used to measure the wavefront of the lens as it was actuated, and the aberrations of the lens were assessed by reporting the Zernike coefficients of the wavefronts.
A randomized phase 2 network trial of tivantinib plus cetuximab versus cetuximab in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background MET signaling is a well described mechanism of resistance to anti-EGFR therapy, and MET overexpression is common in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). In the current trial, the authors compared the oral MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ197) in combination with cetuximab (the TC arm) versus a control arm that received cetuximab monotherapy (C) in patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC. Methods In total, 78 evaluable patients with cetuximab-naive, platinum-refractory HNSCC were enrolled, including 40 on the TC arm and 38 on the C arm (stratified by human papillomavirus [HPV] status). Patients received oral tivantinib 360 mg twice daily and intravenous cetuximab 500 mg/m2 once every 2 weeks. The primary outcome was the response rate (according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1), and secondary outcomes included progression-free and overall survival. After patients progressed on the C arm, tivantinib monotherapy was optional. Results The response rate was 7.5% in the TC arm (N = 3; 1 complete response) and 7.9% in the C arm (N = 3; not significantly different [NS]). The median progression-free survival in both arms was 4 months (NS), and the median overall survival was 8 months (NS). Both treatments were well tolerated, with a trend toward increased hematologic toxicities in the TC arm (12.5% had grade 3 leukopenia). The response rate in 31 HPV-positive/p16-positive patients was 0% in both arms, whereas the response rate in HPV-negative patients was 12.7% (12.5% in the TC arm and 13% in the C arm). Fifteen patients received tivantinib monotherapy, and no responses were observed. Conclusions Combined tivantinib plus cetuximab does not significantly improve the response rate or survival compared with cetuximab alone but does increase toxicity in an unselected HNSCC population. Cetuximab responses appear to be limited to patients who have HPV-negative HNSCC. MET-aberration-focused trials for HNSCC and the use of higher potency, selective MET inhibitors remain of interest.
High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Identification in Precancerous Cervical Intraepithelial Lesions

Objective This review aims to summarize the currently available human papillomavirus (HPV) testing methods for precancerous cervical intraepithelial lesions. Materials and methods A literature search of PubMed using key words "high-risk HPV, precancerous cervical intraepithelial lesions, FDA-approved HPV tests, p16 IHC, Ki 67 IHC, fluorescent in situ hybridization for HPV, Pap smear, HPV vaccines, HPV tests using self-collected samples, and next-generation sequencing" was performed between January 1 and June 14, 2019. The package inserts of the Food and Drug Administration-approved HPV tests were obtained from the companies' Web sites. Results Multiple morphology-based, immunohistochemical staining and nucleic acid HPV tests were reviewed, including the material required, methodologies, result interpretations, as well as their advantages, limitations, and futures. The structure of HPV and its natural history of infection and transmission were touched on as well for a better understanding of these testing methods. Conclusions Human papillomavirus tests are a critical component for cervical cancer screening, and understanding of these tests helps test results interpretation and patients' triage.
Improved Glycemic Control Outcomes Regardless of Mental Health Disorders in a Pharmacist-Endocrinologist Diabetes Intense Medical Management (DIMM) "Tune Up" Clinic.

Background: Previous studies show patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and a mental health (MH) disorder exhibit poorer glycemic control compared with those without. Objective: Compare mean change i...
Exploring cellular biochemistry with nanobodies

Reagents that bind tightly and specifically to biomolecules of interest remain essential in the exploration of biology and in their ultimate application to medicine. Besides ligands for receptors of known specificity, agents commonly used for this purpose are monoclonal antibodies derived from mice, rabbits, and other animals. However, such antibodies can be expensive to produce, challenging to engineer, and are not necessarily stable in the context of the cellular cytoplasm, a reducing environment. Heavy chain–only antibodies, discovered in camelids, have been truncated to yield single-domain antibody fragments (VHHs or nanobodies) that overcome many of these shortcomings. Whereas they are known as crystallization chaperones for membrane proteins or as simple alternatives to conventional antibodies, nanobodies have been applied in settings where the use of standard antibodies or their derivatives would be impractical or impossible. We review recent examples in which the unique properties of nanobodies have been combined with complementary methods, such as chemical functionalization, to provide tools with unique and useful properties.
Tibial Spine Fractures: How Much Are We Missing Without Pretreatment Advanced Imaging? A Multicenter Study.

Background:There is a high rate of concomitant injuries reported in pediatric patients with tibial spine fractures, ranging from 40% to 68.8%. Many tibial spine fractures are treated without initia...
Does Hyperbaric Oxygen Improve Lower Extremity Ulcer Outcomes

A person with a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) requires multidisciplinary care, including moist wound healing, consistent offloading of insensate areas, glycemic control, and adequate circulation. This is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as patients with diabetes are at a higher risk of mortality.1 Reviewed in a 2018 installment of Evidence Corner,2 a double-blind, randomized clinical trial (RCT) reported that topical oxygen continuously diffused to DFU tissue resulted in nonhealing DFUs healing more than 20 days faster than those that were similarly treated with standard therapy and a sham device.3 More than twice the DFUs closed in patients receiving continuously diffused topical oxygen in comparison with the sham arm completely healed in 12 weeks (P = .02). It has been hypothesized that intervals of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO)-breathing 100% oxygen at atmosphere absolute (ATA) greater than the 1.0 normal at sea level-may similarly improve lower extremity ulcer healing outcomes. This month's Evidence Corner summarizes 2 studies regarding patients receiving HBO. The first study focused on patients with a DFU on a non-ischemic limb.4 The second studied the effects of HBO on lower extremity ulcers on ischemic limbs in patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM).5 Read on to discover how informative and beneficial each of these studies can be in furthering best practice as well as which patients may experience improved lower limb ulcer healing in response to interventions that increase tissue oxygenation.
A Risk-based Perspective on the Presidential Puzzle

This paper investigates the presidential puzzle (Santa-Clara and Valkanov, 2003) -- the fact that the equity premium is 10% higher in years with Democratic governments than in years with Republican governments. I find the existence of a negative price reaction after Democratic victories in presidential elections. I also establish that the difference in the equity premium is significant only in the first year of the presidential cycle and that there is a negative equity premium in the fourth year of the cycle when the incumbent Republican loses the election. Moreover, the market reaction to changes in the likelihood of a candidate winning the election is significantly different for Republican and Democratic candidates. The evidence is consistent with a risk explanation and policy uncertainty.