cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Engaging hospitalized patients with personalized health information: a randomized trial of an inpatient portal

Objective To determine the effects of an inpatient portal intervention on patient activation, patient satisfaction, patient engagement with health information, and 30-day hospital readmissions. Methods and Materials From March 2014 to May 2017, we enrolled 426 English- or Spanish-speaking patients from 2 cardiac medical-surgical units at an urban academic medical center. Patients were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: 1) usual care, 2) tablet with general Internet access (tablet-only), and 3) tablet with an inpatient portal. The primary study outcome was patient activation (Patient Activation Measure-13). Secondary outcomes included all-cause readmission within 30 days, patient satisfaction, and patient engagement with health information. Results There was no evidence of a difference in patient activation among patients assigned to the inpatient portal intervention compared to usual care or the tablet-only group. Patients in the inpatient portal group had lower 30-day hospital readmissions (5.5% vs. 12.9% tablet-only and 13.5% usual care; P = 0.044). There was evidence of a difference in patient engagement with health information between the inpatient portal and tablet-only group, including looking up health information online (89.6% vs. 51.8%; P < 0.001). Healthcare providers reported that patients found the portal useful and that the portal did not negatively impact healthcare delivery. Conclusions Access to an inpatient portal did not significantly improve patient activation, but it was associated with looking up health information online and with a lower 30-day hospital readmission rate. These results illustrate benefit of providing hospitalized patients with real-time access to their electronic health record data while in the hospital. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01970852.
A Canonical Correlational Analysis Examining the Relationship Between Peer Mentorship, Belongingness, Impostor Feelings, and Black Collegians’ Academic and Psychosocial Outcomes:

Disparities in students’ psychosocial outcomes are an underresearched area of achievement gap research. Racial-ethnic minorities endorse a lower sense of belonging, higher impostorism scores, and d...
Electron Scattering at Epitaxial Ni(001) Surfaces

Epitaxial Ni(001) layers are sputter deposited on MgO(001) substrates and their electrical resistivity $\rho $ measured in situ as a function of thickness ${d}_{{\text {Ni}}}= $ 5–100 nm to quantify the resistivity size effect due to electron surface scattering. X-ray diffraction $\theta $ – ${2}\theta $ scans, $\omega $ -rocking curves, and pole figures confirm an epitaxial layer-substrate relationship with Ni[001] $\|$ MgO[001] and Ni[100] $\|$ MgO[100]. The resistivity is well described with the semiclassical model by Fuchs and Sondheimer and a room-temperature bulk resistivity $\rho _{o}= {7.04}\,\,\mu \Omega $ cm, yielding a bulk electron mean-free path $\lambda = {26}\pm {2}$ and 350 ± 20 nm at 295 and 77 K, respectively. Air exposure causes a resistivity increase by up to 21%, which is attributed to monolayer surface oxidation that results in a transition from 30% specular to completely diffuse electron surface scattering. All measured data are consistent with a temperature-independent product $\rho _{o} \lambda = {18.3} \times {10}^{{-{16}}}\,\,\Omega \text{m}^{{{2}}}$ , which is 4.5 times larger than previously predicted from first-principles, indicating that Ni is less promising as a metal for narrow interconnect lines than those predictions suggest.
Rome, Persia, and Arabia: Shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad

Rome, Persia, and Arabia traces the enormous impact that the Great Powers of antiquity exerted on Arabia and the Arabs, between the arrival of Roman forces in the Middle East in 63 BC and the death of the Prophet Muhammad in AD 632. Richly illustrated and covering a vast area from the fertile lands of South Arabia to the bleak deserts of Iraq and Syria, this book provides a detailed and captivating narrative of the way that the empires of antiquity affected the politics, culture, and religion of the Arabs. It examines Rome’s first tentative contacts in the Syrian steppe and the controversial mission of Aelius Gallus to Yemen, and takes in the city states, kingdoms, and tribes caught up in the struggle for supremacy between Rome and Persia, including the city state of Hatra, one of the many archaeological sites in the Middle East that have suffered deliberate vandalism at the hands of the ‘Islamic State’. The development of an Arab Christianity spanning the Middle East, the emergence of Arab fiefdoms at the edges of imperial power, and the crucial appearance of strong Arab leadership in the century before Islam provide a clear picture of the importance of pre-Islamic Arabia and the Arabs to understanding world and regional history. Rome, Persia, and Arabia includes discussions of heritage destruction in the Middle East, the emergence of Islam, and modern research into the anthropology of ancient tribal societies and their relationship with the states around them. This comprehensive and wide-ranging book delivers an authoritative chronicle of a crucial but little known era in world history, and is for any reader with an interest in the ancient Middle East, Arabia, and the Roman and Persian empires.
Ex Vivo Maintenance of Primary Human Multiple Myeloma Cells through the Optimization of the Osteoblastic Niche

We previously reported a new approach for culturing difficult-to-preserve primary patient-derived multiple myeloma cells (MMC) using an osteoblast (OSB)-derived 3D tissue scaffold constructed in a perfused microfluidic environment and a culture medium supplemented with patient plasma. In the current study, we used this biomimetic model to show, for the first time, that the long-term survival of OSB is the most critical factor in maintaining the ex vivo viability and proliferative capacity of MMC. We found that the adhesion and retention of MMC to the tissue scaffold was meditated by osteoblastic N-cadherin, as one of potential mechanisms that regulate MMC-OSB interactions. However, in the presence of MMC and patient plasma, the viability and osteogenic activity of OSB became gradually compromised, and consequently MMC could not remain viable over 3 weeks. We demonstrated that the long-term survival of both OSB and MMC could be enhanced by: (1) optimizing perfusion flow rate and patient-derived plasma composition in the culture medium and (2) replenishing OSB during culture as a practical means of prolonging MMC’s viability beyond several weeks. These findings were obtained using a high-throughput well plate-based perfusion device from the perspective of optimizing the ex vivo preservation of patient-derived MM biospecimens for downstream use in biological studies and chemosensitivity analyses.
P348 Providing cost-effective and coordinated care for children with medical complexity

Introduction Many paediatric hospitals are treating increasing numbers of children with medical complexity (CMC), diagnosed with chronic life-limiting illnesses and requiring life-sustaining home medical technology. These medically fragile children and families are at risk of fragmented care, sub-optimal continuity and high healthcare resource utilization due to their multiple medical issues and care needs. Consequently, the Children’s Complex and Home Care Services (CCHS) was established in our institution in April 2016 with the primary aims of providing coordinated, cost-effective and patient- and family-centered care to CMC and their families. This service is run by a multi-disciplinary team of pediatricians, nurses, allied health and administrative staff. CMC in our context have a chronic life-limiting condition that involves at least three body systems and are often technologically dependent with limited mobility. In view of the numerous healthcare professionals involved in their care, multiple medical appointments are often scheduled which result in significant caregiver stress and fatigue. One of the key service implementations was multidisciplinary clinics whereby children are seen over the course of 1–3 hours by multiple clinical, nursing and allied health specialists. The purpose of this study is to describe CCHS service implementations, characterize CCHS patient characteristics and evaluate how multidisciplinary clinics have reduced their healthcare resource utilization. Methods 55 patients who were enrolled in the CCHS between April 2016 and October 2018 were studied. Results Patient ages ranged from 2 months to 14.3 years old at time of enrolment. The majority of patients had underlying primary genetic diagnoses (47.2%), and other patients had either the primary diagnosis of cerebral palsy (20%), congenital cardiac disease (5.4%), neuromuscular disease (3.6%) or another or undiagnosed underlying condition (23.6%). Medical technology required at time of enrolment included enteral devices such as nasogastric/nasojejunal tubes or gastrostomies (94.5%), suctioning machines (54.5%), ventilator support (34.5%) and tracheostomies (16.4%). CCHS multidisciplinary clinics managed to reduce the number of outpatient attendances by 6.8 visits per patient-year for CMC enrolled into the service. This saves caregivers from an equivalent number of workdays of lost salary, and translates to €450 of savings per patient per year on just transportation costs alone. Conclusion CMC are heterogeneous in conditions but similar in care needs, and reducing outpatient attendances and healthcare costs is possible with coordinated multi-disciplinary clinics.
Negotiating Authority in the Ritual of the Public School Board Meeting

Purpose: To investigate how and in what way local governance of education is consequential to the work of changing public schools. The focus is on the board of education meeting as a ritual perform...
Micro-Prism Spectrum Splitting Optics for Lateral-Arrayed Multi Junction Micro CPV

A micro-prism-array based low-profile spectrum splitting optics assembly is demonstrated. The preciselycontrolled physical profile via low-cost plastic molding contributes to high optical transmission. The conjugate prism design and material matching design allow efficient spectrum splitting while introducing minimal beam deflection. This optics provides a cost-effective module assembly enabling high performance, lateral-arrayed multi-junction micro CPV modules.
The yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis) can use magnetic field polarity to orient in space and solve a maze

Elasmobranch fishes (sharks, skates, and rays) have been hypothesized to use the geomagnetic field (GMF) to maintain a sense of direction as they navigate throughout their environment. However, it is difficult to test the sensory ecology and spatial orientation ability of large highly migratory fishes in the field. Therefore, we performed behavioral conditioning experiments on a small magnetically sensitive species, the yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis), in the laboratory. We trained individuals to use the polarity, or the north–south direction, of the GMF as a cue to orient in space and navigate a T-maze for a food reward. Subjects were split into two groups that learned to associate the direction of magnetic north or south as the indicator of the reward location. Stingrays reached the learning criterion within a mean (± SE) of 158.6 ± 28.4 trials. Subjects were then reverse trained to use the previously unrewarded magnetic stimulus of the opposite polarity as the new cue for the reward location. Overall, the stingrays reached the reversal criterion in significantly fewer trials (120 ± 13.8) compared to the initial procedure. These data show that the yellow stingray can learn to associate changes in GMF polarity with a reward, relearn a behavioral task when the reward contingency is modified, and learn a reversal procedure faster than the initial association. These data support the idea that the yellow stingray, and perhaps other elasmobranchs, might use GMF polarity as a cue to orient and maintain a heading during navigation.
A Trainsient Voltage Stability Evaluation Model Based on Morphological Similarity Distance Online Calculation

Based on morphological similarity distance, a transient voltage stability evaluation method is proposed, which is to solve the problem of transient voltage stability of the power grid. According to the real-time measurement data of PUM, this method extracts a given time series of electric parameters, takes the morphological similarity distance as the time sequence feature. Finally, use the decision tree algorithm for training, and obtain a binary decision tree with good classification performance. The IEEE39 calculation example shows that the method has a strong classification effect, which can guide the on-line monitoring and evaluation of voltage and explore the regulations of voltage instability.
Effect of Wound Contamination on Outcomes of Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Using Acellular Dermal Matrix: 14-Year Experience with More than 700 Patients.

Background Patients with contaminated/dirty-infected defects are at high risk for postoperative complications after abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR). We evaluated outcomes of AWR using acellular dermal matrix (ADM) for mesh reinforcement and identified predictors of hernia recurrence (HR), surgical site occurrences (SSOs), and surgical site infections (SSIs). Study Design We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent AWR using ADM, from March 2005 to June 2019. Outcomes were compared between Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wound classifications. The primary outcome measure was HR. Secondary outcomes were SSOs and SSIs. Results We identified 725 AWRs using ADM that met the study criteria. Participants had a mean age of 60 ± 11.5 years, mean BMI of 31 ± 7 kg/m2, and mean follow-up time of 42 ± 29 months. Three hundred two patients (41.6%) had clean defects, 322 patients (44.4%) had clean-contaminated defects, and 101 patients (13.9%) had contaminated/dirty-infected defects. Patients with contaminated/dirty-infected defects had an HR rate of 20.8%, SSO rate of 54.5%, and SSI rate of 23.8%. Multivariate logistic regression found that contaminated/dirty-infected defects were independent predictors of SSOs (OR 2.99; 95% CI 1.72–5.18; p Conclusions SSIs and SSOs increase as contamination levels rise, but the risk of HR does not. AWR with ADM provides safe and durable outcomes, even with increasing levels of contamination.
Increases in Violence and Changes in Trauma Admissions During the COVID Quarantine.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused an abrupt change to societal norms. We anecdotally noticed an increase in penetrating and violent trauma during the period of stay-at-home orders. Studying these changes will allow trauma centers to better prepare for future waves of COVID-19 or other global catastrophes. Methods We queried our institutional database for all level 1 and 2 trauma activations presenting from the scene within our local county from March 18 to May 21, 2020 and matched time periods from 2016 to 2019. Primary outcomes were overall trauma volume, rates of penetrating trauma, rates of violent trauma, and transfusion requirements. Results The number of penetrating and violent traumas at our trauma center during the period of societal quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic was more than any historical total. During the COVID-19 time period, we saw 39 penetrating traumas, while the mean value for the same time period from 2016 to 2019 was 26 (P = .03). We saw 45 violent traumas during COVID; the mean value from 2016 to 2019 was 32 (P = .05). There was also a higher rate of trauma patients requiring transfusion in the COVID cohort (6.7% vs 12.2%). Discussion Societal quarantine increased the number of penetrating and violent traumas, with a concurrent increased percentage of patients transfused. Despite this, there was no change in outcomes. Given the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine measures could be re-implemented. Data from this study can help guide expectations and utilization of hospital resources in the future.
Second-hand house price index forecasting with neural networks

The house market in China has been growing rapidly for the past decade and price forecasting has become a significant issue to the people and policymakers. We approach this problem by examining neu...
Investigation into Bias and Variability in Estimates of Population Size and Biomass when Catches of Individuals are Large Relative to the Total Population

Biomass of fish populations has traditionally been estimated by multiplying the average weight of captured fish by the estimated number of fish, with its variance estimated as the product of two variances. We present a method for estimating fish biomass in small streams (< 5 m wetted width) that uses a finite population correction factor (FPC) to take advantage of the fact that a relatively high proportion of the total population is normally captured and can be weighed during removal estimates. For these captured fish, measurement error is related to scale accuracy and field conditions. For the portion of the population that is not captured, we used a randomly stopped sums estimator (RSS) to estimate the total weight and variance of this non-captured proportion of the population. We also evaluated FPC and RSS methods individually to determine which of the four methods--(1) combination of FPC and RSS (FPCRSS), (2) traditional (hereafter OLD), (3) FPC, or (4) RSS—performed best. We also incorporated biomass estimates for fish that were captured, but not weighed, using length-weight regression predictions (FPCRSSreg). Performance of these estimators was evaluated using both simulated and field data. We based performance on reduction in the coefficient of variation (CV) of the biomass estimate and coverage of 95-percent confidence intervals (proportion of trials for which the 95-percent estimated biomass confidence intervals included the true biomass). The FPCRSS method had the narrowest CVs and the OLD method had the widest CVs for both the field and simulated data. Because of the high variance for the OLD method, 95-percent CIs for this method included the true biomass for a higher proportion of trials (nearly 100%) than 95-percent CIs for the FPCRSS method, but the coverage of the FPCRSS method for two-pass removal estimates was 80 percent or better for capture probabilities of 0.5 or higher. Using simulated data, we found that removal estimators are biased and that these biases are more pronounced at lower capture probabilities and lower population sizes. This bias in removal population estimators causes a bias in biomass estimates and was partly responsible for poorer coverage of 95-percent CIs. Our attempts to correct for population estimate bias resulted in much wider confidence intervals for both population and biomass estimates. For 607 field biomass estimates where all captured fish were weighed, the median CV for the FPCRSS method (0.05) was significantly lower (Wilcoxon sign-ranked test: P < 0.001) than the OLD method (0.76). When a portion of captured fish was not weighed, but estimated using length-weight regression relationships, the FPCRSSreg method had significantly lower CVs (median = 0.06; Wilcoxon sign-ranked test: P < 0.001, n = 130) than the old method (median = 0.86).
An Annual-Monthly Streamflow Model for Incorporating Parameter Uncertainty into Reservoir Simulation

Abstract A monthly streamflow model is developed which can reproduce the variance and year-to-year correlation of an annual stream-flow surrogate with a modest number of parameters. The model's simple structure facilitates the incorporation of streamflow-model-parameter uncertainty into synthetic streamflow sequences The large impact of parameter uncertainty on derived reservoir capacity-reliability-demand relationships is illustrated by comparing the relationships obtained ignoring parameter uncertainty with those obtained when streamflow-model parameter uncertainty is incorporated into synthetic flow sequences.
Conditional STAT3-deficiency augments Flt3 ligand-driven myeloid-derived suppressor cell expansion but limits their suppressor function (IRM7P.487)

Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L) is a potent hematopoietic growth factor that profoundly expands immunostimulatory dendritic cells (DC). Despite this, the influence of Flt3L on immunoregulatory myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) has not been described. Since DC and MDSC arise from common myeloid progenitors, and Flt3L-driven DC expansion is STAT3-dependent, we sought to precisely define the role of STAT3 in MDSC downstream of Flt3L signaling. We bred myeloid cell-specific STAT3-deficient mice (LysMCre x STAT3loxP) and administered Flt3L (10 μg/d ip, 10d). Splenic DC (CD11c+) and MDSC (Gr-1+) were isolated by magnetic bead selection. Stimulation and suppression of CD3+ T cell responses was assayed in MLR. As expected, STAT3-deficiency prevented Flt3L-mediated CD11c+ DC expansion. However, we observed an increase in MDSC (CD11b+Gr1+) frequency and absolute numbers in STAT3-deficient mice administered Flt3L. Interestingly, Flt3L-expanded MDSC from STAT3-deficient mice exhibited reduced suppressive capacity against CD3+ T cells in MLR compared to controls. These data identify a previously unappreciated STAT3-independent pathway for MDSC expansion, but reinforce the need for STAT3 signaling for their full suppressive capacity. Likewise, we establish that STAT3 has reciprocal effects on suppressive MDSC and immunostimulatory DC expansion. Together, these findings enhance understanding of the immunomodulatory properties of Flt3L.
First Principles Calculations for X-ray Resonant Spectra and Elastic Properties

In this thesis, we discuss applications of first principles methods to x-ray resonant spectra and elastic properties calculation. We start with brief reviews about theoretical background of first principles methods, such as density functional theory, local density approximation (LDA), LDA+U, and the linear augmented plane wave (LAPW) method to solve Kohn-Sham equations. After that we discuss x-ray resonant scattering (XRMS), x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and the branching problem in the heavy rare earths Ledges. In the last chapter we discuss the elastic properties of the second hardest material AlMgB{sub 14}.
Analyzing and Comparing Reading Stimulus Materials Across the TOEFL® Family of Assessments

The TOEFL® family of assessments includes the TOEFL® Primary™, TOEFL Junior®, and TOEFL iBT® tests. The linguistic complexity of stimulus passages in the reading sections of the TOEFL family of assessments is expected to differ across the test levels. This study evaluates the linguistic complexity of each passage in a corpus of TOEFL stimulus passages. The analysis was conducted using the TextEvaluator®, a comprehensive text analysis system developed at Educational Testing Service (ETS). For each TOEFL reading passage, TextEvaluator provides an overall complexity score and 8 component scores that measure text complexity in specific domains. The results suggest that the overall complexity scores of the reading passages selected for use at different test levels are significantly different. According to the analysis of the component scores, the TOEFL Primary, TOEFL Junior, and TOEFL iBT passages are similar with respect to some aspects of text variation and distinct with respect to others. Score ranges based on the distributions of the overall complexity scores and the distributions of the component scores of all the passages at each test level can be used as guidelines to develop or select new passages.
Mental Illness, Measuring

Accurate measures of mental illness must distinguish psychological dysfunctions from natural responses to stressful conditions. This entry describes the challenges that researchers face in measuring mental illness and three historical stages in the process of assessing mental illness. It suggests that measures of context are essential for optimal distinctions between mental illness and normal reactions to stress. Keywords: depression; mental health; methodology; sociology of health and illness; sociology of mental health
Detection of genetic factors associated with multiple correlated imaging phenotypes by a sparse regression model

Recently, more evidence of polygenicity and pleiotropy has been found in genome-wide association (GWA) studies of complex psychiatric diseases (e.g., schizophrenia), where multiple interacting genetic variants may affect multiple phenotypic traits simultaneously. In this work, we propose a new sparse collaborative group-ridge low-rank regression model (sCGRLR) to study the pleiotropic effects of a group of genetic variants on multiple imaging-derived quantitative traits (i.e., endophenotype). In the method, we enforce sparse and low-rank regularizations to reduce the number of features and then construct an effective gene or gene-set based statistic test to evaluate the significance of selected features. We show the advantage of our method with other gene-set pleiotropy analysis methods and other sparse multivariate regression methods in terms of type I error and power on simulated data. Finally, we demonstrate its application to real data analysis on the study of schizophrenia.
Introduction to Food Analysis

Investigations in food science and technology, whether by the food industry, governmental agencies, or universities, often require determination of food composition and characteristics. Trends and demands of consumers, the food industry, and national and international regulations challenge food scientists as they work to monitor food composition and to ensure the quality and safety of the food supply. All food products require analysis as part of a quality management program throughout the development process (including raw ingredients), through production, and after a product is in the market. In addition, analysis is done of problem samples and competitor products. The characteristics of foods (i.e., chemical composition, physical properties, sensory properties) are used to answer specific questions for regulatory purposes and typical quality control. The nature of the sample and the specific reason for the analysis commonly dictate the choice of analytical methods. Speed, precision, accuracy, and ruggedness often are key factors in this choice. Validation of the method for the specific food matrix being analyzed is necessary to ensure usefulness of the method. Making an appropriate choice of the analytical technique for a specific application requires a good knowledge of the various techniques (Fig. 1-1). For example, your choice of method to determine the salt content of potato chips would be different if it is for nutrition labeling than for quality control. The success of any analytical method relies on the proper selection and preparation of the food sample, carefully performing the analysis, and doing the appropriate calculations and interpretation of the data. Methods of analysis developed and endorsed by several nonprofit scientific organizations allow for standardized comparisons of results between different laboratories and for evaluation of less standard procedures. Such official methods are critical in the analysis of foods, to ensure that they meet the legal requirements established by governmental agencies. Government regulations and international standards most relevant to the analysis of foods are mentioned here but covered in more detail in Chap. 2, and nutrition labeling regulations in the USA are covered in Chap. 3. Internet addresses for many of the organizations and government agencies discussed are given at the end of this chapter.
On the index and spectrum of differential operators on ℝ^{ℕ}

If P(x, ∂) is an r x r system of differential operators on R N having continuous coefficients with vanishing oscillation at infinity, the Cordes-Illner theory ensures that P(x,∂) is Fredholm from (W m,p ) r to (L P ) r for all or no value p ∈ (1,∞). We prove that both the index (when defined) and the spectrum of P(x, ∂) are independent of p.
LACK OF INFLUENCE OF SUSPENDING MEDIA ON HEAT ACTIVATION OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS SPORES AND ABSENCE OF DEACTIVATION

Bacillus subtilis strain 5230 endospores suspended in a variety of suspending media at a concentration of ca. 10(8) per ml were heated at 95 and 75 C. The effect of the heating at 75 C was measured by plate count, and was reported as the heat-activated decimal fraction of the total viable-spore population. Thermal inactivation at 95 C was influenced by the suspending medium. No effects on heat activation at 75 C were noted for suspending media containing glucose, xylose, ribose, NaCl, or sodium phosphate, nor was there any marked effect due to a change in pH from 5 to 8. The heat-activation response was retained during postheating storage at 5 C in water up to 215 days. Postheating storage in several suspending media for 7 days also indicated no deactivation.
Cytosolic Glycosylated Proteins, Chemistry of

O-GlcNAcylation is a prevalent posttranslational modification that occurs when a molecule of the monosaccharide N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is adjoined to a serine or a threonine residue of a cellular protein. This modification can influence a protein in many of the same ways that a serine or threonine phosphorylation can. In addition, much like the kinases and phosphatases involved in phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, unique enzymes are responsible for the addition and removal of O-GlcNAc modifications, with an O-GlcNAc transferase that catalyzes the addition and an O-GlcNAcase that is responsible for the removal. This review will give a summate description of the diverse biochemical roles that this O-GlcNAcylation can play on individual proteins, and on whole animal systems, and will detail the current understanding of the enzymes involved in its maintenance. Finally, we discuss here the recent advances that have been made in the development of tools to study O-GlcNAcylation.
The Vocational Exploration Group and minority youth: An experimental outcome study

Abstract This study was designed to investigate experimentally the effectiveness of the Vocational Exploration Group in assisting students to become more aware of the world of work and its relevance for them. Sixty male, Mexican-American, junior high students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) Vocational Exploration Group, (2) VEG without interaction, or (3) Control. Upon completion of treatments subjects were post-tested with an instrument designed to assess knowledge of factors such as differing functions of jobs, interests and skills needed in different jobs and satisfactions available from work. Analyses revealed no statistically significant differences ( a = .05) among groups.
Spinal and supraspinal changes in tumor necrosis factor-α expression following excitotoxic spinal cord injury

The role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) after spinal cord injury (SCI) is well characterized in the cord, but the impact of this inflammatory process on supraspinal levels is unknown. This study examines TNF-α mRNA and protein levels in the brains and spinal cords of mice after SCI. Mice received intraspinal injections of quisqualic acid (QUIS) to create an excitotoxic injury that is known to result in pain behaviors. An ELISA determined serum levels of TNF-α, whereas real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were used to determine mRNA and protein levels, respectively, at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 h, or 14 d postinjury. No difference existed in serum TNF-α levels between sham- and QUIS-injected animals. TNF-α mRNA in the cord was increased at 3, 6, 12, and 24 h in QUIS-injected animals relative to shams. TNF-α protein was elevated at 12 and 48 h postinjury. TNF-α mRNA levels in the brain were elevated at 12 and 24 h, with elevated protein levels at 6 h. Animals that developed pain behaviors had increased levels of TNF-α mRNA in the brain. Excitotoxic SCI results in altered TNF-α mRNA and protein levels in the cords and brains of mice within 6 h of injury. These changes likely contribute to the pathogenesis of injury within the cord. The role of TNF-α in the brain postinjury has not been defined but might contribute to the development of pain post-SCI.
A definition of theory: research guidelines for different theory-building research methods in operations management

Abstract This study examines the definition of theory and the implications it has for the theory-building research. By definition, theory must have four basic criteria: conceptual definitions, domain limitations, relationship-building, and predictions. Theory-building is important because it provides a framework for analysis, facilitates the efficient development of the field, and is needed for the applicability to practical real world problems. To be good theory, a theory must follow the virtues (criteria) for `good' theory, including uniqueness, parsimony, conservation, generalizability, fecundity, internal consistency, empirical riskiness, and abstraction, which apply to all research methods. Theory-building research seeks to find similarities across many different domains to increase its abstraction level and its importance. The procedure for good theory-building research follows the definition of theory: it defines the variables, specifies the domain, builds internally consistent relationships, and makes specific predictions. If operations management theory is to become integrative, the procedure for good theory-building research should have similar research procedures, regardless of the research methodology used. The empirical results from a study of operations management over the last 5 years (1991–1995) indicate imbalances in research methodologies for theory-building. The analytical mathematical research methodology is by far the most popular methodology and appears to be over-researched. On the other hand, the integrative research areas of analytical statistical and the establishment of causal relationships are under-researched. This leads to the conclusion that theory-building in operations management is not developing evenly across all methodologies. Last, this study offers specific guidelines for theory-builders to increase the theory's level of abstraction and the theory's significance for operations managers.
Widespread muscle expression of an AAV9 human mini-dystrophin vector after intravenous injection in neonatal dystrophin-deficient dogs.

Duchenne (DMD) and golden retriever (GRMD) muscular dystrophy are caused by genetic mutations in the dystrophin gene and afflict striated muscles. We investigated systemic gene delivery in 4-day-old GRMD dogs given a single intravenous injection of an AAV9 vector (1.5 × 1014 vector genomes/kg) carrying a human codon-optimized human mini-dystrophin gene under control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. One of the three treated dogs was euthanized 9 days later due to pre-existing conditions. Scattered mini-dystrophin-positive myofibers were seen by immunofluorescent (IF) staining in numerous muscles. At the end of the 16-week study, the other two dogs showed generalized muscle expression of mini-dystrophin in ~15% to nearly 100% of myofibers. Western blot and vector DNA quantitative PCR results agreed with the IF data. Delayed growth and pelvic limb muscle atrophy and contractures were seen several weeks after vector delivery. T-2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 8 weeks showed increased signal intensity compatible with inflammation in several pelvic limb muscles. This marked early inflammatory response raised concerns regarding methodology. Use of the ubiquitous CMV promoter, extra-high vector dose, and marked expression of a human protein in canine muscles may have contributed to the pathologic changes seen in the pelvic limbs.
Electrical and pressure losses in a magnetohydrodynamic channel due to end current loops

End electrical and pressure losses are calculated for d-c magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators, accelerators, or induction pumps having a geometry of a rectangular parallelopiped with the electric field, magnetic field, and fluid flow mutually perpendicular. For an MHD generator, having a cubic geometry, the maximum conversion efficiency is only 29%. This can be improved by increasing the length of the generator, inserting vanes, and extending the magnetic field, so that efficiencies of 90% should be attainable.
Smooth or abrupt: a comparison of regularization methods

In this paper we compare a new regularizing scheme based on the exponential filter function with two classical regularizing methods: Tikhonov regularization and a variant of truncated singular value regularization. The filter functions for the former methods are smooth, but for the latter discontinuous. These regularization methods are applied to the restoration of images degraded by blur and noise. The norm of the noise is assumed to be known, and this allows application of the Morozov discrepancy principle to determine the amount of regularization. We compare the restored images produced by the three regularization methods with optimal values of the regularization parameter. This comparison sheds light on the how these different approaches are related.
Abstract 4702: Caveolin-1 confers a multi-modality therapy resistance phenotype in pancreatic cancer cells

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is a 21kDa protein found in 50-100nm omega-shaped invaginations of the plasma membrane known as caveolae. It has been implicated in the processes of oncogenic cell transformation, tumorigenesis and metastasis. Cav-1 is upregulated in pancreatic cancer and has been shown to be correlated with poor prognosis. We hypothesized that Cav-1 promotes resistance to chemotherapy and radiation, and that downregulation may lead to sensitization to radiation and/or chemotherapy. We found that radiation and chemotherapy up-regulate Cav-1 expression, and that downregulating Cav-1 in multiple pancreatic cancer cell lines by small interfering RNA induces sensitization to chemotherapeutics such as gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil. Furthermore, genetic knockdown causes reduction in tumor cell proliferation and colony formation. Knockdown of caveolin-1 also led to radiosensitization of tumor cells and resulted in delayed DNA repair as demonstrated by delayed pH2.AX foci resolution, increased mitotic catastrophe, as well as decreased formation of BRCA1 and DNAPK-cs foci in the nuclei of these cells. Furthermore, Cav-1 loss promoted cleavage of Caspase-9 and PARP after treatment with gemcitabine. These results indicate that knocking down Cav-1 in pancreatic cancer cells sensitizes them to radiation with delayed DNA damage repair and also to chemotherapeutics with the onset of apoptosis. In vivo, stable knockdown of Cav-1 attenuated the rate of tumor growth significantly compared to control tumors in subcutaneous xenograft pancreatic tumors. In summary we conclude that Cav-1 is responsible in promoting resistance to radiation and chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer cells and that downregulation of this protein leads to improved therapeutic response. Thus, it is possible that caveolin-1 may serve as a prognostic predictive biomarker in pancreatic cancer patients for response to radiation and chemotherapy. Citation Format: Moumita Chatterjee, Terence M. Williams. Caveolin-1 confers a multi-modality therapy resistance phenotype in pancreatic cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4702. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4702
Vibrational assignments of N,N-bis(3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)methylamine in the fingerprint region

Abstract The compound N,N-bis(3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)methylamine is synthesized to model the phenolic resulting from ring opening polymerization of benzoxazine monomers. Fundamental vibrational assignments of N,N-bis(3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)methylamine are made by the analysis of the fingerprint region (2000-500 cm −1 ) of the infrared and Raman spectra of crystalline, quenched, and molten dimers. In addition, the hydrogens in the methylene bridge structure are deuterated to provide insight into vibrations due to the presence of the bridge structure. The structure of hydrogenated and deuterated model dimers is verified by 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Abnormal Morphology of Spermatozoa in Cytochrome P450 17α‐hydroxylase/17, 20‐lyase (CYP17) Deficient Mice

Cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase/17, 20-lyase (CYP17) is crucial for cortisol and sex steroid biosynthesis. In a previous study we examined CYP17 function by generating mice with a targeted CYP17 deletion. We found that in addition to its role in steroid biosynthesis, CYP17 is present in germ cells. In the present study we examined the effect of CYP17 on sperm morphology. Disorganization of the sperm midpiece, small sperm mitochondria with reduced inner membranes and matrix, and irregular sperm shape were found to be associated with the CYP17 gene deletion. Treating the mice carrying the CYP17 deletion with testosterone did not alleviate the observed sperm phenotypes, suggesting that CYP17 acts in a testosterone-independent manner. These results suggest that CYP17, in addition to its role in androgen formation, is critical for proper mitochondrial architecture and sperm morphology and thus for sperm function and normal fertility.
Synthesis of Fluoro-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica and Application to Fluorophilic Separations

Fluorocarbon-functionalized mesoporous silica is synthesized by the co-condensation of tetraalkoxysilane and fluoro-functionalized alkoxysilane precursors using a cationic fluorocarbon surfactant, C6F13C2H2NC5H5Cl (HFOPC) and C8F17C2H2NC5H5Cl (HFDePC), or a traditional hydrocarbon surfactant (C16H33N(CH3)3Br, CTAB) as templates. Fluorocarbon functionalization decreases the silica pore order, pore size, and surface area. The chain length of the fluorocarbon functional precursor and the surfactant template affects the pore order, the materials textural properties, and the fluorocarbon incorporation. Matching a fluorocarbon surfactant with a fluorocarbon functional precursor does not improve functional group incorporation; the incorporation of the perfluoro-octyl functional group is greater in CTAB-templated silica than in HFOPC-templated silica. The application of these mesoporous silica powders to fluorous separations is demonstrated using hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon-tagged anthraquinones. Dye elution thr...
An electron microscopic study of mouse foldback DNA

Abstract Foldback DNA is defined by its rapid, concentration-independent renaturation, consistent with intramolecular base pairing of inverted repeat sequences. Foldback DNA, isolated from renatured mouse main band DNA by hydroxyapatite chromatography, is spread for electron microscopy by the formamide isodenaturing technique. A large fraction of the molecules can be recognized as intramolecular "hairpins"—structures in which complementary sequences on a single DNA strand form base-paired "stem" regions analogous to tRNA stems. The stem regions of the hairpins have a wide distribution of lengths, averaging about 1000 base pairs. About 60% of the stem regions terminate in single-stranded loops, ranging from 400 to many thousands of nucleotides in length, while 40% of the hairpins do not have discernible loops. There are about 40,000 hairpin-forming sequences in the main band portion of the mouse haploid genome. They appear to be either clustered in groups or confined to about one third of the DNA, rather than uniformly or randomly distributed. Another large fraction of the molecules seen in foldback DNA consists of linear structures, some of which are probably also hairpins. The electron microscopic results, along with simple theoretical considerations, make possible a better interpretation of our previous studies of the yield and S1 nuclease resistance of mouse foldback DNA.
Probabilistic robust control of rotorcraft

This paper presents an approach for the design of reliable high-performance control systems for rotorcraft in order to enhance handling qualities and ensure closed-loop stability. The proposed control system has a two-tier hierarchical architecture. The lower-tier controller is designed using a probabilistic robust control approach. By allowing different levels of risk under different flight conditions, the control system can trade off between stability robustness and nominal performance. The upper-tier supervisory controller monitors the system response for anomalous behavior that might lead to instability or loss of performance. The supervisor may then switch between robust controllers with different levels of risk and performance.
Erratum to “Antigenic Characteristics of Rhinovirus Chimeras Designed in silico for Enhanced Presentation of HIV-1 gp41 Epitopes” [J. Mol. Biol. 397 (2010) 752–766]

Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USAAn error was introduced in the title. For the reader’s convenience the correct title appears above.The author regrets that the references in the article were labeled incorrectly. For the reader’s conveniencethe corrections appear below.Corrections to text:Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 28: references 9 and 10 should be 8a and 8bPage 753, Left-hand column, Line 30: reference 11 should be 9Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 38: reference 12 should be deletedPage 753, Left-hand column, Line 39: reference 4 should be 9Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 43: reference 13 should be 10Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 43: references 14 and 15 should be 10aPage 753, Left-hand column, Line 45: references 9, 10 and 11 should be 9, 11, and 12Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 46: references 11 and 14 should be 13 and 14Page 753, Left-hand column, Line 54: reference 13 should be 9Page 753, Right-hand column, Line 48: reference 13 should be 9Page 754, Left-hand column, Line 11: reference 9 should be 15Page 755, Right-hand column, Line 20: reference 13 should be 19Page 761, Left-hand column, Line 5: reference 17 should be 19Page 761, Right-hand column, Line 40: reference 5 should be removedPage 762, Right-hand column, Line 39: reference 17 should be 12Corrections to reference list:Reference list has been corrected to include8a. Calarota, S., M. Jansson, M. Levi, K. Broliden, O. Libonatti, H. Wigzell, and B. Wahren (1996).Immunodominant glycoprotein 41 epitope identified by seroreactivity in HIV type 1-infected individuals.AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses 12, 705-713.8b.Geffin,R.B.,G.B.Scott,M.Melenwick,C.Hutto,S.Lai,L.J.Boots,P.M.McKenna,J.A.Kessler,II,andA.J.Conley (1998). Association of antibody reactivity to ELDKWA, a glycoprotein 41 neutralization epitope, withdisease progression in children perinatally infected with HIV type 1. AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses 14, 579-590.