cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HIV Infection/AIDS and Critical Care

The complications of HIV infection may involve almost any organ system, often resulting in severe dysfunction that may be life threatening. Other disorders not associated with HIV infection may occur in HIV-infected patients and may be severe enough to require critical care. The risk for HIV infection may be unrecognized or undiagnosed at the time of admission to the intensive care unit, placing nurses and other health care providers at risk for the transmission of disease. In the critical care setting, compliance with infection control requires the integration of specific policies and procedures into crises-based practices.
Design and characterization of a torque-controllable actuator for knee assistance during sit-to-stand

Individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis often have difficulty standing out of a chair. One way to potentially improve sit-to-stand is to provide knee extension assistance using a powered knee exoskeleton. An exoskeleton providing unilateral, partial assistance during sit-to-stand would need to be torque-controllable. There are no knee exoskeletons on the market suitable for conducting experiments assisting stroke patients with sit-to-stand, so to enable such experiments a research device was developed. The purpose of this report is to present the design of a novel knee exoskeleton actuator that uses a fiberglass leaf spring in series to improve torque-controllability, and present a characterization of the actuator performance. The actuator is capable of the required torque and speed for sit-to-stand, has high bandwidth (25 Hz), low output impedance at low frequencies (<0.5 Nm), and excellent torque tracking. An orthotic brace built upon this actuator will enable an in-depth study on the biomechanical effects of providing stroke subjects with knee extension assistance during sit-to-stand.
Characterization of energetically efficient and inefficient beef cows.

Dry matter intake and BW data from 14 mature, nonpregnant, nonlactating Angus cows that were individually fed through two consecutive 70- to 80-d periods (maintenance and ad libitum) were used to predict ADG (ADG = -.512 + .213 DMI - .0017 BW, R2 = .95). This equation then was used to identify feed efficiency types among these cows. Cows were identified as average type (A) if ADG was within one SE of predicted ADG, and as efficient (E) or inefficient types (I) if ADG exceeded one SE above or below, respectively, its predicted ADG. Four, four, and six cows were identified and grouped as I, A, and E types, respectively. During the maintenance period, DM and ME intake and ADG were similar (P greater than .10) across all three efficiency types. But during the ad libitum period, voluntary DM and ME intakes of I cows were greater (P less than .05) than those of A or E cows. Average daily gains of I cows during ad libitum feeding were greater (P less than .10) than those of A cows. Daily ME required for maintenance of I cows was highest, that of A cows was intermediate, and that of E cows was lowest (180.2, 154.6, and 135.1 kcal/kg BW.75, respectively). Inefficient cows tended (P greater than .10) to have less fat and deposited more protein (P less than .05) than A and E cows (137.9 vs 77.2 and 46.2 protein g/d, respectively). Concurrent with higher protein accretion rates, liver weights of I cows were heavier (P less than .05) than those of A and E cows (8.58 vs 7.79 and 7.68 kg, respectively). Inefficient cows were characterized by higher energy requirements for maintenance. Their high protein accretion may partially explain their higher maintenance requirements.
Rethinking race/ethnicity, income, and childhood asthma: racial/ethnic disparities concentrated among the very poor.

Objective.Past studies of the prevalence of childhood asthma have yielded conflicting findings as to whether racial/ethnic disparities remain after other factors, such as income, are taken into acc...
App-based attention training: Incorporating older adults' feedback to facilitate home-based use.

Background Technology-based attention training programs have demonstrated promise in improving cognitive functioning in older adults. Aims and objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usability and acceptability of a modified version of a mobile attention training application. Design A descriptive, mixed-methods design was used to capture older adults’ feedback on the usability and acceptability of the modified attention training application. Methods A convenience sample of older adults (n = 12) participated in three study visits and a one-week testing period of the modified attention training application in their homes. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all quantitative data, and an iterative content analysis was used to characterise participant responses. Results On average, participants rated the modified attention training application more positively than negatively in terms of usability, interest, enjoyment and satisfaction. The qualitative analyses revealed positive aspects of using the app including working through challenges, perceived benefit and helpfulness of instructions. Conclusions The modified attention training application was usable by and acceptable to the majority of older adults in our sample who had varying degrees of experience with mobile technology. Future development should specifically consider personal characteristics as well as individual preferences to maximise the potential of the modified attention training application. Implications for practice This technology may be helpful for providing memory improvement interventions to older persons with cognitive impairment who do not have access to memory clinics.
Characteristics of Minority Entrepreneurs and Small Business Enterprises

Questionnaire data was obtained from 220 minority entrepreneurs pertinent to their social backgrounds, demographic characteristics, and company characteristics. Comparisons with previous research o...
It is Nitrogen That Binds Us: The Established Researcher

Early on in my master's program, I came upon the paper that set me on my scientific pathway. Having left my job as a mechanical engineer to look for work that I found more meaningful, I was drawn to the study of Acid Rain, because I wanted to play a part in addressing a serious environmental problem and also felt—perhaps because my mother was a chemist—that I really should learn more aquatic chemistry. Working as a field and lab technician in the bustling lab of Charley Driscoll at Syracuse University was a good start.
Fabrication of Electrostatic Converters

The design of electrostatic converters has been discussed in the previous chapter. Perhaps more than with other manufacturing technologies, the design of MEMS devices is closely tied to the target processing technology. Therefore, a very short discussion of the manufacturing process to be used has been given in chapter 6 in order to effectively produce a design. The processing that has been used will be covered in more depth in this chapter. A number of variants on the basic SOI process have been used to fabricate a string of prototypes. Each of these variants and the purpose for which the variant was used will be discussed.
The Case for Preserving Bears Ears

In December of 2017, President Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Monuments by 2 million acres. Conservatives rejoiced, and progressives railed. Yet neither side has...
History and Philosophy, Art and Science, Validity and Truth

The problem of truth in history has no fixed form or unambiguous statement. Truth and truths have histories. The meaning of “truth” evolves in history, and specific established truths change in the history of histories. The meaning of “truth” changes, with changes in the subject matters, the methods, and the interests of history and historians, through the whole range of possible meanings and the whole scope of possible applications: from treating all truths as historical and historical truth as architectonic through classifying historical truths as one variety of truth to denying the possibility of historical truth in any strict logical, scientific, or philosophic sense.
Lung adenocarcinoma presenting as intramedullary spinal cord metastasis: Case report and review of literature

Abstract Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (IMSCM) is a rare entity which lacks well-defined treatment guidelines, yet sees rising incidence. We report a case of a 67-year-old man who presented with severe neck pain and numbness in his right fourth and fifth digits, and was found to have a C5-7 IMSCM of previously unknown lung adenocarcinoma. He underwent gross total resection of the IMSCM, afatinib, and radiation treatment. He had full reversal of his pain and sensory deficit, and remained ambulatory without any focal neurological deficit. Additionally, we conducted a literature review of original case series of IMSCM published between 1983 and 2016, representing 138 unique cases, and discuss various treatments with a focus on surgical resection and general treatment of stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. 18.75% of cases of IMSCM were an initial presentation of underlying malignancy. Rapidly progressive pain and weakness was the most common presentation, often compromising ambulatory status. Median survival ranged from 3.8 to 11.6 months after treatment in patients who were deceased at time of publication. Treatments included corticosteroids, chemotherapy, various radiotherapies, and surgical resection. Surgical resection was found to greatly improve symptoms and preserve ambulatory status, and was associated with increased survival time up to double that of non-surgical treatments. Most authors recommended surgical resection only in symptomatic patients with reversible deficits, to palliate symptoms and preserve ambulation. IMSCM can herald an underlying malignancy, and surgical resection can preserve ambulatory status and palliate symptoms as well increase survival time in a subset of patients.
An Automatic Deformation Approach for Occlusion Free Egocentric Data Exploration

Occlusion management is an important task for three dimension data exploration. For egocentric data exploration, the occlusion problems, caused by the camera being too close to opaque data elements, have not been well addressed by previous studies. In this paper, we propose an automatic approach to resolve these problems and provide an occlusion free egocentric data exploration. Our system utilizes a state transition model to monitor both the camera and the data, and manages the initiation, duration, and termination of deformation with animation. Our method can be applied to multiple types of scientific datasets, including volumetric data, polygon mesh data, and particle data. We demonstrate our method with different exploration tasks, including camera navigation, isovalue adjustment, transfer function adjustment, and time varying exploration. We have collaborated with a domain expert and received positive feedback.
RHEOLOGY OF BLOOD OSCILLATING IN A TUBE

ABSTRACT Natural oscillations of liquids in U-tubes exhibit amplitude decay due to friction. The half-cycle logarithmic decrement of amplitude provides information about the friction even when the friction is not linearly proportional to velocity gradient. This paper reports measurements made with human blood at Womersley numbers exceeding unity, and includes laminar and turbulent motions. Results in the laminar range show effects of shear-thinning viscosity even with a hematocrit of 5 per cent.
Partially non-preemptive dual priority multiprocessor scheduling

We propose a partially non-preemptive dual priority scheduling algorithm (PNPDP) for multiprocessors. In dual priority scheduling, each task has two fixed priorities. When a job is released, it executes at its task's lower priority. After some fixed amount of time, its priority is promoted. Our approach is to prevent lower priority jobs from preempting one another. We use the tasks' Worst Case Response Times to determine when a promotion must occur in order to guarantee all deadlines will be met. During execution, this promotion time is adjusted to extend non-preemptive execution of lower priority tasks whenever possible. Tasks executing at their promoted priorities are scheduled using preemptive fixed priority (FP) scheduling algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that this approach reduces the preemption and migration overheads by as much as 90%. Moreover we found that many FP-unschedulable task sets are PNPDP-schedulable.
Use versus Mention

Whenever we speak or write, we use words, but we can also talk about words themselves, and in doing so we mention them. The sentence ‘Fred is from Boston’ uses the word ‘Boston’ and the sentence ‘ “Boston” has two syllables’ mentions it. Confusion of use and mention typically results in unclear expression, but arguably can result in philosophical error.
Quantum and classical transport in two dimensional systems

We investigate the scaling properties of zero temperature conductances at integer quantum Hall plateau transitions in the lowest Landau band of a two-dimensional tight- binding model. Scaling is obeyed for all energy and system sizes with critical exponent u ^ The arithmetic average of the conductance at the localization-delocalization critical point is found to be c= 0.506^, in agreement with the universal longi­ tudinal conductance = Predicted by an analytical theory. The probability distribution of the conductance at the critical point is broad with a dip at small G.
Modeling of Soft Tissue Property Changes Induced by Fatigue Loading

Bio-prosthetic heart valves (BHVs), with glutaraldehyde-treated bovine pericardium (GLBP) leaflets, have been used extensively to replace diseased heart valves. BHVs display superior hemodynamics to mechanical valves; however, their use is limited due to poor durability resulting from in vivo degradation and fatigue damage of the leaflets. Yet, little is known about the fatigue properties of GLBP tissue. Sun et al. [1] has previously studied the effects of fatigue on GLBP tissue specimens which were cyclically stretched up to 65×106 cycles. The fatigued GLBP specimens exhibited altered material properties and geometry (permanent set). Because fatigue experiments are very time-consuming and costly, there is a need to develop predictive models to accurately capture tissue fatigue experimental data. Furthermore, it is desirable that such tissue fatigue models could be incorporated into computational simulations to investigate the effects of complicated loading conditions, such as in BHV applications, on device durability.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
SIMULATION OF RF HEATING AND CURRENT DRIVE WITH LOWER HYBRID WAVES

A computer simulation study of RF heating and current drive with lower hybrid waves, using an electrostatic particle code, is presented. The lower hybrid heating simulations examine the propagation of a lower hybrid wave with finite amplitude and the mechanisms by which wave energy is absorbed. It has been found that at modest amplitudes the wave conversion predicted by a magnetized ion kinetic dispersion relation is not observed, and this result is qualitatively consistent with the approximate dispersion relation obtained by treating the ions as unmagnetized. Heating at modest amplitudes is a stochastic process, although spatial variations of wave amplitude or wave number may contribute to the onset of stochasticity. The current drive simulations show the time development of the current starting from an initial “slide-away” distribution. Collisional effects appear to enhance the current.
Digestion and Absorption of the Macronutrients

This chapter begins by discussing the structural features of the intestine that markedly increase its surface area for digestion and absorption of nutrients—the folds of Kerckring, the villi, and the microvilli, which together multiply the area 600-fold. Digestion and absorption are then discussed by macronutrient class rather than location within the gut. Protein digestion in the stomach via pepsin is followed by breakdown into amino acids and oligopeptides by trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase, and elastase in the small intestine. Brush border aminopeptidases and dipeptidases break these further into amino acids and di- and tripeptides that are absorbed by use of a set of carriers on the apical membrane, some using secondary active transport and some using facilitated diffusion. Some amino acids are absorbed as di- and tripeptides. Carbohydrates are mainly digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Pancreatic amylase and brush border enzymes break the carbohydrates into monosaccharides that are absorbed by SGLT1 and GLUT5 on the apical membrane and placed into blood by facilitated diffusion on the basolateral membrane. Fat digestion requires pancreatic lipase and phospholipase and bile acids to form mixed micelles from which lipid digestion products are absorbed and then repackaged as chylomicrons by the enterocytes and transported in the lymph.
Adaptive bandwidth binning for bandwidth management

Abstract In this paper, we present a novel bandwidth management scheme that we call adaptive bandwidth binning (ABB). ABB is presented in the context of a DOCSIS cable network, but it has obvious applicability to downstream service on any shared medium access network in which all downstream traffic is scheduled by a single headend device such as a CMTS or wireless base station or access point. ABB is capable of providing approximate weighted max-min fair sharing of downstream bandwidth via a low-overhead scheduler that requires only a small number of permanently allocated queues. A modern delay-based active queue management (AQM) technique is employed to control delays. The performance of ABB is evaluated via ns-2 simulations in which workloads include FTP, HTTP-based adaptive streaming (HAS), and web traffic targeted for different tiered service quality levels. Our results show that ABB is able to provide approximate weighted max-min fair bandwidth allocation among responsive high bandwidth flows while isolating them from low bandwidth and latency sensitive flows. The use of CoDel in each ABB queue is effective in managing latency as required. The use of flow weights in ABB supports service tiering in which subscribers pay more for higher service rates.
Subclinical eating disorder traits are correlated with cortical thickness in regions associated with food reward and perception

Behavioral traits associated with various forms of psychopathology are conceptualized as dimensional, varying from those present in a frank disorder to subclinical expression. Demonstrating links between these behavioral traits and neurobiological indicators, such as brain structure, provides one form of validation for this view. However, unlike behavioral dimensions associated with other forms of psychopathology (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial disorders), eating disorder traits have not been investigated in this manner in spite of the potential that such an approach has to elucidate etiological mechanisms. Therefore, we examined for the first time neural endophenotypes of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia via dimensional traits (measured using the Eating Disorders Inventory-3) in a large subclinical sample of young adults (n = 456 and n = 247, respectively; ages = 18–22 years) who each provided a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan. Cortical thickness was quantified at 81,924 vertices across the cortical surface. We found: 1) increasing eating disorder traits correlated with thinner cortex in the insula and orbitofrontal cortex, among other regions, and 2) using these regions as seeds, increasing eating disorder trait scores negatively modulated structural covariance between these seed regions and other cortical regions linked to regulatory and sensorimotor functions (e.g., frontal and temporal cortices). These findings parallel those found in the clinical literature (i.e., thinner cortex in these food-related regions in individuals with eating disorders) and therefore provide evidence supporting the dimensional view of behavioral traits associated with eating disorders. Extending this approach to genetic and neuroimaging genetics studies holds promise to inform etiology.
Using What You Have, to Get What You Want – A Different Approach to Electricity Market Design for Local Distribution Companies (DISCOs) in Nigeria

The Nigerian power grid had been owned and controlled by a vertically integrated state company – the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) – before deregulation, because of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005, happened. It stipulated the breaking down of PHCN into different entities responsible for the different functions of the electricity supply value chain – generation, transmission and distribution. Six GENCOs and eleven DISCOs, with private ownership all resulted from this process. The Transmission Company remained under the control of the government and became the transmission provider and system's operator as stipulated by the EPSRA. Many of these transitions did not fully take effect till 2013. Nigerians had already gotten used to generating their own electricity from diesel and gasoline generators. Today over 60 million Nigerians own some kind of generating sets. From small 2.2KVA gasoline generators to utility sized 1000 KVA diesel generators, these gensets provide the necessary electrical energy to run the Nigerian economy, but they do so very inefficiently. The DISCOs with monopolized service territories experience a plethora of problems. They never have enough capacity to meet the demands of their customers and end up shedding load extensively. A study done on a Nigerian university campus, showed that by utilizing the power generating plants owned and operated by the university on its campus in a cluster and by optimally allocating its loads, the university was able to capture underutilized capacity from its generating plants, which significantly reduced the cost of operating those assets. In this paper, utilizing some lessons learned from that study and the energy and capacity market designs from the organized markets of North America a different approach which involves the participation of the local discos and privately owned gensets is proposed to improve the reliability of the distribution company's grid.
Life Settlement Value Profiles across Different Death Rate Distributions

The life settlement asset class is a recognized part of the alternative investment market. Our article offers insight into the behavior of portfolios of life settlement contracts. We focus on the value profiles of pools of life settlement contracts in the value/cost of capital space. A pool of life settlement contracts has a death rate distribution that will determine the amount of premiums that must be paid each period and the amount of death benefits that will be collected each period. Because value is determined by the timing, magnitude, and certainty of the cash flows generated by an asset, it is inexorably linked to the timing of the life settlers’ deaths. We show that when certain conditions are met, pools with fundamentally different underlying mortality rates and risk profiles, but with the same cost of capital, can have the same value (pivot point in the value/cost of capital space). This pivot point can be useful for fund managers seeking to modify a portfolio of life settlements under a specific cost-of-capital constraint. TOPICS:Wealth management, statistical methods, portfolio construction
Tobacco Warfare In America: An Overview

There can be no doubt that tobacco has become an object of civil warfare in the United States over the past 20 years or so. Smokers and nonsmokers have been waging pitched battles on many fronts throughout the land. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop articulated a vision of a “smoke-free America,” where if any smoking at all were to take place it would be in the privacy of smokers’ homes and only in the company of other smokers. Perhaps inspired by this vision, a Hawaii State Senator introduced, in February 1990, legislation that would have banned the sale of tobacco products throughout Hawaii. While this proposal failed to be enacted, its mere introduction into Hawaii’s legislative process surely attests to the ferocity with which the Great American Tobacco War is being waged. Indeed, there are several universities, including West Virginia University and Texas A&M University, that have banned all smoking on campus.
Nonlinear exchange‐rate pass‐through in emerging markets

This paper documents nonlinearities and asymmetries in the transmission of exchange rate fluctuations to prices in a panel of 27 emerging markets for the period 1990–2013. Using local projection techniques, we find evidence of asymmetry in the extent of exchange‐rate pass‐through during episodes of appreciation relative to episodes of depreciation. We then test for the presence of a threshold that can lead to nonlinearities when the exchange rate experiences a large depreciation. The findings suggest that the pass‐through becomes nonlinear when the exchange rate depreciates by more than 24%. We also find that, in line with the literature, the adoption of inflation targeting reduces the degree of exchange‐rate pass‐through. These results are robust to various econometric specifications that account for the presence of outliers and potential endogeneity concerns.
Predicting response to cognitive processing therapy: Does trauma history matter?

OBJECTIVE Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) has reliably demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for most patients, however, not all patients derive the same benefit from CPT. The aim of the present study is to identify trauma-related variables that predict differential response to CPT in a sample of treatment-seeking veterans in order to improve individual responses to CPT. METHOD The present study evaluated demographic, therapy, and trauma-related variables as possible predictors of variable response to CPT in a sample of 259 treatment-seeking veterans who received treatment in an outpatient clinic. RESULTS Nearly 43% of veterans completed group or individual CPT and of completers, 76.1% reported clinically significant improvement in PTSD symptoms. Although most variability in treatment response was attributable to person-level characteristics, no demographic, treatment, or trauma-related variables were associated with change in PTSD symptoms or explained variance in treatment response (all ps > 0.05). CONCLUSION These results suggest that CPT can be effectively implemented in its various forms to a broad range of patients (i.e., male or female, of any age or race, trauma type, or time since traumatic event) when the treatment is completed and applied by a trained provider. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and dysphonia complicating awake transcarotid artery revascularization.

Abstract A 59-year-old woman presented with advanced, symptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the setting of severe medical comorbidities including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure with recent admission for exacerbation, and diabetes mellitus. She underwent awake transcarotid artery revascularization because of her medically high-risk status. Postoperatively, she was noted to have developed pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and dysphonia, thought to be secondary to entrained air during the course of low neck dissection for carotid artery exposure in the setting of partial airway obstruction and high negative intrathoracic pressures during the procedure. After conservative treatment, she ultimately enjoyed complete clinical resolution. This case demonstrates an unusual complication of awake transcarotid artery revascularization.
Abstract WP135: Engineered Exosomes With Elevated Mir-27a Improve Neurological Outcome in Ischemic Mice

Background: Augmentation of axonal growth enhances improvement of neurological function after stroke. Our previous in vitro study demonstrated that miR-27a promotes axonal growth of embryonic neuro...
CAMSAP3 facilitates basal body polarity and the formation of the central pair of microtubules in motile cilia.

Synchronized beating of cilia on multiciliated cells (MCCs) generates a directional flow of mucus across epithelia. This motility requires a “9 + 2” microtubule (MT) configuration in axonemes and the unidirectional array of basal bodies of cilia on the MCCs. However, it is not fully understood what components are needed for central MT-pair assembly as they are not continuous with basal bodies in contrast to the nine outer MT doublets. In this study, we discovered that a homozygous knockdown mouse model for MT minus-end regulator calmodulin-regulated spectrin-associated protein 3 (CAMSAP3), Camsap3tm1a/tm1a, exhibited multiple phenotypes, some of which are typical of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a condition caused by motile cilia defects. Anatomical examination of Camsap3tm1a/tm1a mice revealed severe nasal airway blockage and abnormal ciliary morphologies in nasal MCCs. MCCs from different tissues exhibited defective synchronized beating and ineffective generation of directional flow likely underlying the PCD-like phenotypes. In normal mice, CAMSAP3 localized to the base of axonemes and at the basal bodies in MCCs. However, in Camsap3tm1a/tm1a, MCCs lacked CAMSAP3 at the ciliary base. Importantly, the central MT pairs were missing in the majority of cilia, and the polarity of the basal bodies was disorganized. These phenotypes were further confirmed in MCCs of Xenopus embryos when CAMSAP3 expression was knocked down by morpholino injection. Taken together, we identified CAMSAP3 as being important for the formation of central MT pairs, proper orientation of basal bodies, and synchronized beating of motile cilia.
Serum ceramide levels are altered in multiple sclerosis

Background:Sphingolipids are myelin components and inflammatory signaling intermediates. Sphingolipid metabolism may be altered in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), but existing studies are li...
Disorders of Pigmentation

Abnormal pigmentation in the skin, while rarely of great medical significance, can have powerful psychological and quality of life ramifications. While conventional therapies are often helpful, they carry risks and expense that are undesirable for some. Alternatives offer the promise for gentler and less expensive treatments or adjuncts for selected patients.
Tools for Knowledge Management of the Neuroscientific Literature, the Fragmenter and Atlas Viewer Plugins for the Neuroscholar System

We describe two user interface plugins for the NeuroScholar literature-based knowledge management system: the Fragmenter and Atlas-mapper. The Fragmenter allows users to select textual and graphical excerpts from a paper that may be used to support interpretations and arguments made within the knowledge base. The system permits fragment storage, retrieval and editing. The Atlas-mapper allows users to delineate volumes of neural tissue as stacks of closed bezier curves drawn onto stacked atlas plates. We will include computational demonstations in our poster presentation.
Group B Streptococci: from Emerging Infection to Prevention Success Story

The inclusion of the group B streptococcus (GBS) in a book on emerging infections published in 2000 may puzzle some readers, since GBS was recognized as a new clinical problem three decades ago. By 1938, however, Fry reported three fatal postpartum maternal infections caused by GBS which presented as pneumonia with multiple liver abscesses and two cases of puerperal sepsis complicated by endocarditis. The responsibility for decisionmaking regarding GBS disease was diffused—therapy for neonatal infections was the province of pediatricians, but interventions to prevent this disease had to be administered by obstetric care givers before delivery. In the screening-based approach, women are screened at 35 to 37 week's gestation, and those who are GBS carriers are offered intrapartum antibiotics. The recommendations appear in the book Guidelines for Perinatal Care, published jointly by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). While reported practice may be suggestive of increased prevention, the most important benchmark is whether actual disease patterns are altered. Antibiotic prophylaxis was intended to reduce maternal to infant transmission of GBS. Various unintended consequences are potential concerns, and monitoring systems or evaluation projects have been developed to assess some of them. Antibiotic resistance among GBS and other organisms was a major concern. To date, several investigators have evaluated GBS strains from recent patients for susceptibility testing. Clinicians can reduce the chances of serious anaphylaxis by taking very careful histories of penicillin allergy from patients.
Special Issue on “Modeling and Analysis of Signal Transduction Networks” in the Journal Processes

Biological pathways, such as signaling networks, are a key component of the biological systems of each living cell. [...]
Nicotine as a mitogenic stimulus for pancreatic acinar cell proliferation

Cell proliferation is an important process in life for growth of normal and cancer cells. The signal transduction pathways activated during this process are strictly regulated. This editorial focuses on the role of nicotine, a mitogen, in the induction of signaling pathways resulting in proliferation of pancreatic tumor cells and compares these events with those in normal acinar cells isolated from the rat pancreas. The data shows striking similarities between these two cellular systems. In addition, the editorial reviews very recent literature of the contribution of MAPK signaling in cell lines associated with human diseases. A prospective cellular model of nicotine induced activation of MAPK cascade is presented.
With the best of intentions : New York State's Child Protection system and the laws used to mask the real reasons for organizational failure

The present study reviews organizational, legal, and case study examples to examine organizational decision making in cases of child maltreatment. Three questions are posed. What were the stated and unintended results of the Child Protective Services Reform Act of 1996 on the functioning of the Child Protection System in New York? Second, are there outside pockets of influence such as political, organizational, social, community, or religious pressures that affect the functioning of the Child Protection System (CPS) in New York? Third, what will be the consequences, both short term and long range, for the citizens, children, and families who come in contact with the system of Child Protection? Given an increase in severe child maltreatment cases an understanding of the organizational and legal decision-making process is critical.
UNIFICATION MODULO ACI + 1 + 0

We show that elementary ACI10 unification is in P, even with constant restrictions. As a corollary, we prove that validity of quantified Horn formulae can be tested in O(n 2) time. Solvability of elementary disunification problems modulo ACI10 is shown to be NP-hard.
Perturbed Linear-Quadratic Control Problems and Their Probabilistic Representations

We consider some certain nonlinear perturbations of the stochastic linear-quadratic optimization problems and study the connections between their solutions and the corresponding Markovian backward stochastic diferential equations (BSDEs). Using the methods of stochastic control, nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) and BSDEs, we identify conditions for the solvability of the problem and obtain some regularity properties of the solutions.
Three Kinds of Controls Affecting the Expression of the glp Regulon in Escherichia coli

Three kinds of control mechanisms govern the expression of the members of the glp regulon for glycerol and sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) catabolism in Escherichia coli K-12: specific repression by the product of the glpR gene; catabolite repression; and respiratory repression (the effect exerted by exogenous hydrogen acceptors). The operons of the glp system show different patterns of response to each control. By growing in parallel a mutant strain with temperature-sensitive repressor (glpRts) and an isogenic control with a deletion in the regulator gene at progressively higher temperatures, it was possible to show that the synthesis of aerobic G3P dehydrogenase (glpD product) is far more sensitive to specific repression than that of either glycerol kinase (glpK product) or G3P transport (glpT product). Conversely, in the strain with a deletion in the regulator gene, the syntheses of glycerol kinase and G3P transport are more sensitive to catabolite repression than that of the aerobic G3P dehydrogenase. The levels of the two flavoprotein G3P dehydrogenases vary in opposite directions in response to changes of exogenous hydrogen acceptors. For example, the ratio of the aerobic enzyme to the anaerobic enzyme (specified by glpA) is high when molecular oxygen or nitrate serves as the hydrogen acceptor and low when fumarate plays this role. This trend is not influenced by the addition of cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate to the growth medium. Thus, respiratory repression most likely involves a third mechanism of control, independent of specific or catabolite repression.
Immune profiling of the progression of a BALB/c mouse aerosol infection by Burkholderia pseudomallei and the therapeutic implications of targeting HMGB1.

Summary Introduction The role of damage-associated molecular pattern HMGB1 signalling in a murine BALB/c model of severe respiratory melioidosis ( Burkholderia pseudomallei infection) was explored in this study. Methods Time course experiments were performed. Results It was established that HMGB1 was released in concert with increasing weight of organs and increasing concentration of liver enzymes in the blood a short time after cytokine release. Differences in the cytokine response between organs were observed, where the lungs contained higher concentrations of chemokines and interleukin 17, while the spleen produced more interferon-gamma, which is essential in the host defence against B. pseudomallei . This is evidence as to why the disease is seemingly more severe in the respiratory form. The effect of depleting HMGB1 using an antibody was also evaluated. It was found that this treatment significantly reduced bacterial load in the liver, spleen, and, to a greater degree, in the lungs. Cytokine quantification indicated that this reduction in bacterial load is likely due to the treatment reducing the release of a variety of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Conclusion It is concluded that anti-HMGB1 treatment would be effective alongside other therapeutics, where it would reduce the characteristic over-inflammation associated with late stage infection.
The relaxant properties in guinea pig airways of S-nitrosothiols

Several cellular constituents of the lung have the capacity to synthesize a factor capable of relaxing smooth muscle which has the physicochemical properties of nitric oxide (NO). In other systems, it has been shown that NO may be stabilized in the plasma and cellular milieu by reduced thiol in the form of an S-nitrosothiol (RS-NO). These compounds have half-lives that are significantly greater than that of NO, and also retain the vasorelaxant activity of NO, which is mediated by activating guanylate cyclase and raising cyclic GMP levels. The effects of RS-NO and their potential mechanism of action on airways, however, have not been previously investigated. In this study, we have examined the smooth muscle relaxant properties of several biological and synthetic RS-NO on guinea pig trachea. Our data reveal that RS-NO are generally potent airway smooth muscle relaxants with at least a partial effect through stimulation of cyclic GMP. Relaxations were attenuated significantly by the guanylate cyclase inhibitor methylene blue (P less than .05), and RS-NO-induced increases in cyclic GMP were demonstrated (P less than .0005). The IC50 values for S-nitroso-glutathione, S-nitroso-cysteine, S-nitroso-homocysteine, S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine, S-nitroso-penicillamine and S-nitroso-captopril were 0.99 +/- 0.09, 3.2 +/- 0.2, 2.1 +/- 0.3, 2.1 +/- 0.8, 1.8 +/- 0.8 and 20 +/- 0.7 microM (mean +/- S.E.M.), respectively. In this system isoproterenol has an IC50 of 0.016 microM and theophylline an IC50 of 74 microM, making the relaxant properties of these NO derivatives of potential pharmacological and physiological relevance.
Fractionation of the liver extract on sephadex G25

Es werden einige niedrigmolekulare Stoffe aus Rattenleberextrakt nach der Sephadex G25-Fraktionierung beschrieben. Die Lokalisierung von Zukker, Aminosauren, Peptiden, Nukleopeptiden und verwandter Stoffe wurde im Elutionsdiagramm vorgenommen.
A Generative Model for Generating Relevance Labels from Human Judgments and Click-Logs

Lack of high quality relevance labels is a common challenge in the early stage of search engine development. In media search, due to the high recruiting and training cost, the labeling process is usually conducted by a small number of human judges. Consequently, the generated labels are often limited and biased. On the contrary, the click data that is extracted from a large population of real users is massive and less biased. However, the click data also contains considerable noise. Therefore, more and more researchers have begun to focus on combining those two resources to generate a better ground-truth approximation. In this paper, we present a novel method of generating the relevance labels for media search. The method is based on a generative model that considers human judgment, position, and click status as observations generated from a hidden relevance with multinomial prior. The model considers the position bias with a requirement that the click status depends on both the hidden relevance and the position. We infer the model parameters by using a Gibbs sampling procedure with hyper-parameter optimization. From experiments on the Xbox's data, the newly inferred relevance labels significantly increase the data volume for ranker training and have demonstrated superior performance compared to using the limited human labels only, the click-through-rates only, and the heuristic combination of the two.
Double Negative Medium Composed from Split-Ring Resonators Only

Electromagnetic response of split-ring resonators (SRRs) placed inside a waveguide at two different orientations chosen to provide interaction of the SRR with either magnetic or electric component of incident field, was investigated by using FDTD simulations. The same half wavelength resonance was observed in the SRRs in both cases, however, the EM response corresponded to either negative permeability or negative permittivity of the medium. A unit cell of a double negative medium composed from two SRRs of different orientations was found to demonstrate enhanced transmission at frequencies, at which either SRR element provided for enhanced reflection.
Deposition of Ordered Arrays of Gold and Platinum Nanoparticles with an Adjustable Particle Size and Interparticle Spacing Using Supercritical CO2

Gold and platinum nanoparticles were prepared using a reverse micelle technique, creating products with several particle sizes. The stabilized metal nanoparticles can be deposited over long-range distances forming ordered arrays using supercritical carbon dioxide to remove the colloid solvent. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide creates uniformly deposited particle layers and can be removed without disturbing the precipitated particles. We also show that these nanoparticles can be deposited efficiently in nanometer trenches, which is not possible using conventional particle deposition by liquid evaporation.
A simple method for obtaining approximate solutions for a class of diffusion-kinetics enzyme problems: II. Further examples and nonsymmetric problems

Abstract A class of equations that can arise in certain enzyme-kinetics problems consists of a nonlinear inhomogeneous diffusion-type equation with a nonlinear kinetics term. In a previous article by Murray [1], hereafter referred to as part I, a singular perturbation method was introduced for obtaining approximate solutions to such equations. In part I symmetric problems and those cases in which the effective diffusion equation was a function of the substrate concentration only were considered. The singular perturbation solutions were shown to be in good agreement with the exact solutions. In this article the method is applied to symmetric situations in which the effective diffusion coefficient may be a function of the substrate concentration or its first-order derivatives, or both. This type of equation may occur in certain facilitated transport situations, as shown in part I. The method is finally applied to nonsymmetric situations where numerical procedures are effectively not possible: a nonsymmetric spherical problem is considered in detail.
Distribution of IGF-I and -II, IGF Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) and IGFBP mRNA in Ocular Fluids and Tissues: Potential Sites of Synthesis of IGFBPs in Aqueous and Vitreous

Levels of insulin-like growth factor-I and II (IGF-I and IGF-II) in bovine aqueous humor are twice those found in the vitreous (aqueal IGF-I = 0.62 nM, vitreal IGF-I = 0.30 nM; aqueal IGF-II = 0.028 nM, vitreal IGF-II = 0.017 nM). IGF-I and II binding assays and IGF-II Western ligand blots indicate that aqueous and vitreous humor have equal overall levels of binding (binding assays, mean +/- S.E.M. bound/free per 50 microliters of fluid: vitreal IGF-II = 7.28 +/- 1.6, IGF-I = 0.3 +/- 0.078; aqueal IGF-II = 7.21 +/- 0.072; IGF-I = 0.3 +/- 0.078). In addition, the ligand blots reveal that aqueous and vitreous have markedly different complements of specific IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs). Aqueal levels of a 34 kDa IGFBP, immunologically identified as IGFBP-2, exceed those in the vitreous by two-fold. In contrast, the vitreous exhibits a two- to three-fold higher level of smaller (28-24 kDa), yet unidentified, IGFBPs. Aqueal and vitreal IGFBP patterns are also different from those found in serum. IGFBP-2 found in the aqueous and vitreous may be synthesized by ciliary body and/or cornea since these structures contain high levels of IGFBP-2 mRNA. Lens epithelial cells may also contribute IGFBP-2 to the aqueous since they also contain IGFBP-2 mRNA, albeit at substantially lower levels than the cornea and ciliary body. The retina has the lowest level of IGFBP-2 mRNA. IGF-II binding assays of cornea, ciliary body, retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) indicate that the cornea has the highest level of binding (mean +/- S.E.M. IGF-II B/F per 50 micrograms protein: cornea = 84.52 +/- 28.8; iris/ciliary body complex = 0.61 +/- 0.078; retina = 0.47 +/- 0.096; RPE = 0.069 +/- 0.019). IGF-II ligand blots confirm these tissue-specific differences in binding and show that each ocular tissue contains IGFBP-2. In addition, ligand blots indicate that each ocular tissue contains a complex and distinctive population of IGFBPs. For example, the cornea and retina (but not the ciliary body, aqueous or vitreous) contain a 46 kDa IGFBP that may be IGFBP-3. The finding that cornea and retina also contain IGFBP-3 mRNA suggests that these structures may synthesize IGFBP-3 for local use within the eye.
Thiol-modulating agents increase manganese superoxide dismutase activity in human lung fibroblasts.

Abstract The effect of three thiol-modulating agents, buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), and diazenedicarboxylic acid bis(N,N′-dimethylamide) (diamide), on cellular glutathione (GSH) level and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity was studied in a human lung fibroblast cell line, WI38. The results showed that treatment with BSO, NEM, or diamide can increase MnSOD activity in the human fibroblast cells. These findings are compatible with the view that alteration of intracellular GSH level may create a pro-oxidant environment in the cells and the MnSOD activity may increase as a cellular response to the oxidative stress.
"Two Exemptions and One Subsidy" (TEOS): Voices from a Grass-Roots School

(2008). 'Two Exemptions and One Subsidy' (TEOS): Voices from a Grass-Roots School. Chinese Education & Society: Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 80-86.