cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceived Stress in Black and Latino Male Firefighters: Associations with Risk and Protective Factors.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of work-related protective and risk factors among Black and Latino male firefighters and to examine the association of these factors to perceived stress among both ethnic groups. Design, Setting, Participants: Participants included 1,036 male, career firefighters who self-identified as Black (n=477) or Latino (n=559) from a large fire department in a major metropolitan city in the southwestern United States. As part of a department-wide suicide prevention program conducted in 2008, participants completed an anonymous and voluntary mental health needs survey. Measures: The needs survey included questions regarding prevalence of work-related protective and risk factors, the RAPS-4 to assess substance abuse problems, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Results: Results of regression analyses indicated that for both Black and Latino male firefighters, alcohol abuse (β =.13, β =.22), self-reported good health (β = -.23, β =-.24) and a positive partner/spouse relationship (β =-.14, β = -.15) were related to perceived stress. In addition, having a second job (β = .12) and a sense of life calling (β =-.10) were related to perceived stress only among Latino firefighters. All associations were in the expected direction as indicated by the signs of the standardized beta coefficients (β). Conclusion: Black and Latino male firefighters reported relatively high levels of perceived stress. However, there were both differences and similarities in the factors associated to perceived stress among the ethnic groups. Therefore, interventions to help firefighters reduce or manage stress need to take into account that factors associated with perceived stress may vary by ethnic group. Ethn Dis. 2017;27(4):421- 428; doi:10.18865/ed.27.4.421.
A collaborative agreement for berth allocation under excessive demand

Abstract International seaborne trade has increased significantly during the last three decades, and this growth is expected to continue at similar rates. To address the growing demand, terminal operators aim to improve productivity with the minimum capital investment. This study extends an existing berth allocation policy, where demand can be diverted from a multi-user maritime container terminal to an external maritime container terminal at an additional cost. Furthermore, additional market based rules are introduced in the model for the vessel diversion decision making. The objective of the multi-user maritime terminal operator is to minimize the total vessel service cost. Due to complexity of the proposed mathematical formulation, a Memetic Algorithm is developed to solve the resulting problem. A number of numerical experiments are presented to evaluate efficiency of the new berth allocation policy and the solution algorithm. Results indicate that the suggested berth allocation policy yields substantial cost savings during high demand periods.
The political pulpit: issue framing and conservative partisanship in evangelical protestant pastors’ sermons before and after the 2008 election of Barack Obama

The intersection between religion and politics in the United States remains prevalent in the 21st century. Especially in regard to many Protestant Christian denominations, the relationship between ...
Printing ferromagnetic domains for untethered fast-transforming soft materials

Soft materials capable of transforming between three-dimensional (3D) shapes in response to stimuli such as light, heat, solvent, electric and magnetic fields have applications in diverse areas such as flexible electronics1,2, soft robotics3,4 and biomedicine5–7. In particular, magnetic fields offer a safe and effective manipulation method for biomedical applications, which typically require remote actuation in enclosed and confined spaces8–10. With advances in magnetic field control 11 , magnetically responsive soft materials have also evolved from embedding discrete magnets 12 or incorporating magnetic particles 13 into soft compounds to generating nonuniform magnetization profiles in polymeric sheets14,15. Here we report 3D printing of programmed ferromagnetic domains in soft materials that enable fast transformations between complex 3D shapes via magnetic actuation. Our approach is based on direct ink writing 16 of an elastomer composite containing ferromagnetic microparticles. By applying a magnetic field to the dispensing nozzle while printing 17 , we reorient particles along the applied field to impart patterned magnetic polarity to printed filaments. This method allows us to program ferromagnetic domains in complex 3D-printed soft materials, enabling a set of previously inaccessible modes of transformation, such as remotely controlled auxetic behaviours of mechanical metamaterials with negative Poisson’s ratios. The actuation speed and power density of our printed soft materials with programmed ferromagnetic domains are orders of magnitude greater than existing 3D-printed active materials. We further demonstrate diverse functions derived from complex shape changes, including reconfigurable soft electronics, a mechanical metamaterial that can jump and a soft robot that crawls, rolls, catches fast-moving objects and transports a pharmaceutical dose.
Surgical Grading Scale in the Evaluation of Patients with Treatment Resistant Epilepsy (P04.201)

OBJECTIVE: Develop a model using interictal EEG, MRI, seizure semiology, and IQ that stratifies patients with treatment resistant epilepsy based upon their likelihood of achieving seizure freedom following resective epilepsy surgery. BACKGROUND: Despite the clear role of resective surgery in treatment resistant epilepsy, no simple grading scale for neurologists exists to stratify patients based upon routinely obtained diagnostic information. In addition to providing a systematic method for predicting outcome, this instrument will allow for improved communication clinically and investigationally within this population. DESIGN/METHODS: Of the 1,105 unique presurgical admissions reviewed, 234 patients met inclusion criteria: age ≥18, focal epilepsy diagnosis ≥2 years, failed ≥1 medication, and ≥1 seizure 3 months prior to admission, presented in surgical conference (SC). The Epilepsy Surgery Grading Scale was based upon MRI, EEG, semiology, IQ. Outcomes were assessed with a minimum post-operative follow-up of 1.1 years (mean 3.9, median 4.1) and were classified as seizure free following resective surgery (SFFS), not seizure free following surgery (NSFFS), or no surgery (NS). RESULTS: Grade 1 N=77/234 (33%)-Surgery=56(72.7%): [SFFS=44(78.6%) NSFFS=12 (21.4%)] NS=21(27.3%). Grade 2 N=94/234 (40%)-Surgery=43(45.7%):[SFFS=28 (65.1%) NSFFS=15 (34.9%)]NS=51(54.3%). Grade 3 N=63/234 (26.9%)-Surgery=34(54%):[SFFS=17 (50%), NSSFS=17 (50%)]NS=29(46%). Significant differences between Grades 1 and 2 (p=0.0006) and Grades 1 and 3 (p=0.0016) were seen. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that basic information obtained in a doctor9s office may be utilized to stratify patients with treatment resistant epilepsy into clinically meaningful groups based upon their likelihood of achieving seizure freedom. Although the initial scoring system does not strongly differentiate Grades 2&3, sub-group analyses will explore alternative scoring systems based upon these retrospective data to further improve stratification. These results provide an important framework for developing and implementing a clinically and scientifically useful tool for patients with treatment resistant focal epilepsy. Supported by: Fellowship grant funded by the National EpiFellows Foundation. Additional support from Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES). Disclosure: Dr. Dugan has nothing to disclose. Dr. French has received research support from Eisai Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., Icagen, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, NeuroVista Corporation, Novartis, Ono Pharmaceutical, Ovation/Lundbeck, Pfizer Inc, Sepracor, Sinovion, SK Life Science, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Taro, UCB Pharma/Schwarz Pharma, Upsher Smith, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Vertex. Dr. Carlson has nothing to disclose.
Biochemistry of Arenaviruses

Although the isolation of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), the prototype member of the arenavirus group, was initially reported by Armstrong and Lillie in 1934, the virus remained unclassified for many years because of the lack of information on its biochemical properties and morphology. Dalton and co-workers (1968) first described the ultrastructure of the LCM virion; virus particles were found to be enveloped and varied greatly in size, ranging from 50 to over 200 nm in diameter. The most distinctive ultrastructural feature was the presence of one to eight or more electron-dense granules, which have subsequently been demonstrated to be host cell-derived ribosomes (see below). Following this report, Murphy and co-workers (1969) demonstrated striking morphological similarities between LCMV and Machupo and Tacaribe viruses, two members of a group of antigenically related viruses termed “the Tacaribe complex.” These investigators proposed that the viruses of the Tacaribe complex and LCMV be placed in a new taxonomic group based on their morphological similarity. A serological relationship of LCMV to the members of the Tacaribe complex was also demonstrated using immunofluorescence (Rowe et al. 1970b). The name “arenovirus” (from arenosus, L., “sandy”) was initially proposed to reflect the characteristic granules seen in the virions in ultrathin sections (ROWE et al. 1970 a). It was noted that the virions were morphologically distinct from other RNA-containing enveloped viruses because of the lack of a welldefined helical nucleocapsid and the presence of the electron-dense internal granules. The designation “arenavirus” was subsequently accepted for the taxonomic group (Pfau et al. 1974) and the viruses established as the family Arenaviridae (Matthews 1982). The members of the group which have now been identified are listed in Table 1.
Characterization and purification of a mammalian osmoregulatory protein, aldose reductase, induced in renal medullary cells by high extracellular NaCl.

GRB-PAP1 is a continuous line of epithelial cells derived from a rabbit renal inner medulla. Elevation of the NaCl concentration in the medium bathing these cells strongly induced the expression of a soluble protein with an apparent molecular mass of 39 kDa. The protein, purified by affinity chromatography with Amicon Matrex Gel Orange A, had enzyme activity characteristic of aldose reductase (alditol:NADPH+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21). Goat antiserum against this purified aldose reductase selected the 39-kDa band from immunoblots of cells grown in a medium containing high NaCl. When the osmolality of the medium was increased by adding NaCl, the amount of aldose reductase protein and the aldose reductase activity increased together from very low to sustained high levels over several days. The aldose reductase protein was more than 10% of the soluble cell protein when cells were propagated in medium made hyperosmotic by adding NaCl to increase medium osmolality to 600 mosm.kg-1.
Facilitation, Biophysical Models

Facilitation is a temporary increase in postsynaptic response to a presynaptic action potential or depolarization induced by a preceding presynaptic depolarization. It is distinguished from longerterm components of activity-dependent synaptic enhancement by its low activation threshold (a pair of action potentials is often sufficient, hence the term paired-pulse facilitation) and short persistence time: in most cases, facilitated response decays back to initial amplitude within less than a second after the stimulus train. Facilitation is very common in central and peripheral synapses of both vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems; it is readily observed under conditions of low initial vesicle release probability, but is often occluded by synaptic depression when the initial vesicle release probability is sufficiently high. Biophysical models of facilitation go beyond a simple phenomenological description and often combine a model for presynaptic Ca dynamics with a model of Ca binding to exocytosis sites that trigger vesicle fusion.
Harmonic Oscillator Calculations

For many calculations involving 1-D harmonic oscillator wave functions, it is useful to introduce the Bargmann transform through the kernel function $$ A(k,x)=\frac{1}{{{\pi^{\frac{1}{4}}}}}exp(-\frac{1}{2}{k^2}+\sqrt{2kx}-\frac{1}{2}{x^2}) $$ (1) , where k is a complex number. Given a square-integrable function, ψ(x), its Bargmann transform, F(k), is given by $$ F(k)=\int_{-\infty}^\infty{dx\psi (x)A(k,x)} $$ (2) , where $$ \psi(x)=\frac{1}{\pi}\int{{d^2}}k{e^{-kk*}}A(k*,x)F(k) $$ (3) and the integral is over the 2-D complex k-plane; i.e., wiht k=a+ib, $$ \int{{d^2}}k\bar= \int_{-\infty}^\infty{da\int_{-\infty}^\infty{db}} $$ (4) .
Assessment of individuals on CS group projects

Collaborative team projects are a necessary part of CS education. However, assessment of individuals on a team is difficult. Typically, instructors independently assign a single grade for the delivered product. An individual's grade may then be determined by modifying the single grade using peer assessments. The peer assessment is often limited to estimating the percentage contribution of each individual. Adding a "quality of the contribution" factor to the peer assessment provides a more accurate assessment. Further improvement results when the peer assessment is performed for specific learning objectives addressing the overall project rather than just the final product. Each of these learning objective's assessment is weighted according to the instructor's determination of importance. An instructor's weighted assessment is combined with the peer assessments to provide stability of the individual's final assessment. Specific techniques for performing these assessments are described and discussion of experiences using this technique is given.
Why the rise in adolescent fertility rates in the Dominican Republic in the 1990s

Despite concern over high pregnancy rates and levels of risk for sexually transmittedinfections, adolescent fertility rates in the Dominican Republic have not changed substantially since the early 1980's, and actually increased during the early to mid 1990s. The present study was undertaken to assess the factors contributing to the recent rise in fertility among Dominican adolescents. The findings suggest that although contraceptive use among adolescents and young adults has increased, this has been more than offset by ominous trends on other determinants of fertility. Among these are declines in mean age at first sex and first marriage/union without a commensurate decline in mean age at first contraceptive use, and stubbornly high discontinuation rates for oral contraceptives andcondoms. There is also some evidence that rates of induced abortion among adolescents may have increased, without which adolescent fertility rates would have been even higher. Demand for children among Dominican adolescents remains strong, suggesting that efforts to reduce the current high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors need to influence social norms in order to be successful.
Stillbirth and Live Birth at Periviable Gestational Age: A Comparison of Prevalence and Risk Factors.

Objective We compared the prevalence of and risk factors for stillbirth and live birth at periviable gestational age (20–25 weeks). Study Design This is a cohort study of 2.5 million singleton births in California from 2007 to 2011. We estimated racial–ethnic prevalence ratios and used multivariable logistic regression for risk factor comparisons. Results In this study, 42% of deliveries at 20 to 25 weeks' gestation were stillbirths, and 22% were live births who died within 24 hours. The prevalence of delivery at periviable gestation was 3.4 per 1,000 deliveries among whites, 10.9 for blacks, 3.5 for Asians, and 4.4 for Hispanics. Nonwhite race–ethnicity, lower education, uninsured status, being U.S. born, older age, obesity, smoking, pre-pregnancy hypertension, nulliparity, interpregnancy interval, and prior preterm birth or stillbirth were all associated with increased risk of both stillbirth and live birth at 20 to 25 weeks' gestation, compared with delivery of a live birth at 37 to 41 weeks. Conclusion Inclusion of stillbirths and live births in studies of deliveries at periviable gestations is important.
A formal instruction-level GPU model for scalable verification

GPUs have been widely used to accelerate big-data inference applications and scientific computing through their parallelized hardware resources and programming model. Their extreme parallelism increases the possibility of bugs such as data races and un-coalesced memory accesses, and thus verifying program correctness is critical. State-of-the-art GPU program verification efforts mainly focus on analyzing application-level programs, e.g., in C, and suffer from the following limitations: (1) high false-positive rate due to coarse-grained abstraction of synchronization primitives, (2) high complexity of reasoning about pointer arithmetic, and (3) keeping up with an evolving API for developing application-level programs. In this paper, we address these limitations by modeling GPUs and reasoning about programs at the instruction level. We formally model the Nvidia GPU at the parallel execution thread (PTX) level using the recently proposed Instruction-Level Abstraction (ILA) model for accelerators. PTX is analogous to the Instruction-Set Architecture (ISA) of a general-purpose processor. Our formal ILA model of the GPU includes non-synchronization instructions as well as all synchronization primitives, enabling us to verify multithreaded programs. We demonstrate the applicability of our ILA model in scalable GPU program verification of data-race checking. The evaluation shows that our checker outperforms state-of-the-art GPU data race checkers with fewer false-positives and improved scalability.
Upstream vortex and elastic wave in the viscoelastic flow around a confined cylinder

Viscoelastic flow past a cylinder is a classic benchmark problem that is not completely understood. Using novel three-dimensional (3D) holographic particle velocimetry, we report three main discoveries of the elastic instability upstream of a single cylinder in viscoelastic channel flow. First, we observe that upstream vortices initiate at the corner between the cylinder and the wall, and grow with increasing flow rate. Second, beyond a critical Weissenberg number, the flow upstream becomes unsteady and switches between two bistable configurations, leading to symmetry breaking in the cylinder axis direction that is highly 3D in nature. Lastly, we find that the disturbance of the elastic instability propagates relatively far upstream via an elastic wave, and is weakly correlated with that in the cylinder wake. The wave speed and the extent of the instability increase with Weissenberg number, indicating an absolute instability in viscoelastic fluids.
Assessing Predictors of Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: the Influence of Individual Factors, Attachments, and Prior Victimization

Cyberbullying continues to be prevalent among adolescents, and advancing technology provides more ways for this harmful behavior to persist. Using data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey administered by the World Health Organization, this study examines the influence of individual, attachment, and victimization characteristics of 12,642 adolescents on the likelihood to cyberbully. Results from multivariate logistic regression models show that physical aggression, associations with peers who smoke cigarettes or carry weapons, prior cyberbullying victimization, and involvement in traditional bullying are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Results underscore the need to ensure positive and strong attachments to parents, teachers, or peers to enhance cyberbullying prevention efforts. Implications for future research and practices are also discussed.
Gold-catalyzed efficient preparation of linear α-haloenones from propargylic acetates

Only 2 mol % of Au(PPh3)NTf2 is needed to convert readily accessible propargylic acetates into versatile linear α-iodoenones in good to excellent yields. This reaction is easy to execute and has broad substrate scope. Good to excellent Z-selectivities are observed in the cases of aliphatic propargylic acetates derived from aldehydes.
The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

The concept of dynamic capabilities draws its theoretical basis from two classic traditions within the strategy field – the resource based view of the firm (RBV) (Wernerfelt, 1984) and market positioning (Porter, 1996)1. A dynamic capability qualifies as a source of sustained heterogeneous firm performance within the RBV framework because it arises from embedded organizational routines that accumulate in a path dependent process – the “stock” explanation of durable advantage (Barney, 1991). Because such a dynamic capability allows a firm to continually reposition itself in product market space, it satisfies the “flow” explanation of current competitive advantage by ensuring that the firm always maintains a wider gap between willingness to pay and cost than competitors (Brandenburger and Stuart, 1996). Indeed, dynamic capabilities seem to give rise to the enviable ability to “always have a competitive advantage in an attractive industry” and so continually deliver superior financial performance regardless of external circumstances.
Novel policing techniques decrease gun-violence and the cost to the healthcare system.

Abstract The objective was to investigate the effects of novel policing techniques on hospital-observed incidence, healthcare utilization, mortality and costs associated with gun violence, from the perspective of a level-1 trauma center. An eight-year retrospective review evaluating the clinical and financial effects of gunshot wound (GSW) encounters between January 1st, 2010 and December 31st, 2017. Individuals who presented to the emergency department (Level-1 trauma center in Camden, NJ) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2017 with GSW (995 encounters) were included; however, patients with incomplete financial or medical record data were excluded (55 encounters). Patients were subdivided into two cohorts: before and after changes in policing tactics (May 1st, 2013). 940 total firearm-related encounters were included in the study. Following the policing changes, the hospital-observed quarterly incidence of GSW encounters decreased by 22% post-policing changes, 44.3 to 34.6 (p = 0.038). Average quarterly days spent in-house for GSW treatment decreased 220.7 to 151.3 (31%) days. Hospital observed mortality increased from 13.5% of presentations to 17.3% of presentations (p = 0.106). Total cost savings associated with the policing change was roughly $254,000 per quarter (p = 0.023). In areas susceptible to high rates of gun violence, similar novel policing tactics could significantly decrease hospital-observed incidence, costs and healthcare utilization demanded by firearm-related injury.
Output feedback control using state observers of a class of nonlinear nonstandard two-time-scale systems

This paper develops a theory of output feedback control for a class of nonlinear, nonstandard two-time-scale systems using a controller and a state observer with guaranteed closed-loop stability. U...
Superoxide dismutase reduces monosodium glutamate-induced injury in an organotypic whole hemisphere brain slice model of excitotoxicity.

Knowledge of glutamate excitotoxicity has increased substantially over the past few decades, with multiple proposed pathways involved in inflicting damage. We sought to develop a monosodium glutamate (MSG) exposed ex vivo organotypic whole hemisphere (OWH) brain slice model of excitotoxicity to study excitotoxic processes and screen the efficacy of superoxide dismutase (SOD). The OWH model is a reproducible platform with high cell viability and retained cellular morphology. OWH slices exposed to MSG induced significant cytotoxicity and downregulation of neuronal excitation-related gene expression. The OWH brain slice model has enabled us to isolate and study components of excitotoxicity, distinguishing the effects of glutamate excitation, hyperosmolar stress, and inflammation. We find that extracellularly administered SOD is significantly protective in inhibiting cell death and restoring healthy mitochondrial morphology. SOD efficacy suggests that superoxide scavenging is a promising therapeutic strategy in excitotoxic injury. Using OWH brain slice models, we can obtain a better understanding of the pathological mechanisms of excitotoxic injury, and more rapidly screen potential therapeutics.
'Whippled to death: an uncommon case of fatal gastrointestinal bleeding'.

There are many causes for hemorrhage after a Whipple surgery, from surgical techniques to coagulopathies. A true gastrointestinal hemorrhage after a Whipple surgery is rare, and most frequently cau...
The nth-plant scenario for blended feedstock conversion and preprocessing nationwide: Biorefineries and depots

Abstract The sustainability of the biofuel industry depends on the development of a mature conversion technology on a national level that can take advantage of the economies of scale: the nth-plant. Defining the future location and supply logistics of conversion plants is imperative to ultimately transform the nation’s renewable biomass resources into cost-competitive, high-performance feedstock for production of biofuels and bioproducts. Since the US has put restrictions on production levels of conventional biofuels from edible resources, the nation needs to plan for the widespread accessibility and development of the cellulosic biofuel scenario. Conventional feedstock supply systems will be unable to handle cellulosic biomass nationwide, making it essential to expand the industry with an advanced feedstock supply system incorporating a distributed network of preprocessing depots and conversion plants, or biorefineries. Current studies are mostly limited to designing supply systems for specific regions of the country. We developed a national database with potential locations for depots and biorefineries to meet the nation’s target demand of cellulosic biofuel. Blended feedstock with switchgrass and corn stover (harvested by either a two- or three-pass method) are considered in a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model to deliver on-spec biomass that considers both, a desired quantity and quality at the biorefinery. The model solves for a network of varying size depots that supply to biorefineries of 725,000 dry tons/year. A total delivered feedstock cost that is less than $79.07/dry tons (2016$) is evaluated for years 2022, 2030, and 2040. In 2022, 124 depots and 59 biorefineries could be supplied with 42.8 million dt of corn stover and switchgrass. In 2030 and 2040, the total accessible biomass could increase to 215% and 393% respectively when compared to 2022. However, an $8/dry tons reduction in targeted delivery cost could reduce total accessible biomass by 67%. Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas were identified as potential states with a strong biofuel economy given that they had six or more biorefineries located in all scenarios. In some scenarios, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and South Carolina would greatly benefit from a depot network as these could only deliver to a biorefinery in a nearby state. To elaborate the impact of a nationwide consideration, the findings were compared with existing literature for different US regions. We also present results for biorefinery capacities that are double, triple and quadruple in size.
Identifying Insufficient Data Coverage for Ordinal Continuous-Valued Attributes

Appropriate training data is a requirement for building good machine-learned models. In this paper, we study the notion of coverage for ordinal and continuous-valued attributes, by formalizing the intuition that the learned model can accurately predict only at data points for which there are "enough" similar data points in the training data set. We develop an efficient algorithm to identify uncovered regions in low-dimensional attribute feature space, by making a connection to Voronoi diagrams. We also develop a randomized approximation algorithm for use in high-dimensional attribute space. We evaluate our algorithms through extensive experiments on real datasets.
A state-owned bank for small farmers in Chile, c.1926-1953

This article deals with the creation and operations of the first agricultural development bank ever created in Chile, the Caja de Credito Agrario (CCA), founded in 1926, in operations until 1953. The main sources are the annual reports of CCA from 1933 to 1951. The main contributions are to show first that the CCA was instrumental to provide subsidized long-term capital to small farmers in Chile to promote agricultural production, but that also had a “social mission”. The CCA soon became a protagonist within the local financial market. Given the lack of knowledge about the modus operandi of development banks in Latin America, we provide the first account of the management and financial activities of the CCA. We show that the management structure of the firm, and in particular its strategy of decentralization, was key to explain its success. Likewise, the CCA managed successfully to raise increasing amounts of capital from other state institutions at low interest rates, thus being able to cover its increasing loan operations.
Socially situated risk: challenges and strategies for implementing algorithmic risk scoring for care management.

Objective To characterize challenges and strategies related to algorithmic risk scoring for care management eligibility determinations. Materials and methods Interviews with 19 administrators from 13 physician organizations representing over 2200 physician offices and 8800 physicians in Michigan. Post-implementation interviews were coded using thematic analysis. Results Utility of algorithmic risk scores was limited due to outdated claims or incomplete information about patients' socially situated risks (eg, caregiver turnover, social isolation). Resulting challenges included lack of physician engagement and inefficient use of staff time reviewing eligibility determinations. To address these challenges, risk scores were supplemented with physician knowledge and clinical data. Discussion and conclusion Current approaches to risk scoring based on claims data for payer-led programs struggle to gain physician acceptance and support because of data limitations. To respond to these limitations, physician input regarding socially situated risk and utilization of more timely data may improve eligibility determinations.
Biodenitrification Studies with a Bioreactor Operating in a Periodic Mode

Biodenitrification of nitrite and nitrate/nitrite mixtures was studied with a pure culture of Pseudomonas denitrificans (ATCC 13867), which is a strict anaerobe. The study involved theoretical analysis, and experimental verification of the biodenitrification process when a reactor operating in a periodic mode is employed. This reactor operates continuously in a cyclic mode, and each one of its cycles is made-up of three phases. During the first phase, the stream to be processed is fed to the reactor; reaction is initiated while the volume of the liquid hold-up of the reactor increases. During the second phase, reaction proceeds in the batch mode. During the third phase, part of the reactor contents are drawn-down till the volume of the reactor liquid hold-up returns to the value it had in the beginning of the cycle. At that point, the cycle starts repeating itself. A complete mathematical analysis of nitrite bioreduction is presented along with results from experiments performed with a 2 l reactor. Experimental results involve denitrification of water media containing either nitrite only, or mixtures of nitrate and nitrite. Theoretical predictions and experimental data are in excellent agreement.
The Lipid Bilayer, Mechanisms of Fusion and Transmembrane Transport

DR. CULLIS: Fusion is among the most important events that takes place in the cytoplasm including, for example, the blebbing off of various secretory granules to fuse with the membrane surface, the fusion processes involved in interorganelle transport, the virus blebbing off process, on endocytotic processes, such as occur for coated vesicles, which then fuse to form secondary lysosomes. In addition to fusion events, there are situations where you appear to have continuity between two organelles (Morre et al., 1978). This may be between rough endoplasmic reticulum and the outer mitochondrial membrane or between the golgi and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum as well as various secretory vesicles. These observations are of interest from the point of view of lipids that have very different properties from what we normally think they should have in a membrane. In particular, we are concerned with the roles of lipids which prefer non-bilayer arrangements in isolation.
Crystallization and characterization of Chromatium vinosum cytochrome c

The dimeric high spin c-type cytochrome c' from Chromatium vinosum has been crystallized and the crystals characterized by x-ray diffraction. This cytochrome c' exhibits ligand-controlled dissociation from a dimer to a monomer upon binding carbon monoxide and represents an opportunity to obtain unique information concerning cooperativity in heme proteins. The C. vinosum cytochrome c' protein crystals are grown from polyethylene glycol 4000 and grow in both space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) (a = 49.2, b = 56.7, c = 98.8 A) and space group P2(1) (a = 55, b = 94, c = 50, beta = 106.1 A) depending upon the growth rate, with the P2(1)2(1)2(1) form favored at slower growth rates. The high resolution (2.0 A) atomic structure of the P2(1)2(1)2(1) form is being determined.
Evaluating the Usability of the Scale Metaphor for Querying Semantic Spaces

Information visualizations have become popular tools for extracting knowledge from large bodies of information. Very little is known on the usability of such 'visual knowledge tools' for information access. The goal of this paper is to show the usability of the spatial metaphor 'scale' to access a large semantic document space. An experiment was conducted to examine whether different user groups can associate graphical changes in resolution in spatialized views with changes of level of detail in an index hierarchy of a digital document collection. Test participants were asked to utilize zoom tools to explore a spatialized subset of the GeoRef database, an extensive collection of geology and earth sciences documents. The outcomes of the experiment suggest that people are able to associate graphical changes in resolution of spatialized views (zooms) with changes in levels of detail of a document collection (hierarchical order). These results are independent of user group membership, but for some displays it takes people longer to make a decision.
5-Keto-d-Fructose: Formation and Utilization in the Course of d-Fructose Assimilation by Gluconabacter cerinus

The accumulation of 5-keto-d-fructose (5KF) by Gluconobacter cerinus grown on d-fructose in unbuffered medium was shown to be optimal at pH 4.0 after cell growth ceased. During the exponential phase of growth or at neutral pH after the onset of the stationary phase, 5KF production continued but did not accumulate because of its rapid reutilization by reduction to d-fructose. The extent of isotope incorporation into C5 of ribonucleic acid ribose when cells were grown in the presence of specifically labeled d-glucose and d-fructose clearly indicated that (i) the hexose monophosphate oxidative pathway is the predominant metabolic route for carbohydrate assimilation and (ii) extensive randomization of label between C1 and C6 of d-fructose occurred prior to its conversion into pentose. It is suggested that the cyclic oxidation and reduction through the symmetrical 5KF molecule, which accounts for the observed randomization of isotope in d-fructose, provides the cells with an effective mechanism for the regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate during the period of intensive growth.
Coordination of data movement with computation scheduling on a cluster

We are looking at the problem of scheduling compute tasks on a cluster of servers. These tasks require files that reside on a remote archive, and may also be cached on some subset of the servers. A task can only be run on a server that has the files it requires. This introduces the problem of scheduling data movement in coordination with the scheduling of computation. Our goal is to maximize throughput while minimizing data movement. FIFO scheduling is not efficient in this situation due to its lack of awareness of the data movement required. We looked at two other strategies, called shortest job first and linear programming based optimization, and compared them under various configurations.
A Drosophila homolog of bovine smg p25a GDP dissociation inhibitor undergoes a shift in isoelectric point in the developmental mutant quartet

The Drosophila developmental mutation quartet causes late larval lethality and small imaginal discs and, when expressed in the adult female, has a lethal effect on early embryogenesis. These developmental defects are associated with mitotic defects, which include a low mitotic index in larval brains and incomplete separation of chromosomes in mitosis in the early embryo. quartet mutations also have a biochemical effect, i.e., a basic shift in isoelectric point in three proteins. We have purified one of these proteins, raised an antibody to it, and isolated and sequenced its cDNA. At the amino acid level, the sequence shows 68% identity and 81% similarity to bovine smg p25a GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI), a regulator of ras-like small GTPases of the rab/SEC4/YPT1 subfamily. The correlation between a basic shift in isoelectric point in Drosophila GDI in quartet mutant tissue and the quartet developmental phenotype raises the possibility that a posttranslational modification of GDI is necessary for its function and that GDI function is essential for development.
Use of Turbidity-Correction Algorithm Eliminates the Effect of Perflubron Emulsion on CO-Oximeter Results

Shepherd and Steinke (1) reported that perflubron emulsion, a potential blood substitute soon to be in clinical use, interferes with measurements by several CO-oximeters. The analyzer affected most was the AVL Omni: at 29 g/L perflubron, oxyhemoglobin was decreased by 12.3%, carboxyhemoglobin was decreased by 3.5%, and methemoglobin was increased by 1.0%. At higher concentrations of perflubron, the AVL Omni gave error messages without results. Although the Radiometer OSM3 Hemoximeter reported results at all concentrations of perflubron studied, it too was affected: at 29 g/L perflubron, oxyhemoglobin was decreased by 5.3%, carboxyhemoglobin was increased by 4.1%, and methemoglobin was increased by 2.3%. At about the time of this report, we observed that an occasional heparinized blood sample analyzed by the AVL Omni would give a valid total hemoglobin result but report “interference” for the oxy-, carboxy-, and methemoglobin measurements. We associated these results to patients who were receiving Propofol, a sedative used in intensive …
Stringent Constraints On The Dark Matter Annihilation Cross Section From Subhalo Searches With The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

The dark matter halo of the Milky Way is predicted to contain a very large number of smaller subhalos. As a result of the dark matter annihilations taking place within such objects, the most nearby and massive subhalos could appear as pointlike or spatially extended gamma-ray sources, without observable counterparts at other wavelengths. In this paper, we use the results of the Aquarius simulation to predict the distribution of nearby subhalos and compare this to the characteristics of the unidentified gamma-ray sources observed by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Focusing on the brightest high latitude sources, we use this comparison to derive limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section. For dark matter particles lighter than $\ensuremath{\sim}200\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$, the resulting limits are the strongest obtained to date, being modestly more stringent than those derived from observations of dwarf galaxies or the Galactic center. We also derive independent limits based on the lack of unidentified gamma-ray sources with discernible spatial extension, but these limits are a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}2--10$ weaker than those based on pointlike subhalos. Lastly, we note that four of the ten brightest high-latitude sources exhibit a similar spectral shape, consistent with 30--60 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to $b\overline{b}$ with an annihilation cross section on the order of $\ensuremath{\sigma}v\ensuremath{\sim}(5--10)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1{0}^{\ensuremath{-}27}\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}$ or 8--10 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ with $\ensuremath{\sigma}v\ensuremath{\sim}(1.5--3.0)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1{0}^{\ensuremath{-}27}\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}$.
Expression patterns among interferon regulatory factor-1, human X-box binding protein-1, nuclear factor kappa B, nucleophosmin, estrogen receptor-alpha and progesterone receptor proteins in breast cancer tissue microarrays

Interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1), human X-box binding protein-1 (hXBP-1), nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NFkappaB p65) and nucleophosmin (NPM) have been implicated in a signaling network of endocrine responsiveness. Expression of these proteins was measured by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays of 54 breast tumors. Correlations between each protein and established prognostic markers were assessed by Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient and partial correlation coefficient analyses. Moderate/strong staining is seen for hXBP-1 (79% of tumors) and NFkappaB p65 (57%). NPM exhibits nuclear staining (95%); IRF-1 exhibits both cytosolic (IRF-1c; 90%) and nuclear staining (IRF-1n; 51%). IRF-1c is associated with age (p=0.034); IRF-1n and PgR expression are correlated (p=0.014). NFkappaB p65 shows a borderline association with S phase (p=0.062). Coexpression of IRF-1c and hXBP1 (p=0.001), IRF-1c and NFkappaB (p=0.002), and hXBP-1 and NFkappaB (p=0.018) is observed. An inverse correlation exists between IRF-1n and NFkappaB (p=0.034). All four proteins are detected in breast tumors and their expression patterns support their role(s) in a key signaling network.
Determination of TOCl, TOBr and TOI in drinking water by pyrolysis and off-line ion chromatography

The objective of this research was to determine the optimum total organic halogen (TOX) protocol for use with ion chromatographic (IC) detection to analyze total organic chlorine (TOCl), bromine (TOBr), and iodine (TOI) in drinking water simultaneously. Two commercial analyzers (one using a pure O2 carrier and one using O2/CO2 mixture) and three commercially available activated carbons (two coconut-based and one bituminous coal-based) were examined in this study. Results showed that the pyrolytic analyzer using pure O2 and off-line IC combined with a standard TOX carbon (coconut-based) achieved the most complete recovery of TOCl, TOBr and TOI for both model compounds and real samples. There was no obvious difference between the two analyzers when used in microcoulometric detection mode. The TOX method is moderately sensitive to nitrate rinse volume. The monohaloacetic acids were partly washed out during sample preparation. This problem was solved by a modified nitrate rinsing solution.
Endogenous plastic composite material in the Alzheimer’s brain

Summary Accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide in brain is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The resulting plaques though fibrous in nature may also consist of additional structures currently poorly defined. We hypothesize that plastic composite material contributes to plaque formation. This material is organized by polymers of acrolein, which is an oxidized lipid fragment found in AD. Acrolein, a 3-carbon compound, contains a carbonyl and a vinyl group that participate in polymerization via fundamental latex chemistry. The redox and surfactant properties of Aβ allow it to catalyze the polymerization of acrolein. We previously reported observations of thin plastic fragments of Aβ-polyacrolein. The current paper outlines the proposed steps in forming these plastic fragments. Endogenous plastic composite material may significantly contribute to the pathogenesis of AD.
Self-deception and emotion

Drawing on recent empirical work, this philosophical paper explores some possible contributions of emotion to self-deception. Three hypotheses are considered: (1) the anxiety reduction hypothesis: the function of self-deception is to reduce present anxiety; (2) the solo emotion hypothesis: emotions sometimes contribute to instances of self-deception that have no desires among their significant causes; (3) the direct emotion hypothesis: emotions sometimes contribute directly to self-deception, in the sense that they make contributions that, at the time, are neither made by desires nor causally mediated by desires. It is argued that (1) is false and that (3) is defensible and more defensible than (2).
Abrasion as a catalyst deposition technique for carbon nanotube growth.

Mechanical abrasion of stainless steel (SS) surfaces is demonstrated as an effective technique for the deposition of catalyst to support growth of high density layers of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in ...
Chemistry of geminal diazides. Rearrangements to N-Cyano compounds

CHEMISTRY OF GEMINAL DIAZIDES. N-CYAN0 REARRANGEMENTS TO COMPOUNDS George Landen and Harold W. Moore Department of Chemistry, We have recently University of California, Irvine, shown that certain 2-azido-2-ene-1,4-diones contract to 2-cyano-1,3-diones (2-cyano-1,3-cyclopentenediones) California (azido-1,4-quinones) upon thermolysis, ring i.e., Also, we have observed that cyclic 2-azido-1,3-diones (2-azido-2-cyano-1,3-cyclo- .ti pentenediones) thermally ring expand to cyanoimines (cyanoazaquinones), 2. ,,2 R,=N,-+ 3 R,= CN. 2 In fact, the transformation, l+Ri= Ns -_‘2 R2 = Nt +2RJ /v plished directly upon thermolysis of certain 2,3-diazido-2-ene-1,4-diones qulnones) . 2 Thus, this vicinal traction vinyl diazide rearrangement followed by ring expansion with an overall in the ring system. Fromthese such as 2,2-diazido-l, g-diones, J R,= N, which are structurally N-cyanoimides, Therefore, results, j, version takes place. thermal chemistry interconversion by an initial ring con- of a nitrogen and carbon analogous to>and geminal diazides ring expand to azidoimines thus should subsequently the geminal diazide series should proceed (or tetrazoles)3 ring contract to by an initial ring where again an overall nitrogen and carbon intercon- To test this, the geminal diazides ,candzwere investigated. (2,3-diazido-1,4- one would anticipate that cyclic would thermally expansion followed by ring contraction proceeds = CN, can be accom- This study did demonstrate N prepared and their such a rearrangement.
Comparison of the concentration of messenger RNA encoding four muscarinic receptor subtypes in control and Alzheimer brains.

Abstract We determined the concentration of the messenger RNA species which encode four (m1–m4) of the five cloned muscarinic receptors in brains of Alzheimer's disease patients as compared to age-matched controls. Assays were performed using the quantitative method of DNA-excess solution hybridization in the cerebral cortex (frontal, temporal and occipital), hippocampus, nucleus basalis of Meynert and brainstem. The results suggest a statistically significant decrease in the m1 muscarinic receptor message in the temporal and occipital cortex, with no change in other regions. There was no change in the level of mRNA encoding the m2, m3 or m4 receptors in any of the brain regions studied.