cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extraction of heavy metals by mercaptans attached to silica gel by a corkscrew mechanism

ABSTRACT Saturated, straight chain mercaptans were attached to silica gel and used as coordinating agents for removal of cadmium(II), copper(II), lead(II), and nickel(II) ions from standard solutions. It is believed that the mercaptans become wedged in the silica pores, but are available for reaction. Four thiols were used, viz., 1-hexanethiol, 1-dodecanethiol, 1-hexadecanethiol, and 1-octadecanethiol. Standard solutions of metals (1.57 mM) were stirred with the supported mercaptans for two hours, and at 25°C, and the sample supernatants were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry. At pH = 8, the percent removal was 99 (Cd), 91.5 (Cu), 80.8 (Pb), and 97 (Ni). It was possible to acidify the metal-containing solids, and regenerate the supported chelating agents.
Using Activity Monitors to Measure Physical Activity in Free-Living Conditions

Physical activity is a broad term used to define “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure.”1 A physically active lifestyle is associated with a decreased risk for a variety of chronic diseases and health conditions such as cardiovascular disease,2–5 hypertension,6–8 diabetes mellitus,9–12 certain cancers,13–15 depression,16–18 obesity,19, 20 cerebrovascular disease, and premature death.21 The Surgeon General recommends 30 minutes for adults or 60 minutes for children of moderate-intensity activity on most, if not all, days of the week to be physically active and achieve a health benefit.21 The Surgeon General’s recommendation is comparable to expending approximately 150 kcal of energy per day21 for an otherwise healthy individual whose principal mode of activity is walking. Two studies in Japan22, 23 and the popular press have promoted a pedometer-based target of 10,000 steps per day as a way for adults to meet the national physical activity guidelines. Research is ongoing, however, to determine whether this guideline is appropriate for all populations.24–26 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25% of US adults do not engage in any leisure-time physical activity, and 60% do not achieve the Surgeon General’s physical activity recommendations.21, 27, 28 Women,29, 30 older adults,31–36 racial and ethnic minority populations, and people with physical disabilities27 are most likely to be inactive.37 The US Department of Health and Human Services has set a national health objective for 2010 to reduce the prevalence of no leisure time activity from more than 25% to 20% of US adults.37 The assessment of physical activity is essential to: (1) determine …
Statistical analysis of large wildfires

Large, infrequent wildfires cause dramatic ecological and economic impacts. Consequently, they deserve special attention and analysis. The economic significance of large fires is indicated by the fact that approximately 94 percent of fire suppression costs on U.S. Forest Service land during the period 19802002 resulted from a mere 1.4 percent of the fires (Strategic Issues Panel on Fire Suppression Costs 2004). Further, the synchrony of large wildfires across broad geographic regions has contributed to a budgetary situation in which the cost of fighting wildfires bas exceeded the Congressional funds appropriated for suppressing them (based on a ten-year moving average) during most years since 1990. In turn, this shortfall has precipitated a disruption of management and research activities within federal land management agencies, leading to a call for improved methods for estimating fire suppression costs (GAO 2004). Understanding the linkages between unusual natural events, their causes and economic consequences is of fundamental importance in designing strategies for risk management. Standard statistical methods such as least squares regression are generally inadequate for analyzing rare events because they focus attention on mean values or typical events. Because extreme events can lead to sudden and massive restructuring of natural ecosystems and the value of economic assets, the ability to directly analyze the probability of catastrophic change, as well as factors that influence such change, would provide a valuable tool for risk managers. The ability to estimate the probability of experiencing a catastrophic event becomes more advantageous when the distribution of extreme events has a heavy-tail, that is, when unusual events occur more often than generally anticipated. Heavy-tail distributions have been used to characterize various types of catastrophic, abiotic natural phenomena such as Himalayan avalanches (No ever 1993), landslides, and earthquakes (Malamud and Turcotte 1999). Several studies also indicate that wildfire regimes have heavy-tails (discussed in section 2 below). For decades, economists have been interested in heavy-tails appearing in the distribution of income (Mandelbrot 1960), city sizes (Gabaix 1999, Krugman 1996), commodity prices series (Mandelbrot 1963a, Mandelbrot
Immune Cell Identity: Perspective from a Palimpsest

The immune system in mammals is composed of multiple different immune cell types that migrate through the body and are made continuously throughout life. Lymphocytes and myeloid cells interact with each other and depend upon each other, but each are highly diverse and specialized for different roles. Lymphocytes uniquely require developmentally programmed mutational changes in the genome itself for their maturation. Despite profound differences between their mechanisms of threat recognition and threat response, however, the developmental origins of lymphocytes and myeloid cells are interlinked, and important aspects of their response mechanisms remain shared. It is notable that the chain of logic toward our current understanding of the immune defense system over the past 50 years has been driven by strongly posited models that have led to crucial discoveries, even though these models ended up being partly wrong. The predictive strength of these models and their success as guides to incisive experimental research have illuminated the limits of each model’s explanatory scope, beyond which another model needed to assume the lead. This brief review describes how a succession of distinct paradigms has helped to clarify a sophisticated picture of immune cell generation and control.
Genotype Imputation with Millions of Reference Samples

We present a genotype imputation method that scales to millions of reference samples. The imputation method, based on the Li and Stephens model and implemented in Beagle v.4.1, is parallelized and memory efficient, making it well suited to multi-core computer processors. It achieves fast, accurate, and memory-efficient genotype imputation by restricting the probability model to markers that are genotyped in the target samples and by performing linear interpolation to impute ungenotyped variants. We compare Beagle v.4.1 with Impute2 and Minimac3 by using 1000 Genomes Project data, UK10K Project data, and simulated data. All three methods have similar accuracy but different memory requirements and different computation times. When imputing 10 Mb of sequence data from 50,000 reference samples, Beagle's throughput was more than 100× greater than Impute2's throughput on our computer servers. When imputing 10 Mb of sequence data from 200,000 reference samples in VCF format, Minimac3 consumed 26× more memory per computational thread and 15× more CPU time than Beagle. We demonstrate that Beagle v.4.1 scales to much larger reference panels by performing imputation from a simulated reference panel having 5 million samples and a mean marker density of one marker per four base pairs.
Impact of Regional Lymph Node Dissection on Disease Specific Survival in Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a more extensive regional lymph node dissection (LND) has on survival in ACC patients in the United States. Patients≥15 years of age without distant metastases who underwent surgical intervention for primary ACC were identified from the SEER18 registry from 1988–2009. Patients were divided into 2 groups: having a regional LND (≥ 5 LNs removed) vs. no-LND (0–4 LNs removed). Overall survival (OS) and disease specific survival (DSS) were compared between groups. Of 259 patients with complete data on nodal resection, 243 (93.8%) underwent no-LND and 16 (6.2%) LND. There was no difference in age, sex, metastases, or ENSAT stage between groups. However, LND patients had larger tumors (p=0.004), and more frequently underwent en-bloc surgery (p=0.002). One- and 3-year OS and DSS did not differ between groups. In a cox regression model, performance of a regional LND did not significantly influence DSS. However, female gender (HR: 1.67, CI: 1.04–2.69, p=0.033) and later stage (stage III-HR: 4.78, CI: 1.14–20.00, p=0.032) or positive LNs (HR: 5.92, CI: 2.05–17.08, p=0.001) were risk factors for worse DSS. Regional LND may not improve DSS or OS in nonmetastatic ACC patients undergoing adrenalectomy. It remains controversial as an essential part of the surgical management for ACC and deserves further investigation in a larger, prospective study. However, regional LND should still be considered for staging and prognostic purposes and to standardize surgical care.
Assessment of Intraoperative Intra-articular Morphine and Clonidine Injection in the Acute Postoperative Period After Hip Arthroscopy.

Background:Previous authors have suggested that intra-articular morphine and clonidine injections after knee arthroscopy have demonstrated equivocal analgesic effect in comparison with bupivacaine ...
Etiology of traumatic osteoporosis.

1. The osteoporosis which rapidly appears distal to a fracture is largely due to stasis. 2. It is frequently stated that the marked osteoporosis seen in the foot and ankle following a tibial fracture is due to disuse. The authors feel that disuse plays little part in the production of this osteoporosis for the following reasons: A. Roentgenographic evidence of disuse osteoporosis is seen only after many months of immobilization, as has been shown both experimentally and clinically. B. The intensity of bone absorption is too great to be due to disuse. Even after a year or more of disuse, there is seldom the degree of bone absorption seen a few weeks after a fracture. C. The character of acute osteoporosis following trauma differs from that of disuse osteoporosis in that the former is irregular and involves predominantly the portion of bone distal to the trauma. Osteoporosis of disuse is homogemnous and diffuse, involving proximal and distal portions alike.
Efficient identification of Wiener systems using a combination of atomic norm minimization and interval matrix properties

Control oriented identification of Wiener systems is known to be a generically NP-hard problem, even in cases where the nonlinearity is known. While convex relaxations of the problem are available, these are also computationally intensive, since they typically require either solving a large number of Linear Programs or solving large-sized Semi-Definite Programs. To circumvent this difficulty, in this paper we present an alternative, based on a combining properties of interval matrices with atomic norm minimization and mixed binary programming. As illustrated in the paper, this combination leads to a computationally efficient algorithm, capable of handling problems whose size challenges existing techniques.
Computational techniques for reasoning about and shaping player experiences in interactive narratives

Interactive narrative experiences are marked by two important characteristics: (1) a large space of player interactions, some subset of which are specified as aesthetic goals for the system to realize; and (2) the affordance for the player to express self-agency and interact in a meaningful way with the system. As a function of those characteristics, players are (often unknowing) participants in the creation of the narrative experience. They cannot be assumed to be cooperative, nor can they be assumed to be adversarial. Thus, we must provide paradigms to designers that enable them to work with the players to co-create the experiences without the explicit transfer of the system’s goals (as specified by the author) to players and without the need for the system to have a goal-oriented model of a player’s behaviors or decisions. This dissertation formalizes compact representations and efficient algorithms that enable computer systems to represent, reason about, and shape player experiences in interactive narrative settings. Early work in the field of interactive narrative relied heavily on so-called “script-and-trigger” systems, requiring sizable engineering efforts from designers to provide concrete instructions for when and how systems can modify or adapt an environment in service of providing a narrative experience to a player. While there have been advances in techniques for representing and reasoning about narrative experiences at an abstract level that automate (to a degree) the trigger side of script-and-trigger systems, few techniques have succeeded in providing designers with a paradigm that reduces their need for scripting system adaptations or reconfigurations—one of the contributions of this dissertation. We first describe a decomposition of the design process for interactive narrative that induces three distinct technical problems: goal selection, action/plan selection/generation, and action/plan refinement. This decomposition allows technical machinery to be developed for reasoning about the complete implementation of an interactive narrative. In turn, we describe representational and algorithmic solutions to each of these problems: a Markov Decision Process-based formalism for goal selection, a schema-based planning architecture based on theories of influence and persuasion from social psychology for action/plan selection/generation, and a natural language-based template system for action/plan refinement. To evaluate these techniques, we conduct experiments both in simulation and in an interactive storytelling system with human subjects. In using these techniques, we realize the following three goals: (1) provide efficient algorithmic support for authoring interactive narratives for entertainment, education, or training; (2) design a paradigm for AI systems to reason about and act to shape player experiences based on author-specified aesthetic goals for interactive narratives; and (3) accomplish (1) and (2) with the player feeling more engaged and without the player perceiving a decrease in self-agency.
The dependence of solar hard X-ray burst intensity on magnetic field strength

The measurements of peak intensities of hard X-ray bursts from hot flare plasma electrons as a function of peak frequency of associated microwave radio bursts are discussed. The latter is proportional to the magnetic field strength. The results suggest that the flare hard X-rays are emitted when the electron plasma frequency is comparable to the electron gyrofrequency. Thus, the hard X-ray peak intensity varies as B 4.2, where B is the magnetic field strength.
CRCT (Collaborative Routing Coordination Tools) and TFM (Traffic Flow Management) Decision Support Tool Prototyping

This paper summarizes several years of Traffic Flow Management (TFM) R&D work. The MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) has been engaged in a longterm research program to define and refine decision support concepts and capabilities for TFM, the branch of Air Traffic Management that manages the strategic aspect of air traffic by balancing airspace capacity with demand, especially during severe weather or heavy traffic. This paper describes CAASD's work on the concept of Collaborative Routing, in which all affected parties — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and aircraft operators - can share in realtime a common picture of TFM problems and potential solutions. The Collaborative Routing Coordination Tools (CRCT) refers to a set of functionalities that support Collaborative Routing, and also to a software platform developed and used by CAASD to conduct the R&D. In this paper, the Collaborative Routing concept is described, and sample user interfaces supporting the c...
Understanding the deformation behavior of 17-4 precipitate hardenable stainless steel produced by direct metal laser sintering using micropillar compression and TEM

Micropillar compression testing and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the deformation mechanisms under compression in 17-4 precipitation-hardening stainless steel, fabricated by direct metal laser sintering. The as-built specimen as well as that aged for 4 h at 866 K contained fractions of retained austenite, while that aged for 60 min at 755 K was fully martensitic. It was observed that the columnar elongated grains underwent martensite/austenite phase changes with changes in the aging temperature. The precipitate phase that developed with aging enhanced the material hardness and yield strength, with values being higher in the case of the specimen aged at a lower temperature for a shorter time. The results showed that the microstructures and properties of 17-4 stainless steel specimens fabricated by DMLS vary significantly from those of specimens produced using conventional methods.
Automation of CAD models to BEM models for performance based goal-oriented design methods

Abstract This work presents a new methodology to automate the derivation of Building Energy Models (BEMs) from complex 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) geometry. The goal is to combine current parametric modeling, digital fabrication, and computer graphics techniques to automatically generate the geometric input of an energy model from any digital 3D model of a building. Such automation facilitates the use and implementation of goal-oriented design methods that integrate energy performance with other types of building performance models. In this work, mesh planarization algorithms, which are currently used in computer graphics and in digital fabrication methods, are used and adapted to automate and optimize the parsing of non-planar surfaces to EnergyPlus (E+), a popular BEM engine. The proposed methodology facilitates the modeling of thermal zones with double-curved envelopes, which is a time-consuming task that typically requires a high level of expertise from the energy modeler. The proposed single, streamlined workflow generates digital models that are suitable for both energy optimization and digital fabrication, thereby facilitating the integration of two parallel design procedures at the core of an architectural design process. Through this workflow, a single CAD model generates solutions that are energy efficient and feasibly fabricated using digital techniques. This goal-oriented design workflow is applied in the study of fritting pattern densities for three complex double-curved building geometries.
Exponential laws of computing growth

Moore's Law is one small component in an exponentially growing planetary computing ecosystem.
Phenotypic and Genetic Relationship Between BMI and Drinking in a Sample of UK Adults

The health impairments derived from both alcoholism and obesity are well known. However, reports that relate increased alcohol use with increased measures of obesity have been mixed in their findings, especially with respect to genetic factors that could potentially link these two behaviors. Here, using a large sample of adults from the UK (n ≈ 113,000), we report both the observed and genetic correlations between BMI (kg/m2) and two measures of alcohol use: reported quantity (drinks per week) and frequency of use (from never to daily). Overall, both observationally and genetically, alcohol intake is negatively correlated with BMI. Phenotypic correlations ranged from −0.01 to −0.17, and genetic correlations ranged from −0.1 to −0.4. Genetic correlations tended to be stronger than the phenotypic correlations, and these correlations were stronger in females and between BMI and, specifically, frequency of use. Though the mechanisms driving these relationships are yet to be identified, we can conclude that the genetic factors related to drinking both more and more often are shared with those responsible for lower BMI.
Photoactive rhenium carbonyl complexes of N,N,S-donor ligands: Contrast in binding modes based on flexibility of ligand frames and nature of ancillary ligands

Abstract A set of two potentially tridentate ligands with N,N,S donor centers has been employed to isolate Re(I) carbonyl complexes of the type [Re(ligand)(CO) 3 ]X (X = Cl, ClO 4 ). The first ligand 2-quinoline-N-(2′-methylthiophenyl)methyleneimine (qmtpm) contains an imine-N junction between a quinoline (offering N center) and an aryl thioether (offering S center) moiety. In case of the second ligand 2-quinoline-N-(2′-methylthiophenyl)methyleneamine (qmtpa), the imine junction is replaced with a more flexible secondary amine-N junction. The rigidity of the conjugated qmtpm ligand (can only bind in meridional mode) does not afford a Re(I) carbonyl complex with qmtpm ligand binding in a tridentate fashion due to the presence of a strongly bound CO ligand in the equatorial plane of the metal. Although this rigidity is removed in qmtpa, the expected facial binding of the ligand to afford fac -[Re(qmtpa)(CO) 3 ]Cl does not occur unless the σ-binding Cl − ligand is removed from the axial position of the starting [ReCl(CO) 5 ] complex. Taken together the results suggest that both ligand flexibility and presence of easily replaceable ligand dictate the binding mode of tridentate ligands in carbonyl complexes of the type [M I (ligand)(CO) 3 ]X.
The association between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and high-risk injection behavior among people who inject drugs.

Abstract Background Although much research has been conducted on the determinants of HIV risk behavior among people who inject drugs (PWID), the influence of the neighborhood context on high-risk injection behavior remains understudied. To address this gap in the literature, we measured associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and high-risk injection behavior, and determined whether these associations were modified by drug-related police activity and syringe exchange program (SEP) accessibility. Methods Our sample was comprised of 484 pharmacy-recruited PWID in New York City. Measures of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage were created using data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey. Associations with high-risk injection behavior were estimated using multivariable Poisson regression. Effect modification by drug-related police activity and SEP accessibility was assessed by entering cross-product terms into adjusted models of high-risk injection behavior. Results Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with decreased receptive syringe sharing and unsterile syringe use. In neighborhoods with high drug-related police activity, associations between neighborhood disadvantage and unsterile syringe use were attenuated to the null. In neighborhoods with high SEP accessibility, neighborhood disadvantage was associated with decreased acquisition of syringes from an unsafe source. Conclusions PWID in disadvantaged neighborhoods reported safer injection behaviors than their counterparts in neighborhoods that were relatively better off. The contrasting patterns of effect modification by SEP accessibility and drug-related police activity support the use of harm reduction approaches over law enforcement-based strategies for the control of blood borne virus transmission among PWID in disadvantaged urban areas.
Mobile Ecological Momentary Diet Assessment Methods for Behavioral Research: Systematic Review

Background: New methods for assessing diet in research are being developed to address the limitations of traditional dietary assessment methods. Mobile device–assisted ecological momentary diet assessment (mEMDA) is a new dietary assessment method that has not yet been optimized and has the potential to minimize recall biases and participant burden while maximizing ecological validity. There have been limited efforts to characterize the use of mEMDA in behavioral research settings. Objective: The aims of this study were to summarize mEMDA protocols used in research to date, to characterize key aspects of these assessment approaches, and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mEMDA compared with the traditional dietary assessment methods as well as implications for future mEMDA research. Methods: Studies that used mobile devices and described mEMDA protocols to assess dietary intake were included. Data were extracted according to Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Cochrane guidelines and then synthesized narratively. Results: The review included 20 studies with unique mEMDA protocols. Of these, 50% (10/20) used participant-initiated reports of intake at eating events (event-contingent mEMDA), and 50% (10/20) used researcher-initiated prompts requesting that participants report recent dietary intake (signal-contingent mEMDA). A majority of the study protocols (60%, 12/20) enabled participants to use mobile phones to report dietary data. Event-contingent mEMDA protocols most commonly assessed diet in real time, used dietary records for data collection (60%, 6/10), and provided estimates of energy and nutrient intake (60%, 6/10). All signal-contingent mEMDA protocols used a near real-time recall approach with unannounced (ie, random) abbreviated diet surveys. Most signal-contingent protocols (70%, 7/10) assessed the frequency with which (targeted) foods or food groups were consumed. Relatively few (30%, 6/20) studies compared mEMDA with the traditional dietary assessment methods. Conclusions: This review demonstrates that mEMDA has the potential to reduce participant burden and recall bias, thus advancing the field beyond current dietary assessment methods while maximizing ecological validity.
Crosstalk of Local Translation and Mitochondria: Powering Plasticity in Axons and Dendrites

Two papers in Cell uncover reciprocal crosstalk of local translation and mitochondria in neurons. Rangaraju et al. (2019) observe tethered compartments of stable mitochondria in dendrites that provide a local energy supply for mRNA translation at synapses. Cioni et al. (2019) report a novel association of axonal RNA granules with Rab7a-late endosomes that provides a platform for local translation supporting mitochondria.
Characterization of Recurrences Following Second Breast-Conserving Surgery with Intraoperative Radiotherapy

Breast-conserving surgery with breast re-irradiation is an emerging technique in the treatment of selected cases of locally recurrent breast cancer. Further information is needed to characterize factors that may select for an appropriate patient population for this treatment approach. We report herein a single-institution retrospective analysis of patients with ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence treated with a second breast-conserving therapy with intraoperative radiotherapy. Patient records were reviewed to analyze toxicity, further recurrence, and characteristics of recurrent patients following this treatment approach. We included 57 patients in the analysis. At median follow-up of 24.5 months, ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence occurred in six patients (11%), four of which localized to the quadrant of the initial recurrent disease and two of which recurred elsewhere in the treated breast. Locoregional control was 89%, and disease-free survival was 81%. Only one patient was found to have grade 3 or greater toxicity. A second breast-conserving surgery with intraoperative radiotherapy is tolerable with acceptable toxicity for patients with locally recurrent disease refusing mastectomy. Prospective clinical trials are needed to define the subset of patients who may be appropriate for this treatment approach as an alternative to mastectomy.
Changing Pay Systems in Organizations: Using Behavioral Reasoning Theory to Understand Employee Support for Pay-for-Performance (or Not):

Recently, the use of pay-for-performance systems has rapidly expanded into new industries. However, many employees resist these changes, mitigating effectiveness. Unfortunately, little scientific r...
Posttranslational Modifications Mediate the Structural Diversity of Tauopathy Strains.

Summary Tau aggregation into insoluble filaments is the defining pathological hallmark of tauopathies. However, it is not known what controls the formation and templated seeding of strain-specific structures associated with individual tauopathies. Here, we use cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structures of tau filaments from corticobasal degeneration (CBD) human brain tissue. Cryo-EM and mass spectrometry of tau filaments from CBD reveal that this conformer is heavily decorated with posttranslational modifications (PTMs), enabling us to map PTMs directly onto the structures. By comparing the structures and PTMs of tau filaments from CBD and Alzheimer's disease, it is found that ubiquitination of tau can mediate inter-protofilament interfaces. We propose a structure-based model in which cross-talk between PTMs influences tau filament structure, contributing to the structural diversity of tauopathy strains. Our approach establishes a framework for further elucidating the relationship between the structures of polymorphic fibrils, including their PTMs, and neurodegenerative disease.
Comparison of operating room inefficiencies and time variability in laparoscopic gastric bypass.

Abstract Background Improving operating room (OR) inefficiencies has financial and operational ramifications. However, their incidence has not been systematically studied, especially in bariatric surgery. Objectives The study aimed to identify the operational inefficiencies of the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) procedure, specify the steps of the procedure, and investigate whether the inefficiencies are related to case-by-case variability, using a surgical application. Setting University Hospital, United States Methods From July 2018 to January 2019, we observed consecutive nonrevisional LRYGB cases. We used a surgical application to capture in real-time all the inefficiencies/incidents that occurred inside the operating room. The duration and time variability, along with the number of incidents of each step, were recorded. Additionally, a multivariable analysis was conducted to investigate whether patient factors (age, race, body mass index, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification), surgeon and surgical-technician experience, resident-assist, and case difficulty affect the number of incidents. Results Forty LRYGB procedures were observed. The duration of the procedural steps was linearly correlated with the number of incidents but case-to-case step duration variability was not. The steps that were linked with more inefficiencies included jejunojejunostomy creation that included more unrelated to the case conversations, and gastric pouch creation that had more anesthesia-related delays. Inefficiencies such as equipment malfunctions and missing supplies were equally distributed among all the steps. Multivariable analysis did not indicate that any of the tested factors were associated with the number of incidents. Conclusion The use of the surgical app allowed us to accurately record the duration, variability, and the undesired incidents of each LRYGB procedural step. Future studies should target interventions to minimize the inefficient procedural steps we have identified to optimize operating room efficiency.
Characteristic behaviors associated with gait of individuals with Rett syndrome.

Individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) exhibit impaired motor performance and gait performance, leading to decreased quality of life. Currently, there is no robust observational instrument to identif...
Recent Developments in Semiclassical Floquet Theories for Intense-Field Multiphoton Processes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the recent developments in semiclassical Floquet theories and their applications to multiphoton excitation, ionization, and dissociation processes in intense laser fields. The theory of multiphoton processes can be formulated in a fully quantum-mechanical or semiclassical formalism. In the former approach, both the system and the field are treated quantum mechanically, while in the semiclassical approach, the system is described by a time-dependent Schrӧdinger equation in which the effect of the radiation field is represented by an effective Hamiltonian consistent with Maxwell's equations. The Floquet matrix methods involving the time-independent Hermitian Floquet Hamiltonian provide nonperturbative ab initio techniques for the treatment of bound–bound multiphoton transitions Floquet matrix formalism is a non-perturbative approach applicable to multiphoton processes involving arbitrary high field strengths. It provides a simple physical picture for the intensity-and time-dependent multiphoton phenomena in terms of avoided crossings of a few number of real or complex quasi-energy levels. It also offers simplicity in numerical computations—mainly an eigenvalue problem. In the case of complex quasi-energy formalism, it takes into account self-consistently all the intermediate level shifts and broadenings and multiply coupled continua. Only square-integrable functions are required, and no asymptotic boundary conditions need to be enforced in multiphoton ionization/ multiphoton dissociation multiphoton ionization (MPI)/multiphoton dissociation (MPD) calculations.
Effects of perceptual phonetic training on the perception and production of second language syllable structure

Abstract This study investigated the effect of perceptual training on second language (L2) learners' perception and production of syllable structure, thereby shedding light on the relationship between L2 speech perception and production and on the nature of stored representations. Korean L2 learners of English completed perceptual training on palatal codas in a pretest–post-test design. We compared the effects of training on improvements in perception and production for trained and new words and talkers. A control group who completed an unrelated perceptual training was included for comparison. Results indicated that learners who received perceptual training on palatal codas outperformed those who did not in perception and production tasks and generalized learning to new words and new talkers. Yet perception improvements were not directly linked to production improvements. The finding that perceptual training improved production and allowed for generalizability to new words and talkers in both perception and production provides evidence that L2 perception and production systems are linked. However, the lack of a one-to-one relationship between perception and production improvements suggests that the representations underlying L2 speech perception and production may be distinct.
Preferential beta-hexosaminidase (Hex) A (alpha beta) formation in the absence of beta-Hex B (beta beta) due to heterozygous point mutations present in beta-Hex beta-chain alleles of a motor neuron disease patient.

Deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme beta-hexosaminidase B (beta-Hex B) (a homodimer, beta beta), caused by a defect in the HEX B gene encoding the beta-chain, is usually accompanied by an absence of beta-Hex A (a heterodimer, alpha beta), thereby causing Sandhoff disease. However, we have earlier demonstrated the presence of partial beta-Hex A (30-50% of normal) even in the absence of beta-Hex B in an adult with motor neuron disease. The patient is a compound heterozygote with normal beta-chain message and one HEX B point mutation originating from each asymptomatic parent. Since the non-expression of beta-Hex B was post-transcriptional, we transfected COS-7 cells to understand the effect of each mutation on beta-Hex B activity. Transfection of the A1367–>C mutant (maternal allele) construct produced no overexpressed beta-Hex B, indicating that the encoded Tyr456–>Ser beta-chain was non-functional. Chou-Fasman analysis predicted that the Tyr456–>Ser mutation would cause a dramatic change in beta-chain folding (which often inhibits formation of functional dimers). This explains the complete lack of beta-Hex B in the transfectants and a partial deficiency of beta-Hex A and B (50% of normal) in the patient's mother. Since immunoprecipitated beta-Hex A (alpha beta) protein from patient fibroblasts showed the presence of mature beta-chains even though there was no beta-Hex B (beta beta) protein, the mutant beta-chain inherited from the father (who has normal beta-Hex A and B) must undergo preferential association with the normal alpha-chains in the patient, thus producing only beta-Hex A. Transient expression of the A619–>G mutant (paternal allele) construct produced beta-Hex B activity comparable to the wild type (approximately 10-20-fold over mock-transfected) whereas stable expression produced normal message but no beta-Hex B activity (wild type beta-Hex B expression: only 2-fold over mock-transfected). The lack of increased beta-Hex B after stable expression of the Ile207–>Val beta-chains at a lower copy number indicates the absence of self-association at low concentrations of Ile207–>Val beta-chain. In the patient who also has a non-functional Tyr456–>Ser allele, the effective concentration of beta-chains is reduced to 50% of normal and the remaining Ile207–>Val beta-chains fail to self-associate but can still dimerize with the abundant normal alpha-chains thus producing partial beta-Hex A and no beta-Hex B.
Evaluation of the HB-Quick: a portable hemoglobinometer.

Objective. The Hb-Quick® is a new portable hemoglobinometer that uses disposable cuvettes to measure the total hemoglobin concentration of capillary, venous, or arterial blood. Therefore, the objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate the performance of this compact, battery-powered hemoglobinometer by assessing its precision, accuracy, and linearity, 2) to determine whether its measurements suffer from interference by hemolysis, bilirubin, fetal hemoglobin, or hemodilution, and 3) to establish whether it can easily be used by clinical personnel with little or no laboratory training. Methods. The precision of the test instrument was assessed by making repeated measurements on blood samples. Its accuracy and linearity were evaluated by comparing its measurements with the internationally accepted cyanmethemoglobin method. Samples of whole blood with and without bilirubin, fetal hemoglobin, hemolysis, and hemodilution were also analyzed to determine if any interference occurred when these disturbances were present, and it was placed in physicians’ offices to evaluate its use by non-laboratory personnel. Results. Repeated measurements on blood samples with a wide range of hemoglobin concentrations were consistent with the precision specification (0.25 g/dl). The bias of the new hemoglobinometer was calculated as the mean difference between its readings and measurements with the cyanmethemoglobin method, and its accuracy as the standard deviation of the differences between the two methods. As assessed in this manner, the new hemoglobinometer had a bias of −0.04 g/dl and an accuracy of 0.40 g/dl. The linearity was checked over a hemoglobin concentration range from 0 to nearly 30 g/dl. There was a highly significant linear relationship between its readings and measurements with the cyanmethemoglobin method (slope = 0.997, y-intercept = 0.005, r = 0.999). Complete hemolysis of the sample increased the readings on average by only 0.22 g/dl. Bilirubin (17.5 mg/dl) increased the reading by an average of 0.29 g/dl, and fetal hemoglobin (76.5% HbF) reduced the readings by an average of only 0.035 g/dl. Diluting blood samples with saline also did not appreciably affect its accuracy. Conclusions. The new hemoglobinometer is fast and easy to operate. No sample preparation or pipetting is required. To operate the instrument, the user simply allows a drop of blood to fill the disposable cuvette by capillary action and inserts the cuvette into the instrument. The instrument analyzes the 10 µl sample and displays the results in less than 10 seconds. The interference caused by hemolysis, hemodilution with saline, fetal hemoglobin, and bilirubin were too small to be of any clinical importance. Tests in physician’s offices indicated that clinical personnel with little or no formal laboratory training could successfully use this device. The observed precision, accuracy, linearity, and freedom from interference indicate that this hemoglobinometer is suitable for near-patient testing in a wide range of clinical settings including physicians’ offices.
INFANT BOTULISM: IDENTIFICATION OF CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM AND ITS TOXINS IN FÆCES

Abstract Clostridium botulinum and its toxin were identified in the faeces of four infants, aged 6 to 13 weeks, who had symptoms consistent with botulism. Two cases had type-A toxin and two cases had type-B toxin present in their faeces. No toxin was detectable in sera. C. botulinum and toxin could be recovered from faeces more than 8 weeks after admission to hospital. All four cases occurred within a 6-month period. The source of the toxin in these infants may have been in-vivo production from ingested organisms.
WE ARE ALL VINCENT NAVROZE BALBIR

The shooting at Oak Creek, WI, where six people were killed and four wounded in a Sikh temple, is the result of certain exclusionary policies and rhetoric in American society. The language of exclusion and creating an internal ‘Other’ has been applied to various minority groups in the USA. With an increase in Islamophobia after 9/11, and broad categorization of brown bodies as suspect, there is an intense antipathy to those of West and South Asian ancestry. The tragedy of Oak Creek is the culmination of multiple, intersecting dehumanizing trajectories in American history, and is an American tragedy on multiple levels.
Self-targeting blocks malaria parasite invasion.

![Figure][1] Insight from Kirk Deitsch The development of drug resistance is a major problem in combating malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum , the most deadly human malaria parasite. Resistance to artemisinin, the key component of current treatment regimens, is now being reported in
Q-dots as probes for dynamic observation of intracellular pathways

The interactions of semiconductor nanoparticles, known as Q-dots, with normal and cancerous cell lines were studied in order to develop a model system for the interactions of nanoparticles with cells. The main advantage of Q-dots over traditional chemical dyes is a bright fluorescence with prolonged photo stability. The most efficient method for non-invasive introduction of Q-dots into cells was determined to be culturing cells on plates already coated with collagen and Q-dots. Among the parameters investigated were the difference between cell lines, types of Q-dots used, and Q-dot functionalization. Live/dead assay was also carried to assess the viability of cells after being in contact with Q-dots for different time periods.
Chemical forms of selenium in rat tissues after administration of selenite or selenomethionine.

The chemical forms of selenium (Se) were determined in erythrocyte and liver proteins after injection of /sup 75/Se as either sodium selenite or selenomethionine (Se-Met) in male weanling rats. Gel-filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-150) of erythrocyte lysate revealed labeling of four fractions corresponding to void volume proteins, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), hemoglobin (Hb) and low-molecular-weight materials. Acid hydrolysates of erythrocyte protein fractions and whole liver were analyzed by ion-exchange chromatography (Dionex DC6A). Void volume proteins contained principally selenocysteine (/sup 75/Se-Cys) in (/sup 75/Se)selenite-injected animals. This material contained both /sup 75/Se-Met and /sup 75/Se-Cys 1 d postinjection in /sup 75/Se-Met-injected animals, but primarily /sup 75/Se-Cys at 20 d afterwards. GPx contained /sup 75/Se as /sup 75/Se-Cys regardless of the selenium compound injected. Hb of /sup 75/Se-Met-injected animals contained principally /sup 75/Se-Met at both 1 and 20 d postinjection. In (/sup 75/Se)selenite-injected animals, /sup 75/Se was present in hemoglobin as two unidentified forms. In acid hydrolysates of whole liver /sup 75/Se was recovered principally as /sup 75/Se-Cys from animals injected with (/sup 75/Se)selenite. For animals injected with /sup 75/Se-Met, liver /sup 75/Se was present initially as /sup 75/Se-Met, but after 5 d the majority of liver /sup 75/Se was as Se-Cys. No differences weremore » found in deposition of /sup 75/Se in liver, kidney, testes, erythrocytes or plasma in rats injected with labeled selenite or Se-Met, but a significantly greater retention was found in muscle of Se-Met-injected rats as compared to those given selenite.« less
Cost-Effectiveness Issues in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Ventilator-associated pneumonia has attracted considerable interest as a subject of clinical efficacy assessment research. This article summarizes recommendations made by the United States Public Health Service Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine and by a panel convened by the American Thoracic Society to address economic analyses in critical care. The following recommendations are made for the performance of cost-efficacy studies in ventilator-associated pneumonia. For mortality-based studies, only data from prospective and blinded randomized trials are suitable for analysis. For cost-minimization studies, observational studies may be useful but should use rigorous matching schemes. Estimates for the quality of life of patients surviving an episode of ventilator-associated pneumonia should be based on the disease that required mechanical ventilation or compared to data available for survivors of the respiratory distress syndrome, whichever diagnosis provides a lessened quality of life. Within an individual intensive care unit the greatest cost savings come from constructing a cohesive and unified approach to many issues seen in the unit.