cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical and histologic features of adults with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in a non-cirrhotic cohort.

Background & Aims Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an uncommonly recognized cause of liver disease in adults, with descriptions of its natural history limited to case series and patient-reported data from disease registries. Liver pathology is limited to selected patients or unavailable. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of liver fibrosis in an adult AATD population who were not known to have cirrhosis, while defining risk factors for fibrosis and testing non-invasive markers of disease. Methods A total of 94 adults with classic genotype ‘PI*ZZ’ AATD were recruited from North America and prospectively enrolled in the study. Liver aminotransferases and markers of synthetic function, transient elastography, and liver biopsy were performed. Results The prevalence of clinically significant liver fibrosis (F ≥ 2) was 35.1%. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase values were higher in the F ≥ 2 group. Metabolic syndrome was associated with the presence of clinically significant fibrosis (OR 14.2; 95% CI 3.7–55; p Conclusions Over one-third of asymptomatic and lung affected adults with ‘PI*ZZ’ AATD have significant underlying liver fibrosis. Liver biopsies demonstrated variable amounts of accumulated Z AAT. The risk of liver fibrosis increases in the presence of metabolic syndrome, accumulation of AAT in hepatocytes, and portal inflammation on baseline biopsy. The results support the hypothesis that liver disease in this genetic condition may be related to a “toxic gain of function” from accumulation of AAT in hepatocytes. Lay summary Individuals diagnosed with classic alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (ZZ) are at risk of liver injury and scarring, because of the accumulation of abnormal alpha-1 antitrypsin in the liver. A liver biopsy in ZZ individuals can demonstrate the accumulation of alpha-1 antitrypsin within the liver and identify if any associated liver scarring is present. Indviduals with large amounts of alpha-1 antitrypsin on biopsy may be at risk of liver injury and fibrosis. Additional common medical conditions of diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and hypertension (known as metabolic syndrome) are associated with a greater degree of liver injury. Clinical Trial number clinicaltrials.gov NCT01810458.
Forestry best management practices and modeled erosion on planned and logger-selected bladed skid trails in the Ridge and Valley region, Virginia, USA

ABSTRACTForestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are techniques and approaches recommended by state forestry agencies to protect water quality from forestry operations. Poorly designed roads and skid trails with inadequate BMPs can potentially generate disproportionately large quantities of sediment, which is the primary pollutant from forest operations. Bladed skid trails, which are constructed on steep terrain to allow skidder access, have greater potential to produce sediment than overland skid trails. BMP recommendations advise pre-harvest planning and layout of bladed skid trails in order to minimize erosion, yet equipment operators commonly construct bladed skid trails with minimal planning. We examined pre-harvest planned and logger-selected skid trails to characterize differences in BMP implementation and potential erosion between the two skid trail layout/construction strategies. A total of 25 and 27 sample locations on logger-selected and pre-harvest planned bladed skid trails were installed on...
2D Nanoclay for Biomedical Applications: Regenerative Medicine, Therapeutic Delivery, and Additive Manufacturing

Clay nanomaterials are an emerging class of 2D biomaterials of interest due to their atomically thin layered structure, charged characteristics, and well-defined composition. Synthetic nanoclays are plate-like polyions composed of simple or complex salts of silicic acids with a heterogeneous charge distribution and patchy interactions. Due to their biocompatible characteristics, unique shape, high surface-to-volume ratio, and charge, nanoclays are investigated for various biomedical applications. Here, a critical overview of the physical, chemical, and physiological interactions of nanoclay with biological moieties, including cells, proteins, and polymers, is provided. The state-of-the-art biomedical applications of 2D nanoclay in regenerative medicine, therapeutic delivery, and additive manufacturing are reviewed. In addition, recent developments that are shaping this emerging field are discussed and promising new research directions for 2D nanoclay-based biomaterials are identified.
Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Tips for Successful Implementation.

Students with severe and persistent academic or behavioral challenges may benefit from data-based individualization (DBI). Starting with an evidence-based standard protocol and systematic progress ...
Abstract 151: Comprehensive characterization of gastric cancer at single-cell resolution

The gastric carcinoma cells have complex interactions with diverse cell types in the associated tumor microenvironment. The tumor microenvironment plays important roles on gastric cancer development, progression and therapy response. In this study, we leveraged high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to characterize the diverse cell population in gastric tumors. In total, we analyzed more than 30,000 single cells from eight gastric tumors and matched normal tissues. Cells were sequenced at an average depth of 70000 reads/cell to guarantee sufficient coverage for downstream analysis. Using graph-based cell clustering methods and known cell markers, we identified heterogenous epithelial cells (PGC+, MUC5AC+, TFF1+, EPCAM+, CDH1+), fibroblasts (ACTA2+, THY1+, COLA1+), endothelial cells (VWF+, PECAM1+), and a variety of immune cells including M1 and M2 macrophages (IL1A+, IL1B+, TNF+, MARCO+, MSR1+, CD68+), CD4 T cells (CD3D+, CD4+), CD8 T cells (CD8A+), Gamma Delta T cells (TRGC2+, TRDC+), B cells (CD79+), and plasma cells (CD19+, CD20+, IgG+). Specifically, gastric epithelial cancer cells demonstrated distinct CNVs inferred from single cell transcriptome files. We established and characterized patient derived gastric cancer organoids from single tumor cells. The organoids recapitulate CNVs found in the original gastric tumors and displayed varied degree of drug responses. We identified specific molecular features of the tumor microenvironment that modulate cell growth and immune responses. For example, we identified heterogenous myofibroblast populations with distinct chemokine secretory profiles compared to normal gastric tissue. We characterized gene signatures associated with immune checkpoints on T cells and targetable molecules in innate cells. Using cell type specific expression profiles, we were able to establish a comprehensive signaling network of tumor-tumor, tumor-stromal, stromal-stromal and stromal-tumor signaling via receptor-ligand pairing. Citation Format: Jiamin Chen, Anuja Sathe, Sue Grimes, Stephanie Greer, Billy Lau, Ann Renschler, George Poultsides, Carlos Suarez, Hanlee Ji. Comprehensive characterization of gastric cancer at single-cell resolution [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 151.
Mechanical Design and Reliability of Gold-Tin Eutectic Bonding for Silicon-based Thermal Management Devices

Thermal management of microprocessors and power electronics face major challenges including but not limited to a need for reliable and mechanically robust micro-cooler and micro-heat spreader devices. While the thermofluidic performances of the embedded microchannel with 3D manifold cooling and heat spreaders have received much attention (and carefully studied) for the past two decades, the challenges associated with the mechanical design and reliability have not been the focus of the research in thermal management community. Gold-tin eutectic bonding is proposed to attach silicon-based evaporator and condenser substrates in vapor chambers, as well as silicon microchannels substrate to silicon 3D manifold in high performance micro-coolers. The bonding interface in a silicon embedded microchannel to a silicon 3D manifold requires careful design to withstand pressures ~ 500 KPa, for target heat flux of ~ 1 kW/cm2 using single-phase water as working Evaporator and condenser bonding interface in a silicon-based vapor chamber must withstand water burst pressure of ~ 0.8 MPa when it is subjected to elevated temperature of 175 °C. In this study, a set of silicon microchannels in two substrates are fabricated using conventional microfabrication process, which then bonded using gold and tin multilayer composite structure (150 nm Au/75 nm Sn/150 nm Au) at 350 °C. Subsequently, the tensile stress is "directly" measured using carefully designed "test" samples, by means of applying direct tensile force to the sample. We measured tensile stress for 11 samples with contact areas ranging from 50 µm x 100 µm to 150 µm x 150 µm, the resulting stresses ranges from 2.0 to 5.5 MPa, with an average value of 3.2 MPa. Findings of this study will be largely beneficial in design and fabrication of silicon-based vapor chambers and high performance microchannel with 3D manifold coolers.
Compact development and adherence to stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal investigation in the United States

In the absence of a vaccine and medical treatments, social distancing remains the only option available to governments in order to slow the spread of global pandemics such as COVID-19 and save millions of lives. Despite the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of social distancing measures, they are not being practiced uniformly across the U.S. Accordingly, the role of compact development on the level of adherence to social distancing measures has not been empirically studied. This longitudinal study employs a natural experimental research design to investigative the impacts of compact development on reduction in travel to three types of destinations representing a range of essential and non-essential trips in 771 metropolitan counties in the U.S during the shelter-in-place order amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We employed Multilevel Linear Modeling (MLM) for the three longitudinal analyses in this study to model determinants of reduction in daily trips to grocery stores, parks, and transit stations; using travel data from Google and accounting for the hierarchical (two-level) structure of the data. We found that the challenges of practicing social distancing in compact areas are not related to minimizing essential trips. Quite the opposite, residents of compact areas have significantly higher reduction in trips to essential destinations such as grocery stores/pharmacies, and transit stations. However, residents of compact counties have significantly lower reduction in their trips to parks possibly due to the smaller homes, lack of private yards, and the higher level of anxiety amid the pandemic. This study offers a number of practical implications and directions for future research.
Initial treatment of patients with thyroid cancer: Outcomes and factors associated with care at academic versus nonacademic cancer centers.

Background Factors associated with receiving initial care for thyroid cancer (TC) at academic centers (ACs) versus nonacademic centers (NACs) and their impact on patient outcomes have not been reported. Methods The National Cancer Database with TC cases from 2004 to 2013 was evaluated for association of type of center for initial care with socioeconomic factors and disease and treatment characteristics, as well as overall survival (OS; all-cause mortality). Results The patients with TC (n = 200,824) included were predominantly women (74%), non-Hispanic Whites (85%), and from metro areas (84%). Sixty percent received initial care at a NAC. There were no significant differences between treatment groups by age or gender. Among those treated at an AC, a higher proportion belonged to racial/ethnic minorities (16.5%) versus at a NAC (11.6%). Hormone therapy was used more in an AC versus a NAC (60% vs 47%). Patients with all TC pathologies combined had a lower likelihood of death when they received initial care at an AC (hazard ratio [HR], 0.948; P = .0006). Among individual pathologic subtypes, a lower likelihood of death was noted when initial care was received at an AC for follicular (HR, 0.828, P = .0010) and Hurthle cell cancers (HR, 792; P = .0008), as well as stage II papillary thyroid cancer (HR, 0.828; P = .0026), but not for other histopathologic subtypes. Conclusions Initial care at an AC was associated with lower likelihood of death for patients with TC, especially for those with follicular or Hurthle cell subtypes. Optimal resource use with consideration of patients' socioeconomic and demographic factors is imperative to ensure the most appropriate management of patients with TC in various treatment settings.
The effect of retinal scaffold modulus on performance during surgical handling.

Abstract Emerging treatment strategies for retinal degeneration involve replacing lost photoreceptors using supportive scaffolds to ensure cells survive the implantation process. While many design aspects of these scaffolds, including material chemistry and microstructural cues, have been studied in depth, a full set of design constraints has yet to be established. For example, while known to be important in other tissues and systems, the influence of mechanical properties on surgical handling has not been quantified. In this study, photocrosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) was used as a model polymer to study the effects of scaffold modulus (stiffness) on surgical handling, independent of material chemistry. This was achieved by modulating the molecular weight and concentrations of the PEGDMA in various prepolymer solutions. Scaffold modulus of each formulation was measured using photo-rheology, which enabled the collection of real-time polymerization data. In addition to measuring scaffold mechanical properties, this approach gave insight on polymerization kinetics, which were used to determine the polymerization time required for each sample. Scaffold handling characteristics were qualitatively evaluated using both in vitro and ex vivo trials that mimicked the surgical procedure. In these trials, scaffolds with shear moduli above 35 kPa performed satisfactorily, while those below this limit performed poorly. In other words, scaffolds below this modulus were too fragile for reliable transplantation. To better compare these results with literature values, the compressive modulus was measured for select samples, with the lower shear modulus limit corresponding to roughly 115 kPa compressive modulus. While an upper mechanical property limit was not readily apparent from these results, there was increased variability in surgical handling performance in samples with shear moduli above 800 kPa. Overall, the knowledge presented here provides important groundwork for future studies designed to examine additional retinal scaffold considerations, including the effect of scaffold mechanical properties on retinal progenitor cell fate.
Unique Predictors of Intended Uptake of a COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Living in a Rural College Town in the United States.

Purpose:To explore public confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine.Design:Cross-sectional survey.Setting:A rural college town in central Pennsylvania.Subjects:Adult residents without minor children.Measure...
The Elliott and Connolly Benchmark: A Test for Evaluating the In-Hand Dexterity of Robot Hands

Achieving dexterous in-hand manipulation with robot hands is an extremely challenging problem, in part due to current limitations in hardware design. One notable bottleneck hampering the development of improved hardware for dexterous manipulation is the lack of a standardized benchmark for evaluating in-hand dexterity. In order to address this issue, we establish a new benchmark for evaluating in-hand dexterity, specifically for humanoid type robot hands: the Elliott and Connolly Benchmark. This benchmark is based on a classification of human manipulations established by Elliott and Connolly, and consists of 13 distinct in-hand manipulation patterns. We define qualitative and quantitative metrics for evaluation of the benchmark, and provide a detailed testing protocol. Additionally, we introduce a dexterous robot hand - the CMU Foam Hand III - which is evaluated using the benchmark, successfully completing 10 of the 13 manipulation patterns and outperforming human hand baseline results for several of the patterns.
Effectiveness of Postpartum Education in the Reducing Symptoms of Postpartum Depression

Paper Presentation Objective To determine if an educational intervention provided during postpartum hospitalization is effective in decreasing the symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) as measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 6‐weeks, 3‐months, and 6‐months postpartum. Design Quasi‐experimental. Setting A 12‐bed maternity unit of an acute care hospital in New England. Sample A sample of 240 women was recruited: the first 120 women served as the control group (usual care) and the next 120 women served as the educational intervention group. Respondents were predominantly White (89%) and multiparous (65%). The average age was 29.7 (range 19–40), and 34% were eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. More than one third (36.7%) had a history of depression prior to pregnancy. Methods During postpartum hospitalization, participants completed written questionnaires including demographic, delivery, and infant feeding information as well as the Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory (PDPI). Education about PPD was provided verbally and in writing at the bedside to respondents in the treatment group by a member of the research team based on the fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services “Depression during and after Pregnancy.” Follow‐up by mail and telephone was completed at 6‐weeks, 3‐months, and 6‐months postpartum with a self‐report questionnaire, including the EPDS, updates regarding the health of mother and infant, and any employment or major life changes. Results The educational intervention did not have a significant effect on EPDS scores at any of the three data collection points. History of depression and anxiety was the most significant predictor of symptoms. Conclusion/Implications for Nursing Practice These results suggest that the postpartum period is important for identifying women at risk for depression, but that education during this time may not be effective. Further study is needed to determine a more appropriate time and method of intervening to ensure adequate care. Limited nursing time during the brief hospitalization may be better spent on implementing a mechanism for ensuring adequate follow‐up after discharge for women at risk.
Beyond Construction: Five arguments for the role and value of critique in learning science

This paper argues that science education has overemphasized the importance of construction at the expense of critique. In doing so, it draws on two key premises—Ford's argument that the construction of knowledge requires a dialectic between construction and critique and Mercier and Sperber's theory of argumentative reasoning that critique is essential for epistemic vigilance. Five separate cases are presented which argue that the absence of critique within school science limits the opportunities for students to engage in scientific reasoning making the learning of science less effective. These five arguments incorporate research literature surrounding the nature of science, epistemology, literacy, pedagogy, and motivation. Furthermore, we draw on data collected from cognitive think-aloud interviews to show that students can, with the appropriate prompts, engage in the important epistemic activity of critique. We conclude by examining the implications for the teaching and learning of science. In essence, w...
Flow cytometric analysis of microorganisms.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses experimental approaches used to study individual microbial cells using flow cytometry and key factors that may impact these studies, including instrument setup, instrument operation, and sample preparation. It discusses the flow cytometric applications to the field of medical and food microbiology. Several approaches discussed include generic detection of microorganisms, specific identification of target organisms, cell viability determinations, and Gram staining. Experimental approaches to identifying microorganisms in liquid samples using flow cytometry include light scatter profiles, DNA content, immunoassays, neural nets, and rRNA probes, with varying degrees of success. Fluorescent dyes have been successfully used as indicators of cell viability in fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Using these dyes, live and dead cells within a heterogeneous sample population can be identified and counted within a few minutes. Traditional methods employed to detect and enumerate bacteria (such as growth on laboratory media) require time (24 to 48 hr) and may underestimate the number of viable bacteria. Therefore, direct methods for the assessment of microbial viability are of increasing importance.
Fortran 90D intrinsic functions on distributed memory machines: implementation and scalability

The authors are developing a Fortran 90D compiler, which converts Fortran 90D code into Fortran 77 plus message passing node programs for distributed memory machines. The authors present the implementation and performance results of Fortran 90D intrinsic functions on the Intel iPSC/860 hypercube. They have implemented several Fortran 90D intrinsic functions so that they can be called from the node programs of a distributed memory machine. The implementations are scalable, portable and architecture independent. >
DiSCO: Distributed Optimization for Self-Concordant Empirical Loss

We propose a new distributed algorithm for empirical risk minimization in machine learning. The algorithm is based on an inexact damped Newton method, where the inexact Newton steps are computed by a distributed preconditioned conjugate gradient method. We analyze its iteration complexity and communication efficiency for minimizing self-concordant empirical loss functions, and discuss the results for distributed ridge regression, logistic regression and binary classification with a smoothed hinge loss. In a standard setting for supervised learning, where the n data points are i.i.d. sampled and when the regularization parameter scales as 1/√n show that the proposed algorithm is communication efficient: the required round of communication does not increase with the sample size n, and only grows slowly with the number of machines.
Incorporating world Englishes into undergraduate ESL education courses

English has become the language of global communication and users around the globe are adapting it to meet their needs. It is essential for teachers to keep pace with the changing expectation of its users to be able to prepare students for the realities they encounter in today's globalized world. The purpose of our study was to incorporate world Englishes perspectives into required undergraduate ESL education courses in a teacher education program that prepares PreK-6 generalist and grades 4–8 content area teachers in the southwestern United States. Qualitative and quantitative research findings revealed that preservice teachers vastly benefited from exposure to world Englishes perspectives. The study has pedagogical implications for teacher education programs.
Expression of ERG protein in prostate cancer: variability and biological correlates

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death of men in the USA. The TMPRSS2/ERG (T/E) fusion gene is present in approximately 50% of prostate cancers and promotes tumor progression in vivo. The presence of the T/E fusion gene is strongly associated with the expression of ERG protein, but emerging evidence indicates a significant interfocal and intrafocal variability in the levels of ERG protein expression. We therefore analyzed ERG protein expression by image analysis to objectively quantitate the extent of such heterogeneity, and confirmed significant interfocal and intrafocal variability of ERG protein expression levels in cancer expressing ERG. To define the pathways associated with ERG and its variable expression in prostate cancer, we have analyzed the correlations of ERG expression, as evaluated by immunohistochemistry, with 46 key proteins associated with signal transduction, transcriptional control, and other processes using a large tissue microarray with more than 500 prostate cancers. We found a significant correlation of ERG expression with the markers of activation of the PI3K, MYC, and NFκB pathways, which had previously been linked directly or indirectly to ERG expression. We have also identified significant correlations with novel proteins that have not been previously linked to ERG expression, including serum response factor, the p160 coactivator SRC1, and Sprouty1. Notably, SKP2 only correlated with a high level of ERG protein expression. Thus ERG expression is variable in prostate cancer and is associated with activation of multiple pathways and proteins including several potentially targetable pathways.
Recertification of the NIST Standard Reference Material® 2372, human DNA quantitation standard

Abstract During the process of recertification of SRM 2372 (human DNA quantitation standard) a significant (14–26%) increase in decadic attenuance (absorbance) was detected. SRM 2372 consists of extracted human genomic DNA solutions assumed to be in the double stranded state. After further investigation by UV spectroscopy revealed that the materials were slowly dissociating to a single-stranded state. This did not affect the use of the materials in qPCR assays, but was in fact out of the limit of the NIST certified absorbance value. A method was developed to fully convert the materials to the single stranded state and absorbance was the re-measured. The recertified absorbance values were found to be within the error of common qPCR assays and allowed the materials to be returned to market.
POP goes the inflammasome

The PYRIN domain–only protein POP3 sets limits for activation of the AIM2 inflammasome after cytosolic double-stranded DNA is sensed.
Bi-plane correlation imaging for improved detection of lung nodules

Bi-plane correlation imaging (BCI) is a new imaging approach that utilizes angular information from a bi-plane digital acquisition in conjunction with computer assisted detection (CAD) to reduce the degrading influence of anatomical noise in the detection of subtle lesions in planar images. An anthropomorphic chest phantom, supplemented with added nodule phantoms (5-13 mm at the image plane), was imaged from different posterior projections within a ±12 o range by moving the x-ray tube vertically and horizontally with respect to the detector. Each image was analyzed using a basic front-end single-view CAD algorithm. The correlation of the suspect lesions from the PA view with those from each of the oblique views was examined using a priori knowledge of the acquisition geometry. The correlated suspect lesions were registered as positive. Using an optimum –3 o vertical geometry and processing parameters, BCI resulted in 62.5% sensitivity, 1.5 FP/image, and 0.885 PPV. The corresponding values from the observer experiment were 56% sensitivity, 10.8 FP/image, and 0.45 PPV, respectively. Compared to single-view CAD results, the BCI reduced sensitivity by 20%. However, the corresponding reduction in FPs was notably higher (94%) leading to 140% improvement in the PPV. Changes in processing parameters could result in higher PPV and lower FP/image at the expense of lower sensitivity. Similar findings were indicated for small (5-9 mm) and large (9-13 mm) nodules, but the relative improvement was significantly higher for smaller nodules. (The research was supported by a grant from the NIH, R21CA91806.)
FLOW STRUCTURE FROM AN OSCILLATING CYLINDER. PART 2: MODE COMPETITION IN THE NEAR WAKE

A circular cylinder subjected to forced oscillations at angle α with respect to the free stream shows a number of admissible modes of vortex formation synchronized with the body motion. These modes can be categorized into two basic groups: symmetrical vortex formation; and antisymmetrical vortex formation. Whereas there is a single symmetrical mode, there are four basic antisymmetrical modes. Three of these antisymmetrical modes show period doubling relative to the classical Karman mode. This doubling arises from the symmetrical perturbation component induced by the cylinder motion at α ± 90°. Synchronization, i.e. phase-locking of the vortex shedding with the cylinder motion, is possible for all of these modes. It occurs even when streamwise (α = 0°) motion induces an antisymmetrical mode.When synchronization does not occur, there is competition between the symmetrical and antisymmetrical modes; the near-wake structure successively locks-on to each mode over a defined number of cycles, abruptly switching between modes. The number of occurrences of each mode is a well-defined function of excitation frequency and angle α.If, in contrast to steady-state motion of the cylinder, there is an initial transient motion, the transition between symmetrical and antisymmetrical modes has a markedly different character, emphasizing the importance of initial conditions. Abrupt onset of sinusoidal motion produces an initially synchronized symmetrical mode, which gradually decays to an antisymmetrical mode. The number of excitation cycles to onset of decay to antisymmetrical mode is highly repeatable. Moreover, the mechanism of decay of the near wake from the symmetrical to antisymmetrical mode can occur deterministically over a defined number of cycles.
Exploring the Tax Revolt: an Analysis of the Effects of State Tax and Expenditure Limitation Laws:

This article explores what has come to be known as the Tax Revolt, which reached Abstract its zenith during the late 1970s with the widespread enactment of fiscal constraints at the state and local level in the United States. The focus here is on expenditure and revenue limitation laws and their effects on the growth of state government. To consider whether these laws have been effective in constraining the growth of government, an empirical analysis is conducted for the states that have enacted such laws. Data is analyzed from these states over a thirty-five year period, and considers the effects on tax growth due to the presence of a limitation measure. The results show quite strongly that revenue and expenditure limitation laws can be effective tools to contain tax burdens. The results also indicate that the form of the constraint is important and that the effect of limitation rules may also be tied to other constraint mechanisms.
Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour

ALL botanists and lovers of flowers will mourn the death of the Edinburgh professor, who served science and horticulture as few men have ever done. The occasion seems opportune to relate an incident comparatively unimportant in itself but in a manner typical. Many years ago a beautiful Primula, called by Greene P. rusbyi, was discovered in the Mogollon Mountains of New Mexico. Later, in the Sandia Mountains of the same State, one of my students found an apparently distinct species, which I named P. ellisiae. These primroses occupied distinct and isolated mountain ranges, but were so similar, at least in the herbarium, that a German writer pronounced them identical. No one, so far as could be learned, had seen more than one of them alive, and it was the living plants we needed to settle the matter. I was able to procure seeds of P. ellisiae for Prof. Bayley Balfour, and in 1921, when my wife and I visited him in Edinburgh, he not only had ellisiae in full flower, but also rusbyi, the seeds of which he had secured from some other collector. It was a dramatic moment when the Professor held the two pots, one in each hand, and pointed out that the plants were quite distinct. Thus, in Edinburgh, we learned a lesson in New Mexico botany, which we had never been able to learn when resident for years in that region. No doubt others could relate parallel experiences.
Addition of Chiral Allenylzinc Reagent to Acetaldehyde: Diastereotopic Cyclic Transition States with a Tetrahedral Zinc Atom Located by ab Initio and Density Functional Theory

Transition-state structures for the reaction between the chiral allenylzinc reagent (M)-2 and acetaldehyde are located at the B3LYP/6-31G* and HF/6-31++G** levels of theory. A tetrahedrally coordinated zinc atom in the transition state is found to give energy differences that are most consistent with the observed results. The tetrahedral zinc atom with the coordination of a solvent molecule also allows the staggering of the bonding sp2 carbons, which avoids the eclipsing of the aldehyde and the allenyl substituents. A fluoride ligand is used to mimic the methanesulfonate anion present in the reaction, and a methyl ether molecule is used to explicitly mimic the solvent molecule THF. The allenyl carbons in the transition states are slightly bent, despite the fact that both the starting allenylzinc reagent and the propargylic product are linear. The transition state for allenylzinc addition to acetaldehyde is “late” in comparison to cyclic transition states of similar type.
Psychoses in adult mental defectives

1. Psychoses occurring in adult mental defectives have been discussed and the following classification recommended for that vague group usually designated as psychosis with mental deficiency: (a) “Mental Deficiency with Psychotic Episode (s)—Rage (or Other Acute Transitory) Reaction;” (b) “Mental Deficiency with Psychosis”—(Prolonged states of hyperactivity, aggressiveness, or hallucinosis with, as a rule, gradual deterioration. The latter may occur independently of the former.) 2. Any psychosis which occurs in persons of normal intelligence can occur in the defective, and when it does so occur, it should be put in its usual classification. 3. From the present study, it would appear that “functional” psychoses do not usually occur in individuals with an I. Q. of less than 50. 4. The importance of having the intelligence of psychotic patients evaluated by a well-trained experienced psychometrist is shown.
T311—An Anti-Tyrosinase Monoclonal Antibody for the Detection of Melanocytic Lesions in Paraffin Embedded Tissues

Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis and represents a marker of melanocytic differentiation. We previously generated T311, a murine monoclonal antibody to the tyrosinase recombinant protein. This study was performed to evaluate T311 as a diagnostic immunohistochemical reagent for use on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded pathological material. We analyzed the specificity of the antibody on a panel of normal and neoplastic tissues, and we assessed its sensitivity in a large number of metastatic and primary malignant melanomas, nevi, three angiomyolipomas, and two vitiligo specimens. T311 revealed intense reactivity on paraffin-embedded material. Immunoreactivity was limited to cells of melanocytic differentiation and no immunostaining was present in unrelated normal tissues and tumors. Eighty-four percent of metastatic malignant melanomas were immunoreactive with T311 and showed predominantly a homogeneous expression pattern. However, in primary melanomas of the desmoplastic/spindle cell type, T311 revealed a poor immunoreactivity. Nevi showed intense staining at the junctional zone, while the dermal component revealed decreasing reactivity towards deeper areas. Only one angiomyolipoma was focally immunoreactive with T311. Vitiligo specimens were immunonegative. We conclude that T311 is a specific and sensitive marker for the detection of melanocytic lesions in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues and a useful serological reagent for diagnostic pathology.
INK4a knockout mice exhibit increased fibrosis under normal conditions and in response to unilateral ureteral obstruction.

The INK4a proteins p16INK4a and p19ARF regulate cell cycle arrest and senescence. However, the role of these proteins in controlling these processes in the normal kidney and following injury is unknown. We performed unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) to induce fibrosis in 2- to 3-mo-old wild-type (WT) C57/B6 and INK4a knockout mice. By quantitative RT-PCR, p16INK4a levels were increased sixfold in WT mice 7 days after UUO and p19ARF remained undetectable. Kidney sections were examined to determine levels and localization of p16INK4a, apoptosis, fibrosis, and senescent cells. INK4a knockout mice displayed mesangial cell proliferation, increased matrix deposition, and myofibroblast differentiation under normal conditions. Following UUO, INK4a knockout mice displayed 10-fold increased tubular and interstitial cell proliferation, 75% decreased collecting duct apoptosis, 2-fold greater collagen and fibronectin deposition, and no cell senescence by senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining compared with WT mice. Both INK4a knockout mesangial cells and kidney lysates from knockout mice following injury showed elevated levels of IL-6 by ELISA compared with WT samples. INK4a knockout epithelial cell cultures displayed increased mesenchymal cell markers when exposed to transforming growth factor-β. These results confirm that p16INK4a controls cell proliferation and matrix production and mitigates fibrosis following injury and suggest that the mechanism involves a role in limiting inflammation and cell proliferation.
Microbial translocation, immune activation, and HIV disease

The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has significantly improved the prognosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. However, individuals treated long-term with cART still manifest increased mortality compared to HIV-uninfected individuals. This increased mortality is closely associated with inflammation, which persists in cART-treated HIV-infected individuals despite levels of plasma viremia below detection limits. Chronic, pathological immune activation is a key factor in progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in untreated HIV-infected individuals. One contributor to immune activation is microbial translocation, which occurs when microbial products traverse the tight epithelial barrier of the gastrointestinal tract. Here we review the mechanisms underlying microbial translocation and its role in contributing to immune activation and disease progression in HIV infection.
Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma. An immunophenotypic reappraisal based on a single-institution experience

In our experience, certain commonly cited immunophenotypic features of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) are not encountered in day-to-day practice. We reviewed 60 cases of NLPHL (18 women, 42 men; median age, 34 years) to discern immunophenotypic features from a large, single-institution cohort. All cases contained lymphocytic and histiocytic (LH 100% of cases (55/55) demonstrated CD3+ rosettes. Although CD57+ T cells were common within the background infiltrate, CD57+ rosettes were seen in only 48% of cases (15/31) and were rare when encountered. Based on these patterns, we conclude that bcl-2 and bcl-6 may be useful additions to the immunophenotypic analysis of NLPHL, but that the diagnostic usefulness of epithelial membrane antigen and CD57 rosettes may have been overemphasized in previous reports.
Computational Models for High-Temperature Multilayered Composite Plates and Shells

The focus of this review is on the hierarchy of composite models, predictor-corrector procedures, the effect of temperature-dependence of material properties on the response, and the sensitivity of the thermomechanical response to variations in material parameters. The literature reviewed is devoted to the following eight application areas: heat transfer; thermal stresses; curing, processing and residual stresses; bifurcation buckling; vibrations of heated plates and shells; large deflection and postbuckling problems; and sandwich plates and shells. Extensive numerical results are presented showing the effects of variation in the lamination and geometric parameters of temperature-sensitive angle-ply composite plates on the accuracy of thermal buckling response, and the sensitivity derivatives predicted by nine different modeling approaches (based on two-dimensional theories). The standard of comparison is taken to be the exact three-dimensional thermoelasticity solutions. Some future directions for research on the modeling of high-temperature multilayered composites are outlined. 448 ref., 16 figs., 11 tabs.
Splitting hESC/hiPSC lines on MEF using Accutase

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), are known to be vulnerable to apoptosis upon various technical manipulation, such as single cell dissociation, freezing and thawing, etc., which hinder their use for clonal isolation in gene transfer, differentiation and FACS cell sorting.
Risk factors for infective endocarditis in patients with enterococcal bacteremia: a case-control study.

Background: Based on previous studies, enterococcal infective endocarditis (IE) is considered a unimicrobial, community-acquired disease of older Caucasian men. Patients and Methods: We evaluated the relationship between enterococcal bacteremia and IE by comparing clinical and demographic characteristics of all cases of enterococcal IE within an 8-year period (n = 41) with controls randomly chosen from patients with enterococcal bacteremia without IE. Results: By univariate and multivariable analyses, the presence of a prosthetic valve (PV) and infection with Enterococcus faecalis were significantly associated with IE, while age, gender, race, polymicrobial infection and community-acquired infection were not. Almost an equal number of women and men had enterococcal IE. Cases of enterococcal IE were commonly nosocomial (39%) and polymicrobial (17%). Conclusions: Enterococcal endocarditis can no longer be considered exclusively a unimicrobial, community-acquired disease of Caucasian men. Instead, our data suggest that the presence of a PV and infection by E. faecalis are associated with an increased risk for IE.
Stochastic three-stage hiring model as a tandem queueing process with bulk arrivals and Erlang phase-type selection, M X /M (k,K) /1 − M Y /E r/1 − ∞

We consider three possible stages for the handling of job applications in a hiring process as a network queuing model. Applications arrive at the first stage in batches of variable sizes according to Poisson process and are compiled in an ‘A-Box’. The batches of variable sizes (within a given minimum and maximum) are processed by a single-processor according to exponential distribution. The accepted portion of each processed batch moves to the second stage, the interview phase, and are piled in an ‘I-Box’. The interviews are conducted according to Erlang phase type; each phase according to exponential distribution. The successful applications are, then, directed to the third stage, final hiring phase, and are piled in an ‘H-Box’. Using decomposition of the system, we find generation functions and the mean of the number of applications in each of the first two stages. Explicit distributions of the number of applications are found for special cases and numerical examples are also provided.
Characterization of diagonal symmetry: location unknown, and a test based on allied U-processes

For a (possibly multivariate) distribution F, a characterization of (diagonal) symmetry is made with respect to a kernel of degree 2; this is incorporated in the formulation of appropriate U-processes that provide the access to a suitable test statistic for testing the hypothesis of diagonal symmetry when the location is treated as unknown. Asymptotic properties of the test are studied.
Relationship of Parental Indica-Japonica Indexes with Yield and Grain Quality Traits of Japonica Hybrid Rice in Northern China

Abstract Taking the main parents (10 male sterile lines and 10 restorer lines) and their 100 combinations of japonica hybrid rice in northern China as materials, the relationships of parental indica-japonica indexes determined by the methods of the Cheng's index as well as simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with yield and grain quality traits of hybrid rice were studied. For the parents, the Cheng's index (Chi) ranged from 13.5 to 19.3 and the indica index in SSR markers (ADi) were from 0.12 to 0.38. The classification of parents by Chi was not completely consistent with that by ADi. The Chi of male parent was more closely related to hybrid traits than that of female parent, as contrasted to ADi. At the same time, the difference between parents (PD) in Chi was more closely related to hybrid traits than that in ADi. The indica-japonica indexes of parents and their difference between parents appeared quadratic relationship to hybrid traits with the critical extremum. The directions of the correlation of indica-japonica indexes of parents and their differences with hybrid yield traits were on the opposition to those with hybrid grain quality traits. Therefore, the female parent should match the male parent moderately in indica-japonica index to obtain the optimum of hybrid traits, high yield as well as good quality.
Electron-ion dynamics in laser-assisted desorption of hydrogen atoms from H-Si(111) surface

In the framework of real time real space time-dependent density functional theory we have studied the electron-ion dynamics of a hydrogen-terminated silicon surface H-Si(111) subjected to intense laser irradiation. Two surface fragments of different sizes have been used in the simulations. When the intensity and duration of the laser exceed certain levels (which depend on the wavelength) we observe the desorption of the hydrogen atoms, while the underlying silicon layer remains essentially undamaged. Upon further increase of the laser intensity, the chemical bonds between silicon atoms break as well. The results of the simulations suggest that with an appropriate choice of laser parameters it should be possible to remove the hydrogen layer from the H-Si(111) surface in a matter of a few tens of femtoseconds. We have also observed that at high laser field intensities (2–4 V/A in this work) the desorption occurs even when the laser frequency is smaller than the optical gap of the silicon surface fragments. ...