cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Proactive Nurse Driven Systematic Approach for Covid-19 Screening for Patients Undergoing Aerosol Generating Procedures

Background Information Our complex healthcare systems were dramatically disrupted by COVID-19, an emerging virus that swept the nation in early 2020. The nurses in the Perianesthesia unit took a proactive approach when confronted with this evolving pandemic. Our hospital offers highly specialized services that appeal to domestic and international patients. In, January of 2020, during the admission process we discovered patients who had recently traveled and returned from a quarantined area within China. It was also noted that we had an increase of patients that had symptoms that could be presumed as COVID-19 positive. These patients were arriving to our facility without standard practices in place for COVID-19 screening. We anticipated the need for a better process and took initiative to implement a nurse driven systematic approach for COVID-19 screening. Objectives of Project • Promoting a safe work environment • Isolate and contain the further spread of COVID-19 • Creating an effective system to prescreen for COVID-19 • Alleviate anxiety regarding upcoming admissions and procedures with ongoing pandemic • To promote efficiency of the operating room schedule and to prevent day of surgery delays due to resulting COVID-19 tests Process of Implementation • Utilizing Peri-operative float pool nurses to prescreen patients 24 hours prior to Surgery o Chart review performed to identify any concerns related to COVID-19 symptoms ○ Assessed patients for COVID-19 symptoms ○ Collaborated with the center of perioperative evaluation to ensure patients received the appropriate COVID-19 testing • Process evolved into the Peri-operative float pool nurses ordering COVID-19 test Statement of Successful Practice • Decreased day of surgery cancellations • Decreased patients arriving with COVID-19 symptoms • Decreased anxiety of patients and staff related to COVID-19 exposure • Successful practice of safe care commitment by striving for the safest possible environment in the perianesthesia setting Implication for Advancing the Practice of Perianesthesia nursing • We established a process that has evolved into a more sustainable practice to support the increase in OR procedures as the organization resumed to pre-COVID workflow and OR volume • Multi-disciplinary team collaboration allows for smooth process to ensure safety of patients and staff
Building more housing near transit: A spatial analysis of residential densification dynamics

Abstract: Although building more housing near transit has gained increasing popularity as a strategy for addressing housing unaffordability while promoting sustainability, the effectiveness of this strategy has remained unclear, particularly in auto-oriented metropolises where land use planning authority largely rests with local governments. This article provides an analysis of how parcel-level residential land use intensification takes place under the influence of public transit expansion, with explicit attention to the interactions between current and planned land use changes, in a five-county Southern California region. The analysis using a generalized structural equation modeling approach shows that residential properties are more likely to be densified in transit-rich areas. This tendency is detected not only in the existing high-quality transit areas but also in locations where transit services will be available in the future. It is also found that relaxing zoning restrictions increases the probability of parcel-level densification, and the resultant density increase can induce further zoning or plan changes in nearby areas.
A Traction Inverter Design for Increasing the DC Link Voltage in Electric Vehicles

Using a high-voltage DC link in electric vehicles (EVs) can bring such benefits as higher power density, less weight, smaller components, less loss and heat, and faster charging, etc. The paper proposed a cost-effective high-efficiency four-switch three-phase (FSTP) traction inverter design to enable high DC link voltage in EVs. A comprehensive theoretical study on the control of FSTP inverters has been presented in comparison with six-switch three-phase (SSTP) inverters. The simplified Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) control strategy proposed for FSTP inverters significantly reduces the complexity and computation burden of the control system and makes it easier to implement SVPWM FSTP inverters than SVPWM SSTP inverters. MATLAB Simscape models with switching loss correction are used to simulate and compare different solutions. The results from the case study demonstrate that the silicon (Si) FSTP inverter is 33.3% lower in cost and has 32.3% less power loss, as well as better THD compared to the Si SSTP inverter when transforming an EV powertrain from 400 V to 800 V. A silicon carbide (SiC) version of the FSTP inverter is also investigated for further efficiency improvement. It has been shown that another 21.7% of power saving can be achieved at a 12% higher cost of the Si SSTP inverter. Thus, the FSTP topology can help overcome the cost barrier of SiC technology and promote its adoption in EVs.
Yard Art and Handmade Places: Extraordinary Expressions of Home

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Jill Nokes and with Pat Jasper Year: 2008 Pages: 224 Publisher: University of Texas Press ISBN: 978-0-292-71679-7 (hard cover). Prices: $29.95 USD(hard cover).
High Q, miniaturized LCP-based passive components, and filter design for SoP applications

In this paper, for the first time, a library of completely embedded multi-layer capacitors and inductors designed in a custom adhessiveless multi-layer liquid crystal polymers (M-LCP) process is presented. High Q-factor spiral inductors (Q of 150 @ 8 GHz), and vertical interdigitized (VID) capacitors are demonstrated. As a proof of concept, two highpass filters are designed using the presented library. A size reduction of around 80% is achieved as compared to planar implementations, which highlights the miniaturization capabilities of the M-LCP technology. The miniaturized filter has an insertion loss of 0.2 dBs @ 3GHz.
Stochastic Tree Search with Useful Cycles for patrolling problems

An autonomous robot team can be employed for continuous and strategic coverage of arbitrary environments for different missions. In this work, we propose an anytime approach for creating multi-robot patrolling policies. Our approach involves a novel extension of Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) to allow robots to have life-long, cyclic policies so as to provide continual coverage of an environment. Our proposed method can generate near-optimal policies for a team of robots for small environments in real-time (and in larger environments in under a minute). By incorporating additional planning heuristics we are able to plan coordinated patrolling paths for teams of several robots in large environments quickly on commodity hardware.
Deciding True Concurrency Equivalences on Finite Sate Nets (Preliminary Report)

We show that the pomset-trace equivalence problem for finite safe Petri Nets is decidable, and is in fact complete for EXPSPACE. We also show that history-preserving bisimulation between such nets is complete for DEXPTIME, settling a question left open by Vogler. Our decision procedures are based on establishing correspondences between bounded-size partial orders of transition firings, from which the upper bounds follow immediately. Lower bounds follow by reduction of corresponding interleaving (language) equivalence problems with known complexity. Our methods also yield tight complexity bounds for several other true concurrency equivalences. The results are independent of the presence of hidden transitions.
Eavesdropping on the great and the good

In the middle of the last century London dinner parties were often formal. Ladies wore long dresses, and the gentlemen in dinner jackets and black ties conversed alternately to the lady on their left and the lady on their right as course followed course, each with its own wine. After dessert all rose as the hostess led the women out to the drawing room for coffee and chocolates; the men moved up the table towards their host for coffee, cigars, brandy, or …
In-Depth Interviewing with Healthcare Corporate Elites: Strategies for Entry and Engagement:

Interviewing corporate elites has received limited attention in the methodological literature. Such elites are considered highly difficult to gain access to and, if involved, are believed to use their power asymmetry to dominate the interview. Understanding the context is considered essential to elite access, interview conduct, and interpretation of findings. The healthcare sector provides interesting challenges for in-depth elite interviewing, including historical norms regarding interview access, types, and duration. In this article, the authors report on the strategies used to gain access to and engage healthcare elites who participated in multiple personal interviews using the Seidman in-depth phenomenological interviewing method. Techniques for identifying and recruiting potential participants, scheduling and preparing for the interview, and establishing rapport are described. Concept mapping is presented as a way of fully engaging the elites in the tripartite interview process and facilitating trustworthiness. The lessons learned offer important strategies for those undertaking phenomenological research with elites.
Adaptive Optics for Biological Imaging

It is fascinating how optical technology transfers among disparate fields of science and engineering. The history of adaptive optics is a good case study. The story begins in 1953 when a visionary, Horace Babcock, who was an astronomer at the Mount Wilson and the Palomar observatories, proposed a method based on adaptive optics to correct in real time the atmospheric distortions that degraded ground-based telescope images. All ground-based telescopes suffer from atmospheric turbulence, which causes time-dependent inhomogeneities in the air refractive index. They are caused by nonstationary random processes. The wind shears mix various atmospheric layers and the temperature inhomogeneities result in time-dependent variations in the refractive index of the air. They distort the wavefronts and thus degrade the image. One alternative is space-based telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope. Another is to implement Babcock’s idea of a closed-loop system incorporating a wavefront sensor and a deformable mirror that can introduce real-time changes in the wavefront to compensate for the aberrations introduced by the atmospheric turbulence. Babcock’s prescient ideas were developed into instrumentation in the mid-1970s and in 1982 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) working with the United States Air Force completed a real-time adaptive optics system integrated with an optical telescope on Maui in Hawaii. The motivation was to obtain high-resolution images of Soviet satellites. One common wavefront sensor is the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, which works with white light and also with extended sources (such as the Sun). The closed-loop adaptive optics system involves computer wavefront reconstruction, which is a classical inverse problem whose solution can be found, but the solution cannot be proved to be unique.
"We Are Strangers Walking Into Their Life-Changing Event": How Prehospital Providers Manage Emergency Calls at the End of Life.

Abstract Context Emergency 911 calls are often made when the end stage of an advanced illness is accompanied by alarming symptoms and substantial anxiety for family caregivers, particularly when an approaching death is not anticipated. How prehospital providers (paramedics and emergency medical technicians) manage emergency calls near death influences how and where people will die, if their end-of-life choices are upheld and how appropriately health care resources are used. Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how prehospital providers assess and manage end-of-life emergency calls. Methods In-depth and in-person interviews were conducted with 43 prehospital providers. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and entered into ATLAS.ti for data management and coding. Qualitative data analysis involved systematic and axial coding to identify and describe emergent themes. Results Four themes illustrate the nature and dynamics of emergency end-of-life calls: 1) multifocal assessment (e.g., of the patient, family, and environment), 2) family responses (e.g., emotional, behavioral), 3) conflicts (e.g., missing do-not-resuscitate order, patient-family conflicts), and 4) management of the dying process (e.g., family witnessed resuscitation or asking family to leave, decisions about hospital transport). After a rapid comprehensive multifocal assessment, family responses and the existence of conflicts mediate decision making about possible interventions. Conclusion The importance of managing symptom crises and stress responses that accompany the dying process is particularly germane to quality care at life's end. The results suggest the importance of increasing prehospital providers' abilities to uphold advance directives and patients' end-of-life wishes while managing family emotions near death.
Symbolic Processing Techniques in Connectionist Networks and Their Application to High-Level Cognitive Tasks

Symbolic and distributed connectionist systems live in distinct processing niches. Symbolic systems supply variables, bindings, logical rules, constituent structure, tokens (versus types), hierarchies and inheritance. In contrast, distributed connectionist systems supply statistically based associations, reconstructive memories, graceful error degradation, automatic category/prototype formation and generalization to novel instances. High-level cognitive tasks, such as language comprehension, require symbolic processing capabilities; however, the brain gains its robustness from its distributed connectionist nature. Clearly, a synthesis is desirable and this paper surveys a range of techniques, being explored at the UCLA Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, for giving symbolic capabilities to connectionist systems. These techniques include: 1) use of signature activation to represent bindings in localist, spreading activation networks, 2) parallel distributed semantic networks (PDS) for integrating distributed connectionist networks with the structure of semantic networks, 3) symbol recirculation methods for automatically forming distributed representations of symbols, and 4) tensor manipulation networks for binding distributed symbols.
Determination of Equilibrium Shapes and Optimal Volume of Solder Droplets in the Assembly of Surface Mounted Integrated Circuits.

The equilibrium shape of a liquid meniscus at a liquid-gas phase boundary of a system in which solid, liquid, and gaseous phases coexist is given by a balance of forces acting on the system. A method of calculation was introduced in Part I of this series for determining this equilibrium shape. Here, this method is used to calculate the equilibrium shapes of solder joints surrounding gullwing and jbend type lead wires present in surface mounted integrated circuits. A study is also done to determine the optimal volume needed to produce a good solder joint. Criteria are established, dimensionless calculations are done for gullwing and jbend leads, and a method is outlined for applying these results to lead wires with different geometries.
The Persecution of West Virginia Jehovah's Witnesses and the Expansion of Legal Protection for Religious Liberty

Few Americans are aware of the valuable contribution Jehovah's Witnesses have made to our nation's laws. A mention of them brings to mind the picture of persistent, sometime annoying, teams of door-todoor preachers whose aggressive proselytizing campaigns have made them a symbol of the troublesome irritants of daily life. Legal scholars, however, have long acknowledged Jehovah's Witnesses as champions in the constitutional battle to protect religious liberty.(1) A 1942 examination of the sect's contributions to protection for the free exercise of religion contended:
Structural allometry of the prosimian mandibular corpus and symphysis

Abstract Experimental and comparative studies among primates suggest that symphyseal fusion and relatively large mandibular symphysis and corpus dimensions are often part of the same functional pattern Hylander, 1977 , Hylander, 1979a , Hylander, 1979b , Hylander, 1984 , Hylander, 1985 , Hylander, 1988 ; Beecher, 1977 , Beecher, 1979 , Beecher, 1983 . To test this hypothesis further, the biomechanical scaling of corpus and symphysis dimensions was examined in prosimians and compared to anthropoids. Symphyseal fusion was similarly investigated in large-bodied Malagasy “subfossil” lemurs. Dietary influences on prosimian corpus and symphysis proportions were also considered, because leaf-eating positively affects the degree of symphyseal fusion ( Beecher, 1977 , Beecher, 1979 , Beecher, 1983 ; but see also Greaves, 1988 and mandibular robusticity ( Hylander, 1979a ; Bouvier, 1986a , Bouvier, 1986b ). Prosimian regression lines for mandibular corpus and symphysis measures are significantly transposed below those for anthropoids.Palaeopropithecus maximus, P. ingens, Hadropithecus stenognathus, Archaeolemur edwardsi andA. majori display relatively robust symphysis and corpus dimensions, which appear to be related to large body size and folivory.Megaladapis madagascariensis, M. grandidieri andM. edwardsi have more moderately positive residuals; thus symphyseal fusion appears more singularly the result of large size. Leaf-eating prosimians, such as indriids, do display relatively large corpora and symphyses. These data strongly support previous predictions about structural and functional differences between the masticatory system of extant primate suborders (e.g., Hylander, 1979a ; Beecher, 1977 , Beecher, 1979 ).
Practical utility of specific red cell adherence test in bladder cancer

There is a highly significant correlation between specific red cell adherence (SRCA) tests for ABO(H) blood group antigens and the biologic potential of a bladder cancer in terms of both superficial tumor recurrences and the subsequent development of invasive cancer. The correlation with superficial recurrences is of limited practical value because almost one half of patients with antigen-positive tumors have superficial recurrences. Similarly, because in approximately one third of patients with SRCA-negative tumors invasive cancer does not develop, SRCA tests cannot be used to select patients for early cystectomy. Because invasive cancer proceeds to develop in less than 10 per cent of patients with high-grade, antigen-positive tumors, SRCA tests may be of use to identify patients with high-grade tumors who deserve a trial of conservative therapy. SRCA tests must be interpreted with caution in patients who have been treated previously with radiation therapy or thiotepa, in whom false positive tests may occur, and in patients with type O blood in whom false negative tests may occur.
Arterial traffic control using reinforcement learning agents and information from adjacent intersections in the state and reward structure

An application that uses reinforcement learning (RL) agents for traffic control along an arterial under high traffic volumes is presented. RL agents were trained using Q learning and a modified version of the state representation that included information on the occupancy of the links from neighboring intersections. The proposed structure also includes a reward that considers potential blockage from downstream intersections (due to saturated conditions), as well as pressure to coordinate the signal response with the future arrival of traffic from upstream intersections. Experiments using microscopic simulation software were conducted for an arterial with 5 intersections under high conflicting volumes, and results were compared with the best settings of coordinated pre-timed phasing. Data showed lower delays and less number of stops with RL agents, as well as a more balanced distribution of the delay among all vehicles in the system. Evidence of coordinated-like behavior was found as the number of stops to traverse the 5 intersections was on average lower than 1.5, and also since the distribution of green times from all intersections was very similar. As traffic approached to capacity, however, delays with the pre-timed phasing were lower than with RL agents, but the agents produced lower maximum delay times and lower maximum number of stops per vehicle. Future research will analyze variable coefficients in the state and reward structures for the system to better cope with a wide variety of traffic volumes, including transitions from oversaturation to undersaturation and vice versa.
Prenyl modification of guanine nucleotide regulatory protein gamma 2 subunits is not required for interaction with the transducin alpha subunit or rhodopsin.

Abstract Guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein (G protein) beta gamma dimers that were active in reconstitution assays were produced in insect cells using the baculovirus/Sf9 insect cell expression system. Sf9 cells were infected either singly or in combination with recombinant baculoviruses containing a human G-protein beta 1 gene or a bovine G-protein gamma 2 gene. It was possible to express the beta 1 and gamma 2 gene products independently of each other in this system, as determined by using immunological and metabolic labeling techniques. Further, the ability of recombinant beta and/or gamma chains to function in defined biochemical assays of beta gamma activity was assessed for membrane extracts and supernatant fractions from infected Sf9 cells. Extracts of cells expressing beta or gamma chain alone were inactive in these assays, whereas those from cells coinfected with beta 1 and gamma 2 did display activity. These assays were used to identify recombinant beta gamma dimer migration during chromatographic purification, and the recombinant dimers were purified to near homogeneity. Both the membrane-associated and soluble beta gamma dimers facilitated rhodopsin-catalyzed guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate binding to Gt alpha, the GTP-binding subunit of the retinal G protein transducin (K0.5 of 13 +/- 2 and 36 +/- 5 nM, respectively). Both recombinant beta gamma dimers also facilitated the pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of Gt alpha with equal potency (K0.5 of 9 +/- 1 and 10 +/- 3 nM for membrane and soluble dimers, respectively). [3H]Mevalonolactone labeling showed that the gamma 2 subunits of membrane-associated beta gamma dimers incorporated radiolabel, whereas in the soluble form they did not. Thus, prenyl modification of gamma 2 directs the membrane association of the beta 1 gamma 2 dimer and increases its apparent affinity for receptor, but it is not required for the functional interaction(s) of the dimer.
Increased postoperative and respiratory complications in patients with congenital heart disease associated with heterotaxy.

Objective Patients with heterotaxy and complex congenital heart disease underwent cardiac surgery with high mortality and morbidity. Recent studies have revealed an association among heterotaxy, congenital heart disease, and primary ciliary dyskinesia. We undertook a retrospective review of patients undergoing cardiac surgery at Children's National Medical Center between 2004 and 2008 to explore the hypothesis that there is increased mortality and respiratory complications in heterotaxy patients. Methods Retrospective review was performed on postsurgical outcomes of 87 patients with heterotaxy and congenital heart disease exhibiting the full spectrum of situs abnormalities associated with heterotaxy. As controls patients, 634 cardiac surgical patients with congenital heart disease, but without laterality defects, were selected, and surgical complexities were similar with a median Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 score of 3.0 for both groups. Results We found the mean length of postoperative hospital stay (17 vs 11 days) and mechanical ventilation (11 vs 4 days) were significantly increased in the heterotaxy patients. Also elevated were rates of tracheostomies (6.9% vs 1.6%; odds ratio, 4.6), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support (12.6% vs 4.9%: odds ratio, 2.8), prolonged ventilatory courses (23% vs 12.3%; odds ratio, 2.1) and postsurgical deaths (16.1% vs 4.7%; odds ratio, 3.9). Conclusions Our findings show heterotaxy patients had more postsurgical events with increased postsurgical mortality and risk for respiratory complications as compared to control patients with similar Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 surgical complexity scores. We speculate that increased respiratory complications maybe due to ciliary dysfunction. Further studies are needed to explore the basis for the increased surgical risks for heterotaxy patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Receptors and Neurons for Fly Odors in Drosophila

Remarkably little is known about the molecular and cellular basis of mate recognition in Drosophila [1]. We systematically examined the trichoid sensilla, one of the three major types of sensilla that house olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) on the Drosophila antenna, by electrophysiological analysis. We find that none respond strongly to food odors but that all respond to fly odors. Two subtypes of trichoid sensilla contain ORNs that respond to cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone transferred from males to females during mating 2, 3 and 4. All trichoid sensilla yield responses to a male extract; a subset yield responses to a virgin-female extract as well. Thus, males can be distinguished from virgin females by the activity they elicit among the trichoid ORN population. We then systematically tested all members of the Odor receptor (Or) gene family 5, 6 and 7 that are expressed in trichoid sensilla [8] by using an in vivo expression system [9]. Four receptors respond to fly odors in this system: Two respond to extracts of both males and virgin females, and two respond to cVA. We propose a model describing how these receptors might be used by a male to distinguish suitable from unsuitable mating partners through a simple logic.
The role of acculturative stress and body dissatisfaction in predicting bulimic symptomatology across ethnic groups.

Objective This study examines the interactive effects of acculturative stress and body dissatisfaction in prediction of bulimic symptoms, particularly in non-White females. Method We administered questionnaires to White, Black, and Hispanic females on acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction, and bulimic symptoms. Results Our results show that among minority women who report low levels of acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction and bulimia were not correlated. However, among minority women who reported high levels of acculturative stress, body dissatisfaction and bulimia were highly and significantly correlated. Discussion The combination of acculturative stress and body dissatisfaction may render minority women more vulnerable to bulimic symptoms; the absence of acculturative stress among minority women may buffer them against bulimic symptoms, even in the presence of body dissatisfaction. © 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 31: 442–454, 2002.
Modelling carbon responses of tundra ecosystems to historical and projected climate: a comparison of a plot‐ and a global‐scale ecosystem model to identify process‐based uncertainties

Summary We are developing a process-based modelling approach to investigate how carbon (C) storage of tundra across the entire Arctic will respond to projected climate change. To implement the approach, the processes that are least understood, and thus have the most uncertainty, need to be identified and studied. In this paper, we identified a key uncertainty by comparing the responses of C storage in tussock tundra at one site between the simulations of two models – one a global-scale ecosystem model (Terrestrial Ecosystem Model, TEM) and one a plot-scale ecosystem model (General Ecosystem Model, GEM). The simulations spanned the historical period (1921–94) and the projected period (1995–2100). In the historical period, the model simulations of net primary production (NPP) differed in their sensitivity to variability in climate. However, the long-term changes in C storage were similar in both simulations, because the dynamics of heterotrophic respiration (RH) were similar in both models. In contrast, the responses of C storage in the two model simulations diverged during the projected period. In the GEM simulation for this period, increases in RH tracked increases in NPP, whereas in the TEM simulation increases in RH lagged increases in NPP. We were able to make the long-term C dynamics of the two simulations agree by parameterizing TEM to the fast soil C pools of GEM. We concluded that the differences between the long-term C dynamics of the two simulations lay in modelling the role of the recalcitrant soil C. These differences, which reflect an incomplete understanding of soil processes, lead to quite different projections of the response of pan-Arctic C storage to global change. For example, the reference parameterization of TEM resulted in an estimate of cumulative C storage of 2032 g C m−2 for moist tundra north of 50°N, which was substantially higher than the 463 g C m−2 estimated for a parameterization of fast soil C dynamics. This uncertainty in the depiction of the role of recalcitrant soil C in long-term ecosystem C dynamics resulted from our incomplete understanding of controls over C and N transformations in Arctic soils. Mechanistic studies of these issues are needed to improve our ability to model the response of Arctic ecosystems to global change.
USING CRITICAL THINKING TO ASSESS THE INEFFABLE

Most college professors want their students to grow personally as well as intellectually. They want their students to become more reflective and self-aware as a result of taking their courses. This goal is typically consistent with, and even serves to advance, the stated missions of the institutions in which they teach. But there is a problem: not only do these "ineffable" objectives seem difficult or impossible to assess within the context of a course, but it is also often unclear how the course itself will help students work toward these objectives. Critical thinking about one's experiences, attitudes, and values goes hand-in-hand with personal growth and development. This essay explores how conventional assignments can be modified and expanded to include such critical thinking and writing vis-a ¤ -vis the main concepts of the course. Also presented are grading rubrics that can serve as formative assessments of the student's abilities in these areas.
Hydroxylations and methylations of quercetin, fisetin, and catechin by Streptomyces griseus.

Preparative-scale biotransformation of quercetin (1), fisetin (7), and (+)-catechin (12) with Streptomyces griseus (ATCC 13273) resulted in the isolation and characterization of nine known hydroxylated and/or methylated (2−6, 8, 9, 11, 13a) metabolites and two previously unknown (10 and 14) metabolites. S. griseus catalyzed aromatic hydroxylations of rings A and B of quercetin and fisetin. Mono- and dimethoxy ring-B metabolites were obtained with all three substrates. Methylation appeared to occur only when catechol functional groups were present. Metabolite structures were established by FABMS, EIMS, and 1D and 2D NMR analysis.
Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations for arbitrary slip velocities

An expression for the Fokker-Planck equation governing the velocity distribution function of particles or heavy molecules immersed in a host light gas valid for arbitrary mean velocities of the heavy component is given. This expression generalizes previous results which were limited to small differences between the mean velocities of the heavy and light components compared with the thermal velocity of the light gas. The derivation assumes a Maxwellian velocity distribution function for the light gas, elastic heavy-light collisions, and makes use of integrals computed by Riesco-Chueca, Fern\'andez-Feria, and Fern\'andez de la Mora in Ref. 1. The stochastic Langevin equation associated with this Fokker-Planck collision operator is also obtained. More in general, we derive the Langevin equation corresponding to the general form of the Fokker-Planck collision operator, and particularize it to the present case.
Oxime-induced reactivation of acetylcholinesterase inhibited by organophosphinates.

The comparative potency of oximes for reactivation of inhibited eel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in vitro is dependent on the organophosphinate inhibitor. Some of the data, dealing with a reference organophosphonate, support the conclusion of other investigators that the oxime potency order is also dependent on the inhibiting phosphonate. This work was done to identify more clearly the nature of phosphinylated AChE with regard to oxime reactivation potency and the potential of phosphinates as pretreatment drugs to protect AChE against organophosphonate poisoning. We have determined the reactivation potency of four oximes—2-PAM, HI-6, TMB-4 and toxogonin—against four phosphinates—4-nitrophenyl methyl(phenyl)phosphinate (PMP), 4-nitrophenyl chloromethyl(phenyl)phosphinate (CPMP), 4-nitrophenyl trifluoromethyl(phenyl) phosphinate and 4-nitrophenyl bis(2-thienyl)phosphinate. For comparison, the phosphonate sarin (GB, isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate) was included. Incubation of the inhibited enzyme (I-AChE) at 25°C was with 0.30 μM oxime for PMP, 3.0 μM oxime for sarin and CPMP and 100 μM oxime for the two remaining phosphinates. AChE activity was assayed spectrophotometrically for 3.0 min at 272.5 nm at 25°C in 0.10 M MOPS buffer (pH 7.60) using phenyl acetate as substrate. When sarin was the inhibitor (0% spontaneous recovery after a 2-h incubation), the order of oxime reactivation was 2-PAM (46%) ⩾ toxogonin (33%) = TMB-4 (31%) > HI-6 (9%) after 2-h incubations. For PMP (12% spontaneous recovery after a 2-h incubation) the oxime order was toxogonin (67%) > TMB-4 (53%) > 2-PAM (40%) after 2-h incubations. For CPMP (8% spontaneous recovery after a 30-min incubation) the order was toxogonin (65%) = TMB-4 (59%) = HI-6 (57%) > 2-PAM (12%) after 30-min incubations. For the trifluorophosphinate the order was toxogonin (18%) = TMB-4 (17%) > HI-6 (12%) ⩾ 2-PAM (3%) after 5-min incubations. For the bis-thienylphosphinate the order was HI-6 (38%) > 2-PAM (20%) > TMB-4 (0.4%) > toxogonin (0%) after 5-min incubations. Despite some uncertainty in the oxime orders, these results support the conclusion that oxime potency is dependent on the organophosphinate used as the AChE inhibitor. The results also broaden the database that underpins the generally accepted conclusion, that for a given oxime its reactivation potency is dependent on the organophosphorous compound used to inhibit AChE.
Alternative Polyadenylation Results in a Truncated daf-4 BMP Receptor That Antagonizes DAF-7-mediated Development in Caenorhabditis elegans

The DAF-4 receptor kinase, which promotes larval development, is encoded by a 2.9 kb mRNA transcribed from the only type II TGF-β/BMP receptor gene in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we report that alternative polyadenylation in intron 5 of daf-4 results in a 2.0 kb mRNA that encodes an open reading frame including only the N-terminal secretion signal and ligand-binding domains, and not the transmembrane or kinase domains, of DAF-4. Northern blots and real-time RT-PCR amplifications using RNA samples from developmentally staged animals show that expression levels of both the 2.9 kb and 2.0 kb transcripts are relatively constant, and their abundances similar, except for the transition between non-dauer and dauer stages. In dauer larvae, the steady-state level of the 2.0 kb mRNA increases more than 10-fold and exceeds the 2.9 kb transcript, coincident with an absence of signaling from DAF-4. Transgenic expression of a recombinant daf-4 transgene that encodes only the 2.0 kb mRNA enhances the Daf-c phenotype of a daf-4 hypomorph, whereas the same transgene with a nonsense mutation does not. These data suggest that a polypeptide encoded by the 2.0 kb transcript can function as an antagonist of full-length DAF-4 signaling. Alternative processing of type II receptor transcripts to generate an antagonist is a novel mechanism for negative regulation of a TGF-β signaling pathway.
The role of Candida albicans AP-1 protein against host derived ROS in in vivo models of infection

Candida albicans is a major fungal pathogen of humans, causing mucosal infections that are difficult to eliminate and systemic infections that are often lethal primarily due to defects in the host's innate status. Here we demonstrate the utility of Caenorhabditis elegans, a model host to study innate immunity, by exploring the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a critical innate response against C. albicans infections. Much like a human host, the nematode's innate immune response is activated to produce ROS in response to fungal infection. We use the C. albicans cap1 mutant, which is susceptible to ROS, as a tool to dissect this physiological innate immune response and show that cap1 mutants fail to cause disease and death, except in bli-3 mutant worms that are unable to produce ROS because of a defective NADPH oxidase. We further validate the ROS-mediated host defense mechanism in mammalian phagocytes by demonstrating that chemical inhibition of the NADPH oxidase in cultured macrophages enables the otherwise susceptible cap1 mutant to resists ROS-mediated phagolysis. Loss of CAP1 confers minimal attenuation of virulence in a disseminated mouse model, suggesting that CAP1-independent mechanisms contribute to pathogen survival in vivo. Our findings underscore a central theme in the process of infection-the intricate balance between the virulence strategies employed by C. albicans and the host's innate immune system and validates C. elegans as a simple model host to dissect this balance at the molecular level.
Porphyrin synthesis in hepatic cirrhosis: Increase in δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase☆

Abstract The activity of the heme biosynthetic chain is limited by δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase, the first enzyme in this metabolic pathway. Elevated levels of this enzyme have been described in various congenital and acquired porphyrias. Since porphyrinuria and occasionally clinical porphyria occur in hepatic cirrhosis, the levels of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase were measured in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Five of seven patients with hepatic cirrhosis demonstrated five to fifteenfold elevations of hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase. Minimal elevations of this enzyme were found in one of the two remaining patients. It is unlikely that these cirrhotic patients had congenital hepatic porphyria as the basis for the elevated enzyme levels. Therefore, while hepatic injury may lead to an exacerbation of congenital porphyria, it seems that hepatic dysfunction alone may cause the development of abnormalities in porphyrin metabolism, which are indistinguishable from the inherited disease. Elevations of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase may be secondary to the inability of the diseased liver to metabolize certain endogenous substances such as sex steroids which are capable of inducing this enzyme.
Entry Point: Accessing Indigenous Perspectives During Complex Operations

Looking back on the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is evident that one of the greatest impairments for Western stability practitioners was their inability to identify with indigenous perspectives. Despite this well-known weakness, there is a way to acquire such essential insights: By becoming the “other” as a participant observer, civilian ethnographers can access entry points at the individual level that foster social interactions that realistically introduce indigenous intelligence into complex operations—recording how identity is learned and communicated; how identity informs perspectives; and how the population may respond to change. Equipped with this type of ethnographic comprehension, stability practitioners can limit their collective efforts to those select opportunities that can be successfully engaged at the subnational level rather than ill-advised “whole of government approaches,” which often create new levels of instability. Based on our fieldwork with U.S. special operations force...
Age-related changes in protein profiles of the normal human trabecular meshwork.

The protein profile of the trabecular meshwork from 44 normal human eyes of various ages, ranging from 5 months to 87 years, was investigated by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel (SDS-PAGE) electrophoresis and a highly sensitive silver-stain technique. Samples from each eye were analysed individually to avoid anomalies that may occur with tissue pooling. More than 20 protein bands were consistently visible at all ages and varied in molecular weight from 20 000 to 290 000 MW. The shifts which occurred in band prominence with increasing age included a consistent decrease in the intensity of bands at MWs 42 000 (tentatively identified as G-actin) and 58 000; a noticeable increase in the intensity of the bands at MWs 140 000 and 160 000 that correspond to alpha I and II components of type IV collagen; and a gradual disappearance of a faint band at MW 68 000 in eyes older than 31 years. Our study shows that molecular aging does occur in the trabecular meshwork. The data prosented also provides a basis for comparison of the polypeptide alterations that may occur in primary open-angle glaucoma and in other disease processes.
Fine-mapping in African-American women confirms the importance of the 10p12 locus to sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease with a wide spectrum of symptoms. Genome-wide association studies in European populations have reported significant associations between sarcoidosis and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the intergenic region between the C10ORF67 and OTUD1 genes on chromosome 10p12, and the ANXA11 gene (chromosome 10q22). We carried out fine-mapping at 10p12 and 10q22 to assess associations of genetic variants in these regions with sarcoidosis risk in African-American women, based on 486 sarcoidosis cases and 943 age- and geography-matched controls in a nested case–control study within the Black Women’s Health Study. There were no significant associations with variants of the ANXA11 gene (P=0.17). Haplotypic analyses of the C10ORF67–OTUD1 intergenic region revealed a strong inverse association of the variants rs1398024 and rs11013452 with sarcoidosis (odds ratio=0.52; P=0.01). Both SNPs are located inside an ∼300 kb low recombination region of chromosome 10p12, suggesting that both SNPs are tagging the same causal variant. Our top SNP (rs11013452) is located inside a smaller linkage disequilibrium block in HapMap YRI, further narrowing the position of the causal SNP to a region of ∼8 kb on chromosome 10p12. The present findings confirm the potential importance of the 10p12 locus in the etiology of sarcoidosis.
The Effect of Coordination and Uncertainty on Software Project Performance: Residual Performance Risk as an Intervening Variable

In this research, a study of the effects of coordination mechanisms and risk drivers such as project uncertainty on the performance of software development projects was conducted. Two types of coordination mechanisms were considered: vertical and horizontal. The former refers to the extent to which coordination between users and IS staff is undertaken by authorized entities such as project managers or steering committees. The latter refers to the extent to which coordination is undertaken through mutual adjustments and communications between users and IS staff. A new research model was developed by synthesizing research using the structural contingency perspective from Organization Theory and the risk-based perspective in Software Engineering. The model suggests that residual performance risk, i.e., the difficulty in estimating performance-related outcomes during the later stages of the project, can clarify the relationship between project uncertainty, coordination mechanisms and performance. Eight hypotheses were derived from the model for empirical testing. Data were collected from 64 software development projects in the banking and other industries. The results provide considerable support for a revised research model. As expected, project uncertainty increases residual performance risk. Both in turn have a direct negative effect on performance. Vertical coordination significantly reduces both project uncertainty and residual performance risk. However, horizontal coordination does not have any significant effect on residual performance risk. Instead, it has a direct positive effect on project performance. Moreover, higher levels of both vertical and horizontal coordination lead to higher levels of overall performance. Their differential impacts on residual performance risk are interesting areas of future research.
A MODEL PROGRAM FOR TEACHING ADVANCED READING TO STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

In the ideal language program for advanced foreign students, the reading component will not be an adjunct to the teaching of oral skills (since reading may be the most important skill to master) but will instead concentrate on reading for its own sake, and will not attempt to teach the reading skill directly (since no one really knows what reading is or how readers do it) but will instead provide instruction in the critical skills required at each level of the reading process and plenty of practice in reading itself. The model reading program posited here subdivides into an intensive program, comprising in-class instruction, and an extensive program, which is mainly outside reading. (Speed reading constitutes an exception to this rule.) The intensive program is designed to increase the student's mastery of the syntax and lexicon of written English, and to provide him with vital crosscultural information and a brief introduction to English rhetoric. One technique recommended for both the teaching and testing of advanced reading is cloze procedure, which draws on all of the critical skills.
Chondroitin 6-Sulfate Proteoglycan but not Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Is Abnormally Expressed in Skin Basement Membrane From Patients With Dominant and Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa

Abstract Two distinct groups of proteoglycans, chondroitin 6-sulfate (C6-S) proteoglycan and heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), have been recently shown to reside within the lamina densa of normal human skin basement membrane (BM). To determine whether either or both antigens are normally expressed in one or more forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a disease known to have specific alterations in skin BM, we have examined by indirect immunofluorescence 31 specimens of clinically normal skin from 28 EB patients (simplex, 5; junctional,8; dominant dystrophic [DDeb], 9; recessive dystrophic [RDeb], 9) with monoclonal antibodies to C6-S and HSPG. HSPG was normally expressed in all EB and control skin specimens, whereas C6-S was absent along the dermoepidermal junction of 9 of 9 RDEB and 7 of 9 DDEB, and reduced in 2 of 9 DDEB cases. In contrast, C6-S was normally expressed in 5 of 5 EB simplex, 5 of 6 functional EB, and all control skin specimens. We have subsequently extracted a > 400 kD C6-S proteoglycan from normal skin BM and have found that the core protein may also contain heparan sulfate side chains. Our findings suggest that 3B3 monoclonal antibody recognizes a hybrid proteoglycan in human skin, and that its absent or reduced binding in dystrophic EB skin BM may reflect either absence of associated core protein or posttranslational alterations in the proteoglycan side chains.