cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric distance estimation with sketches for similarity search in high-dimensional spaces

Efficient similarity search in high-dimensional spaces is important to content-based retrieval systems. Recent studies have shown that sketches can effectively approximate L1 distance in high-dimensional spaces, and that filtering with sketches can speed up similarity search by an order of magnitude. It is a challenge to further reduce the size of sketches, which are already compact, without compromising accuracy of distance estimation.This paper presents an efficient sketch algorithm for similarity search with L2 distances and a novel asymmetric distance estimation technique. Our new asymmetric estimator takes advantage of the original feature vector of the query to boost the distance estimation accuracy. We also apply this asymmetric method to existing sketches for cosine similarity and L1 distance. Evaluations with datasets extracted from images and telephone records show that our L2 sketch outperforms existing methods, and the asymmetric estimators consistently improve the accuracy of different sketch methods. To achieve the same search quality, asymmetric estimators can reduce the sketch size by 10% to 40%.
An improved GCMS method to measure tele-methylhistamine

The presence of tele-methylhistamine (t-MH), the metabolite of histamine in rat brain, and its relationship to putative histaminergic transmission have been the subjects of recent work. We modified the GCMS method of Hough et al. (1979) to enhance both sensitivity and reproducibility. The substitution of KOH for NaOH to extract t-MH considerably improved the recovery. Evaporation of the extract in 0.2 N HCl, as used in the earlier method, reduced the formation of heptafluorobutyryl derivative; substitution with 0.01 N HCl more than doubled the recovery of the derivative. The derivatization procedure itself was changed, the new method exhibiting significantly improved reproducibility. Standard curve of t-MH obtained at different times after derivatization were indistinguishable. The modified method is capable of measuring less than 1 pmole of t-MH. The t-MH content found in nine rat brain regions agree with previously reported values.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma restricted to the nervous system, affecting the brain, cerebrospinal fluid, eyes, or spinal cord. It occurs with increased frequency in immunocompromised patients, particularly those with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Diagnosis is usually established by stereotactic biopsy as resection is not an essential component of therapy. Initial treatment should include chemotherapy, particularly regimens containing high-dose methotrexate, which is the single most important drug for the treatment of PCNSL. Complete response rates can approach 80% but, even with vigorous therapy, relapse is common. Median survival is approximately 3–4 years with high-dose methotrexate-based regimens with or without cranial irradiation. Combined modality treatment is associated with a high rate of neurotoxicity, with older age and long follow-up as the primary risk factors. Current approaches have focused on reducing relapse rates and improving disease control while minimizing neurotoxicity. These include: (1) reducing the dose of cranial irradiation in patients who have achieved a complete response to chemotherapy; (2) intensifying chemotherapy using autologous stem cell rescue regimens; and (3) intensifying standard chemotherapy alone.
Nonlinear Dynamics of a Clamped, Buckled Plate: Some Results

Accurate prediction of nonlinear response of a homogenous, buckled plate with clamped boundary conditions is essential in designing aircraft structures for long life and extreme combined loading. It is well known that the dynamic response becomes highly nonlinear for large response amplitudes of a buckled plate with clamped boundary condition. In this paper, a rectangular plate is experimentally studied for its nonlinear dynamic response. The results obtained are compared for the two buckling modes. Further, the numerical observations are conducted to differentiate the effect of amplitude of excitation on the nonlinear response, specifically characterizing the parametric regimes (amplitude and frequency) to differentiate between the small amplitude linear response and large amplitude snap-through response. It is desired to understand the parametric boundary separating these two qualitatively different response characteristics for its obvious impact on the fatigue life of the structure.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Burn injury upregulates the activity and gene expression of the 20 S proteasome in rat skeletal muscle

There is evidence that burn injury stimulates ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein breakdown in skeletal muscle. In this proteolytic pathway, protein substrates are conjugated to multiple molecules of ubiquitin, whereafter they are recognized, unfolded and degraded by the multicatalytic 26 S protease complex. The 20 S proteasome is the catalytic core of the 26 S protease complex. The influence of burn injury on the expression and activity of the 20 S proteasome has not been reported. We tested the hypothesis that burn injury increases 20 S proteasome activity and the expression of mRNA for the 20 S proteasome subunits RC3 and RC7. Proteolytic activity of isolated 20 S proteasomes, assessed as activity against fluorogenic peptide substrates, was increased in extensor digitorum longus muscles from burned rats. Northern-blot analysis revealed that the expression of mRNA for RC3 and RC7 was increased by 100% and 80% respectively following burn injury. Increased activity and expression of the 20 S proteasome in muscles from burned rats support the concept that burn-induced muscle cachexia is at least, in part, regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway.
GCN5-dependent histone H3 acetylation and RPD3-dependent histone H4 deacetylation have distinct, opposing effects on IME2 transcription, during meiosis and during vegetative growth, in budding yeast

Diploid yeast undergo meiosis under certain conditions of nutrient limitation, which trigger a transcriptional cascade involving two key regulatory genes. IME1 is a positive activator of IME2, which activates downstream genes. We report that Gcn5, a histone H3 acetylase, plays a central role in initiation of meiosis via effects on IME2 expression. An allele, gcn5–21, was isolated as a mutant defective in spore formation. gcn5–21 fails to carry out meiotic DNA replication, recombination, or meiotic divisions. This mutant also fails to induce IME2 transcription; IME1 transcription, however, is essentially normal. Further investigation shows that during wild-type meiosis the IME2 promoter undergoes an increase in the level of bound acetylated histone H3. This increase is contemporaneous with meiotic induction of IME2 transcription and is absent in gcn5–21. In contrast, the RPD3 gene, which encodes a histone H4 deacetylase and is known to be required for repression of basal IME2 transcription in growing yeast cells, is not involved in induction of IME2 transcription or IME2 histone acetlyation during meiosis. These and other results suggest that Gcn5 and Rpd3 play distinct roles, modulating transcription initiation in opposite directions under two different cellular conditions. These roles are implemented via opposing effects of the two gene products on acetylation of two different histones. Finally, we find that gcn5 and rpd3 single mutants are not defective in meiosis if acetate is absent and respiration is promoted by a metabolically unrelated carbon source. Perhaps intracellular acetate levels regulate meiosis by controlling histone acetylation patterns.
Breast Cancer Treatment Decision-Making: Are We Asking Too Much of Patients?

OBJECTIVE Physicians are mandated to offer treatment choices to patients, yet not all patients may want the responsibility that entails. We evaluated predisposing factors for, and long-term consequences of, too much and not enough perceived decision-making responsibility among breast cancer patients.
Diaphragmatic Hernia After Esophagectomy in 440 Patients With Long-Term Follow-Up

Background Postesophagectomy diaphragmatic hernia (PDH) is a recognized but severely under-reported and potentially hazardous event. Information regarding the natural course of this condition and guidelines regarding indications for reoperative intervention are lacking. In this study we aim to describe the frequency, predictors of incidence, and indications for repair. Methods Cross-sectional imaging (computed tomography scan) from patients who underwent esophagectomy between January 2001 and December 2007 at a single center were reviewed by two radiologists blinded to previous reports and clinical outcomes. Patients with PDH were compared with a similar cohort who did not have hernia. Patient characteristics, outcomes, and hernia descriptors including longitudinal progression were recorded. Multivariable logistic regression analyses identified predictors of PDH and need for repair. Results Of a total of 440 patients who underwent esophagectomy, 67 (15%) were radiologically diagnosed with PDH. Of these, only 7 of 67 cases (10%) were prospectively reported by the radiologist. Median time interval from esophagectomy to hernia was 2 years. Type of esophagectomy was an independent predictor for hernia developing ( p = 0.027). Patients with high body mass index were less prone to have PDH ( p = 0.043). Thus far, 9 patients (2%) have required surgical intervention, all for hernia-related symptoms or progression. Despite mesh repair, 4 of 9 have recurred and 2 were re-repaired. There was 1 PDH-associated death, 8 years after transhiatal resection. Conclusions Variables contributing to PDH are both technical and patient dependent. Whereas the majority of patients with PDH have not required repair, a small portion who became symptomatic or had large, progressive hernia required remedial surgery. Postesophagectomy patients require long-term surveillance for PDH.
Stiffness tailoring for improved compressive strength of composite plates with holes

A structural optimization procedure is used to obtain minimum-mass designs of compression-loaded composite plates with holes by tailoring the plate cross-sectional stiffnesses. The plate cross sections consist of two different balanced symmetric laminates with 0, ± 45, and 90 deg plies. The plate inner laminate contains a hole and is designed from a softer material system with a higher failure strain than the plate outer laminate. Allgraphite-epoxy plates and hybrid graphite/glass-epoxy plates were studied. Results for designs with different percentages of 0 and ±45 deg plies in the outer laminate are compared with results for the optimum designs. Results for designs with uniform cross-sectional stiffnesses are also compared with the results for tailored crosssectional stiffness designs. Specimens of each design were tested to verify the analytical predictions. The results show that cross-sectional stiffness tailoring can increase the ratio of compressive strength to mass of compression-loaded laminated plates with holes. It is shown that removing 0 deg plies from the hole region both increases the compression strength and decreases the mass of graphite-epoxy plates.
Seasonal variation in habitat use by marsh fishes

Abstract— We used I-m2 throw traps to examine habitat use by smallsized fishes within a mosaic of wet prairies and sloughs in the headwaters of the St. Johns River, Florida between August 1992 and November 1995. Estimates of total fish density and biomass varied temporally, but did not differ significantly between habitats. Patterns of habitat use, however, differed among the five numerically dominant species. Bluefin killifish, mosquitofish, and golden topminnows were more abundant in sloughs than in wet prairies. In contrast, Everglades pygmy sunfish were more abundant in wet prairies than in sloughs. Finally, the abundance of least killifish did not differ between habitats. Fish densities were positively correlated with plant biomass (i. e., habitat complexity) and negatively correlated with water depth (i. e., hydrology). Species richness and composition were similar among habitats. However, consistent differences in the relative abundance of numerically dominant species between habitats indicated some degree of habitat-specific assemblage structure. Most species were concentrated into deeper sloughs during drying events. This assemblage of small-sized fishes appears to respond relatively rapidly to changes in habitat structure and hydrologic conditions. We therefore recommend that resource managers consider using fishes as indicator taxa to evaluate the efficacy of ongoing restoration and management efforts in wetland systems.
Weighted Norm Inequalities for Convolutions, Differential Operators, and Generalized Hypergeometric Functions

The recent work on discrete inequalities with the binomially made weights leads to a sharp weighted norm inequality for convolutions of complex-valued functions on a finite interval. This result and the Hadamard-type modifications of power series provide the basis for an integral approach to solution-kernel estimates for Volterra convolution equations and for various integro-differential and special function applications. The development of this approach and the new weighted norm inequalities for linear differential operators and generalized hypergeometric functions are presented in this paper.
Xenon decay products of extinct radionuclides in the Navajo, New Mexico well gas.

The isotopic composition of xenon has been determined in samples of the Navajo C-1 well gas, Wildcat Field, New Mexico. Our results indicate that xenon in the Navajo well gas contains radiogenic 129Xe and fissiogenic 131-136Xe. The fission yields across heavy xenon isotopes, 131-136Xe, match those reported for the spontaneous fission of 238U; the spontaneous fission of extinct 244Pu accounts for no more than 6% of the excess 136Xe in this well gas. Based on the high value of the ratio of radiogenic 129Xe to CO2 in this gas, we suggest that most this decay product of extinct 129I may have been introduced in a carrier gas of primordial, abiogenic hydrocarbons. It is shown that values of the ratio of radiogenic 129Xe to 244Pu-derived 136Xe in this well gas, in air, and in other terrestrial samples are consistent with a very simple and straight-forward chronology of events in the early solar system that is also compatible with the I-Xe and Pu-Xe record of meteorites.
Effects of membrane cholesterol depletion and GPI‐anchored protein reduction on osteoblastic mechanotransduction

We previously demonstrated that oscillatory fluid flow activates MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell calcium signaling pathways via a mechanism involving ATP releases and P2Y(2) puringeric receptors. However, the molecular mechanisms by which fluid flow initiates cellular responses are still unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that lipid rafts, one of the important membrane structural components, may play an important role in transducing extracellular fluid shear stress to intracellular responses. Due to the limitations of current techniques, there is no direct approach to study the role of lipid rafts in transmitting fluid shear stress. In this study, we targeted two important membrane components associated with lipid rafts, cholesterol, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-anchored proteins), to disrupt the integrity of cell membrane structures. We first demonstrated that membrane cholesterol depletion with the treatment of methyl-β-cyclodextrin inhibits oscillatory fluid flow induced intracellular calcium mobilization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. Secondly, we used a novel approach to decrease the levels of GPI-anchored proteins on cell membranes by overexpressing glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. This resulted in significant inhibition of intracellular calcium mobilization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in response to oscillatory fluid flow. Finally, we demonstrated that cholesterol depletion inhibited oscillatory fluid flow induced ATP releases, which were responsible for the activation of calcium signaling pathways in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. Our findings suggest that cholesterol and GPI-anchored proteins, two membrane structural components related to lipid rafts, may play an important role in osteoblastic cell mechanotransduction.
Wittgenstein on the Resurrection

Wittgenstein probably did not believe in Christ's Resurrection (as an historical event), but he may well have believed that if he had achieved a higher level of devoutness he would believe it. His view seems to have been that devout Christians are right in holding onto this belief tenaciously even though, in fact, it's false. It's historical falsity, is compatible with its religious validity, so to speak. So far as I can see, he did not think that devout Christians should believe that it doesn't really matter whether or not that alleged historical event occurred.
Measuring the heart rate of the spider, Aphonopelma hentzi: a non‐invasive technique

Summary In this work we describe a non-invasive and precise technique to record the heartbeats of a spider. A linear output Hall effect transducer in conjunction with a small magnet was used to monitor the micromovements on the dorsal surface of the abdomen of the tarantula Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard) (Theraphosidae). The exoskeleton in this region is in direct contact with suspensory ligaments connected to the heart, and the dorsal cuticle of the opisthosoma moves with each heartbeat. The technique allowed the discrimination of the different stages of the spider's cardiac cycle. The method can be also adapted for a smaller spider or other arthropods. We believe that the method proposed in this paper allows investigators to gain insights into a spider's natural heart rate by gathering unbiased data with a non-invasive and very precise technique. We have found the resting heart rate of A. hentzi to be 5.6 ± 1.47 beats/min, which is lower than previously reported values.
ON CERTAIN PHYSIOLOGIC RESPONSES TO INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF CALCIUM SALTS INTO NORMAL, HYPERPARATHYROID AND HYPOPARATHYROID PERSONS*†

THE exact functional activities of the parathyroid hormone have not as yet been clearly defined, and it is often difficult for the physician to discern the functional status of the parathyroid glands. Some observations to be reported here on the response of normal individuals and of patients with abnormal parathyroid function to intravenous administration of calcium salts appear to throw some light on parathyroid physiology.
The Environmental Toxicant 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Disturbs the Establishment and Maintenance of Cell Polarity in Preimplantation Rat Embryos

Maternal exposure to the environmental toxicant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces a variety of defects in compaction-stage embryos, including monopolar spindle formation, errors in chromosome segregation, and fragmentation resulting from aberrant cytokinesis. In this study, we investigated the possibility that a failure in centrosome duplication, separation, or positioning within blastomeres might underlie the observed effects of TCDD on early embryos. The subcellular localization of the centrosomal marker TUBG1 was analyzed in preimplantation embryos collected from female rats exposed to either chronic (50 ng kg−1 wk−1 for 3 wk) or acute (50 ng/kg or 1 μg/kg at proestrus) doses of TCDD. In treated embryos, interphase TUBG1 foci were more abundant and cortically displaced when compared to those in controls. At prophase, some blastomeres exhibited a single large perinuclear TUBG1 aggregate, suggesting a failure in centrosome duplication or separation. Furthermore, the presence of monopolar spindles at metaphase was confirmed by the localization of TUBG1 to the single spindle pole. Therefore, the misregulation of centrosome number and localization, as indicated by TUBG1 staining, may contribute to errors in chromosome segregation and cytokinesis in embryos following maternal TCDD exposure.
Distributed scheduling for air traffic throughput maximization during the terminal phase of flight

FAA's NextGen program aims at increasing the capacity of the national airspace, while ensuring the safety of aircraft. This paper provides a distributed merging and spacing algorithm that maximizes the throughput at the terminal phase of flight using the information provided through the ADS-B framework. Using dual decomposition, aircraft negotiate with each other and reach an agreement on optimal merging times, with respect to an associated cost, that ensures proper inter-aircraft spacing. We provide a feasibility analysis that gives sufficient conditions to guarantee that proper spacing is achievable and derive maximum throughput controllers based on the air traffic characteristics of the merging flight paths.
Load Modeling Approach for Evaluating Selenium Stream Standards Compliance

Elevated selenium concentrations have been observed in several rivers in the western United States and are a concern for healthy aquatic systems. Water quality modeling is a valuable tool for quantifying the importance of sources and assessing management alternatives for stream standards compliance in basins with impaired water quality. This modeling study uses a relatively simple approach to describe a water distribution system and processes that drive loading of dissolved selenium and salts from the naturally occurring Cretaceous shale soils in the extensively irrigated Uncompahgre and Gunnison River Basins in Western Colorado. Calibrated model output characterizes processes that load an average total of 4,130 kg (9,100 lb) of selenium and 2.9× 108 kg (316,000 t) of salts per year from agricultural subbasins to the Uncompahgre River. Simulations of best management practices predict that extensive implementation of methods to minimize seepage and constituent loading would be required to reduce selenium c...
Ethylene Glycol Elimination Kinetics and Outcomes in Patients Managed Without Hemodialysis

Study objective Ethylene glycol remains an important toxic cause of metabolic acidosis and acute renal failure. Traditionally, inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase along with hemodialysis has been used for treatment. Because of reported long elimination half-life of ethylene glycol during alcohol dehydrogenase inhibition, hemodialysis has been used in patients who are otherwise doing well to clear ethylene glycol. We study ethylene glycol elimination kinetics in patients treated with fomepizole, but without hemodialysis. Methods This was a retrospective, multicenter cohort study of patients older than 15 years who were treated at one of 3 medical centers during an 8-year period. Inclusion criteria were peak serum ethylene glycol concentration greater than 20 mg/dL, lack of renal failure on admission, treatment with fomepizole but without hemodialysis, and availability of serial serum ethylene glycol concentrations, allowing calculation of elimination half-life. The primary outcome variable was ethylene glycol elimination half-life; mortality and onset of renal failure were secondary outcome variables. Results During the study period, 85 patients were treated for ethylene glycol toxicity, of whom 40 met inclusion criteria. The mean serum ethylene glycol elimination half-life was 14.2 hours (SD=3.7 hours; 95% confidence interval 13.1 to 15.3 hours). One patient presented with metabolic acidosis on admission and developed mild transient renal insufficiency but did not require hemodialysis. No patient died. Conclusion The mean elimination half-life of ethylene glycol in this population was shorter than previously reported without hemodialysis, and this select group of patients did well without enhanced elimination by hemodialysis.
Emergence of new structure from non-stationary analysis of genomic sequences

In this paper, we will bring to bear new tools to analyze non-stationary signals that have emerged in the statistical and signal processing community over the past few years. The emergence of these new methods will be used to shed new light and help resolve the issues of (i) the existence of long-range correlations in DNA sequences and (ii) whether they are present in both coding and non-coding segments or only in the latter. It turns out that the statistical differences between coding and non-coding segments are much more subtle than previously thought using stationary analysis. In particular, both coding and non-coding sequences exhibit long-range correlations, as asserted by a 1/fbeta(n) evolutionary (i.e., time-dependent) spectrum. However, we will use an index of randomness, which we derive from the Hilbert-Huang Transform, to demonstrate that coding sequences, although not random as previously suspected, are often ldquomore randomrdquo (i.e., more white) than non-coding sequences. Moreover, the study of the evolution of the rate of change of these time dependent parameters in homologous gene families shows a sudden jump around the rat, which might be related to the well-known supercharged evolution of this rodent.
Introduction of a Journal Excerpt Activity Improves Undergraduate Students' Performance in Statistics.

We describe an active learning exercise intended to improve undergraduate students’ understanding of statistics by grounding complex concepts within a meaningful, applied context. Students in a journal excerpt activity class read brief excerpts of statistical reporting from published research articles, answered factual and interpretive questions, and discussed their responses with the instructor and peers. Students in this journal excerpt activity class outperformed students in a demographically equivalent standard class on exams. We discuss the potential benefits of this activity in terms of highlighting the connection between statistical concepts and real-world applications, fostering engagement with the material, and improving student performance. We also make suggestions for adapting this activity to other courses and disciplines.
Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting: Antisocial Traits, Fighting, and Weapons Carrying in a Large Sample of Youth

The current study examines risk and protective factors for youth antisocial personality and behavior from a multivariate format. It is hoped that this research will elucidate those risk and protective factors most important for focus of future prevention and intervention efforts. The current study examines multiple factors associated with youth antisocial traits and behavior in a sample of 8,256 youth (mean age 14), with the goal of identifying the strongest and most consistent risk or protective factors. Data was collected from the Ohio version of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System's (YRBSS) school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses identified peer delinquency, drug use and negative community influences as predictive of antisocial traits. Schools and families functioned as protective factors. Youth who fought frequently tended to be male, antisocial, dug using, depressed, and associated with delinquent peers. Weapons carrying was most common among drug using, antisocial males. Television and video game use were not predictive of antisocial, fighting or weapons carrying outcomes. Developmental patterns across age ranges regarding the relative importance of specific risk factors were also examined. Strategies for intervention and prevention of youth violence that focus on peers, neighborhoods, depression, and families may be particularly likely to bear fruit.
An inversin convergence. Focus on "Inversin modulates the cortical actin network during mitosis".

mitosis has the potential to be both a creative and a profoundly disruptive phenomenon. When considered exclusively in the context of its effects on absolute cell number, mitotic cell division is obviously the means through which cells replicate themselves, as a consequence of which they increase
Response to Letter From Watanabe and Aizawa Regarding Article, “Blood Lipid Levels, Lipid-Lowering Medications, and the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study,” by Lopez et al

We read with great interest the recent article by Lopez et al,1 in Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology , on roles of blood lipid levels asnd lipid-lowering therapy for the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Their conclusion that higher levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are associated with a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation is consistent with the results of our previous study indicating the existence of “cholesterol paradox” in atrial fibrillation.2,3 …
Optical Characteristics of Porous Silicon

The luminescent characteristics of porous silicon are affected by the preparation conditions as well as subsequent treatment. Oxidation, which easily occurs in ambient conditions under illumination, greatly reduces the luminescence efficiency. Vertical inhomogeneity, which is inherent from the preparation procedure, can complicate interpretation of results, especially following treatments which non-uniformly affect the porous material. These results point out the need to pay careful attention to the sample's structure and history, as well as the necessity of controlling this degradation in order to realize practical luminescent devices.
Structural basis for norovirus inhibition and fucose mimicry by citrate

Human noroviruses bind with their capsid-protruding domains to histo-blood-group antigens (HBGAs), an interaction thought to direct their entry into cells. Although human noroviruses are the major cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks, development of antivirals has been lacking, mainly because human noroviruses cannot be cultivated. Here we use X-ray crystallography and saturation transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance (STD NMR) to analyze the interaction of citrate with genogroup II (GII) noroviruses. Crystals of citrate in complex with the protruding domain from norovirus GII.10 Vietnam026 diffracted to 1.4 A and showed a single citrate bound at the site of HBGA interaction. The citrate interaction was coordinated with a set of capsid interactions almost identical to that involved in recognizing the terminal HBGA fucose, the saccharide which forms the primary conserved interaction between HBGAs and GII noroviruses. Citrate and a water molecule formed a ring-like structure that mimicked the pyranoside ring of fucose. STD NMR showed the protruding domain to have weak affinity for citrate (460 μM). This affinity, however, was similar to the affinities of the protruding domain for fucose (460 μM) and H type 2 trisaccharide (390 μM), an HBGA shown previously to be specifically recognized by human noroviruses. Importantly, competition STD NMR showed that citrate could compete with HBGA for norovirus binding. Together, the results suggest that citrate and other glycomimetics have the potential to block human noroviruses from binding to HBGAs.
Effects of stimulus level on the speech perception abilities of children using cochlear implants or digital hearing aids.

Objective: The present investigation was designed to provide information to facilitate the decision of whether a child should continue using digital signal processing (DSP) hearing aids with wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) or be recommended for a cochlear implant, based on the unaided pure-tone average (PTA at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz). Design: Fifty-two children (ages 5 to 15 yr) with unaided PTAs in the moderately severe to profound range, wearing (DSP) hearing aids with (WDRC) or a Nucleus 24, Clarion 1.2, or CII cochlear implant system, participated: 26 with unaided PTAs from 60 to 98 dB HL using DSP hearing aids and 26 with pre-implant unaided PTAs from 93 to 120 dB HL, using cochlear implants. An open-set speech perception test, the Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT; Kirk, Pisoni, & Osberger, 1995), was administered at intensity levels representative of raised (70 dB SPL) and soft (50 dB SPL) speech at two different times approximately 1 mo apart. Minimum audibility of soft sounds was determined for the children with implants and with DSP hearing aids using warble-tone thresholds at octave intervals between 250 and 4000 Hz. Results: Regression analyses and significance testing were used to determine the unaided PTA values at which the performance of the DSP Hearing Aid group (DSP HA group) and Cochlear Implant group on the LNT test were statistically different at the 0.05 significance level. For the 70 dB SPL presentation level, the statistically different PTAs were 113 and 97 dB HL at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively, and 96 and 88 dB HL at 50 dB SPL for Time 1 and Time 2, respectively. Conclusions: The Unaided PTA at which children in the cochlear implant group would be expected to score significantly better than the children in the DSP HA group was lowest (96 and 88 dB HL) for the lower signal level (50 dB SPL). Assuming that LNT scores at 50 dB SPL are representative of long-term hearing of soft incidental speech that is essential for language learning and fluent communication, the children withPTA values greater than the range from 88 to 96 dB HL would be expected to have significantly better LNT scores with a cochlear implant. These results should be further examined with research efforts focusing on early intervention with optimally fitted DSP hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Addressing Resistances and Other Obstacles

The therapeutic recommendations that have been made thus far in this book have been designed to minimize client resistance. Throughout, there has been the general endorsement of an approach in which the therapist assesses clients’ existing purposes, values, and goals; designs interventions to be compatible with them; and avoids coming into conflict with them. Most importantly, the therapist demonstrates how alternative critic behaviors would better achieve the purposes the client has been trying to accomplish with maladaptive self-critical practices, and would do so without the negative consequences attendant upon those practices.
The Perimenopause and Sexual Functioning

Sexual functioning is an important component of women's lives. Sexual functioning, however, declines with age, and there is much debate about the contribution of menopause to sexual activity and functioning...The present article covers cross-sectional and longitudinal community-based research on sexual functioning during the perimenopause. .The.article addresses the relative contributions of perimenopause and other.factors (e.g., relationship with partner, previous sexual enjoyment, psychosocial.factors and health) to sexual functioning.
Phenome-genome association studies of pancreatic cancer: new targets for therapy and diagnosis.

Background: Pancreatic cancer, has a very high mortality rate and requires novel molecular targets for diagnosis and therapy. Genetic association studies over databases offer an attractive starting point for gene discovery. Materials and Methods: The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Phenome Genome Integrator (PheGenI) tool was enriched for pancreatic cancer-associated traits. The genes associated with the trait were characterized using diverse bioinformatics tools for Genome-Wide Association (GWA), transcriptome and proteome profile and protein classes for motif and domain. Results: Two hundred twenty-six genes were identified that had a genetic association with pancreatic cancer in the human genome. This included 25 uncharacterized open reading frames (ORFs). Bioinformatics analysis of these ORFs identified putative druggable proteins and biomarkers including enzymes, transporters and G-protein-coupled receptor signaling proteins. Secreted proteins including a neuroendocrine factor and a chemokine were identified. Five out of these ORFs encompassed non coding RNAs. The ORF protein expression was detected in numerous body fluids, such as ascites, bile, pancreatic juice, milk, plasma, serum and saliva. Transcriptome and proteome analyses showed a correlation of mRNA and protein expression for nine ORFs. Analysis of the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database revealed a strong correlation across copy number variations and mRNA over-expression for four ORFs. Mining of the International Cancer Gene Consortium (ICGC) database identified somatic mutations in a significant number of pancreatic patients' tumors for most of these ORFs. The pancreatic cancer-associated ORFs were also found to be genetically associated with other neoplasms, including leukemia, malignant melanoma, neuroblastoma and prostate carcinomas, as well as other unrelated diseases and disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Crohn's disease, coronary diseases, attention deficit disorder and addiction. Conclusion: Based on Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), copy number variations, somatic mutational status and correlation of gene expression in pancreatic tumors at the mRNA and protein level, expression specificity in normal tissues and detection in body fluids, six ORFs emerged as putative leads for pancreatic cancer. These six targets provide a basis for accelerated drug discovery and diagnostic marker development for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States (US) and is anticipated to become the second by 2020. Pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in the US and 7% of cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for pancreatic cancer in the US is that in 2014
INCREASING WATER PRODUCTIVITY OF LOWLAND RICE THROUGH THE WATER SAVING TECHNIQUES AND CROP MANAGEMENT IN RESPONSE TO DROUGHT

The water saving technology for lowland rice cultivation was very crucial because of in the future irrigation water become scarce and competed with other sectors. The lowering of the availability of irrigation water had the impact for sustainability of rice production. The review of the paper described the pattern of basic water requirement, yield responses of several lowland rice varieties to moisture stress, days interval irrigation and the alternatives of water saving techniques for improving yield and water productivity. The pattern of the actual water requirement (ET+P&S) showed the maximum value of 8.8 mm/day (1.02 lt/sec/ha) for high yielding varieties (HYV) that occurred from heading to 50% flowering. Under limited water supply, irrigation water should be applied that period to prevent yield loss. Soil moisture stress at moderate level (- 0.5 bar) from heading to full flowering was significantly decreased yield about 30% when compared with the yield of continuously flooded 3 cm depth. This period was a critical period of HYV to soil moisture stress. For rotational irrigation purposes, information of the optimum days interval irrigation was important. It was found that 3 days irrigation interval was a critical limit for HYV to achieve higher yield. The SRI model of rice cultivation had the lowest rice yield in the lowland soil, poor drainage, clay soil texture and low permeability. The modified irrigation of the SRI plus fertilizer N based on LCC readings gave a greater yield as well as water productivity. The hybrid and NPT line rice varieties had higher yield components and grain yield than Ciherang variety. Ciherang variety was not favor to grown for the wet season, it was more productive when grown in dry season even with AWD irrigation model. The plant spacing of 25 cm x 25 cm gave higher number of panicle/hill and number of spikelet/panicle under both AWD and continuously flooded 3 cm depth for dry and wet season consistently. The fertilizer N management based on SSNM with low and high rates for the early vegetative stage were not significantly affected all yield components and grain yield. The AWD irrigation could save irrigation water about 18% when compared to the continuously flooded conditions.The grain yield of the hybrid, inbred and NPT line rice varieties was higher for the dry season than wet season under both AWD irrigation and continuous flooding consistently.
Comment on: Alternate description of waveform: Pulsus bisferiens

Dear Sir, We read the article written by Kassem et al.[1] in January with great interest. It described the path to diagnosing significant aortic insufficiency starting with abnormal ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) obtained with a dynamic contour tonometer. The OPA waveform obtained showed two peaks instead of one. The abnormal waveform described in this paper shows great resemblance to an arterial waveform described as “pulsus bisferiens.” This potential correlation was not mentioned by the authors. The term “pulsus bisferiens” was described in the context of aortic valve disease by Broadbent and Broadbent in 1900.[2] Fleming described the mechanism of pulsus bisferiens in 1957 in patients with combined aortic stenosis and insufficiency. More recently, Mark published depictions of pulsus bisferiens in his atlas of monitoring.[3] As an anesthesiologist frequently using invasive blood pressure monitoring, it is not uncommon to observe “pulsus bisferiens” displayed when taking care of patients with significant aortic insufficiency. We attached two figures demonstrating “pulsus bisferiens” in patients with aortic insufficiency, showing waveform variations. [Figs. ​[Figs.11 and ​and22]. Figure 1 Example 1 - Arterial waveform with pulsus bisferiens Figure 2 Example 2 - Arterial waveform with pulsus bisferiens If intraocular pressure closely relates to the arterial pressure, it comes as no surprise that the waveform would resemble an arterial waveform. As the authors are that suggesting OPAs might be used as a screening tool for other diseases, we would suggest thinking of “pulsus bisferiens” when noticing a waveform with two peaks, and direct a further workup toward aortic valve disease. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.
Feature selection on heterogeneous graph

Heterogeneous graph based information recommendation have been proved useful in recent studies. Given a heterogeneous graph scheme, there are many possible meta paths between the query node and the result node, and each meta path addresses a hypothesis-based ranking function. In prior researches, meta paths are manually selected by domain experts. However, when the graph scheme becomes complex, this method can be inefficient. In this study, we propose feature generation tree, a novel feature selection method for heterogeneous graph mining based recommendation algorithms, which adds graph structure information into the original "feature selection for ranking" algorithm and saves a fair amount of time for feature computation. In our preliminary experiment, the proposed method outperforms the original "feature selection for ranking" algorithm in both efficiency and effectiveness.
Qualifications for future hospital pharmacy directors as perceived by pharmacy directors and hospital administrators in Wisconsin

Hospital pharmacy directors and administrators in Wisconsin were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the responsibilities, skills, postgraduate education, training, and experience necessary for hospital pharmacy directors during the next 10 years. Packages containing two identical questionnaires were mailed in April 1985 to the pharmacy directors at all 159 hospitals in Wisconsin. The pharmacy director and his or her immediate supervisor were asked to use a 5-point Likert-type scale to rate the importance of various responsibilities and skills and also to rank the most important responsibilities, skills, and issues. In addition, respondents answered forced-choice questions about postgraduate education and training and an open-ended question about academic coursework. All responses were compared by respondent characteristics and hospital size. There was a response rate of 48.1% to the questionnaire, representing 60.7% of the pharmacy directors (n = 96) and 34.6% of the administrators (n = 55). Both groups agreed on which responsibilities and issues will be very important (mean importance rating of greater than 4) for future pharmacy directors. However, administrators rated clinical and technical skills as significantly more important than did pharmacy directors. Only 48% of pharmacy directors believed that a residency is essential and preferred either a general or administrative residency coupled with an advanced degree, whereas more than 50% of the responding administrators favored residencies not affiliated with a degree program. The majority of pharmacy directors and administrators believed that both general staff and administrative experience is necessary for future pharmacy directors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PANDAS Plus Autism: Treatment with IVIg

Bouboulis and Mast (1) note sustained benefit of anti-infective therapy followed by intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) when the latter is administered for several months to a year or more in their review of a cohort of six patients with PANDAS and humoral immunodeficiency, including two children with autism. Despite past controversy in the epidemiologic rigor surrounding PANDAS, there has been progress in the understanding of this post-infectious autoimmune disorder that led up to the present therapeutic approach employing immune modulatory therapy. Early serologic investigations (2-4) suggested a causal relation of Group A b-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) infection to PANDAS, however it was a fortuitous leap of faith that the insult would be immune-mediated similar to Sydenham chorea (SC). Anti-streptolysin (ASO) antibodies distinguished cases of PANDAS versus non-cases providing evidence of antecedent streptococcal infection with higher sustained titers and slower rates of decline in the antibody rise due to the more potent immune response that was noted to be associated with repeated GABHS infection.
Feed consumption during lactation and involution in Sprague-Dawley-Rolfsmeyer rats.

SummaryDaily feed consumption was determined in 34 lactating rats of the Sprague-Dawley-Rolfsmeyer strain. Feed consumption increased at a decreasing rate until it was 2.5 to 3 times normal at day 20 of lactation. Standard deviations, calculated separately for each day, increased as the means increased. Total feed consumption varied from 9.6 ± 3.7 g (Mean and S.D.) on day 1 to 38.7 ± 8.1 g on day 20 of lactation. Feed consumption per 100 g body weight was 3.5 ± 1.4 g, on day 1 and 14.1 ± 3.1 g on day 20, then returned to normal by 9 days after weaning the pups.
Historical-sociology vs. ontology: The role of economy in Otto Kirchheimer and Carl Schmitt’s essays ‘Legality and Legitimacy’

The pre-1932 writings of Otto Kirchheimer are often described by researchers as the work of a young ‘left-Schmittian’, a radical Marxist who gave the anti-liberal critique and theoretical apparatus of his Doktorvater Carl Schmitt a new purpose for different ‘political ends’. The danger of this approach is that fundamental divisions between the societal conceptualizations of both theoreticians are ignored in lieu of apparent terminological similarity. Through the lens of economy, it is therefore the intent of this article to continue in the tradition of Alfons Sollner and Frank Schale, pushing against this assumed affinity and highlighting Otto Kirchheimer’s unique defense of liberal democracy.