cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity and specificity of the World Health Organization pertussis clinical case definition.

Objectives Bordetella pertussis continues to circulate even in countries with good childhood vaccination coverage. This study was undertaken to define the relationship between documented disease and the clinical criteria proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Methods Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from previously healthy 6-14-year-old school children in Tehran, presenting with persistent cough of at least 2- week duration. Specimens were examined for Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Out of 6601 students, 328 (5.0%) had been coughing for at least 2 weeks. Of these children with cough, 182 (55.5%) experienced whooping, 194 (59.1%) suffered a paroxysmal cough, and 73 (22.3%) had post-tussive vomiting. Twenty-one (6.4%) samples tested positive for B. pertussis and six (1.8%) for B. parapertussis by PCR. Culture of four (1.2%) specimens was positive for B. pertussis. In comparison to PCR, the sensitivity and the specificity of the WHO clinical criteria (year 2000) were 95.2% and 15.0%, respectively. Conclusions Pertussis remains one of the etiologies of prolonged cough, even in communities with high immunization in children. The specificity of the WHO criteria is low in diagnosing pertussis compared with PCR.
Unmet need for family planning in Jamaica

This study updates and extends estimates for unmet need and total demand for family planning for Jamaican women in the reproductive age group, 15-49. The findings suggest that, as yet unmet need for family planning was 22.7%, compared to 16% previously estimated.
A low-noise preamplifier for nerve cuff electrodes

A single-stage, low-noise preamplifier is designed using the concept of noise matching for recordings of neural signal with cuff electrodes. The signal-to-noise ratio is approximately 1.6 times higher than that of a low-noise integrated amplifier (AMP-01) for a cuff impedance of 1.5 k/spl Omega/. The bandwidth is 230 Hz-8.25 kHz (R/sub s/=2 k/spl Omega/), and the common-mode-rejection-ratio is 91.2 dB at 1 kHz.
Review of Berchmansus and Vieira and Description of Two New Species of Leucochrysa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

The four species comprising the leucochrysine genus Berchmansus are reexamined. Two species [Berchmansus elegans (Guerin-Meneville, 1844), and Berchmansus brooksi Tauber, 2006] are transferred to the small genus Vieira. Redescriptions, with illustrations of the male and female genitalia, are provided for the two remaining species: Berchmansus adumbratus Navas, 1913b (the type species for the genus) and Berchmansus cinctipes (Banks, 1915). These two species express several unique features that support retaining Berchmansus as a separate genus within Leucochrysini. The type species of Vieira, Vieira leschenaulti (Navas, 1913a) is also redescribed, and the genus, which now contains four species, is reassigned to the tribe Belonopterygini. Finally, two additional, new species that would key to the genus Berchmansus are described. These species are very closely related, and they appear to belong within Leucochrysini; however, their generic affiliation is not readily apparent. For convenience, they are placed in the large, ill-defined genus Leucochrysa. A new lectotype and new paralectotypes are named for B. cinctipes.
Anastrazole treatment in breast cancer does not cause androgenic effect

10614 Background: Aromatse Inhibitors are a class of drugs that inhibit tumor growth in hormone receptor positive breast cancers in postmenopausal women. They exert their action by inhibiting the e...
Depressed modulation of oxygen consumption by endogenous nitric oxide in cardiac muscle from diabetic dogs.

Our previous study indicated that nitric oxide (NO)-dependent coronary vasodilation was impaired in conscious dogs with diabetes. Our goal was to determine whether modulation of O2 consumption by N...
Partnering with health system operations leadership to develop a controlled implementation trial

Outcome for mental health conditions is suboptimal, and care is fragmented. Evidence from controlled trials indicates that collaborative chronic care models (CCMs) can improve outcomes in a broad array of mental health conditions. US Department of Veterans Affairs leadership launched a nationwide initiative to establish multidisciplinary teams in general mental health clinics in all medical centers. As part of this effort, leadership partnered with implementation researchers to develop a program evaluation protocol to provide rigorous scientific data to address two implementation questions: (1) Can evidence-based CCMs be successfully implemented using existing staff in general mental health clinics supported by internal and external implementation facilitation? (2) What is the impact of CCM implementation efforts on patient health status and perceptions of care? Health system operation leaders and researchers partnered in an iterative process to design a protocol that balances operational priorities, scientific rigor, and feasibility. Joint design decisions addressed identification of study sites, patient population of interest, intervention design, and outcome assessment and analysis. Nine sites have been enrolled in the intervention-implementation hybrid type III stepped-wedge design. Using balanced randomization, sites have been assigned to receive implementation support in one of three waves beginning at 4-month intervals, with support lasting 12 months. Implementation support consists of US Center for Disease Control’s Replicating Effective Programs strategy supplemented by external and internal implementation facilitation support and is compared to dissemination of materials plus technical assistance conference calls. Formative evaluation focuses on the recipients, context, innovation, and facilitation process. Summative evaluation combines quantitative and qualitative outcomes. Quantitative CCM fidelity measures (at the site level) plus health outcome measures (at the patient level; n = 765) are collected in a repeated measures design and analyzed with general linear modeling. Qualitative data from provider interviews at baseline and 1 year elaborate CCM fidelity data and provide insights into barriers and facilitators of implementation. Conducting a jointly designed, highly controlled protocol in the context of health system operational priorities increases the likelihood that time-sensitive questions of operational importance will be answered rigorously and that the outcomes will result in sustainable change in the health-care system. NCT02543840 ( https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02543840 ).
Stability of Vertical Corner Cut with Concentrated Surcharge Load

The upper bound theorem of the generalized theory of perfect plasticity has been employed to estimate the stability of a vertical cut with a variable corner angle; the driving forces are the self-weight of the soil comprising the back-slope and a concentrated surcharge load that acts in the vertical plane of symmetry of the cut. The solution is based on a three-dimensional collapse mechanism in which the failure plane is allowed to pass through or above the toe of the cut, and results involving the functional relationship between the critical surcharge load and a normalized distance are presented graphically in dimensionless form. Both the internal angle of friction of the soil and the normalized height of the cut are treated as parametric quantities. The critical surcharge load was found to vary nonlinearly with respect to normalized distance from the corner, the friction angle, and the normalized height of the cut.
Thin film dynamics: theory and applications

This paper is based on a series of four lectures, by the first author, on thin films and moving contact lines. Section 1 presents an overview of the moving contact line problem and introduces the lubrication approximation. Section 2 summarizes results for positivity preserving schemes. Section 3 discusses the problem of films driven by thermal gradients with an opposing gravitational force. Such systems yield complex dynamics featuring undercompressive shocks. We conclude in Section 4 with a discussion of dewetting films.
The Plain Style in Scientific and Technical Writing

The ornate style practiced before the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century too often led to obscurity and verbal games rather than clarity and the pursuit of truth. In reacting against ...
Exploring the Efficiency of the OpenCL Pipe Semantic on an FPGA

This paper evaluates the potential benefits of leveraging the OpenCL Pipe semantic to accelerate FPGA-based applications. Our work focuses on streaming applications in the embedded vision processing domain. These applications are well-suited for concurrent kernel execution support and inter-kernel communication enabled by using OpenCL pipes. We analyze the impact of multiple design factors and application optimizations to improve the performance offered by OpenCL Pipes. The design tradeoffs considered include: the execution granularity across kernels, the rate and volume of data transfers, and the Pipe size. For our case study application of vision ow, we observe a 2.8X increase in throughput for tuned pipelined kernels, as compared to non-pipelined execution. In addition, we propose a novel mechanism to efficiently capture the behavior for 2-dimensional (2D) vision algorithms to benefit Pipe-based execution.
Sino-Europe trade and European Union technological barrier to trade

Recent years,Technological Barriers to Trade(BTB) has become a more effective and invisible method of trade protectionism of developed countries.As the third biggest trade partner,European Union implements all kinds of BTB to greatly affect the export of Chinese products.Thus,early warning mechanism of European Union TBT must be established to monitor its new trend.We should make technological innovation and product innovation to overpass its trade barrier by using higher product quality and patent registry.
Legal Grounds for and Realistic Thinking about the Circulation of Collective Construction Lands

With the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization in our country at present,the demand for construction land is increasing obviously.As a matter of fact,the circulation of collective construction land has taken place in increasing quantity and scale.This paper analyzes the legal grounds and practice of the circulation of collective construction lands,in the hope of boosting the reform of land requisition along the correct direction of legalization.
Design and Implementation in Central China Power Grid Software and Hardware Resources Optimal Integration

This article described the necessity for the optimization and integration of CCPG informational hardware and software resources,emphatically on the design ideas of the optimization and integration,implementation methods were also provided.Finally,a brief assessment on the integrated server resources was given.
Prospect of the research and development of high energy solid propellant technology

On the basis of investigating on the development of solid propellant technology, the development and innovation essence in solid propellant technology was summarized. In combination with the actual development state abroad, the main research orientations and the key points of high energy solid propellant technology for the future were put forwards.
Craniocervical necrotizing fasciitis of odontogenic origin with mediastinal extension.

We review an interesting case of craniocervical necrotizing fasciitis with thoracic extension in an immunocompetent 44-year-old man. The patient underwent aggressive medical and surgical management...
Communication in Workplace Teams

Research on communication in workplace teams involves the communication processes amongst team members and how communication impacts team outcomes. Communication is important for a team's concertive effort to act effectively as a unit. Workplace teams often face complex tasks that require teams to share task-relevant information to coordinate actions and collectively accomplish organizational goals. Research suggests that the development of Shared Mental Models (SMM) and Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) can help workplace teams coordinate their actions. These tools enable teams to implicitly coordinate their actions and to perform tasks in fast-paced environments. Keywords: cognitive processes; group communication; group coordination; organizational communication; shared cognition
The Interlocutory Coalitions: Composition, Governance and Supranational Stance

This chapter outlines four key characteristics of the supranational coalitions of non-state actors and differentiates them from other typologies of networks and/or groupings of civil society actors. The first underlying characteristic of supranational coalitions of civil society is the composition. Non-governmental organisations are the most recurring typology of member of such coalitions. As a general rule, individuals are not admitted as members. This helps to distinguish formalised networks of civil society actors from Social Movements, Social Networks, Trans-Governmental Committees and the so-called “QUANGOs”. The second key characteristic illustrated in this chapter concerns the rules for accession to supranational coalitions of civil society actors. Focus is put on the distinction between a technical and a political component present in each coalition. The third key characteristic concerns the rules governing the supranational coalition of civil society actors. These coalitions are not governed through public elections or governmental structures. Rather, they are controlled by their members through specific agreements aimed at providing regularity to their operations, whether or not they are formally constituted or legally registered. Agreements governing coalitions might have a variety of degrees in structure, from codes of conduct to more nuanced agreements. Finally, this chapter discusses the supranational nature of the coalitions of civil society actors. These coalitions are rooted in the perception that civil society constitutes a class with a common cause that transcends domestic boundaries. In this sense they are simultaneously designated as both a network of people and the infrastructure that sustain it. Thus, even when operating locally, these coalitions maintain a close and constant relationship with the supranational regulatory level.
FLOW CYTOMETRY: A NEW APPROACH TOWARD CHARACTERIZING LYMPHOMAS

ABSTRACT Correlated analysis of surface antigens, DMA, and light scatter of cells from 24 human B-cell lymphomas was performed by flow cytometry. Using immunoglobulin light chains and T-cell antigens as markers to discriminate between neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells in the same tissue, the following observations were made: 1. The neoplastic cells in 83% of the tumors showed increased rnA fluorescence (flow aneuploidy).
Fast Algorithms for the Computation of Fixed Points

We survey recent complexity results for the computation of fixed points of contractive functions and for the computation of the topological degree of Lipschitz functions in an arbitrary number of dimensions. We exhibit optimal or nearly optimal algorithms, i.e., algorithms which match or are close to the lower bounds on the cost of solving these problems.
Restrictions on the Structure of the | Δ S | = 1 Nonleptonic Hamiltonian

Restrictions concerning the chiral structural of the $|\ensuremath{\Delta}S|=1$ nonleptonic weak Hamiltonian are derived by studying kaon and hyperon decay amplitudes via current algebra and partial conservation of axial-vector current.
Benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescribing in a national probability sample of ED encounters

Abstract Background Benzodiazepine-opioid combination therapy is potentially harmful due to the risk of synergistic respiratory depression, and the rate of death due to benzodiazepine-opioid overdose is increasing. Little is known about the prevalence and characteristics of benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescribing from the ED setting. Methods Secondary analysis of data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, using sample weights to generate population estimates. The primary objective was to describe the annual prevalence of benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescribing from 2006 to 2012, using 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) to compare adjacent years. The secondary objective was to compare characteristics of ED encounters receiving a benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescription versus those receiving an opioid prescription alone, using a multivariable logistic regression. Results The prevalence of benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescribing did not significantly change from 2006 to 2012. During this period, 2.7% (95% CI: 2.5–2.8%) of ED encounters prescribed an opioid were also prescribed a benzodiazepine. Relative to encounters receiving an opioid prescription alone, encounters receiving a co-prescription were more likely to represent a follow-up rather than initial visit (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.52), receive more medications (OR 1.41) and fewer procedures (OR 0.48) while in the ED, and more likely to have a diagnosis related to mental disorder (OR 20.60) or musculoskeletal problem (OR 3.71). Conclusions From 2006 to 2012, almost 3% of all ED encounters receiving an opioid prescription also received a benzodiazepine co-prescription. The odds of benzodiazepine-opioid co-prescribing were significantly higher in ED encounters representing a follow-up visit and in diagnoses relating to a mental disorder or musculoskeletal problem.
Thermal sensitivity of motor control of muscle-powered versus elastically powered tongue projection in salamanders

Elastic-recoil mechanisms can improve organismal performance and circumvent the thermal limitations of muscle contraction, yet they require the appropriate motor control to operate. We compare muscle activity during tongue projection in salamanders with elastically powered, ballistic projection with activity of those with muscle-powered, non-ballistic projection across a range of temperatures to understand how motor control is integrated with elastically powered movements, and how this integration contributes to reduced thermal sensitivity. Species with ballistic tongue projection activated and deactivated their projector muscles significantly earlier than non-ballistic species, in a pattern consistent with a mechanism in which the muscle strains elastic tissue that subsequently recoils to power projection. Tongue projection was more thermally robust in ballistic species, but in both ballistic and non-ballistic species the projector muscles were activated earlier and for longer as temperature decreased. The retractor muscles showed a pattern similar to that of the projector muscles, but declined in a similar manner in the two groups. Muscle activity intensity also decreased at low temperatures in both groups, revealing that compensatory muscle activation does not account for the improved thermal robustness in ballistic species. Thus, relatively minor shifts in motor patterns accompanying morphological changes such as increased elastic tissue are sufficient to improve performance and decrease its thermal sensitivity without specialization of muscle contractile physiology.
On saturation of the Cramér Rao Bound for Sparse Bayesian Learning

This paper analyzes the Cramer-Rao Bound associated with the estimation of certain sparse hyper-parameters in the Sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL) framework, that crucially control the sparsity of the desired signal. The CRB is shown to exhibit saturation with respect to the number of measurements, i.e., it can be lower bounded by a non-negative quantity that does not go to zero even when the number of measurements tends to infinity. Moreover, the CRB corresponding to the nonzero and zero elements of the sparse hyper-parameter can exhibit different behaviors. While the CRB for the non-zero elements always saturate regardless of the type of dictionary, saturation of the CRB for zero elements provably happens when the dictionary has normalized columns. For an unnormalized dictionary, singular values of certain sub-dictionaries determine if saturation can happen, prompting future research into this interesting phenomenon.
Transatlantic Antifascisms : From the Spanish Civil War to the End of World War II

Antifascism has received little attention compared to its enemy. No historian or social scientist has previously attempted to define its nature and history - yet antifascism became perhaps the most powerful ideology of the twentieth century. Michael Seidman fills this gap by providing the first comprehensive study of antifascisms in Spain, France, the UK, and USA, with new interpretations of the Spanish Civil War, French Popular Front, and Second World War. He shows how two types of antifascism - revolutionary and counterrevolutionary - developed from 1936 to 1945. Revolutionary antifascism dominated the Spanish Republic during its civil war and re-emerged in Eastern Europe at the end of World War II. By contrast, counterrevolutionary antifascists were hegemonic in France, Britain, and the USA. In Western Europe, they restored conservative republics or constitutional monarchies based on Enlightenment principles. This innovative examination of antifascism will interest a wide range of scholars and students of twentieth-century history.
What Does It Mean to Be a Nonprofit Educational Measurement Organization in the Twenty-First Century?

This chapter reviews the historical roots of ETS from two perspectives. First, the requirements and history of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) governing the establishment and operation of 501(c)3 organizations are described. Next, the people and events leading to the establishment of ETS as a nonprofit educational measurement organization are explored, with particular attention to the role of research. Finally, the principles underlying Section 501(c)3 and those of ETS’s progenitors are brought together to suggest what it means to be a nonprofit educational measurement organization in the twenty-first century.
Clinical Potential of an Enzyme-based Novel Therapy for Cocaine Overdose

It is a grand challenge to develop a truly effective medication for treatment of cocaine overdose. The current available, practical emergence treatment for cocaine overdose includes administration of a benzodiazepine anticonvulsant agent (e.g. diazepam) and/or physical cooling with an aim to relieve the symptoms. The inherent difficulties of antagonizing physiological effects of drugs in the central nervous system have led to exploring protein-based pharmacokinetic approaches using biologics like vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and enzymes. However, none of the pharmacokinetic agents has demonstrated convincing preclinical evidence of clinical potential for drug overdose treatment without a question mark on the timing used in the animal models. Here we report the use of animal models, including locomotor activity, protection, and rescue experiments in rats, of drug toxicity treatment with clinically relevant timing for the first time. It has been demonstrated that an efficient cocaine-metabolizing enzyme developed in our previous studies can rapidly reverse the cocaine toxicity whenever the enzyme is given to a living rat, demonstrating promising clinical potential of an enzyme-based novel therapy for cocaine overdose as a successful example in comparison with the commonly used diazepam.
Synthesis, Structure, and Magnetism of Tris(amide) [Ln{N(SiMe3 )2 }3 ]1- Complexes of the Non-traditional +2 Lanthanide Ions.

A new series of Ln2+ complexes has been synthesized that overturns two previous generalizations in rare-earth metal reduction chemistry: that amide ligands do not form isolable complexes of the highly reducing non-traditional Ln2+ ions, and that yttrium is a good model for the late lanthanides in these reductive reactions. Reduction of Ln(NR2 )3 (R=SiMe3 ) complexes in THF under Ar with M=K or Rb in the presence of 2.2.2-cryptand (crypt) forms crystallographically characterizable [M(crypt)][Ln(NR2 )3 ] complexes not only for the traditional Tm2+ ion and the configurational crossover ions, Nd2+ and Dy2+ , but also for the non-traditional Gd2+ , Tb2+ , Ho2+ , and Er2+ ions. Crystallographic data as well as UV/Vis, magnetic susceptibility, and density functional theory studies are consistent with the accessibility of 4fn 5d1 configurations for Ln2+ ions in this tris(silylamide) ligand environment. The Dy2+ complex, [K(crypt)][Dy(NR2 )3 ], has a higher magnetic moment than previously observed for any monometallic complex: 11.67 μB .
Trends of Two HPV-Associated Cancers in Massachusetts: Cervical and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Purpose To understand trends in the incidence and mortality of two human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers, cervical and oropharyngeal cancer, in Massachusetts.
The Willing World: Shaping and Sharing a Sustainable Global Prosperity

In this time of unwillingness, the right kinds of global solutions are needed now more than ever. Climate change is here and intensifying. Anxieties over economic globalization grip many in the fear of change. While these fearful have turned inward into unwillingness, the world's willing are working harder than ever for international and other cooperative solutions. James Bacchus explains why most of the solutions we need must be found in local and regional partnerships of the willing that can be scaled up and linked up worldwide. This can only be achieved within new and enhanced enabling frameworks of global and other international rules that are upheld through the international rule of law. To succeed, these rules and frameworks must for the first time see and treat economy and environment as one. The Willing World explains how best we can build the right legal structure to attain our global goals - and summon and inspire the willingness needed to do it.
Defining Groupings and Classification of Human Gait Using Correlation of Ground Reaction Force Measurements

Classification of a person’s gait through quantitative methods has wide reaching applications in security, marketing, and healthcare. This study uses ground reaction force (GRF) measurements of healthy subjects and patients with osteoarthritis (OA) to define groupings and classify subjects. In addition to grouping classes into known qualities (gender, diagnosis, etc.), this work introduces classes based on groups coming directly from correlating GRFs from different subjects. Using correlation allows new groupings to be established and more accurate classification results because continuous force time histories are compared as opposed to conventional discrete force data (i.e. peaks). Two new classes are introduced from the data which can be classified with a 92% accuracy, and the physical meaning of these classes is investigated. Comparison of a single healthy person’s walking pattern to multiple classes builds a signature that could be used to identify specific individuals. Additionally, patients suffering from OA do not correlate well with healthy groupings and can be distinguished from healthy subjects. This allows for the possibility of using GRFs to track patients’ rehabilitation. It is expected that as a patient progresses through a rehabilitation program and begins to recover, their walking patterns will become more consistent and be more highly correlated with healthy groupings.
Die Rolle der Politik beim Einstieg in die Resonanzgesellschaft

Die Politik im deutschsprachigen Raum hat lange gebraucht, den Einstieg in die Wissensgesellschaft wahrzunehmen. Immerhin gibt es positive Signale. Zwei Beispiele: In Osterreich wurden sogenannte Wissensbilanzen fur die Universitaten verbindlich und in Deutschland hat das Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWT) ein Programm zur beschleunigten Einfuhrung von Wissensmanagement im Mittelstand aufgelegt. Das ist nur ein kleiner Anfang und noch weit weg von einem Fuhren in die Resonanzgesellschaft. Dabei sind die Handlungsfelder im Sinne von Standort- und Landespolitik vielfaltig. Die wichtigsten Themen dabei sind Ausbildung, Forschungs- und Mittelstandsforderung.
The asymptotic behavior of π-adic complexity with π 2 = -2

We study the asymptotic behavior of stream cipher security measures associated with algebraic feedback shift registers and feedback based on the ring Z[√-2]. For non-periodic sequences we consider normalized √2-adic complexity and study the set of accumulation points for a fixed sequence. The the set of accumulation points is a closed subinterval of the real closed interval [0, 1]. We see that this interval is of the form [B, 1 - B] "most" of the time, and that all such intervals occur for some sequence.
Constructive identification in some nonseparable discrete choice models

Abstract This paper introduces new results on the nonparametric identification of separable and nonseparable discrete choice models. It presents constructive methods for recovering the derivatives of the utility functions of the alternatives in a set, when these utility functions are nonparametric and nonseparable in unobservable random terms. When the utility functions are separable, the constructive methods require fewer assumptions. It is assumed that only the probability of choosing one alternative outside the set is observed. The conditions for identification involve testable shape restrictions on the distributions of the nonseparable unobservable random terms.
Spatial dependence of carrier localization in InAsSb/InSb digital alloy nBn detector

Abstract Recently we have demonstrated a novel method of extending the cut-off wavelength of InAsSb nBn detectors, by incorporating a series of monolayers of InSb, which we have termed a digital alloy. In recent work we have shown that while increasing temperature from 15 K to 40 K we observe a 14 meV blue shift of the photoluminescence peak energy and a decrease in minority carrier lifetime. We have hypothesized this effect is due to carrier localization caused by macro-scale fluctuations in layer thickness or alloy composition. Here we study the spatial variation of this effect over the surface of a sample, demonstrating significant variation with position. We discuss implications of this for the carrier localization hypothesis.
The nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio directly regulates zygotic transcription in Drosophila

Summary Early embryos must rapidly generate large numbers of cells to form an organism. Many species accomplish this through a series of rapid, reductive, and transcriptionally silent cleavage divisions. Previous work has demonstrated that before both cell cycle elongation and zygotic genome activation (ZGA), the number of divisions is regulated by the ratio of nuclear content to cytoplasm (N/C). To understand how the N/C ratio affects the timing of ZGA we directly assayed the behavior of several previously identified N/C-ratio-dependent genes using the MS2-MCP reporter system in living Drosophila embryos with altered ploidy and cell cycle time. For every gene that we examined, we found that transcription is delayed in haploids. The N/C ratio influences transcription through two separate modes of action. For many genes the effect of ploidy can be entirely accounted for by changes in cell cycle duration. However, for a subset of genes the N/C ratio directly affects the probability of transcription initiation. While it appears that cell cycle duration is the dominant component in modulating transcription for most genes, our data demonstrate that the regulatory elements of at least some genes respond directly to the N/C-ratio, independent of interphase length.
Multiphysics Modeling and Simulation of 3-D Cu–Graphene Hybrid Nanointerconnects

Cu–graphene (Cu-G) hybrid nanointerconnects are promising alternative interconnect solutions for the development of future integrated circuit technology. However, the modeling and simulation of their high-frequency electrical performance remains a challenging problem. To enable the design of complicated Cu-G interconnects, we propose a multiphysics modeling and simulation algorithm to cosimulate Maxwell’s equations, dispersion relation of graphene, and Boltzmann equation. We also develop an unconditionally stable time marching scheme to remove the dependence of time step on space step for an efficient simulation of the multiscaled and multiphysics system. Extensive numerical experiments and comparisons with measurements have validated the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed work. This article has also been applied to predict the crosstalk effect and propagation delay of graphene-encapsulated Cu nanointerconnects.
Statistical Forecast of Pollution Episodes in Macao during National Holiday and COVID-19

Statistical methods such as multiple linear regression (MLR) and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were used to build prediction models for the levels of pollutant concentrations in Macao using meteorological and air quality historical data to three periods: (i) from 2013 to 2016, (ii) from 2015 to 2018, and (iii) from 2013 to 2018. The variables retained by the models were identical for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10), PM2.5, but not for ozone (O3) Air pollution data from 2019 was used for validation purposes. The model for the 2013 to 2018 period was the one that performed best in prediction of the next-day concentrations levels in 2019, with high coefficient of determination (R2), between predicted and observed daily average concentrations (between 0.78 and 0.89 for all pollutants), and low root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and biases (BIAS). To understand if the prediction model was robust to extreme variations in pollutants concentration, a test was performed under the circumstances of a high pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 during 2019, and the low pollution episode during the period of implementation of the preventive measures for COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the high pollution episode, the period of the Chinese National Holiday of 2019 was selected, in which high concentration levels were identified for PM2.5 and O3, with peaks of daily concentration exceeding 55 μg/m3 and 400 μg/m3, respectively. The 2013 to 2018 model successfully predicted this high pollution episode with high coefficients of determination (of 0.92 for PM2.5 and 0.82 for O3). The low pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 was identified during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic period, with a low record of daily concentration for PM2.5 levels at 2 μg/m3 and O3 levels at 50 μg/m3, respectively. The 2013 to 2018 model successfully predicted the low pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 with a high coefficient of determination (0.86 and 0.84, respectively). Overall, the results demonstrate that the statistical forecast model is robust and able to correctly reproduce extreme air pollution events of both high and low concentration levels.
Mimicking a Psychiatric Disorder: Heroin-Induced Leukoencephalopathy.

Toxic leukoencephalopathy is a rare cause of encephalopathy. We describe two cases of toxic leukoencephalopathy associated with opiate abuse where they were misdiagnosed and admitted to the psychiatric ward. In our case series, both patients presented with behavioral changes, restlessness, pressured speech, and cognitive impairment for which they were initially labeled as psychiatric patients and were treated as such. However, after an extensive workup to elucidate the etiology of alteration in mental status, toxic leukoencephalopathy associated with heroin abuse was found to be the culprit in both cases. Toxic leukoencephalopathy is a rare condition that can be caused by inhalation of heroin. Clinically, it may present with confusion, behavioral changes, extrapyramidal symptoms, generalized motor deficit, unresponsiveness and even death. Our cases highlight the importance of recognizing the psychiatric presentation of toxic leukoencephalopathy.
Active learning for robust, high-complexity reactive atomistic simulations.

Machine learned reactive force fields based on polynomial expansions have been shown to be highly effective for describing simulations involving reactive materials. Nevertheless, the highly flexible nature of these models can give rise to a large number of candidate parameters for complicated systems. In these cases, reliable parameterization requires a well-formed training set, which can be difficult to achieve through standard iterative fitting methods. Here, we present an active learning approach based on cluster analysis and inspired by Shannon information theory to enable semi-automated generation of informative training sets and robust machine learned force fields. The use of this tool is demonstrated for development of a model based on linear combinations of Chebyshev polynomials explicitly describing up to four-body interactions, for a chemically and structurally diverse system of C/O under extreme conditions. We show that this flexible training database management approach enables development of models exhibiting excellent agreement with Kohn–Sham density functional theory in terms of structure, dynamics, and speciation.
Cell Biology: Deciphering the ABCs of SLiMs in G1-CDK Signaling.

Summary A new study uses an elegant in vivo assay to comprehensively characterize the LP docking motif, which determines G1-CDK substrate specificity in fungi. The authors show that LP–cyclin docking strength determines the timing of Sic1 degradation, a key cell cycle event.
Simulation of pH-Dependent Conformational Transitions in Membrane Proteins: The CLC-ec1 Cl-/H+ Antiporter.

Intracellular transport of chloride by members of the CLC transporter family involves a coupled exchange between a Cl− anion and a proton (H+), which makes the transport function dependent on ambient pH. Transport activity peaks at pH 4.5 and stalls at neutral pH. However, a structure of the WT protein at acidic pH is not available, making it difficult to assess the global conformational rearrangements that support a pH-dependent gating mechanism. To enable modeling of the CLC-ec1 dimer at acidic pH, we have applied molecular dynamics simulations (MD) featuring a new force field modification scheme—termed an Equilibrium constant pH approach (ECpH). The ECpH method utilizes linear interpolation between the force field parameters of protonated and deprotonated states of titratable residues to achieve a representation of pH-dependence in a narrow range of physiological pH values. Simulations of the CLC-ec1 dimer at neutral and acidic pH comparing ECpH-MD to canonical MD, in which the pH-dependent protonation is represented by a binary scheme, substantiates the better agreement of the conformational changes and the final model with experimental data from NMR, cross-link and AFM studies, and reveals structural elements that support the gate-opening at pH 4.5, including the key glutamates Gluin and Gluex.
Property, predation, and protection : piranha capitalism in Russia and Ukraine

What threatens the property rights of business owners? And what makes these rights secure? This book transcends the conventional diagnosis of the issue in modern developing countries by moving beyond expropriation by the state ruler or by petty bureaucratic corruption. It identifies 'agent predation' as a novel threat type, showing it to be particularly widespread and detrimental. The book also questions the orthodox prescription: institutionalized state commitment cannot secure property rights against agent predation. Instead, this volume argues that business actors can hold the predatory state agents accountable through firm-level alliances with foreign actors, labor, and local communities. Beyond securing ownership, such alliances promote rule of law in a rent-seeking society. Taking Russia and Ukraine between 2000 and 2012 as its empirical focus, the book advances these arguments by drawing on more than 150 qualitative interviews with business owners, policy makers, and bureaucrats, as well as an original large-N survey of firms.
John Locke: The theology of a reasonable man 1667–83

Locke had read the broadly Arminian works of Hammond, Hales and Allestree around 1660. He was apparently interested in the case for a broadly Arminian view of the necessity of a working faith rather than Calvinist justification by faith alone by 1667. Among his manuscripts is an eight-page part of a draft for a sermon, most probably of January 1666/7. That this draft is among Locke's papers suggests that he had preserved it throughout his life and thus throughout the many moves of his papers. The manuscript of this draft is in a hand that is very similar in many respects to Locke's own hand, but a number of letters are formed in ways that Locke employed occasionally but not usually. It may just possibly be by Locke himself, although this seems unlikely. At the least, it suggests that Locke was aware by 1667 of arguments setting out a ‘moral theology’ similar to much Latitudinarian and Arminian thought; at the most it would indicate that these themes had already become important in Locke's own thought. The text for the sermon was Gal. 5:6, on faith ‘which worketh by love’. Against the Calvinist contention that Christ's righteousness was imputed to man (infused in man), having been apprehended by faith, this sermon declared that ‘faith shall be imputed’ (counted) to the individual ‘for righteousnesse’.
Abnormal Human Sex Chromosome Constitutions

The sex chromosomes show a much wider range of viable aneuploidy than do the autosomes, presumably for the following reasons. On the one hand, the Y chromosome seems to contain very few genes apart from those determining the male sex; on the other, all but one X chromosome in a cell are inactivated, forming X chromatin bodies in the interphase. This rule can be stated another way: there is one active X chromosome for each diploid complement of autosomes.
Advanced highway/vehicle programs: a Texas view

An overview is given of the State of Texas' interest in intelligent vehicle/highway systems. The Texas Advanced Transportation Technology project is described. Emphasis is placed on the short-term real-time signal control project, to improve urban traffic control; and the autonomous vehicle project, a longer-term demonstration research project on vehicles able to make maximum use of control systems that may be integrated into future highways. >
Determination of pitch and roll angles from data buoys

Pitch and roll angles are crucial for determining directional wave information from data buoys. A gimbaled gyro sensor is typically used to provide the pitch and roll information. There are three alternatives using lighter, smaller, cheaper, and easier to handle sensors to determine this information: (1) deriving the angles by using magnetometers, (2) deriving the angles from angular rate sensors, and (3) direct pitch and roll angle outputs from a dedicated motion package. Two sets of data measured from two data buoys were used in this study. The results show the pitch and roll angles derived from angular rate sensors are better than those from the other two methods using the data from the gimbaled gyro sensor as a reference.
Targeting of Lewis-a glycans accelerates chemotaxis and transepithelial migration by human PMNs (650.9)

Pathogen-triggered neutrophil (PMN) recruitment is critical for innate immunity, but aberrant PMN influx into intestinal crypts marks disease severity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fucosylated terminal glycans, such as Lewis-x (Lex) and Sialyl Lewis-x, have previously been implicated in the regulation of important PMN functions, including selectin-mediated PMN trafficking. While such glycans based on the type 2 sequence (Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R) are abundant on PMNs, it was previously thought that PMNs lack type 1 glycans (Galβ1-3GlcNAc-R) required for the expression of Lewis-a (Lea). Here, we demonstrate through immunoblot, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemical analyses of tissues from individuals with IBD, that Lea is in fact present on human PMNs. Further, immunoblotting revealed robust PMN expression of Fucosyltransferase 3/5, glycosyltransferases with α1/4 fucosyltransferase activity, required for the terminal step in Lea synthesis. We further report that treatment of PMN with Lea-specific Abs incre...
Salmonella infantis in cattle feedlot runoff

Ten isolates of Salmonella infantis (serologically typed) were found in litter and runoff collected from two experimental feedlots near the Kansas State University campus. Pathogenic implications are discussed relative to recreation water sites. Agricultural runoff maybe a source of viable salmonellae.
Library on a slide for bacterial comparative genomics

Background We describe a novel application of microarray technology for comparative genomics of bacteria in which libraries of entire genomes rather than the sequence of a single genome or sets of genes are arrayed on the slide and then probed for the presence or absence of specific genes and/or gene alleles.
CALCIUM DIPICOLINIC ACID-INDUCED GERMINATION OF BACILLUS CEREUS SPORES

Keynan, A. (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and H. O. Halvorson. Calcium dipicolinic acid-induced germination of Bacillus cereus spores. J. Bacteriol. 83:100–105. 1962.—The germination of spores of Bacillus cereus strain T can be initiated by calcium dipicolinic acid. The kinetics of germination are characterized by a long lag period followed by a rapid loss of refractility. The lag period displays the temperature dependence of a metabolic reaction, whereas the rate of germination is relatively independent of temperature. Germination induced by calcium dipicolinic acid is insensitive to l-alanine analogues, is sensitive to metabolic poisons, and proceeds without a detectable activation stage. It was concluded that calcium dipicolinic acid-induced germination has a metabolic basis and differs, at least in its initial phases, from l-alanine-induced germination.
Direct and immune-mediated cytotoxicity of interleukin-21 contributes to antitumor effects in mantle cell lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a distinct subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by overexpression of cyclin D1 in 95% of patients. MCL patients experience frequent relapses resulting in median survival of 3 to 5 years, requiring more efficient therapeutic regimens. Interleukin (IL)-21, a member of the IL-2 cytokine family, possesses potent antitumor activity against a variety of cancers not expressing the IL-21 receptor (IL-21R) through immune activation. Previously, we established that IL-21 exerts direct cytotoxicity on IL-21R–expressing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells. Herein, we demonstrate that IL-21 possesses potent cytotoxicity against MCL cell lines and primary tumors. We identify that IL-21–induced direct cytotoxicity is mediated through signal transducer and activator of transcription 3-dependent cMyc upregulation, resulting in activation of Bax and inhibition of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL. IL-21–mediated cMyc upregulation is only observed in IL-21–sensitive cells. Further, we demonstrate that IL-21 leads to natural killer (NK)-cell–dependent lysis of MCL cell lines that were resistant to direct cytotoxicity. In vivo treatment with IL-21 results in complete FC-muMCL1 tumor regression in syngeneic mice via NK- and T-cell–dependent mechanisms. Together, these data indicate that IL-21 has potent antitumor activity against MCL cells via direct cytotoxic and indirect, immune-mediated effects.
Antenatal factors and the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

The lung of the preterm fetus is often exposed to antenatal glucocorticoids, and histologic chorioamnionitis is frequent. Clinically and experimentally, antenatal glucocorticoids and/or chorioamnionitis are associated with early lung maturation, but in experimental models, both glucocorticoids and intra-uterine inflammation decrease alveolarization. Experimental chorioamnionitis also can amplify the inflammatory response of the preterm lung to mechanical ventilation. In this article, the hypothesis developed is that bronchopulmonary dysplasia occurs because of repetitive adverse lung exposures, or hits, and that the initial hits may be antenatal glucocorticoid exposure and/or antenatal inflammation.