cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric shapes and pearling of a stretched vesicle

Closed bilayer membranes (vesicles) display a plethora of non-spherical shapes under equilibrium conditions, unlike drops and bubbles which are kept spherical by surface tension. Even more complex behaviour arises under applied flow. Intriguingly, a vesicle can adopt asymmetric shapes even under symmetric forcing such as uniaxial extensional flow. Narasimhan, Spann & Shaqfeh (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 750, 2014, pp. 144–190) explain the mechanism of this peculiar instability and trace its origin to the tension which develops in the area-incompressible membrane in response to the applied stress. The authors also show that this mechanism is relevant to the pearling of tubular vesicles. This study raises many questions, e.g. whether other soft particles with load-dependent tension such as capsules can undergo similar shape transformations.
Precise offers are potent anchors: Conciliatory counteroffers and attributions of knowledge in negotiations

Abstract People habitually use round prices as first offers in negotiations. We test whether the specificity with which a first offer is expressed has appreciable effects on first-offer recipients' perceptions and strategic choices. Studies 1a–d establish that first-offer recipients make greater counteroffer adjustments to round versus precise offers. Study 2 demonstrates this phenomenon in an interactive, strategic exchange. Study 3 shows that negotiators who make precise first offers are assumed to be more informed than negotiators who make round first offers and that this perception partially mediates the effect of first-offer precision on recipient adjustments. First-offer recipients appear to make assumptions about their counterpart's language choices and infer meanings that are not explicitly conveyed. Precise numerical expressions imply a greater level of knowledge than round expressions and are therefore assumed by recipients to be more informative of the true value of the good being negotiated.
Recent advances in statins and the kidney

Recent advances in statins and the kidney Background Experimental and clinical studies have suggested a correlation between the progression of renal disease and dyslipidemia. Indeed, apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins have been demonstrated to be an independent risk factor for the progression of renal disease in humans. Interventional strategies in experimental models of renal disease have clearly demonstrated a beneficial effect on renal structure and function in a variety of models of renal disease. Investigations into the mechanisms whereby reduction of lipids by lipid-lowering agents benefits renal disease have suggested that the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme reductase inhibitors, the so-called statin class of lipid-lowering agents, may have additional effects on the biology of inflammation that are germane to the progression of renal disease. Methods Both in vivo and in vitro studies that investigated secondary mechanisms of statin effects are reviewed. In addition, new studies that investigated the effects on novel cellular mechanisms are presented. Results Lipid-lowering agents appear to have biologically important effects in modulating a variety of intracellular signaling systems involved in cell proliferation, inflammatory responses that involve macrophage adhesion, recruitment, and maturation. In addition, the effects on fibrogenesis have been recently defined. These latter effects may influence not only the development of glomerulosclerosis, but also interstitial fibrosis. These potentially major effects of lipid-lowering agents appear to be related to the effects on intracellular synthesis of nonsterol isoprenoids, which are involved in prenylation of critical small molecular weight proteins involved in cell signal transduction. Conclusions In addition to the beneficial effects of the reduction in serum lipids, statins and other lipid-lowering agents may influence important intracellular pathways that are involved in the inflammatory and fibrogenic responses, which are common components of many forms of progressive renal injury.
Prerenal azotemia from excessive sweating in an adult with a cystic fibrosis gene mutation

We present the case of a 58-year-old male with chronic kidney disease who was admitted to the hospital multiple times with extracellular fluid volume depletion and prerenal azotemia. Some episodes were associated with gastrointestinal fluid losses and others with profuse diaphoresis in the absence of gastrointestinal fluid losses. At the age of 57 years, a common cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein mutation and a family history of cystic fibrosis were documented. We hypothesize that the abnormal cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator resulted in repeated bouts of excessive sweating, extracellular fluid volume depletion, and acute renal failure. This case is unique because of the prolonged period of time over which multiple documented episodes of prerenal acute renal failure occurred and because of the onset of the episodes in adulthood.
Sheepskin effects of education in the 10-year Framingham risk of coronary heart disease.

Abstract While the association between education and adult health is well documented, it is unclear whether quantity (i.e. years of schooling) or credentials (i.e. degrees) drive this association. Individuals with degrees may have better health than their non-credentialed counterparts given similar years of schooling, the so-called “sheepskin” effect. This paper contributes to this line of inquiry by examining associations of educational degree and years of schooling with the Framingham Risk Score, a measure of 10-year risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), using data from a unique birth cohort (the New England Family Study; participants mean age 42 years) with prospective information on childhood health and intelligence quotient (IQ). According to our results, years of schooling were inversely associated with 10-year CHD risk in the unadjusted model but not in the fully adjusted models that included degree attainment. By contrast, associations between degree attainment and 10-year CHD risk remained significant in the fully adjusted models that included years of schooling. College degree holders had 10-year CHD risk 19% (95% CI: −33%, −2%) lower than individuals with HS degrees or less in the fully adjusted models. Subanalyses evaluating sheepskin effects on the individual components of the 10-year CHD risk algorithm showed the expected education gradient was generally noted for each of the individual components, with decreasing prevalence of “high risk” values associated with higher degree credentials. Our results suggest educational credentials provide an additional benefit to risk of coronary heart disease beyond schooling.
Consumer Satisfaction in Nursing Homes Current Practices and Resident Priorities

Surveys of resident satisfaction are commonplace in most nursing homes, although surveys used in many facilities may be biased toward concerns of providers and regulators instead of residents. In t...
IκB Kinases Serve as a Target of CD28 Signaling

Optimal T cell activation and interleukin-2 production requires a second signal in addition to antigen-mediated T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. The CD28 molecule has been demonstrated to act as an effective costimulatory molecule upon binding by B7.1 or B7.2 present on antigen-presenting cells. The CD28 signal acts in concert with the TCR signal to significantly augment activation of the NF-κB family of transcription factors. The interleukin-2 gene is regulated by NF-κB among other transcription factors, in part, via a CD28 responsive element (CD28RE) present in the IL-2 promoter. Enhanced activation of NF-κB by CD28 is mediated by rapid phosphorylation and proteasome-mediated degradation of the NF-κB inhibitory proteins IκBα and IκBβ, which allows for accelerated nuclear expression of the liberated NF-κB. Herein, we provide evidence that the catalytic activities of two recently identified IκB kinases, IKKα and IKKβ, are significantly elevated when T cells are stimulated through CD28 in addition to mitogen treatment. Catalytically inactive forms of IKKs are able to block the in vivo phosphorylation of IκBα induced by mitogen and CD28. Furthermore, CD28-mediated reporter gene transactivation of the CD28RE/AP-1 composite element is consistently attenuated by the IKK mutants. These findings suggest that cellular signaling pathways initiated at the TCR and CD28 converge at or upstream of IKK, resulting in more robust kinase activity and enhanced and prolonged NF-κB activation.
Transformation pathways of cocrystal hydrates when coformer modulates water activity

An important attribute of cocrystals is that their properties can be tailored to meet required solubility and stability specifications. But before such practical uses can be realized, a better understanding of the factors that dictate cocrystal behavior is needed. This study attempts to explain the phase behavior of anhydrous/hydrated cocrystals when the coformer modulates both water activity and cocrystal solubility. Stability dependence on solution com- position and water activity was studied for theophylline-citric acid (THP-CTA) anhydrous and hydrated cocrystals by both suspension and vapor equilibration methods. Eutectic points and associated water activities were measured by suspension equilibration methods to determine stability regions and phase diagrams. The critical water activity for the anhydrous-hydrate cocrystal was found to be 0.8. It is shown that (a) both water and coformer activities determine phase stability, and (b) excipients that alter water activity can profoundly affect the hydrate/ anhydrous eutectic points and phase stability. Vapor phase stability studies demonstrate that cocrystals of highly water soluble coformers, such as citric acid, are predisposed to conversions due to moisture uptake and deliquescence of the coformer. The presence of such coformers as trace level impurities with cocrystal will alter hygroscopic behavior and stability. 2010 Wiley- Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 99:3977-3985, 2010
Parotid and submaxillary calcium in human cystic fibrosis

Abstract Examination of salivary calcium concentration by atomic absorbtion spectrophotometry revealed that: (1) parotid as well as submaxillary total calcium was elevated in C F patients; (2) most of the elevation in submaxillary calcium was in the dialysable fraction; (3) submaxillary calcium concentration in C F could not be correlated with disease severity; and (4) heterozygotes did not exhibit elevations in submaxillary calcium.
Orientational ordering in quench-condensed H 2 measured by ac calorimetry

The heat capacity of quench-condensed normal- and para-hydrogen has been measured using ac calorimetry. The measurements were made at temperatures from 1.6 to 3.7 K on sapphire and evaporated gold substrates. The range of exposures studied was 0.24 to 3.3 A−2, yielding estimated coverages from 0.07 to 2.5 A−2. For reference, monolayer completion of H2 on graphite occurs at a coverage of 0.1 A−2. For normal-hydrogen (n-H2) on a few of our sapphire substrates, the heat capacity as a function of temperature exhibits a peak at 1.8 K, followed by a rapid decrease. For then-H2 data on all other substrates, a negative slope is observed at the lowest temperatures measured, which is consistent with a peak below our temperature range. We attribute these effects to a bulk-like orientational ordering transition. The coverage dependence of the peak is not consistent with the predictions of a model of finite-size effects. We conclude that the dominant broadening of the peak is inhomogeneous. The desorption rate is deduced from the time dependence of the heat capacity and is found to agree with previously published values. The ortho-to-para conversion rate is comparable to that of bulk hydrogen.
Morphology and physiology of Spirochaeta aurantia strains isolated from aquatic habitats.

1. Seven strains of Spirochaeta aurantia were isolated from pond and swamp water by means of a selective technique which utilized the ability of these organisms to move through bacterial filters and to diffuse through agar media. Although most of the isolations were accomplished when enrichment media low in carbohydrates were used, all seven strains were found to be exclusively saccharolytic. 2. The isolates could be divided into two groups on the basis of cell morophology: a loosely coiled group, and a tightly coiled group with markedly smaller wave length and wave amplitude. Spirochetes of the latter group possessed a slightly lower GC content in their DNA. The isolates were facultative anaerobes, synthesized carotenoid pigments which conferred an orange color to aerobic colonies, and utilized a variety of carbohydrates — but not amino acids — as energy sources. Exogenous thiamine was required by six isolates tested. riboflavin by four, and biotin by one. The major products of glucose fermentation were acetate, ethanol, CO2 and H2. Growth of the isolates was inhibited by a variety of antibiotics. Determinations of GC contents of DNA showed that strains of S. aurantia are phylogenetically distant from spirochetes classified in the genera Treponema and Leptospira. 3. S. aurantia populations inoculated in the center of agar medium plates migrated in the form of growth rings toward the periphery of the plates. The rate of migration of glucoseutilizing rings was greatest at low glucose concentrations (e.g., 0.02 g/100 ml). It was concluded that migration of cells present in these rings was mainly due to a chemotactic response to glucose which served both as the attractant and the substrate. Chemotaxis of S. aurantia toward glucose may be used as a selective factor in isolating this bacterium from natural environments. 4. The subspecific epithet stricta is proposed to recognize, taxonomically, the tightly coiled strains of S. aurantia.
Inhibition of ConA erythroagglutination by alkali-treated lipopolysaccharide.

Abstract Bacterial lipopolysaccharide treated by hydrolysis in basic solution (hLPS) and then added to suspensions of human erythrocytes markedly inhibited erythroagglutination by concanavalin A (ConA), soybean agglutinin (SBA), and Phaseolus vulgaris phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Likewise, red cells presensitized by exposure to hLPS and then suspended in hLPS-free buffer were not agglutinated by ConA. However, when hLPS was not added to buffer both SBA and PHA strongly agglutinated erythrocytes presensitized by hLPS. Also, the binding of 3 H-labeled ConA to red cells was unaffected by presensitization of the cells with hLPS. It appears, therefore, that membrane-associated hLPS localizes in the ConA receptor regions of erythrocyte membranes and inhibits ConA erythroagglutination by disruption of receptor responses to bound ConA or alteration of the active subunit structure of bound ConA.
Coherent emission in fast radio bursts

The fast (ms) radio bursts reported by Lorimer et al. Science 318, 777 (2007) and Thornton et al. Science 341, 53 (2013) have extremely high brightness temperatures if at the inferred cosmological distances. This implies coherent emission by ``bunches'' of charges. Fast radio bursts, like the giant pulses of the Crab pulsar, display banded spectra that may be harmonics of plasma frequency emission by plasma turbulence and are inconsistent with emission by charge distributions moving relativistically. We model the emission region as a screen of half-wave dipole radiators resonant around the frequencies of observation, the maximally bright emission mechanism of nonrelativistic charges, and calculate the implied charge bunching. From this we infer the minimum electron energy required to overcome electrostatic repulsion. If fast radio bursts are the counterparts of Galactic events, their Galactic counterparts may be detected from any direction above the horizon by radio telescopes in their far sidelobes or by small arrays of dipoles.
Topological and Invariance Entropy for Infinite-Dimensional Linear Systems

For linear (control) systems on infinite-dimensional state spaces with finite-dimensional unstable subspace, this paper introduces the concepts of topological entropy and invariance entropy. For linear dynamical systems on Banach spaces, described by a strongly continuous semigroup, the topological entropy is given by the sum of the real parts of the unstable eigenvalues of the infinitesimal generator. An application is provided by computing the topological entropy of delay equations and of a parabolic partial differential equation. Furthermore, the invariance entropy for infinite-dimensional linear control systems is equal to the topological entropy of the homogeneous equation and so it is also described by the eigenvalues of the infinitesimal generator.
Towards an artificially intelligent problem solver for heat transfer: Outline of system design

Abstract The preliminary design of an artificial intelligence system (KNOWTRAN) for expert-level problem solving in heat transfer is presented. KNOWTRAN is based upon the recent developments in knowledge-based systems engineering. This system is being designed to automate most of the routine tasks of knowledge acquisition, problem solution, solution verification and solution implementation.
Pelagic Bird Survey on Lake Ontario Following Hurricane Isabel, September 2003: Observations and Remarks on Methodology

Abstract The abundance and dispersion of pelagic waterbirds was measured on Lake Ontario during the aftermath of the storm system generated by Hurricane Isabel, September 2003. The purpose of this study was to determine whether standard shipboard methodologies developed for surveying pelagic seabirds from ships on the ocean are applicable on the Laurentian Great Lakes, and if so whether such surveys may provide information that cannot be acquired from shore-based surveys. The abundance of waterbirds was low in offshore Lake Ontario, but similar to oligotrophic ocean environments. Our results suggest that bird surveys are easy to conduct from Great Lakes research vessels, and are likely to provide information useful for monitoring ecosystem health in the Lakes.
Numerical Model of Fluid Flow and Oxygen Transport in a Radial-Flow Microchannel Containing Hepatocytes

The incorporation of monolayers of cultured hepatocytes into an extracorporeal perfusion system has become a promising approach for the development of a tempo­ rary bioartificial liver (BAL) support system. In this paper we present a numerical investigation of the oxygen tension, shear stress, and pressure drop in a bioreactor for a BAL composed of plasma-perfused chambers containing monolayers of porcine hepatocytes. The chambers consist of microfabricat ed parallel disks with center-toedge radial flow. The oxygen uptake rate (OUR), measured in vitro for porcine hepatocytes, was curve-fitted using Michaelis-Menten kinetics for simulation of the oxygen concentration profile. The effect of different parameters that may influence the oxygen transport inside the chambers, such as the plasma flow rate, the chamber height, the initial oxygen tension in the perfused plasma, the OUR, and K^ was investigated. We found that both the plasma flow rate and the initial oxygen tension may have an important effect upon oxygen transport. Increasing the flow rate and/ or the inlet oxygen tension resulted in improved oxygen transport to cells in the radial-flow microchannels, and allowed significantly greater diameter reactor without oxygen limitation to the hepatocytes. In the range investigated in this paper (10 p,m < H < 100 jim), and for a constant plasma flow rate, the chamber height, H, had a negligible effect on the oxygen transport to hepatocytes. On the contrary, it strongly affected the mechanical stress on the cells that is also crucial for the successful design of the BAL reactors. A twofold decrease in chamber height from 50 to 25 jjm produced approximately a fivefold increase in maximal shear stress at the inlet of the reactor from 2 to 10 dyn/cm^. Further decrease in chamber height resulted in shear stress values that are physiologically unrealistic. Therefore, the channel height needs to be carefully chosen in a BAL design to avoid deleterious hydrodynamic effects on hepatocytes.
A review of: “Introduction to Linear Optimization”Dimitris Bertsimas and John Tsitsiklis 608 pages, ISBN 1-886529-19-1, $69.00 (hardback)

(1998). A review of: “Introduction to Linear Optimization”Dimitris Bertsimas and John Tsitsiklis 608 pages, ISBN 1-886529-19-1, $69.00 (hardback) IIE Transactions: Vol. 30, No. 9, pp. 855-855.
Technology in government document collections: Current status, impacts, and prospects

Abstract This article assists the depository documents librarian in assessing both the promise and the reality of information handling technologies for government document collections. The article first surveys the current applications of OCLC, online bibliographic data base searching, microforms, automated systems, and other technologies in documents collections. Constraints, such as training, cost, workload and staffing, government policies, and access to appropriate information, that can limit the application of technology are discussed with possible strategies to reduce their impact. After a brief review of technology utilization at the Government Printing Office, the article concludes by discussing the areas where technology applications will impact on the documents collection, the need for research related to utilization of technology for documents collections, and the impact of technology development on the depository library system. The success of technology utilization in documents collections may be determined more by the initiative and dedication of documents librarians than by the availability of technology.
Nonparametric analysis of fingerprint data on large data sets

By executing different fingerprint-image matching algorithms on large data sets, it reveals that the match and non-match similarity scores have no specific underlying distribution function. Thus, it requires a nonparametric analysis for fingerprint-image matching algorithms on large data sets without any assumption about such irregularly discrete distribution functions. A precise receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on the true accept rate (TAR) of the match similarity scores and the false accept rate (FAR) of the non-match similarity scores can be constructed. The area under such an ROC curve computed using the trapezoidal rule is equivalent to the Mann-Whitney statistic directly formed from the match and non-match similarity scores. Thereafter, the Z statistic formulated using the areas under ROC curves along with their variances and the correlation coefficient is applied to test the significance of the difference between two ROC curves. Four examples from the extensive testing of commercial fingerprint systems at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are provided. The nonparametric approach presented in this article can also be employed in the analysis of other large biometric data sets.
Differential Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Dementia and Vascular Dementia

acquired cognitive impairment that may be associated with a number of potential disease states. Two of the most widely recognized forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) and Vascular Dementia (VaD), are associated with dissimilar anatomical correlates, risk factors, diagnostic features, and neuropsychological profiles. Considered to be the prototypical form of “cortical” dementia, AD is associated with pronounced cortical atrophy of the brain. 2 Degeneration of mesial temporal structures, with particular involvement of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, appears to account for the memory difficulties characteristic of AD. The presence of widespread, cortical neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is also prominent in AD, with the latter approaching pathognomonic significance: “no patient with Alzheimer’s Disease has ever been reported without NFTs in the entorhinal and hippocampal regions. . ..” 3 Increasing age (especially after ages 60 to 65) is the most significant risk factor of AD, and the presence of apolipoprotein E 4 nearly doubles one’s risk for developing the condition. 4 Persons with Down’s Syndrome (Trisomy 21) are at greater risk of developing AD (especially after age 40), and women more than men are usually at greater risk. Other, less clearly understood variables (eg, hypertension) have also been suggested as possible risk factors for AD. VaD may be the result of a “markedly heterogeneous” group of conditions, 4 such as ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and Binswanger’s Disease. Attenuation of periventricular white matter (leukoaraiosis 5 ) is often observed in VaD. There is evidence that even a minor degree of leukoaraiosis can have subtle effects over cognition, 6 although variable results have been found in this regard. As with AD, the greatest risk factor for VaD is increasing age. Other VaD risk factors include a history of hypertension, heart disease, hypercholesteremia, tobacco use,
Evolving a Blueprint for Certification Inventory of Professional Activities and Knowledge of a Holistic Nurse (IPAKHN)

In the development and administration of a certification examination in holistic nursing, an important issue is to ensure adequate content validity. Thus, the American Holistic Nurses' Association (AHNA) and the American Holistic Nurses' Certification Corporation (AHNCC), with the assistance of the National League for Nursing, conducted a practice analysis study to generate empirical data on the professional activities and knowledge required to practice holistic nursing on a day-to-day basis.
Cross-lingual latent semantic analysis for language modeling

Statistical language model estimation requires large amounts of domain-specific text, which is difficult to obtain in many languages. We propose techniques which exploit domain-specific text in a resource-rich language to adapt a language model in a resource-deficient language. A primary advantage of our technique is that in the process of cross-lingual language model adaptation, we do not rely on the availability of any machine translation capability. Instead, we assume that only a modest-sized collection of story-aligned document-pairs in the two languages is available. We use ideas from cross-lingual latent semantic analysis to develop a single low-dimensional representation shared by words and documents in both languages, which enables us to (i) find documents in the resource-rich language pertaining to a specific story in the resource-deficient language, and (ii) extract statistics from the pertinent documents to adapt a language model to the story of interest. We demonstrate significant reductions in perplexity and error rates in a Mandarin speech recognition task using this technique.
A Surface Amebic Cysteine Proteinase Inactivates Interleukin-18

Amebiasis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Invasion by Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites causes secretion of proinflammatory cytokines from host epithelial cells, leading to a local acute inflammatory response, followed by lysis of colonic cells. Extracellular cysteine proteinases from amebic trophozoites are key virulence factors and have a number of important interactions with host defenses, including cleavage of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, and complement components C3 and C5. Amebic lysates have also been shown to activate the precursor to interleukin 1-beta (proIL-1beta), mimicking the action of caspase-1. IL-18 is also a central cytokine, which induces gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and activates macrophages, one of the main host defenses against invading trophozoites. Because proIL-18 is also activated by caspase-1, we evaluated whether amebic proteinases had a similar effect. Instead, we found that recombinant proIL-18 was cleaved into smaller fragments by the complex of surface-associated and released amebic proteinases. To evaluate the function of an individual proteinase from the complex pool, we expressed an active surface proteinase, EhCP5, which is functional only in E. histolytica. Recombinant EhCP5 expressed in Pichia pastoris had kinetic properties similar to those of the native enzyme with respect to substrate specificity and sensitivity to proteinase inhibitors. In contrast to the activation of proIL-1beta by amebic lysates, the purified proteinase cleaved proIL-18 and mature IL-18 to biologically inactive fragments. These studies suggest that the acute host response and amebic invasion result from a complex interplay of parasite virulence factors and host defenses. E. histolytica may block the host inflammatory response by a novel mechanism, inactivation of IL-18.
Optimal segmentation of dynamic scenes from two perspective views

We present a novel algorithm for optimally segmenting dynamic scenes containing multiple rigidly moving objects. We cast the motion segmentation problem as a constrained nonlinear least squares problem, which minimizes the reprojection error subject to all multibody epipolar constraints. By converting this constrained problem into an unconstrained one, we obtain an objective function that depends on the motion parameters only (fundamental matrices), but is independent on the segmentation of the image features. Therefore, our algorithm does not iterate between feature segmentation and single body motion estimation. Instead, it uses standard nonlinear optimization techniques to simultaneously recover all the fundamental matrices, without prior segmentation. We test our approach on a real sequence.
Nutrition and colonic health: the critical role of the microbiota.

Purpose of reviewTo highlight mechanisms whereby diet affects colonic function and disease patterns.Recent findingsTopical nutrients are preferentially used by the gut mucosa to maintain structure and function. With the colon, topical nutrients are generated by the colonic microbiota to maintain muc
Habitat overlap and gastrointestinal parasitism in sympatric African bovids.

Gastrointestinal parasite infections are widespread among wild ungulates. Because many of these parasites infect multiple host species, inter-specific interactions among hosts potentially play an important role in parasite transmission dynamics in ungulate communities. In this study, the effects of inter-specific contact on parasitism rates in 11 sympatric African bovids was examined using habitat overlap among species as a measure of cross-species contact rates. Across individual hosts, strongyle nematode abundance increased with increasing numbers of bovid species occupying a habitat. Furthermore, comparative analyses show a positive association between strongyle prevalence and level of habitat overlap across taxa. These findings suggest that among sympatric bovids, contact between species contributes significantly to the transmission of generalist nematode parasites. For a more host-specific parasite group, coccidia, parasite abundance and individual probability of infection declined in hosts living in bovid rich habitats. This pattern may reflect enhanced inter-specific competition among parasites in these areas. Finally, similar to strongyle abundance, individual parasite richness also increased among hosts occupying habitats with higher numbers of bovid species. No association between habitat overlap and parasite richness was detected at higher taxonomic scales, however, which suggests that contact between host species may not contribute to parasite colonization of new host taxa.
Whistle Where You Work? The Ineffectiveness of the Federal Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and the Promise of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012

The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) of 1989 was enacted to provide protection to employees who report wrongdoing on the part of their employers. This study analyzed whether the provisions in the WPA actually protect federal government employees from retaliation by their federal government employers. The research focused on a legal analysis of federal employee WPA claims litigated in federal court. Furthermore, within those cases, the claims were separated by issues—national security, environmental issues, and government ethics—to get a fuller understanding of WPA issues. The findings of the analysis suggested that the WPA did not provide adequate protections for employees. Out of 151 appellate cases that were identified and reviewed in the study, 79% of cases were ruled in favor of defendants—federal agencies. Out of 142 cases involving government ethics and administration issues, 79% of cases were lost by employees. In issues involving the environment, 100% of cases resulted in a loss for employees. O...
Nanowire nanoelectronics: Building interfaces with tissue and cells at the natural scale of biology

Advisor: Charles M. Lieber, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University. Central to the bottom-up assembly of functional devices is the tailoring of the optical, electrical, geometrical and chemical composition properties of the assembled nanomaterials, such as nanocrystals and nanowires. A new class of molecular-scale electronic interfaces can be formed with cells and tissue using chemicallysynthesized semiconductor nanowires (NWs) as functional elements. These NWs have received intense interest in recent years, leading to the development of structures with rationally controlled geometry, composition, and electronic properties (1-3). These characteristics have enabled semiconductor NWs to emerge as powerful building blocks for the bottom-up assembly of functional devices with applications areas from nanoelectronics, (4-7) to the biosciences (8-11). Most importantly, the interface between nanoscale electronic devices and biological systems enables interactions at length-scales natural to biology, and thus should maximize communication between these two diverse yet complementary systems. Moreover, nanostructures and nanostructured substrates show enhanced coupling to artificial membranes, cells, and tissue. Such nano-bio interfaces offer better sensitivity and spatial resolution as compared to conventional planar structures.
Masked form priming with extreme transposition

Using eight-letter words, masked form-priming is examined with more extreme versions of transposed primes than are normally considered. Strong priming effects are observed when as few as two out of eight letters are correctly positioned within the prime, indicating that the word recognition system is surprisingly flexible with regard to letter position. Three prominent models of letter position coding are considered in light of the observed data. The comparison between models focuses on the assumptions and mechanisms within each. Strengths and weaknesses are identified for all approaches. Some evidence is found in support of differential weighting of letter positions, although the more specific question of whether it is exterior or initial letters that are most crucial to word recognition remains unresolved.
A general framework for generating multivariate explanations in Bayesian networks

Many existing explanation methods in Bayesian networks, such as Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) assignment and Most Probable Explanation (MPE), generate complete assignments for target variables. A priori, the set of target variables is often large, but only a few of them may be most relevant in explaining given evidence. Generating explanations with all the target variables is hence not always desirable. This paper addresses the problem by proposing a new framework called Most Relevant Explanation (MRE), which aims to automatically identify the most relevant target variables. We will also discuss in detail a specific instance of the framework that uses generalized Bayes factor as the relevance measure. Finally we will propose an approximate algorithm based on Reversible Jump MCMC and simulated annealing to solve MRE. Empirical results show that the new approach typically finds much more concise explanations than existing methods.
Regulation of muscle protein synthesis during sepsis and inflammation

Prolonged sepsis and exposure to an inflammatory milieu decreases muscle protein synthesis and reduces muscle mass. As a result of its ability to integrate diverse signals, including hormones and n...
Bladder problems associated with neurological disease

A neurogenic bladder is defined as dysfunction of the bladder secondary to known disease of, or injury to, the central, peripheral or autonomic nervous systems. Neurogenic bladder dysfunction can c...
Credit Access and Urban Regeneration in the United States

A key objective of the Commercial Local Urban Districts (CLUD) project is to explore different ways in which local economic activity can serve as a catalyst for urban regeneration. One approach to realizing this objective is to examine the linkages between local commercial activity and the broader urban environment, including various types of public private partnerships and their role in fostering local economic development (Weissbourd and Bodini, 2005). In particular, it is widely accepted among economists that a healthy commercial sector depends, among other things, on a reliable system for the creation and distribution of credit. One of the questions motivating the research agenda of CLUDs is whether or not it is possible to devise economic growth strategies centered on local and regional initiatives rather than on global and national ones. The reason for emphasizing local and regional economic growth strategies is that the overall goal of CLUDs is to explore new tools for local urban regeneration broad enough to be applied in a variety of cultural and historical milieus, yet sensitive enough to capture the unique qualities of different locales.
The aadA Gene of Plasmid R100 Confers Resistance to Spectinomycin and Streptomycin in Myxococcus xanthus

Plasmids with the aadA gene from plasmid R100, which confers resistance to the aminoglycosides spectinomycin and streptomycin in Escherchia coli, can be introduced into wild-type Myxococcus xanthus, strain DK1622, by electroporation. Recombinant M. xanthus strains with integrated plasmids carrying the aadA gene acquire resistance to high levels of these antibiotics. Selection for aadA in M. xanthus can be carried out independently of, or simultaneously with, selection for resistance to kanamycin. The kinds and frequencies of recombination events observed between integrative plasmids with aadA and the M. xanthus chromosome are similar to those observed after the transformation of yeast. Cleavage of integrative plasmid DNA at a site adjacent to a region of homology between the plasmid and the M. xanthus genome favors the targeted disruption of M. xanthus genes by allele replacement. The soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus is a model prokaryotic system for the study of intercellular communication. Cellcell interactions play central roles in both gliding motility and an elaborate multicellular developmental cycle initiated by starvation. Development leads to the morphogenesis of fruiting bodies containing differentiated, heat-resistant spores. Although the change from rod-shaped vegetative cells to spherical spores is rapid, genetic methods have been used successfully to arrange the early steps of this process into an ordered series of molecular events. Many mutations that block M. xanthus development do not affect vegetative growth. Consequently, methods for the analysis of mutations that block development have relied on genetic manipulations with vegetative cells.
A Review of Current Clinical Findings With Fluvastatin

Fluvastatin, the newest member of the class of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, is structurally different from the fungal metabolites (lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin) and is wholly synthetic. Fluvastatin has a distinct biopharmaceutical profile, including a short systemic exposure time (half-life of 1.2 hours) and virtually no active circulating metabolites. Fluvastatin is targeted to the liver, where it is rapidly metabolized; 98% of fluvastatin is protein bound. Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have demonstrated that fluvastatin at daily dosages of 20-40 mg produces significant decreases from baseline in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol on the order of 22-31% in patients with severe primary hypercholesterolemia (mean baseline LDL cholesterol 227 mg/dL) and decreases of 19-25% in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (mean baseline LDL cholesterol 270 mg/dL). Interim results of a titrate-to-goal, 20-week study in patients with moderate hypercholesterolemia (LDL cholesterol >= 160 mg/dL and triglycerides <= 350 mg/dL) demonstrate that fluvastatin, 20 mg/day, lowers LDL cholesterol by 21% within 6 weeks. Long-term results indicate that the lipid-lowering effects of fluvastatin are sustained for 96 weeks. Further, 1 study has shown that the combination of low-dose fluvastatin plus niacin decreased LDL cholesterol levels 40% without untoward adverse events, suggesting that this combination is effective and safe for patients needing intensive lipid-lowering therapy. Asymptomatic, reversible increases in hepatic transaminase levels occur in fluvastatin-treated patients at a frequency comparable to that reported for other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. The 20-30% reduction in LDL cholesterol required by the majority of patients with hypercholesterolemia can be achieved with fluvastatin at 20 or 40 mg/day as well as with the other available HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors at their most commonly prescribed doses. Fluvastatin, priced 40% lower than other statins, provides the most cost-effective means of safely achieving goal LDL cholesterol levels in these patients.
Hopfield neural network implementation of the optimal CDMA multiuser detector

We investigate the application of Hopfield neural networks (HNN's) to the problem of multiuser detection in spread spectrum/CDMA (code division multiple access) communication systems. It is shown that the NP-complete problem of minimizing the objective function of the optimal multiuser detector (OMD) can be translated into minimizing an HNN "energy" function, thus allowing to take advantage of the ability of HNN's to perform very fast gradient descent algorithms in analog hardware and produce in real-time suboptimal solutions to hard combinatorial optimization problems. The performance of the proposed HNN receiver is evaluated via computer simulations and compared to that of other suboptimal schemes as well as to that of the OMD for both the synchronous and the asynchronous CDMA transmission cases. It is shown that the HNN detector exhibits a number of attractive properties and that it provides a powerful generalization of a well-known and extensively studied suboptimal scheme, namely the multistage detector.
Mechanical properties of amorphous LixSi alloys: a reactive force field study

Silicon is a high-capacity anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Electrochemical cycling of Si electrodes usually produces amorphous LixSi (a-LixSi) alloys at room temperature. Despite intensive investigation of the electrochemical behaviors of a-LixSi alloys, their mechanical properties and underlying atomistic mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here we perform molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the mechanical properties of a-LixSi with a newly developed reactive force field (ReaxFF). We compute the yield and fracture strengths of a-LixSi alloys under a variety of chemomechanical loading conditions, including the constrained thin-film lithiation, biaxial compression, uniaxial tension and compression. Effects of loading sequence and stress state are investigated to correlate the mechanical responses with the dominant atomic bonding, featuring a transition from the covalent to the metallic glass characteristics with increasing Li concentration. The results provide mechanistic insights for interpreting experiments, understanding properties and designing new experiments on aLixSi alloys, which are essential to the development of durable Si electrodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.
The case for personal data-driven decision making

Data-driven decision making (D3M) has shown great promise in professional pursuits such as business and government. Here, policymakers collect and analyze data to make their operations more efficient and equitable. Progress in bringing the benefits of D3M to everyday life has been slow. For example, a student asks, "If I pursue an undergraduate degree at this university, what are my expected lifetime earnings?". Presently there is no principled way to search for this, because an accurate answer depends on the student and school.Such queries are personalized, winnowing down large datasets for specific circumstances, rather than applying well-defined predicates. They predict decision outcomes by extrapolating from relevant examples. This vision paper introduces a new approach to D3M that is designed to empower the individual to make informed choices. Here, we highlight research opportunities for the data management community arising from this proposal.
Development of a novel polyamide-based agent to inhibit EVI1 function

The EVI1 gene at chromosome 3q26 is associated with acute myeloid leukemogenesis, due to both chromosomal rearrangement and to overexpression in the absence of rearrangement. Some rearrangements such as t(3;3) and inv(3) result in overexpression of EVI1 protein, while translocation t(3;21) yields an AML1-MDS1-EVI1 (AME) fusion protein. EVI1 possesses two zinc finger domains, an N-terminal domain with fingers 1–7, which binds to GACAAGATA, and a C-terminal domain (fingers 8–10) which binds GAAGATGAG. Inhibition of EVI1 function with a small molecule compound may provide a targeted therapy for EVI1-expressing leukemias. As a first step towards inhibiting the leukemogenic function of EVI1, we performed structure-function studies on both EVI1 and AME protein to determine what domains are critical for malignant transformation activity. Assays were Rat1 fibroblasts in a soft agar colony forming assay for EVI1; primary bone marrow cells in a serial replating assay for AME. Both assays revealed that mutation of arginine 205 in zinc finger 6 of EVI1, which completely abrogates sequencespecific DNA binding via the N-terminal zinc finger domain, resulted in complete loss of transforming activity; mutations in other domains, such as the C-terminal zinc finger domain, CtBP binding domain, and the domains of AML1 had less of an effect or no effect on transforming activity. In an effort to inhibit EVI1 leukemogenic function, we developed a polyamide, DH-IV-298, designed to block zinc fingers 1–7 binding to the GACAAGATA motif. DNAseI footprinting revealed a specific interaction between DH-IV-298 and the GACAAGATA motif; no significant interaction was observed elsewhere; a mismatch polyamide failed to footprint at equivalent concentrations; and DH-IV-298 failed to bind to a control DNA lacking the GACAAGATA motif. Electromobility shift assay showed that, at a 1:1 polyamide:DNA ratio, DH-IV-298 lowered EVI1:DNA affinity by over 98%, while mismatch was significantly less effective (74% reduction). To assess the effect of DH-IV-298 on EVI1 binding to DNA in vivo, we performed CAT reporter assays in a NIH-3T3-derived cell line with a chromosome-embedded tet-inducible EVI1-VP16 as well as a EVI1-responsive CAT reporter. Removal of tetracycline resulted in a four-fold increase in CAT activity that was completely blocked by DH-IV-298. The mismatch polyamide was significantly less effective than DH-IV-298. Further studies are being performed to assess the effect on endogenous gene expression, and on growth of leukemic cells that express EVI1. These studies provide evidence that a cell permeable small molecule compound may effectively block the activity of a leukemogenic transcription factor.