cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Truss waviness effects in cellular lattice structures

Methods have emerged for making metallic lattice structures either by the lay up of collinear wire arrays or by stacking woven textile meshes. The two fabrication routes result in similar lattice topologies: the collinear lattice has straight struts while those in the textile lattice are wavy. Wire waviness in the textile lattice results in a knockdown in both the stiffness and strength compared to the collinear lattice. Analytical estimates and finite element (FE) predictions of the through thickness compressive responses of collinear and textile lattices indicate that the stiffness and strength of lattices oriented to form a diamond structure are specimen aspect ratio dependent. By contrast, the stiffness of the collinear and textile lattices oriented to form a square structure is independent of both specimen aspect ratio and height while the strength depends on the sandwich height. Experimental measurements on specimens fabricated from 304L stainless steel are in good qualitative agreement with the elastic ideally-plastic analytical estimates while FE predictions incorporating the full strain hardening response of the parent material give accurate quantitative predictions of the measurements.
Unambiguity Regularization for Unsupervised Learning of Probabilistic Grammars

We introduce a novel approach named unambiguity regularization for unsupervised learning of probabilistic natural language grammars. The approach is based on the observation that natural language is remarkably unambiguous in the sense that only a tiny portion of the large number of possible parses of a natural language sentence are syntactically valid. We incorporate an inductive bias into grammar learning in favor of grammars that lead to unambiguous parses on natural language sentences. The resulting family of algorithms includes the expectation-maximization algorithm (EM) and its variant, Viterbi EM, as well as a so-called softmax-EM algorithm. The softmax-EM algorithm can be implemented with a simple and computationally efficient extension to standard EM. In our experiments of unsupervised dependency grammar learning, we show that unambiguity regularization is beneficial to learning, and in combination with annealing (of the regularization strength) and sparsity priors it leads to improvement over the current state of the art.
The activity and expression of aromatase in songbirds.

Songbirds have emerged as extremely important animals for investigating sex steroid hormone effects on the central nervous system. The masculinizing effects of exogenous estrogen on the neural circuits controlling song in female zebra finches are well documented. There is evidence that estrogens are necessary for the full activation of singing behavior in several species. These kinds of studies have led us and others to investigate the mechanisms whereby estrogens are made available to the brains of songbirds during development and adulthood. In this article, I review results of some of these studies examining the estrogen synthetic enzyme aromatase and its expression and activity in brain and in other tissues of songbirds. I will discuss some results and thoughts we have about the interactions of aromatase with the two remaining androgen-metabolizing enzymes in the avian brain, 5α-reductase, the enzyme that converts T into the active androgen 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT); and 5β-reductase, the enzyme that converts T into the inactive 5β-DHT. Finally, I will consider some ideas raised by these studies concerning potential sources of the androgen substrate for brain aromatization as well as some possible new functions that aromatase might be playing in the songbird telencephalon.
Surgical stage I endometrial cancer: predictors of distant failure and death.

Abstract Objective. Theobjective was to analyze the effect of various histopathologic characteristics onprognosis in surgical stage I (node-negative) endometrial carcinoma. Methods. Duringa 10-year period, 229 patients with stage I epithelial (all subtypes) endometrial cancer had hysterectomy and node dissection. Mean number of nodes harvested was 16.2 pelvic and 5.7 paraaortic. Median follow-up was 83 months. Sixty-seven patients (29%) received adjuvant radiotherapy. Results. Five-year disease-related survival (DRS) was 95%, and 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) 91%. We observed 7 (3%) isolated vaginal recurrences, 14 (6%) distant failures, and 1 (0.4%) simultaneous recurrence at both regional (pelvic sidewall) and distant sites. Only 1 of 7 patients (14%) with vaginal failure died of the disease (median follow-up of censored patients after failure was 110 months), compared with 10 of the 15 patients (67%) with distant failure. By univariate analysis, myometrial invasion (MI) ≥ 66%, nonendometrioid histology, lymphovascular invasion, absence of associated hyperplasia, and tumor diameter >2 cm were significant predictors of poor prognosis with distant failure ( P ≤ 0.05). Cox regression analysis identified MI ≥ 66% as the only independent predictor of DRS ( P P P Conclusion. Stage I (negative nodes) endometrial cancer patients with MI ≥ 66% are at significant risk for distant failure and death and should be considered candidates for new randomized trials of adjuvant systemic therapy.
InfoSPOT: A mobile Augmented Reality method for accessing building information through a situation awareness approach

Abstract The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner/Operator (AECO) industry is constantly searching for new methods for increasing efficiency and productivity. Facility Managers (FMs), as a part of the owner/operator role, work in complex and dynamic environments where critical decisions are constantly made. This decision-making process and its consequent performance can be improved by enhancing Situation Awareness (SA) of the FMs through new digital technologies. In this paper, InfoSPOT (Information Surveyed Point for Observation and Tracking), is recommended to FMs as a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) tool for accessing information about the facilities they maintain. AR has been considered as a viable option to reduce inefficiencies of data overload by providing FMs with a SA-based tool for visualizing their “real-world” environment with added interactive data. A prototype of the AR application was developed and a user participation experiment and analysis conducted to evaluate the features of InfoSPOT. This innovative application of AR has the potential to improve construction practices, and in this case, facility management.
Role of Bacteria in Mediating the Oviposition Responses of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

The responses of Aedes albopictus to sources of oviposition attractants and stimulants were evaluated with a behavioral bioassay in which females attracted to odorants emanating from water were trapped on screens coated with an adhesive. Gravid mosquitoes were attracted to volatiles from larval-rearing water and soil-contaminated cotton towels. Bacteria were isolated from these substrates and from an organic infusion made with oak leaves. Through fatty acid-methyl ester analyses, six bacterial isolates from larval-rearing water, two isolates from soil-contaminated cotton towels, and three isolates from oak leaf infusion were identified to species. The response of gravid mosquitoes to these isolates was also evaluated in behavioral bioassays. Water containing Psychrobacter immobilis (from larval-rearing water), Sphingobacterium multivorum (from soil-contaminated cotton towels), and an undetermined Bacillus species (from oak leaf infusion) elicited significantly higher oviposition than control water without bacteria. Only volatiles collected from larval rearing water elicited significant electroantennogram responses in females.
Image of the Social Worker in the Community and in the Profession

The aim of the present work has been to analyze personal goals and subjective well-being of employees in state and private sectors. There was collected data about 122 adults, working in state or private sectors. In the research there were used Personal Goal Questionnaire (K.Salmela-Aro, J.E.Nurmi, 2000) and Satisfaction With Life Scale created in 1993 by Pavot and Diener (Diener, 2000). The results of the research show that personal goals of employees in state and private sectors differ. Employees in state sector are more oriented to health connected goals than employees in private sector. Also employees in state sector are more oriented to relatives connected goals than employees in private sector. Employees in private sector more often have to intimate relationship and family connected goals than employees in state sector do. Subjective well-being of employees in state and private sectors doesn’t differ. Characteristics of career related goal differ between employees in state and private sectors. Employees in private state have a higher commitment engagement to their career related goal and higher progresses in achievement attainment than employees in state sector have. Subjective well-being of employees in state sector is positively related to commitment engagement to their career related goal and positively related to progress in achievement attainment of this goal. Subjective well-being of employees in private sector is positively related only to commitment engagement to their career related goal.
James Madison and Constitutional Imperfection

This book presents a provocative account of James Madison's political thought by focusing on Madison's lifelong encounter with the enduring problem of constitutional imperfection. In particular, it emphasizes Madison's alliance with Thomas Jefferson, liberating it from those long-standing accounts of Madisonian constitutionalism that emphasize deliberation by elites and constitutional veneration. Contrary to much of the scholarship, this book shows that Madison was aware of the limits of the inventions of political science and held a far more subtle understanding of the possibility of constitutional government than has been recognized. By repositioning Madison as closer to Jefferson and the Revolution of 1800, this book offers a reinterpretation of one of the central figures of the early republic.
Factors associated with alcohol use among minority female adolescents receiving preventive text messaging for underage drinking.

Background There is a high prevalence of alcohol use among adolescents, especially among Hispanic teens in middle adolescence. This emphasizes the need for developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive underage drinking brief interventions. Texting (i.e. SMS) is extremely popular among U.S. teenagers, and its advantages as a brief intervention includes wide reach, low cost, easy standardization, automation of health message delivery, and the ability to include multiple recipients concurrently.
Diffraction Extraction by Plane-Wave Destruction of Partial Images

We overcome difficulties associated with separating diffractions and reflections in regions with complex geometries by utilizing plane-wave destruction in constant-dip partial images. Destroying reflections in angle-migrated partial images by stationary image slope and stacking over dip angle produces a diffraction image. This method creates diffraction images containing less remnant reflection energy than plane-wave destruction in the data domain. The extra dip-angle dimension associated with partial image plane-wave destruction makes the method more expensive than data domain plane-wave destruction, and thus best suited for regions with complex geometries.
Distribution of Bacteria Detected from Blood Culture of Pediatric Patients and Analyses of Antibiotic Resistance

OBJECTIVE To investigate the distribution of bacteria detected from blood culture of pediatric patients and to observe the antibiotic resistance of these bacteria. METHODS The BacT/Alert blood culture system was applied for culture.Species identification and antibiotic resistance tests were performed by the VITEK automicroscan system. RESULTS Coagulase-negative staphylococcus(CNS) and Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 67.2% and 7.8%, respectively.The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria was 14.4%.The resistant rate of CNS and S.aureus to oxacillin was 85% and 36%,respectively.The strains producing the extended spectrum beta-lactamases(ESBLs) of Gram-negative bacteria were often detected. CONCLUSIONS Gram-postive bacteria are the main pathogens detected from the blood culture of pediatric patients.Detection rate of CNS is the highest.Multiresistant strains are common.
A Case of Malignant Lymphoma Originated Uterine Cervix

The two major variants of malignant lymphoma are non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and Hodgkin’s disease. More than 90% of all cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are of B-cell derivation. The malignant lymphoma localized in uterus is rare and characteristically symptom-free expressed, but when it does, the cervix is the presenting site three times more often than is the endometrium. We have experienced a case of malignant lymphoma originated from uterine cervix, so we report with a brief of literature.
Up on the Roof: Considerations for Food Production on Rooftops

Green roofs are increasingly common. Planting on a rooftop is a way to insulate buildings, reduce stormwater flows, and potentially provide space for birds, bees and people to congregate. Engineered media has been developed that allow for planting on green roofs. Green roofs have also been recognized as a place to grow food. Rooftop agriculture can be as varied as the many types of in-ground and greenhouse agriculture that are more familiar to most people. For example, row farming, container gardening, and hydroponics are all possible under open sky as well as in greenhouses. Each type of cultivation can be carried out on a roof surface as well as on the ground. Different forms of cultivation come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Greenhouse and hydroponic production are both much more highly managed and controlled systems, and the potential differences between rooftop and ground level production are therefore likely to be smaller. Rooftop agriculture under an open sky, either as row farming or container production is likely to be more different than in-ground operations of this type than either greenhouse or hydroponic operations because they are more exposed to the novel environment of the rooftop. Our discussion of rooftop agriculture will be focusing on the row farming and container gardening operations that are open to the sky. These types of rooftop agriculture may use pre existing green roof technology.
Clinical Presentations and Outcomes of Children With Basilar Skull Fractures After Blunt Head Trauma

Study objective We describe presentations and outcomes of children with basilar skull fractures in the emergency department (ED) after blunt head trauma. Methods This was a secondary analysis of an observational cohort of children with blunt head trauma. Basilar skull fracture was defined as physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture without basilar skull fracture on computed tomography (CT), or basilar skull fracture on CT regardless of physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. Other definitions included isolated basilar skull fracture (physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture or basilar skull fracture on CT with no other intracranial injuries on CT) and acute adverse outcomes (death, neurosurgery, intubation for >24 hours, and hospitalization for ≥2 nights with intracranial injury on CT). Results Of 42,958 patients, 558 (1.3%) had physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture, basilar skull fractures on CT, or both. Of the 525 (94.1%) CT-imaged patients, 162 (30.9%) had basilar skull fracture on CT alone, and 104 (19.8%) had both physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture and basilar skull fracture on CT; 269 patients (51.2%) had intracranial injuries other than basilar skull fracture on CT. Of the 363 (91.7%) CT-imaged patients with physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture, 104 (28.7%) had basilar skull fracture on CT. Of 266 patients with basilar skull fracture on CT, 104 (39.1%) also had physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. Of the 256 CT-imaged patients who had isolated basilar skull fracture, none had acute adverse outcomes (0%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 1.4%), including none (0%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 6.1%) of 59 with isolated basilar skull fractures on CT. Conclusion Approximately 1% of children with blunt head trauma have physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture or basilar skull fracture on CT. The latter increases the risk of acute adverse outcomes more than physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. A CT scan is needed to adequately stratify the risk of acute adverse outcomes for these children. Children with isolated basilar skull fractures are at low risk for acute adverse outcomes and, if neurologically normal after CT and observation, are candidates for ED discharge.
Experiences in the Field: The Evolution of a Technology-Oriented Teacher Professional Development Model

First launched in 2001, the Instructional Architect (IA.usu.edu) is a Web-based tool that helps teachers in finding online learning resources. Resources are then used to design and share instructional activities with their students and other teachers. Along with iterative system design and implementation of the IA, we have been refining a technology professional development (TPD) model to support teachers in integrating twenty-first century teaching and learning skills in their classrooms. This model is based on the notion of the teacher as an active designer (Brown & Edelson, 2003), rather than a passive consumer of learning activities. The most recent version of the model was revised to better support teacher use of problem-based learning (PBL) in their activities. PBL is an instructional method in which learners acquire knowledge through engaging with authentic and challenging problems in a collaborative setting (Barrows, 1986, Medical Education, 20, 481–486). Studies have shown that this approach is effective with teachers learning technology and design skills. This chapter will describe the IA software tool and recent iterations of our TPD model as informed by evaluation results and best practices in the literature. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of our work on teacher design activities, and their classroom practices.
Bromodomain inhibitors, JQ1 and I-BET 762, as potential therapies for pancreatic cancer

Bromodomain inhibitors (JQ1 and I-BET 762) are a new generation of selective, small molecule inhibitors that target BET (bromodomain and extra terminal) proteins. By impairing their ability to bind to acetylated lysines on histones, bromodomain inhibitors interfere with transcriptional initiation and elongation. BET proteins regulate several genes responsible for cell cycle, apoptosis and inflammation. In this study, JQ1 and I-BET 762 decreased c-Myc and p-Erk 1/2 protein levels and inhibited proliferation in pancreatic cancer cells. The tumor microenvironment is known to play an important role in pancreatic cancer, and these drugs suppressed the production of nitric oxide and a variety of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, CCL2, and GM-CSF, in both immune and pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. Notably, the bromodomain inhibitors also reduced protein levels of p-Erk 1/2 and p-STAT3 in mouse models of pancreatic cancer. All of these proteins are essential for tumor promotion, progression and metastasis. In conclusion, the bromodomain inhibitors JQ1 and I-BET 762 targeted and suppressed multiple pathways in pancreatic cancer. I-BET 762 and a number of other bromodomain inhibitors are currently being tested in several clinical trials, making them potentially promising drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, an often-fatal disease.
Predicting Primary Nonfunction of Liver Transplants With Laboratory Values: Can It Be Done?

Determination of primary nonfunction (PNF) of a liver transplant can be one of the most difficult assessments in transplantation. PNF can initially manifest in variety of ways both dramatic and subtle, and no one parameter is sufficient for diagnosis [1,2]. The determination of PNF informs the decision to relist for a second liver transplant. Once relisted, one or more additional confirmations are subsequently necessary in the context of deciding whether to retransplant as donors become available. In addition, a retransplant operation is not without risk, especially in the setting of the existing or impending multiorgan system failure that can be associated with PNF. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Isolating Spontaneous Antibiotic-Resistant Mutants of Rhizobia

Rhizobia bearing genetic markers are obtained through a mass selection technique. Rhizobia, like other bacteria, contain small numbers of naturally occurring mutants that are resistant to high concentrations of certain antibiotics. This resistance may be used for recognizing rhizobial strains. In this chapter, two strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum are used to produce spontaneous mutants resistant to streptomycin and spectinomycin. B. japonicum mutants, with simultaneous resistance to both antibiotics, are also produced.
Volume Dynamics Propulsion System Modeling for Supersonics Vehicle Research

Under the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program the Supersonics Project is working to overcome the obstacles to supersonic commercial flight. The proposed vehicles are long slim body aircraft with pronounced aero-servo-elastic modes. These modes can potentially couple with propulsion system dynamics; leading to performance challenges such as aircraft ride quality and stability. Other disturbances upstream of the engine generated from atmospheric wind gusts, angle of attack, and yaw can have similar effects. In addition, for optimal propulsion system performance, normal inlet-engine operations are required to be closer to compressor stall and inlet unstart. To study these phenomena an integrated model is needed that includes both airframe structural dynamics as well as the propulsion system dynamics. This paper covers the propulsion system component volume dynamics modeling of a turbojet engine that will be used for an integrated vehicle Aero-Propulso-Servo-Elastic model and for propulsion efficiency studies.
Percutaneous Aortic Valves and Imaging

Advances in management of complex health problems raise the expectations of consumers but also increase the cost of health care. Patients with severe aortic stenosis and multiple comorbidities not only want to get their aortic valve replaced with a minimally invasive approach but also want to
Landscape variation in canopy nitrogen and carbon assimilation in a temperate mixed forest

Canopy nitrogen (N) is a key factor regulating carbon cycling in forest ecosystems through linkages among foliar N and photosynthesis, decomposition, and N cycling. This analysis examined landscape variation in canopy nitrogen and carbon assimilation in a temperate mixed forest surrounding Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts, USA by integration of canopy nitrogen mapping with ecosystem modeling, and spatial data from soils, stand characteristics and disturbance history. Canopy %N was mapped using high spectral resolution remote sensing from NASA’s AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) instrument and linked to an ecosystem model, PnET-II, to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP). Predicted GPP was validated with estimates derived from eddy covariance towers. Estimated canopy %N ranged from 0.5 to 2.9% with a mean of 1.75% across the study region. Predicted GPP ranged from 797 to 1622 g C m−2 year−1 with a mean of 1324 g C m−2 year−1. The prediction that spatial patterns in forest growth are associated with spatial patterns in estimated canopy %N was supported by a strong, positive relationship between field-measured canopy %N and aboveground net primary production. Estimated canopy %N and GPP were related to forest composition, land-use history, and soil drainage. At the landscape scale, PnET-II GPP was compared with predicted GPP from the BigFoot project and from NASA’s MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data products. Estimated canopy %N explained much of the difference between MODIS GPP and PnET-II GPP, suggesting that global MODIS GPP estimates may be improved if broad-scale estimates of foliar N were available.
An Introduction to Broadband Networks: LANs, MANs, ATM, B-ISDN, and Optical Networks for Integrated Multimedia Telecommunications

This book focuses on the fundamentals of operation, architectures, performance management, protocols, and future directions of integrated broadband networks capable of supporting voice, data, image, and video telecommunication transport and services. Covering both current and up-and-coming technologies, it will provide a rigorous introduction to the field for systems designers, hardware and software engineers, R&D managers, market planners, and all others whose business would benefit from the application of broadband networks.
Fracture of Atomic Layer Deposited Nanolaminate Films

Strength, friction, and wear are dominant factors in the performance and reliability of materials and devices fabricated using microsystem technologies. While adequate for some applications, as-fabricated strength and wear properties are insufficient for use of these devices in many dynamic applications. Applying films is one method to enhance device performance and reliability. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is ideally suited for this application as it creates conformal and potentially stress free films. [1] Of particular interest are ALD tungsten and alumina films where bulk crystalline counterparts exhibit high hardness and good frictional resistance. However, recent studies on single layer ALD tungsten films show they exhibit a pronounced susceptibility to channel cracking and delamination while single layer ALD alumina films exhibit significantly lower hardness than desired. [2,3]
IMMUNOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF MURINE LEUKEMIA VIRUSES

This chapter focuses on the immunological differentiation of murine leukemia viruses. In describing a new murine leukemia virus, one must inevitably face a basic question, as to the taxonomic relationship between the murine leukemia viruses. There can be little doubt based on criteria as set forth for the classification of other viruses, that, in morphology, chemical composition, susceptibility to physical and chemical agents, host specificity, and pathogenesis, all of the murine leukemia viruses resemble each other. They have been described as a family of related viruses and as multiple isolates of a single virus to be designated as “Mouse Leukemia Virus Type A.” The chapter describes a study in which, to elucidate the immunological relationships between these agents, immunological procedures that measure different immunological or antigenic determinants were carried out on representative murine leukemia viruses. It was found that vaccination against Rich virus or Friend virus protected mice from the leukemogenic activity of Rich virus. Cell specific antigen techniques demonstrated reciprocal differences between Moloney and Rich virus leukemia.
Diurnal and seasonal variation in nitrate-nitrogen concentrations of groundwater in a saturated buffer zone

Excess nitrate (NO3−) is a critical problem in agricultural land-use areas, causing eutrophication and hypoxia in surface waters. Diversion of agricultural runoff into saturated buffer zones reduces NO3− loading. This study seeks to understand nitrate concentration, [NO3−], and environmental factor variability in a saturated buffer zone (~0.007 km2) at a site in the USA on a diurnal scale within and among seasons. Between September 2016 and August 2017, groundwater samples were collected hourly for 24 h from an unconfined aquifer 1.5 m below the surface in the saturated buffer zone. Mean daily [NO3−-N] ranged from 2.18 mg/L in the fall to 4.63 mg/L in the summer and varied by a statistically significant difference from spring to fall and from summer to fall. Differences between 24-h maximum and minimum [NO3−-N] were statistically significant within spring, summer, fall, and winter. The occurrence of a sinusoidal [NO3−-N] trend where the timing of maximum and minimum [NO3−-N] coincide with photoperiod indicates that vegetation uptake is a controlling process. NO3− leaching, evapotranspiration, and nitrification were identified as processes controlling [NO3−-N] increases over the 24-h period. The magnitude of difference between daily maximum and minimum [NO3−-N] displayed no correlation with daily average air temperature, solar intensity, or mean daily water temperature. This study demonstrated that variation in [NO3−] exists on seasonal and diurnal time scales; the fluctuations are driven by multiple processes consistent over the 24-h period.
Multifluid macroscopic approach to drying in papermaking

This study was financially supported by the Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a US National Science Foundation Industry University Cooperative Research Center. CARD is located at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (co-site).
Facing Competing Motives: Testing for Motivational Tradeoffs in Affiliative and Pathogen-Avoidant Motives via Extraverted Face Preferences

Affiliative and pathogen-avoidant motives adaptively influence interpersonal preferences. For facial structures connoting extraversion, affiliative motives heighten preferences for extraverted faces, whereas pathogen-avoidant motives downregulate preferences. Despite what appears to be competing tension between motives for preferences in extraverted faces, previous research had yet to identify this possibility within a single experiment. The current study temporally activated an affiliative, pathogen-avoidant, or control state before tasking participants with indicating preferences for extraverted faces, relative to introverted, and support for campus-wide social networking activities to demonstrate convergence with previous findings demonstrating temporal shifts in affiliative interest. Although activated motivational states did not influence interpersonal preferences directly in this study, mediation analyses revealed participants’ upregulated extraverted face preferences and support for a campus social network following an exclusionary experience because of a heightened affiliative desire. We frame results as motivational tradeoffs, offering suggestions to identify competing motive effects more effectively for future research.
Challenges and sources of inaccuracy in biochemical genetics testing

Abstract A number of pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical challenges exist in biochemical genetics testing. Since many biochemical genetics tests are not frequently ordered, selection of right tests, collection of right specimen, and proper specimen handling can be challenging. Most of these assays are not FDA approved and fall into the category of laboratory developed tests, and thus needed extra quality assurance measures. Furthermore, quality control and calibration materials for many biochemical genetics assays are not available or lacking. Other challenges, in biochemical genetics testing, include availability of limited reference ranges, trained personnel and quality assurance programs.
The colorist-historical trauma framework: Implications for culturally responsive practice with African Americans:

SummaryAn evolution of thought and practice regarding the relationship of racism to well-being, healing, and trauma continues within social work and the helping professions. Additionally, empirical...
Accountability for the Local Economy at All Levels of Government in United States Elections

Retrospective voting is a crucial component of democratic accountability. A large literature on retrospective voting in the United States finds that the president’s party is rewarded in presidential elections for strong economic performance and punished for weak performance. By contrast, there is no clear consensus about whether politicians are held accountable for the local economy at other levels of government, nor how voters react to the economy in a complex system of multilevel responsibility. In this study, we use administrative data on county-level economic conditions from 1969 to 2018 and election results across multiple levels of government to examine the effect of the local economy on elections for local, state, and federal offices in the United States. We find that the president’s party is held accountable for economic performance across nearly all levels of government. We also find that incumbents are held accountable for the economy in U.S. House and gubernatorial elections. Our findings have broad implications for literatures on representation, accountability, and elections.
Perceptions of a Zoological Park: A Comparative Study of Educators and Visitors.

Views of educators and visitors were compared in relation to public enjoyment of a zoological park. Factors studied were the primary motivation, social orientation, and educational strategies assoc...
Gastrointestinal synthetic epithelial linings

Epithelial tissues line the organs of the body, providing an initial protective barrier as well as a surface for nutrient and drug absorption. Here, we identified enzymatic components present in the gastrointestinal epithelium that can serve as selective means for tissue-directed polymerization. We focused on the small intestine, given its role in drug and nutrient absorption and identified catalase as an essential enzyme with the potential to catalyze polymerization and growth of synthetic biomaterial layers. We demonstrated that the polymerization of dopamine by catalase yields strong tissue adhesion. We characterized the mechanism and specificity of the polymerization in segments of the gastrointestinal tracts of pigs and humans ex vivo. Moreover, we demonstrated proof of concept for application of these gastrointestinal synthetic epithelial linings for drug delivery, enzymatic immobilization for digestive supplementation, and nutritional modulation through transient barrier formation in pigs. This catalase-based approach to in situ biomaterial generation may have broad indications for gastrointestinal applications.
Abstract 16115: The Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Cardiogenic Shock Classification Predicts Mortality in Cardiac Arrest Patients Prior to Pci

Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) complicated by cardiac arrest (CA) has a heterogeneous presentation, and risk can be challenging to stratify. This study aimed to apply the SCAI cardioge...
Guided Plate Wave Potential for Damage Analysis of Composite Materials

The emergence of plate waves as a functional approach to the evaluation of thin structures, especially composite plates, has been gradual and steady. This statement may be supported by the increasing attention, in the recent publications[1,2], focussed on leaky Lamb waves in composites. The generation and the characteristics of plate wave modes, although using a quasi-local technique, has already been established and the dispersion relationships are being studied in detail, especially for isotropic cases. In practice, the critical drawbacks which have been detrimental in the widespread deployment of these methods are the complicated mode behavior and a lack of complete understanding of the mechanics involved. Thus, to fully exploit the plate waves, it is imperative that the physics of wave propagation within the thin composite structures be fully explored using experimental methods and be backed by a very strong theoretical basis in order to obtain NDE guidelines for fiber reinforced composite materials.
Parallel Motion of Corrugated Plates

The study of Couette flow is important in many situations involving relative motion of two surfaces. In this paper, we shall study the effects due to slight axial corrugation of two parallel plates. These grooves may be intentional, or may be caused by wear or imprecise machining.
Getting to a Citizens’ Constitutional Convention: Legal Questions (Without Answers) Concerning the People’s Ability to Reform California’s Government Through a Constitutional Convention

In 2009 and 2010, a reform organization named Repair California worked to place on the November 2010 general election ballot a pair of propositions that would have called for a citizens’ constitutional convention to substantially revise the California Constitution. The movement for reform eventually dissipated, and the propositions did not make it to the 2010 ballot. However, the call for a citizens’ convention presented novel legal questions, including whether voters could call for a convention at all, whether a convention could be called in a single election by two complementary ballot measures, whether delegates could be selected rather than elected, and whether voters could limit the scope of the convention to prevent ancillary issues from sidetracking the structural issues Repair California had hoped to address. This Article briefly surveys these and other questions raised by the call for a citizens’ convention and discusses how proposition drafters hoped to resolve them.
Sample Size Determination for Clinical Trials

In this article, we will present some useful sample size formulas that guarantee to achieve a pre-specified power level of a test at a chosen nominal level or control a pre-specified confidence width of a confidence interval estimator at a chosen coverage level (wherever available) for some popular topics in general clinical trials. Topics include: (a) one-sample problem for mean and proportion; (b) two-sample problem for comparing means and proportions; (c) multiple-sample problem for comparing means and proportions; (d) multiple-arm dose response trials for trend; (e) multiple regression analysis; and (f) multiple logistic regression analysis. Keywords: confidence interval; confidence width; hypothesis testing; parameter; power; sample size formulas
Active sensor networks for nuclear detection

This paper approaches from an optimal control perspective the problem of fixed-time detection of mobile radioactive sources in transit by means of a collection of mobile sensors. Under simplifying assumptions on the geometry of the source, sensors, and surrounding environment, and with knowledge of the source's trajectory, it is shown that the optimal control problem admits an intuitive, analytic closed-form solution. This is facilitated by the availability of analytic expressions for bounds on the probabilities of detection and false alarm during a Neyman-Pearson detection test. The intuition derived from this analytic solution leads to a motion control law that steers suboptimally the sensors to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of the suspected source, while navigating among stationary obstacles in their environment, making a step closer to a practical physical implementation.
Ocular immunosuppressive microenvironment.

Over the past 30 years, it has become evident that within the ocular microenvironment there are active mechanisms of immunoregulation and immunosuppression. The immunoregulation and immunosuppressio
Using association rules for fraud detection in web advertising networks

Discovering associations between elements occurring in a stream is applicable in numerous applications, including predictive caching and fraud detection. These applications require a new model of association between pairs of elements in streams. We develop an algorithm, Streaming-Rules, to report association rules with tight guarantees on errors, using limited processing per element, and minimal space. The modular design of Streaming-Rules allows for integration with current stream management systems, since it employs existing techniques for finding frequent elements. The presentation emphasizes the applicability of the algorithm to fraud detection in advertising networks. Such fraud instances have not been successfully detected by current techniques. Our experiments on synthetic data demonstrate scalability and efficiency. On real data, potential fraud was discovered.
Zirkulation in speziellen Körperregionen

Die Verteilung des Herz-Minuten-Volumens auf die verschiedenen Korperregionen bei korperlicher Ruhe ist in Tab. 32–1 dargestellt. Neben den allgemein wirksamen Gesetzmasigkeiten des Kreislaufs (siehe fruhere Kapitel) gelten fur die Zirkulation in bestimmten Organen noch besondere regulatorische Prinzipien. Hypophysarer Portal-Kreislauf (Kap. 14), Durchblutung der Niere (Kap. 38), Pulmonalkreislauf (Kap. 34), und Zirkulation des Skeletmuskels (Kap. 33) wurden bereits besprochen; nachstehend soll die Zirkulation von Gehirn, Herz, Splanchnicus-Gebiet, Haut, Placenta und Fetus besprochen werden.
Impaired CD8+ T cell responses to influenza infection in neonatal mice are due to the immature T cell receptor repertoire (VIR2P.1020)

To understand the role of virus antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses in neonates during respiratory viral infection, we developed a model where 3-day old C57Bl/6 mice were infected intranasally with influenza type A virus strain A PR/8/34 (H1N1). When these neonatal mice are infected with influenza virus they mount a greatly reduced and delayed lung NP(366-374)-specific primary CD8+ T cell response. To investigate what was responsible for the reduced response, we performed adoptive transfers of TCR-transgenic OVA(257-264)-specific (OT-I) CD8+ T cells into hosts infected with recombinant influenza virus WSN-OVA, which expresses the OVA(257-264) peptide. These studies revealed that naive adult OT-I cells expand equally well in neonatal and adult hosts, which excludes the neonatal environment as an inhibitor of the CD8+ T cell response. When naive neonatal OT-I cells were transferred into neonatal and adult hosts, these neonatal OT-I cells expanded equally as well as adult OT-I cells, excluding an intrinsic defect in the neonatal CD8+ T cells. These studies demonstrate that the TCR repertoire of neonates is responsible for reduced CD8+ T cell immunity in neonates, not a suppressive environment or intrinsic signaling defects. Finally, despite impaired primary response, animals primed as neonates exhibited normal secondary responses to influenza virus. These findings raise important issues that need to be taken into consideration for vaccination of neonates.
Fermenting Yeasts Associated with Softening and Gas-Pocket Formation in Olives

Fermenting, pectolytic yeasts were isolated from a massive commercial outbreak of softening and gas-pocket formation in olives that had been stored in acidified, low-salt brines in an attempt to reduce the problem of brine disposal. The suspected yeasts represented three different species: Saccharomyces oleaginosus, S. kluyveri, and Hansenula anomala var. anomala. All pectolytic cultures produced pectin esterase and polygalacturonase but no pectic acid trans-eliminase when grown in nutrient glucose broth. Crude, cell-free dialyzed enzyme preparations measured viscosimetrically exhibited optimal activity on sodium polygalacturonate at pH 6.0 and 45 C and were active in the range of pH 4.0 to 9.0 and 10 to 60 C.
Automatic total kidney volume measurement on follow-up magnetic resonance images to facilitate monitoring of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease progression

Background Renal imaging examinations provide high-resolution information about the anatomic structure of the kidneys and are used to measure total kidney volume (TKV) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients. TKV has become the gold-standard image biomarker for ADPKD progression at early stages of the disease and is used in clinical trials to characterize treatment efficacy. Automated methods to segment the kidneys and measure TKV are desirable because of the long time requirement for manual approaches such as stereology or planimetry tracings. However, ADPKD kidney segmentation is complicated by a number of factors, including irregular kidney shapes and variable tissue signal at the kidney borders. Methods We describe an image processing approach that overcomes these problems by using a baseline segmentation initialization to provide automatic segmentation of follow-up scans obtained years apart. We validated our approach using 20 patients with complete baseline and follow-up T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. Both manual tracing and stereology were used to calculate TKV, with two observers performing manual tracings and one observer performing repeat tracings. Linear correlation and Bland-Altman analysis were performed to compare the different approaches. Results Our automated approach measured TKV at a level of accuracy (mean difference ± standard error = 0.99 ± 0.79%) on par with both intraobserver (0.77 ± 0.46%) and interobserver variability (1.34 ± 0.70%) of manual tracings. All approaches had excellent agreement and compared favorably with ground-truth manual tracing with interobserver, stereological and automated approaches having 95% confidence intervals ∼ ± 100 mL. Conclusions Our method enables fast, cost-effective and reproducible quantification of ADPKD progression that will facilitate and lower the costs of clinical trials in ADPKD and other disorders requiring accurate, longitudinal kidney quantification. In addition, it will hasten the routine use of TKV as a prognostic biomarker in ADPKD.
Understanding the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms

An aortic aneurysm is a dilatation in which the aortic diameter is ≥3.0 cm. If left untreated, the aortic wall continues to weaken and becomes unable to withstand the forces of the luminal blood pressure resulting in progressive dilatation and rupture, a catastrophic event associated with a mortality of 50–80%. Smoking and positive family history are important risk factors for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Several genetic risk factors have also been identified. On the histological level, visible hallmarks of AAA pathogenesis include inflammation, smooth muscle cell apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation and oxidative stress. We expect that large genetic, genomic, epigenetic, proteomic and metabolomic studies will be undertaken by international consortia to identify additional risk factors and biomarkers, and to enhance our understanding of the pathobiology of AAA. Collaboration between different research groups will be important in overcoming the challenges to develop pharmacol...