cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Response of Barotolerant Deep - Sea Bacteria to High Pressure

Although the deep - sea environment with high pressure and low temperature is rigorous for microorganisms in costal water, many barotolerant and barophilic bacteria are found to be inhabiting there. It is very important for the barophilic or barotolerant bacteria to maintain the physiological functions of cell membrane, because many vital functions are involved in the membrane. The fluidity of membrane composed by phospholipids and proteins is essential for the physiological functions. As high hydrostatic pressure raises the melting point of lipids and causes the phase transition of lipid within 100 MPa, barotolerant bacteria under high hydrostatic pressure appear to regulate the fluidity of membrane phospholipids. Therefore, the characterization of membrane at high pressure is indispensable to clarify the biochemical adaptation of bacteria to the environment. This report dealt with effects of pressure and temperature on the lipid composition of barotolerant deep - sea bacteria. The bacteria maintained the membrane fluidity by increasing unique fatty acids under high hydrostatic pressure.
Relationship of the Virus of Cat Pneumonia (Baker) to the Psittacosis-Lymphogranuloma Group of Agents.

ConclusionThe virus of cat pneumonia described by Baker is antigenically related to psittacosis virus and to the Nigg virus of mouse pneumonia. It should, therefore, be included in the psittacosis-...
Monitoring of antibody levels of polio,whooping cough,diphtheria,tetanus,measles and hepatitis B among children aged 1-15 years in Xishuangbanna Prefecture

[Objective]To understand the antibody levels of polio,whooping cough,diphtheria,tetanus,measles and hepatitis B among Children aged 1-15 Years in Xishuangbanna Prefecture,to evaluate the effect of immunization,and provide evidence for developing immunization programs and vaccine quality monitoring. [Methods]ELISA was used for detection of polio IgG,pertussis IgG,diphtheria IgG,tetanus IgG,measles IgG and HBsAb. [Results]A total of 159 serum samples were detected,the positive rate of measles,polio IgG,pertussis IgG,tetanus IgG,diphtheria IgG and HBsAb was 97.48%,96.86%,96.86%,91.19%,59.12%,58.49% respectively. [Conclusion]The15-year-old healthy children in Xishuangbanna have high antibody levels of measles,polio,whooping cough,tetanus which has reached the target(85%) set by the Ministry of Health.While the antibody levels of diphtheria and hepatitis B were low that needs to be improved.
Survey on Development from Distributed Generation to Microgrid

With characters of flexible,distributed,small,close to customers and using clean energy,the distributed generation is deemed a promising solution to the future power generation,able to improve the lo-cal power reliability,decrease the transmission loss,increase the usage of primary energy and slash the ex-haust emission.Microgrid is a research hotspot because of its effective integration and management of the distributed generation resources.This paper addresses the development of the concept of Microgrid and the research status in America,EU,Japan and China,and proposes the research ideas of Zhejiang Electric Power Test and Reseach Institute.
Bleomycin and brain tumors. A review.

A logical inference from the recent reports indicating that malignant brain tumors are composed of a heterogeneous cell population is that combination chemotherapy will be required for effective brain tumor control. For several years we have been investigating the use of Bleomycin as an agent to be used in conjunction with radiation therapy and a nitrosourea compound. Since systemically administered Bleomycin does not cross the blood-brain-barrier and has significant toxicity when used parenterally in high doses, we have studied the use of smaller doses of Bleomycin injected directly into the brain tumor cavity. Such an intracerebral dose was more effective in prolonging survival of rats burdened with experimental 9L gliosarcomas than an intravenous dose that is 25 times as great. The combination of intracerebrally administered Bleomycin and radiation therapy was more effective than either modality alone. Furthermore, the combination of Bleomycin delivered intracerebrally and BCNU given systemically was more effective than eitheragent used alone. Finally, in a Phase I clinical trial of Bleomycin given via an Ommaya reservoir to eight patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors, we have demonstrated that individual doses of up to 7.5 units and cumulative doses of up to 255 units can be administered without significant toxicity.
Arrests, Alcohol, and Alcohol Legalization Among an American Indian Tribe

In the entire history of the contact between American Indians and Western culture, alcohol has been a source of friction and controversy. This paper attempts to define the contemporary and historic...
Regional Long-Term and Localized Short-Term Coastal Environmental Geomorphology Inventories

Applied coastal geomorphological research has recently become a necessity for many projects. Baseline inventories are used for environmental impact studies for all federal and many state coastal projects. Coastal inventories are conducted for coastal land use planning under the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act and for the Federal Coastal Flood Insurance Program. Such applied coastal geomorphological investigations can be concerned with both regional and detailed studies. Regional studies, covering a state’s entire coastline or large physiographic unit such as a bay, are necessary for the above mentioned inventories and long range planning. In contrast, detailed localized studies usually cover a particular beach, inlet or smaller shoreform, and are usually conducted in response to a specific problem such as erosion, shoaling or even pollution.
Lifetime of high- k gate dielectrics and analogy with strength of quasibrittle structures

The two-parameter Weibull distribution has been widely adopted to model the lifetime statistics of dielectric breakdown under constant voltage, but recent lifetime testing for high-k gate dielectrics has revealed a systematic departure from Weibull statistics, evocative of lifetime statistics for small quasibrittle structures under constant stress. Here we identify a mathematical analogy between the dielectric breakdown in semiconductor electronic devices and the finite-size weakest-link model for mechanical strength of quasibrittle structures and adapt a recently developed probabilistic theory of structural failure to gate dielectrics. Although the theory is general and does not rely on any particular model of local breakdown events, we show how its key assumptions can be derived from the classical dielectric breakdown model, which predicts certain scaling exponents. The theory accurately fits the observed kinked shape of the histograms of lifetime plotted in Weibull scale, as well as the measured depend...
Secured Transactions History: The Northern Struggle to Defeat the Judgment Lien in the Pre-Chattel Mortgage Act Era

Nonpossessory secured transactions evolved as a competitor to collusive judgments as a means to protect creditors from the loss of their investments in colonial America. A collusive judgment involved the debtor recognizing his debt before the court, while the creditor held equitable title to the debtor’s personalty as collateral while the debtor retained possession. The 1677 Statute of Frauds destroyed the priority of the collusive judgment presenting opportunities for other parties to seek the debtor’s collateral. The chattel mortgage, predecessor of the secured transaction, developed from the standard shipping practices during colonial times. The shipping industries extended lines of credit on exports and imports, employing chattel mortgages as security devices so that trading continued smoothly. Courts in these jurisdictions adopted a rebuttable rule allowing a third party with a chattel mortgage to present evidence at trial to rebut the presumption that the judgment lien holder was entitled to the collateral. As the English and American systems became more complex and involved more middlemen, the shipping industry also invested in equipment manufacturing. The rebuttable rule could no longer protect the guarantor’s interests, which could be lost to an adverse jury decision. A political conflict between the desires of equipment manufacturers, preferring a rule upholding the nonpossessory secured transaction without jury trial, and retailers who prefered the per se fraud rule, was set to play out state by state at the beginning of the nineteenth century. With the exception of several states with interests adverse to the manufacturing industry’s interests, a majority of northern states adopted the chattel mortgage acts in the 1830s in an effort to defeat the preeminence of the judgment lien on mortgaged personal property.
Structural basis of protein translocation by the Vps4-Vta1 AAA ATPase.

Many important cellular membrane fission reactions are driven by ESCRT pathways, which culminate in disassembly of ESCRT-III polymers by the AAA ATPase Vps4. We report a 4.3 A resolution cryo-EM structure of the active Vps4 hexamer with its cofactor Vta1, ADP·BeFx, and an ESCRT-III substrate peptide. Four Vps4 subunits form a helix whose interfaces are consistent with ATP binding, is stabilized by Vta1, and binds the substrate peptide. The fifth subunit approximately continues this helix but appears to be dissociating. The final Vps4 subunit completes a notched-washer configuration as if transitioning between the ends of the helix. We propose that ATP binding propagates growth at one end of the helix while hydrolysis promotes disassembly at the other end, so that Vps4 'walks' along ESCRT-III until it encounters the ordered N-terminal domain to destabilize the ESCRT-III lattice. This model may be generally applicable to other protein-translocating AAA ATPases.
Mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma: A review of pathologic characteristics

Mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) is a rare pathologic entity defined as a tumor exhibiting both adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma components. Though uncommon, these tumors show aggressive behavior and generally portend a poor prognosis. This study seeks to further define clinicopathological characteristics of MANEC to aid in accurate diagnosis and properly direct clinical management. Thirty-four confirmed MANECs were identified in our 25-year retrospective review of cases arising in the gastrointestinal tract. Various gross and microscopic variables were compared to overall survival. Tumors diagnosed at advanced stage (pT4), had a prominent mucinous component and lacked goblet cell clusters, which were all significantly associated with worse overall survival. This study supports previous findings and further elucidates clinicopathologic characteristics of MANEC.
Draft Genome Sequences of Three Strains of a Novel Rhizobiales Species Isolated from Forest Soil

Three strains of a novel Rhizobiales species were isolated from temperate deciduous forest soil in central Massachusetts. Their genomes consist of 9.09 to 10.29 Mb over 3 to 4 scaffolds each and indicate that diverse nitrogenous compounds are used by these organisms.
Complication Severity Score for Growth-friendly Surgery Has Strong Interrater and Intrarater Agreement.

Background Growth-friendly surgery has high complication rates. The Complication Severity Score for growth-friendly surgery was developed to maintain consistency while reporting complications as part of research in this rapidly evolving field. This study evaluates the interrater and intrarater reliability of this complication classification system. Methods After Institutional Review Board approval, complications during treatment for early onset scoliosis were identified from a prospectively collected database. Previous validation studies and a 10-case pilot survey determined that 60 cases were needed to represent a minimum of substantial agreement. In total, 63 of 496 cases were selected randomly to evenly represent each severity classification. The cases comprised an internet survey for classification sent to faculty and research coordinators involved in early onset scoliosis research, 3 weeks apart, with questions shuffled between iterations. Fleiss Kappa and Cohen Kappa were used to assess interrater and intrarater agreement, respectively. Results A total of 20 participants, 12 faculty and 8 research assistants, completed the survey twice. The overall Fleiss Kappa coefficient for interrater agreement from the second round of the survey was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.86-87), which represents substantial agreement. Reviewers agreed almost perfectly on categorizing complications as Device I (0.85), Disease I (0.91), Disease II (0.94), Device IIB (0.92), and Disease IV (0.98). There was substantial agreement for categorizing Device IIA (0.73) and Device III (0.76) complications. Disease III and Device IV were not evaluated in this survey since none of these occurred in the database. There was almost perfect intrarater agreement among faculty (0.87), research coordinators (0.85), and overall (0.86). Conclusions There is strong interrater and intrarater agreement for the published complications classification scheme for growing spine surgery. The complication classification system is a reliable tool for standardizing reports of complications with growth-friendly surgery. Adoption of this classification when reporting on growth-friendly surgery is recommended to allow for comparison of complications between treatment modalities. Level of evidence Level I-diagnostic study.
ISPD 2018 Initial Detailed Routing Contest and Benchmarks

In advanced technology nodes, detailed routing becomes the most complicated and runtime consuming stage. To spur detailed routing research, ISPD 2018 initial detailed routing contest is hosted and it is the first ISPD contest on detailed routing problem. In this contest, the benchmarks synthesized by industrial tool and library are released, which consider the design rules like spacing table, cut spacing, end-of-line spacing, and min-area rules. In addition, the global routing guide is provided associated to each benchmark, and detailed routers are required to honor the routing guides as much as possible meanwhile minimize design-rule-checking (DRC) violations. The biggest benchmark released in this contest has near-millions of nets, so the runtime and memory scalability for detailed routers need to be well addressed. To reduce routers' runtime, the deterministic multithreading framework is encouraged but optional in this contest.
Structural and functional connectivity of the nondecussating dentato-rubro-thalamic tract.

Abstract The dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRTT) regulates motor control, connecting the cerebellum to the thalamus. This tract is modulated by deep-brain stimulation in the surgical treatment of medically refractory tremor, especially in essential tremor, where high-frequency stimulation of the thalamus can improve symptoms. The DRTT is classically described as a decussating pathway, ascending to the contralateral thalamus. However, the existence of a nondecussating (i.e. ipsilateral) DRTT in humans was recently demonstrated, and these tracts are arranged in distinct regions of the superior cerebellar peduncle. We hypothesized that the ipsilateral DRTT is connected to specific thalamic nuclei and therefore may have unique functional relevance. The goals of this study were to confirm the presence of the decussating and nondecussating DRTT pathways, identify thalamic termination zones of each tract, and compare whether structural connectivity findings agree with functional connectivity. Diffusion-weighted imaging was used to perform probabilistic tractography of the decussating and nondecussating DRTT in young healthy subjects from the Human Connectome Project (n = 91) scanned using multi-shell diffusion-weighted imaging (270 directions; TR/TE = 5500/89 ms; spatial resolution = 1.25 mm isotropic). To define thalamic anatomical landmarks, a segmentation procedure based on the Morel Atlas was employed, and DRTT targeting was quantified based on the proportion of streamlines arriving at each nucleus. In parallel, functional connectivity analysis was performed using resting-state functional MRI (TR/TE = 720/33 ms; spatial resolution = 2 mm isotropic). It was found that the decussating and nondecussating DRTTs have significantly different thalamic endpoints, with the former preferentially targeting relatively anterior and lateral thalamic nuclei, and the latter connected to more posterior and medial nuclei (p
A Newborn with an Abdominal Mass

A newborn presents with a large left-sided abdominal mass. Transillumination can be seen on the left (Fig 1) but not the right (Fig 2). Figure 1. Transillumination of the left side of the abdomen. Figure 2. Right side of the abdomen with no transillumination. ### Prenatal and Birth Histories ### Presentation Ultrasonography performed before delivery revealed findings concerning for bladder outlet obstruction. Abdominal distention was noted immediately after birth. The infant was transported to the NICU for further evaluation after bladder catheterization resulted in 2 to 3 mL of urine. ### Progression (Day 1) ### Physical Examination
Electrotonic models of neuronal dendrites and single neuron computation

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on different electrotonic models of neuronal dendrites and single neuron computation to reduce the number degrees of freedom. The areas that help in reducing the degrees of freedom include the importance for modeling studies of having good estimates of the electrotonic structure of a cell, the dynamic range of computational possibilities available to a neuron, by considering its possible resting states, assuming that a real neuron ever can be considered to be at rest, and variables that may be important for producing modification in dendritic spines. Dendritic models concerned with computation must make assumptions about the morphological and electrotonic structure of the neuronal dendrites. The dynamic range of computational possibilities for a neuron is immense.
Real-world free boundary problems

The Mathematical Study Group is a group of Applied Mathematicians at Oxford University, England, who have been interacting with British industry over the past 22 years. Their interaction includes modeling of industrial processes as well as developing mathematical analysis of the models. One of the leading mathematicans of the Oxford Study Group is John Ock-endon. On September 14, 1990 he gave a talk describing several problems that have emerged in recent years in hypersonic flow, porous medium flow, ship hydrodynamics, superconductivity, and contact problems. The common feature to these problems is that they are free boundary problems. Ockendon’s presentation included a list of challenging open problems. The following write-up is based on his talk, preprints and notes.
Social Organization in the Movement: The Network of Local Circles

The success of Gulen-inspired projects relies on the numerous local circles of businessmen, professionals and workers in Turkish cities, towns and rural areas. The model of the local circles arose within the cemaat, a type of social group that evolved in Turkey after the formation of the Republic and the outlawing of the Sufi orders and the abolishment of the madrasas. Practicing Muslims who wanted to preserve the Islamic heritage while adapting to modernity formed circles around scholars and intellectuals who promoted various approaches such as focusing on Qur’anic studies, the blending of religious devotion with a mild form of nationalism, or individualized spiritual practices. These groups of readers and listeners around pioneering figures were later called cemaats, a grassroots movement of practicing faithful Turkish people who did not want to abandon their faith tradition while embracing the modern age. Within the cemaats were established the sohbets or small groups that have no formal membership, no initiation rites, require no building to convene the group and have no public insignia or recognition of membership. Rather, they consist of people who meet regularly to read Qur’anic commentary, the prophetic tradition and Muslim scholars, to share ideas and needs of people in the group and to determine service projects that the group chooses to support financially.
On assessing binary regression models based on ungrouped data

Assessing a binary regression model based on ungrouped data is a commonly encountered but very challenging problem. Although tests, such as Hosmer-Lemeshow test and le Cessie-van Houwelingen test, have been devised and widely used in applications, they often have low power in detecting lack of fit and not much theoretical justification has been made on when they can work well. In this article, we propose a new approach based on a cross-validation voting system to address the problem. In addition to a theoretical guarantee that the probabilities of type I and II errors both converge to zero as the sample size increases for the new method under proper conditions, our simulation results demonstrate that it performs very well.
Using Horticultural Oil, Pruning, and Acephate Banding to Reduce the First Generation of Crapemyrtle Aphid

Abstract The crapemyrtle aphid, Tinocallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) is the primary insect pest of crapemyrtle, Lagerstroemia spp. Aphids excrete honeydew that serves as a source of nutrients for various sooty mold fungi. Sooty molds form a black film on the leaves that reduces plant vigor and aesthetic quality. Reduction of the first generation of crapemyrtle aphids might delay production of sooty mold, reduce mid-season pesticide applications, and decrease pesticide injury to aphid predators. Two experiments were conducted to reduce the first generation of crapemyrtle aphids without using conventional contact pesticides. Both experiments utilized Lagerstroemia indica L. ‘Acoma’ as the host plant. To create infestations on the experimental plants, adult and immature crapemyrtle aphids were captured and placed on all crapemyrtles throughout July 1994. In the first experiment, treatments included a 2% and 4% (by vol) application of horticultural oil and pruning 33% of branch terminals. Treatments were ini...
Discrimination, Mandatory Arbitration, and Courts

Members of Congress have proposed legislation that would effectively ban the commercial practice of requiring individuals to arbitrate claims of sexual harassment. Congress previously tried in the 1990s to prohibit mandatory arbitration of all discrimination claims, not just those grounded in sexual misconduct. At first glance, these attempts to adopt discrimination-specific reforms appear unprincipled. After all, the criticisms of mandatory arbitration invoked to oppose arbitration of discrimination claims typically apply equally to all claims, not just those involving discrimination. But this Article argues that, regardless of the merits of broader attempts to rein in mandatory arbitration, discrimination-specific prohibitions have a compelling but overlooked justification. Specifically, rectifying wrongful discrimination requires empowering victims to vindicate both their status as equal citizens as well as the status of the groups to which they belong, in the face of challenges to those statuses. Because equal status — both of individuals and their groups — must be guaranteed in part by the public, victims must be empowered to demand reaffirmation of that status by an authoritative public institution. And because a person’s status concerns her treatment across a range of social and institutional settings, fully vindicating that status potentially requires reaffirming her equal status in public. Confidential, private arbitration cannot accomplish these ends. But courts can. Given problems facing existing arguments against mandatory arbitration, the need for a new status-based approach is all the more pressing in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Do Injured Workers Receive Opioid Prescriptions Outside the Workers' Compensation System?: The Case of Private Group Health Insurances.

Objectives We explored the impact of workplace injury on receiving opioid prescriptions from employer-sponsored private group health insurances (GHI) and how long injured workers receive opioid prescriptions after injury. Methods We used the difference-in-differences method and MarketScan® databases for the years 2013 to 2015. Results Estimated odds for injured workers relative to non-injured workers to receive opioid prescriptions from the GHI within 60 and 180 days from the index date of injury were 4.9 and 1.5, respectively. In addition, the number of opioid prescriptions received within 60 days of injury was 2.5 times higher. Conclusion Workplace injury could be a risk factor for both short and long-term prescription opioid use. Studies that use only workers' compensation medical claim data likely underestimate the magnitude of the impact of workplace injuries on opioid prescriptions.
Biologically Informed Neural Networks Predict Drug Responses.

Deep neural networks often achieve high predictive accuracy on biological problems, but it can be hard to contextualize how and explain why predictions are made. In this issue, Kuenzi et al. model the sensitivity of cancers to drugs using deep neural networks with a hierarchical structure derived from the Gene Ontology.
GUEST EDITOR'S COMMENTS: Crisis Counseling in the Schools

(1985). GUEST EDITOR'S COMMENTS: Crisis Counseling in the Schools. School Psychology Review: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 255-256.
Rationalizing generation of broad spectrum antibiotics with the addition of a primary amine

Abstract Antibiotic resistance of Gram-negative bacteria is largely attributed to the low permeability of their outer membrane (OM). Recently, we disclosed the eNTRy rules, a key lesson of which is that the introduction of a primary amine enhances OM permeation in certain contexts. To understand the molecular basis for this finding, we perform an extensive set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy calculations comparing the permeation of aminated and amine-free antibiotic derivatives through the most abundant OM porin of E. coli, OmpF. To improve sampling of conformationally flexible drugs in MD simulations, we developed a novel, Monte Carlo and graph theory based algorithm to probe more efficiently the rotational and translational degrees of freedom visited during the permeation of the antibiotic molecule through OmpF. The resulting pathways were then used for free-energy calculations, revealing a lower barrier against the permeation of the aminated compound, substantiating its greater OM permeability. Further analysis revealed that the amine facilitates permeation by enabling the antibiotic to align its dipole to the luminal electric field of the porin and while forming favorable electrostatic interactions with specific, highly-conserved charged residues. The importance of these interactions in permeation was further validated with experimental mutagenesis and whole cell accumulation assays. Overall, this study provides insights on the importance of the primary amine for antibiotic permeation into Gram-negative pathogens that could help the design of future antibiotics. We also offer a new computational approach for calculating free-energy of processes where relevant molecular conformations cannot be efficiently captured.
The genitourinary tract: Design, introduction, & analysis of a tailored continuing education “Best Practices” series for nuclear technologists

1026 Objectives: Education, training, and clinical experience of nuclear technologists in practice vary considerably. Protocols, patient population, radiopharmaceutical availability, and imaging instrumentation likewise vary widely. Continuing education courses offered at local/regional/national meetings may not address institution specific needs. At our academic medical center, the nuclear radiologists developed, implemented, and evaluated a new tailored “Best Practices” program comprised of four structured modules on genitourinary tract scintigraphy. Methods: Our nuclear radiologists developed four formal genitourinary tract modules for our nuclear technologists. The modules covered: (1) diuretic renal challenge, (2) captopril renal augmentation, (3) renal cortex and radionuclide voiding cystourethrogram, (4) renal transplant. We held 4 one-hour sessions biweekly over 8 weeks; a modified clinical schedule maximized attendance. We designed our testing to measure prior knowledge, short term learning, and long term retention. Before each didactic lecture, each of 8 technologists completed a multiple-choice/short-answer test (pre-test) and re-took the test after the session (post-test). Forty-percent of the questions were related to anatomy & physiology (basic science); the remaining 60% covered clinical practice. The didactic lecture reviewed and expanded upon the topics covered in the tests. A review test on all four topics to measure long term retention is pending. Individual and group technologist performances were recorded and analyzed. Results: On average, each technologist attended 3 of 4 modules. Overall scores improved from 9-32% on the post-test compared with the pre-test. Basic science scores improved by an average of 20%, and clinical science scores improved by 17%. Three modules showed a statistically significant improvement (p Conclusions: Nuclear technologists typically attend local/regional/national meetings for their continuing education and learn on-the-job. However, those methods cannot systematically address specific departmental or individual needs. We designed, implemented, and evaluated a new educational program on the genitourinary tract for our own technologists. The technologists’ scores showed statistical improvement from pre-test to post-test. Subjectively, our technologists’ abilities to predict and troubleshoot imaging issues have improved. Their understanding and willingness to aid in resolving clinical questions has improved. This “Best Practices” series can serve as a template for other educational modules and can be expanded to cover the gamut of nuclear topics.
Alemtuzumab clearance, lymphocyte count, and T-cell chimerism after hematopoietic stem cell transplant in sickle cell disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVE Alemtuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the cell surface antigen CD52 on lymphocytes. Although it is used for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and incorporated into many hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) conditioning regimens, few studies have evaluated the pharmacology of alemtuzumab in adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). We therefore examined the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of alemtuzumab in adults with SCD who received a matched related donor HSCT to determine if the clearance of alemtuzumab affects transplant outcomes. DESIGN PK and PD analysis of patient data from a single-center clinical trial. SETTING Clinical research center. PATIENTS Twenty-two adult patients with SCD who received one of two nonmyeloablative allogeneic HSCT regimens: alemtuzumab and total body irradiation (Alem-TBI) or pentostatin, cyclophosphamide, alemtuzumab, and total body irradiation (Pento-Cy-Alem-TBI). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Alemtuzumab serum concentrations, absolute lymphocyte counts, T-cell (CD3), and myeloid (CD14/15) chimerism were collected at distinct time points and analyzed. A semi-mechanistic PK population model was built to understand inter-individual differences in pharmacology. Alemtuzumab was detectable up to 28 days post-HSCT. The mean alemtuzumab level 7 days after transplant for patients on Alem-TBI was 818 ng/ml, significantly lower than the mean level of 1502 ng/ml for patients on Pento-Cy-Alem-TBI (p < 0.001), but this difference decreased as time progressed. The clearance of alemtuzumab was linear, and the half-life was longer in the Pento-Cy-Alem-TBI group (average half-life = 61.1 h) compared to the Alem-TBI group (average half-life = 44.1 h) (p < 0.001). The CD3 chimerism at 2 and 4 months after transplant positively correlated with alemtuzumab levels collected on day 14 after transplant (R2 = 0.40 and p = 0.004 at 2 months, R2 = 0.36 and p = 0.005 at 4 months), but this significance was lost by 6 months after HSCT. No correlation was seen between alemtuzumab levels and CD14/15 chimerism. CONCLUSION Between 2 and 4 months after transplant, higher alemtuzumab levels measured 14 days after transplant correlated with patients having better engraftment, suggesting more lymphodepletion may be needed to reduce graft failure in these two non-myeloablative matched related donor HSCT regimens.
Stability and Change in Adjustment Profiles Among Chinese American Adolescents: The Role of Parenting

Asian American adolescents are often depicted as academically successful but psychologically distressed, a pattern known as the achievement/adjustment paradox. In a sample of 444 Chinese American adolescents (54 % females), we identified three distinct patterns of adjustment in early adolescence, middle adolescence, and emerging adulthood: the well-adjusted group, which was the largest, exhibited high achievement and low psychological distress; the poorly-adjusted group exhibited poor achievement and moderate distress; and the paradox group exhibited relatively high achievement and high distress. More than half of the adolescents remained in the same profile over time. Adolescents with supportive parents were more likely to stay well-adjusted, and those with “tiger” parents were more likely to stay in the paradox group over time. The present study focused on the critical role of parenting in early adolescence, highlighting variations in Chinese American adolescents’ adjustment in multiple domains over time.
Properties of Saccade-Related Unit Activity In the Monkey Superior Colliculus

The foveation hypothesis of SCHILLER and KOERNER (1) maintains that the superior colliculus (SC) is part of a neural system which acquires visual targets for foveal viewing. The SC is thought to be involved in coding the location of an object relative to the fovea and in eliciting saccadic movements which produce foveal acquisition of the object. A major line of evidence offered in support of this hypothesis is the finding that neurons in the intermediate and deeper layers of the SC discharge maximally prior to eye movements with a particular direction and amplitude (1–9). These neurons have a movement field — that is, the neurons discharge prior to a range of movements of similar directions and amplitudes. However, the temporal relationship between the spike discharge and saccade onset has not been examined carefully. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the discharge of SC neurons reflects an attentional mechanism rather than a command to initiate a particular saccade (10,11).
Workplace Democracy for Teachers: John Dewey's Contribution

John Dewey may prove to have been one of America’s most important philosophers of technology. Like Thorstein Veblen, however, Dewey took technology to encompass all applications of scientific method to the solution of human problems. Thus his ‘instrumentalist’ approach to problem-solving included, indeed came to focus on, social organization as a sine qua non for enhancing the democratic ideal. Especially important in this respect was Dewey’s persistent dedication to the well-being of working people. He was, to be sure, an intellectual but a distinctively pro-labor intellectual. More than that, he was an activist in behalf of unions — for ‘handworkers’ and ‘brain-workers’ alike. In this cause he had few allies among academicians. Now, however, three decades after his death, American professors are beginning to unionize — hopefully with the same breadth of vision that motivated Dewey.
The Past and Possible Future Spread of Africanized Honeybees in the Americas

Orley Taylor is an ecologist, appointed by the US Department Agriculture to monitor and study the spread of “Africanized bees”—hybrids between Apis mellifera of European origin and Apis mellifera adansonii—in the Americas. He has travelled widely to collect and assess the material presented in this up-to-date report. Currently USDA is funding 14 research projects dealing with points discussed here, such as swarm characteristics, swarming dynamics, the biology of migration and absconding. Basic research is also now being done in Southern Africa, and before too long it should be possible to clarify some of the biological bases for observed behaviour, which will constitute a first step towards effective management.
An Agricultural Law Jeremiad: The Harvest Is Past, the Summer Is Ended, and Seed Is Not Saved

The saving of seed exerts a powerful rhetorical grip on American agricultural law and policy. Simply put, farmers want to save seed. Many farmers, and many of their advocates, believe that saving seed is essential to farming. But it is not. Farmers today often buy seed, just as they buy other agricultural inputs. That way lies the path of economic and technological progress. Seed-saving advocates protest that compelling farmers to buy seed every season effectively subjects them to a form of serfdom. So be it. Intellectual property law concerns the progress of science and the useful arts. Collateral economic and social damage, in the form of affronts to the agrarian ego, is of no valid legal concern. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and seed is not saved.
Fuzzy adaptive dynamic surface control approach for strict-feedback nonlinear systems with disturbances

An adaptive dynamic surface control(DSC) approach is investigated for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems with unknown bounded disturbances in this paper. The DSC approach is connected with fuzzy logic systems(FLS) to avoid the phenomenon of “explosion of complexity”. The synthetic laws are constructed by prediction error and compensated tracking error between system state and serial-parallel estimation model. Using Lyapunov stability method, all the signals of systems are uniformly ultimately bounded(UUB). Simulation example is presented to explain efficiency of control method in this paper and verify the theoretical analysis.
MORAL INTUITIONS AND SMART GROWTH: WHY DO LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES VIEW COMPACT DEVELOPMENT SO DIFFERENTLY?

Political liberals are significantly more supportive than conservatives of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, transit-oriented development, and other aspects of the “compact city,” not just in their views about government policy toward metropolitan development but also in their consumption preferences regarding neighborhoods. I argue that social psychologists’ theory of moral intuitionism helps account for these differences. In this view, liberals and conservatives emphasize different sets of affective, emotion-laden moral impulses—such as those involving fairness, purity, or ingroup loyalty—predisposing them toward particular reactions to compact development. Political ideologies also are associated with different personality traits that are relevant to opinions on the built environment. To explore the intuitionist hypothesis, I review qualitative accounts that suggest an association between certain moral worldviews and attitudes toward development patterns. I then conduct multivariate analysis of a public opinion survey that contained questions relevant to moral foundations and to views on compact development.
Utility and limitations of measures of health inequities: a theoretical perspective.

This paper examines common approaches for quantifying health inequities and assesses the extent to which they incorporate key theories necessary for explicating the definition of health inequity. The first theoretical analysis examined the distinction between inter-individual and inter-group health inequalities as measures of health inequities. The second analysis considered the notion of fairness in health inequalities from different philosophical perspectives. To understand the extent to which different measures of health inequities incorporate these theoretical explanations, four criteria were used to assess each measure: 1) Does the indicator demonstrate inter-group or inter-individual health inequalities or both; 2) Does it reflect health inequalities in relation to socioeconomic position; 3) Is it sensitive to the absolute transfer of health (outcomes, services, or both) or income/wealth between groups; 4) Could it be used to capture inequalities in relation to other population groupings (other than socioeconomic status)? The measures assessed include: before and after measures within only the disadvantaged population, range, Gini coefficient, Pseudo-Gini coefficient, index of dissimilarity, concentration index, slope and relative indices of inequality, and regression techniques. None of these measures satisfied all the four criteria, except the range. Whereas each measure quantifies a different perspective in health inequities, using a measure within only the disadvantaged population does not measure health inequities in a meaningful way, even using before and after changes. For a more complete assessment of how programs affect health inequities, it may be useful to use more than one measure. Keywords: health inequities; program evaluation; theory of social justice; measures of inequality (Published: 9 September 2015) Citation: Glob Health Action 2015, 8 : 27591 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.27591
Quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the binding energy of the beryllium dimer

The accurate calculation of the binding energy of the beryllium dimer is a challenging theoretical problem. In this study, the binding energy of Be2 is calculated using the diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) method, using single Slater determinant and multiconfigurational trial functions. DMC calculations using single-determinant trial wave functions of orbitals obtained from density functional theory calculations overestimate the binding energy, while DMC calculations using Hartree-Fock or CAS(4,8), complete active space trial functions significantly underestimate the binding energy. In order to obtain an accurate value of the binding energy of Be2 from DMC calculations, it is necessary to employ trial functions that include excitations outside the valence space. Our best estimate DMC result for the binding energy of Be2, obtained by using configuration interaction trial functions and extrapolating in the threshold for the configurations retained in the trial function, is 908 cm−1, only slightly below the 935 cm−1 value derived from experiment.
Where to File Your Patent Case

Patent lawyers spend a great deal of time figuring out the best districts in which to file patent cases. Based on a comprehensive study of all patent lawsuits over the past ten years, I identify the best – and worst – districts for patent owners along a variety of metrics. The answers will surprise you.
Surface crystallization behaviour of Metglas 2605-SC and 2826-MB

The crystallization behaviour of two quaternary amorphous alloys, Metglas 2605-SC and Maglas 2826-MB, were investigated by reflection electron diffraction observations ofin situ heat treatment. The surface crystallization phenomena of these materials were compared to those of the bulk, in particular with respect to the structures of the initial metastable crystallization products. Anisotropic crystallization of the surfaces was observed on both of these ribbons, indicated by oriented arc patterns of the initial crystallites. This effect was determined to be a result of local elemental depletion of the surface layers.
PLANAR PEG-IN-HOLE INSERTION USING A STIFFNESS CONTROLLABLE PNEUMATIC MANIPULATOR

This paper presents a method for the impedance control of a pneumatic manipulator for peg-in-hole tasks without using a load cell. The control methodology presented contains a sliding mode force controller and an adaptive pressure summation relationship, which enforces the controllable natural stiffness of the pneumatic actuator. This is accomplished by utilizing two three-way proportional spool valves for each degree-of-freedom instead of a four-way valve typically used in fluid power control. Combinations of intrinsic stiffness provided by the compressibility of air and closed-loop stiffness provided by impedance parameters are studied. Experimental results are shown demonstrating that gentle transition from non-contact to contact tasks can be achieved without the use of a load cell by taking advantage of the intrinsically low stiffness of a pneumatic manipulator. Experimental results are also shown demonstrating sensorless (no load cell) force-guided insertion of a planar peg-in-hole task with position uncertainties (hole location not precisely known).Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Effect of chronic ingestion of sodium acetate on thyroid function.

Chronic ingestion of sodium acetate over a 3-month interval may have an inhibitory effect on some aspect of organification of iodine and consequent synthesis of thyroid hormones.
On Gossamer metals and insulating behaviour

We extend the Gossamer technique recently proposed to describe superconducting ground states to metallic ground states. The Gossamer metal in a single band model will describe a metallic phase that becomes arbitrarily hard to differentiate from an insulator as one turns the Coulomb correlations up. We were motivated by the phase diagram of V2O3 and f-electron systems which have phase diagrams in which a line of first-order metal–insulator transition ends at a critical point above which the two phases are indistinguishable. This means that one can go continuously from the metal to the ‘insulator’, suggesting that they might be the same phase.
Comparison of IS1, IS2 and IS3 copy number in Escherichia coli strains K-12, B and C

The number of copies of IS2 and IS1 in the chromosomes of five Escherichia coli K-12 strains and E. coli B and E. coli C has been determined by hybridization. Among these strains, IS1 copy numbers range from 4 to 19 and IS2 copy numbers range from 0 to 12. IS2 is present once in the E. coli B chromosome, but it is absent from E. coli C. The copy numbers of IS3 in the same seven E. coli strains range from 4 to 6.
Efficient generation of truncated Bessel beams using cylindrical waveguides

We propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally a method for generation of beams of light possessing large angular momenta. The method utilizes cylindrical optical waveguides as well as whispering gallery mode resonators that efficiently transform a plane electromagnetic wave into truncated Bessel beams. Generation of the high order beams with well defined angular momenta is demonstrated.
Writing and culture in the post-process era

Abstract Does the notion of culture, currently under wide-ranging critique across the social sciences, still have a future? In this paper I discuss three possible uses of the culture concept in the field of second language writing for the 21st century: (1) Turning the cultural lens back on ourselves (where “ourselves” means the very academics who have found the concept most useful in the past); (2) Investigating continuity, universality, and hybridity, whereas the culture concept has traditionally been used to investigate difference, localization, and cultural “purity”; and (3) Expanding, contracting, and complexifying the scope of the culture concept. I conclude by arguing for a view of L2 writing that takes into account the full range of social and cultural contexts impacting L2 writing, rather than focusing narrowly on skills and processes of writing (in the classroom) in themselves.
Current Techniques for Evaluation of Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries have been evaluated in the past chiefly on the basis of subjective tests. New electronic techniques are now coming into clinical use which allow objective testing of afferent and efferent conduction through long spinal cord tracts. With continued research, it is probable that diagnosis and prognosis of spinal cord injuries can be made with a high degree of confidence.