cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial effects of Chinese rice wine on Norovirus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in traditional wine-treated mud snails (Bullacta exarata)

Abstract In China, edible shellfish are recognized as foods potentially at high risk of contamination with human Norovirus (HuNoV) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. In this study, the antimicrobial effects of Chinese rice wine on HuNoV surrogates (MS2 and MNV-1) and V. parahaemolyticus in pickled mud snails immersed at different temperatures were evaluated. The optimized conditions for the wine treatment were also determined by assessing the color, odor, off-flavor, taste, and texture of the mud snails. Treatment with Chinese rice wine and immersion at 16 °C for 6 h were found to be the most effective conditions for reducing the incidence of MS2, MNV-1, and V. parahaemolyticus in the wine-treated mud snails with minimal changes to food quality. Using the nonlinear Weibull model, we show that the minimal TR values (the time required to reduce the population of pathogens by 90%) for MNV-1 (0.436 h), MS2 (0.363 h), and V. parahaemolyticus (0.202 h) were obtained for the rice-wine-containing shellfish immersed at 16 °C. Therefore, Chinese rice wine can be used as an antimicrobial agent against HuNoV and V. parahaemolyticus in wine-treated Bullacta exarata.
Mechanistic predictions of the influence of collagen-binding domain sequences on human LL37 interactions with model lipids using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation.

Modifications of human-derived antimicrobial peptide LL37 with collagen binding domains (CBD-LL37) hold promise as alternatives to antibiotics due to their wider therapeutic ratio than unmodified LL37 when interacting with collagen substrates such as commercial wound dressings. However, CBD-LL37 lipid membrane interaction mechanisms (against both mammalian and bacterial lipids) are not well understood. Our goal was to develop a mechanistic explanation of how CBDs modulate peptide–lipid interactions leading to their observed bioactivities, in order to better understand their potential for clinical applications. The authors studied time- and concentration-dependent interactions of CBD-LL37 modified with collagenase (cCBD) and fibronectin (fCBD) CBDs, with zwitterionic and anionic supported lipid bilayers, in order to model mammalian erythrocytes and bacterial cells, respectively. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was used to characterize peptide–lipid interactions at concentrations in the immunomodulatory (0.5–1.0 μM), antimicrobial (1.0–5.0 μM), and cytotoxic (5.0–10.0 μM) ranges. Their prior work with zwitterionic membranes demonstrated that cCBD-LL37 formed transmembrane pores while fCBD-LL37 underwent surface adsorption. Our goal in this study is to better interpret these results, by investigating the data at a wider concentration range and for two types of lipids, and by applying the Voigt–Kelvin viscoelastic model to calculate thickness and density changes of the peptide–lipid films as a function of time and concentration, thus providing information to help build detailed mechanisms of peptide/bilayer interactions. For pore-forming cCBD-LL37 and unmodified LL37, they found that there was a relationship between layer thicknesses and pore formation, which was attributed to different peptide orientation changes influenced by bilayer charge prior to pore formation. Specifically, cCBD-LL37 at 0.5 and 1.0 μM demonstrated higher thicknesses on zwitterionic than anionic membranes, indicating that prior to insertion into zwitterionic membranes, it orients perpendicular to the surface, which was also consistent with the higher dissipation changes observed on zwitterionic membranes. fCBD-LL37 demonstrated a bilayer adsorption mechanism with a preference toward anionic lipids. Adsorption of fCBD-LL37 onto anionic lipids demonstrated a rapid first adsorption step that transitioned depending on the number of fCBD-LL37 molecules on the bilayer. For this peptide at higher concentrations, greater dissipation changes were observed than for fCBD-LL37 physically adsorbed onto surfaces without bilayers. This suggests that peptide–peptide interactions promoted by the fCBD domain dominated after saturation. The development of a structure–function relationship for cCBD-LL37 and fCBD-LL37 demonstrates promise for using QCM-D predictions to inform the rational design of novel, antimicrobial, and noncytotoxic CBD-LL37 for clinical applications.
Detection and isolation of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer

Background Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) have been reported in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa). However, the existence of these cells continues to be questioned, and few methods exist for viable DTC isolation. Therefore, we sought to develop novel approaches to identify and, if detected, analyze localized PCa patient DTCs. Methods We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate a putative DTC population, which was negative for CD45, CD235a, alkaline phosphatase, and CD34, and strongly expressed EPCAM. We examined tumor cell content by bulk cell RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and whole-exome sequencing after whole genome amplification. We also enriched for BM DTCs with α-EPCAM immunomagnetic beads and performed quantitative reverse trancriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for PCa markers. Results At a threshold of 4 cells per million BM cells, the putative DTC population was present in 10 of 58 patients (17%) with localized PCa, 4 of 8 patients with metastatic PCa of varying disease control, and 1 of 8 patients with no known cancer, and was positively correlated with patients' plasma PSA values. RNA-Seq analysis of the putative DTC population collected from samples above (3 patients) and below (5 patients) the threshold of 4 putative DTCs per million showed increased expression of PCa marker genes in 4 of 8 patients with localized PCa, but not the one normal donor who had the putative DTC population present. Whole-exome sequencing also showed the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms and structural variants in the gene characteristics of PCa in 2 of 3 localized PCa patients. To examine the likely contaminating cell types, we used a myeloid colony formation assay, differential counts of cell smears, and analysis of the RNA-Seq data using the CIBERSORT algorithm, which most strongly suggested the presence of B-cell lineages as a contaminant. Finally, we used EPCAM enrichment and qRT-PCR for PCa markers to estimate DTC prevalence and found evidence of DTCs in 21 of 44 samples (47%). Conclusion These data support the presence of DTCs in the BM of a subset of patients with localized PCa and describe a novel FACS method for isolation and analysis of viable DTCs.
Towards codification of thunderstorm/downburst using gust front factor: Model-based and data-driven perspectives

Abstract Winds associated with gust fronts originating from a thunderstorm/downburst exhibit rapid changes during a short time period which may be accompanied by changes in direction. For several decades, a number of studies have been focused on identifying the characteristics of such nonstationary gust front winds in a variety of manners such as experimental/numerical methods and full-scale measurements. Yet, beginning the dialogue on any guidelines for design practice has thus far not evolved, in part due to a limited consensus on such characteristics among studies in conjunction with paucity of available data needed for vetting and corroborating, which is further impacted by the presence of nonstationarity. In an effort to establishing a new design procedure for this type of wind load effect on structures, the gust front factor (GFF) framework has been proposed by authors that encapsulates both the kinematic and dynamic features of gust front induced wind effects on structures, which distinguish themselves from those experienced in conventional boundary layer flows. This study revisits the gust front factor framework seeking to take the next step toward a possible initial framework for codification of gust front winds from model-based and data-driven perspectives. A modular and extensible web-enabled framework to estimate gust front related wind load effects is envisaged to rationally and holistically quantify design loads. This would promote design practice to enhance disaster resilience of the built environment. In this context, a closed-form expression concerning nonstationary fluctuations for a case of a long pulse duration is derived to facilitate rapid evaluation of nonstationary turbulence effects. A preliminary uncertainty analysis is also carried out to assess the influence of uncertainties associated with the load effects of gust front winds and the reliability of GFF. In addition, a comparison of the model-based gust front factor with a recently introduced thunderstorm response spectrum technique to assess their relative performance is carried out. In view of the lessons learned from the history of the gust loading factor on codes and standards, a possible living codification concept through a learning and updating invoking the emerging “Design Thinking” approach is discussed.
Free and Costly Trade Credit: A Comparison of Small Firms

Trade credit is a major source of financing for small firms. This article examines the extent to which small firms use trade credit as well as the extent to which they use "free" versus "costly" trade credit. Those firms that use free trade credit make payment within the discount period. Alternatively, firms that use costly trade credit forego available discounts and may also make payment after the due date thereby incurring substantial additional costs. Results reveal that larger firms were more likely to use trade credit. Younger firms were more likely to be denied trade credit and were also more likely to pay late as were firms with a history of credit difficulties and those with high levels of debt. Firms owned by white women and Hispanic men were significantly less likely to have trade credit than firms owned by white men. Further, firms owned by black men were significantly more likely to be denied trade credit.
Choosing and Changing Financial Advisors: An ƑMRI Study of Associated Brain Activations

Changing financial advisors during an advisor-intermediated stock-market game was more likely during periods of relative underperformance. Immediately prior to changing advisors, brain activation was greater in areas associated with error detection (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and number comparisons (inferior parietal and middle frontal gyri). This combination of activations was analogous to those associated with choosing to stop chasing losses in a gambling task. Advisors may consider using heuristics from gambling research and investment practice that re-characterize loss experiences as something other than errors. During non-switching “quiet” periods, subjects were more likely to be focusing on the images of advisors, reflected by activation in face-specific visual regions. These results may support client-retention strategies emphasizing personal connections rather than pure numerical performance.
FUNCTIONAL CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY IN SYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS WITH NO OBSTRUCTIVE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

A significant portion of patients with signs and symptoms of myocardial ischemia have no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Some of these patients may have endothelial or microvascular dysfunction, with associated adverse cardiovascular outcomes. By evaluating epicardial and microvascular
Neural processes during adolescent risky decision making are associated with conformity to peer influence.

Abstract Adolescents demonstrate both heightened sensitivity to peer influence and increased risk-taking. The current study provides a novel test of how these two phenomena are related at behavioral and neural levels. Adolescent males (N = 83, 16–17 years) completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in an fMRI scanner. One week later, participants completed a driving task in which they drove alone and with a safety- or risk-promoting peer passenger. Results showed that neural responses during BART were associated with participants’ behavioral conformity to safe vs. risky peer influence while later driving. First, the extent that neural activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) scaled with decision stakes in BART was associated with conformity to risky peer influence. Additionally, stake-modulated functional connectivity between ventral striatum (VS) and risk processing regions (including ACC and insula) was associated with safer driving under risky peer influence (i.e. resistance to risky peer influence), suggesting that connectivity between VS and ACC as well as insula may serve a protective role under risky peer influence. Together, these results suggest that adolescents’ neural responses to risky decision making may modulate their behavioral conformity to different types of peer influence on risk taking.
Key indicators influencing management of prolonged second stage labour by midwives in freestanding birth centres: Results from an ethnographic interview study

Abstract Problems Complications for newborns and postpartum clients in the hospital are more frequent after a prolonged second stage of labour. Midwives in community settings have little research to guide management in their settings. Aim We explored how US birth centre midwives identify onset of second stage of labour and determine when to transfer clients to the hospital for prolonged second stage. Methods Ethnographic interviews of midwives with at least 2 years’ experience in birth centres and participant observation of birth centre care. Findings We interviewed 21 midwives (18 CNMs, 3 CPMs/equivalent) from 18 birth centres in 11 US states, 45% with hospital practice privileges. Midwives relied on and engaged in embodied practice in evaluating each labour and making decisions concerning management of labour. Midwives considered time a useful but limited measure as a guiding factor in management. Though ideas of time and progress do play an important role in the decision-making process of midwives, their usefulness is limited due to the continual, multifactorial, and multisensory nature of the assessment. Relationship with the transfer hospital structured midwives’ decision-making about transfers. Discussion & conclusion These findings can inform future robust multivariate evaluation of factors, including but not limited to time, in guidelines for management of second stage of labour. Optimal management may require formal consideration of more than just time and parity. Our findings also suggest the need for evaluation of how structural issues involving hospital privileges for midwives and relationships between birth centre and hospital staff affect the well-being of childbearing families.
Fast Buffer Count Estimation in 3D IC Floorplanning

A methodology for fast and accurate estimation of the number and positions of buffers during 3D IC floorplanning is developed. Our algorithm computes candidate buffer positions simultaneously with assignment of 3D nets to TSVs. Through accurate delay characterization of buffered 3D nets, the minimum distance between consecutive buffers is estimated. Additionally, an analytical approach is used to find the optimal position of buffers in front of TSVs. This prevents additional buffers’ insertion around TSVs, incurring lesser delay and power in 3D nets. Experimental results with expanded GSRC benchmarks show 5.6% more reduction in number of buffers, 5.7% reduction in interconnect delay and 4% reduction in dynamic power, compared to a previous published work. The potential impact of nanoscale TSVs on buffer estimation at sub-45 nm technologies is analyzed.
A Transformational Approach to Developing Cultural Humility in the Classroom

Introduction:Undergraduate psychology programs offer opportunities for the development of knowledge and specialized skills in order to equip students to work with diverse populations.Statement of t...
A model predictive approach for online mobile manipulation of non-holonomic objects using learned dynamics:

Assistive robots designed for physical interaction with objects will play an important role in assisting with mobility and fall prevention in healthcare facilities. Autonomous mobile manipulation p...
Distributed Internet voting architecture: A thin client approach to Internet voting:

Principles required for secure electronic voting using the Internet are known and published. Although the Internet voting functionalities and technologies are well-defined, none of the existing sta...
Natural History of Afferent Baroreflex Failure in Adults

Objective To describe the natural history of afferent baroreflex failure (ABF) based on systematic review of clinical and laboratory data in patients with a diagnosis of ABF at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent standardized autonomic reflex testing between 2000 and 2020 and had confirmation of the diagnosis of ABF by an autonomic disorders specialist. Patients were identified using a data repository of medical records. Variables included demographic, all-cause mortality, medications, ABF manifestations, comorbidities, and laboratory (autonomic testing, blood pressure monitoring, echocardiogram, brain imaging, plasma catecholamines, serum sodium level, and kidney function tests). Results A total of 104 patients with ABF were identified. Head and neck radiation was the most common etiology (86.5%), followed by neck surgery (5.8%) and other causes (7.7%). The most common findings were hypertension (87.5%), fluctuating blood pressure (78.8%), orthostatic hypotension (91.3%), syncope (58.6%), headache (22.1%), and tachycardia (20.2%). Patients commonly received antihypertensives (66.3%), pressor agents (41.3%), or a combination of both (19.2%). The median latency from completion of radiation to ABF was longer compared to the latency in the surgery group (p Conclusions ABF should be suspected in patients with prior head and neck cancer treated by radiation or surgery who present with labile hypertension and orthostatic hypotension. Management may require both antihypertensive and pressor medications. The morbidity and mortality in ABF are high.
Elamipretide for Barth syndrome cardiomyopathy: gradual rebuilding of a failed power grid

Barth syndrome is a rare and potentially fatal X-linked disease characterized by cardiomyopathy, skeletal muscle weakness, growth delays, and cyclic neutropenia. Patients with Barth syndrome are prone to high risk of mortality in infancy and the development of cardiomyopathy with severe weakening of the immune system. Elamipretide is a water-soluble, aromatic-cationic, mitochondria-targeting tetrapeptide that readily penetrates and transiently localizes to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Therapy with elamipretide facilitates cell health by improving energy production and inhibiting excessive formation of reactive oxygen species, thus alleviating oxidative stress. Elamipretide crosses the outer membrane of the mitochondrion and becomes associated with cardiolipin, a constituent phospholipid of the inner membrane. Elamipretide improves mitochondrial bioenergetics and morphology rapidly in induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with Barth syndrome and other genetically related diseases characterized by pediatric cardiomyopathy. Data with elamipretide across multiple models of disease are especially promising, with results from several studies supporting the use of elamipretide as potential therapy for patients with Barth syndrome, particularly where there is a confirmed diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities presented in treating Barth syndrome cardiomyopathy patients with elamipretide and addresses evidence supporting the durability of effect of elamipretide as a therapeutic agent for Barth syndrome, especially its likely durable effects on progression of cardiomyopathy following the cessation of drug treatment and the capability of elamipretide to structurally reverse remodel the failing left ventricle at the global, cellular, and molecular level in a gradual manner through specific targeting of the mitochondrial inner membrane.
Damped Phononic Crystals and Acoustic Metamaterials

The objective of this chapter is to introduce the topic of damping in the context of both its modeling and its effects in phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials. First, we provide a brief discussion on the modeling of damping in structural dynamic systems in general with a focus on viscous and viscoelastic types of damping (Sect. 6.2) and follow with a non-exhaustive literature review of prior work that examined periodic phononic materials with damping (Sect. 6.3). In Sect. 6.4, we consider damped 1D diatomic phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials as example problems (keeping our attention on 1D systems for ease of exposition as in previous chapters). We introduce the generalized form of Bloch’s theorem, which is needed to account for both temporal and spatial attenuation of the elastic waves resulting from the presence of damping. We also describe the transformation of the governing equations of motion to a state-space representation to facilitate the treatment of the damping term that arises in the emerging eigenvalue problem. Finally, the effects of dissipation (based on the two types of damping models considered) on the frequency and damping ratio band structures are demonstrated by solving the equations developed for a particular choice of material parameters.
Closed-Form Differential Kinematics for Concentric-Tube Continuum Robots with Application to Visual Servoing

Active cannulas, so named because of their potential medical applications, are a new class of continuum robots consisting of precurved, telescoping, elastic tubes. As individual component tubes are actuated at the base relative to one another, an active cannula changes shape to minimize stored elastic energy. Here, we derive the differential kinematics of a general n-tube active cannula while accounting for torsional compliance. We experimentally validate the Jacobian using a three-link prototype in a simple stereo visual servoing scheme.
SimilarityExplorer: A Visual Inter-Comparison Tool for Multifaceted Climate Data

Inter-comparison and similarity analysis to gauge consensus among multiple simulation models is a critical visualization problem for understanding climate change patterns. Climate models, specifically, Terrestrial Biosphere Models TBM represent time and space variable ecosystem processes, like, simulations of photosynthesis and respiration, using algorithms and driving variables such as climate and land use. While it is widely accepted that interactive visualization can enable scientists to better explore model similarity from different perspectives and different granularity of space and time, currently there is a lack of such visualization tools.
Introduction to Radiology Concepts

Let us disregard the anatomy seen on the radiograph for now and concentrate on basic radiographic principles. In Fig. 2.1, you can see examples of the four basic densities, bone, soft tissue, fat, and air, which are visible on a conventional radiograph.
Charles Mackay's Own Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Railway Mania

Charles Mackay's book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" enjoys extraordinarily high renown in the financial industry and among the press and the public. It also has an extraordinarily low reputation among historians.This paper argues that Mackay's sins of commission were dwarfed by his sins of omission. He lived through several giant investment manias in Britain, yet he did not discuss them in his books. An investigation of Mackay's newspaper writings shows that he was one of the most ardent cheerleaders for the Railway Mania, the greatest and most destructive of these episodes of extreme investor exuberance.Mackay's story provides another example of a renowned expert on bubbles who decides that "this time is different." His moves through a sequence of delusions help explain the length and damage of the Railway Mania. He was a free market and technology enthusiast, and faced many issues that are important today, such as government ownership or regulation, interconnection, standardization, structural separation, and analogs to net neutrality. A crushing national debt and high unemployment in an economy pulling out of a deep depression (and in perceived danger of falling into another one) were very important in shaping attitudes towards railway expansion. The analogies and contrasts between Mackay's time and ours are instructive.
The Constrained Brownian Movement of Spherical Particles in Cylindrical Pores of Comparable Radius: Models of the Diffusive and Convective Transport of Solute Molecules in Membranes and Porous Media

Abstract Rigorous calculations are presented for the effect of a constraining circular cylindrical boundary upon the translational Brownian motion of an isolated spherical particle suspended in a Poiseuille flow. These results also apply to dilute, multiparticle systems. Results are presented in the format of modifications of the Taylor—Aris theory of dispersion, arising from nonzero values of the dimensionless parameter λ = sphere radius/tube radius. Differences between present, continuum-mechanical, results and those derived from global forms of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes are reconciled. An outline of a more general theoretical framework is presented, with a view toward eventual applications to nonspherical particles and noncylindrical boundaries, such as occur, for example, in problems of aerosol deposition.
Turbulence, Inequality, and Cheap Steel

Iron and steel production grew dramatically in the U.S. when mass production technologies for steel were adopted in the 1860s. According to new measures presented in this study, earnings inequality rose within the iron and steel industries about 1870, perhaps because technological uncertainty led to gambles and turbulence. Firms made a variety of technological choices and began formal research and development. Professional associations and journals for mechanical engineers and chemists appeared. A national market replaced local markets for iron and steel. An industrial union replaced craft unions. As new ore sources and cheap water transportation were introduced, new plants along the Great Lakes outcompeted existing plants elsewhere. Because new iron and steel plants in the 1870s were larger than any U.S. plants had ever been, cost accounting appeared in the industry and grew in importance. Uncertainty explains the rise in inequality better than a skill bias account, according to which differences among individuals generate greater differences in wages. Analogous issues of inequality come up with respect to recent information technology.
Stable Isotope Ecology of Extant Tapirs from the Americas

Understanding the ecology of modern and ancient forests can help clarify the evolution of forest dwelling mammals. It is first necessary, however, to elucidate the source and extent of stable isotope variation in forest taxa. Tapirs are of particular interest because they are model organisms for identifying forest environments due to their highly conservative diet and habitat preferences. Here, stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of extant tapirs are quantified to test hypotheses regarding ontogenetic diet shifts, stable isotope variation at the population level, and relationships between stable isotopes and climatic variables. A population of extant tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) demonstrates low δ13C variation (∼2–3‰) and increased δ13C values in late erupting teeth, indicating that juveniles consume 13C deplete milk and/or browse in denser forests. Disparate δ18O values of late erupting teeth are instead reflecting seasonal variation. Extant tapir (T. bairdii, Tapirus pinchaque, Tapirus terrestris) δ18O values are constrained by climatic and geographic variables. Most notably, δ18O values of T. bairdii decrease with decreasing precipitation frequency. Tapirus terrestris is typically present in areas with greater precipitation than T. bairdii and δ18O values instead positively correlate with δ13C values. These data indicate that tapirs in wetter areas are getting a larger proportion of their water from leaves experiencing less evaporation in denser canopies, while T. bairdii is interpreted to increase its consumption of water via drinking when present in drier areas. An understanding of extant tapir stable isotope ecology improves ecological interpretations of these elusive mammals both today and in the past. Abstract in Spanish is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/btp.
Ad hoc relay network planning for improving cellular data coverage

Non-uniform coverage is a major concern in cellular data networks based on HSDPA/HDR access technologies. Poor coverage lowers the overall utilization of the cell and results in location-dependent downlink throughput for mobile users. We focus on the planning of ad hoc relay network (ARN) in providing an improved cellular coverage. Specifically, we present and discuss issues and approaches for relay node placement in cellular space. Through extensive simulation modeling, we provide the evaluation of the improvement in the location dependent cellular data rate by employing the ARN.
Fast, three-dimensional, collision-free motion planning

Issues dealing with fast, 3-D, collision-free motion planning are discussed, and a fast path planning system under development at NBS is described. The components of a general motion planner are outlined, and some of their computational aspects are discussed. It is argued that an octree representation of the obstacles in the world leads to fast path planning algorithms. The system we are developing uses such an octree representation. The robot and its swept-volume paths are approximated by primitive shapes so as to result in fast collision detection algorithms. The search for a path is performed in the octree space, and combines hypothesize and test, hill climbing, and A.
Assessing patient activation and health literacy in the ED

Abstract Background Low health literacy and patient activation are linked to unmet health needs, excess emergency department (ED) use, and hospital admission. However, most studies have assessed these measures in non-ED populations. Objective The objective of the study is to assess health literacy and patient activation in the ED. Methods A cross-sectional study in adults older than 18 years presenting to an ED were selected using systematic sampling. Demographic data and reason for ED visit were collected. Health literacy was assessed using Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM). Patient activation was assessed using Patient Activation Measure. Kruskal-Wallis tests compared groups. Spearman rank correlations compared numeric variables. Results A total of 140 patients were approached, and 108 enrolled. Average age was 51 years. Most were unemployed (71%), were unmarried (80%), had a primary physician (62%), were male (60%), were African American (63%), and were on public insurance (58%). Most had an activation level of 3 or 4. The mean REALM score was 52. Patients with higher REALM scores had higher activation levels ( r s = 0.30; P = .0017), although, when adjusted for age, this association was no longer significant. Sex, education, insurance status, and race were not significantly associated with REALM or activation levels. Activation levels decreased with increasing age ( r s = −0.24; P = .01). Low activation levels and limited health literacy were significantly associated with admission (odds ratio, 4.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-12.6; P = .0061). Conclusions This is the first study to assess Patient Activation Measure in the ED. Low activation levels and limited REALM scores assessed in the ED population were significantly associated with hospital admission. Assessing activation levels of ED patients could lead to better education and tailored discharge planning by ED clinicians potentially reducing ED revisits.
A novel trial of topotecan, ifosfamide, and carboplatin (TIC) in children with recurrent solid tumors

Background Ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) in children with refractory or recurrent solid tumors and lymphomas has resulted in good overall response rates (ORR). Etoposide, a topoisomerase-II inhibitor, however, has been associated with a significant increase in secondary leukemia. The rationale for substituting topotecan, a topoisomerase-I inhibitor, for etoposide in this regimen, a topoisomerase-II inhibitor, includes its limited toxicity profile and decreased leukemogenicity. Furthermore, topotecan in combination with both alkylators and platinating agents are additive and/or synergistic against a variety of solid tumors. Procedure Patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors received ifosfamide (9 g/m2) and carboplatin (area under the curve: 3 mg/ml/min). Topotecan was also administered at 0.5 mg/m2/day × 3 days (N = 12) and in a small cohort (N = 3) at 0.75 mg/m2/day. Results Fifteen patients were entered onto study. Two patients developed seizures/encephalitis secondary to ifosfamide. One patient had dose-limiting thrombocytopenia secondary to TIC that resolved with supportive care. Patients received a median of three cycles (1–3) of TIC. Of the 14 evaluable patients for response, 4/14 had a complete response (CR), 2/14 had a partial response (PR), and 1/14 patients had stable disease (SD). The ORR (CR + PR) was 43%. Conclusion TIC chemotherapy is feasible and tolerable in children and adolescents with refractory/recurrent solid tumors and lymphomas and results in a 43% excellent ORR in this poor-risk group of patients. A larger cohort of patients, especially in Wilms tumor and central nervous system (CNS) tumors, should be studied in the future to attempt to confirm these preliminary findings. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:274–278. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Problem Mare: Management Philosophy, Diagnostic Procedures, and Therapeutic Options

Abstract Problem mares are a commonly encountered challenge in brood mare practice. The first step in management of a mare with a reproductive issue is to obtain an accurate diagnosis. Components of a systematic diagnostic evaluation are discussed. The optimal treatment strategy should be based on results of the diagnostic tests. Successful interactions with problem mares are usually contingent upon a committed and detail-oriented approach to diagnostics, therapeutics, and breeding management.
Solute partitioning under continuous cooling conditions as a cooling rate indicator

A model of solute partitioning in a finite body under conditions of continuous cooling is developed for the determination of cooling rates from concentration profile data, and applied to the partitioning of zirconium between ilmenite and ulvospinel in the Apollo 15 Elbow Crater rocks. Partitioning in a layered composite solid is described numerically in terms of concentration profiles and diffusion coefficients which are functions of time and temperature, respectively; a program based on the model can be used to calculate concentration profiles for various assumed cooling rates given the diffusion coefficients in the two phases and the equilibrium partitioning ratio over a range of temperatures. In the case of the Elbow Rock gabbros, the cooling rates are calculated from measured concentration ratios 10 microns from the interphase boundaries under the assumptions of uniform and equilibrium initial conditions at various starting temperatures. It is shown that the specimens could not have had uniform concentrations profiles at the previously suggested initial temperature of 1350 K. It is concluded that even under conditions where the initial temperature, grain sizes and solute diffusion coefficients are not well characterized, the model can be used to estimate the cooling rate of a grain assemblage to within an order of magnitude.
Comment on ‘‘A statistical theory of rate constants in nonergodic systems’’

A comment on the statistical theory of rate constants in non‐ergodic systems is presented. (AIP)
Delivery of Viral Vectors to Tumor Cells: Extracellular Transport, Systemic Distribution, and Strategies for Improvement

It is a challenge to deliver therapeutic genes to tumor cells using viral vectors because (i) the size of these vectors are close to or larger than the space between fibers in extracellular matrix and (ii) viral proteins are potentially toxic in normal tissues. In general, gene delivery is hindered by various physiological barriers to virus transport from the site of injection to the nucleus of tumor cells and is limited by normal tissue tolerance of toxicity determined by local concentrations of transgene products and viral proteins. To illustrate the obstacles encountered in the delivery and yet limit the scope of discussion, this review focuses only on extracellular transport in solid tumors and distribution of viral vectors in normal organs after they are injected intravenously or intratumorally. This review also discusses current strategies for improving intratumoral transport and specificity of viral vectors.
Rights-based rights

Ronald Dworkin maintains that particular rights, like the right to free speech and the right to own personal property, can be derived from a foundational right, the right to equal concern and respect. This paper questions the tenability of this program for rights-based rights. A right is an individuated moral or political guarantee which confers a specified benefit on each right-holder and which resists conduct that would derogate it. For there to be rights-based rights, both the foundational right and the rights it implies must satisfy this definition. It is doubtful, however, that the right to equal concern and respect should count as a right since the benefits it confers are at best highly controversial and may not be assignable to individuals. But even if we grant that the content of the right to equal concern and respect can be satisfactorily specified, the status of the derived rights remains problematic. The trouble is that the relation between the right to equal concern and respect and the rights it implies parallels the relation between the principle of utility and the rights it may imply. Both of these foundational principles can extinguish derived rights. Consequently, rights dependent on either of these principles are not “trumps,” and their standing as rights is suspect. I conclude that Dworkin's method of defending rights is inappropriate for the most important of our rights though it may well serve for less critical ones.
Priming, sense-making and help: Analysis of player behaviour in an immersive theatrical experience

Understanding how people behave in prototypical forms of ubiquitous computing systems can help determine future designs and technical requirements. In a theatrical puzzle game called ''Last Will'' we were able to observe two hundred participants over the course of a week immerse themselves in an instrumented environment and use a tangible interface to complete a series of tasks. Based on an analysis from interviews, questionnaires and observation we highlight priming, sense-making and context sensitive help as three perspectives that we think are highly relevant to pervasive computing.
A review of asthma admissions and deaths at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 1935 to 1968.

Abstract Patients with the discharge diagnosis of bronchial asthma at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) were reviewed from 1935 to 1968. In the last 10 years, the number of patients hospitalized with acute severe asthma has doubled, and asthma patients account for more than 5 per cent of the medical hospitalizations. Concomitantly, there has been a decline in the mortality rate. Nine deaths occurred in the 33 year period, and 2 deaths were in the last decade. Seven of the patients who died were female, although the ratio of male to female hospitalized asthmatic patients was almost 2 to 1. Medical therapy was reviewed, and overmedication with aminophylline and sedatives were important in 6 deaths. Eight autopsies were performed, and infection was noted at postmortem examination in 5 patients. In contrast to several recent reports, the number of asthma deaths at CHP has not increased with the increased hospitalizations for asthma in the last 5 years. The vigorous correction of acidosis and dehydration, the availability of assisted ventilation, and possibly the use of steroids may account for this observation.
Similar Ligand-induced Conformational Changes of Thyroid Hormone Receptors Regulate Homo- and Heterodimeric Functions

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) bind specific thyroid hormone response elements (TREs) as heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs) and act as transcriptional activators. As homodimers, TRs can bind a distinct set of sequences and function as ligand sensitive repressors. In our study, we compared the natural malic enzyme TRE (ME-TRE) as a model system for the TR/RXR heterodimer pathway to the chicken lysozyme silencer element F2-TRE which is strongly bound and regulated by TR/TR homodimers. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, transient transfections with a variety of natural and synthetic triiodothyronine and thyroxine derivatives as well as limited proteolytic analysis, we show that the natural homo- and heterodimeric pathways show similar ligand requirements. Furthermore, we observe that the ligand-induced conformational changes in the receptor proteins that either result in a loss of TR/TR homodimer binding and release of transcriptional repression or in transcriptional activation of TR/RXR heterodimers are indistinguishable. Therefore, we propose that in TR/TR homodimers and TR/RXR heterodimers very similar moieties of the receptors are involved in ligand binding and subsequent conformational changes that lead to loss of gene repression (TR/TR homodimer) and gain of gene activation (TR/RXR heterodimer).
Cardiac Valve Replacement in Children: A Twenty-Year Series

Ninety-four children ranging from 3 months to 19 years of age underwent cardiac valve replacement at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center from 1965 to 1985. The overall operative mortality was 12%, but mortality was higher among patients less than 2 years of age, patients who had had previous cardiac operations, and patients requiring double-valve replacement. Seven of 11 patients who received mechanical valves and no anticoagulation experienced major thromboembolic events. An episode of gastrointestinal hemorrhage that was easily controlled represents the only bleeding complication in the entire series. Valve replacement in children continues to be a high-risk procedure, and efforts to preserve native valve function should be attempted when technically feasible. Our data also suggest that anticoagulation can be safely accomplished in the pediatric age group and should be employed in patients requiring placement of a mechanical prosthesis, especially in the mitral position.
Examples of tensor categories

Let G be a tensor category over a field k of characteristic 0. In his paper [-i], w 7, Delinge had established rather general conditions for G to be the category of representations of an algebraic group. He has shown that if any object neC satisfies the condition A " n = 0 for a sufficiently large n, then 0 is equivalent to the category Rep(G) of representations of a proalgebraic group scheme G over k. For tensor categories over fields of positive characteristic this result is no longer true. In the first part of this paper we present a construction of a class of tensor categories over fields of positive characteristic for which an analogue of Deligne's theorem does not hold. To describe these categories, denote by Gz an algebraic Chevalley group over Z and by G the corresponding group over Fp (for a sufficiently large p). Our category C will be a certain "subquotient" of the category R(G) of finite-dimensional representations of G. More precisely, let S be the full subcategory of R(G) whose objects (called small representations) are direct sums of the irreducible representations of G with highest weights inside the fundamental alcove. Let also SL 2 c G be the principal SLz-subgroup in G and (SLz)Im c SL2 be the infinitesimal neighbourhood of the Cartan subgroup H in SL2. Denote by O the full subcategory of R(G) consisting of representations M of G (called quasiprojective representations) such that the restriction of M to (SL2)m) is projective. The category 0 is a quotient of the subcategory S+PcR(G). In the last section of the paper we show that the same approach can be applied to representations of quantum groups. Let U be the quantum group at a root of prime order p of 1 (which is a Hopf algebra over the ring of integers in a cyclotomic field, see [2, 3]). Starting from the category of representations of U, we construct a semisimple braided category ~(G, p) with the finite number of simple objects. On the other hand, in Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theory one encounters the category O(G, m) of integrable representations of the correspond-
Statistical engineering perspective on planetary entry, descent, and landing research

This article highlights the contributions of statistical engineering to the Mars Science Laboratory mission and, more generally, planetary entry, descent, and landing research.
The untranslated regions of β-globin mRNA evolve at a functional rate in higher primates

Abstract We have sequenced the 3′ and 5′ untranslated regions of β-globin mRNAs from cebus monkey, rhesus monkey and chimpanzee. A comparison with the corresponding human sequences reveals that the rate of sequence divergence among the higher primates is the same in the 3′ and 5′ noncoding regions and that this rate is several times lower than the rate for silent substitutions in the coding regions. In addition, the rate of sequence divergence in the 3′ untranslated region of the primate β-globin mRNA is several times lower than the rate calculated for this region from other comparisons. The low rate of sequence divergence in the noncoding 3′ end of the primate β-globin mRNAs may indicate a specialized and significant function for this region in the higher primates.
A local thermodynamic criterion for the reference-hypernetted chain equation

Abstract Rosenfeld and Ashcroft have demonstrated that the function B o r , contained in the closure of the RHNC equation, can be adapted from the hard sphere model to produce excellent results for any potential. We propose here a local thermodynamic criterion for the best B o r based on minimizing the free energy.
Controlling somatic hypermutation in immunoglobulin variable and switch regions

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is a B-cell-specific enzyme required for initiating the mechanisms of affinity maturation and isotype switching of antibodies. AID functions by deaminating cytosine to uracil in DNA, which initiates a cascade of events resulting in mutations and strand breaks in the immunoglobulin loci. There is an intricate interplay between faithful DNA repair and mutagenic DNA repair during somatic hypermutation, in that some proteins from accurate repair pathways are also involved in mutagenesis. One factor that shifts the balance from faithful to mutagenic repair is the genomic sequence of the switch regions. Indeed, the sequence of the switch μ region is designed to maximize AID access to increase the abundance of clustered dU bases. The frequency and proximity of these dU nucleotides then in turn inhibit faithful repair and promote strand breaks.
Striatal extracts from patients with Parkinson's disease promote dopamine neuron growth in mesencephalic cultures

The caudate, putamen, and cerebellum from five patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and five normal, aged controls were studied to determine if cell-free extracts from these tissues influenced dopamine neuron growth in culture. Cultures incubated with extracts of the caudate and putamen, but not the cerebellum, from PD patients contained more tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons than aged controls. These data suggest that the parkinsonian striatum compensates for dopamine loss by increasing neurotrophic factor production.