cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiologic Surveillance and Investigation of Symptoms of Illness by Neighbors of Biosolids Land Application Sites

Wastewaters from homes, businesses and public facilities require treatment to protect human and environmental health. In the process of cleaning water for release to the environment, treatment plants separate solids (sludge), which contain nutrients useful in agriculture as well as microbes and chemicals from the wastewater stream. Treated sludges are referred to as biosolids. A majority of biosolids produced in the United States are applied to agricultural land as a fertilizer or soil amendment. While this practice is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the public has expressed concerns about its potential effects on human health, and the National Academy of Sciences has recommended establishing a framework for human health investigations. The primary goal of this project is to develop an investigation protocol to assist environmental and public health officials in responding to citizens and medical providers who report symptoms that they attribute to land application of biosolids. Data resulting from citizen and provider reports and subsequent investigations will be compiled into a database that will be used to advance research into the safety of current biosolids land application practices. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781843397922 (eBook)
Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Detection of Explosives

Publisher Summary This chapter gives the account of the detection of explosive devices. The detection can be classified into two schemes — ”seeing” the device and detecting a certain component which is common to all devices. X-ray imaging is a model example of the previous scheme. It gives an image of the contents of anitem under inspection. It is presented upon the operator to be acquainted with the explosive device. Metal detection is a very good example of the latter scheme. Almost all land mines contain no less than a little quantity of metal that can be detected through a metal detector. Evidently, many guiltless objects contain metal. The problem is separating the guiltless from the hazardous. To detect the explosive device without any hesitation is to detect it with the help of devices. The thermal neutron analysis and dual-energy X-ray give the specificity and issues of radiation, which can be challenging in some situations. This chapter discusses the nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). NQR stimulates and detects the radio frequency (RF) signals from certain nuclei in molecules of interest and are called explosives.
Block Co-PolyMOCs by Stepwise Self-Assembly

We report a stepwise assembly strategy for the integration of metal–organic cages (MOCs) into block copolymers (BCPs). This approach creates “block co-polyMOC” (BCPMOC) materials whose microscopic structures and mechanical properties are readily tunable by adjusting the size and geometry of the MOCs and the composition of the BCPs. In the first assembly step, BCPs functionalized with a pyridyl ligand on the chain end form star-shaped polymers triggered by metal-coordination-induced MOC assembly. The type of MOC junction employed precisely determines the number of arms for the star polymer. In the second step, microphase separation of the BCP is induced, physically cross-linking the star polymers and producing the desired BCPMOC networks in the bulk or gel state. We demonstrate that large spherical M12L24 MOCs, small paddlewheel M2L4 MOCs, or a mixture of both can be incorporated into BCPMOCs to provide materials with tailored branch functionality, phase separation, microdomain spacing, and mechanical prop...
Removing sun glint from optical remote sensing images of shallow rivers

Sun glint is the specular reflection of light from the water surface, which often causes unusually bright pixel values that can dominate fluvial remote sensing imagery and obscure the water-leaving radiance signal of interest for mapping bathymetry, bottom type, or water column optical characteristics. Although sun glint is ubiquitous in fluvial remote sensing imagery, river-specific methods for removing sun glint are not yet available. We show that existing sun glint-removal methods developed for multispectral images of marine shallow water environments over-correct shallow portions of fluvial remote sensing imagery resulting in regions of unreliable data along channel margins. We build on existing marine glint-removal methods to develop a river-specific technique that removes sun glint from shallow areas of the channel without overcorrection by accounting for non-negligible water-leaving near-infrared radiance. This new sun glint-removal method can improve the accuracy of spectrally-based depth retrieval in cases where sun glint dominates the at-sensor radiance. For an example image of the gravel-bed Snake River, Wyoming, USA, observed-vs.-predicted R2 values for depth retrieval improved from 0.66 to 0.76 following sun glint removal. The methodology presented here is straightforward to implement and could be incorporated into image processing workflows for multispectral images that include a near-infrared band. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Response to symposium on Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display

ABSTRACTThe author responds to the contributions to this symposium, highlighting her ideas about diversity management regimes, the urban cultural armature, global museum assemblages, the cosmopolitan-nationalism continuum, and new methods for studying the global and for engaging in constructive critique.
Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Mathematics Achievement: Students in 65 Regions Including the US and Asia

This study examines whether seven well-funded and economically equal education systems in Asian regions (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Shanghai) yield students with higher mathematics achievement, lower self-concept, higher mathematics self-efficacy, and higher intrinsic motivation, compared to the US and 57 other regions. Mathematics interest, mathematics self-concept, and mathematics self-efficacy were related to math achievement in all 65 regions. Compared to US students, those from these Asian regions had higher mathematics achievement and lower self-concept, suggesting a face culture modesty bias and a dignity culture enhancement bias. These Asian students’ self-efficacy exceeded their self-concept, further supporting their modesty bias. In contrast, US students’ self-concept exceeded their self-efficacy, evidence of their enhancement bias.
Early Aggressive Hydration Hastens Clinical Improvement in Mild Acute Pancreatitis

Objectives:Early aggressive intravenous hydration is recommended for acute pancreatitis treatment although randomized trials have not documented benefit. We performed a randomized trial of aggressive vs. standard hydration in the initial management of mild acute pancreatitis.Methods:Sixty patients w
Idealized modeling of convective organization with Changing Sea surface temperatures using multiple equilibria in weak temperature gradient simulations

The weak temperature gradient (WTG) approximation is a method of parameterizing the influences of the large-scale on local convection in limited domain simulations. WTG simulations exhibit multiple equilibria in precipitation; depending on the initial moisture content, simulations can precipitate or remain dry for otherwise identical boundary conditions. We use a hypothesized analogy between multiple equilibria in precipitation in WTG simulations, and dry and moist regions of organized convection to study tropical convective organization. We find that the range of wind speeds that support multiple equilibria depends on sea surface temperature (SST). Compared to the present SST, low SSTs support a narrower range of multiple equilibria at higher wind speeds. In contrast, high SSTs exhibit a narrower range of multiple equilibria at low wind speeds. This suggests that at high SSTs, organized convection might occur with lower surface forcing. In order to characterize convection at different SSTs, we analyze the change in relationships between precipitation rate, atmospheric stability, moisture content, and the large-scale transport of moist entropy and moisture with increasing SSTs. We find an increase in large-scale export of moisture and moist entropy from dry simulations with increasing SST, which is consistent with a strengthening of the up-gradient transport of moisture from dry regions to moist regions in organized convection. Furthermore, the changes in diagnostic relationships with SST are consistent with more intense convection in precipitating regions of organized convection for higher SSTs.
Risky resources: Household production, food contamination, and perceptions of aflatoxin exposure among Zambian female farmers

Mycotoxins pose a risk to nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa, yet research on mycotoxin control pays limited attention to the social context of fungal toxin exposure. In Zambia, groundnuts are considered a “woman's crop,” making women's labor central to groundnut production. However, this status does not ensure women control over the groundnut production process—an important distinction when looking at distribution of labor and resources in the household and its implication for aflatoxin reduction. This article uses semistructured interviews and participatory risk assessment techniques with women farmers to examine the relationship between control over groundnut production, risk perception, and aflatoxin mitigation in Eastern Province, Zambia. Interviews were conducted in July–August 2015 in three districts of Eastern Province and focused on knowledge and perceptions of aflatoxin-producing fungi and food contamination and groundnut production practices. Results from this study indicate that gender disaggregated data on ownership and control over production strategies are important for understanding the mechanisms that create variation in household exposure to aflatoxins. Local perceptions of short- and long-term health influence the relationship between knowledge about aflatoxins and practice. Including the social context of decision making into aflatoxin risk assessment and mitigation helps strengthen intervention efforts.
It's complicated. A systematic review of associations between social network site use and romantic relationships

Social network site (SNS) use may have important implications for romantic relationships. This systematic literature review aims to (a) identify theory-based approaches for studying associations between SNS use and romantic relationships, (b) identify key romantic relationship constructs measured in relation to SNS use, (c) synthesize the mechanisms by which SNS use may influence and be influenced by romantic relationships, and (d) discuss improved methods for guiding future research. Twenty-six peer-reviewed articles published in English from 2000 to 2015 that include measures of a romantic relationship construct as an outcome or predictor of SNS-related behavior for someone in a romantic relationship comprise this review. Studies are categorized as focusing on individual characteristics, relationship characteristics, or behavioral actions. Overall, findings indicate underdevelopment of SNS-related theory, and suggest that SNS behaviors may both influence and be influenced by individual and relationship characteristics such as adult attachment style, SNS-induced jealousy, relationship satisfaction and commitment, and partner identity overlap. Gender appears to influence associations between SNS use and relationship constructs, particularly in relation to interpreting ambiguous information about a partner. Further, SNSs may serve a maintenance function within romantic relationships. Directions for future research include assessing multiple SNSs in diverse samples and standardizing measurement of SNS behaviors. Review synthesizes existing SNS use and romantic relationship literature.Identifies theory-based approaches for studying associations.Shows the need for standardizing measurement in this area of research.Gender influences the interplay between SNS use and romantic relationships.SNS use may both benefit and harm romantic relationships.
Estimation of Stiffness and Damping in Cantilevered Euler-Bernoulli Beams with Tip Bodies

Abstract We develop finite dimensional approximation schemes for the identification of spatially varying material parameters, i.e. flexural stiffness and viscous damping coefficients in hybrid models for flexible beams with tip bodies. Our schemes are derived via an application of spline-based Galerkin techniques to the conservative form state space representation for the coupled system of ordinary and partial differential equations and boundary conditions which describe the dynamics of the system. A convergence theory is briefly outlined and a discussion of our findings based upon extensive numerical studies carried out on both conventional and vector processors is included
Regional and National Scale Spatial Variability of Photovoltaic Cover Plate Soiling and Subsequent Solar Transmission Losses

Soiling can cause large reductions in solar energy system production. To study the spatial variability of soiling, transmission loss and mass accumulation of particulates on photovoltaic (PV) cover plates were measured at five sites across the continental United States. Three sites were in the Front Range of Colorado in rural, suburban, and urban areas representing a semi-arid environment. One site was in Cocoa Florida in a hot and humid environment, and the final site was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a hot and arid environment. Total suspended particulate concentrations (TSP) were measured simultaneously at each site. Comparisons between transmission loss and mass accumulation measurements are made. Both mass accumulation and ambient TSP are shown to have some predictive power for transmission loss. Mean deposition velocities of 1.5 cm/s were observed. For every g/m2 of PM deposited on the PV cover plate, a 2.8% reduction in transmission was observed independent of site. These results provide a method for estimating soiling rates at sites across the United States.
Curriculum Learning Based Approaches for Noise Robust Speaker Recognition

Performance of speaker identification (SID) systems is known to degrade rapidly in the presence of mismatch such as noise and channel degradations. This study introduces a novel class of curriculum learning (CL) based algorithms for noise robust speaker recognition. We introduce CL-based approaches at two stages within a state-of-the-art speaker verification system: at the i-Vector extractor estimation and at the probabilistic linear discriminant (PLDA) back-end. Our proposed CL-based approaches operate by categorizing the available training data into progressively more challenging subsets using a suitable difficulty criterion. Next, the corresponding training algorithms are initialized with a subset that is closest to a clean noise-free set, and progressively moving to subsets that are more challenging for training as the algorithms progress. We evaluate the performance of our proposed approaches on the noisy and severely degraded data from the DARPA RATS SID task, and show consistent and significant improvement across multiple test sets over a baseline SID framework with a standard i-Vector extractor and multisession PLDA-based back-end. We also construct a very challenging evaluation set by adding noise to the NIST SRE 2010 C5 extended condition trials, where our proposed CL-based PLDA is shown to offer significant improvements over a traditional PLDA based back-end.
The productivity opportunities by applying machine learning algorithms in a fab

Machine learning has become a ubiquitous and essential part of business operations. Amazon uses algorithms to nudge their customers to purchase a product they might like. Given a purchase history for a customer and a large inventory of products, identify those products in which that customer will be interested and likely to purchase. A model of this decision process would allow a computer to make recommendations to a customer and motivate product purchases. Machine learning solves problems that cannot be solved by numerical means alone. These algorithms can not only increase an enterprise's internal efficiency, but machine learning algorithms also be used to deepen consumer loyalty. That is to say, machine learning provides potential solutions in all these domains and more, and is set to be a pillar of our future civilization. Of course, machine learning is also very important in a fab because it could help us solve problems including defects selection, image detection, fabrication scheduling rule, and so on. Machine learning builds heavily on statistics. When we train our machine model to learn, we have to give it a statistically representative sample as training data. If the training set isn't representative, we run the risk of the machine learning patterns that are not complete. Then, if the training set is too small, we won't learn enough and may even reach inaccurate conclusions.
Establishing Content-Related Validity Evidence for Assessments in Counseling: Application of a Sequential Mixed-Method Approach

Establishing content-related validity evidence is considered essential to draw conclusions about a scale’s quality. The purpose of this conceptual article is to provide best practice recommendations in the content validation procedure of scale development in the field of counseling, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative content review phases as a sequential mixed-method approach. In line with this goal, a description of the four basic sequential stages of the content validation procedure is provided, including a brief overview of content validity and Lawshe’s (1975) technique as a quantitative approach to content validity.
Asthma Management in the Era of Smart-Medicine: Devices, Gadgets, Apps and Telemedicine

Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric condition. Effective asthma management requires a proactive and inclusive approach that controls the patient's symptoms and prevents recurrence of exacerbations. Clinicians should encourage patients to become involved in their management since self-management approaches have proven to be an effective means for chronic illness treatment. Novel forms of self-monitoring and management are technological interventions. In the last decade, novel technology has been developed and used to improve asthma control since it is a powerful agent that addresses a variety of challenges in chronic disease management such as education, communication and adherence. A myriad of technology-based strategies are available although many of these are not evidence based and further studies are needed to evaluate their efficacy in specific asthma-control endpoints. Herein, authors present a review of current and future technology-based options for asthma management and a comparison between them.
Relationship of Lipid Disorders to Coronary Heart Disease

Broad-based population studies have recently provided important new evidence relative to the independent coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension risk factors and their interrelationships, "tracking," familial aggregation, and contribution to coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic studies designed to reduce both total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients with coronary heart disease unequivocally show that morbidity and mortality rates can be sharply reduced by risk-factor intervention. Over the past two decades, there has been a dramatic decrease in the dietary intake of cholesterol and an increase in polyunsaturated fat in the American population, as well as increased adult participation in aerobic exercise programs. Over the same time period, a dramatic decrease in coronary heart disease mortality rates has been recorded in the United States.
Using trace analysis for improving performance in COTS systems

With Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) based systems, developers are focused on "glue" code for integrating all the components to create applications. Existing tools for analyzing performance are not sufficient anymore with large systems. This paper describes new methods and tools for improving performance in COTS-based systems by analyzing the execution trace. The results of the analysis help the developer to tune his/her application and make the best usage of the underlying COTS components. A visualization tool integrates the analysis results with Eclipse, a major Java open-source IDE.
Building a Public Personnel System for the City of Freedonia: A New Approach to Teaching Human Resources Management in an MPA Program

The Freedonia Project was introduced in a required MPA human resources management course in Spring 1999 as an innovative mechanism to facilitate learning about how American public personnel systems...
The role of alcohol-induced blackouts in symptoms of depression among young adults.

Abstract Objective Blackouts are associated with other alcohol-related consequences and depression among young adults, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear. Using two separate samples, we tested the hypothesis that blackouts would be linked to symptoms of depression due in part to their association with other alcohol-related consequences. Method Young adults who use alcohol completed assessments at baseline in Sample 1 (N1 = 381, 58% female) and baseline, 3 months, and 6 months in Sample 2 (N2 = 603, 53 % female). Bootstrapped confidence intervals were used to examine the direct and indirect effects of blackouts on depressive symptoms, using cross-sectional mediation analysis in Sample 1 and a counterfactual approach with longitudinal data in Sample 2. Results In both samples, alcohol-induced blackouts were associated with alcohol-related consequences, which in turn were associated with symptoms of depression. In Sample 1, blackouts had both direct and indirect (mediated) effects on depressive symptoms. In Sample 2, blackouts measured at baseline only had an indirect effect on depressive symptoms six months later through other alcohol-related consequences at three months. Conclusions Among heavy-drinking college students, the majority of whom reported minimal symptoms of depression, blackouts were associated with increases in other alcohol-related consequences, which in turn were associated with increases in symptoms of depression. These findings suggest that prevention and intervention efforts targeting blackouts may help reduce other alcohol-related consequences among young adults.
CT artifact correction for sparse and truncated projection data using generative adversarial networks.

Purpose Computed tomography image reconstruction using truncated or sparsely acquired projection data to reduce radiation dose, iodine volume, and patient motion artifacts has been widely investigated. To continue these efforts, we investigated the use of machine learning-based reconstruction techniques using deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (DCGANs) and evaluated its effect using standard imaging metrics. Methods Ten thousand head computed tomography (CT) scans were collected from the 2019 RSNA Intracranial Hemorrhage Detection and Classification Challenge dataset. Sinograms were simulated and then resampled in both a one-third truncated and one-third sparse manner. DCGANs were tasked with correcting the incomplete projection data, either in the sinogram domain where the full sinogram was recovered by the DCGAN and then reconstructed, or the reconstruction domain where the incomplete data were first reconstructed and the sparse or truncation artifacts were corrected by the DCGAN. Seventy-five hundred images were used for network training and 2500 were withheld for network assessment using mean absolute error (MAE), structural similarity index measure (SSIM), and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) between results of different correction techniques. Image data from a quality-assurance phantom were also resampled in the two manners and corrected and reconstructed for network performance assessment using line profiles across high-contrast features, the modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), and Hounsfield Unit (HU) linearity analysis. Results Better agreement with the fully sampled reconstructions were achieved from sparse acquisition corrected in the sinogram domain and the truncated acquisition corrected in the reconstruction domain. MAE, SSIM, and PSNR showed quantitative improvement from the DCGAN correction techniques. HU linearity of the reconstructions was maintained by the correction techniques for the sparse and truncated acquisitions. MTF curves reached the 10% modulation cutoff frequency at 5.86 lp/cm for the truncated corrected reconstruction compared with 2.98 lp/cm for the truncated uncorrected reconstruction, and 5.36 lp/cm for the sparse corrected reconstruction compared with around 2.91 lp/cm for the sparse uncorrected reconstruction. NPS analyses yielded better agreement across a range of frequencies between the resampled corrected phantom and truth reconstructions. Conclusions We demonstrated the use of DCGANs for CT-image correction from sparse and truncated simulated projection data, while preserving imaging quality of the fully sampled projection data.
Global exponential stability of the Douglas-Rachford splitting dynamics

Abstract Many modern optimization problems admit a composite form in which the objective function is given by the sum of a smooth term and a nonsmooth regularizer. Such problems can be solved via proximal methods and their variants, including the Douglas-Rachford (DR) splitting algorithm. In this paper, we view the DR splitting flow as a dynamical system and leverage techniques from control theory to study its global stability properties. In particular, for problems with strongly convex objective functions, we utilize the theory of integral quadratic constraints to prove global exponential stability of the ordinary differential equation that governs the evolution of the DR splitting flow. In our analysis, we use the fact that this algorithm can be interpreted as a variable-metric gradient method on the DR envelope and exploit structural properties of nonlinear terms that arise from composition of reflected proximal operators.
US Public's Perceptions of Online Before and After Transformation Photos.

BACKGROUND Although many plastic surgeons seek to optimize their online presence and reach a broader patient base, no studies to our knowledge have evaluated the general public's perceptions of one of the most valued informational tools: transformation photos. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the general public's preferences for viewing transformation photos online. METHODS Respondents representative of the US public, crowdsourced through Amazon Mechanical Turk, answered a survey assessing perceptions of the posting of before-and-after photos. RESULTS One thousand respondents completed the questionnaire. Ninety percent (905/1000) of respondents are willing to view online before-and-after photos. Sixty-three percent (634/1000) would consent to online posting of before-and-after photos of at least 1 body area, with comfort levels highest for facelift (36.4%), nonoperative facial rejuvenation (31.9%), liposuction (24.9%), and abdominoplasty (23.2%). Breast reduction (12.4%), breast reconstruction (10.9%), gluteal augmentation (14.0%), and vaginal rejuvenation (4.4%) are considered least acceptable for public posting. Respondents are significantly more opposed to online viewing of genitals than any other body area (P < 0.0001). Of those willing to have their own transformation photos posted online, 74.0% would allow posting on professional practice websites, 35.1% on Instagram, 26.6% on Facebook, 17.2% on Twitter, and 10.7% on Snapchat. Significantly more respondents prefer their transformation photos reside only on professional practice websites rather than on a social media platform (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The public considers aesthetic facial procedures and body contouring most acceptable for showcasing transformation photos online. Although most respondents prefer viewing these photos on professional practice websites, Instagram is the favored social media platform. The majority of the public seek transformation photos when choosing a plastic surgeon for a cosmetic procedure.
Intellectual Property from a Customs Perspective

This chapter describes the treatment of intellectual property under customs law, and the interaction between customs and transfer pricing. The reader is first introduced to the basics of customs law and customs valuation. The governing principles and valuation methods are explained. It is then discussed under what circumstances royalties, license fees and the transfer of ownership of an intellectual property right are subject to customs duties. Subsequently, it illustrates what potential significance transfer pricing has for the customs treatment of transactions between related parties. The reader learns to what extent transfer pricing documentation can be helpful for customs purposes. Finally, it sets out the preconditions for the eligibility of transfer pricing methods and transfer pricing documentation for customs valuation.
Impacts of a metropolitan-scale freeway expansion program on air pollution and equity

Abstract Context To enable human mobility, economic vitality, and population well-being in growing cities, well-planned transportation infrastructure is essential. However, transportation systems can also have detrimental impacts on health and equity, including through increased air pollution and its unequal social distribution. Aims This study focuses on estimating air quality and equity impacts of an ongoing large-scale metropolitan transportation program (known as “Tampa Bay Next”). Our objective was to characterize and quantify the air pollution levels and population exposures resulting from an interstate freeway expansion planned under Tampa Bay Next, which includes added toll lanes. Methods We estimated changes in individual human exposures to oxides of nitrogen (NOx) due to the proposed freeway changes, using an integrated suite of high-resolution models for travel demand, emissions, pollutant dispersion, and exposure. Inequity in the distribution of exposures among racioethnic and income groups was also estimated using a few measures of inequality (the subgroup inequality index (SII), the comparative environmental risk index, and the toxic demographic quotient index). Findings The planned freeway expansion was estimated to slightly decrease the daily NOx emissions (by 5.6 mg/m, p = 4×10−16), ambient concentrations (by 0.02 μg/m3, p = 2×10−4), and individual exposures (by 0.2 μg/m3, p = 2.2×10−16) on average, while increasing exposure densities during peak periods in areas surrounding downtown Tampa. Group-average exposures also decreased for all population subgroups under the planned expansion scenario. However, disparities in exposure increased for the black (ΔSII = 1.3×10−3 for the 90th percentile exposure level) and the below-poverty (ΔSII = 4.6×10−3) groups. Conclusions Results suggest that a detailed analysis of exposures may be needed to ensure large-scale transportation improvement programs reduce inequity, even when average impacts on air quality and exposures are positive or neutral.
Assessment of Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries' Compliance With Underage Access and Marketing Restrictions in California.

This cross-sectional study examines the compliance of recreational cannabis dispensaries with underage access and exposure to products and marketing in California.
Structure-Based Design of γ-Carboline Analogues as Potent and Specific BET Bromodomain Inhibitors

Small-molecule inhibitors of bromodomain and extra terminal proteins (BET), including BRD2, BRD3, and BRD4 proteins have therapeutic potential for the treatment of human cancers and other diseases and conditions. In this paper, we report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of γ-carboline-containing compounds as a new class of small-molecule BET inhibitors. The most potent inhibitor (compound 18, RX-37) obtained from this study binds to BET bromodomain proteins (BRD2, BRD3, and BRD4) with Ki values of 3.2–24.7 nM and demonstrates high selectivity over other non-BET bromodomain-containing proteins. Compound 18 potently and selectively inhibits cell growth in human acute leukemia cell lines harboring the rearranged mixed lineage leukemia 1 gene. We have determined a cocrystal structure of 18 in complex with BRD4 BD2 at 1.4 A resolution, which provides a solid structural basis for the compound’s high binding affinity and for its further structure-based optimization. Compound 18 represents a promising lead c...
The Effect of a Reticuloendothelial-Depressing Substance on Survival From Shock

Here is some evidence which has led us to postulate the formation of a reticuloendothelial-depressing substance (RDS) during shock.
The Bacillus cereus group.

Publisher Summary Bacillus cereus food poisoning and knowledge of its virulence mechanisms is still in its infancy. The diarrhoeal and emetic food poisoning syndromes that it causes are mild, and the necrotic infections that it causes are relatively rare consequently, extensive efforts to understand its pathogenesis have only recently begun in earnest. B. cereus produces an exceptional number of products that are conventionally regarded as virulence factors. The roles of specific factors in pathogenesis except that the cyclic polypeptide toxin cereulide induces vomiting, and the haemolysin BL (HBL) family of tripartite toxins appears to contribute significantly to diarrhoeal food poisoning. Virulence is essentially always multi-factorial; this chapter presents a survey of currently identified virulence factors and outlines their potential or demonstrated contributions to virulence. The mechanisms of B. cereus virulence are still poorly understood. HBL possesses all of the physicochemical and biological characteristics historically associated with diarrhoeal food poisoning activity, but it is not produced by all B. cereus isolates associated with food poisoning.
DIESEL ODOR SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS USING THE DIESEL ODOR ANALYSIS SYSTEM (DOAS)

Diesel Odor sampling and analysis techniques and procedures using the Arthur D. Little, Inc. Diesel Odor Analysis System (DOAS) have been evaluated. Reproducibility of the + or - 0.1 TIA unit at the 2.0 TIA level and + or - 0.2 TIA unit at the 1.5 TIA level are achievable if a consistent, well defined sampling procedure is used. Significant odor sample trap breakthrough and sample volume effects have been isolated. The study indicates that care must be given to defining a standard odor sampling configuration and procedure.
No post-genetics era in human disease research

In the 1980s, linkage emerged as a route to discovering genetic defects, spurring the rise of genomics and making gene-based approaches available to previously phenotype-orientated researchers. In the post-genomics era, genetics is fundamental to understanding disease at all stages of the pathogenic process.
Chaos and Bifurcation in 2007-08 Financial Crisis

The impact of increasing leverage in the economy produces hyperreaction of market participants to variations of their revenues. If the income of banks decreases, they mass-reduce their lendings; if corporations sales drop, and due to existing debt they cannot adjust their liquidities by further borrowings, then they must immediately reduce their expenses, lay off staff, and cancel investments. This hyperreaction produces a bifurcation mechanism, and eventually a strong dynamical instability in capital markets, commonly called systemic risk. In this article, we show that this instability can be monitored by measuring the highest eigenvalue of a matrix of elasticities. These elasticities measure the reaction of each sector of the economy to a drop in its revenues from another sector. This highest eigenvalue - also called the spectral radius - of the elasticity matrix, can be used as an early indicator of market instability and potential crisis. Grandmont [85] and subsequent research showed the possibility that the "invisible hand" of markets become chaotic, opening the door to uncontrolled swings. Our contribution is to provide an actual way of measuring how close to chaos the market is. Estimating elasticities and actually generating the indicators of instability will be the topic of forthcoming research. Part of this paper has spun off with more mathematical details and can be found on SSRN under the title "Financial Crisis Dynamics: Attempt to Define a Market Instability Indicator".
Using multimodality imaging to characterize disease progression in a preclinical multiple myeloma model

2524 Objectives To facilitate the study of imaging biomarker strategies for multiple myeloma by characterizing the disease progression in mice with preclinical multimodality imaging, including BLI, 18F-NaF PET, and X-ray CT, and by optimizing technical aspects of imaging and data analysis. Methods A multiple myeloma mouse model was established by intravenously injecting 5 million MM1S-LucNeo cells into 15 NSG mice. Baseline 18F PET was performed prior to cell injections for each mouse and every 4 to 6 days after, at which time BLI data were also acquired. High resolution CT data were collected every 10 days. PET and CT imaging were performed on a Siemens Inveon scanner, with BLI using a Xenogen IVIS system. PET-CT and BLI data were processed and analyzed using Inveon Research Workplace and Living Image, respectively. To optimize radiotracer injection procedures for PET imaging, tail vein catheters and a new restraining device for anesthetized mice were designed. A prototype multimodality-compatible mouse holder was used when accurate image co-registration between BLI and PET were desired. Results As disease progressed, all mice showed increasing BLI signal when quantified by total photon flux (>1000-fold increase comparing week 1 to week 4), concentrating in bone marrows, limb joints, and spleens. NaF uptakes in shoulder and knee joints changed most during disease progression. When quantified by the sum of SUVmax in all 4 joints of each mouse, a slight increase in the first 2 weeks ( Conclusions For this disease model, all imaging modalities characterized disease progression differently, with BLI shown to be most sensitive quantitatively. Preclinical 18F PET and CT demonstrated potential as viable imaging biomarker strategies for multiple myeloma, especially considering their translational values. The newly designed catheter and restraining device proved effective for ensuring consistency of PET tracer injections
Congenital Absence of the Pancreas and Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Recent investigations support the concept that insulin is a primary growth hormone during fetal life. The importance of insulin in fetal development is illustrated by the following case presentation, a severely growth-retarded infant who possessed no detectable pancreatic tissue at postmortem examination. CASE REPORT Patient B.G.C. was born following an uncomplicated pregnancy to a 19-year-old gravida 1, para 0, abortus 1 mother by emergency Cesarean section for fetal distress. The baby weighed 1,350 gm with Apgar scores of 2 at one minute, 2 at five minutes, and 4 at ten minutes, requiring immediate intubation and ventilation. Gestational age was 41 weeks by dates, 36 to 37 weeks by clinical examination, and greater than 36 weeks by radiologic evidence of teeth calcification.1
Transactivator of transcription from HIV type 1 subtype E selectively inhibits TNF gene expression via interference with chromatin remodeling of the TNF locus.

The transactivator of transcription (Tat) protein is essential for efficient HIV type 1 (HIV-1) replication and is involved in the transcriptional regulation of the host immune response gene, TNF. In this study, we demonstrate that Tat proteins from representative HIV-1 subtype E isolates, but not from subtypes B or C, selectively inhibit TNF gene transcription and protein production in CD4 + Jurkat T cells. Strikingly, we show that this repression is due to a tryptophan at residue 32 of Tat E and is secondary to interference with recruitment of the histone acetyltransferase P/CAF to the TNF promoter and with chromatin remodeling of the TNF locus. This study presents a novel mechanism by which HIV-1 manipulates a host immune response gene that is important in its own replication. Moreover, these results demonstrate a new mechanism by which the TNF gene is regulated via chromatin remodeling secondary to viral infection.
Molecular indices of neuronal and glial plasticity in the hippocampal formation in a rodent model of age-induced spatial learning impairment.

Spatial learning ability was quantitated in young and aged Long–Evans rats, and molecular markers were assessed in the striatum and hippocampal formation using immunocytochemical, immunoblotting, andin situ hybridization histochemical procedures. The mRNA for β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP), most likely the transcript encoding the 695-amino acid form of this protein, was elevated in pyramidal and granule cells in the hippocampus of aged rats exhibiting poorer spatial learning. In immunoblots of hippocampal protein extracts, however, the level of βAPP-like immunoreactivity was depressed in the more impaired subjects. Similarly, the level in hippocampus of the mRNA for manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), a marker of oxidative stress, was positively correlated with the degree of behavioral impairment, but immunoblotting revealed that Mn-SOD protein was depressed in the aged hippocampus compared with young. The mRNAs for the neuronal form of nitric oxide synthase and for the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were elevated in the hippocampus in correlation with the extent of learning impairment. In the striatum, the levels of mRNA and protein for several candidate genes, including GFAP, were elevated in parallel with the learning index, but these were age effects. Several hippocampal proteins were unchanged (GFAP) or depressed (βAPP and Mn-SOD) in level, despite elevations in corresponding mRNAs. In the aged cohort, hippocampal GFAP mRNA, Mn-SOD mRNA, and βAPP emerged as predictors of behavioral impairment, suggesting the involvement of these hippocampal systems in age-related cognitive impairment.
Seeing Like an Oil Company: Space, Security, and Global Capital in Neoliberal Africa

In this article, I seek to identify a limitation in the analysis James Scott offers in Seeing Like a State (1998) by asking to what extent his account of the follies of schemes for planned improvement by states provides critical leverage on the present world of neoliberal global capitalism. Scott has claimed that a dynamic of standardization, homogenization, and grid making applies not only to developmentalist states but also equally to the contemporary world of downsized states and unconstrained global corporations. I contest that claim by tracing how recent capital investment in Africa has been territorialized, and some of the new forms of order and disorder that have accompanied that selectively territorialized investment. Because such investment has been overwhelmingly in mineral resource extraction—particularly in oil—a contrast will become visible between the homogenizing, standardizing state optic Scott analyzed and a rather different way of seeing, proper to the contemporary global oil company.
Inverse Relationship between Microsatellite Instability and K-ras and p53 Gene Alterations in Colon Cancer

Some studies have shown an inverse relationship between microsatellite instability in colon cancer and mutations in p53 and K- ras , whereas others have not. We therefore evaluated these features in a population-based sample of 496 individuals with colon cancer. Microsatellite instability was determined by a panel of 10 tetranucleotide repeats, the Bethesda consensus panel of mono- and dinucleotide repeats, and coding mononucleotide repeats in transforming growth factor-beta receptor type II, hMSH3, BAX, hMSH6 , and insulin-like growth factor receptor type II. Mutations in codons 12 and 13 in K- ras were evaluated by sequencing. p53 overexpression (as detected by immunohistochemistry) was used as an indicator of p53 mutation; this was evaluated in 275 of the tumors. K- ras mutations were present in 33.2% of tumors, p53 overexpression in 51.5%, and microsatellite instability (as determined by the Bethesda consensus panel) in 12.5%. K- ras mutations were significantly less common in unstable tumors than stable tumors (11.8% versus 36.9%, P versus 55.7%, P ras gene mutations and p53 overexpression were shown to be independent of tumor site in logistic regression analyses. All other measures of instability also showed statistically significant inverse relationships independent of tumor site with alterations in ras and p53 , and instability results determined by the panel of 10 tetranucleotide repeats were highly significantly related to those determined by the Bethesda consensus panel. Coding mononucleotide repeat mutations were significantly more common in unstable tumors than stable tumors (85.7% versus 1.0%, P p53 and K- ras , and that the molecular profile of colon cancers with microsatellite instability is characterized by relatively infrequent mutations in K- ras and p53 and relatively frequent mutations in coding mononucleotide repeats.
MULTICASE 1. A Hierarchical Computer Automated Structure Evaluation Program

A new algorithm is presented to analyze the structural features relevant to the biological activity of a set of molecules. The program called MULTICASE can, as its predecessor CASE (Computed Automated Structure Evaluator), automatically identify molecular sub-structures that have a high probability of being relevant or responsible for the observed biological activity of a learning set comprised of a mix of active and inactive molecules of diverse composition. New, untested molecules can then be submitted to the program, and an expert prediction of the potential activity of the new molecule is obtained. MULTICASE differs from CASE in a great many ways, but the major algorithmic difference is the use of Hierarchy in the selection of descriptors, leading to the concept of Biophores and Modulators.
U.S. emergency department visits for supraventricular tachycardia, 1993-2003.

Abstract Background: Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is often described as a recurrent condition that leads toemergency department (ED) visits. However, the epidemiology of ED visits for SVT is unknown.Objectives: To deﬁne the frequency of SVT in U.S. EDs and to analyze patient characteristics, ED manage-ment, and disposition for such visits.Methods: The authors analyzed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 1993–2003. SVT cases were identiﬁed by using the International Classiﬁcation of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clin-ical Modiﬁcation codes 426.7 or 427.0 in any of the three diagnostic ﬁelds.Results: Of the 1.1 billion ED visits over the 11-year study period, an estimated 555,000 (0.05%; 95% conﬁ-dence interval [CI] = 0.04% to 0.06%) were related to SVT. The annual frequency and population rate appearstablebetween1993and 2003(p for trend= 0.35).Comparedwithnon-SVTvisits,those withSVT weremorelikely to be older than 65 years of age (26% vs. 15%, p < 0.01) and female (70% vs. 53%, p < 0.01). Electro-cardiograms were documented for most visits (91%; 95% CI = 85% to 96%). Approximately half of the pa-tients (51%; 95% CI = 40% to 61%) received an atrioventricular nodal blocking medication, most frequentlyadenosine (26%; 95% CI = 17% to 36%). SVT visits ended in hospital admission for 24% (95% CI = 15% to34%). At the other extreme, 44% (95% CI = 32% to 56%) were discharged without planned follow-up.Conclusions: Supraventricular tachycardia accounts for approximately 50,000 ED visits each year. Highervisit rates in older adults and female patients are consistent with prior studies of SVT in the general pop-ulation. This study provides an epidemiologic foundation that will enable future research to assess and im-prove clinical management strategies of SVT in the ED.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2007; 14:578–581 a 2007 by the Society for Academic EmergencyMedicineKeywords: supraventricular tachycardia, epidemiology, disease management